#anyways i posted this already but added a few things um

[literaturebf]

notes on the years ahead

[meiiie]

dave lizewski, i’m so into you. (pt. 1)

summary: you say something unexpected about Kick-Ass while discussing with your friends which hero you prefer the most.. Kick-Ass? Or Red Mist? little did Dave know or so you thought, you knew it was him all along..

a/n: uhh this is just a silly little imagine.. no one is probably going to see this post anyway but i’m new to this so this isn’t really the best thing i wrote, i hope u still enjoy reading this LOL i’ve also added my OC named Melilah who will be your best friend in this, um slight nsfw mention near the end but no actual action, thats it i think! yeah that’s it, happy reading :)

(pairing: dave lizewski x fem!reader) link to pt. 2

word count: 1.5k

It was a normal day, going to school, attending your classes, eating lunch, procrastinating your school works, submitting homework… attending more classes… rinse and repeat. But today was not what you expected, like.. at all.

ring ring… ring ring… you pick up your ringing phone while walking down the street, on your way to the convenience store.

“hello.?” your voice turns out more tired and groggier than you expected “hey when are you getting home sweetie? the food is getting cold and its already almost 6:30 pm, where are you?” your mom says with a worried voice, you could already imagine her face by just hearing her voice

this week has probably been one of the most stressful weeks of your entire life, class has been giving more school works, more due dates, you probably see your life flashing before your eyes right now “um yeah i’m on the way home already, don’t worry mom!��� you say attempting to make your voice sound enthusiastic “well you better not be hanging out with that pretty boy.. actually maybe you should invite him for dinne-”

“mom— i—“ you cut her off but then you sigh giving up to even explain. “…he’s just a friend i swear..”

this supposedly ‘pretty boy’ your mom is referring to is Dave Lizewski, this guy in your class who you were paired up to work on a major project so he’s been at your house a few times already. surprisingly you get along with him really well? you’ve even become a part of his friend group including your best friend Melilah. She always points out the fact he always stares at you whenever you all hang out in Atomic Comics and during classes, but you’ve never really thought about him that way, or maybe you were considering it?

while walking down the road the street lights flicker a bit and you see someone trying to hanging onto the ledge of a billboard of some sort. you hear the figure shout at the cat sitting, waiting for him to fall “FUCK YOU MR BITEY!” his voice echoes, but wait.. why does his voice sound so familiar…? “okay okay okay, but call me and update me on where you are okay? be here quick, i love you!” your mom says- *THUD* you quickly look at the direction where the person, you assume, fell “UH yeah i’ll call you! i love you mom, BYE!” you say hastily, almost whispering.

beeeep.. beeeep.. you hang up the phone call, quickly putting your phone back in your messenger bag and hide behind a car. you spot a green figure, uh, “what in the world is that…” you think to yourself. the figure is wearing a weird.. cosplay suit.. it’s almost as if he looks like a green condo-

your thoughts are interrupted as he storms off looking frustrated, most probably because of the cat he couldn’t save.. he walks hurriedly into the dark alley. for some what reason you felt a little curious, just a little bit. so you go and follow the ‘super hero’, “this is so stupid.. someone remind me why I’m doing this to myself?” you whisper to yourself as you hide behind a pole, (you think this helps you stay hidden but you should’ve seen dave’s face when he saw you) trying to get a peek at the stranger. he takes off his mask angrily, you watch his curls fall into place, there are some scratches on his face from the fall, “damn why does he look so fine” you say in your thoughts and then you realize.

those are the blue eyes you see everyday in school, THAT’S DAVE LIZEWSKI. you silently gasp covering your face. his eyes dart at your direction, he shudders at the sound of your noise then next thing you know you start running away like a cockroach flew at your direction “WAIT!” he shouts, good thing you ran quick enough so he probably didn’t see your face, key word: probably.. actually there was no reason to be running from him at all- but you just felt like it..? considering you’re still in your denial stage about your feelings for him, who wouldn’t? you open the door to your house and get in as fast as you could just in case he followed you. the tv is bright and the news displays the text in bold ‘SUPERHERO KICKASS SAVES THE DAY’ you stare at the tv in shock because that’s… how… he’s Dave..?

your mom pops out of the kitchen “hey your back home! i thought you were going to call me to update me where you were..- oh yeah that superhero… what’s his name? Kickass? apparently he stopped a bunch of guys yesterday who were trying to beat up another guy that was in front of a convenience store and a bunch of people saw it then recorded blah blah blah you get it” you just stare at the tv in shock. “hello…? earth to y/n?”

it’s been almost 2 days, you’ve been avoiding Dave, trying not to make eye contact with him, passing by him in the halls, not even acknowledging his presence, even avoiding the hangouts to Atomic Comics, despite the fact you still have to do a major project with him. you open your locker getting books out of your locker, “hey have you heard about those two new superheros? Kickass? and Red Mist?” Melilah questions and your eyes widen at the question, only being reminded of Dave “yeah- well- i think its kinda dangerous doing that you know? being a um.. a superhero? why are people even so into them nowadays?” you say hesitatingly “ugh you are such a buzz kill, anyways Todd and Marty invited us to hangout… in Atomic Comics…” she looks like she’s about to ask a question, but she hesitates “go on.. continue” you gesture her to reply “why are you like.. i don’t know avoiding Dave? we’ve all kind of noticed that you know and the tension is killing all of us..”

you close the locker door and bring her to an empty classroom, you say “okay i know this sounds a bit crazy but DAVE IS KICKASS.” she “pffts” at your statement then turns to look at your face again, “oh.. your being serious” she says “YES I’M BEING SERIOUS?? i was on my way to the convenience store right and Kickass or Dave- i don’t know anymore was trying to save this cat then falls from this thing- anyways he walked in the alleyway so i was like ok i’ll just follow him! what could possibly happen!? then he took off his MASK SO THEN I RAN AWAY AND HE WAS LIKE ‘wait!🤪’ BUT I KEPT ON-” Melilah tries to comprehend everything, slowly nodding… slowly.. she whispers loudly “OKAY KEEP IT DOWN SOMEONE MIGHT HEAR YOU, okay so are you SURE this was Dave?” still whispering

“a HUNDRED percent.” you say trying to defend that you weren’t just seeing things

she sighs “well what are we going to do? I already told them we were going to be there..”

“you said WHAT?”

“okay okay chill they didn’t say Dave was coming, they obviously noticed how awkward it was with you guys so why would they invite him right haha.. haha…..” she laughs nervously

after both of you gather your thoughts you find yourself already settling down in a booth, in Atomic Comics, contemplating your life decisions. fidgeting nervously already imagining what’s going to happen. hoping not to see him. Melilah comes back after gathering a bunch of comic books to read while waiting for them to arrive. “hey stop fidgeting your going to be fine, plus he doesn’t know you know. right…?” you both just stare at each other. you both start praying in unison—“lord give us the strength to-“

“give you guys the strength for what?” Todd interrupts, you look behind him frantically to check whether Dave was there or not. to your surprise, he wasn’t. does he know? did he see my face when i ran? what if he doesn’t like me anymore? wait. why did that even matter? Todd and Marty took a seat beside Melilah leaving you alone sitting at the other side of the booth, obviously planning something.. “guys what do you think of Kickass?” Melilah asks, you kick her leg from under the table making a face screaming WHYAREYOUBRINGINGHIMUP. in fairness the both of you didn’t know whether Todd and Marty knew about it too, you shoot a glance at her giving a ohhhhiunderstandnow look to what she’s doing (spoiler alert: you've got the wrong idea, she was in fact not helping you) “i think he’s fine i guess, to be honest Red Mist is way cooler though because of his cape and all..” Marty says with Todd nodding his head to show that he agrees

“well- for one i think Kickass is wayy cuter, i’d fuck his brains out if i got the chance.” you say out of your thoughts completely regretting saying the said statement- “Really?” Dave says out of nowhere observing the conversation from behind your booth, making you jolt “y/n that just came out of nowhere what in the world.” Melilah says right after staring at you for a few seconds while Dave is making eye contact with you, smirking like he knows something. the conversation falls quiet.. real quiet… “okay wrap it up you two.” Todd interrupts, i wonder what happens next?

a/n: and the rest is history, I hope this was good enough lolol hope you enjoyed reading! (pt. 2 coming soon)

[fanfictionalhooligan]

The Swordsmith's Spring〚Haganezuka x Kakushi/Reader Oneshot〛

Preface: Haganezuka is left discouraged after the failure of his first matchmaking arrangement. Tecchin's next pick for him is a Kakushi, oddly enough, but he obliges. He has little hope that his Spring will arrive (as Kanamori words it), but love has a strange way of bringing together those who look after the Demon Slayers.

Intended to be a follow-up to the Demon Slayer novel, Telltale Signs of the Wind. This story can still be read independently but it probably hits differently if you've read the light novel. I added a link to the specific chapter at the end of the story, but if you just want a quick overview then see this post!

"I think we've met before, Haganezuka-san."

"...Is that so?"

"Just for a few seconds. You, um, were running with a knife and yelled at me to get out of the way."

"...Oh." Haganezuka had no memory of this. He'd delivered too many death threats and knife chases in his life to recall small details. "Sorry if I frightened you."

"It's okay. I yell at Demon Slayers a lot, too," the female Kakushi replied. "They can be really frustrating."

"They are."

So, this would be the first topic of their matchmaking. Knives and yelling at Demon Slayers.

The two of them were here on extremely short-notice thanks to Tecchikawahara Tecchin, the Swordsmith Village chief. The old man had taken one look at her face a few days ago and shamelessly asked if she was married. He wasn't supposed to see her face at all, actually, but a spider had crawled under her mask and caused her to shriek and yank off her entire hood in wild terror. Tecchin lit up with glee and told her that his adopted son, Haganezuka Hotaru, was looking for a wife.

The chief was persistent and beseeched her to stay for just a couple of days in the Swordsmith Village, no matter how many ways she tried to find excuses to escape for work duty. However, there was something endearing about the way Tecchin wished for "Spring to finally blossom" for his son and for her as well. The female Kakushi gave in and decided that there was nothing to lose from one matchmaking meeting, anyway. She was constantly given a hard time about being unmarried, but what was she supposed to do? The Kakushi had her running all over Japan with Demon Slayers on her back, and she was never in one place long enough to meet a potential suitor. Still, at least she could get everyone off her case after this meeting and say that she'd tried.

...As it turned out, it was mostly Tecchin trying to find a wife for Haganezuka. The latter was carrying on with his life and his swords as always, and no one told him anything until she'd already agreed to the meeting. He threw a fit but grudgingly obliged since it would be rude, even for him, to disregard her gesture.

And here they were.

For two people who apparently yelled at Demon Slayers a lot, they could only manage a quiet mumble when they spoke to each other. Tecchin had insisted that they show up without their masks, claiming that their good looks would be sure to make a lasting impression and a shame to keep hidden. Besides, it was safe given that they'd both been working alongside the Demon Slayers for several years and needed no explanation. Tecchin arranged the meeting in a secluded area away from the village houses, surrounded by Sakura trees and difficult for onlookers to spot.

Secluded or not, though, sitting out here on the grass in broad daylight without a mask felt similar to being naked. The fact that she actually found Haganezuka as handsome as he found her beautiful, true to Tecchin's claims, somehow made it worse. They couldn't look each other in the eye for more than a few seconds at a time before getting embarrassed and pretending to focus instead on the plate of dango between them.

She decided to choose the first thing within sight that she could start a conversation about. "So... I hear that this is your favorite food?" she held up her skewer of dango.

Haganezuka had just stuffed one of the round masses of sweet dough into his mouth and gestured with his free hand for her to give him a moment. After a loud gulp, he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Mitarashi dango's my favorite."

"I can see why. They're really good," she remarked, taking a bite from her own stick of dangos.

"Wish I could eat them every day," Haganezuka added.

"Yes, wouldn't that be great?" she responded as cheerfully as she could manage. He was making it very difficult to keep the conversation alive and had returned to eating without replying. "So, um...do you have any hobbies, Haganezuka-san?"

His face hardened for some reason. "Making swords."

"Hey, it's great that you see your work as a hobby, too!" the Kakushi girl exclaimed, trying not to think too much into his sour expression. Haganezuka seemed surprised, though, lifting one of his glaring, jagged eyebrows."That makes it more fun since it's usually a really strenuous process, right?" she continued. "On top of that, the Demon Slayers just throw new requests at you as if you could magically just hand a new one to them the next day."

"I would still make swords whether or not anyone uses them. I enjoy it." Haganezuka stopped eating and just looked down at the dango skewer in his fingers instead.

"Well, that must be how you became so great at it," she told him earnestly.

Haganezuka smiled halfheartedly. "It's odd... I was asked the same question last time."

"Last time, as in, you had another matchmaking meeting?" she exclaimed. For some reason, she wasn't fond of the idea of another woman entertaining a chance to marry him.

"Sorry, forget I mentioned anything. Nothing good came out of it." Haganezuka straightened up and cleared his throat, a little ashamed. "...But I do like your answer better."

"Oh, about your hobby?" she remarked, unsure of what he meant. "Eh...what else would someone say? If you don't mind."

Haganezuka went silent for a moment. "...That swords are barbaric weapons that should be left in the past for me to look into more useful things. Like kitchen knives." The Kakushi stared at him in horror. "That's all."

"Someone actually said that?" She suddenly threw down her unfinished stick of dango and startled him. "What - why?"

Haganezuka shrugged. "I rejected the arrangement."

Everyone who met him was able to tell within minutes how much he adored swords. Whoever wanted him to discard them like useless artifacts might as well have told him to go kill himself. The Kakushi was enraged. "Kitchen knives?!" she repeated. He said nothing. "Well, how about those kitchen knives you chase after Demon Slayers with, then?" she scowled. "Yeah, let's see how much she loves kitchen knives after -"

"Those aren't kitchen knives," Haganezuka interrupted plainly. "Too dangerous. They might look like cutlery, but I made them extremely sharp. I wouldn't recommend them for cooking."

"...Oh." She was thrown off by the random comment about the actual knives, rather than the person that deserved to be hunted down by them. "I, um, didn't know."

He didn't add anything else.

It was probably a better idea not to talk about it. He was still sitting over there without touching the plate of dango.

She thought of something else. "You know, I've always wondered how swordsmiths know what to use to forge a Nichirin Blade." Haganezuka's face immediately brightened, and she couldn't help smiling. "Maybe it's obvious to you, but I personally can't tell them apart from regular swords until they change colors. Is there a special component in the metal?"

