#Replaying deep route and trying to get seven

[xer-melody]

A Worshiper of Magic (For a Date) Part 1

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Wednesday Addams x Male!Witch!reader

Warnings: Descriptions of injury, blood, passing out, stitches, and murder.

Words: 1603

Summary: There were many kinds of people at Nevermore academy, to Wednesday you were just another purple clad body in the school's supernatural crowd. You have never interacted with each other in your time there, so why did you show up at her door, covered in your own blood after a spell goes wrong?

(A/n: my very first fic on this blog, and it's a two-parter (maybe) hope you enjoy)

One thing you hated about being a sorcerer was the sheer amount of pain you had to endure. Magic hurts, every spell burns your veins, every incantation gives you a headache, and every hex makes you bleed. And yet you still practiced it, day in and day out. Because despite your hate for the pain, you loved the result.

After a small ceremony with a few other sorcerers, you were on your way back to your dorm, feeling a sense of pride, for yourself and your fellow sorcerers. There was just something so powerful in successfully casting a spell of that size. You'd essentially created a sort of security system for the school. Anything that crosses the barrier of the spell can be recorded and therefore replayed. A sort of camera that cannot be disabled by anyone but you or one of your fellow spell casters.

There was a burning in your chest from the spell, but it wasn't as bad, considering the backlash of the spell was spread amongst seven people.

You’ve taken this route dozens of times, you were more familiar with it than you were with any other part of the school.

Mindlessly, you climbed the stairs, more so looking at the moon, and the clouds that covered it, than paying attention to your path. The corridor was nearly pitch black as a particularly heavy cloud passed over the full moon, but just as quickly as it covered the moon, it passed it again.

‘It might rain.’ you thought, ‘I should put out a bucket,’

Then, as though it happened only to interrupt your peace, you got a headache, painful and pulsing on your forehead. You groaned in a mix of pain and annoyance. Just another side effect of magic. You need to get home, make a nice healing tea and hope it works in time for you to get some sleep. Pushing forward, you felt something warm and wet drip down your face and then onto your shoulders. Just rain, you assumed.

It slid down your face and into your eye, and, for a moment, half of your vision was entirely red.

You paused, lifting your hand to your face, only to pull it back and see that, no, it wasn’t rain, it was blood. Coming from a large, painful gash on your forehead.

You groaned as you ran your fingers over the open wound again. Taking a deep breath, you pushed forward. Despite having to wipe the blood out of your eyes every few seconds, you're sure you're going the right way.

Then, just as your headache started, the mild burn in your chest flared and in a moment of visual clarity you could see your purple uniform began to stain red.

You felt light, clinging onto the railings as you walked, barely able to see as blood blurred and discolored your vision.

The world around you darkened for a moment as another heavy cloud passed over the moon.

You moved forward anyways, taking turns you didn’t mean to, and missing the ones you did. Holding onto the rail until there was no more rail to hang on to. Holding yourself up against the wall, trying to find somebody, anybody to help you.

You felt a sudden dip in the wall and leaned against it, banging against it a few times with your open palm, which decided now would be the perfect time to open more wounds. Your head was spinning and you were losing a lot of blood, but you tried to keep yourself conscious and grounded.

Then, the dip, which you correctly assumed was a door, opened behind you, you didn’t even realize it until you hit the floor.

You were cold when you woke up. Yawning, you pushed yourself up, the blanket falling off your shoulder only to reveal that you were mostly undressed, and covered in bandages. You ran your hand over the neat wrappings, sighing as you remembered the night before. The sun was shining through the half-colored window, you made it through the night without dying, so this was a success in your book.

“Enid wouldn’t let me leave you outside.” A voice said from across the room.

Looking up you saw a girl, dressed in a monochrome version of your school's uniform, with a long braid laying on each shoulder. She looked more annoyed by you than anything else. You must be on her side of the room, considering the dark decor and utter lack of color on this side.

“I’m sorry,” you said, your voice slightly hoarse. “I was actually trying to get to Stocker hall.”

“Then you made a few wrong turns, you're in Ophelia hall.”

You tried to remember the school map for a moment, then cringed at how badly you missed your mark.

Pushing yourself up and out of the bed, your feet landing on the cold, wooden floor, you said, “Well, thank you, for cleaning me up and letting me borrow your bed, but I should really be going.”

Just as you stood she walked over quickly and pushed you back down.

“Actually, I have a few questions.” She said in her completely monotone voice.

Despite her tough demeanor, the questions were pretty easy, and it was over quickly.

You got yourself dressed, luckily she’d washed your clothes for you, and you, of course, thanked her again. Then you were on your way back to your dorm, running into the girl- Wednesday's roommate who had a million questions but ended up leaving before you could answer any of them.

Your roommate had his own questions as well when you arrived, I mean, look at you! You were gone all night then walked in looking like a mummy and thought you’d get away with it.

You didn’t, and half an hour of explaining the situation later he finally let you make your healing tea.

Luckily, your first period was canceled so you got to rest for the next hour.

Classes went by painfully slow, both literally and metaphorically. But you were healing, the gashes that opened on your head, and hands had healed and the utter abomination that was your stomach gash was slowly closing itself back up. Again, you were thankful for Wednesday. After taking a break during lunch to change your bandages you saw just how much work she’d done for you. Sewing up a giant circle-shaped wound could not have been easy.

You were in your bed, having just finished your sixth cup of healing tea for the day (which you were really getting tired of) when you heard a knock on the door. Your roommate was out at some party you were in far too much pain to care about, and it was far too early for him to be back.

With a sigh, you pushed yourself up and to the door. You unlocked the door with a quick little click, then pulled it open.

“Wednesday?”

She stood in front of you, a piece of fabric clutched in her hand.

“Y/n,” was all she said before she moved past you and into your room. “You seem to be doing much better.”

Closing the door you turned to see her examining your side of the room. Then she turned back to you, sticking her hand out and subsequently the bloodied fabric in her hand.

“You left this,” she said as you took it.

Unraveling it to reveal your tie, which you hadn't ever realized was missing before now.

“Oh, thank you,” you said, looking up from the tie.

She stood at your desk, flipping through the pages of an open spell book, touching all of the little trinkets, then she picked up a bag and shook it. A low clinking came from inside. She turned to look at you, a questioning look on her face.

“Teeth,” you said, without her even having to ask.

That only made her more interested in the little bag, pulling it open and sticking her fingers in, pulling out a fully intact canine.

She hummed in approval before putting the bag back on your desk with a clicking thud.

“I never asked,” she said, “what kind of spell were you attempting to cast last night?”

As though the very mention of the spell had suddenly made the wound on your stomach flare up in pain. With a small groan, you moved past her, to the portable kettle on your desk (definitely not the best place to keep it considering it's been boiling tea all day and is still very, very hot.). Grabbing your mug and pouring yet another cup of healing tea.

“Multiple people have been killed on campus.” you started, “So I called a few friend to help put up a surveillance system.”

“But it failed?”

“No, we just underestimated the backlash of the spell, it's still up, I can feel it.” you paused, taking a sip of your tea, “Literally, I can feel everyone on campus right now. It's… discomforting, but for the safety of everyone here I can handle it.”

She didn't say anything for a moment.

“Did Weems approve of this?” her voice was just as calm and even as ever.

You almost laughed at the question, “She did not. She was actually against it, something about it being an invasion of privacy, whatever..”

Wednesday’s face quickly turned to one of confusion.

“I have to go,” she said.

Turning to leave the room, she'd barely laid a hand on the doorknob before she was suddenly taken over by a vision. Her head flew back, her eyes strained open, and a moment later, Wednesday collapsed.

Reblogs>likes

[overfedvenison]

Every time a HalfBreadChaos video comes out, I am full of THOUGHTS Lets see... 1 - Time Travel The way the game is laid out is that there are seven chapters. You can, in fact, import some items from old chapters into new chapters - the Dark Crystals, the Boss Weapons - even if you are on a different run where you never got them. The game tracks what chapter you have started a run on, and other odd things. There also seem to be some DEEP secrets in the game. The "Introvert Dojo" dialogue the Lone Wolf gives you can only be obtained if you have intentionally defeated one optional boss, Tasque Manager, you have every opportunity to spare. The Elemental System is used in chapter 2 before it's been introduced. The hint at obtaining the Eggs are only first dropped in Chapter 2, after the one in Chapter 1 can be found. You might only be able to get the Thorn Ring after Noelle leaves - and thus, the Twisted Sword - if you start up a Weird Route and abort it at the last moment. The Spamton Sweepstakes dropped some weird hints about a secret only possible through forcing your way through a maze before a character can guide you through it - If it's reflected, a branching path. And the business with multiple save files - including a difference between each in chapter 1 The game also has a NOTABLE number of Chrono Trigger references - From a X-Slash reference, to Holy/Lightning elemental pair, arguably up to the Eggs. Suppose as the game goes on, there may be secrets you can only reasonably discover through information in chapters AFTER the ones you have completed. Suppose you might WANT to go back to earlier chapters and replay them to find additional secrets, which you can then import into your "main file" through the hole. Suppose the game is linear - but by manipulating the timeline, you can resolve something more important than the linear story that will always happen? 2 - Save Files We seem to have as many save files as we have souls in this series. We start Deltarune with access to one save file - But we get three by the end of Chapter 1, after we get three party members. In Undertale, we have one party member, and one slot. Flowey has all the human souls, and a Save Slot for each. If your name in Deltarune’s overworld is above 7 characters, which is impossible in normal gameplay, the “Since Chapter X” tag becomes “???,” which is... Rather odd Suppose, eventually, we find December. Suppose she joins your party - like your sister with a curse in Dragon Blazers, like Susie foreshadowed. The, we get a new file. Now, suppose that file has already been saved in, and we can load it. Like, we might load in all the way back to Chapter 0 - a mysterious menu option in the files, unmentioned and currently unused It’s been stated there’s “Only one ending, but there’s something more important than it.” Maybe the apocalypse is inevitable - but maybe, we’re going beat it by loading a file from YEARS ago, and averting it long before it ever occured. Or maybe there is something we need from back then - something we can import to our main file through the hole. Something like that. 3 - Discussion in the comments Someone posted this:

I was confused what they meant, but then I realized - They’re saying that Kris might have loaded a file before. Kris has a save we overwrite - and, in fact, three saves if you start a fresh install in Chapter 2. So what if this isn’t Kris’ first run? What if the reason Kris is so dead, and such a null state who does not speak, is that they’ve been trying to “fix things” for a very, very long time.

[brighteststar707]

hi faye! I wanted to pop in and let you know that in an unexpected turn of events I've decided to replay seven's route for the first time since... 2017, maybe? and it is greatly down to the influence of your saeyoung fics. you write him in such a charming way that I couldn't help myself, especially after reading your recent work. it's sort of weird being in deep story and not directing my flirting towards jumin lolol, but I'm already having fun seeing this side of saeyoung again.

I hope you're doing well <3

Aaaah that's so exciting! I'm so happy my Seven characterization could inspire you to replay his route again! I was sort of self-conscious about my latest fic so to hear that the way I wrote him came across so well makes me 🥺

I can relate to the deep route struggle 😅 I replayed Jumin's route for the first time in a long time last year when I was trying to get all the endings and it was weird selecting Jumin's answers instead of Seven's! I had forgotten a lot of the events that took place so it was almost like getting to play it blind.

I'm doing well, got some plans this week that I'm looking forward to and I've really been enjoying working on the requests for this event!

I hope life is treating you well and I hope you have fun with Seven's route, you're in for a rollercoaster!

[incrrt-mystic17]

When you were aiming for a certain charater’s route but got the others instead.

The character you were aiming for:

[marshmallowprotection]

You know, Ray's outgoing calls from day 1 till day 4 is... interesting. I don't really put much thoughts back then. I'm just happy that I get to call him and he seems happy as well. But now that I'm replaying the calls, he's really walking on the thin line between obsessing over the MC and caring for them. He keep asking about our game progress, praising us whenever we do as we're told to do, all these talk about paradise and staying there forever... isn't that just Danger Ray in general? -book anon-

You guys do know that i call Ray "Danger Ray" jokingly because I'm trying to affirm that that's actually who Ray is, right? I started doing that years ago to make people start noticing how compulsive, direct, and obsessive Ray can be when it comes to you since a lot of people focus on his kinder traits first and foremost. Yes, Ray is a kind person deep down, but you are the object of his obsession and that fact will not change until you show him what real love looks like and he starts to realize that his fantasy is nothing compared to you.

Yes, Ray can and will do things that will make you blink in confusion as if he wasn't just doting on you five seconds earlier. There's a huge reason why he and Unknown get Assistant Endings. They're the ones who won't hesitate to take you. The key difference between Unknown and Ray is that Ray wants you because he fancies the idea of being a match for you, and Unknown takes you because he can't have loose ends and that's that.

Ray is infatuated with the idea of you for a long time. You are his very reason for breathing and living. He got to pick someone because Rika let him... and he picked someone who made his heart jump. He wants to be yours and he wants you to be his, and this is why you've got the endings like you do where if you deny him, he'll stalk you and take you to Magenta anyway... or if you fail on Day 4, he'll punish you and try to correct you because he's paranoid that you'll leave him for Seven and hate him when all he wanted was your love.

During the Route, Ray learns what love really is... he learns what he never knew. He learns that love isn't just about being obsessed with another person. it's about loving everything about them, supporting them, and trying to be there for them when they need someone. You taught him that love is more than fantasy, and he shoves away those dreams when you make him feel better than revenge. That's why he starts to fight Rika's orders.

He lies about elixir and introducing you the cult. He lies about you as much as he can to ensure that Rika doesn't hurt you like she hurt him before. He may be devoted to Mint Eye, but it's literally because he's been manipulated, brainwashed, and pummeled to be that way. He's had nothing but gaslighting and worse since they dragged him into a dark room and left him there for weeks until he cracked for them. He makes fake elixir to try to protect you. He lies, lies, lies, and lies with the knowledge that if he doesn't lie, you'll be scorned.

He was willing to abandon Mint Eye by the 6th day. When you kissed him, he actually started to think about leaving... the manipulation was still burning inside of him, and he was afraid, but if Rika hadn't had a believer watching Ray, there's a strong chance that you could've had a chance to get him out of there... even if Suit Saeran had a chance to break out... I still believe that if Rika hadn't seen that, Ray was on the right track to being willing to run.

He would've done it to protect you... even if he was afraid of the world and everything in it. Now, this seems wild because the game has to be written within a short time period, but realistically, if this was the situation happening over a few months, it would make sense that you could break through to Ray through the manipulation after trial and error!

But, yes, Ray is not innocent. Ray will do bad things sometimes with no fear. Look at V Route, even if he couldn't bring himself to be the one to destroy V completely, he still drugged him with elixir and did not let up for a second until the shame caught him. Even if Ray is a tender heart, he will not hesitate for revenge or the fear of losing you to them.

Here's a BRE for example from V’s Route where you don’t commit enough to the situation and Rika gets bored with you, so she decides that she’ll let Ray keep you since there’s some use in you to use against the RFA... she just doesn’t care that much if you’re not invested in V like she needs you to be for things to be able to progress the story. 

And there's the Day 4 Ending where you don’t get assigned any Route and he comes into the room to fix you since he’s paranoid you played Seven’s game and are now tainted with lies.

And then Prologue where you deny him but never call the police, so he stalks you for weeks and then takes you once he knows that he can be sure that no person can stop him from taking you. Let it be known that Rika might not even know he did this.

I’ve got more examples of this but you guys should really play more of the Bad Endings and Bad Relationship Endings in Another Story, even without those, it’s very abundantly clear that Ray will not hesitate.

