#(it used to be longer and have another set of parenthesis in it but i edited the post)

[galaxygorl-does-stuff]

when doof turns into a cow in the episode before the curse of candace (the titles are swapped on my tv and it's cut off so i cant see what the episode js actually called. it's s3 e13 though) he has udders. this leads me to believe trans doofenshmirtz canon

[mrs-gucci]

Wedding Bells [REPOST] {Maurizio Gucci x Reader}

author’s notes: hellooo! I originally wrote this story as an ‘x OC’ because that’s what I was writing at the time, but I decided to change it into an ‘x Reader’ story since that’s what more people like to read!

**I used a translation application for the Italian in this story. apologies if there are any typos and/or incorrect sentences/grammar. Italian sentences/words are in italics throughout the story with translations after the sentences in parenthesis.

**This is MY OWN INTERPRETATION of Maurizio Gucci’s character, as portrayed by Adam Driver in the upcoming film, House Of Gucci.

warnings: smut. fluff. maurizio calling reader “tesoro”™️. some wedding shit. light aftercare. grinding. creampie. implied consent. dirty talk, name-calling/degradation but in italian ;)

(possible) tw’s: infidelity/extramarital affair. brief mentions of tobacco use. implied age gap (reader is over 21, no more than 10 years difference).

SMUT under the CUT!

“Tesoro” means “Treasure” in Italian (an affectionate nickname)

You can’t believe this is really happening.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. You’re supposed to be the one in the white gown, the one set to marry Maurizio Gucci. 

He insists that this overzealous ceremony is just for the press, that he’s not truly in love with her, but sometimes you see him looking at her and you lose faith. 

You almost didn’t come today. You almost just stayed at the house and pretended that this never happened, but you know that even if this marriage is a sham, it’s still a big day for Maurizio. 

And I can’t say no to him.

The crowd cheers as they kiss up at the altar, turning to face everyone in the church with big smiles on their faces. You clap softly, forcing a smile upon your face as they walk down the aisle together. 

He looks so handsome in his suit, the striped pants and impeccably polished black leather loafers completing the look. Maurizio was always dressed to the nines, but today, he was dressed to the tens. 

His eyes meet yours, and his face falls for a moment when he reads the underlying sadness etched in your outwardly happy expression. 

Everyone starts piling out of the church and you go along with them, hopping into one of the cars to take everyone to the headquarters for the reception. 

The car pulls up to the building a few minutes later, and you walk in, taking a deep breath. 

You should just go home, Y/N. You went to the reception, and that’s enough.

You look around at the decorated walls, all the guests mingling happily, all here in support of Maurizio and Patrizia. 

You’re here too, sure, but you feel oddly out of place standing amongst the other guests.

Perhaps it’s because you’re the only non-native guest here. Perhaps it’s because you’re not here in support of the couple. 

You find my place at one of the front tables and of course, you’re sat facing Maurizio, practically head-on. Great.

The meal is served and the room goes essentially silent as everyone begins dining. You make some casual conversation with the people sitting around you, some of them your coworkers, but you can’t stop myself from looking over at the groom from time to time. 

As night runs into early morning, you’ve found some solace in the champagne and the company of Giovanni, someone you’ve come to really like spending time with. You both have a lot in common and you get on great; you’re always joking around the office. 

Each time you begin talking with Giovanni, however, you feel a particular set of eyes on you. And, when you look over, you’re met with the deep brown eyes of your lover. 

You show him no reaction, simply smiling sweetly each time your eyes meet, as if you were simply boss and employee. 

Soon, you feel utterly suffocated by the thick air of the room, so you decide to step outside for a short while. You hope to slip out unnoticed, and you do for a little bit, but then someone comes out behind you. 

You don’t even need to turn around to see who it is, and the familiar sound of a lighter gives all the confirmation you needed.

Maurizio walks out and leans over the balcony, a thin cloud of smoke passing through his lips as he looks out onto the horizon. 

“I…”

He begins, trailing off. 

“Have you gotten a slice of cake yet? It’s quite good.”

You huff with a drop of humor.

“No, but maybe I’ll do that now, since this balcony is no longer exclusive to just me.”

As you turn around and begin to walk towards the door, his hand snatches your wrist and pulls you back. Your body collides with his, your back pressed against his front. 

You can feel his smoky breath against your ear, and your skin erupts in goosebumps. 

“Please, stay. I want to speak with you.”

There’s a brief moment where you truly believe that you’re going to say no this time, that you’re going to walk away.

But I can’t say no to him.

He feels you relax and lets go of your wrist, allowing you to return to the railing. He stands behind you, taking another drag. 

“I guess I should begin by apologizing, for you having to sit through the ceremony.”

You take a sip of champagne. 

“As far as anyone else is concerned, I’m simply your assistant.”

“Yes, but I know that you’re more, much more, than that. I can’t imagine that sitting there the whole time was easy. But, I want you to know that I appreciate you coming, it would’ve been weird not seeing you today.”

You look over your shoulder, up at him.

“You know I’ll always be here for you, Maurizio.”

He smiles down at you. “I promise that it won’t always be like this for us, tesoro. Things will change, and we will be able to show our love to the world.”

His hand runs down your arm gently, then falls to your hip, where he squeezes lightly. 

“You look so beautiful tonight. I wish I could kiss you, touch you, worship you like you deserve.”

You blush, stepping back a bit, now fully pressed up against him. His breath catches in his throat as his hand comes forward and trails up, fingers teasing just below your breasts. 

He leans forward, lips leaving a series of open-mouthed kisses on your neck.

“It’s been nearly impossible to stay away from you, mi tesoro. I just want to have you right here, right now…”

A whimper escapes your lips as his trail down to your shoulder. 

“Potrei alzare il vestito e fotterti, climelo.” (I could just pull your dress up and fuck you, christ.)

He breathes, grinding his hips against you, growling lowly in your ear. 

“Piegati sulla ringhiera, ti fa urlare il mio nome…” (Bend you over the railing, make you scream my name…)

You’re breathless as you try to resist the urge to let him take you right here. 

But, you know you can’t, it’s way too risky. Someone’s bound to notice.

“Maurizio…”

You whisper. 

“We can’t, not here.”

Something seems to switch in his brain and he freezes suddenly, almost as if he’s been snapped back into reality. He stands up straight again, breath shaky as he takes a final drag of his cigarette before putting it out in the ashtray. 

“I’m sorry, I got carried away.”

He groans in frustration, running a hand through his hair. 

You turn around, resting your hands on his chest, staring up into his eyes. 

“It’s okay.”

“I need to have you tonight, tesoro, please.”

Maurizio says, resting his forehead on yours, lips mouthing at yours. 

You sigh.

“How? There are people everywhere, it’s too risky.”

A smirk suddenly stretches across his face.

“No one will be in my office bathroom…”

You bite your lip, holding back a smile. 

“Shall we meet in there?”

“I’ll have to sit with Patrizia for a little while, talk to some people, just to keep up appearances.”

He says, nodding. 

“But, how about we meet there in...let’s say an hour?”

“Saro li l’accordo.” (I’ll be there.)

You say, smiling up at him. 

He returns the expression. 

“Allora ci vediamo.” (See you then.)

One Excruciatingly Long Hour Later

You quietly step into Maurizio’s office, gasping when a pair of arms wraps around your waist, pulling you into the office. You look up and see him, immediately jumping into his arms, crashing your lips together. 

He carries you into the hidden bathroom, closing the door quickly behind him. His gaze is hungry as his darkened eyes rake up and down your dress-clad figure. 

“Bend over.”

He growls, head nodding towards the marble vanity. 

You bend yourself over, resting on your elbows. There isn’t much time before someone notices Maurizio’s missing, and you can tell he knows this as well, a sense of urgency in his fingers as he undoes his belt and pants.

You look at his reflection in the mirror, the sight of him in his wedding suit incredibly arousing, a certain sense of promiscuity surrounding us. Even more so than usual.

Maurizio quickly bends down and pulls the dress up over your hips, moving your panties to the side before rubbing his tip through your wetness. 

“We’ll have to be quick.”

He says, looking at you through the mirror’s reflection.

You nod, and he lines himself up with your entrance, chin resting on your shoulder as he pushes in, sighing loudly. 

Your eyes roll into the back of your head, his cock stretching you out deliciously. You whimper as he pulls back and thrusts back in, your body jolting with his forward motion. 

“Tesoro.”

He moans into your ear, picking up the rhythm of his hips. 

“You’re so pretty.”

“O-Oh, Maurizio.”

You whimper, walls clenching around him.

One of his hands comes up from your hip and wraps around your throat, fingers shaking your jaw slightly. 

“Guardati, tesoro, guardati ti scopa allo specchio.”  (Look at you, treasure, watch yourself get fucked in the mirror.)

Your eyes go wide when you look at the reflection, seeing Maurizio positioned behind you, hips jackhammering into you. His glasses are steaming up slightly and his brow is furrowed, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead.

Our eyes meet in the mirror and we moan together, the sight so erotic. 

“Per favore, fottimi di piu!” (Please, fuck me harder!)

You say, pushing your hips back against him. 

“Sono cosi vicino!” (I’m so close!)

A low growl rumbles through his chest and his back arches as he pounds you harder, turning his head so that his lips are right at your ear, breathing heavy.

“Si, tu sborra per me? Vuoi guardarti su tutto il mio uccello?”  (Yeah, are you going to cum for me? Are you going to watch yourself cum all over my cock?)

You bite down hard on your lip, trying to hold back the loud noises threatening to spill from your lips. 

“M-Muh...M-Maurizio!”

You cry out, hips jerking as you spill your release all over his cock.

“Ah, oh fuck!”

He’s close, too, now.

“Sto per sborra! Oh Dio, ti riempiro io!” (I’m going to cum! Oh God, I’m going to fill you up!)

“Fallo, ti prego! Lo voglio tantissimo!” (Do it, please! I want it so badly!)

His eyes go wide for a moment as his hips stop, pressed deeply inside of you. He cums with a long, low moan, hips rutting as he rides out his high. 

“Prendila, prendila dentro di te...” (Take it, take it all inside of you…)

You fall forward onto the cool marble, body limp for a minute after your climax. Maurizio stays buried deep inside of you until he regains control of his breath, pulling his now-limp length from you, quickly tucking it back into his wedding pants. 

He helps you pull your dress back down and straighten yourself out. 

You gasp when he spins you around and crashes his lips onto yours, holding you against him. Your lips meld together perfectly, your hands gently tugging on his hair. 

You two pull away moments later, panting softly. 

Maurizio looks sad as he reaches down to hold your hands.

“You’re amazing, beautiful, you’re perfection.”

He kisses your knuckles, which makes you smile. 

“Ci vediamo presto, tesoro mio.” (I will see you soon, my treasure)

You nod, lip quivering slightly when the reality hits. He’ll be gone for two weeks on his honeymoon. 

You reach up and wrap your arms around his neck, hugging him close, allowing a single tear to fall down your cheek. 

“I’ll miss you while you’re away.”

He buries his face into your neck.

“I will call you at some point, I promise.”

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the office door. It’s Giovanni.

“Maurizio, ci sei?” (Maurizio, are you in there?)

His eyes go wide as he pulls away.

“Si! Sarò fuori tra un attimo.” (Yes! I’ll be out in a moment.)

Maurizio looks down at you one last time, tears in his eyes.

“Addio, tesoro mio. Fino a quando ci incontriamo di nuovo.” (Farewell, my treasure. Until we meet again.)

[f0xwrite]

@stricklakeetal

The first of the snippets from WIPs (as promised!) I haven't been able to write since my mom passed, so I'm not sure if or when I'll ever get any of these done, but I thought I'd share some unfinished ideas!

This one is still in a dialogue-heavy format. I’ve tried to fill in context in parenthesis. For context, in this story, most of the babies that were taken from the cradlestone are being cared for by goblins at the old Janus headquarters, all overseen by Walter, but some are housed at the Lake residence.

***

(Douxie is walking out of a record store, humming a soft tune, when his phone rings. He answers. )

“Mr. Casperian.” Strickler's gruff voice floated out from the receiver. “I hope you don’t mind, but I got your number from Jim.”

“Uh, yeah, no it’s fine.” The wizard scratched the back of his head, raising a brow. “Who is this?”

“I’m Jim’s--an ally of the Trollhunter’s. Waltolomew Stricklander. ”

“Ah, yes, Merlin mentioned you a few times.”

“Good, then you’ll recall that I am in possession of all of the familiars—err, human children—who were formerly housed within the Darklands.”

“Oh that’s right! You’re the one with Dr. Lake. How’s that going for you?”

“Er—well, that’s the thing. It’s—we’ve run into a bit of a conundrum.”

“Conundrum?”

“It would be best if you saw it in person. Do you know where Jim lives?”

“Yeah I do, actually." He scratched the back of his neck as he spoke. “What’s going on again?”

“Waaalt, it’s not just those two.”Douxie heard another voice through the receiver.

“I have to go,” Walter’s voice was grave, “Erm, the faster you can get here, the better. We need a wizard.”

“Right then, you got it.”

(Later, at the Lake residence Douxie opens the door and his jaw drops. There are babies flying everywhere, and magic spells being cast to and fro, bouncing off of every wall. In the middle of it all, a haggard Walter and Barbara are trying to reign in the chaos. Douxie inquires about the Trollhunters, who could be there in a moments notice with Claire’s shadow magic.)

“Claire, Jim, and Toby are on vacation with the Nunez’s in the mountains.” Barbara explained.

“Young Atlas needs a break. They all do,” the changeling admonished. “I know Claire could be in and out quickly, but it would be best if we didn’t interrupt them. ”

“What on earth is going on with these babies?!” Barbara yelped as she barely dodged a ball of light being thrown her way. A crash sounded from the kitchen, and with a resigned huff, she strode off to discover its source.

“They’ve been exposed to Morgana’s magic for too long,” Douxie explained. “Creatures like that, like changelings,” he gestured towards Walter, “are naturally more inclined towards magic.”

“How do we keep them under control?” Walter’s voice was desperate. “This house, and the entire Janus base will be destroyed!”

“I don’t know!” Douxie exclaimed, “I’m not used to dealing with magic users this young. I’ve never even seen it. They have no idea what they are doing.”

“You were Merlin’s protege,” Walter growled as he tried to grab two babies that had landed on his horns. “Figure it out!”

“Waaaahh!” NotEnrique screamed from another room.

“Fire! Fire! Baby on fire!” Barbara came running down the hallway towards Walter, who grabbed the child before the flames could spread up the little one’s arms to burn her.

The baby itself giggled as the flames danced around Walter’s clawed and heat-resistant fingertips, seemingly unharmed. He sighed as the charred diaper fell away.

“This is madness!” Douxie held out his arm, and in a flash of blue, put out the flame. Grimacing, he pulled his phone from his pocket, running through his list of contacts. “We need back-up!”

Diaper-less, a stream of yellow came bounding out from between the baby’s legs, promptly splashing Walter’s face.

“Ugh,” he blinked and sputtered as he tried to clear the urine away, “and here I thought Battle of Marengo was hard.”

“Buh, buh, buh--” the baby tried to imitate him as he held it at arms length.

“Hello, Zoe, lovelet, I have an address I just texted to you, can you, uh--” Douxie held the phone to his face , trying to grab a different baby's leg as it floated by, "--do you mind popping by? There's a bit of a situation."

“What situation?” came her voice from the other end

The child escaped the Wizard’s grasp, babbling gleefully while wearing a tricorne.

“Waltolomew Jr, get over here this instant!” Barbara went chasing after the baby with outstretched arms.

“It’s a bit hard to explain…” Douxie’s voice trailed off as three other babies crawled after the doctor, sparks flying out from behind their knees like toy race cars.

“It’s mutiny, I tell ya!” NotEnrique came scurrying into the room, body covered in roots and flowers. “they’ve been savin’ it all for the big day! Oi, Jazz Hands, you mind givin’ me some help here?”

“I’m a little busy at the moment.” Douxie said as he fiddled with the gauntlet. “C’mon, c’mon...” he grumbled to the mechanism. “Ah! There.”

Geometric shapes of light appeared along the floor, bursting out and upward in a cacophony of blue. The babies who were airborne dropped to the ground, and Douxie watched as Walter lunched to catch two or three with his wings.

A thud upstairs indicated that another baby had dropped, followed by a piercing wail.

“Hold this,” Barbara said, seeming to appear out of nowhere, and Douxie found himself with a sudden armful of Walt Jr. as the doctor bounded up the staircase, NotEnrique went scurrying up behind her, shedding petals and brambles in his wake.

“Ah, hello mate,” Douxie quirked a brow as he looked down to the child in his arms, “so you’re the chip off the old rock here.”

(Douxie tries to cast a few spells with some success. For a few moments, the chaos stops and all of the floating babies come back to the floor. Strickler filters back into the room.)

He heard Walter snort, and then yelp as the first baby lit itself on fire again. The children nestled in his wing began to cry at the sudden flash of light.

“I thought you put a stop to this.” Walter growled as he held the baby away again.

“There are limits to my powers,” Douxie asserted, “I’ve got the airborne babies under control, but the other one’s will take longer. “

The changeling grabbed a crystal from a pouch along his loincloth and held it to the baby’s chest, cradling the child in his arms while the others remained in his wing. He muttered something that sounded low and quick, like snapping coals, and extinguished the baby once more. Not seconds later, a different baby with bows in it’s hair shot a beam of frost towards Walter’s head, covering his hair and horns in snow. Uttering, he tried to shake it away.

“They all have different abilities,” Douxie remarked in wonder as he stepped closer to the changeling. “We have fire, frost, earth--” the lights flickered above them, “--electricity,” he added, “and who knows what else? Heaven help us if one of them is in tune with Shadowmancy.”

“Shadow magic I can deal with, to a degree,” Walter’s golden eyes fell on the boy, “I am a creature of shadow, after all. It’s the others I can’t handle.”

Douxie laughed, something wry and time-worn passing across his gaze. “You’re not made of shadow magic, pal.”

“Come again?” his wings tensed.

“You may have been exposed to it in the Darklands, but the creation of life...that requires light.”

Walter stared at him for a long moment, gaze flickering in the dim.

“Shadow magic is what Gunmar was using to create his mindless drones, you’re not that.” Douxie went on. “I may not be as all-knowing as Merlin, but I know that much.”

“Forgive me for having a hard time believing you.” A baby was pulling in his tusks. Gently, he patted it back down. “But I have known nothing else.”

“You’ll see one day,” Douxie offered pale and knowing smile. “I don’t doubt it.”

It was then that Barbara came back onto the scene, hair completely unraveled and soaked, toweling her face.

“Oh dear,” Walter quirked a brow.

“She’s in the bathtub, living it up.” Barbara sneered. “Imagine a baby with a super-soaker.” Water still dripped from her arms. “NotEnrique’s entertaining her for now. I had to change twice.”

The sound of a motorcycle entering the driveway caught their collective attention, and Barbara gave Walter a curious look.

“That’ll be Zoe,” Douxie explained as he headed for the door. The moment he opened it, the power went out, and with the sun setting, the house became shrouded with darkness.

“Fuzzbuckets,” the wizard moaned through the burbles and gurgles and wails.

(Zoe walks up, fascinated to know what the heck could be going on. There’s some light banter, then Douxie introduces them to Walter and Barbara, who are surrounded by babies.)

“Remember the Trollhunter?” Douxie gestured to the couple. “Well, these are his parents.”

Walter tensed, “Er, well, I’m not actually Jim’s--” his words trailed off when Barbara put an arm on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, honey.”

