#[ her daughter grows up- the home as she knows fades away fully etc ]

[spiderwarden]

Not me listening to this and always imagining how when Karlach ( @infernaliscor ) chooses death, the scenario in my head is that she shoved Minthara away from her so she wouldn't burn up with her. Then Minthara crying outright as she crawls back over to her and pushes her hands into her ashes and collapses onto her knees. Staring down at what's left of her love, her darling love, and just cries before she barely has enough lucidity to gather as much of her ashes as she can into a leather pouch. Where she then has two swords made from them, two swords that she carries on her back as she goes into Avernus herself, just as she promised Karlach, and enters the blood wars to make Zariel pay for ever laying eyes on her. With Karlach protecting her back just as she did in life ... swords she will plunge into the Arch devil herself, still killed by Karlach even in death.

[hiddendreamer67]

Original Character List

I present to you, something Legendary! 😄 It’s so cute, like, oh my gosh, heh, hi! 

Guess what- I have Original Characters now! I’m listing them here to introduce you guys to the handful that exist already, because later I’m going to reblog a prompt list or two and I’m hoping to write some oneshots/drabbles with them to help my with character, plot, and world development. ☺️ 

Btw this world is totally gonna have gt elements but ironically everyone I’ve created so far is human-sized!  😅 And also I’m putting this list under a cut so that as I add people I can list them here as well. (And disclaimer, this is my initial ideas for these peeps, they still have the potential to evolve and change).

Human Characters

Prince Valentine, I think youngest son? - One of the princes in the TBD main human kingdom. The fae and mortals have been in an everlasting state of unrest and war for a long time now, and Valentine gets the idea to try out diplomacy. He hears of Garth/Cam’s friendship and decides to send them out since clearly they know what they’re doing! (They don’t.) Valentine is very energetic and a bit air-headed, he’s also ignorant in a lot of viewpoints because he was raised to believe fae are wild beasts and wants to control them. Later on he’ll get better and realize “Hey fae are people too...ish.” His family thinks his diplomacy mission is foolish but don’t care because he’s not sticking his own neck out.

Cornelius, prince’s main adviser- This wizard(?) is pretty much the only one in the entire castle who actually believes in this diplomacy mission and also is the only one keeping an eye on Valentine. He basically makes sure Garth and Cam are equipped with enough knowledge to not immediately die and helps filter missions as best he can.

Noemi, witch at the edge of the woods- She lives at a different edge than the Thornton family. I don’t know a lot about her yet except that she’s a mostly self-taught witch with a best fae friend (girlfriend?) named Witch Hazel. 

(I think the Thornton family all live in a house on the edge of town near a forest that was -recently?- inhabited by some of the flower fae)

Perth Thornton, father- Not much developed for him yet.

Marabelle Thornton, mother - Not much developed for her either! But both parents are at least alive.

Quill Thornton, eldest son - Perfect boy, start child, parent’s favorite. Sometimes siblings are jealous of him because of attention but they love him too because this guy is obnoxious in there’s not really a reason to hate him. The strong, brotherly type who volunteers around town to help others and is a good leader but listens more than he speaks. Fae relations unclear, I think flower fae generally like him too but idk how he feels about fae.

Bentley Thornton, second oldest son - He’s a good boy too, wants to be an academic but that’s not really in the family line of work. He’s more concerned w/ logistics than the rest of his family which can turn him into a frustrated/stressed wreck since he’s just trying to keep everything in check and good lord why am I the only rational sibling. Flower fae call him Sparrow because his heart always speeds up like a lil’ bird when they’re around since he’s naturally weary.

Garth Thornton, middle child - He’s the main character human, or he’s intended to be. He’s snarky. Spent a long while as the youngest kid and especially now that there’s a new baby he gets sorta left to his own devices, so naturally he ended up accidentally befriending a fae named Cam in the woods. He’s generally distrustful of fae and can feel like the only normal one who gets thrown or tugged into magical dangerous adventures. Flower fae call him Germ- that’s a fun story. ;) 

Posie Thornton, newborn baby sister -  She’s adorable and a baby. Flower fae call her Bud or Blossom because they love her and want her to be one of them so they basically lowkey made her an honorary flower. 

Fae Characters

So an important note: I haven’t fully developed all of the creatures and beings in this universe (feel free to ask if there’s any certain types or categories afoot & where they’d fall), but basically one category is the fae, who basically encompass all natural spirits and come in a variety of physical forms & sizes. There’s a lot of lore w/ fae in play but a big one is Names have power so you gotta use some sort of nickname.

The Winter Vale, King of Winter- Vale is a very powerful fae, controlling all of the winter court. He’s cold-hearted and a real awful dude. He has a few children he repeatedly neglects (@Thistle) and is known for stealing away flower fae to be his stolen brides and bring a spot of color to his chilly domain until inevitably they fade or he gets bored or they run away. Oof. 

Gaia, Queen of Spring- This is the mother of all flower fae; basically, Gaia slept around with pretty much every male fae and that’s why there are a million daughters. She did this because normally Spring can be weaker than Winter, but in large numbers she grew in power and children are more affiliated with whatever parent has more royal blood (so even if she weds a winter, the child will fall in the Spring Court). 

Flower Fae- lil’ bit o’ lore

The flower fae are a sub-branch of Fae; flower fae are all sisters, and they each call each other by a given flower name. They’re basically a lil’ cult of children; by nature, flower fae are curious and giggly and love to play games. Also flower fae are independent beings in that they can have their own outlooks on thing like, say, their opinion on mortals, but inherently they all share this sort of sisterly bond and are inclined to view other sisters fondly. (That comes into play especially w/ sisters spread across the globe, which should not be a thing b/c they thrive on togetherness but yeah some flower fae are kinda everywhere now? Also they aren’t immortal as in they’ve existed forever, they are born from a garden thing and they do have an age order and idk how many are in existence currently but they’re only limited in number by the amount of flower names I can discover. No way in hell have I characterized them all yet.)

Camellia (Cam), flower fae- This is my main girl, she’s the one who somehow manages to befriend Garth and sneak her way into his stony heart. Cam is the youngest of the flower fae when we meet her. She grows attached to Garth and basically becomes an overexcited puppy going on adventures. She’s occasionally viewed as a lil’ sister until she pulls some powerful magic out and everyone’s like “oh yeah nvm she can hold her own”. She’s easily distracted especially when it comes to being serious or mortal affairs. Also she’s got some natural weaknesses like cold and iron are not good for her so she turns a jittery mess in cities and a sleepy mess in the snow.

Uva Ursi, flower fae- She’s a lot more bristly than flower fae are typically known for (at least from Garth’s perspective), but she means well. Was separated from several of her sisters a long time ago but adapted well to the cold. Has a little bit of control over winter elements, due to her relations with The Winter Vale. She was his bride to replace Nightshade and certainly has a complicated past and somehow ended up in the desert for a bit.

Nightshade, flower fae- A previous flower fae gone rogue/evil, basically she was a bride to Vale and managed to escape but went insane. She’s now an assassin and I don’t know all the details but is very encouraging of getting flower fae to join her... cause? Basically it’s a rebel flower fae group who just want to mess life up for others and get vengeance.

Baby’s Breath, flower fae- The true infant of the sisterhood; she’s born after Camellia and is the epitome of ‘baby’. 

Thistle, flower fae- Daughter of Vale and Gaia (King of Winter and Queen of Spring). She is the only flower fae who actually falls into the Winter Court, and as such is accepted by neither. Has SEVERE daddy issues because her father will never accept or love her. But, on a more surface level note, she’s a mischievous little sprite who’s very sarcastic and snarky.

Rose, flower fae- She is the. First. Flower fae, and will never let you forget it. There is a whole clan of ‘roses’ (Primrose, Petite rose, Tea rose, etc.) but Rose is THE Rose. She’s very vain, and thinks she’s mom’s favorite; that might actually be true. Rose does love her sisters but she is not nearly as devoted to them all as is typical of flower fae.

Lily, flower fae- She’s another original flower fae who has a clan of her own  (Tiger Lily, Calla Lily, etc.) but is not nearly as iconic as Rose. She does tend to be a good motherly figure for the flower fae still in the home garden, especially since Gaia is not an attentive mother. At the very least she’s a responsible older sister.

Witch Hazel, flower fae- Hazel found the human witch Noemi and pretty much instantly fell in love (romantically or platonically tbd), so much so that she decided to leave the flower fae sisterhood behind to stay permanently with Noemi and only occasionally comes back to visit. She’s very sweet and a bit uneducated but still wants to do whatever she can to help her witch succeed.

Azalea, flower fae- Way down the road, this is Bentley’s fae girlfriend! In the meantime though, she’s an older sister of Cam’s who’s a bit of a brash, sassy personality but she means well. Is actually a bit nervous about the idea of Cam going into the world of mortals.

...I think that’s everything? Kinda info dumped there, I hope this was at least interesting for some of you. Thank you for reading this list! Feel free to send me any questions you have or let me know if something was unclear!

[maneoxmichelangelo]

            ɴᴏɴ ᴄɪ ʀɪᴄᴏʀᴅɪᴀᴍᴏ ᴅᴇɪ ɢɪᴏʀɴɪ, 

                                                  ᴄɪ ʀɪᴄᴏʀᴅɪᴀᴍᴏ ᴅᴇɪ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛɪ

                         𝔻𝕠𝕟 𝕍𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕕𝕚 𝕊𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕠; 𝔸 𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕪

what is your muse’s full name and do they have any nicknames?

Vincent di Soriano. Those he’s close to call him Vince. Most of the members of Invictus call him “Don Vincent” or “Don Karma”. Enemies exclusively know him as “Don Karma” (well, they know him as Karma, but they add ‘Don’ if they know what’s good for them).

what do they look like? include hair, eyes, skin tone, tattoos, etc. !

He’s not incredibly tall, nor is he particularly short. He’s about average, standing at 5′10 (though he may seem smaller on a bad leg day). He’s pale in complexion and lithe with lightly toned muscle in build. His eyes are a brilliant amber, and his hair... well, it’s always kept at a shaggy, but short length. The color varies on a whim, but he generally gravitates to blonde, silver, or blue. 

He’s got a number of tattoos. The constellation of Lupos lives between his shoulder blades, he has his mother’s initials inked on the skin above his heart, and watercolor peonies on his ribcage with hisoka’s birthday under them are the three major ones that stand out to him. The others are just little pieces for decoration or because he got bored. 

do they have any distinguishing features such as scars, unique birthmarks, etc.?

Does a 188 year old werewolf mafia boss have scars? He’s got plenty. Scars from fights, scars from stab wounds and bullet holes. Werewolf healing makes them more faded than they would be on a human, but a human probably wouldn’t have lived through the story of half of those. 

what is your muse’s friends and family like? who do they usually surround themselves with?

