#yes i bought volume 10 immediately

[saffronapplemanga]

Anime/Manga Recommendation Round Up

Anime and manga recommendation thread of things I’ve been enjoying in recent years~ 

~I’ll link any dedicated posts I have to these~

~Links to my other manga posts here~

My personal favs/ones I super enjoyed will have a ✨ on them :)

(Some of these might not have official EN translations since any physical manga I read are JP copies. I guess if any sound interesting, ask publishers to license them!)

I won’t get too much into what they’re about because I think finding out is part of the fun. I’ll mostly list the genres and a little blurb. Some of these I feel like I rarely hear anyone talk about so it would be cool to see people try these :) 

 PLEASE LOOK UP ANY TRIGGER WARNINGS!

HORROR, SUPERNATURAL 

✨The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumoku Ren 

(4 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

Picked it up earlier this year up knowing nothing but was immediately gripped by the eerie mood. Takes place in the country side where mysterious things have been happening. My friend couldn’t stop reading when I recommended it.

ACTION, THRILLER, DRAMA, CRIME

✨Banana Fish by Yoshida Akimi

(19 volumes + side stories, completed)

It’s getting reprinted in English, so what are you waiting for!

Anime - yes and it’s so good…

The manga is from the 80’s-90’s but the anime updated it in 2018.

Without giving too much away, it takes place in NY where our characters are trying to break out of the vicious cycle of violence and figure out a mystery that’s also connected to a conspiracy. Lovable cast, keeps you on the edge of your seat. I’m obsessed.

DRAMA, ROMANCE, LGBTQ

Lovers’ Kiss by Yoshida Akimi

(2 volumes, completed)

JP only

A short story where high schoolers are just trying to figure life out. Yoshida-sensei has this way of writing human stories and melancholy/tragedy while still leaving a glimmer of hope.

HISTORICAL, SUPERNATURAL

✨Mushishi by Urushibara Yuki

(10 volumes, complete)

I think the physicals are out of print but you can read it on bookwalker. It deserves a reprint!!!

Anime - yes, it’s a whole vibe please watch it

I watched S1 ages ago but never got to the rest until recently. Recently picked up the manga and plan to read it eventually. Another top fav of all time. Amazing atmosphere. We see the daily life of mushi expert Ginko deal with mysterious phenomenon mushi cause.

COMEDY, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Yotsuba&! by Azuma Kiyohiko

(15 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

This series is super cute, wholesome, and hilarious! Yotsuba is honestly a delight, and following her daily life as she befriends her new neighbors is just a good time. Yet another fav of all time.

DRAMA, ART, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Blue Period by Yamaguchi Tsubasa

(15 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

Anime - yes, but… listen I’ve never said “don’t watch the anime” because everyone can enjoy stuff however they want but... don’t watch the anime… I’ve never been so offended by an adaption ;_;

After discovering something he’s passionate about for the first time, Yatora navigates the art world despite his fears and being a complete newcomer. This series made me cry so much, I love it… please

ROMANCE

In the Clear Moonlight Dusk by Yamamori Mika

(7 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

Blind-bought this a while ago. Yoi is dubbed “Prince” by her classmates for her cool demeanor, but she’s not the only one.

YOI IS MY GIRL!!!

ROMCOM, ACTION

MARRIAGETOXIN by Joumyaku and Yoda Mizuki

(3 volumes, ongoing)

Available for free on Shueisha’s mangaplus site

Assassin Gero needs to produce an heir so his sister can stay with her gf, but the social skills he needs to win a girl over need some help. This series is so funny and wholesome, all around a good time!

ACTION, ADVENTURE, FANTASY

✨Yona of the Dawn by Kusanagi Mizuho

(44 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

Anime - yes, but I haven’t seen it yet so idk

I’m not very far in this one yet, but I’m having a great time. Love the friendship, the found family vibes. Seeing Yona acknowledge that she is naive and then stepping up is awesome.

idk how I slept on this for so long since it seems like something right up my alley. Literally picked up a lot of all the 39 currently out volumes (it came with the light novel too), no questions asked. I’m only a few volumes in, but I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s giving me Ertugrul vibes (the historical Turkish drama). No, I won’t expand on that point, go watch Ertugrul!

I’m committed apparently...

ROMANCE

A Sign of Affection by Morishita Suu

(10 volumes, ongoing)

Available in English

Blind-buy. A cute romance between a deaf girl and a well-traveled guy.

FANTASY, SLICE OF LIFE

✨Ascendance of a Bookworm by Kazuki Miya and Shiina You

(3 seasons, ongoing)

Available in English - originally a light novel

Anime - yes, I’ve been watching this not reading it yet

Listen, isekai just don’t ever click with me, but this one does. There’s political drama and we get to learn about the culture and daily lives of people living in this world.

Our mc is reincarnated into a medieval fantasy world where access to books is limited, making it her personal hell. But don’t worry, she gonna do something about it! This series is so interesting and I love the character dynamics. Even if isekai aren’t your thing, try this!

DRAMA, HISTORICAL, POLITICAL

✨Requiem of the Rose King by Kanno Aya

(17 volumes, complete)

Available in English

It has an anime but I heard fans were really mad at the adaption. I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment.

Normally not the kind of thing I would go for, but this series has me constantly screaming. IT’S SO MESSY, but the good kind of messy. It takes every fiber in my body to contain myself when reading in public. It features an mc who was born intersex and a battle for the crown of England.

DRAMA

My Broken Mariko by Hirako Waka

(one shot)

Available in English

Saw this at the bookstore and I looked at the cover like “wow, she looks like she’s really going through it…and she’s carrying someone’s ashes, oh no…” Didn’t know anything else about it but, oof, it’s a heavy one…

DRAMA

Look Back and ✨Goodbye Eri by Fujimoto Tatsuki

(one shots)

Available in English - also on the Jump app

While Fujimoto-sensei’s more well-known work wasn’t 100% clicking with me, I tried his one shots and really enjoyed them. I particularly liked the cinematic feeling and environmental storytelling.

Maybe when I’m up to it, I’ll do posts on some of these that go into a little more detail on how I felt about them idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ladyaj-13]

Thank you @ronniebox for the tag!

Rules: List ten books that have stayed with you in some way, don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard - they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you.

1. 'Witches Abroad' by Terry Pratchett

My first Discworld. I was immediately sucked in and knew it would be a new love. My dad bought me the book, and I remember starting to read it on a gloomy beach, laughing out loud and getting weird looks from my family. "You mean everyone brought potato salad?!"

2. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

An assigned book in high school, but one of the only ones I've returned to multiple times. I say it's my fave when I want to sound intellectual.

3. 'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Came for the Terry Pratchett, stayed (and re-read maybe 10? 11 times?) because it's utter perfection. My actual favourite book.

4. 'Take Six Puppies' by Bette Paul

I don't know how many times I read this as a young child. My copy was almost in pieces, and the dogs on the front were embossed so you could run your fingers over them. I actually can't remember it much now, except the cover, but my God. I loved this book.

5. 'Claudia and the Middle School Mystery' (Babysitters' Club #40) by Ann M. Martin

I must have had about fifty of this series. I absolutely adored them, and used to play 'Babysitter's Club' in the garden. This one was the first book I ever bought with my own money. I remember it very clearly, handing over a £5 note in Wetherly's bookshop and feeling incredibly grown-up.

6. 'Goodnight Mister Tom' by Michelle Magorian

A lot of kids books on this list...! Another that I read over and over again, so much that the cover fell off. I think it was actually my sister's, but I commandeered it early on and never gave it back, and last re-read only a couple of years ago. As I got old enough to cook, I would fry bacon and cut thick slices of white bread, with a mug of tea, to mirror Willie's first meal at Tom's.

7. 'All Creatures Great and Small' by James Herriot (the whole series)

As a child I gave up on the idea of wanting to be a vet pretty quickly (too many distressed animals), but still devoured book after book about animals (special mention for the 'Animal Ark' books by Lucy Daniels, which I would get off the shelf and mix-up so they could sit next to other 'friends' for a while... I was a weird kid 😄), and discovering this series hidden away in my family's garage was a goldmine. I later got an 'all volumes in one' massive hardback edition. It led on to reading Gervase Phinn's school series and Gerard Durrell's 'My Family and Other Animals' series.

8. 'Strange Weather in Tokyo' by Hiromo Kawakami

A bit of an outlier in that I've only read this once, but it seemed worth including as it really stuck with me. Not the story so much, not a whole lot happens, but the vibe. It inspired me to read much more Japanese literature.

9. 'Past Mistakes' by David Mountain

I'm a bit of a social history magpie (love a BBC documentary), and this book was so readable and full of titbits - all those things you think you know about history, turned on their head. Just what I want out of a non-fiction book.

10. 'Hogfather' by Terry Pratchett

Another Pratchett?! Yes. This one is seasonal.

Wow, wordy. I could have mentioned many others, such as Wild Horses by Dick Francis (see how I snuck this one in 😛). I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but it was the first 'grown-up' book I read. (My mum gave it to me because it was about horses and I loved horses... possibly I was a bit too young for the sexual content and rampant misogyny she must have forgotten it contained, but there we go.) I'll tag @lemonistas, @londonfoginacup, @incognito-insomniac, @astridcontramundum and anyone else who wants to!

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Tuesday, 31 January, 2023:

Now That’s Country! The Definitive Collection Vol. 2 Marty Stuart (Hump Head) (released in 2019)

This is the second compilation I picked up after seeing Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives at a local theater in my hometown.  You can read about what led to my attendance to this unlikely show in my previous entry. 

This set is a three disc affair which means I know have five discs (all of which exceed an hour’s length) of Marty Stuart’s career to hear.  That may be way more than is needed but this also includes tracks from his last album Way Out West which was produced my Mike Campbell of The Heartbreakers of all people!  The songs Stuart played from that album (I later checked the tracklist) were rocking and which I can probably be expected to buy at some point.  I mention this because I’ll be buying his new album which I believe he said comes out in May.  He did one song from the forthcoming album and it immediately sounded just like The Byrds.  Stuart and the Superlatives are indeed a rocking combo and I’m keen to see what he sounds like on more modern albums than his past work. 

This three disc set is housed in a hardback book style case.  I didn’t take any photos of it opened because what I did take weren’t really that revealing at all.  I did however take a photo of a page in which Stuart’s importance is discussed.  While it certainly contains some hyperbole there is a point to be made in the brief paragraph.  You can read it below.

Stuart has been around country music his entire life and he is doing something interesting outside of making music.  He is also a photographer who documents the legends of country as well native Americans and the towns he visits.  Consumed with documenting things that we may never see again or that we will lose Stuart proves to be a far more interesting artist than I would have ever understood had I not got infected with what I like to call Hump Head fever (because that is the UK comp that released the two sets I bought and because the name is so ridiculous).  My brother’s chance attendance at Stuart and the Superlatives at Chicago Old Town School of Folk back a year ago is opening my eyes to an artist I never gave much credit for anything (because there are times when we are simply narrow-minded).  This whole endeavor in involving Stuart’s music goes to prove we are never too old to learn a lesson.  Here is a link to an article that proved eye opening to me: https://www.cowboysindians.com/2019/10/american-ballads-the-photographs-of-marty-stuart/

Below you will see all three of the CDs.  And yes, they all look the same.

I do like that Hump Head remained consistent in making this set of CDs look just like the last set from Volume 1.  I also see that I am now guilty of the iPhone iPose I endless nag about on discogs.  But after taking literally hundreds and hundreds of photos of CDs and jewel cases over the last five days I’m so sick of this I am now like the other faux-archivists and I simply do not care.  (I am guessing I shot over 1000 photos of Marshall Crenshaw albums and House of Freaks albums and these two sets of Marty Staurt comps.  The only thing good about when my iPod dies is that I won’t be so obsessed with having proper photos representing each album and or song on my iPod.)

[sunlightinourheadlights]

PSA: in the official english translated version of JSHK instead of saying, ‘I like him.’ Nene says, “I really like him.”

Continue on with your day. 

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳: 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝)

Warnings: NSFW content. Read at your own discretion. Not requested.

❥𝓚𝓲𝓶 𝓗𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓳𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓰

"Hongjoong!"

You were practically swinging your feet in the air, whining and pouting like a child out of boredom and annoyance at being cooped up in the studio with your boyfriend.

"5 more minutes." He repeated.

"You've said that for the last 45 minutes." You groaned, tired of waiting for him to finish up.

"I promise I'm serious this time." He assured you.

5 minutes quickly turned to 10, nearly becoming 15. You let out a huff every now and then, eyes staring daggers into the back of your boyfriend's head. Seriously, why could he not take a little break? You wanted to spend time with him yet even on what's supposed to be his day off, he still chooses to work when you could both be doing.....other things.

Getting an idea, your hands quickly worked to rid yourself of your pants and underwear, Hongjoong, still focused on his task didn't even budge at the sound behind him. But when he began to hear some rather familiar moaning, he swung his chair around and was shocked to see you legs spread on the couch, your fingers rubbing against your clit as you stared at him through hooded eyelids. Hongjoong instantly got hard. Licking his lips, he got up and took his place next to you on the couch. Fumbling with his zipper, he pulled his pants down enough to stroke his hardened member.

"Let's play a game since you're so bored. If you can get yourself off before I cum, I'll eat you out right here. But if I cum first, you have to suck me off."

❥𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓢𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝔀𝓪

You were even more tired and angry than when you woke up. Why did your boyfriend have to be so difficult and special about cleaning? You literally spent over an hour lint rolling the shelves over and over again because you had 'missed a spot.'

"Make sure to get the corners, that's where the dust mostly accumulates." He called out from the kitchen.

Not being able to take it anymore, you threw the roller and the rag you were holding down onto the floor. You were tired of being ignored by your boyfriend except when he came over to inspect your cleaning. So you decided it was time to get back at him while simultaneously showing him getting dirty isn't such a bad thing.

Picking up the bucket of murky water, you mentally patted yourself on the back for choosing not to wear a bra underneath your white tank top. Looking over at Seonghwa, who still had his back turned, you put your plan in action. Splashing some of the contents all over you, you let out a squeal that had Seonghwa running over immediately.

"What?" He asked as he came in.

Putting on the biggest pout you could muster, you turned around to let him see the mess you made: white tank top soaked, your breasts completely visible through it, nipples poking out. Seonghwa's mouth dropped as he stared at them, unable to peel his eyes off.

"I'm dirty." You let out a huff.

Discarding the rag he was holding, Seonghwa pulled you against him as he began to peel your shirt off.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up then?"

❥𝓙𝓮𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓾𝓷𝓱𝓸

Once again you tried to pull your boyfriend out of bed.

"Yunho, baby. Come on. You have to get up."

You tried to tug his arm, pulling it but he didn't budge at all. Dropping his arm, you looked at him with an 'are you kidding me' expression.

"You said you were going to get up early to spend time together." You reminded him.

Letting out a tired groan, turned onto his stomach and hugged the pillow underneath him.

"I will....just give me a few more minutes..."

Shaking your head, you smacked his back before getting up yourself. You decided to let him have it his way. You had a lot of things to do today, starting with taking a shower. You made sure to slam the drawers rather loudly in an attempt to annoy your boyfriend, which he did not really appreciate, but still didn't say anything.

