#admittedly little of it. we go fully into the madness here

[mantisgodsdomain]

Falling victim to madness in the Chilaios Discord part one (with a link to the post mentioned at the end). Part 2 linked here (note: slightly more nsfw text). Transcript below cut.

A Discord conversation between three discord users - us, nicknamed Speculative Vore Cookbook, Cup of Chilaios Soup, and Oh Kay! (wormlette).

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Experiencing the impulse to rewrite the changeling chapters for fun and profit. Do you think that considering that half-foots apparently see dwarves as Extremely Attractive Laios sparks some kind of Thing in Chilchuck as a dwarf

Cup of Chilaios soup: GRABS YOU PLEASE CONTINUE

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Listen considering Us there will be spec bio about this but. Listen. Since we've been doing the species as "uncanny-valley-type not quite Like You" for the most part with just a little bit of increased compatibility within "families". Do you think that it would be fun if he can suddenly see all of Laios's features in this new light of this particular species. Where all of the tallman features abruptly come into focus in a format far more recognizable and all of a sudden he can draw some Very Certain Lines to someone who is abruptly several times more recognizably attractive rather than, like, would be very attractive if it weren't for the subtle distortion of species.

Cup of Chilaios soup: my third eye has opened

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Do you think being a tallman himself would help with that? An abrupt distortion of the brain. Do you think he would be able to draw back those memories to abruptly have the uncanny-valley barrier splinter under the force of, y'know, he knows precisely what that translates to, and with the added perspective it seems much less alien, and much more "for the love of god he's not supposed to be getting crushes on the job"

Speculative Vore Cookbook: We need to make elves Weirder for this also. They're like the only race on the chart right now that Doesn't have a close-relation group where things like attraction translate more easily we need to make them more fucked up Absently rotating the idea of dwarves having an excellent sense of smell compared to their other close relatives both for enhancing their appreciation for Good Food (a surprising amount of taste is tied up in your sense of smell) and for underground navigation & communication And Laios will absolutely be Weird About It

Cup of Chilaios soup: Laios: wow Chilchuck why do you smell so breedable (gets crushed by a rock)

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Walks up to Chilchuck and starts sniffing him unprompted so he can deliver a food-critic review of his scent Breedable waits for whenever we actually get ourself to do sex pollen heatfic and can also do cool spec bio stuff but like with reproductive cycles Still rotating the idea of making DM tallmen Weirder. We already know they're taller than IRL humans we need to add like some extra fuckshit in there We've got to do the speculative biology first you see. Make it more fucked up. We've already set it up so they're fairly closely related to orcs we might as well add some fantasy bullshit in there.

Cup of Chilaios soup: Tallmen have slower metabolisms maybe? And they need to at A Lot to support their mass? You are so correct eat A Lot*

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (replying to initial message): wait hold on holy fuck man.

Speculative Vore Cookbook: So far what we have for them as their Thing They're Known for is like. Endurance. Tallmen Specifically are known to be able to walk for hours without growing too tired. Not quite as strong as orcs or ogres, of course, but they're tall enough that they practically eat up ground with every stride, and they just don't stop moving.

Cup of Chilaios soup: passing the braincell around like it's a joint KINGS OF TIRING THEIR PREY OUT

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Orcs and ogres are ofc known for their brutal strength, which is Significantly Less Pronounced in humans - but all that strength burns energy, and they'll tire out far faster. Humans just keep going, far beyond what they really should be capable of.

Cup of Chilaios soup: guys who will climb a fcking mountain and be like ":D wanna walk back to town on foot"

Speculative Vore Cookbook: We think that the Big Thing People Know for elves would be their magic but we think that the magic thing is less about being naturally predisposed to it or whatever and more on the fact that enough of their society circles around it that pretty much any elf you meet's been deliberately raised to cultivate their magic, We think that their actual primary feature, like, physically, would be like. We're basing them on ungulates, right? Elves have long, willowy limbs, especially compared to their bodies. Look very graceful as adults who have had centuries of experience walking around and like wretched ganglebeasts at any point when they haven't gotten the hang of it yet. ABSURDLY fast in a sprint, because those long-ass legs are useful for Something, and that Something is being on runnable stilts. Not much stamina, though. (we are returning to this because we are fond of Marcille and we want her to be, like, Weird but in a way where they pass it off as Normal Elf Weird until the Changeling Thing happens and they have to cope with the fact that actually, elves are way weirder, and Marcille is weird in how close she is to other races as opposed to. Uhh. That Fucking Setup

Speculative Vore Cookbook (replying to Cup of Chilaios soup": "guys who will climb a fcking mountain"): Tallmen will climb a mountain carrying equipment on their back and need like a thirty minute breather tops before they're back up and at it like "okay now time to go down the other side" We think it's fun if it's a thing like the half-foot/dwarf/gnome cluster's enhanced senses, where the Absurd Stamina is part of what their other close relations have going for them, but whereas orcs and ogres have it to a Reasonable degree, Tallmen specialize really hard into doing this One Thing and get it in spades. Much like how half-foots spent all of their stat points in their ridiculously sensitive senses, to the detriment of things like strength and durability, tallmen have stupid amounts of stamina. Don't have to be as strong as your close relatives when you can simply outlast them!

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (replying to Speculative Vore Cookbook "returning to this because we are fond of Marcille): really like learning abt elf weirdness in the context of marcille, specifically as a half elf. really liked how that reveal was handled, since fionil is also a half-elf i didnt notice for a LONG time that she was perhaps different than other elves. i really like that!!! tall-men just have a lot of stamina. basically canon re: how much shit laios carries around. particularly in a good dog RIP they're like. alaskan mal specced. they just keep going and going forever

Speculative Vore Cookbook: We think that her, like, subtly softer features and such get Very Fun especially with the potential familiarity aspect vs what full elves have going on if we go full weird on elves because we fucking love how Absolutely Fucked ungulate anatomy is and it scratches a little itch in the back of our brain to let the Graceful Forest People overlap with, like. You Know The Specific Flavor Of Creepypasta Beast

Oh Kay! (wormlette): ^forever comparing everything to dog breeds

Speculative Vore Cookbook: We casually mention that Falin's wrist bones are shorter than elf wrist bones in Drain Your Well Dry and we really need to elaborate on that some day Marcille is like the shetland pony of elves in that she's got like WAY more just… bulk, compared to an elf that's normally like 98% gangle 2% meat And she's still, like, insanely boney compared to human standards. We like to think she has the build of a greyhound. Insanely long for no reason.

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (quoting Speculative Vore Cookbook "casually mentioned Falin's wrist bones are shorter): I NOTICED!!! I LUV THAT… marcille studying ennervation and everything… it kills me… i always thought of her as so carefree looking in her little spellbook and walking around and now im haunted by like. how much of it was her studying human anatomy for what she feared was inevitable!

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (quoting "like to think she has the build of a greyhound"): oh yeaaaag sighthound build would be GOOD for elves.

Speculative Vore Cookbook: But she still looks… More Similar To Other Races, y'know. You can see the similarities to her and other races and it makes it a tiny bit easier to slowly feel more at ease around her. Elves are weird and you don't see them often, but y'know, you've been around This One Elf long enough to start picking up on stuff, y'know? She's not that different from you, when it comes down to it, and sure she's a bit childish but that's probably normal for longer-lived races who're in the first halves of their lives, honestly. Aging slower and all. You can draw the lines if you pay enough attention, you've spent enough time socializing with other species that you can figure out the basic key, and though there are some things in there that really throw you off, as with any other race, it's not like you're handling an entirely new skull structure like with kobolds, right? It's readable, with enough time. Similar enough to tallmen that you can use your experience there and then fill in the gaps. And then you meet full-blooded elves when the Canaries come knocking and these guys are WAY more offputting than you thought actually. What the fuck is up with them? What the hell?

Cup of Chilaios soup: They have the reflective deer eyes from those horror edits

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Putting elves as a weird isolated branch in the humanoid evolution tree was a galaxy brain decision for us tbh. Their whole Weird Superiority Thing very much gets worse when they're the only people who don't have close relatives they can reference from. The other long-lived races seem to mingle FAR easier than them, and though we know it's The Attitude and such, it's fun to make them just… offputting.

Oh Kay! (wormlette): your miiiind

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (quoting "not like reading an entirely new skull structure like kobolds): btw dont you love the thingie about kobolds having a vocal chord structure that doesnt realy support them speaking common. so no matter how smart they are they seem "animalistic" to humans. i love that a lot it's like. hmm. i really like when it's not body horror by itself but put into a societal context, it BECOMES horrifying. u know? it would be fine. except the dehumanization it leads to

Speculative Vore Cookbook: YESSSS it slaps so hard. We think that there should be more bonus subtle differences with just random other races we think it's SO fun when biology fucks you over just as firmly as society.

Cup of Chilaios soup: SO TRUE KAY Rotating all these thoughts in my mind

Speculative Vore Cookbook: It's not that something is wrong with you. It's that you weren't built for this world the same way that everyone else was.

Cup of Chilaios soup: The parallels,,,,, the themes,,,,, Biting my leg

Speculative Vore Cookbook: Anyways do you think that part of the reason Kabru is so Like That is because he went from normal human body language to a bunch of elves with the same general bauplan but next to no shared body language vocabulary, Do you think he had to like manually learn how elves express social emotions with a race so isolated that they're probably developing whole separate methods of socialization completely divorced from anything the short-lived races even do and then had to relearn how to act like a Human when he went back into the world.

Cup of Chilaios soup: OH MY GOD Also sorry but Idk how far some of the peeps reading the manga are, perhaps it would be nice to spoiler the Kabru thing:0 BUT I AGREE THIS IS SCRATCHING MY BRAIN KABRU MY BELOVED THIS HEADCANON IS SUCH GOOD BRAIN FOOD

Speculative Vore Cookbook: We love making fantasy races like just a little bit more fucked up

Cup of Chilaios soup: As you should!!!!!!!

Speculative Vore Cookbook: TBH it widens the gap between species if they're, like, similar enough that you think you Should be able to interpret the signals they're giving off because they look Just Similar Enough that they should emote and socialize and such like you, right? But the similarity is, as they say, mostly just skin-deep, because it does so much more to widen cultural differences when the cultures also work on different biology. Anyways we think half-foot communities should be really dense in population because they descended from an ancestor with the Meerkat Strategy of having a fuckton of people with very sharp senses all looking out for the same colony in such a way where there's always at least one person awake to raise the alarm and we think it's fun if half-foots are set up for a significantly more tactile & densely-populated community than most other species.

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (quoting Speculative Vore Cookbook "part of the reason Kabru is so Like That): I DO. I DO THINK THAT. DO YOU THINK THAT tallman socialization feels so coarse and simple and easy-to-read by comparison.

Speculative Vore Cookbook: It's cool & fun if Chilchuck has to deliberately avoid almost all forms of touch to avoid being demeaned and seen as Lesser And Childish while also being wired to have like minimum five hours of skin contact with colony members per day tbh. Touch starve that man in ways that are difficult to understand for his party that he will actively have to muffle if he wants to be taken Seriously because most other races see it as Childish to cling

Speculative Vore Cookbook (quoting Oh Kay "I DO THINK THAT"): YES and we think it's very fun if him having to manually relearn tallman socialization also makes it so he finds it easier to interpret other races because he already has to like work out what Everyone's thinking from a pre-prepped body language dictionary and it's just so much easier to interpret when he doesn't have to re-invent the wheel every time

Oh Kay! (wormlette) (quoting Speculative Vore Cookbook "childish to cling": @_@ im so FUCKING normal

Speculative Vore Cookbook: :333 The changeling chapter constantly lives rent-free in our brain we think it's fun if like anyone who gets half-footed starts experiencing the intense skin hunger cravings like less than an hour in and have no idea what the Fuck it is because they've never lived in a body made to be that Social before and Chilchuck has to like take over to offer a bit of touch even if it's undignified since. Y'know. He knows how it feels. No reason to subject them to that, even if it's gonna cost a bit of dignity. It'll cost them more dignity if they start freaking out over it. It's efficient :333 Dealing with senses cranked up so high that you can tell when someone's moving around clear on the other side of the building probably makes it a whole lot harder to handle even More stimuli in a normal and dignified manner Something something we're grabbing a cool post we made

#we speak #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #chilaios #admittedly little of it. we go fully into the madness here #fantasy biology #changelings #marcille donato #kabru of utaya #chilchuck tims #headcanons #speculative biology #also like. one mention of heat in here but not enough to merit a tag

[diagonal-queen]

That Place

♡ pairing: Dazai Osamu x gn!Reader

♡ synopsis: Dazai decides to introduce you to his old friend, except he's not what you thought he'd be.

♡ wc: 1.5k

♡ cw: Death (I hate to remind everyone that Oda is very deceased), Dazai talks about the mafia and suicide, mentions of alcohol.

note: You guys wanted this 😐 (dw I'm not mad or anything lol, I was just worried when I saw that the angst option won because I suck at writing angst sksjksksskjh) Apologies for errors.

Dazai hadn't said a single word for a few minutes and you were extremely worried about that.

He was taking you to meet an 'old friend' of his, or at least that's what he claimed. You weren't going to any usual places where one might visit a friend, like a cafe or a mall, but instead you were traipsing a small hill near the port. You were fully aware that Dazai was an unorthodox individual, and that his friends possibly were too, but you still had a twinge of apprehension in your stomach.

"Osamu...?" You finally asked, wanting to satiate your curiosity. "Why're we meeting him all the way out here?" Dazai gripped your hand a little tighter, and when you reached the top of the hill he finally spoke.

"He's here, already."

You took one of his arms and held it, almost nervously.

"He's here?" You repeated, confused. There was a tree, a gravestone, some flowers, but not much else. You noticed that the grass was rather soft, for what that was worth. Dazai stared at the headstone.

"Odasaku..." he began, then gestured towards you. "This is Y/N."

"Oh, you were talking about..." The grave. That was what he was talking about. You turned to him in surprise, but he didn't meet your gaze. The usual jovial and carefree gleam in his eyes was entirely absent. It was truly unnerving to see.

"I don't usually talk to him, but I figured an introduction was appropriate," Dazai shrugged, his face expressionless. The grave read S. ODA, who had apparently died at the age of twenty three. You'd never heard of such a man before, but you could only assume that by Dazai's reaction he must have been quite important.

"You said...Odasaku?" You asked, and Dazai drew a slow breath.

"Ah, that's just a nickname I gave him," he explained, quietly. "His name was Oda Sakunosuke."

"Right. How did you know him?"

"...we were both with the Port Mafia at the time," he bit his lip, and for a moment you reconsidered asking a single other question. Dazai hadn't revealed much to you at all about his time as a mafia executive, and eventually you gave up asking any questions. He really only ever griped about his ex-partner.

Dazai had always been, and was still, very much a wild card of a man. He was rather unpredictable, but you'd gotten much better at reading him over time, and you could tell that this Oda Sakunosuke was a rather valuable figure in Dazai's life. It was written plain as day on his face. You wondered then, if that was the case, why you'd never known of his existence before today.

"I see..." you replied so softly it was essentially a whisper.

"He was a little weird, though. He never killed anyone, despite being in the mafia, and he always had his curry really spicy. It was like putting solid fire in your mouth. I tried it once and I think I almost died."

"Some people just have a taste for spicy food, I suppose." You felt a little awkward. Often it was so easy to make conversation with Dazai, which was one of his many traits that drew you in so quickly. However, now you had no idea what to say or how to comfort him, though that was all you wanted to do. Admittedly, though, this revelation about Oda was rather sudden.

"You remember that bar I took you to last weekend? I told you that it was important to me?" You nodded, recalling the location. You remembered how time seemed to slow down while you were sitting in the mostly deserted bar with Dazai, noting the faint scent of smoke and how Dazai was so much more quiet that day. "Odasaku and I used to spend our time there outside of work. Us and Ango, too."

"Ango?" You questioned. You didn't know the agent too well, but you wouldn't have guessed that he and Dazai shared much of a history.

"Yeah. The three of us were friends, before Odasaku died."

"...don't take this the wrong way, but I can't really see you and Ango being friends." You turned to face him. "He's very...stern, and you're not."

"Things have changed since then." That brief statement told you all you needed to know. You sighed, and gave his arm a squeeze. The breeze picked up slightly, the leaves of a nearby tree disturbing your shared silence with their rustling. Dazai's beige coat fluttered in the wind.

"Odasaku is actually the reason I turned to the Agency," Dazai suddenly shrugged, the usual playful inflection somewhat returning to his words. "When he died, I made a promise to him, and that's how I've kept it."

You knew he was being intentionally vague, but whether it was because he'd rather not elaborate or because he thought you wouldn't understand, you weren't sure.

"You were with him when he died?"

"He was killed by the leader of an opposing organisation." Dazai bitterly answered. "And I found him right before he died. He asked me to...he told me to make a promise and I don't want to break it."

"...I know this is kind of a dumb truism, but I think he's proud of you, Osamu," you said, leaning your head onto his shoulder. "I think that he'd be glad to see that you've kept the promise- whatever it is, I mean."

"Mm," Dazai nodded once, slowly. You weren't certain that he'd absorbed the words as you'd intended.

"I'd have liked to meet him. Do you think we'd have gotten along?"

"...yeah, I think...I think he'd have liked you." For the first time since arriving at Oda's grave, Dazai smiled. It was a small, sombre smile, but it was vastly better than his empty expression from moments ago. "In some ways, you remind me of him."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, for one, he was never so enthusiastic about my interest in suicide." Dazai said this like it was a tedious inconvenience, but in his eyes it honestly probably was.