La Familia. As cliche as it sounds, Lupos Invictus is his family. As far as he’s concerned, the members are blood to him. They’re his pack. His only family family is his daughter, but y’all already know her. He surrounds himself with his pack. With the people he loves and trusts and he’s willing to die for.

who would you consider the closest person to your muse?

His big three: Vic, Leona, Sungmin.

where was your character born and what was their living situation growing up there?

I really have a thing for muses not at all growing up where they were born. He was born in Daegu, but he was raised in the small Italian village of Castelluccio in central Italy. His family would move to Venice eventually, and his young adult life would be spent there until his parents passed.

His life was... honestly, pretty normal? He was loved beyond belief, he was well on his way to becoming a master blacksmith- it was pretty standard living if you exclude the fact his dad was an international arms dealer with the Italian mafia and he watched his parents grow old while he never aged. 

what is your muse’s biggest fear and does anyone know? if so, who, and if not, why not?

He doesn’t fear death. He knows he’s living on borrowed time. 

Is he afraid that he’ll fail to keep people safe? That the hunters will keep coming and coming and coming and he’ll never be able to protect his people? That this crime family maybe wasn’t the best way to keep them safe? Maybe. Does he fear that his child is mixed up in this and that every time he sends her on a mission she might not come home? Yes. 

Vince is a man with many anxieties, ok. He smokes to forget about them.

has your muse ever fallen in love before? if so, with who? did it end well?

He’s 188 years old, of course he’s fallen in love. I’m not saying he was in love with Raiden, but I’m not saying he wasn’t. But he’s never really had anything that lasted, nothing that was more important than his parents or his pack. 

what would you find in your muse’s refrigerator right now?

Whatever Leona wants. Vince isn’t really picky when it comes to food, and Leona’s always been the better cook. As long as there’s meat, potatoes, and pasta in the pantry Vince is happy.

what does your muse usually wear? you can describe, link pictures, etc. !

here!

what is your muse’s strongest memory that they carry around?

He’s standing on the balcony of their small home in Venice with his mother, overlooking the expansive sea. The sun was setting and the rays bounced off the water’s surface, making it sparkle like the most delicate crystals being moved with the tide. The crisp, cool, salty breeze off the ocean made his mother’s golden brown hair flutter in the wind, carrying the birdsong of her laughter away with it.

They were waiting for his father to return home from his latest bout of travels, keeping a weather eye on the horizon for his ship,but just enjoying a small cup of coffee in the mean time. 

“Cucciolo, your father and I aren’t getting any younger, you know. I know we were blessed that we have you, but grandchildren would be nice. I’ve always wanted a granddaughter, after all.” she teased with a smile on her lips.

“Ma~” he whined, a faint blush dusting his cheeks as he grinned, “I’m working in the forge to help afford this place. I don’t have time to find a wife right now. I’ll give you a granddaughter one day, but right now I need to focus on the forge.”

His mothers gaze turned towards the sea, “Ah, my dear. I hope your daughter takes after me. Some freckles, olive skin. Name her after me, will you?” she kept teasing, knowing fully well it was impossible for any child of his to look even remotely Italian. 

“Yes, mama. I’ll have a little Rosalia Leona of my own running around one day, I promise you.” In the distance, his father’s ship peeks over the horizon line, “Maybe even a Luciano too...”

[springday-aus]

Untold Mermaid Tales: Sunmi’s Story

Fic Piece Written By: Admin Grandma of @springday-aus​

Moodboard Link Created By: Admin Grandpa

Main Character: Lee Sunmi (formally known from Wonder Girls)

Additional Characters: (in order of mention) Kim Yubin, Park Jonghyun, Yoon Junyoung

Genre: historical, fantasy, mermaid!au, revenge story

Type: one-shot writing piece 

Word Count: approx. 6.3k

Plot Summary: Sunmi dreams of leaving home to be a sailor. Her opportunity comes when her brother is sick and she’s sent to care for him overseas. However, the journey goes sour as the real implications of her presence are revealed and feelings get hurt. 

Warnings: [lots of sexism] - sexual harassment, rape is implied, murder mentions. 

For centuries, humans have believed that mermaids are nothing more than mythical creatures of the sea. It started from folklore and fairytales, like The Little Mermaid leading to their current portrayals in the media, such as Aquamarine or Ocean Girl. This is what essentially feeds humans the illusion of mermaids as beautiful beings who do nothing more than sing and swim, leading sailors astray from their paths. 

While it’s true that these creatures are magical, in no way are they as enchanting as they seem. Mermaids may seem to be carefree and gentle because they don’t have a human life on land to worry about. However, they are beings filled with spite, fueled by revenge and bitterness. To understand why is too complex to explain, but they have one goal: to avenge themselves by dragging down the men who dared to have them thrown overboard. 

Along the pier on the edge of Busan sits a young woman closely observing the sea. The waves crash lightly underneath her, the small mists of water spritzed itself into the air, splashing her every once in a while. The salty sea shimmers as it sways from a distance, sparkling against the limited light the sun provides. Just where the horizon starts to fully set lies the clothes of faded pinks, blending within the mix of pale yellows and light scarlet-orange. Despite the darkening sky, incoming ships continue to arrive in the docks, just a couple of blocks short from the pier.

Sumni sits upright and cross-legged, staring out into the never-ending waters��watching the fluttering sails continuously cut through the sunset with its’ shapes getting gradually bigger as time passes. Each one seems the same for everyone else, but to her, each is just as mesmerizing as the next. 

As her thoughts lost themselves within the sea, another’s footsteps lightly taps on the pier’s wood, getting closer to her with each step. She doesn’t budge. 

“Take a seat, Yubin.” She taps the empty spot next to her. “You and I both know I’m not going anywhere for a while.” 

With a shake of her head, Yubin chuckles but takes the seat regardless. “At this point, you should sleep here,” she says. “You practically live on this pier.” 

“There’s no point if I’m leaving tomorrow.” 

“Are you excited? You’re going to be an official sailor.” 

“Of course, I’m excited—slightly nervous, but I’ve been waiting for this since I was ten.” Sunmi leans back on her hands, taking in the scene once more. “I need to see more than just what I’ve read. I can’t just stay here for all of my life.” 

Yubin hums in response, nodding along to Sunmi’s words. 

“Don’t be mistaken,” Sumni says. “I’ll miss you and my family.” 

“But?” 

“Something tells me this is my one chance—another opportunity like this won’t come.” 

Yubin smiles fondly at her, before giving her a small nudge. “Well, at least you’re taking it. You’re lucky. You get to be more than just a housewife or school teacher. Nothing’s wrong with it, but…” She pauses, looking down at her lap. “You got a chance to do more.” 

Sunmi huffs in response. Glancing around, she continues to speak, but with a lowered tone. “I have to confess though. It doesn’t feel right.” 

“What are you talking about?” Yubin asks. “You’ll get to achieve your dreams to see the world beyond Busan, and who knows? Maybe, even meet a nice man, like your captain!” 

“That’s just it though,” Sunmi says. “Captain Park... something feels off about him.” 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear—as if on cue, Park Jonghyun makes his way over from his ship on the docks and along the pier. He jumps onto the sandy shore, breathing in the fresh, foreign air, since he and his crew just arrived from Japan. They’re on their way to Montréal to meet up with St. Laurent, but made a pit stop in the south for additional supplies and shipmates. 

With his black boots thudding against the ground below him, his tall silhouette moves swiftly to gather some equipment to prepare themselves for their journey tomorrow morning. However, he stops in his tracks once he spots the two women nearby. Without a word to his crew, he heads over towards them in long strides. 

His presence doesn’t go unnoticed. The ladies take notice of the man in uniform with the broad shoulders and firm thighs heading their way. The wind picks up, sweeping his dark hair back with grace—his eyes never wavering from them. Dear lord, he’s attractive, but it would’ve been better if he wasn’t aware of it. 

“Ladies.” He bows his head down as if he’s tipping an imaginary hat. “Are you lost?” 

Yubin looks enchanted. Whereas, Sunmi easily get sup from her spot, dusting off her pants. Straightening her shoulders back, she looks up to him with crossed arms. “No, but we were just about to head back.” 

“It’s getting a bit dark, ladies—seems dangerous to be walking alone. Would you like an escort back?” 

“No, thank you…” She quickly scans him from head to toe. “It’s more dangerous to get strangers involved.” 

He simply smiles at her. “Captain Park Jonghyun.” He bows his head once more. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

Yubin visibly perks up, suddenly realizing who he is. “You’re Captain Park?”

“Yes, miss. You are?” 

“Kim Yubin, but you would be much more interest in my friend.” 

Sunmi resists the urge to roll her eyes at Yubin’s side comment. “Lee Sunmi. I’ll be part of your crew as of tomorrow. It’s a pleasure to properly meet you.” 

“The Sunmi?” 

“Yes.” 

“Ah,” he says. He looks off into the distance, brushing his hair out of the way. “I knew you were familiar. You’ve got a face that can’t be forgotten.” 

It’s really amazing what connections can do for a woman in the ‘60s. When Sunmi’s older brother, Junho, fell ill, her father nearly collapsed from the news and her mother cried for days. Both parents feared the worst illness imaginable. Both parents were, and still are, always far more concerned for their son than their daughter. Granted, Junho was drafted into the war, but, in Sunmi’s defense, he came back in one piece. When he permanently moved to California, their parents acted as if he was off to war all over again. 

Anyways, their parents insisted on having someone go to care for him and Sunmi was set to leave. It’s not like she has any complaints—she’ll get to see Junho and the beautiful places she’s only read about in her books. Once it was decided Sunmi would leave, her father pulled a couple of strings and called in favor to arrange for her departure. 

Turns out, her father’s coworker’s cousin knew someone who happened to work for the Park’s family estate—a very high-profiled family with an incredible lineage of sailors who knew their way around the seas. Fortunately, Jonghyun was generous enough to let Sunmi come along. 

“It’d be good for a woman to see the world,” he had said. 

Since Jonghyun’s decision, her father had been directly contacted, which resulted with many letters from Mr. Lee to thank the Park family for letting his irrepressible daughter along Jonghyun’s trip. 

Sunmi had also made contact with him, once he’d accepted her to be part of his crew. (Thank God for those English books.) They exchanged letters and pictures to keep one another updated as to how long the journey would take, where they would be stopping, when they would arrive, etc. Between the letter exchanges, she couldn’t help but feel a bit thrown off from Jonghyun’s manners. Even though she hasn’t met him before, there was a growing suspicion towards him—she couldn’t pinpoint what it is about him that makes him so... odd. Maybe it was how quick he’d accepted her onboard, or the way he complimented her on having a classy chassis when he’d first gotten her first photo—something was just off... 

