#i just figured 'welp if she'd like it how would you know if you never POSTED IT-'

[mythvoiced]

@theimpalpable | 👀🦊🐲

"It's like a little fantasy of sorts, maybe, I guess," relationships should be about communication, right? And Hyun has never met a more communicative person than chief of her heart, owner of her being, key to just about any lock of hers, Yeong Boram. If there's anyone who would welcome her, no, if there's anyone who'd want her to be open about... mundane and deep things alike... it'd be him, right?

Then why does it feel so terribly... flustering, still?

She makes a point out of keeping her leaning into the counter behind her with complete and utter nonchalance, so much nonchalance, in fact, that it looks forced.

"You know, I thought... it'd be nice? I could show up at the office and... 'oh, who's that, is that your girlfriend? Wow! How'd you guys meet' and everyone would tell you how pretty I am - because I am, but that's besides the point, I don't want the compliments-"

She's peeling an apple she's lost interest in eating ten minutes ago, which is probably why she's taking so long with it. Or maybe she's taking so long because if she had this conversation without anything to keep her hands busy, she'd actually feel more than a little flush of embarrassment.

Seriously, is it getting hot in here, or-

"Maybe... It sounds silly, I don't need reassurance, I promise, but... I don't know. Could be... fun?"

[pebblerosegamer]

@tasmanianstripes Okay! Welp, cracks knuckles time to ramble about this absolute mess of a family that i love dearly.

But, just to let you know, this stuff may change or is still being worked out, and also that hollow in my main au isn't exactly the focus, so these are not permanent ideas, nor dynamics i plan rn to completely explore / finish.

Basically what i mean is that hollow does indeed get trapped in the black egg and pk never figures out they arent empty, rough life.

My pk, i see him as a caring and also very selfless character, i imagine thats why he did the black egg plan at all, despite all the misery and pain it caused him and others- sacrificing his clean name and his children so everyone else can thrive.

So we have a selfless guy who cares about everyone a lot, hows that tie in with hollow?

First I'll start at the beginning! At the beginning was of course the abyss climb, hollow making it to the top and emptily watching their other siblings fall, and of course then taken in by pk, from their perspective, pk could be seen as a savior almost, saving them- though i think hollow either knew, learnt of it later, or wasnt 'alive' yet, they werent exactly there for those first moments.

And from there pk cared for them, which hurt him because of what and who they are, but for hollow it was more enlightening, over time with the short very very very quiet moments the two had together, i think a bond formed, though an odd one, which was hollow very subtly and unknowingly liking pk and looking up to him, and pk being reminded of all hes done, and how much suffering he's caused, but also a thin sense of fondness, cause he did see them somewhat as his kid, despite how hard he tried not to…

I think this bond was thin and very subtle, and no one had any clue besides the few times pk had realized he was too soft with them, (and reined himself in, (only to later soften again subconsciously…)) he didn't want to get close at all, because he knew he'd loose them, and that they had to stay empty, and he didnt want to taint them.

Plus, the vessel to him is quite a sad reminder of all hes done, all the bloodshed- all those children gone- i believe he hid away the void constructs due to that reason aswell… he has a few quite, quite bad memories of those times that just- he'd rather not relive…

But at the time pk was very alone, his root left to care for her gardens and he naturally isolated himself, the vessel was really his only 'companion', so even despite that, he managed to begin caring for them anyway, occasionally, maybe after awhile, managing to overlook the memories.

I think when pk was sure they couldnt be tainted by his antics, he began staying a little longer with hollow, specifically whenever he told them to stay somewhere. I think he joined them on occasion, staring out into either the gardens, the ballroom, off the balcony, or perhaps in his office, he reminiscing, reflecting, and wondering, and of course the vessel doing none of the above- enjoying the empty company, and maybe the painful guilt? Maybe he saw it as some sort of punishment? Idk prob not the last one.

But! Now we get into the part where hornet shows up! How joyous.

Now when hornet came to the palace she wasnt allowed to the upper floors, where the vessel was usually kept, to which she grumpily stomped away and later stole a key and got into said upper floors~

Hornet's first reaction to hollow was probably just "why are they so tall" then approached them and glared at them for a solid minute, haha. I think hornet and hollow's relationship would be nonexistent, i think she'd be curious about who and what they are but clearly they cant talk nor want to so she seeks answers elsewhere, they also dont seem intrigued by the idea of playing knights, too busy staring off balconies or something… which leaves their bond quite hollow. (Haha get it)

Now though, with pk and hornet, and hollow watching them- i think they wouldn't think of anything, but when the two get closer i think they'd feel very slightly insecure, noticing how hornet is so lively and clearly a person, and how pk reacts and cares for her- i think subtly it would make them question themselves, wondering if they should be more like her to get father's approval- but also the entire kingdom would be doomed if that happened, simply they'd be quite torn, but in the end they stay empty…

Now, ive mentioned the xero incident before, and rambling about hollow here it reminds me that chances are, hollow could swoop in and protect pk when it happens- which thinking of it, sounds very interesting and gives hollow perhaps more meaning for pk, since we dont see most of the past of pk and hollow in my au… it could show a different side of them? I will have to think about it more.

But thats nearly all, besides the last few scenes with pk and hollow, which is them getting sealed away- i think those would be really, really tough moments for pk, i think whilst hes readying hollow to be trapped for literally eternity i think he'd just be thinking and thinking of it, realizing that- damnit, hes going to miss them, hes really really going to miss hollow- realizing how much they mean to him probably is one of the most painful realizations for pk in the story- especially since he thought he tried his darnest not to get attached… i wonder if he'd do some sort of final goodbye, nothing sappy like "i love you" though- i don't think he could express that since hes been denying that for like 3 years(?) straight, though maybe "goodbye." Or some variation of that. "My hollow knight, goodbye." < maybe??????????? Is that too sappy???????? I think???????? Probably too sappy…

Anyway i think after the plan i think it'd affect pk big time, i think he'll be looking out at the balcony hollow used to be left at and he'd just wanna cry, and remembering that he doesnt need to do those little routines for the vessel anymore- he'll probably catch himself going to the vessel's room to get them or almost prepping a bath for them, or wondering if its about time to clean up their armor, or sharpen their nail- nonetheless when he remembers again he'll feel sadly empty, like something is missing.

But, to do a TLDR; hollow is empty, but subtly, very subtly, longs to be more, pk is overly caring and an absolute softie, but tries not to show it to avoid tampering the vessel, also hollow makes him sad due to their history, but pk is too caring of a guy and loves hollow anyway, in conclusion everyone is sad 👍

[blindmagdalena]

Human Daughter ehhh? dadlander hmmm?

Welp time to write a scenario!

So Human Daughter Reader was hidden along with her mama as a baby, Vought had tried to hide her better than Ryan was (especially after knowing she'd never have powers). For her whole life she had never known anything about her papa, she had remember asking as a little girl and her mother always seemed afraid to talk about it but would try to keep her daughter's hope of a proper father image up "Y..your father was a very sweet man, he always wanted to help people..." And as she got older "he died protecting people..." Now just imagine daughter reader becoming older a young adult age and after all these years after the "mysterious" and tragic death of her mother that had already left her in shambles she finds out in some way that not only is her papa alive but he's none other than Homelander himself..

Now keep in mind that Reader doesn't know the details of Homelander's cruelty but upon finding out he's her father she has reason to be suspicious of why Vought and her mother had seemed so persistent to keep her hidden... So naturally when Homelander flies and suddenly lands before her not only is she confused, not only is she feeling strange considering this super hero is literally a stranger as far as personal connection goes. But reader wouldn't be able to help but feel a little uneasy and nervous from all the confusion and lies that she was taught and told. I could imagine Homelander not fully knowing how to feel either this is the first time he's ever had to think about being a father figure to a daughter something he obviously wouldn't know how to approach at first. I could also imagine Homelander not knowing what to think of his own flesh and blood being a human... So weak and fragile, he wouldn't even be able to hug her too tightly without accidentally hurting her I think in some ways that would hurt his heart a bit, I think it would also hurt him to hear his daughter's heartbeat rapidly beating out of a little fear of him. They must have brainwashed her he'd convince himself told her lies to keep her from him... I could see Homelander attempting to gently coax his daughter but fail in some way not having proper patience and understanding to be empathetic. I could imagine poor reader being so stunned and backing away a little slowly shaking her head and saying "I..I don't know who you are... And you don't know anything about me, I'm sorry papa... But I'm scared..."

omggggg it’s giving yandere!dadlander. i would kill to read a fic like this!!!!

[chaosintheavenue]

Unprompted answering of random asks from my own ask memes for Kayli:

🌱 What’s their basic information? Name, gender, age, that sort of thing

Full name: Kayli Meyer (surname was originally Radley until she was around 7-ish years old)

Gender: Cis woman

Orientation: Asexual, vaguely sapphic but also definitely not alloromantic (AKA, the exact answer I would have given for myself about a year ago)

Date of birth: 19th February 2275 (so, five months older than Trin at any given time)

Place of residence: Born and raised in California- more specifically in Lost Hills. She had never left California before travelling to West Virginia with Trin and living there for two years (2297 to late '99) and some spare change. Has just left WV and headed back west at the current point in the day-to-day OC timeline in my head

🌎 Do they have a favourite region of the world map (e.g. the Forest, the Ash Heap…)? A least favourite region?

She enjoyed seeing the variety of different environments in Appalachia more than anything else, but she does have a soft spot for the atmosphere (not literally!) of the Ash Heap that Trin doesn't share

As for least favourites, she didn't particularly enjoy embarking out further towards the east side of the map (Mire/Cranberry Bog region), but that's more due to the tougher enemies in that region and potential for Trin to start scorchily losing her shit than the actual geography

📷 How often do they take photos (or alternatively, how often do you use photomode haha)? Any favourite/funny photos of them you’d like to share?

She will sometimes take environmental shots to capture any unusual or striking features in the landscape, but on the whole isn't snap-happy like someone I could mention. Definitely doesn't love being in shot herself (so, not a fan of selfies).

🎻 Do they play musical instruments? How skilled are they at it?

Yesss. I literally added this question to that list specifically for Kayli lol.

She's taken violin lessons since childhood, and kinda knows her way around all string instruments as a result. Also figuring out a little bit of piano, which is more likely self-taught. But the violin will always be her baby.

💰 What is the most expensive thing they own?

The most expensive thing in terms of its overall value that she ever owned, past tense, was probably her first violin. It was in pristine condition with a pearlised blue varnish, which I'd imagine would have been very hard to come by.

It survived its time with her, by the way! She just had to swap for a new refurbished one eventually because it was child-sized.

💬 How many languages do they speak?

She's only fully fluent in English, but knows phrases here and there in plenty of other languages. However, I'm inclined to think that she would count the ability to read and write sheet music as knowing a language, which brings her total per her own judgement to two.

☂️ What’s their favourite type of weather? What type of weather do you associate with them, if any?

