#I used to be part of the older incarnations of this group lol--

[aceironwood]

Hi! Hope your teeth are fine. So, in this AU, what is gonna happen to Ozpin's Wonder Magi, seeing as you intend for him to be become the next Oz incarnation? Is he gonna dual wield The Long Memory? Will James add form variety to his weapon arsenal, Due Process, or will it remain the same? Who are the Maidens in this story? Will we see team RWBY and JNPR? Will Amber have a significant major role here? What about team WTCH? Who will be in Salem's inner circle? Is team STRQ gonna be losing one of their members, or will all four of them stay together? On a scale of "two left foot with the grace of a newborn giraffe with broken legs" to "gravity and physics have no command over me", which team OCIN and STRQ have better footwork and/or dancing skills? Will Chaeng's family situation be involved in this, like Weiss's was in canon?

Alright, there are a couple of more spoilery questions in here, so some answers will be vague at best lol

Weapons While I’m not giving any details on Wonder Magi vs the Long Memory yet, it’s not likely that they’ll be dual wielded. As for what happens so he only uses one? Spoilers With Due Process, I haven’t decided yet on if there’ll be different forms. On one hand, I would love him to have the canon from v8 bcs the gun-gun, but on the other hand I feel like that particular weapon upgrade is representative of a lot of his negative traits in v8 and James’ll be moving away from those more throughout this au

Team Questions RWBY and JNPR will all be appearing in the story, though the size of their roles will vary. Jaune and Nora have already appeared and Pyrrha and Ren will too, but RWBY’s role will definitely be more significant in terms of plot The STRQ question is a spoiler though, so you’ll have to stick around for future volumes to find out

Dancing With the dance question, the answer depends a little on if you’re asking about it for the teams as a group or individual members. Chae-Yeong is easily the best among all of them since she has a background in ballet, and that's not even getting into her experience with other types of dancing I'd say that STRQ overall are the worse dancers though-- while I think that Summer and Qrow are good dancers, Tai strikes me as a guy with two left feet when it comes to dancing even if he's good with footwork for combat, and Raven has zero interest in dancing (unless perhaps she's interested in wooing the person she's dancing with 👀) On the other hand, I think that Amber is a great dancer and tbh I could see her doing some musical theater stuff, and Ozpin's got moves from learning bits of circus routines. The only real mystery in terms of dancing skills would be James, but during a rwby guess who game at rtx a year or two ago they said that Ironwood would be good at dancing and while I think that comes in part from him being involved in Atlas' world of the social elite in the show, he doesn't have that here. So while I definitely has potential to be a good dancer, at the time he's a little stiff

WTCH and the Inner Circle Consider this part of the trailer for volume 2, but Watts, Tyrian, and Hazel will all be appearing there as undercover in a similar way to Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder in canon. And speaking of those three, they’ll be appearing in the future as well. They are part of the older generation in this story though, so take that as you will for the inner circle question

Future Questions The Maidens question is unfortunately a spoiler, but I will say you have met at least one person who is or will be a Maiden in the story so far Amber also will have a significant role to play in the future! I feel bad that she hasn’t gotten to have a pov in a chapter yet, but unfortunately there haven’t been any points in v1 where it’s felt right. She’s very important for things to come though, and will be getting some pov chapters in upcoming volumes Chae-Yeong’s family will also definitely be involved in a major way in the future. Along with them being important for her personal character arc, with how rich and powerful they are, it’d be pretty much impossible for them to not be relevant come the Atlas storylines

[tranquilseams]

Hello everyone!  This is Shiki-mun.  I wanted to make a post earlier, but alas, I was finishing up midterms when I got accepted.  But now I’m done and ready to RP!  It’s nice to meet you all!  If you would like to RP with Shiki, feel free to like this or hop into my inbox so we can plot together!  :)

[harrypotter-imaginess]

A/N: I got a tiiiiny bit of power and my first thought was my need for validation through my fanfiction lol. Hope you enjoy!

<This is Part 1!> / Part 2 Here!

- You’re in the middle of a blizzard, reading to pass the time, the power cuts in and out- giving you just enough time to scramble about trying to make your home just warm enough so you don’t freeze to death

- You sigh when it flickers off again, taking a sip from the hot drink you managed to make while you still had electricity

- Eyes turn back to the book in your hands, with the poor cell reception, and lack of television you’ve found the only thing you can bear to do it read and sleep

- Only occasionally withdrawing from both to eat whatever cold meal you can

- You’ve settled on reading the Harry Potter books, easy enough to read, even in your current condition

- The books are waterlogged, in terrible condition, you treated them quite rough when you were a child, though not all the blame is yours

- It’s an eclectic group, some hardcover some paperback, some borrowed from friends and never returned, some you got as a good deal at your local used bookstore

- You smile when you see all the parts with Fred and George are highlighted

- They always were your favorites

- You stiffile a yawn, you’re just getting to a good part-

- But a small rest won’t hurt will it?

- You feel your eyes drift close

- When they open again you’re looking at rolling hills, a wisp of steam curling into your view every so often

- Huh what a nice dream

- You close your eyes again only to feel a sharp sting in your neck that your eyes shoot open

- You don’t feel pain in dreams

- You’re in a train compartment an empty red bench in front of you

- You’re alone, the green hills rolling by outside the window

- You’ve seen this type of scenery before maybe in a movie, or a book-

- It looks a lot like something out of Harry Potter

- Your thoughts come to an abrupt hault, the memories slowly filtering in

- You’re a witch- your parents passed away in the first war, and you were brought up by your muggle godfather

- Don’t be mistaken, this isn’t some unfortunate Harry-Potter orphan story, your god father loved you a lot

- Even though he was a bit of a sl*t, the revolving circus of women that left his room every Sunday was practically your childhood form of television

- You even did a report on it in muggle school, high left several faculty members feeling concerned

- Still he loved you a lot, and he tried to be as honest as he could about your heritage, and your parents

- But well- he was a muggle, there was only so much he could do

- Still, he took you to kings cross himself, taking you to your gringott’s safe where your parents meager savings had increased by ten fold over the years, helping you pick your wand and books

- “Now I can’t go with you onto the platform, so write and let me know when you’ve reached safely alright?” You nodded, as he pulled you into a hug

- “I’m going to miss having you home”

- “But now you can bring women to the flat whenever you want” You were only joking but it makes him sniffle

- “I’d trade all of that to have you at home for just a few more years”

- You only pat his shoulder reassuring him you’ll be back during the holidays

- You had tried your hand at a few spells, but nothing drastic

- You were excited to see what Hogwarts would bring, what you might learn, and the friendships you might build

- You were so excited that you didn’t sleep all night, finally succumbing to a nap when you collapsed in an empty compartment

- And that brings you to the present, where you’re practically sweating buckets in the red bench.

- Okay, so you’re in Harry Potter now- some how

- And yeah, you’ve always kinda wished you could go to Hogwarts-

- But not like this!

- For one every book, like 3 kids die

- Even the cute ones, like Collin Creevey-

- And honestly if a main character like Fred Weasley died, what chance do you have at surviving?

- You’re probably just one of those nothing characters that dies at the battle of Hogwarts- if not sooner

- You look down at your hands

- Not to mention you’re suddenly eleven years old

- How many times did you have a nightmare you suddenly had to go back to middle or high school again because apparently you missed a class?

- Well this is like a nightmare come true

- You look under your shirt, holding the neck out only to sigh

- It’s your body still, you vaguely remember looking like this when you were younger

- But god-

- It’s like a strangers body at this point

- Ugh you don’t have time to think about this

- your goal right now is to survive

- A knock on your door pulls you out of your thoughts

- “Change into your robs, we’re getting close” a muffled voice says from the other side and you sigh

- Of course you are

- You sigh as you pull out your plain black wizards robe, almost looks like a graduation gown to be honest

- And that’s the uniform here is it

- Strange

- As you tug on the sleeves you think how you’re going to get out of this

- If you’re right the year is 1990, a year before Harry Potter shows up

- Okay so as far as you know- nothing really happens this year

- You don’t have to worry about all the Pureblood crap because both your parents were wizards, so you’re a half blood at least

- Now it’s all about house-

- If the books are 100% accurate then it’s between Slytherin and Gryffindor, Snape will turn a blind eye to any of your transgressions because of favoritism

- And McGonagall would go to bat for you if the circumstances were unfair

- Still- the Slytherin house seemed problematic what with the old money in that group

- Not all of them were probably like that- just the most prominent characters- you’d really rather not get involved with all that if you could

- And then- Gryffindor was even worse, you might be safe this year, but next year you would be plagued with death flag after death flag- no thanks

- Sprout seems nice enough, but you’re not too sure about that common room, in the dungeons- hard pass

- That leaves Ravenclaw, Flitwick seems nice enough, and the dorms are in a Ravenclaw tower

- Luna Lovegood will be there soon, and well, that could be pretty fun

- So you’ll try for Ravenclaw you think- pulling on your bag and joining the horde of students

- You’re about to join the other first years when you feel a tug on your bag.

- You turn towards the feeling to see two identical boys, a splatter of freckles across their nose, and flaming red hair

- “Are you (Y/N) (L/N)?” The taller of the two asks, a grin curled onto his lips, and his eyes full of stars

- You only nod

- They’re both looking at you like they’ve just seen a movie star and you can’t figure out why

- You’re only eleven years old after all, what could you have possibly done?

- “Was you Mum-“ the shorter starts

- “Was she the famous auror?” The other finishes

- Ah- of course

- Your mother was indeed a famous war hero, known for her noble efforts during the war

- Your god father had told you that at least

- “I’m George, and this is Fred” the shorter - George- says jerking his thumb to his twin

- Oh

- So they’re Fred and George Weasley?!?!

- Honestly you should have known by the red hair

- You can’t believe you’re meeting some of your favorite characters

- You stick your hand out, hoping it’s not too sweaty

- “(Y/N),” you say, “but you already knew that”

- George grins as he takes your hand first, with Fred repeating the motion

- “What house do ya think you’ll go to?” Fred asks

- “We hope you’re aiming for Gryffindor” George adds with a sly grin

- You can feel your face warming up under their gaze

- Alright- change of plan- you’ll try to get into Gryffindor so you can be friends with George and Fred

- It’ll be a little risky, but until the end they weren’t really in any of the serious adventures.

- Besides maybe if you hang out with them, you can save Fred near the end

- “Maybe” you smile at them, hearing a voice call your name for a carriage

- “See you around!” You wave goodbye, stepping into you assigned carriage with a group of other first years

- It’s sort of a mismatch, you don’t quite recognize anyone in here

- Than again the children an age above Harry were never really mentioned

- “Ugh I can’t believe my glasses broke, what rotten luck” a girl besides you says- you turn to see a girl with long dark hair, fiddling with a pair of broken glasses in her hands

- “Ah here, can I?” You ask, holding out your hand, and the girl wordlessly hands you her glasses

- Your murmur a spell and watch as the metal expands curling until it wraps around the broken edge, resembling intertwined vines

- “It’s not the best, but it’ll do for now”

- It’s only when you look up to hand the girl back her glasses that you notice everyone’s watching you

- “How did you do that?” A boy asks, and you shrug

- “Oh well I just said the incantation-“

- “I’ve never heard that one before” another girl murmurs

- You shrug again

- “Anything can be an incarnation of you just put enough feeling into it right?”

- The children clamor at you all at once

- It turns out the two girls were Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott- both Hufflepuff’s if you remember correctly

- Guess they were a year older than Harry in this world

- And then the boy is Blaise Zambini

- You know in the books he’s in a morally Grey area at best.

- “So like this?” He asks and you shake your head

- “You have to put your wrist into it more”

- But now, as he’s begging you to teach him the repairing charm that you cast, all you see is a little boy who wants to learn

- Change of plans, if you get into Slytherin maybe you can watch over Blaise and be his best friend

- That way he won’t get all mixed up in that Death Eater crap

- Maybe you can even get him onto your side, make a coven of witches and wizards and do some non-alignment stuff during the war

- You’re all gathered in the hall, answering a roll call from a rather lithe and strict woman- professor McGonagall no doubt

- After that you’re left waiting, and feeling somewhat bored, and somewhat like you may have had too much pumpkin juice- you hobble off into the corridor looking for a bathroom

- “Hurry back I think we’re about to go into the sorting ceremony” Blaise says and you nod

- You do not, in fact, hurry back

- Because after relieving yourself- you are incredibly lost

- It doesn’t help that all the portraits keep on shuffling around, or that all the corridors here look equally dark

- It’s only on your third time around the portrait of a woman eating an apple do you see what appears to be a person

- “What are you doing in the corridor?” As you come closer you realize it’s a boy, a yellow and black striped tie around his neck. “Shouldn’t you be at the feast?”

- He’s quite pretty, with thick brown hair and rosy cheeks

- “I went to the bathroom and got lost,” you hear him murmur first year and raise an eyebrow “What’s your excuse?”

- He lets out a laugh, running a hand through his hair

- “That’s fair,” he admits. And then after a moment he says:

- “I’m hiding”

- Your eyebrows thread together

- “Like from a crazy ex lover or..?”

- He laughs again, shaking his head

- “No, from my professor.” And then after a moment, before you can ask ‘is it because you’re having an affair with them’ he says:

- “They want me to be prefect for my house next year, and I don’t know how I feel about that”

- You let that sink in,

- “I know I should do it- it would give me an opportunity to represent my house, and look out for all my friends, and I’m sure my dad would be awfully proud but-“

- But it’s a lot of responsibility

- You get it.

- You sit beside him on the floor

- “You should do it-“ and before he can give a reason why you say:

- “You would get your own bathroom and I think that means a lot in a place like this”

- He laughs again, only this time the laugh leaves in loud gaffs, somehow you feel like this is the first real laugh the boy has shown you

- “I’ve heard a lot of reasons, but having my own bathroom is definitely a first”

- He looks at you in a way that makes your hair stand on end and your skin feel hot.

- “I’m Cedric, Cedric Diggory.” He says with an extended hand

- Ah, so this is pretty boy Diggory.

- He does kinda look like a young Robert Pattinson to be honest

- You take his hand in yours giving a firm shake

- “ (Y/N) (L/N) “ and you see his eyebrows shoot up

- “ (L/N) like the-“

- “ Yeah that’s my mum, the famous Auror”

- Cedric’s mouth curls up in a lopsided grin

- “I was going to say inventor- the inventor for the portable infinity box”

- Ah yes, your dad was an inventor. You didn’t know much about it though. Just that his inventions had left you a small fortune

- “My parents were both pretty remarkable huh?”

- And even though they’re not really your parents, and this isn’t really your body, you feel a little sad thinking about them.

- Before you can give Cedric a chance to offer his condolences, you stand up brushing off your robe.

