#I would be all for her getting injured and getting to see everyone rally around her

[cottonlemonade]

Hello,

May I please order a small cherry lemonade with extra ice for 'samu, please?

Archnemesis

word count: 1066 || avg. reading time: 4 mins.

pairing: 3rd year rival!Osamu x chubby!Reader

genre: angst, fluff, pining

warnings: swearing, mentions of insecurities, hurtful comments about your weight (but it’s quick and not done by Osamu)

request: angsty, rival Osamu protects you

Osamu groaned when he saw the pitiful little bus pull up and people in black training suits jump out. Trying not to be too obvious he kept throwing glances over to the fast growing group assembling in front of the blond coach. When he spotted you amongst them, easily identified since you were fuller than everyone else, he felt excited but turned away and went back into the building.

Sure, he would be the first to admit that you initially caught his eye while you were blissfully munching on an onigiri and he may or may not have wanted to ask you out so badly that he choked on his water but that was besides the point. You were from Karasuno and therefore automatically the enemy.

Last year, when he first came across the crows it was hard to explain to his captain why he seemed to have beef with a member of the women‘s team of all people but Kita had graduated and wasn‘t their captain anymore, soooo… now he could be petty to his heart‘s content. He enjoyed your little rivalry, because although you may look cute enough to eat you could really dish it out.

While he waited in the lobby for his brother to come back from the bathroom, the Karasuno teams entered and walked stoically towards the changing rooms, ignoring the whispers of admiration and awe. Apparently you decided to become even prettier since the last time he saw you. So that’s how you were gonna play it, huh? Well, fuck you.

Wait, why did they all stop next to him? Why did they stare? You were grinning, so you probably just said something scathing, right? Osamu hadn’t paid attention. Okay, there was a 50/50 chance this would work. “Oh, we‘re gonna see about that.“, he said, attempting and … and failing to return the trash talk.

You looked at him in confusion and the team captains ushered you along.

To no surprise of absolutely anyone Inarizaki won their first rounds with ease and after a victory shower Osamu decided to break your concentration by watching your last match of the day quietly from the sidelines. Menacing. Lurking. You’d get the message. Much like with the little number 10 he enjoyed people‘s reaction to seeing you play for the first time. Initially, they would wonder if someone was grievously injured that they sent „that chubby girl“ onto the field, not knowing what was coming. A grimly satisfied smile played on his lips when he heard the surprised whispers from the crowd when you served four aces in a row. Of course his (completely baseless) archnemesis was strong, what did they expect?

Atsumu and Aran appeared next to him towards the end of the game, his brother holding out a bag of snacks to him, watching with genuine disinterest as the opposing team missed a fake spike.

The next ball seemed to last forever, your receives however stayed clean and precise. But then the roaring cheers changed to a murmur. During a particularly harrowing rally you had jumped over the barricade, just managing to lop the ball back onto the field but crashed into the wall after a harsh stumble, your foot having gotten caught in a chair. You somehow made it back onto the court, receiving the next spike with one hand, giving your setter the opportunity to play to your team‘s ace - but then you didn‘t get back up.

Osamu had grabbed his brother‘s sleeve, knuckles turning white when the medic made their way to you.

He saw you being asked a few questions and then your manager pulled you up, slowly leading you towards the exit.

“Figures that the fatty got injured. Can‘t stop a charging rhino.“

“I‘m just impressed she didn‘t take anyone else down with her.“

Osamu‘s head snapped around to see three guys snickering. His shoulders began to shake with anger. No one - no one - was allowed to talk about you like this. Aran followed his gaze, equally disgusted by the comments, and muttered, “Ugh. We‘re playin’ these jerks tomorrow.“

The older twin‘s eyes went blank - murderous. Good, Osamu thought, together they would make these bastards regret ever choosing this sport.

Osamu turned on his heel and jogged out into the corridor, looking around. He turned pale when he found you leaning against a wall, breathing hard, and a small trickle of blood coming from just beyond your hairline.

Your team‘s manager quickly said something, then ran off, probably to get some help.

As if in trance Osamu walked over to you and without a word knelt down with his back towards you.

“What are you doing?“, you asked in a small voice.

“Get on.“, he said tonelessly, and when you didn‘t move, added, “Come on, the floor is gettin‘ uncomfortable.“

Your answer was barely above a whisper. “No, it‘s fine. Honoka will be back in a second with the doctor. And… and I don‘t want you to get hurt, too.“

Osamu let out a huff, turning his head, “Are ya calling me weak?“

“No, I‘m calling me heavy.“, you mumbled.

“Stop it!“ He hadn‘t meant to shout, he looked to the ground, “Just… shut up and get on.“

Glad you understood that he wasn‘t going to stop pushing, he heard you hobble a step forward and carefully leaned on him.

“Put yer arms around my shoulders, go on.“, Osamu encouraged quietly, his voice much gentler now. You seemed to hesitate again. “Don‘t worry, y/n-san. You won‘t hurt me.“

He froze when he felt something wet seeping through the back of his shirt and realized that you were crying, “I… I can‘t lift my left arm.“ So that‘s why you only received the last ball one handed…

Thinking quickly he pressed out, “Alright, just hold on tight with yer right, then. I‘ll make sure ya won‘t fall.“

Bonus: The next day

Two sharp whistle blows signalled the end of the game and the crowd erupted into cheers. The Inarizaki orchestra began playing their well practised victory song and Osamu used his shoulder to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“Wh-what-what happened?“, he heard a guy from the other team stammer.

The foxes had won in two sets, the score telling the story of complete and utter humiliation. The twins grinned.

With a shaking finger, the opposing libero pointed towards Osamu, “This guy is a beast.“

a/n: this was such a juicy prompt! Ugh! I’m sorry it got a bit away from me and I ended up adding fluff and mixed in some taking care of you, too. I hope you like it nonetheless, though 🫠

[part 2]

[charliemwrites]

I just wanted to say this before it ate me up from the inside. Your SpecGru Reader series has me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait for when you post the next part but after you've gotten some rest and taken care of yourself. Someone else mentioned the joint mission going wrong and I want to pitch this idea to you, as a variation.

The mission goes well, in fact a little too well. The reader then trusts their gut and warns her squad because she and Nova are positioned as cover snipers. Before her Captain can pass along the warning to the 141, that's when everything goes tits up they were all drawn into an ambush. Their comms get jammed for a bit and it's basically everyone fending for themselves.

It takes some time for the Reader to get to a rallying point and things just get worse from there. Gaz and Keegan are unconscious because they were clipped by a concussion grenade. Nikto is providing covering fire. Price and Alister are trying to radio in an evac. Soap is the last one to arrive and admits that he and Ghost got split up when they were ambushed.

The Reader then goes in and cuts a bloody path to where Ghost was last seen and it unnerves Soap and Nova at the carnage that the Reader unleashes. They get to where Ghost is pinned down, having sustained a gunshot to both legs and to his left shoulder, and the Reader uses a flash bang/smoke grenade to provide cover as Nova and Soap take out the enemies.

That's when the Reader hauls Ghost out of there and when then man asks why they're bothering to go back for him when he was good as dead...?

The Reader just remarks that they're just paying it forward thanks the SpecGru squad that they made it a point to teach them that no one gets left behind. He falls unconscious afterwards but there's clear surprise on his face.

The Reader, Nova and Soap get back to the rally point and everyone barely gets out in one piece and in the weeks that follow, the Reader and the SpecGru squad make sure to check up on the injured 141. It's also revealed that thanks to the Reader having an O negative blood type, they were able to bring Ghost back from the brink when he was going into hypovolemic shock because of all the blood he lost.

When the man regains consciousness, the Reader is the first person he sees...

With the SpecGru squad and the 141 around him. It would just boil down to the Reader pretty much telling Ghost that they could've just let him die but that it wouldn't of been the right thing to do and how they learned thanks to the experience they had with the 141 that it would've been easy to just leave him to his fate or just disappear as he recovered.

Basically, it would toss everything that that the 141 did to the Reader back at them and really remind them of what they did wrong and how it was the Reader that wasn't a good fit for the 141, it was the 141 that wasn't a good fit for the Reader.

Tldr; the Reader goes in, puts their life on the line to save Ghost and then makes him regret freezing them out like they did by showing him what he should of done instead of letting his own hangups and insecurities get the better of him.

Ooh I love a good mirrored narrative, with a little dramatic irony of some kind thrown in. And Simon getting his ass saved? Love to see it.

I already have an idea in mind for the the joint mission, and all the ways it goes wrong (and right) but this is a very, very good idea that I enjoyed reading

[witchofthesouls]

It’s sad bitch hour so I hope you’re ready, grab your tissues 🤧😢

I was watching Dumbo with my nieces and nephews and when ‘Baby Mine’ started, it got me thinking of Girl Dad! Megatron and the fact that Megatron is/was a poet.

Two scenarios popped in my head;

One: Megatron comes back from a mission heavily injured and his young daughter/s are distressed at the sight of him and the idea that he almost died, so he lets her/them climb next to him and he holds her/them and hums or recites ‘Baby Mine.’

Two: An ‘Autobots Win AU’ where Megatron is imprisoned and set to stand trial/executed and before any of that, Optimus being the bleeding heart he is even for his old friend/enemy, lets Megatron see his daughter/s one last time. The girl/s are confused and scared and latch onto Megatron and Megatron, possibly already accepting his fate of being executed, comforts them by either humming or reciting ‘Baby Mine’ until their time is up and Optimus or some other Autobots come and take the girl/s away and leaving Megatron alone.

Anon, I say lean into it because I need more heartbreak, especially after rewatching the scene. It hits harder as an adult...

In the first one, their kids' mother died from medical complications. The youngest girl doesn't remember, but the oldest sister does.

The kids only have a vague idea what's going on, but it's the oldest that grasps the full extent as-

Megatron could be heard, either by their thundering voice or their personal communication lines. The fact that he's quiet and no one is allowing them access to the medbay is absolutely chillingly telling.

Rumble and Frenzy, along with Skywarp, are keeping the girls company. The twins are the most battle capable of Soundwave's cassettes, and the Seeker can teleport with the two kids. If Megatron dies on the operating table, the aftermath will get ugly.

Their dad pulls through, but he's in really rough shape.

Que a quiet and private scene between them. The girls are in their human alt-mode to keep weight off him as Megatron hums "Baby Mine."

It's a lullaby their mother used to sing to them during her pregnancy and to help them sleep.

Even drugged to the gills, Megatron blankets them with his EM field, curling around them.

There are rising tensions within the faction, but (for once) Starscream and Soundwave are in an agreement: Keep the kids safe.

Megatron's personal quarters are absolutely a fortress in and of itself, but outside the girls watched by the cassettes or Starscream's trine. Between Thundercracker's heavy weight and willingness to cook a mech in their own fluids with a deadly hug and Skywarp's feral brutality to pitch himself against everyone and anyone, very few will directly make a move against them. Soundwave had built his cassettes upon the principles of stealth, espionage, and sabotage. There is very little that can escape Soundwave’s notice.

Megatron will want the names of the mechs that attempted anything towards his girls when he recovers.

The second scenario is honestly much more dark with all the political intrigue involved, especially if the girls do have a Cybertronian root-mode with a human alt-mode.

Autobot High Command would be deadlocked on how to handle them. The only thing they can agree on is not to send them back to Earth. Vehemently.

The girls are far too high-risk to fully leave alone, especially with major players of Decepticon High Command still out there that will use them as a focal point to rally the remaining faction. Not to mention the many interested parties back on Earth that would love to get their hands on living, breathing amalgamations between Man and Machine, especially with citizenship up in the air...

With exile off the table, the options are quietly executing them, political bonding, or indefinite imprisonment.

I think it would be Optimus that allows them to visit their father as Megatron's last rites. It would twist the knife between old enemies' wounds, especially with Optimus witnessing a tender moment of Megatron with his girls as the defeated Warlord privately comms the Autobot leader as he quietly sings to his terrified children:

:: I have one last request. ::

:: You've made it already. ::

:: Think of it as an extension, Prime. Should you choose to execute them as well, then let them die with me. Let them have that comfort. No matter how paltry it is. ::

[l-yourlocalgay-l]

can i request an atypical oneshot of casey x reader or one day at a time elena x reader? maybe you’re sick or injured and she helps you?

All I Need Is You

A/N: I wrote more about how you got the injury than actual Casey content but uh, enjoy?

Word Count: 1.1k

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The whistle blew and before you knew it, the ball was hurtling towards you from the other side of the court.  You were the setter on the volleyball team and you were currently playing the game that would determine whether or not your team would make it to nationals.  In the last 5 years at Clayton the girls volleyball team had not even made it as far as yours had, but you were sure that this was the year you would make it.  

The girls at Greenwich Academy were proving to be  great opponents.  The last 4 sets had been a constant back and forth between the two of your teams with especially long rallies.  The current score was 18-17.  All that your team needed was this one point to win and you would make it.

“I GOT IT I GOT IT!”  you heard the words coming from your mouth before you even had time to register the speed that the ball was coming at.  

As the ball bounced off your arms and towards the libero behind you, the screaming of one particular girl in the crowd could be heard.

“Go Y/N! You got this just one more point!”  Your girlfriend Casey was screaming at the top of her lungs.

You didn’t have to even look at her (not like you hadn’t been looking over at her any chance you got) to know that she and her mom were there sporting matching shirts that Elsa had made just for you.  The shirts were quite obnoxious looking, with them being bright pink with orange letters spelling out your name, but the thought that went behind those shirts had moved you to tears.

You ran off the net and yelled at the libero to send the ball back to you.  The timing on this hit had to be absolutely perfect.  Your steps were exactly where they should be placed, your arm drawing up to hit the ball in the best spot possible.  The rest of the world was tuned out for the 5 seconds you were in the air and all you could see was your hand hitting the ball as hard as you could.  You saw the ball hit the court right in the middle with everyone diving to try and get it, even though they were ultimately too late.  The crowd went wild and so did your teammates and coaches, so excited that the team was finally going to nationals.

The glory of being the last and final point was short lived, however, your happiness faded as soon as you landed. You felt a sharp pain in your ankle and fell to the ground.

While you were falling, you briefly saw Casey booking it down the bleachers before your view was covered up by your teammates and coaches trying to see if you were alright.

“Give her some space!  And someone get Lauren!”  Coach Sampson yelled to the girls around you and the crowd slowly dispersed to allow the athletic trainer to get to you.

You looked around trying to find Casey but it was no luck, there were too many people around and the pain in your foot was making it incredibly hard to focus.  The amount of people in your personal space was enough to make you panic and you were about to until you saw the trackstar literally running to get to you.  The look of worry on her face was adorable and you would’ve told her so, but as your girlfriend knelt by your side the trainer bent your ankle in a way that caused you to cry out in pain and grip onto Casey’s hand, holding on as if your life depended on it.

“Are you okay?”  She asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to figure out what she could do to help you.

You shook your head as tears slipped out and rolled down your cheeks.  Casey wiped the tears off with her free hand and left it to rest on your cheek, whispering to you over and over again about how you would be okay.

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The sound of someone knocking on your bedroom door woke you up, even though all you wanted to do was sleep.

“Mom, it's too early, just let me sleep.”  You grumbled out, upset at having been woken up.

As the door swung open you were surprised to see your girlfriend of 7 months walk in the door holding a grocery bag from a drug store.

“Dude it’s like 2pm, that is not too early.”  Casey said as she walked over to your bed with a huge smile on her face.

Casey had been over at your house every single day since you got the news about your ankle.  You had broken a rather common bone to break and had to stay off of it for the next 4-8 weeks, meaning that with nationals in 2 weeks, you definitely were not allowed to play.

It hurt and tears were shed, but Casey was at your house and with you all the time, so she was making the pain a little more bearable.

“I got your favorite.”  She said in a sing-song voice, pulling a soda and a chocolate bar out of the CVS bag she had.

Your eyes lit up as you pulled the covers down a little bit to reach for the snacks.  Just as you were about to grab them she pulled them back, still with a smile on her face.

“Uh-uh, what’s the magic word?”  Her eyes sparkled as she let out the slightly childish statement.

“Please?”

“Nope! But I guess I could give you these…as long as you do something in exchange.”

“And what would that be?”  You questioned the girl standing in front of you as your eyebrow instinctively raised.

She leaned in a little closer to you, her smirk somehow getting wider, “I want a kiss.”

You giggle at her antics and pull her down by the back of her neck into a sweet kiss.  Somehow it felt like kissing her got better and better each time that you did.  You pulled away for a second but she brought you back in with slightly more force than you were expecting.

When the two of you finally did pull away, the smirk on her face had changed into a small smile and she was looking at you with what could only be described as heart-eyes.

You matched her smile and pulled back the blanket for her to join you in your bed.  She wasted no time as she crawled in with you, putting the snacks on the side table next to your bed.  You rested your head on her chest and listened to her heartbeat speed up a bit because of that.

At some point in your cuddle session, you had fallen back to sleep.  Casey looked at you resting so peacefully and then joined you in your nap.  

The two of you ended up sleeping the day away, seeing as you didn’t wake up until 8pm when your mom knocked on your door and asked if you were going to eat dinner.  You would be tired tomorrow, but Casey was with you, so did it really matter?

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A/N: this ask is from like 2 years ago I'm sorry I haven't been that active since I posted that I wrote fanfic 😭 I'm trying to be in my active Era. Sorry if there are spelling mistakes, I wrote this right now instead of doing my homework.

[tavshortfortavern]

A Day Out drabble

With how much Halsin struggles being in the city during Act 3 and the aftermath with Orin, I headcanon my Tav feeling bad and set a whole day aside just to take him out.

This got away from me

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

It starts early morning in their room in Elfsong Tavern where Tav calls everyone together.

"What's the news boss?" Karlach pipes up.

"Rest day. I think we deserve one after taking down Orin." Tav grabs their money pouch and throws it at Wyll who catches it. "Treat yourselves. Don't spend it all though, I'm trusting you Wyll. I'll be at the park. Scratch and Chubs (Owlbear cub) need some time outside after being hold up in here for so long isn't that right?" they say turning to coo at the two animals who seem excited.

Gale immediately wants to buy some books. Karlach is pumped to get some food and explore the city. Astarion wants to go shopping for clothes. Shadowheart reluctantly agrees she could use more clothes. Laezel was still lowkey frustrated getting badly injured during the fight with the cultists so Wyll offers to spar with her somewhere. They all gather around to discuss plans and divide the gold.

Tav lets them be, happy their plan worked and approaches Halsin.

"Was there something you wanted my heart?"

"Come with me to the park. It's a nice day out and these two could use the outdoors." and you, Tav doesn't say. Everyday he looks like a flower growing in concrete, getting more worn out. It's time to step in.

Now the two of them, plus Scratch and owlbear cub, are at the park. As soon as they took a seat on the grass Tav could see Halsin relax a bit. Tav continues to throw a ball for Scratch until he runs off to play chase with the owlbear.

"Hey look." he felt a tug. He turned to Tav pointing at a pond. "Ducks."

