#[life's a game and i'm gonna break it // despair]

[heissenn]

𝐇𝐒𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 featuring: silver wolf, lingsha, the herta, kafka, sparkle tags: fluff, self-aware au

silverwolf

"you're kidding me," you hear silverwolf's annoyed voice through your headphones.

silverwolf watches through your camera as you put both your hands together and lower your head in apology. before you can say your sorry excuses, the hacker sighs loudly and beats your incoming punch with her own. "it's the meta isn't it?"

"i mean, it'd make sense to pull for newer characters since you can't even clear endgame," she teases, taking a jab at your gaming skills every chance she gets like she usually does. her voice sounded light and casual but the twinge of dejection didn't escape your trained ears. you couldn't think of anything else to say since she saw right through your reasons.

"i won't say i don't understand. i'm a gamer too, y'know." silverwolf shrugs as she pops her bubblegum with a loud smack. she takes out her phone and gave it a few taps.

"but that doesn't mean i'm gonna accept your decision." and with that, your screen suddenly turns black. you try to restart your computer and reboot the game but the black screen keeps staring right back at you.

after a few weeks of multiple failed attempts, rendering you unable to pull for the character you wanted. hours right before the banner ends, your computer finally comes back to life. however, you log in to the game only to find out all your reserves of stellar jades and special passes were emptied.

you hear a bubblegum smack as you look at your screen in despair.

lingsha

"i wonder what made you go back on your promise," lingsha is as sweet as ever even as you break the news to her. she smiles at you over your screen albeit her eyes were dimmer and you see a raging vein popping in the side of her smooth forehead, a clear sign she's quite irritated.

"you were doing so good saving up for me, dear. you even told me you were going to get all of my eidolons," her smile twitches as the words leave her mouth and her hands that were petting tuskpir freeze for a moment before caressing again.

"did other women caught your eye, perhaps?" she asks with a raised eyebrow, staring right at you and boring a hole through your soul despite being in a completely dimension as you. "no, of course not," you deny as soon as her words materialized in the air.

"then, what prompted the change of plans?" she asks again, more firmly this time. tuskpir notices the change in her demeanor and quickly scurried off, leaving you alone to deal with a quietly seething cauldron master.

"have you lost interest in me then? maybe in starting to lose my touch." linsgha is confident she has you wrapped around her finger but she still couldn't help but question, it has more to do with her desire to see you squirm uncomfortably rather than being conscious of her charms.

"you know as well as i do that i haven't," your answer sounded more like a plea. it gave lingsha satisfaction but, unfortunately, her mind games are not over yet. at least not until she gets what she wants.

"so, what is the reason then, darling," the question leaves her mouth for the third time but her small smile never left her face once although it was slowly becoming smaller and smaller. you stay silent, racking your brain for reasons to ease her tranquil wrath. she takes your pause as cue to give you her final blow of the long interrogation.

"if you don't have one, then let's do as you promise. warp for me." there wasn't room for questions unlike her previous remarks. her hand outstretches to you as if inviting. you nod without a second thought.

the herta

"why?"

herta is confused. not pull for her? that is something even lifeforms with the lowest intelligence would not dare do. unfathomable. doing the unthinkable might have been what initially made herta take interest in you but now she thinks you're losing a few braincells.

"who could possibly be better than me?" it would take a whole lot to damage the herta's enormous and pristine ego but she thinks your decision poked it a little. "there's no correct answer by the way. no one is better than me," she answers her own question.

"perhaps you've grown complacent because you have my puppets with you." she comes closer to your screen. "but do you not want the real thing?" she asks as her voice tickles your ears trough the speakers. but before she can get anymore closer she stops halfway through, rekindling your desire to pull her closer.

"well, feel free to do as you like. i could care less about what you do anyways," she flips her silky hair and struts away from you.

well, that went easier than you thought. you were sure herta would give you hell for even thinking about not pulling for her. so you go on your merry way to go back to farming.

"not even one stellar jade?!?! after three hours of farming!"

you spent your remaining fuels and trailblazer power but it seems the system is bent on cursing you. the monsters were harder to beat and the rare instance that you do the drops were extremely scarce.

in the end, you weren't able to pull for the character you wanted due to insufficient resources.

kafka

"there's no need to choose, love." kafka says calmly as she looks down at you from her seat. the camera is always angled upwards every time she's on screen, effectively you making you crane your neck to glance at her like is the sky.

"name the price and you shall have it," she declares without any hesitation. her smooth cheek rests on her palm as if sponsoring your pulls are as trivial as the sky being blue.

"i-no, it's wrong. i don't want you to use your money on me," no matter how enticing the offer was, your morals held you back from accepting. you're not her sugar baby, you remind yourself.

"and i don't want you wanting anyone else other me," she replies without missing a beat and your heart thumps louder with how fast she responded without an ounce of doubt in her smooth voice.

"so don't be shy and take it. i want you to have me."

sparkle

"YES! FIRST TEN PULLS AND SHE FINALLY CAME HOME!"

you stand from your chair in shock as the character you've been warping for appear on screen. your fingers hurriedly go to the character menu to greet the new addition to your roster.

"hello~, little one," the character greets you. odd, you don't think the character would call you 'little one'. you only know one person that would call you such nickname. the feeling of familiarity creeps up from your spine and settles at the back of your tongue as you come up with a plausible deduction.

"sparkle," you sigh. you should've known sparkle wouldn't just sit around and watch you warp for somebody else.

"oh no! my cover's been blown," despite the words, the character giggles as she puts her hand in front of her lips. slowly the character's appearance morph into the mischievous girl you know.

"whats with the disappointed look? you're hurting my feelings, cutie," sparkle fakes a pout as her hand press against her chest before her signature smirk takes home in her lips again.

"you should've seen your face when you were celebrating!" she clasps her hands in front and her eyes cloud and get dreamy as she reminisces your reaction.

"you must be even happier since you got a better one, me" she blows a kiss to your camera.

[shezzabee]

What are your thoughts on the idea that Inho's obsession with Gihun might do with the fact that Gihun reminds him of his dead wife?

I'm biased because I absolutely eat it up. I never been the same after seeing a post here that compared Gihun's s1 smiling photo with a photo of Inho's wife smiling.

There's also the fact that in s2 ep4, Inho called his wife stubborn, and how theres no point in arguing with her once she set her mind on something (going through her pregnancy despite her being very sick).

It made me think of Gihun's dedication of finding the Recruiter/Salesman, his insistance on being put back in the game...and him not listening to Inho when being told to get on the plane.

With this in mind, Inho's "Just get on the plane. It's for your own good." can be read more that just one man telling another man with who he shares similar trauma, to get the good life he doesn't have (but it's absolutely valid!!)

It could also be Inho (without realizing it) pleading for Gihun (his wife) to listen to him (the doctors), and (this time) survive. But just like with his wife, Gihun isn't budging with his decision. He made up his mind, go argue with a wall.

(Now it doesn't mean that Inho saw his wife in Gihun in an instance. It happens slowly as Inho gets closer to him)

Hi! Thanks for the question. I think I know the post you’re referring to—my shipper brain absolutely devoured that too, not gonna lie. XD

Even beyond the shipping lens, though, everything you’ve said really resonates. It feels like the core of their dynamic, doesn’t it? In-ho is clearly drawn to something about Gi-hun’s refusal to compromise on his principles, his unshakable belief in humanity, and his conviction that things can still turn out for the better. The only other person In-ho has explicitly mentioned as being just as stubborn as Gi-hun is his late wife, which feels like a significant parallel.

Now, of course, this is all speculation, and we won’t know In-ho’s full motivations until Season 3 (hopefully) sheds some light. But I don’t think In-ho has ever truly moved on from his wife’s death. He’s still grieving, still carrying the weight of that loss. He’s angry—angry at himself for not being there when his wife and child died, angry at the world for the circumstances that led to it, and probably angry at the Games themselves for existing. (I’ll die on the hill that In-ho hates the Games, despite being their enforcer.) He’s also angry at humanity at large for failing people in need, for letting the world get to this point.

And I think there’s a part of him that’s angry at his wife, too, (don't kill me, hear me out). She was self-sacrificing to a fault, willing to risk her own life to save their unborn child. That mirrors what we see in Gi-hun, especially at the end of Season 1. In the final game, after Sang-woo is defeated, Gi-hun refuses to abandon his morals to win, even when the easier path is right in front of him. That kind of unyielding determination, that refusal to bend—even at great personal cost—has to strike a nerve with In-ho.

Since In-ho can’t confront his late wife or tell her she was wrong to risk it all, to leave him alone, he directs all that unresolved grief and anger toward Gi-hun instead. Gi-hun becomes a constant, painful reminder of everything In-ho lost—and everything he’s come to resent about the world.

So, what does In-ho do? He sets out to break Gi-hun. To tear apart everything and everyone Gi-hun cares about until all that’s left is despair. Maybe then, In-ho can finally say: “See? There’s no point. None of it means anything. You were wrong—just like she was wrong.”

It’s a cruel and calculated move, but also deeply human. If he can prove that Gi-hun’s ideals and morals are meaningless, it would, in a twisted way, justify the choices In-ho has made and the person he’s become.

In the end, it’s not just about Gi-hun or his late wife. It’s about In-ho’s own pain, his need to make sense of the senseless, and his desperate attempt to validate the path he’s taken—even if it’s at the expense of someone who still believes in the good.

[shadetoshade]

Limbus Story Structure Analysis and Predictions

Okay. So I never know how to start or end things, especially when it comes to essays or essay-esque things, but I feel like my analysis is considerably less conspiracy corkboard than usual so I'm gonna roll with it and post it somewhere.

To start off with, I'm going to say that this lens is going to be, for the most part, very Dante-centric. Which... honestly, I feel like it should be, and not just because they're one of my favorites. Dante is, ultimately, the protag, and that's important in all of PM's stories so far. Regardless of who else's stories are being told as the game goes on, ultimately the games have been the story of the protagonist's growth (see: Ayin, Angela, and Roland).

Now, looking at the overall structure of the plot so far, I'm already seeing a pattern: sections separated by a series of three Cantos, with the first Canto in a section serving as a bridge from the previous section. I'll be leaving the Intervallos out because, while they are important, this is already going to be one hell of a long post.

Section 1 -- Cantos I-III

Canto I serves as the bridge between Selva Oscura and the first arc in two ways: it picks up not long after Dante is picked up by Limbus Company and signs on, and it's a shoutout to to the start of Inferno, when Dante first starts his descent into Hell by boarding Charon's ferry at the Acheron.

(This will be as deep as I get into the Divine Comedy, as I'm sticking with themes and general trends. Also because each Canto puts its own spin on the stories they're inspired by so who knows what's going to happen).

ANYWAY. The general arc of I-III seems to be Dante's gradual acceptance of their position of Executive Manager. They start off reluctant and passive through Cantos I and II, frequently blaming others for things going sideways (believing they have no control over Don Quixote, relying on the Sinners to try and liven the mood after the Canto I failure, etc). They don't engage with Gregor or Rodion's backstories like they do with the Sinners in Canto V and up and seem to be more focused on the goal of the Bough than the people around them. And the Sinners act in a similar way.

Then Canto III hits. The Sinners and Dante have had a little more time to get to know one another, and even if they aren't particularly close, they're being tossed into a situation that's MUCH more horrifying and intense than the previous two missions. There's a bond that forms from the Sinners asserting that Dante is a person (aside from Hong Lu's moment but we'll get to that later), and their attempts to defend them from harm. The whole group feels the pain of Effie's death. Dante actually empathizes with Sinclair's backstory and memories and chooses to actually engage with it.

And by the end, even though it's a little too late, Dante, for the first time, TRIES. They choose to see the Sinner in front of them and their plight over just acquiring the Bough, and in doing so, they embrace the role of Manager.

Section 2 -- Cantos IV-VI

Which brings us to the next section, focusing on the growth of the bonds between the LCB--Sinner, Manager, Guide, and Bus Driver.

Canto IV is our bridge, with Dante taking the resolve they gained by the end of Canto III and clumsily attempting to apply it to Yi Sang, and with the Sinners growing closer to one another and beginning to reach out themselves. Dante tries to reach out to Yi Sang multiple times before the end of the Canto, actively noting his despair and depression (something they notably did not do in I or II) and even tries to get him to open up. The Sinners are forced to take part in Yi Sang's Fathoms, actively engaging with the memories and thus gaining some stake within them.

All this leading to the end, where, with Hong Lu's help, Dante is able to finally ask the question that leads to Yi Sang breaking free from the maladaptive patterns of his life and start moving forward as the first "success" of a Sinner's story.

And this moment is marked with a tick forward on the doomsday clock that is Dante's head.

Canto V rides that wave (ha) a little further. By being able to help Yi Sang, Dante now has some idea of what the Sinners might need. They're more persistent when it comes to reaching out to Ishmael and have even grown enough to outright tell Ahab that the Sinners are their responsibility. Meanwhile on the Sinner front, though there are plenty of clashes between Sinners throughout the Canto due to Ishmael's volatility, they continue the trend of support (Rodya pulling Ishmael away to try and calm her down, Yi Sang doing his best to diffuse arguments, Heathcliff pulling away the Pallidification and telling Dante to be supportive of Ishmael while everyone's in the Whale before that).

Then comes Canto VI, with everyone being supportive of Heathcliff, helping him get ready to meet the people there. Meursault being supportive of helping Heathcliff even if it means not getting the Bough (and Outis notably not shooting that down), and even whipping out Chains of Others to restrain the Erlking--the man who usually only does things when ordered to doing this ON HIS OWN.

And then Dante's resolve is also solidified to the point of manifesting the first Durante ability, Pigritia, based solely on their desire to help Heathcliff move forward in his life.

Even Vergilius gets in on the action. While some of his reasoning behind his interference in Canto VI is due to the Ring experiments bringing back memories of his own backstory in Leviathan, the way he speaks to the Sinners and Dante in that moment, as well as his reaction to being called "family" by Heathcliff, is telling in terms of how he feels about the LCB.

By the end of this section, the LCB has bonded. Even if the group has its issues, that much is undeniable.

Section 3 -- Cantos VII-VIII, and predictions for IX

This is the last one I'm going to cover, since.... this is all we have so far. Maybe I'll have more thoughts after IX comes out proper. I'll also be saving my thoughts on what I think this section's arc is for until the end.

Canto VII is our welder. It is ALL about the power of friendship, family, and bonds. I feel like I don't need to go too deep into this here because the Sancho fight exists.

But there's also something else. Don Quixote and Dante share something in common: they've lost their memory. This is even a source of distress on Dante's part through the Canto; the Sinners have to be the ones to bring Sancho to her senses because Dante isn't sure what to do, lacking memories and a dream of their own.

We've also got another parallel going on with Don Quixote's backstory: Person 1 is aloof and has difficulty connecting to others, but is utterly devoted to Person 2, who has a dream that they follow wholeheartedly, trying to bring about a better world. Though Person 2 seems almost naive in the way they go about their wishes, Person 1 finds themselves believing in that dream. One day, something terrible happens, and Person 2's optimism is shattered and they lose faith in their dream. Person 1 takes up this dream and vows to do everything they can to make it a reality.

