#and I legit left puddles of blood in the house

[hvtqo]

diona | rainy night

⇢ ˗ˏˋcharacters: diona, diluc [other mondstadt cast]

⇢ ˗ˏˋgenre: angst

⇢ ˗ˏˋ tw!: death of a parental figure; a long, long internal monologue regarding grief and failure; parental negligence; anger.

⇢ ˗ˏˋnote: this is not a ship fic pls don't turn it into smth weird. i wrote this awhile ago (like legit years ago) and i just found it, idk, it made me tear up a bit. when i wrote it i was wondering how diluc would be if he got to be a sort of father/big brother figure for dio.

about:

diona heard the news of draff's death. absentmindedly and unable to grieve properly, she finds herself going to the dawn winery in order to find answers.

↓ read under the cut ↓

When Allan pushed through the Cat's Tail door that night yelling and shaking with a nervous look on his face, Diona's ears stopped being capable of audition. Perhaps her heart registered what the young hunter was saying, because the hitting inside her ribs became stronger, until it was all she could feel. The bar fell silent. Nobody dared move. All the cats' hairs bristled and Margaret dropped a cup as she carefully glared at Diona, but the child did not notice the glass breaking.

Deep, deep down she knew it would happen some day. But... did it have to be today? Diona pressed her hands around the piece of rag she was holding as if her sanity depended on it. As if that insignificant slice of cloth was the only thing keeping her here. Heartbeat going louder and louder, like a desperate bomb. She couldn't blink, and she couldn't breathe.

Allan's words rumbled inside her skull like the faint whisper of a midnight breeze.

“Draff is dead.”

Draff is dead.

Daddy is dead.

────»»❀❀❀««────

Diona could not make sense of it still.

Two days had passed since Draff was wounded by a boar.

“He died of blood loss” she heard the people of the village saying. They would turn their faces when she passed in front of them, as if that gesture would keep her from hearing their words.

Adults are so stupid, she thought every time. “If that young hunter could've been faster... Perhaps Draff would still be here with us”.

Diona did not blame Allan. There was nothing he could have done, anyway. If he had been faster and carried Draff to the cathedral, the nuns would have just been able to prolong his death with bandages and prayers. Diona would have been summoned and Deaconess Barbara would have told her “little one, what I am about to tell you breaks my heart... I am so sorry”.

No difference.

Diona's heart would be troubled nevertheless. She would feel the same void inside her chest, growing towards her stomach.

She would repeat the same words to herself when trying to think about what happened: stupid old man. The day finally came. You left me. Stupid old man.

Diona had not shed a tear. She knew what death was, of course. She was not a toddler. She understood the implications of being gone. And she knew it would happen eventually. If Draff's alcoholism did not kill him, it would be a beast. Diona should have had expected that the real cause of his perish would be a combination of both factors.

She looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to turn bright orange, coloring the clouds in low toned palettes of pink and purple.

I hate you, daddy.

And as if he had heard her thoughts, the sky roared. The rain came down faster than a breath leaving a man's lips for the last time. The villagers of Springvale begun carrying their stuff inside their homes, covering their heads, and taking their children to their warmth embrace. They quietly and carefully glanced at the cat girl sitting over the roof of her house, but none dared speak.

Diona hated the rain. It made the fur of her ears and tail feel sticky and unclean. It also left a scent on her clothes reminiscent of daddy's. A smell of wilderness and sweat.

Diona sighted. Her eyes were stuck on the small taps of the drops vibrating over a puddle. She was cold, but she did not care about the sensations of the rain falling on her skin. Even if a part inside of her was yelling to get inside the house and cover herself, the bigger, more stubborn part that dominated her actions lately, decided to jump down the roof and walk the road towards Dawn Winery.

Her steps worked by themselves, without her fully knowing her real intentions. Why was she going to Dawn Winery in the middle of a storm? What did she expect to find there? Answers? That place could not give her answers.

She knew it was her all along —daddy was dead because Diona failed to take care of him. She should have ended the wine industry sooner. She should have agreed when Klee said to go bomb Dawn Winery.

“I don't want to destroy the industry in that way, Klee” she told her as many times as Klee came up with the idea.

“Well, then Klee doesn't know what you could mean by ‘destroy’.”Diona would try to explain to her that the term was not being used in a literal sense.

But how could a child make another understand that what she really wanted was the comfort of her father's embrace? How, when not even she could explain that to herself?

Diona stopped when she arrived at the Statue of the Seven and looked towards the chimneys and walls covered in ivy of Dawn Winery. The place seemed almost peaceful under the light of the moon and the aggressive sounds of the rain. She took a breath in and ran towards the mansion, her wet clothes sticking to her skin, her tail brushing the grass and her lips trembling as her throat swallowed the tears. Diona did not make it past the entrance —she touched the door and could not knock it.

Her knees bended and the concrete hit her bones with force. That second she perceived the tears starting to fall. Her heart throbbed with the violence of lightning and her cheeks burned.

She left out the loudest scream she had ever held inside her throat. The scream that had been waiting there to be free since the first day she saw Draff take a sip of wine. The heavens carried her feelings and sent them back even louder.

────»»❀❀❀««────

“Did you hear that?”

Adelinde nodded. “It sounded like a scream”.

“Yes” Diluc agreed. “And it come from outside the door”.

Diluc strode towards the entrance of the mansion with a confused look on his face that only got wider when he opened the door to see a pink haired girl knelt in a defeated pose.

“Diona?” he got down on one knee and reached out to touch her shoulders, but Diona pushed him with aggressively. Her small hands felt weak as she punched his chest. “Di– Diona, what–”

She wouldn't stop. Diona kept punching Diluc as if he was a mere thing. One. Two. Three. Desperate hits of her feeble knuckles against his thick skin, grunting, pressing her teeth, tears covering her face.

“It's your fault!” she yelled, once and once again. “It's your fault!”

Diluc grabbed her hands with force yet gentle enough to not hurt her, and Diona struggled to free herself combatively.

“Diona, calm down” Diluc said, “please let me get you inside the Winery”.

“NO!” the strength in Diona's voice was like that of a lioness'. “It was your fault!”

For a second she looked at him in the eyes. Pools of sadness filled her irises but Diluc could not find hate inside of them, despite her words. Instead, he saw himself. He saw his own eyes when he was fourteen and Crepus left. He felt the desperation and anger that filled him, the resentment towards himself and the world. For a second he held a breath.

Diona's lips trembled and then the tears rolled down her cheeks again. Diluc felt the hands he was holding lose vigor. She let her body fall over his chest and held on to him, grabbing the folds of his shirt toughly. Diona buried her face in his chest and cried there.

“You did it” she was saying, this time softer. “You killed my daddy”.

Those words felt like a cold sword piercing his heart. Not because of the slight accusation of murder, but because of the feeling they carried. Because that's what he had been telling himself for years.

Wary, he let his arms fall around Diona. She was freezing. Diluc felt her small body quivering, but unexpectedly, Diona did not push him away. Instead, she buried herself deeper in him. He had been planing to visit Diona and give her his condolences, but now that she was there... he considered that his intended plan would have been a bad idea.

When he felt her cries were getting weaker, Diluc whispered calmly, “let's get you inside”.

He carried her gently and closed the door behind them by kicking it. Diona did not move, but she kept shivering and she let out a small hiccup. Diluc felt her arms get tighter around his neck, and gave Adelinde a glare that she quickly understood. The maiden rushed to return with warm towels in hand and helped him make their way up the guest's room.

#hv.oneshot #hv.angst #hv.diluc #hv.diona #hv.mondstadt cast #diona #diluc #genshin diona #genshin diluc #angst #genshin angst #genshin impact

[theladyofdeath]

The Manly Man {Manorian}

31 Days of Halloween: Day 12.

All installments co-written with @snelbz​

Based on a prompt sent in by anon: “Haunted House - staged (Manorian - Dorian is the terrified one)”

Warning: Gore. 

Autumn/Halloween 2020 {Collection}

Manon was practically bouncing where she stood.

There were very few things she loved more than being thrilled, and as Halloween was quickly approaching, she found a no better way to spend her Friday night than to take her boyfriend to a haunted house.

She used to work at one, in high school. She was the zombie-surgeon that picked at the intestines of whomever was lying on her table. It had been fun, thrilling. People would come through her room, scream bloody murder, and Manon would applaud herself for her performance every time. 

Yes, she loved haunted houses.

Dorian didn’t look so sure.

His hands were shoved into his pockets as he looked at the front door up ahead. There was creepy music playing, and lights flashing, and Dorian looked like he was nearly ready to vomit. 

“How you doin’, babe?” Manon asked, eyes narrowed as his throat bobbed. 

“Huh? Oh, good,” he said, nodding a little too quickly. “Yeah, no, I’m good. How are you?”

“Great,” she answered, chuckling. 

They took another step forward in line. 

“So, I want to be clear before we go in there,” Dorian began, clearing his throat. 

Manon chuckled. “Yeah?” 

“I’m a manly man, and I want that to be noted,” Dorian began.

Manon nudged him. “I think we’ve been together long enough that I know exactly how manly you are.”

He proved it, nightly, again and again, just how manly he was. 

“Right,” he continued. “So...when we go in here...just...remember that.” 

“You’re scared,” Manon crooned, slipping her fingers through his. “I didn’t think you were the type to get scared.”

The couple had spent every holiday together in the last year, except for Halloween. They’d started dating just before last Thanksgiving, and every holiday had been absolutely perfect. Now, as they fell deeper and deeper in love, the spookiest season was upon them.

And Dorian was not a fan. 

He never understood the appeal of being scared, never understood how peeing your pants was considered a good time, and yet, here he was.

At one of the scariest haunted houses in the city, taking another step forward in line. 

“I’m not scared,” Dorian replied, at last, shaking his head. “I don’t get scared.” 

“You don’t get scared?” Manon asked. “Because it looks like you’d rather be anywhere but here. You know, if you don’t want to go through the haunted house, we can-.”

“No, no,” Dorian protested, quickly. “I don’t… I’d like to go through, yeah. It looks…fun.”

A series of earth-shattering screams echoed from inside the house. 

Manon squeezed his hand as they took another step forward. They were almost near the front of the line, and the energy had Dorian’s hands trembling.

The one that wasn’t squeezing Manon’s, anyway. 

Once they were next in line, Dorian was about ready to puke.

He hated being scared.

Hated it.

Loathed it.

They entered the building. 

The hallway was dark, although flashing lights were going off against the walls. Dorian’s feet had suddenly become heavier, causing him to move slower. 

So, incredibly slow.

“We’re going to hold up the line,” Manon said, dragging him along. 

“I can’t take my time in this hellhole?” he asked, looking around with every step he took.

“With how terrified you look, I figured you’d wanna get through it as quickly as possible,” she said, quickly, with a sly look on her thin lips. 

He shot her an exasperated look. “Be happy that I love you.” 

Her grin only widened.

They continued down the hall, the sound system throwing out loud, terrifying shrieks and rolls of thunder. The lights were blinking. Dorian had always hated strobe lights, had always found them annoying.

In clubs.

In haunted houses.

Strobe lights sucked.

But then the lights went out entirely. And with a quiet click, one lone light came on behind them. Dorian turned around and looked back to where they’d entered, only to find a solid wall there.

“Fuck,” he whispered and Manon squeezed his hand, which she chuckled softly. He turned back to look down the hallway and they moved forward, towards the corner that seemed to get darker and darker with every step they took.

“You want me to go first?” Manon asked, smirking over at him.

“No, I will,” he said, picking up the pace. At least he tried to.

As he got closer and closer to the corner, unable to see a thing around the edge, he remembered that Manon probably knew what was around the bend. Whether from experience of going through it herself or just a knowledge of what haunted houses usually were, she had an idea. He was both literally and figuratively in the dark.

And he hated every second of it.

Once Dorian came around the corner, clinging to Manon’s hand for dear life, the lights came on the moment they stepped around the wall. A young girl was tied to an electric chair, looking like she was getting electrocuted, blood pouring from her lips, smoke filling the room.

Dorian tried not to jump, but failed.

Manon scoffed, quietly. “Amateurs.” 

“Yeah,” Dorian tried to agree, but his voice cracked, and he was quickly pulling Manon into the next room.

Which was so much worse than the first.

The temperature hit him the moment they walked through the door. Dorian’s foot slipped on something slightly and looked down and gasped as he saw a puddle of blood leaking from a dismembered leg. Manon’s hand was an anchor in his and her other hand gripped his forearm. The frigid temperature unsettled him and as she looked around at the body parts hanging from the ceiling, Dorian really thought he might be sick.

“Come on,” Manon said, gently, pulling him through the room.

He really wanted to look down, to let her pull him through, but his eyes couldn’t look away from everything around him. When they ended up at a large metal table, a man holding a large meat cleaver was slowly sectioning meat off of a bone. He seemed to be focused on his task and just as they were about to pass by, his other first slammed against the table and he held the blade out towards Manon, as he laughed maniacally.

She didn’t even flinch, but Dorian wasn’t proud of the noise that left him. He pulled her toward the door on the far side of the room and tried to move as quickly as he could.

“I’m gonna be sick,” he muttered.

They went through an entry way that led them outside, although the area seemed to be fenced in, which Dorian automatically wasn’t a fan of. It was set up like a trailer park, and there were tall trees surrounding a beat-up trailer. There was a series of coffins scattered across the lawn, and Dorian was scared to move.

“Do you hear banjo music?” Manon whispered.

“Shhh!” Dorian begged, careful for every creeping sound. 

“Come on, there’s a door on the opposite end of the wall we go through,” Manon said, pulling Dorian along.

After a second, Dorian became more comfortable. “Well, this doesn’t seem so ba-.” The world's most unsettling scream flew out of Dorian’s lips as the door to the trailer was thrown open and a man with a chainsaw appeared. He was revving it, and hurrying down the trailer stairs.

Dorian’s screams continued as he hauled ass along the wall of the haunted house until he appeared at the door on the opposite end and flung himself inside.

At some point, he had dropped Manon’s hand.

She appeared a moment later, though, in the doorway, grinning uncontrollably.

Dorian’s hand flew to his chest as he huffed and puffed. “I- my heart has legit never beat as quickly as it’s beating right now.”

Manon couldn’t stop her smile as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and rested her chin on his chest and gazed up at him. “You okay?”

He rested his forehead against hers and said, “Please don’t ever ask me to do this again.”

She laughed and leaned up and kissed him. “Come on, scaredy pants.”

Dorian realized he was hearing faint music from down the hall, leading to the next room. They walked closer and it became more and more defined and he slowed down. “Nuhuh. Nope.” He stopped moving. “There’s a fucking clown in there, isn’t there?”

“It’s a haunted house, babe,” she said, dragging him forward. “Of course there’s a clown. There’s a mirror maze, too.”

“Oh, great, so I can’t get lost and it can murder me,” he muttered. “Great.”

“I know the quickest path,” she said, with a comforting squeeze of his hand. “We’ll be through it in no time.”

The walked through the heavy, tattered, velvet curtain and it was worse than Dorian could have ever imagined.

Not only was there a mirror maze, but there were clown paintings, statues, constant laughter from everywhere, disorienting him.

“You better be happy I love you,” he said, terrified to even look at Manon and give someone a chance to jump him.

She just shook her head as she led him through the maze, and with every turn they took, Dorian became more and more convinced that this is the way that he would die. 

And when the clown jumped out from behind a corner and Dorian saw it’s bloody grin in the reflection of the mirror he stood in front of, he was pretty sure he peed his pants, just a little bit.

“Get me the fuck out of here!” he yelled.

Manon’s laughter reverberated throughout the room as she pulled Dorian just a little bit quicker through the maze. 

“The clown has a fucking sledgehammer!” Dorian continued. “My gods, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to-.”

Manon pulled them out of the maze and instantly into the next room, which once again had Dorian growing queasy. 

Now, he loved Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It was a classic, a beautiful work of literature. 

What he was looking at now, however, was ruining the classic for him, forever.

A mad scientist was laughing, horridly, as he stood above his table, looking down at his monster. There were body parts in jars, ancient, rusty tools everywhere, and eyeballs scattered along the table.

“Please tell me we’re almost out of here,” Dorian muttered.

She rolled her eyes, but squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture and tugged him through the tamest and shortest room yet. When they walked through the door, his senses on red alert, he was surprised to see they were once again outside and the only thing aside from the back half of the creepy house was a corn maze wrapping back around to the front.

“Oh, sweet Mala, thank the gods,” he said, bending over, resting his hands on his knees and gulping down air. “Never again,” he said, repeating his earlier promise. Manon laughed and when he stood upright again, he took her hand and they walked into the corn maze.

