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the-eeveekins · 5 months

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The 25th Day of G-Witch

For the first time in her life, Suletta goes against her mother's wishes. Pushing back against her mother, who reveals she'll soon be fully paralyzed and doesn't care about her fate, Suletta rejects the plan that would lose her her mother.

Elan 4's appearance here is a surprising one, especially because there was no reason to believe people could be passively uploaded to the Data Storm until this moment. Even more confusing is that unlike the other "ghosts" seen in this episode, he seems to fully co-exist with the Data Storm like Eri. Suletta finally gets some much needed closure with her first friend, and Elan helps bear the load of the Data Storm so Suletta can connect to Quiet Zero and reactivate Aerial.

Suletta has always struggled to voice her wants and needs, to express her desires. But here, finally, she calls herself a greedy person, because she doesn't want to accept a future without her mom OR Ericht, and she expresses that desire to Eri. Working together, their hearts aligned, Suletta and Eri surpass Permet Score 8 and create a massive Data Storm that even reaches the moon.

Rainbow Calibarn is my favorite mobile suit ever.

Miorine's is so brave. We finally see the results of the deal she made with Shaddiq in the last episode. She dissolves the Benerit Group and transfers it's assets to Earth, just like Shaddiq had wanted to do. And with Shaddiq's testimony, the world will know that the Space Assembly League had a hand in the various terrorist attacks at Plant Quetta and Asticassia.

Despite that, the SAL still intends to fire the laser cannon, reasoning that they can still justify wiping out millions as long as Quiet Zero still exists.

Suletta's crowning moment of awesome, as she uses the Gundam and Quiet Zero to create a massive Data Storm and override the laser and shut it down, all while The Witch From Mercury plays triumphantly in the background. It's the climax of the action in this series, and for a show titled "The Witch From Mercury", it's appropriate that it ends with the titular Witch casting a massive magic spell to save the day while her theme and the theme of the show itself plays. Suletta turns the Gundam's Curse into a Blessing.

This scene breaks me every time. The culmination of the Samaya/Mercury storyline. Suletta's validation of Prospera's choice to save Ericht, the moment where the mask breaks, Prospera "dies" and Elnora sees her daughter for the first time in 17 years. As both her daughters tell her they're ready to move on and live together, Elnora finally gives up on her crusade and makes a tearful apology to both of them. Wish playing in the background is the cherry on top to this cathartic climax.

My only complaint was the implication that Prospera had long ago completely given up on revenge for Eri's sake. It's true that she set aside her hatred of Delling to work with him on Quiet Zero because she believed it was the only way to give Eri a future that wasn't trapped in a mobile suit, unable to directly communicate with anyone. But that also goes against her portrayal in multiple scenes. She's seen to be revenge minded in Cradle Planet, and one of her most iconic moments in the show is whispering in Miorine's ear that she wants revenge against Delling. And then immediately dragging Miorine through hell for seemingly no reason than as revenge for her father's actions.

It kinda felt like something added to the script at the last second to tone down the "harshness" of her actions while ignoring the fact that she was openly revenge-minded 8 episodes ago.

I was firmly in the camp that believed they wouldn't kill Suletta at the end of the show. It just didn't make sense from a narrative standpoint and would've just been a downer ending for the sake of being a downer ending.

But despite that, the first time I saw this scene, they absolutely got me. The deafening silence of Miorine's screams and the absolute horror on her face sold me for a moment that they had killed Suletta, and I just felt my heart absolutely sink. And then Suletta finally responded, and I shared Miorine's relief and joy.

Shaddiq's ending is often a contentious one, especially the fact that he ends up in jail and on trial for his crimes while the former heads of the Benerit Group seemingly escaped justice. But I think a lot of people take too much of a black and white stance on this topic.

Shaddiq is in jail and may even face the death penalty for his actions, something he was fully prepared for, but through Miorine's actions, Shaddiq achieved all his goals. The Benerit Group was dissolved, with Earth gaining the assets that once belonged to their greatest oppressor. His testimony likely did severe damage to the Space Assembly League in the process, exposing the crimes of it's members. And the girls he cared for have their freedom, working for Miorine as part of GUND-ARM Inc, free to make their own impact in the future. And as one final gesture to Miorine, he even takes the blame for Quiet Zero, so Miorine's newfound family won't have investigators trying to jail them. Shaddiq may not be a free man, but I believe he is a satisfied man, no matter what happens next.

As for the leaders of the Benerit Group, yes, they survived and have thus far escaped imprisonment for their various crimes. But their empire is over.

The Benerit Group is no more, the empire Delling built over two decades dissolved by the very daughter he neglected and tried to control. Delling himself doesn't even appear in a scene with Miorine in the epilogue, in stark contrast to the scenes she shared with her new family, and I don't think they're close. She definitely doesn't let him come around her family after all the pain he caused them. And he's under inquiry for this actions that led to Quinharbor and Quiet Zero, a sign that he may still face justice for some of his many crimes.

Likewise, yes the Peil Ladies appear to be in a retirement home and likely had some wealth hidden away so they can have a nice, comfortable retirement. Something 99% of us would be satisfied with, but not people like them. They lost their entire business empire, their plans to come out on top after QZ completely ruined, and even 3 years later they still look miserable that their vast wealth and power is gone.

These people did not come away with a happy ending, they're miserable, even if they're free. For now.

Speaking of miserable, I wonder if Guel is truly happy with this path in life. Guel was an awful person at the start of the show, and through his often horrible experiences, he did grow into a more mature person who wasn't a raging asshole to the people around him, and maybe even learned to trust the people closest to him and not push them away.

But ultimately Guel is the only one not to escape the shadow of his abusive parent, still running his father's company 3 years later. It's unclear, but he's still likely running the company as a weapons manufacturer and possibly still contributing to the problem. I just wonder if he'd ultimately be a happier person if he wasn't trying to live up to his father and instead pursuing his own path like he did when he was "Bob." Regardless, he now has a short-term future of being absolutely sassed to death by Elan and Secelia.

Another slightly contentious topic is Eri's fate. Is being trapped in a keychain really much better than being trapped in an 18m tall killing machine. For a few reasons, Eri is definitely better off now. She's still beyond score eight, something which allows her to reach out and connect to or override any Permet device. Her "body" may be a small keychain, but it comes across to me that Eri's consciousness has been extended and she can see and interact with things beyond her body now, and that when Suletta pushed her beyond score eight, it granted her the freedom that would have been possible under Quiet Zero, but without the massive Data Storm oppression the entire Earth Sphere. And of course, we're shown in this scene that Miorine wears a device on the back of her neck that Eri can connect to and directly communicate with (Suletta is also shown to be wearing one).

Even if she's still "trapped" in an object, she's far more free and mobile than she was as a mobile suit, able to travel and see the world with her family. And her family wears devices to accommodate her unique situation so Eri can communicate with her family. She's no longer trapped in a weapon, unable to communicate with her loved ones. Her existence may not be perfect, but it's undoubtedly better and I think Ericht is happy she's survived this long to once again experience a loving family.

Oh, and "Sister-in-law." It's not as common now, but when the show finished airing and there wasn't an on-screen kiss or wedding, there was a lot of complaining that the show was subtextual bait. And a lot of people overlooked or ignored the fact that Suletta and Miorine being married was explicitly confirmed in the text of the show with this one line. You'd literally have to invent another sibling for Eri that didn't exist 3 years ago for this line to mean anything else, but a lot of people ignored it to argue the show was only subtext because they only see textual romance as specific words and kisses.

Three years have passed, Suletta and Miorine have married and live together on Earth with Ericht and Elnora. A family they fought hard to earn. Suletta was disabled as a result of piloting the Calibarn, with visible Permet scarring on her cheeks. But she's thriving and happy, and clearly loved by her family and friends, ultimate proof that she is loved for who she is and not her abilities. And she's accomplished all the dreams we saw her set for herself during the show: She's built her school on Mercury, married Miorine and saved her mom and sister so they can all live happily together.

It's an severe exaggeration to say that Gundam protagonists always have bad endings, but they're usually more bittersweet. But Suletta fought to earn her happy ending, and to see the first female main character in Gundam earn a happy ending while also being queer, disabled and a person of color is so inspiring to see.

Miorine too, is probably the happiest we ever see in the show. It was rare to see her genuinely let her guard down and smile, something she pretty much only did around Suletta. But she's all smiles when she's with her wife, and after pushing her away once and almost losing her forever at QZ, she just will. not. let. go. of Suletta now, both physically supporting her but also making sure she'll always hold onto the person she loves.

In the first episode, Suletta was hungry, but too shy and nervous to ask for food when she saw Miorine tending to her tomatoes, and Miorine gave her food (and love). Now Suletta has grown and can comfortably express her wants and needs to the people around her, even if it's just the simple act of saying she's hungry. And Miorine responds with the warmest smile possible.

Suletta & Miorine go home together to the house they share. Surrounded by friends and family, sharing a warm meal that symbolizes the love they've nurtured together. They're in love and they're happy, and they leave us with one final wish...

May All Blessings Find Their Way to You, I'm Wishing It

I love The Witch From Mercury and I love SuleMio, and I love sharing my love of this show and these two wonderful characters with others. Is G-Witch perfect? No. But I love it far more than any other piece of media in my life.

