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cleaning-has-its-benefits · 1 year

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By saying I would be self indulgent this month that meant I would write about Stranger like there’s no tomorrow, because I have fun thinking about him.

Although my anxiety is already nagging me about it ¬_¬

I guess as negotiation with my dumb brain this will be the last post I tag for this month... also I dont want to spam the tags.

Anyways, here’s some headcanons about Strangers (and hs Basil!)

-The life of a Hs Basil/Stranger starts as a little one, at blackspace.

-Little ones are the most abundant creature in blackspace, which is also their main advantage for survival. Since there are so many, it would be hard to kill them all.

-Otherwise, they lack any way of defending themselves. Their movement is very limited, they lack intelligence, their bodies aren't sturdy (but they can withstand more damage than one may guess at first glance). it's no wonder they have the highest death-rate out of everyone in blackspace. It common for them to get killed on accident, but there are some particularly sadistic inhabitants that kill them as a pass-time. Little ones relay a lot on luck to survive beyond the little one stage.

-They lack hearing, smell, taste and touch. Sight is the only thing they have.

-Their intelligence is also very limited because their brain is not developed at this stage. They rely mostly on emotions... these aren't positive. From the moment they are created, the first thing they feel is guilt, but they have no idea why. They are really influenced by Sunny's emotions, the ones that are sent at blackspace. But they do have a vague knowledge, but I'll talk about this later.

-Even at this point they see Omori as a protector and someone to rely on, no matter if he's hurting them or their peers.

-Little ones will stay stuck in that state until the current hs Basil discovers the truth and is sent to blackspace. Headspace then will sent a sign or request that it needs a new hs Basil. That's when little ones can finally develop and a race starts to see which one will transform into a hs Basil first. There can be only one hs Basil in an bs area at a time, so when one manages it, the other little ones will be stuck again until the Basil dies. This is a slow process, which also relays a lot in luck, so only a handful of hs Basils will exist in blackspace.

-When they are created, hs Basils will have an aleatory amount of knowledge, that can vary due to some circumstances that I'll mention later. This means that some Basil will have a vague knowledge about the truth, or some understanding of the dangers of blackpace, or maybe not. Some Basils will try to hide while other will wander around and try to befriend anyone they find, which generally gets them killed before Omori arrives. They aren't really too worried about being in blackspace, either way.

-But the knowledge that they all share is that "they got lost and have to wait for Omori to rescue them." They accept this knowledge without question, because if they tried to remember how they got "lost", they'll soon discover they can't remember anything before their current predicament.

-Although their death rate is significantly lower than little one's, is hard to get a "perfectly ignorant" Basil that Omori can bring to headspace, so he's, indirectly, their main cause of death. It's not always necessary that a Basil has some knowledge of the truth. Sometimes just having the "wrong memories" can be enough cause for Omori to not choose them.

this Basil is an example. He's ignorant of the dangers of blackspace and also the truth, but he remembers the incident at the lake, which doesn't happen in hs.

-The area of the church might be the place to go to get a perfect Basil. This is because it has an unique selecting system. It can detect if the Basil it has knows too much and if that's the case, then it will get rid of him by sending him to redspace. After that, it will "kidnap" a little one and protect it from any danger until it becomes Basil. This process will repeat until it gets a perfect Basil. When that happens, the church will give notice to Omori by manifesting a door that directly leads to it, so he can pick up Basil and start another cycle.

-Basils don't retain any clear memories from their time as a little one, but they can have some vague ones. For example, if certain creature hurt them as a little one, then as Basil they will feel uncomfortable near said creature. They also might avoid places that are similar to the place they got hurt, but they don't know why.

-Some Basils have scars from injuries they might have sustained as little ones. Depending on the severity of the damage, they may present things like a light limp to minor malformations, to suffer from chronic pain or have missing parts of their bodies.

-Basils aren't aware they are related to little ones, so they just see them as something similar to an animal. However, Basils are really compassionate, so while not common, it isn't unheard of a Basil taking care of a little one or many.

- Basils, like little ones and strangers, have nocturnal vision and their eyes are very sensitive to light. In hs this isn't very useful and result in him having problems to see, but he thinks being bothered by the light is normal so he never mentions it.

-hs Basil will remain as hs Basil until, one way or another, he discovers the truth. Due to the nature of the truth, being so hard to handle, hs Basil will not remember it at once, but gradually. When he finds the photo in hs, the first thing he'll remember is that "Mari is dead" and nothing else. This is enough for hs to send him to blackspace, and once he's there he will start asking questions and answer himself, gradually remembering more. Why is Mari dead? Omori Sunny killed her. Why did he kill her? He didn't mean to, it was an accident. How did it happen? Etc. Hs Basil will not only remember the incident and his rw Basil's involvement, but also he will have to understand the nature of his world, a dream, and his own nature, a copy.

-Once he remembers all this knowledge, he stops being hs Basil.

haven't seen that many people talking about this gray-scaled hs Basil, so I'll be talking a bit about him. This would be hs Basil on his way of becoming a Stranger. After some thinking, I decided to nickname him "Acquaintance", because that's like the middle point between a friend an a stranger, so I found it fitting.

-Acquaintances are very rare. Generally there is only one per cycle, at most there will be two, but this is an even rarer occurrence.

-They are kept at the hub by the strangers as a way of protection. Since strangers can't do much to help little ones or hs Basils in bs, because that would count as "interfering" with the way the world works and thus going against the rules and painting a target on their back for Omori, they are extremely protective of Acquaintances. Strangers prevent them from venturing into blackspace until they become a stranger and have a better idea on how not to get killed out there. For this reason, Acquaintances have a pretty much inexistent death rate.

-Acquaintances,however, don't have any interest in exploring beyond the hub... or in anything.

-The last thing they did as hs Basil was remembering everything, so the first thing they do as Acquaintances is to come to terms with all of that... or try to. It's not an easy thing, as you might imagine, having to cope with knowing everything you lived it's a lie made up to cover another lie.

-during the first days, Acquaintances are lethargic. They can cry for hours at a time or be completely numb to anything. It's a complicated time for them and, emotionally, the toughest in their life. An alternate name I had thought for them was 'mourning Basil', because that's the thing they do.

- Acquaintances are taller than hs Basil but shorter than Stranger, not that the difference is very noticeable because Strangers are pretty short. Acquaintances would have the appearance of a 14 year old Basil... well actually their appearance varies with time. They're the one of the few inhabitants of bs that grows up.

-Some Acquaintances might prefer to be left alone and will stay at the most solitary spot of the hub, while other will want support. How supportive strangers will be of the Acquaintance varies depending of the time-period and the strangers available. There are some that will try to comfort Acquaintances as best as they can, while others will see this as an annoying babysitting duty and Acquaintances can tell the difference, even if they can't tell apart one Stranger from another.

-Either way, even if the stranger has the best of intentions and wants to easy this process as much as possible (knowing perfectly how it feels like), they just don't have the time. Acquaintances have to become Strangers by the time Omori arrives at blackspace. Omori doesn't recognize "Acquaintances", since they are so rare. It's risky if he sees one at the hub, as he might mistake him with a hs Basil, and because Acquaintances clearly know everything, he'll proceed to do what he does with Basils that know too much.

-With cycles becoming shorter and shorter, Acquaintances are forced to take on stranger duties earlier and earlier, cutting short the time they have to grieve, which surely isn't going to cause any issues!

-Acquaintances will be left to deal with their stuff for a certain amount of time that varies from one cycle to another. After this established time (or Omori making certain amount of progress in his journey through hs, whatever happens first) the "second phase" of an Acquaintance's life will begin. Here is when they start to learn the way of life of strangers, their purpose in the grand scheme of things, their role in the cycles, and basically become apprentices. Some strangers will often feel like it's always "too soon", but there's not much to do when they're perpetually in need of more help for their mission.

-The exact moment when an Acquaintance becomes a Stranger is somewhat blurry. Some newer Strangers might feel like they never stopped being acquaintances. If it's a matter of appearance, way of thinking, behavior or age, it's a subject for debate for when Stranger's aren't talking about their duties.

-Unlike their previous life-stages, Strangers are very social, at least in the sense of being with their own kind. Strangers don't exactly get along with each other, but they feel safe in numbers. If a Stranger, for some reason, is forced to be on his own for a prolonged period on time, without the possibility to reach out for other Strangers, they might get physically sick, not mentioning the toll on their sanity.

-It has never happened, but if hypothetically a Stranger broke their rules (like attacking another stranger, which is forbidden in any circumstance) or endangered their mission (like trying to conspire with Omori or smth to win his favor) then the punishment would be exile. Strangers would just let isolation kill whoever broke the rules.

-Strangers leave red footprints when they walk normally, but if they tiptoe, then they don't. They tiptoe around a lot for this reason, which will make them appear taller than they actually are.

-They are pretty good storytellers and at times they will tell stories to each other to de-stress. The stories they tell are actually real memories from Sunny, happy and funny ones, that Strangers somewhat see as folktales. Retelling these stories help to motivate them, as those remind them why they work so hard for: making Sunny live again.

-One can tell the age of a Stranger with how their tendrils are. It's a bit like the roots of a tree, the ones of a sapling will be thin and not reach too far, while the ones from an old oak will be massive. The same goes for Strangers, a newer one will have fewer tendrils and thinner, more similar to Basil’s vines, while an older one will have many and may reach everywhere in a room.

-Strangers are a bit hard to kill, because they are like zombies in the sense that they only die when their head is destroyed. Not mentioning how elusive they can be.

is this pic that gave me the idea. I find it kinda funny how Stranger here looks more pissed-off than anything, but I guess he has a good reason to be in a bad mood.

-The most effective way to kill them is with traps or with an ambush, so by taking them by surprise. However, Strangers have an excellent memory, so they won't fall for the same trick twice.

-When any inhabitant of blackspace dies, their remains will be used by blackspace to create something else. It's like clay, if a figure of clay is destroyed, the clay can be used to create something else. This "something else" can be anything, a table, a wall, be a part of the ground, another sentient being, etc. When Basils and Strangers die, the same applies to them, but in their case, an exception, little ones will always be created from their remains. That's how their life-cycle goes on.

-little ones created from dead Basils and little ones created by dead Strangers are slightly different. The later have a vague knowledge inherited by the dead Stranger. This difference is much more noticeable when they become Basils. These Basils are more cautious and aware of the danger they're in. While this doesn't affect their positive nature, they have more initiative, hiding away or other methods in keeping themselves safe while they wait for Omori. This knowledge makes them more likely to survive in blackspace, but this knowledge also includes tidbits of the truth, so they ask more questions, which gives them 0 possibilities of being brought to hs and thus guarantee to die at hands of Omori... if they encounter him.

this one is one of these Basils. If Omori had skipped this room, then Basil would have made it. He's saying the truth when he says he's good at keeping himself safe, just not from Omori.

-It's a rare occurrence, but if these Basils don't encounter Omori, then they can make it. They'll eventually remember the truth and become an Acquaintance, then they'll be brought to the hub by the Strangers. This is the case that brings two Acquaintances in the same cycle.

- At first, Acquaintances don't get along and try to ignore each other, mostly because they're still coming to terms with the idea of being copies of each other. After a while, though, they will develop a sibling-like bond, supporting each other at lacking the Strangers' support, and they will remain close as Strangers too.

Well that's all for now.

#omori stranger #headcanons

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ru5t · 1 month

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hi i got reminded of a thing and this is technically an unfinished image i'm not sure i like anymore and not the thing i thought i was gonna talk about today (but that's unfinished as well--) but yes hello let's talk about:

Tech + Her Name

so one of the Things™ about Tech is that I've had her for more than a decade, and so she's gone through a lot of growth and changes over the years, been tweaked a bunch and soft rebooted a couple of times. and her deal now is that almost all of that exists in her a little bit, even if some of it isn't 'canon' anymore, and some of it reflects in these sort of "phases" she has in her overall backstory. these work out into general time frames, and at some point i started shorthand referencing them differently based on her various go-to behaviors and beliefs at the time. this got really confusing really fast! an then i remembered she has approximately a trillion nicknames, and lightning struck

boom, bam, quick and easy labels from her most common nicknames/forms of address at the time of each "phase" ; worth noting she was "Techno Havoc" for most of these, and wouldn't have introduced herself any differently, the nicknames were just what people leaned toward and/or picked up from others

these phases also tie into the [Hair Dye Post], because I am Unwell

Maddy — in the city, pre-escape edition, and there's not a whole lot to say about it; she was also occasionally Mads and, as her father was "Lt. Magson" and Jack was just "Magson", she was "Mags" to differentiate and as a diminutive; sometimes, more rarely, "Mini Magson" in the same spirit (mostly from her father's coworkers)

Magpie — the short form of her first moniker, "Miss Magpie", given to her by TJ when she was living at the Wind Stop, and though it was more of a teasing title it served as her name for her first year, give or take, in the desert; this was also when she was introduced to colorful dyes, and she picked the green but didn't want it all over, so someone (maybe not TJ he's Old) helped her work out the way for getting it to process right on her hair into those soon-to-be signature green stripes

Havoc — reunited with her brother, they get a little base going (picking up Lith & Tox, Red & the Weasel, and Dusty along the way, in that order) and she got a little unruly, a lot loud - a Rebellious Phase™, if you will, in which she made hobbies out of fucking around with Better Living systems, arguing with friends & foes, and generally being a massive teenagery pain in the ass, hence Havoc; somewhere in these couple of years, the pink came about from a desire to do something a shade dramatic and encouragement from friends, to match the fierce edge she'd put on, bright and aggressive

Techie — although a nickname she'd always had since become Techno Havoc, 'Techie' become more prominent after another couple years gone, and she'd mellowed out a little bit, becoming more sure of herself vs. the things that were her defensive mechanisms, stopped fighting with so many of her friends, started forging better connections, being more honest and in general just hitting a good growth stride - even making an impression with the fab four (some more than others🙈); she stopped keeping up with the color, letting it fade out into a much lighter pink, and she was considering just letting it grow out entirely ...

Magson — and then she got bagged and re-educated. she got to keep her name, but almost nothing else.

Tech(?) — back in the zones, she got knocked on the noggin and had vague shadowy memories and duplicate memeories and horrible headaches and mood swings and also a concussion (and okay maybe it wasn't the most common but soooo many people went "...Tech?" like they weren't sure it was her. she wasn't either.); chasing the fragments, she got her hands on that very same shade of green she picked the first time she got out into the desert, and in a dye job focused more on getting rid of BLI's fingerprints than anything else, she didn't go through all the steps and ended up at what a friend of mine (Lith's writer) started calling "swamp monster green"

Sparky — after a year of nonexistence, and then a year of hell, she finally starts to feel more like a person, get her feet underneath her reestablishing herself in digital spaces and robotic/computer engineering circles, get things get more pieced together to know that she had connections and that they're out there to be called on; the pink here was a choice on the basis of that it felt more right than the swamp monster green, or growing it out to her natural color, and though it wasn't where she settled it was definitely an improvement; towards the end of this 'phase' she sought out Jack at the Haven

_______ — Tech, Techie, Havoc, Sparky, Spitfire, The Ghost Girl; take your pick, all of the above and more, she's got what she needs figured out (even if there are some days where it's harder to keep it pinned in place the way it ought to be) and gone on to get bold, now not only up to her usual tricks on the waves but actively inciting unrest in the neon slums and smuggling goods both ways across the wall; the orange!! it's just right, for whatever reason that may be, and though she keeps away from her natural hair growing too far out for its own variety of reasons, having a bit of it peeking through also feels right + of course the return of her beloved green stripe. it's a lot but that's just the way it is.

#c:\\work>dir t:\ hc-abt* //.src:trst .stdy/#this is a Mess of a post and i might remake it but it was rolling around in my head like loose (very pointy) tacks. so.#get outta there smh

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vtori73 · 2 months

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Personal post below

(just ignore):

I'm just putting this out there for myself because no one's really here except me, lol. Anyway... it just seems weird to start off your first kiss with someone with tongue. I'm sorry but it just seems like borderline boundary crossing unless you know for a fact they like that or are okay with that sort of thing, it just seems so presumptive at the very least.

I guess I'm just not over how my first kiss went which was when I was in college & was with tongue (sort of, basically just slipped it in my mouth at the end of the kiss, which I will admit I wasn't prepared for any of it & didn't really do shit because I'd never kissed at all before). It may have not really meant anything or could have been a possible red flag because tbh that first relationship of mine was... wasn't great. Just a lot of boundary crossing on their part that they didn't really want to or like to admit to & honestly is probably why they broke up with me, or what I theorized a long time ago closer to when it happened which was that I just became too much of a handful and they wanted out. They just wanted me because they were lonely & on the rebound and I was there, inexperienced and easy to please/take advantage of. I think I really was just their sexual gratification honestly, or at least that's what it seems like I was when I think on this shit nowadays because it just kind makes sense.

Not saying it was all bad though, there were good times but I don't think there is a good enough reason to think of them. But, part of me wants me to be nice and open to the idea I'm being one sided/overreacting about my past relationship but another part of me also knows Im not and just trying to make excuses so I don't really have to face the actuality that I was basically taken advantage of. I'm not saying it was intentional intentional but basically it's kind of what of happened. Even though I didn't expect a lot I did have some expectations that were basically crushed a lot that I never voiced to them because I figured I was being unreasonable, mean, picky, whatever.

Like one thing I will never get over was a card I got for my birthday from them that was... bad, it was bad. It was a homemade card that barely said anything of substance & literally barely said anything. It was just sad and seemed like something someone much younger could/would make & was either something done with the least amount of effort or something done at the last minute and I remember feeling nothing but disappointment however I knew I couldn't voice those feelings, I mean they made me a card so who am I to complain? I mean it would be wrong to expect more since they didn't have money to spend at the time but their roommates actually got me something for my birthday which was a surprise to me and I honestly thought it was very sweet and kind of them, I do hope they know how much I appreciated it. Part of me does wonder if they felt bad for me, not necessarily because of that, I feel like I may possibly have some vague memory pointing in that direction but I honestly can't recall so *shrugs.* I don't remember any other details about the card, I got rid of it long ago & have a horrible memory but I had kept it at first because I'm a sentimental person regardless.

Anyway, I don't really want to get into the worst stuff that happened in the relationship, that's a little too personal and raw for me that while I think about occasionally is still different from actually typing or talking about out loud its... just too personal. I just wanted to get into the more light/petty stuff I've never had the chance to say to anyone, literally I've never told anyone the about the card (or at least I don't think I have). I think there were other petty things I took issue with but I honestly don't remember anymore that one was honestly the biggest one. I'm also going to say this because I feel like I have to but I don't for one second think I was perfect and made mistakes, I know I did, I may not know or aware of everything but I do know I did make some mistakes, my memory no longer remembers much so I don't really know if certain things were my fault or theirs but regardless this doesn't apply to the things I know for a fact they did wrong that hurt me back then and probably still affect me today.

Honestly, after this relationship I had/have a hard time seeing myself pursuing romantic relationships. I actually haven't liked anyone since and honestly im thankful for that because I'm definitely not in a place to be in one and wonder if I ever will be or if I even deserve to be in one. I just can't help but feel like I deserved what happened and that I'm at blame for it all and especially with how I handled some stuff so I just can't help but feel it would be better if I just stay single to not get hurt but to also to avoid hurting others.

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casspurrjoybell-20 · 2 months

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FOOLS - Chapter 15 - Part 2

BOOK ONE: The 'Fools Fall in Love' Trilogy

*Warning - Adult Content*

Noah Wright

I woke up the next morning with a headache.

Which I'm confused about because I vaguely remember taking two Tylenol.

Shouldn't that have stopped the pounding in my head?

Yawning, I got up and immediately tripped over something.

"Ow, fuck," exclaimed,I stumbling a bit but caught myself before I could fall.

A groan and some mumbling came from the floor, so I glanced down to see that the something I tripped over was actually a someone.

"What the hell, Sam?"

"You're the idiot who tripped over me. I should be the one saying 'what the hell' to you," he shot back at me as he sat up.

"Well, who the hell sleeps on the floor that close to the bed?"

"Someone who lets their drunk, douche-bag of a friend sleep in their bed for the night."

I shrugged.

"Okay, fair point. You win," I said and started putting my clothes from the night before on.

"That's what I thought," he said as I helped him up.

"And you're gonna scrub my car and pay for a car wash. Not the five dollar one, the ten dollar one," Sam told me, matter-of-factly.

"Shit, did I puke on your car?" I said remembering.

"I'm so sorry, Sam."

"It's fine. Just make sure Patricia is spotless, after you clean it," Sam said before disappearing into his bathroom.

"Fuck, is it really noon?" I asked as I saw the time on Sam's alarm clock.

"My dad's going to be pissed that I took his car. You drove me home last night which means his car is still at Zach's," I tied my shoes on.

"I can drop you off at his place on my way to work," Sam offered through the bathroom door.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, his neighborhood is on the way. I gotta get ready first though," he told me.

I sighed in relief.

"Thank you, man. You're a lifesaver," I told him though I don't know if he heard me considering he had just turned on the shower.

After about forty minutes, Sam walked out of the bathroom with his hair blow dried and styled already.

