#IF I COULD STOP HAVING TECHNICAL ISSUES FOR FIVE SECONDS

[sunboki]

⎯ PAPER PLANES a Kim Seungmin fiction

🛩️ : Kim Seungmin x gn. reader

TROPE. friends to lovers, neighbors to lovers, fluff fluff fluff galore

WORD COUNT. 1.5k!!

WARNINGS. cursing

AUG'S NOTES. still crazy about this concept💀 … i wrote this in 30 minutes in complete silence.. the demons have possessed me…

SYNOPSIS. Life in the city has never been as interesting as this. More specifically starting the moment your newest neighborhood, Kim Seungmin, moved in next door.

or alternatively :

It was only a matter of time before those paper airplanes turned into something more.

City nights are your greatest escapade and your worst nightmare. When insomnia plagues you awake, it’s easy to turn off all your fans and just listen.

New York isn’t called the city that never sleeps for no reason.

Whether it’s the faint honking of a car or the nearest nightclubs obnoxiously loud stereo, 24 hours a day almost every day of the year this city’s eyes remain open, and in essence, it makes you feel a tad bit better about those sleepless nights.

There’s the buzz of your surroundings, but as for your apartment complex, things are pretty quiet.

Well, you did intentionally choose a very much elderly-occupied residency after all.

Until somebody else showed up, somebody who didn’t explain to you on a morning basis of how they’re deciding on their casket.

And he sings.

Headed back from work up the elevator was when you ran into him for the first time. A smidge taller than yourself, puffy hair hanging over his forehead.

Neither of you talked apart from the courtesy “Which floor are you going to?” followed by an equally courteous “Five”, and you realizing you were both headed to the same place.

Elevators are a dangerous place. Anything could go wrong, technical issues, you end up trapped, weird strangers, and a myriad of unfortunate events waiting to happen. What’s worse? The conversations.

Because if there’s one thing you’ve learned from the decades worth of elevators you’ve been on is that they’re either a place to never stop talking or never talk.

As for this discovered neighbor of yours, you spend a solid thirty seconds deciding the right course of action.

“So where’d you move from?” You pique, watching the numbers atop the door slowly increase.

“South Korea,” He responds, and out of the corner of your eye you notice him glancing at you, hands stuffed in his puffer coat’s pockets.

Mouth opening to speak, you immediately close it, evidently surprised. To think how hellish the flight must’ve been humbled you instantly, not to mention how he carried no accent when conversing.

But before you could ask any more questions the doors open and he wordlessly slips past you, leaving you to silently follow.

“Wait!” Calling out prior to him walking through the door, he stops, turning to you with a confused expression adorning delicate features.

“What’s your name?” You voice another inquiry, hand also fastened onto the doorknob.

He blinks, the action scarily resembling a puppy dog.

“Seungmin. Kim Seungmin.”

Seungmin.

Cute.

“Y/n, nice to meet you.” Nodding politely his way, he returns the gesture, a sudden unwelcoming awkwardness creeping further into your skin the longer you both stand there, staring at each other.

And of course your genius of a mind decides to open its big fat mouth.

“..I guess we’re neighbors, huh.”

No shit sherlock, You internally reprimand, wishing oh so badly to leap out of the nearest window.

Sucking his teeth, Seungmin hums agreeably, and you feel like the stupidest person in the world.

“Yeah well, bye!” Panickedly twisted the knob and racing inside to slam the door behind you, you sink to the ground, clutching your head pathetically.

“Y/n…” You whine, addressing yourself like a lunatic. There’s a heavy sigh, a leaning your head back, thumping against the wooden frame.

“…What the fuck is wrong with you.”

Nonetheless, the night you first heard his voice pitch through gleaming neon signs was one to remember.

Typing manically on your keyboard while a half-empty glass of watered down coffee occupied the space beside you, you squint, scrutinizing that same sentence at least a dozen times before ripping the headphones off your ears and raising up frustratedly.

This essay is definitely earning a rightful spot on your thirteen reasons why list, a close second to your first impression on Seungmin last week.

Stretching your arms above your head, you hear it. An entrancing, melodic tone sifting beneath your cracked window, decorating your bedroom in a decadent assortment of color.

Carefully tiptoeing to pry open the window fully, you crane, cheek pressed against cold glass.

It’s Seungmin. Face tipped to the side, lips halfway parted. You don’t know if he’s focused on something or what, but you know he’s the only thing that matters in this moment.

His vibrato, the way he perfectly slices notes into harmonious rhythm pulls you in like a hummingbird to nectar.

You find yourself aimlessly standing there, rocking back and forth of your heels, savoring the effortlessly sweet relief he fills your exhausted soul with.

Day after day he’d sing, voice never ceasing to calm your senses, as if supernatural, into a lulling drone. No thoughts, just him.

Occasionally it’d be a new tune, one familiar, one not. Over and over and over again you’d routinely wait for him, like a child rushing to see their favorite cartoon.

And as a result, Seungmin became one of your biggest sources of comfort without either of you knowing it.

Today is the day.

Reaching over as far as you can muster with the makeshift paper airplane held tightly, you attempt at reading the wind, trying to decipher the best time to launch this secret weapon of yours.

Well, not really secret (somewhat), and also not a weapon, but you get the picture.

This morning you’d taken tedious measures to ensure your innovative paper airplane note would successfully fly, especially since the note inside was just as innovative.

𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐. Was what it read, and you thought the compliment was pretty appropriate considering how often you’d admire his mellowed tunes in the eve.

Except, the first one was a fail, then the second one, and a third, and by the forth airplane you had paper-cuts all over your hands and a temper teetering on the brink of defeat.

Hey, at least three people today (almost four) would get a “I like your singing” note today.

Whoosh! Your note flies, and just when you begin to lose hope does it switch trajectories, successfully hitting his balcony’s screen door.

To say you shouted was an understatement. Hell, the entirety of New York likely heard your chanting, yelling, and the entourage of oddly proud noises in between.

Noises of which were quickly muted upon said screen door opening, to where you frantically drop down, peering between the chair’s legs to observe his reaction.

Seungmin glances around repeatedly, curiously, prior to peeling back paper folds.

You inhale sharply.

His eyes graze over the sentence, investigating his surroundings again.

No reaction.

You initially deflate, grumbling to yourself defeatedly.

Until a tiny sliver of hope peeks through dark curtains.

Seungmin smiles.

He covers his mouth (an action you don’t understand but start to considering how dazzlingly bright it is), and laughs. A soft laugh that has his shoulders shaking, corner of his eyes wrinkling into charming crescent moons.

You swear there’s a ring of sparkling light outlining him, like something out of a K-Drama.

His smile could (and should) win an award, you’re convinced.

And just like that he disappears back into his apartment, and you chant a nonstop “Oh my god!” a good thirty-six times, unable to contain the feather-light feeling spreading from your fingertips to the very tip of your toes.

Cute. Kim Seungmin was so, so cute.

From the sheepish grins he gives you each time he’s seen you since, you have a hunch he knows it was you who sent the note, but you choose to act oblivious.

Oblivious, before you received a note of your own.

Of course, Kim Seungmin’s paper airplane is perfect, aerodynamic and probably arrived on the first throw unlike your consecutive sacrifices.

Slowly shuffling open the response, you peek through hesitant fingers, slapping a hand over your gaping mouth upon witnessing his obviously perfect handwriting.

��𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 :) , It reads. Something so mundane and proper there’s no reason you should be losing your mind, but you are, and the rattling of your heartbeat serves the best explanation.

You make sure to hang the note up afterward, right above your laptop.

So over the next few days, the both of you become more daring, more adventurous. Two paper airplanes turn into four, four to eight, eight to eleven. By now there’s not enough room to hang all of them up.

Meaningless conversations. Asking about dinner plans, what you’re currently doing, what your favorite hobbies are, favorite songs. But yet, they mean so much to you.

Your own, childish way of communicating even though the mature, adult reply would be to knock on his door.

Although, he seems to love it as much as you do.

𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝? Is scribbled on the airplane he’d sent a few minutes ago.

𝙽𝚘, 𝚠𝚑𝚢? You write quickly onto one, hands nimbly constructing the shape after sending so many. Routine.

Returning to stirring the pot of boiling water in front of you, a familiar tap alerts you, padding over to grasp his letter.

Strangely, a part of you grows more and more excited, plopping down into your chair to gradually take apart his craftsmanship.

Your legs move before you can even register your own feelings, scrambling outside.

Seungmin’s there, breathtaking smile as brilliant as ever despite such dim lighting.

There’s no need to admit you’ve been sending them now. Especially not from the way he gazed at you, the words inscribed on that paper airplane.

𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝?

He bites back an even bigger grin, cheeks dusting rosy pink from the cold air.

Yes.

Absolutely yes.

sunboki, may 2022 ©

[dddegen]

Hawks fic with a reader who doesn’t believe in herself much?

𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴! 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶 𝗱𝗶𝗱 :)

𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿.

Keigo Takami "Hawks" x reader fluff/comfort

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 : 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

ɪᴛ's ᴏᴋᴀʏ

You're beyond exhausted, hobbling into your shared apartment with makeup streaming down your face. One of the heels you had worn was broken, your hair was a mess from ripping the scrunchie out of it, and you couldn't stop the tears from flowing down your face. You had been rejected for a very high paying and comfy position, one that you had worked so hard on for so many years. You studied hard in high school in order to take college classes in your senior year to start early. You got yourself into the best college that taught you everything you needed to know. This was even your second time being rejected.

The first time, it was due to lack of on field experience, which was very understandable. So you went out and got that damn experience. Five whole years of it. But now? You weren't even given a reason. Nothing. It was like all of the time you'd spent working hard, sacrificing your social life, your mental health, your financial stability, everything, it was all a waste. Why were you rejected? You were the most qualified on a technical and experience standpoint. You had a wide range of ideas that you had expressed in your interview that the employer was actively engaging in. You were even quick to introduce solutions to many issues the company faced. So what happened?

Tossing your heels onto the floor just in front of the shoe rack, you walked to your couch and slumped down on it. Sinking into the cushion and back into the head rest, you could feel your throat burning with the urge to cry, yet you were just too tired to. You didn't understand what went wrong.

Keigo was set to be home from patrolling soon, promising earlier that he would bring dessert for the two of you to celebrate getting the job. How were you going to explain it without crying? You were gonna have to figure it out though, as he was currently calling you for an update. Slowly, you picked up your phone, looking down at the screen with bloodshot and burning eyes. A cute image of both of you as his contact photo. You felt like you had failed yourself, your family, 𝘩𝘪𝘮. With a thumb pressing onto the green button, you swiped and lazily propped the device up to your ear.

❝ Hey , chikadee .ᐟ 'm heading to the store now 。How did everything go  ִ𖤠 ❞

The excitement was clear in his tone. He was expecting a positive answer, yet your long pause had his excitement wavering.

❝ 𓈓 Chikadee — ִ𖤠 ❞

❝ I didn't get it 。❞

The silence was loud, and the air was feeling dense with tension. Despite your flat and matter of fact answer, there was a small crack of emotion that broke through your tone. It left you silent, embarrassed, and ashamed.

❝ I'll be home as fast as I can , okay  ִ𖤠 ❞

You couldn't respond, too busy holding back tears as you hung up. It took you only five minutes to gather yourself just to change clothes, yet it felt like an hour. Time just seemed to slow down, forcing you to marinate in your failure. Wearing some shorts and one of Keigo's shirts, you cleaned the makeup off your face and put your hair up in a messy bun. It took Keigo forty-five agonizing minutes to get home, each minute making you more and more paranoid, convincing yourself that he's going to break up with you. A rather over the top and extreme conclusion to jump to, yet very possible and very real in your eyes. It left you petrified when he slowly jiggled the door handle and pushed the door open. You were back on the couch, sitting up, wrapped up in the softest blanket you had. You were prepared for the worst, but not for this...

In his arms, a combination of your favorite foods from your favorite restaurants, drinks, your favorite candies, two games that you'd wanted for a while, some recently released movies, and edible flowers made from fruit. His full arms shook as he leaned forward and carefully placed everything on the coffee table before you. Your eyes, puffy and red, were wide with shock, brows furrowed in confusion. You were so convinced he wanted to leave you from such a catastrophic failure that this gesture was foreign. Once his arms were free, they were moving forward and wrapping around you, starting with a gentle hold before giving a squeeze and rubbing your back. His tone is soft as he speaks to you.

❝ I know you really wanted things to work out , I wanted them to work out too 。You worked so hard , you put more effort into this than I had ever seen 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 put into 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 。Sometimes , things just dont work out , no matter what you do 𓈓 ❞

He pauses, his hands gliding into yours to hold them. The pads of his thumbs gently run over the back of your hands. Your heart was shattering, the moment you were rejected playing in your head over and over. His voice is breaking through your thoughts, giving you the strength to lift your gaze up to his golden orbs.

❝ I don't know why you didn't get the job , but I know that whatever reason they gave you is absolute garbage 。You are one of the most kind , selfless , strong-willed , hard-working , stubborn , creative , and determined people I know 。If anybody deserved the spotlight , it's you , but you're very clearly out of their league 。❞

He followed with a small wink, forcing a small laugh from you. Your chest was beginning to feel lighter, the burning in your eyes feeling dull now as the pain and stress were slowly fading.

❝ There are other places hiring , looking for people as talented as you to do this same job 。You just have to look a little bit harder , but I know you can do it 。Eventually , you're gonna find a place that sees you , that understands you , and recognizes your strengths and your potential 。❞

He separates briefly to scoot the coffee table closer to you, the smell of your favorite foods wafting through the air. It was making you drool a bit, simultaneously filling your eyes back up with tears. Nobody knew you better than he did. He had nothing but faith in you whilst you were in a mist of uncertainty, the negativity nearly making you lose sight of the gem before you, trying his hardest to help.

❝ 'Kami , I'm 𓈓 'm so sorry 。I feel like I failed you , failed 𝘶𝘴 and — ❞

❝ Hey , hey , no 。❞

He's wrapping his arms back around you in a slightly tighter hug, kissing your forehead.

❝ You will 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 fail in my eyes 。𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 。This was just a little hiccup , but I've got faith in you 。You always pick yourself back up , you always keep going 。Please 𓈓 ❞

He paused, his voice cracking as he could feel his own composure breaking at just how broken you were over this. It was like your pain was so strong that even he could feel it, cutting deep into his heart. Yet he continues to maintain the composure he has, being the shoulder you needed to lean on.

❝ Please promise me you'll keep going 。❞

You couldn't hold yourself back. Your head rest forward on his shoulder as you whispered, promising him that you won't stop. But you both understood that it was necessary to at least take a break and let out some stress before you continued on your journey to employment again.

Keigo did not once leave your side, keeping you wrapped up in your blanket, cuddling with you, handing you your food, your drinks, setting up the games and movies for you, pampering you. He was practically attached to your hip for the rest of the day and all throughout the night. Truthfully, Keigo had many thoughts about flexing his status for the sake of scoring you the job, make them come begging on their knees for you to join their company, but he obviously couldn't to that. It wasn't the right thing to do, no matter how much he wanted to, to make you happy.

You two spent the whole night eating, playing games, watching movies, joking around. It was lifting your spirits gradually, filling you with a new hope that you will be discovered by a company that's worth your time. You'll get through this, all with him right by your side. As the night came to an end, the both of you not getting tired until the sun was beginning to rise, you two joined each other in bed, holding each other close. He provided you with warmth, with strength, with joy. He was everything to you. Just as you were everything to him, his heart, his rationale. There was not a single challenge you two couldn't handle facing together, with all of your stress fading once you held each other, and each and every night ending with a sincere and heartfelt,

❝ I love you 。❞

❝ I love you 。❞

𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀! 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗹. 𝗶 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁! 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀!

[lucy-verse]

I’ll write it down here, because I’ll likely never actually get round to writing this and I might as well put it up for adoption. Warning for an extremely dark and fucked up headcanon, with mentions of stalking and possessive behaviour.

I’m absolutely in love with an AU where Light is dangerously obsessed with L. Whether it’s entirely under the influence of Kira, or Kira merely emphasises toxic traits that already existed doesn’t really matter - L is like nobody he’s even encountered before, a challenge, someone who can actually surpass his own intelligence. He isn’t hopelessly boring like everyone else Light has encountered in his life and the more time they’re around each other, the more Light is determined to have him.

It’s not love. Light has deluded himself into believing it’s love, he’s convinced L is the love of his life and they’re soulmates, but to any onlooker, it’s the textbook definition of creepy stalker. Light still plans to win and create his New World, but he wants L right there with him. He wants to give him the Death Note, convince him to make a deal for Shinigami Eyes, christen him as the second Kira so they can rule together. He’ll stop at nothing to make that happen.

Anyone who gets in the way of this future he’s planned for the both of them has to be eliminated, because no one is going to ruin this for him. Eventually, the murders become less about covering his tracks, and more about doing away with anyone who is potentially a rival for L’s attention and affections. A random stranger makes advances at L, and is coincidentally hit by a train less than twenty-four hours later. Even making eye contact for too long can earn you a heart attack. The more time goes on, the more careless and reckless Light gets.

The catalyst is Watari, the only person L really trusts. Light is able to convince Rem that Watari is the real threat to Misa, that L will come round, they just need to get rid of the old man who has a hold on him. And the next five years is just Light stripping away L’s resilience piece by piece. Watari is dead. Aiber and Wedy are dead. Everyone that L was able to fall back on is gone, and the more alone he feels, the closer he inches towards Kira’s arms.