His eyes brightened at the sight of a family of ducks swimming around in a pond. Tav spent a good while watching him interact with the little ducklings, climbing on top of him and playing. It seemed this was a good distraction after all.

Later Halsin seemed to be soaking up the sun and relative peace of the park when he notice Tav returning with something. "Guess what I found." they hand him some honey "There's some in that tree over there. The bees seemed ok letting me take a bunch."

He smiles as he takes the offered food and also grabbing their hand so they could sit close to him, practically on his lap. He remembers mentioning his fondness for ducks and sweet tooth during earlier conversations, it was a surprise Tav remembered. If there was anyone who could find anything it was Tav. He didn't realize how much they could loot and hoard until being in their party. It was like a crow finding shiney objects and storing them in their nests. A trait he quickly grew charmed by while the companions would sigh at how long it would take.

"Is there something more to this outing?"

"I just noticed you seemed... uncomfortable these last few days in the city. Plus after Orin... A nice day out seems overdue."

He was a lot more affected getting kidnapped by Orin than he let on. Some part of him doubted the party would rescue him. And even if they should when the city was at risk. But not long after he was unconsciously placed on that alter did havoc start. He wasn't awake to witness it but from what the companions mentioned, everyone in camp were all eager to jump in and quickly rallied by Tav. Scratch and the cub were left to gaurd the camp.

The others remarked how enraged Tav was. It was a quiet rage though, the scariest kind.

After defeating the Murder Tribunal, they cut off Sarevok's head. The whole journey to rescuing him from Orin was paved in carnage as their usually sneaky and level headed leader who preferred persuasion before violence seemed bereft of any mercy or planning. Tav threw Sarevok's head down in front of her before stomping it to a bloody pulp. Orin screamed and wailed at the sight as Tav revealed the truth of her origins. The things they spoke to her were sharper than any blade she owned.

The battle with Orin was a mess after, explosives and high level scrolls were used, summons and dead were amassed for a small army, and all the companions noticed Tav pulling out all the stops for this battle and followed suit. Its destruction far surpassed their past battles as the lair was in ruins afterward. No cultists were left alive.

The only part untouched by the chaos was the altar where he laid.

What he did remember was waking up to Tav calling out to him, their hands shaking him awake, sounding more desperate as seconds went by.

"I'm thankful you came for me. It must have been hard-"

"Halsin."

He stopped, staring at Tav who had a serious expression on their face. Their hands cupped his face and a wave of affection surged through his body as their peircing eyes bore into his. Their next words were spoken like a vow.

"I will always come for you. Even if the world is falling apart. Even if its a bad idea. Even if its going to cost me. There's not a scenario where I don't come charging in to rescue you. Nobody touches my sweet bear."

Perhaps it was his past history of getting captured and being the one to break himself out. Perhaps it was their first meeting where they slaughtered a camp to free him. Perhaps it was their consistent ability to do good. Perhaps it was the lack of time he spent to process what he went through. Perhaps...

Those words blasted away a large chunk off at a wall he's built up for longer than he could remember. A wall thats been eroding since Tav walked into his life.

He relaxed in their hold, resting his forehead on theirs and basked in this new feeling of being safe and protected by someone. The sun would slowly set as Tav runs a hand through his hair, his head in their lap. Scratch and Chubs curling up beside them to rest. Tav hums a lulling tune, gazing at their dozing partner. Looking more at peace since joining their gang of unfortunate misfits. Their hands sometimes gently rubbing the lines on his face that drew a pleased rumble from him.

Tav didn't tell him the lengths they would go to have rescued him. Things they never would have entertained. Using the tadpole, making a deal with that annoying cambion, turning full illithid, etc. They only didn't because they were blinded by rage and never thought of it. Their companions definitely watered down the things they told him but even they seemed alarmed by the bloodthirst (Astarion was ecstatic though). Tav regarded the blurry memory of fighting Orin. The words they spoke no longer seemed clear to them, they just knew the truth of what Saverok did and his true relation to Orin. So Tav took that truth and used it as a knife to butcher that wretched shapeshifter verbally.

Orin was knife happy and tried to unsettle people by taking on different faces but Tav was a diplomat. They understood people. Looked into their minds. Better than she ever could. Tav knew words. Knew how to persuade. They knew words could do things that no blade could. Not even Orin's madness could shield her from her own demons.

For kidnapping Halsin, Tav made sure to rip and tear her fragile psyche apart, every word had to hurt, her failures to Bhaal, her worthlessness. That her actions would lead to the decimation of Bhaal's cult because they would slaughter every single one and she would have to answer to her god herself. Crushing her father’s skull was a bonus. It didnt matter if she turned into a monstrosity. As she took her last breath, they told her she would die here forgotten. Chucked her aside and ran to make sure Halsin was okay.

Nobody touches their sweet bear.

[reyesstrand]

UPON REVIEW: the 126 firehouse scene looks like its in 406 bc that director posted the exact same blocking and I honestly think that the Tarlos stuff with Gabriel and posibly whump!Carlos is earlier episodes.

I DO think it may have something to do with Marjan since she's not in the pictures from that director and we're working on the she's in the hospital theory....

oh that could be!! and yes i think the carlos stuff will be post-storm but relatively early….if he does get hurt at all, it makes sense to give him time to heal!!

as for marjan…oh boy do i have marjan theories that probably have a 0.1% chance of being real AKDNSKDN but like…..i think there’s something so narratively interesting about marjan feeling like she was kind of being used as a prop in miami to finding this family in austin…..to her being the last of the 126 to really try to save the 126….to her literally driving out to find owen just to keep them all together…..to believing so much in the universe and it’s messages. she’s been the one to potentially face so much loss: with paul, with tk, even with owen, and she “lost” the love she thought she had with salim, like…..

basically she’s the one that keeps them all together and so it makes sense (and honestly could be explored more) as to why she freaks out so much at mateo when he “leaves” to help tatum in s3. she calls him an abandoner, and whether it was intended in the script or not, natacha really plays up the emotional weight behind her feeling left behind by those she loves. SO with all this in mind, i think it would be so touching to have a storyline where marjan does one of her badass rescues and potentially gets stuck/injured, and while she feels ~abandoned~ (and perhaps we go back into some of her early days as a firefighter, sort of begins-esque) the team is just like. rallying around her as much as possible and doing whatever they can to rescue her. to save her. and to top it all off, we see literally everyone waiting for her in the hospital, because they love her as much as she loves them, and we get to see more of firefox being firefox.

[lovecolibri]

There with you on the middle child-middle of the road opinions lol. Like from the little that we know about B there are some parts I'm interested in and others that I'm dreading, like these new characters.

There was so much time in A to write an arc for Bobby who has been a glorified regular for the past couple of seasons or hen who got one and a half storylines and one was the woman she cheated on her wife with, and buck who was a boyfriend or eddie they could have foreshadowed the trauma a lot earlier, and then they elected to focus on random people? People that the audience is not at all interested in? Because this is a first responder show and not about reporters? Or that creepy r*pist?

And people are supposed to be excited for B? Not surprised at ALL some are done with this!

Please don't ask me how long I've sat on this ask (nearly a month) or how long it took me to find this post because Tumblr literally hates me searching for my own things.

On the bright side, we now have a *little* more information on 5b and it is....all shaping up to look pretty darn good (though anyone outside the firefam calling Bobby "cap" is an immediate Michael Scott "Nope! Don't Like That" reaction). I do think it's going to suffer a bit because people (even the general audience) had such a negative reaction to 5a, but I really feel like 5b is going to pull things together that felt broken because that feeling was intentional.

However, as I said in my original post, my issues with a lot of 5a are things that won't be fixed by 5b because they weren't about the isolated, dark feeling/tone (okay a little bit that, because this is my comfort show and even in stressful, darker times in other seasons we were given SOME comfort and saw characters supporting each other and 5a was missing some of that tonal balance), but were more to do with the balance of characters and how little we got to see of, as you pointed out, the actual first responders, doing the first responding. I mean, Ghost Stories?! What TF was that? We saw the first responders responding to an emergency and then spent the rest of the episode following the case?! And with side characters no less, not even Athena working the case! Because if they wanted to integrate the reporter into the firefam, having her and Athena working together would be a great way to go, and would allow them to maybe address her season 2 actions that they seem to want us to believe Athena has forgotten about and moved on from (which, false. That woman would never). But instead we have half an episode that does not contribute to the overarching storylines of the show in ANY capacity, plus, Lou solved the case entirely on his own anyway, and the reporter's ramblings in Buck's loft did not affect the outcome of the case or the way the actual detective pursued and solved the case.

I AM excited for 5b. I think the potential for us to get some truly amazing stories, especially for Eddie is incredibly high, and I am absolutely vibrating with excitement about all of it. But it won't change 5a still being full of episodes I have no desire to watch at all, or to watch in full because they were too focused on side characters (not you, Ravi, you're an angel and we are HAPPY to have you and hope to learn so much more about you! Muwah!), or played out like some creepy SVU or Criminal Minds episode (sorry not sorry, I can't watch shows like that. The world is horrid enough, I don't need my entertainment to revel in showing the worst, most disturbing things people are capable of).

All this to say, I can totally understand why some people might want to wait for 5b to come out in full, or until they see what others have to say. It wont' be me, I absolutely want to watch live because my brain is just Like That, and like I said, I am truly excited. And I even love most of the arcs other people don't seem to because I really enjoy how 911 tells these adult stories that are dramatic situations, but handled in human ways focusing on growth and healing instead of what the most extreme and dramatic response could be. I like that there are often situations that are hard, and the characters are hurting or unintentionally hurt each other, but the show doesn't paint one of them to be "the bad guy" because real life is like that, real people are like that! They make mistakes and have to apologize, and have to learn to communicate and 911 does it soooo well! 5a may have veered off course a little, but the stuff we DID get that was focused on the firefam was exceptional (Kenneth Choi Emmy when?! Give that man so many awards!), and has set up 5b to be some truly magical storytelling. I'm excited to see it, and hopeful that the backlash from the general audience about the focus on side characters has been noted and we are going to get to see more of our first responders doing their jobs, having cool and interesting rescues, and being a family. And if what Oliver Stark has said is any indication, it's going to be a wild and enjoyable ride!

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

You mentioned in a post that you don’t believe it was Tom’s intention to run his torture-factory/dystopian academy. Why do you think it ended up that way? Did he simply lose the capacity to care about the children at that point?

Oh god.

Why do you people ask me things that require Tolstoy novel length explanations about Tom Riddle that will still make me sound crazy by the end of it? 

Let’s get to it, I suppose.

My usual Tom Riddle analysis disclaimers: we have a lot of ground to cover and little time cover it in so I’m not going to expand on every single line I drop, I will undoubtedly offend somebody if I haven’t already and if you think that might be you then you should probably move along, we’re going to have to make a lot of assumptions.

Required reading material (yes, you have asked an ask that has goddamn required reading material):

Tom Riddle’s Goal Was to Destroy the Wizarding World

Tom Riddle’s Not Crazy

Tom Riddle is Depressed and Suicidal

Voldemort is an Idea, Not a Man

You read it? For realz? For really realz? Okay, then let’s move forward.

I think it’s a bit of both.

I think by the time we get to Tom Riddle in canon, let alone Deathly Hallows, he is buried in rage, depression, and nihilism. He cares about very little anymore, is probably in constant physical pain, life is a black pit of despair, and it’s only fitting that somewhere out there the children are suffering too.

Now that said, I do think he never intended for Hogwarts to become the way it did and did put in fairly reasonable efforts so that it would not. It did anyway. Why do I think that?

He left most of the staff, key staff members at that and known resistance members, untouched and in their posts

He put Severus Snape, of all Death Eaters, in charge of the school

He turned a blind eye to the active student rebellion of nearly half the school’s population

He did not remove the children of known resistance members from the castle and make them hostages

The battle of Hogwarts

The Staff

It’s very telling to me that there is little to no turnover of the staff. Yes, we get the Carrows for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Malfoy gets to be a hall monitor on steroids, but all the original faculty remains and most retain their full original positions.

Minerva McGonagall, who is a known Order member, is allowed to retain her position as Transfiguration professor even when she actively aids and engages in the student led rebellion at the school. Hell, she actively spies on Hogwarts’ inner workings and reports back to the Order, and Tom lets her get away with this.

Despite Tom’s destroying the sorting hat, which I actually fully agree with as I think that thing actively causes major rifts in wizarding society, he actually doesn’t want to rock the boat and in this wants education to continue in much the same manner as before he took power.

He Leaves Snape in Charge

Snape is by far the most level headed Death Eater and actually has experience as a professor, seems to handle children well enough, and has existing relationships with the Hogwarts faculty. If anyone was supposed to get Hogwarts working under the new regime and keep everything in check, then it’s this guy.

I imagine Tom thought Snape could easily handle this. Snape can’t handle this.

Unfortunately, Tom trusted Snape to be competent. Snape chose not to be competent, or rather, I’m sure he had no idea what the fuck Tom wanted from him. I think, for all Snape managed to evade detection, he really has no idea how Tom Riddle works, mostly because all he sees of the man is the ridiculous show that is Voldemort. Based on that, Tom Riddle expects the castle to be in ruins by the year’s end, and Snape delivers the best appearance of this he can while actively turning a blind eye to student rebellion.

In other words, Snape went with his best guess of chaos and despair, which was a good guess.

So Snape sits there as Headmaster, the faculty refuses to interact with him, the hired on Death Eater faculty don’t listen to him and he can’t quite tell them off for torturing the children, because he’s pretty sure that’s what Tom wants and the whole thing spirals out of control until the children are actually arming themselves and Tom Riddle has to actually invade Hogwarts.

He has to invade a school, cutting down children, because Snape could not do his job. 

Tom Turned a Blind Eye to Student Rebellion

Remember Dumbledore’s Army and how quickly they were found out? These kids are not being at all secretive. They’re having meetings that both Snape and McGonagall are aware of (both doing their best to hide it), we know that eventually Draco the Hall Monitor finds out about it, and it’s clear that there are key active instigators in Hogwarts.

They then actually barricade themselves in a room and refuse to leave, arming themselves for “the rebellion”.

Tom does nothing.

Oh, sure, the people inside the castle do things but Tom never instructs them to stake out Hogsmeade (where they must be getting supplies), to start pulling out the big guns and threatening their specific families, or anything more.

I think this shows Tom was willing to let a lot go, he just couldn’t let go actual open rebellion or the reemergence of Harry Potter the messiah figure rallying the troops.

Where Are the Hostages?

Tom Riddle knows the entire Weasley family are very strong members of the Order of the Phoenix. He knows early in that Neville Longbottom is instigating rebellion within Hogwarts.

Ginny is not immediately taken from Hogwarts, she is, in fact, sent on her merry way and seems to do just fine for months even when her brothers are writing “U No Poo” on their store windows (and indeed, Fred and George suffer nothing for that either). 

Neville, while he does eventually go into hiding, is able to act on his own for months as a known close friend of Harry Potter’s and is never taken hostage.

To me it seems very clear that Tom Riddle really does want to leave the kids alone and as undisturbed as he reasonably can given the circumstances.

The Battle of Hogwarts: The Timeout

Tom is eventually forced to invade Hogwarts. His enemies are school children and the teachers who think it’s a brilliant idea to send said school children into battle (it’s the Dumbledore way!)

It’s a slaughter house.

As Harry’s running around like a lunatic he glimpses children being murdered and grievously injured left and right. The Death Eaters are not suffering nealry as collosol damages.

And yet, despite this, Tom calls for a timeout.

He gives a very weird speech, in which he’s giving them an hour reprieve (HINT HINT, WINK WINK) in which they are to deliver him Harry Potter. At which point the battle will be over and they can all go home.

Tom had the advantage, had he cared nothing for the children or actively wanted to put them down, he could have easily done so and captured Harry Potter. Instead, he takes the world’s weirdest timeout, making a very loud announcement about his timeout, likely in the hopes that the children would take the hint and get the hell out of the castle.

No one gets the hint.

Instead, Harry Potter shows up ready to be murdered. Tom will take it, murders Harry, carries his corpse into Hogwarts saying, “YOUR HERO IS DEAD, DESPAIR, NOW PLEASE LEAVE SO I CAN STOP MURDERING ALL OF YOU.”

Harry then springs to life, “GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! I’M NOT DEAD, YOU CAN CONTINUE MURDERING ALL OF US!”

Tom dies inside, then per my earlier post, runs into an arrow and dies for realz.

TL;DR Tom Riddle’s life is a joke in which he unintentionally ends up murdering the children

[maybeacrowdedmind]

So I Just Finished Skam...

First of all, I loved it. It was an incredible show and I'm so glad that there are so many remakes because I enjoyed it so much. One of my favorite things about the show was the fact that it feels extremely realistic, and I think a lot of that is due to the fact that a majority of the actors were actual teenagers (rather than actors who are obviously in their mid 20s and playing characters who are 16) and the fact that the characters behaved like actual teenagers (like using Facebook and Instagram, using "bad" language, dancing and singing along to music, etc. etc.). The other thing I adored about this show was the amount of importance that was placed on friendship. Platonic relationships in fiction are normally vastly underrated or underdeveloped in favor of romantic ones, so I appreciated that Skam showed so many friendships. So I decided to make a list of my favorite friendship moments from each season (two moments per season, with honorable mentions at the end before moving on).

Season 1:

1) Noora cheering up Eva by singing Justin Bieber to her:

I am not a fan of Justin Bieber at all (if you like him, all the more power to you, but I personally can't stand him), but Noora singing to Eva was such a great moment. She knew how sad Eva was, and decided to cheer her up by sharing something that made her (Noora) happy, and it was a really sweet moment between friends. It was also something that is realistic to do when someone you care about is down, and even though it was a small scene, it showed how strong a friendship Noora and Eva have.

2) All of the bonding moments between Sana, Vilde, Eva, Noora, and Chris:

I know this is a vague one, but just the sheer amount of time the girls spend together, whether they are doing something important or just hanging out was really awesome to see. Most of the time, tv shows don't take time to show us little moments like characters talking about boys or just sitting hanging out unless it has a more dramatc purpose. With Skam, we got to see those moments, which made the friendship between the girls that much more realistic.

Honorable Mentions for Season 1:

Eva grabbing the wrong Chris for Vilde, leading both Chris and Penetrator Chris (love that nearly everyone calls him that in the show by the way) to share a huge hug and go "name twins!" because that's totally something I'd do if I met someone who shared my name.

Eva and Ingrid finally talking about everything that happened, giving them both closure and the ability to move on, even if their friendship would never be the same (this was such a great scene because it showed Eva apologizing and telling Ingrid that she couldn't change what she did, but she would if she could, and it also allowed Ingrid to be hurt by what happened with Jonas, because let's face it, Ingrid was the injured party in that particular situation).

