#i lost the original post and went down an annoying rabbit hole

[13thdoodle]

Yea so turns out I haven't uploaded Levi n 31's blorbo memes here askdjnadk I did the oc meme last year apparently but I wanted to redo em anyway so here it is~

Levi is just... depends on what kind of mood im in apparently so he can have 0 thoughts or too much thoughts (Anxiety:tm:) lmao

Original template by @bitegore

[hallowxiu]

Yes Spells Yes

pairing: mammon & gn!mc

word count: 1.6k

summary: With the help of Levi and Belphie (and a splash of Satan), you decide to mess with Mammon a little.

a/n: i got the idea from these two videos. the original and then the mha version which is equally as funny.

“What am I doin’ here?” There’s a bored tone to Mammon’s voice as he spins around on your desk chair.

“What do you mean? You’re always here.” You play dumb while you type away on your D.D.D, glancing over at the white-haired man every now and then from your spot on your bed.

“But ya specifically asked me to come in, and now we aren’t even doin’ anythin’!” He puffs air into his cheeks and you can’t help but giggle at the sight; he’s too cute sometimes.

“Alright, alright. So, I saw something earlier and I wanted to test it out on you.” Earlier, while scrolling on your D.D.D, you managed to find a website that had some of your favorite websites from the human realm. You had even found Youtube and went down a rabbit hole of some of your favorite videos, as well as videos you had been meaning to watch before arriving at the Devildom. You caught up with everything your favorite Youtubers posted and then some. More importantly, you found some challenges, which is what led you here.

A devious smile forms on your lips as your mind plays the video back in your head. The video was about a minute and a half long, and you thought it was something you could pull on Mammon. It’d give yourself entertainment, as well as some of the brothers if they wanted to join. So far, you only had talked Belphie and Levi into joining in with you, though you weren’t sure if it’s because they wanted to spend time with you, or if they enjoyed bothering Mammon that much. Maybe it’s a mix of both. “Test it out?” He asks incredulously. His cheeks are a hot red as he stares at you with wide eyes. “And just what is it that ya plan on testin’ on me? Huh? You’re up to no good, aren’t ya?” You laugh at his paranoia and shake your head.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise. Only fun and games.” The video you saw had become a trend in the human realm, but you didn’t think anyone in the Devildom had discovered it yet. If anything, you’d be starting the trend here. The video was simple; you spell out the word ‘yes’ to someone and ask them what it spells. Once they answer, you then spell the word ‘eyes’ and ask them the same question. If it goes the way you’re hoping, and it should because it’s Mammon, it’ll be hilarious.

You look over at your bedroom door when it opens, smiling widely when you see a purple head of hair poke through. “Levi, you’re here.” Immediately, there’s a look of irritation on Mammon’s face. He mutters something under his breath about “I thought it was just gonna be the two of us, human,” while the younger brother walks in with his phone. “Where’s Belphie?”

“Belphie’s comin’ too?” There’s exasperation to Mammon’s voice, though you and Levi ignore it.

“He’s on his way. Beel just woke him up a few minutes ago, so he’s probably trying to figure out what year it is and where he’s at before he comes down.” You chuckle to yourself at the thought of a disorientated Belphie. “But I’ll just start filming anyway. I don’t think he’ll care if we start without him.”

“Start without him?” Mammon shoots up from where he’s sitting, hands on his hips as he angrily glares his brother down. “And just what do ya plan on filmin’, huh? If ya plan on sellin’ anythin’, I get a profit too! I get the biggest profit, actually, since it’s me ya plan on usin’!” Levi rolls his eyes at his brother's antics and pushes him so that he’s sitting back down on the chair.

“Alright, Mammon. Are you ready? We’re just playing a game, relax.” You try to calm the demon down when seeing how tense he looks. “I promise; no funny business.” He eyes you suspiciously, though he slumps back into the chair.

“Yeah, okay. Whatever.”

“What does y-e-s spell?” Levi’s already filming as he stands beside your bed, and the mischievous smile is back on your face. “Uh… yes? Is that a trick question? Why are ya askin’ me something so obvious? Do ya really think I’m that dumb? Ya know, I’m kinda takin’ offense to this.”

You brush off his comments and continue. “What does e-y-e-s spell?”

“Yes.” The answer is immediate and confident. It doesn’t fail to make Levi laugh and a giggle escapes your lips.

“No, what does e-y-e-s spell, Mammon?” He’s staring at you with squinted eyes, his arms crossed over his chest as his mind tries to visualize what you’re spelling. The longer the silence stretches, the funnier the situation becomes to Levi. “Levi, don’t laugh so much, you’ll shake the camera too much!” You whine as you turn to look at him. “It won’t be funny if we can’t see anything.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s just so funny. I didn’t think it’d actually work.”

“Ya didn’t think what would work?”

“Mammon, what does e-y-e-s spell?” You ask again, this time shushing Levi so he doesn’t sidetrack the second eldest demon again. The video wouldn’t be entertaining if it was just banter between the two siblings.

“E-yes.”

This time it’s you who’s overcome with laughter. You find yourself wheezing as the door opens once again, this time a sleepy Belphie walking in. “You already started?” He’s quick to put the pieces together as he looks between Mammon, you, and Levi. “I guess so. He looks pretty lost already.”

“What does y-e-s spell?” You ask again, wiping the stray tears from the corner of your eyes.

“Yes.”

“What does e-y-e-s spell?”

“...E-yes!”

Mammon’s clearly flustered, his cheeks red as he looks wildly between the three of you. Belphie’s got a shit-eating grin on his face as he sits on the bed beside you, using your shoulder as a pillow. “As expected, he doesn’t disappoint.” Levi’s own face is red as well, nearly matching the color of Mammon’s as he tries to contain his laughter so as to not shake the camera.

“What are ya cryin’ for?” Mammon’s voice cracks as he shouts, which of course only sends you deeper into your laughing fit. You’re practically choking and doubled over in pain by the time the door is opened for the third time, this time Satan peeking in.

“What’s going on here? You’re being so loud I can barely read from the library.” His eyes are narrowed and there’s a dangerously annoyed look on his face that would concern you in any other situation. You wave him over, pointing to Levi’s phone and then Mammon.

“Just watch.” You manage to choke out as you clutch your aching side. “Okay, we’re going to try again, Mammon. What does y-e-s spell?” Satan looks between you and Mammon with a quirked eyebrow, though he stays silent to see where you plan on taking this.

“...Yes.”

“Now what does e-y-e-s spell?” You’re staring at him with wide eyes, trying to tell him the answer without actually saying anything. Mammon, who now has the hint that it isn’t actually e-yes, pauses, before leaning forward to return the staring match.

“Eees?”

“Eees?!” Levi and Belphie both shriek together, the two bursting out into hysterical laughter. Satan stares at Mammon in complete disbelief and astonishment. “Mammon, seriously?” He asks with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes.

“Eh-yes?” Mammon’s sounding more and more desperate, and you’re sure his embarrassment is getting worse due to Satan’s presence. Of course, you’re unable to answer him as you’re too busy dying with Levi and Belphie. “You’re makin’ me--” He’s puffing more air into his cheeks before leaning down and cradling his head in his hands. “E-y-e-s…” He repeats to himself, eyebrows furrowing as he stares at the wooden floor beneath his feet. “E-yes!”

“Mammon!” Satan shouts with wide eyes, running a hand through his unstyled hair. “Is it really that hard for you? Come on, just think about it for hell’s sake!”

“I am thinkin’ about it!” Mammon shouts back before jumping up. “E-yes! E-y-e-s spells e-yes! What else could it be? What am I missin’ here and why are y’all cryin?”

“How are you this stupid?” Belphie asks between his fits of laughter. “Mammon, just keep saying it out loud. Slowly.”

“E-y-e-s...e-y-e-s,” he’s pinching the bridge of his nose before his eyes blow open and his head snaps over in your direction, “oh my devil. It’s eyes! It spells eyes!” A scream of laughter leaves Levi as he drops to his knees, clumsily handing you his phone in the process. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? Why did everyone keep lettin’ me say stupid shit like e-yes and eees?!”

“Are you seriously blaming us? Why were you too stupid to not understand that it spells eyes?” Levi shouts back from where he’s crumpled on the floor. Mammon opens his mouth to argue back, but closes it and his face flushes.

