#But I’m watching the mainland from the outside

[bk-179]

@projectmoonlightproductions dude that line you wrote, “forcing yourself to live to prove that you deserve your sentience” in relation to gingerbrave? has stuck with me for DAYS. In the best way, but still.

Gingerbrave does love living in the real world, and having friends and jellies and sunlight and snow and being surrounded by a living, breathing warren, but I feel like she wouldn’t truly be able to ENJOY or otherwise be comfortable in it for a long time because living, like almost everything else important to her so far, is a duty. It’s a duty because not only does he know that he was made to be eaten, but that she was one of a group.

For me, part of the horror of Gingerbrave’s situation is that he wasn’t (at least superficially) special. Her ENTIRE KIND was made to be prey. Her entire species is subjugated and rendered carnage for no reason other than the vices and cruelties imposed on them by a godly figure.

I feel like Gingerbrave would know on a certain level, in a certain part of his brain, that those cookies in that oven and on those plates were meant to be living, breathing kids. Kids like him. Kids that should be playing animal jam and going to school and eating slightly freezer-burnt chicken tenders and singing and laughing and running and living. What makes Gingerbrave different from all the cookies left behind on that oven tray?

I’m imagining gingerbrave, once they’re leading a “normal” life, throwing herself into everything. Trying to be the best and happiest and experience everything, with the underlying message in her brain playing “you need to live for them. They never got and never will get this; if you waste this chance in any way, you’re letting down every single one of those killed children.”

before he can get to the “living as a rebellion” mindset which is like. Infinitely more healthy in the long term, gingerbrave needs to get over the “living as a duty” thing I gave her. Btw he’s like, 12-is at this point in my personal timeline lolz. Womp womp. But uhhhh yeah!

[kwanisms]

Kinktober 「10:15」 — y.jeongin

» stray kids menu | i.n menu | kinktober masterlist «

wc: 2.9k summary: A year after setting off to find his mother, Jeongin returned to Y/N, finding she had given birth to his daughter. Time skip to another two years later and Jeongin often wakes up to his three year old daughter and one year old son jumping on the bed, shaking him and Y/N awake. It’s not often he gets to spend the morning with his wife so when Clover offers to watch the kits so Jeongin and Y/N can have a weekend away, he jumps at the chance. genres/themes/au: fluff, smut; supernatural, horror, thriller; non idol au, monster idol au warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, supernatural and horror themes, mentions of: pregnancy & childbirth, mild abandonment issues, missing parent; sexual content (18+ mdni), see smut warnings under the cut! taglist has been moved to reblogs join my taglists! kinktober taglist is CLOSED! Strikethrough means I cannot tag you.  MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. AGELESS BLOGS WILL ALSO BE BLOCKED.

a/n: i knew when i started planning Kinktober 2024, i wanted to include some sequels and follow ups to some of the Kinktober 2023 fics, Jeongin’s being one of them. I love how his turned out and i hope those of you who remember his first fic like the sequel. Thank you so much for reading. Tomorrow is also a follow up to kinktober 2023 but for changbin. His first fic, I am happy to say, is done and will be going up tomorrow morning. Please stay tuned to see what comes after Changbin! as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

smut warnings: teratophilia (aka monsterfucking), dry humping, morning sex, unprotected sex (they’re married and don’t mind pregnancy, but if you’re wanting to avoid babies you should use condoms), switch!Jeongin, switch!Reader, mild impregnation kink, use of pet names (hers: my love, etc.; his: Innie, my love, sweetheart, etc.), and I think that’s everything but as always, let me know if I’m missing anything! kinks: Dry humping + morning sex dialogue prompt: ❛❛ Do you really think you’re in a position to give orders? ❜❜

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When Jeongin left you to search for his mother, he never expected his search to take him off the mainland and to the islands. He searched far and wide for any sign of his mother but after nearly a year and a half of searching, he resolved himself to never finding her.

So he chose to return to the one who had shown him love in the absence of his mother: you.

When he returned to your cabin, he found that you were no longer alone. 

He’d been traveling for days, excited at the prospect of a bath and seeing you once more when he finally came across your home and found you outside in the garden, tending to the vegetables. He stopped just before the gate, giving you a smile that you truthfully had missed more than anything. It was as you stood that he noticed the sling tied around you with a small bundle against your chest.

He stared at the bundle with wide eyes and it was at that moment he realized you were carrying a baby. 

He soon learned that the night you spent together before he left, you had gotten pregnant and nine months later, you’d given birth to a beautiful baby girl you named Inari, due to her kitsune and kumiho parentage. Jeongin was nervous at the idea of raising a child but knew deep down that he wanted to stay, raising Inari with you and starting a family.

Marriages between fox folk was normally an affair for the entire village but given that you lived far from civilization and the only family you had was Clover, the affair was much more intimate. You both promised to love, support, and protect one another with Clover as your witness.

After a short honeymoon you returned to life in the cabin with Inari and soon after, you both welcomed a little boy which you agreed to name Hajun. Despite losing his family before, Jeongin now had a new family and for the first time in a long time, he felt complete.

Two years had passed, living in the cabin. You had taught Jeongin what you could about gardening, hunting, and living in the woods. He picked up on it quickly having spent a great deal of time alone. He took over the role of hunting, letting you care for the children and tend to the garden.

Life was great.

Sunlight filtered through the window, dancing over the bed as he slowly started to wake up. His eyes fluttered open, the ceiling of the cottage coming into view as he woke up. He turned his head, a smile crossing his features as he saw you next to him, fast asleep.

Rolling onto his side to face you, he reached over, cupping your cheek, tenderly caressing your skin. He watched as your brows furrowed, eyes fluttering before opening slowly. His smile widened as he watched you wake up. “Morning,” he murmured as you stretched.

“Morning,” you whispered, a smile creeping over your face. Jeongin shifted closer under the blankets, wrapping his arms around you as he pulled you towards him. “I don’t hear any little feet running around,” he said softly as he brushed his lips against yours. A giggle escaped you as he pulled you into a kiss, parting your lips with his and his tongue slipping into your mouth.

You let out a groan as he rolled you onto your back, hips slotting between your thighs as he deepened the kiss. “Innie,” you sighed as he kissed down the side of your neck. “No noise doesn’t necessarily mean they’re still asleep,” you said as he pushed your nightgown up, lips ghosting over your nipple as his tongue darted out to taste it. “I know,” he murmured.

“But it’s still so early.”

You giggled again as he kissed down the expanse of your stomach, drawing dangerously close to your mound. “Just let me have my breakfast,” he muttered as he drew level with your pussy, licking his lips. 

“I’m starving.”

Before he could do anything the door to the bedroom flew open and you quickly rushed to cover yourself as Jeongin sat up, turning to look at the door with wide eyes. “Mama! Papa!” Inari said as she jumped onto the bed. Jeongin sighed heavily watching Hajun struggle to pull himself up before finally reaching down to grab the boy by the back of his shirt and place him on the bed.

Inari and Hajun fell into your arms and you threw an apologetic look towards your husband as he joined you, leaning against the pillows and pressing a kiss to your temple. “Sorry,” you whispered. He shook his head, giving you a smile as Hajun crawled out of your lap and into his. “Papa,” he said as Jeongin scooped him up.

After his failed attempt this morning, Jeongin tried twice more during the morning to have a private moment with you but each time, he was interrupted. The first was when Inari scared Hajun with a worm and sent him running into your arms. The second was when Inari screamed, sending the both of you into a panic only to find Clover had arrived and Inari’s scream had been of joy and not fear as Clover picked her and Hajun up with ease.

You smiled as you stepped out of the cottage, taking Hajun as he reached for you. “I seem to have given you both a fright,” Clover said as he looked over both yours and Jeongin’s faces. “We only thought something had happened,” you replied, bouncing Hajun in your arms. “What brings you this side of the mountains?” Jeongin asked.

“Passing by,” Clover answered. “Thought I would pop in for a visit.” You smiled as you held Hajun who started to squirm in your arms, reaching for his dad. Jeongin stepped forward, taking the boy from you. “You’re just in time for tea,” you said, wiping a speck of dirt from Hajun’s face. “Come on in.”

You headed into the cabin, Clover and Jeongin bringing up the rear. Inside, Clover kept Inari and Hajun entertained while Jeongin helped you with tea. “Did you know he was coming?” Jeongin asked you softly as you prepared and cut some sandwiches. “No,” you answered. “I hadn’t heard anything.”

Jeongin glanced over at your guest before returning to his task. You plated the sandwiches and handed it to him, taking the kettle from him and urging him to get out of the kitchen and out of your way with a quick kiss. Jeongin headed over to the table, setting the plate down as Clover looked up.

“So,” he said, drawing the kitsune’s attention. “How’s life with kits?” Jeongin chuckled as he glanced down at his kids. “It’s great,” he said. Clover tilted his head, his green eyes pressing Jeongin for more information. Jeongin glanced over his shoulder at you as you bustled about the kitchen preparing tea.

“It’s great,” he said again in a softer voice. “I love being a dad. But sometimes I wish I had more privacy and alone time with Y/N,” he added. “I’d like to be able to show my wife how much I love her.”

Clover chuckled as Inari and Hajun both tried to climb up into his lap. “Well, I’m not due back in the village any time soon,” he said softly. “I could watch them for a few days while you and your wife get away for some much needed privacy.” You walked over with the kettle.

“What’s going on?” you asked as you joined them. “Mama!” Hajun called in a tiny voice, his small hands reaching for you. You took him in your arms, cooing at him before picking up a sandwich and attempting to feed him while Jeongin poured the tea. “I was just saying that I could watch the kids for a couple days,” he said softly.

“If you two wanted to get away for a bit.”

Your eyes drifted over to Jeongin who busied himself with preparing your cup of tea. “And why would we want to get away?” you asked, not looking away from him. He glanced up, meeting your eyes before dropping his gaze back down. You sighed and turned to Clover.

“I appreciate the offer,” you started. “But we’re fine.” Jeongin felt his heart sink, resolved to his fate. Clover chuckled. “Of course,” he replied. “But seeing as you two didn’t have the chance to have a proper honeymoon, I’m merely offering before I return to the village.”

You glanced at Jeongin who had finished making his own tea and took a sip, meeting your gaze over the cup. You could see the pleading look in his eyes and considering the amount of times you’d been interrupted by your children and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d been intimate, you couldn’t find it in you to deny him this opportunity.

“Alright,” you said, turning back to Clover. “But we have rules in this house,” you added, narrowing your eyes. Clover held up his hands. “And I shall abide by them, no matter how silly they are. Remember,” he added, pointing towards you. “I raised you. I think of all people, I know how to raise fox children.”

After setting boundaries and explaining the rules you both had in place for the kids, Jeongin helped you pack a couple bags and after a tearful goodbye on your part, you were on your way. Clover had suggested a beach side cottage he owned where you would be completely alone.

Rather than taking Clover’s offer to conjure a summoning circle, the two of you chose to take the journey by foot. The beach wasn’t that far from where your cabin was and you could be there in a day if you stopped by the next village and borrowed a horse. The journey wasn’t that arduous or taxing and you spent most of it talking. It had been a while since the two of you just talked without the interruption of crying.

“You think they’re going to be okay?” you asked as Jeongin helped you climb down an embankment. He skipped over the small stream, waiting for you on the other side. “They’re going to be okay, baby,” he said as he held out his hand for you to take. “I feel so bad, leaving them behind,” you replied. Jeongin stopped, pulling you into his arms. “They’re going to be fine, Y/N,” he said softly. “Clover may be immature at times, but he is capable of raising children. He raised you after all.”

You sighed as he swayed you gently. “I guess you’re right,” you replied. Jeongin leaned in, pressing his lips against yours. “They’re going to be just fine. They’re going to have so much fun while we’re gone and hopefully, we’ll have fun, too.”

The rest of the trip to the beach side cottage took almost no time and soon you were walking up the steps and entering the front door. Jeongin had been insistent on carrying you over the threshold and you indulged him only to get him to stop whining about it.

After settling in and having dinner, the two of you crashed hard in the bed, a dreamless sleep taking over the two of you.

The next morning when you woke up, it took you a moment to realize you weren’t at home in the cabin and that you were currently at the beach. You felt Jeongin’s arm around your waist tightened as he pulled you closer. The sun hadn’t started rising just yet so it was still dark and you wondered how long it would be before the sun did make an appearance.

As you tried to get comfortable, shifting and scooting back against your sleeping husband, you felt something hard press into your backside, a smirk creeping onto your face. You were all alone in this cottage. No kids, no Clover. Just you and your husband for three days and nights. You had no plans.

Armed with this knowledge, you pushed back against Jeongin, your ass grinding against his semi-hard cock. He groaned in his sleep. You waited for a minute or two before doing it again. This time, his hips moved to match your movements, arms tightening around you.

“Someone’s eager,” he muttered into your ear in a deep voice. You giggled as you grinded back against him again, earning another moan as he started to grow harder. “You’re already hard,” you replied, turning your head to look back at him. “Might as well take advantage of it.”

“C’mere,” Jeongin said, grabbing the back of your neck and pulling you into a rushed, messy kiss as he continued to rut against you. You moaned into the kiss, tongue dancing against his desperately as he continued to grind his hard cock against your ass.

“You gonna keep rutting against me or you gonna fuck me?” you whispered into his mouth.

Jeongin let out a growl, flipping you onto your back before rolling on top of you. He ripped the blanket back, resting his hips between your thighs and rutting against you again, grinding his erection against your cunt. “What are you gonna do about it?” he asked, giving you a smirk and a raise of his eyebrow. He littered kisses along your neck and exposed collar before you pushed him off, rolling onto him and pulling up your nightgown, tearing it off and tossing it aside.

His eyes settled on your bare skin, hands moving up to cup your chest as you grinded your bare cunt against his clothed cock. His eyes fluttered shut as you moved faster, your wetness seeping into the material of his pants. “F-fuck,” he groaned as you pushed his shirt up, pulling it off him and throwing it aside.

You leaned over, continuing to roll your hips against him as you kissed up the side of his neck, stopping to nip at his jaw. “We can go as long as we want,” you whispered into his ear. “Fuck as many times as we want,” you added as you moved to the other side, grinding against him harder as the soaked patch on his pants rubbed against your clit with each movement.

You kissed down the side of his neck, stopping to lick and suck a red mark at the spot where his neck and shoulder met. You continued, littering his neck collar and chest with love bites, his hands gripping your thighs as you teased his nipple, running your tongue over his skin.

“Up,” he ordered, tapping your hip. When you did as he asked, he undid and pushed his pants down, freeing his cock as he shimmied out of his pants, kicking them off onto the floor. He grabbed your hips, pulling you down until your cunt rested against the underside of his cock.

“If you make me cum before the sun rises, I’ll reward you,” he said, urging you to move your hips. You scoffed at him, reaching out to brush his hair out of his eyes. “Do you really think you’re in a position to give orders?” you asked. The condescension in your voice spurred him on.

He quickly flipped you onto your back, pinning you down. “I gave you a chance to be in control,” he said as his fingers toyed with your entrance. “You should have taken it.” You opened your mouth to respond but only a strained moan slipped out as you felt his cock push into you, easily sliding in and stretching your cunt open.

“Oh fuck!” you gasped as he started moving immediately, not giving you a chance to adjust. “Feel good?” he asked, keeping your wrists pinned above your head, his hips snapping harshly against yours. “Yes,” you moaned. “Feels so good, Innie.” Jeongin let out a chuckle before thrusting harder.

“God I missed this,” he groaned. “Missed the way your cunt feels wrapped around my cock. Missed having you under me. I’d start every morning like this if I could.” You whimpered as he thrusted into you harder, cock ramming against your cervix with each thrust.

“Innie,” you gasped, back arching off the bed as your orgasm approached quickly. “That’s it sweetheart,” he groaned as your walls clenched around him. “Cum for me and I’ll give you a reward.” You moaned loudly, hips bucking up to meet his thrusts. “Cum inside me, Innie,” you gasped. “Give me another baby.”

Jeongin’s pace faltered as he moaned, head dropping into your neck as he chased his high, feeling you come undone on his cock. “Yes, yes,” you chanted. “Fuck, get me pregnant, my love.” Jeongin let out a low moan as his hips stilled, releasing into you with a curse, cum painting your walls as you let out a moan of satisfaction, cunt clenching rhythmically around him as you came with him.

“Fuck,” he growled into your neck. He lifted his head as the first beam of sunlight broke over the horizon.

“Do you really want another baby?” he asked, stroking your cheek. You smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t mind another,” you said softly, nuzzling against his hand. “Do you want another?” you asked, looking up at him. Jeongin smiled down at you, pressing a kiss to your lips. “Another little pair of feet running around the cabin, interrupting our sleep?” he asked, raising a brow.

