#either way. we're excited. we're excited for whatever happens next...

[strawbairicake]

stealin’ sweet kisses- various hsr characters x reader 

synopsis: playing the pocky game with your boyfriend! that’s it, send tweet. part 2! 

warnings: uh, none? other than that, idk if my beginner/novice writing counts as a warning. 

word count: 1.4k (oh lord, it’s longer than part 1!)

author’s note: part 1 did pretty well, so here's part 2 no one asked for! i’ll link part 1 here! no beta, we die like my favorite side characters in books! posting this after having a mental breakdown sure is the way to go, huh! disclaimer in part 1 that i'll include here: i genuinely don't know how to write kiss scenes at all! other than like a peck on the lips, but hey, it’s the thought that counts, right… right? title was a suggestion from a mootie of mine for part 1, credits to them for the title (credits to you, Sage, lol!)! hope you enjoy! <3

tagging: @axolotsofluv, @sqgeism, @vyyper, @your-sleeparalysisdem0n, @cmiru, @unriding, @sheyfu, @threnodians. @strwbrydreamz, @chokifandom, @sillyseraphie, @riaruu, + @m1ckeyb3rry! lmk if you’d like to be added to the taglist! 

Anaxa: 

how you managed to get your lover to agree to this is beyond you. you just slid the box across his desk, then retreated to the cute reading nook in the home office. Anaxa gave you a skeptical look before sighing and making his way over to you. he sits on the ottoman your legs were resting on and he hands you a stick of pocky. 

“you wanted me to indulge in a game? fine. but make it quick, i have things to do.” he says as he rubs shapes on your thighs near your knees. yeah, he totally does not have the time to indulge you. what a loser (lovingly). but upon seeing the smile appear on your face after his confirmation, he thinks he’ll be sparing more time with you than he should. (he brought the whole box when he made his way over to you, by the way. he’s definitely whipped.)

 so you sat up in your chair, took the stick of pocky from his hand, and waited for him to be ready. he looked… nervous? the great Anaxagoras, reduced to a slightly blushing mess and slightly fidgety. the whole time you had been watching him, he was fidgeting with the box of pocky, and clearly avoiding eye contact with you. no matter, it’s whatever. you gesture him with a wave of your hand to come closer, and he sets the box of sweet treats next to him. part of the sweet treat he’s able to taste and as you lean closer, Anaxa cannot bring himself to look at you at all. you’d think for all his bravado he’d be able to do something as simple as holding eye contact but no. and as the stick breaks right in the middle, before either one of you can pull away, he cradles the back of your head with a hand and initiates a kiss. short and sweet before pulling away. now both of you look rather flustered. 

best to play the game again, no? 

Argenti: 

your lover agreed with no resistance and no questions asked... mostly! he seems rather excited to play this silly game with you, bless him. so here you both are, sitting in the living room of your home. a rare moment for Argenti to be with you given how often he travels. he leaves tomorrow, unfortunately, but you thought playing pocky with him could be a fun ritual you start doing the night before he leaves. granted, it makes it harder for Argenti to leave you in the morning, but seeing how giddy and happy it makes you both makes it worth it. so here you were on your sofa, a box of pocky in your hand as you explain (again, it’s been a while!) the rules of the game. 

“so the point is to get as close to the middle of the stick and not break it. we're supposed to kiss, i think,” you explained.

“so what happens if i break it?” he questions.

“you eat it, and we try again!” you reply excitedly. 

let the game begin. 

dear aeons, you never realized how good Argenti was at this game. he’s locked in, keeping eye contact, and being very sweet. if he senses you getting nervous, he breaks the stick off and waits for you to compose yourself before returning. and bless him, he’s so sweet and patient, that’s gotta mean something, right? 

so after you break the stick for the first time, before you lean back and can escape, he kisses you. nothing rough or mean, almost as light as a peck, but it’s just a bit more. right as you begin to reciprocate, he pulls away, leaving you wanting more. 

you know the game he’s playing, and you can see the slightly mischievous glint in his eyes as he looks at you. 

“one more time, beloved?”

Boothill:

always on the run, you both are. always getting into some kind of trouble. except this time, the trouble in question is a game of pocky and doesn’t seemingly have any consequences. which is good, you both need a break from the run and chase you’re constantly on. now that you think about it, maybe being in an alleyway in penacony wasn’t your brightest move. anyone could see you both and report you. not that common folk would, but people who know about you and Boothill might. just a hunch. but you were in a dark alleyway, Boothill leaning against the wall, his legs spread just a bit, and you were standing in between his legs, just chatting. and Boothill was trying so hard to pay attention, but he noticed the box of pocky in your pocket. 

“what’s the box for, sweetheart?”

“boredom, mostly… also i need sugar.”

“don’t know how ya’d need it if we’re on the run. and i'll give ya some sugar,” he winked. you rolled your eyes at the latter comment. 

“i mean for after the adrenaline wears off…” you mutter. your lover chuckles at the faux pout you started making after your previous statement. he places a hand on your hip and fishes through your pocket and gets the box of pocky out. 

“up for a little game?”

“Boothill, we're literally supposed to be running right now,” you deadpan. he laughs.

“you don’t know how to have fun, sweetheart! just one round, i promise,” he replies. 

and so the game begun. he pulls a stick out of the pack and places one part in his mouth and you place the other part in your mouth. as you inch closer, one of Boothill’s hands remains at your hip while the other one rests on the back of your neck. the cool metal of his arm makes you tilt your head up impossibly more. you reach the middle of the stick and instead of a quick peck, it’s a passionate kiss. he cradles your head so you can’t let go just yet, and he notices you’re quite ready to let go either. give or take a few seconds, you tap his robotic chest with your finger, a sign to let you breathe. you both part. the tips of his ears are a bit pink and you look a bit flushed. you’re just about to get comfortable in the silence you both have before hearing a loud  “freeze!” which makes you both turn your heads.

guess you’re back on the run.

Mydei: 

a rough mission kinda brought you down. and sometimes when you’re down, you’ll head to the marketplace in Okhema just to see if anything interesting is there. and wouldn’t you know it, a seller was giving out a box of pocky with every purchase! you bought a couple of baking ingredients and got your free box of pocky, and honestly? made your bad day a lot better, which was really nice. so when you got home and saw Mydei on the couch in the living room on his teleslate (literally it’s a phone, why do they call it that, ew), you thought nothing of it. you head to the kitchen and unload the few baking supplies you purchased: sugar and flour. it wasn’t a lot, and you didn’t need help putting it away. you knew that Mydei would come and help you put the couple of groceries away anyway (he always did, it was an unspoken agreement between the two of you for whatever reason.). so after you unload the flour and sugar, you sit on the counter and open the box of pocky you got. it was your favorite flavor too, how nice! as you do, Mydei comes in between your legs and watches as you fiddle with the box and bag inside. he wordlessly takes the bag from your hands, opens it, and pulls a stick out.

“what is this for?” he looks skeptically at the flavored treat, which makes you laugh slightly. 

“you take one portion of the stick in your mouth, your partner does the same. then you essentially get as close as you can without breaking the stick. the goal is to kiss, i think. but i also eat this by myself,” you reply after a moment’s hesitation. 

and without instruction, Mydei places part of the stick he took out into his mouth and gestures for you to do the same. so you do, you’re not an idiot to refuse him, especially if he’s offering! you both lean in and while the stick breaks pretty close to the middle, Mydei doesn’t pull away. he kisses you briefly before pulling away. he looks at you and smirks a bit.

“wanna try again, or are you going to quit? i thought the goal was to not break it.”

oh it’s SO on now. 

©2025 strawbairicake. do not repost, copy, translate, modify, or use for AI.

[fvaleraye]

hopped on to dragonfable and got done with the epilogue for book 3 earlier today, and honestly it has. really hit us. just a little bit emotional right now asdflkjn

[theloganator101]

As stated in the last post, I recently finished playing through Chapter 3 of Deltarune where it features this character as the chapter's main antagonist named Mr. "Ant" Tenna.

This post is going to cover why Mr. Tenna makes for a more threatening and compelling antagonist for the chapter he's featured in, than Vox does or will be in Hazbin Hotel.

And I will be putting the rest of this post under Keep Reading since this WILL feature spoilers for the chapter and I highly recommend you either play the game or watch a playthough of it for yourself. Now with that out of the way, let's talk about Mr. Tenna.

For starters, let's go over just who even is Mr. Tenna. Like I said before he serves as the chapter's antagonist in how he wants Kris and their friends to keep participating in his show and keep them from getting to the fountain.

After Kris and the others decide that enough is enough, Tenna starts to go off the deep end and order his workers to be capture them. Eventually his outbursts started to push his workers away to where he has nobody else to work for him, and once you confront him for the final time, he explains why he's doing all this.

He was previously used for the families to gather around and watch Christmas Specials, and he enjoyed the focus being on him. But as the years passed less and less people started to watch tv less, with nobody to watch the shows he had anymore. That was why he was so desperate in wanting to bring excitement to the gang and remind Kris of the good times.

His powers are what you would expect from a character centered around television. His powers relate to changing the channel to different types of shows and even some electricity.

So in conclusion, in one lengthy chapter, Mr. Tenna was able to be a fully fleshed out, fully enjoyable, and compelling antagonist that all circles back around to him being a television. An old television that just wants to provide good entertainment like back in the past.

...

And now we get to Vox. He's established to be an Overlord like Alastor and runs the television programs of the city, getting people involved through hypnotism. He's even a part of a big group called the Three Vees with Valentino and Velvette.

Other than sending Sir Pentious to the Hotel to be a spy (And failing), he doesn't really do much to mess with Alastor or the hotel in general. the only other time we see him again is when he's laughing and making fun of the hotel's attempt to defend themselves from the Exorcist Angels. And with it being confirmed that the Vees are going to be the next major antagonists for Season 2, me and a few others can't help but think that this is going to go very wrong.

Since Charlie and her friends already faced the leader of the exterminations, any other threat they face from here on out is most likely going to be underwhelming as a result. There's also the possibility that whatever big plan the Vees have in Season 2, it's bound to fail considering how Heaven has put up a barrier and that there's still the Sins and Goetias to worry about.

But we all know that Vivzie will ignore them and force conflict just to make the events she wants to happen happen, regardless if it makes sense or not. Vox isn't compelling or threatening enough to be considered a worthy antagonist, there isn't enough emphasis put on him being a television star nor is he ever written good enough for it to make sense.

He's a man child who wants Alastor-Senpai to suffer for breaking his heart. And since we're gonna be exploring his backstory with Alastor and how their friendship fell apart, I've lost hope that it would be compelling in any meaningful way.

And that's why Mr. Tenna beats him by a landslide.

[dragon-kazansky]

Heart of the Dreaming

Morpheus x Female Reader

Soulmate AU

You are the daughter of Rodrick Burgess. You find out about the "demon" in the basement and decide you want to see it. Things take an unexpected turn when your soulmate connection is made with the man you find down there. You are the one he has been waiting for, and you're being taken away from. Not for long. Dream will protect his soulmate.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Chapter Six - Blood and bonds

☆☆☆

The demons of Hell were all excited as they cheered. Whatever this game was, it was clearly a big deal. You had no idea what was happening. For your own comfort, you chose to watch Dream. Matthew is perched up above you. Morpheus and Lucifer stood facing one another.

He had to win. There was more than his helm on the line now. Dream had sworn to himself he would protect you. Hell could not have you.

Choronzon stood on the balcony with the helmet in his hand. Lucifer and Morpheus stood on either side of him.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Today, for your entertainment and delectation, a formal challenge."

The demons cheer.

"The challenger is Dream. Once the master of the Realm of Sleep."

The demons boo.

Morpheus turns slowly and looks at you. You look back at him. He steps away from the balcony and makes his way toward you while Choronzon announces Lucifer as the other player. The demons cheer for their ruler.

"Are you alright?" He asks softly.

"Fine." You reply shortly.

"I will not let Hell have you."

Your gaze on him softens. "You don't have to make a fuss of me. Me for the helm was probably a good deal. It must be important to you if you were willing to come to Hell for it."

"I would not trade you in this life or any other. You are my soulmate, and you shall come back to the Dreaming with me." He speaks softly. "If anything happens to me, take my sand and use it."

"No. No. Don't say that."

"Promise me," he says.

You shake your head. You find yourself reaching out and grabbing his hand. "You can't leave me. You're my only way out."

"My sand will work for you."

"I don't care about the sand. I... I just need you to be okay. Please. Don't leave me."

"Morpheus, am I interrupting a premlinary of some kind?" Lucifer asks.

"Just a little pre-game pep talk." You say. "Your majesty." You bow your head. "We came for the helm, and we're not leaving without it," you talk more to Morpheus now.

He looks at you again silently.

"We shall see," Lucifer says, amused.

You let go of his hand, and Morpheus flexes his hand slightly. He steps away from you, though reluctantly. He doesn't like the look of fear in your eyes.

He wants to keep you safe. He needs to secure your safety. You need to come back to the Dreaming with him.

"As the challenged, I set the meter and take the first move." Lucifer says.

"Very well. Make your move."

You stand there with baited breath as you watch the pair of them. Your eyes linger on the Devil. There was so much at risk here.

"I am... a dire wolf. Prey-stalking, lethal prowler."

You turn your eyes to Morpheus.

"I am a hunter. Horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing."

Lucifer grunts as they receive a wound through their body. That's the first hit. Morpheus drew blood from Lucifer. You watch carefully for the next move.

"I am a serpent. Horse-biting... poison-toothed."

Your eyes are drawn to Morpheus as the poison floods his veins. His breaths come out in short, ragged puffs. You hadn't realised how dangerous and severe this game was. This was crazy.

"I am a bird of prey. Snake-devouring, talons ripping."

The poison leaves his body. Lucifer receives three long slashes across the face. More blood is drawn.

"I am a butcher bacterium. Warm-life destroying."

Morpheus falls to his knees as his flesh appears to be eaten away. You stare in horror. Was he going to die playing this? This was horrible.

"I am a world." He says slowly. "Space-floating, life-nurturing."

His body heals. You look at him in awe. He is still able to play. You smile softly.

"I am a nova." Lucifer says. "All-exploding, planet-cremating."

Morpheus lays on the ground, his flesh scorched. That was a big hit. You can't stand this anymore. Lucifer is doing mkre damage to him, and it's starting to make you feel sick.

His eyes flick to you. He can see the worry glistening in your eyes. "I am a universe." He whispers weakly. "All things encompassing, all life embracing."

You smile softly. Perhaps there is much more to this man than you're aware of. Perhaps it isn't quite fair to judge him so quickly.

"I am anti-life. The Beast of Judgement. The dark at the end of everything."

Morpheus goes cold. He lays there, unable to lift his head. His breathing is shallow. This is the worst he's looked all game. What is he supposed to do now?

"What will you be then, Dream Lord?"

He tries to move, but he can't. You can't help yourself anymore. You rush over to him and touch him gently. "Get up," you whisper. He doesn't move. He shivers under your hands, and for a moment, you think this is it.

"Come on," you say softly. "Say something. Anything. You have to win, remember? You have to win for me."

He looks up at you through his lashes. His breath is quiet and shaky. He looks like he's dying.

"Still with us, Dream?" Lucifer asks, amused by this display.

"He is! And it's his move, Your Majesty." You say, glancing up at Lucifer. You turn back to Dream. "Come on. There has to be something."

"There are no more moves." Lucifer states. "What can survive the anti-life?"

You continue to caress his face gently. He stares at you through dark eyes.

"You can survive the anti-life," you whisper. "Dreams can survive anything. I dreamt of you. Every night. While I was locked away in my room with nothing else left, I had you. All that time, you were locked away under the house, and I didn't know, but I felt you. I had you in my dreams, and that was enough."

Your words strike something in him. He had no idea you had been dreaming about him. All that time, and he had no idea he was able to get through to you. Unintentionally, but still. You had him.

"I... am..." Morpheus gets up on his knees. You keep a hand on his back as you watch him. He looks up at Lucifer. "Hope."

Morpheus rises to his feet.

"Hope." Lucifer speaks softly.

You smile softly as you look up at him.

"Well, Lightbringer?" Morpheus asks. "It's your move. What is it that kills hope?"

Lucifer knows they have lost. They turn to the demon. "Choronzon. Give him his helm."

"No. I won't. It's mine. Please."

Mazikeen throws Choronzon off the balcony after taking the helmet from him. Morpheus approaches the demon and takes the helmet from her, thanking her in the process.

"Thank you, Lightbringer. The Ruler of Hell is honourable, indeed. I will not forget this."

"Honourable? You joke, surely." Lucifer walks closer to where you two stand. "Look out there, Morpheus. The billion Lords of Hell stand arrayed about you. Tell us. Why should we let you leave? Helmet or no, you have no power here. After all... What power have dreams in Hell?"

Morpheus smirks slightly. "You say I have no power here. Perhaps you speak truly. But to say dreams have no power in Hell... Tell me, Lucifer Morningstar, what power would Hell have if those here imprisoned were not able to dream... of Heaven?"

Lucifer is clearly seething under that calm exterior. You can see it in their eyes.

"One day, Morpheus... we shall destroy you."

Morpheus leans in close, seemingly bowing, and looks Lucifer in the eye. "Until that day, Lightbringer."

With his helm in hand, Morpheus walks away. You follow him quietly. Matthew flies by your head. The raven had been watching everything quietly. He was curious about you and his master. However, he kept his thoughts to himself for now.

You follow Morpheus out the gates and back out to the wastelands you had arrived in. You couldn't help but worry slightly. You knew Lucifer was beyond pissed off after today.

Dream was still in his battle gear. It was very fitting for him. He looked... good. It felt weird to think about it, though.

You watch as he puts his helm on.

"Can you actually see in that thing?" You ask. It was a peculiar thing. It looked like it was made out of bones...

"I can. I can see the ruby."

"Your ruby?"

"Yes. Come here." He turns to you, but you can't see his face now he wears his helm. It's rather intimidating.

You stand closer to him and watch as he takes his sand from his pocket. Matthew stands between you both, looking up at the pair of you.

Dream pours the sand into his palm, and it swirls around you both. You instantly reach put and grab his arm gently. His surprise by your action is hidden by his helm.

You arrive at a storage house. You take a look around you and find yourself no longer in Hell. You feel the tension leave your body and let go of Dream.

He looks down at his arm, where you have touched him and tries to commit the warmth of your hand to memory. You take a step away from him, and he comes back to his senses.

He leads you inside.

"I can sense it. My ruby. It's here."

He walks through the shelves and finds the glow of his ruby emitting from a crate on the shelf. He reaches out and smiles as he takes the ruby from within. He holds it up and looks at it.

"Something is wrong."

You frown and are about to ask what was wrong, but as he touches the ruby, it explodes with power in his hand and sends him flying backwards.

"Dream!"

He doesn't respond. You rush over to where he lies and tap his face a few times. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

He doesn't respond.

The door to the storage unit opens, and you hear someone enter. A man in a long coat and slippers kneels down and picks up the ruby. It doesn't seem to affect him. You watch him walk away with it.

You turn your attention to the man in your arms. "Please get up." You whisper. "Wake up..." You feel tears in your eyes.

You don't know what to do.

☆☆☆

@deniixlovezelda - @missdreamofendless - @kpopgirlbtssvt - @meganlpie - @thoughtsfromlayla - @ladyjbrekker

@mwaaaaaugh - @bluespecs14 - @intothesoul - @lady-violet - @navs-bhat - @krahk - @oldsoulmagic

@rubyrose2014 - @lorkai - @roxytheimmortal - @star-maker-rain-dancer - @intothesoul - @gemini-mama - @whotperlinda

@dreamingblueberries - @the-shadow-of-aurora - @novavida - @blackgirlmagicforever

@permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 - @hopshusushi - @sloppyzengarden -

[thefirstknife]

So this week, huh. Some stuff and things.