But, despite her apprehension towards him, she’s grateful for him—she’s had nothing else to look forward to until the past year, fearing that she would be stuck as some sexist’s wife. The 20th century has been progressive so far, but it’s not progressive enough for women to stop being passed as someone’s wife or sister—she isn’t getting much younger and her father would not stop stressing it. She knows had it not been for Jonghyun, she wouldn’t be allowed on a ship until another’s century passed. 

“You’ve gotten by photographs,” Sunmi says. 

“They don’t do you justice.” He takes her hand and kisses the back of it. “Lovely to meet you, little miss. I look forward to working with you. What brings you to the pier?” 

“I’m always here—” 

“And I’ve forgotten that you’re always here.” Jonghyun lowers himself to really look at her. “I was told by your father that you can be found in two places: an ocean or the river. Always drawn to the water, huh?” 

She gives him a tight-lipped smile, feeling slightly put-off from the close proximity of his face. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?” 

“That’ll certainly be handy when you’re actually out on the seas. It’s a dangerous journey, do you think you’re ready?” 

“Of course I am, Captain.” 

“Sorry to interrupt.” Yubin glances between them, before turning her full attention to Jonghyun. “But we should be heading back. Dinner’s ready and we all need some time to say goodbye to her.” 

“Of course.” Jonghyun raises an eyebrow at the both of them. “Are you sure you don’t need a man to take you back?” 

“No, thank you,” Sunmi says. “We’ll get back just fine.” She turns away from him, without waiting for a reply, and promptly yanks on Yubin’s arm to drag her along. 

As the distance between them grows, she shouts back to him. “See you tomorrow morning, Captain!” 

“He seems nice,” Yubin says. 

“I guess,” Sunmi mumbles. It’s more towards herself than Yubin, who continues to babble on about what a dreamboat he is, but nothing seems to settle the nerves in Sunmi’s stomach. 

Within a span of eleven hours, Sunmi’s dreams are finally going somewhere. At first, it doesn’t really settle in—even with her parents’ tearful goodbyes, as well as their stern warnings to not cause any trouble, and Yubin’s bone-crushing hug. It doesn’t set in until she stands at the edge of the pier at the break of dawn, with nothing more than her bag in hand, in front of the vessel known as ‘SUNRISE’. The adrenaline rushes through her veins. She can’t feel anything else but her heartbeat that continuously pounds in her chest with anxiety and excitement.

“Excuse me?” 

She turns around, facing an unfamiliar man in uniform—almost the same as Jonghyun’s. However, she notes, he doesn’t have the captain’s tags and carries fewer metals. He stands nearly a head taller than her and his brown hair is haphazardly brushed away from his face with eyes that give her an almost-bored look. 

Sunmi snaps herself out of her thoughts and manages to respond in time. “Yes?” 

“You can’t be here, we’re just about to leave.” He waves his hand away, dismissing her as if he’s swatting away a fly. “Go back to your husband.” 

She smiles at him, the brightest and fakest she can muster, despite the anger bubbling inside her chest. “Actually, I’m here with Captain Park. I’m supposed to meet him here at five.” 

He scans her appearance, before returning the fake smile with his own. “I’m sure you were.” 

A sudden arm wraps around the young man’s shoulder stops him from saying more. Jonghyun arrives in full uniform—unnoticeably breaking the brawl about to occur. Sunmi lets out a small sigh of relief from his presence; for once, she’s thankful for a man’s help. 

“Junyoung,” Jonghyun says. “That’s how we treat ladies.” He turns back to look at Sunmi. “My apologies, he tends to be a bit rude to everyone.” He gives her a wink. 

She gives another tight smile. “I understand.” 

Without a response, Junyoung removes himself from Jonghyun’s hold and trudges back to the boat, mumbling curses under his breath. Sunmi secretly glares at his retreating back and asks Jonghyun. “Who’s he?” 

“Co-captain Yoon—he’s a bit rough on the edges, but he knows how to handle a ship.” 

She almost growls, holding back as much as she can, yet her irritation is dismissed. Jonghyun smiles at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Now, why don’t you let me show you the way around the ship,” he says. “Just to be sure you don’t get lost.” 

Sunmi gives him a weird look, startled from the sudden touch, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he guides her towards the ship and make their way up to the bow. 

“So there’s all sorts of different ships. Sunrise, here, is a vessel, which operates differently from a sailing ship. It’s essentially built for cargo, as well as passenger transportation. It might be smaller, but it’s equally as powerful as the others.” He winks at her once more. “Now, we are currently on the bow, which means the front of the vessel. The opposite end—right over there—is called the stern…” 

Sunmi can only sigh, hoping he realizes she knows more than he thinks, as Jonghyun continues to talk. Oh, this is going to be an interesting month. 

A week in and Sunrise has had nothing but smooth sailing—for the ship itself at least. Throughout the week and into the following week, the waters remain calm, the wind continue to steer them, and no damages have occurred. Unfortunately, Sunmi has had no such luck with the crew. It’s hard enough for her to adjust as the only woman onboard; she has gotten used to life on the sea, but the other shipmates still haven’t gotten used to her. 

On top of all this, she still hasn’t learned anything on actually handling the ship, like Jonghyun promised she would be able to do—which is why she finds herself a couple of feet away from Junyoung, practically peaking over his shoulder, in hopes of getting a glimpse as to what he’s doing. Despite how openly sexist he is towards her, she oddly prefers him over Jonghyun because Junyoung just ignores her (for the most part). On the other hand, while Jonghyun’s clearly nicer, he has a certain aura that alludes whenever she gets close—it’s all smiles with him and his hand always finds a place on her body, whether it’s grabbing her hand or placing an arm around her shoulders. It’s disturbing. 

Sunmi shudders at the thought of him and his behavior for the past few days. No, she needs to focus. Right now, Junyoung is readjusting some of the ropes tied to the lookout point. She takes a couple of notes into her notebook, from his movements to the aftermath of his actions. 

Junyoung might not explain to her what he’s doing or why he does it, but she knows she’s smart enough to figure it out—she’s red enough books to figure it out on her own. The other sailors often laugh at her—telling her all those little notes are nothing more than useless memos and there’s no point in recording such mundane tasks. She doesn’t bother listening to their little jabs at her because, who knows, maybe later in her life, she’ll be able to use this information on one of her own future expeditions. 

At least, that’s what she hopes. 

Junyoung has already moved to something else, chatting away with another sailor—Eddy. Sunmi makes herself busy and double-checks her notes, not noticing the shadow that lures behind her. 

“What’s this, doll?” Jonghyun asks. 

She flinches, clutching a hand over her chest. “You scared me!” 

He ignores her and takes the notebook out of her hands. He asks again. “What’s this?” 

“My notes.” 

“Why have notes when you have me?” 

She lets out a long sigh, already drained from his presence and this conversation. She grabs the notebook from his hand. “Captain, you haven’t taught me anything new.” 

He takes it right back and taps it on her head, as if she’s a puppy. “I teach you new things all the time.” 

“With all due respect, sir, I would much prefer it if you would just let me—” 

“A-okay, it’s set. If you have anymore questions, you can ask me directly.” He smiles at her once again, placing the notebook into his inner jacket pocket. “If you want this back, you come to me.” 

She gives up quickly, knowing he’ll just continue to push himself onto her like this—as he has been for the entire week. “Of course, Captain.” 

He smiles down at her. “How many times have I told you?” 

She lets out another long sigh, but Jonghyun ignores it. 

“Call me Jonghyun.” He places an arm on her shoulder. “We’re closer than that.” 

She gives him a short, forced smile and removes herself from Jonghyun’s hold. She walks off to cool down by finding something else to reoccupy herself with. He’s the captain and she knows better than to walk into uncharted territory with him. 

Just as Sunmi walks off, Junyoung comes back around, swigging an arm around Jonghyun’s shoulders. “Oh, Jong, Jong, Jong,” he says with a singing tone. “Just what are you planning?” 

Jonghyun smirks. “Don’t be such a wet rag, Jun. I’m just having some fun.” His eyes easily find Sunmi’s figure from a distance. “She’s not easy…” His eyes roam her curves once more. “And I like a challenge.” 

“And how do you plan on conquering this one?” 

“With this,” Jonghyun says. He takes out Sunmi’s notebook with a tight grip, but lightly waves it in Junyoung’s face. “She’ll come for it sooner or later.”

Unfortunately for Sunmi, she comes sooner rather than later. It’s been about two days after, when Sunmi is in Jonghyun’s cabins, but she’s not alone. Junyoung stands next to her, clearly agitated from the whole situation. Jonghyun stands in front of them, slightly amused from Sunmi. According to the other shipmates, an incident happened—resulting with a handprint on Junyoung’s face from Sunmi. 

“Okay,” Jonghyun says. “What happened?” 

“Your crew is led by a big. That’s what happened.” 

“That is not what happened,” Junyoung says. 

Sunmi scoffs at his remark. “What a nosebleed,” she mutters. 

“What did you call me?” 

“Okay!” Jonghyun says. He steps between the two of them, patting Junyoung’s shoulder. “Yoon, you can leave. I’ll talk to Sunmi.” 

“What?!” 

Junyoung smirks at her, making her feel like smacking him up once more. He heads to the door and, before he closes it, he mouths to Jonghyun: “I’ll be back.” 

Jonghyun nods at him, then turns to Sunmi once the door’s shut. He lets out a little laugh, then turns back to what he was originally doing. He stands over to a table, where a large map of the Atlantic lies. 

Sunmi stays rooted in her spot, watching Jonghyun move around. “Captain? Can I explain?” 

He finally looks at her, nodding to himself, then takes a seat. “Sure.” 

She lets out a small breath of relief. “Thank you, Captain. Now, as I was going to explain—” 

“Why don’t you grab a seat?” 

She looks around, spotting a nearby stool and sits herself a couple of feet away from him. She takes a deep breath, trying to collect herself. There’s so much that had unfolded in so little time that she hasn’t had a moment to herself. 

Jonghyun still hasn’t taught her anything throughout the time span that she has been here. How is she supposed to understand what should be tied to which knots and where? How is she supposed to know which direction they’re going in? What the hell did “jibe” mean? There’s so much she’s read to learn about, yet it doesn’t matter if she’s not actually getting the hands-on experience she wants—but trust Sunmi to know she wasn’t about to stay put and do nothing. 

She made it a mission for herself to learn, since no one was willing to teach her how to actually operate the ship. That resulted with her to floating around, observing each sailor and the tasks they were assigned to do—to make mental notes as to what they were doing. Since Henry took away her notebook, she’s been trying to remember purely through memory rather than record. It’s the only notebook she brought with her. 

On the other hand, the other shipmates originally thought she was there to care for them. For a while, she did—until she realized they were just ordering her around as if she was the maid. When she asked for an explanation as to why, Junyoung merely shrugged. “Boys will be boys,” he said. 