“Oh my, that was too good.” You say once you finally calm down, viewing the video on the phone. “I think Lucifer is going to get a kick out of this, don’t you?” You’re talking to no one in particular, but you can practically see the color drain from Mammon’s face at the mention of the eldest brother.

“Lord Diavolo would totally get a kick out of it!” Belphie adds from your side.

“What about Simeon? Or even Solomon? I think they’d find it funny too.” Satan includes thoughtfully as he gingerly takes the phone from your hands.

“And if we give it to Asmo, he’ll have it everywhere online.” Levi giggles and pushes himself up, standing behind Satan so the two can view the video together.

“I can’t wait to tell Beel about this.”

“Guys!” Mammon whines loudly from where he’s standing, stomping his foot. “Don’t do any of that! Guys, hey, guys!” His eyes narrow when he’s ignored, the white-haired male letting out a frustrated sigh.

Oh, he’d be getting you back for this. No funny business his ass.

[thefloatingstone]

We’ve gone from Self-Isolation to Quarantine and in some places to gradual relaxation phases, but that doesn’t stop the need for more nonsense you can watch on youtube while you wait for things to get back to normal. And recommending things and making lists are some of my favourite things to do but I have not yet figured out how to start or structure a video myself, you guys get another rambling tumblr post of things you can watch on youtube.

This time I’m once again just gonna recommend individual videos rather than full channels like I did in part 2.

Part 1

Part 2

In no particular order; 

LOCAL58: The Broadcast Station that Manipulates You

I recently started watching the Nexpo channel when I went on a binge of creepy youtube videos. Most of his videos are really good although the ones where he himself goes into theory crafting can be a little asinine. However, this video is REALLY good. And before you get nervous, LOCAL58 is not a real TV station. LOCAL58 is a youtube channel created by the same guy behind the Candle Cove creepypasta. This video by Nexpo covers the various episodes of LOCAL58 and discusses them. Just be aware going in that this is abstract horror, and will probably get under your skin regardless if you’re unaffected by certain topics or not. although cw for suicide mention.

I also recommend most of the rest of this channel, although be careful where you tread. I don’t recommend his series “Disturbing things from around the internet” as it can sometimes include real life crime, abuse and such caught on security cameras. Everything else is really good tho. (although I was really annoyed by his 2 videos on KrainaGrzybowTV)

The Search for D.B. Cooper

LEMMiNO has a new video out covering one of the most unexplained crimes in the past century of the US. LEMMiNO is the guy I’ve recommended before who did videos on the Universal S. He is very down to earth and not someone prone to conspiracy or even really that fanciful of thinking. (He’s like the one person I feel covered the Dyaltov Pass incident and was confused by why this was even a mystery because if you read the Russian Autopsy reports and documents associated with the case it’s all pretty logical and easily explained)

D.B. Cooper is the name given to a man who, in 1971, hijacked an airplane with a bomb, asked for a large sum of money, and after receiving it, parachuted from the plane and was never seen or heard from again.

The Austrian Wine Poisoning | Down the Rabbit Hole

Down the Rabbit Hole also has a new video out, this time covering the Austrian Wine Poisoning event from 1985. A scandal that involved literally the entire country of Austria, affected multiple countries, and forever changed the way wine was made world wide. As someone who is generally pretty allergic to most artificial substances this one made me personally very angry. But luckily, it has a happy ending and a better world for us all... if I could drink wine which I can’t do anyway.

The Turbulent Tale of Yandere Dev - A Six Year Struggle

The Right Opinion is another channel I only recently subbed to after watching his cover on Onion Boy. I put off subbing to him simply because of his channel name and I thought it meant he would come across as smug and elitist. Luckily this seems to merely be one of those “I chose a bad channel name and now I’m stuck with it” type of situations. (IHE has a similar problem).

Anyway, I have a weird interest in bizarre internet personalities, so I’ve been enjoying his channel as he simply discusses and presents a timeline of events of certain individuals. In this video, he covers the developer behind the much maligned Yandere Simulator. It’s a tale of hubris, arrogance, immaturity, and an unwillingness to accept your own shortcomings due to ego.

Oh and there’s a meme game about Japanese school girls with anime tiddies in there as well.

The Most Relaxing Anime Ever Made | Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō

Kenny Lauderdale is a youtube channel which is slowly becoming bigger which I’m very happy to see. He exclusively covers anime and live action Japanese television no younger than the mid 90s (as is the case with YYK) and which usually never saw a release outside of Japanese Laserdisc. I do wish his videos were a little longer, but if nothing else his videos serve as an excellent starting to point to find some older and underappreciated shows... or hot garbage fires. In this episode he talks about the 2 OVA episodes made based on one of my favourite manga, Yokohama Shopping Log. A Post apocalyptic anime about an android who runs a coffee shop outside of her house, and the quiet solitude of living in a world of declining human population, brief encounters with travelers and other people, and just... existing. The anime was never released outside of Japan and is only available on Japanese VHS and laserdisc.... but hey guess what!! Somebody uploaded both episodes, subbed, to Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2HCVOH6DtA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqSTwfkobME

YMS’ slow descent into madness as he uncovers just how bullshit the Kimba Conspiracy is

I’m linking a full playlist for this one.

YMS is busy planning his review on the “live action” Lion King remake as the original 1994 movie is probably his favourite movie all time (and also self declared what made him a furry). As part of the 2 hour review, he decided to what all 2000 hours of Kimba the White Lion just to mention how The Lion King potentially stole the idea. ....until he actually watched all 2000 hours of Kimba and realised that if you actually WATCH Kimba, it has VERY little to do with the Lion King at all apart from having the same animals in them because AFRICA. Watch as one man slowly loses his mind as he realises just how stupid this conspiracy theory is, just HOW DECEITFUL and straight up LYING people can be. People who write BOOKS. People who teach LAW AT UNIVERSITIES. Because NOBODY bothered to actually watch the entire show and just parroted the “Disney stole this” lie which got started by like 2 salty fans on the internet.

The man set out to just mention how Disney stole an idea, and uncovered one of the most infuriating rabbit holes on the internet. Screaming for SOMEONE to provide him with sources or evidence.

YMS will be publishing his full Kimba documentary this month which he has said is around 2 hours long before he continues to work on the Lion King one.

Science Stories: Loch Ness eDNA results, Poop Knives, and Skeleton Lovers

TREY the Explainer has a video giving us some updates in Archeology from 2019. In this video he discusses the findings of the eDNA results conducted on the Loch Ness to see what animal DNA the lake contains which will tell us what living animals currently inhabit the lake, ancient knives made of poop and if this is a real thing that could have existed, and a skeleton couple found buried together which were at first thought to be lovers, then revealed to be both male, and then how in this instance we cannot let our modern sensibilities dictate what we WANT this burial find to be, but to look at the evidence as presented to us and place in context finds of this nature. The worst thing an archaeologist can do is look for proof to a theory they already have.

The Bizarre Modern Reality of Sonic the Hedgehog

Super Eyepatch Wolf is back and he’s here to talk to us about the very very strange existence of Sonic. a 90s rebellious “too cool for School” answer to Mario, a lost idea as the world of video games changes and culture shifted, a meme and punching bag amplified by a unique fanbase and poor quality games, a transcendence into a horrific warped  idea of what he once was, and modern day and where Sonic and his fans are now. As usual Super Eyepatch Wolf knocks it out of the park.

Kokoro Wish and the Birth of a Multiverse: A Lecture on the Work of Jennifer Diane Reitz

I don’t even sub to this channel as I’m not entirely sure what Ben’s usual content is about. But every now and then he has a “101″ class, where he explains to a room full of his friends in a classroom setting (complete with Whiteboard) an internet artist and oddity, the timeline, and what it is they have created. (wait... didn’t I say this already?). Unlike TRO however, the 101 classrooms are not a dark look into disturbed individuals (although the CWC 101 is debatable) nor is it a “lol look at this weirdo” dragging. Instead, of the 3 he’s done so far, it’s usually a rather sympathetic look at some of the strange artists on the internet who through some way or another, left a very big cultural impact on the internet space through their art. Sometimes they may not be the best people, but their work is so outside of what we’re used to seeing that just listening to him run you through these people’s internet history is fascinating.

In this episode he talks about Jennifer Diane Reitz. And although it is titled Kokoro Wish, the lecture is more about Jennifer’s larger work back in the early internet when being a weeb was unheard of, how being trans influenced her stories and characters, and her world building that is so rich and in-depth with it’s own ASTRO PHYSICS it puts any modern fictional world found in games or movies to shame.