She's not a fan of any extremes of weather, but especially not storms or heavy rain. Having grown up a) underground and b) in California, the severe East Coast-style radstorms were an unpleasant novelty to her and she's very wary of them.

🍇 Favourite food? Any dietary restrictions or specific dislikes?

Discovered when she travelled east that she likes fresh seafood- but it absolutely has to be fresh, and that's going to be in much shorter supply where she's now living than it was in Appalachia. Welp. Lakelurk meat, maybe?

Her all-time favourite food is the gulper meat in Rudy's pepperoni rolls!

🤖 Do they believe science or art is more important? How much value do they place on each?

She'd firmly agree with the paraphrased quote 'Science keeps us alive, but art is what we live for'.

[vortship]

🔮

I'll let you pick who gets to see it. 👁 @the-haunted-office

Send 🔮 and I will write a drabble of a memory that your muse gets to see into.

Hal wasn't exactly a dress-wearer.

Her academy uniform aside, being adorned in fabric of any kind of expense or fanciness had a certain novelty factor to it. If it's what the heist required, she supposed. In this case, top secret files on some new super-ship only governor Julip Litch was allowed to see. From his personal laptop.

Easy enough.

She was able to get herself on the guest list under an alias she realized now she didn't remember, standing at the gate with her hands jammed in the pockets of her dress; teal and cut just above the ankles with an embroidered circuit pattern cascading up from the bottom seam. It even came with custom arm décor, Vortian-style as ever.

Hoards of important looking Vortians gathered, a sea of expensive cyber-enhancements as far as the eye could see, typical of those higher class on her planet. They chatted about things she didn't understand or care about as she made her way in, a broad, sharp-toothed grin hitting her face as soon as she realized just how much free food she was in for.

"I can't recall us inviting such a mischievous creature."

From behind her, the voice of a young woman spoke, a short glimmering dress, horns adorned in gold cuffs. She folded her arms across her chest as she regarded Hal, who looked up at her, bewildered.

"Yeah? And I can't recall asking you for your-"

"Halinor Nima." she spoke her name like a swear, "Don't pretend like everyone doesn't know who you are, girl. Eni told me she saw you."

...stupid, idiot Eni. She would be here.

Time to recoup. And by that she meant flee from the slowly approaching guards who'd been observing the entire scene. She glanced around, prepared to dodge between them, to get out of there and return at a later time. Ugh, she knew she should have gone the sneakier route instead of trying to pass herself off as one of these snobby, low-tech, shoelaces.

"Miki, stop. I invited her."

From the corner of her eye, another figure approached, a girl she recognized. The pride of Region 9 Academy, dressed all in white and gold. She'd never spoken to her, or acknowledged her in any way at school. As far as Hal knew her only friend was that slippery Eni.

"You invited her?" the young woman, 'Miki' challenged, "And I'm guessing Dad knows this trouble-maker is here?"

"Not anymore than he knows how you're texting that low-tech Prux Bentley right in front of your fiance." the girl said flatly, blank expression turning to a glare.

"What!? You- how did you even-?" Miki protested in vain, then sighed, "Fine. Whatever. I don't know what your problem is, Niri, but if that... girl causes any trouble it's gonna be your head. Not mine."

Hal took the opportunity to stick her tongue out and blow a raspberry as the young woman stomped away, muttering to herself. She then turned back to her unlikely savior, the girl in white, Miss Perfect herself.

"Niri Litch." the girl introduced after a brief pause,

"Yeah. I know." Hal let out a bitter laugh, "Top of the class since like, primary. I just didn't know you were hardcore like that."

Niri responded to the teasing with just the slightest hint of a smile before shaking her gold-clad, horned, head.

"Well, we've never actually met so... I just figured..." she trailed off, suddenly seeming nervous, "That was my sister, Miki. She's got her socialite pants on today I guess."

"Ha! Socialite pants! That's funny." Hal offered her a much-too-hard pat on the back, resulting in an audible 'Oof' from her companion.

"I know what people say but... I always found you to be- interesting. You're funny sometimes in class, you say stuff I don't think most people have the courage to-"

"Welp! You know! I just say what comes to my-" Hal interrupted, before something seemed to catch her attention in the distance, "Oho! Guys with trays of stuff! Lets get some! Oh and thanks... probably should have said that before but-"

"Don't worry about it. Let's- do that."

[queenharumiura]

META + Ravein

*         send   META   +   a   word   ,   a   name   ,   or   phrase   and   i   will   write   a   head  canon   based   off   of   this   !!!  ||Accepting|| @dyingresolve

Readmore for length, mostly

Let's see... it actually depends on the various verses that I have for Haru. Ravein is an OC who I kinda just do whatever with in terms of timeline, so his age is always in flux for what I want from him. The great thing of an OC.

So originally he was set to be someone who is an ex-assassin who escaped from a mafia who were forcing him to work for them in order to release his parents. Were his parents alive to begin with? Welp. What you know of me, I'm sure we know the answer to that.

Long story short he escapes and comes across a distant relative of his who helps him move to a peaceful country, and ofc for KHR related things, he then will have moved to Japan because of the 10th generation Vongola. Who would dare to make a big ruckus in Japan amirite?

He comes across Haru. It was never written on dash (bc ... cough LAZY) but he does actually end up hurting Haru. It was... how to say, an involuntary reflex from his trauma? Haru being who she is, she'd forgive him knowing he didn't mean to hurt her. It did take some time though, don't get me wrong. There is still some wariness involved, but she forgives him. In retrospect, a good number of people she knows has some kind of trauma, so she's just like 'mmn okay add another to the list'. So she tries to be patient with him. They end up having something like a adoptive sister-brother kinda relationship?

They have the dynamic where she teaches him things about how to behave in social situations, and he secretly keeps her safe. Knowing his situation, Haru talked to Reborn for advice and he would've dealt with it by ensuring that the mafia family doesn't get involved with Ravein henceforth, lest they wish to get on the Vongola's bad side.

Just like with there being various parallel universes I don't have them know each other in each verse I write, but I do in a few. In the ones that they do know each other, he actually helps her train how to use her flames and teaches her ways to protect herself on the off chance she needs to.

-

Now, for the Varia verse (that I write with you), Ravein had escaped on his own a bit earlier than he did in his usual setting, and he came across the Varia and applied and got in. He got paired off with 'Sentai-san' and when the latter took in Haru, Ravein was asked to look after Haru when Sentai-san was off on missions. So again, a brother-sister kinda dynamic of sorts.

The reason why Ravein was entrusted with Haru is for a few reasons:

Sentai-san understood Ravein's backstory and his personality well enough to know that Ravein will not speak on something that he himself had decided not to disclose to Haru. So any personal information about him would be safe. Ravein is not weak to someone badgering him or giving puppy eyes or what. A child can cry and he still won't say anything.

He knew that Ravein has a soft spot for kids and knowing the traumatic experience that Haru went through being abducted away from her parents and her parents-- you know, he can relate as he lost his parents to the mafia as well. So that connection makes it so that he'd treat her well.

He figured that Haru may be a good influence on him to make him open up more and be willing to make real connections with others.

Out of everyone else? Please, he'd probably be the best with kids.

And the other thing was that he was still young, and Haru probably wouldn't have feared him as much.

So, he is that other person that Haru would tolerate the touch of and would not punch. Let's see a HC with this Ravein---

She's managed to get it so that he feels okay with speaking to her when they're alone and he won't just use 1-3 word responses.

-

NOW- there is also the Varia verse that I write with Blaise for instance. Here, they're the same age, give or take a few years perhaps. Different set up bc I felt like it. Again, I LOVE writing variances across verses to make things interesting and FUN (for me).

In this one, it's because she's around a lot more people who are closer to her age (give or take a few years) bc Blaise has more than one OC in the Varia, so Haru was able to get more used to being around people. She has a lot more friends to be comfortable with, so she's actually more or less okay with touch in this verse. She will punch out anyone who she doesn't know, however. She's generally more friendly and a bit more--- calm in this verse? She doesn't have a Bel that is often getting on her nerves LOL

So in this verse, they're just friends and her motivations for joining the Varia is simply because Sentai-san was there and she wanted to be there with him. He fought against her on this for a while until she eventually won and joined. He dies on a mission AFTER she joined the Varia and what not. I love to play around with timelines as you can tell.

Haru is honestly more or less the 'I will watch over dumber and dumber. Ravein and Blaise's Luca are just-- they're quite the pair. They drive Haru mad sometimes with their chaotic stupidity they get into, sometimes. She regards the both of them as friends, so in this verse there is no sister-brother vibes between Ravein and Haru.

Wild how I keep them all separate, hm?

A HC for this Ravein--- He secretly looked into Haru's past and he uncovered some of the information that Sentai-san had also uncovered. Sentai-san passed away before he could relay any information to Haru, but Ravein filled in the slot for this verse and let her know.

[reaction2whatever]

Agents of SHIELD S3E06-S3E08 reaction

Agents of SHIELD S3E06

-Yay! Andrew is alive!

-May is finally back!! it's about damn time. shield needs specialists right now

-Why is May suddenly fighting Bobbi...? is this a test?

-it's a test lol

-that was a hot spar scene

-ahhh Bobbi is not mentally ready to go back out there yet

-She seems nervous

-ahhh welp Bobbi's Chinese is...pretty bad lmao

-Finally something Bobbi can't do

-I had to say I agree with Hunter. I don't think FitzSimmons should open the portal again. I mean don't they have a protocol somewhere saying "do not open alien portal"?

-I'm sorry but this scene with May and Bobbi speaking Chinese with each other is very cringy it's hard to watch lol

-But I guess I understand Bobbi. She's trying to avoid fighting. It's understandable

-Daisy and Mack watching Hunter shoot and beat the ATCU guy is so hilarious lol

-I like the connection Andrew formed with both Daisy and Jemma

-I have questions. Is shield just letting FitzSimmons open a portal to a whole alien planet?? Coulson just... agreed to this?

-They don't think it could be dangerous at all? especially with that monster thing on that planet and all

-Fitz's new dwarf can cloak? That's cool

-Oh no This can't be easy for Daisy. She just saw other Inhumans being caged and locked up and put into a coma

-I know for sure Daisy won't want that for herself

-But how is Coulson agreeing to this?

-That's like admitting being Inhuman is a disease and...it doesn't sit right with me

-I do miss kick ass Bobbi. she's so cool

-Andrew is Lash????

-I mean it is not that far of a stretch but I like therapy guy Andrew I don't want him to become a villain ugghh

Agents of SHIELD S3E07

-May is so pretty in vacation mode

-I still cannot believe that Coulson would agree to the gel matrix thing. what happened to him?

-I hate the idea of treating Inhumans as a disease

-oh no Andrew is trying to kill Joey?

-Yeah I guess now that I think about it he is inside shield and it makes it easy for him to kill Inhumans and get information

-I know May is stressed with the whole Andrew situation, but the way Daisy hugged her is still very cute

-Bobbi in a bra. She is so gorgeous helppp

-I think Bobbi is wise for stopping them from the revenge trip.