"Absolutely." Haganezuka's voice was suddenly clear and confident, sounding nothing like their initial conversation about knives and yelling at Demon Slayers. "Have you ever heard of Mount Yoko?" he asked eagerly.

"I haven't," she replied curiously. "But the name sounds familiar. Where is it?"

"It's the mountain closest to the sun," Haganezuka explained avidly. "It's bathed in sunlight all day, and that's where you'll find Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore, which is what we use to forge Nichirin Blades." The young woman nodded along, fascinated. "The result is a sword that absorbs sunlight," continued Haganezuka. "The source of the very thing that kills demons and makes them terrified of the day."

"That's amazing, Haganezuka-san!" She was able to look at him directly for once, without remembering about the whole mask thing and how foreign it felt not to have one. "So, all the blades actually come from the same place? Even with so many different colors and finishes?"

"Yeah, isn't that incredible?" Haganezuka exclaimed. "When I see the sun's energy flow through a new blade, how it transforms into colors and patterns that are entirely unique to the owner of the sword... It's one of the most beautiful things in the world."

Her eyes sparkled with awe as she tried to picture it. "Wow, I wish I could see that, too. And the mountain sounds like it would be a very beautiful place."

"Oh, you have no idea." Haganezuka was glowing with joy as if he were standing on the actual mountain. "The sunlight makes everything flourish - every leaf greener, every flower more vibrant, every tree taller." He gazed off into the distance, presumably in the direction of the mountain. "There's a river with a waterfall as clear as glass, and you'll see streaks of the ores running across the rocks near its bank. There are just...so many things that words can't even describe."

"It sounds gorgeous..." the Kakushi said breathlessly. "Can I go with you next time? I want to see it, too."

The question flew right over his head. Haganezuka was completely immersed in his praise of the Nichirin mountain and continued to ramble. It was a pure, almost childlike kind of adoration that the Kakushi found endearing, and she patiently continued to listen.

"I would live on Mount Yoko if I didn't have to stay in the village to forge the swords," Haganezuka declared. "In fact, that's where I want to get married." He suddenly froze on the spot.

"I-I mean...just in general. T-that's where I would choose to have my wedding...if I got...married."

It was as if Haganezuka just remembered why they were even sitting here, talking to each other. On the other hand, the Kakushi was a bit relieved that she didn't have to be the one to bring it up first. There was an odd silence in the air as they simply looked at each other, both of them setting the dango sticks quietly back onto the plate.

"Hotaru..." she finally began, ever so softly. His face was burning red as she called him by his name. It sounded lovely, coming from her voice.

A particularly harsh gust of wind suddenly rattled all the Sakura trees above them, causing a flurry of pink petals to blow straight at their faces. A good number of petals flew into Haganezuka's mouth, while another one of them hit the Kakushi's eye along with a cloud of pollen. The two of them jolted as their arms flailed in the ambush.

"Pffft -" Haganezuka hunched over and spat the pink petals out irritably; the young woman next to him violently rubbed her eyes to get rid of the stinging pollen. At some point, the two of them stopped and looked at each other. They suddenly began to laugh.

"Hey, it's definitely Spring," the Kakushi giggled.

"Well, that's one way to be reminded."

The petals were everywhere - caught in their hair, down their backs, fluttering over their shoulders.

The moment had passed; the two of them were more fixated on brushing the sakura petals away from their faces, which weren't used to particles getting on them after wearing masks for too long. Haganezuka didn't look like he was planning to repeat anything he'd blurted about mountains anytime soon and started picking Sakura petals off of the dango plate instead.

She had no idea how to comment on it, either. But honestly, she enjoyed spending time with him here and was okay with just talking and sharing with one another their stories. All she'd ever heard about him was that he'd go completely off the handle whenever his swords got damaged and could not be reasoned with. She'd heard many rants from former clients - even if the lower-ranked Slayers seemed to complain the most - and it made her sad that he probably didn't receive many thank-yous.

"You know...I can always tell when a sword's been forged by you, Haganezuka-san."

He was eating another row of dango and looked up with surprise. "Is that so?" His face was relaxed again and eyed her curiously.

"Most of the Demon Slayers who use your swords look terrified whenever the blade needs to be repaired or reforged," she replied sheepishly.

"...You mean because of me."

The young woman let out a nervous laugh. "Y-yes."

"Anyone who brings harm to a Nichirin Sword deserves death," Haganezuka replied matter-of-factly. "It's their own fault."

"But there's more than that. Your swords are sharpened with such precision and polished so flawlessly that when it's nighttime, I can see the moon and stars reflecting from their blades."

Haganezuka's face grew warm, but he brushed the compliment aside. "All Nichirin Blades are like that. And if they're not, the wielder probably got it dirty and is a careless slob that deserves to die."

"But the thing is...I've seen a lot of Nichirin Blades." The young woman's eyes suddenly went downcast. "When Demon Slayers are killed, the Kakushi take their swords back to the village to be reforged into new ones." There was a heavy silence. "A lot of times, the blades tell me how it ended. Some are broken. Some are bent. Some are still splattered with blood."

Haganezuka was taken aback when her eyes began to water. "H-hey, are you okay?" he exclaimed, reaching out his arm awkwardly towards her for a moment before stopping himself.

"I'm fine...thank you, Haganezuka-san," the Kakushi replied with a somber smile. "I just get reminded of my friends from the Demon Slayer corps who never made it back from battle. Some of them died while I was still carrying them on my back." She swallowed back a lump in her throat. "But it's good to have a body to bury, you know. We're not always that lucky. Sometimes there's nothing left but a limb or a finger here and there, an eyeball, or just some scattered organs. We identify those Demon Slayers by their swords instead."

Haganezuka felt his stomach twist. How many times had this Kakushi seen such things? She was describing it so calmly, completely composed. Graceful, even. But every once in a while her voice shook, ever so slightly. It betrayed a deep, underlying grief that no one in the Demon Slayer Corps nor their associates could truly recover from. Haganezuka himself constantly dreaded the possibility of seeing another one of his swords in those bloodstained piles that were sent back for reforging. How did this Kakushi stay sane? She was out there delivering corpses - or pieces of them - and witnessing the maddening grief from their loved ones. Over and over again.

The young woman could sense the concern and looked away for a moment. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much. People don't need to hear that."

Haganezuka wished he had something more useful to say. "No, it's fine -"

She cut him off. "What I really meant to tell you is, I've recovered more swords than I can count from fallen Demon Slayers. And yet, I rarely ever see one engraved with the Haganezuka family's crest."

"Oh...maybe because there aren't as many of those," Haganezuka replied gruffly. "People prefer other swordsmiths." As much as he loved swords more than humans with little regard for anyone's opinion, it still was discouraging whenever a Demon Slayer stormed off and demanded a more tolerable swordsmith.

"That's not what I'm getting at." The Kakushi girl suddenly gazed intently at him, causing him to pause for a moment. "I never see your swords laying out there, in all that blood, because the people you made them for are still alive. It's your dedication, the love you put into making each blade, that endures and protects them and makes it possible for them to win." She gazed softly at him with humble admiration. "That's how I know when you've forged a Nichirin Sword, Hotaru."

Something warm and bright glowed deep inside his chest. "Is that really how you see it?" Haganezuka asked, his eye glittering as he gazed back at her.

"Yes, I mean it! And the swordsmen who trust you with their Nichirin Blades can do amazing things," she told him earnestly. "Urokodaki Sakonji. Tomioka Giyu. Kamado Tanjiro -"

"The Kamado boy lost his previous sword and was willing to use a basic, first-degree blade before I could finish sharpening it to its full potential!" Haganezuka immediately threw in. His brow twitched just from the memory. "Forget the demons, I wanted to kill him myself!"

"Oh...right, I've heard." A bead of sweat ran down her temple. "But even so, you were the one who honed the sword that Tanjiro used to slay a demon that would have killed everyone in the village. It gave him time to save a lot of people because you were so committed to finishing the job that you refused to stop, even while you were wounded. And you even lost your eye..." She unconsciously reached towards his face, where his left eye was permanently shut with two long scars that crossed each other over the lid.

"I still don't remember exactly how my eye ended up like this," Haganezuka commented obliviously, scratching his head.

The young woman quickly placed her hand back down. "What do you mean?"

"I was in the workshed for days, honing one of the finest blades I've ever had the honor of being entrusted with until that misty Hashira brat suddenly took it and ran off," Haganezuka grumbled. "I noticed that my left eye was bleeding for some reason, and it hurt when I tried to open it." He scrunched his face as he tried to recall the details. "Everyone tells me that a demon crushed it, but I have no idea what it looked like or when it appeared. It was already dead by the time I noticed."

The young woman stared at him incredulously. "Wow...they weren't joking about your ability to focus beyond human limits."

"Huh?" Haganezuka blinked. "I thought all swordsmiths never get distracted while forging."

"But with you, it's, um..."

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, no. Not at all," she quickly retorted. "I think it's amazing, really. I've never met anyone so dedicated to their craft. That's a commitment to be admired, you know."

She had such a bright, endearing smile. It was contagious, and Haganezuka found himself smiling as well. "I appreciate that." Upon closer look at her face, however, it occurred to him that he could still see a shadow of grief in her eyes, just beneath the surface. The sadness was so subtle, so quiet without daring to speak out loud. It made his chest grow heavy.

"Is something wrong, Hotaru?" she asked, cocking her head a little. His name sounded impossibly beautiful again.

"I want to ask you something." Haganezuka turned to face her, suddenly stern. "Do you ever get to rest?"

"...What do you mean?"

"When you're out there, tending to the dead bodies and their abandoned swords. When you see the hell on earth that demons bring to humans." He spoke so bluntly that the young woman jolted and her eyes went wide, her face growing pale. "Does your spirit ever get a break for you to rest?" he asked, deathly serious. "You, the Kakushi, literally carry our swordsmen and look after them and let them rest. Even if they're dead. Even if they're in pieces." Without thinking, Haganezuka reached forward and grasped her shoulders. "But what about you? Who carries you? Who is there when you're the one who needs to rest?"

The young woman looked down at the ground, completely silent. Her shoulders began to tremble. "I..."

Haganezuka held her shoulders more gently when he realized that there were tears pooling beneath her eyes. He'd gone somewhere that she couldn't hide them.

"You don't have to worry about me...but thank you," she replied softly, almost a melancholy whisper. 

Okay, that was it. "Listen," he told her, holding an intense gaze. "Remember all the things you just told me earlier? About my impact as a swordsmith and empowering Demon Slayers and all that." His face was turning red again, but he wanted to tell her. "That...made me really happy."

She was at a loss for words, but her face grew pink as she looked up and met his gaze.

"I want you to know that you give just as much as I do to the well-being of the Demon Slayers. You put so much care and dedication into making sure that they are looked after and can become strong enough to fight again. My swords won't do a thing to save them if they're still beaten up and left out there to die. Without the Kakushi, Demon Slayers would crumble without the strength to even lift a blade again. You keep them alive to fight, too."

"Hotaru..."

"But if you ever feel like you can't take it anymore," he went on, "If your spirit is shaken, you don't have to put on a smile and force yourself back out there right away. You...you can come to me." He never imagined that he'd be saying these kinds of words in his life, but it felt right. "You can tell me all about it, you can cry - anything at all that would help - I want you to come to me. You don't have to shoulder all the pain."

She nodded silently. Haganezuka felt her shoulders lift and then drop again with a sigh of relief, held steady by his calloused hands. He wasn't sure when their faces had gotten this close to each other, but he couldn't look away from her eyes. They were green like the fresh leaves of Spring that emerged after a long Winter.

It suddenly occurred to her that the sun had begun to set. "So, um...I think it's getting dark soon."

"Oh. Yeah, it is."

"What are we supposed to tell Tecchikawahara-san?"

The two of them shared a long, tender gaze.

"If you ask me, I'd tell the old man that there's going to be a wedding on Mount Yoko," Haganezuka declared. He paused for a moment and went still. "If...if that's okay with you." His voice grew quiet, suddenly afraid that she might recoil and run away from him like all the Demon Slayers. "If you'll have me."

"Yes, Hotaru," she told him gently. "With all my heart."

- The End

Thank you for reading💚

You have my gratitude forevermore for setting aside time for this little tale 🥹

POST-CREDITS AND COMMENTARY:

This is the first tumblr fanfic I've attempted, but I also posted it on AO3 here if anyone else likes to have a traditional story page format! I never intended to write a Demon Slayer fic at all actually! But in the light novel Haganezuka was down in the dumps for several days after the incident with the stinker who called swords barbaric; the chapter ends with Kotetsu's prayer that Spring will arrive for him one day. That was just too sad to me so I wanted to give Spring to Haganezuka myself :')

I intentionally left out any mention of Ms. Kakushi's name so that you can choose to interpret the POV or treat her face as more of a placeholder for yourself if you'd like. If you like the default OC, however, she's in fact a retcon and referenced from this young lady! Picked for her green eyes and presence in the Swordsmith's Village and hey, maybe they even glanced at each other. Here's her profile if you'd like to roll with it (link!)

I designed and illustrated the rest of her for this story using a combination of blank OC templates and body references to adapt to our hotheaded swordsmith. See the links below!

I also drew a random epilogue comic (link)

All fanart and overview of continuity

Care for Part 2?

REFERENCES:

Light Novel Chapter and Inspiration

Drawing Base 1

Drawing Base 2

Drawing Base 3

Drawing Base 4

Drawing Base 5

Drawing Base 6

[copperbadge]

I am so close to being done with Royals/Ramblers I can taste it, and it's one of those frustrating situations where the last remaining work to be done is just annoying. I have to write one damn scene, which of course is the most emotionally fraught and difficult one, and then pick from the *counts on fingers* three separate versions of the epilogue I wrote, none of which are very satisfying. I'll probably slam them all together and then sort it out somehow.

And then I definitely have to give the whole thing one more pass before I think about posting, because it's going to clock in at right around 150K words, and I already have notes on continuity issues that need fixing.

Anyway, please enjoy this scene, in which I realized at the same time Gregory and Eddie did what a great joke their names make. (Some brief context -- Joan uses she/her but doesn't like the word "princess", so she chose the gender neutral Princeps as her title.)

Friday evening, when Gregory came on the air for the address, Eddie was sitting next to him, and Joan was leaning on Eddie's shoulder. Her excitement was almost a visible thing; she'd been fussed over that afternoon, Gregory helping her pick out clothing followed by Jerry doing her makeup for camera and Eddie doing a slightly less clumsy job of braiding her hair than she generally did. 

