#who dis new icons just dropped

[kar1nsworldx]

Nerdy bloke ♡

pairing: ArthurTV x f!reader

Instagram!AU

SUMMARY: hard launching/soft launching(?) yours and Arthurs relationship - y/n used for reader as i thought it was stupid to just call her 'username' :)

requested: nope </3 but requests r opened for other youtubers (sidemen, chrismd, willne, calfreezy, etc.) as well for wolverine & deadpool PLEASE SEND REQUESTS

ˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 🧸ྀི

ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩ᯓᡣ𐭩

arthurtv

liked by y/n l/n, georgeclarkeey and 52,632 others

arthurtv: 🏂

tagged: @y/n l/n @arthurtv @georgeclarkeey @chrismd @wroetoshaw

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COMMENTS;

user007: arthur is the kind of guy to tag himself in his own post

y/n l/n: yeah it's bc hes a weirdo

y/n l/n: arthur i hate you, kys

arthurtv: :(

us3r: LMAOOOOOO

wroetoshaw: outrages

userly: love to see this group together <3

user777: THE SECOND PIC OF Y/N FALLING???????

usermybeloved: the third pic of Y/N is so cute wtf?????

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y/n l/n

liked by miniminter, chrismd10 and 42,632 others

y/n l/n: almost died 2day because of these fuckers 🤦‍♀️

tagged: @arthurtv @georgeclarkeey @chrismd @wroetoshaw

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COMMENTS;

georgeclarkeey: we were so close to killing her lads, im sure we'll succeed next time

y/n l/n: fucking hate you clarke

chrismd10: did you really have to post the fifth picture???

y/n l/n: yes ofc xx

arthurtv: that first picture is really pretty, I wonder who photographed it?

y/n l/n: ah yes, my apologies mr.television, heres your photo creds for one single fucking picture 🤲 xx

arthurtv: ty darling

userxo: DARLING????

userumy: UMMMM EXCUSE ME 👀👀👀

wroetoshaw: you did not almost die calm down

y/n l/n: WTF DO YOU MEAN I DIDNT ALMOST DIE???? YOU AND ARTHUR ALMOST DROPPED ME IN THE 3RD PICTURE MATE

usermybeloved: HAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAA

arthurtv: sorry doll x

y/n l/n: buy me hot chocolate and i'll forgive you

arthurtv: yes ma'am

xeuserxe: DOLL??? MA'AM????? SIR WHAT

user111: LMAOOOO SHE HAS HIM WRAPPED AROUND HER FINGER SJFBNCNF

freyanightingale: looking stunning girly xxx

y/n l/n: FREYA MY WIFE ILY!!!!!!

freyanightingale: ❣️❣️❣️

xeuserxe: whos that w you on the fourth photo??

y/n l/n: 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

xeuserxe: hmm...

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savinggracepod

liked by userly, y/n l/n and 15,672 others

savinggracepod: Can you guees who's on tomorrow's pod? 👀😘

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y/n l/n: can't wait to see!!

savinggracepod: cheeky x

userly: MISS @y/n l/n COME HERE

xeuserxe: AHHH cant wait!! Xxx

user007: ❣️❣️❣️

user777: this is going to be good!

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y/n l/n

liked by savinggracepod, userly and 21,652 others

y/n l/n: was my pleasure to be on the @savinggracepod!!! loved talking about crushes 🤭, social media and so much more! GO CHECK OUT THE PODCAST RNN!!!! new yt video coming out in 2 days xx

tagged: @savinggracepod

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COMMENTS;

savinggracepod: was a pleasure to have you!! xx

y/n l/n: 💌💌💌

usermybeloved: cant wait for the new vid! :)

arthurtv: your new vid is bomb, can confirm

y/n l/n: :)

xouserxo: what editing program do you use?

y/n l/n: final cut pro x :)

xouserxo: tysm!!!

user007: i'm intrested in who this crush is...

y/n l/n: 🤭🤭🤭

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y/n l/n

liked by arthurtv, zerkaa and 68,752 others

y/n l/n: @sabrinacarpenter i love you please marry me 💍 also photo creds to mr. television @arthurtv for the 5th pic x

tagged: @sabrinacarpenter @arthurtv @arthurnfhill @chrismd10 @georgeclarkeey

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COMMENTS;

arthurtv: can we get married if sabrina says no 💍?

y/n l/n: ya ofc xx

arthurtv: yay x

userly: OH?????

user777: WHAT

usermybeloved: DO YQLL SEE THIS!?!??!?!????

chrismd10: @arthurtv I better be your best man

georgeclarkeey: your obbsession with her is concerning

y/n l/n: "please please please" shut the fuck upppppp!!!! Xxx

georgeclarkey: rude :/

user007: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

us3r: y/n is an icon

behzingagram: you ditched a sidemen shooting for a concert.. great

y/n l/n: okay so maybe I wasnt sick... whoops! 🤷‍♀️ xxx I'll be there next week ♡

behzingagram: you better be you bitch

y/n l/n: oh shut up you fat prick

usermybeloved: LOVE THEM SJFNNCNCC

user111: 💀💀💀

arthurtv: thank you for the photo creds doll

y/n l/n: yea yea ur welcome xx

arthurtv: :)

us3r: 'DOLL' ?????????????

ooouserooo: ARE YOU GUYS TOGETHER OR SOMETHING?????

useredup: "mr. television" just say yall r togetger atp

y/n l/n: nuh uh

useredup: FUCK YOU MEAN NUH UH?????

chrismd10: you were so wasted after this lol

y/n l/n: literally was not idk what ur talking about 🙄

chrismd10: arthur literally had to carry you bridal style because you were falling every 2 minutes

y/n l/n: I just wanted to be carried stfu

arthurtv: next time just ask doll, you dont have to almost brake your neck for me to carry you

y/n l/n: ay bet 💪🤭

user505: NAH WHAT

userly: THIS IS INSANE???????????!????????

user007: EXCUSE ME???? SHE WAS CARRIED BRIDAL STYLE BY ARTHUR???? "DOLL"????? "I WANTED TO BE CARRIED"????????? I AM GOING INSANE WHAT THE FUCK???? THE EMONJI COMBO TOO????? AAAAAAAH

taliamar: looking good x

y/n l/n: says you! xxx

faithlouisak: fit

y/n l/n: ❣️❣️❣️

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y/n l/n

liked by arthurtv, stephen_tries and 72,637 others

y/n l/n: date night was a blast w this nerdy bloke <3

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COMMENTS;

arthurtv: did you enjoy yourself doll?

y/n l/n: oh most certantly mr. television

userly: EXCUSE ME WHAT

useredup: WHAT IS HAPPENING

user007: ARTHUR X Y/N DATING CONFIRMED??????????!??????????

user111: LITERALLY GOING INSANE AND FERAL IF THIS ISNT FUCKING ARTHUR AND Y/N TOGETHER IN THOSE PHOTOS I AM GOING TO MURDER SOMEBODY AND THEN MYSELF TOO WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK

y/n l/n: please don't murder somebody! or yourself! and if youre going feral pls check that you dont have rabbies!! xxx much love (:

user111: NOW IM GOING CRAZY BECAUSE YOU REPLIED TO HOLY MOTHERFUCKING FUCK AAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ksi: the flowers are pathetically cute

arthurtv: shut up

us3r: OH???????

usermybeloved: SCREAAAAMING

user505: ARTHUR THOSE FLOWERS BETTER BE FROM YOU

geenelly: cuties ♡♡♡

y/n l/n: says you! xx

bambinobecky: happines is a good luck on you girly! xxx

y/n l/n: stfu ur to kind 🫂🫂

chrismd10: about damn time

y/n l/n: oh shut up you inbred twat

taliamar: hope you guys enjoyed the resturant!

y/n l/n: YESSS we did!! double date soon? 👀🤭

taliamar: yess x

freyanightingale: the little bows are so cute 🎀

y/n l/n: RIGHT?????? ♡♡♡

user505: SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP DYING

georgeclarkeey: disgusting (said with love)

y/n l/n: literally die (said with love)

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y/n l/n & arthurtv

liked by vikkstagram, tobjizzle and 120,321 others

y/n l/n: IT IS FINALLY TIME!!!!!! NOT ONLY TO ANNOUNCE ARTHURS AND MINES RELATIONSHIP BUT TO ALSO SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR!!!!!!! Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, where to start? Well first of all I'd like to wish you a happy 28th birthday my love! I geniuenly hope you enjoyed it, that you liked all of the gifts and that you enjoyed your birthday with the people you love and who love you too! There are not enough words in the english language to describe how wonderful you are, and how much I love you. You're the kindest, most smartest and funniest person I know, with the goofiest smile and silliyest ideas too. The way you care for others and how you always try to include people and help everyone around you makes my love you even more. Arthur you're the Deadpool to my Wolverine, the Sun to my Moon, the fucking love of my life. I love you to fucking death Arthur. Thank you for everything you've given me, and once more I wish you a very very happy birthday my love.

tagged: @arthurtv

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COMMENTS;

arthurtv: Y/n youre making me cry and the guys are laughing this is not funny :( also i love you too ❤

y/n l/n: ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

tobjizzle: happy birthday man! 🫂 so happy for you guys 😇

ksi: happy bday 💪💪💪also congrats too

vikkstagram: 🌟🫂

stephen_tries: hes crying a river y/n

freyanightingale: AHHHHH YOU GUYS ARE SO SWEET!!!

wroetoshaw: atp that mans drink will become pure water with how much tears are falling into it

behzingagram: sap

y/n l/n: shut the fuck up

taliamar: 🫂🫂🫂

miniminter: happy for you guys, and happy birthday arthur!

bambinobecky: SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS AAA!!!! Happy birthday!

faithlouisak: 🫂🫂

geenelly: HDHCJCJCJC SO HAPPY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR

arthurnfhill: y/n my shirt is soaking wet make the man stop crying

callux: did not expect to see arthur cry 😭

calfreezy: best couple in 2024??? 👀👀

y/n l/n: YESSIR

theburntchip: y/n get that man some tissues pls

user111: MOM AND DAD ARE FINALLY TOGETHER AAAAAAAA

user505: SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP DYING THIS IS REAL THIS IS ACTUALLY REAL

user777: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR OHMYGOD

us3r: FIANALLY!!!!!!

useredup: YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! HAPPY BDAY ARTHUR!!!!

usermybeloved: FUCK YEAAAAAH!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🗣🗣🗣

xeuserxe: HELL YEAAAAAAHHHHHHH BABY

xouserxo: ❣️❣️🫂🫂

user007: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR!!! 🎉🎉🎉

user707: FUCK YEWAAAH!!!! ALSO THE COMMENTS SAYING THAT ARTHUR IS CRYING????? HDNDJCJJC I LIVE YALL HAPPY BDAY ARTHUR!!!!!

us3r: JDNFJCJC LOVE ALL THE SHIRTLESS PICS 😭😭😭😭

userly: DIDOWJCJDHCHHC THE FIRST PIC IS SO FUNNY TO ME JDNDJCJ HAPPY BDAY AND CONGRATS!!!!

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y/n l/n added to their story!

⤷ arthurtv liked y/n l/n's story! ♡

⤷ arthurtv: love you 2 (:

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[sihayadunee]

🌘 THE ECLIPSE a UNION of OPPOSITES 🌒

an analysis of the mythic motifs in dune part two through the lens of mythologist joseph campbell, and some predictions for dune messiah

• Divine Couple

• Death and Rebirth

• Redemption Through Divine Union

• House of Atreus

• Lunar-Masculine / Solar-Feminine

• Goddesses

THE ECLIPSE

This motif has been connected to Dune since the first film’s promo, especially with the concluding track of Dark Side of the Moon accompanying the initial trailer. Some fans believed this theme had been dropped as it wasn’t very present in the first film. However the eclipse continued throughout the promo of the second film. This was because Part Two is where the real pay off is, already in the first 10 minutes.

This concept is intrinsic to Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation. Since the first film I have been saying that Dune embraces the Lunar-Masculine (Paul) and Solar-Feminine (Chani). However beyond just that, Dune: Part Two showcases multiple pairings of the lunar-solar dynamic.

But before we jump into that, let’s establish the meaning of an eclipses in general mythology. Typically they are a symbol of death and renewal. Common interpretations have a beast devouring the sun, or a celestial couple evading or pursuing one another. These interpretations are consistent over and again in Dune.

What we will see, is that the greater Imperium holds a Solar-Masculine identity, but when it comes to Arrakis there is a distinct shift to the Solar-Feminine archetype.

PAUL as the MOON

There are an innumerable amount of connections. Bull motifs are reoccurring throughout the first film, where he grew up on a water world. After all, the moon is associated with the tides. He takes the name Muad’Dib, and one of the moons of Arrakis has the icon of a Muad’Dib aka Desert Mouse visible on its surface. And ultimately, Paul experiences rebirth in Part Two.

The bull is a figure of sacrifice which aligns very well with the lineage of House Atreides which can be traced back to the House of Atreus and it’s curse of familial murder, betrayal and symbolic consumption. Sacrifice of the children in each new generation.

IRULAN and the GOLDEN LION THRONE

Starting here is a good place, because it shows the transition of the Solar-Masculine of the wider Imperium toward the Solar-Feminine of Arrakis. Irulan Corrino of House Corrino is the daughter of Emperor Shaddam who sits on the Golden Lion Throne. His reign is coming to a close as Paul rises on Arrakis, and with no male heirs Irulan his eldest is the successor destined for marriage. In this way Irulan becomes the embodiment of the Lion Throne, and her determination in Dune Messiah to produce Paul’s heir becomes clear. That function of the Queen Mother and how that feeds back into the Solar-Masculine as the King becomes tied to the lion and the throne once more.

In particular I would say her story is best reflected in the myth of the goddess Cybele who falls for Attis and when he falls for a mortal girl Cybele plots betrayal. Something for which she later feels guilt and tries to make amends for (Children of Dune).

PAUL and JESSICA

Their dynamic is incredibly complicated, but I think the opening of the film during the eclipse sums it up very well. You follow the path of the moon as it covers the sun, and as it meets its full coverage Paul is the one taking action in the fight against the Harkonnen. However as the moon passes by and the sun takes over again, Jessica emerges to save Paul’s life.

This was intentional by the filmmakers, as is revealed in the Art and Soul of Dune Part Two, DP Greig Fraser identified the exact time, date and location in order to shoot the sun as it appears directly behind Rebecca Ferguson.

Jessica represents the sun on Arrakis, and in this scene we see how the moon dies into the sun to be reborn in their dynamic. It also lines up with motifs of the sun goddess giving birth to the sacrificial bull. Sacrifice toward this death and rebirth.

What we see is the separation of mother and son that brings them back together in the same place. Paul takes the lead and rejects his mother’s influence, but she leads him toward the death and rebirth he must experience, and this brings them back to a common understanding.

This is also why having Jessica sit the Atreides “throne” in the finale instead of Paul (who did so in the book) makes mythic sense. Because again we return to the Solar-Feminine mother as the throne, and her son as king. But in a different context here then what Irulan aspires toward.

A SYMBOLIC UNION aka THE BULL SACRIFICE

The House Harkonnen family seal in the books is the griffin, which makes his introduction in a gladiator arena killing Atreides even more appropriate. Feyd’s birthday is also associated with a solar event. Because ultimately Feyd is the matador and Paul is the bull.

What works so fantastically about the dual, is how it is bathed in the sunlight. After all, the sun figure (day) is facing off against the moon (night) figure in this sequence. Plus the bull was the eventual demise of Paul’s grandfather who was a matador. This takes place at sunrise, and it’s a dual for the throne, where whoever is victorious inherits the Golden Lion Throne. The

Denis specially describes the dual as a symbolic union, and it works on multiple layers. This bull sacrifice, is in essence the quote from part one of “when you take a life you take your own” so Paul killing Feyd is penetration, intimacy, it is rebirth.

It is also reminiscent of how Campbell describes the sun-moon twins of Navajo myth:

The two, Sun-child and Water-child, antagonistic yet cooperative, represent a single cosmic force, polarized, split, and turned against itself in mutual portions. The life-supporting sap-power, mysterious in the lunar rhythm of its tides, growing and decaying at a time, counters and tempers the solar file of the zenith, life- desiccating it its brilliance, yet by whose heat all lives.