Jennifer is not exactly a nice person... and in many ways can be seen as dangerously irresponsible, but she created something truly unique in a way that you kinda struggle figuring out if it’s terrible or a work of genius.

Anyway I think that’s enough for now

[emilyplaysotome]

The Game of Love - Chapter 1

Since I have a bad tendency to obsess over what I write until I give up on it, I’m posting the first chapter of something new I’ve been dabbling with. Think of it like an original Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole, without the characters you know.

Meeting someone special is hard for anyone, but more so when you’re famous.

I can’t tell you when it was that I went from being Hana to being Hana on a billboard, but it happened slowly enough that I went from eating virtually unnoticed at a restaurant to being bombarded with selfie requests during the short time I picked up my food. I suppose that being one of the youngest women to ever win a Grand Slam will force you into the spotlight, but I’ve never thought of myself as a superstar.

The goal had always been to win gold at the Olympics.

Maybe Roland Garros.

And Wimbledon.

The U.S. and Australian Open if I was lucky.

They never told me that if you win the Australian Open and then manage to win the others in the same year, the world goes mad. They never told me that Nike, Adidas, and Reebok fall all over themselves trying to get you to agree to let them put out the “Hana shoe” and you go from being a struggling journeywoman on the tour to being richer than you ever could have imagined, thanks mostly to your team who milks you for every free moment when you’re not on the court.

You learn how to wear dresses and talk on camera and carry the weight of what it means to be a champion, constantly looking over your shoulder at the younger, hungrier crowd behind you that works twice as hard and trains harder because they don’t need to be on Good Morning America when you do. Your identity becomes “Hana the Tennis Champion” and you forget who you were when you were just “Hana, the girl who loves tennis” – hitting balls after dinner with dad on the courts by your house or joking around with the girls on the junior tour.

Those girls become competition, and your friendship is forced to change despite wanting it to be the way it was when things were simpler. They are nice and you love them, but the feelings are complicated and you forget what it means to have friends who see you as you are. There is always a commitment, a show, a movie, a project, a product – even during the off season, and of course, there’s the training.

You’re grateful to be successful doing what you love, but you know it can’t last forever and one day you decide you want to go out on top and announce that you’re done with the game that up until this point has been your entire life.

And you’re only 32.

I’m only 32.

The day after I retired I woke up as Hana, for the first time in 20 years. I suppose it’s out of habit that I still wake up at 7 A.M. and go for a run, but it’s been a few months and not much has changed.

My mom suggested I get a therapist.

That this major transition would be hard on anyone, but even harder on a prodigy who has been used to a regimented training schedule since she was 11.

I laughed it off, but after a couple of weeks I could feel the unease nagging at me, mocking me, asking me, “Who is Hana if there is no tennis?”

My therapist says a lot of high achieving people struggle with their self-worth outside of their profession. She challenged me to reconnect with friends I’d made at all stages of my life and I learned that being great at one thing left little time for love, creativity, music, and hobbies.

I also learned that I didn’t make many friends in my 32 years since I was too focused, too dialed in to waste time on anything outside of the goal. To be the best in the world I had taken on the mentality that everything outside of my goal was superfluous, but now I struggle to make it through the day.

“Who is Hana if there is no tennis?”

“I am…I am…”

“What are you feeling Hana?” my therapist asks.

“Scared. Confused. Angry. Lost.”

I’d had this rosy image of retirement, where I’d leisurely wake up next to a partner and make breakfast for us. Not just any partner if I’m being honest…him.

“I wake up at 7 A.M. and run 5 miles,” I find myself saying. “Then I make a breakfast smoothie. And then I remember that I don’t have anywhere to be and the depression takes over.”

“Have you been doing interviews?”

I shrug, “Not as many. They asked me to do commentary for the U.S. Open this year and I said I’d think about it.”

“What is your hesitation?”

I pause, thinking about what it would be like to live a tournament without participating in it. To see and comment on someone’s legacy that wasn’t my own. To one day have to announce that I’d been dethroned in my achievements and smile as if it didn’t bother me, when I’d probably just wonder if I’d retired too early.

“I never wanted to be on television. And I want to be able to answer the question who Hana is if there is no tennis.”

“It sounds like this time is providing you with a beautiful gift – to explore that question and your interests without limitations.”

She’s right, and I feel guilty for pitying myself when I have the freedom to do and go wherever I want. I let out a caustic chuckle and say, “I want to live in my games.”

“The ones you used to play on the road?”

I nod, wondering how serious she thinks I am and wondering if the statement is a joke at all.

“Why do you think you like them so much?”

“It’s fun to be someone who isn’t Hana. And it’s fun to fall in love.”

“Has Hana ever been in love?”

I think for a minute and nod.

“But you knew that, didn’t you?” I ask.

She shrugs and pushes her glasses up.

“I’m asking Hana the person, not Hana the superstar.”

“But our breakup was all over the tabloids…”

“Our time together is about you, not what’s in a tabloid.”

“Superstars have to date superstars. It’s like a law,” I say laughing. “What would Instagram think if I gave them anything other than aspirational?”

I’m lying but I can’t help myself, even in therapy my pride gets in the way of being honest. Dating him was never about appearances, at least, it wasn’t for me.

“Tell me about him.”

Eight years of memories flash in my mind, 22 to 30.

“We met after I won my first major. His movie premiere had him in Australia and he got tickets to the final. We ended up at an after party together and he gave me his number. It was good until it wasn’t and then he broke up with me.”

“That’s a very condensed version.”

I shrug again, feeling bitter that he seems to have moved on just fine and I haven’t dated anyone despite the rumors that pop up from time to time. I don’t feel like talking about how I kept pushing for us to move forward, with a vision for my retirement and life with him as he kept pushing for me to stay on the road. I don’t feel like talking about how much of our time was spent apart and how I suspected he preferred things that way.

That it was better to have a girlfriend too busy to take up more than an hour of his day on a regular basis than a girlfriend who could be present the way she wanted to be when we were together.

A pleasant chime goes off and she silences the alarm, noting we’re out of time and asking if next week works.

“My schedule is free,” I joke, but I feel annoyed that there’s nothing but endless free time and nothing to do with it.

When I’m home I open the games I referenced in therapy – the ones I jokingly call “choose your anime romance adventure games” with my mom versus their proper designation of “otome” games, as they’re known with the fandom online that I’m a part of. It’s only when I’m online that I feel like I can momentarily answer the question that nags at me, and that’s because no one know I’m me.

HanaLovesOtome the tumblr user is popular because of the screenshots she posts, not because she’s one of the most celebrated athletes of a generation.

She participates in every event and has spent an ungodly amount of money on special date stories and lottery gatcha items that put her consistently in the top ten featured users of Ikemen Inc.

She’s popular because people will ask her to purchase stories and games they can’t afford, and she’ll video record herself playing or twitch live stream the sessions so everyone can get a sense of what it’s like to fall in love with Ikemen Inc.’s most exclusive bachelors.

Even when I was on tour, I loved playing otome games because for a couple of hours I could stop thinking about my life and instead lose myself in a world overseas where I get to make choices for a protagonist whose name I’ve made my own as I decide what eligible bachelor she’ll fall in love with.

I’d found the games a year before we’d broken up, mostly by chance after seeing an ad on twitter that boasted, “The Perfect Boyfriend is in your phone - meet him now!” While normally I would have continued to scroll past, something about the caption had stopped me in my tracks. Looking back it was probably because the idea of the “perfect boyfriend” being in my phone was ironic having had such a drawn out long distance relationship in which it often felt that he only existed in my life virtually.

After entering my name for the main character I would be controlling, “Decoding His Affections” thrust me into a world that consisted of a simple illustrated background, paired with a cartoon character sprite whose various expressions matched the dialogue being said in the text box where the story played out.

While the prologue of “Decoding His Affections” was free, it ended with a prompt asking me who out of the five characters I’d just met, I wanted to get to know as my Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department partner and future perfect boyfriend. For the low price of $3.99, I could purchase one of five options and determine how my protagonist would fall in love. Depending on my dialogue selections, I was either granted a “Love Ending!” or a less desired “Happy Ending!”

Throughout the course of 13 interactive chapters, Sebastian went from being my underling, to my partner, and finally, to my boyfriend. As the protagonist with my name started to fall for Sebastian, I found myself enjoying the escape from my reality with a game “self” who always met with a positive response in love.