It was a chilly night, but that was fine with him. He’d gotten so hot inside that stupid haunted house that the bite in the air was absolutely welcomed. Not to mention, the sky was gorgeous tonight, stars everywhere, not a cloud in sight.

Manon was in the middle of a story about one of her clients earlier that day when Dorian held up a finger and stopped walking. “Do you hear that?”

He wished he hadn’t seen the smile on Manon’s face when she innocently asked, “Hear what?”

He felt the color drain from his face. “I thought it was over, you said it was over. We’re outside!”

Manon kept walking forward, letting her hand stay on the right wall. “I never said anything. You just assumed. Come on.”

She held out her hand and he quickly took it as the sound of a revving chainsaw grew closer and closer.

“Fuck no!” he yelled, and picked up his pace. He didn’t make it far before a bloodied-up zombie jumped out of the corn stalks, making Dorian scream, yet again. 

Manon was laughing maniacally, which only terrified Dorian even more. 

“If you love me, you’ll get me the fuck out- is that chainsaw getting louder?” Dorian knew he sounded like a complete and utter sissy, but he really didn’t care. 

His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest, and his need to pee was unbearable. 

“We’re almost out,” Manon yelled, dodging her way around a ghostly bride that had just popped out at her. “Hang in there, babe.”

“How the hell are you so calm?!” he yelled, thinking his feet couldn’t move fast enough.

The roaring behind him grew and he turned to find the masked man from before running at them.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, please, run!” He cried, pulling Manon’s hand harder as he ran.

She kept laughing as they ran through the maze, Dorian’s breathing becoming heavier and heavier.

He could hear the heavy footsteps pounding right behind them and Manon pulled him around a corner and-.

They were out in the fresh air and there were other people dressed in flannel and jeans and the sound of laughter and excitement.

Dorian groaned as they stopped and he realized that this time it really was over.

“Oh, thank the gods,” he breathed and Manon wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Not that bad, right?” She asked, smirking up at him.

Dorian was still breathing heavily, trying desperately to catch his breath. With a groan, he dropped his face into her shoulder and said, “I'm serious. Be glad that I love you.”

Manon just threw her head back and laughed as she patted her boyfriend’s head and walked him to the safety of her car. 

#manorian #tog #throne of glass #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #31 days of halloween

[danaduchy]

NPCs about Seeds

Full script of Far Cry 5 (except cutscenes)

* What were those Seed brothers like? Can't imagine there's anything like a healthy sibling rivalry going on there. * John's the baby of the Seed family. His brothers turn a blind eye to his more sadistic indulgences. * Joseph and John show why it's hard to have a family business. Money and blood mix weird. Even when you're not tryin' to be a messiah.   * When you escaped the bunker... John didn't say it... but you could see it in his face. Failure. Things got worse from there... Like he was trying to make up for something. Prove to his brother he could... * Kim and I used to throw these weekend BBs. Open invite. All you had to do was bring something. If you can believe it, the whole Seed family came once. They brang watery mac and cheese. I shoulda knew they were monsters when they did that. * John's on edge 'cause his brother-Father is getting' cranky. What a fucked up sibling relationship those two got. * Maybe John will go crying to his "father". I wanna see Joseph give John a spanking. * Joseph's pissed the hell off. I hear John's sweating like a piggy. * Word's out - Joseph's had it with John. That little punk is backed into a corner now. * Good thing for us John and Jacob haven't sorted out their brotherly nonsense. I mean if we're lucky, they'll just take each other down. If not, well, I'm going to keep some grenades around with John's name on 'em, eh? It's comin' to a head man.     * Says somethin' that Joseph didn't save his brother. Family really doesn't mean shit to these people. * Wonder what Daddy Seed is feelin' right now. Oh. Shit. What if he WANTED John dead? Fuck man, I can't think about the big game. We did it here. We kicked ass. That's gotta matter. Okay that’s what I'm telling myself.  Yeah, that’s it. * I'm just sayin': If I was Joseph and I had the ability to see into future occurrences, I woulda warned my boy John that he was gon' get murdered... and made some good bets. * I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Joseph tries to spin John's death to his own advantage. * John Seed never had the Father's full confidence, what I heard. But the Joseph loves little sister Faith, and gave her everything her twisted heart desired. * Jacob always tried to look out for his little brother. Imagine what he's gonna do when he finds out you killed him.

* John was always the runt of the Seed family. I'm not surprised that you were able to get him. But I gotta warn you, Jacob's a whole lot meaner than his little brother. * Joseph adopted Faith into their family. She's going to be madder'n a wet hen that you killed her brother John. * John liked to throw his weight around, tryin' to prove how strong he was. Jacob knows he's strong. His actions are more controlled, and he's a lot scarier for it. John was always super emotional, but Jacob's buttons won't be so easy to push. * All this could have been avoided if only a mid-level cable channel gave the Seed family the reality show they deserved. * You know, if any of these Seeds ran for office, they'd win in a landslide. Mind control charisma just oozes off of them. * Come to think of it, the Seeds work just like a political office. You got Joseph, the mayor, and John, Jacob and Faith as his city councilors. It's no wonder they forced me and my people out of office - they already knew how to play the game! * Each of the Seeds has their own bunker. They call them “Gates”. * Know how I sniffed out Eden's Gate's bullshit early on?  Only the Seeds were allowed to be angry, everybody else had to be calm--even though we all had our asses in that church because we were mad at the same shit too. But now everybody gets to be angry, 'cause it's a weapon pointin' where the Seeds want it. Protect the project. Transparent motherfuckers.

John

Resistance

* John's always been obsessed with the people in Fall's End. And with Mary May in particular. * Deep down, I think John wants to die. That man has scars that run deep. * John's got a particular ritual he sticks to. You get marked with a video, then you get dunked in the water. When John wants you found, he doesn't stop. Ever. * Nowadays, if you're caught huntin’, John Seed'll have ya' killed. * John's got people getting baptized all across the valley. In rivers, creeks, hell, even in puddles. * John scrawls a fucking tattoo on your chest, then flays you the fuck alive. He nails it to a wall. * If the peggies wanted a heap of food, why didn't they drive a ways to the wholesale club and take that over? Everythin' would be canned and ready for them instead of still in the ground. You can tell John Seed never had to raise a kid.   * The cult takes people and then sorts out where they go. Whoever John doesn't keep, he sends to Jacob. Or Faith. * John really puts the dick in dictator. The fucker just loves calling and leaving answering machine messages, too. * John's always wearing a key around his neck. He calls it the key to paradise. I don't wanna know what it unlocks. * I'm pretty sure the family that used to own this farm is long gone. John Seed made an offer. They refused. That's that. * This fertilizer company was bought by John Seed a long time ago. They ran it as a legit business. * This one guy, Les Doverspike. House is northwest. He thought he could prepare for everything... Din't count on... JOHN SEED'S LAWYERING SUPER POWERS! In the blink of an eye, Eden's Gate owned Les' land, bunker, arm, leg, dingleberries, ....EVERYTHING! * I've heard some pretty brutal stories about what happens when John wants you to confess. * The peggies had to have planned all this way ahead of time - they're harvestin' at record speed. I guess they had little meetings... John probably hunkered over his map gettin' a hard-on for the sound of his own voice. Hm... now there's a thought... * The thing that always bugs me about John Seed is, who goes to a lawyer that’s tatted up more than a gangbanger? * You're attractin' a lot of attention, especially from John Seed. John's paying special attention to you. * John wants you real bad. Have you considered maybe he's in some kinda love with you? He oughta killed you like two or three times already but he's playin' cat and mouse. Just sayin', if you find yourself alone with him maybe a good long somethin-or-other could save our necks. * Man, that John, he sure does have a hard on for you. So I'm thinking, you guys should probably just fuck and uh get it over with. * I bet you John gives the best spankin's. Sorry I know that's messed up. What can I say, he brings it outta me. I'm just sayin' maybe we don't kill John is all. Seems a waste of a perfectly good set of buns. * Before you, John never lost his cool. You're driving John literally crazy. * I drank with Joey Hudson back in the day. She doesn't take shit from anyone. John's gonna eat her alive. * I know how these things go, man. Deputy, you better keep skeleton keys and wire cutters and a swiss army knife and anythin' that'll get you outta a hogtie on you at all times, because John is gonna truss you up like a dinner turkey real soon. * Always thought there was somethin' kinda twisted about John. * John the Baptist is an amoral predator, end of story. * John Seed's not gettin' what he wants, so he's pitchin' a fit. * Keep an ear out for John's fucken' plane. He loves buzzin' around in that hunk of shit. * I've known men like John Seed before. Real charismatic. They'll sell ya poison and convince ya it's a health tonic. He'd fit in real nice in Washington... * I had one conversation with John Seed and I knew! I knew... He masks his words as guidance, but deep down there is a selfishness that could only come from pure evil. * John Seed's a piece of shit. When news spread that I was expecting, that scumbag spread rumors that HE was the biological father of my baby. I don't know if he was trying to create a wedge between me and Nick or if he was just doing it to laugh at us. * I hear John Seed was a lawyer or something. Used the rules to buy up stuff in the Holland Valley. The cult must have been running damage control already, because think of what a story that'd make. Unless we're already all tapped out of giving a fuck about the shitty economy and its parasites. Huh. Yeah. He's same old, actually. Same fucking old. * I remember the first time John Seed set foot in this bar. I'm wiping down counters and Ma's countin' the till when I hear her bark, 'What the fuck do you want?' I look up and he's standin' in the doorway. Eyein' me like I'm a meal. Some people 'round here said give the Seed's a chance. I knew they were bad news from the start. * Eden's Gate took this town right from under us. They started buying up all the land, forcing business to shut down and foreclosing on homes.... My parents and me fought back, but John wanted this bar. Told 'em he'd have to pry it from our cold dead hands. So, the cult paid off the county and made it illegal to transport alcohol. We fought back with lawyers, but those leeches bled us dry, too. * Whenever there's a neighbor in need, everybody around here pitches in. A couple days after we told some people I was pregnant, we got all this secondhand baby shit from everybody. John Seed stole all of it the next day. * Heard Pastor Jerome had you saving people from being kidnapped. John Seed did that to me. The fucker made me think he was going to torture me, too. Had me wait in a room for half a day thinking he was going to do it. All that fucker did was give me one of those ink jobs. It was messed up. * John Seed is just a man. He seeks glory and riches. He immersed himself in a sea of self-aggrandizement. He pounds pulpits. He professes principals he neither believes nor practices. He stokes fear. But he is just a man. * Before you came along, John Seed kidnapped me. He has his way of getting a person to say things. It's not about my words. It's about what's in his head. When he was done, I was beaten, toed in the woods, and left to die. * A long time ago, in peaceful times, I asked John Seed what was driving him. He gave me so many answers. All of them lies. * John Seed is a cruel soul who can't be reasoned with. He enjoys making people suffer. * John and the Peggies are taking everything and everyone that ain't nailed down. Even then they just come with crowbars. * After you're marked for baptism and dunked in the fucking river, John drags you to his bunker. God save us from whatever he does in there. * There must be a reason John almost drowns people in the baptisms. It's a power play but there's more to it. * If John really wanted to, he could wipe Fall's End off the map. He's toying with the people there, like a sadistic cat. * John's got a singular mind. Dug up from a serial killer's grave, but still, singular. * There's something really wrong with John. I don't have a name for it but you can see it in that creepy smile of his. * When I first saw him on the cult's videos, John seemed pretty harmless. But when I met him in person, he made the hairs on my neck stand up. * John bought up all the businesses 'round here and promised us jobs but the only people who got work were cultists. * When John asks you for somethin', he's not really askin'. He'll get what he wants from you one way or another. * John wants us all to say yes, but I think he actually really likes it when they say no. Gives him an excuse to get mean. * Anyone who doesn't confess to John gets killed and put on display as a warning to others. It's inhuman. * John doesn't just mark people with a sin, but their houses too. You can see his calling cards all over the valley. * I got a package from John Seed the other day. // What was inside it? // A note that said I was favored and that if I admitted to my sin, I'd be cleansed. * What does John Seed do exactly...? // He messes with your head. Asks you questions. Makes you say shit you don't want to be saying. I... I really don't want to talk about it. * John was right, we all do have one sin that tends to run our life. In a weird way maybe he did give us a second chance. * My old house was a piece of shit. It would creak at night, so bad I thought for sure some boogie man was coming to get me every night growing up. // Heh, aw, that's cute. // Yeah. John gutted and burned it to a crisp last week. * Okay, I need to lighten the mood. This is unbearable. // Oh Lord. // John Seed is so uptight, he takes a ruler to bed to see how long he sleeps. // I'm not in the mood. // John Seed is so uptight, he fell down a coal shaft and found a diamond in his ass a week later. // Okay that's pretty good. * You seen that John guy? Most aggressive grin I ever seen on a human being. Like a chimpanzee before it bites ya. // God what a creep. // I hate to think what kinda life he's come from. // Who gives a shit? He's evil. // What makes a guy that evil though? // It doesn't matter. There are loads of people out there with troubled pasts but they manage not to run an apocalypse murder cult. * Not like John was the peak of sanity before, but he's going straight up coo-coo bananas with all you're doin'. * Sounds like Broseph's mad! Ouuuu, family probs! John's like that little brother who gets held down and farted on, and then curls into a ball and cries. * One thing about John -- the more you ruffle his feathers, the angrier he gets. He can't deal with embarrassment; being made to look bad. He'll start sending out search parties to grab people like us, so we gotta stay frosty. * John's lustin' for a dogfight with you, huh. I bet that kid jerked it to Top Gun or something and now it's the only way he can get a stiffie, is in a dogfight. If you have to kick the bucket I hope that's one of your last thoughts, its a good one. * John's playin' a strange game with you. Dunno what's worse, that sometimes he seems to want you dead, or sometimes he seems to want you alive. * John's no better than his brother's dog, and we all know what needs doin' to a mad dog. * John's huntin' you like an animal.  He catches you, you're probably gonna join his other trophies on his wall. * Hey dep, I just wanna say I'm sorry, I heard John's got a partner of yours It's gotta be scary, you know. Probably heard about how John cuts people up and knows all these pressure points and can make you feel pain beyond anything you ever imagined. Anyways don't think about that. I'm sure... I'm sure she's fine. She'll be alright. * Was John dead behind the eyes when you met him? It's not my imagination, there's no soul back there. * I heard there's no spare key for the bunker prison. Just one for John. Control freak. * John Seed, what a fuckin' self-absorbed dick, huh? You just KNOW he jerks off in the mirror, and marvels at his fuckin' facial expressions. * That's John Seed's Ranch. I heard he loved hiding in that castle of his. * John had this place built just for him. Even got a hangar for his fucken' planes. * Look at this place. John's got the worst case of younger sibling syndrome I ever seen. * John's such a neat freak, it's inhuman. * Ugh. John Seed's temple to himself. Fucker's got a tennis court. I ain't never seen anybody play. Just another way he's a hypocrite. * I know everyone's got a bunker out here, but John's is ridiculous. * John's taste in home decor is... awful. * John's been stealin' the planes from all over the Valley. He keeps the best ones at the airstrip next to his ranch. * Of all the Seeds, I think I understood John the least. Inferiority complex, maybe? But he was a lawyer, he could have gone out and, I don't know, been a Wall Street megalomaniac. I guess economic murder isn't as satisfying as direct murder. * John made tattoos look real bad man, I'm glad he's six feet under. You gotta respect the ink. He didn't even learn a proper letterin' or font techniques or nothing, man. No way I'd have even trusted him to touch up my tramp stamp. * With John gone, Jacob will have a harder time building up his army. But he's already got a strong force at the ready.