The beginning is nice for a sort of official summary about what we're dealing with:

Paired with the lore tab from last week, now I think we know exactly what's going on in regards with the issue of understanding how the Conductor came to be. It's also interesting how they're not directly telling us which Maya turned into the Conductor, which is as we suspected before. We just don't know which one it is, maybe even a combination of multiple Mayas. And they're going with Maya maybe not knowing either.

I love Saint. He's so excited.

More under:

The exotic mission is largely the same, but there are some extras: new areas and new chests with a bit of new dialogue. I'll get to that in a moment. I want to mention something I didn't bring up last week, but the Subjugator and the Tormentor bosses are pledged to Yirix. This week, Ikora expands:

Yirix is a Psion and leads the Conclave, a section of Psions that does all sort of stuff. She's responsible for the attempt on Zavala's life back in Chosen when they used Light-suppressing tech to temporarily disable Targe. She also had her hand in the Presage shenanigans and then later Vox Obscura mission on Mars where we fought her Psions and Caiatl listened to the various futures she's seen, all of which have come true. It's interesting that she's leading some section of the Shadow Legion. I am hoping for this Psion stuff to be some sort of hint about stuff in the future. We might eventually have to deal with them.

And then! The lines from grabbing the new chest for this week:

Once again, back with the simulated Ishtar scientists! And once again, I am begging everyone to read Aspect. We've heard from .59 Chioma last week, that's the one from the final part of this page, a Chioma that has lost Maya.

You'd found a simulation with a city where you discovered a jewelry store, picked out a necklace, brought it home to her, and wished her a happy pseudo anniversary. Maya didn't like bracelets, said they always fouled her work. Her hair had been getting shaggy again and was due for a trim. She could never decide whether or not to grow it out. She laughed at you lifting weights to maintain simulated muscle, but she spotted for you all the same. There are other Mayas out there, layers of them, all the way up to the original, wherever she is. You hope they're doing well. But that doesn't stop you from missing this Maya, missing whatever arguments and discoveries you'd have shared in the rest of the lifetime you'd promised to one another. Shim and Duane-McNiadh pull you up from beside Maya's marker. A basalt lily rests on top of it, petals thin enough to let light through. You go on.

The same page also mentions the .33 group:

227.33 You lose Duane-McNiadh.

We don't know .27 group from Aspect. Also interesting that one of the Chiomas isn't sharing her number. I wonder what's up with that. I'm also not sure what the final two sentences would be about. About them having "a place" and figuring things out together. The whole point of Aspect was that these groups were coordinating with Praedyth about escaping, so maybe they're talking about this plan they had with him?

Next thing in the line is Maya's recording of once again messing with Chioma and this one is so normal (lie).

OKAY? How about we all die. This also connects to one of the queries in Enigma Protocol. We speculated that these might be some personal stuff for Maya and Chioma that she's search for through the Vex Network and they are!

And then new lines from the new chest puzzle:

More stuff about the simulated scientists! Same as last week, .97 are also in Aspect. Eagerly waiting to see where they'll end with this. Literally have been waiting since 2019 to get answers about Aspect. Please. Answers please.

As we get through the mission, we get treated to some devastating Osiris and Saint lines. I really like that they have quite a bit of sympathy for what's happening to Maya and Chioma. Because they relate!

On the floor. But we're not done.

Stoppp ittt. Stopppp.

I like, again, that despite everything, he seems to sympathise. Or at least he understand it because he knows how he could've ended the same so Maya didn't do this because Maya is just like that; she did this because of the circumstances. If the circumstances were any different, Osiris could've done it too. This terrifies him. Anyone could be one step away from doing the same.

The radio message continues with the horrors, with another one of Maya's logs where she's insisting that her Chioma would understand what she's doing and that Maya is a "savior" and that everything that happened in the system since the Collapse needs to be fixed and that Maya can fix it. Osiris goes on a rant against this and realises that Maya is acting selfishly and that her obsession is destroying even her love for Chioma. But at the end, he says this:

Please. I hope we do. I want this to have at least a semblance of a happy ending for Maya and Chioma. Maybe not for the Conductor ofc, but for some Maya somewhere to get what she wanted; to be with her Chioma. Kinda similar how they went about with Saint and Osiris as well, to complete the parallel between the two couples.

And then ofc the lore tab.

One more week to go. Going to be blowing myself up in the meantime.

[unhingedmarvelandclassicwhobuff]

I'm done bottling this up. I need to go on a rant about how much Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness insulted me the one and only time I watched it.

I’m still furious that the trailers didn’t spoil that Wanda was the villain, because if they had, I would’ve sworn never to watch the movie.

I liked the first 15 minutes or so fine, and got really excited when Wanda was introduced. But I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way my heart dropped when the reveal happened two minutes later.

It shocked me so much in the worst possible way that I totally zoned out and barely registered anything else that was said in that scene, or the next one for that matter.

The Kamar-Taj massacre legitimately made me want to vomit. I truly couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This couldn’t be fucking happening. And to think it was almost even worse if that horrific BTS footage of Wanda hacking the sorcerers to pieces in melee combat made it into the movie.

This may sound odd, but the visual of Wanda ripping herself apart to get out of the Mirror Dimension truly disgusted me, because I sincerely think it was intended to dehumanize her and make her look more like a monster. Again, it was like the movie was TRYING to personally insult me.

I wasn’t paying attention to anything that was happening with Strange and America when they got to the other universe. I couldn’t focus on anything at all because I was reeling from the shock.

I hate to admit it, but when the Darkhold got destroyed for a moment I hoped against everything that that would be it. But no, immediately after that she intentionally tortured some of the surviving sorcerers to make Wong talk. Again, I genuinely could not believe what I was seeing. How was this real?

The Illuminati massacre, like the earlier battle, insulted me in ways I truly cannot articulate. I feel like everyone involved was trying to insult me specifically with how evil they were making Wanda. [A part of me has grown to morbidly like this scene, however, as the Illuminati are full-on fascists, and with how much I've grown to hate Captain Carter it was darkly cathartic seeing Wanda bisect her, but still.]

During the final battle I was sincerely expecting either those demons to drag Wanda to whatever hell dimension they came from, or for America to do that instead. If that happened then the anti-Wanda whiners would feel even more vindicated about how she was "finally being properly punished".

The way she is written out rung completely hollow, because there was no indication whatsoever that she wasn’t being corrupted anymore. It just looked like she stopped because she wanted to. And again, I feel like the movie was trying to make me upset by saying "no, this is just how Wanda is".

I want to say I felt nothing when it looked like Wanda died, but the truth is it was just the final middle finger. I guess I should be thankful for small mercies since apparently she was originally planned to go on ANOTHER killing spree ending with Strange killing her.

So yeah, TLDR, Multiverse of Madness was the absolute worst movie watching experience I’ve ever had, and cemented itself as my most hated film of all time before it even ended. I made a conscious choice to never watch it again before I even got up from my seat. It truly felt like Sam Raimi and Michael Waldron were intentionally and maliciously ruining Wanda, and the fact that it was just sheer incompetence that caused this to happen is somehow even worse, because that's how little Marvel values this character.

And just for the record, my mom, who got into the MCU because of WandaVision, was also really excited for this movie, and she has no standards whatsoever, so the fact that even SHE hated the movie's treatment of Wanda speaks volumes.

Fuck Marvel, fuck Michael Waldron, and fuck the anti-Wanda losers while we're at it.

[zeephyre]

CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 3 EPISODE 86 SPOILERS

RAHHH, SPOOKY LAKE MINI ARC!!!!!!

God. I fucking love you Matthew Mercer.

The back door is indeed a back door and while that is exciting, I honestly need us to table all theories.

First of all, Matt really did his big one with this campaign and all of the spooky horror elements that are scattered all over. The nightmare king, Laudna, Jrusar tbh, Uthodurn and the Savaliir woods, the creepy ass monsters and gjosts we keep running into, the GHOST PIRATES, the fucking shattered teeth as a whole, RUIDUS, and now this fuck ass lake.

The way Matt slowly built up the suspense and the intrigue of this odd abandoned town that started as just curiosity and location discovery to help us understand where in Exandria they were, and then slowly became an investigation into how...empty it was despite no signs of struggle or even a mass exodus to somewhere safe... and then the notes about the disappearances... how people were rumored to have just...walked into the water.

GOD IT WAS SO GOOD.

The way my heart dropped out of my ass when Liam used the stone to talk to Dorian (I don't wanna discuss that "I miss you" that definitely felt like an "I love you", I'm so upset rn Robbie please come home). I knew the stone wikldnt work because he'd already talked to Caleb (which !!!!! CALEB!!!!!!! AHHHH) but then Matt was like "you hear something outside, it's Dorian" and I just???? Almost shat myself when I understood what was happening.

It is...interesting that whatever is in that lake only affected FCG, Orym, Chettie and Ashton.... it can't just be that they weren't women because... that doesn't really make any sense so it must be something magic related? Because they were making charisma saves and the witches have either max charisma or amazing fucking charisma. (But so does FCG? I think? Whatever).

I loved everything about that battle and the lake but I especially loved Laudna's whole deal... Dread Pirate Queen Laudna fan art needs to flood my social media feed so much that I get sick of it (I wont). She's such a silly little guy I love her to bits. (We won't discuss she who must not be named except to say... she was kinda spitting during that whole later interaction)

FINALLY THESE DUMB FUCKS SLEPT BUT GOD. I WAS CONVINCED MATT WANTED THEM DEAD FR.

ANYWAY. JESTER. JESTER LAVORRE. JESTER HAS SENDING. SHE TALKED TO US. SHE TALKED TO IMOGEN. THEY’RE EITHER ON THEIR WAY TO THE KEY OR TO THE LAKE AND EITHER WAY I KNOW WE'RE GONNA SEE THE NEIN AGAIN IDC IDC

Kinda almost broke down in tears when Jester spoke to Imogen because I just??? love Laura Bailey so much??? AND WHENEVER THE OTHER PCS SHOW UP I JUST GET SO HAPPY

I know Jester is being a terrorist with sending rn, and I know she's gonna message Imogen constantly.

Did not want them to leave that lake until Kiki's group showed up the next morning but my hellians never listen to me so cest la vie.

(Also????? Fearne and Chetney romantic tension??? Let's discuss. Let's also discuss how bad Fearne wants to kiss Imogen)

[crystalninjaphoenix]

A Talk For the Past and Future

Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Thirty-Two

A JSE Fanfic

I swear, I didn't MEAN for this to be 6000 words that's all a single conversation, but what can I say? I like writing these kids interacting, and they had a lot to talk about. By the way, the plan was for this AU to only have 40 chapters, give or take a couple. Either way, we're on the last arc! I'm excited for some of the stuff we're getting to! :D Alright, time for the summary. All the kids gather up to talk with Jack about why he showed up here and what he found out. Then they try to figure out what to do next. Chase's mom came too, and he's not sure how to feel about that. Enjoy! :)

Previous Episode | More of this AU | From the Start | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

++++++++++++++++++++

Chase leaned against the window, watching the familiar landscape pass by until they stopped in the Zelly’s parking lot. “Okay, here we are,” Mom said, parking the car close to the front entrance. “So... every time you guys went to visit Zelly’s, was it always for a meeting about this supernatural stuff?”

“No,” Chase said. “Sometimes we just wanted to get some sodas and talk about stuff. But, uh... this time, yeah, we’re talking about supernatural stuff.”

“Huh.” Mom blinked. “So... are you sure you don’t want me to come? I know about all this now. Maybe I could help.”

“A-ah... n-no, that is okay, Aunt Jess,” Schneep said hesitantly. “We are here to meet Jack, a-and he does not know you that well. W-we want to make him comfortable.”

“Hm... yeah, I guess it would be weird to have a random lady there,” Mom said, nodding slowly. She stopped the car. “Alright. But I’ll be coming in, anyway, I want one of their cola mixes. I’ll just sit at a different table.”

“That’s fine!” Chase nodded, then hurried out of the car. “C’mon, Hen.” It felt weird that his mom was coming with them to one of their meetings. Sure, she might not be in sight, but... it was weird. Not bad, but... weird. That was the only way he could describe the lump of slithery snakes he felt in his stomach. Weird, weird, weird.

The weather was supposedly warming up again, so Zelly’s ice cream was becoming semi-popular once more, as always happened around this time of year. But today it was a bit foggy and gloomy, so the restaurant wasn’t too crowded. Chase and Schneep walked in and saw Stacy and the Jackson twins already hanging out in a booth. They quickly left Mom behind to go join them. “Hey guys,” Chase said. “I guess Jackie isn’t here yet?”

“No, but he said to meet here now, so that’s like, why the fuck did you decide to meet at this time if you couldn’t make it?” Marvin said, stirring the soda he’d ordered with a straw.

Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be here soon, JJ reassured him. Though he also glanced around and fidgeted a bit.

“Are you two alright?” Schneep asked as he sat down. “You both seem a bit nervous.”

“I guess it’s just... like...” Marvin paused. “It’s like, I know Jack’s involved in all this cause Anti was his imaginary friend or whatever, but... I dunno. It’s... it’s weird to have more people here.”

“Was it weird when I showed up?” Stacy asked defensively.

“No, I don’t think so,” Marvin said, not picking up on Stacy’s tone and simply answering the question earnestly. “I think that you really fit right in. Jack, though... I mean, he’s nice, but... I didn’t expect him to be here.”

I’m sure that once we meet Jack again we’ll get used to him, JJ said.

Chase looked down and kicked his legs a little. “Yeah, probably. But... I get what you guys mean. I think maybe it’s that Jack came out of nowhere? He just showed up. At least Stacy saw the monster dog first.”

Stacy frowned. “Yeah, but Jack’s involved with Anti, Marvin said so too.”

“I know, but... we didn’t really see that, I guess?” Chase said.

Schneep twisted around in his seat. “Well you all should get all your complaints out now, because they are here now.”

“Oh! So they’re not too late after all!” Marvin stood up and immediately began waving. “Hey guys! We’re over here!”

Jackie soon hurried over to the booth, waving at Mom sitting at her own table as he walked past. Behind him, Jack stuck close to him, wearing a backpack and a flatcap, looking around nervously. “Sorry we’re a few minutes late, guys,” Jackie said, pulling over a pair of chairs so the two of them can sit at the booth (the kids took all the space on the benches). “My dad delayed me for a bit with a talk about uni.”

“Uni? College?” Chase blinked. “But... you’re not gonna go to uni yet.”

Jackie laughed. “Of course not, but it’s good to start thinking about this stuff pretty early on. Just so you’re not panicking when you graduate secondary school.”

“Oh.” Chase blinked. “Uh... anyway, hi, Jack. I like your hat!”

Jack burst into laughter. “Hi, again. You’re Chase, right?”

“Yep.” Chase nodded. “And this is Henrik, Marvin, JJ, and Stacy.”

It’s nice to see you again. JJ held up his notebook, showing what he’d written down. Sorry that you had to run away.

“Y-yes, we are very sorry to hear that,” Schneep added. “But we are going to be here to help you! If you ever need anything, I am sure that Aunt Jess will be there!”

Jack smiled slightly. “Thanks, Henrik. That means a lot. I, uh... I-I don’t know if I had to run away, but... my parents were acting sketchy so I thought it was better safe than sorry. They called me a lot, though, the past couple days. And messaged me.”

“Did they bother you?” Schneep asked, leaning forward.

“They didn’t yell at me or anything, but they didn’t answer any of my questions,” Jack said. “I told them why I left, and I said I would maybe come back if they explained, but... they didn’t.”

“Ah, that fucking sucks,” Marvin said. “Sorry about that.”

Jack nodded, and took a deep breath. “A-anyway. I, uh... I-I wanted to tell you guys about what happened. You guys know about Anti, you guys say that Anti has been bothering you. In fact, Jackie told me the other day that Anti showed up in Chase’s house and... made a gateway to another dimension?”

“Oh my god, the dark place is another dimension!” Chase gasped. “Why didn’t I realize that before?!”

The other young kids all made similar sounds of “ohhhh.” Jackie blinked at them. “I thought you guys all knew that?” he asked.

We KNEW it, but we didn’t understand what it IMPLIED, JJ said.

“I can’t believe that there’s another dimension out there!” Marvin said excitedly. “I fucking love that!”

“So Anti is from another dimension, then,” Stacy said.

“W-well, uh... are you guys sure about that?” Jack asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Chase asked, confused. “Anti is one of those greenlight monster things. The Circle calls him an Anomaly. Where did he come from if he didn’t come from the dark place?”

“I don’t know,” Jack said. “I...” He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms and hunching his shoulders in. “I remember Anti being with me since I was really little. I don’t know much about this Circle or the Fissures, but... They feel like they’re more new than that, right?”

Some of the Circle people said they’ve been doing this for almost ten years, JJ wrote. Maybe that’s when the Fissures started showing up.

“Yeah, and I remember Anti being around when I was like... five or something,” Jack said. “Maybe even younger. Maybe even when I was like, three. Basically as long as I have memories, a lot of them feature Anti.”

Marvin blinked. “Maybe the Fissures were around for longer than we thought? And the Circle only realized it later?”

Jackie nodded. “That must be the explanation. Anyway, Jack... you wanted to tell us about why you left home?”

“Right, right.” Jack sat up straight. “Anyway. Once you guys left, I started thinking about stuff. I don’t know if you guys remember me telling you this, but... my parents have always been really dismissive of Anti. Or, uh, not always. But ever since I stopped, uh, ‘imagining’ Anti, they’ve been dismissive when I bring him up. Of course, I now know that I wasn’t actually imagining Anti, that he was really there but he just left for some reason. Um, once my parents came home I tried to ask them about him, and they shut me down again.”

Stacy took out her phone, checking the text that Jackie sent all of them. “Jackie said that your parents might’ve been working with the Circle?”

“I-I don’t know if it’s that exactly,” Jack corrected. “But... they were involved, I think. In something, in some way.” He took a deep breath. “A few days later, when they were both gone again, I went into their room to look around.”

“D-did you get in trouble?!” Schneep asked, alarmed.

“No, no, i-it’s fine, it’s not like their room is off-limits,” Jack said. “I just... wanted to look around. I know they keep stuff like my childhood drawings and old photos in there. Even though we dropped everything to move, they made sure to bring those with us. So I wanted to look at those, to see if there was anything about Anti in there. And... I... I-I found a weird box in their closet.”

“A weird box?” Chase asked, leaning forward. “What was in it?”

“Was that where they kept your drawings and stuff?” Marvin wondered.

“Kind of,” Jack said slowly. “Y-you see... they kept some of my stuff in there. Stuff... about Anti. Drawings I’d done that had him in them, mostly. Myself on one side, him on the other. Us holding hands or like... sitting beneath a tree. But also a handful of pictures. I-I only grabbed one.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a paperback book. “Hid it in here.” 

“Only one? Why not all of them?” Jackie asked.

“I wasn’t sure how regularly they checked that box,” Jack explained. He opened up the book and took out something from between the pages, setting it on the table. All the kids leaned in to look. A picture of two tiny boys, maybe five years old each, sitting at a table together with a cake in between them. The cake had five candles, confirming the age. It wasn’t the best picture out there, clearly something had gone wrong with the flash that caused the two boys to look washed out. But there were clearly two of them... even if one looked a bit blurry, the flash reflecting off his eyes to make them red.

So you really did know Anti ever since you were little, JJ wrote.

