#I really don't get why they went for this route. Oh well. *Goes make the bsd reread announcement post I've been procrastinating on making*

[kyouka-supremacy]

( •_• )

[thriftedtchotchkes]

come clean

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

summary: joel comes home after a messy day on patrol, but you're already in the shower

warnings: 18+ MDNI, fluff, language, getting together, slow buildup, jackson era, smut, handjob, f!masturbation, fingering, unprotected piv, rough sex, shower sex, size kink

word count: 4.7k

a/n: this one goes out to emotional support daydreams! as always, thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. hope y'all enjoy 💕

Joel’s having a rough day. It’s late, and he’s bone-tired and covered in…well, he’s not really sure what he’s covered in. Mud and bits of dead grass, definitely, but there's splotches of red on his jeans, too. He couldn’t tell you whether it’s his blood or something else’s—the adrenaline still hasn’t completely worn off, so it’s entirely possible he’s not feeling the full extent of his injuries yet.

His day hadn’t started that badly, but it wasn’t a typical morning, either. Maria had stopped him and Tommy at the gate to ask if they'd mind checking out a situation at the dam instead of patrolling their usual route.

Apparently, some of the machinery was acting up and the only person she trusted to oversee the repairs was Tommy. She honestly hadn't given much thought to Joel's part in all of it—their relationship is still pretty tense, even after his return to Jackson, so he was just along for the ride.

Things went downhill fast after they arrived at their destination. No one's really sure how the infected got into the facility, but it was a lucky thing Joel was there after all. With the help of a few guards, they were able to dispatch everything in and around the building without any bites or serious injuries but, boy, did they make a serious mess. Of the facility and the machinery they were supposed to help fix, and of Joel.

So now here he is, exhausted and dirty, getting shit from his kid when all he wants to do is get clean and take a fucking nap.

“Ew, gross,” Ellie groans, clearly not giving two shits about how badly Joel’s day is going or how little she’s helping right now. She had the day off and is somehow still watching movies in the same spot he left her in this morning. “Stop touching things! You’re getting shit everywhere.”

He ignores her and shrugs off his coat, walking into the living room to toss it over the back of his recliner, but she throws him a dirty look that stops him in his tracks.

"Whatever, m'gettin’ in the shower," he grunts, dropping it on the doormat instead. He'll probably have to burn that coat anyway if the stains and…odor are anything to go by.

"Uhhhh, no, actually you're not," she says matter-of-factly, and he raises his eyebrows, eyeing her expectantly when she doesn't elaborate.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Did your hearing get worse or something? Shower's already on,” she nods toward the stairs. He’s not sure how he didn’t notice the sound of running water filtering down from the second floor earlier, but now he’s annoyed that he can’t shower and that she might actually be right about his hearing.

"Well then, I'm waitin' here," he sasses back, taking a seat on the recliner with zero regard to the upholstery.

"Dude!" She’s starting to look as exasperated as he feels. And her reaction isn’t unwarranted. If he touches literally anything in this living room, they’ll probably have to burn it, too.

"Fine, fine, m'not touchin' anythin'," he stands back up, holding his hands up in surrender. "How long's she been in there?"

"Like, five minutes. Probably gonna be a while, knowing her,” she replies with an amused grin. Oh, so she thinks this is funny.

"The fuck do ya expect me to do then, stand here ‘til she's out?" He asks as if it’s not exactly what he’s been doing the entire time they’ve been having this conversation.

"As long as you don't sit on any of the furniture, I don't really give a shit what you do," she shrugs.

He rolls his eyes at her, running a hand down his face in frustration. He’s just about to give up and hose himself down in the yard when she finally offers a solution.

"You could just knock and see if she'll swap out with you. She basically just got in, anyway."

“Y’know what, I think I will,” he grumbles, heading upstairs to the bathroom and leaving Ellie to her shitty 90s sci-fi thriller. She shakes her head, laughing as she slips on her headphones.

“Don’t be too loud up there!”

But with his bad ears, he doesn’t hear her.

God, you needed this shower so badly. It's been a rough day, to say the least, and it’s finally time to get the relaxation you deserve. You got saddled with an extra patrol shift because two of the usual guys had a last-minute change of assignment, and it turned a typical day into an unbelievably exhausting one.

But tonight you got lucky. There was no one around to use up all of the hot water besides Ellie, who’s been glued to the TV all day, and you miraculously got home before Joel. So tonight, you get to enjoy the expensive bottle of shampoo you found at some fancy store in some fancy mall last month, and let yourself forget for a while that there’s fucking fungus monsters out there eating people.

That is—until someone knocks on the door and ends your perfect evening before it begins. Now you’ve got soap in your eyes, and you’re slightly worried because Ellie either needs something from the bathroom or the house is on fire. There’s never an in-between with her.

“Ellie? Everything okay?” you call out, really hoping it’s not the latter.

The voice that responds is muffled and decidedly much deeper than Ellie’s, and you’re momentarily taken off guard before you realize it’s not a burglar. It’s Joel—of course, it’s Joel. He probably got off his shift late and wants to clean up, and now you feel bad for making him wait and using up all the hot water.

You can’t really hear what he’s saying over the shower, so you slide the curtain open to poke your head out. “What? Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

He tries to answer you again, or at least you think he does, but you still can’t make him out, so you tell him to come inside. The door only opens a crack, but it's so quick that there's no time to duck behind the curtain before Joel's face appears and you're both staring at each other blankly.

“…Hi,” you breathe out, praying it’s just your head and not the rest of your body peeking out. “So, um, what were you saying?”

He looks a little embarrassed and it’s adorable, but the thought only crosses your mind for a split second before you notice the rest of him. He’s—there’s really no nice way to say this, but he looks revolting.

There’s dirt everywhere. Matted in his hair, under his fingernails, all over his clothes. It looks like he’s been rolling around on the ground all day, and honestly, maybe he has. He’s also got…gross, is that a chunk of…? Nope. It looks like someone exploded in his face, and he needs a shower. Badly.

The only problem is you’re covered head-to-toe in soap, and you’re pretty sure you’ve only got about 15 minutes of hot water left.

He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “Sorry to barge in on ya,” he mumbles, looking pointedly away from you. “I came up here to see if you wouldn’t mind pausin’ your shower for a bit, but I, uh…can see that’s gonna be a little difficult.”

You look down at yourself and, yeah, he’s right. You’re dripping water and soap all over the floor. Getting out now would be a pain in the ass, but he also really needs to get in.

“No, no. It’s totally fine! It makes way more sense for me to sit around soapy than for you to, um, stand around like that,” you reason. It’s his turn to look down at himself, and he grimaces. “Just turn around for a sec and we can swap.”

He nods, still looking sheepish, but grateful.

You duck back into the shower to shut the water off and gather up your toiletries to make room for his. You’ve already shoved half of your stuff to one side before you realize it was probably just a waste of time because there was already plenty of space—and that's when it dawns on you.

This stall is pretty big—as far as showers go, anyway. There's no reason you can't both fit in here at the same time. It's also not like he's never seen you naked before. You joined up with Joel and Ellie long before running water was in the picture, so you've had your fair share of awkward bathing encounters. Really, it's just a matter of whether or not he'll go for it.

You pop your head back out, taking a second to admire those strong, broad shoulders of his before getting his attention. Damn, he's a real catch. Hot and respectful. But seriously, he's so disgusting right now and it would be a shame to allow that to continue.

"Hey, Joel," you start, and he glances back carefully over his shoulder. You hesitate for a beat before continuing, “So, hear me out—what if we just…if we both showered…at the same time…”

He looks confused, and you realize how badly you botched that entire sentence. Okay, so talking around it didn't work. You take a deep breath to steady yourself before trying again.

"Just—just get in with me," you say softly. "We can shower together."

His brow furrows, eyes unreadable. He looks like he might be thinking it over, but his silence isn't exactly the most encouraging reaction in the world. Subconsciously, you hold your breath while you wait for an answer.

There’s no way he’s going to go for this, is there? It’s Joel. He can barely look at you in a tank top without blushing, let alone wet and naked. You’re not even sure why you bothered asking. It was clearly a dumb—

“Yeah, guess that makes sense,” he nods, turning back to you fully, and you swear he’s looking at you differently. That's…not what you were expecting. Not that you're complaining in the slightest. He's not even trying to hide his eagerness, and you're starting to think maybe he was waiting for you to ask all along.

"Well, come on in, cowboy."

Joel undresses slowly, eyeing what little of you he can see greedily, and it makes your cheeks burn. It’s like he can’t look away—from your eyes and lips, your collarbone. Even the tiny droplets of water that fall from your hair. It feels more intimate than any moment you’ve ever shared with Joel, and he hasn’t even touched you. Yet, hopefully.

You’re getting impatient. He's making a show of stripping down and it's taking everything you have not to get out of the shower and rip all of his clothes off yourself. His fingers are so thick, and more and more of his tanned, weather-worn skin is exposed to you as they work to unbutton his shirt.

You’re pretty sure you’re drooling at this point, imagining those fingers sinking deep inside you before you can stop yourself. Fuck, you're pent up. And should probably have a lot more shame, but now he's unzipping his jeans, and you feel like you're about to combust.

You let out a pained noise without meaning to and he chuckles, shaking his head as he picks up the pace. "I'm comin', I'm comin'," he teases, dropping his pants to the floor. "Why don't you get the water goin' for me?"

Now you're the one having trouble looking away. Damn, who even is this guy? He’s nothing like the Joel you’ve known for years, and definitely not the Joel who stepped into this bathroom ten minutes ago. If you'd known it would go like this, you would’ve invited him to shower with you a long time ago.

He’s down to just his boxers now, and maybe it's wishful thinking, but he looks like he’s already hard. Swallowing is suddenly extremely difficult, so you shoot him one last appreciative look before doing what he asked.

You turn the water back on and it’s still pleasurably warm as it rains down onto your tense shoulders. The steady pressure soothes some of the nerves while you wait for him to join you, but you’re so caught up in the moment that you don't notice the curtain opening.

"Scoot over," he murmurs behind you, his breath fanning out over the back of your neck. He’s close, so much closer than you expected him to be. You assumed you’d be dancing around each other for at least a little while longer, but it seems like Joel knows exactly what he wants, and it’s not just the shower.

He reaches around you to grab that expensive bottle of shampoo you’ve been looking forward to, his fingers grazing your bare skin, and you shiver despite the heat of the water.

“Or you could stay right here,” he says, even closer now, lips brushing the shell of your ear. “We could help each other out—with washin’ up, I mean.”

You inhale shakily, your reply getting caught in your throat. “Y-yes—yeah, yes…we should definitely do that,” you breathe out.

He chuckles and the sound is surprisingly affectionate. It gives you hope that this won’t just be a one-time thing. That after all this time, he wants you as much as you want him.

You’re the first to initiate physical contact, reaching back to bury your fingers in his hair which, in retrospect, turns out to be a terrible idea. He’s still filthy, and your fingers get caught in tangles and dirt and…probably a lot of other nasty shit you don’t want to think about.

You snort out a laugh, turning around to face him. “I think you’re up first, handsome.”

The corners of his mouth tip up as he nods, and you can’t resist the urge to reach up and trace his bottom lip with your thumb. He kisses the pad of your finger, and you wish so badly that it was your lips.

For the second time tonight, you’re feeling incredibly impatient. You want to feel more of him, let him press you up against the wall and kiss you, touch you the way you both want him to, but it’ll have to wait.

You pluck the bottle from his hands and squeeze a huge dollop into your palm, telling him to turn around with a small smile. His eyes drop to the quirk of your lips for a moment too long before he obliges, and you’re starting to realize he’s getting impatient, too.