Peggies

* John Seed's a funny guy. But not 'ha-ha' funny. * Dang, John's bunker is so luxurious. There's parts of this bunker that only John can access. * Deputy Hudson is one of John's "special projects". Every time John leaves here, he's got a big smile on his face. * John's got the only key to the deeper parts of the bunker. We really oughtta make a copy of John's key. What if he loses it? * John knows the human heart. He's been through a lot. It's why I trust him. * I wonder if John's place will survive the Collapse? * I could get in trouble for saying this, but it smells funny in John's house. * Haven't seen John here in a long time. He's super busy. * I knew John loved planes, but I didn't know he also loved boats. I bet John's boat costs more than my old house. * I've never seen Brother John on a boat, but I know he likes to get wet. * You think John fishes? * We need to keep this place tidy. You know how John gets with his baptisms. * Bet we're guardin' John's unreleased films. * I hope Brother John takes me for a plane ride someday. * John keeps all of his favorite things stashed in the hangar. * John wants the word Yes plastered all over this place. Gotta attract new brothers and sisters. * Taking this scrap metal is good forward thinking. John's left nothing to chance. He's a smart man. * Bet John'll be a king after the collapse. * If you're marked, John believes you can be saved. I didn't want to admit my sin at first, but John showed me how to accept it gracefully. * Feels weird turning those people into Angels. I mean, they worked in the store here with us. They cooperated. // Sure, they cooperated. But they were still sinners. There's no going back at a certain point, you know? John said that this was the only way to save them. * I know it's John's will, but...I don't like killing dogs. * John's made catchin' that deputy our top priority. Wonder why John wants the deputy alive. * That deputy's fixin' to get taken into John's special room. * John's relentless, that deputy don't stand a chance. * John's gettin' awful mad. I pity anyone who has to deal with him face to face. * I don't know what's goin' on in John's head, but it's embarrassing. * I thought John had control of things, but lately it feels like he's got no idea what he's doin'. * John's got that look in his eye, I almost feel bad for the people of Fall's End. * John will make everyone atone, even if it kills him. * John was right, they never saw us comin'. * John's so smart. Burnin' what we can't take, so people know they need us, spirit and body. * Last I heard from John, he was real angry. Never knew he had that amount of righteous wrath in him. * Pray you never see John lose his cool. // He never does. // He has though. Some sinner a while back had words with 'im. I couldn't hear exactly, but I heard 'em say the Father's name - I never seen John go so red so fast. // What'd he do? // Well he gets in his plane and wipes the sinner's property off the goddamned map. He rains fire on'em. They're scurryin' everywhere, screamin'. Like a magnifying glass on an anthill. * The Seeds lost a good brother in John. * Maybe John wasn't part of the plan? Maybe this is still what the voice told Joseph? * John's faith wavered, but mine's never been stronger. * I'll miss John's pep talks. * John did so much for the project. He can never be replaced. * John proved his devotion in blood. How can we do any less? * John was always larger than life, it felt like he was immortal.

Joseph

Resistance

* Joseph doesn't like it when his family goes off-book. * I know this is an unpopular opinion, but what if Joseph's right about the end of the world? * That's the first place Joseph ever built. Back when they pretended to be good. Joseph used to preach here. We could have saved us some trouble if we had just set fire to it years ago. * Joseph Seed and his whole family are like the politicians who ran this country into the ground. They sell ya hope and change and all these people buy into it thinking it's gonna be different this time. It ain't. Might as well be buyin' magic beans. * These people in Eden's Gate have been led astray. Joseph Seed claims he loves everyone. Wants them to know the truth.  The truth is he preaches vengeance and sows lies. But the words of an evil man ring louder in the minds of the weak... * You know what really gets me? Cult leaders are usually always in it for the money. Just like a pyramid scheme. Joseph ain't like that. I keep tryin' to break this guy down into what he wants from people. If it ain't money, and it ain't sex, what the hell is it? * Joseph's a charismatic son of a bitch. I mean, you've heard him. The pitch. The tempo. The way the words roll off his gentle lips. His mannerisms. I mean he's been speech trained, probably more than any politician I've ever seen. That's how you know he's a government guy. * I know the people of this valley. They're good, hard workin' people. But in bad times, people get scared, start lookin' for someone to blame. Joseph Seed fed on that fear. Told folk the end of the world was coming. Lot of 'em believed him. Truth be told... way things are now? I sometimes wonder if he's right. Folks felt abandoned, grew weary, they needed our help. And we didn't listen, but Joseph Seed did. Joseph Seed wooed people. He told them EXACTLY what they wanted to hear. With those falsehoods, lies, his poison. It's driven a lot of good folks away from the righteous path. * I knew Joseph Seed was bad business when he wormed his way in here a few years back. I imagine the fucking mainstream media would paint us as two sides of the same coin, because they're either lazy or corrupt or both... But to me, it's simple: I'm willing to sacrifice everything for my family, while Joseph Seed wants to burn down the world for his. * Y'know, I had a dream last night that involved me, a bed, whips and chains, and Joseph Seed. Suffice to say there were a lot of conflicting emotions and sensations... * Did you have a vision? Faith dosed me with bliss, and I saw the Father come to me, personally, and tell me terrible things. * I have a lot of pity for Faith. Joseph is the true monster, manipulating that young woman into a weapon. * Who the heck is Faith, y'know? Joseph treats her both like his daughter and his sister. How much does she know? How influential is she? It's all twisted together. * I wonder how many other secret bunkers there are in the county? Joseph procured a whole missile silo and no one saw! * Faith came to Hope County to detox. Like tourism of hillbilly country for rehab. But Joseph took a shine to her and she was reborn. Hell, her real name ain't even Faith, but something rich, like Riley or Rachel. * Joseph believes in Faith. He's entrusted her with all manner of heinous activity out here. We need to take her out. * I can't see what kind of method to the madness Eden's Gate has goin' on. Three heralds of the Collapse? What are they even doin'? // They got a system. Faith sows, John reaps, Jacob... // Steps on your neck? // Deals in belief, I guess. // Nah, that's Joseph's job. He's the charismatic populist motherfucker. Jacob just wants to cull people. * Joseph's just a nobody from nowhere. How'd he get this many people behind him? * There was a time no western religious leader would be caught dead with a goddamned man-bun. Fuck I miss those days. Listen, I get that he's runnin' this big old cult and all but if you're gonna run a big old cult you gotta look the part! Long robe that's a weird color, like puce or something, stringy moustache, head shaved bald like a baby. Not like some kind of lovechild between a hipster and a country singer. * Joseph Seed's family is gone. He's gonna be vulnerable and running on emotion. He won't be thinkin' straight. If we're putting this to a vote, I'd say we close this chapter for good, as soon as possible.

Peggies

* The father's takin' a personal interest in those deputies now... Maybe his visions told him somethin'.   * Joseph said that deputy is special. I wonder what he meant by that. * Despite everything they've done to us, I know Joseph would still forgive them. * We have to love the sinners. It's what Joseph would want. * It's been too long since I've seen our Father's face. * Joseph is a gifted songwriter. You haven't lived until you've heard Joseph sing this live. * I heard that the Father got the idea for the Judges in a vision. * Jacob might teach us to shoot, but Joseph guides our aim. * President Seed has a nice ring to it. Wonder if Joseph has political aspirations? * I see why Joseph liked this county. Plenty of silos for what we need to store. * Everyone knows Joseph will not tolerate idle hands.   * The Father keeps all the best stuff for his Chosen. Leaves us the scraps. * After the collapse, we won't hear the Father on the radio anymore. * Joseph's disappointed in us, I can tell. We gotta do better. * I hope the Father doesn't take this out on us. * I can't imagine how Joseph feels now, with his brother gone.   * With Jacob gone the Father has to have a backup plan for us. He has to. * Our Father was supposed to save us. Joseph wouldn't ever abandon us, would he? * Joseph will know what to do. I just have to find out where he's hidin'.

Jacob

Resistance

* We're in Jacob's territory now. Know how I know? Wildlife is scarce. I'm not one for hunting but this area in particular used to be home to quite a few species. They've either been driven away or taken in for experiments. It's sad. * Jacob Seed's in charge out here. He's ex-military, he's a combat veteran, and he's a psycho. * Faith was Joseph's favorite, but Jacob is his toughest soldier, bar none. * Jacob's got this Chair. He straps people in and breaks them down until their souls are gone. Then he controls their mind. Don't end up in that chair. * I know Jacob's the bad guy and all, but every bad guy thinks they're this misunderstood hero, right? Has anyone ever tried to just, you know, take him for coffee and talk to him? * Strippin' people of their mind and freewill to build an army for The Father, that ain't right. I still can't believe Jacob and Joseph are brothers. * The mind is the most dangerous weapon and Jacob knows that all too well. No one was really prepared for this. * I've seen him up close once and I'll tell ya' Jacob Seed is one scary motherfucker. * Jacob had one thing right. Things are only goin' to get worse and you gotta be ready for it. * I had a dream once that Jacob took me on a hunt. We shot some deer and he asked me to skin them. As I was cutting them open they changed... it wasn't deer. I... I don't think it was a dream. * Whatever you do, don't listen to the music. That's how Jacob gets you. * One of the first places Jacob took over is the old Veteran's Hospital. No one thought much of it at the time. * Careful. Jacob likes to play mind games with ya. * This was an animal sanctuary until Jacob took it over. Looks like he's got some freaky deaky shit goin' on. Jake-n-Bake Seed really had his fingers up in everything up here. * Jacob's completely insane. He's not even trying to hide what he's doing anymore. * Heard that Jacob has been doin' some weird stuff with animals over here... and not just wolves this time. * Jacob's been putting people in cages. Keepin' them there with no food or water for weeks!  Almost better if they just killed you. * Eli worked on Jacob's special bunkers, did you know that? Turns out they didn't get along. Who would've thought? * No one is immune to Jacob's fucked up conversion. Once they hit you with that you ain't ever the same. * Jacob, he's knows everything that I'm thinking. He's got the key to my mind and he twists... and twists... and twists. * Jacob... his experiments... he takes us... owns us, speaks to us. He hears us. Jacob... he's in control. He controls everything. * Jacob knows how to get into your head. Twists things around so you don't know what's right anymore. * If Jacob can't find a use for you in his army, you become target practice for troops. * Be careful out there. Friends might not be friends anymore after Jacob's done with them. * I bet the Peggies got an armory here, too. I can't believe how Jacob got them so organized. * Jacob's using everything he learned in the military and twisting it to suit the needs of Eden's Gate. Son of a bitch is a poor excuse for a soldier if you ask me. As long as he's alive my Pops will be rolling in his grave, all bitter and mad. * Have to say, you've ticked Jacob off something fierce. * You wanna bet that Jacob had that three-wolf moon poster as a kid? I bet he was a cub scout, too. Now he's getting his badge for people-skinning and brainwashing. * I'm seeing a lot more choppers in the air. Looks like Jacob's using them to move troops and supplies. * You know, I was dumb enough to work for Jacob a few years back. Who you think built him all those Peggie bunkers? You think I saw any of this comin'? Hell no... * Jacob's new recruits gotta kill someone they care about, just to prove their loyalty. That's messed up on so many levels. * Jacob will be pied that you and the Cougars freed the Henbane River. He'll need a new source of soldiers. * Jacob sees himself as beyond the other so-called Heralds. He views his work as the most important, and that the others' purpose was to support him. * Jacob will break every bone in your body to convert you. He lives for pain. * Jacob would happily sacrifice everyone and everything in Hope County to feed Joseph's Collapse. He doesn't care about Faith. * Between John, Faith, and Jacob, I'd say our mind control freak is the worst. He makes people kill their own family. His own mind's twisted. He's a damn maniac. * I hear Jacob's looking everywhere for you. * You gotta save us from all this darkness. All this death. Jacob's losing it and he's out hunting down more people. He's gonna do anything for Joseph's plan to work. * Cult's got the wrong idea 'bout sacrifices. My neighbor killed his old man 'cause Jacob said so. For fuck's sake, you don't do that. * Jacob's gone nuts 'cause he lost a lot of his precious, mindless soldiers. I'd say it sucks even more to see our own teammates turned against us. * Jacob's pissed. That's new. He's always been the crazy type, but I'm afraid of what he'll come up with next. Stay sharp. * Using music to control people is so in bad taste, but Jacob's song pick, that's gotta say something about him. * How much do we know about this Jacob fella? He seems strong. Got a good setup going on... We ought to take some photographs of him or somethin'. Preferably shirtless... Y'know, for intelligence purposes. Know your enemy. * If Jacob he had an experienced woman in his life, this shit would not be happenin'. I'll take one for the team if it comes to that. Just don't tell Xander I said that. He'll get jealous. * I knew Jacob was trouble as soon as he showed up. I mean, did you see his face? It's all burned and twisted like his heart. * Jacob's got training grounds all over the place. I've seen them out there, shooting anything that moves. * I can almost understand why people follow Jacob. He's knows what he's doin', that's for sure. Mind you he's also a fucken' psychopath kind of a deal breaker for me. * Honestly, Jacob scares the shit outta me, even more than the Father. I've seen Jacob up close, I've looked him in the eyes they're empty, not a single shred of humanity anywhere. * Jacob's one sick fuck. Nailing up bodies? Burning people alive? That's just messed up. * You know what? I think Jacob's scared of Eli. That's why he's tried so hard to get him. * Jacob must be getting desperate and crazy. More troops out here than ever. * Jacob's plan worked. I tried to warn them. I told them not to go back. Jacob's going to win. He always wins. * Jacob was the big, mean, brute of the Seed clan. * Jacob was an example of how a vet can go bad without any help. Still glad he's dead of course.

Peggies

* Hope Jacob doesn't have another surprise inspection. Last one didn't go so hot. * Jacob asks for sacrifices from us all.  I gave up my son just so I could understand the Father's pain. * Jacob can turn these animals into weapons for the Father, I've seen him do it. * Jacob calls those wolves of his Judges, 'cause that's what they do. If you're not worthy, they tear you to shreds. * Jacob takes us, molds us and lifts us up to realize our potential. Just like this Judge. Once, it was just a simple wolf. Then it heard the voice of the Father. Now look at it. Stronger, faster... a killer. That's what Jacob does, he makes us better than we were, because only the very best of us will pass through Eden's Gate and on to salvation. * Jacob has asked us to find more recruits for the Project. We have to make them see the light... by force if necessary. * Jacob taught me how to bring a boar down will one killshot. Now I just apply the same logic to sinners. Easy. * Trust nobody, that's what Jacob told us. * Last time I was here Jacob himself complimented me on my shootin'. * Jacob will whip the strong ones into shape. The rest of 'em won't survive training. Jacob sure puts you through your paces here. It's how he makes us strong. * Jacob only wants the strongest of any creature. * Some of the converts have a hard time losing their old notions, but Jacob has a way of getting them to see the light. * If you've ever been in Jacob's presence you know just how powerful he really is. * There is no way anyone would dare stand up to Jacob. They'd be dead in a second. * Jacob's got this county locked down. There's no way they're gonna take him out. * Jacob knows what he's doin'. If he says he's got this bastard covered, I believe him. You know Jacob. He's not gonna give up. * I hear Jacob is furious. We have to try harder. We can't fail the Father. * Jacob's not dead. There's no way. He's too strong to die. * The sacrifice of Jacob must be part of the Father's great plan; we must trust in him. * The guy who killed Jacob. He fucken' cheated. You know Jacob. There's no way he would've lost in a straight up fight. Can't do anything for Jacob, but we can make sure Pratt pays for letting that bastard get away. * Do you think this the father knew about all this? // Of course. It's all part of his plan. // Even losing Jacob? // Do you doubt the Father's visions? // No! Of course not.... it's just... the guys... they have questions.... // Questions? Now's not the time for questions! It's time for action! Do you want to die a sinner? // No! Or course not! // Then get back to your post. The Father needs us now, more than ever! * So what the hell are we going to do now? // What do you mean? // What do I mean? Jacob's dead! That's a pretty big deal, if you ask me. // We still have the Father. It's his plan after all. // Sure, but he had Jacob and the others to help. He can't do it all himself. // That's why we're here. We have to step up, do whatever is asked of us. We can't give up, not now. // Yeah, you're right. Especially with what's coming. // Exactly. Get back to your post, this isn't over yet.

Pratt

* Jacob's caught himself a Deputy. I think it's Pratt. Poor bastard, he's not gonna last a day in there. * Deputy Pratt always came off as a bit of a douchebag, but that doesn't mean he deserves what Jacob's doin' to him. * I'd sure hate to be that Deputy Pratt right now. Jacob's gonna rip him to pieces. He tried to arrest his brother for God sake. * Pratt's days are numbered. One of these days Jacob's gonna have him nailed up on some billboard or something just like the others. * I keep thinking about Pratt, and what Jacob's doin' to him. That poor man's brain's gonna be totally fucked. * Can only imagine what it's like to be left in a cage with nothing to eat for days. God, do you think that's what they're doing to that Deputy of yours? Poor bastard. * I don't think that Deputy's gonna live much longer. I hear Jacob's furious and you can be sure who he's gonna take it out on. * Next time you meet your friend Pratt, be careful. Jacob does things... to your mind... he might not be the same person you remember. Don't say I didn't warn you. * Can you fuckin' believe that guy? // Who? // The Deputy. Pratt. He was wanderin' around behind the cages. // What the fuck was he doin' there? // Who the hell knows. Jacob's probably got him off doing some shit. // Yeah, he's lucky to be able to put two words together after what Jacob did to him! // Seriously. Sometimes I think it's a mistake to put too much trust in these converts. You should come willing to the light, or be struck down. * I.. I was told to feed the Judges but I didn't know where their food was. // Jesus, Pratt. Does nothing stick in that brain of yours? Over there, where it's always kept. // Right! Th..thanks Phil! It won't happen again! // It better not. * I just want go out and hunt down the bastard that killed Jacob and beat them to death.//Don't worry. They'll be here soon enough. We've got their buddy Pratt down here. Pretty sure we're next on the list.//Aren't you worried? They were strong enough to take on Jacob...// Fuck 'em. With the number of guards we got here? They'd be crazy to try to take us on. * Good thing Pratt's out man. He was lookin' like a hipster in a bullfight man. * There's not much of the old Deputy Pratt left, Jacob made sure of that. Almost would've been better that he'd died in there.       * Yeah, the Deputy might be free, but I won't say he's okay. No one is okay after they've been through the trials. No one. * Jacob sure did a number on Pratt. Not sure there's much of him left in there. * It's gonna take a while for Deputy Pratt to recover from this... if he ever does.

