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satorucci · 3 days ago

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Toji with his daughter? And a huge breeding kink

dad toji <3

♡ cw: incest, stripper reader x dad toji, breeding, possessiveness, manipulation, slight dumbification, slight hunter x prey dynamics/references, not proofread bc it's 1am :(((

currently listening to: your girl - lana del rey

nonnie note: thank you for this ask, nonnie! sorry it's so long! i love toji, so i went overboard :') i hope this satisfies your needs, i know it is a bit more on the ambiguous side for reader, but i wanted to do something a little playful <3 either way, i hope you enjoy mwah

author's note: remember kids, this is fiction! do not treat real-life adult entertainers like this, n' abide by what makes them comfortable!

MDNI

♡ dad toji, who you've never had the best relationship with - well, actually, who you've never had much of a relationship with. after he walked out on your mom, her downward spiral happened rather quickly. your childhood memories were filled with images of a woman in constant mourning, kneeling on the floor, head smashed into the duvet of her bed as she cried. spilled and empty liquor bottles littering your home. you wondered what could have possibly been so good about that man, your father. he'd walked out on her for another woman - one he claimed had changed him. you were so young when it happened, you didn't know what any of it meant. all you knew was that suddenly, you had been left alone with your mother who quickly turned into a drunken mess.

♡ dad toji, who hasd no contact with you after the age of five. sometimes you thought of him - tried to remember the face of the tall, muscular man who'd abandoned you and left you with a sorry excuse for a mother. sometimes your mother would mention that you resembled him, usually during her drunkest moments, when she wanted nothing more than for you to disappear from her sight. and in these moments, you hurriedly made yourself scarce, scrambling to your room or the basement where you would avoid each and every mirror you passed. if you resembled that man in the slightest, you didn't want to know. you found yourself trying to actively forget even the most minor of details about him - his raven hair and that scar on his lip.

♡ dad toji, who has little to no idea about who you are when you become a ward of the state at age 16. social services had tried reaching out to him multiple times, exhaustingly telling him over and over "mr. fushiguro, you do have a daughter. we're trying to find housing for her. wouldn't it be better that she be raised in a home with one of her biological parents?" to which he always responded, "nope, don't got a kid that age. at least, not one i remember. if she's really my kid, then i'm sure she'll make herself a way in life."

♡ dad toji, who, in reality, wanted nothing more than to move you into his house. but he was nowhere near being a fit parent. whatever your mother had done to get you removed from the home was sure to be less traumatic than living in toji's one-bedroom flat which was devoid of life. he had two children, neither of which he'd seen in a decade. contrary to popular belief, it wasn't because he didn't want to see them - it was to keep them away from him. from his lifestyle, his job, his lack of parental devotion. toji, who was scarred, physically and mentally, from years of earning less-than-clean money, didn't want to be hindered by a kid, nor did he want to bear the burden of fucking one of his kids up, though it seemed the girl's mother had done of fine job of that, anyways.

♡ dad toji, who sometimes wonders what you're up to two years after social services kept blowing his fucking phone up. no one ever called him about his son, so he figured he was doing just fine in the adoptive home he'd grown up in. the guy who'd adopted him, though despised by toji, seemed like a decent parental figure. the girl on the other hand, toji wondered about. you would be 18 by now, and he'd received no phone calls about you being in a prison or some shit, so he figured you had made your own way. he didn't remember your exact birthday, but he thought it'd passed some months ago, if the timeline he remembered was to be trusted. "ah, fuck it. why the fuck do i care?"

♡ dad toji, who had no clue that you'd aged out of the system when you turned 18, never finding a family that wanted such a "damaged" teen. by 18, you'd tried all there was to try. alcohol, drugs, sex, money. you'd clawed a path for yourself in this world without the help of your mother or your father, and you'd continue to do so. as soon as you hit 18, you found yourself dressed skimpily, twirling around a pole in a dirty club at a stripping audition. so long as you had a body, you had access to money, and you'd drain the pockets of anyone dry so long as it got you what you needed in life. you didn't have the luxury of affording wants, but maybe this could be a new beginning for you.