Jack nodded. “Yeah... i-it was uh... very... It threw me for a loop, to see that he was... really real.” He swallowed a lump in his throat. “This was my fifth birthday. I remember him being there... but my parents always insisted that it was just me and some kids from school.” He looked at JJ. “Also, uh... I’m trying to learn BSL. Cause I... thought it would come in handy, especially after meeting you. So, if you want to talk ‘out loud,’ I can try to keep up.”

JJ started, then smiled. Thank you, but I’m fine with writing for now. Maybe in the future we could meet up and I could help you learn?

“Hah. Maybe.” Jack smiled back. “It might be a bit weird to learn from someone younger than me, but you’re the expert.”

“We’re not that much younger than you!” Marvin protested. “Me and JJ are fourteen! How old are you?”

“Well, uh, I turned eighteen early in February,” Jack said.

“Oh!” Marvin blinked. “Never mind, carry on.”

Jackie laughed. “Oh, so eighteen is old enough for someone to call you ‘too young,’ then?”

“That’s a whole four years!” Marvin said. “That’s a fuck ton of time!”

Jack also smiled a little, then shook his head. “Uh, there’s more. In the box I found in the closet, there was also an even smaller box. A wood one, that looked like it was... handmade, or something? And it was locked.”

“A locked, handmade box?” Schneep blinked, surprised. “That is very suspicious.”

“Yeah, if that showed up in a movie it would be the thing that made the main character go off on an adventure or something,” Chase said. “What’s that called? The... call to adventure? Did I remember that right from English class?”

“Yeah, I think you did,” Stacy said.

“Whoo! I remember stuff!” Chase threw his hands in the air in celebration. “Anyway, uh, very suspicious. Did you figure out how to open it?”

Jack shook his head. “I didn’t, but I did shake it around a bit. Whatever was in there was pretty light. Maybe it was more papers or pictures or something.”

“Secret papers,” Marvin said. “The most suspicious thing of all.”

Jackie frowned. “Wait, so... why do you think your parents are involved with the Circle? Sure, you found a bunch of stuff that shows they were lying to you about Anti being imaginary, but... that doesn’t mean they knew about the Circle.”

“I’m getting there,” Jack said. “I only found the weird box on one search. I did other searches whenever I was home alone. And... I found more.” He picked up the photo again and put it back in the book. “My dad had this big filing cabinet, I don’t really know what it was for, even now. I guess storing papers from his work or something. I went looking through them one day, and... in the back of one of the drawers there was... a file. I mean, I know, that’s what you expect, but... it was different. It was in a different design of folder than the one my dad usually buys, a-and there wasn’t much in it. But... what was in there...” He trailed off.

“Is everything alright, Jack?” Schneep asked quietly.

“Y-yeah.” Jack nodded slowly. “I... I-I saw... letters in there. Addressed to my parents. I-I assume that, uh, my parents sent letters back, but they didn’t keep any copies. The letters... mentioned the Circle. By name.”

“What?!” Chase gasped.

Do you think your parents were talking to the Circle? JJ asked.

“I... I do,” Jack said quietly. “I-I don’t know if they were members of the Circle, but they must’ve known Circle members at least. Not all of the letters had names from who wrote them, but there was no doubt they were all meant for my parents. The letters mentioned that my parents were leaving town. I-I think they implied that they paid for us to move?”

“Holy fuck,” Marvin muttered. “So then you ran away?”

“Well, first I took pictures of the papers,” Jack said. He reached into his backpack again, putting the book back and taking out a digital camera. “They’re on here. I-I didn’t want to put them on our computer, and I’m not sure how to, uh, develop them.”

“You can go to the store to do that,” Chase said. “When I was little my mom used to take me to this store called PriceCo, back when we lived in America, to drop off our camera and then pick up the pictures the next day. I think you can do it in any store here that’s the same, like a Besco or Osda.”

“Can you do it at a Co-Lab?” Stacy asked. “My parents shop at Co-Lab.”

“You can definitely develop photos at Besco, that’s where I do it,” Jackie said. “Though they might be phasing that out in the future, cause you can take pictures on your phones these days. But I think the quality of phone cameras is pretty bad—”

JJ whistled. He held up his notebook for the others to see. We’re getting off track.

“Right, right, sorry.” Jackie nodded. “The point is, if you need to print those pictures, you can totally do it there. Or you can hook up your camera to the computer in my house and we can print those manually, but it might be a bit worse.”

“Thanks,” Jack said. “It’d probably be good to have backups somewhere other than just the camera.” He carefully put it back in the backpack. “Anyway. After I took pictures, I waited until Mam and Dad got home and asked them about the folder.”

“You asked them?!” Schneep gasped.

“Yeah, of course I did,” Jack said, confused. “I wanted to know what was going on. But, uh, they didn’t really answer much. They kinda froze up when I asked about the file and all the stuff inside. Dad tried to be like ‘you shouldn’t have gone through our stuff’ but I kept asking. Things got... loud, and we were fighting, and they kinda admitted they knew Anti was real but that ‘it was better if I forgot.’ I-I remember them saying that exactly...” He trailed off, looking down at his hands. Unshed tears in his eyes reflected the fluorescent lights above.

“Are you okay?” Chase asked, leaning forward.

“Y-yeah, I just... I’m fine.” Jack blinked furiously and looked up again.

“If you are feeling sad, you should talk about it,” Schneep said. “Or if you do not want to talk about it, you should maybe write or draw about it, so that your feelings are not stuck inside.”

Jack laughed a little. “Th-thanks, Henrik. Maybe I’ll take you up on that writing advice. But, uh, not right now.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway. After that, I just sorta... went to my room because it was late, a-and I pretended to be asleep but actually I was packing stuff up and figuring out how to get here. Then in the morning, I just... kinda left.”

Jackie blinked. “You didn’t have to go to school or—no, wait, you graduated. No, double wait! You didn’t have uni classes or anything?”

“Uh...” Jack squirmed a little in his seat. “I took a gap year.”

“A what?” Chase asked.

“Oh, I’ve heard of that,” Marvin said. “It means that you take a break between graduating secondary school and going to uni.”

“You can do that?!” Chase gasped, eyes going wide at this option that he didn’t know existed.

“I’m surprised you don’t know, Chase, I think it’s talked about in a lot of American media,” Jackie said. “But it’s not really recommended you do that. It’s easier to get into a university straight out of school.”

JJ whistled again, and held up his note about getting off topic again.

“Oh, right, I guess,” Jack said. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty much done with what I want to say. But if you guys have any more questions, I’ll try to answer.”

“I guess the biggest question we have is, uh... what do we do now?” Stacy asked. “Like, we know Jack’s parents were involved with the Circle, but what do we do about that?”

“Hm.” Jackie leaned onto the table, biting his lip. “I don’t know... maybe... Jack being here could give us an in on city hall? If Jack’s parents know the Circle, the Circle has to know about Jack. So... maybe he could reach out to the Circle for information?” He looked back at Jack. “If you’re okay with that.”

“I... I-I don’t know,” Jack said slowly. “What if my parents got kicked out or something? So they’re not on good terms?”

If the Circle paid for Jack’s parents to move, they probably don’t want them or him to be here, JJ said, writing quickly. I think they’d be upset to hear he’s back in town.

Jack went a bit pale. “Uh, that—i-in that case, that doesn’t sound safe.”

“Maybe one of us could pretend to be you, then!” Chase said cheerfully. “Or—maybe you could call city hall and put a meeting together, and then we can be there instead?”

“I think that first idea is better,” Marvin said. “Jackie and Jack look a lot like each other anyway.”

“”Oh yeah, they do!” Stacy gasped. “That’s so funny. Are you sure you two aren’t related?”

Jackie laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks for saying I look like Jack, he’s pretty cool.”

“I am?” Jack blinked in surprise.

“I think you are cool,” Schneep said.

“Yeah!” Chase nodded, grinning. “Not as cool as Jackie, but pretty cool!”

“Chase!” Jackie said in a scolding tone. “Don’t compare people like that.”

Jack just laughed. “It’s fine, it’s really fine.”

JJ cleared his throat, and once again tapped his note about staying on topic.

“You know, I think that Jack should tell us more about Anti,” Stacy said. “Maybe if we know more about him, we’ll figure out how to stop him from freaking out because we’re not playing the ‘game’ he wants us to.”

“I don’t know how much my knowledge can help you,” Jack said. “My memories of Anti are... harmless. I guess I can sort of see why he would act like that? He really liked games, and took them really seriously. But... I dunno, he was... nicer than that. He would throw a lot of fits if something was wrong, but he wouldn’t want to hurt anyone.” 

“So he wouldn’t push someone down the stairs?” Marvin asked, folding his arms.

“I don’t think so,” Jack said slowly. “I mean, we pushed each other around a bit when we were really little, but he always stopped when he realized he was upsetting me.”

“Ha!” Marvin laughed.

Something must’ve happened to him since you last saw him, JJ said. You last saw him 8 years ago, right? Why did he leave you? If he spent so long with you he must’ve liked you, right?

Jack bit his lip. “I-I don’t know. I just remember him... vanishing one day. And it was pretty confusing for me. I remember...” He paused, gesturing vaguely. “I-I don’t know what I remember. And that... that really worries me.” He leaned closer. “I-I can’t help but wonder if something happened to me that made me forget. Like, maybe this Circle... made me lose some memories?” The suggestion is hesitant, like he’s expecting the others to call him crazy.

“I suppose that is not impossible to think of,” Schneep said slowly. “For example, they have doctors working for them. Doctors can provide medicines, and some medicines make you forget things. As a side effect, or a... what is the word?” He snapped his fingers. “A coincidence? No, a consequence! A consequence of taking too much.”

Jack looked very alarmed at that. He hunched over, shrinking into himself. “Hey, uh, we’ve been sitting here for a while, why don’t we finally order something?” Jackie quickly said, changing the subject. “I mean, you guys have your drinks, but we need to introduce Jack to the great drinks here at Zelly’s.”

“Yeah!” Chase nodded. “Jack, have you ever had a root beer float? Well, Zelly’s does ice cream floats in other flavors! You can mix and match!” He leaned across the table to grab a menu that was sitting by JJ. “Look, any of their ice cream flavors can be in any of their sodas. So you can make something special. My favorite is strawberry in cherry coke—the Cherry Coke Float!”

As Chase talked, Jack looked up, semi-interested. “Yeah... maybe we can order something,” he said quietly.

“I like their Copper Chocolate ice cream,” Stacy said. “It looks so pretty and swirly! It has caramel and chocolate.”

“Oh! And I like this!” Marvin picked up his soda cup. “Look! It’s blue! And it tastes like pineapple!”

The kids all gave their various recommendations, and eventually Jackie waved over a waiter to order. Once that was done, Jack looked a lot better, his nerves fading away. “You know... I-I don’t think I’m brave like you guys,” he said. “But if you want me to call the Circle or something, I can. There were names on some of the letters my parents had, I could probably find their phone numbers in the phone book or something. Call them and let them know who I am a-and that I want to meet up with them.”

“Are you sure, Jack?” Schneep asked. “If the Circle does not like your parents... w-we do not want you to be in trouble.”

Jack nodded. “I think it’s the best plan we have. Besides, don’t your parents know about all this? We could have them there, too. In case of emergency.”

Chase slumped in his seat. “Yeah... they found out about all this. And like, it’s good that they know, so we don’t have to hide stuff from them, and also in case of emergency, but like... I dunno.”

I don’t think we like most changes to the group, JJ said. No offence, Jack.

“None taken,” Jack said. “I get it.”

“We told Jess and my dad for a reason, guys,” Jackie said, exasperated. “We can ask them for help and advice.”

“Aunt Jess is here now, if you all want to talk to her,” Schneep said slowly.

“Oh yeah, she’s over there.” Stacy stood up and pointed. Mom was still sitting at her table by herself, silently sipping a drink. Looked like a plain cola. Which, like, if you were going to the place with flavored drinks and ice cream only to order a plain cola, what was even the point? Grown-ups were weird.

“We can talk to her about this if Jack’s okay with it,” Marvin said, and JJ nodded in agreement. “Don’t worry, Jack, Ms. Walker is like, totally cool. In fact I think she’s pretty fucking awesome, for a mom. She’s so nice and very smart and like, she’s always with us, you know?”

Chase nodded. “Mom’s great.” Even though it felt weird that she knew about the greenlight and Anti and the Circle, he still liked her and liked having her around.

“Hah. Thanks for the reassurance.” Jack smiled faintly. “Alright... we can bring her over. L-let me do all the talking and explaining, okay?”

The others all nodded. Then Jackie stood up. “I’ll go get her.” He hurried over to Mom’s table, talking to her. While he was over there, the waiter stopped by the table to deliver drinks. Everyone thanked him and he cleared out in time for Jackie to return with Mom, who was taking her chair with her. “Sorry, Ms. Walker, it’s a bit of a tight squeeze with all three of us here,” Jackie said.

“Oh I don’t mind.” Mom set her chair down next to Jackie’s.

“You can sit on the bench with me and Henrik,” Chase offered, scooting over a bit. “That might be less crowded.”

“Hm... alright, if you’re sure.” Mom pushed the chair to the side and carefully scooted onto the bench. “Oh, you two are getting big. I don’t think we’ll all be able to fit on one of these benches much longer.” She laughed, then looked over at Jack. Her expression became serious for a bit before she smiled. “Hi, Jack. It’s good to see you’re doing okay. You’re finding the city fine?”

Jack nodded. “It looks pretty much the same. Except there used to be this Take 5 place not far from here, it’s gone now. But that’s the only thing.”

“Oh I remember that place! Yeah, too bad they closed down.” Mom sighed. “So... you wanted to talk about something?”

“Y-yeah.” Jack gave a pretty quick summation of what he’d already told the others. He didn’t mention the details about how he found the proof his parents knew the Circle, or really mention Anti much at all besides ‘I knew him when I was little.’ But he still gave her the gist of it. Then the others jumped in with their vague plan on having Jack call some of the people who were part of the Circle.

“We’re worried it might be a bit risky,” Jackie said slowly.

“It... i-it will be,” Mom said slowly. “Jack, who are these people who sent the letters? Did any names stand out?”

“Um... I remember one,” Jack said. “It was Iris. Like the part of the eye?”

“Wait—was the name Iris Hopkins?” Stacy asked.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Stacy gasped. “That’s the name of Heather’s aunt!”

“Mayor Hopkins,” Mom breathed, eyes going wide. “No fu—no way. If she’s involved, then the Circle really needs to be stopped.” She bit her lip, drumming her fingers on the table. “Unfortunately, I think you all might be right. Jack could be our only way to get proof of the Circle’s misdeeds. But we’ll need to be careful. We can’t let anything happen to any of you.”

“Proof?” Marvin asked, blinking.

“Yes, of course.” Mom nodded. “Of course, we don’t want news of the greenlight to spread. Then who knows what would happen? Anyone might try to take advantage of it the way the Circle has. But if we can somehow expose that the Circle exists and is up to something no good, then people can do something about it. Not everyone in town is a member, and it’ll be a lot easier to convince the people who don’t know if we have something we can show them.”

The kids all nodded back in unison. JJ held up his notebook with more writing. We were thinking we would have Jack call and ask to meet people somewhere. Maybe we can film what happens at that meeting?

“That’s a great idea, JJ!” Mom said encouragingly. “Pictures and voice recordings too, just in case.”

“So maybe Jack makes the call soon, and arranges a meeting on a day we’re all free?” Jackie suggested.

“Oh! Like Saturday!” Chase added.

Jackie shook his head. “No, Saturday won’t work for me. There’s this uni fair happening that I want to go see, and I dunno how long it’ll take.”

 “What is that?” Schneep asked.

“It’s a gathering where a bunch of universities set up booths in the school,” Jackie said. “They explain what their school is like. What sort of classes they offer and... uh...” He trailed off, unsure.

“They’ll also explain tuition, housing, what the campus is like, if they have any special programs, all that sort of stuff,” Mom added.

Jackie nodded definitively. “Right.”

“I thought you said you don’t need to go to college yet,” Chase asked. “Like, I know you said it’s good to start thinking about it now, but why do you need to go... I dunno, check out the schools?”

“Um, well...” Jackie fidgeted, pulling his hands into his hoodie sleeves. “You need to know where you’ll be going and what you’ll be aiming for, you know? And the sooner you do that, the better. Because then you... have a plan... a-and stuff. And you can take the right classes in school to be prepared.”

“Oh.” Chase blinked. “Um... okay. I... guess we can’t do Saturday, then. What about Sunday?”

“I have work in the morning, but maybe after?” Jackie suggested. “I know my dad’s day off is Sunday.”

Mom frowned. “I have a meeting that day... but I suppose I can see if I can get out of it.”

After some discussion, the group came up with a plan. Jack and Jackie would do some research into the names Jack got from the letters, and then call one of them—probably this mayor, Iris Hopkins. They would try to get her (or whoever else they called) to meet up with Jack on Sunday, five days from now. In the meantime, Mom and the others would prepare ways to record the conversation. JJ volunteered his camera, but Mom insisted on having a couple backups as well. Then, once the meeting came around, the group would lurk around the meeting area, recording and ready to jump in if something went wrong. Jack was nervous about actually going to the meeting, but Jackie reassured him that if he was too scared, he would go in his place. They sounded enough alike—and the Circle people wouldn’t know what Jack looked like, so the voice was what mattered. “I’ll just need to put on a bit of an accent,” Jackie said jokingly.

“You know, this plan only really needs two or three people,” Mom said slowly. “The rest of you could stay behind. If something goes wrong... i-it’s best for you to be out of the way, you know?”

“Don’t worry, Chase’s mom, we’ve dealt with a lot of stuff by now!” Marvin said. “Besides, I’m definitely coming. What if you need my magic?” He wiggled his fingers, making small fireworks in the air. The fireworks collapsed together and formed a bird shape, which flew for a bit before abruptly disappearing, like a bubble popping.

Mom frowned, uncertain. “I know you all have done ‘a lot of stuff,’ but... you don’t have to do anything more. You don’t have to go through any more scary situations, you know.”

“Th-thank you, Aunt Jess,” Schneep said quietly. “But... I-I think we all want to help. A-and I do... I-I do not know if Anti will let us.”

“How’s your coffee table by the way?” Stacy asked. “Is the Fissure still there?”

“Yes, it’s still there,” Mom said. “I took out a tablecloth so we can cover it up if company ever comes over, but it’s uncovered now so we can keep an eye on it. I’m pretty sure that this Fissure thing has somehow rooted the table in place. I accidentally kicked a leg once and it didn’t even jolt.” Chase remembered that. Mom had shouted out, and when he looked downstairs to see what was going on, she said that she’d just stubbed her toe.

Is it getting bigger or smaller? JJ asked.

“No, it looks the same,” Mom said.

“Oh that’s good.” Marvin sighed in relief. “I know that we’ve never seen a Fissure get bigger or smaller, but we’ve never seen a Fissure get made before, not the way Anti did it. So we were worried that would be different, you know? That maybe since Anti made it instead of it appearing... however Fissures normally appear, then it wouldn’t be like the others. But it sounds like it’s like the others after all! Apart from it being in your coffee table. Anyway, we can totally come to check out this meeting! At least, it will be easier than explaining everything to us after the fact.”

Mom looked at all the kids, then sighed. “Alright, I guess that even if things go wrong, it won’t be too dangerous. Sorry, but you know... I’m a mom, I have to look out for you all. That’s my job.” She smiled a bit. “Though the problem then becomes how many people can fit in a car... There’s only five seats in mine. What about yours, Jackie?”

“The same,” Jackie said, not mentioning how sometimes he would let two kids sit in one of those seats. “But if we both drive over... hm. No, that’s not a good idea. We don’t know where or when the meeting will take place, outside of Sunday. Two cars might be suspicious. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Circle knows my car by now.”

