#i'm just saying ok is anybody on board with me here???

[ask-pomni-blog]

Ok this may seem like im grasping at straws here but i need you guys to let me cook for a sec-

HUGE TADC EPISODE 2 SPOILERS

We start off the episode with Pomni’s nightmare, which is a reflection of Pomni’s fears and feelings that are going to be expanded upon throughout the episode. Her main fear isn’t abstracting here, it's the feeling of helplessness, the feeling of not mattering to anybody in the circus. This is seen clearly when Ragatha, Jax, and Caine are shown above the cellar, basically saying “good riddance” upon witnessing Pomni abstract.

And it makes complete sense that Pomni would feel this way once you look back at the circus’ reaction to Kaufmo abstracting (before the second episode). He doesn’t get acknowledged as someone who has just passed away, he doesn’t even get a moment of silence. Pomni notices this, and after she wakes up from her nightmare, she seems almost reluctant to bond with the rest of the circus members because this fear is still on her mind.

This is seen particularly when Pomni is speaking to Ragatha. Ragatha attempts to be helpful at any given chance, but most of the time Pomni is lost in her thoughts. Pomni doesn't seem very open to conversate with Ragatha because of her fears. But this isn't unwarranted, Ragatha literally calls the situation from the day before a “doozy” which brings up the fact that Ragatha constantly dismisses important issues, saying that they should just forget about the situation that happened the day before when Pomni left her for the exit. I understand that she’s trying to ease the tension between them, but I fear she might be making it even worse. Additionally, Ragatha dismissing a very important issue like that makes Pomni’s fears stronger, it may seem to Pomni that Ragatha doesn’t care…

When it’s actually the opposite! The whole episode she tries her best to motivate Pomni (“look, Pomni. We’re already friends with the princess!”, “So, Pomni, I’m sure there’s some way you could help out here.”)

and she’s also very concerned for Pomni when she’s gone (“...Pomni’s still on board!”, “Oh man, Poor Pomni. I hope she's alright.”, “I’m more worried she’s having another horrible experience.”, “Pomni! Are you okay?”)

However, all these remarks could be seen as condescending from Pomni’s perspective… And on the other hand, Ragatha feels like Pomni blames her for the situation, and that Pomni dislikes her. 

Returning to the topic of Pomni’s fears, a lot of this is also reflected in her conversation with Gummigoo:

—

G:“I don’t matter in the slightest. I’m nothing. My life, my memories… my friends… it’s all fake.” 

P:“...I think I know the feeling.”

P:“...I guess I just don't want you to feel like you’re nothing. I don’t want anyone to feel like that.”

G:“But I'm not even a real person. Would I even belong?”

P:“I’m sure you wouldn’t belong any less than me.”

—

Pomni relates to Gummigoo’s fears!! And Pomni is so compassionate and understanding too! …sadly their friendship didn’t last very long… and that brings us back to Ragatha and Pomni. Ragatha tries her best to be reassuring… unfortunately that didn’t work either. AND THIS WHOLE INTERACTION IS JUST- OH MY GOD... LET ME PUT A HUGE EMPHASIS ON THEIR BODY LANGUAGE HERE:

Also the WORDING HERE:

and this scene ooohhhhhhh,,,,,,,, this scene...!!

POMNI IS REASSURED ONCE SHE SEES THAT THE CIRCUS MEMBERS DO CARE. THEY WOULD CARE. HER FEARS DISSAPEAR AND AND- ohhhhmy god this is so sick and twisted.. this ep was.. soooooo good. holy smokes. anyways thank you for listening to my TED talk.

[youngbloodlisk]

parade day - enhypen bias x reader, fluff

the bias isn't actually in it all that much, but just like trust me lol

applicable for any enha member, no name stated, though if you feel it's a bit ooc for your member of choice to say certain things feel free to alter it a little in your own mind to make it fit better!

I shiver, feeling like an ice block from the inside out, despite the amount of layers on my body and the hot drink in my gloved hands.

I breathe out air warmer than my surroundings, granting me the appearance of a steam cloud coming from my mouth.

As I take a drink from my paper cup, I can't help but wonder to myself why Thanksgiving has to be in November. And why parades have to be outdoors. And why I had to be here so early in the morning just to stand here for hours.

Then, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Not just a generic vibration, but the custom vibration that he set for himself on my phone. 'So I always know it's him before I even look.'

⁃ how's the crowd

He's such an ass. He's currently inside, waiting for the staff to tell him to go out and board the float. Inside. He's inside. In the heat.

⁃ cold, dick. how's the nice warm heated building 🤩

⁃ lovely, thank you.

⁃ no but fr ur not too cold right? you have jackets on?

⁃ i can send someone to u with my jacket if u need it

⁃ did you get the drink u said u we're gonna get?

⁃ yes yes yes I have jackets I have my drink im fine lmao

He might be kind of an ass but he's so sweet.

⁃ ok good.

⁃ only a few hours!

⁃ after we pass by the main part you can leave baby

⁃ ik you said you were gonna wait around for me but you don't have to

⁃ I don't need you freezing your ass off

⁃ THAT would be tragic. r.i.p. ass

I can't help but roll my eyes.

⁃ you're such a perv

⁃ woah rude!

Instead of responding, I slide my phone back into my pocket. I don't really have anything else to say at the moment. If I tell him straight up that I WILL be waiting until the end of the parade for him, he'll just whine about how I don't have to.

And now I stand. And wait...

And I waited for about 5 hours. We had to be here at 4:30 in the morning, both for him to get where he needed to go with his members and for me to get an absolutely prime spot in the crowd. The parade didn't actually start until about 9:30.

It's not every day that your boyfriend performs in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Longest five hours of my life, but whatever. He better not mess up the choreography after all this shit or I'm gonna be pissed.

Not really, it would actually be pretty funny. But the point is- this is pretty exhausting. Especially since I'm here all by myself.

Other members have partners, but they either couldn't come out for the parade or they don't like me. Not kidding, they seriously just don't like me that much. But that's okay! I don't particularly like them either. Anyways, all that resulted in me being here alone, without anybody to talk to to pass time.

But whatever. Whatever! It's over. The agonizingly boring five hours is over, and the parade is finally starting.

The float I'm really here for is a few floats and balloons back, but the parade feels like it moves quickly, so it doesn't seem to take very long at all.

The big Baby Shark float approaches and I see him already trying to find me in the crowd.

"Excuse me, could my daughter stand in front of you? Just for this performance?" A woman asks from behind me. I look next to her and see a young girl, probably about 10 or 11, holding a picket with my boyfriend's face on it.

She looks like this is the best day of her life. She isn't even looking at me, like she doesn't even care if she has the best view of the group. Just being here and seeing them is enough to fill her with pure joy.

"Of course! Of course she can!"

"Oh, thank you so much." She prompts her daughter to move forward as I scoot back a bit to make room for her. "She loves these boys, she's been talking about it for days. Thank you."

"It's no problem at all." I turn my attention to the young girl. "Is he your favorite?" I point to her picket.

She nods, excitedly.

"He's so pretty."

"He really is. He's my favorite too."

I look up again, seeing that he's still trying to find me. I wave with all my might, willing him to spot me, and soon enough he does. As soon as I have his attention, I frantically point to the girl who is now holding her picket up and waving at him. He leans down a bit to indicate that he's changed his attention to her as he smiles, waves at her, and sends a hand heart in her direction.

She squeals and jumps up and down.

"He saw me!! He saw me!! Mama, he saw me!! He gave me a heart!"

The cute little girl continues to freak out, making me worry slightly that she might just explode, as the float stops and the guys climb down, getting ready to perform.

There was some benefit to getting here so early. The performances are all directly in front of me (and this little girl, who I feel some level of community with at the moment.)

The hosts finish up their introductory stuff about the float, the movie, and the group, and the Baby Shark music begins to play (soon transitioning into the Keep Swimmin' Through tune.)

I watch him intently, full of pride for him and his success with the group.

I know he can't entirely take this seriously. It's a song for a Baby Shark movie. It's not like it's the most serious of performances in the first place. But I also know that deep down he can't believe he's here either. He can't believe he's doing this. He'd probably agree to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star acapella if it meant he got to be in such a big event that few kpop groups have been in.

The group does a great job. Of course they do. None of them mess up the choreography, so I remain not pissed off. (Lol)

After the performance, they simply walk off next to the float, but my boyfriend makes sure to send a quick flying kiss to both me and the little Engene in front of me before leaving the main square.

"He saw me again!!" She squeals.

"That's great, honey!" Her mother says before whispering to me, "Do you know that boy or something? He seemed to know you?"

I laugh a bit.

"Yes, ma'am. He's my boyfriend."

"Oh my! Oh, you must be very proud of him."

"You have no idea."

The rest of the parade is uneventful, just nice entertainment.

When it ends, I say goodbye to the little Engene and her mom, and seek out a heated place as fast as possible. I'm finally able to find a store nearby that is both open and not too busy. I wait in that store until my boyfriend is released from his duties and able to text me where to find him.

When I finally do leave and find him, he hugs me tighter than usual and holds on longer than usual.

"Are you alright?" I ask, slightly concerned.

"So cold. You're so warm."

I laugh, though I understand. I have to pry him off of me, taking a second to kiss his cold lips.

"You guys did great. Was it fun?"

"Yeah, it was. Less fun though and more just... just a really crazy experience."

"I bet. Did you see a lot of Engenes throughout the parade?"

"Yeah! A lot more than I expected. They really showed out. That little girl in front of you was adorable."

"You're her bias, and I think your heart and kiss made her entire day. Month. Life, possibly."

"Well, I wouldn't have seen her and made her entire life if it wasn't for you."

He takes my hands and pulls me close to him, bringing his face near to mine.

"It really is all thanks to me, isn't it? Technically, maybe /I/ made her entire life. You were just the tool."

"Mhm, mhm. Sure..." He trails off, pressing his lips into mine in a much deeper way than the short kiss earlier.

I feel a warmth run through my body, like the warmth of his kiss is being injected into my veins.

He cuts it off suddenly, staying close enough for his lips to still brush against mine. We utter a sentence each before resuming the kiss.

"Thank you for coming and standing out in the cold just for me."

"Baby, I'm so proud of you."

[sweetestbaby]

ok so here's the thing. if you're feeling helpless and you're thinking something along the lines of "oh well i'm just a girlblogger, i can't help anybody in palestine so why even bother talking about it, there's nothing i can do", lemme tell you what you can do: talk about it. even if it's just a small gesture of posting the flag, saying you stand with palestinians, if that's all you can do, then please do it. because it is important that people understand and see that the world is watching what is happening and that, despite what western propaganda would have you believe, not everyone is on board with this genocide

all my life i felt like i was the wrong one for not being able to accept the state of israel and its atrocities. i thought i was the one who was too dumb to comprehend the historical context that justified the evil, somehow. i thought i was anti-semitic for even thinking about it, and that i was, again, too stupid to comprehend what exactly about it was anti-semitic. it took me eighteen years of life to see another person in real life speak up against israel, a history professor in college, and even he was stepping in eggshells, aware that if he spoke too radically against israel, he would face criticism at best and retaliation at worst. still, relief washed over me completely when i heard him, a person i admired and knew, say out loud that what israel does in the palestinian territory with palestinian people is plain wrong. it made me realize that i was not stupid, even if i didn't know the intricacies of the history of the conflict

so what i mean to say is that even if you're just a girlblogger, if you speak up against the state of israel and against the genocide of palestinians, you too will make other people realize that they're not crazy for seeing evil where there is evil and that they're not stupid for seeing through the western propaganda that tries to make all of us condone genocide and colonization. you don't have to be an expert to stand against aggressors, you just need common sense and a conscience

and if you're in a place far away from the conflict, so far away that it seems like it doesn't matter at all, remember that right now the people of palestine have had their internet and all forms of communication shut down by the state of israel. they have been silenced, literally, and cannot report on the atrocities being committed right at this exact moment. israel wants people to stop looking, stop paying attention and stop talking about palestine so they can continue their plans of ethnic cleansing. if you're far away from the conflict, then your life is not in danger if you speak up, you won't suffer any consequence for it other than, perhaps, lose a few followers

if all you can do is talk about it, then please, please, for everything you hold holy, TALK ABOUT IT 🇵🇸

[kathysturniolo]

Understand you.

description: a teenage girl, February Martin, struggling with mental health and addiction who hates talking about her feelings. she likes the fact that nobody notices. however, her best friend, Matt, starts to realize more and more that she's losing herself.

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

"Feb.."

"Feb, wake up."

"February.."

"Feb! "

   My eyes flickered open. I heard Sarah's voice. I looked at her. The light burned into my pupils.