#far cry 5 #joseph seed #jacob seed #john seed #staci pratt #reference

[firemblem-fics]

Running With the Wolves [3]

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-> Pairing: Yuri Leclarc x Fem!Reader

-> Modern!Au | Gang!Au | Enemies to Friends to Lovers

-> Word Count: ~2.4k

-> Warnings: Violence, Blood, Intense Scenes, Alcohol Mention, Someone legit gets shot, Other things I probably forgot about

-> Summary: You were just a normal college student, trying to find her way in a new place. You didn't mean to get caught up in the wrong crowd. You just wanted coffee, but now you're running with the wolves.

-> A/N: hi i’m back hello this took me a little bit to do because after the action scene i simply lost motivation but it’s back i know what i want to do and i WILL do it. also, just an fyi, i, as a writer, do not condone anything that my character, Hiram Chapelle, says or does. Hiram is meant to be an ass and for gods sake he’s quite literally a psychopath. That’s how he’s written. I’m just saying for future reference because Hiram is a shitty person and I plan on keeping him that way LOL

send an ask if you’d like to be on the taglist!

If someone had told you, months ago, that when you moved to Fodlan, you’d be accidentally caught up in gang activity, you’d laugh in their faces.

What a silly notion, You’d nearly cry out of laughter, Fodlan is safe. Nothing happens there.

What a fool you were. Everything was too easy. Life was too simple for there not to be a catch. That’s the funny thing about the universe and her strange ways. There’s always a catch.

Your mother had said that God always tests you. That you’d know in hard times, He was just challenging you. The only thing you knew at this moment was that if God really was real, you’d like to have a few choice words with him.

Your test was only getting more difficult with each step you took. Each limp, actually. The frigid night air numbed nearly every part of your body, except for your ankle. Instead, it burned with a fiery intensity. Your shoe was tight enough to prevent a bit of the swelling, but you needed medical attention soon.

You laughed bitterly- you’d been saying that you needed help for a while now. Your arm, your ankle, and now probably a therapist. Physical and mental help were on your to-do list.

Biting back another shiver, you fumbled with your phone. The screen was black, only showing a little red battery in the middle of it. Dead.

The window you’d jumped through was in the back of the house, facing a patch of woods. In your rush, you didn’t think to run another way to get out, only pushing forward until you had no clue where you’d come from and where to go. Everything was forest. Everything was dark.

Until it wasn’t.

A flash of light shined from behind you and you gasped, running to your left and trying to hide behind a larger tree. The flashlights came closer and you held your breath.

“What doesn’t she fucking understand about you can’t leave?”

“Well, boss, you were a little rude about it-“

“She’s in danger! And she doesn’t even realize it- the seriousness of this situation. I don’t care if I’m rude or not, she’s risking her own life being this stupid.”

You resisted the urge to scoff. Yuri was definitely a rude individual from what you’ve interacted with, but of course he didn’t care.

The lights were getting even closer now. You stepped back and started to run again, ignoring the pain. You’d get help when you were safe. You tried to stay light on your feet, but couldn’t help but crush the fallen leaves under your feet as you ran.

“I hear something that way!” Constance shouted and every light flashed in your direction before the group began chasing after you.

Your heart caught in your throat as you willed your legs to work faster and faster. You’d be okay- you’ll get help when you’re safe. Lungs burning, you surged forwards still and tried to take different turns to make them lose your trail. It didn’t work.

“Y/N, stop!” Hapi yelled out.

You didn’t answer, still running. Suddenly, you were airborne. Your feet flew off the ground and you landed two feet in front of a tree root, sticking up from the ground. You were hyperventilating- they had caught up with you.

Before they could reach you, Yuri also stumbled over the root. His flashlight and handgun both flew out of his hands, skidding to a stop in a puddle of mud in front of you. You lurched forward, grabbing the gun and pointing it at the group. It was just Balthus, Hapi, Constance, and Yuri, but you still felt helpless. They could easily overpower you, but you weren’t giving up without a fight.

“Stay back!” You cried, your finger sitting shakily on the trigger, “Don’t come any closer!”

Hapi put her hands up. “We don’t want to hurt you- we want to keep you safe!”

“Keep me safe? By making me some bad guy in a gang that I never even asked to be a part of?”

Yuri scoffed and tried to step closer, but you quickly aimed the gun at him. “You think we did?”

“No more. Don’t come close, I’m warning you.” You could only utter a few words.

The leader of the Wolves ignored this, putting his hands out in front of him, “Drop the gun and this will be okay-“

“STAY AWAY!” You were screaming at this point. Everyone tried to shush you, but you couldn’t stop. Hysteria did such cruel things.

“Y/N-“

“NO!”

You closed your eyes and pulled the trigger, your arm injury hurting slightly from the recoil. Constance yelled out, grabbing onto Yuri, who seemed to fall in slow motion. Your head was spinning. Stars seemed to twinkle in the trees and bushes in front of you instead of staying in the sky like they should.

You swayed for a moment, watching the three try to help their leader. Blood seeped out of the right side of his abdomen. You tried to stay awake, but soon the gun fell out of your hand and you went limp beside it.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Your mind was awake before your body. You could feel the velvet sheets beneath your fingertips and smell the comforting french vanilla aroma that wafted through the Wolves’s house. It was warm- almost too warm for your comfort. Or maybe it was the fever you were running from stress.

You tried to smack your lips together, cringing when the inside of your mouth resembled that of a desert. You needed water.

Peeling your eyes open, you groaned. The lamp beside the bed was too bright, contrasting greatly against the still-dark sky. How long were you out?

You sat up on the bed, feeling sore, but brushed it off and trudged towards the door. You opened it and headed towards the stairs when you heard voices in a room across from you, two doors down.

“She’s already caused too much harm. I say we let her go and let natural selection take its course.”

You scoffed. Typical Hiram- rude ass.

“No- no. We brought her into this, the universe has basically ordered us to keep her safe. If any Eagles see her on the street, she’s done for.” Hapi reasoned.

“That might be a good thing-“

“Hiram-“

“She shot Yuri! He’s not waking up because of her!”

The silence that followed his outburst made your heart clench. You didn’t mean to actually hit him- you just meant it as a warning shot. Hell, you didn’t even know your aim was that good.

“He’s going to be fine. In the meantime, we need to contact Claude or Dimitri and see what’s happening.”

Claude? Claude, the boy at the pizza shop? You rolled your eyes. Of course he’d be a part of this- whatever this is.

“What if they’re siding with her?” Constance asked worriedly.

“Trust me, if it’s anything that Claude’s against, it’s an imbalance of power. As for Dimitri, I’m not sure.”

Your hands began to shake again and you blinked rapidly, trying to push away the looming realization that no, this wasn’t a joke, and yes, these college kids are in a fucking gang. You supposed a part of you didn’t want to believe it until now, but it crashed onto you like a bag of bricks.

These people have hurt others. Killed them. You hurt someone too- you shot a man. A man who apparently is trying to keep you safe.

Continuing to blink, this time biting back tears, you walked down the stairs into the kitchen. Grabbing a glass from the counter, you filled it up in the sink and began chugging.

One glass.

Two.

Maybe if it was alcohol, you’d feel a little better. But it wasn’t. And you didn’t.

More footsteps resounded from the stairs, making their way through the living room and into the kitchen. Hapi entered first, followed by the other four. She gave you a tight smile, choosing to mess with some papers that still rested on the kitchen table.

The papers were frenzied and unorganized- they must have really rushed out once they realized that you’d left.

Hiram walked past and bumped your shoulder rather harshly, making you spill your third glass of water down the front of your shirt. You hissed, wanting nothing more than to yank out those snowy locks of his, but he was definitely armed and no doubt dangerous. You valued your life a little too much to mess with the little man.

Eventually, the group sat down at the table and Hapi patted her hand on the wood, pointing to the empty chair across from her. “Please, Y/N, sit.”

You did so, awkwardly, clasping your hands and putting them in your lap. You didn’t want to look up, already feeling the five intense stares burn into your form.

“It seems our first little talk wasn’t as… effective as it needed to be.” The redheaded girl began. “You were seen with us in the cafe when Edelgard attacked. You let your mouth run, disrespecting her. And I can assure you right now, that the Eagles have all the details on you. Especially since one of their own seemed to recognize you. Like it or not, you’re in this now.”

Hiram snorted, leaning back on his chair and nonchalantly checking his nails. “You’re stuck with this, toots. If you didn’t want to be, you should’ve stuck behind everyone like a good little coward and let the big dogs fight over the bone. You could’ve easily been seen as a citizen and an innocent bystander, but no. Something in you said ‘hey, let’s be a bitch to these people who suddenly barged in here with guns’. If I didn’t know any better, it would seem to me like you were practically,” He leaned forward, his icy eyes boring into your own, “asking for it.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, but still kept shut. He wasn’t necessarily wrong, you could’ve easily decided to let the obviously-more-experienced people deal with it, but in your defense, you didn’t know at the time! You didn’t even think your 5 second long conversation with this Edelgard chick was as negative as they made it out to be.

Crossing your arms, you willed your face to remain stoic. “I just don’t see why she’d have it out for me. I didn’t even do anything that bad.”

“Look, look at my face.” Hiram pointed to the bridge of his nose, where a deep, pale pink scar contrasted against his skin. “Rhys and I used to be… involved with them. Her little lap dog- Ferdinand- did this. Because I made some ill-timed joke.”

You couldn’t help but glance over at Rhys, whose eyes had darkened at the mention of his past. The mention of Ferdinand’s name and his affiliation with the Eagles made you wonder about everyone’s past- how exactly did all of these people get involved with such a deadly life? You didn’t have much time to dwell on it before Balthus spoke up.

“Listen, little one, just stay here and chill out until we can a hundred percent confirm that the Eagles aren’t associating you with us. If they’re not, you’re free to go.”

“And if I am?”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.”

Everyone at the table gasped and turned around to the kitchen entrance, where the strained voice had come from. Yuri was leaned up against the door frame, holding onto his side still. His torso was bare, but the skin was covered by bandages and gauze.

The Wolves shot up out of their seats, rushing over to their leader.

“Yuri!”

“Why are you up?”

“You need rest.”

Yuri just chuckled at them, hiding a wince as his stomach contracted with the laugh. “I’m fine, I’m fine, everything’s cool. Not the first time.”

You still sat at the table, watching as they helped him sit in his place at the head before going back to their own seats. The Wolves really seemed to care about each other, you noticed, and felt a small pang of guilt for causing them so many problems already.

“So, Yuri-Bird, I was explaining to everyone earlier that our best choice of action is to contact Dimitri and Claude and see what’s happening in their little sectors of the world.” Hapi folded her hands on the table, “I know with about a 90% certainty that Claude will be against whatever Edelgard’s doing. Dimitri, I’m not so sure.”

Yuri nodded, taking in the information. “We need stronger people going to Dimitri, then, just in case he sided with her.”

“Which is why I decided that it would be best for all of us to go together. Dimitri has that one assassin with him- the Black Cat or whatever his alias is.”

“It’s Felix. I wouldn't forget the name of such a hunk of a man.” Hiram practically swooned.

Hapi rolled her eyes. “...Right. So, we start with Claude and then move on to Dimitri.”

Rhys raised his hand for a moment, making Hiram shush everyone. He said nothing, only jutting a thumb at you as if asking ‘what do we do about this chick?’ The room was quiet for a moment, then Constance clapped her hands together.

“She can stay and take care of Yuri!”

“What?” You and the previously mentioned man cried out.

He turned and glared at you. “You lot are going to entrust my healing to the same bitch that shot me? No. I’m coming with you all.”

Balthus shook his head. “She’s right, Boss. You could barely walk down here. You need to rest before you get back in the game.”

“Yeah,” Hiram began to laugh, “I’m sure Miss Girl will fix you right up. Maybe she’s better at caretaking than she is running away.”

You returned Yuri’s glare, but quickly switched it to Hiram. He lost his smile and quirked up an eyebrow, as if challenging you to say something. You didn’t.

“We leave tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock. Yuri, you sleep in. Y/N, be up early to change his bandages.”

Hapi stood and stretched, letting out a large yawn before walking out of the kitchen.

The rest of the group followed, Yuri lagging behind as Balthus helped him walk. His lavender eyes pierced into you, obviously extremely angry at you. You shuddered. You absolutely did not want to be alone with him tomorrow.

Dreading morning, you went to your room and tucked yourself back under the velvet sheets, watching the hall light turn off and listening to Hiram’s annoying voice echo throughout the walls.

“Goodnight y’all! Sweet dreams- except for the Princess, of course.”

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taglist: @fairyblue-alchemist @emperor-pizza @flavoredmilktea @sadies-stories-n-things @blviddyd @laurexlance @atomicchocolatecookie @mapesandoval @local-goth-lilz 

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#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem x reader #fire emblem imagines #fire emblem three houses x reader #x reader #fire emblem three houses imagines #running with the wolves #yuri #yuri leclarc #yuri leclerc #yuri leclair #yuri x reader #yuri leclarc x reader #yuri leclerc x reader #yuri leclarc imagines #yuri leclerc imagines #fanfiction #gang au #modern au #enemies to lovers #series

[vannahfanfics]

Before you read, here’s the previous chapter. New? Start from the beginning!

Cherry-Orange Blossoms 

Ao3

Chapter 3: Lies, Lies, Lies

Katsuki sucked his breath in through his teeth as he held his hands behind his head and sank himself into a squat. He held it for several seconds before gradually rising, keeping his back perfectly straight on the ascent. His calf and thigh muscles burned with exertion. Sweat glistened on his skin and dampened the fabric of his loose muscle tee and gym shorts. It had begun to roll down the ridges of his body to drip down and puddle on the laminate floor. His cheeks burned with a rosy pink hue, not unlike the color of the cherry blossom-like buds blooming within the tissue of his lungs.

His eye twitched as the tight feeling in his chest worsened. It felt like every muscle was spasming at once and giving his lungs no room to inflate. He coughed weakly, feeling an earthy must spread over his tongue as the spores floating in the infected sacs traveled up his windpipe. Apparently, Hanahaki disease was a fungal infection; the original species lived in woodlands, and its fruiting bodies mimicked flowers to attract insects, who would get trapped in their sticky secretions and slowly dissolve. By some evolutionary process or another, the fungus became parasitic, learning to survive in the harsh environment of the body’s gas exchange organ. They remained dormant, supposedly, in spore form until activated by certain hormones circulated during unrequited affection. Serotypes had differentiated from there, but the fungus reproductive structures retained their flower-like imitation.

Katsuki coughed again; he wasn’t sure if the little specks floating before his face were just dust particles illuminated by the sunlight streaming through his bedroom window, or tiny spores of the fungus. Either way, it irritated him. With a grunt, he abandoned his workout and fell back on his haunches. He gritted his teeth as he stretched out his legs, feeling the soreness of exertion pulsing deep within the tissue. He rubbed his thighs and calves, attempting to work out the tension, but paused when his phone pinged with a message notification. Frowning, he grabbed his cell phone and opened the message in the group chat Eijirou had added him to (without his permission).

Eijirou: Hey, Baku-bro, do you want to go to the mall with us today?

Denki: The videogame store is having a sale on new arrivals today! We can totally stock up!

Hanta: Denki, you just want to get Animal Crossing.

Denki: >o< Shut up! I find it therapeutic!

Eijirou: I like the ones that are really manly and into working out. :)

Katsuki rolled his eyes as the conversation derailed to a discussion about the kiddish videogame. He had nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon, and being cooped up in his house with only his thoughts was liable to drive him insane. Already, three times that morning, Katsuki’s mind had wandered to the bubbly girl with the glitter planet charm, and he had suffered coughing fits. One of them had resulted in another cherry blossom petal, which he had buried at the bottom of his trash bin because all hell would break loose if his mother found it. Katsuki typed up a quick affirmative before climbing to his feet so he could find something suitable to wear. He didn’t care much about what people thought of his outfit, but he still had the decency to not walk around in sweat-drenched clothes.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Yooo, Baku-bro!” Denki called excitedly and waved as Katsuki hopped off the subway train. His friends clustered at the base of the stairs leading up to the street. Katsuki shoved his hands deep into his cargo pants pockets, fingering the small collection of cherry lozenges he had thrown in last minute. He didn’t look fondly upon choking out in front of the team and the cheerleaders. Hopefully, his chances of being tackled to the ground on an outing to the mall were meager. Katsuki would much rather suck on one of the sickly-sweet throat tablets than cough up a petal in front of the three. “Why the grumpy face, bro?” Denki asked as he pranced up to him and jabbed him a few times in the bicep.