“I’d love one.”

Your smile widened as you pulled him into another heated kiss. “Well then, you said when you parted, licking your lips and looking up at your husband. “You have three days to try and get me pregnant,” you continued with a smirk.

“Better get going if you want to make sure it takes.”

©️ kwanisms 2024 | all works on this blog are protected under copyright. Do not repost, continue, or translate my works. All graphics made by me.

[jjsbaby]

me and @rubiehart thirsting over bsf!jj together spawned this so enjoy! part 2!

　　　　*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

your parents chose the worse time to go on a weekend getaway. of course as soon as they reach the mainland, there’s a weather alert saying there’s gonna be a storm. as soon as you see it, you text jj to come over and keep you company so it doesn’t kill you. despite living on the cut for your whole life, you’ve never quite gotten used to the storms. obviously you invite jj to sleep over, setting him up in the guest bedroom after you guys watch a couple movies to keep your mind off of the storm outside.

after thirty minutes of tossing and turning, there’s a clap of thunder and you shoot upright. you take a second to breathe, reminding yourself it’s just a storm, but then there’s another burst of lightning and you decide it’ll be better if you have company. you tiptoe over to the guest room, carrying a blanket around you as you knock lightly on the door. “jay? are you still awake?” you ask softly, opening the door just a little bit. “yeah i’m up. what’s wrong?” he responds, putting his phone down from where he was scrolling and looking over at you. “storm is too loud, i can’t sleep.” you whisper, padding over to him and sitting on the side of the bed. “can i lay in here until it calms down?” he moves over, making space on the bed for you. “ ‘course you can princess.” he grins, patting the space for you. “papa j will keep you safe.” you roll your eyes at him, crawling into the bed and getting comfortable. “you know you’re the only one that calls yourself that?” you tease, laughing at him when another burst of thunder comes.

you practically jump into his arms, moving closer as you bury your face in his chest. almost by instinct his arms wrap around you, allowing you to breathe him in. he always smells distinctly like the ocean and weed, but also just like him. it immediately comforts you and you relax in his hold. “you okay?” he asks softly, running his hand along the back of your head as you look up at him. you nod at him, trembling slightly. “just scared me.” you breathe out, staying close to him but turning so your facing the window and your back is to his chest. he adjusts his hold but doesn’t let go of you, both for your sake and for his enjoyment. “want me to calm you down?” he whispers into your ear, his hands suddenly squeezing your hips.

your breath hitches when you realize what he said. is he flirting? “please jay.” you don’t even realize you said that out loud until his hands begin moving under the long shirt you’re wearing. “barely wearing anything. it’s like you wanted this to happen baby.” he teases, reaching up and lightly running a thumb over your now exposed nipple. you whine, pushing your ass back against him. “i know, i know. papas gonna take care of you, sweet girl.” one hand is now massaging your breast while the other is tracing lines down your abdomen. there’s a sudden flash outside and another boom and you jump, pressing your body into his even further. you can feel his hard-on against you and you can’t help but release a tiny moan. jj smirks at you, leaning closer and leaving an open mouthed kiss on the side of your neck. “gonna leave you all relaxed.” he mumbles against your skin, teasing a finger along the seam of your panties.

as his fingers dip below and start teasing your slit, he groans. “fuckin drenched, princess. holy shit.” he brings his hand up, two of his fingers covered in your slick. he puts them in his mouth, cleaning them completely off before grinning at you. “tastes like heaven baby.” without a warning, he shoves his hands back down and gently begins to play with your clit. you gasp, his hands already working their magic. he goes faster causing you to grip onto his bicep in hopes of maintaining some form of sanity. “fuck jj please. need more.” you moan out, eyes slightly glassy. you can feel him getting more and more excited, his cock rock hard while pressing into your back and his free hand massaging your boobs and playing with your nipples. as soon as he feels he’s teased you enough, he slides a finger into you, moving it slowly as you adjust. there’s another boom of thunder and he can feel you clench around him.

“focus on me princess. i gotchu.” he coaxes, adding another finger and speeding up. “god jay.” you moan louder, gripping onto him as your eyes roll back. “yeah baby, i got you. let it out.” he mumbles, completely entranced by your moans. he speeds his fingers up, letting his thumb press down and rub circles into your clit. all you can hear are the sounds of rain outside and the panting and squelching of him finger fucking you. you feel your stomach begin to tighten up and you squeeze around. “ ‘m gonna cum jay. gonna cum for you.” you whine, shutting your eyes as he adds more pressure. “c’mon mama. let me see how perfect you look when you’re cumming all over my hand.” he teases, pressing kisses to your shoulder. you finish with a final cry out, creaming around his fingers as he helps you ride your high out. you both breathe for a moment, stuck in a little bubble of ecstasy before he pulls his fingers out. he licks them clean again, leaning over and kissing your shoulder. you turn over and cuddle into him, fully relaxed and already starting to fall asleep. you give him a light kiss on his chest, eyes closed as you drift away. “thank you papa j.” you mumble sleepily, head on his chest. it’s a good thing you fell asleep cause now he has a chance to figure out a way to hide the fact that he came in his pants.

　　　　*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

[futuremrscameron]

weird girl!kook

weird girl!kook is a social outcast amongst her fellow kooks; they didn’t her strange and offputting for her macabre paintings

she loves people watching; it helps her gain inspiration for new paintings, and it’s fun. it gives her an insight on the lives of kildare’s “elite”

her parents are both artists, so she loves to joke that she never stood a chance. one of her mothers works with charcoal and the other is a sculptor so she was surrounded by the limitless potential of expression through art since before she could talk

has two ferrets named ‘asuka’ and ‘shinji’ and they’re her babies. if they’re not rolling around on her bed they’re fighting and she’s constantly having to break them up

she does not have many non artist friends and even her non artist friends are a little artsy in their own way (ie; kiara)

knew of jj before officially meeting at midsummers. she was intrigued by the party animal front he puts up in front of everyone that barely masks his cruelty

wanted to drop out of kildare private academy and focus on her art but her parents convinced her to stay and graduate so she could at least her her high school diploma and when that didn’t work, access to their art supplies

smokes like a fucking chimney. not weed mind you, though she does get her stash from the mainland, cigarettes. she says it helps her think and that it’s good for stress but really she just likes the smell

weird girl!kook finds herself inexplicably drawn to jj after their midsummers meeting. she wants to get to know him but doesn’t want to seem desperate or like a school girl with a crush but her asking around about him isn’t helping

when he corners her asks her about it, she says it’s purely artistic curiosity, he has a good face and she would like to paint him. this inflates his ego to the gods so of course she has to humble him every so often

their painting sessions are something they both end up looking forward to though admittedly they had a rocky start

“why are you naked?”

he smirks at her blatant disgust, “aren’t you gonna draw me like one of your french girls?”

she rolls her eyes and begins packing up her materials. he frowns. “woah what are you doing?”

“if you’re not gonna take this seriously you can go. i can find someone else.”

he picks up his shirt from the floor and covers his lower half. he’s in front of her in mere seconds when she turns back from pack.

he grabs her arm, “hey hey hey okay wait there’s no need for that. i’m sorry.” she looks at him, trying to gage if he’s genuine. she looks down at his hand on her arm, he lets go.

“sorry.” he scratches his head awkwardly, she takes note of this too.

“you said that already.”

his cheeks flush at her bluntness, “yeah um sorry. sorry.” his face somehow grows pinker.

“you’re good.” she unpacks her paints and looks back at him, “well get dressed we’ve got work to do.”

he grins, “yes ma’am.”

she looks down at the arm he grabbed. goosebumps

often home alone because her mothers go to the mainland to sell their art as a kid she hated it but now she’s thankful she doesn’t have to explain why the infamous jackson genrette is sneaking out her room at 8 am

surprisingly not a lightweight, jj finds out the hard way when he tries to challenge her to a drinking game. she knew he was trying to get her drunk to fuck her so of course she hustled him, pretending not to know the rules and struggle in the first round only to kick his ass in the second, third, and fourth round. she ends up carrying him back to hers

her colorful outfits and makeup makes her stand out more than anything but she refuses to change it despite the drawbacks (being perceived) it’s how she expresses herself outside of her art

she hates being the center of attention but loves receiving praise for her art, this double edged sword always strikes when she offers to paint sets and props for school plays. she ends up the talk of the school for a month before she happily goes back to being the outcast

weird!girl!kook doesn’t realize she likes jj until he pulls up to her house in his motorcycle on one of their non-meeting days. he tells her to get dressed cause he just wanted to see her. he convinces her to take him up to the roof so they can look at the stars. he points out every constellation he can find and tells her about his mom teaching him all about them. it’s the softest and most genuine she’s ever seen him

thinks rafe is weird and sketchy but understands why him and jj are friends. rafe thinks she’s weird and sketchy but knows she’s exactly jj’s type. they get along for his sake

has jj saved as ‘my muse’ in her phone. jj has her saved as ‘sexy da vinci’ before he gets serious about her and ‘eye of the beholder’ after they start dating

no one understands how or why they’re together because they’re so different and they don’t seem to like each other, at least that’s what it looks like to outsiders. they still haven’t gotten over that time she called him a dirty dog after he asked her to put her cigarette out on him while he was drunk (she did)

weird!girl!kook who hopes to leave outer banks share her art with the rest of the world and secretly hopes jj will come along

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this took me a minute cause it was not planned but as always tell me what you thought, positive or negative just keep it classy. <3

(i wonder if anyone will catch the iwtv inspo)

[niterose]

I’m sorry, but I’m here to share my horribly cracky Inhun/Saleshun/…Junhun? smut-take:

Jun-ho, In-ho, and the Salesman are in charge of running the games together. Everything is going great until a certain Player 456 enters the 33rd games.

Suddenly Jun-ho can’t find his brother or the Salesman anywhere— he feels like he’s losing his goddamn mind. But then he catches a glimpse of a triangle guard leering over Player 456 in the second round, seemingly transfixed on how the man desperately licks the dalgona beneath him, and somehow, Jun-ho knows.

After the game concludes, Jun-ho thinks that will be the end of it. The Salesman reappears in the control room like nothing ever happened and Jun-ho lets out a sigh of relief.

Only, In-ho is still missing.

The players are returned to the dormitory; Jun-ho’s eyes scan the camera feeds, searching. He finds Player 456 seated with 218, 199, and 067. Something in Jun-ho relaxes to see the man exactly where he is supposed to be.

He takes a swig of whiskey pilfered from his brother’s stash. If the man is going to disappear, then he deserves to have his liquor stolen. He doesn’t have long to savour the taste though before something on the camera causes him to choke, spraying the expensive alcohol everywhere. Because, there, sauntering up to 456’s group is the wrong Player 132. Jun-ho watches in horror as his brother plonks himself down beside 456, so close that their sides brush together.

It gets worse. Suddenly In-ho and the Salesman are making absurd requests and last minute changes to the games. There’s no way the Salesman needs ten new camera angles in the players’ dormitory. Even more baffling is Jun-ho’s experience of watching his brother order the guards to serve chocolate milk for the players’ breakfast.

And Jun-ho doesn’t even want to think about what happens when 456 gets dragged away by a certain guard between rounds— he can’t find them on any of the surveillance feeds. Maybe that’s for the best; Jun-ho thinks he will forever be haunted by the movements he witnessed on the infrared cameras after his brother sneaks into the dormitory during lights out.

Jun-ho comes to the realization that he needs to do something before these two idiots bring the games crumbling down on their heads.

One night, when In-ho and the Salesman are distracted, Jun-ho slips into the dormitory. He grabs Player 456 and drags him out of the room. They navigate through the maze-like hallways until Jun-ho leads them into a room loaded with diving gear.

”I’m getting you out of here.” Jun-ho says to a very confused looking 456. “You’ll need to swim, but I have a boat waiting outside this cave to take you back to the mainland.”

He hands the man a mask and oxygen tank, “You need to be quick, 456. I don’t know how long it’ll be before they realize you’re missing.”

Player 456 doesn’t ask who ‘they’ are, but Jun-ho thinks he probably knows from the way his face goes red right to the tips of his ears. Jun-ho turns to keep watch while the player shucks on the equipment, but a hand catches his wrist. Jun-ho starts at the contact and turns back around.

The way the man stares at him, eyes bright and kind, does something funny to Jun-ho’s stomach.

”You can call me Gi-hun, and thank you.” Gi-hun squeezes Jun-ho’s wrist gently, and Jun-ho’s heartbeat stutters.

Oh no.

———

We don’t want crack with our smut you say? Unfortunately that’s how my brain works.

[purplelupins]

Lamb

Midnight Mass

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI

Father John Pruitt/Father Paul Hill x Fem! Reader

Word count: 10k

Summery: An entire life of being a good girl was a difficult cross to carry...especially in a tiny town with 127 residents on a good day. You kept the town fed and spirits as high as you could, but when a new face steps off the afternoon Breeze, things around you start to change; you don't even know you're in the eye of the storm.

Warnings: nsfw, reader is religious, religious symbolism, ideology, explanations and general conversations of religion, age gap (like this man is 80 technically and he watched reader grow up, and can remember reader as a little girl so if that’s creepy to you then go no further), stalking, manipulation, murder (hello have you seen the show?), drinking of blood, hunting of a person, grief, ANGST, description of animal death, reader is described as blushing, character death, non consensual help showering, guilt and god maybe more but I think that’s it…this is not really a fix it fic

Notes: I’m sorry

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Sleep had evidently taken you during the night, though you couldn’t recall when. Sometime between you telling yourself it would all be alright, and weeping for God’s grace. Now as you opened your eyes, you half wished you hadn’t. You wished you had stayed asleep and let this tumultuous time crest over you.

They say God gives his hardest battles to his best soldiers.

You did not want to be one of his best soldiers that day.

You wanted there to have been no oil spill and for the Monsignor to come back and for Leezas accident to have never happened and for Joe to be sober and you wished you had a crush on someone when you were a teenager and you wished the world was kinder-

You wished so many things.

You only managed to pull yourself up from bed when your stomach curled painfully and begged for food at around 7:30am. You begrudgingly put your kettle on the stove, and stared out your front window.

A watched pot never boils, your mother used to say.

Does if you stare long enough, your dad would reply.

You face fell as you watched a stray leaf float past your window. Your eyes glazed over as you waited, and only refocused when there was more than just a leaf going past your window.

Erin Greene slowly walked past your house, white as a sheet, and you found yourself transfixed by her. She looked…disturbed. You had heard that she had gone to the mainland for tests, and you wondered if there was a complication with her pregnancy. Perhaps she had started taking morning walks to help…

It took a moment for you to decide to open your front door, and when you did she didn’t turn around. She was further away now, and you wanted to shout to her and ask her in for a coffee, but it was early, and you didn’t want to wake your neighbours.

You went to turn back inside- your kettle starting to whistle. But something lurched inside you then. This wasn’t you. The you that you knew would run out after her friend and check on her.

Without another thought, you were down your steps in a second and running down the road after her.

“Erin! Hey Erin!” You called to her.

Erin stopped and spun on you- her eyes red.

You were panting once you stopped, and you waited for her to say something, but went she didn’t you did. “Sorry I just…I’m making some coffee an-“

You were cut off by her wrapping her arms around you and hugging you close. You slowly returned it, rubbing her back. You didn’t know Erin very well outside of Mass or the odd conversation, but you almost felt a shock zap you when she held you. Like you connected to her somehow.

“Erin are you alrig-“

“Don’t lose yourself…” she said as she pulled away.

You stared at her and laughed nervously when she remained serious, “I don’t…what’s going on?” You asked. But when you saw that deep sorrow in her eyes, you stopped looking for a reason.

She shook her head. And sucked in a breath as she released you, “You’re smart. And you’re good. Don’t lose that. You have your life ahead of you.” She repeated, then squeezed your arms and left you there in the morning air with only your whistling kettle in your ears.

You didn’t remember eating, or drinking your coffee for that matter; but your sink full of dishes said otherwise. Erin had startled you terribly. While you could have chalked up her behaviour to her pregnancy, somehow you felt she was talking about something else entirely. It was as if she had embodied all the turmoil you had been experiencing, and had shown it to you.

Did she feel the same discomfort you had? Was this something not unique to you?

You downed a few more cups of warm drinks as you dwelled and thought. You thought about calling your family on the mainland…but they were always so busy. Instead, you sat and pulled the book you had borrowed from the Father and began to read it again. You found you had a difficult time keeping up with the book itself; the sequence of a man’s decent into Hell. It was morbid though fascinating to read…almost like a train wreck that you couldn’t look away from.