♡ dad toji, who doesn't know that his sweet little girl has become one of the most requested dancers at one of the hottest strip clubs in Vegas. the nightlife is dangerous, and you tiptoe a fine line with every customer you grant an audience. the customers you serve range far and wide - most are bald or graying old men, hoping for a secret reprieve from their wives, some are incredibly attractive men, too young to hold the wealth they do - and they throw it at you in droves as you take your top off, revealing perky tits, and gyrating your hips on their laps, "accidentally" grinding your cunt against their hard cocks. "anything for the money" is what you tell yourself.

♡ dad toji, who finds himself on a rare night out in the Vegas strip. for once, he's not here on official business, just hoping for a casual drink and maybe some action from one of those pretty, pretty girls who work at his favorite strip club. he hasn't been in two years and he's oh-so-curious to see what new stock they have. when he enters the club, it's packed from wall-to-wall with (mostly) men, eyes glued on the stage in front of them. even those in the very back are doing all they can to get a close-up of the beauty on the stage. from where toji is in the crowd, he can already tell she's not one of the usuals from a couple years ago, oh no, this one is new, and she's lively. she looks like fun. twirling around the pole, skimpy pink and white lace on display as her tits are nearly popping out of her tiny top. everytime she squats, the crowd gets a view of the tightness of her cunt against pink lace. toji can almost make out her clit in the getup, and he can think of no one else he'd rather drag back to his flat and fuck the sense out of. he imagines this one looks really good when she's fucked dumb.

♡ dad toji, who doesn't realize his daughter is the one gyrating on the stage when he walks in. toji, who doesn't realize that when he walks up to the owner of the club and requests "the new one in pink", that he's referring to his own daughter. toji, who, for the first time in a long time is thrumming with excitement as he waits in the private room for his woman of the night to come in and grind against his already-hard cock. when you walk in, he can't help but tilt his head back and smirk. yeah, you're just as pretty up close as you were from the back of the club.

♡ dad toji, who stops you before you get right to business. "woah, woah, pretty girl. slow down a bit. i like to get to know someone first. i'm a bit of an old man, so i can't keep up with a quick pace right off the bat." you let out a customary giggle, but he's attuned to notice the bit of annoyance that flashes behind your eyes. oh, you'll be fun. this time, when you start, you start slowly, circling the table in the center of the private room with intentionality, locking eyes with the man splayed across the curved loveseat. his stare causes a bit of intimidation to bloom in your gut. he's so intense, watching your every movement, examining you as if you were something of value and he was determining exactly what that value was - almost as if you were something to hunt. you'd seen those eyes only a few times before in the club, but these kinds of men weren't the type to request private dances, they were the type to hide behind the dumpsters outside of the dressing rooms, waiting to ambush dancers and ask them for their number or something more. this one - this one was bold. and undeniably attractive.

♡ dad toji, who notices the slight flush of your face as you struggle to maintain eye contact with him. he can't help the grin that spreads across his face as he readjust on the loveseat, making his hard-on more noticeable. for your entertainment, of course. you move in slow circles, using the table as a prop that you dance around, eventually stepping up on it, and dancing on it. there's a small pole that protrudes from the table, and you use it to do small spins and swings, nothing too elaborate, as they're not as sturdy as the ones on the stages. his eyes never leave you, they never wander listlessly from one part of your body to the next, they always wander with purpose. surveying each and every part of you. the sparkle in his dark eyes isn't lost on you every time you lift your leg in the air, giving him a peek of your cunt straining against the fabric of your panties. you hope he can't see the wetness.

♡ dad toji, who is thrilled when you finally step down from the table and the real show begins. your hands lightly creep up his thighs, touch as light as a feather, before you turn your back to him, giving him a first-class view of your hips and ass as you grind into him. you're delicate, unlike how you were on the stage. there, you were electric, but in this small room, one-on-one with a dangerously attractive man twice your age, you move with caution. toji wants more. he wants what he saw on the stage. as you grind into his lap carefully, cutely, his hands come up to roughly grip your thighs. you let out a gasp and quickly turn around. "there's a not touch policy-" toji cuts you off with a firm squeeze, and his thumbs rubs gentle circles into the fat of your thighs as you look down at him. his eyes meet yours, dark and sinister, but gazing up at you as if pleading with you. "you can't tell me you don't like it, darlin'. tell me you don't and i won't touch you again, but i promise i can make this worth your time, too." his hands travel up your thighs, finding their place on your lovehandles, kneading them lovingly. "n' i'm a really good tipper." you gulp down a protest and simply nod your head.