But Light still has a stumbling block to overcome before he has complete control. Technically three stumbling blocks, who are L’s successors and determined to bring him down now that L has all but given up on life. It’s not an issue. Light is happy enough to play their games if the end result is having L to himself. He’s particularly looking forward to dispatching of Near, the one who embodies L the most, the “favourite” you could dare say.

At this point, he certainly isn’t above murdering children. He’ll do whatever it takes to ensure he becomes the centre of L’s world.

Little does he knew, his own arrogance will ultimately be his downfall.

[ashes-writing]

outer banks ● one girl two guys pt 10 ● j.maybank + t. thornton

warnings

[ multi chapter ] reader is very insecure / has trust issues, complicated relationships - 4 to be exact, angst and lots of internal monologue, hooking up / feelings after the fact, extreme pda + a hint of b&e technically, story only loosely follows show canon tbh.

reader/you are a female with female parts. reader/you are also a pogue. reader/you also has a past/personality/style. this is self indulgent and i am not sorry.

word count + prev. part

part 9 <- can be read by clicking the bold.

2932 words exactly.

summary

"If you're about to tell me JJ is hurting right now, Pope.." you trail off, taking a drag. It's your first cigarette of the day so your head swims. You lean your head back against the wall. "I'm sorry. I know. I hate it but I can't just go back to the way it was. And he's the one who went silent on me for–" you go quiet and breathe in, breathe out. The two if you sit in silence for a few seconds. 

Then Pope speaks up.

"I'm more worried about you, actually. Topper is an asshole. And he could be using–" this time its you that silences Pope, shaking your head. "If he is then I'll learn a hard lesson. He's not like that with me, Pope."

taglist + shoutouts

-- taglist is here <- click to be taken to it.

@ellamae021 @writingreadinglurkingandsmirking - your comments always make my day omg ilysm and i enjoy talking to you it makes my day! @valentineshiftz - you are the sweetest i swear. i'm so glad you enjoy this you don't know how much it means to me! @stilesstilinskisgf - babes omg your comments make me smile omfg. thank you so much and i am so glad you're enjoying this so far. @fluffybunnyu - ahhhh i'm so glad you're enjoying this thank you sm it means the world to me babes! you're the sweetest omg. @tbmunson - you are bae and ilysm. you're amazing and idk what i'd do without you. really hope you like where this went because tbh it took me totally by surprise.

other links

masterlist ● jj's masterlist ● topper's masterlist ● about + rules

"There he is. You've been down at the cut so much lately I almost forgot what you look like, Thornton." Kelce grins, high fiving his best friend. Topper chuckles, picking up a club. When Kelce catches sight of hickies starting to fade, he lets out a low whistle. "Damn, dude."

Toppers face reddened and he flips Kelce off on teasing. "She got called in to cover a shift. Before you ask. I'm starting to think you like my girl more than me, buddy."

"Nah, man. Just glad all that mopey shits behind-" Kelce trails off and the hard gleam in his eyes has Topper turning around. And he finds himself confronted by a crying Sarah.

And until recently, he would have absolutely rushed to figure out what's wrong so he could fix it. But looking at her now, he just doesn't care. He doesn't feel like hearing anything she has to say because it's likely he's heard it all from her before, to a point where her words have zero meaning. "What do you want from me?"

"I just want to talk. Please just let me talk."

"I'm not stopping you." Toppers jaw clenches. 

"John and I got into it earlier. I..I can't be around him right now." Sarah fidgets, a sinking feeling grows in the pit of her stomach as she looks up at Topper. There’s something different. He looks so distant, his tone is so much colder than it was before. He almost feels like a stranger now and the realization has Sarah more than a little upset. Panicked because she’s gotten too comfortable, too used to him and she’s so afraid to lose him.

"Not my problem." Topper rolls his eyes. A part of him feels really bad for the way he’s acting towards her but then he stops and thinks about it, she’s the one who cheated on him. She’s the one who chose John B over him and set this all in motion. And she doesn’t get to do this now that he’s finally getting over her.

"He thinks I still love you. And I can't say he's wrong." Sarah’s words are shaky as they leave her mouth. And her stomach knots at the uncertainty she’s feeling right now. Everything about coming to find Topper feels wrong somehow and yet.. He’s a habit. She knows she needs to break free, she’s just too afraid because everything outside of the safety net he provides is scary.

,, but you’re about to learn to live with fear from the looks of it.” the thought comes, taunting as she stands there, shifty under his cold gaze. He feels even more like a stranger with each second this confrontation drags on, slow and painful. She’s tearing up all over again because she’s torn down the middle. ,, but you don’t really love him and you know it. Let go.”

Topper laughs. It's everything he would have died to hear last month -or anytime before that from her. And until his night with you maybe a small part of him held out just a sliver of hope but since his night with you, he's made up his mind. 

It all ends with him and you. Against whatever comes up. He's fully prepared to wait as long as he has to for you to be in a better place if it means he gets to be with you.

"That's your problem, Sare. Not mine." Topper starts to step around her but she reaches out for him. Around the time he snatches his wrist away, it hits her.

She's finally lost him.

"Doesn't that matter?" she calls out after him. He stops and turns around. "You got what you wanted, Sarah. It's over."

As he makes his way over to where Kelce is standing, Kelce high fives him. "You're doing the right thing here, man. She was making you miserable."

"Yeah." Topper takes a shaky breath. It hurts, but the pain is nowhere near what he thought it'd be.

CONTINUED

You've just gone outside for your smoke break when Pope wanders over, surprising you when he sits down on the ground beside you.

"If you're about to tell me JJ is hurting right now, Pope.." you trail off, taking a drag. It's your first cigarette of the day so your head swims. You lean your head back against the wall. "I'm sorry. I know. I hate it but I can't just go back to the way it was. And he's the one who went silent on me for–" you go quiet and breathe in, breathe out. The two if you sit in silence for a few seconds. 

Then Pope speaks up.

"I'm more worried about you, actually. Topper is an asshole. And he could be using–" this time its you that silences Pope, shaking your head. "If he is then I'll learn a hard lesson. He's not like that with me, Pope."

"Yet."

"At all. Even when we butt heads about things, he's not like that with me." you reassure him. Pope rubs his chin. "Okay, well what if Sarah wanted to go back to him? Because she's been acting weird with JB lately."

You shrug and sigh. "If it happens, it happens. Honestly?"

Pope nods. You laugh quietly. "Kind of at this place with everything in which I don't care anymore. And no," you exhale after a long drag,"it doesn't have everything to do with JJ." 

"You sure?" Pope asks, eyeing you in concern. "Because it kind of feels like it."

You thump your cigarette at the asphalt. "Absolutely sure."

Pope chuckles. " You're still my friend, __."

You smile and nod, "You're still my friend too. I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I'm gonna come hang soon, I promise."

Pope stands, offering his hand to you and you let him pull you up. "Don't let that prick hurt you, ___. If he does, you know where to find me."

You laugh and nod, giving him a thumbs up. Then you make your way back inside the Wreck. Kiara makes a beeline for you and you tense up, rolling your eyes as she pulls you right back out into the alley.

And as soon as the door swings shut, she's looking at you as if she's waiting on you to say something. Or like she wants to say something but she's not sure about it.

"What?"

" There's a date on Topper’s Instagram bio.."

"And?" you fold your arms. Waiting on her to get to the point. "Are you dating him now?"

You shrug. "We enjoy spending time together. Why's it matter, Kie?"

"It matters because Sarah and John B. got into it and she left the Chateau."

"And? If he wants her back, that's his decision. I'm tired of fighting so hard to make people stay or want me. I'm done." you go quiet after you say it. Sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach because you haven't met a guy yet who is capable of resisting Sarah Cameron. 

"Yeah, well.. I warned you."

"Thought you and Sarah were thisclose now? Why bother?" you ask the question and apologize after because you feel bad for constantly being a bitch.

In your defense, it's hard to watch the boy you loved be happy with someone else, knowing you weren't enough and you never are.

Your own father couldn't even get away fast enough and he certainly didn't keep the promise he made to come back for you.

"We are, but.. I wanted to warn you, especially after I saw the date in his bio last night."

"What is the date?" you ask, and you're at least half convinced it'll be leftover from when he was dating Sarah and she just didn't notice it before now. When she lists off the date of the first time you hooked up with Topper, your mind is blown.

" Wait..what was the date agin?"

She repeats it and then asks, "Well? Be honest..are you with him?"

"It's kind of like…complicated. I mean..do I want to be? Yes. Have we been spending a lot of time together lately? Also yes. Does that mean we are? Nope."

"Wait…did you two.."

Instead of answering, you walk back inside. But what she's warned you about, it's festering inside your brain and you just know by the time you get off work, you're going to be so deep in your own mind that it'll be pathetic. 

And you told yourself this wasn't going to happen again if you could help it.

,, there goes I'm never catching feelings again." the thought comes and you take a deep breath. 

CONTINUED

You've just clocked out and you're exhausted. All you want to do is go home and collapse and preferably, not think for a while because what Kiara warned you about earlier. 

Because in your mind, it's inevitable.

You're more than a little surprised to walk out of the restaurant and find Topper leaned against the lamppost nearby, one hand in his pocket. He spots you and he's smiling. Walking towards you.

"Hey pretty girl." he pulls you up against him and you breathe him in deep. 

But you're not saying anything because of course you're not, you're in your own head again.

And Topper picks right up on that.

"Something wrong?"

"No. I'm fine, it was just a really long and busy day."

"Uh huh. You wanna try that again, love?" he asks, gently gripping your jaw to make you look him in the eyes. You swallow hard. "I'm fine. I mean it."

"You're not though." Topper insists.

He's starting to get this bad feeling. And he doesn't like it, makes him feel like he's backed into a corner.

"How'd golfing go?" It's an honest attempt to steer the conversation off you. 

He totally surprises you with his answer though.

"I think Sarah knows it's finally over and I'm done for good. She uh..she came by while we were playing. I told her I didn't want to hear anything she wanted to say because you were right..she only wants me when John upsets her."

You need a second to process. You melt against him as the tension leaves your body. He picks up on that too but he doesn't say anything because he knows you're not quite there yet.

You haven't figured out how you feel and you're trying to work through a lot.

He's trying to show you that you can trust him and depend on him. So if that means waiting, leaving everything undefined, so be it.

For now.

"Sounds like you had a day too." You're finally pulled together enough to look up at him and you laugh quietly. "Kie was being nosy earlier. She told me Sarah and John B got into it and Sarah left his house." and you're doing what you think is your best to hide the way it rattled you even though you've been mentally preparing yourself for the end because you're positive that it's coming. 

He picks up on that too.

Again, he acts like he hasn't. He just nods and looks down at you in concern. "You're okay though, right?"

You nod and you're actually able to give him a weak but convincing smile. Then he's scooped you up, carrying you over to the spot he parked his Jeep. Placing you into the passenger seat and he leans in to steal a kiss that you willingly oblige him.

You laugh to yourself softly. Smile as he goes around to get in his own seat. As the Jeep heads away from the lights of town, you glance over at him and he chuckles.

"No, we're not going back to your house. It's a surprise, okay?"

"Okay." you finally can't resist a second longer, you need to touch him. In some way. So you slip your hand into his, cautious and hesitant at first but then he slides his fingers between yours, giving your hand an oh so gentle squeeze. You give him three little squeezes and he turns into a deserted parking lot. It's getting late so even the tourists aren't lingering on the beach. You drag your finger over his knuckles softly and he nods to the lighthouse across the water. 

You follow his gaze. "It's the old lighthouse." you laugh softly and shake your head. He looks over at you and you explain, "I always wanted to go over there. But when we were kids.." you trail off, frustrated because literally every part of your childhood features JJ Maybank and lately, it makes you bitter.

"Nevermind. It's dumb, anyway. I was scared of the place, I guess."

He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. "You don't have t' do that, you know.."

"Do what?" you ask.

"Censor every happy thing just because the asshole who hurt you was a part of it." Topper answers, chuckling quietly when you immediately apologize and follow up with, "Trust me, you want me to. You guys hate each other and I'm not.. I'm not trying to make you feel like we're.. whatever this is, is less important, okay? Like..I don't want you to feel that way because I get the feeling she did it a lot.."

He nods, going quiet. "She never wanted t' come out there with me." he admits, laughing, "And its kind of the place I go when I want to.." he pauses, "when I need to get away."

The fact that he's now asking you is a huge deal for him. And you're not stupid, you know that. You're blown away that he wants to let you in on things, on a side of him that almost nobody else gets to see. And it means so much to you. 

,, you know what will happen if you fall too hard." it's there, lingering in the back of your mind but you shove it down because you just want to enjoy this while you have it.

" I wanna go. Will you take me, Topper?"

He chuckles and nods. "That was my plan,love."

CONTINUED

When he's tied the boat off, he turns to you and motions for you to turn away from him. You do what he wants, laughing softly. Topper ties a navy bandana over your eyes and you laugh. "What's this for?"

"If I tell you, it's not a surprise anymore."

"Okay, but stairs?"

"I'm going to carry you, love."

"You don't have to do that.."

He's nosed your hair away from your neck and his lips trail over the side. "I know I don't have to, love. I want to." and the way his minty breath tickles your ear has you shivering as you giggle. He nips at a fading love bite and you can't help the little moan that slips out when he does it. Before you realize it's happening, he's scooped you up bridal style and he's walking with you. You bury your face in his neck and he grips you just a little tighter when you do it.

He's made it to the steps, you can feel each one. "Can't you just give me a hint?"

He laughs. "Could...but I won't."

"Top." you whine against his neck and he bites back a groan because his mind immediately goes to all the other times he's made you whine lately. He swears under his breath as he works the padlock off the door leading to the big light at the top of the lighthouse. 

"Something wrong?"

"Not at all, love. Relax, alright?" Topper coaxes as the way he's picking the padlock finally works and the rusty lock falls to the floor of the landing with a thud. 

You tensing up just a little has him snickering about it. "Relax, love. Everything is fine. I totally do this all the time." -except he doesn't, actually. This is the first time he's come all the way to the lights atop the lighthouse. 

It's also the first time he's picked a lock. 

But he practiced earlier when he came out to set everything up. Now he just has to hope nobody gets nosey and comes to check on things. Hope he's hidden his boat well enough not to be seen by any late night swimmers or other boats.

He steps into the narrow windowed room and reluctantly, he stands you on your own feet. Then he removes the blindfold to reveal sleeping bags, pizza and the flowers he got you earlier and he watches as your face fills with a soft smile. You turn to him, throwing your arms around his neck as you melt into him.

Because no one has ever done this for you.

"I love it. You can see the whole island, almost." you’re in awe of the view through the ceiling to floor windows because Kildare is lit up and it’s so pretty. And peaceful. Being in the tower feels like being in your own little bubble with him and after the day you’ve been having, it’s needed.

 You've grabbed both of his hands in yours and he leans down into you, his forehead against your own. Nose to nose and body to body as the sun vanishes on the horizon and reds,pinks and oranges give way to purples and blues. The stars are starting to come out as the two of you settle in on the sleeping bags he snuck in up here earlier, cuddled up as close as you can both get to each other. 

For now, everything is peaceful. You can almost forget the constant war between your mind and your heart…

[thatcheesyler]

Literacy Lessons

Summary: After the huge success of his new chocolate factory, Wonka finds himself struggling to create accurate price tags since he still can't read or write numbers yet. Luckily, Noodle is willing to teach him everything he needs to know...but, our beloved chocolatier is having issues focusing, he just can't stop thinking of new sweets to make!

A/N: This is a sfw Wonka tickle fic, if you do not like it, please dni. Enjoy! <3

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The overwhelming smell of rainbow fizzy belts and salted caramel flooded Noodle's senses as she waltzed into the factory's main hall, pen and clipboard in-hand. Her temporary 'student' was currently perched on one of the giant marshmallows that bordered the chocolate river, sketching new designs for sweet wrappers that he could use to help advertise his confectionery.

"Willy! I'm here! Sorry I was late, my mum needed me to clean a few plates before I left." Noodle explained, approaching his hunched over figure and sitting herself down on an enlarged gumdrop while adding to her speech, "Are you ready for your lesson?"

To which the enthusiastic chocolatier looked up from his drawing with a signature smile and gave an approving nod, setting his sketches to the side for now.

"Of course! Y'know, I was actually thinking we could start with a funny number, like 123,456! Imagine if I managed to read that perfectly.." Wonka commented, the sparkle in his eyes never faltering, even as Noodle sighed and shook her head with a 'seriously?' look, the corners of her lips curling upwards despite herself. She then wrote down the number '1' on her clipboard, turning it around and showing him what she had written.

"Okay Willy, what is this number?" She questioned with a patient expression, watching as her friend studied the simple few lines of ink with a slightly tilted head and squinted eyes. "Hmm, is iiit...seven?" He answered with half confidence. Well, technically a '1' does kind of look like a '7', but unfortunately that wasn't correct. The little girl shook her head once more, jotting down a little '7' at the bottom of the page as a reminder of the differences between both of those numbers.

"Incorrect. Would you like to try again? Or move on to the next number?" She inquired with a tiny smile, as sad as it was that he couldn't read or write numbers, it was also quite the entertainment for his younger friend. But the man in question wasn't really listening to her, instead continuing to draw small details on the wrapper sketch next to him, adding little polka dots to it. To which Noodle frowned, now feeling slightly hurt because of his oblivious ignorance. "Willy?..Willy! You need to focus, please!" She exclaimed with a tinge of frustration laced into her tone, this lesson wasn't going to get anywhere with his constant doodling.