I looking up from my cell-phone but immediately looked away once my eyes landed on his bare chest.

It felt way more exposing to look at Sam with his partly naked body dripping wet than any other person and it was just his chest, fuck.

Why was my face heating up?

I slapped my checks, trying to get rid of the blush that I'm sure was plastered on my face.

Thankfully, Sam didn't notice my stupid flushness as he grabbed his work uniform and walked back into the bathroom.

I took a breath and ran my hand through my hair.

Christ, just looking at him half naked made me blush, what would I be like if I saw his... What was I thinking?

'Get your head out of the gutter, Noah.'

"Hey, I'm gonna go wash off your car. Meet me out there when you're ready," I called to him, I needed fresh air.

I heard him shout 'okay' before I walked out of his room.

About a half hour later, Sam walked outside.

"Do you remember last night?" Sam asked me.

"Oh God, did I completely humiliate myself?"

I turned off his hose that I used to wash his car with then got into the passenger seat.

When Sam sat in the driver's seat and started Patricia up, he smirked at me.

"No but you did tell me I smelled good and you called me pretty."

"Pfft, shut up, Sam. No I didn't."

"Oh but you so did and then," he leant into me, invading my personal space.

Being so close to him, my drunk self was right, he does smell good.

Like coconut and something else I can't put my finger on.

Sam ran his hands all over my face and through my hair.

My heart started to beat faster.

What the hell was he doing to me?

"You wouldn't stop touching me. Who knew you were so... affectionate when you're drunk."

I laughed and playfully shoved him away.

"My drunk self isn't 'affectionate'. I'm just an idiot when I drink," I told him and he laughed as he reversed out of his driveway.

********

Sam dropped me off at Zach's and I gave him a ten dollar bill for a car wash before I got out.

When I walked to my car I noticed a small yellow sheet of paper under one of my windshield wipers.

"No," I said, not wanting it to be what I thought it was.

I went over to the front of my car and grabbed the piece of paper.

"Oh come on, are you fucking kidding me? Where does it say..." I stopped mid-sentence when I turned around and spotted the 'no parking, 2am-8am' sign.

I groaned as I got in my dad's car.

Fantastic, now I owe a hundred dollars.

Immediately when I got home I was bombarded with questions.

"Where the fuck have you been? You think you can just take my car without my permission? And why the fuck do I pay for your cell-phone if you're not going to answer it?"

"Shit dad, can you stop yelling?" I asked rubbing my temples in attempt to relieve the banging in my head.

My dad grabbed my arm and yanked me closer to him.

"Because of you, I'm late for work," he snatched the keys out of my hand then let me go.

"Dad, I'm..."

He walked out, slamming the front door shut causing me to flinch.

"Sorry," I muttered.

I sighed in frustration and stalked off to my bedroom.

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olivereactsaboutgarbage · 2 years

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Higurashi When They Cry - Arc 1 Chapter 11

...

...O...

...One Piece...

Keiichi is going to school extremely early because he doesn’t like Mion and Rena anymore. No one’s awake, so he’s saying to himself, “Ah... this is just like on The Truman Show when the show’s production staff gets something wrong...”

A driver suddenly zooms towards Keiichi in their car and he has to do a dodge move to survive, so NOW he’s saying to himself “Ah... at some point, a driver started stalking me with the intent to kill...” No, IDIOT, it’s just way too early in the morning!

Wait holy fuck Keiichi like actually thinks it’s Truman Show like for real for real. Like “Oh, the only reason Every Single Person In This Town Is Acting Normal is because I live here so The Entire Town Is Pretending To Be Normal” is the actual thought process causing him to act normal like a fucking game of normalcy chicken.

I don’t think that’s quite it. I think I would have heard about it if Higurashi was Truman Show. From what I hear, lategame Higurashi is a battle between good and evil. There’s a huge swath of things that could mean, but I feel like “good” has to be a category that encompasses a larger amount of entities than just Keiichi for it to work.

Oh he. He wants to change his clothes. So no one knows a car almost hit him and his clothes got dirty. Keiichi is normaling so hard. “If I refuse to leave behind ANY evidence that anyone was trying to kill me, people won’t try to kill me!”

Wait is that the entire “trick” behind Higurashi. Is that why the goings-on in Hinamizawa are so inexplicable? Because we’re saddled with Keiichi as our POV character? Hmm... I guess that explains him, kinda. If he’s a writing trick, I guess maybe he almost makes sense.

Anyway the main focus of this scene isn’t that he wants to change his clothes, it’s that he wants to carry a baseball bat around everywhere and “be the baseball bat guy” so he can hurt people at a moment’s notice.

Okay I’m kind of cheating here because I’ve already read this part of Higurashi before, but... “Ugh, this baseball bat is in a fucking MOLD locker. I see there’s a baseball uniform in here and have now come to the conclusion that this locker’s owner will at some point ask for me to return their baseball bat.” Like hello???

Phew, the Toddlers got to see Keiichi’s dirty clothes. A basic level of not being a weird liar was forced upon him. Also Toddler 02 told Keiichi that she likes how he now has a baseball bat, but wouldn’t like it if he got rid of it. I know Toddler 02 is weirder than she appears, so maybe that’s something that can be read into. This arc is mostly about how Rena is weirder than she appears, with a vague hint of “Mion is the sinister commander with Rena at her side” for added flavor, but there’ll probably be an arc later about how Toddler 02 is weirder than she appears. I know there’ll be even more characters introduced in the arcs I haven’t read, but there’s still a part of me that’s saying “Hmm... so... four main girls, four question arcs, four answer arcs, and the first question arc is obsessed with one of the girls, huh.”

“Normalcy. Normalcy. I am doing a perfect job at feigning normalcy. THIS IS HOW I SURVIVE”

And I already knew quite well that there were demons dwelling in my xavier renegade angel!

Keiichi is being followed.

It’s Rena. She says wants to hang out with him and have a nice time, but he’s not a fan of that at all, because she’s evil. Keiichi, you fool! Don’t you know it’s your dad?! Your dad, I tell you!

Ah... to freak Keiichi out when she thinks he’s a liar, Rena has to speak out loud, but to freak Rena out when he thinks she’s a liar, Keiichi just needs to think she’s a liar. This is because underage anime girls have the ability to read blue text, as I’ve already discussed many times before.

CURSES MY CLEVER NORMALCY RUSE DIDN’T FREAKING WORK WONDER WHY IT DIDN’T

THAT’S RIGHT!!! NOT ATTACKING SOMEONE!!! THE ULTIMATE MARK OF EVIL!!!

Oh! I remember this line! This is the line that I put in a little time capsule for my friends. But the joke’s on me, because I just checked, and it turns out I did that thirteen months ago. So this line ended up being a time capsule for ME. After reading Higurashi Arc 1 for the first time, I spent 13 months not reading Arc 2. ...If there were ever a clearer indication that starting this blog was a good idea on my part... no there wasn’t

I’ve been playing up my convictions in my “Keiichi’s dad is the mastermind behind everything” theory a bit for laughs, but at this point I would say I’m genuinely trying to read this story from a “given that none of the five lead characters are evil AND there isn’t a curse, what is the true cause behind every incident within the story” perspective. Ooishi being evil would be a boring answer. Not bad writing or anything, I would just get bored. I’m also 90% sure this story has at least one supernatural element, so maybe I shouldn’t even be assuming crazy magic ISN’T going on.

Rena you Rena-Point-accumulating motherfucker. There’s something I’m accumulating too, and unlike you, its accumulation won’t lead to my death or arrest. I’m not Jason Statham. I’m an audience member. I, the audience member, need to accumulate as much information as possible, so that I can know what the plot is of Higurashi.

I’m starting to realize that my thesis that all of this is happening despite none of these people being evil necessitates the assumption that not only is my assessment of Keiichi as a shithead correct, but other people are also shitheads. Well, that’s in line with the characterizations of these fools. Except Mion. And Toddler 02. Hmm... the exact people Ooishi likes least... maybe Ooishi truly fucking is the problem.

yeah that’s her entire character

Hmm... yeah... that situation. Yes. Uh huh. Correct.

Yeah I refuse to budge here. Higurashi isn’t actually in the horror genre it’s just about a guy who gets scared

Also murder but that just means it’s in like, the murder mystery genre

Why do I sound like I’m talking about Umineko. These are supposed to be separate works loosely tied together by a “series” whose entries are linked by similar themes, right? Not like... SO similar. Right

Given what I remember Ciconia’s Steam description being, if every When They Cry is that similar to each other, Ciconia must be doing something really wack, narratively. If it were, I feel like I’d see more people talking about Ciconia?

Hang on is Higurashi a story about kids with mental health issues. Like yeah it IS but like. Rena has the “AGH THERE’S RENA AND SOMEONE ELSE IN RENA’S BODY IT’S SO SCARY” (<--direct keiichi quote unaltered) thing going on, which I hesitate to speculate is DID with so little context, but like... Keiichi. Does Keiichi have like. A paranoia one going on. Y’know like. A mental disorder. That causes paranoia.

Battler kind of like. Wasn’t a character who had Umineko’s most serious themes tied to himself. Like Battler could have been anyone and all the worst crap in Umineko would still have been bad crap.

Maybe that’s throwing off my expectations and I should actually be trying to think a lot more about what’s going on with Keiichi. I mean not that Battler didn’t have STUFF going ON with him that needed to be THOUGHT ABOUT.

Hmm. Hmm hmm hmm! HMM!!!

Anyway Keiichi destroys his house

...

Okay if this story IS about kids with mental illness, why Hinamizawa? Even if I assume Keiichi is mentally ill it doesn’t explain the mountain of events he wasn’t present for, nor does it explain the fact that he (”of all people” is what I would add to his pronoun if him being mentally ill was a 100% known quantity) ended up being the new guy in a town with such a storied history.

So why.

Why why why.

this is a fucking sad section of narration if i assume keiichi IS mentally ill

like the poor kid, within that hypothetical, really has no idea how to correctly parse the situation he’s been placed in

...

fucking oh

now that i’ve had my “aha” moment this reads exactly as stupidly as every other time keiichi has ever said “NO Keiichi, DON’T consider an alternate possibility, don’t you DARE do it”

what a stupid kid

I’m also starting to parse Keiichi’s new catchphrase, “It would actually be a good thing if I was crazy,” as a narrative misdirect. Obviously people who read stories know that good things don’t happen in stories. Not before the protagonist has undertaken great efforts to overcome the bad thing, or in the case of genres like tragedy and sometimes horror (...Higurashi...), not even then. Keiichi’s also spent this whole arc either goofing off or asking himself “Are my friends bad, or is an even zanier bad scenario true?” and is only just now asking about a third thing. People who read stories also know that well-written mysteries don’t wait a long time to introduce the “correct culprit”. There’s a lot of things about the way Higurashi is written that are starting to feel like they’re meant to lull you into the assumption that Keiichi isn’t mentally ill, which is only making it feel more likely that he is.

Still wondering what else is going on here.

Oh, right. I forgot Keiichi told a story about instant noodles in this chapter. But he totally does! What a nice story about instant noodles. I won’t recount it here. Read Higurashi yourself, quit mooching off me.

Assumption Making Guy Who Makes Lots And Lots Of Assumptions All The Time

i’m going to slam my head into the wall. then my head will get punctured and i’ll die because keiichi threw a needle at the wall earlier

STOP COMING OFF AS SUPERIOR TO ME KEIICHI!!! MY JOKE WASN’T MEANT TO COME ACROSS AS SUICIDAL IT WAS JUST CONCEPTUAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE FACT THAT I WANT TO SLAM MY HEAD INTO A WALL AND THE FACT THAT KEIICHI FOUND A NEEDLE (DID HE?) AND THREW MOCHI AT A WALL (HE DEFINITELY DID) IN THAT ONE PRIOR SCENE

Bro bro bro bro bro. Spoilers for the future but like. Later on there’s going to be a scene where he can’t find it. Bro bro bro bro bro.

homestuck

also one piece

holy fuck keiichi is constantly talking about “hmm THIS doesn’t seem normal and THIS doesn’t seem normal” but people’s conceptualizations of normal are based on their lived experience and he’s super young so he doesn’t have much lived experience

I don’t think I’ve ever empathized with him this strongly before. Or even an empathized with him an iota. Weird how falling for the narration leads to not empathizing with him even though the narration is from his perspective.

Actually, more than that, falling for the narration leads to not empathizing, period. I’ve READ Umineko I KNOW Umineko’s core thesis statement how did Higurashi get me to fall for its “don’t empathize with the characters” trick I should have been thinking about the story this way 13 months ago when I read it the FIRST time!!

Normal Normal I Am So Good At Pretending To Be Normal Look At Me I’m Keiichi See How Normal I Am? Acting Normal Makes Me Not Be Murdered

Earlier in this post I made a “yeah that’s rena’s entire character” joke. Is it too early for me to start making “yeah that’s keiichi’s entire character” jokes when he says things like this?

Ooishi calls Keiichi on the phone.

If you assume all implications that Rena and Mion are bad people can be explained away by Keiichi being mentally ill, the biggest question becomes how that one side story from Side Story Land factors into everything. Similarly, the assumption that Ooishi is bad runs into its biggest obstacles within Side Story Land. The fact that this scene now has Ooishi in it made me think of that.

Oh hang on what about the one where Keiichi’s dad told Keiichi that Rena was in his room for an hour. Keiichi isn’t SO mentally ill that he’d concoct a false memory of Rena’s complete absence, right??? And Keiichi’s dad isn’t Ooishi, so the assumption that Ooishi is bad doesn’t explain that one either, despite my earlier running joke that Keiichi’s dad is evil.

Hmm... yeah, there’s still lots to think about here, even assuming I’m correct. Which IS an assumption because I still don’t know yet.

...

Okay no, maybe Ooishi just Simply Isn’t the bad guy here. He also sent Keiichi spiraling into a paranoid inner monologue and then got confused by Keiichi’s subsequent behavior. If Ooishi was part of some grand conspiracy to make a specific town have lots of mental illness in it, he wouldn’t be so confused... right? Maybe he is just a guy.

Ah, and here it is. The scene I mentioned earlier where Keiichi couldn’t find the needle. This is so fucking sad dude.

...Did... Did the car “not exist” too...? Did Keiichi did a cool spin move and get his clothes dirty for no reason?

Literally every single moment is making me say “oh”. This is exactly how it feels to read early Umineko after knowing what’s going on in Umineko, which really makes me feel correct.

Putting aside the fact that there’s obviously many layers to Keiichi’s four friends that have yet to be revealed... the fact that upon making this one assumption, the resultant conclusion in the case of every single action his friends have taken that he’s viewed as proof that they’re evil is that they did those things because they care about him... man... that’s sad.

It’s sad that they care about him, since they should find someone better to care about, AY-OOOOO!!!

I’ve seen the Deranged Mion Gif though. Or at least I think it’s Mion. So at some point later on I guess Mion or someone who resembles her is gonna act pretty deranged. At least in the anime.

fuck you fuck you fuck you but also damn guess it’s not your fault huh?

^Again, I’ve said those exact words to every single Umineko character, so again, I should have seen this coming.

...Is this it. Is this the battle between good and evil I’ve seen people say Higurashi is. Keiichi’s desire to get along with his friends vs. Keiichi’s tendency to assume the worst of his friends. How deeply have I cracked the code just now.

holy hell

Rena: “I brought you food” Keiichi: I love food... wait SHE KNOWS I DON’T HAVE FOOD THAT MEANS SHE’S EVIL Keiichi: “I have food already” Rena: “That’s fine, please eat this anyway” Keiichi: NO SHE’S EVIL

If I’m right, how the fuck does this story work as an anime, the narration is where it takes place

Hmm... wondering if Rena has some sort of deep-seated trauma related to... hmm... being lied to is definitely one... maybe also being touched?

Hmm... the zombie tag scene... she never actually got tagged, did she. She “betrayed Keiichi” to avoid getting tagged, and then said that whole “Keiichi surely wouldn’t do something bad like tickling me, right Keiichi?” spiel at the last moment to yet again not get tagged. Has there ever been a scene where someone physically touched her and she didn’t react badly?

Toddler 02 often touches people with her whole head-patting gimmick... has Rena been touched by Toddler 02? I’m not sure she ever has...

Man this sucks man.

okay hang on how much text does this text log record? can i scroll back up to the instant noodle story keiichi told ages ago

No I can’t. So I can’t check for if there were any details which indicated this shopping trip happened all the way back before Keiichi moved to Hinamizawa. But if it didn’t happen that long ago, it’s been firmly established that the people in Hinamizawa know each other extremely well because it’s a small town. Obviously some of them are in grocery stores sometimes.

rena pls

just tell him,

Oh she was actually present during the events of the instant noodle story. The explanation is even more mundane than I expected. Keiichi is very freaked out by that.

Even once Keiichi starts physically injuring people, it’s still always “Their reaction was completely normal... how horrific... how beastly... WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!!!” with him.

this is fucking awful with the voice acting

Haha! Funny narrative bookends with Keiichi’s “Why wouldn’t the other person just forgive her already?” rant at the very beginning of the story.

wait

wait wait wait

When Umineko starts aggressively enforcing Knox’s Decalogue, including Knox’s Seventh, “It is forbidden for the detective to be the culprit,” is that self-deprecation from Ryukishi? Keiichi is like, a horror movie villain, from a horror movie that demonizes mental illness, right?

hang on hang on hang on

Is utilizing lots of narration to make scenes longer being employed as a narrative technique here?!

Well, if so, that’s no excuse for Umineko’s pacing, so, there’s that

i’m going to die. i’ve progressed from banging my head on walls to dying. this time the implications are intentional (<--DISCLAIMER: NOT SERIOUS)

i’m going to drown. i’m going to do what sonic the hedgehog does: drown

The cuteness contest where the reward was apples... Toddler 02 won by looking at the apple. She didn’t touch Rena. The cuteness contest on the day of the festival... Toddler 02 obtained second place by falling over. She didn’t touch Rena.

Not related to the current scene, my mind just wandered because I don’t like what’s going on.

Uggggh every single line of dialog feels like 5% more distress. That’s time passing. Also, Keiichi has now downgraded from “Ooishi is my only ally” to “this baseball bat is my only ally”.

I’m so...

Inconsolable.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DON’T TRANSITION FROM DIALOG INTO NARRATION SUMMARIZING A LONG STORY TOLD BY OOISHI THAT’S SO MUCH TIME PASSING

i’m going to cry blood

Keiichi, you have failed at pretending to be normal. I AM GOING TO KILL YOU

I can’t believe, earlier in this post, I said that “this story is literally just about Keiichi getting scared” was something that somehow meant “this story isn’t horror”. I hate this so fucking bad.

fuck offffffffffffffff

Meanwhile, in Side Story Land...

Oh, DID is getting explained, and the thing about DID where it’s a reaction to trauma is getting explained SO HARD. Hmm... yeah okay.

*laugh track but with golf sound effects added for some reason*

Also, the instant noodle story. Keiichi’s parents aren’t voice acted in this for some reason.

gonna die. gonna get killed and die resultantly

It’s so fucking obvious??? Presuming I’m right

...

Hmm, yeah, well I think certain minor details of my theorizations have been off-base, but I think a lot of the evidence for that is in Chapter 12, and I think this post is long.

I have an idea for a joke. I’ll say the set-up now, and the punchline later. Actually, technically I’ve already said most of the set-up. It’s a very multifaceted joke. Here’s the rest of the set-up:

I really wanna finish the Onikakushi arc on this blog real bad... so I can finally open the 2nd arc that’s been sitting in my Steam library all this time and see what happens in it... perceiving the story through this lens has made me so much more invested...

#higurashi #when they cry #is what i'm consuming

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bluetooththereptile · 2 years

Note

Oh my gosh first of all sorry Blue I think I did go a bit overboard on that ask especially considering it was for a yandere one shot 😂 Ok you don't have to write it thanks for your honesty to be honest I wasn't sure what to give you for yandere batfam. B/c in your original work like with the unwanted reader you went above and beyond with emotions , and in each part it got really suspensful and good. And I wasn't sure if the typical girl meets yandere would cut it I was afraid if I made it to simple you'd be bored with my request. Anyway in hindsight I probably should have read over my ask and made it shorter. Ok so I know its kinda the same ask but it can be more vague and unsaid if you are ok with it could you do a one - shot of a day in the life of growing up from birth with a yandere batfam? But with a male character maybe mid teens and things can be implied but mostly it could be about how his life has turned out from staying so long with them how he is just barely seeing the signs of how strange his life is and his struggle for independence and self discovery and wanting to be his own man and having so many strong male role models in his life yet never seeming to make progress on his own and he is frustrated . Anyway if thats ok with you maybe something like that also I hope you know you never have to feel pressured to write for me I will always appreciate the work you put out and the sensations I felt and remember when encountering your work I like you to and I kinda get it I'm not much of a writer with an online presence but when I do write sometimes for prompts or projects it can be a lot the burnout or just not feeling the scenario or words to fill it out and finish it so take care ok after all you are giving us your time and work and I and others appreciate it so just do whatever feels natural in the mean time I'll be cheering on from the sidelines !☺

Alright now we are talking!

