#and it doesnt have like a one piece chapter in it actually (to my disappointment)

[fluffyartbl0g]

The one piece reread only makes the hardest moments hit even harder,,,, even when you’re rereading it poorly in portugese

Or AKA, i found out today that HINATA SHOYO reads one piece and I haven’t recovered since

[lexicorp]

Transformers Earthspark: Another Place, Another Prison

scribbled da hek outta this doodle so idk what type of style it is but its cute anyway sdnsifbsnd

This chapter ended up being twice the length I thought it'd be, and is a whole lot of just Starscream and Hashtag talking about an assortment of things. There's a good bit of silliness, like the ridiculous strain of conversation surrounding nicknames (the Hashbrown thing I got in my head from @the-sheep and their lore. Which doesnt totally align with my characterization of Star admittedly, but with my brother having been the one to point out that Sprite [the nickname for spitfire] is also a soda brand, the dots were connecting XD). Then there's some actual serious talk as well, that has a bit of sus, because of course.

Previous Chapter: A Game Of Charades

First Chapter: The Need For Read

Next Chapter: Scientific Method

Chapter 17: Helm In The Cloud

These past quartexs had been…odd. To put it lightly. 

The data cycling through Starscream’s processor was filled with strange, corrupted files that he couldn’t seem to access, aided by far too many painful memories to quantify. Although, in the past deca-cycle with the Maltos, he’d found himself remembering, or even creating, more pleasant events. 

The Malto brats could actually be…rather endearing. Of course, Hashtag was always his favorite. Anyone who said they didn’t favor a particular individual within a group was flatly a liar, a tactic which he could of course appreciate; since he’d only admit his favoritism blatantly to Hashtag herself, after all. She had by far the best style of spunk about her, as she easily dealt out smooth bouts of sass paired with her equally patient and excitable nature. Her strong determination when decided upon a task, was admirable, even. Hashtag would have made a great Decepticon! Although he supposed that…wouldn’t be a compliment to her.

Even so, after their more recent moments of “hanging out”, Hashtag had begun to cease her guarded posture that she had carried so often before. Only seldomly would he glimpse her shielding her chestplate protectively in that strange way Twitch or the human brats occasionally did as well. But it had become easier to get her back in a better mood as she seemed more comfortable with his presence. Something about that fact made a long smothered flame flicker within Starscream’s tired spark. 

He enjoyed seeing her happy, making her laugh, even at his own expense. Surely this foolish behavior was only to lull those fools into thinking him passive enough to grant him more freedom. He didn’t…he couldn’t care. It was far too risky to allow such a thing. Regardless, he still felt as if he owed Hashtag something, and wanted to be in her good graces. So many of the others here just fawned over Megatron. Was it too much to hope for his own fan for once? A feisty little student who would admire and stand by his side! He certainly didn’t need such a thing, but it would be…useful. Yes, that was the extent of it…

Hashtag was always quite the helpful young femme, even when some of her ill Earth gotten mannerisms or quips could be confusing. At least with that “Chess” game, it was just similar enough to Fullstasis that for a moment he felt even minutely connected to Cybertron again from all these lightyears away. Perhaps he could attempt to use that Chess to recreate Fullstasis so that he could share the superior game with her! Starscream could simply rotate the square-ish board on its side to be the correct diamond orientation, and modify the Chess pieces to reflect their counterparts. A “bishop” was nearly identical to a quarg in how it moved. Similarly with a vig to a “rook”. Although she might be disappointed that the King’s counterpart had far more offensive capabilities, while the Queen’s was defensive. Sure, one could skew their strategy either way, but that was typically the more popular approach. Even if Skyfire had often only buried his Pvaq in the corner while using the Staiv as a living shield leading the wall of mykns; which he’d always defend stubbornly when Starscream had teased him for it. Those matches had always carried on for groons of a painfully slow back and forth with both of them insisting the other conceded. That ridiculous shuttle had been more content with a stalemate than subjecting himself to yet another loss at Starscream’s blatantly superior tactical prowess. Perhaps Starscream should have relented more victories to him as he’d done Hashtag…

That doesn’t matter now.

Now, he had been given the task of collecting those fruits spawned from the stalky perennials plainly labeled “Apple Trees”, stationed around the perimeter of the cow containment field. Initially, he had assumed the pristine condition of those apples he gathered was irrelevant as long as they weren’t a crushed mess upon the ground. Yet apparently, as he was later corrected, it was important to examine them with more scrutiny to determine whether there were any pests infecting them, or blemishes that would need to be severed at a later date. The defective fruit was set to go to their lower class animals, while they kept the better portion for themselves. That ungrateful cow shouldn’t have made such a fuss when he’d attempted to liberate it. Then maybe that blasted bug wouldn’t have noticed, and it could have foraged its own, high quality fuel, instead of settling for scraps. 

Regardless, the squishy, oddly shaped fruits were strange to imagine as a means of fueling the humans’ fleshy frames. Skyfire never liked the idea of dissection, with how squeamish the soft-sparked mech was, although Starscream couldn’t help but be a byte curious of their internal functions. Yet the memory of those G.H.O.S.T parasites, and their similar interest towards Cybertronians, made that train of interest falter. At least, until a violet spark flickered with the revelation at what glorious revenge it would be if he could get his servos on one of those wretched humans to take them apart as well. 

Starscream chuckled darkly at the thought, with a fleeting image of those disgusting human organs arranged across a steel table.

Then, Hashtag’s voice cut through his ruminations. “Whatcha thinkin’ about there Spaceman?”

Starscream’s optical ridge furrowed as a look of disgust came to his faceplace that he couldn’t shield from entering his vocalizer. “What did you just call me?”

“What, Spaceman? It’s perfect right?” She strained to reach one of the apples on a hidden branch and flipped it into a crate. “I’ve been tryna think about more nicknames for you than just Screamer. Starship’s a fun one, but not goofy enough. I mean, sure I could also just go with Star as a different shortened version like how my siblings call me Tag, buuuut Spaceman is just funnier. You should've seen the look on your face!”

Starscream rolled his optics and scoffed with a grin. “If we are tossing around such absurdities, perhaps I should title you Hashslag.”

“Yoooo that sounds like a fire wrestler name!!”

“No it–”

Hashtag began making ridiculous poses as if flexing her physical prowess. “Hashslag comes into the ring and DEMOLISHES the competition! The undisputed champion that’ll uh–” She paused a moment to search their internet for assistance in her speech– “throw melted slag chairs at her enemies!!”

“You are quite proficient at twisting things to your advantage, aren’t you?” Even if Starscream had meant it as a minor jab in retaliation to her stupid Spaceman mockery–she had immediately translated it towards describing what she’d inflict upon her enemies, as opposed to a reflection of her capabilities. Decepticon material indeed. 

Hashtag’s grin widened, “Of course! ‘Cause I’m awesome! And that could be a great stage name! Maybe I’ll even use it as my gamer tag actually–”

Now that was too much. If she confidently proclaimed such a stupid title to the world, she’d be far too susceptible to the petty scorn of her opponents. 

“You are NOT identifying yourself as Hashslag.” Starscream ordered with crossed arms and a stern glare. “Your designation in such an environment should command respect, and THAT would be just as easily skewed against your character.”

“How?”

He put a servo to his faceplate in exasperation for her naivety. “Slag refers to the waste matter produced when refining or smelting ore. I am sure you found the definition with your abilities, but it is a commonly derogatory term when directed towards someone. In many ways. If you are a slagger, then you are an extremely low member of society and considered inept. If you call someone a lump of slag, it is comparing them to something useless. Sure, it can be used threateningly when proclaiming you will annihilate them so completely that only slag will remain; but pairing it with a portion of your designation will only allow those around you an easy pathway towards mockery. You cannot believe I was serious about such a title as that. It was clearly a joke. No one would take you seriously with that name.”

Hashtag put her servos up and allowed them to then fall heavily in frustration. “Okay okay! I get it. You were trying to be mean and whatever–”

“Wait- no, I wasn't– ugh scrap…”

Suddenly her expression turned to a mischievous smirk as she turned back to gathering more apples with a laugh. “Nah I know you were just being a goofball. But I gotta admit I’m a bit jealous. How come Spitfire gets such a cute nickname and I don’t? I might even be a bit offended!” She paired her last statement with an overly dramatic tone and servo to her chestplate that could have been mimicking his own manner of mock hurt.

“What, Sprite? That is only a title referencing her small stature paired with her typically sassy nature.”

“Aww, not that she’s sweet like the popular soda brand?” She snickered, “I guess that tracks. She’s actually way rude.” 

Starscream scoffed as he attempted to focus on the ridiculous apple gathering task again, “Yes, that would hardly be fitting. What even is this “soda brand” you speak of?”

Hashtag whipped out her datapad and trotted up to him with a sparkle in her optics, apparently finding amusement in the topic. “It’s this carbonated sugar water with mysterious “natural flavors” and citric acid made by the big wig Coca Cola company!” She pulled up a string of images displaying an array of bottles and cans detailing a green logo with the Sprite title. Then changed her keywords in the search bar to procure images placing the strange beverage alongside other odd products. “It’s sold everywhere! Like in stores, which we aren’t allowed in–or fast food!! We can go through drive-thrus with Mo and Robby on the way back from school sometimes to get stuff! Wacky D’s is their favorite.” 

Starscream leaned closer while squinting his optics in an attempt to acquire a better view of the ridiculous stream of advertisements for disgusting human fuelling varieties. He took the datapad from her to scroll through the panels of information himself, which she again seemed to find humorous for whatever reason as he hummed in thought. After a couple kliks of analysis, he came upon an image displaying a “breakfast deal duo” which showed that Sprite thing, as well as its orange and red mirrored counterpart titled “Fanta” that made him think of Twitch. But even more hilariously, was the particular item between them that was referred to as a “Hashbrown”. It was indeed brown, and frankly looked horrid. He had no idea why anyone would put it in their intake–but the fact that it shared the same prefix as Hashtag was too perfect to pass up. If she wanted a nickname tied to Sprite’s, she could get one comically linked to her foolish misinterpretation. 

He passed the datapad back into her servos and pointed at the items with a smirk. “If THAT atrocity is Sprite, then I suppose you would be this hashbrown slag.” Starscream’s wings fluttered in amusement at the absurdity as he turned to move aside one full crate of apples for an empty one to take its place. 

Hashtag paused a moment before looking his way with squinted optics of her own skeptically. “While Hashbrown sounds adorable–why do I get the feeling that it isn’t actually that wholesome coming from you?”

Starscream chuckled at the sight of her silly little scrunched faceplate. “Perhaps not. It isn’t nearly as reprehensible as Hashslag, yet I fail to see why humans would even want to purchase those disgusting products. Therefore I'd certainly say Hashbrown is ridiculous enough that it just might stick if you insist upon calling me Spaceman.”

Hashtag tossed an already bruised apple at him, which he easily blocked with a raise of his arm, as she too began to crack up about the prospect. “Oh yeah! What about I call you Starry instead? Or would that be too cutesy for Mr. Tough Bot?”

“Ugh, pass.” Starscream waved a servo as if dusting the horrid alternative from an imaginary shelf. “In all practicality, if you truly must decide upon some means of a secondary designation for me, then I may allow you to simply call me Star. That is “what my friends call me”, you could say.” More accurately, what Skyfire had called him. “It is more customary to select a shortened version of your companions true designation. Like how you are more commonly called Tag by your siblings. As you had previously stated yourself. Or referring to Bumblebee as Bee, and Elita-1 as simply Elita.”

Hashtag tilted her helm slightly in thought as she struggled to decide which crate the apple she picked belonged in. “Hmm… alright fine. I guess that works.”

Scrap. Now she seemed bored, or even a bit disappointed. 

“Although…” Starscream drawled as he tried to think of what in particular she could be looking for, since this apparently held more meaning to her than he’d initially thought. “If I were to bestow you with a more…creative, alternative to your designation–I suppose I could call you Amethyst. Most obviously because of your violet paint resembling the quartz’s hue, but also because it can be a symbol of beauty in impurities. Because of course, the fact that it gets its color from the presence of iron ions within its structure, that would then oxidize when exposed to radiation. Thus it is a rather inspirational gem, and could be worn to ward off negative energy. Such a thing that was far more popular in Caminus, but still quite interesting from a scientific perspective when studying the geology of varying celestial constructs regardless.”

Hashtag grinned as her spunk returned, “Man, I never would have expected you’d be a rock nerd–Wait! Let me figure out what gem you’d be!” Her optics went white as streams of color coded data flowed across them, until an image appeared on her visor that she then transferred to her datapad. “Found one! Some Pietersite can be red and blue like you! This one looks really cool with a gold streak too–And! Apparently it's considered a tempest stone, and a protective talisman that’d cleanse negative energies and emotional turmoil! Actually, maybe you could use some of that, huh?” She smirked and nudged him playfully with her elbow before continuing to poke his shoulder plating with her digits. “Right? You totally need some gem action to get those warm and fuzzies past your bad boy exterior. And you could call yourself the Tempest Protector! That would SO be your awesome wizard name if you played D&D with us.”

“Hm.” Starscream lightly waved her insistent digits off of him before tipping a servo in consideration of the prospect. “I suppose Pietersite could be marginally appropriate. Although I’ve always thought of myself as more of a Carnelian–but what is this “D&D” you speak of?” 

“Ooooooooh I’m SO glad you asked!” She was suddenly practically vibrating at the anticipation as she searched something else on her datapad, and motioned for him to take a seat under the trees with her. “I have to show you all my favorite youtube channels and podcasts and–Oh my gosh there’s just so many awesome things about it! I am of course the designated DM when we play, since I’m a master of storytelling! But I’m getting ahead of myself–first, I can introduce you to the classes by bingeing A Crap Guide to D&D! Because it’s hilarious and carries ALL the vibes. THEN I can show you SoOkayHerestheThing shorts, and Legends of Avantris, and Tales from the Stinky Dragon, and The Chaos Protocol, and–”

She went on and on for so long that Starscream almost began to regret asking. Almost. As even through the copious amounts of scrap being dumped his way, and how easy it could be to tune out, he’d admit it was actually rather interesting. Even the humor was occasionally comprehensible, and he was once again reminded of how similar Hashtag could be to Thundercracker. 

She showed him countless videos about the extensive background and absurdities rampant in this “Dungeons and Dragons”. In a way, it reminded him of when TC would construct an elaborate script and extravagant scenes, only for Starscream and Warp to interject their own additions and deviations. It was ironic thinking of the role a Dungeon Master was supposed to hold as the realm’s god, while the surrounding players could so easily meld, meddle, and masacre their power with complex combinations or inane side quests. Although he supposed if Hashtag was the DM, he would need to dial back such schemes. In fact, if any of the others even dared to derail the objective of her creation he would eldritch blast them into submission! Now if it were Bumblebee…it was far too amusing to tick that bug’s gears to not toy with him a little. Alas, Hashtag said he wasn’t a fan of the game when he’d given it a single shot upon their insistence. Starscream would have to drag that coward into it the next time he could, so he’d at least have one player he could shamelessly terrorize amongst a party of sparklings.

Hashtag’s presentation this time had far exceeded the one about that Hatsune Miku character. Nearing the end, Starscream still felt the urge to acquire one of these rule books himself for all those intricate calculations that she simply couldn’t properly appreciate with how her processor was wired. Not in some attempt to fall into the position of a Dungeon Master himself…as previously stated, it seemed DM’s were far too easily overruled. Although perhaps he could call that a skill issue on the part of others. Starscream could surely do better. He’d rule the world of his magistery with a script so perfect that there simply wouldn’t be any possibility of petty posterings of improvement; or any chance of challenging his direction with whatever absurd bardic tricks notoriously plagued the community!

 Starscream had begun doing a bit of research on his own after Hashtag offered her datapad to him again. While she accessed her own content remotely, and occasionally shared other random recordings she came across. There were far too many depicting Earth dogs. 

Eventually, he noticed she had seemed to be sending messages to her”fam”, as she’d done during their Chess games. Then, Hashtag flicked the silent conversation away to turn to him with a more serious tone about her. That was…unnerving. Surely they wouldn’t try to use her against him somehow. She was obviously just utilizing some sort of dramatic build up for something inconsequential. It was fine. What could she possibly be gearing to ask him that could really require this much apprehension? 

“Soo…” Hashtag lingered on the word as Starscream kept his optics trained on the datapad. “Since we’re uh, y’know, chill, and stuff right now. YOU seem pretty chill, right? Yeah–So I uh, I’ve been wanting to ask about…some stuff. Like maybe your reasons for the insane junk you did for and with the corrupted Emberstone, oooorr…what exactly is up with the chaos glitches you’ve had since. I feel like those are some pretty big things we should talk about. Especially when one of those problems is very much ongoing haha…” She chuckled nervously as she fiddled with her servos.

Ah. This again. Questions around his interaction with the fragmented stone had of course come up with Megatron and Bumblebee, but this seemed a byte different. Starscream wasn’t entirely certain in what way. Maybe it was only because of who it was this time. When the topic had come up with Hashtag previously, it was less about questions and more about venting her frustration. So what sort of explanation would she be looking for? He could go into great detail of his brilliant scheme for New Cybertron and its tragic outcome–but he wasn’t about to roll that dice on how well that would be received after last time. Then she also wanted information regarding his…glitches. That was certainly far too complicated. Especially when he wasn’t even truly sure of the details himself.

Starscream tapped his digit against the datapad a moment before lowering it to glance Hashtag’s direction with a practiced grin and straightening of his wings. “Now why should that be important? We were having a bit of fun, weren’t we? Why spoil that with a topic that is obviously causing you distress by even proposing it?” He offered her datapad back into her restless servos. “Dwelling on such things is silly, don’t you think?”

Hashtag hesitantly took back the tablet, and he hated that her bubbly demeanor was being tainted by her ridiculous insistence on committing to this course of conversation. “No. Star. It’s not.” She said firmly with a stubborn fire in her optics where, for a moment, he saw Skyfire in her place. Even the poorly concealed hurt in her vocalizer that could have only been placed there in an effort to manipulate him into cracking some sort of confession. “I just need some part of this to make sense. In stories, whether professional or a passion project with friends, things always have some sort of reason for why they happen. Even if it seems silly, or excessive, there’s always an explanation, and they’re supposed to end with a satisfying conclusion. But it’s not like YOU have a character sheet for me to reference when you do weird scrap! So I-I guess– I dunno I just wanna know what’s really going on here. That I AM making the right choice by giving you a chance. ‘Cause I still feel like we have a bit of that stuff around…lack of control…in common. But I don’t want to have to keep feeling bad about liking hanging out with you.”

“Well of course you like hanging out with me,” Starscream boasted with a servo to his chassis, “I’m an absolute delight to be around!”

She laughed, but it was dim, and her posture was again far too guarded. “Stop trying to dodge the question, Spaceman.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Hashbrown.” He smirked at her with a spun lilt to the ridiculous name that he hoped would bring that light back into her optics. 

Yet she only rolled them with a grin, “Pff. Sure. C’mon. I’m not dumb–”

“I never said you were.” He hurriedly assured her. “Far from it! You are the brightest amongst your siblings in fact! Did I mention that you’re my favorite–”

“Stop-stop–” Hashtag interjected while standing and waving her servos. “Please just at least tell me about what the Corrupted Emberstone did to you. We have to trust each other. Whatever is going on seems really dangerous, and we can’t just act like it’s fine, or like, normal crazy. Y’know? It almost made you shoot my head off, Star. I know that couldn’t have been you! I have to know that wasn’t you…”

“It wasn’t! It–” 

Crimson crashed his optics as static blazed across his processor. And he couldn’t remember. What was the name of that blasted creature he’d been aiming for?

Then, Starscream’s wings twitched stiffly in tandem with the smooth strings of lightning he could faintly feel flitting across them. A servo that he’d apparently lifted to his burning optic, slipped from his faceplate as he slowly stood and placed it behind him instead. Then, words were pulled from his voice box before he could even think to ask Hashtag to reiterate her question. 

“It was just as you said, little Terran. A glitch. That inverted Emberstone left a sort of echo that was only further ingrained while I was stuck inside that Titan. The chaotic force it possessed was simply not compatible with my systems, even if it sustained me through the lack of Energon available in isolation. Just like how Energon itself interacts with a human. Sure, it can give incredible surges of energy and empower certain…upgrades, but it is also quite damaging in the long term. It’s an inconvenience, but nothing particularly serious, I assure you.”

Something about that wasn’t right.

There was a pause for far too long as he felt sick. 

Starscream could barely hear Hashtag’s response over the static.

“...I’m not sure I believe you. Your optics aren’t...Are you having one of the glitch episodes right now?”

“Only a minor one. And you can have full confidence that I spoke nothing but the truth. I would never lie to my favorite Terran.” Starscream’s vocalizer danced across the final statement in a way that felt as if he were mocking himself, while placing a servo to her shoulder. It was laughable he could have any amount of fondness for her.

Lightning shot to the servo connecting with her frame as his digits clenched against her plating, and she pushed away. “You’re being REALLY creepy right now!”

Everything went black. If only for a nano-klick, that felt like groons. Weightless, with that familiar pressure. But he couldn’t think straight.

Suddenly he was torn from wherever he’d been, and thrown back into place. Just before the correct optics came online in his helm, he heard a collection of rattling voices all at once. Although they were more of a feeling than words.

Don’t mess this up.

Starscream stumbled and attempted to use the tree in place of his faulty stabilizers, but it cracked, and fell with him. His optics recalibrated rapidly to the light. While he blanked lied on the grass. Trying to remember where he was. 

“Euuuhgh…” He squinted to crispin the violet silhouette hovering over him. Then slowly sat up and tried to give her a grin, and chuckled in a way that probably wasn’t all that reassuring. “Sorry about the…tree there, Amethyst. I…slipped. Remind me…what were we talking about?”

Hashtag’s faceplate scrunched as she hesitated, then swiftly stomped over to inspect his optics. Odd. Then she sighed heavily as she slumped to the ground beside him. “Now I’m MORE confused.”

“About…?”

She dug her helm into her knees and groaned, “What about our conversation do you remember?”

That was a strange question. 

“We discussed alternative designations, and quite a lot about that D&D that we definitely decided we were going to play instead of that other ridiculous excuse for a “game night”. Then you decided to ruin our fun by bringing up Emberstone drama. Right? And something about the fun repercussions I’ve been experiencing, that somehow gifted you with guilt on the matter, I suppose. Which is ridiculous by the way.” His files started to get corrupted again after she’d mentioned his near miss while trying to blast that abomination’s smug faceplate. Hashtag still had a cringed expression. Had he gotten it wrong? His memory couldn’t be the problem here, so what was? The aching in his helm didn’t help with any of this.

“Yeah…and you were uh…telling me what sorta stuff goes on during your glitches. Like…do you see anything when your eyes go all red?”

He couldn’t admit to that. They already kept thinking he was insane. Besides, he knew those things weren’t real, so it didn’t matter. 

“No! No…Wait, do you mean as in hallucinations or just visual distortion?”

“Both…?”

“Well I can see just fine.” Starscream stood and attempted to salvage what apples he could from the downed tree to perhaps draw her attention to the more present predicament. “It’s nothing I can’t handle! You didn’t actually get hurt regarding that fleeting instance the other night, right? These glitches, as you call them, pass quickly enough.”

