#it's not entirely rational- it's a relatively normal thing to like in fandom (I think)

[gay-victorian-astronomer]

i would loveeee to hear ur kimnapping fic idea….

It's really not a super fleshed out idea— the most I have actually pinned down is 1) Kim (& maybe also Harry) gets kidnapped 2) some amount of whump occurs which involves 3) Kim Survivor's Guilt Kitsuragi being a self-sacrificial little shit and 4) mutual unrequited pining that the kidnapping situation forces them to resolve. Basically all of the details are up in the air— this makes great "think about at bedtime" material because I don't need to care about those. If I were to turn it into an actual fic I would need to actually iron those out.

Honestly the biggest plot hole is that I can't figure out who is kidnapping him and why— there's the old standby of Oh Shit It's the Moralintern, but that's also kind of already been done. It could be the Madre or one of the other besmerties— but I still need to figure out why. I like the idea of it being related to something in Harry's past— it plays nicely into the self-sacrificial themes I'd like to include if it's Kim getting caught in the crossfire of something, or the kidnappers using him as bait to get at Harry somehow... things I'd need to flesh out.

The only other little thing I want to make sure I include is somehow using Kim's notebook against him— I see that working well with the unrequited pining situation, especially if he's written stuff about having feelings for Harry in the notebook and the kidnapper reads it...

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Verboten 14 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Chapter warning: being attacked at home

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 14

“Well, at least we know your parents could hire him to clean their ceilings if he stays stuck up there.”

“You’re not helping, Tucker,” Danny snapped at him from his spot on the ceiling.

More amused than surprised anymore, he just let Sam continue to try to help Danny change back to his human form while he worked on his own project. When Sam messaged him earlier that there was an issue, he hadn’t expected to walk into Sam’s room and find Danny, in all his ghostly glory, sitting cross-legged on the ceiling above Sam’s bed and having a panic attack. After taking in the absurdity of the situation, he tried for several minutes to help Sam somehow get him down. When all rescue attempts failed, mostly because Danny couldn’t seem to hold on to anything they threw at him, Sam moved to a different tactic. She hoped getting him to relax would somehow help.

Since that wasn’t his forte, Tucker decided his way of helping would be to finish reviewing the information he got from Plasmius while making comments about his friend’s predicament. Although he knew the digs annoyed Danny and Sam, he needed to do it for his own sanity.

Up until this point, Tucker really hadn’t registered the paranormal as being truly real. Sure, they did get abducted by a crazed ghost and then attacked by an even crazier ghost, but the more time passed without a ghostly incident, he had almost rationalized it as some stress induced hallucination. Almost being the key word. He knew his best friend had been fundamentally changed by the event, but other than the freak out at school and his now permanently chilly skin, Danny hadn’t done anything ghostly until now. Speaking of which…

“How exactly did you end up like this?” he questioned moments before Danny finally fell from the ceiling and landed face first on Sam’s bed. “You okay, dude?”

“More okay then I was when I was stuck on the ceiling,” he sighed as moved himself to the edge of the bed. His unnatural green eyes scanned the room as if searching for something. “I’m like this because of Plasmius.”

“Wait, wait? That’s a pretty big thing to neglect to mention.”

“I’m sorry I got distracted by discovering I was walking around in my ghost form or whatever you want to call it.”

“Don’t antagonize him, Tucker. That seems to make things worse,” Sam scolded as she pointed at Danny, who started to float again. “See? But that is pretty important.”

Danny huffed as he experimentally shifted, making it look like he was just lying on his stomach… in mid-air. Seemingly alright with the position, probably because he was only about a foot above the bed, he continued. “Look, I was planning on immediately telling you guys as soon as Tucker arrived, but I panicked when I realized I couldn’t change back. But since that doesn’t seem to want to change any time soon, I guess I just explain what happened.”

Once Danny was done, Tucker let out a whistle. “That’s some story. Glad he let you go, but it’s really creepy that he can just pluck you into that other world when he wants.”

“Why was he here in the first place?” Sam asked as she worked up enough courage to sit near where Danny was still floating. “That’s what’s bugging me about it. Was he just really here for information?”

“That’s what I don’t get either. Whoa! I’d like it if my body would make up… its mind?” As Danny fell onto the bed once again, a blinding light suddenly washed over him. Once it faded, he was back in his human form. “Well, at least that fixes that problem for now.”

Deciding not to comment on his friend’s obvious relief, Tucker somewhat changed the direction of the conversation. “At least Plasmius confirmed he’s interested in Vlad Master’s companies for something nefarious. Most of what I’ve gotten so far on that data are files on different employees.”

Danny’s eyes lit up at the statement. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Vlad’s in town.”

“That’s convenient,” Sam dryly stated after she shared a look with Tucker. “Why’s he here?”

“Apparently, when my parents asked him for help getting some information, he decided he needed to be directly involved. He was visiting when I got up.” He glanced down and wrung his hands before adding, “But he seemed really off today.”

“Off how?”

“He gave me literal chills. I mean, if I think about it, that’s happened when ghosts were around, but not people. He also seemed off… like he was a different person.”

Unnerved, Tucker placed his PDA on Sam’s desk. “I hate to bring this up, but didn’t you say that thing that attacked you was able to change how it looked?”

Danny’s eyes widened briefly before he shook his head. “I… I don’t think that’s it. It was close, but there was still something off about how it looked. It also didn’t feel the same… the chill was different. Vlad felt… Vlad felt like Plasmius but not as strong? I don’t know how to explain it.”

“You mentioned that chill before when you freaked out because of Maura… do you think you can sense other ghosts now?” Tucker felt himself grin despite the situation. “I mean, cuz if you can, that’s really useful. I’d like to be able to stay on the complete other side of the city from where that creepy thing is.”

“Maybe? I certainly didn’t notice anything like it when we were trapped or escaping from Plasmius… but he did say something about how that’s possible.” A thoughtful expression briefly crossed his face, until he gave a wry grin. “Fat load of good it does if it only goes off when something is like ten feet away.”

“Darn. Well, still let me know if you notice anything else weird. I’d like a head start over anything that might harm these good looks.”

xxx

After their initial discussion of what happened, the rest of the time was spent seeing if Danny could get any sort of control over his ghost form. It took a while, but he did manage to find the preverbal trigger for the change. Via a couple hours under Sam’s Spartan-equse training, he was finally able to change to and from on command. While he hoped he’d have a chance to work on more of his abilities, it was definitely a success.’

Around dinner, he and Tucker left Sam’s and headed to their own respective houses. While his parents were relieved to see him before sundown, he couldn’t return the feeling. Vlad was still in the house. According to his parents, the businessman would be staying with them in the guest room for a while.

“A while? How long’s a ‘while’?” he questioned as he looked for something to drink in the fridge.

“Well, that’s up to Vlad,” his mother replied as she added a few shakes of something to what smelled like stew. Vlad and his father were still in the lab. “While he’s not entirely certain how long he will be able to remain away from his businesses, he’s hoping to be able to stay for a couple weeks.”

Unhappy with that answer, Danny grabbed his drink and disappeared into his bedroom. If he was honest, he wanted to practice more with his abilities. It would be a shame not to with how much progress he made earlier, but he wasn’t exactly certain what tools his dad and Vlad might be using. Some of them where supposedly able to detect differences in energy levels. Without knowing the specifics of his abilities, he really didn’t want to clue them in.

Actually, was he ever going to tell his parents? That was a good question. Right now, when he didn’t have much control or understanding over anything, it didn’t seem like a good idea. Perhaps down the road? Maybe. Actually, maybe they might have so information regarding what happened to him.

A little later, his parents called him down for dinner. For him, it was a relatively normal affair, save for the chills Vlad kept giving him. Seriously, what was up with that? Vlad had been a fixture in his life for years, and there was never an issue before. Maybe Plasmius somehow influenced him or something? He guessed it was possible. There were legends about ghosts doing stuff like that, but he had no idea how to even begin figuring that out.

After dinner, he once again retreated to his room. Frustrated, he decided a few hours of Doomed would be a good distraction from everything.

…

Right around three am, something woke Danny. Rubbing his eyes, he realized he fell asleep gaming. Stretching, he turned off the game before checking one of his drawers for clean pjs. Deciding it wasn’t worth it, he headed to his bed only to stop when his breath misted in front of him.

Now wide awake, he stopped and listened. There were the normal sounds of the furnace and his dad’s snores. Wait, the furnace? Then why could he see his breath a moment ago? Spooked, he opened his door as quietly as possible and stuck his head out into the hallway.

Nothing seemed out of place. No one was in the hall. There was no light from his parents’ room or the spare bedroom Vlad was using. Deciding something still didn’t seem right, he crept down the hall and peaked down the stairs.

Eyes, dark eyes with a faint red glow, peaked out at him from the darkness of the living room. Knowing whatever it was saw him, he panicked and ran towards his parents’ room. “Mom! Dad! There’s something in the house!” he yelled as he frantically beat on the locked door. Of course it was one of those nights.

“Oh my god, what is that thing?” Vlad’s voice and the growl that followed forced his attention to the staircase. The sickly gray color of its skin made it somehow stand out in the shadows. The creature, the same one Danny encountered in the alleyway, stood in all its horrible glory at the top of the stairs. Its face was twisted in a grotesque snarl, and it swayed slightly. With an uneasy jolt, Danny realized the thing seemed to be debating who to go after first.

