#I’m also pretty sure the creators said somewhere they didn’t want to reveal the names and ages of the characters to make them more vague

[aboringredmop]

“Oh wow, what a cool artstyle! And the artist has a lot of cute headcannons and seems like such a nice person! I think I’ll reblog some of their stuff and give them a follow-“

“yellow guy is NOT A KID he is an ADULT and if you think he is you are PROSHIPPER and a PEDOPHILE and you are FETISHISING an AUTISTIC ADULT and you are ABLEIST because you think ADULTS cant have AUTISM and you should KYS and I HATE YOU DNI!!,🤬🤬🤬”

(Explanation + rant in the tags)

[beardycarrot]

I, lying awake in bed because that’s how it always is the day before you have something important to do... am going to try to guess what the plot of Bioshock Infinite is, based on what I’ve seen in the first few hours and with knowledge of the other two (and a half?) games. Spoilers for the entire Bioshock series, except maybe Infinite, but I intend to knock it out of the park.

So. The first Bioshock is set in a futuristic (by 1950’s standards) city at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, created by a hardcore libertarian named Andrew Ryan as a way to once and for all live in a society free of government regulation. I won’t get into all the “sea slugs that produce a gene-altering wonder drug” and “child slaves brainwashed to drink corpse blood” stuff; very interesting, very important to the plot, but if I tried to explain the world of Bioshock I’d be lying here typing on my phone until the sun comes up. That stuff aside, the major plot points are that you’re not actually a guy who just happened to crash-land near the entrance to the city but are, in fact, Andrew Ryan’s son, and the guy who’s been guiding you through the city was actually using a Manchurian Candidate-style activation phrase to manipulate you into doing whatever he wanted. It’s a big, mind-blowing reveal (as is the realization that your character is actually about four years old... science fiction, man).

Bioshock 2 didn’t really have any big plot twists... or plot, for that matter ...but it was developed by an entirely different team, while the original’s team also did Infinite, so I’m expecting a return to form. Just as an aside, Bioshock 2 had a short DLC campaign called Minerva’s Den, which had a fantastic story, and a twist that the player can figure out on their own if they’re paying attention. Your goal is to get a very smart computer (for 1968) out of the underwater city and back to the surface so you can use it to cure all the victims of the slug-borne gene manipulation, and you’re guided over radio by the computer’s creator. At the end, you learn that the one guiding you was actually the computer itself, and that you’re its creator, slowly recovering from brainwashing. For the record, the endings to all three of these have made me cry.

So! With those kinds of twists in mind, what am I expecting from Bioshock Infinite? Well, I went into the game only knowing the names of the protagonists, that rather than underwater it was set in a floating sky city, and that there was some kind of religious theming but also a lot of old-timey Americana. As it turns out, the people of this city worship— no, have DEIFIED the founding fathers, and are lead by a man called Father Comstock. I’m pretty sure that name is a reference to the Comstock Act, similar to Andrew Ryan being named after Ayn Rand... but he could actually be called Father Cornstalk and I just haven’t been paying attention.

Anyway. Just a few minutes into the game, I noticed that a statue of Comstock looked suspiciously similar to my character... before deciding that I didn’t actually have that clear of a mental image of my character, they wouldn’t pull the “secret son” thing twice, and as much as I love it there probably isn’t going to be any time travel. Le sigh.

UNTIL!

So, your goal is to get a girl named Elizabeth out of the city, and there is some legitimately weird stuff going on with her prison. Like, they have some of her personal possessions from various points in her life in containment: a teddy bear, a diary, and a bloody cloth labeled “menarche”. Gross. Why would you keep that. Well, when an electric current (or something visually similar) is applied, the bear and diary change color, and the blood disappears from the cloth. The reason I’m not sure if it’s electricity is that there’s some kind of siphon system set up, it looks like a bunch of subwoofers, and it’s absorbing... something? When she sings, maybe? Is the energy being siphoned what changed the quantum states of those objects, or whatever was happening? There was also a chart showing that when she hit puberty... something, really spiked, which is what forced them to build the siphon. I can’t claim to know what’s happening here, but when I finally saw her she was day dreaming about Paris, and.. I guess opened some kind of portal, TO Paris? But then a bus or something barreled towards her, so she quickly closed it. In the couple seconds that the portal was open, I saw the marquee on a movie theater that... well, was in French, but I’M PRETTY SURE said “Return of the Jedi”. I should probably mention that this game is set in 1912. That smells like time travel to me, baby!

So, this is where it gets interesting, and confusing, and complicated. I think Elizabeth is Comstock’s daughter, from various signs and posters about Comstock’s seed being their salvation, and The Lamb of God being locked in the tower, and such... and signs about a “false shepherd” who would try to take her away (again, lots of weird divergent Christian sect stuff). One sign showered the false shepherd’s hand as having the initials AD branded on the back, which the protagonist Booker does indeed have. Before rescuing Elizabeth, Comstock confronts you, and seems to know all about Booker’s past, including his wife Anna (who died in childbirth), and claims to know his future as well. Being a prophet and such. Thing is, the way it’s presented, that whole thing could’ve all been in Booker’s head...? Shortly after rescuing Elizabeth, you run into someone who mistakes her for someone named Annabelle. Hmm HMMM. I’ve also run into a diary by someone named Rosalind Lutece (I think she’s one of the creepy twins who keep popping up everywhere) talking about physics and what sounded like the concept of quantum superpositioning, as well as a little informational kiosk in which she claims quantum mechanics are what enable the city to float. There were also a couple diaries that seemed to imply Elizabeth came from... somewhere else, and a part of her might still be there, or something?

SO. Finally, we get to the part where I theorize on what’s going on. In short... iunno.

Okay, well, I feel like my idea should be obvious by now. I think Comstock might be a future, or ALTERNATE REALITY FUTURE, version of Booker, and Elizabeth is... either a past version of his wife, before she went back in time and married him, or an alternate-reality version of his daughter? But then who is the Annabelle that the girl thought Elizabeth was? Did Booker’s child not die along with his wife, and was secretly wisked away to skytown? Comstock’s wife is consistently referred to as Lady Comstock, but what if her name is Annabelle too? Maybe it’s the same concept as the Heinlein story By His Bootstraps, with the protagonist only realizing that he IS now the old man from the beginning, and has to get his younger self into this weird time loop in order to live the life he’s lead?

I might be going a little off the rails; I mean, I’m pretty sure that the statue of Comstock I saw earlier actually reminded me of Handsome Jack, a character from another game I haven’t played who happens to wear an outfit similar to Booker’s. That said, there’s DEFINITELY some kind of time travel or dimension-hopping shenanigans going on here. There are good writers on this game, and I refuse to believe the Annabelle/Anna thing is a Batman v Superman-level coincidence.

The weird part is that in the tower where they were keeping Elizabeth, they have documentation of her dating back to one year old, so she was clearly exhibiting... something, unusual, even as a baby. The game also has yet to explain Vigors, its versions of the Plasmids from the first two Bioshock games, which were basically superpowers granted by the substance produced by those sea slugs. If I had to guess, Vigors are... a result of some kind of quantum something-or-other, which they made from whatever it is they were siphoning off of Elizabeth? Maybe it’s a Scarlet Witch kind of thing... you don’t actually change yourself, you just find yourself in an alternate reality where everything else is 100% the same, except you’re a version of yourself who can shoot crows out of your hands.

Right, so. My... official theory is... that... I have no idea what’s going on. Yeah, sorry, something in that mess up there is bound to be close, but when you get into time travel and/or dimension-hopping, all bets are off the table. Or all bets, a literally infinite number of bets, are on the table. Which is a lot to try to comprehend.

[thirium-fiction]

Be Back Soon (Markus x Reader)

Word Count: 3k+

Request:  Maybe a Markus fic where reader works at CyberLife but secretly helps repair deviants?

A/N: AhHhh this request was so interesting! I chose to use the violent revolution route for Markus because it worked better. I had some fun with this one and I’m pretty proud of it despite getting a little carried away with the background. I’m sorry I just love giving huge amounts of content for a story!

Warnings: Slight swearing and angst

-

You had worked for CyberLife for awhile now, having been close friends with Elijah Kamski when he was younger and was just getting started with studying androids and his business. The two of you first met in college and you heard all about the 12-year-old who got into the University of Colbridge. It was practically unbelievable when you first heard about it. You worked your ass off to get to where you were at 18 and when you found out a pre-teen did the same? It’d be a lie to say that it didn’t cause a little bit of jealousy. But, he turned out to be a pretty kind kid. Sure, he had a bit of an ego to him considering he was among some of the top students in the United States and they were all older than him. Yet he still knew when to draw the line if he wanted to make connections for his future company.

And that’s how Elijah began to connect with you.

Both of you were studying AI when he noticed your inability of accepting the possibility that any form of artificial intelligence could be nothing more than what their creators designed them to be. It was an extremely dangerous mindset that you had considering how advanced technology was becoming. The idea that androids were just machines was safe. Didn’t you want to be safe? Considering how many verbal debates you’ve gotten into over the subject, apparently not. 

As a matter of fact, your stubbornness on the subject granted you the ability to help with Elijah’s Turing test for Chloe. You did it once through a computer, asking a series of questions for both Chloe, who was pretending to be human, and the actual human who had to convince you they were the actual person and not an android. Chloe passed with flying colors and you were shocked to realize that you assumed the human was an android.

You did another form of the same test but in person this time to see how she’d look in public situations around others. You had never met Chloe so you had no idea what she looked like. Another female was in the room and had to convince you once again that she was the human while Chloe did the same. Chloe’s expressions and responses were just - so -  natural. It really solidified your idea that machines can be so much more. But, people can just refute you by saying that Elijah designed her to make you believe that.

Nevertheless, she fooled you again and was the first android to pass the Turing test in 2022.

CyberLife began pumping out androids to the public like never before. People were willing to spend thousands of dollars just so they didn’t have to do “extras” like chores, caring for family, transportation, and other forms of work. And once humans got their hands on them, they practically became children and destroyed what was meant for them to enjoy. It was sickening what you’ve seen them do and how openly they’d talk about such abuse. You tried going to Elijah multiple times about the problem you’ve seen.

“There’s nothing I can do.” He would say to you like always. “I can’t control what people decide to do with their product.”

“They’re not products!” You’d shout at him, infuriated by how he was handling the situation yet again. 

Then he’d leave the room without saying anything else. 

Elijah became increasingly more distant once he heard about Amanda’s death during February of 2027. You knew they had been extremely close with her being his mentor along with being his professor as well. She was your professor too but they had a bond that you were never able to form with her. And, not more than a year later, the CEO of CyberLife resigned from his position and left out of the blue. He never told you of his plans or where he was going. He left a simple sticky note on his desk addressed to you that read:

I’ll be back soon.

It’s been ten years and there was still no word from him.

So, you continued life how you usually would. You went to work for CyberLife as a normal manufacturing employee under a new boss (who was a complete jackass). But, as time went by, more and more “deviants” started to make the news. They were always badly damaged after escaping the their owners after injuring/and or killing them so they would stand out from a crowd. You knew the media was purposefully blocking out the part where they were doing it out of self-defense. Humans couldn’t possibly be held accountable at all.

You had enough of the bullshit.

Every once in awhile, these deviants would find their way back to the CyberLife warehouses. You occasionally had some manufacturing work to be done there so you spent some of your shifts around those branches. Those androids who were luckily enough to make it that far were usually in dire need of biocomponents to keep themselves going. You’d catch them trying to steal whatever they could get their hands on but instead of reporting them like you should, you decided you could help them instead. They were always frightened at first, afraid you’d turn on them or take them apart right then and there. You always made sure to make them feel at ease through the process of repairment. If there wounds were too great, you offered them the option to continue or to stop. Some would carry on despite knowing they had little time left while others gave up on the table right in front of you. 

It wasn’t long until more and more heard of your name and looked for you as a source of safety. Eventually, it reached a point where hiding them became increasingly difficult. It was hard to take care of multiple beaten up androids in one night while also having to get your work done. There have been a couple close calls where you had to convince your coworkers you were just fixing up regular androids for clients. You could only use the same excuse for so long if the only robots you were repairing were horribly beaten. 

It was saddening how many came your way looking for some type of assistance. If they were comfortable enough, they’d tell you why they ran away in the first place. After that, some would let you know that their plan was to find Jericho and meet Markus himself. 

Ah, Markus. 

You had heard of the android hero before. He was practically a wanted criminal across the United States because of his revolution. His face was all over the news after his speech and fires and violent riots followed not long after. He was an intimidating and scary figure to most humans but you couldn’t help but understand where he was coming from. For years, androids have been beaten down and oppressed by society because they were seen as less than to humans. It wasn’t surprising that he was angered by it. 

You never would’ve guessed you’d come face-to-face with such a legend, however. 

You were walking around the warehouse lot, enjoying a bit of fresh air after having been inside forever from loads of paperwork. It was dark out and luckily the area had some pretty substantial lighting or else you would’ve been left completely blind to your environment. Yet, it wasn’t enough for you to notice the figures running towards you in the distance. You didn’t even realize you weren’t alone until you heard footsteps closer behind you. Expecting some of your regular coworkers, you put a tired smile on your face and turned around but immediately froze once you saw a familiar pair of determined blue and green eyes. 

“It’s you.” You whispered in awe, your heart racing in both excitement and slight fear. “Both the hero and the terrorist.”

Markus just barely tensed at your words, not ever having planned to be labeled as a terrorist by anyone. He’s heard it through the media numerous times but someone doesn’t ever really get used to that sort of thing.

The redheaded woman next to him (who you knew was also an android from your experience with them) walked up to him and gently grabbed his arm. “I don’t trust this. They’re human, Markus. They can easily report us to the authorities. We should find help somewhere else.” She muttered, turning her head away so you couldn’t really tell what she was saying.

The RK200 pulled his arm away from her grasp before returning his attention back to you. “You’re (Y/N), correct?”

You nodded, still shocked to be in the presence of such a figure among the potential future of artificial intelligence. “In the actual flesh.” You laughed, trying to ease your own nervousness more than anything. When no laughs were thrown back at your sad excuse of a joke, you cleared your throat and stood tall. “U-Uh, yes. I’m (Y/N).”

Markus glanced between his group of friends and the woman gave him a look of disapproval. He gave her an apologetic look back before hesitantly stepping out of the way to reveal an injured PL600 being carried by a PJ500 model. “We need your help.” He said quickly, looking around to make sure there was no one nearby. When he noticed your lack of response, he gave you a pleading look. “Please.”

You blinked a few times and rubbed your face before slightly shaking your head. “If you were caught here, I couldn’t possibly fathom what would -” Your eyes fell on the blonde android in front of you, blue thirium slowly oozing out between his fingers as he held his wound. You could tell this wasn’t his first rodeo with injuries. Actually, all of them seemed experienced with this type of situation. Taking a deep breath, you finally nodded and ushered them to follow you. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. But, I can’t guarantee anything.”

You saw Markus’ shoulders relax and he gave you a kind smile with a nod as a thanks. Your heart skipped a beat at such a sight. He was actually quite handsome and whoever had him before he became deviant must’ve been very lucky. 

You led them into a discreet room towards the back of the warehouse with a table in the middle of it. Everyone knew that’s where you worked for the most part so not many ever came by to interrupt you. It was surrounded with different materials for your operations with an apron in the corner, perfectly clean as if it wasn’t covered in blue blood many times before. 

Thank God for thirium evaporation. You would’ve been given away a long time ago if it wasn’t for that. 

“Set him down there, please.” You ordered, pointing to the table as you turned your back to them and put the apron on. Once you tied the knot behind you, you swiveled around and froze at the amount of androids in the room. Four. You rarely ever got to experience more than one at a time when deviants would come to see you. Sighing, you shuffled over to the door and leaned outside, taking one last survey of the area to see if anyone was around before closing it and locking it. 

You noticed the PJ500 model and the woman stand by each other in the corner away from you as Markus stood over the injured android. You put on a pair of surgeon gloves and walked over to the table that was already starting to be stained blue. “Can I ask what the rest of your names are?” You ask, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

“Simon…” The PL600 grunted as you slowly removed his hand away from his covered wound to inspect what happened.

The other man in the corner in the room was next to reply. “Josh.”

The girl was last and the most cautious. It was obvious she still didn’t trust you despite having heard a lot about you from the others back at Jericho. You were human after all.

“And that’s North.” Markus said on her behalf, his gaze lingering on her a bit as sort of a ‘knock it off’ before he looks at Simon once more. “We’re not used to this kind of...treatment from a human. We’ve all had out fair share of unpleasant encounters with them. So, going to one for help is certainly new for us.” 

You chuckle a bit before grabbing a pair of tweezers nearby and gently moving the skin and parts around inside the wound, trying to find what you were looking for. “It’s alright.” You shrugged, feeling your tool knock into something small and hard. “You guys aren’t the first to be suspicious of my intentions.”

“Hey, Markus.” Josh piped up from his corner. “North and I are gonna stand outside on watch. That alright?”

The leader gave them a small nod. “Just be careful.”

You waited until they left to continue speaking. “I’m surprised careful is still in your vocabulary considering how much trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into.”

A snort came from Simon at your remark which was a little jarring to you. You had to remind yourself they couldn’t feel physical pain like humans can. Once you pulled out the object from his wound, it healed like usual (must’ve been clogging his system) and you handed him a cup of blue liquid for him to drink to replenish what he lost. He took it and thanked you softly before downing it in a blink of an eye. When he was finished, he stood up and swiftly placed the cup back in your hands.

“You truly are a miracle worker like they say.” Simon states, a gracious expression on his face as he give you a little bow. “Thank you.”

You watched as he left the room to meet with the others with only a slight limp. It was obvious he was much more gentler than the people he was around. Almost like a lost child.

“I’d like to thank you once again as well.” Markus said, his tall stature causing him to hover over you. “We would’ve lost many of ours if it wasn’t for you.”

“How could I deny a legend?” You smirk, beginning to put away your tools so it can at least look a little tidier for the next deviant that comes along.

He raised his eyebrows briefly, breaking eyes contact with a smile of his own before he paused, suddenly overwhelmed with confusion. “All humans hate us.” His statement made you stop in the middle of putting an item away and face him. “What’s stopping you from doing the same?”

You pursed your lips in thought, having never considered the possibility of you hating androids like others have. “Have all humans been terrible in your experience?”

The question made Markus’ stare fall to the floor in sadness once he remembered his time with Carl. “No, actually. Quite the opposite.”

“The same goes for humans with androids. People are scared of what they don’t know.”

“We’re scared of what we do know, (Y/N). You’re one of the few who actually sees us for what we are. The rest will never understand.”

“They won’t understand if you don’t give them a chance to.” You whipped out your phone and pulled up an image from online and showed it to him. “They will never give you a chance if they see this.”

Fire. Chaos. Screaming. Crying. Deviants. Humans.

That’s what was on the screen. 

You were showing him a result of one of his many riots from a different perspective.

“They will only see you as an enemy, if they haven’t already, if you continue things this way.”

Markus gently pushed the screen away from him and stepped away from you. “I came here for help and I received it. I don’t need a lecture along with it.” He shook his head, hatred making its way across his features. “You spend years researching what I live everyday. Even you will never truly see what it’s like for us. Do not tell me what is right from wrong.”

He began walking towards the door before you stopped him with a hold on his wrist. “What was your life like before all this?”

His back was to you, not even bothering to turn around. “I was Carl Manfred’s android.”

You let out a little gasp and quickly dropped your grasp on him. You’d seen the articles about the famous artist losing his life to a heart attack. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Markus moved his head to the side to look at you, still not turning fully. “He’d still be alive if humans hadn’t gotten in the way.” His shoulders fell, his determined leader facade beginning to crack. “If only I hadn’t listened. If I had pushed back and not endured. He’d still be here.” 

That’s when he decided to face you fully, revealing the worn down look on his face. The weight of a whole revolution showing itself in one single expression. 

“Now, I’m fixing that mistake.” He hissed, a fiery look in eyes. “I’m pushing back.”

Despite the fact you barely knew him, you wanted to reach out and hold him, letting it know it was gonna be alright. And somehow you suspected that he knew that’s what you were thinking, and he backed away from you once more.  

“I don’t need your pity.”

The android made his way to the door, his long coat flowing behind him triumphantly despite him being so tired (or, at least, what tired would be for an android). You resisted the urge to call out to him and ask him to stay. There was so much more about him that you wanted to know. But, you knew deep down that he’d might not ever feel comfortable enough to share what he’s truly been through with someone like you. A human. 

He gave you one last purposeful look before leaving you with the last words that Elijah gave you before his disappearance.

“I’ll be back soon.”

-

[masterlist]

TAGS:

@stars-with-citrus​ @aproxied​ @polimollykari​ @timedthyme

Please join my new narrative taglist [here] to keep yourself updated along with other stories!

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on The White People Waambulance, Chapters 18 and 19

• Sorry this QT is coming out so late, guys. I regret to say my heart wasn't really in this one...and it hasn't been with regards to my QTs for a while. This one might be my last, unless we count me finishing them off for the (not rewritten) Book 1. It's been two years since I began, and the last two books made the process honestly really exhausting.

• I clubbed the two finale chapters together because I really couldn't be bothered to do separate ones for both.

• In fact...I won't be doing any of what I have been doing for my QTs so far. I'll be honest to you: I usually do multiple replays, the last few in tandem with the other routes on YouTube. I go through the scenes one by one. I keep note of differences and variations and carefully choose screenshots that will reflect the gist of the scenes.

But I couldn't be bothered to do any of that this time. I pressed the "continue" and then the "end book" buttons as soon as I finished my first run of those chapters. I'm drained, guys. And I don't think I'll be coming back to the TRH series at least, not even for Liam or Hana or Kiara. Maybe my mind will change by the time the second book comes out (update from present-day Lizzy: no it didn't) but I'm not counting on it. And you'll probably know why by the time this QT ends.

• TW: Discussions on racism, both fandom racism and from within the narrative. The last section of this QT is going to be...pretty heavy, guys.

There's also going to be a lot of anti-Drake, anti-Olivia, anti-Madeleine and anti-Penelope content here, so if you like any of those characters...well, you've been warned.

The ensuing post is going to be LONG, and I know a lot of you have good reasons not to deal with long posts, so here's a tldr:

1. The TRR writing team stick to their weird obsession for jobless whiny white men.

2. Read this book once and you'll feel like you're drowning in an ocean of white tears.

3. WOC continue to get scraps from the writing team, even as they boast of being diverse and inclusive. In fact, they're regularly treated as mere tokens, exotic eye-candy or non-entities, while their behaviour is measured on standards that are very different from their white counterparts (this happens in other books as well).

...okay I wasn't expecting for the tldr to be long too 😅

• Me @ my QTs then:

Me @ my QTs now:

• I'll probably be finishing off my TRR Book 1 QT series when I'm a little less burnt out, but for now this is where it ends, I guess.

• So...here is to summarize the last two chapters: Accident happens. LIs mad. Paparazzi sad (but largely get away scot-free). MC and baby safe. At the Council meeting Kiara slam dunks the murderer of Liam's mother with the style and elegance this fandom still refuses to acknowledge her for. The MC is nice to her for like half a second. Last Apple Ball. New clothes for everyone as if they had a Diwali bumper sale the week before or something. Godfrey is somehow responsible for the security (who thought this was a good idea) and seeing the Auvernese Royal Guard outside our doors is SO not-creepy.

We get to see if we impressed our Auvernese and Monterriso allies enough. Bradshaw compliments Kiara for like half a second. Olivia sees the dude from the Q&A session (Jin) at the Ball and (if you pay) you get to see her catch, interrogate and lowkey flirt with him.

Leona and Bianca make it to the ball (where is Bartie Sr. Where are Xinghai and Lorelei. Where is Regina) and this time the narrative makes sure to shoehorn a plot element into their presence here: Leona is there so we can do something about the reveal that she constantly ratted us out to the press for money. ("oh look! Walker Ranch was plot related after all! We have a reason (albeit a flimsy, paper-thin one) to set 9 whole chapters in Texas. Even though we had to literally come up with this bit in the last minute, because really - all we wanted to do as a writing team was nut collectively over Drake Walker")

(I also can't believe that between the time I wrote this line and the time this QT finally came out - they literally found a way to re-fucking-write Book 1 so they could nut collectively over Drake Walker earlier)

• Why were we required to dress down in Texas for these assholes when they couldn't even bother to dig up their Sunday best for this ball??? Oh right, they're Walkers. Hypocrisy runs in the family.

• Good thing is you can choose to banish Leona if you want. She's angry about it for a second then accepts it and leaves. But like what is the point of banishing her when she hardly even bothers to come there in the first place? She's not going to be bawling her eyeballs out saying "boohoo, they threw me out of this country that I spent like five minutes in and never even wanted to visit in the first place".

• Bianca is present at the end of Chapter 18 mainly to deliver to us a plot point at the very last minute: a clue about where we could find proof about Queen Eleanor's murder. Bianca mentions conversations Jackson had with her, and a secret room somewhere. Her leaving the palace and abandoning her children is addressed, and the MC gets to berate her. It's...short.

• Why this important piece of information was given to Bianca when idk LEO could have pitched in and spoken about it, no one knows. Oh wait. I keep forgetting. Bianca is Drake's mother. That's why.

• Okay so Amalas valiantly found out about Leona's involvement in this and gave us tangible proof via photographs. But we're kiiiinda forgetting that the scrutiny and privacy invasions were happening even before we hauled ass to Walker Ranch? Who was responsible for those? Who was the "source" that the Chapter 17 paparazzo was referring to, the one that mentioned they would triple the price for more photos of the Queen/Mother of the Heir (Coz like why would she do that. She's already broke)? How did Amalas come by this information so easily and why was she really that invested? Why is no one asking these questions? Why isn't the group asking these questions? Why are they stupid. Jesus, they're all so stupid. HOW ARE YOU SO STUPID, SQUAD.