Season 2:

1) Noora telling Vilde all of the important things that the ingredients for tortilla do for you, and Vilde later doing the same for Noora:

I love how all of the girls take care of one another, but this scene in particular I loved a lot. Noora has noticed that Vilde hasn't been eating, and after hearing Vilde tell her all the reasons she doesn't like potatoes, Noora tells Vilde all the reasons she should. Noora also does so in a way that isn't shaming Vilde or being condescending to her, rather, Noora brings it up in a casual conversation. Later, Vilde notices Noora not eating, and prepares tortilla for her, quoting what Noora told her about potatoes and eating it with her. I loved this scene because it showed how much Noora and Vilde understood one another, as well as the importance of support.

2) The amount of support given to Noora by the girls after she discloses what happened with Nico:

This one is a total no-brainer. Noora had no idea what had happened that night, and had very little to go off of, and she spent the next few episodes terrified. When she tells the girls what she thinks might have happened, they all immediately stop what they're doing and rally around her. The no-dialogue scene in which they take Noora to the doctor and hold her and keep her safe was incredibly touching, and to be honest, nearly made me tear up.

Honorable Mentions for Season 2:

Sana and Chris playing a joke on the girls at the cabin during their break, because that whole episode was hilarious, and the individual ways each girl reacted was totally in character for each of them.

All of the girls telling Noora that they knew about her and William, because it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Noora being sheepish and surprised that she hadn't been hiding it as well as she thought.

Season 3:

1) Jonas, Magnus, and Mahdi telling Isak what to text Even:

This scene was so funny, and not the type I usually get to see when it comes to male friendships. I love that Isak tells them that he has no idea how to reply to Even, and Jonas tells him what he should say, with Magnus and Mahdi inserting their opinions and talking about how they text girls. It was enjoyable to watch because too many times fiction shows us that boys don't have the same relationship confusion that girls do, and it's often not true. I like that this scene allowed the boys to just be boys, because everybody deals with uncertainty, especially when it comes to liking someone.

2) Linn and Even playing video games together:

I know this scene is literally like two seconds and that we only see them ending from Isak's perspective, but hear me out. I'm pretty sure this is the first scene we see that shows Linn actively smiling and looking happy. Also, Even had just come off of a manic episode, was feeling depressed, and when we see him playing video games with Linn, he too looks actually happy, which is always great to see. Plus, the way Linn and Even are interacting with one another, it looks like they've known each other forever rather than two people who have just met, and even though it was a fraction of a scene, it was super great to watch.

Honorable Mentions for Season 3:

The entire development of Sana and Isak's friendship (I almost broke my "only two friendship moments" per season rule for this, but I decided to stick to my guns). Isak and Sana have a great friendship and I love how it came out of nowhere. Their friendship is literally started by being partnered together for school, which only happened because Sana sat by Isak to tell him that she had the weed he hid (a beautiful start to a beautiful friendship).

Isak coming out to Jonas by telling him that he liked someone and giving him the hint that it wasn't a girl, and Jonas reacting by thinking about the hint for a minute and then going "it's not me...is it?" because the expression Jonas had on his face while he thought about who it could be was funny because it looked like the fact that Isak had just come out to him wasn't even on his radar, because he was more concerned about guessing right, and the fact that he guessed himself was humorous to me.

Season 4:

1) Chris being a total ride-or-die friend to Sana after the stuff regarding the hate accounts for Sara and Vilde came out:

Everybody needs a friend like Chris. She is without a doubt one of the most loyal tv show characters I've seen and I wish Skam had run for more seasons so we could get a Chris season (and a Vilde season and an Even season, and a spin-off for Eskild and Linn, who both totally deserve one). Chris is the first person Sana told about the Sara account, and the first thing she did was tell Sana that the hate would blow over if Eva found out the truth (because Eva and everybody else thought Isak was responsible for it, and Eva was pissed AF at him). Chris also made sure that Sana knew that she didn't hate her for what happened, because everybody screwed up (seriously, we all need a friend like Chris).

2) The girls showing up to the bus meeting in their own tiny bus named "Los Losers" for Sana, effectively showing all of the Pepsi-Max girls (like Penetrator Chris, that will forever be their name) that if you mess with one of them, you mess with all of them. Sana was terrified that the girls would never forgive her, and when they all show up in the bus screaming her name, the joy on Sana's face is practically tangible. I love that they all pull Sana into the bus and give the Pepsi-Max girls the finger as they drive off, because really, what better way to show the true bonds of friendship than by collectively flipping off a ton of girls who messed with one of their own.

Honorable Mentions for Season 4:

Sana and Even's friendship, and the fact that she protected and respected his privacy when Isak asked her why she never said that she already knew Even, because too many times do I see characters give away information to other people that isn't theirs to give, and the fact that it didn't matter to Sana that Isak and Even were together, she was still going to make sure that Even had a right to the details of his personal life was extremely important.

The conversation between Sana and Jamilla about their schooling and Islam, because the texts we see between them prior to their falling out show that they were very close, and it was nice to see them talk and reconcile, because that's how life works sometimes. You fight and fall out with people, and after time passes, sometimes there is reconciliation.

[greenhappyseed]

BnHA Ch 316 - Things I noticed and comparisons

If the last chapter was AFO Rising, this one formally introduces us to Great Explosion Murder Devil AFO. Of course, it’s not new that AFO loves explosions. His attack on Nana involved an explosion and he used a big BOOM twice during Kamino; once at the beginning and once mid-fight to separate All Might from Best Jeanist, Kamui Woods, Mt Lady, and Endeavor (panels below). You know, the pros who were “easing [All Might’s] burden” and are now there for Deku.

We open the chapter with Endeavor saying he “got word from All Might,” which is weird phrasing because All Might clearly called, so I suppose the Top 3 hero brain trust sent him to voicemail. Also, Deku must be very confused about how All Might knew about Nagant and Overhaul. (And Deku doesn’t know All Might was attacked!!) But really, take a close look at this panel because I have NO idea what sequence of events lead to this image. I think Endeavor was trying to fly while carrying Hawks, and then when Hawks saw Nagant he yeeted himself towards her, falling with style until he realized those nubby wings couldn’t support them both. Plus, tiny Hawks looks like a scarecrow. Bones should have fun animating this someday.

Serious question time: Is Nagant a hero, as Hawks says? (Deku says she has the soul of a hero but doesn’t say she IS a hero.) “Hero” was once her job title, sure. But she wasn’t a “saving” hero — she murdered innocent people to protect the image of “heroes.” Then she became disillusioned with murdering and murdered the HPSC president so she wouldn’t have to murder anymore. Later, at some point while in Tartarus, she listened to AFO’s Caged Wisdom video series and believed he could solve society’s problems. Upon jailbreak she agreed to assault and kidnap a teenager so AFO could presumably torture him. (Whatever AFO wants with the kid, she had to know it wasn’t good.)

While Izuku faux 100%ed her into redemption, has she ever been a real “hero”? I think the answer is no, and what we are seeing is Hawks projecting because he wants to reassure himself that HE is a hero. He is an optimist. He is a good person, and he was just used by some bad people….right? Like how he was ordered to kill Twice, right????

It sure seems like the heroes are trying HARD to rally behind Nagant even when, objectively, she’s never been much of a hero. I can’t tell if we are supposed to cheer Deku and Hawks for giving a “villain traitor hero” a chance to do some good or if we’re supposed to see this as an example of heroes rallying around their own no matter how corrupt. I guess the real test is, would Deku and Hawks say the same things about a heroic soul to someone from the League of Villains?

Let’s get Overhaul over with. The official translation is far better than the leak summaries. It’s clear Deku isn’t going to take Overhaul’s bullshit AND won’t allow Overhaul to get anywhere near Eri. Instead, he says IF Overhaul will direct his “energy” towards saying sorry to Eri, he’ll fulfill Nagant’s “deal.” In other words, on our villain spectrum, if Muscular was unrepentant and deserved to be one-shotted, Overhaul shows he’s CAPABLE of remorse —but he doesn’t direct that towards all of his victims. He’s selectively repentant, so he doesn’t get full redemption, only the most base level of politeness required by society (that is, fulfilling a contract). In fact, note the repeated “contract” and “deal” language used for AFO/Nagant and the “subcontract” between Nagant/Overhaul. Contracts are a highly literal, unemotional type of basic trust transaction necessary for society to operate. It’s not about redemption or ideals or heroism; it’s “I give you x and you give me y” and we are both reliable.

Dadmight and Hercules are BACK baby! (Does All Might even tell anyone he was assaulted? Is HE okay?) Is he allowed to interact with anyone in this story anymore??) Top panel below is from 316; after that is one from 313 and below that is 3 pics of the Jeanistmobile with 1 of Hercules on the bottom right. Speaking of which, where the hell is Jeanist? Did Hawks stuff him inside a bag again?

Sorry Dadmight, but Deku’s not okay (TALK TO HIM, ghkhkjrjw). He’s badly injured and AFO is after his soul, which has caused badasses like Nagant to crack wide open. (Deku says Nagant has the soul of a hero in the last chapter, but here she says her soul is worn out. Chasing AFO takes a heavy toll.) Even so, look how Deku is doing his best, sitting tenderly by Nagant’s side and keeping his arm outstretched to her. This kid, indeed.

Apparently we just timeskip to everyone healed and ready to storm the mansion (sigh). Not that I need more hospital scenes, but it feels so rushed. Deku going with the Top 3 heroes and the Lurkers into a mansion to fight AFO should be an epic “I am here” moment. But there’s no moment for Deku to reflect — given the dire circumstances he’s just charging ahead and not listening to Endeavor’s warnings. Oh, and his gauntlet is still broken from the Nagant fight so there should be consequences? Maybe? At least (1) we found Jeanist so he can join the mansion raid; and (2) it seems Hawks (and All Might? Unclear!) are in a separate location, keeping in touch via radio comms.

Oooooo, AFO turning All Might’s “your turn” line towards Deku in Chapter 94 and now again in 316 before making mansion go boom. Except in 94, we all thought he meant the heroes vs villains battle passed to the next generation. Nope! AFO said in 296 that its HIS turn now, and his turn will never end, so “your” turn means you’re his latest plaything to torment.

Finally, I love how AFO squeezed in an insult to All Might, calling him an oaf. I mean, he IS an oaf, but that’s part of his charm. Oh, and I don’t believe for a second that AFO has actually lost interest in tormenting anyone, especially All Might. We KNOW how AFO holds on to petty grudges (he says so himself!).

I’m assuming the pros or a new quirk takes care of the boom, so tune in next week for more of Deku’s monster villain hunt! (If we didn’t get reunited with the hospital bed this week, I can’t imagine we will next week.) AFO now has an army or something, so in addition to Stain we could have more Nagant-style fights with brand new, completely disposable baddies! (I’m hoping not, and that AFO’s army is like Thanos’s random alien army in Avengers: Endgame, but we will see!)

[vanilla107]

Five Minutes of Sunset

Before the Curse of Sarah Fier series

Summary:

 “We meeting after? Same spot? Sam gonna be there?” she asked, and Deena nodded.

“Simon too. He said he got us discounted food!” Kate said excitedly.

“I hope you know that means that the food is about to expire,” Deena said, deadpanned.

“Whatever! Food is food and I’m not going to turn down chicken wings and all the candy bars I can eat.” ~~~ Four friends get together on a Friday afternoon to talk shit about Sunnyvale and watch the sunset. 

Also titled as: I JUST WANT TO WRITE FICS WHERE EVERYONE LIVES AND ARE HAPPY LIKE FUCK THEM DYING. GIMME MY FAVS BACK.

Read on AO3

It was a usual overcast Friday afternoon in Shadyside and Deena stretched her arms over her head as she headed towards the Shadyside High girl's locker room. The potent smell of floral body spray made her sneeze as she entered the room, high pitched voices bouncing off the walls and she winced before making a beeline down the corridor towards the toilets.

Her breath caught in her throat though, when she saw Samantha Fraser walking away from the toilets and towards her, and the grin that Sam gave her was enough to make her stomach knot.

Sam’s blonde hair glimmered under the crappy fluorescent lights and usually, Deena would have questioned that because the lighting was really shit but she didn’t care. Sam had already changed into her Shadyside cheerleader uniform, the blue and black standing out against her skin and her toned legs on display. Deena realised that she was shamelessly checking Sam out but before she could look away, Sam’s hand gently brushed against hers.

“I’ll see you later? The Spot?” she whispered, and Deena gave her a small nod before they walked past each other.

Deena’s heart could’ve exploded but she contained herself before turning left to the cubicles. There were two other band girls, Krystal and Lili, at the sinks chatting about some test they had earlier that day and Deena gave them a nod before walking to the end of the room where Kate, her best friend, was checking her hair. Kate grinned when she spotted Deena and gave her a hug. With black hair in a neat ponytail, a spotless record and dark eyes that could pick up the smallest detail, Kate was a good friend to have.

"How was AP English?" Deena asked and Kate rolled her eyes.

"Insufferable as always. Gary was a prick and decided to argue with me on every point I made while discussing Macbeth. I get that he doesn't like me, but fuck can he just give it a rest?” she groaned as she rolled her shoulders back.

“You do realise that he probably likes you, right? C’mon Kate, that’s the oldest trick in the book. He’s probably being an asshole to get your attention.”

“It’s stupid and if he thinks that it’s some form of flirting, then he’s dead wrong,” Kate huffed before looking at Deena’s gym bag.

“You getting ready for band?”

Deena heard Krystal and Lili take turns at the hand dryer before walking down the corridor, their retreating steps and voices echoing.

“Yep. And you have cheer practice,” Deena sighed, and Kate looked around, as if to check that no one was listening to them, before giving her a smirk and lowering her voice.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hog your girlfriend for too long. Besides, I’m there to yell and be on top of the pyramid.”

They both knew that was a lie. Despite Kate’s dismissive attitude towards cheerleading and all her other societies, she took it all seriously so that she could ‘Get the hell out of Shittyside’. She planned choreographies, sold extra drugs to raise money for cheer uniform upgrades and more. Deena felt that Kate did too much for a town that seemed against them with their nickname ‘Murder Capital USA’, but she knew that between the two of them, Kate deserved to get out.

“Oh please. We both know you do more than that,” Deena scoffed, and Kate shrugged her shoulders.

“We meeting after? Same spot? Sam gonna be there?” she asked, and Deena nodded.

“Simon too. He said he got us discounted food!” Kate said excitedly.

“I hope you know that means that the food is about to expire,” Deena said, deadpanned.

“Whatever! Food is food and I’m not going to turn down chicken wings and all the candy bars I can eat.”

“I gotta get changed and you should get going. Don’t want to be late for practice,” Deena said with a smile and Kate flipped her off before leaving her to get changed in one of the cubicles.  

Deena listened Kates’s footsteps retreat, and she undressed and changed into her band uniform. She wasn’t self-conscious of her body and didn’t mind changing in front of other people, but the girl’s locker room didn’t leave much to look at. The last thing she wanted was for a girl to point at her for staring and then the whole school would think she’s gay (which she was but that’s wasn’t the point).

Kate had managed to spin a rumour that Deena had a scar on her lower abdomen that she had gotten in an accident and was still ‘healing from the trauma’. While her eyes wouldn’t wander around the change room now that she only had eyes for Sam, it was easier to keep the rumour going and have privacy.

That was another reason Deena loved Kate. Kate could lie flawlessly, and because she was a good student, no one would think twice.

Deena opened the cubicle and adjusted her hat before heading out the locker room and to practice.

~~~

She sighed in relief as she took off her hat and threw it into her bag and changing out of her clothes and changing into a fresh set of clothing.

Most of the band kids had left soon after practice, uniform and all but Deena was headed straight to The Spot as soon she could, so avoiding a trip back home would be beneficial.

Kate and Sam had ended practice earlier and both had gone home to shower and freshen up. Deena didn’t blame them. The showers in the locker room were gross and she was sure she saw mold on the ceiling.

She shuddered before throwing on a t-shirt and jeans and heading out of the locker rooms. She waved bye to Krystal and Lili, who somehow always ended being the last ones getting changed and left the locker room.

Deena thought about the homework she had to do as she walked past the pep rally posters and the banner reading, ‘Let’s Bring It Home, Witches!’. Deena was aware that the biannual football game against Sunnyvale and Shadyside was next Friday and despite Shadyside High having a good football team, Sunnyvale almost always beat them.

It was like a joke. Every single game, a Shadyside football player got injured or a Sunnyvaler would score miraculously, and Deena didn’t mean any offence, but what was the banner supposed to mean?

What where they bringing home?

The last shreds of their dignity?

It was so embarrassing but with Sunnyvale being the only city close enough to them, Shadyside didn’t have a choice.

Deena took a deep breath in before exhaling her feelings of the rivalry between Shadyside and Sunnyvale. This last week had been exhausting but she was happy it was over, and she could spend her weekend unwinding. She didn’t need to think about Shadyside and Sunnyvale.

All she wanted to think about was her, Sam, Kate and Simon hanging out on a late Friday afternoon.

She walked out of the school and a breeze lifted a few of her curls and inwardly thanked that she had packed blankets for them. She thought about the homework she’d have to do on Sunday and the three-page assignment for English, before shaking her head and taking out her Walkman from her backpack and drowning out her thoughts.

~~~

Simon was waiting for her, at least 6 shopping bags with him on the ground and he grinned mischievously as she gestured to all the bags.

"Look if we're starting this weekend off with a bang, we're doing it right. I got mini pies, meatballs, weird little vegetable sticks, donuts with that thick icing Kate loves so much, fries with enough oil to clog up our arteries-"

"Did not need that image Simon," Deena interrupted with a shudder.

"-sugar cookies, three different types of Oreos, cupcakes and... a little magic juice," Simon said, wiggling his eyebrows as he opened one of the bags that had a brown paper bag it cheap white wine.

Deena winced at the beverage and Simon straightened up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you don't have to have. I got it because I thought we could all loosen up a little. It’s not heavy shit either but no worries if you don't want, Dee."

His tone was sincere, and she gave him a small smile. Only Kate, Sam and Simon knew about her dad’s drinking problem, and they had been over to her house enough times to see some of the empty beer cans in the bin. While Deena knew that it was her dad’s fault for drinking too much and being passed out on the couch, she couldn’t help but wonder if alcoholism ran in her family.

That last thing she wanted was to be like him.

"Thanks Simon. Now let's carry this to the spot,” she said, and he smiled dopily at her.

They grabbed three bags each and they began to walk away from the supermarket.

"I'm surprised you got off so early. Don't you usually close the store on Fridays after school?"

"Yeah, but my manager loves me so much that when I asked him and flashed my beautiful doe eyes, he told Kristen to do it instead. She looked furious," he giggled, and Deena snorted.

Simon frequently complained about Kristen Jenkins, his other co-worker, who was a nightmare. She did all her work but was always trying to one up him to get employee of the month. While Simon didn't care for the title, he liked seeing his picture on the wall and knew it would only piss if Kristen more of he was overly sweet to her.

"You know she might kill you some day," Deena laughed.

"Not if I get to her first," he said suggestively, and Deena hit him playfully.