-How did Lincoln figure out Lash is in shield?

-I think Rosaline's "for every Daisy Johnson there is a Lash" argument is pretty weak. At least she didn't convince me. Whereas Daisy has very valid points.

-an average normal person has the ability to just pick up their cooking knives and start stabbing people, but we don't put them in jail or trap them in a gel matrix, because they are innocent until they truly start to wave the knife around

-Like Daisy said, this Rosaline only see the terrible things and never anything positive

-Lash is a instinct for Andrew? why?

-I hate this Rosalind Coulson romance

-Andrew is finally busted by shield. i hate to think andrew will disappear

-like him being lash is a very interesting storyline but this team desperately need a good therapist lol (almost everyone is traumatized one way or another

-So Andrew as a therapist has a job of assessing inhumans and Lash kills off whoever he thinks is unfit of having powers?

-Yeah I see what you did there, writer

-Just how cool is Daisy's power!!!! she just saved Rosalind omfg that's so badass

-I never get tired of seeing Daisy use her power

-She's so hot in her superhero outfit ugghh Ma'am that's a look

-May's speech and the way she shot Andrew ughh I love May

-I love the way that May asked Daisy what she'd do and Daisy said she'd put Andrew in a gel matrix

-I feel like after this episode Daisy and Rosalind both understand each other better

-FitzSimmons get to watch the sunrise togther and Simmons never made it to sunrise with Will is kinda symbolic? I could be wrong but feel like it?

-wtf Rosalind is working with Hydra???

-and Coulson just slept with her?????

-the fuck???

Agents of SHIELD S3E08

-Hate to admit it, but Ward's fight scene is pretty good

-So Lincoln is staying with shield now?

-Ward really is falling to a deep end this season...

-Daisy being a hacker again! YES! I will forever love hacker Daisy

-Bobbi's FBI look is soo hot omfg

-"Thanks for flying the friendly skies" lol Ward is a charming son of a bitch that's for sure.

-Ugghh I live for big brain Daisy

-"God save the queen" lmaoo gotta love Hunter

-Ahhhhh a FitzSimmons kiss!!!

-I'm a bit confused because Simmons just said she loves Will and then next moment they are kissing

-But I guess it finally happened. It took them long enough lol

-I thought Andrew would be in stasis?

-ATCU is actually trying to get as many inhumans as possible but I'm not surprised lol given Rosalind is calling Hydra old man

-May is very easily misunderstood. the way Lincoln assumed the worst and May actually apologizing for Andrew. May has such a sweet heart I love May so much

-just how cool Bobbi's baton is

-I love Bobbi

-Rosalind really is innocent?

-well didn't see that coming lol I thought for sure she's evil

-Hydra has more monolith?

-But what is that monster on the other side of the portal that's like the leader of Hydra

-That's even more reasons as to why FitzSimmons to NOT open the portal?

[delos-mio]

Out of the Woods - College!AU - PART 1

A/N: Welp, here it is! Part 1 of my silly little AU for my favorite silly little king. I really hope I can do him justice and I greatly appreciate any comments and questions you may have! No major triggers- only implied drug use, drinking, allusion to sexy stuff. So, without further ado..

If you had to gaze into a crystal ball at the beginning of the year, this would not have been the future you expected to see. You didn’t plan on being unhoused, stuck in an idle relationship, and debating dropping out of school all together. But here you were, trying your very best to pick up the pieces, salvage what little motivation to carry on that you had left. It could have been worse. It could have been much worse, at least that’s what you kept telling yourself to keep from crumbling entirely. You were never one to back down though, and these few hurdles sure as hell weren’t going to be the thing to break you. At least one of your problems was solved.

You had just emptied the last of the boxes left from moving and were hanging up the rest of your clothes when there was a soft knock on your door. Genya popped her head in, smiling brightly.

“Hey. I was just making sure you were getting settled ok,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m just about done unpacking I think.” You sat down next to her on the edge of your bed. “Thanks again for letting me live here. You have no idea how much you saved his ass,” you laughed.

“Don’t mention it! I’m happy to have someone else here, honestly.” She seemed to mean it, so you decided not to keep groveling. “Anyways, I just had a friend text me about a party tonight if you wanted to go?”

Your party days were almost entirely behind you. Freshman and Sophomore year were a haze of booze and recreational drugs, leading to you almost flunking out of school on more than one occasion. You’d since cleaned up your act, for the most part, and found you way back on the Dean’s list. But...it was a Friday afterall. And you’d just spent all day moving and contemplating your entire life- did that not earn a beer or two?

“Yeah, ok. Ok. That sounds good,” you said with a nod.

“Awesome! I think we’re meeting there around 10ish, so I’ll come grab you to get ready in a little bit.”

“Get ready? Are we 18 and going to our first frat party?” you joked, making Genya laugh.

“I was thinking about it more so as a roomie bonding activity, but if you wanna be a brat…” she drawled, trying to keep the smile off her face.

“Come back in an hour,” you finally sighed. Genya looked simply delighted as she exited, very clearly planning out looks for you both in her head.

As you went to finish up organizing your closet, you felt the familiar buzz of your phone in your pocket.

Matt: u coming over tonight?

You couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling back in your skull. That probably shouldn’t happen when you get a text from your boyfriend.

Y: can’t, sorry. Going out with Genya M: ok- have fun. Make good choices. Y: wtf does that mean M: just to make good choices? Jesus does everything have to be a fight? Y: i’m not trying to fight omg Y: i’ll just talk to you later M: k

K. He had some fucking nerve.

---

Across campus, Nikolai wasn’t having much better of an evening.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Aleks's tone was final; Nikolai knew there was no point in trying to bargain with him at this point.

"Jesus, fine." Nikolai’s fate had been decided and it was now mandatory that he go to the Delta Chi party that night. And here he had been looking forward to a quiet evening alone with his guitar and journal...

"It'll be fun, you sad sack. And I really want you to meet Alina," Aleks chastised.

"I didn’t know you missed my irreplaceable company quite this much."

Aleks gently threw a pencil across the table at his head. "Maybe you'll even catch a new fish of your own, huh?" he said with an obnoxious smirk. Nikolai just chuckled, nodding noncommittally before heading off to his bedroom.

It's not that he didn’t want to go. Well, he didn’t, really. But normally, he would. It’d been about a month since he called it off with the girl he met in Statistics. And it's not like he even missed her all that much- he knew she wouldn’t be around long from the start. But he was still stuck in the “mope in his room, write songs about heartbreak” phase of his healing. Because of such, he hadn't felt like partying much lately, but he’d blown off Aleks the last 3 weekends...he wasn't going to let Nikolai say no again.

Nikolai figured the least he could do is try and look presentable. It was unlike him to spend as much time in sweats as he had; his sense of style had always been impeccable. He was a man who knew he was handsome and knew the best way to broadcast just that. He pulled out tight black jeans and paired them with a powder blue button down with the sleeves rolled up, maybe a couple of the top buttons left undone. He pushed his golden hair back out of his hazel eyes and scrutinized himself in the mirror. To his horror, he looked like he hadn't had a good night of sleep in a week, which was true. Overall, it could have been better, but it could be worse. With a sigh, he grabbed his phone and keys before going out to find Aleks.

They got to the Delta Chi house, and there were already a few guys passed out on the lawn. Nikolai wasn’t surprised, but it was only 10:30. They must have been freshmen. Aleks lead the way to the porch where a petite dark haired girl turned around and beamed at them.

"You're late!" she says with a clearly fake pout. Aleks leaned in to kiss it away and Nikolai looked everywhere but at them.

"Sorry, sorry, I know. Miss Princess here had to be dragged out of his cave," he laughed at his expense. "Alina, this is Nikolai. Nikolai, Alina."

"Nice to finally meet you," Alina smiled. She's cute, he can give Aleks that.

"I’ll have you know I was not in a cave. I was waxing poetic about love lost, heartbreak and what have you,” Nikolai smirked as Alina laughed.

"Genya and her new roommate are already inside," Alina said, grabbing Aleks's hand.

Thank god. Not that he didn't want to spend time with them or get to know Alina, but he didn't really want to watch them suck face and play third wheel all night. Genya had been a friend of theirs since Freshman year- she smoked them down at a random dorm party and she'd been part of the gang ever since. Nikolai pushed through the crowd and made it along with Aleks and Alina to the kitchen. There were fewer people back here and Nikolai felt like he could breathe again.

"Nik," Genya chirped and threw her hands up excitement. "He lives!"

"You saw me Wednesday," Nikolai laughed. “But, I understand. Aleks was desperate for his company too. It must have been unbearable without me.”

"I really didn't think Aleks would get you to come," she said with an easy grin. Genya handed him a cup of what he assumed was beer. "Doesn't matter. You're here now."

They all circled up and chatted for a minute. For once in his life, Nikolai felt like he was noticeably quiet, but he found he didn’t have much to add. They didn’t want to hear about how he managed to cook a meal TWICE last week. Or how he’d written probably a dozen songs, all of them dogshit. Genya was grinning at a story their friend William was telling when she looked over his shoulder and motioned for someone to join them.

"Guys! Guys! This is my new roommate," Genya said. Ah yes, the new roommate. How could Nikolai forget?

New Roommate had wedged themselves into the circle two people away from Nikolai. He looked up from his cup and immediately locked eyes with you. Honestly, the name should have tipped him off. He never, ever thought he’d see you again. There's no way you possibly remember him, right? God, you were still so beautiful.

"Nikolai?" you asked with a tight voice, eyes jumping all around his face. And it's right about then that Nikolai wished he got a little more beauty sleep. Here you were, practically glowing, while he looked like the walking dead.

"Hey," he breathed out. It sounded a lot more desperate than he meant it to, but you always have had that effect on him.

"You guys know each other?" Aleks interjected.

"It's uh, it's been a few years, but yeah," you said with a blush, looking down into your cup. Aleks and Genya both looked at Nikolai with a raised eyebrow. He could feel the sweat pricking along his brow. Fuck, now all eyes were on him...

"Maybe there's a spot open for beer pong. Let's go check it out." Thank you. Subtle, Genya. "You guys can catch up," Genya said walking past you and patting Nikolai on the shoulder. The rest of his friends followed suit and Nikolai was left alone with you, staring not so subtly.

You hadn’t grown an inch. You’d lost the bright red glasses too. But, god, you were still the most gorgeous creature Nikolai had ever laid his eyes on. Really, he couldn't have lost his virginity to a hotter person.

It's your typical boy-meets-girl story. Nikolai first saw you at the rink where he played hockey in high school. Your parents owned the building and seeing as such, you were employed as the kid behind the concession stand. Nikolai remembered the first time he saw you, he thought you looked like a dork. A very hot dork, but a dork all the same. Nikolai began to notice you watching him in particular during practice, which just further flustered his raging teen hormones.