Looking between the two of them, Zoe cocked a brow. “Well, there’s a story." It was well known that changelings couldn’t reproduced and equally known that they didn’t pursue relationships with...well, anyone.

“One we don’t have time to unpack, I’m afraid.” Walter said, curling a wing into a makeshift hammock before adding three or four babies to it.

.......

(And that’s all I had! Obviously there would have been a resolution, and I remember planning to have Steve show up at some point, but I hope you enjoyed the concept! Forgive any typos. Will post more int he next couple of days)

[teddy06writes]

The Phantom Of The Opera AU

requested by this anon: “Okay so I know you’re a musical kid so you have probably listened to/heard of Phantom of the Opera. Picture this: Dream as the Phamtom x Fem!reader as Christine x Sapnap as Raul”

Dream x Fem!reader and Sapnap x fem!reader (with dream as the phantom and sapnap as Raul)

trigger warnings: death, dream being a low key creeper, maybe some swears, my general lack of knowledge of this musical

premise: Phantom AU, not neccicarily the full story, its mainly what I’ve seen/read/listened to that I think is important, and like eight of the songs. Ummm, I feel like the summary above is enough for you to get the general idea.

(y/l/n)- your last name

“blep” regular talking

“Belp” singing

When things are in counterpoint, regular text will be (y/n), (text in parenthesis is sapnap), and {bracketed text is Dream}

if you, like me are unfamilliar with the story, this is the summary that arrived in my inbox last night (thank you so much to the person who sent that by the way, it really helped)  

“So basically phantom of the opera is a love triangle between 3 people, the Phantom (P) x Christine (C) x Raul (R). C and R were childhood friends until R had to move away. C grew up in the Opera house with her dad (deceased) as a music writer. C grows up getting “private” singing lessons from P ( he is literally talking to her through a vent ((Among Us omg)) or something idk). Fast forward into the future to present day. C is a ballerina at the opera and one day, the phantom makes the set malfunction so that the lead female opera singer (she’s a jerk. Forgot her name) can’t preform and C has to preform as the lead instead. Coincidentally, the night Christine sings as the lead is the day R comes to see her show and R is like “ooWooga she be fine now ig”. R and C catch up after the show and R goes away for a minute and then P is like “aight C imma kidnap you for a sec with no purpose whatsoever to the plot except for a cool song” and then C returns to her normal life ig. P them sends stuff to the people in charge of the Opera saying “ayo C be pretty fine, let her be the lead again” the people in charge of the opera were like “nah fam, let’s have the person who was supposed to be the lead be the lead”. Upset by this, during the show, P broke the chandelier and it fell into the audience. C is like “I love you uwu” R is like”let’s get engaged” C is like “let’s keep it a secret so the crazy P guy doesn’t find out” and little did they know during that conversation P was hiding and overheard everything and is now sad boi hours. A masquerade happens and P shows up like “ayo I heard you trynna steal my boo” and R is like “nah she my boo” and they duel or whatever. Idk how it transitions to this but the Opera runs another show and they make C the lead to not upset P. However, during a love song (Past the point of no return, it literally slaps), C realizes that the person singing isn’t the original actor, it is P! And then P straight up kidnaps C after the song, takes her to his lair and is like “boo you gotta marry me or I destroy the opera house with everyone inside it” C is like “fine ig” P takes off his mask and reveals he is hiding burn marks and he kisses C and C kisses back. P is like” my mom never even kissed me” and P let’s C go, telling her to go marry R... or you can just watch this video lmao https://youtu.be/4a5nahw3zi8″

On that note, here we go:

{that only goes for the final scene where its all three, it varies otherwise}

{Things I have learned while preparing this story, 1. the actual phantoms name is Erik, like what a nerd, 2. he’s also not actually a ghost??? He’s literally just some creeper who lives in an opera house screwing with people; also yes Eret is the strict lady who yells at everyone and talks to the phantom, deal with it}

{pls send me more musical au asks I really liked doing this, even if it took me a while}

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

The ravenous applause of the audience seemed to echo in your ears, even after you had left the stage. 

You’re debut as the female lead in Hannibal had been a smashing success, and as the rest of the chorus girls backstage were saying, it was all thanks to the Phantom scaring Hannah off.  

Niki practically ran up to you from the rehearsal room, “(y/n) that was incredible!” 

You grinned, “Oh I feel like I’m floating Niki! Thank you for volunteering me for the role.” 

“Don’t thank me, Thank whoever's giving you those lessons,” She bumped her hip against yours, grinning cheekily, “And if what the girls are saying is true you’ll have to thank him for getting Hannah out of here.” 

You chuckled, but before you could say anything else Madame Eret was approaching, knocking the end of their cane of the ground, “Miss Nihachu, you are a dancer are you not?” 

Niki nodded. 

“Then get back to rehearsal,” he waited until Niki hurried off to turn to you, “He is most pleased with your performance, here.”

You took the note from him, reading over it quietly, “Red scarf..... the attic.... little lotte?” 

She simply shrugged, leaving you to turn and head up your dressing room. 

As you changed out of your costume from the show you couldn’t help but hum the song that had earned the most applause, “Think of me, think of me of me fondly, when we’ve said goodbye.” 

Reaching around you found your dressing gown, pulling it on and tying up the front, “Remember me, once and a while. Please, promise you’ll try...” 

Your words faded off as your sat down at your vanity, beginning to brush out your hair. 

“Where is your red scarf Miss (y/l/n)? I hope you haven’t lost it. Not after all the trouble I went through to retrieve it for you.” 

You turned to see a tall dark hair man standing in the doorway, a grin spreading across your face as he continued, “I was only 14 and soaked to the bone...” 

“Because you ran into the sea to fetch my red scarf!” You exclaimed, jumping up and flinging your arms around him excietedly, “Sapnap! How I’ve missed you!” 

He chuckled, pulling away, and offering you a single red rose, “(y/n)... Little Lotte let her mind wander...” 

“You remember that too?” You asked with a giggle. 

Sapnap smiled and kept singing, “Little Lotte thought: am I fonder of dolls,” 

“Or of goblins or shoes?” You joined in, “Or of riddles of frocks, or chocolates.” 

“Those picnics n the attic...” He reminisced. 

You closed your eyes, remembering those long ago days, “Father playing the violin.” 

“As we read each other those dark stories of the north.” 

“No what I like best, little Lotte said, is when I’m asleep in my bed,” You sang, “And the angel of music sings songs in my head!” 

“The angel of music sings songs in my head.” He repeated softly. 

You smiled at him, an excited fond feeling forming in your stomach as you sank back into your chair,  “Father said, when I am in heaven child I will send the angel of music to you. Well now father is dead, Sapnap. And I have been visited by the angel of music.” 

“Well that is very evident,” He chuckled, taking your hands, “Your performance was wonderful. And now, we shall go to supper.” 

“Oh- sapnap I can’t, the angle of music is very strict.” 

He didn’t seem to understand the urgency in your voice as he laughed again, “Well I shant keep you up late.”

“No- Sapnap, things have changed-”

“You have to change,” He interrupted, “And I have to grab my hat. Two minutes little lotte.” 

As he went out the door you cried after him, “Sapnap! Thing have changed Sapnap!”

But he was out of earshot, and the voice that had become so familiar to you was booming, “Insolate boy! This Slave of fashion basking in your glory! Ignorant fool! This brave young suitor, sharing my triumph!”

“Angel I hear you! Speak, I listen! Stay by my side and gude me!” You begged up to the ceiling, “Angel my soul was weak! Forgive me! Enter at last master!”

“Flattering child, you shall know me, see why in the shadow I hide, look at your face in the mirror, I am their inside!” 

The voice sounded closer now, and you couldn’t help but look around, “Angel of music! Hide no longer!” 

You turned again, finding yourself face to face with what seemed like a mask, floating in your mirror, “Come to me, strange angel!”

“I am your angel! Come to me angel of music!” 

A shadowy figure seemed to appear behind the smiling mask, a hand outstretched to you. In a daze you stood, grabbing his hand and allowing him to lead you away down a dark pathway.

“Who’s voice is that?” Sapnap asked, knocking on the now closed door, “(y/n) who’s in there?” 

“Come with me angel of music!” Dream, the Phantoms voice echoed again. 

“(y/n)!” 

~~

“In sleep he came to me, the voice which calls to me and speaks my name!” You moved quietly through the passages, following Dream, “And Do I dream again? for now I find, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind!” 

“Sing once again with me our strange duet! My power over you grows stronger yet! And though you turn from me to look behind, the phantom of the opera is there! Inside your mind!” He sang, turning back to make sure you were following once more.

The walls of the tunnel seemed to widen, and you could almost make out an empty candle lit space. 

You reached out, fingers almost brushing the edge of his cloak, “Those who have seen your face draw back in fear! I am the mask you wear..”

“It’s me they hear...” 

As you emerged into a cross roads of the tunnels, you sang in tandem, “Your (my) spirit and your (my) voice in one combined, the phantom of the opera is there, inside your (my) mind!” 

He helped you into the boat that waited in one tunnel, before casting off, propelling the boat down the slow moving current, “In all your fantasies, you always knew the man and mystery...” 

“Were both in you....” You sang softly as the boat came to dock in a wide chamber.

Slowly you climbed out of the boat after him, looking around the dank space, and at the organ in the corner. 

Dream pulled off his cloak, “And in this labyrinth where the night is blind..”

“The Phantom of the opera is there! Inside my mind......” 

~~

As the people downstairs argued, you tried to think over what had happened. Was it a dream? It didn’t seem like it, but still, a man appearing in her looking glass? Taking her away and singing words of praise, words of love, words that made nearly no sense now that it was day, and a haze covered your memory. 

The one thing that remained clear was the monster she had found beyond the mask.

All too soon it seemed you were being rushed into rehearsals, being told you no longer had a speaking role, as Hannah had returned, and was back to her diva ways. 

Rehearsals that would normally drag on seemed to go quicker now, and soon you and the rest of the girls were getting ready for the performance. 

“This is ridiculous,” Niki muttered as she adjusted her costume, “You should be playing the duchess, not Hannab.” 

“Hannah is the featured soprano. She’s always the lead.” You retorted. 

“But how will Sapnap know to look for you in the chorus?” Niki teased.

You elbowed her, laughing lightly, “Shut up. Besides I doubt the phantom would let him see me again.”

The show had gone well, at least until the fifth scene. 

All the music stopped abruptly as a voice boomed, “Did I not instruct that box five was to be left empty?”

“He’s here: The Phantom Of The Opera!” Niki cried from offstage. 

Your head jerked up to turn and look at the audience, “It’s Dream!” 

“Your part is silent, you toad!” Hannah snapped. 

From somewhere up in the audience Dream frowned, “A toad Madame? Perhaps it is you who is the toad...” 

Hanna opened her mouth to continue on her script, but no sound seemed to come out, save for what was close the a croak. 

The men who had bought the opera house, Wilbur and Tommy were coming rushing down from their box, “Ladies and gentlemen we apologize! The performance will continue in ten minutes time, with Miss (y/l/n) as the duchess!”

Tommy nodded as Wilbur finished, “And for now, we will give you the ballet, from act three of tonight's show!” 

The ballet didn’t last long, as when you returned to the wings dressed for the new role you had been given, someone let out a horrified scream.

“What the-” 

You were cut off as you looked up to see Shlatt, the stagehand in charged of the curtains, hanging from the rigging, a noose fully tightened around his neck. 

“Ladies and gentlemen remain calm! It was just an accident- remain calm!” Someone shouted. 

Through the darkness you could make out Dream’s menacing figure, the smiling mask watching you threateningly as you clamped your hand over your mouth to stop the scream that had ripped at your throat. 

“(y/n)? (y/n) are you alright?” Sapnap had run down onto the stage in all the chaos. 

“We- we have to get out of here,” You choked, grabbing his hand, “We aren’t safe here.” 

He didn’t seem to understand the reason behind your panic, but even so he offer you his arm, “Lets leave then.” 

~~

Twenty minutes later you ended up in an empty park, the panic that filled your chest not yet fading as Sapnap asked, “Why have you brought me here?”

“We can’t go back there!” You exclaimed. 

“But we must return.” He gripped your hands, “Darling their bound to be missing you.” 

You shook your head, “Sapnap- He’ll kill you! His eyes will find us there!” 

“(y/n), don’t say that! It’s okay (y/n), it’s okay!” 

You looked up into the darkened sky, “No it’s not- no it’s not- Those eyes that burn!” 

“Don’t even think it!” He cried desperately. 

You couldn’t tell whether you were trembling from fear, or from the cold, as you sang, “And if he has to kill a thousand men....” 

“Forget this waking nightmare!” Sapnap insisted. 

“....The phantom of the opera will kill.” You sang distractedly. 

He gripped your shoulders, “This phantom is a fable, (y/n), believe me!” 

“And kill again....” You shuddered at the idea of Dream doing anything to Sapnap. 

Both of you sang, “God who is this man, who hunts to kill? (this mask of death?)

“I can’t escape him!” You cried. 

He shook his head, “Whose voice is it you hear...”

“...I never will!” 

“With every breath?” 

His grip on your shoulders tightened, pulling you closer to him as you both sang, “And in this labyrinth where light is blind, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my (your) mind!”

“There is no Phantom of the Opera!” 

“Sapnap- I’ve been there, inside his world of never ending light! To a world where daylight dissolves into darkness, darkness! Sapnap I’ve seen him!” You cried. “Can I ever forget that sight? Can I ever escape that face? So distorted, disformed it was hardly a face!  in the darkness, darkness. But his voice filled my spirit with a strange, sweet sound in that night there was music in my mind And through music my soul began to soar! And I heard as I'd never heard before!” 

“What you had was a dream and nothing more!” 

You could hardly look up at him, “yet in his eyes was all the sadness in the world! Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore!” 

“(y/n), (y/n)!”  Sapnap exclaimed. 

“.....(y/n)......” A different voice seemed to cry into the night. 

You gasped, pressing yourself against Sapnap, “What was that?” 

He hugged you tightly, before pulling back and singing gently, “No more talk of darkness, forget these wide eyed fears. I’m here, and nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you.” 

You relaxed into his grip, listening to his quiet voice, “Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears, I’m here, with you, beside you, to guard you and to guide you.” 

“Say you love me, every waking moment. Turn my head and talk of summer time,” You looked up at him, biting your lip, “Say you need me now and always, promise me that all you say is true, that's all I ask of you.” 

“Let me be your shelter, let me be your light, you are safe, no one will find you. Your fears are far behind you.” He assured you, smiling softly. 

 “All I want is freedom, a world with no more night. And you to always be beside me, to hold me and to hide me.” You admitted. 

Sapnap’s smile grew wider, “Then say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time. Let me lead you from your solitude. Say you need me here, beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too, (y/n), that's all I ask of you.” 

“Say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time,” You repeated, “Say the word, and I’ll follow you.” 

“Share each day with me, each night, each morning.” You sang together as he leaned down to rest his forehead on yours.

“Say you love me?” 

He smiled, whispering, “You know I do.” 

“Love me- that's all I ask of you.” You both sang, before he leaned in to gently press a kiss to your lips, “Any where you go, let me go too. Love me- thats all I ask of you.” 

Sapnap kissed you again, before pulling away, “We could go anywhere- we could be married! You would marry me, yes?” 

“Oh, yes, Sapnap, yes I would. If you’d have me.” You nodded, eagerly. 

He grinned, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

You couldn’t help but giggle, before turning back toward the direction of the opera house, “I must go back, they’ll wonder where I am. Wait for me Sapnap!” 

“(y/n), I love you!” He exclaimed. 

“Wait for me, Sapnap. Order your finest horses and being waiting by the door.” You could go back, and continue working at the opera house, there was nothing left for you to fear while Sapnap was there.

“And soon you’ll be beside me!” He chuckled.

You grinned, “To guard me and too guide me!” 

Sapnap offered you his arm again, and you headed off out of the park, toward the opera house. 

Slowly, Dream slinked from the shadows where he had watched the proposal, “I gave you my music, made your song take wing. And now your repaid me, denied and betrayed me.” 

He groaned running a hand through his hair, “He was bound to love you, when he heard you sing. (y/n)- oh (y/n)-”

He was cut off by the sounds of your voices drifting down the street, Say you’ll share with me, one love, one life time, Say the word, and I’ll follow you. Share each day with me, each night, each morning.”

Dream’s hands flew to his ears, desperate to block out the sounds- he had been so sure that you could’ve loved him, but now Sapnap was stealing you away. 

“You will curse the day you did not do, all that the phantom asked of you!” He bellowed. 

~~

The following weeks at the opera house were a blur of panic masked by busyness, Wilbur and Tommy refusing to let the disaster of the chandelier falling from keeping the company from working on their next performance. 

You kept on working, the ring on the chain Sapnap had given you around your neck helping you to feel safe, even as the chorus girls cited the Phantom for the cause of all the distress. 

Now you were back in your dressing room, getting ready for dinner with Sapnap.

“Wander child, so lost, so helpless,” A soft voice seemed to drift down from no where, “Yearning for my guidance.” 

You looked up at the ceiling, “angel or father? Friend or phantom? Who is it their staring?” 

“Have you forgotten your angel?” The voice murmured, Dream appearing once again in your mirror. 

You turned to him, almost in a trance, “angel, oh, speak, what endless longings, echo in this whisper.” 

Sapnap, having arrived to the opera house appeared in the door, watched as you moved toward the phantom. 

“Too long you’ve wandered the winter...” Dream continued to sing, hand outstretched to you. 

“Once again she is his.” Sapnap sang, as you started to cross the room toward the mirror where the phantom stood. 

“...far from my far reaching eyes.” 

“Wildly my mind beats against you....” You sang, transfixed. 

Behind the mask Dream grinned, “You resist. Yet your soul obeys.” 

“Once again she returns, to the arms of her angel. Angel or demon? Still he calls her, luring her back from the grave. Angel or dark seducer? Who are you strange angel?” Sapnap sang, again, more to himself than you or Dream. 

Dream beckoned you forward again,  “I am your angel of music, come to me angel of music!”

“Angel of darkness, cease this torment!” Sapnap exclaimed, moving into the room properly and drawing attention to himself. 

Dream unbothered, continued to sing, “I am your angle of music! Come to me angel of music!” 

“(y/n), (y/n) listen to me! Whatever you may believe- this thing, this man is not your father!”  Sapnap yelled, “(y/n)! Let her go! For gods sake let her go!” 

Jarred by his sudden yell, you turned, the trance broken, “Sapnap...” 

Dream, unimpressed, began to clap, deadpanning, “Bravo monsieur. Such spirited words.” 

“No more tricks monsieur!” Sapnap yelled, stepping forward to put himself between you and Dream. 

“Oh, but that's not any fun. Why don’t you come closer, sir? Keep coming this way.” 

Sapnap, not liking to be challenged, stepped forward, “You cannot win her love by holding her prisoner!” 

“No- Sapnap don’t!” You grabbed his hand, pulling him back. 

He nodded resolutely, gripping your hand as you both moved toward the door, “Lets go then, no more time will be spent with this monster.” 

“Don’t go!” Dream wailed as you hurried away down the hall, “Now let it be war upon you both!” 

~~

Something was going wrong, of course it was, because when was it not?

Your entrance in Don Juan Triumphant had gone according to plan, but the man who had stepped out as Don Juan was not George, as it should have been.

You steeled yourself, trying to come up with a logical reason.

George must have gotten sick, and a stand in had taken his place, yes that must be it.