- “We’ll come on Mr. Prefect in the making, show me to where I’m to be sorted” you say with a wave of a hand

- He grins

- “As you wish”

- Maybe being in Hufflepuff wouldn’t be so bad,

- and if you can manage to get close to Cedric, maybe he’ll let you use the prefects bathroom

- Huh, that does sound enticing

- Okay change of plans, you’ll get into Hufflepuff

- For the nice bathroom privileges

- When you get into the hall you feel all eyes turn to look to you

- And even though you’re an adult, you feel awfully embarrassed

- “If you get in Hufflepuff let’s get a butterbeer to celebrate, my treat..” Cedric whispers in your ear, and you catch a glimpse of the lopsided grin curled onto his face before he pushes you forward towards the group of first years

- Your face still feels hot when your name gets called

- You gulp as you move towards the chair

- Well it’s do or die- and you don’t plan on dying here

- You gulp again as the cold wood presses against your thighs as you take a seat

- All you have to do is ask for it to put you in -

- Wait

- What house were you aiming for again?

- Logic dictates Ravenclaw, it’s your best chance-

- But well, you’ve always wanted to be friends with Fred and George it just seems like so much fun

- And then, Slytherin’s not so bad, it would be nice if you could change peoples opinions about that house

- Oh and Hufflepuff might be nice too, you would have someone to look out for you- and you in turn can look out for others like Susan and Hannah

- And so it seems you’ve made peace, no matter which house the hat chooses, you’re happy with the outcome because there’s good and bad in all of them

- These things aren’t one dimensional, they nuanced. And that’s okay

- You feel the hat place on your head, and several long moments of silence pass

- .

- ..

- ...

- ....

- Shouldn’t something be happening by now?

- Like at least whispers in your ear from the hat or something right?

- “I-“ it finally chokes out

- Ah good a decision

- Well what’s your future going to be like?

- “I don’t know” the hat finally sputters, a collective gasp filling the room

- You drop your face into your hands, as small murmurs begin to spread through the tables

- “F*ck me” you mumble

[wutheringmights]

Since you wanted some asks, I figured this would be a good time to ask... why did you pick Spirit for CTB? The way you write him is great, but it's still kinda an interesting choice. I'm just curious if you had a larger reason for it.

I went overboard with this answer because I am so bored lol

I've talked a bit before about how CTB started as a MidLink romcom that spiraled out of control.

While writing the rom com, I had a scene during the war that I wanted to feature Warriors's friend group. I knew Mask was going to be a part of that group, but I also wanted Toon Link to be featured. However, Wind being in the war was never an idea I vibed with, so when I realized that Toon Link had moves based on Spirit Tracks, I saw my opportunity to add Spirit in instead.

Sure enough, the dynamics of these three being friend was what turned me away from the rom com and towards a political intrigue war story.

But here's the thing: when I realized I wanted to change stories, I tried to see if I could do it without Spirit. I knew Spirit was an interesting choice, and I was worried that including him would be a major determent to anyone who would want to read it. I knew that people who aren't fans of ST may not want to read a story with Spirit in it, and fans of ST wouldn't be too happy with what I was doing.

So I experimented with a few ideas.

First, I tried to see if I could make Wind work instead. The most immediate problem was the time paradox this would create. If an older Wind experienced the war, then a younger Wind would have to be with the Chain. But if Warriors was awful to older Wind, then he would take the opportunity to warn younger Wind of his future self and tell him what to do to avoid anything bad happening to him.

Which would mean for this story to still happen, Wind and Warriors's fates would have to be set in stone no matter what either did to prevent it.

I'm not going to say that's not an interesting story (because it's actually kinda metal), but that's dark. It's really dark. And it feels far too cynical to give Wind the tools to protect himself in the future, only to have those tools inevitably enable Warriors's abuse and lead to Wind's suffering. That's not the story I want to tell.

(I also played around with every member of the Chain having their memories wiped of their LU adventure once it's over, which would free Wind up from the burden of having to avert his own fate. But that would have been really lame. Imagine reading a story where there's this big mystery as to how Wind could possibly fail to protect himself in the future, only to learn that Warriors's efforts didn't matter since Wind forgot all of his warnings anyways. You would all kill me).

Once I exhausted the idea of using Wind, I tried to see if I could do this story with only Mask.

The first problem was that by making Mask the victim, it erased the role of the "witness" that Time currently plays in CTB. It changes the dynamics of the story a lot, and the conflict of Time and Warriors reuniting after all that would reasonably start and finish within a few weeks of the Chain meeting each other, avoiding the political intrigue plot entirely.

The second problem is that Mask is, like, a literal child. He's a baby. Warriors being cruel to a child is unforgivable. Warriors becomes way less sympathetic if the power dynamic is that skewed. His victim needed to be closer in age to him, especially so that they could reasonably have enough power to start fighting back. A child wouldn't be able to do that.

So after that, I looked into other incarnations of Link who were not already in LU, but were more popular than Spirit.

The two top choices were AOC Link and the First Hero. They both had the same problem: they're already military men. Warriors wouldn't have a reason to pressure them to fight in the war when they have done so no problem. With them, there's no conflict.

That just left the Hero of Cadence, which I quickly ruled out for two reasons: a) I have never played Cadence of Hyrule and b) there's not enough lore to justify why he would be a better pick than Spirit.

Which brings us back to where I started: Spirit.

The funny thing is that after all that experimenting, I walked away more sure than ever that Spirit was the right pick for CTB. His game lends him to be philosophically different from Warriors to cause conflict. Unlike the other Links, he's not a fighter first. But he would still fight back if need be. Plus, because he's not in the Chain, there is no burden for him to stop his own fate via weird time travel shenanigans.

Is he an interesting choice? Yup! But I don't think he's the wrong choice. CTB's story will only work if he's in it. And that's pretty cool.

[artbyfuji]

R,,,Reincarnation AU; Summer and Raven keep meeting each other (and falling in love ofc lmao) everytime. 🏃

I think my ass just wrote a whole fic up in here lol:

1341

You were the heir to the throne. I was assigned as your personal guard. You hated this life, your family formed you into the perfect being. The smartest. The wisest. The best fighter. But you hated it. They saw you as an object. Just like the subjects of their kingdom. They cared only for status, willing to sacrifice them all in a moments notice. You said I was the first person to view you as something more than a name. More than just the heir to the Rose Kingdom. One day in the royal library, you suggested it. “Let’s run away.” You showed me an old map of the castle, secret tunnels leading outside of the kingdom. 

I was loyal to the kingdom that gave me a chance to be something. But my loyalty to them couldn’t compare to my loyalty to you. We ran away. Crept through the tunnels and fled as far as our legs would take us. We were free, just the two of us, and in that moment, we shared a kiss. It was just us for maybe a year, but forces beyond our control wanted to break us apart. Enemy kingdoms were on the hunt for us, if you were killed it would benefit them immensely. They found us in the cottage we built by the river, it was two assassins intent to slaughter us. We fought but you were always stronger than me, I never understood why they would make me your guard if you could so easily defend yourself. Perhaps it was so I could take the fall in your stead. Maybe that’s what your family viewed me as, not a person, just a shield.

I was over powered, laying by the river bed bleeding out, wouldn’t make it much farther. The assassin grinned as he scraped his blade along the ground. He charged to stab me, but instead of hitting me…. the blade pierced right through your abdomen. I never noticed that you killed the assassins partner, never noticed you jumping into his path. Until it was too late. He pulled the blade from you, and the sound you made hurt me more than these wounds ever could have. But with the last of your strength you killed him, sliced his throat while he was mid swing. You then limped over and laid down beside me. We stared up at the sky, stars were visible and the dusk began to slip away. The sound of the river flowing drowned out our weak breaths.

Your bloodied hand grabbed for mine squeezing it as tight you could manage. Then we turned to look at each other, your lone silver eye piercing me to my core. Your smile barely masked the pained emotions creeping under the surface. I wanted to be angry with you. for taking the blade for me. But some reason, I felt nothing…. I was just lost in your presence. You looked me in the eyes and said it “we’ll find each other again.” It was a statement like you were positive this wouldn’t be the end of our story. I smiled… because I believed you. We both looked at the sky again. Watched the stars shine in the dark blue night sky.

Until it was black that consumed us both.

1674

Seeing you again shocked me to my core. We lived in the same town, I worked as a carpenter with my brother. You were an apprentice to a tailor. You wandered into our shop in hopes of getting a stool repaired. We looked each other in the eyes and just knew… knew of our past lives, of our struggles. Of our promise. We were finally together again. “I didn’t want to lose you again,” I said as we held each other in a tight embrace. “I didn’t want to lose you again,” I said as our lips pressed together for the first time, under that oak tree outside of town. “I didn’t want lose you again,” I said as we laid in the same bed, clothes long abandoned on the floor. “I wouldn’t lose you again,” I said as knelt in front of you holding a ring up. You laughed, and confusion flooded my mind, until you knelt down and showed me the ring you were hiding….. it made our love grow that much more.

We were set to be wed. We decided on late spring, the ceremony would be held on that cliff side you loved so much. The way the sky looked at sunset was a true marvel, with brilliant hues of orange and purple that would dance across the sky. Was this the happiness we deserved in our past lives? I remember regretting asking myself that. Because two months before our wedding, I fell ill. double pneumonia, they said i should cherish the days I have left because it wouldn’t be many. 

It was the eve of our would-be wedding when my body lost its battle. You sat beside the bed everyday soothing my pain. But this day was different, I could barely keep my eyes open, I knew the end was coming, and maybe you did too. Because you reached for my hand and squeezed it tight. You delicately brushed hair away from my eyes and through ragged breaths, I parted them as best I could. your lone silver eye piercing me to my core. It felt familiar. You smiled, leaned down and pressed a kiss against my forehead.

I spoke one final request. “Lay beside me.” I knew you wouldn’t deny it. You got up and walked around the bed, it dipped to my right. You lifted my head and placed it against your chest. Your shirt was soft against my sallow skin. You cradled my weak form. That’s when you whispered it. “We’ll find each other again.” I believed you. I closed my eyes and listened to your heartbeat.

Until i didn’t have the strength to even do that.

1856

Maybe the frustration of how unfairly my life played out in my last incarnation is what caused me to pick such a violent path in the new one. My brother and I were bandits. Robbing train cars and stage coaches to make a living in this cruel world. When we met again I never expected to be looking down the barrel of your gun. It seems you too chose a dangerous path in your new life. You were the leader of a group of train robbers Ivory Rose, and we both had the same idea of robbing a train delivering gold. 

My brother and I joined your group. We took on whatever the world threw at us guns blazing. It was such a thrill, the rush of adrenaline as we dodged bullets together. I remember every close call we had, how the thrill of survival would sometimes turn to lust, how our bodies would meld together whenever we shared a bed in a heady mix of sweat and arousal. This life wasn’t going to end in a happily ever after. But we didn’t really care. We were just happy to find each other again.

Our dangerous life caught up to us. Wanted posters plastered in every town. wanted dead or alive. We stole from one too many of the wrong people and the Pinkertons we encountered chose “dead”. They trapped us in an abandoned lumber factory. They wouldn’t leave until they knew we were dead. You laughed as you reloaded your guns counted how many bullets you had left. I did the same, we both knew we wouldn’t make it far, but we weren’t ones to cower in fear. Everyone outside ceased fire for a moment, and if felt like the world ceased spinning for a moment, maybe giving us one last chance to say goodbye. We used that time to look each other in the eyes, your lone silver eye piercing my very core. We shared a kiss. Your lips burned like fire against mine. You said those words again. “We’ll find each other again.” I believed you. We ran out into gun fire. I can’t say I remember much after that.

But i’m sure you lasted just a bit longer than me.

1915

Our time together lasted long this time. It was the turn of the century when we met, we were just children, I was 5 you were 6. And we became close friends. “Inseparable,” as everyone in town liked to call it. I remember all the days we spent under that weeping willow just outside of town. Picking flowers, or blowing dandelions in the wind. Sometimes I wished for simple things. Money to buy a pastry from the bakery, or a pair of shoes I saw the shoemaker putting on display. But in my teenage years I almost always found myself asking the same question. “Please let her love me back.” 

I sometimes wondered if you wished the same thing. A few years later, my wish came true and we chose to be more than friends. I was 20 and you were 21 when we shared a kiss. I would never forget how soft your lips felt against mine. But things were soon going to test our love.

In 1914 the great war began. In 1915 it was right outside our town.

Our love was strong even as air crafts flew over our town dropping bombs. Our love was strong even as we stood in the middle of destruction. Our love was so strong when enemy soldiers grabbed us and forced us to kneel down with other survivors. They shot down the line killing everyone until it was just the two of us left. It was so easy to see what we meant to each other so the leader of the group played a game. A fucking game. “Eenie” the barrel of his gun pointed to you. “Meenie” it pointed to me. “Miney” back to you. He stretched it on and on and ON until he said the final “moe” and the barrel landed on you. 

I remember screaming. Remember him tell the other soldiers to hold me down. I was scared but you just smiled. You looked towards me and just smiled. Your lone silver eye piercing my very core. That gaze, that beautiful gaze, it always had a way of erasing my fears. That’s when you said it “we’ll find each other again.” I believed you. I had to believe you. I would always believe you.

You died first. And the last thing I remember was how wrong it felt.

1982

I was far older than you this time. The more decades that passed, the more convinced I was that I would never find you again. I sat in the gardens of the hospital, how curious it is knowing that you’ll die. They gave me three months to live. I craved your presence. What would you look like? Did you dying first in the last life break the chain? Would i never see you again? Would I be born again over and over cursed to never find you? Lost in my thoughts, a ball rolled towards me. Almost didn’t realize it at first but I could never forget that silver gaze. The child that came to retrieve the ball…. was you. Eight years old and just as sick as me. Was the universe laughing at us? Trying to finally separate us for good? For weeks we talked to each other. Right here in the gardens. You had the memories of past lives, but you were so young and you couldn’t understand what they meant. You called them “sad thoughts” memories of how you died in past lives would turn up in your dreams and it scared you. But you said once we met, they stopped. I enjoyed your company, but i hope you could forgive me for wondering what our time together would be like had we been the same age.

I remember always wondering how you died in our second lifetime. But maybe its better that I never asked.

One day you looked nervous. I asked what was wrong. You said you had a surgery in a few days, the doctors told you it would help your heart. I would grab your hand and squeeze, it was about the only thing I could manage to do for you in this lifetime. You looked up to me, your silver eyes pierced my very core, it was the first time I saw you without an eyepatch, there was such an innocence to them. I smiled and told you to everything would be okay…. and you believed me. 

A few days later I asked some nurses about you, about the child in Room 207. The somber looks on their face told me everything I needed to know. You died first again.

And this time you never said that we’ll find each other again.

2004

I sit in these college classes everyday. Lessons these professors teach barely process in my mind. In my philosophy class I always look down at the woman with dark red hair tied in a half bun, her eye patch, her breathtaking silver gaze. We pass each other in the halls, on campus. Her dorm is right next to mine.

Sometime’s when I pull up on my motorcycle at my spot on the campus parking lot, she is there. Talking with a friend. Some guy with blond hair. The first time we met she admired the paint job on my bike. She attempted to introduce herself. “By the way my name is-”

“Summer.” I said. Was I smiling? I think so. But I remember concern clouding my mind when she looked confused.

“How’d you know? Have we met before?”

I remember you. I remember all your past lives. I remember that child with the ball. The woman knelt in front of the barrel of a gun. The train robber that took on gun fire. The tailor’s apprentice. The heir to the Rose Kingdom. 

So why don’t you remember me?