[eternally-writing]

still into you | kth

genre: angst and fluff

rating: PG 

pairing: Taehyung x reader

Theme: idol!au, ex-boyfriend!au, idol!reader , one-shot

word count: 2.0k

warnings: none

summary:  Seeing your ex-boyfriend, Taehyung, in the crowd as you perform brings an onslaught of emotions.

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

Feeling the lights of Seoul Olympic Stadium shine onto you, you couldn’t help but feel that you’d finally accomplished your dreams.

Winning a daesang, performing at the MAMA’s, what more could a girl ask for? Anyone would be lucky to have a fraction of the success that you have had and you definitely felt grateful. However, you couldn’t shake the sense of longing as you looked out into the crowd. Especially as you saw his face. 

Continuing to sing, you couldn’t help but reminiscence as you sang the lyrics you write about him. 

I should be over all the butterflies but I'm into you

You could still remember the way it felt to have his arms wrapped around you. The way he’d wake you up with forehead kisses and beg for you to stay in bed with him the whole day. The way he’d sing for you by the waterfront with the moon as the only witness to your love. 

And even baby our worst nights, I'm into you

Then you remembered the fights. The way he’d storm out of your apartment at 2am going to god knows where. The way he’d leave you broken and alone, sobbing on your kitchen floor. The way he’d make you cry for days on end. 

Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all

The 3 years you spent with him seemed to pass by in an instant as you replay all your memories. The way you acted like a shy schoolgirl when you first met him. The way he used to surprise you with flowers and call you my “forever”. But then things changed. You don’t know how, or why. But the sweet texts started to dwindle, the arguments started to get bigger. Things got out of hand.

Yeah, after all this time I'm still into you

He was your first love. You don’t think you’ll ever forget him. You hope he’ll never forget you. 

You only hoped that all those emotions came across as you locked eyes with him in the crowd. The whole performance seemed like a blur as the memories flooded through your system, you almost couldn’t believe that it had flown by so fast. The cathartic experience of being able to belt those lyrics out not only to the world, but to him, made it feel like a weight had been lifted off your chest.

The song soon came to an end and you could hear the roaring crowd giving you a standing ovation on all sides. There was only one person’s reaction that you truly cared about though. 

Taehyung was right there at a table by the front of the stage, looking you in the eyes and clapping while a soft smile graced his face. You wondered if he was feeling all those memories that you felt too.

-♡-

As the hustle and bustle of the awards show died down, the adrenaline was still pumping through your veins as you were with your team preparing to go home. Whispering a quick message to your manager, you left to quickly run to the bathroom.

People usually fled from awards shows as fast as they could, so it was no surprise that the hallway was completely empty, the only sounds you could hear being the cheers of fans lingering outside the venue and some idols doing interviews.

Until you could also hear him. He came out of a room like a surprising gust of wind, blowing himself right into your path.

Coming face to face with him made your breath get caught in your chest. 

“Y/N,” he spoke softly, as if he was afraid his words would shatter you. 

“hi, taehyung”

You don’t know what you expected when you thought of meeting Taehyung here. You didn’t even know how he’d felt about you since you broke up. For all you know, he could hate you.

You and Taehyung made a point to only talk about pleasantries and regular things : the weather, JYP’s risque performance today (it made you both the tiniest bit uncomfortable), and the rest of the awards show. But soon, the small-take came to an end, and neither of you seemed willing to deal with the elephant in the room. Feeling the conversation come to a natural end, you didn’t know how or what to make of anything. Taking one last gaze at Taehyung, as if trying to keep a mental photo of him that you could treasure forever, you said what you thought would be your last words to him. 

“Goodbye, Taehyung.”

It was stupid really. There was another awards show next week and you’re sure that even if you used every bone in your body to try and keep yourself away from him, fate would probably find a way to make you meet. But with the performance today, the look you shared, something felt final. Something felt like goodbye.

Turning around, you continued on your route back to your dressing room. Not hearing Taehyung’s footsteps moving the other way, you couldn’t stop yourself from taking yourself 

What you didn’t know was that Taehyung’s internal monologue was begging him to say something to you. He had almost let you slip away without saying anything, but now that he had an opportunity since you had turned around again he couldn’t stop the words from pouring out of his mouth.

“I’m still into you,” he professed almost breathlessly, as if the confession took the wind out of him.

You froze in your place. There’s no way he said what he thought you did… right? You couldn’t stop your jaw from slightly dropping open.

“What did you just say?” you said, with an air of franticness but also hesitancy in your voice. 

“I’m the one that the song “still into you” is about, right?”

Right. That definitely made much more sense than what you thought he said.

“Uh, yeah” you said as you cleared your throat - “so I guess I should say thank you for the Billboard #1 or something,”  You tried to muster up a laugh to clear the awkwardness with the joke, but you don’t think it worked very well. 

Taehyung looked at you sheepishly. 

“I know how much of a dream that was for you, so I’m happy for you. You deserve it.” he professed, failing to hide his pride in your accomplishments. 

It was good to know that he still remembered all those little moments you all shared together. It was funny, there was a time where you and Taehyung were lying in bed, talking about your dreams and he said that he would walk all the way from Seoul to Busan to get a Billboard #1 for you. I guess in a way, he did help get you that #1. 

You felt a pang of longing as you looked at him across from you. Although you and Taehyung were physically the closest that you had been in months, you couldn’t help but feel farther than ever from him. 

Your phone dinging brought you back to the fact that you should be with your manager giving interviews right now. 

As you turned away from him, continuing back to your initial trek back to your dressing room, you heard him speak one more time. 

“Are you- “ 

He took an audibly deep breath.

“Are you still into me, Y/N?”

 It seemed like time stopped for the two of you. The sounds of the backstage had faded into nothingness and all you could hear was the sound of your pounding heart and Taehyung's laboured breaths. Taehyung truly was asking the million dollar question . You had imagined this scenario so many times, but you had not managed to prepare yourself for what this moment would feel like. 

Turning around, you began to speak. 

“Yknow Tae, I thought for the longest time that I was. It took me a really long time to think about this, to figure this all out. When we first broke up I didn’t even understand why it was happening. But now I see it all, I think.” 

You paused to collect yourself and look him deep in his eyes. 

“So no, Kim Taehyung, I’m not into you anymore. But thank you for everything you taught me, and I’ll cherish the memories we had together forever.” 

Taehyung nodded in understanding. You could see the gears turning in his head and you don’t blame him  - this whole interaction was a lot of process.

“I get it, I think. I don’t know what we both would be like if we were still together, but I’m so proud of the person that you’ve become and I’m really happy for both of us. I know things between us are different and will never be the same, but I’m always going to be your fan.” 

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face. No matter what happened between you and Taehyung, his opinion still meant the world to you. 

Grinning responsively, Taehyung continued. 

“This doesn’t have to end here yknow, with whatever we are. I get that we’re not meant to be Y/N, but I’d like for us to be friends if that’s possible.”  spoke Taehyung meekly, feeling shy at the admission of his request.

What Taehyung was asking for was a lot. Welcoming him back into your life seemed like a very scary situation. You didn’t know what to expect. The whole time Taehyung and you were dating, he felt like your best friend, but you’d never actually been just best friends with him. Was that even possible? Before making any choices, you left Taehyung carry on.

“Plus, the boys miss your tuna kimbap. I’ve tried copying your recipe but they yell at me for messing this up every time.” 

You feigned a look of shock. 

“I see your ulterior motives right now, Tae. This was all about kimbap?” you accused with a fake look of judgement.

For a second there you saw Taehyung’s face tighten up with shock and anxiety.

“No I-. Like-, Um, I just-”

“Tae, I’m joking with you. Chill out”

Taeyhung’s melodic laughter (which you desperately missed) rang through the hallway. It felt good for both of you to be joking around like this, and you almost swore the room got brighter as the tension between you two cleared. 

Giving your manager a quick text to tell her you weren’t doing any more interviews tonight, you had snuck away in Taehyung’s car to drive the boys’ dorm, making a quick stop for groceries on the way. 

The cheers that you heard as the boys saw you walk through that joy made your heart swell with joy. No matter what happened with you and Taehyung romantically, you knew that these seven boys were like a family to you. And families fight, families argue, and families disagree, but above all, families are always there for each other. And watching all the boys’ faces stuffed with your tuna kimbap, laughter and conversation freely flowing across the table, there was no place you’d rather be.

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

If you liked what you read, please interact/follow! Thank you for reading♡

- Emily

[aomineavenue]

Homesick (Miya Atsumu x f!Reader) | 008. healing

Summary: Six years ago, L/N Y/N wouldn’t exactly say that she loves her life. It had always been problematic but her best friend, Miya Atsumu, since she was eight when she moved to Hyōgo, has always been there for her, and she wouldn’t change it for the world. However, things would always fall apart for her ever since, so she should have expected of such. Running away from her problems seemed like the easiest route to take at the time, so what happens when the past comes barging back into her life demanding answers? Will she be able to confront her demons?

Pairings: Miya Atsumu x f!Reader

Updates: irregular.

Genre: Angst, ANGST I LOVE ANGST, a lil bit of fluff here and there.

Warnings: Language, etc. 

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except for the reader and my ideas. I do not claim any images used for content in this fic, everything goes out to their respective creators unless it is mentioned that it is mine.

Status: completed. | series masterlist

↩ chapter seven bonus | healing | at peace ↪

mia speaks:

We’re getting real close to the end, and I don’t think I’ll be ready to part with Atsumu just yet. But I’m super duper excited to start Stubborn. 

If it isn’t too much, please leave a little COMMENT on what you think of this piece or REBLOG if you like it! Thank you.

Rejection can be defined as an act of pushing someone or something away. It is also considered as something to be experienced on a large scale or small ways in everyday life. In the field of mental health care, rejection most frequently refers to the feelings of sadness, or grief people feel when they are not accepted by others. 

In Atsumu’s case, it was the latter. 

The moment he had decided to leave the party to seek you out, he was more or less, on edge. The fear of rejection was eating him out as he traveled back to Kanagawa, and even then as he stared at the hospital door that leads to Atsuhiro’s room where he assumes you’re most likely already in deep slumber from how late it is. However, that doesn’t stop him from his mission, eventually finding the courage to press his knuckles against the door to knock. 

A minute passed and there was still no answer, a part of him decided it was best to leave, so you can rest but wanting to give it another chance, he knocks on the door once more. The lack of response disappoints him but he diminishes it with a little light of hope, telling himself that you’re probably asleep and it was best to try later. As he was about to leave, the hospital door slides open and his gaze lands on your exhausted, surprised, features. 

He stares at you in adoration and before he could stop himself, the words slip out of his lips.  "I love you." 

Silence engulfs the two of you comfortably, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He wonders if his beating heart was loud enough for you to hear through the silence. He watches in anticipation how your features shift from confusion to something he couldn't quite recognize. For a second, he berates himself for blurting out such foolishness.

Was it horror? Pity? He couldn't possibly comprehend with his nerves on overdrive, about a handful of thoughts swimming in his mind. If only he knew your heart was beating against its constraints just as fast as his, or that you wanted to throw your arms around him and finally claim him as yours at that very moment. He calls out your name in a stutter to pull you out of your shocked trance, fighting his urge to step through the threshold and pull you into his arms. He holds back the words clawing their way out of his mouth, not wanting to overwhelm you with his sudden burst of emotions. But mostly because he was afraid.

Afraid of humiliation, and of rejection. He was afraid that his feelings for you were no longer reciprocated. Though, he wouldn't blame you. He would understand if he was too late. It had been six years after all, and you, out of the both of you, deserve way better than this. Better than him. 

However, a part of him wishes it were otherwise. He recalls the night he summoned the tiniest spark of courage to capture your lips with his own once more after so long. He doesn't regret his actions, because he realized things that night as your own lips move against his own. It was as if the missing puzzle piece had been rummaged through the piles of chaotic emotions and finally found its rightful place. 

It just felt right. 

If it weren’t for the ridiculous hounds of reporters that interrupted the night, he may have used that opportunity to win you over or at least have a proper talk with you since obviously there are still a lot of unfinished business between the two of you that need fixing for the sake of Atsuhiko and Atsuhiro. 

“What are you doing here?” he hears you question, snapping out of his own thoughts, his shoulders growing tense. 

He slips his hands into the pockets of his coat, wanting to hide his trembling fingers from your sight. “I know I should have reached out sooner, and there isn’t any way I could possibly excuse myself out of that. I’ve probably left you wondering again, and that’s the last thing I want.” 

“It’s the middle of the night, Atsumu.” you mutter underneath your breath, brows furrowing. “What were you doing up anyways?” 

He lifts his shoulders up into a timid shrug, “I was at a party. I couldn’t get you out of my head, so I went straight here. I know it’s late and I should have waited but it’s been days since we last spoke and I couldn’t take it anymore. I—I needed to see you.”

“I don’t know what to say…” you release a heavy sigh, shifting your gaze away from him as you feel your cheeks heat up from God knows what. Embarrassment? Flattery? God, you could only curse at yourself for feeling that way ever since the two of you shared that kiss. 

The corners of his mouth tug up to a small smile, “You don’t have to say anything, just hear me out.” As you give him a nod after lifting your head to meet his gaze once more, he’s hit with a sudden rush of confidence, wondering if this was finally his chance to spill the feelings that had been occupying his thoughts since the two of you reunited. 

It was a mixture of anger and hate the moment he had realized it was you, that was for sure, he’d been frustrated but the one thing that’s been bothering him was the thought of you disappearing again. This time, taking the kids, his sons that he had grown to adore, away from him. The very thought had been enough for him to lower his pride, and a good push from his twin brother. His brother’s words replaying his head. 

‘Quit your moping and win her over before I do.’ 

“I love you,” he repeats his earlier words; this time with confidence, arms extending out to reach out for your hands which somehow, surprisingly for the both of you, you oblige, letting his fingers lace with yours. “I’ve loved you as my best friend the very moment when we were kids when you laughed at me for tripping and having the ice cream slip from my hands and landing on our grumpy neighbor’s bald head. I think a part of me started loving you there and then when you pulled me up from the ground and dragged me laughing away to avoid us getting into trouble.” You stifle a laugh, your eyes scrunching up in amusement at the memory and he couldn’t help but let a Cheshire grin form on his own lips at the sight of your happiness, feeling a sudden surge of happiness bubble in his own chest. There and then, he realized that he truly adored you and that he’s missed you. Missed this. 

Missed the warmth that radiated from just your mere touch. 

“I’ve loved you since we started high school and I know I had a really shitty way in showing that, being so absorbed in volleyball and everything, I don't think I ever deserved you then,” he lets out a sigh, “I never deserved your care. Despite me lashing out because of my own frustrations, you pulled me back into reality just as Osamu could and looking back now, I had been so blessed. And I…” he trails off, tearing his gaze away from yours in shame and his heart skips a beat at your gesture, squeezing his hands in a form of reassurance, “I took it for granted. I realized it too late and…” 

He lets out a sob, lifting his head to meet yours once more and he lets the tears spill from the corners of his eyes. Slowly, he lowers himself down onto his knees and he watches your eyes widen as he gives your hands a squeeze of his own, “Let me prove it to you how sorry I am, please. I know I don’t deserve you, I don’t deserve to be a part of Atsuhiko and Atsuhiro’s liv—” 

It almost seemed like time stood still for Atsumu as you drop down to your own knees in front of him, pulling your hands away from his grip, only for you to grip the fabric of his shirt beneath his coat between your fingers, pulling him closer to your body as you lower your head to rest your forehead on his shoulder. Despite the layering of clothes that protected his skin from the cold, he could feel the patch of wetness growing on his shoulder from the tears that flowed from your eyes. “I’m sorry, Atsumu. I’m sorry as well,” those words spill from your mouth, despite your words mixed with sobs and you trying to keep your voice to a whisper to not disturb the residence of the hospital on the floor, he could hear you loud and clear. “I’m sorry for being a coward. I’m sorry for leaving you when you needed me the most. I’m—” you cut yourself off with another sob. 