At the sound of the lock on his parents’ door turning, the thing lunged forward. Danny barely had time to register his mother pulling him into the room while his father roared, “Eat this!”

The familiar whine of one of his parents’ blasters powering up was followed by a blinding green blast and then another. As his parents decided to chase the thing, he curled up behind the door. The sounds of the blasts and something else, something unnatural, crashing into furniture could be heard from the downstairs.

How did that thing get in the house? Better yet, how did it find him? It was his fault. He needed to help, but what could he do? He had no ability to fight against it. Heck, he still didn’t know what it was other than dangerous and evil.

When the sounds in the downstairs stopped, he held his breath and waited. A sigh of relief escaped him when his mother called for him and Vlad. Not caring he was a teenager and by default hated hugs from family members, raced to his mother’s side and embraced her. Understanding he was frightened, she rubbed his back and reassured him she was fine.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the light snapped on to reveal blast marks, destroyed furniture, and Vlad appraising the scene from the bottom step, “but what exactly was that thing? Should I contact the police?”

Embarrassed someone saw him, Danny quickly let go and retreated a few steps. His mother smiled at him before replying, “It’s already been taken care of.” She pointed to what Danny recognized as the button of one of the alarm systems; it was flashing. “Jack’s checking the perimeter to make sure that thing is gone. In the meantime, I’m going to make us hot chocolate.”

“But what if that thing comes back? Surely Jack wouldn’t just leave you alone.”

She flashed him a grin as she held up a miniature blaster. “Thank you for being concerned, but I’m actually the better shot between the two of us.”

After glancing at Vlad, who seemed both dumbfounded and proud, Danny hurried into the kitchen after his mother. He really didn’t want to leave her side if that thing came back.

“Danny,” his mother stated after they were seated at the kitchen table with hot chocolate in hand, “be honest with me, was that the same thing you saw in the alleyway?”

He took a sip of his drink before answering her. “I… I think so. I mean, I’m not exactly sure if it was the same thing or not, but it looked similar.”

“You’re telling me that’s the thing you’re researching?” Vlad sounded surprised, but Danny noticed how tightly he gripped his mug. Why did he seem angry? “That thing was an abomination.”

His mother nodded. “While there are some stories regarding things like that in folklore, most of the recent ones seem to be more fiction than fact, so Jack and I tended to disregard them.” She sent him an apologetic smile, “However, with Danny’s report, we decided to look into it and didn’t like what we found. That’s why we reached out because we needed to get the resources to verify the data.”

“What do you mean you didn’t like what you found?” His whole body felt icy again, but this time, it seemed to be from fear and not some paranormal creature.

“I want to verify something with the officers,” she glanced at the clock on the wall before muttering, “when they finally get here first. However, if Jack didn’t manage to get it, I’m not sure if it’ll come back or not. We definitely wounded it,” she pointed to a spot in the living room where something wet, dark, and faintly glowing could be seen, “but I don’t know if that was enough to ward it off or if it’s vengeful enough to return.”

“But why was it here?”

“If I may?” Vlad glanced at his mother, who nodded. “If it was in fact the same creature Daniel saw, it may have come for him, or, it simply could have been drawn to the house. Forgive me, but you do have a lot of ectoplasm and other potential energy sources on hand.”

“Hmm… we have been meaning to update our storage devices. That can easily be done, but if Danny is a target, that would be much harder to fix.” His mother reached out and gently put her hand on his. “Sweetie, don’t take this the wrong way, but your father and I are worried you might have been changed because of your disappearances.”

That was putting it lightly, he ruefully thought. However, instead of agreeing, he asked her to explain what she meant.

“Well, you know we theorized you temporarily slipped into a different dimension when you were younger? It’s possible that somehow altered you. Pass reports of those ‘spirited away’ often report the person was somehow changed. Since before you seemed fine, save for the times we caught you staring as if you saw something we couldn’t, we figured you may have developed a sensitivity to the paranormal.”

He nodded. That made sense. Although, he was embarrassed his parents picked up on how he sometimes saw those shadows. Apparently he didn’t do nearly as good of a job as he thought at keeping that a secret.

His mother bit her lip before continuing. “But, this past time… something changed. I know you told the police you were abducted by a person, but the complete disappearance and then reappearance… and that none of you who disappeared could be tracked… and the injuries… and how that poor boy was found… it never made sense it was a human. And when you came back, the changes in your vitals, we knew there was something more to it. You don’t have to tell me anything if you’re not ready,” she added when she noticed his panicked expression, “but whatever changed might have made you something like beacon to creatures of other worlds.”

His mouth felt dry. His parents actually suspected there was something off about him, and they just accepted it? Should he tell them how much he really changed? No, Vlad was in the house. He didn’t need to know anything about it. However, he could start probing for some of the answers he wanted. “If… if I have changed, how…?”

“We’re not exactly sure what will happen in the long run,” she replied as she picked up on his train of questioning. “Old accounts vary, and it’s difficult distinguishing fact and legend. Anyways, Danny I just want to verify the thing that attacked us tonight and whoever abducted you on the camping trip are not the same thing.”

He violently shook his head. “No, they’re completely different…”He debated with himself for a moment. Should he tell her about Plasmius appearing? Or the thing Clockwork discovered? Or the horde that attacked Sam, Tucker, and their classmates on the way back? “At least, whoever took me, Sam, and Tucker was completely different. I don’t know what grabbed the others.” That was true enough.

Vlad remained unusually quiet during the exchange, but unlike other times where he seemed disinterested or involved, this time it seemed like he was mulling over something. Also, Danny hadn’t missed the way his eyes narrowed when he added on the information about the camping abduction.

A knock at the door spooked everyone. They turned to see his dad opening the door followed by a couple police officers. “I found the police!” he said with a grin. “They thought it was another false alarm.”

“False alarm? False alarm?” His mother stood and marched over to the officers who were taking stock of the damage with wide eyes. “My family gets attacked, and you have the nerve to think it was a false alarm? If my husband and I didn’t have the means to defend ourselves, we would have been killed!”

Danny just sighed and continued sipping his drink as he watched his mother scold the officers. His dad joined him. Both of them knew it was better to let her get it out of her system than to try to get involved. Besides, he’d probably never get to see police officers get chewed out like that ever again. Now if only he had some popcorn.

====

Note: if it hadn’t been implied earlier, Maddie and Jack are going to be involved/decent parents in this fic. It makes sense with how this story is laid out – their son has gone mysteriously missing 3 times. They try to keep an eye on him.

[razorcat26]

A Stuffed Chat: A Chat Noir Weight Gain Story: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Cravings 

Adrien has definitely acquired a craving for sweets and pastries; as he uses his powers to fill his growing belly. I wonder how big this Chat will be?

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Characters:Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug)  

Tags: Weight Gain Force-Feeding Belly Rubs Stuffing  

AO3

All characters at 18+. All characters are owned by their respective owners

The next day Adrien is woken up by the sound of someone knocking on his bedroom door.

“Adrien, please get dressed now, or you will be late for school,” Natalie demands.

Adrien lets out a slight groan as he sits up on the side of his bed. He looks down and sees his belly has relatively returned to normal with only a slight curvature visible. He then promptly dresses himself and scoffs down breakfast.  

During class, his English teacher began to play a documentary which the class would need to write an essay on. Whilst watching, Adrien became distracted by the events of the previous night. The rational side of him thinks it was just a moment of spontaneity and indulgence, one which his father would never approve of, let alone Ladybug. However, the impulsive side wanted more. Eating more delicious fattening foods he had been denied for so long. He wanted his belly to be so stuffed and round. His stomach let out a mighty roar, as his teacher and his fellow peers begin to giggle. Adrien, red faced, tries to hide his head inside his jacket whilst holding his stomach, trying to get the noise to stop.  

Adrien pushes open his bedroom door after a long day at school. The moonlight shimmering through his windows, as he places his school bag down beside his bed. He exclaims, “Was dinner always this small?”

He then lies down on his couch, as Plagg emerges from behind his jacket, “Is my little piggy still hungry?” he replies.  

“You’re not helping Plagg,” Adrien remarks.

“You’re the one who decided to eat lunch before the end of first period and ended up being hungry for the rest of the day,” stated Plagg.

“Still not helping,” says Adrien.

Adrien then places his hands behind his head and begins to think about how amazing yesterday evening was. Being completely stuffed and bloated; the feeling of his belly getting bigger. No, no, he mustn’t give into those thoughts. Think of the repercussions Adrien, he says to himself.

“Oh well, it’s not like you can just ask for seconds from Natalie and sneaking out would definitely be a bad idea. You would get caught!   Looks like you’ll just have to wait for breakfast,” Plagg remarks.    

As Adrien’s belly begins to rumble again, he looks up at Plagg with a sly grin, “Not if I go out as Chat Noir. Plagg... Claws Out!”

“Wait... we should talk about this through firs... WOOOAAHHH,” Plagg yells.

Chat Noir then jumps through his open bedroom window in search of a place to feast and luckily for him, he knows exactly where to go; a bakery on a quiet street in Paris which always has leftover pastries. Making sure there was no one around; he lands outside the front of the closed bakery and uses his strength to force open the door. He makes his way quietly into the premises into the back storage room. Chat Noir then switches on the light to find he is surrounded by an abundance of pastries and sweets stacked onto trays. He thinks to himself, there is no turning back now as he picks up one of the croissants and stuffs it into his mouth.