[arsenic11]

KNB sketches (kinda) 2 (+hc)

So uhhhh, here’s properly drawn fem kuroko and kagami 

lol the next part is where i reveal kaizen’s family (CHOSEN BC AESTHETICS IM SORRY, BUT KAGAKURO IS STILL MY OTP JDFNJSJFFNJ)

a clearer look at kai’s design

note: kaizen was still tohru when i made this-

for the abo thing, how else would kuroko have kids bc fem kuroko belongs to fem kagami >:)

AND NOW FOR THEIR GROUP PHOTO

okay so my headcanons so far: AKASHI SEIKA

-first born, and kaizen’s older twin sister (i imagine akakuro were in their late 20′s when kuroko finally accepted akashi’s proposal cuz he’s an independent young man who don’t need yo money) 

-if abo is applicable, she’s the alpha female who’ll become the Empress of Akashi Corp. one day lmao

-very into gore and power dynamics like her father, but as emo as her dear mother (despite kuroko’s insistence that he’s a male, since he birthed her, he’s technically her mom so seika doesn’t really care)

-she has way more energy than her parents combined and probably the physical incarnation of bokushi

-she’s the only akakuro kid that became a basketball nerd too 

-also, kaizen basically babysits her on a daily basis bc yOU HAVE SEEN BOKUSHI’S SCISSORS SCENES RIGHT?? IMAGINE IF THAT WERE A PERSON’S ACTUAL PERSONALITY

-i think kise rubbed of some of his sparkles on her, and kuroko is blinded by his daughter on a daily basis (also kuroko’s surname is akashi in the documents but he’s kuroko  tetsuya everywhere else)

AKASHI KAIZEN

-the middle child who’s also the younger twin (i think they might be born somewhere late in october)

- if abo is applicable, he’s the only omega child and papa is in his most protective father mode with him (in contrast to his rivalry with his daughter to almost everything -they also fight for kuroko’s attention every day lol)

-pretty much kuroko with akashi features sans eyes BUT when kuroko is more monotone, neutral and as masculine as an omega can be, kai is way more expressive, easily embarrassed, and basically a tsundere??

-he used to play basketball with his family when he was a kid, but he wasn’t interested in joining an actual team and devotes his time to the arts (animatics, webtoons and fanarts galore)

-he’s still somewhat a basketball fan tho, just not a player  (papa and chichiue are still proud)

AKASHI YUKI (his hair and eyes are really light blue if you’re wondering)

-he’s the youngest by a grand 10 years from his older siblings (the pic says otherwise, i know) and probably born on april 1st or smth bc nobody believed kuroko when he said he was having third kid at his age lmao)

-he’s the wild card of the family-

-like legit, in the abo, he was the one who wore traditionally fem clothes so everybody thought he was going to be another omega but then boom growth spurt and he’s an alpha ;-;

-still likes dem dresses tho

-pretty simple minded in a mister cheese sort of way (the akashi genius still lives within him tho) 

-the only one who got the full misdirection package from kuroko (apparently the twins’ red hair are hard to miss)

...who made his parent’s eyes sweat with his decision to become a volleyball player (they still love and support him tho)

NOTE: yeah having akakuro as parents lead to a very stiff childhood, but rest assured, that’s just the parents’ personality and they still spoil them in their own way)

also yeah, they refer to them as their current closeness would have it:

seika refers to akashi and kuroko as ‘father’ and ‘*insert compliment* mother (or mama if she’s in her vulnerable states) because of her (reasonable) logic and because father is her eternal arch nemesis muahaha

the ‘papa’ thing between akashi and kai indicates their closeness, while he calls kuroko ‘chichiue’ because well, their similar personalities don’t really convey their affection for one another so yeah

yuki just calls them both dad so it’s pretty confusing or daddy/mommy for distinction but the unholiness to the couple is very apparent . He’s pretty neutral when it comes to favoritism (he slightly prefers kuroko  over akashi tho)

SO THAT’S IT FOR NOW, AND THIS IS HONESTLY MY STRESS RELIEF NOW SO YEAH

[lizzexx]

if there was ever all TLs that were published meet, i can sort of see that Sadie would be the youngest and sort of the baby in thr group weirdly enough and a bit annoyed despite the fact shes mature

I could see that :) She’d be like ‘Guys, JUST because I’m on my 2nd incarnation doesn’t mean I’m a child! I’m over 800 years old for Rassilon’s sake!’ :/ 

I think part of it would also depend on which incarnations of the other TLs we see ;) Like...if the 9th Angel was there, I think she’d end up being the baby because she’s just so innocent and ‘simple’ by Time Lord standards. Proffy, too, might also be treated a bit like glass if it was her 9th self, scared of more things than she’s used to being :( But I definitely see Mac just mothering all of them even the ones older than her lol :)

Looking to the ones that are unpublished, TL? might be in the running for being treated as the baby too ;)

[honeyjaez]

Maze of Miroh- Chapter 19: The Battle for The Under Pt 2

I have a somewhat long announcement guys so bear with me here.

Ahhh hey guys. I got a lot of reasonings as to why this chapter is so late. First, I started Uni again, and its been an adjustment. Two, some internal issues at work caused me to break down in a complete depression spiral. For about 3 whole weeks I cried at work at least once a day haha. Finally, and this was more recent, but the rumors regarding Woojin.  I started this story of May 2019, before Woojin left, and afterwards I vowed I would continue to write him in my story despite no longer being in the group. But this issue it totally different in its entirety. Regardless if they are true or not (and we don't know that they are or not) the way he has handled the whole thing did not sit right with me. This topic hits close home for me as it is and I contemplated removing Woojin from my story all together to avoid making you guys feel uncomfortable as well as myself because it is such a serious trigger. As more rumors came out about his treatment towards the others members and what not I suddenly got a sick feeling in my stomach about him in general. When news first broke out I just wanted to go on in the story, never writing his name again and just totally drooping his character. I thought about telling everyone to not think of these characters as stray kids members and keep him in. But as I've had time to calm down and come to my own decision about the matter, I've decided that I will write him in this story for only this chapter and possibly next. I will be removing him from this story in a plot driven way and I would like you all to respect my decision on this matter. If it comes out later on that he is innocent of all his has been accused, then hey, *shrugs*. But I would rather that than me continue to write such a compassionate and kind character for someone who has lost their way in this regards. I just personally do not feel comfortable at this moment writing him in. Which really sucks because he was such an important part of this arc lol. Anyways, If I have offended you all by my way of removing Woojin from this story I am truly sorry. Again I thought about just totally pretending his character never existed in the first place. But as a writer, it didn't sit right with me.

With that, I have to tweak the story a bit, but I hope you enjoy this little update. Next update is nearly done (Actually this chapter was originally like 3 times longer, but I decided to cut it up.) Have a good night!

The Under:

To say Jisung was in a bad mood was a complete understatement.

All they were supposed to do was get down here, get the information they needed from Dowoon and get the fuck out.

There weren't supposed to be any psychotic speed demons, nor an emo Legolas wannabe with a stick up his ass. And there CERTAINLY wasn’t supposed to be any Virus.

Jisung furrowed his brow as their group ran towards the outer city limits. He looked behind him to see Minho straggling a few feet to the side, the older boy's eyes focused on the road in front of them. Jisung clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue in annoyance before he turned back around to look at the buildings in front of them.

If only the others knew what they were going through. Jisung almost laughed  imagining the raging meltdown both Changbin and Seungmin would have had in reaction to their current situation. They both are used to Chan’s more risky judgments, being in the group for as long as they had. Oh, if they could see us now….

He let out a long-winded sigh of defeat. They should have left when they had the chance.

But alas, he was being the selfish one here, and his other members had to be heroes incarnate, risking their lives for a group of people who they barely knew…Woojin hyung aside.  And in return, it would be up to Jisung to protect them all since they were all so infuriatingly reckless.

Nope definitely not annoyed....

Jisung’s ears perked as he heard a voice call out to them as they moved closer to the edge of the city. His eyes adjusted forward to see Wooyoung looking back at them, mouth moving as he voiced a command to them. Right away, the team came to an halt as they reached the first signs of buildings, and Wooyoung turned to look back at them, his eyes dark and hard with determination.

“Since some of you don’t know how our city is set up, we will split up in groups.” he explained “Mingi will go with Minho to the eastern section of the city, while Jisung and I will head to the north… Jongho, you'll be in the west.”

Wooyoung’s voice faded from Jisung’s mind as he felt his blood run icy cold at Wooyoung’s words. Now his annoyance was being overwritten by fear. This was exactly what he was afraid of… they were splitting up.

“Hyung,” Wooyoung seemingly continued, looking towards Woojin “since you know the city, can you head to the center? Our 3 teams will have to work fast, ushering the people back here towards the southern part of the city where the bunker is.”

Jisung shook himself back to the present and looked to see that while his eyes were hard with determination, he didn’t miss the way Wooyoung’s hands trembled at his sides. He regarded the older boy with a wave of understanding and sympathy.

 No matter how you look at it, we are working in a helpless situation… At Least he has the good sense to be scared…

But that begs the question. What about him? Was he scared? He was annoyed, that was for sure. But it didn’t take a genius to know his annoyance was just a mask, trying to hide his own fear.  No matter what, the odds did not look favorable.  5 of them trying to evacuate an entire city on their own? Working with a timer that they didn’t even know what it’s set at?

No thanks, I want a refund.

Woojin must have sensed Jisung’s negativity, for he set his eyes on the younger, giving out a small, knowing cough to gain his attention. He looked up and  locked eyes with Woojin, seeing the elder boy give him a half smile, like he was trying to reassure him.

“It won’t be easy,” he said out loud, tearing his gaze from Jisung’s and towards the party. “It will take all of our best efforts, but remember what Hongjoong said. No one has permission to die here and I am seconding that.”

The younger boys all stared at the older boy, their gaze turning hard with determination. Only Jisung looked apprehensive as he stared at his two teammates, and he found himself looking particularly in the direction of their green-horned Minho, who was still very much a novice in this world.

Jisung thought back to just a few hours ago in their shared room and Minho’s words caused Jisung’s brain to short circuit.

__

“Jisung, no matter what obstacle, what problem and what path leads in front of you, I believe with every fiber of my being that you will come out on top.”

__

God I really hope he is right….

If he was going to save the city and keep Minho alive he was going to need all the luck in the world.

Minho’s words replayed in his mind as he caught sight of Mingi making his way over to the brown haired boy. It was then that Minho himself seemed to feel Jisung’s gaze, and looked back, staring evenly. Jisung noticed with a twitch in his face, Minho’s soft eyes showing the slightest of fear to him. But before Jisung could do anything, Minho quickly covered it up with a misplaced resolve.

The younger grit his teeth in annoyance, knowing that look all too well. He saw it enough in his brother when they were kids and enough times in Chan and the others to last him a lifetime.

I swear to god he wants me to hate him...

Nothing made Jisung madder than a beautiful idiot with a death wish....

And Minho was all three.

There were a few exchanges between Wooyoung and the others, but all too quickly it was over and Jisung felt an arm ripping him from the circle, and thus tearing him from Minho’s gaze.

“Come on” Wooyoung muttered quickly “We have the furthest distance needed to travel. There is no time to waste.”

Just like that, Jisung was pulled from his fellow members, his stomach churning at the thought of being separated from them in a situation like theirs. If he isn’t there to stop them from being complete idiots, then who was?

Yep. Definitely annoyed.

“Fuck...” he cursed under his breath as he turned his back around, leaving the group behind as the both picked up speed. Jisung closed his eyes, sending a silent prayer to whatever god lived above to listen to his plea.

“Keep the idiots with a deathwish safe….please…”  

Minho

Minho watched as Wooyoung dragged Jisung away, an uneasy feeling in his stomach starting to make its way upwards. He hated being separated just as much as Jisung probably felt.  But he couldn’t argue with Wooyoung’s logic, nor could he back down from the task at hand.

He was going to save as many people as possible and show The Order that their time of winning was over.

Minho jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Woojin give him a comforting smile. “Jisung will be alright Minho,” he said, as if he knew his thoughts. “If anyone can take care of themselves, it’s Jisung.”

“Yah.” Minho agreed with a quick nod of his head.”You’re right.”

“Minho!” Mingi called “You ready? We need to get going!”

Minho turned to the taller boy who was standing next to Jongho and nodded  “Ready”

Woojin took a step forward, brushing his shoulder with Minho’s as a form of comfort. “Take care of him Mingi, he is our important member and friend...lord knows what Felix would do to me if I lost him on this mission.”

Mingi snorted playfully “I don’t know who that is, but as long as he can keep up we will be fine.” He then turned towards Jongho, placing two hands on his shoulders “Be safe little one.”

Minho almost laughed as he watched Jongho look up at the taller boy with a mildly annoyed face, “You know I can kick your ass right?” he asked the taller boy.

Mingi was unfazed as he waved a hand in the air. “Details Details” he said with a smile, motioning for Minho to follow him. If Jongho had heard his comment, the youngest made no notion of it, and turned back around, heading in his own direction.

As they ran further and further from the others he couldn’t help but shake a deep feeling of dread. Minho turned his gaze backwards to look at Woojin’s fleeting figure and he felt his heart tightening in his chest. Something didn’t didn’t feel right.

“Tch!” Minho growled to himself mentally “No. I won’t psych myself out this time!”

This was it. This was another chance to do good, and prove to himself that he CAN do what is needed to be done. No more hiding. No more cowardice. Minho had to make a difference here or his promise to Jeongwoo would be meaningless.

The two of them went on for a few minutes in complete silence, but eventually Minho could feel Mingi’s gaze on him and he turned his head slightly to glance back.

“What?” was all he asked.

“How new?” he asked.

Minho's eyes widened in confusion, turning to get a better look at the bigger boy “Excuse me?”

Mingi chuckled, his gaze turning back to the road in front of them “I mean how new are you to this harsh world of fighting?”

Minho felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment at the question, and he quickly looked at the ground in front of him, sheepish. “Is it that obvious?” he mewed quietly.

Mingi laughed louder this time, throwing two hands in the air in kindness “Not really.” he chuckled “I mean just the fact that you beat San shows you have skills.” He said encouragingly. “I just ask because your members treat you like you're fragile… something you only really do when you are new to this world.”

Minho nodded, trying to calm down from his mild dose of embarrassment. “You can say that again….” he mused.

Mingi smiled at him and gave him a toothy grin “Well the others might not say it, but just the fact that you are against The Order makes you a friend to me!”

Minho’s eyes widened and he nearly smiled at the boy’s pure words. “I thought The Under were neutral when it came to The Order…” He said with a puzzled look. ”You neither give them support but neither do you fight against them… isn’t that right?”

But the younger boy shrugged rather casually, “That is the standard” he explained “But it doesn’t necessarily mean we all agree with it. Hongjoong hyung...” Mingi trailed off, like he was contemplating saying his next words.

“Truthfully….” the taller boy continued more slowly “If it were up to Hongjoong Hyung… We would have liked nothing more than to go the surface, to make The Under more than just a lawless city, that in which is suffocating in the mud and dirt down here.” Mingi turned and gazed at Minho, with the first sense of intensity he caught all day “He wants a better future for the children born down here, something we didn’t get.”

