#as misty says she looks she could stab you

[grendelsmilf]

i still find it so interesting how jackie is (was?) largely defined by her niceness, her friendliness. she's not the strongest, or the smartest, but she can bring people together. so when she is mean to the other girls, you notice it. she's mean to taissa when she feels like her position as leader is undermined; she knows that taissa is just as much of their leader as she is and it scares her. she's mean to shauna when she finds out about jeff; understandable considering what a huge betrayal it is (at least on the surface). but the girl she is by far the meanest to is nat.

and there is no good reason why anyone should be mean to nat. she is kind of treated as a punching bag, and taissa especially resents her because she doesn't like the idea of nat threatening the team's performance with her day-drinking or whatever. but nat is by far the kindest, sweetest, most compassionate, genuine member of the team. even as an adult you can see that she might be jaded and grieving and ruthless, but she's still at her core a good person. young natalie especially though is someone with a very strong moral center and uses those guiding principles of kindness to define who she is.

she's more mature, capable, and sure of herself than the rest of the group, because before ever landing in that forest, she's had a much harder life than the rest of them. we see that van probably doesn't have the best home life, but the rest of them are living comfortably. even if they don't have great relationships with their parents, they still live in middle to upper class households. nat grew up in a trailer park with a father who horribly abused her and her mother (until the day she witnessed him accidentally shoot his own face off). these circumstances made nat more resilient, braver, and more empathetic than the other girls.

and i think jackie recognizes that, whether or not it's a conscious recognition. she knows that nat is everything she herself is not. nat is confident in herself whereas jackie is terribly insecure and relies on external validation to uphold her own identity. where nat comes from poverty, jackie grew up in a huge house. where nat is comfortable having sex with boys, jackie is too repressed to have sex with her longterm boyfriend because she's terrified of having to confront the fact that she won't actually like it. natalie expresses herself through alt/grunge fashion, music, and culture, whereas jackie is as preppy as it is physically possible to be. natalie is jackie's perfect opposite: a poor outcast who is nevertheless comfortable enough in her own (hetero)sexuality to present in a (gender) non-conforming way and not care what others think of her to jackie's rich popular prom queen soccer captain who is debilitatingly insecure and sexually repressed, conforming perfectly to society's expectations of her to the point that she'd rather die than explore the possibility that she might like girls.

jackie has negative interest in travis, but she breaks him and nat up and steals him from her anyway. and the thing is, nat doesn't even care. she forgives jackie. when lottie locks jackie in the closet (ha), nat is the one who comes to her rescue. when travis apologizes to nat for sleeping with jackie, she says it doesn't matter to her. jackie is horrible to nat, but nat is genuinely mature enough that it doesn't even bother her. jackie wears her insecurities on her sleeve, and nat sees right through her. she doesn't put up with jackie's bullshit, but she's also gracious enough to not gang up on jackie with the rest of the girls, even though she's the only one who actually has any right to be mad at her. nat is generally apart from the rest of the team, not only because she's an outcast, but because she's simply above their petty dramas.

jackie doesn't have a good reason to be mean to her. she's the kindest, sweetest girl on the team. but jackie is mean when she feels threatened, and nat's existence threatens her very identity.

[somewhereincairparavel]

"Jason." Piper said, startling him with her awfully serious expression, she looked beautiful, with her choppy hair and iridescent gaze directed at him. But that moment only lasted for a second, before the world collapsed at his feet. "Let's break up"

Piper may as well have just stabbed him at the heart with a blade. The effect would've been exactly the same. Being a Roman, he tried keeping his face as neutral as possible. What if it was a prank or something? But deep down, Jason knew it was wishful thinking. Piper had been acting very repulsive around him, stiffening at his bear hugs, pulling away from his kisses rather quickly with an uncomfortable wry sort of smile. He had mostly been initiating their usual displays of affection. Now that he thought back on it, those were huge alarm bells. He waited for Piper to continue, who was trying to gauge his reaction. He stubbornly appeared as aloof as possible, even though his heart had already shattered.

"I-I'm sorry.. i just.. don't think we both belong together. Our relationship started out fake. And it's obvious we aren't as in love as we thought we were. we simply feel obligated to stay together to appease Hera and Aphrodite" Piper managed to choke out, tears already streaming in her face. A surge of anger filled through Jason as his mind reeled, focusing on the sentences which had fragmented his already shattered heart. "dont belong together" "fake" "aren't in love"

"Stop saying "we" piper." Jason said in a slightly strangled voice. "I AM in love with you and i dont feel obligated to anything. Yeah, our relationship started out "fake" as you put it" Jason spat out the word "fake" with intentional bitterness. He was usually so calm, but no. Even the ever so calm son of Jupiter has his limits. "But don't you remember our fresh start? Our first kiss under the stars after Gaea's defeat? We've been together for a year, with no bumps in our relationship. Did that mean nothing to you at all? You still think we're playing pretend for Hera? Were all those hugs and "i love you's" simply us putting on a show that i wasn't aware of?" Jason's eyes stung as he said this.

Piper looked at him sadly, her tears had dried out and her eyes turned steely cold. he thought she was a little too nonchalant about this. She was his world. His whole universe. And yet, she too, had decided, that the ever so golden Grace, was not good enough anymore. Just like every other fucking person.

"I am sorry. But i don't feel that way about you anymore... It was just Hera's mist playing tricks on me..." Piper said a little callously. That was all she said, before she shouldered her bag, and looked at him one last time, her eyes slightly misty. Jason couldn't and wouldn't understand why this had all gone terribly wrong.

"Well. i guess that's just it then...." Jason whispered brokenly, staring at Piper's figure slowly walking away from him. He dropped to his knees and just sobbed. He felt used, and so fucking crushed. Jason Grace was once again, the unwanted, disposable machine. The unwanted machine that Camp Jupiter had been so eager to have gotten rid of. And now, So had the one whom he loved more than anyone else, the one whom he envisioned having his grandchildren with. He could almost hear Cupid's cold, hollow laughter echo through the corridors, watching his half sister leave the son of Jupiter in shambles, elated at his misery.

The supposedly rebellious daughter of Aphrodite had broken a heart after all.

[star-girl69]

Ultraviolence

Natalie Scatorccio x Fem!Reader

—-

a/n: i hope you all enjoy!!

warnings: animal death, blood, knives, mentions of sex, death, murder, dead bodies, mentions of drugs, tell me if i missed anything!!

Chapter Nineteen - The Horses are Coming

Chapter Nineteen - The Horses are Coming

—-

2021-

While Natalie is off getting her big idea, Shauna stares at Adam’s dead body. That’s what his name is, you’ve now learned. Adam Martin, a struggling artist shacking up with a married woman.

Blood stains through the sheet you had placed over him, a little red blooming flower in the midst of his cold, neutral apartment.

Someone knocks on the door- but it’s more like banging, so Taissa takes the hand she was biting from her mouth and opens the door.

She scoffs and turns around.

Misty walks in carrying a bag of what you can only assume be cleaning supplies.

“Well, aren’t we a bunch of Gloomy Gusses. Who died?” she laughs, placing her bag on the counter. “No, but, seriously. Who is this guy?”

She leans down and pulls back the sheet, revealing a pale Adam Martin, his eyes still open.

“Misty. Really?” Shauna asks, looking at Natalie, unimpressed. “This is your big brainstorm?”

You sigh. “Tell me who else is gonna get us out of this?”

“Yeah,” Nat sneers. “Do you have a better idea?”

“I think what you mean to say is, ‘Hi, Misty. It’s so great to see you after all this time. Thanks for swinging by and helping us cover up a murder.’”

“Hi, Misty,” you say, wanting to stay on her good side. Adam Martin is not worth trouble with the law. She smiles.

“Why does everyone keep using that word?” Shauna asks. “It’s not like I woke up this morning and thought, ‘Hmm. What am I gonna do today? Oh, I know, I’m find out my boyfriend is a creepy stalker and stab him to death.’” Taissa shoots her a look, silently saying to calm down. “I’m going to prison. I’m going to prison for the rest of my life.”

“No, you’re not. None of us are. As long as you listen to me and do exactly what I say. Okay? So, if you haven’t already turned off your phones-” she grabs her own from her pocket, hitting a few buttons- “I suggest you do that now. Where’s his?”

“I-I took it home, and I put it in my safe.”

“Okay, as soon as we’re done here, you’re gonna go home. You’re going to wipe it and destroy the SIM card. All right? And do the same thing to yours,” Misty nods to herself, studying the body. “I didn’t see any security cameras. Did anybody- neighbors- see you come in here?”

The few gathered around Adam’s body shake their heads.

“I-I don’t think so,” Shauna says after a moment.

“Okay, great! Then we’re just destroying evidence. Shauna, you’re the best with a knife, clearly,” she laughs, adjusting her glasses. “So you’ll handle the body.”

Silence around the circle.

“I mean cut it up.”

“Oh, God, are you okay to do that?” Tai asks.

“Yeah,” Shauna says after a moment.

“I’ll help you,” Nat says, sending Shauna a look you can’t help but frown at.

“So, then, it’s just us three on clean-up duty,” Misty smiles. You can’t help but cringe at the dead body. “Whew. Boy, he sure was a gusher, huh?”

—-

“Woah, I just got the craziest case of déjà-uv,” Misty chuckles, wringing out a bloody cloth in the sink.

“And here I thought the worst thing that was gonna happen to me this week was losing the election,” Taissa sighs.

“Really?” you ask, scrubbing hard a small bit of particularly stubborn dried blood. “I mean, you were always the smartest out of us. I thought you would win.”

“Yeah. And I voted for you,” Misty says. “And I only registered so I could get jury duty.”

Tai stands up and chuckles.

“When do they call the results?” you ask, standing up as well.

“Tomorrow,” she shifts on her feet, and the bathroom door creaks open. Shauna walks out, carrying a bright red bag at arms length. “Oh, God, is that the…?”

“The rest is, um, draining in the tub.”

“Okay, perfect. So, when that’s done, put it in his suitcase and bury it out at Hacklebarney Park. I’ve got a shovel in my trunk which you can borrow. I do want it back, and I also took the liberty of packing up seine of his clothes, some books and toiletries and stuff. And I’ll take this with me and get rid of if. That way, if anyone comes looking for him, it just looks like he went on a trip.”

“Then after that? What if an animal digs him up? What if a hiker’s dog sniffs him out?” Taissa says.

“Well, it won’t matter. I mean, torso’s are useless. Duh,” she chuckles. “That’s the whole point! You only have to worry about the head and the hands.”

“So, what’s the plan with those?” Nat asks, who you hadn’t seen walk in. She’s always been haunting you.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

“Misty,” you sigh, watching as she wipes her hands. “If we both weren’t covered in blood, I would hug you, you crazy bitch.”

She only smiles, proud.

—-

1996-

You and Natalie eventually made your way back to the cabin in the early hours of the morning, catch another hour of sleep in a more proper bed- a pile of blankets on the floor, rather than the cold ground.

Metal clatters near the fire as the two of you, Jackie, Coach Ben, Tai, Van, and Misty waited for the girls who had participated in the hunt to wake up and come back.

You watch Misty as she stares harshly at Ben, more so just glaring at him- not even trying to hide it. Your place your hand over Natalie’s on the porch and move closer to her, and she looks over.

“Hm?” she hums, letting her fingers press against yours against the hard wood of the porch you sit on.

“Misty’s insane,” you mutter, and she follows your gaze. She lets out a small snort, and you look back at her with a smile.

Why even have a heart if it’s not meant to get broken? Why even have a heart if it’s not meant to stay with you through the ups and downs? Why even have a heart if it’s not going to love her?

Slowly, the girls come through the woods and into the clearing around the cabin, covered in dirt and smeared makeup, their dresses torn and dirty. Lottie leads them, abandoning the weird crown she had been wearing last night.

“Hey, I, uh, I boiled some drinking water,” Coach Ben says. “If you guys are as hung over as I am.”

“Has anyone seen Jackie?” Shauna asks.

The porch creaks behind you. Everyone turns to find Jackie standing in the doorway.

You’re still not exactly sure what happened to her last night, but she looks scared- even still.

She crosses her arms as soon as she realizes who it is.

The two of them stare at each other, Shauna’s ruined makeup giving her a ghost-like look.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Jackie says after a moment, her face curling up into disgust. “To any of you. I mean, what the fuck?” she laughs.

“Yeah, like you’re so innocent,” Mari mutters.

“Hey! I’m not the one who went completely fucking insane last night.”

“Right, no. You were too busy screwing Travis,” Van says, sarcastically, and you notice that there’s no bandages or anything on her face.

“You had sex with Travis?” you ask, looking up at her and frowning. The entire night, it hadn’t been a secret that Jackie had wanted Travis, but you didn’t think that anything was going on between them was reciprocated.

Jackie rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Why is it any of your business?! He chose to have sex with me, okay?”

“Well,” Natalie starts, “You’re fucking announcing to everyone, Jackie, so I think that makes it everyone’s business.”

Jackie looks between the two of you and rolls her eyes.

“So, what? The two of you start fucking and decide you’re better than everyone else? Because you’re not. Travis was a lame fuck, Y/N is a two-faced bitch, and you, Natalie, are a slut-”

You look over a Natalie, who seems more pissed off than anything, but you’ve spent so much time with her in the wilderness- you can see the sadness in her eyes.