“So... only two or three people will be able to come?” Chase asked. “Since we’ll need Mom and Jackie for sure, and maybe Jack, if he wants.”

Stacy sighed. “Well, I guess I can sit out. If the meeting is too late at night, my parents might stop me from going, anyway. Since the next day is a school day.”

Marvin frowned. “In that case, our parents might also make JJ go to sleep early.”

JJ shrugged. We could try to sneak out or something, but if it’s not too late then we can definitely go. And Marvin, you should ESPECIALLY go. They might need your magic!

“Fuck yeah! You’re right!” Marvin grinned. “Oh but—Chase and Schneep should go! Since their mom is going!”

“I would not mind not going,” Schneep said tentatively. “Though... I would be home alone. I-I would be fine with that, but perhaps Aunt Jess would not?” He looked over at her.

“Let’s... make sure that the meeting goes through before we figure out who goes,” Mom said.

“I-I guess once we get home me and Jackie will get started on that?” Jack asked.

“Yeah!” Jackie grinned. “Don’t worry, man, we’ll be able to find these guys easily.”

Not long after that, the group dispersed, making sure to pay for their drinks before they went. Chase waved goodbye to the others before he and Schneep got in the car. Mom drove off, looking thoughtful. He hated to interrupt her, but... he wanted to know something. “Hey, uh, Mom?” he asked. “Should... should I start thinking about college?”

“Huh?” Mom blinked, and looked over at him. “No, Chase, you don’t have to worry about that now. You’re only twelve... thirteen soon, though. College is at least five years away.”

“...Holy crap my birthday is in a month!” Chase gasped.

“Happy early birthday, Chase,” Schneep said.

Mom laughed. “Yeah, it’s coming up really fast, isn’t it? You’ll officially be a teenager.”

“I’ll be a teenager...” Chase leaned back against his chair, eyes wide. He hadn’t realized that. He didn’t feel like an almost-teenager. For some reason, the thought made him feel like he was looking off the side of a really tall cliff. Did he want to be a teenager? If he was, he would have to do... teenager stuff. Get a part-time job and start thinking about college. Like how Jackie was doing. He had no idea how to do that.

“Are you alright, Chase?” Schneep asked, leaning over, visibly concerned.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I was just... thinking about what I’d want to do for my birthday,” Chase said. “Maybe we could go out to dinner.”

“Where were you thinking?” Mom asked. “And do you have any idea what presents you’d want?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, I have a few ideas.”

The conversation continued on, and soon they arrived back home, and the day passed quietly as Schneep and Chase finished their homework, then ate dinner, watched some TV, and went to bed. But... Chase felt off for the whole afternoon. The day didn’t feel so good. That hole in his stomach was still there.

Everything was changing.

[blackjackkent]

Lighthouse convos part 1235123412!

This next Bellara quest pickup starts off with a bang:

"Oh, that's not good. Not even a little bit!"

"Rook! We have to go! We might already be too late!"

Uh oh.

"Slow down," Helena says firmly. "What's happening?" Really, though, seeing Bellara in such an anxious state, it's not hard to guess.

"The artifact! Remember how I told you that I'd know if they started another ritual?" The words are spilling out of Bellara but not in the usual excited way; her eyes are wide with fear. "They did. And it's big. Really, really big. Arlathan big, maybe."

Helena feels a chill go through her. "You're sure?"

"Completely. Nothing else explains that resonance."

Helena swallows. This has all come to a head faster than she expected. "Okay," she says tersely. "So how do we stop that from happening?"

Bellara twists her hands together. "I don't know. Hope the ritual's already started?" she says plaintively. "We might be able to stop it, if they haven't gotten very far."

That chill has worked its way around to settle at the base of Helena's spine. "And if they've had that chance?"

Bellara abruptly goes very still except for the twitching of her fingers against each other. "These rituals need an anchor," she says in a low voice. "With a physical body - so not a spirit, or whatever Anaris is. Which means Cyrian." She takes a sharp breath of air, looking down at the floor. "And there's only one way to free an anchor."

A feeling of bleak horror settles over Helena. Please... Maker, please, don't make me have to kill her brother... please...

"Then let's not waste any time," she says.

------

OK so obviously we're going to do that right now immediately, but quick stop by the exclamation mark on Davrin before we leave, presumably to follow up on the ending of his quest.

Helena finds him chilling with Assan in front of the fire:

"Hmm, maybe tomorrow," he says, in answer to an excitable series of squawks from the griffon. "Swimming?" he laughs. "Don't push your luck. You're still learning how to fly.

"You two have come a long way since we met," Helena says cheerfully as she wanders into the room.

Davrin chuckles. "Yeah. And he's still just a cub." He reaches out and ruffles Assan's head feathers affectionately.

"Wait'll he's a teenager," Helena says dryly.

Davrin grins. "It's all about emotion with Assan," he says thoughtfully. "What makes him happy, what makes him sad, or afraid. He's pure that way, no hiding anything. He likes you, you know it. He doesn't like you, he won't hold back."

Assan squawks in enthusiastic agreement.

Helena raises an eyebrow at him. "What about me?" she asks playfully.

"He's taken a shine," Davrin intones mock-seriously.

"Yeah?"

Davrin cracks another grin, nodding. "Listen," he says quietly. "I wanted to thank you. Without your help, the griffons would have gone extinct all over again. You stepped up. They have a home because of you."

Helena thinks back on the image of those young griffons flying through the low sunlight and autumn foliage of Arlathan. It's an image of peace - of success. And given what Bellara just told her, she suspects she's going to need it, because what's coming up is probably going to be... bad.

"Eldrin and the Dalish will take good care of them," she murmurs. "It's the best choice for the griffons." She rests a hand on Assan's flank, giving him a quick pat. "And I bet Assan's brothers and sisters will agree."

Assan bursts out in an explosion of enthusiastic squawking, longer and more emphatic than Helena has heard from him before. Davrin grins. "He says as long as there's clear skies to roam, warm sun to nap, and bellyfuls of food, they'll be happy."

Doesn't sound too bad to me either, come to that, Helena thinks ruefully. "A griffon's word is good enough for me!"

"Till Taash teaches him how to swear," Davrin says with a snort.

Helena laughs softly at that. "That might actually be fun," she says teasingly, and claps him gently on the shoulder. "See you around."

[torukmaktoskxawng]

tsamsiyu ta'em - strangers like me

Masterlist - part ten

Summary: Kayla continues to learn about island life with the Metkayina and also learns a bit more about her teachers along the way. Tonowari and Ronal find their student strange and intriguing.

Pairing: Ronal/Tonowari/Original Female Character

Tag: #tsamsiyu ta'em fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 6k+

Taglist (bold indicates "could not tag"): @motheroffae @undeniableadrenaline @mooniequeen @shit-i-say-shit-i-think @heart-an0n @amiets2 @slutforsmut4ever @yeosxxx​ @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @sucker4angstt @inolaphoenix @ilovechickenwings tojisleftarm andyfromku @ivysully

A/N: I am so sorry for my absence! I wish I have a good excuse for being absent, but the truth is I'm not doing so hot in the real world rn. My job is cutting back hours and I barely have enough for rent. I'm getting a second job next month so hopefully, things smoothen out.

Here is the long-awaited update that I will kick myself for delaying in exchange for obsessively crying over Good Omens Season 2. Let the montage of Awa'atlu life commence! Again, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy!

Note: The title is named after the Phil Collins song "Strangers Like Me" because Tarzan and Avatar just go together XD

To avoid having Ronal hunt her down again, Kayla got up earlier the next morning and made her way back to the village to join her brother's family for breakfast before her lessons. Kiri was definitely doing better and Tuk was excited that her aunt had decided to see them off before their busy days. After pleasant conversations and the promise to meet before their midday meal, the kids took off to pursue whatever they planned for the day. Kayla stood up with the intention of going to find either the tsahik or the olo'eyktan and so Jake walked her out of the marui as they talked.

"So Neteyam mentioned that you guys talked about what happened between Lo'ak and Ao'nung," Jake started off.

'Oh, boy, here we go,' Kayla thought as she tilted her head to glance back at him, feigning partial innocence, "Yes? What about it?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that it's already been handled, and it sounds like the boys are actually getting along now. Neteyam also mentioned that you didn't get to meet Ao'nung yesterday so I wanted to make sure you knew this before you went looking for a fight with the kid."

"Jake, how young do you think I am?" When his face twisted with hesitance, she rolled her eyes, "Don't answer that. What I'm trying to say is that I'm not a child, I'm older than I look, and believe it or not, I do realize this. You don't have to worry about me... but you could've been a little nicer to Lo'ak."

Jake refrained from also rolling his eyes, knowing his sister would say this. He wasn't blind. He was well aware that Kayla would always be quick to defend his youngest son, no matter what he did. Jake was half-convinced that Lo'ak could get away with murder as far as his aunt was concerned, "He knew he wasn't allowed to go beyond the reef but he went anyway. He was at fault as much as Ao'nung."

"I get that, but it feels as though Lo'ak received more punishment than the boys who actually put him in danger, and for what?"

"For picking fights."

"No, for defending his sister," her eyes narrowed, "Not that you would know what that means."

Jake took the verbal lashing in stride, internally sighing, "I can't punish the chief's son for what he does against my kids, Kayla."

At first, Kayla had every intention of cursing her brother out, but instead paused and tried rephrasing her response. Her eyes drifted to the reef while she recalled far-off memories, "I remember Mom and Dad were allowed to punish the neighbor kids if they misbehaved with us and no one would bat an eye."

The mention of his old life irked him, and he wasn't afraid to show that in his deep snarl, "Well, Mom and Dad aren't here and we're not on Earth," her posture visibly stiffens but doesn't interrupt. Jake's wave of anger is immediately replaced with guilt, so he opts in taking a breath before he could say anything else he might come to regret, "Things are different here. So be civil and keep the peace. Don't go picking fights with teenagers."

"I won't," she mutters darkly, the coldness in her eyes returning as she side-eyes him, reminding Jake that he still wasn't out of the storm regarding her, "That's what you're here for."

She doesn't stay long enough to hear whatever rebuttal he might have in mind. Instead, she walks down the pathways leading further into the village before calling back, "I'll see you later."

Tail lowered in distress and possibly shame, Jake could only turn back to the marui and try to go about his day as he normally would. He knew he deserved the petty insults and his sister's aggression toward him, especially after all the radio silence she had endured for months while he was here experiencing a new way of life, on top of everything else. He just wished Kayla could manage to let go of all the pain and anger like he did when he first began to learn the ways of the Omatikaya. Physically, Kayla's avatar hasn't changed apart from the new Na'vi trinkets she had added to her standard-issued cargo shorts and crop top. However, Jake had hoped her mentality toward him would change the more she learned how to be Na'vi. 

He knew he was a fool to get his hopes up so soon. 

Walking through the village, Kayla went down the same route Ronal had brought her yesterday, hoping she would catch sight of the tsahik. Again, there were some stares from the Metkayina, but they didn't last as long as the day before and the reef people didn't look as bothered by her appearance. The Na'vi go about their day without much acknowledgment to Kayla, and before she knew it, she had made it to her destination, the craft huts she had met Tsireya just the other day.

It wasn't hard to find Ronal among the crowd of mottled skin patterns. Her accessories, tattoos, and rounded stomach are a dead giveaway, and the tsahik easily found Kayla in the crowd in turn, though it wasn't as hard, given the circumstances. Ronal's eyes visibly squint when her gaze lands on Kayla, then the Na'vi woman pulls away from her task to rise and meet the avatar. Another Na'vi stands to join her, a teenage boy and Kayla had an inkling who it was.

When Ronal approached Kayla, she motioned to the boy behind her, "My son, Ao'nung."

Smiling timidly, Kayla greets Ao'nung as respectfully as possible, though even she could admit her smile was tighter than usual. Ao'nung didn't say a word back, instead deciding to simply nod and avoid eye contact. His ears drooped and his head lowered like this was torture for him. Clearly, he was being coerced into being here with Kayla, but she decided not to fault him for it. Perhaps he's already being punished enough for his wrongdoings that he didn't need Kayla to torture him further about it.

Ronal doesn't appear to notice nor care for Ao'nung's discomfort and sternly stated to Kayla, "We will be teaching you how to communicate underwater. Do not fall behind or you will be left behind."

Kayla refrains from the small smile that threatened to escape her. Ronal's words vaguely reminded her of Neytiri's way of teaching Jake both from the stories she heard and the video log Jake had recorded. As Jake had once phrased it, 'Learn fast or die.'

With that in mind, Kayla doesn't complain and silently follows Ronal and Ao'nung away from the craft huts and further down the pathways. It didn't take long before they brought their guest to a large marui. It wasn't as big as the communal pod for the feasts, but it was significantly taller and wider than the normal ones Kayla has seen, including the Sullys' marui. She took note of the different colors of weaving and decorations adorning the home, such as the totem and skimwing skull hanging over the front entrance in greeting, a small windchime of shells softly dancing in the warm breeze. If Kayla had to guess, this was the olo'eyktan and tsahik's pod. Soon after stepping inside, both Ronal and Ao'nung lower to the ground, sitting back on their legs and Kayla does the same, proceeding to listen as Ronal starts off the lesson.

Nothing eventful happened as Kayla learned the Metkayina equivalent of sign language. Ao'nung never said a word regarding Lo'ak or any incident that happened with Kayla's nieces and nephews prior to her arrival. In fact, Ao'nung didn't say a whole lot other than chiming in a time or two to help Kayla with the lesson. Perhaps he never said a word outside of the subject of his people's sign language because his mother had been giving him sharp looks throughout the whole lesson. It was hard to miss. Ronal wasn't exactly a subtle creature. She openly expressed whatever she was feeling, unafraid of hurting someone's feelings, not even her son's, it would seem.

It was amusing to find all the similarities between the mother and son, both physically and spiritually. Their glare, eyes, and even their pout were the same. Kayla even dared herself to look a little closer without getting caught and noticed that Ao'nung inherited the same mole as his mother's, both spots found above their lip, on the top right side.

She must have lost track in time as the suns rose higher in the sky. Before she knew it, her next teacher had shown up to take her to her next destination. Tonowari stepped up into the marui, his large frame blocking the majority of the light coming in through the entryway. His gaze brushes over Kayla and Ao'nung before his eyes land on the tsahik, "Ma Ronal. Is this a good time?"

One of Kayla's ear flick to the side at the term of endearment, glancing over to the woman in question who only firmly nods and stares back at Kayla, "Go on. My mate will continue your riding lessons from yesterday."

Kayla mutters her thanks and stands up to join Tonowari. As they turn toward the exit, the olo'eyktan points back to his son, "Ao'nung. Remain with your mother."

"But, Father--"

"Do not question me, boy," the tone in Tonowari's voice was a little louder and stronger than normal, and even Kayla could feel her spine straightening up, despite not being under his scrutiny. Kayla briefly glances back at Ao'nung and notes the way he shrinks in on himself, still unable to look her in the eye, clearly embarrassed. Kayla looks away and follows Tonowari out of the marui, shadowing his footsteps as he addresses her, "I apologize for my son."

For the moment, Kayla had the empathy to pity the teenager and decided to soften the blow against Ao'nung, "There's nothing to apologize for. He was a pleasant enough teacher."

His voice had reverted back to its normal tone, significantly smoother and kinder on the ears, "Did you learn well?"

"I think so. It's not that different compared to what the Sky People have," when he flashed a questioning glance over his shoulder at her, she further explained, "They have a language that requires hand motions, too."

He doesn't question it further, instead looking back ahead and leading Kayla down to the docks. The ilu anxiously await their arrival in the water below, clicking and calling excitedly as Tonowari pulls a harness over one of their heads. The two adults get into the water and stand beside the earnest ilu, Tonowari trying to calm the creature whilst Kayla makes tsaheylu. She mounts the creature with ease, remembering yesterday's lesson and dreading the idea of falling off again as Tonowari begins reassuring her, "You need to exude confidence. Tell the ilu that you will command them and you will be respected by them. Do not give them space to come up with their own ideas."

She takes a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and nodded, waiting until Tonowari steps away before commanding the ilu to move forward using only the bond connecting them to each other's thoughts. The creature obliges and all appears to be going smoothly. Kayla manages to instruct the ilu to swim faster before eventually sinking underneath the water's surface. The ilu picks up speed and even as she clings on for dear life, Kayla could already feel her grip loosening. Angry and determined, Kayla tightens her thighs around the saddle of the creature and demands her bonded steed to leap out of the water and let her breathe, no room for nonsense.

To her shock and delight, the ilu chirped happily and sprung out of the water like a bullet, briefly flying through the air and allowing Kayla to take a breath before diving back in. She was so shocked that she almost lost her grip before regaining composure and asking the ilu to do it again, in case she had only imagined her success. The ilu was ecstatic to leap out of the water again and did so without a fuss, and this time, Kayla laughed as the shock wore off.

On the surface, the woman is met with a small audience. Lo'ak, Neteyam, and Tsireya were out riding their own respective ilu that afternoon before briefly pausing to watch a school of fish swim all around them, tickling their feet. Just as Kayla appeared to finally be getting the hang of riding an ilu, the teenagers caught notice of her as well. Lo'ak is the first to spot her, cupping his hands over his mouth as he crows in encouragement, "Go, Auntie! Woo-hoo! Yeah! You got it!"