I soon found myself lost in a world where I could be transparent with my intentions without any fear of rejection. Sebastian clearly liked my main character back, but was conflicted about falling for a woman whose time in Tokyo had an expiration date. Even though their relationship was in a grey zone for the majority of the game, he was always warm, always loving, and most importantly, had responses that gave me butterflies as I read his poetic musings from a cold hotel room after a long day of training.

Seeing as how these games were a product of Japan, in addition to the subdued romance I also found myself getting a kick out of the cultural differences that were peppered throughout the story. Simple gestures such as the time that Sebastian grabbed her hand in order to protect her from an impending explosion, resulted in a shook inner monologue where my heroine wondered if her heart was racing from the danger, or because of the physical contact. There was something sweet about this world in which men and women shared a shyness around physical touching that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced as a Western woman. Handshakes, hugs, and even kisses on the cheek were something that happened in my life on a daily basis, yet I was suddenly living in a world via my phone where every gesture was laced with romantic subtext.

It was clear that the only thing Ikemen Inc. changed in their games was the names of their clearly Japanese love interests, in order to better appeal to a western audience. Other than that, their games remained true to their point of origin.

Looking back, our relationship was already strained with me hinting towards my expiration date and him pushing me to stay on the tour. The day I’d played my first otome game we were bickering over text about it, him convinced it would be better for both of us if I refocused on my career instead of settling down with him in his Calabasas home. As I achieved Sebastian’s coveted “Love Ending!” thanks to my carefully selected dialogue choices, I surprised myself by tearing up in which I read an ending where Sebastian confessed to me, or moreover the woman I whose life I was intermittently controlling, his undying love.

I’d felt a bit foolish at the time, having fallen prey to simple plot devices and romantic tropes, however Sebastian had done something for me that my relationship could not.

He’d managed to touch that part deep in my heart that still wanted to believe that romance was possible in this world, and more importantly, was possible for me.

In the weeks to come I found myself leaning on these games more and more as it became clear that my vision for the future did not align with his, it felt like every free second I was pouring myself into my fantasy life. By the time he ended things, I’d made way through the entire Ikemen Inc. catalogue of premium games and started to make my way into the exclusives with a higher price point, more beautifully illustrated scenes (CGs), and the Ikemen Inc. community leaderboard.

I play them a lot lately.

Maybe too much.

When I log in to my tumblr I see a message from my friend KittyGirl.

OMG Hana! Did you see they released Tyler Holland?

I saw and I played and I’m posting the full vid on twitch later ;)

…

I wonder who KittyGirl is as she types, and I wonder if she ever wonders who I am. I wonder if she would care if I was Hana the superstar or if she even follows tennis.

A lot of the girls on here don’t.

A lot of the girls on here are much younger than I am.

I wonder if it’s weird I don’t have many friends my age and that the people I feel closest to at the moment are all usernames in my feed.

STOP HANA YOURE THE BEST!

I smile because it gives me a sense of purpose and I haven’t felt that for some time.

It’s really good. He might be in my top 5 boyfriends.

NO. Really!?

Really.

Sometimes I wish that the men in my phone would come to life. That one day I would wake up and Sebastian would be there in human form, not his two-dimensional anime character form. I’ve thought about what he would look like if he were real.

Not just him.

Him and all the others I’ve dated over the years.

I wonder what it’d be like to date someone you know would never leave you.

Who could be that perfect boyfriend, or husband, or father.

It’s just as I’m thinking about this again that my phone chimes, letting me know I’ve received an email. I’m surprised to see it’s from Ikemen Inc. and that HanaLovesOtome has been invited along with the four other top Ikemen community users for an all-expenses paid, one month vacation to Ikemen’s Dream Resort.

My gut reaction is to scream, “Yes!” but then I remember I’m Hana the superstar.

What would people think if they found out?

What would the tabloids write if they saw me?

I pause.

Who is Hana if there is no tennis?

Hana is HanaLovesOtome.

And so I write an email back, deciding not to loop in my management team, and let the team at Ikemen Inc. know that I would be delighted to experience the resort. The response back is immediate and includes additional details and an NDA.

I skim the details of the agreement, relieved that I am not allowed to talk about the experience as that means no one else will and my identity as Hana the superstar will most likely be off limits to the press and send it back.

It all happens quickly and before the hour is up I’ve managed to secure my spot in the Ikemen Fan 5.

In the two weeks leading up to my departure, I no longer feel depressed or as if time stretches out in a way that makes me feel small and insignificant. I have an event to look forward to and arrangements to be made.

My therapist thinks a solo trip will be good for me and encourages me to journal and continue with the homework she’s given me outside of our sessions. My mom agrees that it will be good for me to have a real vacation which is something I haven’t had in years.

I’ve seen the world through touring but I’ve never really had time for tourism.

To that point, when I get on the plane it strikes me that this is my first time on a plane without the purpose of coming from or going to a tournament. I check two large suitcases and still bring a racquet in case I need the release of losing myself in a training session or two, despite the fact my performance no longer matters.

I wear the sunglasses I always wear to obscure my identity in first class and a wig and baseball hat and n95 mask, which always does the trip. At Narita airport, I see a man holding a sign that says “HanaLovesOtome” and I follow him to a town car that takes me two hours outside of Tokyo proper. It’s only when we pull off the main road, down a long skinny isolated one that I take off my disguise and breathe a sigh of relief that I managed not to attract the attention of any photographers or fans.

In my head I always saw Ikemen Inc. as a small developer, tucked away on a floor in a nondescript office building somewhere in Toyko.

The reality of their facilities surprised me, and we drove 15 minutes through dense woodland, past another small road with a sign indicating guest and employee parking - up to a manicured property where at the center was a sleek looking high rise. My driver stopped under the porte-cochere and helped me with my suitcases, triggering the mechanism for the large glass double doors to open which caught the attention of a man inside.

“Please, allow me to be of assistance,” he said, quickly grabbing the roller’s handles and helping me in to a spacious reception area. “I’m Roman and I run the resort division of Ikemen Inc.”

“Hana.”

There was something familiar about the way that Roman talked and the way he dressed that I couldn’t quite put my finger on as he introduced me to the woman at reception and made small talk about my trip. I engaged in the idle banter until the persistent feeling that I knew him from somewhere became so overwhelming that I finally found myself asking, “Have we met before?”

“Yes,” a female voice called out behind me.

I turned to see a girl, no older than 20 approaching us with a suitcase of her own. She wore the same expression that countless fans wore upon recognizing me as they rushed up to me and asked for a selfie except she was not looking at me, but at Roman.

“He’s Roman Hinton, from Ikemen’s Paradise Palace.”

“Ah, you’ve stayed with us in Paradise I assume?” Roman asked the girl smiling.

“Oh you have no idea,” she said dreamily, and it was then that I realized my wish of dating one of the men in my phone might come true.

That’s the end of my rough first chapter. Let me know if you want to know where we go from here and I might post more. Tagging @nitelotus​ since she asked to see it 

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Can you explain some of the terms in the history of fandom purges post? For example, what is a pro-shipper blog??? I’m really scared to be deleted! I’ve bren here for years!

Of course, I’m happy to explain! This is a very brief summary, if there’s anything you need to know more about, I’m happy to do my best. Fanlore is also a good site to look up some more stuff!

This is looooooong so under a cut! This is the post in question, for those of you wondering. Let’s go through it from top to bottom. I’ll skip the ones with links because you can follow those links to get more information.

Several times in the ‘90s as you can see on the timeline, authors and creators (and big studios like Paramount and LucasFilm) went after fansites, threatening them with Cease and Desist (C&D) letters and shutting them down. This was fairly common practice, and it wasn’t until fansites like Fiction Alley got big enough, and had actual lawyers on their side, that fandom was able to fight back. Ao3 keeps lawyers on staff for this very reason, because fandom falls under “fair use” and is legal.

Anne Rice is mentioned several times on that post and that’s because she is notorious for going after people who do fanwork. She is extremely controlling about how her characters are perceived by others, including going after anyone who writes a bad review about her books, and people writing their own interpretations of her characters just gets her goat like nothing else, apparently. And she has the money and lawyers to take down quite a lot of people. Thanks to our darling Ao3, we can write as much damn Interview with a Vampire fic as we desire, but you can understand why most fan archivists and fanwriters didn’t want to touch that possible lawsuit with a ten foot pole.

