#AND THAT CUTSCENE WHERE WE TOLD HER TO LET GO SO WE WOULD GET SWALLOWED BY THE LAMENT ONLY FOR HER TO BREAK US FREE AND TAKE

[baeshijima]

what if i destroyed the world.

what then.

[teamoliv-archive]

Cutscene: Double Agent Date

Lapis, Violet, and Ivory a sat at a table with their food while Onyx and Sapir had been more than awkwardly set up at a different one. The surprise “date” that had sprung to Violet’s mind was met with a mixture of shock and annoyance from the actual participants, but they didn’t outright refuse. Sapir was mildly interested while Onyx simply went along with it for the time being. For his part, Onyx didn’t think much would come up of this, so he focused on keeping conversation. Information would still be important to have regardless.

Several bad attempts at communication had transpired already. Onyx had tried sign language and Sapir didn’t understand it. She tried to slide her holy book across the table and signal to her verses. Violet could understand that but Onyx didn’t seem to have the patience. He was currently flipping through the book, mild annoyance plain on his face. Onyx had been reading silently. Too much speaking was still horrible for his throat. It made answering difficult. The puzzling nature of the girl’s “speech” would have been a mild chore for someone who could answer back; for him it was almost impossible. Sighing, he just closed the book and slid it back. Neither had any real food in front of them, settling for soup and water. Both of them had trouble swallowing heartier meals for different reasons. He waved Violet over and set his scroll on the table.

Violet got up and did as asked. “I... probably should have thought of this.” She opened her scroll, set up a chat with her scroll and Onyx’s and set it in front of Sapir. “Sorry, this might be easier for both of you.”

Sapir looked a little insulted, but nodded. Her usual method of communication wouldn’t work here if out of necessity than anything else. The fact that Onyx looked to at least be making an attempt at reading her book was a small comfort, though. She motioned for him to respond to what she had tried to start with.

Onyx wasn’t too sure what to make of the verse she had quoted for their conversation starter- Seek faith in hardship. Destruction seeks to harm. Creation seeks to save. It sounded so esoteric. Were it not for the preachy context, he’d have found the cryptic puzzle a little novel. He noticed she kept examining the old scar on his ear. Onyx grit his teeth and tapped on the scroll. [The ear isn’t something I wish to talk about. You wouldn’t like that story anyway.] He was careful not to use the word ‘speak’. It would be awkward for the both of them if he did. He saw the girl move to touch her book again, intending to slide it over. He quickly tapped out a new message to avoid having to deal with that again, though he imagined he would. [Do you do anything besides your work for the church?]

Sapir glanced down at the message for only a brief moment before doing as Onyx feared and slid the book back over to him again and taking the forced pause to slowly sip at her soup. She had gotten one of the blander ones, not wanting to indulge herself too much particularly on someone else’s expense. She raised her hand and flashed a set of numbers again.

The almost playful smirk on the altar girl’s face, charming though it was, felt almost mocking to Onyx. She was going to insist on conversing on her terms. If it was anyone else being subjected to this, he would have found it entertaining. Being unnecessarily difficult was something he used to pride himself on, after all. Sapir seemed a quick reader given the speed of her answer. Thankfully, so was he. He thumbed through the book to the correct passage. He would have to thank whomever wrote this for being easy to navigate- he suspected that was the point. There is no greater work than to serve those you care about. Love is the root of protection.

Onyx grit his teeth. The woman who he spent his life calling his mother had died seemingly to protect him. He still hadn’t seen any hint of that care or affection in her letters and little of it in his memories. Why his father had allowed him to only see these now was troubling. Perhaps he just wanted to keep him here longer and instill a sense of gratitude for not choking him to death back in Mistral. Lilac had cared about him despite her twisted way of showing it. Perhaps there was something he was missing. He shakes the thought from his mind to find an annoyingly hopeful look in Sapir’s eyes. She could tell he was lost in thought.

Sapir motioned gently to the scroll, hoping he would elaborate. It wasn’t just a good opportunity to get Onyx to open up, but perhaps a way to see whether or not he was open to hearing her out. She needed to know what their connection was to the Cheshires’ sinful project, of course, but they were Violet’s friends and didn’t seem to be wicked people. She reaches across the small table, careful not to knock over anything and flips open a few pages of her book, tapping the passage. Her faunus ears perked up as she smiled warmly.

Onyx instinctively tilted himself backward when Sapir leaned forward, keeping a distance. He glanced down at the new verse, motioning for her to sit back down. Seek to guide with holy ambition; allow no one to be alone in their pain. As appealing as the thought of a quick answer to his newfound personal dilemma was, everything in his mind was telling him to ignore her. She couldn’t possibly understand what he was trying to discover. He needed more than sanctimonious “wisdom” and pithy doctrine. He just shook his head. [I do not need any help. This is a personal matter.]

Sapir looked unconvinced. She looked down at the scroll. It was probably monitored if Violet and her team were stuck taking orders from the Cheshires. As much as she would like to make their conversation a little more personal than translating the Gift of Creation back and forth, she didn’t trust the devices. Instead she slides it to the side, leans in again and mouths the words. Are you in danger?

That was unexpected. Onyx took a glance to his team who were eating tensely at the other table and trying not to stare or monitor them. Violet seemed unconcerned but Lapis and Ivory didn’t look like they knew what to make of their silent conversation. He’d have to address that later. For now he turns his focus back to Sapir and shakes his head. He didn’t expect her to entirely trust his answer, though in this environment his usual conversational tactics were just unavailable to him if for no other reason than speaking was still difficult for him. He looks down at the scroll and also slides it to the side, picking up on the girl’s concern. His father was almost certainly checking their communications. He forces out a slow whisper. “I do not know what you hope to do, but this is beyond you.”

Sapir’s expression turned a mix of stern and concerned. She again mouths her silent words slowly and carefully, making sure he could read her lips well enough. There is an unholy monster in your midst. We can help you. You do not know the kind of evil the Cheshires are capable of.

“Yes I do,” Onyx hissed back, “You’re speaking to one.” He paused both to rest his throat for a moment and allow the fact settle with the girl. He takes a long drink of his water and a second to breath before continuing in his harsh whisper. “The last time I was given an offer ‘for my own good’ it ended with several city blocks being destroyed and hundreds dead. Forgive me if we don’t have an interest in blatantly taking sides against my father right now.”

Sapir wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She had thought the Cheshires were all human. Onyx was clearly a faunus. There was also the consideration that with this knowledge, Onyx may be a tainted soul. Her eyes snapped to his ears again.

“Adopted,” He whispers back, “If you absolutely have to know.” It wasn’t like was hiding it anymore. He had hoped to remain anonymous in Mantle where the Cheshire name far outstripped his face, but that was unavoidable now. Besides, he couldn’t hide forever. It was better to get this out there sooner rather than later. A strange look of relief washed over the girl for a reason Onyx couldn’t pinpoint. He may have to grill Violet about whether that pertained to some teaching of their faith or not.

Sapir remained determined, reaching out and snatching Onyx’s wrist before he could react. She was faster than he had expected. Let me help. She mouthed, Please. We can fight this evil together. Now that she had forced herself so close, Onyx could see the difficulty she was having in remembering how to form the words physically. He almost imagined if she could suddenly talk, she’d sound very slurred.

“The world isn’t so simple as good and evil, girl.” Onyx whispered back, tensing himself when he felt his arm be grabbed. He swallowed hard to keep his throat dry. The talking was starting to bother him again. “Stay out of it, and let go of me.”

Sapir let go and pulled her hand back, returning to her water before slowly withdrawing and closing her book. Neither seemed to want to continue “talking” likely just as much out of exhaustion as frustration. After a few moments she stood up, passes a sad look to Onyx before walking over to Violet’s table.

She sets the scroll down by Violet’s meal and forces a smile, nodding her head.

Violet looked up at her friend before standing up as well, pocketing her scroll. “Is... everything okay, Sap?” Sapir was always a bit intense, but the look on her face was almost defiant. Whatever it was she and Onyx had been discussing, if it could be called that, it worried her. Sapir held up her hand and held up fingers corresponding to numbers. Unlike the others, she didn’t need the book to translate them. Never turn your back from aiding those in peril. ”Wait, what did you two talk about?” Onyx couldn’t have told Sapir about her parents, did he? Before Violet could ask, her friend departed quickly.

Ivory and Lapis looked on with concerned expressions. They looked to their teammates and Ivory motioned for Onyx to come back to their table. He did so leaving the remains of the soup and water glass behind. “What’s going on? Violet, what did she say?”

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Lapis comments, “Cheshire, tell us what happened once you feel like you can handle it. That didn’t look like someone who just had a bad date.”

As Sapir left, she held her book tightly, marching back to the Consecration with purpose. No matter what Violet’s team thought, she knew what unnatural energy she felt from that girl who was with them. This ‘Auburn’ was an unholy monster and needed to be dealt with. Sister Lucianna had been correct after all, they would need to get involved forcefully. This meant they would need to prepare for the battles Sister Lucianna promised would come.

[airlock]

airlock grades the Camus archetype

next in this series, we delve into the world of fancy jackets, ebon horses, and loves that cannot be. that’s right -- it’s the day in the lives of the one who was fortunate enough to fuck off into the ocean with no memories, and all the other ones who just straight-up died!

(do note: under cut are spoilers for… everything, and also a significant amount of me criticizing or blamming characters that you might like. you’ve been warned! but if you’d press on, then I’m afraid I have no choice but to face you on the battlefield-)

a foreword

so, I’m not trying to end up rating every single semi-sympathetic miniboss out here; to this end, I will be working with a very specific definition of a Camus for this exercise. I do not claim it to be the definition of a Camus; it’s simply what I’ll be working with. it’s as such: a Camus is a secondary villain who is characterized as virtuous, but tragically doomed to stand against the player characters, either in keeping with the aforementioned virtue, because of an overpowering external circumstance, or both.

so, let us dig in!

camoo

(7/10)

there he is, folks! the man whose dick launches thousands of ships, hurtling into each other on a maelstrom of tragedy.

a multitude of appearances -- matched only by a certain trio of flying girls -- has given him incredible room to expand as a complex, dynamic character. where his original appearance alone might blip as gently tragic but not incredibly compelling, he’s incrementally gained a robust character, and ultimately got to be one of the ones who managed to elude the pits of data size issues in Akaneian characterization.

screaming camus

(1/10)

is it a stretch to tout him as a “virtuous” character? perhaps, but for the purposes of classification alone, intent weighs a little more than execution, and I think it’s clear that the writers had intended for Berkut to be sympathetic, but tragic, as far as secondary antagonists go.

unfortunately, though, they failed big time. Ian Sinclair’s stellar voice acting counts in Berkut’s favor, but little else does. his character is nigh-on pastiche and he seems to hog a lot of screentime without adding anything of significant interest to the story or to other characters. his motivations, while genuine enough, are irritatingly played by the narrative as being sympathetic when they absolutely are not; and worst of all, his fall from grace is severely cheapened by ending on a note of easy redemption that he does not at all deserve.

mongolian camus

(4/10)

in concept, this is a brillant player punch; as if Hardin wasn’t enough, you have to make enemies of even more of those who fought by your side on the previous game, and this guy -- alongside his underlings bar Roshea -- aren’t even fighting you because they’ve gone mad; they’re the same as they were before, and it’s only unfortunate that now, their master is no longer on your side.

however, further labor on the execution front would have been invaluable here. as far as Camuses (camusi? camii? camee?) go, the ole Wolfpack has a lot less time in the limelight than is par for the course, and the one-two maps they haunt don’t leave enough room to draw out the drama.

I’m not docking points for this, but New Mystery of the Emblem also does the Wolfpack a serious disservice in making them all recruitable. besides being a cowardly evasion from the tragedies of war that Fire Emblem is well-known to mercilessly portray, it’s not even a better outcome for them personally. like, have you seen Wolf’s epilogue? and it’s only further a shame after Shadow Dragon went and made Wolf and Sedgar so busted they may have had a better chance to leave an impression on the player -- which would then have made it all the more of a gut twister if they’d remained as full proper... goddamnit I’m not doing the plural Camus thing again.

wine camus

(10/10)

without hesitation, one of the most effective... camus characters, okay, there, I settled that... ever written. it’s sad enough when you have to snuff out someone nice because war is hell and the world is an awful place, but having the guy be the protagonist’s best friend is just ruthless.

and it’s not just text, either; it’s set up brillantly. Eldigan and Sigurd’s good bond is put well on display before it’s brutally shattered. he’s even given an unusual out in that you don’t have to kill him -- but if you don’t, Chagall will! hoohoohoo, Jugdral is the bestworst.

seriously, though, I think I’ve honest to god cried at least once about Eldigan, and making me cry is pretty difficult -- like, outside of an argument or other situation where crying totally sabotages me so of course my body will do that to me.

thunder camus

(5/10)

I appreciate an extremely powerful female character as much as anyone should, but other than that, I will have to admit that I don’t find her incredibly compelling.

although Genealogy of the Holy War may have been the game that gave us Hilda, it very much betrays the Kagaman’s hesitancy in letting women be villainous, and there are not many better examples of this than Ishtar here. as far as Camus characters (hahahaha! I am unstoppable!) go, she’s one of the most virtuous -- and also one with the flimsiest reasons for staying the course of villainy anyway.

like, sure, she has a boyfriend who turned into satan. we sure get told that. and then it stays as absolutely nothing other than text, when she tends to act like she’s being forced by the greatest of all powers to continue opposing you. Thracia 776 at least strengthens the script by depicting the extant relationship as an abusive one, which would shed a little more sense into things, but it’s too little too late; too late because it’s one whole game later, and too little because Ishtar and Julius are not focal characters of that game and don’t have enough room to expand in there. (plus, it’s not a great idea for Julius anyway -- he’s hellspawn, not a smooth operator.)

tiny hand camus

(5/10)

curiously, I’d actually bill Reinhardt here as a hybrid Camus-Michalis -- while his arc swallows elements of inevitable tragedy such as a star-crossed crush and a superior that he won’t defy, it never feels like he has to fight you in the way that a Camus normally does; rather, it feels like he chooses to anyway because of his shortcomings, in the way that a Michalis normally does.

and putting these things together... well, I’m grading the whole character here, but let’s be real, he’s far more effective of a Michalis than a Camus. intent regadless, sympathy isn’t usually the sentiment that he flints up, and I believe even Olwen is ultimately of that mindset; still, it gets to be a shame that he makes the choices he does when he’s otherwise not such an overtly repugnant type.