Kayla laughs as Neteyam and Tesireya begin to cheer her on as well, their voices carried by the winds as Kayla and her ilu dive into the water and back out again. By the time Kayla remembered herself and returned to her teacher, Tonowari had his arms crossed but otherwise appeared pleased by her improvement, tail leisurely swaying behind him with curiosity.

~~~~~~~~~

Weeks go by since Kayla first arrived in Awa'atlu, and despite having to adapt to yet another completely different culture, Kayla had to admit that it was getting easier as time went on. She originally thought the ways of the Metkayina were a cakewalk compared to the Omatikaya, but maybe it was because she learned from the Forest People first that made learning from the Reef People easier than she originally thought it would.

She makes sure to reiterate this to Norm and the other humans every time she sees them. When everyone in Awa'atlu is meant to be resting, Kayla retreats to her campsite and secures her avatar form before closing her eyes and breaking the neural link. The next time she opens her eyes, it's within the link gurney back at High Camp.  Norm and Max are always there to greet her, asking about her headaches and other health problems. There were days even Kayla had to admit were rough. After spending so much time in her avatar form, it's starting to strain the link connecting herself to her human form and it causes massive headaches every time she breaks a new record of not reporting back for days on end. To distract her friends from lecturing her, Kayla just updates everyone on Kiri's condition and relays any messages Jake or the rest of the Sully family wanted her to bring. In return, the scientists or even the Na'vi, such as Txe'la and Meui, would update her on any information regarding Ardmore or any Sky People activity. 

She's always left disappointed when they say the same thing. No one has seen Spider. 

Trying not to let the news discourage her, Kayla always wakes back up in her avatar form in better spirits so as not to worry Jake and his family. Kayla continues to treat the days as normal, continuing her lessons and helping out in any way she can so as not to overstay her welcome. When she wasn't following Tonowari or Ronal around, Kayla was usually in the company of her nieces, nephews, and their new friends.

Tsireya was one of those friends, and she was such a sweet girl who would happily entertain Kayla in any endeavor. When she wasn't busy, one of Kayla's favorite pastimes was helping Tuk and Tsireya find seashells for their hair and any jewelry idea they had in mind. Tsireya, as Tuk said, knew all the best spots where the shells were always fully intact and not crushed into pieces by the harsh tides. During these little adventures, Kayla, Tuk, and Tsireya would learn more about each other, bonding over the fact that they were all their families' younger sisters. 

The sign language was easier than the verbal language, but Kayla felt as though she had a rug pulled from beneath her feet when Ronal knowingly stated that she was going to be teaching her student a third language. The tsahik, with the help of other Metkayina, began to teach Kayla the language of the tulkun, the sea creature Kayla learned to be the spiritual animal and companion to the Reef People, as the ikran is to Forest People. Apparently, not even Kayla's nieces and nephews have progressed as far as learning the tulkun language yet, and they became ecstatic to realize that they would be learning this alongside their aunt. Joining Ronal in these lessons with Kayla and the Sully kids would also be Tsireya and Rotxo, which only excited the forest kids more. Ronal wasn't as pleased with her own student when she caught Kayla fondly watching the children interact more than once. 

Kayla had to learn this extra language on top of her breathing lessons, the latter of which was taught by both Tonowari and Ronal. Sometimes they would teach her separately, and other times they would do so together, but whatever the case may be, it didn't matter to Kayla. She would carefully listen to whoever was teaching her, and sometimes she listened so intently that she caught herself observing her teachers a little too closely. 

Like Tonowari's eyes for example. Kayla noted they were a light blue at first as she sat cross-legged across from him while they practiced breathing exercises. But upon closer inspection, Kayla noticed specks of green engulfed by those blue orbs, like clumps of islands surrounded by warm sparkling oceans.

He was a clenched fist with a gentle touch. Kayla greatly admired him for being someone who could easily take advantage of his strength and position above his people but chooses to be kind and soft-spoken instead.

 It was fascinating for Kayla to see just how different the Metkayinas' eyes were compared to the Omatikayas'. Whereas every Na'vi of the Forest had orange or yellow cat-like eyes, the ones who live off of the reef had rounder and bigger eyes, not to mention they had a variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors. 

Like Ronal's eyes. The opposite of her mate's, Kayla noted that Ronal's eyes were more green than blue, with specks of a warm, gold color, like a sunset reflecting off the ocean surface. 

She was orphic, but that's as far as Kayla allowed herself to describe the tsahik.

There was plenty to say about Ronal, but Kayla thought it best not to linger on any of the words bouncing around in her head. It was clear to her that the tsahik will always disapprove of Kayla and her presence among the Metkayina, so Kayla didn't want to compliment the Na'vi woman too much, especially since she doesn't intend on staying for very long.

Her stay was still very much temporary, at least in Kayla's eyes, as she still intends on going back to the forest to find Spider. For now, however, she was content with her small campsite just inside the treeline of the Metkayina island, a campsite that Ronal appears to disapprove of along with everything else about Kayla. The tsahik still has to occasionally venture out and find Kayla among the trees if she is in need of the avatar woman, like today when Ronal had the mind to take the time to find Kayla. It wasn't hard since the demon had kept her promise and never moved her campsite so she would be right where Ronal could find her. Still, Kayla was apologetic when Ronal found her and the tsahik begrudgingly told the foreigner to follow her back to the village.

Ronal brings her to the shoreline and recruits her to help fix an ilu pen that had begun to wither with age. Tonowari was already hard at work on it and briefly looked up to greet the two women when they sat down on the edge of the pathway and gracefully slipped into the water with him. After a brief instruction from him, Kayla gets to work in silence, and Ronal isn't opposed to doing the same. The silence wasn't as awkward as they were in the past, but out of the corner of her eye, Kayla could clearly see that something was bothering the tsahik, as Ronal wasn't ashamed of openly frowning while watching Kayla work. She didn't appear to be glaring in disapproval, but she looked... frustrated. It was as if she was trying to figure out a complicated puzzle. Kayla briefly glanced at the Na'vi positioned on the other side of her and noticed that Tonowari was much more subtle than his mate. Unlike Ronal, he only snuck glances at Kayla and her work here and there and did his best to hide whatever expression was on his face.

"Am I doing it wrong?"

"No. You're doing well," a compliment was not what she was expecting and it shows as Kayla's ears perk up and her eyes briefly widen. Ronal pointedly ignores the reaction and blatantly asks, "Why do you not stay with your brother's family at night?"

Kayla looked at Ronal, nose scrunched slightly in confusion, all the while completely unaware of the stare Tonowari sent to his mate from above Kayla's head, "Why would I?"

"Group sleep is also customary in the Metkayina."

"What's a group sleep?"

By Eywa, did the Omatikaya teach this alien woman anything? Ronal huffs out an irritated sigh, "Families sleep in large groups, usually in their swaynivi. Some clan members will sleep alone or with their mate just as long as they return to their family's nivi in a short period of time. Otherwise, they're deemed spiritually unhealthy. It is unsafe for one to sleep alone."

"I see," Kayla's ears pin back and her posture straightens, understanding the question now while pointedly staring down at her work on weaving the ilu pen together instead of addressing Ronal, "Well, where I'm from, that's called an invasion of privacy. I would assume that the families who sleep in large groups mostly contain parents and their children, correct?"

She doesn't wait for a response as she further explains with a small distaste in her mouth, "Since I'm neither of those, I don't want to invade my brother's and his children's privacy. Thank you for your concern, but I've been alone for a very long time. I can assure you that I am just fine with the sleeping arrangements I have now."

Even Ronal can sense a dismissal when she hears it in Kayla's voice. It was clear that the alien woman didn't want to further discuss this topic and so the tsahik didn't push it. Returning to her work, Ronal now briefly shared a glance with Tonowari but he pointedly kept his mouth closed during the whole conversation and after.

Luckily, the silence is saved by Neteyam as the teenager arrives with a purpose, slightly bouncing over the pathways above the adults' heads, "Auntie. My father is looking for you."

Kayla's discomfort visibly melts before Tonowari and Ronal's eyes. She looks up and smiles at the Na'vi boy, "Tell your father he can come and get me himself next time instead of sending you out. You should be elsewhere, enjoying the reefs and hunting with your friends."

She briefly turned back to the clan leaders, silently asking for approval to leave with her eyes flicking between the two Metkayina. Both nodded and openly watch as Kayla turns back to Neteyam, smiling up at her nephew as she rises up onto the pathway and follows him out, gently shoving him once to get him to pick up the pace so she didn't trip on his heels.

Neteyam huffed a small laugh as they walked, but the sound falls in replace of shame. He was visibly acting a little shy as he avoided eye contact, "I am sorry that I told my father about our conversation. I should have asked for your permission."

"Hey, no harm," she nudged him, "It's not like our talks are meant to be a secret or anything. It's nice that you can trust your father with everything; trust him enough to talk about whatever you want. As long as you're comfortable, kiddo."

"Was your father not like that?"

Kayla bit her tongue to refrain from visibly wincing, staring directly ahead instead of at her nephew, "No. I don't think he was. Not from what I can remember. Mostly I relied on Tommy and your dad growing up."

"What was my father like as an older brother? Am I like him?"

Kayla briefly grew quiet as they walked, pondering about how she could best word this to her oldest nephew. She tried seeing Jake in Neteyam, she really did, but whenever she tried comparing the teenager's best traits, they only remind her of Neytiri. And when Kayla thinks about Jake, all the pain and other torture he had put her through both intentionally and by accident, she couldn't even fathom Neteyam doing the same thing to his own siblings. Physically and mentally, deep down she knew that Neteyam was nothing like his father, and she was secretly grateful for that.

So instead of agreeing, Kayla simply smiled while staring the teenager in the eyes so he could see her sincerity, "No, 'Teyam. You're like Tommy. He was the older brother. When it comes to how you treat your siblings, you remind me of him, and I think your father sees it, too."

~~~~~~~~~

When Ronal isn't busy with her duties as tsahik or teaching Kayla, she is making sure Neytiri also adapts to their way of life. Although the former tsakarem had been comfortably accustomed to island life by the time her sister-in-law joined her family, Ronal still takes Neytiri into the jungle for a second pair of hands to gather the needed plants and herbs for her stock. Today was no different as the two women stumbled across a large jungle tree, larger than any of the others around them. Instead of following Ronal's suggestion to skip this tree and its healing fruits in exchange for a shorter one, Neytiri stops and shakes her head. Ronal was adamant about moving on since she was in no condition to climb and wasn't built to climb trees even if she wasn't currently pregnant. 

Neytiri still shook her head in defiance and simply said, "You need Forest People."

The Forest woman opens her mouth and calls out at the top of her lungs, causing Ronal's ears to twitch in response to her whooping and cawing. Notifying her family about her location, it didn't take long for Jake, Kayla, and all the Sully children to come running to Neytiri's call. 

Neytiri proudly smiles at her family while explaining why they had been summoned, "Our tsahik needs the fruit from the top of this tree and the ones surrounding it."

The others take a moment to look at one another before Kayla breaks the silence, briefly tapping Tuk's shoulder before running off, "'Last one to the top is a rotten egg!"

Tuk squeals and immediately chases after her aunt. The older Sully kids smile and break into fits of laughter, following suit and running after Kayla and their little sister. They all leap up, grabbing onto the lower branches before lifting themselves up, climbing expertly higher without their arms protesting the weight of their bodies. Ronal watched them climb higher and higher, keeping her expression stoic while observing the way Kayla makes the collecting and scavenging into a game for her nieces and nephews, challenging them to see who can gather the most fruit. In the corner of her eye, Ronal could still see Neytiri standing beside her, also watching the trees and smiling fondly up at her family. Jake soon stands beside his wife, hands on his hips while watching his sister and his children with a careful eye.

It was then did Ronal address Toruk Makto directly, flashing a face of disapproval, "Does your sister always act so childish?"

Jake's posture stiffens and he struggles to find the right words under the tsahik's watchful eye, "Well-! Uh..."

"No, only with the children," Neytiri answers for him, eyes hardened when they meet Ronal's as if daring her to speak again, "She plays with them because she wants to remind them that they are still just that. Children."

~~~~~~~~~

Kiri woke up bothered about something and everyone could tell. That girl didn't know how to hide her feelings no matter how badly she wanted to, the definition of an open book. Even though no one knew why she was upset, they could clearly tell that whatever it was, it had something to do with her aunt. Kiri wasn't necessarily cold to Kayla, but the teenager would go quiet and only speak in one-word responses whenever the older woman spoke directly to her. 

Kayla decided that she needed to fix whatever was going on between herself and her oldest niece, so she offered to take the children out as the afternoon slipped into the evening. Neytiri suggested bringing them swimming through the reefs to collect barnacles and other underwater plants for tonight's supper, a passing time a lot of the villagers tend to do. Kayla takes up the idea and presents it to the Sully kids, who all agree to go, some more enthusiastic than others.

Tuk immediately splashes into the water and her brothers chase after her. Meanwhile, Kayla and Kiri linger on the beach, watching them disappear into the ocean. Kayla had tried breaking the tension with a small smile, "So when are you gonna show me how to use those underwater fairy wings?" 

She was hoping for a small laugh or even a smile, but Kiri does neither. Instead, she looks sad and distracted, looking out over the horizon where the sky meets the sea, daydreaming of other lands... of home. Kayla bravely touches the girl's shoulder, and when Kiri looks up, her aunt could see the concern plain on her face. The avatar woman squeezes Kiri's shoulder, "What is it?" 

Kiri bites the inside of her cheek before giving in, letting out a small sigh, "When are you going back to the forest?" She quickly understands how that could easily be misinterpreted and corrects herself, "It's just that-- you promised you'd look for Spider. And yet, you're here and he still hasn't been found yet."

Kayla relaxes both in posture and touch, removing her hand from Kiri's shoulder and instead letting it fall to her side, "I'll likely be gone by the end of the week, but for Norm's peace of mind, I'm going to be running a few tests on you so he and I both know you'll be okay," silence follows and Kayla reaches out once more, letting her hand gently grasp Kiri's arm, "Kiri, look at me."

The teen does so, a little belligerent at first. Upon staring up at her aunt, Kiri could see the determination in her eyes that closely matched Kiri's father's. Kayla tilts her head down to try and stand more at Kiri's height before softly explaining, "I haven't given up. And you might find it pointless to keep an eye on you after what happened, but I don't, and I don't think Spider would either. Think about it, kiddo. Spider would want us to make sure you're alright before we ever went looking for him."

Kiri ducks her head and watches her toe make shapes in the sand beneath her feet, "I know... but that doesn't mean I have to like it. He deserves to be put first for once."

Silence lingers between the two of them before Kayla simply says, "You're right."

Kiri doesn't wanna look up to see whatever expression was on her aunt's face. Instead, Kiri takes her arm and drags her to the water, "Come."

"'Where we going?"

"You said you wanted to learn how to use a txampaysye."

Kayla's nose scrunched up, testing the word on her tongue with bitterness, "How do you even spell that??"

Kiri manages to loosen up and laugh before they both held their breath and sank down into the water, sinking until they joined the rest of the Sully children. They introduce Kayla to txampaysye -gill mantle- and instruct her on how to use it in order to breathe underwater. Kayla wasn't far off. The gill mantles really did look like fairy wings, but other than maybe a few comments or stories, none of the Na'vi children would know what exactly a fairy was. The children and their aunt spend the evening doing as Neytiri suggested, gathering underwater plants and barnacles alongside other Metkayina, most of whom all wore the txampaysye. By the time the communal dinner rolled around, the Sully family was exhausted, but content all the same.

~~~~~~~~~

A peaceful morning where the Sullys invite Kayla over for breakfast goes uneventful until they're rolling up their nivi after a good night's rest. Their peace is interrupted by a horn, followed by whoops and hollers of celebration coming from outside. Confused and on edge, Jake and the kids emerge from the marui, looking around as the Metkayina jump around and dive into the water, making the newcomers curious as to what was going on.

Their answer came in the form of Tsireya, astride an ilu as she waved down her people from the water below their homes, "The tulkun have returned! Everybody! Our Brothers and Sisters have returned!"

Kayla looked up toward the atoll wall protecting the village from less docile nature. Emerging from the tunnels and pathways underneath the wall were rolling waves indicating something large below the water. Spurts of seaspray spring out like geysers from beneath the ocean's surface. It was a large pod of whale-like creatures, massive and slow. Their descent onto the village was graceful and one that brought much joy to the Metkayina as they couldn't get in the water fast enough.

The Sully kids couldn't wait either, jumping from the walkway around their home and into the water below. They scatter, exploring the new creatures one way or another. Tsireya had grabbed Lo'ak when she spotted him and pulled him onto her ilu, swimming away to introduce him to her Spirit Sister. Jake summoned his tsurak and both he and Neytiri take off to observe the sacred animals themselves. Rotxo had come around and pulled Kiri and Tuk away too, leaving Neteyam and Kayla to wander. Ao'nung was not far behind his friend, however, and invited Neteyam to come along with him to find his own Spirit Brother. Earning a small reassurance from his aunt, Neteyam doesn't hesitate to jump in and both teenagers each grab an ilu and take off, making a game of chase with Ao'nung in the lead.

Neteyam kept close to Ao'nung the entire time. The chief's son leads Neteyam through the chaos expertly, the two of them swimming quickly around a particular tulkun. Kiri, Tuk, and Rotxo were hanging onto the bull's fin and gliding peacefully through the water, the tulkun likely the reef boy's Spirit Brother. Neteyam was only able to catch a glimpse of this as they swim by, keeping close to Ao'nung's tail and playfully chasing him.

Jake had been leisurely swimming his skimwing through the maze of tulkun and Metkayina before glancing off to the side and perking up. Reaching back and tapping Neytiri's thigh to grab her attention, he waits until her eyes are on him before pointing out the sight he stumbled across. Following her husband's gaze and finger, Neytiri spots a mother tulkun and her calf, the smaller whale-like creature keeping close, mostly under its mother's fin or belly. Neytiri smiled with delight, her heart melting at the picture.

Kayla had been floating above the surface, watching the vast sight of tulkun from up top the back of an ilu she had successfully summoned. She didn't venture very far until the olo'eyktan sought her out. She noticed his tsurak first, flying above her head before gracefully sinking into the water, folding in its webbed fins. Tonowari brings it back around and swims up to Kayla's side, a determined smile on his lips, "We must put all that you learned to the test. Come meet my Spirit Brother and see how well you can understand and communicate with him."

She nods and dutifully follows him into the water after taking a deep breath. They submerge and take off, weaving through and around the large bodies of tulkun, dodging other ilu and Na'vi while Tonowari keeps his pace slow for Kayla's ilu to catch up. Underwater, Kayla can get a better look at the tulkun, and to her amazement, she realized that most of them were tattooed like their respective Na'vi. Eventually, they come across a large bull and Tonowari slows to a complete stop, disengaging from his tsurak and openly swimming the rest of the way to the heavily tattooed tulkun male. Kayla disengages from her ilu and watches it swim away before swimming in the same direction as the olo'eyktan, keeping a small bit of distance while he approaches the tulkun, greeting it like an old friend with a wide smile before gesturing Kayla to come closer.

When Kayla swims close enough to float near the large eye of the creature, Tonowari motions to the bull and makes rapid hand movements, "This Makayla te Suli tsmuke te Toruk Makto. She is of the Forest People and has come to learn our ways."

"Greetings, Makayla te Suli." The tulkun sings, and Kayla is delighted that she can understand him.

She quickly signs back, just as she had practiced, "I See you, great and mighty tulkun."

"Have you learned much since your arrival?"

"Yes, many things. I have excellent teachers in the olo'eyktan and the tsahik."

"Indeed. You are in good hands with my Brother and his mate. Ro'a speaks highly of her."

Curious, Kayla turns to the olo'eyktan in question, hands slowed by the water as she asks through the Metkayina sign language, "Is Ro'a Ronal's Spirit Sister?"

Tonowari nods while further explaining with his hands, "Yes, and I believe Ro'a has just given birth to her first calf."

"Indeed." The tulkun calls softly, the beautiful sound muffled in Kayla's ears like a song trying to pierce through cotton, "We are very proud and happy for our sister. What of Ronal's child?"

Tonowari beams, "Growing fast. Halfway there."

Kayla faintly smiles as her lungs begin to faintly burn, then quickly makes the appropriate hand motions to signal, "Forgive me. I need air."

She tilts her head upward and kicks her arms and legs to plunge up to the surface. Kayla immediately gasps for air the moment her head broke through the ocean waves, taking deep and calm breaths while looking around at all the joyous reunions going on around her. Laughter and cheers are still clinging to the approaching afternoon air, not a single Metkayina worried about the day's chores as they are too busy reacquainting themselves with their Spirit Brothers and Sisters. Kayla fondly watched these interactions, her heart warm and yet... sad as she watched the Na'vi swim around her without a care in the world. It's not as though she expected anyone to notice her, but it was a brief realization that today she was invisible and an outcast compared to these beautiful tulkun creatures. It was just another reminder that she didn't belong here and she had no Spirit Sister of her own, feeling out of place among an entire lagoon full of tulkun, Na'vi, tsurak, ilu, and other aquatic creatures.  

Once she caught her breath, Kayla inhaled deeply and stuck her face back into the water to check out the activity going on beneath her treading feet. Looking around, she managed to catch a glimpse of a familiar Na'vi, a woman, adamantly communicating with her hands toward another tulkun, a female and her calf. Kayla recognized Ronal's ornaments that expressed her importance among the other Metkayina, along with her rounded belly. Without those traits, however, Kayla wouldn't have recognized her because the tsahik was smiling, broadly, unbothered by anything going on around her as she spoke to what had to be her Spirit Sister, Ro'a.

In all the weeks Kayla had been living here, she had never seen Ronal smile, let alone smile like that.

A/N: Please remember that I can't reply to any comments below every chapter because I'm using a secondary account. So if you have questions about the series you would like answers to, please put it in the ask box, thank you!