“Fuck off, Pikachu, I’m not grumpy.” The natural black streak in the electric blond’s hair reminded Katsuki of the shitty little Pokémon, so he had taken to referring to Denki as such. Katsuki clicked his teeth and ran his fingers through his ash-blond hair, finding the strands still clumped with perspiration despite the crude towel-dry he had subjected the fluffy locks to. Whatever. Not like some idiot is gonna come up and sniff my hair. If some whackjob did, Katsuki would kindly provide them a knuckle sandwich.

“So, Eijirou said you had a summer cold or somethin’,” Hanta said casually as the four began to mount the steps to the surface world. “Are you feeling better?”

“I wasn’t feelin’ bad in the first place,” Katsuki growled with a pointed look at the redhead. Eijirou flushed and tugged at his collar with a nervous chuckle. Katsuki rolled his shoulders and slumped a little, feeling his already volatile mood worsening with the reminder of his humiliating experience. “It was just a shitty cough. I slept it off just fine.” The cherry lozenges bounced in his pocket, their little clacks and rustles evidence against his falsehood.

They reached the small veranda that covered the entrance to the subway system. Katsuki blinked rapidly as the harsh sunlight greeted him, burning his eyes. As he shielded his face from its onslaught, his ears gradually processed the din of conversation and traffic assaulting them. The already warm air was hot with the fumes pouring out of the mufflers of the cars lodged bumper-to-bumper on the blacktop road waiting for the light to turn green. Small crowds milled at the crosswalks or scurried in groups across the neat white lines. A steady flow of people streamed along the sidewalk, chattering into their cell phones, scrolling through their social media feeds, or talking amiably with their companions. Katsuki’s blood instantly cooled with the flush of anxiety.

So many people meant so many witnesses if things went way south.

His throat began to itch just thinking about it, and he scratched compulsively at his Adam’s apple, as if to silence the angry screams of the irritated cells. His friends seemed not to notice his anxieties; they strolled on ahead to melt into the throng. Katsuki forced his feet to follow lest he be left behind or lost in the horde. The mall was a short jaunt from the station and towered on the distant city horizon. Its glass dome reflected the light blue of the sky and shimmered like diamonds as the light beams played over its surface. He half-listened as Hanta energetically babbled about the apocalyptic survival game he intended on purchasing.

“-Bakugo. Hey, earth to Bakugo!” Katsuki’s lashes fluttered when he was yanked out of his blank thoughts by Denki. He was snapping his fingers in front of Katsuki’s face. Scowling, Katsuki shoved his hand aside and demanded to know what the hell he wanted.

“What’s up with you spacing out, dude? You were legit about to walk into the fountain.” Katsuki blinked and looked ahead to realize that the large, bubbling fountain situated in the mall’s front plaza was indeed not more than a foot in front of him. His cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he hunched his shoulders, grumbling about how he totally saw it. The three of them exchanged suspicious glances but elected to shrug off the incident. Katsuki’s mouth curled into a frown, and his gaze shifted through the various patrons as they strolled through the automatic glass doors of the mall entrance.

The cooled air pumped by the building’s massive air conditioning units admittedly did feel nice on Katsuki’s raw throat. He breathed in deep, relishing the way the icy oxygen chilled the inflamed passage. Denki squirmed about in excitement in front of him, bleating about all the things he was going to build on his Animal Crossing island. Hanta made a very unflattering gesture behind his back, which Eijirou reprimanded him for with a sharp jab to his ribs.

“Do we want snacks first?” Hanta wheezed as he held his bruised intercostals and leaned down over a decorative wall containing various ferns and flowers. Their aromatic pollen tickled Katsuki’s nose and throat, returning that insufferable itch. Katsuki edged away from the plants while holding the collar of his shirt over his mouth. When Eijirou looked at him expectantly, he dropped the cloth and grimaced.

“I don’t care. Let’s just get a move on.”

“Let’s do pretzels, then!” the redhead suggested, spying a small stand squashed in the corner of the nearby food court. Katsuki’s heart sunk, because he just knew the salt and toasted breadstuff would aggravate his symptoms; his stomach soon took over the emotions, rumbling in his abdomen to demand sustenance. Soon he was sitting on a bench and wolfing down a salted pretzel dunked in nacho cheese. Every few seconds, however, the itch would come clawing back up his trachea, and he had to douse it with a large gulp of soda, forcing it from the entrance to his throat. It lurked in the shadows of his insides, prowling like a beast.

Katsuki’s vermilion eyes anxiously skated the crowd as he ate the pretzel. Aside from his three friends, everyone in the mall was a stranger to him- but that didn’t matter. Among them could be news reporters, sports journalists, and any number of professionals who could latch onto his woeful story and make money off his downfall. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, now finding the material irritating on his neck. He slightly resented not wearing a lower-cut fit.

He tore his gaze away from the crowd, knowing that dwelling on his illness would only lead to trouble. He found Denki staring dreamily into his container of caramel sauce with his half-eaten pretzel raining cinnamon sugar onto his clothes as he just held it up.

“Yo, Earth to Pikachu. Who’s the one spacing out now?” Katsuki jeered. He blinked when a faint pink hue rose to the lanky blond’s cheeks.

“I wonder if Kyoka likes Animal Crossing.”

“Oh, here we go,” Hanta sighed and pushed his forehead into his hand with a sardonic grin. Denki blushed darker but was determined to keep the stoic noirette the topic of conversation.

“She’s just so… you know! And I’m so… you know!” Denki lamented, gestating wildly with his pretzel and shaking more of the sweet spice and sugar all over himself. Katsuki pouted and reclined against the bench, trying not to focus on the romantic implications of the conversation. He’d suffered enough of romance in the last few days. It’s like I can’t escape from this Hell! He seethed, desperately trying to prevent his thoughts from spiraling to a certain cheery brunette. Denki whined and pushed his fist into his cheek. “I just don’t know how to impress her, you guys.”

“You mean your ravishing good looks aren’t enough?” Hanta joked, earning an affronted shove from the blond. Hanta munched on his pretzel hot dog and didn’t even bother swallowing. With his cheek puffed out like a chipmunk’s, he posed matter-of-factly, “You gotta make her laugh, dude. Chicks dig a guy who can crack a good joke.”

“I’m funny, right…?”

“O’course you are, Denki!” Eijirou encouraged and looked at Katsuki, eyebrows knit and requesting a follow-up. Katsuki licked some nacho cheese from the corner of his mouth and bared his teeth like an angry hound.

“Funny-looking.”

“Baku-bro, why’re you so mean?” Denki whined and flopped his head back against the metal bar of the bench. Katsuki bristled, then looked away aggravatedly.

“Why’re you asking me, anyway? Do you think I give two shits about your little crush problems? Just man up and ask the girl out, Jesus,” he growled and violently tore a chunk of the pretzel off with his teeth. Denki pursed his lips thoughtfully, then sighed wistfully.

“It’s just not that easy, y’know…”

“Yeah, but he’s right, man,” Hanta frowned. “At least that way, you’ll get an answer. Keep pinin’ like this, and you’ll end up like Kendo.” Hanta made a coughing up motion and then sneered, obviously jesting. Denki snorted with laughter while Eijirou grinned, but Katsuki felt a blast of fire pulse through his nerve circuits. His cheeks flushed with anger, and he clenched the container of nacho cheese until it caved in and spilled the thick paste all over his fingers.

“Shut the fuck up,” he snarled. The three boys looked at him, their smiles each falling from their faces as they beheld Katsuki’s rigid posture and death-grip on the crumpled plastic packet of cheese. When Eijirou began to ask if he was all right, Katsuki’s red eyes flashed to him with a livid glare. “Shut the fuck up. You assholes have no fucking idea what you’re talking about! Keep fucking joking like that, and you will be choking on flowers soon!” he roared and threw the messy container of cheese onto the floor. Denki protested as the yellow-orange substance splattered all over the tile, but Katsuki was already up and walking, dripping the sauce from his fingers as he stalked off into the crowd. He didn’t have a destination in mind. He didn’t even have much of a reason other than he just had to get out of there. Or else, the bitter tears that he was so desperately trying to hold back would spring forth, and he couldn’t have that.

Subconsciously, he was able to navigate to the nearest men’s restroom. He startled a little boy washing his hands by throwing the door open with such force that the handle banged against the tile wall and cracked it. The boy decided to skip the paper towels and hurried out of the room, leaving Katsuki alone. Panting as the emotions threatened to overtake him, he paced in front of the sinks like an angry tiger, snarling curses under his breath. With a sudden shout, he punched the metal bin of paper towels. The surface dented, and the automatic dispenser registered his movement and spat out a single white piece of thin material. Something about the dull whirring of the machine swept his frustration away, leaving him just an empty shell. Dully, he plucked the napkin from the dispenser and began wiping the cheese from his hand.

“Fuck,” he whispered suddenly and flopped back against the wall, running his clean hand over his face. What the fuck was his problem? Growing angry at the smallest things, barely able to contain his temper… Rumor would begin to spread if he kept it up. He looked morosely at his knuckles, which were already turning blue and purple -purple, like Ochako’s glittery Saturn charm that she was so excited to pull out of that crappy little coin game at the bubble tea shop sophomore year.

Ochako…

What would she think, to see him acting like this- yelling at his friends and punching things? It would sadden her, absolutely. The brick scraped against Katsuki’s back as he slid down into a sitting position. He tucked his legs to his chest and rested his arms on his knees, then buried his face into the flesh of his forearms. His red eyes gazed miserably at the shadowy tile peeking between the ridges of his sneakers.

Stop freaking out so much. That’s all you have to do, Katsuki tried to convince himself. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. Stop being a pissbaby. So what if you’ve got some dumbass disease? Who cares what those Internet bastards say?! I ain’t dyin’, at least not for some time yet! He clenched his fists together, renewed determination flooding his body. I don’t gotta lay down and die or walk on eggshells for this bullshit! I’m Katsuki fucking Bakugo, basketball superstar in the making! No pussy-ass fungus bitch is taking me out!

His nostrils flared as he blew hot breath from his nose. His arm shot up to grasp the sink nearest him and haul himself up. He wiped the rest of the cheese from his hand and then glared at himself into the mirror. Red eyes swam in a pale face that was gradually returning with the color of life -red eyes, like red sneakers, like red hairpins, like red blood. I’m not choking on it yet, he growled to the slightly sickly reflection. Not fucking yet.

His friends were still on the bench when he finally ventured out. They had finished their pretzels and were now drinking slushes. Eijirou had a blue one tucked neatly beside him, untouched.

“Hey, Katsuki, we saved you one,” the redhead smiled and offered the icy drink to him. Katsuki took it with a quiet word of gratitude, electing to stand and shake off the rest of his nervous energy by shifting his weight continuously from one foot to the other. The three boys on the bench awkwardly glanced at one another.

Hanta nervously piped up, “You were right. Hanahaki isn’t somethin’ to joke about… Sorry.” Katsuki stared blankly into the slushie, plucking up the straw to swirl the slushy liquid-ice concoction around in the giant cup.

“S’fine. ‘S just… I saw her, y’know. Kendo.” Katsuki had passed her in the hall the previous day. The girl crouched by the water fountain, clutching her neck as yellow narcissus petals sprouted from her trachea. They fluttered slowly down to pile at her feet; some of the buttery flowers were tinged red with blood from where they had brushed against her raw throat. After a hacking bout, she had shakily tried to drink some water, only to spit it up and start all over again. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and broken sobs leaked out with the coughs. “It’s fucking miserable. I don’t wish it on anybody,” he whispered with lidded eyes. He continued swirling the slush without drinking it, watching the ice melt. The three boys fidgeted on the bench, shamed into silence. Of course, Katsuki was no better; up until this point, he had haughtily discounted anyone who fell victim to the ailment as weak-willed and stupid.

He was such a conceited prick.

Sullenly, he sucked more of the half-melted concoction into his mouth. The cold mush soothed his burning throat even better than the cooled building air. Blinking, he cast a look back into the crowd-

and saw a glittery purple Saturn charm swinging within the mass of bodies. He coughed a little and spit up some of the blue liquid back into the cup, then rubbed his eyes to make sure he didn’t imagine the tacky charm. Sure enough, Ochako had the accessory clipped to one of the belt loops of her white jean shorts. Her smile was radiant, spearing light throughout the room like the stars through the universe. Her pink blouse swished about her frame, giving her a dainty and cute look. She was in avid conversation with someone as she strolled along, and had her fingers linked with theirs.

Katsuki didn’t have to look to know whose hand she was holding.

His fingers twitched, itching to crush the slushie just like he did the little container of cheese, but he refrained from doing so. He couldn’t stop the wracking cough that rattled his body, however. He turned away from his friends on the bench as his chest spasmed. That familiar feeling blossomed in his trachea. The petal was soft as it landed on his tongue, spreading it earthy flavor over his taste buds. He discreetly spat it out and tucked it underneath the fingers holding his cup as Eijirou asked him if he was all right.

“Just fine,” he lied. The blossom-like fungal body seared against his skin, like it was reprimanding him. Not that it did much good- for the next several months, Katsuki was going to lie and lie and lie until it got to the point he couldn’t anymore.

He didn’t know what he would do when that time came. Hollowly, he drank the slushie, feeling the numbing cold spread throughout his entire body- cold like death.

Enjoy this story? Here’s the next chapter! Want more stories? Check out my Table of Contents!

Tag List: @deliathedork​  @simplybakugou​ @sadistiks​ @wesparklebitch​ @cellotonin​ @pixxiesdust​ 

#kacchako #bakuraka #bakugo x uraraka #uraraka x bakugo #ochako x katsuki #katsuki x ochako #katsuki bakugo #katsuki bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #uraraka ochako #ochako uraraka #my hero academia #mha #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero #mha fanfic #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfic #bnha fanfiction #my hero fanfic #my hero fanfiction

[kats-kradle]

