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ohitshoneybee · 11 months

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Don’t Fear the Reaper

Chapter 4

Movie!William Afton x OC

Series Content Warnings: SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME, kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, murder, MASSIVE age gap (it’s like 30 years), smut, like, a lot of smut, much more to come i’m sure

Chapter Content Warnings: 18+ MINORS STAY AWAY FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, praise kink, fingering, dacryphilia (if you squint. kinda.), oral (f receiving), homegirl sees god in this chapter, overstimulation, swearing (thats the least of our concerns rn)

As per usual, thank you to my beloved @bowersbubbles for beta reading and by far my favorite divider!

Clara sleeps all day when she gets home, ignoring the flashing voicemail button on her landline as she throws her bag on the table and falls into her bed, barely managing to kick her shoes off before getting comfortable. Her alarm goes off at 10 again, and she goes through the making and packing dinner routine before heading out again. It’s nicer out tonight, so she opts for a pair of jeans and a zip up hoodie layered over an ancient band t-shirt.

The drive is uneventful, and Freddy’s looks perfectly normal from the outside as Clara pulls up and parks, the full moon shining bright. The ‘being watched’ feeling is back and it’s making her nauseous, but she pushes on, chalking it up to pre-menstrual hormones or some shit.

Clara unlocks the door, not noticing the lack of resistance as she does. She goes to heave open the door and falls, scraping up her knee as she lands in a pile of shattered glass from one of the poster displays. She scrambles up and the adrenaline sets in as she takes in the entire mess inside - tables upside down, chairs knocked over, glass from the prize counter everywhere. She starts to tear up out of fear, not realizing just how badly she’s hurt.

Clara pulls up her recently called and clicks through to Steve’s number, dialing it without hesitation. The phone rings and she sniffles, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve. It picks up on the third ring, and she barely gives him time to say anything.

“Hey, it-it’s me, it’s Clara, I need your help. There was a break in today and I just got in and there’s glass everywhere and- and I hurt myself and I don’t know what to do.” She sniffles again and cuts Steve off as he starts to talk.

“Oh fuck- oh my God, you were probably asleep, I’m so sorry. Just.. go back to bed. I-I can handle this.” Clara moves to hang up but he catches her. “Hey, woah, Clara, take a deep breath. Where are you right now? Go to the office, okay? Can you do that?” He’s obviously worried, and somewhere deep down, Clara appreciates it.

She sniffles and nods before realizing he can’t see her. “Yeah, I can get to the office..”

“Good, there’s a first aid kit in the locker. Do what you can, I’ll be there in 10.” “Oh, I’m- that- that really isn’t necessary, I just.. I think I panicked, is all. I’ll be okay.” She fumbles over her words for a moment. Steve chuckles, “I’m already on my way, Clara. I’ll be there in 10.”

The line dies.

It’s closer to seven minutes before Steve shows up, and he doesn’t bother to knock or ring the buzzer. He makes his way straight to the office, and startles Clara as he opens the door. “Jesus Christ! Fuck, sorry.. I didn’t hear you come in..” Clara’s holding the flashlight like a weapon in one hand, her knee bandaged up and her free hand wrapped poorly with gauze.

“Clara.. I didn’t think it was that bad when you said you’d hurt yourself. C’mere, let me take a look.” Steve crosses the room to the small folding table with the first aid kit on it. He rifles through it for a second before pulling a chair out and motioning for Clara to sit down. “I’m not gonna hurt you, c’mon.”

Clara sits and starts unwrapping her hand, wincing at the sight of the gash spanning thumb to pinkie. “I.. I tripped on something and cut it on a piece of glass.. I think I got it all out.” Steve stares at her hand for a couple seconds too long before taking it in his and checking she really did get all the detritus out.

“You’re one tough cupcake, I’ll give you that. I don’t know many full grown men that would choose to dig glass out of an open wound, much less ask someone for help.” Steve starts wrapping her hand, making sure she can still wiggle her fingers. Claras face flushes pink as he talks, her eyes fixed firmly on her hand.

“Thank you, Mr. Raglan..” She’s quiet, still sniffling a little.

Steve chuckles and finishes wrapping Clara's hand, shifting to kneel in front of her to take a look at her knee, the denim shredded. “Call me Steve. ‘Mr. Raglan’ makes me feel ancient.”

She laughs a little, her eyes fixed on his hands. Steve’s a good foot taller than she is, and that in and of itself gives Clara butterflies in her stomach. “So, Steve.. Do you have a wife? Is she gonna come after me for calling in the middle of the night?” She jokes, trying to break the silence. “No, no. I was married, once upon a time, but she passed.” He looks up at Clara and her face goes pink. “Oh- I’m so sorry, I didn’t know..” She’s mortified, frozen stiff in her seat.

“It’s okay, really. It’s been long enough I’ve moved on.” Steve smiles at her and she nods, relaxing a bit. He’s got one hand on her thigh, the other on the outside of her knee, and Clara feels her heart skip a beat. She knows exactly what she’s feeling and it’s embarrassing. The images flashing through her head, the sounds, it’s enough to make her shift uncomfortably in the seat. “You’re in college, yeah? You have a boyfriend?” Steve asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh- well, that's.. It’s complicated. He’s not exactly the kind of boy you’d bring home for the holidays. Not that I do much going home anyway..” Clara trails on, her eyes locked on his hands as she speaks.

“A bad boy, huh? I never would have guessed.”

Clara scoffs a little and nods, “Yeah, something like that.”

They sit in silence together for a handful of seconds before Clara locks eyes with Steve, her stomach doing flips as his hands creep up her thighs ever so slightly. She acts before she can think rational thoughts, and cups his face with both of her hands and kisses him.

Steve freezes as she does, caught entirely by surprise, and Clara's heart drops into her stomach as she pulls away and lets him go, her hands in her lap. “I-I’m so sorry- I don’t- I shouldn’t ha-”

“Hey, Clara, it’s okay.” He sits back on his heels, putting Claras hands back on his face. “There’s something else you need help with too, isn’t there?” She nods, unable to will the words to come out. Her stomach’s in knots, and her face is warm to the touch. “Use your words, sweetheart.” Steve's hands drop back to her thighs and he smirks as he sees the gears turning in her head.

“I.. oh God .. You should go.” Clara moves to get up, but he stops her. “I’m not leaving until you get exactly what you want. We both know that little purple vibrator you have stashed underneath your mattress is nothing compared to the real thing, and your tool of a boyfriend is all but useless.” Steve’s voice is low, the dim lighting in the office making him that much more intimidating. His hands creep up her thighs to her waist, then to the button on her jeans. She squirms in her seat as he starts to undo them, letting out a desperate whine as he stops. “Sweetheart, I’m not letting you off the hook that easily. Tell me what you want.”

“I- Steve.. Fuck… I want you.. Please.” Clara whines and pouts, her chest already heaving with anticipation as she shifts forward in the chair.

Steve’s eyes light up and he wastes no time getting her jeans pulled off, her underwear pulled with them. He looks up at her as he dips a finger between her folds, just barely brushing her clit as Clara whines and drops her head back. “Music to my fucking ears..”

He kisses the inside of her thighs as he pushes them apart, her hands gripping the armrests of the chair. Steve brushes the pad of his finger over her clit again and she squirms, earning a low groan of approval from him. He repeats the motion over and over, admiring the way her body tenses at even the slightest touch. She’s babbling incoherently as he stops. Clara’s on the verge of tears, the stimulation simultaneously too much and not enough, her brain clouded with need.

“Steve- fuck- pleasepleaseplease just- oh God.. make me come, please..” She whines, her nails dug into her palms as she keeps herself from crying.

“Such a sweet melody..” Steve hums in appreciation before pulling Clara to the edge of the chair, draping one of her legs over his shoulder. “All you had to do was ask, sweet girl.” His beard tickles the inside of her thighs as he kisses a trail towards her cunt.

Steve starts devouring her with such fervor, like a starved man. He pushes one- two- almost three fingers in, and Clara gets hit with pleasure so suddenly, her hands are in Steves hair, tugging and pulling with every curl of his fingers. He groans, the hum reverberating through her core. It’s not long before Clara is clenching around his digits, practically seeing stars. Steve is relentless, continuing even after she’s come down from her high, the near constant barrage making her tear up.

“S-Steve- fuck- please, I ca-an’t take anymore-” She hiccups as she cries and pushes him away, his glasses sitting on the tip of his nose. Steve sits up and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, carefully nudging Claras knee off his shoulder. She catches her breath for a minute after Steve helps her redress, careful of her knee.

“‘S your hand okay? And your knee? I uh.. I got a little carried away.” He’s leaning against the table, running a hand through his hair. Clara looks him in the eye for a moment and her face goes pink. “I’m okay..” She’s quiet, butterflies still churning in her stomach. “It really doesn’t seem like it, Clara.. Did I push a limit?” Steve pulls a chair over and sits in front of her, holding her hands. She shakes her head no and sniffles, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

“I’m okay, really.. You should go, I’m sorry I called you so late.” Clara stands and nods towards the door, crossing her arms. Steve knows better than to push, so he leaves without complaint. What Clara doesn’t see is how Steve fucks his fist when he gets to his car, her begging and pleading playing on repeat in his head even as he drives home.

The rest of her night is spent cleaning the place up, careful to not hurt herself again.

#william afton #steve raglan #fnaf #fnaf movie #william afton x self insert #william afton x oc #lmk if i forget anything lmao #18+ mdni #MDNI #IM SERIOUS CHILDREN STAY OUT OF THIS ONE

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azranox · 3 months

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Choice(s)

“You did good child, you did good.” Anderson breathes his last, leaving me alone up here. I wonder if there’s something waiting for me this time, ha ‘this time’, no one else could say that right now. As I stare out upon the battle and my species homeworld my sentry interface blinks to life around my face, Hackett crying out for me.

“Shepard the Crucible isn’t firing, it must be something on your end.” With every ounce of strength I have left I crawl to the console, searching for anything to help. My time is short, I have to end this now before I no longer can. My hand falls as I lose consciousness in a blinding flash of white light. Little to my knowledge, a platform brings me above the Reaper’s Citadel control station into a chamber not accessed since its creation millions of years ago.

________________

“Get up” I blink my eyes, shielding them from the unknown. Is this the sea? Why does everything still hurt? Isn’t an afterlife supposed to return you to your physical peak? Like the soldier I am, I rise to my feet despite the pain in every inch of my resurrected flesh, pistol gripped in my hand like a lifeline.

I stand in front of the child from earth, the path is ahead, and in that moment I know I have to choose. Why is it always me choosing? What did I do to be the decider of fate for a trillion alive and countless to come? In my soul I know I sealed my fate all those years ago as I accepted the offer from Anderson to be his XO aboard the SR-1. So be it, I steel myself and wait for the Catalyst to explain.

It’s the Intelligence the Leviathans spoke of, it feels like a lifetime ago now. It made the Reapers, the Citadel, the relays, so why does it let me stand here? Why hasn’t it killed me yet? Why hasn’t it forced the Crucible to power down? It rambles about itself, the past, its mission, the Reapers, it’s all hazy as I struggle to stay on my feet. Reality snaps back into focus as I hear the next few words.

“You must choose, you are the first organic to ever stand here, and you have altered the variables.”

Heh, it sounds almost like Legion in my pain riddled mind. No, focus Shepard, keep going the mission isn’t over yet.

“Your first choice is to destroy us, in turn ending all synthetic life. The Geth you gave intelligence, your friend EDI, and possibly you, you are after all part synthetic now. It will cease the conflict between organics and synthetics for a time, but in time the conflict will rise again, and no one will stop it, for we will be gone.”

‘Fuck you glowing child from my nightmares, you’ve only senselessly killed in the name of peace’ I think. Guilt washes over me as I consider the ramifications of what I must do. If this is the way to end this I’ll do it, I don’t have time to think. I start to turn to walk the path to my possible demise, a path I’ve walked so many times before.

“Wait, you have another option.” I pause and glance over, the child has shifted. It now looks like Javik. It’s trying to get in my head. “You can also choose to override me, and become the force behind the Reapers. Your mind and will would be merged with us, but you would be lost as an individual. You could perform whatever actions you deem necessary, and we could not stop you.”

‘The Illusive Man was right for once I suppose.’ my mind replies automatically. Could I stoop so low? Become what I hated to save everything? What if it’s lying? What if I become everything I ever feared? An immortal existence as something other, all but an artificial god. Have I earned that right? How could I? Two terrible options, why is it always two terrible options? Is this some cruel joke from the Reapers before they kill me here?

It shifts its form again, this time to Ashley.“The last choice given to you is to merge all life with a new DNA, taking your essence and using it to give all organics and synthetics pieces of one another. All life will change and true peace will be achieved. This conflict, forever resolved by your martyrdom. It is the best option.”

Changing all life? The guilt from before washes over me. What if the galaxy hates it? What if I sentence them all to an eternal hell from what it does to them? Making a new matrix of life? I don’t have that right. I’m one human in a sea of endless possibilities, so what if I’ve done the impossible more times than I care to count? Such an overarching choice should be made by no sole being.

“What if I refuse them all”

“The cycle continues, and it would be near impossible to end. This is your only chance. I’ll allow your organic mind time to process this, but you don’t have long.” I glance over to the virtual window, the battle rages outside, our ships falling, and the Reapers not falling fast enough. The Intelligence starts to shift its form from Ash to Thane, from Thane to Garrus, Tali, Chakwas, Joker, Vega, Edi, Liara, Samara, Zaeed, Kasumi, Wrex, Grunt, Legion, Mordin, Miranda… it’s shifting so fast I can’t tell who’s face it wears after a time, an endless flickering between organic and inorganic forms, and I’m forced to look away. After a few moments I steel myself once again. I’m Commander Shepard and it’s time to choose.

_______________

I walk to the right, genocide on my shoulders of the race I fought so hard to save. The end of the Reapers is what everyone wants, they’ll mourn the losses but will live to tell the tale. Maybe they’ll be able to salvage some inactive tech to make things easier. I shoot Mordin’s pistol, it somehow survived the beam alongside me, a final echo of my friend alongside me. The glass cracks, splits, shatters, the being behind me shimmers out of view, its final expression is one of pure rage, and it all goes black as an explosion forces me back.

_______________

I walk to the left, I can’t change or kill everyone else, I only have the right to change myself. I pray to any gods listening that I will somehow remain myself inside whatever lays ahead, my morals as strong as they’ve been since Eden Prime all that time ago. I’ve made some bad calls, killed more than I care to admit, but I never crossed the line into harsh ruthlessness. I holster my gun as I grab the handles, resisting the shearing burn that consumes me. I fall to my knees, never letting go, I rise and I push. I feel myself fall apart, burning all the while.

_______________

I walk forwards, I hope the galaxy won’t hate me for this. I doubt they’ll ever know I had a choice, they’ll assume this was the end point from the outset of the Cruibles creation. No one knew what it would do after all. I know I’m a peacemaker at heart, I’ve done it before, and if this is what I must do to achieve it I will. I think of all those I’ve lost. Legion, Mordin, Thane, Anderson, my family, my old squad and countless others. With all my will I start to sprint, throwing Mordin’s pistol to the side in a final act before I jump into the pit of endless green. Warmth tingles through me as it all fades into a peaceful white.

_______________

In no life can I turn around and leave. I will not abandon those who sacrificed so much to get me here to defeat these monsters.

#azranox #mass effect #commander shepard #mass effect legendary edition #shrios #mass effect endings #Drabble

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youngmasterwisdomperson · 1 year

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So one of my mutuals has been on a The Magnus Archives kick lately and it’s gotten me re-listening to a select few episodes and reminiscing on the podcast as a whole.

If I had to pick a favorite of the 14 powers, I think it’d have to be The End. If I had to give an explanation as to why, I’d say because it seems by far the least…antagonistic, if that makes sense? Like, obviously it’s pretty much the oldest fear there is, the fear of death. It’s been here longer than any of the others, and it will by definition be there when the last of the other powers dies out for good. It is the quintessential fear, the one from which the reasons for all other forms of fear are derived, one way or another. And it always struck me as weirdly…calming, I guess. Tranquil. It’s in no hurry to kill you. You’ll die anyway when your time comes because the nature of living necessarily relies on the additional context that all that lives will someday die.

And weirdly, to me, the way The End and its components work has always felt very…natural? Is that the right word? Can any of the powers be considered a natural and necessary part of the world? If any of them could, it would be The End. And in a way the various avatars of The End (Oliver, the Grim Reaper, definitely some others I can’t name right now off the top of my head. Georgie doesn’t fear death she’s of The End right? I don’t remember) kind of feel the least…predatory (?) out of any other avatars. Sure we have plenty of good people in TMA who become avatars not by choice but out of bad luck, and instead of succumbing to their new nature fight tirelessly for the greater good. But the grim reaper and his game are the result of fully succumbing to the End’s influence, and yet it never felt all that evil to me. The people the reaper visited were going to die anyway, but the End gave them their chance at continuing to live, so long as they’re willing to work to make up for it.

Not to mention the fact that Oliver Banks, the poster child avatar for the End, is generally just a truly kind and chill dude, and sure he’s a little fatalistic by the end (no pun intended) but even at the height of his immersion in the End’s cosmic intent he’s never cruel. He has his time during the apocalypse where he sends a statement phrased like a polite yet vaguely passive aggressive letter to Jonah Magnus calling him an idiot for not letting people grow or get older or have children and thus significantly hastening the inevitable End, telling him the End is in no rush, it will have everyone eventually, even the other powers themselves, whether they like it or not. And perhaps that could be perceived as inherently sinister, but it’s also just true, on all accounts, and the thing I really like about the End is that it never pursues, never chases its prey, because it knows it doesn’t need to. After all,

It will have them all anyway, eventually.