And, if you’re wondering what AOL, an email system, has to do with fansites? Well, another way to share fic, even before fansites, was through email chains. YES, YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT, READ AND LEARN, MY TINY CHILI BABIES. You had to sign up for an email newsletter to get fic! And oh, the fandom wars that could go on in this email chains… there’s a pretty infamous X Files one but that’s another post for another time. Anyway. X Files was one of the original “fandoms that ate fandom” (FTAF), a fandom so big that everyone was into it no matter what their original fandom was (Star Trek and Supernatural are two other examples of FTAF). AOL had a way of… how do I explain this… basically AOL was “hosting” a lot of the early prototypes of fansites, a version of the early email chains. So when The Powers That Be (TPTB) expressed their distaste for X Files fanfiction, AOL purged their X Files sites.

In the early 2000s, FanFiction.Net (FFN) was considered a safe haven. FFN was one of the first really big multifandom sites. Before that, if you wanted to read, say, Star Trek fic, you had to find a Star Trek fansite. If you then wanted to read X Files fic, you had to find an X Files fansite. And so on. Fan archives were often limited, and you might have to go to three different fansites to get all the fic out there, or even to get different kinds of fan material: a fic archive, a fan forum with news on the show/film/book, and a fanart archive.

Welcome to the dark days, my children.

Note: There are still some amazing fansites out there, filled with archived fic, fanart, and even some “virtual seasons” for television shows. If you or anyone you know is in charge of one of those archives, I beg of you to consider working with Ao3′s Open Doors project so that the fanwork on those sites can be preserved for future generations even after the original archivists pass on, lose funds, or lose interest.

Anyway, FFN was a huge relief for everyone because they no longer had to do all the work to archive our fic. Trust me, running an archive or even just uploading your fic back in the day could be exhausting. God forbid you get even one damn bit of your formatting wrong when you uploaded or it would all turn into a mess. And now, you could get your fic all in one place on one site! You didn’t have to sign up for all these different archives! You could have a single pseudonym and a single account for all your fic! The angels sang!

So when FFN got rid of fic without warning, it felt like a real betrayal. First, FFN banned porn, or anything they deemed to earn an NC-17 rating. Which is, as I’m sure you can immediately recognize, a sticky subject since people’s opinions are subjective about that. What does/does not qualify as porn? When is a fic too sexually graphic, what is and isn’t appropriate, etc?

Then FFN banned RPF, which stands for “Real Person Fiction.” If you write about Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean banging each other, congratulations, you’ve written RPF (RPF was a big part of the Lord of the Rings fandom when the movies came out, fun fact, aren’t you all glad I went down this rabbit hole of research so you don’t have to). If you write about meeting Chris Evans in the airport and the two of you going on a date in the food court, yes, that is RPF.

The other FFN bans mentioned are script format, CYOA, Readerfic, 2nd person, and Songfic. Script format is where people would write things in, well, a script form. I don’t remember exactly why that was banned, I think it was a combination of fear of copyright infringement and just the formatting was so damn annoying to do. CYOA is short for “choose your own adventure” and was banned because it just got too unwieldy for people. This is creeping into gatekeeping territory on what is “legitimate” fic or not. “Choose your own adventure fic is annoying so we’re going to ban it!” is part of a slippery path on what is appropriate or not. “Readerfic” is written in 2nd person POV like so:

You open the front door and are immediately met with the smell of death. You’ve never been around dead people before, so you have no reason to know what the smell is–but somehow, some long-forgotten instinct tells you. You know exactly what this is.

Readerfic is where the reader, you, interacts with characters in a TV show. Take that little snippet I just wrote, for example. If that bit is a part of a larger fic where you’re a Loser and you’re friends with the kids from IT and help them defeat Pennywise, that’s an example of Readerfic. 2nd person is just any fic that uses the “you” as the POV instead of “her” (3rd person) or “I” (first person). This is one of my old-as-dirt Castle fanfics so excuse the quality but here is an example of 2nd POV fic. As you can see, Readerfic is 2nd person, but not all 2nd person is Readerfic.

Songfic is where a fic would use song lyrics throughout, sometimes to the point of annoyance, in telling the story. Basically it was where people would use a song that reminded them of their OTP and write a vignette based around that song. FFN banned it because again, fear of copyright C&D from songwriters and studios.

This was all in the early 2000s, as the timeline in that post shows, but it wasn’t the last time FFN banned things. In 2012 we all got yet another scare when FFN, without warning, purged a fuckton of fics in a porn crackdown. See, we all figured out preeeeetty quickly that nobody was moderating fics to see if we were following the “nothing NC-17 rated” rule, so people kept posting smut, myself included. FFN’s crackdown was sudden and we lost a ton of fic that way. It was after this ban that Ao3, which had been created c. 2009, really started to gain steam as people moved en mass over there.

Also, as the timeline shows, FFN used to have fandom forums. That was where people could discuss things. The forums had been pretty dead, what with LiveJournal and Tumblr, BUT, they contained a fuckton of valuable fandom discussion and meta. FFN purged them, and years of important fandom history was once again lost (along with juicy fandom gossip/wank/scandal… shut up we all have our guilty pleasures).

So that’s all the FFN stuff.

Gryffindor Tower, Sakura Lemon Archive, and some other examples on that list are not about fandom purges so much as they are about what happens when we have an archive run by just one person or a handful of people. That person dies, or is unable to foot the bill for the server, or the people in charge get into a personal argument. Whatever the reason, suddenly, that archive is gone. And so is all of that fic, and all of that history. Wiped away with a keystroke.

Strikethrough and Boldthrough on LiveJournal were similar to the FFN purges. You can read the whole story here, but basically a group of radicals claiming people in fandom were writing child pornography got LJ to purge a bunch of forums and pages, including a rape survivor forum and people who had only written 18+ consensual slash fic. Yeah, no shock that it’s always the slash fic (slash means m/m fic, femslash is w/w) that gets attacked no matter how G rated it is. Once again, everyone woke up to their journals, their forums, their fanwork, their years of history, gone.

Can you see the pattern here? A corporation like Marvel (another entry on this list) will go after fansites, and because Marvel has so much money and so many lawyers, the site caves and does what Marvel asks. Or a bunch of annoying people speak up, usually about smut/porn, and the corporation (LiveJournal, Tumblr, DeviantArt, etc) will get rid of blogs, fanart, fanfic, etc without warning.

This is why fandom cannot trust corporations. Corporations are out there to protect themselves legally by any means necessary and to make profit by any means necessary. Fandom inevitably clashes with that. So, inevitably, the corporation is going to turn against us.

In China, as you saw on the list, it’s especially bad because it’s not just corporations, it’s the government itself. And the government can, has, and will jail people who make fanwork that goes against what the government feels is “good/moral,” like slash fic.

*this section here edited 10/22/19 to update information*

The most recent are the Tumblr purges. Ah, the Tumblr purges. “Pro-shipping” blogs are blogs that are, as the poster of the list themselves explained in a reblog of this post, anti-anti blogs. Anti-blogs and antis are people who are against shipping. Pro-shipping blogs are blogs that are very aggressively “ship whatever you want” and “antis go away.” You’d know if you had a pro-shipping blog. So unless you have one of those, you’re good. I don’t really know the details about this one since that’s not really my discourse wheelhouse so you might want to ask around to get more information.

*okay we’re all updated now, back to the rest of the post*

And of course most of us know about the NSFW ban. Tumblr has a major problem with porn bots. Instead of staffing more people (Tumblr employs FAR too few people to handle the kind of upkeep this site needs) and having actual humans search through and find the porn blogs to delete them (which would be exceedingly easy, trust me, these porn blogs are not hard to find), they just let it keep being a problem. Eventually this led to Tumblr’s phone app being banned from the app store for inappropriate content.

Again, instead of dealing with this maturely and getting rid of the porn blogs, Verizon decided that all NSFW content was banned, and set about deleting all blogs they deemed NSFW. There is now an algorithm that determines if a post you made is NSFW, and it’s flagged and hidden, and you have to petition to get an actual human to look at it and decide if it’s NSFW or not. This algorithm, as I’m sure you can imagine, is absolute SHIT at finding actual NSFW material and will flag the most random BS.