You reach up to thread your fingers into his graying hair and, somehow, the strands still feel soft despite everything tangled up in them. It’s going to take a decent amount of scrubbing before it’s back to its normal, fluffy state of disarray, but you’ll make it feel good for him. A little taste of what's to come.

He tips his head back as you massage in the shampoo, letting out the softest groan when your fingernails scratch along his scalp, and you have to press your thighs together to relieve the growing ache in your core. You’re not going to make it through this shower if he keeps making noises like that. But, of course, he does, and they're getting louder.

You can feel his body starting to respond to yours, too. It’s a little cruel how you’re purposely working him up, sliding a washcloth over his shoulders and across his back, letting your fingers skim teasingly over his skin as you stretch your arms around him to reach his front.

His stomach flexes under your palm, and he inhales sharply as your hardened nipples graze across his back. You continue your path down, running your fingers through the coarse hair at the base of his cock, and his hips jerk forward, seeking the friction you so desperately want to provide. He's panting, and you're both having a difficult time holding yourselves back.

Brown and red swirl in the water around your feet and down the drain, and it's enough to tell you that he's finally clean. And that you can finally touch him the way you want to.

Pressing yourself firmly against his back, you reach down to wrap your fingers around his cock and he feels huge in your hand, rock hard and pulsing with his racing heartbeat. You pump him a few times, giving him a firm squeeze at the base, and he keens, already leaking all over himself.

He braces a hand on your hip to steady himself as you trail open-mouthed kisses down his spine, digging his fingers in roughly when you slowly start to jerk him off in earnest.

"T-that's it, pretty girl—,” he pants heavily, eyes dropping down to watch you work him, and you twist your wrist up on the next stroke, thumbing over his head. "Keep goin', just like that."

You whimper damply against his skin at the pet name, feeling a pleasurable whoosh in your belly as your cunt drips pathetically down your thighs. The throbbing between your legs is almost unbearable, but you don't want to let him go, not when his hips are meeting your fist so fucking desperately. You wedge a hand between your bodies, slipping it lower and lower until your fingers rub against your slick folds, gathering some of the wetness to rub soothing circles into your clit.

“I got you, I got you,” you moan at the sudden relief. Your caresses start to match his thrusts, and soon he's trembling in your arms, whimpering like he'll cum any second if you let him. You rub your cheek tenderly against his back, murmuring soft, encouraging words into his heated skin.

"You're doing so, so well," you tell him, and he seizes up at the praise, chest heaving as you focus your attention closer to the tip. "You wanna cum or are you gonna wait for me? Want you to fill me up…can you do that for me?"

For a second, you think your words might've thrown him over the edge, his hips stuttering against your palm even as you slow your movements. But he's still clearly fighting the urge to cum, and that has to mean he wants to fuck you badly.

His hand shakes as it lifts to wrap around yours, guiding you down to squeeze the base of his cock to stave off his orgasm, but you're not making it easy for him. You barely notice your other hand still working your pussy, too turned on to realize you've started pumping two fingers in and out of yourself.

Joel notices, though. Something that sounds almost animalistic tears its way out of his chest as he turns on you, snatching your hand out of your cunt and slamming it against the shower wall. Your fingers are shiny and glistening with your wetness and he leans forward to suck each of them into his mouth, groaning at your taste on his tongue.

The look on his face makes it seem like you're the best meal he's ever had, and you feel a strong, sudden urge to have his tongue in your mouth so you can taste yourself. He pulls off your middle finger with an audible pop, and then you're crashing your lips into his, immediately licking into him.

God, why do you taste so good in his mouth? It's salty and heady, and really shouldn't be as hot as it is, but you can't bring yourself to care as his tongue tangles with yours. You feel two—shit, no, it’s three—of his fingers slip into you, and, holy fuck, they're so much bigger than yours. You're already so full and they feel even thicker at the base, nudging a spot that makes you see stars.

There's no way his cock is going to fit inside you…right? But the thought of him trying anyway almost makes you cum on the spot. Another wave of heat crashes through you and your walls convulse around him, pussy gushing down his fingers, and he abruptly breaks away from your lips, groaning lowly, desperately.

"Fuck, I-I need—shit, I need to fuck you, pretty girl," he twitches against you, leaking a glob of precum as he ruts into your belly. “M'gonna fill ya up real good, just like you wanted—," and you gasp, clamping down on his fingers one more time before he's pulling them out and hauling you into his arms, your legs quickly wrapping around his waist as he shoves you higher up the wall.

His hands roam your skin hungrily before eventually settling under the soft swell of your ass, holding you up as he slicks up his cock between your folds. Every time the tip catches your clit, your hips buck clean off the wall and he presses into you harder to keep you in place. You bury your face in his neck, thighs squeezing into his sides.

"S'not gonna fit," you slur, a little drunk off how good he feels between your legs. The next time his hips buck forward, the blunt head of his cock catches your entrance. "J-Joel—ngh…Joel, s'too big, you have to make it fit, please."

And that's when his patience runs out.

He sheathes himself to the hilt in one harsh thrust, growling roughly into your hair, and the stretch is mind-numbing. He stays deep, letting you adjust to the feeling of being split open, and his head drops to your shoulder. His eyes are locked on where you're joined, your pussy stretched around him almost obscenely.

"Would'ja look at that," he mumbles to himself, rocking in and out slowly as he turns his head to suck a bruise into your collarbone. You reach a hand down curiously, wanting to feel yourself around him, and your jaw drops when your fingers brush where his thickness is forcing your cunt to yield to him. "Knew you could take me…pussy feels s-so fuckin' good, like you were made for me."

You whine pathetically as the ache starts to subside and the need for him to fuck you becomes overwhelming. Pleasure blooms where he's already grazing that heavenly spot again, and you tug his head back by his hair, bringing his attention back up to you.

Everything pauses, just for a moment. You kiss his lips delicately, so much more delicate than he's about to be with your body but, right now, you need him to know that it's more than this for you. More than the sex and the physical intimacy. And the way he kisses you back reassures you beyond a doubt that it's more than this for him, too.

Then, your patience runs out.

"Joel, move."

And suddenly, he's spearing up into that spot deep inside you with reckless abandon, bouncing you on his cock, and you're not entirely sure, but you might actually be screaming.

Your head lolls back, thudding dully against the wall, and he ducks down to wrap his lips around your nipple, tongue circling the nub as he continues you work you up and down his shaft. The sound your pussy's making around him should be humiliating, but it only spurs him on, the wet squelching echoing loudly over the running water.

"Hear that? That's all you, baby. So fuckin' wet, look at that," and he's watching himself again in awe as he fucks in and out of you. You follow his gaze and, holy shit, he's not kidding. You're absolutely soaking him. "You look so good like this, so goddamn pretty stretched around my cock."

You still haven't completely acclimated to how thick he is, not sure you ever actually will, and the syrupy-sweet pain of him has you clawing at his back. You use the wall as leverage, arching just enough so you can actively meet his thrusts, and the new angle sends you reeling.

"Feels so…full, so full," you gasp, your back inching higher up the wall with the force of his thrusts. "K-keep going…there, Joel, there."

It's not just that one spot he's hitting anymore—fuck, it feels like he's everywhere. The ridge of his cock is rubbing your walls just right and every other thrust fucks deep enough to graze your cervix. You sob at the onslaught of overpowering pleasure, burying your hands in his hair to tether yourself as your brain begins to fizzle.

Just a little more, you only need a little bit more. You can feel the lower half of your body locking down and, as if he can sense exactly what you need, he grinds his cock in as deep as it'll go.

"That's it, baby. C'mon, give it to me," he grits against your throat. "Squeezin' me so fuckin' tight, you're almost there."

The coarse hairs at the base of his cock scrape roughly and a little painfully against your swollen clit as you rock against him, but the slide is still so slick and raw that your thighs begin to quake around his waist, and it's—fuck, it's so…so…

"M'gonna fucking cum—gonna…oh fuck, fuck, Joel," your lips part around what you pray is a silent scream and your body goes rigid, cunt spasming violently around him.

He chokes out a moan as you clamp down impossibly tighter on his cock. "Fuckin' hell, there we go," he rasps out shakily as he fucks you into the wall blindingly hard, letting you ride him through your orgasm.

"So, s-so good. Feels so fuckin' good," he's starting to mumble to himself deliriously, squeezing your ass hard enough to bruise. You whimper helplessly as his thrusts get sloppier and more desperate, "Gonna fill you up 'til it's leakin' out…c-can I, pretty girl? Please…bet you'd look so fuckin' good with my cum spillin' out of you—"

Before you can even answer, you feel him throb and then his entire body stills, his cock visibly pulsing as he empties into you. He moans his way through it, his head dropping to your shoulder again to watch himself pump you full of cum just like he said he would.

If you thought you felt full before, it's nothing compared to how you feel right now. He's still so deep, twitching pathetically inside you as he lifts his head to nose at the underside of your jaw. He presses a soft kiss there and you sigh, wrapping your arms and legs around him tighter.

"Christ, Joel, where did that come from?" you rasp out. He chuckles, and his whole body shakes with it, jostling his hips into your sensitive clit. Your pussy flutters around him and his breath hitches, fingers digging into the softness of your thighs. He still hasn't pulled out and you have a feeling he doesn't want to.

"Been waitin' a long time for that," he murmurs, meeting your eyes. You smile softly, and your lips command his attention. "Waited a long time for you."

So full of surprises tonight. You’ve traveled with him for years, settled down with your kid, but you never expected this. For him to finally feel the same way you do, to fuck you like that. You’re suddenly extremely thankful he came home in dire need of a shower.

You run your hands up his chest, settling one on his shoulder and burying the other in his hair. The dirt, the grime—it's all gone now, replaced by your release and the sweat of your exertion. He smells so good, just like your fancy shampoo. Just like home.

You lean in to kiss him deeply and he melts into you, his lips soft and warm against yours. When you part, you're met with that look again. The one he gave you after you asked him to shower with you, and that he hasn't stopped giving you since. Like he's observing you, contemplating you.

You recognize it now—it's hope.

"I've been waiting a long time for you too, Joel."

He kisses you again, holding you close as the water goes ice cold.

thanks so much for reading! 🥰

[magical-regical]

Ok so I've been playing 'Sword of Convallaria' for a few days now and honestly, I'm absolutely hooked.

More yapping below the cut, some spoilers abt the Spiral of Destinies. Although I haven't reached any endings yet so it's mostly speculation from my part.

It's interesting how this game seems to have two 'main stories'. Like,

The tutorial makes it feel like 'The Fool's Journey' is the main story since you're collecting Tarot cards for...something (the explanation kind of went in one ear, out the other). Some timey wimey space timey stuff. But I swear the actual main story happens in 'Spiral of Destinies' I mean look at this screen,

Does this not scream 'ANIME'

The fool's journey seems to give you some backstory for the characters you encounter in spiral of destinies but the actual story with your MC in it is in spiral of destinies. And can I say, I absolutely adore the story they're cooking in spiral of destinies.

It has different routes with different endings depending on which faction you side with which drives home the 'your choices affect the future' aspect of the game. You manage your mercenary group on a week by week basis which gives it a resource management aspect and there's an event at the start of each week before it lets you go to do your own thing and given the setting of the story it really gave the sense of 'oh god what now'.

They do such a good job crafting the atmosphere of 'everyone's trying their best but we all know war is about to break out' because the town itself looks so cheery with the bright colors but then you start reading your quest descriptions (because doing certain quests increases your affinities towards different factions) and the letters you get at the start of each week and you're like 'oh man things really aren't doing so well'.