Eventually, you snapped the book shut and set it down beside you.

You didn’t know how to feel about it, and you didn’t like how heavy it weighed on your heart. Like somehow it felt all too real.

It was only when the old streetlights outside your house started to flicker on that you realized how late it had gotten. Still a few hours left before Mass. You reached for a record to play, and stared at the one closest to you. The same one you had listened to the night before the Crock-potluck.

You berated yourself for associating Father Hill with the record, but it had been such a significant night that it was difficult not to.

You mindlessly played it, and as the sound filled your home, you listened. Calm began to come over you, though you weren’t certain you liked that. Sure it was an old family record from the 90’s, and brought some nostalgia, but you didn’t find yourself thinking of your family.

You thought of how Father Hill had taken your sorrows and given them back in the form of healing. How he had taken your hand and walked you through your first confession in years. How he hadn’t judged you. How welcomed you felt.

Renewed.

How he had single-handedly entered your life and begun to mend it with such precision. As if he knew what you needed.

By the late evening you had eaten dinner and washed your dishes, brushed your hair and wrapped a warm cardigan over your spring dress. You admittedly looked a little less pristine than usual, but you tried to not let it bother you.

A breeze crept up your thighs as you began down your front steps, and you faltered for a moment. You opted instead to hop on your bike, and began pedalling down the road. Somehow you felt more at ease the faster you went, though you just assumed it was because it meant you would be outside in the cold less.

You greeted a few people as you went, and found yourself starting to calm down the closer you grew to St. Patrick’s. Then as you created the hill, you sighed in slight relief; as you slowed your pace to the side of the building, you caught the eye of Father Hill as he welcomed his parish inside as he almost always did. You sent him a small wave as you stepped off your bicycle and leaned it against the church.

“Evening Father Hill.” You said, coming up to the steps.

John smiled at you. You looked so fresh with your rosy cheeks and less neat hair.

“How are you, little one?” He asked you, focus purely on you for a moment as Bev welcomed the others who passed.

The endearment caught you off guard. More than off guard. It must have been a coincidence, but that was what Monsignor Pruitt used to call you.

You shifted a little but started to make your way past him, “I’m doing well, thank you Father. I hope you’ve been feeling alright.” You put a small smile on, though your stomach was still tight.

“Feeling even better now.” Father Hill said- the crows feet around his eyes deepening.

You nodded and quickly made your way up the stairs and inside the church to your spot on your pew. In some way it felt as if you were a little outside your body; your ears rang and you found your eyes flickering over the heads and faces around you. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and you had hoped it would pass when Father Hill started speaking, but it didn’t.

“I hope these last 39 days have been rewarding and regenerative for you all. We are here on the eve of Easter…we have all come so far together this year. When I first come here to this community, I didn’t see a failed island, no…no I saw what I know God sees and that is an island on its way to rebirth. Each and everyone of you have helped it get there too. You think you’re insignificant or that you’re just small cogs in a large machine, but you’re all so much more. You are representatives of Gods glory.” Father Hill started. You had noticed that for a few days now, his passion for his sermons had returned tenfold. And while his words still moved you, you couldn’t shake that feeling of disconnect. You felt like such an outsider that evening, and you almost checked around you to see if you had done something different.

While you tried to ground yourself, you stared at the wooden crucification of Jesus behind Father Hill as he spoke, and at some point your eyes blurred and for a moment you swore the idol and the man were one and the same. The visual was enough to make you frightened.

You looked away quickly, and focused instead on your hands. You looked at each line and your knuckles and picked at your nails and traced the veins.

Before you knew it, Mass was finishing, and you found yourself a little shaken. More than a little. You rarely tuned out a service, but the anxiety that curled in your muscles refused to leave you.

Shame prickled inside you, but somehow your trepidation overwhelmed it. You wanted to leave. Quickly.

You didn’t wait to speak to anyone that night, and certainly not Father Hill. If you were honest with yourself, you didn’t know what to feel towards that church or preacher anymore. All you knew was that you didn’t feel like yourself, and that the priest only seemed to enhance that.

You heard a few people call your name as you hurried outside, and as you were just about to grab your bike, there was one voice in particular that made your steps stutter.

But still you didn’t turn back, and only got onto your bike faster, and sped away until you were racing home like the Devil himself was licking your heels.

John Pruitt stood on the top step to bid his parish a good night, but as he stepped out into the cool air, he noticed one had already slipped by.

He called your name, and could hear your heart rate spike for a moment. He could hear you quicken your pace too. You were running from him.

Guilt and worry began to fill him. This was his fault entirely- he had been lacking in his guidance for you. You hadn’t had enough of the sacrament, and you were lost. That blood in your veins was a shadow of what you deserved.

John made up his mind. You would have the gift even if he had to give it to you himself.

No lamb left behind.

In the morning, you stared at the photo of you on Easter from when you were a child. The same one Father Hill had pointed out. Your hair in little pigtails and a carefree smile…that little dress that made you look like a doll.

Now as you stood there you were far from smiling, and instead found yourself fighting the nausea that stirred in your stomach.

In your hands was the book Father Hill had given you.

Dante’s Inferno.

You hadn’t finished it, and it didn’t feel right of you to have it. It didn’t feel right for you to finish it too. Like you shouldn’t know how it ends. The more you thought about it, the more you realised the same applied to your own future. You had no inkling as to where it would end up. At one time not too long ago you might have been fairly confident that you knew where you were headed or what you might do with your life, but now you found yourself unable to trust your own judgement. When had you lost your moral compass?

You swallowed and steadied yourself. Back to the task at hand.

You stepped out your door, book in hand, and began making your way through town to the rectory of St. Patrick’s. You told yourself you were just going to leave the book on the porch and walk away. No knocking, no visit, just simple and quick.

A few people stopped you on your walk to ask if you had been alright after last night. “You left in such a hurry after Mass, honey, just wanted to make sure if you were okay.” They would say.

And you were so well practiced with your sweet smile and unbothered tone that of course they believed you when you told them you thought you had left your oven on and raced home. You even earned a laugh from one of them.

You wished you could laugh as easily as them. Smile as easily. You wished you weren’t burdened with this disturbance.

In an attempt to make yourself feel stronger, you tried to put your shoulders back, and began to walk up the hill, but the closer you got, the smaller you felt. You felt very much like a child going to the principal’s office.

That dread that had been festering in your nerves peaked as your eyes fell upon the rectory. The lights were on. Somehow that made everything feel so much more difficult. Your nerves vibrated and seemed to shake in tandem with your hands.

You sucked in a breath, and held it as you pushed yourself to walk down the side of the church and to the small house. Quickly, and as quietly as you could. Things almost seemed hopeful as you went to place the book down on the porch, but just as you bent, the door opened, and you jumped.

You were frozen in place.

“Ah, Y/n. Can we help you?” Inside, you could see Bev was sat at Father Hills desk, while Wade stood, Dolly sat and Sturge held the door open. Father Hill was standing by his bookcase. The same one he had retrieved the book you held from.

You swallowed but tried to muster up that practiced smile to seem apologetic.

“So-sorry, I’m um…I just wanted to return this book to Father Hill.” You held the book up, and went to give it to Sturge, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

They were quiet for a moment, then Bev went to speak again, “Oh that’s just fine, Sturge why don’t you take the bo-“

“Please, you’re welcome to stay,” Father Hill cut her off.

You startled again by the sound of his voice. He was watching you. Had his eyes gotten darker? “…I think we were just finishing up.” He added.

Bev smiled tightly.

You didn’t.

“Oh that’s alright, I’m sure you’re all very busy with tonight and the sheriff is actually expecting me to talk abou-“ you tried, almost looking helplessly at Sturge and Dolly as they started to file out past you. You had hoped that using Hassan would gain you some credibility, though it seemed to fall upon deaf ears.

“Please…” The Father said again, now coming closer as he followed the group, though he stopped just at the edge of the couch, “I’d like to know what you thought.” He added with a small, quick smile that showed his teeth.

John didn’t like you avoiding him. He had nothing notable against the sheriff, but somehow you wanting to prioritize a meeting with the other person irked him when you had clearly walked across the island to see him. It was as if you were crying out for help, but refusing to let yourself follow through…

Do not deny yourself my lamb…let me be your guide…let me help you.

You felt your fingers go numb and your mind start to go fuzzy as Bev slipped past you and left you alone. That was the last thing you had wanted to happen.

You gaze was fixed on the older man before you, and he grinned and beckoned you inside. A chill ran down your spine. At one time he had been a beacon, but now you weren’t so certain. It was as if he knew you weren’t yourself. Like he knew you were having doubts.

“Come in.” He said, and gestured to the chair that Dolly had sat in.

You stood in the doorway.

John could almost taste your fear. He was losing you. Fast. He needed to help you find your way back to him.

“R-really it’s okay, Father…” you tried again, weakly.

“I insist.” He replied.

You sucked in a breath, and took the step inside. You knew you shouldn’t, and your gut screamed at you to leave.

You closed the door, and timidly walked further inside.

With the door shut, John walked over to you and placed a hand on your back to guide you to sit at the desk there he sat across from you.

“I didn’t finish it, Father.” You said honestly. You felt guilty for the look of surprise on his handsome face.

He blinked and nodded, “It’s a difficult read.”

You placed the book on the table in front of you, and slowly looked up at him. It was strange to not try and fill the silence, but you truly didn’t know what to say.

You’re scaring me, Father

I’m afraid.

Of course you wouldn’t say that to him but that was all you could think of.

“I want to apologise.”

You looked up at him. You hadn’t been expecting that.

“I- forgive me…I want to apologise for not being the guide you need. My health has been unpredictable for a while, and I haven’t been there. For you, and for many others.” He said gently, leaning forward to fold his hands on the desk.

You swallowed, “That’s alright, Father.”

He stared back at you then, thinking. Contemplating.

“How are you?” He asked after a moment of studying you.

He knows.

You clenched your hand.

“I’m alright, Father.” You whispered, not that you meant to.

“Are you?” He asked. The Father refused to take his eyes off of you.

You forced that sweet smile you had, and nodded, “Definitely.”

He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows he knows…

You put your hands into your lap to hide how you shook.

“Good.” Father Hill said plainly, “Off you go then…big night tonight.” He smiled a little.

You nodded and stood up a little too quickly, “Yes- yes for sure. Have a good day, Father.” You already started backing away, and he stood to follow you. You didn’t dare look away from him or turn your back on him…and you didn’t know why.

“See you tonight.” John called to you as you turned the door nob. He cursed his gift in that moment. How he couldn’t walk you out…just have a little more time to calm your anxious state.

You didn’t say anything, though you did nod and smile tightly as you opened the door.

You were out the door and down the steps and walking briskly away before the Father could manage to say anything else. The door barely clicked shut from how fast you left. You kept your head down and continued that way until you were home.

The tremor in your hands hadn’t stopped. You clenched and unclenched them in an attempt to remedy it but nothing seemed to stop it. You were troubled…so troubled.

You weren’t even certain if you wanted to go to the vigil anymore. All you wanted was for that feeling to go away.

But this was Lent.

This was Easter.

It was just an evening in the church, then after that you could keep your interactions with Father Hill short, and simple until he left and Monsignor Pruitt returned.

Your gut jolted at the thought of the younger pastor staying indefinitely.

No…no Father Pruitt is on the mainland…for…months.

You pulled your knees to your chest and gripped your rosary as the night grew darker. The shadows began to envelop you in their grasp, and you found you had never missed the sunlight so much before. The power had stopped working an hour ago, and you found yourself nervous to wonder why. Now the darkness around you seemed to weigh down on you. You muttered prayer after prayer as you contemplated going, but then suddenly you stopped.

The faint sound of singing reached your ears, and you walked to your bedroom window to look down. Sure enough, there were dozens of little lights being held by islanders as they sang their way through the roads. You turned away, and looked down at the rosary in your hand; it had cut you. You pursed your lips, then sucked in a breath, and descended your stairs to the main floor and grabbed a sweater before walking quietly out your door. Beverly was stood just beyond your gate, and she paused when you caught her eye.

“Good evening, Y/n, join us.” She beckoned you down with an outstretched candle.

And against your better judgement, you went to her.

You took the candle, and she patted your arm like she cared about you. “Bless you, my sister in Christ.” She whispered, then continued singing. The hymn was pulled from you like “Please.” and “Thank you.”- you didn’t even realize you were singing until you approached the church and your throat was growing tight. A tear fell into your cheek, and you didn’t bother trying to hide it.

Just one more night. Then maybe I can go to the mainland for a while…just one night.

St. Patrick’s glowed amongst the trees. Calling you all in. As you ascended the stairs, the glow of hundred of candles swallowed you whole. Your skin prickled at the warmth, and while you didn’t notice, your hands stopped shaking. The hard, old wood of your pew was supporting your weight as you sat without thinking. You found yourself in a slight daze as you looked from left to right to see the people around you. Faces you knew so well. It was only when you looked behind yourself that you jumped a little. Hassan was sat with Ali not far away, and while it was strange to see both of them there, you found that you grew calmer knowing your friend was there.

Both then when Hassan’s eyes met yours, you found that same look of disturbance there, and it was like a bucket of ice water. He didn’t look uncomfortable. He looked…worried.

You pursed your lips and looked around a little more, and noticed that Erin was back in her usual spot. You almost wanted to sit beside her to ask if she was alright after the last time you saw her that morning…but everyone was finished sitting, and you lost your chance.

It seemed your staring was enough to make her look in your direction though, and it was like looking in a mirror. She looked horrified. Terrified.

Something was wrong.

Any comfort you had felt began to wane. You both exchanged a look, and you suddenly wondered if you had been right; perhaps that underlying terror that had been poisoning you hadn’t been unique to you.

Both of you turned away from each other after a moment, and that feeling of solitude returned. Even amongst your community, you felt so very strange.

You slowly turned back and watched Father Hill take his place on the pulpit. His demeanour was so at ease now…he walked and stood like he belonged up there. You supposed he had been there for over six weeks…he had settled in.

You swallowed.

“This right now is one of the most beautiful things that I’ve ever seen. Now, some of you may have noticed that I’m wearing a gold chasuble tonight. I was actually wearing this on that first Sunday, the first day of the New Covenant. Bev called me out on it, in fact, and asked why I was wearing it on a day in Ordinary Time. And what I couldn’t tell her then, but what I can tell you now, is that I chose it because it was not an ordinary Sunday. Not even a little. And I had cause to celebrate, to rejoice. It was a holy day. And tonight will be different as well. Tonight is the beginning of a new era. And we are meant to celebrate the Resurrection tonight, and, and we will more than anyone ever has.”

You listened, staring at the pew in front of you. The man’s voice alone curled in your ear far too easily, and you didn’t dare look at him. Too afraid of what you might see or how you might feel.

“But first, bless me, brothers and sisters, for I have sinned. It has been too long since my last confession, and it is so long overdue, but here is my sin. I’ve lied to you all. I didn’t come here to replace Monsignor Pruitt. He isn’t recovering in a hospital in the mainland. He’s perfectly healthy.” He admitted.

At this, you looked up.

“He has been blessed. As you have all been blessed, he has been made well, made whole, made young, the same as you. He was healed long before you ever saw this face. He was the first, in fact, and he stands before you right now, asking for your forgiveness.”

For a moment, you looked from left to right at the front of the church, expecting to see the Monsignor, but then his words sunk in fully, and you grew pale. The realization fell from the base of your skull to the pit of your stomach like an iceberg. Cold paralysed your spine as confusion curdled to horror and ate at your bone marrow.

“Now, some of you must have thought it before, in the backs of your minds. Minds so trained by the world to ignore that voice, because how could it be? That would be impossible. But nothing is impossible with God. As we have seen. I was lost and confused, tired and old, on the road to Damascus when lo and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and bestowed upon me the healing graces of God. And I was restored, as you have all been restored. I returned to you all and I brought with me that angel of the Lord so that he might bless us all, and we have, we’ve seen the miracles. Our new bodies. The resurrection of the body, new and everlasting life. Now tonight, we will be tested, just a little, but we will be tested, as was Jesus. I was afraid when the New Covenant was fulfilled for me. Afraid as was our Savior, but “he who says he abides in Him, ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” “Be imitators of Christ.”I followed him into the valley of darkness, and like our Lord, I endured death. Mercifully short. A leap of faith, a step out onto the water, was all he asked of me. And, like Jesus, you will doubt, you will feel fear, but believe me, I promise you, brothers and sisters, if you follow me, if you follow us, if you follow Him, He will raise you again in His glory to eternal life. There is a price to be paid for everlasting life, as there was for our Savior. And each one of us will have the opportunity tonight to pay that price. But first and… I know after everything we’ve been through together, this is not easy to believe, so I invite you as Jesus invited Thomas to witness for yourself…Sturge?” He beckoned the gruff man over.