Chat Noir then begins to enter a heavenly bliss. Moaning with each bite; they tasted so good. All these years of being on a strict diet, made him crave these sweets even more. He continues to eat croissant after croissant, until he polishes off the tray. He then grabs the next tray of strawberry tarts and begins forcing them into his mouth. By this point his belly is slightly pushing out his suit, so he places his free hand on his stomach, gently massaging it. He knew he was getting full, but he couldn’t stop himself.

After finishing off several trays and with a nice round gut, Chat Noir decides sit on the floor, his legs crossed and the remaining trays placed within arm’s reach. The feeling of being stuffed to the brim with food was incredibly satisfying as he continues to stuff himself. His suit was beginning to feel quite restrictive as his belly continues to become bigger and rounder, pushing out into his lap. After polishing off the bakery’s entire supply of baked goods, Chat Noir places his hand on his round and taught belly. He lets out a mighty burp and feels how tight his suit has become. He felt amazing!  

“Man, that was so tasty, good thing this suit stretches,” he says as he begins to rub his watermelon sized gut.

After a couple minutes of rubbing his belly he says, “I probably should get going before someone sees me.”

He stumbles to his feet, still not used to the extra weight in his stomach. He switches off the light and while holding his stomach says, “Maybe I should do this tomorrow night.”

[rebelwith0utacause]

Thoughts on coronapocalypse, fandoms and doing the things you love

I’ve known of 5SOS since SLSP came out. I was in the US for the summer and I kinda heard the song a dozen times on the radio, but once I got back home (where they don’t really stream popular new music on the radio) I kinda forgot all about them. I might go and play SLSP and Amnesia on YT (because no Spotify where I live), but that was about it. I missed out on other songs and albums.

And then, last Spring I heard Youngblood (the song) for the very first time. It was the next song in autoplay and I actually liked it, but never got around to remembering who it was from. then Easier came along and I was like, oooh that sounds sexy and familiar. So I looked them up and actually realized that I know this band.

Mind you, I haven’t been listening to a lot of new music for the past 10(ish) years. I just wasn’t in the right headspace to accept anything new. I used to listen to a lot of metal back in my high school days, and a lot of Paramore, ATL, Alesana, The Used kind of music. I used to actively look for new bands and feel great when realizing there was so much great music in the world. 

Then I magically went to college and stopped. I guess the new environment/responsibilities/obligations combined with my declining mental health got the best of me and I was okay with just listening what was served to me. It ended up being commercial pop alongside lo fi compilations that were somehow gonna make my life less stressful. What I didn’t realize was that I was only burying my one true passion, listening to a lot of quality music. 

As far as pop culture goes, I’ll never be able to fully understand why I liked 1D (especially their last 2 albums) or my strange fascination with Harry’s solo career, but hearing Fine Line made me realize that underneath all of that pop sound, there are grungy undertones, grit and realness, something today’s music is sorely lacking.

But let me get back to 5SOS. It was the beginning of October 2019, I’ve already listened to Teeth, Lights Up by Harry was released the previous day and I somehow got stuck listening to Youngblood, the whole album. And that was an entire experience on and of itself. I remember hearing Talk Fast for the first time and actually feeling a part of me, the old me, come back. I felt elated that I’m listening to something new again (even though it was almost 2 years old by then). The excitement didn’t go away. I kept it on repeat for weeks, somehow ended up buying every single album/ep/song I could find and literally playing it on repeat until I had to go to work. I decided to get back to reading fanfics/laughing at memes/watching all the interviews, basically a pattern I was previously well accustomed to from my earlier years on Tumblr, Buzznet and Wattpad. I was talking about 5SOS all the time with my fam & friends.

Now here comes the interesting part. My mom was lowkey scared for me. She didn’t understand how her almost 28-yr-old daughter could get so hyped about something. She thought I might be going off the stray path a bit, which is understandable because back when I was a kid, I never let anyone see me get hyped out of fear that they would tease me, and these past ten years I was acting incredibly responsible and very ‘wise’ and basically trying to repress the carefree child in me, because that’s what I thought would make all of my insecurities and the harshness of this world disappear. She even reprimanded me once when I read her a 5SOS joke because she didn’t think that it was appropriate for an oldie like me to laugh at something younger people were laughing at.

Now, it’s been months, and she definitely got used to the idea of me listening to a lot more music than normal. I went on to find new bands, got back to listening to metal again, planed a trip to France to a bunch of concerts and it was all going great until Covid-19 happened.

These past 3 weeks my mom has had the opportunity to see me act extremely calm and rational while people are dying and getting infected every day. She’s seen me be extremely serious when the government announces the daily numbers, be wise when telling her not to panic and be happy and shedding a few tears while laughing at the Amazon Twitch stream.

This morning she went to me and told me that she hoped I would never lose the hype I got from this album (because I was extremely happy). 

Guess what I’m trying to say is that everything is relative. What I find uplifting might not be the same thing as someone else. The only thing we need to remember in these trying times is to do what makes us happy and never let go of it. Be more careful health-wise. Panic less. Wash our hands. Stream C A L M.

[ginnyzero]

Trivialization of Writing in Today’s Society

Writing is an important skill. Writing is more than the ability to write the alphabet and string the letters into words. Writing is the way we express ideas. It is an important tool in our society from writing business letters, making deals, interviews, pitching projects to writing sermons and stories.

Schools would teach creative writing in the lower classes. But then as students got older, this was phased out in favor of business writing, pitch papers and essays. These pitch papers and essays were touted as important skills that students needed to learn to survive in the university environment and the bigger world. And the ability to tell a story, which is what the basis of these essays and pitch papers were really about, became lost and ‘less important’ in the scheme of things. (The structure of an essay is just as important as a structure of a story.)

Writing, storytelling, the ability to string words together into a cohesive, coherent whole with a beginning, middle and ending isn’t valued. The idea that writing a book is work is actually laughed at. Writing if it isn’t journalism or scientific papers is not considered a viable career. We recommend our children become doctors and lawyers. People who follow protocols and rules, instead of encouraging to be creative and think freely.

For some reason there is a prevailing attitude in our society that anyone can write a novel and be good at it. Media encourages this view. I can think of two shows that I like off the top of my head about how Doctors, a Medical Examiner and a Forensic Anthropologist are both writers. Media has pushed that these two fact loving rational people have the creativity to write novels and write novels well that apparently have emotional appeal that connect to audiences. (I am still trying to figure out after 11 Seasons of Bones when Brennan actually has time to write these novels. And I’m not sure now when Maura has time to write her novel.)

They put forth this message that writing a novel is relatively easy and fame is assured once you’re published. However, I find it hard to believe that both of these very analytical characters are able to connect to an audience. With Brennan they try to explain that Angela is her “human editor” and comes up with the scenes that aren’t fact driven. It really burned me that they showed Clark Edison getting a novel deal while they used excerpts on how horrible writing was for laughs. They also cut out the fact he'd need an agent, not go to the publisher's directly. They made it seem even horrible writers could easily get a book deal. Thankfully, this was never brought up again. (Maura got a critic from her editor that her characters were flat and her setting didn't come alive and I cheered. Yes, constructive criticism that made sense!) Even the procedural Castle, who was about a writer assisting a homicide detective, used a writer who was already successful and just suffering from writer’s block. At least he seems to understand story and has emotional grounding to connect to an audience. But they still avoided that it takes time, effort, talent and learned skill to write a novel. (Castle always wrote off screen.)

There are a lot of people who believe that they can write a novel despite not having done any creative writing since third grade. (I think I may have done some creative writing in ninth grade for class but I went to a private high school.) A lot of people think that they have a novel in them. Without thinking through the entire process or knowing how a novel is structured. And if they’re willing to take the time to learn about structure and put the effort into sitting down and writing. Then more power to them, yay, more people being creative. However, most people do not have the fortitude or the desire to write novel even if they think they can. So those that do take the time and put forth the effort to write a novel, even if it isn’t the greatest novel aren’t taken seriously because “anybody can do that.”

No. It takes skill. It takes knowledge. It takes a certain amount of talent. And it takes practice. You have to learn to do it by doing it over and over again. I started writing in seventh grade and my first story was a horrible piece of shit that had no conflict and no hardship. For a very long time I was so conflict adverse, I could barely put it into my stories. I have chapters and chapters of stories on my laptop that have great characters, great worlds, but are in the end boring because there was no conflict. Dialogue, conflict, action, world building, characters, each of these ideas takes a certain amount of time and ability to do properly. It doesn’t come easily or naturally. It can be tiring and difficult and depressing. One has to learn to do it. Sometimes you get it right. Sometimes you fail. It’s work. (And I find it fun, oh woe is me.)

I’m not a lawyer. I haven't learned the law code. I wouldn’t want to represent myself in court. I’m not a doctor. I don't know more than super basic anatomy. I wouldn’t perform surgery on myself or anyone else. I’m not a plumber. I can’t fix the leaks in my pipes. I haven't learned that skill. And I don’t expect my plumber, lawyer, doctor to be able to write even as I value their services as plumbers, lawyers, and doctors.

A doctor can heal your disease. A writer can take you to a far away place on a journey of your imagination for hours on end and distract you from pain and disease both emotional and physical.

But we aren’t given the credit we deserve. There are places where writers are barely given credit at all; movies, video games. Things that hinge on having a good story. Having a good story to hook your viewers and players into your game is just as important if not more important than having a good visual look and good game play mechanics. But who gets the credit if things go right for a movie? The director and the actors. Who gets credit when things go badly for a movie? The director and the actors. Who gets credit for a game outside of the studio? The guy in charge of the studio or the game director.