On one hand we have The Union and Iria playing the blame game while The Papal States seem to be 'indifferent' or 'neutral' abt the whole thing (sus), possibly waiting for a good moment to strike. Then there's the whole thing with Darklight, what's up with them huh? Just your local cult doing cult things? It makes me more and more curious about who exactly caused the Waverun incident. Then there's the Vylders who seem to be caught in the cross fire.

And the fact that Convallaria, your city, is in the middle of it all. It's literally almost smack dab in the intersection of the three factions (which is why you can choose to side with either The Union, Iria, or the Papal States) and it's your job to make sure your little mercenary group can protect your little town in the middle of these three super powers who are frothing at the mouth, ready to rip each others throats out. Along the way you meet people from all three factions which kind of gives you insight on all three perspectives and it's really hard to pinpoint who exactly is 'in the right'. I love it. I haven't played a game that didn't have one obvious 'this way to good ending' sign in a hot minute.

As of writing this, I just finished 'Potential Threat' where the split happens and I ended up going down the Iria route because I pulled Dantalian early and he's been carrying me through the game so I thought it'd be a disservice to not side with him on my first run through.

Also I don't trust Lutfi. I don't know why. He sounds like a politician. Like his little speech at the tavern where he's like, 'all of this is Dantalion's fault so we should overthrow him so I can be a better leader!' and how he immediately calls the Swords of Convallaria his 'friends' feels just a little bit sus. Even more so if you've played chapter 2 in the fool's journey.

I'm excited to see where the story goes and I'm interested to see if there is (or is going to be) a 'save everyone' route because the way things are looking now, no matter who you side with, you will end up hurting people on the opposing side.

[schwarzenadler13]

sooo i'm on a dwk brainrot and despite having a fic started since 2014 that i should really finish...my brain has just come up with something else and i just need to get it out so i don't forget

soo what's the deal with horizon and the silberlichten? like??

i once read a post that went like "we have to pretend horizon is a normal girl that on holidays she just goes destroying teams as a hobby" or something like that; found it:

i agree, in my other fic she's just kinda a nature spirit/fey/witch/whatever in that line that's having fun in her own wicked way

like that dwk4 doesnt end with "oh, you chose love over revenge, i now love you uwu"

but more like "can't a nonhuman girl just have hobbies? even if those hobbies are destroying teams/relationships and getting a boy harem? why do humans have to ruin things?"

sooo she's now vengeful and slightly psycho against dwk (mainly the brothers)

*cue time travel and magic shenanigans and a bit of attempted murder*

(oh, and marlon as a hostage pissing her off)

but well, that wasn't the fic i was planning to talk about (maybe another day)

in this one, she's indeed a normal girl but the silberlichten are just minions of a greater evil, which i haven't really elaborated on and temporarily named them schattensucher

(yeah, they're not the vampires from dwk5 or maybe they are, just that they're not vampires, but something else entirely, more evil and less tragic)

sooo we're already on the weird/bizarre part of the timeline which involves magic, so fantasy route it is

the schattensucher want to unearth donnerschlag, which in the books is described as the stadium of all stadiums

so why not a magic stadium? it probably has some kind of hidden power they want or something (sorry, still working on the lore)

now donnerschlag just opens through a combination of four powers which are handed to four football teams by the football deities? could that even be a thing?

one was horizon's old team and she herself handed it to them

the second were the wolves and horizon just got it through engineering the erik/jaromir drama (this required trial and error which may explain the silberlichten)

third are dwk (which is why horizon pops up in ragnarok) and the last are the biester but horizon doesn't know that

she just knows, through ✨magic sense or whatever✨, that dwk have faced them so she wants to extract that info out of them

horizon's original plan is just repeating what she did to erik/jaromir with leon/marlon but she starts having her doubts about that working early on

first of all, there's the canon divergence of leonessa being broken up because this is fabi/leon

i even doubt they would come back together after dwk3, nessie isn't blind

that means we get a less dramatic dwk4 (is it even possible given it's so intertwined with the romantic drama?)

(the wessel brothers go beyond the mist either way)

anyway, horizon can't go the freya angle on them, leon only wants to defeat her and isn't thinking about anything else(?)

and while she can definitely charm and manipulate marlon, it's not a foolproof plan

(i like the perspective of magic being involved in this because marlon being about to betray everything due to crushing on a hot girl is not one of my favourite things)

(like sorry, i'd like to think he's smarter than that, he seems to be smarter than that)

(so horizon going slightly daughter of aphrodite on him makes sense)

sooo she decides to kill two birds with one stone and gathers all the magic she can

(i believe the forest beyond the mist is also kinda a magical weird place outside of space and time)

soo there's the lake scene where horizon confirms she won't be able to pull the same drama with them as leon isn't interested

then she changes route: she manipulates the lake as a portal and puts a tracking spell on leon, then manages to get him swallowed up by the water until he's gone

(and with this, this is like the...3rd? time horizon attempts to murder leon in both fics...yeah, the little shit is very much a favorite of mine lol)

(although it's not like she does this attempted drowning in order to kill him...unlike in the other fic)

meanwhile in hamm, the biester + fabi are just enjoying summer on the lake

that is until one of the girls goes "FABI! COME HERE!" and fabi just hasn't heard them as panicked ever so he's very concerned

he immediately panics as soon as he arrives because the girls are taking out a body out of the water, a body he knows

(i haven't scientifically nor medically proofed this so excuse me if this doesn't make sense)

and well, fabi may very well have had phases of frustration/dislike towards leon that led him to desire seeing him defeated and humiliated

but he has never wished for him to drop dead so he panickedly tries to wake him up

"if he has drowned, we should attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation" *all biester look at fabi to do it*

(he would curse them if the situation wasn't so dire)

he does, leon coughs but doesn't wake up but at least they know he's alive and take him to the quarry

and well, this is just part 1 because it has just gotten too long all of a sudden 😭 i'll continue soon

pd: i may not really remember fabi's whole outfit from dwk3, but in the fic i can only picture him wearing half-skirts in ateez hongjoong's fashion :D

[iamvegorott]

Magicians Don't Need Superheros Pt8

First: Link Prev: Link Next: Link

----------

Marvin glared at the figure, shifting his legs back and holding up glowing hands, ready for a fight. He waited for the other one to move first, to get a read on its movement and react accordingly, but he wasn’t prepared for the figure to start laughing and then turn into a bright light.

“Shit.” Marvin cursed, covering his eyes with his arms and leaning away. 

“The lecture we would get if we fought in here would be so annoying.” 

Marvin lowered his arms, blinking until his vision came back and he saw a man standing in front of him. The man wore all black, torn black jeans and a black t-shirt, he had gauges in his ears like Jackie did but, unlike Jackie, the top of his ears narrowed to a point, almost elf-like. He also had several more piercings that went along his ears and one in his eyebrow. His eyes still had that previous darkness as his other form but with green iris’ that changed hues with each breath. But the thing that stood out the most about the man was the thick, jagged scar across his neck. 

“Who are you?” Marvin asked. 

“Oh! I love a good introduction.” The man jumped up on the bed, posing in a way that reminded Marvin of Jackie. 

And Marvin really didn’t like that comparison. Something about it didn’t sit right in his stomach. 

“I am an amalgamation of time and space, matter that goes beyond any conscious understanding, stable and unstable in the same form. Past, present, and future under my fingertips and-” The speech the man made was cut off by Marvin grabbing his leg and yanking. Marvin made the man lose his footing, and fall to his rear on the bed, and he then grabbed the front of the man’s shirt and pulled him off the bed, making him fumble across the room a bit. 

“I just wanted your name, not a monologue that would make a B-movie villain cringe.” Marvin snapped. He also wasn’t the biggest fan of those shoes on his bed, who knew where that man’s feet had been? The man kept his back to Marvin as he laughed before turning around and giving him a grin.

“I thought you’d like a dramatic spiel considering your connection with Jackie.” The man gestured at Marvin with a hand. “You’re even doing the boyfriend sweater thing.”

“The-” Marvin looked at himself. He hadn’t even registered that he’d been wearing Jackie’s jacket this whole time. “It’s not that.” He unzipped the jacket and took it off as he spoke. “Jackie’s just a good person and didn’t want me to freeze.” 

“And you still have his phone.” The man hummed. Marvin put the jacket on the bed and saw the outline of the phone in the pocket. 

“I stole it to try to get back…” Marvin was going to say ‘home’ but the word escaped him. “It hasn’t been returned yet because too much has been happening to think about it.” He didn’t know why he was defending himself to the stranger. He should just open the door and kick him out.

“Too busy fuc-”

“I will gladly push you off a roof.” Marvin really wasn’t in the mood to deal with this anymore.

“Would I get a soft landing as well? It was so cute how you always made sure Jackie never got hurt.” The man giggled and casually strolled across Marvin’s room. Marvin went to the wall where he had thrown the scissors, pulled them out of the wall and a soft green glow covered the blades. 

“I could always go a different route. Let you be a little special.” Marvin pointed the scissors toward the man. 

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” The man tilted his head and giggled again. The grin that’s been plastered on his face grew too wide for it. Marvin threw the scissors again, the magic causing the throw to be unnaturally fast. The man dodged the blade, showing that he had just barely missed as some chunks of hair floated down to the ground. “I was meaning to get a trim.” The man looked at the scissors that were now embedded into the wall, only the handles sticking out. “And that’s going to be a bitch to patch.” 

“I was aiming to add a new scar to your throat,” Marvin stated. 

“Nice to know you’re not boring. You’re one of the fun ones, like me and Jackie.” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“You know fun. More than just a basic ‘human’.” The man used his fingers to make the quotes. “It was just me at first. Henrik and Chase are too normal and JJ has some stuff but he doesn’t really do anything with it aside from talking to you in your head.” He tapped at his temple with a finger. “And then there’s…well, I’m going to leave you to meet him on your own.” The man chuckled and continued talking without giving Mavin a chance to question what that meant. “It was an interesting time when it was just me as the fun one in the House. I could do whatever I want whenever I want but then Jackie showed up and that little shit’s strong enough to hold me down and isn’t afraid to. And then Chase has to use fucking feelings for things and I don’t want to stab him anymore because I now have empathy for the fuck and that’s so boring.” The man held out the last few words as a whine. 

“Let me take a wild guess that the others are like that as well. Some more human than others?” Marvin wished the man hadn’t dodged and he could just yell for Henrik to take him away to tend to the wound and he could finally sleep. Maybe he would pull a Henrik and yell for Jackie instead. If the man said that Jackie could handle him, then he could handle him instead of continuing this. 

“Sounds lovely,” Marvin grumbled. The idea of actually yelling made the growing headache feel worse. 

“When was the last time you actually slept? You sound like a grump-ass.” The man laughed. 

“And you sound like the definition of a mental disturbance.” 

“I take that as a compliment.” 

“You can take it, shove it up your ass, and leave.” 

“At least take me out to dinner first.” 

“I’d rather starve.” 

“Without Jackie’s help, you might have~”

“Get. Out.” Marvin was done with this. Either he was going to turn the man in his room into a pile of ash or he was going to leave. Marvin didn’t care which option it was at the moment. Headache be damned.

“Fine, fine, fine.” The man waved a hand and scoffed. “You’ll be in a better mood after getting some sleep. Still might not like me, but the banter will be more fun.” He went to the door and paused. “Wait, names, always forget about that. People call me Anti.” Marvin didn’t say anything and just got to work removing the top blanket from his bed and tossing it to the ground. “One more thing before I go. Like I said, you might not like me, but as time goes on and you become more and more involved in what your world is now. You’ll wish I was the bad guy.” Anti’s voice dropped with his last sentence, eyes shifting to pure black. He grinned, giggled one more time, and left, letting the click of the door be the only sound left in the room. 