"He sounds like a sensible person," you told Dazai.

"He was pretty sensible, actually. He adopted some kids who were orphaned as a result of the Dragon Head Conflict."

"...the what?"

"You might not have been in Yokohama at the time- I'll explain it all later. Anyway, it was pretty gruesome, and a lot of people were slaughtered. Odasaku saved some of the children who were victims and helped raise them."

"That's so sweet. How are they now?" You asked.

A moment of silence passed.

"They were all killed, not long before Odasaku was."

You wondered if Dazai's past could possibly get any more tragic, before dismissing the thought. Absolutely, it could. Meeting Oda Sakunosuke was likely barely scratching the surface, but you felt that you were ready to learn everything about Dazai's story: even the more unpleasant aspects.

"That's awful...children being wrapped up in all this? That's sickening." You heaved, voice almost cracking. "I can't believe that you- and he...I'm sorry, Osamu. I wish I could have been there for you."

"...when he died, I think I was kind of mad at him, because at the time I felt like he was leaving me behind. I'm still here because of him, though, and for a long time it felt...almost pointless. Nobody was ever as important to me as he was until..." Dazai stopped himself, before drawing a silent breath. "Until I met you."

Something shifted within you, and you felt tears burn the lines of your eyes.

"Without Odasaku, I might not have met you. And I'd hate to think about how my life would be if that were the case." Dazai wrapped his arm around you and pulled you close, kissing the crown of your head. "I don't want to lose you, too."

You cast your misty eyes to the headstone, feeling almost as if it were staring right back at you. You gripped Dazai's coat as you hugged his torso.

"I don't wanna lose you either," you said, finally letting your tears spill down your face. The breeze whistled in your ear. "I don't know how I'd...I couldn't do it. Please, don't leave..."

"Of course I won't," he responded softly. "I'll always be there for you, my love."

Dazai eyed the name carved into the headstone once more as you quietly sobbed into his chest. His jaw tensed as his other arm enveloped your waist, pressing your smaller body to his. It almost felt to him as if he weren't just promising his love to you, but to Oda as well. He would do for you now what he couldn't do for him then, and this time he'd do anything to guarantee it.

i deadass can't remember if Oda's grave is atop a hill near the sea 💀 sorry if that's inaccurate. uhh just pretend for my sake pls. also i don't mean to make it seem like it was Dazai's fault Oda died? i just think in Dazai's mind that's probably how he feels to an extent. idk love you bye x

#bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs x reader #bsd dazai #dazai osamu #dazai x reader #bsd angst #bsd oda #oda sakunosuke #x reader #bsd fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic

[rayshippouuchiha]

... Chisaki Kai unironically pays for quirkless feet pics. None of the precepts bring it up and the rest of the yakuza grunts never know. (Precepts think its weird but also don't wanna die)

Oh my GODS what if

Izuku somehow looses his shoes during the raid and like, Chisaki SEES and looses his shit because holy fuck this guy should be quirkless. Everyone questions how he could recognize on sight (could lead to Izuku having to pay for medical supplies during middle school and You Know What fuck yea hes going to monitize his quriklessness, or just, Chisaki has mad attention to detail)

By the gods, you asked and now we shall all receive:

For all of the different, and often times horrifying, ways Izuku has imagined his side job finally being discovered, he can honestly say this scenario wasn't the one he saw sitting at the top of the charts.

Here, of course, being in the middle of the street, mid-villain fight.

Or if he's being more accurate about the parts that are really sticking out to him: mid-villain fight in front of his homeroom teacher, a half dozen of his classmates, numerous other pro heroes and police officers, and the little girl strapped to his back.

Izuku had always kind of imagined he'd forget to close his laptop or his mom would walk in on him setting up a shoot one day despite him being meticulous about making sure she's out of the house and well away before he ever even thinks about pulling out his gear.

He'd only ever briefly entertained, admittedly nonsensical and wildly sleep-deprived, thoughts about this particular scenario happening.

And yet, here he is.

Izuku's honestly not sure how, exactly, he'd managed to lose his shoes in the battle. Hell, up until roughly ten seconds ago he hadn't really even noticed all that much or been all that inclined to care.

All he'd been focused on was protecting Eri and kicking Overhaul into the next calendar year. Most everything else, including his lost shoes and destroyed socks, hadn't seemed anywhere near as urgent as those two issues.

But he's absolutely noticing and caring now.

Izuku is absolutely going to hunt down whichever one of his ancestors it was who pissed off a luck kami or caused someone to curse their entire family line to "live in interesting times" and set their gravestone on fire.

Because divine retribution or an ancient curse has to be the reason why he's in this position.

"It is you, isn't it, Yamikumo?" Overhaul rasps in his direction, expression twisted in what looks a lot like some horrible form of almost starstruck confusion.

"Aa-hh," Izuku sputters out a broken sound, mind still not fully willing to accept what Overhaul saying that name to him has to mean.

"It has to be," Overhaul keeps on, eyes fever bright. "You're even wearing the white polish I sent you."

That statement's enough to snap Izuku's mind back into focus. Because that means ,,,

"Mr. Clean!?" Izuku squawks out the username of one of his best and most loyal customers.

And, much to his ever-mounting horror, Overhauls' face practically lights up.

"Yes!" The villain practically crows despite the fact that Izuku still has him pinned to the ground, with one bare heel digging into his collar bone.

But then, Izuku can't help but think just a bit hysterically, given all that's just been revealed, he's probably enjoying that part of this entire situation.

"I'd recognize those beautiful toes of yours anywhere," Overhaul keeps going, one clearly broken and disfigured hand coming up to pet the top of Izuku's foot gently. "But how? I don't understand, Yamikumo. You're supposed to be quir-"

Izuku knows exactly what Overhaul is about to announce so he does the only rational thing he can do in this situation.

He shifts his weight and brings his other bare foot down heel first against Overhaul's temple.

The villain collapses the rest of the way onto the rubble beneath him, finally, blessedly, unconscious.

"Problem Child," Aizawa-sensei's voice from so close behind him, and not to mention the obvious confusion in it, sends a shaft of pure dread straight down Izuku's spine. "What the actual fuck?"

By this point, Izuku thinks as the edges of his vision begin to blacken, passing out is basically self-defense.

#The Toes Show #BnHA #MHA #RayRambles #Drabble #BnHA Drabble

[certifiablyinsanez]

I’ll come out and say it. I preferred season 2 of GO over season 1 and here’s why:

For starters, season 1 was great. Of course, it was our introduction to this marvelous story and world. But here’s my problems with it:

Too many characters, most of whom I don’t care about.

Anyone who says they don’t watch for Crowley and Aziraphale would be liars. We all love them and absolutely crave content surrounding them and their admittedly perfect love story. So with all the characters fit into season 1, several of which I couldn’t stand, it’s somewhat difficult for me to get through without constantly rolling my eyes. My problems with the characters stem as such:

The relationship between Anathema and Newt. Anathema is a strong, smart woman and Newt is honestly an absolute loser. To me he’s got the personality of a wet noodle and his biggest character trait is ‘make computer explode’. It’s like if Seamus from Harry Potter was given a role past his station in the story. They know each other for all of an hour and they end up kissing and having sex which to me is just weird and out of place. I’m fully convinced that wouldn’t have ever happened if Agnes hadn’t mentioned it. And even though I like Anathema, her purpose in the story feels a little…meh. Like sure she and the human computer virus stop nuclear Armageddon but like…I feel like Adam could’ve just been like “stop” and it would’ve had the same result.

Shadwell and Madame Tracey. Again, what do they even do other than provide comic relief and give Aziraphale a body to possess? Also, how is it that Crowley and Aziraphale have the best love story I’ve ever seen and yet in the same story there’s a ‘couple’ where the man, for years and years screams at you, calling you names and treating you like dirt and you….like it? Like, it feels like something an incel would think of as a cute relationship.

The Them. Honestly I can’t be too mad over this, they played annoying little 11 year olds very well, but like, they were irritating. Like Pepper, supposedly a feminist but then says pick-me stuff like “tHeY bOuGHt mE A giRLs BiKe”. Also says that if she were an alien she “wouldn’t bring messages of peace and harmony” but bring violence instead and then later against war says “I believe in peace”, like??? Brian was just so bland he doesn’t even deserve mentioning. Wensleydale? I dunno, the line “I believe in food, and a healthy lunch” like fuck you mean you believe in food???? He could’ve said something like “I believe that all people deserve food” or something that, idk, actually made sense? And then there’s Adam and I’m sorry but the ENTIRE BUILD UP OF THE SEASON ENDING WITH “you’re not my dad”…really? He makes it seem like he loves his dad but Mr. Swindon Ambassador is a total TWAT. That whole bit was just anticlimactic to me.

Overall I feel like a ton of screen time on these characters just don’t do it for me. Season 2 on the other hand? Completely eliminates non essential characters. I’ve heard people complain about “lack of depth” in the new season and honestly, idk if they were just on the toilet or watching their phone for the whole season or what but here’s what I LOVE about season 2 that missed the mark in season 1.

The characters were just *chefs kiss*. They bring back Gabriel, an absolutely abysmal character from the last season and somehow make us love him. They introduce Muriel, who is just a peach! People seem mad over the fact that their character is just “cheerful ditz” and I will FIGHT YOU FOR THEIR HONOR. Their character is so much more than that for a start, and it’s very clear that their presence is important for the story. They took Beezlebub who had no depth in the previous season (negative depth actually), and gave them purpose and a role. If anything Nina and Maggie aren’t really my faves but at least they were more human in representation than season 1 relationships. But my favorite bit?

None of the characters on screen felt like wasted time.

Not once didn’t I roll my eyes or wish they’d get to the good bit. I enjoyed watching all these characters interact towards the greater story. But even better? We were fed with aziracrow content. An absolute feast! And I can’t believe y’all are complaining. I could genuinely just watch an entire series of their antics over the millennia I love them so much, so for people to say it was slow, boring and lacked depth is borderline offensive.

For a transitional piece, it was masterful.

#good omens #aziracrow #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #good omens 2 #aziraphale x crowley #crowly x aziraphale #haters

[jokatsuya]

The day off

Sherlock x reader / Sherlock x Gn!reader

Wordcount: 1233

Warnings: none

Summary: Will (y/n) and Sherlock ever have the chance to enjoy a relaxing day with each other without being disturbed? Maybe. But not today.

A/n: The idea alone makes me grin like crazy. So have fun reading. Yours JoKatsuya

>>What time is it?<<, the quietly getting through words of the man below me tear me out of my thoughts. I must have drifted off a while ago. Still dreamy, I stretch as far as my current position in the tub will allow me and I can't hold back a satisfied sound.

>>Why?<<, I mumble softly, sliding deeper into the water again and positioning my back properly against his chest. Heavens, this is comfortable. I could stay like this forever.

>>Didn't you hear John? He announced himself so loudly, now probably all of Baker Street know he's there.<<, he asks as he pushes me forward a tiny bit to reach for his watch on the small side table. Don't move Sherlock.

Sleepily, I open one eye and turn my head to face him as best I can: >>Obviously not.<<

>>Sherlock?<<, I now hear John's voice as well and look towards the door, startled, my eyes now fully open.

>>God help you if the door is not locked.<<, I warn him now completely in my senses. Just the idea that John could see us like this... I don't even want to think about it any further.

>>Don't worry.<<, Sherlock replies with a calm hand gesture, making the mistake of looking me in the eye. That miserable liar. Now John's footsteps can be heard, slowly but surely approaching.

Looking at Sherlock in warning, I almost jump out of the tub and go to the closet to take out one of the bath towels. Hissing, I tell him to get out of the tub as well and to take care of the matter with the door.

At least putting on his pants, Sherlock finally stumbles to the door, slamming his elbow against something in the process. A hiss escapes from him. An admittedly very amusing sight, which is only made more amusing by the situation we find ourselves in.

I can't help giggling, which is why I hold a hand in front of my mouth, caught off guard. John shouldn't hear directly that we were here. At least not until I could at least cover my body properly. But that can't really do much after Sherlock's hiss. This reminds me of one of those cheesy romance movies. Apart from the fact, of course, that we'll probably be caught by John, the man who is shipped by a great many Sherlock Holmes fans with my boyfriend. Admittedly ironic.

>>What?<<, I ask innocently with a shrug, justifying the laughter before turning my attention back to the small cabinet in front of me.

My reaction ensures that I get one of those usual looks from him. That wrinkling of the eyebrows, the pursed lips, the questioning look with the touch of a grin. He knows perfectly well that I couldn't stay mad at him for long with that look. Yup, he's got me wrapped around his finger, but he's not getting off that easy now.

>>Sherlock, are you in the bathroom? We need to talk.<<

>>Do we have to John?<<, I hear Sherlock after a little clearing of his throat to continue in an old familiar tone of voice.

>>Yes. That's why we agreed to meet today?<<, John chimes in slightly irritated now just outside the door. At the same time you can hear his hand reaching the door handle. My pulse begins to race.

When I don't find any of the towels I'm looking for, I look at Sherlock in panic and whisper as quietly as possible: >>You should put the washed towels away again!<< At the same moment, a loud click pervades the room and I breathe a sigh of relief. With my lips I form a thank you in the direction of Sherlock.

>>Sherlock? What are you doing?<<, John gets upset on the other side of the door, trying to open it with a shake, but in vain.

>>Were we supposed to meet? I don't remember at all.<<, Sherlock returns, playfully unknowing, and leans against the door.

>>Yes, Sherlock.<<, John answers, trying to keep his tone calm. Wait, he had an appointment for today? I had written him ages ago in any calendar that I have today off, whereupon he meant to keep himself also completely free. With a raised eyebrow, I give Sherlock a wary glance. His seemingly innocent look around and avoidance of my gaze tells me exactly that he is only too well aware of his guilt.

>>Now open the door and come out.<<, another rattle. Sherlock's hand slides slowly to the knob, pausing briefly as he looks to me. Without taking my eyes from his, I slowly shake my head. He better not open that door. Why would he open it anyway? But what goes on in Sherlock Holmes' head stays in it far too often.

Suddenly Sherlock turns to the laundry basket and in the next instant takes out a completely rumpled shirt and throws it to me. And so another click sounds. He's in for a treat when this is behind us. Then he turns back to the door, which opens not even a second later.

In the corner of my eye, I notice Sherlock spread out and put a foot behind the door so John couldn't really see much. After today, Sherlock will never again undress me in a place we don't stay. Okay, that sounds weird, but the point of the statement is clear. Eager to proceed as quietly as possible, I pull the shirt apart. But who would have thought it? A corresponding noise is unavoidable. I freeze.

>>What was that?<<, John suddenly wants to know. Oh crap.

>>Nothing.<<, Sherlock replies as if shot out of a pistol and tries to push the door shut in John's face. Who would have thought that opening it would not be such a good idea? I roll my eyes.

>>Nothing? Let me in.<<, John states emphatically, placing his foot between the door frame and the closing door.

>>I'm naked.<<, the first thing that seems to have popped into Sherlock's head shoots out of the latter's mouth.

>>You have pants on, so let...<<

>>(Y/n) is naked.<<, it now escapes the curly-headed man's mouth, causing an uncomfortable pause on all sides. He didn't say that. In moments like these, I could really wring his neck.

>>(Y/n)? What does (y/... Naked?<<, the doctor tries to process the words he just heard. Rushing, I button up the crimson shirt and try to fix my still wet hair according to the circumstances. Take a deep breath (y/n), it's going to be okay.

>>Not anymore.<<, I awkwardly acknowledge and tiptoe past Sherlock and John toward the bedroom.

>>Hi, John.<<, I greet him quickly as I walk past him and look into his eyes for a brief moment. He had confusion written all over his face.

>>Hi...<<, he stutters to himself and makes room for me, his gaze suddenly on everything but me.

Putting my hands on my hips, I take a deep breath and lean my head against the cool wall as I close the door behind me. The thing was so absurd that I can't suppress a muffled laugh.

>>So...you two...?<<, I hear John ask as the men move toward the living room.

>>You wanted to talk about something else, right? Tea?<<, Sherlock tries to steer him away from the subject. This is going to be a long conversation with John when I get out.

If you want to be tagged, just write me at what.

Strictly do not: copy, claim or translate those stories of mine anywhere else  

#Sherlock #Sherlock holmes #sherlock x reader #sherlock bbc #sherlock x y/n #sherlock x you #sherlock fic #sherlock fanfiction #benedict cumberbatch #Benedict Cumberbatch x y/n #Benedict Cumberbatch x you #Benedict Cumberbatch x reader #john watson #bbc #dr john watson #martin freeman #dr watson

[gretavangroupie]

Wilt (Chapter 4)

Chapter 3

Wilt Playlist

A/N: This chapter will not be for everyone, there are some very triggering events. PLEASE read the warning.

THIS FIC RELIES HEAVILY ON THE PLAYLIST LINKED ABOVE. TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE STORY YOU MUST PLAY THE SONGS WHEN YOU SEE THE LYRICS.

WARNINGS: Angst, Smut, Sexual Assault, Drugs, Alcohol 18+ as always.

In complete shock at the thoughtfulness and care that Jake put into this gift you find yourself in tears. You immediately pull out your phone, finding his contact and hitting the call button. 

“Hello my darlin…” He answers.

“Jake, I cannot believe you!” You reply.

“Ahh I just got the email that you signed for it, I was wondering when you’d call…Do you like it?” He asks.

“Jake, thank you so much, I love it. It’s gorgeous and I can’t believe you did this. It must have cost a fortune!” You reply.