"Pervert," she said, and he danced forward, the bags swaying in his hands.

"Nah, just a law-abiding citizen your honour!" he yelled.

They discussed their homework and their other plans for the weekend (Simon was working as usual and Deena knew she would be stuck at home with homework and looking after her brother, Josh). They walked past familiar streets and soon the gravel under their shoes became a steep rocky path as they exited their town. Deena hated this part of the walk, but their destination would be worth it. They took a left into the forest and continued their walk in a comfortable silence.

The path got steeper, and Deena gritted her teeth as she made her last step up, revealing a little patch of grass with the best view of Shadyside. She could see the grocery store, her school and even the Sheriff’s office in the distance.

It was a hidden gem that she had found one night after her dad got home drunk and in a fit of rage, left the house with no idea where to go.

She didn't want to go to any of her friend's houses and at that point, Sam wasn’t her girlfriend yet and she didn’t want to scare her away (even though Sam reassured her a few months later after Deena had confessed that her dad was hardly around). Instead, she ran. Ran to the point where her lungs were burning for air and her shirt stuck to her back with sweat. It was so dark, and she realised she had no idea where she was going. She took lefts and rights before realizing she was in the forest outside of town but eventually saw a light source and kept following it until she got to the small patch of grass that overlooked Shadyside. Deena had stayed there till sunrise, watching the world go from dark to bright and a feeling of calm passed over her as she soaked in the first rays of the day. She had made her way home to find her dad passed out on the couch and Josh still asleep, both unaware that she had been gone for nearly four hours.

She had collapsed onto her bed and slept, her anger seeping away from her bones, but the memory of the sunrise embedded in her memories. She had shown Kate and Simon that spot a week later, and it became a regular hang out for the three of them until Deena started dating Sam a few months later.

Sam had been hesitant at first to go to ‘The Spot’ as Simon had called it but then again, Sam was hesitant with almost everything concerning her budding relationship with Deena.

Deena was hoping that Sam would loosen up over time, but she knew how her mom was…strict, had high expectations and a tight grip on who was in Sam’s social life. Deena hadn’t messed up yet but knowing that Sam could disappear from her life purely because of Sam’s mother was another kind of fear. Deena had met Sam’s mom, who seemed nice enough but hearing about a fight between Sam’s mom and dad, it sounded like her mom was slightly more vicious.

“Deena? You good?” Simon asked and she blinked as she snapped out of her daydream.

“Yeah…sorry. Oh…you set up everything,” she said, raising an eyebrow at the beautiful scene in front of her.

“When you leave a retail employee alone with food that needs to be organized, you can’t expect him to not do anything. I assumed that the two fluffy blankets were for cuddles later and the other was for this picnic, so I took it out. That okay?”

Deena nodded and made herself comfortable and grabbed a mini pizza.

“Perfect Simon. So…how expired are these?” she asked, taking a sniff and Simon stared at her.

“Do you not trust me, Deena?” he gasped dramatically and before she could answer, a familiar voice from behind them yelled.

“If she did, I would be worried!”

Deena grinned as she put down the pizza and stood up to see Kate and Sam walking together. Kate was holding two bottles of apple juice and Sam had a box of cookies in her hand. Sam’s hair was damp from her shower earlier and Kate’s cheeks were a rosy red. They were both in comfy clothes and Deena hugged Kate first before hugging Sam.

“Glad you could make it, Sam,” Deena whispered, and she felt Sam hold her a little tighter.

“Me too. Snuck out the house and everything,” she giggled into her ear, and Deena’s jaw dropped.

“Wait what? Seriously? Damn Samantha sneaking out-?” Deena teased, and Sam grinned.

“Won’t your parents notice you’re gone?” Simon asked as he popped a grape into his mouth before frowning and inspecting the container. “Okay…the grapes might not be good.”

Kate raised an eyebrow and she swiped a grape before her face scrunched in disgust, “Ew no. Oh that’s disgusting. Take it away.”

Simon laughed before taking the grapes and throwing them away into one of the empty carrier bags.

“Uh…not tonight. They both have work and stuff,” Sam said, and Deena detected the hesitance in her voice. She pushed down the urge to ask what the real answer was and sighed in relief when Kate let out a squeal from behind her.

“You are fucking brilliant Simon Kalivoda!” Kate said as she held up a donut with white icing on the top.

Simon gave Deena a triumphant look as Kate bit into the donut and signed in happiness while Deena took Sam’s hand and lead her to the food. The sat down and soon, conversation filled the air in between bites of food.

“Shadyside versus Sunnyvale next week. Yay,” Kate grumbled in between bites of her donut, and Simon looked at her with sympathy.

“At least their cheerleading routines aren’t as good,” he said and at those words, Kate visibly perked up and Deena hid her laugh.

“Damn right,” Kate said, before grabbing a meatball and popping the whole thing into her mouth.

“Okay so here’s what I’m thinking…we graffiti Sunnyvale’s bus!” Simon smiled evilly and Kate smacked him on his head.

“We’re trying to avoid conflict Simon. Not give them a reason to retaliate plus knowing them, they’ll get lawyers involved and all that crap.”

“But they win almost every time!” Simon moaned in frustration, “What’s the point of even having the matches if we already know the outcome?”

Deena heard Sam giggle next to her and she smiled as their conversation continued.

“Does no one think it’s a little weird that their team’s name is the ‘Sunnyvale Devils’?” Sam asked and Deena turned to look at her in surprise.

“Care to elaborate?” Kate asked and Sam sat up a little straighter.

“Well Sunnyvale has all these good things happen to them and it only seems that Shadyside suffers right? Economically and all that.”

As Sam spoke, she opened up the plastic container of cookies and she offered to everyone. Simon bit into one and Deena swore his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he let out a moan of pleasure.

"Stop being so sexual, weirdo!" Kate said and Simon ignored her as he turned to face Kate.

"These are incredible. Did you make them?" he asked and Sam smiled brightly before nodding. "You must give me the recipe, holy shit. It's like there's cocaine in here!"

Everyone laughed before Sam continued.

"It's just strange that between two towns not too far apart from each other, one is thriving economically and the other is suffering."

“Except we have the murders! What's that nickname...'Murder Capital USA'? Yeah that!” Simon chipped in and Kate rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, but that hasn’t happened recently,” Kate argued.

“Not yet!” Simon said lowering his voice eerily and Kate turned back to look at Sam.

“Ignore him. You were saying?”

“Well, it’s strange that they’re the Sunnyvale Devils. Why would they name their team after the devil since they clearly have a blessing from God to thrive,” Sam said snarkily, and Deena grinned, happy that her girlfriend, who usually said things to please everyone else, was allowing herself to loosen up a little.

“I don’t know but they suck and maybe they deserve to have a mascot who is the literal devil,” Kate said proudly.

“A toast to Shadyside!” Simon yelled and Deena gave him a look of confusion.

“How about a toast to friends?” Kate suggested before looking over to Simon. “Y’know, since we have a ninety-nine percent change of losing next week’s game?”

“There’s still the one percent,” Sam said softly, and Deena squeezed her hand.

She loved how optimistic Sam was, even in the shittiest situations. Deena felt like sometimes, Sam was too bright and sunny for her, and that Sam deserved a person just as bright and sunny as her, but Sam eased her worries instantly with a kiss and words of comfort.

Simon took out the cheap wine and raised an eyebrow at Deena, who shook her head.

“You not drinking?” Sam asked and Deena gave her a small nod.

“Okay, so it’s just me, Kate and…Sam, you in?” Simon asked as he lifted an empty cup and Sam smiled at him.

“No thanks. My mom can smell any sort of alcohol a mile away, even if it’s the cheap stuff.”  

“Suit yourself!” Simon said with a shrug, and he held up a bottle of apple juice that Kate had bought. “Would you prefer this?” he asked, and the couple nodded.

The sky was a haze of orange and gold clouds as the sunset and while Deena had witnessed the sunset at The Spot for the last couple months, she never got sick of it. The sun lit up the town and for once, Shadyside’s beauty seemed to nearly be on par with Sunnyvale. Sure, they didn’t have three story mansions or newly painted tennis courts and country clubs, but the weirdly homey feeling of the town was what Deena appreciated. The sunset made her feel like Shadyside wasn’t all bad and that things could get better for her and her family. The feeling that she could come out with Sam as her girlfriend and her dad would stop drinking so much. It made her fantasize of travelling and experiencing life with Sam at her side but knowing that Shadyside was her home.

It gave her five minutes of hope that she needed.

“Cheers to friends!” Kate announced, holding her cup high and they all cheered before downing their drinks.

Simon decided to pretend being drunk as he stumbled around the grass and made dirty jokes while Kate pulled his arm to go explore a part of the forest. Deena knew this was Kate’s way of giving her and Sam some alone time and she inwardly thanked her friend before turning to face Sam, who was glowing from the golden rays of sun on her skin.

“Wow…” Deena whispered, and Sam looked up, a frosted cookie in her mouth.

“Hmm? Did I miss something?” she asked, as she chewed and swallowed.

“No…it’s nothing,” Deena said, before leaning back on her hands. “So…you want to tell me what’s going on with your parents?”

“Ugh, nothing gets past you!” Sam groaned before closing her eyes and turning to face Deena, nibbling on the cookie as she started to speak.

“I think they might be getting a divorce. The fights have gotten worse, and they argue almost every day. It’s like a relief when I wake up to them not fighting. I think they went to see attorneys this evening after work which is why I could sneak out. I…I don’t want to be home waiting for them to tell me that type of news right now.”

Deena winced as Sam's voice broke and Sam buried her head into her hands, silent tears dripping down her cheeks.

“I don’t know what to do, Deena. I saw this coming, but I don’t know what’s going to happen to me if they go through with the divorce. My mom mentioned something about Sunnyvale to my aunt on the phone a few days ago and…and what if I move and if I don't move and stay with my dad...I don't know...what if I have to choose between my parents-?”

Sam broke off and began sobbing and Deena took her into her arms smoothing down her hair. Sam relaxed into Deena's arms and after a few minutes Deena spoke up.

“I’m so sorry, Sam. You still got me, and Simon and Kate and…I’ll do everything I can to help you through this. I promise.”

“You mean that?”

“Yes, every word. I know it's going to be hard but you will always have me.”

Sam sniffed before lifting her head and wiping away her tears.

“Thank you, Deena. That means everything to me,” Sam said before cupping the side of Deena’s face and closing the gap between them.

Deena could feel the butterflies in her stomach and taste the strawberry icing from the biscuit Sam had eaten. She could feel Sam’s growing smile against her lips, and she melted into Sam’s arms.

How had she gotten so lucky?

Deena wasn’t sure how long they kissed but after they came up for air, there was a wolf whistle from behind them and Sam nearly screamed before realizing it was Simon, grinning manically with Kate by his side, a similar grin on her face, holding a polaroid camera.

“God, you scared the daylights out of us!” Deena yelled and Sam chuckled before clearing her voice.

“You guys find anything cool?” she asked, and Kate shook her head.

“Nah. Simon saw a skunk and wanted to chase after it, but I dragged him away before things could get…gross. But…we did get these!”

Kate bounded up to them before presenting them with two polaroid pictures and Deena let out a gasp. It was of the two of them, the Shadyside sunset in the backdrop while their silhouettes were nose to nose. Deena knew that the photo was discreet enough for them to not be recognizable, with her hoodie hiding her hair, but Deena knew that made it even more special to Sam, who couldn't afford her mom finding out that it was two girls close enough to kiss.

Sam was frozen in shock as she stared at her picture before jumping up and hugging Kate and repeating ‘thank you’ repeatedly while Kate just laughed.

Simon sat back down and grabbed a handful of cheesy puffs before smiling at Deena.

“You still think Shadyside is going to lose next week?” she asked, and he hummed before winking at her.

“Who knows? I’m feeling kinda lucky this evening,” he said as she smiled as Sam sat down and wrapped her arms around her, so that her back was against Sam’s chest.

Kate sat down next to Simon, who pouted and glanced in her direction, before rolling her eyes and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“There. That’s all the love I’m feeling tonight,” she said nonchalantly, and Simon only grinned before tackling her, kissing her cheeks and she squealed.

Deena snorted and Sam gasped in surprise before asking, “They’re not together, right? You told me that they weren’t?”

“No, but Simon is overly affectionate, and Kate tolerates it. He’s kissed my cheek a few times before I told him I was lesbian, and he’s backed off ever since to respect my boundaries. Kate describes it as friendly connections, but Simon is convinced that she’s madly in love with him,” Deena explained, and Kate glared at her from the ground as she pushed Simon’s face away from hers.

“Simon! Get off! And no Deena, I’m not madly in love with him!”

“But I have so much love to give Kate!” he complained, his words slightly slurred from Kate's hand being against his cheek.

“Then date one of the cheerleaders I’ve told you about! Or one the football players!” she yelled.

Simon have her a goofy smile before smiling mischievously.

“Nah, none of them would be able to tolerate me the way you do and don’t act like I haven’t caught you staring during cheer practice. You crush on the cheerleaders and football players too!”

Kate’s face flushed and Simon smirked at her before she ruffled his hair.

“Shut up Si-money. You know we’re platonic soulmates.”

That answer seemed to satisfy Simon as he helped her sit up right and he gave her a shit-eating grin.

“Hell yeah! Platonic soulmates! Now that’s something I can do,” he hummed happily, and she rolled her eyes, but her smile was undeniable.

The four of them watched the sky turn lilac with streaks of pink and orange and slowly but surely, the deep navy started to set in. The wind picked up, and soon the blankets were brought out and wrapped around shoulders. Deena and Sam cuddled together, their body heat more than enough, and Simon tried to cuddle with Kate before she scolded him.

“I already let you kiss me, Simon. Don’t push your luck with any skinship!”

“I just don’t want you to catch a cold! It’s called ‘being considerate’ Kate!” he argued back.

Deena tried to keep her laughter in when she looked over to them a few minutes later, with Kate looking grumpy because she was shivering, and watched as Simon wrapped his jacket around her as well as the blanket around them.

“This changes nothing, Simon,” she grumbled.

“Wasn’t planning on changing a thing,” he said, and that answer seemed to make her rest her back against his chest.

The stars came out and the sound of crickets echoed through the air. Deena wanted this moment to last forever. Everything was perfect.

“You going back home tonight?” Deena whispered into Sam’s ear, and she nodded.

“Yeah. Gotta get back before the parents but thankfully dinner is in the fridge, and I can avoid them for the evening by locking myself in my room.”

“You could always come back to my place.”

“You have a project to do plus even if you didn’t, I can’t. I’m visiting my grandparents tomorrow for breakfast and the parents would definitely notice my absence,” she said apologetically.

“You’re right. I should focus on school,” Deena said sarcastically, and Sam rested her chin on Deena’s head.

“I know you’ll create an amazing project.”

“You always have so much faith in me.”

“Why shouldn’t I? You’re Deena Johnson, my sarcastic, moody, intelligent girlfriend and I know you can do it.”

Deena’s heart swelled at the word.

Girlfriend.

She cuddled closer to Sam and watched the sky turn fully to deep navy, the lights from the town the only reason it wasn’t pitch black.

Deena knew they’d have to leave in a few minutes so that Sam could be home before her parents. Kate had mentioned she was babysitting that seven which automatically meant Simon would be accompanying her. Deena knew that Josh would probably be at home under a sheet and doing whatever dorky shit he did online, which left her alone to do work in her room.

She shook away those thoughts and decided to focus on how she was in Sam’s arms, feeling warm and with Simon and Kate, who made her stomach ache from laughter. She chose to focus on the sweetness from Sam's kiss on her tongue and the last glimpse of pale yellow before it vanished under the navy sky. She chose to look at the stars and close her eyes to make a wish, and even though she had grown out of the habit that wishes couldn’t come true no matter how hard you believed, she took the chance.