"Ms. Tilson just asked you a question."

"I-I'm sorr- what? " I lifted myself up. My arms were numb.

"I asked you to identify this triangle. February. "

My eyes fixated on the board. It was blurry. I looked around and everyone's eyes were plastered to me.

"I- um- I don't know." My nails dug into my arm. I heard whispers and people were giving me looks, almost like they wanted to yell 'boo' at me.

"Miss Martin, you've been sleeping in my class almost this entire semester. "She sighed.

I didn't say anything. I wanted to. I just stared at my legs. She pinched the bridge of her nose and picked up a marker.

"Does anybody else want to try to identify the triangle? "

Hands rose like fucking springs. You idiot.

After that class, I left early. Like, 'asking to go to bathroom and then walking out of the door' early. I'm surprised I've never been caught before, after doing it at least 20 times this year. I found a gas station and sat outside on a piece of side walk and pulled out my my phone.

feb:

heyy

matt:

dude did u leave class again?

feb:

yeah lol sorry

matt:

yk your gonna get caught one day for just leaving.

feb:

it hasn't happened yet so 🤷‍♀️

matt:

ok lol. where are you?

feb:

Dan's gas station

matt:

come by my house after i get out, k?

I sighed and sat down my phone. i was going to go to a bar tonight. Get 'today' off my mind.

feb:

alright

I headed home after sitting down for about 15 minutes. If I was being honest, I didn't want to explain to my dad why I was home early, but I just wanted to go home for a little bit.

I opened the door. The creak made my body twitch. I hated this damn door.

"Dad, " I shook him.

Yep, he was knocked out.

Thank God.

His beer can spilled a little on the floor, leading me to accidently stepping in the puddle of liquid.

"Shit."

Well, that was another reason why my day sucked. I took off my now soaked converses and threw them over in the living room, rushing to my room.

My room was a mess. I didn't remember leaving it like this. I just threw myself on my bed, opening the sandwhich bag of meth I had in the corner of my bed, hidden under some covers. When Matt finds out I didn't stop using he'll be so pissed at me. His voice rang inside my head.

6:51

matt:

u still coming over?

My phone buzzes beside me. I woke up as my body was leaned off the bed.

I was definitely high. .

feb:

ya

I cut my phone off and tried to get up. My head got dizzy and my vision went black.

It's okay, maybe he won't notice.

I put on a dark blue sweatshirt, put on a pair of sneakers, and walked out of my room, down the stairs.

Dad was still fast asleep. Part of me didn't really care and wanted to let him sleep but the other part of me wanted to wake him up and make sure he didn't die in his sleep. I was almost out the door when I sighed and turned back around and made my way to my dad and put my finger under his nose to make sure he was breathing.

He was, thank God.

I walked back to the door and walked out. I forgot to lock it but, it's a small neighborhood, I think it'll be okay.

I must've not been too high, I could still function. I was kinda dizzy still. Hopefully, I don't get hit by a car as I'm walking to Matt's.

feb:

im on my way

I slid my phone in the pocket of my sweats. and speed-walked down the street and curved a couple corners until I made it to his house. He had a better house then me, it was bigger and cleaner. He loves to clean, so that makes sense.

feb:

here

A couple seconds later, Matt's blue eye met mine. He greets me with a big smile.

"Hey, kid," He said, poking out his hand, gesturing to do our handshake.

I smiled and grabbed his hand, "Bro I said stop calling me kid, you're literally younger then me," I laughed.

"By what? 4 months?" He said furrowing his eyebrows and smiling.

We both laughed and I walked into his house fully.

"Parents are at work, so we're definitely using the kitchen." He said, chuckling.

"Aww, mann, but Marylou and Jimmy are the only reason I even come here," I teased.

He laughed and we walked up the stairs to him room. He had an awesome room. His LED lights were always on green, he had a huge bed, and a big blue bean bag chair. He had a huge gaming set up, and a walk in closet with band posters stuck to it from top to bottom.

I plopped on his bed and kicked off my shoes. He climbed beside me.

"Dude, I saw this movie on TikTok, it's about some psyco killer clown. It seems pretty badass. "

I was zoned out, my head in the clouds, I almost didn't hear what Matt said.

"Alright, " I said with an unconvincing laugh.

I could tell he was confused on my lack of excitement because I saw him look at me from the corner of my eye.

He cut of the tv, and put it to the movie. My head was killing me. I clenched my eyes shut and winced a little. He tapped on my shoulder.

"Are you good bro?' He said, with a little bit of a laugh.

"Yeah, duh" I said sarcastically.

The movie played for at least 10 minutes before my vision went black again and I got dizzy. I started to lean back a little bit.

"Feb." He said, seriously. So seriously, it kind of scared me.

"What?" I said innocently, as I looked him.

He looked at me, squinting his eyes a bit. He parted his lips and frowned at me.

'You're using again. " he sighed.

"What? Matt. I'm not. I'm no- not."

I looked at him. I could see his eyes start to water.

"Feb, you promised me you'd stop. You promised me." He looked at me, with glossy eyes.

"Matt, I- I'm n-" My voice cracked. My eyes swelled with tears. "I can't, Matt."

Matt wiped his hand over his mouth. I could see a tear, screaming to come out of his eye.

I covered my mouth with my hand. I tried not to cry. I closed my eyes to try to keep the tears in.

He leaned over me, putting his hands on my arms. He looked at me, he didn't say anything. It was almost like he was waiting for the whole world to disappear and it just be us.

"February," He spoke, "It's okay."

He took his thumb and wiped his thumb across my face.

"You're my best friend Feb. You told me you were getting better. You told me that you stopped."

"Matt, I- I'm sorry." I sighed.

"What's going on? You first started using when your grandma died. That was your worst breaking point. That was 3 years ago. What's going on now? " He whispered.

"Nothing, Matt. Nothing, I promise."

"February, talk to me."

"You won't understand."

"You're my best friend, I understand you, Kid"

"My dad." I whispered.

"Your dad? What's wrong with your dad?" Matt asked concerned.

"He misses Mom, Matt. Last month was her birthday. He's been isolating since." My voice cracked.

Fuck, don't cry again February.

Matt pulled me into a hug. I put my face into the crook of his neck, trying not to cry.

"I'm so sorry. " He whispered as he rested his chin on my head. "Can you stay tonight? I just want to make sure you're okay."

I breathed out and wiped the tears off my eyes and nodded."

"I'm here for you, February. For fucking ever."

I chuckled, and we laid back and continued watching the movie.

[sharksa-shivers]

OH DAMN, SOME MEFORIA CONTENT??? O SHIT LOL...

(We see Nucleo stuck in one of the shadowdemon dungeons, he seems very fuckin uhhhh, not pleased, and this'd be due to shadowcult members finding out where he lives and waiting til he got home from work, so he's still like dressed in his work clothes and shit, oof…)

Meforia:(we see her trying to be nice and actually like…Courteous towards him, she gives a smile)Soooooo, uhhhhh, i guess…Anything i can get you or?

Nucleo:(annoyed)I mean…You could let me out and let me go the hell home…We could start there…

Meforia:(gives him a kinda sad look)Yeahhhhhh, so…I can't do that, sorry…Uhhhh, anything else i could maybe do or?

Nucleo:(just gives her a weird look)Why the hell are you asking me that??? Don't you literally want to kill me???

Meforia:(sighs)No, i don't. Look, i'm sorry, i just need you here basically for bait. I literally just need firebitch to show up, okay?

Nucleo:(annoyed)She's not gonna come here herself, she's gonna fucking send The Trio kids, fucking hell…

Meforia:(smirks)That'll work too! I just need that damn amulet off of Kristy!

Nucleo:(we see him get defensive)I swear to Neptune, you hurt any of them, im not the strongest mer but i promise you, i'll fuckin fight full power over them!!!

Meforia:(rolls her eyes)I'm nottttttt, i don't want to hurt them, i don't want to hurt or kill you or anybody else, i just want the damn amulet…

Nucleo:(glaring)Ok, cmon, we both know that's bullshit, you're just as on board with murder as anybody else here, don't fuckin lie, cmon…

Meforia:(she stares at him)No i'm not, the hell do you mean???

Nucleo:(surprised at her seeming lack of self awareness)…You want to bring back Demon Drop yeah?

Meforia:(nods)Of course i do!!! I love him!!! Nucleo:(slouches back, arms crossed)The hell do you think the outcome of that's ACTUALLY going to be? We both know what he wants…

Meforia:(getting awkward)I…

Nucleo:(obviously not happy)You say you don't want to kill me or hurt Kristy but like…You KNOW he WILL if he comes back and gets power. So how the hell is that any better or any different?

Meforia:(we see her thinking, Nucleo just staring at her, his forest green eyes just glaring)…….Okay, how about this, uhhhhh, i can't…Really…Promise this fully through but maybe i can talk Demon into sparing you, huh???? How's that???

Nucleo:(glaring, anger in his eyes)I don't want to live in a world where everyone i know and care about is fucking dead. I don't want my friends or family, or fuck, even strangers hurt and killed by you assholes…

Meforia:(she feels bad and awkward, sighing)…I…I'm sorry, i just…I'm sorry…

Nucleo:(pissed off)No you aren't because if you were, you'd call all this shit off but we both know you fucking won't!!!! Fucking christ, if you're gonna leave me alive, then do me the favor and leave me alone, wouldja? Fucking hell…(slumps tiredly and pissed)

(We see Meforia just stare, feeling bad but she brushes it off and turns, leaving the dungeon area and Nucleo alone…) ----------- (I really do need more Meforia stuff, smh...) Idk if i am 100% happy with this but i do like it so i shall share lol (points once again to the disclaimer on my page that everything is subject to change...Also this one is kinda older, like several years so...Yeah...) But i'm p sure i said before...OH is morally grey...But Meforia is too... OH is somebody who's trying to be a hero who seemingly does and has done quite alot of questionable and not good shit in her quest for that goodness. (Like...Idk, kidnapping a random teenager to save the world...Yknow, like that lol...Like yes, she's causing irreversable harm to this one person mentally...But it's for the fate of the entire world and...Surely Kristy would be much more miserable if the demons win in the end no?) Meforia is the opposite. She's obviously been through her own shit and struggles and...All her heartbreak upon losing Demon Drop with him being banished by OH and Purple Fin, well...Now she's doing awful shit to get him back. Sure, she doesn't hate mortals directly herself, hell, you could probably get her to befriend some...But........Well.........Demon Drop kinda wants to wipe out every single thing with a pulse so...I mean...Bringing him back brings that sort of danger level back now doesn't it? Other antagonists we'll see in Kidnapped are just straight up bastards but Meforia is one who...I feel is interesting to play around with...How far is she willing to go for Demon Drop? Could she ever sway herself enough to get out of the cult? (Probably not at this point easily since she's the Queen of the Shadowdemons in Demon Drop's absense...The cult probably will not take kindly to the queen stepping out of line...) Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo yeah, yknow lolololol, It's not just The Trio and The Trio defs aren't the only characters who have arcs and developments and whatnot... Also!!! Cuz i feel like it might be asked You say it Mah-for-ia=Meforia Just for clarification lol...

Also incredibly old art and i ABSOLUTELY need to draw her again soon, here's a pic of Meforia as a refresher... (would've posted the actual image but i am presuming it is too big...idk, won't let me so you get a link instead to some super oldass art...Ik it's old but at least you'll get some idea of her design lol...) Also Meforia isn't a shadowdemon, she's a shapeshifter as a reminder as well!! (and shapeshifters are more rare and hard to find so yeah, fun lol)

I'll find some more posts with her later, maybeeeeee more up to date dialog stuff lol XD

[ging-ninja]

Dealing with a Flag Smasher

Ok, so just a quick one before we start. I started writing this a while ago and thought I’d post it here too, see what happens 🤷‍♀️ idk. It follows the events of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, hope you enjoy the first chapter. Also it’s under the same name on my Wattpad with more chapters.

Introducing…

Nothing says "good morning" more than sirens there to wake you up in the middle of the night. I mean it wasn't exactly a surprise given where I lived, or more existed really. You see I wouldn't exactly call this derelict building home, but it was what I had and trying to change that wasn't exactly simple.

You see, maybe I should give an introduction. I'm Remy, Remy Edwards. I was raised in a French orphanage run by an English woman, who for some reason refused to learn any French. Apparently it would "be beneficial to us all to learn a second language". Totally not going to confuse all the little French orphans, right?

Anyway, after the orphanage things were going well, for a while anyway. But life never exactly goes to plan does it? I mean half of the population disappeared for fucks sake. Can't go much more downhill than that. I guess I was one of the lucky ones though, I didn't have much to lose.