“And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying… ‘Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. Mourning and crying and pain will be no more. For the first things have passed away. And the one who is seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.'‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.To the thirsty, I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.'”

You watched, unable to look elsewhere. You half hoped this was some horrible dream you were having, fuelled by the discontent you felt. But as each second passed, the more you realised you were never going to wake up.

“This will be frightening for all of us, but, Sturge, my brother in Christ, are you afraid?” Father Pruitt asked him and he grasped the communion cup.

“No, Father. No, I’m not.” Sturge answered, so tamed.

I am! I am, Father! You shook.

“God be with you…” Father Pruitt murmured as Sturge drank, “I’m with you. I’m with you. I’m with him.” He cooed so gently that you actually started to feel a calm come over you, but it was gone again in a flash.

You watched Sturge jolt and grip his stomach; you jumped to your feet in horror.

“It’s all right. That’s okay,” the Father tried to sooth the crowd, but you only watched as Sturge began to cough blood all over himself, “It’s okay. It’s all right.”

The older man collapsed into the priests arms, and they both slowly lowered to the floor, “That’s all right. He’s all right. It’s all right.It will be over soon. It will be over soon.It’s all right.”

Father Pruitt cradled Sturge’s head as he convulsed, “It’s all right. Have faith! Have faith! Have faith, my brother. Have faith! It’s all right…This will be over soon. Soon. Soon.” He shushed him.

“Faith!” John cried, now looking up at the parishioners, “Just a few minutes! Just a few moments, really! The body is dead, but just for a moment! The resurrection of the body is what Easter’s about. That is what we are about to witness.”

You gripped your rosary so hard it dug into your fingers and carved into that spot it had already cut.

From behind you, you heard shuffling, and you turned to look. Hassan stood then, and gripped Ali’s arm in an attempt to pull him out the door, and you very nearly followed them, but you stopped cold when you looked past them and to the door.

“Sheriff, please. I…” Father Pruitt started to say, but as everyone turned to the door, a hush fell over the church. As your eyes focused there, you could taste your heartbeat.

There was no knowing exactly it was that stood there before you, but what it was…was evil. It was death, and pain, and forced that visceral sense of terror you had been keeping at bay to infect your sinew.

John straightened and stretched his hand out in welcome, “Behold…Lo… lo and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to them. And they were afraid.” At his words, you dared to look away from the creature walking slowly through the church, and stared instead at the very man who you had begun to think was a true testament to the good of man. In the face of such harrowing calamity his smile was one of giddiness.

He was…joyous. Excited. Almost shaking as he beheld the beast perverting his church.

You stared at him. And as he smiled…you finally noticed how that smile was so much more dangerous than it once had been. Where it had once been one of wise luminosity, now it was one that could shred flesh from bone. Those sharpened peaks that sat just a little further from his other teeth. You wondered if he had practiced hiding them.

Then that dread that had seated itself in you curdled into anger. An anger so burning that your cheeks began to warm.

“Have faith, brothers and sisters. I would not make you see what you have seen, I would not ask you to choose what you may choose, without first showing you God’s messenger. And remember, brothers and sisters, have faith that in the Bible, every time they mention an angel, when an angel appears to we humans, we are afraid. ‘And an angel of the Lord appeared to them on the right side of the altar of incense.And when Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and overcome with fear.’”

You watched the beast unfurl two massive wings from under the chasuble. Gasps echoed around you, but you could barely hear them. You were lightheaded.

“Just then, an angel of the Lord stood before them. And the glory of God shone around them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said, ‘Fear not, fear not, be not afraid!'”

Just then, Sturge gasped and sat up. You jolted and almost fell back into your seat.

“And then they took away the stone from the cave where the dead man was lying.” Father Pruitt helped the man up and embrace him, “And Jesus looked up unto the sky and said, ‘Father, I thank you, for you have heard me. You have heard me.' ‘Thank you for hearing me.'” He sobbed.

Your skin began to crawl when you heard Andy start to play the organ, and Wade and Dolly leave to the vestibule. Leeza stood there, tears in her eyes.

These were not the people you knew.

You silently walked over to the girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but she only wept harder.

“And he cried out in a loud voice! ‘Lazarus, come out!'And the dead man came out!” You saw the Scarboroughs hand out cups to each churchgoer, and a dolly even smiled at you as she handed you yours, “And his feet and hands were bound with shreds of cloth, and his face was wrapped in cloth, and Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him and let him go!'”

Bev, Wade, and Dolly all made their way through the parishioners, cups upon cups upon cups of liquid that made you more nervous than ever.

“ Brothers and sisters, you are so close to salvation. The miracle is already in you. The blood of the angel is already in your veins, but it is incomplete. The final transformation will not be yours unless you let your earthly body die, so that your divine body can awaken.” Father Pruitt pleaded, and the horrified knot that squeeze your stomach only tightened.

“One moment of faith. That’s the price God asks of us. Just one moment of courage. A small step out of the boat. Just onto the water itself. A small moment of discomfort. A small passion of our own. A gift offered up, and then we are reborn. Open your minds! Open your hearts! And listen to that voice. That voice in the back of your head. That voice the world has tried to silence, has tried to teach you to ignore! The voice of our angel, telling you, “Be not afraid.”

“No. No.” Hassan shook his head and gripped Ali’s arm, “Come on.”

You watched your friend try to pull his son out and away from the horrors, but Ali tugged, trying to stay back, “Dad. Dad! Dad! Stop! Stop!” He twisted free and stood away from his father.

Your heart broke. You couldn’t watch this. You put your cup down, and walked from Leeza and took Ali’s arm, but when you tried to reason with him to go with his father, Father Pruitt began to speak again.

You were silenced.

“Sheriff, Sheriff. I implore you not to deprive yourself. Not to deprive your son of the opportunity for salvation.” He said, hand outstretched to try and calm your friend. You held Ali, trying to inch him away from Father Hill.

You saw something change in Hassan then. Like something in him finally broke.

“Okay.” He muttered, then drew a gun from his belt and pointed it straight at Father Pruitt. You gasped, and pulled Ali but he stayed put as the priest stretched his arm out in front of you and the boy.

Tears began to roll down your cheeks as you watched helplessly. Guilt and fear began to bind itself to your tendons. You should have told Ali to stay away. You should have-

“Everybody stay back! Ali, come here right now. You’re coming with me right now. And if one of you fucking people come anywhere near my son!” Hassan spat.

You swallowed and turned Ali towards you, “Ali, Ali you need to go…please…listen-“ you tried, but he wasn’t listening.

Wade slowly began to walk out in front of the sheriff, and spoke so slow and dazed that you almost didn’t recognise him, “Hey, Sheriff, put that down. There’s no need to be waving a gun.”

Hassan raised his hand and shot the ceiling- everyone ducked in fear, cowering amongst the pews. You tried to pull Ali again, but he stood there watching as three men jumped onto his father and wrestled him to the ground.

You stared down at your friend as he struggled to look up at his son. You quietly begged Ali to listen to you, but there was a strange smile on his face. Your words weren’t being heard by him.

He was gone.

“How dare you?” Bev sneered, slowly walking down in front of the sheriff, “How dare you bring a firearm into the house of God!”

She turned then, on Ali and her violent face turned gentle, “Blessed are you, my son, for setting an example of courage. This young man is choosing God in the face of pressure from his own father.That we should all be so fearless. Thank you. For setting an example…Welcome, my son.” Said, handing him a cup just like the one you had been handed.

You went to take Ali’s arms again to stop him, but just as you went to move, your shoulders we enveloped and tugged back by large hands. You were walked backwards, firmly but gently, out of the way, “Shh…it’s alright. This is a blessing…” Father Pruitt whispered in your ear and he kept you away from the boy. You struggled against him, but you couldn’t even move under his strength.

“Let- let me go-“ you tried. But if what he said before was true- he was far stronger than you, and you were only wasting your energy.

“It’s okay, little one…it’s okay…” his voice might have eased your worry at one time, but now you found it sending your mind into a panicked frenzy, “Have faith.”

You could hear the horror and heartbreak in Hassan’s voice as he pled with his son, “No, Ali. Hey, look at me.” He struggled just as you did, “No.”

“Ali-“ you tried to get his attention, but he was already raising the cup to his mouth.

“I choose God.” He decided.

You struggled harder, twisting and turning to no avail as he tipped the cup and swallowed the contents.

The rest was all white noise. Father Pruitt released you slowly, and you wriggled away to run to the nearest person. Begging them not to drink. Most were tentative, and you were stupid to hope that meant they wouldn’t do it. But one by one, despite your pleas and a few others, they drank. You watched as Dolly stood with Leeza and drank. You rushed over to them and pulled the young girl away from her mother as she collapsed and turned her away when she convulsed.

Faith. Faith. Faith…

You could hear the Father repeating that word.

You felt Warren take Leeza and guide her back further away from the scene unfolding around you. You let him.

So many of the people you held dear drank and died before your eyes. Men, woman, children, elders. You knew you couldn’t do anything. You wanted to curled into a ball and sob.

Faith! Faith! Faith!

“When he raised them up, and carried them on eagle’s wings and brought them to himself!” His was elated to see so many accepting the gift. John stood and couldn’t help the smile on his face as he reassured his flock.

Everything seemed to slow down then. Your eyes were nearly glazed over as you watched Mildred Gunning stand and stare down the priest. You still held Leeza with Warren, and you both tried to figure out what she was doing, though it seemed she answered your question for you when she gripped the Sheriffs gun in her hand.

Your ears rang as a shot rang out.

Your tongue went numb when you saw the bullet tear a hole through John Michael Pruitt’s head.

He collapsed.

Panic rose in you again. It was second nature to want to check on the Father, but you shoved it away; he had trained you so well…preyed on your giving nature. But everything came rushing back to you when that winged creature screeched and tore Mildred from the church; her screams filling the air.

Somewhere across the church, Sarah was sobbing for her mother. The kind of cry that chilled your blood. You found her in the row next to you being held back by Erin.

It was silent…so silent aside from her sobs. All around you were bodies of the people you knew and loved. Gone in minutes.

Was this what was to become of Crockett Island?

You felt fear begin to drain from your body then.

This was your fate.

You were going to die.

That realization made everything so much less paralysing.

But you certainly were not about to be dinner.

“Close the doors. Close the doors!..Lock them!” Bev shouted as she knelt beside Father Pruitts body, “He is okay. He will be okay. He will heal. That is part of God’s miracle!His miracle which some of you would destroy!”

You turned and watched Bev cradle the priest’s head and speak to him so gently. She spoke to him like a mother might her child; you had never seen her care so much for another person.

You realized then that she was just as lost as the rest of you. He was her Jesus. She put her faith in him and made him her idol.

Gods army. He had called you all gods army.

But he had made an army for himself, with him at the centre of it.

“Hold him down.” She snapped to the men gripping Hassan still. You turned back to stare at him, “What is wrong with you? Spitting in the face of such a gift! Remove the sheriff. Take him out back. We’ll need… We’ll need food soon.” She seethed.

You felt dizzy. Your ears began to ring again, and though you saw Bev’s mouth moving, and the look of fearful realization that Sturge was staring at the blood on her hands, you couldn’t hear.

You saw Ali awaken, and felt sick at the look of euphoria on his face.

Then, one by one, the bloodied bodies around you began to twitch and groan. You couldn’t feel your toes, and you wondered if you had somehow died along with them and were floating off the ground. Just as slowly as they rose up, your hearing returned too. Though you wished it hadn’t.

“Mommy?…Mommy?” You heard Leeza cry as Dolly slowly stood.

“Leeza…” she whispered. You watched, gut twisting horribly as Dolly’s expression was nearly blissful. You had watched blood erupt from her lips just minutes ago…yet here you were now staring at her as she regained her footing.

You looked this way and that, and while the people you once knew were indeed standing, there was something in them that wasn’t quite as it should be. Something…something-

Magnetic. That was what you had first thought of Father Pa-

John Pruitt.

You corrected yourself mentally. There was no Paul Hill.

Another lie from a pious man.

Then after another few minutes came the begging. The “Please don’t hurt me.” And “Mommy it’s me.” And the calling of names. The crying. The screams. All at once. It was so loud; you could hardly think. Impulse and instinct kicked in when Sarah came to you and Leeza and helped you tear her away from Dolly as she smelled her daughter’s neck.

You were pushed and shoved amongst the chaos of it all until Hassan grabbed your waist and pulled you through to the church vestibule, then hauled in Sarah and Leeza and Annie and Erin. You all piled into the small room and knocked into the wall and the table. You heard Annie sob for Ed as the door shut…and your heard broke even more.

After a second, you looked around to see tins of rat poison on the table. But it wasn’t that that made you go stock still. It was the cowering figure of Bev Keene at the end of the room that made you all stop.

“That’ll all be over soon. And they’ll all wake up, eternal.” She said like she was trying to justify the hell on Earth that was unravelling just feet from you.

“You hid?” Sarah asked in disbelief.

Then as you all stood in silence, Bev caught sight of the gun Erin held in her hand, “What are you gonna do, Erin Greene?Guns? Those things don’t matter anymore, “she egged her on, “Not in the new world. The world without death. You could shoot me right now. It would mean I’m five minutes behind-“

Erin fired, and the bullet tore right through Bev’s chest.

You all stood there stunned.

“We have five minutes.” Erin said calmly.

And just like that, you all ran.

Keeping off the main roads seemed the best route, so you sprinted through the trees and tall grasses into the heart of the island to get some distance. After several long, exhausting minutes, you all seemed to slow and duck into a thicket near town square.

“We need to get to the boats…” Annie panted.

Hassan nodded, as did you, but Erin and Sarah shook their heads, “They’re not working. Sturge disabled them all.” Erin looked out over the landscape.

“How did…?” You started to ask.

“We…we knew something was wrong…tried to leave this afternoon but it was too late.” Sarah chimed in grimly.

And suddenly, you felt as if you could weep. You weren’t crazy. It wasn’t just you who didn’t feel right.

“Anyways…we’re going to have to figure out a strategy. We can wait them out until morning…then we can radio for help.” Erin sighed.

“Erin?” You asked, and she turned to you, “I don’t think you should be running so much what with baby-“

“She’s gone.” Erin muttered.

You went pale, eyes wide. Sarah nodded in your peripheral, and you felt your gut twist painfully, “I’m- I’m sorry.”

“Better than her getting stuck on this fucked up island.” She shook her head.

“We should burn down any empty houses…try to warn as many people as we can.” Hassan said. His voice was thick with emotion, and it took all of your strength to not hold him and weep.

Instead, you nodded.

“Y/n, you take Leeza and Warren to the Uppards…hide there. Take one of the row boats out into the water if you need to.” He stared into your soul, and you nodded.

“I want to help-“ you tried.

“You will be. Keep those two safe.” He said, and you finally nodded.

“Atta girl.” He said, “Alright…Annie let’s go find some fuel.”

Your throat went tight when he spoke to you, and you could feel yourself on the cusp of hyperventilating, but you forced yourself to ignore it. You all stood up together, and you gathered the traumatised teenagers. You all stood there for a moment looking eachother over.

“Be- be careful.” You forced out as tears began to rise in your eyes.

“You too.” Annie smiled tightly, and kissed Warren’s head, “I love you my boy.”

No one hugged aside from Annie and her son, no one said much of anything. There was so much you all wanted to say to each other but there were not enough words to say it. You cast Hassan one last look and offered him a small, tight smile before your groups parted. He returned it with a nod, and you patted his arm before you grabbed the children by the hands and began leading them back towards the church to get to the Uppards.

Once you were halfway through your journey, something caught your attention, and you quickly yanked both teenagers down u to the high grass with you for cover.

“What’s wro-“ Warren started to ask, but you put your finger to your lips for him to be quiet, and you all listened. You could hear feet on gravel. Several pairs of feet…meandering down the road not far from you. You felt a wave of nausea crest through you. They let them out of the church.

On the loose to feed.

Adrenaline had been pumping in your bloodstream for well over an hour now, and it told you to run. That you could make it- that they wouldn’t catch you. But you weren’t about to risk it…not with Leeza and Warren with you.

Minutes ticked by, and your muscles ached from being in the same position, but after a long while, you didn’t hear anyone else. You smile rose your head up and sighed a breath of relief that was short lived. Just moments after you had deemed it safe to run, a new sound reached your ears.

Faint screaming.

You turned and looked back towards the town. Small plumes of smoke had begun to spiral into the sky. You sucked in a breath, and steadied yourself before taking the hands of the teenagers and pulling them up and began running again. You moved deeper into the trees, and twigs scratched your legs and face as you pushed on, gasping for breath as you tasted iron.

