#would have made her wanting to save the timelines have more of an impact

[iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid]

bruh she just trash compacted an entire room of people. fuckin brutal

[tsukimefuku]

Let me die

I've been obsessed with a bit for a fic I want to write, so I just decided to put it here. Nanami fluff and some angst ahead, be careful.

Disclaimer: NO ONE DIES, it’s just a conversation in a bar where y/n requests something.

This is part of my "Jujutsu Partners Canon Divergence AU". A sequence of short stories and random drabbles for a fic I'll eventually write (eventually). To see the ever-growing list of one-shots, please visit my masterlist :) 

Disclaimer: they’re NOT written and posted in chronological order of events. To see where this story fits in the timeline, please check the masterlist mentioned above.

You had just finished a mission that left a pretty bad taste in your mouth. You were forced to choose between two people to save, and one of them was your friend. Was.

The glare she had as she embraced her beloved's dead body made you sure that she would never forgive you for saving her instead of him. You chose to save her for egotistical reasons, you knew that. You knew (or thought you knew) that his death would not weigh on your shoulders as much hers would. However, you just didn't account in your egotistical equation how much his death would weigh on her, and how much more suffering you bestowed upon her by choosing to let him die in exchange for her life.

"Nanami, I need to drink." you said on the phone. "I had a horrible day. I'd like some company."

"We can meet at the bar by your house at 7PM." He promptly replied.

You and Nanami had grown close during the course of the last few months. He was assigned to you as your informal mentor until you were promoted from a grade 2 to a grade 1 sorcerer. There was some history before you went to work for Jujutsu High. Both of you met when he was on a mission that led to him eventually saving your life, and your gratitude eventually started to become something more. Sometimes, you wondered if he felt as close to you as you felt to him. These night drinks were turning into a regular thing, and you usually let your mouth say things you couldn't think to say out loud if it weren't for a few beers in, and Nanami being the person you were talking to.

***

After a while, when you spend so much time around somebody, you tend to pick up on their mannerisms, like their brows frowning, the way their mouths twitch when they feel mad, or how they are dead silent because they're drowning in unsaid things.

"What is it?" Nanami asked, out of the blue, surprising you. Both had already been drinking for a while, and you specifically were 4 beers down in misery. "I can hear your thinking from the other side of the table."

“I have a request for you.” You answered.

He took another sip of his drink, and said, unfazed, "What request?"

He inquired like he already knew you wanted to ask something from him, even before you knew you would.

"If you’re ever faced with a situation where you have to choose between saving my life or someone else, don’t choose me." you said. Nanami lifted his gaze to meet yours, and seemed surprised.

You continued. "Please, don’t make me live with the fact that me being alive is because someone died in my place and I had no choice over that. Don’t assign me that guilt.”

It would be something harsh to say to anybody, but you knew Nanami. You knew him well enough to be sure he'd not take that as an accusation of sorts. That's why you chose to tell him this kind of "if this ever happens" desire before telling anybody else. Shoko would probably chastise you for such a request, given you were prone to overthinking and martyrdom, and Gojo would never listen to that in the first place, simply doing whatever he felt like.

Nanami went silent for a while, mulling over what you asked him to do. Different from you, someone that had a little trouble controlling your emotions and how they impact your words and actions, Nanami was the man that you used to call in your head as nerves of steel. You had never seen him lose his composure. Ever.

He started talking, his face lightly flushed from alcohol. “There are two sides for this. You assume I’d be willing to live with the guilt of not saving you when I could have done so."

You were not expecting that answer. He was the most dutiful sorcerer you had ever met — hell, he was the most dutiful person you knew. If there was one thing Nanami was known for, it was not letting his emotions interfere with his judgement when making a decision. You never thought he could ever feel guilty if you died in a situation where you gave him permission to let you die.

"You'd feel guilty?" You questioned.

"Yes." He replied. "Your request would make me live with a guilt I don’t want, either."

"My request of letting me die, with my authorization, to save somebody else?" You inquired.

"Yes." He replied, looking down on his glass.

You were both silent for a moment.

"I can't accept your request, because you’re assigning me your guilt just as much." He took another sip from his now almost empty glass of whiskey. "I don't think I could bring myself to let you die, even if you asked me to.”

That pulled on your heart strings. Hard. You were instantly flooded with all the memories of the time you two spent together working, or simply chatting like this. All the times you had a silent but deep understanding of each other. Could he be...?

"I never pegged you for someone with any dose of egoism of not letting someone go when they'd rather die." You responded.

"Not letting you die." He answered. His answer made you fluster, ever so slightly, and you reclined yourself in your chair, trying to hide your face in the bar's dark ambiance.

“Would you ever curse me for that?” You asked. "Curse me for dying to save somebody else?"

“No, I wouldn't.” He replied. "That's who you are, and that is something about you that I respect, even if I don't understand it."

You chuckled softly, trying not to get too emotional. The alcohol was not helping. “Well, I might just have to curse you, then.” you responded, smiling.

“To curse me for saving you, you'd have to be alive.” He bottomed his drink. "I can live with that.”

[dflogerzi]

Hello friends. Okay, I spent some time offline, and did speak in length to a dear friend in England today. I think I understand a few things more. Firstly... there are no rules. And this is my timeline, and I get to change it as I see fit. When I first came to Tumblr it was for one purpose, I kid you not. I knew that Meghan Markle was in her supposed first pregnancy... and I knew it was a lie. I have carried a baby, I know how it works, and she was in my opinion lying. This timeframe coincided with my recent awakening of world events and falling down other rabbit holes.

I was gung-ho on both. And I must say, the world events thing did not serve me well on social media. I have never found it beneficial to argue with others about things we do not agree with. And so a few months into my profile building here on Tumblr and connecting I set my own rules on what it is I am here for. And trust me... the people I have connected with mean so much to me. Now then... I do follow some who I only give out likes to and more private conversations. You know who you are. So for the record I am going to be clear of who I am.

I served under Ronald Reagan while in the Navy. I was always more on the conservative side, although I used to joke that as a Californian, I was sitting on the wall in between and fell over to the right. I used to think a lot of liberal policies sounded good on paper, but that in reality they did not work very well. That has been proven to be true in my estimation. But let me be clear. I do not think the Republican view as it stands today is working out either in a bulk of cases, especially in Washington D.C. Our government is seriously compromised within both parties, and I am also speaking of all branches. Neither party is what it once was, and if you are not aware of what the Global agenda is for the common person I cannot help you. And it is not my place in life to even attempt it. We all journey as we do.

I then found my feet here. My goals were to talk of things I am interested in, loved all my life, and to find some fun in my days. When I stick to that... I thrive. But I am finding that as many more are awakening to the fact that our world is slipping away... we are all talking more. And the planned divisiveness is impacting all of us.

It is going to get worse. No matter what your stand is. And I completely believe this summer is going to get rough in the US. Very rough.

So what did I decide? Well... I want to be here. If I drift off, which was surprisingly easy this week, I do not get to enjoy dishing on all things royal, art, history, travel, spiritual life, pets, and the love I have for friends I have made here.

I may veer off to world events. I am no longer affiliated with any political party. I do not believe there are many in places of power who have our best interests at heart. When the WEF says that population control is a main agenda, I believe them. I have done my studying and digging... and I understand. History is repeating itself, but there is no one who will be landing on a shore in Normandy to save our world any longer.

I am not going to try to influence a single soul here. Nope. I just want to vent a bit on how dumb and ridiculous Harry is, how narcissistic I find Meghan, how much I admire Anne, and my hopes for Catherine's full recovery. I also want to read your posts on cute furry creatures, other lands and travels, inward journeys, art, and whatever else it is in life the day brings. But I admit that I may slip, and I go off on a world event. I apologize for it now. Just scroll on by if you would.

I had a tough time since last summer. I did. But that is what life can bring. And hopefully we grow. And in the end it will be what we take with us. Many changes do come on life's paths.

Love to friends. Thanks for listening. Going to just post this mess, warts and all.

[munmomuu]

Gale's ambition and the orb's hunger

Rambling about Gale's ambition after seeing the alternative ending dialogue for Gale. Spoilers for the entirety of his story.

This dialogue shows that even though Mystra doesn't rid Gale fo the orb, after defeating the Netherbrain his orb seems to change. It's hunger, gone.

Did Mystra quiet the orb?

If the player asks about it being Mystra's influence, Gale doesn't deny it could be Mystra, but refers that the orb's hunger was fuelled with his own. I have seen some origin spoilers for Gale that Mystra does apparently tell him that the orb is a consequence of his actions - this is why she hasn't "done" anything about it. It's a punishment.

It wouldn't make sense in this timeline that she would rid Gale of his orb because during the game, he didn't obey Mystra at all. While it could be possible that Mystra would do it out of "well you saved the world, I guess that's good enough" reward, she never really presented that as an option. She wanted the crown. Saving the world was seemingly secondary to her.

What we know about the orb previously?

So, just to know if Gale being content would affect the orb, we should consider what it does to him. Thorought the game, we get several references it being compared to hunger directly. "Clawing my insides like a teething displacer kitten"; narrator describing the hunger when he shows the orb to you; his condition is called "Arcane Hunger".

His treatment is literally feeding pure weave to it, and this is also what Mystra does once Elminster places her charm on him. It seems like the Karsite weave is to made to consume weave. He descibes that consuming the magic "never feels right, but it relieves".

We can't talk about the orb without mentioning Karsus. There's also a lot of mentions about Karsus being ambitious, same as with Gale, especially after hitting act 3. We know that Gale was ambitious even before the game - his orb is the consequence of that ambition, when he wanted to prove himself worthy of wielding more power to Mystra.

Was the orb's hunger strenghtened by the tadpole and the Crown?

Gale doesn't seem to know that the orb is Netherese until Mystra tells it is Karsus' creation. Gale seems to know the orb is Netherese origin, but doesn't connect it to Karsus until Mystra tells him. We also know from the hag, if we try her let help us with the tadpole, that the tadpole is imbued with Netherese magic. Gale's offhanded comment about the orb destabilizing because of Netherese sandals seems like a joke to me, but his condition started to decline eventually when he was tadpoled, until Mystra starts to feed it.