♡ dad toji, who, as you face him, and lower yourself onto his clothed cock, finds his hands roaming across your body. you're oh so delicate. so easy to maneuver, to sway. he wonders what in your life has led to you being so malleable. maybe a shitty boyfriend or an absent father. he chuckles to himself at the irony. what if his own daughter is out doing this shit because she had no daddy growing up? oh well, not his problem. not at this very moment. toji's hands guide your hips as you grind down on him, forcing a harder grind, more pressure on his aching cock. he can feel the outline of your cunt's lips against him and he wants so much more from you. his hand reaches for the flimsy string in the back that holds your top together, pulling it and watching as your tits come into view right in front of him. the music in the background is causing the room to vibrate slightly, the dim lighting in the room adding to the ambiance of sinister pleasure that's about to take place.

♡ dad toji, who forgets that he's in a professional establishment as he takes one of your perky nipples into his mouth and you gasp, a small hand finding its way into his hair and gripping harshly. "ah! t-too much-" he releases your nipple with a "pop!" and stares up at you. "wan' me to stop? i was just about to show you what a good patron i can be", and again, you give in. you let him do as you please, because you can't deny the throbbing in your own cunt. you don't know what all he's about to do to you, but you know that you've only ever slept with one customer, telling yourself you wouldn't make it a habit, but you think you might be about to break that rule.

♡ dad toji, who sucks on your nipples harshly while you grind against him. the dance has ceased and left only desperation in its wake. you're desperate to get off, and you can feel his hard cock beneath you. his hands guide your hips back and forth, back and forth, at a fast pace, your clit catching on his cock with each swipe and you feel as though you can barely catch your breath. toji, who reaches a hand up into your hair, tugging it harshly causing you to let out a breathy whine, and buck his hips up into your cunt repeatedly. his mouth only leaves your tits to leave small kisses along your chest, your neck, you jaw. you want more. you have to have more, but it can't be here. before you can pop the question, toji is, once again, staring at you with those onyx eyes. "wanna get outta here? my place is only a few minutes away." you know it isn't smart to say yes, but you want the raven-haired man in your lap to fuck you into another plane. so you nod.

♡ dad toji, who handles you with no mercy the moment the two of you cross the threshold of his door. his hands are all over you, your face, your neck, your back, pressing your body firmly against his own. he quickly discards the jacket around your shoulders - you'd been so turned on when leaving the club early that you didn't even change. you simply threw on a jacket that would cover your skimpy clothes as you left, struggling to keep up with toji in your high heels. your back hits the wall harshly as he's forcing his tongue into your mouth. you lean into the messy kiss, nipples hardening from the kiss and the cold air of his flat. he hikes your leg up, pressing his cock against your cunt, grinding lewdly. "so wet, you're soaking my clothes, too, darlin'" he whispers into your ear. you try to shy away from him, as if the comment had embarrassed you, but toji uses his free hand to grasp your cheeks, making you face him. "keep your eyes on me". his voice is a low, dangerous growl, and you comply.

♡ dad toji, who nearly drags you to his bedroom. you take note of how empty his living space is. there are no pictures, no decorations. it looks as if someone has just moved in, but you don't have time to make any deductions about this before you're being thrown on the bed. toji is on top of you in seconds, handing tracing up your arms, spreading them flat against the bed, and locking hands with you as he continues to kiss you into oblivion. you unconsciously rub your legs together, begging for some sort of relief, and toji laughs breathlessly when he notices. "my pretty girl wants more, hm?" and you nod. "use your words, then. tell me what you want." you look at him in disbelief. you'd been with dominant men before, but they didn't play with their food before devouring it. "tell me, or you'll get nothin'", and you can tell he's dead serious. you muster up your courage to tell him, "i want you..." he cocks his head and grins before leaning close to your ear. "want me to what? finger you? eat you? fuck you? what'd ya want from me? wanna hear you tell me." all of the above. you want him to do all of the above, but you don't think that's the response he wants. "i want you to use me". and that's all it takes for toji's self-control to snap.