And as much as you tell yourself that it’s just Jackie taking out her hunger and embarrassment on everyone else-

“Hey!” Coach shouts. “I’m sure all of us did stuff last night that we regret, on account of the shrooms, but there’s no need for any of this. I think that the best thing for us to do is-”

“Wait, wait,” Shauna says, and you notice the confused looks on everyone’s faces. They must not know. And you didn’t know either, not until Natalie told you. “Shrooms?”

“Okay, yeah,” Van sighs, and you can’t help but look at Misty out of the corner of your eye. “That makes sense.”

Natalie places her arm around your shoulder, casually, and you find that it’s the easiest thing about this day. Touching her. Being with her.

“Oh, shit. The broth,” Tai sighs.

“You drugged us?” Akilah whispers to Misty.

“No. I didn’t.”

She stands up and takes a step forward.

“Okay, yeah, it was an accident. T-they were meant for Ben.”

“Oh, my God. Do you have any idea how crazy you are?” Mari asks.

“They were my mushrooms. And you stole them to put in your stupid soup. Besides, you know, none of this would have even happened if he wouldn’t have tricked me into falling in love with him!” she’s breathing heavily by the end of her speech.

“Oh, Misty, would you-” Coach Ben says, cringing.

“Wait. Stop!” Lottie shouts, and then you all hear it.

Something moves in the brush of the forest, rustles the trees ever so slightly- and if ever bring else wasn’t still, you would have thought it a gust of wind.

“Do you hear that?”

Everyone turns, and you and Natalie stand, listening to the rustling become louder, get closer-

“Holy fuck!” you screech, watching the bear emerge out of the forest, watching Natalie’s eyes light up in terror and blood lust.

The girls all start running to the porch, back into the cabin, and Natalie turns to run inside.

“Travis has the gun.”

Natalie looks over at Taissa, her eyes wide.

“What the fuck do you mean he has the gun? Where is he?!”

“We saw him,” Akilah says, and you look at Natalie, and she looks at you- and you get a suddenly flash of the night before.

And I-I wanna die with you, Natalie. I wanna die with you.

“Shauna,” Lottie whispers, standing in front of the bear in her white dress. “The knife.”

Shauna hands her the knife after she looks between the blade and the bear.

Lottie takes a step forward.

The group erupts into a small chorus of her name, a prayer, over and over again, telling her don’t.

But she doesn’t listen, and you watch Lottie, for some reason something nagging in your head, like the beginnings of a headache.

“We won’t be hungry,” you whisper, feeling like you should have said it ages ago.

Natalie grabs your hand and squeezes, hard, once then twice.

“Shh,” Lottie says, and the bear lets out a low snark as she steps forward, bordering on a roar.

Lottie and the best walk towards each other, until they meet. Until she’s close enough.

The bear lays down before her, onto the ground like a puppy dog. How could something so vicious and wild remind you of something like that is beyond you.

Lottie stares at the beast for a little longer, before raising the knife high, and bringing it down on the bear’s head.

It screams, as much as a bear can, and the pain in its voice that you know isn’t pain like you know makes tears well in your eyes.

Blood drips down the bear’s head like antlers.

Lottie steps back while the beast lets out a few more labored breaths, before it all stops, and the forest is silent again.

Your mouth waters.

—-

taglist:

@sweetdayme4427 @dreaming-for-an-escape @peachydokii @happysparklingshadows @zhivaxo @maraudeerrs @karsonromanoff

everything taglist:

@emilynissangtr

[zorosleftshoe]

Christmas Miracle - (t.c)

Pairing: Timothée Chalamet x reader

Warnings: swearing (I think?)

I always had an eye for a soul pining for another. It started in third grade when Jillian would give her string cheese to Greg at lunch even though it was her favorite snack. From then on it was easier than breathing. Misty would laugh at me when I would point out the obvious boy pining after the oblivious girl. She would say “it’s funny you notice because you can’t see Timothée’s obvious feelings for you”. I would laugh but deep in my mind it always worried me that she was right.

Timmy and I had met at a coffee shop one autumn morning. Neither of us paying attention and too stressed or less to care. It wasn’t until he’d spilled his coffee on me that either of us looked up. Our friendship blossomed that day. We would hangout often and when he was away FaceTime was our savior.

He always told me that I was easy to talk to. That I was his best friend and he’d be lost if I weren’t around. The feeling was mutual. So when Misty would bring up the idea that Timmy had more intense feelings were me I would shut down. Push those thoughts to the back of my head and just pray that she was wrong.

“There’s a quiz in this magazine.” Timmy said sitting up slightly from his horizontal position on the couch. “How well do you know your best friend?” I giggled and motioned for him to continue. “What’s their birthday?”

“May 28, 1996.” He raised an eyebrow.

“That’s Misty’s birthday.” I nodded and he glared at me.

“December 27, 1995.” A smile broke out across his face.

“What’s their favorite snack?” I quickly answered and he nodded. “Favorite movie?” Again. “Favorite city?” Again. He kept asking questions and I continued to answer them correctly.

“When we’re you planning on telling me those weren’t the actual questions?” He looked over to me his curls nearly covering his eyes and gave a smile.

“I wasn’t. Just wanted to make sure you really knew me.” He came over and plopped down on the couch next to me throwing his arm across my shoulders. “Can I tell you something?” I nodded gulping loudly. “I love you.” I giggled.

“I love you too.” He groaned throwing his head back.

“Not platonically.” He quickly grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes. I could feel my anxiety beginning to spread. “I’m in love with you.” I looked away nervously. “I want to take you on dates and hold your hand in public. Or go on road trips and cuddle.” He rested his hand against my cheek. “And I know you love me too.” I pulled away from his hand and stood up.

“Timmy, I can’t.” He stood up and tried to reach for me again but I took a step back. “T, you know I don’t let anyone in. This could ruin our friendship and I couldn’t bear to lose you.” He shook his head.

“I thought you didn’t let anyone in cause you wanted me?” I shook my head slowly. “So you don’t love me?” I sighed heavily.

“I do love you.”

“Not in a way that matters.” He yelled out. I went to reach for him but this time he was the one to move away. “Tell me you don’t love me and I will walk out of this room and be done with it.”

“Timmy,” he put his hand up.

“Tell me you don’t love me and I will let this go.” It felt like a dagger had been stabbed right through my chest. I did love Timothée, more than anything. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about being with him romantically. But then I thought about what would happen if it ended badly. So before I could truly understand what I was doing I opened and said what he wanted to hear.

“I don’t love you.” His mouth sunk into a line and he nodded his head. I watched him grab his coat and tears started to well up in my eyes. “T, don’t go.” He scoffed. “I don’t wanna lose you. I love you.” He turned on his heels and glared at me.

“Platonically.” He thought for a moment and leaned in towards me. His lips met mine and my knees became weak. I melted into his touch. He pulled away and looked into my eyes. “I would never hold your feelings against you, mon amour. But I won’t be lied to.” And with that he turned and left.

Two weeks had passed with no word from Timothée. My heart ached for him. I spent the last days thinking about what I truly wanted. My whole life I had built walls up around my heart. Every heartbreak I would add another brick. Until finally the walls were finished and no one was allowed in. Timmy was the only exception. He would poke and prod at a brick until it became unstable and crumbled. I wasn’t sure when but at some point he had broken down my walls and it wasn’t until I lost him that I realized what happened. It was a sneak attack. Gorilla warfare.

I threw my coat on along with my boots and stepped out into the blizzard. Timmy’s mother’s house was only about 10 minutes away so instead of risking my life to drive, I began to trudge along the sidewalk. I pulled my beige trechcoat closer to my body and nuzzled my nose into my scarf. The snow continued to come down. I arrived at his house and knocked on the door. His mother answered and she gave me a smile.

“Hi, sweetheart. If you’re looking for Timmy he isn’t home.” A frown made its way onto my face and she rubbed my upper arm. “You can come inside and wait if you’d like. I’m sure he’ll be home soon.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just head home and give him a call later. At the time it was something I wanted to say in person.” She nodded and we bid our goodbyes. I sighed heavily once the door shut. My eyes welled up with tears and I couldn’t tell if it was from my heartbreaking or the cold. The snow behind me began to crunch and I turned around. Timmy stood there looking at me. His curls covered in snow and his eyes a glossy red. Without saying anything I raced towards him. Once I was close enough I jumped into his arms and crashed my lips into his. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I could feel the tears we were both shedding. Our lips molded together. His warm touch immediately ridding the cold from my body. He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. “I’m so sorry, T.” He nuzzled his nose against mine. “I, I think I’m in love with you too.” The snow continued to fall on us but we didn’t have a care in the world.

“I should have called.” He said softly.

“No, T. You had every right to be mad. I was being ignorant. My whole life I had built up these walls in order to protect myself from getting hurt and I ended up hurting you.” He smiled.

“Mon amour, I fell in love breaking down your walls. These last two weeks hurt like hell, but you’re here now.” I grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled him in once again. My head began to swirl as his cologne filled my nostrils. “Fuck. You’ve no idea how long I wanted to do that.”

“Does this officially make us a couple?” I asked still trying to catch my breath. He nodded and pressed his lips against mine again.

“I’m all yours as long as you’re all mine.”

[darkhangels]

7. a night like this

enjoy the silence masterlist

morpheus x f!reader

words: 3952

The day passed by frighteningly quickly as you worked, anxiously watching the door waiting for Dream to stride in. For the first time in a long time you had actually dreaded going to sleep. It had been just under two months since the nightmares started and three weeks since they had stopped and you had been visiting the dreaming every night instead. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to it yet. Lucienne, Matthew, Mervyn were all going to be nothing but distant memories, faces you’d surely forget. And worst of all would be saying goodbye to Dream. 

He had unknowingly enchanted you under his wicked spell. He consumed your brain and left you aching, craving for his intimacy. And you knew he could never reciprocate your wants and desires, so perhaps this was the best thing. Best to forget about him now, to sever the connection before you felt yourself falling. 

Your eyes grew misty as you thought back to your life before the dreaming, before the nightmares. It had been lonely even then, but you at least had Lorna, who had now moved out and was busy with her own life. What would you do? You couldn’t and wouldn’t stay at the coffee shop. It was time to start a career. Well that's the grown up thing to say and do, it's what your Mum would tell you to do. But you didn’t want a career. What did you want? A purpose. A reason. A meaning.

You loved your friends and though it may be hard to admit sometimes, you loved your family. Of course you would live for them, hell you would always live for yourself no matter what. It's just figuring out what that life was.

“You okay?” Lorna laughed, peering at you staring into the distance.

You snapped yourself out of the depressing daze and shook your head furiously. “Yeah I’m fine” Putting on a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes.

“Your mum texted you” Lorna mindlessly called, looking down at your phone. 

You furiously wiped down a coffee machine. “What did she say?” You called behind you, too preoccupied with not bursting into tears.

“Wedding is December tenth, rehearsal dinner is on the twenty-seventh of November”

You groaned rolling your head back. “I completely forgot about that!”

Lorna bit her lip as she giggled. “There’s more”  

You walked closer to your friend. “What?” You deadpanned.

Lorna cleared her throat. “Please bring a date, if not for yourself for me, your dear old mother”

You snatched the phone out of Lorna's hand. “You’ve got to be kidding me” You growled.

You couldn’t help but laugh, if your mum was nothing she was persistent. “You should bring that Murphy guy with you,” Lorna suggested.

You giggled at the thought. “Hard pass”

Lorna groaned. “Why the hell not?” She lumbered towards you.

Your lips tugged in amusement at the image of Dream in a suit at your family's wedding. “Not really his scene”

“Neither is it your scene either, see? there we go. Match made in heaven!” Lorna exclaimed.

“I told you Lorna it is rather one sided” 

Lorna looked at you before setting down the towel she was using to wipe down the counters. She walked closer and grabbed both of your shoulders. “Then make it not one sided”

You frowned. “And how do you propose I do that?” 

“Seduce him”

Your face flushed a deep red. “How?” You stuttered in disbelief.

“I’m afraid I do not know how to seduce men” Lorna answered “I’m a lesbian, remember?”

You chuckled at that. 

“Listen all I’m saying is if you really like this Murphy guy, go for it” Lorna said seriously. 

You stared at your friend and an inch of sorrow stabbed at your heart. You wished you could, but how do you seduce an anthropomorphic personification?

You turned back to the counter only to be met with Dream himself. You shrieked and clutched at your heart. “Ok, y’know what the next time one of you pulls this shit on me I am going to start becoming violent” You breathed heavily. 

“That would not be wise” Dream plainly stated and you glared at him, his lip twitched up and you had to wipe off the smirk that grew on your face.

You gathered your coat and purse. “Lorna, I’m leaving!” You called out.

Lorna looked back at you and frowned before her eyes shot out of her skull. “Is this Murphy?”

You wished you could have disappeared in the spot where you stood. As you frantically gave her an alarming look before turning back to Dream. “No this isn’t Murphy, this is…” You looked up at Dream desperately sending him signals to help you out.

“I am aiding her with her work” Dream said his eyes wandered over to your friend and you felt a soft tugging at your heart. Something was so domestic about watching the two interact, your two different worlds colliding.

Lorna vaguely nodded though still confused. “And we really need to go, so I’ll see you soon” You grinned quickly at Lorna, desperate to escape the coffee shop. 

The two of you hastily escaped and you let out an anxious breath as you felt the cool night air whip around your face. You looked up to Dream. “I’m sorry about that, it's just how could I explain you to her” You awkwardly laughed. 