#the magnus archives #tma spoilers #tma the end

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melodyalanaroster · 2 years

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Thunderbird Rising

A couple of years had passed since Nathaniel and Alana had left the Black Tower for their globe-trotting adventure. They had been to many places, seen and done many things, and had decided that it was time to come home. Alana bought a shop in the local shopping district and was turning it into a geeky paradise. Nathaniel had made it known that he wanted to join the police force and Alana had begun work on drawing up the necessary forms and agreements to ensure Nathaniel can fulfill his dream.

“So, you really wanna join the police force?” Sam quietly asked as she sat in a chair next to a bed in the Black Tower’s infirmary. Kentin was asleep in the bed with his eyes bandaged. “Yeah... Don’t get me wrong, I know it was the R.D.R and the Roster Family that got me out of my situation in college... But the police force did do their best to try to help me get out of it... And I want to help people.” Nathaniel explained. “And becoming an actual member of the R.D.R was out of the question. I completely understand that.” Sam nodded. “So? How’s he doing?” Nathaniel asked. “His eyes are healing as they should. He should be back to normal in a few weeks. I’m actually surprised it took him this long to come to this decision.” Sam explained. “What caused him to do this?” He inquired. “Between the basic inconvenience of having glasses, and the fact that he kept losing them, he saw no reason to continue having them... He’s not like my sister, his glasses aren’t, literally, a symbol of his power and position.” She explained. “I get that. Alana could get the same procedure done at any time... But she chooses not to.” Nathaniel nodded. “She has no reason to get it. One press of a button on the frame of her glasses instills fear and admiration into everyone that’s near her.” Sam rolled her eyes. “Despite the fact that she’s no longer “active”...” He sighed. “They can say she’s “no longer active” all they want... She’s HIS Grim Reaper. As long as she’s alive, she’s “active”. You should know that by now.” She shot. “I know it’s been a few years since I became “Lord Nathaniel” and started standing at her side, but I’m still not used to it.” He muttered. “Well, get used to it. Its why you’ve been trained the way you’ve been. Not just by HIM, but by us.” Sam nodded. “Do you think that being at your side could be a reason why Kentin got the procedure? It takes away one of his physical weaknesses.” Nathaniel suggested. “Possibly. I wouldn’t rule it out as a potential reason... But it probably isn’t a primary one.” Sam sighed. “Well, do you think I can get into the force?” He asked. “You? I don’t see why not. You’re smart enough on your own to get through the tests... Hell, you’d probably make a decent general in the military.” Sam smirked. “Well, its a good thing I don’t wanna join the military. There’s enough generals in this family.” Nathaniel laughed.

★

Nathaniel, Alana, the Red Death, the Prime Minister, the Mayor, the Chief of Police and Inspector Eric Ward had all convened in a conference room in the Black Tower. “Welcome everyone.” Nathaniel greeted as they all sat down. “Lady Melody, Lord Nathaniel! Welcome home!” the Prime Minister greeted. “Thank you ma’am.” Alana smiled. “Can someone tell me why we’re here?” the Mayor asked. “We are here to discuss a request that has been made to see if we can make it possible without throwing a wrench into our relations.” the Red Death stated. “And what request is this?” the Chief of Police asked. “I want to become a police inspector.” Nathaniel stated.

“That is preposterous! You’re a high ranking member of the R.D.R!” the Mayor blurted out. Alana stood up. “Technically, he’s not. He’s simply at the top of my “Immunity List”. While he has received training, he has not signed any documents to formally declare himself a member of this organization.” She explained. “So, he’s a civilian with an extreme amount of privilege and clearance?” the Chief of Police asked. “Yes.” Alana replied. The Red Death stood up and walked over to Nathaniel and Alana. “Mr. Jacott’s desire to become a police inspector is not an impossible dream. Surely we can work things out to make it a reality.” He suggested. “But how? His clearance will cause a bleed between the two organizations.” the Mayor’s skeptical tone continued. “I have a proposition that I believe will work for both organizations. Nathaniel will go through the testing and training it takes to become a proper inspector. He will not use R.D.R resources to aid his work. His office at the station will be the same as everyone else’s. He will have an office in the Black Tower that will be exactly like his office in the station, just in case there comes a point where he can’t leave the tower. However, I request that either a Paladin, or a Paladin In Training always keep an eye on him. In the event that his police work puts him in a situation that will cause him harm, we will extract him.” Alana suggested. “So, a Paladin will be following him?” the Chief of Police asked. “From a distance, yes. That Paladin will allow us to always know his location and secures his safety.” Alana explained. “And who is to say you won’t use it for your own personal gain?” The Mayor asked. “And why would I do that? I love and trust Nathaniel. Not to mention how I’ll be busy with my shop. The only time I’ll remotely think about using it is if he doesn’t give me any form of life signs for a full day, or late at night if he works late. Even then, I’ll ask a simple “yes or no” question... That being “Is he okay?”.” Alana raised an eyebrow, her tone didn’t change, but she was offended by the question. “Mister Mayor, you forget your place. Despite her current official title being “Agent Thunderbird”, she is still our “Grim Reaper”, you will give her the respect she deserves.” The Red Death ordered. The Mayor looked at them as if he had been neutered. “The goal of this meeting is to ensure that Mr. Jacott gets to do the job he chooses, to the best of his ability, and with the cooperation of the organizations involved. The Paladin’s presence is a form of insurance for us.” The Red Death announced.

The meeting continued for another hour. Everyone asked several questions. Eric was assigned to be Nathaniel’s partner. “This is great! We get to work together!” Nathaniel cheered as he walked up to Eric. “I expect great things from you!” Eric beamed. “This is going to be interesting.” Alana slyly smiled as she walked up to them. “I know you’re going to be amazing.” She grinned as she kissed Nathaniel on the cheek. “You know? When I was questioning you at the station a couple of years ago, I never thought this would be the reason why you had taken over his case.” Eric smiled at Alana. “Yet, you continued to attempt to interrogate me as if I was one of your criminals.” Alana rolled her eyes. “I apologized profusely for that.” Eric stated. “And if I didn’t forgive you for it, even a little bit, you wouldn’t be Nathaniel’s partner.” Alana coldly remarked.

★

Sam, Lynne, Seraphina, Agatha, Viktor, Kentin, Nathaniel and Alana stood in front of the Cozy Bear Café, curiously. “Why did Verity and Rini call us here?” Viktor asked. “I don’t know... All I know was that this place was up for sale recently so that Clemence could run off with her lover. But, for the last few months, the “For Sale” sign has been gone...” Alana replied. “What a reason to run off...” Agatha sighed, wistfully. Lynne looked at her sister with a sarcastic smile on her face. “You did that at one point... Remember? When you met that knight at a Ren Faire? If Seraphina and I didn’t track you down, you’d probably still be in the German countryside with him...” She remarked as she rolled her eyes. “I remember that... Our family had to figure out the schedule for the Faire and calculate how long it would take us to get to their next destination, so we could wait and catch you! You were gone for six months by that point and mom was worried sick! All for a boy! What was his name? Lancelot? Arthur?” Seraphina asked. “Alastair. His stage name was Galahad... And the family would have loved him! Hell, I loved him... Until he started developing a taste for creatures of the night...” Agatha began to look sad as she spoke. Alana looked at her aunt, remembered the contents of the Roster Family Vault in the deepest part of the basement to the main estate, and instantly realized why Agatha looked sad at the mention of her lover getting interested in vampires. “Oh Agatha...” She thought. “Please, if you two were really in love, you would have stayed together, despite that phase he was going through... And he would have come after you after we brought you home.” Seraphina rolled her eyes.

Right as Agatha was about to respond to her sister’s remark, the doors to the café burst open to reveal Verity and Severina looking quite optimistic. “Thank you all for coming! Please come in!” Verity mused. “We’ve got good news!” Severina smiled. The interior of the Cozy Bear looked very different to how Alana remembered it. It was no longer the boring café with slightly mismatched table sittings, the occasional fake plant, and a randomly placed couch. It had, clearly, been renovated to be more modern and artsy. The, once empty, main section had new places to hang artwork that included a small shelf. The new furniture had a more high class, clean, feeling to it. The entire back section of the room had been turned into a colorful lounge area with art all over the walls. The radiator was gone and the bar itself had been redone to have a brick like tile look. Instead of two separate doors that led to the kitchen and the restrooms, there was only one door that opened to a small hallway to get to them. One wall had a photo collage that showcased Verity, Severina and all of their friends and family as well as a shelf filled with Lynne’s entire catalogue of books. “Well? What do you think?!” Verity asked. “I think it’s a café.” Lynne commented. “It looks a lot better than it used to.” Sam nodded. Alana looked at her best friend and her godmother. “You two bought this place, didn’t you?” She asked. “YES!” Severina cheered. “Why? Its just a college café.” Seraphina questioned. “As much as I enjoyed dipping my finger into the fashion industry, it wasn’t “Me.”... I wanna get into art! But, I also wanna do something that is kind of different, so I wanted to have a café gallery! A place where people can come in, get a nice cup of coffee and a snack and also purchase artwork!” Verity explained. “And Rini? What about you?” Alana inquired. “As happy as I am to model for Universal Her, they’re only super busy during Con season... And this is a nice change of pace. As it is, it’ll keep me close to here so I can hang out with you at Thunderbird Studios, or with aunt Agatha!” Severina beamed. “V, Rini, you two don’t even need the money... Our company is doing just fine... So, why?” Viktor puzzled. Alana nudged Viktor in the ribs. “Do you not remember why they are spreading their wings and flying so freely now? Just because they don’t need the cash, that doesn’t mean they can’t do anything... That’d be like asking me the same thing about my shop.” She defended. “Exactly! As it is, the profits from this will mainly go towards four things. Our employees, ingredients, supplies, and a bit towards charity.” Verity clarified. “Employees?” Sam asked. “Yes! We’ve hired a couple of sweet girls. Hyun Sohn’s little sister, Dambi will be joining us in a couple of months after she gets settled at Sweet Amoris. And a girl who says she knows Sami and Mels! Her name is Nina.” Verity explained. “Nina? Are we talking long blonde hair and greyish purple eyes?” Alana inquired. “Yes! That’s her!” Verity mused. “I didn’t know she was still around...” Sam commented. “She never left. I think she’s in her Senior Year at Sweet Amoris this year. Sweet girl.” Alana replied. “I like her! I think I might take her under my wing!” Severina cheered. “More power to you!” Alana laughed.

★

Nathaniel sped through the process of becoming a cop. Acing every test, surpassing his limits, and impressing all of his superiors. “This isn’t the work of the R.D.R, is it?” The Chief of Police asked. Nathaniel shook his head. “No. The only training I’ve gotten from them is how to fight, and most of that was Alana and her sister.” He explained. “Well, as much as I respect the Grim Reaper and the military’s Juggernaut for their work and expertise, their techniques for fighting will only come in handy in dire circumstances. Your intuition and mental ability will take you far here.” The Chief commended. “As much as I want to promote you to the title of Inspector, you do need to spend some time on the beat. Are you up for it?” The Chief asked. “Definitely!” Nathaniel beamed.

That night, Alana sat on the bed, tablet in hand, as she worked on getting things ready for her shop. “Okay, I’ve discussed the importing of goods with my connections in Japan, talked with several of mom’s and Nate’s actor friends about maybe having D&D nights and other cool events, ensured that there are plenty of my props to fill a ton of shelves and discussed things with people in Disney and other companies to allow their products in my shop. I just need to talk to aunt Verity if we can partner up and possibly have a delivery service between her café and my shop, discuss things between Anteros and Sweet Amoris to possibly allow clubs from those schools to host events with me, and talk to Leigh to see if he and I can partner up on cosplay clothes. If he does go along with it, it will benefit us both.” She muttered to herself. “I thought you still resented Rosalaya.” Nathaniel commented as he entered the room. “I told you years ago, I resent Rosalaya and Alexy, I hold no resentment towards the Ainsworth boys. Aside from that, there’s a child in the situation, if I can aid an innocent’s life in being decent, I don’t mind doing it. I just refuse to do anything for Rosa, and I’m sure as hell not going to babysit. But, working with Leigh has proven beneficial in the past, so, I’d like to do it again.” She explained. Nathaniel stood before her wearing his police officer uniform which consisted of black pants, a blue short sleeved button up shirt, a police hat, a tactical belt, a badge and a pair of handcuffs. She looked up and her jaw dropped. “Woah.” She sighed. Nathaniel smirked. “Nothing else to say, Miss Roster?” He cooed. Alana sat there, motionless, speechless, her eyes glued to him. She bit her lip. “Now, come on, say something.” His smirk becoming more devilish. She remained silent, the look on her face and her body language making her thirst very obvious. He walked over to her, took her tablet out of her hand, placed it on her nightstand, and kissed her, passionately. “Now, Miss Roster, I know you are charged with possession. I’m going to have to search you.”

★

Alana stood in her shop and looked around, proud. The shelves were covered in items from various series’ and genres. The walls had posters and art pieces from various artists. There was a section for table top games, a sitting area with a tv and console games of all kinds, a reading nook, a book section, a manga and anime section, an artistry section, a cosplay section and the usual shelves. Rayan had made it a hobby of his to help her around the shop as she got things ready when he wasn’t busy with his school work. She didn’t mind it at all, he was a fellow nerd and he thoroughly enjoyed helping her. He even made a few suggestions for items that she didn’t think about. “Thanks for all your help, Rayan.” She smiled. “Anytime. And you can bet, I’ll be a regular around here!” Rayan cheered. She got the shop’s website ready and made it perfect. One of the paladins volunteered to be a full time employee for the shop. “You sure you want to mostly leave the Tower behind, James?” Alana had asked. James was a well built, light skinned, boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing black pants, black shoes, a black belt, and a black T-Shirt with a poster design from Star Wars: A New Hope on it. “Yeah. I’m not gonna lie, after that last Purification, I was kind of tired of all the bloodshed. I continued to train and everything, but, I took a leaf from your book and begun to train a member who was right underneath me to become my successor. When you requested a Paladin to become the main employee for the shop, I jumped at the chance.” James had explained. “I must admit, I feel kind of selfish asking, not just one, but two Paladins to do my personal bidding.” She replied. “Don’t. We all love and care about you. Plus, the Red Death approved of it, so, it’s okay.” James explained. She thought back to her conversation with Leigh. It was very cordial, but he was okay with a collaboration between the two shops. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Alana had smiled. “It’s alright. I understand why you and Rosa are no longer on speaking terms, and you’ve never been truly rude to the three of us since you split from her. I’m more than happy to work with you.” Leigh had grinned. “Thank you Leigh.” Alana had beamed.

The building Alana had bought to be her shop was once a very large antique store near Leigh’s in the shopping district of that sector of the city. She had successfully converted it into a “geek’s paradise” as well as a second location for her work shop. She even made sure to include a series of lounging areas and tables. People had begun asking when it’s going to open, to which, Alana would always reply “It’s not ready yet, it will be soon!”. When she created the social media accounts for it, people would always comment “I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!” and other things like that. “It looks like there’s a lot of hype surrounding this place!” James commented. “Yeah, I just hope I can live up to it.” Alana sighed. “You don’t have to live up to it. It doesn’t matter if this place is the most hopping place in the country, it just matters that you’re happy and enjoying yourself.” He replied. “Yeah, but, considering some people just wanna come in here because I’m me, I don’t wanna disappoint.” She sighed.

★

The day had finally come. The air seemed almost electric. “My shop is opening today!” Alana cheered as she ran around the living room in Death’s Domain. “Eric and I will definitely be there!” Nathaniel cooed as he sat at the dining table, eating a plate of bacon and eggs. “I’m so nervous! This shop is what I’ve been working towards for over a year...” She almost stammered. “Alana, you’re going to do great tonight!” Nathaniel smiled. “Are you sure? I really hope you’re right.” Alana stammered as she stopped running around the living room for a minute and looked at him nervously. Nathaniel got up from the table, walked over to her, put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her lovingly. “Melody Roster, you moved hell itself to get back to me. You are the next head of the main line of the Roster Clan, the R.D.R’s Grim Reaper, Lady Melody, and the Patron Saint of Lost Children. You have brought down child traffickers, corrupt priests, drug cartels, Achille Mekina and Carol Dubois. You can do anything you set your mind to and everything you set your mind to turns out wonderfully. This will be amazing.” He reassured.

That afternoon, the street that Thunderbird Studios sat on was closed off. Crowds had begun to gather around the shop. Several of Nate’s actor friends decided to show up to support their friend’s step-daughter. Many of Lynne’s and Verity’s friends made sure to get to the event early so that they could get early access. Nathaniel, Armin, Eric, Sam, Severina, Kentin, Viktor, Castiel and Lysander stood at the front of the crowd, excitedly waiting on the doors to open. “Holy crap! Is that Levi Pugh?”, “Shit! That’s Ryker Ross!”, “Scott Blue is here too!”, “The Roster Family decided to invite some of their major friends!”, “I wonder if I can get a picture with those guys!” people muttered. When everyone had gathered, Alana and the mayor stood in front of the shop. “Welcome everyone! Thunderbird Studios has been a dream of mine for several years now. I began working on cosplay props when my mom was in the hospital, and I was allowed to keep working on them for a little bit during my rise to power. Even through my darkest moments, working on anime and sci-fi cosplay items has been a passion of mine. And now, I get to share that passion with you all! May you all find as much love, fun and adventure in this endeavor as I have, and welcome to Thunderbird Studios!” Alana happily boomed. “Amouria’s youth now have their new hangout!” The Mayor cheered as he and Alana used giant scissors to cut the red ribbon in front of the shop and James opened the doors.