“Worth every dime, I’m so glad you love it. Merry Christmas, my girl.” He says lovingly.

“Thank you Jake, really.” You say adamantly.

“You’re welcome sugar and now we have something new to work on together.” He replies.

“You even put the tabs in for the song.” You say.

“Well yeah, of course.” He says.

“It’s so thoughtful Jake. Now I can’t wait to give you your gift.” You say cheerfully.

“Ah, baby I just can’t wait to see you.” He replies.

“Jake it’s been like one day!” You laugh.

“Has it? Only 3 days left then.” He says.

“Well, I’m not going to keep you, I just wanted to call you and say thank you.” You say.

“What? You don’t want to talk to me? I see how it is darlin…” he says playfully.

“No, of course I want to talk to you, but you should go hang out with your family babe.” you reply.

“I guess you’re right, but text me okay?” He asks.

“Of course.” You reply.

“Later my girl.” He says.

“Bye Jake.” you hang up.

You pick up the guitar and sling the strap over your head trying it on. It’s really a perfect fit. He couldn’t have picked a better style for you. Of course he would know. You take it off and lean it up against the wall. You honestly cannot believe that he bought this for you. Snuggling back into your couch and your comfy blanket you finish the rest of ‘White Christmas’, almost feeling a little sentimental and emotional. You pull out your phone and send a quick text to Jake.

You: I love it so much. Thank you.

You hit send and he replies instantly.

Jake: You’re welcome. Can’t wait to watch you play it. It will be a little bit of an adjustment, but you’ll do fine.

You: I do have a great teacher…

Jake: Yeah, he is missing you pretty bad. I am in this twin size bed wishing it was mine. It is freezing in this house and it’s snowing like a bitch up here. 

You: Oh, yeah your bed is pretty comfy. Hmmm, might wander over there…

Jake: I mean… I wouldn’t be mad.

You: I’m just kidding Jake, I told you it’s not the same without you there. Remember that first night I spent with you? It was snowing and you lost power…just channel those warm thoughts. 

Jake: Oh yeah, I remember. God I wanted you so bad. I laid on the floor in Josh’s room just picturing you sleeping in my bed, in my clothes. It’s a wonder I didn’t bust down the door and take you then. 

You: You could have you know…

Jake: I like the way things turned out instead.

You: Me too. Night Jake.

Jake: Goodnight sugar.

The next few days passed by quickly, wishing you could visit with your family a little bit longer, but also wanting to get home. You missed Jake more than you admittedly should, and you wanted to give him his gift. You were both slated to fly home today and hopefully you’d get to see each other tonight. You were anxious on the plane, your knees bouncing the entire way, thankfully it was a short flight. 

A few hours later you arrived home, struggling to wheel your extremely heavy suitcase over the threshold of the front door. After you unpacked your clothes and started laundry you sat down on your bed, picking up your guitar that you’d been without for the past four days. You catch a glimpse of the electric and smile thinking of Jake. You practice a few songs, and you’re maybe a little bit rusty but over all it still sounds pretty good. Your phone rings on your bed.

“Hello?” You answer.

“My girl. Are you home yet?” He asks.

“I am, I got back about an hour ago. Are you?” You ask.

“Yep, we just landed, I’m waiting for my bags now. Do you…” he trails off.

“Mmmhm, I’m listening…” you reply playfully.

“You gonna make me beg you to come over?” He asks.

“Yeah, I think I am…” you reply.

“How’s this. Baby, my girl, please please will you come sleep in my bed tonight?” He begs.

“Mmm, I kinda liked that. I guess I could…” you reply.

“Bring your new guitar? We’ll plug it into my amp and see how she sounds.” He says.

“Alright, I’d like that. I’ll leave here soon.” You say.

“Sounds good darlin, can’t wait to see you.” He replies

“Me too, Jake.” You end the call.

After getting freshened up, you pack a small bag, grab Jake’s gift, and your new guitar and head out the door to place your things in your car. You drive over and pull into the driveway behind his car, making sure to have your guitar case in your hands, definitely not leaving it in the car this time. 

You walk to the front door and knock waiting for one of the two of them to answer. Josh answers and motions for you to come in. 

“Hey! Glad to see you, hope you had a Merry Christmas!” He says. “Jake is in the shower, but you can head in there I’m fairly positive he won’t mind.”

“Hi Josh, I did have a Merry Christmas and I hope you did too! I will go scare him.” You say laughing walking down the hallway.

You quietly open the door to his room and put your stuff down hearing the water running in the shower from the cracked door.

You slide your shoes off and lay down on the comfy bed and cross your legs, relaxing into the pillows.

A few minutes later Jake emerges from the bathroom, a huge smile crossing his face when he sees you laying there. He immediately changes his course coming straight for you. He kneels on the side of the bed next to your hips caging you in with his arms, leaning down and kissing you sweetly on the lips. 

“Miss me, beautiful?” He asks.

You reach your hands up to his neck, fingers tangling into his wet hair, and pull him in for another kiss, “Did you miss me?” You ask playfully pulling him to lay on top of you, in just his damp towel.

“You tell me…” he says referring to the growing hardness now pressed to your stomach.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” You say kissing him again. “Get dressed, I want to play with my new guitar.”

“When I thought you couldn’t be anymore perfect…” he says standing up walking into his closet, reemerging clothed in sweatpants and a severely weathered t-shirt that is so threadbare its practically see through. You wonder if you’ll ever grow tired of seeing him like this, fresh out of the shower, wet hair, skin soft from the warm water.

“Lets go darlin…” he says opening the bedroom door. You jump up and follow him, guitar case in his hand. He stops and knocks on Josh’s door. 

“We are gonna test run this guitar dude, come check it out. Thing is sweet.” He calls to him through the closed door.

You follow him into the music room and sit in the chair. He lays the case down on the floor, kneeling in front of it, unlocking it and opening it up. “Sure is pretty. At least I thought so.” He says.

“No, Jake I love it, it’s beautiful!” You chime in.

Josh walks in a minute later. “Niiiiiice, love the color choice.” He says.

“Right?” Jake answers.

He lifts it out of the case and hands it to you while he grabs the cords off the top of his amp switching them on.

“May I?” He asks grabbing for the guitar to plug it in.

“You may…” you reply cheekily.

“Always run your cord through the bottom of the strap, that way you won’t rip it out of the pickup when you’re playing, okay? First rule.” He says smiling. “Here you go.” He says handing it back to you.

“You play it first, show me what it sounds like?” You ask.

“Alright, what would you like to hear?” He ask.

“Hmm, I am not sure, Josh any ideas?” You ask. 

“Yeah, just play the solo for Built By” he replies, Jake nodding in agreement.

He spins the knob on the bottom of the guitar raising his eyebrows looking at you with a pick hanging from his teeth before plucking it out. Suddenly the whole house is filled with the sound of the guitar and Jake’s skilled fingers stroking the strings. Josh smiles leaning against the doorway, admiring his brothers skill before walking down the hallway. He finishes the lick and turns the knob down.

“Wow, so that sounded amazing? I don’t think it will sound like that when I play it…” you laugh.

“In time darlin, I’ve been doing this for a long time. Strings are a little thicker on this than your acoustic, but they are easier to compress. It’s different, but you’ll see.” He finishes, throwing the strap over his head and passing the guitar to you.

You put it over your head and rest it comfortably on your legs.

“Alright, lets hear a G.” He says. 

You play but no sound comes out of the amp. Jake reaches over and spins the knob on the guitar.

“Gotta check your settings, baby. Every time. Try now.” He says smoothly, looking in your eyes.

You nod your head and try again, the sound ringing through and a smile crossing your face. 

“Ah, I remember that feeling.” He says reminiscing. “Play something you’re comfortable with. It’s gonna sound different with this.”

You play the first song he ever taught you since you’ve known it the longest and practiced it the most.

The song rings out and sounds so much better on the electric. “Wow, that sounds better…” you laugh. “Will you please tell me the name of the song, or the words?” You ask.

“It’s called Mountain of the Sun…” he replies.

“Will you sing it to me?” You ask.

“No…that is a Josh only song…” He laughs, “but you should listen to it, it’s a good one.”

“I will.” You smile.

“How much longer?” You ask.

“Until what?” He replies confused.

“Until you take me to bed so I can show you how thankful I am for this amazing gift.” You reply devilishly.

His eyebrows raise, “Well, I think we are done here…” he says turning the knobs on the guitar and unplugging from the pick up. He takes the guitar from you and sets it on an empty stand. You stand up and grab his face pulling him in for a kiss, an urgent passionate toe curling kiss. He wraps his arms around your waist, slightly picking you up off the ground as his lips are connected with yours. Suddenly he is squatting to the ground, leaving you standing as he leans forward and bends you over his shoulder, standing up with you thrown over his shoulder. 

“Jake! Put me down!” You yell with your arms dangling down his back.

He smacks your ass as he walks through the door and shuts it wit his foot. He continues down the hallway as you lock eyes with Josh in the living room, him laughing and shaking his head. 

You enter the doorway of Jake’s bedroom and he shuts the door behind him before throwing you onto his bed into the blankets.

“Now, what were you saying?” He asks crawling over you his lips hovering over yours.

“Well, I was saying that I wanted to show you how much I love my present.” You reply into his mouth.

“And how exactly are you gonna do that sugar?” He asks beginning to kiss your neck making his way down to your collarbone.

“I have a few ideas…” you say, a deep exhale leaving you as you feel his lips grazing over your nipple.

“Tell me, I want to hear you say it.” He says gently biting your nipple before moving to the other.

“Well, first I thought about maybe taking you in my mouth and letting you fuck me there until you came…I also was thinking about you having your way with me in the shower. But after earlier, I think I finally settled on you tying me up with pickup cord and fucking me from behind.” You whisper into his ear.

“You dirty girl… you want me to tie you up baby?” He asks.

“Only if you want to…” you reply.

“Trust me darlin, I do. I’ll be right back.” He says getting up and walking out the door.

You take this opportunity to take your shirt and jeans off revealing your navy blue lace matching set that you intentionally wore tonight. As Jake walks back into the room and sees you laying there you are met with a groan and him running his hands up your legs.

“You are a walking wet dream, my girl.” He says kissing the apex of your thighs. “Now give me your hands.”

You lift your hands to him and he takes the thick black cord and begins to gently wrap your wrists, careful to make sure its not too tight. He weaves the end of the cords together and tucks it through the loops testing to see if his knot will hold. 

“How did you learn to tie knots like that?” You ask.

“I have a book of mariners knots. I’m in to that kind of stuff.” He says bringing your hands to his lips placing a soft kiss before lowering them. “If this gets to be too much you just tell me, and I’ll untie it.” He says with a genuine look and you nod your head. 

His hands move to run over the outside of your panties, “You look so beautiful all tied up, just for me, and you love it don’t you? Your panties are soaked through baby.”

He slides his fingers under the hem collecting the wetness on his fingers before sliding the fabric down off of your legs. He pushes your hands to rest over your head and makes his way back down to your center licking warm stripes across your groin as you squirm underneath him. 

“Don’t move darlin.” He says looking up at you under his lashes, his brown eyes dark with lust.

He spreads your legs open and connects his lips to your center. His tongue licks long flat paths at your core. His hands grip your thighs as he pulls you down and closer into his mouth. Kissing your opening his tongue begins to swirl at your clit and you moan in desperation for more. You reach down and grab his hair, his hand grabbing your wrist throwing them back over your head. “Keep em’ there baby. Or I’ll tie them to the headboard.”

He continues his assault on your core and you feel two fingers enter you and begin pounding into the very sensitive spot inside. 

“Jake please…” you beg. “I’m gonna cum.”

“Cum in my mouth sweetheart, wanna taste all of you.” He replies sloppily.

As his fingers continue to plunge in and out, you begin to tighten around them and he looks up at you through his lashes again. 

“Cum baby.” He demands.

You are sent spiraling through your orgasm and return when you feel his lips leave you.

“You are so gorgeous. I will never get tired of that.” He says rubbing his hand across his face. He pulls his shirt over his sweaty body and kicks off his sweatpants. He unties your hands rubbing the skin on your wrists. He kneels over you and grabs your legs twisting your body until you are laying flat on your stomach. He steps down off the bed and pulls your hips with him to where you are leaning over the bed. He grabs your hands and pulls them behind you, retying them with the guitar cord and resting them on your back. You turn your head to the side and glance at him behind you. 

“You ready sugar?” He asks lining himself up with your center.

“Always.” You reply.

He pushes inside of you and you both groan at the connection. He holds himself still while you adjust to him, nodding your head that he can continue. His hands are on your hips guiding you back to meet each thrust, propelling him directly into your g spot with each thrust. 

As he pounds deep into you he says, “So darlin, what is it that you wanted to tell me?” 

With each thrust the words pour out of you, “I wanted to…say thank….you for my….present…”

“Tell me how much you love it sugar, I picked it out just for you. Took me hours to find the right one…” he says, his sweaty torso sticking to your ass with every thrust causing a loud smack.

“Jake…. It’s perfect…you did so good… you always… do… so good.” you manage. “Jake, I’m gonna cum…”

“You look so god damn hot tied up with my cord, fuck…” he says reaching around placing his hand in your hair pulling your head back as you reach your climax.

“Oh god, Jake….” You cry out, as he also reaches his orgasm inside of you with a deep groan. 

He unties your hands and gently rubs your wrists and hands as he pulls out. Standing up and spinning around you throw your arms around his neck and kiss him, both of you desperate for each others mouths. He is sweaty and panting. The hair at the nape of his neck is damp and slightly curling from the moisture. He is divine. 

You pull away slightly, whispering into his mouth “thank you…” him staring into your eyes he replies, “Anything.”

After a shower, you both are relaxing on his bed. You have stolen his sweatshirt again and pajama pants, he is in a pair of sweatpants. “Are you ready for your gift?” You ask.

“Was that not it?!” He asks laughing. 

“No!” You say jumping up and digging through your bag. You pull out a small box wrapped in brown paper with a red string bow. Nervously you hand him the box.

“Go ahead!” you say smiling.

He carefully opens the paper and takes the lid off the little box. Tucked inside is a silver St. Croix Hook bracelet with a tiny notecard explaining the meaning. 

“It is said that if the bracelet is worn with the hook opening pointing towards your heart, it means that your heart is taken.” 

“I saw it and I thought of you.” You say shyly. “I hope you like it.”

“It’s…” he says shaking his head smiling, “I love it, a perfect gift from my perfect girl.” 

Putting on the bracelet, you hook it for him and he smiles his huge, beautiful smile. 

“You don’t have to wear it all the time, I just thought maybe sometimes…” you start, but you’re interrupted. 

“I will wear it forever.” He says intently, lacing his fingers with yours, kissing you. 

A knock on the door interrupts your sweet moment. 

“Jake, can you guys come out here for a second?” Josh says.

You both stand up and make your way to the kitchen where Josh is making a drink.

“What’s up?” Jake asks.

“I was going to see if you two wanted to come with me to a party later.” He says sliding Jake a drink.

“What party?” Jake replies curiously.

“It’s like a pre-new years eve party? I think? I don’t know, Danny and Sam will be there too, they didn’t give me many details, but insisted I invite you.” He says, sliding you a drink with a nod.

Jake looks to you, “What do you think shug, it’s your call….” He says.

Josh silently mouths ‘please’ at you and you smile, “Sure, sounds fun!”

“Alriiiiight, well let’s get started now!” Josh says throwing back his drink. 

“Lets leave here in like, 45? I’ll text Sammy.” He continues. 

You and Jake make your way back to his bedroom, and you immediately start digging through your bag to see what clothes you could wear, settling on a pair of light washed, distressed boyfriend fit jeans, a cream colored slightly oversized sweater lazily tucked in the front of the jeans, and black boots. You change into the outfit getting a smirk and nod of approval from Jake, who is leaning against his dresser spinning his new bracelet around his wrist. You grab your curling iron and makeup bag and head to the bathroom to see what you can do, deciding on loose waves. 

A while later you emerge looking pretty decent, if you do say so yourself. Jake is now dressed in his favorite jeans, a light tan button up that is of course half way unbuttoned, as usual, and a navy blue linen blazer. His once white vans now a cream color from the years of abuse, finish his look. For a man whose wardrobe lives on a chair he is remarkably well dressed and absolutely stunning to look at. 

“Damn, I can’t believe you are my girl.” He says approaching you, lightly dipping his head down to kiss your neck. 

You reach down and can feel the bracelet, spinning it on his arm. “You’re wearing it, it looks good on you.” You say.

“I told you, I am not taking it off darlin.” He replies. “You ready?”

“Yep, let’s go.” You reply throwing your long coat on. 

You walk out to the living room and see Josh waiting on the couch. 

“Ready?” He asks.

“We are.” Jake answers picking up the keys to his car.

“Then let’s go, shall we?” He says excitedly.

You all pile into the car, and Josh gives Jake directions to the house, which is not too far away.

Josh plays music through the speakers and you all sing along to the parts you know. You pull up to the house and there are a ton of cars parked out front. Jake comes around and opens your door for you and puts his arm around your shoulder a you walk to the door. Josh enters first and you and Jake follow.

Scanning the room, it is full of faces you don’t recognize. Not that you would after all. You feel Jake’s hand snake around your waist and he pulls you to walk in front of him through the narrow walkway crowded with people. You approach the kitchen looking for a drink and Jake pulls you aside. 

“Listen, don’t take a drink from anyone here. This isn’t my favorite crowd. I’m not even sure why we were invited. I’m not trying to scare you but just look out okay? If you want a drink I will make it for you.” He says kissing your forehead as you nod in agreeance. 