Now we have Canto VIII, which isn't finished yet. Like Don Quixote, Hong Lu shares a few things in common with Dante: objectification (Dante with the clock and Hong Lu with the jade) and feelings of being powerless to change anything (Dante is a middle manager, with Faust outranking them, so they can't really do all that much). They also have the parallel of being "made" to witness things going around them, regardless of their will.

As for the other parallel.... Head raids a laboratory led by people who may get up to some worrying things (whatever was going on with the experimentation on prisoners in the Kongs's case), but ultimately have good intentions and want what's best for the place they live. A horrible bloodbath ensues that includes the death of at least one small child.

It's probably obvious what the theme is by now. We've got two: the Sinners' pasts and problems explore some of Dante's insecurities (I don't think they necessarily RESOLVE those insecurities, but attention is being brought there), and the backstories are parallels to the rise of Lobotomy Corporation, with Don's story being Ayin's relationship with Carmen and how he took on her dream and the Head's raid in H Corp being the Head's raid on the Outskirt's labs (with Hong Lu's role mirroring Daniel's).

All this leads me to my predictions for Canto IX in terms of parallels and themes, using the above along with what little knowledge I have of Hellscreen. Lately, Canto VII in particular, we've been seeing Dante ponder on the fact that they're becoming more used to the idea of killing things that used to be human/are human, as well as wondering if the thing they're doing as part of the Company are for the best (the whole business with Dad Quixote and holding that info from Don). Considering in Hellscreen, Yoshihide loses his daughter by doing as the Lord says and does increasingly unhinged acts in order to paint a vision of Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to see those ideas touched upon in Ryoshu's Canto in some way.

And on the subject of the LobCorp parallels, well... Angela, as Ayin's creation, is technically his daughter. And we've seen all the shit she had to go through. And considering her creation came after the Head's raid on the Outskirts Lab.... I don't think it's going to be one-to-one but I feel like the themes are definitely going to be there. And the nice(?) thing is, whether you think Ryoshu is the painter or the daughter, it could work either way.

Anyway, that's my thoughts so far. I'm curious to see if I'm right or if I'm proven wrong one node into part 3 of Canto VIII.

[frankendykes-monster]

@hunysckle asked for what type of music I listen to. Obviously prone to change but this what I came up with after two months or so of reacquainting myself with music as a form, given music isn't really one of my favorite things in general.

Individual Songs:

Alice Cooper - "No More Mr. Nice Guy"

Annihilator - "Alison Hell", "Schizos (Are Never Alone), Pts. I & II"

Army of The Pharaohs - "Dump the Clip"

Beastie Boys - "Brass Monkey", "Intergalactic"

Bell Biv Devoe - "Poison"

Billy Idol - "Eyes Without a Face", "Rebel Yell", "White Wedding"

Blaq Poet - "Don't Give a Fucc", "Rap Addiction"

Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"

Blitzkrieg - "Death, Poverty & Despair"

Bobby Brown - "Every Little Step", "My Prerogative"

Brian Setzer - "Go-Go Godzilla"

Can't Stop Won't Stop - "Mighty & High"

Connie - "Funky Little Beat"

Cynthia & Johnny O - "Dreamboy/Dreamgirl"

Daft Punk - "Get Lucky", "Robot Rock"

The Daughter of Eve - "Hey Lover"

Debbie Deb - "When I Hear Music"

Deep Purple - "Smoke on The Water"

Deftones - "Change (In The House of Flies)"

DMX - "Where the Hood at?"

Donna Summer - "Hot Stuff", "Last Dance"

Dr. Dre - "Deep Cover (ft. Snoop Dogg)"

Duran Duran - "Notorious"

Earth, Wind & Fire - "Dance Dance Dance", "Jupiter"

Eagles - "Witchy Woman"

Echosmith - "Cool Kids"

Eikichi Yazawa - "The Trouble Man"

Exodus - "Verbal Razors", "Toxic Waltz"

Expose - "Come Go With Me", "Point of No Return"

Faith No More - "Be Aggressive"

Flamingosis X Yung Bae - "Groovin"

Flo Milli - "Beef FloMix"

A Flock of Seagulls - "I Ran"

Freddie Dredd - "All Alone", "Cha Cha"

Ghostemane - "Andromeda", "John Dee", "Mercury: Retrograde", "My Tommy Don't"

Gloria Estefan - "Conga"

Gorillaz - "DARE", "Doncamatic (ft. Daley)", "Empire Ants (Miami Horror remix", "Stylo"

Grim Reaper - "See You in Hell"

Heatwave - "Boogie Nights"

Ice Cube - "Natural Born Killaz (ft. Dr. Dre", "No Vaseline"

INXS - "What You Need"

Iron Butterfly - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

Janet Jackson - "What Have You Done for Me Lately", "Nasty"

Justin Timberlake - "Suit & Tie (ft. Jay-Z)"

Kazumi Watanabe - "Fu Bu Ki"

KC & The Sunshine Band - "I'm Your Boogie Man"

Lakeside - "Fantastic Voyage"

Latto - "It's Givin"

Living Colour - "Cult of Personality"

LL Cool J - "Momma Said Knock You Out"

Loverboy - "Working for The Weekend"

Madonna - "Holiday", "Into The Groove", "Like a Virgin", "Lucky Star"

The Mamas & The Papas - "California Dreamin'"

Masayoshi Takanaka - "Dancing to Cat Guitar", "Summertime Blues"

MC Skat Cat - "Skat Strut"

Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls"

MF Doom - "Coffin Nails/Rap Snitches", "I Hear Voices"

Michael Gray - "The Weekend"

Michael Jackson - "Another Part of Me", "Baby Be Mine", "Bad", "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Blame It On The Boogie", "Off The Wall", "P.Y.T.", "Rock With You", "Smooth Criminal", "Thriller", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Working Day and Night"

Modjo - "Lady Hear Me Tonight"

Motörhead - "Ace of Spades", "The Game"

Mystery Skulls - "Freaking Out", "Magic"

Nino Ferrer - Looking For You"

N.W.A. - "Gangsta Gangsta", "Parental Discretion is Advised", "Straight Outta Compton"

ORiMOH - "OVULADY (ft. Lindsay Lucas)"

Ozzy Osbourne - "I Don't Wanna Stop"

Parliament - "Flashlight"

Pat Benatar - "Heartbreaker"

Philip Bailey, Phil Collins - "Easy Lover"

Pink - "Get The Party Started"

Plasmatics - "Lightning Breaks", "Mistress in Taboo", "Country Fairs"

Prefab Sprout - "Moving the River"

PTP - "Show Me Your Spine"

Puzzle - "Loose Cannon"

Rick James - "Give it To Me Baby"

Rob Zombie - "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Dead City Radio", "More Human Than Human", "Never Gonna Stop", "Pussy Liquor", "We're an American Band"

Rockell - "In a Dream"

Romantics - "Talking in Your Sleep"

Sanctuary - "Future Tense"

Savatage - "Hall of The Mountain King", "Prelude to Madness"

Scorpions - "Rock You Like a Hurricane"

Shannon - "Let The Music Play"

Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life"

Skinny Puppy - "Assimilate"

Spice 1 - "Born II Die"

Sweet Sensation - "Hooked on You"

Symphony X - "Absence of Light"

Tame Impala - "Let it Happen"

Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me with Science"

TiaCorrine - "Lotto"

Testament - "Absence of Light", "Malpractice", "Troubled Dreams"

Tommy Richman - "Million Dollar Baby"

Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher"

Vicious Rumors - "Don't Wait For Me"

Wham! - "Everything She Wants", "Ray of Sunshine"

The Whispers - "Tonight"

Full Albums:

Armored Saint - "March of The Saint"

Casiopea - "Make Up City", "Mint Jams", "Thunder Live"

Electric Light Orchestra - "Time"

Front Line Assembly - "Caustic Grip", "Millennium", "Tactical Neural Implant"

Masayoshi Takanaka - "Alone", "Can I Sing?", "Seychelles"

Metallica - "Seek and Destroy"

Mort Garson - "Ataraxia: The Unexplained"

Mr. Bungle - "OU818" (demo)/"[self-titled]"

Nyx Fears - "Lovepop"

Rob Zombie - "Hillbilly Deluxe"

Toshiki Kodamatsu - "After 5 Crash"

[mwexodusofficial]

Chapter IV: Solace

Hawkes stared at Swansea and Daisuke as they sat across from him, right outside of the Divinity Chamber. Anya's revivification was being prepared, and the crew was getting exhausted from kneeling for so long so they were taking a short break.

It felt more than a bit awkward staring at the two of them. Swansea had not once taken his eyes off Daisuke, who was eyeing the environment with a budding curiosity and a substantial terror ever-present in his eyes. Hawkes had to suppose that the last thing he saw before today was an axe to the face, so the ever-present terror was kind of a given.

Hawkes cleared his throat, trying to break the ice.

"So-"

"Daisuke, please listen to me." Swansea whispered, almost broken. "There's nothing in the world I can say to make what I did right. There's nothing I can do to make it right. If you don't forgive me, it's okay. But I wanted you to hear me for just a minute."

Daisuke's eyes, while still filled with budding insanity and that gripping terror, focused momentarily on Swansea.

"Y...Yes?"

Swansea broke down in tears as he spoke to Daisuke. He could barely hold it together before, but now he was just letting go of his composure.

"Kid, I don't know how we got here. I'm so fucking scared this is just a wonderful dream. I'm so scared to look away from you, because I can't bear to look back and not see you, right here, next to me. I'm terrified, and I don't know why. I can't make sense of anything, right now, and I don't think I will be able to for a long time."

He placed one shaky hand on Daisuke's shoulder, which seemed to center Daisuke back to the real world a bit more.

"But if there's one thing I can see, it's that you and me... we're alive. We're out of that hellscape. Those feelings, that despair, the clawing of death, the ache of knowing we were gonna die in that piece of shit in the middle of nowhere... It's gone now. And now all I wanna do is spend every waking moment of my life with you, with Curly, with Anya. I wanna take this second chance, if that's what it is, and I wanna experience life with you all. I want to introduce you to my family. I want to bring you over for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning. I want to take you to the aquarium, go for a walk, head to a concert or a baseball game."

Swansea looked him square in the eyes, the light of a flaming, fiery hope ignited within him permanently.

"Just stand by me, kid. I can't lose you again. I'm not losing you again. And we're not taking a fuckin' shitty job at that piece of shit company ever again!" He laughed in between streaming tears. "You hear me, bud? We're going to live again!"

That terror in Daisuke's eyes seemed to die down, bit by bit, as he began to comprehend Swansea's words and gradually depart from the hellish memories of the past.

"Yeah... yeah." Daisuke muttered. It had barely been any time since Daisuke was resurrected, the same for Swansea. Hawkes knew they needed a lot of time to recover, but now was barely the time. They only had one more resurrection left before he could give them recovery time.

Jimmy's resurrection didn't need love. It just needed a lot of yearning for revenge.

"Anya's revififi- ya know what, I'm never saying that fuckin' word ever again. Anya's gonna be revived soon, I'd like for you two to be present so her chances of returning are greater."

Both Swansea and Daisuke snapped their heads towards me as if I'd announce they'd won the lottery. Without saying a word, they scrambled into the Divinity Chamber, re-donning their tunics and kneeling on the floor as if they'd been devout their whole lives.

Again, failing to notice the quivering Curly in the corner. Hawkes had noticed he'd remained unmoving in the corner ever since Swansea's revival. He wasn't sure how to help him deal with the trauma, and so decided to leave him to his own devices for a while. Out of all the crew, Curly had undoubtedly suffered the most. To go from a crippled burnt chicken nugget to a fully restored human being, then to add the revival of his closest friends who he felt he'd betrayed, with the cherry on top being the hellish memories he'd suffered on the Tulpar...

Yeah, Hawkes felt the need to leave him alone until at least Anya was brought back. At this point, Hawkes didn't have any sense of anxiety about these resurrections. He was beginning to see the formula, and it was a deep relief to know that there was a solid rate of resurrection for the dead.

There was still plenty he hadn't told the Tulpar crew, but he was planning to wait until they'd all come back and could celebrate in the terrarium before taking questions about the new age.

"Only one more to go..." Hawkes muttered tiredly. He would certainly be looking forward to the liquor at the terrarium after this exhausting ordeal.

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

4 hours ago...

"So, you called me here?" Hawkes inquired as he approached the surgery table. Head Surgeon Faulkner looked up at him with a face mask and goggles.

"Yes, Captain." He replied, unfurling the cover from Anya, who was stripped of clothing for an autopsy of the body. "We've found an... issue with this corpse."

Captain Hawkes shrugged indifferently.

"Speak it." He said. Faulkner, almost in embarrassment, gestured to Anya's genitalia, where a streak of old, matted blood was stained on her thighs and lower abdomen.

"Even though she overdosed on painkillers, she was leaking blood from her womb. After inspection of the inner passage and outer area of the genitalia, we discovered bruising indicative of..."

He hesitated to speak the next words. Hawkes, who was normally very observant and calculated, lost his sense of intellect regarding females. Frequently. In every area of life.

"Well? Indicative of what?" Hawkes asked, getting irritated with the lack of response.

Faulkner knew about the Captain's vices when it came to sexual offenses. Hawke's mother had been repeatedly raped and abused by his father. His best friend in college was violated by a prominent athlete for their football team. His young love had been captured by pirates and trafficked for months before he located her- dead in a cell.

In short, Hawkes would lose his shit if Faulkner spoke the next words- and Faulkner certainly did not want to be in the crossfire when Hawkes detonated. If there was one singular thing that drove Hawkes into an immediate frenzied rage, it was sexual assault against women. For some curious reason, Faulkner had noted that Hawkes had no reaction to sexual assault against males. Was this the first male misandrist?!

So, instead of owning up to what was gonna happen and accepting the potential backlash from his Captain, Faulkner did the most pragmatic thing he could.

He delegated the responsibility onto his assistant.

"Jeremiah, would you mind delivering the assessment to the Captain? I have to attend to the restroom momentarily."

"Of course, Doctor Faulkner!"

You poor, poor child, Faulkner thought in deep guilt as he scurried out of the autopsy lab.

"So then," Hawkes insisted. "What the hell happened, Jeremiah?"

"Oh, right," Jeremiah began. "She was raped and forcibly impregnated!"

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

"What were you thinking when you said that, Jeremy?"

Jeremiah stared at the grassy floor of the terrarium, wondering where he went wrong. His friend, Roble, a new security officer on the ship, was snickering at Jeremiah's recent tomfoolery. Jeremiah certainly didn't feel this 'shenanigans' vibe that Roble was playing on. His face was welted in multiple areas, and his ribcage was slightly bruised from the repeated punches delivered, courtesy of Captain Hawkes.

"How was I supposed to know about his rape PTSD?!"

"That's a fucked up way of putting it." Roble guffawed. "And he'd give you a second round of beatings if he heard you shout that. But I'm confused. Your boss didn't tell you about it?"

"No!" Jeremiah huffed in frustration. He felt betrayed by his boss, and a bit of resentment toward the Captain. "What the hell was I set up for? What did I do, huh? I just... carry the fuckin' tools and type up the reports! And I get my ASS beat for it!"

Roble sighed in empathy, leaning back against the wall as he contemplated.

"You know I'm your senior, right?"

"You sure you're not the Captain? Captain Obvious?" 