I can do that don't worry! Thanks for asking!

Being a Wayne

Male reader x yandere bat family

( English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes in the following text.)

Just saying I may write a chapter two for this~

Tw: violence, injuries

"Master Y/N!" You rolled your eyes as you turned to meet Alfred with your lunch bag in his hands. "You were going to forget your lunch master Y/N..." you gave the old man a half-smile "You know I'm not 12 anymore right? Plus in school, they give us lunch, right Tim?" You turned to your brother who was trying to find a way to get rid of the lunch bag in his hands by putting it behind a plant or a statue "Timmy?" You tried to grab his attention "W-what huh?" He jolted his head up "Oh sorry...did you say something Y/N?" At this point whatever you were going to say was forgotten and Alfred had walked away, leaving you with the lunch bag.

You sighed in frustration, you were not a child anymore! You could take care of yourself! You'd be an adult in just a year and Alfred still treated you like you didn't know what to eat or not! Alright, maybe you and Tim, who was nearly your age, had made some questionable habits over drinking coffee or eating snacks but that didn't mean that everything you ate had to be monitored by someone else! The only time you got to eat something, not home-cooked was when you were on a mission, for sure home-cooked meals were great but you didn't need to be supervised about it!

"Good morning guys!" Dick's voice echoed in the hallway, you smiled at him as he waved to you before turning his head toward Tim "My batring is broken you care to fix it up for me?" He nearly yelled from the other end of the hallway, his phone in his hand "Why don't you do it yourself? Too busy talking to your "baby"?" Tim nagged "Oh hey stop right there young man! I'm an adult with so much stuff to do! As your older brother, I am asking you to fix my stuff because I can!" Tim rolled his eyes "Fine, I'll fix it when we get home!" "That's a good boy! But make sure to fix it before the sun goes down I need it tonight!" "I thought you didn't patrol tonight?" You asked in surprise "No it's Jay's turn tonight, I need it for the mission-..."

Dick trailed off as Tim mouthed him to stop, but it was too late and the secret already had spilled "What mission?" You asked, confused. As a member of the justice league you had expected to be informed about missions happening, so when dick, as the supervisor, knew about the missions concerning the league, you had to know it too! Unless they had "forgotten" to inform you. You turned to Tim with your eyes narrowed, shushing him before he could even open his mouth you sighed deeply. Today's ride to school was going to be a long one.

......

"I thought we were close enough, Timothy!" Tim winced at his full being used, your sarcastic tone adding to The bitterness of your argument "Didn't we agree on not hiding anything from each other Tim?" "Yes but-" "No buts and no more excuses! How could you? It's the third time this month!" You looked out of the window in frustration, trying to calm yourself down, Tim remained silent, knowing that if he continued to make excuses, you'd get angrier.

It was not fair, you thought to yourself. You trained so hard that some training sessions had ended up in you and your father arguing about you pushing your limits too far. You tried to analyze every mission as best as you could so you had better performance in your missions, you tried to be the best but your family left you out of what you enjoyed the most, being a hero.

You had joined the league for six months now, but you had gone on two missions so far when Tim and your siblings were too busy dealing with their duties. It was not fair! Not at all! You bit down on your fist to stop yourself from groaning in frustration. How could they leave you out like this? You were tired of their stupid excuses, they had used all of their tactics to make you believe that something was wrong when it wasn't!

Your physical test for the joining application to the league had gotten rejected several times while you were in perfect condition! Your equipment had broken down without being used, you were left out of the mission calls and your batring were always offline, no matter how many times you had tried to fix it. You knew it was your family's fault, but you couldn't find any evidence. And it frustrated you to no end.

All you wanted to do was to help people around you, just like what your mother had taught you during the first decade of your life, she had told you to become a good member of society, and help the people who are in need of it, just like your father. Bless her soul, you hadn't seen her again since you were ten years old, how could she come out of her grave to meet you again? You thought, your heart clenching in your chest at the memory of her.

......

The ride to school went silently, and you didn't bother to utter a word to your brother for the rest of your time at school. Fortunately, you had Bart and M'gan To fill up your time with. "Wow boy! If my ma were going to put these in my bag I wouldn't have eaten junk food away again!" Bart said as he buried his head into your lunch back, making you smack the back of his head lightly as you chuckled "You look down today...what's the matter?" M'gan asked as she tilted her head to the side, you sighed and looked up at her, she had put on such a good disguise that even you couldn't recognize her easily if you didn't know her new look already, "It's my family..." She knowingly patted your shoulder, you had talked about this before, and no matter how many solutions you had thought of, none of them had worked out.

"I just...ugh! Look at Bart! Look at him!" You said as you pointed at Bart, making the poor guy stare at you with wide eyes "What?" He asked with his mouth full "Am I not as good as Bart?" You asked, making M'gan rub the back of her neck "Well..." She trailed off, making you groan "I may not have any super powers but I bet on anything you say that I train my ass off nearly every day! I try to learn from others, but I'm never good enough!" You made an impression of your father as you deepened your voice "You are not qualified for this position!" You couldn't help but slam your fist on the table, making your plate fall off the lunch table.

"I'm sick of it! Look at me! It's my 18th birthday next month and I'm still treated like a baby! I'm sent off to a school that has cameras everywhere, I don't care if it's nice or not! I'm constantly watched by some strangers! I find trackers sewed in my clothes and bags, even right now I know that someone is listening through my damn phone because it's hacked!" You seeth the last part in your phone's speaker, scoffing as your Jayson's number showed up on the screen.

You turned your phone off as you continued "I'm never good enough! At home, I'm treated like I'm something fragile and outside of it I'm like a failure that needs to stay at home all the time! Haven't you seen Bruce when he's all of the gear and armor? He terrifies the shit out of everyone including me, and I feel madder every day passes because I am not good enough for him!" You called your father by name when you were too angry to help yourself. "I just don't know what to do!" "Let it go, dude...you can start tomorrow, just don't push yourself now..." Bart said, sounding more sensible than ever "Alright..."

It was your last class of the day, and you were impatient to leave, your empty stomach grumbled, making you tap your pen on your notes harder, so you could let out the frustration in a way. You couldn't understand whatever the teacher was saying, your mind was in another world. You were pulled out of your thoughts as a note found its way on your desk. "You okay?" Tim had asked making you scoff again, you turned to your brother, who had his desk next to you "Do I look okay?" You mouthed, making him wince again, a storm was going to hit the Wayne mansion and it was going to end in something good, Tim thought to himself.

......

"Y/N! I don't have time for this!" Your father shouted at you, making your Jae close in an instant, he hadn't shouted at you like this before, He was tired and angry, not on you of course, how could he, but the last weeks had been frustrating to him, and your continuous nagging didn't help him ease it down much. You stood there as your father put his armor gear on, you sighed and looked away, it was not the time to talk to him, you knew it well, that was why you gave given up. You watched Damian pick his weapons up, making your fists clench harder. You understood what your family was going through, but the anger did not subside, it just crawled into your every bone, waiting for the right for you to snap.

Damian gave you a knowing look, reminding you of the conversion you two had effort your father had gotten home, you had offered him help in his patrolling, and even though the boy loved to have quality time with you, he refused. You asked for the reason and he withheld the answers from you, for no damn reason!

So naturally, you had tried to open up the conversation with your father, who surprisingly "didn't have time" for you. And here you were, standing there like a moron. "Dad...can we have a talk when you are back?" You asked, "For what?" He said as turned to you, you looked at him the scowl on his face reminding you of the danger your words could bring. But you swallowed your saliva that had suddenly thickened for no reason "About my missions..."

Your father sighed before glaring at you "Look Y/N, right now the whole world is crumbling down" he hissed as he walked toward you, "Millions of people are in danger!" When he reached you he did something that you couldn't imagine him doing, he grabbed your jaw and slammed your back to the nearest wall "I don't have the time to worry about what is mine! And you, a spoiled brat, can be a virus in my perfect system!" His fingers clenched your jaws hardly as you stared at your father in fear, Bruce was in one of his most dark days and you were unlucky enough to be a victim of the Batman inside him.

Damian was terrified to do anything but watch as your father let go of you and left, leaving you to sink onto the floor, your body frozen in fear and disbelief, your face covered in bruises made by his strong grip, later you'll find out that your jaw had cracked under that pressure but for now you were too busy processing what had happened. Damian rushed to help you, but you stopped him by holding your hand to his small chest, he had duties to do in your father's perfect system, and you didn't want to have that deadly look set upon you ever again, so you pushed him away gently, pointing at his batring that was buzzing.

Damian left you alone despite being worried, but he didn't forget to call for Alfred who would come to help you. Being a Wayne no matter how loved you were, was hard. You had to be the perfect gear in your father's machine, just doing what you were asked to do while your father pulled the strings, and he could hurt you if you were disobedient. Alfred tried to talk to you, but you stared at him like you had met him for the first time, your eyes had opened to the reality you had lived in all your life. All of those lost friends and relatives, those little accidents and destroyed your relationship with many, your life choice being affected by unexpected circumstances, all of that...now you were seeing things in a different light, now you knew.

You were going to get out of your father's sight as soon as you could.

#blue answers #yandere batfamily #yandere batman #yandere #yandere alfred pennyworth #yandere damian wayne #yandere dick grayson #yandere robin #yandere bruce wayne #yandere nightwing #yandere tim drake #yandere red hood #yandere jason todd #yandere red Robin #yandere x reader

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vampkomori · 3 years

Text

anyone else think neo’s reports are weird about composers i think theyre weird about composers. lets make sense of joshuas status as composer and hazuki as comparison

this is gonna be a bit long. so anyway the og reports are p straightforward about what Composers (specifically, joshua) can and cannot do:

- Joshua can only pick up Hanekoma’s vibe, because Angel vibes are too high frequency for him to pick up

- Inter-planar contact (so, communication between the UG and the Higher Plane in this case) is difficult, which is brought up because

- The Composer, Joshua, only resides in the UG.

- But the Producer, who is an Angel, mainly resides in the Higher Plane, and only occasionally lingers in the UG.

The whole matter of jumping between worlds highlights the difference between their abilities even more:

- As Composer, Joshua is one of the beings who can jump between worlds, but isn’t meant to do so often. His vibe dipped too low, so Hanekoma had to come retrieve him, because as an Angel this sort of travel is simple for him.

the OG reports make it pretty clear Joshua isnt an Angel

*But. unfortunately its not that easy. because by clearing the final time trial joshua gives you an item called Angel Feather (天使のハネ in JP), of which the description says “Our buyer used divine means to acquire this mysterious feather that was once in the possession of Shibuya's Composer.“ (which some have interpreted as, “in the possession of” meaning “it was given to him” potentially by hanekoma, who actually IS an Angel)

and if things are vague, we turn to the JP to clear us up! but its. still vague there bc it says “バイヤーが特別な力で入手した渋谷エリアのコンポーザーが持っていた謎の羽根“ (The mysterious feather that was held/carried by the Composer of the Shibuya area that the buyer obtained with a special power)

so. we are none the wiser about whose feather this is. i imagine its up to interpretation whether its joshuas feather or hanekomas, who then gave it to joshua. but given how clearly the reports differentiate between the Composer and Angels in regards to their abilities, suffice to say theres two interpretations that are most likely

- Composers arent Angels, their power disparity is just too much

- Composers are Angels, but theyre so much weaker compared to the Angels who reside in the Higher Plane that they’re never referred to as Angels, just as Composers

which takes us to neo, and hazukis little lightshow

i think its notable that the reports dont comment on kubos so-called “exorcism”, and only on haz erasing his noise.

haz himself refers to his little stunt as “exorcising” kubo, while in JP he actually says haiki 廃棄, get rid of, revoke, invalidate.

i think its important that he clarified “i didnt erase him, i exorcised him”. because with kubo, the executor, being an Angel from the Higher Plane, a Composer shouldnt be able to erase someone of higher ranking than them. i think as the person who called upon kubo in the first place, haz could specifically revoke his services and send him back to the Higher Plane.

which means kubo wasnt erased, he was just sent back. hes still kickin

we could leave things right here as they are. Canonically, Composers are so far beneath Angels to a point where even if they were Angels themselves, they are so much weaker than them that they could hardly be referred to as such

this is where the facts end. but im gonna keep going and have fun speculating about things and include some i dont have physical proof of (yet)

its notable that in JP, hazuki says that kubo tried to purify shibuya probably because he wanted to be praised by Hazuki. which is weird if kubos supposed to be higher ranking than haz. (in EN, haz just says hes always been an overachiever) but lets put a pin in that for later 📌

which takes us to the matter of Shinjuku’s Producer. or their lack thereof

throughout all of neo’s reports, there is not a single mention of Shinjuku having a Producer. before neo, we kind of assumed every UG’s setup follows largely the same structure. a Composer, a Conductor, a Producer, and then some Reapers. but Shinjuku does not seem to have a Producer. and i think its because it doesnt need one.

its important to remember Who is writing these reports and Who theyre for. the reports are written by shibuyas Producer, and theyre written for the Higher Plane. and shibuyas Composer cant pick up the vibes of any Angel except hanekoma, so he cant be the one writing the reports for beings he cant even pick up the vibes from, especially since he only resides in the UG.

and yet, hanekoma comments that Hazuki should have filed a report, and that haz is disinterested in the lower planes.

in English its a little vague about who hes talking about, but the JP specifies Shinjukus Composer as the subject of this sentence.

throughout both reports, the UG and RG are considered part of the lower planes. its strange for a Composer to have no interest in the very planes they govern, plus for a Composer to file a report to the Higher Plane when its been established that Joshua, as a Composer, cant even perceive anyone from there.

so i think Hazuki may actually be a proper Angel from the Higher Plane, who was potentially demoted to become Shinjukus Composer.

though you can very much interpret haz “exorcising” kubo as simply “sending him back whence he came”, its of course pretty anticlimactic to see this massive laser beam essentially disintegrate kubo on a molecular level, only for it to have been a quick ride back to the higher plane with kubo being perfectly in tact after. if haz were actually much more powerful than an ordinary Composer, itd make sense why he would have been able to erase an Angel like kubo so. thoroughly.

this would also explain why kubo may have wanted to be praised by hazuki in the JP dialogue. with hazuki potentially being an outlier for Composers and being far Higher ranking than kubo, our executor may have wanted to sucker up a bit. maybe get promoted and away from his “basically a janitor” job if haz puts in a good word for him upstairs

theres also hazukis entire demeanor, and how Bad he is at acting like a normal person

we know of four paths that Players can take

they can choose erasure

they can choose resurrection to return to the RG

they can become Reapers

they can become Angels

and Reapers can eventually become Angels, though its yet unclear if the only way for that to happen is

for them to become Composer (potentially the Lowest Angel-rank there is) and thats it.

or if Composers can ascend and become Actual Angels and eventually reside in the Higher Plane, though how a successor for the seat of Composer is chosen in that scenario is yet entirely unknown since Usually the seat only becomes vacant when the previous Composer is defeated

or if they, as a Reaper, need to Ask the Composer who then asks the Producer to send a guy for evaluation or something

or if the Higher Plane has like, a talent scout guy somewhere.

potentially more than one may apply but at least the last point is the most likely, because

Conductors are invited to the Higher Plane (probably to become Angels) upon purification

(interesting to note that Composers are not mentioned as being invited, which would point to “theyre Angels, but like, weak-ass Angels”)

anyway, the point is that so far weve been told that Angels were Players or Reapers at one point. we know Joshua was a Player for sure, given the morsels of backstory we get from him and Hanekoma. but we dont know if All Angels came from the RG at one point, or if Angels that have always been Angels exist.

either way, the point is that for Hazuki to act so non-human like and to be disinterested in the UG and RG, he either must have been an Angel for a very long time, or he was never human to begin with.

this is relevant to how he interacts with joshua in the Secret Ending, though its a lot less obvious in English, in JP their dynamic is clear: Joshua is his senior, and as his junior, Hazuki looks to him as an example.

for one, thats hilarious. secondly, that recontextualizes like everything

‘course, you could keep the interpretation that theyre just Both weak-ass angels and hazuki just made kubo use a flashy dramatic elevator to the HP and nothing groundbreakingly powerful happened, but thats kinda anticlimactic

so. staying w the idea that hazuki may be a demoted Angel from the Higher Plane, then itd make sense for Joshua to have been Composer for longer than him, and for haz to act Like...That, since he couldve been not-human for a Very long time, or Never was one in the first place, but is still a younger Composer bc he got demoted like. 4 years back or something.

it also explains why Shinjuku may not need a Producer, and why Hazuki is the one writing his reports. its because hes still an Angel from the Higher Plane, so he does not need an intermediary to contact other Angels.

so to summarize what im tryna say here

Hazuki may have initially been a regular Angel from the Higher Plane, before he eventually got demoted to become Shinjukus Composer, despite how disinterested he is in the UG and RG. (he is considered to be “infamously unsympathetic”, a trait which is reinforced in the JP version to be something he is known for amongst the Higher Plane, which could potentially be the reason for his demotion)

Since hes Joshuas junior, that means he hasnt been Composer for as long as Joshua has, so Hazuki looks to him to know what youre even supposed to do/how to act/etcetera as Composer. With his Special circumstances, he does not need a Producer as an intermediary to interact with the Higher Plane, because hes already an Angel so he can do it himself.

whatever Angel Hierarchy there may be, Hazuki is at the very least a higher rank than an Executor, considering how kubo wanted to impress him, and how haz effortlessly got rid of him. with kubo being from the Higher Plane, joshua is decidedly lower ranking than kubo, and cant even pick up his vibe. which clearly positions haz into a unique circumstance as a Composer bc of this discrepancy in ranking and power. amen

<><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><> <><><>

theres other things that back this up but i unfortunately do not have a source for them, so This section, take with a grain of salt.

Supposedly, in neo’s data files:

Joshua is referred to as an Advanced Angel

Kubo as a Junior Angel, and

Hazuki as a Senior Angel

i only heard this secondhand and have no way of corroborating this myself, but if this is true then that lines up with the super long super sexy little essay i just wrote up there

this “ranking” solidifes Kubos position as Hazukis underling. which, if he were an ordinary Composer, wouldnt even be possible.

Joshua is notably a different rank from Haz, though its difficult to figure out if “Advanced” is supposed to be Lower than junior, or Higher than senior. thats up to interpretation until its possibly ever acknowledged,

but my interpretation is that an Advanced Angel is lower than a Junior Angel. i think “advanced” in this case is meant to refer to the traditional evolution of players to reapers to the composer, advancing from one status to the next.

**Little post-edit, @/inkerii gave me the actual designation in the files! (so this ones backed-up!)

so in the files, theyre designated ranks are as follows

Joshua: 男、天使上級 ※前作 (Male, Senior/Advanced Grade Angel ※from the Previous work)

Hazuki: 男、天使上級 (Male, Senior/Advanced Grade Angel)

Kubo: 男、天使下級 (Male, Junior/Lower Grade Angel)

so haz and joshua are the same rank bc theyre both Composers! since thats an internal data text kinda thing it might not have any bearing on like, potential Technical exceptions since they Are both the same “job”, but mightve gotten it under different circumstances.

as for kubo potentially being lower ranking than even a Composer, i think unless we find out what a Producers ranking is, we cant say much abt whether an Executors lower or higher. i kinda mean it in the sense of, Producers are a Composers subordinate bc they follow their orders and have to create the things theyre tasked to make by the Composer (pins, etc), but may still be “higher” in ranking because they reside in the Higher Plane/jump between parallel worlds, while a Composer cannot. an Executor may be in a similar position where theyre a Composers underling, tasked by Composers to purify things, but may actually be “higher” in ranking because they reside in the higher plane, etc!

i think regardless of whether kubo turns out to be lower ranking than joshua or not, hazuki could still be Even More Higher in a way where he actually has like, sway over whether he could get a promotion! if that was his intent. he could also just be a huge suck up. a real kiss ass. teachers pet for angels

---

theres also the ntwewy Official Guidebook, which has a small comment beneath hazuki that says

and i additionally remember an interview, though i dont have a source for this claim and i could very much be misremembering, but i recall seeing the reason for hazuki not being the final boss is because they did not think players could suspend their disbelief far enough to accept that the twisters would be able to defeat a being from the Higher Plane.

which is perfectly reasonable, but

Composers are meant to be able to be defeated by Players or Reapers. if hazuki really was so powerful that itd be impossible for them to defeat him, then hed be far too strong to be an ordinary Composer, since thats. how you take over in the first place. thats kinda the whole plot of og twewy.

anyway that concludes my case

#neo twewy spoilers #neo twewy #ntwewy #the world ends with you #twewy meta #hazuki mikagi #twewy composer #vampymori.txt #(uses my gay little brain to figure out a way the neo reports dont retcon lore) BEHOLD....#i like this bc its funny as hell to think haz like. did something to be DEMOTED?#SORRY THAT CONCEPTS HILARIOUS TO ME #i didnt talk abt it much but the fact that hes called Infamously Unsympathetic #and in JP it additionally implies that the Higher Plane thinks this way of him as well #that means. they hated his ass so much they were like GET OUT #oh another thing. i didnt know where to add it #but in neos social network joshua is referred to as 'a being from a Higher Plane'#its notable that it says 'a' not 'the' Higher Plane (capitalized) bc the og reports do say the UG is on a higher plane than the RG #so like. its true. just a weird way to say hes from the UG #im p sure joshuas never BEEN to The actual Higher Plane #he wouldnt even be able to SEE anyone there. much less elevate his vibe that high #anyway. godspeed thanks for reading #hazuki demotion theory #is what im basically calling this LOL

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thehollowprince · 2 years

Note

I got say as someone familar with Professor X from X-Men Evolution and the Films, it pretty damn disturbing seeing the type assholery and outright villainous behavior from Comic! Charles Xavier.