“But it’s–Oh my gosh…” Hashtag ran her servo down her faceplate. “I guess if you really want to insist on it not being a big deal, I’ll drop it, FOR NOW.” She pointed a digit at him after having stood up to pace. “You NEED to get better at telling us stuff though! It doesn’t help anyone hiding things, even if it’s hard to talk about. Plus I…it’s not just about you, Star. I hate having to be on edge around you all the time. I want to be able to really trust you after everything. But when you do creepy stuff like whatever THAT was that you APPARENTLY just forgot in 60 seconds, or don’t want to tell me what’s going on, or don’t give me any amount of context for why you’re being weird–I’m left to think the worst of it! This isn’t easy for me…and I’m tired of any time we ARE having fun together being tainted by everything else. I know that you can be a softy and a great teacher. But I also know that you’re still a scheming Decepticon, that I can never tell if whatever plot you have is for a good, or bad surprise. I thought I understood what was going on in your head before, but after what all went down with the corrupted Emberstone…I don’t know how much I can trust myself on that anymore. So all I’m asking from you, is a bit of proof that you aren’t trying to hide something to hurt my family that you’d just claim is fine because the laser gun wasn’t actually aimed directly at me.”

Starscream allowed the last apple to fall into the crate before he rested his servo on its edge. That was…a lot, and he was certainly not an expert at navigating all these intricate emotions these kids seemed to learn from the Autobots. He was supposed to find some way to relate to her struggle to receive it in the correct way, according to Bumblebee. The only primary connection he could make was her concern regarding stressing over the worst outcome. But then what could he say to mitigate the situation? Only stating that he wasn’t planning anything against them, would likely be unbelievable and unsatisfactory. He’d had plenty of ruminations against her annoying collective countless times after all; although in significantly less quantity or severity in recent times. Then, he wasn’t certain he trusted himself on such things either. So if HE wasn’t confident in his own intentions, how was he supposed to convince her?! This was impossible…

Then again, one thing he could assure her of was in fact regarding the glitches. He wasn’t hiding the intricacies of its effects for some sort of sinister purpose. It was far more out of concern that they’d perceive him in an even lower sight at the information. He didn’t want to take that risk…especially with Hashtag. Yet it seemed he was doomed either way. 

Starscream in-vented heavily as his wings fell to spite him through the anxious knot in his tank. “Alright, I get that I’m not exactly the most trustworthy mech around, but I…I’ve actually started to appreciate this opportunity. A little bit. It can still be extremely aggravating and I will admit I’ve fantasized about blowing up the place on multiple occasions–But! I wouldn’t actually do that! Anymore…” He chuckled and attempted to get himself back on track before it derailed any further. “Regardless, I promise that I’m not hiding anything of that nature. I’ve only ever used the apparent offensive capabilities of the curse for…retaliatory means.”

Hashtag crossed her arms. “Like against something you totally weren’t hallucinating the other day?”

“Yeeesss…about that…” Starscream tapped his digits together as he struggled to find the correct phrasing. “I keep having odd visions of…” Why couldn’t he get his vocalizer to work out Meridian’s blasted designation? “That human from before who stole the Emberstone for his mass murder machine. He is an extremely annoying little pest, as I am sure you can imagine. Paired with the curse’s occasional enhancement of my more violent impulses, is not exactly favorable. And as you’ve already figured out, I had been attempting to fire upon that stupid spector my processor has been projecting in an increased intensity since my exit from the Titan–or–Terratronus’ helm. I’ve gotten better at ignoring him, but sometimes it’s…difficult.” 

“So you DO see things? Is…” Hashtag paused for a moment as if scrapping a lingering thought. “Are you talking about Mandroid?”

A short spazz of the lightning shot through Starscream’s frame, but he ignored it and snapped his digits together before pointing one in her direction. “Yes! The most infuriating aspect of him constantly plaguing me is the fact that I can’t incinerate him on sight. Then I will also admit that the lapses in memory aren't new. This blasted curse has left many of my files corrupted somehow. Even so, it is not as if these things have left me dysfunctional. I can still operate just fine. Besides, any attempt I’ve made to explain it has…” Another flit of electricity flocked to his frustration at the ordeal. “Would I really be that much of a coward if I said that I just didn’t want to deal with it?! You all already think me some sort of lunatic! Forgive me if I assumed an admission of my apparent insanity wouldn’t be beneficial to my chances of proving otherwise!” 

Hashtag’s optics were wide, but her posture was looser. “Yeah…I guess that makes sense…” Then she approached him to put a servo to his arm for some reason as she looked at his own servo, which she’d slowly pulled down from its aerial position. “Thank you for telling me, and I don’t blame you for wanting to ignore that stuff. I know how horrible it is to have Mandroid in your head.” She looked up into his optics in a way that once again made him see Skyfire for a fraction of a nano-klick. “And this sounds way too much like when the creep was all up in my circuits with his dumb device before, but with like, a different level of jank. You have to ask Wheeljack, or Optimus, or–I dunno! Just-this seems more serious than just normal hallucinations if your files are getting corrupted. Plus what happened earlier was…We really need to figure out what’s going on with this. I don’t want it to make you do something worse…”

He hadn’t thought of that. It wasn’t as if it could control him to that extent. Could it? Well it wasn’t as if he could remember the data needed to answer that question.

A small scoff escaped Starscream’s intake as he drifted away from Hashtag’s grip, which she held as long as he could, like his frame would destabilize as soon as she let go. “I doubt they could be of any help on the matter. Wheeljack has already done plenty rooting around in my circuits, and has already stated his inexperience with processor damage. That Prime can only claim to be an expert on his Matrix of Leadership slag. What befell the Emberstone was an unprecedented catastrophe that would require far more research to decode the extent of its warped nature. And I am not particularly keen on being a test subject for such things…”

Hashtag wrapped her arms around her chassis again, which made his spark ache in that odd way it seldom did. “Could you at least give it a shot…? I am still going to let the others know what you told me, and it’d be better to try something than nothing. I can come with you, if you’re scared of medical exam stuff or something.”

“Please. Me, afraid of something as silly as that?” Starscream laughed and attempted to brighten the mood as he stacked her crates along with his for easier transportation. “Don’t be ridiculous. If it will ease your silly concerns, I’ll do it. Even if the idea of being crammed into that blasted trailer again for the trip is sure to remind me how much I miss my missiles again.”

Hashtag’s smile returned as she relaxed a little, and followed him to pick up a pair of crates to bring to the barn. “Pff, alright, I’ll talk to Bee about it. I’m sure it won’t be that bad. And you never know, maybe since we’ll actually have a bit of an idea of what we’re checking for, we could get at least a little bit of a better idea of how to go about dealing with it.”

“Don’t get your hopes up there, Amethyst.”

“Oh I’ll send you all the good vibes I want, Pietersite. I’m that inspiration gem after all!”

“Hah, I suppose you’re right.”

They soon moved on from the topic as they met up with the rest of the Maltos, who’d completed their own little portion of the chores. Although he later noticed Tag pulled Bumblebee aside to discuss it, he could worry about what that whole ordeal would entail when it came to it. As long as he didn’t have to run into Megatron for such a thing, he didn’t care. To make sure of that, he made certain to inform Dorothy of the situation as well. Since the human had wanted to extend her mediator standing after all. 

These odd occurrences surrounding Quintus’ curse could be sorted out in no time! It wasn’t as if the Emberstone even existed anymore, anyway, and what remained of its original power was now within those cyber sleeves held by Tag’s human siblings. Such an effect as he’s found himself with, was likely only some form of ailment caused by his exposure to the rampant power lingering inside the Titan for all that time. It’d surely lull into obscurity with time.

Although perhaps, now he too was getting too hopeful.

[morphogenetic]

Mediaposting 2023, #54: Last Window: The Secret of Cape West

generally speaking i think this was a better/more interesting game than hotel dusk itself, purely because its way more of a character study about kyle himself and that tracks way more than the mystery behind hotel dusk. i've generally found that mysteries where the protagonist is barely relevant to the mystery at all are not particularly interesting, so cape west actually being solidly about kyle makes it way more engaging.

that said, it's still not particularly good - i wouldn't call it bad in any way, and i think it's short enough to still be worth it. like to me its a 6.5/10, not bad but not worth replaying, but for someone else i definitely see how it could be higher. it's just not very fun to play after a certain point, especially with its extremely repetitive gameplay loop and the majority of the reveals happening in the last third of the game. just like its predecessor it really suffers from the pacing being ass, even though the pacing sucks in an entirely different way than it did in hotel dusk itself.

it really did just keep running into the problem where most of the parts of the murder mystery just feel way too obvious instead of WOAAAAAAH cool reveals. like i called everything about dylan as soon as I saw his room, it didnt feel like i was putting things together as much as I was being handed pieces of paper with all the clues. (ALSO WILL IS NOT FORESHADOWED ENOUGH HE EXISTS FOR LIKE TWO CHAPTERS BEFORE YOU LEARN HIS DEAL INSTEAD OF GETTING INTRO'D IN CH2 OR 3 RAAAAAAAAAH)

anyway. my main disappointment with hotel dusk/last window is that they both have the key pieces to be interesting, but their flow and information delivery are just...not well paced. which is really a bad excuse for two games that are barely 15 hours long each....sighs. you could have been something!! and then!! you weren't!!!! lies on the ground.

ngl this doesn't make me super intrigued by the another code remake but who knows. i just dont really trust cing's small body of work to be super interesting any more :/

still like kyle though he doesnt really stand out as a protag to me. still a fun one just not a super interesting one, though last window went a long way in making me give a shit. idk though would have been cooler if this had been involved in hotel dusk too LOL

[antiloreolympus]

9 Anti LO Asks

1. Alright I get exaggeration in drawing characters and maybe I just noticed but Hades ears look huge in the latest chapters????? I draw myself but it’s so noticeable and huge it looks terrible. Also the shade of red of Persephones eyes looks terrible, she should have done like a pale red or just not do “red eyes for coolness” it just looks terrible and doesn’t add anything to Persephone design at the end of the day

2. Like I still do enjoy bits and pieces of LO, I’m interested to know how it’s gonna end, but Im just constantly disappointed in the writing now 

3. I’m the latest non fast pass chapter I still can’t take Persphone seriously. Idk if it’s the writing or whatever but RS just puts certain plot points at a halt. The last cliff hanger “am I a fertility goddess” and in the next chapter We don’t get answers we’re looking for might as well of not made that a cliff hanger if Demeter want going to give us much. Persphone asking if a fertility goddess means there’s a “few extra carrots” was the dumbest line. Was she being sarcastic? I can’t tell because the fascial expressions are often drawn a little weird. If Persphone is the “straight A” smart student she is, I would think she’d have more critical thinkng skills of why Demeter is hiding the fertility goddess status. Idk I think if RS is gonna write cliff hangers like that she should make sure those questions get answered not dodged or else Dont hype that scene up

4. Oook I have a wicked dumb theory that’s either far from happening or ACTUALLY happening. So remember in that one episode where RS left open another can of worms in ep. 148 at the very end where Kronos was a whole ass skeleton just saying “well well well”. I think that Persephone’s gonna turn giant again and maybe try to fight Kronos if he escapes and she might be all like “YoU cAnT hUrT hIm AnYmOrE!!” And judging by the art style, it’s gonna look goofy as hell and it’s gonna be another “yasaas queen gettem!!!” Moment. I can’t with this goofy ass comic Dx

5. lmao you guys werent kidding about the pom pin, it looks so out of place and passed on. its literally a circle with some spikes on top, how is that so hard to draw a few times over? my god rachel is lazy and overworking her poor team. then again their names arent on it, so why would they care if its bad? let rachel take the fall for it.

6. its not even an ancient greece thing but rather basic history that the rich and powerful did not wear white, their MO was always to show off they had money to afford fancy threads and dyes, so they'd always want colors and elaborate designs instead of undecorated white. maybe shes trying to base it off marble statues, but its well known by now that even those were brightly painted and colonizers from england actually whitewashed them for an aesthetic, so idk where her research is in any of this.

7. idk man maybe its just me but youd think a series that is trying to force a glamorous idea would actually put in the effort for the clothes to look nice, but instead theyre all just boring flat cloth and thats it. no pattens, no accessories, not even interesting cuts or folds or even different colors instead of "white" (its just pink or grey) or black. even in the beginning it tried to make up for it with sparkles to give the illusion of shine, but now it doesnt even bother with that.

8. White didn't even become a thing for brides until Queen Victoria was married in 1840, thousands of years after the timeframe of LO, so why would they have that symbolism in Persephone? More so, as other anon pointed out, Greek weddings especially loved yellow and reds for brides, so why would she be in plain white? Then again the gods of LO somehow have Versailles and 1980s American fashion before either country existed, so RS doesn't care to be accurate in mythology or basic history it seems.

-----FP Spoilers-----

9. Very true on the FP stuff. I think comedic use of a person being a bit jealous of their partners closeness to another can usually be done fine when it’s used not too seriously and the topic is moved on from quickly., but hades instead is just so mean and cruel to hermes for what, having an actual chemistry and friendship with persephone that wasn’t forced on by others and with her dependent on him? esp Bc we know how violently possessive hades is of her for no reason, so what could have been playful jealousy under a better writer is instead him being an asshole about it. persephone being jealous over hera was not done well but it at least made a little sense in the context (doesn’t make it good context) and she didn’t lash out at the people in question, but hades just looks like he’s legit angry persephone has a life and relationships outside of him. i think Rachel was going for “romantically possessive” (which isn’t romantic but go off) but instead he just looks like a creep.

[normal-thoughts-official]

I. t. a

Ahhshshsh I had forgotten how much I loved Diego and Vaaryn <3

I have so many questions about Vaanti traditions but I'm also glad pb didn't went into too much detail because I just don't trust them 😬

Also no, with junior I meant Alesteir (but I DIDI IT! In book 1 he was like "grace, mc, you both are the only worth saving here" and I was like "yes, i won these interaction"... though in the second book I think I spit on him lmao)

And Gurgi was nice, i loved those interactions are like,, very normal but in weird situations Ahshhshs

OMG WE GET TO SPIT ON HIM???? ICONIC CANT WAIT. when grace slapped his face it was so <3 god i miss grace sm. its chapter 6 of the 3rd book WHERE IS SHE

also ugh i wish i were u i love diego and varyyn so much what the fuck

also im proud to say that now for the first time i actually have a theory re: what the hell is going on. i just got to the part where we crash that weird timeless vaanti party and the clockmaker explained to us the thing about the island's heart and i think that we (the MC) are said heart. mostly because she said that the heart came in the form of that spirit and that spirit is us, because

it looks exactly like us dudndidm

im pretty sure its meant to look like us because when craig thought zahra was the ghost thatd make no sense because the ghost's form looked so different from zahra's, BUT it would make sense considering choices always operates assuming the MC will be female even when they give us the option to not make it so, and female MCs' form's options did look like zahra if all u had was the outline

but i also have other reasons for believing that, such as:

we were born in la huerta (and didnt even know it) on jan 1st (pretty emblematic date, the beginning of all or whatever) and we seem to have no discernible past. even rourke couldnt find anything about us, and we seem to have, like, no memories or family or anything from before this trip

the endless/we can control and reset time within the island and ONLY IN THE ISLAND as hes said in book 2's epilogue

we are canonically immune to time loops

we changed the island's hearts without a problem but when quinn did she got possessed by the bizarre screaming thing

so yeah i think we are the island's heart (not sure how exactly we took human form and ended up in college but it's a work in progress okay) and i might be wrong but hey at least ive managed to fucking put something together for the first time!!! jdndjdndixn and thatd be a pretty good plot twist but idk

also oh my god that scene where craig thought zahra was dead was so heartbreaking wtf, one m/f couple. ALSO ive just met kele and i really hope choices doesnt pull some bullshit with him because i love him and im pretty sure hes the only native american character choices has had so far. also not to be a ho but hes so pretty 👀👀👀👀

on a sidenote ive been a little disappointed by most of the embers of hope 😔 other than raj's most seemed kind of flavorless, altho im very happy that in craig's he didn't miraculously get drafted and instead his happy future showed him that it was okay that it didn't go the way he expected and hed still make it big. and it still showed him struggling with his depression but overall doing better which i quite liked. it was no miracle future

but i felt like sean's could've been so much more and diego's was straight up disappointing like dudndi 😭 i wanted at least diego to be able to stay in the island. literally why would anyone want to go back to capitalism when they can stay with the vaanti. especially since diego said many times that he felt like home in elyys'tel and that he's never felt like this before, and his family are pieces of shit anyway but then its like "he got famous and then his family wanted him back!" bruh. thats not exactly a happy ending

a n y w a y sorry it took so long to reply i was really busy and then i forgot until u sent me the other one and then i forgot to reply to that one too 😭😭😭😭 its fine I'm fine

[vr2]

haha anyways genshin must be on some wild fucking shit if they think theyre gonna try and drag out their main story for like 2 years. on god having like half a year between main chapters of its already weak spindly little story is like mindboggling decision i do not trust your storytelling skills at all to make any of the hype worth it but i also think thanks to the general playerbases inability to read they will continually feel disappointment at how poor genshins main story content is and how it is purveyed to the reader especially in comparison to the lore which is completely jarring in quality of delivery.

in the archon quest at the end of liyue chapter you get a lore dump from zhongli where he just stands there and gives you like 3 quest prompts about shit that exists for no reason other than idk “they needed to put the plot threads in there asap and they forgot they had an entire world to do it in” and then that mf disappears. forever. literally exiled from the overworld unless you pay like ninety quid to summon him on his banner. not to mention every single other npc you meet will never appear again outside of their instanced quests. it’s such a weird jarring end point that you’re left stranded in and its not only a frustratingly awkward delivery, it honestly just seems pointless. why couldn’t there have been an extended epilogue that involves talking to the npc character FROM inazuma, talking to beidou who is a pirate with an electro vision about idk ... travel and her ELECTRO vision being granted which is a feat she in known for in the lore of liyue folk. it could even be someone from the qixing like ningguang who surely would know about the status of foreign nations or keqing who has an electro vision and would absolutely have something to say about baal’s stance on things and her condescension towards humans. god it could still even be zhongli just space it out, let him invite us to dinner and chat over liyue cuisine and let inazuma come up naturally thgouh paimons huge appetite to eat new things. not only would the pacing be better, the plot threads be put in a way where you dont immediately forget them because they’re being rapidfire talked at you, but it would be a great way to make the character seem like theyre people with lives and not just trying to move the plot along and be on their way.

conversely, the story of arundolyn and rostam, the legends of mondstadt and the ordo favonius, the lion and the wolf, the building hints towards the cataclysm of khaenri’ah and what kind of nation earned the scorn of the gods -- its all slowly fed to you piece by piece linked through artifacts, world lore, in-game books, weapons and sometimes the world itself. you uncover things as you explore and the more thoroughly you explore - the more you discover! it’s rewarding, it feels natural and its some of the most fun you have piecing together stories and building out this strange world like some kinda anime historian and it encourages theorycrafting rather than a concrete set of events and characters being straightforward. its genuinely interesting that theres a whole society and cast of characters from the days of yore who are intimately connected with our current cast and the world we live in but also very much their own interesting characters who hold their own legacies and wills, carving them into the stars for ill or good.

its almost as if the main quest writers and the lore writers are completely separate, work on different floors and they dont ever meet because why ... why on earth would you deliver critical parts of the main story in such a blatantly poor way and make it have none of the nuance and intrigue as the worldbuilding? in a game that is designed for the express purpose of making people sympathetic and invested with characters to spend silly money on them? you think your paper thin story is going to let you do that? no gacha game is allowed to have storytelling subpar to the most average middle of the pack lightnovel and get away with being a gacha game. your story has to have at least a few moments where i am dazzled, daresay fucking delighted, at least a second where i have to stop and say ‘this is cool as hell’ or ‘FUCK ITS HAPPENING’ or else it is well and truly expendably worthless non-product! you have to be a little more ambitious than making some normie shit and try and make the story have a little heart! i dont doubt that they can do it, im sure there are talented writers there since i like a lot of the characterisations but man, let em free you need them no more than ever

the only thing i can think of that explains how watered down the story feels in comparison to lore, is a fear of making people ‘read too much’ in the main quests which honestly doesnt seem to be much of an issue to them. lanternrite wasnt that long but the sheer amount of npc dialogue feels staggering because its all ultimately ... inconsequential. we have no investment into these npcs and theres like 15 odd quests of it, it goes from cool world flavour text to genuinely feels like its taking up space all because they are trying to endear you to the lives of these generic npcs when you’d rather know like even one thing about chongyuns life and daily routine or xinyans performances. being able to see kaeya for one second even was the most fun and even then i was still disappointed cause its like bro? you didnt even let him do anything and it was JUST him? in the world there are so many characters explicitly referenced but never utilised and it makes their complete absence even more noticeable and frankly fucking baffling? not even fate episodes for all of our 12 SRs? actually nevermind, even the character stories are somehow unforgivably generic!

honestly i feel like the best event so far was the unreconciled stars event but by my standards it definitely felt like ‘solid gacha game event story’ with a touch of something more interesting with the inclusion of scaramouche’s lore insight. i was hoping this his how events would be in genshin, i really thought that this was the ‘standard’ but for some reason, its beginning to seem like that event was a bit of an outlier? i would gladly take less events and have them be more like the unreconciled stars event, with character interactions and slowly improving and hashing out who these characters are over never-ending carousel of random events that are mostly fetch-quests or fluff.

idk man its just a strange mess of me enjoying genshins world and theorycrafting, loving playing the game and exploring but feeling like the ball is not bein dropped but violently slammed into the ground by the sheer lack of character content whilst being praised by everyone under the sun for ‘story’ and ‘characters’. m*hoyo do better bitch! you already made such a good roster of characters now fuckin do something with them! stop releasing new characters without bothering with any of the existing ones! i beg of you!

[bladekindeyewear]

HS^2 bloggin’ upd8 2020-01-17

Alright, morningblogging yesterday’s 2020-01-17 upd8 to Homestuck^2 let’s go!  Spoiler-free again.  I kinda don’t want even the next chapter names image-spoiled above the cut anymore so I’m going to have to figure out WHAT to put above the cut in these liveblog posts for visual reinforcement... a unique silly icon?  Going back once I’m done with the upd8 and posting something non-spoilery but weird-looking out of context?

Eh, can’t be assed.  Just know that after this I’m going to pony up for the Patreon commentary and skim it for anything plot-useful to y’all (in a separate post).  Let’s get started.

Okay, what’s next:  Any bonuses?  Oh, none!  Phew.  Unless those are coming faster too and just staggered differently, which would mean I gotta overcome my irrational pre-Homestuck-reading anxiety even MORE often.  :T

No Homestuck you don’t GET to ask how my-- ah, right.  :P

(FYI, HS^2 has been good to my emotions so far, quite a balm for the epilogues, so once I START reading I’m usually fine; but after being hurt so badly how could I possibly convince my lizard brain to trust it until it’s right in front of me?  Seriously, just hearing that the upd8 has landed messes me up a bit until I come fix it by reading w/ y’all here.)

Okay, so whose feelings?  As much as I’ve been waiting for Jade, I hope this isn’t about Jade.

> ==>

Ah fuck, we’re finally with the Pursuit Crew.  Bracing myself.  That means we get to see probably sleeping Jade ( :C ), full-swing DaveKat (approving nod), the first canon onscreen look at masculine-mode Roxy (<3), a probably pretty pissed off Kanaya (possibly either the feelings target, the one Saying How Are Your Feelings, or both), and uh... did they drag Callie along?  Or leave her back there with her meta freakout?  Probably left her back there, but... hm.