If you have a request, check the rules first! Much love!

Buy me ko-fi <3

Just a brief notice that updates are gonna be spotty from here on out as summer is coming to a close and I'll be working two jobs next month (Sept). Keep the love and support coming and I hope to update for y'all soon!

[miimo96]

Thoughts on the TRAILER for TBHK Season 2

Ngl when I 1st saw this was out I immediately was skeptical due to how much attention the spin off series was getting, but No, THIS IS the MAIN SERIES!!

Omg the New animation looks beautiful, like just Look at HIM!!, in all seriousness tho it's good to see that TBHK back and is FINALLY getting the recognition it Deserves, like it's such an underrated series and In opinion could be one of the Greatest series. Really Happy that it's back, It's been a awhile So I can't exactly rember what happens Next, but whatever it is, I'm sure it was worth the wait ^^;

IT'S THE CLOCK KEEPERS ARC IT'S THE CLOCK KEEPERS ARC!!! Omg I Knew they were gonna do this, I was like it's either gonna be this or The young Exorcist arc, since they skipped it last season, i mean I'm sure we're Still getting it but I'm SO Happy we're also getting this too; 2025 is Already looking like a Great year, get ready for the Tears because aidairo DON'T PLAY >_<

Manga SPOILERS ahead But if we're getting who I think we are getting then I think Sarah Wiedenheft Needs to voice her for the Dub, Because it's literally like the perfect, I mean she already has some experience with playing small playfull yet scary female characters, and her personality literally reminds me of Charmy from black clover, So yeah we should go with this, Also We missed a Huge opportunity with Tiara minamoto not being portrayed by lisette monique Diaz, So I'm hoping we don't repeat the same mistake again with this 1 next

Omg are we in store for So much shit Next season and if I remember correctly, We should be getting at least 3 freakin Arcs, Oh yeah this is definitely gonna be a good season, TBHK IS OFFICIALLY BACK BABY!! ^^ Also I understand that Some people want the picture perfect arc to be part of this season, but in my honest opinion, I really think they shouldn't do that, because that arc works Way better as a movie in my opinion, also Because the 3 arcs we should be getting are the Clock keepers, the young Exorcist, and the Star festival arc,especially since those were Skipped last season, if we get those that should at least cover the entire slot for the season, Adding another arc would be giving too much and in my opinion, completely pointless, plus think of all the things we could get if this were a movie: Plushies, artbooks, key chains, and many other things, like the list goes on and on; Also regarding the Opening for Season 2, I'm sorry but I Really think they should go with Resuing the same 1 from last season, i mean i understand why they wouldn't but in my opinion, They legit totally should, because it's just That Good; from the visuals, to the tone, to even the title everything just Screams TBHK, and besides other animes like HxH and Sailor moon have re used the same openings before and Look how well they've turned out , So why can't This 1 do the same; Anyway whaddya think, Are you excited for Next Season?

[tavyliasin]

The Highs and Lows of Fandom Creation

Hello darlings~ It has been a little while and this one has been on my list to get to for a while, and with the Baldur's Date Valentine's Fanworks event soon to draw to a close it seems appropriate to start preparing ourselves for the cycle of what happens when we release our works into the wild. So without further ado, our latest essay~

The RollerCoaster of Emotion That Comes With Being A Creative In Fan Spaces (FanArt, FanFiction, Cosplay, Photography, Music, and So Much More) ((Another CallOut Essay Prepare To Be SEEN)) (((Also I Have Some Coping Techniques Here Too!)))

As usual with my essay pieces I will be making plenty of use of the headers to divide topics, and I fully welcome any thoughts and feelings in the comments. Whilst I am really only in the FanFic side, and a focus on Baldur's Gate 3, I do intend to make this essay inclusive of the trials and tribulations that we all tend to face in making and sharing fanworks of all kinds and through all fandoms. The more people I speak to, the more it seems to be a universal experience, so hold on to your hats it's a bumpy ride! The first part will talk about the Rollercoaster itself, the how and why behind it all, and the second will be around how to cope with it. For readers and appreciators of fan content, I urge you to have a little look too, and at the end I will add in some ways you can help support your favourites too~

Creatives Are Emotional Beings

Starting off with the obvious callout - most of us are. We feel things deeply, and that emotion can often be an incredible driving force behind our works. Whether we're creating around things we've experience, being inspired and influenced by our current emotions, or drawing on our well of imagination to work out what characters might feel (and often more importantly how/why they feel that way), emotion is a strong part of the process.

This can be an incredible strength! Tapping in to the deeper parts of ourselves, our experiences, and the emotions at our cores, can bring out the very best in our works across all creative formats. It also tends to help our audiences engage too, as they recognise their own emotions mirrored in the works.

The Downside to Strong Emotion - The Rollercoaster Effect

This chart was initially drawn up based on writing, but truly after speaking with a few beloved Discord friends it was quick to see that this easily applies to art as well, so I'm going to go over this slightly differently to the initial plan.

The Start Of Every Ride

We begin usually around a neutral baseline, or maybe a little below if we haven't created in a while, perhaps we might start higher than baseline with the rush of an exciting new idea. Either way, the first part of the project tends to go up in mood very quickly when we share those early unfinished parts.

For writers this might be a beta reader or sharing a sample of the work as they're still writing as a teaser, artists might see this as their initial sketch or linework stage if they're sharing progress and teasers too. Cosplayers could be the first part of a build, musicians sharing a few bars of the melody - whatever it is, that first little positive boost that says Keep Going is a powerful one.

But what happens next? Well, you still have more work to do! That initial boost and confidence can drop down to a slump, especially if it's taking longer to complete than you thought it would, and double that if something goes wrong that needs to be changed or fixed.

You may, hopefully, find it begins to rise as things start to come together again and that finish line in sight, but then...

I Finished Making The Thing, Now What?

Well, first you're going to feel that massive surge of satisfaction from completing the thing. Sometimes a dopamine rush in the brain, and all that excitement of "Finally I get to share the thing I worked so hard on! It's done!" So, off you go, you post it. You share the links, maybe drop them in some Discord servers, other social media...and then, often very quickly, it hits you.

Post Publishing Drop

Those of you in the convention and event scene might also know this feeling as "Con Drop", which can take a little longer to manifest. Post Publishing Drop hits quite quickly. Sometimes it might take a few hours, but other times it starts almost within minutes of posting as all that rush of energy finishing and publishing is just...gone.

If you're lucky, you might get some quick and early feedback, especially if you're a well known or popular creator, but I imagine even those of you who tend to get very high engagement can feel a lot of this too so I don't mean to exclude any of you in any way at all~ So what is it? What's happening? WHY?!

Well darlings all that adrenaline is wearing off and realistically you're not likely to get that creative feedback and validation instantly. So that wonderfully powerful emotional heart of yours is going to crack a little. It won't last, it won't stay this low, but good gods that lack of engagement and positive reinforcement can be devastating.

The first engagements you get - kudos, likes, reaction emotes on a Discord post - they may be enough to boost you right back up to your baseline or even a little above, until the worry creeps back in again. And I know that it does, clawing and slithering in the back of your beautifully creative mind whispering those horrible lies:

Why isn't this getting the reaction I hoped for yet? Is this work not as good as before? Have people stopped liking me? Is the website/platform hiding my work? Have I upset people somehow in ways I can't even see?

Then Back Up We Go, And What Goes Up...

Hopefully those voices don't get a chance to be too loud for too long before you see more of that engagement. Maybe it's a heartfelt comment from someone, or a share from someone you respect, or just a little surge of interaction in general. You're back on top, darling, your creative heart is soaring, finally your work is being seen in a way that reminds you why you put in all that time in the first place!

And each time, the high wears off again, with a drop, though the extremities of each is likely less and less as time goes on. Unless, of course, we make one little mistake and the gradual confidence build comes crashing back down...

The Perils Of Comparing

Sometimes this might be looking at someone else's work, seeing a similar style or similar topic get far more engagement than your own. It can be really hard not to feel discouraged by this, and falling into that trap of questioning where you're "going wrong" can lead to absolute agony - I urge you to do your best to move away from this as soon as you notice the feeling. I'll cover some proper techniques later though, I promise!

The other trap with comparison can be looking at your own past works, and over-analysing why some pieces never got the same love and appreciation as others. Picking it apart to find what you can do better is not as wise a plan as it seems for one simple reason:

Over half of this is down to pure chance!

It might be the time of day it was posted, or just one or two people seeing it and deciding to share it on that gives a work a massive boost to interaction and engagement. Maybe a work was lucky enough to get shared in a prominent community by one of the members, or even had someone with a huge following give it a boost.

At the end of the day, there seem to be very few ways to predict this. Of course there are some characters, topics, art styles, writing tropes, etc that will have a tendency to get more love from their respective fanbases - that's how popularity works - but there is no guarantee that, for example, two portraits of the same character in similar styles by different artists will have the same levels of engagement and "success". The main person you should be aiming to please with your own work is yourself~ After all, when working on it you will be the one going over it again and again, knowing every detail in and out, if you don't love the subject of those details your less likely to even reach that finish line~

And It All Begins Again

At the end of the cycle there's often one last spike up. Maybe it's a comment or interaction from someone who truly felt the depth of meaning in your work as you hoped it would, or you realise that it has done better overall in the numbers, or most often you get that creative surge of a shiny new idea that calls to you with that familiar siren song, promising the high of satisfaction and sweeping the memory of that Post Publishing Drop under the rug all over again so you won't see it coming when you trip on it.

How Do We Get Off This Ride? Where's The Safety Bar?

Darlings, be honest, you didn't want to stop. You still don't. That's why you're still right here, reading this with me. Your cycle might take a day, a week, a month, or you may go through the whole thing in a matter of hours.

Riding The Waves

The first way to begin coping is to prepare. Know yourself and how you're likely to feel, and plan ahead for it. If you know the drop is coming, you can try to avoid it, or deploy distress tolerance when it feels too much.

On a very simple level, this can be reminding yourself that the lows do not last, and those highs will still be there. You might even be tempted to try to regulate the highs as much as the lows, to bring everything a little closer in to the baseline throughout the cycle.

Distress Tolerance techniques can be important to practice when you're feeling close to your baseline and calm so that they're easier to turn to when you're feeling that low hit. There are lots of things that work for different people, so it might be trial and error - largely you're looking at relaxation techniques, distraction from the source of the distress, and/or community support.

You Can Rely On The Community!

It is ok to ask for help! You can ask people for reassurance, directly ask for feedback, or even just talk over how you feel with other creators and find out how they're handling things. Sometimes just knowing you're not alone and that your feelings are real, valid, and matter can be a real boon - that's why I'm here, spending a couple of hours putting all of this into words as best as I can for you all. I've felt this cycle too many times, but the more I talk about it with other fic writers the more I feel we are connected and that I'm not just losing my marbles over nothing~

We are human, we have emotions - strong ones, remember? - and there's nothing wrong with that at all!

There is nothing wrong with having emotions and experiencing them!

Knowing When To Step Away

If you know you're more likely to have a swift drop from lack of quick feedback, it's a great idea to plan to step away from socials as soon as you're done. Have an activity planned, or do it all write before bed so you can switch off and go to sleep. Turn off those notifications so you aren't fussing over each one of them as they come in and don't go back for a while.

Allow a realistic amount of time to pass for people to see and engage with your work before you worry it is invisible!

The Next Shiny Idea

Conversely, if you're feeling too much of a creative itch, then as soon as you're done sharing move right on to starting the next project. Let the initial surge of energy from completing and sharing something be the driving force to kickstart the next great adventure! That way you're thinking more about the new work, the sparkling allure of a fresh idea, rather than fixating on the success of the last.

Cashing in on that adrenaline rush to make a good head-start can boost you right to that early feedback stage too, then if you're really lucky when you hit the first drop-off you'll have the positive engagement from the last work to boost you back up, so in some ways you're overlaying your graphs to balance them out with each other.

Naturally this only works if you have the time and energy to do so. It's also important to know when to take breaks to avoid burning out.

General Mood Boosting Ideas

These might not work for everyone, but here are some things to try when you're in one of those lows. A lot of this may be trial and error and knowing yourself best, so treat this as a few things that may or may not be effective rather than Lia's Super Snake Oil Cure For Everything (you have to buy that from me separately, it's super expensive but it is delightfully cherry and cinnamon flavoured~)

Check in on your basic needs. Drink, food, meds (if applicable), sleep/nap, caffeine (if you usually have it), shower/bath/hygiene needs (even if just a quick freshen up it's better than nothing), fresh air/outside time (if possible), exercise/physical movement (if you're able to), social needs (can be in person or online, any social interaction/support)

Music can be a powerful mood tool. Sometimes it's cathartic to listen to music that matches your current mood, but other times it is better to listen to music with the mood you want to feel.

Media from the fandom, like the book/film/game/etc that you're making fanworks for - return to the thing that inspired you to create and remember all the things that you loved about it in the first place.

Look at other fanworks but be very cautious! Do this for inspiration, to look at things you do and don't like in other pieces, but do not do this if it will be likely to cause a mood drop for you.

Do something different and change up your routine. Something entirely new or something you haven't done for a while.

Try something small, not connected to a large piece. A few sketches, doodles, make a meme, write a few short lines of dialogue or a brief scene. Share something with far lower stakes for a little boost.

Talk to others in the creative community and have a bit of fun, maybe try some games together, whatever you like!

I'm Not A Creative, How Can I Help?

This also counts for creatives who want to support each other, too! Of course I will put the caveat that I do understand that not everyone is comfortable visibly interacting with spice and that's fine~

Drop a like or kudos if you enjoyed the piece, it takes a second and means the world~

Leaving a comment, even a couple of silly words of "I loved it" is great!

Leaving a longer comment, picking out your favourite parts? That is the kind of boost that lasts weeks darlings it really does.

Sharing the work is also a big boost, whether publicly or privately to friend/fan groups, but especially when sharing art/images please share the link with it not just the image or a screenshot~ let people find and appreciate the artist.

Follow or Subscribe or Turn on notifications if you really want to see more of their work, then you can interact sooner and give that much needed boost~

Try to be patient, especially with longer or higher effort works. Expressing excitement is a boost, but just be careful you're not putting too much pressure on the creator. We do have things going on behind the screen that can delay our plans at times.

Consider dropping an interaction on something else, or check in on how they're doing in general - a little kindness outside of just the works being produced can be a boost too!

The Grand Finale of the Rollercoaster

Thank you for staying with me to the end darlings, I know this was likely a bit of an emotional ride, but please do drop in some comments or reblogs with the other things you experience and how you handle the emotional whirlwind of being a fan creator. Always remember, you are valued for more than just what you can produce, your works are adored but the person behind them is worth so much more and always will be. Look after yourselves, I love you dearly~

[cioud-berries]

The Autobiography of a Sinner || Chapter 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally not a 10K word chapter. Since we're getting into the more cannon events, the chapters wont be spanning over YEARS and will most likey be about this lenght. 

I hope you all are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it!! Pls LMK your thoughts. I also started reading the manga so things will be more manga accureate from now on but there are still small details I will change fore entertainment and storys sake

If you haven't you should join my discord server! it'll be fun!! Link in quotev and wattpad bio) or here: discord.gg/SPNmyV8qJR

Love you all and than you for reading!!

Summery:

The retelling of events that led to The Rumbling and the aftermath from the perspective of someone who was a cause of it.

~ (written as an autobiography it is first person and is like you are the one that wrote it.)

The perils of being in love with your comrade. Going from childhood friends, to finding yourselves in a strange land completely alone, will cause anyone to grow close. After certain circumstances, they become more distant than they ever had been before. Being forced to come back together again to save the world would seem more challenging than either of them would think.

Category:

Reiner Braun x Gender Neutral Reader

Chapter Warnings:

Graphic depictions of violence. (cannon typical)

Word count: 5,196

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<- Previous Chapter || TAOAS Masterlist || Next Chapter ->

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

845-846

To the People of Paradis:

I often think of Viktoria’s trauma when I think about the day we broke down your walls. I think of how horrific it was for her to experience what she did. I think of how the suffering we have caused you is nothing in comparison. I have hurt people in unspeakable ways and I deeply apologize for it even though I know my apologies don't fix anything.

↭

They gave us just over a week off to spend time with our families before the trip. It showed how little they cared for Eldians, even the children. We were to be gone at least for a year, at most, forever. Yet we only had a week to say goodbye to our family.

That week was the only time I felt truly loved by my mother. It was strange. For once, we felt like a real family. No worries about war or titan shifters, no worries about the oppression we received.

We were spending almost all of our time together. Talking, playing games, whatever it was, we all had fun. But with that held the underlying sadness. It reminded me of the dinner we had with Viktoria. 

I sifted through Viktoria’s items and found a simple silver chain. Clipping it around my neck, I wanted to keep a piece of her with me. Even though I already did with her power within me, I wanted something more physical.

Finding my creaky floor board, I pulled it up, not caring if my father found out, because I would be long gone by the time he did. Grabbing the box full of Viktoria’s items, I placed it under the floor.

I didn’t know how long I would be gone for. I didn’t know what my family would do in the meantime. To be safe, to keep Viktoria’s items safe, I wanted to hide them. No matter what was to happen, I promised to come back for them.

❃

The week went by in the blink of an eye. Before I knew it, I was hugging my crying family, promising them I would return. I had never seen my dad so distraught. It was worse than him losing his government position. I could sense a severe shift in his opinion on the Marlyan government.

I parted ways with them, not knowing when I would return. I joined the other four on the carriage. We were to be paraded around the town, shown off before being sent away with no support than ourselves. 

I sat at the end, beside Reiner. I could immediately tell the difference in demeanor from him. Just a few days ago he was spouting how excited he was to kill the island full of devils.

Now he was sat quietly, zoning out. I had thought that he finally realized the insanity of it all. Just as the carriage began to move, I leaned over to him. “Are you okay?” I whispered, not wanting to draw the attention of the others.

He shook his head. “I met my dad.” He explained. I immediately knew it didn’t go well.

Reiner’s dad was a Marlyan. Due to his mother being Eldian, they were forced to be apart. He had it in his head that they could all live happily if he possessed one of the ten. It was obvious by the way he was acting that his dad didn’t agree with these plans. 

It’s not like it even mattered at that point. We were being shipped off. The hopes of coming back were slim.

While the carriage moved along the street I awkwardly sat staring forward. Annie did the same as I. It seemed as though we were the only ones really feeling the weight of our situation as the other three waved at the cheering crowd happily, Reiner’s mood was quickly changing. 

What is the point of the few minutes of fame if we were just to leave. These people, these Marlyans, won’t even notice we’re gone. It won't affect their day to day lives. They might hear us in the paper from time to time but then forget it by the next day. But our lives were to be ruined.

❃

Within the hour we were at the port, walking onto our ship. Our items had already been delivered, even though most of our personal items had to be left behind.

We all went to the stern of the boat to say our final goodbyes to the country. I caught a glimpse of my family. My mother was holding my sobbing sister. My mother couldn’t even look at me as her head was on my father’s shoulder. That would be the last time I ever saw her and she couldn’t even look at me. My father held his cap in his hand, waving it in the air to say goodbye to me.

With a small jolt, the boat began to move away from the port. We all stood there for a while in silence, watching the city get away from us. Eventually the others got bored of watching, walking away to explore the ship. I on the other hand refused to rest until I couldn’t see the city anymore, hoping my father was doing the same with the boat.

Soon enough nightfall came. I could still see the light of the city far far in the distance. Reiner came up behind me informing me that dinner was ready.

I shook my head “I can’t eat. Not yet at least.” I mumbled the last part.