“Oh my god! Is that Sailor Saturn’s Silence Glaive?”, “Are those Japan exclusive figures?”, “Signed comics?!”, “Woah! Those light sabers are cool!” People chattered as they looked through the shop’s wares. “Melody! This place is insane!” Scott cheered as he, Levi and Ryker walked up to her. “Seriously! Your prop making skills are amazing!” Levi beamed. “I’m so proud of you kiddo!” Ryker smiled. “Thanks guys! I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help!” Alana grinned. “Mels! This place is so badass! I can’t wait to have Universal Her send some of their upcoming collections here!” Severina mused as she ran up to Alana and gave her a big hug. “Go ahead and count me in as a frequent visitor!” Armin cooed. “I thought you lived too far away from here to be around so often?” Nathaniel looked at him, slightly accusingly. “Well...” Armin looked nervous. “Really? You haven’t told him?!” Alana asked, shocked. “Told me what?” Nathaniel asked. “I can’t believe you haven’t told him yet!” Severina blurted out. “Told me what?!” Nathaniel inquired, clearly getting slightly annoyed. “Ever since the terrorist attack on the nation’s satellites, several years ago, I’ve been tasked with boosting cyber security for both the R.D.R. and the Astarian military. Now, I’ve been transferred to an office in the aristocratic section of Amouria so that I can boost VKT’s security. As soon as I’m done with that, I’ll be working with the local police force to do the same. I’ll be moving into a really nice apartment here in the city very soon.” Armin explained. “Why didn’t you tell me this?!” Nathaniel burst. “Because! I was kinda planning on surprising you at work!” Armin laughed. “So? The gang is gonna stay together?” Sam asked as she and Kentin walked up to them. “Are you two staying in Astaria?” Alana asked. “Well... Now that my eyes have fully healed, the Military wants us to go to a different country... But I really don’t want to.” Kentin looked down. “So, I decided to tell King Julius that we’re not going to a new post and will be staying here.” Sam replied. “And I’m guessing that he and Crown Princess Ariadne want to present you two with proper titles for all of your service?” Alana raised an eyebrow. “YUP.” Sam nodded. “Why don’t you take the titles?” Lysander asked. “Because our family has been turning down formal titles from the Astarian Royals for centuries. We don’t do what we do for glory. We do it because its the right thing to do.” Alana explained. “Despite the fact that the Roster Clan has done a lot to deserve titles over the centuries.” A voice called from behind them.

The group turned in the direction of the voice and found a young woman with red hair, pink eyes, pale skin and elegant blue clothes walking towards them. “Well, holy shit... Does your daddy know you’re away from the palace?” Sam scoffed. “Were your ears burning Ariadne?” Alana asked, a smirk spreading across her face. “You know? Its only in establishments run by the Roster Clan that I don’t get formal greetings or introductions. I must say... It is quite refreshing.” Ariadne grinned. The Princess turned to Lysander. “Well... Well.. Aren’t you a nice tall glass of water?” She winked. “Um... Excuse me?” Lysander nervously blushed. “Watch out your Highness... You’re not even allowed to date beneath your station... Which means the only one here you could even be allowed to flirt with would be Viktor.” Alana snickered. “Melody! Sam! Its not fair! Most of your male friends may be “commoners” but they’re all so attractive! Even some of your female friends are easy on the eyes!” Ariadne whined. “I keep forgetting you’re bisexual...” Sam rolled her eyes. “You are not going to even try to use our friend group as your personal dating pool.” Alana sighed. “What are you doing here anyway? A “Geek’s Paradise” is beneath you.” Sam asked. “Well, I wanted to see the shop owned by the heir to the main line of the Roster Clan. I stopped by Ms. Mekina’s coffee shop on the way here. It looks like the two of you have quite the nice set up!” Ariadne beamed. “What, are you actually thinking you might become a regular here? Would your handlers even let you do that?” Severina asked. “I don’t see why not... The Roster Clan has been serving the Astarian Royal Bloodline for centuries. Not only did we give them refuge when the Romans and Christians were busy chasing all of the “snakes” out of Ireland and Scotland, but they’ve saved our lives on numerous occasions. The only reason they’re not knights and ladies is because they refuse the titles.” Ariadne shrugged. “But you don’t even like this stuff!” Sam blurted out. “Well, ever since you lot did that photoshoot at the Old Palace, I got a little curious... So I looked up what you dressed up as and I found out that it was from an anime. The dresses looked beautiful... I’d just need help watching it.” Ariadne explained. “Oh god.. You’re getting into Sailor Moon...” Alana laughed. “I’d love to help you with it! Its a lovely place to start when it comes to anime!” Severina cheered. “Hey, Melody? There are people that wanna see you!” Lynne chuckled as she walked up to them. “SHIT! I’m sorry! We’ll talk later!” Alana blurted out as she ran off.

“Heyyy! Lady Melody! Your place looks great!” Diego cheered. Diego was a man in his forties with tan skin, short dark hair and dark eyes. He wore his Inspector Uniform and kept his badge on his belt. He was standing next to Eric. “This place is cool! Are you gonna get vintage toys? May I suggest older Jurassic Park stuff?” Eric chattered. “I suppose I could look into that... I’m just not intending on getting anything from the new Jurassic World series... The lead actor gets on my nerves...” Alana remarked. “Cool!” Eric beamed. “Lady Melody? Do you think your father’s friends would mind if I got their autographs?” Diego eagerly asked. “I wouldn’t... Ryker, Levi and Scott aren’t here for publicity. They’re here because they wanna support me and hang out with my dad.” Alana shook her head. “Oh... Okay...” Diego looked down. “But! I’m sure they wouldn’t mind it if you went and said “Hi!”! You are one of Nath’s work friends, after all!” Alana smiled. “This is gonna be so cool!” Diego mused as he ran off. Alana watched Diego walk up to Nate, Ryker, Levi and Scott. After a couple of minutes, the five men were taking a picture. “Wow, I didn’t expect them to do that.” She happily shrugged. “This is so cool!” Rayan mused. “I’m glad everyone is enjoying this!” Alana cooed. Rayan pointed out a man standing next to Verity. “Why is he here?” He asked. “Who?” Alana inquired, confused. “Dan Aberny. He’s a major art dealer and collector.” Rayan explained. Dan Aberny was a white man with curly brown hair that covered his right eye and green eyes. He wore a black turtleneck, blue pants and a light grey trench coat that was fastened with a black snakeskin belt and gold hardware. Draped around his neck was a long pink scarf. “He’s probably a friend of Verity’s... I suppose it would only be proper for me to go greet him.” Alana stated.

“I don’t understand this...” Dan complained. “Its fun!” Verity cheered. “You’re not going to have this stuff in your gallery, are you?” Dan condescendingly asked. “What? Is my daughter’s work beneath you?” Lynne asked, getting annoyed. “Well... This isn’t real art...” Dan rolled his eyes. “Then why are you here?” Alana asked as she walked up to them. “Melody! Your place is magnificent!” Verity cheered. “Thanks, V. Now... Mister Aberny. If you think so little of my work and passions, why are you here?” Alana growled. “I was invited by Ms. Mekina. She wanted to showcase her goddaughter’s hard work and artistic talent... Yet, I see none of that. Just toys and frivolous wastes of time.” Dan shot. “Further proof that the aristocratic side of the art world needs a wake up call and a reality check. Because if you actually paid attention, you’d see that the pieces in this establishment took blood sweat and tears to create.” Alana shot back. She turned to Verity, annoyed. “Is this really going to be some of the company you keep? V, you know how much our families love this kind of thing. Hell, Rini’s main passion lately has been modeling for a geeky clothing line!” She asked. “Mister Aberny is a very major person in the art world. He’ll be quite helpful with my gallery!” Verity replied. “Well... I’m not gonna stop you from associating with the likes of him.... You know, the Anish Kapoor, snobby, classist, fools who don’t support any other form of art except their elitist bullshit... But I won’t have his kind in my shop.” Alana stated. “But Melody...” Verity began. “And to think... I was expecting much more from the Heir to the Roster Clan and The Great Grim Reaper... I guess I shouldn’t have expected that much... Your family isn’t even aristocratic!” Dan sneered. “What did you just say?!” A voice called. Within seconds, Ariadne appeared before them. “Your Highness!” Verity gasped. “Princess Ariadne, how lovely to see you again!” Dan smiled. “What did you just say about Melody and her family?” Ariadne spat. “Well... This comes as no surprise that the Roster Clan can’t even get into the Art World properly... Its just a shame that they’re dragging the Mekina and Chevalier families down with them!” Dan laughed. “The Roster Clan was offered a place among the aristocracy, centuries ago, by the first true Astarian King. They have chosen not to take part in the system, simply because money and power don’t mean much to them. Despite my family begging them to accept their rightful titles as lords, ladies, and knights in our court for centuries, they have rejected it. They are more valiant than most of the aristocratic families have been in quite a long time. On top of that, their influence is still sought by the Astarian Crown due to their courage, honesty, loyalty, and sense of justice. As it is, if you knew ANYTHING about the Rosters’ connections to the Mekina and Chevalier families, you’d know that the aristocracy has actually begun to give the Roster Clan more of the credit they are due since it was MELODY who saved both the Chevalier and Mekina lines from almost total ruin! Going even further... As you have acknowledged, Melody Roster is still the Red Death’s Grim Reaper, and you’re blatantly insulting her and her work in her shop... Thus proving that, you’re not very bright and possibly have a death wish.” Ariadne exclaimed. Everyone’s heads turned in the direction of the group. "I just expected more from this!” Dan blurted out. Alana pressed a button on her glasses, activating one lens. “Get out.” She icily ordered. “Now, Lady Melody....” Dan began. “She said GET OUT, peasant!” Ariadne barked. Alana looked around and noticed several people had their phones out. “This isn’t going to go well for me.” She sighed. “Your highness! I never expected this kind of brash action from the likes of you!” Dan scoffed. “Clearly, you don’t know the true nature of the Royal Family!” One of Ariadne’s guards stated. “Now, the Princess ordered you to leave.” Another guard ordered. Dan turned to Verity, who looked upset and embarrassed. “Darling! Don’t look sad! We can still work together! Just don’t expect me to help you obtain anything like this!” He beamed. He turned back to Ariadne. “I do hope to work with you and your family!” He cooed as he waved and walked towards the door. “Don’t count on it!” Ariadne shot.

As soon as Dan was no longer in sight, Verity turned to Lynne and Yael and looked down. “This really isn’t going to go well for my café gallery...” She muttered. “It could work out... We’d just have to find up and coming artists who are liked by the elite and don’t have any interest in associating with him... Or walk on eggshells around him...” Yael nervously chuckled. Yael was a young white woman with bright blue eyes and short red hair. She wore a long sleeved, light yellow, shirt with a very deep neckline that plunged into her high waisted maroon pants. On the right side of her collarbone, she had a simple, black, dove tattoo. She also wore a long gold necklace, a gold leaf bracelet on her right wrist, and gold earrings. “V, I can’t believe you’d even want to work with someone like that!” Lynne did her best to not yell. “Lynne! He’s important to my business!” Verity blurted out. “Yet, he waltzed into my daughter’s business, on opening night, and treated her like scum! You do remember that she’s your goddaughter, right?!” Lynne was shaking with rage. “But Lynne... I need his help to make my gallery a success!” Verity blubbered. “Mom, calm down. I can fight my own battles. Verity, if you think you can balance working with someone like that, maintaining your place as mom’s best friend and my godmother, and actually make it to where you don’t get hurt in any way by the end of it, I won’t stop you... Just know, I will lose a bit of my respect for you for it.” Alana explained. “Oh dear... This really won’t turn out well...” Verity gasped. “Nonsense! He’s going to apologize and atone for his actions, or he’s going to find himself penniless!” Ariadne boasted.

“You really are disconnected from actual aristocratic life, if you think that, Princess.” Sam called as she walked up to them. “What?!” Ariadne blurted out. “Our family’s history with your family has never mattered to these people. They’ve always looked down on us. It was around the 1700′s, when the Aristocracy had begun taking more inspiration from French and English nobles, that they almost completely negated their own history and started looking down on us because we didn’t have titles, our estates weren’t as nice as theirs, and we’ve refused to follow their customs.” Lynne explained. “And, yes, we could have taken the titles that your family has been offering us and avoided a certain amount of animosity, but it would have always been there... Simply because, even when the original Celtic Nations were under different chiefs in this land, our family is, originally, from Ireland and Scotland. Not only that, the legends that we’re monster hunters and have a bit of the Fae’s blood in us has gotten our family a certain amount of persecution from some of the people. Yes, the persecution from the legends has waned in recent centuries, but part of the wariness is still there.” Alana clarified. “But it shouldn’t be like that...” Ariadne gasped. “Yeah... Well... It is. Its part of our reality, your Highness...” Lynne replied. “And it does get worse... There are some families who are trying to become part of the Aristocracy by any means necessary.” Alana stated. “Carol and Achille being part of that...” Sam added. Alana looked at Nathaniel and remembered what his parents had done. Nathaniel looked back at her, realized what she was thinking about, and looked down. “But... It’s not...” Ariadne stuttered. “Look... Even if we work hard to change things, it will take several generations before any real change happens.” Alana commented. “Well... Then we have to start somewhere... The Aristocracy in Astaria needs to be humbled and reminded of their history!” Ariadne declared. “Oh dear gods... Please don’t tell me that you’re gonna go on a crusade...” Sam blurted out. “But Samantha...” Ariadne began. “Look... If you wanna try to make this your passion project, fine... But don’t start a revolution...” Sam sighed.

Hours later, only the Mayor remained in the shop with Nathaniel, James and Alana. “I must say, Miss Roster, I wasn’t expecting that level of lively evening.” He grinned. “I was not expecting Princess Ariadne to show up and Verity to bring an aristocratic elitist.” Alana sighed. “Hey, it still turned out pretty well! A few people bought wands, and wanna see if you’ll make a few props!” James cheered. “It was quite fun! I may have to see if my sons will wanna wander in here!” The Mayor mused. “If they do, I’ll be looking forward to it! As for now, tonight was a decent success... But I wouldn’t call it perfect...” Alana stated. “But, it was decent. That’s always better than a disaster!” Nathaniel cooed. “You’re not wrong... But, for now, I’d like to go home. James, be sure to lock up, please.” Alana yawned. “I agree. Goodnight everyone.” The Mayor yawned as he walked away from the shop. “Don’t worry, Mels. I’ll lock up.” James smiled. “Thanks... Nath, let’s go home.” Alana let out a long yawn. “With pleasure.” Nathaniel yawned.

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Since Nate Films is based on Nathan Fillion, his friends’ names are based on actors that are known friends of Nathan. Levi Pugh is Zachary Levi (Pugh is Zachary’s actual last name). Ryker Ross is Ryan Reynolds. Scott Blue is Seth Green.

King Julius is a reference to Black Clover. In Black Clover, the Wizard King is named Julius Novachrono. Princess Ariadne is King Julius’ and Queen Sophia’s eldest child and the heir to their throne. Ariadne has 2 siblings. A brother named Urien and a sister named Lena.

There is A LOT of lore in this one!

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arty-shadow-morningstar · 3 years

Text

A Failed Betrothal (4)

Am I doing this right? I mostly do write this when I am between the state of sleep and awareness. Hope you enjoy this.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1) (Part 3)

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PART 4

Marinette came to a dungeon cell with two other prisoners. One of them was awake and he looked vaguely familiar. The other had an ugly red helmet that didn’t help with the headache she had.

“Do you know where we are?” She asked the handsome stranger with beautiful green eyes, her throat a little dry.

Wait. Handsome?

No bad Marinette. Don’t fall for fellow prisoners, no matter how cute he looks. Oh Kwamis, she was already screwed.

He still hadn’t replied. Maybe he didn’t understand French. She tried to ask again in another language before her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of footsteps. She faked unconsciousness. Later, she heard the iron door open. She looked through the tiniest slits of her eyes she could muster while the two held a staring/glaring match. Oh shit, that’s the fame Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s, head of the League of Shadows, and the boy she was glaring at had some resemblance to her, so he must be her son, Dennis? Daniel? Damon?

"Damian, I hope you know what you should do."

Ohh..Damian. Where had she heard that name before?

"To be forcefully married to that little girl. She is no one special. Why am I getting married to her?"

Ouch, that hurts. Well, Damian, just because I forgot your name does not mean you can call me a little girl. I can also kill you very easily and painfully.

“Well, Jason, you are awake. You can be the best man for the wedding.”

“No. I don’t know what game you are playing but you better release us. B is gonna find us and you will pay. Let the girl go. She is innocent in all of this.” Red Helmet, Jason, is officially not going on her hit list for his atrocious fashion choices. But that red monstrosity still needs to go.

"Ladybug may not seem like it but she possesses great power that my father converted for centuries. Speaking of, she should be awake by now."

Marinette felt her hair being yanked. A little pain was expected but the really sharp claws digging into her scalp was not. Making her cry and tear up.

”I am so sorry, kit.” Plagg whispered in the kwami language, loosening his claws.

"Tch, See, she is more pathetic than I thought. She is not powerful." Damian growled out.

Geez, thanks for the compliment, it’s not like you ever had a tiny cat dig its claws into your scalp out of surprise. (Damian once had a kitten thrown at his head and if he knew about Plagg, he would have been sympathetic.) Marinette started begging for mercy, hoping they would buy the helpless girl out of the suit that is ill-suited for the job she had been chosen for and had no idea on how to escape.

“Like I thought, weak. She is not deserving of the title of my wife.”

Oh kwamis, what did she ever do to have such a picky groom? The more he insults her, the less she wants to be married to him.