(I went this whole time not talking about Heroes, yes? that’s because I’m not going there. not the memes, not his thorougly botched characterization there, nothing.)

alamo camus

(2/10)

I believe that Galle and Murdock are intended as Camus characters (booyaka booyaka! shakalaka!) as well, but they’re so painfully inconsequential I’m not going to get sidetracked in their direction here.

Brunnya is not that much better off than they are, alas; she gets a little more screentime, but remains underdeveloped until her one chapter in the limelight. she does get to play an interesting role as a Camus who outlives her master and still decides to carry on his will, but we’ve seen better and more compelling all over this list.

double camus

(9/10)

oh, snap, there are two of them! ... well, so there were in Genealogy of the Holy War, but these here bros aren’t to be analyzed in isolation.

the moral complexities that they play at together are interesting, but I think that the coolest aspect of their character, by far, is that they play at being direct counterparts to Eliwood and Hector. the charming, reasonable one and the brutish, straightforward one who strengthen each other through their balance -- they’re shining mirrors of what could have been, or what comes to be when you take the same strengths as those of the heroes but place them irrevocably in the path of the villains. ... hmmm, I wonder if they’d have a non-adoptive sister if Lyn were, like, relevant at that point of the story.

their screentime is surprisingly short, but all indicates that they make tidal waves on the little time they have. I’m certain they’d have benefitted from more, but they’re still amongst the best of the Camus characters (I did it again!! I did it again!!).

not severa camus

(8/10)

although her tale is not as gut-wrenching as Eldigan’s or the Reed bros’, she’s one perfectly adequate Camus. virtuous, and impactfully so, but loyal to the end, and justifiedly so -- both in a relevant backstory and in a string of deceptions and misfortunes that play her stronger qualities against her.

I don’t find her to be a standout, but she’s a perfect execution of her own concept -- and considering the staggering amount of unfulfilled potential we’ve seen up to here, that deserves its due praise.

tincan camus

(4/10)

although he’s fairly interesting, the sins of his master befall him -- the reveal of his identity is severly dragged-out for also meaning very little until the additional reveal of his brand. and by then, it’s doomed to be only a blur out of the many unfulfilled twists in the Tower of Guidance.

even beneath the mask, he’s had a lot of chances for player punches that he missed out on. his confrontation with Greil emphatizes his role as Ashnard’s underling, instead of his role as Greil’s former student and Ike’s newly-made archrival, and I feel like that’s a severe mistake -- for one thing, it forces the cutscene to end with a lame halfway intervention from Caineghis, where it would’ve been perfectly viable for Ike to walk out of that one alive exclusively due to Zelgius’s own motivations.

even beyond that, his appearances in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn often play him as a plot device instead of a character; as a matter of fact, that ridiculous magic warp powder of his accomplishes no purpose other than enabling him to be a plot device wherever plot needs him (aside from how it silently explains how he lives a double life in two different countries, but that’s kind of a pointless detail).

and lastly, just how impossibly lame is it that he’s given a deadly final confrontation with Ike, that he’s just going to walk off of by the sequel anyway? it’s easy to see why it’s necessary for the plots of the two games it affects, but it’s laaaaaaaaame.

samurai camus

(1/10)

easily the least compelling of the list. he comes in to carry the half of a nonsense arc that doesn’t have enough room to fully build him, and it shows. and to make things worse, he’s one of the most notable sufferers of a syndrome that thorougly afflicts antagonists in Awakening and, to a lesser extent, beyond: a tendency to try to paint them as unambiguously evil before you fight them, but tragic and redeemable right after you fight them. which ultimately completely fails as the player punch that the writers ostensibly intended and robs the confrontation itself of much-needed gravitas.

if-conditional camus characters

(??/10)

hahahahaha!!! hahahahahahaahhahahahaaaa!! sockeye!!! I did the thing again and right in the middle of a nickname too!!

but yeah, I haven’t played Fates any more now than at the time of the Gharnef post.

anyways, what do you all think? have I earned your undying loyalty, or does chivalry demand that you slaughter me for my vile takes? if the upcoming Three Houses is to have a Camus... oh, who are we kidding, of course there’s going to be a Camus. in another life, things have been different, but this fate is inescapable. the only mercy we can extend for it now is to wonder what it’ll be like. once again, I welcome your comments in the replies and reblogs -- would you wrong your country by keeping them to yourself anyway?

[pmiller1]

Let debunk some Deja Vu. Woah. Deja Vu.

Already I had to debunk and it from Young Xehanort. This could be me, but it seem like talking about the Many Young Sora that is wounding around here.

Kinda surreal if you ask me.

Within Kingdom Hearts, there’s a general rule of thumb that even though the mind may not remember, the heart never forgets. This was established pretty early as a concept with Chain of Memories (imagine, with a name like that).

This specific example is even further proven by being one of the memories Sora can choose from during his Dive to the Heart. Something he otherwise can’t actively recall, but it remains within him.

We doesn’t know if Sora actually remember this. But given this is for the Guardian class so to say. It best bring the idea of when Sora choses to be a guardian for his friend. (This doesn’t really matter)

This is also kind of the idea behind some of the effects of Time Travel. If traveling through and into the future, your experiences and memories don’t come back with you once you return to the past. You continue to live your life, but with an underlying, subliminal need or sense to follow whatever brings you to the future you’ve experienced as “It has been etched” into your heart.

It’s a continuity failsafe.

Time Travel.

So regardless of the means (time travel, memory erasure, etc), having experienced something guarantees that the memory still remains somewhere, deep within your heart.

So the breakdown from this if your Time Travel from another time and once you return from time, you forget everything in that other time, but you hearts will keep on as fate. Given it a subcontinent memory kinda of deal.

Can I just point this memory erasure only happen when you return to own time. Not when you traveling pass time. Or how would Young Xehanort know he from the future, he there to make sure he future action does happen.

And in away, this is going with the idea that Sora and Riku want back in time before the Keyblade War, before Kingdom Hearts III so to say. How would there forget there action. I mean it not like going to the past would remove the memory, Maleficent remember everything before she dead in KH1 when she was in the past in a date of her home world. She try to set plan to get the seven princess of heart, only for the 7th princess Kairi being unable to reach her do not having a date worlds of where she would be. “Darkness” himself told her that.

So the idea is this Deja Vu is already faulty.

We see what seems like evidence of this throughout the game like, a lot. A lot a lot. A notable amount of verbalized forgetting of details, characters reacting to something before it happens or aren’t present for, or unwarranted familiarity with a given situation. In most instances characters even provide an easy to swallow explanation for it, seeming to deliberately hand wave the issue so you don’t take much notice. 

The game begins with a cutscene from the end of 0.2. This functions as a means to refresh players of what Sora needs to do, but they have a very interesting conversation where Goofy brings up the very important phrase “May your heart be your guiding key”. Something they’ve never heard (yet), but Goofy insists he had.

Even with the implication that the timeline restart happens at the end of II.9, we’re still including this scene and how pointedly odd it is.

And here the real reason why Goofy, Our anthropomorphic dog recall Yen-Sid saying “May your heart be your guiding key” where the two doesn’t. He heard it when he mutter, whisper those lined. And Goofy the anthropomorphic dog, pick up it, being a one to pick up noise more better than the other two. Didn’t you see Goofy pick of the little girl screaming for help for away, or when he pick Elsa singing “Let it go?” before the other? Because that seem like the reason.

note: In Jiminy's Journal, it says Hayner, Pence and Olette are “still on their summer vacation”. So it really hasn’t been that long at all.

This does beg the question of how long was Dream Drop Distance? Heck, How long was it between Kingdom Hearts II and III. I know Re:code was there between that, along with DDD and 0.2 where Mickey recalling his time with Aqua.

But there said that in italic. Meaning there saying it haven’t been a very very long time. Like say a Year. Maybe a week had pass, who know.

Plus, this haven’t been confirmed but the idea of world having there own time is there to. I mean The Caribbean is going by the 3rd movie. At world ends.

Hann: “Yozora!”

Yeah. There point here is that Sora here look like Yozora from the game Verum Rex. Rex even think he is Yozora.

Sora’s mentioning of this line is interesting as a direct reference to DDD. In the Country of Musketeers, Sora runs into Mickey, Donald, and Goofy and has a little difficulty dealing with meeting his friends who don’t know or remember him. Regardless, he keeps the experience and phrase close to his heart, which makes it stand out as he says it to himself like a reassurance.

True. Sora had met the past Mickey, Donald and Goofy in Country of Musketeers. But I think there said “All for One, and one for all”, when there team up back in KH1. I think it more that there are dream of that world past of them that would having a effect of that person heart with the Real One, Given that Tron, even if he isn’t the Tron in Ansem’s computer had somehow able to recall Sora. And I like the think the Real TWEwY gang recall Sora even if he met only the dream memory of them.

Note: We went through BBS and confirmed Donald and Goofy never leave Yen Sid’s tower. They never see the Unversed for themselves. Goofy goes from feeling like he’s “seen them before”, to confirming only Mickey ever fought and told him about them.

You can say it’s just a continuity issue. But BBS and DDD were planned at the same time to lead into KH3, and the series has stayed remarkably consistent with itself especially post-2010. And all of that doesn’t explain why Goofy would contradict himself, in his very next sentence.

By the way. I want to point out, that I’ve check the wiki for this and Donald and Goofy are D-Link in BbS for both Ventus and Aqua. Granted in Story there never leave the tower, but in gameplayed, unless you haven’t made the two use the two d-link, there kinda have fought the Unversed. And there didn’t say there didn’t fought them, just that the King Mickey fought a whole bunch of battles against ‘em.

Pooh being forgetful isn’t anything new, but for what little time we spend here coupled with everyone else struggling to remember what they were even there for, it stands out.

Something there just need a reminder that there here for a harvested. Also, Pooh told his reason once he had his honey and that he felt Sora link lost, that even Sora can tell and fear it.

I mean, why wouldn’t you trust Sora? He that person that you can be friend with. This have nothing to do with Anna and Kristoff having to feeling like there know him already, Just he can be trusted.

Sora’s phantom pain here is probably one of the more interesting and unexplained oddities. It’s hard to believe that it’s just his connection with Anna, seeing as we’ve never seen anything like this with any other character before. He feels the pain at the same moment she was struck, a shot of ice straight to the heart. The mind may forget, but the heart remembers, suggesting that maybe Sora took the blow in the past.

Even within the movie it’s said, “The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded”.

I’m sorry what?! Are you implying that Sora take the blow of Elas cold freak out, instead of Anna?

If so, then how is Sora isn’t dead by a frozen heart? It clear from your Theory (and in Canon) that Sora died in Keyblade Graveyard. And Riku and Kairi wasn’t there to help Sora from that spell by there true loved.

I’m guessing that do to Anna being a Princesses of Heart, made Sora felt the same pain from Kairi Heart back in Hollow Bastion. As he felt Anna pain just then as he did with Kairi.

You know what best about this, Donald really did say “The Sea belong to everyone.” back in Davy Jones Locker.

I let Goofy say the rest for me up there.

Aww. Let Sore be a Teenage Kid. He just excited and want to tell his best friend about the world he at.

I’d bet he gonna call Riku about how awesome Shibuya is, even if he still in the Reaper Game in the 1st day just for humor. Now that I’d love to see.

Emm... Riku is just being caution here. Using the Stop spell would be very costly here and given Donald's Zettaflare just out right cost his own life to cast it. It safe to say that Riku doesn’t want them to pull another powerful spell at the cost of their own life.

Also this after Sora changed fate. So this wouldn’t counded.

“More than once” despite the fact we only visited here during that first dive.

“On your visits to the Station of Awakening.” That mean that the Station of Awakening is part of the Final World. At least I think so.

I like to remind you, the final world is last stop before the afterlife. The people are holding on there life. That remind here before that move on to afterlife or there could come back to life. This is the crossroad between sleep and death.

Also, No I don’t think the final world is a Sleeping World, not even can be part of this “Realm of Sleep” given that is been disproven to be a real thing.

[theshapeshifter100]

Guess What? I’m Not a Robot Epilogue

Summary: Android Allies protest in Washington

Chapter Warnings: Some casual swearing, implied anxiety

Word Count: 1,211

There’s a long A/N at the end, but it has some important information, so please read it.