Yeah...

As a comic fan, it's always so interesting to talk to people who've only watche the movies or shows, because when you try to tell them that "Charles Xavier is a jerk!", they look at you weird.

I get it (to an extent). When these people hear Charles Xavier, they picture Patrick Stewart, and it's impossible to dislike that man, but as a comic fan, it's disheartening when people who have never read the comics tell you that they understand a character better than you do.

Understand, I'm not talking about you, that's more of a general statement. Especially with the MCU on the rise and fans saying things like "Well, in the movies...", only for them to pretend they can't understand you the moment you point out what happened in the comics... that the movies are supposed to be based on.

I know you didn'task for this, but just for shits and giggles, here's a list of reasons why Charles Xavier is a Jerk.

1. The X-Men

Let's start with the obvious.

Dude took the children that were in his care, that either went to him or were entrusted to him, to help them with their mutant gits, and instead he trained them to be child soldiers. I know there are plenty of other things to criticize him for, but this one is often overlooked.

2. Memories

Charlie boy has a nasty habit of screwing with the memories of those around him if they disagree with him... or they find out one of his secrets... or he screws up... or just because he feels like it.

Scott has been the victim of Xavier's rewrites multiple times, the biggest example of which being when he erased Scott's memories of not only the entire X-Men team that was either killed or lost during their attempted rescue of the original X-Men on the first Krakoa, but he erased the memory of Scott having another brother, who was on said team.

Said younger brother (Gabriel) went on to become the dictator of the Shi'ar Empire. Now, I'm not saying that him erasing Gabriel from Scott's mind directly led to that outcome, but I'm also not saying that either. Whose to say what would have happened if Scott had managed to be there for his brother.

He's also done this extensively with Logan, even going so far as to "persuade" him to join the X-Men when he was originally there to kill the professor.

3. Jean Grey

Oh, boy.

Did y'all know that Chuck was in love with Jean while she was a teenager and he was in (at the very least) his forties? Yeah. And that's not even getting into the fact that he trained her as a child, which means he knew her since she was ten.

And speaking of Jean as a child, when he first met her, he sensed her power and added mental blocks to keep her "contained". Putting aside the whole invasion of a child's mind for a second, I would like to point out how these blocks directly led to Jean's Dark Phoenix phase. Y'know, the time she destroyed entire star systems.

4. Danger

We all remember the Danger Room, right?

That room with the holographic simulations that the X-Men used in their training to become child soldiers?

Did you know the Danger Room was sentient?

No?

Charles knew.

He knew and kept it a secret, until he couldn't anymore, because Danger broke free of his controls and set about trying to get rid of the X-Men.

Probably another reason he is so against A.I. on Krakoa.

Speaking of which...

5. Krakoa

If you're not following the current era of the X-Men, beware, because here there be SPOILERS.

So, mutandom finally has their own Island Country (again) and there are some rules for that island.

Make More Mutants

Kill No Man

Respect the Sacred Land

Those three vaguely-worded and broad statements dictate life on Krakoa, and if you break them, you get sentenced to the pit, where you can't move or do anything, but you're conscious and aware of the world going on around you.

One of the first things Chuck did was say "there will be no prisons on Krakoa" and the very first thing he does, is sentence Sabertooth to mutant prison for breaking laws that weren't even written yet. And not just Sabertooth, but others as well.

If you're not reading Victor LaValle's SABERTOOTH, I do highly recommend it. In the latest issue, we get specifics on how/why five other mutants were sentenced to the pit.

Madison Jeffries is a technopath who was trying to create a space on Krakoa foe Danger, the sentient A.I. I mentioned above, because he was in love with her (don't look at me like that. This is Marvel and that isn't even remotely the weirdest relationship). He was accused of violating Krakoa and sent to rot in the Pit.

Melter was also sentenced to the Pit for not "respecting" Krakoa, because he wanted to take a more active role in his new country. He's one of those who believe in Xavier absolutely and wanted to help, only to be cast into Mutant hell.

Nekra and Oya were both sentenced for breaking the second law, killing pirates that were attacking Krakoa. They were protecting their home, but because it didn't have Xavier's stamp of approval, or because they weren't X-Force, they were cast aside.

Third Eye was sentenced to mutant jail for making the mutants of Krakoa feel guilty. I kid you not. He "violated" the first law by telling the mutants of Krakoa that maybe having kids (per the first law) and then just tossing them aside afterwards might not be the best thing for either the children or their image as a country. As such, he was convicted by the council and thrown into the Pit.

Yes, these weren't just Charles alone, but seeing as how he is often presented as the head of the council, it's only fair to lay these at his feet.

And his hypocrisy on the island doesn't stop there.

In the most recent issue of IMMORTAL X-MEN he tried to get Mystique kicked off the Quiet Council because she went behind the Council's back to resurrect her wife (something promised to her by Xavier and Magneto, even though they had no intention of delivering on that promise), at a meeting where his secret dealings with Moira MacTaggert to create Krakoa and all his fuck-ups were being presented to Hope, the newest member of the QC.

His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

And this isn't even a complete list. This is just the stuff that I thought of off the top of my head.

So always remember

#charles xavier is a jerk #x-tag

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thetravelerwrites · 3 years

Text

Bashir (Troll) Lemon

Rating: Explicit Relationships: Female Human/Male Troll (World of Warcraft Design) Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Troll, Fake Dating, Hired Boyfriend, Fake Boyfriend Content Warnings: Stalker Ex-Boyfriend, Stalking, Mention of Guns, Brief Violence Series: OkCryptid Words: 6365

A commission for @floral-and-fine! A woman getting out of a bad relationship has moved across her home state to get away from her controlling ex-boyfriend, only for him to show up at her job. Scared, she goes on OkCryptid to recruit a "boyfriend" in hopes of frightening him off. Please reblog and leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

>Hi. I know we don’t know each other and this is pretty sudden, but I have a proposition for you, and it isn’t what you think.

Vague, yes, but it would catch his attention quickly enough, you thought. You were desperate and didn’t know what else to do.

>Oh, He messaged not long after. >What would that be?

>I want to pay you to go out with me for a while.

>I’m not a prostitute. Lol

>That’s not what I mean, You replied, rolling your eyes. >I know this sounds weird, and if I had more money I’d probably just hire a bodyguard, but I don’t.

>Why would you need a bodyguard?

You sighed. >I have a stalker ex-boyfriend. I dated him for about five months, but he was really possessive and crazy so I broke it off, and now he won’t leave me alone. I moved here last month from across the state and he followed me. He showed up at my work today.

>Ah, I see. So you want me to rip his arms off?

>No, I just want him to see me with someone who is big enough to rip his arms off. Maybe it’ll scare him away. You’re the biggest guy I could find on here. Well, I did find a cyclops that was pretty big, but she wasn’t interested.

>Have you gone to the police about this?

>Yeah, but they said unless I get proof he has intent to do harm, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t even get a restraining order unless he hurts me or causes property damage. It’s like he has to beat me up before they’ll do anything, and I’d rather not let it get that far.

>Gotcha. Why don’t we don’t meet for coffee tomorrow and talk it over?

>That sounds great. I’m free at lunch.

>Me too. I’ll meet you at Leo’s Diner, you know that one?

>No, but I can Google it. See you tomorrow at 11.

Bashir arrived right on time at eleven the next morning. He was a large troll, dark blue in color, with large, off-white tusks jutting out from the sides of his mouth and his long red hair braided in several placed and pulled back at the nape of his neck. He was muscular, thick in the waist, and around nine feet tall. He wore a suit, which was finely tailored to his body. You raised your eyebrows: his profile was sparse, so you didn’t know what kind of job he did; you’d only chosen him because of his picture. But dressed like that, you were surprised he even agreed to take this “job.”

“Hi, you’re the one I’m supposed to meet today, right?” He said, extending his hand.

“Yes,” You replied, standing and shaking his hand. Your hand was dwarfed in his. “Thanks for agreeing.”

“It’s no trouble,” He said, gesturing for you to sit back down as he took a seat opposite you. “So tell me about this boyfriend of yours.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” You said. “His name is Jake. I met him at work; we worked in the same department. He seemed nice, so when he asked me out, I didn’t think anything of saying yes. The first two months was fine, and were got along really well. As soon as we decided to be exclusive, he got really clingy really quickly. Every time I’d try to pull away, he’d clutch at me tighter. He started pressuring me to put distance between me and my friends, he wanted to know where I was all the time, he was constantly texting and calling and got mad when I didn’t respond right away. I got sick of it and broke up with him.”

“When did the stalking start?”

“Almost immediately. It didn’t help that we still worked in the same department, so I had to see him every day. He’d show up at my house after work and on the weekend. He’d either be super angry and demand that I let him in, or he’d be there with flowers and candy and cry and tell me that I was the best thing that ever happened to him, that he was sorry and he’d do better. He kicked my door in a couple of times and I had to call the police. I finally managed to get a restraining order against him, but it didn’t really help. He couldn’t come within five hundred feet, so he would stand on the curb exactly five hundred feet from my house and just watch the house. I was scared for my life. So I quit my job and moved across the state with just my savings. I found a job and I started last week. And yesterday, they said I had a new client, and it was him.”

“What did you do?”

“I freaked out and called security, telling them I had a restraining order against him. He mistakenly thinks the restraining order is void because I moved, but I called and that’s not the case at all.” You sighed in aggravation. “I really hope this asshole doesn’t get me fired.”

“Hmm,” He said. “So what’s your offer?”

“Hmm?” You asked.

“You said you’d pay. What’s your offer?”

“Oh,” You said, surprised. “Uh, fifty bucks per date, plus the date expenses. I can’t really afford more than that.”

“That sounds fair. Okay,” He said. “I’ll do it. You just tell me when and where and I’ll be there.”

“Really?” You replied. “You’ll take the job?”

“Sure,” He said. “I’ve got some free time, and the extra money will be nice. I could buy a new suit in a month.” He grinned and plucked at his own, no doubt worth several months of dates.

“That’s great, thank you,” You said, sighing in relief. “So, Friday night? Around six o’clock? Would that work?”

“Absolutely,” He said, pulling out his phone. “Give me your phone number. I’ll add it to my contacts. That way, if you see him, you can call or text and I can head over and do the arm ripping thing.”

You laughed and took out your phone.

After exchanging information, the two of you had lunch and discussed the finer points of the job. PDAs were acceptable, but you’d prefer if he didn’t kiss you. He had a nine-to-five job, just like you, but his position was flexible and let him leave the office for errands, as long as he didn’t abuse the privilege. You left the lunch feeling a little safer.

Friday night, you met him at a nice Greek restaurant, and he wore another nice bespoke suit. He offered to pick you up at your home, but you didn’t really want him to know where you lived. You were still pretty paranoid about Jake finding out.

“I’m surprised you chose this place, considering you’re footing the bill and everything,” Bashir said, looking around. “It’s pretty fancy.”

“It has to look believable,” You reasoned. “And I do like Greek food. If you like, you can pick the place next time.”

He chuckled. “Have you ever had Mediterranean troll food?”

“No, I haven’t,” You said, interested. “What’s it like?”

“It’s very similar, except there’s no bread of any kind.”

“So what do you eat the hummus on?”

“You drink it like sauce.”

“You’re not supposed to drink sauce!” You protested.

He snickered.

“I feel like you’re making this up.”

“Maybe, but you’ve never met any Mediterranean trolls, so you don’t know.”

“Are you a Mediterranean troll?”

“I am, actually,” He said. “My parents came over from Morocco when I was a tot. I don’t remember much about Morocco, but I’ve always dreamed of going on a trip there, I’ve just never had the chance.” He gave a cursory look over the menu. “Maybe that’s what I’ll use this money for.”

“Sounds nice to me,” You said. “If we both get something good out of this, then that’s a plus.”

“What do you get out of this, other than getting rid of a bothersome ex?”

“Security and peace of mind,” You said, picking up your own menu. “That’s worth the price.”

He looked at you seriously. “This guy really shook you up, didn’t he?”

You set the menu back down and sighed. “He’s never hit me or threatened me verbally. The most he’s ever done is break my door, but…” You looked out of the window. “I feel like… it wouldn’t be hard, you know? It wouldn’t be that much of a leap from breaking my door in to doing something worse. If he gets mad enough, if he gets obsessed enough, who knows what he could do. All I know is that I don’t want to find out.”

“I understand,” He said. “I’ve never had to deal with something like that, because… well, look at me…” He gestured at his massive body. “But I do know people who have, and it sounds terrifying. I’m glad I can help, even if I am getting paid to do it.”

You smiled. “Well, it helps that you’re good company.”

“You don’t have to flirt with me, you know,” He teased. “That’s not part of the deal.”

“I will throat-punch you,” You said with a grin, and he laughed.

The next date was the following Saturday, and he chose to go to a concert. He wore a black v-neck shirt and a pair of black slacks, which was as dressed down as you’d seen him, but still very business-casual. It was a showcase of up-and-coming local bands, and they were all pretty good. You didn’t know that he liked Djent and progressive metal, too, but you were happy to have a common interest.

In truth, Bashir was pleasant to be around, and you were relieved that this entire thing wasn’t as awkward as it could have been. It definitely helped make this “dating” business look real from an outsider perspective. He held up his end of the bargain really well over the next dozen dates, holding your hand and putting an arm around you as if it was perfectly normal to do so. Thankfully, it didn’t make you feel uncomfortable when he did it, as he was very warm and the height difference meant he couldn’t be too cuddly naturally. You hoped that if Jake was watching, he believed you’d moved on and had no thoughts for him.

Unfortunately, if he was watching, he didn’t take the hint.

One night, as you were turning off lights and getting ready for bed, you looked out of your bedroom window and there he was, standing on the curb across the street, Jake stood in the shadow of a tree, vaping, and looking toward your house.

Panicked, you didn’t your best to stay calm while you were at the window, not wanting him to know you had seen him, but as soon as you walked away, you turned off the bedroom lights, snatched up your phone, dashed downstairs, and frantically checked the windows and doors, making sure they were all locked.

You meant to call the police, but instead, you dialed Bashir’s number. He answered immediately.

“What’s up?” He asked, sounding caught off guard. You weren’t surprised, you never called or texted him unless it was about the next “date.”

“Jake’s outside,” You whispered. “He’s across the street, I’m looking at him right now from my living room window.”

“Are you sure it’s him?”

“I’d recognize that stupid snakeskin vape box anywhere,” You said.

“Okay,” He said. “I’m heading over. Stay on the phone with me until I get there. Do you have a landline?”

“Yeah,” You replied.

“Get it and call the police. Don’t tell them he’s stalking you because, well frankly, they won’t care. Say you’re a concerned member of the neighborhood and there’s a suspicious man hanging around outside and you’re worried about a break in.”

It wouldn’t have been a lie. “Okay,” You said, picking up your cordless phone.

After calling the police, you waited with your heart in your throat, listening to Bashir get into his car and drive. He’d heard you tell the operator your address. He arrived before the police did, his vehicle a nondescript SUV, and he got out wearing sweat pants and a tank top and pulled a duffel bag from his passenger seat. He didn’t acknowledge Jake at all, simply walked up to your door and knocked. You went to open the door for him.

“Hug me and kiss my cheek,” He said in a low undertone. Gulping, you did as he said with him turning so that your display of affection was clearly visible to anyone watching from the street. You let him in and closed the door behind him, locking it.

“What now?”

“Let’s turn on the lights and make some coffee while we wait for the police,” He said.

“Okay,” You said, your voice shaking. You went to go into the kitchen but he stopped you by taking your hand.

“Hey,” He said gently. “You’re going to be okay. I’m here, and the police are coming. You’re safe.”

Tears came to your eyes and you nodded, wiping them. He released you and you went to the kitchen, putting a pot of coffee on.

The police arrived. You and Bashir watched covertly from the breakfast nook. Eventually, Jake walked to a car and got in it, driving away. The police followed him.

“They let him go?” You asked, worried.

“Well, they may not have know he has a restraining order, and even if they did, he looked plenty far away enough to not have violated it. He wasn’t breaking any laws other than loitering, so they couldn’t arrest him. At least they made sure he left.”

You held your head in your hands. “God, I don’t want to have to do all this over again.”

“It’s okay,” He said. “I’ll stay the night to make sure he doesn’t come back tonight.”

“What about tomorrow? Or the next day? You can’t be here all the time,” You said, your voice shaking.

He sighed heavily. “Do you know how to use a gun?”

You scoffed in disgust. “I don’t want a fucking gun.”

“Okay,” He said. “Then, I’ll put up a security system. I brought one with me; it’s in my bag. I’ll set it up tonight while he’s not here.”

“It’s late,” You said weakly.

“Do you want to sleep or do you want peace of mind?” He asked you levelly.

You scrubbed your face, took a deep breath, drained your coffee cup, and stood up. “Okay. Let’s do it, then.”

It took a few hours, but he managed to get several security cameras fixed to the building, focused on entryways and the front and back yards. You helped him by holding the equipment and tools for him as he worked, handing up what he needed as he needed it. By the time the two of you were done, it was three a.m. and you both had to be at work in mere hours.

The two of you fell into an exhausted sleep on your bed. You didn’t even have the energy to be affronted by the fact that you were sharing a bed with him. The next morning, before he left to go home and get ready for work, he downloaded the security camera app onto your phone and showed you how to use it.

You went to work, checking your phone surreptitiously to see if Jake was outside of your house. So far, he hadn’t reappeared.

>Today’s Friday, You texted him. >I know you’re probably tired after last night, but do you want to have a date today?

>What about a home date at my house? He replied. >I’ll cook dinner and everything. I don’t want you to be at your house at the moment.

>I can’t argue with that, You said in return. >Sounds good to me. What are you cooking?

>I was thinking a kefta meatball tagine with couscous on the side, and a snake pastry for dessert.

>That sounds amazing. Thanks for putting me up. I know this all is a huge inconvenience, and I really appreciate it.

>It’s no problem,” He said. >It’s what I’m getting paid for, right?

You sighed. Well, this wasn’t exactly what he was getting paid for. How much would an overnight stay cost you?

He sent you a message with his address and you went home after work to shower and pack a small overnight bag. You snickered, pulling out your pretty underwear and a sexy negligee, wondering if you should pack this, too, before putting it away and just throwing some pajamas in your bag.

Checking the cameras before stepping outside, you left the house and hurried to your car, heading to Bashir’s house. His place was a two-story, bungalow style house with a dark brown cliffstone brick pattern and a detached garage. It was charming, and a lot cuter than your tiny yellow ranch-style house. The yard was well kept and three were full flowerbeds next to the wide porch. You wouldn’t have imagined he lived in a place like this.

You knocked on the door and he answered it quickly, wearing a comfortable t-shirt and pair of tight jeans. You tried not to stare, but it was difficult. His clothes left very little to the imagination. His hair was also down and cascaded down his back and shoulders.

“Come in, come in,” He said, taking your bag for you.

“Thanks,” You said. “Your house is really pretty.”

“Oh, thanks!” He said. “It was actually condemned when I bought it. I basically had to rebuild it from the ground up. I’m not quite finished with it yet, but I’m happy with the progress.”

“You should be, it’s amazing,” You said. “I’d never have guessed it was a fixer-upper.”

He grinned at you, showing off his sharp teeth. “Come on, dinner will be ready soon.”

“It smells great,” You said, inhaling the savory smell of lamb and vegetables.

“All my mom’s recipes,” He replied, heading into the kitchen. “She owns a restaurant three towns over.”

“I’ll have to go and visit it sometime,” You said.

“Maybe I’ll take you myself one day,” He said, smiling as he stirred the couscous. Your heart fluttered a little.

How long were you going to have to keep this up? “Dating” Bashir was fun, but it wasn’t going to last forever. Either Jake would give up or get arrested, so either way, it would be over. Maybe you could stay friends. He was nice enough, and you enjoyed hanging out with him. But still… why was he talking about things that might happen in the future if there was no future for the two of you?

Dinner was delicious, and so was dessert, and afterward the two of you went to the living room to watch a movie. He even put his arm around you, since the window was uncovered and anyone could look in, he said, and you felt comfortable enough to relax into his side. It almost did feel like a real home date.

After the movie, though, you both decided to sleep, since you were still tired from the night before. You decided that you were both adults and could share a bed without it being awkward, and besides, his bed was huge and could fit five of you easily. You both fell asleep almost immediately.

Sometime during the night, you got a ping from the motion detector on your phone, but when you checked the security system, it was just a raccoon in your trashcan. You sighed and put your phone down, rolling over.