Let me turn up the brightness on this screen to sear these next pages into my retinas.  (Also, it feels odd to still be using a four-person “==>” for these, although if Jade is still asleep the numbers might fit on both ends... :c )

> ==>

I don’t think Dad is in the spacefaring business, so this is probably one of Jake’s shittier spaceship designs.

> ==>

...well that’s a touch disturbing.  Is that a Jade-occupied bed or are those just pillows?

Oh what the fresh fanfic’y heck is this command.

> i enter.

Okay that’s great.  I got a kick out of that.

JADE [in calliope red]: the prince’s power grows.

--but that’s not.  That explains the narrative command text, it’s alt!callie talking through a still conked-out Jade.  Please let her wake up between speak-throughs, please tell me you’ve learned that trick??  I already know you’re gonna pull an “oh she was asleep pretty much all of those THREE YEARS OF TRAVEL” thing on me and that’s hard fucking enough to deal with.

KARKAT: JESUS CHRIST!

He’s actually using the full curse correctly, huh?

...These commands.  Guess part of the puzzle is how much alt!Callie is being typically morbid and how much she might actually be wising up enough to get a kick out of this.

> the knight of blood falls.

DAVE: dude can you chill for like even a single fucking second DAVE: also are you ok

Has CallieJade chilled for even a single second this entire trip??  Is he asking just if Karkat’s okay or Jade too???

--yeah I’m overblowing things out of nervousness.  Just wait and see a bit, boots.

Alt!Callie has at least learned to be more of a smartass:

> karkat is characteristically appreciative of the alarm call.

Shirt trade Karkat, nice.  And uh, Jade’s dress sure is a... dress.  Hm.

(Did alt!Callie alchemize adjustments to did she just luck out to have a red-symbol’d Bec belt and accent leggings?  I’d prefer the former, because as much as it would be acceptable within Homestuck proper, using the transition between the epilogues and this new-author’d work to just HAPPEN to give her a fitting outfit without an excuse via providence is kind of lazy.)

KARKAT: OH, PARDON THE FUCK OUT OF ME FOR OVERREACTING A LITTLE WHEN MY GOOD FRIEND "POSSESSED JADE" BUSTS INTO MY RESPITEBLOCK AT 5 AM! KARKAT: NEXT TIME I’LL JUST PULL THE COVERS BACK AND LET HER CLIMB IN! JADE: i am uninterested in that scenario. KARKAT: GREAT! POSSESSED JADE ISN’T EVEN HORNY! HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT?

...please let that mean he’s not used to her being possessed all the time and she wakes up sometimes.  PLEASE.

DAVE: but im pretty sure i locked that door JADE: i unlocked it with my mind. DAVE: fuck KARKAT: FANTASTIC. JADE: the prince’s powers are growing, but so are mine.

Dave, I’m pretty sure regular-ass no-Green-Sun Space powers can flip a few lock tumblers too.  (--though, I guess from context this was a Jakeship technolock.  Confirmation on the ship’s bad taste in design.  --I think I’m foggily remembering it said in the Epilogues that they took one of Jake’s ships just like Dirk did, too... man, being depressed so much by the Epilogues sure took a lot out of my ability to recall them decently.)

KARKAT: LIKE YOU DON’T FLOAT AROUND LIKE A CREEPY PIECE OF SHIT ALL DAY AS IT IS?

God DAMN IT she’s been asleep and possessed the whole fucking time.

> sleep is abandoned, coffee sought.

More obligatory DaveKat being cute, somehow only emphasized by the embarrassing glowing-with-power observer who doesn’t really get any of it.

Ah, here we go:

> the rogue is also awake.

Oh huh.  Cool!

Hero outfit, understated...  her his choice of heart-shades color-coded to stand out from Dave more to avoid further mistaken identity cases.  Works well!  (Holy shit I only JUST remembered at the end to go back and correctly gender Roxy as him, that was close. I blame the epilogues for a lack of visual reinforcement; I shouldn’t have as much trouble soon enough.  Seriously, I don’t remember ANYTHING without visual reinforcement, I think that’s why I remember so much of Homestuck proper so clearly.)

KARKAT: OH SHIT, THERE SHE IS! I DIDN’T EVEN HEAR HER FOLLOW US! ROXY: sometimes a girls just got to get her drift on i guess ROXY: it be like that

ilu roxy.

I missed Roxy so much, you guys.  I need more of him remarking on all this crazy shit if I’m gonna stay sane though all this.  (And I need more of him and AWAKE JADE kicking ass independently or together if I’m going to continue to believe there’s justice in the world.)

> ==>

We rarely saw Rose drinking anything but the rare coffee in canon, but I think Kanaya would have gotten her plenty into tea, yes.  Or at the very least, wanting the aesthetic of drinking tea with Kanaya would have gotten Rose into tea even if it never crossed Kanaya’s mind to try the stuff.

ROXY: well i mean who knows what she drinks now ROXY: dirk probs tossed the coffee machine out the space window right away ROXY: dude doesnt "believe" in "substances" > the prince is contemplated for a moment in silence.

FUCK, Dirk can see the narrative all the way out here???  No wonder alt!Callie’s forced to have possession turned on 24/7.  That’s fucking disappointing.  How the hell are we going to get any proper Jade time with THAT hanging over our heads?  She’d only be able to do anything when Dirk’s knocked out, and maybe not even THEN!

I was virtually promised more of actual non-asleep Jade getting shit done in HS^2.  Now there’s an even longer wait on it than I expected.  This sucks.

(EDIT: BOY did I misread that link line. Thinking “is contemplated” meant is sitting contemplating, when it meant "is being contemplated by everyone here". That was dumb of me.)

*clicks that next link*

Oh my goodness, Roxy joined the Bird Hair Crew.  It makes him look like a fucking asshole but I kind of love it.

KARKAT: IS THERE MILK?

I can’t believe Karkat is okay with drinking milk.  --yes, culturally Trolls are more comfortable with animal excretions than we are, but you would’ve thought years of railing against Equius would have purged any tolerance the idea of milk from his psyche.

I guess Dave introduced him to cereal, and it was all over from there.

DAVE: this is more like a castle DAVE: a castle of idk DAVE: twenty something ennui

Sounds like a relatable mood.  Especially considering Dirk probably decided to conquer reality out of almost nothing but twenty-something ennui.

Alright.  You aren’t going to turn Kanaya into an alcoholic or anything on us are you?

> the knight of time seeks a sylph...

--this is the shittiest shipboard starship aesthetic.

> ...and finds her, momentarily.

WOW that looks fucking depressed.  :(

> ==>

...okay you know what?  Never mind.  That outfit has wrapped straight back around into Trying Too Hard and is now hilarious.

DAVE: you ever feel like our whole lives are eventually gonna end up like this DAVE: just blasting through space on a sweeps long journey to ""somewhere"" chasing after or running from some vague enemy thats sometimes a god modded pet dog and sometimes your dad DAVE: without the faintest fucking idea of whats going to happen when we get there DAVE: thats a little specific but you know what i mean

Why do you think the epilogues upset us so much?  We thought we’d won free of that bullshit.

> ==>

Oh jesus christ that’s the most depressingly sad I’ve ever seen Kanaya drawn.  :C

--Karkat got you to watch Serendipity?  That’s amazing, Dave.

KANAYA: You Arent Reminding Me Of Her As I Rarely Think Of Anything Else KANAYA: I Close My Eyes And I See Her KANAYA: I Keep Them Open And I See Her

Fuck.

Y’know how little showing these two in love and actually HAPPY together we’ve seen in this entire comic and its subworks?  Despite them having spent at least a few happy years together we only saw in tiny screenclips?  And how Candy alluded super hard that they most likely couldn’t get that in this real timeline where shit’s going down?

Seriously, FUCK.  You could at least pretend to give us some hope, here.

Oh no, don’t ask for the nursery story, Dave.  Unless it turns out to be a funny one or a Rose twist on an old story or something.  Which it probably is, I should stop worrying.

> ==>

KANAYA: Oh Its A Wriggler Story About A Young Prince And The Beloved Flower He Loved And Lost DAVE: flower DAVE: like a plant KANAYA: Its A Fairytale Dave DAVE: right KANAYA: A Singular Wild Rose He Failed To Cherish When He Had Her KANAYA: And His Journey Of Discovering What She Meant To Him All Along KANAYA: Culminating In A New Quest To Find Her And Win Her Back

Dirk you PIECE OF SHIT did you rewrite the narrative of the fucking STORIES SHE TOLD CHILDREN?!??  Does the fact that alt!Callie is only in the present mean he can rewrite ANY past event we didn’t literally SEE???  FUCK you.  Seriously fuck all of this.

Please tell me she was kidding just then, or realizes there’s fucking something wrong with what she’s saying and getting angry or.

(EDIT: shoutyourporpoise replied: "Hey, idk If you picked up on this, but the 'nursery story' Rose told to the wigglers is just The Little Prince, which is maybe a BIT early for them to read, but I don't think that's a case of Dirk changing the narrative; its just Rose being Too Adult as usual." Oh, damn, I didn't even CATCH that it was that story. That makes all of this a lot more forgivable, even if pretty unforgivably leaning into the fiction that Dirk used to brainwash and kidnap her. Maybe that's exactly why it worked -- fiction, a story so blazed into the public consciousness? Hm. Thanks, shoutyourporpoise.)

KANAYA: But In A Way I Feel As If It Is the Greater Universe Trying To Tell Me Something

Mother fuck I’m even going to have to see our protagonists warped by Dirk when they’re ostensibly FULLY SHIELDED aren’t I.  There’s only so much of that I would be able to take, you know.

KANAYA: It May Simply Stem From My Longing To See Her Again And How Much Is Indicative Of Something More Sinister KANAYA: She Is A Goddess Of Light And The Only Of Her Kind We Know Is Alive After All KANAYA: Maybe Shes Wrested Dominion Of The Entire Concept In All Its Appearances Within This Frame Of Reference

Hm.  Well, it being a product of Rose’s ascension instead of Dirk’s is possibly a more charitable take, with Ultimate Rose projecting the delusion enforced on her backward, visible to past Rose’s Sight when she isn’t paying attention and thus paving the way for Dirk to paradoxically exploit that “ideal” as something Lighty and Important and “Perfect”.  I still don’t fucking like it though.

> ==>

DAVE: sorry i know you say you got your badass monster powers but kanaya you look tired as hell DAVE: not that im tryna psyche you or whatever but youre waxing poetic in the dark which i guess is maybe on brand but still

Yyyep.

DAVE: unless terezi is lurking in the vents somewhere and now that i bring that up its actually not out of the question so im kind of gonna be thinking about that one for a while

Pffff.

DAVE: youre the only person i know whos still basically the same as when i met you

--Which is kind of going to have to change, right?  She’s got some other cosmic purpose ready to change her a little more than she changed pre-human-troll-meetup, you’d think.

> ==>

Cute as hell.

> ==>

KANAYA: How Are Your Feelings

There’s the title drop.  I’d think Dave’s doing pretty well, considering?  Still fucked over by Dirk betraying and tricking Rose away who he’s been close with all his life, but.

> ==>

DAVE: except sometimes your best friend disappears and your other best friend goes into a ghost coma and your third best friend fucks off to space with your dad DAVE: the dude youve spent the last 7 years convincing yourself isnt an egomaniacal anime villain DAVE: and who isnt actually lying in wait to completely decimate your life and your emotions and shit

Ah... yeah.  A little worse than my casual list, huh?  Forgot that Jade vanishing into a possession-coma for THREE FUCKING YEARS is going to be hard on people inside the comic too, fuck.

DAVE: maybe it was naive to think that a bunch of twenty something trauma victims could run a society

I was honestly surprised they TRIED to run society at all.  Jasp even just highlighted a big reason why not in the bonuses.

DAVE: cool how earth c existed for centuries then we show up and manage to ruin society in seven fucking years

:(

Well, the trolls got THEIR lesson on why they didn’t deserve to rule over their new universe like gods; I guess some of y’all needed that lesson too?

DAVE: every serious conversation i have inevitably falls apart into riffing on a casual acquaintances ass

True.

Dammit, Dave didn’t feel like he could just be Some Guy even on Earth C.  :(

> ==>

...don’t think I’ve forgotten that nursery story, though.  I don’t want to think that it was something that ACTUALLY past happened, especially not without manipulation.  Like maybe past Rose was foreseeing the false purpose that Dirk wrote for her or the like, a cooperative misunderstanding between the two instead of Dirk or Rose literally reaching back in time.

> meanwhile...

KARKAT: WAIT, WHY THE FUCK AM I EVEN ASKING? HE’S OBVIOUSLY NOT FINE. KARKAT: ARE ANY OF US? ARE YOU? ROXY: not rly KARKAT: EXACTLY.

:(

--Oh right.  I remember that Callie and Roxy were going reasonably steady in Meat even though it was only alluded to, she didn’t freak out and stay awol or what have you.  That’s good to remember.  But it means Roxy deliberately left her behind to go on this dangerous quest, for years.  :C

KARKAT: KANAYA BARELY EVEN TALKS, CALLIOPE WON’T LEAVE THEIR CABIN, JADE JUST FLOATS AROUND LIKE A CREEPY BALLOON THAT’S MOSTLY MADE OF HAIR.

Oh, SHIT.  I should have read one line further.  They DID bring her.  Alt!Callie being here too must really FUCK with her.  ...maybe she can actually learn to accept that alternate way her life might’ve played out, though?

KARKAT: THE REALLY FUCKED UP THING IS I MIGHT BE THE MOST OKAY OUT OF ALL OF US, WHICH IS HOW YOU KNOW SHIT HAS REALLY GONE GLOBES UP.

Quite true.

ROXY: ur kinda an intense dude anybody ever tell u that KARKAT: NO.

Pff.

> ==>

KARKAT: AGAINST PRETTY MUCH ALL ODDS, AND DESPITE ME NOT DESERVING ANY OF IT, I ENDED UP GETTING PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING I WANTED. KARKAT: OVER AND OVER AGAIN. KARKAT: SOMETIMES IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE WHATEVER SLATHERING MONSTROSITY OF A COSMIC HELLBEAST THAT PUT ALL THIS SHIT INTO MOTION...ACTUALLY LIKES ME?

Well, if you want to blame Lord English for instance... we never saw Caliborn and Karkat interact much, but the parallels between the two were drawn so severely that Caliborn was basically the idealized, multiverse-threatening Ultimate Kismesis that he’d always dreamed of.  And operated against him without him even ever quite realizing it.

If a level of “respect” went from Caliborn to Karkat, too, from his Lord-Englishy vision nigh-omnipresent, then this outcome isn’t very surprising at all.

> ==>

(I don’t quite feel I get why Roxy shifted to this exasperated-Dave expression, but I get logically that he’d been waiting for Karkat to make a breakfast choice... Homestuck proper rarely pulled a “last line said corresponds to next-panel’s expression” without either leaving the conversation blank or having the NEXT lines of the conversation reinforce it, to prevent this inelegant misunderstanding.  Andrew was really damned talented in getting his point across visually, in that regard.  Just like, that careful visual intent delivery.)

Alright, I guess that’s it for this short upd8!  Meeting the pursuit crew was both more and less difficult than I expected.  Hopefully I get desensitized a bit as the characters continue to feel semi-almost-sorta-fine.

I have NO idea how this group is gonna work as a proper crew when we get to whatever weird other-players’ session this shit is going down in, though.

[breaniebree]

A Second Chance Chapter 219

I received an amazing number of reviews on this chapter and I wanted to share them/address some of them here to show my immense appreciation for those who take the time to drop me a line or two for what I write.

Some of you have decided after this chapter you can no longer follow my story and while it saddens me, I expected it.  I write first for myself and I know where I want this story to go and while I hope you all keep reading it -- I know that not everyone will continue it. 

Devereaux13: I can’t. You really just did that to us? Started this story with a oh! Sirius is gonna live! But NOO u had to frick us all over. Oh my god. I love you for this story but hate you for this story. I cried more this time than the cannon one. Goddamn

Lightningscar: Huh, well, judging from the reviews, this chapter is getting you a lot of heat... personally, I though it was great in many ways, both in action, description of thoughts/feelings and great descriptions of what was going on. My biggest beef, though, gotta be this: *Ginny grabbed Luna's hand and the two of them climbed onto the wolverine's back* Ehm, it is likely it was explained in previous chapters, and if memory serves, Animagi are generally slightly larger than their natural counterparts, but... a wolverine is generally about the same size as a medium dog, shoulder height being around 30-45 cm (12-18 inches), 65–107 cm (26–42 in) long (not counting the tail). Basically, Ginny and Luna are crawling on top of a Spaniel or a Golden Retriever (on the small size) Yes, wolverines are ridiculously strong compared to their size, capable of carrying prey many times its own size... carrying dragging it. One big difference between carrying something in its powerful jaws, compared to carrying something heavy on its back. A few other minor beefs Ehm, why did Voldemort pull a Jafar on the cat (Lady G, was it?) and not outright kill it? So they got giants wandering down mid London without anyone being the wiser? I'm sure you have thought of the logistics about it :) Well, all in all, great chapter. Things have advanced rapidly compared to canon, for better (less Horcruxes) and worse (Ministry bye-bye)... though, in the latter case, it can be interpreted somewhat ambigious. Fallen as in the place (which was a given, seemed to be completely overrun suddenly... makes one wonder where all of the defence forces went, guess we will find out sooner) or if it has fallen as an orginazation like they did in canon. Curious to see what happens next. Yours sincerely, Lightningscar

Menna Taha: Ok let me just say.. Sirius was going into battle with the intent to save his son, knowing that his Fiancée who he was very much in love with was pregnant with TWINS. I mean you’d think he would be more careful than in the books where he was reckless, lonely, rusty and under house arrest in a place he hated. Also the ministry fell! Just like that! After all the preparation and the relations with the french, Bulgarian and Russian ministries AND the fae and the army they made AND the warning they recieved! What were they fucking sleeping! I love you please don’t hate me.

They were not sleeping, but they weren’t prepared like they should have been.  It’s a problem that will be addressed.

HGRHfan35: Well...shit... This was a really bad idea: to read this in bed. How the blazes do you expect me to sleep, now?!

Daddy: WTF! Why end it here. WHY!

Wade Bradford: Noooooooooooooooo!

AZfangirl: i cant believe you killed sirius. this one really hurts

Ofglitterandgiggles: I’m broken

axelvaz: Started this about a week ago and I’m finally all caught up! But oh my gosh! What a cliffhanger! Sirius!

Emeralds and Rubies: I thought we might get off easy when Pettigrew fell through the veil, butI’m heartbroken for Harry and Zee, but you definitely did this whole plot point justice.

maximusrexmundi: Eeeeeehhhhh so I was with you until the very end. I just can't imagine a Voldy who is objectively in a weaker position (than in the books) being able to muster a force that could attack and defeat a FULLY prepared ministry who both knew he was coming AND had international allies

Runningtwiceasfast: I have to say I am incredibly impressed with this chapter. I am obviously sad as I was in canon when Sirius died but due to the more uplifting tone of your work overall that you would shy away from a turn like this. Sirius' death is so important in canon a it really is a turning point in the story. Obviously when Cedric died it was sad but Sirius' death made everything all the more real. Your Harry has gotten so much more of a life and childhood than canon Harry but he too is now faced with the reality of life without Sirius. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Joanne: Wow! I’m so sad. I’ve been listening to Led Zeppelin in honour of Siri. I had hoped that this part of canon would be ignored but alas. War is war. Amazing storytelling: you made us feel this loss and that takes talent. I both dread and look forward the next chapter. Will Harry take Ginny with him? Will the breakup occur? Did Remus and Tonks make it out? Will there be a funeral? So many questions! Enjoy your birthday and rest while we all grieve.

Ahugefun: I need you to undo sirius death. Im not joking He shouldnt Not with zee pregnant and harry so attached to him Its not fair to us the readers who enjoyed your story so much andddd already mourned sirius a little bit when he was kissed before you changed that.. Im hoping that you wont kill remus and tonks in the end of the war. U are your own story and if somthing happen in jkr world doesnt mean it should here!

Everything that happens in JKR’s world is what inspired me to write my story so of course it affects it.  Some will be the same, some will not -- includes character death.  Not everyone will die who did in canon, but some will, and some who survived in canon, will die here.  

jakegarrett94: nooooooo not sirius

Leaf Ranger: ...I'm sorry...but this...this is exactly why I called fucking bullshit in the last chapter. Because of all this. This. My problem isn't the pacing of your story. My problem is all this death and carnage and bullshit happened...not because of something realistic...but because the Grey lady, for no reason, was a cryptic dumbass. That is my problem. While it'd be hard to swallow, I'd have accepted most of what happened in this chapter if there was an ACTUAL reason, in the story, as to why they weren't able to be told where the diadem was. but there wasn't. The only reason was solely because YOU wanted it that way. And it's your story, fine, but at the very least, there should be a damn good reason WHY, in the story itself, things happen the way they do. It should never...EVER be just because you, the author, want it to happen that way. because then it breaks the immersion of the reader, if something happens solely for the sake of you, the author, having it happen that way. *sighs* To be honest? I'm sorry, but this, this just is too much. You killed off Sirius and had the Ministry fall DESPITE the preparations they had already made, despite the warnings they had. That just...no. I'm sorry, but no. I'm done. Thanks for what was a pretty entertaining story up to this point, but after this? Just nope. It's not worth it. It really isn't.

Sorry to hear that, but again, it is obvious to us the readers where the diadem is, but not to them.  The Grey Lady can be cryptic if she wants as she’s dead and has nothing to lose, it’s up to our heroes to find the answer.  Sorry you feel it’s not worth it, thanks for reading as long as you did.

Redplayer1998: Please tell me it's a trick sirius can't be dead not after 200 chapters of building his character please no

Dutchie: Oh man Sirius died, bummer! Still a great story.

Whiton: Hey I’m a bit late but I wanted to say happy belated birthday. I love this story it’s fun it’s sad it’s thought provoking and is just a wonderful thing to read. Hope this finds you well and hope you keep writing.

AkashiyaHyrule: What the... this can't be it. What's the point of creating all that military platoons, and gathering allies-if the Ministry are just going to fall so fast? This feels waaay to early for this story plot to occur. But that's just my opinion. Hopefully you got a plan that works, and it's believable. It's also in my opinion that if Sirius Black's "death" is true (hope it's not), Zacharias should not be with anyone else or find someone else to replace him. I suspect you might do something of that nature. You haven't shy away from all the random romances that occurs, even in minor characters. Don't think I haven't notice your tendencies to ship characters! Anyways, it would be annoying, weird, not the same, awkward, and off-putting. I hope that will never happen. But then again, this your AU, so you have the final say on what you want to implement. I invested a lot of my time in this piece of fanfic, so I don't wish for it be ruined by very disagreeable choices (it's all subjective, of course). I mean no disrespect, as I know writing is a tough pastime, and you deserve to be commended for the amount of time you put into your AU. So, good luck. You deserve your break, and hopefully things will be explained Chapter 220! P.S: He's really dead, isn't he? I guess I would have to expect the death of Remus, Tonks, Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown (at least in the movies), Dumbledore, Snape, Moody, Dobby, etc, etc. P.S. Why the hell am I just naming character deaths?