“They’re cooking us fresh caught lobster.” He tried to convince me. He leaned against the railing beside me, back to the ocean. “It smelled like those high up officer’s lunches. But better.”

I cracked a small smile but it quickly disappeared. My eyes were trained on the small yellow dot in the distance and I feared if I looked away I would never see it again.

“Come on, you should come inside. It’s getting cold out here.” He tried a different way of coaxing me away. He turned around, looking out to the ocean. He knew exactly what was on my mind. “This isn’t the first time we’ve been away from home. We’ll make it back like we always do.” 

“No I won't.” I said back. I don’t know why I said that. It was my instincts.

“What do you mean?” He was shocked by my words. I could tell he was questioning if I would commit treason.

“I don’t know.” I said breathlessly. “I’ve had this sickening feeling that I will never make it home again.”

“Don’t say that.” He reached out for my hand. I only moved it away from him, not wanting it. Pausing for a moment, he continued. “I’m here. Not just me, Bertolt, Marcel, and Annie, we’re all here and we will all make it back.” 

Reiner’s word’s didn’t settle my stomach one bit. We sat in silence for about ten more minutes before the small speck turned to black. 

I pushed off the railing eyes tailing up to the sky, knowing my father was watching the same stars that night. “Could we come back out after dinner?”

“Of course!” Reiner smiled, not seeing any reason to object.

❃

We were only on the boat for two days. The island of Paradis wasn’t far from Marley. I didn’t even watch us arrive at the island. I went to bed one night and woke up to us being docked. They fed us greatly before unloading the horses and then us. 

Against the dock was a large wall with many staircases going up to the top. This is where they took the bad Eldian’s to turn them into titans. They would drop them off here to harass the people of Paradis. People that had no knowledge of the outside world.

They made sure we would have enough food for the next couple of days to at least make it to the walls. We were reminded of our mission; Informed when in the month they arrive; And warned to go at night to avoid any titans. 

Then they left us alone with our horses. We sat on the beach watching the boat float away from us. Waiting for the sun to go down. We didn’t talk much, the weight of everything crushing us.

Marcel was the one to finally speak up. “I think it is safe for us to start moving.” We got on our horses, trotting closer to the wall.

Marcel was the oldest so he naturally fell into the leadership position. Not because he wanted to, but because we forced him to. He was just as scared as we were and it was worse as a leader. 

We rode in silence for hours. Our horses moved at a slow trot, none of us wanting to arrive quickly. Eventually the moon started to descend from the sky.

Tying our horses up to a tree, we made a fire to huddle around. Finally we began to talk. We talked about our trip so far and then it turned to our mission. 

The way Marcel and Bertolt talked quietly about it made it evident that they didn’t want to be here either, even if they were happily waving to the crowd on the carriage. I couldn’t help but chime in, expressing my wishes to return home.

Reiner was shocked, betrayed by our words. Shakingly, he asked, “Don’t tell me that you’re hesitant to kill the devils of this island?”

He continued to spill on about our mission and the propaganda the government had shoved down our throats. I always shut down when he got like this, and this time was no different. 

I told him “No one here cares about that.” It was something I had been wishing to say for years, and with the feeling of impending doom, I finally got the courage. At least I didn’t have to worry about people overhearing it and turning me in.

Mercel finally shut Reiner up by saying. “I’m sorry.” Reiner was silent, not understanding his words. “You weren’t supposed to be chosen as a warrior.” He admitted. 

Marcel for months had been praising Reiner to the higher ups and made his brother- Porco, look bad. He did this in hopes of keeping Porco away from danger, away from this island.

At this point, Marcel was crying. He felt guilty that he was the reason Reiner had to be  to be subjected to all of this. Reiner still didn’t understand the weight of our situation as he stood quietly.

The sun had risen by this point and suddenly the ground began to shake. Before any of us could realize what was happening. A small titan had risen from the ground behind Reiner. 

All of us but Marcel froze in fear. Marcel pushed Reiner away from the monster as it grabbed for him. The titan grabbed Marcel instead, putting him in its mouth as it bit down. Mercel's blood squirted everywhere, pouring out of the monster’s mouth.

Reiner was the first to run, as he was the one to get hit with reality first. Bertolt followed, then I. Annie was slow to respond, but was the only one to grab her pack before running.

We ran and ran and ran. It felt like it had been hours, but we had to make sure we were far enough away. Reiner was far ahead of us, never once looking back. He eventually fell under a tree. Screaming our names out, he assumed we too had been eaten. 

Annie informed us that we were there by kicking him in the stomach. I yelled at her for doing such but my complaints went unheard. Reiner screamed out of fear, thinking that he was about to get eaten.

Annie began to state what we should’ve done differently, saying we should turn around now, as it would be useless for us to try and continue on. 

I couldn’t agree more with her. I didn’t want to be on that island in the first place. Bertolt agreed too. With seemingly all of us in agreement, we started to walk back to the beach.

Reiner on the other hand disagreed, calling out to us, saying we couldn’t leave and that we should stick to the original plan without Marcel. I didn’t listen to him. I wanted to follow whatever plan got me home quicker.

Annie remarked that she understood why Reiner wouldn’t want to go back; saying he would be eaten by the next in line. I froze, not knowing what to do. I didn’t want to attack these people, but I also didn't want Reiner to die.

At that time, Reiner was more important to me. “We would all be killed if we went back now.” I added to Reiner’s point, despairing. I fell to the ground, grabbing my head as it felt like it was splitting. Our mission hadn’t even begun but we were already faced with such a disparaging choice.

Reiner began yelling. I could hear what he was saying but I wasn’t listening. Eventually, Annie shut him up with another kick, but it was then followed by screaming from her. 

All I could do was watch in horror as they fought one another, crying for them to stop. Bertolt stood to the side, quietly begging as well. I couldn’t hear their words over my own cries, but by their faces, I could tell they wanted to truly kill one another.

Reiner got Annie in a chokehold and ended the fight by saying. “Reiner is dead. If Marcel is what you need. I’ll be your Marcel.”

Reiner was never the same kind hearted boy ever again.

❃

Everything moved very quickly after that.

Annie and I had taken turns transforming to run. It took ages for us to even see the wall. We had titans chasing us the whole way, trying to eat us like they did Marcel. By the time the wall was just out of our reach, we both were exhausted and couldn’t continue. 

Reiner had to transform to make the final push. He ran right to the base of the wall to drop off Bertolt before bringing us a safe distance away. The hoard of titans were hot on our trail. It would only take a few minutes for them to be on us.

Bertolt transformed. This was the first time I had seen his titan so close. It was terrifying for me, and I wasn’t the one on the inside. I couldn’t imagine how it must’ve felt to see that thing appear over the walls that were supposed to protect you. Especially if that thing was to break down your only protection. 

I huddled closer to Annie’s semi-conscious body. Surprisingly, Reiner’s body jolted forward. I looked up to see a titan peering down at me over Reiner’s shoulders.

With one hand, he protected Annie and I, the other he tried to force the titans off of him. Suddenly he began to run towards Bertolt. That is when I noticed a titan sauntering towards Bertolt. By this point Bertolt had already kicked in their gates and detransformed. He was vulnerable freshly out of the colossal titan’s carcass.

The titan was too close to him. There was no way we would be able to make it in time. I thought we were to lose another within just a few hours. But before Reiner could reach the titan, it turned its attention to the hole that had been created. Slowly, it moved through the hole, into the town. 

Grabbing Bertolt, Reiner  quickly climbed the wall getting away from the titans below. Once we arrived at the top, he laid us down gently. He turned to the city below, ready to descend and cause more havoc. Even from up there I could hear the screams and panic of the innocent citizens.

“Wait!” I called out to him. “I want to come with you.” I don’t fully understand why I said it. Maybe it was because hours ago I was sobbing at the thought of losing him, I didn’t want him to go alone. 

I could tell he was hesitating, but I pressed on. “I have the energy. I was able to recover while Annie did the last bit of running.”

Reiner finally gave in, laying his hand down for me to climb into. 

As he clawed down the wall, the screams got louder. Everything was already overwhelming. He ran away from the wall, knowing there were too many titans to allow me time to transform. I couldn’t even look as I faced his titan body. 

Finding an empty alley, he placed me down against my will, regretting my decision to join him. I grabbed out for him again but he was too preoccupied by the mission and ran off with thunderous steps. Leaving me alone in the alley. I looked down at my hand, knowing what to do, not knowing if I could do it. 

I had the small knife my father gave to me attached to my belt. I reached for it but was stopped by hearing a man address me. I turned around to see the man wearing a flower on his tan jacket . 

“You need to get out of here kid!” He shouted to me. He was terrified, yet here he was trying to help me. Me who was one of the people that was causing all of this. 

“Where are your parents?” He stepped towards me, but before he could even take one step into the alley, a small titan grabbed him. He screamed out of fear, then turned to me. “Run!” he yelled at me “Run for your life.”

The sound of a loud snap could be heard as the titan bit him into two. His legs fell to the ground with a thud as the titan soon turned its attention towards me.

I could survive this. I knew I could. If a titan grabbed me, I could just bite my cheek and transform before being bitten in half. But all senses left me. 

Instead of grabbing my knife and transforming then and there, I ran. I weaved in between buildings. I followed people, believing they would know the route to safety. All around me boulders and rocks were falling from the sky, people being eaten, people getting crushed. Children mourning their mothers. Mothers mourning their children. 

Chaos. Sadeness. Grief. Anger. Confusion. Fearfulness. 

All these ‘devils’ were feeling such heavy emotion and I truly realized. These were no devils. No. Not at all. These were people. And I have killed every single one of them that laid at my feet. And I was to kill the rest of them.

Suddenly everyone I came across began to look like Victoria. I remembered her pain. Here I was, causing it to others, tenfold. She wouldn’t be proud of me. 

My knees came crashing down onto the stone below me as I saw a child crying over the top of her decapitated mother. The people on the island weren’t the devils. We were.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the thumping of titan feet coming from behind me. I would’ve gladly given myself to the creature, if it wasn’t for the little girl.

She couldn’t have been more than five years old. Too young to understand what to do in this situation. I grabbed her and ran. She fought me, screaming and kicking. But all I could think to do was keep running. 

Before I knew it, the titan was on me, and I couldn’t run any farther. I could barely breathe and I couldn’t even stand on my two legs anymore. I turned to look at the thing one last time before my end. Right as it went to grab for us, a person flew by wearing an almost identical outfit to the guy before, but this one bore two swords crossed over.

The titan fell, the immediate danger was gone, yet I still couldn’t move. They yelled at me to keep running. I couldn’t move. They yelled again, scanning the area for any more titans. I could only stay still, clutching the girl that never stopped screaming. 

The person finally came up to me in a hurry. That is when I could see more details. Their mid length hair was tied up as they had their glasses securely attached to their face. They kneeled in front of us, and asked me. “Is this your little sister?”

I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t tell them that I knew who caused all of this. That I caused all of this. That I found this random little girl and grabbed her out of self pity. So, all I could do was nod. 

They continued. “Listen, for your sake. For your little sister’s sake. You’re going to need to run as fast as you can.”

Tears welled up in my eyes as I said “I can’t.” Deep down, the meaning of my words were that I couldn’t handle the mission anymore. I couldn’t put these people through any more pain.

The person took it as I couldn’t move anymore and took the girl from me. “Can you run on your own?” They asked. Again, not knowing what to do, I nodded. “Then I will run with you while holding your sister. As long as you can run beside me you two can make it to safety. The boats are not that far away. Can you do that for me?”

This person was trying so hard to get me and the girl to safety, I knew I at least needed to say yes for their sake. So we ran. The person wasn’t wrong about how close we were to the boats. There was a huge crowd surrounding the small dock. People begging for them to be allowed on, for them to get to safety. 

The person that saved us grabbed my hand and pushed through the crowd until we were at the front. Many people threw insults at us, saying it was unfair that we were allowed to skip, but I didn’t care, as long as this girl got to safety. 

Once we got to the board, the person handed me back the girl. While placing a hand on my head, they said “You’re going to need to take care of your little sister from now on? Okay?” They were so gentle. Even though they were faced with all of this, they tried to put on a brave face to try and keep us calm. 

I was pushed on board before I could do anything else. I sat on the floor of the wooden boat. The little girl had stopped crying, just sitting and staring into space. I couldn’t blame her as I did the same

The boat eventually started moving and we were all towed away from the insanity. The screams and smell of death slowly dissipated.

❃

We passed another wall before being offloaded. I just followed the crowd while keeping a hold on the little girl’s hand. She was silent, following me because there was no one else to follow. I never said a word to her, nor did she to me. Eventually they loaded us into a warehouse type building. 

It had thin blankets laid out on the floor and they were serving a watered down soup to people as they entered. I couldn’t eat. Not after all of that. I opted to give my bowl to the little girl. We sat in the corner as she drank both bowels quickly. It was clear her mother didn’t feed her beforehand.

I wondered how many people didn’t get to eat their lunch before they were killed. How many people forgot to kiss their loved ones before leaving for work. How many people died. 

I tried to tell myself that I never killed a single person with my bare hands, it was the savaged titans that did. I said it to try and make myself feel better, but no matter what way I tried to spin it, deep down, I always knew the blood was on my hands.

Eventually, a man ran at us, screaming the name Isabelle. The little girl stood, running at her father. They both sobbed as the girl repeated “Mamma” over and over again. All the father could respond with was “I know.” 

I stood to leave, knowing my job of protecting her was over. Her father stopped me by grabbing my wrist. “Thank you.” He said with teary eyes.

I shook my head, knowing that if I weren’t here, none of this would’ve happened. That girl would have a mother. That husband would have a wife.

“Come with me.” He told me, “I will take care of you. You saved my daughter’s life. It’s the least I could do.”

I removed my hand from his grasp, shaking my head again. “I need to look for my friends and family.”

He nodded his head understanding. “If you can’t find them, I’ll be over there.” He pointed to the otherside of the warehouse.

I walked out of the doors of the warehouse needing fresh air and to get away from people. Walking towards the woodline, I just wanted to get away. 

Before I could go any further, I heard my name be called. When I turned, I saw Reiner running at me full speed. I stood still as he ran into me, enveloping me into a hug.

“I thought you died.” He confessed breathlessly. “I should’ve left you on the wall.”

I returned the embrace, shoving my head into his shoulder, crying. “I’m sorry. I got scared and I couldn’t do it.” 

“Don’t apologize.” He hugged me tighter. “I made the wrong call. I won’t put you in danger like that again.”

I only nodded into his shoulder as I couldn't stop crying. The emotions falling out of me.

❃

There were two ways you could go after the tragedy. Work in the fields, or go off and fight. Since we were still children, they forced us into the fields. 

Any able bodied person was sent to die by the hands of the titans. They had gathered thousands of people to reclaim the wall that had been destroyed. What they really did was send people to fight an enemy they didn’t really know. They were blind to who the real enemy was, us. 

There we were, being sheltered under their homes, being fed by their food. They struggled because of us. But there they were, caring for us like we were victims, just like them. 

Annie and I would sneak into the capital often, scouring for any small amount of information about the king. I on the other hand, was not cut out for intel gathering, as Annie was always the one to find things out.

I started joining Annie, giving her some backup, instead of us breaking up. Although, I feel like most of the time I was just in the way for her. Even though we spent weeks on end alone with one another, we barely grew closer. 

It took years to get any sort of information. What we- she found out was that the current family on the throne was false. The real king and holder of the founding titan was hiding and ruling from the background. This most definitely would make the mission even harder. Now we had to find this secret royal family. 

Next thing we did was report our information to Reiner, who was the self appointed leader of the group. None of us disagreed with him being the leader, so it worked out perfectly.

He decided the best way to get close to the government was to join them, and the easiest way to do that was to join the military. At that age, we were more than capable of joining the military. But we were only thirteen, you’re only allowed to start training at fourteen, and worse, we would have to be in training for another three years.

This mission was already chalked up to be at least five years. Five years feels like eternity in the eyes of a child. I imagined my father growing old, my sister becoming her own person. She was only nine when I left her.

I mourned the loss of time with them. Every night I would sneak out from the communal living space and go outside to look at the stars.

On occasion, Reiner would join me. Sometimes we would sit in silence, other times we’d talk. It was strange. I knew him for so many years but now he had felt like a stranger. I clung onto the hope that my friend would return. There were small fragments of time where I believed he was still there deep down.

One time we laid under the spring stars. I thought that night, we wouldn’t be talking, but he broke that silence by asking. “Do you still feel like you’re not going to make it home?”

I stayed silent for a few moments, being shocked by this question. I thought he had forgotten about that whole conversation. The way he acted made it feel like he completely forgot everything that made him the sweet kid he was.

Finally, I responded with. “Yes.”

He too went quiet. I turned to him, trying to read his brain, which felt impossible then. “We’ll be joining the military soon.” He said seemingly out of nowhere.

“We’re already in the military.” I reminded him.

“We’ll be joining the enemy's military.” He corrected himself before continuing. “It will be the most dangerous thing we’ve done since we got here. I promise no matter what, I will make sure you won’t die.” 

He turned to me, his eyes determined, yet soft. I smiled at him as I moved closer. I wrapped my arm around his neck as I put the weight of my torso on him. 

I hugged him like this for a while, the tension that had been building up for two years finally releasing. He hugged me back firmly. 

When I moved away from the hug, I hovered over him. “Thank you.” I whispered.

He was flustered, face slightly red. “Of course.” He stumbled out. “As the leader, it’s the least I can do.”

“No.” I cut him off. “You’re my friend. Not my leader. You need to remember that.”

“Of course I’ll remember that.” He retorted defensively. I backed off him, letting him sit up. Holding my pinky out, I wanted him to promise me. 

He reached his hand out, hooking out pinkies together. Before he could pull away, I pulled his hand closer to me. “Friends forever.” I demanded. 

He gave me a goofy smile. One like hve used to before the island. “I wouldn’t dream of breaking a promise like that.” I finally let go of his pinkie, feeling much better.

With him, I felt the safest. But it was always the ones you feel safest with, that you needed to stay on your guard with the most.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<- Previous Chapter || TAOAS Masterlist || Next Chapter ->

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Masterlist

Discord link

[shujohajohaminnie]

Mine

Pairing: Yang Jeongin x fem!reader

Genre: Smut

Word Count:2771

Summary: What happens when there's a serial killer in love with you who will kill anyone who’s near you. 

Afab!reader, Profanity, Dark Concepts, Talks of murder, Blood, Possessive behavior, Obsessive behavior, pet names, Raw Sex. Let me know if I miss anything. 

“Okay, so what do we know so far” “Whoever the killer is, is in love with y/n” “Oh my god, not this again” “WHAT IT’S TRUE” “Ji do you have any proof” “Well everyone who either slept with y/n, tired to get with y/n or has a thing-” “Had” “As I was saying… had a thing for y/n is now… dead” “That’s purely coincidental” “Is it?” “Yes, it is… and if that was the case why the hell is Chan in the hospital right now” “I mean, even I thought Chris was into you” “Well he isn’t” You rolled your eyes laying back down on the couch your phone in hand. “Okay so let's make a list of people in love with y/n” “Okay first one… that weird kid from her English class, that’s always following her around… what's his name” “Dae” Jisung sapped his fingers writing the name on the board in big bold font. “Who’s next” “ Add Johnny” “Sorry to break it hon… but that piece of shit you call a boyfriend does not love you” “Yes he does” “No… he doesn’t” “Hiah” Hyunjin yelled jumping in his seat from excitement, he loved to play detective. “Think you missed a chapter Jinnie… he’s already dead” “Really” “Mhmm knife to the face” “Gross”. “Can we stop” “What” “Doing this… we’re not the cops, Plus it’s just weirding me out” “She’s right we should drop it” “Jeongin” “Hmmm?” “Add Jeongin to the list” “Come on you can’t be serious” “Of course we’re not being serious, it’s Jeongin were talking about. He could barely kill a spider, but it’s just because he’s madly in love with you…so if I were you innie, I’d be careful” “Is that a threat, are you the killer Hannie” “Puh-lease… you wish I was obsessed with you” “Whatever, I’m gonna go” “What where” “To my room calm down mom. I have to start getting ready for the party”. “You aren’t serious right” “Yeah… why” “Maybe because there's a killer out there taregting us” “Well Ji… if we're going based on your theory, the killer is only going for people in love with me. So you guys are safe” You laughed before closing your bedroom door excited to attend the hottest party of the year. Was it the smartest idea? No, but you were dumb college kids, not every idea that you and your group of friends came up with was the brightest.