— Joseph Campbell's Commentary from "Where the Two Came to Their Father: A Navaho War Ceremonial" by Jeff King and Maud Oakes

DESERT SPRING TEARS and DIVINE UNION

There is a section in the Dune Encyclopedia that talks about the foundation of the Bene Gesserit beliefs. In particular the teachings of a certain ancestral memory personality, called Inanna (yes that is the name of the Sumerian goddess who was also in a divine union caught between life and death glad you asked) about the Kwisatz Haderach. It basically establishes that the entire premise of the Bene Gesserit and the Kwisatz Haderach is in essence the Divine Couple.

It specifies two mirrored dynamics the son saved/resurrected by the mother and the husband saved/resurrected by the wife. Inanna called them Au Set and Au Sar. The Kemet names for Isis and Osiris. The idea of the Bene Gesserit would have this as the mother of the KH, and the Corrino princess he would have married. But with things thrown off course, it represents outside their control.

In Dune, we see it between Paul and Chani. Like Isis who has the solar disc and Osiris who is tied to water and death, her lover has died and she is the one to revive him.

Furthermore the concept of mythical tears can be found in the goddess Freya (who arguably is compatible with sun-goddess motifs) who weeps when her husband Odin is lost to her.

But perhaps most compatible—the healing tears of a phoenix. A bird archetype similar to Isis as bird. This is where the yin-yang dynamic of Chani and Paul becomes most apparent, since the serpent is synonymous with the bull and therefore Paul who “makes peace with Shai-Hulud” encompasses the dragon (yang) as a complement to Chani’s phoenix (yin).

In the behind the scenes of Dune Part Two, the Maker Temple is said to be designed like the infinity symbol with the two circles (one of sand and one of water). Sand being death and water being life, but also the reverse. As the sandworm thrives in the sand but is drowned in the water. And Paul is stuck between life and death, literally laying between both pools, when Chani comes to resurrect him.

This film literally has three kisses. Their first kiss when Chani says she will show him the way of the Fremen, their second kiss on screen when she says he will never lose her before going South, and the third symbolic kiss of life.

This marriage/death is also foreshadowed in Paul’s visions in Part One when Chani kisses him and then stabs him. Which is where we return to Isis and Osiris because Paul’s death state (dying again as we established, after killing Feyd, similar in a way to Set and Osiris) is where we will eventually get the twins Leto II and Ghanima with Leto II being the Horus in this equation.

As the Pink Floyd lyrics say, the sun is eclipsed by the moon and this is captured in the heartbreak Chani feels over losing Paul and losing her people to the Lisan al Gaib. The Fremen way of life has been eclipsed and over taken by the Atreides and the Bene Gesserit. Here we see more of the concept of that beast devouring the sun from the beginning, verses the celestial couple dynamic.

Chani leaving the residency chamber is also reminiscent of certain myths like Amaterasu going into hiding, or the Inuit folktale about the sun goddess fleeing her moon god brother/lover who pursues her.

However the Dune Encyclopedia also talks about the concept of redemption (which is why in the film Mohiam asks Margot if Feyd is capable of redemption) of the “mate savior”. The Kwisatz Haderach. They would bring about a release from bondage through redemption and rebirth.

Which is relevant to the dynamic of Paul and Chani in Dune Messiah for Denis, because he has said Paul is going to be looking to save his soul in part three, and how Paul and Chani come back together won’t just be explained away off screen between films. It will be that continued cycle of rebirth, through redemptive love. Rebirth as a whole in Dune is worth its own discussion, since all the different Jungian descriptions of it can be found within this universe.

CONCLUSION

The eclipse, a lunar-solar dynamic representing the union of opposites, is very significant in Dune Part Two and sheds a lot of light onto what we can anticipate next in Dune Messiah, particularly in regards to the central romance between Paul and Chani and the changes Denis has made from book to screen.

[seramilla]

God that must be so hard and nerve wracking for Carmilla. Finally knowing what happened to the baby she lost and feeling slightly relieved cause now here was her baby safe and here in her arms again where she belonged damnit but they were all in hell and her baby had already lost an eye and had to fight every day...

But also...how are Clara and Odette handling the news that they found their baby sister and just who she is?

Carmilla takes a few days to determine if she wants to inform Odette and Clara about what she'd gleaned following the most recent Extermination. In the first place, her girls had been working overtime extracting all the angelic steel left behind near the Hotel; it's a veritable treasure trove this time, and they'd been so excited to get started. Second, Carmilla needed time to process recent revelations herself, and figure out how to delicately broach the subject with her eldest two.

How is she supposed to tell her daughters that their sister, whose existence they'd barely even registered back on Earth, had quite literally come back from the dead? Not only that, they'd missed an entire childhood together; growing, playing, bonding, fighting, and loving one another -- all things Clara and Odette had the opportunity to do. How is Carmilla supposed to just go up to them and say, "Surprise! You remember that child I was pregnant with when we all died? Well, she's still around! She's an ex-Exterminator, killed hundreds of our people, and I don't even know if she wants anything to do with us!"

Would Odette even accept her? Clara is usually the more open-minded of the two. That's another question she can't answer. With how many times Vaggie's "sister" Exorcists have tried to kill them over the years, would her other daughters even want to have anything to do with Vaggie? She thinks they would...Clara the most likely of the two...but they are fully grown women with their own thoughts and feelings. She wouldn't blame them if they...well, they'd have every right not to want that kind of relationship with Vaggie, at any rate.

Carmilla is still stewing in these thoughts, having practically worn a path in the middle of her bedroom floor by walking back and forth so many times, when she feels a vibration in her pocket. Pulling out her phone, Vaggie's name flashes prominently on the screen, like a fresh piece of graffiti on the side of a building. She almost drops her phone in surprise, but manages to keep it together. She taps the answer icon in trepidation.

"Ye-yes?"

"Carmilla?" Vaggie's voice on the other end sounds so...tired. Carmilla recalls she's been home for a few days now, but she wouldn't have been able to tell by the sound of her voice alone. Her tone is so...ragged and laced with anxiety; a spitting image of her own, if she's honest.

"Vaggie! Umm, yes! How can I help you?"

There is a definitive pause, one that makes the distance between them seem more metaphysical than real. They are just across the city from each other, but in every other sense, Vaggie is undoubtedly existing in her own plane of reality right now. She seems so much farther away than Carmilla could possibly reach by foot. It must have taken her a lot to call Carmilla. The arms dealer puts her patience to the test, and waits intently for Vaggie to find the words to voice what she needs to say.

"Carmilla..." Vaggie finally starts, a voice much shakier and insecure than she remembers; a far cry from that determined, brave girl that challenged her at her compound all those days ago. "Can I...come over?"

Carmilla's heart jumps into her throat. Her ears start ringing, and she almost needs to sit down on her bed before she collapses.

"Yes!" she says, flinching as she sounds a little too eager for her own ears. There's no helping that now. "Of-of course! Whatever you need, mi querida. My door is always open. When do you want to come by?"

"Ummm," Vaggie hesitates, as if she fears she's asking too much. "Is right now okay? Are you...busy?"

Odette and Clara will be back soon, but that is the furthest thing from Carmilla's mind at the moment. She'll deal with it when the time comes.

"No, that's perfectly fine! Absolutely, I'll be here! I'm not going anywhere today."

Vaggie sounds a little relieved, but also like she hadn't expected her question to be answered so quickly, so freely. Carmilla hopes she doesn't sound too eager...but she is. How can she not be? This is her daughter, for goodness’ sake, her child, wanting to see her.

"O-oh-okay!" Vaggie says, a little more eager this time. "Gi-give me an hour? And I'll...I'll be there."

"Text me once you're close by," Carmilla says, trying to push away any further doubts and hesitation from her mind. Vaggie wants to come over. She needs to be strong for her. She needs to keep it the fuck together. "I'll come out and get you this time."

"Okay," Vaggie responds. "Thanks...thank you, Carmilla."

Vaggie hangs up. Carmilla stiffens. She stands up, putting her large hands over her face, wiping her forehead down to her cheeks from the stress of it all. Vaggie is coming back, coming here, right now. She tries so much not to freak the fuck out.

Now to figure out what to do about Odette and Clara.

[shakingparadigm]

I love Mizi and I'm sorry I don't talk about her enough. I love characters who have their worlds turned upside down and have to break themselves free. I love characters who are so obviously changed by their circumstances, even down to their physical appearance.

(long ramble ahead! sorry.)

As anguished as I am by the fact that they cut her hair, it's honestly genius that they cut off the last part of her that symbolized her love for Alien Stage. She was iconized by her first round, a performance that she anticipated so much she planned her entire outfit beforehand. She wanted to wear a cute dress, she wanted to dye her hair, she even got rid of her glasses. She created a version of herself inspired by idols, blinded by glitz and glamour and false optimism. She sang and danced her way to the grave dressed as a spectacle. And she was happy to do so! So far in her life, very little went wrong. She lived a happy, loving life with her alien parent, showered in toys and such. In her eyes, being a pet was a blessing, singing was a privilege, standing on that stage was an honor. She was ignorant to the suffering of those who weren't as lucky. She never considered the possibility of losing Sua because they knew each other so well. Her voice followed Sua's like a moth to flame. She was naive enough to believe that everything would turn out alright, that within this glittery death game they would be the exception. So to have such a horrible thing happen to her, to see her universe drop cold at her feet, naturally it's too much for someone who lived her life through rose-colored glasses. Dying was supposed to be an honor, yet the crowd roared as if it were a joke. Barbaric, loud, cruel and mocking. Cheering and jeering over a lifeless body. Viewing her universe as nothing more than a broken plaything. Disposable, a loser. Her love for Alien Stage and the eager, shiny new persona she dressed herself up as died together with Sua. For the remainder of the competition she is in a daze, incredibly disoriented and in turmoil. Round 5 was even delayed because she refused to participate. In Black Sorrow, when Mizi and Till run into the Cerberus-like alien, Mizi is standing completely still, hand over her mouth in shock while Till moves to get up after being beat down. Mizi has a tendency to shut down (in VIVINOS' words, "crumble") in the face of danger and extreme stress. This trait becomes even more severe after the trauma of Sua's death. Mizi is so detached she's not paying attention for two whole rounds, delayed one, and even when she finally performs she's in constant terror and confusion. I think Mizi snapping and attacking Luka started something for her. She broke out of her daze and acted on the anger that's no doubt been rising inside of her since round 1. It's not necessarily growth yet, but it's something. After Hyuna saves her, she at least seems more present. The resistance was incredibly jarring for her because she's never been in an environment without aliens before, which can be seen in the first half of All-In. The turning point for Mizi is when Hyuna is restrained by guards, the large image of Luka causing her trauma to resurface. The interesting thing about Mizi and Hyuna's relationship is that they see themselves in each other. This familiarity is also the motivation for them to save each other. Hyuna temporarily disassociates, enough for the guards to restrain her and begin taking her away, just as they did to Mizi not too long ago. They both understand what it's like to lose someone, to break down at the thought of them. Mizi, who up until this point has been confused, clumsy and hiding behind backs, recognizes herself in Hyuna's response and springs into action.

Mizi built her life around lies and false hope, crumbled down after realizing the true nature of the game, and spent the rest of her time on that glorified chopping block just trying to process the weight of her situation. The long pink hair that she maintained resembled not only her naiveté, but her stagnance. Her idealization of Alien Stage, her blissful ignorance to suffering, and her blind compliance to a cruel system were traits that she carried with her for almost her entire life. Unchanging, just like the length of her hair. But within that moment of Hyuna's helplessness, Mizi shakily stands on her own two feet and dashes forward. Despite having no plans or experience, she attacks. Mizi picks herself up and acts on her own volition. No aliens. No restrictions. Her life is in her own hands now.

She's fired at. The bullet grazes her cheek. Her hair is shot off. Despite losing a part of herself, she does not falter.

Mizi has now cut off her old self. No more long pink hair, ready to be tidied and tied up with a neat little ribbon, dyed bright colors to catch the eye of an insatiable audience. No more dressing and prepping like a lamb to the slaughter. Her hair is short, pure pink, messy and unkempt and falling over her eyes. She is not the same person she was before. She's learning to fend for herself, pushing against opposing forces and moving forward despite everything. She drives the bike herself, determined, stronger. Hyuna calls her "solid". Mizi is no longer a commodity for entertainment, a plaything who's suffering is eagerly consumed by alien viewers. She's become her own person, hurt and upset and determined to save others from the fate Sua suffered. I love her for everything she is.

[pawborough]

August-September Post-Alpha Check In

Hello, everyone!

With the release of Alpha testing, we have in this update a retrospective on the test itself, a host of content from August, some lore drop, and word on where we are with Moontail and Leopard! 

Let’s begin with some art!

Southern Romanovtsa 

Users in our Discord participated in a community game to see the preproduction designs of our Romanovtsa variants. The Southern olive variant is done!

Design and illustration by Hydde

Crests

We’ve illustrated two more forum crests, Orchard Crest and Spectral Crest!

Design and illustration by Giulia

Currently, Demonic is being illustrated now!

Regal Set recolors

Regal set had its recolors done!

Black, grey, white, red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple, pink, and brown, recolors by Emma (@missbluefrost)

New Accessory: Gilded Crest

Next, preview of the design for the Gilded Crest, the sponsored accessory item from the individual who won our sweepstakes: Emma! (Not the one on our team)

KS sponsored by Emma, illustrated by Azarel

Harvest Logo

As promised, the Harvest logo was updated to better reflect the difference in the thematic stone and incense items. 

This visual will slowly be updated in all our content. 

Wheatley and Crowley

Take a peak at the newest progress on Whealtey and Crowley!

Leopard and Moontails Check In

As promised, we want to release these two things together. So where are we? 

Moontails have all patterns but Leopard done. 

Moontail wing colors, a mighty feat, are good to go, but we are currently working on perfecting the tail and whisker glow colors. Moontails will be utilizing the accent 1 color for their glow tint, much like the previous cat creator, and we’ve had to start from the ground up on accommodating all of our colors in a way that flatters the glow. 

In addition, doing this work now will help benefit any glowing mystic breeds in the future... ;)

Here is an example of in-progress glow designs: 

Thistle, Wisteria, River

Overall this breed is very robust in comparison to our other breeds, and it will be extremely rewarding to release all 3 wing types at once. With all the effort gone in, Moontails have certainly earned their place as a legacy breed. 

Leopard

Leopard is all done! Sans Moontails, but they’re currently being worked on. Here is an in-progress example:

WIP by Asp

Though, we are wary of using the designated “tiger” palette for Leopard 100% of the time, as we worry this will create a washed-out look for the pattern in the majority of cases, so while we tool Moontail glows, we’re visiting altering Leopard spot colors. 

As far as art goes as a whole, these two things are concurrently working alongside our main production push. A vast majority of our time is going towards icons or continuing accessory illustration. This will limit the amount of new content we can share, as it will just be the same items repeated several times over! However, we’re dedicated to taking the time to not only prepare our starter breeds, but to expand the breed compatibility for each accessory as soon as possible! 

New Information on the land of Kotemara

New information on the continent known as Kotemara, which is the name for the giant landmass that users will be joining when they play PawBorough. 

Kotemara is home to 7 Boroughs, which each have a capital, we're here to share the capital names for each!

Luna: Kotikansa Sol: Borheim  Upper Abyssal: Tsuribari Lower Abyssal: Umiya Zenith: Felkin Harvest: Hillshire Cogwheel: New Brassgate The Metropolis: The Spire

But there's something else...

The Wastes

The magic of the geological deposits that Catfolk are currently studying and learning has ran rampant in large areas around Kotemara, influencing the localized flora and fauna. These areas are home to large, powerful, magical beasts roaming the land, colloquially called Wastebeasts. Plant life either dies out, save for hardy, shrubby grasses and sparse foliage, or overgrows and mutates into a magical nightmare. 

All Wastebeasts are very dangerous and magically aggressive. Cats who brave the wastes seldom return home, and catfolk settlements bordering the wastes are frequently terrorized by Wastebeast attacks. 

The Spire, the head magical academy in The Metropolis, has sworn to make studying and controlling the Wastes its top priority in magical research and modernization. But the latest achievements coming from The Spire have been little more than pithy advancements in magical products...  

Independent organizations like Maven's Guild have cropped up around the Boroughs, with trained recruits helping scared cats cross the wastes, helping to fend off Wastebeasts from catfolk villages, and to assist with mundane errands. 