PLEASE HELP

I found this a while ago and accidentally deleted the tumblr page I found it on after I copied it. I found it in my docs and want to write a story with the same concept, but I want to give proper credit. IF YOU HAVE SEEN IT ANYWHERE BEFORE PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHERE.

~~~~~THING

A is at a house with friends, cooking. And maybe one of the kids decides to run through the kitchen as cutting something.   And then next thing you knows he’s just staring at his wrist or arm and there’s a lot of fucking blood and “hey C could you hand me a towel?” All nice and calm And C throws one at A’s head, not even looking at A And B comes around the corner and just sees A bleeding a whole fucking lot and C’s doing something with the turkey totally calm and he’s like A! And C turns around and is like oh cool time to panic A’s knees give out right as B gets to him B manages to catch him some so he doesn’t hit the ground very hard D hears a commotion and pops his head in, is like woah ok, and kneels in front of A. D would be so in control, he’d be in full dad mode. lemme see A, you gotta let me see “A look at me. You’re going to be fine.” A leans forward, curled around his armt “It’s so much”  A mutters- oh.  shit.  Uh, C, call 911. D puts the towel over the injury don’t look at it, ok? A looks up at him- he’s really pale, wide eyes “I-“ there’s a legit puddle of blood on the floor, splashed down the cabinet “I didn’t- it just slipped, I didn’t-“ ‘you’re ok, kid’ D puts pressure on the injury, and A hisses in pain the towel is soaked completely, and C grabs three more from a drawer D gets down on A’s level, and looks him in the eye and is calm but serious and says As full name like “A.” Bc it’s the only way to get A to focus on him A is shaking, staring at the bloody towel B rubs a hand up and down his back A, look at me A! he looks up, but the movement throws him off balance so bad he tips back against B his head kinda drops back onto B’s shoulder B can’t really see his face, freaks out a little A? shakes him, and A’s whole body moves, like he’s got no muscle tone D says, B, lay him down flat B’s so scared that it takes his brain a second to interpret that he lays A out so gently, cups his hand behind his neck so his head doesn’t hit the floor A just goes, rests back against B’s hands B keeps his hand behind A’s neck B, keep him talking D lays A’s arm out straight, puts his knee right on top of the wound- *that* hurts, and A tries to sit up a little, reaches over for his arm E to pokes his head in for a second, open his mouth to say something, sees the blood, pale, and then disappears again A moans, a little breathy whimper thing- it hurts B, it hurts B? yeah? ’m cold they can hear sirens A’s eyes slide shut A! A, stay wake! mm A! ’m here and then the emts shoo them away from him they put a strap around A’s upper arm and pull it so tight that A groans in pain, but it’s the most awake they’ve seen him in minutes the emt puts an iv in his other arm the emts get C and B to help lift A onto the stretcher A’s so fucking pale, even his lips are white they put an oxygen mask over his nose and mouthA blinks slowly up at the ceiling when they lift the stretcher up moans a little 'you’re ok,’ says the emt.  'we’re gonna take you to the hospital, get you taken care of’ but A doesn’t even acknowledge him, just looks around, looks worried B? B…. 'are you B?’ the emt asks C me, says B, i’m B 'you coming with him?’ B didn’t even realize he could, but he nods and follows the emt out the door B sits in the back, in a chair at A’s head a fire truck showed up at their house too- B hadn’t even noticed it- and one of the firefighters climbs into the back of the ambulance with them the emt attaches a bag of clear liquid to the iv in A’s arm, then puts the bag under A’s head the other emt that asked if B wanted to come with A gets in the driver’s seat and takes off, sirens blaring the sirens are quieter from the inside of the ambulance, B notes, feeling detached the emt in the back takes A’s blood pressure with a machine, then he pulls out another black strap and tosses it across A’s body- across A- to the firefighter 'higher up,’ he says the firefighter is big, almost as big as B, and he puts the second black strap almost in A’s armpit and then uses all his strength to crank down on it, so hard that A’s skin folds under it.  A doesn’t flinch. then the firefighter picks up a radio that B hadn’t noticed before General from 240, he says go ahead, 240, comes the response a second later, a calm sounding female voice ‘25 year old male, laceration to the left wrist, spurting blood.  we’ve applied two tourniquets. Pressure’s 72 over 40 at the last reading, heart rate’s 164, respirations…’ he looks at a pad of paper in his lap where had written things down, '26.  ETA’s 5 minutes, any further questions?’ the woman from “general,” whatever that is, takes a minute to respond, and when she does, B can hear talking in the background 'no further questions, 240.  You’re in trauma two.  see you in five.’ the emt takes A’s shoe off and puts another iv in his foot, which is weird.  he hooks up another bag of liquid to that iv and puts that under A’s leg suddenly the ambulance is stopping and the emt directs B out the Ae door while he and the firefighter take A out the back the stretcher bumps around as they take it out of the ambulance, and A’s head lolls limply to one side a nurse stops B almost as soon as they’re inside and shoos him out to the waiting room B sees the emt getting coffee from a little station and goes up to him 'Is A going to be ok?’ 'he lost a lot of blood.  But this is the best trauma center in the state.  They’ll take really good care of him.’

#Not mine #whump #please help

[youremyonlyhope]

The Lie of the Land

The description of the episode really concerns me.

Umm... Ummmmmm...... UMMMMMMMMM........ UMMMMMMMMM...... THESE MONKS ALL BEING INSERTED INTO HISTORY IS ALL JUST NOPE. “THE TIME THE MONKS DEFEATED THE DALEKS. THE CYBERMEN. THE WEEPING ANGELS.” UM WHAT. AND THE DOCTOR IS DOING LIKE PROPAGANDA OR SOMETHING FOR THE MONKS. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING. WE HAVE A LEGIT DYSTOPIA HERE. THERE ARE CAMPS. SOME PEOPLE REMEMBER THE PROPER HISTORY. THIS IS HORRIBLE. THIS WENT FROM 0-100 REAL QUICK. AND THE MUSIC PLAYING REMINDS ME OF TEN’S SONG FROM END OF TIME. I CAN’T REMEMBER WHICH SONG THOUGH. IT’S REMINDING ME OF EITHER “VALE DECEM” OR “THIS IS GALLIFREY”. I CAN’T THINK RIGHT NOW. ALL I CAN DO IS RECOGNIZE IT, I CAN’T HANDLE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS. WHY ALL THE STATUES. YOU MONKS GUYS REALLY LOVE BEING WORSHIPPED DON’T YOU? YOU GOT PROBLEMS. SO MANY PROBLEMS. THAT EVIL CREEPY GRIN FROM THE DOCTOR.

EVERYTHING IS NOPE.

Calling it now, a lot of this episode will be in caps. Awww it’s her mom. Everything’s so dull and grey.... MAGPIE ELECTRICAL. NOW THAT’S A REAL THROWBACK. YES. Nardole! I had noticed the painting in the first house, but now there’s the same one in Bill’s apartment. This is like Big Brother with the TV’s watching you or cameras or whatever it was that watched you. I can’t remember. I read that book like 8 years ago. Oh my god. Yeah. Comics. Some literature/ALL literature wouldn’t have the monks in it. “History was saying ‘hey look I have some examples of Fascism here.’” THE DOCTOR HAS A REAL POINT THERE. Doctor please tell me you aren’t actually really for this though. Oh god her face when he revealed their code to the guards. No. I got distracted counting stitches on the skirt I’m currently crocheting, and Bill started shooting the Doctor. So THAT’S A NEW ONE. THAT’S NEW. I DON’T THINK A COMPANION HAS EVER SHOT THE DOCTOR BEFORE. AT LEAST NOT IN MY MEMORY.  Ok Twelve. Pull a Ten and put all your regeneration energy somewhere. “AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH good girl!” DOCTOR YOU JUST DON’T DO STUFF LIKE THAT. NO. BAD DOCTOR. “Everyone exchanged their ammo for blanks.” Well that explains the lack of blood. I thought it was just because it’s a family show and showing blood would be bad and showing the blood of the Doctor would be even worse and showing the blood of the Doctor while he’s getting shot at by his companion would have been completely devastating. “Oh... my... god I am going to beat the sh-” “She keeps hitting me!” Oh my god that was funny. Umm... Almost as smart as the Doctor... the Master? You’re gonna go get Missy? Really?

Bill: “We could have snuck back in but... the Doctor being the Doctor...” Doctor [Laughing Maniacally] 

I have captions on, and that caption was perfection. “Wait a sec, why have you got a woman locked in a vault? Because even I think that’s weird and I’ve been attacked by a puddle.” That’s hilarious. I knew the statues were important! Still think they’re all super vain for making them in their image They’re playing what sounds like “This Is Gallifrey” and I’m having feels. What will Doctor Who do when Murray Gold dies? His music is so iconic for New Who. Will Doctor Who still be going then... This brain wave stuff reminds me of season 3 when everyone used the Master’s network against him. Yes Doctor please stop racism. Please and thank you. “You’re gonna plug your brain into it?” “I know. Doesn’t stand a chance.” Ok honestly, this guy should have just grabbed the headset of one of the dead bodies once he noticed his was broken. Come on. I get that you shouldn’t do stuff to dead bodies, but like... he knows the danger of him not hearing the recording constantly. I guess he just fell back into the monks’ brainwashing before he could think to take someone else’s. “Fake news central” Hmm... I know Doctor Who filmed long before Agent Orange became president... but hmm... good timing... Bill should touch him for support or something. Since it’s her memories that link everything. Annnnd everything’s red. Does Bill have a theme yet? I haven’t noticed one. Is this it? The music playing during their “last conversation.” Oh because it’s a fake memory of her mom, a fantasy. OK. The entire world is getting the image of a beautiful black woman with an afro smiling and hold out her hand and it’s making everyone’s memories go back to normal. YES. “Humanity’s doomed to never learn from its mistakes.” Yep. Oh he lets Missy out of the cage thingy sometimes? Missy, are you actually feeling regret? Oh my god. Yes girl. Feel the regret. Feel it. Let it make you better.

OK. Well that was a good 3 parter. I’m glad it all worked out. But like... that dystopia in the first few minutes of this episode... just nope. I couldn’t handle it. Even just 10 minutes of it.

Also, I just listened to This Is Gallifrey and Vale Decem to make sure that those were the songs I had heard during the episode and let me tell you... Murray Gold... is an actual genius. Because I want to cry all over again. It doesn’t help that I’m listening to the versions of the songs in this video and it’s just playing all the Doctor’s regenerations and I got a lot of feels. Especially since Blind Wave has been watching Doctor Who and they have only 2 episodes of Nine left and I’m having Nine feels since I know in 2 weeks I’ll have to watch them go through the heartbreak of losing Nine. Also the fact that John Hurt died this year really isn’t helping at all. Oh my god when Vale Decem just builds with the final chorus of the song just... GENIUS. JOHN WILLIAMS LEVEL OF MUSICAL GENIUS. MURRAY GOLD YOU GENIUS.

#hope watches doctor who #ignore me if you want

[captainatin]

Unwavering essence chapter 5: Break dance

Never ending darkness, Kathleen felt herself be swallowed up by it as she clung onto a shimmering yellow light.

*Game over

*Restart save file?

“W-What?” The battered ballerina whimpered as white text floated in front of her. “I don’t know what’s going on.” She sniffled as the left she was clutching faded away into nothingness. “What do you want from me?” She weakly called out to the mysterious words that hung in the air. “This can’t be just a dream, it’s all too real for that!” Her hand slammed against the floating words and her eyes slammed shut as tightly as they could. The girl let out deep breaths to calm herself down, she felt a warm feeling wash over her and take away her exhaustion in addition to taking away her cuts and bruises. She opened her eyes to the sound of a crackling fire and the smell of smoke blowing into her face.

“Are you alright miss? We don’t see many of your frog shepherds around here!” Kathleen heard a distant voice call out to her, they were approaching but their tone was sweet and gentle. The girl coughed from the smoke and opened her eyes, the fumes burned and made her eyes release tears despite having sobbed out so many before. She spun her head around to face the person that was coming closer. “You okay little girl?” The monster looked quite unfriendly in comparison to their words, they were a giant snake with a pig’s head on top. The beast looked rather horrifying to the girl until she recalled her drawing.

“Uhm, I’m fine, really I am.” Kathleen felt like she was hyperventilating, that her lungs would cave in at any second and suffocate her. “I really have to get going!” She tried to speak normally but it sounded more like a loud screech.

“Oh, I’m sorry for frightening you!” The reptile shouted out with concern written all over her expression and her voice. “I’m sorry, really I am!” The ballerina girl glanced back only once and saw the woman slither back into her house and slam the door shut. The human felt a twinge of guilt run through her stomach, up her throat, and into her brain.

“What the hell was that all about?” Kathleen whimpered to herself as she trotted her way out of the town. She strode her way through a thick mist, she could barely see what was two feet in front of her. Why did she look like her? That careless doodle, this has to be a dream! She slapped herself across the face but she didn’t snap out of the living nightmare she had found herself trapped in. Why can’t I wake up? Someone else needs to slap me. She nodded in conclusion as she slowly waddled forward, breathing in the fog with each shaking and shallow breath.

“Hey, why are you crying?” She heard the voice of a small child pipe up behind her, she stopped and dared to turn around to look at the monster that was behind her. A penguin body with a badger head and paws. “You shouldn’t be upset over someone asking if you’re okay. That’s kinda rude don’t you think?” The creature tilted its head as it shuffled forward on its tiny little feet. The beast looked horrifying in comparison to its sweet voice.

“G-Get away from me!” Kathleen turned around and rushed forward as she stuffed her emotions back into her heart, this is what she always had done. Speeding by rocks and glowing blue flowers, her feet thundered against the stone floor as she accelerated even further before splashing in puddles that were formed by water dripping from the top of the cave system that she had entered. Disregarding the fact that she was already in a cave. The ballerina girl tripped over herself and fell flat onto her face, blood gushed from her nose and onto the rocks she was left staring down at. “I don’t know what to do.” She whimpered to herself as she stood to her feet and covered her nose with her hands, the blood oozing out onto her fingers in thick red streams came out after the thinner blood from before. Great, I don’t have a stupid tissue to plug all this up. Insult to injury. She growled and shuffled forward.

“Uhm, lady?” The badger avian hybrid quickly hobbled over as quickly as they could to catch up with the human girl. “You aren’t okay, you look like you could use a tissue or a hankie or something like that.” The creature batted its eyes at the woman as it patted her back.

“Just leave me alone you little monster!” The dancer sniffled as the blood seeped over her fingers and dripped onto the rest of her hand before running down her arm, coating her skin with the red hue. Seriously? Why can’t these little punks leave me alone? Can’t they tell I don’t want to be anywhere near them? They’re just a bunch of freaks! She tried to run but felt a twinge of pain surge through her right ankle. No, I don’t really think that. I’m not thinking right, I’m in a lot of pain and I need to calm the hell down. The girl sniffled again as she clutched her nose in a poor attempt to stop the bleeding.

“I mean, yeah I’m a monster. Ma’am, aren’t you one too?” The beast wobbled faster to catch up before it tripped and fell on its face. “Ooof! That was not a nice spill.” This creature didn’t get a bloody nose like she did, its snout was undamaged and it was already back on its feet and catching up with her. “We’re all monsters down here! Ain’t no one else down here but us! We haven’t seen a human in a loooooooooooooooooooooo-” The badger thing took a deep breath. “-ooooooooooooong time. Or at least that’s what my mama told me, she’s really really smart and I think you need to get a tissue.” High pitched noises were not the girl’s forte so the voice of the child ended up being incredibly irritating to listen to as she picked up the pace. As she walked faster, so did the curious little child that trotted along behind her.

“What part of beat it did you not get? I’m legit going to get pissed off at you! I’ve given you a damn warning so just buzz off!” Kathleen stomped as she whipped her head around and stared into the soul of the creature, she blinked as her vision turned black and white. “No, no, no, why did you do that?” She backed off slightly as a mortified feeling washed over her, she didn’t know how to fight in the underground without killing them.

“I didn’t do nothing!” The creature stuck its tongue out at her before quickly retracting it. “You’re the one that opened the stupid menu! I don’t know why you gotta be such a mean lady! It doesn’t make sense.” They pouted as they folded their arms and plopped down onto the ground. “So you gonna attack me or what?”

“What? No!” The dancer exclaimed as she held out a hand in protest. “No, no, no! I don’t want to fight I just want to get out of here and not worry about abnormal things! I want to go back to my home so please get out of my way!” She cried out as a rhythm played out in her head and a spectral foot was launched at the badger.

“Ouchie!” The monster covered its head as the attack dissipated. “W-What did you do? I feel really heavy.” They tried to stand up but only plopped back down onto the stone cold floor they had been sitting on. “Meanie!” The beast swiped its claws and sent an energy blast rocketing towards the girl’s blue floating heart.

“Oh no! No, no, no! I didn’t mean to do that on purpose I swear to all that whatever you monsters call holy!” The slash grazed her cheek and blood slowly seeped out from the razor thin cut, she raised a pair of fingers and tapped the injury. It stung like salt on a wound, there was nothing she use to dull the pain so she was left agonizing over it. The blood from her nose seemed to have ceased its exit but her right arm was covered down to her wrist in the caked life essence. “Please don’t do this.” She took a deep breath before coughing out a wad of mucus that had blood blended in with it. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“But you did already! You’re a meanie and a liar!” The beast growled as it slashed at the air multiple times, several white energy slashes soared through the air and missing their pink wearing target. “Dodging isn’t fair!” They huffed as they released even more energy waves, still ferociously tearing through the air with their claws. “You can’t just do that, don’t you know you gotta stay still?” The monster shouted as sweat poured out onto the rocks, they looked tired and almost unable to move.

“I am staying still.” Kathleen growled as she stomped her foot and launched another spectral shoe at her enemy, she hoped to quite literally kick some sense into the creature that sought to harm her. “Sorry I got to do this little man!” Another shoe flew out and struck the monster’s head leaving a bulging sore like the kind you would see in a cartoon.

“You ain’t sorry! You ain’t sorry one bit, no you’re not!” The badger fell onto its belly and tried clawing forward. “Too heavy….so much weight, I can barely move!” They whined as they scampered to move forward but to no avail. “Please help me!” A harsh scratching sound rang out through the cave in unison with the sound of dripping water, the creature drug its nails across the floor and wailed. The screams were terrifying for the girl to sit there and listen to, she had no idea how to escape the fight so she felt there was no other option than to put the child out of its misery.