Thank you for joining me during these 25 Days of G-Witch. If you celebrate, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and if not, I hope that you're enjoying the holiday season.

#25 days of g witch #I took 96 screencaps for this episode #g witch #the witch from mercury #sulemio #gundam #g witch spoilers

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torgawl · 4 days

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diluc mentioned in the lore of "wings of concealing snow", nice!!

you know, i wonder if the owls in this story are connected to the underground intelligence network that contacted diluc in snezhenaya. his character story definitely refers to the "observer" as a third-party entity, considering diluc's distaste for the fatui, the abyss order and the knights of favonious we can rule all those options out of the way. the way they don't go into detail about it or even go as far as saying its name, mentioning how secretive they are, i assume they're not a group we've met/are aware as of yet.

going back to "wings of concealing snow" though, the story is very clearly about sal vindagnyr. the description separates the population, if i can call it that, in two different groups: falcons and owls. owls are described almost as if they were councelors while falcons are described as ambitious, with the desire to rule the skies.

from the information we have of sal vindagnyr, we know there's 3 important figures with higher hierarchy: the princess (prophetess and highly connected to the frostbearing tree), the scribe and the priest-king (the princess' 'father').

the princess was able to foresee the future - for example, she foretold what would much later happen with durin - and painted the murals we can still see in dragonspine. she was specifically called a lovely maiden and described as having beauty and skill that was thought to be as eternal and pure as moonlight. it's also relevant to point out the frostbearing tree was very likely an irminsul tree. if we know anything about symbolism in genshin is that moonlight, knowledge and the ability to foresee the future are all key-words that directly point to seelies. and we can parallel this princess directly to someone like sibylla, mentioned in remuria as advisor of god-king remus, who appears as a golden bee and who protected the irminsul where an ancient civilization was located in the abyssal depths. the form of these remuria bees are very akin to what seelies look like and there's also heavy implications she was a seelie. it would make sense that someone overlooking the irminsul tree in ancient dragonspine was also a seelie, or at least related to one somehow.

as for the concept of priest-kings, they're not something exclusive to sal vindagnyr. we've seen the exact same depictions of crowned individuals guiding populations in tsurumi island and the concept was also talked about in the "guilded dreams" artifact set (the set focuses on king deshret and a sumeru desert civilization).

i think it's not that crazy to think ancient civilizations had similar social foundations. the way seelies cohabited with humans, also learned from the chasm lore, implies they guided humanity in some way as divine envoys (words used in "flower of paradise lost", artifact set about nabu malikata). or, more specifically, advised civilizations' gods/kings.

the wings' description also goes on to talk about "birds of the land of the wind" and say the owls gained dominion in the absence of light while fledgeling birds stayed in their nests. this happened after the nail was casted upon sal vindagnyr and the darkness drowned the land (likely the abyss, in reference to forbidden knowledge). if owls and falcons are adult birds in this story, maybe the fledgelings refer to the basis of what would later become the mondstadt civilization. the line "the nestlings would never know who it was who saved them" followed by "the dragon ... would also be forgotten" imply the saviour of the people was someone who ended up being forgotten. as far as i'm aware, there's only one being who was worshipped in mondstadt and ancient civilizations like the one in enkanomiya who ended up forgotten, istaroth. so, there's that!! i also thought it was interesting that the owls that "once shone brightly in the darkness" would also end up with the same fate, although there's no mention they ever disappeared, which brings me to the next point.

"a flash of red flames would reveal his silhouette for but a moment in the darkness of the night, before he disappeared in an instant" sounds a lot like what the owls were like to the people of mondstadt. diluc also only started his darknight hero endeavours after he returned from snezhenaya, after entering the secret organisation and rising quickly in its ranks. and guess who, in the manga, wears an owl mask? an owl is also diluc's constellation and these are diluc and kaeya's respective voicelines in the section "interesting things":

coincidence that kaeya associated the owl with dragonspine? moreso, some of diluc's voicelines are very intent on judgement/punishment: "time for — retribution!" or even "lay waste to the wicked!" which parallels fischl's "no rest for the wicked...". fischl has also said the retribution voiceline in "summertime odyssey". these are interesting parallels because fischl from "the legend of the shattered halberd" and "flowers for princess fischl" has a red eye - auge de der verurteilung or eye of judgment/condemnation - and her mission is to observe and weave the threads of fate. fischl not only parallels kaeya but also king irmin, though it's still interesting this theme is also connected to diluc. but how does this connect to dragonspine? this is the ending line in the description of "wings of concealing snow".

whatever that "greater trial" is, it also implies some sort of payback towards celestia and/or the abyss. as for who are the "we", if not the seelies who got basically wiped out from teyvat, i can only think of the owls.

at last, i want to leave here the messages found in the scribe's box found in dragonspine that clearly belonged to the scribe in sal vindagnyr:

the first message shows resentment towards the skies (it almost sounds like tsaritsa's desire to burn the old world described in the cryo gemstone). the second message refers dust and wind which are very suspicious words considering they can be connected to concepts like alchemy, khaenri'ah and either the anemo god or the god of time. it also shows intent in finding imunlaukr (the hero from another land that left sal vindagnyr to fight what i assume was the abyss during the conflict). the fourth message directly states this person was the last to survive and that it made no more sense to keep watch (of what? the fledglings like the owls?), probably meaning this person left dragonspine. and, in the last message it directly references khaenri'ah's establishment and early days. could this person have fled to somewhere outside of teyvat, away from the gods, like khaenri'ah? this really isn't that surprising when we have in account sal vindagnyr and khaenri'ah share the same written latin-based language.

i actually went a bit more in depth about sal vindagnyr and imunlaukr on this twitter thread, if anyone cares, but i'm going to include here part of it. the name imunlaukr means "sword", being a direct reference to the god ullr - step-son of thor and the son of lady sif. sif was famous for her beauty and unique golden hair, said to be inherited by her children. genshin's imunlaukr went on to pass his name on to a clan in mondstadt that was known for raising brave and gifted warriors that fought hard and died young. the clan adopted their progenitor's viewpoint that combat was merely for the entertainment of the gods and as such would fight anyone and anything for the sake of fighting, as well as enact war tales. do you know who else is a sword, happens to be blonde and has connections to khaenri'ah? dainsleif, which translates to dáinn's heirloom. dáinn (or dain) means 'dead' and he's a character in norse mythology. most of the tales relating to him depict him as a dwarf or king of elves. hehe, break time to introduce fun facts about nibelung. the term in legend has usually referred to either a group of humans or a group of dwarves but the name in genshin is likely derived from richard wagner's four-part opera der ring des nibelungen "the ring of the nibelung", in which the dwarf (or nibelung) alberich creates a ring capable of controlling the world, using gold he stole from the rhinemaidens (or rheintöchter "rhine-daughters"). the conflict that arises over the ownership of this ring eventually leads to the destruction of the gods and their home. continuing with dainsleif, in myhtology, the sword is involved in a so-called eternal battle between kings, initiated by one man falling in love with and running off with another's daughter. dainsleif was forged by the dwarves whose god/king was alberich, and the sword was cursed with insatiable bloodlust and would not be able to be sheathed until it had killed and any wound caused by the sword would never be able to heal. maybe the connection between imunlaukr and dainsleif is a stretch - timewise, it wouldn't really make sense as dain seems to be exclusively from the eclipse dynasty but khaenri'ah was somewhat recent in the scribe's notes - but i really don't think the connection between khaenri'ah and sal vindagnyr is.

furthermore, dainsleif is called "bough keeper", a bough being a branch of a tree - like the irminsul. if you notice his design, one of his arms has blue lines akin to those in irminsul trees. blue lines also appear in his and pierro's mask. the introduction to his character is written by a self-proclaimed prophet and mentions the desire to see the skies burning - like the message in the scribe's box - as well as desire for atonement of bygone mistakes and mentions of alchemy (gold being the end goal as it's related to reaching the magnum opus and the philosopher's stone - elixir of life and immortality). the symbol the angel figure in dragonspine's mural is handing to the humans resembles a circumpoint, that can represent gold. it's also something that appears associated with rhinedottir in one of the videos about the hexenzirkel (which makes sense as she's such a proeminent figure related to the art of khemia and khaenri'ah, very much associated with the cataclysm).

not sure what the conclusion of all of this is but i don't think it's impossible this underground intelligence network and the owls might be something connected, directly or indirectly, to the person from sal vindagnyr that might have fled dragonspine all those years ago or even khaenri'ah. could diluc and kaeya work more closely together than we think? considering the third-party observer that rescued diluc is said to be from the north when that supposedly happened in snezhenaya, does this mean this north they speak of is beyond the land of the tsaritsa?

note: i wanted to make some type of connection to the book "anecdota septentrionalis" or anecdotes of the north, as the book not only talks about snezhenaya but also tells a very fantastical and non-sensical story that includes other nations but i understood very much zero about it other than the fact that north from where the major plot takes place there's a tall wall in the middle of the sea stretching into the sky with countless densely packed human figures suspended "and though they had neither bodies nor muscles, their forms could clearly be seen". whatever that means, so i can't really make any inference to what it beyond snezhenaya.

note 2: forgot to mention but owls besides being birds associated with wisdom, in sumerian, akkadian, and babylonian culture, are also associated with lilith. she was theorized to be the first wife of adam and is cited as having been "banished" from the garden of eden. it's just a fun fact if we think of seelies, divine envoys who are symbols of wisdom and guidance, that got punished by the heavens after their ancestor married a traveler from afar.