I think being near the crown also affected Gale. During his romance scene in act 2, he mentions about feeling the heart of Absolute, and how much heavier his heart becomes. It could be a metaphor just him sensing being closer to death, but what if it is actually a physical sensation he feels being nearer the crown? He can't feel the hunger anymore that the orb would cause, because it is being fed.

If you kill Elminster before he can set the charm on Gale, the end of act 2 is the furthest you can get Gale to come with you until he leaves permanently, because the orb gets so destabilized he feels it's not safe to be around you anymore. This could be the Crown's influence on him overtaking his hunger.

Act 3 - Physical hunger is gone, but the mental hunger lingers

The reason why I keep repeating that the orb is being fed, is that it's important to understand that Gale doesn't feel the orb's hunger physically, but the mental hunger still is there. Ambition. This is why there is quite a swap in Gale's demeanor once he sees the Crown - I believe the orb somehow influences the wizard's ambitions, similarly to Karsus.

At this point, the player has quite the impact on how Gale wil handle his ambition. I will talk only about romance standpoint since it's the one I'm familar with. If you choose him to give up on his ambitions with the crown, you have to convince him that he is enough as he is. This is a completely new situation for him - he always has strived to be better and do more. He doesn't know how to just be. Of course he wants to survive the battle with the Netherbrain, but after that? What ambitions he would have anymore? The orb has nothing to work with anymore - the tadpoles are dead, the brain is dead, the Crown is shattered in the Chiontar.

What about if you encourage his ambitions? His mindset seems to shift quite drastically compared to when we met him. He's feeding into the resentment for believing Mystra took his powers and that she didn't give him more than what he deserved in his mind.

A small side tangent: With Patch 4, Larian added a glow effect to the orb while he says the line about controlling the Karsite weave. I've been thinking about the symbolism for it - is it a power flare up? It is the same effect which Mystra's charm has, does it mean that Mystra stopped feeding Gale's orb?

Whatever it is, at this point Gale has completely changed. During the boat scene he says he doesn't wish to ascend, but now he wants to be a god. If Tav tries to tell him not to do it, he emotionlessly leaves them. Let that sink in. The hopeless romantic, who shared his spirit with his lover, assured how there is no force to come between them and disobeyed his goddess for them, leaves them for more power without hesitation.

And that isn't even the worst part of it. Disclaimer: Datamining is never "a sure way to know what the devs intented" and shouldn't be used as a true point for canon, but let's humor my angsty mood with it. According to the datamined endings that Withers would have told what happened the companions after the game, even if Tav would support sharing Gale's godhood, Gale never returns to Tav to fulfill it because ambition doesn't like to share. That shows how much Gale changes during the game if his ambition takes over. Maybe even claim that the orb's hunger takes over. ** Strikethrough added after patch 5, see my note in the end.

To end this on a more positive note, him overcoming that toxic ambition is huge, and the fact that he would feel content by Tav's side is really romantic considering all what could have happened.

** Added after patch 5 and epilogue stuff: I won't be typing out what happens in the epilogue (I have posted the outcome to Youtube if someone is curious), but needless to say, it's a good point on never trusting datamining as a canon point. But, the epilogue proves that original datamining point obsolete.

[bella-goths-wife]

Hey! I had an Idea for the Father Lost Boys, How do you think the boys would react to accidently killing the reader, during the attack of the Emersons and the boys?

If you don't want to write it that's ok!

Thanks!

Lost boys accidentally killing their daughter

Hiya :)

I’m happy to write this but it won’t be for the Emerson attack because I don’t want to rush my timeline in my head for my fics if that makes sense?

This isn’t canon for my lost boys daughter au :)

Contents: how the lost boys would react if they accidentally killed their daughter

Warnings: overdoses, gore, death, murder, descriptions of wounds, burning, blood

Dwayne

You had been running around the cave trying to escape them again, you were trying to leave them and Dwayne couldn’t stand it.

Your leg muscles screamed in protest, for you to just take a break and to stop running. You couldn’t though, you were so close to the exit.

You had just reached the exit to the cave when Dwayne appeared behind you. You could hear the waves thrashing against the sharp rocks of the cliff side below.

“You can’t keep running sweetheart” Dwayne tries to say gently in an attempt to coax you back into the cave, his tone comes off more sinister than he wanted it to.

“Papa please, I can’t stay here” you say with tears in your eyes “not with David, I can’t be one of you”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you have to stay with us” Dwayne says firmly as he takes a few steps forward and you take a few steps back in response “we’re a family”

“No we’re not” you say with frustration in your voice “families don’t lock their children away in small spaces and starve them, families don’t hit their children and leave scars on them!”

“Stop talking like that baby, we’re a happy family and your our perfect little girl” Dwayne refuses to look outside his delusional view of the family as he comes closer and closer to you “your just going through an emotional phase right now”

“You can’t be serious” you yell in desperation “you all abused me, you locked me away and lied to me for years”

“Enough (y/n).” Dwayne orders firmly as he closes his eyes and attempts to calm his growing rage “your being ridiculous”

He continues to walk closer and closer as you back away with every stop he takes.

“You killed my mother!” You yell in a grief stricken rage “your all fucked in the head, your all sick-“

“I SAID ENOUGH” Dwayne yells in rage while his vampiric features forced their way to his face and he stared at you without a hint of recognition for you.

You hadn’t realised how close to the edge you were until Dwayne’s angry screams had scared you into moving backwards again, causing you to miss a step and fall down the cliff side.

There is a moment of hesitation in Dwayne’s actions as he watched the little girl that he had held as a baby and raised fall to her death. The shock rendering him stuck in place for a few seconds.

After the shock passed, he ran forward and attempted to use his vampiric abilities to reach you and save you, but it was too late.

He heard you let out a loud grunt as your body made impact with the sharp rocks below, but he still wanted to try and save you.

He fell to his hands and knees as he looked below and saw your body impaled on a particularly large rock. Even from the distance between the top of the cliffs to the waves and rocks below, he could hear you choking on your own blood.

He saw your pain filled eyes meet his and he watched as your life drained from them while your spirit left your body.

Dwayne stared with widened eyes at your mutilated body for a few minutes before the tears started to flow and he let out what could only be described as a pained howl of grief.

He had killed his little girl, and your last memory of him was watching you die.

Paul

Paul hadn’t meant to leave you locked up. He just forgot.

After David had commanded him to keep watch of the punishment room with you locked inside, Paul got bored, and when Paul got bored he got high.

After taking enough pills to tranquillise, or a vampire in this case, Paul fell asleep on the couch for several hours.

And when he awoke, he was still under the effects of the hallucinogenic medication.

“Kid?” He spoke confused with a raspy voice as he saw your figure sitting at the edge of the couch with your back to him “your not meant to be here”

“The sun rises soon” you whisper with no emotion in your voice “the rest will be back”

“How did you get out of the punishment room?” Paul asks confused and half asleep as he sits up on the couch and stares at your turned figure “it’s almost impossible to get out”

“Why did you take the pills Paul?” You ask calmly “don’t you know how dangerous that could be?”

“Don’t start (y/n)” Paul warns with a groan as he rubs his temple in an exasperated manner “or I’ll just take you straight back to the punishment room and make you spend another night in there”

“I don’t see how you could do that Paul” you say with what sounded like amusement “tell me Paul, have you always been this uncaring for me or is it a recent development”

“I love you kid, you know that” Paul says with an annoyed groan “but I can’t stop my fun for you all the time”

“I’d check your watch Paul” you warn calmly “it’s almost time”

“Time for what?” Paul asks exasperated “why are you talking in riddles?”

“Do you remember what you did after you locked me in that room?” You ask ominously “do you remember exactly”

“I locked the door, I pulled over the bolt and I lit the candle in the candle holder outside your door” he answers with an annoyed sigh “are you going to tell me I forgot to lock the door or something?”

“Which candle holder did you use Paul?” You prompt “the one on the right side of the door, or the one on the left side of the door”

“Does it matter?” Paul asks with a roll of his eyes

“The right side was cleaned and repaired by Dwayne the night before so that it was safe to hold the weight of the candle, the left side was rusted and falling apart” you state “so which did you use?”

“I don’t remember-“ Paul answers but you cut him off

“Fucking think about it” you snarl “which one did you use-“

“The left one!” Paul yells back “I used the left candle stick holder-“

Paul stops speaking when he smells smoke wafting down the caves tunnels. He springs up off the couch at the sudden realisation as he runs inhumanly fast to the punishment room.

When he gets to it, it’s covered in fire and smoke. The left candle stick holder is reduced to pieces of rusted metal on the floor and the candle sits idly next to the wooden door, erupting it into flames.

“The candle fell three hours into your nap, the fire started ten minutes after that” Paul heard your voice behind him but he could rip his eyes away from your cremated corpse that was laying on the floor in front of him, you were barely recognisable with your body burnt to charred skin apart from those damn eyes that stared at him lifelessly “I tried to stave the carbon dioxide that was going to suffocate me by placing blankets under the door but they eventually caught fire so I called for your help but you were too high to realise, I eventually suffocated after two hours of torture and then the fire reached my body and burned me to ash on the cave floors”

“This isn’t real” Paul denies frantically “you can’t be dead, your talking to me”

“You didn’t think those pills would effect you at all, did you?” You ask as your figure walks in front of him and looks him the eyes “I’m not your real daughter silly, she’s dead and burned”

“Please I’ll do anything, I’m so sorry” Paul gets to his knees and begs “please I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Bring me back to my little girl”

“Your so pathetic Paul” you spit “but there is one way you can see her again”

“How?” Paul asks desperately “please tell me”

You make your way behind him so he has a view of the flaming room as it crumbled beneath the hot temperatures.

“Walk into the flames” you command “and the you can be with her”

“I’ll die, I can’t” Paul refuses with a shake of his head

“The others will kill you once they get back anyway Paul” you remind

You walk in front of him and you hold your hand out for him to take.