One night, after everyone else had left practice, Nikolai stayed behind and introduced himself to you. He’d never seen such a beautiful mouth and he had to resist the urge to kiss you right then and there. It became habit that he stay after practice and lean against the counter to shamelessly flirt with you. You often had the rink to yourselves by that time, so Nikolai felt like he could really be himself during those hours. He was still figuring out his place in the world and had stuck-up parents who would never approve of him taking you home. But in the lowlights of the concourse, he was allowed to have a crush on you.

Flirting led to making out behind the counter. Making out behind the counter led to hand stuff in your beat up purple van once you locked up for the night. Hand stuff led to him fucking you in the locker room shower. It was both of your first time and it could have been much less hurried. But you were young and inexperienced and horny as fuck and still exploring sexuality. You kept that arrangement up for the next few months until the season ended and Nikolai left that fall for school. He felt like a dick for not saying goodbye to you. It's not in his nature to ghost. It just isn't. He thinks maybe he was still scared of what it all "meant" and how much he really liked you. Maybe this was the universe telling him to make things right with you and make things right for himself.

"Hey, stranger," you said with a lopsided grin. Fuck. Nikolai was so done for if you kept looking at him like that.

"Hey yourself." And Nikolai couldn't help himself when he reached out to you to pull you in a tight embrace. Lucky him, you didn’t push him away and call him a fucking asshole; he thought he would have deserved that. You buried your face into his neck and the hot little puffs of air were doing way more to him than they should. You parted just enough to get a good look at each other.

"You look good," you said with a dark edge to your voice, bottom lip trapped between your teeth. He knew very well what he looked like that night, but you seemed to mean the compliment.

"You look better," he replied earnestly, because it was true. It shouldn't have been this easy to fall right back into things. But it was always different with you. Sometimes, he still thought you were the only one that really understood him without him having to say a word.

"Nikolai Lantsov, you always were a little flirt," you laughed. Your eyes crinkled at the corner and Nikolai thought to himself how beautiful you are when you’re playful. You’re always beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to whisk you away and have you alone. This time, he wouldn’t fuck it up. He wouldn’t let you go. You must have noticed his brain going into overdrive because you say "What's going on up there? What ya thinking?" You pushed a rogue lock of golden hair away from his face.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I'm thinking about how much I wish we weren't at a frat party right now. I'm thinking about how I want to be selfish and have you all to myself," Nikolai said low so only you could hear. You laughed a little to yourself and looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"I'm not stopping you," you drawled. Fuck. Fuck, ok. This was really happening.

"Let me tell the guys we're leaving and then do you maybe want to get some food?" Nikolai asked hopefully. You just nodded coyly with a small smirk.

"I'll meet you out front." You squeezed his hand once and started pushing your way through the sea of bodies.

Nikolai ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath before nearly running down to the basement, eager to say goodbye and make his way back to you. Genya, Aleks, Alina, and William were playing each other, a beer pong table stretching between their pairs.

"Where's your old friend?" Genya asked with a shit eating grin.

"We're um. We're actually gonna head out. So, I guess I'll—" but he was immediately cut off by Aleks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nik, are you leaving with a girl?" he teased.

"Yes. I am." Nikolai looked at him defiantly.

"How do you guys know each other anyways?" Bill asked before launching a shot.

"Just from growing up. High school or whatever," Nikolai mumbled.

"Cmon..." Genya begged.

"Wouldn’t you love to know," he said, voice laced with snark. "I just came down here to say we're fucking leaving!"

"Well then you better not keep your girl waiting," Genya said with a silent kiss in his direction. Nikolai just flipped her off and took his leave.

When he got outside, you were waiting with your hands in your pockets at the bottom of the porch steps. He smiled wide at you and offered a hand, which you seemed happy to take.

"So, are they gonna give me a bunch of shit next time I see them?" you asked as you walked hand in hand to the little strip of 24 hour restaurants on the outskirts of campus.

"Probably. Nothing you can't handle," Nikolai winked. You laughed then a little giggle. It's such a familiar sound and just like that, Nikolai was transported back to the ice rink and you giggling between kisses behind the snack bar.

You made it to one of his favorite delis in town and he offers to buy you a sandwich, which of course you tried to refuse his offer. Nikolai simply won't hear it. He had 5 years of douche baggery to make up for and insisted. You finally conceded and thanked him with the sweetest smile Nikolai had ever seen. You found a table in the corner, away from the door and prying eyes.

"So, how'd you meet Genya?" Nikolai asked.

"We have a writing class together. And we got to talking and became friends. I needed to find a new place cause my old roommate had to drop out and move home. I couldn't afford the place on my own. And I mean, you know how Genya is," you laughed, "I told her all about it one day in class and she offered me a room at her place without batting an eye."

"That does sound like Genya," Nikolai nodded.

"I've only been there like, two hours. But it's been good so far. Genya's been super cool," you said with a smile.

"I can't believe that we've been at the same school this whole time and it's taken this long to find each other," Nikolai said, mostly to himself, but you heard him and reached across the table to grab one of his hands.

"But we did find each other eventually, yeah?" You ran your thumb over his knuckle.

"Yeah," he said, suddenly bashful. Nikolai was seldom flustered. He had nerves of steel and had confidence to spare on his worst days. But you. You cut through him, all the way down to the core, and that made him nervous.

"So," you started, "Tell me about everything Nikolai Lantsov. Surely you've been up to something the last few years."

"Not much interesting to tell," he shrugged. "Been studying history. Writing music here and there to keep myself occupied."

"Girlfriend?"

"Who wants to know?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Shut up," you mumbled into your soda. He doesn't miss the blush that's spreading over your cheeks.

"No. No girlfriend." he paused, considering how honest to be. But fuck it, he owed you candor. "I actually broke up with a girl a little over a month ago." You looked back up at him then, your eyes searching presumably for whether or not Nikolai was still torn up about it. "She wasn’t...she wasn’t right for mw and I guess I was just done. I feel like I should still be sad about it or whatever, but I'm not. I don't miss her. The wallowing and self reflection has been great writing fodder though," he said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry, Nik. You don't deserve that."

"Don't I?" Nikolai looked at you and suddenly felt torn open. "I...I'll never forgive myself for what I did to you." You bit down on your lip and looked out the window. "I regretted leaving you, god, and like a fucking asshole. I regretted leaving you so much. I know saying I'm sorry isn't even close to enough. But god, I'm so fucking sorry." He knew there were tears threatening to fall from his eyes, but he swallowed them down best he could.

"I'm not going to act like it didn't hurt me. Because it really, really did. But I accept your apology, Nik. You know I could never stay mad at you." You paused for a minute before looking at Nikolai with a tiny fire in your eyes. "You know, I'm pretty sure I was in love with you back then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don’t think I ever stopped loving you," He said confidently. Your jaw dropped just for a moment before you're giving him that sexy grin that apparently still drives him absolutely crazy.

"Still?” Nikolai just smirked. "What if you don't know me anymore?" you asked and sucked at the straw in your soda.

"I'd like to." There's a shift in the air between you. Nikolai was sure you could both feel it. It was suddenly too warm in the restaurant and there's too much table separating you. He decided to take his chance. “How do you feel about going back to my place?”

You suddenly seemed very interested in your nail beds, picking anxiously at the skin. “You didn’t ask me if I was seeing anyone.”

Nikolai stalled. He didn’t. You asked about his relationship status and he was so absorbed with letting you know that he was, in fact, single, that he didn’t bother to ask if you were even available. Hadn't you been flirting all night? He'd certainly been flirting. But like you said, maybe he didn't know you anymore. Maybe this was just how you were these days. “Are you...are you seeing someone?”

“Yeah,” you sighed. Maybe it was his own wishful thinking, him hearing the resignation in your voice. Not that he wanted you to be unhappy. No, you deserved the world and he wanted nothing more than for you to have the sun and the moon and the stars. But, maybe there was still a chance for him yet. “His name is Matt. We’ve been together for like, a year or so.”

“Matt.” He let the name burn his tongue. “You love him?”

“Nik…” you warned.

“Just a question.”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Just my two cents here,” Nikolai started, leaning back into the booth, “But you deserve to be with someone you can gush about. Someone who when you get asked if you love them, you don’t think twice and say ‘they’re the love of my life!’”

“And you don’t think that’s him?” you said, huffing. “You think that’s you?”

“There’s a chance,” he smirked. “All that aside, I’m very glad fate has brought us together again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you laughed. “I missed you too.” You looked at your phone quickly. “Shit, I should get going. I have a shift at 9 tomorrow.”

“Let me walk you home,” Nikolai insisted, standing from the booth and helping you into your jacket.

“Always such a gentleman,” you smiled, tapping him gently on the nose before walking ahead of him.

The walk to your and Genya’s place felt too short. Nikolai had made this trek, both intoxicated and sober, and it always seemed much longer. But now he was at your front door, hands shoved in his pockets as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “If you don’t want to hang out again, I understand, but I need you to tell me now if you think it’s a bad idea,” he rushed out.

“Of course I want to see you again,” you said, rolling your eyes. “So dramatic. We can still be friends, right?”

“We can be best friends,” he smiled.

“I’m glad I ran into you tonight.”

“Likewise.”

You were both clearly just trying to prolong the evening at this point. Nikolai took it upon himself to put you both out of your misery and pulled you into his arms again. You gripped his torso tightly, melting your body against his. He held you close, both strong arms wrapped around your shoulder while he tucked your head under his chin. After a moment, he pulled back enough to leave a gentle kiss on your forehead.

“Get some sleep,” he whispered, his breathing a little hard.

“Ok,” you croaked, nodding. Nikolai stepped out of your space then, squeezing your hand one last time before walking back out to the sidewalk, waiting and watching to make sure you got inside safely.

[overlyimmersed]

Nightmares and Daydreams

A Gravity Falls AU.

Hi @verysorrytobother​ Stanticore anon, revealing my true identity to share this with you! I wasn’t sure how a post this long would go over as an ask, so I decided to do it this way. I hope this is ok.

I’ve been working on this for a while and I hope it goes over well enough. The artwork took me the most time.

As a car crash victim is slowly dying, her mental self panics in the mindscape. She's offered a deal to save her life. Let the game begin.

(Content warnings: Blood. Descriptions of serious injuries.)

"What..." she whispered to herself, staring at the other in disbelief.

"Yep!" he confirms, in a high-pitched, grating, inappropriately upbeat tone, "Dead as a doornail, kid!- Well technically you still have a few more seconds till you brain totally ceases to function. Better make up your mind while you still have one!"

She's still staring dumbly at him. How can he be this nonchalant about it?! A half second ago she was sitting in the front seat of the family truck, a totally routine trip to the store- she never liked trucks but her dad's a carpenter so they need the hauling space. At least it's a pretty shade of blue- and the next she's here, laying face down in a black void with this prick this- this...All Seeing Eye? He's like the Illuminati symbol, but with arms and legs and a top hat. Caution sign yellow and talking to her- or at her. Bill. Freaking. Cipher. Every time he 'speaks' he flashes with light- no mouth so does it really count as speaking? More like his voice is being projected right into her mind- ... And he's telling her that she freakin died! Can't he see how messed up this is?! Can't he sympathize at all!? Then again, it's Bill. She ought to know better.