Again, this is an example of a corporation purging and destroying our material. LGBT+ blogs discussing safe sex practices/giving sex advice, sex workers/cam girls who could safely use this site to make a living, rape discussion/survivor blogs, fanwork, people’s fun porn sideblogs, all of it once again destroyed.

Fun.

In just March/April of this year, in fact, several people’s blogs were deleted with no warning and for no reason. My dear friend @qqueenofhades lost her blog for weeks, and she and I and other friends had to petition tumblr daily to get it back (I sent so many emails that one tumblr tech got snarky with me). My darling @koortega suffered the same issue before getting her blog back. Alas, our dear @mearcatsreturns wasn’t so lucky–her original blog, and her years of work on it, were lost forever. Tumblr still hasn’t (to my knowledge) properly explained what happened, although it is telling that a lot of these blogs were queer-friendly, fandom-heavy content generators.

As the list said, this is why we need Ao3 and we need a solution for other kinds of fanwork like videos and fanart. This is why we can’t trust corporations to have our best interests at heart. This is why, despite all of us continuing to use tumblr, we need to find another solution for our fan blogging needs because they will screw us over again and again (until I become rich and famous and can buy this hellsite and run it properly dammit that is my lifelong dream don’t judge me).

I don’t think you’re in danger of getting deleted without warning, nonny. The company that now owns Tumblr seems to have a pretty good track record of running sites, and at least warning people before deleting shit. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen again. I live in a state of… don’t be paranoid, but be ready, if that makes sense? Think of it like having an earthquake/tornado/hurricane first aid kit in your home. You aren’t constantly thinking about how you might need that kit for a natural disaster, but when that natural disaster hits, you have that kit ready.

Some people have backed up their blogs (I’m not sure how but you can google it or ask around). Others put their fic onto Ao3 (I backed up all my FFN fic onto Ao3 in 2016 for this very reason even though my FFN fic is, for the most part, utter crap). But we don’t have a long-term solution, which is what concerns people and is why that person made that list–to remind us of what we’ve lost and that we’re still in danger of it happening again.

I wish I had a better solution for you, nonny. I wouldn’t live in fear, if I were you? But I would ask around, and see if there’s a way to back up your blog. Because hurricanes do blow in.

[winterknight1087]

Flower from the Fae (ch 37)

Chapter Title:  It's Not Wrong if Dee Finds it on the Internet!

Summary: Virgil likes plants, but when he goes to investigate a plant his friend, Remy, tells him about, he doesn’t exactly check out the plant. Little does he know that the handsome man he meets there is a fairy who is about to challenge the world Virgil knows.

Word Count: 2777

Chapter Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit, Sympathetic Remus, cursing, disappearance discussion, (let me know if you need anything tagged, PLEASE)

Chapter Pairings: LAMP, Demus, Sleep/Picani

AO3 Link      My Writing

A/N: this is chapter 37, so read the first chapter here! 

Dee shifted the box once again. “I’m not getting in one of those ten-ton metal death traps again, Remy. Remus and I have managed quite well over the past seven years without using a car. You’re just whining to be annoying.”

“I never said you had to get in the car. All I said was that we could have put all the research into this woman you collected in the car so we didn’t have to carry it all.” Remy answered, opening the front door.

“Ladies, lord, and non-binary royalty watch me as I beat this geek and do it joyously!”

The two froze as they watched the Fae prince attempted to rap, getting into his advisor’s face. Once the prince finished his attempt, the advisor adjusted his glasses before launching into his turn without missing a single beat. Dee lost his grip on the box, shocked that this nerdy fairy was capable of destroying his prince so easily.

Do any of my friends have a single brain cell to their name? Dee couldn’t help but wonder as the spectators burst into cheers.

“Do we even want to know how this ended up happening?” Dee finally asked, shutting the door behind him.

“Remus showed Logan and Roman Epic Rap Battles of History. Princey then challenged Specs and got destroyed.” Virgil answered, grinning.

Logan blushed as he adjusted his glasses again. “It is of no matter.”

“What took the two of you so long! You asked us to come over like 5ever ago!” Roman gratefully jumped on the distraction from his shock.

“Had to carry half of Dee’s library over here,” Remy whined, dumping the box they were carrying onto the table.

“Why didn’t you just have us meet you at your place?” Virgil asked.

Dee glanced at Remus, who at least looked sheepish. “A Remus-mess. He found your edible glue recipe and attempted to make it.”

“But, you literally only mix the powder into water. How… Nope. Don’t want to know.”

“Could the two of you not have just driven over?” Logan asked.

“Dee and I don’t drive or ride in cars since the crash that hurt my brain and took DeeDee’s parents,” Remus answered.

“Did you two pick up the dye?” Virgil asked, cutting off Logan from asking more questions.

Remy tossed a bag towards the anxious man. “Purple and toxic green, as requested. Don’t stain our kitchen, again.”

“Alright, Remus, let’s do this!” Virgil said, grinning.

Remus was on his feet grinning. “Finally! I’m going to be a green crayon!”

“Have fun, boys!” Remy laughed as the two went into the kitchen. “Do you want to wait until they’re done to discuss Karen, or start talking?”

“Who’s Karen?” Pat asked Logan.

Logan looked uncomfortable. “Uh… well… I guess we can start… with something I didn’t tell the two of you about…”

Logan explained to the room about what happened with the woman. Once the half that hadn’t heard it originally were done asking what questions they had for him, they moved onto discussing what Remy had uncovered from investigating her dreams, which was very little.

“Other than the fact that the person did tell her what to do to rid herself of the magic, it’s just a catfish scam.” Remy ended.

“I disagree. I found the forum where she was looking for solutions to her blurting-out problem.” Dee said, pulling a paper from the stacks he had.

Roman looked at the other papers. “Are all of these from your investigation into this woman?”

“Yes.”

Emile shifted uncomfortably. “I really don’t like digging into someone’s life like this without their permission. Knowing your skill, we could be in some serious legal trouble if someone found out about any of this.”

Dee considered comforting the uncomfortable therapist by reassuring him that the personal identification he had on her was safely locked in his bag. He managed to keep himself from doing so, realizing that it would not, in fact, comfort the therapist knowing that Dee had managed to get Karen Smith’s social security number, a couple of credit card numbers, and some other serious information. He decided to just keep his mouth shut, which seemed to only tell the therapist what he wasn’t saying.

“DEE!”

“It’s really a good thing I found them! I pulled them off the internet for her. She should be grateful!”

“You’re going to get all of us into so much trouble if someone finds out!”

“Sure, Virgil gets to take a non-service animal into any and every store without you complaining, despite that breaking a ton of rules and laws, but I get the lecture.”

“Galaxy sits in silence in a bag or coat when she does go into a place! She doesn’t get into trouble like this!”

“And this information was just floating around on the internet! I didn’t do anything illegal to get it!”

“Having it is probably enough, Dee!”

Remy rolled their eyes as Dee and Emile started to really get into it. Emile was chill with a lot, but he drew the line when it came to illegal stuff. They glanced into the kitchen where they could see Remus and Virgil making a point to ignore the screaming from the living room as Virgil dyed Remus’s mustache.

“AH SNAKE!” Remy suddenly had their arms full of the Prince of the Fae, shaking and screaming.

“RUDE!”

“Not you!”

Logan sighed as he scooped up a small green snake off of the carpet. “I believe Roman means this snake, shifter. Though his reaction was a bit extreme.”

“Sally!”

“Alright, everyone just take a deep breath,” Remy announced as they dumped the prince onto the couch. “We’ve got more important things to discuss, over all this screaming at each other. Dee, take your green noddle from Logan and sit back down. Emile, we all know Dee has quite a bit of illegal information, so we can discuss it’s proper disposal after we discuss this Karen issue. If he thought it was important enough to print out, then we’ll hear him out.”

Logan handed over the small green snake. “I do have to say that this is an impressive amount of work done in the past three days, Dee. Sometime later, I would like to discuss your research methods, if you don’t mind.”

“Later,” Remy stated. “Now, what were you getting ready to show us, Dee?”

“First,” Dee answered before calling out. “Virgil, you still listening in?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Has Karen asked you for any herbs recently?”

“Uh… no, I don’t think so. It’s kind of unusual for someone to come ask me for any herbs directly. Only Sharon asks me directly.”

“Has she asked for some unusual herbs compared to normal?”