"Appearance can be deceiving. Despite her demeanor, she is the current wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and the Current Guardian. The old Guardian, the old fool had promised her in exchange for his protection."

Great, another reason to stop her mother from killing a senile old man.

"That doesn't mean I want to marry her. She is not worthy of an Al Ghul or a Wayne. Look at her, crying at the slightest feeling of pain."

So that’s where she heard it from. The boy was the son of the daughter of a guy who leads a secret order of assassins and a man that owns a multi-million business. How even did a billionaire meet an assassin, ends up in bed with her and lives? Something to think about for later. She quieted down her sobs, (beat that acting, Rossi) kept her voice low to hatch out a plan with Plagg in the kwami language while the mother-son duo bickered.

“Hey, Plagg before you go, you think I can do that thing, the one which your one of your past holders from Japan can do.”

“You have a lot of potential for destruction but you have not used the ring for a long time yet so I am not sure.”

“I will give it a go anyways. Nothing to lose after all. See you later, Plagg.” Marinette smiled, one that drove fear into the hearts of even the bravest of people. Plagg returned it, already loving the new Guardian before zipping out of the cell to do some scouting. Using the enhanced strength the French superheroine got from prolonged use of the Miraculous, she yanked the chains of the walls and wrapped them around Talia’s neck, cutting off her air supply.

The League of Assassins thought that they could kidnap her and get away with it. But they were no match for the daughter of Sabine Cheng, the deadly Blue Reaper. A high ranking member from the group of assassins and mercenaries called the Guild of Night, who had semi-retired. Kidnapping her was a bad move to make as it meant they had declared war on the Guild, despite the reason behind her abduction having a completely different intention.

She whispered as such to the older woman in her tight grip, making sure the League would know how much they had fucked up. After dropping the limp body, she took a deep breath and tried channeling some of her energy for what she was about to do.

Well, here goes nothing.

She breathed out on the shackles, turning it to rust.

Success!

She introduced herself as Lady and concentrated the energy from before into her hand, forming inky black orbs of destruction in order to free her fellow captives. She felt a little drained from doing magic out of the suit and tried not to show it. Plagg returned, informing her of where the Ra’s and the Pits were. She grinned at the thought of showing old Ra’s who the boss is and made sure he regretted ever messing with her. She explained about Plagg as vaguely as she can, no need to let anyone know about the miraculous than necessary. Sure her plan sounds insane but the boys don’t know who they were with.

She would worry about that curse after she got out of Nanda Parbat. Although she could probably find something in the grimoire to reverse it, she was still an amateur at magic so it was best to have a professional to take care of it. Marinette didn’t want to be with such an asshole, no matter how striking he looks in those regal robes.

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Picking off the League assassins, one by one was easy especially in her transformed state. She hadn’t appraised her suit properly but from what she had seen, it wasn’t like Chat Noir’s leather get-up. She was armoured in vital areas and her colour scheme was mainly black with green accents. There were vials that were probably poisons and pouches which she decided to look at later. She still had a long braid as a tail from her brief stint as Lady Noire and she wondered why her suit was different. While hiding in a niche she found, she called the bakery via the comm in one of her various pouches.

“Hello?”

“Papa, it’s me, Marinette. Do you know where Maman is?”

“She went out of Paris, talking about how this League must pay. I think she is meeting up with several of her old friends. Are you alright, my little blossom? I know you can take care of yourself but I worry.” The relief in Tom’s voice was palpable. However, she was right and the Guild was going to war against the League. Marinette was adored by nearly everyone in the Guild due to her strangely bubbly and cheery personality in the harsh and brutal lifestyle.

“I am fine, Papa. Did Maman use the Horse to leave? And how are my friends?” She knew they might be in a panic after her disappearance.

“I think she did. I didn’t see Kalki when I went to feed the kwamis. Your friends panicked when they found out you were kidnapped. But they are fine now, mostly worried about you. Took care of some akumas and senti monsters by themselves. I think your fencer friend, Kagami, knows more about the League than she lets on.” Of course, she does. Her mother was a member of the Guild before being blinded due to a mission. Kagami and her actually first met during a reunion party of sorts.

“Thank you, Papa. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up and dialed the personal phone number her mother uses that only Marinette and her father knows about. She waited for the call to connect, trying to think of ways to stop her mother from storming into the League’s base of operation.

“Maman, it’s me. I know you want to attack the League right this minute. But I have a better plan. Can you get Tikki’s earrings from Alix? We can use them and the ring to destroy the Lazarus Pits. Make them really angry.” She peeked out of the niche she was hiding in. She had been there for a while and needed to move to gain some grounds.

“Where are you? And are you okay?” Panic and worry filled her usually composed mother’s voice.

“I am somewhere in Nanda Parbat and I am fine. I was nearly married off to Talia’s son but I am not now. I think.” Marinette replied. Better to rip that band-aid off before she showed up with her would-have-been-husband. She jumped out of the niche and looked

“Kalki, Full Gallop. Okay, we will talk about the ‘nearly married’ part later. What was this plan to destroy the Lazarus Pits?” Sabine thought she was already used to Marinette’s brand of craziness that was her normal but apparently, not.

“I am currently on my way there. Plagg said we need Tikki to get rid of them. Since the League pissed me off and by extension you and the rest of the Guild, I thought our first move against them is to destroy the Pits and a trail of bodies. By the way, can you get some cheese for Plagg?” Marinette ran through the halls, knocking out some poor sod with a whack on the head.

Silence. She thought Sabine had hung up when-

“Voyage. Alix, where are you? We need Tikki for one of Marinette’s insane plans. And Marinette, stay safe, sweety, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

“Bye, Maman. See you there.”

Marinette turned another corner, the last one before the path that leads to the entrance where the Lazarus Pits were. She only managed to find it with Plagg’s voice in her head, whispering directions and Tikki’s luck. Unfortunately, the luck ran out because the entrance had a lot of guards who had spotted her.

Crap.

She hoped her mother would get here soon. Thankfully, being transformed gave her a boost and would help her to hold her ground for a while.

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Damian and Red Hood followed the trail of unconscious bodies and sounds of fights, trying to find Lady. Damian was impressed at the level of her skills to defeat many of the League’s assassins although he could probably do better. They relied on his memory to find the Lazarus Pits which was their best bet to finding her as she claimed to be able to destroy them. If Lady possessed such powers, they must find out whether she is a threat to the world or not. And also break the infernal curse they have.

Red Hood was silent mostly. He made a few jabs about how kick ass his ‘bride’ was and how the current Robin should not let her get away. Damian tried really hard not to just maim his adopted brother and also ignore that little fluttering in his chest that happened every time they saw an unconscious assassin left behind by Lady. The sounds of fighting got louder as they got nearer to the entrance. They turned the final corner to see Lady fighting against the guards who outnumbered her. But she seemed to be doing fine against them. Mostly.

One had slipped through her defenses and nearly stabbed her in the back if it weren’t for Damian grabbing one of Red Hood’s guns and shooting a rubber bullet to the neck. He jumped into the fight, grabbing the fallen assassin’s sword and taking out the knife he got from his mother. Jason joined in too, not going to let the two teens have all the fun.

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“Thanks for the save, Al Ghul but I don’t know why you bothered when me being dead would solve your curse problem.” Lady said as the guards laid around them and they tried to catch their breath.

“It’s Wayne. I go by Wayne these days. Being an Al Ghul is not something I learned to be proud of. And as much as I don’t want this curse, your death is not worth that price.” he replied, “Although, I have to wonder why you would choose to die rather than live.”

She chuckled, “Okay, Wayne, to answer your question. Petty teenage drama makes death much more preferable. On top of that, I have responsibilities that I was practically forced into for doing one little act of kindness.” Her tone was joking but there was a touch of bitterness in it. It made Damian want to find out what caused it. Red Hood looked at her in concern. Lady went down the stairs, ignoring their reactions to her words. They followed her, not wanting to lose sight of her again.

The Lazarus Pits emitted a green glow that lit up the cave and cast strange shadows on the walls. At the edge of the glowing toxic green waters was a woman in dark blue clothing and strangely enough wearing sunglasses. Strapped to her sides were two Dao, ancient Chinese swords. She wore a vindictive expression on her face as she stood staring at the green lake, likely to kill anyone who gets in her way. Damian didn’t recognize the woman as part of the League but taking no chances, he got into a fighting stance and Hood did the same. Lady calmly approached the woman. He reached out to grab her to stop her suicidal nature when she shocked him by speaking to the blue-clad assassin in French,

“Hey, Maman, sorry I am late. I had a little trouble with the guards upstairs. You have Tikki?”

Lady’s mother rushed to hug her, “灵儿 (líng er), I am just glad you are alright. I knew you could handle yourself.”

How the hell did Lady’s mother get to the Lazarus Pits faster than them and snuck past several vigilant guards? Before Damian could question further, a red blur appeared and went to Lady’s face, hugging her cheek. It appeared to be the same size as Plagg but was red, looked like a bug and had a black dot on its forehead.

“Oh, Marinette, you are alright. I was so worried when your mother showed up, saying you were kidnapped and needed my earrings to escape.” Unlike Plagg’s nasally voice, her voice was sweet and shrill.

So, my bride’s name is Marinette. Such a unique name for an intriguing girl.

Wait what?

Wayne, stop thinking such ridiculous notions. That is probably the curse working. Resist against it. He will not be ensnared in the traps of such magic. He hoped that the curse will be reversed before he turns and act like those fools in Grayson’s idiotic shows or Todd’s ‘secret’ romance novels.

“I am fine now. See,” reassured Lady, “We actually need you and Plagg to reverse the Lazarus Pits to what it was before someone made the wish that resulted in them in the first place. Oh, I almost forgot. Plagg, claws in.”

Green light flashed, leaving Lady in her wedding robes (which actually flatter her body. Shit. Think of something else. Drake with a smug superior smile that needs to be wiped off his face. Grayson and his plans for ‘family bonding’) and Plagg to reappear.

“Cheese.” whined the cat-like kwami(?) to which the older woman held out a brown bag that smelled and made Plagg perk up in delight. He proceeded to open the bag, taking out a slice of stinky cheese, muttering about the greatness of camembert.

Todd cleared his throat and asked in English, “Umm...Pixie as much as your reunion is touching. Who’s the new lady?”

“Oh Right, sorry. Well, Red Hood, this is my mother, the Blue Reaper of the Guild of Night. Maman, this is Red Hood and the one next to him is my husband-to-be and Talia’s Spawn, Damian Wayne.”

Lady introduced them, also in English. Damian stilled in fear, recognizing the name. The Blue Reaper nearly became his mother-in-law. She was famous for her efficiency and ruthlessness. And gained her nickname from the blue clothing she often wore as she killed her targets. His eyes also widened at how his grandfather had gone a little too far now by kidnapping the Reaper’s daughter. There were other organizations that could possibly take down the League if it weren’t for the somewhat truce between Ra’s and the other leaders. The Guild was one of them and having the Lazarus Pits to revive their soldiers made the League a little more powerful. But if what the mother-daughter duo were planning succeeded, then the League was going to have one of its most deadly wars in its history and would probably never recover from.

“Tikki, Plagg, you guys ready?” asked Lady.

“Yes, Guardian.” They both replied and emitted a blinding red and green light which Damian shielded his eyes from. When it died down, the Lazarus Pits no longer glowed a toxic green and looked… like normal hot spring water.

“Oh. I wished I could see Ra’s face when he finds out.” Lady laughed. Plagg and Todd joined in.

“Pixie, I am beginning to like you.”

“Voyage. That being said, it’s time to go home, Marinette. Your father must be worried sick about us by now. I hope you boys can find your own way back.” A portal opened up, showing a cozy living room. Damian grabbed Lady’s wrist as she moved towards it.

“Wait, let us come with you. We need to contact someone to get rid of the curse on both of us. And we can also call our father to send us tickets for a ride home wherever you live.”

“Curse? Marinette, you never mentioned a curse in your call.” Blue Reaper said, raising her eyebrow.

“I will explain later. They can come with us and I am pretty sure Ra’s knows that we have escaped by now.” Lady grabbed the two brothers and dragged them through the portal.

She then threw herself onto the couch after releasing her hold on them and the two pocket gods went to comfort her after her ordeal. The Blue Reaper stood where the other portal was and fed a floating tiny gray horse, that must be the same species as Tikki or Plagg, some sugarcubes.

“You boys must be tired but the showers are upstairs and we might have some clothes your size. Dinner will be ready in an hour. You can stay the night if you want. Welcome to Paris.”

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Tag list: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0, @myazael, @tonicxworld, @thewitchwhowaited, @t1dwarrior-of-earth, @kissa-chan, @iwantasecretidentity, @theymakeupfairies, @user00000003, @woe-is-me0, @kashlyn, @mochegato,@moonlightstar64 , @greatcatblaze, @moongoddesskiana, @tazanna-blythe. @tonicxworld, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @frieddonutsweets, @local-witch-of-mn, @lady-bee-fechin, @iglowinggemma28, @indecisive-mess-named-me, @k-tea-and-coffee, @jayjayspixiepop, @all-mights-asscheeks, @idk-j-go-with-it , @loysydark, @thenillabean, @lolieg, @zalladane, @silvergold-swirl

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(Part 5)

#damian x marinette #mlb x dc #daminette #maribat #Betrothal AU: take 2 #A Failed Betrothal #assassin marinette #sort of #assassin sabine cheng #definitely #Jason is just here for a ride #marinette is a little petty

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resbangmod · 3 years

Text

Resbang 2021 Promo #11

Oh, Oldest Daughter

presented by author: @maddstermind with artist: @eggman-babey and artist: @baph

Pairings: Liz Thompson & Patty Thompson & Death the Kid Rating: Gen (PG-13) Warnings: Child Neglect, Crime, Trauma, Breakdown, Parental Death (Minor)

Summary: The Thompson Sisters were not always the feared twin pistols wielded by the Reaper's son. They were not always the Devils of Brooklyn, causing havoc on the streets. Once, they were just kids. Just girls. Just trying to live their lives.

Please enjoy the story preview below the cut!

"Do you want a brother or a sister, Lizzie?"

Elizabeth Thompson, three years old — almost four, as she'd tell you — was laying on her mother's stomach, currently large and round and stiff with the baby inside. She had her ear to the dome, listening for any kicks or heartbeats like her mother said she'd be able to hear if she listened close enough.

Liz wasn't listening for kicks, though. If there was a baby inside her mom, it must be talking, right? She'd seen babies, and they talked a lot. She wanted to talk to the new baby, but it wasn't saying anything. Just banging around a bit.

Her mother petted her hair and repeated the question. "Hm? A baby brother or a baby sister? You'll get to be a big sister either way."

She thought it over for a long moment, humming and hearing it echo in her head. "Both."

"Both?"

Liz lifted her head and nodded. "A brother and a sister."

"Why both, sweetheart?"

"'Cause then they gotta listen to me. Two can do more things for me than one."

Her mother laughed, and moved Liz's hair out of her face. "The baby isn't going to do things for you, honey. And I'm sorry to say, but there's only one."

"Do you want a boy?" Liz asked her mother. "You already have me."

She laughed again. "I don't mind either way. Two daughters, a daughter and a son. Either is fine. I'll love you either way."