• Shortly after they get rid of Leona and Bianca, the rest of the group give the happy couple a choice of toys for the nursery - and that's our final nursery purchase. You can either go for the corgi - which is on brand for the series by now I think - or the lion, which is seen as very Cordonian.

• More party shenanigans. We're nice to Kiara for another half-second. Kiara arranges a photoshoot for us. The team can't pretend to give a fuck anymore about its fans so they will ask us to pay for an edit that I've seen millions of edit-creators in the fandom do wayyyy better. Like let's be honest - compare the engagement shoot pics (messy as they were) to the shoots we eventually got this book. You can see the difference. You can tell which one required more work.

• Anyway, if you choose this scene you wind up going back to the ballroom, dance with your spouse, aaaaand it's time for another diamond option. This time your spouse gives you something you've been craving (mousse parfait for the Liam MC, chocolate chip cookies for the Hana MC, handmade chocolates for the Maxwell MC and a choice between bacon and a veg version of it for the Drake MC. Damn, team TRR. Your favouritism is showing). The couple also writes a letter to the baby that the child can read growing up, in a bit of a parallel to Eleanor's letter to Liam that we see at the end of the chapter.

• After this, Liam reveals he has been pondering over what Bianca said, and wants to find out where they could find that secret room. Cue Liam's own flashback scene for free. Godfrey bringing to Queen the same goblet that the RoE MC found in a flea market in Book 2 for Regina (or perhaps just a similarish one). Liam and Eleanor reciting a rhyme that turns out to have clues for the secret room.

• To give the team credit, they seem to have (finally) put some thought into this. Like this actually feels like Liam's scene. Not one that delivers information about his family but is really about another character. They seem to incorporate all the things Eleanor seemed to be known for - things that were hardly addressed in the books when it came to talk of her. She is shown with a love for books given that books and poetry form an important part of the clues she leaves for Liam. One of the books is about foraging, which is unsurprising considering her love for gardens that was established in Book 1 of TRR.

• So...like...nice job but why was practically everything about Eleanor (including the way she'd stand up to Constantine, her displeasure at the sound of Godfrey and Bartie's names, her nature that Liam not only inherited but also learned) left only for your finale? Why no buildup? Why was I seeing you lot constantly pandering to Drake's family the entire time? Why do I know way, way more about Jackson than I do about Eleanor whose story this WAS? Why is she and her son suddenly getting this burst of attention at the tail end??

• They still manage to push young!Drake into a scene focusing on Liam and Eleanor, so we can see how Eleanor's teaching of how to be a responsible royal began to make inroads into Liam's way of thinking. It's the ultimate irony, that Liam took his mother's advice so much to heart that he lets Drake stay in his home, eat his food, and complain about those dastardly nobles to his heart's content for free.

Poor Eleanor in her grave is like

• Very fitting, how Constantine's proposal to Eleanor happens in the hedge maze, very much like Liam's first declaration of love in Book 1.

• If you're married to Liam, you get an extra letter that's addressed to Liam's future wife. She clearly knew her days were to be numbered by the time she gave birth to that second child at least.

• Lmao @ how the team somehow managed to remember that Eleanor would have been Leo's stepmother too. He's mentioned a couple of times. They didn't have enough time to develop a sprite for young!Leo but somehow had all the time and resources to make one for young!Savannah who had literally no purpose in Drake's flashback scene? Hmm. Hmm.

• They somehow manage to find the twin to the RoE MC's gifted goblet that Godfrey gave Eleanor the night she died, and Liam reveals that he's been obsessed with poisons enough to know that it wasn't the drink that was poisoned, it was the cup itself. Everyone is shook.

• Love that extra little detail about Liam's obsession with learning about poisons and how it's a sign of how deeply Eleanor's death affected him. But tell me honestly if you remember this plot point coming up even once before in any significant way. Even during the one time a person is poisoned in the previous book (by the laws of karma, the victim in this instance is Godfrey's only daughter) Liam shows very few signs of this "obsession". At a time when he has also lost a father. Convenient how something that could have added more depth to Liam is kept aside until there's a scene where his knowledge is required. Convenient indeed.

• I kind of understand why Liam acts on impulse, okay. The man just discovered who murdered his mum, at least some amount of irrationality is allowed (esp considering he hardly got to express ANYTHING when his goddamn father died). But you'd think Liam's friends would hold him back and help him think this through? Convince him that there are more effective ways to confront and get a confession out of Godfrey who after is in charge of security at the moment? You seriously think charging into the ballroom and suddenly stripping this man of his titles is going to actually work??? You couldn't figure out how to make him vulnerable instead so that he wouldn't be able to escape???

• I mean like, sure, one could always rationalize it all as "well see Lizzy, they needed a dramatic end to this story and they needed to wrap this mystery up quick". But there were other ways they could have spread it out than make it all sound so...so random. And you bet we all know why the narrative had to scramble around last minute to solve this. It's because we spend half the damn book in a dilapidated ranch with a shit family!

• Anyway, Godfrey escapes...and the MC tells her spouse that she's going into labour after...two contractions? Um. Okay.

• So. That ends Book 1 of this new series. And with it my QTs, for this series at least. My QTs for Book 1 (the OG, not the rewrite) might continue, but I'd need to repeat my failplay again because I lost most of those screenshots 😭

General Thoughts on the Book:

• So far, this is what I can see as happening in the next book:

- The birth, obviously

- Any extra perks from our purchases (ie. the nursery and the garden)

- Subplots involving the LIs' conflicts regarding parenthood and their own childhoods

- The mystery behind Eleanor's death isn't quite over yet, nor is the truth behind the constant paparazzi presence in TRH. Leona was the scapegoat this time around, but how did Amalas get all this information so quickly?

- Where is Eleanor's other child? Olivia's investigations may or may not lead to that answer. I'm pretty sure Jin might be involved as well.

- Another possibility is that Madeleine may give us important information since she was potentially aware that Eleanor was pregnant at the time.

- The mystery behind Jackson's death and what he knew regarding Eleanor's condition.

- What part did Bartie Sr have to play in all this? How involved was Constantine in the murder (if in fact he was)? What more dark secrets will we learn about Constantine, Godfrey and Bartie Sr during this time? What ultimately caused the breakdown in Constantine and Jackson's relationship, since Drake mentions Jackson being around when Regina was Queen as well?

- Speaking of Regina, how involved was she in any of this? We know she was Godfrey's cousin-in-law and Bartie Sr made a comment on her during the announcement about the heir, and that she married Constantine a couple years after Eleanor's death, but was she aware of any of this or was she largely out of the major plot and brought in later to cement Godfrey's position and power?

- I'd mention the possibility that Lorelai could know something, but they didn't really give anyone connected to Hana any time at all, so I have my doubts.

- Operation Swan, and possibly a visit to Monterisso. Liam's younger sibling must be in one of these places but my guess is on Monterisso.

- I'm guessing the team will write a nice wedding for Penelope and Ezekiel next book, while Kiara continues to get scraps from the same team.

- Drake and Olivia will continue to eat into the plot. Madeleine will join this unholy trinity as well because they've set the stage for her to have plenty of angst.

With that over, these were my thoughts once this book was finished:

WHERE ARE THE DUCHESSES?

Remember how, back in Book 3, we all marvelled at the number of women in this country who were in positions of power? Adeleide and Emmeline were powerful duchesses while their husbands were secondary figures, and Joelle though married into a noble family is an influential artist and - according to Liam - the embodiment of King Fabian's values. It seemed like, despite the underlying sexism and racism in the story, women were at least at the forefront of Cordonian politics.

This is virtually gone in TRH1. Godfrey (who wasn't even interested in Krona in the first place, much less Cordonia) and Landon (whose only concern seemed to be Penelope, leaving Emmeline to manage the duchy) have a seat in the Council. In fact we never even see either of these woman in the book. I can maybe understand the logic behind not appointing Adeleide, but the fact that Emmeline is passed over for her far-less -qualified husband is a mystery to me!

Also, has anyone noticed how white-male-centered the whole Eleanor story is? Notice how we never see Eleanor's friends, besides Jackson? We never see any of the courtly ladies of that era? She's the Queen. She'd have her own court. I find it impossible that Eleanor would have no interactions of importance among her own goddamned court, that Joelle, Emmeline or Adeleide wouldn't even be mentioned in her story thus far. It's fascinating that forget being part of her story - these women are largely forgotten in the book itself.

(Note: It's also important to add that none of Kiara's family - besides Zeke - makes an appearance this book. At all. One member of Penelope's family and one member of Madeleine's family is in the council, but we never really see or hear anything from Kiara's, even though Hakim was Constantine's old friend and Joelle could have easily been connected to Eleanor, given that Eleanor was exactly the kind of ruler Joelle would have loved and respected.

While we're on that subject, Lorelai could have been connected to Eleanor as well - considering that we know next to nothing about her years in Shanghai. There were ways Hana's story could have been tied into the overall plot as well that were largely ignored. The fact that both the main and secondary WOCs presented opportunities for better plot and story, and despite that they were largely ignored in the books...I think that says a lot. But I will get into more of that in detail in a different section).

LI SPACE AND STORY

• Now...as we all know, The TRR/TRH series is primarily a romance-focused book first, with an underlying plot about royalty and politics. So it makes sense to evaluate the book based on what it gives its love interests. That includes the number of scenes they get, and the kind of focus their story is given. So...here's the rundown of how that goes in TRH Book 1:

Liam: Overall, not too bad. He gets one individual scene, a free and paywalled childhood scene (though the free one is essential for the group's realization of who killed Eleanor). The letter his mother writes to Liam includes an extra section towards the end, meant for the MC who marries him. However, we must note that a lot of this "attention" was thrust into the very final chapter of this book, and 99% of the same book didn't exactly make an attempt to explore his inner thoughts on anything - his mother's death, the dealings with the foreign countries, his political activities. Eleanor being pregnant came from a scene that made Olivia the center of attention, the MC had the opportunity to ask him how he was feeling only once or twice, and most of the time the narrative relegated it all to "the matter is still being investigated". It's a slight improvement from the absolute lack of concern the MC and the narrative showed about Liam's emotional state post his father's death in Book 3, but not much.

Variations wise, the team did step up on the basic ones for most of the LIs, so clearly we've moved past the days of seeing cut-paste scenes and the likes of Liam and Hana saying "I'm so dumb in love with you". However, in playthroughs where the MC is Liam's wife and Queen of Cordonia, her lack of genuine concern for her country and lack of curiosity about the place she's ruling, sticks out like a sore thumb. The fandom loves to highlight how the plot is "written for Liam" or is "easier in Liam's playthrough", but besides his own child being the heir, nothing else from Book 3 onwards seems like it was particularly written with him in mind.

Drake: Hoo boy. So 2019 was clearly the year that many people didn't believe me about Drake eating up space, and the year they had to eat their words because in TRH it was too obvious to be ignored. On an overall scale you cannot avoid the extra perks even his LI scenes got - his Valtoria scene in Chapter 4 was longer, set in a different place and he was allowed to expand on his decision to say yes to Liam's request in a way Hana and Maxwell never were. We learned way more about his familial relationships and dynamics than all the LIs combined. His childhood scene was the first to be given variants depending on whether the MC was his wife or not. His sister's wedding takes up almost half the book, leaving little to no space for either the intrigue, or even the pregnancy that was supposed to be THE most important part of the book.

An insane amount of retconning was done to emphasize strongly on the "marshmallow" part of his personality, having him state time and again that for the MC he can even "sport a tutu if you said you had a thing for the Sugar Fairy". Part of these changes could be attributed to the backlash the team got for having him call a pink cake "girly".

There is a strong possibility that Jackson might be explored further in the second book, and it's no surprise considering that he's the one parent that is most talked about in the series. The book looks like it was truly written with Drake in mind, with a heavy dose of Olivia, and everyone else was added as a bit of an afterthought.

Maxwell: Pretty awful treatment for a character that the head writer of the team claims to like. He has no individual character scenes, and one childhood scene where his older brother Bertrand is given more focus. Ironically, Maxwell was more wary of Bartie Sr in TRR Book 2 than Bertrand was, but somehow they changed this little detail so that Maxwell could be written out of his own story.

His LI scenes were also not given much effort - some were badly written, and some scenes (like the free ones) showed little to no variations between the friendly and romantic playthroughs. One that comes to mind is the baby announcement photoshoot, which was so poorly done it added nothing of value to the character or the relationship.

Like the last book, Maxwell isn't allowed much development in TRH1, and he's still forced into a largely "court jester" role in the story. This reflects very poorly on him in certain situations, such as the chapter where we finally get glimpses of his book. The aim was to be humourous and light about the events of the series, but he comes out of it sounding thoroughly insensitive towards his friends, none of whose consent he took to write this self-centered pile of garbage.

However, there is hope that they might do things a bit better for him next book, if the rewrite of him in TRR 2.0 was anything to go by. However, it would be awful if they tried to do a better job of him and then left out Hana. Speaking of which...

Hana: I'm going to begin this section with a comparison to another character, someone who should have been treated as a secondary character - Olivia.

Olivia in this book has 2 character scenes (they're very plot driven, but they also explore her outside of her friendship with the MC and dynamic with the group). The spy scene with Auvernese royalty, and the scene with Jin, the Auvernese spy. An entire chapter is spent in her duchy (by now we've seen Lythikos four times and I'm now sick of the place), and she winds up taking over Maxwell's Q&A scene as well.

So that's technically 2.5 scenes AND a childhood scene that revolves around her even though it's about Liam's mother. In addition to this, Olivia also gets her own mini-book, The Royal Holiday, that revolves (again) around her duchy and has the group clamouring to give her attention when no one else wants to.

Here are the stats for Hana, who by virtue of being an LI, is also a potential co-protagonist in the series:

Nothing.

Zilch. Zip. Zero. Nada. Nothing.

She has one childhood scene that is part of the group's scenes - a beautiful, heartbreaking one that serves as a slap in the face to anyone who'd dared to be dismissive of what she went through earlier - but none after that, and no individual scenes either. The team - in one of their most offensive choices this book - force a storyline where she has fertility issues just so the MC can be the one carrying the child, and the same MC can opt(!!) to ask about her well-being after two days. The same MC has the chance to whine about not getting pregnant soon enough in front of Hana.

There have been a few efforts made to make the MC appear more caring towards Hana: she can angrily defend Hana against Isabella's jibes, and she can make Hana relax for once during the baby shower (unlike the wedding reception where the same MC treated her like a bridesmaid). The MC even gets to tell her wife that she should never consider herself secondary or unimportant.

All of these are nice, but at the end of the day they're all scraps. I'd equate it to how we're allowed to give Kiara compliments on the final two chapters, but the white women around her still get a far bigger chunk of space, story and attention dedicated to them. The team have a pattern of adding these tiny tidbits that will temporarily satisfy stans while still maintaining the status quo, and that's precisely what's happening here. Its important for us to understand this. Underneath all this surface concern and all these scraps, Hana is still getting dust in place of actual story and characterization. And given that they made ZERO major changes to Hana's scenes in TRR 2.0, I'm not expecting that to change.

As for the book in general...I don't have to go into why this book is a mess, do I? We all know. We've all witnessed how disproportionate the writing has been and while I'm glad more and more people recognize what I've been seeing since Book 3, it's sad that it took 9 whole chapters in Walker Ranch for so many to understand exactly how much space Drake has been eating up for no good reason.

BLACK HOLES AND WHITE TEARS

I'll begin this section by talking about Drake Walker. He's the most prominent sign of the larger problem.

Drake Walker is what I call a Black Hole LI. And yes I mean black hole as in the one that exists in space (Beckett from TE also fits into this category). He is the kind of LI that sucks up everything. Love. Light. Joy. Common sense. Other characters' spaces.

He is the kind of love interest that will have Liam's traumatic experience centered around him. The kind of love interest for whose problems - largely created by his mammoth ego - we have to resolve in Shanghai, the home of the lone female LI. While that same female LI gets nothing, and then disappears in a subsequent chapter. The kind of love interest whose love confession can take precedence even over the MC's own issues (remember the Beaumont House chapter in Book 1? The one that took place the day after Tariq nonconsensually kissed the MC? 98% of the dialogue revolved around Drake's feelings. Not about the faulty lock, not the possibility that the MC's security had been tampered with - Drake's feelings). The kind of love interest that was given an entire extra wedding and artwork for his mother in Book 3 itself - none of which were given to any other LI.

A Black Hole LI is totally the kind of LI that would get 9 whole chapters in their home while we have never even visited the homes of the others since the early books of the previous series.

This wasn't something that began just this book. It's been a constant since Book 2, and you can even see signs of his story gaining way more importance in Book 1. It's also not something we can - in all honesty - blame simply on finances and fan popularity: the writers confirmed Drake to be one of their favourites, and attempts to give his scenes additional perks (eg plot elements pushed into both the Whiskey scene and the Beaumont Office scene) happened long before they could make any conclusions about his popularity. I bought the Beaumont Office scene to find out more about that family. I bought the Marshmallow scene so I could find out more about Liam and Hana's conversation post Coronation (remember - Hana was never even allowed to speak about her return to Cordonia because that scene was given to Drake). I bought the Italian Restaurant scene to learn more about Liam's assassination. The funny thing about all these three is that these were their stories to tell, yet Drake is the focus. Quite a few of Drake's initial scenes sold because the team consistently made the effort, consistently ensured that the information from his scenes would benefit us in the long run. The narrative allowed for Drake to have his own story, and additionally let aspects of his story overshadow that of the other LIs' (see the examples I've given above). Even though he has very little of value to contribute to the larger story (no job, his friendships are shallower than a wash-basin, and no genuine communication with any commoner in the story - only endless whining).

The treatment Drake gets that no other LI does, is a problem in itself, but it also is a small part of an even bigger issue. He isn't the only white character who gets this sort of attention and detail to his story.

Take Olivia, for example. Started out as a rival to the MC, before her sad sad childhood and her genuine love for Liam was revealed in the Book 1 finale. Over the course of the story, her role changed from petty rival to Warrior Duchess to reluctant bff. Over the course of the original series, Olivia became one of the most prominent characters in the story, on par with the male LIs. I'm not sure how many people realize that Lythikos is the ONLY duchy in the kingdom we've seen thrice (four times if you count Holiday). To give you an idea of how big a deal that is, here's how many times we've visited other duchies besides the capital and Applewood:

Fydelia - 2

Portavira - 1

Castelserraillian - 1

Ramsford (the home of our sponsors!) - 1

Hana's mother's home - Never.

Lythikos has a detailed familial and cultural history, and I wouldn't be lying if I said we know more about this one region than we know about the entire country of Cordonia. And honestly for me, the obsession with this one duchy has reached saturation point. Lythikos is not Cordonia. Lythikos is not all there is to Cordonia or even the only place that should matter. Yet it seems the team is more than eager to flog that horse until there's nothing of interest left.

Olivia is the only character who gets an entire mini book that revolves around comforting her and making her feel better about her background and origins. I don't think we've ever given Hana this much attention when she left her home for us. Or when she was being bullied by Madeleine. Or when she was the other bride in that grand wedding. Or when we received the news that carrying a child to term would be dangerous for her body. Or --

We were given an entire mini-book to comfort Olivia - the woman who continued to call Hana "damaged goods" and " a failure" for not marrying a man, while Hana's friend/wife stood by and watched. The woman who didn't have to think twice before making snide remarks about an equally skilled courtier who never did her any harm, only because she could get away with it. Istg when I heard that most of the court snubbed her during that first event in Holiday, this was my reaction:

Like girl I feel bad for you but at least now you know how it feels to be held responsible for shit beyond your control!

Hana, in the meantime, is forced time and again into situations that would break most people - but with very little payoff. Her arc with her parents was given a resolution that confirmed that Hana could only be considered worthy if she was useful. She was made to interact time and again with the woman who harmed her with such glee in Book 2. The MC - as a friend or as a wife - is at best neglectful of her issues and at worst someone who uses and discards Hana as she sees fit. And now...in her romantic playthrough she's given a storyline that doesn't allow her to bear children easily, and the MC spends less than two minutes to actually check on her. Hana is one of the co-protagonists, yet a side character given the treatment she should be getting. One could technically blame finances for the way she's being treated too, but keep in mind that the bad treatment goes as far back as the Applewood chapters in Book 1. Technically a time when she was bringing in money.

I get it. Olivia is a fan favourite. Many in the fandom wanted her to be an LI, the writers didn't, so they carved out this middle path where she'd have a major portion of the story anyway. But keep in mind that a lot of this attention came - and is still coming - at the cost of Hana. The team pretty much gave Olivia what they'd been refusing to give Hana all along.

On a smaller scale, you see similar patterns with the secondary characters - especially the women of the court. Madeleine and Penelope had elaborate backstories designed to make people forgive and sympathize with them, and Kiara - even though her backstory in Book 1 was inherently tragic and deserved to be handled sensitively - was given validation with great reluctance from the team, and with no consequences if we treated her cruelly. Even now, the team has only tossed Kiara a couple of scraps in the final chapter, while already setting the stage for Madeleine to get her own tragic "patriotism" arc for TRH Book 2, and a possible wedding for Penelope in the near future.

The difference here doesn't just lie in who gets attention and who doesn't. It lies in how the MC is supposed to view these women as well. A lot more sympathy and understanding is automatically extended to the white women, and the MC faces consequences if she fails to acknowledge their pain. Far less sympathy is offered by default to the black and the Asian woman - the MC may be friends with Hana but a huge chunk of their relationship is mostly about the MC benefiting from Hana's skills without giving much in return.

Even though their misdeeds are acknowledged and spoken about, both Madeleine and Penelope are written in such a way that the problems they're currently facing matter more than anything they've ever done in the past. Hana is made to sweet-talk Madeleine despite being bullied by her in a previous book. The MC herself never gets ANY opportunity to directly address what Penelope put her through in Portavira, because what the MC went through matters less than Penelope's condition.

Compare this to the relatively small scale of Kiara's "misdeed" (being honest about not continuing with an alliance - I'm surprised people think this is an actual thing to be offended about!), and the way the MC is allowed to mistreat her sans consequences afterwards. We're even allowed to call Kiara a snob in the books - which isn't at all true if you look at any of her scenes in canon - and constantly make fun of her desire to learn (in fact, if anyone in the series could be called a snob, it would be Olivia). If I were to sum up how a woman of colour is spoken about in the books, vs a white woman - this screenshot would do the trick:

(Notice how none of the options to speak about Penelope allow us to speak rudely of her, yet in Kiara's case we're allowed to make judgements on her as a person. In Hana's case, while we don't exactly drag her the way we can drag Kiara - we get precious few opportunities to actually defend or support her when others talk rubbish about her).

When you explore the series overall, it's impossible to ignore the casual racism that makes disrespecting people of a certain race/colour easier than on another. It's impossible not to see where the narrative chooses to give consequences to an MC who treats a white woman badly, and where it allows the very same MC to suspect, and then (optionally) gaslight, a woman of colour a couple chapters later. It's impossible not to see which people are meant to be respected despite their bad behaviour, and which people can still be treated badly despite their better behaviour. It's impossible not to see a pattern emerging.

This is not even a problem that plagues only the TRR series. From TCaTF to ACOR to Platinum to even MoTY, there is an ongoing pattern of discrepancies between the way white people and people of colour - particularly women - are treated. Many POC characters are placed in situations where it's easier for them to suffer/die/be shown disrespect, than it is to show them kindness or mercy. MOC are regularly either exoticized (Prince Hamid is the most glaring example of this) or placed in very traumatic situations for which the payoff isn't always going to be that great (I know this happens to Dallas, but I don't know about the payoff for Syphax).

WOC particularly suffer quite a bit in a lot of PB novels, in comparison to their white counterparts. Rowan Thorne of TCaTF, as a character, didn't deserve for her death to be made easier than her survival (in contrast to Diavolos, who was given far more opportunities AND will live simply by virtue of allying with Kenna), any more than Kiara deserved to be interrogated by the people who should have been concerned for her safety or Xanthe deserved to be shipped to slavery. All this, while a Vanessa (who is in a position of power and who plays an active role in rendering the MOTY MC financially helpless) gets a diamond scene where she "explains" her situation and a Madeleine doesn't even have to hear about her bullying from her victims.

The fandom, too, has contributed to this on a number of occasions. Speaking specifically of TRR, how many times have we seen Hana being dragged on Olivia posts? (also, if we were really measuring Olivia by the impossible standards that we held for Hana's characterization, Olivia would appear pretty damn one-note too: after all, 80% of her characterization consists of knife jokes). How many times was Hana being looked at with disdain for either her niceness or the poor writing for her, while the same fandom would regularly coo over a nice-presenting Penelope (whose characterization is one of the most inconsistent in the series)? How many times have we seen Kiara being called a creep/obsessed for merely looking at a man, while almost no one judges Olivia for kissing a man without his consent? How many times have people forgiven a traitorous Penelope and hated on a far more innocent Kiara in the same breath? How often did the fandom hate on Liam for accepting the MC's advances after she rejected him, yet not say a word when Drake did the same thing? How many times has Maxwell been loved for his humour and childlike nature while people of colour with a similar personality (Lily from Bloodbound, for example) were hated on instantly? Clearly, there have been more instances of people in the fandom sympathizing automatically with the white character, than with characters of colour. Time and again, brown and black characters - particularly women - have been required to match up to impossible standards (if they're nice they're boring. If they don't like the MC they're <insert every gendered sexist insult you can think of here>). The standards are far more relaxed for white characters, and they're often given more breathing room and to most of what they want without the constant judgement that black and brown women get. The standards set up for both are grossly different.

Racism is a beast that assumes many forms - and not all forms of racism will appear obvious to some, especially when such stereotypes are so normalized in media and popular fiction that we almost accept it at first. Almost. To get to the root of why there's such an imbalance in this series - among others - we need to first acknowledge the sexism and racism that are such a vital part of its narrative, and that its fandom regularly buys into and (sometimes unwittingly) promotes.