The abrupt raise in tone snapped Mr. Wonka out of his creative trance, and he allowed a sheepish grin to play at his lips.

"Sorry Noodle, you're right, I should pay attention." He answered, now providing his almost full attention to her literature session, with the occasional glance towards his sketches. Unfortunately this continued on for a while, Noodle would be struggling to keep her patience as she presented the differences and slightly different ways of writing each number, and Willy would just be doodling away every five minutes. Now, Noodle wasn't really known to be an even-tempered person, it was now the fourth time that he had completely disregarded her teaching, and she did not care for it.

Oh, and he also somehow gained the audacity to interrupt her, saying something like, "Hey Noodle, do you think polka dots or stripes would suit me more?" and boy would it make her blood boil. She didn't want to be mad at him, he was just energetic, but she couldn't contain her annoyance for any longer.

"Willy." The young girl announced firmly. "You have ten freaking seconds to run." R.I.P Willy Wonka, he didn't even have a clue what she was mad about. But the look on her face was hard to miss, the suddenness of it making him instinctively scramble up from his seat and bolt towards the nearest candy tree, clambering up onto a high sturdy branch. Noodle followed close behind, not quite as skilled at climbing, but managing to pull herself up onto a different branch near his, keeping one hand on the tree trunk for support.

The young man felt a bit fearful now, he couldn't tell why she was angry, but her determination made him question things, a few nervous chuckles bubbling from his throat.

"I have a feeling that I did something wrong...I don't want you to be mad, but could you please tell me why you are?.." Wonka inquired, losing his balance for a few seconds as a hand suddenly swiped at his torso. "Because you kept ignoring me when I tried to teach you numbers, and you blatantly interrupted me multiple times!..Look, I don't want to be frustrated like this, but you have dug your own grave by now." Noodle responded quite loudly, continuing her attempts at reaching out to grab his maroon coloured coat.

This got a little "oh." out of her older friend as he realised his mistakes, now feeling more guilty than scared. The fear was very much still there though, because he was actively backing away towards the end of his branch while she progressively inched closer at the same time.

And then...snap!

Willy had put so much of his weight onto the branch, that the narrow piece he was standing on broke off, and the poor chocolatier went plummeting down to the sugary grass below, landing on his back a little harshly. "Oh- ffffferrero rocher that hurt..oww." He croaked out, not moving for a few seconds as the pain slowly but surely subsided. A concerned gasp was audible from the girl, and she clumsily weaved back through the stripy maze of branches below her, racing over to him as soon as her shoes touched the ground.

"Willy! Willy are you okay?!" She exclaimed worriedly, kneeling down beside him with a now concerned expression as the chocolate-maker inhaled through gritted teeth, disoriented for a moment. But as he came to his wits and regained his senses (sum1 pls get the ref), he couldn't help the remorseful frown that spread as he remembered that she was probably still annoyed with him. "Yeah, I'll be fine..I'm sorry Noodle, I wasn't taking your feelings into consideration and I just ended up making you upset. I'm sorry, again."

With such a heartfelt apology, how could she stay angry? Well, she still wanted revenge for his accidental ignorance, plus he was sad now. "..I forgive you...but, I still want to make up for all that lost time trying to teach you."

A wry smirk built up as she cracked her knuckles, bending her fingers into makeshift claws and wiggling them simultaneously at him, presenting him with an obvious hint as to what she meant by that. In response to the 'threat', Wonka tensed up and a couple fearful chuckles slipped through his newfound wobbly grin, immediately attempting to roll away from the deviant young tickle monster beside him. Sadly, he didn't get very far before Noodle had yanked him back by the arm and plunged 4 fingers (and a thumb) into his briefly exposed abdomen.

To which, of course, a loud squeak that bordered on a screech elicited from her friend as he instantly curled in on himself, giggling like a madman. "ACK! Nohohoodlehe, stahahahapp-! Ihihit tihihicklehes hehehe!" The chocolatier cried throughout his bouts of high pitched laughter, gently swatting at her hand even though he had no intentions of fighting back.

"Well duh, of course it does, silly Willy! Say, why didn't you tell me you were capable of such adorable giggles? (Not a ship.) It's like you've transformed into a little boy!" Noodle teased, allowing a few content chuckles of her own to drift out while she continued to scribble her fingers all over Willy's clothed stomach. An unmistakable blush tinted his cheeks at her words, causing his arms to confuse themselves, half of him wanting to cover his face in shame and the other trying to protect his sensitive midsection.

"Nohohoooo! No tehehahasihing, yohohu're beheing mehehehan!!" He squeaked, his legs uselessly writhing and kicking simultaneously as his friend spidered her nails briefly over his ribs before gliding back town to his tummy. "Mean?! Why I never! I am simply distracting you from the way you hurt yourself earlier! Hmph, and here I thought you never jumped to conclusions." Noodle complained, feigning offense and taking the opportunity to lightly squeeze both his sides as a small 'punishment' for calling her mean. Which, of course, elicited a lovely squeal from our adorable little man, a constant battle in his limbs on whether he should defend his oh so ticklish body or just give up entirely (personally I'm rooting for the latter 🤭).

"Eek! I'm sahaharry fohor assuhuhumihing, buhuhut ihit's stihihill mehehean!" With that one final smidge of effort he had left, he forced himself onto his stomach, pushing Noodle's hands safely out of the way during the process so that she didn't get hurt. Practically gluing his arms to the sides of his torso, a cocky little smile tugged the corners of his mouth upwards as he looked to the girl at his side. "Hah! Try and tickle me now, Apple Stroodle!"

But with his arms clamped down, Noodle still had access to his entire back, and she fought back a shit-eating grin of her own as her nails proceeded to skitter gently along the thin fabric on his back. Sadly, only a few titters formed in result, and slight disappointment washed over the cheeky spark in her eyes.

"Sorry Nohoodle, buhut my back just ihisn't that sensitihive." Willy pointed out quite smugly, basically not even reacting to her efforts and shrugging. But that very same shrug gave her an idea, her skillful hands trailing up towards the back of his neck, but then stopping abrubtly at his shoulder blades. As if testing the waters, one finger scratched gently in the dip between one shoulder blade and the backside of his ribcage. Oops, looks like a certain someone was telling porkies, a short girly scream erupted from the chocolatier and now it was all over for him.

"Hah, liar." Noodle chuckled gleefully, experimenting just how far she could take this by tracing patterns with both index fingers along the inner edge of his shoulder blades and gauging his every reaction. "NONONONONO NOODLE PLEHEHEHAHASE! NAHAHAT THEHEHERREEE!! I PROHOMIHISE I'LL PAHAHAY ATTEHENTIOHON TOHOHO YOUR LEHESSON, PLEHEHEASE STAHAHAHAPP!!"

His back arched involuntarily and both hands flew out to cover the sensitive spot from Noodle's devious behaviour, helpless cackles pouring from his upturned mouth as he struggled fruitlessly. Luckily, while the young girl thrived on her disobedient attitude, she reluctantly complied to his desperate pleas, her tickle attack demoting down to a few feathery brushes along the skin on the back of his neck. "Say you're sorry and I'll stop completely."

Frantic laughter fizzling into a jumbled up giggle fit, Wonka mashed together an apology that sounded mostly like tickle-drunk gibberish. "Ihihihi..I'm reheheally ssohorryhyhy, it wohon't happehehehen agahahain..." Good enough, right? Well, thankfully Noodle thought so, fully letting up and giving a few reassuring pats on the back to her older friend. Just as expected, he devoted his undivided attention towards her next attempt at teaching him numbers, and well, he did pretty okay in the end.

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Wow, I have not managed to complete a fanfic in forEVER, I honestly feel good about this one, unlike some others. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed this sappy story and have a wonderful day/night! <33

[imthepunchlord]

Honestly, the thing I’m saltiest about in Tales of Arcadia is how they handled the redeemed villains. Angor Rot? Dead. Strickler? Dead. Nomura? Dead. Tronos Madu? Dead. Literally every redeemed villain doesn’t get a happy ending. It’s especially egregious when it comes to Angor Rot and Tronos, who were redeemed for all of five seconds before getting killed. Like, why even bother going through the trouble of giving that development if they’re going to die anyway? Redemption Equals Death is an incredibly stupid trope, and I really hate how liberally Tales of Arcadia uses it.

The trope does have purpose to serve, but it does depend on the characters. Cause sometimes that finality is the only way, and there is peace in moving on. One of the best examples can technically be Darth Vader, though that can be up for debate on his redemption. I wouldn't say he's fully redeemed, but has a redeeming death, saving his child over his dark service, felt like a good end for him.

So, the trope of Redemption Equals Death, it does have it's purpose and use, it just comes down to the character it will be applying to and their situations and set up. But the big issue with ToA is that they overused it. I would've top that trope at 2 characters max cause not every character will apply to that trope.

Like, I don't see the point of killing Strickler, narrative wise it didn't feel fitting. To me, it always felt that he was set up for a redemption and a happy ending.

Before he revealed himself a villain, you got to see that he loved teaching, and he worked off Jim well and on some level did still care for him. Like, you can also see the alarm/horror in his expression when he saw that Jim was the new Trollhunter and that Jim his student was now his enemy.

And even afterwards, able to accept that Jim IS his enemy, for a trained assassin who can easily kill this kid who just started out and would get stronger as he performed more, he didn't go out of his way to kill Jim, he first wanted to try and just steal the Amulet without causing Jim's death. I could be wrong, but, as antagonistic as he got, I felt he did always care for Jim on some level and was reluctant to see him dead, especially the first half of s1.

Also he did come to really care for Barbara (though it didn't stop his villainy, I feel those smacks in s3 should've happened in s2 but I guess they didn't want to explore Barbara in the know which is a weak choice to me). But, with her, his love of teaching, and his soft spot for Jim, Strickler was always set up for a redemption and a future ally and mentor. And with this, I always felt that Strickler's end was going to be him and Barbara marrying and he'd be Jim's stepfather, which would've led to more of their fun dynamic, where they do care but also can't help but be a little antagonistic and that it would improve as the years went on. Death didn't feel like a fitting end for him.

Angor Rot though I did see as a potential redeemed character and still fated for death and finding peace through it. This is a troll that had his soul taken from him, got forced into servitude to a human mage commanding him to hunt down his own people who were fighting his enemies, and through the years became hollow, bitter, and ruthless. Also, mindful the show is kinda up in the air about troll life expectancy, but there could be in the realm of possibility that Angor is also much longer lived than he should be given that he is tie to that ring. He's a villain that got put into a situation outside of his control, and he's forced into a service he didn't want to be in. By set up, that leaves him open for a redemption, and the possibility that death could finally bring him some peace, give him true freedom. Which I'm sure was the idea for s3 but I also had different ideas of what s3 was going to go, and it was so weird seeing Angor think highly of Morgana like, didn't you hate her?

Did, did you get some amnesia with your revival? Or was there some brainwashing with your revival? What's going on there, buddy?

Anyway, when s2 ended, I predicted that we were going to see a Claire and Angor dynamic explored, cause for Trollhunters, the first 2 seasons was really good about giving us different dynamics that actually came out to be a lot of fun to watch. Like Jim and Strickler and their antagonistic rivalry + Strickler falling for Jim's mom. And we got Claire and NotEnrique that was a lot of fun. And then we got Steve and Eli and gosh those two were hilarious.

So at the end of s2, I was anticipating that Claire was going to be trapped in Morgana's service with the revived Angor Rot and that they were going to be forced to work together and do as Morgana wills, and it was going to be intense and fascinating as Claire, next to Jim, had the biggest clash with Angor; she even thought that Jim should have kept that ring and wore it and forced Angor to work for him. And then lo and behold, she's now in a forced servitude and is working with a hostile and bitter Angor and what starts out as hostility becomes them becoming reluctant frienemies cause they're enemies stuck together serving something more dangerous than them and holds all the strings and the enemy of my enemy is my friend and those scenarios are always so fun to watch. And once free of Morgana, because he hates her far more than he hates Jim and co, he helps in that fight, and would pass on more at peace in contrast to his first end.

So, that's what I would've expected and that's what would've been my ideals on the paths for redeemed characters. Not every redeemed character needs to live on happily cause sometimes, there is that peace in death and moving on. But not every redeemed character should die either. And this series just took it waaaay to far, to a point it feels more for angst and shock value than something fitting to the character and story. But I also felt that s3 of Trollhunters was the start of this series starting to go downhill and made weird choices that clashed with what was initially set up so I'm not too surprised.

[destiny-in-the-universe]

The Brainrot Hour [Five Nights at Whoopee's]

Good timezone, my lovelies!

Okay- first order of business, I did cave in and made a side-blog for this crossover (you can find me over here: @five-nights-at-whoopees); mostly it's an interactive blog to share lore updates, information on the characters, and everything in between! (that being said, there probably won't be as many updates until some things are properly decided as 'canon')

I do not intend to follow a full canon version of Five Nights at Freddy's because honestly, there's no point in that- it would be so boring, but I will be adding some new details regarding both the side-blog and the crossover in general!

To be frank, I'd like to keep the blog centered on the crossover and not anything else; so, please- do not bring too many personal issues onto @five-nights-at-whoopees. Fan space should simply be fan space sometimes.

Now onto the second piece of information- Five Nights at Whoopee's is written by the fans and for the fans. This does mean it will feature non-canon content, and is what I will be talking about for the next while! So listen up (/lh) for chaos is about to reign~

However, this is mostly based on the original characters and certain background characters-

Character Identification

Ellis 'El' Winslow: First off, we have the main character of our tale- Ellis came from a fairly well-off family; as a child, they had met Randy Cunningham - almost by chance - at a pizzeria joint known as Whoopee's Pizzeria. The duo could be seen hanging out at the place often, especially on the weekends. Ellis was of course, a happy-go-lucky and outgoing kid but also happened to be a bit shy around larger crowds of people. Though Randy's seventh birthday turned out to be a day filled with devastation. No one entirely knows what happened, but a group of children mysteriously went missing- nothing was ever the same after that.

In present times, Ellis became the engineer of Whoopee World, an amusement park with animatronics: its mascot Whoopee being recognized as a state-of-the-art robot with free-roaming. Being tasked with repairing the animatronics, as well as technical support- Ellis has to admit the place brings back odd memories. (especially considering Whoopee's was the last place Randy was seen at)

Nomi Cunningham: Nomi was Randy's twin brother; the duo were born in the middle of fall - on September 21 - and they turned out to be polar opposites. Unlike Randy's optimistic attitude, Nomi was collected, reserved, and fairly calm but even then- the twins had always been close. Trying to keep his younger brother (even if only by a few minutes!) out of trouble, Nomi was always considered 'mature' as he technically was the oldest.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck the family. On a chilly fall afternoon, Randy Cunningham - along with four other kids - mysteriously went missing at Whoopee's Pizzeria. Nomi was never the same after that; he was left ridden with guilt, wondering if it was somehow his fault that his brother was never found. How could this have happened? Resentment grew against the expanding attraction, but that didn't stop Nomi from attempting to do everything possible in finding his missing brother.

Though, even he would never be prepared for the truth...

???? / First Ninja: The First Ninja is, of course, only a moniker (and to be honest i need a fanon name for him-); he was one of the previous night guards at Whoopee's, regarded as one of the best- especially considering his complete focus on the job. Though that is not to say his job was easy in any way. There were multiple complaints regarding the free-roaming mechanism of the animatronics (even going as far as to claim they had attempted to kill him; not to mention what sounded like high-pitched wails).

He lasted longer than the others, but in the end- he quit and was never seen again. The First Ninja's role here is a bit like Phone Guy, though there is a lot more to his character; but we'll get to that later.

In current times, the First Ninja has completely disappeared.

Or so it would seem...

Debbie Kang: Debbie is currently a news reporter- after graduating from Norrisville High, she decided to pursue a lifelong career in gathering the truth (and if it's in any way tied to her childhood, it absolutely isn't what are you talking about?) She has mellowed out slightly, but at the same time- she is still relentless and will not stop at anything until everything comes pouring out.

She's been having odd dreams- not that she knows what they mean.

As a child, she remembers the pizzeria joint - introducing animatronics for the first time to Norrisville - and being there as an acquaintance to Randy Cunningham, and the other kids but in the end... not everyone made it. That day was brushed off as nothing more than an accident, the kids had ran away but Debbie knows better.

At least now. Knowing the damage it caused not only to her, but her closest friends - Theresa Fowler... and the others.

Theresa Fowler: Theresa remembers.

At least, she thinks she does. The young girl had been friends with those kids back then, and her puppy crush on Randy never went unnoticed. She still recalls the birthday party- as everyone became excited by the animatronics... until everything fell apart. She remembers seeing people in uniform asking questions, and the fact that her classmates - her friends - went missing and were never found again...

Almost thirty years later, Theresa is a professional baton twirler. She's moved on - even with knowing that there's something, but she doesn't want to acknowledge it. (it just hurts too much)

And now, my dear readers, we come to a close-

Devastation came to Norrisville, and there are still no answers-

Well, until a few bold individuals decide to uncover the truth... but at what cost? (also yes, debbie could have been a night guard but it didn't feel as right to me-)

[maya-matlin]

Since we've talked a lot (but never enough!) about both OTH and Degrassi lately...

If you had to choose one or two Degrassi characters who are most similar to Lucas, who would they be?

One or two Degrassi characters who are most similar to Peyton?