Writers aren’t really on the sets during the filming of movies. If a book writer has their property being turned into a film or television show. They don’t get to adapt it themselves. They don’t have a say in what gets changed. They’ve basically sold the rights of their own intellectual property away and have no control on how it is presented to the public. When a screen writer writes a scene that is important to the plot of the movie and the director or the editor decide to cut it for whatever reason, the screen writer doesn’t get the chance to protest that the story will no longer make sense. There are writers who get no credit for working on the script at all. They are called script fixers and it is their job to take a script and make it better.

And you would think that in fandom circles where it thrives on the exchange of free ideas it would be different. At one time, it was considered taboo to make money off of anyone else’s intellectual property. But changing times and trends and a more Japanese view of copyright began to infiltrate fandom as fandom has become more accepted and less secretive. Huge companies are turning blind eyes to copyright infringement as it brings more attention to their brand that they don’t have to pay for. There isn’t as much fear of being sued. It is almost considered normal now in fandom for artists to take fan art commissions to earn a little extra money to get through college.

But fan fiction commissions? Blasphemy. You “don’t do it.” You don’t talk about doing it. Fan creators still get greatly uncomfortable with the idea that someone could pay another person to write them something. Despite the fact it takes time and effort and talent to write as much as it takes time, effort and talent to draw. I am not saying that fan fiction writers should be paid for their work. That's a different kettle of fish. However, like a fan artist who takes commissions, there is a double standard if a fan fiction writer can't do the same. Many fan fiction writers wouldn't dream of trying to make money off writing fan fiction, just as many fan artists wouldn't dream of making money off their fandom art. However, it is an acceptable practice for artists to do so and unacceptable concept for fan fiction writers to even think about it. But, there is also now a dialogue about it in fandom circles and eventually capitalism will determine if it happens or not.

Writing is an important skill and a learned skill. The ability to tell a story in a cohesive, concise and coherent way is important in all types of work. It is too bad that our society doesn’t see it that way.

[avaantares]

So uh, I’m really really disappointed with the Torchwood fandom right now (over what you addresses in your post about being respectful/a normal human being online), and I’m just not quite sure how to deal with that. Sorry to barge in with this, but you seem like a really understanding, level-headed person 😅

I feel you, Anon, and you are certainly not the only one I’ve heard from! A number of people have told me they’ve been growing more uncomfortable with the fandom’s atmosphere lately, and have been actively avoiding posting about certain topics for fear of dogpiling. (This actually came up in a few private conversations before I made the post you referenced, and helped cement my decision to speak up.)

This post is long, so here’s a dash-saver. Below the jump I talk about the state of the Torchwood fandom, how people can avoid and resolve drama on their own posts, and some things everyone can do to make the internet a nicer place.

While my recent post was not targeted solely at the Torchwood fandom (the “how dare you differ in opinion from me” trend is disturbingly widespread; see also: politics), it is true that there has been a lot of sectionalism and polarization in that fandom lately. Fandom niches have always existed, but as the Torchwood fandom shrinks – whether due to natural attrition, lack of interest in the new content, or whatever reason – the Venn circles for each area of interest also shrink, making each group appear more segregated, and resulting in less crossover and less generalized Torchwood fandom.

Now, specific interest groups within the fandom are not a bad thing! They occur naturally, since not everyone engages with fandom the same way. Some people listen to the new Big Finish releases, while others have only seen the original series. Some people enjoy trading headcanons, while others aren’t interested. Some people create fanart or fanfiction, while others just reblog gifsets. Some people are only in the fandom for one specific character, and that’s okay! We’re all fans of the same source material; we can all share and respect each other’s unique interests!

The problems arise when we stop doing that, when interest groups become isolationist (i.e. ”we’re the only real fans”), or when one group decides their focus/interest is more important than another group’s or individual’s. If any group begins policing or calling out other fans who don’t share their views, that’s a problem. If fans are afraid to share their opinion on a topic because of the threat of harassment or name-calling from other fans, that’s a problem. If we can no longer politely discuss our respective viewpoints or agree to disagree, that’s a problem. If we all start blocking each other because we can’t get over the fact that Person A loves Gwen Cooper and Person B doesn’t, or Person C ships Person D’s NoTP, or Person E headcanons a character as a particular sexuality/alignment/whatever and Person F has a different headcanon, there will be no fandom left because everyone who loves Torchwood will be on another fan’s block list.

“But wait!” Person A cries. “[Opinion I hold] is really important to me, and is relevant to my personal identity! By disagreeing with me, Person B is being disrespectful to my identity!”

Sorry, but no. Certainly, Person A is allowed their opinion, and that opinion may well be informed by their personal identity or beliefs. But Person B is also allowed an opinion, which may also be informed by their identity or beliefs. Person A’s personal opinion is no more or less valid than Person B’s. It’s not about B being disrespectful to A by voicing an alternate opinion; it’s about both A and B showing mutual respect by acknowledging that the other person has an opinion.

Of course, just because you’re fully entitled to state an opinion doesn’t mean you are correct, or that you have license to say anything you want free of consequence. Any time you put your opinion out there, you are opening yourself up to disagreement or rebuttal.

“So how can I avoid people aggressively disagreeing with me?” Person A asks. “I hate reading dissenting viewpoints, especially on my own posts.”

Well, you have two options. Option 1 is for those who honestly can’t handle any level of conflict or disagreement, and that’s not to post your opinion at all.

“That’s no fun!” says Person A. “I like to share my opinions.”

Well, that brings us to Option 2: Set the tone of your posts. See, here’s the thing: If you post your opinion in an agonistic manner, you’re more likely to elicit agonistic response. Here’s an example of two different post tones:

A’s Post: I went outside today and looked up, and the sky looked blue to me, so I think the actual color of the sky must be blue.

This is a clear statement of opinion, phrased with supporting rationale, but it’s focused on the person who holds that opinion, rather than targeting or disparaging someone who subscribes to a different one. A dissenter might counter with this:

B’s Response: I’ve always thought the sky looked white. Those puffy spots up there are definitely white, so I think that’s the real color of the sky.

It’s relatively polite, with no offensive personal remarks, and (again) it’s focused on why they personally believe what they do. It is likely that this sort of rational discussion could continue for many exchanges without becoming heated or aggressive. Maybe one will convince the other, or maybe they’ll stick to their own beliefs and agree to disagree, but nobody’s getting hurt and nobody’s getting blocked.

Now, compare that to this type of post:

A’s Post: OMG I hate when those white-sky idiots say the sky is white, they must all be MORONS because it’s clearly BLUE and if you don’t agree you’d best unfollow me NOW because i don’t want you anywhere near my posts. This is a BLUE SKY ONLY BLOG.

This person has already personally attacked anyone with a different view, drawn a line in the sand, and declared that this is the hill they will die on – all without supporting their opinion with a shred of evidence or reason. Naturally, this will only serve to inflame the other side:

B’s Response: HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A MORON, I’ll have you know I have a Master’s Degree in Cloud Watching and I wrote my thesis on why the sky is white. Only uneducated idiots think the sky is blue. BLOCKED.

Yeah, this exchange is never going to result in any kind of rational discussion. It is already 100% emotional, and there is no actual discussing going on, just name-calling. Getting involved in this kind of argument is a waste of time and energy, will not change anyone’s mind, and will only succeed in stressing out all parties.

“But the sky really IS blue!” Person A protests. “It doesn’t matter what tone I take, I’m still right!”

Nah, in this case both sides are wrong. The sky’s apparent color depends on the angle of the sun’s rays, humidity, and the way light in the visible spectrum is scattered by air molecules. It looks blue when the sun is high, and red or orange when the sun is near the horizon, but the sky itself is colorless. (There’s your science fact for the day). Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how right OP thinks they are; chances are the other person is just as convinced that they’re right, and it’s entirely possible that you’re fighting over something completely arbitrary or fundamentally unimportant.

And that brings me back to the Torchwood fandom and the hill-I-will-die-on arguments that have been plaguing it more and more in recent months. There is one thing I think we can ALL agree on, no matter our individual interests, and that is that Torchwood’s canon is a hot buttered mess. The original TV series is internally inconsistent; the novels contradict both the TV series and other novels; the comics contradict themselves, the novels, and the TV series; Miracle Day contradicts EVERYTHING that came before, including parent series Doctor Who; and the Big Finish dramas try really hard to respect all the prior releases, and mostly just end up creating their own canon, because it’s utterly impossible to reconcile everything. If canon can’t even agree on relatively simple things like

whether or not Jack can get drunk (no: BBC novels / yes: also BBC novels)

whether or not Jack can sleep/dream (no: TV and BBC novels / yes: also TV and BBC novels, plus BBC audio dramas)

if Jack and Ianto went on a date after KKBB (yes: BBC novels / no: also BBC novels)

what year Owen was born (1980: TV and Torchwood Magazine / 1981: TV and BBC novels)

what Ianto’s sister’s last name is (Evans: The Torchwood Archives / Davies: CoE)

…there are bound to be contradictory fan views on more complex issues, and there may not be a clear “correct” or “incorrect” position. It is possible to find canon support for nearly any Torchwood headcanon, because Torchwood canon is consistently inconsistent. Don’t make every issue a hard line in the sand. Accept that people are different, and based on their own unique backgrounds and experiences, people can legitimately come to different conclusions when presented with the same canon evidence (or lack thereof).