The sight of your vulnerable state was enough for Atsumu’s heart to clench in its confinement and slowly, his arms snake around your hips to pull you closer to his body. The both of you release a sigh from the warmth. You continue, “You deserve to be loved, Atsumu. You really do. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I’m sorry for depriving you of the chance to raise such wonderful sons. I—I’m sorry.” 

The cold hospital floor didn’t even bother the two of you. The warmth radiating off of each other’s embrace was enough. 

Home.

The blinding fluorescent lights almost stabs his eyes as he slowly flutters his eyelids open, a hiss escaping his lips from the sudden burst of light. He tries to shield his eyes from such torture by lifting his heavy arm only to let out a groan as a shriek echoes through the small room. Groggily, he turns his head towards the direction of the assault to his ears and blinks his eyelids a couple of times to adjust his sight. 

He suddenly wishes he hadn’t woken up right at this moment. 

As the blonde model notices Atsumu moving from his bed, her eyes widen in excitement at the sight of him awake, trying her best to push through his twin’s protective stance. “Tsumtsum! You’re awake and okay!” she squeals and he winces in response. Atsumu knows his brother well, and from the proximity from between the two by the door, despite his brother’s back facing him, he could tell from his mere posture that his twin had his usual scowl on his face when dealing with the women in his life. He watches from the bed as Yumi turns to face his twin, a scowl scrunching up in her features as she crosses her arms across her chest and stomps her feet. “Can you please tell your brother over here to let me through? I’m your girlfriend!” she huffs. 

“Please pull your head out of your ass,” Osamu snaps and continues to hold Yumi back from entering his brother’s room. “You were never his girlfriend and I’m pretty sure he made it pretty clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with you a few nights ago. So why don’t you do the whole hospital a favor? Shut up and leave, because I’m pretty sure your excessive whining is disturbing the patients.” 

Throughout Osamu’s annoyed speech, Atsumu had successfully pushed himself to sit on the bed without any assistance. He lets out a groan of pain and uses what little strength he has to press his back against the headboard of the hospital bed. Just as Yumi was about to retort, Atsumu calls for her attention from the bed. Yumi was quick to react, looking over at Atsumu. “Yes, baby?” 

Osamu scrunches up his face in disgust and Atsumu can only let out a sigh, not having the energy to argue with her. “Please leave.” 

The hopeful features that were splashed in her features disappear in a second at Atsumu’s command, “B—But…” 

“Leave, I’m not in the mood to deal with you.” he sighs, tearing his gaze away from Yumi to look over at his brother who had turned his head to look at him over his shoulder, his eyes pleading Osamu to get rid of the irritating model from the premises, “And you’ll be hearing from my lawyer regarding a restraining order. Don’t think I didn’t hear from my son how some ‘mean looking lady’ had ambushed his mother yesterday on the way to the hospital.” 

The model can only gape at Atsumu’s words, blinking in confusion. She stutters, “S—So—Son?” 

“Goodbye now,” Osamu interrupts by sliding the door shut right in front of Yumi’s face, using her dazed gaze to his advantage by locking the door. Turning around, he arches a brow in curiosity towards his brother who looked nowhere near comfortable in his position, “Are you sure it was the right move to let Yumi, of all people, that you have a son?” 

Atsumu lets out a frustrated sigh before waving his hand dismissively, “I’ll handle it.” 

“How are you feeling?” Osamu asks as he occupies the seat next to Atsumu’s bed, “Judging by the look on your face, probably shit huh?” 

Atsumu rolls his eyes before giving his brother a glare, “Yeah, no shit there.” 

“It’s expected,” his brother lifts his shoulders up in a shrug as he leans back against his seat, “Your doctor did list down what you can and can’t do after this surgery, and well, what you would be feeling right after, so this is to be expected. Unless, you didn’t really listen?” 

“Of course I listened, ya shit.” Atsumu snaps, brows furrowing. 

Osamu lets a laugh escape his lips, a grin taking place on his lips, “Could’ve fooled me.” 

“Why is my head hurting so fucking bad?” he lets out a groan, fluttering his eyes shut in annoyance for the pounding headache.  

“You don’t remember?” 

Atsumu flutters his eyelids back open to look at his brother in confusion, “What are you talking about?” 

“You fucking got out of bed the moment you were put into this room after your surgery, you dimwit.” Osamu scolds him with a glare, bringing his hands up to massage his temples with the tips of his fingers, “You were told to rest, not to get out of bed. You passed out after the nurse tried getting you back to bed, in the hallway mind you, and Atsuhiko had to witness it. You didn’t know how scared the little boy was after you collapsed head first.” 

Atsumu winces from the tone his twin was using, not that he cared for his brother’s scolding but it seemed the medication that was still in his system made everything sensitive, including his hearing. A frown makes its way to his lips at the mention of his son, “How about his brother? How’s Atsuhiro? His transfusion was just right after my surgery wasn’t it?” 

“Stop talking and let me explain,” he sighs at his brother’s impatience but somehow he inwardly smiles at this side of his brother. 

Since Atsumu had rushed out of the V.League Associations Party to confess his feelings to you, almost everyone noticed a change in him. Sure, he still attended training but according to Coach Samson, Atsumu seemed to be in top shape and even seemed to be more relaxed and enjoying his time on court. Of course, people who knew of the situation Atsumu was in, knew exactly the reason as to why he was in such condition. 

Ever since the two of you cried to each other, keep in mind, in a hospital hallway, on the cold floor, there was an honest shift in the atmosphere that surrounded both of you. It was calmer and full of the warmth that Atsumu and you had been longing. And for the volleyball player, having the chance to spend some time with his kids was a huge bonus. 

It made Atsumu feel complete. 

Especially when Atsuhiko and Atsuhiro had started addressing him as their father. Yes, Atsumu was on different levels of high; the highest peak of Mount Fuji, Cloud Nine, heck he was just so happy he doesn’t want to let this feeling out of his grasp. And he’d be damned if someone tried to take such joy from him. There was no way that he’d let this good thing going for him slip through his fingers for as long as he lived. 

So the very thought of Atsuhiko witnessing him collapse and fearing for his state was enough for his heart to hurt, he’d never meant to worry the little boy. As the father, shouldn’t he be the one worrying for his sons? He knows what his kids are thinking, having them (mostly Atsuhiko) bluntly express their fears of their father disappearing again. So the sight of him fainting in front of Atsuhiko had probably sent the little boy into panic. He’d have to make it up to him soon. 

“It’s too soon to tell if the transfusion was a success,” Osamu stars, watching his brother inhale sharply as anxiety bubbled in his chest. “But so far, everything looks good. I was with them earlier when the doctor came in and he said he’ll be staying in for another day to monitor him. If everything’s good, he can leave the hospital and return every 6 months until he doesn’t need to have a transfusion anymore.” 

He nods slowly, “And what about if the transfusion isn’t successful?” 

“I don’t think that would be the case,” Osamu lifts his shoulders up in a shrug and gives his brother a reassuring smile, “Atsuhiro and you are a match, so far there aren’t any complications. It’s a success, ‘Tsumu. Don’t worry too much. Focus on getting better. Oh, and actually…” 

Atsumu raises a brow at his twin, “What? You tell me not to worry and end your sentence like that? I ought to smack you if my body isn’t sore as fuck.” 

A chuckle escapes the other twin seated on the chair next to the bed, a sly grin forming on his lips as he remembers the conversation from earlier. “Mom may, or may not be already planning your wedding.” 

He splutters, eyes growing wide. He feels his cheeks heat up from the sheer thought of approaching you after his own mother had probably brought up the idea of marriage to you while he wasn’t present to stop her. Suddenly, he’s embarrassed to face you. “Please don’t tell me she had been pestering about marriage with my sons present.” 

A smile curls up on Osamu’s lips at how his twin addresses the younger twins as his sons before he shakes his head in response, “Nah, Suwa-san took Atsuhiko out earlier for the day and I was keeping Atsuhiro occupied.” 

“Suwa-san?” 

Osamu rolls his eyes, “Reiji, purple haired dude that’s always with your girlfriend.” 

“She isn’t my girlfriend,” he grumbles underneath his breath, frowning. 

His twin lets out a laugh as he teases, “yet. You two are practically married.” 

“I don’t know…” he lets out a sigh, “Do you think she’d be happier with that Reiji guy? He’s been with her ever since…” 

“You’re lucky you’re in a hospital bed or else I would have kicked your ass for that negative pea brain of yours,” Osamu grunts, unamused by his twin brother’s words. Sure, he often teased his twin but he especially didn’t like it when Atsumu put himself down over something serious. “Don’t go there. Just don’t. The two of you have talked things out haven’t you?” 

“How do you—” 

Osamu cuts him off with a dismissive wave, “She told me. We talked when you were being prepped for your surgery. Just be patient, you can’t rush these things and don’t you dare decide for her either.” 

“When did you become the boss of me?” he scoffs from the bed, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling, “I just want what’s best for them.” 

Knock. Knock. Knock.

His twin stands up from his seat upon hearing the knock, thinking it’s probably the doctor or you. Before he could unlock the door however, he glances back at his brother over his shoulder, “Stop moping and just be there for them whether you end up with her or not.” 

Atsumu watches the hospital door slide open and his heart swells at the sight of you and Atsuhiko and he instantly wants to reach out when he notices the little boy’s lower lip quivering as he peers into the room. As the little boy’s gaze lands on Atsumu, the little boy rushes forward frantically. 

“Daddy!” he cries out, throwing himself onto Atsumu’s body as soon as he gets near enough. Atsumu couldn’t even bring himself to complain of the pain from the impact due to the sight of his son’s distress, reaching out to run his fingers into the little boy’s hair, “You okay now? You scared me, daddy! You fell and you wouldn’t wake up! I tried waking you up but you wouldn’t!” 

He tries his best to soothe the little boy who was clinging onto him from the side of his bed but Atsumu couldn’t contain the excitement he felt upon hearing Atsuhiko address him as his father over and over. He realizes that he probably wouldn’t ever get used to it but he wouldn’t mind hearing it all the time. “Daddy is doing much better. I’m sorry for scaring you, buddy.” 

“Good, daddy. You and Hiro should get better so we can start playing together,” he nods his head happily, his mood shifting from his gloomy one upon hearing his father was okay. The little boy scrunches up his features into a look of distaste as he straightens himself up to stand, folding his tiny arms across his chest, “Daddy, the mean looking lady came again! She was yelling at mommy and saying mean things! Uncle Bo helped and I wanna help too but mommy said kicking someone isn’t nice.” 

Atsumu turns to look over at you with a raised eyebrow as Atsuhiko finishes his explanation and you simply shook your head. Giving Osamu a small smile which he returns before leaving the room for the three of you. You turn your gaze back at the man who was waiting patiently for you to answer as you slide the door shut behind you, letting out a tired sigh. “That woman is not worth our time to discuss further, I’m taking legal actions though. How you ended up dating someone like her is beyond me.” 

“She didn’t do anything to Hiko or you?” he asks, worry laced in his voice as Atsuhiko slowly crawls into the bed and snuggles himself into his father’s side. Atsumu notices you about to reprimand the little boy which he simply shakes his head towards your direction, lowering his head to press a kiss to the top of the little boy’s head. 

“She couldn’t even if she tried,” you let out a snort as you approached the bed. He extends his arm out, his hand reaching for yours which you gladly take with your own and giving it a gentle squeeze, “You feeling okay?” 

He nods, “A little sore but I guess that’s to be expected. How’s Hiro? Should you be leaving him on his own?” 

“He’s doing fine, sleeping and our moms are busy bonding in his room, they said they’ll keep an eye on him,” you reassure him, “Plus this little one over here has been pestering me all day to check up on you.” 

He feels his shoulder relax and a sigh of relief escapes his lips, lacing your fingers together with his as he lifts his gaze from Atsuhiko to look up at you, “I’m glad to hear that.” 

“I’m glad to hear you’re doing fine,” you counter as the corners of your mouth tug down to a frown, “You gave us quite a scare, you know. We thought something had gone wrong with your surgery that caused you to collapse, turns out you were just being the stubborn idiot that you are. You really haven’t changed one bit.” 

He places his other hand on his chest, feigning a hurt expression as he juts his lower lip to a pout to gain some sympathy from you which you simply responded with a shake of your head. The pad of thumb brushes against your skin and he lets out a defeated sigh, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare either of you. I just wanted to see Atsuhiro.” 

“I understand,” you nod as you finally take a seat on the edge of his bed, watching Atsuhiko listening intently to the two of you, his brows furrowed as if he was trying his best to comprehend the conversation. “Just don’t do it again.” 

“I promise,” he nods, flashing you a cheeky grin which you just roll your eyes at. 

Atsuhiko interrupts the conversation by tilting his head to look up at his father as he remembers the task his Uncle Bo had given him when he had asked a particular question after encountering the mean looking lady moments ago before begging you to visit Atsumu. “Hey, daddy?” 

“Yeah buddy?” Atsumu asks, his heart swelling with pride upon hearing the word daddy once more, shifting his attention back to the little boy snuggled comfortably against his side. 

“What does bitch mean?”

[secretlittlerandezvous]

Evermore - Jamie Benn

Summary: Back in summer 2013 Jamie ends his relationship with Y/n. Seven years later they run to each other on the street and both of them wonder what would happen if they tried to get back together.

Words: 2964

“We've been here before, you and me together. And we will again. Somewhere somehow we'll meet again.” - Leohearts on Tumblr

End of 2013

Y/n forgot about the time on July 22 at 5:33 pm. That was when her whole life fell apart and her world turned upside down. That was the moment he broke up with her and left her alone, confused and broken. It seemed so easy for him to walk away and forget about their love, but for Y/n it was a heartbreak she’s never experienced before. She was hurting, but everyone around her kept moving forward, life went on and on and Y/n stayed stuck in place. Summer ended as quickly as it came, the leaves turned brown and fell from the trees in the blink of an eye, Halloween passed and Thanksgiving was near but she didn’t acknowledge it and refused to make plans and she decided to stay home alone and cry. She didn’t want anyone to see her because the breakup seemed to take away all of her confidence and she feared everyone would look at her and think “what a fool, she thought she was going to get a fairytale ending with her hockey player prince”. As if the breakup put her in a bad light, as if it meant she wasn’t worthy of the love and the good company of her friends. The only reason she got out of bed every morning was her job that she didn’t enjoy anymore and for every minute she spent there she prayed for the end so she could go home and curl up in bed. No one saw her smile, no one heard her laugh, she stopped joining her colleagues for lunch and she avoided every conversation. She spent most days in her bed, crying and screaming whenever she needed to, and kept replaying every moment before the breakup to find the one where she went wrong. Maybe one day she’d find the mistake and it’d give her a fair chance of avoiding it the next time she’s in a relationship. Because what if it truly was all her fault? What if she ruined it? On the other days, she wrote letters, sometimes to Jamie, sometimes to herself just to get her thoughts out of her mind, and sometimes she stared at the blank paper and didn’t write a single word. All letters ended up in fire the moment she finished writing them.

Y/n used to believe she wasn’t the type of person who lets a heartbreak ruin her life but the end of her and Jamie’s love story had a bigger impact on her than she expected. She kept repeating to herself it was just a breakup, just a guy, just a temporary feeling but nothing could ease her pain. The pain was so overwhelming she was sure it would last for evermore.

The situation significantly changed in December. With all the Christmas decorations, songs, and movies that followed her everywhere, it was hard not to feel the joy. Suddenly she started craving the company of others and started hanging out with all her friends whenever there was a chance, sometimes she walked around the city on her own, she shopped for gifts and before she realized it, she was being her old self again; happy and cheerful. Her attitude towards the breakup changed as well although it highly depended on her mood each day. When Y/n felt good and confident, she wondered what she was even fighting for. For a relationship that ended weeks before he said it out loud? For a man who got so disgustingly comfortable in their relationship and took her for granted? On days like this, she refused to blame herself. On the days when she wasn’t in a good mood, she still cried a little and some doubts returned. But no matter what day she was having she knew now she was going to get through it.