“I am so sorry, really I am.” The ballerina averted her gaze as she stomped on the creature’s neck and another wail was released to echo through the complex interior of the cave, a mortifying screech that would give even the bravest of men nightmares or trigger flashbacks for an old war veteran. Suddenly the sound came to a stop and the cruel shrieking was nothing more than a bitter memory. A bitter memory that the young girl could not shake out of her head no matter how hard she tried. “I’m so sorry.” She sniffled as she sobbed into her bloody hands, the caked blood only reminded her of the last creature she had killed. Dust clung to her legs as she shook in place.

*LV up! 3 ---> 5! HP increase, DEF increase, ATK increase!

“W-What?” She meeped out as her vision returned to normal and the white text hung in the air to mock her and the dark deed she had just committed. What do you mean when you say what? Kat, you know exactly what it means! Hurry the hell along and just go home! It isn’t safe down here, it never was. I was being a total idiot and I need to get out of here. How do I get out? Something about a castle, and King Asgore, and what was the rest of it? God I have no clue what is going on! I just want to get out of here! She slowly turned around and stumbled through the area, her slower pace prevented her from falling down again. It started to rain, drops splattered against the floor of the cave making sounds as it clattered a little at a time before picking up the pace. Soon it was pouring down water as if to sweep away the girl under a tidal wave of emotions and thoughts. She came to a wooden bridge that creaked with every step, the support ropes looked thin and the planks looked softened up by the downpour. What’s the worst that could happen? I’m in enough danger as it is. The girl sniffled as she held onto the ropes with all her might, clenching tightly around them for support as she slowly skidded her way across the rickety bridge. Her clothes were drenched and her entire body was shaking in fear, remorse, and the cold feeling that encompassed all of it.

“Hey! You there!” The girl looked up to see a small tent up ahead with a fire next to it, the flames flickered but there was a slight overhang to the cloth of the tent so that none of the rain could douse the heat that danced across the pile of sticks and slabs of coal. “You should come over here and sit by us!” The speaker was rather gruff and masculine, he sounded like a smoker who had just downed a whole bottle of alcohol after finishing his blunt. His appearance was even more unsavory, his green and wrinkled skin made him look like a goblin, his rounded button nose didn’t help the thought either.

“Uhm, I think I’ll pass.” Kathleen swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, the rain had soaked through her clothing but stopping was not an option, especially when stopping meant dealing with another creature she had doodled up while in the classroom. “I really have to hurry and I can’t stop to chat.” She tried to walk past the man but his figure seemed to grow until he was towering over her.

“Who said you had a choice in the matter?” The beast gave an ugly sneer as he snapped his fingers and two other giants came out from the tent, they held belts and rope that looked like they had been used before. “Because you really don’t!” A deep laughter rang out from the man’s gut as he leaned over and grabbed the girl by the throat. “Come now little human! You’ve built quite the reputation for yourself haven’t ya?” He wiggled her around in his grip before setting her down in between him and his two fellow goons.

“What are you talking about?” Kathleen gasped for air as she fell to the ground and fell into a fit of coughing and wheezing for precious oxygen from the damp environment. “I haven’t met many people down here, just leave me alone please!” Her vision turned hazy in addition to fading back into black and white.

“Awh, she thinks asking us nicely will make us leave her alone!” One of the other two cronies laughed before the original goblin joined in, before long she was surrounded my laughing beasts holding rope and different kinds of belts and straps. “We’ll be ready to have some real fun with you!” He stifled his laughter as he tied her hands together and scratched his long fingernails against her stomach, slicing part of her ballerina outfit into thin ribbons forcing the girl to twinge in pain at the cut. She refused to look at any of them, nor did she look at the cut that ran across her belly.

“Come on then little one! Didn’t you kill a whole lot of monsters? I haven’t seen the posters up yet but they said a human is in the underground causing a big ruckus!” The third beast sneered into her face and giggled as he slashed at her plain white stockings that had been tainted with dirt and grime, the cloth that clung to her legs was soon covered with blood as the newest addition to its appearance. “Who knew punishing a criminal would be so much fun!”

“Yeah!” The original goblin that had approached her chimed into the conversation as he crouched down and grabbed her head, pulling it backwards to force her to look up at him, the bun bounced slightly with the pins still secured tightly inside it. “Now I see why the royal guard are so harsh on people. There is no way I could pass something like this up.” He breathed heavily as he lowered his hand down her back which caused her to shudder in response.

“You sickos!” She shouted as she leaned forward before slamming her head back into his chest, the pins came loose and gouged into him, forcing him to wail in pain like the animal he behaved like. No, this cannot be happening! Three goblin freaks trying to kidnap me and do god knows what? Hell no! I got to get out of here! But how do I fight all three of them? My hands are all tied up! Her thoughts raced and she was barely given enough time to think before the beasts hand came back to her throat and lifted her off the ground and squeezing tightly around her voice box in order to stop her from screaming.

“You little whelp! Who do you think gave you the right to do that?” She tried to speak but as she opened her mouth the beast clenched tighter before slashing at her uncut cheek. “That will be your first lesson in pain, there will be many more from now on!” The monster threw her onto the ground and as she scampered to get up she was pushed back down by his massive hairy feet, her face being shoved into the rocks like before. The other two goblins began kicking her and beating her by whipping the rope and leather belts down upon her as she broke down into tears and shrieks of utter agony that echoed through the stone.

“Halt, you thugs stop right there!” A blue flower budded nearby, it wasn’t the plant speaking but it did seem to be relaying the message.

“What was that?” The three goons whipped around as they tried to find the source of the voice, the cruelest of the three was the most confused out of all of them. “I thought you two said that the knights were done with their patrol! The royal guard shouldn’t be out this late an hour!” He spat at his two comrades before his mouth hung open, gaping widely at a sword that had been thrust straight through his back.

“That was me.” The beast crumbled into dust that was washed away but the rain clattering against the rock, the rain also resounded against armor but the human girl had no way of looking up at the man who had come to save her. “Now I suggest you two run along before anything else unsavory happens to you.” The man stepped forward and took a deep breath.

“And why should we be scared of you? He was taken out by surprise but we can see you as clear as the sky is rumored to be!” The second goon scowled as his ropes warped and twisted around to reform into a brutal looking five tailed whip.

“Oh, I really don’t think we should mess with him.” The third monster swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly backed off. “Don’t you realize who he is?” There was a great deal of fear in the creature’s voice, it was impressive how fast his confidence and cruelty melted away into cowardice.

“Yes, I am Chester!” The blade whistled through the air and soon the man was standing with the sword to both the necks of the rowdy hooligans, the girl still couldn’t see anything above the medieval armor that was shaped to fit an average humans proportions. “The former captain of the royal guard.” The noble warrior let out a satisfied scoff, he was likely bearing a wide smirk across his face. “Just because I have been stripped of my title do not think that I am an incapable warrior who won’t defend those in need.” He lowered his weapon and shoved the goons back with a giant block that he had created. “I’m a hero through and through so don’t try anything funny!” After he had made sure the goons had left, he turned around and sheathed his blade as he got into a position where the human could see his face.

“You look like….” Kathleen was at a loss for words, she was staring at a giant wooden box that was placed on top of a suit of armor, he appeared to have googly eyes attached to his face and his nose was a keyhole lock. His whole face looked like it had been ripped straight out of a renaissance festival, the wood looked old and chipped in several different places. “You look like a memory chest.” Her loss for sensible words might also have come from the immense amount of missing blood and the heavy pounding of her hearts and lungs screaming at her to tend to their needs.

“Hey, shut up!” The man growled as he stooped down to pick her up from off the ground. “Wait, sorry human, that wasn’t directed at you.” Chester quickly shook his head as he began walking, he appeared to be rather careful not to jostle around too much. “It was to someone else, just talking to myself.” He smiled awkwardly.

“Uhm, okay then, you’re pretty weird for a proud warrior of the underground. I heard your whole speech thing about not being the captain of the royal guard anymore, that must suck!” The girl chortled with glee, she wasn’t in her right mind, she didn’t even think about the dangers of the royal guard knowing that there was a human like her in the underground.

“Yes, it sucks a lot.” The man fidgeted slightly as he raised her a bit higher to keep her away from the pommel of his sword that bounced on his hip. His face twisted into that of disgust as he looked up at the ceiling. “How uncouth of a comment to make!” He exclaimed before shaking his head and looking back down at the girl he was holding in his arms. “Once again I do apologize for that.” He smiled sheepishly before stopping at a glowing yellow light. “This is the stop.” He nodded as he laid the human down under the light. “Go on.” Chester motioned with his head in order to encourage her to touch the shimmering star. “Just touch it!” He grabbed her hand and raised it up to make contact with the light.

*Realizing that you can’t live among monsters only hardens your integrity

It’s right, I can’t come back here after I leave. I was such a stupid little girl for thinking I could do something as crazy as that. Kathleen sniffled and a tear ran down her cheek as she stared up at the light and the ceiling of the cave above it. All the physical pain in her body had faded away and the wounds had all vanished in an instant, the only damage left was all mentally, something that could not be fixed nearly as easily. “Thank you, I really appreciate all of it, really.” She nodded as she leaned up and grunted to clear her throat. “I’m sorry that I bothered you.” The girl stared at her feet and swallowed the lump that had formed in her esophagus.

“Oh, it wasn’t a trouble at all! A real hero isn’t bothered by a call for help!” The man posed with a finger thrust skyward in a noble gesture, it felt rather awkward and unnecessary for him to do something like that. “I know that we should be asleep! Can’t you just settle down for once?” He growled and rolled his eyes as he started walking away.

“Uhm, sir are you sure you’re okay? Talking to yourself isn’t normal if you’re having verbal arguments with yourself.” The girl didn’t mean to be rude but it was rather concerning to her that her rescuer appeared to be a little more than odd.

“Yes, uhm, indeed. I am alright! Okay, splendid, ravishing, wonderful, excellent, outstanding, fair,  marvelous!” Chester spun around to face her, he seemed rather twitching and nervous. “Of course I’ll invite her to my house! Why would I just leave her standing out in the rain? That would be simply shameful of me!” He exclaimed as he walked towards her again. “Would you like to come to my house and stay awhile? You should get out of the rain before something bad happens again. Nothing good comes from a stormy night from what I’ve heard about human tales.” He once again held a smile that seemed strained and awkward, almost like he wasn’t honest about any of it.

“T-Thanks for the offer but….” Her voice trailed off as she stood up and backed away slightly. Can I really trust him? I know he saved me and all but….what if he’s just trying to lure me in like that stupid flower did? I can’t take that risk can I? She pondered the offer for a moment before she gasped at the thought of Ribbon and how he would react to her actions. Not everyone down here is bad. I need to know that and trust a bit more. The girl shook her head as she chuckled lightly. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind, let’s go!” She trotted past him and to the right side of the branching path.

“Other way.” The vigilante chuckled as he slowly made his way towards her and to the opposite side of the path that she had began sprinting down without a second thought. “It is down this way, that path will lead you to the junkyard and I don’t think you really want to go to that kind of place at this hour. It stinks like you would not believe, it is probably worse than a skunk in an abandoned butchery shop.” The girl plugged her nose at the very thought of that kind of stench plaguing an area. “I apologize, I probably shouldn’t have gotten that image stuck in your head.” He rubbed the back of his head and it creaked rather loudly. The two of them stood still for a moment, the only sound being that of the water clattering against the stone floors, leaving large puddles for the pair to walk through on their way to shelter. Chester shook his head to snap himself out of the trance, or at least it seemed that way if you didn’t consider his eyes rolling once again. “Come now, we must get going before you get soaked all the way through. Wait, you’re already drenched...drats.” He grumbled as he put his hand behind her back to motion her along like a father would do with his child.

“T-Thank you, uhm, about you being a knight….and knowing I am a human.” Kathleen shuddered as she walked side by side with him, her eyes had drifted down to her feet again. “Aren’t you going to turn me in? It could get your position back couldn’t it?” She let out a heavy sigh and tilted her head in order to get a slightly different view of the path ahead.

“I wouldn’t dare even dream about turning a human over to Asgore! That’s the entire reason why I am no longer a member of the royal guard!” The man exclaimed as he waved his free hand extravagantly. “Yes, I know there is more to it than that but she doesn’t need to know that now does she?” He leaned forward and looked past the dancer, his eyes locking with a certain height on the wall as he spoke.

“I don’t need to know what? I’m sorry but it is kinda hard to trust people down here given the amount of times I’ve almost died.” Kathleen slowed down her pace and let the man  walk in front of her for a bit.

“I was demoted for trying to release the human souls that had already been captured by our king. That is why I left the royal guard, I am a traitor to the entire underground and I am despised by all who still remember my name! Old man Chester.” He smiled, it was odd that he could do that in spite of the fact that he was being mocked and insulted for doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

“Wow, and you don’t hate anyone for it?” She resumed walking along side the block head, she clearly expressed her sense of wonder and respect for the man and all he had sacrificed for the sake of his identity. “That must have taken a lot of integrity.” The girl unwittingly addressed the one word that had followed her through her entire journey in the underground. No, it hadn’t followed her through just the underground, it had followed her through the entirety of her life. The one word to sum up everything she needed and what she had quite a bit of. Integrity.

“Yes, I suppose it did.” Chester let out a wistful sigh as he slowly picked up the pace, splashing through every puddle that formed along his path. “My house is close by so we should try to hurry up now!” He broke out into a swift stride but soon slowed down as he realized that the girl had not followed along with what he had said. “Is something the matter?” He tilted his head, his once pleasant expression had drifted down to concern written across his face.

“N-No, everything is alright.” The girl smiled as she trotted up to him and followed along, it felt nice to have a companion again even though she realized that it would be short lived. “Thank you for worrying about me, it really means a lot.” She nodded as they approached a small hut that had been set up inside a carved out alcove among the towering rocky spires.

“Nonsense! I already told you that it was okay.” The man swung the door open and a rush of heat came out to meet the two of them. “Oh dear, I don’t think that is suppose to happen.” He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he walked inside and gasped at the sight of a roaring fire that was eating through a rug. “Move please!” He shouted at the dancer in a rather panicked manner, it seemed he was more scared of a small fire than he was any monster that would dare to challenge him. The block head quickly fanned the rug out into the rain, flapping it up and down in order to try and douse the flames faster. “Ah, yes, uhm, there we go!” He laughed heartily but awkwardly as he moved back inside the hut and laid the rug down on the floor in its rightful place.

“Your house is really….” The dancer struggled to find the right words to describe it. Everything looked rather plain, the walls were a beige hue and the only interesting thing about the rest of the tiny interior was a small stove in the far left corner from the door. The rest of the humble abode looked like it would bore even the most simple of people to death. “Bland.” She stated her thoughts bluntly, there was no other way to put it without telling the man a blatant lie straight to his wooden face.

“I know, but I make it work. The floor is really soft so I don’t need a bed and there is a plentiful supply of moss I can use to make some delicious soup!” The little girl was shocked to see him speaking with such a straight face, she shook her head as she figured that it might be a culture difference that she just didn’t quite understand. “Oh, you haven’t tried it have you? Of course a human might think it’s weird but I just know you’ll love it! One second, I’ll go grab some moss from-” He was cut off by the sound of static cutting through the air and forcing the two of them to clutch their ears in pain.

“Ches-es-ester-er-er-ester, what did I tell-ell-ell-te you about housing-ing-ing-housing humans?” A garbled voice rang out as the rain slowed to a stopping point. “You know that the verdict you got was rather generous-ous-ous-ous-gener-er-er-er-er-ous. I could-ould-ould-could-ould’ve executed you where you stood-ood-ood-stoo.” A skeleton crept into view, it was hunched over slightly and there appeared to be gaping holes in its palms, it twitched with every step. Cracks ran across the skull and opened up to a dark void in between, the eye sockets were completely blank for a moment before two white dots appeared, their gaze piercing the girl down to the very soul.

“Mr. Gaster, a pleasure to see you again.” The warrior’s face grew cold and spiteful, it was clear that the skeleton was not there for a nice chat. “I thought I told you to leave me alone, or has one of us forgotten in our old age?” He spat as he slowly drew his sword out of its sheath, his stance lowered as he prepared for an attack from the twitching figure.

“Your humor-or-or-hu-hu-mor has improved-oved-oved over the years it seems.” The skull bobbed slightly as he chuckled. “Unfortunately I understand sarcasm.” The monster sighed as he fixed its gaze onto Chester’s wooden head. “Now hand over the human-an-an-human. Or else I will have-ave-ave to exe-exe-exe-execute-ute-ute-ute-ute-ute-ute-ute-” The lab coat draped around him and shook rapidly along with the entirety of the pile of old bones. Another deafening shriek of static filled the ears of the human girl and the block head. “Make-ake-ake your choice, now.”

“I choose to shut you up!” Chester growled as he leaped forward and sliced downward with his sword, a giant block flew out but was pushed out of the way by two gigantic hands that had formed from the nothingness. The sword made contact with a strange bone structure, it resembled a dragon’s head and it laughed for a second before shooting out a laser that pushed the knight back into the tent. He screamed in pain as he landed, a beige heart appeared over his chest and it glowed brightly as it drenched the room with its radiance.