So understandably, the last episode of "What the heck is Remy doing?" wasn't exactly going to well. After the snap, I decided to drop out of college like I'd wanted to since I'd joined and started stealing government data now that they lost half of the idiots trying to protect it.

It kept me occupied and it's not exactly like there was anybody spare to come after me anyways. Life carried on, it wasn't great to be honest but in some ways it had improved. People had come together to rebuild each other's countries and everyone had finally come together over something.

Well that was until everybody returned, millions of people being misplaced and made homeless. People that had been gone for five years suddenly deciding that they deserved more than those of us that had been left behind. All of the understanding that had come from the snap erased almost instantly.

Naturally some people had objected to all of the relocation and new controls of borders. A group know as the "Flag Smashers". A woman named Karli, their leader as it turned out, had managed to find me to try and get me on board. You can't be surprised that I took up the offer can you? Like I've already said I had nothing to lose and this gave me the perfect opportunity to release all of the dirt I had gathered to the world.

[sleepsleepnotwoke]

Last night at work was wild. Lotta weirdoes. I'm assuming it's cause welfare cheques come in tomorrow.

Dude no. 1 was clearly on acid or mushrooms or something. He came in and asked for a drink, so I served him. I didn't think much about when he was talking about not being able to see or hear very well. Maybe he forgot his glasses and the music was too loud. Idk. But he walked away and he was stumbling and tripping over shit and making veiled threats to people but I'd already served him alcohol so legally he was my responsibility. Fuck. He stuck around for about an hour rubbing his face and playing pool and talking about how people were messing up his equations and stuff. But eventually he got home safe in a taxi.

Dude no.2 came in not long after. I saw him make his way over to the bar, I asked what I could get him, and he said he just wanted to sit down for a minute. OK. He sits a sec, takes a look around and says "this place looks a lot different from when I was last here"

"Yeah, lots of people say that. They totally redid the place when covid was happening. They took down some walls, got new tables, new lights and stuff. But yeah that was a couple years ago when like covid and stuff was new"

"What do you mean?"

"Well they renovated this whole place when covid was happening. That's why it looks so different."

"No, I mean.... you keep saying covid. What is that?"

"...... it's a deadly disease that shut down the world for years."

"Oh. OK."

He hung around the bar for 10 minutes or so. He mumbled about ancient aliens and ghosts and how the government knows all about both of them. I nodded along. He left and asked where the bathroom was like 10 times after that. He kept looking in all the off limits broom closets and utility rooms. He stayed from probably 8 till we closed at 1. Didn't order a thing.

Guy no. 3 I met by the back door when I went out for a smoke and some fresh air. He was a bit of a chatterbox but I went out and came back in a few minutes later. He asked me a couple things about the business. I was telling him that it's kinda a hidden gem for food, what I usually ordered for lunch, about how we had free board games and a ps4 hooked up. But then I went back to work at the bar. A couple minutes he grabs a seat and asks for a glass of water. And then he talked for an hour and a half straight. About EVERYTHING. He told me about how his wife left him after a domestic, how he's homeless now, about how that was his first high-school sweetheart and he's never had sex with anybody else, about his childhood growing up in a swamp an hour north of town, about how he knows all the most powerful numbers, about how fentanyl will fuck your life up. And all at a pace so fast I couldn't even say a word. But I listened intently. But God damn it was mind numbing. Eventually I said I had to go to the bathroom and when I came back he was gone. He came back a few minutes later, gave me his jacket, and left.

Godspeed you three.

[robinrunsfiction]

OTPTOBER - CANDLELIGHT

Oh my beloved idiots 😄 so this one is a bit different! It is a band AU where Lux is the drummer. I have a whole big version of that from when she joins (instead of Bob) and going forward. This is set during the recording of The Black Parade. I dunno if it will get placed into the larger story or just be a random one-off, but I thought it was cute. And besides, they're MY otp, and I say they get to be soulmates in whatever scenario I want them in!

🕯

"Are you fuckin kidding me," Lux groaned as the lamp on her bedside table flickered and then went out. She reached out, feeling around for her lighter before fumbling to light it and igniting the candle sitting beside the lamp. 

She was just about to settle back into her book when a soft knock made her jump halfway out of her skin. "Yea?" She called out tentatively. 

The door opened slowly and Mikey poked his head around. "Did you lose power too?"

"No, I just read by candlelight for the aesthetic."

"Oh," he looked confused for a moment. 

"I'm kidding!" Lux laughed. "Do you wanna come in?"

Mikey nodded, shutting the old wooden door behind him. "Why do you have candles anyway?"

"After that second unexplained power outage, I decided that it would be a smart investment. Which begs the question, who decided that an old ass mansion that frequently loses power would be a great place for a recording studio?"

"I dunno," Mikey replied, sitting at the foot of her bed. "But I'm ready to get out of here."

"Are you," Lux paused, unsure of how to ask her question, until she just decided that straight forward would be the best option. "Are you okay?"

Mikey looked at his hands on his lap, a silence hanging between them. "Not really," he finally said. 

"Oh Mikes," she replied, just above a whisper. She climbed out from under her blanket and sat next to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and he let his head fall to her shoulder. 

"Gerard has just been so… lost in this album so I didn't have anyone else to talk to. I didn't wanna bother you or anybody else with it."

"I can't speak for everyone, but I can say you can always come to me. I might not be able to, I dunno, express my feelings well, but I can always listen to you and yours."

"Thanks," he mumbled. They sat in silence for a while longer until Mikey finally spoke up again. "Hey Lux?"

"Sup?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

Lux's eyebrows shot up in surprise as the candle on her bedside table flickered. "Umm, depends on how hard you're gonna judge me for my answer."

"I won't," he replied.

"Umm, yea, I do. I did even before we came here, but now I really do."

Mikey sat up and looked at her, eyes wide. "Same!"

"The power just doesn't go out like this,  even in old houses!" She exclaimed. 

"And I've seen shadows,  out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought it was because of the lasik, but now I don't think so."

"Should we get an ouija board and ask them to leave us alone while we're here?" Lux asked. 

But before Mikey could reply, the candle on her nightstand went out. Both let out yelps of fear, as they grabbed for each other.

As Lux started to calm down, she realized how tightly Mikey was holding her, not just to comfort himself, but to protect her. 

"Are you ok?" He asked, as he stroked her hair.

She pulled back slightly and tried to look up at him before remembering it was pitch black in the room. 

"Yea, I'm ok," she breathed. Suddenly the lamp lit up again, and light from the hallway could be seen from the crack under her door. That's when Lux realized how close she really was to Mikey. 

"I should let you get back to your reading," he said, not letting her go even a little. 

"You can stay," she replied, almost too eagerly she realized. "I mean, in case the power goes out again, I do have candles after all."

Mikey nodded. "That's a good idea. Safety in numbers too."

"Exactly," she said, finally pulling away from him and climbing back up the bed. She rearranged the pillows before patting the spot next to her. Mikey smiled and climbed under the blanket and was finally able to sleep for the first time in days. 

[miliabyntite]

ALL THE EMOJIS! ALL OF THEM. I DEMAND THE ANSWERS. HAVE A NICE DAY AT WORK!

ok u sick fuck here u go

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

- this isn't really something I think about, to be honest! i am content to let people discover my fic by turning over rocks and seeing what scuttles

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

- there was a time where i was toying with reworking my harry potter fic series, but then jkr's transphobia exploded and i took it down so that's kinda out the window lmao. i do still consider putting it back up and just abandoning it but eh. but outside of wanting to update my own personal Lore in fic sometimes, not really no.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

- yes. no but in all seriousness, i love it when people point out a specific thing that Got Them, even if they just keysmash over it. (however while i respond as soon as i see a comment i am extremely awkward about it so. sorry about that)

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

- not? that i can think of?? not in terms of wanting people to know i struggled???? some fics flow easily, some don't, and it's largely irrelevant i think.

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

- mostly it's just worrying about having spelled something wrong or gotten words switched in my brain, but that's easy fixes.

🌻what makes you want to give up on writing? what makes you keep going?

- nothing really makes me want to give up, i just struggle with motivating myself to get it done. as for what keeps me going..... i am an extremely stubborn and unkillable and annoyingly persistent species of gnat.

🌿how does creating make you feel?

- i'm not sure how to put it into words. satisfied may be the closest? "correct" is also a good one maybe.

🍉in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

- probably a lot more ways than i realize. this isn't really something i track, but it's definitely helped me become more open-minded in a lot of ways.

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

- YOUR WORLDBUILDING FUCKS!!!

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

- well, i guess it's kind of fluid? i'd be hard-pressed to say what my style is. i tend to write according to what tone i want. if trying to pin down what i do, i guess wry humor and peppered-in worldbuilding are pretty across the board.

🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!)

- is this something people celebrate??? i tend to just yeet it at my loved ones, yeet it onto ao3, and then go about my day :V

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

- this depends entirely on what the fic is about honestly. i can't even narrow it down to just the smut fics, because they all have different purposes. so i guess it comes back to tone, tone, tone.

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

- the uh. dubcon ones. fully expected to get my head bitten off honestly. i also didn't expect the oviposition one to be so popular but that's on me

🤍what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

- i don't think anybody's not gotten any of my fics, but most of what i write is fairly straightforward?

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

- not really :V

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

- tempered, which is an ffxiv oneshot au. i don't actually have anything to say about it lmao? it's 600 words of vague idea that i don't particularly care about one way or another. but it had some fun sentence structure. probably. (i don't remember)

💎why is writing important to you?

- because if i don't get these ideas out i'll explode. please send a bomb squad

📡why is writing and sharing your writing important for fandom?

- ngl with how disillusioned i am re:fandom this is not a good time to ask this. i would have said previously that it was good for building community, but now idk.

🪄what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

- it is wild to me that this is a Thing. idk i'll reward myself by doing something else??

🎙️which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

- oh god i have no idea. i would freeze like a deer in the headlights if anyone asked if they could do this. probably one of the dragon age ones because if someone wanted to make a podfic of one of the smutfics i'd die on the spot

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

- the satisfaction of making people screech

💋when you leave comments on a fic, do you want to hear back from the writer?

- doesn't matter tbh unless i'm asking a question, but i don't expect anything :V it'd be cool to strike up a conversation? but i'm very bad at commenting to begin with so it's unlikely.

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

- see answer to the last fandom related question. shrug emoji

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

- a fic's success ultimately isn't relevant to my emotional well-being; it's nice to get views and kudos and occasional comments(and i will get stupidly excited about all of those) but if it doesn't happen then it doesn't bother me. if the writing itself isn't going well, i close the document and sit on it until either i feel like working on it or feel like shoving it in the abandoned WIP folder.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

- i actually don't have any active fanfic WIPs at the moment lmao :V i have a gw2 fic i've been sitting on but haven't decided if i'll post? i've thrown it at a few friends though so here's a snip;

"Maybe it’s fucked up, but this memory is the one Revaan keeps closest to his heart. In what should’ve by rights been his last moment alive, he’d learned that someone did love him after all.

It’s fueled him for years, now. Someone loved me, once, he’s told himself fiercely on more than one night, when the dragon’s voice crackles in his head and keeps him from sleeping."

[bananaboisgroup]

for @nightmaretherabbit

Lucidscape- FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 4  story

The hazy evening sun setted with an orange glow over Fredbear's family diner as William Afton, Henry Emily, and Edwin Murray,  Set up some raggedy kid’s birthday party. “Party’s at 7:00 sharp.''remarked Edwin, as they checked the  schedule board. William gathered up party hats. “Got all the materials?” The boys replied with a busy-sounding “Yes.” Edwin replied to William saying “but my son David Murray never does. He always leaves his stuff at home whenever he goes to school. Hell, once he left his backpack at home!” William let out a laugh. “You think that’s bad? Elizabeth “forgets” to go to school sometimes. She convinces me that they don’t have to go to school on fridays. It never works though.”   “Speaking of kids, my son has been acting weird lately. Whenever I wake him up for school he sometimes just freezes. Tells me SSSSabout “they’re here. They’re alive. 2 days from now’s his birthday. Don’t want him to be acting like that then.” remarked William. “He might be losing his marbles even more since you left him at home with mike,” said Edwin. “Oh shut up you-” 

Tape stops recording

Tape cuts to michael and evan home alone

6:23 PM

“What? Too scared you little prick?” Michael said. “Please, leave me alone…” said Evan as his nose bled from Michael's punch. Michael grabbed Evan and shoved him against his door. “You’ll probably be dead or homeschooled by the end of the year. And I'm taking the first option!” He throws Evan against the ground. “Mike… please…” Evan pleaded, blood gushing from his nose. Michael drags Evan by his legs into Evan’s room. “Looks like this little baby needs a nap.” he exclaimed before slamming the door. Evan, curled up on his bed,reality fading from his eyes as he cried himself to sleep, blood from his nose soaking the sheets. 

