#or she'll hide behind gore

[bloodyweeds]

smol local cat causing an uprise while slaying dragons

[circe69]

𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐦 - Simon Riley x Fem!Reader

narrative: you get kidnapped by graves, and ghost rescues you (in a very aggressive/sweet manner) warnings: violent, blood, injuries, kidnapping, manhandling tags: cleaning wounds, soft ghost, solving mysteries, being babied honestly, touching, sweet things amidst gore. a/n: as always, lmk if this is something you'd like a part two for! love you guys! part 2

A set of strong hands grabbed your two biceps and threw you to the ground, your body slamming against the wet pavement. You groaned in agony, blood soaking your ripped shirt around your sleeves, whilst your ears rang, and vision blurred. Someone leaned down, you weren't sure who, and pulled you up by your hair.

You screamed, "G- ugh, Get off of me!" Graves let a chuckle escape, making your stomach churn. "You tell whoever is unfortunate enough to pick up your rotting body that it was me who was merciful, letting you leave alive when you deserve nothing but a coffin too small for your corpse.”

He dropped your hair, making your head strike the ground.

"Let's go, boys. Oh, she'll be fine, grow a pair!" You heard his eager voice fade out and heavy boots walk away, followed by a metal door closing shut, the rust falling on the doormat.

All the sudden, you heard a flashlight click. It was quiet enough to almost be unheard, but your senses had been heightened, you were aware of everything.

"Who's there?" You whispered, not trying to. You tried to be as loud as you possibly could, but it wasn't until this moment you realized how scared you were of being caught.

"Who's there?" You whispered, not trying to. You tried to be as loud as you possibly could, but it wasn't until this moment you realized how scared you were of being caught.

No one answered, but you could feel someone's presence. You stumbled to your feet, bracing yourself on the side of an empty tank before standing up straight. "I know someone's there!" Nothing.

Sighing, you took a few more steps towards where you heard the click, almost hoping that someone was there listening to you. Your hand slid against the wet metal of the tank, and the other trying to locate where you were hurt the most and holding pressure to where you guessed.

A gun cocked. Your head turned in every direction, trying to see everything at once. I'm about to die, you thought. This was the end. There was nothing else for you to do but accept that you would never see any of your family again, none of your friends.

You walked a little more, almost giving yourself up to whoever it was, and you almost turned back around to hide in the unused tank before wet arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you back into a wall of a body.

Your screams filled the air, harsh groans were coming from the person behind you in response to your thrashing. "Put. Me. Down!" Kicking your legs in any way you could, but it didn't do anything. "Calm down, woman, I'm not gonna hurt you." The body turned around and started jogging towards a running vehicle. There was a man in the front, one you didn't recognize, but before you could scream anything else, you were thrown into the back of the car, and a huge man followed you. Your body hit a leather seat, and he was positioned in front of you, buckling your seatbelt as if you were a helpless child.

"Got her, Johnny. Move out," the man trapping you in a seat said. He said the terrifying sentence with gauze between his teeth, ripping a few long pieces off of a large roll and setting it back in the console. The driver wasted no time in throwing the gear in reverse at his command, and the dog tags on the rearview mirror jangled against themselves as he slammed on the gas.

You couldn't breathe, your head was spinning, and you weren't sure if it was from the loss of blood or sudden fear that you were going to die.

The man sitting in front of you was wearing a few things you deemed as strange: a cream skull-face mask on top of a black linen face covering. His vests and gear were anything but simple, you feared if he'd move the wrong way, he'd set off a bomb somewhere.

His hand reached up to turn on the dinky car light as the driver took a harsh turn. "Could you drive a little slower, mate?" His voice was aggressive, too deep for his own good. It was a weapon in and of itself. Orders that he made were automatically wishes that had to come true.

"Ghost," he said while opening up a few bandages and uncapping a tube of disinfectant, not even looking up at you. "Crazy man in the front is Soap."

You felt tears brew in your eyes as he talked to you in such a casual manner. There was no underlying threat in his words, even as scary as he was. A few heavy droplets slipped and audibly landed on your seatbelt, causing Ghost to look up at you.

Once he saw you crying, he sighed, not out of exhaustion or annoyance, but of something else. You weren’t sure what he was feeling, or why he did things he did. You weren’t sure anyone ever knew. He reached his gloved hand up and turned off the light, continuing to work in the dark. He'd be cursed for the rest of his life if he had to watch you cry.

A woman he'd never met, never even known existed, until that very afternoon.

"Sit down, men." Price said from the corner of the room, uncrossing his arms and walking away from his stance against the wall. "We've got places to be, people to save, Graves to fill." A few young newbies snickered at his joke; the rest stayed quiet. The captain circled the large table, passing out beige files and black masks to everyone sitting down. "Kate, the TV, please." Laswell clicked a black remote, pointing it at a flat screen and waited for a picture to pop up.

A young women appeared, maybe early 20's. Mid-length hair with eyes that could kill. Her license picture, as intimidating as you'd think it be to look into the eyes of a missing woman, it wasn't at all.

Her smile was beautiful, completely clueless at what the terrible world had to offer. What the terrible world had become. She was nothing but happy, just happy to be wherever. No one said anything, but they were all lost in the picture, not sure if what they were feeling was frustration or admiration.

"This is Y/N L/N." Price cleared his throat before continuing, "I used to work with her father, he's a good man. I owe him my life; I'd give him anything."

He made his way to the head of the round table, "Y/N's missing. He's given us the substantial responsibility of finding her."

Gaz spoke up after raising his hand for a few seconds, "Do we know where she is?"

"Well, where do we always find ourselves treading off to when we get any sort of call?" Price said in a sarcastic tone, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head.

"Graves." Ghost and Soap spoke in unison, the man in the ghost mask cleaning his knife off with a dirty rag, and the one in with the mohawk stirring some sugar into a mug of tea.

Laswell and Price nodded in agreement to their guess, and everyone else sighed audibly, some out of relief and others in annoyance. Graves was never the best option, but lately it's been seeming like the only option. Soap stood up from his seat, groaning as he scooted his seat in. "Well? Let's get on it."

"You'll be fine, luv. Swear it." Ghost said to you as he trailed his fingers along your head gash, feeling for the cut before using his other hand to pour isopropyl on a cotton round. He suddenly remembered the picture from earlier, the innocent face that's now bloody and bruised thanks to one of the men he's spent years trying to destroy.

"It'll sting," he whispered, and Soap in the front seat breathed through his teeth sharp. "Ooh, I know that smell. That's the smell of pain." You felt your mouth upturn slightly, inhaling the rubbing alcohol as well and leaning into the childhood memories that rushed into your brain. Ones of you falling down on the playground, scraping your elbow on the asphalt and running towards the nearest teacher.

"You okay?" Ghost checked in as he stuck a bandage on your head, and you hummed in response, taking a deep breath in as you leaned back on your head rest. "There she is," Soap said while looking in the rearview mirror.

Arriving back at the base, you felt your eyes droop open and closed, feeling comforted at the feeling of Ghost's thumb rubbing against the side of your jeans, trying to nurse you back to health to the best of his ability. Soap parked the car, slowly pressing on the brake to appease Ghost's previous request.

"You got her, Simon?" Soap asked as he took the key out of the ignition and quietly grabbing his backpack from the front seat. Ghost grunted in approval, and waited till Soap got out of car and shut the door before figuring out what to do with your tired body.

"Should I carry you?" He whispered, bracing himself on the armrest of your seat and bringing the other hand up to the side of your face, balancing your head on his palm as you tried not to fall asleep. You whined in response, not truly being conscious enough to reply properly. "Right then," Ghost said, looking around for things to clean up before heading up to the base.

He got out of the car first, jumping down onto the gravel and reaching across your lap to unbuckle your seatbelt. "Let's go, Y/N."

"You know my name?" You said sleepily as he picked you up with an arm underneath your legs and the other wrapped around your waist, squeezing gently to signal you jump into his arms.

"Course I do, you've been the talk of the town lately."

"Wow." Rubbing your eyes sleepily, it caused Ghost to look down at your in his arms, distracting him altogether from his mission. All the sudden, your waterline started to fill with tears.

"What, what is it?"

"I couldn't even fight back." You started to cry, your eyes pouring out on your face, something Ghost tried so hard not to watch but had to.

"It's alright, bug, not many of us can get a rile out of Graves anyway, that's reason enough for an award."

You chuckled at the sentiment, and at the fact that he cared enough to attempt to cheer you up. Even if his humor was the corniest you'd ever been around, it was enough to lift your moods a little bit.

As he walked you into the base, a cold chill hit your bare arm, you felt the dried blood crackle as you shifted. "Brr, am I right?" Ghost tried once again to make you crack a smile, walking you into the closest guest room. It was a quaint area, just one cot with a few cream-colored sheets and a dusty quilt that someone had definitely donated from years past. There was only one overhead light, and after Ghost gently set you down on the bed, he walked over to flip the switch.

“This okay? Is your head hurting you?” He asked considerately, walking back over to look into your pupils, making sure you weren’t concussed. “Not too bad,” you responded, rubbing a dry hand on your face, and pulling it back only to find it was covered in blood. Your eyebrows furrowed and you frowned at the sight, feeling ill knowing there was still remnants of your attack.

“You’re still quite bloody, I couldn’t see very well in the dark car, but someone else will-.”

“You could’ve kept the light on,” you interrupted him, sitting up slightly and leaning your head on the metal bed frame.

“What?” Ghost whispered, knowing good and well what you were implying, but not wanting to act it.

“You turned the light off, in the car, but you could’ve kept it on to see me better. Why didn’t you?”

He exhaled, slightly clicking his tongue against his teeth. “I know, I- I just couldn’t-" He paused to regain control over his stuttering, “I hated seeing you cry.”

Ghost walked over to a small sink, turning one of the knobs and dampening a rag before walking back over to you. He stopped a few paces in front of your bed, just to stare at you. The entirety of your body, nothing left unscathed. Your jeans were torn to shreds, red liquid lacing every stitch. The shirt you wore was drenched in rain and blood, and it ripped in the front, allowing cleavage to poke through, making Ghost’s eyes close abruptly when he saw it.

“You don’t even know me, Ghost, why would it bother you so much?” You adjusted yourself so your legs hung off the side of the bed, your shoulder facing where Ghost stood. “I know, but, I know of you.”

He continued, “Your father, he worked with Price, yeah? Price said your pops gave him the job of finding you.”

Your jaw dropped slightly, but before you could say anything, you were interrupted.

“Oi, Lieutenant, you’re needed. Price says it’s an emergency.” An unfamiliar voice yelled from the hallway, before a few loud knocks at the door.

“I’m takin care of the girl, Gaz,-"

“Nope, Price said now.”

He frustratedly stood up, tapping his foot a few times before turning to you again.

You spoke first, “It’s fine, really, someone else will come along and clean me up.”

Ghost nodded, crossing his arms across his chest. “You sure?” You nodded your head as well in response, knowing that he wasn’t just some soldier, he was Ghost, a Lieutenant, a leader.

A killer.

“I’ll be back in the mornin, I swear it. With coffee and everything.” With that, Ghost left the room, his large boots and velcro straps with keychains hanging from them rattling and filling the room before fading out.

You were terrified, there was no other way to put it. And at this point, could anyone even be trusted? Sure, Ghost seemed nice enough, he wasted his time to tend to you, and Soap was eager to help as well, but it all seemed too strange, too strategic. How was Graves connected to the 141 Task Force? Why had Ghost mentioned they had been affiliated before?

You pulled out a locket from underneath your shirt, a small medallion that would be worth thousands if you had offered it to a trader, but the thought never crossed your mind. Inside was a picture of your father, someone you hadn’t seen in years. How in the world would he know you’d gotten kidnapped? He wasn’t even in the same country, let alone care enough to keep tabs on you. He was a terrible man, someone you told yourself and many others to stay away from. There had to be something else going on, something beneath the surface and even if Ghost didn’t know of it, he was still a part of it.

As much as you didn’t want to trust Ghost, you feared he was all you could lean on. You promised yourself once he’d get back in the morning, you’d discuss it with him; how Price talked to your father, and if it was even your father he was talking to? Hopefully, he'd have the answers, and if not, you'd at least have someone to talk to.

Plus, it didn't hurt how attractive he was.

[panda-writes-kpop]

Demon! Dreamcatcher - Giving You A Helping Hand

a/n: i wrote this to help me with my dami b-day fic... so spoilers for that, perhaps? (this has nothing to do with the fic, i just had brain rot from my own idea... and wrote this instead of the fic 🤦‍♀️) I'll get back to requests and that fic eventually, I hope. 🫠

tw: lots of blood and gore for headcannons, demon eats human, the same human gets brutally murdered again and again, my opinions about what sin each girl represents, someone spits on a dead body, lots of death, DC are murder wives (literally)

♡ Masterlist ♡

Prompt - okay, this was pathetic. You couldn't even fight off one person who sent a right hook into your jaw. You didn't want to call her since she'll probably kill the person in front of you, but they started it by pulling out a switchblade.

Yeah, pleasantries went out the door a long time ago. Fuck, this was a bad idea.

Yet you still summon your girlfriend to your side.

○●○●○●○

• Your girlfriend didn't have the most elegant summoning pose - she was in the middle of biting an invisible dish.

JiU - Demon of Gluttony

• Annoyed, she turns to you before smiling and going to greet you...

• -before she notices the small cut on your face.

• Her head snaps to the other direction, noticing the other person who looks terrified at Minji's sudden change in demeanor.

• "I've always wondered what human meat tastes like."

• She lunges and tackles the person to the ground, and you close your eyes as blood and guts fly everywhere

• Not a bit of human flesh lands on you before Minji calls your name.

• You open your eyes to see her wiping her face of blood (as if her clothes and hands aren't soaked in the color red).

SuA - Demon of Pride

• "C'mon, my dear, I've still got leftovers back in hell. Shall we enjoy them together?"

• She's happy you called her - why wouldn't you call the best demon girlfriend to assist you?

• Oh, someone's bothering you? SuA simply opens a portal to hell behind the person and nonchalantly flings them into the portal.

• "Don't worry, babe, I won't touch them. Cerberus will tear them to pieces. :)"

• You forget how terrifying (and hot) she is at times.

• SuA, without dropping her smile, approaches you and gently places her hand on your cheek.

• With a bit of mischievous demon magic, the cut on your face is healed without a scar to be seen.

• She grabs your hand and drags you to a nearby bar.

Siyeon - Demon of Lust

• "Let's go have fun and forget about that miserable person, baby. Doesn't that sound like a much better way to end the night?"

• Your girlfriend drips charisma as she appears in a brilliant display of pink smoke.

• Her eyes glance between the two of you as a wicked smile appears on her face.

• "Well, what do we have here?"

• Siyeon corners your opponent and pins them to a wall with one of her hands as the other strokes their face.

• "You're going to regret ever touching them, you wretched little thing." Her voice drips venom as your attacker's face changes from pleasure to fear.

• The darkness of the night hides the gorey scene as Siyeon, in a brutal display of power, rips every body part from the other person.

• Once she's done, with a snap of her fingers, the blood on her, the ground, and the cut on your face are completely gone.

Handong - Demon of Wrath

• "Now we can enjoy the night together without any disturbances, right?"

• There's no warning after you summon Handong. She simply goes into attack mode after spotting the other person.

• They scream in terror and pain, but she simply scoffs at them

• "Should've thought about that before you punched them, huh?"

• Of course she knows about that, your girlfriend knows about every time someone wrongs you so she can correct things in your favor.

• With nothing but her hands, she's literally ripped them to shreds in what must be a world record.

• "Didn't even put up a fight." She rolls her eyes before landing another punch to their body. "Tsk, what a shame."

• You're the one who has to pull her off of them, with a gentle reminder that the other person was dead a long time ago.

• "I want to make sure that there's no chance that resurrection can happen, my dear." She hisses before spitting on the body.

Yoohyeon - Demon of Greed

• She's not always like this, you swear.

• "Hey, I was busy planning another bank robbery that would be totally foolproof! What are you-"

• She pauses as she looks at you and then the other person.

• "Well, you'll work as bait for Cerberus so SuA doesn't interfere in my plans."

• She snaps her fingers and the other person disappears, but you swear you can hear them scream in the background as you talk to Yooh.

• "They'll have a quick death, I promise!" She squeezes your hands as you nod and agree.

• In her hand, she offers you a bandaid. When you go to grab it, however, she snatches the bandaid away from your grasp.

• "Let me do it, babe!" She whines before opening up the bandaid. "It's the least I can do."

Dami - Demon of Envy

• She's awfully cute for a terrifying, murderous demon.

• She has a less flashier entrance than the other demons, and a less visible response to the other person.

• Her way of handling things is much less brutal. She simply places both of her hands on the person before gently pushing them against the wall.

• Their eye color changes to orange before running off while muttering on about coveting things or people (you can't really tell).

• Dami's attention turns to you as she wipes away any bruises, marks, or blood with the touch of her hand.

• "Are you alright, my dear?"

• Once you've fully reassure her that you're okay, you ask her why she didn't murder the other person in front of you.

• "I know that violence will scare you away, and that's the last thing I want. You shouldn’t be scared of me, darling."

Gahyeon - Demon of Sloth

• For someone who was created to be an incarnate version of envy, she sure doesn't show it off a lot.

• You've summoned her to you, but she's sleeping while standing up.

• So much for getting help from the demon representing sloth. You should probably know better at this point.

• When your attacker tries to approach you with the knife, Gahyeon holds out her arm and catches the other person's arm.

• She then proceeded to harshly throw them into a wall, giving them a quick death with a lot of head trauma.

• Without waking up, she sleep walks over to you. (How does she not fall over her own feet?)

• "There's something on your cheek." She mumbles in her sleep as you touch your face. "You should fix that."

• Thanks, Gahyeon, that's really helpful.

• "I'm going back to bed and I need a pillow." She says before pulling you into her arms. "You're coming with me."

• You can't break out of her grasp as she sinks into the ground, but you give up and accept your fate. That's simply how your girlfriend is.

[gravehags]

watching a horror movie with the ghoulettes and ghouls

Cumulus - Loves it when you cuddle into her side and hide the bottom half of your face with the blanket. You usually hold a pillow during particularly scary scenes but she is a much soft, warmer, and sweeter substitute. Loves paranormal horror and ghosts.

Cirrus - Queen of the move where you slowly wrap your arm around someone else's shoulders. Very smooth. She strokes your arm throughout the movie and tickles you when you start at a jump scare. Will trace her claws up the inside of your thigh during a tense moment on the screen, making you blush.

Sunshine - Is the jump scare. You'll be at a quiet part in the movie and she'll screech and leap at you, making you scream and swat at her while she attempts to distract you with kisses. You barely get a chance to hit the pause button when she drags you to the floor with her.

Aurora - Is huddled underneath the blanket with you, but has a distinct taste for gorier horror movies. When you're grossed out she loves it and gets a good laugh out of your queasy face but ultimate comforts you in the end. Hogs the popcorn.

Swiss - Attempts to distract you from your fear with his lips on your neck, fangs scraping against your pulse point. Especially enjoyable when the two of you are watching a vampire movie - you love the irony. When you're not canoodling you've got your legs in his lap.

Aether - King of making a comfortable space for you. Pillows, blankets, snacks, everything. You definitely swoon a little when he wraps one of his big, strong arms around you and pulls you into his chest.

Mountain - Unshakable. No matter the scare, no matter how gory he can weather it all. Teases you when you jump at the simplest things but still knows to leave the night light on when the two of you go to bed.

Rain - Gets distracted easily while watching a horror movie because he's got his fingers running through your hair. Cannot stomach heavy gore - which means you get to tease him for being a very poor example of a ghoul.

Dewdrop - Tries to sneak his hand into your pants at random intervals throughout the movie. Will murmur delicious little sinister promises into your ear at the same time someone is being mauled or mangled on the screen. He knows exactly what he is and what it does to you.

Phantom - Ultimate scaredy cat. You jump, he jumps and he has an iron grip on your hand the whole time. Hides his face behind a pillow at scenes even you can handle, which makes you laugh despite the fear.

[silassinclair]

Michael's Girl PT. 4 \\ PolyLostBoys + Michael x Reader

Summary: The final test. CW: Murder, Blood, Traumatic Events, Gore Mention

AN// I'M SORRY IT'S BEEN MONTHS SINCE I UPDATED, LOWKEY FORGOT I WAS A FIC AUTHOR. BUT I'VE BEEN SO BUSY WITH ENLISTMENT PROCESSES AND STUFF SO HERE IT IS!! PART 4.

Previous Part <- 🖤 -> Next Part

It's been a few days since Y/n was forced to witness a bloody massacre right before her very eyes. But it was all apart of David's test, so she had no choice but to endure the newfound trauma that will forever be staining her brain. Luckily Michael was always there by her side, every nightmare she had she would be awoken with small kisses to her face or warm arms around her waist. So after a few days Y/n stopped having nightmares about the event with the surf nazis.

Of course she'll never fully recover but she can stand it now. But no longer does imagery of blood and gore cloud her mind constantly. It’s almost as if it never happened.

"Y/n it's almost 8. We should head out soon." Michael says while tying his shoes. His girlfriend sighs and sits down at the kitchen table as Michael finishes tying his shoe.

A look of confliction is on her face. On one hand she loves Michael so much that she'd sacrifice her humanity to be with him forever, but on the other she knows she'll eventually have to kill her own prey.

Kill other human beings with her bare hands.

"Y/n!"

She snaps up and looks at Michael with wide eyes. "Y-Yeah? What is it?"

The brunette lets out a sigh and he sits next to Y/n at the table. He gently grabs her head and presses it to his shoulder to lean on.

"I’ve called your name like, 7 times… Something is on your mind. You have that look on your face." He says, reading her like an open book.

Y/n hides her slight shock and just nods lightly. "Yeah... There's been a lot on my mind lately."

"Well you can tell me anything okay? I'm here for you. After all we're going to be together forever right?"

Y/n smiles at the thought of being with Michael forever. And if this is the case then she should be more open with him. She lets out a small sigh and looks up at Michael who he looks at her curiously.

"I know when I turn I'll have to hunt and kill my own prey eventually." She says, avoiding using the word "people" or "humans".

Michael's expression is unreadable as he stares off straight ahead into nothing. But he does nod.

"You're right. I won't be able to hunt for you forever. But you'll get used to it. Just hunt bad prey okay? Bad people who deserve to die. That's what I do. I don't kill innocents, not like the other guys." Michael says with a small smile as he nudges his girlfriend's shoulder.

Y/n smiles up at him and kisses his cheek. "You always give the best advice Michael. What would I do without you?"

.

.

.

The clock struck ten and Michael and Y/n arrived at the cave. Everyone was already there with the turning preparations. David, Dwayne, Paul, Marko, the wine bottle, and a tied up human girl.

"Huh?!" Y/n says in shock. Low and behold there's a tan blonde young woman tied to David's wheelchair with ropes. Y/n's reaction to the victim causes David to smirk.