"When I was as new as you, Jeremiah," Roble began. "I was working as a General Intern, delegated to clean and maintain the garrison's weaponry. I learned a lot about rifling, my boss was super chill, and we after a hard day's work, we'd go to the terrarium with the other crewmates and drink until we were dog-sick. It was fun as hell, and every day was a blast compared to the industrial hellscape I'd come from."

Jeremiah, by this point, was listening intently to the story. He wasn't so crass as to ignore his friend when he was talking about something important to him.

"One day, I'm cleaning a Gauss twin-barrel in the hangar bay, and I make a casual joke about a celebrity girl back home who got exposed for getting taken advantage of by an executive to get a top actress role. I didn't think anything of it when I cracked the joke. Next thing I knew, I felt the back of my head smacked by an empty oil canister. Looked up to see Captain Hawkes raging at me like I came after his family."

Roble took a swig out of the beer he'd set aside.

"I'd been spending all my time at the armory my first weeks, smoking dope and chatting it up with the other crewmates assigned there. Even found a girlfriend with benefits -to this day, heh-. But after I got smacked around, I was angry at the Captain and couldn't focus on my work, so I took a break to walk around the ship. And..."

He huffed in disbelief, as if revisiting the memory for the first time.

"In the first hours I walked around, I saw Caz and Wally get in a brawl because Caz spoke condescendingly of child soldiers; Wally was a former child soldier. Two months later, I went to the cafeteria and saw Elise threatening Lon with a fork because Lon had a strong argument against abortion; Elise had been a sex slave under a warlord for 5 years and was forced to conceive children. Three months after that, I passed by the fitness area and saw Ben casually one-handing a 160 pound bench weight over Jazz's neck, after Jazz had tried to persuade Ben that all fates were predetermined; Ben's only child had died from cancer at the age of 8."

Jeremiah contemplated Roble's words, thinking about the implications of what he said. Roble turned to him to speak directly- but not before taking another swig of his beer.

"I've been on this vessel for 2 years. You've been here for half that time. And in the last two months, I've seen more violence between the crew than in the last 2 years combined. And I've come to realize something: People are fragile. They are externally strong, but they can crumple very easily on the inside. Our Captain is an accomplished, decorated, tried-and-true war veteran with decades of experience behind him. At the same time, he is an eccentric, bizarre, short-tempered, socially-volatile maniac who beats on men who even mention sexual assault. Time and time again, he's saved our lives, made calls that saved our lives, and helped us back on our feet when we were down."

Roble scooted in, laying his hand on Jeremiah's shoulder to reassure him.

"We just discovered that resurrection is possible. Maybe to you and me, that's a reality we can cope with easily because we just started out in this world and we have time and normal responsibilities, so adjusting to it isn't as harsh. But to a 40 year old like Hawkes? With all the things he saw? All the terrible shit he had to live with, every day and night? All the responsibilities and duties he has now, to his crew, to the crew he just saved? Do you think he's able to wrap his head around this and not lose his shit sometimes?"

"Wait," Jeremiah interrupted. "Hawkes is 40? What? I thought he was 50."

"Nope," Roble responded- followed by another swig o' the beer. "He's 40 years old."

"How the hell does he have three decades of battle experience if he's 40? That would make him ten years old."

Roble said nothing, just stared at Jeremiah.

"Are you serious?" Jeremiah muttered. Roble nodded his head.

"Ayup. Hawkes was a child prodigy, and 30 years ago that was grounds for immediate conscription. He worked as a junior tactician first, but after he figured out the enemy fleet was planning a retreat followed by ambush, he was promoted to admiral at the age of ten and a half years old. So technically, twenty-nine and a half years of admiralty experience."

"How? Literally how?"

Roble shrugged. "When I say child prodigy, I mean child prodigy. He ended the Siege of Korres at the age of seventeen."

"No, I mean how the hell was this legal, or allowed?! Our military was just cool with having ten year old admirals?"

"Eleven."

"You know what I mean, jackass!"

Roble raised his hands in the air, as if deflecting accountability.

"What do you want me to say, Jeremy? I just told you about child soldiers. Our nation was fighting half a dozen wars less than 30 years ago. They probably were losing admirals left and right and needed to fill those replacements quickly. Ever heard of 'scraping the barrel'?"

Jeremiah sat back and exhaled in disbelief.

"This is a lot to take in."

"Yeah, now try being the Captain and dealing with ten times that stress."

"I get the point, can you shut up?"

The two sat silently for a bit, quietly enjoying the calm atmosphere.

...

...

...

...

...

"You know," Roble said. "I can't imagine what he felt when that first guy came back to life. I could hear him putting on a front with his sarcasm and brashness, but I could tell he was hurting inside."

"Hurting?"

"Yeah. Hurting. It's a double-edged sword, man. You helped bring back someone whose life was snuffed out in a bad way, but it reminds you of all the people you never got the chance to resurrect. It reminds you of the people you killed, the people you couldn't help. It's... maddening, I bet."

"Yeah..." Jeremiah mumbled. This conversation had given him more insight on the crew than he'd expected. "So, what? Do I just take the beatings as I go?"

"Jeremy, if the cost of being on this ship, being able to smoke dope, drink beer, make friends, have a purpose, find love, get freaky, help others, and give the dead a second chance is getting smacked around every so often, that's a cost I'll bear every single time." Roble said firmly. "You can feel free to go back to the indentured servitude on agrarian planets or industrial planets, or maybe you'll get lucky and find a job as a menial servant on a luxury colony. But for me, this is the best it gets. And I'll die on here if I have to."

"You do realize other worlds exist than agrarian, industrial and luxury colonies?"

"I'm making a point, wise guy. This is a great place to be. No doubt dangerous, no doubt risky, but nonetheless a place I feel like I belong."

Jeremiah nodded slightly. He couldn't deny that feeling. Being on this ship, seeing all the vibrant people, experiencing the Divinity Chamber and the connection to God... it was just indescribably marvelous. It was a fact that every human across the galaxy, without exception, had felt the connection on the day of the Second Resurrection.

Yet it was an odd, inextricable feeling. There was a noticeable discomfort to that feeling; as if an imbalance in the universe had caused this event. Jeremiah had his theories; that the Great Terror and its consequences had created a downward regression to humanity's progress, and needed to be corrected; or that the cynicism and grim outlook of humans galaxy-wide was cause for God to provide solace through this event.

Whatever the answer, Jeremiah knew that, ultimately, humanity was entering an era unlike any it had ever encountered before. And if there was one place he wanted to be for that kind of awakening, it was on this massive, powerful, friend-filled military vessel.

As for Anya...

Jeremiah thought back on the events an hour prior...

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

"She was raped and forcibly impregnated!"

The eagerness to which Jeremiah had said that to Hawkes, no matter how unintended it was-

CRACK!

Jeremiah fell over a tray of surgical tubes, left in terror as Hawkes hulked over him, expressing pure abject rage.

"WHO?!"

CRACK!

"I-I don't know, Captain!!"

"W-H-O?!?!"

Hawkes, in a blind rage, slammed his fist into Jeremiah's ribcage, causing him to flip multiple times across the room. After a few seconds, Hawkes returned to coherency. He was lost for words as he gazed at Jeremiah's body slumped over an Ottoman, groaning in pain.

"... I... I... That... that... that motherfucker..."

Hawkes stormed out of the room-

I'M GONNA RIP HIS LIMBS OFF AND BEAT HIM TO DEATH. I'LL GOUGE HIS EYES OUT AND SHOVE HIS TESTICLES IN THEIR PLACE. I'LL HANG HIM OVER A VAT OF BOILING OIL AND DIP HIM SLOWLY-

Calm down.

Hawkes stopped in his tracks, realizing he could hardly breathe. He recentered himself, placing his hands on his knees. He felt nauseous. He felt wrathful. He wanted to kill that scum of the earth as soon as he could.

But he couldn't do that. Not now. Not when he almost had him back to life. He needed to bring him back, so he could take his time with him. So he could delegate the suffering that was most needed for this... this... ill-bred shitheel.

And above everything else, he wanted the Tulpar crew to get their due justice.

He resumed his walking, this time at a brisk and fuming pace. Kill. Kill.

Ki-

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

-ll. Kill. Kill. Kill-

"Hawkes."

"Huh?" Hawkes responded in a haze. Swansea was trying to get his attention.

"It's beginning. Start praying or whatever the fuck."

"Oh... right... right. Don't... curse in here..."

"By the way, who's that guy curled up in the corner back there?"

"Oh, uh... that's Curly."

"....What?"

"That's Curly... We reformed his body."

Swansea was speechless for a moment as Hawkes walked away, looking between Hawkes and Curly in the corner. Moments passed, and still he was left silent and unable to render words. Meanwhile, Jezarit came forward, placing the communion wafer in Anya's mouth and gently pouring the wine down the wafer's surface, allowing it to cascade down her esophagus.

"O Lord Almighty," Jezarit began, gesturing around the room as the hundreds of crewmates fervently prayed in silence. "Anya Musume was an aspiring young medical professional, hailing from a humble family that wanted the best for her. She spent much of her youth studying diligently, and most of her young adulthood working diligently on her licensing!"

"Wha..." Swansea muttered, looking back at Curly as if his eyes deceived him. He rubbed them. Curly was still there, motionless in the corner. "What..."

He stood up in a daze, stumbling over to Curly and towering over his huddled figure for a few minutes. Unbelieving that he was standing here, cured of that awful state Swansea had gotten so used to.

"You're the cause of all this.. you... you... demon. Curly. How could you? Why? Why did you doom us to be stuck under that flailing psychopath?! You fuckin' piece of SHIT!"

Curly was in a perpetual state of shock, simply unable to process his surroundings. Enraged by his lack of response, Swansea grabbed him by his collar and slammed him against the wall.

"WHYYYYYYYYY, CURLLYYYYYYYY?!!!!"

Hawkes tried to separate the two, but was promptly thrown back by Swansea's arm.

"I want the answer outta YOUR fuckin' mouth, CURLY!" Swansea demanded, slamming him against the wall once more. "YOU DOOMED US!! WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR IT?!?!"

"Jimmy."

Swansea turned to glare murderously at Hawkes.

"What did you say?"

"It wasn't Curly that crashed the ship. It was Jimmy. Put some thought into it and you'll figure out that this makes more sense than your long-beloved Captain deciding to take a nosedive for no reason."

Swansea's face was swamped with uncertainty and doubt, eventually clouding over with blind rage. He turned back to Curly, this time gripping his hand around his throat and tightening it.

"So not only did you defend a rapist, you gave that same worthless thug the keys to the ship?"

Swansea leaned in, sneering with a mountain of contempt and loathing behind his every syllable.

"You aren't my Captain any longer."

Swansea tossed him to the ground with disregard, as Curly coughed, choked, and sobbed silently. Hawkes wanted to pity him, but after hearing that he had defended Jimmy...

"Ugh." Hawkes groaned in loathing. What a messy situation. A perfect demonstration of how the world wasn't just black and white. He leaned down and grabbed Curly's hand, pulling him up onto his feet. He was slightly disappointed when Curly's knees buckled and he crashed to the floor, unmoving and drained of energy.

"Well, sh- dang."

Hawkes couldn't help but fall in love with this crew. What beautiful, complicated souls. Not romantically, obviously- but in a familial sense. He had just brought them back to the land of the living. He had given them a second chance to live out their life to its fullest, to renew their relationships with their crew and others, and to have a new outlook on the beauty of life.

He, a shitty, undeserving decorated mass-murderer, had saved these people. Saved them. 

Could anyone find words to describe what that feels like?

What that feels... like?

He couldn't give up. Not on any of them. Only one needed the punishment that was deserving from all of this unnecessary suffering. Of course. A living Rachel. A Rachel he could exact justice upon.

A J-i-m-m-y.

Captain Hawkes silently cackled to himself, enjoying the depths of his own niche humor, much to the disturbance of Caz and Ramirez standing right behind him. They, of course, said nothing- it wasn't their place to request the Captain take a mental evaluation.

Nonetheless, Captain Hawkes was resolved. He still didn't have every part of this story, only the major elements. He needed to unravel the whole story, to understand the motivations and how this catastrophe ever got started. And it all traced back to Jimmy.

"Ceremony's beginning, sir."

"Set reminder for 6 hours."

"...I'm not an AI, sir."

The preacher walked forth to the body of Anya, proclaiming the eulogy further. I noticed, however, that he seemed to be off in his tempo and speech; as if he had just lost the script for his performative ritual.

"Anya was... a friend, a confidant, an advisor and a mentor. She... was bold, strong-willed, a mediator amongst her peers. She did not give ground when challenge met her in the field! When the perilous journey of the Tulpar took place, she was the first to... take charge! Her peers respected and revered her, as the vital medical officer that rose to the occasion. She did not cow to threats, nor lose her nerve when tough times arrived-"

Whoosh.

Hawkes felt Curly's presence storm past him, and sorely wished he had popcorn on hand. 

The preacher, Jezarit, was unaware of Curly up until the moment his eyes perceived a fist-

WHAM!

The preacher stumbled and fell to the floor, holding his nose and wincing in pain. He glared upwards only to be met with shuddering indignance spewing from every pore of Curly's body.

"You will not SIT HERE and desecrate the memory of Anya, you fucking bastard! Don't you dare LIE about her so boldly!"

Curly shuffled up to Anya's lifeless corpse, sobbing without making a sound as he traced his hands along her arms, face and hair.

"Look at her. Look at her, you idiots." He sobbed inconsolably. "I have my eyes back. I have my hands, my feet, my skin and normalcy. But all I can think about is how much I let down the woman I loved most in the world- the crew who looked up to me. All I can think about is how I was so disgusting, so cruel to give even a thought towards protecting that unspeakable monster... And I couldn't even see what was right in front of me, the treasure of my whole world..."

Curly collapsed to his knees, crying over Anya's body. His wails echoed throughout the massive chamber, leaving the air solemn and grim. Nobody wanted to interrupt such grieving; it was inhuman to even consider it.

"She was timid. She was anxious. She didn't like confrontation. She was lively, but nerdy and inquisitive. She failed her medical exams eight times and got a job on my freighter because it was the only place she could practice medicine. She loved reading about psychology. She was an expert on the safety manual. She wanted to visit Terra one day to see her ancestral homeland. And she relied on me. What did I do for her...?"

He cried. And cried. It was all he could do. He knew who was responsible for their torment, but he was the cause of it all. He was the one who brought that psycho onto the freighter; he was the one who ignored Anya's cries for help, the one who handed those fucking keys to Jimmy.

At every point where he had the opportunity to turn away from disaster, he failed completely.

For God's sake... he had to watch Anya commit suicide right in front of him.

"Anya, please. By God, please. Forgive me. Forgive me. I can never apologize enough. There is nothing in the universe I could give to free myself of what I did. There's no punishment worse than this feeling of regret and guilt. I don't want to exist. I can't bear this p-a-a-a-i-n. I can't let it end like this. The universe can't be this cruel..."

His eyes stung; he was utterly exhausted, but nothing except the drowning waves of regret and all-consuming guilt was there to accompany him. He felt alone in the world. He felt rejected by the universe. He felt rejected by... by...

In a sheer act of desperation, Curly lowered his head to the floor, bowing himself so low that he had practically meshed with the floor. His tears pooled around his forehead, dampening his hair and clouding his vision with particles of acute sorrow.

"Please, God. Let her live again. You may have whatever you want of me. You may take whatever you want. If I can see her again, I will never be so foolish and blind for the rest of my life. I will value her. I will love her. I will cherish her. And I will die for her. She will be my everything. My crew, and my Anya.