“Walk into the flames with me papa” you command almost gently, wearing a joyful smile that reminded him of when you were a young girl “and we can stay together forever”

Paul stares at you figure with tears rolling down his cheeks. He knows your a hallucination, but your the closest thing he has to his daughter right now.

He wipes his tears and takes your hand before walking into the flaming room, ready to accept the fate he forced upon you.

Marko

This wasn’t markos best idea, but it was the only one he had.

He knocked on your door gently with the sandwich and milk on his hand, and he mustered a genuine smile to his face.

“Pops?” You say confused as you open the door to your room “what’s up?”

“I’ve made you some lunch” he says with an innocent smile “it’s your favourite from when you were a little girl, peanut butter and jelly sandwich”

“That’s nice pa, but I’m going for lunch with James and faith” you remind gently as possible to make sure not to anger him, markos face has an annoyed twitch at the mention of your lovers “did you forget?”

“Oh sorry baby” he coos almost condescendingly “but it’s a shame to waste the food, it’s not like I can eat it”

“Pa it’s sweet of you to offer but I don’t want to be full” you say apologetically

“So your not gonna eat it? I went out and bought bread specifically for you” he attempts to guilt “but I guess if your not hungry enough”

“No, no” you say quickly as you take the plate from him “I’m sorry I’m being rude, I’ll eat it”

“That’s my girl” marko says with a smile as he kisses your forehead “shout if you need me”

Marko walks away and once your door closes he lets a sinister smile spreads over his face. He thought himself so clever.

He stockpiled Paul’s sleeping pills for months so he could save you from having to go out with your lovers. Now every time they try and take you out you’ll simply sleep through it until they get tired of trying.

He thought crushing those pills up and putting them in your food was the best option, he didn’t know it would bite him in the ass.

After a few hours of you not emerging from your room and being hours late for the date with your lovers, Marko let a smirk come to his face.

After a few more hours the cave felt colder because of the winter air, so marko being a ‘dutiful’ father decided he should go bring you a blanket and tuck you in. Humans are fragile after all.

He opens your door with a grin and a blanket in his hands. He sees you turned on your side in the bed with your back facing him.

“It’s just me baby” he whispers to your sleeping form “i didn’t want you to get cold, so I brought you a blanket”

He approaches your sleeping form and notices your lack of snoring, he thought it was the sleeping pills just putting you in a deep sleep but that changed when he also noticed your lack of heartbeat.

He rushes to your body and turns you over to find a glassy sheen over your eyes and froth at your mouth.

“Baby?” He says desperately as he shakes your body in an attempt to wake you up “baby please”

You don’t wake up, your icy cold in his hands as he stare at your expressionless face and empty eyes.

“Your just sleeping” he tries to convince himself as he wipes your mouth “you made such a mess baby, it’s okay I’m here to clean in”

He strokes your hair gently before his hand brushes against your ice cold cheek.

“You should have told me If you were cold sweetie” he scolds your corpse as hysterical chuckles force their way up his throat “here let’s wrap you up nice and warm”

He wraps the two of you up in the blanket and he lays your head on his chest. He holds your limp body close to him as he tries his best to convince himself that your just asleep.

“My sweet girl, my little baby” he coos in delusional “I’m so sorry that your so sleepy, it’s all my fault”

He sobs and he holds your corpse close to him under the blanket, convinced that he’ll be wake you up if he gets you warm enough but you were dead hours before he found you and he never heard your heartbeat slow or you choking on your own vomit from the overdose.

The others would deal with him when they got back.

David

It was another typical day with David, the usual arguments and anger filled the room that only held the two of you.

David wanted time with you and you wanted to be as far away from him as you possibly could be, but he had the power to force you into the room with him. That didn’t mean you had to play nice for him.

He had your leg chained to the wall with a long chain that made it so you could sit on the couch with only a slight bit of discomfort. David was sat next to you as he pretended to watch whatever movie was on the old television.

“Stop staring at me” you commanded sternly as you kept your eyes on the tv and David’s gaze burned into the side of your face “it’s creepy”

“I’m your father, could it be creepy?” David questions with a scoff

“Technically you’re not” you point out with a huff “so it makes it creepy”

“I fed you, clothed you, and raised you” David points out as he sips his beer with a furrowed brow “that makes me your father”

“If we’re going by that logic then your still not my father” you scoff “Dwayne would be my only father if we go by your logic”

David massages his temple with a frown and an angry glare.

“Enough” he commands with a glare “i don’t even know how you got this attitude, but you need to cut it out”

“I got this attitude when I found out you killed my mother, kidnapped me, lied to me and abused me my entire life” you exclaim angrily

“Yeah but you seem extra pissy today and it’s pissing me off” David says in a sinister tone “so just shut the fuck up and enjoy the movie”

“Maybe I’m extra pissy today because I’m chained to the fucking wall David” you yell before sighing “your a sick fuck, y’know that David?”

“Yeah yeah, I get it” he refutes back unamused “poor you having a roof over your head and unconditional love from four fathers, woe is me and all”

“Unconditional love?” You laugh humourlessly as you stand to face him “love that I received in the form of starvation and abuse?”

“You needed to be punished” David says with an annoyed sigh

“What happened to you David?” You ask as he stands and you use all your force to push him away from you “who fucked you up this much? Who made you into this cruel monster? What happened to you? Did daddy hit you so now you have to do the same to me?”

David’s eyes widened and his head jerks to look at you as he grabs your arms and holds you in place.

“Listen here you little bitch” David seethes as he holds you in place “you don’t talk to me like that ever again. Do you understand me?”

“Or what David? You gonna hit me again?” You say without fear as you shove him away again “your just a coward David, a stupid fucking coward who targets children and vulnerable women just to feel less like a miserable fuck up”

“enough kid” David commands firmly as he balls up his fists and his vampiric claws begin to extend and stab into his palms

“Is that why you started this little group of emotionally stunted men? To feel less alone and less of a fuck up because you always had people to fall back on?” You scream in his face as you push him again in anger

“Enough (y/n)” David repeated louder this time as his fangs extended and he felt rage build up inside him

“Is that why you kidnapped me? Because you wanted to feel less alone so you stole me away and isolated me from everyone I loved” you scream “or did you do it because you wanted to prove to max that you don’t fuck up everything you touch and you thought a child would be the best option for that? Well David you fucking failed”

“Enough” David yells again as he stalks closer and you push him back once again

“I hate you” you yell out “you should just kill me like you killed my mother”

“Stop it” David yells sternly “shut the fuck up”

“Go on murder me, murder me like you murdered my mother” you yell louder with each word as you get more in David’s face “murder me! Murder me like you. Murdered. My. Mother!”

“I said stop” David yells and he pounced on you with his hands wrapping around your neck harshly and his vampiric claws dig into the delicate flesh of your neck “shut the fuck up”

David only realises your bleeding when he hears your pained howl. He removes his hands quickly from your neck and sees a large slit across your neck that his claws caused.

He stares at his blood covered hands before his gaze travels up your trembling body until it reached your fearful, teary eyed face.

“Oh baby” he says desperately as he holds his hand to your wound and applies pressure in attempt to stop the bleeding “oh fuck, what have I done”

Your tears run down your cheeks as you begin to gasp for air and choking on your own blood. You look David straight in the eyes as you feel yourself slowly choke.

“Dwayne! Marko! Paul! Help us! Please” David cries before returning his gaze back your bleeding neck as he hears your desperate gasps for air “no baby please, it’s gonna be okay, I’m here baby”

He clutches your neck desperately trying to stop the bleeding, knowing he couldn’t lose you. No one was responding to his calls and he could hear your heartbeat slowing down

“I’m so sorry baby” David cries as tears begin to build up in his eyes “I’m so so sorry, I didn’t mean to”

You feel your self losing consciousness and with your last moments of life.

“Fuck you” you mouth through choking on your own blood, your vocal chords had been cut apart so you unfortunately couldn’t scream like you wanted to

You go limp in David’s arms after a few minutes but the blood still pours from your neck like a waterfall as it creates a puddle on the cave floor. David sobs as he holds your corpse and looks into you now doll like eye’s because all they held was emptiness and a lack of a soul.

David cries apologies as he realises that his child is dead and gone, never to be with him again.

Until a thought pops into his head, how could he keep a part of you with him forever?

David’s fangs extend and poke holes into your half drained neck as he bites down and tastes your blood.

David cried as he drains your body of blood before letting your corpse gently fall to the ground. Now your blood was in his system, David was convinced that you’d never leave him.

Sorry this took so long I wanted each of the deaths to be unique because I like to imagine it as a alternative universe for the lost boys daughter au where she died and I wanted to make how the boys reacted very different or creepy

Thank you so much for the request, I love getting them :)

[buckybarnesss]

Heather - I once again come to you with strange character choices that Jeff made that actually make sense?

Like how Derek just stood there and took Allison's abuse of him (and by extension his pack) when she was manipulated into becoming emo!allison at the end of season 2 - but he still doesn't tell her??! that her mom was also a kool aid drunk psycho who wanted to kill the love of her life and also just a tiny baby 16 year old?! He doesn't tell her! He just stands there, stoically and withstands the abuse.

S3 derek is so _chefs kiss_ I LOVE LOVE that arc of him becoming more like his mother, where he embraces his ideals of power and family and pack and GOD I will never forget that moment in s4 where satomi looks like LOOKS at derek and goes "you really remind me of your mom" I gotta make that gifset one of these days.

derek and allison parallels my beloved.

derek is fully aware allison would never believe him about what went down with her mother no matter what he said. instead he tells her, "your family's little honor code killed your mother, not me." which is true. the argent code of suicide rather than be a werewolf due to their own bigotry is what ended up really killing victoria in the end. not once did chris or victoria stop to question it or the impact this would have on allison or how gerard could manipulate them and her. they're both fully indoctrinated into the hunting delusion of righteousness.

no the information that victoria attempted to kill scott has to come from scott. that's why derek kept pushing scott to tell her the truth. he could've ignored it all together but derek respected allison enough to believe that she deserved the truth of what happened. that it was unfair to hold back a vital piece of information as to what occurred in the timeline of victoria's death that led to allison being manipulated by gerard.

the truth doesn't exactly clear his name with allison but it provides context that derek was acting in defense of scott. something that could change allison's perception. i think some part of derek sympathizes with her because he's been manipulated, lied to and abused in the past himself. he knows what can happen to an otherwise decent person under those circumstances. he to an extent understands allison's pain.

scott withheld the information from a place of good -- he didn't want to hurt allison further by tainting the memory of her mother -- but ultimately doing so i think was selfish. the lack of information is what harmed allison more in the long run as it allowed gerard to manipulate her.

derek values truth and forthrightness which contrasts peter and lessons peter has attempted to teach derek. derek spends a lot of season 2 contending with that conflict and when he gives up his alpha spark to save his sister he proves to be his mother's son over peter's protégée. derek was able to walk away from power in a way that duecalion, peter, kate, gerard and jennifer were not. they were consumed by it and derek instead used his to save cora's life.