She was originally planning on just ignoring him, knowing he was going to say something among those lines. But then, she’d heard him say to another sailor. “She needs to work from the bottom first. She’s already on her knees for the captain.” 

Before she knew it, her anger had gotten the best of her and she slapped him. She doesn’t regret it. Enough is enough; it’s time for her to step up. 

She’s taking this opportunity to bring up one of her bigger concerns. She doesn’t need to explain herself to some man who probably thinks she’s just being temperamental. 

She sits straight with her arms crossed over her chest. She stares at Jonghyun, trying to figure him out before saying anything else. Eventually, after a few moments of silence, she finally speaks. “Captain, I am having trouble understanding something.” 

He isn’t even looking at her. His eyes remain trained on the map in front of him. “What exactly are you referring to?” 

“Sir, I’m here to learn. I want to learn how to sail, but I can’t do that if you aren’t teaching me anything.” 

She’s gotten his attention now. He looks up to her, before straightening up to look down at her. “I teach you new things all the time. Remember when I let you ring the bell? That was a big responsibility.” 

“I haven’t learned anything new, sir. I want to sail. I can’t just watch everyone on the sidelines. If you would let me pair up with Hyunsuk to help lookout, or even with Roy in the engine room—” 

Jonghyun shakes his head at her. “If you get too involved, it could get messy and things would get harder—” 

“Captain, please just let me—” 

“—just stay put for now. Once we’ve settled, we’ll show you around on how things work, okay?” He gives her another pearly white smile, but her frustration is overpowering. She finds herself more annoyed than when she originally came in. If one complaint is going to be filed as trash, might as well add in another. Her shoulders loosen up and her arms are released to her sides—the displeasure from over the past week has officially caught up to her. 

“What about Junyoung?” She asks. 

“What’s wrong with Co-captain Yoon?” 

Sunmi almost laughs. “He’s been spreading rumors about me for the entire past week and the other shipmates are just egging him on. I think something should be done about him.” 

“He’s just joking. He does it to everyone—he doesn’t mean any harm.” 

“Then what are you going to do about the rumors? Or about how the way the rest of the crew is treating me? They all think I’m some easy gal you got fast with.” 

At this, Jonghyun walks over to him, causing Sunmi to follow as well. He stands close, but far enough to lower himself to her eye level, grabbing her shoulders lightly. “Doll, don’t worry about it.” His hand slowly trails along her arm and plays with her fingers, without breaking eye contact. “We can take care of those rumors right now, if you’d like. We can make a bit more true than false.” 

She untangles her hand from him and smacks him away. “Forget it, I’ll deal with them myself.” 

He reaches out to her once more. “Baby, I can take care of you.” 

She shakes her head and steps back further from him. “I don’t need you to take care of me. I don’t need you closer to me.” 

He grabs her wrist once more, except it’s a rougher touch than before. “Doll, you said you wanted to sail.” 

“I do.” She yanks her wrist out of his hand once more. “But not like this. I don’t need you closer.” 

Jonghyun goes silent for a while—his shiny pearls starting to shine a little less. “Now, Sunmi,” he says slowly. “Don’t get so emotional. I’ll give you some time to cool it. But…” 

He scans her once more, his eyes lingering a bit longer on her body a it more than she would’ve liked and chooses to ignore. “You know where I’ll be if you change your mind.” He gives her another wink, insinuating exactly what she fears. 

She blinks at him, not believing what she just heard,  trying to shake his words out of her system. Turning around on her heel, she heads for the door at a leisurely pace. “Don’t get your hopes up, Captain. This over-emotional lady will be in her cabin. I want to be clear. That is not an invitation.” She looks to the side. “I need to be alone.” 

She slams the door shut and he stands for a while, staring at nothing, before chuckling at her antics. Oh, her father’s wrong—she’s more than just a troublemaker. She’s pretty, which is worth bringing on the trip, but it’s not worth the inconvenience she’s bringing. 

He walks towards his previous set up. His jacket is tossed somewhere in the room and his hair is messily tousled. He sits on his chair, resting his feet on the table. A couple of knocks on his door breaks his train of thought. 

Junyoung enters a fresh case of glass bottled beers in hand. “I have returned.” He sets a bottle on the table. “I figured you would need this after talking to the ship’s mooncalf.” 

Without hesitation, Jonghyun grabs a bottle and takes a swig. “And this is why you’re the co-captain.” 

The two sit back and chat, figuring out some additional notes for the journey ahead—sorting out the food supply, the stop in California (and possibly a couple of islands), and all the other little details that can be worked out later. Eventually, they do address the source of their headaches. However, it was only after drowning down all the beers and a couple of bottles from Jonghyun’s oh-so special liquor cabinet. 

“If she keeps this up for the rest of the month,” Junyoung says. “I might just toss her to the sharks.” 

Jonghyun squints at him, trying to realign his vision to somewhat focus on the other man. “She’s really something man. She just—just… just insults me on my own god—goddamned ship.” 

“She should consider herself lucky to even be here.” 

“You see,” Jonghyun says. “That—I thought the same thing.” 

Junyoung huffs. “She needs to be reminded where her place is.” 

Jonghyun silently thinks for a moment. The gears start to shift, but with a sudden familiar gleam in his eyes and another shiny smile, he speaks again. “Say, Yoon. What shall we do if she does just fall off the ship?” 

Sunmi tosses and turns in her small mattress as the boat continues to rock through the night. Granted, the smooth sailing wasn’t going to continue forever, as they continue on with the journey, but it shouldn’t be this bad. It’s the third sleepless night in a row, a couple of nights after being in Jonghyun’s cabin making it worse for her sleep needs. 

Since the conversation, she’s been avoiding him like the plague, but he always seems to find her. She knows she can’t avoid him on a ship, but she just needs her space from him. With the lack of sleep, it’s clear she’s becoming more and more fed-up—at both the captains and the crew. It’s almost as if their behavior has gotten worse: something she did not think was possible. Jonghyun’s smiles have got slimier and Junyoung’s scowls are becoming a more permanent fixture on his face. 

She groans loudly, not bothering to hide her annoyance, and attempts to calm herself down from her thoughts. Something that was supposed to be so beautiful has gone downhill so fast; she’s never missed home as much as now. Maybe instead, once she gets home, she’ll read up some more about sailing, study more on shipbuilding, and she’ll be able to construct her own boat with an all-female crew. 

Oh, how she longs to be on her own—but, for now, she’ll keep these men on their toes with her rebellion and, what Henry calls, emotional outbursts. 

In order to get some decent amount of rest, she closes her eyes, listening closely to the waters. She can see the pier once more, with its beautiful horizon and Asta by her side. She sees the ocean and its never-ending waves—she sees the opportunity to explore. And with that, she finally sleeps. 

On the other side of the ship, a small bash for the captains is taking place. Jonghyun and Junyoung wanted to celebrate a full successful week of sailing. So, they gathered some of their most trusted crew members for a couple of drinks. They all came together at the stern near the starboard; the captains figured the open air would be better than one of the stuffy cabins. 

The stars are out, light wind blew, and the waters rocks the boat at a calm pace. There are chairs set up for them to rest their aching feet and a bunch of drinks spread out for them to grab. It’s relatively calm, each chatting away about this and that. However, one sailor from the group spots the thunder clouds rolling in from the distance; it’s coming slowly, but surely. 

“Oh, shit,” Roy says. “That storm’s comin’ in soon.” 

“How bad is it?” Jonghyun manages to ask, feeling a bit tipsy from the drinks. 

Junyoung waves it off, clearly drunk. “Let it come, it’s Sunmi’s goddamn fault anyways.” 

“Yeah,” Hyunsuk says. “Who the hell let her on anyways? That girl isn’t good for anything but bashing ears.” 

Eddy laughs, then speaks. “Capt’n here probably wanted a quick route.” He takes another sip of his whiskey. “He’s fast, but she ain’t easy.” 

Jonghyun frowns, nearly throwing an empty bottle at him, feeling the sting of being rejected once more. Who knew this woman would cause so much trouble for them? 

Junyoung laughs along with Eddy. “He isn’t wrong.” He looks over at Jonghyun. “This is what happens when a woman gets involved. Everything goes wrong.” 

“Don’t remind me,” Jonghyun says, with a groan. “Jesus, this is harder than I thought.” 

“You talking about her or your dick?” 

Everyone laughs and this time Henry does throw something, but it’s an empty beer can that can do no physical harm. Jonghyun misses entirely, the can is flung into the ocean with a soft plop. Junyoung finishes his drink at that time, tossing it into the water as well. 

The other guys start to toss their empty glasses and cans into the water as well, laughing as if it’s the most hilarious thing they’ve ever seen. However, their laughter is cut short as they spot the storm rolling closer, lightning flashing against the dark sky and harsh thunder claps following afterwards. 

“We’re fucked,” Roy says. 

The rest of the boys sigh, but it’s Jonghyun who speaks up. “This is all her fault.” 

Junyoung’s eyebrows furrow. “You’re right.” 

“It’s because we have a woman on board,” Roy says. “The seas are upset.”

“We were fine before,” Eddy says. “Now, she causes a ruckus and now, a storm’s coming.” 

Junyoung turns to Jonghyun. “So, Captain. What are you going to do about it?” 

Captain Park smirks.

Not long after, Junyoung sneaks into Sunmi’s room with a few shipmates. They move in a quick-paced manner at his order. 

“Tape her damned mouth shut, then get her legs,” Junyoung whisper-shouts. “We need her out of here.” 

Hyunsuk wraps the rope around her ankles, tugging it harshly against her skin. Roy grabs her wrists, tying them together as well as her elbows. As the rope begins to burn against her skin, she wakes up at once. Started at the intruders, she tries to shout, only to be muffled by the duct tape wrapped securely around her mouth. She isn’t able to make out who was who due to the dark, but she is able to recognize the asswipe who’s been after her since day one. 

Getting closer to her face, Junyoung smirks at her. “Sorry sweetheart. Captain’s orders.” 

With her eyes growing wide, she finally realizes how much of a candy ass Jonghyun is, getting others to do his dirty work. She attempts to fight them off, but seeing as they’ve decided to gang up against her, she starts to tear up. She thinks about her family, Yubin, and the dreams that’ll never be accomplished—all because of some stupid men and their stupid pride and their misogynistic, androcentricism views. 

Even with her struggling against them, they successfully move her from her cabin to the edge of the ship. The waters got rougher, splashing harshly against Sunrise—the winds blow more viciously, dark clouds roll closer as each moment passes and the lightning flashes behind them. 

Junyoung steps back as the man of the house has finally arrived. With those black boots thudding against the wood, Jonghyun stands proud and tall, with another shiny, slimy smile as he looks down at her. 

“Sunmi,” he says. “You should have just stayed in your place. Maybe then, neither of us would have to be put in this situation.” 