"Good evening, Fons-Askaz, Askazer-Shivadlakia, our neighbors, and our viewers abroad," Gregory said. Behind the camera, Jerry mouthed the words along with him absently. "I'm pleased to greet you all this Friday evening and I hope you're well. I find myself, for the second time in a year, setting aside the usual issues of the day and questions from citizens to talk to you about family...."

His idea had been to talk about Joan's history just a little, then introduce her as the newest Royal, their daughter the Princeps. He could use that as a platform to present to the country his new funding package for adoptive families, meant to encourage adoption and support children coming out of the foster system. Each half of that would hopefully make the other half seem less random.

It went pretty smoothly; Eddie chimed in at all the right moments, and Joan got to say a few words of introduction at the end. After he signed off, he gave her a hug and a forehead-kiss and told her she'd done a great job. 

And then Noah, standing with Monday and Jerry behind the camera in the little studio, said, "Well, you crashed the internet again."

Gregory sighed. "Can't blame Eddie this time, can we?" 

"It was only the tourism website, and it wasn't on purpose," Eddie said. 

"He was always breaking my stuff when we were kids," Monday said.

"Nope, this one's all Joan," Noah replied. "As soon as you introduced her as your daughter, traffic started spiking -- palace website, tourism website, and every royals' Photogram."

"Katie in Communications says told you so," Jerry said, already on the phone with her.

"Joan's Photogram is down, looks like bandwidth-suck. And there goes mine, and yours," Noah said, nodding at Gregory. "There's two hashtags trending, PrincessJoan and PrincepsJoan." 

"Let me call my guy at Photogram," Eddie said, taking his phone out. 

"You have a guy just like, at Photogram?" Monday asked.

"Yeah, he handles my requests, I send him sausages," Eddie answered. 

"How is it you simultaneously live in the 22nd century and the 14th?" Monday asked. 

"Have him kill the Princess hashtag," Noah suggested.

"It's fine," Joan said. "They can use it for now, it'll keep things, um." She narrowed her eyes, searching for the word. "Segmented. Spread out the discussion a little."

"Someone's been reading my data analytics memos," Gregory said. 

"You leave 'em out," she pointed out. 

"Good news is people seem excited," Noah continued. "The hashtag's glitching, it's moving so fast, but overall pretty positive," he added.

"Well, we knew this would be intense," Gregory said. Joan, studying her own phone, squeaked. "Joan?" 

"Mas Corbin tagged me," she said, with possibly the most excitement they'd seen from her, at least since her first trip in the Jaguar. 

"The footballer?" Gregory asked, confused.

"Who?" Noah and Eddie chorused. 

"He's a Shivadh footballer, I think he's playing in Ireland right now," Gregory said, and his voice took on a slight edge as he considered some of the reasons a football player might mention his daughter. "What did he say?" 

"Dedicating my next game to my new Princeps JoanMac, long may she reign," Joan read, and Gregory relaxed. "Congrats to Gin&Tonic, she's cute as a button. Mas Corbin thinks I'm cute!"

"Gin and Tonic?" Gregory asked, and then said, "Gregory and Theophile," right as Eddie and Monday both began to laugh. "How did neither of us think of that before?"

"You get used to it," Noah said to Joan. "All kinds of famous people are going to have opinions on you."

"What do I do?!"

"Gram him back," Noah said. "Comment and say thanks and that you're a fan and you'll be watching the game."

"I'm gonna have to do a video with some gin and tonic recipes," Eddie said, as Noah and Joan debated the best wording for her response. Gregory leaned back in his chair, exhaling, and let the chaos happen around him for a minute. 

[eiirisworkshop]

I want to post something, but I don't have anything finished, so you get a sneak peak at the sequel to my Star Trek fic, Chiaroscuro. Enjoy!

~

Admiral Fitzgerald sighed and ran a hand over his face. “If I promise you you'll get another ship, will you take the damn promotion?”

Kirk crossed his arms. “If I can get that promise in writing from all the top brass, sure.”

“I'll see if I can swing that.” The Admiral pinched the bridge of his nose. “You're impossible, Kirk, I hope you know that. And you get away with more than you should, because, unfortunately, you really are that good.” He folded his hands on the desk. “What was it the two of you wanted to see me about, anyway?”

Kirk looked sidelong at Spock.

“We have a question, or rather a requirement, regarding our respective next assignments, for logistical reasons,” Spock said coolly.

“More demands,” Fitzgerald snorted. “What's this requirement of yours?”

“Nothing huge,” Kirk assured him. “It's just, wherever we're posted, if we're going to be there for four years or longer, we need to either be assigned together, or within a day or two's travel from one another.”

“Together would be preferable,” Spock added. “Simpler.”

“Uhhuh.” Fitzgerald looked unimpressed. “Why?”

“Well, um….” Kirk looked to Spock again.

Spock was staring fixedly at a book on the shelf behind the Admiral. “Certain circumstances arose over the course of our recent mission that resulted in the establishment of a particular kind of psyonic link between myself and the Captain. The phenomenon is extraordinarily common among Vulcans, but rare with members of other species. It was unavoidable, but it does now mean that the two of us must have at least periodic access to one another.”

“Or else what?”

“It would be fatal,” Spock said simply.

Fitzgerald nodded slowly and leaned on one elbow towards Kirk. “Does this, by any chance, have something to do with that detour you took the Enterprise to Vulcan a few years ago?”

“Short answer: yes,” Kirk said carefully.

“Well,” Fitzgerald leaned back in his chair, “I happen know that Commander Spock's next assignment is a four year teaching stint here at the Academy, and Captain, there's some fighting over you but it's looking like you'll be spending those four years behind a desk in one department or another, and unless Wyoming or Luna make particularly convincing cases for needing you before the ceremony Friday, it's looking like you'll be either here or in L.A. I figure that's easy enough travel.”

“Yes sir,” Kirk said along with Spock, biting back the urge to point out that the Admiral could have just told them they would be posted near each other anyway.

“If that's everything, I do believe you've already been given your accommodation assignments,” Fitzgerald said. “It's late, you've had a long day, and I know it can be rough to readjust to living by an actual day/night cycle again.”

“One more thing about that, actually,” Kirk said quickly.

“Captain,” Spock warned lowly.

“I was hoping one or both of us could be reassigned,” Kirk continued, ignoring the man who was no longer his First Officer. “So we're not on opposite ends of campus, at least. If there's not a good way to do that, I know the flats over at the north end of Academy housing are never full, that would work too.”

“Jim,” Spock warned again.

The Admiral looked back and forth between the two of them and tilted his head curiously. “Is this whole psyonic link business some kind of sex thing?”

“I do not believe that question is appropriate, Admiral,” Spock bit with a stern, cold evenness that almost came across as polite.

“Maybe not, but I think it's warranted. Kirk, you know those flats are family housing. They're for married couples and parents with kids. So unless the two of you are planning on getting hitched—”

“By Vulcan standards I'm pretty sure we already are!” Kirk exclaimed.

“Jim.”

“What? We are, aren't we?”

“Yes,” Spock confirmed, “but I do not appreciate your disclosing that without consulting me.”

“Well, hell,” Fitzgerald sighed. “Kirk, half the ladies in Starfleet are going to be heartbroken.”

“I don't think that comment was appropriate, either, Admiral,” Kirk said.

Fitzgerald shrugged. “You're the one who just told your boss you shacked up with your XO without clearing it with him first. Look, do you have some kind of documentation? A Vulcan marriage certificate, if there is such a thing?”

“There is, but we do not,” Spock said.

“Then there's nothing I can do for you. I couldn't get anything changed for you tonight, regardless. Go get some rest. You're both dismissed.”

Spock nodded once, turned on his heel, and strode out. Kirk followed with a tight “Yes, sir,” to the Admiral.

Despite the hour, there were still plenty of people coming and going in the halls—Starfleet never really slept—but Kirk and Spock did manage to get an elevator to themselves. Kirk punched the button for the lobby and the doors closed.

“You should have conferred with me,” Spock said to his reflection in the polished metal door.

“You're right, I should have, I'm sorry.” Kirk deflated against the elevator wall. He was exhausted. And starving.

“How and when to inform Starfleet of our relationship was not your call to make unilaterally.”

“They were going to find out sooner or later, and we were already halfway to telling Fitzgerald, but you're right, and I'm sorry.” He took a breath and shoved away from the wall as they neared their floor. “I'll grovel, I'll walk you through my thought process back there, whatever you want from me, but can we do it over food? I haven't eaten anything since the cheese and fruit and crackers at that third press conference.”

Spock's gaze slid over to him, carefully—ominously—blank. After a breath he dipped his head in acquiescence. The door dinged open and they stepped out.

“I recommend both,” Spock said as they walked through the lobby.

[use-your-telescope]

Wow, WOW. It has been... a *hot minute* (cough-sixmonths-cough) since I've shared any real teasers/snippets of my big writing project, WHICH NOW HAS A NAME - that's right, it's no longer going by the working title of "the Trickster!" The fic is officially titled "When Everything's Made to be Broken." Linked the synopsis page, which should link out to the snippets that I've previously posted, in case anyone is like "what was this fic again?" So here we go! I'm getting to a point where even though the story as a whole isn't finished, I might start posting the first few chapters just so I'm no longer sitting on them... The first seven chapters are pretty much done (minus a final read through), and the end is there, it's just the middle of the story that's vexing me. Anyways, this takes place after the other snippets I've posted. Enjoy!

Tag List: @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @thedistractedagglomeration @lokisgoodgirl @simplyholl @mochie85 @coldnique @lokixryss @gigglingtiggerv2 @infinitystoner @loopsisloops @mischief2sarawr @crzyplantladyvibes @buttercupcookies-blog @vickie5446 @the-lady-amphitrite

Send me an ask if you want to be added to the tag list!

Warnings: None. This is on the soft side, all things considered?

Song: Cosmic Love - Florence + The Machine

Word Count: 1,281 words

You Were in the Darkness Too

Before long, they were outside of Marquette, driving down backroads that made Loki question whether or not his phone’s GPS was accurate. However, when they turned down a long gravel driveway that led to a clearing with a small farm, he received confirmation that he was, in fact, in the correct location when Theo pointed at where to park.

“Welcome to the farm,” Theo gestured to the property around them, her voice and expression lacking any enthusiasm. Approaching a wooden porch, she gestured towards a shed. “In that shed is the portal I usually use to go home; you’re welcome to use it - get home and actually sleep in your own bed.” Rather than move towards the shed, Theo fished a set of keys out of her pocket and started fiddling with the door. 

“Are you not planning to return home for the evening?” Loki furrowed his brow, glancing between the shed and the door that Theo had, by that point, unlocked and swung open.

“I– no.” Theo grabbed her bag from where she had set it on the porch, slinging it over her shoulder. “This is the house I grew up in; I know it’s just as close as New York with the portal and all, but I think I’d feel better if I stayed here, at least for tonight.”

Her rationale was, though not necessarily logical, understandable. The idea of a familiar setting providing comfort made sense. And though he would have loved to reunite with his own bed, the idea of Theo alone still seemed… wrong.

Why that was, Loki was uncertain.

“Perhaps I might stay with you, then?” Loki blurted out the question. “I don’t mean to impose, however if anything were to happen I think it would be in your best interest to not be alone.”

Theo stilled, mouth hanging slightly open as she processed Loki’s request.

“Loki, you’ve already done so much for me.” She shook her head. “I can’t ask you to cancel all of your plans and postpone going home after such a crazy, exhausting week.”

“You are not asking,” Loki countered, “I am offering.” 

She pursed her lips and peered at Loki. The breeze rustled the trees around them, and in the distance the ebb and flow of waves off the lake provided a wash of ambient sound.

“Um, yeah - come on in.” Theo pushed the door open, reaching in to flick on a light before gesturing for Loki to follow. “But if it’s too much at any point, or you need to go do something, promise me you will go.”

“I swear it.” Loki retrieved his own bag and followed her inside. 

The farmhouse was a sharp contrast to the tower - unlike the modern, minimalist architecture of the tower, he found himself charmed by the quaint, mismatched nature of Mémère’s home. In many ways, the home reminded him of the houses he’d see in Maximoff’s old sitcoms: the furniture seemed to be from decades past, though they weren’t quite as coordinated as on television. 

Photos adorned the walls of the hallway - some old enough to lack color, while others looked as though they were taken yesterday. 

“You can take my bed, I’ll just take the couch.” Theo said, leading Loki into what appeared to be a sitting room.

“You need not sacrifice your bed for me—“

“You just changed all your plans so you could fly with me to a place you’d never been and probably never wanted to visit, all because I was upset about someone you’ve never even met having health problems. Not to mention you just dropped a shit ton of money to change both of our flights, and on a rental car…” She shook her head, turning on more lights as she escorted him through the house. There was a certain sense of relief that came with the realization that some of the fire which Loki associated with Theo had returned. “You deserve a real bed to sleep in, if nothing else.”

“You’ve also worked tirelessly over the previous week, and you carry a great emotional weight,“ Loki countered, “Perhaps we can share?”

Trudging up a flight of stairs, Theo waited until they were both upstairs before replying. “It’s only a queen-size bed, not the California Kings that we have in the tower, so it might be a bit cozy… but if you’re okay with it then sure.”

“We’ve spent time in far closer proximity,” Loki pointed out, to which Theo cracked a smile and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, but uh… I’m not really feeling up to that tonight.”

“It was not something I even considered, given everything that has taken place.” 

“I didn’t think you were, but I figured I would clarify.” She pushed open a door, flicking on the light. “Welcome to my bedroom.”

In the late night, Loki was presented his first chance to take in the room that Theo called her own. Soft, pale yellow walls and sheer white curtains felt familiar - it was a lighter, softer version of the quarters Theo kept at the tower. The furniture here was not remotely cohesive - a heavy wooden dresser sat in the corner, assorted knick-knacks atop it. Above the dresser, a Van Gogh poster was tacked to the wall - a still-life of a turquoise vase with sunflowers. 

In the corner, an acoustic guitar sat. Next to the guitar, Theo’s closet door sat open - inside, a colorful mix of plaid filled the cramped space. The bed was as large as one could rationally fit in the tight space; atop it, a patchwork quilt provided an injection of color and warmth to the room. 

Perhaps this room was a time capsule of her youth, or maybe it became a melding of her past and present - he couldn’t be entirely sure. 

Neither of them wasted any time getting ready for bed - then again, after capping off a long week with a particularly exhausting day, it was a small miracle that they hadn’t skipped pajamas and fallen asleep in their dayclothes. Loki was the first to lay down; Theo quickly followed, shutting the lights off before slipping beneath the bedclothes and settling in.