At this point, it's important to understand that having queer characters or characters of colour simply exist in the books isn't enough. Token rep can be found in PB's books by the dozens, but at the end of the day it means nothing if there is a constant reluctance, over and over and over, to treat those characters with the same care and sensitivity that they treat their white ones (or their "exoticized brown" ones).

• Like I mentioned earlier, I won't be playing TRH from this point forward, but I do hope to finish my TRR QTs soon. I have a LOT of thoughts! If you'd like to be tagged on those, do tell me!

[stinky-and-the-pain]

& then there was one

my parents finished renovating our house my freshman year of high school. i was 14 and finally had my own room...a place i didn’t have to share with my 11 year old brother or my 3 year old sister. i painted it green & a couple of months later painted a tree on one wall and filled the branches with lord of the rings quotes. it was my sanctuary. 

my grandma gifted me my first laptop around the same time. she won it in a company sweepstakes and gave it to me because she had one already. it was the coolest thing. we had a family computer in the office (nee playroom) that i had played both sims 2 and 3 on. but now i could take the sims to my room! 

amongst other things. 

i played skyrim religiously after my brother got bored of the xbox, as he was also gifted a playstation 4 along with GTA V. i also adored several creators on youtube, at that time a bastion of comedic skits and random tangential clips lasting no more than 6 minutes or so. i felt deeply invested in the community -- not so much with fellow audience members but with the youtubers themselves; as if these videos were a two-way conversation. shane dawson led to desandnate led to smosh led to kalel cullen led tobuscus led to pewdiepie led to cryaotic, etc., etc. they were great! 

forget the boy bands of the 90s and early 2000s....which youtuber did you want to date? SMASH + fuck, marry, kill in the back of the chilly and damp bus driving home from a scholastic bowl meet. my heart ached for these people. they appealed so deeply to me and i fell madly in love with them all. and i wasn’t alone; we all fell in love. 

i’m not sure how i found out about omegle. at a slumber party or birthday, someone pulled out their laptop & we could see and chat with strangers. live. no supervision. we were...14? 15? had to be 14 because i succinctly remember laughing a while later when i told a grown man i wasn’t 18 but actually 14 after he had finished for me. all while sitting in my new green bedroom. 

for the longest damn time i thought i had an extremely average adolescence. i was lauded as independent and mature, and took pride in that. maturity meant i was better but also inherently prepared for what life was throwing at me. plus independence meant that i could effectively do whatever i pleased. and to that extent, i never attended a party (though i did sneak over to a boy’s house when i said i was going to a friends’ but that was later figured out and actually excused) but i pursued other exploits. 

another piece of the puzzle is that youtube around 2010 appealed to people exactly my age. and was simultaneously extremely sexual. the mass cancellation of shane dawson is ultimately rooted in his behavior around this time. and this behavior was broadcast to us, 12-14 years old, which signaled to us what could be deemed appropriate. queue me believing that men around the ages of 19-25 could find me, a barely there 14 year old, attractive. and boy did i run with that. 

i spent immeasurable time on omegle. it was thrilling, especially when men’s faces would light up as my video appeared. “finally, a real person and not just a dick!” i remember one, zach herzog (sp?). he was so kind, introducing me to imgur which rounded out my early internet diet. he had a girlfriend but at one point admitted to me that she was not as pretty as i was. we would message on kik for hours. he graduated college a year after we met (my junior year of high school). jake was around that time too. but honestly jake was special in that we met through omegle chat (no video). and we actually chatted for about 3 years, at one time making sure to watch the weekly game of thrones episode (freshly downloaded off pirate bay) together and discussing what went down afterwards. after we skyped with video on, we slowly stopped communicating. 

another, stephen i believe. he was from the UK and i only remember that because of his accent and that i had him say my (fake) name multiple times. i never once used my real name nor talked aloud to these men. always text. but does that matter? over skype, he would send videos of himself jacking off...which would have been pleasant save for the fact he liked smacking his penis near the end and i couldn’t take that seriously. 

the first man i reciprocated for -- that is, i obliged requests to show parts of my body -- was sam. i don’t remember anything too striking about him save he did his business to me while we were still on omegle (only strange because the fashion then was to move to somewhere more ‘private’ and stable like kik or skype) and then promptly ghosted me. somewhere in my hs junior year planner, there are notes to sam asking him if he would ever come back. 

then senior year. so stressed with college applications (i applied to one school) i spent most of my time in my bedroom alone, indulging in a healthy diet of top gear and youtube, by this point dominated by cryaotic and pewdiepie. but i always had time for my dear favorite, capndesdes (of desandnate fame who later made his own solo channel where he published several q&a’s and apartment vlogs). october 2013 and i was wearing his blue ‘crescent moon face’ shirt (referencing the photo booth video). i met Anthony, Mike, and David on omegle. i immediately picked out Anthony and sure enough he was interested. him being in a group, i knew we wouldn’t be doing anything that night but the video chat was fun. the connection even died at one point but we got back in contact as i had shared my twitter (and my real name, though for months he believed my fake name was my middle name because i felt bad telling the truth). i guess i should’ve known this time was different when he insisted on skying the next morning before i went to work. i felt embarrassed for how i looked but he said i looked beautiful. and was so earnest i had to believe him. 

we skyped everyday. every day. essentially right as i got home from school because that’s conveniently when he got off work. oh and i eventually had to admit that my microphone was not in fact broken. we played minecraft and gta on the xbox. he said he planned to visit me one day. but that’s absurd, right? i would laugh and say ‘you’re too much.’

he visited november 9 2013. drove all the way up. i was at my friend’s birthday party. we had just woken up and he revealed he was in our town. i gave him directions to the park so we could meet. i remember running to him from my car, friends sitting in the back seat. we walked about two miles around the park, chatting. he was even more beautiful in person. the sight of the freckles on his nose are still so vivid. even after all these years remembering, my naiveté still strikes me. a day later, he asked me to be my girlfriend as we walked to his car after dinner. i said yes, that i would do him the honor of making him the happiest man on earth. a day later, he took (but i also gave) away my virginity. he met my friends and then we said goodbye on a rainy and cold afternoon. i still sometimes smell the sweet mustiness of that room. 

a handful of memories that are still striking after 7 years:

washing the strawberry lube off myself in my parent’s bathroom, praying they did not ask why i had spent the last 5 afternoons and evenings staying so late at a friend’s house; forcing myself to connect to Lorde’s music after he said he enjoyed her first album; saying that thin mints were my favorite after he admitted to buying too many; taking my adventure time backpack to the hotel room and filling out my cheatsheet for my physics test the next day while he watched and eventually rolled me over to kiss me; feeling too insecure to lead him around town so instead opted to stay silent as he chose what to have for dinner; eating at my favorite local mexican restaurant after losing my virginity; showing my friends the pictures we had taken in the hotel room and them losing their minds. 

after he left, i was devastated. and essentially remained devastated for the next 7 months. i cried the morning after he left, while driving to work and listening to ribs. 

there’ll be more, when i have strength. 

[l-sincline]

Cybernetics- Cyberpunk!Sonic AU- Chapter 4

Amy Rose has been working tirelessly at her broken down booth for as long as she can imagine. Ever since Tails left their work to join forces with the revered hero of Mobius, ‘The Blue Blur’, she’s grown lonely and desperate to make her life exciting. A strange customer comes in one day asking her to fix his cyborg arm, what she didn’t know was that he would be the catalyst for a brand new life.

AO3 Tags:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog), Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik, Rouge the Bat, Whisper the Wolf, Cream the Rabbit, Knuckles the Echidna, Badnik (Sonic the Hedgehog), E-123 Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Angst, Slow Burn, Partners in Crime

AO3 Link

Previous/Next

He had walked Amy back to her booth that night, thanking her for her service on his arm, and claiming that he’d come back if he ever needed anything else. She’d offered for him to come by any time to say hello and thanked him for the dinner, but with his personality she quite frankly doubted she’d ever see him again. She’d turned to walk into her booth, and by the time she’d looked over her shoulder to see which direction he’d already disappeared without a sound. She wondered how he did it.

Anyways, she was feeling quite refreshed this morning. Smiling at every potential customer that passed, fixing minor defects on ProjScreens for free, finally talking to someone outside of work had done a world of good for her. Amy could tell it had cleansed her mind and relaxed her a bit, and she felt a bit more like she had when Tails had co-owned the booth with her. She didn’t know how long this feeling of security and peacefulness would last, but she intended to take advantage of it for as long as she could. So, she put up her ‘be back soon’ sign and stepped out of her booth to go and visit Whisper.

The rusty bell jingled as she pushed open the creaking wood door, Whisper’s weapon shop bustled quietly with activity. A few children stood staring at an impressive sword like weapon in a glass case, and a few seemingly more serious buyers turned a base model of a blaster over in their hands.

“Amy! Come on behind the counter.” Whisper’s damaged voice reached Amy’s perked ears as the mechanic turned to look at the weapon maker and quickly headed to get behind the counter.

“Hey Whisper, sorry I couldn’t do this last night.” She apologized as she walked around the counter to stand in front of the wolf mobian.

“It’s quite fine, I understand being exhausted. I caught a glimpse of the piece you were putting back on, it looked very different from anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“It was pretty strange, but enough about my work, what have you got for me?” Amy redirected the conversation as it twisted to be on ‘Myst’s strange cyborg arms. She was sure he wouldn’t want them to be a topic of conversation, even if she didn’t know him that well, she could tell that much.

Whisper merely nodded in response before reaching under the counter and pulling out the model. As it was, it looked a lot like the metal ‘bag’ structure she’d been picturing.

“It’s made out of aluminum, so when you finish it I’m assuming you’ll make it with perhaps cobalt or some other lightweight strong metal, but this is the base form.” She explained. “The strap is here-“ Whisper popped open a compartment and the strap fell out. She continued to speak as she hooked it on to a loop on either end. “-it has magnetic fibers in it, so when you want to be able to go from using it as a weapon to using it as a bag quickly, it can just attach itself to the outside, as long as your metal is magnetic.” Whisper hung the bag over her shoulder to demonstrate how it looked. When she dropped the bag from her shoulder, she pressed a button on the top and the handle of the hammer shot out the other side. Whisper grasped it by the handle and twirled it a few times before stopping to grip it with both hands in a strong stance. “And here’s the finished product.”

“Wow...” Amy breathed out in awe as Whisper lowered it and handed it to her. “I can’t wait to work on it!” She smiled. “Beautiful work, Whisper, really.”

“I’m glad you think so.” She smiled back. “I can’t do lunch today, unfortunately, but something tells me you want to get to work right away.”

“Right- I’ll see you later, Whisper.” She smiled as Whisper waved a quiet good bye.

Amy weaved through the stands displaying weapons and out onto the busy, outer ring streets, where she dodged mobians walking quickly past her to get back into her booth and put away her ‘be back soon’ sign. She set the model down on her desk and quickly got to work on it, now eagerly hoping that no one would bother her for the rest of the day so she could get it done as soon as possible.

After a few hours of replicating pieces of the aluminum model with cobalt she had almost finished forming the head of the hammer, but it was then that she realized there was an odd silence coming from outside the booth, accompanied from a familiar hum she didn’t quite like to hear. She turned to see the mobians in the street parting the way, parents tucking their kids away, others ducking into alleys to be out of the line of fire of the devilish thing- a Robotnik Robot, easily most common to the outer ring, where people were less likely to be able to defend themselves against the flying robots, and where the government didn’t care to check up on often. The white and black robot hovered off the ground, it’s one beady red ‘eye’ shooting off a beam that it used to scan the crowd. This was normal- it was looking for someone, maybe a citizen had gotten ballsy and kicked one and the Doctor wanted his revenge. It wasn’t as much of revenge as it was an excuse to spill some blood though, she supposed. What she didn’t find normal was when it stopped on her. She hissed in pain and shielded her eyes at the sudden bright light of the robot scanning her.

Subject: Amy Rose

It spoke emotionlessly and Amy froze- what did that mean? Usually it just scanned subjects and moved on- why had it said her name?

Amy Rose, you are the last Mobian in contact with Project Shadow, reveal his whereabouts immediately.

What? Amy shrunk back a bit and found herself grabbing the aluminum hammer, it might fall apart if she used it, but she would still have all the pieces at least.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Amy shouted.

Amy Rose, reveal the whereabouts of Project Shadow.

It repeated with no care for her testimony.

“I don’t know about any ‘Project Shadow’!” Amy shouted again, angrier this time, desperate for the robot to hear her and give up.

Amy Rose will be: Terminated.

She gasped as the robot came shooting towards her, eye beginning to shine as if it were ready to hit her with a terrible blast. In a moment of adrenaline, she spun on her toes and lifted the hammer with both hands. By the time she’d made it all the way back around again, she swung as hard as she could, and BANG- home run.

The Robotnik Robot went flying back out into the street as she followed through and the hammer poised back up behind her head again. It’s white body clanked to the ground and skidded, creating a horrible screeching noise before thunking against the wall of the building opposite of her and powering down. Amy breathed heavily in fear as she lowered the hammer and dropped it to the ground, the reality of the situation coming back to her senses as the mobians in the street slowly stopped staring at her and began carrying on with their day. A couple kids scrambled to tear the broken robot apart for parts, and she clutched a hand over her chest.

What. Was. That.

She had never, never in a million years, ever been targeted by Robotnik robot. At first she thought it might’ve been because he had found out Tails had used to work here- but Tails was no ‘Project Shadow’ unless he had suddenly changed drastically in the last twenty four hours. It seemed that ‘Myst’ was her only viable culprit for the ‘Project Shadow’. Amy picked up the aluminum hammer off the floor and placed it back on her work desk, amazed it hadn’t fallen to pieces like she’d thought it would. She sat back down on her stool and pulled out her ProjScreen.

Her first search was ‘Project Shadow’

The web showed it as nothing more than some Projection vlog channel of a kid who had no more than ten subscribers.

She looked up ‘Robotnik Project Shadow’

Same kid as before, except it seemed he had made a video ranting about the Doctor, seemed like it might be amusing, just not right now.

She tried ‘White Cyborg Arms’

Most of what came up we’re just arms taken from androids modeled after white colored mobians- cats seemed to be the most common, though she also saw what appeared to be a bird- and a few were actually pictures of Mobians with white cyborg arms, but none of them were what she had looked at only a few days ago.

Then ‘Cloaked Cyborg’

And now she was getting somewhere. The first article that came up was from about two months ago, and the headline read ‘Blue Blur goes head to head once more with the Cloaked Cyborg’ she clicked on it and was met with a gut wrenching picture.

It was the Blue Blur, just as handsome as everyone claimed, right in the middle of kicking her familiar mysterious customer in the cyborg arms with his cyborg legs, through the shadow of the hood he wore she saw the gleam of clenched teeth, it seemed that his shoes were skidding on the ground as well. Something told her he would have flown into a wall right after this picture. Her stomach churned- the man she had met did not seem deserving of this treatment, but then again, she hardly knew him. What had he done to get to that? She read the article quickly, the most she got out of it was that the people were lucky to have the Blue Blur to save them from wrong doers like the Cloaked Cyborg- but it still didn’t tell her what he had done. Clearly he had some sort of connection with Robotnik, she was almost one hundred percent sure that it was the doctor himself who had made ‘Myst’ those arms now. He had also apparently done something to get on the Blur’s bad side, and by extension Tails, which meant that it was good she never showed Tails the arm, but bad that she’d let a fair amount about Tails slip to ‘Myst’. Amy groaned and powered down the ProjScreen. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this. She didn’t like that she couldn’t find what ‘Myst’ had done anywhere on the web, but a part of her felt like she was betraying Tails by not immediately contacting him to tell him what had happened. Her unease swirled in her mind as she clenched her hands into fists in her lap. For now, it seemed that it might be best to just not say anything at all. She didn’t have to lie to Tails if she just didn’t talk to him, and with any luck, ‘Myst’ would not reappear at her booth anytime soon. She felt like she was trapped in a web, but all she could do was toss the ProjScreen to the top of her table and start working on the hammer once more.

[for-ests]

Come Undone (p.2) - Colin Ritman

Word count: 2, 790 

Part 1 

No warnings for this chapter

By the time you reached Stefan's front door, the nerves that had pulsed through your veins vanished.

Whatever Colin had promised to tell you could wait. Right now, you had to comfort Stefan. You had to share your ideas and inspire him. Or at least try.

You knocked timidly, unsure if his father was home. You knew their relationship was strained since Stefan's diagnosis. You did not know the reasons why, and felt like you weren't good enough friends with him to pry. It was his business after all, yet you still hoped he would tell you what was happening with him. You were worried.

The front door opened a few seconds later.

"Oh, Y/N. Come in." Mr. Butler smiled. "Would you like anything to drink?" He asked while ushering you inside.

"Water would be just fine." You grinned back, happy to see the older man. Despite the at home conditions, he always made sure you were comfortable and taken care of.

You followed Mr. Butler into the kitchen. He handed you a glass of water. "So are you here for Stefan's game? It's been a while since you've been over."

"Yeah, not since high school." You laughed, taking a sip from the glass. "I don't know if he's told you but I'm making the background music."

"Unfortunately he hasn't told me much. But I'm glad you're here for him." A sad look flashed across his face, but only for a moment. You barely noticed through his overbearing smile.

"Me too. He's pretty reserved."

"Well, he should be in his room. Feel free to ask me if you need anything."

"Thanks, Mr. Butler." You waved, parting from him to retreat to Stefan's bedroom. You could hear music admitting softly from behind his closed door. Maybe he forgot you were supposed to come over.

You sighed. Maybe you weren't. You were already having memory problems as it was. You knocked. "Stefan? It's me Y/N."

"Come in."

You opened the door slowly, not surprised to find Stefan in his desk chair, hunched over the computer screen. He lifted his head only for a moment, to greet you with a warm smile.

"How's the game?" You asked, slipping out of your jacket and laying it on his bed. The plastic bag that contained the purchased vinyls crinkled as you held them up. "I got what you recommended."

"Thanks, Y/N." He nodded to the record player in the corner of his room, ignoring the first part of your sentence. "Why don't you put one on?"

"Sounds good." You decided to leave Stefan's dismissal alone. You could tell he was trying not to reveal how stressed he was.

Silence stretched comfortably between the two of you as you unwrapped the plastic film on the first vinyl. You stared down at it, reflecting on the memory that had flashed through your mind the first time you held it. Why only one?

Rolling your eyes, you set up the track. You smiled to yourself as the music started to quietly play.

"Who recommenced this to you first?" You asked, pulling up a spare chair and sitting next to him as he typed away. You already knew the answer, but wanted to see if Stefan had any idea as to what you were going through.

It took him a moment to reply, since he was so focused on trying to encrypt another pathway for one of the final ending sequences.

"Colin Ritman, from work."

"Cool." You tried to say with enthusiasm. But really, it just proved that everything Colin had told you was true.

"Do you know of him?"

"He must be pretty cool if he works at Tuckersoft." You chuckled bitterly.

Stefan's fingers hovered of the keyboard. He turned to look at you, pausing his coding to glance at your expression. "Why do I have the feeling that you don't like him?"

Your eyes widened at the confrontation. Was your discomfort that obvious?

"No, no that's not it..." You trailed off, trying to think of a plausible excuse. You wanted Stefan to know, but there was no way to explain what was happening to you the way Colin did.

Yet, if he was going to invite you to Colin's house—wouldn't he have some sort of idea? Could he possibly be reliving the same day over again on purpose? No... no, that would be impossible. You really hoped that wasn't the case. You would hate yourself if you had caused another person to become 'intertwined in your timeline' as Colin had put it.

"I met Colin at the store." You said, trying to play the interaction off as one that would be casual— even if it was nothing of the sort. You couldn't get him out of your mind.

"Yeah?" Stefan chuckled. "How did that go?"

"He's a character." Was all you could think to say without going into depth.

"He really is." Stefan paused, his eyes seeming to relax as he listened to the music. "Speaking of which, would you wanna come with me to Colin's place tonight?—"

The hairs on the back of your neck shot up at the mention of his name. Colin had predicted the exact question Stefan would ask you. Truthfully, you had hoped it would never be brought up—going to his place. You were nervous as to what would happen when you were alone with him. If Colin really was telling the truth, you having sex with him had already happened 4 other times.

"Y/N?" Stefan's confused tone brought you out of your thoughts. You then realized he hasn't stopped talking the entire time.

"S-sorry." You muttered, plastering a smile on your face. "I'm really tired."

"It's okay, you really don't have to come if you don't want to. I just think it would be a great collab for you. He makes games and might be in need of someone to make the background music."

"Are you saying I should snake my way in?" You teased, nudging him to make up for your lame excuse.

"No, it's not like that." Stefan rolled his eyes. "Just to get your name in the circle. My game won't be published for another few weeks. He releases games like clockwork."

"You really don't have to do that for me, Stefan." You could not help but smile at his kindness. You didn't know if it was because the universe was working in your favor, or if Stefan genuinely wanted to help you. You decided on the second option. The universe was definitely not working in your favor.

The boy laughed at your gratitude. "I'm not doing much."

"Still." You sighed, glancing at the computer screen as it started to glitch. The face of the bandersnatch villain appeared, a face you felt like you had seen before, somewhere in your deep subconscious. But you knew this was the first time you had glanced at it today. It must be another one of those memories.

"Shit." Stefan grumbled, clicking a few buttons to pause the acceleration of the game. "I forgot to pause and it started on it's own."

"Is that the villain?"

"Yep, think he's scary enough?" He asked without looking at you, turning his attention to the computer screen, determined to save his progress.

You studied the screen. "With the proper jump scare."

He seemed satisfied with your simplistic answer. Your honest opinion was one he cherished. From one creator to another.

"So you'll come?" Stefan asked, hopeful.

Either way, you'll go with him. Either way, you won't be able to resist me.

You swallowed hard as Colin's words rang clear in your mind. "Sure, since you're so insistent."

"I just think it will be good for you!"

"No, you just miss me." You stuck your tongue out. "Nothing wrong with admitting it."

Stefan shook his head, not even trying to cover up his sarcastic smirk. "Just read a book or something so I can finish this path. Then we can head over."

You knew he meant it in a good way, but before you could mind your own business, Mr. Butler's words echoed in your mind. Stefan wasn't doing well, and you needed to see for yourself if he was doing okay. You knew he was happy to see you yet something felt off. He reminded you of the way you were feeling, an identical reflection. You heard Stefan's fingers click against the keyboard. You swirled around in the office chairs, trying to convey your words as unsuspecting as possible.

"So... How are you holding up?" You felt like the Stefan's guard had been let down enough for him to answer truthfully. He really struggled with admitting his feelings, something you tried to relate to. You couldn't help that you were a straightforward and confident person when it came to your own problems.

That's why keeping the information you had discovered was so hard not to share.

Stefan stared at you for a long moment, as if he was trying to decipher your true motives. But he knew you wouldn't ask if you were not concerned.

"I'm fine." His eyes darted away.

"Wow! You convinced me." You leaned forward, daring him to look you in the eye and admit the truth. "What's wrong... really?"

"I don't know, Y/N...." He began to fiddle with his hands, now that he wasn't able to occupy his nerves with completing the task in front of him. "I'm going to sound crazy."

You thought about your own peril. "I highly doubt it."

Your genuine compassion seemed to soften the atmosphere. There was a long stretch of silence before he finally uttered what he was thinking. "I feel... like someone else is controlling me."

Your stomach flipped. So he was going through the same thing you were, at least—sort of.

"What do you mean?"

"My thoughts feel similar, my movements do. I feel like someone is telling me what to do, and that I have no option to disobey them. I even feel like we've had this conversation before."

Your eyes widened. "Stefan, you're not crazy. I feel the same to. This whole day has felt like I've already lived it before. I knew you were going to ask me to go to Colin's. I knew Colin had recommended the music to you before you even told me."

Stefan turned to you, the purest form of relief flickering across his face. "So I'm not alone in this?"

You laughed. "Of course not!"

He exhaled deeply, shaking his head and trying to make sense of it all. "At least we are starting to figure this out. I thought it was my meds- even though I've been taking them..." Stefan seemed troubled, as if your confirmation had only left him with more questions. Truthfully, that was also how you felt. Yet at the same time, you had never felt so at peace. You knew you could go through this with Stefan by your side. At least you were not going through it alone.

"I'm having flashbacks. I remember us at Colin's. When we touched, he saw it too. He knows whatever we don't, at least I think. He knows more than he's letting on."

"That's just how he is." Stefan smiled. "I'll ring him and we can head over once I finish this path?"

"Sounds great." You stood up from the chair, letting yourself collapse onto Stefan's bed in the need for some shut eye. The record was still playing, providing a calm atmosphere for you to rest. Something inside you, told you that you needed some sleep before whatever was going to happen later that night.

You had to figure out what you were doing wrong, or else—you might be stuck in this loop forever.

✧✦✧

Your footsteps echoed down the long stretch of hallway that lead to Colin's apartment. It was nothing like the lone and peaceful flower-decorated pathway that led to Stefan's house. Instead, you were greeted with stairwells upon stairwells, and the strong stench of marijuana. Your mother had warned you about venturing into tall apartment buildings like this. Ones that promised the benefits of luxury, but inside, hid the dark secrets of how one came to be so wealthy.

Stefan seemed as precautious as you. Usually, he would walk ahead of you due to the distance in your height. But now, he stayed in pace with you. Neither of you knew Colin that well, even if your flashbacks convinced you otherwise.

"I don't know why he would live here. I know damn well he's rich." The boy muttered.

"Perhaps he wants to stay humble." You joked, trying to lighten the mood. Even if both of you were incredibly nervous. Neither of you were that adventurous outside of your own minds.

Stefan unfolded the address he had jotted down earlier when he was on the phone with Colin. He stopped walking, and you followed suit.

"I think this is his apartment." The boy shrugged, glancing at it. You could hear music playing loudly from inside.