(Hmm… it’s almost like this principle could also apply to real-life sources of conflict like politics, religion, and social and cultural norms. Maybe keeping an open mind is a good idea in general…?)

“Well, it’s MY blog, and I can say what I want,” says Person A. “If people don’t like it that’s their problem.”

That is absolutely true. But remember, whatever you put out there is likely going to come right back at you. If you go with a rude or aggressive stance, or if you make personal attacks, you should expect your replies/reblogs to be just as nasty. If you escalate, so will they.

“Okay, so what if I post something polite and someone STILL comes back with a nasty response?” Person A asks. “I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now, and it isn’t even my fault!”

There are a couple of solutions to this that don’t involve breaking out the napalm:

Check for a misunderstanding. It’s hard to interpret tone in plain text sometimes. If you think the person may have honestly misinterpreted your post, maintain the polite tone and either clarify your post, or ask them (nicely) to explain why they are so upset about what you posted. Look for resolution, rather than merely refuting their post.

Don’t respond. “Be the bigger person” may sound cliche, but believe it or not, the world will not end if you choose not to engage someone on the internet. There is great power in putting down the phone or stepping away from the keyboard, and it’s much better for your blood pressure and stress level. Plus, if that person keeps raging on posts and not getting any responses, it may make them wonder why nobody pays attention to their opinions. Speaking of which…

“YOO-HOO!” hollers Person Z from waaaaaaay over in the corner. “Hi there! I just came for the fanart, and I’d like to participate more, but I’m really stressed out by the way this fandom is arguing all around me. I’m worried that if I post anything, someone will yell at me and tell me I’m wrong. That would really upset me.”

So let’s talk positive reinforcement for a second! This is where the casual observers and innocent bystanders can have a lot of power to steer the direction that fandom grows. Ultimately, the goal of all social media is to elicit interaction, whether that’s in the form of Likes, Reblogs, Replies, Retweets, Shares, Follows, or what have you. Giving posts this kind of interaction is like praising the writer. Reblogging also makes that post visible to more people, potentially attracting them to your fandom circle. Posts with more notes get seen more, read more, and can set the tone for other fandom interactions. The more rational, polite posts get spread around and accumulate notes, the more rational, polite people will be likely to get involved, and the more likely a new post on that topic will be worded in a rational, polite way. Whereas interacting with argumentative, nasty, stressful posts will tend to make new people avoid your fandom, and will encourage more people to turn things into a drama-fest because that’s what gets the notes, and notes are currency.

So when you see a post that just looks like a slap-fight or upsets you in some way, just ignore it and keep right on scrolling. You don’t need to attract drama to yourself or your blog, and you don’t need to feed that machine. But if you see someone doing it right, or if there’s an ongoing polite discussion, consider getting involved in the conversation! You can comment, reblog, reply or just like if you don’t have anything to add. Pay the polite, thoughtful interactions in notes and let the harsh posts die an unreblogged death.

So, dear Anon, that’s a very long-winded expansion on my previous post, and one you didn’t exactly ask for. :) But you’re not alone; many of us want to initiate change for the better. I hope we can help the fandom return to the happier, more collaborative place it was not so long ago.

Be kind to each other, be respectful, let go of whatever is driving you to have the last word, and we’ll all have more fun and significantly lower blood pressure.

[siuilaruinofthegale]

SIRIUS!!!!!!!! this is from the newest chapter of Melodies >:))))) (for the DVD commentary)

Despite his training, Tenzo almost laughs at the way the crowd parts for this new invader — but he doesn’t. Instead, he prepares himself, ready to spring if they’re a threat. It feels like forever before he sees the person shoving their way through the crowd: a very, very… top-heavy… blonde woman, trailed by a lithe woman with dark hair. “There you are, you old fuck,” she grumbles. Tenzo relaxes a little. Though he’s never seen the woman in person before, there’s only one person this could be.

“Tsunade-chan,” the Hokage greets her warmly, opening his arms for a hug. “It’s been years! How are you, my dear?”

She glances at his open arms and rolls her eyes. Instead of hugging him, she crosses her arms… and Tenzo has to look away for a second to collect himself. “Cut the shit, old man. You know perfectly well why I’m here. The fuck is this I hear about you demoting my apprentice? Talk fast, or else I’m going to demote you, sensei.”

Sarutobi-sama sighs. “No hugs? Not even a little one?” he asks, still holding his arms out. The frown on Tsunade’s face only grows deeper. “Ah, very well…” He drops his arms, and suddenly he seems taller, more imposing, more the Hokage and less the man. “Your apprentice burst into a Council meeting she was not qualified to be in, and showed flagrant disrespect to both the Elders and me in doubting our actions by informing us, at the top of her lungs, that she considered it a grave folly to induct Uchiha Itachi into ANBU at such a young age.”

Silence. “…and?” Tsunade says after a minute, raising one eyebrow. “What else did she do? Spit on you? Pee on Koharu’s flowers? Moon Homura?” The Hokage blinks at her and shakes his head slowly. “No? Did she break anyone’s bones? Throw someone out the window?”

He huffs, a bit of anger in the sound. “Tsunade, you know full well I cannot allow people to do such things. Perhaps, had she voiced her concerns in a calmer manner, I would not have demoted her at all, but she —“

“She gave a damn!” Tsunade snaps, her nostrils flaring in anger. “See, here’s the thing you never learned about Sakura. I got to live with this shit the entire time I trained her: she’s soft at heart. Every time something vaguely tragic happened, she wanted us to drag ourselves over and help. She treated each and every kid she helped like she was their sensei, because she wanted them to feel special. She wanted them to feel loved. She —”

“Be that as it may, that’s still no excuse for such rude, inappropriate behavior!” the Hokage snaps right back.

“Was it inappropriate, or was it just inconvenient?” she snarls, lips drawing back from her teeth a little. “You think I don’t know why ANBU stays in the shadows? How dumb do you think I am? You throw shinobi into ANBU, and you sharpen them and sharpen them until they’re on the edge of breaking. A sword might have a sharp edge, but that edge is fragile, and if they’re in the shadows, nobody notices it when they break.” He stares at Tsunade, mouth set tight. “Other villages do it, too. Most missing nin are either genin who wanted to make a name for themselves… or they’re ANBU who finally hit their breaking point. You didn’t demote Sakura because she disrespected you. You demoted her because she pointed out, at the top of her lungs, that you’ve broken almost as many people as you’ve saved.”

I actually really enjoyed writing this scene, and I almost went way more over the top with it, but they ARE in public. Anyway, from the top down! (read moreing because I cannot be silent)

I danced around whose point of view to tell this from, and I eventually decided on Tenzo because Tenzo's relatively neutral, all things considered. As far as I know, he's never seen Tsunade in real life before this point, and I wanted that 'first impression' glimpse. He's also seen the real dark side of ANBU as a child, so he is more than a little invested in Sakura's fervent defense of Itachi, but he's also able to set aside emotions and view things rationally in a way that some others aren't always able to do.

I toyed with having the Sandaime's initial greeting be a little harsher, a little more commensurate with the way she's already located him in the room very rudely, but we all know the Sandaime is a master of rug sweeping. If Tsunade came over and didn't mention Sakura, he would never mention it himself -- which is why he greets her like it's a family reunion, not someone showing up to call him out.

I also wasn't too sure about Tenzo's reaction here, because he is a consummate professional, but I figured he's sat in on enough of the Sandaime's meetings that he's intimately familiar with all Sarutobi's stalling games, all the ways he ameliorates anger, and for all that he's certainly never seen someone roll their eyes at him.

The "I'm going to demote you, sensei" line made me laugh. A lot. Although I haven't shown Sakura's letters to Tsunade yet, Sakura's very good at understating things. Tsunade knows that, so she assumes it's worse than Sakura's relating, but she doesn't realize exactly how much Sakura's understating them. If she did, the Sandaime would've already been demoted. (with a fist, to be clear)

Friendly-Sarutobi and Hokage-Sarutobi being different facets of the same person was something I really wanted to fit in. Just 'cause.

This part, where Tsunade asks "What else?" was almost way bigger, too. Part of why I had Sarutobi come down on Sakura so severely was because she's civilian-born. Whether or not she's the Senju heir and Tsunade's apprentice, when she storms into the meeting with both guns blazing, she doesn't have anything super showy to back up her claims. She constantly claims she's the best med-nin in the world, but her proof of that is... mostly things only other med-nin would understand. A singer isn't going to understand why a pianist might struggle with certain things, so normal shinobi aren't going to understand much of what med-nin do. At this point, the only things she has that are very special are things that she's learned from Tsunade -- which means she might as well be Jane Doe coming in off the street and yelling at the Queen. He wouldn't have disciplined an Uchiha, heir or not, this harshly. Or a Hyuuga, or a Yamanaka, or any of the clan kids.

This "what else" bit, and what follows, is Tsunade basically looking at him and going "the fuck are you mad about old man? this isn't SHIT. she didn't spit in your face, she didn't kill anyone, she literally just showed up and yelled. this is bullshit and YOU KNOW IT."

What his defense amounts to is, "well, if I let one of them get away with it they'll all try!" along with a side of "stop being so hysterical", as a treat, since Sakura's a girl and girls are always hysterical. (I hope the complete and utter derision I focused into that word is audible.)