Dream watched you intensely, something in his demeanour was different. His jaw was more clenched and he seemed more rigid. “I understand” 

You looked down and licked your lips. “The bookstore is this way” as you started walking down the dark cobbled roads Dream close beside you. An awkward silence hit the two of you as you shoved your hands into your pockets. 

“Who is Murphy?” Dream croaked.

You paled and gulped harshly. “A friend,” you muttered. “I think”

Dream nodded ever so slightly. “And why is it that you want to ‘seduce’ him if he is only a friend?” 

You almost fell to the floor in shock as a deep blush grew on you and you couldn’t believe you were about to have this conversation with Dream of the endless. And more importantly he had heard the conversation with Lorna. “You heard that huh?” You awkwardly grimaced turning to the king beside you as he surveyed you with an unreadable expression. 

“Yes. I quite like him, but he doesn’t like me back so there will be no seducing” You blushed and cringed hoping he would leave it alone.

“How can you be so sure?” He asked. Your eyebrows furrowed. “That he does not reciprocate”

You winced your eyes shut. “We are very different and he is above me in every sense of the word” 

“I highly doubt that” Dream huffed. “Mortal men can only be given so much credit” 

You raised your eyebrows at his harsh tone. “Well” You scrambled to say anything. “In my mind he is”

Silence engulfed the two of you yet again before you arrived at your destination. “This is it” You breathed staring into the window that was dripping with condensation. 

Dream ripped his gaze from you as he studied the store in front of him, before opening the door and gesturing for you to go in. You gave him a quick thanks before rushing through the door, Dream following behind you. The man at the till gave the two of you a warm smile, and you realized strangely, that it was not the same man from before. He was younger, mid thirties with not a grey hair on his head. You gave him a nervous smile before turning to Dream. “This is not the man who sold me the book”

Dreams' eyes darkened. “You’re sure of it?”

You nodded. “Positive”

You walked over to the counter as Dream looked around the bookstore inspecting anything and everything. 

“Hey, excuse me” You greeted the man.

“Well hello, what can I do for you?” He smiled.

You beamed back at him. “Um I had a question about the store?”

The man nodded urging you to continue. “You see the last time I came here there was an older man working behind the counter, I was wondering if you knew where he was or his name anything you can tell me about him really”

The man's smile faltered. “Uh I’m sorry, Darling, but you have the wrong bookshop”

Dream stood beside you now as the man's eyes flickered between the two of you. 

“Why?” Your eyebrows furrowed.

“Because I am the only one who works here, I own this store, it's just me”

Your knees buckled and you fought against the weakness in your legs to keep yourself upright  and you opened your mouth in protest. “But that can’t be possible he-” You trailed off as you looked down, starting to shake again. 

The guy stared at you, helplessly. You felt Dream's thumb slowly graze against the back of your hand, you looked back up at him but his eyes were solely focused on the man.

“Look, do you know what day it was you came in here?” The man asked as he switched his attention to his computer.

You tried to find your voice as you wracked your memories. “Yeah it was like the twenty seventh or twenty eighth of October”

He looked up at you slowly. “Yes you definitely have the wrong store, we were closed the whole last week of October so I could travel to see my family”

Your breathing grew heavier. How was it possible? You nodded at the man and said a hushed thank you before speeding out of the store. When you reached the cold streets you turned around to Dream. “That's the bookstore, I swear on my life, that's the bookstore I went to”

“I believe you,” He said softly, walking closer.

“How? How is that possible?” You asked him, frightened tears stinging your eyes.

Dream said nothing, only walking closer as you tried to fight off a panic attack.

“I mean I was okay with knowing you and the dreaming existed” Your mouth tasted like iron. “And talking ravens was truly something” You let out a humourless laugh. “But hell? Demons? This?” You shouted, gesturing to the bookstore and shook your head. “Nope. No thank you”

“Look at me” 

You put your hands on your knees. “I think I might throw up”

“Look at me,” Dream said more sternly this time.

“Oh my god does this mean Satan exists?”

“Enough” Dream barked. “Look at me” He softly spoke.

You cautiously stood back to your full height and looked into his eyes. “I understand your fears, but I will not let anything harm you” 

You stepped closer to him, having to strain your neck to meet his eyes. Your eyes flashed to his lips only for a second. “You promise?”

“I swear it” He uttered.

You nodded, not stepping back, feeling all too safe in the close proximity between the two of you. His hand slowly crept up to your face, cradling your cheek and you ever so slightly leant into his grasp. Dream watched curiously, as his eyes switched between yours before he ripped his touch away from you. He stepped away. He started walking away before stopping and jerking his head in his direction. “Come”

Feeling slightly rejected from his actions, you ran to catch up to him before walking side by side again. The streets were less bustling now, and the sky was clear, the winter nights drawing closer as the stars illuminated the black sky. You looked up in wonder at them. How many years on this planet? How many nights? And still the stars fascinated you, their beauty never fading. Dream watched you awe stricken face and also looked up to the stars as the two of you walked to your apartment. 

“Are there any stars in the dreaming?” You asked mindlessly.

“I suppose, humanity dreams it as such” 

You were silent for a second more. “Before the nightmares started I used to wish it was eternally night, so I could simply spend life stargazing and marvelling at the moon” You grinned at him. “Then the nightmares started and I wished it was eternally light, always the morning”

“And now?”

“Now I still wish it to be eternally night”  For different reasons of course 

And it suddenly hit you all at once. This was going to be one of the last times you would see him. One of the last times you would talk about mindless things such as the stars. You swallowed the tears back. You had never had such a raw connection with anyone this way. Never felt your skin buzz under their touch, never found yourself aching for someone just like this. You looked at Dream out of the corner of your eyes. His side profile was a sight to marvel at like a sculptured god walking next to you. 

You threw your gaze back to the sky, trying not to let the stray tears fall from your eyes. You were sorrowful and anxious for what was to come knowing that the night ahead of you would not be forgiving so you wanted to cherish your last moments before disaster would inevitably strike. 

“My mother is Night” Dream spoke.

You whipped around to face him. “You have a mother?”

He nodded, staring up at the sky. “And a father too” 

“What is she like?” You breathed.

Dream took a moment to think. “She is powerful beyond comprehension” He stared into the dark abyss of the sky. “Beautiful too” 

You smiled softly to yourself listening to Dream's words. “I suppose she’d have to be wouldn’t she” You beamed at Dream who looked down at you. “To create this” You gestured to the stars, watching them gleam in the night sky. 

“Yes,” He whispered. “Pure beauty” Though his eyes only settled on your face watching you  looking up into the night, the way your eyes shone in pure admiration. 

The two of you reached your apartment and you unlocked the door trudging in, suddenly becoming very self conscious despite knowing he had been here before on Halloween night. The time was 19.08.

Dream looked so out of place in your stuffy little apartment and you had to fight back a smirk. “Make yourself at home I guess” You shrugged, heading to your bedroom to fetch the book you needed to show him.

When you returned you found Dream mindlessly looking around. Inspecting your bookshelves, photos, inspecting your life outside the dreaming with a burning curiosity. You sat down on the sofa and Dream turned around to you and offered him the book sheepishly. He gently took it out of your hands as he perched beside you. 

It was so strange. So domestic seeing him on your sofa. He turned the book in his hand and inspected it, his eyebrows furrowing. He let out a deep grumble and you looked at him. “What is it?”

He closed the book with a thud and set it beside him. “Its as I expected, the book was crafted in the very depths of hellfire” 

You took a shuddering breath. “Ok but how and why?” 

He looked off into the distance shaking his head. “I don’t know, if its Lucifer's work, it'll be to get under my skin”

“Lucifer?” You gulped. “As in king of Hell?”

“The very one and I’m afraid I humiliated Lucifer last time I was in hell” 

You shook your head trying to piece the evidence together. “Ok so Lucifer does this to get under your skin, fine” You looked up to him with a trembling lip. “Why me? Why these specific dreams?” 

Dream looked at you, his gaze softening and his posture relaxing just a bit. “That I do not know”

You rubbed your eyes with your hand and groaned.

“But I will try and find out everything as much as I can” He declared, looking straight into your eyes.

Silence haunted the two of you, both caught up in internal conflicts of your own, trying to piece together the answers.

“The girl in the photo, she’s the woman from before” 

You jumped at Dreams sudden outburst and quickly followed his gaze to one of the photos you have hanging up in your apartment. You smiled fondly at the memory. It was you and Lorna about three years back, you had driven to the seaside for the day, only to have gotten lost and ended up somewhere completely different. It was a photo of the two of you smiling nervously in front of a road sign.

“Yeah that’s Lorna, I've probably mentioned her before” You beamed. “She’s my best friend”

Dream nodded slowly. “Me and her actually used to live together, In this apartment but she moved out on Halloween to live with her girlfriend” You explained thinking back. It felt so long ago now, despite it being only over a fortnight ago.

“You live by yourself?” He questioned.

You looked around the apartment. “Do you see anyone else here?” 

Dream rolled his eyes at your sarcasm. “What about Murphy?”

You blushed deeply “Jesus Christ, this is like a job interview or something” You muttered mostly to yourself.

“What about him?” You sighed, nervous you were back on the subject.

“Why don’t you live with him?” 

You had to bite your tongue so you wouldn’t laugh. Though nerve wracking, this was highly amusing. “We’ve only known each other for like a month” You shrugged. 

“And you love him?”

Your eyes bulged out of your skull. “Woah, that's a big word”

“Mortals and your complete failure to allow and devote yourself to such feelings as love” Dream grumbled.

You peered at the sincerity and annoyance on his face. Has he loved before? Surely so. A being as old as he had to have been in love before. You pushed down the wicked claws of jealousy that scraped against your heart, he had probably loved gods and goddesses, only women beyond comprehension.

“I don’t know if it's love” You whispered honestly. “In all honesty I don’t know if I’ve ever loved before” You gulped “I think it's still too fast and too soon to say”

You looked down at your fingernails and picked at the skin. “All I do know is” The sorrowful stabbing pain twisted through your heart yet again. “I care for him very much” You swallowed the harsh lump in the back of your throat “And he does not feel the same way”

Dream's jaw tightened and he tensed his body before standing up. “It is time” He soberly muttered. And you jumped, disappointed that the conversation had ended so abruptly and all your anxieties making your head rush. You nodded, turning the lights in the kitchen and living room off, you led him to your bedroom. Embarrassment washing over you as you watched him scan over your room. You collected your pyjamas, instructing Dream to wait there as you marched to your bathroom.

As you shrugged off your clothing you worried maybe you should’ve chosen sexier lingerie rather than the classic old baggy t-shirt and jogging bottoms combo. Maybe you should've shaved? You cast the stupid thoughts from your brain trying to keep focus. You were literally about to be catching a demon and yet you worried about your unshaven legs? You brushed your teeth and anxiously crept into the room. 

Dream stood rigidly in the corner and watched your every movement.

“So you’re just gonna stand there and watch me sleep until a demon pops up?” You awkwardly chuckled, crossing your arms around your chest, anxiety crawling up your spine.

“Yes,” He said sternly.

You bit your lip anxiously. “Wait here” 

You rushed to the kitchen, grabbing one of the chairs and dragging it down the hallway with an obnoxious screech before carrying it into your room and placing it beside Dream. He watched you with a quizzical eye. You looked up at him and gave him a shy smile.

“So you don’t have to just awkwardly stand there” 

You walked over to your bed and sat on top, your room now only dimly lit by the orange glow  lamp beside you. Dream looked at the chair beside him and back up to you. “This is not needed”

“Just because it is not needed does not mean it's unwanted” You shrugged, a smirk growing on your face.

Dream just stared down at you with his intimidating glare. “Please, Dream, just sit in the goddamn chair” You sighed.

His face softened ever so slightly. “Very well” He slowly sat down on the chair, awkwardly but at least he was sat.

Satisfied you climbed into your bed, all too conscious that Dream never lifted his gaze from you. You turned off the lamp, settling into your bed, terror immediately gripped at your heart. Was the demon already watching you? You peeked your head over the covers and looked over to find two twin stars shimmering in the darkness. 

“How do you do that?” You muttered quietly.  

“Do what?”

You lifted yourself further up in your bed, turning to face him, only seeing the gleaming stars. “Y’know the thing with your eyes”

Silence.

“When they go all shimmery and look like stars” You continued.

“I believe it is just the way they are” He softly muttered.

“Well if your Mum is night after all, maybe that's where you get it from” 

“Perhaps”

“Wait, so who's your dad?”

“You are stalling” Dream pointed out

You looked down and fiddled with your fingers letting out a long breath of air. You didn’t want to sleep, you knew what was waiting for you and you couldn’t bring yourself to go forward.

“I haven’t had those nightmares for a long time, I can’t. I don’t want to go back” You whispered, tears gathering in your eyes. “I’m terrified” You swallowed.

Silence once again engulfed the room as stray tears fell down your cheeks. You heard slight rustling and slow footsteps walking towards the bed before you felt the bed dip. You looked up into Dreams eyes, his face now slightly illuminated by the streetlights that spilled out of your curtains, carving out all the intricate details on his angelic face.

“I said I would not let anyone harm you and I meant it” He hoarsely whispered. “I swore it”   

You nodded looking down again, despite his words you couldn't help the tremble in your body.  Dream thought for a moment, dipping his head to study your face.