Guest: There . Are . No . Words. Saz J

Guest: I, like so many other readers here, have absolutely loved the changes you have made to the story of Harry & Sirius - it has been a wonderful story that we have looked forward to reading every week. However, as much as I love your story, I am upset and disappointed that you had this last chapter play out the way it did. You have, for 218 chapters, written about great changes and strengths for Harry, all the others, and especially Sirius. To have this last chapter happen almost like the original version (book & movie) is a bit of a let-down to your earlier chapters. I will still look forward to reading your story, but maybe without the enthusiasm I have had this past year.

KittenWithAnAx: damn it! I'm crying! Why do I always hope that Sirius survive? even when I watch the movie I hope he don't die! I hate and I love you! yes A break is need! let us mourn in peace! my baby died! and I know that in two weeks I will be back! because I'm too curious and I love how you write! I will still mourning Sirius but I will be back... anyway I will go cry in the shower! have a nice two week break! (and Happy Birthday!)

Blitz90: Hello Breannie ! First of all, I wanna say that your story is awesome ! I really like many of the change that you bring to the HP world! Congrats on that ! Now, about chapter 219, nice chapter all around but I felt that the training they got change nothing but maybe because of the stress to fitgh Death Eater explain it to... maybe you can show me the light on this ? Second, the death of Sirius... I must say that I am disapointed about that. I know that you said in the beginning that it will be ultimately a Hinny story but for me, Sirius was the heart and soul of you fiction. Lets hope that he is just in shock or king of a coma !

Qarz: You put a lot of effort into this, writing so many words is nothing to sneeze at and it shows dedication. However, you don't seem to understand that actions have reactions. If you make changes in Canon then the whole story has to change to make any modicum of sense. You didn't do that and the more than 1.5m words are a waste since it led to the same place and somehow things are even worse than in said Canon. I truly pity those who read this huge story just to be disappointed.

nesciamema: Kinda disappointed by Harry's shoddy fighting since they've all been training for a while, the only one who seemed to be thinking strategically was Ginny before she was taken out. Hoping Zee doesn't miscarry and fights for the babies rights as heir to the Blacks. No way in hell should any Malfoy hold the title with what just happened.

goldenone: thank you for posting this on my birthday it was a great gift but also HOW COULD YOU IMA CRY

aj613: ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod I was hoping Sirius would be spared holy shit oh my god whyyy? Amazingly written as always, BUT WHY?! THEY WERE GONNA GET MARRIED AND HAVE BABIES AND HARRY CALLED HIM DAD I—

Rufus777: I understand why you had to kill Sirius. But it still makes me sad. Well written as always. I've been a fan since chapter one. I had forgotten about the Dursley stuff. Good on you to remind everyone of those memories. Keep up the awesome -rufus

kyle.grimm90: I am so sad that Sirius died again... I was really hoping he would survive this time. I love you story is so addictive but I wish that would have gone different. I was so excited he didn’t go through the veil I was jumping for joy and then wammm he died. I won’t stop reading but it killed me when he died.

Haillie: WHAT! OH COME ON!

yunkol76: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Thanks for the present! Now time to enjoy another GREAT chapter

coloredwords: First things first. A very happy birthday to you. I hope you have (had) a wonderful day. Second I wish you no riot reviews for your birthday. As much as I want to know what happens next, I respect you too much to shout and riot. But what a chapter! Damn. When Peter fell through the curtain I thought for a second Sirius would be safe. But alas. My last hope lies within some time turner or time room miracle. And all of a sudden we skipped right to the beginning of DH. I'm so curious to see what happens next. Have fun writing and enjoy your two weeks off. I will be here, waiting patiently.

Fruitcake49: I would rather this entire chapter be a nightmare. Why do Sirius and Harry always get the short dirty end of the stick? Such terrible childhoods and Sirius has to die leaving Harry alone. I gotta tell you if anyone other than a character in a story were put under this much pain and unhappiness they would crack and cease to function. As much as I like this story, Harry needs Sirius. I'm tired of people killing him off.

Steelcode: NO NO NO NO NO! HE WAS GOING TO GET MARRIED...HE HAS KIDS! WHAT ABOUT HARRY'S KIDS! WHAT ABOUT SIRIUS' FUTURE! PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS ANOTHER JOKE PLEASE!

X.pix.X: Happy birthday, and great chapter

Undead Gothic Princess: you are mean and a god all at once! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time reading this, then took a sigh of relief when pettigrew died cuz I thought "hey, Sirius will be fine now, he survived!" then wham! I dont think he's really dead dead though. they'll either be a way so that it was polyjuice or maybe they use a time turner. something better happen so that he just appears through the front door/hospital wing and is like "whys everyone so down when my hansome face is here?!" please let it be true, otherwise I dont think I can go on in this cruel world xxx

HarryPotterLover2422: Such an amazing chapter! I have enjoyed reading this story for quite some time now and look forward to each new chapter. I am so sad with what happened to Sirius, but I am looking forward to what’s to come! I loved the Lucius called Theo his son that was amazing! I think one of my favorite things about this story, other than how amazing it is, is how you humanize especially the Malfoy family in terms of Draco and Theo. Amazing as always! Happy belated birthday! Can’t wait for more! ️

Leo: Happy Birthday! I was so excited to see that you have written this chapter, until I read it, I can't believe you've hit us with the double whammy. This chapter both made me cry and amazed at your incredible writing skills. I hope you carry on and finish this story. However, most importantly, please, please please, please, puppy eyes please can you post the chapter. I know you said you won't but imagine puppy eyes, you know you can't say no to that. Keep us the brilliant work.

I am imagining puppy eyes, but no, I’m sorry.

GoldenPotterFan: Chapter 219 and the first time I am commenting. Started reading this story between Christmas and New Year 2018 and read all chapters up to then by the time I went back to work. Since then I have waited for updates every week. Somehow, I don't believe that Sirius is dead. Just a feeling I have. I also think Lucius might be working against Voldemort while still not quite working for the Order. I would not be surprised if he saves Sirius somehow. I cannot wait for another update. PS Happy Birthday, I hope you had a great day :)

devonleney27: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! Thank you for the gift of this chapter, sorry I didnt get you anything!

DoodleBug78: OMFG cannot believe that! Really?!

witchyromy: mmmm i would have thought that with the time living in the magical world, and all the extra training harry has done, with sirius and remus and mischa and the rest of the group as well in the extra defense lessons that this would have gone better, they almost only used stupify and some 1st year spells. The whole thing is 80% the same as the original... i have to say i am a bit disappointed.

Sorry to hear that, but I kept what I needed to keep in there for a reason and I hope you will stick around to see that, but if not, well thanks for reading.

Guest: Welp, I’m crying. I’ve been following this story for a while, and honestly didn’t expect to be so upset about Sirius’ death, again. You’ve done wonderful work at recreating this moment. There are so many tiny complexities in this rendition and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Hoping zee’s fall didn’t hurt those babies. Thank you for your work. ️

snowball0709: Happy birthday! Hope you have a great day:) Now to the story.. HOW COULD YOU KILL SIRIUS? This story is all about his second chance! And the wedding, the twins... come on, siriusly! I really hope you have something up your sleeve and that he miraculously lives somehow. Can't wait to read the next chapter!

Lolikiano: I'm so excited you posted early! I can live with the cliffhanger as an exchange! Your stories have inspired me to write my own fanfiction and I can't thank you enough for that! I'm looking forward to your next update in two weeks! P.S. I love the "Surprise" pregnancy (which i TOTALLY called when Zee got ill!) I can't wait to read Harry's reaction!

Maggie1874: I'm so sad and disappointed that Sirius died. I was really hoping he'd live in your story.

Krazyasibe: Happy birthday! But why would you do that! I love Sirius!

alix33: No need for anyone to shoot Nott senior in his undersized wanker, Ginny will just have bat bogeys coming out of it rather painfully (and satisfactorily for us readers) in a jiffy. Dumbles had sweet fanny adams to do with the six being able to turn into animaguses. I like Lady Godiva's way of dealing with Death Eaters far better than I do any of the light side's humans' only effective for a couple of seconds stupefying. That vile bitch Bellatrix killed Sirius! I wonder which charm was used on the statue which made it keep Harry away from Dumbles and Tom Riddle junior.

wheezing-reader: Happy Birthday! Your story is probably one of my all-time favorite fics! Saying that WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! No. This is not okay. I'm not okay with this.

Josh: Can't believe you killed Sirius! Hope something miraculous is going to happen. This is supposed to be about "A Second Chance" for him, so he needs to be alive!

Menna Taha: Happy birthday! But still how fucking dare you

jmdaz44: I know Sirius canon-ly dies in the fifth book but I was hoping you’d spare us somehow, especially after the proposal and pregnancy. Instead you were just fattening us up to be slaughtered. You’re cruel. I love the story and your writing but it hurts. It hurts. I truly hate your Bella. I should have waited to read this until this evening because now I feel like my whole day is ruined and it is just starting. I hope you’ve got something feel-good planned because I’m pretty down on this right now. I guess that parallels where we are in the story; things are getting real and nothing is for certain anymore. Hope is a dangerous thing.

alyson3il: First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you have a wonderful day, and short hiatus to get everything straight! Second of all, WHHHHYYYYYY?! WHY? Why? Y? y? WHHYYYY! I thought Sirius would be SAFE, you lured us into security with Peter, but then it just HAD to happen. I got my hopes up that it wouldn't be him, he had Zee, he had the twins on the way, HE WAS GONNA GET MARRIED! I get that things happen, BUT THIS THING DIDNT NEED TO HAPPEN, or maybe it did. You're the author, you have a plan in place, and you know what you're doing. I'll just be hurt for the next two weeks.

Miss Elyon: 1) Happy birthday dear ! All good for you! 2) Thad Nott - It was too late! (I loved that Lucy killed this son of a troll) And Wormtail ... I'm sure you will be very well received in hell! 3) Bella ... fucking crazy bitch ... something will come to you and it won't be pretty! 4) More importantly - You made me cry so fucking hard with Sirius. I went into depression until you post again. I truly love your story (although it makes me cry like a baby!). The pain at his death was more brutal than the book. I know you have something planned (I hope) and I will be reading (with a sniffling nose) the next chapter! To cure this chapter I'll read the whole story again and cry all over again ... I think I like to suffer ... kkkk See you in the next chapter ;)

chefke: o.m.f.g. omfg. I'm freaking out

xcherry91x: OMG NOOOOOO! I was hoping that Sirius wouldn’t die. I cried when I read that. The babies! They gots no daddy

SuperBossy: Not happy at all.

rolly21: I can’t believe you killed Sirius. I was really hoping that you wouldn’t.

LilyBlack18: I was so not expecting that. I was sure Sirius wouldn't die . My god, reading his death again was pure torture. At least Harry still have Zee, Remus, etc. I'm so sad, though... I really thought you wouldn't keep that part of the story, and you gave me false hope when Peter died x)

greg.is.wilson: You are evil.

Mutt N. Feathers: Yes my dear, I do trust authors. Needless pain is never inflicted by them. I made readers think I killed Sirius too, but instead had other plans. You love him too much. I live in hope. Mutt

supersandman86: Oh man! Not Sirius! He just got his life to perfection. Loving son, a fiance and a child on the way. Nice to see Wormtail redeem himself by shoving zee out of the way and Thaddeus got what he deserved. Now we just need to give Crouch and Bellend Lestrange pain that even they can't endure. This was always the dark point in the whole franchise in my opinion, where Harry felt the most hopeless. Let's see how it goes.

Sirius black411: You are so cruel...so so soooo cruel. They were going to get married...have twins and raise them.. How could you?! I can't imagine what Zee must be going through but she is still there for Harry. She will be a great mother.

Wodril: This Sirius didn't really seem like the guy to be done in while taunting. Not being hit by the killing spell, and the whole "he'll writhe in pain as he dies" spiel makes it a bit more uncertain. I never really appreciated him coming back to life after the dementors, and kinda hope, for the sake of the story, he'll stay dead this time. He will probably show up as an inferi anyway?

Jewels46: Omg... I’m crying! You’ve reduced me to tears. I know it was a very real possibility, but I hoped it wouldn’t actually come to fruition even though I understand the significance. I do really like how you wrote his death though, a much more fitting end. The bit you added with Peter had led me into a false sense of security that the lovable mutt would be safe. I just can’t even right now. Wonderful chapter. I’m going to cry some more and eagerly await the next one

Dianne: Yes I need atleast 2 weeks to emotionally reconstruct myself after this bombshell of a chapter. Deep breaths in and out. Curious about how you've brought a 7th year canon event now itself. I'm not sure I even took in everything coz I was crying so hard and couldn't read clearly, was reading this at clg and I surprised everyone by suddenly crying out loud and sobbing :'( and everyone was baffled when I said one of my most favourite characters just died painfully and I was crying for that, but they don't understand the power of reading or the power of HP thankyou for an early update and kudos you're an amazing writer!

purplevictory: That wasn't nice. I mean, happy birthday and everything, but did your present to yourself really have to be the torture of your fans? I know Sirius will be fine, I just don't know how you're planning to get there. Thank you for the early chapter. But, when your birthday celebrations are over you really ought to write "I will stop being mean to my readers" 50 times. You don't have to use a blood quill.

Write lines as punishment?  I don’t have time for that, I need to write the next chapters.

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Noooooo I can’t believe that after all this you still killed Sirius! When his life was finally all good with babies on the way!

eternal king of fire: wow this chapter was a tear jerkier poor sirus and zee

speedsONEandONLY: No. Nope. No. I refuse to see this as a real chapter. None of this happened. I mean what was the point of letting them be happy, of getting rid of the Horcrux early. Only to fucking destroy them. To make him want to sacrafice, kill himself anyway. This chapter didn't happen. This is a "what couldve been" I doesn't make any fucking sense. Nor does it for the narrative. So, No. I refuse to think, Believe, You could be so heartless to characters/people you love. That you made us love. I don't see anyway how the story Could really go on, if this chapter actually happened. It reads more like the last Twilight movie from when Aro rips off Carlisles head. Sorry, but no.

Sorry, I guess I’m heartless.  Comparing me to Twilight though, that’s heartless. 

Ari Black-18: I know that this is a war, but please let Sirius escape death again, don't do this please, please make this better, tell me that Remus and Tonks somehow save him, tell me that even tho he is in bad condition he's still alive, don't leave his twins and Harry without a father, don't live Zee without her love, don't rip away Remus's brother from him, give him a second chance from the original story, let him be there with Harry at the end, the world it's already too shitty for it even to suck in a fanfic. Call me naive or delusional, but I actually believe that this is not over, I trust you enough to know that you wouldn't do this, your story it's to damn good to lose such a character just like that, so I know you are going to fix it, you're going to pull a surprise under your sleeve and make us love it so much. I believe in you, I mean you wouldn't just kill Sirius like that, not this Sirius, your Sirius. I trust you, I know you wouldn't do this. Please enjoy your break, chill, eat a lot of snacks, maybe even party a little, and then, please, bring our uncle Siri back.

Seriuslypadfoot: Hey Breanie, very well written as per usual. I hope Sirius isn’t actually dead, as this story is one of the few Sirius and Harry fics that I have thoroughly enjoyed and don’t want his character to end this way. Powerful moment with Malfoy in this chapter, but I wish he showed more backbone and fully went against the death eaters like his family wants. Again, hope Sirius doesn’t end here, the death will really hurt the story in my opinion. But this is your story so write it how you will. Thanks for your hard work!

Thank you!  Malfoy doesn’t have much of a backbone, but I do have a plan for him.  I’m sorry you feel that Sirius’ death hurt the story, I think it’s important for what’s next.

DetroitNate: A review? I hated this chapter. Oh the writing is great as usual, but what happened in it? I hated, loathed, detested it. I hope justice comes and comes quicker than Hinny did in this story cause it is getting too difficult to read of how these vicious bastards seem to get away with anything they want. JKR did two things I can't stand in canon kill off Sirius and Fred and now I'm wondering if this story will follow her on that pattern... I hope not, I really do.

Thank you and I promise, justice will come quicker than Hinny -- as in it won't take another 197 chapters, maybe 196, just kidding! 

Paola1991: So is this death for real or is he coming back? I mean you tricked us once. I guess i kind of assumed you’d never kill him off because it was kind of a sirius fix it story? Where he gets a better life? This took me by surprise. Its primarily why i hate book 5. I thought someone else was gonna die instead. Hes the one character i would never kill i guess. Especially with zee having his kids! Not sure how i feel.

Guest: can i honestly beg something? can you please bring back sirius alive? please? i know u wont do it.. u have a plan with ur story... but as a big big fan of ur story im really really begging will u please?

Queen Raja: Wow. And I thought the book’s death was heartbreaking! Seriously, bravo. I don’t cry easily, and this chapter made me UGLY cry! Waiting until two weeks will be very hard, but I’m glad you’re able to take some much deserved time for yourself and Dusk. Happy Birthday, Breanie!

Maisie: how and why could you do this to mee im cryinggg please say its looking better in the next chapter

midnitewanderer: Dumbass went and reread it. Not gonna lie, it was a brilliant chapter but I am still this close to hunting your ass down and forcing to rewrite Sirius back in. Where’s my angry emoji when I need it. I can’t help but feel that you wrote Zee the way you have specifically for this chapter. Not only does she come into their lives and becomes the best pseudo mom ever written in any HP fanfic, she basically adopts Harry into her entire family. Sure there’s stories out there with the Weasley’s treating him as one of their own but not like this. ZEE’S ENTIRE FAMILY ADOPTS HARRY. Your sneaky ass has been prepping us from the beginning of her intro! He calls them all Grandad/Grandpa, Grandmama/Grandma, etc. so that eventually he sees that he’s never truly alone. Then enter the Weasleys, McGonagall, Rem&Tonks, Andi&Ted, Dumbles, Nev, Lu, Mione, he’s surrounded by so much love. I just know the next chapter is going to be hard for me seeing as I’m a crybaby but damn it to hell, I can’t wait. 2 whole weeks. What am I gonna do?

Thank you.  I guess I was kind of sneaky like that, wasn’t I? 

Zacnelson0628: Breanie... I kinda had a feeling that was going to happen. Still really sad though. I hope you kill of bellatrix in a spectacular manner.

I will do my best -- I do know exactly how it will happen and who will do it.

notthatchhavi: Oh, wow!  I don't know what to say!  This was a extremely well-written chapter When Lucius said that Theo was his son...it was such a moment I went ooooooohhh Well other then that..I cried I literally cried when Sirius died and yes I am still in denial I hope atleast Remus and Tonks will be okay.. Harry needs some support from one father When Sirius died.. it broke my heart.. Harry calling Sirius Dad.. and Sirius saying that Harry was the best thing ever happened to him I feel that he was not saying that just to Harry.. it was to James too because the Potters were the best thing which happened to Sirius I feel really bad for Zee...being pregnant with your fiancée's children and then him dying is not an easy thing to go through But the most importantly...this chapter made me cry I have read many fanfictions.. but i have never cried.. they might have been super good.. but has never made me cry I think the ability for a writer to make the reader both and laugh and cry is extremely important and difficult...I think by this story you have proven yourself as a damn good writer

Having Harry call him dad was vital and every time I tried to change it, I came back to it.

josht1987: Just know, that I am very mad at you you right now. We'll see what happens after the next one. An extremely well written chapter, but... You know what you did.

Daerwin45: not Sirus oh please he is so important it was going so good im sorry i am just a fan and it has been such a great story i did not mean to question your reason. i just was enjoying harrys and Sirus' relationship.

PotterBlondie: Oh my god, I wasn’t expecting Sirius to die! Or for anything to go this badly in one chapter! I hope he gets to escape death again? Pretty please? I hope you had a wonderful Birthday!

midnitewanderer: Nope. I’m done. I’m done. I AM FUCKING DONE! I will have no more toilet tissue by the end of the night. My chicken is currently burning on the stovetop. My emotions are freaking fried right now. Not only was he... UGH! I can’t. I literally can’t right now. I know this is fiction and whatnot, but my heart is hurting. How in the hell did I get so emotionally invested in this damned story?! Now, I’m going to remove my burning chicken and cry in a corner.

scrappy8: OMG what a chapter Poor Sirius is gone

Covley Hatake: Please let Sirius some how had lived. I like cheered when Pettigrew went in the veil instead and then that. You like ripped my heart out with Sirius. Like come on. Still good story but wanted Sirius to be there for the happy ending. I picture Harry though being the best big brother to those babies and protecting the hell out of Zee and the babies. Betting she tells Harry soon as well. Also question if he is dead what does that mean for them claim the Black title? With out him to claim them they would be seen as illegitimate and as the deal with Malfoy was made he could take it? curious on that one.

akshutalankar: well this is a really bad chapter to be posted on birthday... plz give us next soon... make Sirius alive pretty please

shooter124: O my god, I am crying. Please don’t take Sirius from us, Zee needs him and so does Harry! However that death scene was crazy good. I’m hoping that you have this elaborate plan as to why Sirius had to fake his death or something. Please please please say he is still alive, Sirius and Zee have not finished their story yet and Remus needs his best friend. This is my favourite story I have read on FF, you are a fantastic writer and I get excited every time you post!

Wolf's scream: Nice set of Bat-Bogeys, Miss Weasley! Yeah, a ticked-off wolverine is NOT something I'd prefer to cross. Greengrass is there? That's ... something I was not expecting. Yeah, Theo's advice to smash the Prophecy seems pretty sound to me. (With the possible caveat that certain DEs might lose whatever semblance of control that they have...) Seriously, Hermione? That's not a "baby." And in any case, Petrification is not intrinsically harmful: it merely decreases the probability that the Petrified one will pose a danger to himself or others. Sheesh. Somebody needs to get her priorities sorted. :-) I'm a little surprised that the DEs that trapped the teenagers in the Brain Room were using less-than-lethal spells. Granted, I'm rather glad that they did, but I don't understand whys. Well..! Lucy IS good for something, I guess... It's rather a pity that Harry hadn't smashed the Prophecy and grabbed another as a decoy. :-} Oh! What would happen if Harry were to chuck the Prophecy through the arch...? Ah - excellent move, Lady G! :-) Remus was dueling Dolohov? But Harry had Petrified Dolohov just a bit ago... maybe another DE released him, or the spell wore off? So - the Rat did something useful before departing... BTW, a fairly effective dueling technique might be to blast the floor/ground out from under one's opponent. Or merely make it incapable of supporting the opponent's weight. Especially if one is in a structure and not on the bottom floor. Well, at least there's no ambiguity at all regarding Sirius's fate. :-/ Well, laughing at Bella is a pretty good way to ensure that she's even more off-balance, yeah. It's good that Dumbledore addresses Tom by his given name (vs. the nom de guerre that he made up)

Guest: You cant do this Sirius can't be dead! Please let him live! P.S. happy Birthday Seriously though bring Sirius back.

dhnysports88: for the love of god tell me they planned to fake his death, DON'T DO THIS TO US

minerdude: Wow this is a great story, even if you killed Sirius, although with the next chapter I hope we discover thinking he was dead was part of the fog of war. If Sirius is dead it was truly well written to get our guard down by sending Peter though the veil

Old-fashionedAnglophile: What. The. ACTUAL. HELL?! Are you trying to destroy us? And you're making us wait for it? Damn your excellent and captivating writing. I'll be waiting for the next chapter with bated breath.