You were barely 2 minutes into your shower when you remembered you forgot your shampoo in your vanity dresser. Not even caring to turn off the water since you would be in and out in less than 10 seconds, you sprinted out the bathroom, door accidentally letting out a loud noise that startled your boyfriend. He quickly shot up and his gaze fell on you and your dripping naked body.

"Sorry Yunho, I forgot this." You apologized profusely.

Yunho blinked slowly, eyes scanning your entire body as he began to move off the bed.

"Damn...I'm definitely up now." He chuckled at the double meaning behind his statement.

Although you didn't plan it, you couldn't complain when he pulled his shirt over his head and began walking you back into the bathroom.

"Let's hurry before the water gets cold." He said with a smirk on his face as he closed the door behind him.

❥𝓚𝓪𝓷𝓰 𝓨𝓮𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓷𝓰

"I swear to god, you probably love chicken more than me."

Besides the fact your cold boyfriend was being a selfish asshole by not sharing his meal, he had been blatantly ignoring you when you both knew damn well he was more than capable of maintaining a conversation while also eating his dinner. You let out a scoff when he still didn't acknowledge you and just kept munching on the stupid drumstick. Picking up one of his fries, you flung it at his head.

"I am talking to you!" You exclaimed.

"Busy." He pointed down at his food, mouth full of chicken, you don't even get how you even understood that one word.

"Well you definitely answered my question. You do love chicken more than me. I bet if you had to choose between me or a chicken leg, you wouldn't hesitate to grabbed the chicken leg and ditch me."

You were seriously about to smack him when he just stared you down as he reached for another chicken leg.

"Are you serious-"

Getting up in frustration, you were going to go the bedroom and make him sleep on the couch, but suddenly an idea popped in your head. Turning back around, you stood right in front of him from across the table, hands on your hips. He gave you a questioning look when he finally looked over at you and then proceeded to choke slightly when you lifted your shirt up and flashed your boobs at him. The poor boy was nearly wheezing at the sight. Feeling satisfied, you put your shirt down and chuckled at him.

Quickly putting the leg down, Yeosang began wiping his hands on a napkin as he walked over to you.

"I'm suddenly hungry for something else."

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓢𝓪𝓷

"Who's the prettiest girl? You are..yes you are." San cooed at the siamese he was currently smothering in his embrace.

Meanwhile you were on the other side of the couch, no longer paying attention to the movie playing. Well technically neither was your boyfriend, but you weren't watching cause you were too busy witnessing some furry feline steal his attention away from you to the point of abandoning your cuddling session in favor for her.

"San, she doesn't even want to be held." You pointed out how her claws were sticking out, her head looking in all directions trying to search for a way out of his embrace.

"Nonsense! My babygirl loves me." He chuckled as he kissed the top of her head.

"I thought I was your babygirl." You whimpered slightly.

San didn't respond which made you even more jealous of the stupid yet totally innocent cat who just wanted to be free from her owner's caresses. Tapping a finger against your cheek, a sinful idea popped in your head. Taking advantage of the fact a blanket was covering your lower half, you pulled your shorts and panties down without San noticing anything. Pulling the blanket off you and lifting his hoodie that you were wearing slightly up, you spread your legs before calling out to him in a sing song voice.

When San looked over, his jaw dropped at the sight and he immediately put Byeol down on the floor.

"Go on now girl, run along." He patted her behind.

With a sly smirk, he began to position himself in between your thighs.

"Cause there's another pussy I want to play with."

❥𝓢𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓲

It was supposed to be a date night with your boyfriend. You two had already finished eating the delicious meal you cooked specially for him and were now supposed to watch a movie together, yet his eyes were glued to his phone. Glancing over, you frowned when you saw he was texting no one else but Yunho.

"Mingi?" You poked his cheek.

"Hmm?" He barely acknowledged you.

"You're not watching the movie." You said.

"Yeah I am." He responded, typing something into his phone.

Rolling your eyes, you then asked him what part was it on.

"The part where they found out the butler did it." He answered you.

You wanted to face palm. The idiot forgot it wasn't even a thriller since his baby ass couldn't handle them. Getting up, you told him you were going to the bathroom, which he probably didn't hear since his conversation with Yunho must obviously be more important than his date night with you. Turning on the light, you peeled off your pajama set to reveal the new lingerie set you bought specifically for tonight. Pulling out your phone, you quickly snapped a photo and sent it to him. Hearing a loud thud, you smirked as you knew he saw it and that noise was of him dropping his phone.

When you came back out, he was no longer on his phone, instead his attention was fully on you. Clearing his throat, he stared at the pastel pink set.

"You got that just for tonight?" He questioned you.

"Yep." You nodded.

Letting out a long sigh, he got up and went over to you, an arm slinging around your waist.

"I'm an ass aren't I?"

You giggled at him and pecked his lips.

"Just shut up and come on. I didn't spend so much money on this for it to go to waste."

Mingi was a giggling and blushing mess as he allowed you to lead him into the bedroom.

❥𝓙𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝓦𝓸𝓸𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰

You covered your ears at your boyfriend's obnoxious and loud laugh, no doubt signaling another victory on the stupid game he was currently playing. He had the volume up so loud you could actually hear some of the sound effects emanating from it.

"Jung Wooyoung!!!!" You screamed at the top of your lungs and yet he still couldn't hear you.

Throwing your hands up in frustration, you gave up and went into your room. Taking out your phone, you began scrolling mindlessly through tiktok. Nothing besides cat videos were actually interesting at this point....

Until you saw the newest challenge that was trending all over. Perfect for girls who had oblivious gamer boyfriends like the one you had. Getting up, you decided to put the plan into action. Stripping out of your clothes, you grabbed a towel to wrap around yourself and grabbed a nearby plushie toy to throw at him since yelling wasn't going to work.

As expected, he did not notice you standing in front of him for a while after you came out. Aiming the plushie at him, you struck him right on the face. He immediately ripped his headset off.

"What the fuck are you-"

He froze when he saw you standing there, a mischievous look on your face. Swallowing hard, he widened his eyes when you let the towel drop on the floor, your naked body on full display for him. Not even bothering to see if he paused the game or not, he quickly got up and started walking towards you.

"Come here babygirl."

Knowing his teasing tone to well, you quickly sped down the hallway, giggling loudly as Wooyoung chased after you, catching up to you and holding you in his arms.

"Stop right there. You caused a problem, now you fix it."

Throwing you over his shoulder, he gave your ass a slap as he walked into the bedroom. Throwing you on the bed, he straddled your lap and began to free himself out of his sweatpants.

"Ok. Why not show me your skills with a joystick for once?"

❥𝓒𝓱𝓸𝓲 𝓙𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓱𝓸

You could not peel your eyes off your boyfriend's arms as they continued to lift up the weights he was holding. You were pretty sure you were drooling at this point. Every time his muscles flexed, you were tugging at your bottom lip with your teeth, your thighs clenching closer together.

"Jongho?" You shyly called out to him.

He didn't respond since he had his earbuds in, music full volume. Besides, when he was concentrated on something it was very difficult to get him to break focus. So you needed to think of something that would work.

Looking down and fumbling with the hem of your skirt, you finally had an idea. Moving cautiously so he wouldn't notice, you slipped a hand inside and began pulling your panties down your legs. Not like you needed them, they were practically drenched already.

Casually walking in front of Jongho, you pretended to be on your phone and 'accidentally' drop it. Bending down, you made sure your skirt rode up enough for him to notice you weren't wearing underwear. That is if he had even looked over at you. Glancing back, you caught your boyfriend's eyes, which were staring at you in disbelief.

"Guess it worked." You chuckled inwardly.

Putting the weights down, Jongho took off his earbuds and walked over to you. His fingers glided down to your skirt.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" He whispered, lips ghosting over your earlobe.

Sucking in a breath, you whined at him.

"I want you to pay attention to me."

Chuckling softly, he pressed your body to the wall, hands going to the back of your thighs and lifting you up effortlessly.

"Well then. Wanna help me out? Let's see how long I can lift you in and out of my cock."

Gifs not mine. Credit goes to their respective owners.

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

Fire and Darkness Chapter 10

The Darkling x reader

Word Count: 1292

Summary: Alina in the Fold, and some secrets are revealed.

Your eyes narrowed when she was brought into the tent. It was bad enough to tolerate her before she knew there was a more sinister plot brewing in Ravka, but now? You absolutely were not looking forward to dealing with her now. Mild surprise lanced through you when she returned your hate-filled gaze with one of her own. Inwardly, you were amused; the lost little lamb had finally grown a bit of a spine, had she?

“Leave us,” Aleksander’s harsh order pulled Alina’s eyes to him instead, that glare only intensifying when it landed on him. “So why did you do it?”

She scoffed. “Do what?”

“Betray me. Were you so eager to believe the rumors about me that you bought into the stories of the first person that came along singing of my evildoings?”

“You want to use the Fold as a weapon!”

“I want to protect Ravka!” he snapped. “I want to save our people.”

“At the expense of everyone else!”

“This is war, little Sun Summoner,” his tone was every bit as cruel as his reputation. “Sometimes such attrocities are necessary.”

“And seducing me? Was that necessary as well? Or did you just do that for fun?”

You snorted. “The easiest way to manipulate a foolish little orphan is to offer her the one thing no one else will: love.”

“You’d know, I’m sure.”

That really shouldn’t have gotten to you the way it did, shouldn’t have wounded you like that, but you still sometimes had nightmares about the night you and Aleksander were forced to flee and leave behind the only life you’d ever known. You still carried around an old key, worn down by centuries of worrying its surface, to the shed in the back of that old farm that you hadn’t realized was buried in your pocket when you left there never to return. No, you hadn’t been a lonely orphan like Alina. You knew exactly what it was like to have a family that loved you, and what it was like to lose them in an instant. After all, it’d never been safe enough to go visit your cousin. Some part of you knew from the start that hoping to was a pipe dream.

So yes, her little jab hit a tender spot you weren’t proud that you still harbored after all these years. On reflex, your left hand curled itself into a dangerous claw teeming with angry flames within its grasp.

And then Alina had the nerve to look like she’d won. “I thought your housekeeper was otkazat’sya, Aleksander?”

“Why you little--”

You’d been in the process of reaching for the brat with your right hand when your husband caught your wrist; immediately the flame in your other hand intensified. His cool eyes met yours calmly, though you could see the rage writhing just under the surface. “Do you know what I plan to do with your precious tracker, Alina?”

It was just that simple to change the focus of children like her. Single-minded to the end.

~

As usual when it came to dealing with the precious Sankta Alina, every aspect of the plan went sideways in a single instant. The shift from her being seemingly unable to use her power to slicing the saintsdamned mast in half was quick enough to give you mental whiplash. Panic erupted around you, and it was all you could do to fight it off as you failed to lay eyes on the man you loved. Then you caught sight of her running off the side of the ship--something that would have been hard to do if not for the blinding white light that emanated from her skin. Then you were falling as the skiff itself was Cut in half.

You hit the ground painfully, head knocking against something hard enough that it sent your ears ringing. A bright flame formed in the palm of your hand, lighting the wreckage. All you could hear for several seconds as you frantically looked around for Aleksander was your own panting.

Pant.

Nothing but bodies moving pitifully with pain.

Pant.

Blood and gore from the soldier that’d been standing in the wrong place when that blade of solid light hit the skiff. Your mind froze for a second at the way his blood sank into the lifeless sand beneath him.

Pant.

There. A cocoon of darkness moving quickly closer to you, likely Aleksander’s method of keeping the hungry volcra away from his flesh now that they’d started swarming.

You were yanked into that little zone of shadow as soon as he was close enough; you extinguished the fire. There was the sensation of lips moving against the skin of your neck, but for several long, terrifying moments you couldn’t hear what he was saying. When your ears decided to start working again, it still sounded far away.

“Dearheart, can you hear me?” Saints, it sounded like he was whispering.

“Barely!” His wince told you that you were speaking far too loud for him being this close. “Hit my head,” you explained at a more reasonable volume.

“You need to get us out of here,” he instructed. “Just like last time.”

Well, at least you could stop hiding what you were. You nodded, hoping your injury wouldn’t affect your control. The flames seemed to pour from your skin like Alina’s light did from hers in order to create a swirling wall of fire that the volcra couldn’t force their way through. A quiet chuckle--you assumed it was quiet, not that you could really tell--made you look over at Aleksander before the pair of you started moving to follow Alina.

“What?”

“Did I mention I had the fabrikators make this kefta?”

“They make all of the keftas,” you deadpanned. “Is now really the time for this?” Not waiting for an answer, you grabbed his hand and started walking. That was about the time you noticed that he was limping though you didn’t dare move your attention from your shield to see why.

“True enough, but this one is yours.”

“What are you--” You looked down at yourself in confusion.

Little did you know that Mal and Alina’s endurance had run out not far from the skiff, so she’d pulled her light in enough that the darkness of the Fold swallowed it while keeping it intense enough to protect them, and then your own little light show had made them turn around to see just what was happening back at that boat. Horror surged in both of them as they realized that the Black General had managed and would likely continue to survive this little excursion. 

“She’s not supposed to be a grisha,” Mal breathed, denial dripping from his voice like that soldier’s blood on the sand.

“Baghra warned me that she was an inferni,” Alina admitted softly. “But . . .” I didn’t imagine she was capable of anything like this . . .

As they watched through the gaps of that swirling fire, the truth of what you were literally started forming before their eyes. The embroidery on your kefta--the one you wore, you’d explained so long ago, because the Darkling wanted you safer than other otkazat’sya due to trustworthy housekeepers being so hard to find--turned a vibrant scarlet while the white bled into black because of the heat. Without a doubt, you were an inferni, but there was something about you that warranted being gifted a kefta in Kirigan’s color, something Alina had originally thought only she and him, himself wore. That tied with the sheer magnitude and control of your power being displayed as the pair of you limped in the direction the skiff had come made Alina’s mind whirl.

Perhaps Baghra had been mistaken. Perhaps the fact that you still lived wasn’t tied to merzost . . .

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Saturday 10 August 1839

8 20/..

11 50/..

very fine morning sun and F71 ½° at 9 ¼ am breakfast at 9 ½ in ½ hour – before and after till now 10 ¼ inking over pencil memoranda and S- came immediately –

for Roman history they (the students) read Niebuhr one the origins of Romans 3vols.

pour la culture Rotteck  3vols. 8vo. (in German Stuttgard)

pour les guerres et la politique Lassen Norwegian 3vols.

1 for the [ ?], 1 for the moyen age, and 1 for the modern history but not yet finished – in Norwegian

on the Literature 1 vol. in German by Ficker

on the antiquities une collection des Leçons d’un de nos professeurs laquell collection est imprimée (af Bukker) now directeur de l’école métropolitaine

Pour l’histoire des Grecs les mêmes auteurs

Bekkers’ universal history 17 or 18 vols. in German

Beckmanns’ technology is translated into Danish (that is, Norwegian) printed, S- supposes, at Copenhagen –

the grand ouvrage de Kraft in several volumes new edition on Norway in Norsk

Anchovies Anschovis pronounced Anshooser or Anshoovĭs

had S- till now 1 ½ (i.e. from 10 ¼ to 1 ½ = 3 ¼ hours) at the pronunciation of the Norsk alphabet and his written notice lè dessus, and reading p. 1 (work itself) of our little Norsk history bought yesterday– and talking over the map of the country etc .