Melodies!Sakura's considerably harder-looking around the edges than canon!Sakura, mostly because she was born into war, but I wanted it to remain clear that she is, at the core, still Sakura. She wants to help, to make the world better, but when it comes down to it, she's willing to do whatever she has to do to keep her precious people safe. She helps every kid she runs into because she sees herself in them, because she sees echoes of Kakashi and Koga and Dana, and she doesn't want them to go into life alone -- she's all heart, despite the sharp edges.

The last bit, about ANBU, is one I dithered over a surprising amount. As far as I know, canonically, we're never given any statistics about missing nin. What we do see is that ANBU are constantly pushed to their limits, and then they're pushed even farther. Kakashi and Itachi are the most notable examples, I think, but... I think the case could be made for every single person we see in ANBU in the entire shebang. Fandom characterizes Genma as a flirt and a ladies' man, or a mans' man, or a take-all-comers person. Hypersexuality is, not always, but often a reaction to PTSD. As far as I remember, it's most commonly a reaction to specifically sexual trauma, but it's also not unheard of for returning soldiers with PTSD to end up leaning into hypersexuality. It's simply not part of human nature to be able to repeatedly imbibe (and in this case, inflict) trauma and death on others without it negatively effecting your psyche. There are always exceptions, of course, but exceptions aren't the rule.

All of that led into the last line, which took me a lot of staring into the distance and frantic re-writing to get just right. As someone who has C-PTSD herself, I tend to shy away from referring to people with PTSD as 'broken'. It's not very positive. For this, though, I couldn't think of any other word to use. Tsunade's not just talking about grown humans here. She's talking about people who, for the largest part, have been child soldiers. They've been raised on a diet of death and destruction, and without help... eventually, that's what comes back out.

In meta, we the fans know that the massacre is because Itachi was ordered to do so. We've seen it. What we haven't been shown is all the droves of people a system like this would inevitably churn out. Tsunade says it here because she's seen it. The canon deaths she's suffered through removed the veil from her eyes, however thin it was before. She's under no illusions any longer, and it's part of why my Tsunade doesn't go back to Konoha. She's seen the trail of broken ninja she'd have to step over to get back home -- and staying silent for so long means she's wielded the blade just as surely as the Sandaime has.

[lilietsblog]

LETS GO MIRAI NIKKI LIVEBLOG THIS TIME HOPEFULLY WITH SCREENSHOTS

(update: nope didnt work. guess i do have to save the pics separately and not just copy-paste them into an rtf o well)

last time on: is Gasai trying to kill them??? i have no idea last time she was onscreen they (she and Yukki) were drinking soda from the vending machine????

I LOVE AKISE AND HIS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS SO MUCH like theres the normal guy freaking out and then theres this beautiful white haired disaster

meanwhile I think Yuno is??? roleplaying??? like she counts on him being non-responsive to play out her fantasy of being a caring housewife? anyway yeah she's done this offscreen huh. that was a jarring transition

AND SUDDENLY OPENING its somehow SUDDEN every time and I admire that man I love this opening so much and I cant take a single screenshot reflecting how awesome it is because the entire Thing is constant movement so hey Akise whatcha thinking man I love just the CONTRAST Akise:

Other people:

what is it with me and characters who never show their emotions on their face or in their voice but act exclusively based on them??? like theres this very specific anime trope of a white haired character who is stoic as fuck but instead of making rational decisions motivated by human people logic they do 100% self-destructive things based on curiosity / love / sense of duty / whatever the fuck else and in the end they appear to be missing precisely one emotion and that's self-preservation (yes self preservation is totally an emotion look it up) Akise is that exact trope and I LOVE IT SO FUCKING MUCH meanwhile, Yuno is having trouble feeding an unconscious prisoner... what an unexpected problem that could in no way be foreseen. let me guess: she's going to try to wake him up so he can swallow his damn katsudon ah no instead Hinata intervenes. hon SHE BEAT HIM UP AND TIED HIM TO A CHAIR HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK SHE CARES IF HE WANTS KATSUDON. what made you think speaking up was a good idea here

theres a meme of 'ask someone whos not in the fandom to interpret whats going on in this picture' but you know i think random ppl would identify this situation 100% correctly +- who Hinata is to Yukki. this anime is a cultural icon "Aren't you Yukiteru's girlfriend? Can't you tell?" I love the moon logic this anime operates on, that people inside it are forced to work within. Hinata knows how to put it in the one and only way Yuno would be willing to engage with it, ha. Aaaand looks like it's less roleplaying and more delusion. oh Yuno ah she figures out how to make him open his mouth by pressing on his jaw Yuno honey maybe the police wont come after HIM but after the shit you pulled it sure as fuck will come after YOU then again according to Akise it was coming after you anyway I guess I'm morbidly curious as to exactly how Yuno is going to organize Yukki peeing >_< huh, a sock aaaand Akise goes for the win! two skulls alas I already know One Spoiler that they are her parents, and her actions Almost Kinda Make Sense in that dream logic way so I think last time we saw the bodies they were mummies? but now that's definitely skeletons. huh

okay I'll be honest this is a reaction I did not predict this anime keeps surprising me with happenings that make perfect sense in retrospect, I really respect that about it OH IS THIS THE SCENE THAT SCREENSHOT SET WAS FROM NO I THINK THAT WAS YUKKI ASKING HER but Akise what the fuck are you counting on, that she'll come murder you in person??? I doubt all three of you could overpower her in Murder Mode tbh did you see her with an axe oh right you didnt :>

OH HEY THAT'S CLEVER I like how Yuno goes between 100% self-delusion about Yukki and painful 100% sane clarity about the horrible stuff with the other option being relatively normal interactions with Yuuki, memory suppression about murders and cheerful willingness to kill anyone for Yukki I think that second option really is better for her long-term )= you two do you realize she hears you as well maybe shut up okay no not really -I- know she's thinking because of the camera movement and stuff, -they- don't aaand she laughs. i dont think anyone (other than Akise I guess) saw this coming okay yeah looks like the gamble failed. the mind-preservation instinct of retreating into delusion overpowered the more mundane concerns so that's totally ventilation up there huh. I'm not sure if the gas plan will work for her huh so hum moment of truth WILL Akise send the email to the police or was that just a threat? (orrr the police might know already? he might have told That Nice Cop Guy about it) awww Kousaka's dying message is kinda cute

kinda superfluous - the police already know who they're looking for - but nice AHAHAHA POST LIMIT THAT'S KINDA HILARIOUS THAT'S WHY EVERYONE ELSE JUST USED THE MEMO FUNCTION ah no the rank increased fair enough wait what????? what the fuck @ Deus ah okay to clarify: what the fuck @ 8th well hey it worked out! I still quesiton a ventilation duct in a gassing room but hey I guess there was a lot of gas and Yuno didn't see a reason to conserve it and Kousaka's question is of course why the fuck is Yuno in her underwear. I mean... fair enough, I'm kinda curious too omfg

HELLO POLICE I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT A MURDER oh right... bad joke anyway I like how camera doesn't play along with Kousaka, while he's saying he's the ultimate weapon he's literally blocked by Yuno's head. we know who the main character is oh hey Yukki is coming to his senses! but can't talk huh right I figured it'd be the soda

*whaps with newspaper* NO NO BAD YUNO STOP THAT (she's drawn so prettily tho damn <3)

oh my sweet summer child you don't know the rules of this game AT ALL hum and the girls can't escape the same way he did because they aren't tall enough dude she's gone up against like five diary owners already and came up on top every time you don't know who you're challenging

huh she actually agrees to play the game wonder if that's genuine or if she has a plan like, I can imagine she's just been pulled into the situation and the role of the big bad setting up traps enough to enjoy toying with people and not just getting her way at the very least she hasn't axe-murdered him... or Hinata for that matter... yet

SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED it definitely wasn't just one event tho. Yuno doesn't act like someone who used to be a normal healthy kid in a supportive environment until One Bad Thing Happened and took their entire world. No, Yuno is acting like someone who'd built up the dissociation/delusion defense mechanisms over a long, long time, like, say, a victim of abuse who finally snapped and then didnt find a way to snap back I just wanna knooooow

OH MY GOD SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE HAS A PLAN IS IT NECROMANCY IS SHE GONNA DRESS UP YUKKI AND HINATA AS HER PARENTS WHAT THE FUCK hum what did Yukki realize that's not a key is it?

IT ACTUALLY WORKED I CAN'T BELIEVE aaand

yeah at least she didn't kill him... immediately hum

Hinata and Yukki are both tied up so I'm not sure what they can do together behind Yuno's back but I know a foreshadowing shot when I see one for all that this anime keeps genuinely surprising me with twists, it does take care to make the events easy to follow, and I like that this is Quality Storytelling

yeah but it would have shown a Dead End, right??? or does it not work like that because it's like a 'secondary' diary, an offshoot of the 8th??? I wonder

AHAHHA sorry Yuno you're used to being up against diary owners, but so is Yukki, and he's been growing more competent at this too

NICE and she'd given him his own diary -> ???? brilliant decision but seriously if Hinata did something to Yukki wouldn't that be predicted orrr I guess Yukki's actions were actions of a diary owner so when he made a new decision based on his diary (again, brilliant decision) it changed he prediction ooooohhh she kicked the key that wasn't doing anything to Yukki in itself, it just enabled Yukki to act, which, again, the actions of a diary owner three diary owners????? please tell me that's Akise and Mao and oh right Kousaka was the third one the math doesn't add up :x I think the three diary owners would be able to find them bc of Kousaka's Diary and that's the 8th's plan

this must look so utterly surreal from the side

Yuno? You're not going to drug me and tie me up and try to kill my friends, are you? This girl seriously needs to learn how normal relationships work and I Yearn to learn what the fuck fucked her up like that.