Thank you (I think).

littlehughesy: WHY? Why must you keep killing off characters that I love!? It's like Game of Thrones all over again! I get that it is canon for Sirius to die at the Ministry, but for fuck's sake can't Harry just have a little less suffering for once? For the love of God, if you kill Remus and Tonks in this story, I am done. Just done. I cannot handle my emotions right now. Okay, venting over. As much as I don't like it, your story is still fantastic. And hey, cheers for the early update and happy birthday!

Atea1793: You... are... absolutely... evil... YOU KILLED SIRIUS, KILLED DEADALUS DIGGLE, LEFT ZAHIRA A PREGNANT WIDOW BEFORE SHE EVEN GOT MARRIED, MAY HAVE LEFT HARRY AN ORPHAN AGAIN, AND HAD THE MINISTRY FALL A WHOLE YEAR EARLIER THAN IN CANON?! I'M STARTING TO THINK YOU'RE AS SICK IN THE HEAD AS VOLDEMORT IS! Excuse me while I spend these next two weeks gathering a mob to go after your twisted ass. The Death Eaters will seem like playground bullies when we come for you...

Guest: Omg. Omg. You actually killed Sirius. I cried. I honestly would have rather see Remus die, but maybe that’s what makes this story stronger and more intense. I definitely need 2 weeks to process this. Poor Zee and poor Harry.

lcwintersoldier: Goddamit how could you kill Sirius :'(

LifeonEarth: Oh come on you hand to bring Marauder into this. This hurts.

I’m sorry, but I thought Marauder deserved to be in Harry’s thoughts.

White Squirrel: Why does everyone feel the need to kill off Sirius even when there's good reason for events to play out differently? Honestly, this whole section felt like it wasn't up to your usual standards. You copied so much from the book, even when they had different people there and a different plan. It would have made more sense and wouldn't have been that hard to choreograph a different battle sequence.

I felt that it was important to keep it similar which I will explain later on, but of course you’re entitled to your opinion.

love reading20613: Oh god no please no

alistark94: What an ending! I gotta say I'm suprised you still killed off Sirius. Great story by the way!

Anixara: Wow, I find this story just in time for the latest chapter to be THAT. God damn it. Now I have to figure out if waiting for the next chapter is even worth it with how much that fucked with my emotions.

Breaniefan: This was so unrepresentative of your characters to just shove them back into JK's exact plot. This Harry would never have been so impulsive, Ginny and Theo would have escaped, the well trained Order would have been quicker on the mark and more effective. This was just lazy writing, taking so much of the original story and just shoehorning it in - I'm so disappointed! Also why the fuck would you kill Sirius? The whole point of fanfic is to FIX those stupid character deaths from the original, not go and do it again. I've followed this story from the start and loved it, but if Sirius is still dead next chapter... You've lost a reader.

I’m sorry that I’ve lost a reader over this, but as I said, I knew he would die from the first chapter.  Harry would be that impulsive because Ginny was kidnapped and there's no way he wouldn't try to save her.  She and Theo may have been able to escape but not unscathed.  I don’t believe that fan fiction is made to “fix” stupid character deaths because the original story is amazing and I’m getting the chance to play with the characters we all love so much and Sirius had a second chance on life and he lived it.

Adelite: AAAAH. aaAAAH. I came here for a BETTER WORLD and you killed SIRIUS BLACK of ALL PEOPLE and just when HE LEARNED HE IS HAVING TWINS?!?? I swear to god AaaaaahahahAH the original didn’t hurt this bad I read 219 chapters in 2 weeks just to be welcomed with this I am absolutely gonna riot and also what happened to Tonks? P.S if you kill Rem, Tonks and Fred in the battle of Hogwarts I will personally pee your pants

Pegg7: I can not believe it!!It has been chapter that i'm saying something bad was about to happen, but not this bad!!!!!The only think i can do now is wait and speculate: you had wormtail die through the veil and not Padfoot, so, maybe, there is a chance, i have hope! By the way, the chapter itselff is good, nothing less to say... I'm going to have a lot of speculation as how the thing are going to be next, so i'll dread this 2 next weeks Love you (a little less) as always

lovelyellie: that really hurt my feelings damn

phoenixmaiden13 (Lady Phoenix): I so hate this chapter, yet it was so good. Still can't believe you killed off Sirius, I thought he was safe for a minute but I guess not. At least they will have a body to bury. I'm going to go cry now.

They will have a body to bury and I hope that chapter makes you all feel the emotion as much as I did writing it.

MrToddWilkins: But he is still alive! The blood-Harry’s right!

Bosma18: Happy birthday but why did you have to kill Sirius he was one of my most favorite characters he and zee where supposed to marry and live happily ever after I wanted Sirius to die of old age while being surrounded by his grand children

Jmcglynn522: You killed him.... you killed him... he just found out that Zee was preggers, with twins(FYI: Taking antibiotic potions and birth control potions = Twins. Mine just turned 20.).And there’s no do over this time....no time turner.... just... you killed Sirius Black.I love your story, I’m bawling hysterically right now, but I don’t like you very much at the moment.... you killed him....why??? (Happy parts: Ginny preforming the “bat bogey hex” on Thaddeus’s dick for Theo! Lucius killing Thaddeus for hurting Theo, “his son!”. Ron touching “Uranus”. Lady G not dying. Zee not dying. And Pettigrew’s death was to kind.) And Happy Birthday!!!(Even though I may be traumatized for life.)

Pettigrew’s death may have been too kind but I think it was an important turning point for him in that he saved Zee for Sirius.

LordSmidgeon: I'm hoping so much all this was pushed in his head by Voldemort after the brain room to mess with his psyche. I'm hoping he comes to and they are just getting him away from the veil. Or it was all what he saw in the veil. Like honestly, if you have to have someone die please dont kill Sirius (at least not yet).

Siriuslover: Im in denial. He’s not dead.  How could you kill Sirius!! He was the main reason I’ve loved reading this!! Ugh please take it back I’m so sad

kellykat1889: Your evil.

RiverFord: I think I’m going to need two weeks just to recover from this. I’ve absolutely loved this story so far but you literally just killed off my favorite character and I can’t even...

archiveScrapper: Happy birthday! I'm a long time reader and first time reviewer, but I finally felt like I had something to say (plus wishing you a happy birthday is important). I'm actually weirdly... proud? of you for keeping Sirius's death at this point in the story. In the books it's kind of the point at which Harry has to officially grow up, and realize that even though he's a kid, he's the center of a really vicious war where his actions have very real consequences. And he has no one left to fully protect him either. Even in a fic where Sirius matters a whole lot more, and Harry is gonna be a thousand times more hurt by his death, that moment of change, and of Harry accepting his inevitable place in this fight is really important? So I just wanted to say that as much as I'm really sad about Sirius being gone, because I really did enjoy him getting to be happy for once, i think it's an important moment for the story and I'm really happy that it's one that you kept even in a version of this story that's a lot happier than the original story ever was. I've been wondering how you were gonna handle this moment for a long time now, and although I'm definitely gonna go cry about Sirius's death now, I'm really happy with what you decided to do.

xXQueenOfDragonsXx: NONONONONONONOSIRIUS! I WANT TO HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW BUT I CANT ‘T

TheOneWithWritersBlock: Please tell me this is a dream. Please tell me that Sirius didn't actually die. Please tell me that the ministry hasn't actually fallen. Please tell me it's all one big giant nightmare.

leflemmeenrose: Happy birthday!A break is definitely needed. I'm gonna spend it crying until you upload the next chapter haha. Take your time.

Zerius: Yay! Pettigrew's dead!I am struggling so hard not to say I hate you. I don't actually, but why did you feel the need to kill off Sirius?! He was Harry's family, he had Zee, he was in love, he had such an amazing life and now... Now he's never going to see Harry and Ginny get married, he won't see his children grow up... And Dedalus Diggle? What was the meaning of his death? Why did he have to die? And so cruelly... I love the new battle though. I've got a love/hate relationship with this chapter. Great job, can't wait to see what happens next. Please heal Sirius! Maybe he's not actually dead? Maybe there's a cure? Please say there's a cure! Again, amazing job! Update soon! I love it!

LaureWithAnE: I don’t really like you at the moment. But, happy birthday! How is it, after 17 years, the death of Sirius Black still makes me cry?

PurpleLotus (Person of Earth): Why did you have to kill Sirius? I just can't even process everything that happened. You made me cry and my heart is broken for Harry and Zee and the twins. I don't know what is going to happen and it's killing me. The ministry fallen already...I have no words for the desolation I feel. You have emotionally annihilated me, so congratulations. I understand the need for a break, I will be waiting impatiently for the next update. Happy Birthday and Happy Writing!

[arkus-rhapsode]

Eden’s Zero Chapter 1 Review

Hey guys, now before I dive into this already longer than usual review, I did wanna take this time to mention something. Its been no secret that I turned on Mashima and FT pretty hardly after the end of FT and some of you may be aware that I was moderately active in the fanbase with putting out my reviews and such. That said some may liken that shift in mentality to me not liking how the story went and a common critique of fans is that when what they’re fans of doesn’t gel with what they want they wanna destroy it. As if the fan has ownership of the source of the fanaticism.

I admit there are times that I’ve question decisions on Hiro Mashima’s end and has posted rewrites, but that’s not me doing it out of a sense of ownership. I’m doing it because I have a standard. Being a fan of something and letting your disappointment get to you and fester into salty, bitchy purest is one thing, but being a person who’s judging what a series puts out and actually caring about the quality of what’s in the popular media is important. FT got negative reviews in its latter half because it was that bad. By the end of the series it was legit that bad. Now I don’t say that is someone who was in the fanbase and hated Hiro’s decisions cause they weren’t mine, I hated them because it was bad writing. I’m a reader with standards, as are all of you, and in the digestion of media we make distinctions between good and bad. I make this claim with more concrete surety now that I’ve been around longer and have reviewed more series than just FT, I think it be harder to believe if I made this case when I was just starting and all I was talking about at the time was FT.

Some of you might remember when I first started out on MHA, my second chapter I ever reviewed I had found it boring and mundane and to date its my least popular MHA review and I still stand by that assertion. I hold everything to the same standard, and that includes FT. The reason I write this is that while throughout this review I will mention comparison’s to FT’s first chapter (and yes, even ways Eden’s Zero improved on it), but I will be holding it to the same standard. So this entire review won’t be me holding a grudge against Hiro, but it will be me holding it to the same standard as I do everything I read. That out of the way lets dive in.

We open on a hill side and met our MC named Shiki. Beside him is the mecha demon from the cover page and what they see is a... dragon. Yeah, Hiro I thought you wanted this to be wholely original?

On the hand I actually like this scene in the sense robo demon here is actually encourging actual adventure (something FT lacked) and its kinda amazing listening to this demon looking guy talking about friendship, yet on the other hand, damnit Hiro. Is this the only thing how to write about? Like damn man.

We cut to the future where we see our main female Lucy-I mean Rebecca! Y’know I could make a Rebecca from One Piece joke, but she’s kinda already a bit of a decisivee figure so I’m not gonna bother.

I mean its okay. Its just castle theme park. Also Rebecca we find out is apparently a youtuber. Look if DBS can have GodTube then I can put up with Blue Cate (Aoneko) website. Also yeah Happy here, no sugar coating its just Happy. Also Rebecca here purposely made her skirt short. Just because you point out the sexualization in canon doesn’t make it better, ya still drew it, Hiro.

We see that the theme park is full of robots and each one acts as an assist in sending the guest through some kind of medieval simulator. And if anyone has seen Westworld you know where this is heading. To be fair I love worldbuilding so please, explore!

So we find out Rebecca’s dream is to have one million suscribers and now here’s where I gotta give props to Hiro because he actual made a dream for a character that doesn’t seem like it can be achieved a chapter from now. Granted this seems a bit hard to actually quantify, but this dream could potenially evolve into something of why she wants the suscribers and could be like Nami making the map of the world that getting video of unknown locations may actually be worth something to the general population.

We see that Rebecca chooses to go on a monster hunting quest and they encounter...

...This thing. Also it seems Rebecca’s character quirk is she really likes cats I guess? But this doesn’t last long as someone crashes down on mecha cat.

Okay that was kinda funny. I mean if this was FT would’ve actually gotten the panty shot so maybe Hiro has learned his lesson! Also note that wrench!

Oh god damnit Hiro. So this tarzan guy after acting like an animal is knocked out by Rebecca. Y’know it took about 60 chapters before Natsu got all up in Lucy’s chest, guess we’re cutting straight to the chase here.

Okay is joke with here just going be about here short skirt? Damning it with faint praise here, but at least he still hven’t flashed us them yet. Also Tarzan here is the only human on the island.

We get some scenes of Shiki here wanting to be friends with Rebecca cause she’s a human and Rebecca isn’t interested and she returns to the Granbell town where Shiki is there and the robots know who he is.

Shiki’s expressions and creepy advances really gives off this tinge of sci-fi horror, unfortunate Hiro doesn’t really go that route and we’ll get to it. Also that wizard looking robot from the color page is also here.

They then have a party where the robots all celebrate them having a costumer for the first time in so long they have a party being nice to Rebecca and lavishing her with stuff outside is robot that looks like Robin Hood and he reports to his boss this machine king.

Oh look, Hades if he was a robot.

We see Shiki trying to bond with Rebecca and it leads to him expressing he wants to leave the kingdom and see another country, but we also learn he’s in charge of fixing this and the robots are acting up lately. We find out that the one who was talking to Shiki and is his “Grandfather” was called the Demon King a robot designed for playing that role in the park.

Umm Rebecca... That’s being a dick. So you don’t like it, so you decide to cut it, cause it bothers you. You could’ve framed it like, “If he fixes you up then maybe he needs better vision” or “He’s been so nice to me, let me do something for him.” And what makes this worse s that Shiki is asleep, so she doesn’t even consult his feelings. Like seriously, that’s not being a good friend . But for contrivances sake I’m sure Shiki will wake up and love it, won’t he?

Huh? I was wrong instead we got shitty 80s comedy. I don’t know if that’s better or worse.

Y’know I said I’d give Hiro atleast two free fanservice moments for his first 3 chapters. He’s now used all of them up in a single chapter. Also Rebecca is tied to a stake while robots with torches surround her along with the machine king.

Shiki is also there and here’s something that did remind me of rave, the tightness of the first chapter. Everything seems to flow like one continuous story and doesn’t seem to do some dumb interlude like FTs first chapter did with that awkward moment where Lucy leaves Natsu and she’s just randomly in the park reading.

The King wants to use her ship to leave this world and we get som kind of motivation out of him.

Oh wow, for a first chapter villain that’s actually a really deep thing to unload. That as amusment park hosts they must’ve just been seen as pleasure tools and with no one around these robots who seem to be senstinent must’ve felt betrayed and...

Oooooor you cut out all moral ambiguity by just saying they have a virus. Sure. Trust me, this is where it gets stupid really stupid. And that’s the inconsistency.

So these robots I guess are like the ones from the Animatrix where they just kinda develop sentience out of nowhere. But unlike Animatrix it doesn’t seem to imply when they developed this sentience and that they began to think they were being abused.

Tired of Friendship already, it ain’t leaving.

So why do you hate humans? They abandoned you I guess, but there’s not other robot saying “hey our times were fun together” no everyone is like they left us to rot  so we hate them. Not like Humans did anything legitimate bad. We actually see that at the end of the chapter that there is some sort of central battery on the park that all robots are hooked up to. You could make their reason for hating humans that. That even though they left these sentiment robots still had a little kingdom to themselves, but realized that its all just going to end one day and humans didn’t even bother to unplug them. They’re existence is literally knowing when they’ll die, imagine that as why they harbor negative emotions and maybe Shiki actually fixing things might’ve actually been prolonging their lives so maybe that be why they kept him around. This whole sentience things just feels like Hiro wanted to do a trope of crazy robots and ended using multiple to fit the whatever story purpose at the moment.

You do run the planet, dumbasses. This entire plane, apparently for hundreds of years, has been solely controlled by you. Maye this should be rephrased as, going to the place that built you to get revenge or as I spoiled with the battery we’ll take the ship to get more power for our kingdom?

Shiki doesn’t do anything and kinda lets the robots just wail on him as he found out all things in his life were a lie. Then Rebecca gives a friendship speech. A stupid stupid friendship speech.

You’re right, Rebecca! Too bad we didn’t see that. I’m serious we barely see memories of Shiki with any robot outside of the demon king and Michael so there’s no weight to this conflict. We only get the vague sense they raised hm, but there’s no moments of Shiki really laughingg and enjoying their company outside of the party with Rebecca which rather is made more for getting Shiki to like Rebecca for this moment.

Shiki remembers what his Grandpa the Demon King said and just blows them all away.

We see Shiki’s hand and apparently he has these marks indicating he has Ether gear. The power system of this series.

You’re sentiment! You have out grown your programming! You can choose to have a concept of friendship.

So they fight with shitty action scenes (If I can give Horikoshi a hard time for how he draws his fight choreography, then I sure as hell will give Hiro the once over.) Happy manages to save Rebecca and like Happy from early FT, he basically spots off exposition on powers.

So is it like a literal gear? Because Happy afterward destincties as the Gear of Gravity, so is it like a devil fruit? Is ether in all humans, but this specific gear brings it out in a certain way? If its internal then I guess its like the magic circuits from Fate? And then every of has their own unique variation like Nen? Like cause Happy gives it the distinction of Gravity it doesn’t seem like Shiki gives a reason why he has this power. I’m hoping \its like devil fruits, literal gears you implant and then it brings out your ether in a certain way.

Shiki punches out the machine king and cause a massive collapse.

Credit where credit is due, Hiro actually did build up the reveal of this power throughout the chapter and its actually really well done. Kinda reminds of something Oda would do with subtly building up a devil fruit power without revealing it. Like Crocodile drying out a flower but it isn’t stated his power is specifically sand.

They then flee when the other robots rally and Shiki takes Rebecca back to her ship.

This scene would actually be really nice if we actually saw more young shiki actually having fun with the machines and not a being a creeper with them.

Shiki and Rebecca take off and we see the universe.

Not gonna lie, that’s a really pretty shot. Like damn, I could get behind this.

It seems like worlds in this universe are basically like kingdom hearts worlds. They’re not real “worlds” so much as they are islands in space.

Sure, keep the mystery alive why don’t you, no that be too much.

Well great place to end the chapter. Little dry of a first story, but I definetly see that has room for improvment and there is something-Wait this isn’t the last page? But what else is there to talk about. There’s nothing left-

Oh for fuck sake. That’s right they were trying to send SHiki away. Because apparently these robots thought there was no way to restore battery life even if stayed.

Here’s a tip, ifyou really care, and had such a close bond, maybe tell him to leave? Tell SHiki the truth that you guys are tied to a battery and instead of Shiki vowing to leave for the stars so he can make 100 friends (I’m not kiding that’s his actual goal here). Then this would be an interesting goal.

But no, you have to act like human hating jackasses and shatter the boy’s entire reality, just so you he would go out and “change the universe”

This would be a really nice scene with a very nice amount of character development starting point, if we actually saw their past. All we know is they raised Shiki, but its never really seemed like they’re loving or caring or Shiki openly gets upset if one of them had a problem. Again the biggest flaw with this chapter is that it sacrifices seeing one potentially interesting relationship (Shiki and the robots) for another one (Rebecca).

So we end on this page which reveals that Shiki’s goal is to have a hundred friends. Not going to say something snarky I just realized this is the same motivation as Yuki from future diary. Like before the crazy yandere shit.

Post Chapter follow up:

Lets be positive and look at the good stuff in this chapter. The first thing great about this chapter is it improved upon two of the biggest failings in the first chapter FT. Goals established and world building. Not only does this set up force Hiro Mashima to actually world build (literally) but each person in the first chapter has a goal that doesn’t seem like it can be accomplished quickly. It means we can have investment in the story.

Another thing I’ll give is Shiki is an okay MC. He has more personality than Natsu, but not as much as Haru and this first chapter is about him. Its easy to understand that Lucy is often considered the MC of FT because it literally focuses on her for the story than Natsu. But this chapter had a healthy balance.

Also the power system at least seems to have some definition. Unlike how anyone could have magic yet normal people just don’t choose to use it like in FT. Ether Gear seems to be a powersource that only a select few can use. Now we need to see first if there are ways of combating it like technology or such so a non ether gear person can still fight.

It also has its own unique aesthetic. Ft is a pretty generic fantasy world. It doesn’t have the bleakness of bereserk or the Japanese aesthetic of naruto. You could say Black CLover, Fairy Tail, and Seven Deadly sins all had their first chapter happen in the same world and I’d have trouble arguing it.

Now on to the crappy stuff. This series suffers from the usual Mashima foibles such as the sexual harassment, the stupidly way it tries to justify and give all conflict happy ending, not actually bothering to have a situation drawn out ad built up too, etc. I mean for the first conflict of the chapter its a heavy one, these guys raised SHiki yet their own mentality is against humans so Shiki has to choose, but instead of actually answering that question, it turns out there was no real conflict and the machines were just faking.

As for my like for Shiki, I flat hate Rebecca. She is so pointless and useless. Look I will defend Lucy and she actually can d things. First chapter she saved Natsu by using aquarius. But Rebecca? She’s just all of the bad traits of post timeskip Lucy. She is used for pointless fanservice, does nothing contribute, and becomes a mouth piece for friendship.

Speaking of friendship as a concept and goal here, Hiro just rewrite what you mean. Have deeper meaning than friends for once. There is ways you could take the motivation “I want to make 100 friends” in a compelling way. Prehaps Shiki is going out to make his own world where he can make a happy place for people where they can laugh and cry in harmony. Like story telling wise its pretty weak.

Like me personally, I would’ve taken the first chapter like this, the robots are sentinet and they are nice to Shiki and Rebecca and they have genuine fun together. They gradually reveal that they are shutting down maybe one starts acting wonky and tries to hide it and maybe the machine king is the real bad guy. He has sentinece and hates humans and he wants to eliminate SHiki and Rebecca and that’s because they’re shutting down. The other robots say they don’t care they were abandoned, they were mad at first but Shiki showed them that why they loved catering to humans. King and Shiki fight and they all reveal they’re shutting down and Shiki cries he doesn’t want them to go. The robots say its inevitable and they don’t hpw to recharge the battery and Shiki vows to leave the planet and search for a power source to bring them all back. Then that’s shiki’s goal and it even can cause questions like “Is it worth all this for machines?” or “who designed them maybe we can figure out the right substance to power them up?”

or if Hiro wanted to go a more darker route. Have the machines have no sentience and literally be dolls for the King who turns out to be a human who stayed here on Granbell and made his own little kingdom. Make it a bit meta on how Shiki’s only friends were just hollow imitations of people who were only friends because that’s what their programming dictated and they can all be switched off. It be meta as critiquing Ft and how all the guild characters basically had no conflicts, all got along, and were just friends with no depth or reason.

This all highlights the issue with Hiro Mashima and that’s he is not a good a writer. Hiro is an incredibly talented person and can come up with incredibly unique ideas and looks, which is why his cover pages are the best things he puts out because its him free forming. But writing. He has a limited scope on that and stuff like sci-fi and fantasy can be very morally grey things. But Hiro doesn’t seem to understand tragedy in the sense that its tragic because a person fails or dies unsatisfied. But he only seems to know how to write painfully obvious concepts like “save the world” or “friendship” instead doing a concept like “what it is to be a hero” like MHA does which can have a variety of answers to it.