Tears began to sting at your eyes again. You wished you could have told your friend’s how much they meant to you. That you would see them after. But it all seemed so empty in hindsite. Even just telling them that wouldn’t have been enough.

As the three of you began to pass the church, you slowed your pace amongst the trees to stare at the glowing building.

You didn’t know why you needed to go there, but you felt that pull inside you.

One more time.

“What is it?” Leeza asked when she noticed you had stopped.

“Nothing. Go. Go I’ll meet you there okay?” You whispered, “If I’m not there in twenty minutes, you push one of the rowboats into the water and you get out into the bay, and you pray to God. Okay?”

They both nodded, and you returned the gesture before shooing them away. You watched them go for a few minutes- the sound of screams growing more constant all around you.

The possibility of death was not so horrible as you strode through the woods that thinned at the back of the rectory. You had accepted your likely death back when you had been sitting on your pew.

Be not afraid…

How ironic that indeed you no longer held any fear for your end.

You slowly walked through the grass, down the side of the church, and up the stairs. With each step you saw more and more of the remanence of the carnage that had taken place. Bloody handprints streaked the doorway and the floor, and various articles of clothing were left strewn around. You looked at the pews that you had sat in since childhood, and at the windows that you used to stare out of. A flood of memories you had from St.Patrick’s invaded your head, and you felt a single tear roll down your cheek.

Your gaze moved down the aisle, taking in what was left of St. Patrick’s. Then as you reached the stairs of the pulpit, you stopped.

There sat John Pruitt and Mildred Gunning, both staring back at you.

You sucked in a breath.

There were no words you could say to that man. Not anymore. You might have spilled your heart out to him at one point not long ago, but whatever it was that you needed to say to him didn’t matter anymore.

John heard a heartbeat approaching from outside, and waited as it approached. He felt his gut twist at the prospect of it being lost islanders who didn’t understand what was happening. How did this all go wrong?

But he wasn’t prepared for it to be you. There was so much he needed to say to you…so much you needed to know, but he had never seen you cast such a cold look before.

Father Pruitt went to stand, “Y/n-“ he called to you, but you were gone just as fast as you had appeared.

Hearing him say your name was like a blow to your stomach. You spun around and bolted outside and into the bushes to save a life you barely had. Your lungs burned painfully but you didn’t dare stop running until you were on the sand of the Uppards. The trees thinned into high grasses, and you slowed your pace as you walked out to the shore. You looked out at the water, and saw Leeza and Warren in a small boat in the water. You saw them spot you, and you waved, which they returned.

You thanked God that they were safe.

There was still a couple hours left before sunrise and the safety it brought you, so you found a softer patch amongst the thick brush, and you sat down. Either you would be found and killed, or you would live another day. There wasn’t a great deal you could do to avoid the former, so you waited.

Waited for that sunrise of revival that you used to love as a little girl.

You rocked back and forth, and sang gently to calm yourself as the world began to glow. Smoke from the town had begun to fill the air, and you wondered if you would be able to say hello to your friends again. You were anxious to walk back into town; you just wanted to know who survived. You needed to see Hassan to radio for help or see if he had any connections to the coastguard. You knew he would be alright…he had to be. Even if he was turned you were certain he would try to help you get away.

You stayed in your place until Leeza and Warren returned back to shore. The sky was a bright blue then, with fading pinks and oranges- colourful just like the Easter eggs you used to hunt.

The teenager’s eyes were just as bloodshot as yours, and you were certain there were no more tears left in you to cry.

The three of you began walking back down the island. You tried not to focus on the blood stains in the dirt and grass every so often, and the other two didn’t seem to wish to comment on it either.

You came to the church, and the other buildings there, and noted that the windows were all covered and boarded up aside from the rectory.

You looked back at Leeza and Warren, and they both stared at the buildings, lost. You knew what they were thinking. “Our parents are in there.” But they didn’t say it. You pursed your lips and began guiding them along, down Main St.

The closer you got to the town, the more bodies and…remains you saw. You steeled your nerves and kept going, hoping and waiting to see someone else alive.

Various buildings were still smouldering. You walked past the general store, and stopped short when you came to your little shop. Or what was left of it.

You thought you might burst into tears at the sight, but you didn’t. You couldn’t. You couldn’t feel anything. It wouldn’t matter if you did or didn’t. Everything was gone.

“Warren?” You muttered.

“Yeah?” He said, tearing his eyes from a bloodied shirt on the ground.

“You know where my house is right?”

“Yeah it’s-“

“Go there.” You breathed out, “Check if the windows are covered…if not, go inside and wait for me. Don’t go anywhere else. There’s food in the fridge.” You gave them both a tight smile and ushered them away. Leeza took his hand and cast you one last look before hurrying to keep up with Warren’s stride.

As they disappeared down the road, you started to look around the town more carefully. You weaved through buildings and along the shore, calling out for anyone.

“Hello? Hello!” You yelled as you trudged along the sand. But on seagulls cawed back to you, “Hassan?” You tried.

You walked further, and came to a pause as you stared out over the water. You had always liked how quiet Crockett was, but now it was silent.

You sighed, and turned back towards the bushes to find a break in them so you could survey the damage further. Just a few meters away there was one, and you began trudging towards it. But as you grew closer, your steps slowed.

There was a body lying there.

You hadn’t noticed that you were walking again until you stopped cold. You had thought that you couldn’t feel your stomach drop anymore, but it seemed that you were able to one more time.

It was the blue denim jacket that stopped you.

You knew that jacket. You saw it almost everyday. You made jokes about that jacket.

“No…”

You took the remaining steps to it, and collapsed to the ground- knees colliding with the earth painfully.

Your friend. Your coffee buddy. Your ally.

Hassan Al Shabaz.

Your throat was tight and dry as you wept. Rivers of tears flooded your cheeks as you knelt over his body, and gripped his limp arm.

“Wake up…Hassan wake up…pl-please…don’t leave me alone…” you sobbed, shaking him.

Out of everyone you thought he would be the last to go…and never like this.

You wished you had told him what a wonderful father he was. You wished you had hugged him. You wished you had told him that he did all he could and that was enough. You wished you told him he was loved by God. You wished you had been able to say goodbye.

You wished none of this had happened.

You wished John Pruitt had stayed lost in that desert. You wished you had told him to leave and never look back.

You wished you had done better.

But now all you could do was roll him over, and push his hair from his face. You took a shuttering breath when your eyes caught the bullet wound in his stomach with the halo of blood around it that saturated his clothes.

You could have sat there until night fall to let the islanders have you. But you knew Leeza and Warren were waiting for you, and you were going to keep them safe.

When you walked to your house, Warren asked you what you were doing as you grabbed your shovel. It only look one grim look for him to understand.

“Need a hand?” He asked you.

You shook your head, and walked back to where your friend laid. It took the remaining daylight for you to bury him. You placed a halo of stones around his grave, and retrieved a photo of him with Ali from their house. You placed it directly over him, and let out your last few tears before returning home and reinforcing your house.

It took an hour past sunset for the power to be restored. You hid in the basement that night. You could hear the Flynns and Scarboroughs pounding on your door begging to see their children. But they didn’t break the door down. They understood.

It wasn’t until a couple days later that the islanders got the kids.

You were out during the day when their parents called your landline, begging for them to see them. It was likely with good intent, but while their parents might have meant well, there was dozens and dozens of hungry islanders who didn’t.

You had felt so numb when you returned to find them gone.

You would survive purely off the idea that one day your rage would be witnessed by the man who made your life putrefy from the inside out.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

@littleredwritingcat @zaunite-leo @f4er1e-g1rl @purplemotif @vampyre-kin @professional-sinner @hamishlinklaters @spacechupss @pansexualpamandabear @ebiemidnightlibrarian @erialuna @nilla-bear @vintageglassheart02

[accio-victuuri]

this post from me is overdue only because i feel like whatever i say will not be enough. this is related to wyb and his cast mates’ blackface during a scene in FPU. i haven’t watched the movie, but i saw the clip and know of the context, but all in all, it doesn’t really matter cause it’s wrong. we first knew of it because of leaks that came out during filming. then as soon as i saw some people on wb sharing the close up, i was like nope. after a while, it went on hs as “wyb cosplaying bouboo”. the tag itself should tell you what the people there in general think of it. or how they view it. cosplay. no harm done. even youku’s official weibo account used the tag to promote SDC. i cannot even deal. then the FPU weibo account, the next day, posted the cut of the scene, probably seeing how popular the cos tag was and released it. i’m sharing this here, to show the difference of how this is taken in 🇨🇳 vs. outside. i’m sure there are people in the mainland who see it for what it is but they are in the minority. 

let’s be real here. those of us who followed this movie knew it was gonna be problematic. tho i personally didn’t anticipate something like this coming out of it. with the question of why this was not cut, i could only guess that it was an “important” plot point. also this was yibo’s first “starring” movie and i doubt he had any say in the story. i’m not excusing him tho, there is definitely room for him to learn more especially since mainland china is no longer his sole audience.

i am and will continue to be a fan of wang yibo for as long as i can. i am aware of his limitations. if people are offended, i completely understand and your anger is valid. to those who wanna unstan him then go ahead. i know this is magnified as well because of his status as a celebrity. i can only hope that when you see someone you know commit the same mistake, that your first move is to not hate and scream at them. what we really need is for people to reach out and engage in meaningful conversations for the problem to be solved.

that’s all i can say for this matter. i don’t wanna agonize over what i’m gonna post anymore so this is it. 🤍

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

Hello! I remember you mentioning in a previous post that "cdramas and kdramas utilize different writing styles and different tropes". I've only watched 4 historical cdramas and 2 sageuks, so I’m still pretty new to all of this and would love to learn more. So could you pls elaborate on the differences (and perhaps also similarities) between the writing styles and tropes of cdramas vs kdramas that you've noticed? And/or maybe recommend sources on this topic? Tysm!!!

This is going to be in 2 parts.

I think the starting point is that not every historical c-drama belongs in the same genre. For example, A Journey to Love is a historical and Goodbye My Princess is a historical and the Double is a historical and Yanxi Palace is a historical, but those are historical dramas in four separate genres (all technically within the confines of the idol genre, I'm putting something like the Advisor's Alliance in separate bucket all together). It's not necessarily based on directing/acting style, but the tradition it draws from.

For example, a journey to love draws from the wuxia (martial arts) tradition, even though there are political elements in it (most wuxia do, for example, Hero or a House of Flying Daggers). Goodbye My Princess is probably the most obvious kind of historical, even if it's set in a fake dynasty - it centers around royals and court intrigue. The Double is what is referred to as a Zhai Dou (or courtyard intrigue), and it draws from the tradition of Dreams of Red Chamber, which is considered a classic chinese novel (if you read the wikipedia page and the character synopsis, you'll see a lot of similarities with these type of dramas). Yanxi Palace -- which you no longer really see today -- is a harem drama, and that's different from a courtyard drama. A harem drama really strictly refers to the imperial harem.

So if you're a fan of the Double, dramas in that sub genre category - Story of Minglan, Blossom, Sword and Blocade.

If you are a fan of a journey to love - Condor Heroes, Vigilantes in Mask, the Ingenious Ones.

Goodbye My Princess - the King's Woman, Story of Kunning Palace, Singing All Along, the Glory of Tang Dynasty.

Yanxi Palace - Legend of Ruyi, Legend of Zhen Huan, Legend of Mi Yue, the Empress of China

The second part is how is it different from k-dramas? I can't speak to every saguek that's been aired, but I think the starting point is realizing that mainland China and South Korea have extremely different political landscapes. There are obvious no-nos in China that would not apply in South Korea. But it also means, thematically, that affects genre and tropes.

For example, across multiple years of watching various political historical c-dramas particularly, there are two themes that I see a lot (outside of specific romance) - what is considered "true freedom" (historicals about royals used to talk about this a LOT) and the idea that we have to do things we don't want to do, and we don't want to do thing we have to do, and the characters' acceptance/non-acceptance of that. If you think about the mainland political landscape - an authoritarian government -- that makes a lot of sense why its media would focus on that theme. I do find that Chinese dramas as a whole tend to be .. very into making extremely subtle allegories based on some proverb or some poetry that you won't completely realize until 30 something episodes later.

And admittedly, when I watch k-dramas, sagueks are not my go-to, but the one thing that really jump out at me -- I feel like I'm often watching how that archetype of a character react to a specific plot (I'm just thinking of the various Lee Jun Ki dramas I've watched over the years), which is not to say that the character isn't fleshed out or the drama isn't well written, but the way the writing fleshes out the character is different and it's a different way of storytelling.

(Versus, like the plot of the Glory of Tang Dynasty and Goodbye My Princess and Singing All Along are fundamentally very similar. I would say the plot of most "political c-dramas" at its core are very similar. sure, there are micro plots, but you don't need to really figure it out the way that I find I have to with k-drama plots.)

The closest overlap that I have seen is Empress Ki - which actually makes sense, in that the historical period spans across Goryeo and Yuan dynasty. But if Empress Ki had been a c-drama, for example, I would expect to see a lot of various scenes hitting you over and over again (and I don't mean it in a bad way) about what is true freedom in the imperial setting.

I will add a HUGE caveat - it is also entirely possible that there are stuff in k-dramas that I simply don't pick up because I don't understand the language. I speak Mandarin (it is my first language), so it is simply possible that some smaller things stick to me in a c-drama.

[itsjustemily]

The Wilds AU-Megop

Orion felt his plating quake, which was the first sign that something was wrong, because he shouldn’t feel the cold. His functions would slow, perhaps stop until the warmth would return, but he wouldn’t know that until the notifications for the emergency shut down protocols overtook his HUD. The next sign came a few days after, when he felt the exhaustion set in, which wasn’t so abnormal if it weren’t for the fact that he had slept for nearly two days straight. Primus help him when Ratchet found out and commed him, nearly pleading for him to secure a spot on the next ship leaving the island and come back to the mainland, even sending Rodimus to try to convince him to leave to old stone hut. The young apprentice truly did try his best, telling Orion he would be able to come back once spring returned, that D-16 would feel better knowing he was safe. The mention of his old friend likely would have been enough if Rodimus had left the thought to fester in his mind, but Primus bless him, Rodimus never knew when to shut up. When he mentioned the violent storms that were coming from the south and the increase of bounty hunters, Orion’s thoughts traveled further to darker territories. Thinking of all the possibilities that his friend may have not even made it safely to warmer climates and caused him to rip away his transmitter. ‘I made a promise.’ Is all he would say when Rodimus asked why. All he could do was help reinforce the hut and prepare it for the harsh winter ahead of him before he bid his friend goodbye, promising to come back for him the moment the ocean and winds had calmed enough. Orion nearly had to push his worried friend onto the boat, waving goodbye before vanishing from the site of others, not wanting to face their grief and disappointment.

The first true frost Orion woke up to had left his limbs stiff and sore, feeling like he had been rusting away for ages as he sat up to start a fire. The duel tone grays in the sky seemed to dull the once vibrant island when he walked outside. The path before him was so familiar that he let himself wander while his thoughts trailed through memory and worry. The first time D-16 had brought him here, Orion had been so excited that he hadn’t noticed how close to the edge he was, until the dirt below his foot crumbled away and he was sent floating down the river. D-16 still hadn’t let him live down the fact that he had to chase him down and pull him out of the water, before taking Orion to the cliff sides to watch the passage of large cargo ships and fliers performing their aerials. They went there often to sit and trade stories, D telling Orion about the island and Orion telling D about the mainland, both discussing, arguing, and dreaming endless summer days away.

“One day, I’m going to transform into a flier and go far away from here” D said once.

“Oh yeah? And go where, there isn’t anywhere to go besides to mainland. Everything else is either too far or uninhabitable.” Orion replied.

“I’ve been watching every season, everyone who can fly goes in a different direction than all the ships that take everyone to the mainland. There’s more out there, Iacon isn’t the only place for us and I’m going to find a new place for us. When I do, I’ll bring you with me.”

“How? I’m not built to be a plane, I’ll likely transform into a truck and have to get a job doing transport.”

“Is that what you want to do?” D asked.

“I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing.” A moment of silence had past, “I would like to work in the Hall of Records. There’s so much information to learn from there, yet only certain classes are allowed, unless you have a worker’s pass. Imagine what could be learned and shared. Hey, maybe I could find some old datapads with maps downloaded, that way you aren’t flying aimlessly across the sea.” Orion said, tapping his hand on D’s shoulder.

“But that brings us back to your original problem, how are you suppose to come with? I may be the stronger of the two of us but I can’t carry you the entire way.” D said, giving Orion a light shove.