As you learn about Maven and her organization, you'll discover more about her connection to the Wastes... 

Alpha Retrospective

At the beginning of this month, we started dedicated Alpha testing. This was a challenging time, as we as a team have never before performed public-facing testing of this nature. 

But we are jovial and positive behind the scenes, because we have learned a lot regarding our own application, our development tactics, user feedback tracking, user desires, and community support management. This test-run has given us beginning experience on how the full game will function with an active user base, and has allowed us to foster a more prepared understanding for not only server preparation, but all further development efforts. 

In addition, the mass amounts of testing and QA reporting has truly helped to improve our development, as we can knock out and identify bugs much easier. We are thriving with this, able to swiftly chop and iterate upon any flaws found in the functionality. The flow of tickets means there’s always something to improve on, and we have burgeoned with this setup.  

The warm and positive attitude from our testers has also helped to lift our spirits. We’re very open to the criticism and feedback we have received on the application thus far! In fact, we’re duly grateful that so many users have put in their valuable time and energy to both constructively and bluntly critique what we have. Earnestly, with no aggression nor sarcasm: It is stellar that we have users who care. It means that we have something which people love, and want to see improve, and we could not ask for better! 

That being said, we were expecting more aggression and user vitriol than we actually received thus far, and it’s uplifted the spirits of our team in such a way that we’re real fired up!

Our biggest aspects we want to improve on going forward is: 

Better user-side communication. This will come as we grow and can expand our team. Right now, only two individuals handle user tickets, and with one of them being myself, who also handles a great brunt of not only user-side updates, but also all development management, and it can cause swift and detailed user-side communication to suffer. This is certainly a problem!  The infallible solution will be to hire more help once we have the resources, and for now we’ll do our best to structure the responsibility in a way which prioritizes communication more favorably for users in the coming future. We truly owe you all better! And we are very grateful that you are all so patient while we’re working this hard.

Better code management. In general, we’d like to see things come out the gate a little less breakable, and this is on us to improve. We’ve tightened our form, including running more tests before releasing updates or iterating, and we’re only seeing the application get stronger from here.

Staying vague on promising deadlines. Unfortunately, we did fall a month behind, and taking that into consideration, we're just not in a place to make sweeping promises on the timeline. We admit fault, and will learn from this. From here, we're going to err on the side of caution and simply take the time we need. It smarts that we have had so many roadbumps and delays, but what's important is that we are consistently making progress, and that the final product is robust and surpasses user expectation for fun and enjoyment. We're keeping our heads down and grinding on.

And here’s a summary of what we liked: 

Even without a gameplay loop, users have frequently reported having fun interacting with the mechanics. This implies that there’s an inherent enjoyment to the setup, and is one of the best omens for longevity as a game that we could receive. It means that, at our core, we have an enjoyable game. That’s huge! We can only improve!

We’ve knocked out bugs fast. Users have been happy to see new iterations frequently released for testing. 

Users are very eager to test, giving us detailed reports that improve our development.

In conclusion, this has been a hugely positive experience, and we’re excited to keep building and improving. 

We’re hoping to run this test for a few more weeks while we do the following:

Nail down intended functionality of all working mechanics. 

Iterate a few key functionalities: metamorphics, cross-team play, and potentially combat. 

We’ll then close the test, with an announcement of such a week before closing, and take some time to rest, reflect, iterate on any important aspects of the game that we’re missing, and polish what we have with the most pertinent user feedback. After which, we’ll prepare for the opening of Closed Beta! 

Here is an updated timeline to reflect how things are shaking out:

This will be cross-posted to our socials as we focus on updating them!

If I can provide a small update from myself, the project lead: Overall it’s been great, though I am personally working a lot. Between everything I do, I have been working myself to sleep most days of the week. Right now, I eat, I sleep, and I wake up to work on PawBorough, and many times I forgo the sleep part. So I have been extremely grateful for the positivity and patience from the user base, and I have to pre-emptively request a bit of grace and patience if I disappear for a time to get some rest. 

But saying this, I stress that you all do not worry about me! I am completely alright! In fact I am very happy to be working, and I love it. I simply want to communicate the amount of dedication I have right now, ask for a bit of grace if I'm slow to reply to questions or tickets, and to give a big THANK YOU for the opportunity you all have given me to be doing this. I really could not be more in love with PawBorough, and so far I see a bright path for it to grow its wings and flourish as it improves. I hope all of our supporters and users feel this with me!

And from here, I am going to be taking this upcoming weekend away to rest. But we'll be back bright and squirrelly on Monday!

To summarize: We shared the Southern Romanovtsa, Regal set recoloring, 2 new crests, the Gilded Crest accessory, the updated Harvest logo, an NPC wip, a lore drop for longterm conflict, and our Alpha retrospective.

What to expect next update: Further asset and development updates. Check-ins for how Alpha is going, updated Borough descriptions to put on the site, and any further plans we'll have to share. 

[raihann1]

can you do a one shot of luffy and his girlfriend finds out shes pregnant everyone is excited expect the girlfriend cause she doesn't really want to be a mother but she decided to keep it for him a healthy nine months later the girlfriends gives birth but something went wrong and she ended up with a baby boy but he died during the delivery and everyone is sad except the girlfriend who accepted too quickly that her son is dead and Luffy got angry at her and she ended up having a break down cause she feels guilty for moving on too quickly

Lost☆

NOTES: Thanks for requesting, I'll try my best to elaborate :)

PAIRING: LUFFY X FEM READER

------‐-------------------------------------

"WHAT?!"

You stood back in fear face turning pale white as you stared at the pregnancy test, No way in HELL were you pregnant.

"Congratulations girl!" Nami said cheerfully as Robin's shocked face turned into a sweet smile.

"Congratulations Y/N I can't wait." She said as she closed her book and approached you.

"We have to tell everyone the news!" Nami said partially jumping around in excitement.

"No way! I cant have a child, especially with Luffy?! I mean once word goes out they'll cap-"

"Oh please.. Cut that crap girl! Your going to be a mother so lets embrace that moment!" Nami said giving you a genuine look of happiness, even Robin seemed very intrigured as she held your hand excitedly.

"God no, what do I tell him? I mean he's not responsible enough!" Y/N said panicked.

"Thats what I told you before you started dating." Nami huffed in annoyance which quickly turned into a smile.

"Look, Im very happy for you Y/N but its your child, your decision." Nami said a sad expression on her face, Robin nodded in agreement.

"We want whats best for you, so don't stress out okay?" Robin said.

--------------------------------------------

"WHAAT?!" Sanji said dropping a glass plate on the floor as it shattered.

You had just begun to tell everyone about your recent pregnancy, Chopper seemed very happy for you, Zoro had a small proud smile on his face and Ussop seemed too be intrigured talking with Nami about what they could buy for the baby. Yes, Nami never wanted to spend her berri on anyone but she had a soft spot for kids and it would be your kid so she would glady spoil the baby for you.

"YOU BETTER TREAT HER RIGHT YOU ASSHOLE." sanji said fuming at Luffy who raised an eyebrow cluless.

"As long as it isn't another version of Luffy am all good!" Chopper said happily.

"Congratulations!" Jimbei said a smile on his face.

"I sure do love a celebration!" Brook said with his iconic laugh.

However the joy would not hold it self together, it would eventually snap.

--------------------------------------------

"What do you mean?" Nami said horrified, Robin also stood up rushing over your side.

"I-i don't understand! The pregnancy won't work.." chopper said fiddling with his paperwork.

"What?.." you weakly said standing uo straight fear in your eyes.

"There has to be some reason why!" Nami said her face full of sorrow.

"im not sure but it just won't work.." chopper said sadly as he stared at you.

--------------------------------------------

Breaking the news was the worst part, everyone seemed in a bad mood, even zoro who was more stotic then usual. The bickering of Sanji and Zoro was also no where to he seen, they ignored eachother too give you all some time.

Luffy was the first too hear, he was alone and you could see his face down and his body tremble. He was crying.

"Am sorry, am sorry y/n am sorry ace.. I lost another person I could have seen.."

You couldn't help but break down tears falling down as you stared at luffy, why had fate made you this way.

--------------------------------------------

Hope you enjoyed :3 (argh this made me upset)

[shaunamilfman]

Look What You Made Me Do (part 1)

Summary: "The small town of Wiskayok had been rocked by the brutal murders of the so-called Ghostface killings, leaving you and your girlfriend Shauna Shipman unsure of who you can trust. Just remember: it's always someone you know. "

A/N: loosely based scream (1996) au. warnings for graphic depictions of violence. part 2

There were two prevailing theories on when the Ghostface killings first started: Either with the murder of Shauna's deadbeat father a year ago, or with the recent double murder of Mari's ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend-cousin. You personally believed in the latter, as your girlfriend Shauna insisted that Ben Scott was the true killer of her father. 

You still remember the day it happened well. Shauna was truly devastated by the news, but not nearly as devastated as she would be if it happened to her mother instead. You remember all too well the day her father had walked out on her, and you think she cried harder then than at the sight of her fathers body. She’d unfortunately been the one to find him after dropping by at his house to presumably yell at him; He’d forgotten that he was supposed to come see her once again, and she was getting tired of getting his excuses the next day. She’d arrived just in time to see the flash of Ben’s iconic jacket as he rushed away from the scene. Privately you thought her father deserved what he got, but you comforted Shauna all the same.

…

The original murders had been the closest one to your friend group until last night, with the murder of Travis Martinez. You didn’t know him all that well, by reputation more than anything, but it still hit you hard. This was a kid that you knew, that all of you saw on at least a weekly basis. Coach Martinez would be out of school indefinitely, and as much as you felt for him it left the rest of you scrambling to find a soccer coach with one grieving and the other doing 20 to life. Jackie was particularly upset about it being the captain.

“I just don’t see how we’re supposed to find someone to replace him at such a short notice.” Jackie complains, slipping into the seat across from Shauna. Nat scoffs as she looks over to glare at Jackie.

“Yeah, Jackie. I’m sure Coach is real concerned about soccer right now.” She says derisively. “It’s not like his son was just brutally murdered or anything.” Nat’s eyes are hard and piercing, and even you have to look away. Jackie shrinks in on herself in shame, crossing her arms defensively across her chest as she stares down at the table.

“I wasn’t trying to,” She starts, but is interrupted by Shauna.

“I just think it’s funny.” Shauna says, in that voice of hers you knew meant trouble. You lace your and Shauna’s fingers together in case she was planning on jumping the table and brace for impact. “That Travis seems to have died so horribly just after asking you out a few weeks ago.” She finishes. You wince. Nat had shot him down brutally in front of half the school, actually laughing in his face. It was a pretty sore spot between them, but mostly because Nat had seriously considered him to be one of her friends.

Nat’s face goes cold as she slams her hands down on the table and stands up so hard the chair goes clattering to the floor behind her. “Asshole.” She spits out, turning away and storming away from the table. The cafeteria goes quiet as everyone turns to watch her walk out. As soon as the door to the cafeteria slams shut the whispering starts as everyone points over at her chair and makes their own assumptions of what happened. Nat and Travis’s fight had gone down in front of the entire school, and you knew just as well as Shauna did what conclusions everyone had been drawing from that. It’s why you had invited Nat to sit with you in the first place, as she usually skipped lunch to smoke behind the bleachers. You wanted her to know that you supported her.

The rest of you sit in wide eyed silence until you exhale loudly and whisper, “Jesus, Shauna.” Shauna tenses next to you and gives you a stiff glare. You return her look for a long moment until she softens against you, giving your hand a quick squeeze in apology.

“Sorry.” She murmurs quietly into your ear. “I’ll talk to her later, promise.” You don’t think she’ll be able to find Nat until Nat wants to be found, but you appreciate the promise nonetheless. 

“I just don’t get what her deal is.” Jackie says, much more relaxed now that Nat had left.

You give her a look of disbelief. “Jackie, her friend just died.” You say.

“It’s not like we killed him.” She defends guiltily. You sigh. You knew that Jackie meant well, but she really had a tendency to focus on whatever affected her the most. She didn’t mean to sound so insensitive in front of Nat, but just didn’t think it through before she said it. 

“What did the principal say about getting a new coach, anyways?” You ask, deciding to let her off the hook for now. Jackie and Shauna both seem grateful for the change in conversation topic as Jackie begins to animatedly describe her meeting.

…

You and Shauna share an amused look as Jeff drones on. “-it's obvious where the connection is.”

“Is it?” Shauna asks dryly. Jeff beams at the slightest amount of attention from Shauna as he turns to talk to her directly. 

“Well obviously it has to be someone connected to Natalie Scatorccio or Mari…” He pauses and turns back to Jackie,” What’s Mari's last name?”

Jackie's eyebrows furrow in confusion as she thinks about it. She looks over at you and Shauna but the two of you sure as hell don't know. “That's not important, Jeff.” She says finally, trying to save face. “Just because they know someone who died doesn't mean they know the killer. I don't think any of us are killers.”

“Yeah, but don't they always say serial killers hide as normal people?” Shauna asks. Jackie and Jeff both give her considering looks as they mull over the statement. Your girlfriend’s edgy attitude was going to get her thrown in jail. You elbow her in the side and she grunts in pain, plastering a smile on her face at your significant look. 

“Definitely not one of us, though.” She says, looking over at you for approval. Oh my god. Somehow that was even worse than before. Jackie looks slightly nervous now as she looks at Shauna, knowing what she was capable of better than almost anyone. 

“Of course it's not one of us. We were watching a movie at Jackie's house last night, remember? We both fell asleep like ten minutes.” You remind Jackie, relaxing at the look of realization on her face. You and Jackie share a concerned look as she comes to the same conclusion about Shauna's consistently morbid attitude as you. 

“Unless it was all three of you.” Jeff jokes, breaking the tension between the two of you immediately. You roll your eyes and Shauna scoffs. The two of you walk off to the comfortingly familiar sound of Jackie berating Jeff for being an idiot. 

“What the hell was that for?” Shauna asks the second you are out of earshot, rubbing at the side of her stomach soothingly. You shoot her s slightly concerned look as you had truly just meant to get her attention, but you can tell by the slight quirk of her lips that she's mostly teasing. 

“Seriously, Shauna?” You ask. She looks honestly confused so you continue. “Serial Killers could be anyone, really?”

She holds her hands out placatingly. “It's true.” She defends. 

“True or not, you can't just say that Shauna. Especially when.” You cut yourself off as you bite at your lip. You sigh. “You need to be careful.”

“Especially when, what?” Shauna asks slowly. You shoot her a slightly guilty look as you shake your head and keep walking. She follows you step for step to her car, not letting up on her questioning as you close the door behind you. 

“Shauna, people think it's you.” You confess finally, just wanting the conversation to end. 

“What?” She asks in utter disbelief. You don't deny the slight relief her disbelief gives you. You didn't truly believe your girlfriend to be capable of such a thing; Well, that wasn't quite true. You believed her to be capable of murder, but you had hoped she wasn't involved in these specifically. 

“They don't have any proof. It's just.” You pause as you try to think of a good way to explain it, but find none. “You're violent, Shauna. You broke Justin's nose at a party last week.” She scoffs. 

“He called you a-” She starts, but stops as you place a calming hand on her arm. 

“I know, Shauna. I know. It just doesn't look good with everything happening right now. I know you didn't mean the serial killer thing either, but you need to watch what you say right now.” You say. She softens at the obvious look of concern on your face, raising her hands to bury her face in them. 

She groans in frustration and you make quiet shushing noises as you move her hands away from her face. You lean forward and press a gentle kiss against her lips. “Hey.” You soothe. “It'll be fine. No one who knows you thinks you did it, okay? Who cares what they think.”

“The police.” She says wryly, but seems to accept the comfort. She smiles over at you and squeezes your hand gently. “Love you.” She says. 

You smile back. “Love you too.”

…

“-and you're sure?” Shauna asks again. You roll your eyes as you wrap your arms around the back of Shauna's neck and rest your head against her shoulder. She wraps her arms around your waist and pulls you tightly against her. You can't help but squeal as she lifts you slightly off your feet, arms clinging tightly to her. 

“Shauna!” You chide, and she laughs as she sets you back down. You smack her lightly on the shoulder as you push yourself away from her. “Brute.” You murmur playfully. 

“Brute?” She asks in disbelief. You shrug. If the shoe fits. Her easy grin falls off her face as she gets more serious. You cut her off before she can ask one more time. 