“Past the point of no return, no backward glances, the games we played till now, are at an end.” The man sang, “Past all thought of ‘if’ or ‘when’, no use resisting, abandon that thought and let the dream descend.”

Your panic seemed to rise, the double meaning in his words filling you with dread.

“What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire locks the door? What sweet seduction lies before is? Past the point of no return, the final thread hold. What unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return.”

You moved carefully to your next mark, trying to work out who it was in George’s place, “You have brought me, to the moment when words run dry, to the moment when speech disappears into silence, silence.

I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why, in my mind I already imagined, our bodies entwined. Defenseless and silent, now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I’ve decided, decided.”

You just barley stopped from trembling as you realized, it was Dream, “Past the point of no return, no going back now. Our passion play has now, at last, begun. Past all thought of right and wrong. One final question: how long should we two wait, before we’re one?”

“When will the blood being to race? When will the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?” You finished, taking an only slightly shaky breath.

The phantom grabbed your hand as you both sang, “Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The bridge is crossed so stand and watch it burn, we’ve past the point of no return!”

Everyone in the audience seemed to hold their breath, they too knew that this was not George. The cloak that had hidden Dreams mask fell, and they gasped upon seeing the plaster smiling face.

He grinned behind the mask, and punctuated, “Say you’ll share with me, one love, one lifetimes lead me, save me from my solitude.”

The words stung even before he pulled out a ring, holding it out to you, “come with me, or this whole place will come down upon us.”

Slowly you looked to the audience, Sapnap was standing in the isle, looking worried.

You couldn’t let him get hurt.

You nodded reluctantly, as he continued, “say you want me by your side anywhere you go let me go too, (y/n) that’s all I ask of-“

Slowly, you reached up, pulling the mask off his face, revealing the terribly scared face to the world.

The gasps turned into horrible screams as a curtain was raised, and Georges body tumbled onto the stage.

Almost immediately Dream flung his cloak around you, disappearing.

Sapnap ran up onto the stage, along with the crew, police officers and other patrons.

“Sapnap! Sapnap you’ve got to come with me!” Eret cried, rushing out onto the stage.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Sapnap!” They yelled again, “I know where they are!”

“But can I trust you?” He demanded.

She nodded, “yes, and remember, keep your hand up at eye level.”

“Why?”

“Punjab lasso.” Was all he offered in explication as he led Sapnap away.

~~

Soon enough Sapnap was creeping through the shadows of the phantoms layer, watching as he tried to place a wedding veil on your head, “Too bad pity comes to late, turn around and face your fate, an entirety of this before your eyes!”

You turn to face him, looking up at the mess of scares that cover his face, “this haunted face holds no horror for me now, it is in your soul that the true distortion lies.”

The phantom turned suddenly, to Sapnaps hiding place, “Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest! Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight! I had rather hoped that you would come And now my wish comes true— you have truly made my night!”

“Free her!” Sapnap yelled, stepping into the light, “do what you want to me but let her go!”

“Your lover makes a passionate plea.” Dream laughed at you.

“Sapnap it’s useless!” You cried.

Sapnap shook his head, “I love her! Does that mean anything To you? I love her! Show some compassion!”

“The world showed no compassion to me!” Dream retorted.

He reached out toward you, “(y/n), (y/n), please let me see her!”

Dream grinned maliciously, “be my guest.”

Sapnap rushed forwards, as Dream contiued to taunt, “Monsuier, i bid you welcome, did you think that I would hurt her? Why should I make her pay, for the sins which are yours?” 

As he finished the last words the Punjab lasso came sailing out, and Sapnap barley had time to fling his arm back up as he was dragged back, the only thing keeping him from hanging being the fingers he’d wrangled between the rope and his neck. 

“No!” You cried, struggling to your feet. 

“Order your fine horses now!” Dream yelled, “Nothing now can save you, except maybe... (y/n).” 

You stood, shaking as he turned to you, “Start a new life with me- buy his freedom with your love! Refuse me now and send your lover to his death! This is the choice, this is the point of no return!” 

“(y/n), forgive me, please forgive me, I did it all for you, and all for nothing.” Sapnap sang, looking at you desperately.  

At the same time you turned toward Dream, “Farewell my fallen idol, and my false friend, one by one my delusions shattered.” 

“Too late for turning back, too late for prayers and useless pity!” Dream sang.

“{all hope of cries for help, no point in fighting!} (say you love and my life is over, either way you choose, he has to win!) {for ether way you choose, you cannot win! So do you end your days with me or do you send him to his grave?}”

“Why make her lie to you, to save me?” Sapnap yelled. 

You looked between them desperately, “Angel of music..... {past the point of no return!} (For pity’s sake (y/n) say no! Don’t throw your life away for my sake!) Who deserves this? When will you see reason? {The Final threshold! His life is now the prize you must earn! You’ve passed the point of no return....}”

You looked at Dream, no longer trying to hide the fear that coursed through your veins, “Angel of music, you have deceived me, I gave myself blindly to you.” 

“You try my patience! Make your choice!” Dream yelled. 

Looking back at sapnap for a moment you stepped forward, whatever it would take, you would keep him safe, “Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone.” 

Reaching out, you took the mask from his hand, tossing it to the side as he moved closer to you as well. 

Before you could hardly blink he was kissing you, and with little more than a second thought you kissed back. 

Sapnap watched, in partials horror, until the phantom drew back, shaking as he whispered, “No one has ever kissed me- not even my own mother.” 

You nodded, and then suddenly Dream began to move across the room, grabbing a knife from somewhere as he stalked up to Sapnap.

He paused for a beat, and you could feel the terror in the room- until he slashed at the rope, and Sapnap fell the ground. 

You rushed over to him, kneeling beside him, “Sapnap! oh Sapnap!” 

“Take her,” dream wailed, “Take her and forget me, forget all of this! Leave me alone- forget all you’ve seen....”

Sapnap struggled to his feet, holding you close to him as he backed towards the channel. 

“Take the boat, leave me here, go now, please!” 

The sounds of the mob looking for Georges murderer seemed to grow louder as they grew closer.

“Hurry! Now before its too late!” Dream yelled. 

Sapnap hurriedly started to help you into the boat, but you pulled away, moving back to the Phantom, long enough to hand him the ring. 

Then you were off, turning to Sapnap as the current carried the boat away, “I’m sorry Sapnap- I couldn’t let him hurt you- I couldn’t!” 

“Shhh. It’s alright (y/n), it’s alright. He can’t hurt you anymore.” He murmured, pulling you into his arms.

“Say you’ll share with me, one love one lifetime.” You sang shakily.

Sapnap nodded, “Say the word and I’ll follow you.”

“Share each day with me, each night, each morning...” The sounds of your voices traveled back up the tunnel for Dream to hear. 

He sighed, looking resolutly into the distance, “You alone can make my song take flight- It’s over now, the music of the night!”

[spacegirlinorbit]

Help Me Understand

Part 2

Obi wan x reader

Angst, fluff

Takes place during ROTS. Y/n there to be by Obi wan side as he discovers the truth behind the abrupt turn of events in the war, Anakin becoming darth vadar, and eventually how he will come to fight him.

Angst prompts :“I don’t want space. I want you. ...I need you, please stay with me.” “You don’t have to face him alone, you’re not alone.” 

SIDENOTE: ‘//’ when its one parenthesis's they are talking through the force and when its double ‘’ like normal its being said aloud 

Help me understand part 1

“Well it looks like you took all the fun.” I say more to Obi than Yoda.

“Master y/n.” Yoda responds and I give him a bow. “Master Yoda.”

“Y/n.” Obi wan looks at me with wide eyes and rushes over to pull into a tight hug. I return his hug gratefully. Anyone could see it and anyone could feel it. We have an unformidable bond. That’s all that mattered. We are safe and we have each other.

We part and I give him a somber smile, “I heard Anakin was here.”

Obi wan sighs and looks to Master Yoda whose head goes down casted. We make our way into the temple. I can feel intensely the echoes of screams and blasters and lightsabers going off all around. A massacre.

The masters talk amongst themselves as I bend down and reach out to the force and see the events play out. It’s like a rock in the pit of my stomach. I fear I already know. As I see him come into view cloaked and feeling possessed. This is no Anakin. He has a new awakening inside giving his entity a new identity. Darth Vadar.

“Who could have done this?” Obi questions. I look to Master Yoda and then back to Obi keeping it impassive. Doesn’t he feel it? Doesn’t he know? Is he trying to be ignorantly blind? No. Not Obi wan Kenobi. He knows deep down. He’s just not ready to face it.

Me and Obi work on reversing the code but as Master Yoda claims ‘a long time it will take’ to recalibrate the clones.

‘Cody was with you wasn't he?” I ask quietly not sure if I should bring it up.

“Yes.”

“I made contact with Ashoka. She’s managed to help Rex through the force. I fear for what might become of her if she sees Anakin.”

“Do you think...do you really think he is our enemy?”

“No.” I can’t hesitate. I do my best not to lie either. I need to have hope. You can win wars built on hope.

“How did it come to this? I don’t understand.”

“I can only think of one person. Palpatine.”

“I must know the truth.” He walks out of the room and I quickly follow.

“Master. There is something I must know.” He says and walks over to the channel recording tables.

Yoda warns him, but knowing Obi this is the only way he can bring himself to do it. The recording plays out. It confirms everything and breaks everything as well. Obi is conflicted once again and in pain that is hard to keep under control on the inside as I reach out to blanket him.

Master Yoda says the words no one wants to hear now. “Destroy the sith we must.”

Obi wan claims he can kill the emperor but not Anakin and I can’t help as my heart yearns at the sentiment. Anakin has turned to the dark side. He is sith. He is Darth vader. He is no longer Anakin and it pains me to even think about it. It pains me to see Obi-wan in turmoil about it.

“I don’t know where to look. Do you know?” He turns to me now. I sadly put my head down and shake my head no.

“I didn’t hear that part of the conversation. You will have to go to Padme. She will probably have an easier time telling you.” I say trying to hide my discomfort. I wasn’t jealous of Padme but I didn’t understand how Obi wan was more compelling to be more open with her than with me. Someone who has been by his side more often than not. We did our first mission together. One of many. We have a force connection only we share more powerful than most. I was there when Quin Gon died and he was crying in his room all night. Then he took on the responsibility of Anakin Skywalker.

“You’re right as ever.” He says and gives me a small smile and a squeeze on my shoulder.

“I’ll continue to figure out the code. You go speak with Padme.” I say trying not to grind my teeth with every word that comes out of my mouth. The last thing I want is to be alone. Not when he has finally come home.

“I’ll fetch you when I’m done.” He replies before he leaves with one last stare that could say a million things.

It feels like an eternity since he left but I reach out slightly on the parameters of his force line. Padme is in shock and disbelief. She doesn’t end up telling him where despite how much he pushes in her head but he does sense the child she carries is Anakin’s. Thank the stars I don’t have to keep that a secret anymore. Padme didn’t tell me, but it was easy prying into Anakin’s mind when he asked me to watch over her. That and how she was eating more and the belly was starting to show.

I sense his presence coming closer to me and I meet him out on a small landing dock where no one would detect us.

“You’re just going to have to sit sideways in my lap.” He explains with a bit of cough and the tips of his ears tinge pink. He’s embarrassed. My heart is pounding but I do it anyway.

We go to the senate building and disguise ourselves to a hanger where Padme's ship is being ready for take off. Obi grabs my hand and we sneak onto the ship undetected by Padme and C3PO. Obi wan informed on the way here that she didn’t tell him where Anakin is but has been sensing she is going after him. We hide in a compartment together on the ship. I settle for sitting down and hugging my legs to my chest. Obi takes a Jedi kneeling stance across from me.

‘Did you know about the baby?’ He projects into my mind.

‘Yes. I knew.’ I begrudgingly say.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He questions.

‘It wasn’t my place to tell. I read Anakin’s mind and found out my suspicions were true.’

‘Ah.’

‘Why did you say that when the war broke out?’ I ask timidly. I wish there was a wall between us. I don’t dare look at him when I ask this question.

‘What do you mean?’ I can feel him start to close off.

‘You called me, “my love”. What did you mean?’

‘...’ he is silent at first but then sighs and rubs his hand down his face. ‘I suppose I can’t hide it any longer. I don’t need to. I meant I love you. Because I do. I have loved you for a long time now. I just knew we couldn’t give in. We were always passing each other too. The missions together became less and communicating became more silent. It wasn’t the Jedi way. Now there is no Jedi.’

‘Oh Obi there is Jedi. There’s you, me, Yoda, and hopefully we can save Anakin.’

‘Yes.’ I can feel the hesitation. He’s on edge but blurts it out bluntly through the force. ‘Do you love me?’

I try not to smile big seeing as my heart will burst but all I feel right now for Obi Wan is love. We are about to enter a battlefield with a friend turned foe and yet none of that matters as much as I feel for Obi Wan Kenobi.

‘Yes.’ I say this time meaning it with my entire heart. Probably the first real truthful yes I’ve said all day. I can feel the love he has kept hidden, flow through me and it’s bliss and would leave me in daze if I didn’t know what we were about to do.

Landing in disguise was probably the hardest and easiest part. Padme didn’t know we were there and anakin’s energy was too high off the charts to focus on multiple things at once. His sole focus was Padme that much we could feel. We waited until she made it off the ship and then as we snuck out of our little compartment I looked to see 3CPO spot us and I gave him a signal of silence and for once he didn't make a sound. I hear Anakin’s voice and look back at obi wan at the entrance exposing his presence.

Everything after that happened so quickly. Padme being choked and falling unconscious. Anakin and Obi Wan start to negotiate but no real negotiation takes place. Obi wan in his mind tells me stay on board, Padme is still breathing, and Anakin could hurt me if i expose myself now. I stay back until I hear them start to duel and leave the scene. I run out to Padme whose unconscious but through the force I can feel she's under a lot of stress she can’t handle and I fear the baby-no babies it seems: twins, will be coming sooner than expected. I get 3CPO’s help to load Padme back into the ship and let her rest. I want to call out to Obi wan but I fear it would distract him.

I reach out to have my force barely touch Obi wan’s as I feel a sudden anguish overwhelm me in my meditation in the force. Obi wan felt nothing but pain as he had to leave his brother, someone who was the closest thing he had to family being left to die. He wasn't looking to make Anakin suffer but as we all know that wasn’t Anakin anymore but Darth Vadar. I send 3CPO to inform Obi wan as he makes his way back to the ship. I can feel he is miserable and tired. 3CPO sets the coordinates as I make the call for a medic droid to be ready once we arrive. Obi Wan pays Padme a visit to Padme. I hear her ask about Anakin as she did when I helped her lay down for rest. She will never be the same again, but at least she has her children.

Obi wan makes his way to the front of the ship, silent. I can feel the indifference of pain within him. I think to myself he must need space right now and make my way back towards Padme. If only I could help relieve some of the pain he’s feeling.

“Come back…” I hear softly called out. I’m almost at Padme’s door when I faintly hear the voice. I turn around and see Obi wan looking at the ground and running his hand down his face as he does when in hard times.

“Did you say something?” I ask, wondering if I heard wrong.

“I don’t want space.”

“Oh.” Was he mind reading me earlier?

“I don’t want space. I want you. ...I need you, please stay with me.”

I feel my heartbreak a little at the crack of his voice. He is doing his best to stay strong, but he just did the impossible and shouldered the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders. No one will understand, but I’ll be damned if I don’t at least try or help him one way or another.

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

thAT WAS THERAPY FOR ME LMAO i hope u enjoyed reading this late night and perhaps forgotten story i wrote. 

[eldritch-fr-ideas]

Uh huh, sure Kir, there was definitely something chasing you down in the Shrieking Wilds, we all believe that!

[Oh, shut up, I wasn't imagining it!]

{Ok, but have you considered that you totally were?}

(You do imagine everything under the sun...)

You know, if you guys want something really scary...let me tell you the story of Ascua.

~~

Ascua was my hatchmate, see.

Not in actual genetics, but our original lair had a habit of gathering up eggs on their lonesome, and we hatched on the same day, nearly the same coloring, although completely opposite eyes- my water to his fire.

But we hatched on the same day, and we grew up together, so all in all we just called ourselves hatchmates and that was that.

{Come on, get on with it, get to the scary bit.}

Oh, come on, let me have my buildup. Would you rather Ascua was some random stranger?

("Was"...did your hatchmate die?)

I'm getting to that, Rolla.

But for the record, no.

~~

So. Lets talk about the volcano, shall we?

You all know our Great Furnace, yes? Well, we lived- not in the furnace, our clan wasn't nearly renowned enough for that- but in the Blacksand Annex, where land is sculpted by every dragon's whim, and it's therefore such a beautiful chaos, to know how many clans reside there is almost impossible. Right easy to get away with not paying our dues, or to steal from another clan.

{Holy shit, Verre committed crimes.}

No-

That's not to say that anything we did was illegal, it's just that we all only bothered to keep track of coin or custody once or twice a year, when the forgemasters deigned to descend upon us and take the best of what we made. It was just...easier to not, with the smoke, and it's not like we were ever scarce on anything that way.

{It's still stealing, even if its consensual!}

That is not how that works.

~~

In any case, it was on one of these such days when our story, proper, takes place. The forgemasters had come down from their Great Furnaces to collect what they thought theirs, and, well, me and Ascua had gotten it into our little heads to go hide from them. We were, what, a few months old at best?

This happened long before the Rebellion started burning, of course, and our overseers were not nearly so strict, nor the Furnaces closed, and the two of us had witnessed the sort of chaos the Annex was thrown into the entire week before, over who owned what and what dragon belonged to which clan, and it had...well, it had made us a bit nervous, about why it all mattered.

If even Tegere, who was this great big guardian who kept us safe from harm, was worried, what horrible beasts these masters had to be!

They weren't, and aren't, of course, just dragons with power, but we were young and foolish and thought everything was dangerous.

(Sounds familiar.) 

[Hey- shut up, ok!?] 

(Mmm....no :)

So we decided to hide. Our little minds thought that, well, if all the horrible forgemasters were down here, none would be up there, and so... 

We flew up. 

~~

The smoke was particularly thick today, and none saw us leave. 

No one would have stopped us if they did, too embroiled in their own troubles. 

And so up, and up, and up we went.

Nothing stopped us.

Some days, I wish something had. 

~~

We went up, and then we went down. 

Down, down, down to the great bellows in the earth, into a place that dragon-made machine could never hope to tame, where we must build enormous contraptions just to give us breath, and then even deeper, where that machinery had not yet reached. We got hopelessly turned around, jumping at every sizzle of smoke, and then we found our way again. 

It turns out that we somehow made our way into the volcano through a passage that doesn't exist on any map, that doesn't exist at all. But that was only obvious after the fact, when I went back to check, to make sure what I experienced was real, and couldn't find the entrance I went into. 

In the Great Furnaces, there were dragons, proud smelters and workers, but none of them noticed us, careful not to say a word, make a sound. They were too focused on their work, and the pounding of the enchanted hammer was already far louder than our footsteps. 

But beyond that, below, there was not a soul but the two of us. 

And, in all honesty, that was far more frightening. 

The caves down here were not lit by anything but the free-flowing lava, the blood of Sorneith. Shadows flickered, and smoke burned our lungs. 

And still, we kept going. Our footsteps did not echo, the sound taken by the pumice beneath us, around us, but we did not speak. 

We just kept going.

I don't know why.

I don't want to. 

~~

Ascua was fire, and I was water, and our matching slate-grey colors were a natural camouflage against the rock. 

But for all we matched, we had our differences. Ascua was far more certain, far more...driven. I was reserved. 