[antianakin]

Maybe it's my personal bias, but a dark Ahsoka trying to get back in to the WBW because the whole mess from Anakin and then never actually processing her feelings, grief, anger etc leading her to thinking she can "fix" everything by "saving" Anakin. Not really thinking of the repercussions.

And have it be that she isn't trying to change the timeline for selfless reasons, but because she wants Anakin back. That misplaced sort of blame that comes when you over idolize someone. It was only Palpatine's fault, she tries to believe, Anakin wouldn't have done this all unprompted.

In trying to get back to the WBW having her actually process her emotions and the events and realize she's putting herself and her former master on pedestals to cope. Gradually working on herself.

Or not. Idk having Ahsoka unhealthily cope with grief in a way almost paralleling Anakin (trying to cheat death for Padme and failing anyway) sounds cool to me. Or maybe I'm just exhausted.

This would certainly make a real cool AU! The one thing making me hesitate is that she explicitly says while in the WBW in Rebels that Ezra can't save his master just like she can't save hers and never shows any real inclination towards trying to use it to save Anakin. So if you went with this concept, you'd have to figure out why she changed her mind on it or you'd just have to pretend like that moment didn't happen.

But in general I think that the idea really works! Like, I wouldn't want her to actually MAKE IT to the WBW or anything, I don't want any weird time travel shenanigans for her to mess with, but I think the idea of her TRYING to get back to it so she can fix Anakin, or fix what she did wrong or something could be a really interesting goal for her to have throughout a season where she's dealing with her Anakin feelings. Especially if we assume she's slightly fucked up from Malachor and its Sith bullshit in addition to her regular emotional struggles.

And in the she has to give it up. Like maybe she finds a way to do it, a way to open one of those doors, but doing so would have some sort of consequence and she has to choose between her selfish desire to "save" Anakin and fix what she believes are her own mistakes, or keeping that particular consequence from happening. Maybe people she's grown close to over the course of the story will be killed or put at risk if she opens the door, and she has to let it go, let ANAKIN go, in order to protect them.

That version of Anakin is gone, he's dead, and the version of him that exists now is clearly unwilling to be saved, at least by her, and all she can do is accept that and move on. Let go of her guilt, let go of her fears, just... let go. MAYBE her choice to leave the Order spurred him down that path, but maybe it didn't. Maybe Anakin made his own choices based on things entirely unrelated to her. Maybe if she'd been there she could've helped him, but maybe she'd have just been killed with all the rest. She'll never know and she has to come to terms with that before she can move forward with her life. She might've left first, but Anakin left her, too, and he took everything else she loved with him when he did.

In an ideal world, this would lead Ahsoka to do a lot of reflecting on her past with Anakin as she tries to figure out how far back she'd have to go to "save" him and she realizes just how dark he already was when she knew him and ultimately realizes that HE WAS DARK WHEN SHE MET HIM. There were things that happened to him, things he'd probably already chosen to DO, long before she'd met him that were already taking him down the path to darkness, things she'll likely never know or understand. But it allows her to see Anakin so much more truthfully than she'd ever done before. No longer does she view Anakin through the rosy lens of childhood hero worship, she can see how often he struggled with his own darkness and the ways it impacted their relationship, the way it's continuing to impact her NOW.

There were good moments, and she'd loved him, but he was dark long before she knew him and that's something she HAS to accept about him if she's ever going to let him go. There were things Anakin did to her that weren't okay, there were things Anakin taught her that were wrong and caused her to start down her own darker path, and until she can recognize that Anakin FAILED HER, she'll never be able to find her way BACK. She'll never be a Jedi until she acknowledges this very important and vital truth about Anakin and her apprenticeship under him. He WASN'T a good master and he WASN'T a good Jedi. He was sometimes a good PERSON, but he'd ultimately decided to leave that behind, too. He wasn't the person she'd thought he was and unless she wants to become him, she has to acknowledge where he made mistakes so she can keep from making the same ones herself.

So yeah, I think this idea has a LOT of merit and could definitely be a very interesting path to take Ahsoka on!

[kursed-arcana]

Psycho Pass Providence Review

I saw it in theaters and it was even better then I imagined.

Turning Akane into a tragic heroine may have been the best choice for her character after all. Her self sacrifice elevated her character to another level in my eyes.

I have not yet watched season 3 or first Inspector due to patiently waiting for the dub, but knew akane's fate and how it resolves. I went into this movie hoping it would explain how Akane was imprisoned and fearing she would take the fall for Shindo based on the context the film provided, instead I was pleasantly surprised to see our heroine take her fate into her own hands and make a difficult choice. Her self sacrifice was flawless and I was nearly in tears when she broke down. There is even a fantastic parallel between her choice here and Kougami's at the end of one. They both leave each other letters and both call the other an idiot for their decision. I left the theater fully satisfied.

I really appreciate how Kougami and Akane are always on eachothers minds and how their past interactions motivate their present actions even when they're apart. I think they'd make an excellent couple and Kougami being such a stubborn baby and not apologizing to Akane and being shocked when she hung up on him was too funny. I feel like them understanding eachother so well is both a strength and a weakness. It could very well be what keeps a a clear canon paring for them from happening. But I feel like this ending for Akane opens a lot of doors for them going forward. In the eyes of sybil, they're now two of a kind. The power imbalance barrier from their different statuses is now gone! And from what I hear about season 3 and first Inspector, I believe we'll be able to get more content of the two of them working together again in the near future.

On to the rest of the movie and cast.

I can't help but enjoy Mika. I think her character arc in 2 was actually really interesting and a nice contrast to Akane. And seeing her devastation at Akane's actions after she had just tried to save her, really spoke to me. I feel like she's still very much that broken girl from season 1 and Akane's loss probably opened up those wounds again. Her character has a lot more potential than most fans acknowledge.

Gino also has a prominent supporting role in this movie. Whether interacting with Kougami, Akane and Frederica he really shines. He is clearly happy to be with Kougami again, but let's his pride get in the way. But at the end of the day, they are both incredibly loyal to Akane. While Gino protects her as a shield, Kougami fights for her like a sword. It offers a unique dynamic. They essentially have Akane on a pedestal, as does sybil itself, which makes her very public and on purpose fall from grace all the more interesting. What will these two men do now that Akane has made herself a martyr for the justice her ideals strive to protect? I think we all have an idea of where the story goes from here whether we've watched the next material in the timeline already or not.

Finally its worth noting that essentially the entire supporting cast gets a few moments to shine, whether from season 1 or 2, and of course some characters from 3. The cast from 3 may not be the focus this time but they are still present in the background and I believe this movie answers some questions about their pasts.

In closing some stray thoughts.

- I can't help but ship Frederica and Gino now. They had great chemistry and a moment of theirs mirrors and earlier Koihami x Akane ship baiting moment in the movie. Keep yours open for it!

-we lost a good man this go around. His death generally shocked me. Keeping it vague so I don't lessen the impact!

- the music for this movie is A+ however, there is no after credit scene if you dont want to listen to the ending

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

I really dislike Disney's new trend of "the girl saves the villain" that's been done with both kylo and loki

I don't even think that's the case with loki but the more i read about how the fandom interprets sylki the more i get this vibe, and while i don't exactly like rey and kylo/ben as a couple i can see how rey may have impacted his choice for redemption, she showed him compassion and had faith in him that he decided to twist to his own good

But in case of sylvie and loki i can't really see how sylvie treats loki any different than the people in his life that made him like that in the first place

I've also seen metas discussing that loki was so attracted to sylvie because she is a braver version of him one that he lacks the strength to be like her and while I don't want to bash sylvie but she is not brave she is vengeful try hard as i can i still can't see a single thing about her that makes her more powerful than other lokis, her backstory is almost the same as every varient in the tva only she is the one that managed to escape in the dumbest way possible? I still don't understand why she wasn't eliminated by the TVA for so long

Ones she escaped she must have had some time to try to figure out how this technology works cause as shown by the show she only spent a couple of hours in the TVA before her escape, and even if she did figure it out and the tva had been hunting her for so long why couldn't they just prune the timeline she hides in and get rid out her?

Thinking about this show hurts my brain tbh, and seeing the two couple compared to each other just made sth break loose in me

The biggest difference for me is Rey is good... but Sylvie is not. I know a lot of people tend to see someone with a "troubled past" and they're super quick to defend and justify the character no matter what they do (WF handles the story beautifully but the amount of fans I've seen justifying Namor really makes my skin crawl), but that's just not the way to go.

In Sylvie's case it's the same as Namor's, what part of her story means she's good? She's seen torching people alive, enchanting both agents and innocents at will, she's completely selfish and everything she does is for her own petty revenge. The only character in the series who never hurts an innocent is Loki. He's the only one.

So to claim that the girl saves the boy it's laughable. That implies the boy is bad but the girl is good, except we know she's not and the same attributes that are condemned in him are praised in her on the basis that it is her doing them.

But to claim that Sylvie is a braver version of him... oh my. How funny. So Classic Loki escaping means he's a coward but when it's her escaping that means she's brave? So brave that her method of violence is enchantment? Don't they see the irony in that? 😂😂

If her actions had been done by Loki they would be against them, they just don't want to admit that because the framing supports that.