BAD MOVE YUNO HE ALREADY TRIED THAT THIS IS THE RESULT

congrats Yuno you Fucked That Up

sorry but... yeah. you deserve this

???? someone in the cast lives in an orphanage??? I'm calling Akise in that case

oh nm it's something else huh

ah that's what it was oh Kousaka everything about you was a bad idea ...

... what

it really, really fucking isn't Yukki acted on information he had, and made the best decisions he had available. but he can't control other people's actions

...are these... the apprentice diary owners? how does the system work, anyway? how does the 8th send them after anyone? Kousaka has no clue...

uh was the dramatic slo mo effect in-universe too??? they were kind of racing on opposite lanes that couldn't have taken more than like. two seconds

see that's not wrong but. you really need to up your girlfriend game dammit im just rooting for Yuno in all this. you go girl. you fight your inner demons and figure out a happy ending for yourself damn that felt like a really long episode. probably because of the screenshots here's a proposition of a new function for the tumblr staff: uploading .rtf files automatically, splitting into several posts if they are too big. thats the kind of convenience the social media is supposed to offer, right? oh hey Murmur's diary! third installment of the You Saved Me series

beautiful

you naive fucking child oh my god Murmur

MURMUR NO

so was this, like, a dream or something? hum interesting

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Eidolon 9 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary:  AU: What started off as the result of a simple act of rebellion ends up causing his life to spin out of control. How will young Danny cope with the results as well as a past that has a strange habit of coming back to haunt him.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, kidnapping, and various other things

Parings: hints of Danny/Sam much later on

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr

9. Shattered Impressions

"I have you now, Ghost Child."

Panic began to set in as Danny tried to rationalize the scene in front of him. A strange gun -which looked incredibly dangerous - was no more than a couple of inches away from his head. It seemed to be connected to the arm of what was best described as a very large metallic man, a robot maybe, which had a flaming green mohawk. If the situation did not look so bad, he probably would have made some sort of comment about its choice of 'hair'.

"You're puny," it told him after it used the muzzle of the gun to lift his chin, forcing him to look at its face. Danny was more than a little surprised to find its voice sounded relatively normal. There was no metallic interference. "It's hard to imagine you have the sort of power my employer thinks you do."

As he continued to nervously look the being in the eyes, he prayed for a distraction, anything that would take its attention away just long enough for him to escape from the gun's cool metal. With each passing moment, he was becoming more and more aware of how close it was to his neck. If the robot decided it was going to fire, there would be no escape.

"Interesting…" The unfamiliar voice of his captor caught his attention. Instead of focusing on him, it was now absorbed with something on its arm. A computer? No, that wouldn't make any sense. Why would a robot need a computer? Shouldn't it be able to do all its thinking, or whatever, in its head?

As if it knew he was staring, the robot turned away from its arm and gave him an evil grin. "My scanners indicate you certainly have the potential. Although my employer wants you alive, there's nothing in my contract that says I can't test your worth first." It stepped back as the gun on its arm began to whine as it raised the weapon to the level of his head. "Let the games begin!"

Until that moment in time, Danny never believed the stories of how time seemed to slow in life threatening situations. Knowing what was going to happen yet unable to turn away, he watched as a light from inside the barrel appeared. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, alerting him to the danger and yet blocking out any other noise.

The force of an impact and a face full of dirt brought him back to the fast-paced world as a blast sounded from somewhere of to the side. Confused and not entirely sure if he was still alive, he glanced around and immediately caught the glare of an incredibly angry goth girl. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded as she pulled him off the ground. "If you didn't notice, that thing was aiming at your head!"

Still puzzled as to how he had fallen in the first place combined with resurfacing memories of the danger, he couldn't give her an answer as she began to lead him, as fast as possible, away from the danger. Although he was vaguely aware of Tucker was running beside them and the robot-thing was somehow chasing them from the air, nothing else was registering; even the explosions occurring at a faster and faster rate behind them, causing them to stumble and trip as they ran.

…

He wasn't sure how long they had been running, nor did he know exactly where they were. Looking around, he found himself in a small, dirty, and poorly lit alleyway which suggested to him that they were now in a rougher part of town. He had heard stories about places like this, Winston loved to scare him with those stories when he was younger, and hoped that this particular one would receive no other visitors. Though it was true he would rather deal with an actual person than the flying monstrosity they had hopefully lost, neither were welcome thoughts.

He glanced at his friends who were using the moment to catch their breaths. Tucker was sprawled out on the ground, seemingly too tired to do much else. Sam on the other hand, was still standing. It was clear she was just as tired as Tucker, but her alert posture told him she was not about to let her guard down. Danny couldn't blame her. Whatever had been chasing them had the ability to kill.

Why had it come after them –him- in the first place? Didn't the robot-thingy call him a ghost? Why? Weren't ghosts the spirits of those who had passed from life and had come back for one reason or another? He wasn't dead. The dried blood on his face from his cut was his proof. Someone who was dead couldn't bleed, right? Yet, the thing, the actual ghost, which had cornered him in the cemetery, said something similar. Hadn't it said he did not belong in 'this world' and he felt the call of the 'other side'?

He shook his head as he tried to push his thoughts away. With the situation at hand, there were more important concerns that required his attention.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tucker asked, causing Danny to jump.

"Huh? Yeah…" Danny rubbed his neck in embarrassment as he glanced at his friends. "Sorry, I was just thinking… Are you guys okay?" There was no immediate answer, which worried him. There was something off in the expressions of his two friends. It almost seemed like they weren't sure who he was. "Guys… you're starting to freak me out. What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"Danny… we're your friends, right?" There was a hesitance in Tucker's voice as he spoke. If Danny didn't know any better, it almost seemed as if the other boy was carefully choosing his words.

He had a feeling he was not going to like where the conversation was heading when he cautiously replied. "Yeah… But what's that got to do with anything?"

"Are you stupid or something?" Sam yelled, causing him to flinch. Now that her anger was completely directed at him, he understood why Tucker was afraid of her. "Danny, if we really are your friends then we have a right to know what's going on, especially if we might end up in danger. Now spill it! What was that thing? What does it want with you? What are you?"

His cautious confusion began to change into anger as he returned her glare. "Is that's what's wrong? Here I thought someone might have been hurt. Look, like I told you the last time, I have no idea what's going on! I've never even seen that thing before tonight, so how was I to know it had a vendetta against me?"

His expression softened after he finished. His outburst was enough to stem his anger, allowing him to relax just enough to plop down on the ground. He allowed himself to rest his arms on his knees before he spoke again. "I don't know how else to explain this to you… All of this craziness started a few weeks ago. Now that I think about it... Everything seemed to start right around the time I met you two…:"

"So you're saying this is our fault?"

Catching the warning tone in her voice, Danny held up his hands, hoping the gesture would prevent her from attacking him. "What? No! I'm not saying that at all! It's just it seemed to be the starting point of everything. Until then, I was perfectly normal."

"Normal? We were just chased and attacked by a flying metal robot! How is that normal?" As she spoke, Sam kept moving closer to where Danny was seated, and although he tried to scoot away from her, she reached down and grabbed him by the shirt. Knowing it was not a good idea to try and fight her, he allowed her to pull him up without a struggle. Her violet eyes bore into his icy blue ones as she continued to speak, almost daring him to do say something that would put her even further over the edge. "I don't know what's going on in your little world, Danny, but it's certainly anything but normal. Here we don't periodically fall through solid objects. Here we don't get chased by flying robots! Here people get exhausted when they are forced to run for their lives for fifteen minutes. Here we don't have people whose blood is two entirely different colors. Here…"

Danny pulled away as he cut her off. "Whoa, back up a minute. Different color blood? Where did that come from?"

"You're serious?" An incredulous expression crossed Sam's face.

"Yes, I'm serious."

"Sam, I'll take care of it," Tucker's voice was soft as he placed a hand cautiously on her shoulder. Although it was clear she was not done with her rant, Sam relented. Giving himself a moment to compose himself, Tucker sighed and adjusted his beret before he looked back over at Danny.

"Sam and I noticed it after we ran out of the park after the initial attack," Tucker told him as he warily locked eyes with him. "You had a cut above your eye, and at first I thought grass had gotten stuck to your face due to the blood and because you fell, but I realized that just didn't seem right. The green stuff was an unnatural color and seemed to be dripping down along with the regular blood. I'm surprised you didn't notice it."

Feeling uneasy, Danny reached up to touch the, thankfully, closed wound. He had thought those types of head injuries were supposed to bleed a lot… Maybe he hadn't been injured as badly as he initially thought. But, he still needed to test what his friends had said. Taking care to not completely reopen the cut, he carefully rubbed the fresh scab until he felt a trickle start to run down his face.

When he pulled his hand away, he was mortified by what it revealed. Blood is supposed to be a red so vivid that few natural colors can match it. There should not be any other color seen until it starts to dry, especially not a toxic, glowing green.

What was this stuff? It seemed to have the same consistency as his natural blood, but what would make it that color? Nothing came to mind as he watched the multi-colored liquid begin to mix into an ugly brown as it began to dry. Concerned, he used the back of his hand to wipe the injury above his eye, and once again, he pulled it back to find the same odd mix of colors.