And so as the smoke became thicker, and the air became thinner, and we still kept going deeper, and deeper, I think something shattered, for me.

Like glass. 

I wanted to turn back, and I told Ascua so.

He did not listen. He did not even hear me.

I wasn't afraid enough to turn back, and so with him I went, but now, there was hesitation. 

And, now, I knew that something was watching us.

~~

I didn't know what that something was. Even now, I'm not really sure. But it was bigger than the volcano it "lived" in, if such a thing could ever live like we do. 

It was not a person, nor a monster. It was greater than all of that. It saw more than any of us would see in a lifetime, and it had no need for eyes or blood or flesh or skin. 

It had no need for a mortal mind nor a physical body. 

It had such a thing anyway, in the volcano. It was... 

Trapped. 

~~

We descended deeper. There was no sound. The stone turned red-hot, burning our feet, and still we went deeper. 

I looked at Ascua, and I noticed that there was something wrong with his eyes. 

They were too bright, and there was nothing behind them. They did not move at all, fixed on a point I no longer saw. 

And I wanted to turn back,

but there was no point, 

because all at once we arrived at the end of the tunnel.

~~

There was a cavern

Its ceilings were as high as the sky and you

Could barely see the walls

Veins of magma trailed along the cavern

On the other side of it there was another tunnel going deeper down

Everything burned, red hot, and I blinked to keep out the smoke

I had not blinked the entire way

But now I did

Imprinted on the back of my eyelid I saw

Something much larger than I

It paid no mind to the dragons in the Furnace, those forgemasters that

Had driven us down here in the first place

For although the volcano was a part of it

It was not a very big part

And it did not care whether every dragon on itself lived or died

Though every dragon was on its skin

And the Pillar of the World could crumble to dust if it shifted

Though cared not about it

All it wanted was to be freed

And the two little specks that had made it just a little deeper into the vast creature

Might be a start

So it beckoned us to keep going

To free it from its bindings of fire and earth 

~~

I didn't go. 

~~ 

Ascua did, and as he did, he burned, and his eyes set alight. 

I still have scars, from when I touched him, tried to pull him back. 

And as I ran, and abandoned my brother, the great enormous thing at the heart of the world was...disappointed in me. 

It let me leave, for there was nothing I could offer, and it would not care whether I lived or died. 

Better than having its attention on me, I thought, 

And I ran up, and up, and up, 

Although as far as I ran, I knew I could never escape

The vast body of Sorneith. 

~~

(Kir, are you alright?) 

[Wh-]

[Oh, yeah, sorry, I just...swore I...nevermind] 

{What, imagining things again?} 

[N...no, I definitely...] 

I- Shit, if you're actually scared, don't...don't pay this story any mind, ok? 

It's just a story.

You're safe here.

------

hi its prophet anon again the premise for this one was "u know shadow and arcane and ice and water are really easy to eldritch horror but u know what? no, im going to eldritch fire. take some dragon ocs and the concept that the world is incomprehensibly vast" 

The narrator is Verre, and they look like so: https://www1.flightrising.com/scrying/predict?morph=1487467

Ascua looked like so (although who knows what he looks like now): https://www1.flightrising.com/scrying/predict?morph=1487468 

And the 3 other side characters are Kir, who is in [square brackets], Rolla, who is in (parenthesis), and Fonen, who is in {squiggly brackets} 

This snippet was a lot more trope-y i think, but tbh i managed to write a first person pov without hating it so we'll call that a win

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

We forget what lays beneath. We forget what came before.

Even the gods fear something, no matter how much they hide it, and it will always come to light...

[therealjammy]

The Worth Of the Wait (Witness)

AN: Posting this here for the Tumblr crowd, but also in the hope it’ll garner a bit more audience. It’s quite angsty, so please bear that in mind xx

The title that isn’t in parenthesis is from Ivan & Alyosha’s song by the same name

Words: A little over 2.5k

--

And since it falls unto my lot

           That I should rise and you should not…

—

There was something in the reading of ghosts Dani had done that mentioned souls were doomed to wander the grounds around which they died due to unfinished business. As to what that business was, the spectre had to find out on their own, a task that began as soon as one came to.

           No such task was set forth when Dani woke the first evening after her death, collapsed on the shore of the lake on her knees, not knowing it was the same spot Jamie had knelt just hours earlier. No sense of purpose filled her, only the strangeness of the afterlife, the emptiness of the manor’s grounds, and a bizarre, echoing loneliness.

           Here, Dani did not bear the weight of the first Lady of the Lake. No second gaze watched from within. No claws tore away pieces of her. She was Dani once again. Almost whole, but not quite1.

           She walked the grounds to grow used to her new body and life. She mused that this must have been what the astronauts who landed on the moon felt like—terribly weightless, yet able to come back to the ground by sheer force of will. So light. Like floating on air. But she wasn’t hovering. The afterlife wasn’t nearly so stereotypical. There was grass underneath her feet, and gravel, and brick. Dani was pleased that the muted feel of them all did not terrify her. The downside, however, was everything she took in reminded her of Jamie. And Hannah and Owen and Flora and Miles. So much so that she dropped to her knees for the second time in the middle of the statue garden and allowed herself to feel another knife. It slid beside the one that’d pierced her chest at the sight of Jamie in the water, reaching for her, agonized screams distorted by the thick, choking medium. I won’t, Dani had said. Don’t reach out for me to take you; this is the only time I will not accept your hand.

           The book said nothing about the loneliness one would feel in the afterlife, nor the emotions that ghosts were still capable of feeling, nor even the fact that ghosts could have their own ghosts.

 —

Time was nearly impossible to tell here. The days varied in their colors, of course, so Dani knew the hours, but she could not count the days. Or the weeks. She only knew the beautiful grounds, once kept tame by Jamie and a series of others before her, were slowly being reclaimed. The hedges lost their shapes. The statues in the statue garden wore masks and robes of moss. The rose garden and the white iron table and chairs were covered in leaves and surrounded by weeds, and armies of aphids munched greedily on the wilting roses. The church was dark and drafty; the candles had dust gathering in them, and the benches were covered in it, too. Jamie’s beloved greenhouse was overgrown, looking the part of a houseplant jungle that was now home to spiders and large, fearless rats. Soon many varieties of leaves and arms of vines would cover the bench, concealing the evidence of a deep first kiss and—on a different day—a thick half-hour’s lovemaking.

           Concealing life so that they might live their own. Jamie would say that, or something similar to it. Part of nature, innit? Inevitable. Uncontrollable, once set free.

           Dani was not bound to the lake. Not entirely. And so she spent a series of nights on the greenhouse’s bench, on her bed of plants and cracking cushions, perfectly content to lose herself in memories that hadn’t been sharp for years.

 —

It could have been months, or even years later, that Dani began to hear voices. They were faint and far away, like music drifting from an open window several stories up, the voices unidentifiable, the words a string of incoherence. There were no others on the grounds; what others there were had moved on to somewhere else the second the Lady of the Lake settled herself inside Dani. But the voices were there, whispering in the woods and the lake, the greenhouse and the church, wherever Dani managed to find herself. Was it possible, she wondered, for someone dead to lose their mind? It shouldn’t have been. It would be cruel of the afterlife to make her repeat an act that had already been done. The voices were not memory, either; memory did not tickle the eardrums or raise one’s hackles.

           It didn’t take long for Dani to shrug the voices off, thinking them a new music serenading her world. She often fell asleep to them—a different kind of lullaby.

 —

The first time Dani was called to the land of the living was an accident.

           She was walking through the woods, admiring a golden sunset slashing through silhouetted branches on the way to the spot where Jamie’s carefully grown moonflower once sat. Dani seated herself on the log she’d occupied, watching the shadows lengthen on the iron the moonflower had used as an anchor to grow against, thinking of Jamie and her going-out-on-a-limb monologue, of the kisses that followed and the laughter-filled ascent up the stairs that led to them making love in Dani’s bedroom, with no hesitation after Jamie’s, “It’s not too fast?” A voice shattered her thoughts, clear as day, a whisper.

           “Where are you?”

           Jamie.

           Heart leaping, feeling more alive than her new life had lately allowed her to be, Dani ran, ran through the woods and the gardens, past the empty greenhouse, church, and manor, calling Jamie’s name. “I’m here!” she shouted. “I’m here, Jamie!” No avail. No reward. Just the whisper, again and again. “Where are you?”

           Once again, Dani found herself wading into cold water, and once again fell and sank, but it was not to the lake’s silty, reedy bottom.

           There was water underneath her hands. And wood. Not even an inch of it, but still it lapped at her hands, an insistent, icy tongue. There was hissing. And further away, the sound of sirens. Dani stared at the floor. Light finished oak. Skinny pieces. She knew this floor.

           Looking up, in a state of dizzying disbelief, was looking into the flooding kitchen of the apartment. Their apartment. The sprinklers were spraying water. Something must’ve caught fire, but Dani wasn’t looking for that. Her gaze was trapped by the cracked front door and the unmistakable figure of Jamie, soaked to the bone, sitting between the oven and the sink, the posture of someone who had slid there in defeat, not quite weeping but on the verge of it.

           The strangest part was how ardently she stared into the water.

           “Where are you?” Jamie said.

           “Here,” Dani would have said, and reached out to her, had she not felt herself being pulled back.

 —

Several times, the breaking through happened, each as jarring as the first, until Dani learned to expect it. Until, one winter evening, when the grounds of Bly were dusted with frost, she only thought of Jamie and was instantly over her shoulder. They were in The Leafling, the winter plants and flowers in full season. Outside, there was snow, and fresh flakes were falling like cigarette ash from a steely sky. Jamie was in dark jeans and a black turtleneck, her curls pinned up in a bun, a few unruly ones dangling over her eyes, her hands putting the finishing touches on a pot filled with pansies.

           “It’s a very ironic name,” Jamie had said once, back when they first opened the shop and rotated the flowers out depending on the season. “Call this flower a pansy but it survives the winter.”

           “Maybe we should call it a toughie,” Dani suggested. Jamie shook her head, smiling, but she ended up making a chalk art sign that read, “These toughies survive the winter!” and placed it appropriately in front of the pansy display. They’d sold out within the first two weeks.

           The signs that were in the flower shop now were not written by hand in Jamie’s half-messy cursive. They were all typed and displayed on boards. Including the sign on the door, which was flipped to closed.

           There was life here, Dani realized, her heart seizing in her chest, continuing despite the gaping loss Jamie obviously still felt.

           How many times, Dani wondered when she returned to Bly, to the greenhouse, had Jamie thought of giving up? It had to be several, by now.

           It took a special sort of perseverance to overcome the call of death.

 —

Time hardly existed at Bly, but Dani found a way to keep track of it. She watched Jamie and knew the months went by, staying longer and longer, until she hardly found herself at Bly at all.

           She watched Jamie change. Her hair got longer and less wavy. Grey began to show. Slowly at first, and then they were as sudden as weeds. Dani watched efforts of romances, all of which ended in apologies and the showing of the ring she’d slipped onto Jamie’s finger in the nineties. She watched The Leafling change hands. Watched Jamie pack up the apartment and move into a small house in a different town. Watched her fly to Paris and step through the doors of A Batter Place for the first time in ages. Owen was still there, dressed in white chef’s uniform. And Hannah’s picture remained where it was, too, her kind, smiling face forever immortalized.

           Jamie stood by the doors. Jet lag sagged her shoulders. Made her eyes droop like half-dead leaves. Yet there was determination, Dani saw, mixed with an oncoming wave of nostalgia.

           Owen was a few tables away, smiling, pouring refills of wine into two guests’ glasses. He glanced in Jamie’s direction, owner’s instinct kicking in at the sight of someone loitering in the entryway, looking back at the customers, and then giving Jamie a long double-take.

           “Please excuse me,” Dani heard him say.

           He and Jamie approached each other slowly.

           “My god,” were Owen’s first words to her, “you’ve gotten old.”

           The laughter that erupted from Jamie’s mouth was the sweetest music.

           They sat at the same table that’d seen them a little over a decade ago, talking over French cuisine and wine, until long after closing and long after everyone else left. There was much to say and then nothing at all, a silence settling over the old friends that was comfortable.

           There was a bit of happiness in Jamie’s life at last.

 —

Jamie’s life had changed since seeing Owen in Paris. It was lighter. She walked with new purpose. There was, however, one constant. Jamie always left doors cracked. Always left something filled with water—the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the tub, a watering can—and gazed into it, much like she had that day in the kitchen. The habit could have started long before that, Dani theorized, but there was no plausible way to be certain. The only thing that was certain was the statement these habits made: I’ll wait for you. In those moments, Dani’s heart ached in her chest, its own clenched, frustrated fist.

           On a blustery spring day in 2007, Dani followed Jamie around her plant-populated kitchen as she had a conversation with Owen over the phone. Jazzy piano floated from a speaker somewhere Dani couldn’t see, the volume low. She only heard Jamie’s side of the talk.

           “This makes me feel really fucking old.”

           “Well, wasn’t she twelve the last time we talked to each other?” A smile. “I’m giving you shite, you moosher.”

           A pause.

           Her tone turned serious. “You’re sure you want me there?” A pause. “You know they might not remember me.” Silence. Then, with another smile, “All right, you’ve convinced me with your battering on about it.”

           In the past, Jamie threw on whatever outfit was convenient: old, soft T-shirt tucked into worn jeans, jacket pulled on over it; paint-splattered overalls and flannel shirt; sweater and jeans and a grey-blue coverall caked with soil. Her style came together in the nineties. It was polished in the New Millennium. She planned her outfits with a little more care, and she looked stunning in all of them. It was, thought Dani, no wonder the younger women that floated in and out of Jamie’s life fawned over her.

           The occasion she talked about with Owen was, much to Dani’s surprise, Flora’s wedding. The man she’d been smitten with at seventeen was the same one she was marrying at twenty- eight. Jamie marked the date in the calendar hanging on the fridge.

           In the days that followed, a melancholy shadowed Jamie. Dani saw it on her face, and deep in her eyes. She believed Jamie was thinking about their own union, how they had to practically beg for it to be civil while all some people had to do was slide a ring on a finger and ask for a license. How Flora’s life stretched for acres ahead of her while Dani’s own was an uncertain countdown. Dani saw, as she’d gotten rare glimpses of, Jamie scribble the thoughts down in a notebook with yellowed edges. (She had usually left Jamie when she wrote. That time was hers alone.)

           She turned the page. Her pen hovered.

           Jamie began a new note.

We should have grown old together. Watched each other change. Kept track of the lines that appeared around our eyes and mouths. Made love until we were too ancient to do it properly. Found other ways. We should have had our whole lives ahead of us. It seems unfair I get to be the age I am. But we had our time, Poppins. Not many people get that.

             The note wasn’t a goodbye. To Dani, it was more of a reminder.

 Epilogue:

Witness

The asylum-turned-hotel was surprisingly cozy, even by dead people’s standards. Nestled in a sort of grove in Northern California, Dani liked the rustic look of the place and how pleasant it looked against the late afternoon sunlight shining through the trees. It had a sitting room just off the lobby, populated by comfortable couches. Despite the spring warmth, a fire crackled in the fireplace, and the wedding guests gathered around it, some with drinks in their hands, others empty-handed. They chatted amongst themselves until, rather abruptly, Jamie announced, “I have a story.”

           Dani settled behind her, back to the warmth of the fire. Bly did not call back to her. Nothing held her but Jamie, whose command of the room was absolute.

           She hung on every word.

           She felt light. She felt like she could fly at the way Jamie narrated the story that held everyone so raptly; her voice wavered from tenderness to melancholy to, at the end, devotion. A sense of purpose.

           It hit Dani as suddenly as cold water. Her purpose. Her unfinished business. It had only taken seven years and countless witnessing of someone perpetually in wait.

           Jamie filled the hotel’s sink. And the bathtub. She cracked open the door, just a little, letting in a small bar of white light. She turned a chair to the door. Waiting. Expectant.

           Dani knew then.

           If Jamie waited for her, Dani would wait for her in return.

           She set a hand on Jamie’s shoulder, a promise she would, hopefully, feel.

--

Endnotes

1. A reference to my favorite novel, Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones

The lines before the start of this work are from “The Parting Glass”

[onisiondrama]

(Note 1: I’m not repeating stories he’s told before and just putting them in parenthesis. I have a lot more videos to go until I’m caught up so that would save me a lot of time. If he gives details I never heard from him before, I will type those. Note 2: This is just a summary of Onision / James’ video plus screen shots from his video. I’m not accusing anyone or defending anyone. These are James’ accusations.)

“Onision's Dad: Randy Daniel (Pathological Liar & Child Abuser)” Speaks, December 19, 2020 - SUMMARY PART 1

- James shows the Newsweek article where his father was interviewed. He points out the author / interviewer, Steven Asarch, no longer works for Newsweek (James says he was fired, but idk if he was fired or let go). He says Steven has no integrity and his research is bare minimum. He reads his tweets to Steven and says Steven never replied. He points out Steven replied to someone with 8 followers, but not to himself who has 258k followers. James says Steven is openly defending the statements of a pedophile, his father. - James says he warned everyone about Shane and he was publicly lynched, but he was right. He plays a clip from his old debate with Lucidia about Shane. He says the woman openly defended Shane calling a 6 year old girl’s Instagram as “sexy.” He says you people are crazy and you’ll defend anything he’s against, even if they are pedophiles. - He starts reading from the article. (His dad has a Samoan daughter story.) The article says she is Deborah (Randy’s wife)’s oldest stepdaughter. He says if she’s the oldest, his father either had her before he got with his mom or when he was with his mom, so Randy allegedly cheated on his mom. - He points out the article says “an FBI investigation may have started.” He says if the FBI looked into it remotely, they would see there was no grooming and he was actually sexually extorted by and 18 1/2 year old. He plays clips from this video. [Link is to my summary with screen shots.] - The article says he uses copyright claims about any videos mentioning him. James says that’s not true. You can talk about him all you want, he can’t claim videos where people just talk about him. [As opposed to people who show his clips under Fair Use. 🙄] He shows an email to show what Youtube sends him if they don’t agree with his copyright claim:

- He says anyone who says he falsely copyright claimed them are full of crap because Youtube filters that stuff and reject you if it’s not valid. [That’s a ridiculous argument. Youtube can’t manually review ever single copyright claim they get. That’s impossible. This is only for the false copyright claims they caught.] He says he proved Steven literally just slandered him. He says he already notified Newsweek the article is slanderous and they haven’t taken it down. He has ground to sue Newsweek if he wanted to. - The article says James’ drama eclipsed his own drama and his content blurs the lines between reality and James’ fiction. He says this guy is calling him a liar. [James admits to making fake drama videos all the time. Like the fake meltdown videos, the fake abuse video he made with Shiloh, the fake expose video with Cyr, the fake “I Betrayed My Wife Part x” videos, etc.] - The article says Chris Hansen interviewed 5 women who came forward. He says there were 3, but he never met the other two. He plays more clips from the video I already mentioned. He says none of them were children. - He reads some quotes Randy said about him. He lists things Randy was accused of:

- He says his father violated a child. He says when he asked the person who was violated about it, they changed the subject. That’s how traumatized they were. He says that’s how actual victims act. He says she was 7 at the time and his mom put her in therapy. He says he’s not sure why his mother didn’t go to the police.

- He reads a quote from Deborah where she says James bullies and harasses people who speak out against him. He says you have to defend yourself from slander.