Bashir was on his back, asleep, with his face turned toward you. He was breathing deeply and relaxed with one hand on his chest and the other on his stomach.

You couldn’t help but stare. He really was an attractive guy, and if circumstances had been different, you might have dated him for real. But… until Jake left you alone, you didn’t want to drag anyone else into it. Bashir didn’t have any emotional connection to you, so Jake couldn’t affect whatever “relationship” you had.

But maybe things could be different after? You weren’t sure. He hadn’t expressed any interest in you other than what he had to to make the job believable. He hadn’t been flirty or more affectionate than he needed to be. You couldn’t afford to develop feelings for Bashir, not right now.

Even still, you brushed your fingers gently against the skin of his arm, feeling the hairs that covered it, and followed the curve up to his hand, allowing yours to rest on top of his for a moment or two before retracting it and trying to fall asleep again, sighing heavily.

The next morning, Bashir recommended that the two of you spend the day together, to keep up the weekend stay appearance.

“How much is this ‘weekend getaway’ going to cost me?” You asked dubiously.

He laughed. “Don’t worry, today’s a freebie, since I suggested it. You still have to pay for last night, though. The normal fifty bucks is fine.”

“Mm-hmm,” You hummed flatly, fishing the money out of your wallet and handing it to him. “Well, what do you want to do?”

“Ah, it’s a freebie day, right? You get to choose this time.”

You smiled. “Well, let’s start with breakfast. I’ll cook it. I can cook breakfast blindfolded.”

“If you like,” He said, sitting at the bar in the kitchen and watching you putter around, looking for cooking tools.

After breakfast, you decided you wanted to go to the local botanical garden, which you hadn’t been to in some time.

“Your flowerbeds outside reminded me of this place,” You told him, walking slowly through the rows of Japanese maples. There was a beautiful and an extremely rare Chinese Red Maple behind a gate at the end of the row, the centerpiece of the garden. “Did you plant them yourself?”

“Yep,” He said with a smile. “I helped my dad do a lot of gardening when he was still alive. He had a landscaping business, but he was really passionate about it. I actually inherited the business. Gardening helps me keep his memory alive.”

“That’s really sweet,” You said, smiling softly. “Is that what you do for a living, the landscaping job? I’ve never actually asked what you do for work.”

“No, actually. I mean, I own the company, but I don’t work for it. My actual job is something else entirely.”

“What is it?”

He laughed. “Honestly, I don’t think you’d believe me.” Before you could ask, he took you by the hand and said, “Let’s take a break and get a coffee. I have to use the bathroom.”

“Okay,” You said, letting the subject drop. For now.

You got to the food court outside of the botanical gardens and sat down at the outdoor cafe.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” He said, putting some money down on the table. “Can you order me a large black coffee?”

“Yeah, sure,” You said. He smiled and headed off. You got up and put in your order, then sat back down at the table and opened the security app, looking through the cameras and checked to see if anything was out of place.

The chair opposite to you was pulled out and he sat back down while you were still looking at your phone.

“The coffee should be out soon,” You said.

“I didn’t order coffee,” A voice said. It wasn’t Bashir.

You jerked your head up and saw Jake sitting across from you. You stood up so fast that you knocked the chair over.

“Get away from me, Jake,” You said.

“Look, just talk to me,” He said, standing up and advancing on you. “Why won’t you just talk to me?”

“Get away from me!” You shouted. “Bashir!”

“Are you calling for that monster?” He sneered. “You could do so much better than him. Besides, you’re not even really dating him, you’re just paying him to keep you company, you slut. You think I wouldn’t figure that out?”

“Fuck you!” You back up. “Bashir!”

Jake was snatched back and slammed down onto the cafe table. Bashir had him pinned down with a single hand. It wasn’t hard to do: Bashir was almost twice the size of Jake in height and weight.

“Let me go!” Jake said, struggling against Bashir’s iron grip. “I’ll have you arrested! My brother’s a cop!”

“Ah, that explains how you got her address so quick,” Bashir said. “I don’t really care if your brother’s a cop. Actually, I think I do, I think an internal affairs investigation is warranted. Regardless, you’ve just violated a restraining order.”

“What does it matter to you?”

Bashir snorted. “I’m FBI, dickless.”

You gaped at him.

“Bullshit!” Jake said. “I’ll fucking sue you! I’ll ruin your fucking life!”

“Whatever you want, you’re still under arrest,” Bashir said, pulling out a set of handcuffs from an inside pocket of his jacket.

“You’re kidding,” You said slowly, staring at Bashir.

“I told you you probably wouldn’t believe me,” He said, grinning at you sheepishly. He jerked his head at his jacket. “My ID is in my pocket.”

You reached in and fished it out, opening the leather fold to reveal a… rather official looking ID and badge.

You laughed in disbelief. “You’re right, I wouldn’t have.”

The police arrived to detain Jake and took him to the station. Bashir drove you to the station, as well, so that you could make a statement.

Later, Bashir drove you back to your house.

“I’ll bring your bag over later,” He said. “He’ll probably get ninety days in jail for violating the restraining order, and hopefully you won’t have to deal with him anymore. Although, if you hear from him again once he gets out, let me know, and I’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” You said. “Really, thank you for everything.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here,” He said, handing it to you. Inside was all the money you had given him for the dates, plus some. There had to have been almost two thousand dollars in there.

“But this is…”

He laughed. “I’m a federal official, you know. I can’t take bribes. I’d get fired.”

“This wasn’t…” You started, but stopped yourself. This could absolutely be seen as a bribe. “What do I do with all this?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you like. Go on a trip. Buy something nice. It’s your money, after all.”

You sighed a little sadly. “I guess this is it, then.”

He sighed, too. “Yeah, I guess so.” He leaned forward, bent down, and kissed you on the cheek. “Take care of yourself.”

Jake did end up getting three months in jail, which made you feel a lot better. You were worried that he would come after you, but the three months passed and when he was released, he moved clear across the country and you never heard from him again.

Finally free of him, you thought you might try actually dating again, but you could only think of Bashir. You and he had only spoken a few times, mostly him checking on you, but you hadn’t seen each other since Jake’s arrest. You missed him, but you couldn’t tell him that. He didn’t have any feelings for you, anyway. If he did, wouldn’t he have asked you out after Jake was out of the picture?

Even still, you wanted to see him again. So once Jake was gone, you texted Bashir.

>I have something for you, You told him.

>Oh? What’s that?

>I want to give it to you in person. Would it be okay to come over this weekend?

>I’m free now. Why don’t you stop by?

>Okay. I’ll be there soon.

Before leaving, you hesitated and decided to throw on your best, sexiest underwear. Just in case.

You arrived at his house to find him out in the front yard. He was digging a hole in the yard with a sapling sitting in a bucket, ready for planting. There were also stones and gravel he was going to use for a decorative barrier. He stood up and waved as you drove up into the driveway.

“Hey!” He said, pulling you into a hug. Well, as well as he could, being so tall. “It’s good to see you!”

“You too!” You said. “What kind of tree is that?”

“A Chinese Maple,” He said. “I got inspired when we went to the botanical gardens that time. It cost a pretty penny and I had to wait for the cutting to grow, but it’s finally ready to plant.”

“That’s so cool,” You said. “Can I help?”

“Really?” He said, grinning. “Yeah, sure! There’s a pair of gloves over there on the porch. They might be a little big, but it’s better than blisters.”

You ran to retrieve them, and picked up a trowel. “Why did you decide on the maple?”

“Cause it reminds me of you,” He said, digging. “When I look out my window every day and see it, I’ll think of you.”

Your heart beat faster, but you couldn’t look at him.

It only took about an hour to dig out the hole, plant the sapling, fill the hole with soil, lay the stones, and spread the gravel. Thankfully it was a cool day and you didn’t sweat too much. The two of you caught up on what had happened in the three months since you’d seen each other. You wanted to ask if he had started dating, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

“It looks great,” He said, standing back and grinning. “Thanks for your help! We got it done in record time. Let’s get cleaned up and have a drink.”

“Okay,” You said. “Let me grab my purse from the car.”

“Oh, right, you had something to give me, right?”

“Yep,” You told him, grabbing your bag.

He laughed. “Sorry I side-tracked you.”

“It’s fine, I had a good time,” You said. He opened the door for you and let you go into the house before him.

You went to the bathroom to freshen up and when you looked down, you realized your toothbrush was in the holder, the one you had forgotten when you’d stayed over. You had bought a new one and figured he’d just throw it away when he found it. Why had he kept it? Why was it in the holder with his?

You went back out into the kitchen and found him shirtless, water beading down the muscles of his back, and you stopped in the doorway, staring.

“Oh, sorry,” He said, laughing and throwing on a clean shirt. “Needed a quick wash. I felt a little grimy after the yardwork.”

“It’s okay,” You said, your heart still hammering in your chest.

“Iced tea?”

“Yeah, sure,” You replied, sitting at the bar. He poured you a drink and sat at the bar opposite you.

“So, what was the thing you had for me.”

You swallowed your tea a bit too hard and reached into your purse, handing him an envelope.

“This isn’t the money, is it?” He asked, smiling.

“No, it’s not money,” You said. “Open it.”

He grinned playfully at you, but it slipped from his face when he looked inside the envelope, pulling out two plane tickets.

“Morocco?” He asked, looking up at you in surprise.

You nodded. “Those are good for a year, so make sure you get some vacation time soon,” You said, anxious.

He stared at them. “There are two.”

“Yes,” You replied. “In case you wanted to take your mom. Or maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend or something.”

You kept your face as neutral as possible, but he was staring at you.

“The extra ticket is for you, isn’t it?” He asked softly.

You looked down and away. “If you don’t want me to go, that’s okay. You can take whoever you like. I just wanted you to have the trip you always dreamed of.”

He got up out of his chair, came around, and got down on his knees, so that he was face to face with you. He leaned forward and kissed you. It was firm and testing, and you responded, throwing your arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around you as well.

“I missed you,” He murmured against your lips.

“Why didn’t you ask me out?” You asked him, pulling back to look at his face.

“I thought you weren’t interested in a real relationship,” He said, pulling you against him. “If I had any inclination you did, I would have asked you out on the spot.”

“I thought the same thing,” You said. “I never expected you’d actually like me.”

“I do,” He said, kissing you again and standing up. “I like you very, very much.”

He walked you into his room and lay you down on his bed, stripping your clothes off your body.

“Pretty,” He said with a grin as he came across your lacy black underwear. “Did you wear this for me?”

You bit your lip and nodded.

“Well, it would be a shame to take it off so soon, then, wouldn’t it?” He said, palming your breasts over the fabric of your bra. He touched your slit over your underwear, and you gasped. You lifted your leg and rubbed him through his pants, and he grunted. You felt him harden under your touch. He was… uh… large.

You pulled off his shirt and ran your nails down his chest. He moved his hand away and pressed himself against you, still clothed, grinding himself into your clit, and you moaned. You reached for his belt and unbuckled it, unbuttoning it, and pushed his pants down with your toes. Because of his long tusks, he couldn’t bend down to kiss you in this position, so he picked you up as if you were a doll, kissing your body. You were always a little self conscious about your weight, being a big girl, but he seemed not to notice.

He lifted you all the way up to his face, kneeling down so that you weren’t so high up, and licked the cloth covering your slit, putting your legs over his shoulders and his tusks under your body. Using just his tongue, he moved your underwear out of the way and teased your clit. His tongue was long and thick. You whimpered and rocked your hips against his tongue. He pushed it in side of you and thrust it back and forth, and you writhed in his grip.

Carefully, he pulled you down and eased you into his lap, pressing himself against your entrance. You pressed your hands against his stomach and watched him disappear slowly inside you. He couldn’t go all the way in, but once he reached the back and knew where the limit was, he pulled back out slowly and thrust in again slowly, easing you into it. He must have had a similar size problem in the past and had learned how to overcome it in these situations. You were glad for it.

He lay you on the edge of the bed and pressed your knees back, thrusting a little faster, and you reached down and touched yourself, rubbing quickly as he sped up. He pulled the cups of your bra down so that he could grasp your breasts, squeezing gently, and grunted. You held his hand there with your own, pulling up your head and sucking on his pointer finger, looking up at him through your lashes. His breathing was erratic and he watched you hungrily, his sharp teeth biting into his lower lip and pricking the skin.

“I’m so close,” You moaned. “I’m going to cum.”

He nodded as if in agreement, squeezing his eyes shut. He grimaced as if in pain, but then shouted, roaring, and released inside of you. It was a torrent, spraying out of you. Another few hip thrusts and circles around your clit, you came too, your head thrown back against the bed, crying out.

He pulled out and turned his head, resting it against your stomach as his arms gripped your sides, breathing hard. After a moment, you both sat up, and you realized that his legs were covered with his own release.

“Wanna get cleaned up?” You asked him.

“Yeah,” He said dreamily, standing up and leading you into the bathroom. You took a shower together, helping him clean himself. He did the same for you, kneeling down and washing your body. The way he knelt in front of you combine with the way he looked at you, it almost felt like he was worshiping you. Honestly, you didn’t mind that at all.

Your underwear would have to be washed, but he said you could borrow one of his shirts, if you wanted to. Honestly, you were happy to lounge in his bed naked. He seemed happy with that, too.

“When would you like to go?” You asked him, laying on his chest and playing with his chest hair. “To Morocco, I mean?”

“Soon,” He said, entwining his fingers in your hair. “I’ll put in for vacation time as soon as I get back to the office. I don’t really take vacations, so I’m sure my colleagues will be surprised.”

You smiled and kissed his skin. “I’ll have to put in for time off, too,” You said. “Although, I only just started working there six months ago, so they may not approve it.”

“Let me know when they do and I’ll schedule for the same time,” He said.

“Sounds good to me,” He said, sitting up and crossing his legs, looking down at you. You posed a little for him and he grinned, running his hands up and down the soft skin of your torso and belly. “You know what I’d like to do right now, though?”

“What’s that?” You asked.

“I want to take you on a date,” He said, smiling softly. “A real one. I'll pay and everything. And I want to be able to kiss you.”

You smiled back at him. “Deal.”

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oneoftheprettynerds · 4 years

Text

Fixed: Dark!Steve x Reader (Mob AU)

Chapter 4 in the Lipstick and Crayons Series.

Chapter 3: Love So Soft

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A/N: It’s shorter than my usual updates but I’m busy so sorry for the delay. My final exam dates have come and all I can do is pray right now lol. Please pray for me if you can, this sis is out here writing fanfics for yall instead of studying so, haha. ANyways, enjoy babies! Shit happens in this chapter.

Warning: Non-Con, Sickening Threats, Mob Themes, Violence, Death, Manipulation, a mild mental breakdown, Cheap Tricks.

Genres + Characters: Mob AU, Single Parents AU, Steve Rogers x Reader.

Summary: Steve can’t ever repay you for what you did. After meeting you, Steve believes his broken family is the missing piece in the puzzle of your own wrecked one. Indebting the crime lord to you has been the biggest mistake of your life, cause now you can’t get rid of him, no matter what. Loyalty and favours go a long way in the mob.

Word count: 5K

Chapter 4: Fixed

You didn’t sleep that night. Or the next few. Your hands shook every time you got a flashback and even though you were numb to emotions that entire day, tears threatened to spill whenever your mind took to you to that overpriced kitchen again.

Now that he had gone to a dangerous and unnerved assaulter from a Dad trying to take care of his daughter, your mind wouldn’t put anything past him. You knew that in the back of your mind that he was a mobster and your ‘friendship’ was alarming to say the least, but now there was no denying his resources and power and the very obvious threat to your life lingering in the air.

At least before you had the luxury to be oblivious and ignorant, not anymore though. Steve felt even more unhinged and liberal now, even messaging you daily, greeting texts that you obviously ignored. He knew you both were aware that you never handed him your number and he felt no need to hide his pursuit.

You read most of the messages, not bothering with a single reply though. You tried to block him but somehow your phone would still receive messages from his number, even though his contact would always peek back at you from the otherwise empty blacklist.

As if his torment wasn’t ample, another message thread from a different number would forward you alarming images, photos of Grace in her daycare, on a class trip to the park and even her playing in your backyard. You had no doubt that this was another game of his to show you his resources.

You skipped daycare for a few days, your mental health worse than it was after the carnival attack, because now you had a personal tormentor and you cursed yourself for falling into this mess. At times, you believed it wasn’t your fault really, you just helped a kid and this situation spiraled itself but what would pointing fingers now get you? The harsh truth was you were in a calamitous situation now and every step from now on had to be thought out.

So, you let Grace attend her daycare and acted if nothing was amiss or altered, after the few initial breakdown days of course, kept going to your job and earning the bread. You considered your options, you really wanted to go to the cops or a higher fair power but those were few these days, almost non existent in your city. You also vaguely recalled meeting three of the Captains of the PD at Sarah’s birthday, all smiley and doe eyed for Steve. You knew they wouldn’t help, fucking kiss-asses.

Maybe you would have to move somewhere else, perhaps to your hometown, at least till things cooled down or better yet were forgotten? But that trail was very predictable and you didn’t want your parents in this mess.

You also came to know that Steve had inserted himself in the other spheres of your life. You were sure your location was always being sent to him, the knowledge a courtesy of the black car following you while you travelled to home at some late day’s end.

Aiden told you whereabouts were easy to track, when you inquired ambiguously. Another instance was when you went to the bank to deposit cash for your debit card, you came face to face with an enormous amount already there. Somehow, the limit on your credit card was also extended. How, you knew. The clerk told you about an email you must have gotten in regards to it, you dismissed that justification away and told them to not accept the cash. To sum the discussion, they weren’t helpful and had no policy against anonymous donors.

Aiden, your trusted coworker cum pal, sensed the shift in your aura and fidgety form very easily, pestering you with questions and you decided to turn to him, stressed and tired and ready to do something. His questioning eyebrows made you confess vaguely but you refused to tell him the extent of it. Just that his prediction came true and you needed help. Let’s just say, Aiden was a good man.

With time, Steve’s ‘affectionate’ messages became deranged, and you found it harder to act nonchalant in your daily life. You were thankful he didn’t come to visit you, possibly occupied with the rumored war between the mobs. You just prayed for a few more days of ignorance, just enough time to think and do something.

“What do you mean someone collected her?!” You had a hard time controlling your voice, you were about to burst, in tears or with anger, you didn’t know.

“The man was verified in the emergency contacts and we got a letter signed and approved by you to skip the day an hour into the first activity.”

“A man? Emergen-, wait no! What fucking approved letter?”

You had three emergency contacts, your mom in another state, Aiden, and one of the other kid’s mom you had grown close to. Aiden was with you at work all day, so did someone disguise themselves as him? And what was the deal with the letter signed by you? You surely didn’t remember writing and authorizing one.

The boy, Pietro, who had been the receptionist for as long as you could remember, shuffled through the chaotic piles of paper and presented a letter to you, and your blood froze as your eyes skimmed the font.

Your beautiful cursive stared right back at you and you knew that no one would ever be able to distinguish between this penmanship and the one in the pocketbook in your clutch. No one but you. Even though you knew you had not written it, the slightly different ‘f’ and ‘g’ told you everything.

Your signature at the bottom though, was done quite perfectly and that made you even more scared.

“I did-, I didn’t write this! What the-” Your widened eyes met Pietro’s from above the paper but all he offered you was a meek smile. Your hands shook with rage and for the first time in your life, you had the urge to slap someone really bad.

“Maybe your family had an emergency to take he-”

“No, you don’t get it!” You stopped yourself from getting frantic, willing yourself to take deep breaths and think rationally. Today of all days, things had to mess up.

He didn’t know you had no family in this city, that you had a mobster after you or the subtle threats that his hired spy sent to you.

Was going to the police an option? Aiden already told you that the cops were as good as Steve’s men. But this was about your missing kid! You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to her. And you were giving Steve way too much credit, what if he wasn’t behind this all? Come to think of it, what if the other number wasn’t his?

Relax yourself! Thinking of disturbing theories wouldn’t help anyone. You thought you should go to the cops, just in case. No mentioning of Steve, just a woman with a ‘missing child’ report.

‘Missing Child’ left an acrid taste behind and you were too close to a breakdown, but your whole journey of single-parenthood taught you to kick vulnerability aside, well most of the times.

You turned and were about to leave, but Pietro stopped you. “If you are going to the cops Ma’am, they require 8 hours of inactivity or disappearance time for kids under 5.”

Well look who just read your mind.

You huffed and kept the tears at bay, your mind thinking of what to do then? Grace was obviously taken-

“How could you let a toddler leave without informing the parents?” You knew your anger was channeling out at the wrong man but didn’t he all but hand Grace to the stranger?

You beat him answering and inquired, “What did the man look like? Do you have any footage? Anything?” The wrinkles in your forehead and stress creases on your face paired with the eyebags betrayed your age surely. You were sure you had aged more this week than an entire decade, juggling your normal life with the hovering threat.

“You shouldn’t be this worried Ma’am.”

The fucking audacity.

“Your daughter recognized him, she all but ran to him and this other little girl he came with. You should maybe ask your parent-friends around? A blonde family perhaps?”