-------------------!

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(Art below is credited to @rabstergabster on Twitter/X)

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-

-

-

-

(Daisuke, Post-Revival)

- 

[oathsworn-visual-companion]

Oathsworn Final Character Notes

Before we started playing Band of Blades we learned that some players struggled with tracking character arcs/progression. As such, most of us ended up tracking a note for each character that they played at the end of most sessions (that they survived). Some folks also added a "Note 0" before we started playing. All notes for all characters below!

Abunalance

What good is a golden voice if the world is so full of violence and terrible listeners?

I will ensure the Beacon reaches the capital.

The witch has my cloak. I liked that cloak and it's not hers.

The legion is losing trust in me, but I know what is best for them.

Aisling

Pale skin. Ivy Hair. Sunken Eyes. Lanky. Puffy utility vest. Memento is a rusty caribeener with his ship's name (Scian) engraved on it.

Now has shark teeth because of blight.

I don't beleive Lance considered my safety when he told me to blow the horn

I don't let my friends go overboard

Aoife Bloodgood

Trickster with big mood swings. Was overcome with immense despair on the first mission possibly as emotional feedback from the breaking of Caisearbhán.

I used to believe that all life was sacred. Perhaps the loss of Caisearbhán signals the lose of that sanctity.

It was strange and refreshing to be useful for other talents besides violence.

I will kill the stars if it makes a future for me and my friends

Leadership terrifies me.

Bowie

Can do a backflip at ANYTIME

Builder Kayo

say what needs to be said and nothing more

save brute force for when it's most effective

the legion is capable. trust in them and show them they can trust in me

something build trust strengthen foundations legion tools something

people get a chance to talk

i won't let the legion hold me back from protecting people

Camdem

Good Singer

Jemma

I see Penthos in the corner of my eye.

Penthos and I will always be together, even when we're apart. (anxious)

I'm so glad Waloot, Penthos, and I are cool again

I've gotta keep an eye on Waloot.

Lark the Reticent

My silence is a choice, but that doesn't mean rookies can slack on learning the hand signals

I could have saved Rubberlegs, maybe, but I would have fallen too. I know I would. I know it.

Nabain Palisade

I can rely on my companions, I must be someone they can rely on in turn.

Sometimes to heal others I must lead them from harm.

A story can be as good as a tonic at times? (must look into this further)

I will excise the tumor of the Never from this world

There will continue to be new hope in this world

Lance needs looking after

They all need looking after.

That includes Serikali

I need to make sure all of my companions stay alive (we'll kill more Never that way anyway)

Despite everything, I'm still Chimorti.

Nikolaj

Born on Lis

The Astronomers - a snake looking upwards. they wear coats with pauldrons and a very tall neck (just eyes peeking through)

Leader of the Eyes of Smoke is a senator

Nikolaj knows the location of the secret Eyes of Smoke zone in the senate

now Legion Spymaster

Penthos

Most don't get a second chance. I've got to make this one count.

Rahel Kill Not a Creature

Failed to save Mitzrayim rookies at a shrine by the Well of Icario

Augur Karla was a fellow student from singing lessons. She always had a powerful voice

Maybe I can convince Karla to join like we did Nikolaj

Rao Nailbiter

Watch the captain's back, which sometimes means watching their mouth

Thar, born of Draknor

Talked a big game at the camp fire

Took supplies from the wagon at the behest of Alchemist Suleiman

Waloot

Good runner, we gotta be more careful if we want to save anyone.

And I'm gonna save everyone.

The Legion is my home.

Be willing to lie to protect your comrades.

Yvan Born of Umber

Their gender is shadows

[bulletbilltime]

Inspired by a tag game that @whimsicalcotton did on their page, I'm gonna write down the first 10 songs that come up when I shuffle my "current music rotation" playlist! And ramble about them bc I will never miss an opportunity to ramble.

Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart: This one was a bit of a sleeper for me but the melodrama of this song clicked for me late last year. The themes of imagining a whirlwind romance only to be brought back down to reality and the despair of loneliness recall songs like Taylor Swift's gold rush, Wicked's I'm Not That Girl, and Heart's Alone, which were big hits for me. Plus, it just sounds big and anthemic, and that stuff always clicks well with me!

MIKE - 222: Chill hip hop song with good vibes. Very typical fare from the rapper; not quite my favourite off that album but enjoyable nonetheless! More people should listen to MIKE's music IMO.

Kodaline - The One: A song I first got very into nearly 10 years ago to the day. It's become my go-to song to represent walking around on sunny days in the city or in the winter... or both. It's also a cute love song in general!

Some Are Lonely - This Is What Remains: God it's been like 3 months since I read that one Amberpricefield fic with the depressing ending, and this song is STILL rocking around. The lyrics are pretty malleable in feel to me; they can sometimes feel like reassurance that things will eventually be right even if they suck, just as much as they can be a depressing reminder that things suck and this is the hand you're dealt with and you gotta make due with it. I guess that's what makes it such an enduring hit song on my rotation, especially since I've been going through a fairly tumultuous time in my life.

Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar - Never Catch Me: A more niche Kendrick track, but it slaps all the same. I should listen to more songs from Flying Lotus tbh.

MujjO - A Song For Trees: This is one of the lo-fi tracks that can be heard in Spirit City Lofi Sessions. It's one of the tracks I really vibe with in the newest? playlist they added! That being said, I don't really seek it out much on my own. btw check out Spirit City Lofi Sessions if you enjoy lo-fi vibes and need something to motivate you to get things done!

Grape_Soda - Lullaby Of A Phoenix: Someone actually made the song that Sayori sings to Monika in the penultimate chapter of For The Longest Time and it's so cute... The singer does a good job capturing what her singing voice might sound like, and it captures the intimate, soothing and reassuring vibe the song is going for perfectly. It's back on my rotation bc I've been re-reading FTLT, along with another song that spawned from it. Good song to think about the blorbos to! Wish it was on Spotify like that other song, but that's alright.

Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence: This song is a massive throwback to my first time going downtown for work in the subways some 10 years ago. The way this chorus sounds recalls the sight of tunnel lights zooming past so nicely. Plus it's a bop idk!

Living In A Box - Living In A Box: It's a bop & I like singing "Imma livin in a box" to the chorus, even if the actual line is *Am I* living in a box. Words are fake anyway so who cares /j

Kendrick Lamar ft. SZA - luther: It's not really my fave on GNX (of the big 3 singles, I've warmed up to squabble up way more, and tv off may be getting there soon as well), but it's sweet enough! The sample is good, SZA is good, it's a good song. On the note of SZA, I really hope she clicks with me someday bc I feel like she never fully hits higher than a 7.5/10 on most of her own songs. She's a solid vocalist and I see why she's been a darling in the music circles I'm in, but her actual music hasn't clicked for me yet outside of Good Days. I need to give her an actual chance sometime... She's overdue to break through into my music taste.

This was a lot of fun actually! I might do that again sometime.

[davekat-sucks]

the reason fandom is so decisive and unfun at the moment is that people online are really convinced that politics needs to bleed into every facet of life. there is always a battle to be fought but never won. this shift is something i witnessed in 2015 here on tumblr and it's gotten worse ever since. people in fandom today have no concept of appropriate juncture. it's disturbing to me to see fanartists post images of children's corpses on social media. And if you point out that them sharing dead children is doing nothing but making people even more anxious, they get mad at you. how can anyone expect fandom to be fun when people are constantly talking about the horrors of war, in times like this we need escapism and curated feeds. note that i'm in no way saying that we should burry our heads in the sand and ignore world news, i'm saying that fandom should be an escape from the trauma of the real world or else we're just going to keep diving deeper into despair.

There can be politics in the story, but at best, the politics within the series is often separate from real world. Shit like the Voldemort or Darth Vader comparisons to Trump infuriate me so fucking much. And yeah, people who have been reblogging like the many injuries or deaths about the current events on their main is scary. Especially if it's not fully censored. It's straight up gore they are passing around. I get that people should be aware of what's going on, but I think something like sharing news through tweets or blog post, ain't gonna help the nation or people going through it. Hell, all these GoFundMe asks and links that get sent in my inbox, makes me think they are scammers. Real world sucks and people enjoy art such as music, books, or games, to escape from it. Life sucks as it is and we just want to have a break from it.

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday

Tagged by no one but timezones are weird so it's a given that my Monday is someone's Sunday (or Tuesday... if that works like that).

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @voidika @strangefable @josephseedismyfather @chazz-anova @adelaidedrubman @direwombat @inafieldofdaisies @poisonedtruth @cassietrn @shallow-gravy @gaeadene @g0dspeeed and @ishwaris

As per the announcement I made yesterday, there is now 8 days to go until Jurassic World Before The Storm from my @the-untitledverse-blog is released. In celebration, I'm sharing three music choices for the fic in question, a FC5 OC from my @the-silver-chronicles blog and a protagonist from my @life-despair-and-monsters-blog if anyone is interested.

Tomorrow will be some OC information for the upcoming fic if anyone is interested. I'll be putting up some OC ask games on my Far Cry The Silver Chronicles and Life, Despair & Monsters blogs as well.

Below is the music.

Here's a song for the upcoming Jurassic World fic, which is of course a Jurassic World song, as the occasion calls for it:

Life Finds A Way by NerdOut

"This power right in our hand, new world we couldn't resist But things don't follow the plan, problems that shouldn't exist How many times will we test this but we never learn? There's things we shouldn't have messed with We're watchin' it burn, no matter how much we pretendin' Life wasn't meant to be contained, life finds a way

Trapped in our own disaster, they've been here before The road we're on, they're gonna be here after Yeah, it finds a way, yeah, it finds a way And this time, no matter how much we're pretendin' Life wasn't meant to be contained, life finds a way."

Here's the song for the FC5 OC of mine, under the name Paul Yellowjack, who is Silva's adopted father... well, formerly that is. Here's the song:

A Man Without Love by Engelbert Humperdinck

"I cannot face this world that's fallen down on me So if you see my girl, please send her home to me Tell her about my heart that's slowly dying Say I can't stop myself from crying

Every day I wake up, then I start to break up Lonely is a man without love Every day I start out, then I cry my heart out Lonely is a man without love."

And here's a song for my Life, Despair & Monsters WIPs. Gives me a "protagonists vs antagonists" sort of vibe that I can't help but enjoy. Here's the song:

Take This City by Everfound feat. Joel of for KING & COUNTRY

"Apathy is killing me We could be the saints down on our knees Lifting each other Out of ashes out of ruins Hope will bring a new beginning If we break the silence

So lets take this city Our souls are singing, oh Can you feel the fire in your bones? I know we won't be defeated If love is leading, oh We're laying down our stones.

...

We were made for this moment We were meant to be here And we're not gonna stop Till the walls disappear."

[nazmazh]

Not that I speak for my whole generation, let alone GenZers too, but man...

My parents and their friends are such fuckin' Boomers(TM) about certain generation differences.

It's all "Nobody wants to work", "People want too much money for too little effort and that's why nobody likes hiring them."

And, like. Just... Ugh.

Trying to explain things to them from the point of view of someone who gets lumped in as "one of them damned Millennial socialist-types" (which, I mean, I am, but still - my points don't stop existing because of that) or what have you, would be like trying to explain particle physics to a brick.

They just utterly cannot wrap their heads around the idea that things have changed in significant ways.

That even with consumer goods being cheaper, the costs of living, especially establishing yourself when you're young have gone way up - Rent/housing, vehicles, food, maintenance, loan payments, etc. - God forbid you actually want to start a family on top of all of that.

While wages effectively decrease more and more, especially relative to the amount of actual productivity generated.

And that with that, a lot of the "stay late, put in 110%" mentality (while being toxic and fundamentally just being free labour for employers, which we're all more conscious of as being, well, shitty for us workers) - That stuff isn't a nicety that'll make you stand out and look good for an employer come promotion-time. It's just expected or outright demanded of you. And when it comes time to promote or at least give raises? Nah - They'll nickel and dime and hem and haw about giving their own workers more money or less duties - They'll just bring in someone who feels more exploited somewhere else - And then turn around and complain about disloyalty when their employees leave for greener pastures in the same way.

And we're all a lot more conscious of the ill-effects of too much stress and poor work-life balance, so we try to push back against being overworked and burnt out where we can (That being said I absolutely do know people my age and younger who willingly get into that "grind mindset" and I worry for them. Like, are they actually getting enough money to meaningfully get ahead? Or are they just working themselves into an early grave for no real benefit?)

It's no longer the "just walk in, shake the manager's hand, work in the same place until retirement and comfortably make enough to buy a house and raise your kids through university with your partner being a SAHP." world anymore.

Like, the Boomers just don't get that we're in a situation where working harder doesn't translate to meaningful improvements for our lives.

To the point that it feels impossible to meaningful get ahead and achieve "milestones".

And when you're stating that down, expecting it to only get worse because of policies Boomers voted into place and by-and-large continue to vote into place. And that this is the expectation of how your life is going to be for the next 40+ years- It does lead to a sort of crushing, existential despair.

And if that doesn't break you just a little bit, well you're probably doing a lot better than a lot of people.

So there's two approaches that emerge from that (and they're not mutually-exclusive):

The first is just to check out. "If this job isn't gonna pay my bills no matter how good I do it, I'm just gonna do enough not to get fired."

And honestly, there's always been people like this in the workforce. The Olds are just mad because "How dare someone young not hop-to when they ought to!" They'll complain about useless coworkers of the same age too, but not with the same vitriol. Not with the same disdain. And they won't dismiss the whole generation as "lazy" or worse because if them.

The second strategy is to embrace what you can - Enjoy our many frivolous things. Toys (including recreational vehicles), games, computers, phones, streaming services, makeup, clothes, good food, whatever floats your boat. Because, as I said, those sorts of things are relatively less expensive these days.

Because if you're gonna never really be able to get a house, no amount of cutting back on avocado toast is gonna change that. And there's no point in denying yourself little joys indefinitely to aspire to it.

And this offends The Olds, because, 'how dare you have conspicuous consumption of any kind of you complain about not being able to afford rent or a mortgage?!". And back in the day, maybe you could save a meaningful amount if you cut back on little luxuries, and it would make enough of a difference to get you into a house/whatever your goal was notably sooner. And it'd only mean tightening your belt for a pre-determined amount of time - Not in perpetuity.

And of course, that's assuming you have the luxury of disposable income at all. I know I'm relatively privileged with an MSc (even if disability means I can't work, myself), let alone any university, so my friend circle is largely similarly privileged. There's plenty of people - Both younger and older than me - That can't even cut back on luxuries to save, because there's no money going to luxuries, period.

I guess the shift is that even things that used to guarantee you a "good, middle-class life" aren't really guaranteeing that anymore.

The kicker is that they too complain about life being shitty, work sucking, etc.

But then when anyone proposes that maybe the whole system is broken and we could rethink it?

Well, now that's outrageous! "How dare you be so ungrateful and not just pull yourself by your bootstraps you lazy slacker?! And why bother trying to change things? Just get sloppy drunk every night at the bar after work or something like that. That's how we've always coped as a society!"

I don't know if I ultimately have a point or solution to any if this, beyond, like, a total societal shift in the way we approach labour compensation and property commodification.