11AM Monday 22nd November 2038

“This is insane,” Megan looked at the crowd of people. Alex had put the protest on social media, and it had exploded.

Thousands of people were crammed into a few wide streets in Washington. Most were bearing signs, either cardboard or electric. Some had banners and others even had megaphones.

The crowd was mostly human, but androids who had managed to avoid the massacre were in the crowd. Hats covering their LEDs just in case, but Paul pointed them out with ease.

The three main chapters of Android Allies were here, with the leaders all where Megan was standing. That included everyone in the Detroit Chapter, Lucas’s sister and her group, and Megan’s brother James.

Hank Anderson was also there, although no one could explain why. Not even him, but here he was, grumbling like an old man.

Alex grinned broadly as Megan spoke. “You’re not kidding!” was it her, or was their smile strained? “We’ll easily counter the anti android protest!”

“We’ll certainly be able to drown them out,” Megan agreed, looking around again. The march hadn’t started yet, so the leaders were standing on some steps to get a feel for who was there. In the distance it looked like someone had brought a freaking marching band!

Someone clapped her hard on the back and she stumbled for a second. She wasn’t worried though, only one person announced themselves like that.

“James! I am not one of your football buddies!” Megan protested loudly. She was still wearing the sling, and she hoped that her brother had spotted that.

“I know you’re tougher than you look,” she could hear the smug grin in his voice. They had the same colour hair, but that was where all similarities ended; while she was short and skinny, he was tall and broad. However, he wasn’t as large as Oscar. Megan suspected they played different positions in football, but what those positions were she had no idea.

“Yes, but I still have a hole in my shoulder,” she reminded him. “And I’d like to keep the stitches as they are.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t told mom and dad about that?”

“No, and you won’t either.”

“Gotcha.”

“Why won’t you be telling your parents?” Paul asked, having watched the exchange between the two blood siblings.

“Because they’ll fuss and demand I come home, again,” Megan sighed. “I’ll probably have to go home for Christmas, and make sure I book a flight back so that they can’t keep me at home.”

“They would do that?”

“Oh, they’d try,” Megan assured.

“You can come for Christmas with me and my folks,” Alex offered, overhearing.

“That’s, a lovely offer, thank you,” Megan was uncomfortable now, looking at her shuffling feet.

“It’s cool, my parents always cook loads anyway,” Alex easily shrugged it off. They then checked their watch. “We’ll have to put Christmas plans aside. It’s time to get going!”

They grabbed a megaphone from next to them and brought it to their lips. There was a loud squeal of feedback which managed to catch everyone’s attention.

“Alright people! We’re about to move out!” Alex announced. “I will be at the front with the rest of the Detroit chapter, all of whom you should know by now. Hopefully enough of you have the route to hand in case anyone gets lost. And remember! We’re here to protest peacefully! If the other protest starts something, that does not mean we can retaliate in kind! Leave the confrontation to Nathan and the marching band!”

There was some laughing at that, but that was the actual plan.

“Who the fuck hired a marching band?” Hank asked, more to himself.

“I did,” responded Nathan, like it was obvious.

“Of course.”

“Finally, we’re all friends here! There’s enough water and snacks to hopefully keep everyone going. If someone’s struggling, stop and help! We’re here to show the best of humanity and that we can live with androids. Most importantly, have fun!”

There was a cheer as Alex put down the megaphone. On their face was an odd expression. Nervousness.

Julia was quick to put a hand on their shoulder as the rest of the chapters took their place in the crowd. “You’ll be great,” she reassured, and Alex nodded.

“Thanks Jules,” they swallowed. “I never, seriously thought, that it would get this big.”

“This is your baby,” Megan added with a lopsided shrug. “Be proud of it,”

Alex nodded again. “I am. Let’s take our places.”

The Detroit chapter made their way to the front of the crowd. Without having to say anything Paul put Megan on his shoulders. Megan could almost hear James huffing in annoyance, but too bad, James had never done it when he had the chance.

She held a sign in one hand, with Paul holding the massive banner in front of them along with the rest of the Detroit chapter. On it the name ‘Android Allies’ was emblazoned in blue with Markus’s stick figure/peace sign, the CyberLife triangle and the initials ‘AA’ in various colours on the white background.

Alex stood in front of all them, holding a megaphone. Usually Allison or Ivy would be standing with them, but they all recognised this as their brainchild. They deserved the credit for this.

“What do we want?!” they bellowed into a megaphone, and the crowd chanted back.

“Android rights!”

“When do we want it?!”

“Now!”

The crowd, several thousand strong, began to march through Washington. Alex kept up their chant, while at the back different chants were popping up.

“Androids Are Alive!”

“Equal right for androids!”

“The tin man has his heart!”

That one threw Megan off, but it made some sense. The tin man went with Dorothy looking for a heart, but it turned out that he had it the entire time. Oddly fitting.

Paul never faltered in his pace as he walked. Even when James forced himself to the front to offer to give him a break.

“I’m fine James,” he assured. “Perhaps we should talk later, over a coffee or something?”

“Can you drink?”

“No, but the offer still stands.”

James looked at him oddly for a second before nodding. “Sure, okay. I’d like that.”

“I’ll leave you two to your budding bromance then,” Megan smirked. “Finally, Alex will have another ship!”

“I’ve just met him!” James protested.

“I’m messing with you!” Megan laughed. “But seriously, I’ll leave you two to talk it out. I’ll probably hang around Alex or something. We’re in DC for a few days after all.”

“Sure, whatever,” James huffed before chanting again.

Megan looked around at the crowd, and felt a surge of pride. She had contributed to this. She had helped make this happen. Now, there was a partnership with Markus, the government was starting to listen, people were starting to change.

It wasn’t over, and of course this wasn’t solely down to them. Most of this was down to Markus and his revolution. But one week won’t change a country, won’t change laws. Markus had laid the groundwork, Android Allies had been on the sidelines, helping with the public opinion and both efforts had lead to this.

This wasn’t over, but it was another step in the right direction. They intended to keep walking.

Yeah, this is it. The epilogue. This has been a wild ride from start to finish, in a genre I never really tried before. I tried a few new things with this, the slice of life opening, the flowchart things at the end and the connection between Paul and Megan. I deliberately did it like that, and it was surprisingly easy. I did have to watch myself a couple of times to stop it going romantic, but overall, not as hard as I thought it would be. I just had to think of fluff for them.

In the chapter itself. I understand why it might seem a little out of left field that Alex has the glory moment at the end, but Android Allies is their brain child. It always was, Megan and Paul just got caught up in it, and yeah had the most to lose or gain, but this is still Alex's group, their idea, their baby. We also finally meet James, I know his mental health side story never really went anywhere, it was more to showcase that any can suffer from mental illness, especially the people we least expect.

A few reasons why I wrote this story. One, was because of some complainants I saw on tumblr about the main game, primarly, where are the human pro android supporters. The game says they exist, but we never see them. Here we go, I made some!I also did this, a little out of spite. I am incredibly sick of seeing stories, original and fanfic, where there's two leads of different genders and they end up in a romantic relationship. I hate it, despise it. It's not necessary and it pops up all the damn time, heck I'm guilty of it! So, I wrote Megan and Paul, and made them deliberately adorable just to piss off anyone who thinks that they'd make a good romantic couple. Which, actually, even if Megan wasn't Ace/Aro they wouldn't be a good romantic couple, I don't that would be healthy. I'm not quite done with this yet. I've got a list of the alternative endings and how to get them almost ready, with some 'post credit scenes' for them. There is also a completely different ending. You know how in the main game you can have Deviant/Machine, Pacifist/Revolution and Canada/Camp. Well, there is an alternate ending for this as well, where Paul gets arrested and sent to one of these Recycling Camps.It's not finished. Not yet, and given that I'm on holiday right now and will be for another three weeks, I can't guarantee when it will be up. I'll get the alternate endings list up some time next week, but other than that I make no promises.I think that's all I had, and no flowchart this time. It's the ending cutscene, there is nothing left to influence.

Tags: @nightmarejim @septicart-appreciation thank you both for sticking with this. To your, and everyone else reading, thank you for sticking with this.

[heartofhryule]

Breath of the Wild: Captured Memories - Chapter 6

First and foremost; SPOILER WARNINGS. If you have not played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, or completed the Captured Memories Quest and want to stay unspoilered for it, DO NOT READ. Keep Reading link provided for that reason. So I am writing these as I play through BotW for the first time - which means they probably won’t be ‘one-a-day’ consistent - I have finally gotten all of the memories, but not yet gone for the final fight at Hyrule Castle. #Soon. I will post them as I can though! Promise! I also plan to include links to the cutscene for you to watch at the bottom, if so desired - at least for the ones I can find. Any other warnings that become necessary, I will add for content as I go. For now, enjoy!

Hot hot hot! lol

I really like Daruk in all the cinematics. Optimistic, forthright, stalwart, devoted to his land and kingdom, and ever in support of the Hero - he's a solid dude, no pun intended. While EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS GAME is hard to write, this one was less hard just because Daruk is such a cool character. I predict Urbosa will be similar. I. Love. Her. #UrbosaIsBestChampion #SaltyBirdRivaliTakeNotes

One thing I try to do with the cinematics from the games, is not add too much if any dialog for Link - since of course in game he doesn't speak. If I continue with a scene after the cinematic ends in the game, that's one thing. When we get to the Silent Princess memory with the frog, trust me, there will be more. But there are times where at least when writing, its a little awkward that Link says literally nothing - so, while I don't want to add TOO much, so that you basically can watch the cinematic (links provided at the ends of chapters) and then read this for "a little bit more", I did add a line or two in a few chapters now, and I foresee this trend continuing. Nothing extreme, but I felt it needed acknowledgement.

Speaking of Rivali the Salty Bird... his chapter will be next. I swear to Hylia, I wanted to strangle that stupid parakeet. He's a badass... but so, so obnoxious. So, here we go! I'll try and have Salty Bird up as soon as I can, and thank you for staying tuned!

Chapter 6 - Daruk’s Mettle Hot. Hot hot hot. Volcanos were hot. Sure, his Flameproof armor bought in town, and his elixirs helped. But it was still hooooot. Things were looking more familiar nowadays. He didn’t remember faces or names, but things were feeling… familiar. Like he knew he’d been to Goron City before in more than just his memory of Zelda saying they would be heading there. He’d had a feeling he knew where the shop was, and had been right. 

He felt as though it had already been a lifetime since he’d awakened in the Shrine of Resurrection feeling lost, drifting outside of time, detached, frustrated and alone.

But then, he’d never truly been alone.

Zelda’s voice had awakened him. Zelda’s voice spoke to him, to warn him of the Blood Moon each time it rose, or when he needed to know something very important. Her voice called his name in his dreams, and he had begun dreaming of her - from before. Snippets here and there. A white dress, a spring, her tears. Things that when he woke slipped through his fingers if her tried to grasp too hard, but it was enough to fuel him forward. Landmarks were familiar now - perhaps not why, but sometimes, it came to him.

Like looking at the carving of Daruk in the side of Death Mountain, he’d known it, and the memory had come rushing back.

***

They had been standing atop Vah Rudania, traversing the side of Death Mountain in the great, hot wind of the mostly quiet volcano.

“Yeah! I think I’m finally getting the hang of controlling this Divine Beast!” Daruk exclaimed proudly. It wasn’t a boast of vanity, but rather an honest statement of pride and hope from a Goron of integrity. Link knew that, he could feel it. He remembered Daruk, and that he liked him a great deal.

“I’ll tell you what… it sure is a blast piloting a toy like this around!” Link smirked incredulously at his friend and shook his head. A lumbering, enormous piece of ancient technology that they barely understood… and Daruk called it a toy. That was the Goron Champion in a nutshell.

“Let those other champions know,” the rock eater continued, “They’ll have to eat their gravel if they want to keep up with Daruk!” The Goron looked around them, drawing Link’s eye and smile to the scenery. “Speaking of which, can you believe this view?” Just look at all those delectable rocks sprinkled on those mountains… Mighty tasty.”

Link chuckled and cut his eyes to Daruk, knowing the Goron sometimes forgot other races didn’t eat rocks. He would have to take the Champion’s word for it. “It really is a great view, my friend.”

Sharing a few moments of companionable silence, Daruk was the next to speak. “I may not know a whole lot about the Calamity Ganon thing… but mark my words: I will protect this land of ours to the death.” Fist clenched with the vigor of his oath, Daruk grinned and raised his other hand saying, “Right, little guy?”

It happened too fast for Link to dodge or mitigate, and when Daruk slapped him on the back in friendship, it knocked the wind right out of the Hylian Knight. Link gasped and leaned forward, eyes bulging a little as he reached up to what would no doubt be a great bruise on his back by evening.

“Hey, by the way…. Congrats on becoming the princess’s appointed knight. That’s a really big deal! Protecting the King's daughter,” Daruk chuckled, “No pressure.” Still trying to catch his breath and recover from the Goron’s platonic affection, Link winced and nodded but looked to the sky.

“Seriously, though. The Princess is a strong personality - so strong she can’t quite see the range for the peaks,” the Goron Champion added with a scratch of his head. “Remember that, and you’ll be fine.”

No sooner had Daruk finished than a great rumbling started around them. “Huh?” Daruk said and turned his eyes to the mountain. Link thought at first in might have been Vah Rudania beneath them. But when the ancient, mechanical salamander had stopped and seemed to be as it ever was, he too looked to Death Mountain.