Loki stretched out as best he could on the mattress, though Theo was right when she said it was much smaller than Loki’s bed in New York - unless he slept with his head touching the headboard or curled up on his side, his feet would hang off the end of the mattress. 

Theo rolled onto her side, facing Loki. Moonlight from the window reflected off her silver hair, casting an ethereal glow in the dark of night. When Loki turned to face her, he caught her watching him.

“You ought to rest, darling.” He murmured, arching an eyebrow at her.

“I know,” she whispered, “I’m just thinking…”

“About?”

“Today.”

Loki hummed. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Theo faltered for a moment, then shook her head. 

“Is there something I might do to help you rest?” Loki leaned forward until his forehead rested against Theo’s. 

“Just having you here helps.” Theo shrugged, “but, um…”

“What is it?” Loki frowned, trying to catch Theo’s gaze. 

“Could you, um…” Theo shimmied a bit closer, stopping just before they touched.

Relief flooded through Loki at the request. He lifted an arm and nodded, a shy smile curling up on his face. Theo rolled over and slid back until her back pressed against Loki’s chest; he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

“I’m here, dove.” He whispered, burying his nose into her hair. The faint whiff of shampoo, with notes of rosemary and lavender, tickled his nose. “Whenever you need, however you need.”

He meant every word.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD - Hijikata Biyori Track 11

Well, guess who passed out early on Sunday when she intended to translate then just couldn't afford the time to translate until now? 😅 Anyway, I'm going to work on a number of the Biyoris since they're short so I can actually put out a few things on time or schedule... because I'm going to be pretty occupied until the May 2nd (presumably), though I did rush this a bit.

Also, I'm pretty sure that the Hijikata Biyori tracks that remain untranslated are tracks: 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36 and whatever the Sendai [?] thing was [if memory serves, it's a dialogue with only Harada and Shinpachi]. Please let me know if I'm missing something... or if I included a number of one that was already translated.

This post is to make up for last week! Will start working on the post for this week in a bit since I actually have some time today!

Hakuoki Drama - Hijikata Biyori Track 11: Letter [according to jisho, the JP 文 can alternatively be interpreted as 'texts', 'writing' or 'literary arts'. sorta leaning towards the last one because of Hakumyu LIVE]

Translation by KumoriYami

Harada: Ahh.... so sleepy.

Toudou: You drank too much yesterday, Sano-san.

Harda: Heisuke, aren't you the same?

Toudou: I don't drink until I get hungover.

Hijkata: It's already lively this early in the morning. [added in "already" for sentence flow]

Toudou: Uwah, Hijijkata-san.

Hijikata: Did you go to Shimabara last night?

Harada: Ah.... yeah. Do you have something to say about that [the word here I have translates to "idea / opinion / suggestion / objection / complaint" so I changed that to something more in line what I thought would be appropriate for the character]

Hijikata: No comment/No objections [same explanation as last line] . At this time, the organization is always changing, which has made things chaotic. It's fine to relax once in a while, but… ahh…

Harada: But... what.

Hijkata: It's fine to loosen up, but don't overdue it. In the future, you'll be shouldering the Shinsengumi's reputation, and be making achievements in Kyoto [reword later?]. You guys, you're in the position of being role models for the rest of the troop.

Harada: U-Uh... Toudou: I get it, Hijikata-san. Don't stare at us like that so early in the morning.

Hijikata: Ah, right. Hm? What is it?

Toudou: Um, These letters are are from the Shimabara nee-sans [check audio. the word I have is 'elder sisters' so I'm pretty sure that this fine…]. One, two, three, four. Here, for you.

Hijikata: Ah, yes. What a hassle/You've worked hard.

Harada: Hijikata-san, aren't you enjoying yourself to some extent?

Hijikata: But I don't go overboard. Well then.

Toudou: Ah, he escaped.

Harada: He really has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He lectures people then runs away. That's right, Heisuke, let's storm into Hijikata-san's room together.

Toudou: Why? Harada: I'm sure he has a smile on his face as he reads those letters right now. Let's go and check it out.

Toudou: Ah, Sano-san, wait!

Harada:...How is it it?

Toudou: He seems to be writing something.

Harada: Oh? Has he already started writing his reply? How about it?

Toudou: Hey, wait, San-san...ah!

Hijikata: What are you two doing!

Harada: Ah, no, um...

Toudou: W-We wanted to see what Hijikata-san is doing. Lo-Look, you've been busy with a lot of work lately. We were wondering if there was something we could help you with…

Harada: Yes, that's right!

Hijikata: I see, you're just in time then. What I writing just now...

Harada: Eh? It's okay to look? Then...

Hijikata: I'd love to hear your opinions.

Toudou: Eh?

Hijikata: Hurry, read it.

Harada: First/One, it's forbidden to violate Bushido.

Toudou: First/One, leaving the Shinsengumi is strictly forbidden.

Harada: What is this!

Hijikata: The number of members of the Shinsengumi will increase in the future. In order to provide better leadership, I wanted to write down some rules that the Shinsengumi members must abide by. I was just working on a draft.

Toudou: Eh? What? Will you need to commit seppuku if you violate them?

Hijikata: Ah. As a samurai, you must pay with your life. Harada: That makes sense, though isn't that too harsh?

Hijikata: Well, both of you sit down. I'll explain what I haven't written down yet. If there are things that disrupt the troop affairs, I plan on having them banned. Additionally, meaningless fights are also unproductive…

Toudou: Where is the response.*

Harada: Don't say that.*

Hijikata: I will especially not tolerate fights within the Shinsengumi. I don't have time for that sort of thing. Also…*

[*I'm not entirely sure about these last bits since one of the tls I saved has this in an order where it looks like that some of the lines might overlap/have things spoken in the background. will fix them later after I hear the audio.]

-----end-----

also, ive been so busy that i havent even gotten around to organizing my latest merch haul... only got around to organizing the bromides.

[teecupangel]

Apparently Nolan north voiced both Desmond AND Abbas, so- Des gets time traveled back to Altairs time, but this time the assassins can’t figure out if he’s related to Altair (looks) or Abbas (voice) or both somehow. (Bonus points: Des somehow IS related distantly to Abbas)

I will never get over Nolan North voicing Abbas. Although to be fair, he only voiced AC1 Abbas who had, like, one scene if I remember correctly? Anyway, if anyone’s curious how Nolan North sounds like as Abbas, here’s the post where I added a videoclip of him annoying Altaïr.

For this one, let’s shake things up a bit. Desmond gets kicked into the past after Al Mualim had been defeated but Altaïr is off doing his own thing in Cyprus which Desmond forgot because… uuuhhh… he didn’t really pay that much attention to that part of Altaïr’s life? He knew it happened, it just… um… Desmond’s memories of Cyprus from Altaïr were pretty vague. (as a reference to how Bloodlines is important to Altaïr’s story but isn’t that wildly popular or played)

So Desmond didn’t know Altaïr wouldn’t be in Masyaf. He just saw the date “October 1191” and assumed that Altaïr would be in Masyaf as the mentor so he went there.

Only to be instantly mistaken as Altaïr until they realized his skin color is a bit lighter (the hood he wore made that a bit hard to see immediately). Then they heard him speak and they have to stare at Desmond for a moment because…

Desmond is speaking to them the way Altaïr usually spoke which meant…

Desmond didn’t just sound like Abbas.

Desmond sounded like Abbas speaking like Altaïr.

And that’s both weird and funny to many of the Assassins because everyone knows about Abbas and Altaïr’s ‘strained’ relationship.

Abbas absolutely hates it.

Desmond hates it as well because of all the people he could sound like, he had to sound like freaking Abbas, fucking hell.

Malik becomes the unfortunate soul who has to listen to all of these because he is the Keeper and it’s his job to keep the Brotherhood working while Altaïr goes swanning off in Cyprus (which Malik had been adamantly against because Altaïr was the freaking mentor and the Brotherhood was still reeling from Al Mualim’s betrayal and death!) but he has an Assassin go to Cyprus to find Altaïr and tell him about the appearance of a man that looks too eerily like him to be a coincidence. Malik does not tell the Assassin that Desmond admitted to being Altaïr’s descendant, kicked into this time period by one of these ‘Isu devices’ of which he says the Apple is part of.

Words of Cyprus being liberated from the Templars reach Masyaf but Desmond only smiles mirthlessly as he tells Malik in confidence that Altaïr wouldn’t return.

… only for Altaïr to return a few days later.

Alone.

Unorganized Notes:

Abbas is definitely freaked out by the fact that Desmond has the same voice as him. Then he usually gets angry because Desmond likes to irritate him.

Desmond’s plan is to irritate Abbas so much by trying to keep telling him that Altaïr isn’t a bad person and that this entire ‘feud’ will only destroy them both. 

Does he think Abbas and Altaïr would ever reconcile? Hell no. Desmond still feels the grief and rage Altaïr felt the day he learned of Sef’s death. The despair that followed him after Maria and Malik’s death. Altaïr might have forgiven Abbas but Desmond would never will.

His plan is to actually make Abbas snap and try to hurt him while there are witnesses all around. Abbas’ standing in the Brotherhood is already rickety at best since he took the Apple and tried to use it. It was only by Altaïr’s mercy that he hasn’t been executed.

Desmond knew that he needs to capitalize in that because the older Abbas gets, the more Assassins will be initiated that had no memory of that event and will be more receptive to Abbas’ poisoned words.

Malik knows all of this. Desmond has been so forthcoming with everything to him alone that, if it was all a lie, Desmond has the worst lying scheme of all. They’re all too detailed and too strange to be complete bullshit at this point and Malik knows that, at the very least, Desmond believes the ‘lies’ he speaks of.

Things get even weirder when Altaïr returns (without Maria! Desmond is freaking out. Why isn’t he traveling with Maria? Did he completely fuck up that he won’t be born anymore? Will he disappear in the middle of something? Fuck, fuck, fuck)

And then Altaïr gives Desmond his own WTF. 

He knows who Desmond is. He’s been dreaming of him since he used the Apple in Cyprus.

And Desmond is like… what? What? No, really. (stares at the Apple) WHAT?

While this is all happening, all the other Assassins in Masyaf were still getting used to hearing Abbas argue with himself because… well… Desmond and Abbas arguing about Altaïr was now one of the most regular source of entertainment for the bored Assassins. Desmond’s defense of Altaïr has made them feel like he might be connected to Altaïr BUT it might not be familial at all. Which meant he was most probably related to Abbas and not Altaïr in a familial way and Abbas is offended and Desmond is like… “no, god no”.

Then an Assassin who was born and raised in Egypt before coming to Masyaf talked to Desmond about how there’s this belief that a person has a spirit double of some sort in the form of a ‘ka’. There’s a bit of miscommunication there and Desmond thought that the Assassin was talking about a ‘soulmate’ scenario and the Assassin latched on to it because that is soooo much more accurate in his eyes. 

Desmond did not know that the Assassin was talking about him being the ‘ka’ of Altaïr. 

So… by the time Altaïr returned to Masyaf, seemingly knowing Desmond and looking relieved and surprised to see him in Masyaf, everyone’s just going “CALLED IT!” on what kind of relationship they had, not knowing that Altaïr’s reaction is because his last dream of Desmond is about his death.

In this case, I don’t know who would suffer more… Abbas who has to hear the other Assassins talk about how his ‘family’ definitely has some kind of intimate relationship with Altaïr or Malik who knows the truth about everything but can’t tell anyone and has it worse this time around because Altaïr’s actions are NOT HELPING the rumor mills at all!

(sidebar: it would be funny if the twist is that Abbas isn’t Desmond’s ancestor from his mother’s side but from Bill XD, although… if we assume that old Assassin families are connected one way or another and the Sofians are an old Assassin family, we can make Desmond be related to the sister of Abbas’ great grandmother who married into the Al-Sayf family of which Tazim married one of Sef’s daughter so they’re like… so many times removed cousins???)

[nephilimbrute]

kicking my legs.... hey queen could we hear about some goofy splatoon headcanons that you might have to offer the world is dying to know (its me im world)

HELP hello...also OF COURSE!! i have a post detailing idol headcanons but in this post i'll add on to it (so you should probably go read that first)

okay so if you didn't know all the idol groups are insane (especially the squidsisters.) off the hook more like off the meds. they kill people and they're able to get away with it coz they can cover it up well. that's like the main thing in my...universe

now, adding on to callie she's like. buff/physically fit. and she's stronger than she is intelligent, she hits people on accident sometimes (gave marie a scar once (or maybe a few times)). she also tried to bite marie several times and tried to eat her hat. she's an accomplice to marie's killing

onto marie, as i said before she kills people. for fun! though, in splatoon 2 i picture the whole missing-callie situation to be tough for her so in splat2 she's more like her canon self, but it's harder for her to communicate and for 4 to actually complete any missions

pearl and marina don't have much extra coz i think they're awesome already. but pearl is a little more of a loose cannon (still gentle with marina), and marina... (in the future of an alternate timeline) um.. yeah . anyways, pearl has adhd and she's a big hit with the ladies (self-projecting)

shiver speaks in a more formal manner, and it's easier to get on her nerves. one word to describe her would be psychopathic. fuck being good she's all evil baybee! also hc that she sounds like bmo from adventuretime

frye is fucking Unhinged. still really silly though. she gets a big kick out of killing people. also she has like , 3 or 4 normal shirts and the rest are about her...

callie is a cuttlefish, marie is a cuttlefish/firefly squid mix. pearl is a northern pygmy squid, marina is a giant pacific octopus. shiver is a mako shark/??? mix, frye is a vampire squid and big man i suppose you know already

i'm open to any questions (angel emoji)

[starset21]

Disclaimer: I only own my original characters, I've done some research but there will likely be Navy/military inaccuracies, and I do not consent to the posting, translating, or publishing of my work to any 3rd party site, the only place it may be found is on tumblr and Wattpad under @.itswildflower

A/N: This story is heavily inspired by the hallmark movie of the same title and is very self-indulgent. I'm also trying a different format than I'm used to using so it may change in the future chapters.

Looking for the other chapters? U.S.S. Christmas Masterlist 

Summary: The final day of the tiger cruise is being wrapped up and its time to say goodbye.

Chapter 6: Disembarking

“Kate, how is the article coming along?” Ron asked as they were decorating some Christmas ornaments.

“Um, unfortunately, it's not coming along as easily as I had hoped, but it's been a fun adventure and… Jake's been amazing,” she told him.

“Jake?” Jackson asked in a teasing tone.