#idk if this is even a theory but i'm so curious about these owls and sal vindagnyr!!!#and also istaroth supposedly saving the people like. that idea is compelling and i do wonder what happened that made people forget her.#it very much fits her character too as enkanomiya people considered her to be the only one who didn't abandon them too 🤔#anyways can't shut up about genshin or my fav boys kaeya and diluc pretend to be surprised 😂#if anyone reads this sorry my brain is a mess you're awesome and i hope you have a good day #diluc #kaeya #dainsleif #genshin impact #genshin thoughts

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incorrect-pipravi · 3 months

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Hi! Is it ok if u write some more andie and sal hcs?

Of course! Sal and Andie are my beloveds. Here’s some hcs in a universe where they lived:

Andie tells Sal the truth about everything after their argument on that fateful night. Why she is selling drugs, her plans, the things she did, all of it!

He calms her down and promises to help her sort things out.

Andie returns home and Becca has found out the truth, but since Andie is much calmer now, she comforts Becca and apologizes and tells her the truth, too.

”Sal knows. He promised he would help me. Help us.”

and “You gotta focus and school and get into Oxford.”

When she graduates high school. She moves with Sal into his flat near Oxford.

Becca gets into Oxford the next year and she moves in with them, too!

”We’re like a family. I’m the dad and Sal is the mom and Becca is our little daughter.”

”Why am I the mom?”

Just imagine them having fun movie marathons and going to parties.

Also Sal comforting the girls when they have nightmares about their trauma.

Sal and Becca having study sessions and Andie making snacks for them.

Andie finding a job as a model because she’s literally gorgeous.

Sometimes, Ravi visits them and they play fun games where they split into two teams; older siblings vs younger ones.

Becca and Ravi would absolutely destroy Andie and Sal in video games!

Because I truly believe Pip and Ravi are soulmates, they end up dating in this universe, too. She starts joining Ravi on his visits.

All the while, they gather evidences to sue both Max and Jason. (Spoilers: they win both court cases and those horrible men rot behind the bars!)

Sal proposes to Andie using his mother’s wedding ring (which was originally his grandfather’s) and Andie picks Becca as her maid of honor and Sal picks Ravi as the wingman!

#agggtm #a good girls guide to murder #agggtm spoilers #andie bell #sal singh #andie x sal #becca bell #pip fitz amobi #ravi singh #agggtm headcanons

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aurumacadicus · 5 months

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There are still a week left to read A Darker Shade of Magic, but we’re voting for our next book now so we have plenty of time to get it for the first day of reading on December eleventh! Book summaries are under the cut! Each new title is in bold for clarity.

If you’d like to join the book club, now or for the next book, feel free to send me an ask and I’ll give you the link to our Discord!

(We'll also be voting for our January book immediately after this poll ends because we're doing our first themed month: Author Debuts! Some of the choices are very new and we'll need time to source them, so we're voting on that one early!)

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra

Captain Nathan J. Northland had no idea what to expect when he returned home to Lorehaven injured from war, but it certainly wasn’t to find himself posted on an island full of vampires. An island whose local vampire dandy lord causes Nathan to feel strange things he’d never felt before. Particularly about fangs.

When Vlad Blutstein agreed to hire Nathan as Captain of the Eyrie Guard, he hadn’t been sure what to expect either, but it certainly hadn’t been to fall in love with a disabled werewolf. However Vlad has fallen and fallen hard, and that’s the problem.

Torn by their allegiances—to family, to duty, and the age-old enmity between vampires and werewolves—the pair find themselves in a difficult situation: to love where the heart wants or to follow where expectation demands.

The situation is complicated further when a mysterious and beguiling figure known only as Lady Ursula crashes into their lives, bringing with her dark omens of death, doom, and destruction in her wake.

And a desperate plea for help neither of them can ignore.

Thrown together in uncertain times and struggling to find their place amidst the rising human empire, the unlikely trio must decide how to face the coming darkness: united as one or divided and alone. One thing is for certain, none of them will ever be the same.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless Lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl… Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.

She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success – not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined – every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute… and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

“Only the most powerful and honorable semidioses get chosen. I’m just Jade. I’m not a real hero.”

As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all—they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years.

Teo, a 17-year-old Jade semidiós and the trans son of Quetzal, goddess of birds, has never worried about the Trials…or rather, he’s only worried for others. His best friend Niya—daughter of Tierra, the god of earth—is one of the strongest heroes of their generation and is much too likely to be chosen this year. He also can’t help but worry (reluctantly, and under protest) for Aurelio, a powerful Gold semidiós and Teo’s friend-turned-rival who is a shoo-in for the Trials. Teo wouldn’t mind taking Aurelio down a notch or two, but a one-in-ten chance of death is a bit too close for Teo’s taste.

But then, for the first time in over a century, Sol chooses a semidiós who isn’t a Gold. In fact, he chooses two: Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck, and…Teo. Now they must compete in five mysterious trials, against opponents who are both more powerful and better trained, for fame, glory, and their own survival.

#polls #book club #also you can vote even if you're not in book club i know you guys like clicking things lol

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theyareweird · 15 days

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Sally Face: Sal Fisher's Trauma —Aesthetic

Sal's Childhood

On August 16th 1984, the Fisher family went on a picnic to a scenic and sunny location. There, little Sal finds a dog and is eager to pet it. After some prodding, his mother allows him to visit the animal. However, it's revealed the "dog" was actually a man wearing a dog mask wielding a shotgun. The man's identity is presumably Kenneth Phelps. His intent was to end Sal's life due to the prophecy foretelling a young boy would foil the Devourers of God's plans. Yet, he survived the encounter but at the cost of his mother's life. For the years to come, Sal would maintain his mother was killed by a man, not a wild animal, even if his psychiatrist and father didn't believe him. After a fateful visit to the hospital, he had to adapt to a new life with his prosthetic face. At some point, Sal's physiatrist gifted him a cat to help him cope with the trauma he's endured. Eventually, he internalized the nickname bullies would later give him: Sally Face.

#indie game #phycological horror #sally face #sal fisher #art #aesthetic #moodboard #supernatural #grungecore

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necromatador · 26 days

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Below is some basic info and a drawing of each!

Chesslin Ken'ana; Drow Witch. Originally 4th edition D&D. Was originally searching for her lost half-brother to help free him from inherited slavery, showed up later in a different campaign a few years older and now working on her thesis on genius loci for mage college. Has a white-eyed crow familiar named Valdyn who she dresses in tiny sweatervests.

Luk; City Goblin Cleric. Originally Pathfinder 2e playtest. A goblin from an urban underground nest that was taken over by more violent outsider goblins. Luk ran away and tried to find a group that would help him free his home. He's a cleric of Desna, under her aspects of Luck (haha) and Freedom.

Theodosia "Todd" Sylvaine; Shifter Artificer. Originally 4th edition D&D; actually most notably used in FATE's Wild Blue setting. Became an outcast in her hometown after a jaunt into some fey-cursed woods ended up either revealing her werewolf nature or getting her cursed with it. Joined up with the Blue Wardens originally in an attempt to cure herself, but eventually became a top agent. Also known as Warden Mooneyes, and The Bookworm Werewolf.

Salakesh Marivaldi; Half-Orc Bard. Originally 4e D&D. The "adopted" son of the well-to-do Marivaldi merchant family, he's actually the unfavorite bastard son of Lady Marivaldi and her orc stable-hand. To save face, the family lied about fertility issues and nobly adopting an abandoned half-orc. When their first full son was born, Sal was dumped quickly and painted as a troublemaker. When he grew up he volunteered frequently to go on extended travel as a representative of the family so he could escape his home life. He has a passion for cooking, drinking songs, epic poetry, and zweihanders.

Skree; Aarakocra Monk. Originally 5e D&D. Skree was a famous actor in an equally famous theatre troupe until he made the mistake of angering a nobleman who had him blacklisted. In an effort to save his troupe from financial ruin, he negotiated their names clear as long as he left the city and never came back. He is attempting to make a living as an adventurer. It's harder than it looks.

The Scarred One; Vesk Mystic. Originally Starfinder. As a young Vesk, Scar was trapped in a cave during an avalanche on her snowy homeworld of Vesk-7. While stuck there, suffering from hypothermia and severe frostbite, she swears she saw the secret at the center of the universe: a massive field of black devouring the stars and planets alike with a hunger unmatched and eternally unsated. After her rescue, she developed psychic abilities that she trained to use to her benefit.

Pike Deepfisher; Kalo Operative/Mystic. Originally Starfinder. Born to a pair of famous Kalo fashion designers, Pike spent most of his childhood travelling and sickly until it was discovered that he was dangerously allergic in a chemical used in all rebreather technology on the market. Forced to stay at home under the care of nannies, and especially hurt when his younger sister was born and didn't have the same condition, he developed a bit of an attention-seeking drive that led to a life of crime. Eventually he was caught and hired by the head of a mega-corp called Zenith. By day he's a representative of their new line of rebreathers that he can use! By night he does corporate espionage for them. Also he starts dating the adopted son of the head of the company, a Lashunta named Ace.