So what’s the final verdict? Well I actually am going to do something different than usual. I’m going to say what I though the quality was compared to FT and then to what I’d consider this work compared to anything else.

In comparison to FT, Eden’s Zero gets a Final verdict of 8/10

Improves on a lot of FT’s first chapter flaws

Created a more unique environment for a story

And actually has a lot tighter narrative

But in comparison to everything else...

Final Verdict: 5/10

Even if it wasn’t Hiro, its a pretty generic start (some names aren’t even all that inspired like Machine King, Demon King)

Potential to grow into something better is there

Nothing is outright offensive

Cool concept

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND Chapter 4

Ok, so for those who don’t know I face cast Miracle Laurie as Hazel Stevens, Titus Drautos’ love interest (*cough* love of his life *cough*) and in the upper right hand corner is my face cast for Ada, @the-immortal-marshal ‘s OC, she gave me Ada’s particulars forever ago so now I’ve just finally face cast her. And we have TADA I finally found a face I liked for Charlotte Stevens. Hazel’s sister who is of African American and Chinese decent. And I am OBSESSED with Empresses in the Palace which is a six episode long mini series that USED to be on Netflix, you can find it on Amazon Prime video now. And there is a lot of symbolism from that show that I’ve taken and run wild with because in this fic Gilgamesh (who I have taken so many liberties with) is a Chinese drug lord who thinks of himself as an Emperor and calls Charlotte his Empress. And Cor is obsessed with taking him down (like he is in the canon-verse). 

Ok so you can read it here -> AO3 or below. Tumblr, be cool, keep it under a cut. 

Magic and Miracles and BEYOND

Chapter 4

“Ok, I stand corrected, this is my favorite house.” Selena announced as she came into the mansion in California wine country that was styled in a blend of Italianate, Spanish and Mediterranean. With it’s overall warm tones and clay tile roof. She fell head over heels in love with it.

“Knew it would be,” Ravus beamed.

“I want our house to be exactly like this.” Selena urged Ravus who chuckled.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Ravus nodded in agreement, having figured that the moment they hit the road.

“Yeah, you can keep the house on the coast Luna, I love that location but I love and adore this house and the vineyards are just...spectacular. It’s so beautiful I think I’m gonna cry.” Selena teased herself as her eyes actually started to water which only got Ravus to pull her into his embrace and kiss the crown of her head.  

“Well Ravus did buy you that place up the coast so you’re only a stroll down the beach away.” Luna teased her.

“Yeah,” Selena sighed wistfully before she gave Ravus a quick peck on the lips before she had him really show her around.

“Holy shit!” Selena exclaimed when she saw the wine cellar.

“Yeah, this wine cellar alone is worth as much as the actual house I think.” Ravus speculated.

“It’s all dry isn’t it?” Selena asked in disappointment.

“Actually, no,” Ravus began as he hunted through the cellar. “Yes! This Darling, is ice wine. And it is exceptionally sweet.” Ravus said as he handed her a little mini bottle.

“Should we chill this first?” Selena asked as she looked it over.

“Yes, yes we should.” Ravus nodded as he used a special wine bottle carrier box to put in a half dozen bottles in, going through the rows picking out different ones before filling the box full and putting it down before getting another before he turned the corner and it was like it kept expanding, Ravus going through the bottles like anyone would go through a library to look at books.

“Does it ever end? I could get lost in here.” Selena teased as Ravus grinned but kept his eyes moving through all the labels.

“You could.” Ravus answered but only half teasing himself before his phone went off.

“Yeah?” Ravus answered.

“Where are you?” Luna asked.

“In the wine cellar?” Ravus answered.

“Where at in the wine cellar?” Luna asked.

“I’m at the Rieslings, just about to head into the Moscatos. I already handed Darling some ice wines.” Ravus answered.

“Ooh, could you get me my favorite please?” Luna requested.

“Sure, what does Jock Strap want?” Ravus asked.

“Oh he’s found the bar, he’s good.” Luna snorted a laugh.

“Well then get me my favorite.” Ravus insisted.

“Already gotten.” Luna reassured him.

“Thanks, when you guys figure out what to get for dinner call me back.” Ravus urged his sister.

“Yup.” Luna nodded.  

“That’s really kind of sad that the house is so big, you have to call each other on your phones to talk to each other.” Selena teased as she leaned up against a brick wall and gave him a giddy smile.

“Oh trust me, once we start our family, you’ll be happy it’s as big as it is, in fact I think you’ll love it down here because it’ll be the one part of the house where the kids won’t be allowed to play and you’ll have some nice ‘quiet mommy time’.” Ravus gently teased her with a look that had Selena wishing she could speed up time just to get to that and she just couldn’t help but pull him away from the wines to pull him flush with her to kiss him deeply.

“Can’t wait.” Selena purred when they broke for air and Ravus put the box down but only to allow him to pin her to the brick wall behind her before he picked her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he slipped her panties to the side since she was wearing a sundress as he unzipped his shorts and quickly entered her and moaned with her.

“I can, it’ll be worth the wait. I promise.” Ravus beamed at her.

“Aww,” Selena fawned.

Meanwhile Hazel and Titus were about to get ready to go to the store when Hazel checked her phone for the time before the screen went haywire for a moment as Titus’ phone did the same before both her phone and Titus’ phone turned themselves off and wouldn’t turn back on and Hazel inhaled sharply as her eyes went wide with terror because she knew what was going to happen next.

“Titus, you either need to get to the car right now or you need to get into my bathroom and don’t come out unless I come in and get you.” Hazel immediately ordered and Titus blinked in surprise when he saw how terrified she suddenly looked.

“What are you talking about?” Titus asked.

“No time to explain, here.” Hazel decided for him before she seemed to pull a gun out from under her breakfast bar and put it into his hand and shoved him into the bathroom.

“Sit right here, don’t move, don’t make a sound and shoot anyone but me who tries to come in.” Hazel ordered, keeping her voice whisper quiet but the hiss to her voice put him on edge before Hazel quickly locked the bathroom and quickly ran to her door and pulled out another hand gun and watched through the keyhole as Charlotte and two body guards came walking purposefully down the hallway, each body guard taking up an end to the hall to leave Charlotte to approach Hazel’s door alone before she knocked her special knock.

“Please tell me you’ve come to say goodbye.” Hazel told her sister in Mandarin when she opened the door for her sister, her gun visible at her side as Charlotte came strutting into Hazel’s apartment as Hazel shut the door behind her as she warily watched her sister.

“I came with a warning.” Charlotte began and Hazel’s stomach dropped. “You should go out to dinner tonight.” Charlotte suggested.

“Where and with who?” Hazel’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“It doesn’t matter where but I think you’ll know with who.” Charlotte grinned as she laid a manila envelope on the counter.

“What part of ‘I never want to be involved’ is hard to understand?” Hazel bit out.

“It’s Heaven’s wish, either serve the warning or you can try to Witchhazel.” Charlotte returned coolly and Hazel’s jaw clenched. “Your choice.” Charlotte shrugged before she stood in front of Hazel with a challenging smirk before hugging her sister before Hazel begrudgingly returned it.

“Why can’t you both go back to Hong Kong? At least you’d be safer there.” Hazel asked as she hugged her sister tighter, always feeling like she was seeing her sister for the last time when her sister came to her like this.

“Soon.” Charlotte answered and Hazel knew that was the closest to a straight answer she could ever get from Charlotte.

“Ok.” Hazel whispered.

“Now tell Titus hi for me and to keep his nose out of our business.” Charlotte offered in English as she let go of her sister and left, snapping her fingers once she was in the hallway before both henchmen were back at her side as she left the building as Hazel blew out a shaky breath as her cheeks burned as she put the gun back into it’s hiding spot and went over to the manila envelope and opened it to find a tiny flash drive and found 50 thousand dollars with it. Hazel just huffed and shook her head. She took the money out and when she did, she found ‘Warhorn Lion’ written on a piece of yellow paper that almost looked and felt like tissue paper but was in fact a recreation of the paper used by Chinese Emperors to write edicts and orders on- on the inside of the envelope in Mandarin calligraphy and Hazel just closed her eyes and fought not to cry.  

“Shit.” Hazel hissed as she got gloves on and took it out and folded it carefully, damning her hands for shaking. At least it wasn’t Titus’ name. She put the paper and the flash drive into a new envelope and into her purse before she put the money into her lock box and once she was done she took her gloves off and threw them away before she knocked on the door to the bathroom off her bedroom where she had put Titus.

“It’s safe now Baby.” Hazel called out softly as she unlocked the door and opened it to find Titus still sitting in the same spot she left him in.

“What the fuck is going on?” Titus demanded as he stood up and stared at her incredulously.

“If I answered that, I’d have to kill you myself.” Hazel answered defeated-ly as she took her gun back to put it away.

“What kind of convoluted clandestine bullshit is that?!” Titus spat angrily as he followed her and took note of where it had come from in the first place, having sat right there before and not having the smallest clue it had been there the whole time.

“The kind of convoluted clandestine bullshit that will get you killed, moreover it’s the kind of convoluted clandestine bullshit that puts car bombs under cars and straps C4 to someone’s chest and tells them to walk into hospitals and schools with the power to bring anyone to their knees before it lops off their heads, that kind. The kind that already knows your name, where you work, your routines, the truck you drive and where you are at all times. The kind that’s kept a tail on me since I went to college, the kind that has already buried the last nosy boyfriend. So do yourself a favor if you want to live and let it go and never, ever breathe a word of this ever again. This is your one warning. The next time you bring this up, that sniper on that roof right over there will shoot you and I’ll have to change the carpet again because blood doesn’t come out from white carpet well.” Hazel snarled as she pointed her finger into his chest, the tip digging into his flesh hard every time she said the word ‘you’ as tears flowed freely from her eyes as her expression was a pleading one as Titus just stared in shock at her as he finally really sensed what kind of predicament and danger she must be in and all he wanted to do was make her feel safe again, he didn’t care if he had to set the world on fire to do it either. He knew Hazel was smart, brilliant even and as badass as the day was long but if his Hazel was this scared, she would only have every justification to be so.

“Ok.” Titus answered softly as finally nodded as he brought her in and hugged her tight and kissed the crown of her head.

“Obviously you don’t have a choice in this. If this is the way it has to be then it’s the way it has to be.” Titus offered as Hazel just broke down crying and bawled into his chest and when she was done, she pulled herself back together and kissed him so deeply it started their own familiar chain of events and once satisfied, they left and went about their day, Titus doing his best to act like nothing was wrong and that nothing had happened out of the usual.

“Hey you wanna meet up with Cor and Ada for dinner?” Hazel asked innocently as they were putting their groceries away.

“Yeah sure.” Titus nodded and texted Cor.

“Where to?” Titus asked Hazel.

“I don’t care, whatever they want is fine.” Hazel waived off. “Actually I could go for some rice noodles though, maybe Chinese? Japanese? Vietnamese? Thai? Something like that.” Hazel waived off.  

“The Mandarin?” Titus suggested, knowing that was her favorite Chinese restaurant, it was a bit upscale but very authentic and the whole menu was in Mandarin and English and he loved the way Hazel could order for them in nothing but Mandarin and get things that weren’t even on the menu.

“Perfect.” Hazel beamed and once at the restaurant, Cor was exceptionally happy and even giddy because he had gotten a break in the Gilgamesh case that day and Hazel was grateful that she wasn’t sitting right next to him but feared for Ada, knowing that Ada was in grave danger but was powerless to say anything to her directly. Hazel excused herself from the table and took her server aside as she went to the bathroom and gave her a hundred dollar bill if she put the envelope into Cor’s bill. Hazel having taken the envelope out with a tissue and put it into a folded napkin to hand to the server who thought it was some kind of practical joke before the owner, who had been watching over them, took the envelope and looked inside before their eyes went wide for a moment and made a quick phone call before they nodded and got a red envelope and wrote something out with a calligraphy pen and comped not just Cor and Ada’s meal but Titus and Hazel’s too.

“Mr. Leonis, could you please come with me?” The owner asked Cor as he came and pointed to the bill as if the card had gotten declined.

“Oh, that shouldn’t of...” Cor said as he got up and got his wallet out as he followed the owner to the cash register.

“Oh no, your card wasn’t declined, no your meal was taken care of already but I didn’t want to disturb your party by handing you this.” The owner said as he handed Leonis a red cash envelope typically given to newly weds at their wedding.

“What does this say?” Cor asked as he pointed to the writing on the envelope.

“It says ‘compliments of Emperor Gilgamesh’.” The owner answered.

“Fuck.” Cor breathed. “Is he here? Like right now?” Cor asked the owner.

“Of course not. Even if he was, you could not do anything Marshal.” The owner pointed out with a smug grin.

“I could have you arrested for aiding and abetting.” Cor threatened.

“Perhaps you should look at the flash drive first before you make any foolish threats.” The owner suggested sagely as Cor narrowed his eyes and got the flash drive and put it into his phone before picture after picture of Ada and Ada and himself came up on the screen before a new message came into his phone with a picture of himself, Ada and Titus in the cross-hairs from a scope while they were still there at the restaurant and Cor looked up and searched the room, trying to find the threats and the vantage points these pictures were taken from.

“It really would be quite rude to answer generosity with disrespect. Perhaps you should go home now.” The owner suggested. “And please do not think that my restaurant is unique in that his Majesty has reign here. There is no where any of you could ever go that he would not come for you.” The owner warned. “And if I may let you in on a secret. His Majesty is being lenient with you and has written your name in black. This is your warning that you have come too close. If you come any closer, he will write your name in white. White is the color of death in our culture. And it will be as if he would have written your death warrant.” The owner added and Cor gulped.

“Understood.” Cor nodded before he went back to the table and tried to casually get them all out of there as the owner came and thanked them for coming and invited them back as he handed Hazel a to go container of her favorite dumplings- raw so she could steam them herself when she got home and once back in Titus’ truck Hazel found a thick black card with what Gilgamesh liked to referred to her as written in gold ink along with a quick message of thanks.

“What does that say?” Titus asked as he noticed it.

“It says ‘thank you’ and my name.” Hazel answered honestly.

“I’ve never gotten a thank you for getting takeout from here.” Titus frowned.

“Well you’re not on first name basis and friends with the family.” Hazel tried to reason with a lop sided grin as Titus nodded in understanding.

“So that’s why our meal was free?” Titus asked.

“Yup.” Hazel nodded.

“So...I’m thinking we should take up a new hobby together.” Titus began.

“Which is?” Hazel asked curiously.

“Shooting. I’m already into hunting, I need to be a better shooter though.” Titus realized as he squeezed her hand a little tighter and gave her a gentle yet reassuring look and watched as Hazel’s grin grew into a full blown smile.

“That would be...amazing.” Hazel praised as she squeezed his hand back tightly and just fell in love with him a little more. Because usually right about now any guy would be running for the hills but instead, Titus was making plans to stay and try to help her.

“Wanna stay at my house tonight?” Titus asked.

“Hell yeah.” Hazel nodded as Titus then turned to head to his house since Hazel already had enough of her things to stay there for a few months straight already.

Once back at his house, Titus put her dumplings in the fridge before he turned to face her, wanting to tell her a thousand different things all at once as he had thought about her predicament all day.

“So, if I wanted my house as secure and defend-able as possible, how would I go about that?” Titus asked her before she grabbed the shopping list pad off of his fridge and a pen and handed them to him.

“Take notes.” Hazel grinned as Titus returned her grin and took them before Hazel began to go through the whole house and tell him exactly how to accomplish that and insisted that she pay for it all because it would be getting quite costly but it was investment in Titus’ well being and would help her sleep easier at night.

[eshtarwind]

Tokyo 7th Sisters: Episode Queen of Purple Novel Summary Part 1

It’s a bit late but I decided to write the summary of QoP Novel because I REALLY NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO and I cannot wait for the full translations to be out so that you guys can read it (but really, you should really read the full translations once it is out—pssst it is on the way–because Furuse Fuu is a really good writer and also because some details are just precious). Anyway, without further ado, the Novel Summary will be under the cut!

Warning!!!!! Even if I said “summary”…. I did not intend to make it as short as possible as opposed to writing everything I remember.

Prologue: Summer Day Crossroads

This chapter isn’t about QoP, but 4U. So 4U management, which usually let them do what they want, came up with the idea of them doing their major debut to get inside professional musician chart. Because they will be going to the Pro music field, Ume went like sure lets do it with a new song. With the image of the majority of music theme in Pro musician tier being love song, which also seems to reverberate with much of the population, Ume decided to make their major debut song as a love song.

There was only one problem: Ume has never fallen in love. Or any of 4U members, in that case. When Ume presented her song to both Emoko and Hina, none of them approved it–not even Hina. Both agreed that the music itself is great and that with Hina’s drums and Emoko’s bass it will be well polished but the lyrics are so cringeworthy that Emoko even dared if Ume even have the balls to sing such embarrassing lines. In the end, the flustered Ume then dragged the two of them to special brainstorming session to perfect the song. They even prepared to sleep in the studio for that purpose (Emoko should make it clear that she cooperate just so that Ume didnt drag all of them down with her incompetence or something). Anyway after hours of brainstorming, they perfected the song, but not the lyrics. With none having real experience in love, eventually Ume had the idea to just watch a romance movie for scientific purposes as inspiration. Even if tired, Emoko and Hina volunteered to also watch the movie with her. Sandwiched by them both, Ume said that she won’t allow them both to sleep or quit midway. By the end of the movie, however, only Ume woke up and the two had fallen asleep by both of her side.

The content of the movie aside, in the notes they had before they slept, there was one word that came up: Akogare = the feeling of admiration with longing/yearning. Falling in love seemed to be extremely close with that word. Ume could only remember that one time when she felt that feeling, along with heat in her heart, the feeling like something light up within her, it was when that woman  “Hey you rascaaal!!!–” Snapping back to reality, Ume then began go write according to those feelings

Anyway, one day Seto Ferb walked to her rendezvous place with her light music club. She passed the station and found out that there are a bunch of people gathering for something.Turned out, a newly debuted band named “4U” is having their Guerilla live by the station and apparently they were pretty famous already. The band then played their debut song: Watashi Ai 4U.

Her light music club friend called her and told her that there was a Guerilla live, which Ferb replied she knew it already as she was exactly at that place at the moment. Ferb actually took off her earphone, which plays Hanyuuda Mito’s songs, and she remarked how catchy and upbeat the song is.

“4U, eh? I will remember it.”

She said before going away.

~The end of Prologue~

Chapter 1. Are You Gonna Be My Rose?

Being scouted by the producer, by the reception space of 777 sisters studio, Ferb was listening to super rare unreleased version of Hanyuuda Mito song when someone asked her what she was listening. The first thing Ferb noticed from someone upon hearing them talk are their voices. Noting the voice and its owner, she answered that it was Hanyuuda Mito. Or rather, the song that supposed to be a 7th Sisters song, but did not--A super rare copy which only circulate once on the net before taken down. The one talking to her immediately understood which one and they both realized they liked Hanyuuda Mito, both with the same impression of Mito’s voice: like a wind overlooking somewhere form a high place…. or some kind. Anyway, It was how Ferb and Murasaki met the first time, the receptions of 777 stars when they have just been scouted by our Shihainin.

Fast forward to the present, Ferb was sitting at the park near Nanasis office. She was called by Shihainin but took a bit more time to go. Her song, which she poured her heart into making, was rejected by her light music club friends to play in the school festival. They did not say it was particularly bad, however it was true that they were just not interested in it, and wanted to do cover band instead of an original song. Ferb then dropped from the school festival, saying that they dont particularly need her, as there are other bassist to fill up the space and Ferb did not feel the drive to join them. The novel did not write if she was angry, or disappointed, and Ferb seemed to say it a matter of factly, where she did not blame anyone and that was just how it went: their taste just did not match. Finally she continued her walk but she met someone else on the way: Yumeno.

Apparently, Yumeno was also called by Shihainin just like her. They conversed as they go, and the novel reflected just how well Ferb brushed away Yumeno’s super excitement when it comes to cute girls (including her ofc). It seemed Ferb has some respect in Yumeno, because of Yumeno’s proficiency in her guitar and how she put her personality in her guitar (regardless of her reasoning to start playing–Which in Yumeno’s case was because of a manga character). Ferb remarked that to be proficient in the level that Yumeno was atm needed hardwork and Ferb commend her for that.

In Nanasuta, Shihainin explain that there would be 7th Christmas Rock Festival a few months from then aimed for rookie band, and he asked if both of them are interested. Shihainin said several times that it does not have to be that year, as it must be an original piece, a full band, and there would be an elimination round soon. Both girls were interested (More like, Yumeno would, if Ferb would), but considering it needed a full band and preparation and the fact that they did not have any additional band member and there was a need to make an original song fast, Shihainin said several times that there was no pressure. However, Ferb said that there was a song that they can use.

She gave them a listen to the song she had made for her light music club and both were extremely excited upon hearing it, saying how it sound like a pro. Ferb said she had an idea on who the vocalist should be but she had to ask her, however the problem was they had no idea who is proficient enough for drums. Shihainin said that recording backsound is allowed, but Ferb firmly said that it won’t be able to fully bring out the soul of her song. Finally, saying, again, that there is no pressure about joining the fest, they closed the meeting. After they did, Ferb apologized to Yumeno about singlehandedly deciding their decision to continue with the project, which Yumeno said that she agreed to it anyway, to there was nothing Ferb should worry about. They both then went to the place of their prospective vocalist.

Turned out, Ferb also had never been to Murasaki’s place before. It was not something she thought would have been necessary and naturally Murasaki also never invited her. Yumeno expressed her surprised, because she thought Murasaki and Ferb are close with each other. Ferb said they were, but for as long as Hanyuuda Mito and music was concerned. It seemed their topic of conversation rarely broaden to anything personal and never once has they ever thought of, say, having sleepover. Yumeno said that kind of relationship is okay too, that she still see it as moe (Ferb dismissed this as something she doesnt understand about Yumeno Number #whatever). With that, they finally arrived at EZ Bar, which displayed “close”. It was nearing dusk but the bar has not opened already, which speaks much of its costumers demography.

When they came into the bar, Ferb’s impression of the bar was that it seemed to have a different air than the atmosphere they used to be (you should pay attention to this in the novel, really, at how Ferb describes situations and atmosphere, it's soooo poignant. From the lights, the reflection on the floor, etc.). They found Murasaki cleaning the place and was surprised to find them there. Ferb explained about the circumstances and Murasaki said that Ferb should have been the first person to know what kind of music genre she usually sang and Ferb answered yes she did, it was Jazz and not Rock but I want you to sing my song and just you. Murasaki contemplated, and then she answered, that if it was for something in the near future, she cannot give a yes answer to the proposition.

~~ End of Chapter 1 ~~

Since this is getting long, I will stop by here. Thank you for reading, get ready for Part 2 later!

Continue to Part 2

[imsarabum]

Responses to {Part 19} I Won’t Stop You // Jeon Jungkook, Vampire!AU Asks~

Please ‘Keep Reading’ to find my response to your ask ^^ As always, I have copied and pasted all asks into this post in regards to last night’s chapter to avoid clogging up people’s dashboards and to avoid spoilers for those who may still wish to read the chapter. Thank you ^^ 

@jynxy24 said: I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOONGI'S AND READER'S INTERACTION OMG THE ANGTS WILL BE COMING! Will there be gore tho? @-@

Although there wasn’t an interaction between Yoongi and the reader last night...there will be blood!