Liz smiled and hugged her mom, her head against her stomach. She felt the baby kick again, and decided she couldn't wait to meet them.

~~~

The pair of sisters walked down the long hallways and out the front door. There was a limo waiting. Their father got in the front seat, and the girls climbed into the back. Once Liz shut the door, the car took off.

The car ride was silent. Even Patty didn't make a sound, though that wasn't to say she wasn't nervous. She had a vice-grip on Liz's hand, and she bit the fingers of her free hand. Liz decided to hold that hand too, so she wouldn't hurt herself.

When the car finally stopped, they stayed in the cab. Their father opened the door with more force than was necessary. "Get out."

They did as they were told. The limo had parked in an alley, in a place that Liz didn't recognize. The skies were cloudy, and it was hard to say what time of day it even was.

Their father slammed the limo door shut once they were both out. He stood in front of it, and finally, his face moved from that painful neutral into hideous anger.

"You two made a fool out of me," he said, voice trembling as he fought to keep it level. "A fool. On top of that, your very existence is a sin. You weapons are freaks of nature, and you are no daughters of mine."

Patty stood confused, tears in her eyes as she shrunk at her father's growing volume. Liz, however, realized what was going on and stepped forward. "You can't do this," she begged. "We didn't mean to do it! Please, Dad—"

She was silenced with a firm slap across the face. The same hand grabbed her hair and forced her to look up at him. His cold blue eyes were alight with fury. "You," he spat, "have never had the right to call me such a thing, and you certainly don't now. I should've left you with your whore mother."

He shoved her back, and Liz stumbled to the ground, landing in something wet. Patty squeaked and rushed to her side, tears streaming down her face. Liz wanted nothing more than to break then, to scream and cry out, and maybe bring their father back, but she found nothing. It was like his words had hollowed her out, just leaving her shell behind.

Mr. Thompson looked at the two for a moment longer, and then turned and got back into the limo, driving away, leaving them behind.

Patty noticed a moment too late and started to run after it. Liz jumped up after her and caught her before she could run into the street. The younger girl squirmed in her arms and cried out for her father. Liz just held her tighter.

Thunder cracked above them, and a light but constant rain came sprinkling down. The puffy skirt of Patty's birthday dress sunk with the weight of the water it collected.

#resbang #resbang 2021 #soul eater #oh oldest daughter

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remmammie · 2 years

Note

Hello, Rem! I'm the one who requested the headcanons with Chiaki-like reader. I will do another one.

Can I request Rindo, Fret, and Nagi headcanons with reader who acts like Maki from Danganronpa? (romantic)

I know I forgot to put either put platonic or romantic on the last request.

Try to remember Maki's personality.

I'm sorry this took so long! I actually had a real load of fun writing this because of how close Maki is to my heart as a character. She's so interesting and a real treasure... I hope you enjoy what I've written and thank you once again for requesting!

Rindou, Fret, and Nagi (seperate) x Maki-like!Reader HCs

Rindou

If you met during the Reapers’ Game then Rindou will be incredibly wary of you at first. Someone with violent tendencies and a mysterious attitude is dangerous to be fraternising with when everyone’s lives are on the line.

Still, you two keep running into each other and, oddly enough, you keep protecting Rindou and his team. Even you can’t explain the emotional connection you’ve developed for the blond nerd and his friends. So, you eventually gain Rindou’s trust.

Even after you two start dating, he’s still sometimes taken aback by the sudden cold comments you make towards some people. Rindou’s definitely the type of boyfriend that reigns you in when it’s necessary. He doesn’t want any blood on your hands even if your hands are itching for it.

Still, he admires the confidence you have to speak your mind: it’s something Rindou has never really been able to do well. In a lot of situations, you speak Rindou’s mind for him, telling annoying people to screw off and shutting down morons who try to manipulate him. This is one of the many things he admires you for.

Your determination is another one. He doesn’t know how you have such an integrity to exercise and practice with weaponry…it’s just above him.

If you let Rindou in on your practice sessions, he won’t quite know what to do besides sit there with your drink. He might read off a few motivational quotes he likes if he scrolls past them during one of your workouts.

Rindou likes to recommend you music too and I think it would be one of the main ways you two reveal your deeper feelings to each other. Heck, it was probably how Rindou confessed to you in the first place.

Rindou’s not great with expressing his emotions in a way other people can understand since he…doesn’t really understand them himself. But, through music, he finds a balance. Sometimes other people just have the words he wants to say but couldn’t think of.

So, you two might spend nights exploring different artists, their music, and their lyrics. Through this and the chats you two have late at night, swamped by emotions and the lethargy of insomnia, Rindou starts to understand that this hard-as-nails character he knows is a facade for the loneliness and fear that comes with being so defensive of oneself.

And Rindou respects that. He can’t ever know how that feels, but swears to help you express yourself more and accept yourself for who you are.

Fret

Now, gonna go out on a limb here and say that Fret would be absolutely terrified of you at first. Don’t get me wrong, Fret loves the confidence and the concept that you can handle yourself since he doesn’t consider himself a massively strong guy…

But the way you cut people down with your words and that intimidating stare of yours-! Fret can’t handle it sometimes!

Still, there’s something very admirable in the way you present yourself, especially if you bring that into the Reapers’ Game. Even if it takes you a good, long while to warm up to Fret’s clashing, eccentric, and loud personality, you eventually feel this confusing yet intense need to protect him from Noise and Reapers and so on.

And I guarantee that, while you’re out there using pins to kick Noise into the next plane of existence, Fret is watching you with dinner plate eyes and hearts swirling around his head. He’s obsessed, what more can I say?

If you give him the opportunity to watch you train your mind and body, Fret will definitely take the chance! He’s your biggest fan and he’s pretty vocal about that fact. When you ask if he’d like to join you for the first time, he’s ecstatic! It’s another way to spend time with you and that’s all he ever wants!..but Fret quickly finds out your training is far too strenuous for him and he sticks to running you cold water and food filled with protein whenever you need it instead.

He really enjoys finding the little things about him that make your cold, serious, and composed exterior crack. Fret often drags you shopping for clothes he thinks will look great on you and, if this gets you to fluster, he considers it a win.

Fret is pretty good at seeing past the cold comments you might spit as a defense to your real feelings. Honestly? He knows the feeling too well, hiding your true emotions behind some sort of facade. This means there are a couple of peaceful nights you and Fret spend together opening up. Whether you're speaking over dinner, chatting while watching a film, talking while you do some cardio, or cuddling together, there’s always a time in your life together that you can only speak the truth because Fret absolutely needs the outlet every now and then - and he knows you need it too.

If Fret wants to help you a little more subtly, he might end up using Remind on you. This is his last resort if you really aren’t feeling great, though… He just wants to remind you of how much he admires you as a person, as his partner. And Fret won’t rest until you feel comfortable with who you are.

Nagi

Nagi…is your biggest fan from the very beginning - that cold exterior which she knows is hiding a compassionate and protective heart inside; your undeniable strength in both mind and intelligence; your harsh words and unshakable attitude…she loves it all.

Any and all interest she had in Minamimoto (or rather his fictional counterpart) disappears when the two of you finally begin dating and she couldn’t be happier! Of course, she won’t give up Elestra, but she likes to indulge in an OC she’s made for you. If she knows any kind of modding techniques, she might add you into the game so she can date you virtually too!

I think Nagi would want you to sit beside her while she plays games. You always have these deadpan and serious reactions to them which she can’t help but find completely hilarious. If you get protective over her when she plays visual novels/dating sims, Nagi becomes so flustered and practically swoons.

Now, whenever you train, Nagi insists on being there by your side. Not participating, but having her own little workout of wiping your brow with a towel, using her phone to time your sprints, and counting your reps. She’s a little cheerleader when she’s not drooling over your attractive form and incredible determination.

Whenever the two of you go out together, there’s usually some sort of issue. If someone catcalls either you or Nagi, maybe at a convention, and you pull out some sort of weapon or harsh glare, Nagi practically melts. She adores your protective side and genuinely feels so safe by your side. Sometimes people try to pick on Nagi for all of the Elestra merch in her ita bag or just calling her out for her looks and it’s not something you take lightly. Nagi shows equally less mercy by simply cheering you on while you threaten the guilty souls.

She often gives you game recommendations, pointing out characters that are like you or her. She’s totally the type to point at the “Badass + Nerd” couple in a game or anime and text you saying “us.” It’s very cute. This might lead to you doing matching cosplay or getting matching merchandise…

Nagi would absolutely write fanfiction of the two of you in different game or anime universes. She’s never just a damsel, but you definitely always end up being her hero.

As for the loneliness and guilt hidden beneath all of the threats and sharp objects, Nagi likes to help you with calming techniques. You’ll sit down and simply feel the air around each other, just breathe, hold one another, maybe write down your feelings so you can better express them because Nagi is not too great with being sympathetic or empathetic.

#neo twewy #twewy #neo the world ends with you #twewy rindo #twewy nagi #twewy fret #nagi x reader #rindo x reader #fret x reader #twewy x reader #neo twewy x reader #twewy headcanons

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morvantmortuary · 3 years

Text

Maximilian “Maxi” Vincent Morvant

(The Reaper)

(Rarae Aves’s slasher/necromancer OC)

“I promise you’re in good hands with me; let’s get acquainted and figure out just what it is you’re thinkin’… in terms of your memorial, of course.”

[Previously, before Volume I…]

age: 39 (9/9/1982, virgo if he believed in astrology. he has bigger things to worry about.)

birthplace: greymoon, calcascieu parish, louisiana usa

height: 5’11’

current location: usually morvant mortuary of greymoon, louisiana, or the cemetery nearby. (but have you checked under your bed this evening?)

favorite book: other voices, other rooms - truman capote

(what he thinks his walk-on music would be: funeral march - 2WEI

what it actually would be: creature of the night - air traffic controller.

fc: daniel brühl in glasses and a suit. I know what I like.)

hobbies: while running the Mortuary and the House tend to keep him pretty busy not to mention procuring the flesh and blood necessary to keep the House tethered to They Who Provide, he does tend to enjoy a few different things in his spare time. Maxi’s a connoisseur of horror movies, good and bad, and will happily talk your ear off about the accuracy of the gore/wound sfx - though he’s also a sucker for romcoms when the mood strikes. He occasionally can be caught playing video games (especially if you challenge him to one), collects rare books, and has been known to play the piano semi-passably at two or three in the morning after a few drinks. He loves going to New Orleans for concerts, live theater, and museums, and stays the hell away from Baton Rouge on game weekends. He’s also a cheerful walking encyclopedia of death and funerary practices throughout history, including various plagues and epidemics that swept through Louisiana over the centuries. He loves animals (once having dreamed of being a vet before Death ruled his world so completely), especially his beloved reanimated cat Magnolia, and can often be seen leaving appropriate snacks out for the graveyard critters when he’s restoring older tombstones and mausoleums in the cemetery next door.

You, though, are what he adores above all.

occupation: funeral director/mortician at aforementioned mortuary (the latest in a long line of a family business of death care workers.) also a serial killer/necromancer, again the latest in the long line of a family tradition.

"What can I say? It grew on me, after a while.” He smiles, and it’s sweet, unassuming (but there’s still something too dark about those eyes of his - a brown so deep, it teeters nearly into burgundy). “It might not be... what I had in mind for myself, originally,” he says, and his eyes fall to his perfectly shined shoes. “But it’s fulfillin’, gettin’ to help take care of people on their worst days. Give them the rest the deserve. We don’t talk about that nearly enough in this country, honestly, and we can trace that back to when we started phasin’ out home funerals; funnily enough--” He pauses, and laughs - a particular half giggle, half snort. It’s a nice sound (though there’s something under it, something that feels like it could tip into a mad cackle under the right circumstances). “But look at me, goin’ on. I’m sorry, I tend to do that about my line of work.” His eyes flicker back to you behind his glasses (and the focus is a little too keen, too watchful to be only polite interest). “Tell me about what you’re lookin’ for.”

the present, in a way:

Maxi has made peace, more or less, with everything that’s gotten him to his point. After a stint of pursuing the title of his generation’s head necromancer for himself for a few years once he’d finally put his father down for good, he quickly found that power and control over the forces that had made him miserable his whole life didn’t take the fear away, or make him feel any further fulfilled. He’d quietly resigned himself to a life tending Greymoon’s dead as his family had done for generations, and trying to help their more wayward souls find a bit of respite as well as offering its nastier citizens a more fitting purpose as offerings for They Who Provide. He’d consoled himself with the notion of a life alone, contented with his purpose in his community even if they still avoided the strange boy who grew up Death’s willing pupil after all these years.

And then you showed up, and he fell hopelessly head over heels before he had any idea what was happening. It was the first time in his entire life he felt like

Now you’ve left a Mark on him so deep, it’s stained his very soul in the best way, and he’s left his on you in turn. He’s never been happier, but there are more than a few members of They Who Provide and They Who Decide who are less than thrilled of the heir apparent to the Morvant’s seat abdicating from his eligibility in the name of keeping you alive. So long as he has You, the beloved Final to his Reaper, he’s positive there’s no curse the two of you can’t face and come through together, vengeful crossroad demons be damned... again.

...Right?

favorite snippets outside the main arc:

Maxi dealing with his trans partner’s transphobic parents

Maxi and the hypothetical elementary school Mortuary field trip

Maxi going a bit over the top for a romantic Halloween

The Morvants and an S/O with depression

The Morvants and an S/O with anxiety

The Garter Post

Maxi sleeping hcs

Maxi secretly adores musicals

(Relevant playlists, other stories, and chapters in the overall continuity can be found on the main masterlist here.

all his usual tags are included in this post.)

#maximilian vincent morvant #maxi morvant #maxi morvant x you #maxi morvant x reader #final them #maxi and his reader #daniel brühl fc #slasher oc #slasher original character #necromancer oc #slasher oc x reader #slasher oc x you #maxi vibes #morvant mortuary #monsterkisser fics #(hector and rora aren’t far behind but I wanted to go ahead and get him out there)

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ripperdaddy · 4 years

Text

the viktor vector romance path + ending we deserve

Disclaimer: This is definitely something I came up with in my head. There will be a few instances that are solely made up so it can tie in with the “story.” This is purely fictional; something I wished happened if there was a possible Vik romance 🥰 This is based on my general knowledge of the game & Vik’s life. All gifs + images are from my own personal play through, but wouldn’t be possible without the help of the Appearance Menu Mod, found on Nexus Mods by the creators, MaximiliumM and CtrlAltDaz. And the shirtless Vik mod by the lovely samsnak ♡

It would start after completing the Paid In Full quest where you pay Vik back the eddies you owe him.

I feel like realistically, the general player would have to be at least halfway through the story to have collected enough eddies. I would say that a good point in the story where we can begin the romance is that you’ve already established a connection to Alt and have dealt with the VDB’s.

I think it would be a short side quest like River’s. Vik already plays a big part in the story overall on his own, so I don’t think it’s necessary to make his “side quest” too long. His romance would just be an addition to the ending.

And as much as I would love for him to be a bisexual option for both male/female V, if we’re sticking with the game’s standard with limiting partners to only one kind of partner, he would only be romance-able by a female V with a feminine voice.

V: Finally scrounged up enough eddies to pay you back in full.

Vik: Hold on to ‘em just in case - you need ‘em more than me.

V: I’m not taking them all the way to my grave, Vik. Here. And.. thanks again for doing so much work on me ‘thout ever seein’ an enny.

Vik: That’s what friends are for.

Then, there is an additional option for dialogue to trigger the romance path.

V: Friends? I think you’ve been in and out of my body more than anyone else I’ve hooked up with in Night City.

He laughs, with a coy smile. “Well, can’t argue with you there. Why don’t we take some of these eddies and grab a drink. You know, to celebrate. Catch up on old times. Haven’t seen you round here much lately, kid.”

You agree to meet at the El Coyote Cojo tomorrow evening.

You meet around 9 PM and you are welcomed by the sight of Pepe and Vik at the bar.

V: Nice choice of venue.

Vik: Thought you’d like it. Haven't been here since.. well, you know.

V: I miss him, Vik.

Vik: I know, V. Me too.

You immediately take a seat and tinker with a few dialogue options, where you can either have a sweet moment talking about Jackie or some surface questions to ask, like how he’s doing, what kind of drink he likes, etc. But it all winds down to Jackie anyway, where Vik confides in you about his past. Judging by how Vik was so affected by Jackie’s death, and V’s (if you chose the suicide ending), you can tell that he has lost a lot in his life, and keeps his circle very small.

You then achieve an even closer, more personal relationship with him. But, ultimately nothing happens other than the usual, wait 24 hours in game for a text/phone call from Vik to head into the next stage. At least now, you have established the foundation for a future romance.

Halfway through the 24 hour period, you get a text from Vik thanking you for the lovely evening. No reply needed, as he calls you once the 24 hour mark hits and invites you out for another date.

You meet at Tom’s Diner for coffee in the afternoon. It starts off with him apologizing for being emotional the previous night and asks if you’re open to hanging out again and going down to Pacifica to watch a fight with him.

Vik: Hey, V. I just wanted to apologize about last night. I didn’t mean to be such a downer.

V: It’s okay, Vik. We share the same grief.

Vik: I was going to head down to Pacifica and catch a real good match later on today. I was wondering if you’d like to come along, think it’d be great for the both of us, you know, as a distraction.

pssst even Johnny’s rooting for y’all ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Johnny: Hmm, interesting.

V: What?

Johnny: Never thought you'd be going out with this guy.

V: Vik's amazing. And I mean--we basically owe it to him since he practically saved our life.

Johnny: Don't tell me you're going out with him out of pity.

V: I'm not.

Johnny: I know, I can feel you get all mushy-gushy. It's almost repulsive. Just wanted to hear you admit it.

V: Eat a dick, Johnny.

You arrive before the GIM and blend into the crowd.

V: Nothin’ like watching guys beat the shit out of each other to get your blood pumpin’, huh?