Divided into 5 stifts  bishoprics

17 amter

44 Fogderie

Xtiania stift called Agershuns stift

from the old castle here mentioned in papers of the 11th or 12th century

the present Xtiania founded by Xtian iv. about 1642.

then till 3 ½ studying over what we had read – S- went to the Landlord to make sundry inquiries, and A- and I read on – I wrote while A- translated and read aloud till now 5 35/.. and then went out – sauntered along the streets past Kappellen’s and Dahls’ booksellers shops – and then to Jaegers –

SH:7/ML/TR/12/0023

August Saturday 10 – could not get the work on mineralogy for me to look at – had seen in Dahls’ window a cookery book S- knows nothing of this – all this left to the femmes – dames, all, the countess Vedel [Wedel] de Jarlsberg herself, who is the head arranges the table – fait la cuisine – Do the ladies dine at table – can they cook and preside? – yes! all is arranged before dinner time and the servants do the rest – we passed a nice looking lady – she acknowledged S- he coloured I inquired if she was de la plus haute société – yes! she was in the same house with him last winter – chez le Storthingman célèbre............ captain of artillery, whose picture we had seen in Dahls’ window – one of the 1st men here – the lady an actrice at the theatre! but very respectable – not publically known but it is said she is fiancée to the Captains’ son – he 24 she 22 – the captain objects but not because she is an actrice but because she does not understand cooking! But is it not easy to learn – oh! no! can she not learn in 6 months? oh! no! il faut cinq ans – comment? est il donc plus difficile d’apprendre faire la cuisine que d’apprendre une langue étrangère? on peut apprendre une langue dans 6 mois – mais oui mais si il faut parler bien etc. etc. il faut......... toute la vie (sad I) – yes! true – for the gents here are très difficile pour la cuisine! – poor S- afterwards explained that it was not only cooking but the whole science of le ménage – the husband provides the meat (earns the living) and the wife prepares it and if she cannot manage well, nothing no income can suffice – he spoke of his mother as très savante i.e.

August Saturday dans la science de faire la cuisine – and his fiancée is also I suppose savant after the same sort – came in at 6 ¾ and dinner immediately – anchovies 1st time very good – highly seasoned and spiced – 4 marks or more per barrel containing 200 to 300 fish – Dans la société, a little side table with anchovies, herrings, etc. with which one begins the dinner – says our Swiss garçon – had just written so far at 8 ½

neat, good, farmstead stand book says looks flourishing looks as if well doing – pretty little picturesque hamlets each generally on its little [looky] [?] and [?] orchards and wood – everywhere the wooden buildings with a charpente [?] in squares which are filled up with brick or plaster – cattle and houses and a few sheep – Rye the chief corn – [?] in sight at 3 25/.. and its pretty fjord – alight the Stadt Copenhagen at 4 40/..

then walked about the room with A- and finished inking over writing out at the other end of this book Saturday 13 July the pencil from my account book –reading over Norsk again till 10 40/.. – fine day – F67 ¼° at 11 20/.. pm

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Domestic life; Ben Hardy x reader

*Author’s note*

Here is a cute little drabble request I got from my Wattpad account, I had hoped to have also posted this yesterday but oh well (I mean the fic doesn’t really revolve around Valentine’s day but it’s still fluffy enough to be counted as such). So enjoy this sweet little drabble. 

Warnings: Fluffy till your teeth rot. Lockdowns due to COVID (BUT THAT’S IT. Just the word and mention of just lockdowns in general).

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queensdivas

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@queen-paladin

@wormzteef

@geek-and-proud​

@queendeakyy​

__________________________________________________________

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, even though I didn’t want to.  My arms raised over my head as I let out a tired groan and stretched myself out and let out a soft yawn.  I then looked over to my left and saw the man of life sleeping right beside me.  His golden locks looked like a halo under the rare chance we had a sunny day in London.

His tattoos exposed from his nightshirt, my favorite of course being his lion nose and mouth tattoo.  Those soft cute snores that came off his lips (even though he tries to deny it), and his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. I raised my hand up and couldn’t help but lightly stroke the shape of his tattoo, very faintly tracing the curve of the nose, sliding my finger down the straight line before swaying across the bottom curve of the mouth.

“You know we could get you a matching set.” Ben’s sleepy baritone voice spoke up.  I looked up at him and said.

“If we did it’d have to be washable. You know how I am around needles.” He chuckled softly and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in closer.  “Did you sleep good?”

“I slept great. You?”

“Like a rockfish.” He placed a kiss to my forehead and we just looked into each other’s eyes.  “So what shall it be today?”

“Well you know WandaVision premieres today so wanna check it out?”

“I still can’t believe you made me binge the entire MCU movies during our lockdown.”

“And you loved it admit it. Hell Benny boy you were in the Marvel Universe. Granted it was solely owned by Sony before Disney bought the rights but it’s still the Marvel fandom.”

“So after that, then what shall we do?”

“Well we really can’t go anywhere so……wanna just have a lazy day in? No work out day, order take out for our three meals and maybe—fool around?” I teased with a wink.

“You are a cheeky mix.” He then captured my lips with his.

“Yes but—you did asked me to marry you. Which I’m surprised by the way.”

“What do you mean?” he asked as he began to kiss down my neck.

“Don’t act stupid Ben. I know about that affair with Joe and your little side hustle with Gwil. I swear it’s like I married 3 men instead of 1.”

“You knew what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to marry me.” He said as he hovered over me.

“Yes I know.” He chuckled as he pecked my lips. Then again, and again and again. I giggled and playfully pushed him off of me and said. “Alright you human golden retriever.”

“You know that if I were going to be a dog, I’d be a beagle like Frankie.”

“Nah you’re a golden retriever. Silly, goofy, and loving all the way.” I bopped his nose before getting up and headed downstairs to let Frankie out into the backyard to go pee.

As soon as she saw me, she got out from her bed and I greeted her with a ruffle and scratch on her head.

“Hey there baby girl, ready for breakfast?” her head cocked to the side as her tail began wagging softly. “Come on let’s have breakfast.” She got out of her bed and trailed me to the kitchen.  I reached in and grabbed her dog food and dumbed a good amount into her dog bowl and she immediately started scarfing it down.

I began preparing breakfast and as I cracked the last egg, I felt Ben’s arms wrap around me and felt a kiss at my temple.

“You make the best omelets ever.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” I teased him.

“Who says I’m trying to flatter you? I’m stating pure fact.” I smiled at him.

“Well how about you give me a hand here instead of just standing there looking pretty.” He chuckled softly and saluted to me.

“Just tell me what to do Captain.” I then told him what to give me next and I proceeded to finish making the omelets.

Once they were done, Ben and I went over to the living room and I started up Disney+ to play the first 2 episodes of WandaVision.

“Okay so remind me again, is this before or after Endgame?” asked Ben.

“I wanna say this is after Endgame. Again I’ve been a little confused as to the timeline or what exactly is the time period here. All I know is that it’s like a sitcom now. And I can see that they’ve definitely gotten the exact cinematography down. You see how it’s a full screen and them using a single camera.”

“God I love it when you talk cinematography like that.”

“Sorry if I come across as annoying while we watch this.”

“No, no, no, no, no it’s fine. Really. It means you’ve got a good eye for camera angels. Remember when Dexter allowed you to film us when we were doing the We will rock you scene?”

“It was only for 10 minutes while he went to talk with the costuming department and to get him his 10th cup of coffee.”

“Still, he was amazed at the fact you helped with blocking and what you had already filmed. So much so we had it in the film.” I softly smiled and we continued to watch the episode, then watched the second one.

As the day went on, Ben and I kept watching various films as well as taking Frankie out for her walks.  The sun was just starting to set and Ben said.

“Alright one last movie of the day, I feel like if I keep eating more popcorn I won’t be able to fit into these sweats anymore.”

“I wouldn’t mind that. Whether you have a 6 pack or a bit of a pooh bear tummy, I’d love you either way.” He blushed at my compliment and scrunched himself into a ball as I poked his tummy.

“Alright so what shall our last movie be tonight?”

“Well, how about we do Gwil’s movie Top End Wedding?” Ben pondered before saying.

“Okay. Any reason why?”

“Well I—he and I may have talked about that shortly after it came out and I might have told him I’d already seen it when actually I didn’t.” I wearily said.

“Oh I see so you-you lied to my best mate about a movie he was in and wanted your opinion on.”

“Oh coming from you Mr. Oh yes I’ve drummed since I was 12!” I sassed back at him.  He shushed me and covered my mouth with his hand.  I pushed his hand away from my mouth and said. “So can we watch it? I’ve been busy and you know it.”

“Yeah I know love, you know I was just teasing.” He wrapped his arm over my shoulder and switched over to Hulu now and we found Gwil’s movie.  I’ll admit it took me by surprise (I mean based off the trailers I’ve seen it pretty much told the whole story) but the humor and message it sent out really spoke volumes that no other romcom has ever done before.

Plus the aerial shots were just amazing.  The way the cameras would pan over the river or the ridges, you can’t fake that breathtaking view with CGI.  After the movie was over, I let out a soft yawn.

“You tired?” questioned Ben.  I nodded, barely able to keep my eyes open any longer. “Alright, come on then you. Let’s get you into bed.” I moaned softly and held my arms out.

“Carry me.” I heard him chuckle but I felt him lift me up in his arms bridal style and he carried me all the way to our bedroom.

He set me down on the bed and cuddled up close to me before putting the duvet over us.  I automatically placed my head over his chest and placed my arm over his stomach while his arms came around me.

“I had fun today.” I said as I nuzzled into his chest.

“Me too. It’s nice to just kick back and relax for the day. Thank you babe.”

“Anything for my handsome boy.” He kissed the top of my head and soon the two of us cuddled closer (even though I don’t know how much closer we could be at this point) to one another till finally we fell fast asleep.

[crazy-little-thing-called-me]

The scent of the Croatian sea

Hey everyone,

I know this is actually a sideblog about this certain royal rock band from England, but since the European football championships are on right now, my little obsession with the Croatian national team came back to life, especially for smol bean captain Lukita Modrić <3

So this is a little thing I wrote back in 2018 that I recently found again. I hope you enjoy it and I´m sorry for all the grammar mistakes!!!

Summary: On a holiday trip to Croatia with your friends, you meet a young Croatian guy at a bar some night. After you’ve spent hours and hours of talking, he invites you to a sightseeing trip through his home town Zadar the next day.

Word count: 1300 +/-

Warnings: Just fluff and my poor knowledge of the English language!

It was a sunny morning when you woke up in your hotel room. 10 days of Croatian sun and sea with your three best friends was the plan for this year`s summer vacation. You wanted to savour every moment of it.

When you thought about yesterday evening, you immediately felt a fluttering sensation growing in your stomach. While your friends left the local pub you`ve went to after 30 minutes to “find a place less lame than this”, you`ve spent the whole evening there with a young man called Luka into who`s arms you`ve been running there at the bar. And who has made this place a lot less lame for you at least.

The two of you talked about anything and everyone and you wanted the evening to last forever; his invitation to be your sightseeing guide and show you the most beautiful places of his home town the next day has probably made you the happiest girl around.

Finally, you got up to get dressed, choosing the yellow sundress you bought only for this vacation, combined with your white slippers. You tried to be as quiet as possible after your friends were still recovering from yesterday evening; you could barely imagine what must have happened in that other disco they went to. You left a note on the table saying “I`m in town with Luka, see you for dinner”, and as you just wanted to leave you turned right back, adding: “In case of blackout: he`s the guy I`ve met at the bar”. You smiled to yourself and left the room.

He waited for you in front of the hotel, wearing a blue polo shirt, his blond locks covering his shoulders. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him, and before you could call his name, he spotted you, only to smile back at you as brightly.

You grabbed a croissant and a coffee at a nearby bakery before you started your tour through the city. Luka showed you the beautiful historic city with all its majestic churches and nostalgic little corners. He even showed you his old school with the football field where his career began. Around lunchtime, you went to the port where Luka invited you to a boat tour along shore.

You`ve found a place at the side of the boat where there were only the two of you. You started chatting while you both watched the beautiful coast of the Adriatic Sea passing by.

“Nooo. Please don’t cut it. I like your hairstyle.”, you said.

“Yah?”, Luka asked and furrowed his eyebrows sceptically for a second before he started smiling again.

“Yes I do”, you replied. “It suits your face. Because it has such a delicate shape… the look really matches you.”

Luka smiled and stared at his feet, you even had the impression of a small blush rising on his cheeks.

“I wish I had hair like yours”, you added quickly. “I could really need that stage of volume”, you continued and you both started laughing. Luka raked his hands through his golden locks.

“I`ll leave it like this. I didn’t really want to cut it anyways”, he said and smiled. You returned that smile to him.

The look he gave you let a slight shiver run down your spine. His almond shaped eyes were fascinating you, the soft shade of brown was a perfect contrast to the golden strands of Lukas hair that were framing his features. He wore a light tan that suited him so very well; his lips had the perfect shape.

That was the moment your brain stopped working.

“You`re beautiful.”

Oh goodness. What did you just say? You clasped your hands over your mouth. For a split second, Luka`s eyes widened in surprise. “Imsorry” you rushed, “oh my goodness, I`m so sorry Luka”, but he smiled, a bit shy at first, but then with more confidence.

“God, I-I don`t know why I said that”, you went on stumbling. This was so embarrassing. Of course you found him breathtakingly beautiful, but you feared your words would put him under pressure.

But right then Luka began to laugh so heartily, and after the shock had passed you had no chance than joining in.

“It`s okay y/n. I mean, that’s usually what the guy should be saying”, Luka said and the colour of your faced turned into a deep shade of red. “But… thank you. Really”, he said and smiled so bright the sun on this splendid afternoon seemed pale next to him. You still didn’t dare to look into his eyes and tried to find a thing at the far coast to draw your attention to and avoid making eye contact.

Suddenly, Luka reached out to gently touch your cheek, guiding your view to meet his again. He took a step forward so there were only a few centimetres left separating the two of you. The scent of his perfume and the heat radiating from his body so close to yours made you feel dizzy.

“You are so beautiful, y/n. I have caught myself admiring not only once today but… didn’t dare to say anything and now I feel stupid because you got ahead of me”, he smirked while you let out a weak chuckle.

His eyes flickered down to your lips nervously and god, you wished he would kiss you so badly. Luka called upon all of his courage, and your eyes fluttered shut as you felt him lowering his lips onto yours.

It was a shy kiss, but it was wonderful. You often remembered that moment in the following years, savouring every detail from his hair that tickled your nose to his soft lips that tasted like sea salt.

After a few moments he leant back slightly as he watched you with concerned eyes.

“Was that okay?”, he whispered and you could hear his voice shaking from arousal. Those soft and caring words made goose bumps rise all over your back as you replied to him by stepping on your tippy toes to gently connect your lips once again.

Luka was more courageous this time. He sneaked his hands around your waist to pull you closer into the kiss. You grabbed the collar of his shirt to hold onto something while losing yourself completely in the feeling of his body all over yours. With his left hand he caressed your cheek as you tilted your head back slightly while you parted your lips. His tongue slipped into your mouth while a quiet moan escaped Lukas lips. All the time he was so carefully and tender which only fuelled your desire to get more from him.