Anonymous said: I feel like Jungkook's mum will laugh at her saying 'its dracula'

It more so bothered her because it gave her an incline that the reader knows something or has a preconceived idea^^

Anonymous said: A small part of me hopes the series never ever end (even tho i am shit at suspense) because currently , tuesday is the highlight of my entire week

Well it won’t be ending soon! I can promise you that ^^ There is still a LOT to happen ^^ hehe, thank you so much my dear :)

Anonymous said: IT IS TUESDAY AND IM READY!!! I have my tissues just incase!! I also have some alcohol just incase 😐

Yay I hope you enjoyed the update! :D

Anonymous said: What to do when your crush lives your friend?:'-' I'll die. Anyway, sooo looking forward to tonight's chapter like omgggggggg in what time will u update?

I’m probably the worst person to ask for advice on that because I would just cry haha >< I always update between 9-10pm UK time ^^ I hope you enjoyed the update if you read it! Thank you so much :D

@kamcia12323 said: Omg can't wait for today's chapter. I have been waiting the whole week wanting to know what's lext! Thank you for the wonderful story, i have been following it from chapter 1 and love it. Hope you have a lovely evening.

I hope you enjoyed it if you got a chance to read it! Thank you for following since the beginning :) I hope you have a lovely evening/day too!

@pineapple-in-a-dress said: Im so excited for the new Junkook vampire au chapter, I love the story so damn much! it sucks so much that im in CET time, I'll think its time at 10pm but its 9pm at your place--

I hope you enjoyed the update if you read it! Thank you for loving it and staying up so late to read it! ^^

Anonymous said: Mom it's gonna be party lit af tonight with this update. Like my body is ready. I'm so excited 😊. I can't wait. DID YOU LIKE NOT TODAY? The video was so goooodd. And we best the record! I'm so excited. My albums are coming and it's just a BTS party this week. I'll be back later tonight with my thoughts on your lovely writings. ~LilKookie Anon

Litty titty party yay! haha I hope you enjoyed it Lilkookie :D And yes I LOVE Not Today! I’m listening to it right now actually ^^ I got my BTS albums yesterday and I got Jin and Hobi yay!!! Their cards are so cute :3 Both photos in the pink and blue albums are so wonderful, I’m really glad I got both now! (and yes - I have answered your second ask below so I hope you can find it!!)

Anonymous said: Omg life.  I'm going out tonight and I won't be able to read I won't stop u until I get back.  Pray for me. I don't have a lot of patience either. Luv ur work xx (and u xx)

Ahhh that’s okay you can always just catch up when you get home my love! I hope you enjoy it when you get a spare moment to read it, thank you and I love you too!

Anonymous said: Serrena has zero chill and I love her for it. Also Yoongi is my bias but honestly he might need some ice.😂 The only reason I can think of as to why Yoongi would need y/n is that he plans to turn random (or not so random) people and have her mature them quickly so he can make an army but I just remembered that he was surprised that Jimin was not a natum lamia anymore so he can't have known about that so I have no other theories😪

Ahh thank you so much for loving her character! *giggles* what an interesting theory though, I like that! muahaha~ Thank you for reading it and I hope it didn’t disappoint ^^

@omelys-space said: The new update was bomb ❤ Serrena is such a bad ass and I love her for it 😍😍😍 The way she handled Yoongi was gold I am so excited to see some more backstory on Jin, Hobi and especially Joonie as he seemed so different from the other two and what kind of human or whatever y/n is and how she will react upon hearing that her lover is a vampire  Looking foreward to next week 😊 Thank you for your hard and amazing work ❤

Thank you so much for liking it and Serrena’s character! And yes, I really loved the way she handled Yoongi too - it truly was a silent battle haha ^^ In future chapters, there will be more backstory on the other Rogues, but it will go MORE in depth with Namjoon I suppose ^^ Those three are truly side-characters in this series, but Namjoon is the more dominant character of the three I think ^^ Thank you so much for reading and I hope you’ll enjoy the next one too!

@kookies-hoe said: ASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM DAYUM THAT CHAPTER MADE ME STAY AT THE EDGE OF MY SEAT, I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH!!!

I’m glad it kept you on the edge of your seat yay! Thank you so much for reading it, it means a lot to me! ^^

Anonymous said: MAMA SERENA FTW!! Also if Yoongi DOES know what I am (which I can't to find out next week hopefully), wouldn't he know ALL my powers, like how I turned Chimchim into a full vampire? And I love how Yoongi legit walked in there without a plan. XD ME

It appears that EVERYONE seems to know SOMETHING about her. The question is; are they all correct? Is each person missing a vital piece of information? Will Serrena be able to provide answers? Who knows :3 hehe AND HONESTLY SAME THAT’S SOMETHING I’D DO haha. He didn’t plan on the reader recognising him - that was the flaw in his plan. ^^ Thank you so much for reading it dear!

Anonymous said: How long are u gonna keep me waiting author nim?:( I need to know what she is!Your weiting gives me chills... I feel so frustrated I WANNA KNKWWWW

I will keep teasing you until you can’t take it any more ;D Hehe~~ Thank you for reading the new chapter!

@deangetoutofmyspleen said: it's tUESDAY I DABBED

*dabs with you*

Anonymous said: I FORGOT IT WAS A TUESDAY WOW HOW COULD I OMG OK I'M READY - silent anon

Hello silent Anon! I hope you enjoyed the chapter :3

@idilnuur said: OMG THE UPDATE KILLED ME!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GIRL

Thank you so much my darling!

@jimiinie-cricket said: Hello! I just wanted to say that I've been having quite a hard time recently with stress, among many other things, and how much your Vampire Jungkook fic has helped me take my mind off of them. Once I found the first chapter I binged on everything you had published. Today was exceptionally difficult and I nearly started crying when I got home, but then I got a notif saying you updated!!!! I love this story & your writing. I get so excited for Tuesdays!! Keep up the magnificent work 💕💕

Ahh your message made me tear up a lot >< I’m feel so grateful to be able to provide a source of happiness for you in times that you feel that life is too much for you or things become a little too unbearable. I’m really sorry that you cried >< I wish I could give you a big hug and tell you that you are beautiful and everything will be alright ^^ Thank you for reading and thank you for sending me this message and remember that you are strong and you can accomplish anything. ^^

@noceurash said: I clicked on it as soon as the notification for I won't stop you popped up haha,, I'm excited for the next part!! Thank you for always updating!! I really enjoy your writing ily!! <3

Thank you so much for having notifs on and for reading the chapter my dear! You’re so welcome for the updates and I hope you enjoy the next chapter too :D I love you as well!

Anonymous said: SLAY SERRENA SLAY LOVE HER SO MUCH~ also hi mom how have you been? I hope you're not as stressed anymore *infinite amount of kisses* -panda anon

Truly the definition of ‘Slay Queen’ haha given the circumstances :D lolol Thank you panda anon - I’ve been ok ^^ Just continuing on with life and trying my best I suppose :D I hope you’re doing well too panda and thank you for reading the chapter :D

Anonymous said: Ok I'm finished! Absolutely amazing as usual 💝 and I'm so happy now that we're finally going to find out what the OC actually 'is'. Also that scene between Yoongi and Serrena was just fabulous 👌👌👌 and I love the way you're writing Namjoon so much wow 😄 thank you so much and I can't wait for next week !! - silent anon

Hello again silent anon! Thank you so much for loving the scene between Yoongi and Serrena, and for loving Namjoon’s character too! I’m happy to know that you liked the chapter and thank you so much for taking the time to read it! ^^

@koreaisanaddiction said: SARA OH MY GOD!!!! i though i knew what reader was but now im questioning! like fuck and now im really worried about namjoon!!!! like sara!!!! oh my God!!!!

Hehehe did I cause doubt for you? c: GOOD! ^^ And I know right? Poor Namjoon >< Altho, the thought of Namjoon calling Yoongi ‘master’ does things to me hahaha c: I’m dirty, sorry :P Thank you so much for reading lovely!

Anonymous said: Ohmaigawsh... Serrena in IWST part 19.... #momgoals... Usually, I'm a faithful jungkook stan, but gurl after this part, Namjoon's becoming a bias wrecker. That was beautiful. I hope you can hear my applause all the way from the US. <3

She is mum goals for sure! She actually reminds me a lot of my mum - that’s exactly her personality sometimes lol UH OH HIDE YOUR KIDS HDE YOUR WIFE NAMJOON’S COMING TO WRECK YAAA~ lolol ^^ Thank you so much my love, I’m really happy that you enjoyed the update ^^

@audreymv said: I am so freking like what?? Yoongi knows something and poor Namjoon, i hope he doesnt get hurt. Such a sweetheart. Dayumm Mom got sass, the queen i bow down to. Amazing as always. This is just too much and i love this so much. I hope we can see who (y/n) really is like what is the specialness. Gosh like i am getting answers but im not. Sara you are a art piece in itself

I think everyone thinks they know a little bit about her (as in, the characters in the story), but ultimately, they are all missing pieces of information. But with Serrena’s knowledge, hopefully she can set the record straight! As always, thank you so much for your amazing words, you really made me smile so much with that ^^ haha thank you for reading and I hope you’ll look forward to next week!

@mysr3 said: Saraaa!! what have you done! You just dragged me and left me hanging craving for more again! But this time the craving is so strong OMG! Breathtaking the whole chapter 19! Serrena is a badass Queen; Love Jungkook and Taehyung protectivness >< so heartwarming; Yoongi's smart ass character supposed to be hated but I just fell for it with a sympathy for him somehow ><, but tons of sympathy for Namjoon. Ahh so many feeling! Cant wait!! Sara well written and well detailed! Thank you Love ღღღ (cont.) PS Love the way you carried on the story even if it torture me to wait to know all the secrets. Its just so hard to guess or pin point what is the real reason behind the whole things. I just feel there will be big reveal of some sorts that will surprised everyone! Right??

I think there is an element of sadness for both Yoongi and Namjoon, because it’s kind of like the souls who lost their way a little? At least that’s what I feel sometimes ^^ And you’re 100% right! There will be a big reveal, but even at that - more will be revealed as time goes on because....well, you’ll see ;D hehe! Thank you so much for reading and I’m really happy you enjoyed it!

@fashionkilla124 said: Honestly Serrena is the most savage female vampire I have ever read about and I LOVE IT . I'm ready just to die and be revived for the next chapter because this is some next level shit going on and Im not ready . I had a stroke mid story and I had to collect myself. You are a really great writer and if you ever published a book and had a fan signing I would be first in line cuz yo stories be LITTT AF☺️☺️☺️😏👌😘😘

Ahhh thank you so much for loving her character! I’m sorry you experienced such health issues while reading hehe :P Thank you so much for your amazing compliments, they really make me smile and make me feel very happy ^^ Omg fan signing IN MY DREAMS lol but thank you for reading and I’m happy that you enjoyed the chapter :3

Anonymous said: AHHHH FUCK THIS CHAPTER WAS SO GOOD I'M CRYING???? SERENA IS AN ACTUAL BAD ASS OMG SHE'S ONE OF MY FAVE CHARACTERS NOW I LOVE IT SO MUCH GOOD JOB ON WRITING OMG

Ahhh thank you so much my dear!^^ I’m so happy that you love her character :3 Thank you for reading and enjoying it so much!!

@theninjachan said: Your updates for "I Won't Stop You" are always on time and the latest update was amazing as always. You are now my favorite Tumblr writer. 💘

Thank you so much for that, I feel honoured that you think that about me and I hope to continue making stuff that you find exciting and enjoyable to read my love ^^

@pandafish said: I loved the pettiness between Serrena and Yoongi!  Poor Namjoon is an intelligent stuck with the wrong crowd :(  I wonder if he'll be able to get away from Yoongi.  Your Tuesday story updates always make me excited for Tuesdays!  Like, I'll suddenly realize it's Tuesday which means IWSY update!!!

(I tried to tag you in this but I wasn’t able to, so I sent you a private answer as well in case you can’t see this!) Thank you for loving the petty scene between them both! And yes - the sympathy for Namjoon is real :c Thank you so much for reading the new chapter and I’m so happy that you get excited for Tuesdays!!

@jynxy24 said: SARA YOU ARE SO GREAT HONESTLY! IWSY was angsty bit it didn't make me feel mixed like I usually do😂😂 THE CHAPTER WAS GREAT LOVE KEEP IT UP PLEASEEEE :3 Stay Awesome, Sara😇😇

Awh thank you so much Jynxy :3 Thank you so much for reading and I’m glad you thought it was great! *hugs*

Anonymous said: When you wrote that Yoongi wanted the reader, like COMPLETELY, did you mean he also wanted to..."mate" with her too 😳 that is a really scary thought 😅 also will it be explained how yoongi knows about the reader and her abilities? Also, ALL HAIL SERRENA DAMN SHE IS THE QUEEN!!! So badass!

Hehe, you can take that whatever way you wish, but as with everything - all will be explained in due course! Everything will be revealed in time :3 And she is a badass queen! I wanna meet her in real life hehe =D Thank you so much for reading!

Anonymous said: GURLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL O. M. F. G. IM SO JUNGSHOOK. LIKE CAN SERRENA BE MY MOM? Like I'm so in love with her cuz she is the baddest bitch around. Omg. I'm shook. I love it. BUT THIS ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME. MY LIL HEARTU 💜 Another wonderful chapter from a wonderful person. I love you. 💕 ~LilKookie Anon P.s. I have a routine dedicated to just this story. I wait until I'm in bed at 9 or 10 my time to make sure I can read uninterrupted can't have my mom talking while VampKook is stealin my 💜

She would make such a badass Mum! (well, she is in the story :P) hehe ^^I love you too lilKookie ^^ AWH YOUR ROUTINE IS SO CUTE c: And yes, we need as little distraction as possible to let VampKook make you Jungshook :3 lolol Thank you very much for reading it cutie ^^

@lostheretics said: to use her in wHAT WAAAYYY *silently cries, throwin myself into the fire* tbh queen Serrena is the best queen ever tho she's badass i love her<3<3 I CANT WAIT WHAT'S Y/N'S REAL IDENTITY? metaphorically i'm dying technically im dead while having a heart attack istg im waitin ily u da best bc u mixed up my feelings well<3

Nooo do not throw yourself into any fires! *pulls you back* hehe ^^ Thank you so much for reading and enjoying the chapter and I love you too! I’m glad I could mix your feelings up nice and good heh c:

@ananyak26 said: "Checkmate"xD ah.. Serena's sass nearly killed me! It was awesome!!!

Yes, checkmate indeed! She did a good job at roasting him lolol :3 Thank you so much my dear!

Anonymous said: tuesdays are my downfall thanks to you ㅇㅅㅇ thank you thank you thank you

Hopefully this downfall is a good thing! Hehe, thank you for reading my love ^^

@animeimmortal said: WHYYY DOES IT END LIKE THAT I WANT MOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Because...it does :P YOU SHOULD KNOW ME BY NOW THIS ISN’T SURPRISING ANYMORE i’M AN ASSHOLE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS LOL c: ily tho ^^ :3

Anonymous said: It gets better and better lmao and Guess who's 1004% stanning got7 now 😏 -eggyook anon

Thank you for reading eggyook! AND YAY I’M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THIS! Thank you for stanning GOT7 now :3 ahh I’m smiling so much!

Anonymous said: Damn it Sara 😂 I thought you were finally going to reveal what y/n is and what yoongi wants with her LOL. Uggghhh gotta wait another week now 😖 STILL GREAT AS USUAL THO 💕💕💕  -7:45 anon

You thought wrong! You’ll just have to be a little more patient my dear :3 Hehe, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Anonymous said: On a level of 0 to serrena how savage are you?

LITERALLY lol she has no chill whatsoever but hey, she’s the Queen. She can pretty much for whatever the heck she wants :P

@doubletroublesince1994 said: OMG WHY DO YOU ALWAYS LEAVE US WITH A CLIFFHANGER 😭😭😭😭😭

The chapter has to end at some stage! lolol Would you prefer it if I left the chapter off during some mid-sentence? xD It’s better to leave it on some kind of a cliff hanger to gauge curiosity and elicit desire for more ;) Hope you enjoyed it anyway! Thank you very much for reading :D

@aogintsu said: Omg. I completley forgot about tumblr for a while and youve reached chapter 20 already, i must read them all now

Ahhh welcome back lovely! And yes c: Chapter 20 will be out next week! :3 I hope you will have fun while catching up on the story! :3

@rachelsmusicallife said: I completely binged "I Won't Stop You" last night until 5am. And it was just so amazing I had to tell you.  Your writing a so beautifully done, some parts honestly make me wanna cry.  It is so well written and gripping it amazes me.  Keep going girl. I look forward to so much more 😊

Ahh I’m so happy that you’re enjoying it! I’m so happy that you think it’s beautifully written, that makes me so incredibly happy and you made me smile a lot. I hope you’ll enjoy the future chapters and thank you very much for reading it and messaging me to let me know ^^ I hope you have a great day!

[skrunglebeasts]

okay, so final fantasy 15 is still sticking with me, so im going to type up some words about it theres probably gonna be spoilers

keep in mind i went into this game with really low expectations. i fully expected to dislike it completely and i was pleasantly surprised to find i actually enjoyed the game enough to finish it all the way through. whats good in it is really, really good and that makes the bad bits that much more irritating to deal with

the world itself is probably one of the most engrossing things about it! its so rare for games to actually meld fantasy into a modern equivalent setting that manages to balance the two aspects in such a fun and interesting way i loved the open world parts and, honestly, if they ever just pulled a skyrim and made an open world game where you play a custom hunter, i would be all over that! i havent enjoyed a game world quite as much as i loved this one in a long time, even if the lens its viewed through is kind of not that great i still think the reasoning behind not including a female character in the party was skeevy (and is also directly contradicted twice in the game itself, so good job on that), the party honestly manages to be fun in most of their banter and its likely just having them around and seeing all the ways they interact with each other that makes the banter work so well. it really feels like youre in the country of lucis and like youre on something that is equal parts epic quest and roadtrip. there are also chocobos, which doesnt really have to do with anything, save for the fact that theyre loveable

and thats where all the strongest parts of final fatnasty 15 are! theyre all in lucis and the countryside you get to explore and dealing with their banter, but it all falls apart when the other parts of the game come into play. primarily the story

the story itself isnt bad as a concept, but the presentation needs so much work. plotholes sprout up almost as fast as side quests and the open world nature of the game doesnt lend well to any sort of urgency in the story telling. and i think the creators of the game realized that because once you set sail to altissia, shit goes south REALLY fast

now, this wouldnt be such a big deal and that sort of tonal dissonance isnt uncommon in video games. but theres usually events leading up to it! hints of something bigger or something terrible happening that will eventually be a problem you have to face directly. but when the death of a major side characters has nearly no emotional impact compared to a main character merely being injured (albeit permanently injured) something went wrong. lunafreya’s death is supposed to be this big deal that really hurts noctis, but none of that in-game hurt carries over at all. this is a video game. im supposed to feel something. but they completely and unironically fridge luna as development for noctis and all it left me with was a feeling that i wanted to skip the cutscenes where noctis bemoans his loss for a character who felt flat. and this happens TWICE. noctis dad dies on screen, but he does it to silenced footage from an apparent tie-in movie called kingsglaive or whatever. taking credit from a movie and putting it into the game is just sloppy.

in comparison, when ignis goes blind, that SUCKED. i knew, from having ignis around, that he relied on his eyesight for clarity in the world, that he felt it was his duty to provide perspective and guidance for noct. its a symbolic and physical loss and it has real impact. but it also happens off-screen and that takes away some of that blow. its the same with gladiolus and his scars. we know he has them and they arent stopping him. why do we have to wait for DLC for that? these are things that could have happened and SHOULD have happened during story missions and taken a while to have lasting impact. instread, all the big injuries and revelations are rushed as quickly as possible into the second half of the game, which i spent barely any time in, compared to the multiple hours i spent running around in lucis

and you can get back to running around in lucis in the form of a time traveling dog. or maybe its just reliving memories? its hard to say, but the game specifically puts in a mechanic that allows you to go back and play what is definitely the best part of the game because, not only do the rest of the story chapters not allow enough for you to do to properly level up for the end game, it also just isnt as interesting. the slough thats chapter 13 has gotten a lot of criticism, and rightly so, because its just so time consuming, mind numbing, and boring compared to being able to just hop into my flying car (which i unlocked) and take off for a ride when the party heads for altissia, i was expecting another territory like lucis! a huge, sprawling area, maybe about the size of one of the states/provinces/area in lucis that i could explore via car. i was expecting more roadtrip, more varied architecture and environments, but instead i got this small area that i was done with inside an hour before moving on to the next story mission and then it gets exploded

and that was just incredibly disappointing. it also set the bar from there. everything save for one or two set pieces (the fight with hydraean, the fight with ardyn at the end) and story moments (gentiana freezing ardyn was....pretty cool B) that and the reveal of the world of ruin really did leave me in awe) from the fall of altissia onward are neat in concept, but also disappointing in the sense that it feels like there should have been more, both while experiencing it and leading up to it. and for a ten year development time, there really should have. maybe they should have taken that budget they wasted on a movie and an anime and actually made the story feel complete

and the thing is, it didnt have to end up like this. the story progression could have felt natural if it ended up leading back to cape caem being where you wake up in the world of ruin and youre forced to make a trek back to the capital. gather your allies that youve made along the way, actually be a king, and lead everyone on a final assault on the capital to take down ardyn. or, at the very least, let us see iris, who is apparently now known as “The Daemon Slayer” what sort of badassness did this girl get up to that got her a nickname like that??

oh well. hopefully the fanbase does its thing and makes some fanfics where the story actually flows well. hell, maybe i should do that! be ready for my 15 chapter fanfic about umbra the dog saving the world

[prettyguardiankore-blog]

Love in Literacy, Chapter 3

in this chapter, the reader works up the courage to offer levi reading lessons:)

It had been three full days since the incident with Levi. You hadn’t seen him at all since then, either. Every now and then, Isabel and Furlan would come into the library. Their first expedition was in less than a week, so Shadis had them training their asses off. Because of this, they usually didn’t have much time on their hands, but it was just enough to say hi briefly. When you inquired about Levi, they responded saying that he was strangely adamant on not coming with them.  Figures. You didn’t do anything wrong...at least, that’s what you kept repeating to yourself in your head. Perhaps you could’ve been more tactful in your approach...but was this strong of a reaction really necessary? You couldn’t drive away the gnawing feeling of guilt in your stomach these past few days. You wanted to apologize, but at the same time, you didn’t want him to think you pitied him. Something told you that that would only damage his pride further. So how did you make this right without apologizing? You let out a sigh. People sure are difficult to deal with sometimes. 

"Hey !" Hange called.

You snapped back into your surroundings. You were sitting in the dining hall across from Hange and Moblit. It was a little late, so there were only a few other groups still in the dining hall. The smell of broth filled the air. You turned back to Hange.

"Sorry, I suppose I got lost in thought." You said as you turned your focus back to their lips.

"Oh? What about?"  They asked, keenly.

"I'm afraid I can't say." You responded monotonously, as you began taking a large bite from your bread.

"Are you oka-" Moblit began, but Hange quickly interrupted. 