“Yes, Shauna. I'm sure that I'll manage to not get brutally murdered in the 20 minutes it'll take you to go get Jackie and drive back to your house.” You say. You'd run a little late getting over to Shauna's house and still had to finish getting ready. You weren't sure why Lottie Matthews was still throwing a party three days after your classmate was murdered, but Jackie had insisted that you all go. 

Unfortunately, when it came to your girlfriend it seemed that Jackie got most things she insisted upon. That wasn't entirely fair, you'd readily acknowledge, but you couldn't help but resent her for the hold that Jackie didn't even know she had over Shauna. This was made even more difficult by your own friendship with Jackie. You'd been friends with the two of them for a long time, but you didn't know anyone who knew someone quite as long as Jackie and Shauna did. 

Shauna nods unsurely as she grabs her car keys off the table. She presses a quick kiss against your lips before heading out the door. You breathe out slowly as you try to collect your thoughts. You turn to get the clothes in your bag but pause as the thought strikes you. You grin as you head off to Shauna’s clothes rack instead now that she wasn’t here to stop you; Not that she usually would, but it was much more fun this way.

You’re adjusting the length of the sleeves on Shauna’s favorite flannel when you hear a knock on the door. You roll your eyes as you head down the stairs to answer it, not putting too much thought into why Shauna would knock on the door at her own house. She knocks again as you finally set foot on the ground floor. “She acts like she doesn’t live in the fucking attic.” You mutter as you throw open the door without looking. You peer at the empty doorway curiously, slowly leaning out the door to look around the front of the house. 

You sigh as you lean against the doorway. “I know that was you, Jackie!” You call out. “You’re the only one I know that would think ding-dong ditching is funny.” You wait another minute or so as you look around before trying to slam the door shut; Trying, being the key word, as the door catches on someone's foot. You wince slightly, realizing how hard you’d shut the door, until you catch a glimpse of who the foot’s attached to. Your eyes widen in horror as wide soulless eyes stare back at you from a hauntingly familiar white mask. You scream in utter terror, louder than you’d ever previously thought yourself capable of.

You desperately try to force them back out the door, but whoever’s there is much stronger than you are. Your socked feet slide back against the hardwood floor as you fruitlessly try to get some kind of friction. You jump back entirely as they slip a large hunting knife through the crack of the door and start blindly swiping it. They stumble forward to their knees as the door swings open, obviously not prepared for the resistance to completely disappear and you take the chance to sprint back up the stairs.

You hesitate at the top of the stairs as you hear the loud sound of footsteps coming from the bottom of them. You quickly reach towards the hallway table to grab the lamp sitting there. You whirl around and absolutely chuck the thing at them, pausing to watch in satisfaction as it hits them dead on in the center of their face and sends them falling back down the stairs. You run the rest of the way to Shauna’s room, slamming the door shut as you propped a chair underneath the handle. Her room never had a lock so she tended to just throw the chair in front of it when she wanted people out.

You knew more than anyone how sturdy that chair could be but you knew it wouldn’t keep them out forever. You desperately went diving for the phone sitting on her nightstand. You buried your head in your knees and sobbed when you lifted the phone off the receiver to realize that the phone line had been cut. The loud sounds of the door being hit fill the room and you frantically search for something to defend yourself with. From your position on the floor you can see the end of Shauna’s old hockey stick peeking out from underneath the bed. You quickly crawl across the floor and grab it, rising back to your feet. You stand in the middle of the room holding it over your shoulder knowing that your only hope was to get to them before they got to you.

As they finally manage to break the door down you ready the stick and take a quick swing with all your might. You manage to get a good hit, but aren’t able to see where as you jump back with a painful cry as they manage to get a good swipe at your arm in return. You don’t bother to look as you painfully raise the hockey stick again, but before either of you has a chance to make another attack the loud sound of sirens rushes down the street. You watch carefully as their mask flickers back and forth from red to blue as the lights from the street fill the room. They slowly raise the knife to point it at you, before turning around and sprinting out of the house. 

All of the adrenaline escapes your body as you fall to your knees, still clutching desperately onto the hockey stick and just cry hysterically until the police officer carefully steps through the destroyed door and finally finds you. You stare up at him, unable to stop your sobs as the reality of the situation has finally struck you.  He slowly lowers the gun he has pointed at you and slips it into his holster. “We have an ambulance outside.” He says.

You give him a wild look, not quite cognizant enough at the moment to understand why that would matter to you. “Your arm.” He says slowly, as if talking to a wounded animal. You're reminded of your wound by the sudden throb of pain it emits. You stare at it blankly for a long moment before looking up at the officer and nodding. 

“Yes.” You mutter distractedly. You finally manage to unclench your fingers from the wooden stick, leaving it to clatter against the ground. You rest your hands on your thighs as you try to catch your breath. You manage to force yourself to your feet and stumble towards him and out of the house. As you step out the door you're nearly blinded by the sheer amount of red and blue lights flickering at you. The officer places a hand on your shoulder to lead you to the ambulance. You nearly swing on him reflexively but manage to catch yourself at the last moment. You quietly let him lead you over to the ambulance even as you clearly resent the hand he’s placed on your shoulder.

You stare off into the distance as the emt bandages up your arm, and even manage to smile wryly when he says that you were pretty lucky with the placement: it did no major damage after all, mostly superficial. Lucky. You think, rolling your eyes at the thought. You didn’t feel particularly lucky right now. 

“Hey.” You hear a familiar voice say. You look up quickly, eyes widening at the sight. 

“Van!” You cry out, rushing forward to wrap your arms tightly around her. She reciprocates the motion, pulling you even closer as you start sobbing again. She makes quiet comforting noises as she rubs her hand in circles across your back. 

You hadn’t seen Van all that much since you were a kid, but she was always your favorite babysitter. It was never that formal of an arrangement, your parents had just paid her to watch you for a couple hours every once in a while, but watching horror movies with her on Friday nights had been a highlight of your childhood. You’d been devastated as a kid when Van had joined the police and stopped coming by, but as you pull back to look at her you’ve never been more grateful for it.

You give her a weak smile as you let your arms fall at your sides.  She shifts awkwardly on the balls of her feet as she slides her thumbs into her belt loops.  “Should I call you officer Palmer?” You ask.

“If you don’t mind.” She says with a small grin. She gets a more somber look as she takes in the bandages covering your arm. “I actually need to know what happened in there.” She says. “It was him, wasn’t it?” You nod, not able to fully lift your eyes from the ground.

“He was wearing the mask, at least.” You say quietly.

Van nods again as she pulls out a notepad from her pocket. “You’re the only one who’s lived to tell the tale so far. I’m sorry to make you relive it, but we need to know.” She says apologetically.

“I understand.” You say, almost in a whisper. You’re about to start talking when you hear loud yelling coming from further away. You glance up finally to see Shauna frantically running towards you as an officer chases behind her. You spring up from the ambulance to meet her head on as she goes crashing into you at full speed. The two of you just barely manage to stay on your feet as she sends you careening back a few steps. 

She wraps her arms hard enough around you that she nearly crushes you. You grasp desperately at the fabric of her shirt as you bury your head into her neck. Her hands start patting at your sides trying to find injuries as she finally pulls away to get a good look at you. She grabs at your arm to inspect it, being careful not to further injure it. “Shauna.” You murmur at the devastated look on her face.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.” She whispers. “I never should have left you alone.” You lace your fingers together and squeeze her hands as you make gentle shushing noises. 

“Hey,” You say. “I told you I wouldn’t get brutally murdered while you were gone.” She laughs wetly, pulling a hand away to wipe pointlessly at the tears still steadily streaming down her face.

“Got me there.” She says quietly.

“Can’t help but notice you got here just after that fucker left.” Van says. Shauna pulls away from you with a stricken look as she turns to face her. 

“Are you accusing me of attacking Y/N?” She spits out, but can’t quite manage any actual anger to go with it. She glances back and forth between the two of you before deciding not to bother with Van as she sits herself next to you and wraps her arms around you. Van watches the two of you with a knowing look before sighing. Van turns to wave off the officer that was chasing after Shauna. 

You watch him walk back to where he was patrolling and see Jackie standing by Shauna’s car outside of the police tape watching the whole scene with an expression of shock and horror. She waves so hard her body shakes with it and you lazily wave back as Van asks another question.

“Do you have a cell phone?” Van asks Shauna. You can’t help but snicker at the question, hiding your face in your uninjured hand. Shauna shares an amused look with you as she shakes her head no.

“What’s so funny?” Van asks. 

“Have you seen Shauna’s car? You think she can afford a cell phone?” You say wryly. Van turns to look over at Jackie who’s still leaning against the car. She shrugs, conceding the point. 

“Why’s that matter anyways?” You ask.

“The phone calls.” Van mutters as she writes something down on her notepad. “What did he say to you on the phone?” She prompts.

“I’m sorry, the phone?” You ask bewilderedly. She stops in her tracks to look up at you.

“You didn’t get a call?” She asks. You shake your head. “That’s weird.” She says, “All the other murders show records of a phone call right before. Just start from the beginning then.”

You start telling the story from the beginning, Shauna leaning heavily against you as she keeps flinching whenever you mention something frightening. Van pauses as she gives you a slightly incredulous look. “You ran up the stairs?” She asks. 

“The back doors busted.” Shauna defends with the promise of violence clear on her face. “Handle doesn’t work. Door doesn’t open.” Van holds her hands out placatingly as she writes it down in her notepad. 

You tell the rest of the story without interruption before you’re allowed to go home. Van insists on getting an officer to follow you around until someones able to contact your parents who are both out of town. You decide to go stay at Jackie’s house as her parents are the only ones actually home.

You climb wearily into the passenger seat of Shauna’s car, Jackie having extremely reluctantly relinquished the front seat given the circumstances. Shauna uncharacteristically takes one hand off the wheel to hold your hand the entire drive to Jackie’s house. You stare blankly out the window as you replay the entire confrontation over and over again in your mind.

… 

You, Shauna, and Jackie share mutually annoyed looks in the backseat of Van’s cruiser. She’d insisted on driving you to school in order to keep you safe. You appreciated the thought, truly you did, but there were few things worse in your mind than being driven to school in a cop car. You can’t hide your smile, however, as Shauna and Jackie bicker quietly next to you over which one of them is taking up the other's space in the backseat. Shauna really was not made to sit in the middle seat but she insisted on being able to sit next to you. 

Van pulls to a stop in front of the school and turns to face the three of you in the back. “Ready?” She asks. You nod unenthusiastically as you wait for her to get out and open the door. You try to slide your backpack onto your uninjured arm but Shauna pulls it out of your hands to carry it for you. You roll your eyes at her but find yourself to be endlessly fond of the action anyway. You’ve barely taken a step off the pavement before you hear a voice call out.

“Shauna! Shauna Shipman!” You hear. You start to turn around but Shauna just drags you forward by the hand as she refuses to even humor the voice. You follow unquestionably behind her towards the entrance, more than happy to get away from the prying eyes of the other students. “Nothing to say about the innocent man you got locked up?” The voice calls out.

Shauna whirls around angrily to face her, sending you a quick apology after she accidentally drags you with her. “I have nothing to say to you Taissa Turner!” Shauna says furiously as she points an accusing finger at her. Tai holds her hands out placatingly but you can tell she’s not all that sincere about it. 

Ah, You thought. You knew all about Taissa Turner, the hotshot reporter that was writing a book in favor of Ben Scott’s supposed innocence. Shauna was furious for days when she found out, and judging by the look on her face you think she might finally get to release some of that tension. You wearily look for Van, who's watching the entire interaction with a curious expression. 

“You’re seriously saying that you still believe Ben Scott is guilty?” Tai asks, baffled. “Not only are there new murders taking place in this town but the next person attacked is your friend? In your house?” Shauna scoffs, incredibly dismissive of anything that Taissa Turner could ever say. Even if you thought privately that she might have a point. Still, you and Jackie stand protectively behind Shauna as you give Tai a dirty look over her shoulder.

“She’s just hoping to write a sequel.” You say dismissively. Shauna sends you a thankful look as Tai scoffs.

“Is this about the book? You know someone was going to write it. Why shouldn’t it be me?” Tai says defensively.

“Hope it made you feel good to mock my father like that.” Shauna spits. “If he hadn’t been murdered your little hatchet job in the press would have done a pretty good job of it, bitch!” 

Tai puffs her chest out with what you're sure would be a truly epic rebuttal had she ever got the chance to make it. Shauna’s fist goes flying into her face, landing with a loud thud as it sends her head bouncing off the van behind her. She looks a little dazed with blood running down from her nose, but you can tell she’s getting ready to swing back when Van swoops in.

“Hey! Hey! Enough!” Van yells as she separates all of you. “Go inside. Now!” You gently tug at Shauna’s arm and she lets you lead her inside, but you can tell she’s not happy about it. You bring her hand up to your face to look at her knuckles to inspect them for damage. You lace your fingers together as Jackie leads you over to her locker.

“I can’t believe you just hit her like that.” Jackie says, but she doesn’t seem upset about it. In fact, when the two of you turn to face her she has a darkly amused grin on her face. 

“She deserved it.” You defend Shauna. Shauna hums in acknowledgement, finally managing to calm down after seeing that both of you took her side. Shauna sighs as she looks down at her feet. You squeeze her hand gently but allow her solitude. She’s always been emotionally distant when she had half a mind to, and the murder of her father was no different. You talk quietly with Jackie and she collects her thoughts.

“Hey,” Nat calls out, running over to catch you. Shauna gives her a scary look as she shifts defensively in front of you. 

“What do you want?” Shauna says, crossing her arms in front of her. You roll your eyes; you had a sneaking suspicion this had more to do with just protecting you. You'd heard how Nat had blown up at Shauna the other day when she'd tried to apologize for what she said at lunch, and had a feeling that Shauna was still hanging on to some lingering resentment. 

“Look.” Nat says, awkwardly scuffing her boot against the ground and wincing at the particularly loud sound it made. “I just… I just wanted to say that we're good, y'know? About lunch, I mean.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Shauna asks, relaxing back against you. 

Nat shrugs. “Hard to hold a grudge when another one of your friends almost gets turned into a pin cushion”. Shauna tenses up again at what she perceives as fighting words, but lets it go as it makes you laugh. You wrap your uninjured arm around Shauna to pull her closer against you as you rest your head on your shoulder to peer at Nat. 

“I could have taken him.” You say with a grin. Nat rolls her eyes, but the affectionate grin on her face is unmistakable. 

“Yeah, real killer you are.” She says jokingly, before turning strangely serious. “Do they know why he came for you?” She asks.  Shauna reaches up to lace her fingers with yours, trying to calm the both of you back down. 

“Nat.” Jackie interjects sternly, giving her a dirty look at the question. The unavoidable tension creeps back in you as you mull over her question. 

“No.” You answer honestly. You pause for a second then say quietly, “Between us?” Both Jackie and Nat nod quickly, Jackie on her part looks pretty shocked that you're willing to talk about it so soon. 

“They said it was pretty different from what they've seen at other crime scenes. Said maybe it was possible that they were trying to get Shauna and I just shocked them or something.” Nat and Jackie exchange a strangely worried look as Shauna tightens her grip on your hand. 

“But, hey.” You say, holding up your injured arm. “Got me out of practice for a while so jokes on him, right?” You relax back against your locker as Jackie goes on a predictable spiel about how difficult she's found it to get a new coach. 

… 

You rub a comforting hand against Shauna’s back as she lets out an aggravated sigh. “I just don’t get why she’s still here.” She mutters angrily. You and Shauna are leaning up against her car watching Taissa Turner doing yet another update about the Ghostface case in front of the school, carefully applied makeup hiding the bruise on her face. Shauna had hit her a lot harder than she’d thought, to the point that even she had winced when she saw the bruise. Your girlfriend was feeling oddly guilty about the whole situation, given that most of her anger had come from how helpless she’d felt the night before.

“Don’t focus on that, Shauna.” You say. She gives you a slightly amused look.

“Should we talk about how Officer stalker is talking her up?” She asks. You sigh. Shauna, while appreciating Van on some level, was getting more and more fed up with how much she was driving by to check up on you. You found it pretty touching, and it did help you sleep better on some level. Van usually left you alone at school for a few hours given that they had another officer here to watch out for Ghostface, but she seemed to stop by more and more to see Tai.