♡ dad toji, who's making you hold your knees up as he lap at your soaking cunt, pink panties long gone. his tongue dips in and out of you at a rapid pace as the sound of squelching and your whines fill the room. the whines turn into loan, exasperated moans when two thick fingers find their place knuckle-deep inside of you as his mouth never leaves your clit. you don't know how long you can keep holding up your legs as they're already beginning to shake. toji cocks his head, angling his fingers even deeper and brushing against that sweet, sweet spot inside of you as he continues to lick your clit. pressing a flat tongue against it, using the tip of his tongue to tease you, sucking your clit into his mouth, as his fingers absolutely abuse your insides. you've never met a man like this. when he brings you to your first orgasm, it's so intense, you're not sure you'll be able to continue, but before you can even catch your breath, toji is rising from the spot on the bed where he was kneeling, wiping mouth and licking his fingers, before reaching for the waistband of his pants.

♡ dad toji, whose cock is the biggest you've ever seen. veins protrude, full of blood and arousal as his cock twitches in his hand. "what? ya scared?" you take a deep breath and shake your head, trying to convey some sort of confidence in your response. toji just laughs. "well, then, if you're not scared, then you're gonna be a good girl and take daddy's cock like a champ, right?" daddy? yes. yes, you'll be a good girl for daddy, so long as it's toji. "yes, daddy. i'll be so good". and toji thinks he might be enamoured by you. his hands find purchase on either side of your head, caging you in with no escape. he's so big, looming over you as he leans down to kiss your forehead. it's the kindest thing he's done all night, the only gentleness he's shown you.

♡ dad toji, who guides his cock inside you with little mercy. you find yourself holding your breath as the stretch burns your insides. "breathe" he commands, and you do, in small spurts. his hands find your knees, spreading them further apart for easier entrance. toji grunts. "damn darlin', you're tight. thought i'd worked you open." you try your best to focus on breathing as his cock splits you wide open, and by the time he bottoms out, you're sweating. your hands find his arms, holding onto them for some sort of support as you catch a big breath. he begins to pull out, and then slams his cock back in. in an instant the breath you'd collected is gone. toji begins at a breakneck pace, his cock bullying your cervix with each thrust. you can't help the near-screams that fall from your lips, and toji devours each one, grinning down at you as your grip on his arms get ever-tighter. your cunt grips him like a vice as his pumps in and out of you, over and over, listening to your coos and cries with so much pleasure.

♡ dad toji, who frees one of his arms from your grasp, to find your clit. he rubs small circles around it as he continues thrusting into you like he'll never get the chance to fuck a cunt like this again. your cries turn slowly turn into mindless whines, "please, please, keep going, keep going!" and toji obliges. he leans down, biting down on your neck, imagining what you'd look like pregnant and full with another one of his kids. if it were you, he thinks he just might stick around. you're so perfect. "good, huh, pretty baby? wan' me to keep fuckin' you good?" you nod furiously, nails digging into his arm. he leans down, biting down on your ear and you let out a cry. "wanna stay with me, have my kids?" for a moment, you're caught off guard, but the rhythm of his cock and the way he's stimulating your clit proves to be too much for you to think straight. "yes!" you scream. "yes, give me your kids, please! fill me up, make me yours!", and again, toji obliges you.

♡ dad toji, who was wrung three orgasms from you before he has his first. "wan' me to cum inside you, darlin'? wanna be daddy's girl forever? wanna be a mommy? raise all my kids, hm?" you nod over and over, begging him, "please make me a mommy!" toji's pace quickens as he begins to near his high. he can imagine you now, stuck in his house, round and pregnant with his kids, the whole world knowing that you're his and his alone. the thought alone is enough to make him cum, but the way your cunt is gripping him like a prayer has him going over the edge. "okay, baby, i hear you loud and clear. don't let a single drop go to waste." and you respond with a series of "yes daddy's" as toji cums harshly, fucking his seed even deeper into you. he keeps his cock in you, as your cunt pulses and spasms around him, cumming again. his pretty little stripper. hopefully, his pretty little wife, one day. who says you can't turn a whore into a housewife? toji's sure he can. if it's you, he can. toji, who slowly drags his cock out of you, only to replace it with his fingers. pushing his cum deeper yet into you, and placing a kiss on your lips.