Daruk was frowning now. “What the-?”

As they watched, boulders came flying from over the peak of which they stood in the shadow. One, flew directly at them, like a meteor plummeting to the earth. With a great cry, Daruk spread his large arms, balled his hands into fists, and smashed his knuckles together. Just as the boulder would have struck him and also Link, a great angular barrier of red-orange light - like the fires of Death Mountain itself - appeared around them, deflecting the wayward and deadly debris.

“Alright, so what was I saying?” For a moment, Daruk seemed nervously dismissive until he saw the serious and concerned look on Link’s face. That had not been normal, and if Link understood that, Daruk had to know as well.

Turning back to the mountain, Daruk’s voice was a touch softer as he said, “That was a little strange…” They both observed their surroundings and the volcano about for a collection of heartbeats. When it seemed no other boulders were to become airborne, Daruk looked down to Link. “As far as I know, Death Mountain has been quiet for decades. But if the mountain is shivering enough to send down boulders that size, then--”

The Goron paused, and Link turned to raise an eyebrow at him. Daruk just kept his eyes on the volcano. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

With a look of incredulity, Link crossed his arms. “Then what, Daruk? Do we need to leave the mountain, is there fiery death coming for us all and I need to get the princess out of here yesterday… what?”

Daruk was silent as the stones for a long, breathless moment as his blue eyes beheld his beloved mountain. “I don’t know, little buddy, I don’t know. And that, is what worries me.” The sense of foreboding Link felt at those words should have told him then, things were going to go wrong…

***

As the memory faded, Link scrubbed both hands over his face. Daruk; strong, honest, proud, brave Daruk. His friend. They couldn’t have known, not really. It was not as though a few wayward boulders screamed, “Run from the hills! Ganon is coming!”

But a part of him still felt like he should have known.

There was nothing for it now. Like Mipha, Daruk’s spirit was trapped inside the corrupted Vah Rudania. Yes, Link needed the Divine Beasts to aid in his assault on Hyrule Castle and Ganon. More to his immediate point, he wanted to free Daruk. It was the least he could do for his old friend. But, he was going to need help. All he had to do was find this Yunobo and get up the mountain.

Somehow, he had a feeling that was going to be much harder than it sounded.

---

Once again, Link found himself standing over the main control panel of a Divine Beast, knowing that once activated, he would not be coming back. The Fireblight Ganon had been trying, and he was hot, tired and covered in ash. But one thought had bounced around his mind the entire time he fought - he was fighting for a friend he had failed 100 years ago. The knight hoped that, like Mipha, perhaps he would get to see Daruk one last time.

As the Main Control came alight under his Shiekah Slate, the plant like structure of the ancient controls turned blue, Link heard a cheer from a familiar deep voice. “Great work, little guy!”

Turning, Link smiled to see Daruk, mostly intangible, but no less a present force than he had ever been in life. Arms out in victory and gratitude, he took a step forward. Link squared up to greet him, swallowing against the rise of emotion in his chest. “I owe you big for this. Because of you, my spirit is finally free. Can’t thank you enough!”

The Goron Champion scratched his head in the gesture Link had come to remember meant Daruk was nervous, confused, or apologetic. “I feel like I should apologize. I was doing all I could to protect Hyrule when that thing got the best of me. Sorry that me resting with the rubble caused such a mess.”

The knight nodded, and took a breath to assure his old friend that it wasn’t his fault, but Daruk continued. “The good news is, is that Rudania is now back under our control! That means that our century old Ganon beat-down plan can finally go into effect!” As the embers flickered in their ever ascending dance around them, Link had to drop his eyes at Daruk’s optimism. He felt responsible somehow, if not for the cause then at the very least for the resolution. He owed that to Daruk, and Mipha… and Zelda.

“I’m gonna take this thing down the mountain. I’ll have a better shot from there. And then, once you’ve made your way into Hyrule Castle,” Daruk clenched his fists in front of him, “We’re gonna light that thing up!” Slamming one fist in to the palm of the opposite hand, Link nodded, not trusting his voice.

“I wanna give you something. It’s a special power of mine called Daruk’s Protection. It’s no good to me now that I’m a spirit… but it might be useful for you.” Slapping his hands together, even in spirit Link felt the tremor in Vah Rudania from the great Goron’s strength. “Here it comes!”

Pooling energy grew between the Champion’s hands as he drew them apart, and when the red orb entered link this time, it was warm, and fire licked throughout his aura. He instantly knew how to summon the power. Planting his feet and punching his fists together in front of him, the angular-sphere encompassed him as he had seen it around Daruk over a century ago.

Looking up to Daruk with deep gratitude and sadness, knowing their time was drawing to a close, Link worked his hands as the tingle of magic faded. Daruk just smiled. “From this moment forward, the power of protection, from the depths of my soul, now lives in you.”

Link wanted to, felt he should say something, but the glow of golden energy around him heralded that Daruk was sending him to safety. Looking back to his friend, Daruk nodded. “Good luck, little guy. And… give my regards to the princess!” With one last flash of light, Link was gone.

Daruk’s Mettle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzrJlTjHjag  Freeing Vah Rudania - https://youtu.be/IFvkz_oA-m8?t=335 

[hoshinokaabiivevo-blog]

KIRBY’S INFERNO: TRANSCRIPT

DID YOU FORGET ABOUT ME

did you know that the kirby wiki was transcripts for the cutscenes? i sure didn’t! however, when i did find out about them, i decided i wanted to make one of my own for kirby’s inferno!! it’ll make more sense if you read along with it because i decided it was best for some scenes to show and not tell.

(beginning of stage 1) Datura: I'm so, so, so sorry! I never intended for this to happen! I just wanted to find somebody who could help me! King Dedede's castle was so far away... do you know him? Do you know a shortcut? What's your name? How can you stand that horrible cold weather? Datura: Oh, where are my manners? My name is Datura. I'm the leader of the rebellion against the Demon King. He's a nasty tyrant that rules over Underland. The monster forced me into that horrible blizzard, and got you sucked into this mess, too! Datura: Stay behind me, little guy! This could get dangerous! Datura: You... swallowed that creature like it was nothing. That's impressive! Tell you what, let's get back to my village. I can get you home from there!

(end of stage 2) Datura: Oh, that was nasty! All that delicious food, ruined by sludge and dust! Here, take this. One last eye candy for the road. We're not too far- ???: You road ends here, beastie! Sir Erebus: Gluttonous little hog! I, Sir Erebus, will best you where you stand! Say goodnight, you terrifying pink beast! Datura: Get away from him! This is my friend, Kirby! Sir Erebus: Stand aside, you! The Demon King requires a sacrifice. Datura: Go ahead and try it! We'll see how long you last against a hero of his caliber. Sir Erebus: Be on your way. Datura: What a coward. Kirby, he's not worth our time. Sir Erebus: That girl... no. It can't be. No matter, I've already got an ace up my sleeve. Although, a plan B never hurt...

(end of stage 3, pre-boss) Sir Erebus: What good is a minion that doesn't follow orders? Quit resisting! Datura: King Dedede! How wonderful it is to meet your accquaintance! Say, would you like to help- Sir Erebus: Silence, worm! If you refuse to be obedient, I will have to coerce you. Rise, Waddle Amalgam!

(end of stage 3, post-boss) Datura: I'm sorry you had to see that. Datura: Oh, me? The name's Datura. I was hoping to gain your help with a problem, but you've clearly got some of your own. Datura: Kirby! ...well, alright. I'll tell him. Datura: Many years ago, we were ruled by Her Infernal Majesty, Queen Belladonna. But she was overtaken and turned to stone by a horrible, horrible man! He calls himself the Demon King, and he's been terrorizing us for years! It's gotten so bad, I believe it's affected the upper world as well. I only wished to implore you for help, but he's been throwing obstacles at me every which way! Datura: You will help? Oh, thank you!

(pre-final boss) Sir Erebus: My queen... I've failed her... Sir Erebus: You don't get it, do you? Everything that's occured, every last bit of it... was according to his plan. Sir Erebus: I was the queen's most loyal knight, and he played me like a fiddle! He sued me to try and steal away the princess! Sir Erebus: Kirby, it's up to you now. For the sake of Underland and Dreamland both. Save the princess!

BANDANA QUEST

(pre-boss) Sir Erebus: Well, we're finally here. May the coronation commence! Sir Erebus: Oh. The muffins. Just set those anywhere. Sir Erebus: You're probably wondering where Datura is, aren't you? Truth be told, this isn't her coronation. Sir Erebus: This is a different sort of crowning. It's a return to the order that we once knew. Sir Erebus: When I was in the museum, I discovered something incredible. The stone that holds the villains is of the same stone that holds the queen! And if I can reverse the spell... she'll come back! Our queen, in the flesh! But I needed to find all of the epiceses, or it would be all for naught. Sir Erebus: I apologize for decieving you, Waddle Dee. But it was the only way to ensure your help! Sir Erebus: Belladonna, my queen! You shall be reborn!

(post-boss) Sir Erebus: Her spirit has moved on. Maybe that's all she needed... some rest. Be at peace, your majesty.

[imjustthemechanic]

The French Mistake

Part 1/? - A Visitor Part 2/? - The Kulturhistorisk Museum Heist Part 3/? - Cutscene Part 4/? - The Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 5/? - Breathless Part 6/? - Escape at Last Part 7/? - Fox in Socks Part 8/? - Things Go Wrong Part 9/? - Downey and Out Part 10/? - Road Trip Part 11/? - Temptation Part 12/? - An Awful Reunion

Loki finally appears.  He seems to be having more fun than the rest of them.

Steve froze.  Oh shit.

There was no getting out of it now, though. The girl with the microphone was already on her way, and people in the audience were whispering to each other and turning to stare, checking if that were really Chris Evans in the back row.  Then the microphone was in his face, and everybody was waiting for him.

Steve cleared his throat and very carefully arranged the words in his head, not wanting to make a fool of himself.  “If Steve came back,” he said.  “If they found him alive and woke him up while Peggy was still… in the forties.  What would she say to him?”

Peggy… no, that wasn’t Peggy.  The name in the brochure, and the name the girl with the inappropriate question had used, was Hayley. Hayley thought about it for a moment. “Do you want the funny answer, or the heartfelt answer, or what?” she asked.

Steve wanted Peggy’s answer.  Could Hayley Atwell give him that?  “Whatever… I mean, whatever you think is most in-character.”

She nodded and cleared her through.  “Well, it would probably be something like…” and suddenly her voice changed, dropping half a note and adopting Peggy’s more precise accent, in a way that made Steve feel as if all his insides had vanished and left him a hollow shell.  “You self-sacrificing bloody wanker! Do you have any idea how you frightened us all?”

The audience laughed again.  Steve wanted to put his face in his hands and weep.

“All you had to do was give us your position, and we could have been there within hours!” Hayley went on in Peggy’s voice. “You missed our dance, Steve!  You promised!”  She paused, and smiled.  “And then I’m sure she’d kiss him, because she loves him no matter what a plonker he’s been.”

There was applause.  Steve shut his eyes… yes, he had missed their dance.  He’d wanted to die as a punishment for letting Bucky fall, so he’d said nothing and crashed somewhere in the arctic – SHIELD had never told him exactly where.  Now here he was, in the wrong universe chasing a fugitive god and listening to what Peggy would have said.  He could have had that.  He could have been found and gone home with Peggy and Howard and now he might be living happily ever after instead of… instead of whatever the hell his life had become.  Maybe he would even be able to save Bucky in that reality.  Maybe they would have heard about the Winter Soldier program and been able to do something about it.

“Does that answer your question, Chris?” asked Hayley.

Steve wiped his eyes on his sleeve.  “Yeah,” he said into the microphone.  “That’s perfect.”

He sat down again.  Dodger, sensing he was upset, put his head on Steve’s knee, and Steve reached to pet the dog’s neck.

There were more questions.  People wanted to know about the possibility of Netflix picking up season three.  Whether Howard and Dottie would ever meet again.  Whether Maria Collins Carbonell would ever have been part of the show. Whether the characters would have investigated Roswell.  Steve barely listened, but he did notice that most of it was about things that might have been.  He really needed to get up and go – the others were probably wondering where he’d vanished to.  If he left now, though, everybody would wonder why.

There was a woman sitting a few seats up the last row.  She moved closer and tapped Steve on the shoulder.  “Are you okay?”

“Uh.”  Steve looked at her and swallowed.  “Allergies,” he said.

The woman pulled a packet of Kleenex out of her purse.  “Here,” she offered.

“Thanks.”  Steve took one and blew his nose.

The Q&A session ended at ten to noon, in order to leave time for everybody to get to their next round of events.  Steve got up, intending to vanish into the crowd and go straight to Palomino Room D, but with so many people exiting the room at once there wasn’t space to move quickly.  Before he reached the door, Hayley had come up and grabbed his arm.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” she said, and pulled him in for a hug.

Steve almost froze stiff.  It took everything in him to make himself hug her back.  Natasha had suggested he might meet Bucky here, but standing here hugging this woman who looked like Peggy might actually be worse.

“It’s been ages, Chris – it’s good to see you,” Hayley said.  “What are you doing here?  Didn’t I hear you got arrested the other day?”

“That was… that was a misunderstanding.”  Steve sniffled.

Hayley stepped back to look at him from arm’s length, a worried frown on her face.  “Are you all right?” she asked.

He held up the Kleenex.  “Allergies.”