As all the emotions drained from your face and terror took over, the young lad in front of you looked smug. You wondered as if you imagined the faintest of smirks on his face.

You crumpled the letter in your hands, seething with rage as you stepped in your car. Oh, you were mad, more wrathful than ever. You could take any hits on you, any threat but not on Grace, never on her.

You were stupid, you had already decided you wouldn’t put anything past him but unknowingly, you did put this past him. You thought this man had a shred of decency to not use your kid in this adult war, being a parent himself and all but what a surprise! You were wrong.

You drove to your home, your thoughts a mix of trepidation, anxiety and fury. You were scared of him and his reach and resources but if he put Grace in any type of danger; whether to teach you a lesson or use her as bait or both, there’d be consequences.

Lord knows you killed a man a month ago Grace was threatened.

You had one thing to do before contacting Steve about Grace but you never got to do it because unexpectedly the bastard was in your home. In your home.

The black sports car outside was a huge giveaway but your suspicions were confirmed when you opened the door with your house key. The banter and giggles from inside alarmed yet calmed you; the dread of confrontation and the assurance of Grace’s safety reigned your mind.

As the door opened painfully slow like a horror movie, the sight that met your eyes made you sick with a feeling of failure. It wasn’t gore or blood or grunge, it was Steve bouncing Grace in the air and catching her while Sarah twirled around in the living room.

This man was craftier than you thought, every action of his was calculated, each a refined step. You had been so preoccupied to avoid direct encounters with him in your little family’s life that you didn’t think he had other ways. He was always looming around with Sarah and as Grace began to trust Sarah, she consequently began to trust her blonde guardian too.

As you slammed the door behind you, Steve’s eyes snapped to yours and his smirk made you want to punch him so hard. The smugness on his face while he let Grace down without breaking eye contact told you he had no regret, no remorse. In fact, he was loving every second of this cat and mouse chase between you two.

You were a millimeter close to losing your shit, the only check being the kids in the room. But you were mad and he was going to know it.

“What the hell, Steve? Messing with my kid?” You threw your clutch onto the couch, Steve haughty by the reception of his sent message but still holding back because of the kids. He called Wanda and you didn’t really notice where she came from but you did register Steve asking to take the girls to the park for a ‘private discussion’.

As Grace passed by you, you grabbed her arm lightly, making her look at you with doe eyes resembling yours. You gave her a smile trying to ease her, but you knew she was smart enough to sense the change in the atmosphere.

Apparently, the whining Sarah wasn’t.

You looked back to Steve, your hold still on Grace and continued with a frown and raised eyebrows, “She isn’t going anywhere, not out of my sight and obviously not with you or your goons.”

Wanda had the audacity to look offended and you scoffed at her, eyes staring Steve’s down.

“Honey, I don’t think the kids should hear what I think you have to say right now.” He said nodding to Wanda to take Grace.

“You must be deranged to think I trust Grace near anyone even remotely related to you! Take your people and get out.” You held your hand up to stop Wanda and pointed towards the door with the most menacing glare you could form.

Grace looked incomprehensibly between you two, concern and confusion on her face. That might have been the first time such a tone was used in your household. The grumbling Sarah was close to throwing a tantrum, irritated by the change in the playful air or the lack of attention to her, you didn’t know. She was hanging on Wanda’s forearm, her feet slipping on your printed rug. Wanda was trying to not look hurt still by your previous statement, distracting herself by the blonde kid and you were baffled by her obliviousness to all this.

Steve, the beefy blonde Lucifer, was furious and seething. His white knuckles and ticking jaw were the most obvious giveaways, the fingers just itching to beat the shit out of someone no doubt.

Was he imagining striking you into compliance into his weird playhouse game complex? You wouldn’t be surprised given the extent of his attempt to ‘win’ you over.

The ‘get out’ tone and blatant disrespect was a bruise to his ego for sure, and by you, a middle-class woman nonetheless was a worse injury. Steve was the deadly boss to armored men in the vicinity, the kids’ father figure, according to him, and Wanda’s stern yet kind employer.

People had been killed for less and there you were, standing in all your glory, being the only person alive to reject Steve Rogers and now, the only to raise your voice at him.

You almost scoffed at his impudence to look offended, what did he expect? For you to submit to him after the stunt he pulled? His reach was scary he proved today and that any future with him in your life in any way, was a fearsome possibility to entertain but you’d be damned if you went down without a fight.

“You can’t make me leave; we both know. You don’t have the physical edge nor the mental one. I have no problem drawing out G-U-N-S in front of the kids or to throw the warnings around, although I would prefer not to.”

Your free hand itched to slap him, like how his did minutes ago. It wasn’t a mankind problem about men thinking they were entitled to everything; it was a Steve Rogers’s problem. Of course, with him consent didn’t matter. If he had a ‘housewife, kids and fences’ fixation, he’d make it come true.

“Do you even listen to what I say? Or your own words even? Please, go ahead! Traumatise my kid and also yours in your wooing process! Why are you so obsessed? Leave us alone, you freak! I just ignored few messages!” You had a hard time maintaining your cool, if there was any left. You were sure you were scaring Grace and no matter what happened next, you knew she was already traumatized by this entire ordeal already. You were so sorry, so, so, so sorry to your poor baby caught in this mess.

You knew, no, you hoped, he wouldn’t pull out the gun, his actions at the carnival a proof, you remembered how he hid his gun on finding Sarah. That threat was empty but the next one wasn’t, his words making you freeze in your spot.

“I think you keep on misunderstanding me, sweetheart. I don’t make empty promises,”

Posh word for threats.

“For starters, maybe I should pay my future in-laws a visit in their blue duplex. They might need help with the vast garden they have, it is the season for ‘violets’, isn’t it?”

As you froze with your parents being brought up, he also cooled, albeit differently, smirking once again gaining the upper hand, not that he lost it if you were being honest.

“Isn’t threatening my kid enough for you, Steve?” You hated how your loud voice almost broke, your anger slowly subsiding into helplessness and you hated that. You hated his guts, his entitlement, his claim; everything about him.

“You still don’t see it, do you? Our family of four is the most important thing to me right now and I’m not above doing anything to save it.”

“There is no family of four Steve! I keep explaining and you keep coming back to square one with all this bullshit!” The curse word did tick Steve off but he would correct that later, when bigger things weren’t at ploy.

“Your ignorance makes me a little mad sometimes sweetheart and that is why I have to do all I do. You haven’t realized we need each other yet, but I’m staying until you do and even after that, I promise. You know how much it pissed me off to see your tickets and the packed suitcases after I’ve been nothing but nice? I was so generous to spoil you with my riches but instead I find that in your finances.”

This fucker knew. Of course, he did!

You were wondering in the back of your head what had prompted this visit with so many threats and warnings and anguish. He was pissed even before you ‘acted out’, he tracked the tickets and the plan and that meant he even tracked-

“You have so much to learn, but luckily you interact with quite a few people. I am most tempted to start out with this Aiden guy, trying to be the hero and giving you all the ideas. Maybe I should visit him?” Steve wondered out loud, and you flinched at his suggestion, hating how you were trapped by this man.

You couldn’t live with yourself if anyone got hurt because of you, be it your parents or Aiden or any other possibility Steve would come up with. Of course, Grace was your peak priority but you doubted he would hurt her as he threatened to harm them.

“Steve, please.” The fire was almost out, your hands trembling, Grace worried and Steve smug.

“Let the kids go and I think we can come to a conclusion.”

“Steve this needs to stop.” You said, your breaths heavy and helplessness clawing away at you.

“I won’t repeat myself.” He voiced out with a threatening edge, gesturing to Grace and Wanda, clearly telling you to first get the kids out.

For a deranged fucktard, he sure cared about the kids a lot.

You loosened your hold on Grace, patting her arm softly and nudged her to Wanda. Wanda received her little hand and enticed the kids with the promise of ice-cream. Sarah clapped her hands and as the trio left, Grace did look over her shoulders at you in concern and for permission, majorly in concern though. You nodded and waved, a tear dropping as soon as the door clicked shut.

You were still staring at the door, not wanting to meet Steve’s stormy blue orbs when he began, “Today was a slip up that I won’t tolerate again. Neither the cursing nor the dramatics.”

We aren’t in a fucking play, what the fuck is he labelling as dramatics?

Your eyes slowly flickered to his, and you had a hard time not letting the tears escape except the one traitorous one earlier. The fatigue, the worry of Grace’s disappearance, the threats to your friends and family were all catching up to you. It took all in you to stay strong and not fall down right now.

“Steve this isn’t funny anymore. It’s sick and you know it! I just said no! Was that so inexcusable that you had to follow up with this? You have violated me for that, broken into my home and now kidnapped my daughter! At what extent will you stop?” You broke down finally, arms a flailing mess as fat tears rolled down. Nothing scared more than the helplessness this moment. He won and he knew it. The carnival incident was nothing in comparison to this. The only good thing you could hope in all this was a safe Grace but that too only if you complied, which seemed like what you would do now given your attempts at fighting back and scampering have failed laughably.

“Gosh, I forgot how theatrical women are. You are smart darling; you know what I want from day one, just a happy family. Nothing that horrendous has happened and especially not as badly as put it. I’m just looking out for you and me in the long run.” Steve slowly treaded towards you, his hand extended to pat your arm comfortingly but you involuntarily flinched at contact and stepped back. Steve clearly didn’t like that as he caught your arm in a bruising grip and jerked you towards him. Manhandling you as your wet hands rushed to ease his grip was not a tough task for Steve, a surprise to none.

“Stop trembling like I’ve actually done something to harm you!”

Steve clearly didn’t know how to comfort women and it showed.

You stopped with the cowering away, even though it disgusted you to be this much in close proximity with your assaulter. He clearly had anger issues and no clue how to solve them. You needed to steer the conversation right and get him out. You could see your hands visibly shake as you put them on his chest, just to create some distance and in a way of surrendering to not fight. The tears slowed but you don’t think they stopped; it was hard to tell with a million other things on your mind.

As your eyes made contact, Steve loosened his grip, clearly a bit satisfied by your submission, as he began counting to help you breathe. As much as you hated to admit, it helped you and you got a flashback to the time when you freaked out on him about Grace at that extravagant dinner date. That was a sweet gesture then, not so sweet now. Funny how drastically things change with time.

It wasn’t so much Steve’s help as it was your own mind telling you to be fucking smart about the whole ordeal right now.

“Good. Better. Now let’s talk. Why were you planning to run away? I’ve been busy and coming home to find out that wasn’t joyful, you know.” His smile suggested a better mood than before but his voice, his husky voice always had this daring edge that almost challenged you to defy him but at the same time warned you of unpleasant consequences if you did.

“Steve, I’m scared.” You spoke with utmost honesty. “The part of the world you associate yourself with scares me. You can’t blame me for not wanting that life for Grace, I mean you have a kid of your own. Wasn’t the carnival attack specifically on Sarah?”

The reasoning was right but you knew you triggered him the moment his smile evaporated. He either felt insulted as a parent or disrespected in his profession or probably both.

He was fighting his inner demons already and you pointing it out was a slap to his face, a hit he didn’t want to take.

“That was a slip up, I admit. Never again. I’m only human, okay?” He convinced himself and you, his grip tightening a bit again.

Oh no, not the right direction to take.

You reckoned he still had nightmares about it like you, he really did love Sarah a lot, all things aside.

“Besides, I am looking out for you! Out for you and Grace and Sarah. I remember my promise of never putting either of them in harm’s way ever again.”

You definitely didn’t trust his security or his people because what sort of a mobster let his daughter get targeted and possibly abducted? You definitely didn’t know the whole story or if it was just a bad day but he wasn’t a person that deserved some slack. Despite all this, you knew what all he held above you, above a common man. He might not be ‘Kingpin’ skilled but a threat to you nonetheless.

Before you could stop yourself, you blurted out, “Is that what you call following me around, huh?” which you immediately regretted.

“Trust the process, baby. Everything is just to protect you.”

Is that what he called stalking even Grace around and twistedly enough, sending you proof of that? The anonymous thread of photos was another nightmare of yours, thanks to him. The last being a candid photo inside Grace’s room, her sleeping in her bed this morning and that’s when you decided you needed to get out. Of course, that didn’t go as planned.

“How am I supposed to do that when you have cameras in my house?!” You scoffed and he reeled back at the accusation, having the nerve to look impressed at being uncovered and caught red-handed.

“Oh my fucking God, it was you! You sick pervert!” You jumped out of his grip, your eyes wide and horrified. “I wasn’t aware of what to make of it but of course, it was you! Who else would be sick enough to do that?” You let out a humorless chuckle. You always put things past him even when you keep telling yourself you shouldn’t. When will you ever learn huh?

You were full on panicking yet again, this man was an assaulter, a stalker and a creep too. It would have made a good dark, psychological thriller for you to watch if you weren’t the protagonist about to suffer his obsession.

He reached out to steady you again, but you whipped and stumbled back, realizing too late that you elbowed Steve’s nose so bad that there was a crunch. That, right there, was the look a man real-fucking-furious on Steve’s face and now you could see the feared mobster, the man who was personally terrorizing you under the beautiful, Greek God façade.

Steve reacted so fast even with an injury that in a split second, your view of his face turned into a view of his crotch.

“You do realize that there are others ways for me to teach you obedience? I think it’s fucking time you show me your gratitude for my care and attention and apologize for your misconduct and unkind response.” Steve spoke with a hoarse voice, a voice running out of patience and just about done with defiance.

His hand fisted your hair, maintaining eye contact while he nodded between you and his crotch. You knew what he wanted, what he was expecting as ‘thanks’.

“Steve, please no, you don’t-”

His other hand grabbed your jaw, stopping you from speaking as he warned, “I think you have done just enough talking for today, so why don’t you put that tongue to a better use and show me how sorry you are. Better make it convincing because I’d hate to pay one of your friends a visit and then bitch about a nasty blowjob.” He smirked at the end of his monologue, eyes shining with triumph and amusement.

You wouldn’t let him harm anyone else, you couldn’t. You and your daughter were already knee-deep in a pit and at this point, it’d just be cruel to drag someone else in. With shaky hands opening his pants, you just hoped you could get Grace out before you eventually were buried in it.

“Now that’s a good girl. Submissive is a sexy look on you.” His hands patted your hair, playing with your tresses while yours pulled his pants and then briefs down.

His member jerked out, almost slapping you in the face as you recoiled at his insolence to get hard and erect at your torment. Your disdain must have shown which he took as admiration and derision to take his affluent cock in.

“No need to get shy, I have faith you’ll be able take it just as well in your pretty pussy as you will right now. Open up-”

“Steve, I beg you-”

Just as you had cut him off, he interrupted your pleading. Your gag reflex was probably the most efficient in the world but that turned this narcissist on. It had been years since you had done it, never with a man as beefy as Steve.

His taste was salty and if you had to put it into better words, it was the like overpriced sea salt flakes that you never bought. High and pricey and for the entitled.

Your hands clutched at his thighs as you blacked out multiple times; your jaw aching, uvula swaying and tears escaping. Him forcing himself on you brough a new sense of vulnerability as your body trembled. Steve relished like a sadist, practically rutting into you all by himself as you just sat there with your jaw unnaturally open.

His obscene moans and groans were crass and nauseating and you just prayed for this to be over soon and for no one to walk in on this, especially your kid.

It seemed like it would never end, your body dehydrating with all the spit it produced, the drool dribbling and landing just beside your knees on your printed rug. You would have to throw that out.

The tears stooped after some point, the sobbing an unnecessary action that just tired you out more on this eventful day. You moved your tongue around to prevent your teeth from scratching him when he shifted angles. If this was what he did on slightly mad, you didn’t want to find what he did for a more serious punishment.

Apparently, that action was something that turned him on even more, his breath hitching as neared closure. In broken whispers he demanded that again and you complied, wanting to get done with it.

He growled in the moment of his release and you tried to lean back but his grip didn’t relent. “Swallow.” His grainy, exasperated voice said out loud and you knew better than to defy.

He released you and you fell on to the rug, hip bruising by knocking into some furniture and tears coming back again after being hydrated by his seed. He packed himself, his smile smug and content as his expressions truly resembled ecstasy being personified.

“You be a good fiancée from now on and maybe you’ll have all your friends alive and present at our wedding. No cheeky business from now on, got it?” Steve hummed then and strutted out, not even bothering to listen to your reply.

As soon as the door slammed, your eyes closed and your demons danced again.

There was no right direction to take when you were stuck in a loop.

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amazingmaeve · 3 years

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latibule

latibule is a hiding place; a place of safety and comfort

request - can i request cuddling and comforting bucky? tysm i hope you’re doing good !!

summary:

when bucky has one of his many nightmares he goes to y/n, a former shield agent, place for some comfort. they were starting to get to know each other after the blip with her being alone and bucky and his nightmares.

warnings - angst, fluff

word count -

a/n - this is my first bucky one shot so don’t go to hard on me please!

marvel masterlist // bucky barnes masterlist

As Bucky stirs on the floor he lays on, a nightmare swarms his dreams. This usually happened to him since he got out of Hydras hold. He was lucky enough to have gotten rid of the winter soldier and to be even allowed to step foot in the u.s without being arrested.

But the nightmares were just a reminder of how much damage he has done. Bucky wishes he could undo all of that, all the lives he killed. He knows what Y/N would say ‘it’s not your fault you were being brainwashed’ it helps but doesn’t stop the guilt.

Y/N was a shield agent that he interacted and became friends with after he got some memories back. She fought him when he was the winter soldier and he remembers it vaguely, but he would hate to remember all that since she means very much to him and didn’t ever want to imagine hurting her. She helped him when Steve found him and reassured him that he wasn’t himself when he was doing all the winter soldiers work.

It made his heart race.

Y/N helped him with going to Wakanda and tried to help him with any time she had if King T’Challa would allow her to come. He didn’t know why, Bucky didn’t know why she believed that he was such a good guy. It gave him some hope, something to believe in but also made his feelings for her grow even stronger.

Bucky couldn’t tell if she had feelings for him as he did her. So that’s why he never brought them up, why bring them up if it would only bring him disappointment.

Ever since the blip, she’s not worked for any organization and he’s done with fighting, done with all the fighting he’s done for 90 years. Y/N and Bucky have been hanging out since Thanos' thing ended. They had some things in common, she was trained in an organization from a very young age but was taken in after shield caught her and she began to work for them.

This time the nightmare invaded the lovely dream he was having of Y/N. It wasn’t much different though.

Bucky grunted as a punch was landed to his face and punched back and hit Y/N square in the face with his metal arm making her fall back and hold her face. Before he could even think the memory kept going as it was. He walked towards her and grabbed her arm twisting it making her wince in pain.

Before he could even think about doing anything else to her she kicked him in the balls making Bucky groan in pain but for only a second. That second was enough for Y/N to run down the streets with a gun in her hand. Bucky watched as she ran and began to go after her with a gun in his hand as well.

Y/N looked around in fear and saw nothing that could protect her and when a gun shot was fired she hid herself behind a car and took a breath knowing that he was going to find her any minute. Before she could even think about running again a metal hand wrapped around her throat pinning her to the car.

Bucky couldn’t think for himself as he tried to strangle her something he never wanted to do but luckily a shield hit the his back making him lose his grip on Y/N. He looked behind him and saw Steve but then was punched in the face by her making him let her go.

Before any of this could continue on Bucky sat up straight in a layer of sweat and breathing heavily. He looked around the room realizing that he fell asleep on the floor again with the tv running. He used his flesh hand to rub his forehead trying to get that memory out of his brain. But that wouldn’t work and before he even realized it Bucky was getting his clothes on and walking out the door.

Bucky was on the way to a place where he knows there will be comfort. Y/N. He knows that she’s probably awake still and he could use someone to talk to. She was his comfort place for him, somewhere he could feel safe and welcomed. She was a person that always made him feel warm inside and he loved that feeling.

Before Bucky even realized it he was at Y/N’s place and he raised his hand to knock on the door.

Upon hearing this knock Y/N looked behind the couch to her door and narrowed her eyes in confusion. She put down the popcorn bowl that was halfway empty and paused the television. She got up and fixed her shirt and shorts before opening the door to reveal Bucky who gave her an awkward smile and wave.

“Hey Buck what are you doing here at,” Y/N started to say and then looked at her watch. “1 am,” She looked up at him with confusion in her eyes.

“I was awake and wanted to see what you were doing,” Bucky lied, not meeting her eyes, which made her sigh.

“Another nightmare,” Y/N says sadly looking at him softly. He closes his eyes and nods, making her open the door wider for him to come in. Bucky gives her a small smile making her heart race.

It was no secret to anyone in her life that she had feelings for the man but Y/N couldn’t say anything since he was still recovering from Hydra. She didn’t want to interfere with his progress. She wanted him to be happy even if it wasn’t with her. Bucky stood in the living room awkwardly looking around starting to feel safe again.

“Want a beer,” Y/N offered, opening the fridge and grabbing herself a water.

“Uh sure,” Bucky accepted sitting down on her couch waiting for her to come back and sit next to him. She hopped on the couch next to him and handed him the bottle.