“Uh…” there was a pause. “Actually, yeah. If I remember correctly, she had some print out about new aromatherapy she wanted to try. I don’t remember the common herbs she needed but she did need Mugwort, Mullein, and Vervain. Normally, it’s stuff like lavender or basil or whatever. Why?”

Dee looked over the paper in his hand, muttering the three herbs to himself. “I found a forum post were Karen was given essentially a potion to, and I quote, ‘erase all traces of negative energy and mind tricks’. She had posted a couple of days later that it worked. There’s a whole list of herbs she’d need but a lot of them can be bought from the store. Take a guess what three herbs she could not buy from the store?”

“So, we have the answer to how she doesn’t have a trace of Logan’s magic,” Remy commented. “But, I wouldn’t have had to help you lug two-ton boxes of papers over here if there weren’t something else.”

“Well, the box you brought is…”

“Is?”

Dee awkwardly coughed out “…for Logan.”

“What’s in it?” Remy demanded, glancing at the box.

“Explanation of how this worked. I…uh… figured the pest would… like… to know how…”

“Aw, you do care.” Logan shouldn’t have managed to say that with as straight a face as he did, Dee thought.

“Whatever, pest.” He waved at the box he’d brought. “This is my research into who gave Karen the spell, a.k.a. her new boyfriend.”

“Which does not sound good,” Virgil called from the kitchen.

“That’s one way to put it,” Dee stated. “I agree with Remy that this person is definitely catfishing, but I disagree that it’s only for her money or whatever catfishers go for.”

Dee started to layout papers across the floor. “Logan, I asked you for specific files on a couple of fairies. Did you bring them?”

“You asked a fairy for something?” Remy feigned a gasp.

“For the rabbit hole I found myself going down, I’d make a deal myself for this information, so shut up,” Dee stated, accepting a folder from Logan.

He quickly read over the ten different missing beings cases. He pulled the papers out and added them to another stack he started to layout on the floor. Watching the shifter, both Remy and Logan paled, seeing what Dee was laying out.

“Geez, this looks like one of Remus’s murder maps for his novels.”

Dee looked up to see Remus and Virgil looking over the mass of paper. Virgil’s head was purple while Remus had a green head and, great magic help Dee, a green mustache. Dee nodded, solemnly as he took a seat on the couch, looking over the web of papers.

Logan looked at the shifter. “Let me get this straight. You are suggesting that this single account has sought out signs of supernatural from superstitious middle-aged women online and is the reason for their disappearances?”

“I’m not suggesting it, pest. The proof is right in front of you. The files you brought align with some records attached to the account early on. It all makes sense, and this comes from someone who proof-reads murder mystery novels for their feasibility.”

Roman eyed Dee, uncertainly. “I do not trust you, shifter. You are too knowledgeable about this kind of stuff.”

“Good because I do not like you pests.”

“Wait, Lo,” Virgil said, diving for one of the pages. “Avery. She was…”

“Yeah, I noticed that as well, Vee.”

Remy looked between the two of them. “What’s this about?”

Virgil took a slow breath before answering. “You asked why I was off a couple of days ago. Mothman, a.k.a. Robert told Logan and me a rumor about a green and purple-eyed woman who supposedly committed a number of atrocities in the Realm of the Fae. One of the fairies supposedly killed in that mess was this woman: Avery Green.”

“Well, if Dee is correct in his massive amount of research, she was not killed in the mess we’ve been looking into,” Logan said, looking at Virgil. “Three others are also laid out here, meaning four names were not killed in those attacks. That is finally something we can work with.”

“Uh… guys?” Emile said, reminding the beings that he was still here. “Shouldn’t we be worried that this account may be coming here? There is quite a bit of evidence suggesting that we should be worried.”

Dee cleared his throat uncomfortably. “If we all plan to keep Virgil safe, yes, we should.”

“Wait, why only me?” he asked.

“Hunters do not go after sandme-sand beings, so Remy is relatively safe. So long as I do not shift any time soon, there will be little pointing towards me. These posts discuss you and Logan, so whoever is behind these will be coming for the two of you. You are in the most danger as you can roam from the fairy circles whenever you want while Logan can just remain in his own realm.”

“OK, what if I stay in the Realm of the Fae until this mess is over with?”

“You cannot do so just yet,” Logan said, wincing at his own words. “Unfortunately, you still need to develop more of your own magic and we have to strengthen the bond between the four of us before it is feasible for you to stay extended periods within our realm. Essentially, building up a long-term tolerance for our realm, so to say.”

Remy looked at the fairy. “Sending him away does sound like a possible solution, though.”

“Dee as well.” Remus suddenly piped in.

“What.”

“I’m sorry, DeeDee, but I want you to be safe,” Remus said, softly. “If this is all true, even if you don’t shift, you’ll still have touches of magic that a trained hunter will know to look for.”

“He is correct, Dee,” Patton answered, looking uncomfortable with all of this. “While you may not be as much of a target as Virgil or us, if a hunter does come, you will still be in danger.”

“So, the three of you will have to leave,” Emile said, sadly looking at his partner.

“Excuse me, three?” Remy asked, shocked. “Hunters do not play with sand beings, Em. I’ll be fine. Plus, I technically can’t leave my post out here, not for that long. We can discuss this once Vee and Dee are out and safe.”

“Remy…”

“Emile, my leaving will cause trouble. Hunters know sand beings are vital to the sleep cycle of life, so they do not attack us. I will be fine. I can start some paperwork stuff for time-off request or whatever, but that will take time and for now, we need to focus on the actual targets claimed in the posts. Logan, how long until you think Virgil can jump circles properly on his own?”

“We were actually going to have him test that tomorrow,” Logan answered. “Why?”

Remy nodded. “We’ll make sure he can travel through them on his own first. I know a deal-style thing that will allow Dee to jump circles with Virgil, but it will not allow him to travel into your realm proper.”

“But, that’s not possible…” Roman answered, surprised. “Only fae and their witches can use the circles.”

“Correct, for the most part. Witches can use the circles for transport once they enter a deal. Companions, particularly of the animal kind, are capable of traveling with a witch, though. Did you never question how Gala was capable of going on your adventures?”

“Remy, I am not making a deal with those flying rats,” Dee stated.

Remy rolled their eyes. “And you won’t be. You’ll be entering a deal with a witch, who is our best friend.”

“So, after that? What?” Virgil demanded. “Dee and I just start our lives over somewhere else until we get a message from you lot saying that it’s safe to return when its entirely possible that that message will never be possible?”

“Until we can figure out how to keep the two of you safe,” Remy stated. “You’ll still be able to talk with your cuties, Virgil.”

“And I just have to leave my husband, friends, and snakes behind?” Dee demanded.

“Dee, please. I can watch over the snakes.” Remus said, softly, not looking at his husband. “We can still call and video chat and whatever. I know this feels like an attack on your pride, Dee, but please. I would rather make do with a long-distance relationship over having to… having to… Dee, please.”

“Ree, I can’t… I can’t just leave you.”

“Dee, I know that I can’t control my impulsiveness or words or not act upon even the weirdest idea that crosses my mind. But I’ll have Remy and Emile still. They can help keep me safe while you are away. I nearly lost you once, I can’t… not again. And this time, your dad won’t be at my side squashing any thought that you might not make it. Please, Dee.”

Could Dee really argue with him? Remus was nearly in tears with a green mustache drooping as it dyed. Yet, Dee also didn’t know how to function anymore without this chaotic being in his life. They’d been best friends since elementary school and married for the past seven years. How could he just leave?

Dee shut his eyes, trying not to cry as he answered. “You two bastards better keep a good eye on my idiot of a husband. Do you understand? If he’s hurt… a damn hunter will be nothing compared to me.”

“Of course, Dee. He can even take over our spare room.” Emile answered, wanting to ease Dee’s pain at this decision.

“It’s not goodbye just yet. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow, before goodbye.” Remy stated. “Now, will you two idiots go wash out your hair? It’s been like an hour. I’ve already dealt with in-too-long hair once. I’m not playing that game again.”

Next Chapter

Taglist: @that-one-nb-kid, @hufflepuffxfox

[theeletroguardian]

Unidentified Deadly Subject

Ross Dickson’s team had been assigned as a rescue team for another team who hasn’t emitted any kind of sign to the headquarters. They have been silent for days. Both he and his team were frustrated, being minimized to a simple rescue team but, considering the location, they might’ve some benefits from it. After all, all missions in Mobius were dead serious and only the highest ranked G.U.N. agents were assigned to them.