T'k Threadborne; Thri-Kreen Monk. Originally 4e D&D. A travelling tailor by trade, T'k is terrified of only two things: being eaten and women. While he's not a powerful fighter, he can hold his own. While he someday wants to settle down and start his own family, he has...reservations at the moment.

Shochraos; Dragonborn Barbarian. Originally 4e D&D. Shochraos, or "Raos" as he prefers to go by, used to be a courier until one day he was attacked in the wilderness between towns by some monstrosity. Left scarred both mentally and physically, Raos struggles now with a berserk fury that rears its head whenever he finds himself in trouble.

Harlan; Hengeyokai Assassin. Originally 4e D&D. An Unseelie assassin, Harlan hates all things Seelie. He was captured on a mission outside the Feywild and experimented on by a crazed mage, who succeeded in turning him into a living Dragonlance. When he killed a dragon that was attacking not long after, it merged with him and became a part of him.

Zeruah; Hengeyokai Witch. Originally 4e D&D. The fortune-teller of a travelling circus of hengeyokai, Zeruah was found and rescued by the troupe's owner: Malachi the ferret hengeyokai. Little does he know that this strange fox escaped from a Fomorian who had enslaved and transplanted a cursed eye into them. They fear ever being caught again, and wear intricate eyepatches to both hide the eye and obscure their location from the Formorian.

Shaward P. Sinsinger; Tiefling Paladin. Originally 4e D&D. An orphaned young tiefling in a largely human town, he is a member of the town guard and a devout follower of the goddess of music and fairness. He can't abide lawlessness, but hasn't really had a chance to get out of his sheltered tiny town and experience the world.

#tabletop games #ttrpg #ttrpg character #tabletop character #ttrpg art

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darkfictionjude · 1 month

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[Experiment MC]:

How would The Brothers and RO react to MC having been turned into a monster like Echidna from greek mythology during their time in the asylum since obviously nobody cares about the mentally ill in those places the project they used MC was for the purpose of a supernatural creature capable of reproducing in large numbers for war long story short,

MC escaped and devoured everyone in the asylum alongside her 50 children fully matured into adulthood and are currently living in the lake which Arthur let them know after one of MC's children told them MC can't speak because they made sure their tool couldnt talk before handing him the research papers, pictures and videos to Arthur so he can give them to Sal and to call MC's name from the lake and they will come to them.

So you can imagine what their reaction is when they see MC's upper body burst out of the water while spreading their wings and seeing MC's inhuman appearance for reference This is (Lostbelt) Echidna From Fate Grand Order Cosmos in the Lostbelt Olympus:

MC looks very different think fish or sea slugs.

I love how vague “the war” is like just a war 😭You know this has so much detail I do end up forgetting the question and have to re-read it

I feel like with things like this it would be “???” And “!!!” From everyone. I mean what human wouldn’t react like that from seeing a monstrosity of this calibre?

Imre: weirded tf out but curious, he’d bring his pencil and notepad to ask you some questions. Might also ask for a fingernail

Nia: disgusted and would maintain her distance plus she cannot handle kids

Lorcan: grossed out but will go throw food at you (as a gesture)

Sally: would be at mc’s beck and call and try to get them back to normal

Percy: ew. Get that thing away from me, fuck. Then would create a “monster in the lake” tour where he pockets the profits

#not 1.000 questions #I forgot to answer this #AUs #we wretched creatures

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dragonfruitghosts · 5 months

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Already new update on my silly Jarry (thank you tumblr user m1sf0rtune-gb for that)

You’ve heard of Larry Enny Fortune, but get ready for the reveal of his brother: Sal End Fate

Basically I am always committed horrible sciences against the Sally Face fandom but providing wonderfully silly weatures for the Sparklecare fandom

I’m also tempted to make one of those rp blogs for Larry (and Sal once he’s introduced), I love being a chaotic force of nature

This is to compensate for my yet old Sally Face Sparklecare au that I never finished because I lost the motivation /hj

#larry talks #sparklecare #cometcare #asteroidcare #moonlit ghosts #larry enny fortune #sal end fate #no this isn’t impulsive at all what’re you talking about?#Sal #sal won’t be introduced until the next arc (focusing on sam)#so sadly he can only be mentioned here #just know that I am getting so autistic about this y’all don’t understand #I’m shaking them around so much lmao

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talknerdytome18 · 1 month

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Pippa and Ravi’s first kid is named Sal/Salina

YESS OMG I AGREE WITH THIS TOO. I feel like if we ever get a time skip in the show (because the ending of AGAD... very ambiguous about their fate) I would love a scene of them with their kid. I LOVE THISSS.

#agggtm #a good girl's guide to murder #pip x ravi #pippa fitz amobi #ravi singh #agggtm headcanons #pipravi

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princesssarisa · 6 months

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@faintingheroine just recently posted about the fact that Aşk-ı Memnu never explicitly says that Bihter dies. She picks up Adnan's gun, the text says "it found that place that ached with the wound of love," and then in the epilogue, several months later, we're told that neither Adnan nor Nihal have ever mentioned her again. Now, the obvious indication is that she shoots herself in the heart and dies, but the book never blatantly says so. For that matter, as I pointed out in response, the book never actually says that Beşir dies either: in the epilogue, Nihal only reflects that he's "missing" from her group of childhood companions. The clear implication is that he succumbed to his illness, but did he, per se?

It we like, we could write fan fiction about these characters surviving, and not have to call it canon divergent. Like Mrs. Lovett at the end of Sweeney Todd, we can pull the "never said that they died" card. Not just with the Aşk-ı Memnu characters, but with any characters whose fate isn't spelled out in explicit words.

Many years ago, I remember reading a debate on a discussion board about the ending of Rebel Without a Cause. Someone asked whether Sal Mineo's character Plato actually dies or is just gravely injured and unconscious, because no one explicitly says he's dead and the ambulance crew doesn't cover his head when they take him away.

There are probably a lot of characters whose lives could be saved in fanfic with the trick of "what are the exact words about what happens to them in canon"?

#fiction #fanfiction #character death #exact words #aşk ı memnu #rebel without a cause #rambling #tw: death #tw: suicide

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winxwannabe · 2 years

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why do you hate the netflix show? i'm genuinely curious, as my wife adores it and was also a huge fan of the animated series growing up.

I mean the TL:DR of it is I just think it's a bad show. I found the pacing strange, I didn't like half the characters so it was hard to root for them, Season 1's plot was so awkwardly paced it was boring, but in Season 2 there were like 3 different plot points per episode and I found them hard to get invested in. The LONG answer: my 3 biggest problems with the show were (!):

The blatant racism/whitewashing

This is pretty self-explanatory and I've gone over it before , so I'll keep it brief; the show's whitewashing was the biggest turnoff for me. Musa and the fake out Flora (because Eliot Sal WAS originally Flora, hope whoever made that change got a bonus) were awful, and then the treatment of Dane and Aisha's characters sucked (being taken advantage of by Riven and turning into a huge asshole, and Aisha being turned into Bloom's life coach). We got a little more diversity in Season 2, but by then it read more as a response to backlash than anything else. Same with Dane and Aisha; Aisha gives a little speech in Season 2's first episode where she says she's done being Bloom's life coach, and then proceeds to get a boyfriend who's secretly evil and lies to her all season. And Dane acts like an asshole for 2 scenes before he's shoved to the side as a supporting character.

2. Homophobia

Again, recap from my last rant; Season 1 was very straight. The Bloom/Sky/Stella love triangle took center stage, the only non-straight character was Dane, who I'm 90% sure was bisexual but we'll never know because not once in Fate: The Winx Saga does anyone say the word 'bisexual.' The closest we get is Dane saying he finds both Riven and Stormy Beatrix hot. But Dane, Riven, and Beatrix turn into this awful polyamory thing that goes on for like an episode and a half before it breaks up, and it's never spoken of again. Season 2 gives up an openly lesbian character, Terra, but her love interest (a female specialist whose name I don't remember) is in her own on-again-off-again relationship. Terra and the girl do get together, but last the audience knew the relationship was on! So Terra gets a girlfriend, but said girlfriend is a cheater. Gay rights? oh, and #JusticeforFrancesa

Those are the serious reasons, and with those out of the way I would argue the other really big reason I didn't like Fate was

3. THERE IS NO FRIENDSHIP

At the end of the day you can take away magic, the Specialists, and a lot of supporting characters from the show because the core of it - the reason Winx Club works so well - is because these six girls are best friends. The show is about them going through school and breakups and universe-saving together, and kicking ass at it because they have each others back. It is the show's central theme, it's where the best writing is, and where some of its best moments come from (for me at least).

Fate...does not do that. They started the series out making Sky the one to show Bloom around Alfea and introduce her to things instead of Stella, sidelining one of the strongest friendships in the series for the sake of a love triangle. And it only goes downhill from there! I get the whole 'take an episode or two to figure out where we stand as friends' but by the end of the 1st season these bitches are still fighting over the dumbest shit! We start out Season 2 with Stella using invisibility spells again so she's not seen with the other girls - I don't even think Stella likes any of them by the end of the series! Sure everyone goes to classes and plans dangerous missions to save the world together, but outside of that it doesn't seem like they even like each other. There are moments sprinkled throughout where they're supposed to be genuine friends, and they're easily some of fate's best stuff (the car scene in 2x01 is an example). But they're also awkward, because 20 minutes ago they were sulking in their rooms and yelling at each other about their lack of communication. They aren't deserved is the point I'm trying to get at here, and the only way they do feel deserved is if you a) already know their friendship dynamic because you watched the animated series, or b) you follow the actors on social media, where they actually talk and hang out like best friends.