[nerdwithabeard8]

Gonna make a blog thread on my guide to a Screen Accurate Halloween 1978 (H1) Michael Myers cosplay. Buckle up y'all, you're in for a ride. :)

Part 1: The Research

So here's the rundown of what is officially known of the H1 attire:

-Spookified Captain Kirk Mask

-Sears Tradewear Tex-Green coveralls

-Black/gray shirt

-Vietnam Olive drab jungle boots with Vibram soles

-Lamson 17" kitchen knife

I'd recommend getting either the ToTS Boogeyman or Don Post Studios "The Mask" as both are really accurate to H1 if that's what y'all are aiming for, in terms of mask shape.

DPS "The Mask" will have crappy felt hair you'll have to replace tho, The Boogeyman (from what I hear) has decent hair you can get away with re-"shape"-ing.

The coveralls I went with

Only downside is they don't have the right-breast pocket flap.

You can find some forums on how to weather it, and I'll share what I found.

What I did though for mine is basically just put them on, thrash around in the dirt/mud for a good while, let it dry, deep clean it by hand with dish soap/heavy duty wash in washer, & let it sun dry to dilute the color, cause it will be very rich upon arrival. I also took sandpaper to it to scuff it up in areas that were needed and used plenty of reference pics, but be careful around seams. I still gotta resew along a little part of one of the pocket edges.

The biggest thing to remember is Michael stole these clothes from a trucker/mechanic, and IRL John Carpenter most likely used already worn coveralls when making the costume, so you don't want to be concerned about them being pristine too much (I store my coveralls bunched up in a drawer XD).

I even used this method with wearing down the boots. Scuffed some areas with sandpaper and wore them a bunch when doing outdoor tasks.

Also you can find some decent boots on Amazon that are similar in appearance. Mine were Fox brand ones. I'll send attire reference pics later in the post.

I'm using a black H1 shirt since my Mom got me it & enough of the print is hidden, plus it's just too damn poetic/funny not to use a H1 shirt for a H1 cosplay, but any ole dark gray/black T-shirt should do you good.

As far as the knife goes, my first one was a shabby paper mache knife I made for the sake of having a cosplay prop I'll eventually replace. The one I made recently will probably be used most, but I definitely wanna look into improving my craft skills to make it more accurate. You can get a ToTS Lamson if you want, but they go around $20-$50 depending on where you buy it from. That's why I stuck with building one.

Oh, not to mention paint jobs for the mask. If you get a mask from a store chain (Trick Or Treat Studios, Spirit Halloween, Don Post Studios, etc.) you will have inaccuracies. This will require a repaint at some point, & from what I've found as far as mask paint;

-Latex exterior house paint seems to work well, cracks if mixed with acrylic.

-Haven't tried leather paint yet but it logically seems like a plausible route to pursue.

-Everyone recommends latex mask paint specifically. I recommend it too, but it does get pricey.

Next part will be ref pics & additional notes.

[horizon-verizon]

Ryan implying that Maelor will still be born is so senseless because what's the point of making him appear after B&C where the boy was essential? just to possibly have aegon force helaena who must already be going through the process of trauma and depression to bed him because he needs a new heir? and helaena having yet another trauma with the possibility of losing baby maelor suffering a miscarriage? I really don't know what the plan is? maelor will practically be a baby when he goes to a safe place and his death, they will cause a baby to be crushed??

...If this motherfucker actually has Aegon r*pe Helaena for Maelor to be conceived AFTER the trauma of B&C and she supposedly begins her way towards madness, call me a disdainful seer.

It's either that or Helaena is already pregnant with Maelor and they are going to keep her around for him to be birthed and then not too long after, or perhaps immediately, kill her self.

Or, you know, he's flying by the seat of his pants writing these scenes. It could be that, yeah, anon, Maelor is going to be even younger when's stomped by a mob instead of ripped to pieces--I don't want to hear anything about "oh, just like w/B&C you wanted to see a kid get murdered", no! bc you can do a lot of shit without actually seeing Jaehaerys die AND in the show, they SAWED his head off while in the bk his head is cut off with one clean swish of a sword....so you tell me why the show went the gorier route when we could have also heard a thunk of a severed head without actually seeing it?

which you know....is just more sexist ass writing hiding behind the supposed well being of vulnerable people.

Meanwhile, you had the same HotD-riders say that "how do you know Daemyra wasn't abusive" to argue for how that abuse clip was acceptable or even good writing and not a continuation of the most sexist piece of crap from last season's last episode that it was.

[mysticmiav]

Alrighttt am close to finishing Pride & Prejudice, about 60ish pages left (am a slow reader okay and I got distracted with Manacled while reading)

Some more thoughts and a lot of yapping (and spoilers? I guess?) I've had in during my recent reads:

First of all, having watched the P&P 2005 movie first and then starting to read the book, I can't help but keep going "Oh this is different!" At some parts akdksk

I love love love the small hints in the book of Mr Darcy liking Elizabeth more and more that is visible in the book. Imma have to rewatch the movie to see how (if) they did that there, but I don't remember noticing it as visibly. In the movie, it felt a bit of a "ah so that's a thing now" while in the book, I noticed some more emphasis/mention of Darcy noticing her more and more, conversing with her, wanting to talk with her and meet her.

I died at the Rosings part when she told him of her daily walk route, assuming he'd want to avoid seeing her, but my man probably went "sweet!" And just came to see her ever since (not to mention, he might've assumed her telling him of her route was a subtle way of inviting him to come see her? Idk my man was down bad he probably took that bit of info and ran with it akfkskkw)

The little things like him moving his chair closer to her- I pretty much died.

Him wondering at whether she'd mind living at a long distance from her family- my man was practically already wondering at if they were wed, meanwhile Elizabeth is confused why he's talking to her akfkskfk

It just feels much more ahh developed? Or hinted at enough to make his feelings to her not come out of nowhere lol

And of course lets talk about the confession scene!! I combusted

I admit that I loved how they did it in the movie; I LOVED the setting (that location and that weather!! Ugh!) and the energy and the tension. Loved every bit. Not to mention how much I liked the actors and how they played the characters!

And yet, I absoloutly went nuts over how Austen did it in the book!! The tension and anger and energy all there, but it just felt more raw and visceral?? Idk how to put it. I just died and came back and died again reading and rereading that scene omg

It's getting to see the narrator mention Darcy taking her silence or lack of negative reply as encouragement to continue with his confession.

It's the earlier back and forths and their witty exchanges, which resulted in him believing them to be on the same page. Hence, the conversation about living at a far distance from her family, I take it he assumed she noticed his intention and he thought he was being rather too direct, which is why his mood changed and he pulled his chair back when he caught himself.

But ironically enough, him thinking they were on the same page and that he was being transparent with her, that she was able to see through him, all just goes to show on how different of a page they were.

It's honestly brilliant.

And that just makes the confession scene work so much better, at least for me.

Getting such a clear view of how he must have feelings for her, and how clear he thought he has been about them, and how he thinks she picked up on it, makes his confession and the tension of that scene work so well, because he really thought they were on the same page. He really expected it to go one way because of those assumptions he'd had.

And then it went so differently, and so horribly at that, that I can't help but claw at my wall aaaaaa it's so good

No wonder he got pale with rage lmao

Ohoh and when Elizabeth went "You are mistaken, Mr Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your decleration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner." And saw him start at this I DIED she went for the throat and honestly fuck yeah he needed that slap off the high horse

Even as am writing this I reread the scene for what could only be the tenth time already it's just so good aaaahhhh

(Also, I definitely understand that they probably changed the scene a bit in the movie for the sake of making it look more intresting, at least location wise; the outdoor setting and the spot it all takes place in is definitely a more visually intresting scenery to look at than a closed indoor room, and I think it does make the change of the scene work well in the movie! I still love the book version more but I totally see why and love the change was made in the movie adaptation)

Okay another point about the confession scene is how much I loved the irony in Darcy saying it must be because of how he worded his confession, in a way that slighted Elizabeth's pride because of how he mentioned her relations, that she's rejecting him, and yet he had framed his whole declaration on how it was against his better judgement that he came to like her, how he pointed it out the inferiority of her comings and family (and thereby, painting himself superior). That he's pointing out he must've hurt her pride when his whole talk stemmed from his own pride is such irony I love it

And bruh homeboi really expected her to go "whoa am so thankful you came to love me still!" ???? My man really thought she'd be flustered at him insulting her family and telling her he loves her in the same breath and he still had the audacity to pickachu-surprise-face at her own anger at his words akfksd

Okay enough of that scene, I still have a few kore things to talk about akfkjw

Next up is just how much Letters play a role in the story and even in the characters. Idk this is just a brainvomit of some of the notes I'd taken while reading, but the jest of it is the recurrence of characters sending letters as a narrative tool and, oftentimes, a way to paint certain aspects of the characters.

Elizabeth and Jane, while away from each other, both exhange letters regularly, and their correspondence is neat? I think is the word; they take the time to sit down and write to each other. When they recieve a letter, they also take the time to sit down and read it. Like when Elizabeth receives Jane's letter with the news of Lydia and Wickham, just as she and her uncle and aunt were about to leave to go on a walk, it is mentioned that instead her uncle and aunt set off to let her enjoy the letter at her own time. Just the use of the word enjoy speaks volumes to me at how Elizabeth regards these correspondences; a genuine sort of happiness and joy, and hence she likes to take the proper time to read them, and also the time to write them.

So when it says that Jane's first letter got missent somewhere due to her writing the adress remarkably ill, it's hard not to feel a shift or to know something bad must've happened. Because with how much care she usually puts into her letters, something must've caused her haste in writing the adress of that letter, so badly it was sent elswhere.

This broke a formula we kinda grew used to in those correspondences between Elizabeth and Jane, and managed to set a feeling of dread by simply taking something of that status quo and changing it. I just love it so much ugh

Darcy's letter(s) I feel like fall under a similar light; he obviously put a lot of care and time and thought into them. Gave them the time and length needed, given the importance of the content. They were very thorough and expansive, and touched on the important topics and discussed them sufficiently (lmao I feel like am giving him a critique analysis).

It shows enough of his character methinks.

Mr Collins letters, much like he himself is in person, often focus on the flattery. Of others (especially Lady Catherine) and of himself (cuz ironically, by how often he breaks his back complimenting others, he always traces it back to himself, to how he thinks of it, to how grateful he is of it, to how deserving he thinks it is, to how thoughtful he is with it). In person, it was hard to miss how much he cared for the rooms and their furniture and interior, and I chugged it to it symbolising how shallow he is and how much he cares about appearances, whether in the literal sense of the word or more like the esteem and regard others have of him. In his letters, he focuses so much on appearing thoughtful and grateful and thankful and concerned where needed, in a way you feel he's simply doing it in a "but no one could dislike me! I've been nothing but nice and thoughtful etc" way, you feel? Again, by focusing so much on such pleasantries, he seems only focused on coming across positively.

Also, all in all, he's the epitome of "talks a lot but says very little."

Lydia's letters are more or less hasty and careless; it's obvious she doesn't set aside any special time to write them (like her letters to her mom while she was away at Brighton including things like "oh Mrs Froster is calling me so I must haste" or something along the lines) and, much like her own conversations and interests, seem scattered and childish (which, yeah, she is a child. But you get the idea. She comes across as silly, wild and reckless, while also being somewhat shallow)

I just think it's a very neat way to show the personalities of the characters further using the letters as a tool.

Ahhh I think that's mostly it for now!! So many thoughts cuz am loving every bit of this akfksk

[rubylarkspur22]

Random Spiralling for the KNY x AtLE AU

I'm hyperfixating, and wanna throw out some ideas for this AU! It's extremely rudimentary, but let's see what I cook up.