Tape stops recording

Tape cuts back on

Evan “wakes up” , in his room, like normally, but something is different. All of his “Fredbear and Friends” plush toys are all lined up before a Circus Baby plush.  “Weird. Elizabeth’s the only one who has a Baby plush here.” he says. He also notices that there is nothing else in the room except the homage to Circus Baby.  He takes his Faz-light off of his floor (yes those existed in 1983) and heads out of his room. He glances at the familiar, yet empty hallways.  “Hello? Anybody there? Elizabeth? Dad? Mike?” he hears a distant voice calling; “Daddy, why won’t you let me play with her?” He looks in Michael's room. Nothing except his cracked Foxy the Pirate Fox mask.  Evan goes into his father’s room. In the room stood blood stained Springbonnie, hanging from a noose. “WHAT THE FUCK?!” He screams, dropping his faz-light. “The hell is this.” he says , he feels in his shirt to check his heartbeat. His chest begins to itch and sweat from the scare.  Yet he still continued on. Evan reached his mother’s room, nothing was in there except for the faint sound of a music box.

Tape stops

Tape cuts back on

Evan finally reaches Elizabeth's room, and when he opens the door, he almost faints.  He sees her. Circus Baby, her porcelain glow covered by dirt and rust. Her eyes spin vertically back into place, Evan steps back. Circus Baby steps closer to him, then his faz–light flickers off. When it turns back on… (insert circus baby jumpscare here.)

Tape turns off

Tape cuts out of the dream

7:45 AM

 Evan wakes up in a jolt  from his eerily lucid dream, looks around, and clutches his Fredbear plush. Everything looked normal, everyone was fine. He went out of his room, smelled the familiar smell of pancakes, and Michael walking out of his room,  swearing that evan was gonna have a “Good Birthday” and flipping off Evan as he strode. “Everything is ok.” he thought to himself. He said hi to Elizabeth, who yawned and replied by saying a groggy “Hey.”  Evan walks downstairs to the kitchen, and sees his father William making breakfast. “Good morning Evan. Ready for breakfast? Everything’s ready for your party tomorrow.” 

(tape cuts to muffled audio [no video] of cassidy and evan chatting at school and other school- esque noises)

(tape cuts to evan returning home)

3:45 PM

“Dad isn’t home. Again.” Evan remarks. He throws his bag against the door. 

(tape cuts to evan going upstairs)  

(evan works on his homework until he is exhausted.)

Evan (drowsy) I think I'm gonna.. Gonna take a break.. *falls asleep*

Evan “Wakes up” again, leaping up rapidly before smacking his head on the overhead cover of his desk “AGH- damn!”  he looked around. His room was empty. “No, no no no no. This can’t be happening.” He frantically picked up hs Faz-light. He shook it on, left his room and said “I have to get out of here.” “I have to get out of here.”  Remarked a robotic voice from the other side of the house. Evan froze. He knew that voice. It was that thing at David’s house. Evan broke into a run and nearly got hit by Circus Baby as he dashed past Elizabeth’s room. He ran downstairs, and that voice grew louder. This time it said something that Evan said himself one time.  “They’re here. They’re alive.” Evan realized that the voice was coming from the basement.  He froze in fear. The thing in the basement stepped up the stairs until it emerged. The “Voice” was actually a large robot in a torn-up jester suit, The robot’s teeth could be seen through the mouth of the suit.  “HOLY SHIT!” Evan said as he ran into the kitchen.  “Come back. Everything is ok.”  The thing stepped into the kitchen as Evan hid in the pantry. “Oh? Are we playing hide and seek?”  As the thing searched, Evan tried to escape, running from hiding place to hiding place, but as he’s about to reach the front door, he gets intercepted by Circus Baby…

(tape turns off)

(tape cuts out of the dream)

11:34 AM

*Elizabeth touches Evan*  “YAAAH-... Elizabeth?” said Evan.  “Bro, you kept your light on all night. Go to sleep for God’s sake. And happy birthday.” remarked Elizabeth.  She rubs his hair before going back to her room. “Maybe i might actually have a good birthday tomorrow.” Evan goes back to sleep, unaware of what will happen on his special day.

8:56 AM

(tape turns on)

“Wake up Evan! Happy Birthday!” Evan woke up in a relaxed state, Realizing that it was his mother, Clara Afton. “I have everything set up for your party this afternoon! I can’t believe that you’re turning 13! I can’t wait to see how you’ll grow!” Yelled Clara. “Chill out, Mom *chuckles*” Said Evan.  He got up, did his morning routine and arrived downstairs. “Good morning, birthday boy.” said William.  “HIII EVAN!!” Said Elizabeth.  “Hey.” Said Michael. *Camera zooms in on michael* 

(*The tape saturation increases until it cuts off)

(tape cuts to Evan’s birthday-)

(the camera is in michael’s hands now)

“Alright, Everybody know the plan?” said Michael. 

The group responded with a whispering “Yes.” 

(tape cuts to evan standing alone)

“Unnerving…” Evan said as he was sitting with Cassidy at one of the tables, thinking to himself as he stared at Springbonnie and Fredbear singing Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday”.    Suddenly, Michael and his 3 other friends sprung from behind the arcade machines and grabbed Evan. “Come here you little bastard.” Michael’s girlfriend, Bethany, said to Evan. Mike’s friend Eduardo also kicked him in the… (I'd rather not say.) “What the hell is wrong with you, Michael?” Evan pleaded as the group dragged him toward Fredbear. “What’s that? Looks like the bitch said he wants to give Fredbear a big kiss!” Michael said affrontingly. Two employees rushed over and told Michael and his gang to leave, but Michael shoved one of them into a table.  “Get your fucking hands off of me!” Evan pleaded as Michael shoved him into fredbear’s mouth. “ (muffled) get me out of this-” Evan said before… The jaw snapped back into place, Fracturing Evan's skull, and leaving him bleeding on the floor. Michael’s friends gasped as Michael ran over to Evan's dying body. Cassidy pushed past Michael and ran up to evan. She had no words. William rushed over and started crying. 

(tape cuts to evan’s dream)

Evan’s vision faded, and the next thing he knew, everything faded to black. Evan “wakes up” in a hospital bed on the stage at Fredbear’s, seeing an Iv stick and bag beside him. The entire restaurant was dark. He grabbed his broken, cracked faz-light and shined it at a stage on the right side of the room. Circus baby and Fredbear were on the stage. Circus Baby looked menacing as ever, like normal, but Fredbear looked different. He was faded yellow, Evan could not believe it. Was this hell? Was he already dead? Did Michael and the rest of his family forget about him? “Hi cutie! I missed you!” Said Circus Baby. “Go the fuck to Hell.” Said Evan.  “Don’t say that foul language to me. Because you know what I'm capable of.” She snapped her fingers, and… Fredbear walked off the stage, Evan’s light flickered, and when it turned on again, he nearly dropped it. Fredbear was covered in a black, mold, his hat a gleaming yellow, and his mouth was full of nightmarish, sharp teeth. Then,  The Thing, Now known as Mimic, appeared crawling on the ceiling, contorting his limbs in a disturbing manner. After that, A large, moldy yellow rabbit with multiple tears  walked in from the side door. It was Springtrap. Fredbear ran over, disturbingly similar to how a bear would run at its prey, and grabbed evan. “I control you, just as in a game. And don’t try to fight me back.” Said Circus Baby. “Try it, and i’ll rip out that excuse of a brain in your head.” Said Circus Baby. Fredbear kicked Evan forward, Evan ran off, barely dodging Springtrap’s bear hug before dashing into a vent. “I’m safe, oh my gosh I'm safe.” Evan remarked. “I’m safe, oh my gosh I'm safe.” said Mimic. Evan’s heart started racing as he saw Mimic’s eyes turn from orange to purple. He dashed through the vent as Mimic chased him, scraping his metal claws against the ventilation. Evan reached a fork in the vent, and chose the right hand side.  He came out of the vent only to find out he was in the basement of fredbear’s.  Circus Baby appeared from the darkness. “♬ It is like a magic show, a darker flow, I won’t let you go.♬” She sang.  She then slid a knife to Evan on the floor.  His light flickered as he stared at the knife on the ground. Then,  as Evan’s light came back to life, Fredbear appeared on the wall, his head staring at Evan, as he crawled onto the ceiling and into the room Circus Baby was in. Evan looked at the knife, picked it up, and skeptically walked into the room, he looked around, and then he saw Springtrap. Evan tried to stab him, but Springtrap grabbed his hand and threw the knife away. Springtrap then grabbed Evan and pinned him to the wall. “Where do you think you’re going to go now you little shit?” Said Springtrap.  Evan tried to move his arms to attack him, but they couldn’t move. Instead, he used his legs and kicked Springtrap in the torso. “COME BACK HERE!”  He ran, and then he saw it. The exit. He made a mad dash until Circus Baby intercepted him, grabbed him by the neck and strangled him…

(tape cuts back to real world)

He woke up, in a hospital, his hearing was muffled. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak  Though he could still see Cassidy, standing at his hospital bed. She placed a hand on his chest. “You’ll be ok. I promise.” “I’m still your friend. Do you believe that?” “I just don’t want you to leave me.” She said, “It’ll be ok.” she said, but all Evan heard was “It’s me.” The heart monitor was an atrial flutter, then a flatline. He was gone, but the soul wasn’t.

[pesterloglog]

Karkat Vantas, Terezi Pyrope, Sollux Captor, Equius Zahhak

Act 5, page 2543

PAST carcinoGeneticist [PCG] 6:12 HOURS AGO opened public transtimeline bulletin board TEAM ADORABLOODTHIRSTY.

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

PCG 6:12 HOURS AGO opened memo on board TEAM ADORABLOODTHIRSTY.

PCG: OK I THINK I SET THIS UP RIGHT.

PCG: FUCK I SHOULD HAVE COME UP WITH A BETTER BOARD NAME.

PCG: BUT I GUESS THAT'S THE NAME IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE SINCE THAT'S THE NAME THAT

PCG: UH

PCG: I ALREADY READ.

PCG: WOW THAT PROBABLY WON'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ANYBODY.

PCG: WHATEVER, IT'S JUST A STUPID NAME, LET'S JUST DO THIS.

PCG: THIS IS A PUBLIC BULLETIN USING TROLLIAN'S WEIRD TRANSTIMELINE FEATURES WHICH I DON'T EVEN REALLY UNDERSTAND YET.

PCG: BUT I'M GUESSING MIGHT BE USEFUL.

PCG: I'VE INCLUDED ALL TWELVE PLAYERS IN THE SUBSCRIPTION LIST SO YOU SHOULD ALL BE ABLE TO READ THESE MEMOS AT ANY TIME.

PCG: THAT IS, ALL THE MEMOS POSTED, PAST AND FUTURE. I THINK.

PCG: IT COULD GET PRETTY TEMPORALLY CONFUSING OBVIOUSLY. I'M GOING TO TRY TO KEEP THE MEMOS AS SIMPLE AND LINEAR AS POSSIBLE.

PCG: ALSO LET'S KEEP THIS A ONE-WAY-ONLY BULLETIN TO MAKE THIS AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.

PCG: DO NOT REPLY TO MY MEMOS!!! THIS IS NOT A FUCKING CHATROOM, ASSHOLES.

PCG: IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO ME IN RESPONSE TO A MEMO, MESSAGE ME IN PRIVATE AT THE APPROPRIATE POINT ON THE TIMELINE.

PCG: FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS ABOUT THE TEAMS.

PCG: AS OF NOW, YOU SHOULD ALL BE AWARE THAT THERE IS REALLY ONLY ONE TEAM, AND WE ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER.

PCG: AND BY "NOW" I MEAN TIME LOCAL TO ME AS OF WRITING THIS.

PCG: SO IF YOU'RE READING THIS IN THE PAST...

PCG: UH OK FIRST OF ALL, HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS FEATURE ALREADY? SECOND WHY DIDN'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME.

PCG: WHATEVER I DIGRESS.

PCG: IF YOU'RE READING THIS IN THE FUTURE THEN WHO CARES, IT'S PROBABLY OLD NEWS TO YOU.

PCG: ACTUALLY NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT READING THIS IN THE FUTURE?

PCG: IT'S LIKE ANY BULLETIN BOARD, YOU POST STUFF AND IT SITS THERE FOR A WHILE AND PEOPLE IN "THE FUTURE" READ IT.

PCG: HUH. BIG FUCKING DEAL I GUESS.