The strongest friendship in this entire series isn't any of the girls - it's fucking Sky and Riven. Because they were pre-established best friends, had arguments throughout season 1, but by the end of season 2 had come back together because the world was in danger, and they both knew despite everything, that they would have each other's backs. Do you know how badly you have to fuck up, where one half of your best friendship is the queerphobic, predatory asshole character, and the other half is a slice of untoasted Wonder Bread?

Do you know how mad Riven would have been if Sky went to not-Omega with Bloom in the season 2 finale? He would have been fucking pissed and ordering everyone to a classroom to give his 30-slide power point on how to get them back within 3 days. Meanwhile Bloom doesn't actually say goodbye to the Winx girls, she just writes them letters and says goodbye to Sky in person (because it is well established that Bloom and Sky's romance is more important than the girl's friendship, let's be honest). And then girls are all hugging and Stella's crying that Bloom's gone and I just thought 'you spent more time with Beatrix than Bloom this season Stella, why the fuck are you sad.'

This is all a longwinded way to say the central theme of friendship was pushed aside for CW-style romance, which made the core cast of girls unable to connect, which made the show bad.

Fate had the same overall runtime as a single season of Winx Club. Later seasons are bad, don't get me wrong, but those original 2004-2007 seasons had twice the character moments, more concise plots, and felt way more fun than anything I saw Brian Young put out these last few years. I would watch an original season (and even season 4! sue me!) any day over Fate the W inx Saga.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk, and probably don't show your wife this.

#anti fate the winx saga #netwinx #liz suffers with netwinx #liz gets questions #anonymous #im sure this was a way longer answer than you expected nonnie #my bad #ive just had a lot of pent up feelings on this show #long post

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posallys · 1 year

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posally | 600 words

for @chironshorseass and @drewlover because i think they will lose their minds <3

---

It was always going to end this way.

That’s the things about life—the choices you make don’t matter much in the end.

Endings are the only definite parts of life. Everything has an end, everything will take a final breath and exhale aspirations into the air for the last time. Everything fades away until nothing but memories, the ghostly whisperings of what once was, lingers in its place.

Species go exint, heroes fall, gods vanish, ancient knowledge evaporates.

And this—well, this was always going to end, just like the times before. It was never a question of if, but a question of when.

read on ao3

Some think that the hardest part of endings is learning to let go, to realize when it’s time to take a step back and let the fates continue to weave their threads throughout the universe and play your part while the world keeps turning.

Submitting to the whims of others has never been his strong suit, and yet he’s here, her hand in his, letting fate run its course.

There are hardly any wires or machines; age, it seems, has simply caught up to her.

A nurse marks something on her clipboard, then smiles at Sally and says “I’ll leave you and your husband alone, now,” before walking out of the room.

Sally nods weakly, and Poseidon closes his eyes, squeezing her hand gently.

She’d been avoiding his eyes until then, but she looks at him—finally looks at him—and her eyes take on a sadness of their own.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

He can see his reflection in the glasses that sit on the bridge of her nose, hair greyed and features weathered by time.

Poseidon gives a wry smile. “It wasn’t intentional.”

She nods again, leaning her head back onto her pillows. “Thank you, anyway. For being here.”

“I had to give it one last shot.”

And it was worth it, he thinks. Whatever pain her answer may cause him will be worth it just to see the smile on her face and the glint in her eyes and to hear the laugh that manages to bubble out of her.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

He grins then, a real, genuine smile, and places a hand on her shoulder. Take his shot, he will. “What do you say to one more adventure?”

Sally’s brow quirks up. “I’m always up for an adventure.”

His hand slides up to her cheek, and he leans down to place a kiss on her forehead. Then, “Close your eyes, Sal.”

When she opens them again, it takes a moment for her eyes to adjust. The sun is bright and warm bearing down on them. She’s not in her hospital gown anymore, but rather a flowing white sun dress. Poseidon wraps his arms around her, looking out over the horizon, and for a moment it’s like no time has passed.

“Sei…”

He kisses her shoulder. “I could do it.”

“I know.”

“You deserve to live forever.”

She shakes her head, blinks, and tilts her chin up.

“I’ve lived my life.”

“We could have more, Sal.”

She turns then, slowly, looking up at him. “Maybe in another life.”

Poseidon nods, smiling sadly. “Maybe in another life.”

Sally closes her eyes, and when she opens them again she’s back under the harsh lights of the hospital room.

“Sometimes I wonder what it would’ve been like,” she says after a minute.

“It would’ve been whatever you wanted it to be.”

“It would’ve been perfect,” she decides. “We would’ve had everything we wanted.”

Despite his best efforts, tears begin to form in his eyes. “Remember that for next time, okay?”

A tear of her own slips down her cheek. “If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.”

#el oh el #posally #posally fic #posally drabble #apparently i was in the mood for pain because i hurt myself writing this #pjo #pjo fic #my writing #fic: maybe in another life

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ryverbind · 1 year

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Faceless Fixation {Sal Fisher}: Bringing Vi to Life [2]

I watch Sally walk out of the door, trying to hold it together until his messy blue hair turns around a corner and finally leaves my field of vision.

How did this even happen?

The streets of LA are bustling and, still, all I can think of is his black clad figure—the only color on him being the sapphire shade of his hair—walking through and between people. But everyone else was just a shadow beside him. Zooming figures in my way. Blurs with no soul and no purpose but to burden others.

He's long gone now. Michael walked in just minutes after Sally disappeared. I'm forced to pretend that I'm ignoring the phenomena that just occurred as I wait tables and deal with customers that mean nothing to me.

Every inch of me burns to call Ash and quiz her about Sally's surprise visit. My muscles tense up in excitement when I think about it and my head throbs with tons of ways to tell her about what happened. My lips are chewed up and bloody, no doubt, just because I've been worrying over this since he walked through the door.

As much and as badly as I want to call Ash, I know that I can't. She would tell Sally that we met, for one. That's the last thing I want. Even if I asked her not to tell him, I'd be putting her in a compromising position if Sally and I were to ever meet as our real selves rather than this Lexi character that I created.

I'll just keep what happened today to myself. I don't ever have to tell anyone. It's my business anyway. I'll just deal with the consequences if it ever comes out that Lexi and y/n are the same person, which it will come out. With Ash, Larry, Todd, and I's friendship, we're bound to meet up again at some point. Not to mention, I'm planning on trying out this streaming thing soon.

Mine and Sally Face's meeting is fate no matter what fake name I come up with.

My day is boring and cruel. All I do is think about Sally's guitar pick hanging around my neck and the warmth in his bright blue eyes. I remember the way he complimented me, the way his ears turned pink with embarrassment, and all of the nice conversations we shared during his short stay in the diner. I still can't truly believe it happened. I'm honestly... mind blown.

I'm closing up tonight. It's about a quarter to ten and Michael is sweeping around tables as I count up all the money we made today. We close at ten, so we might as well finish our extra responsibilities now. Usually, customers are beginning to finish up at this time. We hardly ever have anyone walk in.

"Alright, y/n," Michael sighs, standing near the front door with his broom in hand. "I'm going put this up then I'll be heading out. You need any help closing this place?"

I smile at him. "No, don't worry about it! I shouldn't be much longer. I'll see you tomorrow."

Michael grins, pulling his apron over his head. "Awesome. See you bright and early."

He disappears into the back, then leaves out the front door just a minute or so later. So I wipe down the counters around me.

It's been a long day and I've been under a considerable amount of stress compared to other days. I'm so tired that I almost feel sick—I have a pounding headache and achy limbs. I almost want to skip work tomorrow and just take a day to myself—but taking a day to myself means losing a pretty $100 for bills at the end of the month. I'd rather not risk that, especially since I only work five hours tomorrow. What's the point of staying home if I won't be out too long anyway?

The bell on the front door jingles with a new customer and I almost groan out loud. I lean down, looking at my phone. We close in three minutes—why would someone do that?

As per my boss's request, if anyone walks in before closing, we have to sit them down and get what they need. I get it in a way, but for other workers like me who have taken a full day's shift, that's tough.

"I'll be right with you!" I say sweetly, scrubbing a spot on the counter despite my aggravation over having a new customer. I'm just ready to get home.

"No worries. Take your time."

I look up in a panic, making eye contact with a sweet, smiling gaze. Do my eyes deceive me? Even if they do, my heart surely wouldn't. It's beating so quickly that it almost hurts. And the sudden butterflies in my stomach make a queasy feeling slam into me.

I take a moment to reply, glancing over Sally who's randomly decided to show up again.

His hands are in the pockets of his black Larry merch hoodie, hiding away the edges of the beautiful tattoo I got to touch earlier. And as always, I can't see his face, but I can tell that he's at ease. Just enjoying his night and perfectly okay with waiting an eternity for me to get to him. Must be nice to not be in a rush all the time.