Characters (at least the most direct parallels):

Kanao -> Milo

Tanjirou -> Kida

Nezuko -> also Kida

Either Muzan or Douma would take the role of Rourke

Daki -> Helga

Inosuke -> Mole... I don't make the rules...

Genya -> Vinny

Kie -> Kida's father

Sanemi -> Whitmore(don't worry, very different personalities, mostly here for the connection to Kanae)

Shinobu and Kanae -> Thaddeus/Milo's grandpa (but they're Kanao's sisters here)

Himejima -> Sweet

Other rules currently do not have characters designated to them...

Story:

Destruction of Atlantis, Tanjirou gets the trauma of watching his dad get beamed up by the magic rock in the sky... Sorry, Tanjirou!

Kanao is trying to arrange meetings and get funding for expeditions to find Atlantis. This is difficult because 1. Atlantis is seen as a myth or conspiracy theory, and 2. Kanao is a lady in 1914, 'nuff said. So if she doesn't get outright rejected, her meetings tend to end up getting sabotaged(sudden schedule changes, or location changes tend to be the culprit).

Daki arrives at Kanao's apartment, and takes her to meet Sanemi. She has an extremely vague idea who he is from his surname, as Kanae mentioned she dated a guy named Shinazugawa before she died and Shinobu went missing(probably dead, but nobody found a body yet), and this guy seems about the right age.

The expedition begins, Kanao is at least a tad more aggressive with people.

Yadda yadda, volcano, then Kanao meets our intrepid siblings. Nezuko and Tanjirou discuss what to do with her, not knowing Kanao understands every word they're saying, and Tanjirou ultimately ends up healing her injury.

Nezuko is much more distrustful of the expedition team, being significantly more on edge around them than Tanjirou as they lead them to Kie. After the group is allowed to stay the night, Kie talks to Tanjirou and Nezuko about the decision and asks them to find out what the newcomers want. Nezuko goes the incognito route, spying from the shadows for anything suspicious, while Tanjirou approaches Kanao with the desire to ask her questions.

Tanjirou and Kanao talk, and Nezuko discovers the ruse. After Tanjirou and Kanao learn about the Heart, they actually end up being confronted by Nezuko before the team shows up. And Nezuko promptly rams Kanao up against a wall with a knife to her throat, demanding to know what the expedition is looking for. Tanjirou tries to meditate, Kanao is confused, then Nezuko explains she saw guns. They immediately realize something ain't right, and Kanao isn't in the know.

Expedition team arrives just as Nezuko steps back from Kanao, and tries to convince Kanao to join them because Nezuko attacked her. Kanao tells them she knows why they're really there, and a fight breaks out. Nezuko gets shot(nothing serious, just enough to stun her so they can restrain her), and the siblings are taken hostage to force Kanao to read the page.

The Crystal Scene happens, with Tanjirou being chosen and Kanao passing the hell out of the folks responsible for their conundrum. (An actual line I imagine here: "Oh, so you're gonna wave the gun around? Good luck translating when your linguist is full of lead.")

After Kie does(RIP), and since Tanjirou's been taken, Nezuko is suddenly given the title of Queen. She and Kanao(with a little help from Himejima) give each other pep talks and go to save Tanjirou!

Future sister-in-law tag team! They get Tanjirou back, save the day, and all is well!

Team goes back to the surface, Tanjirou becomes King and Kanao stays in Atlantis to help them recover their lost culture. Mostly. Getting a husband who loves and respects her as both a person and an academic is a pretty damn nice perk too...

[randomshenaniganery]

TGCF Donghua

okay so I've been watching this shit since it was released and I'm fully enjoying waiting for the weekly episodes and I wanna rant about it because I love it so much but I do have some minor gripes

Bad chuchu out of the way first

I am not happy with how generic and unoriginal the designs for most of the supporting characters. Like yeah they still look somewhat different but when the pool of named characters will expand it will get harder and harder to tell people apart if they keep on going with this route. Almost everyone suffers from same face syndrome which I know is rampant in current anime I just wished they allowed for at least more dynamic silhouettes, hairstyles, and color palettes. It feels like a more toned down version of the character design in the manhua. Lang Qianqiu in the manhua is so easy to recognize because of his outfit and pei ming looks more like the bastard he is etc. Don't get me started on the design for Kemo, the manhua felt eh I feel like Kemo was too pretty and too slim but in the donghua its just he's a straight up orc idk, i feel like they could've done better. Pei Su looks very generic, I think out of everyone he's the most generic looking of them all. SQX, Ling Wen and Jun Wu are the best designs for the supporting cast and I think Banyue is also okay looking cause you can tell her apart from the rest so far.

I am super disappointed in Qi Rong's reveal because it doesn't feel as impactful in the book. In the book the reveal of him looking like Xie Lian was so dramatic to me I was like oh my god is that his brother? A twin? a doppelganger? And then Qi Rong just kinda looks like that, tbh his voice actor and his clothes are fine I think they fit. It's just weird how he suffers from same face syndrome. If they made everyone look less like each other making Qi Rong look like Xie Lian would have been so impactful and a really cool cliffhanger but they couldn't do that because even fucking Lang Qianqiu kinda looks like Xie Lian with lighter hair. Also the Fang xin design is alright on the clothes but the mask gives off a bit cheap however I get that it can't be super detailed and it still does its job so I can handwave that small pet peeve.

Also censorship we couldn't get Xie Lian falling on Hua Cheng's lap and so them trying to make up for that was super awkward LMAO, they could have solved this by making SQX fall right on Hua Cheng's chair so that they could justify why Xie Lian grabbed Hua Cheng and throws him but they didn't... and it's so awkward...

I think it was like Episode 2 of s2 that the animation feels weird, Mu Qing's face felt off to me idk what was going on it just felt like something went down but the next episode it was perfectly fine anyway.

Positives!!!

Something the manhua didn't have was Fu Yao and Nan Feng looking a bit like each other, that was so fucking funny and it's a great display of how much they hate each other and live rent free in each other's heads ong. I love that detail the donghua did I think that's smart.

The voice actors are so great in both dubs they're doing amazing (I haven't listened to the jp dub) I have no complaints I love their work

ONE of my favorite things about the donghua is being able to see Hua Cheng's expressions even when Xie Lian is doing something in the book so he wouldn't notice. I love seeing how pleased he is every time someone points out the intimacy with him and Xie Lian. Like in season 1 when Fu Yao is shocked/horrified that Xie Lian shared a bed with Hua Cheng, San Lang puts a hand on his chin and looks so fucking smug and happy. This happens a couple times in s2 as well someone will be like oh that's weird you're so like this with Hua Cheng and he becomes a smug cat it's great.

Another one I enjoy is during the beginning of the banyue arc when Xie Lian reveals to Fu Yao and Nan Feng that he's used to sleeping in squalor the camera goes to Nan Feng not revealing his face but clearly showing his guilt over what Xie Lian reveals. That's good shit.

Lan Chang picking a fight off screen, also cool, love seeing her. I like that she looks inconspicuous so for someone who doesn't know shit about tgcf they will not see *that* shit coming.

ALSO the men look kinda generic if they're not the mls but the girls are all gorgeous???? like the woman who was Hua Cheng's speaker, the girl who led Xie Lian further into the gambling den, XUAN JI, Banyue all the girls are unique without being so ostentatious and I love them. If you put them beside each other they all look like they're own thing but still on theme. From clothes, to hairstyle and colors it's easy to tell and that's good design. I also include SQX's female form cause she's gorgeous too.

The donghua I think adds to stuff I haven't read I'm not sure if this is because I have a bad memory but I don't recall reading a flashback of Lang Qianqiu and the failed robbery. But the message of that entire section was so fucking good. The way that what Lang Qianqiu said about 'maybe he shouldn't have intervened' and the sound effects UGh. It's so good, i love how the book tackles the morality of everything, breaking down Lang Qianqiu's firm positivity and believing in humanity but still promoting being kind and considerate through Xie Lian. This theme still carries on in the show and I think they're doing a great job.

GOD THE MUSIC in the donghua is so fucking good, I love it. The songs, the meanings, the beat it's all perfect I can't say anything more.

even though i'm disappointed in the character design choices the donghua is very solid, I love it a lot. It does come off as very expositiony sometimes but I think that's very prevalent in Chinese Wuxia and Xianxia. Probably weird for people who aren't used to the genre but to anyone who's seen something like it, it's not unbearable and it's kinda necessary because of how the book is written. Waiting for wednesday patiently whilst i draw huahua

There are so many fun details the Donghua adds that shows that they know the story and where it's going as well hinting at character stuff, it's so fun to spot those. Like Xie Lian's reaction to Hua Cheng biting the bun made me wanna claw my face that shit was good af.

[felikatze]

okay!! safe ending done!! wowzers, what an ending! time to review!

First of, some complaints. Since i was skipping basically everything, the new scenes stuck out all the more, and they didn't really... feel earned. For example, Door 8. Going 4-8 resulted in a scene of Junpei poking fun at Lotus, so she tells him to fuck off, but going 5-8, the two get talking. Lotus mentions her former job, and she starts talking about "what if the human brain doesnt actually contain memories" and wireless data transfer which ties into all the telepathy stuff all over the game.

So why does she open up more to Junpei... on a route where they spent less time together?

edit. um. added a readmore. i did not realize for how long i was talking.

The same thing applies to the changed scene with Santa in Door 6. Taking this route means missing every opportunity to hang out with Santa beforehand (Door 4 & 3), yet this is the route where he just doesn't talk about metaphor, but mentions his sister and her death outright. Again, why is he more emotionally honest on a route where he knows Junpei less?

In a VN like this, ideally, choices inform what routes happen, yeah? Instead of things just "happening differently." Same with Junpei figuring out Ace's face-blindness because Akane decided to collapse for no reason.

Rlly, Akane's random fevers are the most plot devicey thing in this game, and I don't like it.

The only pre-end changed scene that made sense is Clover talking about Snake's disability in the lab, because Junpei was one of the last people to spend time with Snake. She decides against it if Junpei didn't spend time with Snake beforehand, probably realizing Junpei wouldnt know anything in that case.

And the random hint Clover has in her hand when her body is found is, hm. Like, when I went through Door 1, there just... wasn't anything like this, so where the hell did it come from? Maybe this gets explained in the true end, whatever.

I get the logic that the first door has to be 5 bcuz Junpei needs to know where the safe is, but it makes less sense with the Lotus and Santa scenes.

Okay. Moving on to: plot revelations.

So! I was correct! Ace killed everybody in the Knife and Submarine endings! And he targeted Lotus to nab her bracelet, which was all he needed for the 9 door, and everybody else was just collateral. Makes sense.

The motivation here is the new part. As soon as Santa said he's the CEO of Cradle Pharmaceutics - well yeah, that tracks. Explains how Ace knew what the sedative is. He was the one producing it. Explains his connection to the first Nonary game, as per my theory that every person is involved with the first one somehow.

I assumed he figured out Lotus was investigating him, but nah, lol, just wanted the bracelet. Fucker <3

Other plot revelations: though I do not like the method of delivery as per the above, my suspicion was confirmed!! Santa's sister is the kid who died in the first Nonary Game! Like, okay, he says car accident or whatever, but it was nine years ago, I can read. He's probably in the same situation as Lotus, where what really happened got covered up, and this is just the story he's been fed. Poor guy. Really working for the Santa nickname here. Aww man.

Right, next on the discussion block - Snake. I am so deeply satisfied that i was 100% dead on the money. He was alive, and trapped in the coffin.