“I think ‘Officer stalker’ has got some pretty good game, honestly.” You say, nudging Shauna. Tai’s finished her recording and seems to be laughing loudly at something that Van’s said, given by the smug look on her face. Shauna rolls her eyes but ultimately concedes the point. Shauna watches Tai for another long moment before pushing off of the car and walking towards her.

“Shauna!” You call out a little frantically, hurrying to fall into step with her.

“No, I know.” She says. “I just want to talk, promise.”

Judging by the look on Tai’s face as Shauna approaches she seems to have the same idea that you did. Tai tenses up like she's waiting for a fight, the easy going smile previously lighting up her face is gone in an instant. Shauna looks as broody as ever as she steps up to her.

“Do you really think Ben Scott is innocent?” She asks seriously. Tai looks surprised, glancing over at you and Van before slowly nodding. 

“You know I do, Shauna. I wouldn’t have defended him if I didn’t seriously believe in his innocence.” Tai says honestly, still tense and unsure. You can tell this interaction is really unsettling her.

“Tell me why?” Shauna asks quietly. Tai opens her mouth and then pauses to consider. You take this as your chance to leave, deciding that Shauna and Tai probably needed to have this conversation by themselves. You place a quick kiss against Shauna’s cheek before heading off into school. Van walks you to the door, but you can tell her heart isn’t in it as she keeps turning to glance back at Tai.

“You’ll get back to her in a second, Casanova.” You tease Van, shifting your bag on your shoulder. 

She gives you a slightly surprised look, but shakes her head. “Shauna already hit her once.” Van defends weakly. You shrug. She probably wouldn’t hit Tai again. Probably.

[anonymouslobster01]

Why each loser in IT 1986 is better than the 2017 version

Bill

-HES SO FUCKING SASSY IN THE BOOK! it’s so fun. he’s much more of a leader in the book and he’s really cool. Bossy too, but in the way where his character has depth and isn’t just annoying. Also he’s not a fucking dumbass! In the movie, he’s all like “georgie isn’t dead, he’s missing :(((“ but in the book he’s like “this fucking clown murdered my brother, time to go get my revenge” he’s just so much better but honestly not the one I have the most beef with

Mike

-oh, you mean to tell me in the book he actually has a character? he’s not just there for no reason? WHAT AN INTERESTING CONCEPT! too bad the movie decided not to keep it. He’s an icon in the book, smart and controlled and understanding of the world and the cycle. In the movie, Ben is the one who talks about derrys history, but Mike takes that role in the book, something much more befitting of his character imo. In the movie, especially the 2nd, he’s a raving, frantic maniac who has lost his mind after staying in Derry for so long. This isn’t his character at all in the book. He actually knows what he’s doing and is the most measured out of all the losers [also in the book he almost fucking dies lmao]

Bev

-I have mixed feelings about Bev’s character tbh. Her character in the book isn’t the best, due to ✨sexism✨, and on the surface she seems a lot cooler in the movie BUT HERES THE THING they basically took Richie’s book character and gave it to her. The whole bravery thing, sticking with bill, etc etc THAT WAS RICHIE!!!! THAT WAS HIS CHARACTER!!!! HE WAS BILLS RIGHT HAND MAN!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!

Stan

He doesn’t have much of a character in the book, and the movie isn’t much better. I like him better in the book bc he’s autistic and his special interest is birds and he yells the names of birds at It it’s really cute

Richie

dear god. WOW I LOVE HOW THEY REMOVED ALL OF HIS DEPTH AND MADE HIM A SILLY LITTLE SIDE CHARACTER THAT ONLY MAKES JOKES!!! I LOVE HOW THEY REMOVED HIS VOICES!!! I LOVE HOW HES SUCH A WHINY BITCH AND HE DOESNT WANNA DO ANYTHING!!! I LOVE HOW HE FOUGHT WITH BILL!!! I LOVE HOW HIS FEAR OF EYES IS NONEXISTENT!!!! I LOVE HOW HES THE FIRST ONE TO DROP OUT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG!!! /S NO FUCKING NO THAT ISNT HIM AT ALL!!! HES SILLY AND A DUMBASS BUT IS MORE OBSERVANT THAN ANY OF THE LOSERS AND HES BATSHIT INSANE AND IS FUNNY AS FUCK AND ACTUALLY HAS TRAUAMA AND CHARACTER DEPTH AND HES MY FUCKING FAVORITE WHY DJD THEY DO HIM LKMD THIS IT MAKES ME SO MAD

Eddie

He’s almost worse than Richie. almost. In the book he’s both athletic and really good with directions, but in the movie he’s neither of these things. He’s pathetic, but he’s not a wimp. WHEN THEY WERE FIGHTING AN EYE THEY WERE ALL GONNA DIE AND THEN EDDIE STSRTED FUCKING PUNCHING IT AND HE FIGURED OUT HOW TO BEAT IT AND SAVED EVERYBODYS LIVES GODDAMN IT WHY DOES THIS FUCKING MOVIE GIVE EVERYONE ONLY ONE CHARACTER TRAIT WHAG RHE FUCM also his abusive relationship with his mom is never looked into on a deeper level but at least we got the gazebos line. I genuinely love that

Ben

I had no great love for him in the book, but at least he’s not a stupid fucking dumbass. WHY DID THEY MAKE HIM A NEW KID IT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE

feel free to debate if you disagree!!! I’d love to see other opinions!!!

[desertfangs]

I might be a little late here on the question prompts so no pressure but:

“ where have you been? ” - Marius/Daniel?

I am not doing these in order, but I am trying to do all of them! Also this one got a little smutty. Vampire smutty, but still. About 1300 words.

“Where have you been?” Marius demands. He’s at the door of his apartment before Daniel can even get it open. 

Daniel blinks at him. “In Paris, with Lestat. I texted you.” 

“You did not,” Marius says, anger flaring. His blond hair is loose and wild around his handsome face and his blue eyes are intense as they bore into Daniel like a laser. “Nor did you return any of my texts.” 

Daniel frowns at his phone. The screen is black and none of the buttons he presses bring it back to life. It was low on battery when he left—he’d forgotten to plug it in before bed yesterday—but he hadn’t realized it had died. He walks through the rooms that make up Marius’ space here at the Chateau, big and elegantly furnished, and heads into the bedroom, Marius on his heels.

“You can’t go off without telling me!” Marius is not quite yelling but he’s on the verge of it. 

“I did tell you,” Daniel protests. He plugs his phone and a little dead battery icon flashes on the screen, along with the charging symbol.

When the screen finally loads, Daniel pulls up his text messages and sees that the text he tried to send while Lestat was whisking him through the air did not actually send. And the failed text is followed by over a dozen new texts from Marius demanding to know his whereabouts. He shows Marius the screen, abashed. “Guess it didn’t go through. I tried.” 

“That’s not good enough,” Marius says. “It’s irresponsible! I need to know where you are all at times!” The last line does come out as a yell and irritation pricks at Daniel. 

“I’m not a child. If I want to go hang out with a friend—” 

“Lestat is the Prince and he has duties to fulfill!” 

Daniel glares at Marius, whose arms are folded over his chest, fury radiating off him in waves. “Jesus Christ, is that what you’re mad about? That I took Lestat away from work?” 

Marius turns away. “I didn’t know you were with him. Though I suppose I should have guessed when the two of you vanished at the same time.” 

Daniel runs his fingers through his hair, tugging at the short blond strands. “You need to chill out. We just went hunting together.” He drops his arm to his side and lowers his voice. “We weren’t even gone that long.”

Marius sighs. “I had no idea where you were. If you’d wandered off, if you were lost…” 

The word ‘lost’ sends uneasiness worming through Daniel. 

“I’m fine.” Daniel taps his temple. “You know I am.” 

Marius doesn’t answer, which makes Daniel’s nerves burn. The idea that Marius might have thought he had some kind of relapse is harrowing and frightening. Daniel has been better for years now and though sometimes he himself fears the darkness overtaking him again, he wants to believe he’s healed. 

“I worry,” Marius says, voice soft.

Daniel laughs, ignoring the way Marius narrows his eyes. “Understandment of the year, old man.” 

Marius drops his arms and his face softens slightly. “I have good reasons.” 

Daniel sighs, annoyed that it’s true. “I know.”

“Not just about your mental state.” Marius steps closer and strokes Daniel’s cheek with his long, pale fingers. “There are enemies who would move against members of this Court. We all need to be cautious and none of us should be running off alone without telling a soul.” 

“I wasn’t alone,” Daniel points out. 

“No, but Lestat ditched Cyril and Thorne as well. Everyone was up in arms about that. Even he shouldn’t be so careless.”

“Nothing can hurt Lestat,” Daniel says. 

Marius is silent, his jaw tight. 

Daniel puts his arms around Marius’ shoulders and leans in close. He presses his lips to Marius’ mouth and it yields as he kisses him. His tongue is hot from the blood he’s drunk and Marius’ mouth is cool. The contrast of their temperatures sends tingles down Daniel’s spine. His hand slides up, cupping Marius’ face, pulling him closer. Marius kisses him back fiercely and then trails little kisses down his chin and neck, up and down his throat on both sides, his lips feather light and leaving little impressions on Daniel’s immortal skin.

Then Marius pulls back and meets his eyes. “You can distract me all you want but you still need to check in when you leave the Chateau.” 

Daniel rolls his eyes but he knows beneath the nagging and anger, Marius was scared. It’s fear that makes him demand such constant updates of his nightly actions, fear that makes him send so many texts even as they go unanswered. Fear that causes him to yell and rant about Daniel being careless. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Daniel says. “I’ll make sure my phone is charged next time. And that the damned text message actually sends.” He presses his forehead to Marius and their noses touch, which makes him tingle again. He wants Marius’ lips back, wants his fangs in his throat. 

“Yes, you will,” Marius murmurs. He’s already kissing Daniel again, unable to resist the heat of his blood-warmed skin against his cool lips. Marius pulls back and tears off Daniel’s sweatshirt and the t-shirt beneath, tossing them aside. 

His eagerness makes Daniel’s pulse race. Marius kisses his neck again and this time, his fangs sink through Daniel’s flesh, piercing his throat. He gasps at the sharp pain. Then he closes his eyes as his blood floods into Marius’ mouth, hot and rich and stolen from some Parisian bastard just hours ago. The movement of Marius’ lips as he drinks is as intoxicating as the swoon that comes over him. Marius’ heart hammers against his. 

Daniel rubs Marius’ shoulder encouragingly, eyes flitting open and closed as the world fades and he sees Marius standing at an easel, filling a canvas with blood red flowers. Everything is red. His heart slams into his ribs matching the rhythm of Marius’ heart. He breathes heavily, the feeling of Marius against him steady and strong even as he draws the blood from his veins. The pressure builds and his heart resists the pull, fighting back, tugging against Marius as he drinks. 

He thinks his heart might explode when Marius finally releases him. Then his mouth finds Daniel’s again. His tongue is coated in blood and the kiss tastes of iron and copper and heat. When they finally part, Daniel smiles at him. “You know, if this is your way of teaching me a lesson, I’ll never learn.” 

Marius smacks him playfully on the shoulder. “Next time I’ll resist your temptations. Perhaps that will be more effective.”  

Daniel shakes his head. He sits down on the bed, his heart slowly returning to normal. Marius heads for the door. 

“Where are you going?” Daniel asks.

“To have words with Lestat,” Marius says. 

“Lucky him,” Daniel mutters as Marius retreats. 

Daniel picks up his phone and scrolls through the increasingly panicked texts sent by Marius. He wonders what kind of lecture Lestat will get, and is almost tempted to go see, but he doesn’t want to be dragged into whatever argument might ensue, so he fires up Plants vs. Zombies on his phone instead.

[sephirthoughts]

Now that you jumped on the Nero is Vincent's son train, how would Sephiroth and him get along? Nero has a lot of grief from Weiss death of course and overall trauma in general. Would Sephiroth also react to him like he did to his sister?

OH. I am so glad you asked. Cause I love this so much.

*cracks knuckles* Characters: Sephiroth and Nero (big brother and little brother).

Setting: Vincent and Cid's house, later the same night Nero arrived.

THIS IS NOW VINCENT'S NEW KID JUST DROPPED, CH. 2

In the small hours of the morning, when that blanket of silence that lies upon a sleeping household was thickest, Nero carefully opened his bedroom door. The knob made the faintest metallic click, then it swung open silently. Fortunately for him, the house was new enough that the hinges didn’t creak, which he had observed earlier in the day, or he'd never have tried this.

Enveloping himself in darkness, he padded down the pitch dark hallway, as softly and silently as a cat, past the closed door of another bedroom. 

Across the T intersection in the hallway, were the doors to the occupied bedrooms. The baby’s door was open a crack, but the main bedroom’s door was closed. Not as if they’d have heard him anyway, with the way one of them (certainly the scruffy blonde smoker) was snoring.

Letting the tendrils of darkness lead, Nero turned right, gliding toward the living room. There was a night-light on, by the front door, casting deep, eerie shadows across the space. To him it was a beacon. Only a few meters to the front door and freedom. Then he could go back and wait for Weiss, at their secret place.

He sneered to himself, as he stepped out of the hallway. He should thank that idiot judge for remanding him to the custody of that man they kept calling his father. These fools were far too trusting, to leave him unchained and unguarded. Did they really expect him to quietly accept his fate, and submit to living in capt—

Only his preternatural reflexes saved him from being blinded by the razor-sharp blade that was suddenly mere millimeters from his eye. He stood frozen in place, heart pounding in his ears, all his hypertuned senses focused on that long, thin blade. It was steady as a rock, without even the tiny movements caused by a swordsman’s pulse and breathing. How the hell had he not sensed it! The darkness should have alerted him!

In the inky shadows, behind the blade, a pair of glowing, bright-green eyes materialized. “Going somewhere?”

Nero cursed inwardly. What the hell was this psychopath doing here? He didn't live here, the other bedroom was empty. He assumed the man had gone. Well, nothing for it but to brazen it out.

“Getting a glass of water.”

The green eyes blinked. “Which required you to put on your boots.”

“I already had them on,” he retorted, mustering all the sullen indignation he could. “What business is it of yours? And what the hell are you doing lurking in the dark with a sword? Don’t you know that’s dangerous?”

The shadowy figure withdrew the blade and stepped closer, looming over him like a shade of death. Nero, who was only five-eight, himself, looked up at Sephiroth, attempting to swallow in a suddenly dry throat.

He definitely hadn’t looked this big, when he’d met him today. Granted, he’d only seen him sitting around with the baby. Now, he was inclined to believe the reports that Shinra's infamous weapon of mass destruction was six-foot-seven. 

His casual clothing from earlier had been replaced by that iconic, leather coat, with the white pauldrons and chest harness, and his famously beautiful silver hair was left loose, cascading freely about his shoulders. He hardly seemed like the same person, at all, with the vicious light in his slit-pupil eyes, and that icy, malevolent smile.

“You’re Sephiroth,” Nero said. “That famous war hero, who they say went mad and slaughtered an entire village full of innocent people.”

“You’re mistaken,” Sephiroth said mildly. “Everyone knows that he died. Or, did you not get the news, in whatever hole Shinra was keeping you in.”

“That’s too bad,” Nero sneered. “I admired his work.”

All this time, his tendrils of darkness had been creeping around behind the man, coiling like snakes. As he said the last few words, all of them struck at once, instantaneously creating a crackling, purple-black vortex of certain death, around the target.

He and Weiss had developed this attack, together. There was no evading it and there was no shield, physical or mystical, that its Chaos born un-light could not pierce. He smiled coldly to himself.

But just as the field constricted, to consume its prey, his darkness vortex slipped out of his control, and began to spin, faster and faster, the tendrils curling in on themselves, contracting and condensing, till the whole thing was no larger than a baseball. Sephiroth held it, floating between his fingertips.

“A pretty little trick. But too easy to turn against you,” he said, and absorbed the purple-black sphere into his palm. 

Nero choked and staggered. Black blood streamed down his chin and dripped onto the floor. His connection to the darkness, that let him feel it and manipulate it like part of his own body, was wrested from him, by Sephiroth. His booted feet skidded across the wood floor, as his own power was used like puppet strings, to drag him toward the man. Sephiroth’s big, black-gloved hand caught him by the throat. 

“Let us clear a few things up, Nero,” he said calmly. “The only reason you are here, is because my father is too soft-hearted.”