“Ha, guess I’ll just have to follow you on a boat, once I make enough to buy one.”

With a blink Orion realized he walked all the way to the familiar cliff side, the ocean’s chill making the tremor of his plating even worse as it sunk down to his protoform. Wrapping his arms tightly around himself, he slowly made his way back to the hut, the fire long having gone out along with its small solace of warmth. He only sighed, not having the mental strength to try and relight the charred coal and ashy remains of what organic plants he could find, and sat down next to the recharge slab. Reaching over he grabbed a blank data pad he had managed to swipe the last season when he had returned to Iacon, he gripped the pen in his numb hands as he tried to write. Recording the memories from last night, the things he did that day and reminisced about what would be when D-16 returned. As he wrote his mind drifted again to the last time he saw his dear friend, the excitement in his eyes when he came to tell him that he finally got his cog, that he had gotten to touch the skies above them.

“It was amazing Pax! That feeling it was so-and the way everything looked and the sheer freedom of it all!” D-16 exclaimed, gasping still as though he hadn’t caught his breath from the flight back from Iacon and shaking Orion by his shoulders.

“I’m happy for you buddy, this is exciting. Imagine what you can do now with this ability, what you can prove to the council and everyone in Iacon.”

“I’m not gonna carry you across the ocean, Pax. I’m still learning how not to lose my balance when a wind current hits.”

Orion laughed, “No, I mean about us, all of us. How many Cybertronians called you crazy because you said you were gonna transform into a flier? You’re the starting point for a big change, I can feel it!”

“Yeah, right, like how you had a feeling you could transform without a cog?”

“We agreed to never mention that.” “Or how you had a feeling, the organic food we found was perfectly safe for us to eat, cause ‘What’s the worst that could happen’.”

“Ok ok, you’ve made your point.”

“Oh, or how you had such a strong feeling Elita-1 would agree to-”

“Alright, sometimes I have bad ideas.” Orion said, quickly covering D-16’s mouth, his face flushing blue.

D-16 chuckled as he took Orion’s hand from his face.

“So are you back for good or will they send you to Iacon.” Orion asked after a moment of peace.

“I was given a few days here to practice my flight. My new mentors say the changing currents from the ocean winds will help me gather my strength and endurance. After that I have to immediately go back to study the flight pattern for when winter comes in a month.”

“That’s...not very long.”

“Yeah, this may be the last time we see each other for a couple months.”

“Well, at least it’s not forever. Soon I’ll have my own cog and we can still travel to new places, just like we planned.”

“Guess we’ll just have to wait to then.”

“Just make sure you come say good-bye before you leave.”

Orion hadn’t noticed that he had dropped the pen as he rested his hand on the data pad, his helm and spark felt heavy as he remembered that good-bye. Oh, how he wished it had never happened, that he never told his friend that he’d miss him and promised to be waiting for him on the island when he came back. He wished he never hugged him tightly till other fliers to him to get moving. He wished he never ran after D even as he took to the skies till he reached that stupid cliff-side and watched him disappear into the horizon, only looking back briefly before turning away to steel himself. ‘I’m sorry D, I think I may have broken our promise.’ He thought to himself before letting his optics power down.

*****

Rodimus looked up as a loud roar echoed in the sky, similar to that of a number of jets and planes coming up from the South. With a strike of realization, he dropped the bow he was practicing with and ran as fast as he could to the old stone hut. He wasn’t sure what to expect, having never really spoken to the former miner before, but he could only imagine the worst if he was a stubborn as Orion Pax. Looking up once more, he could see a silvery-gray jet deviate from the rest of the fliers, making a sharp dive towards where he knew the hut was. Nearly tripping out of the bushes he came face to face with a large mech, D-16, who stared at him very confused and almost angry as he stepped away from the doorway holding up a blaster.

“Whoa whoa whoa, I’m a friend! Friendly! I knew Orion!” Rodimus shouted, throwing his servos up.

“Where is Orion Pax? What do you mean ‘knew’!?” D-16 asked, his own confused thoughts making his anger worse.

When Orion hadn’t responded to his initial comm, he had briefly wondered if he was still too far away or if maybe his friend had overslept from residual cold in the city. It was when he had tried the second, third, sixth, fifteenth time when the island was in sight and he still hadn’t even picked-up the signal of his transmitter did he begin to worry. He knew his friend was clumsy, but with how close he was with that medic nothing would have stayed broken for long. When he saw their usual hang-out spot and saw he wasn’t there he flew as fast as he could to his old home, praying that Orion forgot the big return or was maybe by some grace of Primus being responsible and trying to earn his own T-cog. But even as he landed carefully outside the quiet, now reenforced hovel and looked inside to find it empty did he now begin to think maybe his friend never came back at all, choosing to stay in the company of others. Turning quickly at the sound of rustling leaves and seeing an unfamiliar young looking mech only made his thoughts swirl worse.

Rodimus sighed and thought for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation to someone who had clearly already developed their own ideas. Eventually, he simply dropped his servos and walked towards a small dirt trail he hand made by walking it many times, turning to D-16.

“C’mon, I’ll show you.” He said before walking away.

D-16 hesitated for a moment, looking back into his house before putting away his weapon and following the mech. The walk wasn’t far, but secluded enough that it almost felt peaceful, if not somewhat remorseful. He didn’t have time to wonder why when they reached the end of the trail and he felt his spark drop at the sight of a grayed and still Orion Pax, lying on a slab of quartz and stone with bits of moss blanketing the ground around him.

“I found him in the hut. He refused to leave the island and froze to death writing down his days while he waited for you.”

“…..Why? Why didn’t he go back to the mainland!? WHY IN PRIMUS’S NAME DID HE STAY!?” D screamed, grabbing Rodimus in a crushing grip.

Rodimus was silent as he tried to hold back his own emotions, “It,” a quick breath, “It was my fault. He was determined to keep this promise he had made, even though we all told him that he wouldn’t survive here and I think he was almost convinced and then I told about the storms that had happened. He then refused to leave no matter what I did and all we could do was pray he would survive just enough that Ratchet could save him. I snuck onto the very first ship that was coming here so I could meet up with him as soon as possible but he was already gone.”

By the end of his explanation, tears had already fallen from his optics, having to remember finding his friend cold and motionless.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want him to die. I swear I was trying to help him.” He cried.

D felt his anger quickly melt away into shock as Rodimus spoke. Orion stayed? During the winter, fully aware of what would happen. All over that stupid promise they made. Almost instinctively he rested his servo on Rodimus’s shoulder in an awkward attempt to comfort him.

“Let’s-let’s go back, I want to read what he left and you can catch me up on the rest.” He said.

Rodimus nodded and walked back to the hut. D-16 lingered for a moment, walking over to cradle Orion’s face.

“I wish you had left, but you never turned your back on your word. That’s something I knew I could always count on when it came to you...and one of the things I always loved about you.” He leaned down and kissed his forehelm, “Til all are one. And don’t worry, I’ll watch out for your friend.”

He gently patted his face before stepping away from his past, forcing himself to face his new future.

[starlightwayfinder]

I got the sudden urge to share about an AU, and I actually think it’s one I’ve never talked about here before?

Anyway, it’s just for fun, but a while ago I decided to make a Pixie Hollow AU. I liked the first couple Tinker Bell movies a lot as a kid, so it’s fun for me to revisit that world now. (The AU takes place in Pixie Hollow/Neverland, but the characters themselves are all from KH. Most of them would be KHUX-style keykids, but they’re not exclusively from any one point on the KH timeline)

As far as world building goes, it’s mostly the same as the movie. The fairies are born from dandelion seeds + children’s laughter (perfect, right?) and end up in Pixie Hollow. There, they choose their talent and work to prepare for the change of the seasons. There’s a minister who oversees each season, in addition to a ruler over all of the fairies. (I think in the later movies they made it so the winter fairies are separate from the rest, but I’m choosing to ignore that since… it wasn’t really a thing back when I was watching them.)

They do still have Keys, but they’re lost keys that become magical when they appear in Neverland. They can all open any lock, but additional abilities will depend on the wielder’s talent.

So now to the fun part—assigning talents! 

First, the seasons: 

Ava is the Minister of Spring, Gula is Minister of Summer, Invi is Minister of Winter, and Aced is Minister of Autumn. Similar to his role in Back Cover, Ira is the king in charge of overseeing them. (And yes, Aced would still prefer to have Ira’s role as leader!) 

I made concept designs for them when I first came up with the AU, but now I’d probably change the masks to make them simpler. Dust-keepers:

Sora

Skuld

Player

Vor

The Dust-keepers store/distribute rations of pixie dust. It’s a somewhat mundane job, but all of the other talents depend on them to keep things running. Sora of course is happy to have a role supporting his friends, and Player and Skuld are known for being dependable helpers as well. Vor is the most unsatisfied with her talent, and will often get in trouble for flying off to do fun things with the others. 

Garden talents:

Kairi

Lauriam

Strelitzia 

Sigrun

These four are chosen for fairly obvious reasons, haha. They help to plant and grow flowers on the ‘mainland’. Lauriam and Strelitzia are still siblings, in the sense that they’re seeds from the same dandelion that were enchanted by the laughter of two human siblings. 

Water talents:

Aqua

Hermod

Xion

Roxas

Water talents are in charge of rain, morning dew, ponds, etc. Xion spends her free time with Roxas looking for seashells around mermaid lagoon.

Frost talents:

Xehanort

Urd

Baldr

Heimdall

Frost talents are in charge of making snowflakes and ice. They’re great at what they do, but have a bit of a rivalry with the garden fairies after an incident of freezing their flowers... Baldr and Hoder are ‘siblings’ like Lauriam and Strelitzia. Hoder chose her talent first, and Baldr almost picked the same to stay with her. However, he ultimately felt more called to be a Frost talent.

Light talents:

Eraqus

Hoder

Vidar

Elrena *

Odin 

Light talents are in charge of storing light, making rainbows, guiding sunbeams, and looking after fireflies. They’re also the ones who melt snow when it’s time for spring to arrive—so there’s a bit of irony in Eraqus and Xehanort’s friendship. Hoder probably would’ve preferred her brother becoming a light fairy, but they still spend plenty of time together outside of their roles. Elrena is something of an odd one out, as she creates lightning and works with the water fairies to make storms. Odin is primarily a ‘supervisor’ figure for them.

*edit—apparently Storm talents are a thing, so Elrena is one of those now 🌩️

Fast-flying talents:

Ventus

Vanitas

Vali

Vala 

The Fast-flying talents use wind to transport seeds and pollen. They make deliveries and send messages thanks to their incredible speed. They also guide newcomers to Pixie Hollow. 

Vala and Vali are close friends, but Vanitas and Ventus don’t get along well. Vanitas is competitive, while Ven is much more easygoing. Sora was a fairy Ven guided, so he got to see him choose his talent.

Tinker talents:

Ephemer

Brain

Naminé

Remus

Tinkers are in charge of everything that needs to be made or designed. Ephemer and Brain are always working together on a new gadget to help the other talents. Naminé is more of an artist, so she’s interested in finding and restoring lost things. She often helps people to remember something they’ve forgotten by returning their lost item. (I put Remus here even though we don’t know much about him, because he seems to have an interest in ‘lost things’ as well.)

Scout talents:

Riku

Terra

Helgi

Bragi

Last but not least—the scouts! They’re in charge of keeping an eye out for hawks, pirates, and any other potential threats. It’s the most dangerous talent by far, but they’re determined to protect their friends. (Bragi in this AU is not ‘Luxu’, he’s just himself!)

Starlight. Where are the animal talent fairies?

So, they exist, but they’re mostly just the generic keykids I mentioned before. I’m honestly not sure who out of the main characters would fit as an animal talent…

Regarding other characters: I’ve limited the fairies to just the Keyblade wielders, excluding Lea. The others exist in the AU, but they’re either mainland humans or pirates, haha. Roxas and Xion would eventually befriend the (human) Lea and Isa, but that’s a story for another time.

[lesbicisms]

Writing draft

I'm uncertain of if anyone will see this but I'm creating a short story for my degree at the moment. Currently going down a spiral of everything I write is terrible but I'm trying to continue to finish my first draft. If you see this (and want to read) then please let me know what you think! I'm hoping to get some feedback. :')

Part 1

They say that she probably won’t live past the end of the year. Her body will slowly shut down and rot away until nothing but bones remain. It’s likely that it’s impossible to cure her now. 

She stands in front of me in the workspace that I have inhabited for the last 10 years. There is timidness behind the words she’s saying but they hang heavy in the air. I say nothing. There is no room in my mind for words of comfort, it’s never really been my thing but I’m not too sure she would want empty words of consolation right now anyway. After watching my face for another 10 minutes she leaves in a hurry, telling me to call her when I’ve sorted through the mess in my head. 

The workspace is the best room in the house. Large, with shelves lining every wall. Instruments and inventions live high up on these walls - they observe me idly. One considerable table in the middle of the space is still littered with construction equipment and other apparatus. This room is the birthplace of the many innovations that have earned me the title of a ‘respected scientist’. 

My eyes dart around the familiar room as I try to calm my racing heart. It doesn’t really matter. Shaky breaths burst out from between my lips. It honestly does not matter. This isn’t necessarily new information, I already knew she was ill. It’s why I started the new project in the first place - to ensure that death remains a stranger to her. 

The glare of the sun through the window does little to lighten the dark tension that permeates through the room. My body is stiff in the desk chair, back straight and arms in my lap. Every muscle is screaming at me to relax. The intense light radiating from the screen in front of my face becomes unbearable. With shaking hands I reach towards the computer monitor on the desk and force it to shut down for the evening. In doing so, I cut off the whirring noises coming from the fans and thrust the room into complete silence. 

My knees click as I push myself up from the chair and unsteadily wander towards the kitchen. The kettle trembles as I pour the hot water into the mug, I spill some of it onto the mahogany worktop. The nutty-sweet scent of coffee is inviting and welcomed with relief. 

There is a light breeze outside today so the swaying of trees is easy to hear. Being just off the mainland makes my house and the others around me quite isolated. I am grateful for the fact that greenery stretches on for miles but there is no shortage of neighbours. Lounging in the grass outside and observing the individuals around me is something I often enjoy doing. Their laughing, shouting and general chatter serves as decent entertainment and background noise. It is, however, unfortunate that the children tend to avoid playing around my house in particular. I am uncertain of whether it is because of parental influence or simply because they do not like me or the house itself. 

When I am left to my own thoughts I find myself wondering about these relationships that humans are able to cultivate. All of it just for it to be over in a few decades once one of them decides not to wake up anymore. But not for me. For me it will be different and I am certain of it. 

[cameronspecial]

Thorn In My Side, Rose In My Hand (Part 9)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: Soft NSFW (Not all the way but some sexual content) and it could be angst, but idk.

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 3.4K

Summary: Y/N thinks she is ready for the next step in the relationship, but what happens when she starts to think otherwise.

Masterlist

September passes by in a breeze and before anyone knows it, Y/N, Mason, and Rafe are packing for a weekend away for the boys' swim meet. The three will be going without their parents. Marvin has a big case he has to work on, Cassie has meetings with studio heads about a possible book adaptation and Ward just couldn’t care enough to go. Y/N finishes packing away a few clothes into her duffle bag. “Y/N/N, time to go,” Mason yells from downstairs. “Coming!” She zips up her bag, making sure to grab her tote bag with all of her books and Rafe’s swim sweater. She runs downstairs, accidentally exciting the pup lying at the foot of the bed into thinking they are going out together. Sparky tries to follow the girl out the door but is stopped by her picking him up and placing him into Marvin’s arms. “Sorry, Bubba, but you are staying here with grandma and grandpa. Mommy and Daddy are going to the mainland,” Y/N apologizes. 

Little does she know, Rafe is standing outside of the open front door, listening to how she just referred to him. It causes red to creep up on Rafe’s cheeks and neck. Mason walks up behind him and claps his hand on Rafe’s back. “Damn, looks like you are stuck with Sparky. He is your baby now,” Mason jokes, heading inside to pull his sister away from the dog. “No, I’m not ready to leave him yet,” she whines as her brother gently pulls her towards Rafe’s jeep. “Hi my rose, ready to go?” Rafe inquires, giving her a kiss and then taking the bags out of her hands to put them into his car. She nods her head, “Yep, Mason can sit in front with you. I’m not in the mood to talk right now. I want to read.” Rafe nods, opening the back door to help her into the car. 