It felt like it has been a short eternity when you parted from each other, both breathing heavily while you tried to hold on to his collar.

“My legs feel a bit shaky”, you giggled while Luka took hold of the railing to save the two of you from falling over. “Mine too”, he chuckled, “and I don’t think that comes from the swell”. You both started laughing as you snuggled your face comfortably into the crook of his neck, his free hand not letting you get any farther from him, running up and down the small of your back.

The typhon announced the ship would soon arrive back at the port of Zadar.

“Could you kiss me again when we´re off the boat?”, you asked Luka, a small grin rising on your face. Luka smiled brightly and as a reply, he took your hand to guide you through the passengers back onto mainland.

[marvelobsessedteenager]

All The Hurt - Chapter 3

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!reader

Warnings: ANGST, Peter was an ass, reader is a hurt and petty bitch, fluff to make up for the angst, curse words, lots of “coincidences”, horrible description of death and feelings lmfao I’m sorry

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: dis a long one HAHAH

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

You groggily twisted in your bed as you tried to find the nagging nuisance that interrupted your peaceful slumber that barely lasted five hours. Your vision slowly focused as you rubbed your eyes vigorously, still searching for that damned alarm clock that you couldn’t seem to find.

“For fuck’s sake,” you grumbled, turning on the lamp beside your bed and hissing at the sharp light that was out to attack your pupils. The alarm clock, which somehow made its way onto the floor, read 7:00 AM, September 14th.

You scratched the side of your head, wondering why on earth your past self decided to wake you up this early on a random day.

Until it clicked.

September 14th. The Academic Decathlon competition that was being held in D.C. - the one your team had been preparing for months on end.

With all the ruckus that’s happened in the past few months, the competition was filed under the “unimportant events” cabinet in your mind. Truthfully, you didn’t really want to go. The only reason you were in decathlon was because you and Peter had a competition going to see who could get into as many after-school activities as possible while keeping their grades up. Plus, he said your intelligence would be an asset to the team.

It was stupid, really, but you both found joy in watching the other succeed, and at the time, Peter thought it’d be a push for you considering you were demotivated to study.

After he left you, you quit everything else besides decathlon. When you tried to, they told you you weren’t allowed to due to your name already being written down as one of the team’s members. You slacked off and often avoided going to the after-school practice altogether, hence why you forgot about it.

However, right now, it wasn’t a burden you had to bear. You were grateful for the upcoming distraction, and you thanked God Peter was somehow able to spontaneously quit the team the other day, the 'Stark Internship' granting him access to do so. Luckily for you, that meant some form of escape without having to be around him.

You felt yourself become lighter already, and you quickly got ready for the fast-approaching competition.

Once found your team waiting by the bus, you were greeted by a disoriented-looking Flash, making you giggle as you approached him while giving everyone you passed by a smile. “You look like shit.” You commented when you reached him at the back of the lengthy bus.

“I feel like it,” he groaned, his forehead pressing into the side of the vehicle, “I’m so not a morning person.”

You rolled your eyes and handed him the iced coffee you bought for him on the way, “I know, that’s why I got you this.” You said, shaking the beverage and holding it out for him, "Drink up, Eugene. We got people to beat. And before you ask, yes it has almond milk in it.”

He lifted his head and looked at the coffee in surprise, then back at you, “You’re a lifesaver.” He said, engulfing you in a hug so suddenly you had to hold onto the side of the bus to keep you both from falling back.

You teasingly shook your head and patted him on the back, “I know, I know. I’m amazing.”

“I don’t disagree.” He said, pulling back and taking the coffee from your hands with a small ’thank you.'

You stared at him as he slurped on his drink and sighed in bliss, and wondered what it would be like if he treated everyone the way he treated you.

You knew of his past and understood why his actions came from a place of hurt and nothing more. During these past few months, Flash helped you open your eyes and made you more understanding of people. Especially those who tried to cover up their pain by pushing others away in self-preservation, in fear of showing others who they truly were because they were afraid of being hurt, taken advantage of, or even worse, mocked for it.

At the simple gesture of getting him coffee, he seemed shocked that you even remembered his order, let alone got him something. Your empathetic side was much stronger than you thought it’d be, you realized, your heart aching for the misunderstood boy who stood in front of you.

“What?” Flash inquired with furrowed eyebrows, capturing the metal straw once more (because plastic ain’t it).

You were about to make a joke about how you were staring at him to process how ugly he was when Abe gleefully yelled, “Hey, it’s Peter!” And pointed ahead of him.

You swore your heart stopped for a moment, the voice in your head repeating the word ‘no'.

Your eyes widened as you slowly turned around in astonishment to find that, yes, it really was Peter, in the flesh.

And he’s asking to rejoin the team, but you were still caught up in his presence.

And how much you hated it.

Of course he showed up. Last fucking minute.

Boiling anger shot up to your throat and escaped through your mouth with a growl, “No, no way,” you walked towards him, eyes burning with rage as he backed up, “You can’t just quit, make a grand last minute entrance and be welcomed back.”

Of course, he was welcomed back by all but you and Flash, but that didn’t make a difference to anyone else no matter how many times you whined and objected.

“One more smart team member couldn’t hurt,” Mr. Harrington said.

And that’s how he ended up taking his seat about two rows behind yours, as you and Flash took your designated spots in the front. All the memories of him being Spider-Man fogged up your brain like you couldn’t see anything but him in the suit. It was infuriating how just him being there seemed to fuck with you.

What really pushed you to the edge was that you caught him looking at you. And not just stealing glimpses, no, you mean full-on gawking.

The audacity, you thought, exhaling loudly through your nose.

You found it hard to answer Liz’s training questions correctly. How could you? You were consciously aware of his presence, and consciously aware that he could be hearing your thundering heart if he concentrated enough.

Okay, so you may have done a little bit of research about him and watched a couple of his one minute interviews with reporters. None of them explained how he got said powers, but in one he told the interviewer all his senses were far, far more advanced than normal humans.

You wondered if he ever got a sensory overload.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the ring of a bell and his answer that followed, his voice echoing in your head. When you answered incorrectly for the second time, you decided to give it a rest. You plugged in your earbuds, raised the volume as high as it would go, and wished you could tune out your thoughts like you did to the world.

You were already awake when you reached your destination. While the rest of the students were in awe of how big it was, you and Flash weren’t.

Once all rooms were assigned, Peter and Ned immediately dashed to theirs without waiting to hear Liz’s plans to "act rebellious as a group". Normally, that wouldn’t raise any suspicions, but now that you knew about Peter’s little secret, you were skeptical. They must be doing something related to Spider-Man.

You ignored the dull pain in your chest.

And as much as you wanted to find out, you were drained. Thinking had seemed to take up most of your energy, which was something you needed in order to win. So, you grabbed your spare key card to the room you shared with Sally Avril and searched the second floor for Room 249 together.

Sally and you weren’t exactly friends, but you talked a few times and said hello to each other via a nod when you passed each other in the hallways. She agreed to be your science partner for this quarter’s project, and you knew that she was incredibly bright for her age, so you didn’t mind rooming with her for a while.

When the both of you were out of breath and complaining about your backs aching from your heavy backpacks, you thankfully found your room.

And, what do you know? It was exactly across the fucking hall from Peter’s.

You annoyingly rolled your eyes and hastily swiped your card on the card reader, pushing the door with your foot and throwing your backpack onto the bed before flopping on it with a groan, your tiredness leaving you and allowing anger to fuel you instead.

“You okay?” Sally asked, always the sweetheart, shutting the door and placing her own backpack on the bed, taking her possessions out.

“Just peachy,” you sarcastically mumbled, your face squished between the pillows. You could only describe their scent as hotel rooms, but they were cool enough to help put out a little bit of the fire that you still had within you. You took a deep breath and pushed yourself up, leaning on your elbows, “I’m gonna go check the gym out.”

A while back, you learned how to manage your anger by using it to your advantage. The excess adrenaline helped pump your energy and allowed you to finish your workout faster, which in turn made you stronger and defused the storm within you. You took your gym clothes to the bathroom and changed before yelling out a goodbye to Sally and exiting your room.

As you shut the door behind you, you looked up in time to make eye contact with Peter, who stood behind his glass window and froze upon meeting your eyes. You scoffed and turned away, and he sighed and continued closing the curtains to his room, obstructing anyone from seeing him remove the tracker from his suit.

When the clock struck 10 pm, you heard a secret knock that meant Liz was here to take your asses to sneak into the pool as a group. You tiredly tied your robe around your body as Sally opened the door, squealing and giving Liz a hug. The group was buzzing with excitement, and you weren’t 100% sure of it, but you were certain this was the most rebellious thing they’ve ever done.

It was adorable how innocent they were.

While the students ran down the hall, you slowed your pace down to walk beside Flash, who waited for you at the end of the line they formed and handed you a snickers bar - your absolute favorite.

“Aw,” you cooed, finger tapping his nose, "Is this a thank you for the coffee this morning?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Flash scrunched his nose and flicked your hand away.

“What's up with you lately?” You asked, peeling away at the bar’s wrapper and taking a large bite, “You’ve been so touchy and caring. I mean, you’ve given me more hugs this week than you have in your entire life.”

Flash’s ears turned red as he pursed his lips and looked down at his bare feet, “I’m not being touchy.”

You stopped and turned to face him with a tilted head and cocked eyebrow. He sighed, “You almost died, Y/n,” he admitted with a small voice, tracing all your scars with his eyes, "I don’t know, I just...I don’t want to lose you, you know? It was scary.”

Your demeanor softened and you gave him a gentle smile. Flash wasn’t one to open up and express his feelings properly, but it warmed your heart that he tried to with you. You wrapped your arms around him once more, calmly rubbing his back, “I don’t wanna lose you, either.”

He snorted and pulled back, jabbing your side and making you squeal, “Yeah, who wouldn’t?”

You jokingly pushed at his shoulders, “I could give you a fucking list.”

The two of you laughed in the hallway as you looked up to see that you were almost at Peter’s door, where he stood there talking to Liz alone. Or, more accurately, both of them exchanging love eyes that made them fumble with their words and made a visible blush rise to their cheeks.

You rolled your eyes with disgust and gagged in revulsion while your heart clenched so hard you had to put a hand on your chest to make sure it was still beating.

And boy, was it beating, all right.

Flash was quick to notice your actions and tried to get them to separate, cupping his hands over his mouth, “Yo, loser,” he called out, making Peter turn, “Stay here. I’m sure Iron-Man is gonna need your help rescuing kittens that are stuck on trees.”

You let out a chuckle and grabbed Liz by her arm when you got close enough, “Come on, don’t waste your time with him. He’s got civil duties to get to.” You threw a deadly glance at him and dragged Liz with you to the pool, failing to notice Peter’s crest-fallen face.

Who cares about him, though? You were here to win a competition and get the trophy - maybe that’ll prove to your dad that you’re worth something, and if that fails, it’s still pretty cool to have accomplished something.

You ended up teaming up with Abe and successfully pushing Flash into the pool, high-fiving Abe before he canon-balled in himself. You giggled, watching your teammates gesture you to come in, but you shook your head and took a seat in one of the chairs.

“Oh, come on, Y/n. Just come in for a minute.”  

“I’m not a swimmer, Flash. I’ll be here, just not in there.”

Your body was aching from the lack of sleep and constant moving around. Plus, you really weren’t much of a swimmer. You quietly took a seat beside MJ as she read a book you once read as well, the chair making a screeching sound that made you cringe and alerted MJ of your presence.

“Can I help you with something?” She asked, flipping to the next page and reading on, but somehow she saw you throw a glance at her.

“Nah,” you crossed your arms and leaned back, watching as Liz got splashed with water by both Cindy and Abe, who then proceeded to dunk Flash’s head in the water and high-fived, “just recognized the book, s’all.”

She hummed and nodded, and you saw her peek up at you from the corner of your eye, “Good taste. I’d like you if you weren’t a bully.”

“Guess you’ll never like me, then.” You replied, monotony lacing your voice, immediately putting an end to the conversation that was only beginning to bloom. You knew she was going to transform it into another ‘what you’re doing isn’t right’ lecture, but you’ve heard enough of it from Jane.

A tense silence settled between you two as her words settled in your mind. A bully. That’s exactly what you were seen as. You guessed people don’t exactly see what caused the change in behavior, but they see the change itself.

You placed the back of your head against the concrete wall and stared up, looking through the built in glass that allowed the moon’s light to bleed into the pool, fully brightening it up until the shadow of a figure covered the view. Him.

Him clad in his latex suit with a backpack on, hands holding the mask that would hide his identity from the rest of the world.

You saw him staring at her.

You felt your heart fall to the pit of your stomach, where it seemed to only cause a burning sensation - jealousy. You were looking at him while he was too busy looking at someone else, and that seemed to have followed you your entire life, even when you weren’t friends.

You gulped and turned away before you ever saw his line of vision move over to you, wondering and wondering.

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

The next morning, you stood in front of Flash’s room with your hands on his shoulders as you tried to calm him down.

“Holy shit. Holy shit, I can’t do this, Y/n,” He said, rubbing his forehead. His shoulders were rising and falling at a quick pace beneath your palms as he took shallow breaths, nerves practically spewing out of him.

Who knew Flash was a worry wort?

“Okay, Flash, listen to me,” you grabbed his face and tilted it towards you so you could look him in the eye, “This competition is just a competition. It doesn’t prove your worth to anyone.” That’s not what you thought of yesterday, "Your grades and results don’t determine how smart you are, all right? They’re just numbers and letters, and those don’t make up who you are. And besides,” you gestured to the group of people that were across the hall knocking on Peter and Ned’s door, “if you’re so worried, we’ve got a whole bunch of smart-asses who’ll make up for your stupidity.”

You gave him a teasing smile and relaxed when he shook his head with a chuckle.

“You’ve got this, Eugene.”

He took a deep breath and nodded his head in affirmation, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got this."

“Attaboy! That’s the spirit!” You said, punching him in the shoulder and laughing when he held his arm in pain.

The concoction from the other side of the hall seemed to have risen above your laughter, making you and Flash exchange a look before running over.

“What’s going on?” Flash asked, causing everyone to turn.

“The boys won’t come out, and if they don’t we’ll be late,” Liz answered, checking the watch on her wrist and tugging the ends of her ponytail stressfully.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” You mumbled, rolling your eyes and elbowing your way through the crowd until you reached the door.

“Ned! Parker! Get the fuck out of this room or so help me God I will fucking break the door down!” You yelled, repeatedly slamming your fist on the door as it shook from the force.

To your surprise, the door immediately swung back to reveal a sweaty Ned and a missing Peter. Before he was going to say something, you asked, “Where is he?”

Ned stood there like a gaping fish, opening and closing his mouth with broken words falling out, “He..uh, he..won’t be able to make it?”

“He left?”

Ned took a shaky breath in and toyed with the hem of his shirt, “M-maybe..”

Typical Peter. Running away when he was needed.

“Of course he did,” you pinched the bridge of your nose then turned to Liz, “we’re just gonna have to leave without him.” You shrugged, watching as Liz’s shoulders deflated.

She looked mad, worried, and at the same time disappointed. You guessed it had something to do with whatever they were talking about yesterday.