He walks over to the counter and makes 3 drinks, one for you, one for him and one for Josh who is now deeply enthralled in a conversation with someone. 

“YOU GUYS CAME!” You hear Sam yell from behind you. Danny is behind him and places his hand on your shoulder smiling at you, “Hey girl!”

“Hi Sam, hi Danny!” You reply giving them both hugs. 

“I’m so glad you guys came, it’s just getting started.” Danny says before he saunters off.

You and Jake mingle with people through out the house for about an hour, talking everything from, band stuff, local news, politics and more. You have had quite a few drinks and the urge to pee is strong.

“Hey I’m gonna go find the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” You say to Jake.

“Okay i’ll be right here.” He says squeezing your hand as you pull away.

You walk down what feels like a mile long hallway, opening every door to try and find the bathroom only to be met with empty bedrooms and coat closets. You end up wandering into the master bedroom, and you know there has to be a bathroom in here. Bingo. Finally. 

You set your drink on the dresser and make your way to the bathroom. As you sit down to pee you are relieved that the pressure is subsiding. You finish up and wash your hands. As you open the bathroom door you are met with someone else trying to open it and you both crash into each other. “Oh I’m sorry!” You say.

It’s a guy you’ve seen around the house tonight but haven’t met.

“I thought I’d find you in here, you’re Jakes girl right?” He asks, setting his drink down and approaching you.

Looking at him confused you reply, “Yeah, I’m Jake’s girlfriend, why?”

“Oh come on, you’ve been staring at me all night… What’s wrong, is he not doing it for you anymore?” He asks backing you into the shut door.

“You need to back off.” You reply firmly.

“Or what, is Mr. guitar hero gonna beat me up? Please.” He scoffs.

You can feel your heart beating in your ears and your throat getting tight. You push him back from you and he laughs, “Relax, I was just fucking with you, no need to get defensive. Here, here’s your drink.” He says handing you your drink from the dresser. You take it and storm out of the room as he says, “Enjoy your night, gorgeous…” laughing.

Your blood is boiling and you throw the entire drink back shuddering at the taste of the alcohol, its stronger than you thought. You halfway run back to the spot you and Jake were standing in only a few minutes ago but he is gone. You stand there and look around the room scanning faces to see if you can find one you recognize and you see Sam. You immediately walk over to him, “Sam, where is Jake?” You ask.

“Ahh, ummmmm I…uhhh think I saw him go outside? On the deck?” He says slurring his words.

“Thanks Sammy…” you say as you weave through the crowd. 

The music is so loud, and its so hot in here. You think to yourself.  Maybe you shouldn’t have had that last drink.  

God when did this song get so loud? You think to yourself. There are so many people here now. 

Santigold’s ‘Disparate Youth’ is vibrating through your head at a crushing volume, and you feel like you need to get out of the maze of people, but the crowd just seems to keep getting deeper and deeper. You’re swimming through the maze of dancing bodies as your own fights you. You feel your peripheral getting fuzzy and grey. If you could just make it out of the room and get some fresh air you would feel better, you just know it. If you could just …make it out. 

As you reach the edge of the room you begin to feel dizzy and steady yourself on the wall near the corner you’ve made it to. A sick feeling is growing in your stomach and you don’t understand why. You only had two drinks. The lights are spinning, the room is spinning, the people are spinning…

Where is Jake? Or Josh? Anyone? Why haven’t they noticed you’re gone? Where are they? Jake?

Your brain desperately calling out the words your mouth can’t form. The muscles so weak you can’t hardly open your mouth let alone lift your feet. Your legs feel heavy as you sink to the floor. You cover your head with your arms to try to shield yourself from the pounding music suffocating your brain. Your vision is fading quickly and you succumb to the darkness in the corner of this blaring hell. 

.

.

You don’t know how much time has passed. An arm grabs you lifting you to your feet and pulling you out of the crowd. You can only assume it’s Jake. He has found you. Your vision coming in flashes, but you can’t see him. Your eye lids are so heavy you can hardly keep them open. Your legs barely walking, almost floating. You can’t feel them moving. You can’t feel anything except the crushing pressure on your arm pulling you along to an unknown destination. It’s dark and loud and you feel like you’re going be sick. 

Maybe if you just threw up you would feel better. 

As you finally manage to get a word out you hoarsely say “Jake…”

Only to be met with a voice that sounds nothing like him. It’s deeper and more harsh. You recognize it but you can’t place it. As you try to pull away from the hand that has you, the grip tightens and you’re slung into a room. Stumbling in the dark you are disoriented and can’t grasp any part of your surroundings. The hands grab you and press you to a wall. You struggle to break free but you are so weak that you can’t manage to do anything but squirm. 

“Just stop, you're only making it worse or yourself.” The voice says. 

If you could just open your eyes you could see who this is. Where is Jake? Please! You think. The stranger is pressed against you and pushing into you. You feel his mouth on your body and you want to cry out but you can’t even open your mouth. Your insides are shaking from the shock of the situation and you feel like you are going to collapse. 

“Man that thing really did wonders on you didn’t it?” The voice says laughing. You recognize the laugh.

His lips find yours and its rough and harsh and painful and you try to break your head free from the grip his hands have on it. You manage out a scream but it doesn’t sound like a scream, it sounds like a struggled moan. A hand removes itself from your face and you feel it reaching into your shirt. Your arms are trying to push him off and he laughs at your attempt to deny him. 

Jake, where are you? Please help me. Where are you?

Your heart is pounding. You recognize the song playing, ‘When Im Small’ by Phantogram. How accurate could it be for you in the present moment. The music is loud and bursting inside your head and your brain finally gives in, and you are left in the dark, at the mercy of a complete stranger, and there is nothing that you can do. It's all just... black. 

.

.

.

The fumbling. You can feel the fumbling with your jeans being ripped off your body. 

Ouch. That Hurts. Stop.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It hurts, you don’t want this. He forces himself into you.

Please, NO. Stop…

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.

.

The door slams, you’re shaking. The darkness returns.

.

.

.

.

You’re freezing, shivering even. The sick feeling in your stomach growing massive.

“Oh god…” a voice says. You recognize the voice. You feel a hand touch you and you instantly pull back from it wincing away from the touch. “NO!”  you scream. Your vision is still blurry. You’re laying on a hardwood floor, your clothes piled in front of you. 

“Jake!” He screams. 

Heavy foot steps approach your head “Oh my god. Shut the door, now.” 

Jake.

You feel around for your clothes, the shivering getting unbearable. You open your eyes and you are seeing faces in flashes. Jake. Sam. Josh.

You try to stand but you’re still unsteady. You’re naked apart from your panties and socks, too dizzy to even realize who is in front of you, to be embarrassed. Jake is kneeling in front of you and you can hear him talking to you but the words are not making sense. 

“Please please tell me what happened!” He is repeating over and over and all you can say is “Jake…?” Your voice is so dry you can hardly get the word out. 

“Yes, it’s me, are you okay?” He asks.

“No I think I want to go….” You say slurring the sentence before your vision goes black again.

You are there, but you’re not. You can’t explain this sensation. Your body is here but you aren’t in control. You can hear the guys talking in and out in broken sentences.

“You think they got her…”

“I think probably…”

“Get her out of here…”

“I’ll deal with it."

“Jake?” You just keep repeating. “Please…”

“I’m here.” You feel warm, he has pulled your sweater over your shivering body, followed by your jeans. 

“I’m so sorry…” he says into your ear. He scoops you into his arms and you feel him walking. The cold air hits your face and you open your eyes, your vision wanting to return, but your eyes feel like sandpaper so you close them back. “Jake?” You ask, your head falling into his shoulder.

“I’m here darlin, we are going home.” He says as he puts you in his car.

“Gonna be sick.” you manage.

You lean over the door jam and proceed to spill your guts. Jake steps to the side quickly as his hand grabs your hair pulling it from your face. 

“God dammit, I knew it.” He says. “Fuck!” he screams kicking the gravel driveway. “Are you okay baby? Can you make it home?” He asks.

You nod your head and he shuts the door. 

It feels like 10 years passed, before he came back. This time Josh was with him and they were yelling at each other. They both get in and slam the doors shut. You rest your head on the window and close your eyes the sick feeling returning in your stomach.

“Jake…” you manage.

“Yeah baby, are you okay?” He asks.

“No dude she’s not, you need to take her in…” Josh says sharply.

“She doesn’t even know…” Jake replies.

“You have to tell her Jake…” Josh says.

“I will, fuck! Fuck this!” He screams.

Tell me what? You think to yourself. God i’m gonna be sick.

“We’re here baby, stay put.” Jake calls out to you.

He opens the door and helps you out, your legs still shaky, so he supports your weight over his shoulder. As you make your way through his front door he guides you and sits you on his couch. You can hear him and Josh talking in the kitchen in hushed voices. You lay down on the cold couch so exhausted you feel like you could sleep for three days. You lay there listening to them talk before you feel Jake picking you up and carrying you to his bed.

You wake up in the dark, you’re not sure how much time has passed but you know you’re going to be sick. You throw the blankets off of you as fast as you can and throw your legs over the side of the bed but its like you’re moving in slow motion. Your legs aren’t moving fast enough, the sick feeling creeping up your chest. You fall to your knees, trying to move, crawling to the bathroom door that is growing farther away with every stride you’re able to manage, and a sob releases from your chest out of frustration that you can’t seem to do what you so desperately need to. 

Next thing you know Jake is there scooping you from the floor, helping you make it to the toilet just in time. 

“I want to take a shower.” You say to Jake.

“You can’t baby…” he says in a disappointed voice.

“Please…” you beg.

“Im sorry my girl…tomorrow.” He says rubbing his hands through his hair, face twisted in pain.

The next several hours are spent in his bathroom, from what you can remember in bits and pieces. You can’t manage to rid the poison from your body, but your body is trying. Every flash of clarity you have, you see Jake at your side. Never leaving you. Holding your hair, wiping you with a washcloth before you would fall back into heavy sleep on the pillow he has placed in his lap on the bathroom floor.

.

.

.

.

You wake up in Jake’s bed, unsure how you have ended up here, as the last thing you remember is laying your head in his lap for the 10th time last night. Your body feels like it was hit like a bus. Every single muscle in your body hurts, as you roll over to find Jake. 

“Jake? Are you awake?” You say, placing your hand on his chest.

“My girl. How are you feeling…” he asks.

“I feel horrible. I only had maybe 2 or 3 drinks, Jake I swear.” You plead your case.

“Baby, it wasn’t you. Do you remember anything from last night?” He asks carefully.

You do remember bits a pieces, the music, the people, the hand pulling you down the hallway, the cold floor…Jake putting your clothes on? Oh God.

“Jake what happened!” you say panicked, sitting up, beginning to shake.

You skin begins to crawl and you close your eyes, squeezing them shut trying to remember any single thing that happened after you left the bathroom.

“Darlin, relax we will figure it out. Just breathe.” He says placing his hand on your face. “You left me to go to the bathroom. What happened after that? I couldn’t find you.”

“I was so mad, I came running to find you. A guy, he cornered me in the bathroom. He scared me, threatened me and I left the room to find you. But you were gone, you weren’t where you said…” You reply breathing heavily retelling the events. 

“God damnit it I am so sorry. I have to ask you more baby, I’m so so sorry.” He says lacing his fingers with yours. 

You nod your head agreeing to try and remember.

“Did you have a drink when you went to the bathroom?” He asks.

“Yes, I had the one you made me. I set it on the dresser… but I picked it up on my way out. Actually the guy picked it up and handed it to me. Oh god…” You reply.

“What did the guy look like darlin. Just try to remember....” He says rubbing his thumb on your knuckles.

“Blonde, and tall, and he had blue eyes. I don’t know I don’t remember anything else.” You reply tears forming in your eyes.

“He handed you your drink?” He asks.

“Yes, but he had one too, I didn’t know… he must have switched our drinks. Fuck!” You sob.

“Baby, I’m so sorry but he…” he stops running his hand through his hair, “he didn’t just switch your drinks, he drugged you.” 

“What? Like… like the date rape drug?” You cry out. “He couldn’t have, when would he…?” 

“Baby, it was probably Rohypnol based on what we saw. He probably dropped it in your drink while you were in the bathroom. Then you took it from him.” He reaches his hand up wiping the tears from your cheeks.

You throw your self back into the pillows sobs tearing from your chest, “OH GOD, how could I be so stupid!”

“No! This is not your fucking fault, don’t you ever say that shit again!” He says firmly.

“I ran out of the bathroom, I couldn’t find you. I searched everywhere, the music got so loud I could feel it in my chest so hard I could hardly breathe. I couldn’t get out of the crowd of people, I felt like I was trapped and then I couldn’t see, it was so fuzzy and the room was spinning. I sat in a corner on the floor, because I just felt so sick. I felt a hand grab me and pull me out and I thought it was you but it wasn’t. It hurt so bad.” You say rubbing your arm in that spot, trying to retell the events.

Jake pulls your sleeve up revealing dark purple lines developing on your arm, “God dammit!” He says pulling the sleeve back down. He is fuming mad.

“What else baby, keep going.” He says.

“I thought it was you, I wanted it to be you.” You cry. “He slung me into a room and it was so cold and I couldn’t move my mouth, the words weren’t coming out. I couldn’t move my arms or legs, they were so heavy. I tried to scream but I couldn’t. He wouldn’t stop touching me. I couldn’t even fight him off.” you say between sobs.

“I can’t remember vividly after that. I remember my jeans being pulled off and it hurt so bad he did it so hard. I was so cold, all I can remember is shivering. I screamed for him to stop but the music was so loud no one came. I remember someone touching my arm and I think that’s when you came and found me. I don’t even know how long I was there…” you say continuing to cry.

A single tear falls from his tired eyes, before he quickly wipes it away. He pulls you into him, hugging you to his chest as you feel another tear fall onto your shoulder. 

“Do you remember if he…” he asks, you knowing what he is implying.

“I remember telling him to stop and the pain but I don’t know if I imagined it…” you reply.

“You were naked… just laying on the hardwood floor. Josh found you. We had been searching the whole house. You were gone for over an hour. A guy cornered us on the deck for 30 minutes, he was blocking the door, and I knew something was up, I got past him and we were all looking for you, we searched everywhere. Please please believe me.”

“I DO believe you, but I don’t remember if he…I can’t… remember if he...” you cry.

“Raped you…? Yeah baby, he did. There was a condom on the floor. I am so sorry and I will never forgive myself. I knew I should have gone with you to the bathroom. God damn I am so sorry.” He says just holding you as you sob.

“I knew you were drugged when you started getting sick. I fucking knew we shouldn’t have gone. I am going to kill that fucking guy.” He says.

"Jake, I am so sorry. I can't believe this happened, I am so embarrassed. I understand if you don't want to do this anymore." you say tears rolling down your face.

He takes your face in his hands, "Of course I still want this. You're my girl, and I... love you." he replies kissing your lips as gently as possible.

"I love you too, Jake." you reply as the tears continue to fall.

.

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.

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#greta van fleet #greta van fic #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van fleet smut #greta van smut #jake kiszka #jacob thomas kiszka #jtk #jtk x reader #gvf smut #gvf fic #sam kiszka gvf #jake gvf #gvf series #josh gvf #danny wagner #sam kiszka #gvf danny #jake kiszka smut #gvf #jake kiszka x you #jake kiszka x reader

[ivorystand]

A little mini fic based on some gposes I made. Obligatory @pinkcadaver because they enabled my bullshit. Featuring those gposes!

Admittedly, this isn't the best minific I've written, but I wanted to just jot this down and throw it here. Eventually I'll flesh it out fully.

Lycus's katana clattered out of his hands, embedding itself in the ground. "No! No, this isn't right!" He yelled. "This isn't how it's supposed to go! I'm Lycus yae Galvus! You're a trio of nobodies!"

Evrix planted the tip of his lance into the dirt nearby before doubling over, panting. "Stop this madness," he said between breaths. "You're living in your father's shadow!" Fumi and Remi stood near their brother, Fumi keeping her greatsword at the ready.

Lycus chuckled a bit. A delirious chuckle of realization. "Aye, my father," he laughed, staggering back to his feet. "My father! He commanded the power of the mighty Shinryu!" The aether in the air seemed charged. Evrix's heart sank as he realized what was happening.

"If Zenos could control a primal, what's stopping me, his son, from doing it, too?" Lycus looked up at the sky, his smile resembling that of a madman's.

"I think we hit his head too hard," Remi laughed awkwardly.

"No, that's not it," Evrix muttered, staring at their half-brother.

It seemed to be happening in slow-motion. Lycus, in his desperation to defeat the trio, had summoned Shinryu. No, he became Shinryu.

A startled yelp escaped Remi's lips, backing away slightly. Fumi's grip tightened on her greatsword.

And Evrix... Evrix stared in horror, gritting his teeth.

"He's... Shinryu's a dragon," Fumi spoke calmly. "You're a dragoon, Evrix. Hells, you're wearing dad's armor. Let's slay it."

#ffxiv #ffxiv oc #ff14 #ffxiv ocs #ffxiv wolship #evrix varlineau #fumi varlineau #remi varlineau #lycus galvus #ship children

[wellthebardsdead]

Unwilling Dreamer pt4

Part 3 here

———

Shamat: *wincing as the healers disinfect and dress the freshly opened wounds, pouting slightly as the head healer scolds him for being so careless* they wouldn’t keep opening if you’d just use magic. Why are you being so in- ow! *hisses pulling his leg back from one of the healers*

Head Healer: Magic may close the wounds, but the skin will lose its elasticity and be left with severe scarring. Nerevar is adamant we leave your skin as unblemished as possible.