Soft hearted? Nero shuddered, thinking of that maniac demon, immune to his darkness, who had torn through him like paper and beaten him within an inch of his life.

“I am not nearly so gentle nor forgiving as he is. He may have accepted you, as his son, but I have not accepted you, as my brother. Until you have proven to me that you can behave like a proper member of this family, I will not acknowledge your right to be here.”

“I don’t w—want to be here!” Nero choked out, clawing impotently at Sephiroth’s absurdly strong hand. “I don’t care about this family! My only family is Weiss! If I don’t have a right to be here, then let me go! I want to go back to my brother! Let me g—ck!” His demands were strangled in his throat, as Sephiroth tightened his grip. 

“Keep your voice down, intruder,” he hissed, in Nero’s ear. “If you wake my little sister, I will make sure you regret it.”

So saying, he dragged Nero bodily into the kitchen, by his neck, and shoved him into a chair, in the breakfast nook. Nero’s body moved jerkily under Sephiroth’s control, his hands and feet placing themselves flat on the table and floor, respectively, as if they’d been glued in place. 

Seeing him yanking at them, Sephiroth gave a snort of laughter. “There’s no point in attempting to break free. You’re not even a match for my father, and he is no match for me.”

As he said this, his black leather ensemble, including coat, gloves, trousers, and high boots, warped and shimmered, and he was suddenly wearing his white t-shirt and black jeans, from before.

Nero left off struggling and watched, dumbfounded, as Sephiroth pressed a button on a thing that looked like a miniature rice cooker, then took a baby bottle out of the refrigerator, and put it in the thing.

“Ollie will be up soon. May as well warm up her bottle, now,” he explained, to his bemused captive.

Was this seriously the hero of Wutai? The one-winged angel? The man whose very name struck fear into the hearts of pretty much everyone? Why was he so…domestic?

Sephiroth, meanwhile, wrapped his long, silver hair into a knot, and stuck a chopstick through it, to hold it in place. Next, he got out a glass, filled it with water, and placed it in front of Nero.

“What the hell is this?” Nero demanded. 

“Your glass of water,” Sephiroth answered blandly. “Oh, but how thoughtless of me.” He opened a drawer, from which he produced a bright-purple curly straw, and stuck it into Nero’s glass. “There. No hands required.”

Nero blinked down at the water, then back up at Sephiroth. Now he was taking containers from the refrigerator, and heating a frying pan on the stove. Nero was too spellbound by this bizarre behavior, to bother being contrary, and unconsciously leaned down to take a sip of water, from this idiotic straw. He realized, after that sip, that he was parched with thirst, and drained the glass quickly.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth had put oil, leftover rice, and some vegetables and tofu from supper into the frying pan. After he browned the mixture for a while, he added some garlic and soy sauce, and a few things Nero didn’t recognize. At that point, the enticing, savory-salty aroma permeated the kitchen, and Nero’s stomach growled with hunger. 

He hadn’t come out of his room for supper, from sheer obstinacy, and the dry ration packets they sporadically bothered to toss into his cell in the max-security prison had been frankly inedible. Not that he ate much, anyway. He hadn’t had something he’d call a meal since…

He clenched his teeth against the deep pang of homesickness, when he thought of his brother, and forced his mind back to the immediate present. His thirst had only been whetted by the glass of water, and his lips felt dry and cracked, but he’d be damned if he let any of these people think he wanted anything from them.

To his manifest irritation, Sephiroth stepped over and dumped some kind of orange liquid into his glass, from a cardboard carton. Before he even had a chance to glare at the man, he had already walked away, and was cracking eggs into his steaming frying pan. 

If sitting him here and making him watch the most dangerous man in the world act like a housewife was some form of psychological torture, it was ingenious. But he may as well get what he could out of it. Rationalizing it to himself, as necessary fuel for his body, now that he wasn’t being saturated in mako all day, Nero sucked down the tangy, sweet, slightly aromatic juice.

He was trying to make his exhausted brain work out a plan, for a way escape, when a bowl and spoon were plunked down in front of him, giving him a start. He looked down and grimaced at the contents of the bowl.

“Fried rice,” Sephiroth said.

That was certainly what it looked like. The formerly white rice was now part of a brown, oily mélange, which also included egg, orange and green things he knew were carrots and peas, and various pale bits that must be tofu. It looked disgusting. 

“You expect me to eat this?” 

Sephiroth crossed his arms on his impressive chest. “You didn’t come to supper. I know you’re hungry.”

Nero tossed his head indignantly. “Tch.”

“I’m going to free one of your hands. You will use that spoon to eat everything in that bowl.”

“Like hell I wi—” 

“If you refuse to cooperate, I will feed it to you,” Sephiroth cut him off, with that terrifyingly placid smile.

Nero glowered. “What business is it of yours, anyway? Why do you care if I eat or not?”

“I do not care about you, in the least. But if you starve yourself and become ill, my father will be unhappy.”

“So what? Why should I care if he's unhappy?”

“He is your father, too.”

“That person is not my father! It’s his fault all of this happened! It’s his fault that Weiss—” Nero broke off and looked down at his bowl. “It’s all his fault. I have to get back to my brother. I need to get back to him.”

“Wiess is dead,” Sephiroth said flatly. “You know he is dead. I am the only brother you have, now.”

“No. No. You’re not my brother. Weiss is my brother. He’s the only one. The only one.”

“Eat. Now.”

Knowing it was useless to resist, Nero used his freed hand to pick up the spoon, and sullenly shoved a bite of the strange food into his mouth. He was so surprised, he was unable to entirely conceal his reaction, when he tasted it, at which Sephiroth smirked. 

Nero didn't care. He no longer cared about anything but this bowl of food. He had no idea anything could taste like this. He’d been fed dry rations and nutritional pastes, since he was a child. Weiss was the only person who had ever cooked him a meal, and that had been a bit of tough meat and some mushy, flavorless vegetables. 

This was…this was what food in heaven must taste like. He felt his eyes sting, like they were about to water, so he kept his head down and focused on getting as much of it into his mouth as he could, as quickly as possible, as if he was afraid someone might take it away.

When his bowl was empty, Sephiroth took it and filled it again, without a word. By the time he was halfway through the second bowl, the fatigue hit him full-on. His eyes were drooping and his head kept nodding, but he pressed on resolutely, to the very last bite. 

“You’re fixated on Weiss, because he was your blood relative, and he was kind to you,” Sephiroth said, taking the empty bowl away, to place it in the sink. “But don’t forget, my father is also your blood relative. And he has saved your life twice.”

He turned back to the table, but the black-haired young man had passed out, and was fast asleep in the chair, with his head hanging to one side. Lifting his brother in his arms, like a child, Sephiroth carried him down the hall to his bedroom, where he laid him in his bed, removed his boots, and tucked him in.  

“I was just like you,” he sighed, looking down at the sleeping face, that was so much like their father's. “So terrified to be alone, and so determined to push everyone away. You’ll get better, too. I’ll make sure of it.”

When he returned to the kitchen, he stopped short, stiffening up and becoming suddenly nervous. Vincent was standing there, in the middle of the kitchen, looking around at the frying pan and utensils, and the bowl and things still in the sink. 

“I wasn’t going to leave it,” Sephiroth said hastily. “I was just coming back to clean up.”

Vincent turned around slowly, looking at him with those beautiful, scarlet eyes, that everyone in the family had, but himself. He reached out, suddenly, as if to touch him, and Sephiroth flinched. A reflex, from years of violent abuse, by Hojo and his handlers at Shinra.

Vincent jerked his hand back, looking embarrassed. “Oh, I—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“No, it’s—I didn’t mean to—anyway, I’m sorry. Sorry about the mess. I’ll clean it up, now.”

Sephiroth hurried to the sink, avoiding his father’s gaze, and set to work cleaning up. Behind him, Vincent reached out again, wavered, then drew back. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For looking after your brother.”

Sephiroth turned, to make some reply, but Vincent was already gone.

LINK TO CH 3.

[house-of-mirrors]

The new katatox icon with the bee got me thinking about Nemesis all over again, with the black honey

Where did it come from. Why and how was it made. (The lore wiki is incorrect on this; Nemesis never specifies a source)

Rereading the echoes gave me so many thoughts though.

Palmerston. Connection to devils?

This part was so fun for roleplay, blackmailing the guy into telling you. Orsinio 100% would.

Also, "Reckless Abandon," highlighting the PC's desperate mental state here... so good...

Now this part here is fascinating for multiple reasons. The auctioneer told you about the mirror you can use to get into the Bazaar, and then for only a small slight against the Masters, he winds up in a cage garden. What's the pipeline between the enemies of the Bazaar and the palace.

"Smells curdled." Could be a coincidence, but in Sunless Skies, a curdled soul is one who is envious and eager to please.

So many Greek myth references here. Furies. Nice.

This was such a good part of rising action in Nemesis. The utter dread I felt testing the honey. Orsinio had never died yet in the game (and wouldn't still for almost another year), so not knowing what would happen was delightfully scary. "What would you give up to get revenge?"

And of course, one of my favorite lines in the whole ambition:

"There are several Relickers in the street now. They watch as you leave."

And then the story completely dropped the ball 😭absolutely no stakes or danger afterwards despite what was teased

Anyway. Give me the black honey lore. The end

Also imagine if the captivating princess was a secondary antagonist in nemesis. Just SOMETHING to fix the third act pleaseee

[alchemist-shizun]

MYATB ep 11 commentary

LETS GOOOOOO, live reaction because i was at work for 6 hours right when the episode released!! enjoy me going insane

Xiaobao my son he's all grown up and trying to go about this the smart way, trying to convince Su Yin with logical reasons, he's amazing. Though Su Yin not wanting to listen to him breaks my heart, I MEAN THE WAY HE LOOKED AT HIM I THOUGHT HE WOULD COMPLY :(

i dont know what it is about them telling the horses to go but it's so fucking funny each time I hear it.

WhATS THIS RANDOM MURDER AOOO these strangers are bloodthirsty

the flying was incredibly off but it's fine we love this terrible green screen it makes it better <3

shaoyu appearing there menacingly, thank you

wdym he must get the crimson dahlia before he dies, DO U WANT TO KILL HIM AFTER AR EU NOT EVEN GONNA MAKE THE EFFORT well you know what su yin, well played, slay, I'd also be that lazy

"do you believe everything people say?" THANK YOU SIMING MY ONLY MAN EVER.

oh my god que siming stayed too much with jinbao now he's starting to lose braincells again

OOO SU YIN GAVE HIM THE COLD SHOULDER??

HUAIEN!!!!!

HUAIEN WHAT THE FUCK. NOW YOURE BOTH POISONED.

"Can you save him?" "of course I can" QUE SIMING THE ONLY MAN EVER, ONCE MORE.

It's killing me how Huai'en is incredibly elated that Xiaobao is worried about him and is not in the slightest caring about the fact that he's poisoned

omfg don't tell me the side couple gets together behind the scenes fr I will SCREAM.

Why can't gay people be normal it's always "I love u so much I want to lock you up and never make you leave me ever" or "let me marry your bestie/servant or I will literally destroy you" wtf

"I think you need medical attention" no way que siming just told him he needs to be hospitalized /j su yin please just rest who cares about killing anyone

HAHHAHAHA ZHAOCAI AND XIAOBAO BEING SO SHOOK ABOUT JINBAO'S CONFESSION I love them. dumbasses.

your honor i love him ( #me)

zhaocai is just completely thunderstruck about jinbao's coming out

zhaocai is the token straight in this entire cast, he is revolted and disgusted by gay people and will become homophobic at the first next sight of que siming and I would understand

NOT THE TRANSITION FROM CUTE SCENE TO AGONY.

please stop this madness stop his pain I am going to CRY STOPPPPP

THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL THOUGH. I LOVE ANGSTY SCENES LIKE THIS MAN

theyre both gorgeous and make me feel sad

"If he comes back, what will you do with him" I'm going to kiss him AND U CANT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BOY

SU YIN JUST SAY YOU HAVE INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA AND GO please

when you ask su yin any relationship advice:

i hope that was not su yin nearly crying because I cannot do this

THE SHADOWS ARE BACK

why do those look nearly like su yins robes, huai'en do u have smth to tell us..

xiaoyu singlehandedly saves the plot

I love xiaoyu because when the guy drops all the lore shes like UNFORTUNATELY I COULDNT CARE LESS

UNFORTUNATELY, HUAI'EN COULDNT CARE LESS EITHER GET THEMMM

me, seeing a strange move: what was that :0 also me seeing a weird fx: ... and what was that-

omfg not shaoyu. shaoyu is gonna get himself fuckin killed

OMFG ENOUGH TWISTS WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING

what an icon li gongxiang

OH SU YIN AND QUE SIMING ARE HERE??

su yin oh my god. oh my god stop playing the jealous bf please I'm begging u he has two hands

WHY THE FUCK WOULD SHE MARRY XIAOBAO ARE U INSANE. -100 AURA POINTS FOR YOU. WHAT EWWW

SROP STOP STOP MY BOY IS CRYING ON THE GROUND IN FRONT OF EVERYONE LET ME GO CUDDLE HIM PLEASE. PLEASE. WHY MUST U BE THIS CRUEEEEELLLL

"the more I want you the faster I lose you" RIP HUAI'EN YOU WOULDVE DONE NUMBERS ON TUMBLR.

well. that was it. wow what an episode. i thought we weren't going to suffer like tormented ants tonight and here I stand corrected.. i really thought su yin would cave to xiaobao's feelings and turn over a new leaf with huai'en but I guess I was wrong :( I WANT THOSE THREE TO BE HAPPY U DONT GET IT. THEIR DYNAMIC WOULD BE SO TASTY, as I'm sure others have realized

the little twist was nice, i was very sure that Li guy was cooked and instead no. Siming was still a chaos queen, zhaocai a mood, jinbao our beloved idiot and xiaobao victim of many torturous aches, I hope the shadows are okay and me? i just want to throw myself in the river if I cannot enter the screen and hug huai'en immediately. Thank you, see u tomorrow for another one pf these.

[lovelytsunoda]

new year's eve // zhou guanyu

summary: a sponsor event in the big apple, white wine on linen, a chinese stain removal method and a red silk qipao bring zhou and y/n together for a new year's adventure that teaches them important lessons about self-love, intimacy and the joy of living.

pairing: zhou guanyu x female reader

it's new years eve, theres too much noise, i could barely hear my own voice. i always said you were too shy, but then I went off to cry. wish i'd never worn that white dress. you found me outside, looking like somebody died

warnings: descriptive panic attack, drinking in a social setting, mentions of premature labour, a little bit of a she’s all that-esque makeover, an iconic chinese grandmother, badly translated mandarin, mentions of body insecurity. the smut scene includes the following: oral (fem receiving), an absurd amount of touching (good god have you seen this man’s hands?!?!), cowgirl, post-coital dysphoria and insecurities, aftercare & sugar sweet zhou <3

author's note: i think that this could very well be one of my favourite things that i have ever written. . . .it feels very 'nick and norah' crossed with 'she's all that'. so without further ado, here is the final full-lenght fic of 2022, and i can't wait to go into 2023 with you guys : )

new york city, new year's eve.

he didn't want to be there.

in the big party thrown by one of valtteri's new york sponsors, lost in a sea of people speaking english that was too fast for him to grasp.

val had promised him it would be different, that zhou's presence was just as important as the finn's.

so why didn't it feel that way? why had the entire trip, meant to be a team bonding experience, feel like zhou was playing third wheel to valtteri and tiffany's winter couple's holiday?

and now he was standing in the lobby of some plush hotel, brushing shoulders with the self-centered american elites. he stood in the back corner, with an almost full glass of expensive champagne in hand.

he’s lost valterri an hour ago, with the driver swept up in a crowd of people who wanted his attention.

there was a commotion in the crowd, and zhou couldn’t tear his eyes away as a young woman in a puffy tan jacket and a long white dress came running, purse dangling from her hand and white wine running down her front, an apologetic waiter shouting after her.

zhou placed his champagne on the counter, hoping to catch the girl before she rushed out of the hotel doors, before he noticed that her phone had fallen out of her hand and clattered to the floor.

“miss?” he shouted, picking up the iPhone in its dropproof case, the screen lighting up with a stock photo from pinterest featuring a bouquet of tulips.

but she didn’t hear him, pushing her way out of the hotel.

so the alfa romeo driver saw no other option but to run after her.