Jamie on the other hand was doing better than ever before. He felt free to do whatever he wanted, he could go out and party all night every night, he had a different girl in his bed every time he went out, there was no one holding him back. In September he was named the sixth captain of the Dallas Stars, the new season started, and he felt like he owned the world. He had everything he ever wanted. But most of his old friends could hardly recognize him. He was the opposite of who he used to be. Cocky and foolish. Jamie naturally refused it and insisted on his truth: he was still the same person. Everyone could see how lost he was without Y/n, they saw it long before Jamie did. Jamie believed he was happy, however the breaking point came in December, just around Christmas. All his teammates were getting ready to spend the holidays with their wives and kids, girlfriends, and families, they all had someone to go to, someone who would greet them at home. But Jamie returned to an empty apartment every night and he started missing Y/n singing in the shower, her silly dance moves while she prepared the food, or her sleeping peacefully while he was about to leave for the morning skate. He missed her face and her voice and her support and love. Everything that he took for granted. He got overly comfortable and believed she would stay by his side no matter what.

And so, while Y/n started to feel better, Jamie started to feel the consequences of their breakup and the pain of all the things he lost.

Presence

Another horrible date, another idiot her friends set her up with. Another wasted day and time and a wasted outfit on someone who didn’t deserve it, not even a tiny bit. Y/n felt comfortable with being single, but her friends believed it was time for her to start seeing someone again. Since her brokeup with Jamie, she only had one longer relationship that lasted for almost three years. But that was three years ago and since then she only went on dates, but she was never satisfied with anyone. And unlike her friends, she already gave up on the hope of ever finding her soulmate.

On her way home, Y/n decided to take the longer route home to properly clear her mind and get some fresh air she so desperately needed. It was late spring, and the weather was nicely warm, the trees were green, and flowers bloomed around the sidewalk. Her mood was significantly decreased by that idiot her friends believed he could be the one, but she still couldn’t resist to smile as she looked around herself. New life always began with spring for her. And as she looked around, she noticed a familiar figure standing just across the street. A tall, muscular figure, dark hair, and tattoos covering his arms, the way he posed as he stood still. Y/n froze in place when she realized it was truly him, her heart started beating faster and she debated with herself whether she should quickly leave or continue walking and go to him to say hi. She then smiled even brightly and with confidence went to him. After all, there was no grudge against him anymore, no anger or pain, no need to cause a scene. She was at peace and she was now able to look back to 7 years ago and feel joy from all the memories she had of him and them together.

Jamie as if he knew felt a familiar presence behind him and slowly turned around. He didn’t expect to see anyone, and he believed it was just a random feeling but there she was. She was more beautiful than he remembered, her hair was longer, her face more mature now but the smile and bright eyes didn’t change at all. Panic took over Jamie when he realized she was heading his way and he wanted to run away. He wasn’t quite ready to face her because even after 7 years he couldn’t believe he made the mistake of letting her go. He knew now she was the love of his life and foolishly he let her go and he couldn’t believe his stupidity and naivety he was better off alone. What was going to happen now? Was he going to meet her on a beautiful spring day with the birds singing, trees blooming and the sunshine warming up his skin and learn some awful truth? What if she was on her way to pick up her children from kindergarten or school? What if he was about to learn she’s happily married and has everything she ever wanted? Of course, he would be happy for her but the selfish side of him couldn’t accept she would have that with someone else and that he was going to spend the rest of his life searching for her in some other girl and then die unhappy and alone.

“Hey there stranger,” her sweet voice brought him back to reality from his thoughts and sent shivers down his spine. It was like seeing a ghost.

“Y/n!” He breathed out and without thinking, he took a step closer to her, wrapped his hands around her, and gently picked her up. Y/n closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the moment and enjoyed his touch, his strong hands around her body, his beard slightly scratching her soft skin, his cologne, and the nostalgia. Jamie did the same, his heart was beating fast and he knew he would have trouble with letting her go once again. “How are you?” He asked as he put her back on her feet, unwillingly and full of fear he would never get to do this again.

“I’m good,” she said confidently. “Really good. I was just on a date.” She laughed.

“A date huh?” He said raising his eyebrow hoping she would give him more details.

“Yeah,” she nodded. Y/n knew she should’ve told him it was a bad date and that the guy was an idiot but Jamie was the last person she wanted to talk to about it and after all, he didn’t need to know anything about her personal life anyway. “But let’s not talk about that. How are you, Jamie? I’m so happy to see you!”

“I’m good too! Things are great with hockey and everything, you know? Couldn’t ask for more I guess.”

The two fell into a silence that was far from comfortable. They randomly and shyly looked at each other from time to time desperately trying to figure out what to say next. After so many years, after all the pain and moving on what could two people possibly talk about? They were done with the small talk and although neither one of them wanted to part ways just yet, they had no idea what to talk about. Y/n deep down knew meeting him would cause some damage, it would bring back some bad memories and possibly even pain and it would certainly leave her wondering what could’ve been if he didn’t end their relationships. Jamie wanted to grab her hand and never let go because he knew now without a single doubt that it was the biggest mistake of his life to let her go and even after seven years he didn’t fully move on.

“I should probably head home,” Y/n whispered unsurely.

“No! Don’t go, not yet,” Jamie said quickly. “We haven’t seen each other for so long we can catch up a little, grab a coffee or something and talk.”

“Jamie,” she said, rubbing the back of her head as always when she found herself in an uncomfortable situation. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Look, after the breakup I was not doing good and it took me so long to get over you. And just seeing you here in front of me is hard because it’s making me realize that it never faded, you know? Something’s still there, some feeling, and I can’t risk getting my heart broken again.” It took all her strength to say it out loud but she had it rehearsed in her mind for such a long time. After the breakup, Y/n often imagined running into him on the street and this was the speech she prepared and memorized.

Jamie knew this was coming, he deserved it. He deserved to know how much he hurt her and how much he screwed up. He had no illusions about himself anymore, for a few years now, he admitted to himself he was arrogant to everyone around him. But what for? It was probably too late. A girl like her, so kind and beautiful, funny and supportive couldn’t be alone.

“I know.” He nodded and looked away. He couldn’t bear looking at her, but he wasn’t gonna give up just yet. “Y/n, I know I made a terrible mistake and I’ve been regretting it for so long and if I had the chance, I would take it back. I was stupid, selfish and I took you for granted. I know it! But I also know that if you gave me a chance, I would be better this time.” This was the first time Jamie shamelessly and bravely admitted his feelings. He was never good with words, expressing his emotions, and avoided it as much as he could but 7 years was a long time to think and to change himself for the woman he loved. In the end, this was probably his only chance.

“I can’t Jamie, I’m sorry, I can’t do this again,” tears appeared in her eyes as she said the last word but she still found some courage to fight it back and smiled at Jamie before she walked away praying he won’t go after her. And he didn’t.

A couple of days later

A few days later Y/n found herself confused about her feelings for Jamie and she couldn’t stop thinking about him. He still had her wrapped around his finger. All these years of moving on and believing she was over him were destroyed. She thought deeply and constantly, wrote dozens of reasons why it’s not a good idea and why she could give him another chance, she cried, tried to forget, talk about it with her friends. But nothing worked. The memory of him kept coming back to her even in her dreams and ever since she ran into him she had a few dreams about the meeting, about their life together, and even a dream of their breakup. She was screwed once again.

“So, what you’re gonna do about it?” Y/n’s friend finally asked after the curiosity took over her. “I mean you’re thinking about him, right?”

“Of course, I am thinking about him! How could I not? It’s been 7 years and I was over him, over us and then I meet him for a few minutes, and he messes me up like this? What am I supposed to do now?” Y/n yelled out. Deep down she already knew what to do but didn’t want to admit it to anyone. Not even herself.

“Whatever you decide to do, I know it’ll be the right thing,” the friend smiled at her warmly.

That night Y/n couldn’t sleep. She kept tossing and turning in her bed, she tried to read a book, watch a movie, listen to a podcast but nothing could put her to sleep. The decision she made deep down haunted her because she knew if it was a bad one it would end in a total disaster and she wasn’t sure if she would survive it the second time around. And so, the next day she decided to go see Jamie in person and clean up the air.

Y/n arrived to the American Airlines Center early in the morning hoping she would find Jamie there. When they were dating, he liked to go there before anyone else arrived to have time for himself and Y/n hoped this habit didn’t change and she would find him on the ice.

“I hoped I’d find you here,” she said with relief when she spotted Jamie on the ice all by himself. “Some habits just don’t change huh?”

“Y/n!” Jamie said with surprised face. He was lost in his thoughts and didn’t notice her standing just a few feet away from him. It brought back so many memories of her coming with him to early morning skates, to his games, or when they sneaked in at night and skated until the late hours of the night. It reminded him of her smile and excitement, he heard her laugh and saw the sparkles in her eyes. “What you’re doing here?”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said the last time we saw each other,” Y/n admitted. “And I came to the conclusion that I might survive giving you or perhaps giving us a second chance.” She smiled at Jamie and then quickly stopped as she realized he could’ve changed his mind and not want her back anymore. “If you still want that.”

Jamie’s face lit up immediately after she finished talking. He hoped and prayed for a second chance and he knew that if he was gonna get it he would make sure to treat Y/n right and appreciate her as he should’ve. He then quickly skated to Y/n and stood in front of her with hope and happiness visible on his face. “I promise I won’t make any stupid mistakes this time.”

“You will make stupid mistakes,” Y/n giggled. “Just don’t ever let me go again.”

“I won’t, I promise you that.”

“Then it’s for evermore,” Y/n whispered and kissed Jamie. And it was right. It felt right. They belonged together.

[faustonastring]

Your hcs are so on point! good job op!! could you do a real world hc with the main six playing the arcana? mc being the fictional one, and they caught our reversed ending 😭

Hi! Thanks for requesting I appreciate it! Hopefully this is what you wanted!

Request R open!

Main Six playing the arcana and getting a bad ending!

Also fun fact when I first started playing the arcana stanned asra, hard, and then somehow managed to get his bad ending first, (probably because of my stubbornness) and I never felt more disappointed in my life, so I’m basing these off the pain I felt that one faithfull night.

Asra

He first downloaded the game as a joke, thinking it would be like one of those weird dating simulators (you know the ones) and is pleasntly surprised when he finds out that it isn’t. He’s even more surprised when he starts to get invested in the game, like really invested

He falls in love with your character as soon as he sees it, you’re everything he wants in a relationship, everything he’s dreamed of, he even goes out of his way to buy your charms, and merch, (Muriel makes fun of him for it, but asra feels no shame)

The day finally comes, he’s finally on the last chapter, and he’s almost certain he’s got your good ending, but something feels off. There’s a weird dark undertone that he can’t really shake, but there’s no way he got the reversed ending, he did everything right! Right?

When the reversed ending screen shows up, his heart drops, he goes into a panicked mode trying to figure out where he went wrong, looking up guides and cheats, time traveling to get more keys so he can get a redo, he’ll do anything. Luckily Muriel is there to calm him down and remind him it’s just a game, but that doesn’t stop him from feeling guilty about it, like he did something wrong.

Nadia

Asra somehow managed to convinced her to play it for the story, it catches her off guard when she starts to fall for a fictional character. Very off guard...It takes her a while to admit that she likes your character, so it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly she started to catch feelings, but when she does, finally admit to it, she still tries to push them waaaaay down.

She doesn’t tell anyone, about the game, or about that one character that she really likes, not even Asra, who is the one who got her into this game, everytime he asks how she’s liking it, she’ll simply say “it’s decent” but they both know she’s lying. She’s also too scared to buy merch I case some one were to find it, so she doesn’t but has a deep need too.

She gets very excited when it’s time to get her ending, (a little more excited then she thought she would get,) she’s not too overly confident, she thinks she made one or two wrong choices, but in the end she thinks she made a majority good, right? Right???

Within five minutes of playing the ending, she knows it’s a bad one, there’s no way your LI turning themselves into the devil is a good ending...but then again... she’s not overly disappointed, just a little, shes also not too mad about the bad ending she got.... but all in all she goes back to redo her choices and gets the good eneding. (She found the reverse ending to be more intresting but hey, Beggars can’t be choosers,)

Julian

Portia just wouldn’t shut up about this game, so he decides to give it a go, besides who doesn’t love a cheesy romance story, but then he finds out the story is heavily based on witch craft and Magick and almost deletes the app. Portia some how manages to convince him to keep the app, he falls in love with your character by like the third or fourth chapter.

He thinks your unique, intriguing, he wants to know more about your character so does as much research as he can, and now has a lot of random knowledge about your character. I don’t think he’s the type to buy merch of your character, but he definitely finds it cute.

He’s overalls anxious while playing the game, as soon as it was announced/he found out that there were bad endings, so when it comes time for the ending he is practically sweating, and feels him self on the verge of an anxiety attack for a character of a dating simulator aimed at teenagers and young adults. (Granted Julian should be in his mid thirties atleast)

When he gets your Reversed he feels his heart crush, how could he do this too you, his bad choices got you turned into a damn bird, (or any animal of your choosing) he feels so bad that he catches him self apologizing. Apologizing. He ends up deleting the game because it ended up giving him a lot of stress and anxiety and he can’t mentally go through that again, even if it means getting your upright . (He does go back to get it three months later, because he feels bad and the guilt is eating him alive, then uninstalls it for good.)

Portia

This isn’t her first rodeo. I feel like playing dating simulators is a small guilty pleasure of hers, on the topic she’s lost countless hours of sleep playing mystic messenger, her favorites are yoosung, and jahee, (zen and seven remind her too much of diffrent versions of her brother, jumin grosses her our, and she can’t afford another story.)

She thinks your character is adorable! She falls in love in like the first chapter, you’re just so cute! She most definitely has atleast one charm of you that’s official, the rest of the merch she has of you is from artist from the fandom! (Portia supports small artist the most out of the main six, Asra’s close behind)

She is very confident that she got your upright ending. How could she not? She did every thing the (outdated) guide on Wikipedia said, but when she’s playing your ending something doesn’t feel right...Maybe she read the guide wrong....but those choices felt right....

Gasps, very loudly when she sees the reversed ending screen. She had a feeling, but it still hurt a little bit, it always does, espically when you like a character so much that you go to the wiki to double check your choices. But she tries again anyways and gets your upright ending, (without the wiki) and is very proud of her self

Muriel

Why. He does not see the appeal at all. Why would you dedicate days, weeks, to a fictional character who doesn’t exist and is programmed to fall in love with you. Asra has to bribe him with smoked eel for him to even download it, but when he does indulge in playing it, he starts to see the apeal.

It feels nice to be loved, to be wanted, even if it’s not real, and he likes that about your character, he likes your character a lot. Asra has often caught him smiling stupidly at his phone while he plays the game, he doesn’t like the overly romantic scenes, but the cute cheesy ones are okay. He’s also too ashamed to buy official art, so he draws his own, but doesn’t show it to anyone

Poor man didn’t even know there were bad endings, until asra told him. That’s when things started to go downhill. He went back through the game, replaying old chapters,second guessing his choices, picking the opposite of what he feels is right, because there’s no way what he thinks is right could actually be it, right?

When he gets your reversed ending he feels his heart drop into his stomach, his eyes even start to water, he gets so upset and frustrated that he uninstalls the app, and never reinstalls it. But It’d be bold of you to assume that stops him from drawing fan art.