“When I am done here, after tonight. I will grant you one last visit to the dreaming to say your goodbyes before you go back to the way you dreamt before” He was so close to you, you could practically feel his breath on your skin, crawling in yearning. “And I will give you the warmest dreams, warmer than any human has ever had before” 

Your eyes switched between his as you stared, wordless, simply swaying under his spell, his voice like hymns from heaven gracing your ears. He licked his lips as his eyes roamed around your face. Taking in every last detail. “Dreams of stars and ever-flowing rivers”

You gazed deeply at him, your heart hammering in your chest. The two of you inched closer and closer until your noses were practically touching. You let out a shuddering breath in anticipation and closed your eyes, not able to take the burdensome desire that burned deep within your body, setting flames to every muscle, every inch of your body. Dreams jaw clenched tight and his eyes seemed to water only for a second.

“Dream,” You purred.

“Sleep, Starlight”

[vickyvicarious]

I feel Phoenix Wright is among the characters who are like,

"If I didn't have constant anxiety, it'd be over for you."

He already seems impossible from the outside in canon when he's often a nervous wreck. Imagine if that anxiety wasn't there.

Take a look at these three sprites for a second. (It takes a little while, but I promise you'll see the relevance.) They're the confident/smiling forward facing for each person. And... there's some interesting similarities, yes? AJ-era Phoenix's sprite is pretty close to being a perfect mix of Godot and Mia's. His hands in his pockets, midway between Mia's crossed arms and Godot's hands on hips. They're all angling their bodies slightly to the side in the same direction. Mia's head is tilted the opposite way and forward a little; Godot's in line with his shoulders and back; Phoenix is in line with his shoulders but closer to Mia's angle. Heck, even color wise - it's definitely more of a stretch but Phoenix has on a dark jacket and necklace like Mia, but his hat is closer in color to Godot's shirt, and it is also noticeable/bright headwear like the mask.

The reason I bring up these sprites is because... well, in AJ we see Phoenix from the outside for the first time and he really does seem very inscrutable. Knowing him, he's definitely still feeling a lot of anxiety over things, but he doesn't show it and thus we the players don't see it, since he's no longer our POV. I think there are a couple factors at play there as well, because Phoenix certainly seems to have gotten better at hiding his flopsweat moments in that game. You could say there's a certain element of detachment, because despite all his machinations, in the end he isn't a lawyer for any part of that game and so ultimately, the responsibility is no longer his. Maybe that's a factor.

But AJ-era Phoenix (or 'Beanix') keeps coming to mind for me. I realized a few months ago that in that game, his relationship to Kristoph (and the plot itself as well as Apollo) strongly mimics Mia's with Dahlia. However, looking at these sprites got me thinking that he also mimics Godot.

AJ-era Phoenix also returns after a long absence from the legal world, which was forced upon him due to the actions of a poisoner who successfully tricked him (Godot actually got poisoned, Phoenix just disbarred). And when he next shows up in court, he is visibly very different (mask and hair vs. beanie/hoodie). He's also a lot more jaded, and takes an interest in a young new attorney closely linked to the poisoner responsible for his absence. He's secretive, often for what seems like no purpose at all, but has a plan that's only revealed in the final case - which itself was a combination of somewhat longterm planning/buildup, and adapting to unexpected situations right at the last minute. He takes risks and works outside the courtroom/sometimes the law to achieve his goal (the bloody ace isn't exactly the same as stabbing Misty Fey, but, y'know), and in general appears quite different from his past self. However, in the end his goals are very sympathetic, and much more than just simple 'revenge', however morally dubious some of his choices have been.

Obviously, Beanix is not one-to-one with Godot. But I can see a rough sketch of similarities there, and certainly in general attitude/vibe they're more similar than Phoenix and Mia seem to be at that point. Even some of the things Godot says seem like they could be a Beanix quote (this came to mind). I think there's at least enough to go on to say that AJ-era Phoenix is once again a mix of Mia and Godot.

I find this interesting because Phoenix looked up to Mia right from the beginning, and modeled so much of his behavior, strategies, and philosophies after her. And yet, she just as obviously learned a lot from Diego, back when she was the inexperienced new lawyer. The most notable being, of course, the quote passed down to Mia and then Phoenix: "A lawyer only cries when it's all over." (Another Godot quote that seems to apply to Beanix is this one.) And the thing is, Phoenix looks up to Mia so much, and she generally seems pretty knowledgeable and unflappable, but once we get inside her head/play a few cases as her we see she has a lot of nervousness hidden behind her facade, much like Phoenix. Of course, those cases were when she was a rookie attorney, but I think the point stands. Godot also reveals a heck of a lot of issues and self-recrimination later on, but for the most part he's really good at seeming very confident. It's another similarity between all of them.

And yet, Godot's problems are more personal. When it comes to the courtroom, he's actually pretty legitimately confident for the most part. At least, I think so. He loses every case we see him try, but it's not for a lack of ability so much as a lack of care. His strategies are good, if unorthodox for a prosecutor (because he's acting more like a defence attorney). He knows what he's doing in court, and although he definitely gets surprised/owned at times, for the most part he's pretty unflappable and fairly quick to recover. Basically, this meta by @theggning is great and I'm trying to restate it briefly, but go read the whole thing. I also think there's a great argument to be made for Mia being quite similar in court. Less cryptic shenanigans, but the same type of underlying confidence in her abilities/craft to back up her determination to protect her clients. Unfortunately, we've never seen her in a case outside of her rookie ones/being a ghost during brief points in Phoenix's trials, so I can't point to specifics as much.

ALL OF THIS TO SAY... as soon as I read your ask, I thought of Godot. I thought of Mia, too. I think that "a more confident Phoenix" would be a lot more similar to the both of them, than to anyone else. You could even say it's a natural extension of his arc, and that it's at least somewhat represented in AJ. In a funny way, you can also read that very same game's events as the reason why he doesn't seem as confident as you might expect him to be once he returns to law in Dual Destinies (his failure with the ace/getting disbarred leading to being somewhat unfamiliar in the courtroom after so long, the pressure of living up to his reputation, the heavy responsibility of protecting his clients again, etc. - you know, vs. the writers just wanting to go back to lawyer!Phoenix and not always thinking too much about his characterization during AJ and how that would develop when they did so). But certainly during AJ, especially from Apollo's outside perspective, I think we get a lot closer to the image of a supremely confident Phoenix Wright.

At least as far as I picture it! I don't think it would make too much difference in terms of him being unstoppable - since like you said, he pretty much already is. But there would be even fewer cracks for his opponents to poke at, and his mistakes wouldn't cut him down as much as they do in trilogy-era. He would inspire the same type of reactions as Godot did when he first appeared... a lot of people feeling intimidated and noticing just how well he seems to know his way around the courtroom, or people getting caught up in his pace and listening to him even sometimes outside their best interests. And, like Mia in the first game with Redd White, he'd scare villains enough to cause issues, probably. But at least he might (also like established lawyer Mia) actually be able to get his clients to pay him well, enough to buy fancy glass lamps if he wanted.

[enthblaze]

I know you said that as a joke earlier, but imagine he jokingly elbows mikey

Splinter would hear a scream coming from outside the room and when he tracks it he finds

Mikey laying on the floor while raph and donnie surround him, April standing above them, and karai standing in the middle of the room looking towards a dark corner and when he trails her line of vision he spots his eldest

In his snake form, wrapping himself with his tail and clearly hyperventilating and in a panic state

And splinter, feels lost

The moment Splinter stepped foot in the living room, he knew something was immensely wrong, and not only because of the concerned shouts coming from his children and friends alike. His snout wrinkles as he catches whiff of the scent of blood, faint but horrifically potent in a place that shouldn't smell of such things.

His heart spikes as he rushes to the group surrounding his youngest on the floor, and it's only then that he sees the growing puddle of crimson on their freshly mopped tiles.

Michelangelo's trying desperately to explain the situation - situation? whatever this was - to his ever growing concerned brothers, but he's failing miraculously. His eyes are undoubtedly misty and his breath is shaky as he exhales.

Donatello is listening attentively, just as Rapahel is, but he's tending to the deep wound in Michelangelo's side that hadn't been there when Splinter last spoke to his children, which was all about ten minutes ago before he retired himself to the dojo for the afternoon.

He can tell simply by looking at it that it's fresh and likely un accidental. How does one obtain such a serious injury by lounging on the couch? He baby-proofed and similarly, teenage-proofed the entire Lair years ago and has maintained such until now. And though his youngest is clumsy, he knows he is not one to trip and fall onto a blade.

"My sons?" he asks, because he'd been standing there like a fool up until now.

No heads turn to him but he knows he's heard.

Michelangelo perks up when he spots him by the pool. "Sensei! It was an accident, honest! He didn't mean to?"

He? So there was a culprit?

That rings alarm bells in Splinter's head.

But his frantic thoughts are quelled by a different voice. "There is no intruder, Father." His daughter, whom he admittedly hadn't noticed, is standing off to his right with her back to him.

"Miwa?" he prompts, because his heart can't take anymore of this, but he must remain calm for the sake of his children.

April and Casey exchange looks he cannot decipher from the corner of his eye. They're shifting from foot to foot, however, and their anxiety does not go unnoticed.

Karai does not answer.

As the rat opens his mouth to ask again, he finds that there's more to this than he thought, and follows his daughter's line of sight to the darkest corner of the room. She's keeping her eyes trained on the shadows, like if she looks away, whatever's taking cover there would flee, and Splinter can't blame her.

As his eyes adjust to the shadows, he finds something far worse than anything his mind could ever dream of.

There, coiled and tense and trembling, is his eldest. Instead of his whitened eyes, his heart splits in two to find wide, cobalt blue. Leonardo is back with them, but oh, my boy, what have you done?

Donatello has staunched the bleeding and is working on quick stitches, to which a clean dishcloth is quickly shoved in Michelangelo's mouth for him to bite down onto. Muffled sounds of pain is the only sound to accompany the panicked breathing of a snake who only wanted to bond with his brother.

"We were joking around. Probably forgot about his arm blades and elbowed me real good," Michelangelo explains once the stitches are tied off and the dishcloth is far from his mouth.

"He stabbed you and you're defending him?" Ah, Raphael. His second eldest has finally cracked.

Michelangelo shoots him an incredulous look. "He didn't mean to!"

"Guys," April says softly, and then motions to the form in the shadows. Their raised voices had only increased his shallow breaths, and if he continues at this rate, he will not be conscious for much longer.

Finally - finally - Splinter snaps out of his daze, having processed all that's happened here. Taking one last look at his other three sons, he moves towards the dark corner, deeming Michelangelo stable and in good hands. He spots April crouch down beside him and begin whispering before he brings his full attention to his eldest.

"Leonardo," he says with the gentlest voice he can muster up, making sure that there is no anger behind his words. "My son, will you look at me?"

Lost in his own mind in a way that he used to as a turtle tot suffering from a panic attack, Splinter prods on.

"My son," he tries again, still in that same voice. "Everything is alright. You are safe."

Leonardo's eyes suddenly clear with clarity and he lifts his head to meet Splinter's eyes. "Mi...key," he half says, half hisses, because words are hard with these vocal chords of his.

Splinter smiles kindly. "He is okay. It is not your fault."

Leonardo shakes his head and whines. "I...hurt him." His mouth twists into a grimace and he coils around himself even tighter.

Splinter feels him slipping from his fingers.

He dares to move a step closer. The snake freezes.

"I assure you, I am not angry. It is alright."

Then Karai is next to him, a much more imposing presence that Splinter nearly scolds her, but she holds out a hand to the snake with steady arms and looks directly at him as she speaks. "You forgot about your freaky arm blades, so what? Accidents happen and you're not used to this body. Sure, someone got hurt, but you live a dangerous life. Your people get hurt everyday. But look! Mikey's fine and Father's saying it's fine so if you don't stop sulking, I'm gonna sit here with you until you do."

"Bad...brother," is all that Leonardo responds with.

Karai tuts. "Now who said that? Come on, it's one little mistake."

"Your older sister is right," Splinter agrees. He sees Karai side eye him but not with the malice he expects. More so curiosity, and he continues. "You did not mean to. You are not a bad person, Leonardo." His son looks at him then. "What? Did you think I could not see the self blame behind those eyes of yours? I have known you since you were a baby. I can read your mind, even as a snake."

Leonardo's mouth breaks into a small smile then. Karai is practically beaming to his right, despite her mouth still set in a grim line.

"Come here, my son," Splinter urges gently. It could either work or Leonardo retreats even further than before, but the universe works in his favour this time round, and his son untenses and uncoils.

He slithers out if his hiding space and finds his way into Splinter's arms. It's a comically hilarious sight, for Leonardo is so much larger now, but Splinter holds him all the same and makes sure to keep reminding him that he is not a bad brother, that it wasn't his fault, that no one is angry.

And within all of that - that he is not a monster.

[misty-caligula]

Long post about overall themes and metaphor and stuff

I feel like taking a stab at what's going on with the visions and stuff. I am not saying I'm right, I'm just saying... this is what I think. Incoming very long post:

I've seen people talking about the plane transmitter. The specifics of the how and the why and the systems. Black boxes don't carry transmitters inside them, and the emergency transmitters that do exist are unreliable at best. The flight path should have been modified before they even left the ground, the pilots were literally talking about it while they were still boarding. Come to think of it, black boxes don't even look like that, and are designed to be VERY resilient. So there's a growing question as to whether or not Misty's actions even mattered, whether she's even responsible for them not being found. And honestly the thing is:

It doesn't matter. The truth does not matter.