“sorry to bother you,” he started, pulling his prada trench coat tighter around his body as a shield from the cold. “you dropped your pho-oh my god, are you okay?”

the woman was sitting on a bench outside the hotel, red in the face with tears in her eyes as she gasped for breath, clutching at her chest as she tried to fill her lungs with the winter air. she shook her head, panic in her eyes as zhou knelt down to meet her eyes.

“hey, look at me. I’m going to hold your hands, okay? I want you to breathe with me. gently in and out.” he guided her, trying to match their breathing together. slowly, he could see the color returning to her face. “you dropped your phone.” he said gently, pulling the iphone out of his pocket.

“thank christ.” she exhaled, taking the device from the driver. “I probably would’ve died once I found out I left it in there. I’m y/n.”

“zhou. or, guanyu, guanyu zhou, as you americans would say.”

“zhou guanyu.” she said softly, saying it the chinese way, with his last name first. now that she was talking more freely, he noticed her accent. australian. she was a long way from home. “I like it. it sounds regal, almost like you’re royalty. what brings you to the big apple? sounds like both of us are a long way from home.”

zhou sighed, taking a seat on the bench next to her. “it’s a promotional event for my teammate. I think valtteri invited me out of pity.”

“wait, valtteri bottas?” y/ns ears perked up. “I might be reaching a bit, but do you know his girlfriend, tiffany cromwell?”

“of course I know tiff. how do you?”

“my cousin is her nutritionist, she was supposed to be tiffany’s plus one, but her baby had other ideas and she went into premature labour, so tiff invited me along instead.”

the two young adults sat in silence for a minute as all the pieces slotted together in their brains, before zhou shouted in cantonese and y/n cursed under her breath.

“those cunts.” she snickered “I bet val and tiff planned this. they were setting us up, weren’t they?”

zhou laughed, a gleeful sound, his head tilted back and a few silky strands of his dark hair falling in front of his eyes. “it looks like we’re a few steps ahead of them.”

“I guess we are.” she laughed, brushing some hair behind her ear. “fuck, it’s cold as balls out here. and the wine down the front of my dress isn’t helping much.”

zhou looked over, watching the warmly coloured liquid soak into the thin white fabric. he reached for his own phone, fingers scrabbling across the keyboard.

“I have an idea. there’s this old chinese remedy my mom used to use to get dirt and grass stains out of my race suits as a kid. and if it can get grass out of a race suit, it can get white wine out of a linen dress.”

“I’m impressed that you even know that my dress is made of linen.”

“it’s a skill set. it’s not useful, it it’s a skill set.” the driver shrugged. “the closest chinese market is twenty minutes away by taxi. what do you think, y/n? do you fancy a new york adventure with me?”

y/n snorted “good luck getting a taxi in new york city on bloody new years.”

zhou got to his feet, running towards the street corner, waving his arm in the air. “taxi!” he shouted. “fuck, I’ve always wanted to do that!”

y/n laughed as she stood up, hobbling across the icy sidewalk in her high heels, trying not to step on the hem of her dress. zhou had successfully hailed a cab in under an hour, a feat that few accomplished on new years in the big apple.

he held the door open for her with a grin and a proper curtesy, a grin on his face as he said ‘after you, m’lady."

the taxi wove in an out of the new york traffic, turning down a side street lit with paper lanterns in glowing red and yellow. y/n watched on, entranced by the city that never stopped moving around her, fingers absently drawing simple shapes in the condensation that had formed on the inside of the window. zhou watched her with a tender smile on his face, completely at a loss on how to explain his sudden infatuation with the girl sitting next to him. he was drawn to everything about her: her loud mouth, her soft eyes, her gentle accent.

she was magnetic, and zhou was a refrigerator magnet.

the cab came to a stop in front of a small bodega, windows plastered with advertisements for chinese soft drinks, paper signs in calligraphy dictating the opening hours. the only thing written in english was the blinking open sign hanging in the door.

zhou paid the cab driver before taking y/n's hand in his and opening the glass door. the market had a cozy, homely feel to it: shelves packed with brightly colored boxes, a rack of brightly colored qipao lining one far wall, the spinning rack of postcards by the front door, the neon drink cooler that seemed to glow brighter than anything else in the calmly lit room.

it reminded her almost of the tourist trap market areas in sydney.

behind the counter, a young woman of about twenty-five leaned over the counter, a juul hanging from the corner of her mouth as she flipped through an issue of cosmopolitan. zhou went straight to the counter, striking up a conversation in mandarin as a shorter elderly woman with a bright smile emerged from the curtain hanging over the back room.

"what can i do for you today, young man?" the shopkeeper had a knowing look in her eyes as they roamed back and forth between zhou and y/n, who was looking at the delicately made qipao in wonder, her fingers dancing across the delicate silk. "condoms are in the third aisle."

zhou's face blushed pink, and he coughed to disguise the laugh that threatened to bubble over. "what, no, my friend spilled some white wine on her dress." he went on to list all of the ingredients he would need to clean the linen. "could you help us out?"

the shopkeeper nodded. "i'll need her dress. unfortunately, i only have qipao for her to wear in the meantime." she turned to the young woman at the other end of the counter who had just exhaled a cloud of watermelon scented water vapour. "mei-lin, can you help the young woman get soem fresh clothes so i can wash her dress?"

"a makeover?" mei-lin's eyes lit up as zhou called y/n over. "i'm finally going to get to 'she's all that' someone?"

y/n's eyes widened as she looked at zhou. "what's happening?"

"mei-lin is going to help you." the shopkeeper switched to english as she looked at y/n with a smile. "i trust her to get you settled, and then your friend and i will get that pesky wine stain out of your lovely dress."

neither party missed the change in the old woman's tone when she said the word 'friend'.

"and on that note," mei-lin said, breaking up the awkward silence. "i'm going to go pick out some qipao, and you can go straight to the back room so we can get this party started."

with one last panicked look at zhou, y/n retreated to the back room as the shopkeeper took zhou by the hand and helped him find the things he needed for his mother's herbal stain remover.

"first things first, call me melanie, that's the name that i prefer for myself. nainai is very traditional, but it's something that i love most about her." mei-lin smiled. "now, get that pesky dress off and we'll find something to impress loverboy out there."

y/n laughed nervously as she watched melanie hang up the qipao on an exposed pipe in the break room. "okay, so he and i just met half an hour ago, and is this not cultural appropriation, or fetishization or something?"

"semantics. i'm sure nainai would have given you other clothes if we had something other than qipao, but i think she's secretly excited about having the chance to show these off. she makes them herself, you know. she was an atelier in beijing before they decided to come to new york." melanie paused, looking at the four dresses she'd hung up. "mr. prada over there looked like a boobs man, is he a boobs man? and it's cold outside so that takes out the short one."

the australian tuned it out as she slipped out of her heels, puffer jacket and the soaked linen dress. a part of her was surprised that the wine hadn't frozen solid on her dress yet as she passed it over the paper screen to melanie, who was standing on the other side, seemingly having made up her mind about the qipao.

"what were you wearing underneath that dress? nainai makes lingerie too, i'm sure there's a box back here somewhere. she sells it on amazon, small business and whatever. my grandmother is quite the entrepreneur. let me find something that matches the qipao. we're going to knock mr. prada's socks off!"

by this point, y/n had discovered that it was useless to try and reason with melanie, and felt all the fight leave her body. besides, she couldn't remember the last time she had been pampered, and there was a part of her that felt a rush of adrenaline thinking about the alfa romeo driver's hands all over her body.

she was doing this for herself, and nobody else. something out of her comfort zone. consider it an early new year's resolution.

she was presently surprised in her appearance when she emerged from the paper screen, looking at the mirror hanging limply on the concrete wall. the red fabric hugged her curves perfectly, enunciating all the things she had once been insecure about in a flattering, pleasing way.

she felt sexy, and it was a foreign feeling. but it also gave her confidence, and that's when she thought she might break. for the first time, she wasn't wearing that big label that said 'fragile, handle with caution'.

melanie clapped her hands in glee. "you look stunning, absolutely wonderful!! huálì de! mr. prada isn't going to know what hit him!"

but also in that same mirror, y/n could see her messy, disarrayed hair, her smudged mascara. puffy eyes from crying.

"makeup wouldn't happen to be a part of this makeover deal, would it?"

twenty minutes later, she emerged from the back room as a changed woman, fighting the urge to draw into herself timidly, instead walking with her head held high, hair pulled back in a prim bun and held together with two red and gold hair pins.

"hi." she said awkwardly, waving her arm limply as zhou looked up from his phone, jaw dropping in wonder.

he had been in the middle of texting valtteri when y/n emerged from the back room, effectively taking his breath away. she looked regal and confident, something in her appearance that hadn't been there before. the qipao had a tighter fit than the linen she was wearing earlier, drawing zhou's attention to parts of her body that he hadn't even noticed before.

"hi. uh, wow, you look incredible."

"keep the qipao." nainai smiled from behind the counter. "it suits you. i designed it for a girl like you, you know. someone who needed an extra boost of confidence in herself. you wear it well, xiao niao. and if anybody asks where it's from, please send them over here."

y/n lowered her voice, looking at zhou. "what did she just call me?"

the driver laughed. "xiao niao. it means 'little bird'."

a simple term of endearment shouldn't have made her heart flutter the way that it did. it was the way the syllables rolled of zhou's tongue that made the butterflies in her stomach run rampant.

and she'd be damned if she didn't end the night in his bed, or at least with her lips on his.

and she didn't even know where this sudden rush of lust and self-confidence had come from. but she planned on riding that wave as long as she could.

“I’m sorry for cutting your gala short.” she apologized softly, pulling her jacket back on. “although i don’t think that you were having a lot of fun.”

zhou chuckled. “it’s fine. I didn’t want to be there all that much anyways. I only went for valtteri.”

“and I only went for tiffany.”

melanie gave them a knowing look from where she stood next to her grandmother behind the counter. “there’s a really good hot coco place around the corner, you guys could walk there if you wanted to.”

“what do you think, zhou?” she asked softly, looking at the alfa driver. “should we keep the night going?”

“the night is still young.”

nainai smiled. “here’s your dress, honey.” she said, passing a plastic walmart bag over the counter. “rinse it out in the morning and it will be perfectly fine. keep him, he’s a smart one.” the older woman laughed, pointing at zhou.

the two young adults left the bodega together, still dancing around hand holding, although zhou was ever the gentleman, holding doors open and guiding y/n away from the puddles and ice, still balanced on her stiletto heels.

nainai and melanie watched thoughtfully from inside the market. “I give them an hour tops before she ends up in his bed.”

“nainai!” melanie gasped. “I’d only give them half that.”

her grandmother shook her head with a grin and a small laugh. “she’s got him wrapped around her little finger.”

melanie grinned, taking another drag from her juul. “hell yeah she does. and I don’t even think she knows it.”

out on the street corner, once they were out of sight from the bodegas windows, y/n quickly zipped up her jacket, reaching behind her head to pull out the hair pins, shaking her waves out.

"there. this feels a little less cultural appropriate-y. melanie pulled the bun too tightly anyways."

"i think that your hair looks better like that." zhou remarked offhandedly. "and the qipao looks brilliant."

y/n looked at the hairpin in her hands, the cold night air rapidly cooling the metal in her hands. the pin was wrapped in a sleeve of red string, a silver dragon piece spiraling down the shaft.

"i love dragons." she remarked, twirling the hairpin around as she followed zhou in the direction that the shopkeeper had pointed them, desperate for a warm drink. "i have a collection of them, little ceramic dragons. i pick up one wherever i can, usually when i travel. this will look pretty neat in the display cabinet."

the hot chocolate bar seemed to light up the entire street. the interior was all white marble and subway tile, bouquets of pale pink roses on each table. ever the gentleman, zhou held the door open for her, his breath turning to vapour in the cold air. she thanked him, going straight to the counter, trying to warm up her hands as she held on to zhou's.

chalkboards behind the counter detailed the extravagant and overpriced, sugar-filled beverages, and y/n couldn't decide what she wanted to try first. the cafe was fairly empty, the driver and his plus one being the only two people in the line, and two of five in the whole resteraunt.

y/n supposed that it was because there were better places to be on new year's eve in new york city. they ordered, and zhou found himself tapping the credit card app on his phone against the debit machine before y/n even had a chance to get her wallet out of her purse.

"you didn't have to do that." she said softly as the alfa driver collected the receipt from the barista.

"i know. but i wanted to." he took a soft breath before the duo sat down nest to each other in a corner booth. "you're worth every penny."

"you don't even know me."

"but i want to. i want to know everything, y/n."

and for the next hour, that's what they did. talking about anything and everything, laughing at each other's jokes. it was awkward and comfortable and giggly in that way that you could only ever read about in books. zhou told her everything about racing, travelling, growing up in shanghai. they bonded together over hot chocolates piled high with caramel sauce, whipped cream and ground up oreo cookies and caramel chips.

"y/n, you've got a little something . . ." zhou's voice trailed off as he placed his delicate, slender fingers underneath her chin, using them to tilt her head back so he could use the pad of his pointer finger to swipe the whipped cream and caramel off the top of her cupid's bow.

their eyes met, a flash of recognition sparking between them as y/n's eyes fluttered closed, lips parting in anticipation as zhou carefully placed his lips against hers, cradling her bottom lip between his.

he held her as if she was made out of glass, like he was scared of making too many sudden movements lest she shatter. they parted gently, foreheads resting against each other before y/n broke, pulling him back in for an even fiercer kiss, her lips burning every time their lips made contact, arousal pooling in her stomach as zhou gently placed his hand against her neck.

"my hotel room or yours?"

_____

how alive she felt with his lips on hers.

they stumbled in through the hotel door, hands on each other's bodies with reckless abandon, jackets and purses falling to the hardwood floor as she hobbled out of her high heels, zhou's lips on her neck as she fell against the wall, pulling him closer by the waistband as she redirected his lips to hers.

he couldn't help but briefly wonder what his mother would think. deflowering a girl in a qipao? a girl who wasn't even chinese?

zhou slipped his palm up the small slit in the side of the qipao, running his soft hands along y/n's tender skin, goosebumps following in his wake.

"i'd strip for you," y/n started with a small laugh. "but i have no idea how to take this damn thing off."

"don't worry about it." he said with a soft kiss to her forehead. "i've got you."

she was shocked at how quick she had spread her legs for him, how safe she felt in his presence.

how alive she felt with his lips on hers.

he took his time with her once she was undressed, wearing nothing but the bright red lingerie, lace fabric dotted with hearts, his soft fingertips caressing her thighs, his lips following after. he wasn't even kissing her, just softly feeling every inch of her underneath his soft, plump lips.

"zhou, please." she breathed out. "i need you to do something, i can't take this."

"patience, bao bei. i want to enjoy you." the tip of his index finger traced the crease of her thigh, so despairingly close to where she ached to feel him.

"zhou." she whined, taking his hand in hers and guiding it over the lace. "i need to feel your mouth on me."

she wasn't sure when she had become this bold, when she didn't feel the urge to shy away during the most intimate of moments. didn't feel the urge to hide when zhou pulled her panties aside, pressing a feather light kiss to her clit.

and then the real fun began as he licked up her dripping center, probably making a mess of the hotel bedsheets in the process. y/n's hand flew to the back of his head as he slipped his tongue inside her, gently moving it in and out as he listened to her breathy moans, her head tilted back as she bit her lip to stop herself from cursing.

"zhou, please, just like that, right there baby . . . " she whined, before the driver withdrew his tongue and kissed her inner thigh, sloppy, sticky and messy.

"god, you're beautiful." he breathed before he mumbled something in mandarin. "i can't get enough of you, bao bei."

it was going to be a long, long night.

they welcomed the new year still wrapped in the sheets. zhou leaned back against a pile of pillows, his hands gripping y/n's hips as she rode him, her hands braced on his chest as he stared up at her in wonder.

this was round three, their bodies covered in sweat, hickies beginning to form on their skin as they huffed and groaned, y/n shaking above him as she felt her third orgasm rapidly approach.

"oh god, you fill me so well, baby. i think i'm gonna come!"

zhou's face was blushed and rosy as he tightened his grip, thrusting his hips up to wrangle another harsh moan from the back of y/n's throat.

she came just as the fireworks started to go off outside the window, bright colors from the flashes illuminating the room in shades of red and gold as her strength evaporated, her body slumping against his as his hips stilled, filling the latex condom with his seed.