Vik: This is a real good matchup, V. This kid’s fresh, young talent.

V: You miss it, don’t you?

Before the fight begins, Vik shares a story about his time in the ring and coming in second in the Watson Boxing Grand Prix.

There’s some extra fun options in the dialogue, you can bet some eddies on who’s gonna win, or side with him. The fight ends, and you two head outside.

Since you’re already out in Pacifica, you head over to the boardwalk (where you would ride the roller coaster with Johnny) and he starts telling you about the last days of his boxing career and how he transitioned from the sport to being a ripperdoc.

You both share a sweet moment with each other, reminiscing about old times and talking about V’s future with the relic. This is where I would see Vik confessing how he feels about you, mentioning how grateful he is for Jackie introducing you to him.

The evening ends and Vik asks you to give him some time to try and dig up some footage from his storage and have you come over to watch. You can kiss him then wait another 24 in game hours before the last quest. Halfway through, he texts you and asks you what you’d like for dinner. You can opt for pizza or chinese.

I haven’t seen or read anything about how or where Vik lives. If I overlooked something, please let me know! But for the sake of the story, let’s say he does actually have his own place that’s now introduced in the game. Personally, I think he has a typical bachelor pad, like a really nice apartment. Not too far from his clinic either. He looks like he would just walk to work. Vik definitely has a lot of money, but he’s so humble I doubt he would choose to live lavishly. As mentioned in the beginning, he typically just “sleeps nights” ever since he was over “being a legend” so I’m guessing his lifestyle is very routine. He goes to work, goes home, sleep. Seems unlikely he has a place like the Peralez’s. It would probably be just the same as V’s but decorated to his taste.

The evening comes and you are over at his place. He’s dressed in just a white undershirt, no exo-glove. You get to know more about his family, how he grew up — scanning things around his place. Then he plays some footage of one of his fights for you, while you two have a conversation and share a beer. As you two sit on the couch, you get close, then have an opportunity to kiss him.

then this is where da sex happen hihihi (ノ・ω・)ノ

The next morning you wake up and you two have a heartfelt conversation about where this is going. He already knows your situation, so I would assume he is very accepting and supportive. And with Vik, he seems like the kind of guy who would still want to be in your life and keep the friendship the same way despite no longer being together romantically. So it’s official. He’s your man 🥵 !!11!1!

Like how River gives you the “fuck the police” tank top after sleeping with him, I think Vik would give you his Night City Devils t-shirt that provides you with a significant amount of armor or some kind of cyberware upgrade that makes you invulnerable for a brief moment while using your hands to fight enemies.

Note: I was thinking of Vik giving V his boxing glove necklace, but because it's part of his character's appearance in the game, I don't think we would be able to essentially "take it" from him - unless he gives you a replica as a keepsake. Which I think would also work.

If you successfully romance, during the rooftop scene near the end of Nocturne OP55N1 (despite Vik’s disposition of him telling you to take matters in your own hands and being a little closed off), you still have an option to reach out to him when Johnny advises you to call a loved one.

V: Hey, Vik. I just wanted to say, thanks for hanging with me, until the end.

Vik: Quit talking like it is, V. Just do what you need to do.

V: I mean, think of it. It’s like I’m heading into the last round of this whole thing.

Vik: Well, in that case.. remember—keep your hands up, guarded at all times. It ain’t over just yet.

V: Heh.. I can feel it, just a few more punches.

Vik: Now look at you - the new welterweight champ of Night City.

V: Thanks, coach.

Vik: Last piece of advice from the coach's corner. Just.. be careful, kid. Remember, I’m with you.

Okayyyy, soooo I’m not the biggest fan of how CDPR gave us two of the same endings (Path of Glory). The only difference is that Rogue’s life is spared. I would have assumed that not only would we get to keep Rogue around, things should have played a bit more differently for V if we took the route of going solo against the corpos. So let’s tweak it.

This specific ending; it should be after getting through Don’t Fear The Reaper where you single-handedly manage to rip through Arasaka by yourself. Johnny goes back to Alt & Rogue is still alive. Yes nobody dies!!!

(honestly this ending can apply to any love interest you choose)

Vik and V are now living together in a lavish penthouse, entertaining an upcoming merc to do their work for them (which is now the current POV of the player.) You were recruited by Rogue at the Afterlife, who told you to visit this couple for a real, preem job.

They give you some vague details about the gig and go on for a brief moment about what you will be doing and what you should expect. Vik emphasizes to you that it’s important you get what they need because it’s for his wife, V, as her life depends on it.

As Never Gonna Fade Away is playing in the background, they tell you to break into Arasaka HQ.

Then the game officially ends.

#cyberpunk 2077 #viktor vector #v/vik #let us romance the ripperdoc you cowards

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marvelobsessedteenager · 3 years

Text

All The Hurt - Chapter 4

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!reader

Warnings: ANGST, Peter was an ass, reader is a hurt and petty bitch, fluff to make up for the angst, curse words, lots of “coincidences”, horrible description of death and feelings lmfao I’m sorry

Word count: 3.4k

A/n: sorry about the late update! it’s my 18th birthday and it’s 11 pm and i just got home HAHAHA.

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You were barreling towards death with your eyes closed as your body hit the elevator’s ground, deafening screams emitting from your mouth as you thought, this is it. This is where I die.

Multiple callings of your names sounded through the empty shaft, and you were sure Spider-Man was one of them.

The elevator was hit by a stray metal pole on the right side, but it wasn’t enough to stop it, only enough to cause a dent on the inside. It was like a rollercoaster - slow as it reached the top, but fast and gaining speed as it dropped.

Only, rollercoasters were fun and safe, and didn’t make you feel like The Grim Reaper was welcoming you with open arms like a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.

I’m sorry, you found yourself thinking, over and over again. You weren’t sure what you were apologizing for, or to whom, but your life flashed before your eyes like they do in the movies, and only then did you realize that you regretted most of it.

You regretted not begging your mom to stay.

You regretted not asking your dad to be home more often - for you to see him at least more than once a year.

You regretted not going after Peter, you regretted not telling him how you felt, you regretted bullying him. Two wrongs never made a right, and you should’ve known that sooner, but you let your anger blind you.

You weren’t a bully. That simply wasn’t you.

But that was how you were going to die.

You were going to die with everyone believing that you showed your true colors this year, and were proud of it.

I’m sorry.

But it all happened so quickly.

“Gotcha!” Someone said as a figure wrapped itself around your body - warm but stiff and solid. The floor beneath you was long gone, and you wondered if you died, still unwilling to open your eyes to check if you did.

It was proven that you didn’t need to, though.

You heard Peter. Peter and his reassurances: “You’re okay, you’re okay.” He was breathing hard against you, the fabric of his mask straining his voice, but it was still as clear as daylight. The loud crash of the elevator below you echoed through the emptiness, which caused your breath to hitch in fear.

"I got you, Y/n. I won’t let anything hurt you, I promise.” He whispered in between pants, hugging you close to his body while you clung to him for dear life, your legs automatically wrapping around his waist and arms around his neck, like they had just found their other half and didn’t want to let go.

You were sure you were squeezing the life out of him, but he didn’t complain. He never did.

You couldn’t tell if it was your heart that was beating like a thumping drum or if it was his.

And you lost it, right then and there.

You let harsh sobs wreck through you like a tidal wave. The kind where you felt like your world was falling apart, your fingers tingling and your shoulders feeling heavy, like boulders were trying to weigh you down as the air around you stilled.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” He repeated, tightening his arm around your body as salt water made its way down your cheeks and onto your tongue.

“I’m sorry,” you wept, voice thick with remorse and head heavy as you dug it into his neck, “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he shook his head, “don’t be, you’re okay. We’re okay.”

You knew that he was talking about being alive, but you couldn’t help but look for a double meaning - the other one where he was talking about the destroyed relationship between the two of you.

Still, you kept crying, releasing built-up sadness that you never allowed yourself to release. It felt liberating, to be frank, and if you hadn’t been right on the edge of death for the second time, you’d be embarrassed by the amount of tears you shed.

But you let yourself shed them anyway. Deep down, you knew Peter was the one that left you, but what you were doing, bullying him, wasn’t right, either. This time, you chose to be the bigger person.

Once you calmed down, save for your hiccups, Spider-Man spoke, “Hey,” he gently coaxed you out of your hazy mind, almost as if his words could break you. You knew from experience that they could.

You sheepishly lifted your head and bore your red eyes into his, aware of the fact that you looked like a train wreck. You were sure your head looked like a bird’s nest with your face as red as a tomato, and it mustn’t have been a pretty sight that Spider-Man was getting a close up of.

Your faces were merely inches apart, and it was too easy to imagine his uncovered face this close to you. You felt his thumb rubbing comforting circles on your waist where his arm remained.

“I’m gonna need you to trust me, all right?” He softly asked, “I’m gonna need to jump, but I promise I won’t let go. Okay?”

As soon as he said the word ‘jump’ your brain began spiraling again. You looked above you at the height that he would allegedly leap through, tracing the length of the web that he was holding onto, and then looked down to see how far down you’d fall if you had.

Your breath hitched in your throat, eyes widening and arms subconsciously tightening around him in fear of slipping down, down, down. It seemed to go on forever, like a bottomless pit, but you knew what awaited you at the end of it.

“Don’t look down, don’t look down.”

You glanced back up at him, petrified.

“Just keep your head on my shoulder and close your eyes.”

And eventually, you did, taking deep breathes and allowing yourself to reminisce a time where you’d do exactly what you were doing. You’d hang onto him like you were now, and he’d allow you to, knowing a hug was always what you needed to calm down.

He was your anchor, keeping your ship from sailing away into dark and stormy oceans.

A gush of wind later and your feet were safely planted on stable ground, and he was long gone before you had the chance to say anything.

No opportune time came. It never felt like the right moment, and you thought that it wouldn’t ever come.

Sally had asked that you stay after school to do your hefty science project, and you agreed since you had nothing better to do. And that’s when you saw him most of the time.

Two weeks after the Washington DC. save, you started paying even more attention to him. You noticed him participating in Spanish class more, you saw him stay after school for detention due to him skipping out on Decathlon, and you noticed he didn’t dash out of school when detention was over.

Sure, you felt like a creep just watching him from afar, but you knew something was up. He seemed less enthusiastic, and you were pretty sure it had to do with the fact that Spider-Man sightings dropped to zero, as New York questioned his whereabouts in newspapers you saw in bodegas.

Your guess was that after the ferry incident, Tony Stark took his suit away. Peter was a genius, through and through, but you knew he didn’t have the items necessary to build his suit, and so you guessed Tony made it for him, and had the ability to take it away whenever he pleased. You weren’t sure what the reason was, but you hoped it was a good one.

Even after seeing him multiple times throughout the day, you’d always rush to the bathroom to rehearse your speech in the mirror and hype yourself up, only to chicken out last minute. You wondered if you should text him or call him, asking to meet up, but you always shook your head and thought, “better not.”

Your brain was constantly seeking out chances and imagining different outcomes, and that resulted in your nerves skyrocketing and mind blanking at inappropriate times.

Like right now.

“Y/n!” Flash’s loud voice snapped you out of your thoughts, “Did you hear a word I just said?”

“Um,” You sheepishly rubbed your arm and bit your lip, avoiding Flash’s questioning eyes.

“Penis Parker is right there! Come on, this is a great opportunity.” He nodded towards Peter who was sitting at the waiting office, tediously toying with the strings of his hoodie. Flash believed you were still in shock, and his way of bringing you back to life was finding opportunities to bully Peter. You used to love it. But now, now you couldn’t bear to do it. Not that he knew that.

Before you could object, Flash strutted his way over to him and leaned on the doorframe, “Yo, Penis Parker.”

Peter closed his eyes and deeply sighed, looking up, “What do you want, Flash?”

“You know, Spider-Man never mentioned anything about knowing you,” He taunted, getting straight to the point, “I mean, he would’ve had he not stood you up at that party. Probably isn’t your first time getting stood up, though, huh?”

He chortled, “I’d bet my life that you probably don’t even have a date to Homecoming. I don’t know who to feel worse for. You, for 100% getting rejected or the girl being asked by you, right, Y/n?”

He twisted his head to see your blank face, your body stiffening as your vision moved to Peter, who was watching you with an almost pained expression, as it brought back memories of the weeks before. The weeks that felt like they happened years ago.

You knew Peter was waiting for another insult to hit him, but you found yourself unable to speak as your eyes were glued to his, feeling your stomach closing in on itself.

You couldn’t do it anymore. You knew it wasn’t right, and you knew that it was time to stop, especially after everything Peter had done for you. After all the times he saved you.

You cleared your throat and focused on anything but Peter, “That’s enough, Flash.”

Flash’s posture slacked and he furrowed his eyebrows, “What?”

“That’s enough.”

“But-“

“Eugene.” You cut him off, looking him dead in the eye and delivering a message that meant you were serious. You jutted your head in your direction and walked away, missing the way Flash and Peter stared at your retreating back incredulously.

With Homecoming approaching fast, you agreed to go with Zach, one of Flash’s friends and the boy who wouldn’t stop bugging you about going with him. You knew he just wanted to use you to tell others he ‘scored’ but you couldn’t care less. Truthfully, you were only going to confess to Peter that you knew his secret. Homecoming, you thought, would be a perfect time considering you planned to be each other’s dates to the event when you were younger.

Guess you didn’t know that time not only brings people together, but separates them, too.

You drove yourself to Homecoming and parked your car as close to the school as possible in case things went wrong and you needed the escape. You took a minute to touch up your hair and makeup, which really wasn’t much more than your normal everyday look, and inhaled deeply before getting out and walking into what you were sure was going to be a disaster, purse hanging by your side.

You met up with your group of friends, rolling your eyes as Zach hugged you (too tightly), that were drinking punch in their most stylish dresses and tuxes and dancing to upbeat music. Liz and her team definitely did a good job setting up the decorations and disco ball, successfully transforming the boring gym into a chic dance floor.

Flash had informed you beforehand that he’d be taking ’this chick’ to a lavish restaurant before coming to the dance and asked if you wanted to tag along, but you refused to be a third-wheel, telling him you’ll instead meet him at school instead.

Homecoming meant close to nothing to you if you weren’t with the person you’d been waiting for your whole life, which is why you spent the first fifteen minutes eyeing the crowd for a certain boy. The sooner you told him, the less you’d feel like you were going to throw up the contents of your stomach.

And finally, you saw him entering the building looking pale, like he’d seen a ghost. You worried, your gut telling you something was seriously wrong as you watched him walk to Liz, appearing to be distressed, and perhaps..guilty.

Everything only worsened when Liz’s face dropped and-

He was running. Running away from Liz. Which clearly didn’t make any sense, but goddamnit nothing is making sense these days!

You contemplated going after him, not understanding what the fuck was going on. Why was he running? Does this have something to do with Spider-Man? Should you run after him?

Something was pulling you towards the double doors he sprinted through, like it was calling your name and luring you in. You didn’t know if you should answer its callings or ignore them.

He could be in danger.

But he also could’ve just panicked.

It was obvious Liz was his date, and maybe he ran to the bathroom to freshen up and give himself a pep talk. Usually, you were the one to do that, but you lost your place as his personal hype girl long ago.

But then, why is Liz crying?

No, no, this isn’t something Homecoming related. This is Spider-Man related.

You excused yourself from your group and made it look like you were heading to the bathroom, but once everybody was out of sight, you threw your heels to the side of the hallway and raced around the halls, wondering where he would be.

You were short of breath as you took a minute to stop and place your hands on your knees. You ran through almost every hall you could, and you were running short on routes to take.

While stretching your neck, you saw something on the ground in your peripheral vision. A strewn tie.

You went over and picked it up, confirming that it was indeed the tie Peter was wearing. Up ahead were a whole bunch of stray items of clothing scattered around, and you followed those, picking them up along the way and tossing them in a big pile beside the lockers.

You hoped to God he wasn’t naked like you thought he was.

The clothes stopped when you reached the back of the school, where the buses were usually parked. You quietly opened the door and let your bare feet touch the cold asphalt below them. You heard talking, a man’s voice, and the same purring sound you heard when you found the glowy-machine thing, only louder.

You hastily followed the noises, hiding behind one of the large buses, placing a hand on your mouth to keep your gasp inside at the shock of the scene laid out in front of you. There Peter was, on the ground beside an upside down bus, attempting to escape from the man that was advancing towards him with another strange machine.

“Why did he send you here?” Peter grunted, using his elbows to crawl away. You panicked and looked around for something, anything, you could use to fucking stop the guy from killing Peter. Your eyes lit up when you recognized one of Peter’s web shooters thrown to the side, sauntering over to it and turning it in your hands, trying to get it to work.

“Come on, come on.” You muttered, hitting it multiple times while aiming at the guy to get it to shoot, but you didn’t know how it worked, and nothing that you were doing seemed to be doing anything.

“Guess you’ll never know.” Said the dude, pulling back and getting ready to shoot at Peter.

“No, no, no, come on! Shoot your gross webs!” You desperately mumbled under your breath, hitting it harder and faster. Your palm ended up smacking a button, making a large web come out and cling to the machine. You were frozen in spot as the guy’s eyes met yours, pure anger swirling in them.

“Yes!” Peter said before turning to look at you. His shoulders stiffened, but he shook his head and pulled on the web, taking both the bad guy and the web shooter down with him.

Now that both of the webshooters were in his hold, he used them to web up the villain to the bus.

You didn’t realize you were holding your breath until a voice came out from behind you, “Holy shit!”

You jumped in surprise, pivoting and raising your fist to punch the stranger behind you. Your jaw fell open the second your hand collided with Ned’s face, guilt rendering you motionless.