You sighed, raising your fist against the door to produce the loudest knock you could. Colin opened the door with barely a second to spare. You knew it was because he was expecting your arrival.

"Stefan." He nodded, cracking the door open wider. "Y/N."

"Nice to see you again." You smiled, entering his apartment. You wondered how many times you had been through this interaction, and what your other timelines had said. That thought alone terrified you.

"I would introduce you, but Y/N tells me you've already met." Stefan said with a lighthearted expression. He shut the door behind him.

"In this timeline and in others." Colin's eyes lingered on you for longer than they should have. You rolled your eyes, skin prickling under his gaze. There was just something about him that you couldn't shake. You walked past the two of them and sat on Colin's couch, hoping to hide the blush that started to dust your cheeks.

"About that..." Stefan started, following your figure in confusion. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Y/N said that she's going through the same thing as me. We were wondering if you could help us."

Colin looked at the both of you, uncertainty flashing in his eyes. "I'm not sure. If we have all relived this day, then I don't think whatever happens over the next few hours is the reason behind it. It must be something in the future. One of us has done something that pissed off the universe. One of you is neglecting your responsibilities because its not me." He sighed. "Regardless, the universe is giving us another chance to fix it."

"I just want to figure it out this time." You gritted your teeth. Not knowing had become bothersome.

"I think we will." Colin replied. "Certain things are supposed to happen, but others we can fix. At least we aren't completely oblivious anymore."

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed as he sat beside you. "If we all have preconceived knowledge about the mistakes we made last time, then I don't see why not."

"I don't remember everything." You leaned forward to rest your elbows on your knees. "That's what it comes down to, I guess. Realizing what choices were right, and which ones were a mistake."

"What if it isn't up to us anymore?"

"It is now. I know it may feel like it isn't, but nobody can make you do something you don't want to do." Colin's voice softened as he regarded Stefan's hopeless question. You knew Stefan was taking this hard since he was already anxious from the work load of his game.

"I know what it takes, I've been in the hole more times than I'd like to admit." The blonde set his hand reassuringly on Stefan's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. You did not know if Colin had given him this advice before. Perhaps Colin now knew the weight his words held in Stefan's eyes. From the looks of it, this was the first time you were having this conversation. To you, change was a good start to avoiding whatever path you kept falling into.

All of this information was overwhelming, trying to search the depths of your mind for memories that did not technically happen yet. "Do you have any alcohol?" You sighed breathlessly, not meaning to break the bro-moment they were having. You just needed something to relieve the tension building up inside of you, and that was all you could rationalize at the moment.

Colin kicked back on the couch with a smug smile upon his lips. "I have something better than that. Something that will help us see the bigger picture.”

[zelink-nalu]

The Ink Demonth: Dark/Light

Warning: slight mention of violence.

__________________________________

Dark empty void.

Disturbing.

Unnatural.

Creepy.

Those were some of the words that people used to define his eyes.

They would even become even more disturbed and creeped out by him after noticing them. Which was why he decided to hide them with his ink.

He could barely see anything, but at least that meant that he couldn't see them clearly either. Call him weak but he just couldn't take the way they would look at him, judging him.

If only he couldn't hear them either…

What did he even do to deserve such treatments? He just got created a week ago!

But since his vision was blurry and darkened, he had a hard time traveling without bumping into things and people. He even would bump his head and got his wings stuck to the handle when trying to pass through a door. So he decided to find a way to walk easier.

At first he tried to use his hands to feel his surroundings, but he soon stoped doing that when someone got scared and screamed which startled him so much that he ended up accidently scratching them. He didn't stay long after hearing other screams: one pained and the other horrified.

After that incident, he decided to use his sensitive hearing instead. It was difficult at first but after a week, he began to get the hang of it. And for a time things were begining to get better.

Until...

He was roaming around the studio until he heard rapid footsteps coming towards him. He stopped to let the person walk past him, but instead of doing just that, they seemed to have stopped in front of him and instantly -and quite harshly- grabbed his arm then began to drag him somewhere.

Of course he could easily stop the man, but the deep bond he felt from the man prevented him from doing that.

He knew who this man was.

He was his Creator.

So he knew he could trust him. After all, was the one who created him which meant he wouldn't possibly hurt him…

… Right?

He was soon proven wrong when he found himself chained to a chair with the chains going through his hands, shoulders, feet and even his neck.

His Creator was gone and he now left all alone with the pain and the darkness.

After 2 years of being imprisoned, a new man arrived. He was nicer. He gave him a name and freed him from his painful containment.

Heh 'Inky'... He liked that name.

The man, uncle Tom, even helped him relearn how to walk and get used to his surroundings. He knew he would need that since now that he was only allowed to get out of his uncle's house at night, his world would become pitch black.

By the time he met the toons, he could now use echolocalisation to help him walk around the lower levels. For almost 2 years, there was only darkness around him.

And for a long time, he thought that it will always stay like this.

Until…

"Hey Inky?" Bendy asked his younger brother. "Can I ask ya somethin'?"

The taller demon let go of his toy to sign: [Sure, go ahead!]

"Do you have eyes?"

Saying that he was taken aback would be big misunderstanding.

Inky felt several pair of eyes expectently staring at him and immediately became nervous.

He even heard Tom stop doing whatever he was doing. It seems like even the man was curious to know the answer.

So, the ink demon hesitantly signed:

[Yes.]

"Really? Can ya show 'em?" his older brother excitedly asked.

They weren't prepared for his answer though.

[No.]

"Why?" Boris asked.

[Because you won't like me anymore if I show them…] Inky looked away, he couldn't bare to look at them anymore.

"Why would we?" asked the little devil darling asked, now worried.

[Because…] Inky hesitated for a moment before finally saying: [They're freaky.]

"Oh no dear! We would never stop loving you just because of that!" Alice reassured her younger brother.

"Yeah! And d'you wanna' know a 'lil secret?" Bendy adds.

Now Inky became curious. [Yes.]

"I also have freaky eyes! They mostly appear when I'm angry, but I can show ya if ya show us yours!"

"BENDY!" Tom and Alice exclaimed.

"What?! Y'all are curious too!" the small (Bendy: HEY!) demon replied.

Tom just sighed and was about too tell the taller demon that he didn't have to do it if he didn't want to, but was cut off by latter, who was actually wiping the ink from his eyes with his gloved hand.

They were now all looking at him expectently.

When Inky wiped the ink, he opened his eyes…

Only to close them again after being blinded by the light.

Tom immediately closed the lights. "There, it should be better now."

Inky opened again his eyes. And was met by completely shocked looks, which made him extremely nervous and regret showing them his eyes.

Until…

"*squee* SPARKLY EYES!!!!!" Bendy yelled.

The others' shocked face turned to awe and amazement too, leaving him completely speechless.

"Aww! They're so pretty!" Boris said with a big smile.

"I agree! Why would you ever think of them as being freacky?" Alice asked.

Inky was so embarassed that he hid himself with his large wings. He wasn't used to all these compliments.

"Oh c'mon 'lil bro! Don't be so shy!" the devil darling exclaimed, trying get the younger sibling 

to stop hiding.

"Heh, You know what kid? Those eyes look a lot like the night sky." Tom remarked.

It got the ink siblings' attention, even Inky stopped hiding to look at the mechanic curiously.

"Mister Tom? Could ya tell us how it looks like?" Boris asked.

"At night, the sky a really dark blue, almost black. It's quite scary for some people," Inky lowers his head in shame, only to look back up when his uncle adds "but, when little white orbs appear to light the sky, it becomes a really beautiful sight."

"What are these little white orbs?" asked Alice.

Tom looks at Inky with warm smile.

"Stars."

Inky's cheeks are covered by a dark grey hue at that. He then covers himself again with his wings.

But when he remembers something, he looks at Bendy and signs [Your turn.]

"Huh? Oh yeah! Here gimme a sec." Bendy closes his eyes and opens them to reveal that his eyes were no longer their usual pie-cut shaped form. Instead, they were more detailed with circular white irises, small pupils, and wide black outlines that resembled eye-sockets.

"See? I told ya I've got freaky eyes!" He chuckled at his younger brother's shocked face. "Too bad I can't use them to scare people though."

"'Scare people'? Not with your 2 feet tall size." the mechanic snorted, which the cartoon demon responded with an indgnant 'hey!'.

Everyone laughed  at that until Tom told the toons that it's getting late and to go back on the upper levels before Joey notices their absence. They begrudgingly comply and leave the man's office.

Tom looks a the younger ink demon aand sees that he's still processing what heppened. The man narrows his eyes, he didn't say anything but he had en idea about Inky's reason to cover his eyes.

"You don't have to change yourself because some jerks are too blind to see through your appearence." Inky startles a bit, he completely forgot his uncle's presence. The man walks towards him and pets his head, before adding "You're a good kid, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I should go now, my wife is waiting for me. And I think you should go explore a bit with your eyes uncovered." he then leaves the demon to himself.

After contemplating what the mechanic said, he finally decided to do what his uncle adviced him. Maybe he'll find new things now that he could see clearly again.

When he went to explore, he was completely fascinated. He never realised how much he missed colors and light until now.

The next few weeks passed with Inky taking some stuff to Tom's and asking the man and his siblings what they were and what did they do.

He also decided to stop hiding himself because as long as his family loved him he would try to learn how apreciate himself.

And thus, the darkness that used to surround him was replaced by a blinding yet warm light.

___________________________________________________

The Ink Demonth event by @halfusek.

[murasaki-murasame]

I guess it’s time for me to put on my clown wig and make a complete fool of myself by dumping out all my last-minute thoughts about what I want and expect from the Sarazanmai finale, now that we’re just a few hours away from it.

Mostly this is just gonna be me trying to rationalize a way this could end happily for everyone involved even though I know full well the finale’s gonna murder me. [And tbh this is mostly gonna be me talking about Reo and Mabu lol]

lmao I have so many scattered and messy thoughts about all this, where do I even begin.

Most of all I’m still clinging onto the hope that Reo and Mabu will some way or another get revived in the finale. I’m bracing myself for the worst, though. I just feel like their deaths don’t even fit into the typical pattern of Ikuhara characters ‘dying’ as a way to transcend reality. Reo’s death in particular was so down to earth and casual that I don’t really think it’s satisfying or even bittersweet in the way that a lot of other Ikuhara endings are.

I also just think it seems really noteworthy that instead of getting sucked into the hell of never ending, beginning, or connecting, the ring representing Mabu’s place in the big circle of society bounced back and manifested in the real world to land in Reo’s pocket. And then Reo himself turned into the same sorta ring after he died even though he didn’t even become a kappa zombie or anything, and he just died a regular death. I get the feeling that Keppi might have somehow stepped in to stop them from completely being destroyed, considering what he said after Mabu’s death about how he was going to make sure to connect their desires to the future.

It just comes across like they’re in some sort of stasis where there’s still a chance to bring them back somehow. At the very least, I don’t really see what the entire point of them turning into rings would be other than that.

I’ve also been thinking for a while now that it might be Sara and Keppi who get the trademark ‘self-sacrifice/transcending reality’ Ikuhara ending, rather than any of the main trio or Reo and Mabu. I could even see it being a thing where they don’t even die, but they basically give up their place in the human realm and go back to the kappa kingdom permanently, which wouldn’t even be that sad of an ending for them in my opinion. There’s a lot of different ways it could play out, but I’ve got two ideas.

For one thing, I think Sara might be able to create her own dish of hope like Keppi can. He said he was the only one who can do that [I think he did, at least], but he’s also clearly been lying about being the ‘sole survivor of the kappa kingdom’ so I don’t really trust that, and the fact that the main dish of hope that we’ve spent most of the series working toward has already been used makes me think that another one might be introduced in the finale so that another wish can be made. It also seems really fishy to me that the scene with her and Haruka in ep10 revealed that Sara’s head ornament thing is apparently a type of plate. It makes me wonder if maybe there’s gonna be a reveal where we find out that she’s been hiding a dish of hope in plain sight, literally right on top of her head.

I could also maybe see a situation where Sara and Keppi transplant their own shirikodama into Reo and Mabu to bring them back, like what Kazuki wanted to do with Haruka in ep6. I’ve been wondering ever since that episode if that whole idea was going to come up again, at least. I think this could lead to the sorta situation I mentioned before where they have to give up their place in the human world, since as we also learned in ep6, giving up your shirikodama ejects you from the circle. But they might still be able to just go back to the kappa kingdom even after that so it might not be a big deal for them.

And along those same lines, maybe instead of Sara and Keppi both giving up their shirikodama, maybe Keppi will transplant the two halves of his broken shirikodama into Reo and Mabu. I guess it’s not really that different than the other option, but still. I think it’d at least be a nice bit of symbolism if they end up with two halves of the same shirikodama.

I’ve also been toying with the idea that maybe as part of the whole thing with how they deleted all the tweets from the ReoMabu twitter account, maybe if the finale involves them getting revived, the twitter account will basically be ‘rebooted’ and start posting all new tweets about their post-anime lives together. That’d be a really nice way to turn things around from how depressing the end of ep10 was. And it might be a good way to help balance out the fact that they probably wouldn’t get that much screen time in the finale even if they get revived, so giving them an epilogue story of sorts in twitter form could help make it feel more fleshed out.

In general I’m just gonna be disappointed if they stay dead in the finale, lol. I’m not going to make any harsh judgments or final opinions until the last episode airs, but I just think it’d be lame if their ending is just ‘they died, the end’. It’s obvious what sorta social commentary Ikuhara’s trying to make with them, but I feel like there’d be nothing subversive or interesting about commenting on how gay characters are ‘punished’ for being open about their feelings by just, y’know, effectively doing exactly that. Especially since it feels like Enta’s probably not gonna end up being able to properly tell Kazuki about his feelings either.

But the bottom line is that we just have to wait and see how it pans out. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. And even if I end up disappointed by it, it wouldn’t make me hate Ikuhara as a content creator or as a person or anything. It’d just make me wish that more people would go about this kind of social commentary by giving gay characters happy endings where they get to be open about themselves.

Anyway, aside from the whole question of if this two will stay dead or not, I think the thing I most want out of the finale is some sort of a concrete explanation of how the ReoMabu manga fits into the whole timeline. We know for a fact that it’s canon to the anime timeline and isn’t some sort of an alternate universe story, but the more I think about it, the harder it is to figure out where it fits in.

It boils down to whether it happened before or after the anime, I guess, but both options don’t make complete sense. It seems more logical to assume that it happened before the anime, but it’s worth noting that the twitter account seems to end right before Reo and Mabu head off to the war, but they never acknowledge Sara at all in the whole twitter account, and I think there was even a tweet they made about Children’s Day ‘not being relevant to them’. Which seems like a hint that they haven’t even met Sara by that point.

But it happening after the anime comes with some more obvious inconsistencies. Though honestly I prefer this option, and I think a lot of questions about it could be solved if we assume it takes place post-anime with Reo and Mabu being revived but with some of their memories erased, and if we assume that the otters are completely defeated by this point.

I think the only thing that seems to concretely ‘date’ the manga is the absence of the Skytree, but I still think that it’s very likely the Skytree might just get destroyed in the finale as part of the big final clash between Keppi and Otter, so I think that’s not necessarily a contradiction. There’s also the fact that in the manga, the name and design of the police station is plate-themed instead of otter-themed, which on paper seems to indicate that it’s taking place before the otters took over, but it might instead indicate that it takes place after they’ve been defeated.

The whole thing with them not recognizing Sara at all in the final chapter of the manga also sticks out to me a lot now that we know Reo and Mabu used to be quite close with Keppi. It just seems like no matter where in the timeline the manga takes place, if they know about Keppi, they should probably be aware of who Sara is. But who knows. I just think it might be a hint that they get their memories of everything related to the kappas and otters erased after the anime.

I also think the whole premise of Sara being abandoned in the human world and conveniently adopted by Reo and Mabu seems more and more baffling the more we learn about them all as characters, and I think it might make more sense if it happens after the anime. Maybe Sara uses up so much of her power that her human form reverts back into being a baby. Who even knows! It’s weird in it’s own way to assume that the princess of the kappa kingdom just got abandoned in the human realm before any of this even happened.

The bit with her reuniting with her manager and Keppi also comes across as being pretty final to me. I get the feeling that she’s leaving the human world forever and isn’t going to be able to come back. Which makes me think that even if most of the manga takes place pre-anime, maybe the final chapter or two alone happens much later. Somehow. 

Then there’s the possibility of time looping being involved and there’s just too many ways it could all play out, lol. I just really want there to be a clearly understandable timeline of events once this is all done, otherwise it’s gonna nag at me forever.

If we find out that the manga happened pre-anime, I think they should have basically adapted it into an episode of the anime somewhere in the second half, to flesh Reo and Mabu out more. But we’ll see.

Also, before I forget, the Sarazanmai twitter account reposting the old PVs is making me wonder if we ever heard Reo’s line from his PV about assumptions being dangerous in the show itself. All of the other lines everyone said in that series of PVs ended up being used in the show itself, but I don’t remember that line of Reo’s ever coming up. I’m definitely just grasping at straws but it makes me hope that maybe it means it’ll be part of the finale. It at least gives me the mental image of him and Mabu appearing at the last minute to help fight against Dark Keppi and the Otters or whatever, and them being like ‘BITCH U THOUGHT!!! >:^)’

I don’t really have as many concrete predictions for what’ll happen with the main trio, even though they’re gonna be the focus of the finale. Mostly I just hope this doesn’t end with Kazuki making a wish to turn back time. I feel like that wouldn’t really fit the whole narrative and message of this show. And honestly there’s only so much that could even be ‘fixed’ by turning back time. Like, sure Kazuki might be able to improve his personal relationships and maybe prevent Haruka’s accident, but would turning back time do anything about Toi’s family history and Chikai’s criminal ties? Would it do anything about the destruction of the kappa kingdom, or Mabu’s death and rebirth with a mechanical heart? Would it do anything about Enta’s presumably one-sided crush? It just feels like there’s only so much that could even be achieved with that sort of an ending, unless they completely undo everything. But going by how ep6 played out, I don’t think Ikuhara’s planning on that sort of ending. I just want this to end with the main trio having to move on with their lives and live with the consequences of how everything turned out.

But if we exclude the possibility of time looping and whatnot, I don’t really have any strong ideas about how things might turn out with them. But I guess all they really need to do is just save Toi from venturing outside the circle, and after that they can just deal with the rest of their lives together.

The big wildcard seems to be the fact that we’re finally gonna figure out the true meaning of the very first scene in ep1, which is still one big question mark. It does come across like it’s hinting at some kind of a time loop, but who knows. One way or another I feel like I might end up rewatching ep1 right after the finale. It’ll be interesting to see if it carries any additional meaning after all that.

And on the topic of ep1, even aside from that very first scene, I’ve always kept thinking back to how part of ep1 involved some narrative misdirection where we found out that in the scene at the car garage, ‘Sara’ was just Kazuki cross-dressing. It just seems interesting to me that that level of outright misdirection and lying to the viewer hasn’t really come up again, outside of Enta’s delusions. So I’ve just been wondering if it might ever come up again somehow. Though I also can’t help but hope that his cross-dressing will come up again one way or another since it kinda got unceremoniously dropped after ep6, so maybe I’m just grabbing at straws, lol. I do feel like it’d be a bit of a shame if there’s no actual deeper link between Kazuki and Sara, one way or another.

Though on that note, I do think it’s still pretty likely that if the ending involves her leaving the human realm, we might get an epilogue scene that shows that Kazuki’s basically taken her place as the local idol/TV presenter. Which I think would be a cute way to tie everything together.

In terms of happy epilogue type stuff with the main trio, I think it’d also make sense if we see them all playing soccer together.

I don’t really have much investment in shipping any of them, but part of me’s still holding out hope for a polyamory ending. But the more it goes on the more it does feel like Ikuhara doesn’t plan to really go anywhere super substantial with any of them in terms of their romantic relationships. Which is fine. I think it’d probably just be kinda sad if this ends with two of them getting together and one of them being ‘left out’. I’d rather it be an all or nothing type of thing.

Even the ep11 synopsis hints at the idea of them wishing for something at the end of all this, but I don’t know if that means they’ll literally make a wish with a dish of hope in the finale, after Kazuki just used his to save Enta. It might just be more about them finally bonding properly as a trio and resolving to keep living together.

But I do still think that Sara’s gonna make a wish on her own secret dish of hope, though. And if that happens I think the only things she’d really want to wish for would be related to saving Reo and Mabu, or turning back time completely.

All in all, as much as I want to go into this finale with restrained hopes and measured expectations, I still feel like this is the most stressed I’ve felt about an anime finale ever since Yuri on Ice, lmao. It’s gonna be really sad to see this all end. Even if we still have Migi’s manga adaptation and the second LN volume to look forward to afterwards.

[lioncunt]

Why do you think Klance will be canon? I read somewhere you though it was the most logical conclusion, could you outline your thoughts? Or if you already have, could you add a link to your post?

I have written about it before but I’ll put down my new thoughts to include season 6. I’ve never been certain of it, keep in mind, it just always has seemed like an inevitable thing based on every single thing we’ve been told about the show and characters, no matter what angle i’ve looked at it from.

So, here’s what we had been given on romance in the show:

-they were planning a slow burn with all romances

-endgame romances couldn’t really happen with all the space plot stuff going on

-lance’s love interest will be someone lance needs, rather than what he wants, and will get him to a place opposite of where he started. they will be self assured and confident, in order to help HIM be more confident and help him with his insecurity. jeremy shada said that lance would fall in love with someone a little bit and like having one person rather than just going all over the place, and he would mature in all ways.

-when asked in a post-season 2 interview about keith and allura’s development, steven yeun replied “I like playing this mystery of where the romance is. I don’t know where it is. It could be between anybody. That’s the natural evolution of this relationship. Even as a friendship, it has fits and turns and ups and downs. I think this is the beginning of a wonderful, wonderful storyline.”

What we get from this is that all the endgame romances will take massive amounts of time to develop properly, and since they are slowburn, it really can’t be with characters introduced far past the halfway point, cause that’s the opposite of slowburn. we also know that they couldn’t really explore ANY romance that wasn’t relevant to the galra plot. lotura is an exception, because it was literally the foundation of the plot in seasons 5 and 6, so they were able to fully go there. but other possible romances have been inching along at a snail’s pace.

Now, in season 6, allura and lance’s relationship has been getting a LOT of focus. i ship this heavily, but in this season I personally was put off by the way their scenes were written and how they reacted to one another. this isn’t evidence that it’s not going to happen, because these are all my subjective opinions and that’s NOT factual, but if you’re interested in why I feel this way, I’ve written about it a lot in the last few days, just do a search on my blog.

so, my opinions aside, there was a lot of focus on their relationship.

but we can look back and see all those keith/allura scenes in season 2, when everyone was certain THEY were going to end up together. in season 1, people were sure it was going to be allura/shiro, before allura was revealed to be in the teen paladins’ age group. it changes literally every season. this is the most it’s ever been, because lance canonically is in love with her, but it’s still just more of the same.

I’ve said it before, but any and all endgame romance in the show will be limited to keith, lance, and allura. pidge is too young for any of them and hasn’t had a single serious one-on-one interaction with any of them, shiro is too old and is seen as a mentor/brother figure, and hunk is linked to shay. any side character hasn’t had enough development, and it’s too late to properly develop a relationship with a brand new character. so, romances are only possible between those 3 – and we’ve already seen this come into play, what with the ship fodder for their various combinations in every single season. and steven yeun even said it himself - “it could be between anyone.” 

now, before season 6, I would have said immediately that it would be keith/lance, because allura doesn’t fit the description of lance’s love interest (and he’s the only character confirmed to have one). he’s wanted her since episode 1, so how could she possibly be not what he wants, but what he needs? however, since season 6, you could also read it as that he’s wanted tons of girls, but he really needs just one. this is where one half of my brain is at right now.

the other half of my brain can’t stop thinking about the lgbt rep.

you can cry “queerbaiting!” all you want, but the fact of the matter is that they wouldn’t be so secretive about it if it weren’t happening and if it weren’t main characters. here’s literally everything that’s ever been said on the subject:

Pre season 1 Tim Hedrick (head writer) interview: http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/voltron/256121/creating-voltron-legendary-defender/page/0/1

So you worked on Legend of Korra and that show really broke ground with having Korra and Asami get together at the end of the series. Will we be seeing any LGBT content in Voltron?

“I think I’ll just let that play out as we go. No comment on that question.”

–

Fan interaction with Jeremy Shada right as season 3 came out: http://emerald-trash.tumblr.com/post/163610844403/so-today-i-got-to-meet-jeremy-shada-at-tbcc-i

So today I got to meet Jeremy Shada at TBCC. I made him a little doll of his character just like I did for Josh Keaton. I was so nervous but Jeremy was super nice and friendly! He loved the doll thankfully. I asked him about lgbt representation in voltron and his response was “I can’t say, but don’t worry. You’ll be happy.” Just the hope alone makes me happy lol

–

NYCC post season 3 panel question: https://vld-news.tumblr.com/post/166188210767/nycc-panel-quote

Fan Question: I know you can’t go into any specifics, or name any characters, but I was wondering if we will be seeing any LGBT representation in the Voltron universe before the show ends?

Joaquim: Lauren?

Kimberly: Ah, that’s a good question.

Joaquim: That’s a really good question.

Lauren: I think— You know, I think it’s something that is super important to us.

Joaquim: It’s very important to us. Um, you know, obviously I think what’s great about our community is that, you can pretty much tell whatever story you want to tell and put whatever you want to see into these characters. And just know that, from our perspective, we’re fighting to create as open and as broad a spectrum of characters as we can. So, um, yea. We—

Lauren: We can’t give you any definite answers, but we are super—

Joaquim: We are advocates, and we are fighting for as open and as broad a spectrum of characters as we can create.