"happy new year, y/n." he smiled, kissing the side of her head as she turned to look at him.

"happy new year, zhou." she grinned before she kissed him.

____

she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, sweaty hair hanging around her face, the red sheen dissipating from her face as she criticized every part of her appearance.

the adrenaline had worn off, and now she felt like shit. even wearing the prada t-shirt zhou had lent her when she got out of the bed to run to the washroom was another thing for her to judge about herself.

how had she been so careless to fall into bed with him so quickly? she avoided one night stands like the plague, and sometimes even in proper relationships, the act left her feeling like this.

feeling like she was just another thing to be used.

"y/n?" zhou shouted, his disembodied voice followed by a knock on the bathroom door. "i'm coming inside, okay? i'm worried about you."

the door slid open, and she wiped at the tears threatening to collect under her eyes.

"bao bei?" zhou said softly. he was dressed in nothing but grey sweatpants, loosely tied and hanging off his waist. "what's wrong? did i do something?"

"no, no." she shook her head quickly, wiping at her eyes. "you did everything just fine. you treated me like a queen this entire night."

zhou took her hands in his, running his thumbs over her knuckles. "it's just the adrenaline drop, sweetheart. you're beautiful, and smart, and funny, and this has been the best night of my life. and i want to keep this going. i want to know you better. how about you come back to bed, we'll cuddle. and then in the morning, you and i go out for breakfast?"

"yeah, i like that." she smiled, squeezing his hands in hers. "i really like you, zhou. and i've had a really good time with you, tonight."

he kissed her softly, brushing a section of her hair away from her face.

"come on, get some rest, beautiful. i'll see you in the morning. or, later this morning."

y/n laughed. "what time even is it?"

"12:45, january first."

"yeah, let's go back to bed."

____

Tags: @magnummagnussen @scuderiamh @sidcrosbyspuck @libraryofloveletters @diorleclerc @daydreamingleclerc

[akiumzeno]

Ye-jun Im as a Survivor

(Outdated. Visit here for updated version.)

Title: The Protector

Perk: Concealment

Ye-jun can click on another survivor’s icon to make them Concealed. When a survivor is Concealed, it will raise their undetectability to 75%. Whenever the Concealed survivor avoids detection, Ye-jun gains a stack which gives him an extra 20 points of stamina. Ye-jun has a max of 5 stacks at a time and loses the stack once the stamina is used up but can regain it.

However, if the Concealed survivor does get detected, the detection stays for the Concealed survivor 15 seconds longer than usual. This ability can only be used on one survivor and cannot be transferred if the survivor dies and the perk disappears once Ye-jun dies.

“You're going to be safe. Don't worry.” - Ye-jun Im

Stats:

Speed: 9/10

Stamina: 8/10

Stealth: 3/10

Composure: 3/10

Repair: 7/10

Healing: 4/10

Voicelines:

"Call me a dancer."

"5, 6, 7 and 8!"

"I wonder how Dae is doing..."

"Run!"

"You never know who's looking."

"Can't find them, now can you?"

Backstory:

Ye-jun grew up in a well-off family that provided him with everything he could have ever needed. He knew he had it better than everyone but that still didn’t make him anyone spoilt. He still looked out for others and even shared what he had to those who needed it. Although, he still could say no if the time ever came. This made him generally liked among others even if Ye-jun only made his company reserved for a few.

One of Ye-jun’s surprising yet strong likes was his interest of pop music. He was interested in it and one day, he decided to audition for the position to be in a potential music group. Although he wasn’t expecting to get in, his talent and effort ended up landing him a position.

He soon met up with all his soon-to-be group members and he thought they were all polite and respectful but one of them stood out the most.

Dae-jung. 

He had this aura that just drew Ye-jun in like a fish on a hook. He was attentive, affable, easygoing, and not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Before he knew it, Ye-jun had butterflies in his stomach whenever Dae-jung was around.

However, he knew that no matter how confident he was about his feelings and self-assured to take rejection, he couldn’t act on his feelings. It was only a matter of time before they became idols. And once they would make their debut, it was out of the question. But Dae-jung was so passionate about becoming one. He didn’t want to ruin his wishes before they could even flourish. So he stayed silent.

Eventually, their group, STAR*STRUCK made its debut and they became big. People loved them. Ye-jun and Dae-jung were soon big stars alongside their two other members Byung-ho and Han-gyeol. They were doing concerts, photoshoots, fan-meetups, making albums, even getting presents and letters from their fanbase. It became overwhelming.

But despite that, Ye-jun enjoyed every moment Dae-jung and him shared and he couldn’t wait for the next time they might lock a glance or have a conversation about whatever. This was all so exciting and new for Ye-jun to experience; he didn’t know how to contain his feelings.

He couldn’t contain his feelings.

Without meaning to, while Dae-jung and him were talking, his feelings bursted out. They were just leaning against each other while talking, Ye-jun didn’t mean to say he loved Dae-jung at that moment. Ye-jun grimaced, expecting a rejection at the very least and a scolding from the very worst.

“I love you too, Ye-jun.” 

None of the music STAR*STRUCK could produce could sound more heavenly than the words Dae-jung just uttered.

“H-Huh? You do?” Ye-jun blushed.

Dae-jung gave a nod back with a tender smile that could make Ye-jun’s heart melt.

Ye-jun soon started to smile. And soon, they shared a fleeting, but still passionate kiss.

Ever since then, Ye-jun and Dae-jung have been secretly dating. They didn’t tell anyone about it, not even their trusted members. They didn’t want to take even the slightest chance that they could be exposed. 

One day, they decided to have their first date. Of course, they first made it seem like they wanted the entire group there. But secretly, they planned it on a day where both Byung-ho and Han-gyeol were busy. They soon both went to a private spot on a hill. Just a simple romantic dinner for the two of them.

But when they woke up the morning after, they couldn’t have been expecting what came. They both woke up to a racket going on within the dorm their group shared. 

Their manager came in, revealing that their date had gotten out and how everyone was talking about it. They were soon swiftly fired for breaking their contract. Dae-jung and Ye-jun soon started to feel melancholic about what was in store for the future as Han-gyeol and Byung-ho left them to process everything.

As the two held each other for comfort, a white mist filled the room. And when Byung-ho and Han-gyeol went to check up on the both of them, there was no sign of them. Nothing that showed they left or were hiding, like they disappeared into thin air.

Quotes:

Picking Up Ally:

Dae-jung (Alternate Universe Skin)

[Ye-jun]: “Guess I’m going to have to be your knight in shining armour.”

[Dae-jung]: “Aren’t you always that though?”

[Ye-jun]: “Please, don’t go just yet.”

[Dae-jung]: “No need to worry, black cat. I’m not going anywhere.”

Dae-jung

[Ye-jun]: “Hang in there, Dae-jung! I’ll get you back up!”

[Dae-jung]: “Thank you, Ye-jun.”

[Ye-jun]: “You’re going to get out of here. I’ll make sure of it.”

[Dae-jung]: “Let's hope so.”

Chaoxing

[Ye-jun]: “Surprised to see you here.”

[Chaoxing]: “Same here!”

Yeona

[Ye-jun]: “Why in the world did you think of going to their dorm? Byung, Han and Dae got their own lives that you don’t need to spy on.”

[Yeona]: “I-I just wanted you guys to notice me.”

[Ye-jun]: “Sure, sweetie. That’s what they all say.”

[Ye-jun]: “Your behaviour’s revolting. Do you honestly think this is right?”

[Yeona]: “I-I don’t know.”

[Yeona]: “Thanks, Ye-jun!”

[Ye-jun]: “This doesn’t mean anything. Don’t think too much about it.”

Aaaqil

[Ye-jun]: “Why don’t you say anything to him? Perhaps it’ll be just nice to just get the feelings out. It’ll be cathartic.”

[Aaaqil]: “Thanks, but I’m not too sure about that.”

Crosby

[Ye-jun]: “Just so you know, I also know what it’s like to be in a forbidden relationship. If you need it, you got someone to talk to.”

[Crosby]: “Thank you! And I hope things work out for you!”

Rayner

[Ye-jun]: “Just so you know, I also know what it’s like to be in a forbidden relationship. If you need it, you got someone to talk to.”

[Rayner]: “Much appreciated, friend.”

General

[Ye-jun]: “Don’t worry. You aren’t staying down.”

[Ye-jun]: “Hold still. I’ll help you up.”

[Ye-jun]: “Dae is usually the one doing this but I can try.”

Picked Up By Ally:

Dae-jung (Alternate Universe Skin)

[Dae-jung]: “Don’t worry, Ye-jun! I got you!”

[Ye-jun]: “Thanks, bunny.”

[Dae-jung]: “Please don’t die on me, Ye-jun!”

[Ye-jun]: “I wouldn’t even dream of it, Dae.”

Dae-jung 

[Ye-jun]: “Take your time. You don’t have to rush.”

[Dae-jung]: “Thanks, Ye-jun.”

[Dae-jung]: “It still feels weird to do this with you.”

[Ye-jun]: “I’d imagine.” 

Yeona

[Yeona]: “Y-Ye-jun! It’s so great to—“

[Ye-jun]: “Just heal me and get it over with.”

[Yeona]: “Are you and Dae-jung dating?”

[Ye-jun]: “We are. If you have any problems with it, you better say them right now.”

[Yeona]: “I heard that you slept in the practice rooms after sessions!”

[Ye-jun]: “Ugh… You scare me.”

Chaoxing

[Chaoxing]: “Does it hurt?”

[Ye-jun]: (sarcastically) “No, of course not.”

Emery

[Emery]: “Oh goodness! It’s you! You’re even more handsome in person!”

[Ye-jun]: “Hehe, thanks. I appreciate the honesty.”

Taylor

[Taylor]: “I really liked your one song… Close To You?”

[Ye-jun]: “Thanks. That song became huge, now didn’t it?”

Dakari

[Dakari]: “Oh my gosh…! Ye-jun, it’s you…!”

[Ye-jun]: “Must be a fan, huh? Well, nice to meet you.”

Elijah

[Elijah]: “Hey, there. I’ve listened to some of your songs and they’re pretty good.”

[Ye-jun]: “Thanks. Glad you like it.”

Survivor Died:

Dae-jung (Alternate Universe Skin)

[Ye-jun]: “DAE!!! PLEASE, ANSWER ME!”

[Ye-jun]: “No… Don’t leave me! Please…!”

[Ye-jun]: “Could I not protect you?”

Dae-jung:

[Ye-jun]: “I swear when I see that guy…”

[Ye-jun]: “You son of…” 

Last Survivor:

[Ye-jun]: “There’s no one else?”

[Ye-jun]: “Time to get serious.”

[Ye-jun]: “Alright, I can do this no problem.”

Chase:

The Idol

[Ye-jun]: “So you’re dating Dae-jung… You wouldn’t mind trading places, now would you?”

[Ye-jun]: “You better not get close to him! I can fight just as well as you!”

[Ye-jun]: “So it’s true that he does love me! I knew it! He’s just in denial!”

[Ye-jun]: “It's over between you two! Just let him go!”

[Ye-jun]: “You’re sick in the head! What kind of monster are you?!”

[Ye-jun]: “You’re me and I am you. How come I am the monster?”

[Ye-jun]: “I don’t care if you’re me! I’ll get rid of anyone standing between me and Dae!”

[Ye-jun]: “Well, I don't care either! I'll die before I'll let you even lay a finger on him!”

[Ye-jun]: "Your choice."

General

[Ye-jun]: “I can dance and sing for hours on end! This is nothing!”

[Ye-jun]: “Get ready to dance with me!”

Escaped Chase:

The Idol

[Ye-jun]: “What in the world did I become?”

[Ye-jun]: “Why did I do that? What happened with me?”

[Ye-jun]: "He's so self-centred... It's disgusting."

(If enough people like this, I'll post the memories I wrote for this concept)

[nikkiiiscute]

Eddie Dear Character Analysis TW: Mental Health, Sharp objects, Mentions of war, Death of parent.

Y'all better thank me for this analysis cuz I can feel the Carpal Tunnel comin'

He's clumsy to the max - He says it himself that he ran into 3 walls (FOURTH WALL REFERENCE!?) not to mention there's a gag where sometimes He and Frank bump into each other 😏. His Clumsiness has caused his Mail Contents to spill, many times: a Picture shows Frank Frankly using his Butterfly Net to help collect Eddie's dropped envelopes.

Mail Courier is a government job? - Prepare to be hit with a bold hypothesis but what if Eddie was isekai'd into Welcome Home? I feel like you can go in and out of the Puppet World so, everyone got isekai'd here? Look, I feel like some dude in / outside the puppet world is paying this dude and probably everyone that has a Job.

Nice skill set dude - Eddie solos the Arts & Crafts segment, meaning he has the best Hand Coordination and Dexterity to handle delicate paper and sharp tools. It's worth theorizing over that Eddie is always there when an obstacle requires manual labor to overcome (according to his bio). So we have a Government Employee that doubles as a Day Laborer, BUT he is also a specialist in Communications Technology - The Restoration Project News Page jokes that if Eddie Dear was with them, he might be able to help program the Website better. So an IT Technician as well? Well damn Ed, Nice Skill Set bro.

Eddie has PTSD? - Okay let's go back to the theme of Mental Health, Eddie might have undiagnosed PTSD (recognized as a mental disorder only in 1980), and possibly is suppressing his own memory, why tho? A bit of a stretch TBH, but if we can see what kind of Person he was, as in a Human Being, not just a mindless puppet he might be something else, but maybe we can guess why.

Ethnicity Analysis Time!!! - Eddie is the most Humanlike in body Proportions, the dude is built like a Marine like damn no wonder he has simps! He also has the most realistic body colors: Ruddy Orange Skin and Red Hair. kinda like the NPCs in Gerudo Valley from Breath of The Wild. For y'all who don't know, Ruddy Skin basically means that you look like ya got sunburned. Ruddy Skin and Red Hair are Traits of Orient-African Descent, or Afro-Irish Descent and y'all already know he has a Southern Accent.

Eddie's Story - Eddie Daor was born in 1942 but due to him having ruddy skin, His mother unfortunately died at birth, I have a headcanon that maybe Eddie blamed himself for his mom dying. Skipping to 1953, at 17 he enlisted into the military as a Communications tech to leave behind his memories about his mother. 2 years later, he reunited with his childhood sweetheart Frank Franklin who was working as an entomologist at a university (Analysis on them later) then in 1969 (before the show debuted) He married Frank in secret. in October 11 1969 He, Frank and some friends you know were isekai'd into the show by the Creator Ronald Dorelaine, transforming into their puppet counterpart with his real name switched out to Eddie Dear instead alongside everyone else, It was covered up as the cast being hired to puppeteer the iconic puppets. On ????? 15 1974, welcome Home abruptly ended along with the cast as the crew and the cast were found dead and an even bigger problem, Ronald Dorelaine was reported MISSING and presumed dead.

Wooooooo! Eddie had it rough tho :( but good thing when it comes to friendship he always deliver! Thank you for reading this character analysis :)!!!!

[master-john-uk]

29th December 1940 - London suffered it's most devastating air raid of The Blitz.

Many Londoners had spent their Christmas sheltering in festively decorated Underground railway stations. For two nights the enemy bombers had stayed away, and the anti-aircraft guns remained eerily silent. That silence was shattered as night fell on the 29th December.

Shortly after 6pm the Luftwaffe began their massive raid targeting the square mile of The City of London around St. Paul's Cathedral. They dropped tens of thousands of incendiary bombs and parachute landmines. Just 30 minutes later much of the City was ablaze. One American news reporter dubbed it the Second Great Fire of London.

London's brave firefighters struggled to control the flames. Their efforts were hampered by watermains being hit, as well as the River Thames being at an exceptionally low tide. At least twelve firemen died that night, along with 162 civilians. Many more were injured.

At least 28 bombs hit St. Paul's Cathedral that night. Many of these were dealt with by volunteers of St. Paul's Watch, (a group originally set up by the Cathedral during WWI), who used buckets of water and stirrup pumps to dowse the flames.

Saint Paul's Cathedral was saved. This iconic photograph taken by Herbert Mason was published in the Daily Mail two days later. It became a symbol of London's unconquerable spirit.