"Oh come on now! When you say that it makes me even more curious!" They said, leaning in closer to you, eyes brimming with excitement.

"Come on Hange, if she doesnt wanna say..."

"Please!"

You groaned. You knew Hange wouldn't let up, and you didn't feel like lying, so you settled on telling them a very vague interpretation of the events a few days ago. You shifted in your seat uncomfortably. 

"W-well, say that you accidently learned something about someone that they didn't want anyone else to know…" You started, slowly. "And their pride was hurt, and now they're avoiding you, so you can’t apologize… but even if you did, you think that would only bruise their ego further."

"Who is this about?" They pressed.

"That's all I'll say and that's final." You replied, and Hange let out a moan of disappointment. 

"Then it's hard to help you out here!" You cocked an eyebrow. 

"I don't recall asking for help."

"You might as well have!"

"You sure are persistent."

"It's why so many people find me charming."

You and Moblit erupted into a fit of laughter. You two knew that you were the only ones who could handle them. Hange gave you both confused looks at your sudden outbursts. After you settled down, Moblit turned to look at you.

"I know you said you weren't asking for advice, but would you like to hear what I think?" he offered.

You chewed your lip, considering it for a moment. You let out a small exhale. Moblit was a sensible enough person, probably the most sensible amongst the three of you.

"Sure, why not?"

"Well, I don't think you really need to apologize, because their pride isn't your fault..." he stopped, choosing his next words carefully, "...but if you really still feel guilty, maybe you could address the problem at its root, instead of apologizing." 

"Elaborate?"

"I don't know what you found out about this person, but is it something you can help them with?" he inquired, with a small shrug.

You went quiet, staring into your bowl of broth. Light steam trailed up from it, fogging your glasses slightly. Teach him how to read? Would he even let me? You chewed your lip again. For some reason, you found yourself wanting to help him, despite the fact that he was a total prick. You looked up to smile at Moblit.

"I'll think about it. Thank you Moblit, that was actually quite insightful."

He smiled back and nodded. You shot up from your seat on the dining hall bench.

"A-actually...I think I'm going to go deal with this right now before I lose my train of thought and end up chickening out." You said, steadily, your words surprising even you.

“Oh? What’s with this sudden boldness?” Hange asked eagerly, reentering the conversation.

“This shit has been annoying me these last few days, I need to get it off my chest. So...why not do it now while the thought is still fresh in my brain?”

Hange grinned up at you.

“Promise to tell me all about it later?” They said in a sickeningly sweet voice. You rolled your eyes.

“I'll see you two later.” You called, as you began to briskly walk away from them, giving them a small wave.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

You had acted like tough shit in front of Hange in Moblit, but now that you were standing outside of Levi's cabin, you felt like you could hurl. The walk to the barracks had been shorter than you anticipated. All of the sudden, here you were, standing in front of the flimsy wooden door. You rubbed your temples. There were three things that could happen upon you entering the room. Firstly, he could simply refuse to speak to you. That wouldn’t be too bad. Secondly, he could curse at you, and demand that you get the fuck out of his room immediately. Lastly, he could happily hear you out, and love everything about your offer, because he thought you were a lovely and respectable young woman.

...

Or, alternatively, he might not even be in there. You stared at the doorknob. You’re already here, there's no point in backing out of it now. You took a deep breath while you quickly went through your pitch in your head, muttering to yourself quietly. You gave your cheeks a hard pinch before you firmly grabbed the door handle and pushed it open. 

You pushed the door open to see Levi and Furlan sitting on one of the beds together, you had heard them talking while you were preparing yourself outside their door, but now the conversation had died out, and their eyes turned to you. The already small room felt even smaller with their eyes on you. You swallowed quietly, before offering them each an awkward smile, and beginning.

“Good morning you two, I was wondering if I could speak to Levi for a moment,” you said, somewhat robotically. Furlan cocked his head in surprise.

“Oh? What abou-” Before Furlan could even begin to get his question out, Levi had quickly gotten up from his position on the bed and was swiftly headed towards the door. Right before he passed you he said something quietly.

“Outside, now.”

You flinched as he shut the door behind you. You shot an apologetic smile at a very confused-looking Furlan and hurriedly turned around to follow him out the door. Levi was waiting outside, arms crossed. You opened your mouth to speak, but before you could, he began talking.

“If you’re here to apologize, I don’t need to hear it. The best thing you could do for me is to just drop it right now. That’s all I came out here to say.” He said, with finality. With that, he began to head back to his room. Everything happened quickly. But you hadn’t said your piece. The asshole hadn’t even begun to let you. You felt a tight feeling rising in your chest. He was really starting to piss you off. Just as his hand was about to turn the handle on the door, you quickly grabbed his arm. He turned his head to you, raising his brows, somewhat surprised at your sudden movement. You cleared your throat and did your best to muster up a stern voice.

“W-wait. I didn’t come here to a-apologize. I wanted to talk.”  Ugh, so much for a stern voice. ”Please hear me out before you go back to your room.” You persisted.

You stared at each other in silence. You were trying to read his face. As usual, you couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he considering it? Well, the fact that he hadn’t already left and returned to his room meant something, right? He scoffed before turning his head to the side. You couldn’t see what he said.

“Sorry, did you say something?” You asked meekly. He gave you an annoyed look and he turned back to face you.

“Make it quick, and do you wanna let go of my arm now?” He asked, in an irritated tone. 

Immediately you dropped his arm as if it were infected with a bizarre disease. You cleared your throat.

“Sorry. Well, I-I was thinking that your problem… i-it’s probably something that's gonna come up again in your time here.” You paused to think about what you should say next. You were looking down at your hands, grasped tightly together in front of you, you knew that if you looked at him straight on that you would fumble with your words. “...S-so, if it’s something that you would like to do something about, I can help you.” You still didn’t look up after you finished your piece. It went quiet.

 Suddenly, you’d had enough of your own behavior. Even if he intimidated you, since when were you this fucking spineless? As of now, you’d known him for a week. That was more than enough time to get used to his presence. You had never been this timid before, and you were tired of casting your eyes down when you were in the same room as him. You were better than that, and you knew it. You took in a deep breath, and shot your face up to meet his, with determined eyes.

"So? What do you say?" You asked, calmly. You guys maintained eye contact for a moment before he averted his gaze and spoke.

“You want to teach me how to read?”

“Well? What do you think? We could have meetings whenever it’s convenient for you, no one else needs to know. People hardly ever come into the library, and even if they did, we could always say that we are going over the expedition formation or something.” You paused for a moment to allow him to speak. When he didn’t, you continued. 

“This is definitely something that’s gonna come up again later, so if you don’t want the same thing that happened in the library that day to happen again... you should do this.”

Still he said nothing. Your eyes remained on him, unwavering. Was he really just going to completely ignore you? It seemed like that was the case. You sighed. You’d offered your help already, and that was the most you could do. No use in lingering on it. Now it was up to him whether he wanted to take you up on your offer or not. You gave him a small smile.

“It was nice talking again, Levi, I hope you’ll at least think about it.” You gave him a small bow before turning around and beginning to walk away from him. Almost immediately, you felt a firm hand on your shoulder.

You turned to see him standing behind you. Right away you focused on his lips, anxious to see what he had to say.

“Can we begin tonight?” You blinked in surprise. You didn’t expect him to be this eager.

“Of course, what time would be the most convenient for you?”

“Eleven thirty.” 

You frowned. “Aren’t scouts supposed to be in their barracks by ten?” 

“Doesn’t matter.” He replied, nonchalantly. You arched your eyebrow slightly, crossing your arms. Should you be enabling his insubordination?  Well, whatever. You sighed.

“Well as long as you’re okay with the possibility of you receiving punishment if you’re caught, that works for me as well.” You said. He nodded and began to walk back into his room. You observed him as he disappeared through the door.

What a total weirdo.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

The conversation with Levi was so draining that instead of returning back to the library as you had intended, you instead went into your room, kicked the crap on the floor out of your way, and plopped yourself onto your bed. Even though it had worn you out, you were glad you made the decision to hold your head up when you spoke to him. Your meek behavior before had been out of character. You threw your glasses off onto the bed and rubbed your eyes. You hadn’t been getting much sleep recently. Usually, you functioned well on a few hours of rest, but your carelessness was catching up to you now.  I’m going to have to stay up late today for my lesson with Levi. You rolled over onto your stomach.

You decided to take a small nap before you returned to the library, just to revitalize yourself for the long day ahead of you. You reached your arm down to the floor from your bed and felt around for your alarm clock. When you felt the cool metal on your fingertips, you wrapped your hand around it and pulled it back up on the bed, and set it to go off in two hours. It was twelve. At two thirty, Isabel wanted to talk about your experiences outside the walls, and also show you her progress with her signature. So two hours was perfect. With that, you gingerly placed the old alarm clock on your windowsill, and let sleep take you over.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

You woke up, but the alarm clock wasn’t going off.  Fuck. What time is it?  You reached your arm back and grabbed the clock. You squinted at it, the numbers were blurry without your glasses.

Three o'clock on the dot.

FUCK. You shot out of your bed and immediately began making yourself presentable, wiping the slight drool from your face, straightening your dress, patting your hair down with your fingers. After you were done, you picked up your glasses, which had fallen on the floor, and made a mad sprint to the library, earning you a few odd stares from various military members as you passed them in the halls. You knew Isabel had been looking forward to this for a while, you’d feel bad if you ruined it for her because you failed to remember that your alarm clock was a janky old piece of shit. You made it to the tall wooden doors that lead to the hallway into the library, and you swung them open, taking heaving breaths. Your chest felt like it was on fire. As you did, you saw Isabel, Furlan, and Levi just about to exit the opposite door. You took a big breath.

“Isabel!”  You called out. Her head abruptly turned back to face you. She said something, but the distance was too wide for you to catch it. You jogged up to her and started to explain yourself.

“I am so sorry-” You stopped to catch your breath, “I fell asleep and-” Once again you stopped to catch your breath,  How embarrassing. But you persevered, “Before I knew it I-”

“Hey there, it’s fine!” said Furlan, stepping forward to place his hand on your shoulder comfortingly. ”Why don’t you give yourself a moment to breathe and then you can explain yourself?” You smiled up at him gratefully and nodded. After you had caught your breath, you continued. 

“I think you caught the gist of it earlier, but I fell asleep and the time got ahead of me, I'm very sorry Isabel. But if you'd still like to, we could still talk now.”

Isabel gave you a wide grin. "Yeah of course I’d wanna! Is it okay if these two stick around? They’d come lookin’ for me." she asked, pointing both of her thumbs at the two men standing beside her.

“Yeah, of course, let's go sit down, if you guys would like, could I make up for the lost time by offering you some tea? The kitchen isn’t too far from here.” From the corner of your eye, you noticed Levi perk up very slightly at your offer.

“Sure!” Isabel piped.

“What kinds do you have?” Levi inquired.

“As of now we have green and black tea… do you have a preference?”

“Black, please.” He answered.

After that, Isabel and Furlan both agreed on black as well, and made your way down the long hallway to the kitchen.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

After you had returned to the library, you carefully walked to the long wooden table where the three had placed themselves, and delicately placed the silver tray down in the center, which held four porcelain teacups with brightly colored wildflowers painted on the side. You sat yourself down next to Isabel, Levi and Furlan sat across from the two of you.

“Well, what do you say we get the boring stuff dealt with first, hm?” You said to Isabel, and she nodded quickly, leaning over and pulling a wrinkled piece of loose paper from her pocket. Gingerly, she unfolded it to reveal that it was covered from top to bottom with copies of her signature. Some of them could be better, but others looked very neat. You looked back up to her and saw that she seemed pensive, quietly awaiting your critique. You gave her a soft smile.

“Could you point out your most recent attempt?”

“Y-yeah! For sure. Here ya go.” She placed the tip of her index finger on the bottom left corner of the page.

𝓘𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓰𝓷𝓸𝓵

It looked almost identical to the reference signature you had given her. 

“Isabel, this looks very neat! You must’ve practiced a lot!” You gushed. She beamed at your compliment.

“Thank ya! Should I keep practicing?”

“Most people know their own signature like the back of their hand, so until you can do it with your eyes closed, you should continue to perfect it.” She nodded eagerly and folded the paper back up and into her pocket. She looked back to you questioningly.

“well...Can I ask you all the questions I’ve been meanin’ to ask ya?”

“Go ahead,” you said. She brightened.

“Can you tell me about your last expedition?” You hummed at this.

“Sure.” You took a deep breath. It wasn't really a day you liked to look back on, but you'd known that this was what Isabel had wanted to talk about. And besides, you could handle going over it one more time.

“At that point, I’d been serving in the Survey Corp for about five years. I joined the military when I was fifteen, graduated and joined the Survey Corp at eighteen. I’m twenty three now.” You began.

“This expedition wasn’t any different from the others, we ventured out in an attempt to find out anything new about the titans. After a full day out, we had come up with nothing, which wasn't rare. It was on our way back that my accident happened.” You stopped to think. You looked back up to them, until now, you had been staring into your teacup.

“Have they told you about abnormal titans yet?” Furlan quickly shook his head.

“Well...most titans follow a distinct set of patterns. They’ll walk upright on their two legs. The only thing on their mind will be eating people, and they’ll do anything to achieve that goal, even if their limbs are getting hacked off as they're doing it...we still don't even know if they feel pain at all.” You stayed quiet for a moment to allow any questions.

“But abnormals are different, some have been known to completely ignore us as we ride past them, although that's very uncommon. They might focus in on one person specifically, instead of going for whatever they can get their hands on. In short, any titan that displays behaviors other than a blood-hungry monster would be considered abnormal. In terms of movement, they also might move differently. Most titans either walk or run, but I’ve seen abnormals crawling on all four limbs like dogs... I’ve seen another that got around by jumping great distances.” You darkened at the unpleasant memory. ”That ugly shit was especially difficult to deal with because even once we entered the forest, he could climb onto the trees.” You said quietly. Suddenly, you became hyper aware of your demeanor. You gave them an apologetic smile, twiddling your thumb around the curve of your teacup.

“P-pardon my language.”

“Please continue.” Furlan said, he looked at you with intense attention. You nodded.

“Well anyway, they're uncommon, so I wouldn't stress over it too much, in my five years I've only ever come across ten, and only four out of those ten posed more threat than any other titan. That day I encountered one of those four on our way back. Upon first observation, we thought it was harmless. It slowly trailed behind our formation, but it didn’t attack. My captain sent me and another scout to fall back and take it down." Her face flashed through your mind. You felt a lump in your throat, but you continued.

"But she- the other scout I mean, was a very curious person. Instead of going for the kill like we were supposed to, she placed herself on its shoulder. She was trying to capture its attention, I suppose. She was a very capable scout, I think if it were a normal titan she could have escaped very easily." you explained.

"B-but then the titan did something I'd never seen before… it screamed. It let out the most blood curdling scream I'd ever heard. Even from my place on the ground, it was piercing. I had to cover my ears. But Marl- the other scout, was right at the center of it. I saw her double over, and she fell off its shoulder. Once she did, it stopped screaming, and it immediately shot its hand out and caught her. I aimed my hooks at the nape to try to go for a kill. I came in from the right side, and as I did, it turned to face me, and it screeched again. I didn't cover my ears this time, I was determined to get the kill, although the scream did stall me. A-and then I killed it...after I did, I couldn't hear anything. My hearing returned somewhat during my hospitalization." You took a sip of your now lukewarm tea. Your eyes had glassed over.

"And that's all."

"And the other girl? What happened to her?" Isabel asked quietly. 

You blinked. "Ah...I was too slow. She didn't make it."

"O-oh… I'm sorry for askin’.'"

"Don’t worry about it, it was a while ago anyway, and besides, if it was something I was adamant on not discussing,  I wouldn't have answered your question at all." You gave her hand a small squeeze. 

"So please don't worry."

She nodded, and an awkward silence settled in the room. 

"Your first expedition is this week, right?"

"Right."

The small feeling of sorrow that had been residing in your chest had grown. You could feel it swelling inside of you. Before you knew it, you were speaking again.

"Please be careful out there. It's a very real possibility that you may die out there...this is your first expedition, so please don't take any unnecessary risk. There are factors you can't consider into your training. Your emotions, the actions of your comrades, your fears." Now your eyes were really soaked, but you didn’t allow the tears to fall, and you kept your voice steady. ”Marla and I were two very capable soldiers. We both graduated in the top ten...and our titan kill count was more than impressive, but you never know what you might encounter out there.” You were still holding Isabel's hand. You strained your throat to get these last words out without your voice cracking .

“So please just tread carefully.” You finished, staring at Isabel's pale hand in yours. You looked up. They all wore somber expressions on their faces.

Shit. The three of them were only days away from their first expedition, and here you were, pouring out all your trauma on them. It couldn’t be very reassuring. You wiped your eyes and plastered a small smile on your face.

“S-sorry, I don’t mean to scare you. Honestly, since it’s your first expedition, more people are gonna be watching out for you, so as long as you stay in the formation you should be fine. It’s very unlikely that something would happen… O-oh! And apparently Erwin's going to be trying a new formation, and the goal is going to avoid as many titans as possible, which is different fro- ”

“N-no it’s fine! It’s not like we’ve never heard the risks before. Shadis tells us worse stuff during training.” Furlan reassured you. You relaxed a bit, you knew that was true, but you still felt guilty.

“Still, there was-”

Suddenly you were interrupted by a pair of long arms wrapping themselves around your shoulders. You jerked your head up to see Hange smiling down at you.

“H-Hange?” You blurted out, still surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Just came over to check in on my friend.” They said, giving you a wink, and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. They leaned down and gave you a small kiss on the cheek, and you scrunched your nose at the contact. You glanced back at Furlan and Levi, feeling embarrassed at Hange’s sudden display of affection. Furlan looked a little annoyed, but Levi was a completely different story. Oh dear. Levi must really hate Hange. If looks could kill, Hange would be dead where they stood. He stared at them with cold eyes, mouth in a hard set frown. Did their presence really annoy him that much? Thankfully, Hange didn't seem to notice, and if they did, they made no note of it. Suddenly they shifted their laser focus to the three other people sitting at the table.

“Which one of you brutes made this lovely lady cry?” 

 Your face flushed as you glared up at them. "Hange! I didn't cry, I only teared up a little, and it's no one's fault but my own."

 Hange frowned. "But you've never been very emotional."

"I know. As cool as I am, it happens to the best of us." You responded jokingly. Hange let out a harsh laugh, and you quietly joined in.

"Well, I don't have much time, I only came to ask if you wanted to go get some drinks with me and Moblit soon. "

"I would love to. Just let me know when okay?"

"Great! I'll see you later then!" they said, as they sauntered back to the door. Just as they were about to leave, they abruptly stopped in their tracks and turned.

"Bye bye, Levi!" They called back.

Ah, so they had noticed, they just wanted to be annoying about it. You surpressed a small smile as you eyed Levi, who wore an expression of disgust on his face. A small chuckle escaped your lips, and his head shot over to your direction. You feigned ignorance, pretending to look at your nails.

You watched the heavy wooden door close behind them, and turned back to your guests. Silently, you thanked them for livening up the mood, even if it was only a slight difference.

"Sorry about them, I can assure you that you guys are completely fine, so please don't feel bad...I didn't mention it, but I was quite close to the soldier that died that day."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Furlan said quietly.

"Don't be...she wouldn't want me to mope around about it." You said, laughing a bit. Furlan opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, and suddennly grabbed your hand into his. They were warm. Levi shot him a weird look.

"Please don't worry about us. We're smart, and we're very capable of taking care of ourselves. We won't die out there." Furlan said, resolutely. 

Every bone in your body wanted to reject that statement. How could you promise that to someone? You couldn't. Promising someone something so earnestly puts heavy burden onto them. But you were tired...very tired. You decided to believe him. You smiled at him.

"Okay."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

You slammed the large dusty binder shut with a groan. After they had left, you decided to get back to updating the catalog, a task that you had been putting off for far too long. You looked at the clock. Your conversation with Isabel, Furlan, and Levi had ended around four, and now it was... eleven...eleven? You gaped at the clock in disbelief. That meant that you had been working for seven hours. Granted you had taken some breaks here and there, but it certainly hadn't taken up most of your time. Hell, it was almost time for your meeting with Levi. Quickly, you began navigating your way around your desk, which had somehow gotten even more cluttered since the last time you cleaned it, picking out the things that you thought you would need for the lesson, two pens, loose sheets of paper, and a small sheet that had the alphabet printed onto it. You had also picked out an old leather notebook to give to Levi, so he could practice on his own if he chose to.

After you collected all of your items, you organized them onto the long wooden table, and pulled up two small chairs, so that you and Levi would be sitting across from each other. Satisfied, you glanced back at the clock...eleven seventeen. Good thing I checked the time earlier so I could prepare.  And you still had thirteen minutes to spare. You decided to get back to reading. You ran over to the romance section and pulled out one of your favorites. 'The Gentleman's Nursery'.

 It was about two lovers who only knew each other by letters, for they were separated by a 100 year old war. You had been in love with this book since you were a teenager. You slowly walked back to the couch seat as you flipped through the pages, scanning the chapter names and page numbers, looking for your favorite part. Ah, there it is. When they first meet each other. They meet by chance in the town's shop, but neither of them know who the other is, and they absolutely despise each other. The man thinks that the woman is far too crude for his taste, and the woman thinks the man is far too uptight. All the while, they've been writing letters professing their love to each other for the last ten months. You liked this chapter because it shows how far the couple comes in the end. The letters were reflections of the best parts of themselves, they were only showing what they wanted the other person to see, it wasn't authentic. And seeing them fall in love with the real versions of each other while slowly letting go of the ideals they held in the letters...it's satisfying.

"You need to watch your language, that's no way for a lady to speak."  Maxwell said with distaste.

"Excuse me? This isn't your conversation to stick your nose in! If you ask me, that's far more rude than anything I've ever done." Catrina retorted.

"You're in a public space, you need to be respectful of those around you!" he insisted.

"No one else seemed to mind except for you!"

God, Catrina was your role model. She was everything you aspired to be. You looked down to adjust your skirt from it's uncomfortable position, and saw two unusually clean boots in front of you. You shot your head up to see who it was. Oh, it's Levi. He opened his mouth to say something, but before you could notice, you quickly looked back down at book, you didn't want to lose your spot.

"Sorry, give me a moment," you mumbled, still looking down at the page number. One hundred and two. I'll have to remember th- 

Suddenly, Levi reached his hand out and grabbed your chin, and jerked it up to face him. His fingertips felt cold on your skin. You blinked, not quite processing what was happening. He leaned down slightly so that your faces were only inches away from each other. The feeling of your heartbeat became very apparent in your ears. He looked down on you with an irked expression.

"Hey, look at me when you're speaking to me." He said in a low voice.

Oh dear.

AN: Hello! So for some reason when I’m copying this from ao3, the italics don’t get translated, so i did my best to go through all of the text to correct it, apologies if i missed something and it read weird lol. 

as always, the rest of the chapters are uploaded on ao3 so if you wanna check that out, there are like seven more chapters there lol.

hope you enjoyed!

[ace-king]

OMG I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

SHOYO AN ANIME NERD/GEEK LIKE US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely love this!!!!!

The one piece reread only makes the hardest moments hit even harder,,,, even when you’re rereading it poorly in portugese

Or AKA, i found out today that HINATA SHOYO reads one piece and I haven’t recovered since