Shamat: b-but I don’t care about scars, I’m in pain! D-doesn’t it matter what I want?…

Head Healer: *sighs unable to meet his gaze* I cannot go against lord Nerevars wishes. *watches as his underlings finish up* We will leave you to rest now. One of us shall return with your medicine this evening. Lord Nerevar should be with you again shortly to sate your ‘boredom’.

Shamat: wh-where did he go?… I know he fetched you and your underlings but- he looked so angry.

Head Healer: it’s not my place to question such things. Nor is it yours lord dagoth. I’m sure as you heal… you’ll see how things operate here under lord indorils rule.

*meanwhile*

Nerevar: *shoves the heads of shamats guards on spikes before the gathered mass of his ordinators and temple guards alike* Let this be my ONLY warning. If any harm comes to Voryn Dagoth on your watch. Death. If any of you sully his dignity, body, or name. Death. And if any of you feel brazen enough to cause him harm with your own hand. I will see to it that your foul murder will be conducted with my own blade. You’re dismissed. *turns and walks back up the temple steps, grabbing his lance from one of the trembling temple guards as he walks by*

The guards: *all whisper amongst themselves as they disperse, none of them noticing the hooded, masked figure lingering amongst them, watching nerevar ascend the steps, knowing full well of who he’s keeping prisoner behind the stone walls*

*that evening*

Shamat: *laying in his bed, robe lose and draped over his relaxed slender frame, clinging to the sweat glistening over his dark grey skin along with his dark ebony locks. His pupils blown out with another dose of his ‘medicine’, drugged, waiting, and helpless*

*creaking as the door opens*

Nerevar: *steps in and smiles fondly at him, admittedly beginning to find some sick pleasure in how the poison makes his sweet voryn so very relaxed, and almost tempted to continue feeding it to him if it weren’t for the long term health defects it could cause him* comfy?…

Shamat: *glances over at him, only managing a weak, soft moan from his lips* mnn…

Nerevar: *hums in response as he walks to the bed, removing his armour as he approaches and sits beside him* I love seeing you so relaxed… *gently strokes his face as he sighs* I’m sorry I’ve neglected you so. I never realised how boring it must be, all alone without me.

Shamat: *leans into his touch, every sensation against his skin feeling hot and sending tingles down his spine. Too far gone into his high to even register what nerevar is saying to him* mmm…

Nerevar: *smirks ever so slightly, seeing his beautiful dreamers face behind the grey skin and red eyes, hearing his voice so softly hum and moan to him, feeling like he’s so close to being where he needs him to be* it won’t be long now… *leans down* just a little stronger, that’s all I need you to be… then I can bring you back to your former glory… *presses his lips to his earning a soft, surprised whine from shamats lips, the dunmer too dazed to understand what’s fully happening, and unable to stop it even if he tried*

*a few months later*

Shamat: *still healing ever so slowly but far more able bodied at last. Dressed in the heavy robes of house dagoth, now seated at the table by his bed on the verge of tears as he tries to read the scriptures nerevar assigned him to practice* Gods h-he’s going to be so mad if I don’t get this- he said I wrote this? When? When I was v-Voryn? But he says I’m- I can’t- *sighs moving to rub his face before pausing remembering face markings he had to sit hours through having applied, along with the kohl around his eyes* ughh… *grabs his ears and winces forgetting about the still fresh piercings where two gold loops hang framing his face above the heavy gold collar around his neck and collarbone* fuck… if this is what Voryn liked to wear I don’t think I’m cut out to be him… *sighs and lays his arms on the table, resting his head in them and closing his eyes, just for a moment*

“He’s broken… he wants to break you too…”

Shamat: *jolts awake and looks up to see himself seated across from him, golden skin, red eyes, himself but not truely him, Voryn* I-it’s you! Me? I… he wants- to break me?…

Voryn: he went mad searching for me… us… so desperate to bring me back he’ll stop at nothing to achieve it. Whether you like it or not…

Shamat: I? I should be happy about that though right? He’s- he’s harsh but he has a hard job! And he still finds time to care about me he… he says he cares about me.

Voryn: at what point does care become obsession?… Do you truely feel he cares about us?…

Shamat: I… I think he does… I’ve spent so long on the streets, with nothing, being hurt by everyone, used over and over again but he… he gave me a home, a bed, I can eat as much as I want, I don’t have to beg to survive anymore and-

Voryn: You’re not allowed to leave this room are you?… how long have you been in here?… when was the last time you saw the sun?…

Shamat: I’m… im healing. He’s keeping me safe in here. It can be lonely but he keeps me company, hes teaching me to read-

Voryn: and loses patience when you don’t meet the standards he holds you to.

Shamat: he doesn’t lose patience I’m just not as good as-

Voryn: me.

“Voryn? My dreamer?”

Shamat: *jolts awake and nearly falls out of his chair seeing nerevar standing before him with a soft, gentle smile* M-my moon and star I- what time is it? I was-

Nerevar: *chuckles wiping a bit of ink off of his face* It’s nearing supper time, you must’ve been tired after lunch I take it?

Shamat: *blushes leaning into his touch a little* I- I must have been, I was trying to read and then- you woke me up.

Nerevar: *nods and tilts his head remembering fondly how often he’d find voryn passed out at his desk* you used to do that often… well, no matter. *reaches into his bag pulling out a dark cloth* I have some great news. *pulls the cloth back revealing a golden mask, with 3 eyes* it’s time.

#Shamat the sharmat #nerevar #Skyrim #Shamat dragonborn #voryn dagoth

[arcplaysgames]

Oh Teddie. Buddy. I saw how you sucked face with Kanji, you can't fool me.

Rise, do you..... not..... have a gaydar? Rise, do you not know? What else don't you know, like, do you not know about Chie and Yukiko? Oh, girl. Are you our token straight? I think she might be.

Also, I don't thing i can find the caps, but Rise constantly negs Kanji in combat. She can't seem to have a chill interaction with him. It's funny but also a bit aggravating. Like, can you kids play nice?

What am I saying, of course not. These kids are incapable of it lmao.

This dumb fucker hurled himself in on purpose knowing we'd bail him out, I just know it. If smug was a motorcycle, he's a fucking Knievel.

Naoto's little corner of TV land is a secret laboratory out of some Man From UNCLE classic spy stuff.

It has, without a doubt, the worst exploration music in the game so far. Jesus christ.

ALSO TEDDIE IS... IN A CHEERLEADER UNIFORM. okay. sure. I got cool clothes for everyone. I like Kanji in the Tatsumi Textiles work clothes, and Reverie is dressed as an ouendan member! OSU! goddamn i love those games.

Cuties. Everyone is adorable.

ALSO CHIE CAN DROP BY MID-BATTLE TO SLAM HER SCOOTER INTO AN ENEMY AND KNOCK THEM OUT OF THE MATCH? Amazing.

oh my LORD.

Naoto's Shadow is kind of amazing. One, the VA performance is great, swinging between a very sad child constantly on the verge of tears to a VERY over the top theatric rendition of a mad scientist. The oversized floppy sleeves are a fabulous touch on the physical design. This one is something special compared to all the others.

pops gum loudly

This bit is very good.

Admittedly, it's very interesting to reach Naoto and his shadow after hearing about the whole thing secondhand for, at this point, over a decade. I'm not going to bring anything new to the topic and, frankly, I'm waiting to see how Naoto's social link plays out to get a full read on what's going on here.

Because, obviously, surface level read of the whole this is more than moderately disappointing. The gender essentialism and the repeated idea that you cannot change your gender is more than a little eye-roll-inducing. And it chafes pretty badly against Kanji's entire SLink, which I finished after this dungeon and will recap later but does revolve around eschewing the simplicity of labels.

I'm kind of struggling to pin down why I'm not that mad at this handling. Part of it is obviously that I've set my expectations low for Persona as a whole so that I can have a lot of pleasant surprises when it exceeds those expectations.

But also, the entire Naoto thing is a very sticky situation. Because I think that the Western audience for these games doesn't understand the gravity and density of the sexism in Japanese society. And I'm not an expert in this! But lets say that I do know a thing or two from a friend who does understand it. And it suuuuuucks. Naoto is entirely right to be torn up about this duality.

The people he works with would 100% absolutely no question discard his opinions if they saw him as a girl. Yep. I fully believe that and the weight of that anxiety on Naoto is crushing, clearly moving him to tears. But on the other hand, presenting as a man to avoid that pitfall, the other anxiety of "mimicking those same men" and having to justify their bullfuckery is also incredibly heavy.

Naoto has no clean solution. And if we posit that his reason for being a guy is rooted in that fear, that's... a bad reason to go fulltime Guy Mode. When you opt into your gender, it should be out of love for the thing, in my opinion. There should be something like relief in "yes, I am this gender!"

I don't see that here. But, on the flipside, as soon as this fight is over...

I could reach through the screen and slap you, Rise. This stung me like hearing someone getting misgendered. It fucking SUCKS. Not just everyone swapping to "she" but the feminine diminutives, that's genuinely hard to hear and I personally hate it.

Anyway, back up.

I love this moment from our other team member who thinks a LOT about gender. Kanji being like "listen, just let this shit play out so Naoto has the healing process we all got too, we'll handle the battle part." LIKE!!!!! Fuckin'.... queer solidarity means saying yes, you will beat the shit out of the superpowered facade of a friend's gender demons. THAT'S what it means, baby!

ah shit out of images again brb

#p4 #persona liveblog

[wellntruly]

M*A*S*H - Season 11, misc. notes

It’s the last notes! Well, let’s be specific: the last notes I took as I was watching the show for the first time, THAT'S ALL.

As such, I’m taking this moment to editorialize on how I’ve editorialized, or perhaps, haven’t, so far. Namely, that I think Frequently about some of the things I wrote in public about BJ frickin Hunnicutt circa S4-5, and am like, honey who are you talking about! But the answer is, I have to keep reminding myself, that was BJ! He really was like that, in the early days! I have to leave them all, as an historical record. I will perhaps add a note on a note. “This was true then; it would not be true always,” that kind of thing.

For a little while I was definitely shying off from recommending some episodes due to strangeness from BJ, and that is where I could have failed as a viewguide-maker. By their nature, episodic shows can being picked & choosed, and through that, you can hide things. Or try to. I actually think that if I'd tried that would only have made it stranger, the way it would have still bubbled through just in these odd, off-handed moments, without the reference points of the wildest flights to allow you to say, ah yes, sometimes he is this way. 

And sometimes he isn’t! And yes, in my initial episode list (though babe, are the B-sides ever comin’), I admittedly have gone from a six or seven episode run of probably the most lovable late-seasons BJ, culminating in one that really hammers you with sweetness (& obsession) and tragic mystery, to then plummet directly into his unhinged (& tragic mystery) behavior in ‘Goodbye, Farewell and Amen’, and I do think that will play pretty beautifully, for all that this does mean that I did skip folks past the episode in Season 11 that had me going, oh, so that man is insane-insane, and that angle on Beej has its value too (the darkness!!!)

Anyway more on that below, in the Final Watch Notes. (I keep laughing, this is so not final.)

— — —

Ohhh what the FUCK is this now. Every damn season with re-orchestrating the theme!

The gulf between the S3 episode where the nurses leave and the men are all so dejected because they wanna flirt, and this one where the nurses leave and the men are all losing it because they can’t do their jobs without them: cavernous

I love Nurse Kellye so, SO much, her monologue in this about her qualities and interests is The Greatest, the overall plot line that she has a secret crush on Hawkeye: no good. 😅 Resolution of that though, of her being too busy now hooking up with the young officer from the inspection: I laughed so heartily. Now that was a genius bit of writing.

If the Halloween episode’s turn into ghost and goblins stories gets properly eerie I’m gonna get mad, because that will be good, and then I’ll have to recommend this one even with the tedious beginning. [Ed. note: I didn’t]

Hoooooooohhhhhhh, spear bone is something I was Not ready for…!

Hey, it’s finally 1953

“He’s got a shoulder big enough for the whole world to lean on,” and other Hawkeye-on-Sidney lines that make my heart hurt.

Cannot express how much I want nothing to do with the shortened credits

It is so fascinating how they recycle the supporting actors. Personally to me this adds to the time-loop quality: things come back a little different this time, people are arranged a different way, but the cast of characters is the same. They’re all trapped in the snow globe, none of them get out when it shakes.

I think Charlie is like, fully in love

Wait a second, IS this Jeffrey Tambor???

Charles you gotta be kidding me

Here to report that I had an entire heart attack over the Japanese ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’ cover starting 'The Joker is Wild' like we were back in early days, and then [Mulaney voice] it got worse!

Hawkeye: [mentions that he and Trapper used to pull a lot of jokes together] Promptly, through my hands: “Don’t do this to me.” BJ, smiling too much: “You and Trapper were quite the pair weren’t you?” Hawkeye, relenting: “Yes! Yes, we were!” Hands now just hanging in the air like I’m being held up, rapidly: “Don’t do this to me, don’t do this to me, don’t do this to me!”

Klinger, eyes warm at Pierce: “Seems to me the pranks used to be more original in the old days.” BJ, still smiling big and cold: “Awww the good old days, you mean like when Trapper was here?” We can’t do this!!!! I’m literally shaking!!!

Hawkeye: “Well that would be incredible, because I would love to see you sing ‘You’re the Tops’ without your bottoms.” BJ: “Haha I can understand that, Hawk, because anybody who’d want to get everybody, would want to get you worst of all.” I think this episode is going to kill me?

I’m gonna come out of this one with WHITE HAIR, Jean Valjean style. THEY’VE SAID “TRAPPER” SO MANY TIMES. They SO rarely do and I can never take it even briefly and now to do this, in this context!! It’s maybe the most darkly jealous BJ has ever been and it’s the literal plot???!!

Oh my god wait it really is, it’s ALL against Hawkeye, I AM seeing what’s happening here, aren't I. And the “getting” just psychologically torturing him for 24 hours, oh honey!!! And for WHAT, BJ, just because he admitted a joke he was describing was one of Trapper’s? Oh no!!!!!! It’s the literal plot and it’s WORSE. I’m laughing and weeping, jesus!

I CAN’T SPIRAL ABOUT THIS. I CAN’T. BUT. The whole thing about Hawk & Trapper was that they were a pair. That’s what both BJ and Hawkeye were saying in the first scene, them joking around together. And now, BJ’s retaliation is to make Hawkeye feel entirely isolated. Can’t trust anyone, all on his own and persecuted. Hahahaha I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW EMOTIONALLY FUCKED UP THIS IS ACTUALLY. Who wrote this!!! The same person who wrote ‘Period of Adjustment’!?? Wait actually who did write each of these BJ eps… 

O M G

I was making a joke, John turn your location on.

“Take it off, Hawkeye! I wanna see some skin!!” Father stop

Anyway this episode destroyed my mind.

Oh okay, so second episode in a row for Most Deranged Thing They’ve Ever Done contender: Hawkeye hooks up with a nurse and then she’s fucking killed by a mine. Nope?!

Are they suggesting Klinger invented the Hula Hoop

Oh, no, don’t read her diary…

My feelings about every part of 'Who Knew?' are just, 🙃 this was a mistake!

Charles and Hawkeye both vaguely gesturing to their shoulder: “You know, the- the wound.” The only reason I would want more seasons would be that we’re finally doing Hawkeye & Charles and it’s so dryly delicious.

Potter to Hawkeye: “You’re witty, swave [suave??], you lean toward handsome—” He leans.

Uh, that’s horrible. If BJ gets this medal all he’ll ever be able to think about is cutting the rope. Wow yikes.

Yes, yes, Charles & Hawkeye making phone calls, my favorite thing they do together. This Roxbury joke……now that goes out to the real ones (people who have lived in Boston).

BJ: “We sit around here in our Hawaiian shirts and red suspenders, thumbing our nose at the Army, drinking home-brewed gin and flouting authority at every turn and feeling ohh soo superior to those military fools who kill each other, and ohh soo…self-righteous, when we clean up after them. Well good luck to you pal, I hope you can...keep it up. The minute I cut that rope, that made me a soldier.” Haha good lord this season is miserable.

Margaret's phone performance is the greatest. This mortgage party plot is…odd. And meanwhile the sweet lieutenant plot is getting incongruously intense and not in the high-contrast way that usually works for them. Folks I am sorry but is this whole season mm, a Mistake?

Alright, time to get hawt

They have such LONG. LEGS. Why is it so much more apparent when they’re bare.

How come the lighting and color quality in the film distributor’s office is making me nostalgic for something

Potter is wearing Klinger’s Toledo Mudhens cap and has his bird pinned to the center, right over the T

Hawkeye: “Klinger it’s all in your head, just don’t be hot!” Klinger: “Don’t be hot??” He can’t ❤️

It’s great when Charles uses his power (intimidating baritone blue blood) for good

Margaret just doubling down on their betting scheme like well in for a penny, go big or go home, is sending me

Frankly all three of these visiting docs are babes

“Our summer home is in the Berkshires, just a baton’s throw away from Tanglewood.” Second Home Lane [REAL STREET], Lenox, MA, CONFIRMED Winchester residence

I like that Margaret and Charles both have crushes

[haltingly] It would, thrill me, beyond measure, if the kind silver fox Swedish doctor has a crush too, but it’s on Captain Pierce. Um, he needs that? I mean he’s sure not getting…. Don’t make me think about this…

[breathily] “So, you’re from Sweden. I’ve always loved Hans Christian Anderson.” Loretta help

Just gonna say: my idea of what the crushable Swedish officer plot could be, is honestly still plausible at this juncture! He’s laughing cutely at Hawkeye’s dumb jokes in the O Club! This injury-induced impotency story could be a careful lie, or rather, frankly, even a ruse, the carefullest of lies. If he asks for any sort of help with like, a pause, Hawk get your head on a swivel (and get on that, honey) (I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT THIS!)