She ought to know better. She's seen this show a hundred times, she knows nothing good comes from dealing with Cipher. But she doesn't have time to be careful, she doesn't have the luxury of weighing options.

"Tick-tock, Car Wreck!" The obnoxious voice insists again, forcing her out of her stupor, his outstretched hand now alight with blue fire.

Her face scrunches up in a loud cringe, eyes screwed shut and teeth bared, and she swings her hand till it lands solidly in his. Crazed cackling resounds as the deal is struck, but it falls to simple soundtrack as her senses try to sort out what's going on.

She'd expected the blue fire to burn, or at least feel like something, but it didn't. Instead her entire being is flung into a...whirl? Free fall? Something that makes her stomach jump into her throat, and gives her vertigo.

The sensation stops suddenly, only to be replaced by a cacophony of new perceptions. She isn't sure which strikes her first, the sounds or the smell. Shrieks of agony and terror make up the next track of this bizarre playlist, punctuated by the reek of burnt hair. When her eyes fly open to try and make sense of it all, they have no luck. The sight that meets her is a sky of surreal, swirling, bastardized ribbons of every hue, like being inside a filthy bubble. Floating strewn about the space are pockmarked asteroids, and little else.

"So what'd ya think?" The grating voice rejoins the discord, drawing her shell-shocked gaze. "Home-sweet-home, huh? Well don't worry, you won't be here for very long. A deal's a deal, Car Wreck." With that que, and a snap of his fingers, she's falling again. This time untethered and unaccompanied. It takes her a moment to realize the scream ripping though the void is coming from her own throat. Once it hits her, so does something else, and the world goes black.

She wakes some time later, maybe moments maybe days. She has no way of knowing. She pushes herself onto her hands and knees, groggy and disoriented. It takes her a moment to notice the texture under her hands and focus her vision on it. It's grass. She sits up and looks around. "oh..." she says to herself, taking in the scenery. It's lovely, a grassy, sun soaked field. The sky made of churning colors like the last place she'd been, but they're pastel and much prettier. A warm breeze brushes past her face and she takes a deep breath of it, it smells sweet and warm, heavy with the scent of growing things, and for the first time since this started she finds some peace. Peace which is quickly shattered by a familiar, grating voice.

She jumps and whirls around so quick she falls onto her butt. There, floating just inches from where her head had been, is Bill. Laughing at her of course.

"Whoops! Didn't mean to scare you there, Car Wreck!" he claims, moving through the air to look around, then turning back around to look at her. "So how do you like the new digs?"

There's a beat of silence where she just stares at him again, but quickly she shakes off the shock and tries to respond. "Uh...It's nice." She lets her eyes roam around for a second, before returning to Bill, "Where are we?"

"This is the Realm of Daydreams! Your new HQ!" he answers, floating around behind her and making a grand gesture with his arms.

She turns her head to follow him, "Daydreams? HQ?"

"Yep! This is where you'll hang out when you're not puppeting your little pawns." He turns around to look at the scenery more himself. "Kinda dull if you ask me. Maybe you can do something about that!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh you know, some pillars of anguish, an alter of unholy fire, maybe a blood fountain or a couple of-" he gestures with each suggestion, like a landscaper creating a vision, until she cuts him off.

"No I mean," she finally pushes herself to a stand, teetering a little till she finds her balance. "Pawns?"

He turns back to her, "Oh yeah, which ones do you want anyway?" he waits a beat for an answer, but she just stares back at him, clearly not following. "Ugh, our deal?"

He hadn't really told her what the deal was, just mentioned a game and a second chance. "Uhh, I don't think you-"

"Oh right, you flesh bags need everything explained to you." he groans, rolling his eye, "Alright, here's the deal. We're gonna play a little game," he holds out his hand and a little hologram like projection appears showing an aerial view of a town. "and the people of this hick town are gonna be the pieces." ten little blue stick figures appear in the center of town, each with a little symbol above it's head. "If you win, you rejoin the land of the living!" a little magenta stick figure pops into existence next to the others and they all do a little happy dance. "If I win..." suddenly the whole projection goes up in flames, and she jerks her head back instinctively, "You burn with rest of those worthless mortals!" He bursts into a fit of maniacal laughter, which actually gives her some times to recover.

After a second of shocked staring, she blinks a few times then puts on as neutral an expression as she can. "Ok. So what are the rules?"

"Simple!" he answers, cutting off his laughter "We can't directly manipulate each other's pawns, and we can't interfere with the other's powers."

"That's it?"

"Yep. Everything else is fair game"

"Ok...What are my powers?"

"Same as mine! Except you don't have to wait till someone falls asleep to get in their head."

"I see..." her eyes wander to the ground as she contemplates the information, and her hand reaches for the longest of her three necklaces to idly play with the spiked pendant. "So you can talk to them in dreams, and I can talk to them in daydreams."

"Bingo!"

She scrunches her nose a little, thinking of a few ways that could end up being annoying. "Alright, anything else I need to know?"

"Hmm, nope! That just about covers it. All that's left is to pick our pawns, I'll even let you go first!" And with that ten, glowing, blue symbols appear between them. She looks them over carefully, she knows who each symbol corresponds to- supposing the cartoon from her world is accurate. She considers the six-fingered hand, if she takes him out of Bill's control from the start that derails his whole plan as she knows it. But, then she'll have no clue what's up to at all, at least by letting Bill have the pawns she's familiar with she has a chance at guessing his moves. She reaches forward and touches the shooting star, it turns magenta and floats to hover closer to her.

"Interesting." Bill comments, though his tone doesn't sound very interested, as he makes a simple motion with his eye and the six-fingered hand settles beside him. She chooses the fish looking symbol next, and Bill's second choice in the pine tree. They go back and forth till they have five symbols each, Bill having the the six-fingered hand, the pine tree, the llama, the stitched heart, and the pentagram. While she has the shooting star, the fish, the bag of ice, the spectacles, and the question mark.

"Welp, that settles that. Nice picks you made there, lets hope they work out for ya, Car Wreck"

"Could you not call me that?" though it hardly sounds like a request.

"And what else should I call you?" Bill asks, collecting his symbols into one hand and placing the other on his...hip?

"How about my name? It's Maranwe."

"But Car Wreck fits you so much better! Just take a look!" he quips, snapping a full-length mirror into existence. Maranwe turns to look and gasps in horror. Bill breaks out into more cackling, "Well my work here is done! I'll let you get cleaned up, see ya around Car Wreck!" And with that he fades from existence.

Maranwe just stares, even as Bill disappears from 'her' realm, she can only stare at her destroyed refection. Her hair is messy- and she almost laughs that that's what her brain zeros in on first-, It's also dirty, some of the mess is actual dirt but several spots are matted with half-dry blood. Her face is in a similar condition, smeared with dirt and blood but she can see the wounds there. Scrapes and still oozing cuts, bruises forming on one cheek bone and under her eyes. Her nose isn't quite right...broken probably. Her vision skims over her whole body for a second, making note of similar injuries where tears in her clothes reveal them. It's not as bad as she would expect a car crash victim to look- "except for that" Her mind screams suddenly while all her mouth can do is gasp, as her attention lands dizzyingly on her neck. It's...purple, but also red? There's no spilled blood but it still looks ugly, and the worst part is the...bump. It's not hard to figure out that it's a misaligned bone. Without the pain to tell her she never would have noticed, her neck is broken. Very broken. How is she holding her head up right... Probably because this isn't actually a physical body. She wonders if this is what killed her, or if there's something inside, something she can't see, that did the trick.

Whatever it is, she can't be seen like this. And she really really doesn't want to look like this for her own sake. Bill said she could 'clean herself up'? How exactly... She thinks about how Bill's powers tend to work and tries to concentrate on a cleaner, less beat up mental image of herself. She lifts her hand to her cheek and grazes her finger tips across it, a trail of sparkles follow the touch and the skin underneath returns to normal. She relaxes a little, watching the disaster wipe off her face like cheap make-up. She keeps the image in her mind and closes her eyes, cupping her hands in front of herself and imagining the sparkles pooling in them. Then she splashes the sparkles over he face, like a girl in a face wash commercial, and imagines the glittering dust washing over her entire body, cleaning away the mess and injuries. And when she opens her eyes, that's exactly what's happened. Her reflection shows her whole and unwounded, even her clothes are fixed.

The next thing she does is smooth her hair down, mostly an instinct since it's still messy, and the sparkles trail after her hands, tidying the strands as if she'd just brushed them. She watches her reflection's mouth quirk up a little in a small smirk. So she can just change what she looks like by imagining it? That figures, this is a place of daydreams that's kind of how they work. She knows exactly what to do with this, she's known since she was a kid what she's change if she could. She places the backs of her hands next to her ears and flicks up, sparkles spray up with the motion and her normal human ears, turn to wolf ears the fur the same chocolate brown as her hair. Her smirk blooms into a full blown smile, and she tilts her head to get a better look at them, watching them move as she tests them. It's like they're real! Next is the tail of course, it's mostly brown, with some silver down the top and a black tip. Then she looks down, and taps the toe of each of her shoes against the ground in turn, as she does they become the compressed paws of her own design.

"That's insane..." she laughs to herself. She's actually turning herself into something else, her own made up alien species. And she just can! With the big changes out of the way she works out the details; pupil shape, fang length, and straightens out a few asymmetries and insecurities she's always had about her body- after all why not? When she's done, she can't help admiring herself a little, turning this way and that in front of the mirror, her perfect image of herself. Well- almost perfect. She snaps her fingers and in the same dusting of glitter, her shirt changes. What was before a loose grey t-shirt with the word "nope" written across it in cursive, as been replaced by a cropped sweater, banded in 3 colors; white at the top, then light blue, then dark blue. She lifts it to look at the crop top under neither, it's just plain white. She decides she doesn't like it that way, so it changes to a cropped version of the t-shirt she'd had before. With that taken care of she lifts her arm so the over-sized sleeve falls down and she can see her forearm, which is covered by a light blue arm warmer with white lace around the edges. Perfect. At least for now. She can change later if she decides she doesn't like the arm warmers.

She giggles to herself, invigorated by the makeover and the sense of control she has now. She turns from the mirror and skips a few feet across the grass, the symbols she'd chosen follow her, floating loosely like beads suspended in gel. She laughs a little as she watches them, and idly reaches for her necklace again, but this time her hand just meets the soft knit of her sweater. She'd forgotten to add them into this new look, so she just wills them into place; three different necklaces of three different lengths. Her hand finds the middle length first, the pendant is designed to spin so she plays with it while her mind starts to wander. She starts thinking of plans for winning this game, what she might say to each other 'pawns' and who to use where and how, even letter her thoughts wonder about the new life she'll have. Cipher's hologram suggested she'll stay in Gravity Falls, which would be cool but what about-

The sound of screeching tires and twisting metal cuts her thoughts off clean and she whips around to find the source of the noise, but her fear turns to confusion when she sees...nothing. She stands stock still, her mind running over only vague impressions of thoughts relating to what she just heard, until another loud sound whips her back around. This time she actually sees something, like a huge firework in the pastel oil-slick sky, accompanied by Bill's obnoxious voice echoing through the space.