Minho looked at him, pondering his words for a few seconds, and trying to understand the underlying problem. Suddenly Chan’s words flashed through his mind.

“ If we even wanted a chance at overthrowing The Order, then we needed allies. Strong allies at that... “

Minho looked towards Mingi, face pure and honest “If given the chance... Would you fight back? And I mean seriously fight back...”

Mingi gazed back at him, noticing the serious expression on his face, nodding once. “Aye.”

Minho felt a wave of weight being lifted from him and he gave Mingi an earnest smile “Then maybe one day we will.”

It fell into a comfortable silence after that, but Minho couldn’t help but smile now as they ran. This was his first real interaction with another member besides San, and it left him hopeful that they could work together in the future. If they were all like Mingi and Hongjoong that is…

But before he could romance the idea any further, Minho’s smile dropped as he began to hear yelling in the far distance. Screams began to fill his ears and Minho realized with a thump to his heart that they were finally reaching an area with people. As they rounded the corner his eyes widened wide with alarm at the sight of crowds of people rushing forwards, carrying their young ones and belongings as they pushed towards the center. There was no order to it. It was chaotic and messy.

Exactly what Zico wanted.

Minho looked to Mingi who was also looking at the sight with a grim expression on his face. No matter how you looked at it, just two of them controlling this crowd was nearly impossible. It wasn’t going to be easy whatsoever.

But they had to start somewhere.

Mingi rushed forward then, aiming towards a herd of people, easily outpacing them and stopping at the front of them with his arms stretched wide as a blockade. There were a few shocked gasps but also a few who recognized the young boy almost immediately.

“Mingi-ssi!?” Minho heard a voice from the mass call  “What are you doing?! Why are you stopping us?!”

Mingi looked at the crowd, his face dead serious. “Despite what Zico said, protocol calls for all evacuations to take place in the southern bunker!” he tried to yell over the chaos “I’m going to have to ask you to turn the other way!”

Hushed murmurs ripped through the crowd and Minho perked his ears forward to listen.

“That's true…” a female voice said.

“But why would Zico send us to the center if it wasn’t the safest…”

“No matter what it looks like we have orders…”

“Well I trust our leader!”

Please, Please… Minho pleaded.

But Minho’s plea was crushed as the crowd began to push Mingi backwards, choosing to continue on their path. He watched as Mingi was quickly shoved to the side by the masses and he ran forward, pulling him back up as the crown sprinted forward and away from them.

“Mingi-ssi!” he called, helping the boy off from the ground. “Are you okay?”

“Tch!” he spat. “They are choosing to believe Zico over me!”

“Well” Minho reasoned “They don’t know about Zico so of course they still trust him…”

Mingi punched the ground in front of them, his anger rising “Dammit!” he cured “If only Hongjoong hyung was here...”

“Mingi-ssi?” a voice called.

Minho turned to see a taller, older man with worn out blond hair looking at him from across the rushing street. He quickly made his way over to them, holding out a hand to Mingi.

Mingi looked up, taking the older boy's hand, a tired smile on his face. “Inpyo hyung!” he cried “Thank god you are here!”

The one named Inpyo nodded, his face grim “Once the alarm sounded my boys and I set out to help with the evacuations but we are having a bit of difficulties” he admitted. He then turned towards Minho, eyes narrowing in mild interest “Who is this?”

Mingi waved a hand in the air, “This is Minho. He and his group are helping us. Minho-” he turned, waving a hand at the taller man “This is Inpyo. He and his team are one of the best of our police force down here.”

“- Was ” Inpyo corrected, holding out his hand to Minho in greeting “We all retired a few years back when we couldn’t stand by Zico any longer.”

Minho nodded in greeting, taking his hand for a quick shake “I don’t blame you..”

Inpyo smiled at that and took his hand away. “Mingi,” he asked, turning back towards the younger “Why would Zico have the city evacuate to the center of the city?”

Mingi shook his head “I can’t explain right now, but it is all wrong hyung, the center of the city is the focal point of what's to come, and we need to get everyone to get away from there. But no one is willing to listen to me...”

Inpyo placed a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

“Asking them to believe in someone else over their trusted leader is a bit much for most people....” Inpyo mused.

“I understand that” Mingi agreed “But we have to convince them somehow…”

They were all quiet as chaos erupted around them, trying to think of a plan. Suddenly a thought came to Minho’s mind and he looked up at them with wide eyes.

“Inpyo-ssi?” Minho asked “When you say you were one of the best, how much did the people of The Under trust you? Did you have their respect?”

The question caught the older man off guard for a second but quietly nodded “Ah.”

Mingi scoffed “Didn they respect him? They practically worshiped the ground they all walked on…”

“Then why not have Inpyo and his team tell everyone where to evacuate?”

“As much as they trust me Minho,” Inpyo started “I’m still asking them to go against Zico’s orders...most won’t be willin-”

Minho held a finger up in the air to interrupt “But what if we don’t tell them to go against his orders?”

Mingi tilted his head in confusion “Okay, now I’m lost”

But Inpyo seemed to understand what Minho was getting at and nodded once “We tell them something different. Something they would believe came from Zico himself...”

Minho smiled, a small bode of confidence sparking in him “Instead of telling them the evacuation site has changed, we tell them that the center bunker is too full and overflow needs to evacuate to the southern bunker.”

Mingi’s eyes widened in realization while Inpyo nodded “It might work, especially if it comes from our mouths.”

“Hyung” Mingi suddenly turned and looked at the elder boy “Where’s Jiahn and the others? Can you get in contact with him? Have them help?”

Inpyo nodded, pulling out a small phone “I scattered them all to various districts. But I can call them and update the plan.  Jiahn should be in the center of the city right now...”

Minho looked at the elder boy, chewing his bottom lip in worry. “If I can ask Inpyo-ssi. One of my hyungs should be arriving in the center region any second now to help with the evacuation. Maybe your friend could meet up with him.”

Inpyo smiled softly and nodded, “Better as teams than opposing forces. Who is your friend?”

“It’s Woojin hyung” Mingi answered. Inpyo’s face widened in mild surprise and he looked at Mingi with curiosity in his eyes “Woojin? Woojin is in the same group as Minho. Wooyoung is in the North with another of their teammates and Jongho is in the Western quadrant.”

Inpyo eyed him with a mildly disappointed look “And Hongjoong? Where are the rest of your teammates Mingi?”

The taller boy shook his head “Not enough time hyung. Just know they are all doing their part in this. Please hyung….We could really use your help…”

Inpyo nodded looking at the two of them. “I’ll get in contact with my team. Don’t fret Mingi-ya. The Under won't die here is I have anything to say about it.”

They stayed quiet as Inpyo opened his small phone and quickly dialed a few numbers. There was a few more heartbeats of quiet as he put the device to his ear, but soon enough they heard a click and a muffled voice on the other line.

“Jiahn hyung-yes yes I'm okay. Listen, plans changed” he started “We were right. Something is fishy with the center evacuation. We need to evacuate them to the sou-oh?” he stopped midstence as the voice spoke to him and Minho watched as he nodded in response “I get it. You met Woojin already and he told you. Okay. Well tell the people that the center is full and Zico has ordered the overflow to the south. Can you pass the information to Isaac and Yeontae’s groups? Great Thank you. Tell them when their sections are done and they have done a sweep to report to the southern bunker.”

And like that, without even saying goodbye the elder boy quickly shut the phone and turned back to look at them.

“For trusting sake, Mingi keep Minho with you as you work your ways inwards. We have a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time.”

Both boys nodded and stood up from the ground, pounding their feet on the ground as they began to run into the crowd. A familiar sense of dread suddenly filled Minho to his core and he swallowed hard, his heart beat racing. 

Why did he feel like something terrible was about to happen?

[retphienix]

Credits are rolling as I type because I saw fit to forego capturing since I didn’t REALLY do a live playthrough on the blog and instead just showed off moments here and there.

Just wanted to say, that was damned good.

It gave off such a dnd vibe to me and since I’ve yet to indulge in that truly it was a nice romp.

But seriously, what an awesome game with even more potential if more were to come in the series. Phenomenal writing and a very simple but ingenious gimmick of making magic simple but full of potential since it interacts with the elements and environment. A+ stuff there.

Did get a chuckle out of the ending slides surrounding a CaC gaining divinity basically just sliding the camera onto the same image 6 times where it clearly would be different slides if you used a default character lol.

What to dwell on...

Combat in the game was phenomenal! But it’s funny to me how it ended up in MY party.

Since I made the grave mistake of letting all the companions maintain their default classes I ended up with a rather eclectic combo and my OWN stubborness lead to me sticking to that for the most part.

Beardy as a full on warrior in the vein of my old WoW character. He ended up being a friggin’ godsend to the team since I ended up going more physical damage than magic (but still a 2/2 split team count wise TECHNICALLY).

Going heavy in 2h weapons and stength just resulted in him tearing everyone apart at a moments notice all while having his hand on that idol of resurrection so I could literally never be too risky with him. (A touch of a difficulty equalizer in some cases and complete nullification in other instances sadly)

Beast ended up molded to straight hydro for heals all while wielding the biggest shield I could manage at any moment and stacking con/int. He was bulky, sure, but didn’t really abuse that much and instead spent every battle freezing everyone with freezing blast and rain, or saying screw it and using blood rain with his torturer perk so everyone bled while he spammed heals. It was effective but mostly just CC.

Fane was the second MVP if not total MVP? Beardy really did the most all said, but Fane? A Necessity At All Times.

He was holding the second idol, though rarely needed it (neither did Beardy to be honest, but still).

Fane went all in on summoning, and aero as his secondary for when he ran out of spells etc.

His incarnate was insane through this run, I love how summoning can honestly give you either a huge physical damage output buff or any element you please. His summoning is why my 2/2 split party ended up leaning heavy on physical, because it made more sense to abuse a physical incarnate’s output than to constantly grab a water one (for restoration magic and water damage) or fire or whatever else.

Having powerful shock spells was nice too. But mostly he summoned and then buffed his summons. I INTENDED to stack some poison related spells on someone for healing him, but Fane ended up going the entire game after act 1 without healing outside of bottles and he did just fine. God that sleeping bag or what have you is op for out of combat and who needs healing in combat when you have an insta-rez on death and tons of damage going out.

Oh and by the end I decided to spend like 144k on a ring with 1/3rd the magic defense on it because he permanently poisoned him. So that was nice.

Sibelle did fuck all the whole time.

Which is rude to say, sure, and you’d be right to say that. I ended up enjoying Sib’s character and she did put out some nice burst damage in physical form at the start of most fights.

But I never gave her a chance and it shows. (in terms of build).

She joined as a worthless rogue with no invis or survivability and dual wield burst being her only tool, and instead of fixing that with some invis or survivability, I said “Sure, Sib. You’re a lethal assassin. Tell me how that works out.” and she proceeded to spend like 60-70% of the fights in the game face down in the pavement because after her initial burst of damage she’d die and I couldn’t be arsed to care.

She lived the final fight just fine though, go figure. She didn’t go down once and actually pulled her weight for more than just the first round. How novel a concept, Sib. Maybe next time grab some other talents outside of just scoundrel and dual wield.

What a self burn where I say I stubbornly made a bad character and it’s their fault. lol

Speaking of those idols real quick, it cracks me up how the one fight I completely botched was saved by them. When I ran into the paladin leader in the basement I decided to take him out since I heard he was with the black ring prior. I killed HIM just fine, but the rest of them were 2-3 levels above me and were rough as all hell.

Eventually it was Beardy, alone, in a corner, surrounded, and after like an hour of combat he finally fell. Everyone de-aggro’d. He rezzed with the idol. And I calming rezzed my team and walked out having killed the only person I needed to (and a couple extra). That was an amusing moment.

I love how the game would occasionally, with a straight face, do the most fantasy trope things possible and it felt FRESH since no one would dare do them today.

Things like trolls guarding bridges and a lot more I’m blanking on because of the credits rolling. I just appreciated that and found it really fun.

Credits just finished so I was reminded of the gift bags and what a damned shame!

When I first read up on them it was through a video showcasing how they can break the game etc A vid I’m sure someone would be aware of it they were aware of the subject matter.

Apparently at one point you could use them whenever to change and add features and still get credit for achievements/trophies etc. But that changed at some point so all these interesting gameplay tweaks are just sullied by you not getting credit for stuff.

Sure, that’s dumb of me to imply, but you know I’m right. No matter how much we fight the implication that trophies matter they still do to some degree. I, for one, like scrolling through them as a sort of list of past exploits, I even get some nice memories from doing just that, but activate a bag and you don’t get to write down that achievement.

Meaningless, sure, but enough of a dissuasion to prevent me doing it :/ For now at least. They really are a list of fun features to toggle! But why I harp on it is that some seem like 100% quality of life and nothing else and you still can’t use them without it disabling trophies :/ Things like “Sprint” for moving about the world faster, lord.

Achievements are such a stain on gaming, I swear. For a hundred reasons, and for making some like myself in this instance AVOID fun because we don’t “get credit” oh fuck off trophy. If you didn’t exist I’d have had more fun, hence why going back to play older titles that don’t have them is such a pure joy.

Bleh. I play into it AND hate it.

Anyways.

What’s there to say. Divinity 2 was a blast, I do wish for a more refined one later on but this was such a unique experience none the less.

Roughly 110 hours of gameplay (minus AFK time I do in damn near every game so I’ll say it was like 100 hours) and I’m left too speechless to say half the things that came to mind while playing. Darn it.

A+ stuff. I’m honestly still impressed that such a content loaded single player experience is ACTUALLY all that and able to do 4 player coop.

Sure it’s technically understandable, but in terms of what games, you know, generally do? That’s unthinkable to me. That’s the kind of thing that’s reserved for tabletop, hence my early mention of dnd. You don’t usually see a story driven things like this being coop on console- and if you do it’s lightly handled in a way where the coop player doesn’t matter. Like Fable 2 henchmen, or Fable 3 where the coop player might as well not exist and just shows up to do fights and follow the main player.

That’s the term.

Most coop rpgs have the MAIN player and then coop buds assuming they implement coop.

This game is more of a 4 MAIN players all at once situation and I’m entirely unfamiliar with that in gaming other than tabletop.

OBVIOUSLY this wasn’t too much of a big deal for my single player playthrough, but other than that it was almost always on my mind and lead to me starting 2 other runs with friends :) (that both pretty much died out because they both struggle to find time to play games as is so sitting down and coordinating 3 people for 2 separate coop runs of a 100 hour game wasn’t really happening- now I understand dnd groups pain lol)

Enough rambling when I admit I have lost all my talking points. Good game.

[tamayokny]

Name ten favourite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people

This was extremely difficult to do. The first two were easy, since they are my ride or die, but choosing 10 different characters? From ten different things? I don’t know if I even like 10 different things, but I found some loopholes, lol.

tagged by @bpdanakins <3

1. Lara Croft - Tomb Raider

Lara Croft has been one of my idols since I was a small child. My mom had bought Tomb Raider: Starring Lara Croft and Tomb Raider: Adventures of Lara Croft for my sister on the PlayStation. I remember watching my sister play it, and then sometimes I was allowed to play it. I continued the Tomb Raider legacy throughout the years.