"Surprise! This is your final test Y/n." The head vampire says. "This woman here is going to be your first kill." He snickers and gestures to the frightened woman who thrashes in the restraints.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

Michael charges at David furiously and throws a mean punch to his chiseled face, causing him to stumble backwards. Dwayne, Paul, and Marko immediately move to help their eldest brother but he shoves them all away.

"Get off me! I'm fine." David says with a growl. He glares at Y/n who is seen standing behind her boyfriend, clinging to his arm.

"This wasn't apart of my initiation! What the fuck is this?!" Michael glares at David with his piercing yellow vampiric eyes.

David shrugs and wipes the blood from his lip. "I decided I needed to up the difficulty. Make things more interesting for her, and for all of us. You're not gonna back down now are you Y/n? Think about Michael, think about how lonely he'll be without you being an immortal by his side."

His voice was like a taunting echo bouncing along the walls of Y/n's skull. It was ringing constantly like a bell, every chime, every word was painful to hear.

"N-No.. This isn't right. That lady is innocent!" She says with a wavering voice. Her confidence flew out the door along with part of her sanity. No way could she kill this woman. This isn’t what she signed up for. All she wanted was to be with Michael!

"You're going too fucking far David! Just let her turn and let the woman go." Michael snarls and gets in David's face. The platinum blonde stays standing straight and tall, even with a rabid looking Michael looking ready to rip him apart.

"You know I can't make this easy for her, or you. This is a test of trust, loyalty, and bravery. Whether you kill her Y/n or I kill you because you know who me and my brothers are."

Y/n stands frozen and afraid. Her thoughts were drowning away in a pool of fear and doubt. But Michael was there to keep her afloat. He is her rock as she is his.

"Like I'd even let you lay a fucking finger on her." Michael gets ready to pounce on David but he's suddenly held back by Dwayne and Paul, who both have him by both his arms.

"Now Y/n." David turns to said girl with an intimidating glare. "Make your choice. Kill or be killed. This is life darling. Not everything goes your way."

Y/n swallows and takes slow steps towards the woman in the wheel chair. When the bound woman sees this she starts thrashing around in her bindings, trying to break free. Her screams are muffled by a rag tied tightly around her mouth.

"I'm sorry. I-I have to do this… Please forgive me!"

Y/n grabs a decorated knife adorned in authentic gems that lay on a small table next to her. She holds the knife and stands before the woman. The girl raises the knife and shuts her eyes and makes a slash straight ahead, not knowing whether she hit the woman or not. The blade was so sharp that it felt as cutting through air. Y/n feels the blade contact something but she doesn't know what because the touch felt so light. All she hears is muffled screaming that slowly dies down.

"Open your eyes." The husky voice of David says in her mind.

Y/n hesitates and opens her eyes slowly, the first thing she sees is red. A blur of red. Then everything becomes clear. The woman in the wheelchair is dead, her throat slit open with blood oozing out. And in Y/n’s hand is the bloody weapon that was used to end the poor woman’s life.

Y/n screams and drops the knife. When she accidentally looks into the dead woman’s eyes she feels her heart drop to her stomach. The woman has a permanent look of betrayal. Her green eyes no longer shine, rather they are dull and lifeless. Her throat is drowned in a sea of red and so are her clothes. The sight is gruesome.

"Y/n!" Michael shouts and breaks free of Dwayne and Paul's grip. He rushes over to his girlfriend who sinks into despair. As she slowly drops to the ground Michael kneels beside her and holds her to his chest. Her broken sobs are muffled in his chest.

"You're fucking disgusting for doing this to her. I'll never fucking forgive you David." Michael says with a primal growl.

The other three vampiric brothers have seemingly unreadable expressions. The usually chipper Paul and Marko seem awkward and Dwayne looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. The cries of the young woman make their undead hearts break. But why did they feel this way? Perhaps it was because they knew Y/n was going to be their future vampiric sister bound by blood. And seeing her in such disarray pulls their heart strings in all the wrong directions.

"It had to be done Michael. She needed this." David kneels in front of Michael and Y/n. He places his cold gloved hand on Y/n's hair making her flinch into Michael's hold. Instantly, Michael smacks David's hand away. His glare is sinister and out of character. Michael was the most humble and sweet out of the vampires but now he looked like a real beast. His arms clung possessively around his whimpering mate.

"Give me the fucking wine so she can turn. Once she turns into a full vampire then Y/n and I are leaving." Michael utters hauntingly, striking fear into David. David is frozen when he hears Michael. "You can't leave. We're all bound by the same blood, we're a pack." He says as he tries to hide the desperation in his voice. Having anyone leave his pack would break David. He may seem like a lone wolf but in reality he loves and cherishes his pack. And losing a member and a potential member would kill him inside.

"I don't care. Y/n is mine and I am hers. We only need each other."

The other three vampires look to David, wanting to know what he'll do.

"Y/n will drink the blood tonight then... But she's still apart of our pack. If she wishes to stay with us she will, and if she stays you will stay. However if she wishes by the end of her half cycle to go with you then you and her may leave. But you cannot return." David announces with authority.

Michael looks down at Y/n who seems to have fallen asleep from severe mental strain and exhaustion. He caresses her cheek softly and looks up at David. "Alright. Deal." Michael reaches his hand to David, which David takes firmly in his own and gives a stiff shake.

GUESS WHO'S BACK BITCHES 👹💅 I've had months and months of writers block but I'm finally back! Plus it being October really put me in the mood to update this series. In the future I may not upload for this series as often as I like to because I plan on making oc x reader content. But don't worry, I'll still write for the Lost Boys!!

[damn-stark]

Chapter 25 Blood, dragons, curses, and black holes

Chapter 25 of Sugar

A/N- *EVIL LAUGH*

Warning- Swearing, ANGST!!, fluff, spoilers, violence, death, blood and gore, SLOW BURN, heavy pining, long chapter

Pairing- Choso x Gojo!fem-reader, Suguru Geto x Gojo!fem-reader

Takes place during- Chapter 203-208 of the manga

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

————

*2 DAYS AGO. ITALY*

It’s early in the morning and the knock on the door is persistent and echoing.

Who could it be Belinda wondered. Some early bird neighbor needing something from her mother, or a neighbor coming to inform her that the sheep escaped the pen again. Whatever it is she hopes it’s quick business, it’s too early to deal with anything.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she lets the early morning visitor know as she approaches the door.

Another loud knock proceeds to rap on the door, letting her know that whoever it is is annoying. “I said I’m going,” she hisses before she finally grabs the doorknob and throws the door open, welcoming the sight of…Suguru Geto.

Only this isn’t the Suguru Geto she knew, that man died last year. This is the man you warned her about, and the reason why she and Satori are so far from home, this is the imposter, Kenjaku.

“No,” she snaps and slams the door shut, making sure to lock it before she runs to give her time to counter with her technique. Which she knows won’t kill him, he’s a lot stronger than she is, but it will grant her time to go upstairs to take Satori and escape.

She just needs to hide. Which is annoying but she needs the element of surprise to be able to touch him and use her technique.

“Belinda,” Kenjaku calls out calmly as he easily breaks the lock and opens the door. “Let’s not make things hard. Let’s not scare the girl.”

Belinda leaves her palm open and bends her legs a bit as she hears Kenjaku approaching her hiding spot. She holds her breath as his footsteps sound closer, and nervously clenches her jaw.

However, just before she can be discovered, his footsteps begin to recede. She’s tempted to check, but she can’t be that foolish, she stays still instead.

“I don’t want to kill you, just let me take the girl,” Kenjaku interjects from the large hall at the entrance.

He’s walking away from the staircase that leads to the second floor where Satori is, so Belinda has a chance to run to the stairs.

“You have an illusion technique,” Kenjaku shares what he knows from the memories of Suguru Geto. “But you need to touch me for it to work. So come out you don’t have the element of surprise,” he speaks quietly, making sure not to be loud so as to not wake up Satori and stir up trouble.

She would prefer it the same way though, you and her haven't told Satori that some old sorcerer is using her father's body to avoid traumatizing her, but right now that doesn’t matter. Belinda needs to wake Satori up so she can find out. She'll be very confused but she’ll trust what she has to say about it and she’ll resist Kenjaku.

Thus without wasting another second she grabs the vase on the stand across from her and slams it against the mirror to make a loud enough noise that can reach the second floor and startle Satori awake.

It does alert Kenjaku of where she is, however, but it’s worth the risk.

Or she thought it was because just as Kenjaku retraces his footsteps back across the hall, he shoots out a curse ahead of him that floats through the wall behind Belinda.

Yet before the curse can catch the woman off guard, the hairs on the back of her neck rise, alerting her of something creeping up behind her; so she takes a big step forward and spins around to face the curse she just felt.

Albeit when she faces the wall the curse is gone. She can’t even feel its presence.

“Belinda?!” Satori’s voice echoes down the staircase, assuring her that her sudden plan is working.

“Satori!” Belinda calls back with panic so the girl can know to hurry. “Come down quick honey!”

There’s a moment of silence before she hears small hurried patters on the floor above. Belinda moves her leg to run to the stairs and reach Satori to warn her of the impersonator, but then, just as she was going to break into a sprint, claws dig into her ankles.

She opens her mouth to scream, but a hand then slams around her mouth and she’s yanked down into the jaw of the curse jumping out the shattered mirror, ending her life in an instant and without making a sound.

“Belinda?” Satori calls out fearfully.

“Come,” a mocking voice lures Satori out as the curse transforms into a mirrored version of Belinda.

Without an ounce of hesitation or doubt Satori approaches the hall. But before she can round the corner the Tiger Cursed spirit bonded to her appears first and instantly picks up on the curse impersonating Belinda, and begins to growl.

Kenjaku could exorcize it since he can't take it back because of the bond with the girl. But then the girl would know something’s wrong, so instead he takes a risk and takes back the curse under his command. After all, the tiger-cursed spirit can’t see into the soul, it doesn’t see that it’s not actually Suguru Geto, so it immediately drops its guard now that it’s just Kenjaku.

But now in regards to the girl, it’s a gamble without Belinda. She could see right through him like you had, or not, it's a tricky situation, but it’s a risk he’s willing to take. So when Satori rounds the corner and sees the man she was told died last year, he sticks on his best Suguru Geto smile.

“Hello, Satori,” Kenjaku greets the little girl with a feigned warm smile on his face that was too small when it came to seeing Satori, and without using any pet names that Suguru would have used after being apart from his daughter for so long.

However, the little girl proves him right, she can't tell the difference like you would have, she just sees the man she loved and missed every day. She sees her family coming together again after being broken for so long.

“Daddy?!” She exclaims shakily as her emotions get the best of her.

“I’ve been gone I know,” he says and doesn’t crouch to welcome her in his embrace, he just unfolds his arms and waits for her shock to pass.

“I hope you’re not upset,” he adds and with that, Satori breaks away from her spot and runs to him to throw her arms around him.

“I missed you so much,” she sobs.

Kenjaku is playing a part for now so he finally crouches down and returns the embrace. “I know, I’m sorry,” he coos. “I missed you too.”

“Where have you been?” She asks as she clutches onto him. “Why did mommy say you were dead?”

So many questions, but he keeps his patience and avoids the question by giving her an assuring response. “It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is you, and your mother, whom we’re going to surprise. Do you like that idea? Do you think she’ll like it?”

Satori pulls back and flashes him a grin. “Of course she will, but she’s not here,” she says without a hint of suspicion. “She’s back home.”

Kenjaku smirks and nods. “I know. We’re going to her.”

——

*NOW*

“Are you ready?” Kenjaku doesn’t ask Choso across from him, he knew you were watching and listening, so the question was directed at you.

“Somethings entering the barrier,” Tengen announces.

You would follow with a what, but your anticipation traps your question in your throat, and instead, you get the answer to your unspoken question when Suguru’s four-winged pelican cursed spirit breaks through the barrier and enters the arena, meaning what?

Why did Kenjaku make it fly in after him?

You step closer to the screen overlooking the arena and nervously watch the Pelican open its mouth.

You almost want to close your eyes because you can’t handle the anticipation of waiting to see what Kenjaku came with, but you stay strong and watch closely with your heart running wild in the most terrible way before it suddenly stops and every sound and every sight around you disappears when you see that Kenjaku snuck in your daughter with him.

Who you’re seeing is Satori…

It’s your little girl.

But why? He doesn’t need her for anything. She has a technique but it’s not a rare one, he doesn’t need her. Unless…it’s to torment you. Is he using her to get to you?

Yes, he is doing that. He wouldn’t have taken time out of his scheming for nothing. And of course, she fell for his tricks, she doesn’t know any better, you didn’t tell her that some curse user is using her father's body for his technique. She’s too young, you didn’t want to dump trauma on her if you didn’t have to. You were just trying to spare her so she could have a good childhood, you were trying to keep her safe. It’s what Suguru wanted too. But now…Kenjaku’s brought her here without her Tiger-cursed spirit assigned to protect her, or Belinda—which must mean she’s dead. She wouldn’t have let him take Satori if she was alive.

Kenjaku killed Belinda to trick Satori and bring her here. He’s using your little girl and dangling her right in front of you.

And it works, who would you be if you don’t try to step out to take her from his grasp? You can’t lose her.

“Y/N?” Yuki calls out cautiously as she watches you numbly staring at the screen.

You blink and break from your stupor to turn and stomp towards Tengen. “Let me out,” you command with authority and angry and fearful tears welling in your eyes. “Let me out right now.”

Tengen stands their ground and raises its ugly head higher. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I can’t risk our plan just yet,” they dare to tell your fuming spirit enraging over Satori’s current position. It’s like they were intentionally taunting a protective bear guarding its children.

“What the hell do you mean?” You sneer, but not in a loud voice, it’s low and threatening. One you use against your enemies. “She’s just a little girl! She’s my little girl! So you will let me out to get to her or Kenjaku won’t be the one to find your pathetic body.”

“Y/N,” Yuki warns, earning her to get your glare pierced into her now.

Yet before she could try and calm you down, you hear Choso’s voice a bit softer than before. “Satori.”

You snap your eyes toward the screen and watch as Choso drops his previous threatening stance and softens his glare to get your daughters' trust.

“You have to come with me, okay? That is not your father.”

You feel a stinging pain at the fact that someone else has to be the one to break it to her instead of you. All because you just wanted to spare her.

“Uh,” Satori laughs nervously and does as you predicted; she grabs onto Kenjaku’s arm and shifts closer to him now that she’s actually seeing Choso in person and not behind the safety of a screen—“you’re silly,” she retorts. “This is my daddy.”

“Tengen,” you plead softer and more desperate now. “Please, I’m begging you, please let me get out there. Please. She needs me.”

“Y/N I know you’re scared, trust me I feel for you I care for that little girl too,” Yuki tries to comfort you. “But you have to trust Choso right now. We can’t risk you going out there and getting killed.”

As if she just betrayed you with those words, you snap your eyes at her and shoot her a menacing glare clouded with tears. However, you don’t get to tell her anything because the scene behind the screen continues to play.

“Let the girl go, Kenjaku,” Choso snarls, making you clasp your hands together and keep them close to your pounding heart. “Your fight is with me, not her. Let her go.”

A teasing smirk tugs on Kenjaku’s lips, enraging Choso and causing him to throw his arms out again to shoot piercing blood. Albeit, Kenjaku is quick and yanks Satori in front of him to let Choso know that Satori is expandable to him.

Choso quickly takes note of that and luckily doesn’t think the same way, even if he’s boiling over and grown more impatient now because of Kenjaku using your daughter, he drops his stance again and keeps his distance.

“Tell y/n to come out,” Kenjaku speaks loudly so you can hear clearly too. “I have a little something for her here.” He smirks.

“Tengen,” you become threatening again. “I. Said. To. Let. Me. Out.”

You take a step forward to look up at them with a scowl. “Let me out!” You exclaim and push them back. “Let me out!”

Tengen hears your desperation and the shakiness in your voice, but they don’t budge, not yet.

“Satori,” Choso calls out again and you look at the screen with more tears in your eyes. “I can take you to your mother.”

Satori faces Choso and begins to smile, but not for the reasons either of you wanted. She tugs Kenjaku’s sleeve, and to keep up his act for now, he leans down to listen to what she whispers in his ear that has her grinning and glancing at Choso.

“Ah is he now,” Kenjaku interjects in a fake soft voice as he too looks over at Choso. “Then,” he says louder and stands up to his given height. “He can bring your mother out here, considering you’re her friend.”

Choso huffs and holds Kenjaku’s playful gaze before he scoffs and takes a careful step forward to look back at Satori and continue reaching out for her. “Satori, I can take you to your mother and she will explain everything, but you have to let go of that man. He’s evil and he’s not your father.”

Sartori’s eyebrows slowly furrow as she begins to glare at Choso. “Stop,” she snaps at him. “You’re being mean.”

She steps back and grabs onto Kenjaku with both hands now. “Daddy, I want to go see my mom.”

“I know what y/n can do,” Kenjaku adds and pulls Satori back to make her harder to get to. “And I know her ultimate weakness, which is ridiculous if you ask me.” He scoffs. “But I digress. I want her here or else she can watch what remains of her family…well…” he trails off so as to not alert Satori, and you gasp in fear, while Choso’s lip curls out of anger from his father's threat, but he doesn’t snap back at him.

“Satori,” Choso continues, and your stress continues to ache your heart—“your mother would have told you if your father was alive. You know that. And he would have gone back to you a lot sooner. But he didn’t. And I know I didn’t know your father, but your mother says he loved you, he would’ve returned home a lot sooner. This is not him.”

The anger in Satori’s eyes flickers and confusion slowly begins to spread over her facial features. “Well…” she trails out and takes one glance around as if trying to find you amongst the nothingness of the arena. “Daddy was sick. He said so…right Daddy? That’s why you have that on your head.”

You grab onto your chest as you feel it get heavy, making it hard to breathe.

“That’s right, Satori,” he continues not to say the pet names Suguru would so easily say, especially when it came to comforting her.

“Please,” you mewl to Tengen even if you keep your eyes glued to the screen.

“Satori, your father is dead,” Choso reminds your daughter as she slowly edges towards believing him. “This man is a monster pretending to be him to hurt your mother. You have to come to me.”

Satori let’s one of Kenjaku’s hands go, causing him to open his other hand to slowly summon a curse out of the ground beneath his palm.

“Daddy wouldn’t hurt my mom,” Satori whispers as if trying to remind herself of the fact.

“I know you don’t know me,” Choso continues to try and win over your daughter as kindly as he could. “But I know your mother. Y/N is…my best friend. Okay?”

Your heart leaps at the mention and you unconsciously step close to the screen as if you were trying to reach them.

“Come on baby,” you whisper under your breath even though you too begin to prepare to attack Tengen so they can let you out.

“Your mother would have told you,” Choso keeps insisting and takes a step forward to Satori. “And they would have picked you up together. This is not your father, this man is a monster.”

“Don’t believe him,” Kenjaku argues. “He’s trying to trick you and wants to take you from me.”

Choso groans and Satori begins to pout while her brown eyes start to glisten with tears. “I’m scared,” her voice quivers. “I want my mommy. Daddy, I want to go to my mom.”

“She need only come out,” Kenjaku makes no effort to give Satori what she wants, or tries to take away her fear by comforting her with an explanation she’d understand at her young age.

“Y/N,” Kenjaku taunts mockingly, making Satori look at him with growing suspicion.

“It’s okay, it’ll be okay,” Choso tries to comfort Satori from where he is in a way he thinks you would. “Just come and I’ll protect you until I can take you to your mother.”

Satori stares at Choso for a long moment as her mind spins, making your heart weep at the sight of her confusion and the thought that this will probably now be a core memory and taint in the image she has of her actual father. Yet you do also feel…reassured and hopeful that Choso is choosing to risk his life to help your daughter. He could have just let things be and waited for Kenjaku to get what he wanted, but Choso is choosing to help your daughter, and…that heightens the desire you already felt for him.

And you say a bit right now because of the stress of the situation, otherwise you would have been over the moon.

“Satori,” Choso presses kindly so as to not scare her more than she already is. “You can trust me. I wouldn't hurt you because that would hurt your mother. And I would never do that. Never.”

“Satori,” Kenjaku continues to confuse her.

However, Satori knows Choso is right about the fact that hurting her would hurt you, but she still wants to believe that the man she’s holding onto is the father who loved her since she was born, that he was the one who was always so sweet and promised to love her forever. She missed him dearly and she doesn’t want to let go of him, even if he doesn’t look the same as last year or act the same way.

“I want to go to my mom now,” she asks for you again since you are her only form of reliable comfort, but she still looks to Kenjaku out of hope that Choso is wrong. Yet when she looks over she sees a curse coming out of a dark portal even though to her, there’s no need for violence. She told Kenjaku that Choso was your friend. Plus she was here to surprise you, why would her father choose to fight? He wouldn’t…

You see the trouble running behind her glistening eyes and feel the tempting urge to burn this place down just to be able to reach her. You don’t care about plans anymore, or care to be patient. You bask your fists with fire and twist your head towards Tengen with a glare that could kill.

“Daddy?” You hear Satori call for reassurance, but all she sees is an intimidating look on his face now, a scary look that Suguru never showed in front of her. So that finally makes her let go to try and go to Choso.

However, just as she slips her hand away, Kenjaku grips onto Satori harshly, making her whimper and shed the tears that had been dancing in her eyes.

“You’re hurting me!” She cries out, triggering you to enrage your flames.

Alas, Yuki lunges over and takes you by the arms to turn you away from Tengen. “Just wait,” she snaps at you.

“How the hell do you want me to wait?!” You exclaim.

“Kenjaku let her go!” Choso snarls, forcing you to pay attention back to the screen and see him curl his fists to get ready to attack now.

“I'm done waiting. And I’m done playing with you,” Kenjaku directs at Satori sharply. “Bring y/n out or—”

Before he can finish his threat a long sword made from Satori’s cursed technique pierces through his jaw, shutting him up, and making his grip loosen enough that Satori slips away and runs to Choso, the only person she can trust at the moment.

Choso notices her right away and takes no time to break into a sprint toward her to catch her before Kenjaku can counter.

All while your flames are out, and your nails are digging in Yuki’s arms as you watch what’s unfolding with your heart in your throat, and your breaths getting heavy as you start to heave as it gets harder to breathe with how utterly useless you feel just watching your daughter from afar. You want to be the one running to help her. You want to be down there comforting her, but instead, you’re here, watching her as she picks up her pace and puts her arms out to reach for a man she barely knows, but chose to trust.

You have to watch as Choso chooses to slide down on his feet as he gets closer to Satori to reach her faster. And you have to hold your breath when Choso wraps his arms around Satori, and Kenjaku throws his curse at the pair at the same time.

“Tengen!” You cry out desperately and let Yuki go.

Choso then shields the back of Satori’s head as she clings onto him, and twists around to hastily pull Satori off and put her down.

“It’s going to be okay,” he assures and puts his hands together to get ready to attack the curse getting closer. “You’re going to your mother now.”