What matters is that Misty believes it. And Crystal believed it. And anyone she told would've believed it. And belief is SO much more important than truth out in the wilderness.

More than that, we don't KNOW the truth. We do not know why they haven't been found. We likely will never know. We likely cannot. What we know is what we believe, what people's intentions are, what the consequences of actions SEEM to be. No matter what, Misty fully intended to strand them for her own personal gain, and either didn't think through or didn't care that people would die if she succeeded. In the wilderness that's the same thing as murder. Crystal understood that, and died for it.

All of this to say: Is there a ... force in the woods that's keeping them there? That provides food when they need it most, that accepts their blood offerings, that notices when they pray to it?

It. Doesn't. Matter.

What matters is whether or not the team thinks that it does.

Laura Lee's absurd belief that she could fly a decade-stagnant plane to a civilisation she had no map for based entirely on her idea of her own importance and God's protection went up against the cult's belief that the wilderness wouldn't let them go. If she'd survived, if they'd been rescued.. would that have proved Laura Lee's God? Is the plane exploding proof of the power of the wild? Or ... was it just a stagnant plane with no maintanance on a hopeless mission that went predictably wrong for any number of mechanical reasons? What's the truth? Who's to say? Who's to know? It doesn't matter. What matters is that based on their INTERPRETATION of events each team member makes decisions that have consequences, and then THOSE consequences are interpreted. Truth is long behind us.

And honestly, we, as the audience, are brought in to the exact same position. We don't get truth, we don't get a stable basis of reality. We see the same events playing out that everyone else does, with the same information. And from what I've seen from my poll which has now about 300 votes, there is absolutely no consensus on what the fuck is even going on out there. About 25% of people genuinely think that the Wilderness has a magic force in it, 13% are certain it doesn't, and EVERYONE ELSE HAS NO IDEA. That's stunning, really, I've never seen a show where the audience is SO unsure of pretty simple events shown directly on screen.

I think this is entirely intentional. This isn't Lost, or the X Files or Sherlock. We're not meant to look at the information presented and make a rational, thought out statement of What Exactly Is Happening. The puzzle pieces we're being handed are just whatever meaning we can grab out of the air, and there's nothing to guarantee that any particular piece means anything at all, or that ANY of it does. We're meant to be experiencing the exact same confusion and disorientation and ... truthlessness that they all are. Wherever you land isn't right, or wrong, what matters is that you understand how you got there, and maybe learn more about yourself doing it.

But there's two big things I want to touch on with this.

The first is that they're like... 8-9 months into the wild now. Things have taken some pretty big turns, and not all good. My personal theory is that all that business with Pit Girl is going to be happening in the second winter, RIGHT before they get rescued. So between now and then things are only going to get ... worse. Truth is only going to get more irrelevant, and faith more important as a desperate handle to grip onto.

And the really weird part though is that ... talking to the fandom, talking to people who've been watching, I can completely understand and explain how we've gotten HERE. Every step of the way made sense, even though we're now so adrift. But talking to my friends who don't watch it I sound UNHINGED, like ... I tried to explain why they ate Snackie and ... I barely had the vocabulary. I kinda just had to go "I mean... they were starving... and it was kind of an accident..." but like... if you're not watching, how do you explain how ... how you get from Soccer practice to cannibalism and... and come out of it nonjudgementally? The reality is that if you're not IN it, there's already a real distance growing between the in-group of fandom and the out-group of those who just.. don't understand.

When the Antler Queen is dividing up pit girl... we're going to know why. We might not have any form of truth left, but we'll know how we got there. We might find that we at that point feel really sorry for Pit Girl. We might be sitting there egging on the cult. We might be horrified. We might feel absolutely justified. But either way we'll understand. And so will they.

And then they'll get rescued.

Imagine being actively standing there in the Antler Queen's robes and... a helicopter comes out of nowhere. Civilization reasserts itself and you're whisked away to society again. And the only question that anyone wants an answer to is: What happened?

Where would you even start? How could you explain? Did you get increasingly desperate in the wild and have your animal instincts take over? Did some primal God speak to you and demand a blood sacrifice to keep you alive? What... happened? You might not even be sure yourself, and now people want to know the truth, not your subjective experience. You're Shauna... how do you look at Jackie's parents in the eye, people you've known your whole life, and tell them you ate their daughter ...and LOVED it?

I think that that's the purist reality of the experience of going through a deep trauma. The way that it creates a divide between your reality and that which others inhabit. And when you go through it together with others, the bond that can form from having such a small group who can still relate to you, can still understand your vocabulary... that's so strong, and that's fundamentally the experience that they're simulating for us, the audience, to empathise with. We're spared a cold, scientific truth, and instead we're allowed IN to the pack, we're being bonded to the team. It costs us our ability to have a stable foundation on reality. But that's ... how trauma is.

The second thing is that when Nat had her cocaine vision of the plane, I don't think we're meant to be taking it completely literally. I think it's a metaphor. I think that the idea is that the team who got onto the plane metaphorically died in it, the ones who emerged from the wreck were already fundamentally changed, rebirthed. And when they're rescued they're not really rescuing the people who got on the plane, they're ... different people now, in ways that are totally invisible and completely overwhelming. When Nat says "We brought it back with us" it's like... those changes, those new versions of themselves were never left behind in the woods. They returned in place of those who died in the plane, and took on their lives, they wore their faces, but they're NEVER going to be the same, and they need to learn not to be afraid of that. To stop running from who they are, to stop hiding from the wilderness, because .. they brought it with them. They never left.

I do not think they're literally physically dead, in some supernatural sense. I think their brains are struggling to cope with the reality of their experience. I think that's why the wilderness calls to them all, because they're creatures of the forest now, not of the suburbs. They don't... belong here anymore. Just as so many of us are drawn back to the places and patterns of our own traumatic rebirths, where things are awful and painful and yet... simple, and nonsensical in a way that we can manage and understand. When we're so different from however you're meant to be to fit into the structured "normal world." Whatever that is.

But I might be wrong. The truth is ... impossible to know. And in the end... it doesn't matter. All that matters is what you think is right and trying to understand yourself and the characters and the experience through that lens.

[jollyreginaldrancher]

Yellowjackets S1 E7 thoughts

Oh no, I'm getting attached to them. This is no longer teen slasher vibes.

If Van and Taissa don't get that soft pretzel together I am going to die

I'm sure he's trying to let her down gently so she doesn't stab him but the coach X Misty thing still feels super wrong

She really used Randy as a cover though? I'd sooner tell Jackie it was her dad that knocked me up

Did they really have to make us sit through that whole scene with Travis and Nat though?

Jackie has better timeline awareness than the entire pretty little liars writing team. She is a walking, talking, Shauna historian. She caught her out immediately. I'm not saying it's cause they're in love but...

Are the girls about to get attacked by wild animals?

That Sandra Bullock movie is good btw. It's called "while you were sleeping" and it's about a woman who manifests a relationship with her crush while he's in a comma.

If the reporter is tied up in Misty's basement then either she has a partner or she's not part of the blackmail plot. It could be one of the girls we haven't seen yet. Like maybe adult Lottie or Van...though I still think Lottie dies.

Reporter really overestimated how much Misty actually cares about Travis

Why is Shauna so secretive with that diary? Tell me she wasn't dumb enough to write who her baby's father is in that.

The blackmailer is definitely a guy. At least from the back it looks like a guy. Is it Jeff? It feels like everyone they know is trying to get the truth out of them.

How did they keep going after the red river?

Genuinely asking cause that can't be a good sign.

How did they see a whole red river and think that's not enough of a sign and decide to keep going until maybe they encounter the red smoke?

Is Shauna doing that at home or in some motel room or whatever? Cause I'm worried about her getting caught. Also by not checking if her husband is covered in glitter we can't confirm or deny his involvement, so I'm not convinced he's innocent.

Misty continues to carry the group.

Also considering there's no mention of his brother, and since they didn't immediately go looking for him after he died, I'm gonna assume he died out there too.

He should have hid under the bed. What if her husband wanted to change clothes?

Also Jeff is sooo shady. Like I feel like they want us to believe he's out sleeping around and that's why they showed him rent a hotel room with another woman, so we wouldn't suspect he's in on the blackmailing thing, but if I've learned anything from pretty little liars, itf someone has an alibi; no they don't. He could be in England and still be A somehow.

Do they have another hamper in the bathroom or does Jeff just wear his undies in the shower? Cause he was taking everything else off.. I bet he was hiding glitter in his undies. I bet that's why he left them on. That or some sex thing. He's definitely hiding something.

Natalie is probably self-sabotaging here. I'm guessing it's to show she really does like whatshisname. I'm still rooting for her to get with Misty anyway though so I'm glad if that thing is ending.

TELL ME SHE WAS NOT STUPID ENOUGH TO REVEAL THE BABY'S PATERNITY THROUGH A FUCKING DIARY ENTRY

Those were definitely wolf sounds

IS VAN BEING DRAGGED AWAY BY A WOLF? 😮

HOLLY FUCK IS VAN GONNA DIE?

Oh, I get it. Red smoke = flare

Oh shit oh fuck oh no her face!

Wait, is she fucking dead? Did they just kill her? She can't be! She can't be dead right? Oh god, why isn't she moving? I can't even go to sleep now, I need to watch more

I mean, on the upside: they have some food now. But at what cost?

Misty's there. Misty can save Van. Misty could bring her back from the jaws of death. House has nothing on Misty. In Misty we trust. Please Misty don't let me down.

[of-comfort-and-love]

A Gift From The Ocean

It feels good to be writing again~ Especially for MerMay- the last time I wrote for Mermay was back in like what, a year ago? And that was back when I had my multifandom OC. I don't use her anymore though...

This is based on the "Unlimited Glory" photoshoot from Shining Live. Comments/Reblogs are always welcome!

EDIT 06/01: As of now, I'm aware that May has passed. But, that's not gonna stop me from finishing this!!! >:)

Word Count: 1,662

CW: Injury mention, mild violence mention

Tag List: @topstarodeo @rose-wine-selfships @syos-princess @ofieugogyshz @bard-and-the-barbarian @bipocselfship-archive @vaporvvave (If you want your name added/removed, then please let me know.)

Quartermaster Tomochika couldn't enjoy her breakfast over the loud commotion going on the deck. She could hardly taste the blend of cinnamon and sugar in her porridge without the sounds of "Ooohs!", "Aaaahs!", and "Whooass!" blaring in her ear.

Sighing in annoyance, she swallowed the remainder of her breakfast and climbed upstairs. Cecil, the head chef, couldn't help but follow after her, also wondering what all of the fuss was about.

"Hehe, I wonder what's the commotions about this time.", he nervously chuckled, trying to avoid the stern aura blazing in the redhead's eyes.

"Honestly, the Crystal Dawn mates need to stop getting so excited over such trivial nonsense.", Tomochika scoffed, tucking her luscious ruby locks behind her ear.

Her heeled boots clicked loudly against the hardwood floor as she reached the deck. The sound of her footsteps was somehow able to quiet down the crowded of excited mates; the group nervously turned around to face the strict quartermaster.

"Q-Quartermaster, come take a look at what the fishermen caught in the net. It's incredible…", the kind-hearted doctor Natsuki gazed at the woman with a misty, almost dream-like gleam in his eyes.

Tomochika made her way through the crowd to investigate the situation with a sigh.

"Natsuki," she sighed, "this better be important, or the captain will be upset that you all are…"

Tomochika quickly froze in place, staring in awe at the surprise found in the fishermen's net.

Thought of something only from books and urban legends, the Crystal Dawn crew were left dazzled at the sight of a real mermaid right before their eyes.

She was of a dark complexion, small shells and beads woven into her dark brown braids. The noticeable fins on the side of her head matched the ones adorned on her sparkling amethyst-colored tail. It shone many brilliant colors as she laid down on the deck, soaking in the morning sun's rays.

The mermaid usually would've enjoyed a relaxing sunbathing. However, being in this new environment made her feel uneasy, and she wished for nothing to be back home.

"Do you know much money would we get off of her? Let's head for shore and then put 'er up for auction!", a rigger shouted, money signs practically bursting out of his eyes.

"Now why would you do that to such a lovely maiden such as her?", the suave gunner Ren commented, delicately grabbing onto the mermaid's hand through the net before raising it to his lips.

She quickly recoiled it away and hissed at the redhead before he had a chance to kiss it.

"Pfft, don't ya idiots know that mermaids are a bad omen? All the legends say they'll curse everyone on board if you hoist one up out of the ocean. One quick stab in the brain should do away with her before things get out of control.", the silver-haired first mate Ranmaru scoffed before drawing his sword from his scabbard.

"Yeah, and then Cecil 'ere can prepare our dinner!", another mate cheered gleefully, making Ranmaru grunt in disgust.

"Non, non, non! That's horrible!", Cecil replied, "I would never do such a thing to an innocent creature. Besides, mermaids are poisonous and I don't like fish anyway!"

Tomochika held her head in disgust as the crew argued about their latest discovery. She opened her mouth to holler at them before a delicate hand rested on her shoulder.

It was none other than the shy yet gentle musician Haruka, her dearest friend. If there was anyone that could put a smile back on the quartermaster's face, it was her.

Timidly tucking a strand of coral hair behind her ear, Haruka whispered, "Tomo-chan, I think it would be best if we let her go. She's scared and I don't think the Captain would be pleased about having a mermaid on board. Especially if they really are cursed."