Lucio

So like, the devs confirmed during one of the “ask the arcana’s” that lucio would be a loud let’s play YouTuber, so It’s bold of you to assume that he wouldn’t play this on his obnoxious YouTube channel because one (1) person requested it on his only fans

He starts out by making fun of the game, very obnoxiously, but suddenly stops making fun of your character, he claims that your character is to “well written” to make fun of, to seem cool, but everyone watching knows that he has a thing for you. His fans even send him official merch or fan art that they made of you’re character because they know how much he likes you. (He keeps all of it but never says thank you)

When it’s time for the endings he is very overly confident, claiming that he knows for a fact that he got the upright ending, that he is 100% sure that he made all the right choices. But in reality he’s just saying that I’m order to convince himself, he’s actually not too sure,

When he gets the reverse ending, he kind of just stares at his phone like a deer In the headlights for a couple seconds, then his twitch stream gets banned from the string of curses he’s letting out because the game is “obviously rigged” and there’s “no way” he deserved to get a bad ending. (He tries to replay the entire route and gets the bad ending again, then just gives up.)

Thanks for reading I hope you liked it!

Next Headcanon: Main six reacting to an Mc with really long hair! (5/19)

Request Are Open! :-)

[lady-divine-writes]

Good Omens - I Was Given Four Rules to Follow ... I Broke Every One: Chapter 2/3 (Rated PG13)

Summary: When Warlock Dowling is summoned to the old South Downs cottage of Aziraphale and Crowley to help clean out their attic, presumably after their deaths, he is given four rules to follow.

... He breaks every single one.

Notes: So here's the chapter where we really lean into that post-accident imagery. Again, it's not gory, but it may be unsettling. Please be warned. Also some very mild thoughts of suicide on Aziraphale's part, the typical 'why don't I off myself to be with me husband instead' sort of inner monologue.

Read on AO3.

I drove back to The South Downs in the Celestial Blue Fiat Crowley had gifted me last anniversary completely on autopilot. I never really used the thing, to be honest, so I was astonished I hadn’t run off the side of the road, especially when the thought was ever in the back of my mind. I kept the windows down, breathing in deep the brisk air and trying not to think too hard over what I was about to do. Or what I could do instead, the possibilities ranging between getting on with my life - sell the cottage and travel the world, forget about everything that had led up to this point … or driving straight off a cliff.

Of course, if I was lucky, fate would decide for me, and I would catch pneumonia driving in the freezing cold with the windows down and only a thin jumper for protection.

I put the radio on and cranked the volume. I caught a replay of The London Symphony Orchestra performing Holst’s The Planets as I tried to focus on everything and anything besides my dead husband waiting for me, lying naked on our bed, packed in ice with several brand new swamp coolers blasting on high to keep decomposition at bay. I thought it best to stow him out here in the middle of nowhere for the time being instead of at our flat in Mayfair - less a chance of anything going wrong, of the swamp coolers drawing suspicion (seeing as it had barely broken seven degrees Celsius over the past month), or (if this worked) people who knew my husband to be dead seeing him walking around, and asking questions.

Accepting that that was a possibility led me back to the question of why was I doing this? Why was I so set on bringing my husband back? Why didn’t I leave him be, allow him peace? Why didn’t I take the opposite route, off myself, and go be with him instead? Had to admit, it was a lot more natural than what I was intending. But there was a simple reason for that.

I’m a coward.

A bloody coward.

I don’t know what awaits us after death. Not truly. I’d been raised a Catholic, and I hold strong to many of those principles still (mostly out of guilt inflicted upon me by my dear old mum). According to the teachings of the church, a Heavenly kingdom would be ours after death … but not if I killed myself.

Suicide was an unforgivable sin.

If I wanted to see my husband again, this might be the only avenue available to me.

I didn’t want to wait, rely on “faith” that we would be together again, and risk being wrong. I was tired of playing guessing games with my future.

I felt like a massive ball of contradictions flying down the motorway at felony speeds, both exhilarated and terrified at the venture I was about to embark on. The old woman wasn’t wrong. For as blisteringly angry as I got with her, that was the worst part. I was tampering with the laws of nature. I knew that. I loved Crowley more than anything, more than my own life, but Crowley was dead, and in the eyes of the universe, there should be nothing I can do to change that.

But apparently there was.

I’d found it.

And I was going through with it regardless, even if it scared the shit out of me.

I’d not told another living soul about this. I had a pretty good idea of what might happen if I did. I didn’t require an intervention, and I didn’t need institutionalization. I wasn’t crazy. I was grieving, searching for the same solutions that dozens of people have probably thought of but would never admit to. But other people - people who knew me as the eccentric book seller of Soho who didn’t actually sell any books and who once rented a live python for the sole purpose of roaming the store in order to keep uni students away at the start of the school year - might not see it that way.

I had also entertained the possibility that this might be a scam - a way to extort five thousand pounds out of a grieving widower willing to pay anything to have his husband back. Except that the old woman – possibly a hundred or so years older than God – put on a convincing act of being afraid for the paltry sum of five thousand (paltry considering what the granddaughter had said about their financial straits - tens of thousands in mounting debts, interest on bank loans that have ballooned into larger sums than their principals, and the shady men who dropped by most nights to ‘browse’ even though they bought nothing but always broke something in ways that implied mishaps more sinister).

They probably could have gotten twenty thousand out of me easily.

I switched off the radio when I turned off the motorway. It wasn’t like the music would disturb anyone. I lived miles away from my closest neighbor. But it seemed disrespectful to keep the volume so loud.

Disrespectful to the dead.

I love our cottage, fell in love with it the first moment I laid eyes on it, but that was back when it was about to become a home.

Now, it was a tomb.

What would our property agent think - that kindly, middle-aged woman who kept making moon eyes at us every time we snuck a kiss - if she knew I was harboring a corpse in my bedroom? The expression of shock that would erupt on her pinched face nearly made me laugh. But the overwhelming pitch blackness of the cottage sapped me of anything even remotely similar to glee.

When I had left earlier in the day, I had neglected to keep any lights on. It seemed fitting to have the place dark while my husband’s body lay within. But I wished I had left one light on at least, or put a torch by the door. My cellular phone battery had died somewhere along the way so it was of no help whatsoever.

As I opened the door and peered into the living room, I held my breath, half-expecting Crowley’s naked corpse to meet me at the entryway. I chided myself for being an idiot, though how ridiculous was it really? A day ago, when I went searching Soho shops for that horrid incense Crowley used to love in the hopes of keeping his favorite scent alive in the house, I would have agreed that the concept of life after death was ludicrous.

That was until I stumbled upon a teenage girl who promised me the secret to bringing Crowley back.

“Cr---Crowley? Crowley, honey? I’m home, my dear,” I called out, hoping that he wouldn’t actually answer. I was thirty steps away from walking out of my comfort zone and into a world I would rather not know existed, so Crowley coming back to life on his own would tip me over the edge into insanity.

I reached out a hand and turned on the light. My living room, warm and comforting, decorated in muted blues, cinnamon browns, and subtle creams, welcomed me. There was nothing out-of-place here.

Nothing dead.

I continued to the bedroom, switching on lights as I went. With every step, I had to convince myself to keep going. I originally pictured me racing into the house, eager to get this started. But with reality staring me in the face, I wasn’t sure. But I didn’t have the luxury of waiting to see if I would eventually change my mind. Crowley’s internal organs, especially his brain, were decaying fast, regardless of how much ice or air conditioning I piped into the place.

Soon the choice wouldn’t be mine to make.

Twenty steps brought me to the threshold of my bedroom where I stopped, staring at the closed door. I reached down and patted the bottle in my pocket, feeling the lump through the linen of my trousers. Touching it gave me the strength I needed to move my hand to the doorknob, but I halted once more with it hovering when I heard a small creak – like a foot stepping lightly on the hardwood floor. It was the house settling, I told myself. That was what Crowley always said when I woke him in the middle of the night to the sound of odd creaking and whining.

“It’s a mid-century house,” he’d say. “The floors contract in the cold and expand in the heat.”

“So what your saying is …?” I quipped.

“... the house talks in our sleep,” Crowley had replied without opening his eyes. “Now go back to your reading so I can get some sleep, too.”

“Just the house settling,” I muttered in my best rendition of Crowley’s accent, plucking the explanation from my mind and saying it out loud to make it real. “Nothing else alive in the house except for me.”

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to open the door.

I heard the creak repeat, closer this time.

I swallowed so hard, everything from my jaw to my stomach ached.

“Crowley? Are you there? Are you … are you waiting for me, my dear?”

Of course he’s waiting for you! I scolded myself. He’s waiting for you to grow a pair and get this over with.

I sighed, allowing the rush of breath in my deflating body to give my hand momentum, touch the doorknob, and open it like I had hundreds of times before.

This time was no different.

Yup. Maybe if I kept telling myself that, it would feel real.

I turned the knob and switched on the light without thinking about the sight that awaited me on the bed. My eyes flicked up … and my stomach fell to the floor.

There was Crowley, right where I had left him, lying in bed, eyes closed. He looked asleep and, from this distance, normal except for a few cuts and bruises on his face. The accident hadn’t banged his body up that badly, not from what I had noticed, though I didn’t make it a point to look at him for too long.

His neck was why not.

His broken neck from the whiplash that had killed him instantly.

He’d been leaning forward in his car seat, looking at street signs, stuck on a small, offshoot road that the GPS on his phone had apparently never heard of before. He had cautiously entered the intersection when a pickup flew through out of nowhere and slammed into him from behind. Crowley jettisoned forward and hit the steering wheel.

Being a classic car, restored to original condition, it had no airbag.

I blinked back the tears that leaped to my eyes at the thought of the accident that took my husband from me, at the fact that the driver of the truck, being sloshed out of his gourd, walked away from the same accident with only blacks and blues. The police caught the bastard a few miles down the road when his engine stalled.

He claimed he didn’t stop because he thought he had only struck a deer.

“H—hey,” I said, trying to get comfortable with the idea of talking to my husband again. “I went out shopping today, and you’ll never believe what I brought home.”

I could see my own breath as it met the air in the room, like walking into a gigantic meat locker, making what I was doing that much more morbid. My knees knocked but I clamped them together to keep them mobile. I reached the bed, and my casual, conversational tone disappeared, the words wavering as I spoke them.

“I think … this might … help …” I hiccuped, side-eyeing my husband’s body. Crowley’s skin appeared waxy, coated in moisture from the frigid air, and the color wasn’t right. I knew that soon blood would pool and Crowley’s unnaturally pale skin would turn black so I had to hurry, but every muscle in my body screamed for me to turn and run.

I touched the bed, and I’m ashamed to say, I whimpered.

I can do this, I can do this … I chanted to myself. I reached out and let my hand brush Crowley’s fingers. I tried to recall their warmth, the way Crowley’s touch made me feel loved, desired. Whole. I wanted that back, and I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way. I knelt on the bed, crawled over to Crowley’s body, and leaned over his serene face.

“I’m going to get you back,” I whispered, cursing the fear in my voice. “If I have to claw my way into Heaven and drag you back with my own two hands, I’m going to get you back.”

I pulled the blue bottle out of my pocket. I held it to the light and gave it a swirl, watching the liquid spin around the belly of the glass and then settle into a shimmering mass. Crowley’s life was sitting in the bottom of that bottle. All I need do was give it back.

I yanked out the stopper and brought the bottle to Crowley’s lips.

“Bottoms up, love.” I pecked a kiss to his cold skin and then tipped the contents into his mouth. I expected to see Crowley’s throat move as he swallowed, his eyes snap urgently open, but they didn’t. The potion didn’t act instantaneously the way I’d assumed then. He was still dead … but not for long.

I remained kneeling at Crowley’s side, staring into my husband’s face, heeding the ancient woman’s words to be the first person Crowley saw when he opened his eyes. I knelt and knelt for over an hour, thighs cramping in the freezing cold. The sharp prickle that comes with poor blood circulation assaulted my skin, the thought that this was an elaborately planned and executed hoax becoming more a likelihood as time passed.

The sun started to light the grass and hills outside. I could barely see the early morning rays seep in beneath the blackout curtains, but there they were nonetheless - evidence of a brand new day. Still, there was no change, no sign, nothing on Crowley’s face that might give me a reason to hold on. I struggled against exhaustion, grasping at thin straws of hope, but with each passing minute, I was failing.

It had been a dream – a wonderful dream.

But I had to wake up and face facts - my husband wasn’t coming back to me in any form.

I’d been most grievously had.

I stretched my limbs - one leg, then the other. Then I lifted my torso, bending my arms and flexing my hands. I crawled backward off the bed, raising my arms above my head, listening to my spine snap and pop. I looked at Crowley again, peacefully expired – one last look before I made plans for his burial.

I was beginning to feel it was about time.

I walked to the dresser and opened the top drawer, looking for my pajamas. Before I did anything, I needed a nap or I would drop dead on my feet.

I winced at the ill-placed pun, but chalked it up as part of the healing process. Gallows humor. I could never appreciate it before.

That probably wouldn’t change.

I rummaged through the drawer, looking past perfectly suitable shirts and lounge pants but for what, I didn’t know … until I found it.

A journal.

I have lots of journals, to be honest. Writing is a passion of mine, along with reading. In their pages, I have documented everything that has ever happened to me in excruciating detail - as if anyone would ever be interested in that sort of thing. As if reading about my pains or my triumphs would help anyone. I don’t find myself to be remotely (as the kids put it) relatable. I have no desire to be famous, and the circumstances of my life (mainly my marriage to Crowley) have made me wealthier than I could ever possibly enjoy in my lifetime.

But not today.

Today I felt numb to everything around me, and not just because of the intense cold. Nothing seemed to matter. I left my pajamas in the drawer and hopped back onto the bed. I might have been cavalier about it, but there was nothing here for me to fear. What lay in bed beside me was a body, nothing more - flesh and blood rotting from the inside with no unique soul to keep it all together.

Make it worth something.

I opened my journal - this journal - to the first empty page where a blue ballpoint pen had been shoved into the spine, waiting for me. For how long …  I can’t remember. I picked the thing out and uncapped it. I put the tip to the paper, but I didn’t start writing right away. I hadn’t written in a journal in weeks. Where should I start? Do I pick up where my last journal entry left off, no matter how long ago that was? Even if it ended on a happy memory, like me and Crowley going to the cinema, having dinner at The Ritz?

Making love in the backseat of his Bentley?

Or do I forget all that and start a few minutes ago when I finally decided to give up on the possibility of my husband coming back? A couple of hours ago when the old woman almost refused to sell me the potion? Or that horrible night, when the police showed up at my door with apologetic looks and horrendous news?

While I juggled those thoughts, trying to decide, the world around me began to awaken. Birds sang their melodious songs in the bitter cold. The wind outside knocked against my window. A tiny critter scritched inside the walls, which would have had me running for the traps, but not today. Whatever you are, little creature, you have been granted a stay of execution.

Nothing would be dying within my home today.

The sun rose higher and the room got brighter. To my surprise, it heated up a little, and the ice cubes on the bed began to melt. I heard them collapsing in their piles, some having turned to water, making way for others to fall. The bed dipped as I shifted my legs beneath me, my crossed limbs having fallen asleep in their bent up positions. I cleared my throat, the sound rumbling in my chest, though the voice didn’t sound entirely my own. My ears had been ringing during the drive home and for most of the night, so I imagined I must have caught some kind of cold.

But as I reasoned out all of this, going about my task, my heart realized a truth that my mind hadn’t.

When my mind caught up, it went blank.

My blood turned to ice, secondary to the chill in the room, helped naught an inch by the invading sun. I didn’t think I could get any colder, but I did. That inside out feeling returned as another started to register.

I no longer felt quite so alone.

I lowered my journal, glancing up from the blank page to find Crowley, rolled onto his side, staring at me with wide, emotionless eyes.