One or two Degrassi characters who are most similar to Haley?

Same question as above for Nathan

Same question as above for our beloved Brooke (sorry for not writing out the whole question again - this site isn't letting me copy and paste, and you know I'm extraordinarily lazy!)

If you had to choose...OTH overall or Degrassi overall?

Choose your top three Degrassi OTPs, top three OTH OTPs, and then rank all six of those ships in order from your favorite to least favorite with no ties allowed :)

Three things you prefer about OTH to Degrassi AND three things you prefer about Degrassi to OTH! Or four or five or six... :)

Aw, you're so sweet. <3

1.) Similar to Lucas.. hmm. My immediate thoughts are Craig and Miles. Both have definite parental issues, particularly involving their fathers. All three of these guys move from partner to partner very quickly, rarely ever satisfied with staying single for long. They have zero shame when it comes to dating their way through the same friend group. All three like to pull out the old "you're the one for me" or "you're the only one who understands me" cards. It's not always a line, but due to the frequency it becomes less and less believable as time goes on. Both Lucas and Craig had a big, dramatic love triangle early on involving them sneaking around behind their girlfriend's back with another girl. They vowed to change their ways, never wanting to cheat again, if only they could have a second chance with Brooke/Ashley. But the minute the second relationship failed for whatever reason, they went back to their affair partners. After that, both seemed to give up on remaining faithful. Craig and Lucas both cheated on their live-in girlfriends with someone from their past. You can't make this shit up. The writers protected Miles to some degree. He didn't technically cheat on Maya with Zoe. His best friend just yelled at him until he stopped trying to make out with his barely conscious ex girlfriend, allowing his conscience to kick in just in time. He also slept with Lola and had a full on emotional relationship with her while his boyfriend was in a coma, but of course the excuse was that he couldn't be sure Tristan would make it. But in Miles's defense, he's mostly self aware. He doesn't fully understand that he enters each and every relationship in the hopes that this one person will understand him completely, never judging or putting any sort of pressure on him, only for that to inevitably fall apart, causing him to be bitter and quickly find someone new (or old, as the case may be). But he does at least realize he can be a mess and self destructive during times of turmoil, not even fully blaming his significant others when they can no longer deal with him. Lucas truly seems to still think he's the hero of his own life following his second breakup with Brooke. Who the hell knows what Craig thinks? He's so out of focus after leaving the main cast that it's impossible to know what exactly he feels or doesn't feel for Ellie. Also, all three express themselves in some sort of artistic way. Lucas becomes an author while Miles planned to attend a writing school at the end of Next Class, suggesting he'll also become a writer. Craig was first a photographer, and then most notably a musician, writing his own songs.

2.) This is going to be so brief after the book I wrote about Lucas vs Miles vs Craig, but since I answered the ask about Peyton and Ellie already, I'll mainly say that Ellie is similar to Peyton for reasons I already stated. But also, Grace gives off a similar vibe. Unlike Ellie, Grace isn't afraid to get involved. She's always the first to educate others and the one to speak out about injustice. For one reason or another, both Grace and Peyton were hesitant to put themselves out there and spent most of their lives being extremely guarded. For Peyton, it was the loss of her mother and reluctance to own up to feeling romantic love for Lucas, so used to being in a toxic relationship with Nathan. For Grace, it was her having cystic fibrosis and feeling that it's not even worth it to fully open up to others when she won't live for very long. Apparently Grace's version of Peyton's feelings for Lucas is... Zig?! Which is completely unbelievable, but the writers seemed to want us to think she'd been pining for him all along and she didn't say his name just because he conveniently entered the room at the right moment. Oops, I said I was going to be brief.

3.) As stated before, I believe that Maya and Haley have many similarities. But Haley is also similar to Clare. Haley sets goals for herself, almost always doing the rational and responsible thing rather than being carefree and letting herself experience life as it comes. Clare does the exact same thing. Arguably, their transformations into more relaxed people willing to be impulsive from time to time relate to falling in love for the first time. As much as I don't want to admit it, Eli had the same effect on Clare's life as Nathan did on Haley's. He was someone very unlike her who encouraged her to try new things and put herself out there rather than remaining the same, stagnant person. Granted, I do think Clare was already beginning to embrace new things following her breakup with KC and had become much more confident by the beginning of season 10. But I don't think Eli's effect on Clare's life should be understated. And like Nathan and Haley, Eli and Clare got in extremely deep very quickly, resulting in a pretty emotionally devastating breakup where the girl had to leave the guy due to the timing being wrong and the relationships not being what they should be. That's where the comparisons personally end for me in regards to the relationships. Other than the fact both couples viewed each other as their future. Both Haley and Clare got pregnant during their senior years, throwing their future plans completely off. Haley was able to carry her pregnancy to term, resulting in her raising a son as a barely legal adult. Clare miscarried, losing her son. Also, somehow I almost forgot the fact that both initially wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. Haley technically waited, mostly because she got married at sixteen. Clare didn't, eventually shifting her beliefs enough to feel comfortable having sex in a loving relationship outside of marriage. And with Drew, once. I'm sorry. I still love that.

4.) Miles is such a Nathan to me that I think even their actors, Eric Osborne and James Lafferty, have a similar vibe and mannerisms. I don't know what it is, but it's uncanny to me. To begin with, they're known for being good athletes. Although, Miles being into sports mostly goes away after season 13. He self destructs pretty quickly after that, eventually becoming more interested in things like student council and creative writing. Nathan continues to pursue a career in basketball during every season, first as a player, briefly as a coach, and then later as a sports' agent. Nathan's passion for sports is an integral part of who he is. And obviously, both Nathan and Miles had complicated relationships with their abusive fathers, struggling to live up to their expectations only to never be enough. Both broke free of their dads, choosing to receive validation outside of their families. Nathan found the love and stability he was looking for with Haley. Miles tried multiple times to find this kind of love, and his relationship with Tristan was his longest and most consistent pairing. But they were never anywhere on the same level as Nathan and Haley. In other relationships such as Miles's with Maya or his fling with Lola, either the girl never fully let him in because of her own issues as well as feelings for a guy from her past or because he was settling for something simple that made life easier in the present even though he truly wanted someone else, they didn't work out. This is getting so long. I'm sorry. But other than Miles, Nathan also has similarities to Jimmy. We talked before about this, I think. Jimmy was also under pressure to become a professional basketball player from his father. Much like Dan pretty much demanded Nathan play basketball at all costs, Jimmy's father struggled to accept the reality that Jimmy's life had changed following his paralysis. Both guys ended up in wheelchairs following a violent altercation, though Nathan's was temporary while Jimmy's fate is left ambiguous since we never find out what came of the stem cell surgery. Regardless, Jimmy's mental health following the shooting and negative emotions were rarely ever the focus. He alludes to feeling suicidal and depressed during episodes centered around Craig and Spinner, but by the time we get back into Jimmy's head he's found a way to adjust. Nathan seems to take his accident much harder, remaining in a very negative, depressed headspace for 4+ months, relying heavily on alcohol to cope with his day to day life. Eventually, Nathan just.. kind of snaps out of it. Because he cuts his hair, learns to walk again, and starts helping out with the Ravens, we're meant to infer he's all better. You have to love OTH's hit or miss writing. Lastly, Nathan and Zig are similar in regards to Naley's season 2 arc and Zaya's in Next Class season 1. Both guys are threatened by the girls they love growing closer to a musician who might connect with them on a level they can't reach. Uncomfortable with the challenge to their relationship, both guys grow somewhat possessive and jealous, even briefly asking if they or the music are more important.

5.) It's hard to compare Brooke to any one character. I realize she's basically the archetype of the mean girl who eventually softens up, but there are so many things that make Brooke 'Brooke'. To start with, Manny. Both spent a lot of years allowing boys to define their worth. As a result, they were often shown competing with other girls. Both Brooke and Manny were left with trust issues involving love triangles with their first loves. Brooke spent years overcoming the betrayal of Lucas and Peyton. Manny also took years and multiple, mostly throwaway relationships to get over Craig after he deceived her into believing he'd broken up with Ashley so that they could be together. Honestly, these incidents probably weren't comparable, but I loved Manny too much to question it and Cassie Steele did a really good playing up that subtext. By the time the girls graduate, they've mostly become more confident in themselves, putting their ambitions first. For Manny, it's her acting. For Brooke, it's the fashion line. Both girls faced rejection from their parents. But while Manny was raised by strict parents, resulting her rebellion, Brooke was left almost completely alone, resulting in a similar outcome. Because of this, their best friends (Peyton and Emma) are much more like family than their biological families. In the end, both end up with someone unpredictable who conveniently was linked to their best friend once upon a time. Other than Manny, there's obviously Fiona. Both had an interest in fashion, spent years being a queen bee, and eventually learned a sense of responsibility and stability both by living alone and being on student council.

6.) Degrassi. It's not close.

7.) Ooh okay.

Degrassi:

(1) Zig/Maya

(2) Joey/Caitlin

(3) Sean/Ellie

One Tree Hill:

(1) Nathan/Haley

(2) Lucas/Brooke

(3) Jake/Peyton

Combined:

(1) Zig/Maya

(2) Nathan/Haley

(3) Lucas/Brooke

(4) Joey/Caitlin

(5) Sean/Ellie

(6) Jake/Peyton

8.) My brain broke LOL

Things I prefer about OTH:

(1) Better focus on character development due to having a smaller cast

(2) Stronger love stories. Degrassi was first and foremost a show about messy teenagers. For the first half of the series, no one was endgame. It wasn't until Eclare that the show started to realize that maybe they should service their fans in that way. But on One Tree Hill, a lot of time and energy was dedicated to developing the relationships between Nathan/Haley, Lucas/Brooke, Lucas/Peyton, Brooke/Julian, Jake/Peyton, etc.

3.) Better soundtrack, even though I honestly love Degrassi's too

4.) It has a truly platonic friendship between a male and female character without any romantic past or one of them being gay (Lucas/Haley)

(5) More focus on parent/child dynamics

(6) They never spent a handful of episodes in green screen Paris, dragging down the entire show for like two months straight

Things I prefer about Degrassi:

(1) It's more realistic.

(2) This kind of goes along with #1, but it's a show about teenagers played by actual teenagers. It's a much different experience watching these kids figure things out than it is watching twenty somethings do the same thing.

(3) Representation. I won't pretend like Degrassi is perfect or that it equally distributes focus to queer and POC characters. It doesn't. There's a clear hierarchy, and unfortunately white, straight characters were generally at the center of the story lines. But an attempt was at least made. OTH had an almost all white cast and rarely ever featured any LGBT representation. One of their sole gay characters filmed himself having sex with a woman without her knowledge or consent, then leaked the tape, all to hide his sexuality. So, not the greatest representation.

4.) Degrassi's school shooter was someone who physically abused his girlfriend and displayed many red flags rather than a victim of bullying who suddenly snapped after one too many insults or physical assaults. Sadly, OTH continued to perpetuate the misinformation that most school shootings are committed by kids who are bullied. To be fair, Rick was also bullied, but it wasn't a black and white scenario. Kids weren't just being unfair to him. He came back to the school and seriously asked the friends of the girl he put into a coma for forgiveness.

(5) The characters mostly had limitations and were forced to follow the same rules unlike on OTH where 4/5 of the core five could basically do whatever they wanted. This is one thing that sets Degrassi apart from many other teen dramas.

(6) The friendships were more believable and realistic. While I think there were occasional instances where one friend forgave another too easily, the instances where the friends fell out with one another only to later make up were overall well done and didn't feel forced. Brooke and Peyton, I'm looking at you.

(7) The girls actually seemed to like each other! They could mostly interact without constantly referring to each other as "bitches" and "whores". During moments when the girls would turn on each other, it was being written in a very realistic, true to life way. On One Tree Hill, an entire punchline would be that one girl degraded another.

[shadythetortie]

Disclaimer: dog arrested during surgery, dog is fine, she went home, but I need to get this out of my head and into writing somewhere. I have restarted this post over ten times.

I will have been an RVT for 5 years as of May 14. It feels longer. It feels like I have been here for decades. Sometimes I think that it feels a bit like I've seen everything. I was humbled very quickly from this thought on Tuesday.

The very first patient of the year. Routine spay. 6 month old Frenchie. Absolute sweetheart of a dog. Squirmy for her bloodwork because she kept trying to kiss everyone. Bloodwork was completely normal. No heart murmur. No abnormalities. No issues after premed. Not a single problem until my vet lifted the first ovary, and thats when her heart stopped.

That's never happened to me before.

I've seen it happen before, but it was not my patient. I've had other animals arrest on me but they've mostly been things like hit by cars or other emergencies. I have never in my career had a completely routine, apparently healthy animal die on the table while it was in my care. Technically, yes, she died. Her heart stopped, her lungs stopped, and she died.

And y'know its kind of a blur for a bit. The vet starts pumping her chest, I turn off anesthetic and another tech grabs epinephrine and gives that. We did get her heart started again after a minute or so, but the rest of the surgery was a very stressful time of delicately playing 'how much iso can i give this dog so that she stays under but doesn't die?' And I was stressed, but in an emergency you kind of just stay cool and do your job. Panic doesn't help you. All you can do while the doctor tries to finish surgery as fast as possible is two things: make sure the dog gets oxygen, and make sure her heart keeps going.

She ended up recovering well. She didn't know any better. Back to being a big baby and giving kisses as soon as she could. Went home to a very worried owner and did just fine.

I thought I was fine too until we got out of surgery and my body got out of emergency mode. Thats when it hits you, that's when you realize what just happened and that is when you break. But I cant just shut down when I still have two other surgeries to do, so I had a second to cry and then back we went.

I have been a vet tech for almost five years, and that is the first time I have ever had an otherwise healthy animal die during surgery. After all of the other patients I've lost, after everything else I have seen, I didnt think it would affect me this much. I have had way worse cases. I have seen trauma, and abuse, and extremely horrific injuries and cases and things that to this day I dread seeing again. But this is so different. When you dont expect it, its so much worse.

95% of anesthesia is boring as hell. That other 5% will traumatize you for the rest of your career.

Never assume you've seen it all. The universe will prove you very wrong.

[cherrycola27]

HUNG UP

Chapter 3

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC Adaline Carson

Warnings: Language, drinking, allusion to Smut. Hangman being Hangman. Minors DNI 18+

"Rooster get OFF of me!" Ada yelled as she attempted to push the larger man off of her. "Jesus Christ you are so heavy!" She heaved trying to escape the unwanted cuddle from her friend.

Rooster sighed and rolled over. "Well this could have easily been avoided if you didn't have the world's most uncomfortable couch." He laughed getting up from her bed. "I have fallen asleep on that couch plenty of times with no issues sir!" Adaline shot back. "Yes but you are five and a half feet tall! I'm sorry all six feet and two inches of me couldn't easily fit on your couch like you can." Rooster responded.

It was true she wasn't the tallest person she had to look up to everyone on the Dagger Squad but her height didn't keep her from being a bad ass and at least when she did tell people that Rooster had stayed the night with her and cuddled that wouldn't be a lie. She had to admit it was nice having someone keep her warm last night. Her bed had been significantly colder in the previous nights ever since Jake had stopped sleeping over.

Adaline grabbed her clothes and went into her bathroom to change. She slid on her favorite teal bikini and a cute tank top and cut off jean shorts she tossed her hair in a messy bun and packed a bag for the beach. She decided to forgo makeup for the day considering she would just sweat it off, so she settled for a swipe of her favorite lip gloss across her lips. Once she exited the bathroom Rooster emerged from down the hall in a fresh tank top and swim trunks. He completed the look with his classic aviators and ridiculous Hawiian shirt.

"Ready to roll sweetheart?" He asked. Ada cringed at the pet name. "Sure am... honey... let's get this fake dating scam going" she replied pushing past him to head down stairs.

The day had gone well. Since Ada and Rooster were friends they had a good time together they ate, went to the beach, swam, and watched the sunset just like she planned. They even took some cute pictures that she put on Instagram. She hoped Jake would see them considering he followed her, and even if he didn't she was sure someone else from the team would show him.

Rooster spent the night again and this time when he went to cuddle her, Adaline didn't put up a fight. However she was completely shocked when Rooster sealed his lips along the spot where her neck met her shoulder. "Bradley what the Fuck? I told you no funny business!" She yelled pushing him away. "Ada chill... its all part of the plan remember... I'm getting fake laid tonight before I get to show you off tomorrow. I'm just leaving a little evidence. You won't be able to see it in uniform, but it will be visible in one of those pretty little sundresses you love to wear." He told her.

"How many people have you fake dated Bradshaw? You're like really good at this." Adaline laughed before turning over to sleep.

"I can't fucking believe it!" Jake exclaimed sitting in his truck. It was just after 11pm and and for the second night in a row when he had gone by her house, Roosters Bronco graced the spot in Adaline's driveway that used to be reserved for his Silverado. "This cannot be happening. How could she have moved on so fast?" He thought to himself. Which they hadn't been dating in the first place and if they weren't together they technically couldn't break up. So technically Ada wasn't doing anything wrong he told himself. But it was Rooster of all people for her to go running to... Rooster?!

She could have picked Fanboy, Coyote, Payback, hell she even could have picked Bob and he probably wouldn't have batted an eye... but Rooster? Sure he and Bradshaw were friends.. kind of... but Bradley knew how Jake felt about Adaline Casron yet he was more than happy to get in her pants the moment Jake was out of the picture. "Damn you Rooster." He cursed under his breath and drove away.