You also guessed he left due to something that had to do with Spider-Man, but you didn’t have enough evidence to prove it to yourself. Regardless of how you wanted to feel, you started getting rather distressed. You wondered if he left after seeing you guys in the pool, where he was, if he was all right, why he hasn’t come back - all questions that could be answered by Ned, you realized. But you didn’t want to risk it.

So, you made your way to the competition with murmuring nerves and trembling hands. You blamed it on the competition, but you knew deep down that it was Peter’s absence that was troubling you.

Either way, you thanked God for MJ’s intelligence that won you the competition.

Hugs were being exchanged all around and pride flowed between your teammates as a golden trophy was handed to your team.

To celebrate, you made your way to the Washington Monument, where you’d be given a boring tour and promised an 'unforgettable view.’ However, there was a tugging feeling in your stomach as Flash asked Mr. Harrington if he could tell Peter that he was expelled. He still hasn’t shown up. Your mind raced with possibilities, and only got worse as the monument's elevator ascended.

Until it abruptly stopped and aggressively shook in its place, causing panic to spread among your group as dust fell upon everyone from the hole that seemed to have appeared above you, covering you from head to toe. Smoke began to fill the elevator’s confined space and-

And this was starting to feel like Delmar’s all over again.

You were frightened, hands shaking and tears welling up in your eyes as oxygen barely made its way into your lungs only to come out again. Your eyes were glued to the hole in the elevator’s roof, as if it’d somehow close up again if you stared at it long enough. It felt as if you were looking at the inside of one’s body - it was a sight you were never meant to see, and now, here you were, seeing it. You saw the wires and pulleys that kept the elevator in its place, and you couldn’t describe how wrong it was.

“Okay, guys, I know that was scary but our safety systems are working. We’re very safe in here.” The lady assured in the most tedious way possible. It was like you weren’t about to meet death himself. Like everything was okay.

It wasn’t.

“No, lady! No, we’re clearly not!” You yelled as you collapsed to the floor, clutching your head and rocking back and forth.

“Okay, Y/n, breathe, breathe.” Mr. Harrington crouched down to your level, inhaling and exhaling slowly as if that’d help you. You could hardly focus on anything but the fact that you felt like you were going to die.

Death seemed to chase you wherever you went, like you were cursed, and now these people were going to go down with you, with no superhero to come swooping in because you didn’t know where he was.

Oh my God, why is this happening?

Flash hastily looked around and pointed to a small opening on the side of the elevator, “We can open that! We can open that and get out through there!” He said, and the others got to work right away.

Ned carried the lady on his shoulders as she successfully pushed it open, allowing new air to come through, the group taking a large, collective inhale. Flash kneeled down beside you, and rubbed your back, promising you everything will be okay, which calmed you down enough to stand up.

You were still scared, hands were still shaking, but you knew you had to put others before you. So you concealed them from everyone’s view, and helped your teammates safely climb out to where a group of security guys was waiting to pull them out.

Cindy went up first, then Abe, Sally, and the dude with glasses you could never remember the name of, until you, Flash, Mr. Harrington, Liz, and Ned remained.

They all suggested you go first, but you refused and told them you’d be fine with assisting them. Flash was up next.

The minute he jumped off the elevator’s surface to grab ahold of the security guard’s hand, the wires which held the elevator in its place snapped and you began your fast descend, screaming into oblivion as your heart rattled inside your ribcage.

A strong force stopped the elevator from falling further for a second before it started falling again, not giving you enough time to catch your breath. It hit a large metal ground, hard, and that seemed to stop it and made you fall on your knees and bust the rest of the glass.

You breathed harshly, thinking it was over, basking in sweet relief until Spider-Man fell from the hole into the elevator and pushed it down even further, prompting the elevator to plunge at an even faster rate, and both Liz and Ned to let out an ear-deafening scream that made its way to your stomach, twisting and turning it while your knuckles turned white from the death grip you had on the railing.

There's your second chance at death, because apparently, one time wasn’t enough.

With his quick thinking, though, Spider-Man raised his arm and shot his web to the ceiling of the building, holding on as he planted his legs on the corner of the elevator, and pulling as it hung in the air.

He looked around the elevator, pausing for a second on your curled up body, before clearing his throat, “Hey, how you doin’?” He said, thickening his New York accent, “don’t worry about it, I got you.”

Ned - like he wasn’t about to fucking die - began fangirling over his best friend as he yelled out multiple 'yes's and bounced up and down, making the elevator’s wheels creak, threatening to fall once again.

"Hey, hey, hey, big guy! Quit movin’ around!” Spider-Man scolded Ned, his voice returning back to normal as he tugged on the web to slowly pull the lift up.

Your insides were still flipped and in all the wrong places, mind frozen as you sat on the ground, still rattled, with tears pushing hard against your waterline. Your breathing was loud and labored, which caught Liz’s attention.

“Hey,” she sat down beside you, voice husky, still half dazed herself, “we’re gonna be okay.” She said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself with her words, "We’re safe now.”

She paused for a moment, "I know what happened to you at Delmar’s-“ You saw Spider-Man’s head swerve towards the both of you for a second as you inhaled sharply. “-but you’re okay. We’re all going to be fine.”

You tilted your head towards her, tracing over her messed up hair and flushed cheeks, dirt painting her face but a small, hopeful smile sat on her lips. You managed to give her a nod and a squeeze of her hand in acknowledgment. Though it did nothing to calm you down, you were still grateful for her sincerity and effort in trying to do so.

“All right, everyone out.” Spider-Man demanded once you reached the level where the security guards were waiting. His grunting made it sound like he didn’t have as much time as he needed, and every person made their way out slowly but carefully.

You shakily stood on your legs, waiting for everyone to get out and counting down until it was your turn. Three, Ned was out first. Two, Mr. Harrington made it to the other side. One, Liz was safely out as she looked back at you and stretched her arm, palm open and awaiting your own.

You quickly skidded across the floor, and just as your skin touched hers, the web broke into two with a splick sound.

And for the next second you were falling to your death, all on your own.

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Tags: @peachescream06

[johannesviii]

This is a long post about Shaman King I started to write ages ago and I don’t have a good title for it

Let me tell you about Shaman King for a few minutes, okay. Because the new anime adaptation is coming in like 3 months and I’m still not ready for it. Also I started to write this post 5 years ago just because I re-read the whole thing at the time and it’s been in my drafts since then. Oops

But yeah Shaman King was the very first fandom I got into when I first had a real internet access, around 2003-2004. I was around fifteen. The manga was still going. And in retrospect, it was full of problems. Among other things:

Not enough female characters & questionable choices for most of the ones who actually have a part to play in the plot

A black character drawn with big lips (see above), and I REALLY HOPE this is gonna get fixed in the new anime ; I mean even the author stopped drawing him like that a few years ago when he did the “remix tracks” extra chapters so come on please

An imaginary native american tribe who, while pretty cool, is still imagined by a Japanese dude in 1999 soooo yeah there’s some rough corners here and there (edit: got some anon hate about that but I'm sorry, "ancient aliens" tropes always make me uncomfortable)

An art quality which gets worse and worse over time due to deadline pressures and an increasingly exhausted author

Was stopped before it could reach its natural conclusion (the author drew an actual ending years later and tbh it’s great so I’m putting this very low on the list)

So yeah. Manga from 1999. Problematic. Aged badly. It happens.

BUT.

In retrospect, most of it is such a kick in the metaphorical butt of shonen manga as a whole I can’t believe it was competing against Naruto and One Piece at some point?? Like

It’s a shonen so it plays the "dramatic and sudden power jump” game, but it uses it to reach a surprising conclusion (in the “new” ending I mean)

Most of the characters are “shamans” which means they can see ghosts and spirits, and they use them to fight, to work, or to help other people. This is a manga in which you’re gonna see a Russian shaman channeling a Vodyanoy spirit into a drum to create a torrential flood. You don’t see that in every manga

It’s stated right away that no shaman can be truely, irredeemably bad, because only good-natured people can see ghosts and spirits.

So, no matter how bad a villain may be, they must have had a good nature once even if they look like a complete bastard at the moment.

How far is the author willing to go with that concept? Pretty far

Even without talking about the main villain and how the story ends because, duh, spoilers... Like

My favorite character, who gets a full redemption arc later, cuts someone open in his first chapter

He’s one of the good guys 10 volumes later

Speaking of which the amount of gore in this manga has to be seen to be believed, Jump would never let this happen nowadays

If you’re wondering why this is in the “positive” (......?) list it’s because I was 14/15 and all kids that age crave blood and angst

The main character, Yoh, pictured above, is very laid-back, and I mean very. He listens to the in-world equivalent of Bob Marley and constantly wears big headphones. Also he wears sandals, and sometimes there’s a weed leaf drawn on his t-shirt

His parents arranged a mariage between him and a girl shaman even though they’re still teenagers, so this would have potential for High Drama - but surprisingly enough it turns out they like each other and after that he just goes around saying “this is my future wife” and she’s like “hello if you touch him I’m going to end you”

It sounds weird and it......... is, tbh, but it’s also refreshing among all the “ugh, girls, yuck” tropes that nearly all shonen mangas used to have at the time

Yoh’s main goal in life is to live with minimal effort

When his grandfather tells him he must train to participate in a shaman tournament which happens every 500 years, because the winner gets a wish granted by the Great Spirit, he decides his wish will be to make everybody’s life easy so that nobody will ever be forced to work or do shit they don’t want to do to survive anymore

Yoh Asakura is a Millenial icon don’t @ me

Speaking of which

Almost everyone in this series is broke as f█ck

Yoh owns a big house but that’s only because the price was ridiculously low since it’s the most haunted place in Tokyo and nobody else wants to live there. The house is constantly full of other characters (including enemies) who have literally nowhere else to go

The only important character who isn’t broke has money because his family is super rich but he hates all of them because they’re all bastards so it’s super awkward

Another character bought a really cool motorbike but he’s going to be in debt for the next 40 years

Also he’s a hobo

And also bi

What I’m trying to say is: relatable

Also the tournament is held by an imaginary Native American tribe. They’re also broke. All of them. The two judges who are in charge of the main characters live in a cramped appartment and often try to sell souvenirs in the street to pay the rent

I know that’s hashtag problematic but I still love them I can’t help it

Just like in most shonen mangas the hero seems to amass a big collection of Friends but since everyone is a weirdo in a way or another and comes from all over the world it looks even funnier

At some point during the tournament, the main characters have to form small groups of three in order to participate to the next part. Yoh’s team is one of the strongest teams among the ones we’ve met at this point, and is composed of 1) Yoh, a laid-back sleepy kid wearing toilet sandals 2) the aforementioned bi hobo who’s sad because his current crush is in a rival team, and 3) a thirty-something tatooed guy with no legs and an IV drip and who looks like he hasn’t slept since 1997

Oh and they all wear adds for a bath house

Because remember: everyone’s f█cking broke

Spoilers for the mid-point of the manga but I need to talk about it because it encapsulates everything I used to love in it

You’ve been warned

So

At some point the main character, Yoh, is asked to choose between staying in the tournament or resurrect his rival

This is framed as some kind of very heavy, very huge dilemma. Like oh no what will he do. Will he give up his dreams and hopes. Will You Push The Button(tm)

So the choice is presented to him

In a very dramatic way

And he immediately goes “there’s a way to save him?? YES PLEASE”

He doesn’t hesitate a single second and drops the tournament in a heartbeat to save the guy

This scene greatly contributed to make me a better person I’m not even joking at all

I love Yoh

So anyway I don’t have a proper conclusion for this

Shaman King is very flawed and its flaws need to be acknowledged to fully appreciate all the good things in it, and the “old” fandom from more than 15 years ago was a very good formative experience for me because the forum I was on (which was nuked from the face of the internet by a hacker “looking for training grounds” (his words not mine, he posted it on our frontpage a full week before he did it) in 2005, rip) was full of people who were really into criticising every little aspect of the manga but still loved it dearly

And I think that’s a healthy way to enjoy things and I think we should bring this back

Anyway

Shaman King extremely flawed but full of good things

I still can’t believe it’s back

Johannes out

[sinfulslanders]

Halloween Night

Pairing: OG!Michael Myers x AFAB!Reader

About: It’s the day of Halloween and your friends try to convince you to go out with them to a party, just to get them off your back, you agree... forgetting that Michael is never far away and hates you going out on Halloween.

Warning(s): Nsfw ; choking, suffocation, thigh riding, sir kink, saliva

Word Count: 1.3K

Note: Damn this is some good shit. I’m very proud of this.

“Come on, (Y/N)! You never go out with us on Halloween, all you have to do is go out with us this one time.” You were on your way home from the Halloween store, you had to get some extra stuff from the decorations and coincidentally meet your friends, Nela and Brooke. During the walk to your house, they’ve been trying to convince you to go to this annual Halloween party that’s always the most anticipated party every year.

You would absolutely love to go but you have one “small” thing stopping you, your 6’7 boyfriend that absolutely hates you going out of Halloween. You don’t exactly know why he doesn’t want you out but you could assume that was the time he didn’t want you wondering outside and accidentally meeting him during his killing mode. You could only hope that was it because it’s honestly kind of sweet of him to want to protect you.

“Guys, please.” Everyone turned down your street while you sighed and tried to get them off your back. “I don’t feel like-” “You don’t feel like going every year! Why can’t you just come with us this one year, everyone will be there except you, (Y/N).” You rubbed your temple at Nela’s claim and stopped right outside your house. “Alright! Fine, I’ll consider it but it’s not a definite ‘yes’.”

Nela hugged you then clapped her together as she alternated looks between you and Brooke, “Alright. Party starts around 9 so go there at 10, don’t want to be early.” You nodded and turned away, you heard byes and raised your hand just above your shoulder so they could see. You dug out your keys from your coat pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open then closing it once you were fully inside.

You called out for Michael but no response. You walked over to the kitchen and sat the bag down. You called out for him again but still nothing, you assumed he was out stalking or killing and shook your head. You looked at the time on your watch and it read 6:29. “Damn, I need to finish up the decorations and start getting ready.” You took out the items you bought and started finishing up the skeleton.

It was now 9:47 and you were almost done with your costume, you didn’t really plan on going out so you had to dig through your clothes to find a costume you could still fit. Finally, you found a cat woman costume, it was hard to put on but now that you’re looking at it in the mirror, it was most definitely worth it.

You fixed your mask one last time before exiting your room and tiptoed your way downstairs, just in case he was downstairs. You looked around and didn’t see him. ‘Good..’ you walked to the door and unlocked it, opening it and stepping out while also looking for him. “Alright. Here we go.” You closed the door and reached above the door frame to grab the extra key, the latex suit made it harder to stretch up your arm so you ended up dropping it on the mat.

You damned yourself as you bent down to get the key, that’s when a shadow engulfed your entire body and you felt someone pushed against your ass. You recognize the stare even though you hadn’t turned around. ‘Michael.’ You stood up quickly and turned around with your back pressed against the door and your head tilted up at the figure.

“Michael, what are you doing out in the open?” You said, trying to take attention away from your obvious plans of going out. He didn’t do anything except point at your suit. You nervously laughed and waved your hand, “I was going to Nela’s house. She wanted us to have fun and stuff.” You could feel him staring at you and most specifically your latex costume. You just stood there and waited for him to do something.