Ohhh now the glasses…mega babe!

Mr. Dish and Margaret you guys are maybe being a little bit stupid though right, I mean you could still do a LOT

Thaaank you :)

Oh very fun, this actor’s last name was Holahan!

Hawkeye: “Charles, for the sake of our sanity, which is iffy at best—” Iffy.

First three minutes of this episode cumulatively more fond of everyone than the first 10 whole episodes of this season---hello Karen my girl

Wish the A and B plots were switched honestly

WOW perm! ’83 is here, baby

Loretta Swit invented Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon after her vocal cord surgery

What are the void shoulder patches on some of these guys, kinda eerie and I've wondered

I really like Hawkeye’s vibes this episode. Not paying the expected deference to the general in such a classic Hawkeye way, meanwhile quietly very watchful of him and his injured son, and whatever is going on there.

This is definitely the most sophisticated thing they’ve ever done with a general. He’s humanized but also still a profoundly bleak representation of those who make war.

Charles is this really time for Mahler

Ohhh is the void just the I Corps patch?? Sick. The Voids are here.

Okay 11 seasons in it was time for me to finally find out what I Corps is anyway, and TURNS OUT they were already in my own fucking life, causing problems. They’re just an administrative corps, US headquarters at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which straddles the major interstate that runs up Washington State, meaning I’ve gotten stuck in JBLM traffic For. Years. 

Being Mad at I Corps

The 4077 🤝 Me just trying to get to my parents’ house

Karen’s flavor of scheming BJ continues to be the best of its type. Lets him maintain his early days detail of being good at people management, it’s just for crimes.

Margaret: “Perfume! Charles! Oh it’s just so…scented!” Oh em gee

This is very good. The two of them moving in on him, smiiiiling. The composition, Xtra Long BJ all folded up in this chair…

I spy: the cold weather coats

Margaret wants Charles’s book of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry, Sonnets From the Portuguese. Holy MO-ly!

Yeah :) it’s cold :)

“In the Bayou, legend has it that a selfish man will be possessed by demon bats, and never get no sleep ’til he does some good deed and mends his ways.” Rizzo…God bless u.

Beasts! Don’t throw beer on Klinger’s fur coat!

The B plot of the American soldier in the bed next to the North Korean he shot is very well done actually

Oh, full cassock, Father?

“Right on time. [points swiftly] I like that.” Harry Morgan :)

Wow that chopper pilot rules ass

I do quite like the Margaret v. Hawkeye time capsules thing, it feels very vintage them

OKAY! The fact of the M*A*S*H sleepover with Jody means I don’t actually have like, notes from the finale, I had a coupe glass holding a distressingly dry martini. But we’re cobbling, we’re cobbling! And that’s just a little cocktail shaker humor for you. (I actually have a Boston shaker.) (Charles looks up.)

I think the first thing I want to mention is that partway through Jody looked something up on her phone and was like hey, do you want to know who Soon-Lee is? And that’s how we learned that Klinger marries Keiko O’Brien. Yell!! Babe I hadn't recognized you!!! Anyway that whole plot, while sudden, nonetheless did have me going

And also unfortunately revealing to Jody that I do, in fact, do exactly this while watching this show. Always have! Never been more seen.

I also want to say just, thank god for Sidney Freedman. In every way. Imagine if we hadn’t had Sidney this whole time, if it was just some psychiatrist we’d never seen before treating Hawkeye? Weirdly, would immediately just feel, less real?? A fraction of the impact of how it actually plays out, where because it's Sidney, we know it's serious, but also because it's Sidney, we have something to hang on to.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye getting left by his best friend, again, no note, again, was like, this is nearly too much but also I’m falling fucking apart. Narrative cruelty in the way I 👍🏻 support. Top moments that have happened to Hawkeye Pierce that broke me in exciting new ways include: sopping wet in his clothes and Radar gives him Trapper’s goodbye kiss, and at separate tables in the mess tent, Hawkeye just trying to get BJ to say goodbye to him, and saying “What would you do if I was dying? Would you hold me and let me die in your arms, or would you just let me lay there and bleed?” and BJ just going “You’re not dying, you don’t even have a cold,” and walking away. And the way he goes “Goodbyyyye,” hey, I'm dying on the ground!!!!

Margaret is there for him at least. Yes, someone touch him, I thought, maybe said (Jody?), when she grabs his wrist in the scrub room and pulls him away with her. Y’know, I can tell you what I certainly said, and it was when they were standing there looking at each other and it’s time to say goodbye, and I sotto voce called out, because of the tightness in my throat, hand to the side of my mouth, “Make oout,” And They Do. And exactly in how I meant it: hold me bleeding in your arms, and I'll hold you bleeding in mine, here are my wounds pressed to yours, hearts, mouths, close as you can just for one last minute, it's the only way we know how to express it.

God, we won with that. Those two…my fucking heart !! I love them. They kinda secretly became everything to me? Oh god!

When I was rewatching the very end just now, BJ’s “I can’t imagine what this place would have been like if I hadn’t found you here” (found him there, he was just already there…), and then the ‘GOODBYE’ and the slow, minor key variation on ‘Suicide Is Painless’ started, just the simple horns like it was in the beginning, and rising up over the same view of the mountains as the ‘KOREA, 1950 - a hundred years ago’ opening golfing shot, and I sobbed. I know we say that a lot. I truly broke down crying, just set my hand to my face and cried so much. This show has been really, with me, you know? I started it so open, and it just, it got to me. I’ll never be able to shake you, either.

— — —

Season Viewguides

These

#M*A*S*H hours #Misc. MASH #Tarra takes notes

[funnywormz]

Drama, Empathy, and Composure hehe

drama: who would you be in elysium?

hmm, idk if im interpreting this question right but if i was in elysium i think i would probably be some kind of nerdy bio-entroponeticist probably lol. entroponetics fascinates me so much despite being an entirely fictional field of study and the little mentions of the pale's effects on biology and the species that live around the pale make me so rabid........... the effects of the pale are referred to as "radiation" but idk if they mean ionising radiation or something else, and it only seems to have mental effects rather than physical ones from what we see in canon, although admittedly we only get to hear small snippets abt it in the game. i would love to study it and the effect it has on living things

empathy: who is the character of all time? explain.

i mean. i gotta be generic and say harry and kim here. harry is so easy to empathise with and care abt despite the fact that he's ultimately a pretty shitty awful dude, and i appreciate that a lot. he's such a fun character to play as at times but also heartbreaking and frustrating (in a good way) at others. kim, conversely, keeps himself on a tight leash and is overall pretty reserved and "cool", but beneath it all he's deeply flawed in his own way and is also just kind of a nerd lol. i love them both so much.

excluding kim and harry though, ruby and klaasje are my favourites. their relationship is very complex and more than a little tragic, and they're both very interesting characters in their own right. ruby is independent and self sufficient but seems to have a kind heart deep down, while klaasje seems to rely on others and human company and yet can be quite callous and will throw others under the bus to save herself. klaasje especially is such a complex character, you can never fully trust her and yet there's truth woven into everything she says. ruby is more openly blunt and honest, which i appreciate too. she's tough but she clearly would rather not hurt anyone, and is loyal to ppl she cares abt. klaasje is a victim in the situation but she put ruby in the line of fire to save her own skin and in the end there's no excusing that, but also it's understandable why she did it. idk they're just both very interesting

composure: would you rather sit on an anthill for an hour or stand in a river of leeches?

lmao i genuinely thought abt this one when it came up in the game and i gotta say im with kim on this one, i pick the leeches, although it depends on how many and how long for. leeches are very cool and fascinating animals, so i would enjoy being around them for a while and wouldn't mind getting a bit bitten. ants are lovely too, but when they are mad at you then they very much WANT to hurt you to make you go away. an hour is a long time when you're getting bitten and/or stung by a lot of pissed off ants, and depending on the species it could be rlly excruciating.

leeches on the other hand, have evolved to have a painless bite, because they don't want their host to even notice that they're being bitten, so they can suck their blood in peace. they actually use a form of anaesthetic to numb the bite area! so it wouldn't hurt at all. it's also easy to remove them, as they don't latch on/bury themselves in skin/leave teeth behind like other parasites do, so it would be easy to just gently pluck them off. of course, in large numbers they can theoretically cause anemia and even death from blood loss, but im assuming in this scenario there aren't enough of them to kill someone. and like i said, they are easy to remove and the bites are painless. so even if there were lots of them, you could just keep on picking them off before they took too much blood.........

im also just a big fan of all invertebrates and that includes leeches! they're worms in the annelida phylum, which also contains earthworms and polychaete worms, and based on my username it's probably pretty easy to infer that i am a worm enjoyer lol. i would totally let a leech bite me and take plenty of pics. so leeches it is, for sure :-)

#SORRY I USED THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A LITTLE MINI INFODUMP LOL #ask game #disco elysium

[donewithyourschmidt]

@cultbunny​ (moved from here)

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Mike’s voice is low, but even - every bit as guarded as Vanessa’s. He’s reined in his initial frustration that resulted in his outburst. It was, admittedly, foolish of him to challenge his coworker head on, but it has been a long day-bleeding-into-night. He’s been awake far too long. Far too many things are happening. He doesn't know who to trust. "But I'm not blind. The bots are acting off, no one's come even close to finding the kid, and you've been acting weird."

The last bit is an assumption, truthfully - Mike is a dayshift employee, and has had little in the way of interaction with Vanessa until now. If he hadn't missed his chance to go home after his shift, it likely would have remained that way. Yet there's a strange feeling in his gut that something is amiss. Maybe it's the fact he's hardly seen Vanessa despite them both searching, or the fact the animatronics won't listen to him at all. Though that's hardly foreign anymore - trying to wrangle Moon these days was nightmarish.

Or perhaps it's due to the disappearances in the area. Children - just like the one they're trying to find, the one who seems absolutely terrified of them.

Still, it’s entirely possible Vanessa is just another poor soul roped into a mad search. The Pizzaplex is enormous; they may have simply just missed each other, and her dodgy attitude may be nothing more than that of an overworked nightguard. Maybe he shouldn’t be jumping her over possible coincidences. Though the suspicion can’t be fully quashed, he tries to soften his tone, tilting his head. “What’s going on here, Vanessa? Shouldn’t we be working together?”

#Retro Nightmares Bathed In Neon Light ~ SB AU #(I'm so sorry this is so late - hope it's okay I moved it to another post!) #cultbunny

[taylors-karma]

Ranking Update Week 4

Yooooo y’all ready for my update? I feel like things are starting to stay the same but there are still some changes so here is my updated list: 1. Taylor (Prev 1)- I don’t really need to explain this one anymore. 

2. Michael (Prev 2)- Y’all can be mad at him all you want for him protecting himself and thinking ahead in the game, but I really do still like Michael and I think he’s a great strategist. I would absolutely play like him if I were in the game, and like yeah it’s overthinking and a bit of paranoia but sometimes you have to do that to stay idk I love him 

3. Brittany (Prev 5)- Okay she made her way back to the top because I love her. I think she’s a genuinely sweet person and she is one of two people to take full accountability for her participation in what happened to Taylor week one. Also she has every intent on having Taylor and Michael on her side and I am living for it. They are the Final Three I’m sorry askdjospidf

4. Turner (Prev 3)- The only reason he moved down is because he hasn’t done a whole lot on his own this week, and Michael and Brittany securing that Final 3 with Taylor just brought them back up. Still love him, and I hope he’s okay after all that slop this week :(

5. Joseph (Prev 4)- Likewise to Turner he only moved down because Brittany moved back up. He’s great and actually cares about people’s feelings, but I still see him doing a little much sometimes. I just need him to try and lay low as much as possible aksjdosdf

6. Monte (Prev 8)- I don’t think I am ever going to fully trust this man but after him going in this week and securing power for the Leftovers, I will give him some grace. He is doing a wonderful job imo and is finally coming to his damn senses!

7. Kyle (Prev 6)- He is moving down slightly because of the Alyssa situation. He was doing so well and then like....men, y’all. Don’t get me wrong I still hope he’s able to come to his sense and get out of this situation but it’s clear that he just doesn’t have the experience or knowledge to know what’s really going on. I fear for his game but also we’re just gonna have to let him lose his chance at 750k like.....

8. Terrance (Prev 9)- Moving up a little because admittedly I am warming up to this dude. He’s kind of funny at times and knows when to call bullshit, but I will not be forgetting how he treats women and talks about them. He’s still weird and gross he just occasionally pops off. 

9. Indy (Prev 7)- Girl is digging herself lower and lower for me. She is just rude to everyone and is extremely dramatic and self-centered like, who is this chick sjkdhfosdf. She was cracked and iconic at the beginning and then started showing her true colors when things didn’t go her way. Are we 30 something or 5?

10. Jasmine (Prev 12)- The only reason she made it above Alyssa is probably because she’s less relevant atm because I still hate her and seeing her on my screen makes me want to legitimately throw up. I just can’t stand her. 

11. Alyssa (Prev 11)- Yeah she’s just gonna keep staying down for me because I honestly can’t stand the hetero romance bullshit this show is putting me through and she clearly has no concept of game or competition at all. Imagine focusing on a man instead of your future and a money prize couldn’t be fucking me. What a loser.  

12. Nicole (Prev 13)- She’s playing hilariously bad rn. Like, I can’t even. Also she keeps being violent for no reason? Calm tf down seriously it’s not that deep it’s a fucking game and you’re not even playing it correctly. 

13. Daniel (Prev 14)- This man is so garbage I just can’t even anymore. He thinks he’s doing something but that thing is sending his bestfriend out the door LMAO like......I’m just don’t I can’t 

#bb24 #the top be constantly changing but the bottom stays #lol #anyways vote brittany guys

[softjunk01]

The Akarikage: Chapter 2 - Coalescing with Reality

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Chapter introduction of Uchiha Sasuke. Trigger Warning: mentions of violence - blood, stabbing, strangulation.

Voices. He could hear voices.

            Then, a siren.

            “They’re still inside…!”

            Running footsteps among running footsteps.

            “They can’t get out!” 

            A house on fire.

            “…why can’t they get out?!”

            Flames after flames. Panic rising.

            “Dammit! …it’s too late!” 

            The converging voices getting louder and louder.

            Labored breaths. His labored breaths.

            His knees, smaller than usual, hitting the ground. “Tōsan… Kāsan.”

            “Sasuke.” Nīsan?

            “Get out of here!” Why?

            “…Sasuke.” How did this happen?

            “Sasuke! Get up!” 

            Uchiha Sasuke was gasping for breath as his eyes snapped open. His body shot upright on his bed before he could become fully aware of his surroundings. The moonlight cascaded down his bedroom. And somebody was knocking on the door.

            “Sasuke.”

            He was a little confused. He must have fallen asleep…

            “Are you awake yet?” Ah. So Itachi woke him up. “Food’s already on the table. Let’s have dinner.”

            Another nightmare. It was starting to get difficult to distinguish reality and dreams these days.

            With a sigh, Sasuke collected his thoughts and wiped away the sheen of sweat he hadn’t realized formed on his forehead. “I’m up.”

            He spared a glance—he always spared a glance—on the row of picture frames sitting atop the bottom bookshelves, over by the window, before standing up to fix his bed. The sun was still up when he took a nap earlier. Admittedly, he was also a little disoriented with time upon waking up to a dark bedroom (“Is it nighttime? Or morning already?”).

            He approached the door and let himself out.

            Itachi was waiting for him outside. He was still wearing his police uniform. He went to work after dropping him off when the ceremony ended earlier this morning.

            “I hope you’re hungry. It’s a special occasion, so I overdid it with the dishes tonight.” He greeted Sasuke with a soft smile that made him think he wasn’t aware about the nightmare the latter was having a moment ago. But of course, Sasuke knew better than to doubt his big brother.

            Itachi was always aware; especially with his little brother’s inner feelings and the nightmares. Sasuke could always feel his presence—he was always watching over him.

            Ever since their parents died almost eight years ago, Itachi had taken both their parental roles and diligently took care of Sasuke. And Sasuke, in his own way, also looked after his older brother whom he admired so much. After all, the two of them were all that each other had now. 

            That last thought reminded—and distracted—him of someone else, someone who was supposed to join them for dinner tonight. Tch.

            Sasuke turned his head left and right, trying to feel the moron’s presence around the house. Then, he scoffed. “He’s late.”

            Itachi huffed in amusement before turning around. He headed for the staircase. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon. But we should go ahead and eat. Naruto-kun is—”

            Sasuke’s sudden sharp intake of breath cut off Itachi mid-sentence and made him halt on his tracks.

            Body rigid, Sasuke’s black irises changed into purple ones, his pupils glinting with a black swirl.

            Images flashed in his mind:

            Naruto was in a dark alley, staring up at a man in fear. 

            The man, whose face expressed nothing but contempt, held a bloody knife over his head. 

            Naruto couldn’t move—too shocked (too stupid to move away) 

            The mad man screamed in rage before dragging down the knife. 

            Jerking back to reality, Sasuke’s eyes returned to their normal black shade. He blinked a few times before pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead after a stinging pain shot through his temples and radiated around his eye sockets. He could feel his eyeballs throbbing as he screwed his eyes shut.

            Itachi’s own charcoal eyes narrowed. He waited.