“Wonderful. It's been, uh… Enlightening,” he told them.

“Well, I'm glad to hear it. And I hope everybody enjoyed the cruise,” Ron told them.

“This time with my kids… was just the best Christmas gift,” Elizabeth told him.

“That makes me happy. Family is everything,” Ron said, a bright smile on his face.

“Apologies. I need to excuse myself,” Jake told them, standing up.

“Work?”

“Just a few lists I need to double-check. Excuse me,” Jake smiled before walking off.

“A toast. To friends… Family… And Christmas!” Ron added.

“Cheers, Merry Christmas!” they all echoed. 

“Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho ho ho ho!”

They all turned to see Santa walk over to one of the chairs.

“Yay, Santa's here!” some kids cheer.

The Santa adjusted his beard just enough for them to see it was Jake. Kate laughed and he sent her a wink.

“Oh ho ho! Merry Christmas! Come on, kids, line up in a single-file line, everyone can see Santa,” Jake bellowed.

“You are a miracle worker,” Ron smiled, turning to Kate.

“Me?”

Ron nodded. “What happened on that trip to New York?” he asked.

“Oh. Um, we just talked a lot about the past and the future, and... I reminded Jake what makes Christmas so special,” Kate told him truthfully.

“Well… He seems very happy,” Ron nodded, turning back to the ornament he was working on. 

Later that night Kate stood up in the crows nest, getting some air.

“I told you that first night I met you I can be spontaneous,” Jake said, coming to lean against the railing beside her, his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Yeah, you did. And I was wrong about you. Where'd you get that belly, anyway?” Kate asked, looking out at the water.

“Two life preservers, remember?” Jake laughed.

“Oh… Good use of a flotation device,” Kate shook her head. Jake pulled his hands out of his pockets and with it came a very glittery snowflake.

“Yeah, and sparkles. Tons and... tons of sparkles. Voilà. Not too shabby, huh?” he asked, handing it to her.

“It’s beautiful Jake…” she trailed off as little white things began floating down around them.

“Is... is it...?” she asked.

“Snow. It's the perfect night,” Jake told her.

“Absolutely… Perfect,” Kate echoed.

Jake took a step closer to her. He was never one for the romantic aspects of relationships, he was always so career driven, but with her, it was like he was an entirely new person. He would not lie and say he didn’t enjoy being this new guy, one who could open up and express his thoughts to her, watching him quietly. He leaned in and Kate did too. But before her lips could do more than brush his, she pulled away.

“Jake, this isn't a good idea,” she muttered before taking a step away from him.

“Why not?” he asks.

“I think you're so great, but whatever this is here on the ship, it's… It's not gonna work back home. I… I'm so sorry. I should go,” she tells him, turning and walking away.

“Kate, don't…” Jake trailed off but she was already gone. 

“Tigers, thank you for joining us on our 4-day cruise of the eastern seaboard. It's been a pleasure having you onboard, and we wish you the merriest of christmases,” the intercom clicked off after they had docked.

“Sayonara, ladies, Jackson, Have a wonderful Christmas. I'm off to Aspen to meet the rest of my family,” Charlotte told them.

“It's been real, Charlotte,” Kate told her, shaking her hand.

“Real fun,” she smiled and nodded before heading off with her brother.

“Oh! We just had the best time, Ron. Thank you,” Elizabeth gushed.

“You're welcome. And I hope I wake up to your article Christmas day,” Ron directed to Kate.

“I hope so too,” she told him. “I thought Jake would have shown up to say goodbye, but… Well, Merry Christmas, ladies,” Ron told them.

“You too, Ron. Merry Christmas.” Kate grabbed her bag and they were about to head out when they heard heavy footsteps coming from behind them. 

“Kate! I'm so glad I caught you before you left!” Nick exclaimed.

“We'll get the bags to the car. Do you have the keys?” Jackson asked their mom.

“My brother found a Jonah William who was a pilot on the polaris in 1965,” Nick hurriedly told her.

“That's amazing! What about the records? I thought we needed a freedom of information request.”

“Turns out he was awarded the Navy cross for extraordinary heroism. He shot down three enemy aircraft in Vietnam, and that makes him a person of exceptional prominence, which is an exception to the rule of releasing records to the public without a formal request,” Nick told her.

“That's so amazing. So where is he now?” Kate bit her lip in anticipation.

“He went back to Vietnam in 1967 and, sadly, went missing in action,” Nick told her and Kate frowned.

“Oh. Did they ever find him?” she asked.

“It's complicated. While Jonah was Mia, there was a fire at the VA storage facility in Missouri which houses the records. The strange part is, after the fire, the trail goes cold. My brother couldn't find any more from military records.” Kate’s head dropped.

“So we don't even know if he's alive?” she sighed.

“Okay. Well, I have his name, I can do my own search. Thanks Nick.”

Nick nodded. “Well, I hope it works out. Good luck,” he tells her.

“Thanks.”

Kate turned to leave but Jake walked out just as she did.

“Merry Christmas, Jake,” she said quietly.

“Merry Christmas, Kate.”

Kate swallowed, looking up at him.

“You stay safe, okay?” she asked and Jake nodded.

Kate nodded once more before heading off the ship. 

[tblsomedoodles]

Ok so I have a few of questions.

How would the Evil League of Mutants (and by extension, the rooftop scene in the Bug Busters episode) go? Would Draxum still say he created the turtles and/or would outright say they're Lou Jistu's kids? Would he admit (or allude) to them that they weren't always turtles?

I know in the master post of this au it said that most of the series would remain unchanged, but with the late spider yokai puberty starting to show and how it mentioned by the time the episode Many Unhappy Returns, Big Mama would put the pieces together and realize that the turtles are her lost boys. In somewhat of a follow-up question, would Big Mama try and track down Draxum in revenge for what he did to her children?

And to wrap this up before I start rambling too much, would the turtles ever question why or how exactly they have new spider traits, and how long would it take them to track it back to Big Mama, if they ever do?

Alright!

So as far as Barron Draxum is concerned, he believes he did create them so the rooftop "Bug Buster" scene and the "Evil league of mutants" Scene would go unchanged. He honestly doesn't care if they started as 'humans' or turtles, he turned them into what they are now, therefore he created them. He probably wouldn't allude to the fact they were human first simply because it's not important to him.

Yes, i had said it wouldn't change much before the idea of the spider yokai puberty, (which would begin to show itself a bit after Bug Busters, and be in full swing probably after BullHop(full swing meaning 'oh something is definitely up', not full grown appendages yet. Specifically as far as Leo and Donnie go. Their arms take a while to grow and they'd still be small enough to hide until probably Battle nexus ny.)) um...oh yeah, with the spider yokai puberty being added in, it still doesn't change a whole lot. It just adds some things to the main goings on (and some things inbetween.) But yeah, Big Mama would definitely be able to put the pieces together by "Many unhappy returns" even if Leo was keeping his arms hidden/out of the way. It would be hard for her not to when 1)the boys remind her so much of her kids already, and 2) Lou is right there, claiming one of them lol.

As for Big Mama's thoughts on Draxum post child revelation, she may actually try to track him down. It was one thing when she thought Lou took their boys, but this yokai not only kidnapped her children, but mutated them along with her significant other, ultimately forcing all five to not return to her. She would be livid once all that comes to light.

And last but not least, Yes. The boys do end up questioning why they're suddenly having spider traits! It's about the time that it becomes obvious they're developing (specifically Donnie being in a lot of pain when his arms first start growing. That's about when they realized something was weird.) they ask Splinter what's going on but other than telling them this is normal for them (all while looking like he's seen a ghost) he tells them nothing. So they slowly put the pieces together themselves, maybe even finding their last human portrait buried deep in Splinter's Do Not Touch cabinet. And eventually, Leo overhears Splinter and Big Mama talking before the "Many unhappy returns" battle, specifically her saying "Where did you hide our sons?" and it just...clicks.

I guess that would mean Leon is the first to realize they're related, even before Big Mama does. Well, i did say he's the clever one lol.

Anyways, thank you! This was very helpful! I hadn't thought of a lot of these points yet : )

[ninjagirlstar5]

Protag Teruya AU - Prologue Part 2 - The Fake Trial

TWs: Discussions of a Murder Case

Body Discovery & Investigation | Post-Fake Trial

Prologue Part 1 Beginning

Disclaimer: While Sannotori is problematic, it’s a thing in this AU/fic and the dynamic is not the same as it is in canon.

The Protag Teruya AU was inspired by @/anotherprofessional’s post! Beware of Void spoilers though!

“Since you are merely solving how the murder took place in the past, there will be no voting involved in this class trial.”

“Uhh…voting?” Kanade spoke up, her voice a bit more firmer than before. “Why would there be voting?”

“Using evidence you gathered during the investigation, you will argue what you believe happened to the victim. If you all manage to come to an agreement on the explanation, then you’ve succeeded in solving this murder. But if none of you are able to solve this murder…well, I’ll leave that as a surprise. That’s all there is to it. Good luck.”

“...Sounds like our kidnapper isn’t interested in answering any of our questions, Kanna.” Setsuka said, crossing her arms in displeasure. Kanade frowns in response but says nothing else. Kokoro taps away on her tablet before speaking up.

“Well, we should at least start somewhere. I have a good topic we can discuss if no one else has any ideas.” The psychologist props her tablet up on her podium, presumably for easier access.

“If leaving this damn courtyard was an option, I’d be turning on my heel and walking on out of here in a heartbeat!” Nikei yelled out, being only a few spots away from Kokoro. His shouting probably would’ve been an issue for anyone that was standing between them, but the podium was empty. Afterall, a sixteenth student was pretty much nonexistent in this class. “But no, as if getting kidnapped wasn’t bad enough, we’re all stuck on an island with a cruise ship we’re completely locked out of!”

“It’s not like any of us would know how to steer the ship anyways.” Mikado buds in. Nikei brings his glare towards the wizard, who was completely unperturbed by it. “But that’s besides the point. Back to what you were saying, Ms. Mitsume?”

“Thank you, Mikado.” Kokoro said, grateful that the topic was being shifted back on course. Her head faces straight ahead but her gaze shifts towards Nikei as she speaks. “Since the culprit of the case is…irrelevant to this trial, we should be figuring out how the victim was murdered.”

“Didn’t the tablet explain that already? Why should we spend time on something we already know?” Hibiki was quick to reply, her rash and irritable voice adding to the tense atmosphere. Mikado blinks his eyes. Or rather, his mask blinked.

“What tablet?” He asked and it was only then that the amnesiac remembered that Mikado never got the final clue. Feeling a little bit embarrassed for forgetting, he speaks.

“Oh, uh…there was a box of tablets called the…’Monocrow File’ that explained the…state of the victim. But it vanished along with the fountain. So, um, here. You can borrow mine.” He takes his backpack off and pulls out the tablet. Mikado thanks him and takes it from his hand, turning it on to read.

“While the tablet listed her wounds, it didn’t explain how she got them. It may be best if we start there before we can discuss anything else.” Kokoro moves the conversation along, even though Mikado probably still needs a few minutes to read the Monocrow File.

“If you ask me, it seems kinda obvious.” Emma said with a hand on her hip, her eyes to the floor as if she had figured something out. Kokoro actually raises an eyebrow at her before nodding her head. A silent ‘go on’ if he ever saw one.

“Oh y-yeah? Was there something we missed?” Shinji asked, stuttering through his words while facing the actress but genuinely curious as he had been guarding the crime scene the entire time.

“Well, there’s a knife, isn’t there?” Emma crosses her arms as she faces everyone’s gaze.

“There was an actual knife at the scene?!” Yoruko flinches at the information, genuinely scared of the thought of a weapon. Of course it would make sense that a weapon was found at the crime scene. But he can feel confusion settle into his brain with those words as something didn’t make sense in his head.

“I-If there was a knife, it’d make sense that it’d be the weapon, right?” Iroha stutters out, lifting her sketchbook up as she tilts her head. His eyebrows scrunches up tightly as he frowns.

“Uhh…I don’t think that’s right.” He said, hoping to catch their attention. He does, but Emma was frowning in his direction now.

“And why is that?” Emma calls out, putting her hands on her hips. “You can’t just say that without explaining.”

“That’s, uh, I mean…” He stumbles over his words, trying to find a way to explain himself. However, the fog in his brain refuses to lift like he was unable to connect the dots together. He knows something isn’t right but he struggles to find the reason why.

He scrambles his brain to say something, anything.

But everyone’s gazes were on him now, pressurizing like a tank that was being overwhelmed with too much air.

His throat tightens as sounds that are barely strung together like words escape his mouth. He knew he couldn’t leave everyone hanging like this so he forced himself to say anything that came to mind. No matter if it was an excuse or not.

And then someone steps in before he could.

“Because the knife was clean of blood.”

It was Mikado who spoke up, his voice clear and strong with confidence.

The amnesiac turns his gaze towards the wizard beside him. He had lifted his gaze from the tablet, facing his classmates’ stares head on. Emma blinks her eyes.

“What…?” She said, as it was apparently her turn to be confused now. Mikado goes on.

“If it was the murder weapon, it would’ve had the victim’s blood all over it.” He raises his hand as he shrugs. “Can you explain why that would be, Ms. Ma - I’m sorry, Ms. Emma.”

“That’s, uh…” Emma’s eyes shrink a little as she holds her hand against the collar of her school uniform. “Perhaps the culprit just cleaned it off?”

“Except there was dirt and debris on it. If the culprit cleaned it off, it would’ve been spotless. But it’s not.” Mikado lifts his finger up to his mouth, his mask shifting into one that was both smug and self-assured.

He couldn’t help but admire him for his intelligence.

And yet, he also felt a bit of shame for being unable to reason out his answer on his own. Especially with how obvious it was now that Mikado spelled it out.

“To add to that, if the culprit had the time and energy to clean the knife, why didn’t they just take it with them? They’d have to be a dumbass to leave it at the crime scene.” Nikei buds in with a tsk. Emma cringes but doesn’t refute him.

“I-I see…” Emma closes her eyes, dropping her hand. “When you put it like that, it’d make sense that it wasn’t the knife.”

“...It’s not?” Iroha says, almost a bit dumbly admittedly. But he didn’t have the heart to criticize her for it. He couldn’t even figure out how to explain himself when he tried to oppose Emma’s words.

“No, Iroha. It isn’t.” Kokoro said with a flat stare in her direction. Iroha yelps before hiding behind her sketchbook. The psychologist relaxes her eyebrows and curls her hand over her chest. “Why did you assume it was the knife, Emma?”