Before Tomochika could share her input, a wave of intensity and fear suddenly fell over the crew.

"What is going on here?!", a new voice hollered, the ship immediately going silent.

The crew quickly parted in two, all eyes darting at the terrifying man approaching them. Dressed in a flowing coat and a dark hat, Captain Tokiya knew how to make an entrance.

"Captain," Tomochika bravely stepped forward, trying her best not to cower under the eerie man's cold stare. "I'm afraid we have an…uninvited guest onboard. For our safety, I think it would be best if we set her free, don't you agree?"

As the quartermaster quickly moved out of his way, Tokiya was able to get a clearer view of the "uninvited guest". The mermaid felt a lump in her throat as he stepped closer, drawing his sword in the process.

The crew gasped, unaware of the Captain's true intentions. They felt relief as they soon realized that he was going to free from her makeshift prison.

"You've done well, crew. Never in my days did I expect you to get your hand on one of them.", Tokiya finally spoke, putting his weapon away and folding his arms over his chest, surprisingly impressed with this new finding.

"I-I don't understand, Captain.", Tomochika stammered, not entirely understanding what he meant.

Tokiya pulled a rolled-up paper out of his pocket before kneeling down to properly face the mermaid. She anxiously tried to avoid his gaze, but his handsome features made it impossible.

"Now, my dear. What do you know about the treasure of Muse's Island?", he quietly whispered, the mention of the location's name making her slightly gasp. The Captain then unrolled the tainted paper, revealing it to be half of an old map.

The mermaid refused to respond, timidly playing with her fingers while questions formed consciously.

"Don't you play dumb with me. I know all about your kind; you can communicate with humans. You will answer my question, or I'll have to show you what happens when one disobeys the Captain.", Tokiya snarled, forcing the mermaid to make eye contact with him.

Why does he want the treasure? What does he plan to do with it? Does he know about our connection to it? Of course, he would- that's why he's asking me about it. But, I can't trust these no good people. I need to get out of here before-

An unexpected hand grazing her chin dragged her out of her train of thought.

Disgusted with the man's assertiveness, the mermaid struck him with her sharp claws, scratches dashed across his face.

Hollers and swears erupted amongst the crew at what she had done to their beloved yet feared Captain.

"How dare you strike at him?!", Tomochika spat, her complexion matching her fiery hair.

"I'll be damn sure to make you pay for that." Ranmaru coldly stared down at the panting mermaid, forcibly gripping his sword's handle.

"Captain, let me tend to your wounds. Oh dear, looks like some deep ones; I'll have to stop the bleeding before it gets infected.", Natsuki raced over to Tokiya, quickly getting his equipment out from his kit.

But before he could apply pressure to the injuries, Natsuki stopped himself at the sudden chuckling slipping from the Captain's lips.

He slowly rose up and continued his odd barrage of laughter before finally calming down.

"C-Captain, what's gotten into you?", Natsuki asked cautiously, growing even more concerned for his boss.

Tokiya cleared his throat before he proudly addressed his crew.

"Ears open, Crystal Dawn. Our "guest" shall remain here until further notice from this moment forward. So, there will be no eating, overthrowing, auctioning, or whatever nonsense you have dancing in your little heads. If anyone of you even dares lay a finger on her, you'll answer to me and my blade. Is that clear?!"

The members didn't dare to retaliate; they quickly agreed with the Captain's statement before giving commands.

Tokiya first demanded that the builders build a water tank and place it in the brig. That would be the mermaid's place of confinement for now. Later, he informed the cartographer to create a rough draft until he got further information about Muse's Island.

After giving out orders, everyone onboard went about their days. The Captain turned his attention towards the mermaid, her attention shifting between his hard stare and the still bloody marks on his face.

"Now, you listen to me", his hot breath suddenly over her nose. "Consider yourself grateful that I didn't kill you in front of my mates for attacking me. You are a vital piece to this puzzle I'm trying to solve, and I won't let anyone stop me from getting what I need."

The mermaid scoffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance only to cower like a nervous puppy when he inched his face closer to hers.

"I have ways of making you talk, so you'll do as you're told like a good girl, or you'll be hearing from me. Trust that you wouldn't like to see what happens when you make the Captain of the Crystal Dawn angry. I expect that you'll be on your best behavior for me. hmm?"

"Y-yes…"

Tokiya backed away at the meek voice that sounded from the mermaid, visibly flustered. He wasn't expecting her to respond, but he quickly laughed it off.

"Excellent, that's what I like to hear. It pleases me when people do what they're told. Perhaps you'll be of good use to us once our mission is over. I'm looking forward to spending more time with you, my dear."

The mermaid suddenly gasped as the Captain hoisted her up in his strong arms. No matter how much she protested, he refused to let her go.

"Now how about you & I discuss the details in my office? Can't have any prying eyes or ears get involved in our conversation.", Tokiya seductively whispered in her ear.

Who knows what could be expected from the crew of the Crystal Dawn? Looks like the newest member will have to brace for the worst for this new adventure upon the sea.

[writerbri-archive]

can you write something with buddie being exes

I can give you a sneak peek at a WIP with buddie having a relationship (of sorts) in the past. It’s actually an au that I’m pretty excited about.

TW for all things murder investigation. I’ve been binge-watching Criminal Minds lately, so that’s where my head is at right now.