♡ dad toji, who, surprisingly takes good care of you after fucking your brains out. he brings you water, snacks, a towel, but he doesn't let you wipe the cum from yourself, not yet. "we're guaranteed a baby if you keep it in a little longer", and you roll your eyes as he chuckles. "didn't know they had girls like you at that club." he says. you mumble back to him, "didn't know they had patrons like you, either. speaking of, where's my tip?" toji stares blankly at you before laughing. "was the tip you got not good enough, darlin'?" oh, it definitely was, but you still want your money. as he laughs, you notice a scar on his lips. one you haven't noticed all night long. it reminds you shockingly of your father. the one who walked out on you, the one you haven't seen in over a decade. "grab my wallet. it's on the nightstand beside you. just take what you want." you lift your eyebrows in surprise at him, and he shrugs. "you earned it." you don't argue with him, taking the wallet and opening it up.

♡ dad toji, who stares at you confused as you look at the wallet in horror and disbelief. "the hells wrong with you-" he begins, but before he can finish, he's cut off by you holding up the wallet, showing him the sole picture he'd ever had of his daughter. the one he kept with him always, the sole reminder that she was real and somewhere out there. "why do you have a picture of me?"

#jjk smut #jjk x reader #toji fushiguro #toji smut #toji x reader #dead dove do not eat #dark content #smut #my nonnies <3

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loveafterdeath-if · 3 days ago

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Yeah, similarly to what another anon said, I was kinda hoping for this to be a story about moving on after losing a lived one, specifically your partner, which I thought was a beautiful and heartbreaking concept, and while we did get that in the first few chapters, it feels like this plot twist kind of defeats the whole point.

Though, unlike the other anon, I personally will probably continue reading because I think you are an amazing writer and because I love Ekissa. The only thing that makes me not sure about continuing is that the situation is a bit awkward, makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, so I was wondering about how you were going to manage it? Because MCs moving on process obviously gets cut short, but for those of us who are gonna romance someone else, we still need to finish that process, and one important thing when moving on from an ex is time apart, especially for one you were grieving not so long ago. Otherwise old feelings, nostalgia and a lot of other emotions get mixed up and that would probably lead to confusion. (Sorry, for the long paragraph, just a bit worried about how this is gonna continue)

It's heavy spoiler territory, but I'll have to address this for anon. And it'll be a long-ass response, so be prepared,

You are right about one thing, the whole plot falls apart if El is alive, doesn't it? And like someone said in the LAD discord "why love after death then". They didn't phrase it exactly like that, but you know what I mean. The plot does start with El, but it won't end with them. Idk how to explain without giving away too much, lol

There are clues that El isn't really dead in the first chapters. The flowers MC receives, and now players know El was the one offering them. The doc and Athiel never talk about death when discussing El. MC doesn't have the right to go to the funeral or even see El's body. Even L being called by Juliet at the beginning will have its importance. They're small details, nothing too obvious, but they're here.

I'll be honest, sometimes when writing Athiel talking with MC, I struggled to remember El wasn't dead because I tried to make it look and feel like El was dead, so I drowned a bit in that department.

The characters might seem like a lot, but each has their own purpose, big or small. Some are a breath of fresh air for MC since they're not caught up in all the drama and can be objective. Others are here because they'll play an important role later. Then there are those who serve as reminders of the past with El (like the neighbors). And some are just like those background characters in anime; you don't even see their features because they're just there to serve a small purpose and keep the intrigue going. They come and go.

Sorry, I'm talking too much. So how I'll manage it, is by—and it's where it's gonna get tricky—make MC aware of it as soon as possible. There will be a reunion between MC and El. The tricky part is showing that El won't remember MC, no matter how much/if the MC tries to jog their memory.

The past El is dead; the memories won't come back, and if any fragments do resurface, El won't feel the love they once had. It's more like a ghost of memories; their body remember, but it's more mechanical than actual feelings. Like an old habit that won't go.

MC will have to grieve the old El anyway, even with them actually alive.