“Well, uh…When we found the body and you told me to go find the others, I think I kicked the knife while I was running. But even when I took a glimpse at it, I guess I was in too much of a shock to realize the details on the knife. Or lack thereof.” She laughs a little, albeit awkwardly as she rubs her cheek. “This is a bit embarrassing, not gonna lie.”

“I-It’s okay, Emma!” Yuki starts to speak, his voice almost steady enough to calm the tension in the air. “This is a debate, after all. It’s only natural that some of us would get things wrong as we talk through the trial.”

“But, if the knife wasn’t the murder weapon…Why was it there?” Hajime asked, crossing his arms with a raised eyebrow. “And where’s the actual murder weapon?”

“That…is a good question. I didn’t see the crime scene but the…victim wouldn’t have turned out the way she did without something sharp, um, cutting her, right?” Yuki raised his fist to his chin, looking like he was thinking hard about the case. He seems to be a little calmer now. The amnesiac glances at Mikado and the object on the podium. The wizard notices and nods. He took that permission to speak up.

“Actually, Mikado found something by the cliffside. It might be relevant.” He said, gesturing to the object wrapped in his cape. Everyone turns their gaze towards him and Mikado’s mask grins.

“It’s certainly more than relevant. Let me show you.” He then takes his cape and carefully unwraps it from the object. His jaw drops upon seeing it.

It was a weapon, shaped like a sword and its length gave it a long reach. It was still obviously sharp despite its cracks and would explain why Mikado wrapped it up in his cape to protect himself while handling it. And, more importantly, there was still some blood on it, even though some of it seemed to have been washed away.

“...Is that a sword? Where did you get that?” It was Yuri that spoke up, his voice tinged with annoyance. Mikado only nods his head in confirmation, barely acknowledging the astronaut’s presence.

“I found it by the cliffside near the ocean. It was stuck between some rocks but I managed to get it out with my magic.” Mikado carefully traces his fingers along the blade. “I believe a blade like this could easily cut someone-”

“Wait a fucking minute.” Nikei stops him, tilting his hat down as he stares at the floor. Mikado glares at the journalist but he meets it head on. “How is this blade relevant to this case? If it was by the cliff, that would make it so far away from the crime scene.”

“Maybe it’s because the culprit tried to hide it?” Kanade said, lifting her hands up with confidence.

“There were footprints leading towards the cliff.” Kokoro said, backing it up with her own observations. He tried to keep up but the conversation kept moving along without pause. “As long as these pieces of evidence are accurate to the crime scene in the past-”

“And what if it isn’t?” Nikei spat out. Kokoro blinks but doesn't turn him down, allowing him to keep talking. “What if the evidence is fake? What if the announcer is just leaving this shit around to confuse us? Why should we trust that the scene was accurate down to the smallest pieces of dirt?”

“In any other circumstance, I do think you’d have the right to be suspicious, Nik.” Setsuka said, curling her eyebrows as she crossed her arms. “But with how things are right now, all we can do is have faith that the announcer wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Except we don’t have evidence to back that up!” Nikei scowled. “If we get this wrong, something is going to happen to us and I’d rather not find out!”

“Well, according to this Monocrow File, the wounds seem to be pretty accurate.” Mikado rebutted, calm if a bit wary of the journalist’s temper.

“Keywords seem to be. Anyone can see that the girl died due to being cut in half, in Utsuroshima Park. But did anyone even check that she had bruises underneath her clothes? Is there even a way to verify that she died at 11:45PM-”

“Wait, wait, wait!” The moment those words left Nikei’s mouth, he immediately knew he had to speak up. “I-I think I have the answer to that and I, uh, have evidence to prove it!”

“Oh yeah? What is it?” Nikei asked, raising his hand with a flat stare. He clearly didn’t think he’d have anything good to say. He didn’t blame him since he needed Mikado to step in and explain his thoughts for him earlier. But this time, he was certain he could explain himself on his own.

“The victim’s watch. It read 11:45 but-” He starts but Nikei turns his nose up at it.

“Ah, yes. A watch that can keep ticking on and on as long as it has power. Come on, how can a watch prove that the announcer ain’t bullshitting us with that file?” Nikei said, barely even looking his way. The amnesiac flattens his stare.

“Because it’s broken.” He said, flat and straight to the point.

“...What?” Nikei drops his hand with wide eyes, completely taken off guard.

“Once a watch is broken, it won’t be able to move its hand.” He explains pretty matter of factly. He was pretty confident in his words too and it showed with how strong his voice was. “And while it was an old fashioned watch that doesn’t tell you if it’s AM or PM, if we, uh…what’s the word…cross-reference, that’s it. If we cross-reference that with the Monocrow File, I think it’d line up pretty well, don’t you think?”

“That, uh…makes sense. But the wounds-” Nikei tries to fight back, only for someone else to step in.

“Sorry, Nik. But I can at least tell you in this case, the file is telling the truth.” Setsuka said, awkwardly smiling as she shrugs her shoulders. “I saw a pretty deep cut on the girl’s left leg and had our big buddy here verify that with Shin. Right?”

“...Wait, are you talking to me?” He points to himself. Setsuka snorts.

“Who else could I be talking to?” She seems to be winking at him but with her right eye constantly closed, it looks like she’s blinking instead. Yoruko frowns as she leans over the podium with her hands on her hips.

“Wait, wouldn’t your podium have given you your name? The screen had mine typed in it so it must’ve had yours, right?” The hostess asked and he immediately winced at her question. She notices his response and pulls back with her mouth agape. “Unless it didn’t have it?!”

His silence was enough of an answer.

“Are you…saying that the kidnapper doesn’t even know your name??” Hibiki was shocked at the news, raising her hands but unsure of what to do with that. Almost everyone was staring at him with sympathy and he couldn't help but feel like he was being put on the spot.

“That’s…a sad revelation.” Yuki said, gripping his tie. The amnesiac could only hang his head in disappointment, Mikado reaching over to pat his shoulder to comfort him.

“Maybe we should put the topic of our friend’s name to the side for now.” Shinji was the one to speak up, shooting a concerned glance his way. He seems to have noticed his discomfort and he appreciated the change in subject. “Back to what S-Setsuka said, I did find the cut on her leg. In fact, it’s so deep that she might not have been able to walk. And even if she forced herself to, I…don’t think she was able to escape.” The amnesiac nods his head as he was there to witness his examination. Nikei stares at them, processing their reasoning and probably trying to come up with a comeback.

Evidently, he couldn’t, as he backs down as soon as he lowers his hat over his eyes.

“...Oh.” Nikei’s voice was smaller than usual, like all the yelling he did earlier has become nothing more than an embarrassment for him. He can even see the blush on his cheeks from where he was standing. “I…guess that means the file is reliable then.”

“It’s okay, Nikei. Some of us are bound to get things wrong.” Emma said with a light tease, tossing Yuki’s words back his way. The student gaped at her but it was already too late to stop Nikei’s sputtering.

“Y-You don’t have to rub it in, okay?!” He let’s go of his hat, putting his fists against his chest. “I just…I had to make sure our source was accurate, so cut me some slack.”

“Fufufufu, and yet, for an Ultimate Journalist, you tend to jump the gun, don’t you?” Mikado took the opportunity to take a jab at him. Nikei immediately sends a glare the wizard’s way.

“Don’t make me leave my podium just to hit you.” He warns. Mikado just shrugs but the mask’s expression only gets cheerier.

“Back to the blade, I believe it’s safe to assume that this is the murder weapon. Are we all in agreement on that?” Mikado looked around the trial and he did the same. No one had any rebuttals and the blood on the blade was pretty convincing in its own right. “Then I believe it’s time to move on.”

“Alright, how about this one: why are there two weapons at the scene? It wouldn’t make sense for the culprit to carry two, right?” Yoruko asked, shifting onto the next topic. Almost immediately, his brain goes blank. Why would there be two weapons? If the culprit already had the blade, that would definitely be the superior weapon compared to the knife thanks to its reach.

“...Oh.” Hajime suddenly speaks up. He seems to be sweating a little bit. “I think I have an idea of why there’s two weapons. But it’s mostly just a shot in the dark.”

“W-Well…speak up. Whether or not it’s a good deduction depends on our debate, after all.” Kanade encouraged, gently smiling Hajime’s way.

“Yeah! Tell us, Hajime!” Iroha jumps in, urging him to continue. He can’t tell if she was excited or desperate. Honestly, it’d make more sense if it was the latter. The boxer sighs.

“Well…I’ll admit, it’ll paint the victim in a bad light.” Hajime said, rubbing his head. “But, uh, maybe the victim had some bad blood with the culprit…and tried to kill them?”

“K-Kill them?” He said it without thinking, gaping at his fellow classmate. “Why would they do that?”

“Don’t ask questions we wouldn’t be able to answer without evidence.” Yuri, who had been mostly quiet, finally starts to participate more. Although he clearly wasn’t happy to be responding to him. “We don't know why the victim would bring it and we wouldn’t be able to figure that out with what we have right now. All we know is the facts: the knife was at the crime scene, which means someone had to carry it there. Right now, it makes sense that the victim was the one with the knife, not the culprit.”

“...I’m surprised you actually agreed with me.” Hajime said, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t misunderstand, you despicable male! I agree with your reasoning but not the motive, for it paints the poor lady in a horrid light!” Yuri scowls at him with a dark glare. “For all we know, Lady Kasumi was fighting in self-defense!”

“With a kitchen knife that she couldn’t hide on her person?” Yoruko questioned with a frown, playing with her scarf. “It’d be one thing if it was a pocket knife, but a knife that big would be difficult to hide. If anything, I think the girl made it pretty clear of her ill intentions.”

“And you’d be right, Lady Yoruko!” At the drop of a dime, Yuri changed his tune once a girl started speaking to him. The hostess narrowed her eyes at him while Hajime looked like he was going to pop a vein.

“Oh, you little-”

“Enough.”

Kokoro, for as soft as her voice was, was still strong in her tone. With just one word, the class goes quiet. Yuri was pleased to have Kokoro’s attention while Hajime stepped down with a huff and crossed his arms. Once everyone’s attention was on her, she continued.

“Let’s not get distracted by arguing. We must focus on the trial and if everything calms down, we can sort out our issues afterwards.” Kokoro said, managing to put the trial back on track with just a few words. Already he can feel himself admiring her for her calmness and ability to unite the group with just a few words. “Besides, we do have evidence that a fight broke out. A tree has two cuts from a sharp object, there are footprints that made skid marks all over each other, and there were threads in a bush. If we put this all together, we get this: someone was already crouching down in the bushes, preparing for an attack. While we don’t know the details of how the fight went down, we can assume that they tried to ambush their target but it didn’t go well, which resulted in two cuts in the tree. Most likely from both the knife and the blade. The footprints represent them trying to get the upper hand on each other. But eventually, the victim, Kasumi Hayashi, decides that she wouldn’t be able to win and must have tried to run away.”

“And, um, that was probably when she got cut on her leg.” Shinji speaks up, almost nervous in the way he tried to take part without rudely interrupting Kokoro. The psychologist nods her head at him and he continues. “S-Since the cut was deep enough to permanently damage her ability to walk, she wouldn’t have been able to escape the culprit.”

“And that’s when she got killed.” Nikei finished, holding onto his hat again. They all grow quiet, processing the information that’s been laid out for them. He looks around the trial, taking in everyone’s despondent expressions…

Only to stop and do a double take.

“Is he…?” He couldn’t help but point. Yuri furrows his brows and actually turns his head to see where he was pointing at.

And from what he can tell, the astronaut proceeded to swear in Russian.

“ARE YOU ASLEEP?!” Yuri yelled out, raising his hands as a dark expression fell over his face. The guy, Syobai, was taking a goddamn nap in the middle of the trial. His head was heavily leaning downward with drool dripping down to his chin and even has a snot bubble forming from his nose. The astronaut slams his fists on his podium but the noise didn’t wake him. It wasn’t until he tried to hit Syobai that he reacted and fast, his eyes opening in a flash as the bubble pops and he dodges the attack.

“Don’t hit me.” He said, glaring down at Yuri. Syobai then yawns and wipes the drool from his mouth. “It’s not like I’m interrupting anything special.”

“Excuse me, but this is a trial to find out how this poor maiden died!” Yuri scoffs, crossing his arms. “But who am I kidding, it’s not like a despicable male like you would try and solve this case. I bet you don’t even have any clues, do you?”

“...Clues like the broken lamp that caused a fire?” Syobai deadpanned.

The amnesiac does a double take. And so does Yuri, who stares at him with shock.

Shock that quickly morphs into anger.

“Did you just steal my thunder?! How dare you!” Yuri hisses but the guy merely cleans out his ear with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh please. If you were waiting to reveal those clues just to impress the women here, you’re only going to be met with disappointment.” Syobai said, pulling his finger out and flicking off any earwax he had picked from his ear. Naturally, all the girls were displeased by this news. And the guys, but he doubts Yuri would care about their opinions at all. Syobai then shrugs. “Back to the lamp, if the victim and the culprit were fighting each other, then it’s likely that the lamp broke during the struggle. Even if it didn’t, the culprit might’ve thought that a fire would get rid of any evidence left behind and chose to break it on purpose.”

“Wow, you put that together pretty fast.” Iroha said, impressed by Syobai’s intelligence. A sentiment he shared pretty well. The guy, however, merely scoffed at the praise.

“Please. As if a case like this can be considered complex at all. In fact, it’s child’s play.” He snorts and the amnesiac feels himself bristle at his words. But he couldn’t think of a rebuttal to say as he pressed his finger against his head, almost like it was a gun. “Now, are we done here? There’s nothing else to discuss and everything should be explained now.”

“Wait, really?” Iroha blinks her wide eyes. She scrunches up her eyebrows like she was in deep thought before her eyes start to swirl. “Uhhhhh, I mean, it all makes sense but I, um, don't know.” Syobai groans, facepalming the minute those words left the painter’s mouth.

“Hey, don’t act like that!” He instinctively called out on him, even as Syobai’s eyes glazed over in disinterest. He feels himself falter a little but he still stands his ground to defend Iroha. “She’s just confused! And besides, we should all make sure we’re in agreement on how the events played out before finishing the trial.”