Satori holds her hands and before she can question Choso, suddenly the floor beneath her falls piece by piece, bringing her down towards a darkness that swallows her whole in a blink of an eye, and then spits her out in a large white room where the first thing she sees is you.

“Satori,” you greet her first, making her cry out of relief before you both run to each other and meet halfway with an embrace.

“Mommy!” She cries on your shoulder and holds onto you tightly. “I was so scared.”

You finally draw in a deep and relieved breath and begin to caress the back of her head. “I know baby girl, but I’m here now. You’re safe. You’re okay.”

Satori nuzzles her face against the crook of your neck, and you hug her tighter before you look at Tengen with a soft smile. “Thank you,” you mouth.

Tengen offers you a nod and turns away to face the screen, while you let Satori keep hugging you and feel no regret for the way you acted. Any second longer and you would have pushed through Yuki and torched the place until Tengen dropped you into that arena. You don’t apologize for your anger because to you it’s justified, especially when it comes to your children. They actually should feel lucky that you trusted Choso enough to wait or else you wouldn’t have been so nice as to be patient.

“Mommy,” Satori says shakily while she refuses to let go.

“Yes?” You probe and glance at the screen as Satori takes her time to gather her thoughts, and nervously swallow thickly when you see Kenjaku throw a slab of cement at Choso.

“Why was daddy—who…” she trails off in confusion, and even though you want to keep watching the fight, for now, you give all your attention to your daughter.

“That wasn’t your dad, Satori,” you tell her without waiting for her to finish whilst you pull back to face her tear-streaked face. “Choso was right, that man was only pretending. He stole your dad's body, it’s not him. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before either.”

Satori slides her arms off your neck and begins to fiddle with her fingers as she processes once again what she’s hearing, but actually takes to heart this time since it’s coming from you.

“Your dad loved you, your dad was never mean to you, and he never ever would be, do you understand? That isn’t your dad, even if he looks like him, that man with stitches isn’t your dad.”

More tears roll off her cheeks and you’re quick to wipe them off and grab her arms to press what she needs to know for her own sake. “I know it’s hard to hear, but I need you to understand that they’re not the same person. It’s like if Daddy had an evil clone, okay? They look the same, but they’re not.”

“But can daddy come back now?” Satori asks hopefully. “Can he return if we get that evil sorcerer out of Daddy’s body?”

Your heart breaks at the sight of her hopeful little face and the fact that you have to make her even more sad. “No, baby he can’t.”

Satori’s lip trembles, but she fights so hard not to cry this time, she instead wipes the other tears off her face before she looks at the screen. When you follow her line of gaze you see Choso’s blood raining over him and his father.

“Tell me,” you catch him saying as he wipes his mouth. “What do you want from Yuji? You have something else in mind, unlike us, whom you’ve neglected for 150 years. What are you plotting?” He asks, piquing your interest to the point you begin to stand to your given height to watch the screen better as if that helped listening whatsoever.

“Actually,” Kenjaku answers, which doesn’t surprise you one bit. “He doesn’t have a specific role. You could say being a vessel is his role and that’s already in place. Yuji Itadori…” he sighs almost proudly. “Is like a fire signaling the start. As long as he and Sukuna are alive the chain of curses will never end. He’s the eye of the storm of the new age.”

Chills crawl down your spine. Chills born out of…fear of what was just said. You always knew Sukuna being reincarnated was never a good thing, it was the start of bad things, but for Kenjaku to explain Itadori this way has a way of raising the hairs on your arms.

Is this why he’s so strong, so different? Because of what he’s meant to be?

“So your friend Choso has to fight dad—this man,” Satori interjects and turns away from the screen, while you keep your eyes glued on Choso as he shoots another piercing blood at Kenjaku.

“Well,” you explain with your attention on Kenjaku as he of course dodges the blood to make it hit the tree behind him—“I do too. That’s why Yuki, Tengen, and I are here. We’re going to fight him to kill him and rid this world of his evil spirit.”

“Hm,” Satori hums in comprehension but takes time to think everything through and try to wrap her mind around, well, everything.

“As long as Yuji’s alive?” Choso retorts spitefully before he spats, “no. As long as you’re alive, Noritoshi Kamo!” He bellows with fury. “You’re the root of all happiness!! In no way is it Yuji!!”

A faint awe-struck smile tugs on your lips as you see his rage for Kenjaku and the loyalty to his brother.

“So,” Satori speaks up quietly. “You’re going to get rid of him to give Daddy’s body peace?”

You snap your eyes off the screen and miss the curses that surprise Choso from under him and wrap around his legs.

“Yes,” you praise Satori with a proud smile. “I will get rid of Kenjaku to give Daddy’s body peace.”

A faint smile tugs on your daughter's face, making your heart feel at ease that she’s understanding better than you thought she would.

You really underestimated her.

“Do you have any questions?” You ask now that you’re focused on her. “About Kenjaku, the man in your dad's body? Or about what’s going on?”

Satori takes no time to glance back at Tengen before she gets closer to you to whisper, “why does that thing look like that?”

You snicker and whisper back. “First, that's not polite, and second, that’s Tengen. You remember when Dad and I talked about Tengen?”

Satori steps back and takes a second before her face perks up and she nods. “Yes! Oh, now I get it. They’re like, super old.”

“Hm.” You hum softly, and as you watch her eyes study the plain room and bounce on the screen, your face falls as you grow serious.

“Satori listen,” you interject in a soft but serious tone she immediately understood was not to tease. “Soon Yuki and I will go out there to fight Kenjaku.” You sigh and pull out your phone to put it in her hands. “Tengen will keep you safe here, but the fight will conclude one way or another. And when it does, Tengen will release the barriers and they will leave you on school grounds. Do you understand?”

Satori grows nervous as she puts the phone away and nods hesitantly.

But you can’t reassure her, she understood what you said, and understood the seriousness of what it means to be a sorcerer. You never wanted that for her at such an early age, but you didn’t want her to be naive in this cruel world either.

“And when they do,” you continue and grab her arms so she can focus on what you’re adding. “I may or may not be with you. If I'm not then I need you to climb a tree, you’re a good climber.” You assure her of that. “You wait for me there. If you see me you can climb down unless me or Yuki find you first, but if neither of those things happens in 5 minutes, then you go inside the school. Inside uncle Satoru’s classroom or anywhere you know, and you call Uncle Larue to pick you up. Do you understand?”

Satori nods right away, so you press her just so she understands. “Repeat it.”

Satori groans but does as you say. “Climb a tree if you’re not with me when this all goes down. Wait for 5 minutes and if I don’t see you, or if you or Auntie Yuki don’t find me then—what if your friend Choso finds me? Or if I see him?”

You sigh and smile softly. “Then you can go with him. But still, call Larue.”

Satori nods in comprehension before she continues. “Anyway, if that doesn’t happen I will hide inside and call Uncle Larue to pick me up.” She finishes and raises a questioning brow. “It's right, yes?”

You squeeze her cheeks and nod. “Yes, good job.”

She groans and swats your hand away. However, you don’t move away, you stay close and crouch to be at her level. “I love you to the moon and never back.” You remind her just in case the worst happens.

She realizes what it means, she detected the sorrow, she saw the heartache in your eyes, and she knew from past experience. Only this time she doesn’t fight you to stay like she did last year, she throws her arms around you and holds onto you tightly.

“I love you too mama,” she coos.

Tears fill your eyes again, but this time it’s out of fear of leaving her alone. No matter how much you understand that death can happen and that if it came down to it you’d sacrifice yourself, it will never be easy saying goodbye or thinking of her future without you.

“But you’ll make it,” she tries to assure you. “I know you can. You’re strong.”

You can’t help but cry softly before you press a kiss on the side of her head and pull back to admire her little face that reminds you of Suguru every day.

“Satori Geto,” Tengen calls in their casual voice, but Satori doesn’t know the difference so her shoulders jump and she looks at you frightened.

“Y-yes,” she doesn’t hesitate to respond while she slowly turns to face them as she grabs onto your arm. “Master Tengen?”

Tengen reaches in their portal and pulls out the back gate needed to get Satoru out of his prison.

“You’ll be needing this,” Tengen tells Satori and gets close to her to hand her the box she looks at with curiosity.

“What is it?” She probes and shakes the box.

“It’s the back gate for Satoru’s prison,” you let her know.

Satori’s lips tug to a happy smile and she pulls the box closer to her face as if trying to look inside it. “He’s in this little thing?” She asks.

You shake your head. “No, but we need that to get him out, so,” you add seriously once again. “If your Uncle Larue ends up picking you up today, you call Shoko and tell her what you have, okay? Just her. She’ll go pick it up. Do you understand?”

Satori hugs the back gate against her and nods.

You caress the back of her head and watch her for a lingering minute before you whisper, “okay, good. Now,” you trail off and stand to your given height.

As you face the screen again you immediately go stiff and feel your nerves knotting your stomach as you see the horror of Kenjaku’s foot pressing Choso’s face down on the ground with so much force that the ground is cracking.

“What do you know about my little brothers?” Choso growls as he side-eyes his father standing so proudly above him.

“Aw,” Kenjaku mocks Choso. “Did I offend you? I had high expectations, so I’m greatly disappointed. Be happy you got me to say that much.”

Choso grinds his teeth out of rage and manages to twist over and grab Kenjaku’s ankle, catching him by surprise.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough because Kenjaku quickly counters by kicking his foot out of Choso’s grasp, and slams a long terrifying curse at him from a portal beneath his foot that Choso can’t swerve, or hit, he’s stuck, and because of that it consumes him.

You can’t see him, all there is is the long black tentacles of the curse. You try to squint your eyes as you quickly scan the area for Choso, hoping he somehow escaped, but you just end up gasping, and feeling your eyes widen as your heart pumps so hard that you can hear it pulsing in your ears because you can’t see him.

It makes you want to act now, go out there and help him, but you also knew it wasn’t time yet, even if both your mind and heart work together to start yelling at your muscles to move.

“Do you know what the rank special grade signifies?” Kenjaku exclaims nonchalantly as the curse continues moving through the air until it finally shows you Choso when it slams on the ground with no robe or vest. His hair is down, and his torso and face are scraped, and red from fresh forming bruises. He's missing a hand and bleeding from the mouth, but what’s worse, what’s more horrifying is that he isn’t moving.

“The ability to single-handedly overthrow nations,” Kenjaku continues calmly while he returns the curse back to his portal. “That’s obviously true for the Gojo siblings. Which, heh, any sorcerer parent should be proud of. Not only one, but two special grade offspring’s.” He grins maniacally. “My life would be different if you and your siblings had turned out that way, but nevertheless, Suguru Geto can also…”

His words trail off in your ears as all you can focus on now is Choso and the fact that he’s still not moving.

“Come on,” you plead shakily and can’t keep your throat and eyes from burning as you’re overwhelmed with the need to cry. “Please…”

He…he can’t be dead. Kenjaku wouldn’t be running his mouth if he was, right?

Right?

But what if he doesn’t care if he is, you wouldn't put it past him to talk to the corpse of his eldest son to get his point across. He’s psycho like that. So what if Choso is dead?

He can’t be dead though. He can’t. Anything but that….

Please, he needs to wake up. Please…

“Let me go help him,” you say shakily without thinking.

“No, not yet,” Yuki doesn’t take the time or hold back from denying you of the need to go feel his heartbeat to assure yourself that he isn’t dead, and stop yourself from feeling…that emptiness again...

A minor reason you turned Choso down was because you didn’t want to feel the cold and isolating emptiness again, but as you see him lying on the ground unmoving, that cold emptiness is crawling back to plague your heart and soul. You can feel the numbing agony contaminating you like a life-threatening illness and turning your once hopeful future, bleak, as a future without him in your life flashes in your eyes.

Which is actually a revelation of heart-rushing, and extraordinary mind-altering feelings that aren’t new. They're no stranger, you’ve felt it before, so you can immediately identify what you feel, and grow even more terrified.

“Come on,” you whisper and then hold your breath in as you wait, and try to bring him back to life mentally. Which is useless, but you can’t go over there. You can’t be there to help him, so you push from where you are.

Until suddenly blood explodes out an outstanding amount from where Choso had been.

“Younger brothers of the death painting wombs!! Fire! You hear his voice enraged and full of motivation, and you finally breathe.

You hadn’t even noticed you holding your breath in, that’s how intense your fear overwhelmed you. But he’s standing now, he’s hurt, but he’s okay and you can breathe normally and ease your body from its tense hold. Yet you still are left with that new realization that shifts something inside you.

“Yeah!” Choso bellows as he watches the sky with his lips trembling, and blood gathering over his palm. “I got this!” He exclaims and suddenly bends his feet before he claps his hands to shoot out piercing blood.

“Piercing blood’s initial velocity is its top speed,” Kenjaku interjects before he dodges the strike. “So if you dodge it once even if the trajectory is altered, it’s not so scary.”

He keeps dodging, making the ground he left behind explode as it gets hit with piercing blood instead.

Choso doesn’t get discouraged though, instead, he fills with more confidence, or so it seems, and tries something different it seems. It’s nothing you’ve seen him do before. This technique is different, graceful in a way, whereas his other techniques are rougher.

With this new technique, a blood circle forms behind him, and multiple wings form around it. When Choso strikes with blood, it grows out from the circle like ribbons and strikes Kenjaku in the shape of a giant crimson wing that he of course swerves. But Choso…he sprints at him in a magnificent form.

Or does it only seem that way because of how mouth-watering he looks at the moment with his hair down, and his torso and muscular arms exposed?

In your time spent living together he’s never been shirtless, he’s shown his arms, but he’s never been without a shirt, and now that he is. Now that you see how his toned chest and muscles glisten with sweat, you grow hot and excited.

Your fear for his life still does linger, it mixes with your pleasure, and quickens the pace of your already racing heart, especially because Kenjaku blocks his vision with a curse to rush to the tree and wait there as Choso gets attacked by long curses with blades on their heads he can’t escape from

Choso gets hit and his arm gets stabbed, causing you to nervously clench your fists and step forward.

Thankfully though, he excorizes the curses with his technique and proves to his father that he’s a lot stronger than he’s giving him credit for by using something different once again. It leaves you even more awe-struck.

“Like Eso, I must fight with grace! Like Kechizu I must fight freely!” He shouts, growing chills down your spine, especially as he rips her forearm out from his arm and uses his blood to shoot it out and finally grab Kenjaku by the collar.

“Yes!” You celebrate out loud and clap your hands together, earning the attention of Yuki, and when you peer back you see Satori look up from the movie she was watching on your phone.

You don’t apologize though, you smirk as you watch Choso yank his father toward him and then slam him on the ground.

“And like Yuji, I must fight with power!!!” Choso cries out, and you realize that perhaps you celebrated too early because after Choso connects his arms back together and swings his fist, Kenjaku blocks him using a curse.

“Are you finished?” Kenjaku retorts, seeming completely unfazed.

“What do you think?!” Choso exclaims, but Kenjaku escapes from under him and responds as he’s running back.

“As I said, it lacks the requisite speed and force.”

If that was you fighting him now and he kept averting you, you’d be beyond pissed. You can already imagine how Choso must feel.

“How disappointing,” Kenjaku spats, going unaware of the blood trail surrounding him and parts of it rising until it reaches his eye level.

“Supernova!” Choso triggers his technique, making all the blood explode around Kenjaku. Only none of the blood hits him, the blood explodes and destroys almost all the slab of cement he was on except for a small piece he’s on. That piece of cement has puncture holes, but he’s unharmed…how?

There’s no explanation to Kenjaku’s trick except for…a different cursed technique. He didn’t use curses, and there’s no technique you know that can do what he just did. So the bastard is using a different technique!

“You just used something besides cursed manipulation!” Choso realizes what you just did.

“It’s time to go y/n,” Yuki finally announces the next step of the plan.

You don’t argue, you peer over your shoulder and throw Satori a quick comment over your shoulder. “I’m going now. Tengen will keep you safe. And remember what you have to do, okay, Chipmunk?”

Satori's eyes water now but she tries to be brave and nods in comprehension. “I love you, Mommy,” she warms your heart.

“I love you too,” you leave her with that sweet reminder before you follow Yuki out into the arena.

“I may be an only child, but good work big brother!” Yuki announces her entrance. And you just shoot Kenjaku a menacing smirk.

“Tsukumo,” Choso mutters. “Y/N.”

You snap your eyes over to him and feel your face soften even if you hear him panting and see how exhausted he looks. “Good job, you put up a good fight, Choso,” you praise him and steal a glance at his exposed torso, causing yourself to swallow thickly.

“Now leave the rest to us,” Yuki adds for you and throws him a thumbs up and a wink.

Choso hums and glances at you one more time to offer you a soft nod before he can’t help but shut his eyes and lose balance. Instead of hitting the ground though, Tengen pulls him out of the arena and you watch him until the moment the ground transforms back to what it was, and every trace of the portal Choso fell through is gone.

“I like the rough type,” Yuki announces because it's some kickstart to her motivation. Or so you assume, she tends to announce that sometimes before she fights—“you on the other hand I’ll have to beat into shape!” She exclaims and clenches her fists to the point the veins on her arms pop out.

“You,” you sneer and point your chin at Kenjaku. “How dare you use my daughter. Who do you think you are?”

A smirk tugs on his lips, making you curl your lips to a scowl and narrow your gaze to a cold deadly glare. “I’ll enjoy killing you,” you growl and fist your hands, making the dragon mark on your arm glow brightly as the flames lick your flesh and veins before fire leaks out from both arms and basks them completely, adding to your intimidating anger.

“I think I’ll keep you both at a distance,” Kenjaku shares and raises his hand as a portal rips open behind him, letting out a large special-grade curse, and telling you what to attack with first.

“I bet that cursed spirit isn’t from around here,” Yuki unveils information from Kenjaku, while you slowly stalk around him to get into the perfect position.

“It’s an Asian divine curse for removing obstacles,” Yuki adds, and Kenjaku nods.

“Yes, it’s a special grade cursed spirit that uses concepts against cursed technique targets,” he of course doesn’t hesitate to share. “Let’s see what you got.”

It has four large arms and towers several feet above Kenjaku. It’s fucking huge, which only surprises you because Kenjaku really wasted no time collecting such threatening curses, and Suguru spent all his life trying to collect them.

“You know,” you interject as you come to a stop at his left side. “It’s a shame you never loved your children Kenjaku.”

Said man rolls his eyes and scoffs as if you just said something completely stupid.

“If you did, you would know how great they really are.” Your voice grows colder and more threatening as a burning fever rushes through your veins. “You would know that you can learn a thing or two from your children.”

“Please,” he tries to brush you off, but in the blink of an eye, an immense amount of cursed energy explodes out of you and basks you completely as if you were caught on fire. Which is the same way you saw Hakari do it a few times.

“Supreme Art,” you announce and slowly show off a menacing smile. “Hellspawn.”

Kenjaku’s face twists with surprise before he shifts his body right away to prepare for an attack.

Yet all that happens is the breeze turns to speeding winds that start to cut his flesh. The ground begins to tremble, making cracks form on the ground. And water begins to leak out from the cracks.

“Is that it?” Kenjaku scoffs.

His question gets answered right away with the sound of a rageful roar erupting in the sky, causing Kenjaku to stiffen and fix his glare on the clouds behind you.

Since Suguru never knew of your Supreme Art Technique, Kenjaku is caught off guard by the giant frightening dragon that descends from the clouds and quickly darkens everything around you with its shadow as it flies towards Kenjaku’s cursed spirit.

He quickly tries to counter using his curse, but without getting close, the dragon rains fire down, passing over you without fear and consuming everything in its path with flames, leaving nothing but smoke from the cursed spirit.

Unfortunately, Kenjaku was quick to use other cursed spirits to protect himself from flames that could have killed him or left him severely crippled.

Yet no curses save him from the multiple-headed sea beast that forms from water on the ground, and water born out of nothing. It doesn’t even get to finish forming before its thick slimy tail wraps around him and throws him up to blast him with heavy piercing water that shoots him up into the sky, leaving him dazed due to the water that finds its way inside his lungs and drowns him from the inside.

Much to your misfortune though, he doesn't drown to death, he quickly recovers before it all goes dark. But he’s then welcomed by the sight of the dragon flying at him with its jaw open to show off the fire filling its mouth, so Kenjaku quickly summons a flying curse that gets him out of your dragon's aim and returns him to the ground.

Albeit when his feet hit the ground he’s met by another beast. This one stands tall and growls like an aggressive dog. He tries to look back to see what is breathing down his neck, but he only gets a peek at six piercing green eyes before a large tail made from rocks and dirt slams into him and slings him across the arena right to Yuki.

“Scared to get near an unknown technique?” Yuki spats as she reels her fist back. “Then I’ll fill you in. Its mass,” she reveals and meets Kenjaku's face with a heavy hit that sends him flying back through a barrier.

“Yep!! That’s my technique!” Yuki adds proudly. “I give myself virtual mass and call it Star Rage! And my technique turned the Shikigami Garuda into a cursed tool! It’s Star Rage’s only target besides me!”

You creep towards the gap in the barrier, and the dragon and three-headed hound born from your Supreme Art technique follow close behind like guardians.

“I see!” Kenjaku’s voice echoes out before he emerges out of the dark-covered gap completely healed and with his clothes ripped thanks to you.

“Mythical Beasts born from each element is your supreme art, hmph,” he chuckles and quickly studies each of your beasts; The Hydra with beautiful glimmering deep blue scales, and nine heads with long slithering necks. The majestic dragon with a long red body and a jaw with hundreds of sharp teeth. And lastly, he looks at the only beast actually made out of its element, the three-headed hellhound. There’s only one missing though.

“One beast is missing.” He points out.

You smirk and retort, “I’m right here.” Before you throw out wind shaped in a sharp line that cuts through the ground, but only scrapes his side as he swerves your move and pisses you off.

Why can’t he fight back? He keeps dodging!

“Fucker,” you grimace and send every beast in tune with your rage to run at Kenjaku as you keep you throwing razor-sharp wind at him.

However, he doesn’t move or try to clash your beasts with his curses, he dodges your moves as he stays where he is and looks between you and your master standing nearby in silence. Which means nothing good. Nothing good at all. He's too quiet, too still.

He can’t be thinking of opening his domain, could he? It’s too soon. Way too soon...

So you have no other option, you break into a sprint and follow your beasts towards him with a howling wind gathering to your hands. You don’t get close but you get ready to shoot.

Nevertheless, when his eyes snap to you and you lock eyes, he interlaces his fingers together and proves you right.

“We find each other's cursed techniques to be tricky,” he breaks his silence. “But neither of you have opened your domain. Perhaps you lack confidence in a clash of domains.”

Shit, shit, shit!

You come to a skidding stop, and make your beasts disappear to focus on one thing. A countermeasure.

“Tengen!” Yuki bellows.

The timing is off, but you have to adapt.

“Domain expansion, womb profusion,” Kenjaku chants, and right away multiple cursed spirit heads grow out behind him like a messed up tree.