PS. I agree with you about Reylo by the way. I'm not a fan, especially when Finn was right there! I loved those 3 characters but the story was so bland... oh well. We'll always have the throne room fight + Finn and Poe flying the tie fighter

[arthur-kilgore]

Came here through a mutual, and I'm intrigued by the fic you're writing. Any particular reason you picked Charlotte Balfour as your deuteragonist? Wonderful writing, by the way. :-)

Thank you for your kind words, and for this ask!! (Also apologizing in advance for how long this is lol, the short answer is I am so autistic about these characters /lh)

The first reason I started writing echoed fragments was because after replaying the epilogue for the second time I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Charles’ grief has so strongly changed him and is still impacting him 8 years later; I’m a Charthur truther to my core, but even in a platonic interpretation Arthur’s death (and the destruction of the gang, it wasn’t just about Arthur) was something that he hadn’t healed from all that time later.

To be someone as principled, skilled, and talented as Charles and to end up in the depths of Saint Denis, throwing street fights for money and being somewhat entangled with the mob? The way he throws himself into protecting John and Uncle when he had no real obligation to do so? That’s a man still reeling from the loss of the first community he’s let himself form a connection with since losing his family at a young age, and who possibly still feels guilty about leaving and not being there when the bitter end came, even though leaving when he did was inarguably the right thing to do.

Despite the fact that Charles cut ties and had the cleanest getaway of any of them, he *chose* to come back and faced the aftermath alone, carried Arthur across state lines to bury him, alone, and then what?? He spent the next 8 years alone? Why did he not return to the Wapiti, or if he did, why did he leave if his other option was being on his own, throwing street fights in Saint Denis, where he would have still been a wanted man??

Whatever happened to Charles between 1899 and 1907, if the end result was Uncle - of all people - hearing rumors about Charles from states away, and Uncle *of all people* deciding that Charles was in enough trouble that they needed to intervene… it couldn’t have been anything good. I wanted so badly for him to have a chance to properly grieve and actually heal, and to not be alone through that process, so I decided that if R* wasn’t going to do it then I would lol

At the same time, Charlotte is one of the characters that I absolutely love to talk about and roll around in my brain. The more I thought about Charlotte and her mission line, the more I started to realize just how much these two had in common, personality-wise and particularly in regard to their freshly acquired grief and how it left them utterly alone after their loss, since both live on the outskirts of society (albeit for very different reasons, but the end result is the same).

The difference for Charlotte is that when she was at her absolute lowest, someone stepped in and was able to pull her back onto her feet - it quite literally saved her, and she went on to live a very meaningful and fulfilling life thanks to the care and compassion that Arthur showed her.

Charles was a close friend of the man who saved her life (whom she can no longer do anything to help), PLUS that man is fresh off the type of grief she knows all too well and is still working through herself; I think that given the opportunity Charlotte would want to pay that compassion forward. In addition to being able to grieve their losses together and having someone to lean on who knows exactly what you’re going through, I also just think they would have gotten along very well if they had ever crossed paths, so I made sure they did :3

The writing itself is slow going, but I have a whole general outline for this AU that already extends past the RDR1 canon timeline - one of the core ideas I want to explore is how the ripple effects of Arthur’s actions at the end of his life (mostly following canon with some slight modifications) end up having lifelong impacts for those who survived, and Charlotte happens to be one of the early indicators of that ripple effect. By showing her how to hunt he taught her to survive, and by giving her his horse he facilitated a personal connection that Arthur himself could never have anticipated - but because of that, the impacts of Arthur’s choices continue to resonate throughout the years.

[marinerainbow]

I've mentioned them a few times, but haven't gotten in depth with Poppy's exes before. Until now.

Poppy, in her canon timeline, has three exes and is currently single. Partly because of her own choice, but also partly because of the fears two of her exes left her with. Here are the guys she's dated.

Please note: outside of Poppy's storyline, I don't plan on further developing these guys. Some may get more backstory than others, but their ultimate purpose is to play a role in Poppy's backstory. I'll still answer asks for them if anybody is curious, of course, but don't expect like a deep analysis in their psychology like I'd give for my other OC's.

Henry Foxworth

Unfortunately, this fox- that's figuratively and literally; he's a fox toon- was Poppy's first love. They met during her popularity as an actress. Which meant that they met when her mental health and self-esteem were at an all-time low. Which also made her the perfect prey for a scummy opportunist like Henry.

Poppy was so desperate at the time for anything positive in her life, that even though she knew nothing about him, all it really took was for his charm and sweet words to get her to melt in his arms. She jumped the gun, brought him home with her, and that was the night she played pattycake for the first time. If you catch my drift.

Honestly, Henry didn't even realize she was an actress before he walked into her home. Poppy didn't even really have memorabilia of her movies like posters because she doesn't want to remember. She was originally just going to be a free meal ticket and some good nightly company, but when he realized he just bedded someone who had money and- some- fame, he decided to take this little con of his a little further.

She wasn't a big toon, definitely not like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse. Especially since the demand for horror toons wasn't that high. But Poppy still managed to make good money and was recognized by a good number of people. Henry didn't care though; she had cash, and she was desperate to have someone she thought loved her around. It wasn't that hard to convince her to offer him money when he asked, letting him move in with her, and even give him access to her bank account.

However, as Stein Studios started failing, Poppy was losing the little stardom and wealth she had started to gain. Much to her relief and Henry's disappointment. The nail in the coffin was when Stein Studios officially closed down, and all the toons, including Poppy, were laid off with no help or plans for the future. Despite all the red flags, Poppy was still convinced that Henry loved her, and he wouldn't abandon her.

The day after she told him, she came home to an empty house; no Henry, all of her valuables gone, and when she checked in with her bank it turned out all of the savings- which she had planned to use to buy them both a decent house away from Downtown- was all gone. And she never heard of him again.

The worst part about all this, in Poppy's opinion at least, was that all of this came out of nowhere. Sure, nowadays she looks back and sees all the signs that Henry was no good, but the way he took nearly everything she had and left her was far too sudden. She probably would have been able to find a good home if he hadn't taken her money. But now, because of him, she had to start over from scratch and is still to this day stuck in Downtown Toontown.

Henry was the one that really messed with her heart the most, for obvious reasons. She swore off on one-night stands, even if she is attracted to the other person. She has an underlying fear that someday she'll wake up or come home, and her lover will have deserted her, etc. And since he was her first love, all of this damage has an even bigger impact on her.

Moony Wolf

Some time later, when Poppy is just starting to recover from her first relationship and able to actually make a life for herself, the rabbit meets an old co-star of hers... Who she wasn't too thrilled to meet again.

In her films, the villain was almost always different in each one. Moony Wolf was created when the Stein Brothers decided they wanted to create a cartoon with a Wolf as the villain. Thus, Moony was created. He was pretty wild and dangerous, even for the humans on set. Though they didn't want to waste resources, so Poppy was still paired up with the toon. Needless to say, he caused her a lot of pain, even though he was one of those one-and-done toons.

She was still recovering from her time in the studio, and had feared Moony to be the same. However, it turned out that he had actually grown since the last time they met. He still looked ferocious, as he was designed, but he had gotten out of the animalistic mindset he was created with. And when he saw her, he actually tried to apologize for their past.

It was enough to encourage Poppy to not be afraid. When she saw he really had changed, and realized his actions before weren't exactly his fault, she actually took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Moony. One thing led to another, and they both wound up promising to meet up again.

Things didn't move as fast with Moony as they did with Henry, but a relationship did blossom between them quickly. They both needed support, and they both wanted to be loved. At the time, they were actually perfect for the other; Moony was far more gentle with her than he ever had been, and she had started to open up again because of him.

However, at some point, the two eventually started to drift apart. Nothing bad had happened between them, the relationship had just... Run it's course. Poppy still tried to keep Moony happy, in hopes that maybe this was just a small hiccup and they'd get through this.

However, Moony recognized that they didn't feel the same way for each other now. So after having a long talk, and getting her to realize that what she was trying to accomplish wasn't healthy for either of them, they both broke up on good terms.

Moony was the one that Poppy doesn't regret dating. She just wished she could have been a better partner- as in recognizing right away that she had to let Mooney go rather than try to cling onto the relationship. But he doesn't resent her for it, and reassured her that he knew she didn't have malevolent intentions.

Although they don't keep in constant contact, occasionally they see each other. Like when they're shopping for groceries, or waiting at the bus stop. Poppy and Moony greet each other like good friends when this happens, and they will catch up with each other if they have enough time. Out of these three, Moony is actually pretty decent.

Ben Cottontail

A fellow rabbit toon. Ben was recently abandoned and new to the not-so-friendly neighborhood of Downtown Toontown. Poppy was on her way from work when she noticed this guy, scared as all hell and trying to get away from an aggressive toon (she didn't realize it at the time, though Ben had actually started the conflict by antagonizing the other toon. He's all bark and no bite).

Although she was scared herself, Poppy had stepped in and claimed that she knew Ben and she needed to take him home. Eventually, after getting a threat to keep her 'friend' in line, she managed to pull Ben away and walked with him, asking if he was ok and if he needed anything. Especially once she smelt the alcohol on him. Ben, a bit shaken and realizing he needed her, accepted her help.

Poppy didn't bring him to her home that time, but she did get directions to his house from him. She gave him tips on how things worked out here, and made sure he was completely fine before heading home herself.

The two saw each other again sometime later, and Poppy had approached him to ask how he was doing, and he seemed all too happy to chat with her. Since it was her day off, he actually offered to take her out to lunch, claiming it to be a thank you to her. She accepted, and that wound up becoming their first, unofficial, date.

Eventually, the two started seeing each other. There were some red flags Poppy noticed, like how controlling he could be at times or how he got bitter when drinking, though Ben seemed to be a decent enough person. To Poppy, it looked like he just needed some help working on his problems, just like she needed help.

However, he started to reveal his true colors when he wanted to take the next step in their relationship. He assumed Poppy hadn't been with anyone else before him, and when he implied this, she just casually corrected him. Moony didn't have a problem with the fact that she had been with someone before him, so surely Ben wouldn't care too, right?