The Hard Deck was packed on Sunday night. Adaline held her breath as she and Rooster walked in hand in hand. She looked good. She was wearing a baby pink sundress covered in red roses. She matched her lipstick to the shade of the flowers on her dress. Her hair was curled and pulled back from her face and the love bite Rooster had given her was on full display next to the barely there straps of her dress.

The couple greeted theit friends warmly before Phoenix began interrogating them about their blooming relationship. After she was satisfied with the fake backstory the pair gave Rooster lead Ada to the bar.

"Penny! Get this little lady whatever she wants on my tab!" He called before he turned to rejoin the team for a game of pool. Penny gave Ada a sly grin. "You and Rooster uh? I always thought you and Hangman had something going on?" Penny prodded as she set a tequila shot and a dirty Shirley infront of Ada. "What can I say P? Rooster knows what he wants unlike some people!" Adaline shouted of the crowd. She quickly down the shot and chased it with her mixed drink. Once both glasses were empty Penny handed her another Shirley and a beer for Rooster. Ada happily walked over to the rest of the group.

Hangman had debated even going out tonight but he needed a stiff drink and an easy girl tonight because his hand just wasn't doing the trick. Hopefully he could avoid Ada and her new 'boyfriend' but much to his chagrin as soon as he walked in, he spotted them dancing. He almost turned on his heels until a pretty brunette walked up to him and started to flirt. She wasn't nearly as pretty as Ada, but she would do for the night.

As the evening drug on Hangman hardly paid attention to the brunette... her name was Taylor or was is Tonya... he couldn't remember and he really didn't care. After an hour of talking the brunette snapped her fingers in his face. "Listen Jake, I don't know what you're focused on but it's obviously not me have a goodnight dude." She said before hopping off the bar stool. Poor girl it wasn't her fault that he couldn't take his eyes of of Adaline and Rooster. He hated seening them happy together. "That should be me" he thought.

The sound of the bar groaning and the juke box cutting off snapped Hangman back to reality once again. Soon he heard Rooster grace the piano with the opening of "Great Balls of Fire" and to make matters worse, Ada was on his lap with his sunglasses on her head! Jake clenched his fists and slammed his beer on the bar. He tore through the crowd to head to the bathroom to puke... the sight of Rooster and Ada made him sick.

When Jake exited the washroom Rooster was no longer at the piano and he and Adaline where no where in sight. He scanned the room just in time to see his favorite pink dress slip out the back door.

"No fucking way." He growled. There was no way Jake was about to stay in this bar while Rooster was fucking Adaline out back. He could pretend that the times he had seen them at her house that nothing was going on, but slipping out back this early in the night... even Hangman couldn't make up a excuse for that.

Jake pushed through the crowd, not bothering to say a word as he ran into people. He was breathing heavy, his jaw was tight, he was on a mission. He pushed his way outside and that's when he heard it.

"Oh right there baby!" The familiar moan that he had once coaxed from Adaline was now being draw out of her by someone else. "Oh baby... you have any idea what this dress was doing to me in there? Wanted to take you right on that piano bench in front of everyone. You're such a bad girl, wearing this dress and no panties... just couldn't wait till we got home could you?" Rooster asked.

Hangman couldn't see them because they were being a storage shed but he knew what was going on. He balled his hands up into fists and charged around to corner ready to rip Roosters head off.

He rounded the corner and was stunned at the sight before him there as Adaline... his Adaline with her legs wrapped around Rooster while he assaulted her neck. Her eyes were closed but snapped open when she heard the disturbance.

"Jake what the hell are you doing out here?" She screamed at him both out of anger and fear. Rooster set Adaline down. Before he could say anything to his fellow pilot, Jake jerked him away from Ada and back handed him across the face. "What the FUCK Bradshaw?" He screamed. "How could you. You could fuck any other girl out her but you have to sleep with MY GIRL? Jake strained his voice already becoming hoarse. "That is so messed up man. Do you even care about her, or are you just using her to get back at me you son of a bitch?" Jake grabbed Rooster by the collar of his stupid Hawiian shirt.

He was just about to break Roosters nose when Ada called out. "Jacob stop!" Hangman froze at the use of his whole first name. He glanced over at Ada. She was visibly upset with tears in her eyes. "You have no right to do this! You aren't my boyfriend... hell you never were! I'm not your girl Jake, we were fucking that's all because you didn't want more. It's not my fault that Rooster knows what he wants and isn't afraid to go after it. So could you please let my boyfriend go and get your ass out of here!" Ada yelled at him.

Jake looked between Adaline and Rooster. He wasn't sure what had come over him. He let Rooster go and mumbled a "Sorry." As he headed to his car.

Hangman climbed into his truck and drove away.

He needed to be somewhere where he could be alone. He pulled into the abandoned beach parking lot, and for the first time in his like Jacob Thomas Seresin did something he swore he would never do because of a woman... he cried.

Tag List: @shanimallina87 @marvelsvalhalla

[foolish-fitz]

fool's fate first thoughts

HOT OFF THE PRESSES, HERE'S ANOTHER CHAOTIC "REVIEW." I finished Fool's Fate yesterday* (ok by the time of finishing this post it was like 5 days ago) and I am absolutely buzzing about it. what a novel!!! insane!!

first of all, I am pleased to report that this is my FIRST HOBB FIVE STAR. Ship of Destiny came close but then Hobb fucked up the ending but she didn't fuck up this time!!

one thing to keep in mind: I listened to basically the first 50% on audiobook, and then switched between audio and physical for the second half. this is the first Tawny Man book I’ve read on audio, so that might impact my thoughts, especially on pacing and when comparing it to the rest of the series.

I will try to keep this one a little shorter, and I’m going to attempt to go chronologically. so let’s talk about…

the beginning

my main issue with the beginning was that I thought Fitz was going to chill at Buckkeep for a while and teach Swift, and the coterie was going to get stronger, and it was going to be great. (I am obsessed with the Skill coterie.) but instead BAM they’re on a boat. also the boat part was pretty boring but I was vibing, it was fine. honestly do not have many thoughts about this part.

the middle (before I absolutely lost my goddamn mind)

the Outisland politics and social games weren’t my favorite. I didn’t mind them but it got repetitive for Fitz to constantly be like “I just don’t have a good sense for what’s going on, our cultures are Too Different.” I LOVE Elliania, what an icon, and Dutiful really shone in this section too imo.

I completely convinced myself that Chade was draining Thick of Skill so his own Skill would be stronger. technically I was not directly proven wrong but I don’t think this actually happened and I’m bummed about it :( I guess Thick’s seasickness/hangup about boats, in addition to being a really interesting and genuine character insight, was mostly so Hobb could get him out of the way? and jumpstart Fitz and Nettle’s relationship a bit? god, so much happens in this book. side note, I do love how Nettle slowly becomes more integrated into the plot and the coterie. Nettle absolutely slays in this book - it was really the kids’ time to shine.

I also really like how much deeper Tawny Man went into Skill magic in general. I find it super interesting and it deepend a lot of character dynamics which I am always here for. this should be a different post so I'm going to stop there. good middle. it did have some pacing problems but... it's Hobb, so that's to be expected.

my mental breakdown

AUGHHHHHH. AUGHHHHHH. listen. listen. people kept telling me I was going to be sad but I was like “it can’t be that bad.” my friends kept joking about the Fool dying - “the book is called Fool’s Fate, Eve, what do you expect to happen” - and I plugged my ears and went LALALA and did not listen. and then I flexed my denial muscles so hard that even when Fitz was literally cradling the Fool’s body, I was thinking “but this isn’t right, this isn’t what happens, it must be some trick.” readers, it was NOT a trick. it was MEAN. he was fucking DEAD!! I genuinely could not conceive of this happening. I cried so goddamn hard. I could not function for several hours and then could barely function for a full day after that. 10/10 highly recommend, excellent pain.

the ending!!!

so... the scene where Fitz became whole again changed me as a person, it was so so beautiful. also true love's kiss between Fitz and the Fool which. what the fuck. I can't believe that was just in a book like that, and I got to read it. but I was a bit angry at the concept of Fitz going back to Molly. (and by "a bit," I mean "extremely.")

BUT THEN a miracle took place, which in retrospect was actually completely expected: Hobb wrote good. she wrote so good that there was literally no way for me to hold on to my bitterness for even one chapter. by the time Fitz sent his first letter, I was so invested and completely on board. it was just so cute!!! Fitz and Molly had a lot to work through, and they did work through it, and he gave her space but clearly expressed that he wanted to be involved in her and her children's life, and it was fucking adorable.

and they were happy. Fitz deserves to be happy, okay? he deserves the romance movie love story, and the sexy bee sting scene, and a bunch of children, he deserves all of it!!! god. Tawny Man really just got to me so much because of all the lighter and happier moments. I'm literally insane about this book series and if you read this far, you probably are too, so you know what I mean and I'm not going to elaborate any more.

I love this book.

[antialiasis]

Have you played Scarlet/Violet yet?

Playing it as we speak! I've done something like five badges, three Team Star bases and four Titans so far.

You did not technically ask for my thoughts but here is some rambling:

The game is absolutely janky as hell, but I've yet to experience any kind of crash, softlock, or major graphical glitch persisting for more than a couple seconds, and the overworld performance issues only very occasionally get significant enough to be properly disruptive, so all in all it hasn't really stopped me enjoying it. I am invested in Arven and his doggo and the Team Star bosses who all seem very pure actually. Also Koraidon is doggiest bikederg.

That said, it really is janky! I hope they do come out with a patch, though I'm keeping my expectations somewhat reserved with regards to how easy it would be to improve some of the performance stuff without some kind of major overhaul of the engine. Honestly the top of my list is fixing the PC; with my style of rotating teams (training every new Pokémon + my shinies + the Normal Tera Type Scyther I caught early on), I do a whole lot of opening my boxes, and the bizarre graphical jank that happens when you do is so weird. And whyyy on earth is loading in the Pokémon's simple 2D box sprites the laggiest thing in the entire game. What is even happening there, I want to understand.

I had seen some people praise it pre-release for making battles snappier, but that kind of made me expect more - there are still frequent several-second waits between messages in battle for little discernible reason, even while the Pokémon are just doing idle animations, and some abilities and moves just become really lengthy, e.g. Anger Shell insistently writing out messages and showing an animation for all five stats it's modifying every time my Klawf goes below 50% HP, or Bellibolt's Electromorphosis firing for every hit of every multi-hit move even though it only stores one charge. Definitely a thing where I feel like the game is deliberately choosing to show messages for at least a couple of seconds but it could really do with at least letting us press A to continue sooner.

As I've talked about before open-world games aren't really my thing generally, but I think the game has handled it well and I've been enjoying it more than expected, honestly. I like the three main plotlines sort of tugging you in a few different directions with a sense of purpose and investment behind each (well, less so for the gym storyline which so far is mostly just "Nemona really likes battling you guys"), and I've gotten to run around getting myself in trouble while horrendously underleveled, which I always enjoy. I've even managed to get into exploring a bit in the past few days; been running around some lower-leveled areas I never went to for the hell of it. This is not very remarkable for anyone else, I realize, but like, because I don't play these sorts of games my brain is not very used to navigating wide open 3D spaces in a video game where I only have a limited camera view to orient myself in, and I tend to just find it annoying, so the game must be doing something right for me to even want to. I never felt compelled to explore in PLA, for instance, just made a beeline for whatever the next objective was and maybe went a little out of my way to pick up an item I saw or whatever. That's how I started Scarlet, too (hence all the lower-leveled areas I never went to), but one way or another I got to the point of just wanting to get to the places I hadn't been on the map, which is a success.

I do miss having more building interiors and more interesting stuff in cities in general than "one billion identical sandwich shops that are just a menu", but the exteriors are pretty and they've spent some effort trying to give each city and gym some character, which is nice.

Also, after not finding any up to this point, I caught two shinies today, a Psyduck and a Murkrow, which is very impressive for me but still not a record since there was that one bizarre time I somehow got three shinies in PLA in like twenty minutes.

All in all, it's a flawed game but I'm having lots of fun with it and enjoying the storylines so far. It does feel quite lovingly made, just clearly short on time to fully polish it all the way.

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Scattered Screams (Part 8/12)

January 29, 2023

Spoiler alert: things don’t go so well.

My eyes adjust fairly easily to the brightness of the sun beaming down on us, but I quickly realize we’re not entirely outdoors. To my left is the Cornucopia, sprawling with weapons and supplies that are prime for the taking. I’m the closest to the loot - well, me and the girl from 12 who is stationed across from me and looks as though she can���t be more than eight or nine despite the age restriction making her at least twelve. I find Riven with ease, placed between the boy from 2 and the girl from 8, but it takes me a few scans of the lineup to realize that Royce is only a few places away from me.

The Careers are all placed furthest from the supplies, giving the rest of us a fighting chance before they get to the good stuff. I take a good look around at the supplies and find there are a few backpacks nearby that I could easily grab and run away with before the others could touch me. I have speed on my side. Royce has breathing issues and will struggle with running away, but I can grab something for him if need be. Looking around I notice that, technically, we are inside the Cornucopia. The roof of the horn sprawls above us and passes the furthest tribute by a few yards. There are no corridors or rooms to hide in right off the bat, but I can see a set of stairs on the far side of the deck that I could easily make it to. Maybe, I could hide out on a lower deck until things calm down.

I hear a voice in my ears that makes me take in a sharp breath as the countdown begins. “Can you hear me?” It feels as though I haven’t heard Mick’s voice in a year. I hum softly, thoughtfully. “Good. Remember - deep breaths, remember who your enemies are, and keep a level head. Being a terrified mess will do you nothing in the arena.”

Forty-five seconds left. 

With Riven defending me from behind, I could easily grab the two backpacks and run. Maybe I could snag some of the loosely scattered supplies and weapons on the way. I make eye contact with Riven and glance toward the supplies, earning a small, barely noticeable nod from him. Good. He knows what I’m doing, he can protect me while I grab and go. The three of us will meet up later and divide the spoils. Royce could run away from the Cornucopia without a care in the world, trusting that we’ll have picked up something for him. He has no way of knowing our plan, but his statement last night of being the one running away makes it feel as though he won’t mind us doing this for him.

Thirty seconds.

I can defend myself if need be. Mick has taught me how to spar. She says my legs are powerful like a kangaroo and my arms, although noodle-like, are strong. I can slink away from potential attackers without harm. The only people nearby that I’d normally feel worried about fighting are the ones that have taken our side - Jade, Erica, and Lexi. They all seem more focused on the other tributes than they do on the items in the horn, so maybe they’ll be able to stop possible attacks from getting through so that I can make a break for the things we need. I lock eyes with Erica from across the way and she sends me a smile that holds no malicious intent. If the circumstances were different, I’m sure we could have been great friends.

Fifteen.

There are a few weapons I can grab if I manage to grab the backpacks and run. There’s a machete I can easily snag from near the packs, a crossbow with a few bolts leaning against the wall of the Cornucopia, and a blowtorch along the way to the staircase I spotted. I’m fast enough that I could grab all three if I really wanted to, but the blowtorch and crossbow would be the most useful in an arena like this - enclosed, but large. We can always come back for more supplies when the Careers go hunting for more heads to snap.

Ten.

I won’t be the Careers’ only target. I may have scored higher than them, but the chances of me being their only target are slim to none, especially since I’m closer to the Cornucopia than any of them are. The only one I may have to worry about is the redhead from 4 and I could probably take her if I have to. We’re around the same age and the only reason I’m a target for her at all is because of my relationship with Royce. We’d all be better without her in the picture.

Five.

Focus. I have to stay calm and focused now. I can’t misstep. I need to grab the backpacks, take whatever weapons I can grab, and run for the stairs. I don’t care where they take me as long as it’s away from here.

Four.

Backpacks, weapons, stairs. I need to be fast and precise. Backpacks, weapons, stairs. I take in a deep breath as time begins to slow and the timer ticks closer to the start of the bloodbath. Backpacks, weapons, stairs.

Three.

Avoid confrontation. There are five people on my side and eighteen ready to kill me. If I take what I need and run, I’ll be fine. Don’t think, just run.

Two.

Fuck.

One.

The gong rings out and I can hear the chaos behind me as I lunge off the platform and run for the supplies I’ve targeted. Paying no attention to the grotesque sounds around me, I sling a strap of either backpack onto my shoulders and duck as the girl from 9 tries to grab one of the bags from me. I take the machete from the ground and swing it back at her, slashing the front of her leg as I snag the crossbow and make a break for the stairs. As I near the blowtorch, a hand grabs my ankle and I slam to the ground, sending the machete skittering across the floor. I turn back to see that the drunken idiot from 4 has latched onto me and is trying to crawl on top of me - a knife clenched tightly in his grasp and a wild, determined ferocity in his eyes. All at once, his grasp becomes limp, his blade clatters to the wooden floor, and he begins gasping wetly as a knife drives into the back of his neck and blood pours from him like a gurgling fountain onto me and the ground around us. I scurry backward, trying desperately to keep my food from earlier in as he bleeds out on the lower half of my body. The more he chokes, the further I move to stay out of his grasp and out of the spray as he chokes on his own blood. After a moment, he drops to the side, still gripping his neck and, like an idiot, I look around to see who my savior is, but I only find Lexi nodding back at me before disappearing back into the fray of the bloodbath. Scrambling back to my feet, I don’t dare waste time looking for the machete, but I latch onto the blowtorch and tighten my grasp on the crossbow before rushing to the stairs.