“Secret art, Falling blossom emotion!” You counter his domain and get basked by a blue hue and protected by a secret art that only the three big families are taught. You’ve barely had to use it throughout your years. Mostly you’ve kept it in the back of your head to be forgotten, but you’re glad you never actually forgot it, or else right now who knows what would be the repercussions of being hit by Kenjaku’s domain.

Yuki though, you see that she isn’t as lucky. She uses a simple domain, but that’s too weak and not as fortified as your technique. Kenjaku notices that.

“Do you think that technique can withstand my domain?” He remarks.

“Hurry the hell up Tengen!” You shout as you see how much more of Yuki's domain is eaten away.

You’ll attack him…

Albeit that will barely do a thing in his domain, and it won’t spare Yuki from getting hurt, plus you’ll risk losing your protection—But Tengen is taking too long. Damn!

You don’t have a choice, you continue to run at him and prepare your fists with fire and air, while you start breaking a piece of the ground.

“Ah, I see,” Kenjaku comments nonchalantly as his domain begins to slowly break apart. “An old maneuver from a shut-in.”

“Tengen I'm not like you. I have lived,” Kenjaku roars and starts to cackle. “A thousand years! Of conflicts! And alliances! A cursed world!”

You get closer to him so you hop off your feet to jump towards him. But it’s too late, Yuki's hit and you’re thrown back by the ground erupting because of his domain seconds before Tengen finally dispels the domain and the empty barrier.

However, thanks to your last-minute technique you’re protected. You can’t say the same for Yuki when you see her splayed on the ground with blood staining her body, and an arm twisted and crushed. She almost looks dead and that stops you from acting or moving for a second out of fear until you notice Garuda still active above her.

“But it’s too late!” Kenjaku’s voice booms, making you look over and see him heading to Yuki without batting an eye your way. Which is logical, she’s the heavy hitter, but you came out unscathed, you’re his threat while she recovers.

“A fight with your domain may have not led to such a poor conclusion,” he goes on whilst you get up on your feet and trudge towards him without him hearing. “You shouldn’t have relied on him. Tengen has hidden something from you. The culling games—“

He cuts himself off as he finally notices Garuda in all his yapping, and figures out that Yuki isn’t unconscious like he thought she was as he just casually passed her. So he turns to look at her, but instead, he finds you now behind him completely unharmed by his domain.

“I told you that you’d pay,” you grimace, and claw your hand on his face to slam him on the ground and scrape him along the cement as you manipulate the air to let you hover a few inches off the ground and fly forward at a quick speed.

He does quickly squirm, and tries to kick and hit you, but you push him further down into the ground and move faster along the ground. It’s not until he throws a curse at your face that you let go because you didn’t expect it. However, you envelop your fist with fire and punch right through it as Kenjaku is pushing himself to his feet.

Thus before he can collect himself and counter, you strip off a piece of the ground and hurl him back with it. You then proceed to catch him by surprise as you crush through the slab of the ground to grab him from the back of his head and by his face to once again run him against the ground.

He tries to distract you by pulling out a curse from a portal under his palm, but you do something you don’t really like doing because it stings, you blow fire out of your mouth and exorcize the curse instantly, leaving Kenjaku a bit surprised, but not enough to keep his mouth shut. It’s hanging off a thread because of the cement tearing at his flesh but he still attempts to talk.

“You know—”

“Shut up,” you hiss and pull the fire to your hand to burn his face and hopefully weaken him or kill him. Not for the sake of protecting Tengen, or their plan, but because Kenjaku used your daughter, he tricked her. You have a thirst for revenge because he locked your brother away in a prison realm, and because he’s using Suguru’s body. You need to kill him—no, want to kill him because he’s the reason why Mimiko and Nanako are dead. He’s the reason Nanami died.

He’s taken so much from you, he’s given you so much pain and changed your life completely. You can’t let him take more, you can’t let him live, and you won’t know true peace until he’s dead.

He needs to die. He has to die.

“Just die already!” You cry out with your voice quivering in anger and despair and stop scraping him along the ground to start punching him in the face over and over again with your fists imbued with flames.

Yet perhaps your blinding rage was a mistake. You acted out the needs of your heart instead of also listening to logic, so he finds a small opening and presses his hand on your stomach. And you’re so lost in your anger that you don’t feel his touch, you only catch his actions when you feel sharp teeth shredding at your skin.

When you let go and stumble back just like he wanted you to do, you look down and see a curse trying to eat its way through you to demolish your source of cursed energy.

“I got to say,” Kenjaku sounds muffled whilst he heals the wounds you made him. “You surprised me there.”

You wrap your hand around the curse and easily burn it to smoke before it can start tearing through your flesh.

But that was his plan, wasn’t it? Distract you to get away?

But that’s where he’s wrong, he might’ve escaped you, but he walks back right into Yuki struggling to stay on her feet.

Which is pretty stupid, she should heal herself at least a bit so he doesn’t have the chance to finish her off. But she stays as wounded as she is and greets Kenjaku with a knee to his face as her Garuda wraps around his waist and holds him in place with its strength.

You expect her to quickly follow with another hit, but she falls on one knee and pukes out blood.

“Yuki,” you mutter between pants.

“You must’ve thought you surprised me, Tsukumo,” Kenjaku interjects as he finishes healing his face and his side that you completely obliterated on the ground. “But isn’t there a better way of doing this?”

As if to answer his question, Choso finally emerges and catches Kenjaku off guard, making you and Yuki grin mischievously before she adds to Garuda’s mass and pulls Kenjaku down.

The ground beneath his feet crumbles due to the heavy mass so you manipulate the pieces and wrap them around his legs to trap him in place, while Choso lands in front of him already in position to strike.

“Are you watching, my little brothers? It’s parent-killing time!” Choso exclaims and manages to shoot his piercing blood right in the center of Kenjaku’s head.

Albeit, it’s not enough…it’s not fucking enough! His stitches just rip apart and his skull cap spins over his head.

“Damn it!” You sneer and step back as he snaps his eyes up and taunts all three of you.

“Don’t sweat it!”

You clench your jaw and he flashes a malice smile as he stitches his skullcap back on.

“Things are getting interesting, fallen warrior!” Yuki shouts before she swings her leg and slams her foot across his face, causing him to stumble back toward you, so you quickly follow by throwing him a right hook with a sharp blast of wind.

Yuki then tries to kick him again, but he blocks her attack. In doing so, letting Choso slam his elbow right on his hands. You proceed to not waste any time or let him think, you swing your leg and slash him with fire, making him groan and stumble back towards Yuki’s swing.

Albeit he blocks that, but leaves himself open to you throwing him an uppercut with a piece of cement you ripped off the ground.

“Tsukumo, heal up!” Choso suggests—no he demands her while Kenjaku is dazed due to the chain of hits you all gave him.

But—wait!

“Yuki!” You try to warn her, but you caught on too late, she heals and Kenjaku finds the right moment to escape out of Garuda’s hold while Yuki is using RCT, and backflips away from the cage the three of you made with your bodies.

“You won’t win!” You snap at him and throw your hand down to form a water whip in your hand.

Kenjaku flashes you a smirk, and you respond by smacking him across the face so hard teeth fly out of his mouth and a gash forms on his cheek. You proceed to be relentless and form another water whip on your other hand to wrap it around his throat and give yourself stability to jump and use your feet to shove a whirlwind at his torso.

“Garuda!” Yuki proclaims and follows your move by swinging Garuda's heavy body on the ground so hard it crumbles beneath the four of you, and throws Kenjaku in the air.

Choso notices and shoots another blood arrow, however, Kenjaku serves by using his gravity technique, or so you predict that’s what it is because there’s no other explanation for him suddenly landing on the ground so fast and so hard.

“Get around him!” Choso tells you.

You spare him a glance and manage to meet his eyes burning with rage, and can’t help yourself from smirking. It’s such terrible timing, but seeing him be so enraged, and seeing every perfectly carved muscle gleaming with sweat, you just can’t help yourself, your desire burns for him. Even more so now after your realization.

But you also know your place at the current moment, so all your emotions are conveyed in a smirk that he catches and returns.

“You’ve done spectacular,” he finds the need to tell you in the rush of the moment.

“You too,” you quickly redirect and let your gazes linger on each other a second longer before you rush around Kenjaku, and Choso lunges at him; while Yuki pulls Garuda back again, and swings down with all her might, and with great mass behind her swing…

Nevertheless, Kenjaku uses his gravity technique and manages to yank Garuda out of Yuki's grasp to pin it down, whilst he also slams Choso to the ground beside his feet. Leaving both indisposable.

You on the other hand, you seem to have been away from his radius, you missed being brought down, so you’re left with an opening to pull off something that will wear down your technique for quite some time, but you have to do it. You can’t let him win, he plans to spread too much evil, he’s taken too much…

Suguru’s body, Nanako and Mimiko, Nanami, and Satoru. He’s hurt you too much.

“Choso is right…” you mutter between pants as you start to manipulate the wind to spin around your legs and pick yourself off the ground little by little as the wind spins rapidly, forming a tornado. “…you are the root of all unhappiness. You’ve taken so much from me.”

Kenjaku watches you float up as the tornado gains height and width. He sees fire gleam under your skin as it pours out of your palms and fingertips and then spins around you. He watches the water from the ground slither up like a snake lost in a trance before it too begins to spin around you. Lastly, pieces of the ground shoot up and add another spinning ring around you, letting him know right away what you want to do thanks to Suguru’s memories.

“You’ll die,” he points out smugly.

“You first,” your voice booms.

Kenjaku can’t escape this wrath, so he prepares himself instead by reaching into his belt before your tornado consumes him.

“This…won’t…be my…end,” Kenjaku strains to say as the high winds of the tornado make it hard for him to breathe. “You…gah,” he grunts as sharp pieces of rock cut him. “Will…not…be…my…end!”

You smirk. “We’ll see about that,” you sneer before you furl in a deep breath and bring the spinning wind, water, fire, and earth toward your palms to blast it all out at him with a cry fueled with rage and agony.

He tries to use the simple domain technique, but all your elements quickly demolish that, making him try to protect himself with curses. He wishes he didn’t have to waste them on you, but his skin is burning even if he uses multiple curses to take the impact, his bones are breaking and crumbling, and his eyes are shredding leaving him blind.

He has a small window of time to counterattack, at least with something that will make you drop this technique.

He could also wait for the blood to run down your nose as you grow weak, but you add more pressure and your fire burns hotter so you’re not dying out anytime soon. Thus, while you’re blinded by your motivation and rage, he pulls out a higher-grade curse he didn’t want to waste just yet, but it takes the impact of your elements just enough to sneak around you and surprise you by piercing something sharp through your back.

“What,” you murmur and lose control of your elements right away, bringing forth a stillness that fills with a deafening silence before Yuki's voice rips through the arena.

“Y/N!”

With nothing holding you up, with no strength to manipulate any element to soften your blow, you hit the ground fast and hard while Kenjaku uses a curse to land softly on the ground.

“Y/N?!” You hear Choso cry out.

You can’t die yet. Not yet…

But you can’t reach back to pull out the blade pierced through your back either, so you can’t heal. No matter how hard you try you can’t feel that technique rushing through your veins.

All you do feel is warm and thick blood oozing out of your wound.

“Heartsbane,” Kenjaku reveals what was lodged through your back. “It was given to you by your father so you could kill Suguru Geto 11 years ago—“

“What did you do?!” Choso demands to know as he watches you paralyzed on the ground. “Y/N?”

“I’m getting there,” Kenjaku sasses Choso while you hear him walk toward you. “Anyway, you didn’t kill him, obviously. And then you tried to use it on me, but you failed. I took it that day when I saw what it was and now,” he chuckles. “How funny is it to see it stabbed through you? The very weapon you were supposed to kill Geto with is killing you.”

You slap your hand on the ground and crane your head up, seeing him start to heal himself from the wounds you inflicted on him.

He won’t heal completely, but it’s enough to still fight.

“It’s poetry really.”

You grimace, and he counters with a sly smirk before he stops before you.

“No! Y/N move!” Choso yells at you desperately.

But you can’t. You want to, you’re straining yourself, but you can’t.

“Noritoshi Kamo!” Choso growls.

“Pathetic, you really are human,” Kenjaku remarks to Choso nonchalantly, but he still means it as an insult.

You then muster all the strength you can and look back at Yuki to ask her for one thing using only one shaky word. “Please.”

She didn’t need elaboration, she knew you pleaded for her to protect Satori until she could get Satoru out.

“I will,” she mouths to assure you.

You let out a shaky sigh and manage to tug on a faint smile.

“Y/N?!”

You drag your head up and meet Choso’s angry but pleading eyes, and give him a warm smile before Kenjaku uses his foot to push the knife deeper into you to the point the tip punctures your heart, bringing forth darkness.

This one is a lot more different than the one that took you when Kenjaku snapped your neck in Shibuya. This one was quick and didn’t leave you lingering hope that you could live. This darkness brought forth a quick sharp pain before death was finally given what it was owed, your life.

It’s not something that Choso accepted though, he saw your chest fall when death robbed you of your life-giving breath and refused to accept the cold truth because your eyes are still open.

“Y/N?!” He calls out desperately and fails to give a crap about his father right now. He waits for you to move. “Y/N?”

He watches your fire-kissed eyes to see them flicker, but you seem to be ignoring him.

“Y/N?” He calls out again and this time he doesn’t wait where he was left, he doesn’t have a lot of strength, and his body aches, but he uses all the strength he can gather and desperately crawls over to you while Yuki and Kenjaku fight.

When he reaches you he doesn’t think before he pulls the knife out of your back to be able to flip you around ever so gently and cradle you in his arms.

“Hey, y/n, I’m here. I’m right here, you’re okay. Just heal all right?” He talks to you not wanting to accept you’re merely a corpse now. “Just heal. Please,” he pleads shakily as tears fill his eyes and his heart is hit with something he’s never felt before, something agonizingly painful; despair. He’s tormented by it.

“We have to fight,” he whispers as he wipes the dirt off your face before he cradles your cheek to look into your eyes that had given him the beautiful gift of hope when his world was dark and empty. “You have to get out, your daughter will be waiting for you. Please. There’s something I have yet to tell you. Just please,” his voice quivers.

“Y/N,” he calls out and wants to reach over and feel your heart with hopes he’ll feel it beat, but his attention is then stolen by the fight across from him.

——

“Y/N.”

It’s dark, but you don’t need to see to recognize that voice. It’s soft, soothing, and not strained.

Can it be?

You peel your eyes open and immediately gasp when you see him…

.

.

.

.

A/N- Rest in peace love, rest in peace baby cakes, it’s a real shame you never got to see Henry Cavil’s Geralt of Rivia, it’s a real shame, you would have loved him. ALSO, DO YOU REALLY THINK WE'RE DONE WITH DESPERATE, GRIEVING, CHOSO?? *tucks hair behind ear* NO *IN DEMON VOICE* you have a week to prepare yourselves, that’s a warning!

Tagged- @deniseabad1928 @secondary-character-25 @starlightanyaaa @notsaelty @d4rno @moonnime @kodzukein @yozora7154 @heijihattorisgf @elegantweirdorchest

[jester-dragons-aus]

Horror House AU

Hehe Horror House returns(I had found only one piece of paper and I ended up drawing this)

When the world building comes out of nowhere/silly

[WARNING: BLOOD, GORE, BODY HORROR, OVER EXAGGERATED FEATURES, CENTIPEDE, IMPLIED DISMEMBERMENT]

Art and stuff under cut

[Note: certain few, who use VR instead of PC or Console, will be sucked into the game. Those who play with PC or Console will have a body substituted with a mannequin and will not be sucked into the game.]

Basically, the newer you are to The House, the closer you are to being the first person a random player goes against as you don't know much about how the game works. You go against everyone else first before you do this though. You can't leave once you're sucked into the game.

Only one person can play this game at a time, there is only one thing that can play it after all. Don't wear the headset if you don't want to be sucked in.

Pomni goes first! She is the newest member, after all!

You need to keep away from her, may it be by running away or finding things to keep her away from you to keep her away. The farther you are from her, the more she'll need to exert herself to get to you. Once tired out, you figure out a way to get out of the area before she regains her energy again. She will wear herself out completely before she rests, falling to the floor and laying there for a relatively long time to regain her energy.

[Checkpoint]

Imagine Pomni going through everyone else's past this point.

Jax is here and is a force to be reckoned with, atleast from his perspective. He thinks he's gotten better than before.

His area is like a maze of hallways, doors, closets, and at the end, somewhere you can completely escape his area from. He walks through the hallways trying to find you, cracking open the doors of the messed up rooms to check inside(hide behind the doors or under any in-tact bed). He taps the closet doors as he walks past them(don't make any noise, he will open and it will be game over[respawn]). Once you get to the end hall, you will need to run. There are no doors or closets in the end hall, all you have to do is keep running forward until you reach the end. His big size compared to the end hall will make it hard for him to go full speed as he will keep hitting his shoulders and head on the roof. The exit to his 'level' is a door that is slowly going down the entire run through the end hallway, triggered by you, or him, stepping on something at the beginning of the end hall. You must slide under it at the end of the hall to escape. He will run into the door and pound on it in anger, trying to get to you, but it will be for naught as you have already beat his level.

[Checkpoint]

Next, Zooble, the interchangeable and unpredictable. Even if they are predictable with some patterns.

Their area is a large open space with one exit for you to escape. Above hangs many things that will be large objects, bodies and body parts, and scattered around the room are presumably more and random large objects to hide around. They are quite smart and quiet so be sure to listen for anything that could be them, like quiet huffs or half-shuffling steps. How you get out of the area is finding a lever or button or something to drop something heavy onto them without anything falling on yourself or being caught by them. Anything heavy enough falling on them will cause them to break, falling into pieces. Leave through the now opened exit before they put themselves together with whatever pieces they can find. Be fast.

[Checkpoint]

Gangle is next and she's the most timid of the group but don't let that fool you.

You are in a dark room with papers covered in drawings littering the floor and walls. Gangle is curled like a snake somewhere where you can see her but it's just dark enough to where you can't see her face. She will kindly approach you with her comedy mask seemingly glued together and ask you to help her with a drawing or some writing[this won't be important to the main game]. If you don't break her comedy mask, good for you! You got to go free easy! If you did, there is a sad mask underneath in a darker shade than the comedy mask, also seemingly glued together, and the comedy mask is hanging to it with strange threads of something you can't identify. Her sad mask is more "hostile" so to say and she asks you to help her with something else which is more deadly to you. She sobs every time she speaks, shaking while she slithers around. If you survive what she asked of you and don't break her sad mask, good for you! You get to leave with only the trauma of her sad mask! If you survive but break her sad mask... You must run and find something to trap her. Under her sad mask is a distraught and fearful mask that screeches loudly as if in pain once the sad mask was broken, still hanging to that mask with the comedy mask still hanging to it in the same way. Once her sad mask is broken, she slithers into the dark with that for mentioned screech and that is your cue to run and find something to trap her in, like a heavy box or a deep hole in the ground, which there is right in front of the exit with just enough room between the end of the level and the door for you to walk around the hole and leave once she falls in with a perfectly timed side-step.

[Checkpoint]

Ah yes, our beloved blind ragdoll, Ragatha! One of the sweetest!

Once in her domain, it's a lovely, relatively large, store-looking place, with spiderwebs in the corners and dust everywhere as if it isn't cared for despite Ragatha's attempts to clean her area. A small bell, upon entering, will ring and notify her of your presence and she will welcome you with kindness. If you are polite in return, she will help lead you to the exit and open it for you, but she won't be able to come with you. If you treat her rudely, she will turn to violence and try to find you. Be quiet and find the code for the door, tucking around corners silently to avoid her if she comes near. Once you find the code, you must make your way to the door without notifying her where you are even once and avoiding her if she comes near. Once you put the code in to the end door, you can leave the area and continue on your way.

[Checkpoint]

Kinger, the largest but probably the easiest to get past if your quiet, is second to last, everyone!

Do not wake him up. His area is a large fortress made of old, hole filled wood pillars, old, torn blankets and pillows, and partially stone walls. There are many large bugs, mostly centipedes about the size of an average 10 year old, crawling around the area, never crawling into your path for more than a few seconds. Make sure you don't step on them, you don't want to make the king angry. Once you enter this decrepit castle, it is mostly empty aside from this 50 foot long centipede-chess piece curled up and sleeping soundly. If you step on any of the bugs that might crawl in your path or if you touch him even slightly, he will wake up and you can't escape as he kills you[respawn]. Don't step on any of the bugs and don't touch him and you're home free, there's the exit on the complete opposite side of him from the entrance to his impenetrable fortress.

[Checkpoint]

I bet you guys weren't expecting Caine of all people to be the final boss, right? I bet you guessed from Kinger's introduction! Well here he is!

He will never change, no matter who comes and goes before him. He is the owner of this terrifying territory, after all! The ringmaster, if it were a Circus! He stands in the center of a large, dark, dully colored yet very colorful room, inside a ring. This room looks most Circus like, like the inside of a tent. You don't have to defeat Caine, really, just beat his "pets." The abstractions. To those who have been in The House for a long time, they sadly know how these terrifying creatures came to be. Not fully code, but once human like the majority of them were gone mad and lost every bit of their mind! The older beasts are larger than the newer ones, so you can tell who's been there the longest. Unbeknownst to you, Caine is definitely going easy on you, only using the newer abstractions, as they are not very well at their job: ending you. You just have to run past everything and get to the last door, an end for the ones who didn't get sucked into this world, or a void for the ones who did.

[End] [Checkpoint]

OK THATS IT!

I am so sorry that one was so long but I really got sucked into writing this. I hope y'all enjoyed what y'all read if you read it all! I hope some of y'all also saw some references I made to other horror games I like playing or watching, like Doors or Little Nightmares(1+2)!

I really enjoyed writing this but this was all in one sitting, on mobile, and I don't know how to word things right sometimes or even spell some words correctly so some things might look weird. Yes, English is my first language but I am still not good at it despite graduating Highschool last year.

I put more effort into this than any writing assignments I got in school anyways all cuz I had a random paper and drew these goofs again after so long of only being able to draw on mobile.

[yanderes-galore]

oooh can you write a yandere concept for the Huntress (dbd)?

Decided to merge the two to get two requests done due to her acting similar in the two situations. Takes place pre-fog.

Yandere! The Huntress (Anna) Concept

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Stalking, Kidnapping, Dubious relationship, Violence, Murder, Animalistic behavior, Forced companionship, Restraints, Vomit mention, Gore, Clingy behavior, Overprotective behavior, Blood, Possessive behavior, Stockholm syndrome, Delusional behavior.

When it comes to Anna I feel she doesn't entirely know the difference between platonic and romantic feelings.

Think about it, she's lived isolated out in the woods without people at a young age.

When she still had her mother she only had her mother so she most likely doesn't know how couples work.

Which means her yandere obsession is most likely always dubious.

This is why she acts the same no matter her yandere type.

Her darling would have to educate her on the difference... and I highly doubt you're doing that willingly.