When he realized this, he pretended he wasn't feeling well and called off the night they had planned. Poppy was a bit disappointed, but she believed him. After that though, she noticed that he had grown more and more distant. He seemed more hesitant to be affectionate with her, and looked conflicted and upset whenever he thought she wasn't looking.

Eventually, Ben cut things off with her, making it sound like it was her fault but refusing to give details when she wanted to know why. And for a long time, Poppy blamed herself. Though after confiding with one of her neighbors about her past relationship, she realized that he simply didn't want to admit that he lost interest in her after her finding out about her past lovers. Which, in a way, hurt a lot more.

But now, she's moved on and happier without a guy like him, realizing she really dodged a bullet. Just like with Henry, she has no idea where he is now, nor does she even care to know.

Since they didn't last long, the damage wasn't that bad. But because of him, Poppy still dreads the idea of telling her current lover that she has been with other people. She won't lie to them, and she knows that numbers don't define anyone's worth, but she's still scared they won't like her anymore.

These were sad, but I hope you guys did enjoy reading this. Any questions you guys have, I'll be more than happy to answer ^^

[xerozero87]

saw an article this afternoon titled ‘sonic the hedgehog fans want to see maria die in the third movie’ and you know what? yeah, a lot of us do, and for good reason.

one of the most important things about maria’s death is that it’s not just a death for the sake of death. she doesn’t die for no reason. her death makes sense within the canon of sa2 as a self contained story. even if shadow actually died at the end of that game like originally planned and we never got to see more of his backstory, never got a more fleshed out past for him, maria’s death would still make sense. it doesn’t come out of nowhere and have no actual impact on the characters or story like a lot of other side character deaths.

maria’s death shapes shadow as a character in sa2 and shadow the hedgehog 2005, it causes him to make the decisions he makes, gives him his motives, his drive, his worldview. shadow may have been physically made in a lab by gerald robotnik and black doom, but he was built and shaped emotionally and mentally by maria and her death. he has the opinions he has about the world and humanity because of maria’s death at the hands of the gun soldiers, and he takes certain actions because of those views. he saves rouge in sa2 because he couldn’t save maria, at the end of the same game he sacrifices himself for the safety of the planet and the life on it because of the promise he made to her before she died.

maria’s death isn’t just important to shadow’s character and story either, it contributes to more within the full canon of the franchise. it’s because of maria’s death that gerald robotnik makes the ark head towards the planet so that, even beyond the grave, he can have his revenge, he can avenge his granddaughter. it’s because of maria’s death that shadow is able to change his opinions and views later on, in spite of his trauma and history, and can work with sonic to defeat the biolizard and help save the world. not to mention, it’s because of maria that shadow exists in the first place, it wouldn’t make sense to end their story together without actually seeing her die.

most fans probably haven’t seen maria actually die anyway. sure, they may have seen the original animation planned for shadow the hedgehog 2005, or the censored static version in the final game, or may have seen the scene in sa2 (I believe) where she sends shadow to earth, but for the most part, fans have not seen maria’s actual death, only the moments before. in recent years, it’s become a rule of storytelling that viewers shouldn’t believe a character is dead until they see a body or the moment the character dies. if they really want to send the message that maria is dead, that people do get affected by things that happen in the sonic franchise story, if they want this to hit as hard as it should, then fans need to see that maria is dead without a doubt.

in other vein, the sonic movies are to reignite old love for the franchise and to introduce younger people to sonic. these younger and newer fans aren’t likely to know the full story of the games if they’re just being introduced to sonic now. they deserve to know the full story the same as the game fans do, even if the timeline has become incredibly convoluted and it’s difficult to tell just what games, comic series, etc. are canon, and considering that (at least as far as I know) the movies are reasonably close to game canon while tweaking some things appropriately for the different setting (ie., introducing tom, maddie, wade, stone, etc. and making them actual, at least semi-important characters, changing robotnik’s motives in the first movie, stuff like that), so it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to suddenly divert from something so important in game canon.

personally, I’m also part of the camp who want to see shadow portrayed the way he was back in sa2, not his more recent characterisation. since the second movie treated knuckles with the respect that sega has lacked for a while, and showed him more in line with his original portrayal - naive and misplacing his trust in robotnik, a proud warrior who knows what he’s doing for the most part, a character with his own responsibilities and drive and trauma, someone with an actual personality who isn’t just there to be the comedic punching bag - it isn’t too much to ask for shadow to be treated the same, is it? sure, he was never the most kind character in the franchise, but he also wasn’t originally just the edgy asshole of the group who didn’t actually like anyone. his friendships meant a lot to him back then, with maria and later with rouge and omega. we want to see shadow have actual emotions, real motives, and showing maria’s death as it happened instead of censoring it too heavily or cutting away so we don’t see it at all would remove any possibility of that.

shadow himself is such an important character in the sonic franchise canon. not including his main drive and motive, not fully telling his story and fleshing him out properly like everyone else in the movies, would not only make no sense, but would also be a huge slap in the face for shadow and his fans.

there are some brilliant videos out there that talk about shadow’s character, motives, development, etc. in more detail and better than I could, so I’ll be leaving a couple here for anyone who’s interested.

tl;dr: shadow’s story hinges on maria’s death, and if we don’t actually get to see that happen, then the third movie and shadow’s involvement in it will not have as much of an effect as they should. shadow deserves the same respect the other established sonic characters got.

thank you to anyone who read this. I’m sorry if it’s way too long, if there are a bunch of typos, if it loops a whole bunch or drives points until they become redundant, I’m typing this in a bit of a rush just because I want to get it out there and empty out all my thoughts on this so I don’t forget many. if I did miss anything, feel free to add it on. thank you again. have a good day.

[queen-scribbles]

Talk about Hal! And/or Cele :3

Oh, both, obviously😁

Halthiras is my baby boy, he loves to read, loves long walks in the woods, loves animals. And animals love him back, he’s practically a Disney princess xD He grew up in Rivendell and thus was more... sheltered than he might have been, right up until he and Talagan went to Edhelion(personal headcanon is that Hira was along for the ride bc she wanted to see more of the world, but this trip was most a scholarly one for Hal and Talagan) So that whole intro quest was an extremely rude awakening for him and left some pretty deep emotional scars. 

He is still more “light-hearted” as opposed to “serious and elegant”.(I’m debating the headcanon of him being one of the Singing Elves when Bilbo & Co arrive at Rivendell in The Hobbit. It’s the sort of thing he’d do, I just dunno if the timeline works out) Probably why he loves the Shire and Hobbits as much as he does. He’s much more of a small-picture person; likes to help out with local problems--like setting up for the Farmers’ Market in Oatbarton or adventuring with Esmeralda Boffin and telling her family ghost stories(he’d call her his best friend, btw). This results in him acting very un-Elflike on numerous occasions. He’s a member in good standing of The Inn League, so he’s gotten drunk off his ass at least twice, and he’s a very happy, affectionate drunk. 😂 Esmeralda has talked him into bogs, climbing on people’s roofs, catching frogs, pranking her cousins etc. He frequently has flowers in his hair and a smile on his face, he loves to nap leaning back against his bear, who lets him. (I think she sees him as a very large, furless cub?) He’s gotten sunburned doing various Hobbit-Errands. His favorite place to be is curled up somewhere cozy with his animals and a good book and cup of tea.

He would much rather read than fight, but he’s no slouch at combat; he’s Master of Nature’s Fury track and making good use of it. Burning Embers and the lightning bolt are his go-to spells, with Cracked Earth thrown in occasionally for mobs. It’s just that he definitely only fights when he has to. It was an extremely impactful moment for him standing on top of the King’s Crossing colossus and really being hit by the scale of... everything. The size of the world, the necessity of helping the Rangers, how he’s just one person(Elf) but he can still do something. It’s also going to be a favorite spot to sit with a couple pets and a book or sketchbook because it has a fantastic view, and I think that combination of views is the perfect example of who he is; acknowledging this place made him feel small--but not unimportant--while the other part of him is going “Look at that view” and still finding something to enjoy about it.

Celebaros is a protector. A defender. It’s so much part of who he is, it became his surname(Tirthalion; Dauntless Defender). You could argue this comes from calling Mirkwood home; they always have to be more on guard and defensive than other bc of the corrupted nature of the forest. Or it could just be his nature. Or both. Regardless, he’s always been the one to draw an opponent’s attention, keep their focus on him and off others(tad reckless, which is why that’s his trait track xD). That aspect of his personality only got stronger during his and Talagan’s travels, when they stopped at Edhellond and Cele picked up the Warden fighting style; he’s already been more inclined to melee combat than a bow, but spears are... questionably useful in dense forest, so the forays against spiders etc were usually more with swords or bow and arrow. Spear and shield turns out to be perfect for him, though he is also very good with a sword. He practices and hones his skill much as he can while continuing the circuit of visiting Elven cities. 

After the fall of Edhelion and Talagan’s death, Cele doubles down on his role as a defender; he couldn’t save his mentor or Edhelion but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t protect everyone else that he can. Particularly from evil like Skorgrim or the Witch King. Whenever the LOTRO team expands all those new appearance options Men got to the Elves, Cele is getting a scar and a blinded eye from defending someone(Details pending to see where he is in the main quest when that happens lol).

He has a deep appreciation for well-forged weapons, especially beautiful ones. The skill it takes to make something like that is something he admires so much he starts learning weapon-smithing as a skill/hobby. It’s a good way to focus his mind, clear his head, and have a greater understanding of the weapons he wields all at once. He’s rather good at it, with a special skill for swords, which he finds ironic. xD 

(I’m also more than a little tempted to pair him with Hira, both bc I think they’d be great together and putting Hal through a Big Brother Crisis as his little sister finds someone EVEN MORE reckless than her to fall in love with would be fun xD)

[melrosing]

how many POVs do u estimate jaime and brienne will have in twow? i assume not many lol bc there are so many plot points that he needs to lay out that he cant dawdle like he did in affc/adwd. i think they’ll be together for the first half of the book before separating but its gonna be so interesting seeing brienne perceive jaime through her own pov. i wonder how he’ll distribute it between them.