I gape at him for a moment, then blink. Quickly fixing my posture, I let a little smile pull at my lips as I walk closer to him. "Hey, Sally," I say a little nervously. His name is odd to hear but feels perfect leaving my lips. I can't even remember why I hated this guy at first. What did he say again?

"Hey, Lexi," Sally excitedly says, taking a step closer and leaning his weight against the counter. His hands never leave his pockets. "Sorry to come in so late. I won't be long, just wanted to come talk to you."

I tilt my head curiously, laying my washcloth on the counter. "What about?" I ask.

"Well, it sounds a lot better in my head." He laughs, finally removing a hand to push it through his hair. "Honestly, I'm considering just... saying something else. I don't talk to people often so this is..." he motions between us awkwardly then turns away, looking over at the front door.

I hum, biting the inside of my cheek. His words strike a bit of fear in my heart. Part of me wonders if, somehow, he found out about my real identity. But I know that's next to impossible, especially since Larry, Ash, and Todd haven't gotten a picture of me in years. "I mean, you can say anything. We're just two people in a judgement free zone. I'll never know what you were going to say either if you decide to say something else." I shrug, offering him a sweet smile.

Sally takes a shaky breath. "Yea, you're right. That's why I respect you, though. So, I might as well just do what I came here to do."

I shrug, pinching my fingertips in hopes to quell my anxiety a bit. "Up to you."

He turns his head, azure eyes meeting mine. His gaze slowly travels over every inch of me before they settle on my eyes again. Then, he sighs, resting his elbows on the counter behind him. His hoodie sleeve rides up his arm a bit, showing off an inch or two of the geometric, entrancing tattoos on his arm.

Drool.

"Can I have your number?" He forces out after a moment. He tilts his head nervously. "Like, I don't want to tell you I just want a good friend to talk to." Sally's voice is giggly, like he's extremely anxious. "I mean, I do want a good friend to talk to and you're a really awesome person. But I also would like to talk to you as more of a friend—" He pauses for a moment, then flinches, pulling his hands out of his hoodie in a flash. "But not like a hook-up kind of thing, I mean more of something that could turn into like a relationship over time." He sucks in a breath. "But you don't have to—"

I snort before I can hold it back. A hand automatically slaps over my mouth in shock and I feel bad for giggling. I pull my hand away just as quickly as it went up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. Your explanation was just... really cute." I giggle again. Why am I calling him cute? "Yea, you can have my number. I think you're amazing."

I wish I'd have thought about my response. It came naturally, even quickly like the words had their own nerves, cells, and ideas. I'm jealous of their confidence. At the same time, I truly wish I could take them back because how the fuck am I supposed to get away with my secret now?

But I don't worry about it too much because the excitement reflected in Sally's eyes is just worth it. Any fear or resentment I had left for him melts away and I wish to see his pretty smile more than anything.

I give him my phone number with no reservations for a moment, watching him type it into his phone. He brushes a strand of light blue hair from his eyes then looks up at me, tucking his phone into his back pocket.

"Thanks," he says. "Sorry if that seemed kind of weird. But, uh, I'll text you later?"

"Yea, that sounds good." I smile at him, pulling my apron over my head and setting it down on the counter beside me. My heart races a bit at the thought of him leaving already, but I know it has to happen.

"Alright," Sally says, chuckling softly. He just kind of stares at me for another moment, eyes flitting over my features before he glances down.

I swallow thickly when his hand is suddenly in front of me. I flinch at the brush of his cold fingertips on my collarbone. My brain is overloaded as I gaze down at his hand, wondering what on earth possessed him-- when I notice the guitar pick between his fingertips.

It's extremely hard to ignore my heated skin and flushed cheeks while I watch him flip the pick between his index finger and thumb, his skin brushing against my chest with each slight, subtle movement.

"Didn't think you'd wear it," he murmurs. "I'm happy to see it."

When I look up, I'm sent into an endless night sky just upon simply gazing into his powerful blue eyes. The gold flecks littering his iris' look like stars lighting up the piercing blue that takes up my entire life for a moment.

He's a lot closer than I imagined he'd be, so we both get lost in each other for a moment-- that much is noticeable.

"It means... a lot to me." I say shakily, finding my small smile again. I'm still shocked by our unexpected proximity and, fuck, his absolutely gorgeous eyes.

I wish I could see his smile when he takes a step away from me and giggles lightly, a light pink dusting his ears and neck. "That's sweet of you. Anyway, I'll get going. I have a flight to catch early in the morning. Um, and I'll probably be playing with everyone tonight, so..." He tilts his head down, shaking his shoulder length hair away from his prosthetic face, but he still never looks back to me.

Compared to how much hate I felt toward Sally just a day ago, I actually feel quite infatuated with him now. He is so amazing. I shouldn't have jumped the gun. Maybe he heard something bad about me and that's why he was so hostile towards y/n. Maybe it's a misunderstanding that we'll have to talk about at some point. I'd prefer that over him just hating me because I'm... me.

"Oh, of course," I say cheerily. "Don't let me keep you, I was just about to close up anyway." Even though he's the one who walked into my diner and I am in no way holding him hostage. "It was so nice meeting you again." The more I talk, the more rushed it sounds and the more frantic I feel. "Thank you for being so kind to me. I'm happy to have connected with you." What the fuck am I saying?

Sally lets out a hearty laugh, patting my shoulder amusedly. But he keeps his hand there. "You sound like I did when I first walked in, Lexi." Oh, true. I'm not y/n at the moment. "Relax. I'm really happy we met, too. I'm looking forward to seeing where we can take our friendship."

I can feel the chill in his hands seeping through my thin shirt and the tightening of his fingertips on my shoulder. The same heat from earlier returns to my cheeks before he finally pulls away. "See you, Lexi!" Sally calls as he walks away and towards the front door.

I lean onto my tiptoes, waving to him. "Bye, Sally." The door closes and a weight that didn't exist just milliseconds ago drops onto my shoulders like 12,000 overweight cats.

The reason I say cats is because the weight is very welcome (who doesn't love chunky kitties?) but it's also incredibly hard to hold up. I love the situation I've found myself in regarding Sally Face, but then again, he hates the true me but seems to enjoy this fake character I created out of fear.

So, like, yea! Sally Face is totally into me, but he's going to catch me in a lie then hate me even more than he already does.

He can dig my grave and spit on it too if he wants. Can't change my fuck up. I'm here and either way, shit's crazy at the moment. I might as well be crazy with the shit.

And then there's the fact that I gave him my phone number. There are so many issues with that stupid decision and I don't even want to think about the full list, but some reasons include, but are not limited to:

1.) Ash could totally match my phone number with the one I gave Sally.

2.) Did I forget to mention that I gave him a fake name?

3.) He fucking hates my guts.

4.) He's going to end up hating Lexi too because I highly doubt I'll ever be able to text him back after realizing what kind of shit-show I've become the main attraction in.

I could list so much more-- those are just a few.

Another happens to be my awful history with relationships. I'm not good at relationships. I've battled depression all my life, which just so happens to be part of the reason as to why my friends back in Nockfell haven't even seen a photo of me since I was a teenager.

I was diagnosed with depression at fifteen. Things took a bit of a turn for me quite quickly. I had been fine beforehand, then my parents got divorced and constantly traveling between their homes made it hard on me. I didn't enjoy anything anymore. Life felt like a chore. I slowly began to distance myself from my new friends, only texting Ash every few days. Sometimes, I'd even go weeks without messaging anyone. I'd just wait for night to come so I could sleep again. So I could dream.

I actually enjoyed school growing up simply because it got me out of the house and kept me busy-- it was the only time that I didn't think about how fucking tired I was of living.

So I've been taking antidepressants for about six or so years now. Life improved for me once I began taking medicine to help me out. I had a few boyfriends who introduced me to many things, but ultimately left my tiny little heart bruised and broken.

Relationships never work for me. I've been cheated on, mentally and physically abused, and betrayed. Maybe it's trauma, maybe it's bad luck. Either way, I don't want to end up like my parents. I'm perfectly fine with living the rest of my life without ever having a significant other.

So Sally Face's phone number will be sent to my text-message purgatory when and if he decides to text me one day.

I grab all of my things and start walking back to my apartment. Dad should be home by now. He works all day and sometimes has to stay at hotels depending on where he is in California at the time, but he told me he'd be close by today.

By the time I make it to our apartment door, I can hear mine and Dad's favorite band playing. The sound is lightly muffled by our door, but I wouldn't mistake this band for the world.

One of the things that got me through my couple years of undiagnosed depression was Breaking Benjamin. Dad showed me the band one day and my young brain fell in love with the sound, the instrumentals, and the lyrics. I have been obsessed with them since I was a teenager and a dream of mine is to finally see them in concert when I have the money to do so.

In fact, I have some of their lyrics tattooed on the left side of my chest, right over my ribs.

An excited smile builds on my face as I throw my front door open, instantly making eye contact with Dad in the kitchen. He waves a little spatula around, grinning at me.

"I know it's late, but--" He tiptoes over to me, speaking in a sing-song voice. "I made pancakes and bacon!"