“Did you get anything?” he asked the other members.

“Not yet.” answered Charles, a typically quiet person but still a great guy and very serious about his work, which he did very well. Ross was lucky to have ended up with a good member like him.

“Nothing here either.” answered Liam and John in unison. They usually did that, that’s why they both got the nickname ‘The twins’. Of course, the two didn’t enjoy as much but didn’t stop anyone from ticking them off.

“Let’s keep searching.”

They kept inspecting the forest. It was quiet, there was an often rabbit jumping from the bushes and sound of crows, but nothing relevant. The animals were the least of their worries. They were equipped with the best arsenal of G.U.N. No stupid, brainless animal could surpass that.

Ross wondered if there were different species on the planet of Mobius. It was his first time on the planet but he had heard a lot about it from the agents that went there to capture more Mobian subjects. His first time crossing the portal from Earth to Mobius had left him a bitty dizzy, but he had been warned beforehand and told it was natural. The other members knew just as little as him, except for Charles, who had already been in a few “recruiting” missions.

The Mobian Soldier Project was something only a handful of agents knew since the headmasters didn’t want such a gentle information to fall in loose mouths. Fortunately, he worked at one of the sections in which that was going on so he was immediately informed. Ross was taught that Mobians possessed many attributes that humans didn’t. First of all: the ability to have powers. Mobians had an all collection of powers of different varieties. Some Mobians with powers worked with them, although it was pretty clear they had no idea of their secret project, otherwise they would have just told them to go to hell. A Mobian with powers has never been captured either, but that would be a great achievement. Just think of the beast it would turn into! Besides that, Mobians were physically stronger than humans and their immune system much more developed than the one of a human.

“Do you think it was it?” Liam asked.

He was referring to a particular Mobian who has given a hell of a headache lately. They say it started one year ago or so. Many agents died at its hands and in the most grotesque ways. And they didn’t even know what it looked like! No one survived to tell. All they heard in the last communications of those who faced the unidentified Mobian were screams and pleas for mercy until everything went silent. The only thing for sure they knew was this: it was deadly and merciless.

“I hope not.” John said, shivering. He had always been terrible with horror stories. At Halloween, night patrols or movie nights, he was the favorite target. His screams were priceless, due to that, the twins often called him “Sissy” or “Princess”.

“We can’t be sure of anything.” Charles answered calmly “We will only know when we get there.”

“You’re right.” Ross agreed “And if it is it, we are prepared.”

“That’s what they thought.” Liam said in a mischievous tone as if he was telling one of his horror stories.

“Oh, shut up!!” John said as he hit Liam in the back of the head. They laughed at the terrified man “Oh, go to fuck all of you. I hope it doesn’t feed on brains if it finds you or it will die of starvation.”

They laughed again until Ross’s detector started beeping. They got a sign. Back to full seriousness, they held their guns and started carefully approaching the zone until the beeping got louder.

“Okay, folks, remember: we don’t know what we might find but you always must remain calm. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” the three men replied.

The beeping got louder when they crossed a zone which grass had a trail of blood on it. They immediately prepared for the worst. The team followed the trail of blood to a clearing. The grass was covered in blood and there were two communicators laying on the ground. But nothing else. No bodies. They inspected the zone. Liam grabbed one of the communicators and started typing in search of any clue of where the other team might be or whatever had happened in there.

“What the hell happened in here?” Ross wondered. He looked around but didn’t seem to get any more clues. Everything was dead silent. Too silent. It was as if sound couldn’t reach that place. Or was too afraid to.

Then suddenly something fell on him. Ross cursed before he went dead silent for some seconds when he saw what had fallen into his hands. A head. He threw it away, cursing again. The others came to look closer and seemed as terrified and nauseated as him. Ross then looked up and saw two purple stars shining from the darkness of the leaves of the tree. He felt like death was staring down at him.

“Back away! Prepare your-” he didn’t have time to finish his sentence before the thing busted out of the tree. It jumped from man to man with great, terrifying speed, blood flying everywhere. Its claws dug through the armor with ease, tearing flesh and bone apart.

It all happened in a blur, but it went in slow motion for Ross. His teammates didn’t even have time to aim or even raise their guns, the thing was already on them, tearing them apart with the claws on its feet and hands and with its sharp teeth. Ross could see, through the stains of blood that covered it’s skin, that the creature was originally white-furred, but it had a dark, weird substance clinging to it and black, small horns on its head. He could also it looked like a female, a little girl. But, of all that, what marked him the most were her eyes. They were a dark purple, so dark it looked like an endless pit, surrounded by blurs of crimson red, with the sharpest iris he had ever seen. They were filled with hatred and disgust. For them.

He thought he was staring death in the face and it must have been. Something that could kill so easily, in such a grotesque way could only be death itself or a monster. The scene he had seen… he thought it was only possible in horror movies created by a twisted and with serious problems author. He never thought he would see it in real life. Where was the rest of the other team? Were they in the trees like that head? But why? Why would she do that? What was the purpose? And he understood why when she looked at him. She wanted to destroy them in and out, she wanted to tear their minds apart, drive them to an agonizing madness just like she would do with their bodies. She wanted them to know, before they died at her hands, how much she hated them, how far she would go to hurt them and how serious she was about it.

Ross saw as she stricken for him. He was going to die. His body didn’t move, not even to raise his gun. He knew it would do nothing. But, when he thought of how her claws dug through his comrades' armors, the head that fell down on his hands, still with the helmet on, and the huge puddles of blood, he was afraid. Afraid of the way she would kill him.

He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her claws had dug to his jugular, ripping flesh and splashing blood all over. She dug her hands further and got to the skeleton structure. She also ripped that off. The last thing Ross remembered was feeling like he was flying and the image of his body collapsing on the ground before everything went black.

...

Stella observed as the human’s head fell to the ground, staring with a glassy gaze at his lifeless body. She looked at the most recent corpses and then to the older ones, hidden up in the trees. Still looking up, she punched the tree next to her. The tremble caused by her strength made the hidden corpses fall to the ground.

She didn’t feel anything, not anymore. Now, to her, killing humans was just something as natural as breathing. It didn’t bring her pleasure nor pain. The first time, however, had been different. Stella had felt like she was under some kind of trance and when she woke up she saw unrecognizable dead bodies, their blood, and remainings smeared all over her. The forest was filled with her agonized, terrified scream, scaring birds from their posts on the trees and any animal near the area. She screamed until she lost her voice. For hours, she couldn’t take her eyes off what she had done, curled into a ball with her back pressed against a tree. In front of her, she had all the food she had had inside her stomach. She didn’t eat for days.

It was then that the shadows started whispering inside her head, the darkness starting to spread through her mind and body, corrupting her. Even her physical appearance had changed. But that didn’t compare to the wreck her mind was. The pain refused to leave. No matter how much physical pain she induced on herself, nothing could silence or blur out the agony.

However, there is nothing she can do. Stella has accepted that a long time ago, although she wishes for them to go away, those annoying little pricks, buzzing like flies in her ears. Fortunately, they seemed to be more afraid of her than the contrary. The nature of these powers was unknown to Stella, but she was sure they were something big, the kind of power many wished to have so they would have the world bow before them. And if she let it out… everything would be destroyed. But she didn’t care about that last part, not anymore…

Stella observed the corpses with indifference before she opened 'the hole’ which swallowed the humans and the blood on the grass.

It was also one of her new abilities. It seemed to open to a different dimension. But she also noticed another thing. It revives those or what passed through it. She remembers the shock that invaded her when she sent another pile of human corpses and they started screaming. She was going to jump inside of it to kill them for good, but other creatures lurking in the darkness slithered their way their victims. What she saw was indescribable, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. But it didn’t stay there. Even when the humans turned to shreds they were still alive and screaming, begging for mercy like they had done with her, their remainings moving to form their bodies once again. And the shadows attacked them and they healed back up again. The cycle continued. After some more times, she discovered that she could choose if who or what was sent would be revived or not, but she still doesn’t have much control over it.

After she closed it, there were no clues left of what had just happened.

She started walking in the direction of the closest river. She could handle being dirtied by the darkness, but she wouldn’t accept being conspurcated by anything related to those filthy, disgusting humans. All humans deserved to be dead and she would make sure that every human that crossed her way would suffer as much as the Mobians they held captive, the Mobians whose lives they destroyed.