She nodded and squatted down to pet Dodger.  “Well, now that you’re here, you have to do a Dubsmash with me,” she declared.  “Those are the rules!  In fact…” she straightened up and pulled her phone out of her purse.  “I’ve got the perfect song.  Let’s find it…”

Steve blew his nose again.  People around them were watching with no sign of shame, and pulling out phones and cameras to take pictures.  That was no good – the police in California were going to find out that he and Natasha were violating the terms of their bail and that would cost Downey money…

“Here we are!”  Peggy held up her phone and played a short music clip.

Oh, don’t do you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me, I said ‘you’re holding back’, she said ‘shut up and dance with me!’

“We just need to find a place to film it. Maybe they’ll let us use the photo op stage before Tom gets started.  Jim!” she called.

The tall man, the one Steve couldn’t think of a name for, sauntered up smiling.  Whoever he was in Steve’s home universe, apparently in this one he was Jim. “Need me to stand there looking sad while he snogs you senseless again?” he asked.

“Oh, no, I…” Steve began – he couldn’t possibly kiss this woman while she thought he was somebody else.  That wouldn’t be right, but a voice inside him told him he was already in too deep to go back, and might as well come as close to kissing Peggy as he ever would again…

“I knew it!” said Natasha’s voice.  “He’s in here!”

Most of the crowd was out of the room by now, and Natasha had come marching in.  For a moment there was murder in her eyes, but then she saw who Steve was talking to, and her face relaxed into a smile.

“Oh, Scarlett!” said Hayley.  “Do I have something of yours?”

Nat took Steve’s arm.  “Yes, you do,” she said, “and I’m afraid I need him back.”

“Very well, but I’ll want to borrow him again later,” Hayley told her.  “He owes me a Dubsmash!”

“I won’t let him miss it,” Nat promised.  “Later, Hayley!”  With a grip like a vise, she led Steve out into the hall again.  Thor was waiting outside, but Nat marched Steve right past him and into a corner where they could partially hide behind a fake potted tree.  There, she fixed him with her most penetrating glare.

“Really?” she asked.

“I wasn’t going to talk to her.  She talked to me,” said Steve.  It was sort of true – he’d been on the verge of putting his hand down again when Hayley had called on him.  He wondered… had Natasha been lying when she said Rosie was already awake?  It was possible, but if so, Steve was no longer angry with her.  The need to know had just been so powerful.

“You’re lying,” said Nat.

“No, I’m not!” Steve lied.

“Yes, you are!” she insisted.  “After you sat there lecturing me…”

“I know!” Steve said.  “I know, but I had to see her, okay?”

“You told me that wasn’t an excuse,” Nat pointed out.

“It’s still not,” Steve admitted.  “I’m sorry, okay?  Believe me, I’m sorry.”  There were very few things he’d ever been sorrier about.

Thor interrupted.  “We must discuss this later,” he said.  “Right now, we have lost Downey.”

“What?”  Steve and Natasha both looked up.  The hallway was crowded – people were going this way and that to their panels, their activities, and their screenings, and a long lineup had formed outside Palomino Room D for photos with Tom Hiddleston.  Downey was nowhere to be seen, but he was fairly short.  Maybe he was just hiding in the crowd.  Then again, Thor was tall enough to see over almost all of the heads. If Downey were there, surely he would have spotted him.

“Why did you guys leave him alone?” Steve asked, relieved that he wasn’t the only one who’d done something stupid in the past twenty minutes.

“He said he’d hold our place in line,” said Thor.

“He was surrounded by fans, we figured he’d stay there talking to them,” Nat agreed.  “He seems to enjoy the attention almost as much as Stark does.”  She glared at Steve again.  “If we hadn’t had to wander off and find you…”

“Hey, you can’t blame me for him running off!” Steve protested.

“Excuse me!” said a new voice.

For the second time, everybody turned their heads to look.  A group of fans had gathered around.  One was in a very crude Iron Man suit made out of cardboard boxes.  The others were mostly in normal clothing, but with Avengers motifs: one was dressed in red and black with a red hourglass necklace, another in a blue polo shirt with Steve’s shield on it, and so forth.

“Can we help you?” Thor asked them.

“Can we get some pictures of you guys pretending to fight the Chi’Tauri over there?” the girl in the boxes asked eagerly.

The four people they’d noticed being photographed earlier were awkwardly standing around on the other side of the hall, while more pictures were taken.  They had clearly put great effort into their costumes, but it seemed to have made them so popular they were probably having trouble enjoying the convention.

Steve heard a faint growl, and looked down to see Dodger baring his teeth at the quartet.  “Dodger, no,” he said quietly.

“We can do that,” Nat said, “but can you do us a favour in return?  We seem to have lost Bob.  Did any of you see where he went?”

“Bob?” asked the boy in the shield shirt.

“Robert Downey Junior,” Thor clarified.

“Oh!” said a girl in a short yellow dress and a motorcycle jacket.  “I got a selfie with him, but then he spotted Jennifer Connelly and they went to go have coffee or something.  He said he’d be back.”  She held up her camera hopefully.

Steve looked up again at the four people in the Chi’Tauri armor.  One of them appeared to notice him, and gathered his or her friends close to talk to them.

Then the waiting lineup suddenly burst into applause.  This announced the arrival of a very tall man with curly blond hair, wearing a black suit and tie with a green and gold scarf draped around his shoulders.  He smiled and waved to the fans as three security men around him kept anyone from getting too close.

“Pictures are gonna have to wait,” Natasha told the kids.

A number of people in the lineup had sat down to wait – now they stood up again, and everyone arranged themselves into a more formal sort of order.  Many of the waiting fans were dressed as Loki, both men and women, some of the latter in rather revealing interpretations of the costume.  They were all excited, some of them bouncing up and down.  A voice screamed out, “I love you, Tom!”

Loki grinned.  “Ah, it seems I have an army!” he called out.  People squealed and cheered, and then he was gone as the guards escorted him into the room.  He never seemed to have noticed Steve, Natasha, and Thor.

“Popular, isn’t he?” asked Steve.

Nat shook her head.  “I guess since certain people wouldn’t let us catch him on the way in, we’ll have to do it on the way out,” she said.  That would mean waiting around in the hallway for an hour.

“Does that mean pictures after all?” asked the girl in the cardboard Iron Man costume.

[askdarus]

Untitled Cutscene

Basically what happened in our universe during last night’s episode. Can’t really think of a title. Here you go.

Paul peeked out the door of their house, a box of books in his arms. He watched as Daryl pulled up in their truck, his bike in the back of it.

“You sure you want to do this?” Paul asked quietly.

Daryl leaned on the truck, “Ain’t got much of a choice now...not after what I did. Need to get you and the kid outta here before they get back.”

Paul nodded, looking down, “And Tara?”

“Said she wasn’t leaving,” Daryl shrugged. He looked at the box, “How many more?”

“Just a few,” Paul told him, “I grabbed the essentials and packed some extra food for Richie-” he cut himself off when he saw Michonne walking over.

Daryl stared at her before he ducked his head, looking at the ground.

“You did it?” Michonne asked.

Daryl nodded, “I...I gotta get these guys outta here,” he told her, “I don’t know...what’s gonna happen now. We’re goin’ to the Hilltop for now. We’ll let ya know what we’re doin’ next-”

Michonne cut him off with a tight hug.

Daryl hugged her back, closing his eyes tightly, “Stay safe,” he whispered.

“You too,” Michonne told him, pulling away. She grabbed Paul into a tight hug and then followed it with one for Aaron without a question.

“I’ll get Richie,” Paul told Daryl before running back into the house.

Paul sat in the middle of the truck with Richie tightly in his arms. It wasn’t the safest by any means, but they didn’t have many options now. He put his head back trying to relax.

“Gonna be okay,” Daryl said, patting his leg slightly and rubbing it, “Promise.”

Paul nodded and pointed, “Take the back road up here...it’s shorter and off the main road.”

“You sure?” Daryl asked.

Paul nodded again, “They don’t know about it...I’ve never seen anyone else on it,” he put his head on his shoulder and tried to stay relaxed so Richie would. He watched the road ahead, the lights shining down the path.

Back to their new home.

Paul was leaning heavily on Daryl once they finally arrived at the Hilltop, just as dawn was starting to break. Richie was asleep in his arms, secure as he could be.

Daryl flashed the lights a few times and the gates opened.

As soon as they parked the car, Maggie was there.

“Maggie-“ Daryl started, but he was cut off by a bone crushing hug from her.

“You okay?” Maggie demanded.

Daryl nodded, “Yeah...what happened? You okay?”

“They got out,” Maggie whispered, “Cut me and Dante off on the road. Killed Earl,” she choked out, “I killed one of the Saviors we have here, I-“

Paul studied the pen as he got out slowly, careful not the wake Richie, he swallowed, “You killed Dean?” he whispered.

“He tried to kill you,” Maggie growled under her breath, “Now get inside and get in front of the fireplace. The heating in that truck is shit.”

“We’ll have so much to deal with tomorrow,” Paul whispered as Daryl put up the pop up crib, “Maggie anticipates people coming here, since were the ones they aren’t attacking.”

“Deal with it when it comes down to it,” Daryl said, taking Richie from his arms and putting him down in the crib they’d set up in Barrington’s living room softly, making sure he was tucked in.

Daryl grabbed a blanket and pulled it up onto Paul, touching his cheek slightly as he did, “Ya get some rest. I’m gonna go unpack.”

“You drove all day,” Paul started.

“M’fine,” Daryl told him, “You ain’t. Get some sleep now,” he told him, giving him a soft kiss as he did, “Please.”

Paul nodded, touching his hand briefly before letting his eyes droop closed.

Daryl sighed as he got the last of their stuff moved into the trailer. It needed a little dusting, but Alex had kept things up, just like he promised.

He leaned down and let Snowball out of his carrier, “There ya go.”

Snowball immediately jumped up on his place on the back of the couch, starting to make his bed.

Snowball always seemed more at home at the Hilltop.

Daisy ran around the trailer, rolling on different things as she did.

“Daryl?” someone asked from the doorway.

Daryl looked up and saw the nurse in the doorway. He looked tired and his hair had grown since the last time Daryl saw him.

Daryl grunted in response, “Close the door, you’re lettin’ the cold air in.”

Alex stepped inside, closing it behind him, “Maggie told me you were back. I was just coming to see if you needed help hooking the heat up.”

“Nah,” Daryl grunted, “I got it, don’t worry.”

“Where’s Paul?” Alex asked.

“In Barrington, with the kid,” Daryl told him, “He’s sleepin’.”

“You should be too,” Alex told him, “Busy day tomorrow.”

“Just come in here to complain about my sleepin’ habits?” Daryl snorted.

“I came by to thank you,” Alex told him, looking down awkwardly, “For keeping Paul safe, while you were away...and to offer you an examination for your shoulder, after you’re settled.”

Daryl stood there for a moment and sighed, “Thanks,” he finally said.

Alex grabbed one of the heavier boxes from the floor, the one filled with Paul’s books, “I’ll alphabetize these on the shelf for you. It’ll go faster if we do it together.”

Daryl smiled slightly, knowing Paul liked his books in a certain order, “Yeah...thanks.”

“So she just threw Gregory in there?” Daryl laughed, sitting on the porch with the nurse, smoking after they were finished.

“Right in front of everyone,” Alex laughed, “It was a beautiful sight.”

“Sure it was,” Daryl snorted, putting his cigarette out on the banister.

“Incoming!” Kal yelled from the gates.

Daryl grabbed his crossbow and immediately ran over, Alex following.

A van sped inside, coming to a screeching stop.

“Get me ice packs, I need to break his fever,” Harlan said, jumping from the van, “I’m going to need bandages as well and some damn antibiotics!”

“Carson?” Alex demanded, his voice a mix of shock and relief.

“Alive and breathing,” Harlan assured him, “Three incoming patients. Adult male, multiple infections but no bites, fever high, risking brain damage. Young adult male, bitten on the arm, we’re going to have to amputate the arm. Young adult female, hit by debris from the truck crashing into the sanctuary. Prep the table for the surgery first and get out the antibiotics.”

“Good to have you back,” Alex smiled before running off.

“Mr. Dixon, good to see you,” Harlan said, “Help me with Mark, would you? Using your good shoulder.”

Daryl smiled slightly, despite how worried he felt.

Maybe things would look up soon.

Daryl watched as Harlan cleaned off his hands. It had been a clean cut, stopping the infection. The guy, Mark, was unconscious but supposedly would be fine. His girlfriend, Amber, was stitched up and by his side. Alex had started Father Gabriel on antibiotics and was getting his fever down.

And now Maggie was getting a checkup on her baby.

Daryl walked out of the crowded med trailer. He’d be pissed, normally, that there were more Saviors among them now.

But he’d heard of Mark and Amber while they were at the Sanctuary and knew they wanted out long ago.

And he was the reason Amber needed stitches in the first place, given he’d crashed the car.

“Incoming!” Kal yelled again.

“Christ,” Daryl cursed under his breath. He ran back to the trailer, “Got more inbound!” he called.

Harlan immediately started shouting orders and Daryl followed his lead.

Daryl sat on the couch, in complete shock hours later. Paul had his arms around him, whispering soft reassurances in his hair.

Carl was gone.

They were having some kind of meeting right now, making preparations, but Daryl couldn’t join.

It felt like he couldn’t catch his breath.