            Once Sasuke recovered, he wasted no time. He clenched his jaw before speaking, “He’s in danger. Now.”

            “Where?”

            “Five blocks on the west from his apartment. An alleyway.”

            Without another word or any further elaborations, the two morphed their bodies into balls of energy (both with their color signatures—red for Itachi and bluish purple for Sasuke), then bolted out of the house and straight for Naruto’s location.

            Sasuke learned how to change his body’s form into mass energy as early as seven years old, and mastered it in less than four months. It was second nature to him now.

            They moved with inhuman speed, faster than most hengeyokai known in Konoha. They were flying far through the city for more than twenty-four hundred miles per hour. Despite this though, the two brothers still had a full grasp of their surroundings in vivid detail. To another person’s gaze, they were zooming across like a neon bullet train.

            Sasuke led the way, his older brother barely half an inch behind. The former had the image of the location in his mind, after all. He had to lead the way. He just hoped they make it in time.

            As a mangekai, Sasuke was blessed with an eye prowess that enabled him to perceive danger or impending death on people he could link with. And the phenomenon he experienced earlier, was an example of just that.

            The Uchiha, a clan of mangekai creatures, were hengeyokai who had incredible powers residing behind their eyes, each possessing a unique ability, one which Sasuke developed early into his childhood (the first time he had a visual premonition was eight years ago: the attack on his parents and their deaths, which eventually, and unfortunately, became a reality). He was barely five at the time.

            As mentioned, this particular power of Sasuke’s, involved linking himself with others in order to have premonitory access. He soon learned from their clan’s deity of flames, the one called “Tamaen” (as it is customary for every Uchiha heir to speak with Tamaen-sama to discover what visual prowess they inherited at the age of six), that this link naturally existed with his nuclear family. Furthermore, if he wanted to link his prowess with another individual, he had to send them a thread-like trace of mangekai energy through physical contact of any means—Sasuke usually did this by touching their hands.

            It would be like leaving a trace of himself to their person; his own tracking device.

            A year later, after the murder of his parents, Sasuke began linking himself to his close relatives and friends, and ensured nothing like that would happen again. Not while he was alive.

            So, he was linked to Naruto. Annoyingly, (and some might not find it a surprise) this wasn’t the first time Sasuke had a premonition of Naruto in imminent danger. The half-wit was always getting himself into heaps of trouble, which then opened doors for death to claim him.

            Dammit. We just graduated. Usuratonkachi!

            Even if this wasn’t the first time Sasuke was rushing in to save Naruto, he still fought the apprehension crawling up his chest on the way to mess with his head and stir his paranoia.  Damn you, Naruto!

            In less than twenty seconds, they finally found his friend and morphed back into their bodies. He reappeared beside Naruto.

Itachi on the other hand, was in front of them, facing the attacker, his one hand already grasping his wrist, which was a moment away from stabbing the boy, and his other hand hovering over the gun on his holster, ready to grab, point and shoot if necessary.

            “That’s enough,” said Itachi, holding him back with ease.

            Naruto barely noticed them at first, too focused on the terrifying man in front of him, until Itachi’s back had blocked his view. “Itachi-nīchan!” He turned his head. “Sasuke!”

            Sasuke wanted to keep his eyes trained on Naruto’s would-be attacker, but the stench of blood and the unmistakable fading energy of a corpse further behind stole his attention altogether. He stiffened.

            Hidden in the wall’s shadow, was a woman’s body, lying in a pool of blood, and despite the darkness, he noticed her widened, empty eyes. She was no longer seeing, though. Sasuke looked back up at the man holding a bloody knife once more and glared.

            Naruto must have caught him red-handed, and that’s why he wanted to kill him, too.

            The man looked bewildered—and still angry—at the sight of newcomers. Sasuke expected him to struggle and fight Itachi, but he was taken aback when his bloodshot eyes rolled at the back of his head and he collapsed, forcing Itachi to let go of his wrist.

            “What just happened?!” Sasuke demanded, staring down at this individual who was supposedly full of rigor and ready to murder a thirteen-year old boy.

            Naruto took a step back, still not letting his guard down. “No way! Is he… hurt or something?”

             That wasn’t it. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. That killing intent I felt earlier vanished all of a sudden. 

            Itachi was observing the scene quietly.

            Sasuke did the same. Immediately, he noticed a subtle shift in the shadows. It was easy to miss, but Sasuke managed to catch it. The blood and shadows scattered all around must be coalescing in his view enough to play tricks, because for a moment, the shadow on the other wall looked red in color. It had only been for an instant—he had blinked and the shadow was black again. And yet…

            This feeling…

            “I’m going to call for a squad from the headquarters to come and seal off this crime scene, And the paramedics,” Itachi spoke, cutting off Sasuke’s trailing thoughts. He was putting handcuffs on the man on the ground. “You two stay here. Don’t touch anything.” He stood up and pulled out the radio from his utility belt before moving away. “I’ll call for a police car to pick us up as well.”

            It’s gone. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. That glaring feeling; an ominous energy wrapped around something he couldn’t exactly pinpoint. Whatever it was, it disappeared, and posed no threat any longer.

            Sasuke finally turned to Naruto with a chiding scowl. “Why didn’t you move?  That wasn’t like you.” It was true. Even if the blonde prioritized keeping his abilities hidden, Sasuke knew he was skilled enough to dodge or run away unscathed (at least, he had hoped).

            There was a hint of blush dusting Naruto’s cheeks, enhancing his whiskered-like birthmark, before he stubbornly turned away. “Sh-shut up, dattebayo! I was going to do something, okay! But you guys suddenly showed up!” He crossed his arms, trying to look smug as if he was in control of the situation the entire time (and failing). “How’d you guys find out, anyways?” 

            This loser. Sasuke expression turned grim. “I saw.”

            This time, Naruto flinched. “You…saw? You mean…?”

            “Ah. I had a vision.”

            Naruto’s mouth fell open a little.

            There had been times when this happened in the past, yes, but it still came as a shock to both of them—to everyone. And even then, it had only occurred a handful of times. And every time it did and he somehow managed to prevent the worst case scenario, he couldn’t help but think: next time, will I make it?

            And so, he continued to scowl at his friend. “You’re so hopeless, usuratonkachi.”

            Naruto winced, but maintained his annoyance. “Yeah, yeah I get it already.” He continued to grumble, “If you’re so mad about it, you should’ve stayed home. Jeez.”

            “You should be thanking me for saving your ass again.” Sasuke sighed. “You really are going to die first.” It had been a…reoccurring dark joke amongst their friends that if anyone was going to die first, it was going to be the number one hyperactive idiot of the group.

            “Oi!” Naruto’s eyes rounded. He pointed an angry finger. “Whoever said I was dying?! Don’t say stuff like that,dattebayo! That’s really creepy coming from you! Besides, it was Itachi-nīchan who saved me, not you, bastard!”

            Sasuke crossed his arms and scoffed, condescending. “Hn.”

            “Why you—!”

            Before they could start their regular banter, two police cars and an ambulance arrived, mutely pulling up at the scene. Sasuke suspected the absence of siren was probably not to attract the neighbors and draw them near the area. Although, he doubted anyone could ignore the flashing blue and red lights they decided to turn on.

            Itachi walked over once the police men stepped out from the cars. “Please, come with me. You two,” he addressed the two younger boys, “wait for me in the car. And no mischief tonight, Naruto-kun.”

            Naruto nodded. “Got it.”

            They got in the backseat of the police car and waited.

            “I’m so screwed once the old man finds out about this,” Naruto was complaining. “Probably get another lecture. Man, I should’ve just…”

            But Sasuke was no longer hearing him. His thoughts were pulled back to the glimpse of that red shadow in the alley. Was it just a flicker of his imagination? He was starting to doubt that.

            A red shadow… Could it be a yōkai? But Itachi didn’t react any differently. And if that was the case, both he and Itachi would have picked up a scent.

            Hengeyōkai heavily relied on their physical senses. Mangekai, in particular, have visual prowess that allowed them to see beyond the physical realm. Nothing could escape their field of vision.

            If Sasuke was right, and the red shadow was a yōkai, then it was skillful enough to hide from a mangekai. That would be an incredible feat, considering there hadn’t been anyone on record who could do that. It’s impossible.

            There had to be another explanation.

            Could it be a yūrei? They could’ve poisoned and manipulated the man they just caught. Which means the murder could be their doing.

            Sasuke frowned. No. That wasn’t it, either. It was even less plausible that a yūrei of any kind could evade a mangekai.

            I must be missing something. 

            “Oi. Sasuke.” Naruto poked his shoulder, cutting off his train of thoughts. “Are you even listening to me?”

            Sasuke threw him an annoyed glance. “No. Can you just—” Then he realized something that made him pause. “Naruto.”

            “What?” The disapproving look on Naruto’s face remained unchanged.

             Before Sasuke could ask, something in his peripheral view caught his immediate attention.

            He turned to the car window and looked outside.

            Then he froze. His jaw slackened and his eyes were wide open.

            “Sasuke?”

            His hands shook. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sasuke knew this had to be some twisted type of illusion.

            Because right across the street, stood Uchiha Fugaku—his father.

            Charcoal eyes met their identical pair ones. Sasuke found himself staring back at his father after so long.

            Tōsan. 

            “Hey, Sasuke.” Naruto, on the other hand, was getting irritated at being ignored. “Earth to asshole! Oi!”

            Tōsan broke eye contact and walked down the streets.

            “Sasuke!” Naruto whisper yelled as he watched Sasuke opening the car door to step out. “Itachi-nīchan told us to stay in the car!”

            “Then stay here.” Sasuke paid him no mind after that and followed his late father’s trail. It looked like he was turning towards an alleyway. What was going on? Why was Tōsan’s ghost appearing in front of him?

            Naruto followed him.

            They crossed the street.

            “Where are we going, anyways?” Naruto asked.

            “Be quiet.” Afraid to lose him, Sasuke hurried his pace.

            A part of him, the logical one, was telling him it was a trap. It was pleading him to go back to the police car and lock the doors. But another part of him, the five-year-old child missing his father, was hoping Tōsan was reaching out somehow to tell him something. Whichever the case, Sasuke needed to know. He needed to follow him.

            He took a right into the alley, then stopped. What the hell?

            It was a dead end. The end of the alley was nothing but a brick wall, and no sign of Tōsan.

            He was gone.

            A chill crept up Sasuke’s nape at the inkling realization that whoever that was, it wasn’t Tōsan.

            The same ominous and glaring feeling from earlier came back as a breeze swept by. It lured me here.

            “I thought I told you two to stay in the car.” Itachi appeared from behind, startling the boys. Naruto cussed.

            Sasuke didn’t realize he was holding his breath until now. His heart was beating loudly against his chest.

            What the hell just happened? 

Once the forensics team arrived at the crime scene, Itachi drove over to Konoha Police Force, so the three of them could write their official witness statements. This was the city’s police headquarters where Itachi was currently stationed at. Sasuke also planned on working here one day. Just like practically almost everyone in his clan (he hadn’t met an Uchiha who didn’t work as a law enforcer).

            When they arrived at the building, Itachi was already talking to another police officer. He was relaying his report to him while they walked inside. Sasuke and Naruto were taken to an empty room where they were given forms to fill up and sign before they went into detail of what they witnessed.

            After the police in charge collected their official statements, Sasuke was pulled out and brought into another room to be interviewed for more details. Naruto had grumbled about how repetitive everything was. Sasuke scoffed.

Earlier, after Itachi scolded them for leaving the police car and wandering off on their own, the backup police asked them about what happened prior to their arrival and what they saw. And now, they were telling it again just after putting everything on writing.

            Sasuke shook his head. He didn’t understand why the knucklehead was whining. They’ve done this a few times already. It was the same routine and the same procedure. He should be aware of this already.

            It wasn’t uncommon for any citizen in Konoha to report an incident to the nearby police station from time to time (he was pretty sure Naruto and their friend, Kiba would be reporting in regularly if they didn’t have school). Konoha wasn’t a quiet city. And it definitely wasn’t peaceful. To Sasuke, this was a normal Thursday night.

            Interview completed, Sasuke went back to the previous room where Naruto was waiting.

            “Namikaze Naruto-kun,” the police officer from earlier called out. He held the door open outside, while leaning in to find the other boy. “Please come with me.”

            Naruto stood up from his chair and followed the officer.

            Itachi was probably still talking to his superiors.

            Sasuke sighed. He hadn’t told his older brother about what happened earlier. He didn’t want to give him another reason to worry. Although, he was sure Itachi already suspected that something was amiss. He wasn’t able to hide his discomfort during the car ride.

            A few moments passed by before he felt a familiar hum coursed through his body. It was Itachi. He was close by.

            He strained his hearing to listen. He could hear telephones ringing from different rooms, the loud typing on keyboards and people busily chatting and moving about on the floor. Then, he found Itachi walking down the hallway with someone.

            “Are you reporting in?” Itachi was asking.

            “Yeah. Has Shisui-keibu arrived yet?”  It was the same police officer who greeted them at the entrance earlier.

            Their footsteps echoed into Sasuke’s ears. “No. He’s meeting with the family of the victim. I’ll be on my way to join him after I drop off my little brother and his friend. Share me your findings, and I’ll relay them over to Keibu-san.”

            So, Shisui was leading the investigation.

            Uchiha Shisui was a police inspector under the homicide division. He was also their older cousin and Itachi’s best friend. It was him who monitored Itachi’s training at the Uchiha Police Force Academy and during his field training (he managed to complete them in less than a year). A few weeks ago, Shisui gave them the good news about Itachi’s recruitment in the Force. He was assigned under Shisui’s unit.

            “Ah. Very well then.” Sasuke heard a shuffling of paper. “The victim suffered from many fatal wounds, and heavy blood loss,” the officer went on to explain. “Strike to the heart, lungs and kidneys are determined to be the cause of death. And apparently, she was also strangled.” Damn. That bastard didn’t hold back. “They’ve just started the autopsy, so it would be a while before we could get a full detailed analysis. But there’s something else,” he paused. The footsteps stopped. “Something the paramedics mentioned that was quite bothersome.”

            “And what is that?”

            “They said there were fresh burn marks on the body. Particularly, on her arms and neck where she was strangled.”

            “Burn marks… that’s certainly unusual.” Sasuke agreed with Itachi. Fresh burn marks? Where would those come from?

            “Yes. That one has me on a bind. I don’t know what to make of it. We didn’t find any other weapon, other than the kitchen knife on Hayashi-sanr.” Hayashi-san was the man they caught earlier. He was currently in the hospital after collapsing.

            “Can you describe the burn marks to me?”

            “Of course.” The officer flipped a paper. “There was a burning smell. Initially, that’s how we knew how fresh they were. I couldn’t get a proper look on the body since she was mostly covered in blood, but I did see handprints on her arms, and then around her neck. The skin looked red and they were blistering.”

            “Handprints?” Itachi repeated.

            “Yes. They were the burn marks. It’s really strange. I had the forensics collect them for fingerprint analysis, see if they match with Hayashi-san.”

            “I see. I’ll relay your report to Shisui-keibu. Good work, Keiji-san..”

            “And you as well..”

            They exchanged a few more words before Sasuke heard their footsteps going to different directions. Itachi was coming closer. And so was Naruto.

            The door opened and as anticipated, Naruto walked in.

            “How’d it go?” Sasuke asked.

            “It was fine.” Naruto put his hands behind his head. “Can we get out of here?”

            Just then, Itachi came back. “Let’s go, you two.” He ruffled Naruto’s hair. “I’m dropping you off at the house.”

It was decided that Naruto would be staying with the Uchiha brothers for a few days, just until the police were finished with the crime scene on the street of his residence. The case was new and they wanted to avoid any interaction with nosey neighbors and prevent spreading misinformation. Especially with the Haruno’s. And knowing Naruto…

            At any rate, Itachi had driven both Sasuke and Naruto to the house, so they could have dinner while Itachi would go to meet up with Shisui. Sasuke had to reheat the all the food.

            The boys were quiet for a while, focused on finishing their meals (Sasuke hadn’t even realized he was starving). He was having a tomato chahan, and Naruto was chewing on an ikayaki—his third meal on the table.

            During the drive on the way back, Sasuke had been wanting to ask Naruto to explain what happened in detail to him, but his brother being there stopped him from talking. Itachi didn’t like it when Sasuke involved himself with yōkai-related crimes. But still, Naruto might have noticed something important about the red shadow or what could have caused the burn marks on the dead body. He didn’t know why, but Sasuke had a feeling it wasn’t the last time they would be seeing that red shadow.

            Now that they were alone, Sasuke finally found a chance to talk.

            “Naruto.” He looked at the blonde boy across the table, who was still chewing.

            “Hm?”

            “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened?”

            Naruto soundly swallowed down his food before looking at him impatiently. “Didn’t you already see it? I’m trying to eat here you know.”

            “No. What I saw was what could have happened,” Sasuke clarified. “I want to know what happened before that.”

            Naruto gave him a tired look before giving in. “Fine.” Tilting his head in thought, he tried his best to describe everything that happened before Sasuke came with Itachi.

            He was riding his bike on the way to Sasuke’s house when he heard something in the alley. That was when he decided to check it out and witnessed Hayashi-san, the murderer, repeatedly stabbing the victim with a knife. Besides getting shocked and feeling incredibly disturbed and disgusted by the guy’s actions, Naruto mentioned feeling something “weird”.

            “Weird how?” Sasuke asked.

            “I don’t know. But…” Naruto looked up in contemplation. “That guy didn’t feel normal. I-I mean, the entire thing didn’t feel normal, of course!” Naruto was now frowning. He crossed his arms. “I feel like… like I missed something.”