She could choose happiness now and that was all that mattered to her.

~~~

Thank you so much for reading!

These events take place before Sam's parents get divorced (and all the shit hits the fan) and she moves to Sunnyvale hence the Shadyside cheerleading uniform and all of them attending the same high school.

Kate and Simon are 100% my favourite characters and I adore how goofy Simon is. I definitely headcanon Kate as bi and Simon as pan (literally everyone in Fear Street is queer you cannot argue with me on this!) and I adore their friendship throughout Part One hence PLATONIC SOULMATES EVERYONE. Simon seemed to love hugging people and throwing his arm around other people's shoulders so I made in overly affectionate with Kate in this fic.

Not going to lie, I would love to write a part two for this where Deena is reflecting on this moment while visiting Simon and Kate's graves but that might make me sad soooooo...let me know if you guys would want to read some angst lol.

I also really love Ruby Lane and I might write a whole fic about her because she was definitely my favourite killer in the trilogy! Also Alice and Cindy because those girls were gay as hell and I really did think they were going to kiss at one point.

Anyway, thanks for reading and if you liked it, reblogs and likes are appreciated!

Stay safe, vanilla107 xoxo

[asciendo]

Close Call

Make it Right Series Chapter 21

Jean was the cocky bastard that walked around like he owned the place. Y/N couldn’t stand him so when the time came that you were his sparring partner, you couldn’t wait to teach him a lesson.

Little did the both of you know, that sparring match would be the start of your unexpected relationship with Jean Kirschtein, that will change your life, and the rest of the Scout Regiment forever.

Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/Chapter 4/Chapter 5/Chapter 6/Chapter 7/Chapter 8/Chapter 9/Chapter 10/Chapter 11/Chapter 12/Chapter 13/Chapter 14/Chapter 15/Chapter 16/Chapter 17/Chapter 18/Chapter 20

Tag list:  @empty-glass-full-of-emotion @dai-tsukki-desu @usernamehere91@princess-peaches1 @thestrugglesofateenagedirtbag

Not exactly how it happened with the anime!

Jean cursed as the Beast Titan began throwing rocks at the Scouts. Getting out of here alive seemed like an unlikely ending and his mind drifted to you. "FUCK!" He cursed allowed as Connie watched him with worry. "Jean...we'll get you out of here I promise..." Jean stared at him with confusion, why was Connie only talking about him? They should all get out of there not just him.

"What do you mean me?! We're all getting out of here—"

"Yes but...you're our priority." Sasha whispered as they took cover on top of the Wall. "NO! no one is a priority—we protect each other—why are you doing this to me!?" Jean's voice cracked which caused the others to look at each other. The last thing Jean wanted was his comrades to focus on getting him home safe, and not protecting themselves.

"Jean...you need to get home...that baby...it's a sign of hope for all of us." Armin finished but Jean continued shaking his head. Before he could speak, Mikasa announces that the Armored Titan is approaching. Jean couldn't think straight—he felt immense guilt thinking about his comrades' mentality about all of this, but also longing to return to you...and his child.

Erwinthen instructs the Levi Squad and Hange Squad to take down the Armored Titan. They are to use their Thunder Spears at their discretion.

Their plan is in motion. Eren has transformed and Reiner has spotted him. Armin nods seeing how Reiner charges at Eren, clearly taking the bait.

Eren and Reiner grapple with each other and Eren manages to throw Reiner off of him. As Reiner realizes that he cannot take Eren on by himself, Hange leads their squad and Levi's to attack the Armored Titan. Reiner is surprised, not expecting that they can actually damage him, when Hange and Mikasa fly towards him armed with their new Thunder Spears. The rod-like projectiles impale Reiner in the eyes and then explode, blinding him.

From behind, the rest of Hange and Levi Squads attack, firing their Thunder Spears into the Armored Titan's back and disengaging before they can get caught up in the explosion. Jean shouts that it worked, the armor around Reiner's nape is peeling off. Hange calls for them to attack again to finish him off.

Jean, Connie and Sasha look at each other, their faces drop. They were hesitating. "Do you remember...when Reiner saved me--" Connie began but was squashed by Jean. "That doesn't matter anymore." Jean states heavily and Sasha sighs as well.

Jean rallies them and the three move in to attack with the rest of the Scouts.

Bertholdt has been waiting for Reiner's signal for a while now he is aware that it has been a while since Reiner has transformed. However, Reiner has not signaled him and Bertholdt is worried about his friend's well-being, unaware that the Scout Regiment is currently cheering over having blown Reiner's head off with their Thunder Spears. The nape of the Armored Titan has been blown open with Reiner's partially decapitated body protruding from the back of its neck.

Jean laughed nervously, he didn't know how to feel about the whole thing. Turning to Connie and Sasha, their faces dropped as the realization that they could have killed Reiner. Jean shut his eyes. Despite everything, Reiner was his friend. Reiner always felt like a big brother to everyone that despite everything, he felt for him, especially now.

Suddenly, Reiner's Armored Titan lifts its head and lets out a roar. In a barrel on the quadruped Titan's body, Bertholdt recognizes it as the signal. The Beast Titan picks up the barrel containing Bertholdt and hurls him over the Wall into Shiganshina as Hange calls for their squad to blow Reiner's body to bits. However, Armin quickly deduces that the roar was a signal for Bertholdt and spots the incoming barrel. He warns Hange that they need to get away from Reiner before Bertholdt transforms into the Colossal Titan and blows them all away.

The Scouts retreat from Reiner as Bertholdt prepares to transform, but he spots Reiner's Titan and sees that the body of his friend is exposed. Abandoning the plan, Bertholdt bursts out of the barrel, and uses his ODM gear to reach Reiner, landing on the Armored Titan's shoulder. He discovers that Reiner is still alive, thanks to redistributing his consciousness from his head to his Titan's body as a last resort.

Bertholdt asks Reiner to do something for him, which is to "move a little" and to prepare for the worst if he is unable to comply. Then he approaches the Scouts to finish the fight. Moblit calls out Bertholdt's impending arrival and Hange lays out a strategy to eliminate them both, only for Armin to approach them and ask that they try to negotiate. Armin uses his ODM to rush ahead of Hange and calls out to Bertholdt, asking that they talk this over.

"What do you want?! Can't you see all the destruction you've cost!" Armin yells as Bertholdt stares back at him. The timid Bertholdt they were used to seemed to be long gone now, his eyes were determined, and his demeanor has greatly changed.

"We want Eren." Mikasa growls at this but Bertholdt continues talking. "And the demise of humanity within the walls." Connie's face drops after his statement. Out of all of them, he was having the hardest time accepting that Berhtoldt and Reiner betrayed them.

"At this moment, Annie is being tortured. They say they hear her screams from the other side of the—"

"ENOUGH!" Berhtholdt suddenly yells and the group steps back. "You think I don't know what you're doing?! Mentioning Annie to buy time—so that I'd somehow care. You all think I'm so soft...the truth its...you're all spawns of the devil! I'm NOT going to fall for your tricks or have any regrets about killing you!" Jean heart clenches. Despite everything, he'd still think of Berhtoldt as the timid guy that would have amusing sleeping positions, but now. He felt like he didn't know him at all. He felt even worse thinking about how you would have reacted if you were here.

Suddenly, Mikasa comes flying behind Berhtoldt, ready to strike, but he dodges and suddenly grabs Armin by his collar.

Bertholdt raises his sword as he's about to strike Armin. Jean's breath hitches and he charges towards Bertholdt. Jean slides Between Bertholdts legs and knees him which causes him to release Armin.

Armin is thrown and Jean grabs his arm to drag him back to the roof but suddenly feels a grip on his shoulder and Bertholdt slams him to the ground.

The rest of the group begin to charge but Bertholdt raises his sword and Jean flinches.

"BERTHOLDT! Y/N IS PREGNANT!" Jean's eyes shot open at the mention of your name.

"FUCK IT ARMIN DON'T BRING HER INTO THIS!" Jean yells and he realizes he has tears in his eyes. Jean looks up at Bertholdt who's face drops as well and his eyes looked panicked.

"W-what?" He begins but his sword is still raised above Jean.

"Y/N is pregnant...do you want her to raise the baby on her own?" Armin continues as Jean struggles.

Bertholdt's grip began to loosen on Jean and he sideswept Bertholdt on his back. Bertholdt got up quickly. Bertholdt begins to retreat and Armin attempts to follow. Mikasa warns Armin not to chase him because they do not know when he will transform. Armin is doubtful, believing Bertholdt would not transform now as it would likely kill Reiner, and suggests that they could take Reiner hostage. Mikasa wonders if the person they just saw was really Bertholdt, because he seemed like a completely different person, as he has a plan and was more determined.

Jean places an hand on Armin's shoulder and squeezes. Armin turns to him to see tears streaming down Jean's face.

"T-thank you..." Jean begins and Armin smiles at him.

The events after that were a blur to Jean. After Bertholdt transformed, they were able to take him down but at the expense of Armin. Sasha was injured. He felt like everything was crashing down around him and all he wanted was to see you once more.

Your smile, hear your laugh, feel your skin against his, everything about this world did not make sense, except you.

When Floch came back carrying Erwin and Eren, Mikasa and Levi fought over the syrum, Jean could not believe that they had to choose between Armin and Erwin.

When Armin was given the serum, Jean felt relieved, but also worried about losing their leader.

Despite Zeke and Reiner escaping, what was puzzling Jean was what they discovered in Eren's basement. The true history of their origin and the titans.

Jean slumped after the discovery of their lineage. How they were placed there as somewhat prisoners. Despite all of that, all he could think about was what kind of world they were living in and how it would be for you and his child.

On the way back, the only thing Jean could think of is how he almost died if it weren't for Armin. How he there was a chance he would never get to meet his child.

Connie noticed Jean's silence on the way home and made his way next to him. "Are you all right?" Connie asked and Jean nodded slowly.

"It's...okay if you aren't you know...I'm not..." Jean glanced at Connie whose head was suddenly low.

"I know it's stupid--but Bertholdt...was our friend--"

"Stop it." Jean cut him off and Connie sighed. He almost lost his life because of Bertholdt but Jean couldn't shake the image of Bertholdt's face when he found out you were pregnant. His eyes were shocked and he started to tremble. He cared. He cared about you and Jean hated it. He hated how despite everything, he still felt for Bertholdt because you knew deep down he was important to you and you were important to him...and now he was gone.

As the Scouts made their back in silence, none of them would ever be the same after this, and everything they knew would change forever.

[thicctails]

Summer Of Whump Day 30[Crying/Lashing Out]

Reunited at last!

Omega leaned against a tree, her injured leg lifted off the ground slightly. Despite the pain that radiated from various points on her body, she was buzzing with excitement. Today was the day that they were going to meet up with the rest of the Bad Batch and Rex!

 They were just getting ready to leave, Crosshair going off to hunt something down so that they had extra provisions. Cal was laying down in the soft grass, rays of sunlight shining down on him as he slept. Omega felt a flicker of sadness go through her when she realized that Pillow was missing out on enjoying the planet’s nice warm environment.

 Crosshair had explained that Pillow, for some unexplainable reason, had cocooned himself in crystal. Omega hadn’t believed him at first, but the older clone had carried her back to the ship so that she could see it for herself. She’d spent the better part of half an hour just talking to the hunk of crystal, hoping that Pillow could hear her in there. She couldn’t sense him in the Force, which upset her. Crosshair said that he wouldn’t be in there for very long, but she could tell that he’d only said that to make her feel better. Truth was, nobody knew how long Pillow would be stuck in the shining purple chunk of rock.

 Omega could only hope that he was okay in there.

 “Hey.”

 Omega turned her head, surprised at who she saw.

 Chex shifted nervously, his arm resting in a sling. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, his hair messy and his eyes still holding the remnants of sleep. He looked the way she felt, the two of them having just recently recovered from their fevers. She tilted her head slightly, not exactly sure why he had approached her.

 “I just,” He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, “I wanted to say… that I’m sorry. I was angry and hurting, but that was no excuse to act the way that I did. You’re actually really cool.”

 Omega felt his sincerity and guilt through the Force, and she gave him a half smile.

 “Thanks. You were pretty cool too, taking on that creature by yourself.” She replied. “Just try to avoid swinging that lightsaber at me, and we’ll be good.”

 Chex flushed red in embarrassment. “Yeah, that was one of my stupider moments.”

 “Yes, it was.”

 Chex whirled, gulping when he saw Crosshair standing behind him. The clone glowered at him, his golden-brown eyes narrowing dangerously. A large, furry beast was draped over his shoulder, a trickle of blood dripping down his armored chest. Omega stifled a laugh at the way the padawan visibly seemed to shrink, his shoulders hunching as he tried to make himself seem as small and nonthreatening as possible.

 “So, you’re the one that attacked my adiik.” He growled, and it was as if a thunderstorm had formed inside his chest.

 “Uhhh…” Chex squeaked, somehow becoming even smaller.

 “Crosshair, I think you’re going to give him a heart attack.” Omega giggled.

 “Good.” Crosshair rumbled, still making direct eye contact with the cowering teen.

 Omega rolled her eyes and gave Chex a little shove, causing him to snap out of his terror-induced paralysis and dash away as fast as possible.

 Omega couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst out laughing, her throat still a bit rough from her illness. She wiped at her eyes as Crosshair continued to glare at the retreating padawan, a toothpick clenched in his teeth.

 “You should have left him to cower, it was amusing.” He grumbled, giving her a small smile.

 “Cal’s gonna be so mad! He wanted to see you do that.” Omega wheezed.

“He should have stayed awake, then.” He said simply. “Come on, let’s get going.”

 She waits until Crosshair has woken Cal up before she moves. She limped forward, accepting Crosshair’s arm when he offers it. She knows that, if she asks, he’ll carry her back to the ship, but she wants to try and do it herself. She’s tired of feeling weak.

 Together, the trio made their way back to the ship. Crosshair threw his catch into the cold storage while Cal and Omega strapped in. Omega claimed the co-pilot’s seat, and Cal didn’t have the heart to fight her for the prized seat while she was injured. Resigning himself to a seat farther back, he curled up and went back to sleep, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his chest.

 “Ready?” Crosshair asked, sliding into the pilot’s seat.

 “Ready!” Omega replied enthusiastically.

 Crosshair stared out the windshield with a determined look on his face.

 “Then let’s go home.”

    Hunter paced back and forth, stopping every thirty seconds to listen for the sound of approaching footsteps. He stared out at the open sky, wishing that his sight was as good as his hearing so that he could see if a ship was coming in. Upon seeing nothing and hearing nothing, he resumed his pacing.

 “Hunter, for the love of the Maker, please stop pacing!” Echo groaned, shooting Hunter an annoyed look. “Walking back and forth isn’t going to make them arrive any sooner.”

 Hunter huffed, crossing his arms. “They should have been here by now. What if something went wrong? What if Crosshair’s chip activated again?”

 “It’s been an hour since we got here. Give them some time.” Tech said, but Hunter didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked towards the sky.

 “Ugh, we’ve given them time.” Wrecker, who had been laying on the floor lifting boxes, sat up. “I say we go lookin’ for ‘em.”

 “That could draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. We’re staying put.” Rex replied.

 Hunter opened his mouth to argue, but stopped when a new sound reached his ears.

 Footsteps. One set was steady and calm, one was hesitant, and the other was uneven, like the person was limping. He turned his head, staring directly at the doorway.

 “Someone’s coming. A few someones.” He said in a hushed voice. Hope made his heart rate pick up, but he also knew to be cautious. There was always the possibility that whoever was coming down the hall wasn’t friendly.

 The group rallied around them, and the air was thick with tension. Hands rested on blasters as the footsteps became audible to everyone.

 They waited.

 There was silence for a moment, the approaching people pausing, hesitant to enter the room. Then, a familiar mop of blonde hair appeared from around the corner. Soft, honey-brown eyes locked onto them, and Omega’s star-bright grin lit up the space around them.

 “Omega!” The Bad Batch yelled, running over to her. She had barely stepped forward when Hunter reached her, scooping her up into a tight hug, ever careful not to touch her scarring burns.

 Omega’s face disappeared into Hunter’s neck, her own smooth skin brushing up against his stubble. The scent of damp earth and clean rainfall fills his senses, and Hunter takes a moment to absorb it, to take comfort from the fact that their ad’ika is back in his arms and that she’s alive and okay. Her limbs shake as she wraps her arms around his neck, almost choking him with how tightly she’s holding on. He doesn’t care. Omega is back, and that’s what matters.

 But she’s not the only family member that has returned to them today.

 Still holding onto Omega, he opens his eyes to see Crosshair standing in the door frame. His vod looks… tired. The skin beneath his eyes is dark, and in his cognac brown eyes Hunter sees a frightening mix of bone-deep exhaustion, deep-seeded guilt, and wavering fear, like he doesn’t know if Hunter is going to hug him or strike him.

 “C’mere, Cross’ika.” The nickname is one that he hasn’t used since their early days of life, but it still rolls off his tongue like smooth honey.

 Crosshair stiffens at the name, and Hunter can practically see the shock going through his mind. He hesitantly steps closer, still uncertain of Hunter’s intentions. Once he’s close enough, Hunter grabs his younger brother and pulls him into his chest, wrapping an arm around his back. He shifts Omega in his arm so that she’s still sitting comfortably while he holds Crosshair as close as he can.

 Before Crosshair could even register the sensation of being pulled into a hug, their other vode joined in, practically smothering Omega and Crosshair with affection. Tech wiggled his way close to Hunter’s side, throwing his arms around Crosshair and tucking his face into his shoulder. Echo was closer to Omega, eagerly offering the now teary-eyed girl a hug when she spotted him. And Wrecker? Well, Wrecker used his enhanced size to hug them all.

 Crosshair blinked, the weight of his vode bringing back fuzz-tinted memories of days long gone. He blinked again, feeling the unfamiliar sting of tears prick at the edges of his eyes. He took in a shuddering breath, the fear of rejection slowly bleeding out of him.

 “Welcome back, vod.” It was Echo’s voice this time, kind and heavy with relief.

 “’s good to be back.” He whispered, resting his chin on Hunter’s shoulder.

 Suddenly, there’s a noise. A shifting of feet on a metal floor makes Crosshair pull back, remembering that it wasn’t just him and Omega that had walked down the hall.

 “Cal,” He called, turning back towards the doorway. “come on out, ad’ika.”

 The Batch and Rex, who had come over once he’d realized that someone hadn’t revealed themself yet, peered curiously towards the doorway. Hunter could hear a small heartbeat increase as the hidden figure slowly poked his head out of the shadows. Startlingly green eyes broke the pattern of light browns, the boy glancing nervously at the group. He shuffled in place, looking like he wanted to bolt.

 They stared at him, he stared at them. All was silent.

 “Is that the kid you stole?”

 “TECH!”

 The kid’s face crinkled with amusement when Crosshair smacked Tech upside the head, scowling at him.

 “Yeah, I’m his stolen Jedi kid. Took me out of my jail cell right as I was getting comfortable.” He joked, laughing when Crosshair lightly smacked him on the head.

 “Shush, you little womp rat. If you were stolen by anyone, it was that Jedi.”

 “She would’a gave us back.”

 “Debatable. You and Omega are very likeable.”

 Wrecker laughed at the conversation. “Aw, Crossy’s gone soft.”

 “Wrecker.” Crosshair warned, bristling at the nickname.

 “Crossy?!” Cal, Rex, and Omega asked, trying not to laugh.

 “Do not call me that!” Crosshair snapped, his cheeks burning red.

 “Softie Crossy! Softy Cros- hurk!” Wrecker started to tease, but was cut off when Crosshair gave him a hard shove. The second-oldest clone let out a playful yell and pulled Crosshair down, wrestling with him on the floor.

 “Ori’vod, help me out!” Wrecker yelled, trying to wrangle Crosshair. The younger clone was too slippery, however, and Crosshair soon managed to wrap his legs around Wrecker’s neck, squeezing just enough to cut off most of his airflow.

 Hunter laughed, an actual, full-belly laugh. It had been years since he’d done that!

 “Tech, here,” He said, passing a giggling Omega off to his youngest brother, “hold this.”

 Tech accepted the armful of child, smiling at her and planting a kiss on her forehead. She leaned into him, tucking herself under his chin.

 “Hello, sarad’ika.” He said softly, taking a moment to fully realize the fact that Omega was back, that his inability to protect her hadn’t ended in her demise. “Gar cuyir bid kotir, ad'ika.”

 “Tech,” She whined, wiggling a bit to get comfortable,“I don’t know what that means. You guys need to teach me whatever language you’re speaking.”

 “We will, little one. I was just saying that you’re very brave, even when you were faced with a terrible situation.” Tech said, giving her an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t keep you safe when you needed me to.”

 “It’s okay, Tech. I’m actually glad I got caught. Otherwise, I never would have met Cal.” She said, looking towards the redhead. He was cheering Crosshair on, Echo carefully watching to make sure he didn’t accidentally get dragged into the playful brawl.