“Shh…” Paul whispered, rocking him back and forth slightly.

“Can you teach me how to shoot that?” the little Carl Grimes walked up to him.

“Your arm ain’t long enough,” Daryl snorted.

He should have shown him.

Why didn’t he ever show him?

He felt Paul’s arms tighten around him when he let out another sob.

“Shh...deep breaths,” Paul told him. He vaguely heard Paul talking to someone else, but he felt like he couldn’t process it, “I know, I know.”

“Uncle Dawyl!” someone cheered.

Daryl took a shaky breath when Judith came running into the room. He wiped his eyes and tried to compose himself a little bit.

“Hey, asskicker,” Daryl laughed weakly, picking her up and pulling her into his lap, “How ya doin’?”

Judith shrugged, playing with her doll. She giggled when she saw Paul sitting there, “Pretty Guy is here.”

Paul raised an eyebrow at Daryl, “Pretty Guy?”

“Uncle Dawyl calls you pretty!” Judith chirped.

Paul smirked slightly at Daryl before going to check on Richie.

“‘Sposed to be a secret, kid,” Daryl laughed weakly.

“Judith?!” Rick called, running in the room. He froze when he saw her in Daryl’s arms, sighing in relief.

“Sorry,” Daryl grunted, “She just ran in,” he shrugged, looking away awkwardly.

Rick walked in quickly and picked her up, “Can’t run off like that, darlin’, ya gave us a scare.”

“Rick,” Paul said, standing up, “I’m sorry...about Carl,” he told him.

“Maggie said ya put the flowers on his grave?” Rick asked.

Paul nodded.  

“Thank you,” Rick said simply. He looked down at Daryl for a moment before quickly walking out.

Paul immediately went back to Daryl’s side, pulling him close.

[ryntaia]

I got this request twice so to anon and @draneeni

here you go!

*cracks knuckles* Time for some sillysweet love cutscenes! 

           ‘People skills’ and ‘Futaba Sakura’ didn’t exactly go hand in hand. She had learned over the years that people found her behavior off-putting, but more often than not found it of no interest. If they couldn’t take her as she was, then they simply weren’t meant to be around each other. At least, that was Futaba’s general take on it all. Akira had laughed, somewhat nervously, when she had said to him that she didn’t care what other people thought about her brash mannerisms. The ex-con teenager hadn’t explained any further than that – he told the redhead that she would figure out in time that it wasn’t always best to say what was on her mind all the time.

           She hadn’t believed him at first, but she had a bad feeling that she was starting to get the idea of what he meant.

           It had all started with Yusuke Kitagawa. Really, what didn’t? The youthful artistic prodigy was a trouble magnet. He was just as brutally honest as the young hacker, a bad trait to compile with the fact that he was just a little bit odd himself. Well, okay, a lot bit odd. Futaba could swear that Yusuke Kitagawa could walk into oncoming traffic for the sake of his art and still find a way to reprimand the car about to hit him for it. Simply put nothing interrupted the train of determination that he rode. It could be both absolutely infuriating and absolutely endearing at the same time.

           Like how he rearranged her precious action figures.

           Like how he so willingly took over talking to the team about Sae’s computer, knowing she wasn’t really good at speaking to groups yet.

           Like how he kept those delicious lobsters away from her.

            Like how he went out of his way to pick her up at Sojiro’s house for the meetings in Shibuya Station.

           Annoying.

           Endearing.

           Cute.

           No matter how aggravating it was, Futaba had to admit it: Yusuke’s eccentricities may have been annoying, but they were charming in their own way. The artist clearly cared about the people around him and was willing to go out of his way when they truly were in peril. And as soon as she had noticed that it was all over. She had lost the jackpot bit by little bit as she couldn’t help but notice more and more things about Yusuke that were contagiously likeable.

           His genuine lack of shame in the face of what he loved to do, his dedication to what he considered precious, the way that his smile was so slight as if he was embarrassed by his own elation. Yusuke Kitagawa had all these charming little traits that, after awhile, Futaba Sakura realized had actually charmed HER. She hadn’t ever considered the possibility of being charmed by anyone – the idea of ‘crushes’ hadn’t been in her mind since her mother’s death. All she could remember about them was a vague crush she had in elementary school that had resulted in mud being flung, and her ongoing affection for the heroic Featherman.

           Right then and there, though, was where Akira’s words came right back around to smack her in the face. Futaba Sakura was brash and honest, even if it was occasionally at the expense of other’s feelings. Traits that had made her…somewhat unapproachable. Certainly, after the Yaldabaoth incident, she stayed friends with the Phantom Thieves…but she had struggled with making friends outside of them and Kana. Taking the jump from making friends to confessing crushes…that just felt too big for her. It was like an unfair burden had been heaped right on top of her shoulders.

           Stupid Inari. It was all his fault, as usual.

           She had considered just ignoring it, but that wasn’t what her time with the Phantom Thieves had taught her. Futaba knew that just letting it boil under the surface could only cause it to get worse. SOMEONE was going to notice the painfully red faces she had been displaying lately around Yusuke, after all. Still, as she thought back on the whole calamity, going to the other girls had probably not been the best solution she could’ve come up with.

           I should’ve just called Akira. Futaba thought sourly. She were standing up on the bed in the attic as Haru delicately hemmed the white dress around her ankles. Ann was giggling to Makoto, who looked a little bemused, as they went through various hairpieces – including but not limited to an embarrassingly broad sunhat with a sunflower on the tie. Ann seemed dead set on adding it to her white dress ensemble, no matter how much Makoto argued that it was too much. Futaba resisted a groan; at least Haru was just quietly humming to herself as she hemmed, ignoring the two girls and their discussion.

           “Hey, uh, Haru…” Futaba began; the fluffy haired girl paused, looking up at her with those wide and friendly eyes. It was hard to say no to those eyes…it had been how Futaba had got here in the first place. By telling the other girls about her situation and then letting them handle it because of Haru’s puppy dog eyes. Aptly named, as staring into them was like being dared to kick a newborn puppy.

           “Yes, Futaba? Is something wrong?” Haru asked sweetly. It was like the shine in her eyes got brighter with every word. She was loving being so helpful, that was obvious. Though based on what Akira had told Futaba about Haru’s choice in movies, she wondered if needles should be in the cute girl’s hands. With a groan, the hacker shook her head and slumped downwards obediently.

           “Nothing, it’s nothing, just keep doing it…” Futaba said dejectedly. Haru giggled knowingly, snapping off the thread with her teeth.

           “We all get how you feel, Futaba. It’s hard, confessing those kinds of feelings.” She said, patting the side of the hacker’s leg. “None of this is probably going to mean anything, I admit, but you may as well humor them.”

           “Uh…huh…” Futaba pull the hemmed skirt up; Ann and Makoto looked over in confusion at the girl’s exposed legs and panties. “You’re really good at this, Haru. Did you take a class or something? I tried to learn how to sew from a guide online but it was no good. My costumes never came out right. I mean, starting on Touhou uniforms may have been a bit of a stretch, but still…”

           “What’s a Touhou…” Haru began to ask, before the door to the attic door slammed open.

           “Sojiro told me that you girls were up here. Yusuke won some sweet bean buns, and I caught him before he could hog…them…” Ryuji trailed off, the dark haired artist behind him looking up from his magazine curiously. Ann and Makoto stared back, the former with eyes full of curiosity and the latter looking absolutely mortified. Haru turned from the chair where she sat admiring her handwork, Futaba’s dress pulled up with her undergarments fully exposed.

           For a moment, they all just stared at each other. Then it came, welling at the back of the redhead’s throat. In retrospect of the action, Futaba liked to shove it off as the result of pure panic. An example, one could say, of fight or flight reflex in action. Whichever it was, though, it came roaring out, and it came roaring out like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

           “HEY! INARI! Y-YUSUKE KITIGAWA!” She screeched, not even bothering to drop her dress. What was the point? They’d both seen her little strawberry covered panties anyways. “I LI-LI-LIKE YOU…A LOT! DO…do, uh…do you want…uh…do you want to go on…”

           It was a moment of temporary bravado.

           Then she toppled back onto the dusty bed, grabbed the thick blanket, and wrapped herself in it with an embarrassed screech. She could hear the girls around her hurrying about. Haru patted her shoulder gently while Ann loudly screamed profanities about how Ryuji should KNOCK first before entering a lady’s room. The response was Ryuji yelling back about how it WASN’T a lady’s room and they were just borrowing it and how was HE supposed to know what was going on and oh man he was so LOUD.

From underneath the thick fabric, it was difficult to hear Makoto’s angry but quiet lecture—but Futaba couldn’t hear much of anything right now with the blood pounding angrily in her ears. She knew this would go wrong but she never expected it to go THIS wrong, with Haru leaving her side presumably to help keep Ann from beating Ryuji to a pulp. Futaba swallowed thickly, burying herself deeper into the blankets as the roar of frustration mellowed down (aside from the sounds of Ann dragging Ryuji out of the room by his ear).

A thin hand burrowed past the wall of blankets. Futaba flinched as she was almost pulled back into the light of the attic. Looking around, she realized that Ryuji and the girls had gone—Yusuke now sat calmly in the seat previously occupied by Haru with his hands buried in the cocoon of blankets that Futaba had so expertly crafted to hide in. She sunk deeper into the pile until only her eyes were visibly, glaring at the tall teen with a prominent blush peppering her face.

“…D-do, uh, do you wanna maybe go on a date sometime? I l-l-like movies.” She finally managed. This was actually a lot easier without everyone around…but still humiliating. Futaba’s face nearly matched her hair color at this point. She didn’t think it could get worse, but then…

           Oh, then he smiled, that warm and rare smile as he strung his thin fingers through her hair.

           “A movie would be nice, Futaba.”

           “…Thanks, Inari.”

           And just before she could settle into satisfaction and get away from that embarrassment, he spoke up one more time:

           “I like you a lot too, Futaba.”

           And there she went again, face burst back into heat.

           Affection was so tough sometimes.

[ciathyzareposts]

Shadow of the Comet – Flight of Icarus

By limbeck

Things have progressed more smoothly in this session, with a bit of excitement and a lot more exposition. I finished the previous one after getting a quest from Mr UNDERHOUSE to get a diary from the Mayor’s safe and with Miss PICOTT vehemently refusing to give me her Bible. I need the Bible to find the aforementioned safe’s combination.

No amount of talk seems to change Miss PICOTT’s mind, so I leave her and do some more walking around. My wanderings bring me to MYER’s shop again. He obviously does not mention WILBUR or keys casually left on counters, but he gets to what he knows best: business. He tells me he received a lot of nice new goodies overnight, such as a cheap locket, an even cheaper brooch and more photosensitive plates. I buy the lot, because I still have access to Mr GRIFFITH’s funds. I feel quite satisfied with my purchase, but as soon as I get out of the store, the pin falls off the brooch.

I have been scammed!

I go immediately inside to ask for a refund, but MYER just acts as if everything is in order. I decide to roll with the punches and see the positives. The pin I now have in my inventory may still be used to pick a lock. Not the one in the cemetery though.

I pay a visit to CURTIS’s shack, but he is not in. I wonder if he is dead, like poor JUGG. In the tavern, ZEKE again offers me some of his water for beer and mocks me when I don’t buy one.

Sorry, I just spent $3 on a broken brooch and a fake silver locket.

I then go to the pharmacy and order three more pills, just to be on the safe side. I have money and I want to be alive to spend them. Dr COBBLE was seen leaving the pharmacy but I could not interact with him. It is nice that the NPCs seem to follow their own schedule. It is not critical to gameplay, but it is a nice touch. They are simple actions, but most of them are realistic and help with the immersion and the feeling that you are indeed in a living town.

Further down, I come across BISHOP outside of the Archives. I approach him and try to talk to him about TYLER, but he gets scared and says he indeed has something to tell me, but at a place and time to be determined later. With that, he leaves.

Finally I am back in front of the post office and in the company of Miss PICOTT. I try to give her the brooch, but she is offended that I try to “buy her respect” with worthless shiny baubles. I double my bet, offering her the $2 locket instead of the $1 brooch and she happily accepts and trades me her Bible for it.

Just before I propose to Miss PICOTT

Reading the Bible, I get three options:

Austin, errr John 3:16 from Saint PAUL’s epistles

Peter doing something in front of some 120 people from the Acts of Apostles

The Number of the Beast from the Apocalypse

Well, we needed a number that symbolises evil to open the Mayor’s safe. I am pretty sure that the Number of the Beast fits that role perfectly. But we first need to get to the safe. The Mayor is rarely at his office, which is good, but access to it is forbidden by his very diligent and busy clerk. So, I go to the Town Hall ready for a confrontation with a clerk.

He seems to have called in reinforcements

I arrive just in time the annual town hall clerk conference or it’s just lunch break. When I try to talk to anybody, I find out that I am facing a dialogue puzzle. It takes me a few tries to get it right:

I first tell that I need to go to the Mayor’s office (yes, in his absence)

Then I try to bluff my way in and tell him that the Mayor himself invited me to admire Illsmouth from his window. The clerk, Mr SWING, swallows it hook, line and sinker and concludes that I am the photographer.

I correct him that I am a reporter and I am free to walk upstairs.

I walk in the Mayor’s office. There’s nothing interesting in it apart from the safe, hidden behind a painting.