Without you noticing, he reached his hand out to the door knob and twisted it open. He stepped closer to you which caused you to step back until you finally noticed you and him were two inside. “Hey-” he slammed the door shut up without removing his attention from you. You cleared your throat and tried to go upstairs, he quickly stepped in front of you. “Michael, I’m sorry. I know you told me to go out but,” you stopped yourself from telling him your friends were forcing you to go, “I wanted to go out and have fun. I love Halloween but it’s boring up staying inside and not doing anything.”

He stood there like he always did and you huffed. You attempted to get past him but you were held against a wall with his hand around your throat. You felt him squeeze the sides of your neck where the large veins were and couldn’t help but close your eyes back and hold back your moan. You then felt his thigh in between your legs, pressing against your clit. “M-Michael, what are you doing?” You asked as you started feeling lightheaded.

You grabbed onto his wrist, wanting him to release his grip but he pressed his thigh into your clit harder. You moaned and held onto his waist with both of your hands, you don’t know if you should be grateful you didn’t wear anything under the costume or if you should be regretful. You felt his grip released which caused your eyes to immediately roll back and your mouth to ajar.

“S-sir, it feels good! Please keep going!” You moaned out as you felt him place his free hand on the bottom of your back and push your farther up his thigh, your feet barely keeping contact with the ground. He began bouncing his leg and you gasped at the pain but at the pleasure mixed within it. You felt the latex starting to stick to your skin but you didn’t mind since you were occupied with receiving pleasure.

You started moaning like crazy as he bounced his leg faster, you held into his stained overalls as best as you could, you felt yourself getting close. Suddenly, your mouth and nose were completely covered by the large hand that was supposed to be on your neck. Your eyes widened and you stared into the darkness of the mask where his eyes should have been. One of your hands gripped around his wrist and clawed at it, but nothing changed.

Saliva began spilling out of your mouth onto his hand and your eyes rolled back to the point where it hurt. Your moans increased in volume as you got closer and closer to your release. You were so rapturous and you didn’t know his head was right beside yours until you heard him say something. “Come.” Your thighs clamped around his, your body violently shook, and your eyes rolled back as far as they could; no sound came out your mouth as you came and your grip on his body loosen causing your arms to swing down beside you.

You felt like you were only moments away from passing out and you think you actually did because the next thing you remember is being dropped on the ground, grasping for oxygen and even spitting out your saliva. It took you awhile before you were able to breathe steadily again. Still with his shadow looming over you, you looked up and saw Michael just looking down at you with his head tilted.

Your eyes scanned down his body and saw his obvious erection poking through his overalls, you looked up to the masked man and swallowed hard, knowing what was next. ‘Sorry guys, but it looks like I can’t go.’

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 30

First time reader click here

TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter is a horror movie. There's blood, gore and psychological horror elements. Lemme know if it was actually scary - I'm desensitized to this shit. This was written to come out on Halloween but I was too slow with writing.

Wooden floor creaking behind me, I couldn't feel the cold of it, not even a single splinter piercing the arches of them, I ran like my life depended on it. The darkness behind me was alive; it breathed, pulsated, spreading along the walls of the hallway like mold. The hallway seemed to be endless.

As soon as I realized that, I noticed that it, in fact, did have an end and not a door was in sight; that quickly proved to br also just a trick of the eye - there were doors, the hallway was riddled with them, each one dark, identical and placed neatly about five feet apart. With shaking hands, I turned the knob, slamming the door behind me with a loud bang.

Panting, I let myself slide against the door, eyes closed, sheet landing in a puddle of white fabric on the floor around me. First five seconds passed quietly; then, a noise interrupted my panicked thinking and my eyes flew open as the scene in front of me produced more confusion.

The familiar scene of the pond behind my grandparents' stables, the poppies - a splash of blood red against the dull greens and browns - swaying in the breeze. A Dora the Explorer bucket hat and a six-year-old me, hair in pigtails, poking at a spot of moist soil with a large stick.

I knew where this was going yet I couldn't pull my eyes away from the scene that was going to unfold. A stallion my parents had recently bought, ill-tempered and moody, jumping over the low fence and galloping noisily right at mini-me. The terrified animal was screaming yet I was oblivious to it's distress, too busy trying to fish out earthworms out of the wet ground. Almost in slo-mo, mini-me noticed the running, screaming animal and bolted for safety, its hooves missing my little body barely by a feet.

I felt the cold water of the pond on my skin. It was dirty and blooming at the time, musky smell assaulting my senses, murky water choking the life out of both versions of me. In the distance, I noticed a much younger and slimmer dad sprinting full-speed towards the splashing child in the pond. He was screaming something and I leaned in, trying to hear him better.

The scene vanished into thin, wispy smoke. My head was once again clear and the suffocating dread and panic subsided, letting me take in several deep breaths and try to assess the situation calmly. I had survived that accident, even successfully overcame my fear of swimming later on.

Hands shaking and heart fluttering like a frightened bird, I recoiled from the locked door when it began to rattle, the noise deafening in the eerie quiet of the house.

The shadows were taunting me. Trapping me in my worst fears, making me relive my worst memories. The artifact needed something from me - what was it? I wondered, tucking the sheet in some semblance of a toga and standing up to explore the room. Save for a few outdated pieces of furniture, it was cold and empty, void of life. Nowhere to hide.

I paced the room, coming to a halt next to the heavy, thick velvet curtains. Expecting to see a window behind them, I was surprised with another old wooden door with a bent handle that had gathered an impressive layer of dust. With rattling behind me increasingly growing in volume, I had no other option but to press it down and quickly dart into the next dark room.

Clint. Lifeless eyes wide open, his body laying at my feet, sheet-white and rust coloured stains adorning his mouth, nails black and broken as if he'd been clawing at the dilapidated wooden floors. I backed away from him, further into the room - the archer's body began to move and tremble, tiny little gashes appearing on every inch of exposed skin. The thing that was breaking out of him glowed, pale blue and sickly.

"That's not..." I whispered to myself. "Clint is alive," As if I had been doused with cold water, the images of MAFS incident seeped into my mind, the what-ifs of my past actions weighing heavily and clouding my mind with guilt.

"Come on, we don't have much time," Steph's voice appeared behind my back, loud and out of nowhere. I was rightfully sceptical about the reality of him - while his face was the usual, tense expression of boredom, he stood differently. I couldn't describe the difference if I tried; it just felt wrong. Like a puzzle piece was missing.

"I don't think so, demon dude," Squaring my shoulders once again, I prepared myself for the inevitable pain.

"Who?" The copycat asked, faking concern surprisingly well. "It's the artifact. It's making you see things that aren't real," With a wave of his hand, the door flew open, exposing the hallway filled with the void that was chasing me previously.

"Oh what I saw was real alright," I countered, tilting my head to examine the entity. Unknowingly, it had given itself away - Stephen's magic always glowed gold and orange, in the sense that he wasn't like Loki - Strange's spells were always visible. "I'd rather you kill me then spread your vile disease beyond this... Space," With none of the bravery I actually had, bluff came surprisingly easy. Perhaps, I really was ready to die so my friends and family could live.

Not-Stephen tsked and grinned maliciously, once again waving his hands about. "Killing you? So barbaric and an absolute waste of potential." The shadows pushed something into the gaping hole of the doorway, something curled up in a fetal position and whimpering. The entity picked up the man by the shoulders, forcing him to kneel in front of it, teary baby browns staring back at me, wide with terror.

Tony. My feet took an involuntary step forward, where my Tony was trembling, whimpering in the creature's grasp, unseeing eyes looking straight forward. As if I wasn't there.

"Submit and I will let him go. Right now, he's relieving the worst memories of his life," The entity raised an eyebrow, a mock imitation of Stephen's expression. I could hear Tony mumbling faintly, something about his chest and Afghanistan and bombs and Obadiah.

It pissed me off. Firstly, how dare this wannabe-Pennywise, this LOST-fog-monster-reject to lay his filthy metaphysical fingers on my Tony. And secondly, for the sloppy intelligence job - I had been woken up by Tony's nightmares more than enough to know his biggest fear wasn't Afghanistan. It wasn't Obadiah and it wasn't Bucky killing his parents, it wasn't even the vast, consuming black emptiness of the space behind the wormhole.

Anger burning my throat, I lunged at not-Stephen with a bloodcurdling scream, feeling my nails dig into the cold, clammy flesh of the thing's throat. Taken by surprise, both of us stumbled, falling into the abyss of the hallway, me kicking and scratching and screaming all the way, fingers squeezing deeply into the lifeless imitation of flesh. His screams mixed with mine and Tony's into a shrieking cacophony.

The darkness was laughing, cackling, noise sharp like nails on a chalkboard. It hurt, but the thing's grip on me hurt even more. "He'll never love you like you expect him to. They don't care about you. The mage said he'd help you and now you're dying here, alone," Black smoke began leaking out of the impostor's mouth along with the words, both acrid and venomous.

My head was pounding as more and more of the stuff came into contact with my body. My vision swam, bordering on unconsciousness. "If I'm dying, I'm taking you with me, bitch," I screamed out, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing until I exploded together with my surroundings, in a short of white, blinding light.

And then, there was darkness. My limbs were once again filled with concrete, mouth dry and skin burning like I'd been branded with a hot iron.

I opened my eyes to the familiar sight of the room with the fireplace. The fire was roaring, crackling and and shooting noisy sparks, accompanied by heavy breathing to my left. Disregarding the nausea that followed my every movement, I hung my head over the side of the car coming to witness both sorcerers laying haphazardly on the floor, a thin river of blood seeping into the carpet from Wong's head.

Confused, disoriented and terrified, I called out for them, voice barely audible and terse. Had I been screaming?

The sorcerers' chests rose and fell rapidly; my panic subsided but not by much. I crawled out of the cot only to land ungracefully on my face, body refusing to cooperate and feeling about as well as after I'd ran a marathon. Inch by inch, I crawled over to the chair I had left my things on, fighting with my body for every movement I made.

Fumbling, l pulled out my phone and pressed the green call button on the one person one would call in this situation. My best friend.

"Yes, dear?" His baritone was tense but nonetheless calm.

"Help, some-something happened," I managed to say, no louder than a whisper. "Sanctum," I clarified, hearing a noise of things falling over and several distressed voices shouting in the background.

"I am coming, do not end the call," Loki replied immediately, barking out several commands I didn't quite catch. There were more noises of distress as I obediently stayed on the phone. "Darling, can you tell me what happened?"

"I- Killed?" I tried to articulate my thoughts, tongue becoming more and more uncooperative by the second.

"Oh my God, who's dead?!" I heard Bruce yell, probably, right in Loki's ear.

"The Thing," I clarified, hoping to calm him down.

Loki cursed in his native language, I heard him trying to wrestle the phone from someone - unsuccessfully so, I might say, as Tony's distraught voice was the next thing I heard. "Princess, listen to me. Are you okay? Where's Strange? We're gonna be there in 10 minutes. We're coming."

An avalanche of information for my overtaxed brain and aching body, I struggled to keep up with Tony's rambling and filtering out Loki's screeching in the background. So much noise. My head hurt. "No, Steph and Wong are down. Alive." I managed to convey the most important part, a terrified sob leaving my chest burning. "Please, talk," I begged Tony, not wanting to be left in that terrifying, consuming silence ever again.

And Tony talked. He babbled nonstop, things that I didn't really catch neither care about, having enough strength to give a hum of approval every few seconds or so. It appeared to be as calming to him as it was to me, I didn't hear any more complaints from the team, only brief increase in volume as one of them got closer to the phone. A part of me conceded I should've made at least one joke about being put on loudspeaker, however, my brain was exhausted.

Burnt out, rather. The emptiness settled in my bones, chilly, like the blood had been sucked out of me, making my body just a vessel for the darkness that stalked my nightmares. I dug my nails into the soft flesh of my bare thigh, feeling none of the pain, just the relief when blood seeped through the cuts, crimson and warm.

That's how they found me. Loki threw open the door, breaking one of the hinges, eyes immediately darting between me and the laying sorcerers, as he swiftly cast a bright golden spell on the room, warming us from the inside out. Carefully stepping over the two men, Loki kneeled in front of me, green eyes staring right into mine.

I heard cursing and thudding but all I could focus on was the shining emerald of Loki's eyes. "Oh, child," He whispered, reaching out with both arms to pull me into his chest. I couldn't have resisted even if I wanted to, my body was utterly drained of fight.

"What happened?" Tony asked, a hysterical pitch to his voice.

"I can assume there was a failsafe left behind by the artifact, it took out both sorcerers and attempted to finish the job it started," Loki spoke up, hand gently petting my hair, still clutching my limp body like I was dying. "She fought it off, I don't know how, but she fought it off. It has entered a dormant state again."

"What do you mean took them all out?" In his distress, Tony seemed to have lost all sensibility. "What happened to her?!" He was getting impatient, angry.

"With an artifact like that, it's a blessing they are still alive. It is ancient and unpredictable," Loki explained patiently, none of his usual vitriol present. "And she... You could say she was mind-raped," He stated, quieter.

I groaned in protest. Loki's spell of gold did what felt like a wonder: the light was slowly coming back into the room, into me, filling me with warmth I didn't know I could lack. "As if," I slurred. "As if that Pennywise wannabe could ever," My body was, nonetheless, exhausted. "I've swallowed more kids than he could ever," My eyelids dropped, the comforting noise of Tony's and Loki's combined chuckle amplifying the surplus of warmth within me.

Last thing I saw was Tony's watery smile, tears crinkling at the corners of his eyes as he lifted me from Loki's arms, hot rod red of his suit saturating the room with color. Feeling safe for the first time in what felt like forever, I let my eyes close voluntarily, a smile crawling onto my face. I was right. Tony was alright, it wasn't really him that was getting tortured in the nightmare-verse.

"What..." I heard Stephen croak from somewhere. "Baby?!" His voice raised a whole octave; Thor's fond chuckle followed the rustling of fabric and a few stronger choice words from the sorcerer as Loki briefed everyone on the situation at hand.

"How is she, Tones?" Bruce asked quietly from above me.

"Pretty out of it but on her way back to health," Tony replied with another watery laugh. "Cracking jokes and whatnot clownery."

Bruce exhaled in relief, stroking my face with the side of his fingers. It was almost palpable, the general atmosphere of respite in the room, the sudden free flow of oxygen to my lungs.

"I am so sorry," Stephen's whisper was more felt than heard by me; the spice of his cologne and copper of blood reached my nostrils, burning them, keeping the warmth from leaving my body ever again.

My fingers weakly held out to him, finally coming to grasp his more-than-usual shaking hand. "Not your fault," I breathed. "Persistent cursed box," Were my last words before my consciousness gave out. Sleep sweet sleep.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​@pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie @mikariell95

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 10 - Clean This Up

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, who is he really?, 2.9k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: abuse, mild violence

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Alex had said to check the diner, so Victoria opted to have dinner there and asked to see the owner. She was aware of the vigilante-style work she was doing, but with everything else going on in her life, this couldn’t possibly hurt any worse. Folding her hands, she breathed calmly as she peeked at the menu. It was important not to act as authoritative as she usually did, she reminded herself. A portly man with short gray hair and a mustache came over and took the seat across from her.

“Hi there,” the man said, shaking Victoria’s hand. “What can I do for you?”

“Hi, I’m Victoria Molina,” she introduced herself. “I was actually trying to find someone and I was told you could help me.”