In El's route, it'll be all about falling in love again, getting them out of this toxic relationship with their mother, helping them learn to love themself again, and living with someone who is El but not the El you used to know. They have trauma, the confidence they once had is gone, they're insecure and they're more reserved than before.

Juliet is like, the first villain before introducing the final boss. What I wanted to do was weave two kinda plots in the same book because I didn't want to make two separate books. Love After Death is Love After Death for a reason. The plan is to make the players realize that El wasn't the focus of this book in the first place.

I hope there won't have any inconsistencies in this story, but if you find any plot holes, you're free to let me know, and I'll do my best to improve. It's only with advice and constructive critique that I can do so. I'm sure there are blind spots I won't see right away; I'm only human😭

#heavy spoilers #inbox #love after death #LAD-if

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kaiserboom · 2 days ago

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౨ৎ boyfriend! Hinata: ideal idea of an date, is you watching him sing his heart out in karaoke, heads up he sucks, but you never tell him that.

౨ৎ boyfriend! Hinata: loves sending you video's to you, especially those type of videos, captioned "us"

౨ৎ boyfriend! Kageyama: hates how easily you get under his skin, your talking to him, with tiny bit of eye contact?, you just gotten him flustered.

౨ৎ boyfriend! Kageyama: hates when you slightly give other's more attention than him, he want's to be your center of attention, after all he is the king.

౨ৎ boyfriend! tsukishima: is an obvious menace, the way he treats Yamaguchi? it's almost the way he treats you as well-if not its slightly better. when you ever try to correct tsukishima, all you ever get is an "shut up y/n" in return.

౨ৎ boyfriend! tsukishima: loves when you buy him anything dinosaur related, even though he rather die then admit to that.

౨ৎ boyfriend! Yamaguchi: follows you around like your made out of glass, when you try to lift something?- out nowhere he doing it for you!, "i'm not a baby, yams" "I know, but let me do it!"

౨ৎ boyfriend! Yamaguchi: you once caught him drawing you, it was so detailed and so pretty, but once he found out that you caught him, he started panicking, now thinking that you see him as a pervert, to this day he doesn't know, that you found his drawing of you amazing. "GAHH y/n!! I'm sorry!!" you look at him with the most unphased expression ever, "what?"

౨ৎ boyfriend! sugawara: makes sure you eaten all your three meals, don't give him that crap of excuse "i'm not hungry" because he just going shove your food down your throat.

౨ৎ boyfriend! sugawara: not an texter, he prefers calling you. he likes hearing your voice.

౨ৎ boyfriend! Daichi: when you guys started dating, tanaka asked him, how the hell did he managed to pull such a divine human being?, which ended up Daichi giving that bald headed dingus, 20 laps.

౨ৎ boyfriend! Daichi: waves at you during passing period, if you end up not seeing his wave, or not waving back, sugawara and asahi utters a "ouch".

౨ৎ boyfriend! asahi: HATES HATES, when he does something wrong to you, he always blabbering apoloisges, he would even go on his knees, if you wanted him too. "Y/N! I'M SORRY!" when he hears no utter from you, it's always makes his body shudder.

౨ৎ boyfriend! asahi: once the both of you, went on walk to the park, some stranger had to ask you if asahi was bothering you, when you explained, that you guys were about the same age, the stranger looks up in shock, "i thought he was thirty." which always ends up making him sulk up.

౨ৎ boyfriend! tanaka: is crazy crazy, you post something on your socials?,well now your comments are flooded with him, "WOOHOO" "IT'S SO HOT IN HERE. 🥵"

౨ৎ boyfriend! tanaka: takes you shopping, then drops the bomb "hey so... I forgot my wallet." you ended up paying, but don't worry! he pays you back, with hugs and kisses.

౨ৎ boyfriend! Nishinoya: hates when your slighty pissed at him, one time you got so frusated because, he ended up 'accidently" selling one of your limited editions. using the excuse of "hey! don't blame me! it was on your shelf, in an box!.. you weren't even using it!"

౨ৎ boyfriend! Nishinoya: watches you from every corner, it's not like he trying be creepy, he just takes "watching your every move" very seriously.