            Sasuke sighed. Maybe it was too much after all. The entire ordeal was still too fresh and overwhelming. They could talk about it some other time.

            “Forget about it,” Sasuke told him. “Let’s just eat—”

            “Come to think of it,” Naruto continued, however. “I had the same feeling after the graduation ceremony.”

            Sasuke stayed quiet and listened.

            “When we were outside, I felt like someone was watching me from our classroom. I can’t really explain it, dattebayo, but I could feel my body warning me about it. Then I found that guy in the alley later, and—” Suddenly, Naruto stiffened. His eyes widened.

            Sasuke sat up straighter. “What is it?”

            “Just before you guys came, I was going to leave, but he caught me. He was glaring at me, and I swear… when he raised his knife, I saw red eyes from behind him. It was the same feeling as before.”

            Sasuke flinched. Red eyes? A red shadow… with red eyes. Watching. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

            “That’s why at first, I thought maybe the guy was like us,” Naruto further explained. “But he didn’t do anything when you guys came.”

            He was right. The guy collapsed instead. Itachi didn’t react any differently, either. If he had been a hengeyōkai (animal shapeshifters) like Sasuke and Itachi, or a kaminochi (people with supernatural abilities) like Naruto, Itachi would call for a TONINBU squad, and not the regular police force.

            The TONINBU is a specialized task force of Konoha’s law enforcement—an underground division strictly of hengeyōkai and kaminochi recruits. They were the ones who discretely dealt with crimes related to yōkai. The agents within the division all worked in the surface as police officers for cover.

            Wait a minute. Shisui was also an agent in the TONINBU task force. Was Nīsan the one who called for Shisui-nīsan to investigate?

            That was it. Itachi much have seen something in the alley like Sasuke had and kept quiet about it.

            Sasuke scowled. He hated it when Itachi often did this. Itachi would treat him like an innocent child. But he wasn’t. Not anymore. Not ever since that night eight years ago.

            “Sasuke?”

            Blinking away the simmering rage he felt inside, Sasuke turned his attention back to Naruto, who was now looking at him with a stupid look on his face.

            “Are you okay?” he asked. “You’ve been spacing out a lot tonight.”

            “I’m fine.” Sasuke stood up and began clearing the table. “Let’s just put these away, so we can rest.”

            Thankfully, Naruto didn’t pry any longer and helped him with the dirty dishes.

 While Naruto took his turn in the bathroom, Sasuke brought out the futon. He took out some extra blankets and pillows as well. He laid them out on his bedroom floor for Naruto to sleep on.

            After all of that, Naruto was still not finished. Sasuke could hear him brushing his teeth in there. He himself had already changed into his blue T-shirt and white shorts and was ready to turn in for the night.

            While waiting, he wandered over the windows with the photographs atop the bottom bookshelves. Personally, he didn’t like having his photos taken and putting them on display, most of them were developed by his brother and friends (Itachi was usually the one putting them on frames and displaying them in his bedroom).

He was thankful for it now, though.

            Sasuke picked up the one he looked at the most. It was the standard family picture taken a few years ago before the incident. Tōsan hadn’t been smiling in the photo, but in all the years Sasuke spent his time with him, Tōsan never smiled in pictures. Even so, Sasuke could see the happy lines around his eyes in here. He had noticed it the fifth time he looked at the picture frame.

            Tōsan and Itachi shared the same black-haired color. Sasuke’s hair was also black but with blue highlights, a trait he most likely inherited from Mikoto, their dark blue-haired mother.

            People always said that he looked more like Kāsan and that Itachi looked like Tōsan. But as Sasuke was growing up, he was starting to look more like Itachi.

            Sasuke put down the frame and picked up the next one.

            It was him and Itachi. The picture was taken after a day in the Jofuku forest years ago. He had forced his big brother to take him on his little expedition to find their granny’s missing cat. There was still dirt on Sasuke’s clothes and smudge on his left cheek and forehead. He was beaming with pride as he held the small animal in his hands with a big smile on his face, while Itachi was crouched down to his level and a hand on his shoulder, also smiling at the camera. Even then, Itachi was very meticulous and clean-looking.

            Sasuke looked at the other photographs lined up. One was of Sasuke with Naruto on their field trip back in fourth grade. Sasuke refused to take a picture but the others insisted, and so, he ended up scowling and trying to pull away when it was shot. He wasn’t able to escape because the moron had a strong lock around his neck while grinning down at him, his eyes closed.

            Sasuke didn’t really care about him at first. He was the class clown and could be very annoying without even trying. But that changed when Sasuke learned he was an orphan like him. He slowly began to understand just how lonely it must have been for Naruto. He finally realized why he was acting the way he was.

            He wanted attention. Acknowledgement.

            Sasuke still had his brother and Shisui, but Naruto didn’t have any other family other than his guardians, who were also always away. There was Konohamaru, but it looked like the kid needed Naruto more than Naruto needed him. After all, Naruto’s guardians were Konahamaru’s parents, and most of the time, they couldn’t be there for him (and his grandfather was the mayor, which was pretty much self-explanatory), so he only heavily relied on Naruto. Sasuke thought Naruto needed someone he could depend on himself.

            So, when Naruto approached him one day, he didn’t shut him out and talked to him. Somehow, they had become alike. From then on, they did everything together and acted like brothers.

            And Sasuke wouldn’t change a thing. He was content having Naruto as his best friend. Even when they were always arguing and teasing each other, Sasuke was happy to have him.

            The last frame contained of him and his friends. The picture was from a year ago on his birthday, which they celebrated out in the city.

            Sasuke smiled to himself. He might have lost his parents, but he managed to find people who could fill the spaces left in his heart.

            However, he was still determined to find out who murdered his father and mother.

            Sasuke turned at the sound of the doorknob clicking. Naruto came in, wearing a white T-shirt and green loose shorts.

            “Hey, you think maybe we could play Knight Shades for a while?” Naruto grabbed his backpack from the floor and began rummaging through it. “I’m still stuck on—”

            He was interrupted by a knock downstairs. Sasuke waited for a bit, but the person knocked again. Sasuke and Itachi didn’t have that many friends outside the compound, it was unlikely that anyone would come knocking at the door at almost ten in the evening. If it was someone from their clan, then they would have said something by now to alert their presence. Mangekai shared the same heightened hearing, and were naturally cautious people. It was customary to knock and state your name at an Uchiha household, otherwise, you would be seen as a threat.

            “That’s probably Itachi-nīchan!” Naruto exclaimed.

            “Wait.” Sasuke gripped his shoulder before he could dash. He was now suspicious. Itachi wouldn’t knock at his own house. He had a key.

            They both went downstairs and stopped at the genkan. Sasuke cautioned Naruto to be quiet. Naruto gave him a confused look in return. Another persisting knock followed.

            Sasuke raised his voice. “Who is it?”

            “Huh? Isn’t it just Nīchan?” Naruto asked in a hushed voice.

            “No.” Sasuke glared at the door. “It’s not.”

            Another knock. This time, there was a response. “Sasuke. It’s me.” It was Itachi’s voice.

            Sasuke and Naruto continued to talk in hushed voices.

            “See? It’s him, dattebayo!”

            “Be quiet!” Sasuke levelled his voice to speak with the person behind the front door. “Who are you?”

            “Why are you asking me that?” The person continued, “It’s me—your older brother, Itachi.”

            He glanced at the table top beside the shoe rack of the genkan where the telephone was and thought about dialing the police headquarters. He could check whether Itachi was there or not, but he already knew this scumbag at the front door was a fake. He stayed alert. “Then what happened to your house key? It’s not like you to forget it, and it’s not like you to lose it, either.” He wasn’t going to be fooled. “So, where is it?”

            Sasuke didn’t know who this person was, but he was sure it wasn’t Itachi. He didn’t feel like Itachi. Sasuke had his brother’s aura and energy embedded into his senses. So, immediately, he knew this person was lying. Even Sakura could lie better than this.

            What does he want? 

            There was a sigh behind the door. “I honestly don’t know how, but it is missing. I am not as flawless as you think I am, Sasuke. But I’ve been going to different places tonight, going about my duties as per Shisui’s instructions. I am also very tired. Could you please open the door now?”

            His eyes remained glued to the door. “What are you going to do if I don’t?”

            “Sasuke! This is too much! Even for you, ‘ttebayo!” Naruto finally yelled in frustration. “Hurry up and open the door already!”

            Sasuke ignored his friend’s outburst. 

            “If this door isn’t open in thirty seconds, I will break it down,” the stranger was threatening him.

            Dammit! What should he do now? 

            “Sasuke—! Oi! Where are you going?!”

            Determined, Sasuke marched over to another room in the house. It was a sacred hall dedicated to Tamaen-sama. At the end of the room, there was a glass case. Inside of it was an ancestor’s relic—a sword. It was breathed with blessed fire by Tamaen-sama underneath a full moon. They said it could cut through anything, even a soul or spirit.

           Opening the glass case, Sasuke carefully took the sword and went back to the genkan.

            “Oi! What the heck is that?!” Naruto yelled from behind him.

            “Just stay back.” Sasuke gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands. To be honest, he wasn’t sure if this was going to work. He could bolt out of the house with Naruto like he was taught to do, but he didn’t want to run. I have to do something.

            “What are you going to do, ‘ttebayo?!” Annoyingly, Naruto wasn’t done squawking like a damned parrot. “You asshole! Are you out of your mind?!”

            “Shut up and get back, usuratonkachi!”

            Naruto groaned. “This is ridiculous! It’s just Itachi!”

            “Open the door, Sasuke. I’m not fooling around.” Itachi’s tone pitched lower, darker.

            Sasuke didn’t budge.

            “For crying out loud!” In a flash, Sasuke was pushed to the side and Naruto was at the front door, turning the knob.

            “No wait, you idiot—!”

            “—Itachi-nīchan—”

            Naruto opened the door. Both of them froze on the spot.

            There was no one there.

            The wind picked up. The room felt unnaturally colder. 

            It was quiet for a full minute. Naruto’s face looked discomfited, and that worried Sasuke. “What’s wrong?” His expression stirred his own gut.

            “It’s…” Naruto closed the door and offered a hesitant smile. “Probably nothing.”

            Sasuke had loosened his grip on the sword and was now holding it in one hand to his side. He walked over and locked the door.

            The telephone rang and the two of them jumped, startled.

            Dammit. His heart was pounding again.

            They both hesitated until Naruto reached out and picked it up.

            “Wait—”

            “Moshi, moshi.”

            This guy's curiosity was worse than a cat. 

            Sasuke’s gripped on the sword tightened once more. He was anxious yet again. It couldn’t be that imposter… could it?

            “Naruto?”

            Both boys sighed in relief.

            Naruto’s face brightened. He smiled his usual happy smile. “Sakura-chan…”

            They talked over the telephone, and Sasuke noticed how easily Naruto reverted back to his laid-back, carefree self. He talked to Sakura as if nothing happened just now. Sasuke, however, felt another weight on his shoulder and his thoughts were muddled for the second time tonight.

Chapter is available here: AO3, FFN and Wattpad.

#naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #sakura haruno #kiba inuzuka #shino aburame #hinata hyuga #choji akimichi #shikamaru nara #ino yamanaka #rock lee #neji huyga #tenten #konoha 12 #namikaze naruto #fanfiction #fanfic #anime #adventure #fantasy #supernatural #team 7 #team 8 #team 10 #team guy #naruto #naruto fanfiction #sasunaru bromance #sasunaru bonding #sasunaru #narusasu

[theharpermovieblog]

#HARPERSMOVIECOLLECTION

2024 MOVIE LIST

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I re-watched John Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness (1987)

I've written a review of this before, but it's lost to time. So, here we go again.

A priest asks a Quantum Physics professor to help him study and understand a tank full of a liquid, which he believes is pure evil.

I'm mildly obsessed with this particular John Carpenter movie. I'm a big John Carpenter fan, and I fully admit that he has made far better films. So, what is it that draws me back to this one, over and over again?

It'd be easy to reduce Prince Of Darkness to just another dumb horror movie from the 1980's. It's a touch muddy, it's got some bad acting, some cheap special effects...it is a flawed film.

However, I'd argue that what Carpenter gets across with this movie, is something many filmmakers have tried, but few have pulled off.

This film is the second in John Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy", which began with "The Thing" and ended with "In The Mouth Of Madness." These films are Carpenter's exploration of Cosmic Horror and Lovecraftian ideas. (Something you could argue he's been exploring since the first Halloween, by creating a literal undying Boogeyman without explanation,...but, that's an argument for another day.) This narratively unconnected trilogy started with it's strongest film, and many would consider "Prince Of Darkness" to be the weakest entry. I disagree. While it's not an incredibly strong film on the surface, it has plenty to offer for a fan of the cosmic horror genre.

The film loosely uses a mix of Catholicism and Quantum Physics to try and give stability to the idea of an evil entity which is beyond comprehension. With this idea in place, the film then goes on to make it's main statement, which is that the unknown is unknowable and everlasting. No matter how hard humanity tries to get ahead of it, something bigger than us has always been there and will always be there. In this way, what we call evil, is an inevitability. We are helpless to stop said evil and incapable of fully understanding the nature of it. Such is the essence of Cosmic Horror.

"Prince Of Darkness" ends with the knowledge that, whatever we have watched our characters accomplish, it has had little to no effect on what is coming. Their fight was completely for nothing...or was it? Without a concrete ending, we are left to wonder. Carpenter pulled this same trick in "The Thing". It just makes sense to leave his audience as the victims to the unknown, especially when the unknown is the film's main antagonist.

So, why am I obsessed with this, admittedly, less than perfect Carpenter film?

The answer lies somewhere in my desire for good cosmic horror in film. It's not enough for a filmmaker to throw a bunch of tentacles and spooky space images onto a screen and call it cosmic horror. The filmmaker needs to understand that the very idea of this genre is to make the audience see themselves as helpless, empty and at the mercy of the unexplainable chaos we find ourselves facing. Something is out there, it is coming, and you are completely incapable of knowing what it is. You are doomed, as are we all. And, when all around you are dying and you face this incomprehensible death yourself, you will know that you never really mattered, and all is madness.

Carpenter doesn't completely pull this off here, but he is trying and succeeding on certain levels. And, he does so with a film that is most certainly all his own.

#JohnCarpenter #JohnCarpenterMarathon

[garbage-connoisseur]

Creature from the Haunted Sea

Today's feature is an infamous old Roger Corman flick. Everyone reading this are probably well aware of who Roger Corman is, but if not here's a quick summary: Roger Corman is a pioneer of super low-budget schlock. He was active as a director in the 1950s and 1960s, making Edgar Allan Poe and Lovecraft adaptations starring Vincent Price, directing the original Little Shop of Horrors and creature features with titles like "It Conquered the World", "Attack of the Crab Monster", "Swamp Women", "Teenage Cave Man", "She Gods of Shark Reef", "The Wasp Woman" etc. More importantly Corman eventually took on the role of producer of low-budget grindhouse movies and helped lunch a thousand careers by giving unknown directors the chance to show what they could do with minimal budgets such as Joe Dante (Piranha, The Howling, Gremlins). In this particular case we're dealing with a comedy movies parodying old spy films. A sort of Roger Corman "Austin Powers", "Naked Gun" or "Johnny English" I suppose.

The jokes are hardly the high point, but they are also not painful to watch, which puts it above the admittedly very low bar of the vast majority of bad comedies. It's more "sensible chuckle" than lough out loud funny is what I'm trying to say.

Of course this movie isn't noteworthy for its hot takes on 50s secret agent movies. The star of the show is the titular creature of the Haunted Sea:

But we will get to that. First the plot: In a wonderfully animated segment by Sergio Aragonés of MAD Comics fame we are introduced to the setup. A coup has happened in Cuba and the old guard is making off with all of the contents of the treasury to bide their time elsewhere and plan their own coup:

Robert Towne (the writer of Chinatown and Mission: Impossible) plays the secret agent XK150 (a model of sports car) and is instructed by XK120 to go undercover as a crew member on a ship that is smuggling the contents of the Cuban treasury out of the country. XK120 is also introduced playing a game of chess against herself, which she handily wins right as XK150 enters.

I can only imagine how long she has been sitting there, waiting for him to drop by so she could reveal her great achievement of beating herself at chess. A very normal thing to do.

As a side-note I tried looking up the position, to see if it was referencing some great play - but it turns out this position has never once happened in real life.

I probably should lower my expectations just slightly.

The Cuban gold is being transported along with a Cuban general and his men out of the country on the boat of a crook and owner of a Cuban casino. The Casino owner secretly plans to murder the soldiers, blaming a monster he makes up, dump the gold in an accident, and then come back for it later.

Now, comedy dictates that when he plans to fake monster attacks, a monster with that exact description must also appear. And what a glorious monster it is.

Now, people usually talk bout how terrible looking this creature is, and that is absolutely true. Yet we must not forget that this is a comedy movie, and the monster is directly responsible for the funniest moments in the movie.

I have to believe the monster looking this bad was fully intentional and thereby hugely successful.

That' right. I sad it. The Creature from the Haunted Sea is good actually.

My copy of the movie is from one of those 50 movies on 12 discs box sets, and is in the Public Domain and therefore available for free viewing all over the place. I do hope someone does a nice blu-ray remaster eventually though.

#cult movies #b movie #cult film #horror film #horror movies #creature feature #roger corman #creature from the haunted sea #sea creature #sea monster #spy film #secret agent #1960s movies #parody film #gillman