“Oh my God! Oh my God, Ned!” You gasped, hesitantly putting a hand on his back, feeling absolutely horrible as he held his eye, moaning in pain, “I’m so sorry! I-I thought you were one of them so I just- are you okay? Holy fuck, I’m so, so sorry!”

“Damn, Y/n.” He weakly laughed, “Who knew you could punch that hard?”

You bit your lip in worry, “I’m so sorry, Ned. I didn’t mean it, I swear.” You said, trying to get a look at how bad it was.

“It’s good, I’m fine. Well, maybe I’m gonna need some ice but I’m cool, it’s all good.” He gave you a thumbs up before hissing and opening his eye.

It looked swollen and was starting to turn into a nasty shade of blue, but he kept reassuring you it was okay, which didn’t make you feel any better.

“I’ll get you ice, I promise.” You said, rubbing his back gently with a pained expression.

The clearing of a throat behind you called to you and Ned’s attention, an awkward silence setting between the three of you until Ned's eyes widened as much as they could.

“Oh! I-it’s Spider-Man!” Ned said, unconvincingly trying to sound surprised, “W-what a coincidence that you’re here, Spidey! I-I’m such a huge fan! And I’m sure Y/n is, too.”

You closed your eyes and pinched the bridge of your nose, letting out a deep breath, “Why do you do this to me?” You mumbled into the sky.

“What are you doing?” You asked Ned.

“What do you mean? It’s Spider-Man. Isn’t it shocking that he’s here?”

You heard a long, disappointed sigh coming from Peter, who stood far away from both you and Ned. Too far, in your opinion.

“Ned, I know who he is.” You admitted, somehow hearing Peter’s breath getting caught in his throat.

“I..I don’t know what you’re talking about-“

“Dude! I know it’s Peter, cut the bullshit. You’re horrible at lying.” You turned to look at Peter, giving him a sad smile, “And you’re still not good at hiding things from me.”

Peter’s shoulders visibly sagged, his hand coming up to rub the back of his head, something he did when he was uncomfortable. He must’ve seen you dissect his action because he immediately put his arm down.

“Okay,” Ned sighed, “well, what now?”

“Look, I don’t wanna cause any trouble.” You cautiously said, “I’m just..I can help if you want me to. With that.” You pointed towards the webbed dude, offering your services to Peter. You swallowed down the feeling of you doing this to make yourself feel better about the way you treated him. Almost like you were trying to reverse what you’ve done.

Regardless, Peter stared at the villain for a long time, and then abruptly spoke.

“All right, here’s what I want you both to do.” He finally said, hastily moving closer, “The guy with the wings is Liz’s dad-“ Ned gasped, “-I know! I gotta tell Mr. Stark. Ned, I need you to call Happy Hogan, he’s Mr. Stark’s head of security. Y/n, I need you to track my phone for me, okay?”

You nodded, and even though you were confused as shit, you were happy to help in any way possible.

Ned quickly took off, holding his white hat to his head as he ran back into school with an obvious pep in his step. Peter was getting ready to swing away, but you weren’t going to let your chance leave with him. You readied yourself, the speech in your head tumbling around in your mind, ready to exit your mouth.

Ready to get some closure, and to finally be the bigger person.

“Peter?” You said, your voice coming out as a whisper, but the wind seemed to have carried it over to him because he stopped and hesitantly turned around.

You had to remind yourself how to breathe as you looked at him. He was so close, yet so far away, and just like that, your mind went blank, the words erasing themselves and leaving you with a tight throat. You gulped, your legs carrying you over to him before you chickened out even further.

You tentatively wrapped your arms around his rigid body, feeling the tears starting to cascade their way down your cheeks.

What for? You didn’t know, but you just let them fall anyway.

“Thank you.” You wobbly said, slightly afraid that he was going to push you away when he just stood there. It took a moment for him to give in and return the hug, pulling you closer. He nodded into your shoulder, and you knew he understood what you were thanking him for without having to say it.

You both worked like that.

You couldn’t comprehend how much lighter you felt after saying those words, how much had been lifted off your shoulders that you finally, finally did the right thing.

Finally, you did something you wouldn’t ever regret.

You gave him one last squeeze and pushed him back, keeping him at arm's length, fighting the urge of staying in his arms forever, "Be safe.” You sniffed, stepping back to give him space.

“I will.”

And with that, he swung away, leaving a promise behind that he’d be safe, and that he’d make it out okay.

You breathed out and straightened your posture, wiping the tears away with your hand and running into school to pay the nurse’s office a visit.

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Tags: @peachescream06

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker fluff #peter parker angst #peter parker x y/n #y/n #marvel #spiderman #spiderman x reader #tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fanfic #tom holland x reader #tom holland angst

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chibimyumi · 4 years

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Kuromyu 2021 - First Review

So, yesterday 05-03-2021 was the First Day Performance of Kuromyu 2021, “The Secret of the Boarding School”. It is no secret that I am no fan of the Boarding School Arc, but even so I was very, very curious to see this arc being translated to a stage media.

This review shall not be without spoilers. Not just the story itself, because I think by now most people know how the story unfolds. I mean the execution of the stage play itself.

I shall not lie and admit that my review WILL contain my opinions, meaning it is by no means objective and might influence your opinions. For people who wish to experience the production entirely objectively for themselves, I recommend NOT clicking “keep reading” to reveal the spoiler section.

For now, I shall give my spoiler-free rating per category.

Faithful to canon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Script: ⭐⭐ ★★★

Acting: ⭐ ★★★★

Singing: ⭐ ⭐★★★

Music: ⭐⭐⭐★★

Dancing: ⭐⭐ ★★★

Stage & Costume: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hereunder I shall give the spoiler-section first preceded by “First Impression”, and then followed by the categories listed here above.

First Impression

The stream started, and seeing the Kuromyu logo in present day again after three years really was very exciting. Since 2010 on as always, Kuromyu opened with the contract scene, and I was positively surprised to see the stage set being quite elaborate! This set was the largest and most elaborate one so far without TOHO’s help.

After the contract scene the prologue gave a very quick recap of the Jack the Ripper, Circus, and the Campania Arc. I am not sure whether it was necessary to show the Jack the Ripper and Circus Arc as they provide no information needed to understand Weston Arc. But I think it was mainly inserted to speak to the nostalgia in Kuromyu fans, and as a Kuromyu fan myself, I have to say it did work. It did not take much time, I think maybe 1 minute per arc, so it was fine.

The recap of the Campania Arc was important as it served to equip the audience with the information that there’s a reaper who creates zombies. Undertaker was shown as the main antagonist of the Campania Arc and responsible for the bizarre dolls.

There was a short brawl between Undertaker and Sebastian, which is in fact a very good choice in my opinion to showcase the dynamic between these two supernatural powers...............except that only 10 minutes in, and the musical already MASSIVELY screwed up by portraying the fight as though Sebastian beat Undertaker. The ONLY reason Sebas is still alive is because Undertaker decided so. Normally I wouldn’t care that much about errors in a recap, but this time it serves as the exposition of Undertaker and Sebastian’s dynamic: It should have shown that Undertaker is an incredibly dangerous foe and that Sebas is scared shitless because of that. Especially because this ties in with how this arc was concluded.

“But okay, fine. Maybe the script has other plans, so I shall let it be,” I thought. Moving on. But it did “plant a seed” in me that this musical is either going to contradict itself, or that it is going to defy canon. That was the first impression.

The prologue transitions into the setup of the case quite smoothly, and I have to say it was skillful. You very quickly see Ciel change into the Weston uniform and the admission ceremony was swiftly started. Immediately you get introduced to Agares, the prefects and their fags, and the musical does a good job defining the atmosphere as: “something is off here”.

Faithful to canon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★

The overall musical was really quite faithful to canon. Most plot points were as they were in the manga, and enough so that I would recommend anybody who doesn’t understand Japanese to first re-read the arc as homework. If you have the arc fresh in your memory, it is very easy to trace every action back to the canon.

There are some details that were omitted or changed, probably done so in consideration for the stage medium or run-time, and done reasonably so. Unlike the previous Kuromyus, 2021 adds very little new elements that were not there in the manga. No added extra depth, but also no unnecessary additions.

There were a few things that were very off-canon, namely the characters. But I think that falls under the “acting” header, rather than this header.

Script: ⭐⭐ ★ ★ ★

The script was a real disappointment. You might wonder how faithfulness to canon can be 4/5, and yet the script only a 2/5 in my opinion. WELL, most dialogue was based on the text in the manga, but told as dry as possible. It was also as though the script writers didn’t trust its audience intelligent enough to understand things on their own, or even remember something that was said literally 5 minutes ago.

Exposition Ad Nauseam

There was a tremendous amount of exposition, exposition, exposition, ad nauseam. There was exposition about who Ciel is and what the Queen’s Watchdog is and what his job entails, and that is entirely fine. That’s necessary background information for spectators unfamiliar with Black Butler. However, there was also a lot of exposition that could easily have been left out, or concluded through context. For example, there were quite many expositions about the history and status of the Weston College. In my opinion, a competent script writer could have let the audience known that the Weston College is really important just by giving the information that the blood relative of the QUEEN attends the school, and by showing the Red House, since their entrance is based on social status.

In this post I wrote about my following concern:

Unlike tennis, cricket is a very foreign sport to most people. Cricket cannot be shown without explaining the rules. So if Kuromyu were to happen, these expositions that were dry in the manga to begin with, are going to be even dryer on stage. Does an actor narrate the rules? Do we want Sebastian to sing us the rules??? Or do we want the kids to sing us the rules themselves while they are batting the balls?

And alas, true to my fear, Sebas indeed narrates the rules to us... But even worse, he also explains cricket by using baseball analogy... This is an incredibly ineffective and time-wasting method, because:

it takes the audience out of the moment,

it assumes the audience knows enough about baseball to let it help understand cricket,

and it assumes the audience actually cares about the name of every single strike....

Repetition Ad Nauseam

Then there is the problem where many info-dumps sounded like: “LIKE I JUST SAIDDDDD, DON’T FORGET!!!”. The script for Sebas is the biggest offender. There were many moments Sebas was just saying the same thing twice. At times he repeated the same information, and there were some moments where he regurgitated already given information. (Sorry I’m just being nasty here, but that’s what it felt like (;;≽▽≼;;) )

Sebastian has this obsession with constantly proclaiming himself an omnipotent, one hell of a butler, which makes him capable of doing anything... and after a while it just gets a bit tedious. I have the feeling the scriptwriter really has the hots for him, and therefore can’t shut up about how powerful he is.

While Sebas is the biggest offender, he is by far not the only one. This musical is guilty of doing a lot of very unnatural lines that no person would ever say. Soma for example, seems incapable of saying anything without shouting that he is the Prince of India and Ciel’s BFF. First time, FINE. But the entire time? My god....

Characterisation

Then there is the characterisation of characters in the script. Of course in great part the characterisation is dependent on the actors too, but no matter how amazing an actor is, you do as the script demands.

As discussed above, Sebas is done dirtiest by the script. This script also makes him incredibly arrogant and a bit too happy to be in his master’s service. Similarly, Ciel is also written entirely dependent on Sebastian, and equally happy that Sebas is happy to serve. In the first song between Ciel and Sebastian, without any prompt Sebastian asks his master for his orders, as though that’s what Sebas is looking forward to all day. And the first thing Ciel says in response is: “can you take on this reaper [Undertaker] and the large number of moving corpses?” to which Sebas responds: “Leave everything to me, because I am the Phantomhive butler.” ........and then he proceeds to defeat Undertaker effortlessly.........!?!?!?!?!?! When fighting Undertaker, Sebas also says: “what a bother” as though it’s just a bit of an unpleasant chore rather than a life-threatening fight. And just before Undertaker disappeared all the way at the finale of the arc, Sebas seriously says: “I really don’t get along with you”. SERIOUSLY, WHO WROTE THIS?!

Myu!Ciel is CLEARLY the master of this Sebastian as he seems to be on a permanent power trip. He “it’s an order”s Sebastian for the most trivial of things. At the beginning when Sebas was fighting intruders already, Ciel “it’s an order”s Sebas to take down the intruders.... HE’S ALREADY AT IT!!!

In chapter 70 where Sebas and Ciel simultaneously think of Soma, Ciel doesn’t give Sebas an official order. This shows the audience that there is a certain level of trust between master and servant that they’re on the same page AND that Sebas has come to a stage where he will actually do what’s necessary.

In the musical however, Ciel gives a full “Sebastian, it’s an order, get the procedures done to get him here, to the Weston College.”

This is also an example of how unnatural and repetitive the script is. Who would EVER say “get the procedures done to get him here, to the Weston College”???? Of course procedures need to happen first! And “here” alone would have sufficed, scriptwriters. We KNOW where “here” is! We didn’t forget since 5 seconds ago!

Lyrics

The lyrics are technically not the script, but they are ridden with the same problem as the script itself, so I shall take the liberty of discussing these under the same paragraph.

There is a LOT of repetition in the lyrics as well. The P4 especially sing “Weston” and “tradition” like the ENTIRE time. One song literally goes: “this is Weston, Weston, Weston, Weston, at Weston we uphold our traditions, traditions, traditions, traditions.” The other song is: “It’s cricket, it’s cricket, it’s cricket,” and another “I am Ciel’s BFF, BFF, BFF, Ciel, lord Ciel, lord Ciel, lord Ciel’s BFF.”...... *shudders* ((ﾟﾟ((Д))ﾟﾟ)) AAAAHHHH!!!!

Acting: ⭐ ★ ★ ★ ★

The acting was by far the most abominable in the musical safe for two gems: Chesslock and Derek. There are too many characters to discuss, so I shall keep it to the main/noteworthy ones.

The gems

Chesslock has this tremendous energy and something very wild about him, and his jumps are so incredibly precise it’s amazing! Derek has but a very small role, but the moment he showed up as the zombie you already immediately saw there was something “off” about him. It was very subtle, but still clearly unhinged. When he was acting living-Derek, you also clearly saw what type of prick he was. Amazing! These two were the brightest stars of the show.

The....... not gems

The most unwatchable ones were Soma and Harcourt. Soma doesn’t have a big role, but he bothered me so much he is ironically the most memorable one. It’s like Okada saw “loud and obnoxious (in a good way)” in the manga, turned it up to 12, and gave the worst portrayal possible. As said above, the script making him repeat “Indian prince” and “BFF” the entire time doesn’t help, but blaming just the script would be letting Okada off too easily.

Harcourt...... gave me so much secondhand embarrassment I literally got a cramp looking at him. When the diarrhea happened he was screaming like a pig about to be raped and slaughtered... and I am NOT making a rape-joke here. I would never. He really did sound like he was unwillingly aroused and terrified at the same time.

Sebastian

Let’s start with the good things: Tateishi’s Sebas did have his presence and his movements were fairly neat. He was never just standing there. He is quite elegant, and not swaggering or pulling spasms on stage unlike a CERTAIN someoneeeeee. He could work a BIT on the coordination of his extremities, but that’s only when I’m nitpicking.

But otherwise.... he was a bit underwhelming to be honest. The main problem is not necessarily Tateishi’s acting-skill maybe, but his interpretation I think... but I can’t say his acting was amazing even at knife-point. The way he acts Sebas makes him look like a complete fanboy of Ciel... which is just not Sebas. He is incredibly eager and at times I could almost see a puppy tail wagging. Whenever he is getting an order from his master he is just beaming. And with Undertaker there was not a single hint that Sebas is scared of the only foe who managed to mortally wound him.

His interaction with Ciel was also very SebaCiel heavy. In the manga where Ciel challenges Sebas why he didn’t go after Undertaker, Sebas is clearly emphasising the importance of the contract, and half-threatening his master not to dare “it’s an order” him to go after Undertaker.

In the musical however, Sebas is all UWU, as though saying: “I couldn’t let the big baddy hurt you... uwu”. Without exaggerating, Sebas caresses Ciel’s face THREE times and then embraces him.

Ciel

Ciel was very unbearable to watch in my opinion. Not as bad as Soma and Harcourt, but otherwise an “honourable” third place after them. In the manga it was a bit cringey to begin with because he is supposed to fake being (*ÓωÒ*), but seeing a 20 year old man do that... and play it up to 11 was just jarring. Ciel is like “tehe” very often, but never actively skipping like a forest fairy.

This Ciel also has tremendous mood-swings! He is either UWU or actively a ice-cold diva... and at times he is also being UWU when he’s not around others???? There was also not a single moment where I could see him cooking up a plan. No hint of intelligence or cunningness to be found.

Unlike with Tateishi I can’t really come up with anything good to say about him.

Undertaker

Undertaker was the best among the main three (not that the bar is very high). He is making efforts to tease-threaten Sebas, which I think is a very nice added detail (it’s just that Sebas reacts to none of them... sad.) and even though his role is pathetically small (he doesn’t show up as the principal), he still managed to present himself in the spotlights.

Greenhill had his energy, he was funny, and something really funnily militaristic about him. Though, I was missing nuance in his acting because at not a single point could you see Greenhill might have a trauma for killing people.

Redmond was Viscount of Druitt light and he had a very strong emphasis on the BL aspect with Maurice......which was just personally not my cup of tea. But I have to admit that aspect was played up too in the manga. So I guess he was faithful to canon.

Violet was quite charming and eccentric. He did play up the gothicness of the Violet house, which was actually kinda nice! He also had a deep friendship with Chesslock, which I really liked. When Violet didn’t do shit during the tournament Chesslock was really miffed about that, and challenged him. And then Violet showed Chesslock a portrait he drew of him, saying: “you just looked so cool I had to capture that.” That was amazing! He is a bit bitchier and sassier than in the manga, but I really don’t mind.

Bluer.... William light. He was the least memorable of all of them.

Singing: ⭐ ⭐ ★ ★ ★

Nobody really hurt my ears, but also nobody quite hit the notes... and the notes weren’t that hard.

Music: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★

Eehhhhhhhhhhhh I’d say the songwriter played most songs a BIT too much on the safe side. Not a single song was memorable, but they didn’t offend me either. The main theme was fairly nice actually, but only when just the instrumentals played. I think it might have been the singing just being too chaotic for me to actually hear the music.

Dancing: ⭐⭐ ★ ★ ★

Chesslock is an tremendously good dancer, his movements were precise and energetic. But otherwise.... nobody really popped out, but there was nobody who looked like a noodle on stage either.

The main problem is choreography; with some exceptions they were very underwhelming and messy. There were a lot of group dances, but often enough people were just a bit out of sync and messy.