—— 

They arrive at the hotel and check in without an issue. Rafe makes his way to his room, while Y/N and Mason head to their shared room. They knew their parents wouldn’t have cared if Y/N had stayed in the same room as Rafe, but she feels more comfortable staying with her brother. If she slept in Rafe’s room, it would cause her to feel pressure to have sex with him and she isn’t sure she is ready for that yet. Sure, she isn’t a virgin, but she knows that he has far more experience with more promiscuous women. It isn’t that she feels insecure about her sexual ability; it’s just that she wants to grow their emotional relationship first. 

——

The stands around the pool are filled with cheers from the support system of various swimmers. Y/N found a seat about three rows behind the bench of waiting swimmers. She can see the back of Rafe’s swim panchos with their last names on display. Swimmers wear them to keep warm when they wait on the sidelines for their races. While Rafe excels at breaststroke, Mason is known for winning during the freestyle events, which means Y/N cheers on her brother from the stands. She watches as her brother finishes his last lap and reaches the end of the pool before anyone else. He has a good five-second lead against everyone else. Y/N screams her brother’s name at the top of her lungs. 

The next few events don’t feature either of her boys, so she sits back down and pulls out her book to not block the view of other people. “Next event is men’s 200m breaststroke,” the booming speaker announces. Y/N quickly packs away her book and stands up to ensure that she will be able to see Rafe. She watches Rafe approach the swimming platform. She has to stop herself from drooling at the slight flex of his muscles as he leans down into position. The sound of the horn reverberates against the walls once everyone is ready. Rafe dives into the water and glides through the water; faster than any of the other swimmers. Before she knows it, Rafe is celebrating his win on the poolside. He is a whole thirteen seconds ahead of anyone else, which is incredible. Once he is done thanking his team meets, who are congratulating him, Rafe turns towards where he spotted Y/N in the stands earlier and points at her. He blows her a kiss with a massive smile on his face. He even went the extra mile by forming a heart with his hands and giving an air kiss into the centre of it. 

Y/N feels her cheeks heat up at his actions and she blows him back a kiss. “Are you his girlfriend?” a voice beside her asks. Y/N turns to see a tall ginger looking down at her. Y/N looks at the other girl with a smile, “Yeah. His name is Rafe and we’ve been together for about a month.” “I see, you guys make a cute couple. You must be so proud of him, though. I’ve seen him at some of my brother’s other swim meets and he always dominates everyone in the competition,” the girl praises to Y/N. 

“I’m so proud of him. I know how hard he works for this and it’s always amazing to get to see it pay off.”

“I’m Y/N by the way. I go to Kildare Academy in the Outer Banks. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s so nice to meet you too. My name is Charlie. I’m from Norfolk Prep in Wanchese. My brother is the ginger over there. His name is Charles.”

“I see a pattern with the names. He did well too. He came in third, which would mean he could qualify for the state if this were a different meet. You wanna exchange instas? It would be cool to have someone else to hang out with at these things.”

“Yeah, he did better than he did last time. And I would love to do that. I’m the only girl out of five brothers so it would be so nice to have some girl time at these things.” 

“Ouf, I grew up with Rafe and my brother. I don’t know how you did it with so many boys.”

“You get used to it. I love them but boy can they get on my nerves.”

Y/N giggles at the comment and the girls continue their conversation while walking out of the pool area. “Well, I told my brother I was going to wait for him at the restaurant. So I guess this is where we part ways,” Charlie informs her, waving goodbye to Y/N before heading off in the other direction. She leans up against a pillar with a book in her hand, waiting for her brother and Rafe to finish up so that they can have dinner. All of a sudden, hands cover her eyes and she receives a peck on her cheek. “You guys did so great today. I’m so proud of both of you. Keep it up and you both will be competing in the nationals together,” she congratulates, twirling around in his arms to wrap her own arms around his neck. Rafe looks at her and she sees the gleam of love in his eyes, “Well, as long as you are there to cheer me on, I think I have all my competitions in the bag. You’re my good luck charm.” “Ughh, you guys are so cheesy,” Mason grumbles, approaching the two with his gym bag slung over his shoulder. 

“We may be, but you love us. Hey, can we go to Gloria’s Palace? I want all-you-can-eat dumplings?” she begs, dragging both boys towards the car. “Of course. Dim sum sounds so good right now,” Rafe confirms, making sure she doesn’t hurt herself when getting into his car. “I could go for some Chinese food,” Mason adds, buckling himself into his seat. 

——

She devours her dumplings without a single care if anyone is judging her. Rafe happily watches as Y/N enjoys her food and slyly keeps adding to her plate to make sure she eats until she is satisfied. “Oooh, the soup dumplings are here. Cameron, have you tried these already? You have to try some,” she orders, not waiting for the waiter to place the plate on the table before picking up a dumpling, placing it on her spoon to let to soup out. She blows on it before gently lifting it up to his lips for him to try. Rafe doesn’t want to remind her that she was there the last time they had soup dumplings because her excitement for feeding him fills his heart with so much love. This caring side of hers she shows to the people she loves is one of the reasons why he keeps falling for her deeper. 

Y/N could read Rafe’s emotions like a book. This romantic and cliche moment they share as they stare into each other’s eyes, waiting for him to try the food. He feels the dumpling is now at a suitable temperature and shoves the whole spoon in his mouth. He makes sure to hmm to indicate that he likes it. Watching him put on a show for her, even though she knows he has already tried these because she just remembers he was the one to show her and Mason this place, makes her realize this is the perfect moment. She realizes then that she and Rafe already have a solid emotional relationship and that she is ready to go to the next step with him. She honestly couldn’t think of a better way of celebrating today’s big win. 

——

“I think I’m going to sleep in Rafe’s room tonight,” Y/N announces to Mason, who is in the shower. Mason responds, “Okay, use protections though. I don’t need any human nieces or nephews just yet.” “Mace! You could’ve pretended you didn’t know what was happening. But bye, love you,” she calls out, leaving the room to head to Rafe’s down the hall. She quickly dashes towards his room in hopes of not running into anyone. She softly knocks on his door and twiddles with her fingers whilst waiting for him to open the door. “Hey, is everything okay?” Rafe questions with worry in his voice after opening the door. Y/N is quick to nod her head to reassure him, “Yeah, definitely. I was just wondering if I could maybe sleep here tonight.” She doesn’t wait for an answer, grabbing his hand and gently tugging him into the room with her. With confidence, she isn’t sure where she got it from, she pushes him onto the bed and straddles his hips. Her lips find his and she starts to gently grind down onto him as they make out. 

He slowly pulls away from her for a second, “Are you sure about this?” “Absolutely. You make me feel safe and loved. And that’s all I need right now,” she whispers with her forehead against his. She starts kissing down his neck and sucking on his neck. His hands find their way to the hem of her (it’s really his) sweater and he pulls it over her head. Her lips find his again and she can feel his arms rounding her torso to the clasp of her bra. She helps him slide it off of her and she moans into the kiss when she feels his hands start to play with her nipples. At that moment, the worse possible thing could happen. Her mind wanders to Molly and Hannah’s conversation in the bathroom the month before. In that instant, she worries what they said could possibly be true. She knows that the boys she’s dated in the past were never able to satisfy her properly, so she pretended they did but what if that’s what they were doing with her? What if she thought she knew what she is doing, only to completely embarrass herself in front of him? 

Suddenly, this doesn’t feel like a good idea anymore, but she doesn’t want to disappoint him by stopping now. He hasn’t in any way pressured her to take the next step with him and she really wants to do this for him. Rafe notices the movements of her hips have stopped and he quickly pulls away from her. His hand removes themselves from her breasts and he lightly places them on her hips. “I know you said you want this, but I think we should stop,” he whispers into her ear. He can sense that something has shifted and he doesn’t want her to feel embarrassed by the fact that she isn’t ready to continue. However, Y/N misconstrues his words as him not wanting her. It fuels the insecurity she is already feeling and she goes on the defensive, “Oh, so you don’t want me. You’ve had a little taste of what I can do and you don’t want anymore.” He realizes his mistake and tries to backpedal. 

“No, my rose. That’s not what I mean. I can sense your hesitance. Something is wrong and I don’t want it to lead to you regretting something.” 

“Don’t blame this on me. I didn’t say I wanted to stop. I’ve had sex before Rafe. There is no reason why I would hesitate,” she spits with as much venom as she could. 

“I’m not saying there is anyone at fault. But I just need you to know that I don’t want to continue until I know that you for sure want to do this. That you feel emotionally as excited and secure as I do about this.” 

“I said I wanted this so why can’t you just listen to me? You aren’t better than me.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Please, my rose. Just listen to me. You may be saying that you want to have sex, but your subconscious seems to be saying otherwise with your actions so I don’t want to do anything more than just kiss tonight. You can stay and we can cuddle, but we shouldn’t make love.” 

The pair has moved to be standing at opposite ends of the room and Rafe’s hands are gesticulating everywhere. Something Y/N notices he does when he is trying to explain something. Often, when he explains something in a condescending manner, he will bring the tips of his fingers near his temples and gently tap them. She found it adorable, normally. Rafe sees how her hands are pinching at the skin of her arms; a clear sign her mind is moving at a million miles her second. Her eyes are glassed over, ready to spill tears, “No, I think I’ll just go back to my room.” During their argument, she had already put on her bra to feel less vulnerable, so she quickly grabs one of his hoodies off his suitcase and leaves. Rafe takes notes of the tears she started to shed and tried to hide; this causes a pang in his heart. He also finds it heartbreaking that the sweater she grabbed is a random Carhartt sweater and not his swim one. His name isn’t going to be sprawled on her back. 

He feels his own tears start to fall and his hands shoot up to cover his face. A protective technique he developed over the years to try to hide the fact that he was crying from his father, who would disapprove of any of Rafe’s emotions. How could this have gone all wrong? He sits on the edge of the bed and tries to work out different ways that conversation could’ve gone. He knows he is going to have a hickey tomorrow and it hurts him to know that it will just be a reminder of the fight they had. He’s never cared so much for someone and he worries this could be the end of them. He lies down in his bed and prays this isn’t going to be the end of their relationship.

——

Y/N runs into the hotel room in a fit of tears. She jumps into her bed and cacoons herself into the blanket. Mason shoots up from his slumber at the sound of the door slamming shut. He looks over at his sister and worries fill every part of him. He could recognize the sounds of heartbreak. He knows she wouldn’t be in the mood to talk about it, so instead he wiggles himself underneath her blanket and wraps his arms around her shoulders to give her comfort. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he mutters to her. She nods her head and takes in his warmth. She closes her eyes and tries to forget what happened tonight. 

——

Breakfast and the car ride home are filled with awkward silence. Mason doesn’t say a word to avoid risking having to take a side with both of them present, but he does promise himself to hear both sides of the story and to help them make up. While Mason helps Rafe unload the twins’ stuff from the car, Y/N is quick to head inside without offering to help them. “Dude, I don’t know what happened between you two. But we are going to have a talk after I get her side of the story,” Mason warns, following his sister inside with their bags. Rafe nods without saying a word and hops into his car to go home. 

He enters the kitchen to see his father already there making coffee. Rafe is about to leave but is interrupted by his father. “Congratulations on the win. Although, I thought you would’ve brought your little girlfriend home.” 

“Thanks. And uh, Y/N and I are not really on talking terms right now.”

“Ahh, it’s about time she broke up with you. You honestly lasted longer than I expected.”

“No, Dad. We didn’t break up. We just- we got into an argument about something I said and I wasn’t able to reassure her properly.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry I assumed then. But I understand where you are coming from. Seeing someone you love hurting and not being able to help them is frustrating. But maybe it’s better you realize sooner that you aren’t able to be there for her in that way.”

Rafe is surprised by the apology from his father but refuses to agree with his father’s belief about not being able to make Y/N feel better. He still appreciates his dad trying to comfort him. It’s something new he hasn’t experienced before. 

——

Mason knocks on her door and doesn’t wait for a reply before entering the room. Y/N looks up teary-eyed from her book and eyes the hot chocolate in her brother’s hand. She puts her book down onto her book cart and shuffles over on the window sill for Mason to sit down. He observes that she is reading Red Queen, which is one of her comfort reads. And for her to be straying from her tbr, then it must be serious. Although, as long as it is not Percy Jackson, then he knows there is still hope for fixing their relationship. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it. But it’s better if you don’t bury your emotions,” Mason advises, sitting down opposite her and leaning back against the wall. 

“Why do you have to be right? I guess you can say I got into my own head when things got serious between us last night. And when he noticed my hesitance, he did the right thing and stopped even though I insisted that I wanted to continue. I know he did the right thing, but I just felt like he was saying he didn’t want me and it hurt.” 

“You know that isn’t even remotely true though, right?” 

“Of course, I do. It’s just, for some reason I felt like I needed to self-sabotage myself and now I don’t even know if he will forgive me for my stupid outburst. What if I ruined everything?” 

“Hey, hey. Take a deep breath. You know Rafe wouldn’t just give up on you like that. What you are going to do is figure out your emotions and then communicate that realization to Rafe after you’ve had a little time to yourself. Okay? Everything will be fine. I promise.” 

“I guess you are right. I think I just need some time right now though. Alone.” 

Mason nods at his sister’s words and hopes she will listen to his advice. He gets up from his seat and gives her a kiss on the head. He gets to her door and turns back to check on her for a second. She has engrossed herself back in her book. He lets out a sigh of despair and leaves her room. 

Taglist: @itsalexwin @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @gillybear17 @terraeluce @f4ll-for-you

[toulousewayne]

My DCU Aesthetic: Gotham City

I have entire folder of pictures and ideas of what I want Gotham City to look like in the next film. I’m excited for what James Gunn has planned, but this is what i would do to our favorite crime riddled city. *I will be using photos to serve as visuals. I do not claim them as my own.*

Wayne Enterprise:

I loved the animated series and still watch it. I loved the Dark Deco style and I feel like the next live action Gotham City should borrow from that style especially when it comes to older buildings or those with wealth. Wayne Enterprises is not the original Wayne Tower however. Wayne Enterprises is a new building and housed most of the new branches. Like Wayne Pharmaceuticals, WayneTech, Wayne Entertainment,etc. While the WayneTech is the largest of several divisions Bruce Wayne does invest his time into the other divisions which has their own heads. Like Lucius Fox being the head of the WayneTech division and Tim Drake was once the CEO and the head executive over several departments and still acts as CEO when Bruce can’t attend to certain issues.

-

GCPD:

I think GCPD is one of the if not the oldest building in Gotham. It houses all of Gotham Finest, as well as the home of the Bat Signal. Commissioner Gordon runs the police for and wants to maintain order as well as restore the order within the precinct. Prior to him joining it the police department was extremely corrupt and made dealing with the mob. The building is old and has went through several revisions and additions like the major crimes building and the maximum security holding cells to hold and temporary hold some of Gotham’s most infamous and dangerous criminals until further transportation.

-

Old Gotham:

Old Gotham is the largest and south most port of the city. A lot of old family industries are rooted here along with a lot of businesses , the financial district and Gotham’s fashion district are located here. It also where most of the other popular locations are like Slaughter Swamp,Blackgate Prison and Lady Gotham.

-

New Gotham (Somerest)

New Gotham is the small and most central of the three larger islands. It’s the island that connects Arkham Island to the mainland. It is also where newer companies and corporations have housed the building on this island since its restoration from No Man’s Land. Gotham’s East End is here protected at lot by Catwoman herself. Chinatown is also here as well.

-

North Gotham (Burnley):

North Gotham is the north most part of the city. This is also the most historic part of the city with a lot of wealthy residents and city officials residing in this area. Gotham State University is also in this area and has several popular small shops, Townhomes, City Hall,cafè, and as well as several prominent landmarks like Gotham Cathedral and several other smaller churches like Devity Church.

-

Wayne Manor:

Stately Wayne Manor located in the Bristol district, just outside of the city limits. It’s where some of the upper class residents. Most of the older families settled here but a lot of them in last few decades relocated to the city living in penthouses and townhouses. It’s also home to several of Gotham’s oldest and most prominent schools.

-

Gotham City Map:

I used this map and different variations when I am talking about my version of Gotham city, as well as thinking of locations within the city for storytelling. As well as a additional one I found that looks like a an irl map of Gotham, which is part of New Jersey.

[peachymilkandcream]

My Prize|Part 1|Viking Levi x Evelyn

(A/N: This one is the pre-written oneshot that I'm making canonical into a chapter. Enjoy!)

WARNINGS: implied noncon/dubcon, big age difference, kidnapping, slavery, violence, power imbalance, implied somnophilia, forced pregnancies, mind breaking, yandere behaviour, yandere themes, forced exhibitionism, sexual coercion, blackmail, etc.

================================================

Levi had scoured these lands for years, trying to hedge out a living until he could build himself another ship to return to his mainland. When he had wrecked on this forgotten land he thought he’d never live to see another sunrise, he was a barbarian according to most, but that didn’t matter when it came to the cruel and unjust forces of nature. It was a wonder he lived this long.