“Do you want to talk about it,” Y/N asked looking down at her lap, she knew that Bucky wouldn’t really want to talk but she was just offering a welcoming ear for him to rant or anything.

“Not really I just wanted to see you,” Bucky scratched the back of his neck and turned to face her with a soft smile dancing on the corner of his lips. She put her hand on his not knowing or caring if it was the metal one or not.

“Well you’re always welcome here,” Y/N softly replied.

“It was about the first time I met you though, well not me the-,” Bucky began to say but paused before he was about to say it. Y/N awkwardly laughed rolling her shoulders pulling her legs up to sit criss cross.

“Made an impression did I,” Y/N softly laughed, knowing what he was talking.

“Kinda,” Bucky laughed a little with her. “But I really didn’t remember that and I didn’t even know I hurt you,” He whispered.

“The thing is, that it wasn’t you who actually hurt me, Buck,” Y/N firmly says, looking him in the eyes trying to make him see the point. He puts his hand on hers giving it a squeeze making her smile at him.

“Why do you see so much good in me, when there was so much?” Bucky whispered, dropping his head so he didn’t have to look at her with guilt flooding his eyes. Y/N sighed before grabbing his chin making her look at him, and she looked at him with sympathy as there was a layer of tears in his eyes.

“Because you’re not a killer,” Y/N began to say. “I have seen many killers and I saw that with the winter soldier and he’s gone. You don’t have the look in your eyes, I don’t see it,” she says with a smile making its way to the corner of her mouth as she explains this to the man. She put her hand on his cheek and used her thumb to softly caress his cheekbone.

Before Y/N could go on Bucky leaned forward and attached his lips to hers and softly moved them. She immediately responded leaving her hand on his cheek and the other on his neck and softly kissed him back. He put his hands on her hips and moved his lips with her.

“Wow,” Y/N whispered against his lips after they parted. Bucky gave her a soft smile, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. He stayed still for a moment before he accepted it.

Bucky buried his face into the crook of her neck and listened to her breathing making him calm down as well. He was glad she didn’t run off when he kissed her, scratch that, he was over the moon. She pulled him down to lay down on the huge couch and laid her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat.

“I don’t know if I’ll have another nightmare,” Bucky whispers into her hair, making her nod.

“We don’t have to,” Y/N says looking up at him with messy hair.

“Do what?” Bucky questions narrowing his eyes.

“Cuddle,” Y/N responds with a giggle before sitting back up but was swiftly pulled back by Bucky, making her gasp and wriggle in his arms. She looked up at him with a warm smile.

“Just don’t get your hopes up,” Bucky grumbled, situating himself so she was able to rest her head upon his chest.

“C’mon I know you like it,” Y/N laughed, hitting his chest with her hand before resting her head against his heart. She liked listening to his heartbeat calming itself down and it made herself a little drowsy.

“Get some sleep doll,” Bucky whispers, kissing her forehead, caressing the back of her head, making her fall into a deep sleep.

Bucky didn’t fall asleep for some time, not wanting to get into another nightmare and hurt her. That would be the worst thing he came here to get comfort not to seek another nightmare out. But before he could even control it he was lulled back into sleep listening to Y/N’s soft breathing.

He knows she won’t cure his nightmare but she’ll help him in the aftermath and that’s all he cares about. She would be there for him no matter what.

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes blurb #marvel x reader #bucky barnes gif #bucky barnes fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #latibule

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rivalsforlife · 3 years

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Phoenix Wright: The Truth Reborn: Oh No We’re Doing This Again

hi.

Nearly two months ago, I wrote an essay summarizing and making very wild conclusions about the second Takarazuka Musical. I did this about two and a half years after watching the first Takarazuka musical. As such I did not have the full context for many things from the musical and was relying mostly on my memory, which blocked many things from this musical for my own safety. However, just this week, I decided to rewatch it, because I enjoy tormenting myself. I said I wouldn’t write anything on it. Here I am writing something on it.

Here’s the youtube thumbnail so that you know what you’re getting yourself into. And here, of course, is the link. This is the HD version which may be slightly more pleasant to watch. Maybe.

It was not quite as cringe in a funny way as the second musical to me, and therefore this essay may be less funny, but I feel like I’m doing a disservice to people by providing a summary of the second musical while completely neglecting the first. Quite possibly doing this is even more of a disservice. I just eagerly await the day that the third musical is translated because *that* will be the day that I finally shuffle off this mortal coil. Either way, I want to write this stuff down so that I never have to watch the musical again out of curiosity.

The following essay will contain major spoilers for both the first and second Phoenix Wright Takarazuka musicals, as I will be using many points from this musical to argue my thesis of the second musical. ... like you were going to watch them anyways.

This one broke 8k. I’m dead inside.

Introducing The Director

Again another disclaimer that I don’t have anything against the actresses or the theatre troupe. I DO have something against Suzuki Kei, who I recently learned is the writer and director of all three of the Ace Attorney Takarazuka musicals, and is quite possibly my mortal nemesis.

This man is the one who brought this monstrosity into the world.

This man, allegedly, cleared the first four ace attorney games *seven times* before sitting down to write these musicals. He played these goddamn games seven times and did not take in a single word. The man clicked through them mindlessly while watching a badly written legal romance drama in the background and got them completely confused. I genuinely have no idea how this man could have played these games more times than even me and yet managed to get so many characters (MAYA!!!!) completely and utterly wrong. This haunts me every day, truly.

This man played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney seven times. SEVEN TIMES EACH!! and was told to create a musical based on the series. He played these games seven times each and you know what he said?? You know what he said?? “This sucks, I’m getting rid of all of Phoenix’s backstory, butchering half the characters, and writing Phoenix/Lana fanfiction, but also rewriting all of Lana’s backstory so that she was Phoenix’s childhood friend, and you know what, I’m changing her name for good measure.”

I think this man played the games seven times each and then hated it so much and was so sick of it he tried to write something that destroyed as much of the series as possible while still being vaguely recognizable. And then somehow it became a massive hit because people like me see this and go “what the actual hell” and watch it, or people who haven’t played the games see this and go “wow what a great musical!” and then he wrote TWO MORE, destroying EVEN MORE every time in his wake, until finally, finally, he stopped after making Edgeworth straight and time traveling into the past to face off against a corrupt Gregory. I guess that was the last straw.

I have to issue a disclaimer here that for legal reasons this is a joke. I don’t actually hate this man and would not punch him in the face if I met him because that would be rude, and he is entitled to his wrong interpretation of the games. I don’t know what his thought process was. But allegedly he did play the games seven times according to the wiki. This whole essay here is satire and not slander and I don’t want to offend this guy if he somehow stumbles across my nonsense tumblr post. At the same time: Suzuki Kei blink twice if you need help.

Anyways half the reason that I’m making this essay is because I want to share my fake ao3 page for this musical. The other half will become apparent later.

Sorry if that’s illegible because of tumblr quality it’s not really important. All you really need to know is that it’s a fake ao3 screenshot for the musical. Also in the author’s note I said he played the games four times but it was actually seven I just remembered wrong because I didn’t want to believe it.

at this point you may be like “Grace shut up and get to the actual musical” and okay, fine, let’s start this nonsense. Also note that I may be referencing things from my essay on the second musical very frequently; I’m not going to force you to go read that though because the fact that you’re reading this is enough of a torment already.

The Musical Begins

Unlike the second musical, this one opens with some narration from Phoenix.

Transcript:

Phoenix: I’m reviewing a particular case at the moment. To me, this case... is one I’ll never forget.

Immediately I think this is important because it establishes that this whole musical takes place in a flashback that Phoenix is reflecting on. Why is this important? Because we know, by the time of the second musical which takes place three years later, Leona is dead.

Knowing that Leona is inherently doomed to die of her Sad Woman Disease paints this whole musical in a different light. It’s not Phoenix reflecting on how he got back together with his lover; it’s Phoenix dwelling on their past together, and the opportunities they had, before her life was so cruelly and inexplicably taken away. We don’t know if Phoenix’s reminiscing takes place before or after Leona’s death... but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was after.

Phoenix, still in the present, starts to sing. “A wave appears on the horizon like a mirage, it trembles, then vanishes. Your voice, carried upon the waves, fades upon the shore, erasing the splendor of the past.”

This line actually shows up in the second musical, sung by Lucia about her imprisoned fiance quite possibly. It’s kind of hard to tell what the meaning of these songs even are. They’re too abstract for me I think. But this line appears very frequently in the first musical when Phoenix is thinking about Leona.

Then we enter the flashback time.

Phoenix inexplicably yells at a newspaper saleswoman. This is not relevant to anything whatsoever. Then Larry barges in to the office, looking for Maya. Phoenix describes him as “A real trouble maker, but you just can’t hate the guy”, the latter part of which I think many people would disagree with.

Well, afterwards, Maya comes in. Phoenix describes her like this while making exaggerated “can you believe this shit” gestures.

Transcript:

Phoenix: She’s as ditzy as they come. Oh, and about the outfit... Apparently she comes from a family of spirit mediums. Try not to make fun of her, okay?

Suzuki Kei personally has it out for Maya and I can never forgive him for it. Maya in these musicals is here for pure comedic relief but it’s not even comedic because I just get so angry. How can you play the trilogy seven times and think this about her?? The girl who figured out DL-6?? The girl who told Phoenix to sacrifice her life in order to find the truth?? The girl who put on a brave smile in order to try and cheer up her younger cousin even after she saw her own mother murdered right in front of her eyes?? That Maya Fey?? Ditzy as they come??????

Ugh. Moving on.

Maya and Larry run off, leaving Phoenix to watch the American Broadcast.

Important things to note here are the Godot mug, the little line up of what I think are the messed up little ace attorney figurines beneath the screen, and the fact that while this broadcast is supposedly from and to America the screen is actually not at all showing America. Like literally almost everywhere in the world except North and South America.

The broadcast says that Leona Clyde, age 24, was arrested for murdering the senator Robert Cole! Leona Clyde -- that’s Phoenix’s ex-girlfriend! He runs off to the detention center.

She is not happy to see him.

Leona: Mr. Wright... I’m not the woman you once knew.

Let’s Play A Matching Game

Sorry for the abundance of screenshots that are going to be throughout this section. Phoenix convinces Leona to let him defend her. Some of the conversation seems... familiar.

Leona: No one would defend someone who admits to killing a senator. I’m waiting for a court-appointed attorney.

Edgeworth: Every defense attorney I’ve talked to has turned me down.

Phoenix: In that case, let me defend you.

Game Phoenix: Let me defend you.

Leona: Don’t be ridiculous!

Edgeworth: Don’t be ridiculous.

Phoenix: I’ll never accept that you’re a murderer. Let me prove your innocence!

Game Phoenix: Huh? Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to prove that Miles Edgeworth is innocent.

Leona: I’ve already confessed my guilt.

Gumshoe: He confessed that he did it! In court!

Leona: It’s foolish to think you can win this case.

Edgeworth: My case is near hopeless, Wright.

Leona: (in response to phoenix offering to defend her) No you won’t! Don’t ever come here again.

Edgeworth: Look, just go away, and leave me alone!

Phoenix: You of all people should know. Once I decide to do something, I see it through to the end.

Edgeworth: Once you start on something, you always see it through, don’t you?

Leona: I never thought that you’d be representing me.

Phoenix: Ah, who could have guessed this day would come?

Edgeworth: Not me.

Phoenix: You believed in me. You saved me. And this time, I swear... I swear I’ll save you!

Game Phoenix: Edgeworth believed in me, and I believe in him. I’m the only one who knows the real Edgeworth. I’m the only one who can help him.

I could’ve done a few more, but tumblr is already threatening to murder my laptop.

So long story short, Phoenix manages to convince his lover to let him be the defense on the case. Then immediately after swearing to save Leona, he starts singing a song, which I’m not screencapping because this is enough:

“As long as there are people in this world, there’s only one path I will follow! As long as there is love in this world, there’s only one path I will believe in!”

Edgeworth sings this in the second musical after saying that he returned to California because of Phoenix. Phoenix sings it now after swearing to defend Leona. You draw your own conclusions.

And then we finally get the opening credits. Eleven minutes in.

Just Pretend This Is Narumitsu Fanfiction

Following the credits, we see a beautiful beach. Couples (exclusively heterosexual, of course,) dance and embrace in the background for some time, before revealing Phoenix and Leona, in the Even Further Past, before the LSATs or whatever the ace attorney universe’s excuse for law school exams are.

Phoenix establishes his absolute hatred of change, an important characterization moment.

Phoenix: The view here never changes, huh?

Phoenix reminisces on when they were kids. Leona’s parents were both lawyers (they’re both lawyers) and sometimes they would be like lawyers with her when she was a kid. This inspired her to also become a lawyer after their tragic death of Sickness. They never specify what the sickness is that caused two people who must be relatively young to die while Leona was in her early twenties at the latest. It may be whatever sickness claimed Leona’s life later. Sad Woman Disease. (Sad Man Disease for her father, I guess?)

Phoenix also talks about why he’s becoming a lawyer.

Phoenix: Watching you chase your dream inspired me to become a lawyer too.

So, it’s not “my childhood friend looked sad in a newspaper” because I guess that makes no sense or is too gay or something. But this is another important piece of Phoenix characterization. His entire life so far has been focused around Leona. They’ve been friends since they were kids, and then Phoenix decided to become a lawyer solely because Leona was becoming a lawyer. Not even to try and get back into contact with her after she moved away or anything; just because he’s so obsessed with her that he wants to have the same career as her, then they can run a Mom & Pop Law Firm or something, years in the future, after years of happy marriage and a few children or like whatever the hell.

Well, there’s a few steps they’ll need to get to that. At this point Phoenix still hasn’t confessed his feelings for Leona. He does so here, on this beach.

Leona tries to protest.

Leona: But I’m pushy, selfish, and only care about my goals... You’d get fed up with me.

Phoenix: That’s what I’ve always admired about you. That’s who I’ve been chasing all these years. That’s the only person... I love.

Sooo, Phoenix, your type is pushy selfish people who only care about their goals...? In the first, older lower-quality video translation it was “only care about my work”, too. Hm. Things to think about.

They sing a little duet together. Then we go back to present-day of what’s technically still a flashback. Whatever. Murder is happening.

Back To The Murder

So some plot things to establish: Leona is the legal counsel of Governor Miller, who is running for president in the AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. After the flashback so that Phoenix has some time to change clothes, they show an interview of him talking about the murder.

Governor Miller: I vow to forge a peaceful country with my own two hands, and to prepare myself for whatever may lie ahead.

Reporters: Through thick and thin, he’s a friend of the people!

The Takarazuka musicals are not very good at hiding their killers.

Phoenix: Oh yeah... It’s almost time for the presidential election, isn’t it?

NEVER FORGET, WRIGHT. THIS IS AMERICA. LAND OF THE FREE! god what even was that line.

Anyways, we meet Gumshoe, who is incompetent once again. Maya runs around the crime scene, picks up the murder weapon, puts her fingerprints all over everything, moves things around, all while Phoenix is like “lol get a load of the world’s stupidest girl” or whatever. But who cares about that.

It’s time to get to the only valid part of this musical.

Edgeworth’s Gay Little Villain Solo

You may have seen this one before.

Edgeworth arrives, but not really. It’s like Phoenix heard Edgeworth was prosecuting and immediately entered a dream-like state, where Edgeworth is heralded by the sound of trumpets in Great Revival. He’s played by a different actress than in the other two musicals, since I think she retired in between the six or so months from this musical to the second. She still plays the role well, though, or as well as can be when you’re written in an ace attorney Takarazuka musical.

Shrouded in scarlet solitude... it’s Edgeworth.

Yes, those are six Edgeworths. Yes, they pick Phoenix up and carry him around and dance with him. Yes, it was probably not meant to be at all homoerotic.

He sings a song that’s called “My rule”. I only figured this out later, but it’s loosely based on a “catchphrase” of his in the Japanese version - in game 1 he says something along the lines of “All I can do is get every defendant declared guilty! So I make that my policy.” In DD in his dramatic anime introduction before the trial, he says “I intend to question the defendant with all I have. For that is a part of my creed.” “So I make that my policy” and “For that is a part of my creed”, to my understanding, are both translated from the same line, which I think is like, “sore ga watashi no ruru”, “That is my rule.” (If I’m wrong, please correct me.) In this song he sings about how he’ll reduce all criminals to ash and such, basically talks about his game 1 prosecuting strategy as “my rule”.

It’s very fun and probably if you want to only watch one number of this musical, it can be this one. It starts about 26:10 in the video I linked.

Once the musical number is done, Phoenix and Edgeworth stare at each other, and the background fades into the courtroom, so court begins. I feel like I should note that Phoenix has not picked up any evidence or talked to any witnesses in this investigation except for Gumshoe, since Maya just moved some things around and then Phoenix had some weird fever dream about Edgeworth which presumably took up the rest of the day.

The Trial, Day 1

Edgeworth: Consider it a prelude to the poignant Greek tragedy that’s about to unfold.

Maya: The real tragedy’s your pompous attitude!

Those are the only screenshots I took of this trial day. Here’s a summary, though:

The trial starts off with Leona confessing, Phoenix says “no I think she’s innocent”, and since ace attorney doesn’t care about the defendant’s wishes he’s allowed to proceed. For some reason Leona lets him do this without complaint.

Gumshoe is the first witness, he claims to have caught Leona red-handed at the scene of the crime, standing over the corpse. Phoenix tries to claim that since Gumshoe didn’t see Leona committing the crime, he didn’t actually catch her red-handed, to which Edgeworth responds “What do you think being caught red-handed means?”

Once Gumshoe is dismissed, Lotta takes the stand. She has a photo of the actual moment of the crime, where Leona is holding a knife in the air in front of the victim.

The Takarazuka musicals like to do this thing where the image is blurry and zoomed out, but then Phoenix will go “I’VE NOTICED A CONTRADICTION” and it zooms in really far as the resolution increases drastically in order to show you the contradiction that is impossible to spot for yourself, because they don’t want people figuring out the mystery in this musical based off of a video game where you have to solve the mystery yourself. Anyways Phoenix zooms in on this photo and sees that there’s blood on Leona’s hand, presumably before she stabbed the victim. How did it get there?

Edgeworth suggests the victim was stabbed multiple times. Phoenix says the autopsy report contradicts that. Edgeworth, uncharacteristically, does not update it to suit his argument.

Phoenix concludes that this photo is not showing the moment Leona stabbed the victim, but the moment Leona removed the knife! ... Which somehow casts doubt on her having been the one to stab the victim. Because as everyone knows, anyone wanting to kill someone would never remove a knife, it’s not like they’d bleed out faster that way, or anything.

And this whole contradiction is confusing because presumably if the victim was stabbed and then the knife was removed, they’d know that happened, because then the knife would not be found stuck in the victim’s body, since the victim was only stabbed once. So this shouldn’t be news to the prosecution that someone removed the knife after stabbing. But the investigation was headed by the most incompetent version of Gumshoe ever, so. sure. I guess no one knew.

That at least manages to extend the trial another day.

This Totally Has To Be Illegal

After the trial, Phoenix goes to talk to Governor Miller, aka Mr. Totally The Real Killer. Phoenix asks him why he decided to hire Leona as his legal advisor.

Basically, it’s because her parents were both renowned lawyers. Her father was a Chief Prosecutor, and her mother was a defense attorney. ... a prosecutor and a defense attorney couple... who does that remind us of...

Phoenix points out that just because her parents were good lawyers, it doesn’t mean she’d necessarily be one. Miller says that, sure, but she is actually really talented, and her law school marks were spectacular. Phoenix says “WHY WERE YOU LOOKING AT HER LAW SCHOOL MARKS”, like it’s somehow? suspicious? for a government official hiring legal counsel to look at their law school marks?

Apparently it IS suspicious because Governor Miller freaks out and asks if this is an interrogation. Before Phoenix can press much further, he gets a phone call, and leaves Phoenix alone in a big room.

So naturally Phoenix behaves like a fully grown adult running a law firm.

If all he did was sit in the chair, lift up a desk lamp, and poke his finger on a pen, that’s one thing. But then he leans over, OPENS THE GOVERNOR’S DESK DRAWER, and finds a knife that’s just sitting there casually. It looks like a butter knife. It’s not anything major. Maybe the dude just wanted to butter his toast?

I mean I know Phoenix will dig around in stuff whenever in the games, but he has no reason to suspect Governor Miller at all, much less dig through his drawer probably full of confidential government documents to lift up a knife that he thinks is suspicious. It’s not even covered in blood or anything?

Naturally Governor Miller’s assistant comes in just then, and Phoenix puts the knife. in his breast pocket.

bud. It may look like a butter knife, but putting knives up against your chest is not a great idea. Much less stealing a knife from a governor?

Well, in his panic, he accidentally knocks over a bunch of books on the desk. The governor’s assistant helps him pick them up, and they find a photo. Look a little familiar?

The photo has the assistant, the victim Robert Cole, Governor Miller, and the victim’s brother who died in an incident two years ago. He’s the “Neil Marshall” of this musical, and he died in what was essentially the SL-9 incident. Same general premise, except it occurred in the courthouse, and the names are different.