- He says he has no fascination with “young girls” in response to another quote from Deborah. He says he has an 18+ only forum and Discord. He avoids young girls. He says Deborah is married to a pedophile. He says he hasn’t seen Deborah and Randy in 16 years and he hasn’t lived with them since he was 15. He says 2 60-year-olds are crapping on a 15-year-old. - He reacts more to the details of Randy’s relationships with his mom and their kids. He says Randy used to shame him and his sister if they didn’t say “I love you too” back to him over the phone. - James says a family member of his cried in-front of him talking about how they were violated by Randy when James’ mom was sleeping. He says Randy shoved his hand and penetrated the woman. He says the woman had no reason to lie, but Randy is getting clout.

- He says Deborah spanked him like a creep. He says she would lift her hand and set / pat it on his bottom while counting. He says she was groping him on the butt. - He reads Randy wanted to give up. He says Deborah just admitted his father wanted to give up on his three children. He says these people are so dumb. - He says the only thing his father did was send him a request to talk to him on LinkedIn after he stopped talking to Randy. - James says here’s where we get to the big lie. The article says James lived with them when he was 17. James’ big reveal is that he was 15 when he lived with them. He says his dad says he was 17 to make himself look less like a child abuser. He shows his college course transcripts to prove it. He took college courses at a college in Washington state while in high school after he lived with his Father. He shows google maps of his high school and college to prove they were in Washington state. He shows the route he would rollerblade from his high school to his college. He points out the church where behind it he lost his virginity when he was 14. He says his father is a pathological liar and his wife is basically a Lannister. - He says he would play the Nine In Nail song “god is dead and no one cars” to mess with their Christian values. He would go to church with them and was cool about that. (Julia story) - He reads a quote that says he threatened to burn down their house a couple of times. He says their house was really nice and beautiful. He always loved their house. If he could visit the house and not them, that would be preferable. He asks why he would burn down a beautiful house. He says he asked someone he knew for 9 years (probably Kai) if they ever remember him threatening to burn anything down and they said no. - He says he once went to his neighbor because his neighbor was starting crap and filming him. James told his neighbor if something happened to a neighbor, you would want your neighbors to help, like if a house burned down. The neighbor asked if he was threatening to burn his house down. James said no, he meant if your house was damaged and had nowhere to stay, you would want your neighbors to be there for you. He says the neighbor said, “oh, ok.” He says threatening to burn people’s houses down is a crime, but neighbors need to know they need to be there to support each other. He said his neighbor was trying to hurt him, so he told them to knock on his door if they have a problem. Don’t send videos to idiots online. [The neighbor worked for the Fish & Wildlife department for the county and reported James to the county when he saw his using heavy machinery on protected land. People online got the video because it was publicly available on the county website.] James says he was doing yardwork too close to the water and he removed plants that made his kids cry. He swears on his own life he never threatened to burn down a house. - He says he never yelled and called Randy and Deborah names. He only called Deborah an “F-ing B” before Randy started choking him because she prevented him from being with his girlfriend that weekend. He says you know how teenage boys can be about not being able to be with their girlfriend. - He says Randy called the police on him because he didn’t want to eat dinner with them, not because he was yelling and cursing like they said in the article. He says you can probably look up the police report. He gives the location and says it was late 2001. He says he had a smirk on his face when the police showed up because he thought it was so ridiculous. Randy says it was escalating and he was afraid there would be a physical altercation. James says he had just beaten Randy down so bad he looked like a whopped dog. He says Randy looked like he was constantly afraid of him.

[eloarei]

1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 13, 17, 23 (some of these are random and some aren't)

Thanks for the many questions, Socks! Sorry I didn’t answer them earlier; I decided answering asks on mobile sucks.  ALSO, this is going to be super long haha sorry.  1.  Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?       Well, my most current project is one I just started brainstorming. It’s (hopefully gonna be) a Fallout 3 series, with my latest fic being the starting point. LW/Fawkes is a ship I liked immediately when I played the series some years ago, but I never got around to writing for it, probably in part because there’s already a super good longfic about them, and I just didn’t think there was much else I could say. But my LW is different from Choco’s LW, and lately I wanted to start something self-indulgent. Although I have enough ideas for this to maybe be a single 30k fic, I’m choosing to do a series of shortfics instead, so that I’m not burdening myself with another long project. Fic series are great in that way, because it’s basically complete with every new fic.       On top of that, I have... probably 3 other things I want to make significant progress on this year. First is another Fallout fic: Same Heart. I’ve posted 8 chapters already and have almost 2 more done, but due to the slow-build nature of it (and my tagging) I don’t expect to have almost any readers until at least chapter 10 (when the ship characters finally meet). I’d like to at least get that far this year.       A project I’d love to finish by fall is the unreleased “The Wilderness”, a Venom zombie AU that I started for NaNoWriMo 2 years ago. It’s about 55% written, and my goal is to have as much of it done as possible before the sequel movie comes out. If it’s not done by then, I still plan to post whatever I have.       And lastly-ish, my novel... thing. Rogue. I’m in the process of editing it, although I’ve taken kind of a break lately. And as soon as I’m done with the edits and can get a couple of people to read it (just so they can tell me if certain parts are stupid and need changed) I plan to start the next book in the series... which will probably end up being book #1, actually, if I do them modern-era chronologically. It’s... gonna be a process. ^^;  2.  Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project.       In my upcoming FO3 fic series, I’m honestly just kind of weirdly looking forward to... how do I put this? Exploring my own vaguely-traumatic experiences through fic. I’ll always do a happy ending, if possible, but before we get there I really want to run these two through the ringer of... being given something they were led to believe was impossible, being judged for it, having it taken away, and then being told “well maybe it’s for the best”.       When it comes to future projects, I guess I’m really excited about writing the new Rogue book. “Reaper”, I guess, is its unimaginative working title. I’m anxious about it, because I thought Rogue had some really deeply emotional scenes, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to accomplish that as well with this new one, simply because the characters don’t have the same level of desperation about each other. I need to figure out what’s unique about their dynamic and push that. I guess I’m looking forward to the challenge.  3.  What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)       Hmm gosh. Technically there’s a scene in the later chapters of Mobius that I already wrote, but it wouldn’t take place until probably chapter 3 or later, and I just lost all steam on that fic, sadly. But every time I poke through my notes I make myself cry reading it. It’s a scene where one character knows it’s going to be the last time he sees the person he loves most, and he can’t explain his pain to anyone. I really just want to get there so I can see if it makes other people cry like babies haha.       But on a completely unrelated note, there’s also this ZADR fic I started writing in like 2009, and I absolutely didn’t want to do the work to get to the fun middle scenes, but basically it was an AU where young adult Dib went to live/work in the thriving multi-species space community, where he’s... I dunno, studying alien biology I think?, and he ends up with Zim as a roommate. The scenes I really wanted to write were about the two of them getting into like a bar fight with some tough types, and Zim gets his pak ripped off/damaged in the process, and Dib has to sort of take care of him through a horrible fever. But then it turns out that the pak was not a life-support system like they thought, but actually a growth inhibitor so they (the people in charge of the Irkens) could choose who became the Tallest (the leaders). (And also it hindered reproduction, etc.) So basically the two of them accidentally start to unravel a galactic conspiracy which also involves corruption in the Earth government, etc, and Zim gets taller but spoiler alert, he still doesn’t get tall enough to challenge the Tallest lol. Sadly, I doubt I’ll ever actually write that fic. Sounds like too much effort lol.  7.  What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?       That’s such a hard question. Ummm. How do I put any of that into words? ...I think one of the things about my writing is that a lot of the time nothing really happens in a scene, and the story mostly focuses on a character thinking. Like, enough happens so there’s something for them to think about, but I think I tend to put a lot of emphasis on POV character’s thoughts, to the point of sometimes seeming stream-of-consciousness. I’ve been told that this makes my stories feel alive though? So I think it appeals to some people, though I’m sure others would find such stories boring.       Oh also, somewhat along these lines, I like to add commentary that is only somewhat relevant, usually in parenthesis at the end of a sentence or paragraph. (Honestly, it’s not unusual to see one in every paragraph if I’m writing something slightly humorous.)  9.  Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?      I would LOVE to write primarily longfics! However, I just don’t have the time or energy for it, and I don’t write fast enough. So I end up with a lot of oneshots under 10k. I had to challenge myself to learn to write short things though, and then it’s really about writing something short, not about writing a specific story.       Generally, I’m both pantster and plotter. I tend to write the first chapter/few scenes/maybe as much as 10k, just by the seat of my pants. After that, I look at what I’ve got and write out a plot to continue from there. Plotting everything out before I start just doesn’t work for me, but if I try “pantsing” anything longer than 15k I know I’m gonna have an absolute torturous hell of a time.  13.  Do you share your writing online? (Drop a link!) Do you have projects you’ve kept just for yourself?      Lol I think anyone who’s reading this knows I share my stuff online. Primarily on my AO3, though there’s some other stuff floating around here on tumblr too.  Most of the time if I keep something to myself it’s only because it’s not finish enough to share. So, sure, there’s plenty of that, but the goal is always to share it eventually. If I ever get around to finishing a novel, those will probably be the only things I don’t just post online. (Though I do post most of my OC stuff currently.)  17.  Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?       I think that inevitably my readers will always perceive me and my writing a bit differently than I do. That’s just... interacting with people. Nobody knows you entirely. However, I am as open and honest in my writing as possible, and I actually think that reading my fic is the best way to get to know me. I like to hope that I am an open book to anyone who has read many of my words. =] While you may not know the details of my life, I think you would have a good insight into my personality.    23.  What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?       Like... my oldest fic/story that I’ve never written or posted? Not counting stuff I’ve consciously abandoned (things from middle school, mostly), my original fic series, “Damsel and Company in Distress” aka DamselCo. is definitely my oldest story. I think I started fiddling with it in 2006-- which makes it pretty disappointing that it’s gotten next to nowhere. XD; But the story is my baby, and it’s been my baby for so long that anyone who’s followed me ever is probably at least vaguely familiar with a few of the characters.  Now maybe one day I’ll actually give it the attention it deserves, though I’m sure it’ll need significant revamping. After all, a lot has changed in 14+ years. Ideas that were new and subversive then are probably already stale. 

[rex101111]

2, 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19 for meta fanfiction asks!

2.  Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

Once I have more time on my hands, I really wanna get back to writing the second chapter of “She is the moonlight”, like there’s so many fun scenes in my head I wanna write down (as you should know becc;D) and I really wanna get back to it.

Also I had a few Eri ideas and it has been ages since I wrote for my daughter, which is a travesty, and I need to get back on that XD

3.  What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

gaaaah which one??? Like, there’s one where Bakugou grows a moral center and gets on his hands and knees for deku to forgive him for telling him to kill himself (but that would take an entire fic’s worth of set up to properly build up and fuuu-).

Or I would really like to write this like short inbetween scene with Inko. Just after they get the news from UA that the students will move to the dorms but the night before All Might comes to visit to convince Inko it’s a good idea, but I wanna write a bunch about Inko’s life before that, maybe expand on her own personal experience with heroes? Maybe give her some prior reason to doubt Izuku would be safe with UA? Nana cameo to explain her earlier hairstyle like maybe Inko was a hero fan but grew out of it and saw a bunch of heroes get hurt and-...fuck it:

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

It isn’t. It isn’t even slightly okay, but Izuku has that smile on his face. That fragile one, the kind she’s broken before. She remembers that night, as clear as if it were yesterday; her little boy crying and shaking in front of a computer screen after being told all his dreams were worthless.

There’s a pit in the bottom of her stomach, and as it grows the urge to tell him no grows with it. She felt Kamino from her kitchen, her TV screen a peak into the apocalypse. 

Not even a week before he son was on a hospital bed with his arms broken in two dozen places, and then his teachers, and even some of his friends, were neck deep in something even worse.

She should say no.

She has every right to tell him no.

But he has that smile on his face.

“Of course dear.” Her mouth is full of lead, her smile feels heavy and fetid on her face. “Go see what you need to pack.”

He hugs her, kisses her cheek, rushes off to his room while calling her the best, and she can barely register any of it. She finds her way, somehow, to her couch, and puts her face in her hands.

Heroes die Inko, her mother’s voice echoes out, cold but afraid, they help and they save and they win, but at the end they die.

She was young before All Might showed up, very young, be she had memories of before; of early heroes crashing against overwhelming odds, of mass funerals and of hero agencies closing down not from lack of funding but lack of personal.

She thinks back to the summer camp (do you really need to come back?), to the shopping mall (he’s smiling put keeps putting a hand to his neck), to the sports festival (his fingers are a shade of purple so vivid she can see it even when they zoom out), to that last week before middle school graduation (Where did all that confidence come from, she thought she broke it all...). She remembers her little boy, covered in bruises and wiping away his tears (Mitsuki asking what her “brat” did this time, Inko doesn’t know what to say).

She thinks of him smiling and crying as he showed her his acceptance letter, of him pouring over his homework every morning, of unwrapping bandages from his broken fingers as he promises her (again) that he’ll be more careful.

She sees, as clear as day, her son, her baby, her Izuku, motionless and bleeding as the world burned around him and some monster without a face and without a heart laughs at him.

(All Might barely made it out alive. Kamino is a warzone. Her son, with broken arms and a broken smile and broken-and broken-and broken-)

She gets up from the couch in a rush, races for the faucet in her kitchen, and vomits so powerfully she starts coughing and tearing up.

She breathes heavily for a few moments, silently wiping her mouth as she waits for Izuku to rush down the stairs to check on her. He doesn’t, mercifully he didn’t hear her. She rinses the taste from her mouth, cleans her face, sobs, cleans her face again, and then goes to her computer with a stomp in her step and her lips in a thin line.

With a heavy heart but a steady, determined hand she types in “Hero School admittance and transfer” into the search engine and spends the next two hours reading about Shiketsu, and Ketsubutsu, and Isamu, and a hundred other names she only heard about in vague news snippets.

She’ll break his heart, that smile, like ten years didn’t pass and nothing changed, but she forges onward. He’ll feel betrayed, he’ll feel lied to, but she is done with UA, she is done with her son coming home with broken bones.

She is done and she afraid and she will not let her son be chewed up and spat out like he means nothing, like he’s just another sacrifice for the system that promises All Might but only fills out graves.

She won’t take his dream, he needs to know she still believes in him, but Inko Midoriya is done trusting her child’s safety to someone else who doesn’t know him, doesn’t know his wounds and scars like she does, doesn’t know his hopes and his heart and all the tiny little things that makes Izuku who he is like she does.

She doesn’t know who will come in a few days to convince her, but they will be wasting their time. She feels guilty for that, but only for a moment. She made a list, it has a dozen or so names on it. Options, choices, for Izuku to decide and not her.

She raises from her computer chair with a groan and a pain in her lower back and the bottom of her chest. She climbs the stairs to her bedroom, stopping briefly to look at Izuku’s door. The same childish All Might sticker proudly staring back at her. There’s no noise behind the door, he’s asleep, and after everything the last few days had thrown at him, she doesn’t have the heart to take even a minute of sleep away from him.

She lays down on top of the covers without changing out of her day clothes, exhaustion in her bones. She looks at her bedside table, sees the one picture she still has of her husband. A hand on her shoulder and a baby with grass green hair in her hands.

He’s smiling widely at the camera, reaching for it with his hands.

She buries her face in her pillow and waits for sleep to take her.

(FUCK DONE HERE HAVE IT BLAH)

7.  What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

Personally I think my style is descriptive. Like most of the time I describe what’s going on in like a “third person narrator” sort of way and dialog is actually relatively short and to the point. Like, there’s a lead up to what a person says, their expression and body language plus an action, the line, and then a follow through on that and then repeating with the next person and so on.

Also I can go on tangents if a story is character-centric, like focuses on a single character then I go ham on introspection...as demonstrated by the above ^^;

11. What do you envy in other writers?

The ability to write down and rely on an outline. Like, I just cannot for the life of me really stick to a plan for too long, like I have the general idea and just add to it as I go. Writing by the seat of my pants is the only way I know how and it either gets me something I like the look of or it doesn’t get me anything at all.

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Titles are the last thing I think of, so I guess that XD I usually try not to stress out about summaries too much, usually I just either pick an interesting line from the fic, say something vaguely deep, or depend on a template. Like with my Eri shorts I always use that Two Lines for the summary, “character does something, the result of that action in as vague wording as possible”

Tags are also kinda confusing, like, do I tag everything about it XDD that’d take me longer than it took to write the damn thing!

19.  s there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

Adding shit (like this) is so much fun, though I try not to over indulge XD Also a smile either “crawls” or “forms” on someone’s face, that’s the only way. Also long sentences. Also lots of “,”

Lots of short sentences describing something vaguely.

(Long paragraphs in parenthesis describing something that happened in the past or a character having deep thoughts because that shit can’t just be a fluid part of the text nooo it needs to be it’s own separate things it needs to break up the flow for a second that’s the whole point-)

and that’s what I can think of XD Call me out on other stuff I’m sure I’m blind to plenty of my bullshit XD

Thanks a lot Becc! 

[sondepoch]

VII: Neutral Route (Y/N)

Where Futures Begin

Life used to be simple for you. Peaceful. But the Savior had other plans for you, and in moments, she ruined what you thought was your one shot at happiness. Blinded by anger, you escaped the Mint Eye, but that triggered a series of events that would bring you further into the world of brothers Saeran and Saeyoung. And further into the twisted world of your love for them.

Neutral Route: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ✔

Saeyoung’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ✔

Saeran’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ✔

MASTERLIST

One would think that a person working in the Security Room would know precisely how to infiltrate its alarms and defenses.

You cursed at yourself, wondering why you hadn't thought to create some kind of back door that you could activate, like a god mode that would give you full control over the Mint Eye. Such a thing was definitely possible, yet in your emotional rush to never see Saeran again, you hadn't thought of your plan going awry as it had.

Even if Seven and Mary hadn't been here, my escape still would have been impossible, you thought to yourself, aggravated that you hadn't realized earlier that six stories was not a jumpable distance.

Close...so close, you thought to yourself, fingers flying across Seven's keyboard like birds landing on a cold lake. You were able to find the timer, just not a method to lengthen or pause it. Shit, shit, shit, they have less than a minute left.

You held back tears and worked faster, not even sure of what commands you were inputting but desperately aware that you were trying something.

10...

You tried to run your code, desperately hoping that it would be able to exploit the one weakness you knew existed in the Mint Eye's software security.

8...

There was an error in the code. Your eyes scanned the text, looking to see if you had missed a semicolon or to close a parenthesis.

5...

You began to pray that you had made a mistake writing the original program, that when the timer ran out, no alarm would ring, that some god above would magically whisk you out of the situation you were in.

2...

You stared at the screen helplessly, out of options, out of ideas.

1.

Timer complete.

The alarms began blaring at an agonizing volume, temporarily impeding your ability to think.

You heard the Savior speak over the loudspeakers, her prerecorded voice calm as she instructed believers and disciples alike to please remain calm and to not leave their respective rooms, and that no, this was not a drill.

You let out an angry cry of frustration, irritated at your shortcomings.

When you got out of this, you'd make sure you were a better hacker, that you could break your way into any system well within the time limit. When you escaped, you were going to...

When I escape? You thought to yourself, scoffing. How the hell am I going to escape now?

There was nothing you could do anymore. Nothing. 

Except...

It was a stupid idea, but it was the best idea you had. Better yet, you were already in the system, so you knew exactly how to execute the command.

You glanced down at Seven's computer and saw a small speaker built into the bottom. The audio would be poor, but it would work.

You fiddled with the keyboard for a few moments longer, trying to ignore the blaring alarms that were making this entire process more aggravating. Then, after a moment of hesitation, you hit the record button.