But now he has a modest living situation, a little shack he could call home, food enough to live but miserably made. He was surviving, but not truly living.

During one trek that took him deeper in the forest for more appealing game he came across a clearing. He swore that he had searched this whole island for life but apparently had missed this crucial group.

While he stared he observed the younger women dancing together in a circle while the rest watched and cheered them on. The leader, a blond man with piercing blue eyes, watched one woman intently, earning Levi’s gaze to follow.

His breath caught in his throat. There in the middle with a crown of flowers and leaves danced perfection itself, clearly a goddess. Her dark hair off setting the bright colours in the crown and making her sea blue eyes shine with an intense vibrancy. No wonder the leader stared.

That’s when it hit Levi, what he was missing. A woman. A woman to take care of him and keep his house. That’s what his men had told him when confronting him about his upright attitude, he needed a woman.

And he believed he found one.

==================================

Levi approached the camp with his hands raised in the air, he couldn’t convince these people to give him a bride if he seemed hostile.

Sure enough weapons pointed at him, but the leader raised his hand to have them stay their blades.

“What brings you here traveller?” The man asked.

“To seek out my neighbours and wish them well. I thought I was on this accursed land all on my own.”

He’s eyed down carefully, the women huddling back while the men step closer should Levi try anything.

“What is your name traveller?”

“Levi Ackerman. I come from a far away land onto this island Paradise. My ship was wrecked and so I ended up here.”

“A Viking then?”

Levi nods, gauging the reaction.

“Welcome Levi Ackerman, I am Erwin Smith, and I lead this tribe. Come, join us so we might know our new friend better.”

Levi smirked and sat with them, happy this had so far gone well.

==================================

“I notice your women are much different from the ones where I come from. Where I’m from in Marley our women trudge about with sour faces, yours dance and make merry.”

“Indeed. Our women have a reason to be happy. They’re straight from the gods and should dance like dryaids in the trees.”

He nods, mouth dry as he watches the lovely brunette serving Erwin. “it would seem so, the one who waits on you is particularly lovely.”

“She is, Evelyn, my soon to be bride.”

It felt like a ton of bricks fell on Levi. Betrothed? But she was so young, and he couldn’t allow that. In his mind he had claimed her, this man had allowed a stranger in his camp without a second thought, he couldn’t be trusted with that fair creature.

“When-“ He coughs to hide the disgust at the thought. “When is the blessed day?”

“Three weeks from now, you stepped into our betrothal celebration.”

“So soon?”

“We don’t believe in long betrothals, just enough time to plan a small ceremony and allow a few of our ladies to make her a dress.”

“Then let me be the first outsider to offer you my congratulations.”

Erwin offers a half smile and nods. “It’s accepted gratefully.”

Levi stands suddenly. “Thank you, but I should be going, I live near by but I want to beat the rain in getting home.”

Again Erwin nods as he leaves, turning back to he beloved, not noticing the dark glare shot back his way from Levi.

==================================

That night his dreams are filled with poor Evelyn being bred by that weak and stupid man. She should have a warrior to wed and bed her. Those images in his head of her bent over and breathless, he should be the one behind her in th, not this Erwin.

He wanted her, had to have her. And he had only three weeks to enact a plan.

=================================

The night before the dreaded ceremony into the night Levi crept until he found himself outside of Evelyn’s little cabin.

It took little effort to subdue her and bring her back his home. Once there, the night was filled with aggressive and passionate love making, Levi never letting her have a moments rest to cry until his assault was completely.

Now he could rest easy, she was his.

==================================

With the dawn came Erwin to his doorstep, demanding his bride returned.

“You’re too late Erwin, I’ve already bred her, she’s filled with my seed and soon will give me a son.”

“Return her to me and I’ll overlook your insults.”

“Insults? Fine.” He returns with Evelyn, dragged by the hair. “Here’s your bride, I hope you don’t mind that I deflowered her and you might raise a bastard son.”

“I don’t believe you.” His eyes were furious but skeptical.

“You don’t huh.” Levi disappears into the cottage only to reappear and thrust sheets at Erwin, covered in a spot of blood. “You see? I’ve taken her innocence. Have your tainted bride.”

Erwin is silent for a long moment before turning his head in disgust. “Keep her then, use her as my offer for you to leave this land and never return.”

Levi grins wide. “As you wish, we’ll leave with the tide.”

He had finished his ship, and now he could bring his bride back home. Lucky bastard had plotted this whole thing.

“No Erwin no! Please don’t leave me to him! I would never give myself intentionally to any but you!” She cried.

“Silence your wailing. The truth is you’re tainted, there is your husband now woman. I’m through with you.” With that Erwin and his men leave the two of them.

Evelyn sobs in her hands while Levi pulls her on board, strapping her to the mast as he sets sail for Marley once more.

All in all this voyage was successful, he had honed his skills and retrieved a wife.

His prize.

[iamthekaijuking]

Gigabash character overview: Balzarr

Last time I made one of these I lamented how Passion Republican Games might not make any more original characters, but I was pleasantly surprised when, for the two year anniversary of the game, they announced a new dlc character pack consisting of the first original characters since the game’s launch!

Balzarr is a technical rush down character. With possibly the fastest movement speed of the roster, high damage, some decent combo potential and a gimmick, a good player can unleash a flurry of attacks and give you little breathing room.

Balzarr’s gimmick is his Predator Stance, where by holding the special attack button while airborne, using certain attacks, or pushing against a building or arena wall you can prop him up on his tail. Using his tail as a springboard he can then launch two quick and powerful attacks, and he can also lock onto an opponent within a cone of vision in front of him up to 1 1/2 body lengths away. Because of this Balzarr benefits greatly from having buildings around the map just like Gigaman and can use them to have a strong first half of a match.

Balzarr does have weaknesses though. He lacks any ranged attacks outside of throwing objects, only really attacks that close distance. And if there are no buildings around then a player will be unable to use his predator stance without comboing into it. He also requires good timing for certain attacks.

Balzarr is also the first functionally quadrupedal character added to the roster (Rohanna technically moves around on four vines but she’s functionally a biped).

Design

As the first quadrupedal character, PRG had some difficulty with designing Balzarr. They took heavy inspiration from the manticore, and tried to strike a balance between a more animalistic design and a more mythical beast one. Here’s some concept art. Design 6 feels very monster hunter.

There’s also the elephant in the room and the biggest source of inspiration, Goldar from power rangers.

This dlc is basically a fake power rangers character pack, even being called the Mighty dlc like the mighty morphing power rangers. But some of you might be wondering “Well why not get the rights to power rangers? PRG already got rights to Ultraman and Godzilla characters.” and the thing is that they probably originally wanted to do that. But Power Rangers as an I.P. is split between multiple different companies, meaning getting the rights to it would be too expensive for the small indi studio. And even if they did then it wouldn’t be available to half the world due to licensing agreements, like how the Ultraman character pack isn’t available in Japan or mainland China.

Even still, I’m glad we finally rounded out kaiju related tokusatsu references in the game. We can finally add Power Rangers alongside Godzilla, Ultraman, and mech anime references. The only real big pillar of tokusatsu left to reference is Kamen Rider, but I don’t think that’s likely since it isn’t part of the kaiju genre (watch me be wrong in like a year).

Lore

“When thou wish upon a shooting star, beware, lest it be the Demon Star. For when its fiery trail crosses thy sight, doom shall follow with darkest might.” so goes the ancient tale that refers to Balzarr, indicating that he might be an alien and has been to earth before. He’s most recently touched down in 2021 and has since rampaged across the globe. The Global Titan Defense Initiative has had trouble dealing with the gold plated lion as he’s so fast that he outpaces their most advanced targeting systems. Since his first modern day sighting Balzarr has been ransacking every Giga Crystal storage facility across the globe.

There’s a bit more to this story that I’ll get into with the next review.

[blissfulalchemist]

WIP Wednesday

Oh right wip time and I have only Joshua and Alma things to offer and a little Clídna cause idr if I shared it or not. Tagging: @voidika @shellibisshe @shallow-gravy @statichvm

@chyrstis @adelaidedrubman @sorrybatman @florbelles @unholymilf

@confidentandgood @belorage and anyone else that wants to share!

Have some late game stuff in xvi

Edda excitedly begins to speak with Gav, Alma taking advantage of the distraction to slip outside to the mess, Clive not far behind.

“What did Edda ask of you?” He says leaning against the railing next to her.

“She asked if I could be her midwife,” she sighs looking down at her shoes, “and perform the blessing we gave Wajlas. Or well my family’s version of it. Much shorter.”

“Do you not know it? Is that why you seem so uncomfortable?”

“No, I remember it, witnessed it a few times before we left.”

“So if not that then….”

“Not having the correct things. I could do it with what’s near the Hideaway easily, but it feels….disingenuous. I know she’s only asking because there really isn’t much left of her home and so I’m sure it brings comfort. And well not everyone wanted a Bearer blessing so it became more of a superstition for those in Eistla. But it isn’t just some superstition in my family so I’d want to honor the meaning of it and also give her the proper comfort it must give her.” Alma frowns, lacing and unlacing her fingers, “I am more than likely the last Mote from Ash who knows of their traditions and there are so few people from Waloed still, feels like Edda and I are a dying species.”

Clive furrows his brow a moment, “You would want water from various parts of Ash I take it?”

She gives a light laugh, “Close, but from what I’ve managed to put together with the people of Haven it seems many customs adapted to the movement inland. So I’d need the dirt, water, and flowers from there.”

“Is that all? Perhaps Joshua and I could gather it for you? As you know we’re needing to go back to Ash and we will be leaving soon.”

“I thank you for the offer but much like back in Haven it would need to be from specific places, some of which were taken by the blight.” Alma crosses her arms, shaking her head, “I wouldn’t worry about it, Clive, I’ll see if I can find similar around here if not on the mainland.”

She pats his shoulder with a smile, making her way back to her sleeping quarters. Clive watches a moment before looking over his shoulder at his brother making ready to leave with Jote’s assistance. Pushing himself from the railing he makes his way to them, “Joshua, Jote, could I ask you something?”

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

Jote jogs back to them, a sheet of parchment in hand, “Here, my lord marquess, the blessing and what’s needed is written in here. Master Harpocrates has been recording some of the medicinal information in his spare time, so he has her journals which contain written instructions for the blessing you are talking about.”

“Her family really liked to record everything it seems,” Clive says with a chuckle looking it over, “How did you know it would be in there? She doesn’t really let anyone look in them.”

Jote smiles, “I recalled a time when not long after Phoenix’s Gate she was very upset that there were no proper blue flowers native to Rosaria and later ran away to Rosalith, dragged back with pouches of dirt. Based on what you described the ceremony to be and having seen the Elder’s Blessing flower, I believe she must have been wanting to perform it all those years ago for your brother. After the dirt incident we worked together to adapt it, and she read the meanings directly from the journal to me.” The woman gives a small shake of her head, “There are a lot of things I look back on that she did that must have been her trying her best to keep her family close.”

Have Clídna and Clive taking a little rest while helping with the building of the Enterprise

“Doubt me all you want but it’s a tried and true method. Did it all the time when I was sent on perimeter checks.”

He chuckles looking around them, “Where did you learn such a trick?”

“My father.” Her smile dims, Clive reaching out to take her hand, her smile beginning to brighten. “Taught me a lot of things.” She glances up, dropping the last few pebbles seeing the end of the ruins on a small hill. “Come on, let’s take a bit of a rest before heading back down.”

They sit on the grass letting their legs dangle off the edge, Clídna reaching for his hand as she leans to rest her head on his shoulder. He smiles watching as her face falls into contentment, eventually looking over at the start of the setting sun. “Clídna,” he says quietly, getting a hum in response, “who was your father? You hardly speak of him, but considering you claim yourself to be Rosarian, I have to wonder….”

“He was a soldier.”

“He was a part of the Shields?”

“Mostly, technically. He was a Northerner first and foremost, but when the Blight took hold and your father quelled the fighting he moved us. I remember him agonizing over it and a little upset that he had to move to Rosaria.” She laughs lightly, “He always was a little bitter about joining the army of the man that defeated the one he was part of, but he felt there was little choice in the matter.” She unlaces their fingers a moment tracing the scar on her left cheek.

“He wanted to keep you safe.”

She nods, “While Bearers still had their troubles he figured an honorable man like your father would be much more fair should it be found out what I am. He also didn’t like many of the other leaders of the nations at the time. He wanted to serve someone he believed in, mostly.” She sits up, hands planting on either side, “You wouldn’t have met him, he was of fairly low rank when he joined, he was a general in the Northern Territories so he lost some ranking, and by the time you all rode for Phoenix Gate he had some ranking but not enough to join you all.”

“That was probably for the best, when looking back on things.”

“Perhaps, but once it fell the other Shields looked to him. There were few among them experienced enough to handle the day to day, and he wasn’t about to let my home fall, nor fail the daughter of the man he served under for most of his life.” Her nails dig into the dirt, eyes shut tight hanging her head, “He tried so hard, Clive, tried so hard to keep Rosalith safe and protected.”

“But the Iron Kingdom had other plans.”

She nods, whispering, “He was all I had left. We both only had each other after my mother died, so when they came and I lost him I-.”

And have a rare time that Alma was sick about six years after the fall of Phoenix's Gate

He knows he should tell someone that she’s more than likely fallen ill with more than just a common cold. He should, but in doing so he also knows she’d be taken to sleep in another room and unable to see her until she is well because of how susceptible he is to sickness. He should tell someone, but instead he formulates the lies he could use to selfishly keep her near, risks to his health be damned. The notion of repaying her kindness over the last six years bubbles quickly to the surface as an explanation should he be caught, yet knows that deeper than that he fears not having her near means he will be left alone with the horrors of that night and they’ve only just become something that happens once a week. He fears the return of the catatonic state, fears the memories in daylight that could plague him if he does not sleep well, something he feels can only be done with her close enough to hear her steady breathing throughout the night. And in the far reaches of his mind, the smallest possibility that she’d never return to him.

The tutor doesn’t question him about her absence when he gives the flimsy excuse of needing to tend to the soil of her garden, though the look he gives implies he knows better. The lessons drone on as he stares the clock down, twirling pencil keeping track of the list of things he needs to help Alma get better, and a pounding heart that drives the worry of him having left her alone. He jumps at the rapping stick on the empty desk next to him, eyes meeting a less than pleased tutor. Joshua sits straighter clearing his throat, “M-my apologies Master Finch. Please continue.”

The tutor sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head, “Your Grace, it is very clear that you are not well enough to participate in your studies today. We shall try again when I’ve returned in a few days. You are dismissed.”

It’s almost painful to stop himself from jumping out of his seat to rush back to their room, appearances must be maintained and if it is assumed he is simply having an off day then so be it. The assumption doesn’t stop him from running once the door is shut and a quick glance shows empty halls. Lungs burn as he catches his breath with hands on his knees in the room, eyes going wide when he looks up to see he isn’t alone in checking up on Alma.

Jote sits on the bed next to her dabbing a wet cloth on her forehead. Alma looks worse than when he left her with a sheen of sweat on her brow, chapped lips, pallor face, shaking fits pulling the covers ever closer to herself, and her coughing rougher, more frequent, and ending in moans of pain. “How long has she been like this, Your Grace?”

He sets his things down, attempting to step closer only to run into Jote’s outstretched hand. Sighing he answers, “Just this morning, but she wasn’t coughing or shivering nearly as badly as she is now.”

Jote nods, lifting Alma up enough to hold the cup of water to her lips and tilt it back enough to let it slide down her parched throat. “I assume you did not plan on telling anyone? That you were going to care for her on your own?” He nods, trying once more to get close to Alma. “She will need stronger than you could easily give her. I must let mother and father know.”

Joshua stands in front of the door as Jote stands, “No, you can’t-. I mean you don’t have to do that. If it’s you and me we can make sure she gets better.”

“Your Grace-.”

Joshua shakes his head, “You know as well as I that they will isolate her from me.”

“She will be isolated from everyone until she is feeling well again,” Jote glances over one of the open medicinal tomes from Alma’s current readings, “Or until the fever leaves according to her books. It won’t be very long I promise you.”

“But what if-.”

“Joshua, you have to care for yourself too if you are to care for her. It would not do for you both to be sick at the same time.”

“At least it means I’ll have done something to help her.”

Jote sighs, putting her hands on his shoulders, “Your Grace, I know you want to help and I know you fear being alone, but keeping her away from you is helping her. If you were to get sick she’d forget about getting well herself making it all the harder to recover. You need to let the physikers care for her.”