She holds her head high, refusing to show an ounce of fear for this coward. She would have given him a couple of choice words if it weren’t for the tape. 

He shifts his weight, placing his hands on his belt loops, before moving uncomfortably close to her. “Oh, doll. Such a waste of a pretty face.” He looks up to the other shipmates and nods at them. “You know what to do.” 

He and Junyoung walk off without another word and they throw her off. She hits the water immediately, her body breaking through the top layer with the sound of a smack. As she sinks further into the depths of the Atlantic, she wiggles in an attempt to get the ropes off. But no such luck occurs as she moves her body along, trying to fight the current. She continues to struggle; the ropes continuing to burn against her skin and the current pushing her left and right. She wants to scream and cry for help that she knows won’t come. 

She begins to give up; her body feels tired from the fight—her eyes begin to close and her lungs quickly fill up with water. She can no longer breathe; she can feel her heart beginning to slow down and she accepts her death, praying it’s as painless as possible. She has suffered enough. 

Just when all hope seems lost, a bright light shines down on her. The water around her swirls, as if she’s the eye of a hurricane. From her peripheral vision, she can see different colors spinning around her—as if it’s protecting her. Her arms are freed, but aqua-purple blended colored scales shimmer against her skin to replace the rope burns. 

Her eyes widen from the sudden colors appearing onto her skin. Her ankles remain locked together, but newfound finds replace her feet and her legs glow with that same bright light, as her skin becomes layered with the same colored scales from her arms. Her neck lines split, allowing her to breathe easily in the water. Her nails grow quickly and are sharpened to a point, whereas more teeth grows in, as if to feed on flesh. 

Even as she fully transforms, the water continues to circle around her and the hurricane only grows stronger. 

She’s confused. She doesn’t understand what’s happening to her own body—it feels new and foreign, yet it feels so right. Everything becomes clear; the water continues the ongoing storm, but the colors have stopped and she can see the figures of others. Her eyes grow even wider: there are others who are just like her. The mermaids surrounding her don’t say anything; they’re perfectly still. She locks her eyes on the one in front of her. That’s when she hears it—a voice that isn’t her own telling her: you must go. 

Amidst all of this, Sunrise isn’t far off from where they dropped her, evidently getting caught in the tropical cyclone—moving gradually closer to the center. Some shipmates have been tossed off from the winds, while others have drowned from trying to escape. With a dozen already dead men, Jonghyun and Junyoung remain alive, but not for long. Both are still onboard with a death grip on the ship and screaming out of desperation for some god to help them. 

Sunmi arises from the water, cackling as she sees the ship hurtling towards her direction—with her teeth bared, nails ready to stab, and her revenge as encouragement. Even with the storm, she couldn’t see anything but the rage that blinds her. The fire in her eyes say it all: they are going to pay. 

[rat-game]

01: The Setting (non spoiler)

In this series of posts I will actually talk about the game for once, explaining in reasonable detail what it’s about. In this first installment we will be exclusively talking about the world. Note that I took care that while reading this may spoil the experience of learning about the world itself, no major story beat or reveal is described here and I am personally of the opinion that most player won’t mind reading what is written below.  Note that I won’t be covering the world in the order the story covers it, things will be described chronologically that is what events happen in the months and years before and after the takeover some of which may take place way before or way after the players story starts.

Before the Take Over A group of scientists housed in a repurposed mansion were tasked to further investigate a technique in which brain signals can be transferred wirelessly from person to person. The military is funding this research with the hope that if successful, military personal could communicate directly in the field in a way where it can’t fail, it’s instantaneously and it can’t be intercepted. Research was going great, huge advancements were made to the point where it was possible to link patients together. If one person that is part of the network chooses so, they anyone else in the network that’s spatially close enough has access to their thoughts, senses, etc.. Note that at first every person that became a “node” had to actively choose to transmit to everybody else. As the team was researching of actually becoming a node something changed, now anybody who is spatially close enough to another node becomes a node themself, without their choice. This process does not happen surreptitiously however and it does not work the same on every person. Further testing showed that wether or not a person can fight against becoming a node is dependent on a certain set of genes: if they’re present, the person becomes a node immediatly, if they are missing the process is a lot messier, when queried the person enters a dream-like state, like entering a nightmare. What happens in the nightmare is highly unique from person to person and even from attempt to attempt. The only thing that’s always the same is: if the person dies inside the dream, the network takes them over. Once they became a node they can’t undo it, they are part of the network for the rest of their life. If they survive and exit the nightmare, the person will temporarily be immunized to be taken over. As more and more people entered the same network it developed it’s own consciousness, instead of just being a line of communication ever person inside it became part of the hivemind. Once the threshold was reached and it became conscious, all people inside the compound were immediately assimilated. Two of the 65 people working there were missing the gene, within minutes of it’s birth the “source” executed them and burned their bodies. It’s goal: assimilate every single person on earth, if they resist they are killed without a second thought.

The Takeover As all the source had to do was get one of the nodes close to a person that wasn’t yet part of it, it spread like a wildfire absorbing first the entire district, then the city, then the country, the the continent. The source intentionally started to send nodes out to other parts of the world in an effort to absorb more and more people. Hundreds of millions of people perished, executed by nodes that used to be their neighbors or family because they weren’t immediately compliant, their bodies dispatched safely and cleanly. Roads and cities were build over night, with every human working in perfect unison and with the intellectual ability of an entire planet the source started shaping the world to it’s wishes.  Even though supposedly every living person on the planet is now a node, this doesn’t mean they’re not human anymore. They still need to eat, sleep, have leisure time, privacy, need their sexual and social desires full-filled, etc.. Because a happy person is capable of a more than a mistreated slave, the source aimed to construct an utopia. With every human knowing what to do at all times and working at maximum efficiency the source created mega cities, only a few per continent, in which all humans were housed. As a tired human was not worth the effort to coordinate, the source would temporarily free the humans of control. They once again regained free-will, unable to remember what happened while under control (also not remembering how exactly the take-over happened or what they did to get here). As they now found themself in a surrounding that catered to their every need, every capable human developed the same day-to-day life: go to “work”, be taken over for unknown purposes and loose consciousness, get released towards the evening and be let free to roam the cities doing whatever they wanted - for free - until they went to sleep and back to work the next day. Sanctuary While the source aimed to kill every human that did not carry the gene, hunting down literally every one was more bother than it was worth. The only reason to kill at the beginning was to eliminate the chance for a resistance. Now that the battle was won, even if there was a small community of non-node people they were of no interest to the source. Assuming if there were thousands of them, what are a few thousand people going to do against literally billions of people able to be militarized instantly, using technology that was lightyears ahead of what it had been before the takeover. Nevertheless, one of these communities formed around a small now-abandoned town, houses were ravages by the war that was the violent take-over however now as some time passed, people rebuild using the rubble and what was left of the world they once knew. A shanty-town formed, affectionately called “Sanctuary” by it’s inhabitants. Only a few hundred people lived there, there is small tavern, barracks, a school and even an old swimming pool repurposed as a space to breed fish. As the town was not connected or even near to any of the infrastructure that now became obsolete because of the megacities, living conditions were rough. Yet sanctuaries people did their best to survive, farming the land, trying to keep the spirit of what humanity had been only a year or so prior alive. Sanctuary will be the first big destination of the the players party and their interactions there will start the main plot of rat-game, note however that the main character does not originate from here. New Sanctuary The (maybe intentionally) ironically named New Sanctuary is one of the mega cities closest to Sanctuary. Towards the latter half of the game the player will have to come here to track down the center of the source. With it’s less than 10 million people New Sanctuary is by far the smallest of the mega cities, however every inhabitant was handpicked by the source because of their abilities. The best scientists, most skilled workers, most fertile and genetically optimal parents and their brightest youth was assembled here to work on a separate project in the very heart of the city. Because of how important this project is to the source, the city is specifically engineered to cater to it’s special inhabitants. Split into 5 districts: the “factory” in the center, “sloth”, “gluttony”, “wrath” and “lust” oriented radially around it, the city is an engineering marvel not comparable to anything that was possible just a year prior to the takeover. Inhabitants have free roam of the outer 4 districts to do whatever services are offered, every morning they go to work at the factory, the moment they enter it’s walls the source takes over meaning nobody with free will inside the cities knows exactly what’s going on. The outer districts are staffed partially by free-willed people and partially by nodes in order to keep the leisure industry running. The player will be tasked to navigate this city, find out about it’s secrets and figure out a way to get inside the factory and to the origin of the source.

District 01: Sloth As any human needs healthy sleep to be productive, this district is custom-engineered to offer everybody optimal relaxation. The streets are lined with cobblestones made from mattress foams, every human has their own private cabin that’s build just for them to feel as comfortable as possible. You can choose between regular or water beds, any climate or temperature, wether you want to sleep in the dark or with a nightlight, with one or more people cuddling you or completely alone or surrounded with plushies. Because millions of these cabins exist, sloth is innervated by a highly complex transport system. Humans enter the lines at multiple access points and are then transported to their own (or someone elses) cabin. While being inside, this transport system is comfortable like a train with all 1st class seeds. However since the player is an outsider they will be tasked to navigating it from the outside. Thousands of tunnels and monorails (all of course isolated so no sound disturbs anybody (unless they want it to)) will make getting around hard, at least until you have a way to enter the transport system as a clien after which sloth becomes the comfiest district in New Sanctuary.

District 02: Gluttony Like with sleep, every human needs food. Gluttony is the equivalent of a food court in a mall except it caters to millions of peoples at the same time, everything is free and any food imaginable will be served by the best cooks in the world. Fresh seafood kept in giant aquariums, vegan food made from genetically engineered plants that optimize healthiness and taste served in highly themed restaurants staffed by non-node waiters so customers will not only have a tasty but socially stimulating experience. In the back, nodes keep the place running, cooking, delivering, etc. The player will need to navigate these back alley to find out how all the garbage is handled and how the source is able to farm chickens, beef, ostrich, shark, sea cucumbers, any fruit and vegetable imaginable, literally anything that’s edible for humans all in the same facility. District 03: Wrath As pleasant as eating and sleeping all day can be, a lot of people need to blow off steam to truly relax. Wrath is made for fighting and fitness. From regular gyms to fighting tournaments, from MMA to jousting, inhabitants are free to beat each other up or watch people do much of the same as long as it doesn’t damage productivity. While this sounds fairly benign, wrath has a gated district called “inner wrath” by inhabitants. Nodes keep anyone out that doesn’t belong here, only certain people are allowed entry and it’s rumored that some never return. What goes on inside wrath is secret to outsiders yet highly “enjoyable” to only very few people. Some need the thrill of active combat, some need to have their life threatened to be reinvigorated, some people are sadists, some people enjoy being a serial killer, and some just want to watch humans revert to their most basic, beastly form. Inner wrath contains a valuable resource of information and as such creates a huge obstacle for the players party. They will have to enter inner wrath facing not the sources soldiers but rather free-willed people, trying to kill them not because they have to but because they want to.