“I agree.” It was Yuki who spoke, still holding onto his tie. Syobai simply shrugs in response before stepping back, like he was physically saying that he won’t be taking part in the trial any more. Despite everyone’s annoyed glares his way, no one bothers to call him out on this. Yuki continues. “There’s still some unanswered questions but…if we put everything in order when it all happened, I think we can answer them as we go along.” He pauses before lifting his fist up to his mouth. “I think it’d make sense to start at the beginning, before the fight broke out. The victim, Kasumi Hayashi, the Ultimate Personal Trainer, was in the forest, probably searching for the culprit…with a knife. We don’t know which one of them was holding the lantern…but I don’t think it was whoever was setting up the ambush. They wouldn’t risk having a light source with them in case they were spotted by their target.”

“I agree.” Kanade jumps in before he could process the information. “Whoever was planning for the ambush would want to minimize any chance of getting seen. They even crouched low in the bushes to hide. H-However, it seems their ambush didn’t go well, since their target still saw them and attacked first. Probably because the glow of their lantern revealed where they were hiding.”

“As a result, a fight broke out. The cuts on the trees and the footprints skidding across each other all points to a struggle.” Kokoro pulls her gaze away from her tablet. “Until, eventually, Kasumi Hayashi decided it was best to run away.”

“And if she were the one to bring the knife, it would make sense why she would.” Hajime crossed his arms. He was catching on to how things had played out, much sooner than he could keep up. “The blade has a far longer reach than the knife, putting her at a disadvantage. So she turned to run.”

“But unfortunately, Lady Kasumi’s luck didn’t pan out so well.” Yuri interjected with a sigh. Hajime just lets him speak. “Due to the length of the blade, the despicable culprit managed to make a cut on her leg, forcing her to fall over as it was so deep to permanently affect her ability to even walk.”

“Can confirm. It’s-” Shinji starts, only for Yuri to glare at him.

“Did I ask you to interrupt me, you putrid scum?” He said with a harsh tone. Shinji, who was usually friendly if a bit loud, started narrowing his eyes like he was losing his patience with him. But thankfully, someone stepped in before it could escalate.

“Don’t fight. We’re nearly to the end here.” Setsuka called out, and the both of them backed off instantly. Shinji blushing in embarrassment while Yuri…just smiles her way. “Back on topic, while she did get cut, she still tried to keep running. However, that was when the killer delivered the final blow.”

“Cutting her in half and then breaking the lamp to start a fire. All to get rid of the evidence.” Emma closes her eyes and hunches over. “At least, that’s what we’re assuming here.”

“Don’t forget the watch. It broke during her fall, which is what allowed us to verify the Monocrow file’s information.” Nikei said, beating him to the punch even though he was the one that brought it up in the first place. Against the journalist himself, no less. “She died at 11:45PM, which is why one of them brought the lantern with them in the first place. It would be way too dark to see without it.”

“And yet, they chose to destroy it instead of taking it with them. Just for a fire that didn’t even do its job, apparently.” Hibiki points out, crossing her arms with a huff.

“I suppose they decided that the potential of a fire getting rid of all the evidence in one go was more appealing than simply escaping the crime scene. And that’s not all.” Mikado picks up from where the vocalist left off. “The fire would’ve created a decent amount of light, so the culprit would’ve at least had something to go back to. Especially with the final thing they must do.”

“Final thing…?” Iroha spoke up, paying close attention to everyone’s explanation. He was similarly confused as he stared at Mikado. But it wasn’t him that clarified.

“Was it…to get rid of it? It is the murder weapon…” Yoruko asked, her eyebrows scrunching together. Mikado snaps his fingers in the hostess’s direction.

“Correct!” He cheerfully says. Yoruko grimaces at the inappropriate glee. His mask quickly goes back to normal. “There would be no other reason why the blade can be found so close to the ocean, after all.”

“So the culprit tried to get rid of the murder weapon. Makes sense, since even a blade wouldn’t have been destroyed in a fire. Damaged, definitely, but otherwise intact.” Kokoro said, and everyone went quiet. There was nothing else to add, after all. “...Currently, we don’t have enough information to reveal the killer’s identity or the motives for why the culprit and the victim went out of their ways to attack each other. But I believe this is as close to the truth as we can get.”

“...Unless anyone else has any last minute evidence to add?” Yuki asked, which caused the shy and sweet Kanade to actually scoff.

“If they did, then we’d have to start this all over again.” She then sniffles, wiping a tear away from her eye. “Please don’t make us go through all that again.”

“Yeah!! As much as I hate agreeing with my sister, it’d be downright stupid if anyone was hiding anything at this point!” Hibiki jumps in with a hiss, leaning forward with tightly grasped fists. Frankly, he would be more willing to agree with her if she hadn’t tack on the bit about her sister.

“Yes…It seems we’re all in agreement with the explanation then.” Mikado carefully takes the blade off of his cape and sets it aside so he can clasp it back around his shoulders. No one denies his statement.

“Great! Now can we leave these damn podiums?! The trial is over, announcer!” Nikei yelled out, pointing to the sky. There wasn’t even a second to spare when the speakers came on.

“So I see! And your explanation is quite sound, with a few unknowns. But I suppose it’s only natural with the lack of equipment you can use…Not that any of you would know how to use it anyways. But nevermind that. You’re allowed to leave your podiums now. You won’t be using this trial set anymore now that it’s over.”

And just like that, the trial was over.

They don’t have to do this anymore. They’re still in this scary situation, but it is over. They can put this exhausting day behind them.

So why?

Why was he still anxious?

Why was he holding his breath?

Why did he…feel so damn useless?

“Ah, but before you go…There is another announcement I must make.”

The announcer’s voice pulls him from his despair and he absently stares up into the sky. Nikei swore under breath but he went completely ignored.

“This entire time, I’ve been talking to you all through these speakers hidden throughout the island. And such, I’ve hidden my face from you all…Please forgive me for that, my comrades. But I can assure you, I’ve been here this whole time. Watching you become acquainted with everyone, frolicking about on the beach, investigating the crime…Everything. And I think it’s about time…that we properly meet.”

Meet…?

They were going to meet the announcer?

Right now?

Dread seeped into his bones and it was heavy like lead. He barely recognized the podiums shaking and going down if it weren’t for Mikado and Kokoro grabbing him. Shaken out of his daze, he steps away as the podiums sink underground again, being sealed up but the fountain doesn’t come back up. Instead, he hears something flap in the wind.

“Wh-What was that?” Yoruko said, sticking close to Kanade. The guitarist frowns as her sister clings to her tightly.

“I don’t see anything – huh?!” Nikei starts but quickly gets interrupted by something passing by.

No, not passing by. Flying by.

Just the sight alone made everything and anything in his heart and brain grind to a halt. He processes the black and white feathers falling from the sky, that person – no, that thing circling around the group once before disappearing behind the clock tower. And then, it flies above the top and curls its wings as it lands on the roof.

It…was a bird.

A weird, black and white bird with a strange red symbol for an eye on its darker half was standing on top of the tower.

In any other circumstances, the sight could’ve been funny.

It could’ve destroyed the tension that has risen in the group.

It could’ve made him laugh, whether it’s out of disbelief or because it was hysterical.

And yet, seeing that bird, that design, made every alarm in his brain go off and his body freezing.

All he knew was that if there were any doubts left of a normal scenario, they were completely crushed with this thing’s appearance.

[froqgy]

super ultra huge tunic the game spoilers blah blah dont look if even want to slightly see it for yourself no fail mode super long post again bc of doodles

cathedral time! the game told me to get scared so i got scared. i was scared the whole time. roger can attest to that. but also i was being soooooo brave.

so that was. um. so. where to begin. okay so first, i was scared. thankfully you could avoid most of them and easily dispatch the others. i only died once or twice in getting to... the next area.

also realized they or me don't have scarves. well my little brave fox is so specials.

roger said they made whimpering sounds, and i didn't hear them until later. 🥹

the altars or whatever they were worshipping... the 3 eyed robots having tentacles coming from that...wechatlaugh but it was a tiny bit expected if you've read a previous liveblog. if i have to encounter them for real like that ill shit myself. also those poor husher birds getting corrupted like that..

so i went into the

god that thing is SO scary... i wonder if that one is unique from all the ones they were cramming into the pillar nodes. i have to say the fucked up christian imagery is funny and i cant take it that seriously. they put that fucked up fox on the cross. also i realized i think this was the only scene i remembered from the trailer. i drew what i remembered seeing in a prev liveblog...

so i went to activate the pillar and the fox was ..gone when i went back so i was thinking it either was submerged or sacrificed or it left to be a boss or all of the above.. scared btw... still bc i don't know the answer. i didn't walk up to it before that bc i was... scared. so anyways i went to the basement so frightened for my life, thankfully i had my trusty coin to give me comfort... ill draw that later. i stalled going down there chatting and whatnot and drew this meanwhile bc i was like im hungry (it was 2am at this point).

roger's chips... anyways i finally headed down and realized what the tiny drawings on the map meant. . . trials to survive you have to do all in one go and also you only get one rest to heal presumably. FUCK okay it's going to be hellish but next time i gotta grind it out... sniff... my gamer pride is preventing me from during no fail mode on...

so that was the end of that session huh? not a very great note to end on seeing as another grind session starts immediately next time i play... (i should probably use items huh. but it's sooo hard) but. no. oh no. that was not the end. because tunic likes to scare and shock me all the time. let's head back a few hours into my session. i open the game. i see the "load game". i remember wondering earlier the menu options said new game and continue game, and thinking i could start a new game and see the intro again but i didn't remember if there were a save slots. so now i think, oh, well we already looked up the intro so it's less relevant now but it's good to keep in mind there's multiple saves. later i said we could replay the game after i finish (no fail mode...) and translate as we come acrosd the text... right.. so this information is important. that i checked the load game files in the menu..

BECAUSE.

because.

at the end of that session.. i decide to check how many hours i spent. in my ONE and ONLY save file... and guess what. guess what.

I see this. a second file that got added somehow during the events of everything i did this session. seemingly random amount of money, maxed out hours and stats, only 13 manual pages all of which are ones you get early on in the game, no gun but the magic item that i haven't seen in game, whose silhouette was present in the manual. now i know it's an hourglass that slows down time. but the... what loaded in... was the strangest of all. top down perspective, reminiscent of old loz games, my grayed out (looked gray purple to me but) fox in a hallway with a single gold line running down the corridors, empty save for me and the pots, which i promptly destroyed and did not respawn. maybe they will next time i load in. probably not unless they want to be so nice. hopefully that wasn't relevant or needed to solve the enigma that was this room.

I accidentally inserted this stupid poll and cant delete it.

eerie music plays here. the corridors repeated so i would go up and step into the bottom of the same room. "ah", i thought. "it's one of those puzzles." maybe. i didnt try very hard to figure out what to do. i tried to look through the manual pages they gave me, but couldn't determine much from them. i tried flipping the one coin i had. i tried turning the hourglass on, which slowly drains mana and makes you slow as well, letting me see how the dash looks like in slow-mo, which isn't great with which the angle of the fox's huge bobblehead goes I'll tell you that.

so. i dont know what to do!!! now. other than face the trials and mess with the second save file more to see if i can glean anything. I was hoping if i could figure out the supposed secret of the file, i could get the hourglass in my file that way... who knows... this game is doing something to me.

[kazuichikazuichi]

list 5 songs youve been listening to lately. adding the links so people interested can check them out (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

tagged by the wonderful @1medichan1 , thank you very much!! sorry it's taken all day, i wanted to think long and hard about it lol

all of the songs ive listed are from milgram, the latest fandom i am in because i am obsessed. list under the cut because i said a lot!! also no pressure to read it all lol

--

SO!! first of all thank you to @trying-to-eat-the-stars for introducing me to milgram, i am eternally grateful, also i will try not to make this a big fandom-centric post and try to just focus on my opinions on the music since that is what the chain post is!!!!

'Weakness' by Haruka - haruka my son my special guy i want to adopt him oh my god this is already turning into a fandom post rather than a song post please forgive me. uhhh song words uhh well i really like the pace of it i love the fast bits and the quiet bits too this is such a good song i can't stop listening to it!! the pace is great and i love the singer's voice

so yeah all of these songs are from milgram!!!! milgram is quite danganronpa-y in my brain, it's about murders and it's japanese lol but it mostly consists of music! if anyone would like to learn more about it please message me because id love to share it with you!!

FLASHING LIGHT WARNING FOR ALL SONGS, SORRY D:

'Umbilical' by Yuno - YUNO IS A GIRLBOSS i love her voice she is so cute, was tempted to put her second song Tear Drop here but decided to put this one here instead as it's faster paced and more cutesy!! very girly and cute!!!!! i love her

'half' by Kazui - ohhh kazui he is so lovely.... maybe i just get attached to men with kazui at the start of their name😃 but i love him. um anyway about the song! i don't tend to enjoy music with voices as deep as his but the more my big theory about him develops the more i love the song :) very calming and pretty and quite slow, i like the whistling in the background

'All-Knowing And All-Agony' by Haruka - haruka's other song too lol i had to put both of them bc i listen to them both very often, i really like the pace of both of his songs!! his voice is lovely and again the slow bits. also the end bit the final few lines are SO GOOD it gives me goosebumps!!! listen to 2:54 onwards to get a feel of the fast pace of most of the song then hear the last few lines where he's all quiet and ughhhh it's so good

'This Is How To Be In Love With You' by Mahiru - okay yeah i love danganronpa's mahiru as well so it's a funny coincidence that i love both mahiru and kazui(chi) from both milgram and danganronpa lol anyway!!! this is another super girly song, she's adorable, fast paced and fun and cute!

some of my fave characters i did not list a song for here just bc i chose a random selection of songs here!! :))

to continue the "list 5 songs youve been listening to lately. adding the links so people interested can check them out (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ" chain i will nominateeee @trying-to-eat-the-stars , @ileshkve and @tenkoandkaede !!!! sorry this post got so long and you had to scroll past all of the rambling to get to your names lol. also no pressure to continue the chain if you don't want to!!!! also anyone else can feel free to take part even if i didn't tag you because it's fun to spread happy things like this!

milgram over, time to go back to my usual danganronpa posts lol thank you for tolerating this

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

Share your Progress Tag

tagged by @jessicas-story-blog22 ty!

Rules: When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

Using Syndicate

Original to Current Iteration

I'm changing the format the previous one was in and adding this category instead of Inspiration because of the process of this.

So, when I was a baby writer, I started a story I called The Light at the End of the Tunnel (I got attached to the name but it was never perfect). It was one of the first things I wrote on a computer, and the first typed story I finished. Because of that it has always been important to me.

(gets longwinded so under the cut)

Anyway. It was even more edgy angsty than it is now. That story was about a kid named Cecil, who went through various torture methods at the hands of a group of torturers. His only friend was Mika, who cared for him and kept him relatively safe, as best she could. (I was like, 12, when I came up with this.)