PAST gallowsCalibrator [PGC] 5:51 HOURS AGO responded to memo.

PGC: OH MY GOD K4RK4T!

PGC: WHO C4R3S!!!!! >:O

PCG banned PGC from responding to memo.

PCG: ANYWAY LIKE I WAS SAYING.

PCG: ONE BIG TEAM, OVER WHICH I HAVE ASSUMED TOTAL LEADERSHIP.

PCG: I WILL ASSUME THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO STAY THIS WAY FOR THE DURATION OF OUR QUEST, AND THAT I WILL REMAIN AN IMPECCABLE LEADER FOR A SPAN OF HUNDREDS OF HOURS WHILE I GUIDE US ALL TO A STUNNING VICTORY.

PCG: IN FACT, I DON'T EVEN NEED TO ASSUME.

PCG: I BROWSED THROUGH THIS WHOLE BULLETIN IN ADVANCE, AND IT DOES APPEAR TO BE THE CASE. GO ME.

PCG: IN FACT, SINCE I'VE SEEN WHAT I WILL WRITE IN THE FUTURE, I WONDER WHAT IMPETUS I WILL HAVE FOR WRITING IT LATER WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO?

PCG: I WONDER IF I COULD JUST COPY/PASTE IT... HOLD ON.

PCG: DAMN.

PCG: I GUESS THEY THOUGHT OF THAT? I DUNNO. I TRIED TO LOOK AT THE WHOLE BULLETIN AGAIN, BUT NOW THAT I'VE OPENED THIS ONE FROM THE BEGINNING, I CAN'T SEE THE WHOLE THING ANYMORE.

PCG: UNLESS I LOOK AT IT ON ONE OF YOUR COMPUTERS...

PCG: OR MAYBE IF YOU SEND ME LIKE A TEXT FILE OF IT? WOULD THAT CAUSE A PARADOX OR SOMETHING?

PCG: YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS SO STUPID.

PCG: I ACTUALLY REMEMBER READING ALL THIS SHIT LIKE A HALF HOUR AGO, AND NOW HERE I AM TYPING IT ANYWAY.

PCG: I PROBABLY CAN'T AVOID TYPING ANY OF THIS, HOW WEIRD IS THAT.

PCG: I HATE TIME TRAVEL.

PAST twinArmageddons [PTA] 0:34 HOURS AGO responded to memo.

PTA: eheheheheh KK iim ba2iically ju2t lmao here at thii2, WOW.

PCG: HOLY FUCKING SHIT, ARE YOU PEOPLE RETARDED.

PTA: dude don't worry ii wont fuck up your memo for long, ii ju2t cant beliieve thii2 wa2 the biig rea2on you wanted "future me" two help you open tho2e port2.

PTA: two ba2iically ju2t babble about paradoxe2 and argue wiith your2elf for hundred2 of page2 heheheh.

PCG: OK SO YOU'RE SAYING THIS FROM LIKE 5 HOURS IN THE FUTURE JUST TO GIVE ME A HARD TIME, NICE.

PCG: WELL THANKS FOR THE HELP, SO WHEN DO I BAN YOU, FUTURE BOY?

PTA: a few liine2 down, after ii pretend liike iim goiing two diie.

PTA: iim 2ure for a laugh on account of my iimmiinent banniing, FUCK how could you even do that two me.

PTA: 2o cold man.

PCG: ARE YOU REALLY STILL SORE AT ME FIVE HOURS LATER FOR RUNNING THAT VIRUS, GOD DAMN GET OVER IT.

PCG: IT WAS YOUR FUCKING VIRUS ANYWAY, YOU'RE TO BLAME.

PTA: eheh no bro we're cool about that, now future you ii2 connectiing wiith me 2o ii can enter the game.

PCG: OH YEAH?

PTA: yeah 2o thank2 for that fiive hour2 iin advance.

PCG: THIS IS BS ISN'T IT.

PCG: TROLLING ME FROM THE FUTURE, HOW JUVENILE CAN YOU GET.

PTA: no man iit2 true, we are bulge bumpiing pupa pal2 agaiin.

PCG: OH FUCK THIS CONDESCENDING FUTURE KNOWITALL ACT, WE AREN'T BUMPING SHIT, YOU ARE SO BANNED.

PTA: nooooooo, not the ban, it buuuuuuurn2, oh god hahahaha.

PTA: waiit.

PTA: oh god.

PTA: iit doe2 burn.

PTA: 2omethiing'2 wrong, iim 2eriiou2!

PTA: that horriible p2ychiic noii2e

PTA: the voiice2

PTA: they're all goiing two diie

PTA: oh 2HiiT iim bleediing

PTA: 2hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

PTA: thii2 ii2 bad

PTA: ii have two get her iin quiick

PTA: got two go

PCG banned PTA from responding to memo.

PCG: AND SO THE PORCINE HOOF BELONGING TO THE SWOLLEN HAG KNOWN AS LADY DESTINY HAS STOMPED ANOTHER THROAT.

PCG: WHICH ONE OF YOU FUCKERS IS NEXT?

PCG: NOBODY???

PCG: OK, GOOD.

PCG: ALTHOUGH I'M FAIRLY SURE I REMEMBER SOMEONE ELSE CHIMING IN BEFORE I CLOSED THIS MEMO.

PCG: YOU ADD DISORDERED SHIT RINSERS CAN'T KEEP YOUR LASCIVIOUS PRONGS OUT OF THE ROE HOLE, CAN YOU.

PCG: SOLLUX, FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, OR PAST REFERENCE OR WHATEVER

PCG: IF YOU WANT TO DO THAT KIND OF ROLEPLAYING, YOU CAN START YOUR OWN BULLETIN.

PCG: YOU CAN ALL ACT LIKE BRAINDEAD ASSWIPES IN YOUR OWN FESTERING FLAP OF PARADOX SPACE, FINE WITH ME.

PCG: EVERYONE WILL BE SO CONFUSED BY THE TIME PARADOXES, IT WILL DISTRACT THEM FROM HOW AWFUL THEIR TERRIBLE HOBBIES ARE.

PCG: CHOOSE YOUR CLASSES NOW! LEVEL 69 NOOKSNIFFER IS UP FOR GRABS, WHO WANTS IT.

PCG: NO THAT'S NOT AN INVITATION FOR YOU FUCKING NERDS TO COME IN HERE AND CORRECT ME ON YOUR GODDAMN FAIRY ELVES.

PCG: JUST DO ME A FAVOR AND KEEP ME BANNED FROM THAT ONE OK.

PCG: I'LL RETURN THE FAVOR IF YOU NERD UP MY MEMOS, I SERIOUSLY CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY FUCKING NERDS ARE ON THIS TEAM.

PCG: JUST REMEMBER THIS IS MY PERSONAL PODIUM, A STUMP IF YOU WILL, FOR SOLE USE BY ME AS LEADER FOR IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP BUSINESS.

PCG: GOT IT?????????

FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG] 612 HOURS FROM NOW responded to memo.

FCG: GROAN.

FCG: THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING.

FCG: WHAT WAS I EVEN THINKING.

PCG: STFU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PCG banned FCG from responding to memo.

PCG: OK, I'M FED UP WITH THIS MEMO, GONNA CLOSE IT OUT.

PCG: YOU'LL HEAR FROM ME AGAIN LATER WHEN I GOT SOMETHING ELSE TO SAY, I.E. JUST SCROLL DOWN YOU DOUCHE.

PCG: IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE ALREADY.

PCG: BECAUSE OF

PCG: TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVEL!

PCG: I KNOW, RIGHT?

PCG: ANYWAY, JUST TO REITERATE:

PCG: FULL STEAM AHEAD

PCG: LEADER = ME FOREVER, OBVIOUSLY

PCG: PEACE THE FUCK OUT DBAGS

CURRENT centaursTesticle [CCT] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

CCT: D --> I'd like to add to this useless memorandum

CCT: D --> That I still don't recognize the validity of your leadership

PCG: SWEET MOTHER GRUB'S OOZING VESTIGIAL THIRD ORAL SPHINCTER.

PCG: HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE BE SO STUPID.

CCT: D --> It may be true that we are all playing in the same session, but I see no reason to disband the former power structure

CCT: D --> Especially if it means instituting a tactical midget with a short fuse, a foul mouth, and paralyzing insecurity over the color of his b100d

CCT: D --> That's all I have to say

PCG: OH I HAVE A SHORT FUSE! THAT'S VERY FUNNY, YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR ME LAUGH OVER THE SOUND OF THE ROBOT YOU ARE PROBABLY BEATING TO DEATH.

PCG: OR DOING WORSE TO.

PCG: HEY, YOU DO KISS YOUR ROBOTS, RIGHT?

CCT: D --> Uh

PCG: MIGHT AS WELL CLEAR THE AIR AS LONG AS WE'RE BROADCASTING THIS ACROSS THE ENTIRE SPACETIME CONTINUUM.

CCT: D --> Not usually

PCG: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

PCG: THE FUNNY THING IS IN THE FUTURE EVERYONE WILL RECOGNIZE ME AS THE UNDISPUTED LEADER, EVEN YOU.

PCG: YOU WILL BE STANDING ON THE TIPPYTOES OF YOUR IDIOTIC METAL SHOES, TAKING DELICATE PURCHASE OF MY NUBBY HORNS AND HOISTING YOURSELF OVER MY HEAD TO PUT YOUR SWEATIEST TOUGH GUY SMOOCH UPON MY TWITCHING SPINE LUMP.

PCG: IT WILL BE TENDER AND DEFERENTIAL, LIKE A PAUPER KISSING A NOBLE'S RING.

PCG: JUST SCROLL DOWN, READ THE LOGS.

CCT: D --> Nowhere have I seen evidence of this

CCT: D --> Most of this is you from various points in time raving about nonsense and arguing with yourself

CCT: D --> Do you realize that here in the future, this bulletin has come to be regarded as something of a joke

CCT: D --> A lengthy piece of comedy, often quoted amongst ourselves in private moments of levity

CCT: D --> It seems I'm the one to inform you of this up front

CCT: D --> Which is likely why you persist with the ingratiating charade against better judgement

PCG: YOU'RE GETTING OFF ON THIS AREN'T YOU

CCT: D --> What do you mean

PCG: THIS EXCITES YOU, BEING THE TOUGH GUY AND PRETENDING LIKE YOU'RE PUTTING THE AWESOME LEADER IN HIS PLACE.

PCG: YOU'RE PROBABLY WORKING UP A GOOD SWEAT.

PCG: HOPE YOU ALCHEMIZED A BUNCH OF SPARE TOWELS.

PCG: HEY WHY DON'T YOU && THEM WITH YOUR SPONGEY BRAIN FOR EXTRA ABSORBENCY.

CCT: D --> How do you know about my perspiration problem

CCT: D --> I mean, aside from reading about it in this memo

CCT: D --> Wait

CCT: D --> Fudgesicles

PCG banned CCT from responding to memo.

PCG closed memo.

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

[schneizel]

the story of how I became a fujoshi

a funny story but it's personal at the end of the day!

It all began in summer ... Kidding, I have no idea what season it was. But this person was but browsing the Internet innocently when she started seeing that word floating around her favorite forums, boards and general "otaku" communities on the web: "yaoi". Actually, "shounen ai" too.

(Thunder would strike now, totally.)

So at first obviously I had no idea what that was. I was very young - not even reached puberty yet - but I was a bit younger than my fandom friends at that time, so they were kinda "eeeerrm" about explaining that to me, but as I was a well-known conoisseur of yuri (because my nickname was Michiru Kaioh for quite some time and even though I liked her for other reasons, of course by then I knew ... way more than a 8yo should about yuri) they chose to explain anyway. But of course... well, yaoi in general was quite raunchy when compared to yuri so they had to tell me that too and I was kinda "ew" at first. I used to read yuri manga but that was basically, um, shoujo with two girls really (which made it LESS problematic than most popular 90s shoujo where the boy would almost always be a rapist or an asshole in some way...) so of course I was kinda "thanks but no" about yaoi in general also because yaoi fangirls were rabid and all that (remember yaoi paddles?!) so anyway for some time... I was like "yaoi? Oh yes, I know. No, I don't like. No I'm not homophobic I just don't like it lol" about it honestly. Even though my best friends at that time liked it I was quite "ew" and "that's ok man to each their own" .