Lara Croft is just. Amazing. I love every version of her. Classic Lara deflected the life her parents had wanted her to have, and paid the price for it. Did that stop her? No, it did not! She was able to make her own mark in the world. LAU!Lara wanted to find out what happened to her mother, and honestly I love Keeley Hawes as Lara. She was witty and funny, and Legend is one of my favorite TR games. And Reboot!Lara? I love her. I honestly don’t care what people say, Reboot!Lara is great! Her first game is also fun to play. Each version of Lara Croft offers something different, and I love it. While many of Lara’s core values are in each incarnation (adventurous, ambitious, brave, etc.), each brings a new perspective which I enjoy!

Fun fact: my irl best friend and Lara share the same zodiac sign!

2. Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) - Marvel

I LOVE WANDA MAXIMOFF WITH ALL MY HEART!!! She’s a huge comfort character for me. She’s one of the most powerful mutants (yes, I am ignoring the retcon), and she’s complex. Wanda first appeared in X-Men #4 alongside her brother, Pietro, as members of Magneto’s Brotherhood. Eventually, the twins become heroes and join the Avengers.

Wanda’s mutation is magic; probability, to put it at best. She can warp reality. While she is strong, she is also human. Many remember her best as having a mental breakdown and creates House of M (influenced by her beloved brother). After this, she goes off the radar for a few years before her reincarnated sons find her.

I love Wanda because she has heart, courage, and cares for others. She’s intuitive and sensitive and, in many ways, reminds me of myself. I genuinely love Wanda with all my heart. She remains to be my number one favorite superhero. I wish more people knew her--the real her. The MCU does not do her (or her brother) justice. At all. (At least AOU kind of got their “reluctant villains to heroes” origin story well enough?)

Also: fuck you Marvel for retconning Magneto as the Maximoffs’ father. It’s been 5 years but I still elect to ignore that.

3. Phoebe Halliwell - Charmed

Growing up, Charmed was one of my favorite TV shows. To sum it up, it’s about a group of sisters who discover that they’re witches. Specifically, they’re the Charmed Ones and they protect the innocent. For awhile, I’ve said that Piper is my favorite sister but after my last rewatch, I say that Phoebe is my favorite.

At the beginning of the series, Phoebe was the youngest and the rebel of the family. Before the pilot, Phoebe was living in New York but we see her move back in. We also see that she has a strained relationship with her eldest sister, Prue, due to her scummy fiancé. Phoebe is also the reason why their magic was unlocked. (As children, their powers were bounded in order to keep them safe.)

Over time, we see Phoebe mature more. However, there are a few things that never changes with Phoebe. She’s kind and caring for others, always wanting to help them no matter what. (She shares this trait with the youngest sister, Paige.) She is deeply connected with her emotions (which causes her to gain the power of empathy in season 6). Phoebe has also had rough luck with love (see: Cole the demon, etc.) but no matter how much she gets hurt, Phoebe still has hope. She still has love in her heart. No matter how much she gets knocked down, she finds a way of getting back up, and I admire her a lot for it.

4. Catelyn Stark - A Song of Ice and Fire

Family. Duty. Honor. This is House Tully’s family motto, which is deeply embedded into Catelyn. Catelyn was married to Ned Stark during Robert’s Rebellion, after her former betrothed was murdered in King’s Landing (who, ironically, was Ned’s older brother). Their wedding night resulted in the birth of their firstborn: Robb Stark, heir to Winterfell and King in the North.

Catelyn Stark is the mother of the wolves, and her love for her family is no doubt a core of her character. However, Catelyn is clever and if you mess with her, you will certainly gain her wrath. Her eldest values her for her wisdom, and will turn to her for help. She will do anything for her family, such as freeing Jaime Lannister to get her girls back, or offering herself to save her eldest during the horrific events of the Red Wedding.

Catelyn is murdered, along with majority of the Stark party, at the Red Wedding. However, she is resurrected and becomes Lady Stoneheart. Stoneheart is out for vengeance, because she believes all of her children are gone; taken by the enemy. Stoneheart murders Frey or Lannister alike--whoever is associated with them. She holds no mercy.

There is so much more to Catelyn that I could go on, but I will stop here. (Besides, I need to reread the books again!) I will say this: fuck you, D&D.

5. Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) - Marvel

MAGNETO TIME? MAGNETO TIME.

Erik Lehnsherr was a young boy when World War II happened and because he was Jewish, he was sent to Auschwitz. His family did not survive, but Erik did. Depending on what you follow on, Erik either A) escaped with Magda (who is the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s mother) and started a life with her or B) he hunted down the men who worked for Sebastian Shaw (movie universe).

Anyway, Erik had been a mutant since around the time he was sent to the camps and after the horror and trauma he’s faced, Erik decided that mutants would never be accepted by “their less evolved kin”. So, he became Magneto, a protector for mutants and enemy for humans.

Magneto is only one side of the coin, however. Charles Xavier is a longtime frenemy of sorts, both having different perspectives in life. Xavier believes in coexistence, but Magneto believes otherwise. He had seen what humanity is capable of, and he never wants that to happen again. If he must be a villain, than so be it.

Magneto is beautifully complex. He has done some questionable things (I’m thinking of the comics for this one), but he has also done great things for his people. “Never again,” he says. He fights to keep it that way. Magneto is sympathetic at best, and I certainly understand where he comes from. Tell me this: if you were Magneto, what would you have done?

Also: while Michael Fassbender is not Jewish in any way, he did one hell of a job portraying this amazing character.

6. Kira Yukimura - Teen Wolf

I wasn’t planning on adding Teen Wolf to the list, but here I am.

Kira was introduced to us in season 3b, written as a “new love interest” for Scott McCall. I remember a lot of fans of a certain ship were pissed, but whatever. I’m not here to talk about romance.

So, in 3b Kira was a new student, with her dad as the new history teacher at Beacon Hills High School. She’s of both Korean and Japanese descent, and she ends up playing an important role in the story arc. We find out that she’s a Kitsune, thanks to her mother who explains how a Kitsune and a werewolf must come together to defeat the Nogitsune, who happens to be possessing the loveable Stiles Stilinski.

After this, Kira becomes a part of the McCall Pack and Scott’s girlfriend. In my opinion, they’re cute together but many people hate them together. Oh well. Kira also becomes a badass in her own right, as her abilities evolve. However, in season 5, the creators put her on the shelf, as she trains with Skinwalkers and is never seen again. I am so fucking MAD about that.

Like many characters on this list, Kira has heart and courage. She’s a bit of an introvert but she is loyal, and cares for her pack. She’s cute and a bit goofy. She is skilled and deadly. Kira is one of the coolest characters Teen Wolf had, and the way they treated her was disappointed. (Even though after her death, Allison was always mentioned/connected in some way. I like Allison, don’t get me wrong but all I can say is: interesting...)

Fun fact: Arden Cho, the actress, is the VA for Sam Nishimura in Tomb Raider (2013)!

7. Lois Wilkerson - Malcolm in the Middle

The mother of four boys, the matriarch of the Wilkerson household is not one to push around.

Lois has had a rather rough life. Her parents were not the best, and everyone tries to push her down. However, Lois fights back and is not afraid to stand up for what is right. Francis, her oldest, describes her as an absolute menace and while her sons and husband fear her, they also admire her for her strength and courage. Lois is tough as nails, but she can also break, too. However, her family--the family she and Hal created, no one else--is there for her. Lois is incredibly strong willed no matter what, and I love her so much.

8. Theon Greyjoy - A Song of Ice and Fire

No words can describe on how much I love this fashionable war criminal.

Before the start of the series, Theon is a hostage/ward of Lord Stark, as a result of his father’s failed rebellion. Theon was a reminder that if Balon Greyjoy pulled something again, his last (male) heir would get the chopping block. Pretty brutal for a young child, right?

Now, at the start of the series, Theon is nineteen and is seemingly best friends with Robb Stark, the heir to Winterfell and the North. He shows loyalty to Robb and the Starks, claiming that Lord Stark was like a father to him. He’s also skilled with archery and, like I mentioned earlier, fashion.

Then A Clash of Kings occur, and we began to see how Theon Greyjoy is.

Robb Stark has been proclaimed as King of the North, and sends Theon to the Iron Islands in hopes to gain allies with Balon Greyjoy. However, this does not occur. Old Greyjoy says “fuck that and if you’re [Theon] aren’t with us, then you‘re against us.” We see Theon conflicted, but we also see how strained his relationship with his father is. In the end, Theon joins the Greyjoys, and promptly sacks Winterfell. However, that is not the end. Theon is tricked by Ramsay Bolton and this vile man takes Winterfell. I believe while he took the women and children captive, the men were killed...save for Theon, of course.

Theon is held captive by Ramsay Bolton, and is tortured quite brutally. Theon goes through a lot in this time. His appearance had changed drastically: black hair turned white and brittle, he becomes skin and bones, and loses a few fingers and toes. Theon is no longer Theon. He became Reek. The new Reek.

Then, Jeyne Poole (or Sansa; I hate you D&D) arrives, under the guise that she is Arya Stark and she is to wed Ramsay Bolton. Jeyne begged Theon to help her, but he is in no position of power. He is a completely broken man. Time flies by. Jeyne is in absolute misery but with the help of Mance and some spearwives, Theon is able to escape Winterfell with Jeyne during a winter storm. Currently, in the books, Theon is set to be executed by Stannis Baratheon, who is currently holding him captive.

Theon Greyjoy may be a fuckup, but to me he is such an amazing character. He holds much conflict, from being a hostage/ward to Prince to prisoner. Theon Greyjoy may have done a lot of shit, but he is also a survivor. Everything he has been put through, he somehow lives to see another day. Despite holding negative feelings to Lord Stark and everyone around, claiming he owed no one anything (fair enough), he loved Robb. When Theon had found out he was murdered at the Red Wedding, you know what he thought?

I should have been with him. Where was I? I should have died with him.

Theon is far from perfect, but that is what makes him great. He has come so far, and I hope his journey does not end any time soon.

9. Suki - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Zuko may have the best redemption arc (or does he? See above.), but Suki holds a special place in my heart.

We first meet Suki season one, on Kyoshi Island. She is the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, and effectively puts Sokka in his place. However, when Sokka requests a few lessons, Suki is happy to help...as long as he followed the guidelines.

Suki is a certified badass. Although a non-bender, Suki has incredible skill and event went against Azula. However, Suki and the others surrendered (so that Appa would not be captured), leading to her imprisonment at Boiling Rock. Eventually, Sokka and Zuko free her (with the help of Mai). After this, Suki joined the Gaang in ceasing the 100 Year War.

Suki is strong but like many other characters in this list, she has heart. She is an effective leader and fighter, offering her help whenever she can. Too bad she was never mentioned in The Legend of Korra. Suki is underrated and she deserves more love and respect.

10. Max Mayfield - Stranger Things

We first meet Max in season 2 as the new girl in Hawkins. She seems like your average girl but she quickly gets tied into the party after Lucas begs her to show her what has happened with him and the rest of the party. However, there’s a lot more to Max.

Max moved to Hawkins with her mother, stepfather, and stepbrother. It’s easy to see that Max and Billy, her stepbrother, do not get along. Billy is outright mean to her, lashing out at practically every chance he gets. Max fights back, however...especially when he threatens her friends.

In season 3, we finally get to see Max and El bond. (Thank God we didn’t have to put up with the “jealousy” tidbit. I would have--) El believes that Mike is lying and Max is like, “Well yeah. Come on let’s go to the mall!” and the girls have a blast together. I was so happy to see the two bond and have fun. I was so happy that El was spending time with someone other than Mike. I was so happy the girls were having fun by themselves. Honestly, the best part of season 3 was them becoming friends.

I love Max because she is confident and is not afraid to speak her mind. She’s funny and in many ways, we are alike. (Especially with our attitudes on boys and relationships.) However, Max is also vulnerable. We see this with her stepbrother, especially in season 3 I think. Their relationship was drastically different in season 3 and while many didn’t like it (myself included)...I also thought about Max. She’s a young girl and no matter how much bad blood was in between them, it will be traumatizing to see a transformation like this to someone you know quite well. It would be scary.

Anyway, I love Max.

Honorable mentions: Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), Ororo Munroe (Storm), Jean Grey (Phoenix), Anna Marie (Rogue), Sam Nishimura, Malia Tate, all of House Martell, Dustin Henderson...

Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Tell me, do I have a certain type of character that I’m attracted to? Also, I’m not sure who has all done this, so if you haven’t it: who are your top 10 favorite characters? Let me know!

[scarlettlawyer]

Next attempt: Shelly de Killer and Pearl Fey!

Shelly de Killer:

- I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

- favorite thing about them: THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF ELEGANCE AND MURDER. HE’S JUST SO GREAT!!! I love the aura of absolute calm and aesthetic interlaced with imminent threat. Well, not absolute calm. He can certainly lose his patience. But he's not really one to raise his voice. It’s a quiet and terrifying anger if invoked. The veneer of calm is part of the gentleman aesthetic; the hint of anger is the imminent threat. Outside of his being angry, however, it’s still the same: even if he’s not angry at you, his mere job makes him intimidating. That’s inescapable. But his polite demeanour is still there. The combination of those things is fantastic. He will kill you if he must but damn if he isn’t going to do it in style.

- least favorite thing about them: I actually did have a reply to this come to mind, possibly connected to AAI2, and yet it slipped away shortly thereafter and now I cannot recall it, and after losing the actual reply I had I’ve honestly sat here struggling to come up with something. Like there were moments when I enjoyed his character a bit less, but... Hard to just list off a least favourite thing from that.

- ship(s): ...Oldbag. You have done this; you have planted this idea in the mind of my friend and I. Like okay I don’t actually ship it in canon OR in your fic, but the thought of it is so out there, and therefore amusing. And then my friend came up with this amazing JFA au running with the idea so, I do “ship” it specifically in the context of her au ahahaha. I love my friend’s idea of... him liking her and her not really being aware of it? Because it’s a reversal of what’s usually the case in canon. Let a guy be interested in her for once and have her be unaware of it. XD

Also just gonna tack this fic-related message(s) on randomly too but FOR CONTEXT TO BE FAIR THIS WAS before I read the ending which actually does address the death of Wendy’s husband and before the actual dynamic between Oldbag, Shelly and Benny had been elaborated on by the story:

(I ACTUALLY MEANT IN THE SENSE OF HAVING BEEN HIRED BY SOMEONE TO KILL MR OLDBAG BUT THEN MY FRIEND WAS LIKE “HOW DO I MAKE THIS ABOUT THE SHIP” LOL). Okay but maybe Mr Oldbag could have been an important figure in an au that someone would have reason to assassinate 🤔 :P

- BROTP(s): I guess Sirhan Dogen is the main candidate for this, although I haven’t thought about their interactions too much!

- NOTP(s): I don’t think I’ve really seen any Shelly shipping haha...

- Game/case where I like them more: Gonna go with standard JFA case for this one, but AAI2 case 1 is also just really awesome. Particularly the whole hostage thing to help Edgeworth’s investigation out.