I just needed to get this ranting out of my system after holding my tongue at the table, several hours ago at this point.

Because as much as I disagree with their whole approach, down to their utter lack of empathy for those suffering in a world they helped make, there wouldn't be anything meaningful for me to actually gain by engaging them on their misinformation in the heat of the moment.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to look up the difference between a fermion and a boson for a conversation I'm about to have with a paving stone.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Danganronpa 3 Future Arc episode 10.

Thonks.

There's an episode of Yugioh Abriged, I can't remember which but the opening is Yami Yugi crying and saying "this episode is filmed before a dead crying pharaoh."

That is the current vibe of this.

I am... Not looking forward to this.

I mean I am, because I am enjoying this series.

It just pulled a Munakata and stabbed me right through.

I did not think I was this attached to Kyoko.

But she's really grown on me much like Byakuya has grown on me.

... Good thing to learn... Now

Anyway, let's get on with it.

OH FUCK YOU!

NOOO

That's so mean, just giving me a flashback of the first game when Makoto ended up in the rubbish pit and Kyoko came for him.

They were so small back than.

And than bam right back to the present with everyone crying around her dead body.

They had fun with this didn't they? Bastards.

The audacity of Munakata to use this situation against Makoto, after he killed Juzo.

Makoto closing Kyoko's eyes and getting her blood his hand.

And he's angry.

Wipes his tears, gets up and says he's gonna face Munakata once and for all.

This isn't the first time we've seen Makoto angry, but this feels different. This is such a cold rage.

Ryota my dude... I like you but don't say that. He's not brushing her death off, he's heartbroken just as much as Asahina if not more.

He just doesn't have the luxury of breaking down right now.

He has a duty, he's going to fulfill it. It's what Kyoko wanted.

Him explaining it sounding so close to tears tho... Ooooh. I hope was Bryce okay when he did these voice overs.

Aw Asahina's little words or encouragement.

Aawwww him crying when he left the room, God my heart. I'm so glad that they aren't just brushing her death off.

Or minimising the impact of it. It is delivered as this awful tragedy and with such weight and pain, as it should be.

I think that Ruruka's body? I can't tell but man they've just been... Cut in half.

The little walk around and deep breathe, yeah I feel you there Makoto.

The flashback of Chisa sobbing to Munakata during the tragedy asking when it'll end.

See it did end but than you had to go and become the assassin of hope. Don't think that's what Chisa would've wanted.

Makoto's little self pep talk, he's just trying his best.

I love seeing the difference between Makoto and Munakata's perception of Hope.

Makoto sees it as a feeling that brings people up that he can use to help others. While Munakata sees it as a tool of destruction he can use to destroy all despair.

Makoto wants people to live, he wants them to live and spread hope. While Munakata is okay with sacrificing all life but himself if it means an end to despair.

Makoto saying "I'll stop you" and Munakata saying "I'll save you."

It's really unnerving that Munakata thinks that killing peoole is an act of compassion.

And the chase begins.

Munakata getting hit by the sprinklers and looking like a wet cat.

I hope somewhere Mondo and Sakura are giving Makoto pointers and cheering him on in this fight.

Was not expecting Makoto to try and fry Munakata alive.

My boi got violent.

This really went full Security breach.

Ouch, and the extinguisher don't work.

I love how he just threw it, it didn't work but props to him.

It zoomed back up and hit him. Never underestimate Makoto's luck, because it be both good and bad and unlike Nagito's not easily predictable.

Nagito's luck is very cause and effect, Makoto's is whenever the universe wants to stop using him as a punching bag.

"Why'd you stop, you can't kill me can you?"

Makoto I'm rooting for you, always but don't say that with a sword right above your head.

Oh shit yeah this is the same place they had that stand off before.

The one where he let you go, interesting.

Wait, his forbidden action is he can't open doors? That's why he's been dramatically breaking windows?

That's amazing.

And very on theme for the guy who's so close minded he literally can't open doors.

Smart move Makoto, trapping him in here if he kills you so he can't.

Clever.

Maybe don't make a deal with him, he can't kill you but he can hurt you.

... Like that.

"When did despair get its hooks into you"... When was the first day of school again?

Also fuck you Munakata, you have been, by your own wording seduced into darkness.

You're eye is literally all black.

Man even their shirts are symbolic with Makoto's being white and Munakata's black. And Munakata started out in a white suite and Makoto in a black suite.

I love stuff like this.

I'd love it more if Munakata wasn't strangling Makoto.

The word platitudes has been ruined, forever.

... Don't you dare bring Kyoko into this! How dare you.

Ahh so close to a "you got that wrong" but I'll allow it.

"You've got tunnel vision" it is genuinely a miracle this man can see.

Ohh I love that the Directors answer was that everyone's responsible.

Because everyone has despair it's not crazy to say that but Munakata takes that to mean I should kill everyone because they have despair.

And heck wow Chisa murdered some kids... Nevermind that's crazy what?

And admitted it in blood on a photo.

Yikes.

Awwh Makoto saying if it had been Kyoko, if she fell to despair even if he had to kill her he'd still be greatful and happy for the person she was.

That is so him.

"I'd always think of her as someone I couldn't possibly live without."

Among many things that's the difference between Makoto and Munakata.

Makoto would do anything to save another person, even if they were gone he'd remember them for who they were and honour the good they've done.

While Munakata seeks to destroy anyone who doesn't meet his ideals or perceptions of hope.

No one is immune to despair.

Munakata remembering who Chisa was and screaming, I feel like it's the first time he's really let himself grieve.

"I'm sorry Kyosuke."

Using his first name too, this is such a powerful scene.

Their not friends, but this is the first time these two have ever understood each other.

They've bared their souls, greiving the people they've lost and just thinking what do we do now?

And Munakata's eye turning to normal, just perfect.

This is unironically what the Martha scene in Batman V Superman should have been.

This is a perfect encapsulation of that shared greif and understanding between two people who've lost so much.

Oh oh shit Asahina figured it out.

Dun dun dunnnn....

Post credit scene of a ship near Jabberwock island.

... We are erm very much brushing past Chisa apparently murdering children which may have been from the brainwashing if that succeeded.

And than keeping the photos which he'd find on her corpse.

... That is so fucked up.

[waynes-multiverse]

Ooof, finally back! 😮‍💨 I've been thinking about this series way too much in the last couple of weeks. I'm so excited to dive back in 😍

Hey, I know we just met like two minutes ago, but I think we’re supposed to be together. Do you feel it too? You nearly roll your eyes at yourself. Yeah, that’ll go over well.

I'm so in love with their little bonding sessions. Being stuck inside a cabin and playing games? I want that 😍

And lol it's gotta be so awkward for true mates when they're still strangers. I absolutely adored her thought process throughout 😆

So you have to be content with mornings like this and in the evenings, where he lets you put on one of his records, and you two share dinner together, maybe another round of cards. Or you’ll read a book while lounging on the chaise, and he lays out on the couch, listening to his music with his eyes closed. You like watching him like that, with a relaxed, damn near peaceful set to his face.

Yes please 🫠🫠🫠

“Ah, don’t beat yourself up, sweetheart. I’ve been hustlin’ poker for a long time. Hell, I’ve been playing this game before I even knew my times tables,” he says as he collects the cards. “That young?” you reply. “Who taught you?” “My dad,” he says. “Oh, believe me, I used to get my ass kicked many a’ time, but by the time I turned sixteen, I was hustlin’ grown ass men in skeevy bars out of their daily paycheck.”

Love how Dean doesn't realize he's oversharing and that his whole childhood might not have been normal 😂

And oh God, all those journal entries 😭😭😭 I know they're from the OG journal, but it just rips my heart right out again rereading it 😢 Those portray John's despair and heartbreak way better than the show did...

In John’s words, your heart breaks for Dean, but you also see yourself. You try not to think about why.

Ooooh, let's think about it, shall we? 😏 Her dad might have totally been snatched by something supernatural. Considering their location and how it happened in her memories, it might have been a Wendigo?? 🤔

WENDIGO Cree: Evil that devours. Wood spirit. Eats live flesh. Lives in forests. Perfect hunter.

YEEEESSSSSS

Dude! Goosebumps! Wendigos scare the shit outta me 🙈 It's still why The Descent is the scariest movie for me. I die from a heart attack every time 😂 🫣

The coarse shout of a bear morphs into something other. It’s a sharper, whirring sound like wind howling amidst animalistic clicking, and then bones breaking

No, no, no, stop it! That description made me shudder 😶😶

“Omega?” calls Dean’s sharp voice. “You okay?” You jolt badly at the sudden noise. You didn’t hear him reenter the house.

No! Alex!!!! YOU KNOW THIS IS WHY I HATE SNOOPING

Girl, you're killing me here... 😆😆

“I was just curious. I wanted to know more about you. I thought it was…a normal journal.”

Love her explanation for reading his stuff. Reminds me of Smoke Eater 😄

“The sooner you heal up, the sooner I can ship you back to where you belong,” he says. “Back to your life, so you can stop sticking your nose into mine.”

Just then, you hear the crunch of snow nearby. Twigs snapping.

Oh no... Please tell me you didn't bring the Wenidgo back 😳

Plodding along the trail, heading towards you, is a bear.

I'm guessing this one ain't gonna be cute tho 😆

It doesn’t make much difference when all you have on your person is a can of bear spray.

Do not attack a Grizzly with bear spray! Just lie down, girl, and stop moving lol

Your voice dies in your throat when he rears up on his hind legs, with a loud roar.

She never heard of the three bears rule, has she? 😅 Well, hopefully Dean feels her distress and comes running soon 🙏

Two more shots finally bring it down to an even heavier thud, not far from your feet.

N'aw, I know it was necessary but poor bear – wrong place, wrong time for the fella 🥺💔

But the scent of your abject fear feels like someone tried to rip his lungs out through his stomach.

My heart is full 😭❤️❤️❤️ (Also, I doubt he can ever stand to let her go her own way after this lmao)

Second, when he sees you there, your wide, shiny eyes filled with the remnants of panic, yet relief at the sight of him, it takes everything within him not to drop to his knees, grab you by the hair, sink his teeth into your neck and claim you, right there in the snow.

Holy... That came out of the blue and completely whipped me across the face! 🫠🔥

“We’re gonna be eatin’ good for a while,” he says without looking at you.

Huh. Never eaten bear before... Never even thought about it before lol Also seems like something the Shaws would've done 😂

Omg I love that ending! Dean's finally coming around, and she's putting the puzzle pieces about her dad together. I wonder what Dean will do when he hears the full story? Would he go hunt the thing? Is it even still out there??? Questions upon questions... 🤔

So excited for the next part!! I'm loving this story and everything you've put in it, and the dynamic between them is amazing. So well done, friend 😍🩵🩵

Against the Wind - Part 2

Pairing: Alpha!Dean Winchester x F. Omega!Reader 

Summary: You wake up in a strange alpha’s cabin in the middle of a snowstorm, all with a busted ankle. He holds shadows in his eyes, even though his hands are gentle. There are iron shutters around his heart, even though he saved you. You might just save him in return.

AN: Thank you guys so much for all the amazing feedback on Part 1! Now, most of your theories and questions will be answered...

Jacklesverse Bingo24 Prompt: True Mates @jacklesversebingo

Song Inspo: “Against the Wind” by Bob Seger

Word Count: 3.8K

Tags/Warnings: Angst, and peril, the other kind of "hunting."

Series Masterlist || Bingo Masterlist

Part 2: Seems Like Yesterday

“I’ll raise you 25,” you say, tossing five chocolate covered pretzels into the middle pile. It’s a risky bet, considering how much you lost in the last hand. Dean regards you with an amused, if critical eye while he holds his cards.

“Ooh, you’re bluffing,” he says. You pop your brows at him, a subtle smile tugging at your lips.

“You want to test that theory? Put your money where your mouth is,” you challenge.

He tilts his head at you with a raise of his own brows.

“Cheeky omega,” he mutters. His attention returns to his cards as he deliberates on his next move.

You attempt to be nonchalant as you glance down at your cards again. It’s a shitty hand, but he doesn’t need to know that. The alpha’s won the last two hands of Texas Hold ‘Em, but you did win the first one. Though you suspect he let you win.

You want to at least even the score before he resumes his work out in the shed. He spends most of his time there during the day, or making sure the firewood is stocked. It seems like he takes any excuse not to spend too much time in your presence.

More than anything, you want to ask him if he feels what you feel—the same tug in the pit of your stomach every time he’s nearby. You just haven’t found a way to broach that with him.

Hey, I know we just met like two minutes ago, but I think we’re supposed to be together. Do you feel it too?

You nearly roll your eyes at yourself. Yeah, that’ll go over well.

So you have to be content with mornings like this and in the evenings, where he lets you put on one of his records, and you two share dinner together, maybe another round of cards. Or you’ll read a book while lounging on the chaise, and he lays out on the couch, listening to his music with his eyes closed. You like watching him like that, with a relaxed, damn near peaceful set to his face.

Too often he holds that harder, stoic expression, or that divot between his brows that makes you want to soothe two of your fingers there; or better yet, lean in and press your lips—

“It’s your move,” Dean reminds you. He’s finally played his hand, but you were too distracted to hear what he said.

“What’d you do?” you ask, surveying the piles of cards.

“Call,” he repeats, popping a few pretzels into his mouth. He washes it down with beer and more barbeque chips. Those are worth $10 in this little fantasy betting. He points a finger towards you with the same hand that holds his beer, teasing, “You got all the lights on in there? Or am I boring you?”

You glance up at him, fighting a smile. “All right, keep your pants on. Let me see…”

As the dealer, he’s already turned over the River: the last card in the hand. It’s a 10 of Clubs, which means your One Pair is actually a Two Pair. It’s still not a great hand, but it’s decent enough to maybe let you get the best of your opponent.

After you go “all in,” Dean’s lips twitch at a smile, and he humors you, going all in as well. You’re on tenterhooks when he finally reveals his hand.

“Ooh, it ain’t a cheesy ‘90s sitcom, but it’s still…a Full House,” he brags as he lays out each card in a smooth line of overlapping cards, the mix of glossy red diamonds and black spades showing the truth. He won again.

You huff in defeat, your shoulders sinking in your seat at the kitchen table. You turn over your measly hand. Sweeping the winnings toward himself (a mound of chocolate covered pretzels, a stack of barbecue chips, and a handful of Oreos), Dean chuckles and tosses you a wink.

“Ah, don’t beat yourself up, sweetheart. I’ve been hustlin’ poker for a long time. Hell, I’ve been playing this game before I even knew my times tables,” he says as he collects the cards.

“That young?” you reply. “Who taught you?”

“My dad,” he says. “Oh, believe me, I used to get my ass kicked many a’ time, but by the time I turned sixteen, I was hustlin’ grown ass men in skeevy bars out of their daily paycheck.”

“You were hanging out in bars at sixteen?” you ask incredulously. There, Dean seems to realize he’s said too much. He becomes more guarded as he puts away the deck and cleans the crumbs off the table.

“My dad was always working. You could say I didn’t really have a curfew,” he says.

“A latchkey kid, huh?” you reply, hiding the way you’re trying so hard to glean any more hints of truth between his words.

“Heh, yeah.” He gets up from the table and tosses the breakfast dishes in the sink, then travels to the front door to don his jacket and boots.

“All right, I’ll be out back,” he says.