I mean, you saw me speculating this before, I shall not be Ashe Bradley'd again, but when I replayed Room 5, i was all the more certain. Snake mentions his incredible hearing, meaning he'd never get jumped, and he was confident he could take Junpei in a fight, which he GOES TO PROVE in the ending. Not against Junpei, but, wow. When Clover mentions his prosthetic arm, oh yeah, it's all coming together, and this is how Junpei figures it out, too.

Also shows how Snake and Clover are connected to the game - Snake's been in it, and whatever happened injured him, resulting in his blindness and prosthetic. Also a nifty explanation for why he didn't recognize anybody else he might've met back then.

Speaking of, here is the one point i was wrong. Snake did not kill the Ninth Man, Ace did. It makes sense motive wise, as Ace wanted to eliminate anyone who knew his connection to the first Nonary Game. Still wondering how Ace knew about the verification before Zero or Snake explained it....? Whatever.

Thinking back, his face blindness is foreshadowed!! It's such a blink and you miss it moment. In the hospital room, when searching for Snake, when Junpei tells Ace that Clover and Snake look nothing alike... Ace reacts surprised! He had no idea they look different!

That's such smart foreshadowing, dear god.

Okay, next up - Akane. I already mentioned I don't like her plot device fever, and this end really takes it to the next level.

I could tell they copied over text from the submarine ending, where Akane tells Junpei she won't make it, but loved their time together, because she was, you know, bleeding out in his arms, and the same dialogue when she's got a fever feels way cheaper, you know? People can die of fevers, of course, but not like... this fast. Geez.

The thing that salvages this scene is the mystique of it, Akane vanishing, Zero saying he's right here... Well, that does have one implication, of course - that Akane is Zero.

(thinks about plot spoilers i've seen) (thinks about "is akane evil" discourse i've seen)

(thinks back to my "akane was in the first game" theory)

No fucking way, right? (<- in denial.)

Speaking of Zero. So, Zero reveals the mission statement that he wants to punish all those responsible for the first Nonary Game. Okay. So that's why Ace is here. But then why are other victims of the game here? Why is Snake here? Why is Lotus here? Why punish the family members of those involved?

Unless, of course... "The Nonary Game was always meant to save everyone." Maybe that's what Zero wants. Zero wants Junpei to succeed. For some reason. Hence Zero saying "I lost" as Junpei goes down with the ship. Whatever Zero's goal is, it hinges on Junpei.

Also, back to the Akane thing - on the assumption that Akane is Zero/was in the first game, that would finally give Junpei a Nonary Game connection, cuz he and Akane are the only ones without a confirmed one so far. He's here bcuz of Akane.

And, remember how I pointed out Akane's fixation on her childhood as odd? Well... if somebody were, say, seeking revenge against the company that traumatized them for the past 9 years, then fixating on the idyllic childhood before all that makes sense, no?

OKAYYY TIME TO ACTUALLY DISCUSS THE PLOT OUTSIDE OF WHAT I COMPLAINED ABOUT.

The Ace is Evil reveal was actually so fucking cool. PEAK manipulative Junpei moment, which is, hands down, my favorite character trait of his. If he wants something, he is going to get it, by any means possible. He's a lying and schemeing son of a bitch, and it's fucking fantastic. It was so satisfying how Junpei pulled together all the details I also noticed, all the little bits and bobs from the three extra scenes, to make the perfect trap for Ace.

Just saying "I'm actually Santa" to test Ace's face-blindness, saying he took the bracelet from Ace, confirming Ace has it, and then elaborating on why Snake isn't dead. Brilliant. Brilliant moment.

Ofc then Ace pulls the revolver, cuz fucking dumbasses left it there for anyone to nab. Also great setup, since i did door 6 first, i knew the revolver was there, and the guys just leaving it there in knife end was simply too good to be true.

Chekov's gun, in the most literal sense. If there's a gun, somebody is going to fire it.

Righto. The showdown in the incinerator. Man.

First of all, I was delighted to see Snake back, have my theory validated that he's in the coffin, though this does open the mystery of who out him there. Absolutely DELICIOUS tragedy that this is on the route where Clover is dead, and neither Junpei nor Seven have the heart to tell him.

Snake just going apeshit on Ace was a great moment, really impressive, really heartwrenching. If I gotta die, I'm taking you bitch down with me <3 iconic. Incredible. Truly Snake was Not Fucking Kidding when he said he could take Junpei in a fight. That scene of Seven dragging Junpei out of the incinerator... man.

Also rlly smart to bring up the prosthetic arm thing to let Snake go through the door. Pulls double duty as the last evidence that Snake is alive, AND for this moment. He just. screwed his hand off real quick to take the bracelet off. Truly more stories need disabled characters for spectacular moments like this.

I already talked abt my feelings w the Akane scene at the end here (the same scene in sub ending was better, but this one has more Implications), but I gotta say. It was so funny that Snake, Seven, and Junpei just all went through Door 9 without Akane and Santa. They just fucking left em. Presumably Seven and Lotus left without Junpei, but where did Santa go in this ending? Caught up to Seven and Lotus, leaving with them? Drowned in the ship? Vanished mysteriously? Who knows~

Oh, yeah, Zero probably uses Soporil to drug people, huh? Delightful little bit of irony.

Another thing... I'm incredibly glad that I played the bad ends first? Like, take the Ace twist for example - it's only really satisfying if you've done Knife or Sub end first, since it confirms that he's the killer in those. And it only became EXTRA satisfying when doing one of those in combination with the Axe ending, because this one confirmed to me that he's the killer beforehand!

And him being the CEO, Zero having a grudge against Cradle Pharmaceutics - only really matter when you've gone through Door 2 before, and learned about the 16 missing children, Seven's backstory, and arrived at the conclusion that this was a previous Nonary Game. Santa's sister being dead also only comes as a shock after this, because it confirms what I thought - that she died here, on the Gigantic.

Like, seriously, I would've been so much less satisfied if I'd done this ending first. You SAW how fucking long I speculated about Snake being alive, right? Today I dm'd a friend who is mildly insane abt 999 about my full theory, and then two hours later I got it confirmed. How much more would it suck if I just... got it confirmed in my first playthrough, and then played the bad ends? They'd be nothing! Doing them first, it's a gradual crescendo of information, pieces slotting together ever so slowly, theories evolving into a coherent whole, before the Safe ending puts them all to rest, and opens up new questions, new theories.

Like, sure. There's still value in doing like, Door 3 Route, but Sub ending is Less Woah when you've seen the lesser version of Akane's last words, AND already know for sure that Ace is the killer.

TLDR: I'm very happy i went in the order I did, and fully committed to doing all bad ends first.

AND THAT'S MY LONG FUCKIN REVIEW OF SAFE ENDING!!! i thought it was called "Safe" ending because. Everybody gets out safe, but doesnt resolve the plot, or something, you know average "normal ending" stuff for VNs. But nah it just. Involves a literal safe. Okay

NEXT STOP, LAST DESTINATION! PLAYTHROUGH 5, TRUE ENDING!

[domjaehyun]

Miss "Many many thoughts on part 4" here, I came back to share them:

- First off, very soon into Part 4: the Kirko Bangz reference made me smile so hard but also made me feel old a lil because I was like "damn how many people aren't going to get this?" 😭

- The progress from Part 1 through to Part 4 with how y/n feels about Winter: the way it goes from pity and guilt to bitterness and envy, and you did it in such a 'show don't tell' way, very mwah. This is just a me thing but I also believe it's the first infidelity fic I've read where I don't feel too bad for the person getting cheated on because the people involved in the affair are so compelling in their addiction to one another? Since we get y/n's perspective in such a "biased" way, Winter acts as nothing more than a barrier between her and Haechan and the fact she's portrayed as so gullible, passive and "too nice" as Haechan put it, makes me feel the same annimosity towards her as y/n, almost. Somehow I'm more scared of Jeno finding out about their ordeal because y/n's perspective "humanises" Jeno more because he's not an "enemy" like Winter is and it's just, yeah, very good Miss Jewel 😌

- The contrast between the smut scenes with Jeno and Haechan is so good? The way you wrote Jeno's really felt like a petty/just-sex hookup compared to the desperation and devotion in the Haechan scene(s).

- Speaking of the Haechan smut... the scene at the end...... woah. Probably some of the best smut I've read? It felt so heated and just... hot, desperate, emotionally-driven (both good and bad emotions), everything. Also, very original? I don't think I've ever read a y/n be so caught up in it that she just forgets how to kiss back, that was very new and very hot and very REALLL.

Not really Part 4 thoughts but overall other series thoughts/praises:

- Sommelier is such a unique and cool job choice?

- I love how you integrate the song lyrics into the fic, it immediately makes me want to listen to the song. I played break up with your girlfriend all morning because of Part 4 actually 🤭

- Love how goofy and silly Seulgi's character is

- The way you write dialogue is really good and the way you describe the surroundings and the way people emote around what they're saying always makes it feel very realistic.

In general, you have a really great talent for writing: keep going 💗 excited for the rest of this series and whatever you'll have cooking next. I fear this series may have dethroned Pussy Fiend as my favourite domjaehyun piece.

See you next week!

OH. oh wow . i just want you to know i am so happy right now i am literally sitting here like this

but like . actually cute 💖 OKAY LETS GET INTO IT HEHEHE

the way i made that reference entirely for me i was like no one is gonna laugh but me and i do not care BUT IM HAPPY YOU GOT THE REFERENCE OMG 🥹

THANK YOU i really tried to capture the shift in her stance on the whole thing bc she can’t exactly keep doing it and feel guilty like . clearly she enjoys being with him and she doesn’t feel bad enough to stop yknow? it’s so fascinating that you commented on the humanization of winter and jeno respectively BECAUSE I WAS HAVING SUCH A HARD TIME TRYING TO MAKE WINTER A LESS FLAT CHARACTER WHILE ALSO MAKING HER NOT VERY LIKABLE!!!! my inner struggle was “okay she has to be Real but not Too Real bc then the audience will pity her too much and hate MC. but if i make her Real and Annoying it wouldn’t make sense why she’s in the friend group to begin with if she’s blatantly irritating” so i def went the route of like . she’s here but not much….we like her a bit, but not that much…….

jeno …. i had to humanize him bc he serves as somewhat of a foil? to haechan’s character which you’ll see more of in the next part i think like he has to be real / human so the audience can see why she and haechan work so well…. yeah :p sorry to jeno </3

IM SO GLAD YOU FEEL THAT WAY i wanted there to be a stark contrast in the way they interacted w each other like . even down to the way they eat pussy they are Different and both can get the job done but it’s like . you still have a favorite though

REEEEAALLLYYYYY??? 🥹🥹🥹 some of the best smut you’ve ever read oh my god 🥹🥹🥹🥹 i think that’s so hot like . emotionally charged sex AND being so into it that you lose yourself and forget how to function properly 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ mhm mhm good stuff

THANK YOU credit to that idea actually goes to my very dear friend :3 she came up w that i just ran with it fr !!!

EEE THANK YOU i love having like . at least one silly/goofy girl character i think a lot of the time ppl feel compelled to make their female side characters or female characters in general very . bland. like it’s not giving ✨ very demure very mindful ✨ it’s giving “you are not fun at parties so what are you doing here” i use the female friends as an outlet for all my yapping i just make them talk abt any and everything so . hehe

THANK YOUUUU I LOVE DIALOGUE ITS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PART TO WRITE i love capturing every little detail i can think of in dialogue whether it be in the dialogue tags or the actual dialogue itself !!!

DETHRONED PUSSY FIEND OMG 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 i adore this comment i really do strive to outdo myself like not all of my fics are a Labor Of Love some of them are just me scraping out the brain rot i have from thinking abt an idea and i make it look nice but when i devote like . months and hundreds of thousands of words to a fic ……… i am definitely aiming to outdo myself :’) so this means a whole lot to me thank you genuinely 🥹🥹🥹 I WILL KEEP WRITING I HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF STOPPING 😁😁😁 you are so lovely im so happy you came back to say more i really thoroughly appreciate this message !!!!