 “Ah yes, our surprise addition.” Tech said, turning to look as well. “We’re going to have to build a new bunk.”

 “Me and him can sleep on Crosshair’s ship.” Omega said.

 Tech tightened his hold, almost looking distressed at her suggestion. “No. You aren’t allowed to leave our sight, not again. We can leave that Imperial scrapheap here.”

 “No we can’t! Pillow’s still in his weird cocoon thing.” Omega protested.

 “A… cocoon?” Tech questioned.

 “Yeah. He put himself into a big crystal!” She said, spreading her arms out as if to emphasize how large the object was.

 “An amphibian creating a cocoon is bizarre, but a crystalline one? That’s unheard of.” Tech muttered. “I need to analyze it. Would you like to come with me, or stay here?”

 “Stay with you.” Omega said, tucking herself back underneath Tech’s chin. She didn���t want to be put down, didn’t want to be without contact right now. The Force sang happily around her, pleased by her reuniting with her family.

 Tech chuckled and adjusted her so that he was holding her with one arm.

 “Very well then, let’s go see our crystallized friend.”

[elyvorg]

Here’s an AU with some delicious potential: what if Kokichi had chosen Shuichi for his plan, rather than Kaito?

And, no, despite Kokichi’s decision being the one initial difference in this AU, this really doesn’t significantly change anything for Kokichi himself. He still explains his plan to someone and then ends up just as dead. This is not about him.

Rather, as my illustration suggests, this AU would really be about Kaito, and what’d happen if he were in Shuichi’s position for the events of trial 5. I don’t quite have the focus necessary to write this as a full-on fic, but instead, how about a nice lengthy outline of how this story might unfold?

Daily Life

  -      The initial point-of-no-return at which Kokichi finalised his decision to use Kaito in his plan in canon was after his mastermind reveal, as he captured Kaito with an Exisal. So in this version of events, he’d capture Shuichi instead.

-      Kaito would still get himself knocked out by one of Kokichi’s Exisals, mind you. This might happen exactly like it did in canon out of general anger at Kokichi, before Kokichi then brushes Kaito’s unconscious body aside and grabs Shuichi instead. Alternatively, Kokichi could grab Shuichi first, and so Kaito gets himself knocked out in a desperately reckless effort to save him.

-      As Shuichi is carried away, still conscious but completely powerless in the grip of totally-the-evil-mastermind’s Exisal, worrying about Kaito and despairing over the outside world he just saw, he kind of just shuts down in defeat. Like, literally, to the point that his protagonist status shuts off. (At least, if we want to imagine this AU happening just like the game.)

-      …And the protagonist status switches back on as Kaito as he regains consciousness. He’s immediately panicking over Shuichi being gone, blaming himself and feeling like he’s failed Shuichi yet again. (Given this, I think I prefer the option where Kaito gets knocked out after Shuichi gets grabbed, so that his very first thoughts as the protagonist the second he regains consciousness are worrying about Shuichi.)

-      also the world’s ended apparently and that’s probably something he should be freaking out about too, but the whole Shuichi situation is much more immediately urgent and easier to wrap his head around, so he’s focusing on that

-      Maki manages to convince him not to immediately go recklessly charging after Kokichi. Everyone’s exhausted and mentally drained, and Kaito’s injured on top of that (not to mention sick, she thinks, not that she voices that because she knows he’ll deny it). Right now they just need to try and get some sleep.

-      Which, of course, is something Kaito’s been sick enough to be barely capable of for like the past week. He spends the whole night worrying ferociously about Shuichi and trying to think up some kind of plan to rescue him… but he ultimately accepts that he has no idea what he’s doing and he’s best off getting the others’ input on this, especially Maki’s.

-      He also has plenty of time during the night to actually freak out about the end of the world, and in true Kaito fashion (and exactly like he did in canon), he copes with it by clinging to a completely baseless hope that maybe the world just hasn’t ended. What they saw out there could just be a huge elaborate lie, somehow? That’s the only way this situation wouldn’t be as unbearably awful as it seems – it’s the only way they’d have a reason to not give up – so Kaito’s sticking with that thought.

-      And if that is the case, then he has absolutely no clue how to prove that – but Shuichi would be able to, with his awesome detective skills. That’s all the more reason they need to rescue him as soon as possible, then!

  -      The next morning, Kaito and Maki are already up and about without needing anyone else to prompt them. Both of them, for rather different reasons, are able to not let the despair of the outside world stop them from focusing on the obvious most important task of rescuing Shuichi.

-      Since Kaito’s up, however, he also wants to get the others on board with this, too. He doesn’t like the idea of all of them moping around in despair, not when it’s possible (he has no idea how, but it is, he’s definitely not just baselessly clinging to this in order to cope!) that things aren’t as bad as they seem. And if he can get them focused on helping him rescue Shuichi, that’ll be a nice distraction for them.

-      So Kaito drags everyone to a breakfast briefing that same morning, meaning that the killing game hasn’t gotten boring at all. Which means that Tsumugi doesn’t need to make a Flashback Light to spice things up again. Who needs artificial motivation from that when Kaito’s giving them real motivation? So there’s no Hope’s Peak nonsense at all in this version of events.

-      Kaito’s pep talk manages to convince Himiko and Keebo (and Tsumugi’s act) that maybe things are better than they seem and that they’ll need Shuichi if they’re going to prove this. They all band together for a Shuichi Rescue Operation that looks a lot like the Kaito rescue operation from an alternate universe where Kaito was captured instead.

-      Unfortunately, Himiko, Keebo and Tsumugi didn’t have the presence of mind to charge their Electrohammers last night. Kaito and Maki did, but they’re still only half-charged by now anyway, so it looks like the Shuichi Rescue Operation will have to wait until the next morning for the best chance of success.

-      Maki is still feeling somewhat like murdering Kokichi is their best option because he’s supposedly the mastermind. However, she’s a lot less determined to do so when she hasn’t been brainwashed by any of the hope-must-defeat-despair bullshit from the Flashback Light. That plus Kaito being able to pick up on her intentions and talk her down from it means that, ultimately, she decides against it. Letting Kaito run around did exactly the opposite of making the killing game start up again – funny, that.

  -      While they’re waiting, for the sake of feeling like he’s doing something and not just wasting his very-limited time, and because he’s still just incredibly worried, Kaito goes to the hangar in the hopes of checking on and maybe being able to talk to Shuichi.

-      (He still kind of feels like a huge failure about letting Shuichi get captured in the first place and not even being able to rescue him without everyone else’s help. But then again, there’s still something Kaito can do for him, right? Anyone, even a hero as awesome as Shuichi, would be feeling lost and needing some encouragement after what they all saw outside, and Kaito can at least do that for him, if nothing else. Maybe heroes aren’t completely invincible after all.)

-      Shuichi has indeed just been listlessly in despair since he found himself in the hangar’s bathroom. But hearing Kaito’s voice calling out to him, seeing that familiar bright grin, having Kaito tell him with what sounds like complete conviction that the outside world might just not be destroyed, and you’re the one who can prove it, and that’s why we’re all coming to rescue you tomorrow morning… that really, really helps perk Shuichi up again. Kaito is the best luminary.

-      Several other parts of that conversation go roughly as they do when they’re on opposite sides of that window. Kaito’s health is fine of course why is Shuichi even asking; and meanwhile Shuichi bringing up Gonta just prompts Kaito to praise Shuichi and tell him even more how awesome he is and how everyone’s relying on him. They are friends.

  -      One way or another, Kokichi has got wind of the fact that everyone’s coming to rescue Shuichi the next morning, meaning that tonight is the last chance he realistically has for his plan to go down. So, even though Maki does not enter the hangar to try to murder Kokichi and nobody gets shot with any poisoned arrows, Kokichi tells Shuichi the plan and gets him to carry it out that night.

-      (Honestly, it’s not completely certain whether Shuichi would agree to the plan given that he has none of the desperate-to-be-a-hero motives that Kaito did. That’s got to be why Kokichi chose Kaito in canon despite the million other reasons why that version of the plan would obviously fail. But for the sake of making this AU an interesting story, let’s assume Shuichi goes through with it. It was definitely always possible that he would.)

-      So, the next morning, with Kaito rallying everyone into high spirits as they all charge into the hangar to rescue Shuichi…

-      …Kaito is abruptly confronted with a familiar pinstriped sleeve sticking out of the hydraulic press amidst an enormous pool of blood.

  Deadly Life

-      Everyone else, even Maki, immediately assumes that Kokichi murdered Shuichi. They were all relying on Shuichi to solve the mystery and properly end their reasons to despair; of course Kokichi, the evil sadistic mastermind who enjoys their suffering, would have killed him horribly like this before they could rescue him, all to make them suffer even more. It just makes sense. Plus, Kokichi’s the mastermind and the killing game’s still going, so how could he be the one who’s dead?

-      Kaito is having none of it. Shuichi’s gotta still be alive somehow. It’s Shuichi! He’s bound to have pulled off some super-clever trick to escape this and already secretly be in the process of figuring out the killing game and ending it all, right? That’s exactly what Shuichi’s always been good at! Don’t they all want to believe in Shuichi like this?

-      Someone points out that if Shuichi is alive, then wouldn’t that mean he’s probably the one who killed Kokichi? And nope, Kaito’s also not having any of that. Shuichi’s obviously not the type to kill anyone; can’t they all see that!? (But then again, Kaede and Kirumi and Gonta weren’t either, and yet, in an attempt to save everyone… And Shuichi’s always cared about saving everyone, hasn’t he?)

-      (But no, that still can’t be true, because if it were that’d mean Kaito would have to watch Shuichi being executed and still have failed to protect him, and NOPE nope nope. Shuichi is somehow alive and also not the blackened, that’s definitely possible, it has to be.)

-      Also let me please stop and remind everyone that Shuichi is not at all dead and is hiding inside the red Exisal in the hangar, hearing the pain Kaito is in over this and feeling thoroughly responsible. Still, it lifts his spirits at least a little to hear that Kaito really does want to believe in him this much!

-      Maki tries to tell Kaito that he’s behaving exactly how he was in Gonta’s trial and that simply believing in something won’t get him anywhere. Kaito probably responds to this by getting more riled up and angry, which only kind of proves her point. And he knows that’s what he’s doing, but he can’t stop himself.

-      (Shuichi can’t be dead. All of Kaito’s words and encouragement to him would mean nothing if Shuichi just died anyway because Kaito was still too useless to save him. He’d be nothing but a failure as a hero, just like Gonta’s trial had already proven he was, except worse. Kaito can’t have failed Shuichi this badly. He just can’t.)

-      Himiko, Keebo and Tsumugi start to comment because of all this that maybe Kaito really is just too naïve to accept the truth; maybe they should never have listened to him trying to insist that the outside world isn’t dead when they saw it with their own eyes. Maybe there really is nothing at all to hope for in this situation at all.

-      This does not help Kaito’s mood.

-      Kaito ends up snapping that, fine, if they’re all just gonna give up on Shuichi like that, then he’s gonna do this investigation himself and prove that he’s right about this, dammit!

-      Kaito begins a very pointedly determined investigation – look, guys, he’s not giving up on Shuichi – but… who the hell is he trying to kid? He’s always been terrible at these things. Shuichi was the one who could do all of this, could look at all these random clues and somehow just know what everything meant and piece it all together like magic. Not Kaito.

-      (which also gets him caught up in thinking about what if Shuichi really is gone – not only does that mean Kaito’s a horrible failure, but it also means everyone else is screwed and never going to get out of here because they need Shuichi for things like this)

-      (but no he’s not thinking about that; he’s not worrying about anything, because Shuichi’s definitely alive and spotless and he’s going to prove it)

  -      After Kaito’s spent several minutes wandering around the hangar staring fervently at things and not really taking any of it in (because his mind’s too caught up in warring with himself over how dead Shuichi definitely isn’t to focus properly), Maki approaches him.

-      (Maki is able to be a lot more level-headed and rational here than she is at this point in canon, because she didn’t break into the hangar and accidentally murder someone she cares about last night.)

-      Awkwardly, without looking Kaito in the eye, she mentions that if he wants an investigation partner, she’s here.

-      Kaito can’t help but stare at her kind of bitterly. He thought she was perfectly willing to give up on Shuichi and assume he’s dead, wasn’t she?

-      Maki still thinks that’s the most likely scenario, but… Kaito’s right. She wants to believe Shuichi could still be alive. So maybe, if she investigates with Kaito, he can help her find a way to believe that it could be possible after all.

-      Something within Kaito hears he can help her and latches onto it without another thought. He manages a grin from somewhere, and with a “Why didn’t you say so sooner, Maki Roll!?”, they’re investigating together.

-      Maki is, of course, doing the majority of the observations and deductions, while Kaito is mostly just cheering her on and praising her (specifically whenever her observations manage to have a vaguely positive outlook about Shuichi’s possible survival). There’s something comfortingly familiar about it all.

  -      On Maki’s end… she still isn’t actually sure if she can truly believe Shuichi is alive. That’s not really why she approached Kaito. She did it because she couldn’t stand seeing how much he’s suffering and how alone he feels with it.

-      Really, she’s grimly expecting this whole mess will end with Kaito being forced to face the agonising truth that Shuichi really is gone – but she can’t bear the thought of him having to face that alone. She’s hoping that being there with him during the investigation and trial might mean he’ll be more willing to accept her support when the time comes.

-      Obviously she can’t tell him that, though. He’s in a fragile and volatile enough state as it is, and she saw what he got like towards the end of Gonta’s trial. Telling him that she’s trying to help him at all is a bad move, never mind that she’s specifically trying to help him accept the truth that he’s still refusing to acknowledge could even be true.

-      So, really, the only reason Maki’s saying she wants to believe in Shuichi being alive is because she knows it’s the only way she can approach Kaito right now without him pushing her away.

-      Even so… it’s not a lie. Maki does want to believe Shuichi is alive. She doesn’t want to lose another friend. She’d never have bothered to say it if not to get Kaito to listen to her, because what she wants has never mattered next to the uncaring reality she’s always been stuck in, but… it’s true.

-      And… it really does matter to Kaito, doesn’t it? Not only that he wants Shuichi to be alive, but also – he’s grinning at her and encouraging her every time she observes that something doesn’t necessarily indicate Shuichi’s dead, because her wanting Shuichi to be alive matters to him. And she can tell it’s not just in the sense of having someone agree with his desperate denial, either. Kaito really cares about the fact that she’s not giving up.

-      So, while she’s determined to be there for Kaito if the worst does come to pass… maybe Maki really won’t give up on Shuichi, not just yet.

-      It’s not exactly the reason she actually turned to him, but Kaito is helping her believe that the impossible could be possible all the same. He’s so good at that. It really would be nice if she could see Shuichi again and they could train together like before, all three of them, wouldn’t it?

-      It’d hurt so bad if she turned out to be wrong, but – it’d hurt Kaito even more, and yet he’s still willing to take that risk. To him, that’s infinitely better than just giving up and accepting defeat from the start. Maybe it does make some kind of sense, in that ridiculous, reckless Kaito way, for her to hold onto what she wants and fight for it despite the whole world being against her.

  -      During the investigation, Kaito picks up a small handful of Truth Bullets based on Maki’s observations. But also, towards the end, despite still not having found anything conclusive pointing to Shuichi being alive, Kaito reaffirms in his head how definitely alive he is anyway and gains a final Truth Bullet called “Shuichi’s Survival”. It’s very clearly not actually based in any evidence and is just fuelled by Kaito’s desperate insistence that this is totally the truth, with a description something like, “Shuichi is alive somehow. He’s just gotta be.”

-      Monokuma announces that the trial’s about to start and makes a pointed comment about how everyone has to be there. Maki observes that he’s talking about the unidentified survivor, and Kaito’s spirits lift. Shuichi’ll be there in the trial! Of course he will; why did Kaito never think of that before!? He’ll help everyone figure out this whole mess!

-      (But… why isn’t Shuichi already showing up to help them, if he’s alive? That’s what he’d obviously do. Kokichi hiding from them makes perfect sense, but, not…)

-      (But no, it’s fine. Shuichi’s gotta be alive and Kaito’s not gonna think about anything else.)

  Class Trial

  -      Shuichi still isn’t there in the trial. Monokuma is hiding him behind the scenes, spouting some nonsense about a “unique opportunity” to keep things mysterious. Shuichi’s podium contains a death portrait with a question mark on it, which Kaito finds to be in incredibly bad taste when Monokuma knows full well that Shuichi is obviously alive, dammit.

-      Things feel weird and wrong and kind of awkwardly aimless without Shuichi there to lead the discussion and know how to solve things. Still, Kaito does his best to keep everyone on the same page like he always does, and Maki isn’t doing a bad job at all of filling the gap left by Shuichi in terms of being the most logical voice in the room.

-      In every single Nonstop Debate, “Shuichi’s Survival” is one of the available Truth Bullets. It is never the correct answer, of course – but if you fire it anyway, there’s specific failure dialogue for it in which Kaito desperately baselessly insists Shuichi must be alive somehow. The others – even sometimes Maki – respond in a way that indicates they’re gradually losing faith in Kaito’s ability to approach this rationally, which of course takes a chunk out of his Influence gauge.

  The Exisal

-      After a few minutes of inconclusive discussion over whether Shuichi’s sleeve being in the press proves he’s under there or not, Monokuma realises they aren’t getting anywhere interesting and decides to bring out the survivor to spice things up.

-      Kaito is relieved that finally they’re gonna see Shuichi again and this trial can get back to feeling like normal. He definitely isn’t even a little bit terrified of any other possibility, because there is no other possibility.

-      In walks not a person but an Exisal, and Kaito marvels that, man, Shuichi’s really going for style points here, huh—

-      —and then everything falls apart as the Exisal speaks, taunting them in what is very unmistakably Kokichi’s voice.

-      Kokichi is alive. And if that’s the case, then, doesn’t that mean… the victim has to be…?

-      (And why does Kokichi have the gall to taunt them while referencing a Frank Sinatra song that Kaito happens to like? Geez, he can’t even sing it right, the annoying moron.)

-      Kaito furiously demands for Kokichi to show his face and stop hiding like a coward (like a murderer, like the person who murdered Shuichi—)

-      (…In amongst his desperate totally-not-deflecting fury, though, Kaito can’t help but also notice that there’s something weird about Kokichi here. Well, Kokichi’s always weird, but something about this is weird for Kokichi.)

-      Exisal Kokichi claims that he can’t open the cockpit because “that horrible assassin over there” would kill him if he did. Scowling at hearing Maki called that, Kaito is sure she wouldn’t – but it does kinda make sense that Kokichi might assume she would and want to protect himself. He is the mastermind, after all. (Isn’t he?) Hiding like this is the kind of cowardly thing that fits Kokichi – and the mastermind – perfectly well. (That’s not the weird part, but something’s still definitely weird.)

-      Wait, but… if he won’t show his face, they don’t know that it’s really Kokichi, right? Then maybe…! – but someone else points out that, even so, it’s obviously his voice coming from the Exisal.

-      Kaito is stumped for a moment, until he suggests, utterly grasping at straws, that maybe… maybe the Exisal has like a voice changer or something???

-      At this, Monokuma suddenly pipes up to confirm that, actually, Kaito is right on the money, the Exisals do in fact have voice changers!

-      Everyone is rather bewildered that Monokuma would just offer that suspiciously-convenient information up so readily… but then again, Monokuma never lies about information for a case. So it must be true, then?

-      Exisal Kokichi sighs and switches to Exisal Shuichi for a single line to tell them that, true, the Exisal does have a voice changer, but that alone isn’t enough evidence to prove or disprove anything about who’s inside it. Then he switches back to Kokichi and seems very gleeful about everyone’s reactions to hearing Shuichi’s voice – especially Kaito’s.

-      Someone looks at Kaito and asks, even though he was right about the voice changer, is he really going to try and suggest that Shuichi is somehow in there and just pretending to be Kokichi for some reason?

-      It does make way more sense that this was just Kokichi taking the opportunity to cruelly mess with them – but still. (And if it is Shuichi in there, why would he be deceiving them like this?)