For the most part Anna has one goal when she sees her darling, regardless on if it's before the fog or after.

She wants to take you in and care for you.

Part of what drives her yandere tendencies is her motherly nature.

In her backstory, Anna is shown to be a relentless hunter yet also yearned to take care of others.

How the obsession starts is most likely with her stalking you.

Anna's presence is unnerving, even when stalking her prey she hums an eerie tune.

Anna could be an "obsession at first sight" yandere.

The moment you're in her sights she doesn't stop hunting you.

I like to imagine Anna as very animal-like.

She's a predator, one who knows how to hunt like an animal.

With her time in the forest she's learned how to hunt from the wildlife around her and the teaching from her mother.

I can see her hiding behind trees while stalking her darling, the bunny mask hiding her true intentions.

Anna could stalk you for a long time.

The huntress likes to watch you...

You aren't like other prey.

Anna has killed humans before, that isn't very new to her.

If you came into her territory with others around you then she'll most likely target those people first.

By the time you realize you are being watched it's already too late when it comes to her.

All you can hear is screaming.

Anna doesn't see murder as wrong.

She just sees killing humans as hunting.

In fact she doesn't see most of her obsession as wrong.

That doesn't make her innocent, however.

There's no slowly easing you into her obsession either.

When you meet Anna, it's disturbing.

Screams echo through the trees and blood is splattered on the ground.

When you come across the remains of your friends there's no doubt you panic, bile threatening to dribble past your lips at the grisly sight.

Anna likes to play around with the corpses.

Or maybe she mutilated these ones for a specific reason?

The bodies are gouged and you can see organs within the pooling blood.

You quickly come to the realization this is no animal.

Then... Anna steps into view.

Her hatchets are covered in blood, in fact, she herself is covered head to toe in blood.

The blood of your friends...

Quite soon, maybe even the blood of you.

You two just stare at each other when you finally meet.

You look like a scared animal... she looks like an apex predator.

Then... the masked woman crouches before pouncing

You think your life is coming to an end when she pins you to the ground, restraining you.

You think she's going to bury one of her sharp axes into you.

She never does.

Instead... the huntress hums.

It's a tune that's meant to be soothing most likely.

But it comes off as creepy.

It's like this murderer is trying to soothe you.

She is.

After all... it's been awhile since she had company in her cabin.

All the rest died....

So, yes, this is how you both first meet.

Your entire group is butchered and Anna restrains you in her cabin.

Anna's obsession is immediate.

She is a yandere who is quick to cling to her darling.

Once she captures you she treats you like some sort of doll or child.

For some reason she has a very nurturing nature.

You'd think as a killer Anna is sadistic.

Surprisingly, not really.

During the hunt she may be a bit playful and sadistic with prey, but not with her darling.

She never intends to harm her darling on purpose when she has them.

If the restraints are too tight, tell her.

If you aren't careful she may accidentally suffocate you with the ropes-

Anna really doesn't know any better but that does not excuse her behavior.

It's unknown if she sees you as your own person.

She treats you like you're helpless and need her to survive.

In the situation she put you in... that's close to the truth.

Anna is a killer who really gives into being and animal with her desires.

She hunts for you and brings home various prey.

She needs to feed her baby, right?

Anna will also find gifts to give you on her little "expeditions".

It's most likely a stolen trinket of some sort that she stole from a human she's killed.

Anna is always wearing some sort of animal mask around you.

It's not always a rabbit, sometimes it's another animal of some sort.

Anna likes physical affection the most when it comes to her darling.

She likes to wrap herself around you and hum.

She is comforted by your warmth and hopes she comforts you too.

She doesn't.

At night Anna may move her darling in a way for her to spoon them.

It's a protective position and she likes that it makes you secure in her arms.

Anna is very protective of her darling.

You could make the argument that she's possessive, too, like an animal defending their territory.

Everything about her screams animal.

From the brutal way she hunts prey to the way she nuzzles into your hand when you touch her face...

It's hard to see her as human like you.

Your rescue is a feat that's nearly impossible.

If humans get too close to her cabin then Anna is already dealing with them.

Being an expert at hunting and stalking, all she has to do is throw one hatchet...

Then the deed is done.

If someone puts up a fight you can hear her growls as she defends her territory.

She'd protect you in her cabin with every ounce of her being.

There's a good chance you will either give into stockholm syndrome or die due to poor living conditions.

Two unsettling outcomes... but they are the most likely.

Anna might be able to be tolerable if you taught her.

She's a bit naive and doesn't understand human relationships much.

Any type of them.

Anna actually listens rather intently when you tell her knowledge.

She likes to learn from you.

Although she is much more of a... hands on learner?

If you developed stockholm syndrome and reciprocate Anna's affection, she's ecstatic.

Anna loves that you care for her as she does you!

Soon, you might not even need the restraints!

If you ever died, Anna would mourn.

She'd mourn for a long time...

That is until a new human target arrives...

Then her obsession starts anew... it's a never-ending cycle of infatuation for Anna.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Previous Husband AU, Pt 10

((Content warning for blood/gore, violence, abuse, suicide))

---

Lena pays her retainers well, and has done so since the moment she turned eighteen. Which means that less than two days later, divorce papers are served by hand. The courier confirms Tom's receipt, and that's all Lena needs to know. For a few days she's jumpy and on edge, convinced that Tom would show up once more, ready to haul her away to god knows where.

But as the days pass, that anxious bubble in Lena's chest fades away. Enough so that when a meeting arises that requires her physical presence in the L-Corp building, she tells Jess she'll be there. It feels good to step outside Kara's building for the first time in weeks. She hasn't realized how much she's imprisoned herself-- and the realization now makes her angry.

Why should she be the one to hide away from the world? She's done nothing to hide from. She's a goddamned Luthor. It's time she starts acting like it.

She slides into the back seat of the arriving town car with practiced ease, and shoots off a quick text to Kara to let her know she's on her way. She familiarizes herself with the materials that had been circulated when the meeting was first confirmed-- she already knows it inside and out, but it helps her feel as though this were any other day in the office.

And for a few short minutes after arriving at L-Corp, it is just any other day. She swipes her badge against the reader and flashes a smile to the security guard on duty at the reception desk. Already, she feels the rest of her tension bleeding away as she settles into the familiarity of routine...

Only for it to snap back as she waits at the bank of elevators, and feels the sharp barrel of a gun jabbing into her side.

Whipping her head to the side, her mouth opens to scream.

"One sound and I'll kill you right here," Tom growls, inaudible to anyone but Lena. The gun in his hand is disguised by his suit jacket draped over his arm, leaving all none the wiser.

Lena closes her mouth, swallowing her rising terror. An elevator dings, and the gun against her side nudges her towards it. "Get in."

Obedient to the threat against her life, Lena tries to walk as naturally as possible to the elevator in question, with Tom keeping pace beside her. The gun doesn't once budge from her ribs. They manage to be the first in the elevator, and Tom immediately jabs the door close button, forcing the car to close in the next passenger's face.

"It's full," he snaps, before another ding signals their ride up to the executive floor. When they exit the elevator, Tom leans in close. "No funny business."

Lena says nothing until they near her office, and spots Jess rising from her seat to greet her-- only to stop short at the sight of Lena's unexpected guest.

"It's alright, Jess," Lena delivers smoothly, barely breaking stride. "I'll need you to cancel my meetings for the morning. Please give Miss Sanchez my deepest apologies."

Jess' eyes widen, but she nods crisply. "Yes, Miss Luthor."

The gun presses insistently into Lena's side. "I'm not to be disturbed."

Jess nods again. "I'll make sure of it, Miss Luthor."

"Thank you, Jess."

Within moments, the heavy door closes behind them, leaving Lena alone in her office with her husband and a gun pointed at her chest.

"What are you doing?" she asks with a calm that's increasingly eroding away.

Tom ignores her, stepping past her to wheel her chair out from behind her desk, sliding it to the middle of the room.

"Sit," he orders. "Slowly. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Lena obeys. She sits stiffly in her seat, and rests her hands in plain view on the armrests. Her gaze never once wavers from Tom.

"How exactly do you think this little stunt is going to end, Tom?" she asks evenly. "I give you what you want, or not. You kill me, and then what? You think you'll walk out of here to live happily ever after?"

The entire floor would hear the gunshot, his face is plastered all over the cctv footage. Even if he ran, there would be nowhere on earth he could hide from the murder of a Luthor.

"You'll go to jail--"

Pain explodes against the side of her face, rocking her forcefully to one side. Stars cloud her vision, too stunned to even cry out.

Struggling to stay upright, Lena tries to focus on Tom, but he's blurred by the blow. Slowly, things come back into focus, and dimly she realizes she's been pistol whipped.

"Shut up!" Tom tells her, his voice a furious hiss. "Just shut up! You don't know anything!"

In that moment, Lena realizes he's right-- Tom told her that he came to National City to rekindle their marriage, and she'd accepted it at face value. She asked no further questions, never looked deeper. And now, it could very well be that this had been his goal all along.

"Is it Lex?"

Her groan seems to take Tom by surprise. He pauses, his eyes flicking towards her, almost manically.

"Did my brother put you up to this?" Lena demands, regaining more of her senses-- and her strength.

Tom looks at her, and despite the recent decline in their relationship, there's still enough history between them that Lena is able to read between the lines: whatever has driven him to do this, it's far worse than Lex.

"Then who?" Lena wracks her brain for any clue she might have gleaned by accident in the past nine months. Or even prior to that, when they first got married. But beyond the slow spiral of their interactions, the red flags Lena overlooked, all she remembers is Tom being overseas in Asia, and late night calls to his counterparts in Singapore that have continued all the way up until she left.

Wait.

Lena blinks. "The Syndicate?" When Tom's glare narrows in rage, Lena knows she's hit it right on the money. "Jesus fuck, Tom."

"You don't get it," Tom snarls. "You never did. You've never had to scrounge for a single thing your entire life--"

"Oh, and you have??" Lena scoffs. He'd had his own silver spoon, his own trust fund, his own parental bailouts. "Making shit decisions doesn't make you a hustler. Just a dumbass."

"Shut up!" Tom stiffens, lifting his arm to bring the pistol to bear once more. Lena gives it a glance, but this time anger and frustration overwhelm the fear. If he had just told her. "You couldn't have just stayed, could you? The policy would have--"

"What policy?" Lena demands. Suddenly it clicks. "You took out a life insurance policy."

"The payout would have settled the debt and then some. I could have started over--"

"Oh hon... you do know they don't pay out if you're the one who kills me, don't you?"

Rather than trying to deny it, Tom softens. The pistol lowers back to his side. "I do love you, Lena. I would have made it painless..."

"How sweet," she drawls.

"But you couldn't have just stayed put, could you? No, you wanted to move on. Forget me. And now we're here."

"We are." Lena tilts her chin up. "If you're going to kill me, you better do it fast, because I figure you have about 90 seconds before the police breaks down that door."

Tom blinks in shock. "What?"

Lena rolls her eyes. "Sanchez is a cop, idiot."

Right on cue, the door to the stairwell opens, and the sound of bodies filing through drifts in through the office walls.

"Fuck!"

Tom frantically paces back and forth, gun swinging wildly with each turn. "Fuck!!"

"Just put the gun down, Tom," Lena urges gently. "We can both walk away from this. I can help you--"

"No, we are not walking away from this. I am going to prison, and in prison I'm a dead man."

Dread pools in Lena's gut, heavy and thick as the peril of the situation returns to her. Her husband has a gun, and zero options. How her death at this point would help him escape the syndicate escapes her-- all she knows is that Tom's pacing stops, and he slowly turns towards her with fresh intent.

Lena recoils when he kneels at her feet, leaning over her to touch the muzzle of the gun against her temple. The chill metal brushes up and down, as though to comfort her. All it does is make Lena close her eyes, jaw clenching as her breath stops in her chest.

"Open your eyes, Lena."

The gun taps against her skin, and Lena obeys. Tom's face is inches from her own, his gaze intent as he looks deep into her eyes.

"Do you remember the first time I asked you on a date?" he asks. Beyond the door, there's a squawk of a loudspeaker. "I was so fucking nervous, but I knew... I knew that we'd be perfect together."

"Tom Vanderwald!" a voice echoes through the room. "This is the National City Police! Come out with your hands on your head!"

"I know I've already lost you," Tom continues, as though doesn't hear. "I know you'll move on. You already have."

In the next moment, the softness in Tom's gaze hardens with resolve.

"But I'll be damned if I let you forget me."

He moves the gun from Lena's and presses it to his own before smoothly pulling the trigger.

"GO GO GO!" the loudspeaker squeals, and the door comes crashing in, spilling SWAT officers into the room.

Lena doesn't see them.

She feels the mist of blood across her face and chest, the plop of brain matter that falls to her lap, the sudden hollow in her chest as the reality of what she's witnessed sinks in.

She hears ringing in her ears, muddling the rest of the world to a rumble as people move around her.

She sees half of Tom's skull missing, its pieces sprayed across the carpet of her office.

She can't see anything else.

[quicksilverdrabbles]

Khash: *running away from wolves just outside of Riverwood, bow broken and out of arrows* I'm so dead I'm so dead- *shrieks, a wolf snapping at her ankles just barely out of reach* Leave me alone! I am almost positive I don't taste good!

Saturn: *whistles, catching the wolves' attention* 'Ey! Leave the kid alone, ya' tuskin' mongrels! *draws her bow as the wolves turn, downing one with a glass arrow*

Khash: Whoa..

Saturn: *turns and launches a containment sphere into the pack, releasing a Dwarven Venator and letting it kill the rest* Phew. *hops down from the ledge she'd perched on, jogging towards Khash with a worried smile* Hey, kid. You okay?

Khash: I-I... I'm fine.. *staring up at Saturn with starry eyes* ... You are very strong.

Saturn: *chuckles* Y'think so? Quite the compliment from such a brave warrior. What're you doing out here?

Khash: I was hunting... What is that? *points at the Venator, quite literally ripping a wolf apart*

Saturn: Oh, that? That's my... *turns to look at it, seeing the mess it made* Oh for Gods' sake, we talked about this. *returns the Venator to its containment sphere* Sorry, it's a bit restless. Haven't gotten a chance to use that one in a while.

Khash: Do you have more of those things??

Saturn: Automatons? Yes, I do.

Khash: How do they work? They really just listen to everything you want them to do?? *gasps, seeing her longsword strapped to her back* Is that your sword?! Why is it so big???

Saturn: *smoke rising from her ears, overwhelmed by the questions, remembering why she doesn't do kids* High Elves need bigger swords than humans. Longer limbs.

Khash: Are you an adventurer?? You have to be, right?!

Saturn: I am, yes.

Khash: Can I come with you???

Saturn: *freezes, staring down at the child with a look of shock* Absolutely not.

Khash: What?! Why not?

Saturn: I'm not going to risk bringing a kid with me. It's dangerous.

Caryalind: Saturn??

Saturn: *looks over her shoulder* Oh, hey guys. Took you long enough.

Kaidan: *hunched over, panting* Gods you're too fast- Where did ye go?

Gore: Uh. And what's with the kid?

Khash: *hiding behind Saturn*

Saturn: Uh.. She was being chased by wolves.

Khash: *staring at Caryalind and Kaidan with a look of shock* Is everyone in your group super tall??

Saturn: Hah. No, just look at Gore.

Gore: Hey!

Kaidan: Well, best we get her home then, ey? I've never seen an Argonian child in Riverwood, though.

Khash: I am a mercenary.

Saturn: ...

Gore: ...

Kaidan: ...

Caryalind: I beg your pardon?

Khash: I am! I can fight very well with a bow!

Saturn: Not.. that I doubt that, kiddo, but where are your parents?

Khash: Dead.

Saturn: (Shit.) Er- a guardian?

Khash: Also dead.

Saturn: ... Yeah y'know what I'm just gonna stop asking questions right now.

Khash: So.. can I go with you? Please? I promise I will not get in the way!

Caryalind: Saturn. A word. *tugs on Saturn's arm and pulls her away, speaking in a hushed voice* You cannot seriously be considering this??

Saturn: Who said I was?! That kid's better off being taken care of, not getting dragged all across Skyrim!

Gore: Not like we can just leave her here, though. A kid by herself is far worse off than a kid with a band.

Caryalind: You would know.

Gore: Yeah, and you wouldn't.

Saturn: Boys, please focus.

Gore: I say let her come. If she decides it's too much, she can leave with no more said.

Caryalind: It's outrageous! Kaidan, please be the voice of reason here.

Kaidan: *already getting along with Khash, checking out her bow* Don't worry yourself none about it, lass. Saturn's a great smith, she'll make ya' a new one.

Khash: Awesome!

Caryalind: *deadpan* Absolutely no help.

Saturn: Look, how about this. *takes Caryalind by the shoulders and faces him towards her* We bring her along, then the second we get a chance we bring her to Riften.

Caryalind: I can't help but feel like that's a worse idea.

Saturn: Have any better ideas?

Caryalind: ... No.

Saturn: And there we go. *pulls away, walking back towards Khash* Alright, kid, you can come. Let's bring you to meet the others.

Khash: Tusk yea!!!

Saturn: Pfft. That's some mouth, kiddo.

Caryalind: Like any of you are any better.

Saturn: Rude.

~

Khash: *Meeko laying in her lap, petting him happily as she listens to stories from Inigo*

Taliesin: *sitting some ways away with Saturn* You are absolutely insane.

Saturn: You're not the first today to tell me that.

Taliesin: It's one thing to just bring her to an orphanage outright, but it's a cruelty even I can't stomach to lie and say she can come with us.

Saturn: She would have fled if we did tell her.

Taliesin: Why bring her along in the first place, then?

Saturn: Kids shouldn't be that young and out on their own. She deserves a safe place.

Taliesin: And are you so sure that orphanage is a safe place? There have been unsettling rumors..

Saturn: ... *sighs, watching Khash interact with her family with a frown* We'll just have to see.

[rosebarry16]

"Aftermath"

This is a sequal for this page click "this page" to get to it easily

TW : mention of abuse, gore

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"Tell me, what's your connection with perseus?" Hudson asked me with more like disappointment look on his face as he was close to me excepting a response from me, I gazed at the floor and stayed silent so I won't get harmed if I answered, the lady who was behind seems to notice i'm too scared to answer so she had to bring herself to me to avoid hudson getting closer and creep me out

"Don't hesitate if you're worried for us to hit you we won't infact we have to know what perseus is up to"

"I worked with perseus since 77' well I was forced to join the soviet just to stay alive, the kidnapped me because they knew I have a connection to a person in the CIA"

"Who's the person?" After this sentence came up I dared myself not to say anything about it, I didn't want people to know I'm married to him but It's necessary.

"Adler..."

"Wait what?" the woman is open to doubt that this fact is true, infact Hudson stares at adler like he's the one who set me up on all of this.

"Where did you two meet? How do you have a connection?"

"It's classified"

"You better talk"

"Stop she refused to talk"

"Russ you stay out of this"

"Saira, you better talk or this is not going well"

"FINE! I'm his fucking wife you happy now??" My tone got aggressive and wanted to shout but I had to get a grip for myself to not do anything related. I could say much more but I get very pissed on how Hudson has gotten this kind of his character.i don't remember him being this hostile, russell came forward to me in additional of placing his arm resting around my neck and smoking his cigarette

"Tell us more, maybe you have something might help us or improve evident"

"He would always tells us about the nukes all over Europe but after some disappeared I began to receive their roles which he is not being easy. All i know is that he used to be aggressive and whine all the time to me so i don't have any info and if you do ask me where is he then none of us know where he goes"

"So, you don't have enough info on him even if you're working with him?"

"No it's not that easy. This is all I have I promise" her and adler seems to accept my answer but hudson didn't so he just left the room like he wasted his time on me, i glanced down feeling like I failed on giving them what they need. At the end of the day I can't help them

"I tried to avoid it but I can't"

"We'll if you don't have information that is concerned evidence then that's fine" she understanded me more and accepted it all which is good, I settled down on the chair and my plams ended up on my face feeling off track. She said she'll left was alone and left the room that mean it's only the two of us

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, that's all you got hun"

"I couldn't really ignore the offer, I can't risk my life and leave you all alone" I couldn't let my tears escape I just couldn't cry, he grabbed me for a hug and didn't bothered to embrace back. I let go, all that left is us staring into each other's eyes until his words escaped from his lips

"What's up with your eye?"

"It's just a little accident, nothing serious"

"You don't have to hide it from me"

"Yeah..while I was in a conversation with perseus.."

<Flashback>

"Are you getting any sign?"

"No, I barley got anything related for them to come and get the evidence they need"

"Ah" all he said as he's watching me messing around the CIA's system to get on what are they going to do next as a sign, nothing really was interesting to collect.

"What about adler? He must be up to something"

"Not even him, I'm trying everything to get information but nothing is available"

"Saira I might have a feeling"

"What?"

"That you are hidding something from me"

"Oh no Iam not doing something like that"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course"

"Mmm" I got back on looking at the screen again until he threw a floppy disk infront of me and standed still, I picked up the disk and tried to read what's on it but it didn't really have something written on it.

"What is this?"

"Load the disk and see it yourself" his Russian accent sounded so greedy I couldn't help but to Load it, as the computer was reading it i waited till the screen showed a map of the lubeyanka building and the mission is assigned for adler, I deleted the screen so they can take the names but too late since perseus copied the info, I felt his hard grip on my hair forcing me to get up.

"So you tried to delete it just to let that street dog take it"

"P-please let go!"

"This isn't how we do it" Perseus then threw me on the ground then placed his foot on top of my stomach, I hissed in pain and grabbed his leg to get it off but he was strong

"Let go of me you fucking prick!" He didn't respond instead he picked me up, threw me on the wall and pulled his gun out then I felt the deep pain started to infect me

"AH FUCK!" I yelled and I began groaning when he held my neck tight .

"Listen to me, I might be missing something but I'll never be fooled on that day you go there and stop that piece of shit. Other then that I'm Erasing the names, do you understand me??"

"Y-yes" I responded in a low voice as he let go of me, my knees met the ground as I'm covering my bloody eye

"I'll show you" I thought to myself.

<end of flashback>

"And this is how my eye is fucked up"

"That asshole" Adler swapped his thumb on my cheek, I placed my hand on his including letting my eyes close to feel his soft hand on my skin.

"Sit down, let me cover it for you" he told me and did what he told me to do, 2 minutes passes he was done covering my eye. I smile weakly

"Thanks sweetheart"

"Anytime let me talk to Hudson and see if he gets to accept the answer if he doesn't then that's too goddamn bad he has to"

"Good luck with that" he nodded and left the room but the woman came back

"I hope your doing well there"

"Iam good I suppose"

"I didn't mean to scare more but is it true about the fact your his wife?"

"Oh yeah, I wanted to keep it a secret but hudson forced me"

"He's like that, nobody really has his trust then mason and woods"

"That's weird he trusts me"

"Not anymore since you retired 4 years ago"

"Makes sense..whats your name?"