I estimate 8-9 between them, with Brienne having 3/4 and Jaime having 5. why?? vibes

I agree that they’ll part ways again at some point but GRRM’s most recent update on writing them made me think probably not quite as soon as I would’ve thought? I would’ve assumed by maybe the third/fourth of their combined chapters, but you could certainly infer they’re still together as of GRRM’s writing late last year.

and okay YES it’s true they may be one of the POVs he’s writing more slowly (god) in which case at this point they weren’t that far along after all… and I guess that would make sense if Cersei has been taking a while too, as Cersei’s logistics likely impact Jaime’s. but idk I do feel maybe it’s just been my pessimist’s brain that figured they’d be splitting up sooner rather than later in TWOW.

thinking about it, GRRM’s more likely to want to make the most of their reunion, he’s not thrown them together again just so they can dip before anything meaningful happens (even if that’s not the full realisation of their relationship). ANYWAY

it has also occurred to me that perhaps we’ll find Jaime and Brienne as prisoners of the BWB just because of how long it’s been since they were last seen (about a month?). GRRM does kind of flex his timelines a bit when he needs to, but with that passage of time so firmly established in Cersei’s POV i do wonder if we’ll find Jaime and Brienne as prisoners with the journey to lsh told via flashback, or they’re even somehow waylaid from meeting lsh. but I do think that would be kind of a waste. like we don’t get to see Brienne angsting as she’s leading Jaime to lsh, or Jaime’s gradual realisation that he’s been betrayed, or his horror at lsh??? would be weird for GRRM to skip that.

for the record I’ve lost all track of what you asked in the first place now but since no one asked here’s my ideal JB TWOW framework

Brienne I: taking Jaime to lsh and feeling sad about it

Jaime I: wtf Brienne how could you + supernatural escape from lsh

Jaime: aftermath of escape from lsh, Jaime’s angry at Brienne but still trying to understand why she did what she did, working out where to go next. Pod is still here btw but RIP Hyle

Jaime: at the quiet isle where JB reconcile and Jaime speaks maybe to the Elder Brother idk. Oh look there’s Sandor

Brienne: parting ways with jam as he resolves to go back to save his son (having heard about red wedding 2.0 or Cersei’s latest drama idk). Brienne still wants to find Sansa and Sandor is here 2 help! JB are like on the BRINK of turning canon but for now it is Bittersweet Goodbyes

Jaime: on the road idk what the hell he’s doing at this point but we’re in his head.

Brienne: also on the road w Sandor and Pod. We’re in her head a lot and also formulating a plan cos we’ve heard something about where Sansa might be. fuck if I know how this information is conveyed

Jaime: nearly at KL or actually at KL. beginning of the end of Lannister twins drama. or idk possibly the actual end but I do think Cers survives TWOW put it that way. Also [edit] myrcella is dead, Jaime finds out here. Tommen will probs die in Cersei’s last chapter

the rest of Brienne’s rescue Sansa mission is told via Sansa herself

there you go. I know it’s like holding twow in your hands

[rouge-variant]

??? if one day you shifted into aot and you change and save "some" people and events in the anime and created a strong Ackerman bond with Levi (you guys are not in a relationship for many obvious reasons but the romantic feeling is there) halfway through the year before 854. You were being eating guilt of the decision of leaving the AOT once the war ended and changing Eren's faith of die. (by the way, you possessed a body of a girl that was supposed to be dead)

Will you tell Levi your true identity?

The truth about who really are you?

And his world was made by the creation of an author?

(I'll be asking this question with other aot authors I know on Tumblr)

I forgot to say another detail. Changing Eren's faith is the only way to bring you back to the real world.

Oh by the gods...this, was something.

First of all, the guilt of leaving everyone behind once things are said and done, would impact everything I do at the start. Initially, I would do everything I could to try and stick with what happens in the original timeline because I have no idea of what would happen if I strayed away from it. And as I've learned the Marvel's and a YouTuber's "Anime Book" series, the timeline shouldn't be altered or played with.

Having said that, I am also very strongly driven by my emotions so come the 57th expedition, I would've stepped in to save Levi Squad. Petra definitely would've played a role in my changing my mind about needing to stick to the timeline because she's just so amazing and my urge to protect her is too strong.

I am also extremely clumsy both physically and mentally so my identity would've been blown sooner or later in Levi's presence. For example, when I do something stupid when trying to complete a simple task, I will mutter out loud to myself; "C'mon [Real Name], you're such a pea-brain" or something along those lines but I will use my actual name. So having to go along with a wake identity is going to be really hard for me to keep up with. Regardless, I would want to tell him but I would be hesitant because I don't know how Levi would react and if we've become close recently, I don't want to scare him off. Which is why he finds out in the worse way possible when I'm muttering to myself and then it sparks the dreaded conversation I was trying to avoid.

When it actually comes to the truth about me, I'm going to give him what I think is necessary and what he tell me he wants to know. I'm not going to use anything that my OC has or go too deep into detail about the stuff that isn't related to the conversation. Some things would be harder to admit than others, my fanfictions would be an interesting conversation, but some of it makes me sound weaker than I want to be. Like how I'm an adult and still afraid to sleep without a light on, or how emotional I get when someone raises their voice at me. I don't want to be someone that Levi needs to constantly stress about if we are bonded. So tell him only what he needs and then some if what he wants and leave the rest sealed tightly away from him.

The topic of his world being someone's creations, is probably going to come up too and that's one I would be stressing about constantly. Cause if you think about it, it would be really crappy if you were suddenly told; "Oh yeah, by the way, everything you've gone through is just for 'real' people's amusement and you're not real. You're fictional". No thank you. Levi is real in his world and he isn't just there for amusement. I would start talking about it in little pieces, just whenever he got curious but otherwise I wouldn't bring it up.

I have a feeling that most of the time, he would ask questions about me during late at night when neither of us can sleep but I'm slowly starting to. All because he would've eariler learned my body language and strange habits and would use this against me more out of curiosity than anything else...sneak little man.

Even if it meant that I would have to leave, getting Eren to change his mind, on a hunch of giving everyone a better 'ending', even if it's just a sliver of a chance will be worth the emotional pain that'll happen at the end of the war. Once I told Levi and the others about who I actually am, would make leaving just a bit easier, knowing that we've lived and spent the most amount of time together as possible. It still won't be easy but at least we know we won't have regrets, we would have memories and that will help to lighten the load when we go back to the proper universes. Regardless, I'm going to change Eren's faith because there is another way to end this more peacefully and to stop so many people from dying.

That's starting all the mini scenarios in my head again...meh oh well, at least they're fun.

This was amazing, hopefully I've answered everything there. Thank you for including me 💜💜💜

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

You Made It

This is for me and @sleepyfangirl18 and nobody else, though y'all welcome to tag along, if y'all ain't got nothing else to be doing. Yes, I did cut into my hiatus for this. Lmao.

Picture this. It is 20 years after the Freddy VS Jason showdown. I say that, because its almost been that long and I don't wanna try to remember society from 10 years ago or whatever. I’m bout the same age as the characters and actors so I’m okay with writing via our timeline. Off topic.  Back on...

Kia Waterson rolls into her 20 year class reunion at Springwood High School, wheelchair bound, but looking divine, because she IS Kelly Rowland, after all, and she’s alone, and nervous, but curious, because she hasn’t been here in a very long time. 

She sees the memorial whenever she first arrives. There is one at the front of the school, shadowed in lies, of course. The town went back to hiding Freddy. She didn’t blame them. Nothing like that needed to happen again. The town didn’t even name drop Jason, either. Why tempt fate? 

The Crystal Lake Copycat Killer was unfortunately blamed on an “obsessed” cop who wanted to build a name for himself in the town. That made her sick. Deputy Stubbs was the only adult that had been willing to try to help them out, and he’d died a hero. She did know that there were several survivors who were united in efforts to clear his name, including her former best friend, Lori and Charlie Linderman... who... she hadn’t spoken to in a long time.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak to him. She spent several years in a coma in Crystal Lake, woke up and spent a while with amnesia, as well as muscular atrophy and irreversible back injuries from her attack. She had scars across her back that reminded her of branches, which was a little funny to her, considering that the injuries had come from impact with a tree. She had one scar across her front, from a machete slash. Hearing about her injuries with her amnesia, she did not know how one would survive such an attack... or why a high school teenager would be subjected to one.

Luckily for her, Crystal Lake had some state of the art resources, due to a long running series of unfortunate attacks... Jason attacks... they tried to have specialists on hand for such incidents, and while it had been many years, they, much like Springwood, always wanted to remain prepared for a possible return. She spent years recovering, and getting accustomed to living in Crystal Lake as a disabled young lady. 

It was actually nice. Aside from what she knew from reports had happened to her, and the pain of trying to recover her body while her mind was still not returned, the place was actually beautiful and the people were nice enough. There were even support groups for survivors, though she unfortunately was way younger than the last remaining ones and the ones that were still around always watched her with bated breath, like she was a sign that he wasn’t gone, like they had dared to hope. She was a sign that he could still return. 

To some of the others, she had been one of the ones who “brought him back.”

She got visits from her family. She fortunately remembered them, though she couldn’t remember anything surrounding the events that happened in 2003 yet. She was surprised to see Will show up with Lori. They had all been warned that she didn’t remember the events, so she didn’t know about that. She was even more surprised to see Linderman. “Now wait..." she had said, with a chuckle, “How do we know each other?” 

She knew of the kid. He was a nerd. They weren’t friends. He wanted to bone Lori. That was all that she knew about him. Now, he was visiting, with her best friend and her family? He gave her a sad smile squatted to be eye to eye with her, “You saved my life,” he said, and touched her hand. She felt something shoot through her body. An electricity. It was like... waking up out of a coma, but she was already awake. She had flashes, images of him, bleeding out, dying, and then images of herself, face to face with... it was blank. She was face to face with someone... but when she turned around, Jason was there and she felt the impact of his blade in that moment and she screamed.