-      Kaito settles on the stance of “I dunno, I’m just saying it’s possible that Shuichi’s still alive, okay!?” because hell if he has any idea how to actually prove anything from this, but it’s something that he can hold onto.

-      With that – with everyone else assuming this is still just Kaito being in denial – they all drop the voice changer subject, and Exisal Shuichi is never heard from again.

  The video

-      Apparently quite eager to move on from talking about the voice changer, Exisal Kokichi brings out the video to prove that it’s definitely him in here anyway.

-      Kaito is, uh. Not Happy. at seeing the moment Shuichi was apparently horribly crushed to death. But even this, and even Exisal Kokichi asserting that the video couldn’t have been edited, is still no match for Kaito’s powers of desperate baseless optimism and never giving up no matter how impossible things seem.

-      In the debate about the video, shooting “Shuichi’s Survival” gets not just failure dialogue but an entire back route in which Exisal Kokichi taunts Kaito about his denial and how gruesomely Shuichi was killed. This is much like the back route in canon, except instead of taunting that it’s hard to believe a “smug idiot like Kaito” got squished, Exisal Kokichi says it’s hard to believe that happened to an “invincible hero like Shuichi”. Oops, looks like he wasn’t so invincible after all! (Shuichi was probably rather bewildered when he saw himself described like this in the script.)

-      (this version of the back route also has no nonsense like Kaito internally claiming his emotional reaction to this is a lie, because it sure freaking isn’t (just like it made no sense for Shuichi’s to be either, grumble))

-      Of course, the actual way through this debate is pointing out the press’s safety function. When the others conclude that this just means Shuichi was killed beforehand, Kaito argues that, sure he’s not moving and it’s too far away to tell if he’s breathing or not, but Shuichi doesn’t look dead in the video before the press descends!!!

-      Maki informs him that there are any number of ways Kokichi could have killed Shuichi such that it didn’t leave a mark on his body that would be visible in that video. She shrinks a little at Kaito’s betrayed look at her when she points this out. She’s just saying that it would have been possible and so his argument doesn’t prove anything, that’s all.

-      Meanwhile, Kaito still can’t stop being hung up on the fact that Kokichi’s acting weird. Not in the sense that showing a video that apparently proves him guilty is weird – or, well, that too – but there’s something else, something about the way he’s talking, that Kaito can’t quite put his finger on.

-      (Shuichi’s people-understanding skills aren’t as sharp as Kaito’s, and so his acting skills aren’t either. He’s doing his best, but the fact is that he’s just not quite as good at pretending to be Kokichi as Kaito is – and even Kaito wasn’t perfect at it. Meanwhile, Kaito’s people-reading skills are top-notch, albeit in a very intuitive way that doesn’t have any conscious reasoning behind it. So, without realising it, he’s starting to pick up on the ways in which Shuichi’s acting is just a little bit off.)

  The other suspects

-      Kaito insists that they can’t just give up and assume Shuichi is dead this easily, so he keeps pushing them to think of other possibilities. One thing that’s at least a little worth discussing – not that Kaito’s super happy about this either but it’s better than the alternative – is whether one of the five of them could be a suspect.

-      Like in canon, Himiko still wandered towards the hangar and had a brief chat with Shuichi, although nothing much came of it (no crossbow delivery request). Keebo went there later to try in vain to talk Kokichi down. And, of course, Kaito also visited the hangar to talk to Shuichi that afternoon. So there’s a slight chance that one of the three of them could be the culprit.

-      Perhaps someone (definitely not Maki, and especially not Exisal Kokichi) suggests the idea that, of those three, if it really was one of them, isn’t Kaito actually the most likely to have killed Shuichi? He’d had that whole falling out with him – so maybe he was still so angry with Shuichi about Gonta’s trial that things got out of hand?

-      Kaito is horrified that it could even cross anyone’s mind that he’d ever do that to Shuichi, that he’d ever even still be angry at him after he’d calmed down from the lashing out during Gonta’s trial that he never should have done.

-      (And wait, did they all think he was still angry at Shuichi in the following days, and that was why he couldn’t face him? Is that what Shuichi thought was going on and why he didn’t ever try to talk to Kaito? Geez, Kaito really messed up so bad with that whole thing, didn’t he.)

-      Kaito asserts that obviously he’d never hurt Shuichi – and besides, when he went to the hangar yesterday to talk to Shuichi, he made up with him! Things are good between them now! (Emphasis on the present tense, of course.)

-      This is the first Maki’s heard of this – Kaito wasn’t exactly in the mood to mention it until now and she didn’t want to ask. She makes sure Kaito knows that she’s glad to hear that; Kaito confirms it with a grin and probably apologises for worrying her with the whole thing and definitely isn’t at all thinking about how little this will end up meaning if Shuichi is actually dead. (Though Maki is relieved that, if Shuichi does turn out to be dead, at least this’ll make things a bit less painful for Kaito than they would have been if he hadn’t made up with him at all.)

-      Exisal Kokichi is probably pretty quiet during this whole discussion, because I kinda doubt Kokichi would have predicted this topic and scripted any lines for it, and Shuichi very much does not trust himself to convincingly ad-lib about this.

-      Kaito glances at the silent Exisal and muses that wouldn’t Kokichi normally be spouting some of his usual bullshit about how you can’t trust anyone right now? He was quite happy to jump on the idea that Kaito could have been the culprit last case. Huh. Huh.

-      (Or, alternatively, maybe Kokichi did script something for this. In that case, either Shuichi decides that no he is not reciting that bit because it’s not worth it to hurt Kaito even more, or he does recite it and instead Kaito picks up on Exisal Kokichi sounding slightly off yet again.)

-      Ultimately, whoever half-heartedly accused Kaito drops it. They didn’t even really want to think he did it and just suggested it because, well, it was Kaito who insisted they try to think of other possibilities. But in the end, there just isn’t any evidence that anyone except Shuichi and Kokichi ever went into the hangar itself.

  Kaito is (not) fine

-      At some point during the trial, Kaito would definitely end up coughing up blood. It’s late enough into his illness that this’d be a pretty frequent occurrence by now, and in a class trial situation, he’s forced to spend hours around everyone else without any chance to quickly go cough his guts out where they can’t see. He’d hold out for as long as he could, but at some point he wouldn’t be able to any more.

-      Everyone else reacts with frantic concern – they knew he was still sick; he should have been letting them help him! – which Kaito desperately tries to brush off. They’re in the middle of a trial, dammit; they don’t have time to be worrying about him right now! This isn’t a big deal; he can handle it!

-      …And, to be fair, he can. He’s been in so much pain this whole time and just carrying on like it’s nothing, because he has to, especially right now. They really unfortunately don’t have time to be giving Kaito medical treatment when Monokuma refuses to let anyone leave their podiums until the trial’s over. So Kaito’s just going to casually continue the trial with flecks of blood all over his shirt like it’s nothing while stubbornly ignoring the worried looks everyone keeps giving him.

-      Exisal Kokichi joins in with this conversation to taunt Kaito about how pathetic he is and how much he’s been hiding from everyone. Because this would very definitely be something Kokichi predicted and put in the script.

-      Shuichi was probably rather alarmed when he saw the “here’s how to react to Kaito coughing up blood” section in the script last night. Part of him was hoping this was Kokichi exaggerating to mess with him, but, nope, he had to use it after all.

-      Even so, seeing Kaito in so much pain, realising that he really has still been so sick this whole time, makes Shuichi desperately worried enough that it’s rather hard to put on the Kokichi act and pretend to be callously gleeful about the whole thing.

-      And… Kaito notices. Even through his pain, he can tell that there’s something really obviously off about the way Kokichi’s taunting him. It’s not the words – the phrasing is still exactly like Kokichi. And of course it’s still technically Kokichi’s voice. But the intonation just sounds all wrong.

-      This isn’t how Kokichi would say this stuff at all. Heck, it’s never sounded quite like him this entire time – but this time stands out even more than the rest. Kaito still can’t put his finger on why not; he just has a hunch.

-      (The others haven’t noticed anything at all. Maybe they’re too busy worrying about him to see, or maybe they just aren’t as good at picking up on this kind of thing.)

-      Kaito’s sure of it now. That’s not Kokichi in there.

-      And if it’s not Kokichi, there’s only one person it could be…!

-      In that instant, “Shuichi’s Survival” gets updated in the Monopad. The description of it now reads, “Shuichi’s definitely alive! It’s him inside that Exisal! I’m positive!”

-      Kaito has no freaking clue how this could be possible, but that doesn’t matter, because he knows he’s onto something here. His hunches are never wrong.

-      He hasn’t said a word about this to anyone else, though. No matter how much he knows he’s right, hunches aren’t evidence in a class trial. They wouldn’t listen; they’d just assume it’s baseless wishful thinking. Which, to be fair, it really kind of was up until now – but not any more.

-      (The others don’t even seem to have noticed him having this revelation, either, probably because it happened while he was still doubled over in pain from his coughing fit and they were too focused on worrying about that.)

  The truth

-      Kaito almost tells them that he’s sure Shuichi is alive anyway, if only for Maki’s sake – he was trying to help her believe this, and surely at least she would trust his judgement?

-      But he doesn’t quite yet. Something tells him he needs to figure this out better before he goes blurting anything out. It’s definitely Shuichi in there, but, never mind the how of it – why?

-      If Shuichi’s in that Exisal, not only is he alive, but he wants them to think he’s Kokichi. He wants them to think that Kokichi killed him. Why the hell?

-      And, wait, if Kokichi having killed Shuichi isn’t the truth (and Kaito finally genuinely believes that it isn’t and is no longer just desperately running away from that apparent fact), then, doesn’t that mean that Shuichi killed Kokichi?

-      The only other option would be that Shuichi is trying to protect the real person who killed Kokichi – that might make some kind of sense – but Kaito’s also sure at this point in the trial that nobody else in the room is hiding anything.

-      The only one who’s hiding something is Shuichi. The only one who makes any sense as the culprit in this case is Shuichi, and he’s trying to get away with it.

-      At this point, Kaito is having an outwardly horrified enough reaction that Maki does notice that he’s realised something bad, and she asks him what’s wrong. (Completely oblivious to what he’s thinking about, she’s starting to worry that this is reaching the point where Kaito begins to face the painful reality that Shuichi really is gone.)

-      Kaito brushes her off and insists it’s nothing important. His stomach just still hurts pretty bad, that’s all. (Which, to be fair, isn’t exactly a lie.)

-      He can’t tell her yet; it doesn’t make sense yet.

-      Shuichi would never be trying to get away with his crime and get everyone killed; that’s just not possible. The only reason he’d ever want to do that might be something like the reason Gonta had, but that’s not relevant now they’ve all seen the outside (which is still definitely not the truth) anyway.

-      Hell, Shuichi wouldn’t even kill someone without a very, very good reason. Not even Kokichi, the mastermind, because he’d never want to repeat Kaede’s mistake.

-      (Though, wait, if Kokichi’s really the victim and the game’s still going, is he even actually the mastermind? …Whatever; that doesn’t matter right now.)

-      Kaede, Kirumi and Gonta all killed someone, too – but that never meant that Kaito was wrong to believe in them. They were still exactly the people he always knew they were. They only killed because they had reasons Kaito couldn’t have known at the time that made them genuinely believe they were doing it to save everyone.

-      So that has to be why Shuichi’s doing this, too. Kaito has no idea how, but it has to be. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.

-      The others were mistaken or misguided in their belief that this would save everyone, but… if anyone would ever be right about it, surely it’d be Shuichi? He’s always known what to do. He’s always known how to save everyone.

-      Kaito believes in Shuichi, more than anything. Not just that he’s a good person even despite being a murderer, but that he’s an amazing hero who’s going to save them all. Kaito doesn’t have a clue why or how Shuichi pretending to be Kokichi and convincing them all Kokichi is the blackened is going to save everyone – but he doesn’t need to. If Shuichi wants this to happen, that’s what’s gotta happen.

-      Everything makes sense now – at least, as much as Kaito needs it to – but he’s still not going to tell Maki what he’s realised. He can’t.

-      (He won’t let Shuichi down again. Not this time.)

  The lie

-      During Kaito’s big internal epiphany, the others have been continuing the discussion, but they haven’t exactly been getting anywhere. There’s just so little to talk about.

-      Exisal Kokichi has kept chipping in to taunt them about how ambiguous everything is; maybe he did it, maybe he didn’t, you idiots don’t have a clue! – and Kaito can tell now, now that he knows and is looking out for it, that every single word of this is clearly not the real Kokichi.

-      Part of the reason the trial has ground to a halt is because Kaito’s been so quiet. Despite his lack of conclusive arguments, he’s still been one of the biggest driving forces of the discussion this whole time. So Maki prods him to speak up again, asking him what he’s been thinking about.

-      (Some tiny part of her is hoping that he’s somehow figured out some impossible Kaito miracle that proves Shuichi really is alive. But… he hasn’t, has he? That was always too much to hope for. It makes far more sense that his silence is just because he can no longer deny the inescapable truth of Shuichi’s death and doesn’t know how to cope with it. So really, this is her trying to gently coax him into facing it at last.)

-      With Kaito still silent, things suddenly shift into a Nonstop Debate. Everyone prompts Kaito to say something, explaining that they still haven’t been getting anywhere without him and asking if he has any more ideas. The debate rounds out with Exisal Kokichi, taunting that of course Kaito doesn’t have a clue; he needs to just face reality already, because there’s not a single shred of conclusive proof that Shuichi’s even alive!

-      Both of those bolded statements are agree spots. The correct way through this debate is to take “Shuichi’s Survival”, turn it into a Lie Bullet, and fire “Shuichi’s Death” at Exisal Kokichi’s statement.

-      There… there really isn’t, is there? Everyone’s been working so hard to try and prove it this whole time, but… they’ve found nothing. And he can’t think of a damn thing either, despite how badly he wants to believe it. Damn it… does that… does that really mean…?

-      …It isn’t even that hard for Kaito to act out his reaction to finally accepting Shuichi’s death. We know he’s a good actor when he needs to be – and here, he’d be playing himself, in a state of mind that he’s been this close to genuinely falling into for the past several hours. His act is very convincing, and nobody else in the room is a good enough people-reader to see through it.

-      Even Maki completely buys it. While she’s been trying to hope for a better outcome, this whole time she’s still been expecting that this is how things would end for Kaito. This is what she always assumed his long silence was about. Rather than question it, or try to be the one to encourage him not to give up, Maki just wants to support him through it.

-      She reaches out to him, telling him that she’s so sorry, that she hates it too, that she’s here for him. Kaito just mumbles something about how they don’t have time to worry about him now when they still need to finish the trial.

-      (Kaito’s not sure he could quite convincingly act out actively grieving for someone he knows isn’t actually dead, so he’s trying to make it look like he’s basically accepted it but is putting off the grieving part until the trial’s over. That’s something that a lot of people have been doing in this killing game, so it’s a pretty convincing lie to tell.)

-      But there’s one person who doesn’t buy it: Shuichi. It’s not that he can tell that Kaito’s acting is fake – it’s that he can’t believe that Kaito would ever, ever just give up on him like this without seeing absolutely conclusive proof that he’s dead. It’s easier for Maki to accept that, because giving up is so instinctive to her that she doesn’t quite grasp how completely impossible it is for Kaito – but Shuichi is certain that Kaito never, ever would.

-      So in this moment, it hits him all at once – Kaito knows. He’s putting on an act to help Shuichi succeed, even though he can’t possibly understand why Shuichi would even want them to get it wrong when that’d usually get them all killed. Kaito really does believe in him that much, huh?

-      (did you know: they are FRIENDS.)

-      Despite Kaito saying they need to finish the trial, there really isn’t much else left to do. Without being able to discuss the idea that Shuichi could be alive, what happened really does seem obvious. Kaito – the fake Kaito who’s accepted Shuichi’s death – still believes in everyone else enough to be sure that none of them would have ever wanted to kill Shuichi, so there’s only one possible culprit. Kokichi must have killed him to make them all suffer, just like they thought from the start.

-      Possibly some of the others muse that it’s still weird that Kokichi being the culprit is so obvious an answer. In a quick ad-lib, Kaito claims that Kokichi figured they’d be so utterly lost without Shuichi that he wouldn’t even need to bother hiding his crime to get away with it. But Kokichi underestimated them! There’s still plenty they can do if they work together! He killed Shuichi to try and make them fall apart and suspect each other, but they’ll show him that they’re not gonna let that happen! Which still is very convincingly Kaito, trying to keep a positive outlook and encourage everyone else despite being the one in the most pain himself.

-      It crosses Kaito’s mind, now that he’s no longer in desperate denial over Shuichi being possibly dead, that killing someone just to make everyone suffer doesn’t even really make sense to him as something Kokichi would do, actually – but of course he stays quiet about it. He sticks to some very convincing fake glares at the Exisal, knowing full well that he’s actually glaring at a Shuichi who is currently being the most awesome.

-      There are probably scripted reactions to Kaito accepting that Kokichi totally killed Shuichi. Shuichi’s recital of them might just be off in such a way that Kaito starts to suspect that Shuichi has realised he knows. That’s okay, though, so long as they can both keep up the act for everyone else. Even though they can’t directly communicate at all, even though Kaito doesn’t even understand why Shuichi’s doing this, they’re a team.

  The reveal

-      Ultimately, despite Monokuma asking them more times than usual if they’re really sure they’re decided on the culprit, not much more of note happens before they go to the vote.

-      Everyone is a little surprised to see that even Kokichi voted for himself. Except Kaito, who claims that Kokichi had just seen how they’d all beaten him and given up! …Which, of course, is not at all the reason Kaito is not surprised.

-      They turn to Monokuma to wait for him to announce the blackened. This has to be it, right here – the moment Shuichi blows everyone away with whatever awesome plan he’s been fighting for this whole time.

-      (…right?)

-      After a longer-than-usual post-voting pause as Monokuma just stares at the still-silent and unmoving Exisal…

-      “You’re absolutely right! The blackened in this case is Kokichi Oma!” – and Kaito’s heart stops—

-      …only to start again a second later as he hears a gloriously familiar “No, that’s wrong!”

-      Everyone stares in disbelief as Shuichi emerges from the Exisal. Except Kaito, who can’t help but blurt out “I knew it!” in triumphant relief, causing everyone else’s bewildered stares to shift from Shuichi to him.

-      Shuichi, of course, isn’t bewildered at all. As his protagonist status switches back on, the first thought we hear from him for half a chapter is, Thank you for believing in me, Kaito… He goes on to recap – since the players weren’t in his head at the time – that the moment Kaito started lying was the moment he realised Kaito knew, because there was no way Kaito would ever have truly given up on him like that.

-      Along with apologising for deceiving and hurting everyone, Shuichi immediately confirms that yes, he did kill Kokichi, and not to worry, none of them are going to be executed for this.

-      Kaito’s first proper words to Shuichi are that, geez don’t scare him like that again, and man he is gonna need one hell of an explanation for all this – but damn, whatever Shuichi just did, that was awesome. Nothing less from his sidekick!

-      Maki puts in that, while she really needs to hear an explanation too – including from Kaito for that matter… she’s glad Shuichi’s alive. Kaito beams at her. He’s so proud of her for trying to believe in it the whole time. They are friends.

-      So Shuichi goes into a lengthy explanation of the hows and whys of the plan, interspersed with Kaito explaining why he hid the fact that he’d figured it out.

-      Shuichi is generally very modest about his part in the plan; after all, Kokichi thought up the whole thing and even gave him this script to follow, so Shuichi was basically just following instructions the whole time.

-      Kaito’s having none of that. Sure, it was Kokichi’s plan, which Kaito begrudgingly admits was pretty clever, but Kokichi got himself killed and took the coward’s way out before it’d even really begun to unfold. Shuichi was the one who took on the burden and did all the hardest parts, all by himself. Kaito can’t even imagine how tough it must have been to deceive them all and act like Kokichi that whole time, knowing that if he messed up, he’d end up being executed – or worse, everyone else would.