[muchadoaboutbucky]

Love Thy Neighbor - 2

Set post-Endgame: Bucky’s got a crush on the girl next door. 

PAIRING: Bucky x Native American!Reader WARNINGS: slow burn, minor anxieties, eventual smut

read the rest of this series on patreon

Friday passes in a blur. Bucky skips his usual morning run and can barely focus on anything relatively important, and it’s only when Sam gives him a nudge about deadlines when he pushes thoughts of his impending date out of his head and fills out his mission report. 

Saturday comes in a hail of rushing thoughts and a rolling stomach. Bucky can’t remember the last time he was this nervous to go on a date. He starts getting ready at seven, standing under the shower for several minutes and scrubbing away every inch of grime. He even conditions the ends of his hair (something Sam would never let him live down if he saw the expensive-looking bottle) and twists half of it up into a bun to keep it out of his face. 

He used to wear suits on his dates, back when he’d take his girl of the evening dancing. Now, men are more casual, and he digs through his minimally-filled closet to find something nice. He settles for a pair of dark jeans, a gray tee shirt, and a black jacket. It’s probably the nicest thing he has, and when he finally takes a quick look at himself in the full-length mirror on the back of his door, he concludes that he doesn’t look half bad.

Now, if only he could get the deer-in-headlights look off his face…

He doesn’t bother taking much, just his moneyclip of twenties and his phone. He’s called the private car again, and the buzzing on his phone lets him know that the driver is ready and waiting in the parking lot. 

Sam’s stretched out on the couch with a large bowl of popcorn, and he gives Bucky a teasing whistle.

“Lookin’ good.” He sits up as Bucky walks by, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Here, I got you somethin’.”

He tosses something small and shiny, and Bucky catches it. As soon as he realizes what it is, his cheeks go flaming hot again. 

“I don’t need this.” He holds the condom up between two fingers. Truthfully, he doesn’t. Hydra had taken that option away from him—chemical sterilization was the easiest choice to ensure that, should he ever get released, his altered genetics wouldn’t be passed on. The only person who knows about that little factor in his life is Banner, simply because he oversees all the medical files for the team. “It’s the first date,” he covers.

“Dude, some people do it on the first date.” Sam rolls his eyes. “Just take it.”

Grumbling, Bucky stuffs the foil square into his back pocket and heads out the door. It’s 8:01 when he knocks on your door, and when he hears your footsteps on the other side, he takes a deep breath to steady himself.

You’re wearing a deep yellow blouse and skinny jeans. You’ve done your hair in this beautiful touseled style that frames your face… oh, so perfectly. 

“Hi.” You sling your purse over your shoulder. “You look nice.”

Bucky swallows and holds his arm out for you to take. People still do this, right? “You look pretty.”

Your cheeks flush as you loop your arm through his and follow him down into the elevator. “So… I can drive, if you want me to.”

“I got a ride,” he explains, smiling almost bashfully as the heavy metal doors slide back to reveal the glossy black Mercedes. The driver sits patiently in the driver’s seat, plotting out the route to the movie theatre, and Bucky holds the door for you to slip into the backseat. You take note of the thick glass divider between the backseat and the driver. “We can talk privately,” Bucky assures you. 

“Oh.” You gaze around the luxurious interior of the car. “This is probably the fanciest car I’ve ever been in. Do you get to use this all the time?”

“Only on missions.” Bucky chews on his lower lip. “It comes in handy.”

The drive to the theatre takes a good twenty minutes, and when you finally walk through the tall glass doors, it’s a relief. Bucky offers you his arm again, and you gaze up at the movie selection together. Since everything had gone to hell with Thanos, a lot of classics are being replayed. The only movies that have come out recently are a cheesy slasher film and a buddy comedy. Neither of you do those, so you settle for a running of The Prisoner of Azkaban and fill your arms with popcorn and candy.

Following Bucky’s direction, you sneak to the very back row, where it’s deserted and nobody will see you. You go through half the popcorn during the credits, and Bucky mocks a pout when you tuck the Sour Patch Kids into your purse for safekeeping until you’re halfway through the movie. 

Bucky almost tunes out when you tentatively rest your head on his shoulder. He can smell your shampoo… raspberry and something else sweet… vanilla, maybe. Your arm loops back through his, and he has to fight the urge to pull you right into his lap. He’d done that before, when he was twenty-two and he dragged Penny Williams into his lap in the back of an empty cinema and made her grind on him until she was shaking… but he can’t do that now. You’d probably slap him if he did.

When the lights in the theatre come on, you wait for several people in the front rows to leave before lifting your head from his shoulder. 

“How was that?” you ask. “Good movie?”

Bucky smiles. “Might be a good idea to see the others. Some bits got a little jumbled.”

You grin, cheeks dimpling. “Maybe we can make a thing out of it. One movie a week?”

Oh, Jesus, he’s fallen so hard… “I’d like that very much,” he replies.

He takes your hand in his and stands, leading you down the steps and out into the main hall. It’s late, and the only moviegoers are a couple groups of teenagers. “Do you want to do anything else?” he asks tentatively? “Another movie?”

You giggle. “I can’t do another movie, but if you… if you want, we can hang out at my place for a bit?”

There’s a look in your eye that he can’t exactly read. Then again, being eighty years out of practice isn’t helping. “Sure,” he says, pulling his phone from his pocket to send their driver a message. 

You’re picked up in the same spot, and Bucky doesn’t let go of your hand the entire ride back to the apartment. He follows you into the elevator, and the tension skyrockets. Other than the basics, he has no idea what to do. He used to be good, used to drive girls wild with his tongue and fingers and eventually his cock, but… you’re not just a summer fling. You mean more to him than any girl he’d ever known. 

The moment you’ve closed and locked the door, neither of you seem to be able to hold back. Bucky meets you halfway, cupping your face as your lips meet in a wet, fiery kiss. His heart takes off, beating hard and fast as you press yourself up against him. Your hands fumble with the zipper of his jacket, and Bucky takes over, stripping it off and dropping it to the floor. He backs you further into the room, toeing off his boots as you kick your slippers to the side. 

Clothes fly everywhere, and Bucky only stops when you’re down to your matching panties and bralette and he’s in a pair of boxers that aren’t doing much to hide his erection. Where this bravery came from, he has no idea. Your fingers wander down the plates and lines of his left arm, over the line between metal and flesh, and he brings the palm up to smooth over your hair.

“Does it hurt?” You ask.

He shakes his head. “No. It doesn’t hurt.”

“Good.” You step in and press a kiss just over his heart, and Bucky almost cries at the gentleness.

“Where’s your room?” he asks instead, hands skimming low to hold your hips. 

“Hall,” you reply, “second door on the right.”

Bucky kisses you again and lifts you easily off the floor. He crosses to the appropriate door in just a few determined strides, and once inside he lays you out on the mattress, kissing down your neck and pulling the front clasp of your bralette open. 

“Jesus,” he breathes, and then he’s leaning down and sucking a nipple into his mouth. Your legs spread automatically, opening wide so he can grind himself against your warmth. Your fingers tangle in his hair, pulling the bun free and hooking in the thick, dark locks. 

“Bucky,” you sigh, arching up to get closer to his touch. He switches his attentions, sucking gently on your other nipple until the areola is swollen and pink. “I want you so bad.”

“I know.” He holds himself up, keeping his hips wedged firmly between your thighs. He knows he doesn’t need the birth control, but it might give you comfort to know that he’s thought ahead and brought protection. “I got somethin’ in my jeans, lemme go—”

“I’m on the pill,” you interrupt him, dragging him back down for a kiss. “I’m on the pill, baby, it’s okay.”

Your hand pushes at the waistband of his boxers, and Bucky can’t shed them fast enough. Metal fingers curl into your flimsy underwear, shredding the fabric and tossing it away. You’re bare, pink and wet and exposed, all for him. He strokes himself firmly, gripping the base so he can line up with your entrance, and you gasp, mouth open against his when he pushes in, sliding to the hilt. 

God, he’s forgotten what women feel like inside… all hot and wet, snug around his cock in a way that makes his toes curl. He feels your hands slide down his back, nails pressing in softly, and he starts to move with your moan still trailing off. It’s clumsy at first, his movements driven out of pleasure and passion than actual practice, but he settles into it, metal fingers curled into the sheets beside your head. 

“Oh… yes…” you encourage him stroke-by-stroke, hands firm on the small of his back as he grinds deep. “Right there, Bucky… oh, shit…”

He picks up the pace, and your head tips back, mouth stretching into an exhilarated smile. Bucky can’t take his eyes off it, and it’s only when you suck in a ragged breath and bring your hands back up to hook in his hair that he puts his mouth to work. He finds a nipple again and latches on, enjoying the sound of your high-pitched whimpers.

“Oh, baby,” you arch up, trying to rock your hips in time with his, and Bucky presses in deeper, giving you a sharp twist that means ‘stay still.’ When he gives in to his lust and tries to work a little harder, you let out an audible wince. He stops.

“Did I hurt you?” he asks concernedly.

You nod shortly. “You’re… really strong.”

“Sorry.” He kisses you again. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

You giggle, and the motion of it makes him groan with satisfaction. “Maybe I should be on top.”

Oh, hell yes. Bucky flips, keeping your bodies together as he moves expertly onto his back. You brace your hands on his chest and toss your hair over one shoulder. Bucky braces his feet on the mattress, cupping your waist in his hands as you start your own rhythm. He settles back against the bed, eyes wide as he watches you move, taking your own pleasure just the way you like it. 

“You look so beautiful,” he pants, “so goddamn beautiful, doll…”

He holds his breath when you take his flesh hand and guide it between your legs. He knows how to find your clit easily enough, and he matches your loud moan of pleasure with his own when he feels your pussy squeeze around him. He rubs his thumb in quick little circles and fights the urge to take control again. 

“You feel so good,” you moan, “I’m gonna cum so hard…” 

Bucky’s eyes almost roll back in his head when he feels you start to pulse. “Do it,” he whispers, “don’t hold back for me, baby, lemme feel it.”

He works you to the edge, and when you cum it’s with a breathless cry as you sink down on his cock and stay there. He can feel you, growing somehow wetter and warmer as your entire body flushes, and he can’t bring himself to stop touching you, only pulling his hand away when you slump forward, batting his hand away from between your legs with a breathless giggle. 

“Sensitive,” you gasp out, leaning down to kiss him. Bucky sweeps your hair up into his metal hand, keeping it away from your face. 

“I loved that,” he replies, pushing his hips up to close the gap where he’s not fully inside you. “Dunno how much longer I can…”

You kiss him again, this time sweeping your tongue over his lower lip. “It’s okay… I wanna feel it.”

He lets you pin his hands on either side of his head, fingers locked together. Your hips start to roll, and Bucky’s breath grows tighter as you work him towards his own climax. He’s not afraid of being loud—he never was a quiet lover, anyway. He lets you take over, reveling in the smack of your skin on his and the wet slide of your pussy and the way your tits press against his chest. 

He’s almost at the edge when he hits the pause button, pulling back from your kisses and gasping out a hoarse “wait.” 

You stop, raising yourself up to look down at him. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” He shakes his head, swallows. This is so embarrassing. “I’ve just never… I’ve always pulled out.”

Your eyes go wide when you take in his meaning. “Oh… do you want to?”

He shakes his head and squeezes your hands. “No. I just… you—”

Thankfully, you silence him with a kiss before he can start rambling. “Bucky, it’s okay,” you whisper, “just lemme make you feel good.”

He groans when you swirl your hips, falling back into your steady slide-n-grind motion. He’s already close, and it doesn’t take very long for him to reach the edge of his orgasm. 

Oh, shit, this is intense.

“God—” he rips his hands from yours and hugs you close, burying his face in your chest as he cums harder than he can remember. You wrap one arm around the back of his head, moaning encouragement into the air as he empties into you.

It’s over as quickly as it started, but Bucky’s got a knot in his throat that won't go away, and before he knows it his eyes are stinging with tears.

Fuck, no, he’s not crying…

“Hey.” You cup his face, staring into his face. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

He shakes his head eyes squeezed tight. “Just… intense.”

You press closer, kissing his cheeks and running your fingers through his hair. He calms himself quickly, breathing hard against your soft, sweet skin, and then raises his head to look at you.

“Don’t apologize.” You stop the words in his throat and kiss him gently. “It’s okay…”

“I don’t—” Bucky fights the urge to lower his head in shame, “I don’t cry after—”

You interrupt him with a sweep of your thumb over his lower lip. “It’s okay, Bucky. Let’s shower? You can stay here tonight, we can talk.”

You step into your small shower cubicle, laughing over the cramped space, and by the time you emerge in a cloud of steam, Bucky’s in a state of bliss, and he crawls beneath the sheets with a tired sigh. You’ve gone to the kitchen to grab something to drink, and when you come back, Bucky notices the unopened bag of Sour Patches tucked under your arm.

“We never got to these,” you say, crawling up to lie next to him and tearing the bag open. “Have you ever had ‘em?”

Bucky reaches into the bag and pulls out a red one. “First time for everything.” He pops it into his mouth, biting down through the soft candy. The sour hits him first, and he grimaces as it gives way to the sweetness. You laugh at the expression on his face and bury your face in the pillow. 

“What?” He reaches into the bag for another. “That wasn’t funny, what the hell is in those?”

“Lots of stuff that isn’t good for you,” you reply, still giggling. “God, if sour Altoids still existed, I’d love to see your face then.” 

“Sour Altoids?”

“Believe me, they were not to be fucked with. Especially the tangerine ones.” You nibble the head off one piece of candy and snuggle up next to him. “Hey.”

Bucky turns his head to look at you. “Hmm?”

“I’m glad we did this.” You run your hand up over his chest. “Meeting you was the best thing to happen to me in a long time.”

His heart almost explodes. “You mean that?”

“Yeah.” You suck the sour coating off a green candy. “I went through a really tough breakup after… what happened with Thanos. My ex was one of the people who… well, when he came back, he was upset that I’d moved on and just left me. Then you moved in next door and you’re… well, you.” Your cheeks flush. “Never thought I’d be in bed with the guy I learned about in history classes.”

Bucky can’t help but blush as well. “I’m too old for you.”

“Shut up.” You kiss him, deep and wet and dirty. “You’re perfect to me.”

Reblogs and comments are very much appreciated :)

MARVEL TAGS: @beefcakebarnes​ @breezy1415​ @cosicas-cuquis​ @mariekoukie6661​ @meganwinchester1999​ @suz-123​

OTHER TAGS (let me know if you want to be on my forever list): @nacho-bucky​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​

[xelpineda126]

"Thank you for your existence in this world".

First of all, congratulations Cheritz for three years of this wonderful game!

My favorite character, out of the rest, is V. Also known as Jihyun Kim (ah, such a pretty name ≧ω≦).

At first, I wasn't really sure what to think about him. He was just the mysterious leader of RFA. When I played Seven's route, I started to distrust him a little. The last route I played was Jumin's, so at day ten, seeing how kind he was... Actually caught my attention.

Also, I saw some pictures of him before playing Another Story. And, I started to like him, thinking: "ohhhh, he looks nice with that blue hair of his".

When I could finally start to play AS, I was amazed of how deep his background story actually was. I... Practically cried everyday XD

But because of how many guests I managed to get, I got the Normal Ending. I always had gotten the Good Ending at my first try, so of course, I was kinda disappointed.

But. BUT!

When I played his route again, and this time getting the Good Ending... Gosh... That's when I fell for him.

Just hearing him say "I love you" was really beautiful (and made me cry again XD).

After that, I played Ray route. And it broke my heart being afar from him, and seeing him suffer... Just being unable to help him!

However, as I started to replay the other routes and DLCs, it was also painful knowing the struggle he was passing through. Also, I was disappointed that he didn't appear at all, or he hasn't such a big relevance or presence in the story.