That's how it all began. My first anime fandom (as in series I religiously followed weekly episode releases) was Ouran Host Club and even though it was well a shoujo parody anime (and I was into it for the parody as I was Haruhi To A T and didn't get along with rabid fangirls) it was a very smart one that made me rethink my irrational hatred of rabid fangirls a bit and also some other things. And among these, well... Basically my best boy (that was Kyouya Ootori yes) had great scenes with the protagonist just like everyone else in that reverse harem, and I shipped them loads, but he ... was 100% driven by his relationship with dumb best guy friend Tamaki I guess. It definitely seemed to me more like a love triangle. The more I saw into it, the more I got into the triangle and from there I also began reading "TamaKyo" (actually, KyoTama was my fav lol) fanfic and stuff because I couldn't get enough of my husbando lol. Anyway, from there I learned more about all of it - uke, seme, erodoujin, mpreg - wait but no really but I wasn't entirely sold on "liking BL" yet though my best friend reeeeeally wanted me to just indulge in BL too lol. At some point I watched Princess Princess which was similarly to Ouran a shoujo parody (but in this case of BL manga and its tropes) and was super into it, but the author was also a prolific BL author under another penname so there was a gay ship/couple between the main characters that of course was better than every other ship in that series. But I STILL wasn't entirely sold. Come on! Don't care for guys fucking (actually, I was so Haruhi To A T I didn't really care for anybody fucking - took me a while to realize I was Actually Asexual really ; ; ;) nor am I a guy so why should I actively seek M/M stuff?

That's when, well, It happened. By "it" I mean she set a trap for me. (... This is such a good story I tell people to this day, sorry @ friend. ) She sent me an episode of Gravitation on Messenger saying I had to watch it and I was like "yeah yeah ..." because I couldn't refuse it anymore or maybe it was a dare or something. I downloaded it so she'd be satisfied and had it on my PC thinking "well, let's just let it rot..." and then she asked to come over on the weekend and to put it plainly she robbed me of my mouse and keyboard and played it on my PC. Here I am screaming internally because I'm 12 and my parents are around and she's like "watch it. Just watch it." and I didn't want them to realize I was making a fuss over it so I just watched it. I was very annoyed at first really, but by the end of the episode I was... kind of glad Shuichi didn't really look like a guy anyway and thought it wasn't THAT bad just kinda lame. Anyway, nobody got hurt (maybe?) and then she went home and begged me on Messenger to watch more of it. I think I gave it a try for whatever reason and before I knew it I had fallen in love .......... with Ryuichi Sakuma ; ; ; ; ;

COME ON RYUICHI IS AMAZING. Easily on my top anime guys to this day. He is pretty, talented, famous, slightly batshit has a split personality and one is cool and the other is cute and funny I meannnnnndfbndn !!! Also I hated Yuki but I was RyuShu trash and that never really changed. Murakami Maki was dumb for not exploring the ship better. Anyway, this is the story of how my fandom bff and Kyouya Ootori and Taishi Zaou and Ryuichi Sakuma turned me into a BL fan. From there I watched other friends' recs like GetBackers (fell in love! ALSO, KAZUKI ..........) and it all went downhill from there. By 2007 I was like "but there are bishounen ... and we SHIP" and that's kinda how it goes to this day lol. So after that I lost all of my pride and went on Gaia to ask for recommendations of "anime with great slash ships", discovered Code Geass ... and that's where I'm now I guess.

Fun story.

[effssscopyrighted]

Clara The killer

EXTRACT FROM THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER: A MINOR MURDER ON LIBERTY:

Last evening, the police department received a report from a girl whose house the murderer broke into that evening.

She had dark brown hair fluffed up her shoulders. There was a blond streak on her fringe. I got scared and hid under the bed - says the girl in an interview

-What happened next? asked the police chief.

-The girl started singing

- "Where are you? Honey, come and put you to sleep, it won't hurt ... maybe just a little .. "and then she opened the wardrobe, I think she thought she would find me there. I was scared but I remembered my mother's old phone was under the bed. So i took it ...and called for you. Later you took me to the police station and my mother came.

- did the woman have any special signs?

-Yes. She had a large cut, bleeding smile and no eyelids which made her eyes quite bloodshot. There was some scarlet liquid on her black sweatshirt. I think blood. I'm sure she killed my neighbor .. the girl also had a knife in her blood.

-Ok thank you. If anyone has seen the woman described in the article, please report to the nearest police station!...

13-year-old Clara Devies was an ordinary teenage girl who recently moved to the city with her mother,father and older sister. The neighborhood was very nice and everything seemed to be fine by the time of the school year.

-Dad is supposed to give you a ride to school or you can do it yourself to not waste the fuel?

-I can do it on my own.the long-haired brunette replied, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. -okay..bye mom!

-bye honey, have a nice day at school.

After these words, the girl left the house on her way to school. On the way, she watched the houses, they were very nice and the area was quite populated so there was something to see. As she passed the local store, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a notice board, so out of curiosity, she decided to look at it. She scanned the advertisements for a moment when she noticed the one that caught her attention.

,, 14-year-old murderer still out! Beware. If anyone saw him, please report to the police"

Underneath there was a picture of a wall-white boy with a huge cut-out smile. He had black disheveled hair and burned eyelids. Clara was impressed. She was impressed by the boy's courage. He was beautiful to her.

-He had the courage to do this to himself, wow ... All this time the girl felt watched but ignored this feeling and went to school. She sat down in her seat and put her backpack next to the desk. Imperceptibly, she put one earpiece in her ear and played the music. Suddenly a group of girls approached her. The blonde hit the desk and extended her hand to Clara.-Michelle.-Uh ... Clara. -I don't need to know. Only you should know my name because you will remember itThe girl said with a smile.

-Are you threatening me?

-possible.

-girl what is your problem? I'm new here, that's it.

-I know, that's why it makes you realize that I am not just anybody. I am the daughter of the schools principal.

-who cares anyway?Clara replied ironically with a shrug.

Suddenly she felt a strong punch in the face and she squealed and grabbed her bleeding nose.

-What did you do ?!

-What do you see, bitch.

-Ooo no ..

The brunette got up and gave Michelle a slap in the face.

-You stupid ...

Suddenly, the girls' quarrels were interrupted by the teacher who entered the classroom quickly. She was tall and rather obese, with auburn hair and green eyes that adorned brown-rimmed glasses. She screamed

-DEVIES! TO THE PRINCIPAL! What do you think? Just because you're new doesn't mean you can do anything you want to.

-What? But ... why doesn't she come with me to the headmaster? She provoked me and hit me first.

-without any discussion.

Clara sighed and got up from her seat and went to the Headmaster. She tried to calm down with the fact that it was only a small argument, but deep in her heart she knew that she had already made her first impression and no one would like her anymore and Michelle has a principal father so she has more privileges.

-sit. - said the principal

The girl sat down on the office chair stressed out.

-I heard about what you did. By what right do you dare to beat my daughter ?!

-the man almost shouted.Anyway..I'll say it shortly, as you are new to this school this is your last chance. One more such action and we will expel you from school.

For the rest of the day, Clara walked around feeling depressed and when she returned home, she repeatedly apologized to her parents who did not believe her that the headmaster's daughter had beaten her up. Her mother decided it would be best to transfer her to a boarding school, but her father persuaded her to enroll the girl in a psychologist. The minutes, days, weeks, and months passed, and Clara was still bullied at school. The girl was so upset that she tried to leave school, but her parents prevented her from doing so because of her school antics. At every visit to the psychologist to whom her parents enrolled her, she lied about her life and her thoughts because she knew that if she had said the truth would be sent to a boarding school or worse, to a psychiatrist! Clara was sitting on the toilet eating sandwiches every time, because nobody wanted to talk to her, even though she was not a bad girl ... she also thought more and more about this famous killer. She wanted to be like him.She was sitting in the toilet cubicle, sitting blankly staring at the gray wall. Today she did not have breakfast, she forgot to take sandwiches from the table at home in a hurry. She only prayed to God that her oppressors would not go to the toilet. Unfortunately, god did not listen to her. She heard the door open and a loud female voice

-Is our claraaa here? Her friend said

- she's definitely in one of the cabins. Let's check .. One by one, they opened the toilet cubicle door, and Clara panicked tried to lock the door, but she did not manage to lock it. The door swung open with a strong bang

-Come on girls, here it is! Michelle said, while her friend Mia came out with long scissors-

w-what? .. The girl said.

A thrill of adrenaline passed through her body. She felt that nothing mattered anymore and she had to fight for her life. She started pushing through the Girls but they were all stronger at once. Katie pushed Clare onto the toilet seat and began to push her head into the toilet water.

-Stop! .. Help !!

-She screamed when all the girls forcibly pushed her head into the toilet, drowning her. The girl fought with all her might for survival, for every breath of air.

She had heard the scissors being cut from behind her head as Katie and Michelle were drowning her, but that didn't matter now. Clara felt as if her head was about to explode due to the pressure of the water. She couldn't hold the air any longer and her lungs automatically drew in for air. Instead of air, water poured into the girl's lungs, which caused unimaginable pain and coughing, she started screaming under the water for help, which made more water flow into her lungs.Suddenly everything turned black ...

Clara woke to the floor with her entire face wet, she began to inhale the air panically. After a while she calmed down but she felt that something was wrong .. She touched her hair. They were short. Up to the arms. And she had deep wounds on her back made with some sharp instrument, probably the same scissors. The girl cried out, her mascara was running down her face slowly as the girl squirmed on the ground in agony ...

After returning home, she lay down on the bed and for an equal period of 8 hours lay looking at the cream-colored ceiling, smiling and talking to herself under her breath. A couple of times her sister came into her room and asked if she was okay, but Clara didn't answer. After 10 p.m. she got up slowly from the bed and sat down on the wooden floor. She pulled the pillow closest to her and began to tear it open. White down was flying around the room and the girl was tearing and destroying the purple pillow more and more as a result of her frenzy. Suddenly a large, slightly rusty kitchen knife and a small silver lighter fell out of it. The girl, without questioning where these items got there, took them. She looked at the knife in her hand for a moment, then put it to the corner of her mouth and deftly made deep cuts that went through her cheek, she did the same on the other side of her face. Crimson blood ran down her hands and face like the knife. It dripped slowly to the ground. Immediately after that, she quickly burnt out her eyelids and stood up. She wore a black sweatshirt that was now stained with blood, and black shorts and sneakers. She got up from the ground and went to her parents room. Her father was asleep but her mother was watching TV.

When the girl came into the room her mom screamed.

-Dear Godness!What did you do?!

after that she covered her mouth and add

-You're a monster now..

Brunettes mouth started to twitch uncontrollably and her eyes were showing more and more Madness.

-Don't you like my new face, mother?

She came closer to her parents bed and stabbed her mother twice in the head. then she killer her father.

The girl giggled and heard some noises behind the window. They were similiar to knocking. She turned around and saw a tall white figure in a suit. It had no face. But it didn't scared her anymore.

She went straight to her sister's room right after.

Her sister didn't even woke up

The girl stabbed her in the heart multiple times tall she wasn't dead. Clara covered her body with the white stained with fresh blood sheets and patted her head.

Then, she went out ...

Passing by all those street lamps, she thought about her life and about the choice she was about to make. She walked to the door of the red brick house and shattered the front window. She stepped through it and went up the creaking stairs to Michelle's room. She quietly opened the door and stepped inside. She stood for a moment with a knife over the girl's bed, but she did woke up.

-What ?! ... What are you doing in my house you freak !? Get out of here! I'm calling the police!

Here comes hell. It's redemption, isn't it?

After that, Clara picked up the knife and stabbed it roughly in Michelle's stomach. The girl made a terrified face, her eyes were blurred with fear and the girl herself began to sweat

-no Please.. She said quietly.

-I'll put you to sleep. It won't hurt...or...maybe just a little.

The brunette with a smile started to stab the girl a dozen more times untill she wasn't covered in her blood. Michelle's body was motionless and her head was tilted slightly to the right. Blood was slowly pouring out of her mouth. Clara had a great idea, walked closer to the girl and cut her a deep eternal smile just like hers and then pulled her eyes out with her claws.Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly in shock

-Good job.

Black haired boy with a white sweatshirt dirty with blood said. It was Jeff the killer himself.

:)

(ART BY MEE (IG:Strawberry_.Dream)

[gustingirl]

hi nella <3

i have a fluffy little request :)

i'm not feeling too great at the minute, like i'm so emotionally drained and am in a bit of a panicky limbo. i'm currently unemployed and am trying desperately to find a job, and i'm feeling like a huge burden to my parents because, at the moment, they are my financial support (i'm only nineteen, but i feel like i should have my shit together, ya know?)

anyway, could you possibly throw something together about how jake might comfort me and help me through it?

i hope you're having a wonderful day/night

much love, stressed anon :)

p.s. i am absolutely love your blog <3 one of my favourite on this hellsite

ok seeing someone address me on the interney by name will always be a weird but beautiful experience.

i want to post this for you because this ask made my heart warm, but it'll be short, i fear

so jake comforting you:

- i truly feel he understands other people's emotions pretty well, so i can imagine him feeling your pain even if he never went through it, like it's incredible how understanding he is

- something inside me believes he would try to give you a bit of a lecture, not much attacking you, but more like letting you know with words why he believes you're not a burden

- in times where others are not positive, i see jake taking that role, so i can only imagine him saying positive things to you, as lecturing and also like random compliments, you know?