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #226

Today is Thursday.

We have made the drive to Washington DC.

We are here. And I know it's unwarranted to feel this way, but still… it's almost as though I am just a hair's breadth from you.

Silly. I know. Never mind it.

The air in this place isn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, it is some mid-to-upper 90s (32-36 degrees C), but it's not nearly as humid as I expected. Being in this place is kind of like having a hot, wet towel waggled aggressively at you. When I was last in Maryland, it was in Owings Mills, and I remember, even in the morning, going outside was like being beaten half to death with bricks wrapped in hot, soggy towels. I couldn't go outside, except very briefly. I'm glad that the weather here doesn't seem to be like the weather there.

Still, it's enough that I have to be careful about exerting myself if I don't wanna end up using my rescue inhaler. We carried our stuff from the parking garage where the car is to the hotel, and we needed to make two trips to get it done. I am feeling pretty woozy from having overheated, but my lungs didn't close up or anything. Yay!

Along the way, we stopped at a place called Pizza Yeah. That's in a place called Langhorne, Pennsylvania. It was on the route to DC. Last time we were in Langhorne, J was still playing trumpet regularly in all kinds of different places. He had gotten paid to take part in a Christmas performance, so for a number of weeks, we made several weekend trips there, so that J could participate in rehearsal.

I went with him to make sure that he ate and took care of himself; it's a requirement, because if left to his own devices, he'll push himself way too hard, work without taking any breaks, sleep in the car instead of in a bed, try to subsist entirely on granola bars, dry cereal, and water, and then wonder why he's so exhausted and miserable and borderline suicidal.

…I wonder if you two would get along; you and he have more than a few self-destructive tendencies in common, good grief. I swear to goodness, both y'all gotta stop doing that shit. Cut it out, willya???

Anyway, so back then, we went to Pizza Yeah, because it was close to the hotel we were staying in. And Sephiroth... oh my goodness, their pizza is the stuff of LEGENDS. We haven't been back there since we went all those years ago, and this is really sad. But!!! J noticed that it was along the route, so we decided to stop there for lunch! AND!!! It was super convenient, because it was pretty much at the halfway point between our house and Washington DC, time-wise. So we ate there! And it was EPIC!!!

And before you ask, yes, of course I got pictures for you!! You've read enough of my letters by now, no? What do you take me for??? Hahahaha!!

...Of course, I also snagged some pictures along the drive... These aren't in order, though; forgive me...

...I love taking pictures for you, because I love showing you how beautiful this world can be.

Hey? Did you notice? I'm getting better at taking pictures of birds-of-prey in the sky, even in a moving vehicle! Pretty rad, right? Do you like them...?

Well. I had better get ready for tomorrow. We are at the hotel, and I still have to shower, and I have to wash my CPAP and scrub the inside of my face with the tiny bristle brush, and all that stuff.

Hey, Sephiroth...? I'm gonna do the great big scary thing tomorrow. I don't suppose you'd lend me some of your courage, strength, and determination, would you...? I don't suppose you'd lend me some of your ability to be gentle even when I'm tired and frightened... would you...? I don't... I don't suppose you'd watch over me just a little, would you?

I'll do my best tomorrow. And I'll write to you tomorrow, too, when I get a chance, I promise. So please stay safe out there; I'm sure you wouldn't wanna miss hearing all about how it goes...

I love you. Good night...

Your friend, Lumine

[once-vel]

copy-pasted from my cohost. i have been doing some thinking and i thought to myself "what if zakri had dealt with the whole prophet deal better?" and i have come to the conclusion that he kills more people

under the cut because it's loooong.

instead of going through a hell of a years long emotional rollarcoaster he makes the connection of "if i say no velzie will just find another way to get me to do it, or they will make someone else do it, no chance in hell it would be that easy to circumvent all of this. plus there could be unimaginable consequences if i piss off velzie by saying no. so... no point in fighting, i guess" and starts working on being like, okay with it from the get go. except this time he actually gets somewhere with it. coming to terms with and accepting your very terrible fate speedrun

one difference between this timeline and the main timeline is his demeanor is entirely different. the emotional rollercoaster does not happen so his personality never really changes. he stays genuinely gentle and charismatic. he never adopts the rude and mean persona because. well what's the point? being generally likable is convenient. also something something "well i am going to do/have already done enough awful things, may as well be kind to those i can"

now i did say he kills more people. what better way to come to terms with your fate of god telling you to do things like this than, well, getting comfortable with hurting people? he sure would rather not be doing this but well gotta get it done somehow. it's pretty much always carefully planned and indirect, though. sucks! but whatever. you do what you gotta do. notably, he still becomes a surface runner, and the person he gets killed dies the same way, but in this timeline it was more intentional. hence why it doesn't Completely Shatter Him in this timeline.

anyway then collapse happens and the thing with unnamed kiv goes different. he wouldn't even slightly bother with getting them indirectly killed, no he does that shit directly and he does it without flinching. knew he'd have to do this and has already forced himself to comprehend how real everything is, so? just part of the job. something something "why are you doing this?? you used to be so kind..!" / "oh, if you knew why i was doing this, you would understand i am being as kind as i can"

he definitely would really absolutely rather not be doing all this but he's been much more successful at forcibly repressing every single feeling like that here, so. he also gets a little bit sadistic after a while (he is aware of this and has intentionally worked to make it worse). don't worry about it

also while he didn't have concrete proof he would die this timeline, i feel he would have been able to go "hm, my visions cut off after a certain point. i would not be surprised if velzie just decided to kill me at some point". and who knows? maybe this is one of the few timelines where he is allowed to truly survive. maybe velzie took his loyalty and rewarded it. not like it matters either way as this timeline never happens anyway. sure his loyalty is fun but it's nothing compared to making him suffer the whole time

i want to emphasize again that even in this route he's not like... horrible and evil. i mean he sure has done a lot more wrong in this timeline but it was still ultimately because velzie went "look at these horrible things im going to make you to" and he went "damn if velzie is telling me this then i probably dont get a choice. might as well make it easy on myself and fuck myself up in advance" and got to work. and he's kind here!! his kindness is genuine! he's not faking it! he genuinely wants the best for everyone. it's just that, you know, gestures to velzie

as with all other alternate universes/timelines though this is completely noncanon. i call this specific variety of timeline "what... could have been..?" (question marks included)

[gren-arlio]

Well, it's official. Welcome to Part 1 of Episode 1 of Arle's Route in Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon.

(The Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon Manga always got me covered. This time, you make the context.)

Yeah, it's real now boys. Won't be as consistent as Schezo's route because school is starting soon and all that jazz, but we're here. The reason it's part 1 is because the video is too damn long like last time, so I'm cutting it in half.

Since I'm much better at this than I was when I began, hopefully this one will be slightly better than the very originals.

The video itself:

And now the timestamps:

Intro: 0:40

Small Settings Thing: (5:41)

Info Booth With Kikimora: (6:00)

This seems like a little, but trust me, this covers about 10 minutes of content that's pure text, which takes a lot longer to do. It's for my sake of not overworking. Part 2 is eventual... when is another story. Honestly, this is starting to look like a three parter episode one.

To people who've been here for a while, you may be wondering where the portraits are. Truth be told, stopped them for the top images. Saves time, and looks a little better.

With that, hope you enjoy the show.

Intro: (0:40)

Arle and Carbuncle are great friends.

The 2 of them enjoy walking together, and when they have time, see different places.

Arle:

Phew...this feels great...the sun's warm,

Its breezy and fresh...it's boring!

Carbuncle:

Guu!

Arle:

But something interesting will happen, right?

Taking a walk isn't so bad, but is boring, I'm looking for something exciting...

Carbuncle:

Guu!

[Insert clouds going dark]

Arle:

What the!? What's going on? I don't wanna get soaked...

Carbuncle:

GuGuu!

Arle:

What's up, Carby?

[Schezo appears from lightning. Actual LowTierGod stuff.]

Schezo:

... ... ...

Arle:

Oh, Schezo!

What's going on? Why are you here?

Schezo:

... ... ...

Arle:

Huh? That is Schezo, right...?

I feel bad! You don't have to ignore me! ...I'm sorry, are you in a bad mood?

Carbuncle:

Guu?

Arle:

Schezo seem much more powerful than usual, right?

He felt like a different person.

Carbuncle:

Gu?

Arle:

What? We're leaving? Well, alright, let's go!

Carbuncle:

Guu!

[One day, when she forgot about the event...

Arle and Carbuncle were taking a walk, as usual. They came to what seems to be an amusement park.]

Arle:

What the? They built an amusement park here.

Carbuncle:

Gu! Gugu!

Arle:

What's wrong Carby? Ah! That's Rulue over there!

[Rulue and Minotauros seem absent-minded.]

Hey! Rulue!

Rulue:

Hm? Ah, Arle!?

Arle:

Hey, did you come to play also?

Rulue:

Don't say such silly things! Why would I want to play in a place here!

Arle:

Then why are you here?

Rulue:

It's...I'm here to train!

Arle:

To train? At an amusement park?

Rulue:

This isn't just an amusement park.

All the attractions are maxes, filled with monsters.

Minotauros:

And there's all sort of loot and treasure in there, too.

They belong to whoever grabs them.

Arle:

Wow...it's a strange park, but doesn't it seem fun?

Rulue:

I don't care, I'm here to train!

Minotauros:

Master Rulue, then let's go in early...

Rulue:

Shut up!

Let's go in now!

[Rulue, angry, went into the amusement park.]

Minotauros:

If you're going to play here, I suggest not to.

The attractions are full of danger, and you could get hurt.

Arle:

Ah...

Rulue:

Mino! What're you waiting for! I'm leaving you!

Minotauros:

Yes Master Rulue, I'll be with you!

[Rulue and Minotauros left.]

Schezo:

What? You're here too?

[Arle was standing there, dazed, when a voice called from behind.]

Arle:

Schezo!? Did you come by yourself?

Schezo:

Wrong!

You heard about the rumors of this place, right?

Arle:

Rumors?

Schezo:

You don't know? It's about the attractions.

If you clear them all, you get something called a "Great Magical Item."

Arle:

Oh...really?

Schezo:

Well, I don't have time for idle talk, so I'm leaving.

[Schezo left as well.]

Arle:

Hmm...sounds interesting.

Cmon Carby, let's go!

------

Small Settings Stuff: 5:41

Arle:

Wow...this place is huge...where do I start?

(The player goes to the Menus, and goes to options. It reads:

Sound -> Stereo

Controller -> Non-Vibrating

Dash -> Normal

Flash Stop -> Off

Map -> Normal

Map Display -> Normal

Window Display -> Skip

-------

Info Booth With Kikimora: (6:00)

This took forever.

Arle:

This is the Info Booth, huh? They give all sort of tips there.

Carbuncle:

Guu!

(Menus. My beloved and my behated.

They go:

Listen <-

Rank

Bulletin

Back)

Arle:

Oh, you're the one in charge!

Cleaning Lady?:

In charge? No, I'm just a cleaner, but I help around.

I'm Kikimora. I'm an usher here.

Arle:

Hmm, is that so? You always have a mop with you, right?

Kikimora:

Yes. I don't tolerate dirtiness.

That being said, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Arle:

Then lemme ask you something...

(Menu.

Game Overview Explanation

About Items

About The Shop

About Rankings

Troubleshooting

The player goes down one by one, starting with Game Overview. Keep that in mind. I'll put a --- to signify the next one.)