I have many, many complicated/messy/angry feelings about religion and how people use it all to justify their bullshit. I feel like that’s an appropriate warning to put up here because I am not subtle about how I use all of that in this fic.

~~~

It’s bad enough that the call came in the middle of the night, and that he’s right in the middle of what was supposed to be several worry-free days off. The tension hanging thick and heavy in the air is palpable and Eddie can’t help the dread that settles in his chest as he steps from his car into the cool night air.

A misty rain clings to his skin and wets the wild strands of his hair that he didn’t bother to fix between scrambling into a wrinkled suit and apologizing again and again to an exhausted, less than happy Pepa.

The flashing lights all around do nothing to help the budding headache behind his eyes. He can see a tent set up over the scene, an attempt to protect any and all evidence from the thick, foreboding clouds covering up any trace of stars overhead.

And a part of Eddie already knows what he’ll see when he ducks around the yellow tape.

Athena wouldn’t call him in on a scheduled weekend off unless it was absolutely necessary. The grave look on her face as he draws nearer only confirms his suspicions.

“I’ve got a couple of rookies getting coffee,” she says by way of greeting, resting her hands on the thick belt at her waist.

Eddie gives her a grateful nod but it doesn’t make him feel much better. Coffee this soon can only mean that they’re in for a long night. His eyes catch on Hen crouched low to the ground as he scans the alley, a feat made easier by the floodlights aimed directly at the body laid out right in the center of it all.

One look is enough to confirm his silent fear.

“Fuck.”

Athena hums in agreement, falling into step with him as he draws nearer to the perfectly posed form of a nude young man. His arms are crossed over his chest and his face is almost serene in death. If it weren’t for the single clean stab wound through the heart that’s nearly hidden by his arms, one could almost fool themselves into thinking he’s sleeping.

Just like all the others, he’s clean of all blood.

And if they were to turn him over, Eddie knows what they would find on his back. Two crudely cut yet neatly stitched vertical wounds on either side of his spine, level with his shoulder blades.

And as if that’s not enough evidence of exactly what they’re dealing with, Eddie seeks out and easily finds the last piece of the puzzle that he needs. The painted words on the wall, spelling out the same verse he’s read time and time again.

IN THE SAME WAY,  I TELL YOU, THERE IS REJOICING IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS OF GOD OVER ONE SINNER WHO REPENTS

“It’s him, right?” he hears one beat cop say to another as he approaches the body. “It’s the Angelmaker?”

Eddie sees Athena tense up in the corner of his eye and he knows that he won’t have to be the one to lay down the law about using that fucking name that the media delighted in repeating over and over again, becoming more and more frenzied with each body that appeared.

The coverage slowly trickled away into nothing when the killings stopped and an entire city began to breathe again, daring to hope that whoever did it all was gone for good.

Eddie knew better.

This exact moment was inevitable.

“Any good news for me?” he asks.

Hen heaves out a sigh before looking up at him with a dim expression that didn’t fit her at all. But he understands. Anyone who was around for the first string of murders understands.

“Everything fits,” Hen says, lowering her gaze down to the body. “But this is new.”

She reaches out and gently tugs at the silver chain around the man’s neck with gloved fingers, letting them see the simple cross pendant. Hen is right. They haven’t seen a necklace like this on any of the bodies before. It might mean that they’re dealing with a copycat, except that the words on the wall were the one thing that they managed to keep out of the media.

“His back?” Eddie asks.

Hen gives him another quick glance just to nod her head.

“I really hoped he was dead,” she mutters, and only Eddie and Athena are close enough to hear the barely restrained fury in her words.

Eddie slips his hands into the pockets of his pants to hide how they curl into fists.

“You know what you have to do,” Athena says.

He knows.

He’s been trying his best not think about it, but he knows.

“He needs to know that this son of a bitch is back,” Athena continues, as if she has to convince him.

As if he hasn’t been working himself up to it from the second he got that phone call.

“I can do it,” Hen says, rising to her feet.

Her eyes are fixed on Eddie, wide and concerned behind her glasses. As much as he appreciates the offer, he knows that he can’t accept.

“It should be me,” Eddie says with a shake of his head, already pulling his phone out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

Athena gives him an approving look. It would be just as easy for her to call. It’s impossible to forget that she is still deeply entangled in the lives of the 118 while his single connection was severed a long time ago.

Turning away from the scene, Eddie focuses on scrolling through his contacts as he makes his way back out of the alley. He hesitates when he finds what he’s looking for, his thumb hovering over the contact button for nearly a minute as his mind spins with all of the ways he can break this news to someone he hasn’t spoken to in well over a year.

Knowing that this will be a hellish conversation no matter how much he tries to plan it out, Eddie selects the number and watches his phone light up with Evan Buckley’s name.

Holding his breath, he brings the phone up to his ear and listens to it ring and ring and ring. Eddie prepares himself for what he might say if he’s sent to voicemail, even though he knows damn well that Buck never checks it.  He’s so distracted by the possibility that he almost doesn’t notice when the ringing cuts off.

He hears a familiar, trembling exhale on the other end of the phone.

Then...

“Eddie?”

[llycaons]

Ep2: little apple mvp

fuck, but these are getting long. putting under a readmore

these early wandering scenes are really nice. lighthearted and peaceful, and probably quite enjoyable for a wwx whose last memories were of grief and pain and exhaustion and stress and persecution

reminds me - wwx was crying last episode when jc came to kill him. he might have smiled a bit, but he seemed so resigned to the fact that jc hated him but when jc told him to go and die he started crying. it was so fucking sad

the most brilliant mind of his generation on coaxing a donkey to walk...

you know this was 😬 but wwx has tremendous bad luck here because how was he supposed to know? saying something slightly rude is now punishable by death because of the context. but wwx made an honest mistake! also jl was being extremely arrogant and aggressive

jc crushing the paperman while lwj carried it so carefully on his palm...so deep

I don't agree with either wwx or lwj's methods here but jc being extremely aggressive and mean and critical of jl is really not helping his emotional development either. fuck, if a parental figure treated me like that I'd act out too

lwj coming just in time to keep jl from fucking stabbing wwx >>>>>>

the petty-off between jc and lwj is extremely funny here bc lwj refusing to deign to even open his mouth while jc fumes and throws as cruel insults as he can and I think wwx is finding it funny too? it seems like he's trying to hold back a smile here

this being wwx's memories of teenage jc 😭

THIS LINE. AFTER HE REMEMBERS HIS SISTER. SOBBING

little apple coming back to him after this very sad little scene had me a little misty-eyed...god but that donkey loves him so much in the end and he loves her so much...lsz was the first to show him kindness in this new life but she was the first to stick with him 🥺

I honest to god could not care less about this plot I think it's very boring but I do like jl's outfit with the little gold dots and the hair pieces

wwx is also kind of harsh to the kids lmao and then jingyi is like 'hgj is going to KILL us 😭' which is very funny given what we've seen of lwj so far (he's very calm and gives them support, info, and encouragement) esp compared to the anger, critiques and unhelpful demands of jc. like, I don't doubt he's disciplined juniors but we never seen anything harsh from him so what is jingyi even referring to? I don't count the handstands as cql canon btw I think it's absurd

comedy scenes of all time. to me. the anti-chemistry is palpable

it's so so funny to see Those jc fans rewrite this episode like 'jc was looking for wwx the entire time 🥺 they're brothers' when it's so starkly apparent that jc was clearly extremely angry the entire time, told jl to kill wwx before learning his identity, told jl repeatedly that all dc's like wwx should be killed and fed to the dogs, and then immediately tried to expel him from mxy's body (kill him again) after learning his identity. buddy I don't think he's at the point in his journey you think he is

he's also really rude and demanding of his disciples...I was wondering how he was with them bc I didn't remember and the answer is, not surprisingly, pretty harsh. well...at least he's involved?

the editing on this was SO funny. cut from wwx asking this to this statue, far in the distance, chasing after these tiny figures of cultivators. way to sap the drama out of a shot

he loves to do a spinny <3 even if they are in mortal danger he must do a spinny

REUNION SHOT!!!!! the tension building between them and FINALLY having them meet is just MWAH. and wwx grabbing lwj's arm afterwards is still one of my favorite little things bc wwx doesn't actually do that very often! it's nice to see him reach out to lwj almost on instinct when it's usually lwj reaching out and trying to connect with him instead. the romance in these first two episodes. ugh. delicious

whatever they did make wn look like this is was really effective

BE NICE TO HIM JC!! also even tho jiangs are the purple clan, they seem to wear blue a lot

lwj also doing a little spinny to open his weapon even though his newly resurrected beloved is in mortal AGAIN from the guy who killed him the first time = wwx doing a little spinny earlier even though his nephew and a bunch of kids were about to die. truly soulmates

I hate this shot SO much. the lens and the angle are so unflattering. you can see right up his nostrils in some of these shots

OHHH YOU"RE HURTING ME. LOOK AT THOSE SMILES

jyl scrunching up her nose here is one of my favorite tiny moments in this entire show. it's so fucking cute and I love her so much

Personal highlights: ep2

wwx grabbing lwj's wrist right after they reunite

jyl scrunching up her nose

wwx and lwj twin spinny maneuvers

little apple coming back and wwx being excited about it

[proqhetic]

From a fellow Maya, could you write some fluff Lottie headcanons or a fic? (depends on what you want to do most), maybe in the wilderness and it's cold and they cuddle together?

Lottie has been beaten up by Shauna and she's hurting, you medicate her and after a while, she looks at you and asks to be cuddled or to just be near you.

I never requested anything so this is a bit embrassing for me :')

LOTTIE REQ!!!! i love this sm pls don't be embarrassed at all :> i hope i kinda answered your ask and i didn't stray too off topic :,, thank u for sending this in fellow maya !!

  ࣪ 𓂃 ⸝⸝  looking after & cuddling injured!lottie

you couldn’t bear to leave lottie’s side, especially when she was in so much pain. you quickly volunteered to look after her – alongside misty who stayed to help tend to her wounds.

seeing her all beaten up and bruised was like getting stabbed in the heart a million times over. you knew she was just doing her best to try and help everybody there, and it broke you to see the lengths this had gone to.

while shauna was beating her up, the others definitely had to physically hold you back and stop you from intervening.

you sat next to her makeshift bed with a bucket of water and a damp cloth, cleaning up the patches of blood all over her face while holding her hand tight

she’d wince whenever you got too close to the more raw gashes and cuts, and you’d squeeze her hand reassuringly, whispering to her to bear with it for just a moment longer.

later on, while the two of you would just be laying there in silence, you’d feel her inch closer to you

“…lottie?” you ask, head turning to face her

you see brown eyes staring back into yours, as she chews on her lower lip

“i’m… kinda cold,” she finally says, voice barely louder than a whisper

you fully turn your body and reach for her hands again — ice cold. you exhale shakily, “oh, lot,”  before getting up to drape your own blanket over her and tuck her in. sitting back down, you lean over and plant a soft kiss on her forehead

a small smile creeps onto her face. it’s probably the most you’ve seen her smile in a while.

“i want you here with me, please?”

lottie pleads as she looks up at you with those big doe eyes, and it actually makes your heart melt. you nod and slide under the covers with her, still being careful not to accidentally hurt her.

she rests her head against your chest. with one hand, your fingers tangle themselves in her messy brunette locks and combs it soothingly. the other is wrapped around her, keeping you two huddled together extra closely.

her breathing slows as she relaxes into your embrace, and you brush a fallen strand of hair away from her face.

“are you warm enough now?” you quietly ask, not wanting to break the peaceful silence you’re both sharing right now. lottie nods and snuggles closer to you. “mhm,” she hums, “thank you.”

[thecagedbard]

Does your Tav have any scars or tattoos? What are their origins?

"Oh I have a few scars," she touches her forehead over her left brow. "Where did they come from? Well, this one," she motions to the one on her lip, "is from a man when I refused to kiss him. Then his wife heard a different story from him and did this," she motions to her forehead. "Yeah, she also stabbed me here," rubs her hand just above her right breast. "The others...well, Issac never cared if I got hurt, just that his friends and debtors were happy."

What does your Tav believe in? Do they have some weird superstitions?

"So you think you're being followed by one of the honest folk? Look, just take a bit of milk and sugar, mix it together and leave it and a little something sweet, they'll take their offering and leave. The fey don't want to feel like they owe you. At least that's what Mother always told us to do..."

How does Tav want to die?

"Die?! I don't want to die...or is this like Astarion's weird questioning? Fine. Uhm, poison is fine. The right combination of herbs and the hope to go to sleep before it takes ahold. Seems peaceful and not painful. I don't like pain."

What is your Tav's class and why? Did Tav choose it themselves?

Curtsies, "I'm a bard. Or that's what everyone keeps saying. I really have no idea. Making music and entertainment for others has always been a way of life for us, me and my siblings I mean."

What are your Tav's prejudices about races, cultures, genders, and places?

"Do I hate people based on their race?" She laughs and shakes her head, "Of course not! I'm a drow for crying out loud, people hate my kind on principle alone. Don't look at me like that, I am a dark-okay maybe not so dark-elf. I can admit other drow make me nervous but they do have a nasty reputation, especially those who worship that giant spider goddess.

Does Tav want to have children?

There's a sad smile on her face, it's stressed. "I have had three children, they either didn't survive or they hate me. I'm not certain I could put myself through it again and risk the same results."

Does your Tav have a family? Siblings? Living relatives?

"Gods the amount of siblings I have would make you think my mother was touched by Sune. There's fifteen of us, ready? Don't worry you won't have to remember half of these names: Yasmine, Tavius, Ari, Nelly, Rosie, Marcel, Vale, Perris, Opal, then there's the triplets: Hadrien, Arnaud, and Kyli. There's also Lothaire and Azelie. None of that's in any particular order." "Parents? Oh well, Mother was alive the last I saw her. Father passed when I was around ten...and then was... never mind. That's a story best left alone."

What can make your Tav cry?

"What can't!? Every time people are nice to me I get a bit misty-eyed. A beautiful song can bring me to tears. Mostly cry when people yell at me though...but when I'm scared I don't cry. That's when I vomit."

What are your Tav's political opinions?

"Politics are for people with enough money to care. Never had enough money and I never cared."

What language does Tav speak? Why?

"Common...Sylvan....oh I know a couple of swearwords in-what was it-draconic! Why? Well, Nelly is really good at making friends. Better than Vale even and she met a dragonborn...some whirlwind romance and he taught her a bunch of dirty words. That she dutifully taught to her younger siblings. OH! Why Sylvan? I'm not sure really, Ariane was just always insistent that we all know it and it honestly came super easy."

What is Tav's favorite genre of stories?

She sways from side to side with a nervous smile. She can't read.

Heavy or light sleeper?

Before the nautiloid, and after Ffion's abduction, she was a very light sleeper. Even for a while traveling she's slept lightly. "Yes, sleep. I'm just getting used to meditating again..."

What is Tav afraid of?

"Issac. The other Palroy bunch. Uhm, spiders and just the idea of krakens alone."

Is your Tav neurodivergent?

"What's that?" Yes, she may not know what the word means but she probably does qualify.

What stupid things does Tav believe in?

That sweets will deter the fey.

What is your Tav's comfort food?

"Azelie's candies...she used to bring Perris and me some when things would get rough at home. Something about those candies always takes me back to hiding in the closets and being safe."

How does Tav prefer to sleep?

"Oh, I'm fine on my side, my tummy, however." If the others wake up before she does they often find her in the fetal position with her arms tucked under her. Seems to fall asleep quickest when she's warm and often hides her head under the blanket if she's alone. When sleeping with Astarion or Halsin (or both, ahem) she prefers being as close as possible. Whether that means she's wrapped around them or Astarion's head is against her chest it doesn't matter. She enjoys the closeness.

What coping mechanisms does Tav have?

Be Good. Be Obedient. Be Compliant. The first two she learned from Octavius and Yasmine, the third came from Issac. She tries her best to smile through any hardship or embarrassment because others are being entertained by it or a hardship for her could be easement for another. If pain is being inflicted on her she drifts into her own mind to a boat that floats on the familiar waters of Moonshae Isles. Nothing can reach her if she's in the middle of the water, and she can't see the danger coming if she lays on the bottom and stares at the endless sky.

[springvaletales]

((Session 38 is wrapped!!))

The party woke up and came downstairs to Sebastian using a frying pan with his tail and eating straight pancake batter from a mixing bowl.

Bagelby excitedly showed off a map he’d drawn in crayon of the town, the forest, and the supposed temple within, and got a congratulatory pat on the head from Ena.

...using Mage Hand, of course, because Bagelby is far taller than Ena.

They’re still calling him ‘Grandpa Pickles’ I knew I shouldn’t have clarified his headcanon voice.

Cue a debate about the morality of Asahi’s Player dipping her cooked pancakes into pancake batter.

“It’s just like eating cookie dough!”

Asahi’s Player: “The uncooked batter has a taste to it that gets…cooked…when it’s…cooked…”

Sir Carl Jaeger’s Player: “Raw flour.”

Now we’re all rolling for pancakes.

Bagelby’s Player: “Oh, shit! Are we rolling for pancakes!”

August’s Player: “I’ve got advantage!”