"Believers and disciples of the Mint Eye, this is council member (Y/N) with an urgent message," You said, keenly aware of how you sounded as your voice echoed back to you through the loudspeaker where the Savior's voice had once played.

"There are two intruders in the Mint Eye, dressed in full-black attire. They likely have stolen robes and are dressed as believers, among yourselves. They were last seen heading from the dining hall to the Savior's chambers. Their intentions are to kidnap our Savior and destroy the magenta we have worked hard to build."

You took a breath, trying to figure out what to say to best rile up the believers, "If you are in an open-access hallway, please head for the first floor and prepare to apprehend the fugitives. Thank you. The alarm will continue until the intruders have been captured."

You closed the program, and let out a shaky sigh, petrified for the sake of Seven and Mary.

Your lies should be enough to rid them of all the stranglers wandering around on the sixth floor; no believer would waste an opportunity to protect their precious Savior. Everyone would be rushing down to the first floor...and by confessing that the two had 'likely' stolen believers' robes, the believers would drive themselves mad with suspicion. 

It wouldn't be long before the believers on the sixth floor overrode the locks on the doors themselves.

You closed your eyes and hoped that Seven and Mary would be smart enough to wait until then.

And, strangely enough, you found yourself wishing for Saeran.

Saeran...

He would know that been scheming to escape.

If you hadn't made that announcement, he might have thought that the infiltrators kidnapped you or something, that you hadn't willingly left after promising him you wouldn't.

Then again, those promises were made eons ago, when he was a different person.

A kinder person.

A more loving person.

Saeran thought you had a cold. He'd noticed that your nose had been red and that you'd been sniffling all day, but not for a moment did he consider that you might have been crying.

"Come on, princess, you have to drink soup if you want to feel better," Saeran murmured, pressing the spoon against your closed lips.

"Soup isn't what will make me feel better," You grumbled, grudgingly accepting the hot liquid.

"Hmm? This is what the Savior did for me when I was sick, though, and it helped," Saeran said, scooping up another spoon of soup.

You shook your head. "Saeran, I'm not sick."

The white-haired boy didn't respond, thinking you were lying or that you didn't like the taste of the soup he was feeding you. He pushed your head back down into the pillow you were resting on and dabbed a napkin at the corner of your lip where he had poured a bit too much soup in too little time.

"Saeran, I mean it."

The boy hummed in response, pushing another spoonful of soup to your lips.

"Saera-mmf!"

The stubborn albino shoved the spoon into your mouth mid-sentence, impressively devoted to forcing you to finish the liquid.

"Saeran, I wasn't sniffling earlier," You rolled your eyes and brought a hand up to his, pushing his spoon away from you, "I was crying, okay?"

Finally, Saeran stopped and put the soup down on the floor, and then he was on your bed, pulling you into his lap as he showered you with "Why?" and "What's wrong?" He turned your face toward his so that you couldn't look away and stroked your hair, confused at how you could have been crying when you seemed so happy.

"It's just..." You felt your throat blocking up as you remembered the dark thoughts that had caused you to cry in the first place, "This can't last, can it?"

Saeran cocked his head to the side, as he always did.

"What can't? The soup?"

You let out a light giggle, Saeran's antics never failing to make you smile. "This. Us. The Mint Eye. Being happy."

Saeran sighed when he realized what you were asking.

Too long, you had been miserable. Abused as a child and then brought to an orphanage that you never felt safe in. Life had been nothing but a series of curveballs where happiness was like a home run: brief and rare.

"No," He whispered, stroking your hair, "You and I are forever. We'll always be happy together. For as long as we're in the Mint Eye."

You smiled sadly. Happiness never lasted. You knew that.

But Saeran believed. He was relentless. He spent that whole night convincing you of what a fantastic place the Mint Eye was, and how as long as you and he stayed there, the magenta would keep you happy forever.

That was the first night you two spent together.

It was, without a doubt, one of the happiest nights of your life, and you didn't cry again for a long time afterward.

The second night you two spent together was half a month ago, restless and foreboding as whatever friendship you two shared was crushed later that very day.

Happiness is forever, eh, Saeran? You scoffed. Happiness is a lie. The only variable is how long you can keep lying to yourself.

You stared at the door in front of you, shutting the laptop Seven gave you.

You'd done everything you could from where you stood. Everything else was up to him and Mary. And MC, you added as an afterthought. Because to you, that's all she was. An afterthought.

You began counting the seconds as they passed by.

It wound up being three-hundred and eighty-four seconds before you stopped.

Footsteps outside the door, you realized. Multiple pairs. They were trying to be quiet, but after being abused as a child, your ears had grown used to listening for any indication of something headed your way. Especially if that 'something' could cause you pain.

You slowly shifted to a standing position so that, whoever came in, be it a disciple or Saeran or the Savior herself, you wouldn't go down without a fight.

But the amount of relief you felt at seeing the familiar blob of red as the cautiously opened the door was unlike any comfort you'd ever felt before. At that moment, you could have hugged Seven as he glared daggers at you in a familiar way that you couldn't quite place.

"(Y/N), is it?" Mary asked, looking you up and down, "Good work on the announcement. The believers were in chaos, suspecting each other and practically rioting over getting out of the room we wound up locked in."

You nodded your head, not quite expecting the compliment, and handed Seven's laptop over to him.

He didn't bother acknowledging you and simply set to dropping a ladder down from the window. "We'll go down the ladder in order of importance." He looped one end of the rope around the windowsill, and you winced; it didn't look very stable. "First MC, then me," he looped the other side of the rope ladder around his knot and took a step back, "Then the maid, then you."

You ignored his blatant insult, that you were the least important of the group, and nodded your head. MC was hesitant about traveling down the rope ladder, asking Seven a million questions about what you were doing there and why she had to go first when the rope ladder looked so unsteady. After Mary threatened to push her out of the window, though, she complied and began climbing down.

When it got to your turn to climb down, you tried not to think about the fact that if Mary looked up, he'd see that under your robe you were still wearing your magenta dress which, when looked at from the bottom, gave him a too-perfect view of your underwear.

Still, you didn't want to be like MC, so you didn't complain.

The climb was treacherously long, your heart beating a mile a minute with every step you took. As soon as MC hit the bottom, she began calling for the rest of you to hurry up, her shrill voice disturbingly loud in the quiet night.

You, Mary, and Seven all knew that if she kept yelling, someone would hear.

"Shut up!" Seven hissed, trying to keep his voice low. "You're going to get us caught!"

"Me? I'm not the one going at the speed of a snail! You need to-"

The rest of her voice was muffled when you heard Seven drop from the ladder and start berating her for compromising the mission. Amused, you glanced downward to observe the spectacle and only then realized just how high up you were.

Mary motioned to do the same, his sharp jerk downward shaking the ladder.

With the sudden dizziness you felt at realizing how high you were coupled by Mary's jerk of the ladder, you felt your fingers lose their grip. In your haste to rework your fingers onto the ladder, you barely noticed your feet slipping off their base, and without even realizing what was happening, you found yourself falling.

Mary tried to grip your wrist, but he was too late, his fingers holding you by your arm for a millisecond before gravity pulled you down onto the hard, unforgiving ground.

MASTERLIST

Neutral Route: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ✔

Saeyoung’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ✔

Saeran’s Route: 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ✔

Word count: 2.1k

Notes: Ngl my life has gotten so much better between this and my past update it's crazy (and probably directly related to the fact that I haven't had any school) x3 things are looking up, though! 2020 might not be as bad as i initially thought :D

Comment & Like

Next Update: 1/23/20

I do not own the rights to Mystic Messenger or any of the characters within it.

[migleefulmoments]

The Book Club: My Analysis

 I just posted a long look at the ATOM analysis but I couldn't comment on their posts because it would have been too confusing.  Here is where I will make comments to their analysis.  As always my comments in parenthesis and italicized.

In this first post, notice that Abby isn’t looking for big themes and symbols-although she did catch the big ones- instead she is picking out single words and short phrases and drawing analogies to Darren. This is the literature version of cutting up an already short video into 1-2 seconds, slowing it down for drama and making it a gif. It’s how you distort the truth. 

**********************************************

December 26, 2019 by this is a submission to ajw (X)

Submission from a friend (I posted my brief thoughts at the end). Major spoilers below. Scroll past if you haven’t read and don’t want to know.

First off, just in the note to the readers, I knew this book was going to be full of some good stuff.

Obviously, all interpretations are my own, after my first read through.

“A tale of magic follows a group of young fairies as they fight for acceptance in an oppressive world where magic is outlawed and despised. This story is very close to my heart, and writing it was the most challenging and emotional process I’ve experienced as an author to date. …… I hope it encourages and comforts anyone who may be fighting their own battle for acceptance and equality.”

Fairies= anyone feeling different or told they can’t be who they are, perhaps including the LGBT community? Hmm.. Close to his heart? What closer to his heart than the reality he’s living?  (Yes, it is definitely the LGBTQ community. If you couldn’t tell from reading the story Chris says “For me, the magic in A Tale of Magic is an allegory for being gay.” and faires are the people who have magical abilities. This is a story he calls “close to my heart”  because he is a gay man who grew up in a town that is now represented by Devin “the dunce” Nunes- so super fake-religious, judgemental and intolerant. He’s been getting mail from gay kids for a decade and he wrote a story to tell his truth and Abby is turning it into a story about Darren and the reality she has created for Chris to be living)

“If we want to change the world’s opinion it must be encouraged, not forced– and nothing encourages people like a good spectacle.”

Hmm… a spectacle? Sounds familiar. You can’t force anyone to believe anything, but it can be encouraged by opening your eyes to a good spectacle, like say a wedding, and realizing that it just doesn’t make sense if you open your eyes. Nuff said. (Except in this case Mrs. Weatherberry is saying they need to encourage people to accept magic not force them to and a good spectacle is the best way to encourage change. For this to be a reference to the wedding, Chris would have to be happy about the wedding). 

One of the books that Brystal comes across is by Daisy Peppernickel. I think that speaks for itself. It’s clearly known that Daisy is a certain someone’s nickname, especially used by the part of his fans that believe in Daisy. (This is stupid. It’s a silly, British-sounding name- not a reference to Darren. I can’t imagine a Chris celebrating the fandom’s fetishization of Darren’s efferent movements by labeling it “Daisy”) 

“.. each author’s cause of death was EXECUTED FOR CONSPIRACY AGAINS THE KINGDOM. … It was a graveyard for truth and an archive of people the Justices had silenced.”

Deleted tweets, accounts vanishing into thin air. This sounds a lot like the conspiracies against (str8) fandom. It’s no secret that people have been silenced. (yes, deleted tweets, accounts vanishing in thin air (what?) are exactly conspiracy against the fandom.  Both Chris and Darren are super worried about a handful of fans in the Str8 fandom.  You guys MATTER so much Chris included you in his book. He loves you, dudes).  

“All the books in the secret room were written by people who felt and thought exactly like she did, by people who questioned information, who criticized social restrictions, who challenged the systems set in place, and who weren’t afraid to make their ideas known.”

Questioning information? Challenging the system? Not afraid to make their ideas known? Can’t think of anybody that might do that. (It’s almost like Chris was talking about all the brave people who push back against society’s unfair treatment of the disenfranchised and minority persons who are discriminated against whether that is because of their race, nationality, gender, age or income. I know for a FACT he was NOT talking about the cc fandom. who do not do these things for the better good of society but rather for their own needs. Chris was honoring people like Mrs. Weatherberry and MLK, Rosa Parks, Harvey Milk,, people who push boundaries to make positive changes for the good of all people. What you all do is petty and based not on genuine inconsistencies in the system but rather your own refusal to accept that you are wrong and have always been wrong.)  

“Personally, I think life is way to complicated for anyone’s life to be set in stone.”

Even though D seems to be in a death sentence, there’s way more to life and his fate is not set in stone. C believes in his man, and knows he can overcome this. (Um what?)

“Sometimes as  a survival method, fairies suppress their magic so deep within themselves that it becomes extremely difficult to reach it.”

This reminds me of D’s dudebro persona that he brings out. He’s suppressing himself so far that at times he’ll turn himself into a different caricature of himself. We all know Daisy is in there somewhere under the layers of D-bag. (LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. You mean when Darren is acting exactly like Darren?  People are like onions, they have layers. Dude bro is one of Darren’s layers. Not understanding that Darren is who Darren proves that you aren’t are the one who isn’t actually paying attention. It’s so obvious )  

“It’s very hard watching someone you love in so much pain.”

C watching the person he loves get knocked down over and over, he’s speaking directly from his own experience here. (How do you know this? Chris has never once suggested he finds life difficult right now or that he is in pain.  It’s almost like you made it up)  

“Horence had the misfortune of falling in love with a witch. … Naturally, such a relationship was forbidden, so for over a decade, Horence and the witch carried on a secret affair. When Horence’s soldiers discovered the relationship, the men betrayed their commander. They burned Horence at the stake and forced the witch to watch it happen.”

Using LGBT to equal ‘magical’ (As I’ve found countless references I haven’t even put in here) D fell in love with someone magical (gay), and their relationship was forbidden and secret. Once their secret was out, the team made D pay for it and C had to watch it all go down with nothing that he could do. (Except throw all his angst into his books ;) ) (Good job Abby- you got the most obvious allegory. The one that Chris acknowledged  “For me, the magic in A Tale of Magic is an allegory for being gay.” The rest of your nonsense is silly- the secret isn’t out and nobody except Abby has ever suggested anyone is making Darren or Chris pay anything).   

“We must pity the people who close to hate, Brystal. Their lives will never be as meaningful as those of the people who choose to love.”

The pathetic souls that do nothing but hate on C C and spread hate will never have as meaningful of life as those that chose to love and support our boys. (Um...I guess you don’t believe in coincidences but you believe in Karma. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. I am 100% positive that karma will get the people who don’t support cc. Both Chris and Darren have both denied a relationship and neither has ever suggested any of it is true). 

“We all know how terrible keeping a secret can feel. Secrets are like parasites, the longer you keep them inside you, the more damage they cause.”

The longer D is force to stay closeted, the more damage it does to him.

“If we had had everything we wanted then, we might never have found what we needed now.”

This to me feels like C is actually a little bit thankful for the bumps in the road. He’s trying to look on the bright side. If things had always been easy for them, they might have taken it for granted. Everything they’ve been through has only made them stronger. If they can get through all of this shit alive, they can make it through absolutely anything. (What twisted mind writes crisscolfer so that Darren’s life is a living hell with literally nobody to trust or on his side except his one true love and his mommy and daddy but also Chris is happy to have been put through the “bumps” in the road? ) 

“She dreamed the fairy was repeatedly knocked to the ground by a ferocious monster in a fur coat and snowflake crown.”

The ferocious monster in a fur coat? Makes me think of another monster that wears a fur coat. Shade. (Chris is a vindictive dick when he writes?)

“You can stop pretending, Brystal. I know you’re aware of much more than you’re letting on.”

C knows that we know. He’s not living under a rock. (yes, this is exactly the kind of sentence anyone would add to make sure your fandom knows that you are on to them.  I agree- Chris is sending you messages of support because though all of this, he’s worried about you). 

“I don’t know about you guys, but I refuse to sit back and let a frosty old witch take Madame Weatherberry away from us.”

Frosty old witch= Obviously M (wait I thought Mia was the monster in a fur coat and crown? She can’t be all the villians) 

“Do you guys know what your love languages are? Mine is quality time. It used to be physical touch, but that wasn’t working very well, so I had to change it. People are so picky about personal space and–”

C cherishes any quality time that he gets to have with D, since it’s not always available. (I can’t.... the 5 love languages are specific and about how you communicate with other people. You don’t pick a love language based on what is going on in your life.) 

“Sometimes good people do bad things for the right reasons.”

I have this bookmarked, along with some other passages about the Snow Queen / Mrs. Weatherberry. I know that there’s /some/ significance around this, but I haven’t fully figured out exactly what all it symbolizes. I have a few ideas, but nothing really seems to line up completely to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it at some point! (The significance is that Brystal has to made a tough decision to do something that at first glance is reprehensible but is much more complicated than that. Sometimes- like in war- people do bad things for the right reason)  

I think those are the big things that I’ve bookmarked. There’s so much more I could talk about, but I’m afraid it would start to not make any sense if I just started rambling, so I decided to go off of passages from the book and my thoughts on why I think they’re significant or tie into C C.

You can feel free to just keep this for yourself, or post it at a later date, or take pieces parts to post. Whatever you want!

********************

ajw adds:  know I’ve been really bad about posting on the book. I saved this submission because I thought it was brilliant and a lot of great insights.

My opinion on the Madame W/Horence/Ice Queen? C is Madame W/Ice Queen and D is Horence. I too thought frosty old queen at first referred to m. But once the twist was revealed I’m convinced it’s c and his dual personality like the twins. He is a Gemini as he likes to remind us. It’s his struggle between being happy with the love he was blessed with and his desire to destroy for the people that have so gravely hurt them.

The quote above to think about most.

Sometimes good people do bad things for the right reasons

That’s him talking about their Pr life and I’d guess directly addressing the fraud in NOLA. He’s believed in d and he wants us to believe in him too.  (No, it is just a plot point in a story about “good and bad” written for kids) 

[milap-sd]

Update Announcement Bar in Shopify :)

Hi welcome to update announcement bar tutorial where we will have a look at the advanced implementation so that the value for someone to qualify for free shipping it's updated whenever someone adds an item to the card without the page having to refresh and the same thing should work on the cart page. 

If someone adjusts the quantity you can see the message gets updated and it should be fun to implement this so let's go alright so starting this post I assume that you have already seen part 1 of this tutorial and just to quickly recap that by now you should have this modified announcement bar and you can display the amount that someone needs to add in order to unlock free shipping. 

When you add an item to the cart this value won't get updated automatically and you need to refresh the page so that it gets updated and if you haven't seen part one yet I highly recommend you go back and watch that first so you can get a really good understanding of what is going on but otherwise if you're using the theme you could also go ahead and copy and paste the content of our modified header that liquid fire.

Okay so that being said I can already tell you that in this post we are going to write some JavaScript code to implement our update functionality and therefore I want to give you a quick overview on how the JavaScript is structured within the W theme and you will find the same pattern and many other themes as well and I can simply right click with my Chrome browser and then go to inspect and switch to the console and in here we can test and debug JavaScript code but what I want to show you right now is that our theme fires attached an object that is called theme to the window and in that theme object we will find all the theme elements that have to be managed in some way by JavaScript and just to name a few examples here we have the mobile navigation or maybe the search drawer or some post if we have posts on our page and all these elements contain methods that help to control them. 

So for example we could use the MDOT search drawer and in here we will find a method that is called open and this would simply bring up the search bar and in the same way we have a method that is called closed and this would dismiss the search bar and in the same way we are going to create a helper function to update our shipping bar and then we will simply call that every time an input changes.

Okay so now we can have a look into the actual theme code and in your theme files you will find a folder called assets and this should contain the theme j/s which should contain most of the JavaScript for your theme and you can already see the window dot theme object which I just showed you on the front-end and here it is set to a blank object and then over time you will see that all the other elements are added to this object. 

So we have the theme of currency the draw the header the mobile navigation the video and so on and so forth and within these elements we have all the helper functions that we can use to control the elements but for example here we have a method called pause video and here we have one that is called load videos and now we are going to scroll to the bottom and down there we will implement our own shipping bar element with all the necessary update functions. 