Out back, code for out in the shed. You nod, and in a flash, he’s shutting the door behind him.

You’ve learned another small tidbit about him, one that feels more important than it seems on the surface. And yet, it only elicits more questions you doubt he’ll be willing to answer so easily. He’s more than tight-lipped about his past, only giving vague outlines and general pictures.

Even his stories—like being raised up in a family of traveling mechanics, putting Nair in Sam’s shampoo when he was a kid, or the guy’s serious fear of clowns—feel like they’re missing some key details.

You decide to take up your crutches and head for your room. There you unearth the journal from its hiding place under your pillow. This time, you turn to the very beginning. Before all the jargon about mythology (and an odd footnote about a “Turducken Slammer”), there are actual journal entries. The first one dates back to November 6, 1983. The first line already captures your attention.

I buried my wife today. Even as I write that down, I don’t believe it. Last week we were a normal family…eating dinner, going to Dean’s T-ball game, buying toys for baby Sammy. But in an instant, it all changed… When I try to think back, get it all straight in my head…I feel like I’m going crazy. Like someone ripped both my arms off, plucked my eyes out. I’m wandering around, alone and lost and I can’t do anything.

This is Dean’s father, you realize. The more that you read, with no small amount of dismay, you also realize that this man is writing about his wife, Mary.

Dean’s mom…

He writes about their house burning with all their memories inside, along with Mary. Somehow, he saw her pinned bloody to the ceiling.

Along with these pages is a clipping from a news story:

House Fire Kills Mother of Two

Lawrence, Kansas.

You’re spellbound by it all. You keep reading.

November 13, 1983

…Most of our clothes and photos are ruined, even our safe—the safe with Mary’s old diaries, the boys’ savings bonds, what little jewelry we had…all gone. How could my house, my whole life, go up like that, so fast, so hot? How could my wife just burn up and disappear?

The police don’t believe his story, about how she died before the fire, about what he saw. So he tries to convince himself that what he saw wasn’t real. Still, he can’t find rest, and he worries about his sons’ safety.

December 4, 1983

I haven’t let them out of my sight since the fire. Dean still hardly talks. I try to make small talk, or ask him if he wants to throw the baseball around. Anything to make him feel like a normal kid again. He never budges from my side—or from his brother.

Every morning when I wake up, Dean is inside the crib, arms wrapped around baby Sam. Like he’s trying to protect him from whatever is out there in the night.

Sammy cries a lot, wanting his mom. I don’t know how to stop it, and part of me doesn’t want to. It breaks my heart to think that soon he won’t remember her at all.

You don’t realize you’re crying until a droplet lands on the page. You quickly wipe it away before it becomes a stain, and you dry it all the way with your breath before you move on to the next page, sniffling. Your heart hurts, even as your guilt grows. You know now that you’re really, truly invading Dean’s privacy by reading his father’s words. You just can’t stop yourself from turning the next page.

John becomes convinced that someone, or something, started the fire that destroyed his life and took his wife away from him and his sons. He leaves his job and the remnants of that world behind, to venture deeper into the darker one. But in that darkness, he finds truth.

He visits a psychic, Missouri, who leads him back to his house and senses the echoes of an evil presence—something that shakes her to the core, and John too: the creature that killed his wife.

December 20

…She told me that it was the most powerful, awful thing she’s ever come across.

On January 1, 1984, John makes a New Year’s resolution. He determines to find the answers himself.

A shiver runs down your spine. In John’s words, your heart breaks for Dean, but you also see yourself. You try not to think about why.

You keep flipping through the rest of the journal past January. There are translations of a Latin exorcism, and like you read before, strange drawing of evil looking creatures—as well as what they are, scraps of their history, and how to kill them.

Silver bullet to the heart, can’t withstand iron, salt and burn.

You pause on a certain page, more filled with lore than the rest, and a primitive drawing in the center.

WENDIGO

Cree: Evil that devours.

Wood spirit. Eats live flesh. Lives in forests.

Perfect hunter.

Your breath stills in your lungs as a cold sweat forms across your skin. The more you read, the faster your heart beats.

The crunch of dead leaves. Your father shouting at you to run, and keep running.

The coarse shout of a bear morphs into something other. It’s a sharper, whirring sound like wind howling amidst animalistic clicking, and then bones breaking—your father’s scream cut short. You turn around with your rifle in hand, poised to shoot blindly.

Your stomach churns as bile rises into your throat. You feel sick, and wrong, and you suddenly have the urge to throw the journal against the wall.

“Omega?” calls Dean’s sharp voice. “You okay?”

You jolt badly at the sudden noise. You didn’t hear him reenter the house. He likely caught the scent of your distress. He pushes the door of your room open to find you, but he stops short in the doorway. His surprise quickly morphs into a frown when he notices what you’re holding in your lap.

You gasp, freezing where you sit, but there’s no point in trying to cover up what you’ve done. With an angry purse of his lips, he reaches over and takes the journal from your hands.

“What the hell are you doing with this?” he demands.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I just—” You swallow past the lump in your throat. “I was just curious. I wanted to know more about you. I thought it was…a normal journal.”

“So this is how you go about it, huh? Got everything you wanted, Columbo?” he says, his sarcasm cutting into you. He flips through the journal to make sure all the pages are intact before he tucks the journal under his arm. “Seriously, going into somebody’s stuff? Who the hell raised you?”

At that, you begin to bristle.

“My dad,” you snap back. Though remembering the passages you’ve lived with for the past few hours, you soften with a painful twinge of sympathy in your heart. 

“And it looks like yours raised you to be some kind of…well, what are you, a ghostbuster or something?” you ask.

His jaw locks. “Or something.” 

With an exasperated sigh at his hedging, you swing your legs around the edge of the bed and haul yourself up with your crutches so you can at least match his stance (more or less).

“Dean, please, just talk to me,” you implore, gesturing at the journal tucked under his arm. “The things I read—”

“Are none of your goddamn business!” he growls, making the omega inside you cringe. The alpha’s voice is deep and sharp, and even though he isn’t crowding you, his height and broadness are still intimidating.

“The sooner you heal up, the sooner I can ship you back to where you belong,” he says. “Back to your life, so you can stop sticking your nose into mine.” 

Your mouth actually falls open in shock. His vehement words feel almost as powerful as a physical blow, if to your soul. They make your arms tremble while holding yourself upright on your crutches. Hot tears well up in your eyes, though you try to blink them away. After a moment, you’re able to collect yourself enough to speak.

“I’m sorry for going through your stuff,” you say, in a quiet voice.

You hobble awkwardly past him out of the room. You don’t stop until you reach the front door, where your snow boots are. You manage to get them on by yourself so you can go outside and get some fresh air, not to mention some much needed distance from the alpha’s burning presence. You can still feel him trailing behind you. You hear his heavy boots.

“Where the hell are you going?” he grits out.

You hobble faster.

Dean watches you go out the door without a word in irritation, even though it triggers an alarm deep in his gut every time you leave the safety of the cabin. 

The snow depth has lightened somewhat since the storm, but it’s still not easy to navigate on your crutches. You get some distance from the cabin, mindful not to go too far. You know you’re limited, and you didn’t even take a gun with you.

Finding a solid tree to lean on, you rest there and try in vain to stifle your tears. You know you were wrong for snooping, and he had a right to be mad, but did he really have to be such a freakin’ bear? 

Fucking alphas. I swear.

You thought you were starting to connect with him, but clearly, Dean wants nothing to do with you. He wants you out of his life. 

Does he not feel the same pull you feel to him? Does he really not realize…that he’s meant to be your mate?

You take in a shaky breath through your nose. If he does, apparently he doesn’t care.

Just then, you hear the crunch of snow nearby. Twigs snapping.

Your body stiffens with a terrible memory—of that day in the woods. Your breath comes out in short puffs on the cold air, your eyes wide as you listen closely.

Hearing nothing, you allow yourself to breathe a little easier. You venture a few paces forward and to the right, but you stop shy of how it slopes downward. Some unnamed feeling tells you to look over the edge.

You lean over and cast your gaze down the slope, but all you see is snow and trees down below. With a shaky breath, you lean back and look out to the north again. Plodding along the trail, heading towards you, is a bear.

Oh shit…

You remember Dean mentioning something about a bear passing by his cabin a couple of days before the storm. Looks like he’s back to make his rounds.

His fur is dark; from this distance, you can’t tell if it’s a black bear or a grizzly. It doesn’t make much difference when all you have on your person is a can of bear spray. His gait is massive, unhurried, but he lets out a braying sound when your gaze meets his, as if acknowledging you. He stops there for a moment, assessing. Your body locks up with fear.

The bear groans again, this time sharper. You finally snap out of your reverie and force your body to move slowly backward with your crutches spearing into the snow. The cabin isn’t that far, maybe thirty or forty yards at most. Still, the bear can probably beat you.

Instead of trying to run, you stand your ground and shout at the bear, hoping he’ll back off. Your voice dies in your throat when he rears up on his hind legs, with a loud roar. Trembling, you miss a step and get knocked back into the snow on your ass, your crunches falling out at your sides. You scramble inside your jacket for anything that might help you. 

Bear spray!

You hurry to get the cap off with shaking hands, but before you can even aim, the creature’s heave paws thudding into the ground in front of you—a gunshot rings out and hits the animal in the chest. 

The bear falters, then roars in pain and anger.

Two more shots finally bring it down to an even heavier thud, not far from your feet.

In this moment, these are the things you don’t know about Dean Winchester:

For one, the scent of an omega in distress always calls to an alpha’s protective instincts. But the scent of your abject fear feels like someone tried to rip his lungs out through his stomach.

Second, when he sees you there, your wide, shiny eyes filled with the remnants of panic, yet relief at the sight of him, it takes everything within him not to drop to his knees, grab you by the hair, sink his teeth into your neck and claim you, right there in the snow. Maybe then you’d start listening to him and stop taking your life into your hands.

Instead, his lips purse as he wracks his rifle and slings the strap of it over his shoulder. He stalks toward you and scoops you up, crutches and all. He brings you back to the cabin without a word.

His jaw is once again locked with silence and strain; he doesn’t trust himself to speak until he’s brought you inside and carried you over to the chaise. He sits beside you there and takes an inventory of you with his eyes.

“You okay?” he asks at last.

You manage to meet his gaze and give a little nod.

“Okay. Don’t move,” he says shortly. He gets up and goes to the kitchen, where he grabs a foldable set of knives and a cooler from under the sink.

You watch him in silence, and you realize he’s going back to gut the bear. You didn’t know that he actually hunted out here…well, hunted to eat. He continues to gather items in silence. It gets to a point where you can’t stand it, or his curtness, any longer.

“Thank you,” you say, halting his steps. Dean glances at you over his shoulder, then continues strapping up his supplies. He huffs in response.

“We’re gonna be eatin’ good for a while,” he says without looking at you. 

His attitude both hurts you and aggravates you, so much that you refuse to take it anymore. 

“Look, Dean. I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have butted into your life,” you say. Frustrated tears well up in your eyes. Expelling a sharp sigh, you amend yourself. “I’m sorry for invading your privacy. I’m sorry about what you went through, and I’m…I’m sorry about your mom. I’m sorry for today. I’ll just…stay out of your way, and I’ll leave as soon as I can.”

Dean finally turns your way, but your lips tremble as you turn your face away from him and shut your eyes tightly against the salty burn of tears. Deep inside, his heart withers in his chest. He sighs and drops his supplies on the couch. He walks over with those heavy boots, and he sits on the edge of the chaise beside you. He hesitates for a moment, but eventually, he rests a warm, calloused hand on your arm and earns your tearful gaze. 

“I’m sorry. I, uh…shouldn’t have yelled at you,” he says. 

You sniff, quickly wiping away your embarrassing tears as they come. Your cheeks are hot with it.

“What is it you wanna know? About me,” he asks, surprising you that much more.

 Your mouth parts, but nothing comes out. It takes you some time to think, but the first thing that comes to your mind is…

“Everything in that journal,” you say, licking your dry lips. “Is it real?”

Dean holds your gaze steadily. You know the truth without him having to say it, but he does.

“I was a hunter,” he says. “Those things you read about, I found ‘em. Killed ‘em. It was my job.”

“And now?” you ask, once that large bit of information has time to set into your brain.

His lips tug at a half smile. “Consider me…mostly retired.”

You exhale softly, and you nod. It earns a furrowed look from Dean.

“You don’t seem all that freaked out by this,” he says, with a more scrutinizing gaze on you.

“Should I be?” you say, with an unsteady laugh.

He raises his brows. “In my experience, yeah.”

You chew on the inside of your lip. You don’t know if you should even put into words what you’ve been holding onto for months. Like John, no one believed you. Even your own mother had started to look at you like you needed a shrink.

“Omega?” Dean presses. His green eyes are perceptive as they take in the conflicted look on your face. “There something you wanna tell me?”

You deliberate for a moment longer. Then, you release a sigh and glance down at your hands clenching in your lap.

“A few months ago, I lost my dad,” you begin.

Dean nods. “Yeah, you said—”

“I lost him in these woods,” you say.

That quiets the alpha.

You shake your head, and you find your words as the memories that have been haunting your nights return to you.

“Like I said, we used to go hiking here every year…”

AN: Just so you know, all of the journal entries appear in the official "John's Journal" SPN merch. 😉

Next Time:

Unease prickles down your spine, though you don’t know why.

“Dad?” you whisper-yell, trying not to spook whatever animal might be out there.

A gunshot rings out, along with your dad’s voice in a shout. Your eyes widen in alarm, and you call his name louder, taking off in a run to find him.

You end up rising over a hill you hadn’t crossed before, but you see your dad below; you recognize his bright blue puffer jacket that Mom got him for his birthday. You call his name, and he looks up at you with fear in his eyes.

Not for himself, but for you.

▶️ Keep Reading: Part 3

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[review-anon]

Pokemon X DTFA AU: The Killing Games

//Because I need something to destress me after Monday's chaos, here I'm gonna talk about how the Killing Games work with Pokemon.

//Most people have a full team but since most would have fully evolved Pokemon or have abilities that would destroy the Killing Game, the Pokemon are taken away by the Masterminds.

//All except for one which is typically their Starter/Ace who is kept on them, but is devolved and has reduced experience so they don't have the strength to break out of the Killing Game. Yasuke has invented a machine to devolve Pokemon that was used to help detain criminals with dangerous Pokemon, but Ultimate Despair has retooled to help make sure their victim's Pokemon cannot fight back.

//Where the rest of the Pokemon went depends on the Mastermind. Junko sent them all to the Slough of Desposed to be looked after by Gundham. Future Foundation has already confesicated and purifying the Remnants of Despair's Pokemon. Utsuro had Terapagos use its powers to send them away to another universe where they can never find their trainers again and please don't ask me what Void did to their victim's Pokemon. Just don't.

//Junko is very careful to not be shown killing Pokemon since she knows it would rally people against her and ruin the Killing Game. However as she got more and more high and deranged from the drugs, she then started to kill them, with the breaking point being when she killed both Chihiro's and Sakura's teams in front of the students in Chapter 4, which backfired terribly for her.

//Aside from that, most Pokemon do outlive their owners and the others take the Pokemon for themselves. In the case of the main characters; they take the ace's of the victims when they find the Pokeballs in locations associated with the crime or victim.