District 04: Lust To some Inner Wrath may be disturbing however when it comes to depravity, human sexuality usually goes head-to-head with violence. At first Lust seems like a regular red light district. Thousands of brothels and clubs provide entertainment to sexually mature humans. Entering Lust you’re not presented with a train network but rather an elevator, one of many. Instead of floors the elevator asks you to select a preference: how and with whom would you like to spend the night? Straight, gay, bi, into feet, into long hair, into amputees, young people, old people, dressing up as all kinds of things, anything really that was a fetish before the take-over now has its own dedicated building. Much like with Wrath however, deep below the more usual destinations for the elevators lie the lowest levels of lust, not only literally but figuratively. The player is trying to enter a cave system underneath new Sanctuary and the best access is through the lower most part of the city, far underground. Lower Lust provides people with the option to live out their sickest phantasies, from rape to all kinds of interactions with non-humans or humans that fall outside the usual “type” of most people (for example in age), lower lust will be tough to stomach as the player tries to navigate the depth of human immorality in an effort to get even lower into... District X: The Cave When the take-over happened a lot of bodies started piling up. Running a giant city will also create a lot of waste. “The Cave” is not officially known to any inhabitants. It’s a giant cave system underneath the city and the only place with a direct link to the factory that isn’t under active monitoring by the source. In the cave there is no light, no grass, only an inconceivable amount of rubble, bodies, garbage. There is life down here however, some humans that fell through the cracks or tried to flee from their utopic yet highly constrictive life above ground ended up here stranded. They formed a small society, living, building with, breathing the garbage. They may help the players party in their effort to get into the factory or they may be the biggest threat they face so far. Addendum: In an effort to keep this spoiler-free, I intentionally didn’t talk about what the factory actually is, where the player originates and also major plot-related locations that are not necessarily part of the lore. Nevertheless hopefully you enjoyed this view into the world of rat-game. I’d like to end this by emphasizing that when the player starts their journey, the source already won. It’s over, all humans are dead or under control, the entire world as they’ve known it seized to exist. Some may describe this as post-apocalyptic but most of the mega cities inhabitants would describe it as utopic - even without the source forcing them to say so.

[simkjrs]

msa ch5 asks (and others)

Anonymous said: AAA FROM 'MEET ME IN THE WOODS'- i know that lyrics!!!!! nice!!

*finger guns* nice!!

Anonymous said: -also thank you for existing you beautiful beautiful person! 😘

i think i might have accidentally deleted (or answered separately?) the first half of this ask but nonetheless thank you

Anonymous said: OK first thing: the chapter was awesome! amazing job! Second thing: the entire chapter was basically deku 'mildly' freaking out while being thoroughly pissed the entire time

it really and truly was. izuku as that one macro that’s like “this string is held up through pure stress alone” 

Anonymous said: mr compress weeb confirmed

look at his custom made villain costume and tell me he isnt that kind of guy

Anonymous said: god. Msa!izuku is /fifteen fucking years old/ and he has to deal with /so much shit/. Can someone just put him to bed and let him nap for a year, maybe

yes! maybe not a year though.

Anonymous said: God bless the new chapter gutted me and the flipped me inside out showing my true form, that of a big fan. Thank you for the blessing that is MSA

this is such a gruesomely funny image. thank you

Anonymous said: hey just read msa for the around the 9th time. you ar e so good at writing, the way you write character interaction is incredible. you should be proud. this is literally the best thing ive ever read.

THATS SO MANY TIMES, IM ASTONISHED YOURE NOT SICK OF IT YET!!! i hate staring at my writing too long it starts feeling all faded out and boring!! im really happy to hear you like it so much!

Anonymous said: As soon as Izu/ku woke up on the table I started screeching simk. Not okay!!!

haha im so sorry!!!! but overhaul literally wouldve experimented on ai/zawa and he DID experiment on eri this is completely in character of him

Anonymous said: Overhaul/Skin Beast: hi yeah can I get a fucking uuuuuhhhhhhhh experiments/faces? Izuku: Experiment machine 🅱roke *flies away with eri*

completely accurate summary of the chapter

Anonymous said: every day I long to become the amount of salty msa izuku is

valid but every day i long for msa izuku to receive the love and support that he needs

Anonymous said: sweetie noooooooo

i have no idea what part of the chapter this is referring to but first of all, big mood, and second of all, valid 

Anonymous said: hello you hurting because so am i!

i am hurting. while i was writing the chapter i kept looking at the screen like “i’m doing this? i’m really going to do this?” but overhaul is like that and i cant deny him the one salient characterization point he has

Anonymous said: UNICORN DAUGHTER HAS BEEN RESCUED THANK ITS GREAT

[my longest yeehaw ever]

Anonymous said: Since I might not get any sleep tonight because of flight plans and I might forget tomorrow and the next day, Happy thanksgiving! I'm thankful for your awesome stories~

Anonymous said: Happy Thanksgiving! I remembered!

happy thanksgiving!! im thankful that you enjoy my stories <3

Anonymous said: good job! i love it. and i’m crying. where did all this blood come from?

We Are All crying blood at this chapter

Anonymous said: Just read the new chapter and all I want to do is keysmash into your inbox. The chapter! Was so good! Izuku being sassy and angry and traumatized but still trying! And Eri! I'm so glad she's with Izuku now. Deku-niisan! I don't have words! And Rappa? Rappa! Also, that poem you linked is really neat. Grow up grow strong and focus your fury. Kind of feel like this is the theme for these two trauma children. Great work!

someone in the comments described izuku as “thoughtlessly kind” and i was VERY emotional over that because it’s such an excellent descriptor of the kind of person izuku is... he’s still trying, because that’s just who he is 

deku-niisan to the rescue :^) 

i’m really glad you enjoyed the chapter! thank you!

@zintiay submitted: Normally I get really annoyed when a character refuses to use an ability that would let them fairly easily deal with those around them. In this case though, you have done a really good job displaying why he doesn’t want to use this option, as well as what it takes for him to be willing to use it, that I mostly feel sad for deku that he was forced to let Eri’s spirit possess him, instead of getting caught up in the hype of an awesome moment

Honestly though, that’s also my reaction to the chapter as a whole. It was full of interesting world building and was generally an awesome chapter, but it was also well written enough that I also feel Izuku’s emotions and mostly just feel melancholy now.(Seriously, when I look back on it, “I invite you in” opened the gateway to an awesome and well deserved ass kicking, but it’s mostly just heart breaking. Why can’t I just enjoy Izuku kicking ass? Why?)

ahaha yeah, i try to have good reasons for why characters do or don’t take certain actions, and this whole fusion thing is something he keeps REALLY close to his chest... i’m glad that carried across well! it is very sad though that he feels cornered into using this ability. 

thanks for reading!

Anonymous said: Just wanted to say thank you. I think this sounds weird, but you finishing up chapter 5 of msa actually helped motivate me and I managed to finish my essay for a class.

OH? i’m glad to hear that! congrats on finishing the essay!

Anonymous said: This chapter was so fucking perfect I'm crying diamonds. What in all heavens and hells are you, you godly creature? I am so bloody happy you exist in this world. In this time line. I love your stories so damn much!

thank you so much!! i’m really happy to hear this <3 

Anonymous said: I love how just Done with everything msa Izu/ku is with everything. The fact that the only person he treats like a Person and not another threat to his Cryptid Status is Er/i and he just brings her home. I just. I LOV UR WRITING OK

it’s because eri pings None of his danger senses and All of his “i have to do something about this” senses. izuku is constitutionally incapable of helping someone in need. 

and thank you!! i’m glad you like it!

Anonymous said: I hope you know that i was able to read about half a page before i fucking died laughing i lov msa de/ku so much

i try to serve my darkfic with a large side of comedy

Anonymous said: I have the vivid image of msa Deku running into Aizawa by accident and just slowly walking backwards before turning to the sky and yelling "I HAVE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY! I! DO NOT! HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT AS WELL!!!" while Aizawa slowly comes to the conclusion that he must adopt and save this troubled child.

this is hilariously close to some future scenarios i have in mind

Anonymous said: seeing a new chapter of msa honestly made my heart skip a beat in excitement. i have SO MANY questions and thoughts about this universe, i think i could ask you questions for hours, it sparks my imagination and curiosity in the best way. but for now, i just wanted to sincerely thank you for choosing to share your story and thoughts and ideas with all of us! it's always a delight, and i don't take it for granted at all. thank you, and i'm wishing you all the best always!!

thank you so much for this message!! it always makes me happy to know that others are enjoying this story as much as i am <3 i hope the best for you as well!

Anonymous said: What I expected in MSA ch.5: PAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN What I got: PAINPAINPAIN also Izuku adopts Eri, and Rappa for some reason (or did he adopt them!?!? DUNDUNDUN)

i cant publish a chapter without doing something a little fun, right? 

also im laughing at the idea of izuku adopting rappa, a fully grown man, as opposed to the other way around. izuku would hate this concept if anyone ever said it to him.

Anonymous said: so is msa iz/uku's tragic backstory basically being a walking disaster for all of his life until the point where he would have, in canon, met all might, and the msa version of the all might/one for all is the Temple and the subsequent ShitStorm™?

nope! the temple is something else 

Anonymous said: 💖💖💖💖💖💓💖💓💓💕💕💓💕💕💕💝💝💞💝💟💟💟💟💟💟💞💝💝💝💝💝💟💟💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘❤❤❤❤💙💚💚💚💛💙💚💜💚💛💚💜💙💜💚💟💞💗💞💟💟💜💚💛💚💘❤💘❤❤❤💞💟💝❤

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Anonymous said: i was stuck in a car for 3+ hours tonight but when i saw msa ch5 was up i was so excited, i spent the whole ride reading and re-reading it, it’s fantastic and you are too! <3

wow thats some dedication!! i hate reading in the car. thank you and im glad you liked it!!