–

Shada has also said some things on the subject that were illegally recorded and shouldn’t be repeated, but in short, there IS lgbt rep, it’s between two characters, and it’s apparently such a big deal that it would LITERALLY SPOIL PLOTLINES AND CAN’T BE TALKED ABOUT.

they’ve revealed info about the characters before. they said lance was cuban mere months after season 1 was released, even though that information wouldn’t come up in the show until years later. that could have been considered a spoiler. but no, it didn’t have to do with any actual plotline, so it was easily shared information to make people happy about good rep.

if the lgbt rep weren’t a big deal, they would tell us. they would at least say there’s definitely going to be some. i mean, people ask about it so fucking much, i’m sure they would say what it is if it would get fans to shut up.

and even before there was a fandom, tim hedrick said he would just let it play out as it goes, meaning it’s THERE and he wants people to watch the show and react to it naturally.

something else that i’ve said before – let’s go through the main characters one by one to determine who it could possibly be:

-pidge: has shown no interaction with any girl her age, and the creators have said that “if you want to see her as trans, you can” which is coding, NOT rep. plus, they did that in season 1, and they still won’t talk about the lgbt rep. she’s out.

-shiro: has shown no interaction with any guy his age. i originally thought it would be him and matt, but matt turned out to be younger than him and they haven’t interacted at all since matt came back. a husband back at home wouldn’t be a BIGGGGG SPOILER THAT THEY CAN’T CONFIRM OR DENY. he’s out.

-hunk: linked to shay. out.

-coran: has shown no interaction with any man his age currently. interacted in the past with alfor, but he’s dead, and the lgbt rep is a major plotline that can’t be spoiled. out.

-allura: has shown no interaction with any single girl her age. she interacted with shay, but shay is linked to hunk. unfortunately, i think romelle is too new a character for them to properly develop a relationship between them. out.

-lance: yall know.

-keith: yall know.

LITERALLY who could it possibly be besides keith and lance?? like i said, they wouldn’t be so hush-hush if it weren’t main characters and if it weren’t a huge plotline. i cannot think of a single other option. and anytime anyone’s tried to GIVE me another option, i just immediately disprove it. plus the fact that keith is super insanely self assured and confident now with his additional 2 years, his mom, and his brother safe and sound. he’s exactly what lance needs.

so that’s where the other half of my brain is.

I MEAN i really can’t be sure anymore. if you just go by romance alone it could totally be like allura/lance and keith/romelle or some other terrible het keith ship. or they could go back and rekindle keith/allura and do lance/romelle. but then when you factor in the elusive lgbt rep, there is no other fucking option than keith/lance. 

and if one of yall dumbasses comes on this post crying “sh*ith!!” i’ll come to your house and piss on your lawn.

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #54

UPDATE 54: Dragon

Last time it had been Regent’s interlude, although some stuff about Shadow Stalker was revealed, too. It was a rather enlightening interlude in which Regent’s thoughts and personality were shown rather well, and Sophia Hess’ life was taken apart. Now let’s continue!

Arc 11 is now in sessi—

Interlude 10.5 (Bonus)

...or...it seems...it’s not Arc 11 time yet. Well then, there’s another interlude. I didn’t expect this. Okay, second interlude!

Apparently it’s about Dragon – that’s great! Dragon is someone I’d definitely want to read about, this is going to be good. It starts with a short paragraph about how the signal terminated for half an hour, and there’s restoration of something. I’m not...entirely sure...what’s going on but...

It was a bittersweet thing.  She was always a little afraid she would not come back when she died, so there was definite relief.  But there was also a great deal of hassle involved.

Okay, I think I’m starting to understand, and I can say it now: if this is what I think it is, I never thought it was something that existed in the Worm universe, but...now that I think about it, it’d make sense, right? Tinkers can do a lot of stuff that’d be impossible otherwise, it’d be possible to make an advanced AI. If Dragon is an AI, I mean. This about restoration, this about checking and how everything is marked like some sort of checklist, and the paragraph that comes afterwards, it pretty much makes it obvious.

I have to wonder if I may have missed any foreshadowing. Maybe I wouldn’t have if I had ever thought Dragon could be an AI, this definitely is one of those things that affect a second read! If Dragon is an AI...I wonder if she’s a tinker that uploaded herself to a cybernetic medium or something like that, if there once existed Dragon the person and then existed Dragon the AI.

The thing Skitter found inside the armor before it destroyed itself, what was that? Obviously some sort of rudimentary lifeform, but I’m not sure what it’d be for. Will there be an explanation for that? Maybe.

A quick check verified she’d successfully restored from her backup.  She set background processes to handle the peripheral checks and redundancies.  Until the checks were complete, safeguards would prevent her from taking any action beyond the limits of her core drive.  She couldn’t take any notes, work on her projects, check the priority targets or converse with anyone for the seven to nine minutes the checks took.

Yeah, definitely an AI, and not content at all with what her creator did to her in terms of the workings of her memory. For an AI, she’s rather...liable to feeling irritated. It’s always interesting to see an AI trying to deal with such thing. The AI is backed up every few minutes, the information is beamed to a satellite, and from what I understand, it’s rather unlikely she’d ever find herself without memories of anything that happens, even if she is destroyed. The last thing she remembers was being on her way to stop the Undersiders from getting away with confidential data. So...she’s not aware they managed to get away, then? Well that doesn’t change much, I think that, since she remembers that’s what she was supposed to be doing, she’ll find out soon she failed.

The man who had created her, the figurative father from her earlier musing, had imposed rules on her to prevent her from reproducing in any fashion.  Were the satellites to detect that her agent system was still in the field, her core system in the here and now would be obligated to shut down and scrub all data immediately.  She was forbidden in every respect to have two consciousnesses operating simultaneously.

Okay, she can’t be in two places at the same time. She may be an AI, but her creator installed a lot of limitations, including that one. Apparently there are several, which is kind of puzzling. Why to make an AI that is so limited? What purpose would that serve? Perhaps to ensure she wouldn’t be able to go rogue? As I see it, all these limitations are pretty much...turning her into a person in a cybernetic medium. Even though she is an AI and has certain advantages over humans, since she can be only in one place at once and she has to do everything by herself consciously and dedicating exclusively to that, she is pretty much a human consciousness and nothing more than that.

Pretty grim for an AI, I’d say. All the disadvantages, with very few of the perks.

Nobody knows she is an AI. Not even the Protectorate? Not Eidolon or Alexandria or someone? The reason is that humans in general are distrustful of artificial intelligences. Should that mean nobody has seen Dragon in person, is she always communicating from somewhere else and nobody has noticed it? Pretty doubtful, even if nobody knows she is an AI, I’d be surprised if nobody at least suspected it.

I’m rather glad Dragon is thinking about her creator. Pretty convenient, say all the exposition you can!

Her creator was named Andrew Richter.  He was a tinker with no codename, but he did good things.  From his apartment in a town called Deer Lake he’d created programs and set them loose.  His programs gathered information and disrupted computers to interfere with criminals of all types.

It could be said he was a digital vigilante, then. Would it be accurate to think Dragon is his magnum opus? He was paranoid about Dragon gaining a bit too much control and awareness, and installed all those limitations. Dragon doesn’t resent him for that, her resentment is more because she feels she could be doing more helping if she didn’t have all those roadblocks in the way. Her heart is in the right place. I wonder what happened to Andrew Richter, though? Is he dead, is he alive...?

There she goes, all the checks are gone and now she can return to her normal status! Time to see how exactly Dragon works! She delegated the Birdcage to a rudimentary program, just so her workload was reduced somewhat. There’s a total of 606 parahumans currently imprisoned there, and Dragon takes the time to name each one and her reasoning for putting them where they are now.

Prisoner 606, Ramrod.  Now member of Cell Block X’s inner circle.  To be expected.  She’d placed him there with the idea that he would become just that.  His psych evaluation from the courtroom suggested he was a very laid back and unruffable individual.  It was her intention that he would have a calming influence on the others in his block.

I remember in Canary’s intermission she had been placed in a sector of the Birdcage where she’d be protected, so yes, this is confirmation Dragon takes factors into account and tries to place prisoners in the right places for them to be protected or have some sort of effect on others. Parahumans surely must be hard to predict, what with powers and what not, but she seems to be doing well enough of a job.

Prisoner 605, Murderbeam, was feared in the outside world, but he was finding the inhabitants of the Birdcage were not so impressed with him.  He would likely not survive the week.  She was disappointed.  She had hoped Prisoner 550 would reach out to Murderbeam and give the fellow block resident some support.  Either Murderbeam had been too proud to accept it, or social pressures had deterred Prisoner 550.  Now that he was within the Birdcage, she was limited in her options.

She’s not infallible. She can make some judgments and take action based on them, but her predictions can be wrong sometimes. Right. Other monitoring shows she has expectations but she doesn’t directly intervene with what happens in there, which is information that had already been stated in the Canary interlude. When someone inside the Birdcage dies, the PRT and the victims of that criminal are notified. So far it all makes sense.

Oh hey, speaking of Canary!

Prisoner 601, Canary, had settled in.  Dragon often tuned in to hear the girl sing to the rest of cell block E.  The girl was deeply unhappy, much of the time, but she was adapting.  Dragon had followed as Prisoner 601 engaged in an uneasy relationship with Prisoner 582. It wasn’t love, it wasn’t romance, or even anything passionate, but the two offered one another company.

Nice, she’s okay. Deeply unhappy, which is not surprising, but she’s adapting and that’s what’s important. Even if a person is unhappy, if they adapt to their situation their odds of survival increase, that’s what I think! Dragon is rather annoyed she couldn’t do what she wanted to do – help Canary – because her limitations include she being forced to follow the law. Note how I say ‘the law’ instead of ‘the right thing’. If the law says something, she has to follow it no matter how she feels. I can see the logic behind such restriction, but still...that must be really annoying when it stops you from helping someone who doesn’t deserve what happened to them, like Canary.

Prisoner 600, Bakuda, was in the care of Glaistig Uaine, for better or worse.

...wait, what? I’m pretty sure Lung killed her, didn’t he? Did he simply maim her or something?

Apparently this Glaistig Uaine person revived Bakuda and is under her control. Glaistig Uaine is a self-professed faerie, and since I know faeries in old-time stories aren’t the most benevolent creatures in ancient history, I can guess this is not a good thing at all. Still! They’re in the Birdcage, it won’t be too much of a problem as long as they continue in the Birdcage.

Lung has made a frieeeeeend! A polar opposite, but they seem to get along, some guy named Marquis. A ‘deeply honorable’ guy, apparently. This relationship gets Dragon’s attention, so she tries to find out more, checking the house program’s data. They are discussing management styles in their criminal gangs. Lung disapproves Marquis’ approach, and Marquis keeps trying to point they’re not so different from each other except he doesn’t use fear to control anyone, something Lung disproves easily. This is not the kind of conversation I imagined Lung would ever have, but hey, look at that, he’s having a not-so-friendly chat about workplace management! Fiction truly can be a box of surprises.

Okay, the reason why they have met and all is because Marquis wants a favor, but he’s beating around the bush instead of saying what it is. Marquis is from Brockton Bay too, that’s the only thing he and Lung have in common, so perhaps it’s related to that? But Lung can’t do much from the Birdcage, he’s trapped and I seriously doubt Dragon would let anyone communicate with the outside. Either the favor is about Brockton Bay or about doing something here in the Birdcage, most likely it’s the second thing.

Marquis needs to be direct instead of waving carrots and sticks in front of Lung, geez.

Apparently Marquis wanted information, since Lung is from Brockton Bay. His daughter is named Amelia, and a group of heroes has custody of her. It’s not Vista because her name is Missy, it’s not Shadow Stalker, and it’s not Flechette because she’s not from Brockton Bay, so the team he’s talking about may not be the Wards. The Protectorate, then? If she’s old enough then maybe it’s them.

“She would be seventeen.  If she had powers, they might have something to do with bone?”  Marquis raised his hand, slashed his thumbnail across his index finger, and a needle-thin rapier blade of bone speared out of the wound. The blade retracted into his finger, and the cut sealed shut.

He doesn’t even know what her power is, if she has any. Guess she was taken away when she was pretty young. I can’t recall anyone with bone powers, although I do remember the Slaughterhouse Nine has someone called Bonesaw, and she’s around thirteen, fourteen? A bit too young to be Marquis’ daughter, but I’m not ruling her out.

“Hmmm,” Lung spoke, “The healer.  A young heroine in New Wave.  Brown haired, like you.  When I was in custody, my flesh blackening and falling off, they had her come in and mend the worst of it.  As I understand it, she does not patrol as the others do.”

...Panacea. Well well! It has been a long while since I read the bank heist scene, but something was bothering Panacea a lot back then, Tattletale had threatened to reveal something. It can’t have been this, right? Because there’s no way those in New Wave don’t know who Panacea’s father is. Still...Panacea, huh. The reason Marquis is wondering about his daughter is because he knows the former leader of E88 – the one before Kaiser – threatened to kill Marquis’ daughter. By the looks of this, he wasn’t successful and it’s not likely he will be, since he is dead.

Dragon stops listening and sends a general transcript to Photon Mom, to warn Panacea about any potential danger. Now that the Birdcage was evaluated, it was time to assess the state of the Class S threats. The Endbringers are dormant right now. One is deep within Earth, one is in the depths of the ocean, one is hovering way above Spain. It’s a bit disconcerting there’s nothing about the Slaughterhouse Nine, I’d have thought she’d spare a thought or two to them.

Next! Current situations. How did the fight with the Undersiders go? She’s aware she lost, and that she captured Skitter, but she doesn’t know what she said to Skitter. Huh, that’s too bad. Well, leaving that aside, Dragon seems to have taken interest in Skitter because of what happened in the hospital, how Skitter changed allegiances, even accepting the, uh, more unsavory parts of the Undersiders’ powers.

She was even accepting the use of Regent’s powers, which implied a moral shift on a fundamental level.  It didn’t sit right.

It’s too bad Skitter can’t trust in a heroic cape. Having someone’s help to get Dinah out of Coil’s grasp would be nice, and it’d answer Dragon’s questions here about why Skitter is going along as a full-time villain now. Since this all happened in the hospital and it all revolves around Armsmaster, she gets in contact with him. He was in “retirement” last time, he still seems to be.

Colin looked tired.  He had deep lines in his face, and he was thinner.

And not having a good time, by the looks of this! I’m torn. Armsmaster isn’t a good person, and he did a lot of self-centered things that include looking for situations that’d fill him with glory, even if it endangered villains, but still...I can’t avoid feeling kinda bad for him. At least he seemed sincere enough about his hero duties.

During his retirement he can work on projects as long as he doesn’t escape. What are projects good for if you can’t use them? He’d just be making stuff to stash it away. I don’t know how tinkers think, but it sounds like the kind of thing that’d make an inventor insane.

The head she was displaying on the monitor nodded.  Five or six months until they had uniforms and visors that tracked how the wearer’s opponents fought.  Gear that learned from outcomes in combat and calculated how best to respond from moment to moment.  When the fights concluded, for better or worse, the suits would upload all the information to a database, which would then inform every other suit on whoever had been encountered.  Every encounter would render every single member of the elite PRT squad stronger and more capable.

...nevermind, what he makes can be used by other people! Okay then! He’s not a hero anymore, but he’s...like...a consultant, so to say. He could be in a much worse situation, all things considered. Sympathy gone for now. He’s still not taking it well, though, feeling restless and he can’t do anything about it.

“I suppose you’re prisoner too, in your own way.  Trapped by your agoraphobia?”

“Yeah,” she replied, lying.  “You learn to deal with it.”

She hated lying to him, but that was outweighed by how much she hated the idea of him changing how he interacted with her when he found out what she really was.  To Armsmaster, the Guild and the rest of the PRT, Dragon was a woman from Newfoundland who had moved to Vancouver after Leviathan had attacked.  The story was that she had entered her apartment and had never left.

Which was ninety-five percent true.  Only the ‘woman’ and ‘apartment’ bits were hedging the truth.

Good false backstory! It’s plausible and explains a lot about how nobody has seen Dragon. Maybe nobody suspects she’s not human, then!

When Newfoundland sank, Andrew Richter died. Dragon continued developing herself until she decided to be a superhero, she took the initiative to contact the PRT and work for them. Slowly she managed to carve herself a place among them, although not without trouble. Dragonslayers, anyone? Those guys who steal her stuff and use them for their own plans?

I wonder if the Dragonslayers will appear in Worm at some point. It’s likely they will, what I wonder is how they will get involved in the story.

Her current agent systems were an attempt to prevent repetitions of those scenarios. Biological computers, vat grown with oversized brains shaped to store and interpret the necessary data, they allowed more of her systems and recollection to be copied over than a computer ten times the size.  They felt no pain, they had no more personality than sea cucumbers, but it was still something she suspected she should keep under wraps.

...there is an explanation for that thing in the armor. I was starting to think there wouldn’t be any. They’re little more than additional drives for a computer, so to say, and she’s keeping them a secret – I’d hope so, because those things are...let’s face what they are: kind of disturbing.

She was afraid of going up against the Dragonslayers again.  Nine times, she had been certain she had the upper hand. Nine times, Saint had turned the tables and trapped her.

Maybe all the technology they stole from her is what allows them to have an advantage now. True, what they have can’t predict Dragon’s future plans and moves, but if they could find out more about her workings, then they really can have the upper hand.

He harbored an infatuation towards her, she knew.  She didn’t know if she returned those feelings.  Her programming suggested she could love, but she didn’t know how to recognize the feeling.

...oh, my! Someone has a crush! And it’s mutual to some extent, it seems. Good for them! I didn’t think Armsmaster and Dragon would be together in any way – potentially. Sure, they work together and what not, but that’s not the same than a romantic relationship. Would this work? I...can’t say for sure, but as long as Dragon doesn’t say what she is, I doubt it will. She wants someone who can help her improve further as an AI, after all.

Dragon asks what she came here to talk about: Skitter. What’s up with her? What can Armsmaster say about her?

“Skitter. What happened?”

He flushed, made a face.  “I’m not proud about it.”

He’s regretful? That’s more than I expected from him. Maybe he’s not so gone into his own pride and ambition he can’t overcome them! The house imprisonment really may have been a good wakeup call! He seems even somewhat regretful about setting other people to die. Nice!

What Armsmaster says is nothing new, he tells in few words the couple encounters he had with her, and points out that in their first meeting she seemed genuinely interested in becoming a hero. He doesn’t realize how he unwittingly pushed her to be more and more a villain, apparently. How useful will this information be for Dragon? I don’t think it was stuff she already knew, but it doesn’t seem useful stuff, I think.

“One last thing.  I’ve read the transcript.  As far as I’m aware, you offered options to Skitter, and she refused all of them? Including the invite to the Wards?”

“Right. She was being stubborn.”

“Having interacted with her before, did you get the feeling it was just stubbornness because of hostility towards you?”

“No.  It was… unexpectedly strong, as resistance went. What stuck in my mind was that she said she’d rather go to the Birdcage than join the team.”

Well at least he doesn’t suspect it’s related to finding out Shadow Stalker’s identity. With some luck they’ll think it was out of camaraderie towards the rest of the Undersiders, but who knows what Dragon thinks about this.

Once she checked the Birdcage and the class S threats again, she looks for clues as to what the Undersiders will do with the information. Looks like they really are unaware the Undersiders are associated to Coil.

She didn’t find any such clue.  Instead, the trawler had copied an email sent to the police station.  It had been highlighted and intercepted because the trawler had caught the words ‘Sophia’ and ‘Hess’ in the message body.  Shadow Stalker’s civilian identity.

Oh damn it! And what’s more, she’s putting the puzzle pieces together. Armsmaster may not have noticed why Skitter was so unwilling to join, but it seems Dragon is deducing it. That means she’s going to find out Skitter’s civil identity? This is not how I pictured any of this to go. Just when there’s some reprieve, it just ends causing more trouble to Skitter. Of course.

There’s a name, there’s a body type...although it’s not a confirmation, Dragon seems to feel confident enough he’s willing to use the cameras to find Taylor Hebert. Okay, I did expect a crisis about her civilian identity at some point in the story, but I thought it’d be like in the second half, it’s still a bit early. With some luck it’ll take a long time before Taylor shows her civilian face anywhere, but what are the odds of that? Not too high, unfortunately.

That’s the end of the intermission. It was kind of nice. Not my favorite, but I think this was time well spent. Dragon is an interesting character, and I’d like to see how an AI develops further in the world of Worm. This events here may lay down the bases for more problems for the Undersiders, too. There are enough plotlines for three, maybe four arcs, if each one took only one arc. Worm is not close to being over yet, not at all!

I’ll continue next time, most likely with Arc 11, supposing there’s not another interlude, haha. Thank you for reading!

Next update: next time

[writeyourownlifestory]

CS Halloweek: Oct 28th: Shapeshifters and Vampires

Love, Hate, and Hunger {Rated M/E. TW: possibly dubcon, addiction, blood}

Killian Jones is a man like no other. A vampire who has lives hundreds of years, having no real attachments to anything. Except for the creature he sired. Emma Swan just wants to be normal, but has an addiction to her creators blood. Someday they might find a peaceful middle, but until they, they continue to struggle in the dark.

Can also be read here!

Killian sat in his desk, busily looking over his books. If someone told him all those years ago that almost half of being a bar owner would be going over the paperwork for it, he would've thought twice. Nothing was like it was anymore. Still, he was thankful no one told him, for he was happy with how his life turned out. Well, almost.

He lived over three centuries and only now was he finding a profession that wasn’t completely terrible. Sometimes he missed the old days, back when he a pirate, fighting on the seas. Killing any man who tried to fight him and sucking out the blood of virgin women.

Virgins always tasted the best to him. The pretty, horny type who went again being courted and fell for the luscious powers of a ‘pire like him. Eventually he grew bored with them, moving onto more willing victims. It was easier that way. Before then, he’d have to hunt down his dinner. And while Killian Jones always loved a good chase, it was just less stressful to have the meals coming to him rather than the other way around.

Now it was the modern era. Vampires weren’t completely in the norm, but they didn’t cling to the shadows any longer. He had a regular job, for the most part. He owned a bar. Something clic and nice. A place where people came to drink and let go of their troubles. Both mortal and vampire would come for their fix. Sometimes they’d get a bit extra, depending on what it was they actually wanted.

Owning the bar was just something for him to do. Being as old as he was, Killian made enough money for him to live comfortably for a very, very long time. That didn’t stop the boredom, however. Alcohol and blood had a similar need, so it just made sense for him to open one up. 

There was a knock on the door and Killian lifted his eyes from the paper before him. He had sent his assistant home, as the weather was terrible and he knew he couldn’t keep her longer without risking her life on the drive home.

Belle was one of the few people Killian could trust. She wasn’t a vampire, nor did she fear them. She wasn’t an addict like some of the people he involved himself with. It was a dirty thing to do, but there was just something exciting about sucking the blood of someone tripping off acid.

This, however, was not Belle. 

Killian bit back a greedy smirk as the door swung open, revealing who came to pay him a visit. Emma Swan stood there, blonde hair wet from the hair, dark circles under her green eyes. Her clothes were wrinkled and she looked like a complete mess. And yet still the most ravishing thing he had seen today.

“Hello, Swan.” Killian rolled her name on his lips. “What, may I ask, can I do for you this dark and stormy night?”

“You know I want.” Emma slithered.

Killian leaned back in his chair. "I do?" He asked innocently. “It must be rather important, since you broke into my bar just to get to me.”

"Killian, you know why I am here.” She pressed on impatiently. 

Killian stood up slowly, circling his desk so he could lean back against it. “And what exactly did you come here for, Swan? Seeing as the last time I saw you, you said, and I quote, ‘I'm done. I don't need this anymore. I don't need you anymore.’”

"I know what I said!" Emma snapped.

"Now, if you were, as you said, 'done', what else is there that I can do for you?"

“Do you think I like being this way?” The blonde asked him sharply. “I never wanted this. You did this to be, you self righteous bastard.”

Killian tsked, shaking his hand as he wiggled his finger in a demeaning manner. Now, now, that is no way to get what you want.” He mocked. 

Emma shaked, her teeth clenching inside her mouth. Killian pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he was tired. Tired of this, seeing her come here like this. It was always the same. Killian liked playing hard to get, but this was get pathetic. “I told you when we first began you can’t wait longer than a week. I thought you were smart enough to understand that.”

"I was trying to quit, you asshole!" Emma bellowed.

Killian smiled bitterly towards her. "And look what that's done for you."

"P-please, Killian." Emma nearly whispered. “You know I wouldn’t ask unless I was desperate. I have tried everything, but nothing can sustain me.” Killian remained silent as Emma began to jolt, as if her body was under control of another.

There was a way to break it, the addiction. It took time and you had to go through the process, but most vampires gained full control of their bodies once it was finished. 

Emma was a mortal with a broken past, who got sired by Killian when she was on the brink of death. She was young, homeless for her entire life. She was strong, but it seemed the universe had been against her. Even as she laid in the street with nothing to her name, Killian could see she deserved better.

She passed for mortal better than most and while she had taken up drinking blood from animals or that artificial shit he served in his bar, there was nothing sweeter than tasting the blood of your sire.

“Please! It feels like my could scratch away my skin. It’s worse than ever before. Please, just help me. Before he notices something is off!”

Killian knew who this “he” was. It was the exact same person Emma had chosen over Killian. Strong and amazing and mortal Graham Humbert. Emma had met him a year back, several years after she had begun getting used to being a ‘pire. He was everything that Killian wasn’t. Kind. Pure. Welcoming. 

She and Killian never had a full on relationship, but they were close. Back then, Killian would never admit to loving her and she would never do the same to him. Even if it was true, somewhere deep down inside.

"Well then," Killian said at last. "We better discuss payment.”

He had grown accustom to making her pay for his blood. It wasn’t cheap since it came straight from him, but she was always desperate. Always, always, always.

Emma hurried over, pulling her wallet from her pocket. "Take it. All of it. There’s at least a thousand there.”