The lyrics of my favorite song from their Phobia album, Unknown Soldier, quietly plays through our apartment with the sweet smell of warm pancakes to accompany the melody. Our balcony doors are open, letting in the sound of honking cars and laughter from the city below. It's dark out, probably about ten thirty in the evening. I can see all kinds of lights in the distance with just one glance.

My phone starts vibrating in my pocket and a squeak falls from my lips as my momentary bliss is interrupted. My heart thunders against my chest. Fuck, what if it's Sally calling me? I'll decline it. Instantly.

Gosh, I don't want to look at my phone. It's going to be so hard to decline the call mainly because I truly don't want to. In all honesty, I'd love to see where things could go with Sally but I'm in too deep with this lie and I don't trust my luck with relationships. He and I just shouldn't be.

I watch my father for a moment, who raises an eyebrow at me before glancing at my noisy pocket. "You gonna get that, Ducky?" he asks.

Dad's old nickname for me always calms me down a bit. He only uses it if he can tell I'm nervous and need some kind of calm. It's a reminder of simpler times and he knows how much the name means to me. "I don't know. I'm kind of scared," I answer him honestly.

"Want to talk about it?" He asks, lifting up a full plate of pancakes.

I smile, finally growing the balls to pull my phone out of my pocket. I hold my breath and look down at the screen.

Oh, thank God. It's just Ash.

The call ends before I can answer, so I make a mental note to call her back after I talk to my dad.

"I met this guy and... it's a little complicated but I gave him my number. I don't really want him to call me," I murmur, locking my phone and putting it back in my pocket.

Dad snorts. "You know how that sounds right? You gave a guy your number but you don't want to talk to him?"

I roll my eyes. "Okay, yea. It sounds ridiculous, but like I said, it's a complicated situation that I really don't want to get into tonight. I have some things I need to do with Ash."

"Whatever you need, Ducks. I'm here to talk if you want. How is Ash, by the way? She and the guys still doing that online stuff?" Dad asks, stuffing a pancake into his mouth.

I hum, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a pancake for myself. Yes, I do eat them like a normal human-- on a plate with syrup, but I want to get with Ash as soon as possible so I'll be fine with just a plain pancake for now. "Yea. I'm actually going to try it out soon, too. They're really popular and making a lot of money. Look up Ash Campbell on Google."

Dad's brows furrow as he munches on a slice of bacon. "You're kidding." He pulls his phone out, squinting his eyes as he types. Then, his eyes widen and he hums. "Net worth $780,000. That's crazy."

"Yea," I sigh, dusting my hands off over the sink. "You should see Larry and Todd, too."

"I'll go look them up now, hun. You let me know how that online stuff goes. I'm hoping it works for you." Dad sends me a smile then turns back to his phone.

I smile back and begin walking to my room as Anthem of the Angels by Breaking Benjamin comes on-- that's dads favorite song.

The sweet sound of instrumentals and a beautiful voice follows me through our apartment as I grab some clothes to change into. The music I grew up with fills me with a sense of nostalgia, taking me back to a place where everything was easy. I wasn't doing the same thing every single day. I wasn't living paycheck-to-paycheck. I wasn't on my feet all the time and hoping I made enough tips to pay my credit card bill for the month.

It's nice to go back in time every once in a while, even if it's only through music.

When I walk into my bedroom, I grab comfy clothes then head over to my bathroom.

I pull my phone out again, clicking on the notification of Ash's call from five minutes ago. My phone rings for a singular second before a sharp shriek bursts my ear drums.

I flinch, covering my ears and quickly turning down the speaker. I'm sure my dad heard that.

"Y/n!" Ash exclaims. "I was kinda worried you wouldn't call back because I really want to ask you something but like I need and answer now--"

With a nervous giggle, I slowly remove my hands from my ears and pull my dirty work shirt over my head. "Sorry about that, I was just getting home and talking to Dad. Whatcha got for me, babe?"

Ash giggles maniacally, sending alarm bells off in my head. "Okay so how would you feel about jumping online with me and the boys tonight?"

I blink, my eyebrows slowly furrowing as gears turn in my head. She means all the boys. Sally Face told me he was going play with them not twenty minutes ago.

Am I ready for a step like that, especially after just having jumped a hurtle with him? Probably not. But I might as well just get the hard part of introducing myself over with, right?

Maybe he'll like this version of me like he likes Lexi. One can only hope.

"Um," I quietly murmur, chewing on my bottom lip. I'm nervous. I know nothing about streaming and it's been ages since I've used my voice to speak with Larry and Todd. But I'll have to try it out sooner or later anyway, right? Why not get it over with now?

I ponder over the idea for a moment longer before finally saying, "I'll do it. Just don't tell anyone who I am-- not Larry, Sally Face, or Todd. Larry would spill the beans immediately."

Ash laughs sweetly. "You're so right about Larry," she says before squealing. "I'm so excited. This'll be so fun! I'm going to help you set everything up and explain how to record your videos and post and set up your microphone and all of that good stuff!"

I let out a shaky breath, a small smile pulling at my lips. "Sounds good. I don't have a good mic right now, though."

"That's okay!" Ash says while I put on some sweatpants. "We'll figure that out with time. For now, go turn on your shit!!"

"Yes ma'am!" I chirp, saluting the air even though Ash can't see. I open the door and slide out of the bathroom with my socks and veer around a corner to my bedroom. "What are we playing?" I ask as I grab my headset and power it on. I have some experience with parties of people. Ash and I have played together plenty of times.

"We're playing Among Us on PC." I can hear some clicking from Ash's end of the line. "I just sent you an invite to join our channel on Discord. We'll start a VC from there."

I tilt my head, turning on my computer and widening my eyes. "What the hell is VC?"

Ash sighs, clicking her tongue. "My poor, sweet, technology deficient y/n."

"Hey," I murmur, pursing my lips as I pull up my new Discord account and log in. I see the invite, so I accept it, immediately being met with a few immediate messages between Larry and Todd.

"Someone has to tell you the truth!" Ash says matter-of-factly. "Anyway, the boys are probably pretty active right now. Todd and Larry have been bugging me about starting the VC."

"Will you finally tell me what a VC is, Ash?" I ask frantically upon noticing Larry's messages as they come in.

LARBEARAWR: dude who tf is VioletViolence

LARBEARAWR: did we get hacked

LARBEARAWR: do we need 2 start a new channel again

Todd comes in next, his texting style exactly the same as it was and has always been.

T0DDLES12: Idk, man. I wouldn't be surprised if someone found us out by now.

T0DDLES12: VioletViolence, who are you? Has someone hacked us and invited you?

I nearly choke on air when Sally Face pops into the cat. I'm horrified of things going wrong within just a few minutes of us officially meeting. Not to mention, him seeing me as a hacker isn't a good way for me to scoot into the group.

SALLYFʌCɜ: why the fuck would you talk to the hacker

"Oh... Ash they are going crazy. Please say something," I whisper with shaky breaths as panic and anxiety begin to settle in the pit of my stomach.

"Shit, I forgot to tell them about you. Hold on," She says quickly, her soothing voice taking a harsh edge as the sound of her quick typing echoes in my room. "Fuck, what do I tell them?"

"Uh," I wave my hands around and look around my room for something to help me come up with an excuse. All I find is a collection case of every season of Friends-- but it does give me a little idea. It's the best I've got. "Tell them that I'm your cousin's friend?"

I hear some more typing and a quick breath of relief, then Ash's message pops up.

ASHYPOOO<;3: VioletViolence is my cousin's friend! Just trying to help her get on her feet :P She's a big fan and looking for a job. She has experience with gaming too so she's not a newb or anything

Unfortunately, at least for me, Sally responds immediately and the outcome is not looking very good.

SALLYFʌCɜ: ash wtf

SALLYFʌCɜ: we don't do new people

SALLYFʌCɜ: especially people we don't know

Ash scoffs over the phone and I peel my attention away from my computer screen, blinking away sudden tears. It's just because I'm really anxious, but I don't want to break down over something so ridiculously trivial.

But, as always, I'm lying to myself.

I hate that a big part of my life is constant lies. Some of them are little white lies, things I've said for years. I'm fine. I had a good day. I ate lunch. But these recent lies are getting complicated and I keep coming up with and acting on them even though I know it's going to fuck me up in the near future.

Karma's gotten my ass before. No doubt that it'll happen again. And this time is going to be awful.

"He's such a little ass. Always worried about bringing new people into the group. You're our first test trial, y/n." Ash sighs. Wow. Great. Can't wait. "If you look at the channels, you should see a section called Voice Channels. Click on the first one there and that's how we'll talk-- also, that's what VC means."

"Finally," I snicker, following her directions. "Okay, I'm in." I'm the only one in the voice call, clearly since I can't hear anyone else.

"Awesome!" She chirps. "Now open up that screen recording app I told you about, log in, then press record. I'm going to hang up, but I will see you again in the VC in just a moment."

"Sounds good. Don't use my name, Ash," I mumble, focusing on setting up the recording app.

Before I start recording, I wait for Ash to promise that she won't use my legal name, then I press record and go back to Discord.

Ash is online with me a moment later, then Larry right behind her.

"I'm cowering in a corner, Ash," Larry whispers. The sound of his voice in real time makes a beaming smile and excited shivers take over my body. "Who's this chick?"

I can't help but let a little giggle out at his amusing introduction.