"Let the game begin!"

[ambivalent-anarchy]

The Spidey Squad Playing Among Us

Masterlist

Welp, this game is all the rave all of a sudden and irdk how since the game's pretty much been here forever lol but it's still fun so I had to jump on the bandwagon and here we are! Make sure you check go out @chaoticpete's new fic. Anyways here it is! If this gets enough likes I might do an avengers headcanon too.

Thanks to @angelsparkers for helping me realize I wasn't writing complete garbage and helping me to get through it even though she didn't even know she was doing that. So yeah thanks for that.

Peter

Crewmate: Peter is that crewmate that will 100% call you out on your bs, because he knows the game a little too well for you to be able to pull anything over him(because of all that free time waiting on patrol). You think all that stuff with the avengers didn't teach him strategy? Ha! This guy is PEAK detective. Gets his tasks done fast and when he's done is probably spending his time monitoring people on security or vitals. It only took him like 2 weeks to memorize all the maps and where everything is, so if you say you were in navigation, you better believe he's gonna ask you what task you were doing there. And if you don't answer to his liking, Peter will sound the "sus" alarm on you in two point five seconds and have everyone voting you out. He's probably the only person that could figure out MJ when she's the impostor. So if you're the impostor, watch your words and make sure your alibis are strong cuz little Petey ain't playin' no games. Definitely gets attacked from time to time by those people that are always like "sMaRt PpL rUiN tHe GaMe"

Impostor: He's pretty much the most average impostor. Sometimes he doesn't know what to say when people call him sus and he'll get voted out because he's being "too quiet" or because Ned keeps defending him. He'll mess up every now and then but for the most part, he's pretty decent. His style is usually to stay in the vents most of the game and kill when only one person's around. He probably bribes Ned to not rat him out by promising him that he won't kill him.

Name: It used to be just Peter, but soon he wanted an actual cool name so he chose Sherlock because of all the times when he was "too smart" and won the game too quickly and people would go "pack it up Sherlock" and vote him out.

Favorite color to be: It used to be red, but he quickly found that the more he was red the more people found him "sus" so now he's usually either blue or cyan

Ned

Crewmate: Pretty average crewmate. 80% of the time is covering for Peter, even if Peter is the impostor. Won't do much calling people out unless he's absolutely sure that he saw a kill or vent. Pretty chill and easily persuadable. You'd definitely want him on your team. If he ever gets wrongfully ejected he's the one that pitifully tries to plead his case saying stuff like "what???" and "guys it's not me!!!!" which doesn't really convince anyone and just makes him look more guilty. He'll still do his tasks after though.

Impostor: He's the impostor that doesn't want to be the impostor. If you're texting then maybe he can hold his own, but if you're doing voice chats, there's no way this guy is getting past ANYONE. He has so many tells that it's ridiculous. Is actually scared to vent too much because he's always paranoid that someone's gonna be right there when he jumps out. 8/10 the crewmates win when he's the imposter because he'll just kill like only two people the entire time or gets caught really early on.

Name: Probably some sci-fi reference like r2d2 or Potter

Favorite color to be: Yellow or white because he says those are the most "innocent" colors and he'll be less likely to get voted if he's those (not true but we'll let him believe it)

MJ

Crewmate: Suspicion times 100. Her motto: trust no one. Will get you kicked out in a heartbeat with a quick "trust me. if it's not them vote me next." An absolute unit but will never be caught getting emotional over a game. If she's ever wrongfully ejected her last words will be "whatever. go ahead. vote me and lose." She'll just come back in the next game with a vengeance and false accusations ready, not caring if the entire team loses because of it. She's especially dangerous to have because people usually trust her word. She always finds a way to seem the least suspicious. Though sometimes she'll get suspected because of her quiet nature. There's always that one guy that's ready to go "uR qUiEt ThAt'S sUs!!"

Impostor: If MJ is the impostor, you can just throw your whole phone away. You're not winning that game. Like, ever. She will do whatever it takes to win, even sell out her own her partner. On the off chance that you catch her being suspicious, she'll sabotage a bunch of things so that you can't call meetings and then she'll kill you when no one's around. She is ruthless and will hurt your feelings with the way that she will own everyone in the game. Hardly anyone ever expects her. Thrives on venting. You won't see her you'll just be doing a task and suddenly you'll be dead.

Name: Used to be just MJ but she got annoyed with all the people in the messages who always assumed she meant Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan so she changed it to Michelle

Favorite color to be: She literally doesn't care either way. Won't change the gameplay so why bother? Whatever color she ends up with she'll be fine.

Betty

Crewmate & Impostor: The most average player of them all. She wins some, she loses some. Nice partner to have though, because she'll never give you away. Probably the first to die most times. If she ever gets wrongfully ejected she's the one that uses her last words to say who she thinks it and doesn't even try to plead her case once it starts to look bad for her. She just finished the rest of her tasks.

Name: Probably either her name or some nickname or inside joke. Idk she just seems like the type of person to have a reference to something that absolutely nobody knows

Favorite color to be: Pink. Just because she likes pink.

Flash

Crewmate: Claims things are sus even if they aren't. Will totally be biased based on names. Anybody who knows him will never count him as a credible source. Gets voted out quickly alot because of how annoying he is in the game.

Impostor: He's the easiest to figure out. He's the impostor that obnoxiously accuses literally everyone else. And in all capital letters too. "ITS RED I STG. IF IT'S NOT HIM VOTE ME NEXT!" Calls everyone sus and always claims he's seen people running from the body. He usually self-reports and goes for the easy marks in electrical. He's not that good (even though he thinks he is) and it takes anyone with a brain to figure him out. Peter and MJ are bane of his existence in that game. If he gets wrongfully ejected he'll rage and probably leave the game like the little crybaby he is.

Name: Spideys#1 because he's really just THAT obsessed. Or when he's really feeling "teenage boy" he'll be cOchieman

Favorite color to be: Red because sPiDeRmAn'S hIs BeSt FrIeNd (ahahaha if only he knew)

May

She didn't know this game at all until Peter introduced her to it one day because he was bored. She LOVED it. He had to pry it out of her hands after she kept repeating "Hold on, one more!" So she downloaded on her phone and now she plays it whenever she's bored.

Crewmate: Average. Same as Betty.

Impostor: The way May can actually dominate being the impostor is sort of scary. And she'd always be the last person you'd expect because she just has that trusting vibe about her. Sometimes she'll mess up and give herself away, but for the most part, she's pretty good. Doesn't vent much. Just like Ned, she doesn't trust it.

Name: Madonna

Favorite color to be: She doesn't care much but she prefers to be purple, cyan, or orange

Funny Moment

《Peter calls an emergency meeting 10 seconds into the game》

- Michelle: what

- Betty: what

- Michelle: skip

- r2d2: bro already?

- Sherlock: okay everyone just listen

- k0chieman: bruh

- Michelle: okay listen to what

- Sherlock: flash what task are you doing

- Betty: alright were listening

- k0chieman: the divert thingy in navi

- r2d2: pete what is this

- Sherlock: yeah dude that diverty thingy is the second of two steps

- Sherlock: u never did the first

- Sherlock: which means ur an impostor faking

- Michelle: flash?

- k0chieman: no

- k0chieman: i did do it

- r2d2: the times low we gotta decide guys

- Sherlock: if you did it wouldve taken you 12-15 seconds to get there and were not that far in the game

- Sherlock: u cant already be doing it

- Sherlock: everybody vote flash

- r2d2: petes on x games mode

- Michelle: damn dude

- k0chieman: wtf parker

- Sherlock: bye dude

- Sherlock: worlds greatest detective strikes again

- Michelle: okay calm down pete

《couple seconds later》

. 　　　。　　　　•　 　ﾟ　　。 　　.

　　　.　　　 　　.　　　　　。　　 。　. 　

.　　 。　　　　　 ඞ 。 . 　　 • 　　　　•

　　ﾟ　　 Flash was An Impostor.　 。　.

　　'　　　 1 Impostor remains 　 　　。

　　ﾟ　　　.　　　. ,　　　　.　 .

Best Imposter Combos

Peter & Ned: Goes without saying. Nine times out of ten they're in the same room while playing this so they can just talk strategy to each other and take everyone out really quickly. Really annoying for everybody else, but they'll win so they're happy.

MJ & Peter: These two together are a force to be reckoned with. The second they see that they're both impostors they call each other up and get to business like they're on a mission. This stuff is serious. (More for Peter than MJ. She has to keep telling him that it's just a game.) He stays on security stuff, telling her when it's safe, and she racks up the kills. When things get heavy, they sabotage and then go on a spree. These two hardly ever lose. (When the whole squad is together whoever's in charge [if it's not Pete or MJ] usually puts the kill cooldown at max just in case these two get that they can't be at full power)

MJ & Betty: Betty isn't afraid to sacrifice herself so that they'll win and MJ is ruthless and quick with her kills. Both have the smarts to be able to be extremely persuasive and you'd hate for them to pick you to frame. Because being put against those two in the chatroom will lead you nowhere but abyss of space.

May & Peter: Parkers united. 'Nough said.

Tagging: @spideyyeet, @soft-petey, @spidey-reids-2003, @spidey-boy-89, @sovereignparker, @bubblebucky, @underoosjae

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

WARNING DRAMA AHEAD

(Which is crazy because I try to actively have a drama free lifestyle)

So, awhile back I wrote about some issues in a friend group containing A & Em. Summary: I chatted with Em about A unintentionally making me feel shitty for FINALLY accepting my limitations & making lifestyle & wardrobe changes to reflect that. Em said she'd talk to A because if I did it, A might feel attacked & get defensive.

Day before yesterday, Em dropped by to hang, help me put together a shoerack, and go to a local costume shop that does rentals and serves all the theater departments & dance companies in a 70 mile radius. This shop is amazing, been around since I was little, almost everything is hand made with amazing care and detail, and the decor in their shop is ever changing, detailed, and super fucking cool. ANYWAY, we got on the subject of A, whom I've only seen once or twice since talking to Em about it & seemed ok both times aside from getting legit pissed that I'm better at macrame plant holders than she is. Apparently A currently thinks I dislike her or like her less or something. So I asked Em if I should gently talk to her about it and see if we can reach an understanding. She said she thought it was a good idea h really, I don't like one of my friends thinking I dislike them. So yesterday I pulled together some courage and messaged her. The following is the conversation that occured:

Me: So, I've heard that you are upset and under the impression that I don't like you anymore or like you less or something. So I'm gonna clear the air, but I'm gonna be blunt and honest with you because I'm not down for lying. K? (And let me go ahead and flat out say, I don't dislike you or like you any less)

A:I've just been feeling some reservations toward me lately. Go ahead I can take blunt.