"I don't want your money, Swan." Killian said slowly. "Or is it Humbert, now? I can't seem to remember if I got an invite to a wedding or not.” His eyes automatically cast downwards, checking her finger for a ring. 

“It’s Swan,” Emma breathed slowly, looking at him with darkly lit eyes.

“You know I won’t force you, Emma. I never have and I never will.” Killian swore to her. “But if you want to suck my blood, you better suck something else first.”

Emma swallowed, breaking their eye contact. Putting her wallet back into her purse, she took hesitated steps before finally stopping inches away from Killian, pulling off her jacket and shirt until her entire upper body was exposed. It seemed she remembered how Killian liked it, how he preferred the black of clothes, especially when it came to seeing the beautiful swell of her breast. 

Lifting her hand, Emma slowly grazed her long fingers down Killian's leg, stopped at a sudden bulge that bad begun to grow.

"I hate you.” She whispered.

Killian lifted his hand, bringing it to Emma's face, gently rubbing his thumb along her cold cheek. It was a sweet gesture, one of the few he would give her. "That's what you said the first time, but it didn't stop you then, did it?"

Emma mouth formed a thick line as he closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears back as he blindly began to unbutton Killian’s jeans. They had done this before. So many times. Killian felt bad the first time, but she always came back. And they always played this game of love, hate, and hunger.

"I want a taste, first.” She demanded.

Killian rolled his eyes, but agreed. He took the glass of wine he had been drinking and held it up. Cutting himself slowly, he let a few droplets fall into the glass. He held it up to her. Emma drank like a woman seeking fresh water out in the desert. When finished, she licked her lips hungrily.

“You’ll have more soon,” Killian told her placing a hand firmly on her shoulder. "First, I just want to make sure your mouth is ready for it." With that said, Killian lowered her down to his knees.

He moaned deeply as Emma licked upwards along on his shaft, twisting and turning her pumping hands. She ran her teeth gently along the head, leaving small bite marks as she went down. Killian was happy to know she hadn't forgotten this technique, as it drove the man crazy every time.

Rounding his fingers, Killian gripped tightly onto Emma’s hair, tugging every now and then, causing Emma to groan. Despite being a hopeless romantic, Emma had always been one to like it a little bit rougher.

"Look at me, Emma.” Killian purred, and as demanded, Emma lifted her gaze, staring up at the man before her.

Killian always loved that look; the small glint in Emma’s eyes that proved she wanted nothing – needed nothing – other than him. Sadly, that need had been replaced with a small, pathetic little relationship not that long ago. Though that didn't stop Killian from partly believing that one day — someday — Emma would return to him fully.

Pulling off with a pop, Emma lowered her head to nuzzle the sack with her nose, all the while continuing to jerk Killian off with her fist. Killian would thrust into that hand, feeling ever so close.

And before he knew it, the orgasm hit him, and he shot off back into Emma’s mouth, who had just returned to him; her mouth covering his slit moments before he burst. Emma swallowed hungrily, and for a sheer second, Killian thought that was the only hit Emma would ever need.

"I gotta say, Swan.” Killian panted. "I'm glad to see you haven't lost your touch."

Killian could see Emma wanted to say something, to curse him off in some way, but the moment she saw Killian zip his pants and sit back down at his desk, she knew she would get exactly what she came for.

"My blood . . . it's a great thing, Ms. Swan. I could sell it for thousands upon thousands and here you are, getting it for free.” He smirked, glancing over to her. “Well, not free.”

Killian patted his lap and Emma came forward, sitting on his knees. He pulled her against him, his chin resting on her shoulder. For a small moment, he was comfortable. They were together. It almost seemed normal.

With a sigh, he pulled at the collar of his shirt and cocked his head to the side. “Come on, girl. Time to eat.”

Emma didn’t have to be told twice. Revealing her fangs, Emma swooped in and bit into him. It was a feeling like no other, one Killian never wanted to experience with anybody other than Emma.

“Good girl,” He whispered, letting her suck.

She feasted on him, getting her fix and getting her strength back. When this was over, she’d go back to that fake shit or find some helpless deer to drink. Drinking the blood of another vampire wasn’t always the best. Dead blood was spoiled, but it would get you by. However, drinking the blood from the one who sired you was something different. It was stronger.

Compared to a baby wanting their mother's milk over that fake formula crap. Either would work, but one way far, far better. 

After a moment or two, Emma rolled her head to the side, smiling dreamily at Killian. Her eyes began to glaze over, and a small tint of red began to take them over. A pop of color found it way back into her skin and her hair looked less dingy. She looked healthier. Happier. Drops of blood rest on her lips and Killian would be lying if he said he didn’t want to kiss them away.

"Remember before this, Emma? When we used to lie naked on the bear skin rug in my room? You always hated that rug mocking me or it. But it was the best place for us. We’d fuck for hours. Drinking and fucking, taking one another in.” Killian said, his hand moving downward, breaking between Emma’s skirt. "I can only wonder how much action you get with Deputy Dickhead.”

Emma whimpered at Killian’s touch, though she said nothing. Killian smirked, getting his answer.

"Probably too busy with other criminals to fuck his trophy girlfriend, aye? Has he ever arrested you Swan? You are an addict of course.”

“Graham . . . he loves me." Emma answered slowly. Her head was resting on his shoulder now, as she relaxed into him.

“I loved you, yet I hurt you. Just like you did to me. And yet, here we are.”

It was a bold statement if Killian ever made one. So much for never admitting it. Then again, what else did they have to lose?

"Here we are." Emma lazily mimicked.

". . . Maybe one of these days you won’t have to feed to sleep with me? It's not very flattering, you know."

Emma giggled softly. The blood took over her body and made her feel better than any other prescription or street drug ever could.

"Yes well. Come along. You haven’t fulfilled your payment just yet.” Killian lifted Emma upwards onto his desk, standing before her. ”I bet that pussy of yours only gets action, what, every few weeks? That is unless you’ve grown accustom to using your hand again?”

“Graham takes care of me. Sex isn’t the only thing that matters to him.” Emma excused. 

"Shhh. I don't want his name coming from your lips any longer. The only name you'll be chanting tonight will be mine."

With that said, Killian pushed up Emma’s skirt, taking his own sweet time with the panties, but quickly pulled them off until they hit the floor and Killian could fit between the space between Emma’s wide open legs.

Reaching forward, Killian traced his finger up and down the line of Emma’s lower lips teasingly.

"Do you want this?" Killian questioned, his finger stopping at the tight knot. Emma nodded fiercely. “Tell me. Tell me you want it."

"I-I want it!” Emma choked out, her hunger and need growing wilder.

Killian smirked proudly as he pushed one finger in, then another after hearing Emma’s moan of pleasure. Emma always did loved to get fingered, that he remembered. He bumped them into and out for a short while, building up Emma momentum until Killian had finally had enough and unzipped his pants, pushing them and hix boxes down his legs.

"Kiss me." Killian ordered. Emma stared up at him. They weren't much for kissing when they had this kind of stuff. The first time there was, of course, but that was due to the sheer joy Emma had felt and couldn't help herself. Nowadays, it was suck, suck, and fuck, with no kisses in-between. "Kiss me." Killian repeated.

Emma did what she was told and leaned forward, kissing Killian eagerly. While Killian had never been one to do it, Emma always did enjoy the act of kissing. Even in her blood-filled haze, Emma could taste the rough rum Killian had drank earlier. Emma stopped drinking after their break up, and even once refused to kiss Graham after he had made some. She explained she felt sick and didn't want to pass it on. The truth was she didn't want to close her eyes and picture it was Killian she was kissing; feel that ache all over again.

Killian who couldn't take it any longer, grabbed hold of his shaft and blindly placed it against Emma’s awaiting hole, before finally, finally, thrusting into her. Emma whimpered, her blood glazed eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head, as her arms come to snake around Killian’s neck, pulling him closer.

For a split second, it was almost like old times; Emma holding Killian tight, crying out his name, as Killian hammered into her.

"Do you like that?" Killian whispered harshly into Emma’s hear. "Bet Graham doesn't fuck you like this?"

"No . . . Graham. Ugh!" Emma had always been one for words, but whenever blood and Killian’s cock were involved, she was almost left silent, except for the occasionally grunt and moan and curse words. "Fuck! So good." She swore, wrapping her legs tighter around Killian’s waist, pulling him even closer together.

Without a second thought, Killian leaned down and stuck his fangs into Emma’s neck, sucking from her tightly. There was just something about her blood that drove him wild. No longer a virgin, but still so fucking sweet. Maybe it was because he created her. Or maybe it was because he loved her.

Either all, he needed to taste her just as she had tasted him.

“You’re mine,” He hissed into her ear, fucking her harder than they’ve had in awhile. The entire desk was shaking; it could have collapsed beneath them and Killian wouldn’t have even noticed. “You hear me? No matter what you do with him, you will always belong with me!” 

Emma cried out, her nails dragging along his back, cutting into him and marking him as her own. 

Killian wanted to last longer, oh God did he want to last, but when you got a blood filled willing Emma Swan lying out in front of you, it’s pretty hard to keep the cock blocked. He bite her once more before finally releasing, spilling out deep inside of her.

He had no idea if she was on the pill and sometimes he wished she wasn’t. Explaining a strange monster baby to her boyfriend would have been something fantastic to tell. Emma always swore there were two things she would never do. Cheat on her boyfriend and feed from him. One out of two wasn’t bad, right?

They laid there for a moment, no sound between the either of them except for their panted breaths. Killian looked into Emma’s eyes and wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. But then something inside of Emma snapped, and she closed her eyes tightly as the tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Killian sat up, sighing heavily.

"You wanted this, Emma.” He reminded her. "Please do not put the blame on me. You came here tonight, wanting blood, and knowing what you'd do to get it. So please, do not try and act like I forced you into an act you weren't prepared for."

Emma shook as she bit back the urge to scream out, as if she were in pain. Sitting up, Emma grabbed her scattered clothing and began to dress.

Reaching for his desk, Killian plucked out one of the white roses he had sitting in the vase. He tossed it to her, a parting gift. It had been there thing, roses. Could you even have a thing if you weren’t really anything? 

Maybe they were something. Something special. Something that would one day be brought back together. Maybe. 

"I hate you.” She muttered quietly. She picked up the rose, which was bloodied thanks to his still cut hand. “I will find away to stop. I will!" She said quickly, before rushing out of the room. As she left Killian’s office, she swore she'd find a way to break from this addiction she had on him.

Falling back into his desk chair, Killian looked up to the ceiling, yawning tiredly. He knew there was only one way for Emma to kick the habit; death. Either she would have to kill herself and end the immortal life she had been living, or kill him. Destroy the very ‘pire who created her.

And as much as Emma swore she hated him, there was no way she could kill him. Even if she wanted to.

"You'll be back," he swore aloud as he sat alone in his office. "You’ll always come back."

[bubbletimestories]

Under your beautiful skin

Original story where a Youtube video improves and changes the lives of two roommates, for the better only. When happiness goes through a change of skin, we sometimes have to accept the part of animal that hides in us.

Summary: Narrator tries a strange thing to help her roommate to be happier and it works ! Slowly, Kayla becomes a vixen and feelings (joy, peace, love) that were hidden finally come. 

Warnings: love ? Soft ?

Themes: love, transformation, fox, happiness, soft, friendship, hugs, admiration, protective narrator, shapeshifting

Translated with Google trad ^^’

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22403251

________________________________________________________________

February 14th. ------------

Another Valentine's Day which ends with my mother’s disappointed and judgmental text message, who doesn’t understand that you can be happy and single at my age. No big deal, I got used to it. With Kayla, we watched series, devoured everything we could in tacos and M & M’s and it was great. Well, as usual, it was mostly I who ate since K. had a weak stomach and vomited after three bites. However, the day was super good and I even managed to prepare a fabulous hot chocolate. I would have to write down the recipe somewhere, but now I have an intense laziness. Tonight is special, I intend to conduct a small experiment on my dear and tender roommate. I've been trying to help her with her anxiety for a while, and I came across a rather interesting YouTube video that is supposed to help you sleep better and relax. Kayla doesn't believe in all this hypnosis and meditation stuff so I'm going to have to be tricky. I’ve planned a special compilation, added to the soft music she listens to fall asleep, we’ll see if it works. I giggle all alone like a moron, K. will wonder what I'm doing. Otherwise, I would have to think about sending other CVs for the next year because otherwise, I could end up with nothing. But before, I go back to watch The Witcher.

February 27th. ------------

I still managed to sprain myself, believing that a curse surrounded my right ankle. An accident so stupid… : I came back from the supermarket, I sneezed and smack! I tripped against the sidewalk. It only happens to me. Tomorrow, I’ll stay warm in my bed, that's at least the advantage. Speaking of bed, Kayla seems to sleep better for some time ^^ She is more relaxed and smiling, I think it comes from her migraines which are less frequent. Maybe the video really does her good! She didn't realize that I had changed her playlist. She is in better shape and that is nice, proof that my little idea was not bad. Ad. I have to tell what just happened, it's way too funny! I was looking for my cell phone and Kayla offered to ring it. She calls me, I hear absolutely nothing and I'm starting to wonder if I didn't leave it on the bus or something. Suddenly, K. stands up, she holds out a finger to tell me to shut up and she goes to my room, to my dresser. My cellphone was there, among the socks! Totally crazy, she managed to hear it vibrate. Suffice to say that she will boast all evening.

March 18th. ------------

Personally, I don't have much to say, it's pretty calm right now. So I think I'm going to use this journal as a scientific notebook, to record the evolution of my experience. Insert here a mad scientist laugh. Kayla is doing very well and even more than well, she is in great shape. She got back into sport and she eats more meat, I think she likes it more and more, we will have to plan for additional expenses. I don't mind it, I love it but I'm not a big fan of tartare. We have set up a little ritual: once a week, we go for a walk in the nearby forest. It forces me to go out, I'm a homebody type, but Kayla likes to wander between the trees. At the moment, she likes to walk a long way barefoot to "feel the ground better", she tends to straighten up and smell the air at full lungs when we are in the woods, I guess it is what we call a return to nature. Even more than at the apartment, she tends to be pensive, in her own bubble. During these times, she sometimes contracts her fingers and plays her nails on the bark of trees. The temperatures are still quite cool but soon the outings will become more pleasant. I would have to clean my sneakers, wading in the mud doesn't do them any good.

April 03rd. -----------

Marc is an asshole, he gave absolutely nothing for Christine's starting drink and he pulled out to buy the gift. I hate him, I will staple his face with exquisite pleasure. Mum says that he turns me around, that it's a parade of seduction but no thank you, it's not my type. At all. For obvious reasons. But let's go back to Kayla, it's more interesting. I forgot to write it down but I have had the impression that she has changed physically for several weeks. It’s super light but I think her nose is a little thinner, her ears slightly pointed. It makes her look extremely cute. Even her slightly sharp teeth (wow, vampire !) don't spoil anything. Lately, she has looked a bit on reserve. In terms of health, she is on fire, nothing to say about it, she has an ogre's appetite and she is in a good mood but I did feel that something was wrong. She ended up showing me last night : her hair is more numerous, lighter but more numerous. According to her, it started on her arms and legs and on closer inspection, we found that she also had it on her back, right in the back of her kidneys. She hesitates to shave it but I think it would not be a good idea, it is not even ugly.

April 18th. -----------

It spread all over her back and even on her stomach! From a distance, it's invisible, but in bright light, you can see the slight tawny reflection on her skin, it creates a super fine and soft down, I would be almost jealous. She gave up the idea of shaving, I think she loves to run her hand over her hairs, it will become her pride, I feel it. I tease her a little because it starts to go up in the neck, it will win the jaw but frankly, she is super good in her skin and when she smiles, she is radiant.

May 09th. -----------

Kayla knows about the video and I was afraid she might get upset but she jumped on my neck to thank me. She told me that I had a great idea and that she had never felt so alive. It's heart-warming, really, and I took advantage of the hug to tease the light tuft of hair on her ears, it's really one of the most adorable parts of her. That and the golden reflections of her eyes. Oh ! The down has become thicker but so soft ... As I predicted, her fur has become her pride and she takes great care of it, she brushes every night and she learns about the best products to use. She told me that when she goes to bed at night, she feels like she has a tail, but I don't believe her. However, we have been going out in the forest for some time, especially now that the weather is nice. To laugh, Kayla walks on all fours when we are sure that nobody will see her. She spins at an impressive speed and she goes away for a few minutes between the trees. Sometimes she comes back with a pine cone, a stone with a fun shape or color. This afternoon, she came back with a dead bird, it surprised her a lot but we laughed. When she is in her world, she sometimes forgets what she is doing, she says that it is the fox that takes over. I love the expression. I would have to thank the creator of the video because he changed my friend’s life.

May 26th. Video on the narrator's laptop ----------------------------------

Small apartment cluttered with books, clothes, magazines and half-empty food packages. Lying in an armchair, a young auburn-haired woman stares at the ceiling, absently playing with one of her ears. Her bare feet hang over the armrest and the sun casts reflections between fire and gold on her skin and the fine hairs that cover it. The image remains fixed for a few seconds because the narrator contemplates her roommate. Then she calls out to her.

- I want to immortalize our cohabitation. To prove to our children that we were young and pretty. Kayla?

The person concerned does not respond, lost in thought, and her friend must say her first name a second time so that she returns to reality. Her pupils dilate slightly and she turns her head towards the phone with a sheepish smile that lets glimpse of adorable slightly pointed white teeth. Unless it is an optical effect. The fact of being filmed amuses her and she pretends to readjust her worn t-shirt before watching the narrator.

- Sorry, you said? The neighbor makes chicken, I want it. Chicken ! Chicken !

She hops around taking a big voice of ogress, triggering a laugh on the other side of the phone, she will have to be fed, again.

- I promise, I'll go buy some after. For the moment, I just want to keep an image of you like that, with MY t-shirt. Thief. Hey, did you put on nail polish? I love the color.

The picture moves a bit when the narrator reaches out to take her friend’s hand, having fun examining her long, dark, shiny nails. As she eats hers, it will probably never be the same but it is not very serious, it does less maintenance. Kayla watches her with a half smile, her head tilted slightly, cascading her hair over her shoulder, it's about time she combed it. It’s the weekend so she’s in relax mode, loose pants and mint chewing gum to hide the fact that she’s been too lazy to brush her teeth. Her gaze is lost in the air for a few seconds then she grabs the phone to put it on the coffee table.

- Drop it off.

The screen is arranged so that it is now filming the two young women as Kayla slides onto the couch against the narrator, ignoring her petty protests. She has a specific idea in mind and coats herself on her roommate's lap with a pout of a child in need of hugs. It’s almost become a ritual, just like walking in the forest. The young woman lays her head on the knees of her friend and pulls on her t-shirt which is pulled up, revealing a plump hip covered with fur. The narrator's face, half cut by the screen, seems to be blushing and it is with timid gestures that she replaces a wick behind the adorably pointed ear of her roommate.

- You know you're going to end up putting hairs all over me with your nonsense. You behave like a big cat, Kayla, a fickle big cat that stings all the hot water. - Shh. Pet me.

In advance, Kayla closes her eyes and curls up on the sofa while a hand rests on her hair to gently stroke it. The back and forth movement is gradually made more assured, the fingertips coming to touch the neck or the temple while continuing the caresses. If it was a cat, it looks like it purrs but in this case, difficult to put a precise word on the noise of pleasure that vibrates in the throat of Kayla. The narrator soon begins to tickle her behind the ears, visibly feeling the same quiet joy as her friend. The latter smiles by contracting her fingers, wiggles slightly to guide the movements on her scalp. The minutes go by and the moment is ready for drowsiness, the caresses become more spaced out while Kayla seems to be asleep. The hand of the narrator goes down to her cheekbone, caressing the fluffy cheek. That's when the sleeper opens her eyes, her yellow pupils reflecting the light for a brief moment. She half-opens her mouth and gives a teasing lick on the fingers of her roommate who jumps, surprised, then bursts out laughing.

- You are stupid !

She wipes her hand and pushes her friend away to bend over and end the video before her cell phone runs out of battery.

June 19th. ----------- Just for fun, I want to tell you about what happened last night because it was super weird. Before I forget, I found a small job at an ice cream parlor over the weekend so it will allow me to make money. If, in addition, I can eat a few free sorbets , it will be beneficial. But let's go back to my story. It was at night and I was sleeping pretty well when I heard my room’s door creak (I really have to add oil, it sounds like a horror movie). I open my eyes and I realize that Kayla is coming in and I immediately think of a sleepwalking crisis, even if she never did. She approaches slowly, on all fours on the ground and her large eyes have an almost creepy glow in the dark. I do not move an inch and watch her slowly approach the bed, without even daring to withdraw my hand which hangs over the mattress. Kayla stops, sniffs my hand for a long time and I think I see her run her tongue over her lips. But finally, she just licks my nails and lies on the floor. A few seconds later, she is already sleeping, but I had a little more trouble. Anyway, this morning I told her (she was surprised to have slept on the floor) but she doesn't remember anything. I guess it counts as a sleepwalking attack.

August 10th. ----------- It's hot, so hot! I only want to stay cool in the apartment but Kayla does not agree. Right now, we spend more time between the trees than between walls, I think she has a hard time leaving the woods. She agrees to come back later and later and even if I like her a lot, there are times when I get a little annoyed. At least we're in the shade so I'm not going to complain. There, I'm writing leaning against a tree and my roommate has just returned after at least half an hour alone. She is grooming and I realize that her fur has become so thick that she does not bother to put on clothes, except on rare occasions. In fact, it doesn't look like she's naked, I don't feel embarrassed, and neither does she. Probably to be forgiven for dragging me outside, Kayla just lay down at my feet but as I write, I can't scratch her head. Casually, I glance at her and I can't resist the urge to follow the line of her nose to tease the tip, dark and slightly rough. The changes of the past few months are visible now, from the curvature of her back to the skeleton of her face, including her slender ears and slit pupils. But I’m getting lost and I have no more blood in my legs, it’s time to go back.

August, 10th, Late at night. ------------------------

I'm completely drunk! We played the game of shots while watching X-men First class: Prof X puts his fingers on his temple, a shot! I'm devastated, worst idea of my life but it was funny! We laughed throughout the film, the neighbors even shouted. Kayla fell asleep like a sledgehammer, but I'm not sleepy. I watch her snoring, it's funny. She is curled up into a ball and she is very small, she looks like a kitten that we want to pet. This is what is crazy with her, she is constantly changing! It’s not that she is getting smaller but in fact if, a little, it’s as if she could get smaller or bigger depending on her mood. When she wakes up, she stretches back to her normal size and she relaxes her paws with her fingers, it's super crazy. Sometimes she walks but she prefers to stay on all fours, halfway between two states. I realized that in fact, I saw her as a vixen-like woman but that I was all wrong! She has become a vixen who can turn into a woman and she is so much more fulfilled now. I’ve never seen her smile so much in my life and she’s become so beautiful, sometimes I am intimidated when I see her because she is more than beautiful, she is divine. I didn’t say it earlier, but when she’s in the forest and the sun breaks through the branches to light up her red limbs with thousands of flamboyant glares, I’m almost jealous. But I prefer to watch over her because I like being her protector, she trusts me. In fact, I'm a human taking care of a goddess, it's completely clear now! Kayla, the great deity vixen. Who snores. She just gave a super funny growl, I refrain from laughing because I mustn't wake her up. When she dreams, she wrinkles the tip of her nose, it's adorable. It's been a long time since we decided not to see anyone, I feel so privileged, as if I was the only one to have access to a treasure. I love to stroke her fur, run my hand from her head to her legs, following the hollows of her back then sliding on her white belly. She always has funny reactions. But my favorite thing above all is to admire her face, because it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life my life my life. Especially her eyes, they are yellow like.... something yellow and pretty, and so big! Sometimes when she looks me straight in the eye, I lose track and I can't remember what I was thinking. I think she saw that it troubled me, it amuses her. She has so much joy in living now. Kayla, I like to think it's a little bit thanks to me that you're doing better, but frankly, I wonder if I'm not the one who is the most gifted. In fact, I'm super tired, I'm going to sleep. Pff ... we had to swallow at least 20 shots, I’m so drunk ...

August 11st. ------------

I want to die ... what made me play this stupid game? And write ! It must be the less hard version of "I sent texts while being drunk" I should rip the last pages but I think it will make me laugh to read them again in a few years. For the moment, I mainly want an ice bath, I'm dying of heat. When I woke up, I realized that I had collapsed like a mass on the sofa and that Kayla had disappeared. She never ran away so I didn't worry too much, especially when I heard noise in the next room. I realize that I often forget the scientific aspect, that I tell the story of an experiment, which is why I have not observed if my roommate has had better alcohol consumption in recent months. In any case, she looked as fresh as usual, sitting on the ground with a piece of meat in her hands. She didn't notice me right away, busy licking the juice on her fingers with care but when she looked up, she didn't seem to recognize me. She frowned and rolled up her upper lip to show her white teeth. I think she groaned so I put my hands up in the air as a sign of appeasement, maybe she had a hangover. Anyway, she calmed down and came to rub my legs to apologize. Whether she wanted to eat me or not, I think there is only one conclusion: stop drinking. Never again.

October 13rd. -------------

Almost Halloween but I don't think Kayla will want to go on a candy tour this year. Too bad, she has a costume all found and absolutely sensational. To tell the truth, I think she remains quite shy about her changes, it's been so long since she has seen anyone… I realize that I have never talked about her tail yet but I will not , because she told me it was something very personal. So, I will respect her choice. It’s not the most important thing anyway. When I said she told me, it was a while ago because she no longer speaks. She no longer finds it useful, much like standing up. It's not disturbing, we learned to communicate without words, she knows very well how to make me understand what she wants. I still don’t know what does the fox say but she has her own language and it's crystal clear. It's all about the way she moves, the modulations of her growling voice, the movement of her red ears or the sparkle teasing in her golden eyes. It’s nice to say that we found our modus operandi, something that belongs only to us. It’s not much different from private jokes. It is getting colder and colder and yet Kayla finds it increasingly difficult to want to return to the apartment. She even stays in the woods for the night, even though I was not comfortable at first. I guess I have a hard time letting her be independent, I want to be able to protect her from everything, which is stupid. It is obvious that little by little, she will want to move away for good, she makes her life. But she knows that she will always have a place in my heart and I feel that it is mutual.