"Oh?" Larry's voice seems to perk up a bit. "A hot chick with a cute laugh?"

There it is. I roll my eyes and finally speak. "Hey, Larry," I start carefully. "I'm a big fan. Nice to meet you. Ash tells me a lot about you guys." I'm playing the role perfectly, I think.

An unflattering, hilarious, garbled sound comes from Larry's line. "Well, the pleasure is all mine, little lady." He chuckles a bit, drawling out some mumbles and poking fun at Ash. "So like, what's up with you?"

I struggle to hold back little laughs as I sit down in my chair and lean back. "Um." I shut my mouth when I realize I have nothing to tell him. What am I supposed to say for now? "Err--"

"She's from... Connecticut! She's... twenty-one and struggling with her job as... a bank-teller. She wanted to try something else so I offered to help her out." Ash saves the day and comes up with a lie so random and absurd that it sounds believable.

"Oh, cool. What's it like... counting numbers in Connecticut, little lady?"

"Larry, stop calling her 'little lady,'" Ash's thunderous, agitated voice makes me flinch away from my computer.

Larry gasps, feigning offense. "Gosh, fine, fuck, whatever, Ash! Just trying to be nice!"

"So this VioletViolence is not a foe?" Todd's deep voice makes another smile quirk my lips.

"I'm a friend, I promise." I laugh lightly. "It's nice to meet you, Todd. I've been watching you for a while."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, VioletViolence," Todd formally and sweetly welcomes me. "Your name is quite a mouthful. We'll have to find a nickname for you."

I hum in response, thinking it over. "You're right. It's a bit much." I don't quite know how to shorten it down, though. We'll just stick with this for now I suppose.

I don't have time to prepare myself when Sally suddenly pops into the voice channel. I simply suck in a breath as his livid voice fills my ears. "Ash," he says angrily, "our agreement is to never let randos into the group, so why the fuck is this person here? And no, I couldn't give a shit less if this insignificant fan that you found online is witnessing this right now."

All of the memories I have of Sally crack. Just one more slip up and I'll forget them all. What is his problem with almost every version of me and why is 'Lexi' an exception?

"Sal, stop acting like that! I've met this person many, many times and I trust her. Stop being a dick. She's a fan of ours and she's practically family to me," Ash sticks up for me, arguing aggressively with Sally.

"You think I care? This is just a repeat of whatever went on with that y/n chick. I swear that bitch's aura follows me around every turn. I even heard her fucking name today. Now I have to deal with another?" Sally scoffs into his mic, his voice growing dangerously low and hostile.

I know he didn't just refer to me as a bitch.

I wince. He heard the right y/n's name today. He also met her-- but he doesn't need to know that. So what's his deal, then? Is he just overprotective of his group?

I jump into the conversation before Ash and Sally can argue any further. "Um, hey, Sally Face." My voice is soft and shaky. Anyone would be able to tell that I'm horrified. "I'm sorry if you feel that I'm impeding. I won't cause trouble and you guys never have to play with me again. I'm actually a big fan of yours--"

"I don't fucking care. I do not want you here," Sally's sharp, straight-to-the-point tone makes me flinch in my seat for what feels like the hundredth time tonight.

"Stop it, Sally. We don't need you being an ass, man. Come on," Larry tries to diffuse the situation, his voice a bit disappointed but soft, consoling even. "I'm gonna start recording so watch the shit you say. Be nice to Vi. She's just looking for a kickstart."

"There!" Todd exclaims. He sounds excited. "There's the nickname! Yes, that works great!"

A smile settles onto my lips again. I thought I'd lost it for good because of Sally, but Larry found a nickname for me.

Larry laughs, followed by Ash. Then he starts with his intro into his stream followed by Ash, Todd, and Sally. I just kind of sit there for a moment, waiting.

"Vi!" Larry's overexcited and comforting voice calls my nickname. I sit up, paying close attention to what he says next. "I'd like to introduce you to The Faces! Everyone, this is VioletViolence. She will be joining our game of Among Us today. I've heard some pretty good things about her skill, so let's see what she's got!"

The Faces. The group that consists of Ash, Larry, Todd, and Sally. I never thought I'd be included, even if it is just for one video.

"You heard him," Ash says. "Vi, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?"

"Or we can just start the game?" Sally says, tone biting and dangerous. He's putting up a barely held up front for his viewers.

The crack in my new view of him finally breaks apart. My opinion of him is just as vile as it was before I met him in person and it takes a lot of willpower to stop myself from snapping at him.

"Well, I'd like to learn more about VioletViolence and it seems like my viewers would as well. They're wondering if your Twitch account is VioletViolence as well, by the way, Vi," Todd says, turning attention to me.

"Oh, yes!" I sit up quickly, pushing down the blush on my cheeks. "My Twitch account is VioletViolence, but I'm not streaming there at the moment. I'll be posting a video from tonight somewhere. Maybe Youtube."

"Okay, everyone seems to be looking forward to your video. If you need any help with Twitch, let us know," Todd sweetly says.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," I reply.

"So, tell us some fun facts, Vi!" Ash says excitedly. "What's your favorite color? Favorite movie? You know, just so we can get to know you!"

Smiling brightly, I settle into my seat and navigate my way around the loading screen of Among Us while I talk. "Well, my favorite color is actually violet. I love dark colors, especially purple. Um, my favorite movie is Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween. Big fan of Mike Myers."

"Yuck, Sally loves those movies, too! I hate horror," Ash giggles, fake-gagging.

Laughing, I think about how lucky I am to have Ash before I talk again. I'll never have a friend as generous and loving as she is. "Makes sense. You're pink and upbeat. You know I had a goth moment growing up."

I feel like I'm going to vomit when I realize I've slipped up, but Ash saves me again. "Oh, true! I forgot to tell everyone, but Vi and I know each other! She's a family friend."

Thank the stars. Ash deserves love and success to last a lifetime.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" Larry asks, giving me some scary deja vu from earlier today. I guess I have to come up with a different answer from what I told Sally.

"I really like rock. My favorite band is Breaking Benjamin! I'd love to see them in concert one day." I keep my voice light and comfortable, pretending to be something I'm not.

"Oh, cool! I like Breaking Benjamin. They're pretty rad. I love the Celtic symbol they use as a logo," Larry says, sounding like he's genuinely interested. "Don't the members have the logo tatted on their wrists?"

I chew my lip, lifting my legs and holding them to my chest as I twirl back and forth in my chair. "Yea, as far as I know. I have their lyrics tattooed on my side, actually. I guess that's another fun fact."

"Oh, so you have tattoos, too? That's hot as fuck, bro." Larry starts giggling like a little schoolgirl. At that exact moment, I get a few notifications on my phone from Twitch and Youtube. All new subscribers. Shit.

"Only one for now," I say with a little laugh. "It says, 'Empty and perfect, shattered and worthless. Sober and silent, faded and violent. Never surrender, out of the embers.'" I debate on whether I should give a little more information about myself. "It's from the first song I ever heard by them called Never Again. It really stuck with me, I felt like I could relate."

"Those are some deep lyrics," Todd says. "Is that where you got your username from? The 'faded and violent' part?"

I'm shocked Todd noticed that, especially since I didn't notice it. "No, I've never realized it until you said that. I guess it was fate, huh?"

"That's so cute! I love how everything always ties together in the end," Ash says, her sweet voice making me grin.

"Getting lyrics tattooed is kind of basic. You should've gotten something else." Sally's words are murmured and I can almost feel his nonchalant shrug like I'm doing it myself.

"And being an asshole is really old," I fire back, letting my foot fall from my chair so I can bounce my leg. I'm really starting to get fed up with this guy.

Ash sighs. "Here we go."

Sally Face snorts, unamused by my retort. "You asked for the asshole side of me when you jumped in on what I do for a living. I don't even know you. None of us do."

"Ever heard of socializing?" I ask, tilting my head. "It's not impossible. It's not a bad thing either. I'm not going to steal your heat, man."

"You wouldn't be able to take any of my heat regardless," Sally laughs heartily. "I'm just ready for you to go back to what you were before we met-- insignificant."

For the first time since talking to him as VioletViolence, I smile at his words and I mean it. It's not forced, it found its way onto my lips of its own accord. No fighting, no issues. I embrace the smile because I know I'm an even match for Sally Face, and perhaps that's why he's already so upset over my existence.

I'm going to beat him at his own game.

My reply is instant. "You're not the only person in existence, you shrimp-dicked fuck nugget. Have some respects for others around you."

I start a new game of Among Us, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated as I finish our little argument with, "I win."

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

A/N:::::: I KNOW. THIS WAS LONG AWAITED AND I APOLOGIZE!!! Part of the reason as to why I haven't posted in a bit is because this story is still fresh to me! I have a general idea of how I want it to go, but finding and picking out directions for the plot is a bit hard! I'm still figuring out the content of chapters and what I'll do next. I'm also still getting used to writing smut and taking my time to learn how to write it better so I can give you guys the best that I can. We're still at the start, so hold onto the 'oh-shit-handle' and get ready for the ride!

As always, I love you all with my entire heart. Sweet dreams/daydreams <3333

#sally face #sally face fandom #sally face fanfiction #sal fisher #larry johnson #ash campbell #todd morrison #travis phelps #x reader #fanfic #future smut

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