So let me zoom in that it's easier for you to read and down here we drop to a new line and first of all we create our new shipping bar element so let's type theme dot shipping bar and then we set it to an empty JavaScript object and now we will drop in between these curly brackets and down here I can define the so-called object properties and all the properties will be public on the front end so maybe we could simply type test and then some text hello world and maybe another property or test - which will be some random number maybe one two three four five but we can also add functions to these properties. 

So we will have an update function and then we would simply type function a pair of parenthesis and a pair of curly brackets and in here we can define what happens when someone executes the function let's do user lock and for now we would simply type updated shipping bar and for now safe this and after a quick refresh on the front end. 

We should now have access to our new themed shipping bar object and you can already see that we have our defined values so ended shipping bar the test equals had a word and test two as one two three four five and we can even call our update method therefore we just use parentheses and you can see now it says updated shipping bar and this is exactly where we will implement our real update functionality later but for now I just want to tell you that I have a small problem with these two values being public because later we will have some variables and I don't want them to be public but with the syntax that I used we don't have a way to create private or hidden properties.

So we will fix that and then we will go ahead and implement the update method so back in the theme file we will now define this object in a slightly different way so let's type a theme but shipping bar and now we won't set it to an object immediately or instead to a function this function should be executed immediately so we type parentheses at the end and in between the curly brackets we can define that function and in here we can now define all the variables that we need and our update method and then all the variables will be private and we will only return or make the update method public and now I feel like this may sound a little bit confusing especially if you're new to JavaScript. 

So let's define some variables and then I will show you this in action so we will have one variable for the shipping bar HTML and then we will have one let's say for the promote message we can do promote ext and then we will have another one for the message that shows up when you unlock free shipping so unlocked txt and down below we can then define our update function. 

Let's do function that is called update we can also define that function right here but for now we will simply type console dot lock updated shipping bomb and now we can go ahead and delete all the above declaration and in this function we will simply return our new update function to the public let's type update we'll link to the update function and then save this so as we check the front-end one more time. 

We should now see that within the theme that shipping bar element we only have access to the update method and all the other variables are no longer public and so this syntax helps to keep things structured and it's also used throughout the theme so I thought it would be a good idea to share this alright. 

So in order to build out our update function we now need to assign some values to our variables and the shipping bar itself is relatively easy to get so we can simply use document query selector and then selected by its CSS class so I think it was announcement far nons min - bah but in order to get the other two values so the promote message and the unlock message and the threshold as well we will need that too. 

Now we will use a small trick to get these because we can't simply access the customizer settings from the JavaScript file so therefore we will go back to the header dot liquid where we implemented our free shipping bar and then we will simply add these values to the data set of the announcement bar so we will define three data attributes the first one will be data #NAME? then we will have data there's unlocked and we will have data - threshold and now we can simply copy these variables that we defined above and place them into the data attributes are we wanted me to add curly brackets so the liquid gets rendered and unlocked txt threshold and in the JavaScript we can now get these data attributes and assign them to our variable so back in the JavaScript fire.

We can now take the announcement bar and get all the values we need from its data set so bar dot data set but promote and bar dot dataset dot unlocked and bar but dataset best hug we can save this and now the time has come that we can implement our update function and therefore we will use an ajax request so a request in the background if you want to say and therefore we type dollar sign get json and then the request domain which will be slash cart js. 

So we want to request the cart and once we get that data so then we want to perform a certain action with their data so we can simply type the function and then cart and then curly brackets and in here we will define what happens with the card data but now let me show you really quick what we get when we call this request domain and therefore I will copy this to my clipboard and then I can use my Shopify domain and append slash card j/s and you can see that I get the card data in the JSON format and the JSON format is a way to display structured data we can see it here in a more structured way and you can see that I get information on the card like the item count the items in the card the subtotal total price and this is the key attribute. 

I'm interested in to compare if the threshold has been reached or not yet and now back in the update function I can simply calculate the value that is left by subtracting the card dot total price from the threshold - card dot total price and in the same way as we did it in the header fire we now need to apply a money filter to this value left because right now it's incense and doesn't match the theme mana formatting. 

So let's do VAR value left money and then we can use a function that lies within theme dot currency dot format money and this function will take the value and sense and the theme dot money format and then we can save it and now the last thing we have to do in order to finish our update method is simply check if the value that is left is less or equal to zero then we want to display the unlock message and otherwise so if it is still above the zero then we want to display the promote message and therefore we will simply access the announcement bar.

So we will type bar in our HTML in both cases and now we can simply copy the message from the head of fire so let's do this right away and right here we have the announcement bar message so we can simply copy it stood right here now we have to use single quotes we will get a conflict with these double quotes and we also remove the curly brackets from the liquid rendering because now we can use the JavaScript variable that we defined above and then we will use plus here we use single quotes again success message and down below we can copy the same statement or the same markup and now we will replace the unlock message with the promote message but if you remember. 

We still have this dynamic placeholder from the customizer settings where we output the value that is left and we will replace that as well so let's type dot replace and then value oh it's in brackets where you and we will replace it with the value left money and then we can save it and I hope you can already see that this is very similar to what we have done in the first tutorial so in the head of fire we did basically the same we took some of the messages from the customizer and when we update or put out the announcement by message we simply check if the value that is left is less or equal to zero and then we set the  announcement message to either the success message or to the promote message all right. 

So now we should give our new implemented method a test on the front end and therefore I went to the cart page and now I will adjust the quantity and when I call our new method so theme the shipping part our update we should see this value jump to 10 euro and it does so this is great and now I would qualify for free shipping and I will call the same method again and then we should see the unlock message and we do so this works great and we didn't make any mistakes otherwise we would see them right here and we could fix them in the theme file but now that this is working.

We simply have to call this method whenever the card input or the card quality changes and I think right now you already have enough input so the last thing is very simple to do and then we can finish the project all right so back at the theme files we now have to find all the places where let's say in items edit with the card or the input quantity is changed or an item is removed entirely and in the W theme you can search for exactly these keywords. 

So let's search for update item and right here you will find a function that is called whenever the input quantity changes and you can see that they also do an AJAX request to perform this on the background and once this is done they also do some other stuff and right before they end here we can call our new theme shipping bar update method let's copy it right here and this is the first place we will add this and then we will go ahead and search for at item 2 card or add item and you will see the second function that gets called whenever an item is added to the card and even here they do an ajax request to perform this on the background and again once this is done the executors function and right before they end this function. 

We can again insert our new m dot shipping bar update method and save it again and the last place we recall our new function is when an item is removed so on remove and let's see here we have the function for it and there's the Ajax request to perform it on the background and once this is done they execute all this and at the end we will call our new shipping bar update method let's copy it here as well: and save and I think now we have all the important places. 

So let's check this on the on the front-end so back at the front-end I can now try to add an item to the cart and you would see that this gets updated immediately and even on the cart page if I adjust the quantity let's say to six and is updates to the unlock message perfect and even if I remove the item entirely this jumps back to 50 so everything's working perfect. 

Okay so before we finish the post I want to add one more little thing so that this gets a little bit safer to use because right now we don't have any validation if the shipping bar is enabled and if it isn't enabled this might throw an arrow and break a lot of theme code so what I simply want to do is after we get the shipping bar or after we try to get the shipping bar I want to test if the shipping bar has any useful value.

So we can simply type if bar and then wrap this into curly brackets and the same thing will be done in the update method so if we have a shipping bar then we want to do everything that we just implemented and otherwise we will simply do nothing so we'll save this and this is the minimum validation that we can make and then we can finally finish the post and this was a lot to explain and probably a lot of input for you as well so if you have questions you can always leave them down in the comment section and as always I hope you found some value in this post and then I hope to see you on the next post bye.

[whisker-biscuit]

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em: Chapter 2

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: The water guns are back. And Alastor has come to visit. This won’t end well at all.

It had been about a week and a half since the water gun incident. The event itself had been fun, messy, and borderline homicidal, but cleaning up the lobby (as well as three hallways, a bathroom, and Angel Dust’s entire collection of adult film props) left everyone less than enthusiastic to repeat the experience.

It was around this time that the hotel got a fairly frequent visitor. Whether that visitor was fairly welcome was another matter entirely.

“Charlie-dear! Always a pleasure to see you in high and healthy spirits!”

Alastor breezed through the open front door with more pomp and grandeur than should have been possible. Patting Charlie on the head as one does a young child, he slid calculating eyes over every inch of the room.

“My, that’s a lovely new painting. Did your mother loan that one? She always did have an eye for quality.” The Radio Demon twirled his microphone staff clockwise as he circled in a slow counterclockwise. “You’ve cleaned as well, how darling! It almost looks respectable now.”

His gaze fell on Vaggie, who was standing in the nearest doorway with her arms crossed and her back rigid.

“Hello, my dear. Are you going to threaten me again?”

“No,” she said curtly, “but I still don’t trust you.”

The response was a leering glint to the ever-present smile. Vaggie bristled but didn’t say anything else.

“Ah, I’m sorry to sound rude,” Charlie stepped up in an attempt to peace-make. “It’s uh…good to see you but, we weren’t really expecting this today? To see you here, I mean. Is there a reason you’re here? Maybe?”

Alastor tilted his head. “I’m simply here to check in on my associates! What other reason could I possibly entertain?”

“Sure, because ‘checking in’ is what you’re known for.” Vaggie made parenthesis with her fingers.

The Radio Demon’s eyes became half-lidded, and he gave a mock bow in the girl’s direction. “You’ve caught me at my best today, I suppose. Charlie, should I expect everyone else to be this discourteous?”

The princess opened her mouth to give a reassurance, but it was this moment that Vaggie was pushed out of her spot in guarding the doorway by a spindly, spidery hand.

“Why you blockin’ the way, Toots? Some of us got somewhere to be!” Angel Dust sneered at the girl he’d misplaced. She caught herself before she hit the ground and spat a Spanish curse at him.

“Angel,” Charlie clasped her hands together. “We have a guest, please be polite!”

The spider demon locked eyes with Alastor, who leaned lightly on his cane and gave a derisive little wave.

“The hell are you doing here?”

“Angel,” Charlie wrung her hands together. “Be nice.”

“It’s quite all right, my dear,” the Radio Demon said, looking down his nose. “He’s welcome to express himself in whatever vulgar, childish manner he desires.”

Angel huffed and crossed his top arms over his chest. The lower pair was planted on his hips. “I’ll have you know I’m only childish on Wednesdays, so there.” He stuck his tongue out for good measure and sniffed the air.

“Anywaaaay,” the princess sing-songed, trying to get the conversation back together. “You said you came by for an update, right? How about I…give you a tour of what we’ve changed since you were here last? Does that sound? Okay?”

“Downright darling, dearie,” Alastor purred. He grinned at everyone in the room. “Although I must ask; will it be an entourage today? You know I love an audience, but these listeners rarely tune in to my particular program.”

“Um, well?” Charlie turned towards her partner. “Do you mind sitting this one out? I’m sure everything will be just swell.”

Vaggie glared at the floor a moment before coming to a personal compromise. She sighed and nudged Angel to get his attention.

“You’re going on the tour with them.”

“What? No I’m not, I’ve got better things ta do!” He stared at her, incredulous.

“Sure, and the best thing is knowing what’s new with the hotel so if someone asks you about it, you can tell the truth for once in your life. Besides,” she held up a finger when he tried to protest, “you still owe me for bailing you out of that bad deal with your client last weekend.”

Angel made a frustrated noise and threw his hands up in the air. “Fine! Fine. You just want me to play bouncer for your girl, I’ll do it. But we’re even after this.”

“Fine with me,” Vaggie put a gentle hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “I’ll be making lunch down the hall, don’t…be afraid to let me know if you need me.”

“You know I won’t,” the princess gave a reassuring smile in response.

The demon girl hummed and, with a final distrustful glower at the unwelcome guest, left the room. The three remaining demons stood in silence until they couldn’t hear angry footsteps any longer.

“Well then, let’s get to it!” Charlie announced cheerfully.

So that was how they went from room to room; Charlie pointing out improvements made since Alastor’s last visit, the Radio Demon cocking his head at each display without saying a word, and Angel trailing behind the whole time like a pouting child. Soon they reached the door to the hotel pub.

“Oh, and we’re almost done renovating the bar, too! We just need to change some of the wallpaper and it’ll look good as new, Husk has been so excited about it even though he won’t admit it.”

“How marvelous! You won’t mind if I go take a look, would you, my dear? And Husk will be over the moon to see me, I’m sure.”

The princess started playing with her suspenders. “Well, funny thing about that, you can’t talk to Husk cause he’s –”

“Uhh, sweet cheeks, the guy’s already gone,” Angel drawled, pointing at the large doors leading to the bar. They were swinging closed.

Charlie wavered only a moment before shaking her head and striding after the Radio Demon. She found him standing in the middle of the room, clearly looking for his former associate. The girl stepped behind him and cleared her throat as the spider demon sauntered to her side.

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to talk to Husk for a while.”

“Half-seas over, I take it?”

“Uhh…” She looked over at Angel, who mimed chugging a drink. “Oh. Well he actually went out a few hours ago sooooo I don’t think he’s drunk? Or I hope not. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I do know that he’s not here.”

“Lovely! Some other time then, perhaps.” Alastor made his way behind the bar. “I see he still keeps everything disheveled back here. I had hoped you would curb him of that habit, but – oh, what might this be?”

He bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle and stood back up holding a water gun. Charlie felt her brow furrow in surprise as she joined the Radio Demon behind the counter. There were five or six of the colorful toys hidden past a line of Jack Daniel’s. There was also a post-it note, scrawled with ‘find where Niffty hid hers.’

“I was wondering where these went,” the princess said, stooping to grab one herself. “Why’d Husk take them?”

Angel Dust snorted and sat down on a barstool. “Cause he fucking hates getting wet. You try having fur that thick and soaking for hours, it sucks ass.”

“But you were playing with us that day. You’ve got a lot of fur too.” Charlie set the gun onto the bar counter and eased her elbows along the polished wood, putting her chin in her hands.

Neither of them paid any attention to Alastor, who turned the toy this way and that with his head angled in their direction.

“Cause it was hot as balls and someone shot me! I ain’t about ta be insulted like that.” The spider demon fluffed out his chest. “Already got wet, didn’t have nothin’ else to lose.”

“You almost lost your…adult paraphernalia.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault! Niffty was the one who went after my stuff, the dirty cheater bitch.”

Charlie glanced nervously at Alastor, worried he might have objections to his associate’s name being slandered, but the Radio Demon only grinned. She gave a weak laugh and turned back to Angel.

“Well that’s why I wanted us to play outside, but you wouldn’t listen. And now you know better, so you can’t be complaining anymore.”

“I wasn’t –”

Whatever else Angel meant to say was cut off when a spray of water hit his face so hard it knocked him backwards off the barstool. He crashed onto the carpet and wheezed. Charlie whipped her head around to see Alastor hefting the water gun with an intrigued slant to his smile.

“My, what a remarkable contraption! Water for bullets, what will they think of next?” He spun the toy into the air and caught it with his cane, balancing it on the microphone top.

Charlie pursed her lips and peeked over the counter to see the spider demon wiping liquid out of his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Fuck no I’m not okay!” He snarled, craning his head to glare up at both of them. “The fuck was that for?!”

“An investigation, my fine fellow, merely a formality.” The Radio Demon spun the toy again. “Are you going to try to shoot me back?” He looked incredibly smug.

The princess of Hell shook her head frantically as Angel’s face closed off. He glanced her way briefly before turning to Alastor.

“Maybe I will, huh?! Maybe I fucking will!” He hoisted himself up by the barstool to a standing position and snatched the water gun Charlie had left on the countertop. He lifted it –

And got blown back again as the Radio Demon shot him point blank in the chest. Angel skidded against the carpet and blinked dazedly while the princess spun around to Alastor.

“How are you doing that! Stop doing that!”

“Stop doing what, Charlie-dear?” He chuckled, turning the gun her way when she took a step towards him. “I’m only partaking in this intriguing game you’ve been playing of late. I wonder why no one was cordial enough to invite me.”

Charlie jumped as Angel ran to the end of the room and pulled open the doors.

“Don’t just stand there, Charlie! RUN!” And then he was out of the bar into the unknown.

She jumped again when Alastor placed a feathery touch to her shoulder. He was watching the swinging doors with something ancient and predatory.

“Your client is savvier than he first appears, I must say.” The Radio Demon hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose I can give him a sporting chance for that. Charlie-dear, I can’t expect you to play along if you aren’t abiding the rules. Be a bird and arm yourself, will you?”

Whistling a merry tune, Alastor spun the water gun once more around his microphone and stepped towards the doors, leaving Charlie confused and vaguely terrified.

Vaggie was in the kitchen when she heard Angel scream for Charlie to run. Adrenaline burst through the girl’s every muscle and she shot out into the hallway, nearly running into the spider demon as he blindly tore past her. She managed to grab his arm and forced him to stop.

“Where’s Charlie?! Is Alastor hurting her?!”

“If that fucker got her then it’s not my fault!” Angel snarled breathlessly. “I warned her to run!”

Vaggie would have shook him hard to make him reveal where Charlie was, but her brain stalled as something shiny and colorful in the spider demon’s hands caught her attention.

“What – what’s this?”

“Oh, oh yeah, you probably think she’s dead now,” he finally stopped panting and showed her the water gun. “The Pink Pimp found these and wants to play, I guess. But the stuff he shoots fucking hurts! I’d say they were made of wood or some shit if I didn’t know better.”

“So she’s safe? She’s alright?”

“Hell if I know,” Angel looked nervously down the hall. “But I’m not sticking around to find out. I ain’t getting shot again, so either help me or get out of my way.”

The girl opened her mouth, then closed it as she heard the distinct sound of Alastor’s boots treading along carpet, somewhere out of sight but still far too close for comfort. She shared an honest look of unease with Angel.

And that was how Vaggie found herself crammed beside the spider demon in the hotel dumbwaiter.

The door was closed, but there was a small opening slot where Angel had taken up watch with his water gun held under his chin and ready to fire. It was rare to see him so serious, but Vaggie wasn’t going to say anything, stuck here like this. Instead she pretended not to stare as a black eye blossomed around his face and felt the way they both trembled.

It didn’t take long for the Radio Demon to enter the kitchen. He was spinning a water gun by its trigger around his cane, looking for all the world like a dapper gentleman on a Sunday stroll. He paused once as if considering something, then made a motion with his hands and conjured up a shimmering green symbol. It disappeared almost immediately, but there was no time to consider what it was meant for.

Vaggie watched as Angel took the shot carefully, lining up his nozzle right between Alastor’s eyes. She held her breath, afraid that the spider demon might die for such an action but even more afraid that Alastor would catch them first and they’d lose this chance.

The spider demon’s eyes narrowed and he pulled the trigger. They watched as the stream of water went sailing for the Radio Demon, who saw it far too late to move out of the way.

He dodged it a different way. His head snapped backwards until it hit his spine, and the water flew harmlessly above him and into the far wall.

Angel and Vaggie watched in abject horror as Alastor reached behind him and physically pulled his head and neck up to something more autonomically possible. He cracked his head towards one shoulder, then the other, and stared at the two of them through their little slot.

“Commendable effort, truly, but you’ll have to try harder than that.”

The Radio Demon advanced towards the dumbwaiter and Vaggie grabbed ahold of the pulley rope, frantically tugging at it until she and Angel were propelling to a higher floor. They heard delighted laughter echo up after them.

“Very well, a strategic retreat! No doubt we’ll see each other soon, and continue the game again! Best of luck to you both!”

“Move faster!” Angel hissed in the girl’s ear. “He’s gonna try and cut us off!”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” She hissed back, frantic and frustrated. The spider demon growled.