I take the carpeted steps three at a time until I’m two decks away from the chaos. I take the time to catch my breath in the stairwell, wiping the blood from the soles of my shoes on the carpets, but I don’t wait for long as I move outside once again and take a look around. There isn’t much to see as I silently make my way down the deck, but in the distance, I spot two blue tubes sticking out from the side of the ship. Picking up the pace, I jog down the wooden paneling until I reach the tubes, only to find they’re a pair of slides that hang over the side of the ship. A glass wall lines the entrance of the slides and they’re distinguished by two plaques that give the slides a name. The lighter blue slide is called The Drop while the almost violet slide has been named The Rush. The glass barrier surrounding the top of the slides allows me to see how far down they go, but I can only see the bottom of The Rush. I count nine, maybe ten balconies between me and the bottom of the slide and decide that I might as well take my chances since it will put a lot more distance between me and the other tributes. 

Saying a quick apology to Juliet, I pull my belt off and thread it through the backpack straps and one of the slats in the stock of the crossbow before setting everything on the step leading into the slide and slipping the blowtorch into a pocket. Once I’m sure everything is secure, I heft everything into the mouth of the slide and maintain a firm hold on my scavenged items until I’m inside the slide with them. Taking a last glance at the deck I’m departing from, I notice the number eighteen on the doors leading into the stairwell and make a mental note of it before pushing myself into the slick tube. Spiraling through the decks of the ship, I can see inside a few of the floors as I pass them. One floor has a large dining room, another has the word ‘CASINO’ on the wall in huge, glowing letters, and the last one I can see has a large stage with dark curtains framing it and an extensive array of seating. Finally, my trip begins to slow as I slide into the open air and glide to a halt against a soft plastic barrier. 

Grabbing my things, I leave the slide and make sure to stay under the cover of the upper decks as I unfasten my belt and return to carrying things the way I had been. I leave the belt in the stock of the crossbow and sling it over my shoulder for easy access before making my way down the outer hallway, past a swimming pool, and into the first door I find. Inside is what appears to be a restaurant, but on the wall above the bar, I find a single word - indulge. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a taunt by the Gamemakers, hoping one of us will slip up and get into whatever food or drink they’ve left for us, or if it’s a gentle invitation to take whatever we want from the buffet-style meal that’s left out for everyone, but I’m not willing to try any of the food left just sitting around. For all I know, it could very well be poisoned. I do, however, take a few bottles of alcohol from the bar before cutting through the kitchen to the other side of the ship and making my way to the inside once again.

The inside of the ship looks far more lavish than the Training Center with glowing corridors and shimmering gold accents lining the area. Fanciful, plush rugs line the linoleum floors, showing me where I can and cannot go. Near the staircase is a sign with a picture of the ship on it and a simple question gracing its digital screen - are you lost? I resist the urge to say no and call whoever put the sign there a motherfucker since there’s a high chance there are cameras on me and instead choose to tap the screen. It turns black for a moment before displaying an image of the ship’s layout, large letters at the top of the screen saying, “Welcome aboard the Viva - the top ship in the Nova fleet. You are on Deck 8.”

I tap around the ship’s image, finding there is nothing on this floor apart from dining halls, bars, and an atrium at the front of the ship that appears to span three decks. The decks below me are more full, hosting stores on the deck directly below me, a myriad of restaurants and party rooms on Deck 6, and a few staterooms on Deck 5. There is one thing on Deck 8 that intrigues me, a place called The Haven, but once I poke at its name, the screen flashes with bright red letters - VICTOR ONLY. I scoff - well, fuck you too, ship. 

Deciding I need a place to hide out and go through things until I can find Riven and Royce, I choose to go one floor up to where the entire floor is full of staterooms I can take a break in. I look over the layout of the deck on the map and decide on a room toward the back of the ship. I use my fingernail to scratch the numbers of the staterooms toward the back of the ship into my forearm before exiting the map, hefting the bags further up on my shoulders, and taking a deep breath. Mick’s parents were right, this place really is like a maze. I go up the flight of stairs before me and turn back toward the stern of the ship before cautiously creeping past the lines of rooms. When I finally find the set of rooms I was looking for, I find the door only unlocks when the arm with the tracker inside it twists the handle. The room is small compared to my room in the Training Center, but it almost reminds me of home with its cream and teal color scheme and how close the bed is to the door.

I don’t take long depositing my cache on the bed and dragging one of the chairs from the living area over to the door, shoving the back of it under the handle so it can’t be opened from the outside. Before going through the backpacks, I take a deep breath to relax and get my thoughts in order. Past the sliding glass doors that lead onto a small balcony, the sky has begun tipping toward golden hour - a sure sign that it’s at least afternoon already. A whole day has almost gone by in the blink of an eye. Although, I suppose I did spend quite a bit of time looking through restaurants and searching stores for a place to stay. With a sigh, I decide to go through what I’ve taken from the Cornucopia. The first bag is light, but it has enough food to last a little while - a loaf of bread, about a pound of meat, and some jerky - as well as a first-aid kit, some sunglasses, a sheathed, serrated knife, a water filter, and a long strand of rope. The other backpack is much heavier, containing a few liters of water, a flashlight, a set of walkie-talkies, and a slingshot. The alcohol I took from the bar earlier will be useful in case we need to set something - or someone - on fire the way Mick, Miles, and Kona did last year. Riven could probably take the knife to fend people off in close quarters. I bet Royce could handle either the crossbow or the slingshot, but after the trauma that his brother went through handling his crossbow last year, I’ll be surprised if Royce wants to get anywhere near it. 

The walkie-talkies could be helpful when we’re apart, but I doubt we’ll be apart for very long once we find each other again. I don’t know how we’ll even find each other. I didn’t see Royce or Riven at all once the bloodbath hit and I haven’t seen anybody at all since I got to the stairs. Maybe it’s a good thing I haven’t. It means I can hide out with relative ease until the cannons start blasting. The cannons don’t start until there aren’t any people lingering around the bodies, which means it’s ample time to go up to the Cornucopia and take all that we can. That was the plan I hoped to execute with Riven and Royce, anyway, but with so many floors between me and the Cornucopia and all of the things I have to lug around with me, it might be difficult to make it up there.

I start packing all of my things back in the bags they originated from as Mick’s voice softly speaks in my ear, “The three of you made it out. Royce is hiding in the library two floors above you and Riven is exploring a restaurant, but I can’t tell what floor he’s on.”

As much as I want to go off on a mission to find them right off the bat, I know it would be for the best if we stayed apart for the night. If we get found together, we would most likely die together. If one of us gets found while we’re separated, the chances are slim that they’d find the others. With a sigh, I explore the little room I’ve chosen, finding nothing of much use other than the face cloths in the bathroom that could be used for medicinal or explosive purposes, a pen and pad of paper in one of the nightstands, and the batteries in the television remote that could be used to start a fire. I take a few of the towels from the bathroom closet to clean the blood from myself, but I have to stop more than once to keep myself from either throwing up or passing out. To my dismay, the dried splotches of now brown blood refuse to come out of my clothing, though as long as it’s off of my skin, I’m fine.

By the time I’m done, the sun is beginning to set already. Though I don’t feel like it’s been long enough since we entered the arena, I can’t dispute the fact that time has flown once I spare a glance at the clock on the small table next to the bed. Mick tries to give me updates while I take in some of the jerky, telling me about the girl from 8 who is badly injured on a lower floor and the pair from 5 who are holed up in the casino room I spotted from the slide. The cannons begin to fire as I pace the floor, debating what to do with my time, and I stop to count the blasts. One… two… three… on and on until they eventually stop at nine. Nine dead, fifteen left to play, including me. Of the fourteen other tributes that are still alive, there are four who consider themselves Careers - including one redhead who probably wants me dead for stealing her man - five people who I consider allies, two tributes who claim they are ready to skin people, and probably a few who are just hiding out, hoping to survive.

I try to barricade myself in the room while I wait to see who died today, but there’s only so much furniture one person can shove in front of a door to keep themselves safe. Being alone in such a quiet little room is almost nerve-wracking; the feeling of having nothing but silence to keep you company proves to be difficult. I’m used to hearing Oliver snoring in his bedroom or Mick telling me to take my glasses off before I pass out, or even Riven humming along to some song he made up. Even when we were in the Capitol, there were devices that buzzed through the night that gave me something to fall asleep to. Tonight, I will get little comfort.

Eventually, I decide to make a list of the districts and tributes on the pad of paper I had found. For the names I don’t know, I simply put whether they’re a boy or a girl. They don’t usually show the names of people in the sky anyway, just their district and picture. Aside from my little group of allies, I think I know the names of the Careers, apart from the drunken idiot who Lexi killed for me, the pair from 5, and a few others here and there, but the list is done long before the recap begins. I take my time filling the notepad with notes on each tribute, making sure to write down what I remember about them when I come to it. Royce can add to it later; he is the most observant one of us, after all. As the night sky takes over, the television in the room lights up as the Capitol seal appears both there and in the sky outside, and the anthem plays throughout the arena. I guess the time has come for the death recap. With a sigh, I settle on the end of the bed and begin to tick each tribute off on my notepad.

The first to appear is the guy from 4, but I’m not surprised. All of the other Career tributes - and Jade - are safe and now I know for a fact that Riven and I are as well. Royce seems to be in the clear also as next up on the death list is the boy from 7. I’m not usually one to judge a person’s name, but I remember the boy’s name being something stupid. The boy from 8 appears next, followed by both tributes from 9 and 10. The last two to be shown are the boy from 11 and the little girl from 12. From what Mick has told me, the girl from 8 has extensive injuries and may not make it through the night, but they don’t count her as dead just yet. 

I try going back over my security measures, making sure the door to the hallway is locked and the stuff I’ve piled in front of it can’t budge, but Mick tells me to relax, reassuring me that the only person nearby is Royce on the eleventh floor and the injured girl in the bottom of the ship. It takes me a while to fully relax, but once I feel like I can’t put off the inevitable any more than I already have, I pull the serrated knife from one of my bags and slip it under my pillow before trying to find some comfort in the tightly tucked, thin blankets. I’ll need as much rest as possible before I go searching around the ship for Riven and Royce tomorrow. My glasses find their place on the nightstand and it feels as though I’ve only just gotten comfortable and closed my eyes when-

BOOM!

My fingers latch onto the hilt of my blade, pulling it from under my pillow as I bolt upright. My eyes, though blurry without my glasses, search the room for any sign of an attacker, but I find none. Someone else must have died. I assume it’s the girl from 8, but I don’t get confirmation. I won’t get any confirmation until after sundown, which is now hours away if the barely lightening sky outside the glass doors is anything to go by. I must have actually gotten some sleep despite it feeling like I’ve gotten none. I force myself out of the tangled blankets, grab my glasses from the nightstand, and use the bathroom mirror to try to make myself look halfway decent before shoving my knife back into its sheath and tucking it into the backpack it came from. Mick isn’t normally an early riser - certainly not to this extent - so it surprises me when she blearily wishes me a good morning as I begin moving things away from the door. The clock on the nightstand tells me it’s only four-thirty, but I want to get an early start on finding the boys and, if I’m going to do that, I need to leave now. While everyone else is probably scrambling to get themselves together or trying to get more sleep, I can use the silence of the early morning to my advantage and find the guys, but I’m unsure of who is nearby, which could make searching around very risky.

Not wanting to key any possible viewers into the fact that I have someone talking to me, I lay the crossbow on the bed and look through the bags to make sure I’ve packed everything before glancing toward the door as I sigh, “I wonder if there’s anyone nearby.”

“Good play,” Mick comments with a yawn. It takes her a moment to reply, but she gives me solid information when she does. “As far as I can tell, you’re the only one on your floor. Royce seems like the closest tribute. The girl from Eight was hiding out on the lowest level, but she’s the one who just died, so it seems like you’ll be in the clear if you want to find Royce in the library on Deck Eleven. I can search for Riven while you’re at it.”

I pace the floor for a while, contemplating the idea of leaving the room, but eventually, I stare at the door for a moment and quickly huff out, “Fuck it,” before beginning to haul everything onto my shoulders. 

“Atta girl,” Mick chuckles. “Now, if you want to make some of the people watching really root for you, turn to the little wall light next to the door and say something dramatic about Royce or Riven. That light is a camera and they’re watching you right now. It’s a simple move, but it will really start milking those cash cows in the Capitol.”

I grab a bolt from the crossbow and make sure it’s cocked before I begin following Mick’s advice. Pushing my glasses further up the bridge of my nose, I turn my hardened stare to the little lamp on the wall and say, “If anyone in this arena has so much as touched Royce or Riven, they’ll taste whatever the hell these arrows are made of.”

“Perfect!” Mick squeals as I leave the room and head for the stairs. “You looked so serious!”

I was deadly serious. It wasn’t some empty threat to the other tributes - it was a promise. If anyone hurts my boys, I will kill them. However, I can’t exactly tell Mick that; not with the eyes of everyone in the nation on me. The stairwell is quiet as I make my way up to the next floor, but I’m not surprised. I bet even the Careers are trying to rest right now; it’s not like it would be easy for them to hunt people down in the dark. I don’t look around much on Deck 10 since the map shows there’s nothing but staterooms on it, but I look around briefly before continuing to the next floor. Once I reach Deck 11, I stop at the map and try to see what’s around. Even though Mick has already told me where Royce is, I decide to look in the other areas so as to keep up the idea that I have no idea what I’m doing.

Other than the library, there are a few food stalls, the bottom deck of a theatre, and a coffee shop on that floor, but nothing else interests me, so I head back to the stern side of the deck and twist the handle of the library door, but find that it won’t budge. I try gripping the handle with my right hand, hoping it will unlock the way the staterooms do, but I quickly realize that the door to the library has been blocked from the inside, preventing me from entering. Trying to put all of my weight against the door is useless as, once it begins to budge, it’s quickly shoved closed from the other side and I stumble back from it. Royce must not know it’s me and is trying to keep himself safe.

In a fit of mild frustration, I kick the bottom of the door and snap, “It’s like there’s a fucking bookcase blocking the door!”

I look down the hallway, trying to see if there might be another way in, but before I can move away from the door, I hear Royce softly call out, “Vivien?”

My head whirls back toward the door and I place a hand on it as I ask, “Royce?”

Something heavy scrapes against the wooden floors just beyond the door, but the sound doesn’t last long and the door opens just enough for me to see Royce kneeling on something large and white. Royce smiles when he sees me and holds the door open for me to hand him everything I’ve collected. He offers me a hand up once I’m in the room and I climb on top of the piano with him, sliding across its cover and landing back on the floor further inside the room. Before doing anything else, I help Royce push the piano back into place and we make sure the door is securely shut before taking a deep breath and wrapping our arms around each other. 

Royce’s hold is tight around my waist and I feel his breath on my neck as I hear him whisper, “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

A breath of a laugh escapes me as my fingers on my left hand weave into Royce’s curls, “I think I have some notion.”

We stay like that for what feels like forever, clinging to each other and the fact that we’re together once again. I’m the one to pull away first, taking Royce’s face in my hands and taking a good look at him for the first time since last night. His outfit is similar to mine in the fact that he’s wearing shorts and a swimsuit-style top, but he’s also been forced to don a horrendously loud, blue and red floral shirt that I highly doubt he would be wearing if he had the choice. There’s a small slash across his forehead that tells me he must have gotten caught in the bloodbath, but he looks fine otherwise. When he finally takes a good look at me, Royce begins to panic, so I assume I must look worse - the blood from the District 4 boy still staining my clothing. After reassuring Royce that the blood isn’t mine, he seems to relax, but I can tell the sight of the splattered blood on my clothes is making him uneasy. I know it makes me uneasy.

“What happened to you?” he asks as he helps me carry our supplies further into the room.

“The moron from Four tried to attack me yesterday,” I explain with a shrug, “but that girl from Seven, Lexi, threw a knife into his neck when he was on top of me. What happened to your forehead?”

“The boy from Five threw something at me and it just grazed me as I ran,” Royce sighs as we sit on the floor near the windows so that we can hear if anybody walks by. We go through the backpacks and I show him all that I’ve collected before he shows me the few things he scrambled to grab during the mania that was the bloodbath. It isn’t much, but the bottle of water and bag of apples are good additions to the food we’ve hoarded and his collection of knives will certainly help. He also shows me a plastic card that he found in the small bag he took from the Cornucopia that could be useful if the large words printed on the front are true. If it’s accurate, we now have access to the wheelhouse and, if we find the wheelhouse, we can control parts of the ship like the lights, the steering wheel, and, if we’re lucky, the cameras around the ship.

After I pull out some jerky and Royce hands me an apple from his bag, he asks, “Have you seen Riven since this shitshow began?”

I quickly swallow the slice of apple I had eaten and shake my head, “No, but my guess is that he’ll probably go back to the Cornucopia this morning.”

“Why?”

“The Careers will be gone hunting people, so we can get more supplies with a lesser chance of getting killed.” 

Royce seems skeptical of the idea as he says, “How would you get up there without running into anyone?”

I’ll admit, I didn’t think of that yet, but once I find an answer, I shrug and say, “According to the maps, there are three staircases - one on the bow, one on the stern, and one inside the ship leading from Deck Five to Deck Eighteen. The stern staircase goes all the way to the Cornucopia. If we go up to the eighteenth floor inside and then just make our way outside when the coast is clear, we should be fine.”