"Park, Helen park"

"Pleasure to meet you park"

"Same goes to you saira, if you need me I'm outside or you can go out and see the other crew"

"I will, and thanks for the offer"

This was a rough one..

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Hii,

Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think and if you don't want to then that's fine no pressure!!

♡

[sithskywalkerr]

when we forget the infection, will we remember the lesson?

Summary: In a tense rescue mission, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Luke infiltrate an Imperial fortress to save Princess Leia. They encounter Keyti, who, despite working for the Empire, helps them escape from Vader, who suddenly goes on a rampage. The group successfully escapes, with the addition of an injured Reva and Keyti. Back in Alderaan, Padmé reveals to Leia and Luke that their father is Anakin Skywalker, now known as Vader. Series: The Flowers Never Bloom Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Reva Sevander, Original Sith Character, Original Imperial Character Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, minor character death, blood, slight gore Ships: Anidala Word Count: 8.2k words A/N: holy shit, a back to back post ?! you could say the plot infected my brain at this point. however, it's no surprise, i love zomboi ... look at that word count ... again, i'm not the best with action, so apologies for a bulk of this chapter literally being hell in a hand-basket for Leia. (she'll be fine tho, shhhhh) also, again to fill in gaps and stuff, i'm slapping my OCs in because i can and it's my fic, i can do what i want. Amara and Keyti are only two of many, but we'll see if i have use for my other ones. i hope they're received well. read here on ao3

5 BBY

"Luke, please, come back. It’s not safe!” Padme’s voice carried on the wind quickly, and the blond popped his head up and replied,” Coming, Mom!” Even if Leia had been the one to lure the two of them out, he was more than willing to hide the discovery from their mother. Once again, they had found the gory remnants of a corpse from a few infected lurking on the edge of the Alderaanian capitol. If she found out, then they would have had to probably relocate again until it was safe again, and they were both finally happy about settling down in one place again.

Leia was hidden behind an enormous, moss-covered, bolder, crouching while she carefully used a stick to observe the decay from the insects, head tilting as she made a soft sound of confusion. “It looks like it isn’t breaking down like it should… That’s weird.”

“C'mon, we have to go back. Mom might come over if we don’t … she doesn’t want us out so close to the edge.” Luke lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, watching as Padmé motioned him closer.  Looking up at her brother, Leia frowned,” Fine. Only because she wouldn’t want us to see.” As if it were the fifteen-year-old’s first corpse to witness rotting. “Go distract Mom so I can sneak over without her knowing about the body.”

“She’s going to know eventually,” Luke said with a sigh, shaking his head before moving to make his way over to Padmé. I hate being a distraction. He made his way through the small wild field and heat, sweat beginning to stick his blond hair to his forehead and neck while he returned to his mother’s side. “Sorry, Mom. Thought I saw something out there.”

“Leave the adventuring to the rangers. It’s still too dangerous with the new spikes of infection.” Padmé smiled softly, brushing his shoulders off while he shrugged, “I would have been okay. C’mon, it’s too hot out.” He motioned to her to the palace’s entryway, and she opted to go inside first. Luke glanced back to see his sister pop her head up from the boulder before making her way over swiftly through the grass and wild flowers.

Leia soon made her way in, sighing with relief at the feeling of the fans working to cool the palace they had called home. Bail and Breha had been nothing but kind to them, but the twins were beginning to ask questions now—some that Padmé didn’t want to answer, especially regarding their father. Still, there was only so much she could get away with the older the twins had become, and Padmé was beginning to suspect the time for the truth would come earlier than she would have preferred. Unlike Obi-Wan’s selective omission, she wanted to tell them he was alive, but they had grown up knowing what the Empire had put the planet through. The days were hotter, and more climates became unstable and uninhabitable from the overuse of farming for ore and minerals. She simply didn’t know how to explain what had happened to Anakin as she led them to the room where their tutor awaited them to begin their studies for the day.

Even if education was something to keep them distracted, Padmé utilized the free time to figure out her husband’s whereabouts, significantly after Ahsoka had returned with the news. 

Rain pounded on the marble and gold of the palace while Alderaan slept, but Padmé was wide awake. It had been four months since Ahsoka had left to locate Vader, and each day that passed only began to wither the little hope Padmé had for her return. She turned from the balcony as her door opened, a limping and bandaged Ahsoka making her way in before the former Senator ran to her side to help her sit down with eyes filling with concern.

“Ahsoka? What happened?” Her hand gently held the vitiligo-marked cheek of her husband’s former apprentice  in worry as exhaustion threatened to crush Ahsoka’s body.

“It is him, and I barely managed to escape him. He isn’t the same, Padmé. I tried to tell him to come with me, to come here, but he refused to accept you were alive … He kept mentioning how he’s reached out to you through the years but has never felt your signature. I don’t know what’s happened with him, but he’s not the Anakin we knew. He nearly killed me.”

Padme’s heart began to sink. If he was so irrational with Ahsoka, how would he be with her? Shoving that idea away, she only pulled Ahsoka closer. “I’m relieved you made it back. You need to rest, and thank you for going for me. Now, we can prepare a better plan to bring him back.”

“I don’t believe we can,” Ahsoka said, welcoming the support, letting her aching body relax while closing her eyes. “He won’t listen. He cannot be reasoned with this time.”

“Only because Palpatine has done something to him … rest for now. Okay?”

Shaking the memory from her mind, Padmé continued to her room, entering the ample, luxurious space before she sat at her vanity with her datapad. Getting to the news, like in her usual routine, she began to scan reports for any mention of her husband, but it was as if he was still a ghost — even as Vader. Why would the Emperor keep such a prominent, fear-inducing figure out of the spotlight? There had to be a reason for it; now, she was determined to figure it out herself.

Pausing at the last article, she tapped on the headline: LORD VADER VISITS NEW TREATMENT FACILITY FOR THE INFECTED IN CORUSCANT. She had read it many times before, knowing it virtually by heart, but the press of a Sith Lord paying a bi-annual inspection to a treatment facility for this seemed far beneath him. Unless it was for treatment … or something else entirely. She hit a link to the facility’s site, offering care for in-house care of loved ones who became infected, her brows furrowing as she looked at the data provided. It seemed to be going well for a facility that still couldn’t administer a cure, but there were beginning to be whispers of one being produced. Though currently, those were just rumors. Nothing substantial, but if it was being made … then the Emperor planned to treat the population to gain more land. If that happened, people would be unwilling to part from the “savior” they had desired for so long. Kark. She made notes on paper, not trusting any devices produced after the leaked scandal from the new Senator from Naboo.

After documents from his datapad had been released to help the Rebels, he had suddenly disappeared, but everyone knew what happened. The Empire was not above spying on its citizens and politicians to keep the rigidly enforced order on the planet they had been destroying. If the warnings weren’t heeded, one would find a personal invitation to Mustafar’s plains. If that was declined … it was well-known by news footage afterward that you would have better mercy within Fortress Vader than refusing.

“Breaking news now from Naboo, the Senator’s home has been hit by a horrific attack from the infected as a new wave surges through the planet. Officials in Naboo cite that at least three or four of the Diseased had made their way into the villa before slaughtering the Senator, his wife, his children Paxen, age 9, and Riael, age 3, as well as their newborn. Forensics suggest the Senator tried to defend them, but it was to no avail when his throat was crushed by a substantial amount of force. Officials believe this new wave of the infected could have 15x the strength as the original wave we experienced over fifteen years ago.” While reading off her monitor, the reporter held no fear or emotion, but the nervous tick in her hands told Padmé otherwise. She didn’t believe the story she was reading but couldn’t indicate it to the audience otherwise. Not if she wanted to keep her job and life.

Pausing at a photo posted on the facility’s site, she carefully zoomed in on the familiar figure of her husband. The half mask was on, obscuring his nose, mouth, and jaw from easily being identified, but she could still see the hint of the scar on his right eye. His eyes were unreadable, void of emotion, while they seemed to match the lava of Mustafar now. Her heart ached deeply, studying the rough skin and healed gash on his head that she had assumed happened from the plume on Kuat. Under the scarring and changes, she could still see the familiar features she had loved so deeply.

I will bring you home again. I promise, even if it’s the last thing I do.

Chasing Rebels wasn’t something that Vader had particularly wanted to be used for, but he brought the best results, which pleased the Emperor. It kept the rebellion’s likelihood at an all-time low and kept him fed and alive. Though, that was the least of his worries. The longer the years had stretched, the more he found it challenging to remember what he had been experiencing. More blackouts in his memory were occurring, and Sidious grew impatient with the lapse in memory.

“I need you to remember so we can appropriately eradicate the hopes of a rebellion,” the Emperor watched his apprentice closely. Vader stayed and knelt down, eyes on the ground in submission, before finally lifting his head.

“I can only remember a battle beginning once again in Geonosis, but then I remember my legion finding me miles from base.” 

“Then perhaps it’s time for another medical examination; you often fail to give me details.” The Emperor accused then,” And I’m beginning to believe that it’s on purpose, my apprentice. Must I remind you what happens when you try to defy my orders?” He enjoyed seeing how the broad frame of his ever-loyal dog tensed, knowing well that the lapse in memory was due to the inhibitor chip. The clones had no memory of it from long ago, but by now, they had been eradicated mainly by Vader’s insatiable rampage when his chip was engaged. Problems were easily solved while keeping his apprentice in line and unable to overthrow him. A plan so perfect that he nearly wanted to celebrate its success. Yet, he knew better than to prematurely celebrate - especially knowing that the Senator was still alive. Continuing, he feigned concern:” It is nearly time for you to have one anyway to ensure the system is operating as it should and to see how the virus has changed within you. Go to the medical wing and have a droid look at your vitals. We cannot change the world if you cannot be part of it.”

Vader chose ignorance. He always did. Anakin knew for a long time that the Sith were constantly suffering towards each other to achieve that higher power - total control. It kept him alive this long, but he occasionally wondered what it would have been if he hadn’t. Would Padmé have survived? If he continued to get caught up in “what ifs,” then he wouldn’t be able to focus on the present, and that wasn’t what was needed. No, now he needed to go to the medical wing as instructed. Moving through the halls of the Senate Office Building, Vader’s large frame caused the various personnel and Senators to move from his path immediately as his steady, mechanical breathing echoed off the walls. Arriving at the medical wing, he entered the practically empty room as a med-droid greeted his familiar presence. “Lord Vader, the Emperor has informed us of a check-up concerning your cognition.”

“I do not have time to waste on foolish testing. Make it quick.” He moved to one of the beds, sitting while the droid came closer to shut the curtain around them.

Scanning over his file, the droid removed the mask carefully, noting the cushioned seal around it was beginning to degrade from constant use. Another test to perform, indeed, if he was using it so much, that could be an issue with his lungs. Then, the Emperor ordered an experiment to improve his memory. However, they had to wait for his arrival for that. Placing the file and mask down, the droid conducted a scan with the sensitive sensors in its eyes, humming softly. “Your cybernetics are due for a needed upgrade, but your lungs and skin are in better health than the previous check-up. Regeneration from the virus aids healing, but utilizing aids is still suggested to accelerate the healing. Your mask shows signs of deterioration on the seal - a replacement is advised. The mask is not crucial to your health unless in harsh environmental conditions such as high altitude or extreme temperatures.” 

Yellow eyes stared blankly at the black droid as it moved closer, shining a light into his eyes.” Has your vision improved with the regeneration?” He only gave a slight nod of confirmation, making an irritated sound when the light was shone into the other eye.

“Enough.”

Moving from his eyes, the droid inspected the injury to his cheek, carefully testing the muscle and skin. His teeth needed better care, but all seemed to be in order. Clicking it off, the droid inspected his ears, noting the freshly healed skin from notches around the top and side of both ears. “What caused the damage to your helix?”

“Some foolishly brave infected, I surmise, when I was feeding once.”

Carefully inspecting the inner ear, the droid was pleased to see no damage compared to the previous check-up before moving back,” please, remove your armor so I can check on the condition of your skin.”

He only removed the layers enough to expose his chest port and gnarled skin. The droid carefully inspects the port’s controls while Vader sits there, feeling like a trapped sand mouse. Years of constant medical check ins and experiments had begun to test his patience with anything relating to his health. Pausing when the comms lit up, the droid answered it to see the familiar hooded figure of Sidious.

“How is the health of my apprentice?”

“Acceptable. Vitals are within normal levels. His treatment and regeneration have been aiding in the healing process since the fire fifteen years ago.” 

Fifteen years ago … how had the time passed that quickly? Vader began to adjust his armor, already irritated that so much time was wasted when he could have been more useful elsewhere.

The Emperor hummed softly, nodding while thinking momentarily. He couldn’t have Vader suspicious of his plans after all,” Lord Vader, I have heard that the Third Sister has captured Leia. Currently, she has ended up in custody in Fortress Inquisitorius in Nur. I want you to personally go and ensure that any information she could know about the Rebellion is obtained. We will have to see how well your cognition holds up after this. However, our cameras will be able to fill in any holes you have in your memory.”

Vader suppressed a displeased groan he wanted to let out at the mention of the Inquisitors. Any time he divulged his time towards the group, it was clear how incompetent they were, which would make his report to the Emperor less than ideal. Still, he stood again after his armor was in order, making his way closer to where the Emperor could see him on the screen,” it will be done. Even if we must persuade her.” Reaching forwards, a gloved hand flicked off the communication before he made his way to the docking port for his departure to Nur. There were more pressing issues for the Empire, but now he must babysit a teenager for Rebellion information?

Leia was trying to remain calm and quiet as she lay on the cold, metal “bed” (if she even wanted to call it that) in her holding cell. She had concealed Luke from being captured when they began to break into an Imperial office that was stationed in Alderaan, and she was more than sure that he had alerted their mom about her capture. She didn’t know anything the Rebellion was doing, but no one would listen. Well, maybe she knew a few bases, but she would rather die than disclose that to anyone else but a Rebel. Even then, all she had to do was survive and eventually be rescued somehow. Besides, she had seen Luke throw a tracking beacon from his "adventure pack" onto the ship once she had been taken. This once, only this once, she would admit that he was right about that stupid bag.

She paused her thinking when the door slid open to show Reva. Her dark eyes narrowed at the teenager while entering as the lights dimly reflected on her black Gundark leather-made uniform. “This is the ‘key’ of the Rebellion? She’s just a child.” 

Reva knew, though, not to underestimate even a teenager, and certainly not Leia. However, she hoped that the capture would lead to a negotiation between the Empire and Alderaan, which would lead to the planet’s unification. Moving closer to the brunette, Leia’s eyes glanced over her,” And you’re too young for an Inquisitor.”

Reva's brow twitched in irritation, pulling a small knife out to press against the Princess's throat," why were you trying to break into the office?"

"I'm not telling you anything while you have a blade to my skin."

Pulling back, the Inquisitor frowned deeply, turning as the door opened to show a corporal.

Amara poked her head in, her voice soft while glancing at Leia. “Apologies for the interruption, Third Sister, but communications were just received. Lord Vader is on the way.” 

Reva turned to look at her, glancing back at Leia. There is no doubt this is about her. Perhaps she is more useful than I realize. Still, it is better for Lord Vader to deal with the brat. “Estimated arrival?”

“Within an hour. He’s coming from Coruscant.” Amara looked to the tablet, her dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun, not a hair displaced, while her honey eyes scanned the information. “Afterwards, I have been reassigned with him to the Gahenn Plains.”

Leia feigned boredom, staring at the ceiling while Reva exited, but she kept listening to them until the door closed, preventing her from eavesdropping. She had heard how Ahsoka had been searching for Vader and returned injured, but if they knew where he would be … then that was a different story. All she had to do was escape … somehow. 

Reva walked through the cellblock, arms behind her, as she considered the news from Corporal Berklau. “Perhaps a promotion is in your future if you’re being relocated to Vader’s home.”

“I refuse to get my hopes up, but I’ve heard I will not be the only one venturing to Mustafar permanently. Lady Keyti is coming along as well.”

Bristling, Reva suppressed her anger while glancing over to the Corporal,” She is?” That lying piece of bantha fodder.

“Yes, Lord Vader told her after speaking with me. I think it could be good for her. She’s restless, not having a place to call home. Sho-Torun certainly hasn’t been welcoming either for her aristocratic duties.”

“I do not understand what he sees in her. She follows him around like a lost hound, and her duties are rarely fulfilled.” 

“She is skilled with lightsabers,” Amara pointed out,” as well as social situations … something that can be utilized. As for her title, she's had many attempts on her life. Regardless, do you have a plan for the princess, though?” She pointed back towards Leia’s cell, and Reva's gaze turned over her.

“I do, but if Lord Vader is on his way, he may try to extract any information from her. I will go to the medical droids to see if they have any serums I can give to slow her cognition.”

“If you wait until he’s arrived, it will only irritate him,” the Corporal suggested, pausing while facing the Inquisitor more. “The serum should be the last resort, as should any bodily harm. If anything is done to her, it may cause further sparks of Rebellion and Alderaan’s continued refusal to join the Empire.”

Reva’s brows raised blankly at Amara’s suggestion, her arms moving to fold beneath her chest. “It's bold for you to offer suggestions to me, Corporal Beklau … but you are right this time. If I try to speak with the Princess, she will not turn over any information for her break in.”

“Then perhaps send in Lady Keyti.” Amara saw Reva’s frown deepen before she explained,” She doesn’t know her, and Keyti has been able to get information out of some people in alliance with the Rebellion. She may be able to get something from her.”

“She will have thirty minutes to try to get anything and will report to Lord Vader upon his arrival.” The Inquisitor said sharply, making her way to locate the Grand Inquisitor as she left Amara behind while her boots clicked on the floor.

Amara gave a slight nod, suppressing a triumphant smile. “Of course, I will find you when the time is up.” Moving towards the training rooms, she suppressed her momentary excitement, knowing how pleased Keyti would be to be included in the little project, especially since Lord Vader was coming.

Getting into the ample space, she watched as the vitiligo-marked warrior slashed her sabers through training droids, graceful as if it were a dance. Her black and white twists were bundled up into a large bun, and for once, her jewelry wasn’t on while she trained. Sweat glistened on her skin, and once catching sight of Amara, she paused while her curiosity piqued. Switching the red blades off, she secured them onto her belt, making her way closer,” can’t be good news if you’ve come.”

“No, for once, it is good, my Lady. Lord Vader is coming and will be here in … forty-five minutes,” she said while checking her watch as Keyti’s yellowed eyes widened with the news.

“He is, hmm? Well, I guess that’s enough time to freshen up.”

“Normally, but we have a new prisoner - Princess Leia from Alderaan. Reva has requested thirty minutes to see if you can obtain information before his arrival.”

Keyti frowned, hands resting on her waist,” Of course, she has … Very well, I’ll just have to towel off then.”

“I don’t think that would matter. I’ll take you to Leia’s cell,” Amara paused to straighten out her jacket, and Keyti only groaned, causing her to look back up.

“If he comments about how sweaty I am, I’m going to kill Reva,” moving to the side, Keyti got a towel dampened by a water fountain briefly before beginning to wipe her skin down in annoyance over the tattoos she had gotten to show her devotion to the Sith. While she wasn’t official due to the Rule of Two, she was valuable to the Empire, which could not be ignored. A warrior of her own strength, even if she didn’t have a strong connection with the Force that impressed Vader more often than he wanted to admit. “Do we know anything about this Princess?”

“She was caught breaking into an Imperial station in Alderaan. She is the daughter of Bail and Breha Organa, so there is leverage in our favor. Part of why I believe she was brought here. If we go about this wrong, then Alderaan’s acceptance to join the Empire will be eliminated. We need their resources and technology to continue our usual operations within the East.”

Nodding, Keyti hummed softly, thinking,” It’s a delicate situation. Though, I am also sure that the Organas will be doing everything in their power to get her back to them … perhaps we can utilize that more than we know.” Tossing the towel into the bin for laundry, she came closer while looking down to her friend,” Lead the way, Corporal.”

Amara straightened up, nodding while leaving the training area to lead Keyti back to the cell. “Not much is known about the Princess herself. She makes public appearances, but she hardly has done diplomatic things. It’s almost like she barely exists. However, we confiscated a blaster and comlink while trying to sneak into an Imperial office.”

“Perhaps that’s something to look into then. I’m sure Leia’s existence has been mostly hidden for a reason,” Keyti frowned a moment, following her as their steps echoed off the obsidian walls. She glanced out of the large windows, watching the dark, murky waters while various aquatic animals swam by. “I can retrieve something useful before Lord Vader’s arrival.” Hopefully.

Though she knew it was possible she may come up empty-handed, she could only hope that he wouldn’t be angered by it. Once the door had opened again, Keyti saw Leia standing on the uncovered bed, brow arching as the teenager tried to pry the panel to the vents before stopping when realizing she wasn't alone. 

Turning, Leia watched her, curious to see her tattoos, while the warrior entered the cell, shutting the door behind herself again. “Princess.” She dipped her head slightly in respect before making eye contact with her. “I have a few questions I would like you to answer.”

Leia lifted her head, thin brows furrowing as she glanced over while settling back onto the cold metal. “I won’t tell you anything, I have nothing to tell.”

Moving closer, Keyti let out a slow, soft hum,” If you have nothing to tell, then why would you say you won’t tell me anything? Regardless, Princess, I want to know one thing. Why is a child like you carrying a blaster on your hip?”

“The world is cruel, and a girl needs to protect herself from it,” Leia said simply as Keyti nodded momentarily. 

“Yes, the world is cruel, especially to little girls, but not much can be protected for those girls who willingly try to break into an office, especially an Imperial one. With this comes my second question: What was so important about breaking into the office? Do not bother to lie about it either, Princess; we have you recorded in your attempt.”

“I wanted to see reports over friends of mine that had gone missing,” she lied, spilling from her lips as she kept her gaze steady upon Keyti. “Many of them have vanished when they haven’t been infected. I do not believe that is a crime punishable enough for kidnapping.” 

“No, it isn’t, but you’re useful to my boss. What do you know of Lord Vader?” 

Leia’s blood turned cold then, like the familiar haunting cold that threatened the nape of her neck, causing the hairs to stand on end. Of course, he would be on his way. “Why is he wasting his time with something beneath him? I’m sure the Emperor’s right hand has more important things than a fifteen-year-old … I hope he would.” 

Keyti let out a soft laugh, then said,” Yes, he does, but he has his motives and orders—for the Empire. Only the Empire.” Her features grew solemn as her yellowed eyes met Leia’s brown. “Nothing more.” Nothing disgraceful.  

The Princess still couldn’t shake the building fear, eyes narrowing while she watched her. “The Empire feeds into various criminal activities. Forgive me if I do not trust what you’re saying.” 

“I don’t agree with it either, but Lord Vader has no interest in them. He will arrive soon, and if you answer my questions, you won’t have to face him. You just need to be honest, Princess Leia.”