//As such I will show off the teams of all the main characters in the Killing Games of DTFA, that being the Killing School Life, the Killing School Trip, the Proto Killing Game and finally Utsuroshima's Killing game.

//First up Makoto Naegi's Team.

Mega Venusaur: Makoto's starter. Bulbasaur is a Pokemon I associate greatly with Makoto Naegi, as Makoto's name is a reference to plants and such a Grass type suits him well. In addition, Makoto is known for fighting dirty and with Toxic + Leech Seed, Venusaur is a nasty stall Pokemon.

Evolutions in the Killings I associate with story moments so Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur at the end of Chapter 1 when Makoto vows to carry on the legacy of the fallen, Ivysaur evolves into Venusaur in Chapter 5 when Makoto decides he's gonna lie to protect Kyoko and finally when Makoto is decleared the Ultimate Hope, Kyoko gives him a Venusaurnite, as she found a lot of Mega Stones in his office.

Swanna: Sayaka's ace. We all know the story of Makoto saving a crane in middle school and Sayaka saw that. Well there's not a lot of crane Pokemon so Swanna it and she was a Ducklett when Makoto saved her.

Salamence: Kyotaka's Ace. Psuedo Legendaries are not easy to evolve since they require a lot of experience and hard work, plus for a long time they aren't the strongest Pokemon around, which for someone with a pure work ethic like Taka, suits him very well.

Gardevoir: Hifumi's Ace. Do I REALLY need to say why this is Hifumi's Ace? Do I? You can all figure it out, as you have been on the internet long enough for that.

Lucario: Sakura's Ace. With how she is, ANY fighting Pokemon would suit her, but Lucario was chosen due to how iconic it is plus how it evolves via friendship, and Sakura defied the Mastermind because she formed close bonds with the other students. Originally Aoi had it and its why it dodged the execution that killed its friends but due to how guilty she felt over the whole thing, she gave Sakura's Lucario to Makoto.

Dusk Form Lycanroc: Mukuro's Ace. With Fenrir and its wolf motif I had limited options and Lycanroc was the only one for her. Found in her room, its the only ace who hasn't had their experience tampered with and was very aggressive when let out of its Pokeball. But it calmed down when it saw Makoto since we all know Mukuro was friendly with him. Dusk Form is the most meancing so I went for that.

//Makoto also gains a Rotom at some point which was Chihiro's Ace. The association it has with technology makes it the perfect Pokemon for Chihiro but sadly it died alongside the rest of Chihiro's team as Makoto and Kyoko used Rotom to hack into the school network and well...Junko didn't like that.

//So overall quite a balanced team and really makes Makoto a force to be reakoned with. And even though Makoto does get the rest of his old team back, I imagine he still keeps these guys around.

//Next up Hajime Hinata's Team!

Hisuian Typhlosion: Before you all come at me, this would have been Hajime's starter when he went to Hope's Peak. But because he was given a Cyndaquil after he enrolled when he awoke on Jabberwock Island, he had no Pokemon which confused Nagito since all HPA students should have one so Usami magicied up a Cyndaquil based from his memories. As for the Hisuian form, its due to all the deaths that Hajime has to endure and his starter sees all of that hence the ghost type evolution.

Yanmega: Mahiru's Ace. I recall a chapter from Detective Pikachu the Video Game when a film crew used Yanmas to hold cameras and use them to make the best angled shots and I thought there's no way the Ultimate Photographer would NOT use this. Its fast and get the right shots in, what's not to like?

Toxitricity: Ibuki's Ace. C'mon this is like the most Ibuki coded Pokemon imaginable as it would help her with all of her screeching music. And if you thought Ibuki's songs were painful...this guy when he gets going...everyone is KOed.

Gengar: Hiyoko's Ace. The way me and Poi see it, Hiyoko has two teams. Her "official" team when with the Sainoji clan which is very prim and proper with a Sensei style Oricoro as the Sainoji clan grows the special flowers that can trigger the style in Oricoro. But Hiyoko hates that team and so she has one more true to herself which has way more Ghost, Fairy and other mischevious Pokemon in them, suited for the gremlin she is. Chief among them is Haunter, since well no way Hiyoko would get a Gengar, in fact its when Hajime gets Hiyoko's Haunter that it evolves into Gengar since its considered a trade. No Minatchi (Mindy's JP Name) here!

Audino: Nekomaru's Ace. As this Pokemon can detect heartbeats, it would be a vital Pokemon for him and his bad heart to have. I imagine Erina getting it for him as soon as she can once it came to light her son has a bad heart. Its not the most damaging Pokemon on Hajime's team, but it is a wall that can absorb damage so watch out.

Sylveon: Chiaki's Ace. Eevee is the kind of cute Pokemon I would expect to see on Chiaki as I imagine it cutely being in her backpack alongside the conloses she's carrying. I could have gone anyway with the evolution but I felt Sylveon, the Pokemon that evolves via knowing a Fairy move and with high enough friendship, be the most fitting one for Goodbye Despair's events.

//Ultimate Imposter is the unseen one and at first it seems he has a Alolan Meowth. But Hajime can't help but notice that it runs out of PP quite quickly while training and while it takes until the truth of the Ultimate Imposter comes out, its here when its revealed the Alolan Meowth is in fact a Ditto! Not kept on Hajime's battle team due to how poor Ditto fares in combat but remarkably good when it comes to stealth.

//Yeah a lot of Normal and Poison types, something that Nagito takes note of when Hajime is gathering the team, and kinda foreshadowing what Hajime's true identity is plotwise.

//He does have an alternative team when he awakens and fights AI Junko but since that contains spoilers for DTFA I cannot show it.

//So let's move onto Yuki Maeda's Team in the Proto Killing Game.

Torterra: Much like Makoto, Yuki is a guy I can see with Turtwig as a starter. Now when Utsuro kidnapped Yuki, he stole his Pokemon and had their memories scrambled so they accept Utsuro as their trainer as even with the shapeshifting in play, they would be able to tell the difference. And to keep up with the memory loss, it was devolved to Turtwig to keep up with the illusion of him being a victim. Its also foreshadowing what Utsuro actually has as his Pokemon.

Inteleon: Kiyoka's Ace. Given this a Pokemon with the signature move Snipe Shot, I HAD to give it to her. Plus it being a starter Pokemon is on brand with Kiyoka's desire to be a normal girl. And with how often chameleons change their apperances, really suits Kiyoka wanting to go into make-up as well. Given what Mitch's Ace is...it really comes off as ironic.

Pom-Pom Oricoro: Kizuna's Ace. Its got to be done. And hey I used one in my Sun Team so it cannot be all bad. I do imagine unlike canon Kizuna (Sorry Carol but let's face it, canonically Kizuna is a BIITTTCCHHH) her Oricoro is more tame. Maybe a bit on the sassy side but nothing like its trainer once was.

Blissey: Kanata's Ace. If you don't know why Kanata has a Blissey then I have nothing to say to you. I can confirm its not running the Death nurse moveset since Kanata is not a serial killer. Its still a tanky girl who won't go down easily though, at least on the physical side.

Haxorus: Kakeru's Ace. It was quite hard to find a lawyer-like Pokemon for him, because as much as Nintendo loves sueing everyone under the sun, there's no Pokemon that's the face of when the 10000000th fangame project is terminated by Video Gaming Disney. Haxorus seems like the most logical to me so its the one that goes.

Pidgeot: Haruhiko's Ace. Much like Sakura for Makoto's Team, any fast Flying Type would work for Haruhiko, like Noctowl, Skarmory or even Corviknight. But I decided on Pidgeot for the sheer fact it can breeze through hurricane winds like nothing, and that's the sort of energy that Haruhiko would carry.

//I would mention what Yamato's Ace is but I don't need to for one very important reason.

//So overall another balanced team but then as the Proto Killing Game carries on, Yuki dies and Utsuro comes back and well...his first act is using his actual ace to yeet Torterra into another dimension to annoy some poor Hisiuan player in PLA, Oricoro is also ejected since it refused to help Utsuro and well his team that he crushes Tsurugi, Rei and Teruya with is as follows;

//Yep Terapagos joins Utsuro's team as his true partner Pokemon, Pidgeot Mega Evolves and all trhe Pokemon go shiny due to Divine Luck. Is it good for the Pokemon? Probably not but Utsuro doesn't care about that.

//And this is why I didn't mention what Yamato's ace was since its Klinklang, as an artifical Pokemon, it would be fitting to have for a inventor like Yamato. It joins the team when Oricoro is kicked out and with this team...the survivors didn't stand a chance.

//The only reason they even lived was due to Akane betraying Utsuro and that causing Terapagos to go into its Stellar Form and just go beserk, tearing apart the Kisragi Foundation building and killing Utsuro and Akane in the process...or so it seems.

//Currently Terapagos is near where Utsuro's body is in its dormant state having used up all its energy. Void eventually manage to retrieve it but have zero way to reactivate Terapagos as only the Nexus of Divine Luck can do that. So for now, its a pretty crystal.

And finally, only one Killing Game protagonist left and that is Sora which this is her team;

Type: Null: This is Sora's partner Pokemon as being a artifical creation made to counter Ultra Beasts plus being a fake Arceus, it suits Sora very well. Since Sword/Shield showed that Aether Foundation have shit sercuity, if some random Galarian hacker could steal Type: Null data and replicate it, then Mikado Sannoji could easily do it. As for the shiny its due to Sora having Divine Luck...nothing more needs to be said there. Heck even the helmet works due to Sora being under Mikado's control much like how Type: Null cannot use its true power.

Tsurenna: Yuri's Ace. Given who Yuri is, I imagine him having a team of mostly artifical Pokemon as well as overly feminine Pokemon, and since Gardevoir was Tsurenna's ace, Lopunny is more for Kotoko, Salazzle is...kinda illegal that just leaves Tsurenna. As let's face it, Yuri would like to be stepped on by her.

Metagross: Koroko's Ace. Metagross is a Pokemon that operates on cold hard logic, it always takes the most logical path and doesn't care about morals and ethics, given who Koroko is, this is the perfect Pokemon for her, as a Pokemon that gives similar zero shits to morals would be more on brand to assist her with her research into emotions, which given its supercomputer like intellect, it could do very well.

Hisuian Electrode: Setsuka's Ace. If you watched that cartoon short on Pokemon's Youtube account about Hisuian Voltorb, then you know it is perfect for Setsuka as it has a similarly jolly and jokester like personality. This one was VERY lucky to live as Kanade is a known Pokemon killer and she was trying to kill this guy, but thankfully its Pokeball is located near the medical kit Kanade accidentelly dropped due to Divine Luck BS so it was able to survive being killed. But yeah Kanade kills Pokemon, because she isn't shitty enough, and her Pokemon kill count is far greater then her human kill count.

Emboar: Shinji's Ace. We all knew I was gonna do a Fire/Fighting joke with Shinji the question is which one. I went for Emboar because prior to Legends Z-A announcing it, Tepig was the most overlooked of them all and I wanted to give it some love. Plus its Pokedex Entry mentions it cares deeply about its friends, which fits Shinji to a t. So even if Emboar in Legends Z-A gets a regional form/Mega, I would most likely not change it as the normal form suits Shinji just fine.

Kecleon: Teruya's Ace. Yeah I know PMD joke, its so obvious and its as strong as the shopkeepers there when you steal from them. Ftr this wasn't Teruya's Pokemon in the Proto Killing Game as he had a Sceptile there, as its a Pokemon I could see Teruya with, especially with him being from Hoenn in this AU. The Kecleon was actually owned by Teruya's father and it was when he was looking into why he became a Remnant of Despair that he found his father's old Kecleon and after Future Foundation purified it due to being a Shadow Pokemon, it was added to Teruya's team.

//A powerful team indeed and one that gets even stronger once Sora realises she has Divine Luck and tells Mikado to fuck off.

//Once Sora awakens and removes the programming shackles Mikado has on her, Type: Null evolves into Slivally and Sora manages to find its memory discs. With it she has an ace that can change typing within battle and with Multi Attack, she always has a STAB move. Netherless to say even though fighting Mikado is like fighting AI Sada and Turo with a full team of Paradox Pokemon, she wins. Her other Pokemon aren't slouches either.

//Koroko's Metagross gains its Mega Stone as during the glitchy investigation, Sora and Yoruko find a Metagrossnite, and use it to unlock Metagross's full potential. This is something I could see Koroko using as her dedication to do whatever she can to get her data, is similar to how determined Metagross is with its ambitions so they would be in sync with each other.

//None of the Pokemon shine like Utsuro's did since that process is actually very lethal and the aces were slowly dying but Utsuro didn't care about that. Sora though does so no shiny spread.

//And that is all of the teams the Main characters used in their Killing Games! Its a unique idea that you start with your starter, but as people die, you gain their Pokemon and later use them to fight against the culprits, which leads to interesting teams indeed.

//How do you guys feel about this, let me know. And yeah I'm getting back into the groove. If I do another of these, it will be what the Pokemon Protagonist and their Rivals teams are since due to them being player characters, its not set in stone what their "canonical" teams are. Similarly its not clear if rival teams change or not.

[shslpunkartist99]

I demand details on that Symbol verse's possible recovery situation you mentioned. Share them now or else I'll kidnap Sharky and the babies for the day. 🔫 /LH

Ashdksljsklas

I get distracted with gaming with friends, so I'll see if I can make it quick. Still a lot tho

When Leroy heard that Pachinko was able to get Tsuri's maid and butler to the city, he wondered if he could possibly get his siblings to join as well. Tsuri, however, immediately went to Oreo and tried to convince them NOT to bring those two here, as that would probably make things worse for Leroy. Oreo didn't know the situation, but they wouldn't want to deny Leroy's wish if it made him happy, so when Leroy eventually brought up it, Oreo suggested:

"Let's see them from our perspective. They won't see nor hear us, but we'll see where they are and how they're doing."

Leroy immediately agreed, and what he saw was.. despair. He saw Leona get beaten down and thrown about. Laughed and spit on. Before some cash was tossed at her limp body, which was shaking in pain and fear. Leroy cried out to his sister, wanting to pull her out, but just as Oreo said, Leona couldn't hear nor feel him.

Leo was just as bad. Seeing the lifeless person be dragged along by his superiors in a dark and full of fumes room made Leroy feel sick. Leo couldn't even react to the food pushed to his face, until a gas mask was brought to him, in which he inhaled as much as he could. He looked so pale and skinny, so fragile, so.. dead inside.

Leroy couldn't take it. He had no idea his siblings were going through such turmoil. How did he not try and find them sooner?? Why did he just... wait?! Well, no more waiting. No more suffering. Through angry tears, Leroy begged for Oreo to bring those two into the city. He'll take full responsibility for them.

Oreo agreed, and thus the two were suddenly teleported to the city.

Leona was shocked at first, terror sinking in as not knowing where she was now. Leo barely reacted; just kept staring at the ground. None of them recognized Leroy, who had completely changed from the small little redhead they last remembered. Leroy brought them to his cafe, leading Leona and holding Leo's hand, and sat them down. It took a lot of strength to not break down in front of them. He made tea for them and tried his best to explain why they were here and what exactly "here" was. It was all a shock for Leona, but she tried her best to listen and understand what was happening. It's unclear if Leo was listening or not.