- in physical love, jake would want you to get distracted, and i can see him using his own body for it. if you're in the mood for sex, great. but if not, he would probably want you to sit down with him and do whatever as long as your mind is busy.

- though i imagine him laying down with you, taking a nap or watching a movie, i can see him wanting to play games for some reason. board games or not, like he would want to hear you laugh and so he would bring up all sorts of games to play together.

- random dates? like out of nowhere he's taking you on a hike with him, next thing you know you're going to whatever restaurant you choose, also let's visit the casino and see if we win anything, just random spontaneous adventures to get you off your head.

- his biggest mission would be to change your mind but, upon not being able to (it's a very hard mission for anybody), jake would change his mission to make you smile or laugh, both if it's possible.

- what i mostly feel with jake is that he would first let you vent, rant, cry all you want cuz he knows you need it. he would prioritize you unleashing everything that's bugging you before anything else. then, he proceeds to show you his point of view, whether you care or not, he wants you to know his opinion. finally, once all conversations have been done, it's distraction time. he's working his ass off to distract your mind as much as possible.

- little extra: he would bring josh along the way at some point, mostly to see if he could light you up a bit, but this would only happen if he sees you're not getting better or if he runs out of ideas.

i'm here for you, if you ever need anything! i hope you feel better, and i love you so much!

[giorno-plays-piano]

Savior

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, kidnapping, mentions of COVID.

Words: 2633.

Summary: Nothing goes right in the middle of pandemic while you try to come back home. Luckily, Bucky is there to give you a hand.

P.S. Basically, I typed all the story on my phone, so please forgive me for any mistakes. Hope you'll enjoy!

_________________________

You knew something would go wrong. You had that nagging feeling the whole day right after you woke up and prepared your bags before arriving at the airport. Today you had a flight back to US right in the middle of pandemic. You needed to get back to your sick father as he had no one but you to take care of him, and the urgency made you disregard all the risks related to your travel. You needed to get home at whatever cost.

But nothing was as easy as before, and now you were almost crying, staring at one of Sokovia Airlines officials who blankly stated you simply didn't have enough documents prepared by the Embassy for your travel. Basically, they were implying that instead of taking a transit and flying back home you might stay in Sokovia - of course, you had only a transit visa that didn't give you any right for a long stay. Both company's representative and you knew you only planned to return home, but he simply couldn't let you pass without full set of documents.

"God, honey, how long are you going to stay there?" You heard someone's grumpy voice behind you and turned back to see a huge man with long dark hair advancing towards you.

Who was he? You had never seen him before arriving at the airport. Then you spotted him in the line - his muscular built draw your attention immediately, and your cheeks were flushed when you saw him looking back at you. The crinkles in the corners of his eyes showed you he was smiling at you. But what was he doing now? Did he take you for someone else?

"I'm sorry, who are you?" The representative asked, watching the man suspiciously.

"I'm her fiancee." The stranger barked and took a look at you, his light blue eyes strangely comforting. You weren't sure, but did he just... winked at you for a second?

The man behind the counter didn't look pleased.

"Then why weren't you standing together?"

"Because we had a big fight this morning and were mad at each other when we arrived here." The stranger furrowed. "With all due respect, it's none of your business. Would you tell me what is the issue with her papers, please?"

You gulped, your arms shaking slightly. Although the stranger probably wanted to help you, you weren't sure it would work out - the representative only needed to ask if you knew this man's name to figure everything out. Was he actually travelling to New York as well? Would the officials ban you from entering US at all for your lie? God, anyway, it was too late to confess.

"I'm sorry, dear." You whispered, looking at you shoes and hoping no one would suspect anything.

The stranger let out a sigh tiredly and scratched his head. Instead of answering you, he gave his passport to the official. 

"Your fiancee doesn't have the form WS-21, Mr. Barnes. We cannot permit her crossing the boarder of Sokovia without it, unfortunately. Do you have your own form?"

"I'm sure I do." He passed the man behind the counter a pack of his documents and carefully took the papers you held in your arms. Flipping through them, he gripped the phone in his other arm.

"Yes, your forms are alright, but..."

"Just a minute, please."

You watched him dialing some number and shivered at the thought of being trapped in the airport. The only thing you wanted was to come back home, to your father. You prayed to stay healthy and was supposed to take a test right after your arrival. Of course, you knew perfectly you were most likely to stay two weeks at home, but it was way better than staying thousands miles away, nonetheless. 

"Hi Steve." The man's voice almost made you jump. "Yes, I'm good, but my sweetheart has an issue with one of the forms... Yeah... Well, you know her, always forgetting one thing or another... The Embassy, of course. Hey, could you?.."

You saw him walking away to the next few counters, keeping his distance from other travellers with their huge bags. His large bulky figure looked scary, his face concealed with a black mask, and you suddenly wondered who this man was. A complete stranger, he was eager to help you. Why? Was he truly a Good Samaritan? If not, what was his motive? Nervously tapping your hip, you felt your eyes watering - your anxiety was getting worse.

The official huffed and puffed, visibly irritated. You saw people passing around you with the boarding passes in their hands, looking for the right direction, and asked yourself why you were not as lucky as all of them. Could that mysterious Mr. Barnes help you? Watching him pacing across the airport hall, you chewed your lip to bits. 

'I'm so, so sorry." You whispered to the man behind the counter. "Please, just a few minutes more." 

He didn't answer, and you were left to your own dreary thoughts.

However, your frightening savior showed up soon with a smile hidden beneath his mask. Judging by the way he looked, things might be not as bad as you expected them to be.

"Don't worry, honey." He said confidently and gave all your documents to the representative. "Consul will be here in 10 minutes."

You gaped at him, trembling at his words. What? Consul? Consul was coming to save you? This man was able to convince him to drive all the way to the airport just to help you with this goddamn form? You couldn't believe it. It sounded insane.

You realized you were crying only when the man in front of you shushed you gently and rubbed you shoulder with his gloved hand. Thinking it looked odd, you decided you had to say something convincing and mumbled, "I'm sorry for all the things I said in the morning. I was... I was..."

"It's ok, honey." He said softly, his icy blue eyes warming up at the sight of your flushed face. "It doesn't matter now. Everything gonna be alright, let's just relax and wait a little bit." 

He was right, of course. Once Consul had showed up and came to speak to the officials, it turned out you didn't even need the form WS-21 because you had the other one to replace it. Bucky - that was your handsome stranger's name - chuckled quietly once he saw the red face of Consul walking to you to offer his sincere apologies. The company's representatives looked like someone just splashed a bucket of cold water over their heads. It didn't matter to you, though, as you got the only thing you wanted from the start - your right to come back to US. 

You were the last one to go through customs - your flight was delayed for 15 minutes just to give you time to board after this hussle. Bucky was with you all the time, always keeping the distance. He even gave you one more mask since yours was drenched with tears. It's unsafe to wear a wet one, he said.

It was still hard to believe all this happened to you. Now you were sitting close to Bucky and looking out the window happily. God, you thought you would have a heart attack before this kind man showed up to save you as if he were a prince charming. You were ashamed of yourself for thinking he was frightening. Well, he looked beefy, but Bucky was a former Navy SEAL, and it wasn't surprising he wanted to keep himself in shape. Listening to him trying to make a small talk, you smiled. He was a good man, and you were lucky to meet him.

"Thank you... for taking care of me." You said in a tiny voice. "If you weren't there, I'd never leave this place."

His eyes sparkled with joy at your words, and he laughed a little through his mask. 

"I'm glad I was able to help." Smiling at you, he watched the flight attendants coming closer to your row and offering drinks to the people in front of your seats . "I understand how important it is for you to come back."

___________________

The rest of your journey was as stressful as its beginning, but Bucky was always there for you. Still pretending to be your fiancee, he dealt with your new issues so fast as if he had a magic wand, and you couldn't express your gratitude for everything he had done for you. Apparently, meeting someone as good-natured as him was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

In the end, exhausted from your long journey - you spend more than 20 hours travelling - you fell asleep on the way back to New York. Bucky was next to you again, and you finally felt safe. All was good if he was close.

Thinking of the ways to repay him for the kindness he showed you, you closed your eyes and dozed off in a matter of minutes. Everything was going to be okay.

Or so you thought before you woke up in a place you didn't recognize, all you belongings gone. They even changed you clothes! Feeling hazy and tired, you shifted uncomfortably on the bed and looked around a plain room with only a few pieces of furniture. What had happened? Did you fell sick during the flight? But it didn't look like hospital. Why no one had woken you up if anything serious happened? Why didn't you wake up yourself? Surely, it was loud enough when you landed. You weren't even a heavy sleeper!

Still a little groggy, you got your feet on the floor and walked to the door next to the white Ikea drawer. You hoped your were back to US, at least. If you were in Sokovia... God, you didn't even want to think about it.

"Excuse me, is anybody here?" You asked once you entered the corridor, looking for people.

Although you saw no one at all, you heard someone's footsteps and froze, suddenly feeling afraid to move. Why were you so sure it was safe to raise your voice? You didn't know where you were, why you were kept here, and who was the one who brought you to this place. Did you break any laws? Were you confined? 

Before you freaked out, you saw Bucky emerging from one of the doors and advancing quickly towards you with a wide smile. He had no mask covering his face, and you saw how handsome he was with his soft chapped lips and a three-day beard. Was he really here with you? You saw his grin and felt relieved. Thank goodness it was Bucky, you thought. If he was here, you two would definitely figure something out. 

"Morning, honey." He smiled and stretched his huge hand towards you. "How are you feeling?"

You laughed at his words: he was still playing your little game. 

"Hi Bucky. A bit tired, but otherwise I'm pretty good. Um, where are we now, actually?"

He looked at you dumbfounded and helped you walking into the closest room - a nice spacious master bedroom with lots of photos on the walls, a huge king-sized bed, a closet and a table. The room looked a bit unfinished, but better than the one where you woke up. 

"We're home, honey." Bucky answered softly when you landed on the comfy bed.

"Wait, your home?"

"What do you mean? Our home, of course."

When you looked at him with wide eyes, he simply gestured to the frames on the wall, and you saw yourself kissing him on the cheek. The other photo was a selfie where you were depicted sleeping on Bucky's shoulder. One more had you two dancing. You couldn't believe your eyes and jumped from the bed to have a better look at the photos, but it was really you there along with him. How could it happen? What did you miss? You could swear you had never seen Bucky before. Was it Photoshop or anything like that? It would be more realistic, really.

"Didn't we... m-meet yesterday at the airport?" You whispered, horrified to the core.

"Honey, we met two years ago." Bucky frowned, coming closer and looking at your face intently. "Listen, I'm going to call the doctor again, ok? I see you didn't recover from your fall yesterday, so let's have you checked one more time."

"What fall?"

"Your bike. Yesterday's evening. You lost consciousness for a few minutes, remember? The doctor said you had nothing serious, but I see he was wrong. Give me just a few seconds to call him, ok?"

You stared blankly at him, unsure of what to do. Was it all true? You felt like you were going mad, watching Bucky walking out the room. Did you really lose your memories because you hit your head? Maybe it sounded quite logical, but you just didn't feel it was right. 

When Bucky was talking to the doctor in the corridor, you quickly searched the room but didn't find your cellphone or anything that could confirm your suspicions. On the other hand, you didn't remember anything after you fell asleep during your flight. Anything at all. There was no memories of your father even, although you cared about him more than anyone else in your life. How bad did you have to hit your head? It didn't feel real.

Sighing, you walked to the closet and opened it, finding there just a bit of Bucky's clothes and a few pieces of your own old one. If he didn't know you, how come your clothes was here? Surely, he couldn't bring your unconscious body through the customs, then come to your house, fetch your clothes and bring you here. How was that even possible? 

You looked in the mirror, watching you face growing more wet with tears streaming down your cheeks. You needed to calm down. Whatever had happened, Bucky was not your kidnapper, obviously. He only wanted to help, nothing else. Maybe you really hit your head too hard. 

Scratching your temple, you looked closely at your face to see if something had changed. As far as you could see, you were the same as before, but you had never been keen on changing your appearance, anyway. Maybe it was all true. Maybe you were now living with Bucky in your new house as a couple.