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Oh, alright. Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for a young man of about seventeen, he goes by Willie? I was told he works here. I just have some questions for him. Would he happen to be in at all today?”

“We don’t have anyone named Willie here anymore,” the man told her. “I actually just bought this establishment along with the hotel about two weeks ago and a few of the staff followed the previous owner to a different business. You might want to talk to him instead.”

“Oh,” Victoria sat back in slight disappointment. “I take it you’re not Caleb Covington?”

“No, he’s the guy I bought it from. I’m Frank Wolfe. I can give you his contact information, though.”

Nodding, she smiled politely.

“I would appreciate that. Sorry I had to come bother you, though.”

“Not at all,” he said. “I apologize that I can’t be any more useful. If you like, I can take your order.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll actually have the carne asada.”

“Perfect,” he smiled as he took her menu away. “I’ll have that information for you in just a minute, too.”

Taking a gulp of water, Victoria sighed. It certainly felt just like any regular case. The fact the business had recently changed hands made her want to be suspicious, but she fought to remain level-headed. It was enough that she was going off the word of a teenage boy and an old poster. If it was a dud, if this trip led nowhere, she would buy Carlos a gift and head home safe and sound.

After finishing her meal, she returned to her hotel room and pulled out the business card Frank Wolfe had given her. Something about the dark purple design and the old-fashioned lettering he’d chosen made her feel like Caleb Covington was at least a little pretentious, if not flashy about his business. Picking up the phone and dialing the number, she held her breath waiting for an answer.

“Caleb Covington, who may I be speaking to?” a baritone voice chimed on the other end. The touch of sing-song in his tone was unexpected.

“Hi, my name is Victoria,” she introduced herself for the second time that night. “I was told you were the guardian of a young man named Willie?”

“Are you with social services?” he asked.

She furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry?”

“I usually only get a call when we have a hearing scheduled, but our last one was just a couple months ago.” His tone had gone from happy to serious at such a jarring speed it took Victoria a moment to process his words.

“No,” she said finally. “No, I’m not with them. I didn’t mean to confuse you. I’m actually reaching out on a personal favor. See another young man I know says they met a while back.”

“Oh, is it the band that came through a few weeks ago?” Caleb immediately picked the cheer back up.

“Yes, I’m glad you remember,” she responded, surprised.

“How are those boys doing?”

“Oh, they’re just fine. I think they’re gonna be a success.”

“Good to hear it,” he said. “Listen, no harm done. I own a swanky little club just in the south of town. I would be delighted if you gave me a visit, and I’d be happy to chat.”

“Sounds great, thank you,” Victoria smiled, unable to believe how easy that felt. “I can stop by tomorrow evening.”

“Wonderful. If it isn’t too much, I’ll make you a reservation.”

“Well, I can’t say no to such generosity!” It had been a long time since Victoria had gone on a night out. This was a much needed vacation, and if it killed two birds with one stone, all the better. She said goodbye and decided since she was practically getting everything she needed at the club, the rest of the day would be spent treating herself for once.

Willie skateboarded up the driveway and only just remembered Caleb’s rule about the pool in time to hop off before pulling off his helmet and going around the back. He took the back route into the house and dropped a number of grocery bags on the counter. One of these days he would age out of the foster system and not spend the morning being Caleb’s errand boy, but for now he just laid Caleb’s credit card on the table and went outside toward his shed.

Opening the door, he saw Caleb standing in the middle of the room, looking around at all of his drawings. Paper covered most of the walls now. Faces with no names to them, locations with no map to their destination - only snippets of a past life. Willie couldn’t stop drawing them. There still weren’t many memories returning to him, but any detail was an important one. He hadn’t drawn this much in ages, since before he found Sheldon. The backwards dream had become a recurring one by now, and there was still very little that he understood about it. Still, he had so many scenes made out of it that he could almost recreate the dream in a very rough animation.

“Hi C-Caleb,” Willie stammered. This never happened. It made him immediately nervous.

“What a collection, William,” Caleb said, not exactly sounding like an awed patron in a museum. “I mean, the sheer volume of work that went into these is absolutely mind-blowing.”

A small pebble of pride rose in Willie’s chest.

“Really?.... Um, thank you.” He couldn’t suppress his smile.

Caleb held up a hand and looked down at his well-manicured nails, and then back up.

“I just don’t understand why I look so hostile in this one,” he said, pointing to the picture in question. “And that one. And all of these in this corner.” His gaze returned to Willie with unprecedented menace.

Willie immediately shrank away, his mouth gaping open.

“Well...I..they’re from a dream.”

“A dream?” Caleb repeated, not liking what he was hearing.

“Yeah, I think it was a memory.”

Willie watched the man straighten his posture, a calculating expression on his face.

“Are these all memories?” Caleb asked after a tense moment, casting his eyes about the room.

“I think so,” Willie said hesitantly.

Caleb lifted a hand and grabbed the bottom of one. It was the first one WIllie had done of his dad sitting inside the truck and smiling at him.

“Hm,” was all that he said for a second.

And then he tore it in half.

Willie made toward the picture in alarm, feeling a part of him inside being torn just the same, but was stopped as Caleb held a hand out.

“Ah ah,” he said. “What have I told you about becoming your own person regardless of the past?” He took a handful of another drawing and ripped that one too.

Ignoring what Caleb said, Willie lunged forward to try stopping him anyway. Caleb was faster, grabbing his shirt and tossing him backward into the wall. He couldn’t help but begin crying.

“But these are my memories, why would you - ” he sputtered, lost for words.

“Because, William,” Caleb continued loudly, pulling as many as he could off the wall and shredding them into smaller pieces. “Your history? The one full of loss and being shuffled here and there? That is all that awaits you. You know it’s the truth; that’s how you ended up here. I offer you the opportunity to become a new person, and I can’t allow you to spoil yourself with reminders. And besides, those little friends you not-so-secretly made a few weeks ago have started snooping around in my business, and I can’t have that.”

He didn’t even pick anything up, he just left paper strewn all over the floor and walked all over it. As he made for the last wall, Willie made one more attempt to overpower him. He leapt onto Caleb’s shoulders and tried to pull him back with all his weight. A fist landed in his eye and he slacked his grip. Caleb wrestled him onto the bed and held him down, a crazed look in his eye that Willie swore he’d never seen no matter how familiar it felt.

“I don’t understand, what do they have to do with it? Why can’t I have friends?”

“I’m doing this for your own good,” Caleb hissed at him. “You” - he reached up and touched the scar on Willie’s head with his finger - “You got a reboot and you know how many people are lucky enough for that? You should thank me. Unfortunately, you can’t have friends when they send someone asking me questions about that little past of yours. That’s just asking for trouble.”

All Willie could do was hold his eye and lay back as Caleb tore up the last of the drawings. Once he finished, Caleb patted himself off and made his way out the door.

“Clean this up,” he told Willie. “And don’t bother doing any more art.”

As the door shut behind him, Willie scrambled onto the floor to search for just one of the drawings. Shuffling through smudged pieces of paper, he saw a few tears drop onto his ruined work. Eventually, he held the picture of his father in two pieces in his hands. Sobbing, he tried to hold them together evenly, but Caleb’s work had made that hard to do. His only hope was to try drawing it again, but he was already terrified of what Caleb’s reaction to that would be if his first one had been this.

A piece of another drawing caught Willie’s eye from underneath. He recognized Caleb’s snarling face from the dream and was surprised at how well it captured what he’d just witnessed. His mind went back to the way he knew the look in Caleb’s eyes. Suddenly, the awful realization dawned on him: he finally understood the dream.

Victoria walked into the club that evening, glad she had taken the time to look and feel fresh. This place was clearly up to snuff and then some. A live band played with dancers scattered throughout, all in bright, sparkly, feathery getup. A tall man with neatly styled dark hair was mesmerizing the crowd as he sang, keeping the energy high. As she was led to a table, Victoria simply sat and watched, greatly impressed with the talent.

Once the man’s solo finished, he bowed, gestured at the band to play on without him, and exited the stage. To Victoria’s surprise, he took the seat directly across from her.

“Ms. Victoria, you look so lovely, how are we this evening?” he asked with a charming smile. “I’m Caleb Covington.”

“Are you kidding me?” she started. “That was you up there? You’re a man of many talents; I’m already dazzled.”

“Oh, well, I hope that remains a constant while you’re here,” he said. "But you came to ask me about some other things, what were they?”

“Yes, I had some questions about Willie.”

Willie sat outside the bodega, unwilling to move for a while. He felt like everything inside of him was empty, as if Caleb had possessed claws and dug everything out until he was left hollow. The many ideas that had risen in his mind in the past few hours were all too much, all at once. If he dared, was he sure he could handle everything that might come his way? Every time he’d heard that ridiculous speech about starting over, becoming his own, yada-yada, he hadn’t considered any of the options he was now contemplating.

He’d already done some things. Already bought some things. Now he got up to collect Sheldon and held him tightly as he nodded to Escobar, who saluted him back. The man had said he didn’t want a dramatic thank you. Stuffing the items he purchased in his bag, he kept a hold of Sheldon as he skated off into the darkness.

“So, you see, Willie isn’t missing. He was abandoned,” Caleb was saying to Victoria. “Poor thing has struggled to adjust. I’ve dealt with some handfuls in the past, but I really have been doing the most for him, and he’s been with me for more than three years. I think it’s really sweet of those boys to raise a concern, and I hate to be a dead end, but that’s the truth of it.”

Victoria sat, nodding in acceptance.

“That makes a lot of sense, Mr. Covington, thank you for providing that for me.”

“Oh, call me Caleb. We’re all friends in here.”

“Okay, then, Caleb,” she corrected. “What got you into foster care?”

He put a hand over his heart and a fond look came over him.

“The youth are just full of so much magic, and I hate to see that their parents have chosen to lay it to waste. I’m the one who takes some of the tougher cases so I can bring out the best in them. You see that young man over there, Dante?” Caleb pointed at one of the dancers. “Classic rebel when he was young. You wouldn’t even know, he’s turned into such a gentleman. There’s a few more here and there in the club. I call them my graduates.”

“Well, I will tell you,” Victoria said. “When I first talked to you on the phone I wasn’t expecting you to be so generous. But now I can see that it’s just how you are.”

Caleb shot her a playful smile.

“Victoria, no need to butter me up. I do have some tight business practices to keep up.”

Fluid poured over every inch of the shed. Willie had made sure it was more than enough to get things going. He’d made sure to get the essentials: food for himself and Sheldon, a few changes of clothes, and a stash of money he’d taken from the safe in Caleb’s bedroom. The man shouldn’t have given him the combination in the first place.

Stepping out of the shed he looked at it one last time. What a sad, lousy existence. Living to perform for this man who shut him up inside this little thing and he had actually called it home? The further he was into his plan, the bolder he began to feel. He remembered when he had missed getting into the Pearl and that feeling of wrongness that had made him so frustrated. This feeling he had right now? It was so right. It was so right it drowned out anything scary about this whole idea.

He looked back at where he had put Sheldon on a small leash and tied him along the fence around Caleb’s backyard. It was definitely a safe distance. Then Willie pulled a box of matches out of his pocket, lit one, and looked at the flame for a minute. He held it just over the threshold of the doorway so it would land inside. It was so weak, like he had been ever since his accident. But he knew it was going to become so powerful, and he desperately hoped that he could retain some of that power for himself.

“Clean this up, Caleb,” he said, and he let his fingers go.

Victoria had stayed just a little longer to enjoy more food and music before standing up and heading toward the door. Caleb saw her on her way out and made her stop for a moment.

“It’s been a lovely night, and I’m grateful for everything you told me,” she said to him.

“Well I’m glad you took the opportunity to see what I have here,” he replied. “If you’re ever in the city again, please stop by. We’re always partying and putting on the best show.”

“Oh, I most certainly will,” she said, smiling as she made her way outside.

Someone tapped on Caleb’s shoulder from behind. Wordlessly, he turned to see who it was and why it was important.

“Sir,” one of his servers said. “You have a phone call. It’s the fire department.”

“What?” Caleb spat as he went to pick it up.

Willie sped along on his board the best that he could with Sheldon in his arms. He carefully made it down the ramp onto the freeway, controlling his speed as well as he could. He could picture Caleb now, just getting back to his home, eyes wide as he came upon the blaze. It was a very strange feeling, but right now Willie chose to focus on his newfound freedom. The cost wasn’t the matter right now. Freedom was all that was going to take him and his cat as far as they could go. The destination for now was Los Angeles.

[razorblade180]

Overall thoughts on V8? Assuming you didn't answer this already.

I meant to do a volume wrap up review but I got incredibly busy and it fell to the waste side. The thing about me judging RWBY I have to come at it from two angles or I won’t feel like I judged it appropriately. There’s the casual, first time seeing the episodes and seeing this through the lens as a casual watcher who probably only sees the episodes once or twice. But then there’s the other side to that coin. I review these episodes, write aus, theorize, check extended lore, listen to the music, etc; that means I have to go back and watch episodes several times for any given reason and that’s when you start noticing the holes or picking up on things you didn’t before.

As a casual watcher, I’d give this an 8/10. There’s plenty of moments where characters do things that got me excited and plot points I wanted explored. This volume actually gave a decent amount of things I wanted for quite some time and some things I didn’t know I needed. Certainly there are things I don’t like in this but I’m open and curious to see where RT takes their storie because it’s their story.

Okay, now as a someone who’s had to deep dive and take a step back multiple times for a variety of reasons. 6.5/10 maybe a 7/10 if I’m being generous. A lot of my problems with this volume are problems that aren’t new to RWBY and that’s just how surface layer portions of arcs are and how a variety of choices/bonds don’t exactly make sense with what we were previously shown, or they only make sense because the writers don’t want introduce other complexities even though they should be there realistically. I’ll give a couple examples of these and yes, I’m aware what I say doesn’t bother everyone but it bothers me.

Qrow was never angry at or brought up Robyn being the reason their airship crashed in the first place because she started the fight; which aids in Clover dying.

Emerald follows Cinder, not Salem. Even if Cinder is working under Salem, why would Emerald be so willingly to complete shift to the side that actively goes against Cinder? There’s been no grand revelation to make Emerald believe Cinder doesn’t give a damn about her. Leaving made sense because she was about to get tortured. Going full turncoat right now doesn’t. No change happened. Emerald always hated being near Salem but adored Cinder no matter the crimes and the show hasn’t done anything to switch that view point.

I’m happy Whitley and Weiss had a touching sibling moment that implies they’re okay and making/made up, but there was never a conversation about the actual problem and thoughts that had them at odds in the first place. Weiss saving his and Willow’s life shouldn’t be the thing that smooths things over. It would’ve been terrible if Weiss do something to save their life. Whitley helping Penny is okay I guess because he really had no reason to contribute but did anyways. Even so, a person doing a morally correct thing doesn’t automatically warrant the conflict between him and Weiss’s resolved.

We got Cinder’s backstory; it didn’t tell us anything about how she eventually came into contact with Salem. Honestly her back story felt more in line of her main goal through the series was an absolute freedom by the means of breaking down the systems that trapped and didn’t give a damn, rather than her quest for power. Yes you can argue gaining power means it’s easier to maintain her freedom to do whatever she wants but I personally think that’s a little off the mark when you gave her a story that involves her trapped by rules and time rather than being too physically weak to gain freedom.