- Random headcanon: Not headcanons about the character himself but rather in relation to him; I like to imagine how scandalised Phoenix would be if he heard that yes, Shelly de Killer, that guy Edgeworth and law enforcement at large are so intent on apprehending? The guy who kidnapped Maya? Edgeworth totally spoke kinda casually with the guy a bunch of times, and was even assisted by Shelly (you could even stretch this to perhaps argue that he COOPERATED with Shelly). Even saw Shelly face to face during AAI2 and had a chat with him. Well, yes, context, but... :P Especially without context, Phoenix would not be pleased. Not that Edgeworth would readily offer up this information to him. I think Edgeworth is in a slightly awkward position with regards to Shelly post-AAI2, at least slightly more than before, given how much help Shelly was and now having actually interacted with him in person.

Another thing I was thinking of recently is that... I think that there could be a very secretive and select group of individuals working for law enforcement SPECIFICALLY dedicated to trying to arrest Shelly and gathering as much info as possible. A highly skilled and dedicated team of say 5-10 people, and all of the information they deal with, and about them, is absolutely top secret. The group itself is secret, even, because this is dangerous work. They’re all about trying to track him down, analysing all the data they’ve gathered, you name it. Not that they have much success. But they would also over time probably veer more towards less conventional methods. Delving deeper into the criminal underworld for information, going undercover... Honestly? The closest they might come to actually getting a hold of the guy in person... is to go undercover as a client. Finding out how to hire him. It’s an awfully dangerous game they would be playing and their covers would have to be airtight.

- Unpopular opinion: I wasn’t sure how I felt about him sparing Simon. I really gotta replay AAI2, get my thoughts in order. This ties in with the “least favourite” question but I wasn’t too sure about the whole thing where Simon was considered to have broken the bond of trust for not saying it was a double and yeah I just gotta, replay the game haha. But... if a client normally recounts the ENTIRETY of the circumstances to him, expected not to leave anything out, as opposed to a simple “I want this person dead”, then I suppose that makes sense....Actually, wrong question for this but I’ll add it as a headcanon anyway: when Shelly meets with a client, part of establishing that bond of trust is kind of like the client “confiding” everything thoroughly to him, like telling a story of everything connected to, and culminating in the assassination request. He wants to know not only the who, but the why. What’s the client’s connection to and history with the target? Was there a time when they got along, were they always enemies? Is it just a political or corporate matter? It’s not about justification - Shelly doesn’t care how “justified” a client is and he certainly doesn’t judge. He just listens. None of the added information is necessary to complete the job, but divulging so much information is a demonstration of trust and helps make it clear this person is real with motivations and not an undercover person trying to arrest him or something like that. It’s also kind of an added bonus to get to hear some of the tales of intrigue that result from such meetings with clients. In the context of something like this, omitting the fact that the “president” was a double is a very serious offense.

I was gonna go on another tangent but this is already long enough lol.

----

Pearl Fey

- I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

(I do love her! Just not with as much intensity as some of the other characters this series has).

- favorite thing about them: She is adorable incarnate, she is strong, and very cute

- least favorite thing about them: The fact that she was not allowed to grow as a character at all post-timeskip. I have so many complaints about older!Pearl. They took a ~17 year old character and forced her into the exact same role and characterisation as a ~nine year old! She is restricted and kept the same, and it feels deeply unnatural and kind of uncomfortable to me. The whole thing around her height too, like... why did they go out of their way to make her so short and tiny? To reinforce that we are still supposed to see her as a 9 year old? I love trilogy Pearl, I love her so much, but I find older Pearl so boring and so uninspired on top of that undercurrent of discomfort. They did nothing new with her, but in a uniquely and unnaturally limiting way in the sense that she is trapped as her trilogy self. After the timeskip the games appear to have a weird preoccupation with infantilising her because I guess they think connecting back to the trilogy (instead of doing something new) is the only way to keep us caring about her??

And like... Yes, Pearl embodies and encapsulates the cuteness and innocence of children. That’s a big part of her character and I love her for it, and I would therefore be reluctant to let that go. There’s nothing wrong with preserving stuff like that when she’s older. All I’m asking is for the games to actually put at least one new spin on her; SOMETHING that can distinguish her from her younger self so I’m not left feeling like she did not change at all in nearly ten years. A slightly different design, one (1) distinct new and different thing that sets her apart from (and potentially at odds with) her younger self, and I’d probably be happy. I don’t like what they did with her hair either. It sucks. Should’ve gone with the gorgeous inverted pretzel style.

Anyway I want to be given a reason to care about and be invested in older Pearl, an older Pearl trait that I can love older Pearl for...

- ship(s): Trupearl can be cute, but I don’t think about shipping much at all seeing as I vastly prefer her younger self, haha.

- BROTP(s): General “Pearl getting along with the gang” type dynamics haha.

- NOTP(s): Well, I do not like any implication that she has a crush on Marlon or vice versa. I really don’t like that.

- Game/case where I like them more: I’m not sure ahah. Good thing I’m trying to work through the games in Chinese on youtube so maybe I can brush up on my AA knowledge a bit.

- Random headcanon: Ok made this one up just now: When she’s slightly older she adopts the term “Narumayo” for her shipping of Phoenix and Maya. At least, the Japanese version of her where the characters have their Japanese names... lol. I guess her English-speaking self tried but failed to come up with a good name as the counterpart headcanon. Mayanix?

Actually, I guess another headcanon would be her being a hardcore shipper for any media she’s invested in. She moves away from shipping real people and onto characters, channelling all that energy elsewhere.

Or honestly, she could stick with real people and either become an Ace Matchmaker or overall consistently terrible matchmaker. Either’s good. If you combine the two, she could try to matchmake what seems to be an absolutely horrendous pair/combination of people, only for it to actually work.

- Unpopular opinion: Well, I think I already got quite opinionated above, and nothing really comes to mind to reply to this with. I might have been too harsh on older Pearl, but everything I wrote is what I genuinely felt and the impression that I was left with. That impression may be false, I’m not sure, but yeah.

[igoturbackkid]

When You Were Young (Michael Langdon x reader one shot)

“You sit there in your heartache

Waiting on some beautiful boy to

To save you from your old ways”

Note: Warnings: drug use, mental illness (depression), death, season 1 and 8 spoilers, fluff, and smut. I’ve also never done drugs so Idk how accurate parts of this are but it’s fiction so just go with it! lol Also I stole the title from a song again but it fits so perfectly and it’s one of my favorite songs of all time. And I’m still new to writing so any constructive criticism is welcome! Enjoy!

*** = time jump

The first time you met Michael was when his grandma killed herself. You were one of the many spirits doomed to wander the Murder House for eternity. You were only 16 when you died. You didn’t have many friends growing up, being the introverted weirdo that people made fun of daily, so when you got to high school, you immediately found a group to call yours. They were the stoners. Constantly getting high, drinking, and trying anything that was passed around at parties. Your parents didn’t understand what was wrong with you. They loved you, god help them, but they didn’t know how to control you. You still remember the first time you tried drugs was when you realized you had depression. You barely went to school, you were never happy, not even sad, you didn’t feel anything at all. Your room was your sanctuary, but all you did was wallow in your own depression, away from anyone and everyone.

One day while your parents were at work, you skipped school again and were feeling utterly restless. You wandered into your parent’s bedroom and started going through their things. You stumbled into their bathroom and found a bunch of bottles of medicine. It had your typical ibuprofen, allergy medicine, etc. But what really interested you were the bottle of prescription pain killers. You knew that people got addicted to them, but you also knew that you could get high off of them. Maybe that’s what you needed. A shock to the system to set you back to normal. You popped a couple of the pills into your mouth and wondered back to your room, waiting for the effects to kick in. It wasn’t quite what you were expecting, you felt almost more numb, but in a good way. You felt like you were in such a different state that mental illness couldn’t even touch you. That’s where your addiction began.

It was Halloween night and you and your friends were pretty wasted. Those of you who weren’t completely passed out decided to embark on a spooky adventure. You knew all about the Murder House growing up in LA. Everyone did, the house was infamous for the vile acts committed inside the premises. Sure, you’d seen the building from the outside but this time you were gonna get a first-hand tour. One of your friends had been arrested  for breaking and entering before and he was the one who initiated the plan of break in, find some ghosts, and get high. You and your friends explored the whole house, mostly in the dark without finding anything. Your friend told you that if the spirits didn’t wanna be seen, then they wouldn’t show themselves. You all tried to get them to come out, trying to make them mad, even using a Ouija board you found in the basement. Still nothing.

That’s when you all decided to just get high instead. The oldest in the group, a senior at the school, brought cocaine. You’d never tried anything that intense before. But that didn’t scare you. What’s the worst that can happen? You get super paranoid and pass out? Your friends went one by one until it was your turn. You did exactly as they did. It didn’t take long to kick in but once it did you were flying. You felt so high you never wanted to come down. So while your friends were all minding their own business, checking out the house, you decided to partake again. That’s where you went wrong. Your second hit was bigger than the first, and you were already so high. You started to feel sick to your stomach, you actually vomited in your mouth. You managed to swallow it but started to feel hot, like you had a fever. That’s when you blacked out.

 After a few minutes you stood back up, feeling much better. You felt fine actually. You looked around to try to find your friends but you didn’t see them. Did they ditch you? Assholes. You continued to wander the basement, until you saw the oddest thing. It was you. You were lying on the ground, motionless, eyes rolled to the back of your head. Oh god. You couldn’t stop the immediate sobs that wracked your body. You were dead. You were dead and you’d never grow up, you’d never see your family again, you’d never graduate, you’d never get married and have babies. You were dead.

It took an adjustment to get used to being just a ghost of the person you were before. Once the spirits of the house realized what happened to you, they made themselves known. The first one to introduce herself was Moira. She was an older, red-headed lady who felt pity for you. She told you about the other spirits, warned you against them, and offered her condolences. She wasn’t prepared to die either when she did but she didn’t have a choice since she was shot and killed.

After a few years of wandering the home, you finally weren’t completely somber on the inside. You still weren’t happy in this afterlife but at least you weren’t in hell. You didn’t think you’d be able to take the burning, the torture, whatever actually went on down there. If hell was real, then Satan was real, and that meant your bible-thumping parents were right. They thought Satan would bring about the apocalypse. Crazy, right?

It was another normal day while you were wandering the house. You were upstairs, looking out one of the windows. While you were watching you saw an older lady walk into the house. You thought nothing of it, you’d seen her around before. Sometimes she would talk to Tate, sometimes to her other son, Beau. You heard some shuffling downstairs, some music playing, not quite sure what Constance was up to. You continued daydreaming out of the window when you saw a young boy approach the house. You couldn’t tell much about him, but he looked about your age with short, blonde hair. You made your way downstairs to see what he was doing here.

“Grandma!” you heard the boy call out. “Grandma!!”

“Grandma?” you heard him say in a distressed tone.

When you finally made your way downstairs, the scene before you was so tragic, you started to tear up. Constance was on the couch, lying dead, as the boy cried and tried his hardest to get her to wake up.

“Grandma, hey, hey wake up.” he tried pulling at her lifeless body, trying anything to get his Grandma to come back to him. Wait, his grandma? Who was this boy? You thought you knew all of Constance’s family, even if her Adelaide’s spirit wasn’t trapped in the house as well. 

“That’s my son.” you heard a man’s voice say behind you.

Ben Harmon was stood behind you now, also watching the scene unfold.

“Your son? I thought your son died?” you questioned Ben. Violet had told you her mother was raped, gave birth but that the baby was a still born.

“When my family lived here, my wife was raped. By Tate. She was pregnant with mine and Tate’s child. One of them was a still born, the other survived. Constance, took him in.” he explained to you.

You couldn’t even think of a response to what he told you. Vivian was raped by Tate Langdon? Why would he do that. But Ben said that was his son, was this Tate’s son, since Constance took him in? He did just call her his Grandma...

You turned away from Ben, back unto the scene of the crying boy in front of you. You watched him clutch Constance’s lifeless body and cry out, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault!”

Right then you felt your heart break for this poor boy, too young to lose his only family. If Tate/Ben is his father and Vivian is his mother, then the rest of his family is dead. You really felt for the guy. You decided to show yourself to the young boy, with so much grief in his eyes, to help him.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” you told him as you appeared.

“Who are you?” he asked. 

“A spirit who also died in this house, who just wants to show you some kindness.” you told him simply.

“A spirit? Does that mean my Grandma is a ghost now too?” he questioned.

“Yes, she is. But I don’t think she wants to be seen.” you told him as you watched Constance’s spirit walk out of the room, unseen to the living.

“She doesn’t wanna see me?” he cried.

“No, I’m sorry.” you apologized.

“Who are you? What do you want?” he accused you.

“Someone who wants to be seen, someone who wants to help.” you replied. He slowly shook his head, unbelieving of what you said.

“I want to help you, let me help you.” you said.

“I’m a monster! Why would you wanna help me?” he asked you.

“Because I died in this house and I’ve never felt more alone, being trapped in this house. But you’re alive, free to do whatever, go wherever, but you have no one. Which means you also have never felt more alone.” you told him.

He only kept looking at you, tears in his eyes, still clinging to Constance’s body for dear life. You slowly approached him, holding your hand out for him to take.

“My name’s Y/n. What’s yours?” you introduced yourself to him.

“Michael. Michael Langdon.” he said while slowly grabbing your hand as you pulled him up.

“Well Michael, let’s go try and forget about this awful day, together, if that’s alright?” you hesitantly questioned him, not wanting to come on too strong.

“Ok.” he replied in such a small voice, tear stains down his beautiful face.

***

Ever since that day, you and Michael began a friendship. You were two of the loneliest people who made a true friendship, when you came together. Michael was an interesting person. Depending on who you asked about him, he was either a monster, or to you, just another lonely and lost soul. Constance took notice of you hanging around with her grandchild, she even tried to warn you to stay away from him, that he was evil incarnate. You blew her off with a “Fuck you, you don’t know the real him, you don’t know him like I do!”. All she replied with was a “Just don’t come crying to me when you see how evil that boy really is.”

You and Michael were close so you decided to tell him about your encounter with his Grandmother. He said she was probably right, that there was something wrong with him. He liked to skin animals, hammer them to the walls, and leave them for her. He saw them as gifts but she thought it was an abomination. Because of this new discovery, you started to understand Michael a lot more than you did before. He was the creation of a spirit that fornicated with the living, that had to have an effect on him. The darkness of the other side, of death, must have had some kind of influence on him. He’s not a normal kid in that sense, so he wouldn’t do normal things. It doesn’t mean what he’s doing isn’t wrong, it just means he doesn’t know that it’s wrong. 

The more time you spent with Michael, the more you saw the good in him. And he wanted to be good, desperately. Always looking for your approval, to know what he did was right and good. This house was always shrouded in a darkness that tainted your heart with grief and despair. Michael was your light in the darkness. And you loved him for it. Michael and you started to spend a lot of time cuddled up together. Either watching a scary movie as he held you, taking walks through the house and holding his hand. A romance slowly started to blossom between you two. At first you were conflicted. You were dead, you’d always be dead, so Michael should leave and find someone alive to be happy with. But the other part of you craved him more than any drug you ever had. It was selfish to love him, wrong even, but you didn’t wanna be right.