(Spoiler: she cannot take even sugarcoated gentle level blunt)

ME: So here is the deal. My illness is eternal and is only ever going to get worse. In fact, it is constantly getting worse in small, large, and sometimes interesting & unexpected ways. Sometimes it creeps on slowly, sometimes it hits like an anvil was dropped on me. Therefore I am constantly having to adjust my lifestyle, activities, wardrobe... EVERYTHING. Very recently, I realized that I have spent the last 3 years trying to live my old life and just cope so my quality of life has been SHIT. I've finally truly accepted the shithole that is my health for what it is and have started to truly make real adjustments to my lifestyle, hobbies, wardrobe, ect. Because I will never get better and live in about 400 sq ft (at best) that means when I realize something doesn't fit my abilities or needs anymore, I get rid of it. However, I always offer those things to the kids & my friends first before donating them. But here's the thing, when I offer these things to you, I get a load of questions & comments that end up making me feel like I have failed as a person for realizing what has taken me 3 years to realize. For example: when I told you that Julia's candles were my last batch ever, there were loads of 'have you tried...' and 'I'm sure you can find a way.' I know you mean well, but if I'm giving something up, I've truly tried ever avenue to make it work within my limits and it just doesn't. Even after I quit candles in May, I kept the stuff (which took up massive space) until August because I doubted myself and was reluctant to lose another hobby. But I need to face facts and be realistic. Same with the sweater. I am drastically altering my wardrobe for whatever the upcoming season is to fit the fact that I need my cane at all times now (POCKETS) and the fact that my clothes need to be comfy enough for me to get dressed every day not just days I'm leaving the house. I've lived in PJs for the last year and a half and it's not good for my mental health. So all things that don't fit that criteria or my new altered lifestyle must go. And it's going to be a constant process because I'm constantly getting worse. The jewelry making stuff, I genuinely forgot you wanted it because honestly i don't even remember what happened yesterday, so I'm sorry. (I had jewelry making supplies that I can't use anymore due to -15 hand strength, which I gave to Em.)

A: I'm sorry that I've been putting you down and making you feel shity. That's never been my intention. If I ask a ton of questions it's not because I don't understand the severity and challenges in your daily life. I ask so many questions because I often find unconventional wacky solutions to peoples problems all the time and if I can be in the slightest bit helpful in finding a loophole or a way you might not have seen, I thought that would be better than just saying "I'm so sorry to hear that" I figured you hear that enough but idk how often you hear people actually trying to find a way. Like the sweater example, I would have been happy to take you shopping for a fun print material the made you some pockets. Outside like a cool patchwork with awesome prints, or inside like a bond detective. But you were so quick to snap at me and explain your whole situation like I am not taking you seriously. I ask because I want to hear your needs and maybe just maybe be able to help out. But if all I do is make you feel like your grandma did then I'll do you a favor and stop inviting myself over to make you feel shitty. I'm glad Emma always knows just what to say.

Now at this point, I stopped replying. I was kind of shocked at her response. Like, I expected her to explain her intentions, despite me making it clear I knew her intentions were good, because that's what people do. I expected us to discuss how things should be moving forward so I don't continue to feel like a failure. I considered maybe mentioning somewhere in there that if I want help or advice or solutions, I'll fucking ask. But I did NOT expect those last couple sentences where she basically stomped her feet and said well since this isn't going how I want, I'm not playing with you guys anymore.

After careful thought, writing & editing over a 5 hr period, I sent this (which are screenshots from my notes because typing is rough, I wanted to convey what I wanted just right, and now you have to click on them to see the full thing. I'm sorry I've failed you, the reader of this normal convo turned melodrama, in such a fashion.):

She responded at like 2 am (when I was asleep) so I saw there was a response when I woke up, but given the history of her behavior in situations like this (conveyed via Em, who has known her MUCH longer) I decided not to open it just yet, as I'd like to relax and enjoy my day. This shit stresses me out. I don't do drama and tantrums. I don't tolerate it from my teenage Spawn, much less fucking adults. I get the feeling that the response is going to be just as melodramatic & tantrum filled. If this is how she handles her intentions not aligning with the result of her actions that were driven by said intentions, then she's in for a real shock when she leaves the cuddlebox of college and enters the real world. Your boss isn't going to care about how good your intentions were when you accidentally burned down the kitchen of the bakery you work in. They will just care that you burned down their fucking business.

Welp, may as well rip off the bandaid. For you, my dear reader, to have closure I will read the response. Back in a sec.

OMG IT WAS SO MUCH MORE DRAMATIC THAN I EXPECTED.

A:I understand. And I told you where I stand. I am the type of friend that instinctually tries to help those she cares deeply about. I'm not the friend to just sit and feel bad when there's something I can do. But I have been feeling for a while now unwanted and you have confirmed it by not saying anything then, just talking about it to my former close friend, and then throwing it in my face that you have been holding on to a box cuz of me. And like the adult i am, I don't see why I should change the type of friend I am just because some one is ungrateful for it. I'll go help someone else leave their abusive boyfriend's in the middle of the night. for the people I care about I'd do anything, anything except sit and do nothing while I'm told how much worse I make things when I try and help. I will just take my good intentions elsewhere. I have had the worst year of my life but I don't remember you asking me once anyway. I wish you the best buy obviously your life is better without me and my negativity in it. I truly am sorry I hurt your feelings and I never ever wanted to. I cherished your friendship more than you'll ever know and you can ask anyone. But because I can't see myself sitting by biting my tongue around you and waking on eggshells because I clearly can't see the bounty between helpful conversion and being a cunt. Since I respect you so much I'll go ahead and remove that stupid cunt from your life so you won't be put down again.

HOOOLY SHIT. I'm not responding to that giant fucking dramatic pity party. She legit needs to grow the fuck up. Good god.

[dimensionsblog]

Chapter 11: ECHO

"I don't understand." He started, glaring as he spoke. "Why are you doing this? This isn't even her timeline, all she wants to do is go home!"

Every timeline must be purged.

"BUT WHY?! TELL ME WHY YOU'RE DOING THIS!" He yelled. "She's just a kid! You really want to murder a kid?! You're sick!"

"Cloak?!"

He spun around at the sound of his name. "Frisk no, get back!"

You know why. You've always known.

Turning his attention back to the dark void he was yelling at before, he just barely made out a single red eye. "Know what?"

You've known why...since the experiments.

"What..?" He started, but his attention shifted to the darkness surrounding him, engulfing him almost. "What the hell?!"

Allow me to remind you...of your true purpose.

He struggled. Nothing happened. He tried to move again. Nothing happened. Nothing happened each time he tried, he even reached out for something, anything at this point. And when he did, he was blinded by a bright light.

Opening his eyes slowly, he dound himself in some sort of laboratory. "What's going on..? Where am I..?" He said, mainly to himself.

Do you remember this? I do.

He looked around quickly, trying to locate the owner of the voice, but it seemed it was just his imagination. Brushing it off for now, he walked forward, each step unlocking the broken fragments of this memory in his mind. There were no amalgamates yet, they came later. The experiment wasn't originally performed by Alphys, she helped...him. "Why am I...How did I forget this?"

You forgot him too, I know. A lot of people did.

The Core. He was building the Core when he came in the first place. The DT Extractor only worked once, on...on him.

So, you now understand how. The machine caused you a lot of pain. I know, I was there.

"He...he used my determination." Cloak's mind raced for a moment, he remembered all the experiments involving his SOUL. His human SOUL. "But...I'm not human..."

So you were told. But when do you remember a monster using such power without melting? Think, Cloak.

"Even if that's true, that doesn't justify what you're doing!" He countered. "You can't murder innocent people, just for your own messed up agenda!"

You do not yet know the truth. But you will know soon enough. My "messed up agenda" was a plan we made ages ago. To fix the biggest mistake Dr. Gaster ever made.

"Gaster?" Cloak started. "But what-" He started, but was interrupted by a sharp, intense pain in his chest and stomach. When he looked down, he saw he was impaled by two large, black bones. "These...Undyne...you...!"

You'll know the truth very soon, so long as you survive. Pleasant dreams...my other self.

---

"Why...?"

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

---

"You can't understand how this feels." He started, waiting to dodge their next attack in the Judgement Hall. "Knowing that one day, you'll wake up to find it's all been RESET." He waited a moment before continuing. "I won't let that happen. Seeing what comes next, I just can't afford to not care anymore."

"...Do it."

He froze. It was small, but it was definitely her voice. Not this demon thing, but Frisk. He'd know her voice anywhere. "Do what? Murder you?" He said, surprisingly in a quiet tone. "When you haven't hurt anyone? When we're all free? You brought me back down here so you could let me KILL you?!"

"...can't control...for long..." She looked up at him, her eyes seemed to be pleading for his help while her body trembled. "...Sans..."

He watched her for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and that's when he found it: An endless dark void behind her. It definitely wasn't there before, he'd remember something like that. He realized what was going on, why she called him here like this. It wasn't for some stupid death wish, she hadn't lost her mind, she couldn't control what she was doing at all. And he'd....Gods, he'd already killed her to have her forced to come back. He didn't use the blaster but...if he did she'd still suffer wouldn't she? What was he supposed to do?!

His thoughts were interrupted by Frisk stepping forward. It seemed whatever was controlling her, they had no idea he figured out the truth with her help. Flashing her a quick smirk to show her he understood, he decided to play along. "Welp. Sorry, Toriel. Guess I should have never made that promise." He said.

When she was forced to step forward again, he used his magic to lift her up by her SOUL, he wanted to find out exactly how she was being controlled. But she screamed, as if she was in intense pain, and he couldn't keep a hold on her like that. He half set her down, half dropped her, he still had to keep his act up or else she would be in a lot more trouble. He could feel it, the malevolence surrounding her SOUL. That was definitely where it was coming from. Whatever was in that void was using her SOUL to control her every move. This made everything different. He'd have to do something else, killing Frisk would only make things worse for her.

"Why don't you just come out and face me?" He stated, looking directly at the void. "All this time you've been trying to 'ketchup', so you 'mustard' to meet me." He tried to joke, there was a small chance that would help.

I already know you. I've known you for a long, long time.

With that response, the figure within the void released his hold on Frisk's SOUL, Sans could hear her catching her breath. He kept his eyes on the void, and was surprised to see a figure walking out from it. They were covered in darkness, save for their eyes. One was visibly scarred and shut, the other was red and looking directly at him.

After all, you helped him experiment on me. Don't you remember?

Sans' eyes widened. The Determination experiments, the ones he helped Gaster perform. He was a part of them, but he never...he didn't do anything but check on...was this thing really...?

It was fun to use her. The first couple of deaths were my own experiment, I wanted to see what she could handle. But now, the fun's over. I have a job to do, and you're in the way.