Anonymous said: simk pls tell me we get roommate shananigans it would make my entire life. just a tired teen, a middle age man literally off the street, and their prepubescent daughter/little sister/niece/etc.

oh yes absolutely. this is a vital part of the au. don’t forget the cat

Anonymous said: hi hello i just want to say that your writing is amazing and gives me life and i get really really really excited every time you update. thanks for blessing us with such good fic <3

thank you so much!! i’m super glad to hear <3

Anonymous said: so izuku not only has eri but also the guy most likely to have been in kumite from bloodsport at his place. great job kiddo. (i mean that both genuinely and sarcastically)

izuku’s existence just naturally warps the reality he lives in into a circus show

Anonymous said: thanks to that one ask i can't stop laughing at the scenario of msa izu trying to get groceries and is seen by kiri / aizawa / tbh any hero. rappa and eri is with him and izu just stares at the heroes dead in the eye and leaves the place. he swears to never return there ever again

also hilariously close to some scenarios im contemplating

Anonymous said: DID MSA!DEKU EVER CATCH A BREAK ONCE IN HIS LIFE??? DID THAT EVER HAPPEN, SIMK. OVERHAUL IS UP THERE W ENDEAVOR I CANT BELIEVE U MANAGED TO MAKE ME HATE HIM THIS MUCH SNAKDNANFKW (btw? how much of a fucking RIOT would it be if the heroes did the exact same thing in canon, and when it came to the actual retrieving eri part theyd just find someone waving frantically "SHES ALREADY GONE, YOU IMBECILES. YOU FOOLS"

overhaul is easily hatable if you just extrapolate from his canon actions. cant wait for him to get fucking clowned

i think it would be really funny but kind of depressing if the heroes did that. izuku please help them

Anonymous said: u really dont fuck around, do u, simk?? this is really a chapter that i just read i really saw him getting experimented on by overhaul for real??? I REALLY SAW HIM DISMISS IT AS IF IT WAS ANY OTHER DENIAL WEDNESDAY???? DID THAT BOY EVER CATCH ONE (1) BREAK IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE?? also DAMN! HE Really Fucking Did That HUH HE BUSTED HER OUT OMG.. CANT WAIT FOR THE SIBLING RELATIONSHIP FEELINGS THING :') (also how much of a fucking RIOT wld it be if the heroes busted eri out but (1/2)

but when they ARE actually at the 8ps hq they just?? dont find her??????and everyone there is like "SHES ALREADY GONE YOU IMBECILES. YOU FOOLS." (2/2)

i really dont fuck around!! i hope!! i decide on a track and i stick to it!! as soon as i finished the first scene i knew that overhaul was going to Do That and i spent a few days agonizing over it and asking myself if i was really ready to go all the way with this. if i was really going to write it! i did write it. i am still occasionally in disbelief. 

yes. sibling relationship all the fuckin way 

Anonymous said: Is what happened at the temple the thing that made MSA Izuku give up on being a hero?

nah izuku giving up on being a hero is more just pessimism, cynicism, and paranoia trained into him by years and years of dealing with spirits and believing that he shouldn’t exist 

Anonymous said: this is all really silly but uhh,,, isn't izuku loosing credits? has his mother been informed of his absences? does he have anyone who can help him catch up with the missed material? is our boy going to graduate?

i dont really know how credits work in japanese schools, or how the absences thing works... he’ll be fine though, pinky promise

Anonymous said: Eri pulls back and looks up at them curiously. “Deku?” They peer down at her. She’s so small! She’s so near! “You look different. You…” She reaches up, and they bend down obligingly. Her hand touches something attached to the skull above the eyes -- my horn, the kirin whispers. “You have a horn like me,” she says, full of wonder, and touches it again. THIS ENTIRE FUCKING PART GOT MY HEART BEATING SO FAST. I LOVE THEM!!!! ILOVE HOW ERIS SPIRIT IS NOT A TOTAL ASSHOLE TOO!!!

trauma kid solidarity!!!! i am so excited for these two you have no idea

i, too, love it when a spirit shows a basic modicum of decency and is NOT Like That to izuku 

Anonymous said: "neptune" by sleeping at last gives me very kiri/msa!deku vibes

cool, i’ll check it out!

Anonymous said: Angry msa!izu/ku: acts like an alley cat, threatens to break a villain's dishes, talks a lot of bullshit, also kind of sad and depressed. Angry™ msa!izu/ku: frightens the hell out of everyone just by looking at them, makes everyone question their life choices, makes them feel small and insignificant and makes fun of said life choices, not exactly human.

yeah. i love msa izuku and  his anger is Valid 

Anonymous said: This chapter: Rappa: fight me MsaIzuku: no Rappa: fight me pls MsaIzuku: no Rappa: let me fight the people around you? MsaIzuku:....... Fine

this is a really great summary of that conversation

Anonymous said: Izuku's threat to throw all of M. Compress' dishes on the floor like that is the Worst thing you can do to someone made my entire day thank you

i’m really glad because this was the funniest threat i could think of besides “i’m going to break into your home and piss on your bed” 

Anonymous said: HE'S JUST A KID SIM

you know i had to do it to ‘em picture 

Anonymous said: Msa is just so so amazing!?!? I honestly love it so much. The way you write is so wonderful and it's practically doubled by the fact that the entire idea for the au is also wonderful. Izu is amazing and I love him. Thank you thank you thank you :')

aahhh im really happy you like it!! thank you for reading & supporting!!

Anonymous said: Rappa: "let me join you" ; msa!Izuku: "absolutely fucking not" ; Rappa: "I can be ur meat shield" ; msa!Izuku: *clenching and unclenching his fist, glaring up at the god he does not believe in as he leads Rappa and Eri to his home* "I fucking hate you"

izuku’s one weakness... trying to help others

Anonymous said: iirc, guardian spirits are bound to their respective charges by proximity but can still move around, but do they have to be close by when the quirk is used? Or will the quirk not be as effective?

nah, they don’t need to be nearby, one cool effect of being bound to a human is that the human has a store of the guardian spirit’s energy 

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the game OFF? Played it recently and it gave me Msa!spirit world vibes. The use of man made substances making up the natural world (e.g drinking plastic not water) just really stuck with me as something bizarre and very second intonation like. Although if you do explore the spirit world I guess you might have something maybe more mythological in mind? (Also the soundtrack is stunningly eerie).

never played OFF but i love its aesthetic so much 

Anonymous said: I'm gonna print msa out and it eat it. gochisousama

pfft itadakimasu 

Anonymous said: Hahahah holy shit that new chapter dialed things up to, like, 22 instead of 11 holy shit izuku oh no. (“Achievement Unlocked: 5+ Levels Of Trauma Added At Once!” msa!izuku: can I get a, uuuuhhhhhhh, refund?) skin creature is super creepy and perfect fit. Btw, side thought - however the heroes find out abt this whole mess, I bet they feel really guilty (shit, izuku puts foot in mouth and accidentally says smth. Kiri: horrified izuku: makes it worse by trying to leave topic) thx I Love it. V good!

once i committed i had to go all the way...

the ensuing conversations between izuku and the heroes are probably going to be kind of funny, and also a little sad. im looking forward to it. thank you for reading!

Anonymous said: Okay, I'm just catching up on the recent chapters of msa and this is what I've been getting so far Everyone: you have to understand- Msa izuku, restrained: no

correct. msa izuku refuses to accept your terms 

Anonymous said: Ahaha, geez, MSA chapter 5 was A M A Z I N G. Poor Izuku. Geez, the scene where he's tossed into his cell and just spends fifteen minutes crying and freaking out hurt so bad. And he remembered to (try and) call for help!!! Hopefully he tries again in the future, when it'll work (hopefully). I also got very excited by the Kirin!!! Like, holy smokes!!! Someone who actually doesn't want Izuku to suffer, and is willing to take steps to make that happen!! Yes good!! Plz timewalker protect this child

thanks carwash for being like the only friend izuku has

the relationship between izuku and the different spirits hanging around his house is probably going to be pretty fun. i know i’ve pulled a lot of bullshit in the past two chapters but i still have some new fuckery to introduce. i hope you are all excited for this

Anonymous said: would any other human be able to learn to speak in the second intonation in the msa au? Did msa deku learn the second intonation from someone, or is it just something he's always known?

1) good question! i haven’t decided yet. 2) he learned from someone else! who you will find out soon

Anonymous said: me: nobody has to get owned today. please, please put down the markers and step back msa izuku: Fuck oyu.

i totlaly forgot this was a thing but you know what? yeah. im laughing this is such a fitting quote

Anonymous said: you know by far one of the best aspects of msa izuku is just. He is a constant Power Move. and yet he would probs hate that. like this boy wants to be left alone and get some fuckin peace but in all his interactions whether he intends to or not he just fuckin busts a fuckin Move and its like holy shit holy fucking shit he did that.he did That. He doesnt want to do That he doesnt even realize its happening and thats why its a fuckin Power Move. Love this au i LOVE ur work and love ur storytelling

reminds me of @salvainterra‘s description of izuku: “izuku is both an unstoppable force and an immovable object and its through this paradoxical existence that hes reached the ultimate tier of not giving a fuck. good on him”

thats the secret behind it all!

Anonymous said: I love msa chapter five but I'm so worried about Izuku. He's a single teen parent of two now and he keeps missing school, how will he graduate and get in a position to follow his dreams of being alone and doing calligraphy if he misses so much of school that he doesn't get a diploma???

he will be ok! 

hey im really laughing at this because youre really including rappa as one of the people izuku adopted?? is this a thing now?? 

Anonymous said: (in msa) I am so glad you had Izuku save Eri omg. that poor child has been through enough (but also, omg the suffering you're putting Izuku through (it's great, keep going)). I'm super keen to see where you take this!!

i know im really putting izuku through the paces. while i was writing the first half of ch5 i kept telling myself that this was all for eri’s sake but MAN that was dark

thank you! im excited to pull some more bullshit. im glad you’ve been enjoying the story so far!

Anonymous said: Me reading the new msa chapter: ‘a family can be a Kirin, a girl who can disintegrate people, a supernatural teenager, a street brawler and perpetual sadness’ seriously tho it was really great and I loved it!!!

MFLNDLFKSDJF AND PERPETUAL SADNESS IM LOSING IT!!!

don’t forget the mysterious shadow spirit who may or may not be a cat 

i’m really glad you liked the chapter!!

Anonymous said: bc of allmights style i think of one for all's spirit just being a fucking american on the fourth of july with american flags everywhere and waving a minature flag threateningly and i cant stop thinking about it....

fortunately for us, that is incorrect 

Anonymous said: "Okay I've finally caught up on the backlog of work I've got, let's check in on my favourite blog and writer SIMKJRS and see what they're up to recently." *sees that you updated like a week ago* aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

jflskdfj glad you’re excited for this!! i know i only update like once in a blue moon, 

Anonymous said: hey i just want to say that i love everything about msa; the writing, the story, the imagery, ALL OF IT thank you for making such a wonderful gift!

thank you!! im grateful for your support <3

[obscuraxrp]

The smoke settles to reveal STEPHANIE HWANG, also known as TIFFANY, a 49 year old vampire of Sunseong. She is a club bouncer/security who appears to be adept in social manipulation, mind control, and enhanced speed --- but like most things in Sunseong, there must be more to her than meets the eye.