Kikimora:

Well, all the attractions here have a purpose.

You'll be navigating a maze while fighting enemies here.

For many, it's become a fun attraction for them.

Of course, there's all sorts of goods and items as well.

If you think and use items carefully, you'll have a lot better time.

However, if you hit 0 HP, it's a game over for you.

All the exp and items you gained will be lost.

The first attraction is very easy, but they'll get tougher as you go on.

With that, do your best.

Arle:

Mhm...I see...

Kikimora:

What do you want me to explain? (She says this every time. I'm doing this once.)

---

About Items:

Kikimora:

Items are distributed into Rings, amulets, scrolls, herbs, medicine, food, and others.

Rings and amulets can be equipped, but most other things can only be used once.

Also, I don't know the names of the items in the attractions.

Find the name of the items...in other words, find our in your own way.

Arle:

Hmm...I see.

It's quite a problem that you didn't know the items name!

Kikimora:

I'm sorry...I really don't know!

Arle:

Aw, alright...how disappointing...

---

About the shop:

Kikimora:

In the shop, you can buy and sell items.

Money is needed to buy items, which can be found in the attractions.

You can also have a curse lifted or its name identified there.

The owner, Momomo, may seem weird, but he's a good merchant, so you'll be in good shape if you're able to get into his store.

You may even be able to get a better selection of goods.

Arle:

Hmm...I see... (She says this a lot, huh?)

---

About Rankings:

Rankings are done when you complete an attraction.

The system allows you to compete for scores from the items and money you got.

We calculate your score based on three score when you first enter, and after you left as well.

As for items, the less you bring, the easier your searches for new ones will be.

However, the amount you bring in will be heavily reduced.

Arle:

Hmm... I see. Come in with a lot of items then.

If I get kicked out, will it counted against me?

Kikimora:

That's right, though it's not fun to start with a negative number.

The ranking system will have a top and bottom 10, which you'll be able to see on the bulletin board.

---

Troubleshooting

Kikimora:

This where I explain things to newcomers.

We have a bulletin board filled with useful info, so be sure to check it often.

You can also see your score, so try to reach for first place.

If you get first, you might get a wonderful prize!

Arle:

"Might get?" What in the world do I get?

Kikimora:

Actually, I don't know myself.

Arle:

Are you really an usher?

I knew you were probably some old lady...

Kikimora:

If you put it that way, I prefer "Cleaning Lady"!

Arle:

...I knew you were an old lady.

Kikimora:

You're wrong!

---

(Arle goes to the bulletin board.)

Arle:

A Bulletin board...I'll have a look at it.

Carbuncle:

Guu!

(Menu.

Welcome to PuyoPuyo Dungeon <-

Back)

Bulletin Board:

If you're entering an attraction for the first time, try the PuyoPuyo Dungeon!

An exciting adventure awaits you.

-----

That'll be all for today. Hopefully this suffices for about a week.

Catch y'all next show.

[robinismywifee]

Back to the Old House - Chapter 4

August 23rd, 2034

[4 weeks, 5 days since beginning of Chapter 3]

Raines age: 16 years, 6 months

Ellies age: 15 years, 3 months

CW: none?

Words: 1920

Masterlist

Raines POV:

Today is the first day of patrol. Maria was super impressed at the gun range and she gave me a week before doing the real patrol job, just making sure I was ready to be around new people, taking me out to eat and shit.

It's been difficult, but I need to pull my head out of my ass.

I woke up early, 6am, patrol started at 7am, but Maria wanted me to eat beforehand. I brushed out the knots in my hair and brushed my teeth, got dressed, just jeans and a black tanktop, as it was still summertime, and my black canvas shoes.

I swung my bag over my shoulder and equipped my holster around my theigh for my gun.

"Hey Maria" I said in a sleepy voice, rubbing my eyes, making my way into the kitchen where Maria sat at the stool infront the counter.

"Hey, you seem tired. You sure you're still up for it?" she said, sipping something out of a steaming mug.

"Yeah yeah, i'm sure- it's just early"

She nodded, "you want some?" she gestured to her cup, "uh, what is it?"

"Coffee" she smiled proud, "oh, no thanks, never had it. Wouldn't wanna waste any"

"You sure you don't wanna try? It has caffeine in it, get you out of your tired mood"

"Not really, i'll be fine with water."

"Would you rather us go to get breakfast or me make you something?"

"Uh.."

Well I would definitely rather stay here to get food, but I should probably go out to eat so i'm not too overwhelmed with meeting this Jesse guy.

"Let's go out?"

Maria smiled, she gulped down the last splashes of her coffee, placing the now empty mug on the table, "i'm glad you said that"

୨♡୧

After I ate only half my food, since it felt like i was gonna puke if I ate anymore, me and Maria left to go to the stables.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't finish it.." I practically mumbled to her as we walked

"What? No. Don't be. You probably have lots of anxiety right now and i'm proud that you even tried. I'm also very proud that you're going out of your comfort zone to do this job."

I felt confused. Why is Maria so nice to me?

she wouldn't be if she knew the real me.

I stayed quiet. Thinking of how happy her words made me feel and thinking of how much I didn't deserve to feel that happiness.

"Hey" Maria waved to the guy who worked at the stables once we arrived, "We're gonna have you take this guy. We found her injured a few months ago but shes healed since, and fully trained. She's a good girl who was in need of an owner. She doesn't have a name yet either, so feel free to name her. This will be both of you guys first time on patrol" Maria smiled, as she handed me the horses rein.

I nodded, getting up on the horse. "perfect, now just follow me" Maria said softly, I followed next to her slowly riding my horse until we made it to infront the exist, I saw 7 other people on horses. They all looked to range from ages 18-30.

"Sorry for the wait. We got new patrol people, this is Raine" Maria introduced me to everyone, as I shyly waved. It felt weird considering i've been in town for weeks now, and yet I only know about 6 people, 2 of them I dont even know the names of.

"Hey Raine! I'm Jesse" one of the people said, it was the guy closest to me and looked to be the same age as me. His smile was gentle and he seemed nice. Maybe this won't be too bad.

"Hi" I awkwardly said, unsure of what else to say as he already knew my name.

"Great, I hope you two become friends as you'll be working together from now on, that is if everything goes well, but im certain it will."

Maria continued to talk about saftey precautions and which partner group was taking which route, Jesse already had taken this route before from when he had did group patrol, so I was basically just gonna have to follow him.

Once the gate opened, every partner group went separate ways, and it was just me and Jesse.

"So, I heard you came in weeks ago and was in the hospital for awhile. I also heard you got out of it weeks ago, where you've been?" Jesse asked in a curious tone, glancing to the side to look at me for my answer. When I opened my mouth nothing came out, he spoke up before I could make an embarrassing scene. "Sorry, that could be very personal, I dont wanna overstep anything.."

"Uh- no it's fine. I- I was just um.. I mean, I was in a coma? So I was recovering.. from it.. i've been staying at Maria and Tommy's place."

God, I sound so fucking stupid. Also im lying. I've been done recovering, i've just been staring at the wall in bed letting my own thoughts consume me.

"Oh, thats cool. Maria and Tommy are nice dudes."

It was awkward silence since I didn't know how to reply, and by the time I thought of just saying 'yeah' it was too late to reply.

"So what's it like being in a coma? I heard you dream some weird stuff- oh, and when people visited you, could you hear them?"

I softly smiled at his excited banter, he actually felt nice to be around and didn't make me that type of uncomfortable yet.

"Uhh, no weird dreams that I remember. Just was sorta blank. And, I wouldn't know. It's not like anyone vistied me"

"What do you mean? Of course she vi-" Jesse started saying, but stopped talking in the middle of his sentance. I scrunched my brows confused.

"Uhh.. sorry," he let out a dry chuckle, "forgot what I was gonna say"

What the fuck was that about?

I nodded, feeling awkward.

"Uhhhmm. So what made you wanna do patrol?"

Jesse asked, "Oh, just thought i'd be good and could help out."

"Nice.." Jesse nodded looking at me, as I stared down at my horses mane. "same.." he said, stretching out the A.

"Welp, Maria had us take a short route since its our first time and we're young, so.. here we are"

Jesse said, once we made it some office type building.

I didn't say anything, we entered it and Jesse signed us in. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"Guess not."

He nodded, pukering his lips and blowing air out. "Hey, you wanna know a fun fact about me?"

"Uh.. not really?" I asked, confused of why he kept trying to talk to me as we searched the building. "Can I tell you anyway?"

I shrug, not caring.

"Okay, well, my girlfriend, is actually the one that found you. You know, like right before you passed out in that coma."

My eyebrow's scrunched, and my face visibly showed confusion. What is he talking about? Ellie was the one that found me and shes not into gu-

"Dina, is her name"

Oh right. They were in groups.

I nodded, "Nice" I said not knowing how else to respond. "I think you and Dina could be friends. You'll have to meet her one of these days"

"No thanks" I said, cutting him off. He looked at me confused, "Oh- I just meant, i'm not really.. a social person, and meeting you is enough for me.. for awhile.."

His confusion dropped as he understood. "Gotcha. Well, still, it's a small town, you're gonna have to meet her eventually. But yeah, sure, take your time"

The rest of the patrol was boring silence broken up with Jesse throwing in information about himself that I didn't need to know. He even told me his shoe size? He's kinda weird. But definitely better then most, he wasn't being weird to me in that way at all and I feel like I could relax around him.

We finished the job and made it back to Jackson. It only took us a few hours since we had a short and recently cleared route. We didn't run into any infected or anything.

The people at the gates said hello to Jesse and welcomed us back, I figured that they didn't know my name. We rode to the stables, the stables were empty except for the same person working from before, and a black haired girl standing off to the side, looking as if she was waiting for something. She looked odly familiar.

Jesse was infront of me when I heard the girl speak up excitedly, "Jesse! How was it?"

Jesse smiled, "Hey Dina,"

So thats her? Fuck I hope Jesse doesnt try and make me introduce myself.

"It was pretty chill, we had a short route and no trouble. No infected or anything."

Jesse got off his horse and put the horse in its assigned stable, while I did the same. I saw from the corner of my eye Jesse and Dina hugging.

I could feel their eyes on me once they stopped hugging. "Raine? This is Dina"

I took a breath before turning around, "Hi" I mumbled, barley audible. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm glad to see you up!"

Are you though?

I nodded slightly, pressing a fake smile that I thought was convincing when in reality it wasnt at all, and then turned around to leave.

Once I left the stables and was out of their view, I heard Jesse apologizing for my behavior.

Why the fuck do I act like that?

I speed walked to Marias with my head down, feeling my heart pump fast. My cheeks were red from embarrassment.

Once I got to the house, Maria was already in the living room, and was alerted by me slamming the door shut that I was back.

She got off from the couch and ran over to me, "Raine? Whats wrong, did you get hurt? Did you get bit?" Maria asked me in a calm voice, but you could hear panic and worry behind it.

"No- no im fine-" I took a deep breath, feeling my cheeks grow more red from being even more embarrassed, since I was starting to have a hard time breathing over it.

"Well what's wrong? Was it too soon to go out?"

I shook my head, bringing my hands to cover my face, "No, I just- I dont know, I think it was just- alot, for such a short time." I breathed out, pushing past Maria to get water from the kitchen.

"Oh, i'm sorry hun, are you gonna hold off on patrol for awhile, or are you gonna stick with it?"

She asked, following behind me to the kitchen.

"No- I can still do it. Im fine. Tomorrow at the same time?"

She nodded, "Are you sure? How was Jesse? Do you want to switch him for someone else?"

I immediately shook my head no. That would just cause more trouble, and I would have to meet another person.

Before Maria could talk more, I took my water and went to my room.