Although I’m sure Royce doesn’t want me to see it, the fear of running into any of the other tributes, especially a Career, is evident in his eyes. He doesn’t want to leave the sanctuary of the library and, for now, I can understand why. It’s a safe zone. Nobody else has ventured nearby. He hasn’t seen anyone since the bloodbath and I bet every fiber of his being is screaming at him to stay put, to avoid confrontation, and to stay safe, but Royce is quick to cover his concerns. His actions are enough to tell me that, if I want to go hunting Riven down at the Cornucopia, he’s willing to put aside his fear just to help make sure I stay safe on my journey through the ship. Royce’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows thickly and nods my way, his fingers fidgeting with the zipper of the backpack as he softly asks, “When did you want to head out?”

I glance out the window at the sun as climbs further into the sky. I’m unsure of how long I’ve been with Royce, but it must at least be nine o’clock already. Turning back to Royce, I shrug, “Probably soon. If I can hide out on top of the Cornucopia for them to leave, I’ll be able to see when Riven gets there and also get a good pick of whatever is still inside.”

Royce nods, swallowing whatever he truly wants to say as he speaks, “I’m ready when you are.”

Looking around at the supplies we’ve collected, an idea forms in my head that might rid Royce of his nervousness and allow me to find Riven at the same time. If I go alone, I can take one of the walkie-talkies and leave Royce with the supplies so we don’t risk losing anything and he won’t be worried the whole time. A smile tugs at my lips and I take one of the backpacks from next to Royce and begin digging through it, but when Royce asks what I’m looking for, I don’t answer until I pull the devices from near the bottom of the bag. I hold one out for Royce to take and, once he has it, I tell him, “We use these at work back home when we’re loading things for the train deliveries.”

Royce’s gaze turns curious as he examines his walkie-talkie. His caramel eyes meet mine and I see the confusion in them as he slowly says, “Okay…”

“We can’t just leave all the supplies here for someone to walk in and take, so I figured that, if you don’t mind staying here and keeping an eye on the supplies, I can go find Riven.” Relief seems to flood Royce’s features as I hold the walkie-talkie so he can see and press a button so that his device lets out a soft beep. “If I press that button, you’ll hear a beep, letting you know that I’m okay. I can give you updates as I go.”

“Are you really okay with going alone?” he asks, taking my free hand in his. “If you’re worried, I’ll go with you.”

With a shake of my head, I tell him, “I’ll be fine. Once I find a way to sneak around undiscovered, I’ll be golden. You just can’t talk back to me when I tell you something.”

Royce’s fingers tighten around mine as he asks, “Are you sure you want to go alone?”

“Not really,” I say, “but I think it would be better if I do. If we’re found together, we’ll be killed together. If you stay here, the chances of them finding you or hurting you are slim.”

Royce lets out a heavy sigh, “I don’t want you to be hurt, Viv.”

Placing the walkie talking on the floor next to me, I take Royce’s hand in both of mine and send him a reassuring smile. “I won’t be. You’ve seen what I’m capable of. I’m faster and sneakier than any of them could hope to be.”

A moment of silence passes as Royce’s eyes search mine. “Is that why you want me to stay?”

“What do you mean?” I ask him.

“My breathing issues make it hard for me to run,” he explains. Royce’s gaze drops to the wooden planks under us as he mutters, “I would only slow you down, wouldn’t I?”

Releasing my hold on Royce’s hand, I push myself onto my knees and wrap my arms around his shoulders. “That’s not it at all,” I gently tell him. I feel his arms come around me almost hesitantly as I continue, “I would be far more worried about you and your safety than I would about my own and I know you would be in the same position. In the end, that would only serve to make us both paranoid messes. That wouldn’t help either of us get there and back safely.”

Royce’s hold on me tightens before he pulls away and, thankfully, I see the skepticism has disappeared from his gaze. “Promise me you’ll keep letting me know you’re safe?”

“Promise.”

“Okay,” he softly says as I stand. I take the walkie-talkie and the crossbow from the pile of things I’ve brought and Royce helps me move the piano just enough that I can leave the room. I send him a quick beep as reassurance that the devices are working and Royce tells me, “Stay safe out there.”

“Always,” I tell him. He closes the door and replaces the piano before I walk away, sending him a beep as I reach the stairwell and begin my ascent. I decide to take my time climbing the stairs since using my energy on climbing will leave me nothing to fight with if I have to. At first, I try to hum songs to myself to keep my breathing regulated, but the idea of someone coming up behind me and killing me because they heard me sets me on edge and I stop by the time I reach the next floor.

Just after I pass the door landing of the thirteenth floor and send Royce another beep, Mick’s voice pipes up in my ears, “I just spotted Riven. He’s heading up the stairs to the sixteenth floor. If you hurry, you might reach him before he gets to the Cornucopia.”

Despite wanting to keep my energy, Mick’s words drive me to go faster and I sling the belt with the crossbow over my shoulder as I propel myself up the stairs, muttering to myself about getting more stuff in case the cameras are still focused on me. The sooner the three of us are together again, the more power we have to protect ourselves. I’m unsure of how many people are still alive, but I know for a fact that there are five people who have no desire to kill me at this point and only one who has me on her hit list. Almost everyone else will probably be worried about survival and nothing more. The chances of me dying at this point are slim.

Rounding the banister and heading to the sixteenth floor, Mick reports, “The Careers are getting some things from the Cornucopia and getting ready to leave, so keep an eye out for them. You’ll be seeing Riven on Deck Seventeen. I think he heard you, but he doesn’t know it’s you. Be careful, he’s armed.”

I begin to slow as I push myself further up the never-ending staircase, letting out a huff of exhaustion, “I should’ve taken the damn elevator.”

Mick chuckles, but says nothing more as I clip my walkie-talkie to the front pocket of my shorts and push myself to continue my trek. As I near the seventeenth floor, I choose to stay quiet, hoping to hear Riven before I see him. To my dismay, Riven is silent and I only hear my footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell. Stepping onto the seventeenth floor, I jump as my crossbow is tugged off my shoulder and tossed aside before I’m yanked to the carpeted linoleum and pinned to the floor by a knee that digs into my thigh. My glasses clatter to the floor and my head spins as a foot digs into my right wrist, but I try to focus on turning the three people I see above me into the one I know is there. A cold, metal blade is pressed to my throat and, despite my daze at being tossed around like a ragdoll, I quickly squeak out, “Friendly!”

When the spinning stops and Riven goes from being a triplet to a single person, I realize just how different he looks already. His normally calm, comforting, hazel eyes are wild and deathly sharp and I can tell just by meeting his gaze that he’s seen some shit, but once he realizes that it’s me he’s tackled to the floor, he softens instantly. “Pip?” 

“Hello to you too,” I whisper through gritted teeth.

Riven quickly moves, taking his knee from my thigh and foot from my wrist before tossing his machete to the side with my crossbow and pulling me into a hug. “I’ve been looking for you since I left the bloodbath.”

I sigh into Riven’s shoulder as I bring my arms around his middle, “I went pretty far down in the ship and found a room to stay in last night, but I met up with Royce in the library this morning.”

“There’s a library?”

The smile that takes over my face is hard to fight, but I nod against Riven and chuckle, “Yeah, on Deck Eleven.”

“I never made it that far.”

“I kind of figured,” I say as I grip the back of Riven’s shirt.

“I should have stayed with you,” he comments. “I tried to follow you when I saw you leaving the bloodbath, but I lost you.”

Running my hand along Riven’s back, I tell him, “I stayed safe and now you’re here to protect me, that’s all that matters.”

Riven sighs as he moves away, still clutching my shoulder in one hand as he picks my glasses up from the floor and places them back on my face. Finally able to see him again, I find that Riven’s outfit is much like Royce’s - shorts, sneakers, swimsuit shirt, and a t-shirt with a horrible pattern on it - but the green in the palm fronds on his shirt matches my swimsuit, so it’s not too awful. Once I meet his gaze again, Riven offers me an apologetic smile and looks me over, probably checking for injuries, and settles his gaze on the blood that’s dried on my shorts and sneakers. “Not your blood?”

“The guy from Four,” I shrug. “He had a knife, so I think his intention was to slit my throat, but he never got the chance. Lexi took him out.”

Riven meets my gaze with a sheen of worry glossing his hazel eyes and I don’t have time to ask why as the hand he placed on my shoulder moves to my cheek and he cups my face in his hands as his eyes search mine. Once he decides he’s done, Riven moves to hold my chin, tipping my head up so he can inspect my neck before asking, “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I slammed you pretty hard, Pip.”

He did, but the braids Juliet tied together at the back of my skull helped keep my head from slamming too hard on the floor. The only thing he should worry about is the bruises I’m almost sure I’ll have from his knee digging into my thigh and the foot he pinned my wrist to the floor with. “I’m fine.”

“Did you hit your head?” he presses. “I don’t want you sleeping for a while if you hit your head.”

Riven inspects my eyes once more, potentially looking for signs that I’m somehow concussed, but I roll my eyes and firmly tell him, “I’m fine, Riv. I won’t lay down for a while if that will appease you, but honestly, the most I’ll have are a couple of bruises and we both know I can handle that.”

The firm honesty in my tone must snap Riven from whatever thoughts are running through his mind as he nods distantly and helps me to my feet. “Were you heading to the Cornucopia too?” he asks as he hands me the crossbow and hauls a backpack of his own onto his shoulder. From the way it hangs limply against him, I assume he’s emptied the bag elsewhere so he has space to carry more. I wish I had thought of something similar.

With a nod, I reply, “Yeah, I thought I might be able to find you there.”

Riven grabs his machete from the floor and begins leading me up the last flight of stairs as he says, “Good idea.”

“I’ve been known to have those once in a while.”

He chuckles but says nothing more as we hike up the stairs. Instead, I hear Mick quickly say, “They’re leaving the Cornucopia. Stay inside as much as possible.”

With that information, I ask Riven, “Do you think they’ll leave the Cornucopia soon?”

“Probably,” he shrugs. “Mack and Brady said that most Career groups wait until after they have something to eat before they begin hunting people down. Some groups don’t even leave someone to guard their things, which I hope is the case this time.”

“How are we going to get there from here? There’s only one stairwell up to the Cornucopia.”

Riven turns back to me with a smirk as we come to the landing on the eighteenth floor, “Who says we need stairs?”

I don’t question Riven, choosing to simply go wherever he guides me. He pulls me over to the wall and gestures for me to stay silent as we creep past a set of bathrooms. Riven listens for any noise as we come to an open area, but once he deems the space clear, he tugs me by the wrist over to a ramp on the side of a restaurant with a large sign above it that says ‘Speedway Races’ in thick letters. However, Riven doesn’t allow me to wander up the ramp very far, a quick yank on the back of my shirt stopping me from continuing. I send Riven a confused look, but he shakes his head, pulls me to the floor, and taps his ear, telling me to listen.

Steadying my breathing is no easy feat, but once I do, I can hear Serena’s shrill voice lamenting, “I swear, if you waste another minute of our time hunting down the others because you want to dig through this pile of shit, I’ll just snap your neck myself!”

“I’d like to see you fucking try,” booms a male voice. Whoever it is, his voice is deep and raspy and he sounds almost protective of whoever he’s with. That, ironically, narrows it down to just one person - Granite from District 2. Onyx from 1 has no partner to protect since Jade is with Erica and Lexi, and the guy from 4 is probably still on the ground somewhere in a pool of his own blood, so I highly doubt it’s either of them.

“Can we not do this?” another girl, Ashlar from 2, sighs. “Whether we like it or not, we’re together for now. It’s no use fighting each other until the time comes.”

“She’s right,” Onyx grumbles. “If we leave now, we can probably get to that scrawny girl from Six. She couldn’t have gone far from here with that hole in her leg.”

Serena lets out a shriek and whines, “I don’t want that one! I want to kill the girl from Three.”

“Toddler, much?” Granite chortles.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Ashlar begins snarkily, “the girl from Three has an army protecting her and the boy from Six. Chances are, they’re all hiding out together and we won’t find them until the pickings get slim and they have no choice but to come out of their hiding spots.”

“The sooner the better,” Onyx says. 

“Fine!” Serena snaps. “Let’s just get out of here and start thinning out the competition.”

As we hear the group of four begin making their way away from the Cornucopia, Riven nudges me further up the ramp. The deck we arrive on has long, curved lines of tightly packed asphalt that loop around in front of a restaurant and ramp up to the deck the Cornucopia sits on. The Cornucopia is surrounded by a curved strip of asphalt with a bunch of small, one-person vehicles parked on it. The sign from the ramp now makes sense - the top floors are a race track for the little cars. I can only assume it was built for when the Capitol citizens vacation here after the Games are over. As the Careers disappear into the stairwell, Riven leads me around the underside of the track, steering clear of the stairwell on the opposite side of the ship before coming to a stop where the race track above us separates, leaving a gap where we could climb up to the Cornucopia if we had a ladder.

However, Riven is not one to let something that simple stop him. He presses his back against the wall of the restaurant, bends his knees, and cups his hands between his legs before softly telling me, “Give me your foot.”

We’ve done something like this before. When I first started working at the lab with Riven, he and I would be the ones to go into the storage rooms to find parts that had been stocked away. Riven could handle it himself, but his organization skills - or lack thereof - required assistance from someone who actually gave a shit. When Riven needed help getting something from the highest shelves, he would lift me in a similar way, having me stand on his shoulders while I tried to find what we were there for. It worked out pretty well until Perl Bryant, the other team lead on our floor, found us like that and told the higher-ups that we were goofing off in the storage room. Since then, we haven’t been allowed in there together. It’s been maybe two years since the last time Riven tried to hold me like that, but I have full faith that he will keep me safe, so I place my right foot in Riven’s waiting hands and put my hands on the wall, bracing myself as he slowly stands. Even as I step on Riven’s shoulder and stretch as far as I possibly can, my fingers don’t even graze the upper deck.

“I’m too short,” I tell Riven.

“Stretch!”

“I’m not made of elastic, Riven, I can’t stretch any further!”

“Shit,” I hear him mutter.

“Need a hand?” I jump at the new voice, letting out a sharp gasp as Riven wobbles under me in an attempt to keep both of us upright. A hand latches onto my wrist, icy fingers locking me in their hold and my gaze snaps up to the roof, only to find Erica leaning over the side of the upper deck, a shocked look in her eyes and her hand firmly wrapped around my wrist. “Are you okay?” she questions.

Riven leans back against the wall as I let out a huff, “Fan-fucking-tastic.”

Erica chuckles as she helps pull me the rest of the way up to the Cornucopia, “Didn’t mean to scare you. We saw you guys coming over and figured we would help once the Careers were gone.”

“We?” Riven questions, watching Erica with wary eyes as she hauls me over the side of the building

“Me, Jade, and Lexi,” she reiterates as I stand. Erica judges the distance between us and Riven and the little space he has to get a running start before pointing toward the back of the building and telling him, “There’s a ladder back there if you want to come up. That’s how we got up here earlier.”

Riven nods, locking eyes with me and gesturing for me to walk alongside the roof so he can keep an eye on me. I follow him until he finds the ladder and, while he climbs, I unclip the walkie-talkie from my shorts and press the button on the side. When I hear static, I speak quietly, “Royce, are you there?”

I hear a quick beep in return before he says, “Yeah. Where are you?”

“The Cornucopia,” I reply. “I found Riven. We’re going to get some stuff and we’ll be back in a few. Do you want anything in particular?”

Royce’s side of the conversation is quiet for a while before he comes back with, “Something to defend myself from a distance, if you can find something; I’m good with bows, if that helps. I don’t know what else… maybe some food or medical supplies?”

“We’ll try,” I say with a smile as Riven joins me. “Be back soon.”

“I’ll still be here.”

Riven and I join the others who are sorting through the crates of things the Careers have left for the taking and separating them into useful piles. Weapons are in one, food and other necessities are in another, and objects with unknown uses are off to the side in another. Lexi sorts through the seemingly useless objects while Jade places food onto a plastic tarp to keep them away from any blood. Erica smiles and hands me a large bag that she found earlier so that I have something to fill before returning to her task of sorting weapons. Riven talks with Lexi while he picks through the pile she’s set aside, but I can’t make out much of their hushed conversation as Jade and Erica try to offer me everything they come across. I’m just glad we’re all keeping to our promise of not killing each other.

I take a pair of bows and two sheaths of arrows for Royce and myself since we’re both good with them and I notice Erica stuffing some bolts into the sheaths for my crossbow even though I don’t ask her to. Jade makes sure to shove some food into the bag Erica gave me, advising us that they found a few places on the seventeenth deck that have safe food to take if we need more. Once our bags are full and the watch on Jade’s wrist ticks past noon, Riven and I decide to head out and Erica walks us to the ladder, offering to help hand us things once we’re off the ladder.

“If you need anything,” she begins as Riven descends the ladder, “we’re hiding out inside the theatre. It takes up three decks and there are plenty of places to hide, so you’re more than welcome to visit.”

Her words almost make it feel as though we’re nothing more than neighbors stopping by to ask for sugar, not a group of teenage kids poised to kill each other at the first opportunity. I’m sure, if the circumstances were different, we would be friends. For now, though, we’re nothing more than allies. Still, I make sure to smile as I thank her and accept the arms that loop around me before they disappear just as quickly as they came. After I make my way down the ladder and Erica passes our things to us, she wishes us good luck and vanishes off to her group, leaving me and Riven to make the trip back to Royce. I lead Riven down to the slides I had found yesterday, but I have to stop him from going down the pale blue slide.

“Why can’t we both take one?” he questions.