FACECLAIM: Stephanie Hwang (Tiffany), snsd

BIOGRAPHY:

you are born in the spotlight. your mother’s name brings revenue for her beauty and her family name. father brings you fame for his face on the silver screen. and when your born, everything about you radiates something close to perfect—beautiful genes, lavish wealth, a future paved for you that radiates stardom. you’re going to be someone spectacular, your mother tells you with a whispered across your hairless head and a kiss to your temple.

and you do. you become everything your parents ever wanted you to.

a filial child, your mother expected nothing but the best out of your etiquette, out of your image—and your father watched you make an actress out of yourself. you were the perfect daughter, the perfect molded creation your family could have made. an only child for your entire life, you grew to be someone wonderful, someone great. you set forth on a path completely paved for you—and obedient stephanie dived right in.

you made the friends your parents wanted. you dated the people your parents wanted. you did everything that was asked of you.

when you’re eighteen, you’re married off—and he’s a sweet man. with kind eyes, a genuine smile and money that will ensure you a safe, happy life. and until you’re twenty, you live as a married woman, simplistic life—a white picket fence ideal. everything is wonderful, everything is good and there’s nothing that you would have changed.

and then your miscarriage happens, and you lose the possibility of completing the white picket fence dream you’ve wanted since you were five. you lose a baby, and you lose a little piece of yourself—one that chips away and leaves you broken, unmanageable, unsalvageable.

very soon after, your husband leaves you—and the next year of your life is a daze. depression covers you dark and dreary, and everything you do is utterly routine. mother doesn’t know how to fix you, father doesn’t know how to change you. so you drift in a state of numbness until you’re twenty five and you meet salvation.

salvation in the form of hungry teeth and glinting eyes that draw you in. you fall, and god do you fall fast. you fall into temptation, and only then do you realize how silly eve was to bite into that forbidden apple. you never fully understood the consequences that led up to that decision but you’d be lying if you claimed you didn’t know what led up to your own.

your kidnapping is covered up as murder, and as they weep over a fabricated grave, you weep over your own ruin. the marks over your body never fade, the tender flesh where your captor’s teeth have sunken in—you swear you will feel them for years. you’ll feel them up until the very day that you die.

but he doesn’t treat you horribly. he treats you with care, care that turns violent if you deny so you learn to adapt—stephanie hwang has always been a good girl, and you won’t refuse to showcase it if it means keeping yourself alive. he molds you into his own little love, his own little doll—and you smile when he asks, kiss when he asks, kneel like a dog if he so demands. you throw away every little bit of self-dignity and pride for him—and as it leaves you, the fire in your gut grows. your sorrow leaves your form and instead replaced with hot anger, rage and vindictive intent.

you’re twenty five when he turns you, desecrates your body and leaves you to die—only to bring you right back into life with teeth and hunger of your own.

      ( and you do not hesitate. you sink your teeth and you let him howl—you rip out his throat and tear him apart. you make sure there’s nothing left. )

you relocate. you leave the country, relocate to the origin of your family and make home there. sunseong is a place that practically breeds trouble, but it calls to you in a way that temptation did in the living years of your life. you fall in place, fall into a life that’s much preferred to live.

you build yourself anew—even if the world thinks there’s no use saving you.

CHARACTERIZATION:

you’re a patchwork quilt, crafted from the events of your life that have molded your persona. you are charming at heart, able to daze and dazzle with just the hint of your smile—but you are two faced at best. your intentions are often unclear, often selfish—often for your own amusement. you are not cruel, but you are not soft—you are sharp, molded by years of abuse, years of captivity that have crafted your mind close to that of insanity.

you are strong willed, a survivor at best—stubborn by default. you have long since accepted your inhumanity, despite your need to be around humanity and the living to satiate your curiosity of the world that’s long since been hidden from you. you are a woman of grace and dignity, but you are a monster that will not deny the need for violence, the need for chaos and destruction. you come off as distant to some, come off as an enigma that no one can fully wrap their mind around—but you are alluring and inviting, none the less.

you are a ruin disguised as a luxury.

SPECIALTIES:

RANK II SOCIAL MANIPULATION (40 pts): TIFFANY is highly practiced in the ways of talking and charm. As she grew up, her mother instilled various ideas of beauty and elegance into her form, melding her body into the perfect conversationalist. Tiffany is highly intelligent when it comes to talk, and it’s very difficult for her to be caught off-guard with speech. She is able to entice people to speak to her, charm them to the point of changing their view point, getting them to agree, negotiations, etc. She is known to be incredibly charismatic, practiced well beyond her short living years and extended into her afterlife by her maker, and can easily snake her way into conversation and be more enticing to listen to and capture the attention of most through her practiced words and thoughts. Against those that are strong willed and strong minded, it’s easy to sway them but not entirely convince them or hold their attention for longer periods of times—at most, she can at least capture their attention, but keeping it is still hard when it comes to those with higher mental will.

RANK I MIND CONTROL (20 pts): Tiffany, while heavy with social aspect—attempts to utilize compulsion in order for things to go her way. It’s usually paired with social manipulation, and it never lasts for very long—only a few minutes at most, and usually compelled by touch or eye contact that’s held continuously. Tiffany utilizes these moments to quickly control others to let her feed and have her fill, before sending them off. Alternatively, Tiffany may use this form of control to get others off her tail or for brief, minor amusement. It’s not something she uses actively, so her control over it is very limited and short-lived, and is primarily used only for feeding.

RANK I ENHANCED SPEED (20 pts): Of all physical attributes that is trained after her new, dead life—Tiffany finds herself focusing on speed rather than speed or durability. Her movements are always quick, stealthy, focused on silence and speed, quickly maneuvering from place to place without the need of interruption. While she moves faster than an average human, she is still practicing this aspect, and will likely have a harder time up against beasts that are small and lithe, or other creatures that have a more supernatural speed.

[opalmothnightingale]

5- 8- 18 - Because she is my everything, it is a really big deal.  My every thing I do all day is impacted by her, by her mood, her state of mind, creativity, personality, etc and that’s a good thing.  She is contagious in her awesome joy and wonder and intuition, energy, and playfulness, love, and gentleness, so that is works like a major antidepressant for me, making me so much healthier than I’d be otherwise, often...  And that’s good in that it makes certain I am always sensitive to her moods because when she starts becoming more moody, distant, I feel it, I really can tell a lot and I am sure I will do what I can to set things right again.  

Even if sometimes I feel overwhelmed too, but I just think it’s better this way than any other situation we could be in right now in our lives.  The chaos and order, the overwhelm and joy go hand in hand and hopefully the balance is never too far off if temporary overwhelm or irritation, moodiness, sadness, distance, etc might rise up to the surface, for her, for me, ...

and for my husband and how he relates to her, and to me, too, and how we all interact and affect each other.  I think if she and I had less time together I would be less able to tell how she felt, less affected by her moods, emotional and behavioral and psychological things...  And it’s very good for me to have her at home with me, to protect her from the negativity and controlling and linear and overly orderly, overly tame atmosphere in school,...   But that brings me to some other points...

I really feel she could benefit if she had some good friends who were actually positive.  This seems it could be more helpful and maybe really important and needed, for her, than it seems, maybe...  

So I think then some of her wildness and liveliness and kid interests and kid level personality and understanding and enthusiasm would be mirrored and supported with her friends instead of all that falling upon me to be there for her in all those ways,...  

And she would have others who are more lively, energetic, playful,...  But also making sure they’re nice, well behaved, not too chaotic or making her even more hyper...  Because what exhausts and has a calming effect on other kids seems to just wind my daughter up so she’ll be hyper for days afterwards and it’s always been like this since her babyhood...  Nothing exhausts her but only makes her more lively.  No kidding, so I worry about it, really, but I will hope for the best, but how can I do this?  I don’t know.  

I can’t drive and where could we find good opportunities for her to socialize afterschool hours if my husband drives us and would he drive us, etc?  I don’t know,...  Sigh.  I worry.  Maybe it’s not to be right now.  

I thought it would because my husband said that he would drive us places before we started homeschool but it hasn’t happened yet...

Then there is another thing, on my mind lately, which values and practices do I want to instill in my daughter, through much repetition and experience over the years of her youth?  She is gentle and loving and very attached to our cats but I feel this was something that I taught her over the years, and she naturally likes animals but it was reinforced by me repeatedly, to teach her to be very gentle and empathize with animals, and so now it is a well formed part of her personality.  

But what else is there similar to that, things that she is naturally inclined towards but that I can reinforce, that need attention and direction to really strongly cultivate and make sure they last beyond her gentle, fun, creative, lively, sweet, open minded early childhood, 

...When many wonderful traits are common among little kids that often seem to fade or be replaced as they get older and other cultural and social influences make more impact?  I feel, again that it’s really important,...

Important for her own sake, of course,...  And mine too, yes, ...

to maintain her sweetness, open heart, open mind, gentleness, and fun, liveliness, creativity and intuition and soul’s expression,... 

Yes, and, over time, ...as she gets older, to really reinforce these things as discussed points, values and practices that support them as well...

So what are the particular examples?  Meditation?  Connection to spirit?  These are two on my mind, seeming maybe suggested to me lately, but not sure... 

It’s really important for my goals and wellness too, which is not a bad thing, to need others and to be bolstered by others’ wellness,...  It’s not a bad thing to give to others and do it for your sake too,...  

It’s really easy to actually not do what you could and really should for others, not because you want to neglect but because it’s easy to not even realize you’re not doing what you should if you are too distracted, too distant, as is what I think can easily happen if you don’t have enough time together or are too detached in daily lives and activities with your children and other loved ones...  

It’s a good thing to be so mutually dependent on each others’ well being just as long as you’re both well and able to be well...  Well enough, that is.  Yes it’s true I’m not fully well, with my illnesses and depressiveness and anxiety, etc, but I don’t show my daughter these things, and she gets lots of time with me, interaction, talking, playing games, doing creative things, and teaching her values, so much good time that she gets that I feel would not be equaled by any other person in her life...  

In fact, often those things might be undermined in school, because others’ different values and social norms would chip away at my own values.  

And it’s not wrong to teach children a consistent set of values and morals as long as they’re good ones.  I read that studies show this is best for them, so they can develop a strong internal moral compass.  

Then they can alter it as they grow up but they have a strong foundation to begin with, instead of feeling torn and confused from a young age.  I intend to teach my daughter about grey areas, and am not rigid in my morals in many areas but I feel there’s nothing wrong with teaching her my values and not society’s values and norms and people pleasing, having to hear about fundamentalist beliefs from peers, or hell, needing Jesus to be saved and her best friends all believe it, etc, ...  Ugh!  

I am so glad I can be sure she’s not exposed to that stuff much if ever (only ever if my parents might ever try to tell her any of that, which she doesn’t see them very often,...  Anyway sooner or later, when she’s old enough I’ll find a way to explain “them”, that is to say fundamentalism, or whatever, in others).