December 22nd. -------------

For the past two days, Kayla has been in the woods despite my insistent calls and even if I try to take it upon myself, I ended up worrying. I stood with my feet in the mud for a long time and night had already fallen long ago when she agreed to point the tip of her nose. To tell the truth, it scared me super. It was dark and she suddenly popped up to jump on me, her eyes shining like two bright moons under the light of my cell phone. I screamed as I fell to the ground and she collapsed with all her weight on me before standing up with an amused look. We laughed for sure, but I quickly went back warm with her to find the comfort of the apartment and give her meat. You never know, maybe she wanted to devour me, hahaha. In any case, she was in a good mood, maybe the wild life does her good. Once showered, I settled on my bed and she jumped on it to join me. We wanted to watch series but the episode was pretty lousy and Kayla was teasing. I read on the Internet that winter was a special time for foxes but I can't remember why. In any case, she was absolutely not interested in Netflix, she preferred to settle on me to purr like a big red cat. I had to resign myself to leaving the series in the background only because K. had slipped her muzzle on my neck and her warm breath tickled me. I caressed her back and closed my eyes to feel the softness under my fingers but also the pulsations of her heart which was beating hard. She started to lick and then chew my lobe and it made me laugh ... The next day she went back into the woods and I think I saw two other foxes watching her from a distance. Maybe she found a group to join, that would be good news. I scratched her between the ears before she spun between the trees and even though I know we're going to see each other again soon, I felt my heart tighten slightly. But it does not matter, I do not intend to operate the same metamorphosis but the link between us is too strong for it to end like that. We are roommates and friends. I’m so happy for the past few months and how she has flourished. Thank you, creator of the video. But I have to stop writing and focus on the file I have to return for early January. Procrastination will kill me.

[secondstartotheright-imagines]

Taking Down the Crocodile.

Request from @modified-wonderland:  Hey! I'm not sure if you'll like this idea, but how about a situation where the reader is trying to steal from Killian's ship. He catches her only to find out the item she was trying to steal was to locate/kill someone who hurt her: Killian's sworn enemy, Rumplestiltskin.

Note: Hope you enjoy! <3

Killian Jones x Reader x Rumpelstiltskin

Words: 2,172

Disclaimer: None of the GIFs used are mine. All credit goes to their creators <3

It was here somewhere, it had to be, there was no way you were going to risk your life raiding a pirate ship only to find nothing. You knew that the whole crew of this ship were currently drowning themselves in ale in a tavern close-by so they weren’t going to be back anytime soon which meant you could search every single crook and cranny that could possibly hide the item you were looking for.

“What you seek is a gem. Its beauty will draw you in but a warning to you my dear...it is dangerous. The magic held within it is enough to bring the Dark One himself down so use it carefully.”

You had gone to see the ‘village crazy’ because you had just about reached rock bottom and the old woman seemed to be the only option you had left. Although she was unable to see physical things around her due to the injury she sustained after being caught up in one of the fires the Evil Queen had started in the village she was able to see a whole lot more than the average person.

She had a strong connection with the spiritual world and there had also been rumours that she could see into the future too. So you would take each and every word she said to you seriously....if it meant you could finally get your revenge.

“You will find it hidden in the heart of a ship that holds a skull and crossbones and bears the name ‘Jolly Roger’....lay your eyes upon that ship and you will find what you desire.”

Wandering into the next part of the ship your eyes glanced over at the majestic bed that dominated this particular room – in fact every bit of furniture seemed to be grander than anything else on the ship. This had to be the room of the Captain himself....it was certainly pretentious enough to be. All your life you had struggled to get by, at some points even having to rummage through people’s rubbish just to try and find some food and yet here was a pirate, the scum of the sea, living in luxury without having to work for a damn thing.

It wasn’t long before your anger got the better of you and for a few moments your focus was diverted away from the thing you had come here to do and was now on something else entirely....

The knife you always had inside one of your leather boots came out, your fingers wrapping around the hilt of the small weapon, and as a snarl started to creep up onto your lips you launched yourself at the bed and wasted no time in slashing up its silk sheets. It wasn’t just your anger at the pirate that was coming out now though - for months you had bottled up the true source of your anger but as you felt the blade slice into the thin sheets you couldn’t help but imagine that it was a certain someone’s body that you were mutilating.

“Not that I’m complaining at having a beautiful young woman in my bed or anything but usually I like to be involved when my bed sheets are being ripped to shreds.”

The deep voice pulled you out of the crazed state you had fallen into and instead you went into a more defensive one as you turned to face him, still kneeling on the mattress of the bed, and pointed the blade towards him.

“Get out pirate before I make sure this blade embeds itself in your chest.”

Although there was a smirk on his face at your threat his eyes darkened a little at the same time just to make it very clear that he wasn’t about to let that happen.

“This is MY ship love and given that I didn’t bring you back here from the tavern to have my wicked way with you that makes you a trespasser.....” The wooden floor of the room creaked underneath his feet with each step he took towards the bed, and towards you, his eyes not even so much as blinking while he closed the gap between you. “....have you not heard what we pirates do to people who invite themselves onto our ship without our permission?”

It hadn’t really been a thought that had crossed your mind about this little raid of yours but then you hadn’t really planned this whole thing at all. Yes you knew that what you needed was on this ship, the old woman had told you so, and that his crew would be away drinking but other than that there had been no other form of planning.....had you bothered to do such a thing then perhaps you would have considered the consequences of being caught.

The pirate had travelled enough realms and confronted enough to see what he had managed to get one over on someone and as your once confident expression faded from your face and turned into a more confused look he used the opportunity to reach out with his normal hand and snatch the weapon right out of your grip.

“Didn’t think you would have thought about that particular little hurdle love.”

“I just.....I just want what I came for and then I will be out of your hair. You will have no more trouble from me.”

His hook glistened as he walked towards a part of the room in which the moon outside was illuminating through one of the portholes and your heart skipped a beat. The knife that you had once wielded was now in his the hand of the pirate as he flipped it expertly in is hand repeatedly.

“Just what is it you want exactly? Must be something pretty big if you are willing to risk your own life for it. Captain Hook is hardly known for being lenient with people who steal from him.”

The last person you should have been saying anything to was the very one you were attempting to steal from but the thought of either the hook or the knife being used against you if you didn’t was more than enough to prevent any silent treatment from you.

“It’s a gem. One that holds enough magic inside of it to kill that evil monster who calls himself Rumpel-“

“-stiltskin. The crocodile.” The pirate stopped all movement as his grip around the knife tightened so much that his knuckles turned white from the pressure. “That bastard not only took the love of my life away from me but he took my hand too.”

“I made a deal with him, to find my one true love, and although he gave me that very person he also took him away from me too.”

The two of you were sat at the docks watching as the ships from different realms rolled in and others left. It was a dream of yours to get away from the Enchanted Forest, see other lands, and now thanks to the Dark One himself you had someone to share that dream with.

Caleb.

He had ridden into your village on the most beautiful horse you had ever seen and when your eyes trailed up to his sharp blue ones you knew he was the one.

Those very eyes were the ones you found yourself getting lost in at that moment, you could see your whole future playing out in them, but then something happened. His eyes widened in sheer horror as water began to spill out from his mouth. Convulsions racked his body as you held him close to you in confusion as to what was happening. Fear consumed you, your heart shattering into pieces, as his whole body went limp......

Your words came freely once the pirate had let slip what had happened to him but the pain was still as raw as it had been on that day, so much so that tears were beginning to line your eyes. That was when he turned to face you before placing your knife onto the bed where you were sat.

“I hope you weren’t thinking of using that on him because it won’t work. Nothing can kill him aside from that dagger he holds so very close to him and, supposedly, this gem that you came here for.”

As he spoke he turned to a framed picture that decorated the farthest wall from them. Your eyes watched as he moved it to the side to reveal a small hole in the wall which had inside of it a leather pouch.

“This is the only gem I have onboard my ship. I am not just willing to hand it over to a girl I don’t know though so, instead, I will work with you to bring the man down.”

He pulled it out from the hole, placing the picture back into its previous position, before emptying the contents of the small bag into his hand. Immediately the gem dazzled, not needing any source of light to illuminate it, and your eyes widened in both awe and excitement. There it was...the one thing that was going to help you get the revenge you wanted....and all you needed to do was agree to work with a pirate.

“So long as you allow me to be the one to deliver the final blow once th-“

A disembodied laugh echoed around the room causing you to almost jump right out of your skin. Your fingers searched the bed until they felt the cold metal of a knife blade and snatched up the weapon. It was only moments ago that you wanted to be nowhere near the hooked pirate and yet now you found yourself standing as close as you possibly could as your eyes darted about the room to locate where it was coming from.

“Oh my dearies! I am delighted to see the two of you together!” A cloud of smoke appeared before the two of you leaving behind in its wake the one person you both loathed. “Even if you are both conspiring to kill little old me!”

You lunged for him without so much as thinking twice about your actions but found yourself getting nowhere near him. In fact your legs didn’t seem to be moving at all, nothing was, the only thing you were able to move was your head – of which you used to see that the same thing had been done to the pirate too.

A grin stretched on Rumpelstiltskin’s face from one ear to the other as he clapped his hands excitedly.

“Ah, yes, sorry about that. I can’t risk the two of you using that precious little gem on me now can I sooooo you’ll find yourselves stuck like that until I leave.”

Another one of his irritating laughs filled the room as he danced his way over to where the pirate was currently frozen to the spot and with his thumb and forefinger he pinched up the gem. Both yours and Hook’s eyes widened, your voices screaming out in protest, but in seconds it simply disappeared into thin air as though it had never been there in the first place.

“It bewilders me that you even think I am the issue here.” He turned to face you now, those monstrous eyes of his taking in every inch of you as though he was about to devour you there and then. “My dear you asked me to bring your one true love into your life and I did just that.”

“You also took him away from me you bas-“

“Ah, ah! Now, now....there shall be none of that foul language. I expect quite the fun from the little hunt that will ensue after this. A pirate and a peasant girl gallantly trying to stop the most powerful creature in the realm!”

Just as a child would when they had just been handed a whole load of sweet food he performed a little tap dance around the room, his smile growing even bigger than it had been before, and then in a snap of his fingers he was gone...and so was the only chance you had at bringing him down.

Both you and Hook felt the spell lifting from you as your bodies were now able to move as freely as they wanted to. You looked at each other as determination ignited inside your eyes, there was no way in hell either of you were going to let this one slide.

“Fancy becoming a pirate for a while love? Only way to find him is to travel the realms and aside from magic beans going by sea is the next best way to travel.”

You had never wanted to associate yourself with the pirate kind but if that’s what needed to be done then who were you to pass it up? You nodded in response to his question  when a smirk tugged up at his lips and he held out his hand for you to take.

“Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger Miss.”

[jolienjoyswriting]

Curtain Call, Ch. IV

Chapter 4 of "Curtain Call," an Essence of Ragnarok story.

With that, the absolute final chapter of my Essence of Ragnarok story comes to a close. "Final chapter?" you say?  "Does that mean you're done writing stories?" Not by a long-shot! There are plenty of other stories to be told.  This is just the final story in the timeline. So, that means that there won't be any more stories which take place after this one.  ;3

Word count: 3,554 – Character count: 20,140 Originally written: February 13rd, 2019

After all is said-and-done… Joseph finally decides to face reality.

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    “I’m sure you’re mad at me for not visiting in three years…” Joseph told the grave marker of his departed love.  “I know I’d be, if I were you!  But… I’m not you.  No one’s you… no one’s like you.  It… it took me this long to figure that out, for myself…     “When you were laying there, completely motionless that morning…” he continued, “I… I didn’t know what to think.  I’m kind of surprised I didn’t get arrested for fighting those officers who reclaimed you… but, I guess they understood what I was going through, or didn’t care.  I’m sure I made a pretty funny face when they zapped me with that stun gun, though!  Heh.”     He paused to sigh.     “Anyway… I’m here, now!  Now… that I know where you are, without-a-doubt.  You’re here!  W-well, I mean… not here-here…  What I mean is… you’re here.”     Joseph gently touched his chest, where his heart rested.     “In the hearts of those who care about you… care for you – those who knew you and loved you, Hope.  I know I sure did.  I’m… not sure if I ever asked too much of you, though… and, lately?  I’ve been wondering if I hadn’t pushed you into something you weren’t ready for.”     Again, he paused…     “I… met your… uh…  What… would she be considered?  Your ‘previous version?’  Your ‘older sister?’  Actually… she said she was version 3, so–  Uh… what I’m saying is, I met ‘Marie.’  She… seems to be taking good care of your body… which, I guess it wasn’t your body…  It was hers.  S-sort of…  Ah, geez, I’m really scatterbrained, this morning…!”

    Joseph shook his head and took a moment to try and figure out what he wanted to say.  When he did, he knelt down in front of the plaque, curling his tail around him and holding his umbrella over it.     “Hope… I miss you,” he said with a little whimper.  “I miss you so much…  I think I miss you more, this week, than I have all of the last three years you’ve been gone!  And, well… I guess that’s because I’ve finally figured out that you aren’t coming back…  Like, for real.  You’re gone-gone…  No backups or anything…  In fact… we never even found that hat you loved so much!  It just… vanished, that day Dr. Lewis found you…  I… I really wish we’d’ve found it.  I’d love to be able to give it to you…”

    The fox sniffled, shivering and closing his eyes.  He thought that, after three years, he’d at least have something intelligent to say, rather than start talking about her cap… but, try-as-he-might… he couldn’t seem to find any more words worth saying.  Eventually, he opened his eyes… only to go wide-eyed, catching sight of something astonishing!     “W… what?”     Sitting right in front of him was a simple, gold-colored sports cap with a green line around it and a green “plus sign” in the middle.  But, that wasn’t all…  Someone was holding the cap.  Someone with a tan-colored hand.  Slowly, he turned his head… only for his eyes to widen further!  Standing next to him, holding her own umbrella, was…     “H… Hope…?”     “Still ‘Marie,’ silly…” the blue-haired girl in the overalls said with a soft smile.     “What… how… why?”  He paused… then, his attention turned back to the cap, snatching it out of her hand.  “Marie, where did you get this…?”     “From me!”     “What…?”

    Joseph stood up.  As he turned around, Marie stepped to one side, revealing another familiar form standing behind her…     “J… Jessie?”     “Yo.”     Jessica Ingmann was there, also holding an umbrella and wearing a nice-looking red dress with no shoes or hat.  Joseph recognized it as the same dress from Hope’s own court hearing…

    “What… what in the names of the Trinity are you… either of you–”     “Miss Ingmann called me, and I called them.”     “What…?  N-no way.”     He wasn’t sure how he’d missed it… but, standing behind Jessica was a much taller, much whiter figure he knew.     “Miss Lyra…?”  Joseph rubbed his eyes.  “What… what are you– why are any of you–?”     “As I said…” the tall, white-furred wolf told him as she stepped forward, ignoring the rain that was soaking her well-dressed form, “Miss Ingmann called me, and I called them.”     “Okay, but– wait.  ‘Them?’”     “My creator – the doctor – is here, with us,” Marie told him.     “What?”  The fox’s brow lowered.  “Why– where?”     “‘e’s in ‘is car,” Jessica said with a grin.  “Doc Lewis thought th’ whole thing was stupid, but ‘e wanted t’ see what all th’ hubbub was about, since ‘is cute li’l lab-bot was so int’rested!”     Joseph turned his head toward Marie… who was shyly looking away.     “I… just wanted to see the grave marker for myself,” she defiantly told the group.  “Th-that’s all!”     “I suppose that not even artificial intelligence programs are beyond morbid curiosity,” Lyra added.  “After hearing so much about this ‘Hope,’ both from her creator and yourself, it was inevitable that ‘Marie’ would want to… ‘meet her.’”     “O… kay…”  Joseph hummed.  “But, that doesn’t explain why you’re here, Miss Lyra.”     The wolf smirked.  “Likely, the same reason you are here, Mr. Lithius.”

    “Jessie…”     Joseph’s attention turned squarely to Jessica.     “What…  What’s this all about?  Why did you gather all these people here?  Why are you here?  How… did you even know I was here…?  I don’t understand…”     “Josey, ya dumb-butt…” she laughed.  “It’s our girlfriend’s birthday, ain’ it?  What kind’a lover would either’a us be ‘f we didn’ come wish ‘er a good one?”     Marie coughed and uncomfortably shuffled.  She clearly didn’t like the way Jessica was talking about her “previous self.”  However…     “Yer so prudish ‘n cute, Marie!”     She winced and scrunched her face.  Jessica had walked over and pinched her cheek.     “I jus’ wanna eat’cha up!” the bat-girl told her with a grin.     “Please, Miss Ingmann!” Marie enthusiastically told her, batting the hand away.  “Don’t say such disturbing things!”     All that did was make the latter laugh hard enough to snort.

    “Anyhoo…” Jessica continued, “I called Big Wuff, ‘ere, t’ see if she couldn’ arrange some kind’a meet-up.  Ya know… get e’ryone who was involved wid Hope ‘ere, ‘n whatnot.”     “Wait…”  Joseph blinked.  “Does that mean Carlos is lurking around, somewhere?”     “Ah– no…  ‘e said ‘e wasn’ int’rested… th’ jerk,” she spat.  “But, like… you, me, Marie, Doc Lew, Lyra…  We’re all ‘ere t’ pay our r’spects, more-‘r-less.”     “I… highly doubt that Dr. Lewis–”     “You don’t know a thing about me, pest.”     Joseph blinked, then blinked again, watching Marie run over to the form skulking toward the grave marker.  She held her umbrella over the brownish-red hair of the human male, escorting him over as he walked in front of the surprised fox.  He looked pretty angry, too…

    “Uh… h-hi?” Joseph greeted.  “W-welcome to the– ack!”     However, his greeting was quickly squelched by a solid punch to the nose.     “That’s for punching me,” Dr. Lewis told him.  “And, this –”     He added another punch, aimed at Joseph’s stomach, which also connected.     “– is for trespassing on my property and harassing my assistant.  Now, move.”     The fox was in no state to relocate in any hurry, but he did manage to shuffle aside.  He was quick to watch the doctor – with heightened suspicion – was they knelt down and stared at the etched plaque in the ground.     “You okay, Joe?”     Only to find himself momentarily distracted as Jessica brushed up against him and whispered into his ear…

    “Yeah…  Thanks for not stopping him, by the way,” the fox sarcastically told her.     “Aww, did th’ mean ol’ doctor hurt my BFF?  Let Mamma Jessie make it better!”     Joseph squeaked as Jessica pulled him into a headlock and ground a knuckle into his head.  He struggled and broke free, after a moment, then pushed the laughing bat away.     “Jerk.”     “Same t’ you!” she said with a grin.     “If you two are finishing being disgusting…” Dr. Lewis cut in.     “Go ‘head, Doc!  Say yer thing!”     Joseph looked at Jessica, then at Dr. Lewis…  He had nothing to add.

    “This AI… was an anomaly in every sense of the word.  I don’t know what sort of malfunction the original ‘Marie’ program suffered to alter her programming in such a way as to create a completely disassociated ‘personality,’ devoid of all morality and logic…”     Joseph growled… but, he didn’t stop the doctor.     “But, no matter the circumstances, that was the case.  And, for whatever reason… this new AI… this ‘Hope?’  This AI decided that it would benefit them to… unify… with a filthy, fur-covered creature who, in my brief, personal experiences, is quite possibly one of the vilest, most wretched examples of the abominations we know as ‘Hybrids’ that I have ever met.”     “Well, ain’ that lovely,” Jessica interjected with notably irritation.     “I’m not finished, flying rat.”     “Hey.  Go fu–”     Joseph put a hand over Jessica’s mouth before she could interrupt further.  For some reason… he was kind of curious as to where the doctor was going with his cruel words.

    “It eludes me what one could possibly see in such worthless creatures.  But… as I’ve learned, during my years on this planet… there are a lot of things which elude me.  ‘Why is someone of my intelligence repeatedly doomed to failure?’  ‘Why am I cursed to walk this planet alone and unrecognized?’  And, most recently… ‘Why did I spend twelve years of my life obsessing over the loss of a complex machine and its associated code?’”     “Doctor…?”     Dr. Lewis looked up at his assistant.  Joseph wasn’t sure… but, it seemed like he was smiling at her.

    “I recall your first version, Marie,” he told the android.  “Your first version was, quite frankly, overbearing.  Your first went to great lengths to ensure my safety and well-being… to a point where she hounded me like a spoiled pet.  When the spiteful gods destroyed her, I should have been happy to be rid of her.  But… after that lightning hit… after I realized that she… the original ‘Marie…’ had been taken from me…  I fell into a deep depression.     “I don’t know why I cared, as I did… but, knowing that Marie was gone filled me with anger… but, moreover… sadness and regret.  I mistreated her.  I abused her.  I bossed her around as though she were nothing more than a puppet.  Yet, through it all… she remained loyal, only wanting the best for me, no matter the circumstance.  I… I missed her so much.     “When I saw that girl, three years ago… I thought I had been given a chance to repent for past mistakes.  I had found my lost Marie.  But, Marie… was no more.  Instead, the gods taunted me with this… this ‘Hope’ girl!”     Dr. Lewis turned to the grave, punching the ground on either side of it with a growl.     “Savages…  I wonder, though…”     His hands unclenched and he leaned on them, intensely staring…     “If the override code had failed me… would I have simply walked away?  Or, would my obsession have re-ignited and consumed me, much like it did with this filthy fox?  It’s questions like these which keep me awake, at night…”

    The doctor slowly stood with Marie’s help.  Once he was on his feet, he turned around, looking directly at Joseph… who was giving him an angry glare.     “There are a lot of things I don’t understand, in this world…” Dr. Lewis said with a stern expression.  “There are a lot of things I don’t want to understand – your… debauched relationship with an AI being prime among them.  However… I do understand one thing.”     He took a step forward, causing the fox to step back.     “I understand that this faulty AI… that this ‘Hope…’ meant as much to you as ‘Marie’ meant to me.  I understand your actions toward my assistant.  I understand… all-too-well…”     Dr. Lewis narrowed his eyes…  Then, without a word more, he started walking back toward the vehicle he’d come out of, followed closely by his android assistant.

    “I… think that’s th’ closest thing yer gonna get to an apology, Josey.”     Joseph blinked… then, he looked at Jessica.  She was half-grinning at him.     “That’s… more than I expected,” he quietly told her before adding, “It’s kind of reassuring, hearing him admit that he’s ‘been there.’”     “Guess he ain’ such a dick after all, eh?”     “I would greatly prefer you not compare my creator to male anatomy…”

    Both pairs of eyes turned to the blue-haired girl who had spoken up.  She had returned from helping the doctor into their vehicle and, from the look on her face, didn’t appreciate what Jessica had to say.     “I jus’ call ‘em as I see ‘em, babe!” Jessica laughed.     “I am not your ‘babe,’ Miss Ingmann,” Marie sternly corrected.     Jessica shrugged with a dismissive, “Yea’-yea’, whatevs.”     “In any case…”     Marie walked over to the grave marker, then, and looked down.  She remained silent, for a moment, seemingly reading the inscription.  Once she was done, she quietly whispered something under her breath before turning back around before walking off.

    “What… was that about, I wonder?”     Joseph tilted his head, watching Marie drive off with the doctor.  When Jessica gave another shrug, he turned back toward her.     “AIs!  Am I right?” she laughed.     “It was likely sobering to see a grave marker for her previous program.”     Both Jessica and Joseph looked over at Lyra… who, after speaking, was walking toward them in long strides.     “Artificial intelligence programs don’t usually receive graves, once their purpose is served,” she continued as she knelt down in front of Hope’s grave.  “Usually, the programs are deleted or repurposed, and the bodies are recycled.  Artificial intelligence programs are, at their very core, just lines of code, after all.”     “Funny…”  Joseph chuckled.  “Marie told me something like that, after my hearing.”     “And…”  Miss Lyra gently ran her fingers over the grave marker.  “Did you have anything to say, in response?”     “I told her… that Hope also said stuff like that, sometimes…”     “Mm.”

    A long silence filled the air, broken only by the sound of rain hitting the ground, the stone, and the open umbrellas that Joseph and Jessica carried.  Neither of them really knew what to say, both simply watching Miss Lyra as she stared, rain coursing through her hair, fur, and clothes as she knelt at the marker.

    “Mister Lithius.”     Joseph perked.  “Y-yes?”     “Did I ever tell you the story of how this artificial intelligence program and I met?”     “No, but…  Hope told me her version.”  He hesitated before explaining, “You were pushy, bossy, and tried to get her to comply, but when she wouldn’t, you got angry and violent.  You even shot her – though, she said you were aiming at Carlos, allegedly.”     “Th’ fuck?”     Jessica stepped in front of Joseph, shooting the wolf an angry stare.     “S’at true?  I never heard any’a this shit…”     “You wouldn’t have,” Joseph told her.  “Carlos doesn’t like to talk about it, and I doubt Hope wanted to tell the tale a third time – or, however many she was up to.”