I appreciate a lot that you finally released V's after ending this year! Thank you! But it'd also be great for all of us V's fans to have a Christmas or Valentine's Day DLC with him! I look forward to more content with this character that I love so much >_<

But I'm already VERY grateful towards the Cheritz team for bringing him to life.

What I like about him... Well, most of his characteristics XD

I love his hair and eyes color

I love how kind and calm he is, even if he's struggling a lot in the inside. Also, that he doesn't wish the bad for anyone, whatever they did to him.

One of the things that I like the most, is his artistic side! Just imagining that we could draw together... It's really nice! >_<

I love everything from him. Also, I think he's really handsome (and sexy XD)

One of the things I enjoy through my daily routine, is viewing some fanart of him. The community of fans is really talented! So, it instantly can cheer up my day.

Really, just thinking of him, makes me smile.

I'll always love him unconditionally. Just understanding how many pain he has gone through his life makes me want to embrace him ;;;;-;;;;

So, yeah... I just love the beautiful person this character is.

I really thank you, Cheritz! Not just for V, but also for creating the story in general. It has allowed to meet many wonderful people, that are my friends.

I hope we can keep playing this game many years more! Congratulations!

[seilahsacress]

Mystic Messenger tips...

You may or may not have been aware of.

Spoiler-free / No-spoilers!

So, to explore bad endings later, you save at the branch point. Follow a different route to explore the normal one. Don't save at the third and last branch point - keep playing till 12 pm which is when the party opens. Save there. Then open the emails and play the party. Then re-load from there and don't open emails this time. This way, instead of needlessly waiting an entire day to get normal ending, you can manage both party endings in minutes. Of course, if you want to explore the other answers in the last few chatrooms and have the time to do that, save at the branch point.

If you're exploring bad endings, don't tell characters to invite guests to the party. Instead, choose the other option that misses the e-mail opportunity. This way you can unlock more dialogues in the chat history.

If you reloaded a save to get a bad ending after getting the good one or vice versa, you can just choose the opposite of what you've chosen at your previous play. This way not only you're quarenteed to get the other ending, you will also open as many dialogue options as possible in the history.

Text messages and phone calls do not affect your gameplay. Bullshit there to see characters' reactions. Most of the time, their reactions will make it extremely obvious that what you said was wrong so you wouldn't repeat the same wrong approach in the chatrooms.

After succesfully passing the last branch point, which means you dodged the third bad ending and now heading towards to the party for a good or normal ending, your choices no longer affect the story. You can bullshit there to see characters' reactions too.

We know different routes and endings come with some good CG (album) stuff. Much more rarely, different choices in chatrooms can give you different CGs too. Therefore, if you reload and replay, choose different answers especially in critic life and death scenarios.

Be careful about where you want to waste your HGs. To sum up when you'll need them:

Unlocking Deep Story takes 80 HGs.

Each character's After Ending, which is unlocked after getting the character's good ending, costs 20 HGs. There are seven characters in total so do the maths.

Reloading one save takes 5 HGs. There are 7 different endings for each character: good ending, normal ending, three bad endings and two bad relationship endings. In other words, getting every single ending for one character costs 30 HGs.

After Seven's good ending, two secret endings which tell what happened after the party will unlock. Each will have seven episodes and opening one will cost 10 HGs. In other words, completely playing the two secret endings will cost 140 HGs.

Another story costs 550 HGs.

There are also some other DLCs. "Rika Behind" has eight episodes. First one is free but the other seven cost 60 HGs. In total, full Rika Behind costs 420 HGs. At top of this, there are five Valentine's Day episodes for five characters and each costs 20 HGs. Last two, April Fools costs 60 HGs and Christmas Special costs 100 HGs.

Frequently enter the game whenever you can even if there are no chatrooms. The spaceship below can give good stuff. Not too frequently though, it just doesn't work.

Absolutely don't waste HGs for missed chatrooms or missed calls. It's never worth it. You can keep those precious 5 HGs to reload your save to explore the other endings and be more careful this time not to miss the chatroom or the call.

You can waste 5 HGs for outgoing calls if you don't have any plans to save for something better. However, if you're doing this, absolutely check the calls guide on the wiki to see which outgoing calls are there and when. Or risk not having your call picked up and lose HGs.

After finally unlocking Another Story, if you don't really care about the other expensive DLCs left or if you've already purchased them, you won't have much extra content left to save HGs for. So check the list of outgoing calls on the wiki! Choose your favourites there and take them. Don't worry, you'll have enough HGs left for After Endings and reloading for other endings. Spaceship does give a lot of stuff ^^

Something every single Mystic Messenger player knows is that chats remain free to take until the next chatroom appears. What less players know is that if you take a chatroom, it's taken. It doesn't matter if you finish it or not. So, if you don't have the time to play the chat right then, take the the chat before putting your phone away. This way, even if the second chatroom appears when you're away, you will be able to finish the first chat you've already taken for free and then take the second chat. Be careful not to wait so long that the third chat comes up though. You'd miss the second chat if this happens. Also, if you're trying this, absolutely don't close the Mystic Messenger tab and absolutely don't turn off your phone.

If you have passed a branch point and have no idea whether you'll get the good ending or the bad one, here are two little tips. First is the participance percentage - if the branch point is early in the day, your participance will naturally seem low. If you get bad ending, that percentage will suddeny sky-rocket. If it doesn't change, you're likely ok. Second tip is much more known. I read it somewhere and just tested myself: If you branch the game and get the bad ending, the spaceship will reveal meaningless thoughts not from the day you're playing but from the first day.

This one may be the most useful tip in this post! Ok, so... This is kind of game abuse but it's alright I guess. Since we're able to do it in game and I can't really think of a way to prevent it. Anyway, you know the "Start Over" option? You can go to settings anytime during your play-through and simply restart from Day 1. What I'm saying is that if you find a chatroom in Day 1 which gives you an HG, start the game over and over again to farm HGs. It's easy, I found two chats that give HGs myself. Also, if you plan things in advance, you'll have at least forty moments to farm HGs. Extra note that "Max Speed" is free in Day 1.

If you don't finish your game and "Start Over" anywhere, your progress up till that point will be added to history.

If I discover more tips, I can update this post or create a second one ^^

[marshmallowprotection]

I replayed Seven’s route and saw through the secret ending episodes (haven’t done that since 2019) and man is it me or is Rika kinda apathetic towards Saeran in the secret endings. In Ray’s route and especially his AE, she’s so fixated and obsessed with him and Saeyoung in hopes of this “happy family” and to feel needed. She was obsessive and possessive saying how much she loves Saeran like a mom loves her son. But in the Secret Ending when Saeran had a mental breakdown over him not getting the revenge Rika promised him. She got irritated and basically asked her believers to brainwash Saeran again and treated him like he was disposable, like Saeyoung can just take his place in “paradise”.

Like what happened, do you think the time between Another Story and Original Story was enough for her to lose her humanity along the way and play prophet full time. Like how Saeran’s demeanor in both those timelines are different bc he had to withstand Mint Eye’s treatment long enough to fixate on revenge completely and get a tattoo that solidified his devotion to what he didn’t know was a false cause.

Do you think Rika’s apathetic attitude is why Ray was “disposed” of in OS (I would say as an alter he was just dormant, covering his eyes and ears in a sense yknow?). Ray didn’t really play any part in OS so I thought Rika was done “playing mom” (since in the AE she said she missed Ray bc Ray was someone who needed her.) and wanted 100% focus on her plan

Sorry for rambling too much, this started off as a simple question but then my brain went “wait 🤔 what if 🤨”

-Moomi✨

So, a lot of this comes down to how you feel about connecting the two stories. A lot of people do not connect Another Story and Deep/Casual. So there are people that will say that it's just two different realities where possible circumstance can happen. I personally connect the two and I write with that in mind. Let me just say that there is a two-year time period between the two points that you can play in. That is a long time for things to happen and play out.

It's only been 6 months since he was taken in Another Story when Ray is there. Not a lot of time has passed and he is fresh in paranoia and in the manipulation that has been expended upon him. He is loyal to a T and very emotionally distraught. He is very lost and clinging to the last shred of hope that he has. There's a part of him that is cut throat and willing to destroy if that's what he has to do, but there's another part of him that's crying out when that happens.

Because he doesn't want to do those things but he has no choice.

She is the only person that's left in his life that hasn't abandoned him and he truly believes everything that she's told him. He's constantly trying to get her praise and attention because he doesn't want to be left behind. Suit Saeran said to himself that all of their vulnerable points of holding onto hope are inside of Ray. There is a reason why without the MC that Ray wouldn't be able to survive for very long. It's because Ray would never be getting positive influence. He would be a hurt more and more the longer that he was forced to lash out.

It would eventually destroy him. It would be too painful for him to exist because he would have nothing and it would be pointless. He would run himself ragged to give his savior what she wanted and he wouldn't be able to keep up with what she wanted. It would overload him. That is why Suit Saeran what eventually emerge at some point during that time period that would be after Ray combusted.

Suit Saeran isn't exactly stable either. He is built on anger and animosity, but he has just as many emotions as Ray has even though he tries to deny them. It's just instead of balling up everything inside of him, he's taking it out on everyone else because that's what he's been told his strength. He would work himself just as hard as Ray had, but there would be a part in the side of him that was just as twisted.

I personally do not see Suit Saeran and Unknown as the same person so that's important to note here. I imagine that at some point during that period after he gained control, something really bad would happen and it would cause a fracture inside of him. Unknown would be born if that split and eventually take control of the body. He is a lot more twisted. He's let go of the part of him that has hope, and the only thing that he's holding onto is devastation and destruction.

Everything is everyone else's fault and they need to pay for it. His sole purpose is completing their Revenge. He has a one-track mind and there's no doubt about that. He doesn't know what he's even going to do once he gets his revenge. He hasn't even planned that far. You can see that in a lot of the Bad Endings on Seven's Route. He is very emotionally vulnerable and on a hairpin trigger that could be easily broken. In a way he's like Ray. He and Ray have a lot more in common than he and Suit Saeran do with that.

Unknown has fully committed himself to this system. Whereas, with Ray and Suit Saeran, the both of them are able to express to the MC in the game, but they have doubts and that they know that she's not right but they have no other choice. Yes, they are committed to it in a sense but that doesn't mean that they are completely and wholeheartedly consumed by the Cult. There is still a part of them that is seeking that individuality and fighting against the pain and what sounds wrong.

Unknown has given himself to this. He sees no other point and he sees no other purpose. He's been tortured and pushed around his entire life, and it's been blamed on V and Saeyoung. This is the only thing that he's able to focus on and it's the only thing that he knows. It's the only thing grounding him. Rika is right behind him and whispering these lies and manipulation into his ear every single day. She treats him the way that she treats all of them, like a dog chasing food on the end of a string. She says pretty words and has great ideas, but if you follow her, you're never going to get the treat at the end.

And with Unknown, you know that he's been gaslit and manipulated to a degree much more lengthy than what Ray and Saeran went through; he's been stuck in this place by himself with nobody to hold on to. That just didn't stop because he started listening to what she wanted. That continued on. So did her constant denial of giving him praise. He's constantly trying to do things for her and that will make her praise him, and she always avoids doing it. He's always Chasing the Sun but he's never going to be able to touch it.

With Rika, you know that she's trying to cope by saying that she's a better mother. She's so lost in everything that she's been through and all of this anger that she's holding onto, that she's masking everything that she's doing and living her lie to the fullest. It's her way or the highway. She wants to get her revenge and she wants to prove that she was always right. She wants to be able to look at the crumbled remains of RFA as they seemingly all join her side one by one, and leave V in the dust.

She wants him to be a million things all at once. Her expectations for him are beyond what anyone could ever be. She says if you do this or that, she'll praise you and you'll be the best. But in reality, you're never going to be good enough in her eyes. That is the reality that he has to face. It's one that he tries to deny because she's made him truly believe that she's the only person that he has left. Yet, she treats him so horribly and only gives him enough so that he doesn't have enough doubts to make a fight.

She is apathetic. It's been so long and he's been failing her consistently in the secret ending. He wasn't able to get the MC. He wasn't able to get the party guests or the plans. He wasn't able to make good on any of the promises that he said that he was going to do. She's angry at him and she does what she's always done, blame him for being too emotional and punish him with more cleansing ceremony is so he can become the person that she wants them to be.

But like I said, the problem with that is that he's never going to be what she wants him to be.

She gets impatient. She stops putting on a pretty and friendly face for him. It's because he's not getting her the results that she wants fast enough. It's because he's not living up to what she wants him to be. It's because she's not happy and no matter how much she tries to use him to get what she wants to be happy, she's never going to be happy.

She's in a completely different place at this point in her life than she was in Another Story. She's had a hell of a lot more time to ruminate and get angry about how she's not getting results. At some point, she gets bored and tired of not getting what she wants. She's got a throne and she's got all of this power, but it's not making her happy. V is never giving her the response that she wants whenever they interact, and this just keeps feeding back into it. Her unchecked trauma and inability to accept responsibility for her crimes all play into this. The shame and the guilt...

I really do think that she lost whatever shred of humanity that she had. If you want to say that she had any of it. She's really had more time to get herself into place with the Savior position. She starts to think that she did the right thing by what she did to Mother Choi. She starts to think that she was right about doing what she did to the boys. What she did to V.

All of the people around her are constantly likening her to a saint and telling her that everything that she's doing is perfect and correct. She becomes more and more desensitized to the violence that she is committing. She is personally involved with many of the cleansing ceremonies. She is constantly there with all of this violence and trickery.

These are things that affect your psyche.

At some point, everyone around her is just useful for her goals. She doesn't really care what happens to Saeran because she has no more patience for him. He's constantly questioning her and fighting her. He doesn't listen like Ray listened. He makes a point of pushing back and at some point she just decides that it would be easier to get rid of him if she has to do it. In a lot of the Bad Endings, he does not know what the trigger to the bomb does. She literally just tells him that it's going to do something that will hurt his brother so much.

And he believes everything that she says. In those endings, she gives him the trip to the bomb because she wants to clear up the loose end. If she gets rid of him, she can easily manipulate his brother to do what she wants and turn him against V. She can use that opening to get whatever she wants. Seven would never know. She would just change her tactics and manipulate the other brother. Because at this point in her life, all she cares about is getting back at V. She blames him for everything and wants to destroy him for it. Nothing else matters at that point. She has a one-track mind at that point.

And what's more disheartening is the fact that she thinks that she wants that, but there's something inside of her that doesn't want that. She's just as conflicted as the rest of them are. I think it should be very telling to anyone about what's going on in her head space just by telling you to look at how willing she is to throw him away in the secret ending. She was ready to just throw him into the basement to have him used and abused again. Even if his brother tries to defend him and offer himself up, she's still pretty much ready to throw Saeran away.

She screams at him because he doesn't listen. That's why she says that she should have took his brother instead. She's tired of him fighting her and not obeying her every order and being her little puppet. She stops caring about him as a son when she realizes that a son isn't going to be her cute little puppet.

[magog-on-the-march]

Lorne Lanning gave a preview of the arc of the planned Oddworld quintology at E3, saying that Soulstorm represents the mob stage of a slow-burning mudokon revolution. In future games (assuming Soulstorm sells enough to justify them), the rebellion and resistance will continue, and will grow more organized. Lanning referenced "what happened in Dubai a few years ago," as an example of what's to come, likely referring to worker protests against poor conditions.

Abe himself is the catalyst for the mudokons to rise up, and playing through a level and rescuing your people, gradually building a force of a dozen allies or more trailing behind you, is a cool, tangible translation of the power of mass action into game form. Granted, Soulstorm isn't going to be a narrative-heavy game, so the "politics" will mostly be limited to toggling your followers from "passive" to "aggressive" and arming them with projectiles of your choosing - but it's very satisfying that the mudokons you rescue in Soulstorm can actually help you battle against enemies as you work to lead them to safety.