-      Shuichi doesn’t think he even did that good of a job at it, though – after all, Kaito saw through it, didn’t he? It’s only because Kaito believed in him that things still worked out. And Kaito’s act, once he started putting it on, was way better and more convincing, so… (He trails off there, realising that what he was about to say is… not exactly a compliment in some ways.)

-      Picking up on what Shuichi almost said, Kaito comments that nah, no way Kokichi would have picked him for the plan. Maybe he could have put on that act too (not that Kaito really wants to think about what that would have been like, never mind the murder part), but with Shuichi there like normal in the trial, he’d have been able to unravel the whole thing in no time! Sure, Kokichi’s plan was pretty clever – but the smartest thing he did was realise how amazing Shuichi was and rope him into it rather than anybody else.

  To be continued…?

-      With the explanations over and Monokuma squirming in his seat, it becomes clear that he really does have no right to execute anyone. Nobody dies at the end of this trial!

-      And I mean nobody. I know what you’re thinking – Kaito should be doomed to die here from his illness anyway – but, remember back in the Daily Life? How the group didn’t mope around in despair for a whole day thanks to Kaito being up and about? That means this entire case and trial happened one day sooner than it did in canon. Which wouldn’t usually affect anything – except it makes all the difference for Kaito. This means his illness won’t kill him at the end of this trial after all. He has one more day left to live.

-      I’d assume that Monokuma wouldn’t just immediately let them go free simply because he broke the rules – where’d be the entertainment value in that? Instead, I imagine he might pull basically the same thing as in chapter 6 of DR1: allow them to investigate everywhere in the Academy and challenge them to solve the whole mystery of the place.

-      So we’d basically enter the same situation as the canon chapter 6 of this game, without any need for Keebo to lose his inner voice and fight the Exisals (in fact, we wouldn’t need to see the Monokubs again at all, woohoo). And with the much more important difference that Kaito is still here.

-      The investigation for trial 6 would happen in the afternoon rather than overnight, because this trial 5 was a lot shorter than in canon, and nobody needed to take a few hours off to grieve. With that plus Kaito having that extra day, maybe that’d be just enough once they escape to get him to a hospital in time to save him. Maybe.

-      (I mean, logically speaking, it’s got to be, because in this AU, Kaito doesn’t go to space at the end of this trial. So obviously he has to survive this, because he can’t die before he’s gone to space! That’s just an Unshakeable Kaito Fact.)

  As for chapter 6 with Kaito still alive? That’s a topic for maybe another AU post sometime, since there’s other possible ways that outcome could be reached as well.

(When I get around to making that post, I’ll put a link to it here, so if you’re reading this note, I haven’t done so yet. I still intend to sometime, though!)

[daughterofanarcissistwoman]

She has a victim/martyr mentality.

Narcissists are always victims, never perpetrators. They see themselves as being frequently attacked and are therefore justified in defending themselves. And how do you attack them? By calling them on their behavior, no matter how mildly you do it. If you say, ‘Mum, I would prefer that you didn’t do X in future as it upsets me,’ you will get a reaction which would be more appropriate if you had said, ‘I’m going to kill your pets, burn your house down and torture you for days.’ Truly, that’s how it feels to narcissists. Putting a boundary in place feels like an attack on them. Disagreeing with them is tantamount to grievously injuring them. Every event is twisted into some victimization of her. It’s amazing how much she will twist the truth and leave out facts to play the martyr. And, in an exquisite irony, she will have her acolytes, and her codependent family members (of which more below), to rally around and give her sympathy for her nasty ungrateful daughter being so mean and nasty to her. Which further validates that she was right and you are wrong, because everyone is agreeing that that’s the case. Which adds to the head-wreckingness of the whole thing for you. You still have the original upset, and now you have it invalidated and dismissed, and in addition, somehow you’re the bad guy? And, finally, another way of being the martyr and using that to bring you into line is the trump card of, ‘Oh, after all I have sacrificed for you!’. You are reminded how she gave up her big career for you, how much your education cost, how she put herself out to bring you to dance lessons, etc. (Please, please, do not fall for this. It was her decision to become a mother and all of those things were her responsibility as a result of that. You do not owe her anything for giving you what were both legally and morally your rights. You really don’t.)

You’re Not Crazy -- It’s Your Mother: Understanding and Healing for Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Danu Morrigan

[donaidk]

George Russell - We Don’t Have To Dance I.

In January I made a half ready au for something really outside Formula racing. Back then I was watching quite a bit of rally races before starting the F1 season off. Now I rewrote it as a George oneshot - which won’t stay a ONEshot - and finished it up. Sadly, this won’t be dripping from fluff just yet. Maybe there’s a chance for a happy end, but I didn’t decide on it yet 😂 Hope everyone will like it 🧡 (I accidentally deleted the previous post, so I’m just reposting it now again🤦‍♀️)

TW: car crash, injuries (not explicit but still, be careful) Title song is by Andy Black

Masterlist | Taglist/Queue | Request

" Welcome, everyone. Today will be quite a busy lobby as we have lots of people playing with us today. " He started his usual intro by describing what they will be doing. People were still arriving, but they had time until the first game would start.

Luckily streams like these were only chaotic in a funny way, making everything hilarious and ten times better. Just as the first notifications started coming in, he had to make sure the race's stream was still visible next to the other page. Then he could finally look at the incoming messages while they were waiting for the others to get ready. The first question made George realise he missed out important info from his intro.

" Hana isn't playing with us today. I almost forgot to tell you guys. I'm sorry in advance, but I will be quite distracted today. She is racing today, and the stream is open on my other screen. " He let out a laugh, already anticipating all the emojis and dripping comments about him and Johanna. " I usually put my off-days around her racing days, but it's a tournament, and I would have missed the whole week if I followed my usual plan for days like this. " He added, so they understood why today is like this. He had just a few streaming days planned every week during their off season, which always collided with Hana’s rally season, but luckily he could always play around with the schedule.

He hated not fully being there for his viewers, but at the same time, he wanted to support his girlfriend even when he couldn't travel there with her. Sometimes he could travel with her during his off-season but usually his training held George back, as he couldn’t miss them. It was the second-best way to get all the info of her racing in just seconds after the real events. Sadly the stream wasn't just about her, but as someone with a known name in the group, fortunately, they were showing her car quite frequently. By the time they went live, she already started and was on the first third of the track, completing that part in the perfect time, as she usually does. For a second, he just stared at the other screen as they were showing their inside cam but then had to focus back as they were starting the round in their game.

Luckily he manages the multitasking, mostly focusing on their game and trying to win, while catching every second they were showing Hana's car or maybe talking about her and how they're doing. He maybe lost a round because of an announcement about her time, but one game won't kill anyone, will it? In the first break, he retweeted a clip that was shared of her speeding down a straight, making him feel proud inside as they were saying no one has a chance against her. It always felt unreal how good she was in her category and how well they always talked about her. It was something that made him feel strangely proud, even though he had nothing to do with her skills. Everything she achieved was hers and no one else's, no matter what the haters would say. Her formula racing career may have ended early, but George was quite sure that she felt a lot more comfortable in the world of rally. After the first few bumps in the road, Hana found her place and style, getting her car onto the top half of the leaderboard every race.

The moment they start another round is when he hears the panicked voices in his headset, although lower than anything else. As soon as he looks at the stream, he sees the playback of a light blue car slipping on the road and flipping up in the air before hitting the ground with full force and starting to flip through the field until it finally comes to a stop as it hits a tree with Hana's door, the car staying on its roof. He waits for a second, hoping they will play the inside cam but as they don't include it, he knows there's probably a lot more to the crash than just a broken car. There are unmissable flames on the underside, but they switch to another driver just before he can see the marshalls getting to them and probably trying to get the team out before the fire consumes the frame of the vehicle and everything else inside of it.

" Fuck... " He doesn't even care about his own stream anymore, getting up and closing everything. As soon as the computer starts shutting off, he shoots out of the room. His phone in his hand already as there is an incoming call from Martha, his girlfriend's mother. " I just saw it, what's going on? " He spoke rushed, wanting to know everything that was said to them.

" They won't show anything, but the boss said they got them out just before it went up in flames. She was conscious but fainted as they took them to the ambulance. " Hana's mother was most likely in a full-fledged panic attack, and George could hear that they were packing in the background.

" I will get a ticket as soon as possible. I don't know when I'm getting there. " George sighed while pulling out a duffle bag to fill it with clothes for several days if needed. He didn't know how dangerous her condition was, and how many days they were spending there.

" It's okay. I will send you all the info when we get it finally. They will probably take them to the hospital. I just don't know which one, yet. Fucking hell. " It was the first time George ever heard her curse, but he didn't have the time to be surprised about it. More like it made him even more panicked as he knew the situation is probably worse than he anticipated.

He couldn't even push the phone into his pocket before another call came in from Alex. He knew they were probably puzzled about his disappearance, but he wanted to finish packing before talking to them. When he was in a taxi finally, on the way to the airport, he pulled it out of his jacket and dialled Alex's number.

" Hey, sorry for not answering. I just had to rush out of the house to the airport. Hana had a horrific crash. " He sighed, feeling as his body finally realised what's happening and started to stiffen up from the stress.

" Jesus Christ. Right. Just go, stay safe. I just wanted to ask if everything is okay, but fuck, didn't think it was this bad. " Alex mumbled out, and all the sounds were audible from the background as the others probably heard George's answer.

" She did a pretty high flip. They said she fainted just as they got to safety, so at least she's still alive. I don't think I would be if I have been the one inside. Man, I don't know what will happen. " The sentence was cut off by a choking sound as his throat tightened up at the idea of anything happening to Johanna.

" Hey, George. You know her. You know how fucking tough she is. Today's event won't be the one that stops her. Not even if she's injured. Don't even think about that as a possibility, because it isn't one. " He tried to reassure his friend, although he felt that it was almost useless. Without any real info about her condition, it's all up in the air and unstable. " The most important thing right now is for you to get there in one piece. You won't be of help if you fall apart. Her parents need you there. " He added with a sigh before saying goodbye and putting down the call so George can make the important ones towards Hana's friends and colleagues. It isn't easy but has to be done, as he knows her parents will be on their way to the hospital to be next to her, and won't be able to call everyone.

When he got to the airport, there was a ticket there already, waiting for him to pick up. It was a surprise, but a lovely one, as it saved him some time and stress before getting on the plane and starting his journey to Germany. He was sure he would have missed the first available flight if he had to buy it himself, but Hana's manager had the authority to get it for him in time. He made a note in his head to thank him for it when they met, as it wasn't something he had to do but decided to help George with it. As he had time on his hands, he tried to relax, although all the images in his head didn't let him sleep or anything. It was strange to see everyone so nonchalant about life while he was fearing for someone so much he was on the verge of throwing up the whole time. But he knew they were not horrible people, just that they didn't know what happened. They didn't have to know about everyone else's pain and life events. It was strange but completely normal.

As he knew he wouldn't be able to rest, he opened up his phone and went onto Twitter to see the news. Although there was nothing new on the tournament's page, Hana's team shared that she's on the way to hospital with injuries but nothing life threatening. It should have made him calm down, but as he thought how many small things can turn into huge problems, it didn't help. There were people, probably viewers and subscribers tweeting at him, sharing photos and thoughts with him, hoping Johanna is okay and healthy even though it was a nasty crash. The pictures of the wreck the car became, made all the good news unbelievable as he just couldn't understand how someone could get out of it without any injuries. He knew that her team wouldn't be lying and that they would have called him if there's anything he needs to know, but it was just all too much for his brain. He thought about putting out a tweet so everyone knew what was happening, but decided against it. Everyone knew already as they probably followed Hana's racing account and her team's one. He didn't need to put out everything and he didn't really feel like receiving even more messages than he already did. He knew they just wanted to let him know they were thinking about them, it wasn't good to see all of this 24/7. It was enough that he knew what was happening, he didn't need others to remind him every minute of the coming days.

' She's in theatre now, fractured leg and two broken ribs. They said she will need some days under anaesthesia to fully heal without the stress of the pain she will feel as soon as she wakes up. If everything goes as it should she will be out in an hour or so. We will get you a hotel room by the time you arrive, as our house is hours away from the hospital and I think we all want to be closer now. I'll send you the address of the hospital in a second. ' Came the awaited text from Martha, making him sigh out and save the address as soon as he got it, so he won't forget where he has to go after he arrives in the country. He remembered to send a message to the group, as they were people who deserved to know all the info. They were great friends of Hana and were probably pretty nervous about her state. They deserved to know.

It took him almost 20 hours to finally arrive and be able to get his baggage back. He first went to the hotel so he can put his stuff down before meeting up with Johanna's parents, so they can go to the hospital together. They had two rooms next to each other, so as soon as he had a shower and changed into fresh clothes, he went outside and knocked on their door.

" Hello! Are you okay? " He asked when the door opened, and he could see the worry on Martha's face.

" As much as you can be after something like this. " Martha let out a sigh, hugging George as he stepped closer. " They just called that she responded quite well to the medication. Her operated leg looks good too, although it was quite hard to fix in the surgeon's opinion. " She let go of him so they could leave for the hospital and finally really talk with the doctors that were part of the team caring for her.

" Is Andrew there already? " George asked while Michael locked up their door so they could head to the elevator.

" Yes. Theo wasn’t in need of medical care. Right after he was checked out by the doctor, they let him home. He and Andrew stayed. They wanted her to have someone while we were travelling here. " She nodded, pushing the first button inside, as it would take them down to the reception. " We got our car, so we won't have to call a taxi all the time. " She added, pulling out the keys from her purse, giving them to George as he was deemed the most put together to drive among the three of them.

" He was quite lucky if he's uninjured. " He let out a huff of air, feeling strange that while Hana was hurt, her co-driver walked away perfectly fine and without a scratch. Life took strange turns sometimes.

" Most of the damage was on Johanna's side. He's got a sore neck and back, but that's all. " She sighed, not saying more. She was probably blaming the navigator for her daughter's pain. In a situation like this no one could fault her for wanting someone to take the blame.

As they got down to the garage George opened up the car, and they all got inside. It was a 10 minutes long drive to the hospital and another 5 to find a parking spot not too far away from the entrance. Inside a nurse helped them find her room, but had to leave before they could ask any questions. She probably wouldn't have been able to answer them anyway, as she wasn't on her case. Although, looking at her and the huge cast on her leg answered most of their questions. She was asleep, as she was under anaesthesia to reduce the stress the pain would give her. At this point, George just hoped there wouldn't be any problems when they woke her up finally. They all knew that everything could change in 2-3 days, even though it looked perfect at the moment. Sitting down in the armchair he took out his phone to quickly text everyone, that they're finally at the hospital and in the room. He wanted to tell them more but could only type out that she looks okay, even though she was quite injured. Somehow the peace on her face made him calm down, even though he knew it was only from the drugs they gave her. It was nothing in connection with her being completely okay and perfectly healthy.

“ Family of Miss Braun, right? ” The german words made George turn towards the door, spotting a doctor who was the one taking care of Hana. Although his German wasn’t even close to perfect, he understood the question and nodded in synch with her parents. The following explanation of Johanna’s state was a bit too complicated for his basic knowledge, but George knew someone would eventually translate for him.

It took a minute or two before they told him that everything looked perfect on her charts, considering what her body went through. Although a relieved sigh left his body, everyone knew this wasn’t the end of the story. She will probably need rehabilitation after her leg heals, even if it’s a simple fracture and will heal easily. It didn’t help their worries that she was kept asleep for four days in the end, delaying the process and making them wait even longer before they got to talk to her. George hoped that with Hana awake they could get a bit more feedback for her treatment and also finally start the next part with physiotherapy. The sooner she got up and started moving around the easier it would be to get back to her previous physical fitness level. Everyone knew that laying around in a bed all day long didn’t help with staying fit and healthy.

George was in the middle of a meeting with the Williams engineers, sitting on his hotel bed, when he got the text that they would wake up Hana that day finally. Although he couldn’t just drop everything and leave for the hospital but made sure that their call finished as soon as possible, so he could get going. When he entered the hospital room she already had a bit more lively color but there was no sign of her being back to full consciousness yet. They were still inside the few hour window of the drugs finally working and didn’t really have to fear that something was going wrong. George was just sitting in the armchair next to the bed, legs pulled up and his fingers scrolling away on his phone while Hana’s mum was out for a coffee. Her dad couldn’t take off more time from work, but he was fine with the two of them looking after his daughter until he could visit in the late afternoons. The half-an-hour-checkups were slowly driving George crazy as the nurses never had answers, just took the data from the little screens and left with an understanding smile. It must have been between the 10th and 11th visit when they finally spotted a few movements, but it took another hour for her to finally open her eyes.

From the moment that she moved her arm for the first time George couldn’t get himself to sit back into the chair, rather opting for a walk down the hallway and then circling the room several times. Martha could only watch him pace but knew there weren’t any words that could help him calm down. They both knew they were finally getting closer to getting her back as much as they could in this moment of time, and it was nerve wracking to not have an exact time limit for it. It wasn’t surprising that he was the first one stepping next to hana’s bed when her eyes finally opened, with her mum arriving second. There were almost immediately several nurses and of course her main doctor stepping into the room, after being called through the installed button. While they tried not to overwhelm her they still had to run a few tests and George’s stomach turned at how scared Hana looked, before settling down at her mum’s gentle touch on her hand. They took their sweet time examining every little corner of her body and asking questions about her pain levels and just general state, leaving all of them tired from the stress and concentration when they finally finished everything up. There was only one nurse staying back to get some medication ready for Hana, when she could finally take a breather and look around the room. Seconds later her eyes finally reached George, and there was an evident smile getting onto her face.

“ Hello. ” Her voice was almost like music to his ears, after so many days of not being able to hear it, and George couldn’t help the relieved sigh that left his body.

“ Welcome back! ” He smiled down at her, squeezing her hand on the bed gently. He was still scared to use full force, after seeing how fragile the human body was actually. These were the few moments that made you realise you have no superpowers and that you’re not indestructible.