The first time you kissed was after an encounter he had with his father, Tate. Michael was going through his things and Tate caught him in the act. Michael innocently told him, “I just wanna be like you, Dad.” and Tate exploded at the boy. He told him, “Not even I could create something as monstrous, as evil as you!”

Michael’s response was to throw himself back onto the bed and cry. You were furious. You wanted to kick Tate’s ass for being such an ass. But your Michael needed you, and that was more important. Tate would get an earful later. 

You sat down on the bed next to a crying Michael. At first you just rubbed his back, telling him words of encouragement, trying to get him to stop crying because it was killing you inside. Michael was your weakness, seeing him cry made you cry. You brought yourself closer to him, rubbing his back and whispering in his ear. Telling him how great you thought he was, how special he was, what a great friend he was to you, and how much you loved and needed him.

When he heard that, Michael lifted his head. He sat up to rest his head on your shoulder as you put your arm around him to comfort him. As he finally calmed down, he wiped the final tears off his face and turned to face you. 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you. Don’t leave me, please, don’t ever leave.” he pleaded with you.

This poor boy had no one in the world. No one but a girl who died and whose spirit befriended him out of pity. 

“You don’t ever have to worry about that, Michael. Anyway, I’m stuck here remember?” you joked.

Michael laughed quietly and bumped your shoulder with his. You both just sat there smiling, happy to be in each other’s company. It was quiet for a minute while you both just stared ahead at the room. When you turned your head to look at him, he was already staring at you. The intensity of his eyes made you blush. His eyes suddenly flickered down to your lips before his closed his eyes and he started to lean in. If you had a beating heart you’re sure it would have jumped out of your chest. You brought your hands up to hold either side of his face, closed your eyes, and leaned in. When your lips met, you felt a spark. Like a lighter being flicked on. The sudden heat rushed through your body, you almost felt alive again at the sensation. The kiss started out innocent but once you opened your mouth to him, it became way more intense. Michael got the clue and opened his lips to taste you. When your tongues met it was like two puzzle pieces finally put together. It felt right to be with Michael in this way. To be completely open with him, it was like he could see your soul. As you continued to kiss, your hands wondered onto his chest, then onto his back, holding him to you. He brought his hands to hold your face in his and he cradled it like it was the most precious thing he’s ever held. Like he didn’t wanna break you but also like he never wanted to let go. Once you both started to run out of air you both leaned back to catch your breath.

His hands still held your face as you both just smiled at each other. Content in each other’s silence. Knowing that nothing needed to be said because you both were just blissfully ignorant to anything that wasn’t this moment. The world could be ending and neither of you would care because you’re here in his arms, feeling alive for the first time.

***

“So how’d you die?” your Michael asked you one day while lounging on his bed together. His head was in your lap and you were running your fingers through his beautiful hair.

“I overdosed.” you told him.

“Were you trying to kill yourself?” he asked innocently.

“No, I just liked the high, got greedy, and paid the price.” you explained to him.

“I don’t want this to come out wrong, but in a way, I’m glad you died. It brought me to you.” he confessed.

“Honestly, I feel exactly the same.” you confided to him.

He gave you that adorable smile you loved so much that just made you wanna hug him and never let go.

“Y/n...” he started.

“Yeah?” you asked.

“Why did you do drugs?” he questioned.

“Because I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t get happy or sad. I just felt nothing, and I wanted to feel something.” you felt like you were in a therapy session.

“What about now, are you happy?” he asked you with those puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah, yeah Michael, thanks to you I am.” you told him.

Michael sat up then and grabbed your face to start kissing you. He kissed you all over your face and it made you giggle. You were already laughing as he also decided to tickle you. You yelled for him to stop, breathless, and laughing. He kept going when suddenly you both heard the front door open. He told you to wait while he checked it out. You agreed. You realized he was taking quite a while and decided to see what was taking him so long. When you made it downstairs there were boxes everywhere. Someone moved in? You heard a scream and followed it into the home office. A man stood in a black rubber suit, he had just stabbed the two new homeowners to death. 

“No!” you screamed at the figure, trying to stop the tragedy happening before you. The man waved his hand and you found yourself unable to move. Unable to help the poor couple lying lifeless on the floor. The man suddenly unzipped the mask he was wearing and revealed his identity to you. Michael stood in front of you, staring you down.

“What’s wrong?” he asked innocently.

“Seriously?!” you yelled. “You just killed two people, Michael! Why the fuck did you do that?” you raised your voice at him.

“They don’t belong here.” he simply stated.

“Because of what you did they’ll be here forever.” you countered.

The couple just brutally murdered discovered their bodies, and rightly so, started to freak out.

“You didn’t have to kill them. I know you, Michael, this isn’t who you are.” you pleaded with him.

Suddenly, as if by magic, Michael started motioning with his hands and the spirits of the couple before you burnt up before completely disappearing. Suddenly you found you could move again. 

You didn’t know what to do. On one hand what Michael did was so awful you shouldn’t wanna ever see him again. And on the other hand, this was the man you loved, who was deeply fucked up, but still needed help. You simply decided, to just make yourself unseen. Before you turned to disappear, you saw tears in his eyes. He knew you were disappointed. You didn’t wanna fuck him up even further by yelling at him, so you decided to punish him by giving him the silent treatment. 

The entire time you avoided Michael physically, you were still with him every second, spiritually. He couldn’t see you but you were by his side every night. He was still your Michael, you couldn’t be without him. The day you decided to be seen again was the day three strange people visited the house. They wore black capes and claimed to be satanists. They invited Michael to partake in a ritual with them. One that involved the death of an innocent girl. When the ritual was over, and Michael became more powerful, you decided to show yourself. Michael cried, and begged for your forgiveness. You forgave but you never forgot. He cried so much he wore himself out so you put him to bed and watched him from the corner. It was in the middle of the night when another spirit entered his room. It was his mother, Vivian. She held a knife in her hand as she approached Michael. You completely froze, not knowing if you should stop her to save your love, or let him kill the evil that was inside of him. Suddenly his eyes opened and Vivian started to burn like the couple he killed. You were still frozen with fear when suddenly Tate jumped out and saved Vivian. You were glad he was there, because you were literally petrified. 

You realized Michael was becoming a completely different person to the sweet, innocent boy you once met. It took some time before you and Michael went back to normal, after the things you witnessed, you decided there was nothing you could do now so you should just enjoy your time with him. One day you realized Michael wasn’t home and went to look for him. You couldn’t find him anywhere. You waited and waited for him to come home but he never did. You finally found a letter in the office, where you first met him, with your name written on it. 

Y/n,

I’m sorry for everything I’ve done but I have to leave. It’s my destiny. I know you think there’s something wrong with me, even if you try to ignore it. So I’m leaving to become who I was meant to be, and so you don’t have to feel bad pretending to like me anymore. I still love you, I promise one day I’ll come back.

-Michael

You dropped to your knees with the realization Michael was gone. Your heart ached and tears streamed down your face. He was gone. Your Michael, your light was gone. It didn’t matter anymore, the evil things he did, because he was gone and he wasn’t coming back. He promised in his letter he’d return but he probably only wrote that for your benefit. They say it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. What a load of bullshit.

***

Years had passed since Michael left you and you were doing fine. Over the time you came to be thankful for his departure almost. The spirits here were right, he was evil, and you should stay away from him. You were sitting in the library, staring at the unlit fireplace when you suddenly heard a voice behind you.

“Even I could think of a few better ways to spend eternity in here other than staring at a boring fireplace.” he sarcastically remarked.

You immediately whipped your head around to meet the eyes of a man your heart ached for. Michael stood in the doorway, wearing all black. His hair was slightly longer, and he was even slightly taller but it was him. His beautiful blue eyes staring into your soul. You leapt up from your seat and ran to him. He welcomed you with open arms as you hung onto him for dear life.

“You came back.” you barely got out as you sobbed into his shoulder.

“I promised you, didn’t I?” he retorted.

You couldn’t think of anything else to say so you lifted your head and kissed him so fiercely it took the wind out of both of you. Neither of you let go for several minutes, basking in each other’s presence. Happy to be reunited.

“Where have you been? Why did you come back?” you questioned him.

“Well, darling, I already told you the answer to one of those questions. As for ‘where have I been?’. Well that’s a long story, love.” he responded.

“Well then... just one more question...what now? You left, you grew up. I’m still dead and stuck in this house for eternity. Why come back for something you can never fully have? You should have just stayed away.” you confessed. As much as it hurt to say, it was true. Michael could have a life, away from you, away from this demonic house. It’s what he should have done, but Michael wasn’t very good at doing what he was told.

“I came to fetch you, love. So we can be together, the way we were meant to. If you’ll have me?” he said.

“How?” you simply responded.

“While I was away, my powers became stronger. I’m pretty much the most powerful warlock to ever exist, darling. Aren’t you proud of me?” he asked with a cheeky grin on his angelic face. 

“If that’s true, if you’re right. Then get me out of here, so we can be together.” you told him.

“Happily, Y/n.”

“So how are you going to do this?” you didn’t know what his plan was. How was he going to get you out of a place you’d tried to escape so many times but never could.

“Easy, I’m going to pay a visit to Hell and bring you back to life.” he said like he wasn’t just about to go Hell and resurrect you like jesus fucking christ.

“Umm...” was all you could say.

“Relax, I’ve got this. Go ahead, take a seat, it’ll take me a moment, dear.” you took a seat on the couch in the room. Michael laid down on the floor in front of you, closing his eyes. He started saying something that you couldn’t make out. It sounded like Latin. Suddenly you weren’t in the library anymore, you were in Michael’s old room. You looked around, confused as to how you could’ve switched rooms, having not moved. When you looked towards the door, there stood Michael, except it was him when he was younger. His hair was shorter again, he looked more child-like, more innocent. 

“I’m leaving you.” he said, “I’m leaving and I’m never coming back, Y/n. I never even loved you.” he spat.

You were suddenly so overwhelmed with sadness. Michael just ripped out your heart and stomped on it. You were heart broken. You started to sob and call out for him. You grabbed him and tried to stop him from leaving. He simply shook you off as if you never meant anything to him, and slammed the door in your face. You fell to the floor, and cried your heart out.

“This is your hell?” you heard a voice ask, “This is so sad, Y/n.”

As you looked up the door was open and there stood Michael again. Except he was older, his hair was a little longer, and a little bit taller. How had he aged so quickly after breaking your heart so brutally?

“I’m not him, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m here to get you out, Y/n.” he said as he leaned over to you, holding out his hand. Wiping tears off your face you grabbed his hand and stood up. He took you and walked out of the room. As you walked through the door you saw a bright, white light. The next thing you knew you were sitting up, gasping for air.

“It’s alright, love, I’m here. I’m here.” you heard a calming voice come from beside you. You turned your head and it was your Michael again. The all grown up one. You were out, you made it out of Hell. You were suddenly overcome with so many emotions, having died, gone to Hell, and come back to life. You started to cry and quickly started hyperventilating. Then you felt his hands grab your face. He turned you to look directly into his eyes.

“Breathe, Y/n.” he commanded. It was like a switch. His command made your heartbeat immediately ease back to normal. Your breathing slowed and your tears dried up on your cheeks. 

“You’re alright, you’re ok. You’re with me now, and I’m not leaving you. We’re getting out of here, there’s just one more thing I have to do.”

“What?” was all you managed to say.

“Well, darling, you died a 16 year old. And I’m not as young as I once was, so what do you say we help your aging process a little, seeing as you had a little hiccup in the road.” he brought you back from the dead, so aging didn’t seem as extreme of an experience to you, after what you just went through. Michael seemed to simply wave his hand before you, magically aging you a decade in only seconds. You didn’t feel anything particularly painful or weird. All you could think about was the night you died, remembering it so vividly. The drugs, your “friends” abandoning you, finding your own corpse. It flashed in your head like it happened yesterday, that moment haunting your every memory. When you finally realized Michael had finished, you quickly found a mirror in the room. Looking at yourself, you didn’t notice any huge changes. You looked like yourself, just more wrinkles and, that wasn’t a grey hair was it? You were too young for grey hair!

“What do you think?” Michael came up behind you, placing his hands on your waist, kissing you on the side of your head.

“I think we finally make sense as a couple.” you joked.

“I thought the Anti Christ dating a ghost made a lot of sense to me.” he laughed.

“Yeah, a little fucked up, but makes sense. But now we’re almost normal, like we can go on a date!” you squealed.

“A date? What’s that? It sounds absolutely disgusting.” he retorted.

“Oh come on Michael, they’re not that bad! Remember when we used to cuddle and have a horror movie marathon?”

“Yes.” he said.

“Well that’s a date! We can do more of that, maybe even go to an actual movie.” you explained.

“Honestly, as long as I’m with you, my love, I’ll do anything.” he professed.

You felt your heart start rapidly beating in your own chest, unfamiliar to the feeling of having a beating heart in your chest, having been a ghost for so many years.

“You know what we could do right now though?” you asked innocently, batting your eyes up at him, holding him close.

“And what’s that, dear?”

“This.” you said as you grabbed his face again, kissing him with so much passion and love you thought you’d explode trying to show him just how much you loved him. Michael responded eagerly, grabbing onto your waist, even dipping lower to grope your ass as you ran your fingers through his hair. As you made out, your tongues met and you swore you felt a spark so strong it made a shiver run down your spine, his hands following the path of the shiver, adding to the intensity. You were already dripping between the legs, ready to get to the main event. You didn’t wanna waste anymore time so in order for Michael to get the hint you caressed the front of his pants, feeling him harden under your touch. You started nipping at his neck and he finally had enough and threw you against the wall. He quickly rid you of your pants and underwear, as eager as you were to be one already. Once he had you half undressed he let you unzip his pants to pull his member out, giving it a few tugs. Michael suddenly grabbed your thighs and hoisted you up to hold you against the wall. As he held you, you guided his length inside of you and were finally connected. You crossed your legs behind his back, holding onto him for dear life. He thrust into you against the wall, careful not to bang your head on the wall. He started to pick up the pace and you were close so you started to kiss and suck at his neck again, pulling his hair. You heard him growl, which turned you on even more, accelerating you to your finish. With a couple more thrusts, he had you cumming, moaning into the quiet library. Michael quickly finished after you, moaning into your neck, and cursing your name, “Fuck, Y/n.”

Michael kept his head on your shoulder, getting control of his breathing as you did the same. When you both finally came down, he set you back on the ground, tucking himself back into his pants. He helped you get back into your clothes as well. Once again, you couldn’t help yourself and you kissed him with such a sweet, gentleness it made a tear fall out of Michael’s eye. When you lifted your head, he was smiling at you as you wiped his tear away, and kissed his forehead.

“Let’s go, Y/n. Let’s get out of here and take over the whole damn world together.” he started to pull you towards the front door.

As he pulled you to the door, you took a second, turning around and looking at the home you’d been trapped in for years. It was your own hell, but now it reflected your happiness. You died here, yes, but you were resurrected here, because of one man. And that man was pulling you out of the house, into the light. The same way he pulled you out of Hell. The only difference was this time,  you were free. Michael may be the “Anti Christ” but he was your savior, and you never wanted to look back.