Soulstorm is described as being a 12-hour game at minimum, with over 100 hours of replay value. The "perfect" game of Soulstorm will involve rescuing every single mudokon and never allowing any of them to die, as was the case with Oddysee and Exoddus, but fortunately Soulstorm will make it a lot easier to go back and re-play specific levels in an attempt to improve your score. The game will include around 20 different levels spread across seven different "themes," with achievement badges and high score tables so you can compare your performance with other players.

(Full article after the cut for posterity)

HANDS-ON: ODDWORLD: SOULSTORM OFFERS PUZZLE PLATFORMING AND MASS POLITICS

Nicholas Scibetta |  Jun 17, 2019

GAMECRATE

Oddworld is an unusual franchise. It debuted in 1997 with Abe's Oddysee, and it didn't take long at all for word to get out that the game was conceived of as a five-part "Oddworld Quintology." And because Oddyseewas a great game and sold well, we actually did get a sequel in the form of Abe's Exoddus. After that, things became...odd.

According to the series creators and developers at Oddworld Inhabitants, Exoddus was actually a spin-off game, not the true second entry in their planned quintology. And 2001's Munch's Oddysee, and 2005's Stranger's Wrath? Those were spin-offs too. There were also some Game Boy takes on the franchise, but obviously those don't count. And the 2014 remake of Oddysee, New n' Tasty! was just that: a remake, not a new entry in the series. So even though there have technically been eight Oddworld games released so far, only one of those is actually part of the core quintology.

But in 2020, some 23 years after Oddysee first released, we'll finally get episode two of the five-part story, with Oddworld: Soulstorm.

We've seen a lot of games play with traditional side-scrolling platforming in full 3D game engines, butSoulstorm may be doing the coolest take on this kind of thing yet. The game is described as being "2.9d," and as you move throughout the world the camera will switch angles, arcing dramatically and zooming in and out, following protagonist Abe around curves, and generally making the world feel deep and expansive. Three depth layers of platforms are often visible at once, and if you look closely you'll be able to see people in the background slaving away on platforms you'll eventually reach as you go "deeper" into the level.

Soulstorm takes full advantage of the Unity engine to make the game look fluid and rich, and unlike any other side-scrolling platformer out there. In fact even the description "side scroller" starts to fall apart when the game is so willing to curve and change the angle of the platforms you're on. Though the gameplay on display at E3 2019 didn't have a very diverse color palette (it's one particular level of a factory dominated by a lot of amber and industrial tones), the visual effects of fire and explosions were vibrant and well done. Most of Abe's weapons are cobbled together from trash and items he can buy from vending machines (creator Lorne Lanning referenced The Anarchist's Cookbook as an inspiration here), and their effects mirror that. Making a bomb out of a can of soda, for example, results in a popping, fizzy explosion.

Abe Has An Economy

In Soulstorm your mission is to rescue your fellow mudokons from their lives as industrial slaves. You need to make your way through dangerous levels, recruit your comrades to follow you, and try to get as many living mudokons as you can to safety at the end of a level. Obstacles in your way include armed enemies, dangerous machinery, locked doors, and even speeding trains. Clearing paths to safety is the goal in Soulstorm, and you have many more options for how to proceed than you ever did in the classic Oddworldtitles.

Abe has a full inventory and crafting system in Soulstorm, and this looks to be a centerpiece of the gameplay. You gather and purchase resources in the game's levels, and then put together things like improvised flamethrowers and bouncing balls of tape that wrap up enemies. While there was often one specific correct way to solve puzzles in the classic Oddworld game, and you'd try, die, and repeat until you figured out the trick for a particular scene, Soulstorm feels much more open. The items you choose to craft will allow you to progress in different ways, and you'll be able to knock out, kill, or possess the enemies standing between you and freedom.

Yes, in Soulstorm you'll have lethal and non-lethal options at your disposal, and how you treat your enemies matters. There's a more involved "Quarma" system, and killing enemies who haven't harmed you, or allowing your fellow mudokons to die, will result in bad quarma. This system will likely determine the sort of ending you get in the game, but it has more immediate effects as you play as well. Being "good" seems like it will give you more rewards as you play, but taking the "bad" route will often be the easier (or just funnier, or more satisfying) way to deal with situations.

Leading A Revolution

Lorne Lanning gave a preview of the arc of the planned Oddworld quintology at E3, saying that Soulstormrepresents the mob stage of a slow-burning mudokon revolution. In future games (assuming Soulstorm sells enough to justify them), the rebellion and resistance will continue, and will grow more organized. Lanning referenced "what happened in Dubai a few years ago," as an example of what's to come, likely referring to worker protests against poor conditions.

Abe himself is the catalyst for the mudokons to rise up, and playing through a level and rescuing your people, gradually building a force of a dozen allies or more trailing behind you, is a cool, tangible translation of the power of mass action into game form. Granted, Soulstorm isn't going to be a narrative-heavy game, so the "politics" will mostly be limited to toggling your followers from "passive" to "aggressive" and arming them with projectiles of your choosing - but it's very satisfying that the mudokons you rescue in Soulstorm can actually help you battle against enemies as you work to lead them to safety.

Soulstorm is described as being a 12-hour game at minimum, with over 100 hours of replay value. The"perfect" game of Soulstorm will involve rescuing every single mudokon and never allowing any of them to die, as was the case with Oddysee and Exoddus, but fortunately Soulstorm will make it a lot easier to go back and re-play specific levels in an attempt to improve your score. The game will include around 20 different levels spread across seven different "themes," with achievement badges and high score tables so you can compare your performance with other players.

Oddworld: Soulstorm is planned for release in 2020.

[juniper-rose-blower]

A Detour of Violence

(( The official lead-in to pre-BFA content and Teldrassil! Enjoy!!! ))

"Starstrike! There's been a disaster!"

As Xuen shifted to one side to allow the Demon Hunter entry, June looked at him in worry as she saw his medallion clutched in one hand with a death grip, knuckles turning practically white.

Mal tilted his head first in surprise at hearing his name. It was the last thing he expected. Then he saw the demon hunter rushing in with a deathly stare on his face. He held up a hand. "Slow down, what are you talking about?"

But Leon said nothing. He only held out his crescent-shaped medallion, which was glowing faintly as a woman’s hysterical voice cut in and out from it:

"Le...on!...ave to... get ba....orde atta… Darksh..." It was clearly Bellalily's voice, but she sounded like she was shouting over the roar of a building on fire. June started at the string of broken words, catching two that made the hairs on her neck stand on end. Leon looked like he was itching to draw his glaives, only controlling himself out of respect for where they were.

Malodar listened intently to the broken voice. Even after it broke off, he replayed it over in his head, trying to piece together the words. "The Horde attacking Darkshore… why? Wait… she wasn't going there, was she?"

Leon shook his head, "She was going to Ashenvale to deliver some supplies, but I think her escort got routed." His expression looked fierce and yet worried, like a bear fearing for its cub. June looked between the boys and the Tiger, determination on her face, "Is there a magus or maga nearby skilled in portal creation? It sounds like we are needed immediately elsewhere?"

Mal looked down at the ground for a moment in contemplation. Finally he looked up with a somewhat uncertain look. "I could...try something. It won't get us there but...I could at least see if she is safe."

The White Tiger was still looking with interest over Leon's formidable shape when June asked her question. He hummed in thought before looking back her way, "Elder Sage Le-Sing, who saw you in, can get you where you need to go... just remember what you learned here today: rage will seek to haze your mind. Do not let it. Keep clear and level, and you can achieve anything. Our paths will cross again, I am sure."

Leon looked between the Tiger and Mal, "If the Elder has a faster mode of transportation than those damned cranes, we need to take it." He looked to June as she went to retrieve her push daggers, then back to Mal, worry deepening the lines in his face, "I need to know Bells is ok... what can you do?"

Malodar took a step back and dark patches of void started to creep up his skin, more quickly and aggressively than ever before. His eyes dimmed and similarly replaced the glowing light with a dark void. "It isn't pleasant but I can peer through the void..." His head hung back and he took deep breaths.

Leon seemed to lean forward on the balls of his feet, watching Mal intently. June rejoined the pair, starting slightly at the sight of the void in use by the priest. But she said nothing, not wanting to break his concentration. "Well?" Leon asked a little impatiently, hand gripping his medallion tightly. June quietly stepped forward to take the medallion out of his hand and stand up on her tiptoes to put it back around his neck. His shrouded gaze shifted down briefly and he gave her a nod of gratitude before looking back to Mal.

Malodar had disappeared into the void, the purplish blackness slowly consuming his entire body. He was oblivious to their questions and concerns. He was drifting through an endless, yawning abyss. Nothing around him on any side gave any hint of direction, yet he seemed to know the way. He descended upon the shores of the Veiled Sea. The void realm was a twisted simulacrum of the physical world, but it reflected its events, if ethereally. He saw the war machines of the Horde advancing along the forest paths, northward toward Darnassus. He could speed up and down the shore and the forests faster than any gryphon could fly, seeking out the form of the Kaldorei girl in the chaos.

Mal's shadow journey would lead him all the way to Maestra's Outpost in Ashenvale's northwestern area. As he saw myriad fires burning around him, he'd catch sight of her shouting to a pair of Sentinels, carrying a bow in one hand, and leading a young Kaldorei child with the other away from a burning house nearby.

His ethereal form descended upon the scene, closing in close to her. And he couldn't help but do whatever equated to a smirk in this form as he saw the farthest thing from a cowering, fearful girl. He came within feet of her and reached out to her with tendrils of the void, a drastic measure he would only employ in such a desperate situation. The power brought to her mind a message. "Hold on, we're coming." The strain was starting to get to him and he could feel his grip on such a lengthy projection failing. At the last moment he spotted a second form, creeping through the brush behind her: a Forsaken shadowblade keen on taking her down. With a firmer connection he could've obliterated the threat, but with his strength fading, he shot out a second, more urgent message, little more than an echoing suggestion in the back of her mind. "Behind you!" And with those words he was ripped out of the void. He caught a glimpse of the temple before he collapsed to the side. Crumpled on the floor, he lost both his stomach and his consciousness for half a minute before slowly reawakening.

Back in the Temple, June jumped back as Malodar got sick and passed out. She immediately dropped to her knees, grabbing water to clean around him as well as clean his face directly. She was careful not to pour water into his mouth directly - the last thing he needed was to drown - wetting a piece of cloth and patting his head in worry. Leon was decidedly less calm, hands opening and closing into clenched fists as he waited for Mal to regain consciousness. He nearly jumped out of his scaley fel-pocked skin when his medallion around his neck glowed again faintly, Bells' voice echoing from it brokenly as before: "Tell...al thank... We're sa....eaded nor..." but then her voice cut out again.

June looked up to Leon briefly, patting at Malodar's forehead with the damp cloth, "She sounds quite tough... I'm sure she'll be ok."

The damp cool wetness brought him back to consciousness, blinking rapidly as he readjusted to the real world. "Unpleasant..." he muttered, the void effusion fading from his skin. "The refugees are retreating north, fleeing from Lor'danel on the remaining fleet." He paused. "The Horde have overwhelming force..." His voice carried the weight of just how dire the situation was.

June frowned as she looked between Malodar and Daer'Leon. Her expression was set, determined, and stony. "We need to get going..." Pale eyes looked over Mal with worry, "Are you well enough to come along, or should I send you back to Stormwind?"

Mal waved her off with a look like 'Really?' He pushed himself to his feet and brushed off his tunic. "I'm fine. And time is short, so don't argue. Let's get moving. He began to lead them out of the temple.

Juniper continued to frown as she watched him go, but nodded and followed him out, Leon on their heels.

As the trio crossed the bridge down from the Temple, the Pandaren that greeted them earlier ran up to them looking more urgent. "The Great Tiger said you would need this," the Elder said as he handed June a piece of paper - a voucher of some sort, from the look of it. June blinked down at it, then looked back up at Elder Sage Le-Sing. He pointed to it, "Keep it with you - it's a portal voucher to use when you reach the Shrine of Seven Stars. The kites here are enchanted, so your trip will take less a few hours from here to there." He motions to the grummel, speaking briefly in Pandaren before nodding again. The grummel was already preparing three kites for them. "May your rice bowl be full. You still have much to do, so we hope to see you back soon."

The corner of Mal's mouth twitched both at the notion of taking the portal and even worse at the suggestion of taking the kite to the shrine. He clenched his fist but resigned himself to power through it. "Let's get this over with..." He said as he awkwardly began to climb aboard one of the enchanted kites.

As the three of them got settled, the grummel spoke a few words they did not understand and the kites were off without a hitch. Surprisingly, the flight was not unbearable - they seemed to have a small barrier around them, protecting them from the worst of the wind. Considering the speed with which they were flying, that was definitely a good thing. True to Le-Sing's word, they arrived after about an hour and a half of flying through the chilly air. As the kites drifted downward through the clouds, the land below was quite a sight to behold. The magnificent golden facade that was Mogu'shan Palace, decorated in jade and stone and lanterns, was marred by ugly sha-touched land surrounding it. Toppled statues laid broken on withering hills. But they had little time to think about such a thing at the moment.

Mal clung very tightly to the kite for the entire length of the journey south to the shrine. The landing in particular turned his face somewhat pale as it descended quickly and came to a hover over the stone flooring. The moment he was able, he slipped off the frame and strode away, taking deep steadying breaths. "One horrific journey down, one to go. Let's get this over with."

June and Leon both looked significantly less bothered by the flight - apparently travel by air was far less dizzying than portal travel for the both of them. June nodded, giving Mal a look of empathy, "I'll fix a remedy for you once we get where we're going." With that, they headed inside to get their portal situated.

Mal rubbed a temple as he trudged along toward the portal room. As they marched inside his eyes turned outward, remembering for a moment that there was rumored tavern of special interests nearby, but unfortunately priority took them elsewhere. He took another deep breath and steeled himself for the worst of the trip thus far.

Leon looked back at Mal as they walked, "Bells managed to make contact before you came to. I think they were headed north from Ashenvale, so we should probably start there." June gave a nod and stepped ahead to speak with one of the portal mages. After some frantic back and forth, the graying mage nodded her head and motioned them forward.

Malodar nodded solemnly. "Its difficult to see anything other than what I focus on, but the woods were overrun by Horde. The roads are not safe, hopefully she'll stay off the path and hidden."

June nodded in agreement, followed soon after by Leon, "She'll probably be working to help as many as she can along the way, no doubt, but she's smart enough to keep away from danger she can't handle."

With a soft inhale, June glanced between them, frowning. "We should probably make sure our gear is settled and ready before we go."

Mal nodded and moved to wait by the portal. "Check what you need, I have everything I need already." He patted the dagger at his side and adjusted his tunic slightly. "We need to move quickly, even if she stays off the roads, who knows what scouts they'll have out looking for stragglers. It...didn't look like a strategic victory, it looked like they intended to burn the entire forest to the ground...and everyone in it."

Leon seemed ready as well, though he did step off to one side to pick up a whetstone from a vendor against the wall, using it to sharpen his glaives. June dug through her pack, pulling out her armor. With a small nod, she ran off to find a quiet spot to change. When she arrived again, she was decked in her leathers, with her lupine hood resting behind her head. "Are you boys all set, then?"

Malodar nodded none too patiently as he sincerely wanted to get this uncomfortable trip over with. He stepped up to the portal and waited for the signal from the mage. When he waved, Mal stepped into the portal and felt the uncomfortable squeeze of being forced through space to the other side of the world. June and Leon followed soon after, knowing there was little time to lose.

(( mentions: @malodarstarstrike @moonsorrowhouse @bellalily-moonsorrow ))