*But it refused

“Just one hit and we’re already this damaged?” The warrior chuckled as he stood to his feet.

“Because you got angry, we gotta keep it cool, old man.” The ballerina gasped as she saw a phantasm appear behind Chester, it looked like a human boy only a few years older than her. He floated just above the knight’s waist and he leaned his arm on the monster’s shoulder in a nonchalant manner, he almost looked bored by the current predicament that they had found themselves in.

“W-Wait what?” Kathleen had the sudden realization, the reason the man’s soul held color in the battle menu, the reason why he had kept talking to himself all the time, all of it made sense now. The human trapped inside of him was giving advice, an eternal guardian, like an angel.

“Who you calling old? You might look like a kid but your soul has been around a lot longer.” The battle hardened veteran chuckled as he took stance once again. Another dragon head appeared and shot at the man, it was deflected in an instant by a quick swipe of the man’s sword. “Now then, how about we-”

“Tip the scales!” The duo shouted in unison as Chester charged forward and unleashed a flurry of slashes, each swipe was blocked by the giant bone hands but some of the damaged seemed to go back to the scientist.

“Interesting, you have found-ound-foun a way to activate that on command-and-and-and. I will have to study that human’s soul to figure out more about this phenomenon-on-on-menon.” Two heads appeared to the left and a third swerved from behind Gaster and to the right, the duo was already moving out of the way so the blasts missed and instead unearthed large amounts of debris from the walls of the mountainous terrain. As the knight lunged forward two hands clasped together to grab his sword, but it seemed like the warrior had predicted it as he sent a block out to either side of him to slow down the grasping bones. The tip of his sword scraped the skeleton’s side as he tried to dodge, the scientist twinged in pain. “You’ve seemed to have grown-own more accustomed to using the soul-oul-oul-ouls power. That’s going to be bothersome.” Gaster grunted as he sent a bone spiraling on a collision course for his foe’s spectral partner.

“I’d be curious to try that too, but it won’t work.” The human phantasm shrugged as the bone passed through him and clattered against the floor. “I appreciate the compliment though, we’re much stronger than the last time you fought us. I can say for certain it won’t be nearly as easy.” He yawned as his head drooped down slightly.

How can he be so laid back? How can he be so calm? What the hell is up with this guy? He’s a human and he doesn’t seem to be bothered that his life's in danger! Kathleen swallowed the lump in her throat as she watched the three fighters dance across the blue stones of the waterfall area, the swirling bones and slashes of white energy were mesmerizing to watch. It appeared as if neither of them could land a hit after their first exchange of blows. I guess it’s because he has been down here a long time. I wonder if he thought about it like I did, not wanting to leave this place. A giant bone swung down to crush the knight but it was held back by the sword that glowed with power, the spectral body of the human drifted in front of the wooden warrior. No, he seems too bored to want to stay down here. This is all so stupid! Why don’t I just run away? This would be the perfect time to slip past unnoticed! She growled at herself but her eyes were locked on the action.

“What-at-at-at are you plan-an-aning?” Gaster tilted his head as he watched the beige soul slowly approach. The boy smirked as his hollow body filled out with color, making him look incredibly real as if he were a completely normal person again.

“Screw off!” The human socked the skeleton right in the jaw and forced a tooth to fly out of the doctor's mouth and rattle against the floor. The rain started again. “Damn that felt good.” He bounced in place as a spectral baseball bat appeared and he used it to wack the sack of bones around the arena.

“I see-ee-ee-ee-ee, you can use the monster-er-er-er as an anchor to the physical plane. I wonder if that will take a toll on him.” The man in the lab coat pointed back to Chester who was panting heavily as he remained pinned down by the gargantuan bone. As the human’s head whipped around to see his comrade, his foe materialized another dragon skull and blasted him into his ally. They both fell to the ground and were smashed by the bone. “Now, are we done here-ere-ere?” Gaster growled as he walked forward, his hands still raised in front of him. He summoned several more of the skulls and aimed them all at where the two were being squashed under the weight of the attack.

“Not even close!” Chester burst out of the bone, the spectral body of the human had retreated inward but the knight’s body looked like it had sustained little damage. The dragon heads roared and blasted their attacks with a loud screech, the resulting explosion swirled dust around and obscured the vision of the girl.

That’s it, I have to help them. Kathleen swallowed the lump in her throat and charged out of the tent. A navy blue heart appeared in front of her and pulsed brightly, drenching the area under its glow.

“Don’t even try it!” Gaster shouted and sent a swarm of light blue bones towards her, they all made contact but it didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest.

*But it refused

“Leave them alone!” The dancer leaped through the air and landed in front of the pile of rigid bones, she tried to kick at his chest but he leaped back to dodge it. There was an made attempt to summon more bones but the girl didn’t give him a single moment to think, she stomped on the ground and a volley of ethereal ballet shoes rocketed towards the man in the lab coat. A certain tune popped into the girl’s head and she continued to hum it as more and more projectiles assaulted the enemy.

“What on earth is this?” The doctor seethed as he tried to weave his way through the endless stream of attacks, there wasn’t a single room for an opening, he couldn’t afford to even think about producing a counter attack. “It’s like your soul is overflowing! I’ve seen it before but not quite like this.” His voice seemed to clear up to the point of sounding close to normal. A shoe grazed his left leg and made him quiver, he felt like an invisible shackle had been placed to pull him down. He tried to adjust to the shift in weight but he couldn’t adapt in time for the continuous storm of kicks, with each attack he felt his body get heavier and heavier and heavier. The green bar above his head slowly declined to a small sliver before he pushed through the pain and summoned a dragon skull to block the attacks. The girl seemed to be wrapped up in her own little world, detached from her surroundings as she blankly stared forward and hummed the familiar tune in her head, it was a song she heard a lot as a child. Such sweet memories were interrupted by a blast to the face from the drake’s maw.

“God-!” Kathleen was swept under a wave of agony, she screamed in pain as her vision was filled with a bright white light that burned like the sun in the middle of July. The girl couldn’t speak, she couldn’t move either, she was forced to stand there in torment. As the sound of the beast had vanished, the pain seemed to lessen slightly. The attack had ended and she fell to her knees, she still couldn’t see anything, the light had burnt itself into her eyes and prevented her from looking around. She sniffled as she remained on her knees, the pain was too much for her to bare while remaining sane.

“I’m sorry kid, I had hoped for a relatively painless death.” She heard the sound of bones scraping against the stone floor, it was clear that the man was forced to slowly hobble towards her due to the injuries he had suffered during their fight.

“I-I-I just….” The human girl tried to speak but she couldn’t choke out any words that meant anything, her whole body burned and her mind could barely process anything that was going on around her.

“I pray that your soul will find some comfort, kiddo.”

“W-Where am I?” Kathleen snapped to her senses and looked around, there was nothing but pitch black darkness surrounding her. No sound, no scent, nothing to feel with her hands, even the sound of her own voice felt drowned out by the empty silence she sat in. Soon she felt a pull on her soul, like something was draining her of her essence.

“H-Hello?” A voice called out through the darkness, it sounded like a little boy who had been separated from his parents. “If you’re out there please help me!” The child appeared in front of her and she flinched slightly. “I can’t do this on my own.” His face was covered with scratches and bruises, his naturally soft features ruined, his purple striped shirt was missing its right sleeve. In spite of all that he looked as innocent as a baby could possibly be.

“You seem to have a lot of stick-to-itness.” The girl chuckled as she approached him, crouching down slightly as she stood in front of him. “I mean you have a lot of integrity there kiddo.”

#Unwavering essence #Blue Soul #human souls #undertale #gaster #but it refused #Chester #beige soul

[originaldetectivesheep]

A Life of Riley Part 4: The Dumptrucks of the Gods ch 6

Chapter 5

VI

For a space that'd had a metal bucket taped to a thermonuclear explosion drive itself up through the roof, then down again through the mangled beams and rebar, the Applied Physics lab wasn't in half bad shape.  Most of the machine tools hadn't been hit hard enough by anything to be crushed, the gas tanks and the other welding supplies had miraculously gotten saved when an I-beam smashed only most of the way through the isolation fridge, and though nearly all of the capacitors had ruptured at some point, they hadn't melted down, so the lab was only ankle-deep in motor oil when we got back, not on fire and poisoned with burning copper.  It was a big job cleaning up and it would be a long time before we could replace all our equipment – predictably, everything electronic not inside the Raging Potato had shorted itself out when we fired all the capacitors at once to start the engine – but even putting the roof back together was something to do as a project, and there's always interesting physics you can do just on a workbench.

And that's what we were left with: the Potato's subsystems worked, and we scavenged them out to refit the lab as soon as we got all the oil off the floor, but the engine was completely dysfunctional, having given its last to get us all the way back down – or sometime after that, when we shut it down and crossed our fingers that it wouldn't explosively lose containment.  Of course, it was a miracle that it had worked at all: a crazy experimental design left in the jungle for sixty years, it had every right to stop working after its one trial.  Well, that's what we thought at first – when we found out that Riley had refilled the fuel reservoirs by hand to replace the decayed tritium and lithium deuteride with newer stocks gathered from…we were afraid to ask, we all considered it a miracle that it hadn't just blown up the entire campus instead.  Either way, there was no spare power to kick on with the graviton-detection test that Riley was still dreaming about, and there weren't enough reliably-functioning parts for the quantum dislocator even if we could put enough energy through it to shift state.  It was enough.  It was coming down to the end of the term, and I had enough to do with finishing my labs, finals, and non-Riley research work.  One big, excessively dangerous, near-impossible physics project per semester was just about enough.

"Jeez, was it even though," Riley said reflectively, tapping a wrench on the side of the Ceiba housing, essentially all that remained of the Potato, then pulling down to lift the bucket full of extra leads and flux up to where Leo was welding the ceiling back into place.  "I mean, even for this lab, that shit was wild.  Did we really do that? Did we really go to space and beat the crap out of a bunch of aliens, then bust on their game and half blow their ship in pieces?  It seems so friggin mental and even if we did it, I was half out of my gourd on Melanie's fish tequila and I've got huge chunks of just blackout in what I can remember."

"Oh, we did it," Sajitha said from over at her workbench, tweaking something connected to one of the microwave dishes.  "We got the hole in the roof from it, for one, and Remy got a scalp infection from that blood gunk that he had to shave off all of his hair for – I'm still mad about that.  And then there was the part where Yuping lost his shirt and his coveralls in the fish flood, and Carolína got stopped driving us home because some rentacop saw him shirtless and thought he was a teenage prostitute that had gotten trafficked in as part of a fake Korean boy-band.  We definitely went to orbit and beat the shit out of a bunch of aliens, because there is no other possible explanation for all this crap that is somehow less weird."  She shook her head and leaned over to fiddle with something on her laptop.

Riley nodded, backing away and looking carefully down at the floor as Leo lit his torch and started to spray sparks down from where he was attaching one of our former containment panels to the roof beams. "Yeah, I get it; it just seems so friggin out there, though – like something out of one of those bullshit wannabe novels all those weepy arts students are killing themselves to write this time of year.  You know about that?  I was on the bus minding my own business, like you do, and one of them is reading her shit out to another sad-sack buddy, for serious like a sex scene where one of the dudes was doing one of the other dudes with actions that were like 'assiduously' or 'adroitly' and I'm sitting there like are those even words?  And she to her credit was having like an existential panic attack about how bad it was, but the guy with her was like no, no, write through, keep going, finish it, it'll all get fixed in edit.  Edit.  You're shitting me.  What editor on earth isn't just going to throw that out the window?  Friggin kids."  I didn't know, and I didn't have much of a response to that, and it seemed like Riley was just venting rhetorically anyway, so I took an earbud off the top of my ear and put the right side of my brain, at least, back out to sea with Primordial, keeping the other one open in case something important happened here in the lab.

"At least the grinckles are gone," Riley said, slumping down in a chair by the parts bin to pick through for the start of another jigsaw-puzzle roof-panel replacement assembly.  "At least I have Wilson off my back, and you guys aren't getting stopped by weirdo paramilitaries doing fish genocide, and the dining halls almost don't stink like rutabagas baked on a trash fire any more.  At least there's that."

"Yeah, there's that, and you can definitely tell who came here straight from China now, because they've all lost ten pounds in three weeks and stand nine deep at the back of any talk there's a rumor there might be food at," Sajitha said, her fingers flying over her keyboard. "It's not all good news; I'm not crazy about the grinckles either, but if I knew that it was going to be that they were completely wiped out, I might have said something on the ship – tried to do something different."

"It is not our goddamned job," Riley said back, idly waving a wrench through the air, "to manage a sustainable fishery for an invasive species from another friggin planet, nor to fund an allegedly public university to the point that students do not need to go around dragging said invasive ET fish out of puddles to keep from starving to death.  We are a physics lab – we have a lot of other skills, and maybe because of that we do keep getting dragged into solving everyone else's godawful stupid problems, but sometimes, it's okay to at least try to stay in our lane and make literally everything our deal."  Riley looked up, and back over in my direction.

"Oh, yeah, on skills; Yuping, that punch you threw on that punk there was sick.  I thought you never learned, but that looked like legit XiaoLin from where I was standing.  What school did you do?  Wu xia?  Wing chung?"

"Kǎo yā," I said, shifting the plotter paper I was drawing out the circuit on so that I could hold it on the workbench with one hand.  "School is Kǎo Yā Bù Huì Zuò Gōng Fū." I put up my right hand to give Riley the finger, not looking up from the circuit plot.

"'Roast duck', right," Riley said, properly ashamed at least.  "I got it – the official martial arts school of the lab, where the only technique is 'hit'em hard while they're not looking'.  I'm sorry; that was over the line, and I shouldn't've gone there.  My bad."  I nodded and pulled my hand back.  On the other hand, that the lab was short on big challenging projects meant that Riley got more bored more easily and asked more dumb too-personal questions.  If this was how it was going to be, maybe I did want something else to happen sooner rather than later.

"Afternoon!" Carolína said, coming through the door, knocking on the side of the frame mostly out of habit; there weren't enough high-energy power supplies around the lab right now to make the drop bars worth paying attention to.  "How is everybody doing?  Leo, are you okay up there?  It looks like you got that last open square covered, so can I have my tarp back?" She set her bag down on her bench across from Sajitha and pulled out her laptop, not really expecting an immediate reply.

"Actually, that reminds me," Sajitha said, looking up from her work.  "Do you know what happened to the camp chair I had in the front closet? I was thinking of bringing it in here so that I don't have to sit on this bucket stool any more, but I couldn't find it.  Did you already bring it up?  I don't mind, but I just want to know where it is."

"No," Carolína said, shaking her head as her screen booted.  "I don' like my stool either, so I was thinking of ordering one of those, but I was waiting for my next check to clear.  I didn't know you had one in the closet – did you ask the guys?"

"I did," Sajitha said, her forehead wrinkling.  "I asked Remy, and he texted Leo about it because I wasn't sure if it'd get weird like I was accusing him of stealing my chair when he's always hung off his strap to the ceiling in here, but he hadn't heard of it, and Remy totally forgot that I even had that chair.  I wonder what happened – it's not like a camp chair's just going to disappear."

"You're still in your place, right?" Riley asked, strangely deadpan, cutting into the conversation.

"Yes, but I don't know what – oh no."  Sajitha realized the meaning and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide.  "That's right – the demon – now that the grinckles are gone –"

"Our contract is bust, and it's back to eating your furniture," Riley continued, standing up. "Save your work, call your boyfriend, pile up all our functioning electronics.  Leo, get the hell off the ceiling and start cutting up the Ceiba to see what we can cannibalize out of it for parts.  Carolína, if you don't have your machete and your grappling hook, go the hell home and get them before they get eaten.  And Yuping, get over here and bust out all our old paper circuit diagrams, then start downloading the drawing repository into whatever spare PC we've gotten working yet.  I'll do something about power supplies, and see if I can't work up another dozen cannon rounds or actually find someone who knows how to wreck this guy's shit.  You all, you all start building – we've got to get a new dislocator built, up, running, and rated for GeV-range throughputs before the end of the week, or half the lab is going to be in the shit with their realtor again.  Move!"

I unplugged the bud from my right ear and left the headphones down next to my phone with a sigh.  Sajitha was on the phone to Remy and Carolína was on the way out the door and Leo was rappelling down off the ceiling at the Ceiba, welding torch strapped across his chest, and Riley was tearing a desk like in half, spewing parts and pencils all over the floor, and we'd just gotten committed in an instant to something unfathomably strange, but in a way this felt more like the Applied Physics lab than it had felt like in here in a while.  One way or another, no matter what the problem was or how little sense it made, this was Riley; this was our lab.  It was always something.  There was always something.  I rolled up my half-done drawing and grabbed for my pliers and a soldering iron: time to get back to work.

go back and get the ebook if you want the bonus story

#nanowrimo #alifeofriley #fiction