“I don’t think this is a good idea” Jisung looked down at the ground nervously  “Han everything will be fine, we’ve got a black belt with us and buff daddy Changbin for security” “We said the killer is in love with y/n right” “Yes” “No” “Well he, or she might be in the room with us right now” “Thank you Hyunjin for that inclusivity” Your newest friend rolled her eyes at Hyunjins subtle, not so subtle ‘look’ shot directly at her. “But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not the killer” “Mhmm… I’m not buying it” “If you’re so sure it’s me why don’t you tell the police so they can arrest me” “I’ve tried that, they said there's no evidence” “BECAUSE IT’S NOT ME” “Guys guys stop… Jinnie, I love you but it’s not Joon, don’t you remember she was attacked too” “It just seems perfectly planned that she was there when Chan almost got killed and she ended up with only a paper cut on her arm” “IT WASN’T A PAPER CUT, I ALMOST LOST MY ARM” “Yeah right. I’ve got my eyes on you new girl” “Jinnie just cause you're dressed up like Sherlock Holmes doesn’t mean you have the detective skills” “Pfttt speak for yourself” “Didn’t you guess the killer was someone who died three weeks ago” “Way to go detective” Joon laughed interlocking your hands and walking you out the door. You pulled down your ghost face mask and walked out of the building towards the blasting music coming from the on-campus frat house. 

The night was only getting more interesting as the students continued to drink. “Hey where's your little boyfriend” “With his friends” You nodded in the direction of your boyfriend with his two closest friends. “Doesn’t it bother you that he only hangs out with them two, I mean they’re kinda known for sleeping around” “No” Of course it bothered you that your boyfriend only hung out with the two prettiest sluttiest girls on campus. “Come on don’t lie to me” “Fine Lee it does bug me, but what am I supposed to do just tell them to back off” “Yes, that's exactly what you need to do” Felix interrupted Lee Know handing you and Han a cup. “What the hell is this” Han recoiled after smelling the mystery beverage. “Jungle Juice… it’s so good” “Absolutely not” he shook his head taking your cup and placing it down on the table along with his and Minho’s. “How many have you had” “Two” “Oh that's not bad” “Two red cups and two blue cups” “Well there goes our black belt” “Hey I have a reason” “And what’s that Yongbook” “Shit he’s mad mad” “The red cups are if you think we're going to win the game on Friday, the blue is if we're going to lose… so I’m staying neutral” “And you couldn’t just drink two” “Well I could’ve but then I wanted a third and I needed to balance it out… but I’m not the worst one guess how much Binnie’s had” “Five?” “Eight… he’s also staying neutral” He motioned over to Chagbin who was passed out on the couch. “Great not only have we lost our black belt but he lost our big boy Binnie” “Han it’s going to be fine, just chill out” “Chill out…. CHILL OUT, I CAN’T CHILL OUT WHEN I COULD DIE” “Then die knowing you had a good time instead of worrying. You wanna hit of this to calm down” “NO” He yelled snatching the blunt out of Lee Know’s hand, and tossing it who knows where. “That’s a hazard” “Guys… we need to be on high alert” You groaned resting your head on Lee Know’s shoulder while Jisung proceeded to lecture the three of you on your carelessness in the current situation.  “Ji Ji calm down we’ll be fine there are so many people around us I seriously doubt the killer whoever she is-” “IT’S NOT ME” “Is going to strike right now” Hyunjin smiled wrapping his arm around Jisung’s shoulder trying to calm down your anxious friend. “And how many did you have” “This is my first one” “Jin” “Fine it’s my sixth one… but it doesn’t hit til your 5th one I swear” “Well like I was saying we shouldn’t be drinking because we need to be paying attention just in case who ever it is, is here” “Who’s here” Jeongin joined the group with a water bottle in hand. “Good job I.N staying sober I like it” “Who’s here” Seungmin asked joining the group discussion in the kitchen. “The masked crusader” Lee Know laughed wiggling his fingers towards Jisung. “Isn’t that Batman?” “Well if Batman’s here there's nothing to worry about” “Guysssss” Han whined 

“Okay never have I ever tried to seduce a teacher for a higher grade” You clinked cups with Hyunjin while you took a sip of your drink with a smile. “Who?” “Professor Choi” “Is that why he’s dead” “Mhmm… you know what guys I have just come to realize that I’m going to end up single for life if there's a killer going after anyone and everyone that wants me” “Well that got depressing” “Shut up bitch” “GUYS GUYS” Han ran towards the couch where you all were sitting down. “I saw someone else here with a ghost face costume that could be the killer” “Ji calm down hon… that’s just Johnny we did couple costumes this year” “Yeah along with half of the other students here” “I have an idea” “WE SHOULD STICK TOGETHER” Changbin laughed in your lap nuzzling closer and closer to you while he drifted off to sleep yet again. “He’s gonna end up dead” Lee Know laughed looking at the subtle affection you were giving your best friend. I mean after all, all Chan had to do to end up on the killer's hit list was give you a ride home from a party, now here Binnie was cuddling you. “No, I was going to say we should split up-” “and look for clues.” “Yeah okay, shaggy” “Han you do know that's how people end up dead right” “Yeah man splitting up is a no for me” “You can count me out, I’m going to stay right here where I’m safe” “Don’t worry y/n I’ll stay here with you” “Aww true love… y/n when are you going to leave Johnny and date our little Innie” “In-ah being with me is going to get you killed” “No it won’t that’s a stupid theory” “It’s not stupid it’s real” “I still think we should look for clues” “I think we should let the cops handle it and live our fucking lives… it’s Halloween we should be having fun” “Having fun?” “Yes drinking, dancing, smoking, and having meaningless sex” “I don’t think you could have meaningless sex even if you wanted to Jinnie” “Yeah didn't you fall in love with your last sneaky link and were forced to end it” “Okay fuck you” “No fuck you what the fuck” “Guys guys should we leave early or no?” “No” “Everyone in favor of leaving early says I” Silence of course. “Don’t worry Hannie we’re here” 

And you were, you and the boys stayed on that couch stuck at each other's hip for about an hour after that conversation. That was until you saw a familiar somebody walking towards you. You checked his shoes to make sure it was really him. “Hey” You smiled looking up at him. He extended his gloved hand out for you to take not saying a word. “What?” You asked taking his hand, he pulled you up signaling you to the restroom. You smiled walking away when a hand held you back. “Do you really want to have drunk sex with your shitty boyfriend in the Kappa restroom” “Yes now shut up and stick together before Jisung loses it again” “Y/n you can’t leave what if he gets you” “You said it yourself Ji, If the killer’s in love with me, he wouldn’t hurt me” 

But of course not even Jisung was sure about that. Jimmy pushed you up against the door sliding his hand up your thigh towards your heat. You sighed throwing your head back as you felt him take off his gloves. His long fingers beginning to draw circles on your clit. Wait long fingers? “J-Johnny… take off your mask I want to see you” No answer you reached your hand up in an attempt to take off the mask yourself, but he moved his head away from you. "Come on Johnny take off the mask I'm serious" "I'm not Johnny" You looked down at his left sleeve that held your waist against the door, you noted the way the material looked darker than the rest. You looked at your hip noticing the red trail staining your skin. "What the fuck... is that blood?". He pulled off his mask to reveal Jeongin with his sly smirk. “Jeongin what the fuck wheres Johhny” “In one of the bedrooms upstairs with his throat slit” “I told you to wait for me Jeongin I wanted to see his fucking face” “Baby but-” “No honey, I was going to lead him in here, you were going to hide behind the curtain and when I shut the door I was going stab him and then you were going to finish him off that was the plan” “I know I know baby, but if it makes you feel better I passed down your message” “It does… so how was it” “Just like you thought it was going to be …he cried and begged for his life” “Good, fucking asshole” You laughed throwing your head back as he continued with his previous movements. You moved the costume gown up unbucking his pants. You couldn’t wait anymore you needed him. You needed him ever since he was in your apartment when you were getting ready, but you couldn’t not with the boys there. It would blow your cover. You had a plan and you were going to stick to it. They were going to find Johnny, you were going to mourn and in your mourning Jeongin was going to ‘comfort’ you, giving you two the perfect excuse for getting together. 

You wrapped your leg around his waist leading him into your heat. “I told you not to go for Chan” You moaned feeling the all-familiar stretch. You didn’t feel bad for sleeping with Jeongin while being Johnny. You weren’t cheating on him in your head you were over since the moment he cheated on you with his ‘friends’. You wanted to dump him, but that's when Jeongin came to you with the wonderful idea to pay him back for the pain he had caused you, caused his pretty girl. “He was all over you” Jeongin groaned beginning to slide in and out of you “Plus I wasn’t going to kill him, it was just a warning” he grunted pulling down your dress straps to release your tits for its confinement. “He was just giving me a ride Jeongin, he wouldn’t have to if you had your license”. You moaned as you felt him begin to kiss down your jaw to your chest. Taking one of your sensitive nipples into his mouth. He rolled the other in between his fingers driving you absolutely insane. “You know why I don’t have it” he whispered pulling his hand away from your breast and dragging it down to your clit drawing figure eights on it once again. “Yeah because you’re so busy slicing anyone that gets close to me” You moaned grabbing his forearm as he increased his speed. Only your two could have a full-blown argument in the middle of having sex. But you were in love, a love so toxic, that you felt like you were being suffocated when around each other. But when you two were apart it felt like you were being torn apart limb by limb. It was a love that you both couldn’t let go. You felt yourself reach closer and closer analyzing the words he was saying to you. He would do something that was so illegal, just for you. You tightened around him feeling that oh-so-familiar feeling in your lower stomach. “Jeongin I’m I’m”  “I’m protecting you” He grunted thrusting into you once more before you felt him paint your walls in white. You cummed around his cock hearing those last words. You’ve never been with someone who loved you the way that he did. He sighed pulling away from the crook of your neck to look at you. “I love you”. He whispered stroking your cheek. He didn’t stop thrusting into you, fucking you through both of your orgasms. “I love you too” You moaned kissing his lips while you wrapped your arms around him. Now that you had him you weren’t going to let go. 

You took your previous spot on the couch going on your phone. “Oh, so we're not going to talk about it” “Talk about what” “How you just had sex with your boyfriend and how you’re just sitting here like he didn’t just fill you up” “Changbin” Felix cringed hearing your friends out loud thought. “We didn’t fuck, he just wanted to talk to me” “Is everything okay” Jisung looked at you worryingly. “Yeah we’re fine… just school stuff” You smiled wrapping your arms around him comforting, he shook his head backing away from you. “Nuh-uh, I don’t wanna die” “Don’t worry Hannie you’re not gonna die… I have a feeling we're done with all of this mystery killer crap”. You laughed watching as Jeongin joined the group again with a drink in hand, wearing his previous costume. It was all going according to plan. 

[666writingcafe]

The Adventure Begins

Levi's overacting. Again. The only reason it wasn't obvious during the school play was because Simeon kept him reined in. Levi gets excited quite easily, and it causes him to get lost in whatever role he's playing.

I'll have to ask Simeon, but I don't think he intended the Lord of Shadow to act so...dramatically? badly? I don't know how to describe it, really. It just isn't very good.

Unlike MC. I'm not sure why I like their acting better, especially since they're currently matching Levi's energy. Maybe it's because they're intentionally hamming it up. They did mumble an apology to me before they started talking to him, after all, so they must know that Levi's acting isn't the best.

Satan's isn't much better, either. He's not as over-the-top as Levi, but I don't find him convincing as the "villain" of this story. If anything, he'd make a good anti-hero, but Solomon probably didn't want to make things too complicated.

Solomon's not a very good author.

However, I'm choosing to keep all this to myself, because the point of all this is to help MC get their first star. Lucifer, on the other hand, is having a hard time suspending his disbelief. So, I understand why MC told him to shut up. I just hope they're prepared to get their ass handed to them once Lucifer's back to normal size, because while he has a soft spot for MC, he doesn't like being silenced. Messes with his pride.

Speaking of which...the stars.

They represent the seven virtues, which are direct opposites of our sins. For me, that virtue is temperance. Solomon probably knows this, but he may not realize the full extent of my relationship with temperance.

Once upon a time, I was able to control myself and my urges. Until I wasn't. For my brothers, their sin was triggered by specific events; that wasn't the case for me. It just...happened. And I didn't realize it until it was too late.

Now, it's what most people know me for. They think I'm a meathead that only thinks about food. Even my brothers.

Which isn't fair.

Why are they allowed to have complex personalities, but not me? Why can they participate in mentally stimulating activities, while I'm cast off to the side and dismissed as too dumb to understand any of it? It's never made sense to me.

I think that's part of why I like MC so much. They're the first person in a really, really long time that sees me beyond my sin. They actually listen to what I have to say and seem to value my opinion, even if it's not related to food or sports.

Yet somehow, deep inside, I don't fully trust them. I think it's coming from my subconscious. Somewhere in there lives a hurt angel that feels like everyone he cares about will die and leave him behind. And in a way, it's true.

Lilith may have been the only person in our little family that actually lost their life, but my brothers barely resemble what they were in the Celestial Realm. It's weird. They wear the same faces, but they're completely different people. Sometimes, I feel like they're complete strangers, or perhaps taken over by aliens.

Oddly, the one person I can rely on to stay the same is Satan. Then again, he didn't have his own form until we arrived in the Devildom, so this version of him is all I've ever known.

"Beel?"

Shit.

I missed a lot, didn't I?

"Are you okay? You seem out of it."

"I could say the same to you." Why is that the first thing that comes out of my mouth? I sound like a jerk.

MC merely sighs as they sit next to me on the...bed? I take a proper look at my surroundings and realize that we're in a hotel room of some kind. Lucifer appears to be sleeping on the nightstand, using tissues as both pillow and blanket.

"Wanna go first, or shall I?" Interesting question. They don't seem upset at me.

"Your call." MC rests their head on my shoulder.

"Simeon needs my help making an important decision." Their tone indicates something serious.

"With what?" MC sighs again.

"His future." Huh? Why would an angel need a human's help with that? I know that the two of them are fairly close, but still.

"But that's neither here nor there," they quickly add, sighing. "It's not like I can do anything about it now." They glance up at me. "What's on your mind?"

"My past."

"As an angel?" I nod.

"Back then, the only thing that mattered to people was that I was strong. I wanted to be useful, so I decided to become a soldier and fight for the Celestial Realm. Problem was, I had trouble controlling my powers."

"Like I did before receiving the Ring?"

"You know, I hadn't really thought about it until you said it, but yeah. I suppose we have that in common. In your case, everyone had your back, which is good, because I wouldn't have wanted you to go through that experience the way I did." MC sits up and properly looks at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I would destroy something--even though most of the time it was a complete accident--Raphael would make some sort of sarcastic remark about it. I think he started calling me the Hulk at one point, but it was meant as an insult." I pause.

"At least he had the decency to do it to my face. Lots of angels would talk shit about me behind my back. They thought I was too stupid to pick up on it, but I knew. They acted overly sweet towards me whenever I would walk in the room. Condescending, even. It was like I was a dumb kid to them." MC places a hand on my thigh and pats it.

"Sounds depressing," they remark.

"It was. Oddly enough, the one person in authority that didn't treat me that way was Lucifer. I initially thought he was too busy with his duties to really care about much else, but then one day he approached me and started talking to me. We had a legitimate conversation."

"About?"

"He told me to keep in mind that being a Celestial Realm soldier wasn't about attacking--"

"--but protecting." We must have woken Lucifer up. "You had the power to protect everyone--to keep them safe--and that you shouldn't feel bad because you were special. If you learned to control your powers, I'd recommend you to the cherubim and have you serve as a Celestial Realm gatekeeper. You did, and so I kept my promise." Lucifer beckons MC to pick him up and bring him closer to me.

"MC and I may be connected by the Ring of Light, but the two of you have a strong connection as well," he continues. "You're both motivated by the need to protect the ones you love, even if it means sacrificing yourself in the process. Drawing on that similarity is going to be the key to pass Solomon's test."

"Are you saying Solomon knew we had that in common?" MC asks incredulously.

"No. I did. I simply passed the knowledge along to him."

"How long--"

"The rooftop."

"Of Dogi Magi?" I'm glad MC understands what he's referring to, because I'm completely lost. Must have been something I wasn't involved with.

"You knew that Belphie would hurt you if you went against his order to reject me, but you did it anyway."

"I didn't want to lie to you."

"Because that would have meant hurting his feelings." Asmo may have used his powers to pick up on Lucifer's crush on MC early on, but I knew pretty much from the moment they set eyes on each other. Granted, he was more attracted to their soul initially, but who could blame him? It was bright and shiny, even back then. If we weren't under orders to not eat them, then they wouldn't have made it out of the assembly hall alive. Even Diavolo was struggling to contain himself.

Anyway, the point is MC cared enough about Lucifer in that moment to feel the need to protect him.

Just like I felt the need to protect Lucifer after I became a cherub.

MC's going to get their star.

[erisxth]

I will die on this hill: there was no need to kill him off (if he's actually dead). Could I be coping? Quite possibly. But this man has stated before that unless you go for the head, he's still coming at you again.

Gege is a terrible writer who has only backed himself into a tighter corner by killing off Gojo and in such a horrific way that no beloved character should ever go through. How are you going to end your previous chapter with Gojo's victory and then brutally end his life in the next one with no proper transition? It's not shocking, it's jarring. It's uncalled for, and it's so sad that this author clearly loves the power he wields over readers by having constantly dangled Gojo's life over our heads. His death signified absolutely nothing, it changed absolutely nothing. That is bad writing. Gege has only regressed the story because we're suddenly back to square one where the "good guys" are without a solution for Sukuna, Kenny, and friends. The stakes remain the same, nothing was gained by his death. No ground gained for the story. Of course, the exception being that now Sukuna can apparently slice through fucking space? How exactly is anyone going to deal with that? Gege overpowered the villain to get rid of his supposed problem (Gojo) and has only made Sukuna a bigger problem. The remaining characters are so underdeveloped that you could not convince me anyone has the ability to battle Sukuna now.

Gojo did not have to die, and if he did -- if Gege absolutely detested his own character so much that he needed him wiped off the panels -- he could have given him a proper death like saving Megumi, taking Sukuna with him, ANYTHING, to have given his death meaning.

This was cruel and it was poorly written, and it has inevitably tarnished any trust between Gege and his readers of his future work. Like, why invest if he's just going to write off characters on a whim, just because he can?

Gojo Satoru was a beautiful character and I hope to God that maybe something happens and he is still alive, whatever the cost to himself; he deserves a chance to live as himself and not as the strongest.

You know what would be really cool and exciting and refreshing? If a mangaka had the guts to keep their protagonists alive to the very end. The loss of life isn't the only stake and it isn't the highest stake either; there is more than one way to elevate a story.