Stage & Costume: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stage Set

The stage set was VERY good. It was well made and mobile; they could be moved around and functioned as different props. Examples include the cellar in which Derek and his gang were committing crimes, and the boat of the parade even. The set also had this really magical aesthetic about it which communicated the glamour of the Weston College well.

Costumes

The costumes were well made. The logo on the uniforms for example were actually embroidered rather than those iron-on plastic things. The wigs were .... very messy after jumping around a bit and they looked very greasy. But that’s fine. They did their job and I realise I’m just spoiled. TOHO makes their wigs using real human hair, and that’d be an astronomical sum for any normal 2.5D company.

My ONLY problem is Ciel’s “lord costume”. This photoshoot photo underneath is doable, but trust me, on stage it is a nightmare. There are no clear photos of this costume on stage, and I think I understand why.

It was glittery velvet which just SCREAMS cheap Halloween costume, it was ill-fitted, almost like it was 2 sizes too large. The costume makers didn’t take stage-lighting into account, so the fabric and details glistened all over the place. Under the limelight the “golden” aiguillettes were PISS yellow. And the suddenly black sock suspenders protruding from his white boots were just...... distracting.

BUT, this was just one costume and he only wears it in the prologue and the finale of the show. Even though it’s God-awful, the rest were well made enough to compensate for this abomination.

Conclusion

So now finally the conclusion! The musical was..... fairly faithful to canon, but the execution leaves quite a lot to be desired. The interpretation/acting of the characters were the most disappointing one, while the stage/costumes were the most charming.

Do I recommend buying the stream/DVD/BD?

Stream: Yes.

I personally do recommend buying the stream as it’s only 3800 yen, especially if you like the Weston Arc itself, and/or are curious to see how they did it. Even though I myself really hate the Weston Arc in and of itself, I was very curious to see how it’d be translated to a stage medium. Despite my mostly negative opinion of the musical, I don’t regret buying the stream at all!

The best reason in my opinion to buy the stream though; it’s a very good and legal way to get a “preview” to see if you want to spend approximately 10000 yen on the proshot.

DVD/BD: Depends on you.

I myself have decided not to buy the DVD because I don’t think I’ll be rewatching it after the stream-archive period is over. The DVD/BD are the most expensive so far, and to me the final product is just not worth that amount of money.

But if you like the Weston Arc, or the performers, or you think you will be rewatching it and you are a collector, I think it is a very nice addition to your shelve.

#Kuromyu 2021 #Kuromyu #Secret of the Boarding School #Review #Weston Arc #Musical

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anthony-sharma · 4 years

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Fic Rec List - One-shots

For some one-shot recommendations, please find below my personal favorites so far!

Headcanons and blurbs

Two-part stories and multi-chapter stories

One-shot (short stories)

Criminal Minds

One-shots

@spacedikut

lockdown lovers

starstruck

words that wound

everything happens for a reason

dating, but not dating

fun fun arcade

exchanging gifts

the blessing of a blizzard

how to ask a girl out

my all

caught on tape

@idmakeitbehave

Revelations in Reverse

The Constant

Without Words

Just a Feeling

Softer Now

What You’re Worth

I Think You Know

Cracked Perfection

Almost (And Then)

You’ve Got Mail

Expectations vs. Reality

False Claims & Nicknames

A Little Necessary Meddling

Must Love Books

@poguesofthebau

private display of affection

ssa silent treatment

@reidamancy

eros & thanatos

@hercleverboy

dinner dates and twilight books

@literaila

hand me the heartbreak

the art of knowing

@reidswritings

lay me gently

even after all these years

@reidscanehand

An Adverb Meaning Forever

It Would Take a Lifetime

The Genuine Article

Profile Me

Ungentlemanly

The Very Essence of Love

Yours, Mine & Ours

The Boss Man

She’s Gonna Save Me

Be Still My Foolish Heart

A Secret’s Worth

Dearest Reader

Politics of Lonely

Quite the False Pretense

@imagining-in-the-margins

Fever Dream

@erin-bo-berin

Baby Shoes

Cupid

@halloweenhoneylover

the struggle bus

serendipity

the window

@homoose

Atlas

Weird is Good

Happy Birthday, Genius

Through the Smoke

@ssajj

Experience

@criminalmindzjunkie

Unlucky in Love

Love Sick

@reid-fiction

A Progression of Touch

@mxchellesworld

Dreams and Chess Pieces

@brywrites

Gifted

@benedictscanvas

found

@mercy-burning

Payback

Hangover Duty

I’ve Got You

Love Birds

@there-must-be-a-lock

Rain Check

@reidingmelodies

Finders Keepers

Homemade

@wheelsup

all signs point to yes

no plans

kissing lessons

@15-dogs

hey lover

@andromedasstarship

are you free tomorrow?

@cacoetheswriting

a saturday ritual

@ssa-m-187

Til the Very End

@winterscaptain

still a chance

@behindyourbarrette

night shift

@honeydjarin

what it means to grow

@honeypiehotchner

hard-headed

@ssahotchswife

Wish You Were Here

Life With You

Scoring Your Heart

@h0tch-r0cket

Lovebug

@reidslibrarybook

Give Up

@scuttling

Paper Rings

Lean On Me

@writer-in-theory

a fairytale in vegas

@unmitigatedsuperiority

The Contagious Optimism of Midnight on New Year’s

@boldlyvoid

Better Man

@radiant-reid

Baby Reid

@svu-ncis-criminalminds

5 times it wasn’t a date and 1 time it was

@ptersparkers

good for him

reckless

Marvel Universe

@highdramas

The World’s a Little Blurry

@softlyspector

The Painter

Lettered

Teddy Bear

valentine

One in a trillion

@kashimos-hajime

foxglove

@wkemeup

Little Lion Man

The Only Kindness

Purgatory

In Every Lifetime

@divine-mistake

you fracture light again

@gogolucky13

Don’t Fear the Reaper

@allyouneedisbuck

the warmth of your love

be still my foolish heart (don’t ruin this on me)

@nightowlwriting

Tell Me Which One is Worse (Living or Dying First)

@loving-bucky-is-easier

black coffee

in the right hands

@phantomspiderr

Just Like His Dad

@pellucid-constellations

Five Moments In Time

counting

@revengingbarnes

Wolf, Partner, Gloves...

Dog Tags

Flower Theft

@majestyeverlasting

What Happens in the Dark

Right Where You Are

@avecra

Christmas Blues

@angrythingstarlight

Don’t Give Up on Me

@lilacletter

listen to me, not just my words

@aries-writingblog

Protect the Pack

@bucksangel

the spark

@delaber

The Key Jangle

@buckets-and-trees

Into Cursed Pixie Dust

@rosepetalsinwinter

Look At Me

@intrepidacious

almost believing

#fic rec list #criminal minds #marvel universe

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fresh-prince-of-denmark · 4 years

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Literary References in The Sun: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (Pt 3)

CYBERPUNK ENDING SPOILERS AHEAD

If you haven’t read my other two literary analysis pieces please read the analysis of V’s Mikoshi poem here and Johnny’s Mikoshi poem here! This one is a real doosey though. In fact, I think it might even allude to either future DLC or imply the reason V decides to got to the Crystal Palace in the end.

As I play through all the endings, I’ve been on the lookout for all pieces of literature scattered around the world. I found this one downstairs in V’s apartment after (Don’t Fear) the Reaper (hardest level in a video game in my humble opinion, yikes), but I assume it’s the same in any iteration of The Sun’s ending. It comes from the first chapter in The Marriage Between Heaven and Hell called The Argument. If you’ve read my thoughts on V’s poem, this should set off some alarm bells (remember the line “like a tedious argument?).

A bit of a background on out author, William Blake, should also set off some alarm bells. TRUST ME, this is important! I straight up lost my mind when I saw this. William Blake was, as Johnny would say, a true rebel. He challenged a lot of the ideas of organized religion through his art and poetry, such as the simple idea that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Who’s ideas was he responding to exactly? Swedenborg’s. Emmanuel Swedenborg. AKA our mysterious crank philosopher in the side quest Happy Trails, who Johnny complains and disagrees with throughout the entire quest. Blake disagreed that the line between good and evil is clear, and that as humans we can be both good and evil. This really strikes me as such a Johnny poem to pick. After all, Johnny’s an asshole. But his reasoning for his art, his belief system, was noble. Even if he is a dick. Let’s move on to the poem:

Rintrah roars and shakes his fires in the burdened air;

Hungry clouds swag on the deep.

Once meek, and in a perilous path,

The just man kept his course along

The vale of death.

Roses are planted where thorns grow,

And on the barren heath

Sing the honey bees.

Then the perilous path was planted:

And a river and a spring

On every cliff and tomb;

And on the bleached bones

Red clay brought forth.

Till the villain left the paths of ease,

To walk in perilous paths, and drive

The just man into barren climes.

Now the sneaking serpent walks

In mild humility,

And the just man rages in the wilds

Where lions roam.

Rintrah roars and shakes his fires in the burdened air;

Hungry clouds swag on the deep.

So what’s this all about? Rintrah is our main character, meant to personify the righteous anger of a true prophet, walking toward “the vale of death,” a seemingly more painful yet beautiful path to walk. Opposed to him is the “villain”, someone who leaves “the path of ease,” to walk a more difficult path to join our protagonist to “rage in the wilds.” This poem colludes with the passage:

“Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence.

From these contraries spring what the religious call Good and Evil. Good is the passive that obeys reason; Evil is the active springing from Energy. Good is heaven. Evil is hell.”

What is this saying? We all have both good and evil within us, and that’s actually a positive thing. One cannot progress without these contradictions. Being good means to passively obey, while being evil means being active with energy.

Without going too far into the book (we’d be here all day, it’s so long and hard to read. Blake is super interesting but such a blowhard), there’s some other ideas that are interesting in contrast with the story of Cyberpunk. Blake asserts several new ideas in his next chapter, The Voice of the Devil. In this section, the speaker calls the Bible out on contradictory statements; such as the idea that the body and soul are separate, and that The Energy called Evil comes from the body, while The Reason called Good comes from the Soul. Blake argues that the body and soul are one; Energy (Evil) are life, and Reason (good) are what surrounds it. Real complicated way to say that good and evil are no so easily defined. Blake praises Milton’s Paradise Lost in for showing that resisting temptation does not make one strong, and that by giving into desire Milton’s hero is righteous. Who is the hero of Paradise Lost you may ask? Satan. Hmmmm...

The next sections promote the idea of giving into temptation; standing for creativity, art, and fighting against repression. He describes giants who formed the earth, the Prolific (who stand for art, and temptation) and the Devouring (the meek, oppressed and obedient). They are at constant war with one another. This comes right back to our “tedious argument” in V’s poem: the little people, like V, are the Devouring. They don’t have time to disobey, to rise up against oppression. Conformity, whether it’s doing sketchy jobs for fixers or working for Arakaka, is rewarded with survival, often at the cost of one’s soul. It is the easy, the meek, path. Johnny hopes to stand for the Prolific, questioning the status quo, walking the rebel path, using art to “shake the world awake.” Johnny also represents this in the way he gives into temptation, whether that be drugs or his impulsiveness in general. Another interesting thing this brings up is the whole Heaven/Hell/Life/Mikoshi dichotomy. V questions if Mikoshi is “the light of heaven, or the fire of hell.” This loops back to Johnny’s poem again: what is immortality? What does it mean to be alive? According to Blake, the line between heaven and hell aren’t so black and white either, and in fact hell might not be so bad. Why would the Devil punish the true rebels? So which of V’s paths truly chooses life? To walk toward the unknown, or to live in a withering body, one that will one day decay, sooner or later, whether V or Johnny returns to it. Huh. Maybe the Blackwall isn’t so bad. And much like Blake, Johnny doesn’t seem to afraid of Blackwall/Hell. Scared to push V toward the unknown, sure. But at least appearing unafraid, since much like Blake, he’s already faced it once.

So what does this mean for our ending, and for possible future DLC? Is this meant to be the true ending, despite popular (and my personal belief) that The Star seems to be the happiest ending? Why does V go to the crystal palace? Are they continuing to play Night City’s game, where one either “becomes an asshole or is killed by one” (according to Judy)? Or are they the “villain”, leaving their previous path of the meek to join Rintrah/Johnny and rage in the wilds? This game does a lot of work to pit the idea of art vs conformity, survival of the body vs the soul, and for that reason I hope this is saying something about The Sun ending: we’re going to find Johnny. Either in a metaphorical sense, connecting to his legacy…or maybe in a physical sense?

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mostly-delusional · 3 years

Text

Like a phoenix, I will rise

!!!SPOILERS FOR KAZ'S BACKSTORY!!!

I dwell in the nothings and the nowhere places

The void of emptiness is my home

Kaz stared at his reflection in the mirror. A new face was looking back at him, one he didn’t, couldn’t recognize as his own. His clothes were damp, heavy with the burden of the ordeal he had just gone through. Wet locks of hair fell in his eyes, drops of water dripping from them one by one. His eyes were puffy and red, traces of tears washed away by the water. His skin itched, as if hundreds of insects were crawling upon it. His head felt heavy and he couldn’t bring himself to turn around. He was soaked from head to toe, and his breath came out in short puffs. His chest thumped at a pace he could not keep up with.

Don't look back and maybe all of it will disappear. You'll wake up in a few moments. All of this will be gone. It's just a bad dream. Jordie will shake you back to reality and hold you close to him. You'll be fine.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried driving out the images of his brother among a hundred other bodies. But in the darkness behind his eyelids, Kaz could only see himself pushing against the waves in the Reaper’s Barge, his brother by his side. He could still feel the waves hitting him, trying to propel him towards the horror that had lain behind him. The stink of bodies was still fresh in his nose and bile rose up to his throat. A faint sound of giggling reverberated in his mind.

Saskia.

Jacob Hertzoon’s daughter. But she wasn’t actually a part of his family, was she? No, just another con artist. Kaz felt his heart shattering into a multitude of little shards. He felt himself slipping away. He tried holding onto that nine-year-old part of him, but to no avail. It was too late now.

But it is here that my soul can create itself

And I'll emerge full born as my own

His eyes shot open. Kaz looked into those brown orbs in the mirror. But they weren’t his. He saw hatred pooling inside them, their brown darkening with hunger.

Kaz Rietveld was dead. The little boy who clutched his brother’s hand a little too tight when afraid, who brightened at the sight of candies and toys, who was far too innocent for the sordid streets of Ketterdam was dead. He was floating somewhere in the Reaper’s Barge, forgotten.

I walk in the gutter of my humanity

As one who is disfigured and frail

Yet still believe, that one day I will be transformed

And in spite of my limits, I will prevail

The streets looked mammoth without Jordie by his side. Kaz felt small walking among the crowd. No one paid him mind, as if he were a phantom passing through. People pushed past him and he struggled to stay on his feet. They were mindlessly walking on the streets, eyes set on defined goals. Kaz wanted to scream. He wanted to ask them to stop and look at him. To let him pass through. To help him. But everyone just went about their business and he could do nothing but stare at his feet helplessly. Tears were prickling at the corners of his eyes and a sob threatened to tear past his lips.

“Lift your head up and walk right through them. Don’t stop, don’t hesitate. If you do, they’ll just drag you back to the bottom of the Barge. Ketterdam is not a place you can afford to be soft in, Kaz. You need to make a place for yourself. Will you do that? For me?” Kaz didn’t know if it was Jordie’s voice in his head, or if he was just being delusional. But he pushed his fear aside nonetheless.

A man harshly collided with Kaz and he staggered back.

“Watch where you’re going, boy!” The man bit out.

Jordie’s words echoed in his mind and Kaz simply stomped on the foot of that man as hard as he could before running away. He didn’t stop running until he reached the doors of a dingy looking building. A rusting crow sign hung on the door with the words ‘The Crow Club’ engraved on it. He pushed open the double doors and walked inside.

The place could hardly pass as a gambling club, what with the chipped paint on the walls and the dank atmosphere. Thugs and thieves huddled in every corner, their raucous laughter banging on his eardrums. He pushed past them and walked around the tables when suddenly a hand shot out and seized his wrist.

Kaz bristled. He could hear waves slapping against his mind again. The voices muffled, as if his head was pushed under water. His own shouts of help began blaring like an alarm inside his head.

He needed to get the hand off of him and leave this place.

“Let go!” Kaz cringed at the rasp that escaped his lips. His voice was barely recognizable, sounding like two rocks being rubbed against each other. His throat itched and forming any words hurt. Still, he conjured every fiber of confidence and said, “I told you to let go!”

“What do you think you’re doing in here, huh?” The man ignored what Kaz had said and tightened his grip. “A little pigeon like you shouldn’t be lurking around places where you’re not supposed to be.”

Kaz was disgusted. The man’s touch reminded him of the countless bodies he had been surrounded with in the Barge. The contact of his skin felt like someone was clawing at his arm.

“I’m here for a job. Get your filthy hands off of me.” Kaz snatched his wrist away.

The man laughed, his head tipping back in merry. “Would you look at that? Pigeon says he wants a job.” He sneered and the other males sitting around the table laughed along.

“Don’t listen to them. They’ll realize who you are and what you can do soon enough. The door across the room is the office of this club’s owner. Go to him.” He could hear Jordie again. His brother’s voice guided him to the wooden door, leaving those laughing men behind him.

I must wait for my value to be recognized

By others that have forced me down here

And until then I shall be my own counsellor

To nurture my progress through the years

The old man argued a lot and tried to push Kaz out of his office. He even called a few of his bouncers to drag Kaz outside, but Kaz bit one of their hands as they tried getting a hold of him.

“Get that filth away from me or I'll rip them out of their sockets and feed them to you.” Kaz glared up at the men towering above him, and then turned back to Per Haskell as if his bouncers were a bunch of flies he had brushed aside. “I know how to land a punch when necessary. I can pick locks and steal. I’m better than any of your errand dogs.”

“Are you now?” The old man challenged.

He wasn't. The lie had slipped through effortlessly and Per Haskell didn't need to know that as long as Kaz got the job.

“They’ve been sitting out on the tables wasting away their money, not even noticing the notes being slipped out of their pockets by the waitress. They’re a bunch of rabid dogs who need to be controlled. I can do that. Give me the job.”

It wasn’t an offer or a request. Just a full-fledged order. “They won’t listen to you if you talk to them like a lonely child in need of help. Don't let them see your weakness.” Jordie had reminded him before Kaz had pushed open Haskell’s door.

I shall become the hero of my tragedy

The master of my fate and intent

To become the very person that I need to be

The force that will plot my ascent

Kaz never looked back after that. He pushed through life, kicking down anyone who tried to drag him back to the Barge. he learned the ways of gambling, picking locks and stealing without being caught. He learned how to think like a businessman and how to outsmart people. Even Jordie's voice had silenced, taken over by the whispers of revenge.

Kaz was well on his way to become the king of the Barrel and he wasn't going to back down until he claimed the crown.

The words written in red are taken from a poem on google.

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