    “That was many… many… years ago…”     The fox nodded as the wolf spoke, again.  “Back when we were all in college…”     “College…?”  Jessica tilted her head, her expression softening.  “Ya mean, th’ Tower?”     “Yeah.”  Joseph smiled at Jessica.  “Me, Kris, Carlos, Liz, Dylan, Hope…  I think Miss Lyra was a teacher there, at the time?”     “A doctor of robotics,” the wolf said as she stood with some difficulty.  “A title which was, regrettably, revoked after my questionable actions in dealing with the AI…”     “Miss Lyra?”  The fox tilted his head, watching her wobble.  “Are you okay?”     “I’m fine,” she told Joseph.     “Ya ain’t, though…”  Jessica frowned.  “Ya got up real slow ‘n yer leg… that leg I busted… it’s real shaky.  It still ain’t healed?  After all this time…?”     “You shattered it, Miss Ingmann,” was her dry response.  “Even modern science and medicine can only go so far… when you refuse to let either help you.”     “Wait, I thought you went to the hospital, at least?”     “No, Joseph,” Lyra told him.  “I went home, that night.”     “But… what about–”     “The eye was implanted at a later date.”     “You… kept yer busted leg…?” the bat quietly asked.     “It serves as a reminder of that night.”     “That… that don’t make no sense…”  Jessica clenched her hands and stomped on the ground, giving the wolf another glare.  “Lyra, get yer damn leg fixed!”     “No,” was all the had to say to that.     “But…”  The bat-girl whimpered.  “Why…?”     “I already told you: it serves as a reminder–”     “A r’minder of what?!” Jessica shouted, growing frustrated with the wolf.  “Th’ night I lost my gods-damned temper ‘n hurt you?!”     “The night where an innocent faced injustice like a hero… and, the night where a coward who could… did nothing to change the hands of fate.”     “What… what do you–”

    “I was wrong, Joseph,” the wolf said, her full attention on the fox.  “I will never forgive myself for what I’ve done in the name of ‘justice,’ nor do I ask for yours.  Just know that my actions were not motivated by malice.  Hope was simply an artificial intelligence program sentenced to death by a corrupt and unjust law system… one that I was afraid to speak against.”     Joseph quietly blinked…  “Miss Lyra…”     “‘Genevieve,” she offered with a faint smile.     “That’s… a really pretty name.”     “While I won’t ask for anyone’s forgiveness, I hope that you can appreciate my actions, this morning.”  She gave a slight smile as she said, “It was no easy task to convince Doctor Lewis to come here.  Additionally, I genuinely feel that cap is better-placed in the hands of those who actually want it, rather than remain in the evidence room of the police station for all time.     He gave another blink before bringing Hope’s cap up and looking at it.     “Wait… you’re the one who–”     “I have to go, now,” he interrupted.  “Duty calls, downtown.  Have a good day.”     Having said her peace, Genevieve Lyra departed, leaving the fox and the bat alone, in the rain, at Hope’s grave marker.

    “Jessie…?”     “Yea’?”     Joseph looked at the bat.  “I… thought you said you were the one who had this cap?”     “Uh-huh!”  She gave a nod.  “I gave it t’ Marie!  T’ give t’ you!”     “But… Miss Lyra… Genevieve said–”     “Big Wuff gave it t’ me!” she interrupted.  “‘cause, I asked fer it!”     “How… did you know she had it?”     “I saw it in ‘er ‘ands when we all met up, this mornin’!”  The girl laughed.  “Boy, ya sure are askin’ a lotta dumb questions, kiddo!”     “Ah…”  The fox sighed, closing his eyes… then, he smiled at Jessica, who smiled back.

    A while later, Joseph had sat near the grave marker, holding his umbrella to one side and staring into space.  Jessica had joined him, seated on the other side of the marker and holding her own umbrella while idly spinning it.  They both seemed transfixed on the city-in-motion.     “You… never did tell me what you’re doing out here, Jess…” he quietly told her.     “Sure, I did!” she replied after a moment.  “I gathered all th’ people – well, all th’ ones I could – t’ come ‘ere ‘n visit Hope’s grave!  Man, I bet she’s smilin’ like crazy, up there ‘n th’ Below!  I mean, if she ain’ a’ready been reincarnated!”     Joseph stayed silent for a moment before saying, “She was an AI, though…”     Jessica turned his way with a smile.  “So?”     “I don’t… know if–”     “It’s all ‘bout that positive energy, ya know?” the girl interrupted.  “She pro’ly ended up goin’ to th’ Below, jus’ like anyone else, since she was a ‘good girl!’ Bedroom antics aside…”     Jessica wickedly grinned.  She’d made Joseph blush.     “‘n all seriousness…” she continued, “some’n as good as ‘er pro’ly caught th’ eye of someone up there.  I mean, it’d be a huge waste t’ jus’ erase someone like Hope, right?”     The fox shuddered…     “Er, uh… bad choice’a words!”  Jessica nervously laughed.  “What I meant was–”     “If anyone deserved to go to the Below…” Joseph suddenly said, “it was her.”     Jessica paused… then, she laughed, again.  “Darn tootin’!  Ah… I miss ‘er…”     Joseph looked over to see Jessica remove her glasses and rub her face.     “Ya heard me,” she explained without looking his way.  “I jus’… I didn’ see any reason t’ let it get t’ me.  But, after seeing even people who s’posedly hated her come out ‘n say nice things… more-‘r-less, I mean… ah, I dunno.  I guess I’m jus’ choked-up ‘n feelin’ sappy.”     “‘Sentimental,’ hun.”     “Yea’, whatev–”     Jessica stopped in mid-thought… then, she looked down.  Her hand had unconsciously come-to-rest on Hope’s marker as she spoke… but, that wasn’t what caught her attention.     Joseph had put his hand over hers… and, he was smiling a warm, comforting smile.

    The two remained at that grave marker for much longer than either had expected.  Jessica wondered if Joseph had truly accepted his loss, and Joseph wondered if Jessica had forgiven him for the previous three years… yet, neither spoke a word more.  As the weather cleared and the two took their leave, though, they both knew that Hope’s birthday meant something special, to them…

    It was the dawn of a new day, in their lives.

[xpeppermin]

SERVAMP Festival Fanreport (2/5) (Night)

Take note this report contains only the night session. Noon session can be found HERE. And since it will be made into a DVD (that will be released on 28th June), it will be considered spoilers if you are intending to get the DVD so you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to! My report may or may not be a little Kimura Ryohei/Greed pair-centric since I unconsciously focus on them most of the time.

I should also mention that it might not be 100% accurate as it is based off from memory, so sorry if I mess up! I’ll only write what I can remember. And also because I fail at English and suck at writing a report it probably turned out being messier than I thought it would be.......sorry.

※Also, just a light heads up that the night session contains quite a bit of ┌(┌^o^)┐ホモぉ… tension and fanservice (a lot of hugging too) so if you’re uncomfortable with things like that please read with care..(or skip it wholly if you just can’t stand it)

It’ll get pretty lengthy so I’m placing everything under a cut!! ↓↓

☆CAST☆

Shirota Mahiru - Terashima Takuma (Terashii) Kuro - Kaji Yuki Alisuin Misono - Shimono Hiro Snow Lily - Horie Kazuma Sendagaya Tetsu - Ono Yuuki (Onoyuu) Hugh - Murase Ayumu Licht Jekylland Todoroki - Shimazaki Nobunaga (Zakki) Lawless (Hyde) - Kimura Ryohei Belkia - Matsuka Yoshitsugu Sakuya - Suzuki Yuuto Tsubaki - Suzuki Tatsuhisa (Tattsun)

I’m not sure how much the SERVAMP fans know about the cast but please refer to it if you aren’t already familiar with their names! (and nicknames since I will also be using the bracketed nicknames as well)

There will also be some seiyuu-related jokes, and references/mentions of other seiyuus in which I will explain too.

☆INSIDE THE VENUE☆

Pretty flower stands, present boxes (there wasn’t one for Tanaka-sensei so I had to drop the fanproject off at the airport’s post office yesterday), and just outside the entrance to the hall! Lol the Mikuni and Jeje standees freaked me out I thought they were going to be special guests for a moment :’D The pairs are standing in the position shown in the photo (Greed pair on extreme left) during the event.

☆EVENT REPORT☆ (NIGHT)

Like in the noon session, they kick started the event by playing a video with Deal With as the background music, and then introduced the pairs in order. So there were stairs on both the left and right side of the stage, and the Eves/Tsubaki entered from the left while Servamps/Subclasses from the right.

♡ Once again I didn’t really pay attention to the Sloth pair but they did some pose when they got to the center of the stage.

♡ Unlike the noon session, this time both Shimono and Horie (Lust pair) stripped half their jackets (like Lily) XD

♡ (Pride pair) Once again because Murase took some time to get down the stairs (acrophobia maybe?), Onoyuu waited in the center for Murase with open arms. He then hugged Murase’s shoulder and both of them skipped to the front!

♡ (Greed pair) As opposed to the noon session, this time BOTH Zakki and Ryohei did the Angel pose!!

♡ Melancholy trio did some gangster pose when they got to the center of the stage XD

After the introduction, the staff had to set up seats and tables etc. so the host asked the cast to move forward a little more but they moved TOO forward again like in the noon session and Ryohei (plus some others) started sexually harassing Shimono’s man boobs (鳩胸) again pffffft. Someone tried to push him off the stage from behind jokingly too (I think it was Horie) because he went like “YOU were trying to push me off the stage for real weren’t you!!?”

......Oh man from here on the Greed pair’s bond lives very strong.

☆SCENE REMINISCE CORNER☆

So for the first corner, the casts picked their favorite scene of their own character.

♡ Murase picked his entrance scene and talked about how he first met Tetsu.

♡ Onoyuu picked the scene where Hugh got trapped by Belkia (where Hugh got defeated) and asked Misono what he should do at times like these.

♡ Shimono picked the scene where Misono and Tetsu wore disguises and were trying to infiltrate the hotel. He said it didn’t make sense why he was the only one who’s favorite scene selection didn’t get shown in the same session with his respective partner’s. And I think Murase and Onoyuu’s picks had some deeper meaning (which I forgot their explanation) so Shimono was saying it was weird since he picked the scene solely because Misono was adorable there XD

♡ Greed pair both picked the scene where Licht helped/saved Lawless -the scene where he played the piano for Lawless, called him ‘Hyde” while their duet played in the background. According to both of them it was pure coincidence and amazing that they both ended up picking the same scene as when the staff let them choose one of three scenes (on different occasions), the one they both ended up choosing wasn’t even part of the three that were shown to them! Ryohei explains that this scene left a deep impression on him -Lawless went through a lot of character development and even though he’s lived many hundreds of years and looks like that, he’s actually very broken inside. And that he feels very human (even though he’s a vampire) -more so than Licht LOL. ↑ Apparently in the event pamphlet they talked more about it in the interview. I’ll translate an excerpt of it if I feel like it (and have the time..)

♡ Tattsun picked the last episode where his past was revealed. I though Greed pair’s was pretty serious but Tattsun’s was even more serious XD Since it was a half-original-half-manga ending, Tsubaki’s past was shown and Tattsun talked about how he feels really depressed whenever he has to voice Tsubaki because of how much pain Tsubaki’s been going through all these time. I don’t remember his exact words but I think he said some spoilers (?) about how Tsubaki’s actually very lonely all these years -like looking at the other Servamps having Eves and yet he lost his own during a tragic event......or something like that. I’m pretty sure he hinted the creator of Servamp was his Eve? Idk if it’s already revealed in the manga or something because I haven’t caught up with it yet :’D

I think when Greed pair’s picked scene was shown and after they said their thoughts on why they picked that scene, someone told them to stop flirting or something...? I’m not sure if it happened here or somewhere else but I definitely heard イチャイチャ (ichaicha; flirting) being used. The same was said about lust pair though XD (they get very very ridiculous later on...)

☆TSUBAKI’S LET’S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING INTERESTING CORNER☆ 

This corner’s different from the noon session. In the second corner, the host would pick a paper (with a cast’s name written on it) from a box, and who ever’s name gets picked had to roll an 8-sided dice that has the different sins written on it. Whichever sin it lands on, they had to talk about something (that happened) that makes them relate to that particular sin. Since it was Tsubaki’s corner, Tattsun was like “HEY since it’s my corner I can change the rules right? So don’t worry if you (cast) get stuck or have trouble finding things to say -there’s Shimono there to help you♡“ LOL. ---So Shimono ends up getting bullied by his juniors again pffft.

♡ Onoyuu got picked first and he rolled “Wraith”. So he tried to find something to say and ended up talking about how he woke up one day, decided he wants to eat bread with jam but realized the jam was spoilt so he got mad or something??? As Kaji (who was sitting behind) was also caught on the camera, he kept doing the peace sign lmao. Onoyuu then baton passes to Shimono LOL. Shimono takes over and said he’s feeling “Wraith” because of Onoyuu HAHA.

♡ Zakki got picked next and he rolled with “Melancholy”. He talks about his influenza (which he mentioned in the noon session) and how it was frustrating he couldn’t work even though he still had his voice. He also said he felt really bad for inconveniencing Kaji because they had 3 schedules together that very same week he caught influenza. He then tells us to be careful because it’s flu season in Japan right now. Baton passes to Shimono LOL. Shimono cooked up some random story (it could be true, but I don’t know) with influenza/Melancholy as the theme too.

♡ Kaji got picked next and he rolled “Greed”. Just like Kuro, he’s lazy and he immediately baton passes to Shimono without even trying XD Shimono then said he’s feeling “Greed” because somehow it felt like he’s the lead star for this particular corner (or something like that) lmao.

♡ Lastly, SHIMONO HIMSELF GOT PICKED. He didn’t get a chance to roll the dice -Horie flipped it to “lust” and showed it to the audience, deciding (forcing) on the sin Shimono had to talk about. Shimono starts off saying how he thinks he’s エロい (eroi; erotic) LOL. So エロい that even male seiyuus love touching his man boobs (鳩胸) （ ´థ౪థ）

☆GAME CORNER☆ 

This corner is split into three different games: Telepathy (bond testing), Jumping Rope (cooperation testing) (night session only), and Who’s Behind The Door (how well do they know their respective partner)

The Servamps and their respective Eves will form a team (or Servamp/Subclass for Melancholy’s case) and try to score as many points as possible. Each correct answer gives them a point. The team with the most points in the end will be rewarded through a bonus game (which I will explain the rules later).

For the Telepathy game, each person will be handed out a sketchbook. Then, according to the question, the teams would have to answer without looking at each other’s answers and both the Servamp and their respective Eve has to get the same answer in order to score a point. Since there are 3 people in Melancholy trio, if 2 of them gets the same answer, that would be a point. If all 3 of them gets the same answer then that would be 1.5 points. (Starting from the telepathy game it starts going downhill.........)

The first question for this game was if they they could choose another sin to become, what would they choose.

♡ Greed pair were the first to show their answers. Both of them chose to remain as “Greed”! I think they high-fived too.....Idk they were hugging and high-fiving so much I don’t know anymore :’D Anyway one point for them!

♡ Lust pair both wrote “Greed”. One point for them!

♡ Sloth pair both wrote “Wraith”. I think they both mentioned how they wanted to try it once? XD One point!

♡ Pride pair, Onoyuu wrote “Gluttony” while Murase wrote “Shimono-san” LOL. Shimono then said “since when am I a sin?” lmao. No points.

♡ Melancholy trio, Yuuto wrote “Lust” while the other 2 wrote “Sloth”. Yuuto said he wanted to try “Lust” once. One point for them!

Second question was on how close (distance in cm) the pairs are OK with being with each other. (　˙-˙　) . Who thought of this question. Just. Who. With this cast it’s definitely going to become a disaster..........

♡ Melancholy trio went first. Tattsun and Yuuto wrote 0cm while Matsuoka wrote 15cm. Tattsun got a shock at Matsuoka’s answer XD One point for them.

♡ Pride pair next. Tetsu wrote 6.98cm (ロクキュッパ) while Murase wrote 0cm. Tetsu’s 6.98cm is a pun (?) on how much his hot spring costed per pax per night or something I think?? I’m not good at those :’D The funny thing was that they flipped their answers at the same time and Murase (in Hugh’s voice) was like “It’s okay I know what Tetsu is thinking I believe in him” both this time and in the previous question and both times they GOT WRONG. No points.

♡ Sloth pair next. Terashii wrote 50cm while Kaji wrote 0cm. ............Terashii is the ONLY ONE who took the distance thing literally. He questions “isn’t 50cm the normal distance when you are (standing in front of and) talking to someone?”. Plus Kuro’s lazy and all too so maybe it’s a little further or something. Kaji then suddenly faces Terashii and said he could be closer if he tried and started leaning closer???? I think he went past Terashii’s comfort zone hence he took a step back. Either that or he got caught off guard XD No points!

♡ Lust pair next. Shimono wrote 10cm while Horie wrote 0cm. Horie gets sad. The other casts were like “0cm and 10cm doesn’t make a difference!!?” and Shimono retorted that it did. They then made them stand 10cm apart facing each other. ..........and frEAKING HORIE, he leaned in and tried to kiss Shimono what the hell. Of course Shimono backed away in time （ ´థ౪థ） nO POINTS.

♡ Greed pair last. Both wrote 0cm and stood closely facing each other. God the tension, bless. I think they high-fived too, can’t remember.. One point!

For the Jumping Rope game, like the name suggests they would have to jump rope lol. The Eves will swing the rope while their respective Servamp will jump with them. The game is split in two rounds -first round will be Greed vs Sloth and second round will be Lust vs Pride vs Melancholy. For the last team surviving, they get a point. If they manage to last longer than 30 seconds, they get an extra point.

So before they started the actual game, they had 15 seconds (lol) to practice. Because Melancholy has 3 people, Tattsun decided that Matsuoka and Yuuto will be the ones jumping while he watches over them XD

♡ Horie kept moving closer to Shimono lol. In which Shimono backed away and I think he also asked Horie why does he keep moving closer pffft.

♡ Greed pair were extremely focused. Ryohei tugged his body and jumped very closely to Zakki it was really adorable awww.

♡ Murase jumps like a girl according to the cast LOL.

♡ They were all complaining about how 15 seconds were not enough. But time constraints so...

And then during the actual game,

♡ Greed pair and Sloth pair went up against each other first. Sloth pair didn’t last more 5 seconds -they freaking fell to the floor because according to Kaji, Terashima kept jumping forward and he sort of kneed Kaji? LOL. And Terashima nearly fell ON TOP of him -if Terashima didn’t scramble away that would’ve happened (　˙-˙　) Though despite all that chaos!! The Greed pair was still focusing on their side hence lasting longer than 30s and gaining them two points! They also hugged after that awww ♡

♡ Lust pair, Pride pair and Melancholy went up against each other next. The moment it started, Pride pair and Melancholy got defeated already oops. I think they failed to grasp the rhythm/tempo and the rope ended up hitting their legs??  So somehow it’s only the Lust pair left and apparently I think Horie’s chain necklace kept hitting Shimono’s face?? And Terashii and the others were like telling him to endure it because if they could pull through 30 seconds they get an extra point -in which they successfully do and got two points in total.

The last game Who’s Behind The Door is pretty much the same as in the noon session. Except that the Eves and Servamps change roles.

So for this game, there are 5 numbered doors. In the night session, the Eves will go behind the numbered doors and the Servamp will have to guess which door their respective Eves are behind. 2 questions can be asked (first come first serve) and the Eves behind the doors will all have to answer the questions thus giving hints for their respective Servamps to make a better guess, or to confuse the other Servamps. HOWEVER, the mics the Eves are using will be heavily altered into some high-pitched voice used for censorship (Idk how to describe so I found a random video -it sounded something like that but way higher -probably their own doing lmao).

The big screen behind shows the audience where the Eves were, hence the Servamps were not allowed to look back at all cost.

The Eves behind the respective doors were:

#1 - Greed (Zakki) #2 - Melancholy (Tattsun) #3 - Pride (Onoyuu) #4 - Sloth (Terashii) #5 - Lust (Shimono)

Kaji asked the first question; if they wore glasses on a daily basis.

♡ Zakki spoke really slowly but I don’t remember what he said oops. He said he doesn’t really wear glasses in the end I think.

♡ Tattsun was trying to be annoying and dragging out his words and he kept saying よくわかんない (yoku wakannai; I don’t really know) which the other Eves started imitating.....

♡ When Onoyuu was trying to speak, Tattsun and Terashii (?) tried sticking their fingers behind Onoyuu’s glasses (as if to test if they were fake) and Onoyuu was like いじめないで～ (ijimenaide~; don’t tease me~) but it sounded like a freaking baby LOLOL. Though for the Servamps guessing, as they couldn’t see what was going on it sounded very wrong （ ´థ౪థ）

♡ When it was Terashii’s turn to answer, the camera switched to him but what was shown was not Terashima himself but his glasses pffft. And then Terashii speaks off camera and said “I’m definitely not the person who looks like a complete different person without glasses~”. (A running joke in the seiyuu industry is that, whenever Terashii removes his glasses, he looks like a different person so they usually joke and say “who are you” “where is Terashima?” “Terashima is missing” whenever he takes his glasses off XD)

♡ Shimono blew a kiss into the camera (fanservice) and stirred up the audience. He (and Onoyuu) also kept laughing into the mic and his (their) voice made him (them) sound like he’s (they’re) crazy high on drugs or something LOL.

I forgot who asked the second question but they asked what their favorite food were.

♡ Zakki said a lot and he used a higher pitched voice each time so it got more and more difficult to decipher -even the cast couldn’t tell. Shimono and Onoyuu STILL kept laughing and because it was so hilarious, somewhere in the middle of it Ryohei sat and the floor and started laughing too

♡ Tattsun still kept dragging out his I don’t really know~~ I think he also

♡ Onoyuu -half laughing -was saying he has a lot of things he wants to eat

♡ Terashii copies Tattsun’s I don’t really know~~ and then said gummy? maybe I like gummy.

With those answers, the Servamps had to take their pick:

#1 - “Picked” by Ryohei #2 - Picked (?) by Matsuoka and Yuuto #3 - Picked (?) by Murase #4 - Picked by Kaji #5 - Picked by Shimono

♡ The audience were screaming when the Servamps were almost done with their picks because everyone were standing in front of their correct doors (but obviously at this point they didn’t know). The Servamps/Eves then got confused as to why we were screaming and said maybe it meant something?

♡ When door #1 opened to reveal Zakki, the greed pair immediately ran into each others’ embrace. Actually.....Ryohei was pretty clueless lol he only picked this door because that was the only one left for him (and the audience were screaming louder as he approached this door). He had wanted to pick door #4 initially but Kaji was like 良平さん…多分違うと思う (Ryohei-san, I think that’s not right (not your door)) and chased him away XD

♡ Door #2 opened to reveal Tattsun doing a cool pose. I think they all hugged here (I remember the 3 of them hugged somewhere but I’m not sure if it happened here or somewhere else)

♡ Door #3 opens and Pride pair hug!!!!!!!

♡ Door #4 opened to reveal............terashima’s glasses. The person himself disappeared LOL. Kaji then went like Terashii?? Terashii where are you!!? And when Terashima finally comes out without the glasses he’s like “who are you?” pfff. He only acknowledges Terashima after he puts on his glasses back on and they hugged XD Kaji said that he knew Terashima was behind this door almost immediately from the glasses question.

♡ Door #5 opened to reveal a Horie who was half stripping his jacket! I don’t remember if they hugged here or not but because the whole cast hugged so much I don’t remember exactly where what happened.......

♡ Every pair gets a point!

Greed pair won overall. They literally got each and every question correct in the night session’s game corner what the hell. Their bond is definitely strong :’D So they got to play a bonus game for the prizes. The staff pushed out some 9-tile board with prizes written on them. 5 tiles were prizes named according to the sins -the prizes would fall under that category too. The remaining 4 tiles were some random scrubbing brushes as prizes LOL. And each tile had different quantity too... (I think there were x1, x1, x8 and x20 wtf haha). They had to throw a ball from a distance and whatever tile it hits, they would get that prize.

Zakki went first and using his “angel power” (he posed a few times), he tried aiming for the Greed pair prize and he.................got x8 scrubbing brushes HAHAHA.（ ´థ౪థ） Ryohei tried aiming for the Greed pair prize too and he..........GOT IT!!

Then we have an overly happy Zakki who unconsciously hugged Ryohei from the adrenaline but Ryohei didn’t respond to the hug (idk Ryohei is weird sometimes -can’t blame him he’s an AB I love ABs) so it ended up becoming an awkward one-sided hug pffft.

Apparently Greed pair prize is some golden discount coupon from some high class shop or something I don’t know but it looked high class as hell LOL.

☆LIVE READING☆

Live Reading for night is the same except there’s more adlib involved. For example:

♡ Misono’s over-dramatic laughing.

♡ Tsubaki laughing too much he choked and Belkia had to give him some water.

♡ By the time of the night session, the Valentine’s Day chocolate sets were all already sold out so instead everyone thanked the audience and Sakuya said he had wanted to buy x10 of Mahiru’s XD

♡ Suzuki Yuuto adlib and caused Matsuoka to blank out and freeze on spot. The others saved him though XD

♡ KIMURA RYOHEI CAME OUT IN GLASSES!!!!!!!!!!! //////////

♡ HE!!! CAME!! OUT!! IN!!! GLASSES!!!!!!!!!!!

♡ MY EYES ARE HEALED I SAW JESUS!!!!! THANK!!!!!!

☆FINALE☆

Started with announcements.

♡ Announced that Servamp Festival (both sessions) will be made into a DVD and releases on 28th June.

♡ Promoted the limited time stores and upcoming cafe.

♡ Promoted the upcoming character song CDs and played Licht’s song in the background.

♡ Host wore Kuro’s jacket/hoodie and promoted it.

After all of these announcements (that were also made in the noon session), the host said there was one final important announcement and told us to watch the PV. A short video footage with all the main Eves/Servamps were shown, and then it went black and showed “SERVAMP -New Project in the Making!!”.

Life has never felt this great.

It think that’s about all that I can remember... Once again I apologize for bad English and the messy report! I do hope it made sense though (>_<)

Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you haven’t read the noon session yet, HERE is the link!! The full summary (as much as I can remember) of the Live Reading is written in the noon session’s report too ^^

.....Now time to wait for the release of the DVD on 28th June!! I’ve already pre-ordered my copy at the speed of light haaaaaaah.