From that grew some really good components: I learned how to write dark really well. I fell in love with betrayal and with secrets as plot elements. Terran became a character-- at the time, a twist that he was on their side, and a dip into exploring the pressure he was under for having to pretend. And, most importantly, the twist that Raymond, someone Cecil had only heard about, was alive. (There was also magic in this version, Mika always had emotions poers and Ramyond always had mental ones. But it was just there, not very salient, and no worldbuilding.)

Anyway. I finish that story. I celebrate in relief. I take a break, I work on other things. I take writing classes, I get practice. I rewrite it, mainly just tidying things up and adding some scenes. I develop Raymond and Terarn's romance more (that was there almost since the beginning, but fun fact-- I didn't originally intend it, it was my best friend who said she shipped them). I leave it. I write other things. I write a one-shot taking place after the events of the story that's just kinda fluffy, as fluffy as anything in this story can be. I write a full backstory, with everything that happened in the past. I leave it.

I go to college. I have other stories. I consider TLATEOTT an old draft I remember fondly but know is not very good. I miss parts of it. In a few sad moments, my girlfriend asks about stories to cheer me up, and I tell them about Terran.

I take an advancd writing class and we're supposed to start something new. She says, we can use old characters, but for the most part it has to be new. I brainstorm I try to pick other plots. It occurs to me-- what if I just take the good parts from TLATEOTT?

I go off memory. What was the good parts? How can I change it? I brainstorm. I come up with the magic system, with Calson City. I change it to assassins, as it does what I need it to and works better. I write down notes about Terran. I draw form everything I know already, applying it all to this new world and circumstances. A new story forms, where the twist halfway through is now the premise. I change what didn't make sense.

In all that, the one major thing that didn't fit? the original main character. R.I.P Cecil.

Preparation

I touched on this already-- I don't really have much research for this I usually have to look up things like how burn healing works and the laws regarding fire escapes and how hostage negotiations usually work. Most of my prep is worldbuilding and plot planning, and brainstorming ideas about what's gone down in the past. I have a notebook for brainstorming, which I try to copy into documents on my computer so it's easier to find.

Art Process

I don't have art but I do have a moodboard, playlist, and I've made picrews of the characters. Oh am um... my best friend did make fanart of the original. It doesn't make sense now, but it's fantastic.

Thoughts

I didn't say this about the process: first of all, it's on and off. I go though such long periods where i can't write more of this, can't figure out where it's going. But I'm gunna do this one. I know it. This is a big one for me, and my soul is in it.

Second, writeblr is a part of it. I decided to catch up on tags... and I might have enough inspiration to get back to writing it. seriously,it is unbelievable the amount of help it is to share snippets. especially when people reply to it.

Tagging @sleepy-night-child @diphthongsfordays @thegreatobsesso & open tag for anyone who wants to!

[living-d3ad-gh0ul]

Sunday 11th June 2023, 02.00am

I've sat here for a couple minutes now, trying to think of how to start this post. But I keep coming up blank. So I guess I'll just start writing. I read your post before I came here to write mine, although I had actually planned to write to you tonight anyway. I've been thinking of you every single day since I last wrote to you. All the time, wishing you could be here too. Thank you for the birthday wishes, E <3 Don't worry, you didn't miss it, it's on the 28th of this month. And I'll be 28, too. I don't know where the times bloody gone haha.

The last month has been... wild to say the least. Literally everything has changed. So so much has gone on. When I last wrote to you, we were in limbo, waiting for dad to come around from his mini-coma (that's what I've been calling it, cause it wasn't quite a coma, but he was very very sleepy and couldn't be woken up much). Well he did. He came around. He woke up and he called me on the Thursday of that week, which was 18th May. I think it was only a day or two after I wrote my last post. But god was it good to hear his voice. I cried so so much and so did he. He kept telling me he'd been trying to call me, but I think he'd either been dreaming of calling me or thinking about it. I didn't care though, it was just so fucking good to hear from him and actually talk to him. We spoke on the phone for almost an hour, before he got tired again and I told him to go rest.

The specialist nurse also called me. The day before my dad came around, so the Wednesday. And um.. well.. I don't really know how to say this. She said that he wasn't responding as well or as quickly as they'd hoped he would. Or rather as he should be. So.. they were taking the biopsy and all treatment off the table. They had done some more scans and.. after careful consideration, they decided that my dad was already too far gone. That he is terminal and we're now looking at Palliative care and keeping him comfortable, rather than trying to cure anything. She explained to me that any kind of surgery would just be far too dangerous and that giving him anaesthetic could potentially be fatal. As well as any treatments could maybe him worse rather than better, even at that, they may not too much. They were now formally diagnosing him with a grade 4 malignant tumour. It's called a glioblastoma, which.. unfortunately is one of the most aggressive and deadly. I was devastated to hear this news. I'm still devastated. I asked her if I had to come down there right away, she said no, not right now.. but it'd be wise if I did come soon. Hearing that kind of thing, especially about your parent, is awful. The next day when he came around, they had me and my dad discuss signing a DNACPR (Do Not Attempt CPR). Which he wanted to sign. And I'm not one to go against his wishes, if that's what he wants then that's fine. It's his life and his choice, and he expressed that he didn't want to end up in a worse state if they did do CPR. So we signed it off, as per my father's wishes. It still makes me really sad to think of.

I ended up going down there to Nottingham on the Friday, 19th May. My friend and her partner drove me down to see my dad and I stayed in the guest room at the place where my dad lives, which was nice enough, it was just like a little hotel room really, but with the added bonus of having a small kitchen so I could make my own food and stuff. I saw him on the Saturday too up at the hospital.. and god it was so good to see him. He was obviously laid up in a hospital bed, but I still managed to give him a big cuddle and let him kiss my cheek. We held hands a lot and he told me all the things he wanted to make sure we had set in place, such as a power of attorney and a will and what songs he wanted at his funeral. It was difficult talking about some of it, but I knew it was necessary at this point. So I immediately got to work on all of it over the next few days, getting all the forms ready for the power of attorney (which.. I won't lie, it's kinda scary being in charge of someone else's life, nevermind my own. Cause once it comes through, I'll have control over everything to do with my dad's life. Health, welfare, finance, everything.) and setting up things for him on his new phone, to make things easier for him to access and use.

I was down there for two weeks, visiting him every single day up at the hospital, taking him things he might need or want, spending time with him. It was kinda strange being in a hospital ward every single day, but I didn't want him to go without a visitor at all, especially when I was in his city and my purpose of being there was to see him and make sure he was being looked after okay. It was a really really busy time, because I had to sort out all of his things, visit him and then also clear out his flat and stuff too. And then I had to find a way to get all of his things back to Scotland, because we'd made the decision along with his care team that we'd be looking for a nursing home placement back in Scotland, back home where he belongs and where he can be close to me and where he grew up. Dad was more than happy with this, he was just happy he could be close to me and I could go see him whenever I like, instead of having to travel 5+ hours to see him. I tried to make a little time while I was down there to just.. relax too. I seen some old college friends and old friends from when I lived down there when I was a teenager. I had a night out to a local pub/club with them and it was pretty good. I had felt guilty about it, but my dad told me I better go and have a good time for him and take lots of pictures and show him the next day. Which I did, and he had a big smile on his face the whole time I told him. Every doctor, nurse and care assistant in the hospital said that the minute I was mentioned or the minute he saw me, his face would just completely light up. It's kind of heartwarming to know that I mean that much to someone.

Like I said, it was a really busy time and I had a lot to do, so it passed really quickly. But it also felt like it lasted forever. This last month has felt so quick but also like it's been a year rather than a month. We managed to get dad a place in a nursing home that's only 10 minutes from me, so it's really really handy. I can literally walk to it from my house. We managed to get all his transport and stuff sorted out and he was moved up here on Tuesday of this week (6th June). I had an awful time of trying to find a way to get all dad's stuff up here, but one of my best friends mums actually really fucking helped me out and she came all the way down to Nottingham and picked me up, we both loaded her car up with all my dad's things and then we hit the road back home to Scotland. I made sure to thank the lady at the supported living place my dad lived at for letting me stay in their guest room for so long, she was really nice to me when I stayed there. My dad's family have been helping out a little too, my uncles and their families. But.. they're not very good with this kind of thing. My mother... Well let's just say, I'm currently not on speaking terms with her at all. She's been a little cruel and not compassionate at all. I'd rather not talk too much about that, she's just been a bit nasty about everything when neither me or my dad need it right now. Especially when I'm dealing with so much and basically having to do everything for my dad. I get her and my dad ended badly and that she doesn't like him, but in this kind of situation the least she can do is be a little supportive for me.

So.. dad is in his nursing home back in Scotland, all of the staff seem so nice and again.. they all knew me before I knew them. Apparently my dad does not stop talking about me and he's always telling them how special I am and how much he loves me. I've had so many of them tell me just exactly what he says about me and say that I am the absolute light of his life. Which.. I'll be honest, I don't know how to take haha. It's nice obviously, I'm just not very good at taking compliments. I get all blushy and shy, especially when it's strangers doing it. He's always telling me recently how proud he is of me too, how I'm doing a wonderful job of taking care of him and all his thing, how I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. He's full of other compliments too that he slyly slides in there every now and then too, calling me beautiful and saying how I'm so special to him. Again, I just get all blushy and roll my eyes and stuff and just go "yeah yeah I get it, you love me" lol. But it really is so nice to hear him say it all. Not that he didn't before, he absolutely did. But now it's moreso. It's like he wants to make sure I know exactly just how much he loves me before.. well you know..

His condition has.. kind of deteriorated slowly. Every day he gets a little more forgetful and confused. He can't stand or walk, so he has to use a wheelchair to get around, which someone has to push for him because he has no mobility in his left arm now too. His eyesight is getting a little worse too, especially in his left side. The tumour is pressing on the right side of his brain, so that's making everything on the opposite side not work as well or stop working. He sometimes has little hallucinations or delusions too, which is something that's started up in the past couple weeks. Which.. isn't nice sometimes, especially when he gets upset about them. He's so determined and convinced that they're real, he won't listen to anything anyone says. He's told me he always wants me to be honest with him though, to tell him what's real and what's not real, to keep him right if he gets forgetful or confused. Which I do, I just try and do it in a gentle way where he wouldn't get upset or anything. Especially when he starts thinking my stepmum is still alive.. those ones hurt the most, because they're so difficult to deal with and I don't want to outright tell him "she's passed away". I just feel like that would be cruel. So I try and jog his memory, ask him if he remembers that she was sick and what happened and stuff. That usually helps. But only for a few minutes, his short term memory is really bad and he repeats himself a lot. It's not his fault at all so I just remind him and repeat myself a lot too. Eventually the conversation moves on to something else and he doesn't even remember it happened. It's tough, it's really tough, but I'll do anything I can for him. I love my dad so much and I'm terrified for the end. It's so hard to sit and watch him get sicker and sicker every day. But I try so hard to stay strong for him, to show him how much I care and how much I love him and that he absolutely will not be alone through any of this. I simply will not allow it.

He actually bought me an early birthday present the other day. He paid for me to have my hair done and have a new tattoo (of which I'll attach pictures so you can see). He said he wanted to do that for me because he wanted me to have a nice birthday and to have some "chill time". He knows how much I love having my hair done and getting tattoos, so it was perfect. My dad loves getting tattoos too, me and him actually have a matching one and he has his favourite Moto GP riders signature tattooed on him. He met him one time at one of the races, asked him to sign his arm and literally within half an hour, he was sat in a tattoo shop getting it inked onto himself haha. My dad is a cool fucking dude. We had to sell his bike unfortunately. It was a really really sad thing for both of us, since my dad has never been without a bike for as long as I've lived. Hell even before that actually. But the lady we dealt with through it all was so helpful and she really made it all so much easier. We got the special engravings he had on his bike for my stepmum (one of them actually matches my thigh tattoo, which he had made when he got his new bike after I'd already had my tattoo done), so I decided I was gonna try and find something to do with them. And that's what I did tonight. I'll show you a picture of what I made. It's called a shadowbox. And the pictures in it are actually my dad on his old bike and his bike he just had.

I'm so glad that you're doing okay. And I'm glad you managed to sort out your GPU issue lol. I really want to build a new PC, but mine works fine for now, especially since I don't seem to be using it as much recently what with everything going on. Streaming is so much fun, I had done it for a little while a couple years ago and had a great time doing it. The only reason I stopped was because college got way too busy and then I was working all the time, so I didn't have much of a chance to do it anymore. I think you'd be really really good at it, I'm really excited for you and I'd love to know what you'll be streaming and more about all of that. I'm sorry you feel that way about your band. Have you guys tried writing some new material? Or is it just that as a whole, you just feel like things are a little stagnant? Whatever you choose to do, I support it. I support anything you want to do in life, because I know no matter what it is, it'll be great, because you are great. You really really are. And I am so grateful to you for being here for me, even just like this. I'll be honest, I did tear up a little (happy tears) when I saw you'd written to me again, just to let me know you're still here. It meant so much to me. You mean so much to me.

I really really am sorry that this post is so long again. I'm just about to go to bed and get some sleep, it's been a long day and I just got done making my dad's thing for him before I came here to write to you. I promise you I'm being safe and I know I can come here and write to you if I need to talk. I wish I could like.. actually talk to you right now. I miss your voice so much. But I can still remember it so clearly in my head. I wish I could just.. curl up and have you cuddle me for a little bit. Even if it was just for five minutes. I would really really like that.

I hope you and Chonky are doing well, I really really liked the picture of her. She's so fluffy and she looks so soft. I can't lie, when I seen her picture, I started doing all that baby talk that people do to cute animals and I just wanted to sink my hand into her belly fur and give her belly rubs. If my hand got torn to shreds from doing so, then so be it hahaha. Our little letters are really a bit of a lifeline for me right now. I've been reading yours over and over again a lot the past few weeks. They really do comfort me so much. Just to know you're out there and you're still here and you're thinking of me..

No moon for me tonight, it's been really warm and sunny here for the past few weeks, it's been nice actually. But tonight it rained and there's been some thunder and lightning, so I've been sat at my window watching and listening to that as I write to you.

I can't wait to hear from you again soon, E. And I loved the song. I love City and Colour so much. Dallas Greens voice is so soothing.

I'll talk to you soon. I miss you. I really really do. And thank you for all of this.. for being here for me and comforting me, even if only through our letters.

"Not to touch a hair on your head, leave you as you are, if he felt he had to direct you then direct you into my arms.."

N x