Luke had immediately gotten Obi-Wan and Ahsoka on a rescue mission after Bail and Breha were updated to what had happened, and he may or may not have stowaway on the Imperial ship that Ahsoka and Obi-Wan stole before landing. The codes gave them entryway, and Imperial uniforms helped them to blend in, carefully making their way through the dark halls to locate the holding cells. Following at a distance, Luke ducked behind some crates as droids moved past, silent as he watched Obi-Wan and Ahsoka having to seperate before making his way carefully through the halls. Blue eyes widened as he saw Keyti exit when her allotted time was up while a smug Reva walked with her at the lack of key information given by the aristocrat. Though, Keyti was smarter than that, and she would only divulge it to Vader, after all. Reva didn’t need to know what she had been told by the Princess.

The door shut behind them as Luke stayed hidden, slowing his breath as the two walked down the hall and away from the cells. She has to be in there. He reached out in the Force, calling for his sister. 

Confused by the interaction with Keyti, Leia straightened when she sensed the familiar prodding from her brother. Do not tell me you’re here.

You needed help. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are here too.

Alarm surged through Leia’s body, eyes widening as she moved closer to the door to peek out the window to see her brother soon spotting her. Shaking her head, she looked around as the Force suddenly shifted as a cold, dark presence began to haunt the edges of Luke’s familiar warmth.

Leave. Now, Vader is coming, and it’s not safe. You need to find Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Moving to the door, Luke looked over the controls as he ignore her warning, glancing around while trying to fiddle with it and try to trick it into unlocking. He jumped when he heard Obi-Wan say his name, looking up with widened eyes as the Jedi suppressed a sigh at realizing Luke had followed them while making his way closer. He peered at Leia through the window, and knew that they only  had a limited amount of time while Ahsoka disabled the alarms.

“Okay, Obi-Wan, it should be disengaged now, but I just heard on the com I stole that Vader’s arrived.” 

Lifting the comlink up, he spoke quietly,” then let’s not linger for longer than we must. Make your way to the holding cells.” He moved Luke back while he ignited his lightsaber, plunging the blue blade into the controls which short circuited the system, causing the door to open. 

Leia immediately moved out, clinging onto Luke tightly as she looked up to Obi-Wan,” we need to leave now.” Her gaze lifted as the lights started to flicker throughout the fortress, holding onto Luke’s arm tighter as he started to put her behind himself. 

“I have a bad feeling about this…” 

“Follow me,” Obi-Wan instructed while turning off his lightsaber for the time being, making his way back the way he had come. Carefully guiding them out of sight of Imperial officers, he kept his saber hid up his sleeve, pausing as he felt the haunting cold beginning to chill the air.

Leia was quiet, eyes wide as she saw Luke’s exhale before she tested it with her own, feeling the temperature drop before screams and shouts echoed through the halls.

Keyti was trying to run through the chaos, protecting herself from Vader, who had begun a rampage shortly after sensing someone had infiltrated the Fortress. She watched in horror as he crushed the head of a sergeant, eyes wide, as he began to make his way towards Reva. The Inquisitor only ignited her lightsabers, standing her ground while her gaze darkened. 

What the kark had happened to him? Shaking her head, Keyti made her own escape, knowing that, eventually, he would be stable again. Maybe he was just hungry; that usually seemed to happen, but she needed to flee. The lights flickered overhead again while air chilled more through the level, and it wasn’t until she saw the four trying to escape that it made sense. Of course, a Jedi would have been alerted to Leia's disappearance.

Leia stiffened when Keyti spotted them, her eyes wide before looking back towards the carnage before she motioned them to go the other way. She may have worked for the Empire and been under Vader’s orders, but she refused to willingly let anyone die like that. She saw Reva’s body slamming through some storage crates, bolting down the hall when Vader's attention was suddenly turned onto her. 

Obi-Wan braced himself, igniting his saber as Keyti approached while putting her hands up,” Save it, Jedi. Unless you want to be the next meal, you need to leave. He’s coming this way.”

Ahsoka put the twins behind herself, eyes narrowing as she glanced Keyti up and down.” How can we trust you?” Her eyes moved past her to see Vader’s prominent figure at the end of the hall, and the lights flickered and started to shut down along the hall.

Keyti turned to face him, getting her red sabers lit and ready.” You can keep arguing, or you can leave. No one deserves this death. Especially children.” Flowers started to bloom between the cracks in the metal, and Keyti’s eyes searched the darkness for any sign of him as Obi-Wan opted to guide Ahsoka and the twins away.

“Get them out, Ahsoka. I will help her leave. I’ll meet you back in Alderaan.”

Luke and Leia began to immediately protest, but Ahsoka only pushed them through the other end of the hall, glancing back to see Obi-Wan light his saber while standing beside Keyti as the hall went completely black.

“I’m not very strong in the Force,” she warned him, glancing over to him as their blades lit them in a soft purple as she pressed her arm against his better for grounding. “Especially compared to him.” 

“This has happened before?”

“Many times, and each one is violent and filled with corpses.”

“He doesn’t recognize anyone?”

“No. At least, not to my knowledge,” she looked down as the flowers crept closer to them, her breath visible as the hair stood up on her neck and arms. “He may recognize you, though. Whomever you are to him.”

"Unfortunately, that would be a long story we may not live long enough for."

Ahsoka guided the twins through the Fortress, eyes widening at the carnage her former master had left behind. Bones had been crushed as if they were the sweetened Endor nuts she enjoyed, and blood was everywhere. It dripped from the walls and ceiling as she carefully moved Luke away from stepping on a corpse that had been torn open. “Careful.”  Luke shook his head,” I don’t care about that, look!” He pointed to a stalled ship, looking back to Leia and Ahsoka,” I could get that back online, but I’m not leaving without Obi-Wan.”

“If you’re able to do it fast,” she looked back when she heard a shout, brows furrowing as she heard Anakin’s name from Obi-Wan. “Go, hide yourselves on the ship and I will bring him back.” Once she knew they were inside, she ran the way they had come to assist Obi-Wan, unaware that a dazed Reva was beginning to wake as ringing stung in her ears while she sat up slowly.

Skywalker, you karking idiot. Staggering to her feet, she looked around, vision unfocused and double as she saw Ahsoka running towards the hell. It was as if she couldn’t escape the ghosts of the Temple, blinking as she staggered across the floor to try to reach the ship.

Leia dragged Luke up into the ship, starting to help him as Ahsoka ran through the halls, skidding to a stop as she saw Keyti and Obi-Wan fighting to keep Vader back. 

Keyti moved her way in front of the Jedi, using the blade to make him back away while a low, guttural growl escaped his throat. Obi-Wan used the Force to move her away from Vader in time, and then used the energy to leap back a few meters to gain more ground before starting to run.

Reva slowly moved along, head pounding as she lifted a gloved hand to feel at her temple before seeing the bright crimson. Looking up, she made a low sound as Keyti grasped onto her arm after holstering one of her sabers, dragging her along while she stumbled as Vader pursued Obi-Wan before the women. She glanced back, noticing that Obi-Wan seemed to be the main prey to be hunted, brows furrowing at the rage she could feel radiating from the Sith.

His eyes glowed in the dark while fingers dug into the metal, using his strength to close the distance before grabbing onto the Jedi’s ankle, yanking him down. Obi-Wan turned, swiftly using the blade to sever the cybernetics in his arms when his former padawan attempted to still drag the Jedi towards himself. Obi-Wan lifted a freed leg, bashing his heel into the side of his face with a wince at the sound that escaped before moving away in the window of opportunity. Stumbling to his feet, he made his way closer to Ahsoka as she motioned him to follow him," I found a ship."

Reva was still dazed as Keyti dragged her along, staggering and tripping on debris with a cry of pain. Vader’s attention shifted to her with the cry, low chitters escaping his throat as he forced himself upright. Arms or not, he would get his meal as the hunger burned within his belly while his thoughts were mostly simplified like most of the infected experienced. Until he had sensed Obi-Wan's Force signature.

Obi-Wan looked ahead as a ship began to move towards them, Luke grinning excitedly in the cockpit. Ahsoka let out a weak laugh, glancing to Obi-Wan,” Luke got it started up. He really is like his father.” 

“When his father isn’t starved,” Obi-Wan moved back to get Reva and Keyti pushed up the ramp, Leia grabbing onto their arms to pull them into the central area of the cargo ship. Ahsoka used the Force to leap onto it while Obi-Wan glanced back to see Vader still pursuing them while growling as he charged forward after getting himself fully upright. His heart began to break at the sight before he leaped and grabbed onto the edge of the ramp, eyes wide as he grabbed the edge with widened eyes. Ahsoka ran over, fingers digging into his robes to hoist him inside after Leia hit the button to close the ramp, breaths labored as Keyti tended to Reva’s head.

“Thank you…”

Ahsoka looked over to her,” You saved us. Now, we’re even.” Moving past them, she shooed Luke away from the controls, and Obi-Wan made his way to the front, voice soft,” At least we escaped.” Glancing back to Reva and Keyti, he looked to Ahsoka,” Get to Fralideja so we can get her medical attention. Keep her awake back there.” Landing further within the Mustafar region may not have been the most brilliant idea for the Jedi. Still, he would risk it if it got Reva the attention she needed immediately.

Keyti’s now blue eyes lifted, looking over to the Jedi with a nod as she worked on doing what she could for the Inquisitor. After she ensured Reva was in good care, she would make her way back towards Nur, then she could pull the footage herself before others did. 

Padmé paced anxiously around her room, glancing to the clock as she bit her lower lip. They should be back by now. Where are my children? Where is Obi-Wan and Ahsoka? Her head lifted as Breha knocked softly on the door,” we just recieved communication from Obi-Wan, they will be landing in ten minutes. Luke and Leia are safe.” Relief washed over her as she let out a soft cry of joy, thank the heavens.

Breha came over, softly rubbing her back as she reassured her. “Obi-Wan said he must speak with you, though … about Anakin.” 

“Is he dead?” Her head lifted, watery eyes widening,” spare me the moments of questioning.”

“No, he isn’t dead … but he is the one that attacked everyone … Imperial or Rebel.”

“He’s infected, it’s a cognitive failure, but I know there is still good in him, Breha.” Her voice was shaky as she sat on the ottoman, hands beginning to tremble as she carefully wiped her face. “I’m happy they’re alive.”

Once it was close to landing, Padmé made her way out to the docking area, never more relieved to see an Imperial cargo ship than that moment.

Obi-Wan carefully got it landed, glancing over to Ahsoka,” at least we have a warm welcome.”

“She would throw a celebration if she could,” she got herself unbuckled, getting the ramp set back down which only caused the twins to zoom out immediately to their mother when they could. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan exited, still shaken by the encounter, yet there was still something that haunted Ahsoka. Why had Vader hesitated within the hall when Keyti and Obi-Wan stood up to him?

Robes glided over the carnage as Sidious made his way through the Fortress, quiet when he finally came upon his apprentice blacked out on the floor near a bloated corpse. Yellowed eyes scanned around, taking stock of the dozens of mutilated Imperial personnel before he harshly kicked at Vader’s leg. Waking with a start, eyes snapped open with a low, animalistic growl before eyes lifted up to his Master before he stopped. His mind was foggy, lagging as he used the Force to get himself upright once again.

“I see once again this has ended in failure, my apprentice. The Princess has escaped.”

“It happened again,” his eyes closed as his head ached from the exertion, the Fortress eerily silent now as he made a low sound in his throat at the pain in his skull.

“Come. I have plans for Alderaan. We will launch an invasion to secure the resources and begin to unite more of the countries under the Empire.”

Vader got to his feet carefully, inspecting the damage to the cybernetics to see the evenly cut metal. His brow muscles furrowed as the Emperor motioned to his own ship. “We will return you to Mustafar. Perhaps meditation and repairs will help you remember what had happened.”

Hiding a grimace, Vader silently made his way into the dark ship, ignoring the crimson guards while getting himself seated to the side. His body ached, and his memory was black again, unable to remember past landing to meet with Keyti about the Princess. Momentarily, he hoped that she was able to escape the carnage. Shoving it aside, he began to place himself into a meditative state for the time being while the ship started its way to the lava-laden plains of Mustafar’s expansive region towards the Gahenn Plains. 

The Force had hinted at what had happened, soft whispers, but it was still vague shapes and memories trying to desperately come together. The hall had grown cold in his rampage, flowers creeping along the floor and walls before withering as he stepped closer to three lights. No, lightsabers. Two red, one blue. Obi-Wan’s Force signature had been burned into his memory from the previous years, and there was no doubt that he had been there this time. Most likely to rescue the Princess, Ahsoka’s pain burned in her signature upon seeing what her former Master had become.

His eyes opened again, and he stared ahead at the various mechanics in the wall as he could feel the shifting in the ship once the landing sequence was initialized. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. She had found her way back, but why she was helping with the Princess was another mystery—one he certainly wanted to uncover himself. The Princess had to be more than what she was for both of them to defend her so willingly, even when the odds were against them. 

Upon their arrival at his castle, Vader’s cybernetics were removed before he was placed into a bacta tank, silent as he closed his eyes while floating. Reaching out through the Force, he found Keyti, and he was momentarily surprised to see glimpses of her at Fortress Inquisitorus once again as she responded.

You’re back, My Lord. Are you harmed?

What are you doing at the fortress? He ignored her worry, brows furrowing as the pain in his head started to ebb away.

Reviewing security footage of your latest attack. Settling down on the chair, Keyti’s brows furrowed as she noticed the Emperor’s ship returning to the docking bay on a monitor. With no time to spare, she started to download the footage onto a drive. She knew there wasn’t enough time to destroy the cameras or the footage afterward, but at least Vader would see the truth.

Vader sensed her sudden unease and fear, and he prodded, appreciating the footage?

No, your Master is here. I’m downloading the data before making my way to Mustafar as designated.

He will notify me of the events. There is no reason for you to steal the footage.

This is my second time seeing this happen, and after the first time, there were few answers after you met with him. Forgive me if I do not trust him. The system signaled the download was complete, and Keyti tore the drive from the port, tucking it into her chest binding before making her way out.

As he is the Emperor, your loyalty to him should not waiver, the warning came from Vader, but Keyti knew better. She knew far better than she could explain now as she slunk through the halls, carefully overstepping corpses of various personnel and Inquisitors. She paused when she heard the familiar voice of the Emperor, knowing well that she wasn’t skilled enough to hide herself within the force as she staggered out.

“Your Majesty, it isn’t safe here,” she feigned pain before leaning on some cargo crates, the Emperor watching her closely for a moment.

“Oh ... I have not seen you in a long time, my child. You were here during the attack?”

He motioned a guard to help her, and the crimson-clad shape moved closer, supporting her up while she nodded. “I was. I barely managed to hide in time, and I know a few others were able to leave. I know my assignment was to go to Fortress Vader, and I am ready to continue that assignment.”

She gave a soft bow of her head of respect to the Emperor who only hummed softly,” good. If you believe you can carry your duties on after surviving this horrific attack, then perhaps you are more useful than I realized. Come, we will go to Vader now.” 

Worry only began to pool in Padmé’s belly as the twins gave their account of what had happened, but Leia shook her head at Ahsoka’s distrust of Keyti. “If she didn’t want to help, she wouldn’t have. She knew that something was wrong with Vader, and she willingly chose to save everyone.” Looking up to her mother, her brows furrowed,” she left herself behind to get the Inquisitor medical aid, but mentioned something about returning to Vader.” 

Padmé glanced between Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, settling back in her chair,” people don’t save others without reason. Do we know her name?”

Obi-Wan shook his head,” no, and we didn’t tell her ours, but of course, she knew who Leia was.”

Luke spoke up then, glancing between the adults,” her name is Keyti. Reva is the Inquisitor. They both said their name at some point during the journey to Fralideja and when Reva was getting off of the ramp.”

Looking to Luke, Leia gave a smug grin at his observations while he offhandedly mentioned,” Keyti’s eyes were originally yellow, but when she was leaving, they were bright blue.”

Padmé gave a soft hum of thought,” did you hear anything else? Either of you?”

“Vader frequents the Gahenn Plains,” Leia spoke up then,” another Imperial had mentioned she was assigned to there.”

Padmé, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan exchanged a look then, while Padmé only wanted to make her way to the fortress and drag her husband back with her. She knew that she couldn’t, not when the Emperor would be there to undoubtledly check on his apprentice’s health. Taking a slow breath, she nodded,” good work, the both of you.”

“Why is Vader so important, Mom?” Luke asked then, brows furrowed as he glanced to his sister momentarily as Padme’s shoulders fell. She couldn’t keep it hidden from them anymore, not when they encountered him directly and could understand why they are in hiding.

“He’s your father. That’s why I’ve been wanting to keep updated on his wherabouts, and eventually try to bring him home.”

Leia frowned,” you said our father died.”

“I did, because I didn’t know how to explain it to four year olds,” Padmé gave a weakened smile,” but now you know the truth. I’m sorry for keeping it from you for so long.”

“So, Vader really is our dad," Luke trailed off, looking between his mother and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan nodded momentarily as he straightened up,” before he turned to the dark side after becoming infected. What happened is for him to explain once we bring him back.” Looking up to Padmé, his voice grew quieter,” if we even can.”

“There is still good in him, Obi-Wan. He’s reached out to me. I know he’s still there.” She said softly as Ahsoka only watched the twins begin to process the new information.

Ahsoka looked up to her then, voice weak," I don't know if we can, Padmé. He hasn't responded well to being near Obi-Wan, and he nearly killed me."

"He hasn't seen that I'm alive. That might change everything."

[the73rdpostscript]

So I wrote...Joe as a Final Girl?

Happy November and Bone Appétit. The content below has quite a bit of references to gore and horror.

_

It's been 30 minutes since they heard the tremendous scream come from inside the old factory. 30 minutes since Andy stopped Nicky from going back inside. 30 minutes since she reminded him that even if they hadn't seen Joe's body, they had little reason to believe he could figure out what would kill those things before they got him. 

Nicky has finished doing what he can for Quynh with what he could scrounge from their clothing and assorted pocket items. She'll make it to the hospital.

Around them, the field is alive with the sound of insects and wind. It is such a jarringly peaceful scene that Nicky feels the urge to run back inside the building anyway. The screams and the silence feel more appropriate in a world where Joe is gone.

"Nicky," Quynh squeezes his fingers weakly with her working hand. He doesn’t meet her eyes but he feels her gaze on him as she murmurs, "It's not your fault."

"We should start making our way to a phone. We can't be sure we're safe here," Nicky says, standing up and looking down at the three women laid out on the log.

His leg won't survive the walk, he knows. It's a miracle he got out on the sprain as it is. Even standing on it is starting to hurt.

Andy gets up from where she and Nile have been talking. But when she puts her hand on his arm, he doesn't hear a word she says over the crack that echoes out from the factory behind him.

His face must look as horrified as Andy’s as he turns to see what could possibly be happening now.

The boards that held the monsters inside are splintering violently outwards - sharp shiny metal breaking through in glints as something hacks at the barrier.

Shiny. Not like those teeth. They had been yellow and dulled by gore.

Shiny means metal. Means weapon. Means person.

Nicky stands for a moment, paralyzed by risk and hope in equal measure. He thought he hated himelf for leaving Joe's body behind to help Quynh, but now he hates himself more for hesitating.

Joe would tell him to be smart. Joe would be yelling at the tv, telling the survivors of the horror movie to stay away from the place they just escaped - hiding his face in Nicky's shoulder the whole time.

Joe isn't here. They had to abandon his body. They had to watch as the monster threw his bloody corpse across the room. Where it landed - directly under the emergency fire axe.

"Stay here," Nicky says. And before Andy can stop him, he jogs to the door on his aching foot and starts yanking back plywood.

From inside, he hears familiar grunts.

"Joe!" The relief powers him through the pain and exhaustion as he pulls the rest of the boards back - narrowly dodging the last swing of the axe Joe uses to break the largest chunk.

When there's enough space, Joe starts pulling himself through, only to fall into Nicky's waiting arms.

Joe's chest is heaving against Nicky's, but Nicky thinks the sobs he hears are his own.

"Back. Get back." Joe pulls away to shove Nicky as hard as he can. Stumbling, he herds them both back towards the group just as tremendous explosions break the building from inside.

The force of the blast pushes them along their way - heat blooming on their backs where they're still too close - and they collapse together a few feet from where Andy is running to meet them.

When the sound of the blasts and collapse have died down into the roar of a blazing fire, Joe hauls himself to his feet with Andys help, coughing up blood into his own fist.

"Joe where are you hurt?" Andy is asking, patting him down.

Joe pushes her hands off and grabs her head instead - holding her gently as he asks, "You're alive?"

"We're alive, Joe." Whatever Andy sees in his face, it makes her voice tremble when she responds, and Nicky feels his blood run cold.

"You made it." Joe turns her head different directions, seemingly marveling at everything he sees.

When he turns to look down at Nicky, the expression on his face changes from awe to relief. 

The glow of the burning building illuminates him from behind and makes it hard to see where he's hurt, but parts of his face are shiny with blood. Nicky couldn't guess if its the monsters' or his own.

Joe survived. Joe fought the monsters and lived.

Nicky cant stand it anymore. He reaches out and uses Andy's help to get up so he can cup Joes head in his own hands.

When Joe doesn't resist, Nicky brings their foreheads together.

"I thought you were dead."

Joe reeks of blood and vomit. Theres a faint hint of a nastier smell underneath, and Nicky feels a thick, slippery liquid drying all along the back of Joes neck. 

But he's breathing.

After a moment, Joe yanks Nicky into a tight embrace, feeling over Nicky's back like Nicky is the one who crawled out of the jaws of death.

It takes time, but Nicky can eventually feel Joe start to relax in his arms.

"We need to start moving. People definitely saw that and I dont like the look of us all standing here beside an arson report now that all the monster evidence has probably burned up." 

Nile’s practicality breaks their hug and she uses the moment to give Joe a gentle hug of her own.

Joe is staring at her and everyone else like he doesnt believe they're real. Like he isn't sure it's over. But they have time for it all to sink in now. 

They have all the time in the world if they can just get to a hospital.

"Nicky, do you think you can walk without help?" Andy sounds gentler than Nile, but her eyes are steely as she coaxes Joe into leaning his weight on her.

Joe has been through hell and back tonight. He definitely has internal injuries, some visible gashes on his legs, and it looks like he might have bandaged his own arm with Booker’s flannel shirt. So, there's something almost comical about how upset he looks when he stares down at Nicky’s legs. 

Nicky manages to keep the bubbling hysterics at bay as he says, "Just a sprain, love."

After a moment, Joe schools his expression back into one of resolve, and takes Nickys hand in his. Kissing Nicky's knuckles, he looks back to Andy and nods, "Let's get out of here."

At the log, Nile is helping Quynh to her feet.

"Yes, let's go trust ourselves with the professionals that accused us of lying," Quynh quips, leaning on Nile.

"Let's go tell the ER people there's a zoo animal loose in town," Joe jokes, giving her a tired smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

The fire still burns behind them, and if Nicky tries very hard he can almost imagine the light is dawn coming up at last.

"We could always blame it all on Booker," Nicky says. 