This show has built up that the Schnee family has suffered various types of abuse because of Jacques and uses Weiss as a medium to build towards breaking free from that. Not just overcoming but confronting the abuse by cementing it’s place below you. We don’t really get that. There will never be a moment where the siblings and mother truly get to break out of Jacques grasps emotionally and then put him in his place because he’s dead! Yeah they never have to worry about him again but even last volume they showed Winter still having turmoil and being able to get strung along by him. We don’t even really know how Whitley perceived his father. It feels so lackluster. Then they care to mention how it’s Weiss’s idea to save him like it’s an empowering moment when in actuality, it would be against her character, values of a huntress, and morality to let a person die in cell when you’re the reason they’re in a cell! Letting him die in there would just terrible. I don’t even know why he wasn’t let out in that scene! He’s a coward! He’d follow their orders to save his skin. All he has to do is shut up and walk through a portal.

Ironwood and Oscar both knew they could remove that staff to use it and Atlas wouldn’t drop immediately. Why did nobody have any kind of compromise with one another since there’s nothing stopping them from using the staff for something and then putting it back? They had this morally gray thing going on which I liked but then they decided to make Ironwood go full evil. I’ve never had to say this before but the song he got in V7 and the character they made him be in V8 just don’t connect. I got upset listening to that song recently because I liked that Ironwood.

Clover’s importance. RT tried making a character who had no more than 9 minutes in the series and one meaningful line of dialogue into the cornerstone of a side plot. Clover is such a nothing character. Vine did more than Clover. They try to make him have such a profound impact to the people around him but we never see him bond with his team; Harriet specifically. We get one scene of Clover telling Qrow the kids are fortunate to have Qrow even if he doesn’t think so. First, I doubt Clover knows Qrow decided to get drunk in a ghost town and the kids nearly died and cellar while he did it so that compliment doesn’t hold much weight for me. Second, We see nothing meaningful between the two. V7 has a time skip and just expects viewers to be on board with Clover being this influential change on Qrow without showing anything outside of a witty remark and Clover flexing his semblance. I would’ve bought it more of Qrow almost relapsed and Clover stopped him then had a real meaningful conversation.

Ruby goes against Ironwood only to then want to do a plan that’s aligned to longer term thinking than even his, talks about how everyone should be working together, but then adds a part in her video to actively antagonize and vilify Ironwood. Afterwards, she wonders where everything went wrong and doesn’t think of a plan or do anything to immediately help either kingdom until the final hour between the ultimatum being made, to everything getting destroyed. The inciting incident was disagreeing Mantle should be left in favor of Atlas but the main character didn’t do anything to help Mantle 90% of the season and hindered Atlas’s safety up until the final plan.

Yang is used to be the devil’s advocate in a bunch of situations, but she’s wrong most of the time or her lines just don’t make any sense. They weren’t doing just fine before Atlas. They almost died every step of the way. The team didn’t beat a Leviathan; silver eyes and a robot take credit for that. Why would Blake think less of Yang for wanting to go save people immediately? Blake was never mad at anyone to begin with. Yang consistently calls out people for following orders as if it’s objectively wrong, but is never called out on the fact she hasn’t followed anybody’s orders but her own and added discourse to every situation. I get RT is making her ask questions because that’s what Raven told her to do, but all she’s really doing is picking fights and disobeying every order. Yang states to Ruby they accomplished more than they expected. That’s false, getting Oscar back is correcting a mistake caused by her own plan that she didn’t even complete.

It took 6 volumes before Yang had anything to do with the Summer Rose subplot again and 7 volumes before her and Ruby had a sister to sister conversations; 5 if you wanna count Yang telling Ruby to leave at the end of volume three. The reason I bring this up is because in V8 , they treat their argument as if it’s a big deal but then have every character say it wasn’t that big a deal; but then have two circle back to that conversation later after having neither character discuss to anybody that the argument actually did weigh on them. Yang doesn’t think about Ruby until she sees her again and the closest we get with Ruby is Blake reassuring her that people need her and how Blake admires her. I like that scene but it’s not the same as Ruby actually airing out the specific point that Yang said something that Ruby found hurtful. Vol8 in general people trying to comfort others but nobody ever actually addresses what made them uncomfortable to start with. Except Ren.

This one is a nitpicking but I’ll say it anyways. Penny getting hacked only served as a purpose to go to the vault, a thing Ironwood already wanted them to do. Nobody got her because she was hacked. You can’t even say her getting hacked is the leading factor to her actually dying because Penny became a vulnerable human afterwards that can’t be rebuilt. Pietro was gone, and already stated last volume he doesn’t have the aura to build Penny again. If she died as a robot then it’s still permanent death. No core, no Pietro, and no aura; hacking her was just to create a Hound reveal situation and make them go to the vault on a different set of terms. I’m not exactly upset with this, but I don’t understand why the extra steps. The Hound was hunting her anyways. I would’ve brought some kind of value if she hurt a friend and it caused them to potentially hinder the plan later on or remove them entirely. Penny could’ve rekt Yang and it only adds value to Yang getting one shot later. I don’t know. I’m rambling.

I think I’ve wasted enough people’s time. Honestly, I do like this volume. I’ve enjoyed a bunch of it. But there’s things that legitimately make me think it’s not as good others and makes V7 even worse.

[bssaz97]

Family Friend

- Patch Island, Kingdom of Vale -

[95 A.G.W.]

[18:55 Hours (6:55 PM)]

10 YO Rowan: Wagon check?

10 YO Summer: Check!

Rowan: Soda?

Summer: Check!

Rowan: Balloons?

Summer: Check!

Rowan: Poppy Rocks?

Summer: Check!

Rowan: All Poppy Rocks accounted for?

Summer: *about to open a bag to eat* Uhhh... Check!

Rowan: Ready to throw some Poppy Rock filled Cola’s at that stupid dentist billboard Sis?

Summer: Heck yeah!

Weapons of choice in hand, the Rose twins stealthily went on their way dragging along twelve bottles of Cola Pops with a box of Poppy Rocks in what would be their best prank yet.

[45 Minutes Later…]

After trekking through the woods, the twin finally arrived at the destination of their latest prank....

A Billboard promoting a local Dentist Office!

Rowan: After two months of saving our allowances and a week’s worth of lunch monies, we finally have the tools to enact today’s plan! For too long we children have to suffer at the hands of those “dental specialists,” so now it’s time to take revenge for children of all ages!

Summer: *fistbumps* Yeah!

Both take a liter of Cola in their hands and begin to use them to fill several balloons. Afterwards they poured a whole sachets worth of the rock candy mixture.

Once they had their weapons ready, they quickly shook a balloon in each hand, took aim and threw them at the billboard with all their might!

When the two balloons had made contact with the billboard, the twins had been pleased to see the sight of two messy and foamy spray on the dental advertisement.

Summer: Woo! That was so cool!

Rowan: Yeah! ...Wanna throw another one?

Summer: Heck yeah!

They prepared more balloons and repeated the action of tossing them in exactly the same way as before.

Soon enough, the billboard was nearly covered with sticky foam and rock candy, all to the twins mischievous glee and amusement.

Sadly their fun was too soon coming to an end, they both stared at the two remaining balloons that they each held.

Summer: Aw... I wish we had bought more balloons.

Rowan: It was fun while it lasted. Come on, let’s make these ones count. Whoever can hit an eye gets to give the other their brussels sprouts for dinner tonight!

Summer: Yuck! Brussels sprouts... you’re on!

The twins held their final individual balloons in one hand, rearing their arms back to throw and are prepared to fling their balloons, but unfortunately for these two, their fun ended when a beam of a flashlight was pointed at them.

“Oi! Hold it right there!”

The twins stopped themselves mid throw, thankfully neither of them let go of their balloons, as they both turned towards the light being pointed at them.

Busted.

A figure walked towards slowly, a female judging by the voice, a northern Valean accent to be accurate. However, neither of the twins could not make out as to who the woman was for the sky had begun to turn dark and the light that she held was exceptionally bright.

The young woman stopped only a meter away from them.

???: Reach for the sky.

The two Rose twins complied, both raiding their hands.

???: Well would ya look at here, I got me some no good troublemakers messin’ around with town property. Don’t try ta deny it either, I caught ya’s red handed.

Rowan: W-We aren’t trouble makers m-mam, we were just playing. Right Sum?

Summer: Y-Yeah, just playing! Honest!

???: Oh? An’ you want to believe that loada crap. Especially when ya’s still got tha proof in ya hands.

Rowan was shaking in place, this was not looking good for either of them, they had been caught and now they were likely in big trouble. Mom would find out and be disappointed, he could get kicked out of the soccer team and they could get this marked on their permanent record.

He was taken away from his thoughts when he faintly heard whimpering, turning his gaze he saw his twin looking on the verge of tears, absolutely terrified at the implication of getting in trouble.

That just solidified Rowan’s decision.

Rowan: I-I …It was my idea! Please if you’re going to take one of us in, just take me and let my sister go! She just went along with my idea!

Summer: Wha-! N-No that’s not true! I threw just as many balloons as he did!

Rowan: *whispering* Summer! I’m trying to save your skin!

Summer: *whispering* Nooo! I don’t want you to go to jail!

Rowan: Please mam, I acted alone! She just watched me do it and I pressured her into it!

???: That a fact? Well that doesn’t mattah, I’m takin’ the two’s of ya in anyway.

Stretching out her empty hand she activated her semblance, causing the tips of her fingers to illuminate a green hue and a symbol of a leaf appeared on her hand. What occurred next shocked the two young Rose twins.

From the ground beneath them, roots emerged and swiftly wrapped around their little wrists, forming makeshift wooden handcuffs. With a pull, the roots brought the two on their knees, making it clear to the two that she meant business.

Rowan: W-Wait! Hold on a minute! Don’t you have to read us our rights or something!?

Summer: Yeah! Tell us we have the right to an attorney!

???: Attorneys are for grownups. Bad kids like the two of ya’s, get sent to juvie. You two already confessed to the crime, so now I’m takin’ ya to tha slammer!

Rowan: B-But!

Summer: I don’t wanna to go to juvie! Please don’t take us!

The two are nearly close to tears when something unexpected happens. The woman in front of them started to …giggle. Soon enough, her laughing grew louder in volume as she started leaning forward, holding onto her abdomen as she was losing herself to her hysterics.

With a wave of her hand the roots receded, returning to the ground albeit the restraints that remained on the twins wrists.

They looked on in bewilderment as the woman who was apprehending them laughed at the two as though she heard the best joke of her life.

???: *inhales* Oh, you shoulda seen the look on the both of ya’s faces! That’s gold! Pure gold!

She turns off her flashlight with a press of a button, no longer hindering the twins vision. When both of their vision became adjusted to natural light, they immediately put together their apprehender’s identity.

Rowan: Rosemary!?

The twin’s apprehender was none other than Rosemary Thornbush, local Huntress and resident of Patch. She also happened to be a friend of their mother and aunt, and they had history. So the redhead was indeed a familiar face to them.

Rosemary: *laughs* Hey Row-Row. I got ya kids good, didn’t I?

Summer: Rosie! That was mean! I actually thought we were in trouble!

Rosemary: I nevah said you ain’t.

A silence fell on both the twins, as they saw

Summer: oh… so we are going to juvie?

Rosemary: Nah. But the two of ya’s are gonna get a mouthful from ya mom.

Rowan: Y-You’re gonna tell Mom?

Rosemary: Yep, and she’ll get to decide the punishment for that. *pointing at the billboard*

Summer: …Can we go to jail instead?

Rosemary: Oh quit you’re whining, get up you two!

Sheathing her flashlight, Rosemary takes both children by the wrist and guides them down the dirt path towards their home.

Rowan: But the wagon.

Rosemary: We’ll get that tomarraw, it ain’t going nowhere.

Rowan: Aw…

[A walk of shame later…]

Ruby Rose gazes down at her two children in front of her, whom she believed were going to a sleepover, but were all actuality caught vandalizing a billboard with the liters of soda and candy that she purchased under the pretense that they were gonna be used by school children to eat and drink. So not only did her naughty children lie to her, but they also committed a crime.

She was not in a good mood.

Ruby: Rowan, Summer, is this true?

Neither of the twin’s answers her and instead avoided her piercing gaze by looking at the floor. Their guilt clearly written on their small faces.

Ruby: *breathes* Well then, for starters, you’re both going to get ready for dinner. Then you both are going help me wash the dishes tonight, which will be spotless, and then you will both get ready for bed and go to your rooms without any TV or games for the rest of the week.

The two winces at the stern tone she used, they only hear it rarely but it’s not one any child enjoys hearing.

Ruby: Then tomorrow morning you both are going to wake up, eat your breakfast …and help clean up the mess you made on that billboard.

Summer: B-But tomorrow’s the weekend.

Ruby: And?

Summer: Nothing Mommy…

Ruby: You have anything to add mister?

Rowan: No Mommy…

Ruby: Good. Now go fresh up, I made dinner and I don’t want it to get cold.

Wordlessly, the twins moved past her and hears them go upstairs to their shared bathroom to wash up for what would undoubtedly be a very awkward meal.

The sound of giggling breaks Ruby’s thoughts as she turns her attention back towards her guest.

Rosemary: Yeesh, I’d hate to make you angry. Especially if I met you as a kid.

Ruby paused then shook her head, laughing a bit herself at the notion. Being only five years her senior and a friend of her older brother at Signal, the young lady has a way of making her seem old.

Ruby: Thank you Rosie for bringing them home, I really appreciate it.

Rosemary: Forget about it Ruby, I’m always happy to help a friend of the family. Your kids certainly did make the highlight of my night.

Ruby: Did you want to stay for dinner?

Rosemary: Thanks for the offa but Ma’s undoubtedly waiting for me to get my butt back home. Maybe another night. Bring the whole family?

Ruby: I think the kids would love that, once they get over you turning them in.

Rosemary: I hate to do it but it’s my job. Also, I plan to keep an eye on them while they clean up their mess tomarrah. I figured you’s gonna ask that.

Ruby: Thank you again, when everything is cleaned up I’ll come to get them. Who knows, maybe you can expect a cheesecake with your name on it?

Rosemary: Yes mam! *has an eager smile on her face*

Ruby: Well then, I hope you get home safely Rosie, let the family know I said hi and that I appreciate their daughter looking out for my children.

Rosemary: Sure thing, Shrub is definitely gonna enjoy hearing about this. Well you have a goodnight, Ruby.

Ruby: You too, Rosie.

With her job seemingly done for the night, the younger red head began on her way, walking down from the Rose residence’s porch and making her way back from the dirt path. But before she could make it there, her attention is taken away when a voice from behind her called out.

Ruby: Rosie!

Rosemary: *looks back* Yea?

Ruby: …Thank you for bringing them back.

Rosemary: *shrugs* Sure thing. What are friends for, am I right?

Without another word, the young huntress resumed on her way. Another normal day on Patch done and the night setting in.

- Fin -

A/N: Thanks again to @tanakaclinkbeard for allowing me to use his OC, Rosemary Thornbush, in my AU. While it is a different version of her and the history is also a variant, I did my best to keep the core traits of the original.

Edit: Also, the reason Rosemary talks differently is because she has what’s referred to as a Northern Valean accent (Boston accent for irl example).