AND FINALLY WE REACH THE END OF ACT 1. They do a musical number here which is a weird sort of mashup of the main opening credits song, Edgeworth’s Villain Solo, and the love duet between Phoenix and Leona. They are all such different songs that it sounds a little weird.

ACT 2, FINALLY

The act begins on a sour note with Maya playing with the knife and showing off her characterization, which is one of the most infuriating Maya characterizations you’ll sometimes see around the fandom by people who don’t like Maya.

Maya: Let me whip up my special spirit channeler hamburgers!

sigh.

But then we’re saved (?) by the arrival of EDGEWORTH, who is presumably just here to chat. He asks Phoenix if he’s defending Leona in hopes of winning her back, then says to keep out of it, since it’s a very important case and he can’t understand the gravity of it.

Then Phoenix says this.

Phoenix: Would you be saying that if you were the one on trial? The defendant is in a dark prison, reaching out for hope... Can you imagine the loneliness and sorrow of being ostracized?

CAN YOU IMAGINE IT, EDGEWORTH? CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU WERE ON TRIAL AND I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD DEFEND YOU AND BELIEVED IN YOUR INNOCENCE??

Edgeworth responds to this by essentially rehashing his speech in Turnabout Sisters about how he needs to find all defendants guilty because he can’t guarantee their innocence and all that. Maya gets upset and leaves so that Phoenix and Edgeworth can talk about their childhood in private.

Phoenix once again complains about how people change since nine years old.

Phoenix then says that he has something Edgeworth doesn’t: the POWER TO BELIEVE! Then Maya comes in and tries to spike Edgeworth’s coffee, so he leaves.

The Class Trial

Phoenix explains a bit about Edgeworth and his backstory to Maya. Namely, the class trial. Phoenix was accused of stealing lunch money, Edgeworth stood up for him, but instead of Larry, Leona stood up for him. I guess Suzuki Kei thought “oh the class trial, if Leona stood up for him, it would be so romantic, because she’s a woman, and he’s a man”, or something like that.

Edgeworth wanted to become a Great Lawyer Like His Father! But then he turned cold as ice.

Phoenix: His father got too deeply involved in a case... and paid for it with his life. Edgeworth saw him murdered. He was never the same again. I bet he couldn’t forgive the criminal.

Yeah I bet he couldn’t ever forgive the person he thought killed his father all these years, Phoenix. I bet he really hates that person, Phoenix. I bet he has nightmares about that person killing his father or something, Phoenix.

Phoenix: He vanished, then returned without his mercy or compassion. He had become a monster. When he lost his father, he also lost the ability to believe in others.

So like... one of the most chilling things about this musical is that they never actually solve DL-6. This probably roughly takes place 15 years after DL-6, since they were about the same age when the class trial started, and at least Leona is 24 now. The next musical takes place three years from now, and in it, Edgeworth refers to von Karma as his mentor, implying he’s still around and doing things.

So, in addition to everything else going wrong with this musical, DL-6 still happens, but von Karma never frames Edgeworth for it fifteen years later. The statute of limitations runs out, and von Karma forever gets away with his crime. And Edgeworth has no idea.

What changes did they make to DL-6, though, you may ask? I’m desperate to know as well. In the third musical, which I’ve watched because I hate myself but am unable to fully understand because I don’t know much Japanese, there is a scene where Miles flashbacks to DL-6. It’s abstract, but he makes gun-throwing motions at Gregory, followed by a gunshot sound.

Therefore, in this musical’s internal canon, either Miles Edgeworth shot his father, or he believes he did for the rest of his life.

... moving on.

Phoenix: But he still has his humanity. It’s still there, deep down inside!

At least, if nothing else, Phoenix still believes in him. Even this Takarazuka Musical couldn’t touch that.

The Feenie Sweater

Right after this, Larry barges in, and Phoenix leaves him alone with Maya. The musical tries teasing Larry/Maya, but fortunately, Maya’s having none of it.

Maya: You’re barking up the wrong tree.

Props to this musical for not being as bad as it could have been.

After this, the two sit down on the couch, and Maya asks for more gossip on Phoenix and Leona. Larry launches into a story, which turns into a flashback that ends up being narrated by Phoenix halfway through. This one’s about Phoenix and Leona’s relationship.

This is an interesting line in here, “I’ll guide you to the future”, for it loosely referencing the sort of love ballad Phoenix sings with Lucia in the second musical which is about “I’ll take you to that radiant future”, and he later sings to the memory of Leona right around the time of his big spiral into despair.

I’m sorry if you haven’t read my other essay and just said “wait what” to what I just typed.

Leona was getting ready to move to New York to defend the weak “in the big city”. This is rather strange wording because it implies that California does not in fact have a big city. She says some things in her conversation with Phoenix that probably plant some of his later issues.

Leona: This is the first time we’ll be apart since we were kids.

Leona: We promised we’d always be together.

Leona: I’ll be waiting. Waiting for you to come to me.

Haha. Sure would be a shame... if something were to happen... and they wouldn’t be able to be together anymore...

So some dancers wearing black come in and take off their outer jackets, to symbolize the passage of time. They circle around Phoenix and Leona. In this, you can just barely see, Phoenix is wearing a pink sweater beneath his jacket.

“Oh,” I think to myself, “Is that the Feenie sweater? Are they including it here as a reference to the games?”

Then the dancers keep moving.

THAT IS NOT THE FEENIE SWEATER. That is a pink sweater with a sexily drawn woman on it.

This is the other half of the reason why I decided to go through with making this essay.

This is so incredibly funny to me. Suzuki Kei Who Has Played The Games Seven Times has seen the hand-knit bright pink sweater with a giant red heart on it seven times. The sweater Iris, Phoenix’s girlfriend, lovingly knit for him that he wears all the time even though it is one of the tackiest, cheesiest items of clothing to ever exist. And so, when the costume designers were designing the clothes for College Phoenix Wright, they asked themselves: “Should we include the Feenie sweater?”

and “NO,” someone must have shouted, “NO, we can NOT include the Feenie sweater, it is PINK and it has a HEART on it and it’s TOO GIRLY. Phoenix Wright is a MANLY MAN. He would not EVER wear something PINK with a HEART on it.”

“BUT,” someone else said, “it’s a REFERENCE to the original games, where he DID wear a pink sweater with a heart on it! We MUST include it to pander to the fans!”

“WAIT,” a third person interjected. “I have a BRILLIANT IDEA. We can keep the pink... But to make it VERY CLEAR he is a heterosexual, masculine male... we put a sexy woman on it.”

And Person Three Got A Raise.

Thank god we’re finally halfway done this musical.

We Just Have To Go On With Our Lives Now

There’s plot or something happening. Leona breaks up with Phoenix inexplicably over the phone. Probably because of that freaking sweater. Imagine wearing that. God.

Eventually we go back to Phoenix talking to Leona, and he asks about the Jack Lyon case, which is the rip-off version of the Joe Darke case. Leona is pretty cagey about it, but Phoenix proves that she was there in the gallery that day. Leona refuses to answer, claims again that she killed the victim in her case, and leaves.

This makes Phoenix sad, so he starts singing.

Phoenix: I want to bring you back! I believe in you.

If this sounds familiar, it’s the part where I started absolutely losing my mind in the second musical because this line had never shown up before then, I’d forgotten it was in this musical, and Phoenix was screaming it alone in a red room, so I thought he was like desperately resorting to a necromancy ritual in hopes of bringing Leona back to life.

Instead, this line actually has CONTEXT, though it does just end up enforcing my theory. This is Phoenix mourning what he used to have with Leona, wanting to bring the “old her” back, because he’s devastated that people sometimes change. There are several flashbacks of their college days where he’s wearing his Sexy Woman Sweater. He does succeed in winning her back at the end of this musical. Before she dies, of course.

Phoenix in musical 2 still believes that he can bring back what he used to have with Leona... even beyond death. That’s something affirmed by this musical. I’m very grateful to it for somehow managing to enforce my nonsensical theory.

Doctor Ema

After this, Phoenix returns to his office, and meets with someone new.

That’s right! Only now, halfway through the musical, do we actually get to meet the Ema-equivalent to Leona’s Lana-equivalent. Her name is Monica Clyde. She has little rainbow heart stickers on her briefcase, which is the closest thing this musical has to acknowledging that gay people exist.

But what does this little briefcase contain, you may ask? Scientific investigation tools? No.

A full surgical toolset. Because you never know when someone’ll get sick, or when someone will need an entire operation in front of you. I guess.

So yes, Monica Clyde is not a forensic scientist in training, but a doctor! She decided to become a doctor because of her parents, who passed away of The Sickness, and so became a doctor in order to save lives like theirs.

Once more this has much darker and deeper implications than the musical is even aware of, because Monica is so anxious about treating sick people that she carries a full surgical toolset around with her at all times, scared to lose someone like she lost her parents... and then sometime in the next three years, Leona, her big sister, is going to die.

Of what? The strange Sickness that claimed her parents? A car accident? A botched spur-of-the-moment surgery? Whatever it is, Monica was unable to save her, even when she’d been training her entire life for it.

Monica is not mentioned at all throughout the second musical. It’s as if she does not exist.

Because unlike Ema of Rise From The Ashes, Monica is not at the heart of this story. She is, primarily, a plot device here to make Leona not trust Phoenix so that he can angst about their relationship.

What a mess this world is.

The Trial, Part 2

Rather than try to prove Leona’s innocence, Phoenix wants to link the current case to not-SL-9, the Jack Lyon case. He does this by showing this picture.

Senator Cole, the victim, is in this picture. His younger brother whose name I’ve forgotten, the victim of not-SL-9, is also in this picture. They are brothers. It is apparently novel that they are in the same picture, and somehow makes their cases linked.

As well, Governor Miller is in the picture. I guess you could say like... Governor Miller’s legal counsel is the defendant, so that’s another link? Even though the Governor would presumably know a Senator, so this isn’t an unusual group. Right now Phoenix has absolutely nothing to prove that these two cases are linked other than “hey, these two victims are brothers”, but apparently it works. So they spend a lot of time talking about not-SL-9, since Leona has confessed to the murder on day 1 and there is absolutely nothing indicating that she can’t be immediately declared guilty.

They hid the fact that Monica was a hostage in this not-SL-9, meaning that some of the case records were forged. Here’s Edgeworth’s reaction when this comes out.

Edgeworth: This is an outrage! I’m the most influential prosecutor in America! There’s nothing I don’t know!

In RFTA, when Edgeworth learns he’d been using forged evidence to give a man the death penalty, he is devastated, his entire worldview is shaken, he sees himself as a monster who could end up becoming horribly corrupt if he isn’t stopped.

Musical Edgeworth goes “I DIDN’T KNOW SOMETHING???”

It’s certainly strange characterization, but I guess Edgeworth is further behind in his character arc than in RFTA, so... ugh. Fine.

Phoenix calls Monica out as a witness to prove she was involved in the case. This causes Leona to panic, and try to dismiss Phoenix as her attorney, like Lana in RFTA, but Edgeworth interjects to call Monica in anyways. He and Phoenix have a little moment.

Edgeworth: You said to believe in others. I suppose I’ll try believing in you. Try to keep up.

Phoenix: Edgeworth!

So Monica comes to the stand to testify. We get to see this picture of Monica being held hostage, and not-Joe-Darke’s incredible eyeliner.

Lots of it is very similar to the actual RFTA, except instead of the victim being stabbed on the knight with the giant knife, he’s instead stabbed with a regular old knife. Leona still refuses to admit to what really happened, until Edgeworth convinces her to believe in Phoenix.

Edgeworth: Your attorney is a runaway train with a one-track mind. Yet he placed all of his faith in you. Believe in him. You owe him that much.

Leona testifies, and says that when she found the victim, he was stabbed with a scalpel.

Here is where things get weird.

Scalpels Can’t Kill People

So basically earlier in this trial, they talk about how Leona knew that the knife that stabbed the victim was double-edged despite being buried in his chest. The judge questions if this means Leona killed him, but Phoenix is quick to say no, she was searched when she entered the courthouse and couldn’t have concealed a knife.

Yet, Monica was able to bring in her surgical toolkit which contains several sharp knives, scalpels, scissors, etc.

This is the first major contradiction.

Leona continues to say that when she found Monica, and the scalpel stabbed in the victim, she also ran into Governor Miller, who if you haven’t been able to tell yet is the Gant-equivalent of this musical. He offered to help her with the cover-up, etc.

The next bit goes a lot like RFTA. Phoenix accuses Governor Miller, who barges in, says Phoenix has the decisive evidence in his pocket. This is the “butter knife” that Phoenix took from his office when he dug around in confidential documents and stole it for no particular reason. It has Monica’s fingerprints on it! ... And Phoenix’s and Maya’s too probably because they were handling it without gloves, but they don’t mention that part.

Leona cries about how she shouldn’t have trusted Phoenix because he was apparently now blaming Monica, Monica looks terrified, she and Leona have some good sister moments but it’s not as good as it could be if the story was actually about Leona and Monica like how RFTA was about Lana and Ema. But Phoenix has the decisive piece of evidence that can turn this around.

It is this:

Phoenix: Scalpels are made for medical incisions, not stabbings. So how did it stab the victim?

...

... What?

So like. Yes, scalpels are made for medical incisions. Medical incisions often involve cutting through flesh, very easily. As a result, they are sharp. Extremely sharp. As in: their purpose is literally to stab people, very specifically.

Yes, they’re easier to control, so that surgeons don’t regularly stab people how they’re not supposed to be stabbed, but it’s not like, impossible to stab someone in a killing way with a scalpel? Admittedly, I have never tried to kill someone using a scalpel. And I do not have experience using a scalpel for surgeries because I am not a surgeon. But I’m pretty sure, if you take a sharp scalpel, and you stab someone in the chest with it with a reasonable amount of force... they die.

Like, is this a particular kind of scalpel that is not very sharp? Is the problem that the blade doesn’t match up with the initial wound? But even then, we don’t have the original unforged autopsy report or even a picture, so how would Phoenix know what the original wound looked like to say it didn’t match up? And even then why wouldn’t Phoenix say that instead of SCALPELS CAN’T STAB PEOPLE???

This is his decisive contradiction and it makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME!!!

Well Darn I Guess Scalpels Can’t Kill People

This is such a decisive piece of evidence, that scalpels can’t kill people, coming from the man who thought “caught red-handed” does not involve being caught standing over a corpse with blood on your hands, that it causes Governor Miller to confess.

Unlike Gant, who created the murder with Neil Marshall both to ensure that there was decisive evidence to convict Joe Darke, a serial killer who had not left any decisive evidence behind, and gain control over the prosecutor’s office in order to pull similar stunts to get criminals convicted using false evidence, Governor Miller does not have that as his motive. After all, he’s not a police officer. Instead, he ended up accidentally killing not-Joe-Darke, and then set up the incident in order to get Leona on his side. As her parents were both influential lawyers and very respectable, having her and her parents’ reputation on his side could help him become President of America Where This Takes Place.

So, let’s just take a moment to run over some of the things that made the original Rise From The Ashes great, in my opinion. Just for fun.

1 - The heart of the story between the Skye sisters. Lana closing off to protect Ema, Ema wanting to get through to her sister and get back to the way things used to be. Phoenix, in this story, is more of a bystander to this plotline rather than in the heart of it himself.

2 - Edgeworth’s Character Development. Basically RFTA creates an interesting transition between Turnabout Goodbyes and JFA. It causes Edgeworth to re-evaluate everything he knows about being a prosecutor. So quickly on the heels of Turnabout Goodbyes, it crushes the last bit of hope in him. It compares him to Gant, who also hates criminals, and forces him to wonder if his hatred of crime will one day lead to him being a criminal himself. He’s already convicted one person on forged evidence; how many others could there be?

3 - The Ends Justify The Means. ... wait come back, don’t leave. What I found neat about this case was also Gant’s motive. At one point he was presumably an honest person who hated crime and wanted to stop criminals. But over time in the police force, he became corrupted. He wanted to have all criminals convicted. So what do you do when you don’t have the evidence to convict them? Joe Darke was a serial killer who has killed several people and may have killed more if he’d gone free. The only way to stop and convict him was by using forged evidence. Other criminals could hide evidence to get away with their crimes, so people like Gant would make it up to catch them; but then when do you stop? What happens if there’s no evidence because someone is truly innocent? When does the line between “this person is a criminal and I want to stop them” and “I just want to convict everyone I’m dealing with” become blurred? This is also something he shares with Edgeworth and helps to advance his character.

All three of these things are either lessened or outright ignored in this musical. Leona and Monica’s story takes a backseat to Phoenix and Leona’s Love Story, with Monica only showing up halfway through, and mainly as an excuse as to why Leona is withdrawn. Edgeworth doesn’t seem to blame himself for the forged evidence he used, and doesn’t have a crisis questioning his morality over it. And Governor Miller’s motive is purely power. Unlike Gant, who would have become Chief of Police whether he solved SL-9 or not, Miller needed Leona to win the presidency. And instead of asking her to help him with his campaign like a normal person, he just blackmailed her instead.

... How do you play the games seven times and miss this much?

The Case Finally Ends

god. we’re almost there.

The case ends, Leona is declared not guilty but will still face trial for covering up murders and such. Probably less of a sentence than Lana because she was not involved in ongoing police corruption? Either way she’s dead in three years, so she’s got something a bit more concerning coming up.

She’s led away. Phoenix sings a bit about Leona before being interrupted by Edgeworth... who has something important to tell him.

Edgeworth: You awakened within me those once-cherished emotions I had discarded. I see visions of a distant, nostalgic past.

So basically this is the unnecessary feelings of the musical. Something along the lines of “seeing you again and fighting for my former ideals is making me question many things about myself.”

How does Phoenix respond?

Phoenix: Edgeworth... Try talking normally for a chance.

Sure, we were all thinking it, but that’s a little cold, Phoenix.

Edgeworth tries a smooth recovery.

Edgeworth: I don’t do... idle chit-chat.

This doesn’t accomplish much. So he leaves to allow Leona to visit with Phoenix alone. He’s got to go change for something more important coming up.

Leona and Phoenix decide that they’re going to get back together once Leona is done her sentence! They make a promise that is very funny if you know she’ll be dead in three years.

Phoenix: I’ll be waiting. For you.

There are a lot of hugs here, I’m not screencapping them all. There are also several moments where their faces get very close together and like, their nose brushes the other’s cheek or something, but they never actually kiss. Is it because the actresses weren’t comfortable with it (valid), or they thought kissing would be too much for the musical (sure, whatever), or since both characters are played by women the show staff did not want two women kissing on stage (probably the real answer)? I don’t like watching kisses, but I kept bracing myself for one and then it never happened, so.

Phoenix ends the main part of the musical with one last musical number starring my personal favourite piece:

Phoenix: I want to bring you back! I believe in you.

I like to think that at this point, this is present-day Phoenix, after finishing his reminiscing, still desperately wishing he could bring Leona back from death.

But alas, he cannot. And so, after one last daydream of them dancing together on the beaches of California, singing about their love, the musical ends.

Dance Time!

This starts at exactly the two hour mark, if you’re interested in watching what is, once again, one of the only fun parts of this musical.

Seriously, Edgeworth’s actress kills it here, when I first saw this I went “oh, this is why I saw so many people being gay for her on twitter.”

Edgeworth’s song is an encore of “My Rule”, so it’s lots of fun. Afterwards Phoenix gets another fun piece.

Then we get to the love ballad part, which I can probably overanalyze, I feel like I haven’t done enough ridiculous over-analyzing in this essay in comparison to the other.

Uhhh so the fog represents how Phoenix feels lost in this world without Leona. You can see it in the second screenshot separating the two of them, representing the barrier of death between the two of them. Idk it’s midnight I’m getting worn out from having to think about this musical for so long.

But his mourning over Leona’s death becomes even more apparent in the credits, where Phoenix sings that one line again:

Phoenix: I want to bring you back! I believe in you.

I’m not fixing that screenshot, I think it’s oddly fitting, in a way. That’s me right now.

Then at the very end, he sings this song.

Phoenix: I’ll spend... this eternal life... soaring through... the heavens!

Technically, this refers to his name Phoenix, but let’s dig a little deeper. He spends the rest of his life soaring through the heavens... the heavens that Leona went to after her untimely death, perhaps?

Overall, the musical becomes much more interesting when you just see it as a prequel to the second musical. This musical establishes many core concepts of Phoenix’s character: his refusal to believe in the concept of things changing, for one, and also his extreme dependency on Leona who he was never separated from since they were kids and where he based his entire life around her dreams and ideals. All he can think about is her. And in the end, he promises to wait for her in California.

Yet, to paraphrase Miles Edgeworth, all that is waiting for him is her death. Their dream of opening up a Mom & Pop Law Firm will never come true.

Thanks again for bearing with me even though this wasn’t as funny!

#ace attorney #phoenix wright the truth reborn #idk maybe someone wanted to know what the first musical was like without actually watching it?#my essays #my posts #i'm TIRED i'm going to BED goodNIGHT #this is less funny jokes and more actually criticizing the musical #because so much of this is like. wow. you really thought that was a good idea huh #just skip to the feenie sweater part honestly that's the funniest part of this musical

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