Joe's laugh isn't terribly nice, but its there.

Nicky will take it.

[poppypopp]

Poppy's Fic and Fandom Masterpost

Hello hello! I suppose I might as well do one of these to help people find my fics, since I have quite a few at this point.

The link to my AO3 profile is here at poppypopp

My Niloy fics:

Flame and Shadow - In which the mask comes off, the conversation goes differently, and Nil once more follows her into the fight, like a shark following the scent of blood. Where she goes, death follows, and he’s powerless to resist the call. There is also a sequel called The Boundary of Disaster that takes place during a racing event down at Hidden Ember. (BOTH FINISHED)

All the World Aflame - In which the Red Raids never ended. With Rost gone and the Proving cancelled due to the growing threat of the Carja on their doorstep, Aloy is alone and adrift until she comes across a squad of Red Raiders fighting the Braves in the Embrace. She leaps into the battle to help, and in the chaos, one of the Carja kestrels is captured. With war looming on the horizon and a weakened tribe, Aloy must venture out into the wilds beyond the Sacred Lands to follow rumors of a growing rebellion led by Oseram freebooters. If they can band together, they might just be strong enough to bring down the Carja and end the Red Raids. But to get there, she'll need a guide, and who better than the captive Carja who has nothing to lose? He can't be trusted, but perhaps he values his shot at freedom more than being a soldier in somebody else's war. (FINISHED)

My Kotaniloy fics:

Glitter and Gore - When Aloy stumbles across a serial killer who only kills bad guys, she enlists his help hunting down the man who killed her adoptive father. The trouble is, in order to get to him, they'll have to go undercover inside the strip club he owns to get close to him. What they don't know is that Kotallo, the new bouncer, is an undercover cop gathering evidence to bring down the crime syndicate running the club. As they grow closer and hard truths emerge, will they be able to work together to bring down their enemies, or will their differences tear them apart? (FINISHED) Or, the Stripper/Serial Killer AU you never knew you needed. Now with a birthday one-shot called Cocoa for Koko And another steamy oneshot: We Can Take Our Time, Baby (in Slow Motion)

Toward the Sun - Nil has always thought his soulmate's first words were a rejection - a belief that's reinforced when he hears them spoken during the heat of battle at Barren Light. He resolves to go through life alone until he meets Aloy, and though he thinks he could be happy with her - she has someone else's words written on her arm. So he lets her go. It seems a cruel twist of fate when he joins her fight in the Forbidden West only to realize that not only has she found her soulmate, but her soulmate is the same Tenakth warrior who rejected him three years ago. Though it pains him to know he's somehow been replaced, he swore to help Aloy fight, and his honor demands he stay. So he hides behind the Red Teeth mask and resolves to keep his distance from them both. But it's only a matter of time before his long shadow is finally brought to light. (FINISHED) Finished sequel here: No Shadows in the Sun

My Niloyakka fics:

Don't Say You Don't Love Me - With her search for Hephaestus stalled, Aloy tags along with Drakka, commander of the Desert Clan, to visit Hidden Ember for a special event: they’ve set up the Gauntlet Runs as a brand new attraction. Aloy hasn’t been back there since she found out who Red Teeth really was. Her feelings for Nil are complicated, and there’s too much insurmountable history. Or so she thinks, until she’s face to face with him once more. Is it possible for her to have BOTH of the most important men in her life? Or will the specters of Nil’s past stop them from having the future they deserve? (FINISHED)

Strip Strike - It starts with a heatwave. Or, Drakka loses on purpose when there's sex to be had, but it turns out he's a master Strike player. (FINISHED)

My Nil/Teb series, Sugar and Salt, in which Nil and Teb discover they're soulmates, and follows them in a series of slice-of-life oneshots exploring their relationship. (IN PROGRESS)

My Nil/Kotallo fics:

The Feral Carja and the One-armed Tenakth series - begins with a '5+1' fic exploring how Nil and Kotallo might meet and fall for each other. (IN PROGRESS)

The Rocket in a Knife Fight - AU in which Nil is captured by the Tenakth to fight in a gladiator-style arena setting (the Tenakth's version of a sun-ring) and discovers that his former commander and best friend, Fashav, has been living with them and working as a marshal. And to make matters worse, he finds himself inconveniently attracted to one of his captors, a soft-spoken, steely eyed marshal who challenges everything Nil knows about the Tenakth. Sequel: If There's a Rocket, Tie me to It (IN PROGRESS)

Turning of the Seasons - Omegaverse fic. Following the seasons of the year, Kotallo meets the alpha, Nil, who turns all his expectations upside-down, and as they find each other throughout the year, they realize that home is more than a place. (FINISHED)

Hearts and Diamonds - How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days AU (FINISHED)

My Nil/Kotallo/Fashav fics:

Burn Like a Rocket - Follows the events of my fic, 'Rocket in a Knife Fight' but this time, Fashav and Nil were lovers before Fashav was captured by the Tenakth. When they find each other again when Nil is captured to fight to the death in their arena, he finds that General Fashav is now Marshal Fashav and has been involved with Kotallo for over a year. (FINISHED)

My Nil/Kotallo/Fashav/Aloy fics:

Where the Wanderer Goes - When Nil meets Fashav, he is a weapon who learns to be a man. After Fashav's "death" at Cinnabar Sands, he doesn't think he'll recover from the loss until he meets a Nora huntress and learns to love again. Finding out she's the soulmate of his dead lover is a painful but manageable realization -- until they find out Fashav is still alive. Kotallo never thought he would fall for a Carja, but Fashav is nothing like he expected. They aren't soulmates, but that doesn't matter until Fashav meets his soulmate, the red-haired Savior of Meridian. Kotallo is equally unmoored when her Carja companion -- the man who gave him the scar on his lip -- says the words on Kotallo's arm. In response, Kotallo swears to never speak a word to Nil. He can't be soulmates with someone if he never speaks to them. But for some reason he just can't seem to stay away. (IN PROGRESS)

My Nil/Avad fic:

Gilded Shadows - What if Avad and Nil were friends before the Red Raids, and after Kadaman's death, he didn't go to Ersa for help, but Nil? (IN PROGRESS)

My token Nil/Hekarro oneshot fic:

Common Ground - When Hekarro requests an audience with the elusive Red Teeth, Nil expects the worst. But when he arrives, he discovers he and Chief Hekarro have more in common than they thought. (FINISHED)

If you have made it to the end of this thing, I appreciate you very much. I am also a part of a discord server where we ship Nil with just about everybody (as you can tell by the nature and quantity of my fics). We're a pretty chill group who like to hang out and talk Horizon, among other things. We do occasional theme nights, such as fluff night, spice night, and angst night (there's also talk of a crack night, which should be fun). If you're interested, it's called Nilysium, and you can click the link HERE to join us!

[ebtks-reviews]

High Tension(2005)

Sink Spoilers for High Tension(2005)!

Right after reviewing an awesome movie like the descent I get to review a shit movie with a homophobic premise! :D

High Tension is a French originating film released in 2003 then got a wider release with an English dub and English subtitles in 2005, thus, the 2005 release date.

This movie was bad and not just in a bad plot but beautifully shot but also in a shittily shot way. I don't like to criticize too many stylistic choices made by foreign films because I, someone born only 5 years before the release of this movie in America, won't understand the low budget earily 2000s French horror genre with amazing accuracy. I can only judge what was put Infront of me and it was... Bad. Like. Real bad.

I'll get my basic review out of the way then when can address this movie's homophobic and potential transphobic/ableist side.

Without all the gross bigotry this movie jerks off too, the movie itself is mid and didn't even get to the big set piece it was teasing the entire movie. It starts off with friends Marie and Alexia going to Marie's family's home they just purchased not 6 months ago. This fun friendly drive has a little bit the sapphic "undertones" this movie boasts but not explicitly. It's very clear to anyone with a gaydar that Alexia is supposed to be a butch lesbian and I originally thought she and marie were a couple, only later did I discover they were just friends during a late night kitchen conversation where Marie says she broke up with her boyfriend and asks Alexia when she'll try to get one. In the middle of this drive, the movie remembers it's a horror movie and dose a full neck twisting terminal whiplash 180° into n*crophilia having a random dirty crazy truck driver make a severed head give him head then throws it out the window. No warning. No reason.

I'm fully aware European films are notorious for being full of sex and sexual violence but this was unnessesary. It's clear this movie was inspired by things like Hostel and Saw. Grungy, dirty, exploitive and green. Saw is one of my favorite franchises, if not mostly for nostalgia reasons being some of my first horror movies, so you'd think this movie would be up lane. The movie wasn't shot badly and it wasn't boring necessarily but the big build up of expectations just wasn't there and the twist was both unexpected and nonsensical. The gross trucker guy breaks into the family home, kills the dad by shoving his head through the wood banister and taking it off with a dresser being shoved. I love inventive and intense kills that rock the audience and being one of the first kills of the movie (that we see), it wasn't too bad. The graphics could use some work as there was a very visible cut but this was definitely a low budget movie so I don't blame them for the split. However, instead of doing a nearly decapitation (which would of made sense), his head just explodes like it was under pressure. It really wasn't but ok. Then the mom is killed with a ton of stab wounds as our protag is hiding in their closet. Then he chains up the daughter/Marie and runs out into the field after her little brother. The guy finds him and shoots him and, through alot of confusing nonsense, eventually ends up with a chained and gagged Marie behind him in his big van and alexia hiding with him.

Then they get to a gas station, Alexia manages to hide in the store and when the guy walks in and asks the attendant for some booze, the guy kills the attendent and Alexia hides in some bathrooms. This movie, litterally stated by its own name, is supposed to be scarey and intense. However, I really just couldn't get into it enough to feel that tension and there were rarely any jumpscares that justified the tension with a punctual point. Even without knowledge of the stupid twist (I did a little research to know what kind of gore/violence/etc was in it for any potential triggering content but didn't get spoiled), I wasn't nervous or on edge. I wanted the protagonist and Marie to survive but I just was not super into it. The guy drives off with Marie, Alexia calls the cops then follows the van with the attendant's car. She ends up following the van down a dark path, somehow the van ends up behind her and starts ramming her, runs her off the road. Alexia gets out of the burning vehicle and runs to hide from the bad guy in some green houses. This was the first time the movie was actually tensionous for me. Alexia then fights with the guy, kills him with a pretty good and brutal death scene then gose and saves Marie.

Plot twist Marie pulls the knife on Alexia and calls her a psycho and runs away. Then the movie reveals the big "twist", Alexia is the big dirty bad guy and the movie keeps flipping between showing Alexia running after Marie and showing the big bad guy running after her. Marie hops in a car to hide with a guy, Alexia comes in and kills the guy and tries to kill Marie. It ends with marie escaping the car and when Alexia threatens her with the big saw on the cover, marie relents and tells alexia she loves her, they share a kiss, marie stabs alexia and it flashes forward to alexia in an asylum staring at Marie and scareing her then the movie ends. Basic synopsis. Now let's talk about why I call this movie base-level homophobic and nonsense. We'll start with the nonsense.

The way the movie is shot there is no way for Alexia to be the bad guy because it doesn't make any sense, unless some of those scenes are out of order or not real. How is she in the back of the truck busting out the door while also driving the truck. How is she in the car behind the van and in the van. How is she beating herself to death. The twist doesn't make sense unless you ignore big glaring time jumps and impossibilities. How did she get both the van to the woods and walk all the way back to the gas station, grab a whole ass mustang and drive that all the way back to the woods and intentionally crash it nearly ending her own life. The car's burning wreckage doesn't just dissapear. Of course the twist is unexpected, it doesn't even make any fucking sense! I'll bring up one failed plot point specifically though, that being that this whole movie, though not explicitly, seems to be suggesting that not only has Alexia been killing lots of women in the area (but it's never brought up in the movie) but also obviously taking them to a second location we, as the audience, never see. A whole 2/3rds of this movie is Alexia racing to free Marie from the bad guy whose taking her somewhere in a truck and we never know where or see where. All this build up for a location that doesn't exist and not in a cool emerald city way.

Finally, I'm gonna address the homophobia. As stated in many French reviews, this film implies lesbianism/Sapphism makes one insane. The inciting incident is litterally started by alexia seeing Marie in the shower naked by accident then rubbing one out to her then killing the whole family. This is not a Lowkey movie where the crazy killer just happens to be a lesbian, the whole twist is that she's a lesbian. It takes the very real violent and untrue stereotype that butch sapphics are all violent, abusive and predatory, especially towards femme sapphics and straight women. It makes a monster out of gender non-conforming women, often butches. It's homophobic and plays into the homophobic idea that butch lesbians are just like cishet men aka they won't take no for an answer from women. That masculinity is inherently predatory and straight women should fear butches the same way they fear men and that butches will rape, hurt and kill them to get them "like all gay sex freaks". They literally spell it out by switching between Alexia appearing as she does naturally, as a butch, and a big dirty hairy man. It is not a shocker that this movie was made by a cishet man.

The only other explanations that could be tied to why Alexia sometimes sees herself as a big dirty creepy man is due to 2 other reasons. One is DID , which some suggest since it would make her 3rd person views of the situation make sense but it could be easily waved away as her simply disassociating from her crimes or show her innocent subconscious fighting her evil consciousness. However, this is still a bigoted plot line as its ableist towards those with DID (who have no historical affection for violence or murder. Infact, those with DID are more likely to be murdered or taken advantage of. The idea that DID makes you violent is an old and deadly stereotype) and still homophobic. The second is that she's transgender and the big man is how she really wants to see herself. This is much less common as a theory and as a transgender person, this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. There's no real suggestion that that's how she actually wants to be perceived and if it was the intention, it'd just be transohobic on top of the homophobia and ableism.

All in all, I did not enjoy this movie. It's mid and boring AT BEST without all the bigoted shit and fundamentally intolerable including it's stupid twist and lesbophobic undertones. It felt like, for once for real this time, the creator had an agenda and desire to harm lesbian/sapphicss and he succeeded in showing them in the most negative and some how even more bigoted light than he stsrted with.

0/10 sinks. Don't waste your money on this movie.

[dunnswrld]

hello! <3 i saw you were taking requests & got super excited, i love all your imagines for the jackass gang! could i please request a steve-o x reader where reader gets injured on one of the stunts (either she did the stunt or she was working the camera maybe?) and has to go to the hospital, and steve’s super worried about her and confesses that he loves her and doesn’t want her to get hurt again? thank you so so much love! ❤️

Lover Boy

a/n: This sounds so cute omg :,)

prompt: You get hurt while filming a stunt for Jackass and Steve-o is more worried than the others!

warnings: Fluff, fem!reader, descriptions of light gore

You walked onto set expecting not to have a stunt for that day but when you checked the paper of stunts you say your name sitting comfortable at the top of the paper along with the name of the stunt, "Shopping Cart Skating."

The name of the stunt could go only in so many ways and your mind was rushing at the thought of them. "Jeff!" You yelled as you turned away from the stunt paper, walking to the tents set up to give Jeff a piece of your mind.

"I think she saw the paper." Johnny giggled. "You think?" Jeff responded, waiting for you to come and find him. When you finally found Jeff hiding in the far corner of a tent next to Johnny you wasted no time to start speaking your mind. "There you are you asshole! Jeff you said I wouldn't have any stunts today!"

"Well Ryan got a concussion yesterday from doing a stunt and we needed you to fill in since everyone else is full today." "I don't give a damn if everyone else is full today! Make someone else do it cause I'm not!" You then stormed off to a tent that wasn't near Johnny and Jeff's tent.

"She'll do it." Johnny said as he watched you storm off. "Yeah I know she will. She always does."

The two boys were right because you were now in front of the camera, in a shopping cart, near a set of concrete steps. It didn't take much convincing for you to suck it up and do the stunt, Ehren and Dave telling you it would be so badass if a girl did this stunt and you always wanted to prove girls can do what boys can too.

"Look who is in the cart!" Johnny laughed, "I'll rip you a new ass if you don't shut the hell up Knoxville!" You barked. "Wow dude someone is a bit feisty today." You heard a familiar voice of Steve-o say. You turned your head to see Steve-o just arriving on set. "There you are Steve! Where have you been?" You said, this was the most cheerful you had sounded today.

"Sorry I slept in today, I totally forgot we were shooting today." Steve-o said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Steve-o approached you in a shopping cart and finally realized you were in a shopping cart and near a set of stairs, which is never a good combination. "Wait why are you doing a stunt I thought you were off today." Steve-o questioned, turning his head to Jeff with a confused look.

"Stupid Dunn got a concussion yesterday so Jeff is making me fill in." "So you're going to go down these stairs in a cart? Where's your helmet?" Steve-o asked, "We don't have one." You said simply. "And you're still doing it?" "Uh yeah? Since when are you Mr. Safety." Your comment earned a laugh from Johnny as Steve-o looked at Johnny than back at you.

"Yn I don't know there is a lot of stairs and you're going to fly out head first-" "All I'm hearing is someone who is trying to get me worked up." You laughed, "It's fine Steve, I'll be fine."

Steve-o wasn't certain you would be ok, he knows his ways around shopping carts and going down stairs in one with no helmet will defiantly not end well. But he didn't want to get you nervous to do the stunt or sound like someone who can't have an ounce of fun in his life.

But Steve-o's predictions were going to be very much correct unfortunately.

"Hi I'm Yn Yl and I don't want to do this but this is Shopping Cart Skating." You said as you looked at the camera pointing in your face. Johnny and Steve-o behind you in the shot as they both laughed at your intro. "Alright ladies let's get this over with quickly." You spoke as you shifted in the shopping cart trying to get in a safe position.

Steve-o kept his hands off the cart and let Johnny be the one to push you, he didn't want to have the blood on his hands if you got hurt. Johnny had no problem with pushing you down though, he centered the cart so the fall would be down the center of the stairs and not the sides. You looked down the concrete steps as it set in that this really is a dumb idea.

"Maybe Steve-o was right for once this looks painful." You spoke earning a laugh from the crew. "Just take a deep breath and I'll push you when your ready." Johnny said. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. "Ready." You shifted farther back into the cart and grab the sides tightly.

It all seemed to go in slow motion for you, you felt Johnny use a lot of force and soon you went flying forward. You skipped the first few steps but then landed on a middle section of stairs which sent you flying out of the cart as the cart tumbled down the stairs. You on the other hand fell onto the last few steps head first and from that moment you hit the ground everything went black.

Steve-o watched as you hit the third to last step head first and cringed at the sight. He watched your body almost move off the steps like dead weight. He was the first one down the stairs, kicking the shopping cart away from you as he moved the hair out of your face to see blood flowing down your forehead, you were clearly knockout cold from the hit.

"Medic! Medic!" Steve-o yelled, this caused everyone to come rushing over to see if you were ok, but for the sake of the film and not making you do the stunt twice the camera were still rolling. Steve-o watched as your eyes fluttered open and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

"Did we get the shot?" You said slurred with a soft smile, snickers could be heard amongst the people crowded around you. "Yes, we got the shot Yn." Steve-o said with a light hearted laugh. "Good." You spoke slurred.

You wish you could say you remember anything from then on but you would be lying to yourself. You finally snapped back to reality the next day when a voice gently spoke,

"Hey Yn you up?" A gentle tap on your shoulder. "Now I am." You said in a tired tone, opening your eyes fully only to squint them due to the bright hospital lights. "Oh sorry, I just wanted to check up on you." You finally recognized the voice of Steve-o and began to force your eyes open to see the boy.

"When we got you to the hospital you passed out from the medicine they gave you after you got staples." Steve-o chuckled. As he said that you felt a slight pain on your forehead almost on cue, you decided not to touch them though it was probably going to be gross to feel.

"They have some good shit huh?" You said, Steve-o laughing. Your eyes finally adjusted to the lights and you saw Steve-o holding a plastic bag in his hand. "What's in the bag?" You questioned, getting prepared for a prank. Though you were in the hospital seriously concussed with 5 stables in your head you wouldn't put it past the boys to prank you.

"Oh it's your favorite pancakes from IHop, I thought you could use some breakfast." Steve-o nervously smiled as he placed the bag of pancakes onto your lap gently. "Aw thanks Steve, those sound amazing right now." You wasted no time to open the bag and take out the pancakes. Steve-o on the other hand was upset he would even let you get this hurt doing a stunt, it was his responsibility to keep you safe but he still wanted too.

"Hey you ok Steve? You look really upset." You asked pausing your movements of looking for silverware in the bag. "I'm good, thanks though dude." "Steve I've known you since forever what's wrong?" You asked. You began to dig your hand into the bag finally pulling the plastic silverware and opening the small packing quickly.

"I probably sound stupid right now," Steve-o said as he took the seat next to your hospital bed. "But I guess I'm just upset you got hurt so badly." You turned your head to Steve-o, completely disregarding your pancakes. "Why are you upset? I'm ok nothing to worry about." "I know but I should've tried to get you to put something on to break your fall or even tried to talk you out of it cause I knew it would end badly. I guess I just think it's my fault."

You looked at Steve-o who was looking at his hands in the chair, not looking at you. Steve-o had always cared about you but you had never seen him this upset over you getting hurt before.

"Steve hey don't say that, it's not your fault at all. If anything I should've demanded Jeff to get me a helmet of something. Don't feel like this is your fault cause its not, at all." Steve-o looked up at you, a reassuring look on your face showing that you meant what you just said. "I guess, I just don't like seeing you get hurt." "I don't like seeing you get hurt either Steve." You said with a small smile as you ruffled his buzzcut. A blush spreading across his cheeks as you did so, he truly loved being around you.

Steve-o watched as you began to open the container your pancakes sat in and open the syrup to pour on them. Even though you were all bandaged up, messy hair, and bags under your eyes he still thought you were beautiful.

"You look really pretty." Steve-o spoke, his brain on auto pilot when he did. His face lighting up a red as he processed what he said, your head turning to the compliment. Steve-o never was one to compliment you on appearance so this really made you flustered. "Oh thank you Steve." You said with a smile and blushed cheeks. "Well the bandages really bring your eyes out." Steve-o said. You laughed at his joke, pausing again from your pancakes.

"I really do mean that though Yn, I think you're really pretty and gnarly." You had never seen this side of Steve-o, he was nervous and flustered which was rare to see. "I think you're really handsome and gnarly too Steve." Steve-o couldn't help but smile like an idiot at your compliments to him, your compliments always made his giggly inside.

"Why don't you help me eat these pancakes since you ordered two for me, lover boy." You said as you moved them up closer to your lap. "Lover boy?" Steve-o repeated. "I'm speaking English right?" You said with a laugh. "Yeah you are," Steve-o laughed, "Guess I just never thought I'd hear you call me that." "Well I just did and since I did I'm the only one who can." You said in a cocky tone.

"So I'm like, your lover boy?" Steve-o asked nervously. You paused for a second, a smile on your lips as you looked into Steve-o's brown eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, you're my lover boy." A bright red color took over Steve-o's face. "I'd like that, a lot." Steve-o smiled.

"Good, now let's dig in.. Lover boy."