“Jesus, Linderman, what did you do?” Lori asked. The man fell backwards and scrambled to his feet as they tried to calm her down. She was frantically panicking about Jason. Jason was going to kill her friends. Oh no, Linderman. She was supposed to come back for him! 

That was the only time she had seen him in person since she woke up, and she spent another couple of years trying to reconcile with her returned memories. It was just... a lot. But, social media had made big moves. It wasn’t like that when she was in high school. Now, there were many options and several functions of them. She received friend requests and follow requests from people from Springwood. Charlie Linderman had been one of them. 

She waited a long time to accept. She wasn’t sure how to feel about him or about speaking to him. Would it cause her to have another episode? Would it make her guilty or sad? She lived her life a little bit longer. The 10 year anniversary rolled around and she declined going. She hadn’t even graduated from Springwood, and whenever she worked towards her GED, she found that the survivors didn’t have to graduate. They would merely be given their diplomas. She didn’t want the handout, but knew it was at her parents’ house if she ever needed it. 

They didn’t want her to come back into town. They were worried it would be too overwhelming. Lori wanted her to at least visit, and thought the reunion could be a perfect time to do so. But, she wasn’t with it, and Lori respected that. “Let me know when they make a Real Housewives of Springwood and maybe I’ll come through,” she joked. 

Linderman sent her a message. Despite not being one of her friends, she knew that their history was something that linked them forever. “Hey. Are you coming to the reunion?” He’d asked. 

“No.” There was truly no need for her to go into detail, not with him. 

“We’ll miss you... Sorry if I’m being pushy. I’ll leave you alone.”  

She stared at the message for a while before going to find the very old request and finally accepting it. It was the only one that she let sit there. Others that she didn’t want to accept, she deleted. But, it had been even longer since she saw Linderman than it had been between the last time she’d seen him when she had her meltdown. She felt like opening the doorway was in order. 

“Thank you for accepting that.” he messaged. She replied with one of those emoticon things, but she put the smiling blushing one instead of the smiling one. Oh well. A smile is a smile... 

But, Linderman stared at the response everyday, wondering if she meant to send it, but being too nervous to bring it up. She’d just accepted a friendship that he extended years ago. She might not even consider him someone worth having any dealings outside of the computer. But. He had thought about her every day for all of these years.

Did she remember the soft, sweet parts? Or only seeing him presumably die and then being killed before waking up a stranger to her own body? Did she remember dancing with him in the cornfield? Did she remember the way that she was able to make him smile, a miracle, all things considered with how they started their night out? Had her insides tingled when she pressed her body against his, like his had? They didn’t get a chance to get that far into things. There was never enough time with what was happening then.

Sitting in the van, smoking pot and trying to explain what they had just seen when they first saw Jason - still to this day Charlie’s number one fear. He had nightmares about him. About seeing HIM butcher his classmates. About seeing him swat Kia. About taking a stand against a monster, to protect a princess, and falling by his hand. 

But, that was where his dreams detoured from the real life nightmare. In his dreams, they were okay. In his dreams, it really was just a scratch and he didn’t watch her walk away while he bled to death. Well.. he didn’t bleed to death here either. Fortunately, he had been found by patrol. They were able to get him to a facility. They were surprised to see that there was literally a seemingly supernatural fight happening, but scoured the woods for others. They found Kia, too. She was in much worse shape, though Charlie wouldn’t learn that for days. 

When he woke up in the facility, they already were filling him in on disclaimers, NDAs, classified incidents, etc. They were trying to get him to agree to all sorts of things before even being allowed to contact his parents, but he was soon reminded of something far more important. “Where’s Kia?” He asked. They looked confused. “Black girl, beautiful, built like a goddess... red.. red streaks in her hair?” Now, they knew and he didn’t like the expressions they wore. They didn’t have good news. he didn’t want to hear their news. “I want to see her.” If she was dead, he had to see her face, to touch her hand, to verify, for himself, with his own eyes that she was gone.

He was too weak. They rolled him to another room, on a stretcher and let him view her through the window. He tried to get up, but couldn’t. They assisted him into a wheelchair and pushed him into the room. “She’s alive,” he said, and let tears of relief fall as he reached for her hand.

“Barely. She didn’t lose as much blood as you did, but she suffered far more damage from blunt force trauma...” Her back was shattered. Organs were in distress, head trauma, lacerations...

“She’s gonna make it. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met,” he said and squeezed her hand. He thought he felt her squeeze his back, but over the years convinced himself it was likely wishful thinking.

And then he just... yearned for her every day. He saw her each day he was in the facility, recovering. After he had signed all of the paperwork and been released, he visited her in the coma for a year before his parents finally convinced him to try to move on with his life and go to college. 

He always sent cards and flowers for special events, hoping that someday she would know, hoping that even in her state, she might be aware. He was the second person that her parents called, after Lori, whenever she woke up. At the time, he was beginning to work on his master’s degree, and they did warn that she had amnesia. It didn’t seem helpful for him to rush to Crystal Lake to see her. Besides, he was at the University of Pennsylvania. Jersey was only a couple of hours away if he ever had an inkling...

He often had an inkling. He would drive to Crystal Lake during his free time, then chicken out of actually going to see her. It wasn’t until Lori told him that she and Will were making their way with the Watersons to visit that he mustered up the courage to actually see her. Aaaaaaaaannnd... That did not go very well. He didn’t want to scar her. 

It also put some things into perspective. He had been dreaming about the Kia that he remembered. He had been dreaming about her kissing him before potentially never seeing him again. He had been dreaming about a girl he was willing to die for, a girl who cried for him and helped him move out of danger’s way. A girl who placed him safely, to be rescued, and went back to battle monsters. This woman in front of him was a different person, and she didn’t know him. 

He thought about letting go. Obviously, he was no good for her. He needed to focus on school and focus on moving on. She most likely would. And, for the most part, Charlie Linderman did move on. He dated, a little bit. It never became serious enough to get fully emersed in. In fact, a lot of things holding him back from truly bonding, that he thought were because of the trauma of being hunted and nearly killed by a masked murderer, he eventually wondered if they weren’t because he still wanted the girl that he fell for while being chased through a corn field. 

The girl who pulled him away from his crush to dance and didn’t say something awful to get back at him for standing up to her earlier in the night. A girl who... he saw a little differently, now that she was smiling at him and not tearing him down. Who... underneath all that makeup was somebody willing to die for her friends.

“How the fuck do you get over somebody like that?” He’d asked Lori, on the phone. 

“I don’t know. I never got over Will.”

“That was different. He was actually your boyfriend. The two of you were in love. Am I trauma bonded to her? If so, why am I over you? Why am I not this connected to Will? We were all there...”

“I think you can be trauma bonded to somebody and in love with them and I think... Kia was always somebody to love. That’s why she was my best friend and why it hurt me to see her fall. She’s this way because she distracted him to let me and Will get away. It takes a special type of person to do something like that.. and you’re smart. You know that she’s special.”

“She doesn’t want me. If I’m so smart, why don’t I let go?”

“I didn’t want you either,” Lori reminded him.

“That was different.”

“Yeah, but maybe that’s just how you are. Maybe you like people who are unavailable...”

“I liked her before she was unavailable!” 

“Linderman... That was years ago. We were kids. Today, maybe you need a therapist. I found a very good one through the Crystal Lake and Springwood accords that the... situation brought about.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll.. look into that.”

.

They were casual online, sometimes flirting in comments, usually being cordial in passing. She loved most of his posts about his accomplishments. Most of her posts were her trying new looks and really gaining interest as a “disabled model,” although she was not getting paid, so she could hardly consider herself a model. He loved all of her posts. Every one of them. Even those as simple as, “Found a new shoe brand I love.” 

They didn’t message each other a lot, as she realized when she once again got the message “Hey. Are you coming to the reunion?” and realized that she had the same one 10 years before and the interactions had been minimal between that one and this one. 

Last time her answer was no. This time, “Maybe.”

He sent her back the blushing smile emoji and her heart spiked. She knew then that the answer was yes, but she didn’t want to say, just in case. It was a little bit of a journey to get from New Jersey to Ohio, and sometimes, she just didn’t have the energy after a trip to do anything for a couple of days. Maybe if she planned ahead and went to her parents some days before the event, she could make it there with a good mood and rested. 

.

By the time that she made it there, she felt more nervous than anything else. Time had passed and feelings that she thought were gone had resurfaced, fears that she had repressed had been recovered, and insecurities that she thought were dead and gone had been dug up. 

Lori and Will would be there in a little bit. Apparently, there was some type of issue with the babysitter cancelling and them trying to find one at the last minute, only for Kia to suggest that they, “Bring them babies to my mama to get loved on.” They were not babies. They were full grown kids, but Kia’s family was from the South, and she still had an accent lingering, despite having been in Ohio since she was 10 and Jersey since she was 18. 

Her mother agreed to keep the kids, always happy to see Lori’s considering that not only did Kia not have any, but didn’t seem the least bit interested in ever doing so. Kia never wanted kids. There was something that never sat right with her about her body belonging to some other person for months, being repurposed and out of control, to bring forth life in a most painful way and possibly lose her perfectly formed body? She didn’t like it before the attack. Now, she sort of didn’t hate the idea, but she also hadn’t made much time for the possibility.

Something about rediscovering the knowledge of Freddy made kids seem like a horror show for her. Plus, she had Lori’s kids to love on and they considered her their Glamorous Aunt. 

So, she rolled into the building alone and realized that she didn’t even remember most of the people on her friends list that might be here tonight. But. If ever there was someone that she did remember, it was him. He was looking at her from the moment she arrived, contemplating whether he would approach her or give her space. She seemed to be rolling his way, so he met her, trying to hide his excitement, though hers seemed to grow the closer that she came to him. “You made it!” He cheered. 

She smiled, “I told your ass that I was coming back for you...” 

A feeling that she couldn’t read washed over him and crouched to be closer to her face, “You came back here for me?” But she only responded by reaching for his shirt and pulling his face closer so that she could kiss him properly this time. Without the potential of death, or the self consciousness of people knowing, or the anxiety of uncertainty. Nobody knew what the next chapter would be, but one thing that both of them were sure of this time - nobody would be left behind.