“Because I don’t know where it leads,” I answer, gesturing to the glass wall and the bottom of the violet slide. “The Rush has an ending down there, but I can’t find an ending for The Drop on any of the maps.”

Riven nods in understanding and allows me to climb into the slide before he hands me the bags of things we’ve gathered. He slots himself behind me and, together, we make our way down to the eighth deck. As we pass through different sections of the ship, Riven digs his sneakers into the bottom of the tube and slows us, holding my arm hostage as he listens for anybody or anything who could be in the area. Nearing the bottom of the slide, I hear a male voice scream faintly and dig my heels into the slide, gripping our bags and my crossbow for dear life as Riven slams into my back.

“What’s up?” he whispers.

“You didn’t hear that?” I ask in return.

“Hear what?”

The boom of a cannon is the only answer Riven needs and he’s quick to use the grip of his sneakers to hold himself in place, an arm looping around my waist as his wide eyes narrow into a glare he focuses on the bottom of the slide. We both fight to keep our panicked breathing as silent as possible, but I have to move both bags and the crossbow strap to one hand in order to muffle my breaths with the other. A slide would be such a shitty place for us to die. My fingers turn white around the thick straps that begin slipping from my hand. The weight of them is too much for one hand, so I calm my breathing as much as possible and go back to holding the bags and crossbow with both hands. I can’t risk dropping them since any wandering people could find them and take them. We’re only a few feet from the mouth of the slide; any other tribute could easily look inside and find us, but to our surprise, none come. We stay in the slide for what feels like forever, yet I hear no voices, no movement, and, thankfully, no Careers.

“Do you think it’s safe to go?” I whisper.

“Could you shoot if you see someone?” he asks in return. When I nod, Riven breathes, “Let’s do it. Just keep an eye out.”

We inch our way to the mouth of the slide and I ready my crossbow for a fight, but as we leave the slide, we realize there is no fight to prepare for. Nobody else wanders the deck. Once we’re on our feet, Riven decides to take a look around while I reach for my walkie-talkie and softly ask Royce, “Are you okay?”

Nothing.

“Royce, is everything alright?”

Silence.

“Royce?”

“Pip,” Riven calls, pulling me from my rising panic and gesturing for me to join him over by the railing that overlooks the water below. Clutching the walkie-talkie, I take a deep breath and join him. Riven points to a blue tube that juts out over the water, yet doesn’t return to the deck of the ship, and says, “I think someone picked the wrong slide.”

The tube that had looped around the slide we had just exited, was a deathtrap; a literal drop that sends people falling several stories to their death. It’s plausible that someone had simply chosen wrong, but we hadn’t seen anybody where the slides begin, so I have to wonder how long the person had been there before submitting to their demise. I wonder how many times they tried to climb back up, only to realize it was useless.

I nod to Riven before holding up the walkie-talkie and saying, “Royce isn’t answering.”

Riven’s gaze turns worried, but he covers it up quickly as he leads me inside, toward the stairs, and says, “Go check on him. I’ll grab my stuff from the restaurant I hid out in last night and I’ll meet you there.”

As much as I detest the idea of splitting up again, I find myself nodding as we practically run up the staircase. “Okay.”

Once we reach the floor Royce and I had spent the morning on, Riven turns to me and asks, “Library?” I nod. Riven gives me his usual, lopsided grin, “I’ll find it. Don’t do anything stupid until I get there.”

“How can I?” I ask as Riven turns to hike upstairs. “You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

Riven chuckles as he shakes his head and I watch him leave before making my way toward the library. When I get there, I knock on the door, but Royce doesn’t open it. Trying again, I question, “Royce, are you there?”

I hear something that could be a pile of books clattering to the floor followed by the heavy drag of the piano moving before the door pulls open to reveal Royce who quickly gestures for me to come in. Once I’m over the piano and the heavy instrument is back against the door, I set my crossbow on the piano and pull Royce in for a hug that seems to take him by surprise. His arms come around me all the same as he softly asks, “What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t answer when I called you,” I clarify. “After the canon went off, I wanted to make sure you were alright and you didn’t answer.”

Royce’s hold on me tightens as he apologizes and explains, “I heard people outside just before the cannon, so I turned the volume off. I must have forgotten to turn it back on.”

“It could have been Jade, Erica, and Lexi,” I tell him as we move apart just enough to see each other. “They’re staying in the theatre on the far side of the deck.”

Before Royce gets the chance to express his opinion on the matter, a heavy thump on the door makes us both jump and we separate. I reach for the crossbow just as I hear a voice say, “Don’t shoot; it’s just me.”

Riven. Whatever he had to grab, it must not have been much as he’s come down to our level fairly quickly. Either that, or he ran. I climb onto the piano and peer through the little peephole on the door to confirm it really is Riven before climbing down and helping Royce slide the piano out of the way. Once it’s far enough out of the way that Riven can worm his way into the room, he does so and climbs over the piano before dropping his things on the floor and helping us push the musical instrument back into place. Riven looks around the room as we settle into place on the floor to go through our things, eyeing the endless shelves of books before chuckling.

“What’s so funny?” I ask him.

“It’s ironic,” he laughs. “The two bookworms choose the one place in the arena with the most books imaginable.”

I roll my eyes at Riven, but neither Royce nor I can argue his statement is oddly true. We both love books; it’s something we’ve talked about many times in the past week. It is somewhat poetic that the two people who love books chose to hide out in a place filled with paperbacks and hardcovers alike. From the look on Royce’s face, I’m not the only one who didn’t see the irony in it before. Maybe we just never put two and two together.

We spend most of the afternoon going through all of the items we’ve taken, but Riven seems to have been the most prepared of the three of us. The three sleeping bags he produces are definitely going to be useful until we feel confident enough to sleep in one of the available bedrooms. He also provides us each with fluffy pillows and extra blankets that he took from a room on another floor before showing us all that he had taken from the Cornucopia during the bloodbath and the trip we made earlier in the day.

Riven’s supplies are pretty similar to all of the things Royce and I have collected, but he has a few things that we don’t, such as some canned foods from a restaurant and a folding grill that fits into the larger of his two bags. We cook up some of the meat we took from the Cornucopia and split a couple of apples between us before deciding to set up our sleeping bags for the night. Riven, the protective ass that he is, chooses to act as a wall between my sleeping bag and Royce’s, claiming that we don’t need to be all snuggly just yet. No amount of arguing will budge him and, eventually, Royce and I resign to our fate.

While the boys talk about work and the things they miss about their home districts, I decide to scour the books for something entertaining to read. More often than not, I find books I’ve yet to read; titles ranging from self-help books to children’s stories line the shelves, yet few are interesting to me. The few I might look into are the ones I pull from shelves - a tattered paperback about a magic school, a practically glowing yellow book about a teenage boy who travels to another world, a fictional book about an apocalyptic world, and a hardcover book about a town full of witches. The stories I find seem endless, but as I reach the last shelf on one wall, a certain title stands out to me the most and I pull the book from the shelf to inspect it further. I hardly ever judge a book by its cover, but with how untouched the book appears to be, I have to wonder if it was placed there with us specifically in mind.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as Riven calls me over to watch the death recap. I bring my stack of books over to the tables near the window and set it down just as the picture of the girl from District 8 disappears and the boy from 12 makes an appearance. Once things are over, Riven insists we try to get some sleep while he takes the first watch and he doesn’t budge on the idea no matter how much I complain about wanting to read. I spare one last glance at my stack of books as I slide into my sleeping bag and sigh; I suppose Romeo and Juliet can wait one more day.

[mousterian-writes]

Shifts in Staff Envy Over Time

I passed the one year anniversary for posting Staff Envy and I would like to take the time to talk about the upcoming chapter. The Gadgetzan sequence is actually the oldest part of my story and it has gone through the most changes since its original inception. 

Back in the day when the story was called Get that Staff! this was actually the beginning! 

The first iteration involved Kel’Thuzad traveling to Tanaris to hunt down a one-eyed orc he believed to be in possession of the base of Atiesh. Along the way he encounters Amnennar the Coldbringer, Gets sick and Melts, makes friends with the Bronze Dragon Zaladormu who recruits him to help find Thrall (who the dragon had recently lost in an alternate timeline) and finally reassembles Atiesh and accidentally blows up half of Gadgetzan. 

The second iteration had every element from the first, but it took place after the library confrontation. KT, now in denial, is running away from his responsibilities and is punished for it. In pursuit are Modera & Rivendare, they think the lich has kidnapped his daughter. 

Finally, we have the modern iteration. Almost none of those things happen in this chapter at all! Some items have been scrapped from the story all together, like Amnennar. Zaladormu and the melting were rearranged to happen at different times. So what happened to cause all of these changes? In short, it was the trajectory of the characters and the creation of Vael.

Vael

I have a confession to make: I generally like to keep canon characters and OCs separate. I also don’t, as a rule, make fan kids. And yet I’ve technically made two for this story (this is why I’m a hack). Although I could make an argument for Ghastly as there are references to Kel’Thuzad raising plague drakes, Vael is pure fabrication. So why the hell did I do it? 

The primary reason is I needed a way to get the characters from point A to point B, which I will discuss in the next subsection. But, having a kid also adds new avenues for drama that the story did not previously have. It heightens the stakes and creates another wrinkle in KT & Modera's relationship. Finally, it gives KT & Modera that bit I needed for their arcs. 

The Characters

In Get that Staff, KT was on a journey by himself and the story was more focused on his adventure in the alternate timeline. Rivendare was not in the story & Modera and Vael only existed within the other timeline. But this had some issues- for one, his motivations were sort of nebulous and it was difficult to link set pieces together. Also, the cast was too small and inconsistent. As in there was a revolving door, no one to challenge him or remark on his growth.  

I made the decision to expand Modera’s role first because it gave him another person to consider and made his goals more personal as opposed to materialistic. But this still caused issues because IIRC there were still questions on how to get all of the characters to the alternate timeline. Modera might follow him if he was searching for Atiesh, but how would she find out? And would she really follow him into another time by herself to stop him? I don’t think so.

This is where Vael comes in. This is a character that is really able to push the plot forward because the protagonists are naturally invested in her. In addition, she inherited KT’s naive curiocity which can get her into trouble (like in chapter 3), but it is also what gives KT the idea to look for the ledger and ultimately learn that he had a child. I guess this is what they mean by characters moving the plot forward. I think ultimately that's why I’m at peace with making a fan kid- she serves a narrative purpose and (I hope) she isn’t annoying. 

So, this comes to the shift away from the second iteration of Gadgetzan. 

By this time, chapter five had been published. We’ve already had two chapters of Kel’Thuzad being in denial about having a kid. I did not think it made sense for the story for him to continue to be in denial or to run away from his problem anymore. I thought this would be boring for the readers and make him somewhat unlikeable. However there was a second problem- the story was becoming more about Kel’Thuzad and Modera’s relationship. If he ran away, based on the chapter layouts at the time, there were going to be almost seven chapters before they were on screen together again. This would kill their arc. 

It also presented one final and potentially the most important problem: if KT was running around by himself, he would also be completely removed from the A- Plot (rescue daughter) because he would have no knowledge that she had been kidnapped in the first place!    

Which brings us to the modern version of the chapter. Now, KT and Modera are moving together to find their daughter. Instead of going to RFD, they go to Theramore (so long Coldbringer). Zaladormu doesn’t need to be here anymore because they already have a reason to go to the Caverns of Time. KT isn’t actively looking for the base, so the crumbs about a one eyed orc can go away. Instead maybe he and Rivendare are bored and decide to look in a pawn shop while the other two are eating, etc. 

All in all, the changes this chapter have gone through mirror the way the story has grown since its inception. I hope my weird ramblings have been entertaining at least 

[all-chickens-are-trans]

🗣📝🔎

🗣️Talk about your favourite WIP

I could never choose only one of my children like that, so I'm gonna say three 😅🙈

The most current one is a Ted/Trent fic that's an AU based on the 2007 rom com/drama "No Reservations". In this one, Trent is Catherine Zeta-Jones basically, the overworked, overwhelmed guardian of his niece since his sister passed away. And Ted is of course Ted, the manic pixie dream coach who gets the little girl to open up and helps Trent to see that he's not trapped in this situation. So far, I've written two very short chapters and I wanna write more, I just kinda lost focus 🙈

Then there's also the two big projects that I started in 2020 for my two biggest German fandoms. One is called "Hühnerküsse" and it's about the girls from "Die wilden Hühner", a kids' book series by Cornelia Funke about a girl gang - it's from the 90's/early 00's and even though it's mindblowing to me that they already had a canon lesbian character in a children's book in 2003, I decided that I needed to make it even more queer. So I started writing this little story in 10 chapters about how all of them kissed each other at various points in their friendships, for various reasons - I just never finished it because for one pairing, I couldn't decide how I wanted the kiss to happen, I wrote three or four different versions of it, I was never hapy with it and then I stopped. :( Recently rediscovered it again because someone left some lovely notes on it and it really made me want to revisit the story.

The other one is a five part series called "Kontrolle und Chaos" and it's about my two favourite milfs from the German crime show classic "Tatort". They're called Charlotte and Anaïs (the latter played by love of my life Florence Kasumba of Marvel fame and also, more importantly, known from the German cast recording of the musical Aida, in the title role) and god, they've got issues <3 And I had so, so many issues with part 5 of that series. I started writing it just after their second episode, fully committed to writing a lesbian love story and ignoring the uncomfortable love triangle created in the show. But then unfortunately, I fell in love with Daniel Donskoy who plays the man in that love triangle and has openly advocated for polyamory, and suddenly I had to rethink the whole thing. So now I've written four of five parts, trying to figure out how to make the last one fit with the new information I've got, and just like with Hühnerküsse, I wrote several versions I didn't like and eventually dropped it. Sure hope I'll finish this one because I have recently found some notes for it that offer a pretty good solution.

📝Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

Okay, this is technically an outtake from my current Jamie/Roy(/Keeley) WIP, meaning I probably won't be able to make it fit anywhere in the fic but it was too funny not to share so here you go:

“I have one rule,” Roy says. “You do not call me ‘daddy’ in bed.” Jamie scoffs, pretending the idea has never even occurred to him. Roy doesn’t believe him. “What about out of bed?” Jamie asks and wiggles his eyebrows. “I have two rules,” Roy says. Jamie laughs. “Just fucking with you, mate. Out of bed, you’re granddad of course.” He ducks just in time to avoid the pillow Roy throws at his head.

🔍Give a clue (a picture, emoji, a word, etc) and let your followers guess what a WIP is about.

here's a clue for the Jamie/Roy one lol

[missingn000]

hi, it's messeduplittlebastard from your frequent commentors back on ao3! i havent really asked you anything over on tumblr, but i'm curious if you dont mind answering. what are five characters in jjk you think arent fleshed out enough, even though they have the potential for so much more? unrelated to tpg, just curious! <3 thanks lol

HI OMG GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE!! this is such a fun question. unsurprisingly my reply got long so answers below cut!

okay. first up. TOGE. i love him to pieces, but we know shockingly little about him. no backstory. not a single line of inner monologue/thoughts in the WHOLE series. while it's definitely fun to write him because you can do so much interpretation as to his thoughts and personality, it would be really cool to have at least some background on his past and how that crazy lil mind of his works. also, where the fuck is he? i only half-heartedly keep up with the manga based on spoilers i see online, but fuck, even panda got to come back. toge is a fan-favorite, come on gege. i am annoyed as hell. give me back my boy!!!!!!!

second!! KAMO! yes, i know he is technically back for the moment, but i think he had a lot more potential than just throwing him in another fight scene. i think he could've been a really great character foil for megumi, and yet...well. they barely interacted. to me, he was definitely the most interesting of the kyoto kids, other than mai. he was vying to be a clan head and learning of his past beyond a mommy issues flashback could've shed light on how the other major clans operate. sigh

third: SHOKO!!! my beloved, my wife, my everything. we know so little about her, and even in gojo's past arc she barely got any screentime and was mostly sidelined to stsg. i think she has such a unique perspective on jujutsu society, and her isolation could offer some insights on the many ways this horrible world treats their most important members. how does she cope, beyond drinking and smoking? i want to see her emotions, i want people to stop reducing her to a character that just smokes and is tired of stsg's bullshit. i think she could've also been a great character complement to nanami, which i--clearly have feelings about and am acting upon. yeah.

fourth: YUKI. this one i am genuinely annoyed about. she's the only woman special grade and we don't even know her technique. she hasn't been in a fight scene, and even when she did finally arrive she was here for maybe like what, 3 chapters? before she got stuck in a tree to #$%@ choso. i'm so interested in hearing more about her research to eradicate cursed energy and her personality/backstory as a whole. her one conversation with getou was so interesting, and i want to hear more of her opinions on non-sorcerers and the trajectory of the world. clearly i had feelings about this too. yuki my queen

last, and definitely least: naoya. now, i absolutely do not mean this in a "he was great and i wanted more of him!!1!1!" way, but rather, i think he had so much more potential either as a villain or a character with insane development than...whatever the fuck he is now. i knew he was going to come back as a curse, but...idk. to me, he represents everything wrong with jujutsu society. exploring his character really could've shed light on how things got this bad, and how he was raised. the thing is, people forget frankenstein is the one who created the monster, and i feel that way about him. jj society failed him as much as it failed others. do i think he deserved his fate? absolutely i do. but i wish more had happened before that, or, if his character arc was going to go in a different way, that could've been interesting too. anyway

thanks again for asking this, and i hope you like the new chapter today!! i always love your comments btw, but you know that. still, i'll say it again❤️️