“Here, just let me do it!” He grabbed the rope with all four hands, then with a sickening squelch another pair grew out of his body, just above his hips. Those hands also took hold of the pulley and soon the dumbwaiter was flying up through floors.

“What should we do?” Vaggie gripped the corners of two walls as best as she could, trying to maintain her balanced crouch.

“I dunno, I’m the shoot-first-get-high-later kind of guy, not sharp in the smarts kinda way.”

“Oh I’m well aware of that fact.” She ignored the following insult hurled her way. “First priority is finding Charlie and making sure she’s safe. If we find Niffty, we’ll warn her too.”

“Okay, alright, I can work with that!” Angel stopped pulling the rope and they squeaked to a halt in a dilapidated-but-once-fancy room. The two hopped out and surveyed their location.

“Alright then,” Vaggie rubbed her shoulders, then held out one hand. “If I’m going to protect anyone, then I’ll need a weapon too. You help me get to wherever the water guns are stored and find Charlie, and I’ll watch your back. Truce?”

The spider demon stared at the offered hand in clear surprise. Then he gave a grim, dark smile and took the handshake. “Truce.”

Meanwhile, Charlie was running herself ragged trying to find a sign of where Alastor – or anyone really – had disappeared to. She couldn’t let someone get hurt. She couldn’t let Alastor hurt anyone was the priority, honestly, because whatever he’d done to the water guns was enough to be dangerous from the way she’d seen Angel panic.

She ended her search on the fifth floor with no luck and ran into the stairwell, only to catch Alastor inside with one foot paused in the air. His head was twisted around in her direction; no doubt he’d heard the way she was tearing through the building. With a little whistle he turned to face her directly.

“Still not armed I see. Oh well, if you insist on refusing to play by the rules then there’s no choice but to leave you to your disadvantage!”

“Alastor, please, I’m not here to fight! I just wanted to talk!” Charlie pleaded as the Radio Demon advanced towards her. Her hands were held up in defenseless desperation.

“Talks of peace? Why you’re cute as a bug’s ear, dearie! But that’s not quite enough, I’m afraid.”

He took another step, eyes flickering pitilessly, and then suddenly went very still. His head tilted exactly forty-five degrees to the right, and Charlie heard what had caught his attention – Niffty was giggling somewhere up the stairs. There was no doubt she was watching them.

“Well! If it isn’t one of my associates! I should swing by and say hello!”

Alastor grinned wide as the giggles cut off abruptly, and he turned to head up to a higher floor, leaving Charlie once again. Except this time she was much more terrified. And much more determined to protect her hotel residents.

She sprinted up the stairs after him.

“My oh my, where could everybody be? I’d assumed this was a hunting game, not a hiding game. Oh, but I suppose that’s the same thing when you really think about it!”

Alastor took a right and found himself in an unfamiliar hallway. Here he caught Niffty, hanging off the doorknob of an open door a ways down. She shrieked and slammed it closed, and he approached only to find she had locked him out.

“Phonus Balonus! Barricading yourself away isn’t sporting!” He tapped the door twice with the water gun, then proceeded to smash it through the wood completely, providing an open hole for him to stick his head through. “I thought I taught you better!”

Niffty was huddled in the left corner of the room with her own gun in hand. The moment Alastor’s grinning face appeared she screamed-giggled at the top of her lungs and pulled the trigger, a demented smile smudged across her visage. The Radio Demon pulled his head out just in time to avoid being hit, then knocked the door down completely.

From down the hallway, Charlie skidded to a halt just in time to see Alastor step into Niffty’s room. The screaming inside raised in pitch and then tapered off like an omen. The princess, fearing the worst, ran to the doorway and ended up colliding with the Radio Demon as he emerged again.

Charlie fell back on her butt, hands splayed behind to keep her upright. She stared up at Alastor, who hadn’t even flinched from the hit and was leaning lightly over his microphone with a reserved smile on his face.

“I suppose I have a confession to make,” He purred, eyes half-lidded. “You asked me why I came to visit today, and I gave a sort of half-truth. I was not simply interested in the wellbeing of my associates. I also arrived in the hopes to find some entertainment.”

“E-Entertainment?” The princess squeaked.

“Precisely! You have such a knack for it, and these last few days have been so dreary, I couldn’t resist the temptation. And lo and behold! Here you were, partaking in an enchanting little game of mayhem. How could I say no?”

“But, we weren’t actually playing that game anymore though, it – we finished!”

“Oh dearie, how you slay me!” Alastor raised his cane and tapped Charlie lightly on the nose. In the same motion he pulled a water gun from behind his back. “But it’s never over until the canary is dead.”

The gun was cocked. His face split in two.

“And frankly, songbird, you’re still moving.”

Two hours later, Alastor was in quite high spirits. He nimbly tapped around splintered wood and a limp spider demon, making his way to the hotel’s entrance.

He whistled a jaunty tune as he removed the curse from the front door, watching its shimmering green hue dissipate into nothing. With a sadistic lilt to his grin he opened it and then paused, one foot half-forward in the air.

Husk stared back at him from the porch, keys dangling in one paw and a baseball bat in the other, raised as if to smash at the door.

“Oh it’s you,” the drunkard remarked idly, gaze flitting from Alastor to the entrance and back again. “I couldn’t get in. Thought maybe someone was tryin’ ta prank me.”

He hefted the bat over his shoulder and stepped to the side as the Radio Demon resumed his march forward, smile wide and self-satisfied.

“How insulting. Me, spending so much effort on mere mischief? You know me better than that!”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your horns in a twist,” Husk grumbled. He watched the other practically glide down the porch steps. “What the hell were you doin’ then?”

Alastor stopped and looked back. He tilted his head and his eyes flickered like a broken digital watch.

“Merely mischief.”

And just like that, the Radio Demon went on his merry way. Husk dug the handle of the baseball bat into his forehead to make the headache disappear. Then he walked into the hotel lobby, intending to head right to the bar to get a much-needed drink.

This plan was thwarted immediately when Husk stepped onto soaking wet carpet. He froze, painfully aware of the damp beneath his feet as he took in destroyed furniture, smashed paintings (except for that newest one from Charlie’s mother, strangely enough), and all the hotel residents laying unresponsive throughout the room.

It would have been enough to make him worry, if Vaggie hadn’t stirred and groaned in that exact moment, drawing Husk’s eyes to her and allowing him to spot the melted water gun in her listless arms.

Oh. Oh.

“Idiots,” Husk declared to the carnage. “Idiots and children, all of you.”

 A/N: So someone suggested a while back that I do another chapter with more characters, and the thought couldn't leave my head. I sat on this chapter for a long time until there were more snippets from the show and I could get a feel for Alastor's personality. Gotta say, he's a blast to write. What a swell and absolutely terrifying guy.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. if you have any ideas for more Hazbin characters in this weird little series, let me know! I'd love to add Sir Pen or others but I'm kinda stalling on how that'd happen haha.

[hl700-android-assistant]

Explanation? Just me Talking

(TW for mentions of death, mental health issues, intrusive thoughts, and general sadness.) Go to the bottom for stuff about this blog.

I'm not even going to bother with the parenthesis for this post.

Long time, no see, huh.

I wanted to make this post in order to just,,, talk for a sec. Whether you decide to read or not is up to you. I'm on mobile, so no read-more, unfortunately. Just skip between the squiggles to skip personal stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, what's been going on with me:

I've had... a lot happen to me. Through the past couple of months, I've had to deal with a lot. My first dog, Gretchen, was hit by a car, followed by my grandmother being diagnosed with cancer, and passing after about a year, passing in our home while I was at high school.

This was followed by several homelessness scares, my mother's car getting repossessed, and me nearly not graduating because my mind was so scrambled and out of wack, that I truly don't remember much of the second semester (I kinda,,, ducked out mentally) and couldn't focus. I just barely scrapped by and graduated, which led to me prepping for college.... which I couldn't afford at first. A friend ended up generously donating enough to my family for me to pay my entrance fee and for my mom to get her car back. Things were,,, okay, for a minute.

Then came the summer.

I refer to the summer of 2019 as the "Summer of Discovery". I learned,,, a lot about myself then, stuff like... how I really don't think I'm alone in my brain. And how I can no longer handle certain things, and how much I could fuck up a sleep schedule. I was okay at first, but then my depression and anxiety kicked back into high-gear. I lost myself again, losing memory as quickly as it came, the days blurring together until I could no longer remember what day it was or what the last thought I just had was. (The memory hasn't gotten much better since). My intrusive thoughts got very bad during this time, and I was lucky for my fatigue that I couldn't do anything about them other than let them slide by.

I then started college about a 1.5 weeks ago, and things seemed okay. Things are,,, meh now. We're back at another homelessness scare, this being the biggest yet. We're all stressed, and this is just a weird time for us.

I know I don't have to tell you all of this, but I just need to get it off of my chest and mind.

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Okay, so what does any of that have to do with this blog?:

I love this blog. I love the people that I met through it, I love the interactions I've had on here, and I miss it all.

I,,, just don't miss the stress. I couldn't keep up with some of the heavier topics (why I chose a therapist-droid while being mentally ill, I'll never know. I wanted to play the type of person I wanted to be to other people, which is hard when you yourself are struggling), and the stress of replying at a decent time got to me. So I took an unannounced break to relax and finish school and drumline. And the thing is,,,

I want to get back into RPing. I want to use this blog again. I miss it so much. I miss,,, I miss playing a character that people enjoyed. But before, I had set my own self-expectations too high. And now it scares me to come back. I have extra time now, and less stress. But I'm still scared. Maybe,,, maybe I'll put out a VERY simple starter soon. Something to,,, start fresh with. I love you guys, and I miss you, and maybe soon, just maybe, Hann will be back.

Love, Munn 💙💛

[danwhobrowses]

Tinfoil Discussions: One Piece Wano Arc

So this is gonna be a new thing; I don’t particularly post on Tumblr but I am the kinda guy who likes to put thoughts out there, so this is the first ‘Tinfoil Discussion’ where I’ll just be ranting personal opinions of various mediums. This first discussion involving One Piece’s Wano Arc.

It’s worth noting that there are Spoilers enclosed in this discussion up to One Piece Chapter 954, if you’re not caught up then I would advise not reading this until then...unless you’re not worried about spoilers. Also this’ll be an essay, no light reading here I have a lot flowing through my head.

So the Wano Arc has been something we’ve been waiting long for, not just because it was promising to be a Zoro-heavy arc but because it had been mentioned continuously and central to many elements of One Piece Lore; it’s where the Meito are made, the Poneglyphs were carved and is the den of Yonko, Kaido. Right now we’re in the second act of the arc, in 5 days the Ninja-Samurai-Pirate-Mink Alliance will take back Wano from Shogun Orochi and then hope to defeat (and potentially even kill) Kaido in Onigashima

Here’s the But though, is that enough time?

Because I don’t actually think so anymore. Undoubtedly the Fire Festival will not go to plan, not that anything ever will, but such bodes the question where we go after. Right now I can only think of two routes; the first is that the Wano Country Arc is utilizing a 5-Act Structure rather than the 3 that’s common with story narrative or Wano is the setting of 2 Arcs (Similar to Jaya/Skypeia or Water 7/Enies Lobby): Wano Country and the ‘War of Wars’ arc. Either one is something I am all for, even both would make narrative sense, so how will it pan out?

What will go wrong? (Note if the discussion cut off here I apologise, it seems CTRL+Enter is to post) The Obvious thing that will halt the Straw Hats is the Alliance between Kaido and Big Mom, both of whom having an axe to grind with Luffy due to their activities in Punk Hazard, Dressrosa and Whole Cake Island. There’s also other things at play though; the threat of Law ending his alliance (doubt he will), Edward Weevil’s pursuit of Marco, the creation of Sea Prism Stone weapons, CP0 in the Flower Capital and the lingering uncertainty that is what Kyoshiro is planning. All of these will likely lead to the Alliance either failing at Onigashima or failing to reach Onigashima, hopefully the latter, but that does not mean that the arc will be for naught. The Straw Hats are not strangers to taking the Big Picture L; Water 7, Sabaody, Marineford and WCI prove this, so what matters to this stage of Wano (possibly Act 3) is the small victory.

The Small Victory The plan on paper is simple; meet at the port, usurp the vulnerable capital, sail to Onigashima, defeat Kaido. Since the last two as we’ve covered are where the L starts to take shape, the victory must lie in saving the people of Wano and fulfilling Toki’s prophecy. Usurping Orochi does not seem to be as troublesome as defeating Kaido, even ‘Hiyori’ was able to throw him into a wall, the only true threat level is in Kyoshiro and the All Stars. This is something that can easily pan out the alliance’s way, but the victory could be gifted rather than seized. As I mentioned, Kyoshiro has yet to play his hand, how ‘Hiyori’ faked her death still unknown, it would seem that the Yakuza boss has his own plans, something that when the Alliance comes could end the usefulness of Shogun Orochi. As a result, Kyoshiro may allow the Alliance to take Orochi down, losing the battle so he can fight in the War. This theory also aligns with why I’m using parenthesis on Kozuki Hiyori - I still don’t trust her. But we’ll get to that, the other victory that would need to be addressed is the cure for SMILE, a role that may happen before or after claiming the Capital, it is certainly a thread we must resolve before leaving Wano and it can be proving ground for Chopper’s medical expertise - already impressive since he easily remedied Queen’s Mummy virus.

Kozuki ‘Hiyori’ Even if she is Hiyori - not that Kawamatsu recognized her, there is the consideration that the considered ‘most beautiful courtesan in Wano’ may be on Kyoshiro’s side. For over a decade he did look after her and they made a note that she knows how to play the long con, Kyoshiro also compares the courtesan like one of his own family, something she may feel like her Father didn’t provide. This could make her the anti-Pudding of the arc, which some may be annoyed by but it would be an ironic juxtaposition since Pudding played the ‘Woman as Temptress’ role for Zoro’s...rival? Brother? Brival? Sanji, whatever Sanji is, but Hiyori has done little to truly connect with Zoro the way she has tempted other men, woman even jumped into bed with him while he slept and he wasn’t impressed. So her turning on her kin can also give a unique personal twist to the Oden Clan’s involvement against Kaido and it may gift Shusui to Kyoshiro for his and Zoro’s proper clash, Enma possibly being a fake as she finally found something she can con out of Zoro - that could just be me wanting Zoro to keep the black blade though. This is whether she is indeed Kozuki Hiyori, and not someone who knows the story, though I’m 80% sure she is on that front, Oda is a man of misdirection.

The Reverie Connection Part of what makes me think that Wano will go beyond the Fire Festival is this connection to the Reverie, the brilliant mini-arc left on a cliffhanger as intermission between Acts 1 and 2, and slightly carried by Bege’s cover story, but it had information that bled into Wano. Come Act 2′s end, I expect the Reverie arc to resume so that we get new action, the Alliance of Big Mom and Kaido will certainly reach the Marines, through moles or CP0 as they return, this is likely what’s going to cause them to converge and let us know more about the Rox Pirates. This may also be position for another mystery of One Piece to rear itself: Dr Vegapunk. Vegapunk is hot commodity, he knows how to manipulate seastone, has most likely treated the Punk Hazard children and knows about the Vinsmoke genetics from his old partnership with Judge, there is also the Warlord Replacement Fujitora and the hidden Ryokogyu have discussed. Atop of the Im and Revolutionary plot notes will lead plenty of butterfly effects for mid and post-Wano storyline, but for Kaido to get his war the WG would need to get involved (and they’d want to keep an eye on the land that wrote the poneglyphs), and it will take time either way, much more than 5 days.

What the Aftermath of the Fire Festival Will Bring The Alliance’s initial failure to defeat Kaido is likely what’ll lead to the thing that makes Oda tout that Wano will make Marineford look small. The convergence of the WG will bring big guns and showcase some more of the Marine’s strength of force and how it can impact the rest of the world, with hope I’d like to see Tashigi get the arc she was due from Wano too, she is a swordswoman and this is the land of swords, also I’m tired of people calling her weak (all her opponents are high tier; Monet almost killed Luffy, Vergo almost broke Sanji’s leg, Law cut a mountain and Vergo in half, I could go on), moments for characters to step up can be built properly in this time as well, because all the Straw Hats need that next level bolster. Sanji may have the Raid Suit, Nami may have Zeus and Luffy is learning the Advanced Haki but the likes of Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Robin and potentially Franky can use this stage to properly announce themselves to the world. We can also use this time for the much-theorized Zoro origin lore, Poneglyph stuff and Marco’s message to Luffy, this may also provide time to pick up threads left by WCI; Jimbei, the Vinsmokes, Pedro, this may also provide time for Big Mom’s remaining forces (primarily Pudding and Katakuri) and the Straw Hat Grand Fleet to converge on Wano also. There are also loose ends with Wano; the person Hitetsu is waiting for, Kidd’s Crew, Denjuro, Ox Third Boy, Basil Hawkins (hope that guy is alive), the possibility of a codenamed Ace of Kaido’s crew, the frustrating absence of Carrot throughout most of the arc (such a downfall from potential Nakama to not even in background), possibly even the Oars connection to Kaido’s Numbers, above all of them however is the appearance of someone that has been frequently hinted as of late...

Gekko Moria Moria isn’t popular with fans, but his positioning in Wano is something we should take note, Bege was going to Thriller Bark, Moria has escaped Blackbeard’s clutches, Perona is looking for him and his graverobbing has been mentioned. I think Moria could get involved in Wano, and be partly instrumental in allowing Zoro to keep Shusui, his axe to grind with Kaido may also be a useful weapon against him and Big Mom, using Zombie Samurai to improve numbers. Like Buggy and Cesar, he may end up being a reluctant temporary ally to the Straw Hats. Moria can also provide Blackbeard intel, but I don’t expect him to stick, may go the way of Bellamy and bow out after.

So that’s stuff that mulls around my head, theories of factor as to why I expect Wano to last longer, possibly even beyond Chapter 1000. To conclude I’ll just throw on some mini theories I have:

Zoro will at least buddy with Onimaru the Lion Fox, for a while. Zoro is fox in Spanish and he has Shimotsuki connections even if he isn’t of their clan due to Koushiro living in Shimotsuki village

We’re gonna learn something about Ace, he was a Spade Pirate and Kaido names his ranks after playing cards, there is a link

Luffy, Law and Kidd will fight together, just as they did in Sabaody

The Crew will only properly reunite in Onigashima, where they will have a Walk

We’ll learn of why Wano was the City of Gold, and Caribou may reap from it (I like his face turn but I don’t trust his greed)

Sandai Kitetsu will break, probably to Kyoshiro’s hand - this could be a la Rurouni Kenshin, whose Sakabato was destroyed

Kaido will face Monster Point Chopper, Chopper and his Rumble Balls should really be something Kaido would want

Big Mom will betray Kaido (’mama always makes the preemptive move’), Hawkins will join a new crew (I think he was betrayed, there were cuffs on the wall where he lay before Law) - be it Big Mom or the Grand Fleet and Momo will not be the next Shogun, I guess Hyou could be but he was a Yakuza leader, but Momo wants to learn about Zou and I think he’ll stick with that

Dogstorm and Nekomamushi will go Su Long

As well as the Bounty Increase, several Straw Hats will get new titles. Titles like ‘Pirate Hunter’, ‘Cat Burglar’, ‘Devil Child’ and ‘Cotton Candy Lover’ are not befitting of crew members anymore

So yeah, got that all off my chest...I won’t just talk about One Piece I’ll have more, if anyone reads hope it had some refreshing insights, if not then we’ll see how wrong I was XD