He tried to say something as he frantically tried to get the foreign substance off his hand, but nothing intelligent came. The green stuff hadn't been there the previous week; he had fallen and scraped his knee pretty badly. He would have noticed a weird green tinge… so what changed? What was happening to him?

"So… I take this as an 'I didn't know'," Tucker stated as he watched Danny fall back to the ground as he continued to stare at his hand.

"I-I don't understand…" Danny's voice was nothing but a horrified whisper. "What am I turning into…?"

xxxxxx

"Sam, I don't think you can argue with that…" Tucker told her as the two of them watched their friend begin to shake as he wrapped his arms around himself, perhaps to give himself some sort of comfort. "You can't fake that kind of fear…"

"Oh, and you're suddenly the expert on that?" Sam snapped at him as she continued to watch the boy on the ground. Nothing about this made any sense, and it hadn't even since she had seen him get his leg stuck in the floor of his house. Whatever was happening to the boy was not possible, and the possibilities of the impossible were scaring her. Usually she was fine with the dark and morbid fantasies that frequented her mind, but they were far less appealing when they applied to the possible monster she had thought was her friend.

Momentary confusion caused her to glance over at Tucker as an unusual thought came to the forefront of her mind. "You know, you seem surprisingly okay with this," she told him carefully while watching his expression. "I would have thought you would have run screaming and not looked back a while ago…"

"Really? And here I would think that you'd be handling this sort of weirdness better than me. I mean, it is sort of your thing," he replied with a smirk. Although Sam was somewhat put off by it, she had to agree with him. Tucker's expression once again became serious as he looked back at Danny who had not moved. "I don't know what's going on… and you have no idea how badly that metal thing scared me earlier, but I don't think how I feel can even compare to how Danny does. And, even though I might regret this, I'm going to stick with him."

"But…"

"Sam, he's your friend too," Tucker interrupted as an uncharacteristic note of anger colored his voice. "I think your problem is you don't want to admit you're also scared."

She was going to argue back when she realized he was absolutely right. She was afraid, and if there was one think she couldn't stand above all else was her being afraid. Danny had never hurt her, and his expression had clearly told her every time he had denied having any information about the strange happening he was not lying. She had just wanted to pin the blame on him since there was no other outlet.

Not wanting to admit she was at fault, she slowly moved towards Danny and cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder. He jumped as he looked up at her. His eyes, that strange and unique crystal blue, briefly showed her the chaos and terror lurking beneath the surface before he seemed to regain himself. "Come on," she told him softly as she offered to help him up. "We need to head back to my house… My parents might have noticed we're gone." Danny did little more than nod as he accepted her hand.

"Do you really think it's safe? What if that thing is still around and follows us back?" Tucker asked her as he pulled out his PDA. She was actually surprised it had taken him so long to do so; usually he couldn't last a minute without it.

She gave him a troubled look. "Do you have any better ideas? We can't stay out here."

"Point taken… Well… according to my PDA, we've got a while to go before we can get back. All that running we did really got us off track…"

"Alright, we better hurry then. The faster we get back, the better."

"As long as we don't run, that's all fine and dandy." Sam sent a glare at Tucker, which he countered with mock version of his own. "What? We ran all the way here from the park, and unless we end up in mortal danger on the way back, there's no way I'm running again."

"Big baby."

"Well, I'm sorry we can't all be as athletic as you."

"You could be if you ate something else other than meat all the time."

"Hey! I take offense to that!"

Sam smiled as the confirmation she won this round appeared in Tucker's expression. She was about to say something else when Danny's soft voice interrupted. "Guys, is this really the best time for this…?" Surprised, she glanced over to see if he was okay. Although it was very clear he hadn't completely recovered from his scare, traces of humor could be seen in his eyes. That was a good sign. Well, at least she hoped it was.

xxxxxx

Although he was still more than a little freaked out, Danny was starting to feel a little better. Too much had happened in one day for him to worry about it, so he decided it would be better to push his concerns aside until the next morning. Maybe everything would make more sense, or maybe he and his friends would awaken to realize they had the craziest dream. He could certainly live with that.

He looked up as the three of them walked. The night was oddly clear making it perfect for stargazing. If it was any other night, he would gladly welcome it, but now the clear skies made him feel unusually vulnerable. Although they were making good time, they were still too far away from Sam's home than he liked. What he wouldn't give to be safe behind some sort of walls.

A sudden chill started to creep through his body, causing him to shiver, and his breath became momentarily visible before it disappeared in faint wisps. "Guys…" he said cautiously, breaking the temporary silence between them, as the chill swept through him again.

"Not this again! Didn't this happen right before…." Tucker's words were cut short as Sam placed her hand over his mouth. He quickly swatted it away and glared at her. "What was that for?"

In response, she returned his glare with one of her own, which caused him to shrink back. "Don't say it! You don't want to jinx us! Come on, let's pick up the pace! Maybe we can get back before…"

"Try all you want. You won't be able to make it back… alive."

Danny froze as he tried to pinpoint the origin of the voice. This was just too coincidental. Was that cold feeling some sort of warning?

"So…" Tucker whispered as he looked up as he finally spotted the robot, who was currently watching them from several feet above. "If we make a break for it, how far away will we get before it catches us?"

"Do you really think that you can continue to run from me, Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter? Please, the three of you aren't even a challenge," it told them as it descended. "Although I could easily spend all night chasing after you, I'm on a schedule." It glanced over at Sam and Tucker and grinned as it produced a long glowing blade from its arm, "And you two are of no use to me."

He watched as the robot moved towards his friends in a manner that reminded him of a hunter stalking its prey. If they decided to run, he knew they were not going to be able to get away this time. This was all his fault! That thing, Skulker, was after him!

Danny had begun moving even before he realized it. "You leave them alone!" he thundered as he crashed into the robot. Stumbling backwards after the initial impact, he tried to refocus as the pain swam through his body. Okay, so running into a solid hunk of metal was not his smartest move, but at least it got the thing to focus back on him. "Sam, Tucker, run! Get away from here while you can!"

"How touching." Skulker's tone and expression hinted it was starting to become annoyed with the situation. Danny barely had time to register its movement before it attacked him. The punch to the gut immediately filled his mouth with the taste of blood which was intensified with the backhand which sent him reeling to the ground.

"To bad you're in no shape to help them." Even though his head was swimming, Danny managed to pick his head up just enough to see his tormentor standing over him. Its twisted smile was the only thing he could identify as his vision started to dim. "Maybe if you were stronger this would be a different story, but you'll never get that chance." With a laugh, it turned and started back towards his friends.

Why? Why did it have to end like this? There was nothing he could do anymore. He could hear his friends frantically calling his name. Why did they stay? Why didn't they run like he told them too?

He could feel the cold tears running down his face as he fought to stay conscious while his friends screamed for help. Dammit! Why was he so useless? He couldn't let them die!

A new sense of resolve flooded through him as he tried to push himself upright. His vision was still hazy, but he could just make out the shapes of his friends and the monster pursuing them. One of them was on the ground while the other was frantically trying to help. Skulker was not going to let them escape. Its hulking shape was standing over them with its blade raised.

"St-stop!" Danny stammered in a desperate plea. He had to get over there! He had to help them! "STOP IT!" As he yelled, an icy pain, completely different from his previous aches, and a thousand times worse coursed through his body. Yet, unlike the previous pain, this one seemed to make him more alert, and he managed to pull himself off the ground.

He could tell that his friends and Skulker were surprised by his sudden movements, but any further movements he saw were lost as another wave of pain over took him. It was almost as if it was consuming him – wrapping him in icy tendrils electrifying his body. With each icy wave, he could feel the life being leeched out of him replacing it with some sort of unknown power.

From somewhere deep in his mind, he understood that he could use this power, whatever it was, to help his friends. He would worry about the price he was paying for it later; now, he was going to give it everything to save them.

He yelled something at the metal being… what, he wasn't sure. Although he wasn't exactly sure how it reacted, he knew he had gotten its attention. In that stunned moment, he let the power direct his movements as if it was his marionette and charged the creature. Instructions seemed to be flowing into him as he dodged and deflected the blows coming from the metal monstrosity.

He had to get in close; that was the only way to end the fight. Skulker's movements were becoming harder to dodge as the seconds ticked by. He couldn't tell if this was because Skulker was starting to clue into his movements or if it was because the power had been circulating through him was starting to fade from his body.

It was then that he saw it, an opening. Skulker had swung at him just a little too hard, causing its recovery to be a just a little longer. In that brief moment, he placed both of his hands on the creature's metal chest and concentrated. The power that had been swirling beneath the surface of his skin, giving him strength, flowed into his hands and concentrated itself. When the intensity of it threatened to harm him, he pushed it out of him with as much force as he could muster. The result was an intense flash of green light that knocked both him and his opponent back.

Regaining himself, he just managed to catch the sight of Skulker grasping at the hole in its chest as he turned and ran towards his terrified friends. Knowing that he hadn't done enough to put Skulker down for the count, he grabbed them and tried to lead them away. A strange feeling, different from the others that had plagued his body in the last couple hours, flooded his body. The next thing he knew, the three of them were standing in the road in front of Sam's house.

He had no idea how he had managed to get them back so quickly. As he let his friends go, his world began to spin. Pain was gnawing at his body, pulling him into darkness. The last thing he thought before his face met the pavement was to wonder if this was what dying felt like.