"Listen.. I had no idea who two were going through such terrible things.. I saw those bastards beat you down, Leona, a-and I saw how they treated you as well, Leo. This city is a secret place that nobody can leave once they enter, and.. I'm in a position of power. I'm gonna do everything in my power to help you two. I'll keep you safe, I'll make your lives better, I-I'll.. I'll do anything and everything to give you guys a happier life than what you were going through! I promise.."

That's when Leroy broke down into tears again. He wanted to be happy that he had his siblings back, but he still felt so horrible for what they went through. But at the end, Leona pulled her brothers into a tight hug, also crying and promising to be better, even if she fears the gang controlling her will find them.

"Don't worry about that.." Leroy assured. "If they somehow manage to find this place.. I'll personally give them a 'warm welcome'.."

[maguro13-2]

War of Shadow Realm ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 4 Epilogue (1/5) ~

*Heartbeat echoeing*

Seto : I...I...I finally understand what truth really meant to this world. All that pain, all that struggle, all the troubles that caused by people's problems and therefore the world of Needless is gone. The one who only erased the world of Needless, it was me! I left the world when I died and...I'm not gonna let it happen again! (stands up and pulls out her sword) I will not cower in fear and face against the actions that we did! I may have a sin of greed like Krabs or the Eds, but that doesn't I do not care about money...I care about saving others! That is why I chose to fight as a hero and become Shinigami of Today!

Solva : I only regret that you'll ever be a pity that the world of Needless isn't like the real world that we live in, and that's the fact!

[Lance Lullaby - Sota Fujimori]

Inky Evans : Quite the hero, you say? (laughs evilly) I've only underestimated that you finally the left the world of Needless which you destroyed it, and it hardly pains you that you struggle your actions from the truth and let the chains break loose from your past world. So, in this terms for Inky Albarn's master plan, the predictions of her ruling the world will be an astonishing achievement and the planet shall be her's to give the human race their demise and despair! I only let you girls proceed so that the Kusakabe would never suspect the queen's true intentions of covering this world into darkness. So, now the deception from Shinra is over, I will dispose of you all and the game will finally be over, both shounens, shoujo, and seinen must die alone together. Die!

*DBZ SFX : Energy Shot*

Kimial Diehl : Hold it right there,ya creep!

Ashley : Kimial! Right on time!

Kimial Diehl : This is time! I won't let you get away with it. So you must be responsible for breaking the seal of Inky Albarn's imprisonment, you are going to regret that for the rest of your life! I assume that I won't have any take backs from you, sh*thead!

Inky Evans : Sounds like you wouldn't even grudge against the forces of nature, haven't you? I bet that the people would even think that I would grudge against all law enforcements on earth, including you two detectives that fights crime and serving justice to all those who committed a crime, and crime itself doesn't pay a small steep price. But in this case, I don't have time for slow pokes like you, it'll be a bad start to fight against me! [Recreates Motorbike with his magic]

[Crush thy Name - Yutaka Minobe]

Inky Evans : Hope that Soul Evans guy doesn't even recognize how dumb this planet is, the real world is going to be toast forever! The next time we meet, the next time it'll be you on the list! I will make sure that you'll never find a way to stop me or the queen itself! (turns on his motorbike and starts flying off]

Eve Neuschwanstein : So, it's gonna be like that, huh? Guess this means it's time for a little challenge that is good enough to stop me. I wonder how the real Maka Albarn is doing?

"Meanwhile later..."

Maka Albarn : Hmmm...It's quiet. Too quiet. I don't feel myself lucky that it's a rough landing for me to handle our peace. But it's a good thing that we manage to hunt down the poison spear monster in Egypt. Woowee! I'm feeling lucky today, sis!

Moirai Albarn : Glad that you finally knew that our relationship won't last forever, you and I...are both coming along together and that's how things work in the family. You have mom, you have father, your other father, and you have me, your sister. So I may have my attention to assure that I was not in the situation of concerning the plans of how are we going to take responsiblity for ourselves. You know, I had my reasons to be with you, In fact. Will Makoto ever...(a spot on the red is shown on Maka's head) Hey, sis. You got a red spot on your head. Is just me or does it looks like it's moving all around you?

Maka Albarn : Red spot all over on me, where did you see a red spot on my...Sister, I don't think we're not alone.

[lights were suddenly turned on]

Egg Pawn : Freeze! This is the Hang Castle Security Unit! Put your hands up in the air and stay where you are!

[Endrum Collective - Hideaki Kobayashi]

Maka Albarn : Hey! What's going on?! Why are these machines are telling us to do that?! Hold on, who's in charge. Sister, did these machines told that are you responsible for the attacks in this country?

Moirai Albarn : [to Maka] What?! Nepgear, no! I would never do such thing to this big city in the far east! That's crazy talk! I didn't think that you were responsible for the upcoming monster attacks and there was literally no proof that you didn't do it! You've been framed! Fooled by! And I suspect that you were never responsible for a crime that you did not commit!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Maka Albarn, daughter and heir of the Phantonian race. I have you now. Are you really responsible for the death and destruction of this city in Japan?

Maka Albarn : No, never! I did no such thing here and I didn't even lay my finger on another victim! I would definitely disagree on those terms, therefore, I would never tell a lie about it! I only come face to face with Truth along side us, there's always truth for me and I'm the sworn protector of earth! I am no enemy to the planet. But I agree that this isn't funny when I tell a joke, but no jokes tho. I pinky promise that I didn't even flinch. That would be another me, that a demon is going to one real treat. In the questions for that matter, you're mistaken for a demon that looks alike me. And my name Inky Albarn ... isn't Inky Albarn! It's Maka that you wanted.

Moirai Albarn : So, I heard someone that has broken the seal of Inky Albarn, am I right, fellas? She's been framed for the crimes that she didn't commit. She was only trying to protect this planet from being destroyed.

[Flowering Destiny (Memories) - Maki Kirioka]

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Of course, you are correct. The seal that was for the imprisonment of the demon queeen was broken and it believe that it was man named Soul Evans, said that he was responsible for releasing the queen itself, but I really realized that man the detectives were chasing wasn't Soul Evans, it was a look alike named Inky Evans, a demon from the same world as Inky's former love. He is a servant to the queen and he has ability to shapeshift into one's appearance, like Inky Albarn does. He is that cold blooded killer who wanted nothing but to devour hearts and Soul in order to gain power.

Moirai Albarn : And you expected that demons have the ability to shapeshift into one's appearance, like an apparition? This Inky Evans guy that looks alike Soul Evans is a master of disguises like Inky Albarn, doesn't it? I have no idea of how'd they do that with some kind of connection. Maybe I was wrong about the Real World, turns out that Soul World wasn't about young people as weapons to become Deathscythes, it was about Ashley's kind getting involved of putting their Hatred against each other, destroying one's heritage, and the monopolization of political power!

Maka Albarn : That is the reason that why Shinra created his new world, why everything that I'd cared friends and this Crona person!? I cared about mom and my two dads, and even my sister! And I cared about others, I did not cared about the legacy nor my love for Soul or Crona. But it hardly pains me that I never really met Soul Evans nor Crona as a kid, I only met the boy that once saved my life before and it changed my life forever. So, I understand that I did no such things hate crmes against witchkind and I guaranteed that I determined my Destiny to protect both humans and witches to bring love and peace together! But I beg your pardon that we all do respect, so...can you forgive me, my lord? What do you say that we can bring the love and peace together for both Humans and Witches?

Moirai Albarn : We forgive you, my lord. I do all a favor and we all do respect to each other with the highest authority to come up with. And to accept our appreciation for our lordship's kind, there will be a future where humans and witches can live together for good.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Excellent wise chose, my dear. (walks up to the two) That's what I wanted to hear. Even though, humans and witches offer their will to make sacrifices of a lifetime if they were right or wrong, I should get the feeling of this is nowhere near it's end. You should be more realize that what would happen if this planet will die by the hands of the enemy or will be destroyed and vanish into nothingness.

Maka Albarn : Yes, my lord. I won't let the planet be held in the enemy's hands. We all do respect.

Moirai Albarn : All the better if we do, we can fight and live up to the pain itself, I would hardly recognize If I ever feel sorry for what has my sister did. (bows down as well as her sister) I should consider the fact that humanity's arrogance should be the undoing favors of Shinra Kusakabe's influence.

Maka Albarn : Please accept our promise as a gift to you, my lord. And may the hearts and souls be with you. We promise that will keep this Planet safe from being destroyed or being taken over!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : You truly are the greatest of all warriors on this planet, after all. I guranteed that the world of the blue hedgheog has changed since I died during my battles with the sinners I faced with. And it's coming back to me that I was able to save one's life, one's heart, and one's forgiveness. I only wanted to help those who protect. But I will accept that challenge to protect the good and fight against evils that lies within. But I didn't want anyone to waste a precious life, not even a single Heart and soul to carry away.

Maka Albarn : Thank you , my lord. I cherish that I'll be good from now on. Maybe you aren't such a bad reaper after all and I hardly even noticed that you wanted to protect those that are needed in light and hope, and bringing courage to the ones that you cherished.

Moirai Albarn : Sounds like you're not half bad at all. Guess we should wrap things up and you will let us go.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : On the second hand, I should probably let you go, but before I can do that, there is one more very important thing for me to do. And you are gonna like this one.

Moirai Albarn : Really? Like what? Are you gonna give us something good? Treat us something well?

Maka Albarn : So what are you gonna give me something like what? A present, a gift, a reward. So what should you offer me to give you something?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Like this.

Maka Albarn : Well, I don't see the point that you're--*PUNCH* GUGHHH! (gags) W...Why? I thought that we had a deal... (collapses, unconciously)

[Out of Control - TAI-HEY]

Moirai Albarn : Hey, what gives!? Grim, what in God's name do you think you're doing!?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Just doing business.

Moirai Albarn : Hey, Reaper! What are you planning to do with my sister! What are you even trying--

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Moirai, no! This has to be done, I won't let another enemy harm this planet ever again! I gotta get this one to a safe place for imprisonment! It's the only to keep your sister safe!

Moirai Albarn : "Imprisonment"? Are you really going to lock my sister in some kind of prison? What do you want from me and her, reaper? Why do you wanted her to be locked away? What's the point of having no obligations of where to go somewhere or what did we even think about something before!?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : ....

Moirai Albarn : Grim the Hedgehog, I am favoring you to see if you're wiling to let my sister go! I'm begging you to...

*DBZ SFX : PUNCH*

Moirai Albarn : (groans in pain) Not...even...a flinch. Father...Sister...f...forgive me. (collapses, unconsciously)

"Stage 12 : MYSTIC MANSION"

[No Past to Remember - Jun Senoue]

Moirai Albarrn : [about to wake up] H...Huh? Sister, Grim? Anyone? Where am I? What is even with this place? What's going on here? I'm wonder if I'm lost or something? I wonder where did the reaper would lead me to? Guess I sure do not know if I have any memories of this place before, and I didn't even think that I'd remember of ending up here. That's no brainer of mine. Hmm? That portrait looked familiar. [Looks at a portrait of Seaside Hill] Huh, guess someone manage to keep the decoration of this place, not sure why I was brought here. I better finds some clues around this place. I hope my sister's alright and I bet she even knows where could she be right now. But how...[thinking] How did get through this place and find the Reaper's throne inside the place?

[Doorbell Ringing]

Moirai Albarn : Huh? Who goes there? Show yourself, assassin!

??? : Hello, is anyone home. I've come here to deliver the truth for the reaper.

~ Seventy Third Scene : Mystery of Hang Castle ~

[ppravitas]

TAGGED BY: @tacticalvalor TAGGING: you.

MUSE PLAYLIST

► MAIN: aim for the head / creature feature

↳ can i pose a question? / how do you kill what is dead? / i just shoot from the hip / and i aim for the head / he used to be your friend / that was another life / with a single bullet / we're gonna blow his mind [...] nail up all the windows / they've come to settle the score / make sure no chamber is bare / they're right outside the door / this is a test of your strength / and your will to survive / if you give up now, they're gonna eat you alive

► SILLY: nobody likes me / the northern boys

↳ brother, look / wank myself with a single finger, captain hook / then i go smoke my pipe with a random man in a dark and weary nook / bought a transgender man two pints / can i get lucky and fist him tonight? / constrict my cock with a pink hair tie / not too tight, no, i don't wanna die

► DETERMINATION: back and forth / dr steel

↳ i'd never lie to you / y'know i'd die for you / yeah, i love you too / just do what you do / consume and gobble it up, c'mon show me some love / or i'll be blowing you up / i'm lying through my teeth / to get everything that i need / i'll be what you want me to be / that's why i'm dancing back and forth [...] free me / i'll drag a burning smile across this nation

► BATTLE: a soul can't be cut / kit walters

↳ my ears are ringing with a sound / feel the vibrations, my heart starts to pound / give in to darkness, bodies melt / how do we play the cards we've been dealt? / beauty, it's humanity's greatest sin / beauty hiding the beast that lies within / for all our righteous crimes we compensate / but as for me, it's far too late

► SAD: lullaby bye / dr steel

↳ with no one around this robot fell down / and the crank, it broke off of his head / with the jog to his hard drive, he felt all alive / the old robot he used to be, dead there was rage in his brain, there was pain in his frame / there was love, there was hunger, and strife / he felt lonely, rejected, at times disconnected / no answer to the meaning of life / so he sang

► RELAXED: sickness unto foolish death / akira yamaoka

↳ no lyrics for this one :3 but it's about sin and despair. yay!

► CONTEMPLATIVE: childhood (don't) a go-go / dr steel

↳ and i'm constructing this fantasy / imagination is saving me from the world i despise / and what about loneliness? / what about friends? / what about winning and getting revenge? / and what about all of the things that they've done? / it's time for some payback / it's time for some fun

► HAPPY: homewrecker / marina

↳ i'm only happy when i'm on the run / i break a million hearts just for fun / i don't belong to anyone / i guess you could say that my life's a mess / but i'm still looking pretty in this dress / i'm the image of deception

► HARD WORK MONTAGE: kill everyone / hollywood undead

↳ oh no, here comes the riot / does everything have to resort to violence? / if you think you can hide, go and try it / now let's let the fucking gun break the silence / close your eyelids / another shot and then here come the sirens / i thought i told you to keep fucking quiet / somebody's dying, so come say goodbye kids

► LOVE THEME: e.v.o.l / marina

↳ candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker / every kiss you give me makes me sicker / a day in the dark, a day in a cloud of gloom / i look at you, you look at me / milk and roses, squeaky clean / well you're the best i've ever seen / and i'm your dying beauty queen / it only takes two lonely people / to fuck love up and make it evil / it only takes a drop of evil / to fuck up two beautiful people

► BREAKUP / HEARTBREAK: power & control / marina

↳ but love will always be a game / we give and take a little more / eternal game of tug and war / power and control / i'm gonna make you fall / i'm gonna make you fall / we give and take a little more / 'cause all my life i've been controlled / you can't have peace without a war / without a war, without a war

► FAILURE / DEFEAT: cirice / ghost

↳ a candle casting a faint glow / you and i see eye to eye / can you hear the thunder? / how can you hear the thunder that's breaking? / now there is nothing between us / from now our merge is eternal / can't you see that you're lost? / can't you see that you're lost without me?

► FINAL BATTLE: world burn / taylor louderman

↳ i wanna watch the world burn / i got the gasoline / i wanna watch the world burn / and everyone get mean / cady, time to watch your back / cady, time to turn and cough / because you took me down / but you didn't finish me off