He was still on denial that this dark thing was what was left of that human, but whatever it was, it was strong. It picked up the knife off of the ground that Frisk had dropped, and looked at her for just a moment, as if to tell her she was next. It pissed him off, how it was still after her after torturing her. Toying with her for some sick game.

He summoned his Gaster Blasters behind him on both sides, opening fire on the void-like creature. He repeatedly fired, until smoke clouded his vision. He couldn't make out if he'd killed it or not.

Checkmate.

He couldn't move in time, they'd hit him with their attack and he'd die, just like that. He knew it was coming, even if time seemed to slow down the inevitable, but he was glad it was himself and not her. She didn't deserve this. She never deserved this. She...

"NO!"

She stepped in front of him at the last second. He couldn't stop her, he couldn't save her. She held the knife handle with her hands as it impaled her through the stomach. Laughing, the figure stepped back into its own void, disappearing from sight.

He caught her as she fell, holding her close. "H-hang on!" He pleaded. "Let me get you help!"

Frisk shook her head, weakly grabbing his hoodie.

"Why...?"

"...I didn't want you to die..." She started. "...You'll...you'll be okay...you don't have to reset this time..."

"Yes I do! I'm not losing you!" Sans protested. He let the tears flow, the thought of living without her was unbearable. "Please..."

"...If I...if we reset...they'll just come back..." Frisk said softly. "...You have to let me go..."

"You saw what happened when I tried to before! I can't..." He said, looking her in the eyes. "I love you, dammit! Why do you think I fought so hard to get you back before?!"

She smiled. "...I love you too..." She started. "...That's why...I need you to do this...for me..." She used what little strength she had to wipe some of his tears away, gently placing her hand on his cheek. It only lasted a moment, one moment where they shared one last smile, before her hand slipped from his face. She was gone.

(Beautiful Frans artwork belongs to @an-endlessabyss )

[todokori-kun]

AYYYYY

I’M SO. FREAKING. GLAD YOU’RE BACK <3333 (I feel really stupid for this because I KNOW Queen Luna’s told me like a dozen times that if you’re not answering, it’s probably because of the internet…but ugh, Evans is an idiot who  still keeps having mini panic attacks over late replies XD like, I almost sent a 'did I say something wrong' message before I took a deep breath and realized how hecking stupid that would sound lol)

You’re welcome! They really do look amazing, though <3 I’ve also been working on aesthetics but eh. Idk, really. I made a barely-tolerable Saiko/Urie one, and then one for one of the Love Interests in that Otome Game I mentioned (not The Blind Griffin; the original thing I was working on)…which actually looks nice, but guess what? I could only find four pictures that matched with the color scheme/themes I’d picked out OTL

And tysm <333 ;-; but seriously, Mikasa is such a Zoldyck. Like, what if she and Illumi switched places. It’s like “Killua, you are my favorite sibling, I’ll follow you anywhere and protect you from everything” and “Eren you have a duty to your family (AKA me) please, stop playing the hero and come back here”

Actually I feel like Killua would be a lot happier with Mikasa for an older sibling instead of Illumi. Like, Zoldyck!Mikasa would probably be just as messed up as Illumi, but if we’re talking about canon Mikasa…let’s be honest. If Killua wanted to be a hunter she’d make sure he’d pass the test by any means necessary. If Killua wanted to get away from their family and explore, then sure, she’d order the butlers to let him out. If Killua’s friends came to visit and Mrs. Zoldyck/the servants refused to let them in, Mikasa would storm out there and open the gates herself. If the rest of the family went too far I really think she'd be perfectly willing to stab them all in the back, throw Killua over her shoulder, resign from her job as an assassin and walk right out of there.

Only Eren would be miserable. Illumi would probably do an even better job of keeping him ‘safe’ than Mikasa did (unlike Mikasa Illumi is perfectly willing to manipulate loved ones to keep them by his side), but…yeah. It’s Illumi. How could Eren be happy?

I KNOW. THE HAMILTON FEELS. (if you’d like I could send you more letters? I’ve managed to find quite a few….

Also idk if this is even true, but do you know about the relationship between Angelica and TJeffs (apparently they were friends and Jefferson may have been pining over Angelica, just a bit)? So I heard that Angelica slapped him so hard one time that he refused to go to any parties after that if he heard she was there too.

He also became terrified of Eliza as well…

Again, idk if this is true but I sorta want it to be lol)

Like, ok, maybe Eliza doesn’t get to truly shine until That Would Be Enough, and maybe Peggy comes off as simple comic relief to some people, but…HOW CAN YOU LISTEN TO 'THE SCHUYLER SISTERS’ AND NOT BE IMPRESSED BY ANGELICA FREAKING SCHUYLER

Nope nope nope nope rewind rewind

How does the bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a 

Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten

Spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor,

Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

seriously? Because I broke a lot of stuff too XD There’s only one 100% undamaged glass item in this house that belongs to me, and that’s the last snow globe, the only one I somehow haven’t smashed yet. I don’t even touch it anymore because I’m scared of breaking it lol

And aww that sounds so sweet! Weirdly enough I could destroy my own clothes and doodle all over my skin but I never had the guts to do anything to my dolls…I was tempted to give them haircuts several times but I knew mom would probably freak out if she saw doll hair all over the floor so.

Yeah, tbh I have no idea what happened there either. As for blood…well, I got used to nosebleeds as a kid. Like, a ton of blood would randomly come pouring out of my nose all the time and I didn’t even care; just like 'oh welp there it all goes…dad can you pass me a tissue?’. I also don’t mind 'messier’ injuries like scraped knees. But bruises and cuts really, REALLY bother me for some reason ;-;

Oh. Oh dear.

Um, um, um. What is that. I’m never reading this manga. It will make me suffer.

(I wonder if you’re talking about Erza/Jellal? If not, sorry ^^;;)

Feel free to show me the chapter if you want to, though! I’ll try my best to figure out what’s going on :D

Schwing *insert lenny face here*

I finally found the OPM volumes! I’m gonna do my best to catch up with both that and HxH :) (that thing with Saitama, the smol child and the snow monsters at the end of volume 1 is like the cutest thing ever in my eyes. Idk. Maybe I’m just weird?)

I mean, Roma ate Urie so. We’re in for one heck of a ride…

I tried my best, but weirdly, CP hasn’t been working very well for me the last few days…it keeps crashing. I’m really sorry OTL But I’m trying to fix it and I think it’ll work now!

nononononononononono don’t you dare write any more HCs Queen Luna please spare me

Oooh, can’t wait to see your reaction :D

That sounds amazing! Wishing you luck with finding more people to do it with you- I’m sure it’ll turn out great! Tell me how it turns out later, please??? <3

(also I’ll be sending you some HxH character pics, mostly of my problematic favs…hope that’s ok ^^ (tbh I’m mostly trying to get you to join me in my Adultrio (Illumi/Chrollo/Hisoka trio) obsession. Also my love for Leorio and Gon))

No, no, don’t worry about it!! Seriously, I felt so bad, because I’d be in the middle of watching something (USBs were my lord and saviour) and think ‘Omg I gotta tell Evans about this’ and then look up and think ‘wait when was the last time I had net for long enough to answer?’ Then I’d get depressed XD

Aaah, also, telling you in advance this time, on Thursday we’ll be traveling, so I probably won’t be able to answer for 10ish days ^^;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; I feel like crap OTL

Ayyy thank you so much!!!  I get your struggle with colours XD It can be really hard ;-; I usually try to get 8 pics, but end up with 6. 

I finally saw some pics of Illumi and I get what you mean by ‘dead fish eyes’. Just, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a character so bored. 

If only, if only... Tbh, Mikasa would be an amazing sibling figure. She’d make sure that her sibling is happy and if there was someone who made them NOT happy, then she’d return the favour.  I say Killua needs a lost big sis who is pretty much Mikasa XD

Well,,, let’s say Mikasa AND Eren switch places with Illumi? But then we’re dooming pretty much everyone in the AoT universe... Poor Armin XD

BRING ON THE LETTERS

AHAHAHAHAHAH I completely understand Jeff XD Weren’t they rumoured to have had an affair?  That’s amazing XD Just what did the slap have to be like to make a grown man afraid of being in the same room as you. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if he didn’t hear Angelica would be there, though? Like, he walks in and sees her.

WADDAYA MEAN ELIZA DOESN’T SHINE TILL THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH??? WHAT ABOUT HELPLESS??  And, true, you don’t know the awesomeness of Peggy unless you know the history, but damn, she was a freaking badass.  Thankfully, Satisfied did make them go ‘damn’, mostly the rap parts XD

The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father Got a lot farther by working a lot harder By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

Ahahah, that’s completely understandable XD Now that I look around my room, the only glass item which is not a lamp, is a small vial that stands on a shelf I never touch. Maybe that’s why it survived my childhood XD

Nope, the dolls looked like nightmare fuel if my sister didn’t help XD I knew ever since I was a kid that I could never be a make up artist or a hair stylist... Tbh I never had any remorse about cutting their hair, and since my sister was there as well, she taught me to always throw the hair away/do it above a trash can. 

Well, I have to blow my nose a lot (I get sick really often), so I also get nosebleeds every once in a while, but I’m still not used to them.

ALRIGHTY THEN I am totally uploading the last chapter then XD

Yep, it’s Erza and Jellal. Wait, how do you know that??

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yaay!! I’ll have to read the rest as well XD

SHE WHAT S H E   W H A T

Ah, that’s a shame... don’t worry about it though!! 

The thing is, every time I ask someone for advice on how to start a group every time, all they tell me is ‘go to cons and find cosplayers’. It’s literally the only advice I’ve received.  The problem? Nearest cons are in Germany. And that’s not exactly nearby. Even if I did go and found LL cosplayers, what are the odds they’re Croatian? It’s honestly so frustrating.  I’ll just practice dances on my own, and if I find someone who likes it, great! If not, then whatever. 

Oh boy, let’s get to the pics!

Gon really does seem like a cinnamon roll! I wanna adopt him XD

Omg I already love Leorio! Like wow, he seems extra, but nice under all that? Rumpel no2

I wanna adopt Killua as well XD He seems like the sweetest sunshine child out there

Tbh when i saw Pika, I thought he was a girl. Whoops. Also, tragedy™

I see Chrollo becoming my problematic fave XD Also, he with his hair down ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Aww, that’s nice! I hope she enjoys it!

DOn’t remind me of that ep XDDD Remember when I said a while ago that I was watching Sherlock? I watched The Reichenbach Fall. You should’ve seen me during Watson’s speech at his grave.

1am, not wearing pants, stuffing my face with pancakes while crying.  Why does it seem like 1am, no pants is my default mode XD

Yes, Illumi certainly has beautiful eyes. I feel compelled to gouge them out and decorate my room with them.

Also, idk if you’ve noticed but I’m slowly reviving scenarios on ice!! I missed that blog, so I wanna go back to writing for it ^^