Not that hard to spot if you want my opinion

I open it and get to the task of opening it. I am presented with three slots with very slowly sliding numbers. I put 666 and hope for a satisfying click, but I am disappointed. Apparently the Number of the Beast itself is not evil enough. I try a couple more times and I get arrested.

I try again after reloading. I suppose I am given three tries to get it right (or infinite with reloading). I must note that the Bible is not working any more, so I should have noted down what I read.

A screenshot would also work I suppose

After a bit of thought, I put the page number in the Bible, where the number of the Beast is mentioned. So, either all Bibles have the exact same layout or there is just the one Bible in town and they pass it around. Either way, it doesn’t really make much sense as a solution, but I only had a few options, so I will not complain much.

When I open the safe, I find a diary and a cigar case. I take both. But now that I have the diary, I find that I cannot give it to UNDERHOUSE or use it. UNDERHOUSE in particular congratulates me for taking it and then tells me to put it back where I found it.

Was this some kind of initiation challenge?

I am seriously confused this time, so I walk around the town again. The fact that all NPCs are still where I left them indicates that the scene I am playing in has not yet changed. I have noticed that once I reach a milestone, all NPCs just move to different locations. Walking around this time just gives me the same dialogues.

I do come across CURTIS and GREENWOOD (the blind man) walking out of the latter one’s house and into the forest. I follow them, but I lose them as soon as I enter the forest. Are they buddies from old out for a walk?

While in the forest, I decide to try and use the cigar case. Nothing happened there. I focus on the ‘there’, because as soon as I return to the village, PARKER takes initiative and unscrews the case. Inside it is a deposit note. I head to the post office, but I cannot use it. I return to the Mayor’s office and now I can read the notice! It is about a parcel delivery under WILBUR’s name. Reading of the notice IN the Mayor’s office make me think that I can only read the diary in there. I am correct. I sit on his desk and receive the first batch of exposition for the day.

I am not that interested in you, JONAS. Feel my indifference

The diary belonged to JONAS HAMBLETON, father of WILBUR and CURTIS. JONAS made his fortune at sea and signed an unholy pact with NARACKAMUS and an ancient god of the sea, named Dagon, in exchange for immortality. He sacrificed or offered (it’s not clear) his wife to that foul being and in return, he got his two sons. JONAS claims that some plans of theirs were foiled by BOLESKINE, but he also says that time means nothing to him and the stars will be right again. WILBUR has the gift of “begging to the stones”, whatever that may mean. JONAS’s burial place is where earth, sky and water come together. Could that be a beach or something? Finally, he speaks about some families (four in number) and the same number of statuettes, which he guards in his crypt. According to my journal, I need to find these 4 statuettes and wait for the comet to pass to stop those 4 families. I must say that the narrative during the cutscene could use some improvement. It was too dry and not up to Lovecraftian standards. Anyway, it seems as if JONAS is still alive.

Thanks for the hint JONAS

After reading the diary, I put it back in the safe and walk to the post office, a bit shaken I must admit. Miss PICOTT and CYNTHIA are gone from the front of the post office, which signals that something has changed in the game. I’ve reached a new milestone.

Walking to Ms WEBSTER at the post office counter, I give the notice for WILBUR’s package and she hands me the package without many questions. Now, I would find that very funny if I had not had some horrible experiences with the post service here in Ireland recently. Anyway, I wonder why the Mayor would keep WILBUR’s delivery notice in his safe.

The parcel contains a frock, like the one that WILBUR wears. He only buys his ritual cloaks in Boston I am told. Later, I meet Mr COLDSTONE, who offers me a drink at his house. I hadn’t saved for a while, so I decline, but I am sure this would be another death scene. One of my responses could have been that I was going to the Lighthouse. Why would I go there? Is it where JONAS’s tomb lies? Maybe I’ll take the not so subtle hint and go there. At least I have the proper disguise for it.

But closed minds prevent me from putting it on

Before I visit the lighthouse though, I decide to go to the cemetery, in case the tomb is there. On my way I meet Mr BISHOP, who offers me his help, as he believes I have come to lift the curse that haunts Illsmouth. I also learn that the HAMBLETONS are out for me. I still cannot get in the cemetery, so I head to the lighthouse.

Whenever I try to put the frock on in the open, I am interrupted by the locals (in one case CYNTHIA, who threatens to call the police). For me this is a nicely executed comic relief in the game. I go to my room, but still cannot change there. Sometimes you just can’t get rid of a bomb.

After failing to set myself free of the conformism that clothes bring, in various locations, I succeed to change behind the well and only behind the well.

Modesty for the fourth wall

I then go to the gate for the lighthouse, which is guarded by the two gorillas. I grunt at them when given the option and they let me pass. I suppose being more articulate would give away that I am not WILBUR.

At the base of the lighthouse, I take the frock off and try to find a way in. With the door locked, there is only one way in and that is through the window, by using the rope ladder I had picked up very early from outside CURTIS’s place.

Have I mentioned already how deep in the uncanny valley these cutscenes lie?

I run to the top of the lighthouse, where I realise that the two goons were not fooled for long by my disguise and are after me. I lock the door to the balcony, but something tells me that I am again in a time-constrained puzzle. Fortunately I only have a limited number of objects to use and interact with. A sundial has a mechanism which opens and reveals a set of wings. There is also a lamp that has a candle in it.

If I try to use the wings, I fly off the balcony and crash to death like a proper idiot. Fortunately I happen to recall the myth about the flight of Icarus, who flew too high and the sun melted the wax that held his wings together. Now, if only I had a source of wax… I take the candle and place it on the ground. I try using the wings again, thinking that I would use them on the candle, but the candle is not lit and I get a Wile. E. Coyote death again.

Third time is the charm and this time I first use my magnifying glass to light the candle and use the melted wax from it to strengthen the wings. I can then use the wings to fly safely away and land in the middle of the gypsy camp in the forest.

The lighthouse is far to the right, but I seemed to fly in from the south.

It was satisfactory to solve this puzzle, simple as it was. I like it when I can use an item multiple times during a game. In this case, it was the magnifying glass. I don’t expect a sonic screwdriver or a passe partout, but I see no reason to discard potentially useful items after using them only once in a puzzle.

On the other hand, the whole lighthouse sequence didn’t really make sense. I learned nothing out of it and it only progressed the plot in a ridiculous manner. Who keeps a set of wings on top of a lighthouse? Why couldn’t I just find the gypsies just by wandering through the forest? Why did I want to go to the lighthouse in the first place?

Back to the gypsy camp, I speak to the fortune teller, who is the only person or thing I can interact with, and I am treated to my second exposition sequence of the session. This one features Lord BOLESKINE himself, who tells me that I have to repeat what he did 76 years ago and stop the cult of the Ancient Ones (and get mad in the process I suspect). All the exposition is given in a nicely stylised scene in ochre tones. I liked this one better than JONAS’s diary.

It can also be used as a puzzle screen for Gobliins 2.

Lord BOLESKINE tells me that Illsmouth was built where an ancient temple used to stand. A temple, in which horrific sacrifices to the Ancient Ones were performed by a sorcerer. When the comet passes in two days, I will have to stop their unholy plan to bring those extradimensional horrors back to Earth. What I must do is go to where JONAS HAMBLETON is buried, which I assume must be in the cemetery.

It is night again when I get out of the forest and head to the cemetary. Outside of the pharmacy I meet Mr BISHOP again, who tells me that Dr COBBLE has proclaimed JUGG’s death a suicide, but he does not believe it. I don’t believe it either. BISHOP seems as if he wants to run away, but he also mentions a cemetery key. I ask him for it and he gladly lends it to me. I’ll next go to the graveyard, but I want to have a quick walk around first, because the scene has again changed and I need to be sure I have not missed something.

I feel vindicated. In front of MYER’s shop there is some rotten fish in the bin. I pick it up to cover my own smell of fear.

I use BISHOP’s key and I enter the cemetery, which I must say is very nicely drawn.I see a light at the keeper’s house, but I’d rather ignore it for now. Wandering around, I pick up a bar and a piece of rope. I also notice some named tombs: PRATT, ELIZABETH SULLIVAN, BELLA BLASKO, but I cannot see any use for them. So, I ignore them and go in the crypt, which has even nicer artwork.

Artwork from cemetery and crypt. I like the use of colours

The gate to get deeper is barred, but nothing that a good iron bar cannot open. Of course I drop to my death again, because I forgot to tie the rope and use it to climb down. Once I do so, I arrive at the beginning of what I remember was a horrible maze.

I will stop the session here with the realisation that I never went to pick those three pills from the pharmacy. I hope I will not come to regret it. I expect a full showdown in the next session, which will result in insanity or, if I am lucky, in my death.

Session time: 1:40 Total time: 7:40

Sanity lost: 5 from the double exposition Total sanity lost: 17 (I need more candles. Leave no shadow alive. I can still hear that violin from under the bed.)

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There’s a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please…try not to spoil any part of the game for me…unless I really obviously need the help…or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, I’ve not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/shadow-of-the-comet-flight-of-icarus/

[teamoliv-archive]

Cutscene: The Return to Atlas

The trip back to Atlas was long and soul draining. The flight was cleared to enter and the small private vessel swooped right onto a private helipad at the top of a building in the floating city. The words Cheshire Financial Group were emblazoned on the top of the building over a large crawler showing various stock and good prices as well as a few advertisements for loans and financing.

“Well here we are.” Hari from the cockpit with an impressive smile. “It’s a shame you kids didn’t want to talk during the trip. You know, Nyx, your mom never let Auroras and I visit you growing up. Something about ‘not wanting the family associated with lowly mercenaries’ or something like that. Hopefully, we can catch up. I wanna hear all about what your team’s been up to after Ty’s done with what he wants.”

When the plane lands two figures very familiar to each member of the team could be visible. All four leaned into the windows as best as their restraints would allow and a collective look of apprehension and shock covered them.

“You’re kidding me...”

“What’s she doing here?”

Auburn was clearly in far better shape than she had been. Her would in her fight with Onyx had caused a series of ugly clawed scars down the left side of her face and her hair was swooped to the other side. She looked far more confident and cocky if such a thing were possible.

Tyrael waited for the plane’s five passengers to depart, ignoring the mix of glares and incredulous looks from the team. “Release their restraints and collect their weapons, Hari. The four of you come with me. I went through a lot of trouble to gather you so I suggest you take what I’m about to offer very seriously.

Lapis wastes no time charging forward the moment his restraints are broken. “Not interested!”

Violet hit the realization quicker than the rest of them. They were being released and given their weapons back? That wasn’t normally how capturing people worked. Whatever it was that Tyrael Cheshire had planned, he wasn’t concerned about counterattacks. “Lapis, wait, something’s not right!”

Auburn swooped to the side and dodged Lapis’s incoming punch without much visible effort. She twirled around faster than anyone else could notice and slammed him into the ground with a well placed kick to his back. She then smirked at the others, locking her eyes on Onyx. “I told you I’d rise up past you, Jett. I hope you don’t mind but everything that used to be yours is mine now. Even your old room- dominance and all that. I hope you understand.”

“Are we all done playing?” Tyrael asks harshly, “Pick yourselves up and come with me. Hari, deliver their weapons to the new training room. Once I’m done with this, I will give you the rest of your payment.” He pauses and counts- four. “Where are the others?”

“What do you think? Auroras found a way to get paid twice. You specifically said you wanted these four and someone else wanted the other two so he went off to deliver them there. I’ll tell you the rest later.”

Onyx says nothing, merely rubbing his wrists when they’re freed. He ignored Auburn’s taunting for now and focused on what his father could want. It was strange he still thought of him that way. Perhaps that would never really fade. Seeing him turn and start walking to the door to the inside of the building, Onyx followed. Ivory was close behind him.

Lapis pulls himself up and begrudgingly follows. Violet was also acting on a slower pace than normal. “I don’t like this...”

“None of us do, but we have to find out what’s going on first.” Violet passes Lapis and catches up with Onyx and Ivory. She knew Hari was bringing up the rear and making sure no one tried to make a break for it.

-------

A tense and silent elevator ride down countless levels followed. Once it finally reached the floor it had meant to, it opened up to a large training room with screens, monitors, and various amenities. “This is where I will evaluate whether bringing you here will be worth my time.”

As the seven of them entered into the expansive training room, Violet glanced around to see what was here. There looked to be a door on the other side with a plaque saying ‘weapon storage’. “Let me guess, our stuff’s going in there until you say we can have it, right?” She froze when she saw past the glass and the lettering on it and to a familiar sight propped up in a sturdy case.

“That’s... His Majesty’s Colors! My dad’s weapon! Why do you have it!?”

Tyrael walked into the room to stand at one of the terminals by the wall of the training room. “Well well, once again your observation skills impress me, Ms. Goodfellow. You’re correct, that is your father’s weapon. I’m afraid both of your parents had a bit of a run in after their latest frolic in the frozen wastelands of Solitas. This is, partly, why you’re all here.” He pushes a button to show both Shin and Emril Goodfellow in effective stasis, the pods they were in showing various life signs.

Onyx took a step forward and finally broke his silence. His harsh damaged voice echoing as much as it could in the large room. “You expect me to believe that you went out of your way to collect wounded huntsmen on a rescue mission? That run in could only have been with you.”

“Well, I mean... yeah. Yeah it was- and it was all for me.” Auburn, in lieu of walking, decided on a flashy flip over the team and landed in front of them with a showy pose. “What you are looking at now is the product of the future. You see, your ex-father here took Ciar’s aura research and decided to put it to use. We got one of those fancy aura transfer machines that they found in Beacon’s wreckage and,” She smirks to Violet in a taunting way, “Your parents’ aura is mine now. Well... most of it. We needed them alive after all.”