The map is now very, very syrup-stained.

Lex’s Player: “Lex says ‘not it’ on the horses.”

Ena’s player wondered if the Taker of the Lost would know where the lost temple is, and god damnit that’s a good question.

She called her father via acorn, and the general consensus was no, the Taker of the Lost would not know where the lost temple was, as it was an inanimate object, by technicality, and his supernatural pull only seemed to work on living beings.

Ena: “What about your brother?”

Taker of the Lost: “Oh. HIM.”

The mention of another one of the many Archfey of this setting means that they read the entirety of my Deity guide!! Yay!!!

The map is covered in so much syrup that Bagelby can just. Paste it to Thiori’s chest like a fridge magnet.

The party decides to leave the twins and most of their extraneous gear at the inn, expecting to be back soon.

August also gave the twins the remains of the cloaker leather she had, as well as some gold, and told them to make something fun with it as a distraction.

What’s the stupidest thing I can have these traumatized teenagers make with it?

They also left the horses at the inn, to Lex’s relief.

DM: “Chicken Fried Rice whinnies nervously at you as you leave.”

Asahi: “I give Chicken Fried Rice an apple.”

DM: “Water Closet immediately tries to steal the apple, and Chicken Fried Rice runs away with it.”

The party went hiking in search of the lost temple, and started playing music at one point. After two hours, Asahi realized that the only sound she could hear were her friends’ playing…no birds, no wind, no animals, nothing.

She tried to tell Thiori, but he failed his perception roll, and didn’t see the problem, so she told Sir Carl Jaeger instead. That got August’s attention, and the bagpipes stopped.

The party came upon a massive, seemingly empty clearing, where the misty air tasted like…sugar?

Ena recalled many, many times, training the Taker’s newest warlocks, the air would taste sweet and sugary in the wake of an abundance of mana.

“I, too, wish to die in a candy floss machine.”

“[Fiancee], we’re fucking with magic, here.”

Bagelby tried to use the Heart of Y.A.W. with his kleptomancy to undo the invisibility they suspected was on the temple. It didn’t work, but it caused a rippling reaction that proved his point.

August, raising her sword to the sky: “I have been called here by Skaadi herself to reclaim this temple. I demand entry!”

She beat my roll, so as soon as she stabbed her sword into the ground, it triggered a light show that unveiled the hidden temple standing in the clearing, slowly being overtaken by the elements.

The temple had been built long before even the ancient Kendaran Empire, and was thus, dragon-sized, with steps too big for any humanoid being to do much but climb them.

Asahi, Thiori, August, and Ena promptly sprang up the steps like monkeys.

Sebastian offered to help Lex up the steps, to her delight, and Sir Carl Jaeger denied assistance for the sake of his pride.

Bagelby tried climbing one step, failed, and then wandered off to take a look at the giant door set into the split steps.

Asahi was the first to notice that Bagelby hadn’t climbed to the top with the rest of them, and jumped back down to check on him.

“You yeet yourself off the edge of the temple and slow-fall down.”

“I didn’t choose uppies. Uppies chose me.”

On the door, there is a detailed carving of Skaadi creating Vesnali and it’s moons, along with an inset memory stone carved in the shape of a star.

When Asahi touched the stone, she experienced the memory of an ancient monk laying their hand on the stone and saying, “The Mother’s eldest shall let you in.”.

Bagelby also touched the rock, to similar effect.

Bagelby’s Player: “That’s an 11, so Bagelby at least has all of his wits, today.”

Bagelby: “If Skaadi is the one who created everything…then maybe she’s the Mother! So her first creation will let us in!”

Also Bagelby: “Let’s rub dirt on the door!”

It didn’t work.

They pulled a push door, and when nothing happened, they skipped right over pushing and moved right on to getting August to come open it for them.

The party reconvened at the top of the temple, where August had fallen asleep against Skaadi’s shrine, where Thiori watched her in confusion.

To the tune of the “Chrissy Wake Up” TikTok sound: “August, wake up. We found a doo-or.”

The party spent five minutes discussing ways to open the door, how it might be magical, maybe it was seasonal…

It…it’s just a push door. I thought all those memes were exaggerating.

While Thiori investigated the shrine’s pillars and roof for carvings, Sir Carl Jaeger climbed back down to the door and knocked politely.

The door flexed a little and I thought he would figure it out, but no dice.

Thiori went around to all the pillars at the shrine, examining the carvings of all five of Skaadi’s creations (Aadi, Vatun, Machina, Octarius, and Primus Quenya).

Skaadi gave August a light shove in her dreams as a clue, but the message was only taken as an ominous warning (which...works out, I guess).

Asahi levitated Bagelby up to the ceiling to try using the Heart of Y.A.W. against the carving of Primus Quenya. It didn’t work.

Bagelby licked the Heart of Y.A.W. and tried again. It didn’t work.

THEY FINALLY PUSHED THE PUSH DOOR!!!

Asahi had to physically restrain Bagelby by levitating him into the air to keep him from bolting into the now-open temple.

Sebastian was stopped at the door by ancient anti-dragon magic wards, and somewhat reluctantly volunteered to keep watch outside.

Asahi immediately decided that they had to bring Vashael back there.

Asahi: “We’ll tell him that only super-strong dragons are kept out, and then we’ll drag him across the threshold!”

Bagelby promptly tripped in the dark hallway, and almost tripped up half the party as well.

After hearing a distant crystal clanking sound, August also bolted ahead….and then rolled a 1, and tripped on roots growing across the floor.

Asahi entered more cautiously, and took note of several large brazers lit around the room…as well as a ceiling absolutely covered in dangling memory stones, ranging in size from palm to Thiori.

Ena desperately wants to lick one of the giant dangling memory stones. For lore reasons, she really should not.

Thiori and August both recalled the religious practice of ‘sacrificing’ a specific memory to Skaadi when approaching a milestone in life, and those memories being hung from the temple ceiling to keep them away and out of the person’s life…

…and just when they remembered that those specific memories were nightmares, Ena Misty Step-ped her way up onto one of the ropes and licked the biggest stone she could reach.

She lived through the nightmare of a red dragon dreading and imagining the loss of their only, beloved, unhatched egg….and then promptly licked the second-biggest stone when she came back to herself.

She then lived through the nightmare of an unknown dragon remembering and reliving the death of their silver mate by a dragon hunter and a long-lost scale.

“I’m running out of angst, please stop licking the big rocks.”

We left off with Ena in the rafters licking big rocks, and Bagelby on the ground wishing he could lick big rocks. This is not where I expected this session to go, but I’m not complaining!

[translations-by-aiimee]

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Chapter 17

Original Title:  二哈和他的白猫师尊

Genres: Drama, Romance, Tragedy, Xianxia, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 17 - This Venerable One's Shizun was Injured, This Venerable One is very. . .

What kind of Master of Ceremonies Ghost was this thing? They dealt with aphrodisiacs. At best, other people's aphrodisiacs would let average living people take about their prowess. This immortal was good. The dead could get hard with a small wave of the hand. The hand was truly a wonderful "aphrodisiac"!

He was watching with great interest when suddenly Chu Wanning stretched out his hand and covered Mo Ran's ears.

Mo Ran: "Huh?"

Chu Wanning looked extremely cold: "Such a ridiculous and obscene practice. Don't bother watching it."

"Then you should be covering my eyes. Why are you plugging my ears?"

Chu Wanning's face was expressionless: "Don't look, don't listen. Close your eyes."

Mo Ran: "Pff. Shizun, you are really. . ." He didn't even pay attention to his own red face. If he wanted eyes closed, he can do it himself.

Mo Ran couldn't help but be a little bit happy. Chu Wanning, a person made of ice and snow, had never even seen an erotic picture. At this moment, now that he saw intimacy up close, he would probably choke to death.

The dead couple came together, and gradually both of them became alive. Their dead throat, which was supposed to be silent, actually let out a raspy gasp similar to that of a living person.

Chu Wanning was obviously disgusted. He harshly turned away, not wanting to look again.

Mo Ran noticed this with great joy. He tried to get a rise out of the other. He smirked and knocked against his chin.

Chu Wanning quickly avoided him as if he were being stabbed: "What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything." Mo Ran said sweetly and sneakily. With some sarcasm and teasing, he gave him a once-over like he was making a joke.

No matter how old this man is, this kind of thing still makes him blush. . .

No, it's more like a mixture of blue and red. It's quite funny.

"Shizun, didn't you tell us that we must see what the other party is capable of being doing anything? You should also see the ability of this Master of Ceremonies Ghost."

"What is there to see? Don't look."

Mo Ran sighed: "Why do you have such thin skin?"

Chu Wanning replied angrily: "It's improper and nasty. It really hurts my eyes!"

"Then I have to look at it." Mo Ran said, and he lay there nonchalantly. He looked outside again and he said, "Ah", "Wow", "Awesome", "Ouch" and so on. It made Chu Waning completely berserk, and the coffin board could not be held down. He whispered angrily: "Just look, what are you narrating for?!"

Mo Ran said innocently: "I thought you wanted to hear it."

Chu Wanning finally couldn't hold back. He strangled Mo Ran's neck, gritting his teeth: "If you make another noise, I'll throw you out to feed the zombies right now!"

Enough teasing. He couldn't push Chu Wanning too far. When he got anxious, Tianwen would quickly be summoned, so Mo Ran lay there obediently, staring outside, without saying a word.

As the ghost couple reached their climax, the male corpse let out a low growl, spasming and twitching on the female corpse. Suddenly a cloud of blue smoke burst out of them. The Master of Ceremonies Ghost opened her mouth and greedily inhaled the blue smoke until the last wisp of it was in her stomach. This time, he wiped the corners of her mouth gluttonously, and her eyes shone brightly.

It seems that these were the "benefits" that the married couple gave to it, which would increase its cultivation.

"Haha, hahaha—" When the Master of Ceremonies Ghost tasted the sweetness, it became even more radiant. When he spoke again, the misty and empty voice became clear, shouting and roaring. The sharp voice seemed to pierce through the long night. "Rise! Get up! All of you! Wait for the idiot and blame the girl! I kindly grant you intimacy! You offer me your faith! Get up! Get up! Everyone rise!"

Mo Ran's heart skipped a beat: It's over. . .

What is it going to do?!

The surrounding hundreds of coffins all began to tremble, verifying what Mo Ran was thinking. The Master of Ceremonies Ghost is going to summon all the corpses in the coffins to embrace so that it can absorb all their "benefits" at once!

Not caring about joking anymore, Mo Ran yanked at Chu Wanning: "Shizun!!!"

"Now what?!"

"Quick! Get out! Shi Mei is still trapped with the Chen's family daughter-in-law!" Mo Ran was going mad. "Let's go save him!"

Chu Wanning took a look outside. He didn't expect the Master of Ceremonies Ghost would have such a powerful hunger, not wanting to absorb from the pairs individually, but actually wanting to take a huge bite!

The trembling of the coffin next to them became more and more intense. It wasn't a stretch to think that all the pairs of the ghost marriages were inspired to start acting up in the coffins. This thought made Chu Wanning choke, his face growing even more ugly. At this moment, the Master of Ceremonies Ghost, who was standing in the same place and laughing for a long time, suddenly felt something. She abruptly turned her head. A pair of black eyes without focus stared straight past the others and landed on the coffin of Mo Ran and Chu Wanning .

It could feel, despite its low intelligence, that the coffin does not have the erotic scent it was familiar with.

There was no faith.

There was no. . .

Living people!!!

Suddenly it arched up, screaming and scrambling. The Master of Ceremonies Ghost's robe flapped up, a pair of blood-red claws stabbing through the coffin wood, piercing the thick coffin, straight into the coffin body.

Its attack was too sudden and Mo Ran was too late to react. Moreover, the space in the coffin was very small, and it was impossible to go anywhere. Seeing its head through the five holes made by the nine-yin white bone claws, its body suddenly fell -- Chu Wan Ning had already swiftly guarded him in his arms, blocking himself in front, and the five pointed claws of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost suddenly pierced into Chu Wanning's shoulder!

Deep enough to reach a bone!

". . ."

Chu Wanning stifled a grunt but he endured it and didn't shout out. The other uninjured hand was still burning with the sound-dampening spell, and he placed it on Mo Ran's lips, blocking the sound that Mo Ran would've made.

The claws of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost dug into the flesh and blood of Chu Wanning.

It had a muddled brain and it could only judge what was dead or alive by sound. Chu Wanning actually managed not to say a word in this situation, the blood bubbling down his shoulder. Mo Ran was held down so he couldn't see how serious his injuries were, but he could clearly feel Chu Wanning trembling slightly. . .

Living people. . . or dead people? It was impossible for a living person to have not made a sound. The Master of Ceremonies couldn't tell for a moment. The sharp claws shifted around in the flesh of Chu Wanning's shoulder, viciously tearing and scratching.

Chu Wanning trembled with pain. He spasmed, a cold sweat drenching his clothes.

But he was still biting his lip, protecting the disciple in his arms, as if he had really become a corpse and became a dead person, pressing against the edge of the coffin, like cast iron on the wall of the coffin.

The Master of Ceremonies Ghost seemed to confirm that anyone in the coffin wasn't alive anymore. It jerked its hand out, blood flying, and he could even hear the sticky sound of fingers being pulled out of the flesh, which made his hair stand upright.

Chu Waning's taut body felt like it had suddenly lost its strength. He let go of Mo Ran and gasped softly.

There was a strong smell of blood flowing in the coffin.

Mo Ran raised his head. Through the dim light leaking in through the hole, he could see Chu Wanning's drooping eyelashes, as well as the moist but stubborn eyes beneath them.

Those slightly provocative phoenix eyes, blurred with pain, but still more cruel and tenacious, a thin veil of mist filling them. . .

Mo Ran wanted to speak. Chu Wanning shook his head and he left the silencing spell on his lips. After a while, he took a slow breath and, with trembling fingertips, wrote on the back of Mo Ran's hand:

The sound-cancelling barrier was damaged, so they couldn't speak.

The Master of Ceremonies Ghost outside tilted its head, as if he didn't understand why, even though there was clearly no living person inside the coffin, he didn't follow its instructions, nor could it feel any of offerings of faith.

Chu Wanning raised his head and glanced at it from the gap. His uninjured hand was encaged with golden light, and a willow vine flowing with flaming luster came out in response to the call.

He held Tianwen and narrowed his eyes.

The next moment, they broke out of the coffin!!!

The coffin exploded. Chu Wanning flew out like lightning. Tianwen was both accurate and quick and it strangled the neck of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost who let out an ear-piercing whine——

"Who are you! How dare you!"

Chu Wanning's answer was only one phrase: "Get lost!"

The large, auspicious red robe flipped out, like a cloud wave. He had been holding back just to land the right blow, so he immediately struck with one hand and Tianwen went for the neck! It decapitated the Master of Ceremonies Ghost!

A thick red mist along with a strange fragrance sprayed out from its broken neck. Chu Wanning quickly backed away, avoiding the fog, and sternly said: "Mo Ran! Thousand Killing Cuts!"

Mo Ran had already been waiting on standby. When he heard the order, he clutched the dark sword box in his sleeves, filled it with spiritual power, and blasted it towards the mutilated body who was reaching for his head.

The clay body split open, revealing a flowing red light inside the translucent body. Chu Wanning raised Tianwen again and tied up the immortal spirit body of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost. A scream came from the body of the headless immortal: "The mortals are safe! The mortals are safe! — Rise! Get up! Kill them! Kill them——!!!"

The golden boy and girl, who had no facial features, suddenly both had a pair of blood-red eyes light up, and with countless squeals and screams, rushed towards Mo Ran and Chu Wanning.

The coffins lying on the ground also shattered and the dead corpses lying inside rose and surged toward the two of them.

Mo Ran's gaze weaved through the crowd, looking for Shi Mei. Chu Wanning barked: "What are you staring at those corpses for? That's not going to do anything!"

The two of them and the Master of Ceremonies Ghost had already flown on top of a coffin, the slow-moving corpses slowly gathering around them. Mo Ran raised his hands to light an exorcism talisman. He cast it in all directions, sending an explosion through the crowd. But there were too many ghosts, another wave of them not far behind.

Mo Ran was flabbergasted: "This many people died in Caidie Town? How many married couples are there?!!!"

Chu Wanning said angrily: "Look at the cultivation level of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost. There are so many men and women who didn't die naturally! In all likelihood, it probably compels those who aren't married to commit suicide! Hit over here!"

Mo Ran waved another exorcism talismans toward the place Chu Wanning signaled, exploding a piece of white bone and dead flesh.

"Why isn't the Master of Ceremonies Ghost dead?"

"Ordinary weapons can't hurt it."

"What about Tianwen?"

Chu Wanning was furious: "Can't you see that it wants me to use Tianwen? This Master of Ceremonies Ghost moves extremely fast. If I let go of it, and don't get another grip on it, I'm afraid it will have already escaped!"

Those corpses were piled up more and more. Mo Ran, while fighting, was paying attention to whether Shi Mei was in the crowd, so as not to accidentally hurt him. A golden boy rushed over and violently bit his leg. He cursed inwardly, and he threw an exorcism talisman directly on the golden boy's face. He kicked it into the crowd of corpses and he exploded with a bang.

Chu Wanning said: "Have you seen Shi Mei and Madam Chen?"

After frantically searching, Mo Ran suddenly saw two swaying figures in the distance and said joyfully, "I see them!"

"Get over there and pull the two of them away! Get away from here!"

"Okay!" Mo Ran answered and then he was taken aback. "What are you going to do?"

Chu Wanning said angrily: "I can't raise my other arm, and I can't summon other weapons. I can only use Tianwen. As soon as I release the Master of Ceremonies Ghost, I'll destroy this entire place. If you don't want to die, get out as soon as possible!"

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