You sighed again and touched your shoulder with your palm. You were safe. Regardless of what had happened, you were back in US, visibly unharmed - well, almost - and living in a pretty decent house. It was silly to think that Bucky was here to torture you. He was probably no less concerned than you: his honey couldn't even remeber those two years they spent together.

But then you suddenly saw a little blue line on the back of your palm. It was hardly visibly since you tried to rub it off your skin once you accidentally marked yourself with a pen while filling some documents in Sokovia, yet some ink was still there. You looked carefully and saw that it was the very same curved little line. It wasn't a coincidence. It couldn't be.

When you heard Bucky's concerned voice somewhere from the corridor, you backed away to the bed, watching the door with horror. It was all a lie. Those pictures on the walls were really photoshopped, and the clothes... if he could make the pictures in such short time, maybe he had someone to take care of your clothes. Maybe he had never been a Navy SEAL in the first place. Was he a hitman? A serial killer? You didn't know for certain, but one thing you knew for sure: Bucky wasn't your savior. He was your captor.

___________

Tags: @hurricanerin @pandulceamor

[theoriquewitherseld]

Heck I DO wanna know more! I'm super interested in thia fic 👀

OK I am SUPER happy receiving this ask, but alas all I can offer is a lot of excerpts,, more under the cut

When Jacques arrives at Stain'd, he finds the records to be VERY accurate: it's a deadzone. That would likely explain the weird look the conductor gave him when he requested to get off. There's no longer anybody here

Back then there must have been some, perhaps, in order to enact Lem's apprenticeship. But he still regards the situation with an air of apprehension. Large chunk of reports were missing, reports that were leading up to his disappearance. It could be that VFD hid it, of course, but intentional or not, its denominator remains the same: something monumentally terrible occured for that to happen.

And he will have to walk straight to it. Or at least, its aftermath.

The rattle of the train leaving startles him, and he shakes off his nerves. He wants so badly to get back on the train, jump on the railings perhaps but the rear has gotten quite a distance away. He's already alone.

(Oh God I just realized I have no idea what people do after they get off trains. Should there be like people taking ur tickets or something?? Ive been on a train only once and that was super long ago)

The Stain'd Station was utterly deprived of life. Everything was cracked and looked in the danger of falling apart. Litter and dirt was strewn all around. There was no place that Jacques just wanted more to bail out of immediately (except, perhaps, that one wasp-infested area but that is besides the point). It unnerves him, to listen to the echoes of his footsteps in the abandoned station, with its business nothing more than a ghost of its past. It rattles him more than the rattle of train wheels on the tracks. But he trudges on, hoping to find some clue.

Out on the street was no better. All buildings were boarded up, some windows smashed. Brown grass was growing out of the sidewalks. There was few vehicles on the side of the road: a brown rusty one with its hood popped up and its insides gone, a yellow cab so terribly dented, and a black one with its paint job scratched and all four of its tires missing. It was a miserable place, not fit for any human life, much less an apprenticeship. He grimaces in dismay. This is where they dumped his brother? Even as a containment procedure, it was a bit much. No person should be in this place.

But that wasn't the most pressing issue. The most pressing issue is where to start. He does not have the faintest idea where he is in this desolate town, much less where his brother stayed for the duration in the past — except for the address of The Lost Arms. But that information was useless without a map, and every other map he scoured to know about the town has vehemently insisted that Stain'd-By-The-Sea does not exist. Whether VFD has already tampered with those maps, he can not tell.

He had hoped there may be a clue in there, some forgotten item, a thing accidentally left behind. But with no map, his best course of action is to simply search every establishment and hope for serendipity. Not all of the best things are necessarily good things.

He hears a rumble of an engine.

His gaze snaps upwards, puzzled if whether or not he had imagined it. Then he can see the yellow dented cab making its way towards him at a snail's pace. Jacques's heart stops, and gripped his suitcase until his knuckles turned white. It was a trusty little suitcase, filled with tools and files that are of great use of him, but he's not so sure if it were of any use against a damned ghost cab. If it were really a ghost. If Kit was here, she would've scoffed at him. But he's not really feeling up to an argument, not when his feet was stuck to the pavement, body frozen into place. He stares, heart pounding like there was no tomorrow as the taxi pulls up to its side, exactly right in front of him, and stops.

But then the window rolls down, and Jacques felt very, very foolish, but immensely relieved, as it reveals a worn and much younger face of a boy with a busted blue cap.

"Well, hello there friend," he says, with a voice just as tired. "Another visitor was the last thing we expected, but —" he gives a small shrug, "— here we are. Need a taxi?"

It took him a moment to realize how stupid he looked with his mouth gaping open. "I-I'm sorry," Jacques stammered, once he found his voice. "We?"

Another younger face pops up from below the young driver, and Jacques nearly jumps in surprise. "That would be us, the Bellerophon brothers," he reveals with a squeaky but cracked voice. "I'm Pecuchet, and this—" he points upward, and his brother tipped his hat at him, " — is Bouvard, but that makes people's tongue tired, so you can call him Pip, and me, Squeak."

The driver known as "Pip" frowned. "Are you alright though? You've looked like you've seen a ghost."

His eyes fluttered. "Er  — Yes, yes, I... I am afraid I also didn't expect anyone to come here either." He tips his white hat at them in turn. "Greetings to you, I am Ja— James Moore."

Internally, he cringed. It was a sloppy pseudonym, but he can't risk revealing who he is in the potential situation VFD managed to track his trail, they wouldn't be able to hold incriminating evidence against him. Curiously, it didn't arouse much suspicion from the odd duo, except for a slight tilt of the head.

"Well, nice to meet you Mr. Moore. Do you need a ride anywhere?"

Jacques is not quite sure what to think of climbing into a cab with kids of odd names in an abandoned town. However, his relief in discovering that there is fellow life, inexplicable as it is, and a likelier possibility of gaining information triumphed over whatever reservations he had at the moment. In the pursuit of his search, with its very nonexistent lead, he'd take anything.

"I'd like to go to the Lost Arms please."

"Sure," Pip reached out behind him and opened the door. "Hop in."

He pauses, and then climbs in and closes it shut, and soon enough, the two brothers drive away from the Station with startlingly expert hands on both wheel and brakes. Jacques is fairly impressed at their coordination.

"Say," Pip starts, once they got a quite the distance away. "Apologies if it sounds prying, friend, but out of curiosity, what business does a stranger have with Stain'd-By-The-Sea?"

That shook him out of his stupor. Idiotically, he hasn't prepared for that, he was ascertain there won't be anyone here, he even got business cards and all but it's not in his suitcase (which he wants to smack himself on). His mind blanks for a moment, but he manages to scramble an answer that isn’t necessarily a lie nor a truth. "I am private investigator hired to search for someone last seen in this town."

Pip looked at him through the rearview mirror, which was a bit dirty and cracked. "Oh? That certainly does explain why someone wants to be in this town."

Jacques didn't bother to clarify he does NOT want to be here at all, but he nods his head instead.

He expertly steered the wheel. "You wouldn't happen to be allowed the details no? Sorry, but interesting things have rarely happened here since..."

"I'm afraid not, no," Jacques blinks. That felt off. "Speaking of visitors, you haven't happened to have driven someone around lately no?"

"Until you came along? Not one for the past year. No outsiders at the very least."

He deflates a little, but he's unsurprised. So he really wasn't here recently. He was about ask more, when the taxi came to a stop in front of a shabby and derelict building he would presume to be the Lost Arms.

Once again, Pip reached out to open the door for him. "Here we are then, Mr. Moore."

"Thank you," he says, retrieving his wallet. "How much is the fare?"

Pip blinked in surprise. Then his eyes flickered towards the wallet, and his eyes widened further. "Huh, I never expected a paying customer today either."

It puzzles him so much that he tilts his head. Did they just let him ride as a charity? "Well, it's only natural to pay for a service, no?"

He just shrugged. "It's alright. Keep the money, it's not gonna be much use anyways, with the state of the town. You may wanna give that to the proprietor though —" he nods to the building, "— Prosper Lost."

"Well, I shan't dare to think of leaving this taxi without giving something in return," Jacques insisted.

"How about a tip then?"

"A tip?" he frowns. "A tip what?"

"Anything really, s'long as its useful."

That got him thinking. He thought of giving them a tip of accepting money when they get it and leave this terrifying place, but decided against. He then looks up.

"Here's a tip, there's this book that..." he trails off, feeling a painful lump form in his throat. "That my associate enjoys. Champion of the World, heard of it?"

~

Ellington feels the bitter sweetness on her tongue. The air was damp and cold after the shower, having ceased into droplets. Everything reminded her the cool greens and blues of a watercolor painting. At the distance, the light of the morning sun peaks through. She's glad she's getting some pieces of her back, but some of the damage will be permanent, and some things are just lost forever. Seeing the Association and strangers and natives to Killdeer fields all work together to set things right was amazing, but also drove home on the tragedy of Armstrong Feint, whose pursuit of vengeance blinded him, destroyed himself and set back hopes of recovery for years. The pain he inflicted was an unnecessary cruelty, that if he had bothered to spare, even the tinniest bit of mercy and offered his help, he would've witnessed the return of the sea and the recovery of the environment, and they could've been together.

But he had made a decision. All of their parents did — the Mallahans, the Hixes, the Knights, the Bellerophons, the Losts. What's done is done.

She remembers a line that her father read her once, many years ago. It was the book where Snicket claimed a wizard was not so very helpful, and that her father loved because of its elaborate descriptions of trees. Many elaborate description of trees.

"'I wish it need not have happened in my time,' said Frodo." Ellington murmurs to herself.

"'So do I,' said Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'"

She stares at the sky.

~

But there was a knock at the door

They both froze. Moxie is still on the phone — with who, Kellar didn't hear.

It could be anyone, Kellar thought, perhaps some coworkers who forgot their stuff, or has the intention to work overtime. It may even be some neighbor, asking for help or providing assistance. It could even be a fellow Associate. There's no reason really, to think there could be enemies on the other side.

But he walked anyway. His breathing far too loud and uneven, yet his pace cautious and fearful. He calls out, "Who's there?"

No answer.

"I'm warning you," he says slowly, attempting to keep the tremble out of his voice, "that I'm armed."

Silence. It's a blatant lie of course, but no matter how he strained his ears, he still can't hear anyone walking away. They’re not fooled.

He motions to Moxie to get ready to run. A few seconds, he could buy that. Enough seconds to scramble whatever data they need and bolt like hell. Kellar doesn't see if she saw it.

The door is inches away from him now. His heart pounded in his chest. His hands carefully placed on the dark wood, and he looked into the peephole.

Kellar had barely moved his head in time just to dodge the blast shot that would've blown away bits of his brain, but had blown off half of his right ear instead.

He screamed, it hurt, hurt worse than anything he'd known and he's sure he's lost his hearing there, but he let the wound bleed and instead ducked and braced himself against the door to keep them from opening it. "Moxie run!"

~

"Look at him. Look. At. Him." Pip hissed, and Squeak looked at them with an air of innocence. "You think that's an angel?? A beacon of innocence?? Wrong. That's bastard incarnate. The single source of maliciousness on this earthly realm. Look. Look how evil he looks. He's a little prick."

~

"Frankly, I'd love to have a sibling," Cleo said.

Kellar looked at her as if she said something deranged and jabs a thumb towards Lizzie. "No, you don't. I love my sister, but you think she won't sell me off to the circus first chance she gets?" He shook his head. "Think again."

~

"Dibs."

"What the—" Moxie then scowled. "That was too fast."

Snicket just shrugged. "I have two older siblings, Moxie. The true nature of siblings... Is natural selection."

"Are you certain you should be using big boy words like that?" Ellington asked, bemused. "I'm fairly certain you can't even differentiate a crocodile and an alligator."

~

"If I may introduce you to my family," Jacques says.

He points to Kit emerging from his side. "— Parasite number one—".

And he points to Snicket as he emerges from the other. "— and Parasite number two."

~

"Alright, does anyone have any questions?" Jacques asks tiredly.

They all raise their hands.

"That isn’t sarcastic," he snaps.

They all lowered their hands, disappointed.

Jacques sighs. "Lizzie, you've got the stage."

~

"Just what time is it?" Ellington inquires, exhausted.

"Hang on," Kit smiled, and instead of whipping out a clock, she instead produces a clarinet. She took a deep breath, and blew. Before she could even make it to the second note, they look up at the ceiling— startled— suddenly hearing a very muffled but very clear yell from Jacques, Kit, are you seriously playing the clarinet at 2 IN THE DAMN MORNING.

They look down. Kit still has a devilish smile plastered.

"It's 2 am," she announces.