[falling--in--place]

25 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @sixstepsaway ♥ Thank you darlin! I may have done this before? Idk, I love tag games so I’m doing it anyway!

1. Is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

Not exactly? The book I’m working on now is exactly where I want to be with my writing right now. I am holding off on revisiting an old one though. It needs a complete rewrite and re-release. I held myself back so much, but I’m just not sure I should do it. I decided I’m going to though. Just a matter of when the need to do surpasses my hesitation... So, we’ll see! 

2. What work of yours, if any, are you embarrassed about existing? 

The first book I published. Embarrassed probably isn’t the right word though. It isn’t as good as it should be, and it needs sooooo much, but it helped me get to where I am. It was needed, but it is definitely not my best. Hence the rewrite at some point. 

3. What order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favorite scenes first? Something else? 

Pretty much beginning to end. I format my documents for publication before I even start writing. It gives me an idea of what it looks like and where I am with it. Sometimes a scene will strike me though, and I write it in a separate document to be saved until it is needed. From being on here I have discovered I do things very... strange. But hey, it works for me. 

4. Favorite character you’ve written?

Vanessa. Like, I love her so much. She is my hero. 

5. Character you were most surprised to end up writing?

Most of them? My characters just sort of show up and tell me stuff. I do my best to write it down. Vanessa is the most vocal, and she isn’t afraid to scoff at me when I do something she doesn’t approve of. 

6. Something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

I don’t think it’s ever really too late. I mean... I have a published book I’m going to pull and rewrite so... 

7. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

A little of both, honestly. On here it’s almost exciting to talk about it all, but when in person... It’s the source of a lot anxiety. Especially when it’s someone I know. It’s kind of hard to explain. I need to get better at talking about my books. I self-publish. Self-promotion is all I have lol

8. Favorite genre to write

Fantasy! Urban Fantasy has a special place in my heart, but the WIP I have right now is more in the epic fantasy class, but not fully?

9. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

Music. All of it. iPhone on shuffle, let all the words happen. I also read a lot. I dissect everything I read into why I like it and why I don’t and try to learn from that. 

10. Write in silence or with background music? Alone or with others?

Music Always with music. When I don’t put my headphones in I get distracted by literally everything around me. 

11. What aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

I feel like I’ve gotten better at knowing when to stop. I had always been so “HERE IS ALL THE INFORMATION I EVER FOUND FOR THIS BOOK AND YOU NEED TO KNOW IT ALL RIGHT NOW!” Info dumps in every chapter is not a good quality to have... I kicked that habit for the most part. I think I am much better writer for it!

12. Your weaknesses as an author?

Several? Editing is really hard for me because I get attached (and it takes forever!). Being overly descriptive of characters at first meeting. Fight scenes take a few tries... I usually write it, read it over, flesh it out to be better, then cut a bunch of stuff to add in a bunch of other stuff, and because of my anxiety... all of this has to be done before I can move on in the story.

13. Your strengths as an author?

I think I’m pretty good at setting the scene. 

14. Do you make playlists for your work?

Not really... Some songs tend to stick with a character or an event, but I don’t ever specifically set up playlists for my books.

15. Why did you start writing?

I had stories living in my head, and a need to tell them. 

16. Are there any characters who haunt you?

Of my own? Not really. I guess Harley does a little. Her story will get it’s retelling. 

17. If you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

Just.. write. Stop worrying about everyone else and their opinions. You can edit and fix later, and not everyone’s opinion needs air time. 

18. Were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? What were they?

Jennifer Estep, David Dalglish, Richelle Mead... I could go on, but I don’t think this is supposed to be a novel on it’s own. Estep showed me a smart, beautiful woman that didn’t give a shit about others opinion of her, but she still cared deeply for those around her. She also has a thing for knives which is badass. David Dalgish showed me that research is great, but sometimes you just have to flow and see where it takes you. He also gave me characters that were so fleshed out, real, and raw that I will forever carry them with me. I would love to give a nod to Haern in one of my books but I don’t know how and if that’s a thing I can do. Richelle Mead gave me some of the above, but also a romance that I could truly get behind. One that I could follow and love and cheer for. I’m not much for pure romance, her books aren’t btw, but with her couples... I could read a romance novel about them with pleasure. 

19. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Uh... well... I tend to jot down a lot of notes and do a lot of swearing and scrolling back up to re-read things.

20. Do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

Both? Depends on the day and my mood. 

21. What do you think when you read over your older work?

I don’t have a lot of older work saved unfortunately. A lot of my older stuff was in notebooks that have gotten lost through the many moves I’ve had to make. So, the book I’ve mentioned before... It needs a re-write.

22. Are there subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

A lot of them actually... two of my main characters are gay. I was excited about that... then tumblr happened. Omg you guys... all the posts about do’s and don’t’s. and how many posts about insulting things people do with gay characters that they don’t seem to notice and..phew I could go on forever... I am a little terrified right now, but I’m working through it. James is so close to my heart. I’m writing him how I see him, and I’m just hoping no one will take it as offensive or insensitive. 

23. Any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

Pft... how long do I have? I live an interesting life. I’ve been through several different kinds of hell. I met an amazing group of people who support me. I am a living incarnate of Murphy’s Law. 

24. Have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

I wouldn’t say expert.... but I now understand the effects of a point blank gunshot to a bone, marriage rituals from all over the world, and how close you have to be to smell a dead body? 

25. Copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of.

Longer than “a short paragraph” but eh, just how I am. I’m not sure why I like this one so much. There are other that I like more, but I’ve posted them all at least once (some of them twice) so here is a new thing!

“Can you take me through it one more time, ma’am?” the officer said to me.

What I wanted to do was use one of the charred desks to kick his ass (literally) out the door. Or grab a roll of tape and cover his mouth with it. Whipping out my magic to boot the enforcement officers out of my place of business probably wouldn’t go over very well. It was tempting though. The story wasn’t that complicated. It happened in all of thirty seconds. This was the third time he’d asked me to run through the story again. Ellie and James weren’t fairing much better. Ms. Claudette was left alone for the most part. All it took was a complaint about her back and needing to check on her cats.

“Ms. Parker?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve taken you through the story three times now. Four seems a touch excessive. There was a grenade, I contained the blast as best I could, you showed up. There it is. Now, if you don’t mind, I have shit to do.”

I spun on my heel and stalked away. Something I didn’t think all the way through since there isn’t much space in the office when it isn’t extra crispy. That didn’t slow me down though. I marched into the back office, yelled for Ellie to join me, now, and slammed the door as soon as she scooted in.

I’m think i’ll tag... @panticwritten, @hawksnbooks, @ava-burton-writing, @crazybunchwriter, @lakeeriesaltmine, @anolivewrites, @forlornraven, @leapwriter, @dantedevereaux, and @authorisada

As always, if you don’t want to be tagged or want to be tagged more often, let me know! 

[ddrkirbyisq]

So a few days ago I played through all of Super Mario Kart's 4 cups on both 100cc and 150cc modes, courtesy of our new SNES Classic! (<3)  It was absolutely glorious.  I don't know if I've had that much intense fun playing video games in quite a while.

Like many others, I was first introduced to Super Mario Kart back in my childhood.  It was one of the very few Super Nintendo games that featured a 2-player mode that wasn't just a head-to-head competitive battle -- you could both enter GP mode together and race against the CPUs.  I was in elementary school at the time, maybe 5-8 years old?  It was before my brother went off to college, at any rate.  So there I was, playing with my brother, who is 9 years older than me, with of course a proportionally better ability at playing games -- but I could certainly hold my own too.  I was very lucky to have grown up around video games in a way that probably few others did at the time (or at least I could tell judging from the way that I trounced everyone else in my age group at them, lol).

As a principle, my brother always picked Toad and I would always pick Koopa Troopa, simply because those were the characters that we liked best.  They had the best handling (ability to take turns well), which I think appealed to both of us (there was also Bowser and Donkey Kong, who had the highest top speed, Yoshi and Princess, who accelerated the quickest, and Mario and Luigi, who were basically balanced).

Koopa Troopa will always have a special place in my heart because of this, and Toad too, although to a lesser extent because Toad's later incarnations tended to be...less pleasant.  It's worth noting that each character had their own musical theme that played when you took 1st place with them, and that Toad's theme in particular became oh-so-familiar to me due to my brother taking 1st place so often, though of course I would also hear Koopa's theme a lot too.  I actually still use Toad's theme as a custom ringtone when my best friend calls me, so it's still present in my day even now. (I'm actually also fond of Princess's theme as well, though I didn't hear it too much at the time)

A core mechanic of the entire Mario Kart series is the ability to "drift" or "power slide", usually by pressing the shoulder buttons of the controller, which initiates a drift turn, which (depending on the exact game) usually allows you to conserve speed through a turn, corner more effectively, and sometimes get a speed boost when exiting a turn.  Super Mario Kart's drifts are triggered by pressing L or R (which causes you to do a hop) while turning, which initiates the slide. Something that's really interesting is that when I first played SMK way back when, I actually didn't use drifting!  I took corners without doing power slides at all and just used normal turning, which looks something like this:

This actually works reasonably well in terms of just being able to navigate the course (particularly because Koopa and Toad have the best normal turning!), but ends up costing you speed.  I believe (?) there may also be some turns that are just too tight to get around with normal non-drift turning, and I think in those cases I would just bump into the walls (!).  So obviously I wasn't playing optimally at all, but somehow it actually worked out pretty well for me.  I was still holding the accelerate button the whole time and never touched the brake button.  It's great, of course, that you can still be pretty decent at the game with just the basics.  But maybe this is part of the reason that my brother was just better at the game than I was.  It's worth noting that in Donut Plains there are several turns where your kart will actually spin out if you try to take them with normal cornering, so I actually DID use the power slides for that level specifically.

Of course, the ideal way to play the game is with the power slides, which is what I started doing once I was older (and again now too).  You end up starting the turn way earlier and =sliding= around the corners, which looks something like this:

Notice how the approach to the turn is completely different.  Without the drift, the best strategy is to start on the =outside= of the turn so that you don't have to take such a sharp angle.  But with the drift, since you start turning way earlier but slide sideways around the corner, you can actually hug the inside of the corner, which results in a shorter distance traveled (in addition to you preserving your speed better).  Taken to its extreme, it looks like this:

...except you are probably not taking the corners THAT aggressively unless you are a speedrunner (the above gif is pushing the game to its limits).

In SMK, once you start a drift, your kart continues to slide around a bit, even after you've let go of the turn direction.  To counteract this, you actually have to =countersteer= for a brief moment at the end of a drift, which straightens your kart out and sets you up to go straight again.  The timing and execution of this countersteer is actually really important and a slight screwup can mean you exit out of the turn pointed totally wrong instead of being lined up with the track.

One really important thing I'd like to get across in this post is just how different this implementation of the power slide physics is compared to the way that it is in later mario kart games, including Mario Kart 64 all the way up to Mario Kart 8.  Here's what the newer version of drifting looks like:

I am of course glossing over a whole world of significant differences in the way that drifting works in these different newer games, but let's just use these gifs as an example.  In the newer Mario Kart games, drifts are usually =controllable=.  Once you initiate a power slide turning to the right, you are "locked in" turning to the right until you let go of the L or R button and during this time, you can actually press right to make your turn sharper, or alternatively press left to slow down your rate of turning.  You can see Yoshi in the first GIF start the turn relatively aggressively, then ease off for a bit before turning more sharply again.  Back in Super Mario Kart this wasn't possible -- you could let go of the direction of the turn for bits at a time, but pressing in the opposite direction (counter-steer!) would just result in the slide ending altogether.

Speaking of counter-steer, since you end a drift by letting go of L or R, the counter-steer element is gone entirely and instead when you end a drift by letting go of the shoulder button, your kart straightens out automatically, as you can see by toad's boost in the second GIF.

So to drift in SMK, you usually:

- Start on the =inside= of the track (ideally)

- =Commit= to when you start the drift

- At the right moment, =counter-steer= in the opposite direction, enough to straighten out, but not too much to throw you off alignment

Whereas to drift in MK8, you usually:

- Start on the =outside= of the track (ideally)

- Start the drift, then =adjust= your steering during the entirety of the turn 

- Let go of the drift button (and automatically straighten out)

So basically in SMK the drift is super committal and you really need to be precise about where and when you start the drift, whereas in MK8 you can just adjust your steering as soon as the drift starts, so it's no big deal.  In SMK too you have to manually countersteer and straighten yourself out.  It's way more difficult in general and I can see why they moved away from it.

...but MAN is it satisfying to do.  I think requiring such precision is exhilirating and really feels like a true test of your driving abilities.  There are a lot of turns in SMK that are really challenging to execute properly, with obstacles and boost pads and whatnot to make things even more interesting.  This time around I even used the technique of tapping the brakes sometimes when I needed to cut a corner really sharply or abort a drift that threatened to swing wide, as tapping the brakes seems to stop you from sliding and straighten you out much faster.

Don't get me wrong, the newer mario kart games are fun (especially MK8 I think.  And MKDS was...well, that was sort of its own thing).  But I think something about the physics of SMK really, truly shines out to me in a way that I love, and it's no wonder that MK64 doesn't garner nearly the same amount of respect from me as SMK does.

So anyways, we played through the 100cc races and then moved onto 150cc and that where things get real.  150cc is pretty unforgiving in that all of your slip-ups are really amplified because everyone is moving so much faster, so running into an obstacle or going off-course is so much worse.  Plus, you're just going at a much faster speed so you can't just leisurely approach each turn conservatively -- you really have to go for it and start the slides early, and even string them together.  It's =exhilarating=.  And then of course, there's the CPU players, who can be a royal pain in the butt sometimes.  I was playing as Koopa, which meant that the Luigi CPU was always the one I was fighting with for 1st place, and man, both Mario and Luigi are insanely annoying when you are trying to compete with them because their special ability is basically to flash invincible as if they have a Star, basically at will -- and touching them in that state makes you spin out.  So basically getting close to them is always super frightening at any moment, not to mention you're also going really fast through really challenging courses with turns and narrow straightaways, little room to maneuver, etc.  This time I actually had quite a few times where I just slammed on the brakes because it's better to just slow down and avoid trying to pass Luigi until you have a good chance rather than run into him and spin out, which is a disaster.

150cc Special Cup (like many other things in the game, to be honest) holds special significance for me since me and my brother spent so much time trying to clear it.  Some of the courses in that GP are really brutal and I have to say, even now it truly pushed my abilities as a gamer.  I had to try it quite a few times and on the last try, I reached the last course, the glorious Rainbow Road (with its epic music and all) with 3 lives remaining.  I failed my first attempt, and then also my second, and it was down to my last shot remaining.  I was off to a great start, but slipped up in the middle and fell behind, but somehow managed to super duper clutch it out and catch back up safely, taking some really crazy maneuvers as well as avoiding all of the CPUs to regain 1st place and finish the race.

All that is to say that Super Mario Kart is and probably always will be my favorite racing game of all time.  It's really all in the way that the karts handle and I'm really amazed they were able to create something so unique, skill-testing, and satisfying all at once.  I love SMK!!!