Lapis jerked back, his normally solid form shaking slightly at the thought. “You can... do that?” He balled a fist as his features tightened. “So, what, are we just going to be more supply for your damn project!? Is that it!?” He was already prepared for another ill-fated fight. He knew he was outmatched by at least two of the people in this room, but he wasn’t going to let Huldre pull that on him again.

“Oh, please try and attack me again. We can do this with only three of them, right?”

“Both of you cool it down.” Hari mentions from the back, helping himself to one of the water bottles on a table. “Ty, I’m kind of curious, is this that ‘Borealis Project’ of yours?”

“It is, Hari. This is my version of Ciar’s Aurora. Using these transfers to enhance the abilities of huntsmen and huntresses to unheard of heights. What once needed entire teams to take down will now be the role of a solitary one. However, we’re still testing this and that is why I need a full team. You are to serve as my benchmark.” He taps another button and prepared licenses for Team OLIV showed up. “These are yours, as is access to this facility, room and board, and meals. All you have to do is your job and compare your performance to Auburn’s.”

“And if we don’t something happens to my parents, is that it?” Violet snaps. She realized she didn’t have much other choice and gritted her teeth tightly. What would Robin have done in this situation? She figured her brother would have likely gone berserk and tried to kill everyone in the room. The thought that this was what he was like now still frightened her a little. That wasn’t the kind of person she could be, though, and she just wasn’t strong enough. She reflexively shrinks down in a pained defeat.

“I’m not doing anything until my sister is back where she belongs.” He flings himself around toward Hari, “You tell your partner that you need to get her back here if you want me to do anything!”

“Sorry, kid, can’t do it.” Hari says with a shrug. “Auroras took the job and going back on a contract’s one of the worst things you can do in this business. I can’t say I like the people he was talking to, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. Besides,” He points to Tyrael, “It’s not like Ty to give you room to negotiate.”

“That would be correct. Lapis, was it? Your meddling is what ultimately destroyed my daughter if I recall. By all rights I should demand blood for blood, but I will choose to instead offer you a gracious forgiveness as well as a job. Or are you so selfish that you would risk trying to break through the entirety of Mistral’s underground yet again at the cost of putting your teammate’s parents in peril?”

Watching Lapis shrink down as well, Ivory took a step forward. “I want to speak with my father, Mr. Cheshire.” If anyone could pull something out of the man it would be Redmond Reynard.

“I’m afraid he’s away on business for the foreseeable future. He actually left before you got here. It’s a shame he had no time to see his own daugther, but when you have so many important things to do, sometimes you must make sacrifices.”

Ivory knew immediately that her father was sent off before she got here on purpose just in case he insisted on trying to change the offer somehow. She’d have to see if she could find Sterling later- he would know where he went and why with how often the butler hung around her father.

Onyx swallowed hard and felt an ache in his throat as he spoke again. It was still healing, but slowly. “I think that’s enough empty negotiating. You didn’t bring us here to this room specifically just to explain this to us. You said you wanted a baseline...”

“Indeed I did. Prepare your weapons once they are returned to you. The four of you will be fighting Auburn so I know exactly the gap in strength that Borealis provides.”

[askdarus]

Ducklings || Flashforward Oneshot (Cutscene)

Daryl looked down at the kids in front of him. He was resisting the urge to just yell why up at the sky, hoping whoever was up there would hear him cursing them.

He was used to Richie following him around, it wasn’t anything knew. Their son did that to both him and Paul. Judith had a habit of doing it too, despite being four now, always wanting to see her “Uncle Dawel.” Daryl was always ninety nine percent sure that was Rick or Michonne’s doing. Then there was of course baby Hershel, who was there because Maggie was at a meeting with Rick. Then there was some kid named Gordon, who had appeared when the Saviors arrived for the meeting. Daryl had no idea who the kid was and he didn’t care. He looked to be about Richie and Hershel’s ages of three years-old.

“Whadaya want?” Daryl grunted, looking down at them.

“Daddy told us ta go play,” Richie shrugged, looking up at him.

“M’workin’,” Daryl mumbled, looking down at the four kids, “Go play somewhere else.”

“You ain’t workin’,” Gordon snorted, “You’re just standin’ up there!”

“S’called gate duty,” Daryl said and turned back to watching, “Rich, don’t try to climb up here,” he said without looking back at him.

“Aw, dad!” Richie whined, “C’mon.”

“Gotta watch the place,” Daryl grunted.

He could put up with Richie following him around and Judith…and Hershel…

Okay.

“Daryl, shifts over!” Eric called, looking up at him.

Daryl groaned and started to climb down.

“Hi, Uncle Eric!” Richie chirped, holding up his arms.

Eric picked him up and smiled, “Hey, aren’t you getting too big to be picked up?”

“Nah,” Richie giggled.

“Make a new friend?” Eric asked, looking down at Gordon.

“Yeah,” Richie nodded quickly, “That’s Gordo.”

“Gordon!” the small boy snapped, looking up at him.

Richie stuck his tongue out at him in response and immediately reached out for Daryl when he jumped down.

“Givin’ me back problems, kid,” Daryl grunted, taking him from Eric, “Thanks, man.”

“No problem,” Eric said, smiling at him before climbing up the ladder to the top.

Daryl sighed, looking at Richie and then down at the other kids, “Where’s your daddy?” he asked, looking at Richie

“Talkin’ with Aunt Maggie an’ Uncle Zeke, an’ Uncle Rick,” Richie shrugged, “An’ some dude.”

“My daddy,” Gordon snapped.

“Watch the attitude, kid,” Daryl muttered to the kid with the messy blond hair. He sat Richie on the ground, “Go play.”

“You gotta play too,” Richie said, clinging to his leg, “C’mon, please.”

“Please, Uncle Daryl?!” Judith asked loudly, grabbing onto his other leg.

Hershel followed her lead, toddling over and grabbing onto the leg Judith was holding onto.

Gordon apparently had no interest and just stood there, his arms crossed.

Daryl sighed, looking up at the sky. It was starting to cloud up. And his shoulder was starting to hurt.

Probably going to rain.

“‘Kay, let’s go play inside,” Daryl sighed, putting Richie on his feel and walking in the direction of their house. The others let go the moment he started to walk.

He wasn’t about to deal with four drenched kids.

He looked behind him and rolled his eyes when he saw the kids following him in a little line.

Damn kids.

He didn’t even sign up for one, let alone four.

Richie was an exception though…he loved the kid…well, and Judith, since he’d been with her since the day she was born…and Hershel too.

Okay, he just didn’t like the grouchy one.

“M’hungry,” Richie whined, pulling on Daryl’s sleeve, “Daddy, s’lunch time.”

Daryl tried not to groan. Paul cooked. It wasn’t that he didn’t do any work…but Daryl didn’t usually cook food that Richie would like

Kid was like his dad and refused to eat the damn squirrel.

“I want food too,” Gordon whined.

Fuck.

“Alright,” Daryl said, leading them into the house, “Rich, go show ‘em where ta wash their hands…m’gonna find some stuff.”

Daryl watched down the hallway and made sure they went into the bathroom and sighed, running his hand through his hair. Before he met Paul, he’d never dream of telling some damn kids to wash their hands like he was…

Well, a dad.

He was a dad.

Daryl looked through their cabinets quickly and found two jars of applesauce. They always had extras because Eric would give them the ones they got with their share.

Aaron hated applesauce so much that he didn’t want it in the house.

Daryl searched through their cabinets and found plastic bowls, throwing them onto the counter and pouring it in the bowls quickly. He winced when he heard giggling in the bathroom, “Don’t sound like hand washin’!” he yelled and the giggling stopped.

Daryl looked out the window, in the direction of Rick’s house. He just wanted them to hurry up and get back over here, damnit.

Gordon walked out first and pulled himself up to the stool on the counter by himself, glaring at Daryl.

“What the hell ya want, kid?” Daryl snorted.

“My daddy called you a little bitch,” Gordon snickered.

Daryl glared at him, “Who the hell’s your parents?” he demanded, “What’s their names?”

“Dwight and Laura,” Gordon pronounced their names slowly.

Daryl looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.

Fucking perfect.

“Eat your damn applesauce,” Daryl grumbled, shoving the bowl at him.

Paul owed him big time.

“I don’t like applesauce,” Gordon said, looking down at the bowl in disgust.

“Don’t care,” Daryl grunted before walking around and helping the other three up onto their stools as well.

“Thanks, daddy,” Richie chirped, starting to eat with the others.

Daryl sighed in relief, running his hand through his hair as he looked out the window again.

“My daddy says you’re really far up Jesus’ ass,” Gordon said.

“DADDY, HE SAID THE A WORD!” Richie yelled.

Daryl sighed, trying not to just bash his head off of the counter, “Ya’ll done eatin’?”

“Yeah,” Judith said, her mouth full of applesauce.

Daryl looked at Hershel and saw he’d just made a mess on the counter and all over his face. He grabbed a rag and wiped the kid’s mouth, ignoring when he whined and squirmed away.

“I wanna play hide and seek,” Hershel said after Daryl stopped wiping his mouth.

“…’Kay, fine,” Daryl said cautiously. He and Paul had played with Richie and Judith before. He didn’t see the harm in it. It was just a kids game.

“Now, if I can’t find ya and I start yellin’ your name, ya gotta come,” Daryl said, trying not to sound nervous in front of a group of toddlers, “No playin’ if ya’ll don’t agree.”

“Okay,” Judith, Richie, and Hershel chirped.

Daryl looked at Gordon and raised an eyebrow.

“Fine,” Gordon huffed, crossing his arms.

“Hide in twos,” Daryl told them, “Buddy system.”

Judith instantly grabbed Hershel’s arm and Daryl got it…kind of. The two never got to really see each other with Hershel living at Hilltop. Judith saw Richie everyday…and probably didn’t want to be partnered up with a kid she didn’t know.

“M’only countin’ ta ten, so get goin’,” Daryl said.

The kids instantly took off running.

Daryl sighed and started counting.

He found Judith and Hershel almost instantly. They were hiding in the bushes outside of the house.

He couldn’t find Richie and Gordon though…and it was starting to scare him. He didn’t want to give in so easily and he wanted to find them…but he didn’t like that Richie didn’t stay close by.

“We saw ‘em run that way,” Judith pointed into the direction of the steps going towards the basement across the street.

Daryl felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Judy, go get your dad,” Daryl said, “Go with ‘er, Hershel.”

The kids took off running in the direction of the house and Daryl took a shaky breath, running as fast as he could to the basement.

“Daryl?” he heard Paul asked, coming out of the house with the others. He didn’t say anything, he knew he’d follow.

Daryl ran down the steps to the makeshift prison quickly and grabbed Richie away from the cell, surprising his son. He’d apologize for it later.

“Gordon, shit!” Dwight yelled, running down the steps. Daryl looked over and saw Maggie, Michonne, Rick, Ezekiel, Carl, and Paul all following as well.

“Damn, what did I miss?” Negan laughed from the cell.

Paul ran over and took Richie from Daryl quickly, “Sweetie, we don’t come down here, okay?”

“How’d you manage that one, Dwighty boy?” Negan asked, “Doubt Sherry’d go back to you.”

Dwight ignored him and took Gordon upstairs quickly.

“Aren’t you guys just the cutest?” Negan chuckled, looking at Paul, Daryl, and Richie.

“Enough,” Rick said, “C’mon.”

“Come back and visit soon, kid,” Negan called.

“Okay!” Richie chirped, obviously not knowing what was going on.

Carl threw a glare at Negan before following everyone up.

“Thought you were watching them, Dixon!” Dwight hissed the moment he walked up the steps and closed the door.

“I was!” Daryl yelled, “I was lettin’ ‘em play hide and seek-”

“It was my idea,” Gordon mumbled against Dwight’s shoulder, “Sorry, daddy,” he said, resting his head on his shoulder, “Didn’t know.”

Dwight swallowed down his anger and looked down at his kid, “Nice meeting…see ya,” he said before walking away quickly.

Daryl glared over at where Paul was holding Richie, “We’re goin’ home,” he said, walking in the direction of their house. He glanced back and saw Paul giving Maggie a hug goodbye and then hugging Hershel.

He was in the house a good five minutes before Paul came in with Richie. His husband took one look at him before sighing, “Richie, you want to go play with your toys for a while?”

“‘Kay,” Richie said, toddling back in the direction of the other room.

Paul waited until Richie was in the room before he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Had no right ta send them kids ta me,” Daryl gritted his teeth, “I-I didn’t know what ta do. I can handle Richie and maybe Judy but…I didn’t know what ta do without ya.”

Paul pursed his lips, “That’s okay,” he said softly, putting his hand on his shoulder, “I shouldn’t have sent them over without asking.”

“M’a bad dad,” Daryl choked out.

“Oh, sweetie, no,” Paul said quickly, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a hug.

“Can’t even keep track of ‘em,” Daryl took a shaky breath, “Now he knows-”

“That doesn’t matter,” Paul told him, “He’s never getting out. The prison is secured. Don’t worry, okay?”

Daryl put his forehead on his shoulder, gripping him tightly.

“We’re safe,” Paul whispered, kissing the side of his head, “All of us, okay? We’re safe.”