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schrodingersjigsaw · 2 days ago

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Sorry, but I'm going to have to (at least partially) side with your dad here. Effie is absolutely complicit in the Games... In Sunrise, Effie herself expresses how much she believes in the Games' necessity. Yes, it's because of propoganda, but that doesn't negate her part in everything. She "stumbled into the job" because of her experience and expertise and because she wanted to help her sister. To Capital citizens this is a big deal! A huge career opportunity! While her intentions were not bad, she did not take the job to help save the lives of district kids. She is not an inherently evil person, and is very lovable, and she absolutely changes by the end of the series. However, to say she is not complicit is kind of naive. To use your analogy, she is a small, well meaning cog in the Hunger Games machine, but that cog is one reason the machine runs so smoothly.

I love Effie! But don't take away her agency by pretending she was not part of the problem and had some major learning to do to get to where she is in Mockingjay.

Perhaps I should've specified; I don't think Effie is completely innocent, but my dad is of the opinion District 13 should've executed her lmao.

The reasons I give Effie some grace is because my interpretation of her character is that, at best, she's uncomfortable with the games (like some characters in tbosas), and I think this shows in the way she treats the tributes. I compare her to Drusilla quite a lot; she could show disdain for the tributes, treat them like dogs like Drusilla, but she (in her own propaganda, capitol-esque way) tries to do as right as she can by her tributes. In sotr she mentions that there's problems associated with being a Trinket due to her family's history, so I'm sure she did jump on the escort position! It was a way to drag her family out of the hole they were in, but she could've just treated it like a job. She could've been power hungry, and used it as a way to the top, but she continuously did things that weren't really in her job description, or at least not in the extent she did. She didn't need to support Haymitch when he was in the launch room. She didn't need to treat Haymitch with kindness when he was spiraling after the games (she could've gone a less sloppy Magno route). She didn't need to comfort Katniss when she did. (Albeit this was more pronounced in the movies, but) she didn't need to treat her, Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta as a team, and she certainly didn't need to get emotionally attached to any of them. But she did.

Additionally, yes she does make a few comments in sotr and thg about the games necessity, but I always read those scenes as a result of nearby cameras. As shown in tbosas, even capitol citizens are not safe to talk down about the games and (if my memory serves) most/all of her talking about the games' necessity is a quick addition after showing sympathy for Katniss/Haymitch or saying something that could be construed as anti-capitol/the hunger games. I think Effie is much smarter than many give her credit for, and through some of her actions I think she was not fully on board with the child murder games, but she's not allowed to vocalize any of those ideas. I don't remember if in sotr it said her grandparents were executed for being rebel sympathizers, but that was always the assumption I made, and that would put you on edge.

And at the end of Mockingjay when Katniss describes Effie as having 'empty eyes' after her imprisonment? I know they don't go into detail about what exactly happened to her, but given how animated and lively Effie was, I have a feeling the implication is that some pretty heinous shit was done to her- and, as a result, crushed any remaining soft feelings she may have had for the capitol.

I'm not trying to remove her agency and say she was a capitol rebel on the level of, say, Plutarch, but I think people tend to be harsh on their view of her. I think that similarly to the prep team and some citizens of the capitol, they were cogs that helped the machine run smoothly, but I also think that- to an extent- two/three generations of mind-numbing propaganda, an inability to speak out without threat to your life, and an inability to make a livelihood without helping the machine run will leave you with your hands tied and your mouth stitched shut. Is she complicit? Yes. Can I necessarily blame her for it, or wish her ill because of it? Not really, personally.

A lot of this is personal interpretation tho, which is part of why I like these books so much; the characters are complicated and it leaves a LOT of room for personal interpretation!! I also did not mean to write an essay lmao, I just have MANYMANY thoughts on all the characters XD

#blacked out and wrote an essay whoops #effie trinket #the hunger games #sunrise on the reaping #catching fire #mockingjay #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #sotr #tbosas #haymitch abernathy #katniss everdeen

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approximatelynothereorthere · 3 days ago

Text

Broken Legs

Bodhi Durran x OC

3.6k words ☆ Part 1 of 2

Okay hi. first fic I've posted on here so yay! This ended up being way longer than I intended and it's also now split into two parts. I'm hoping to get the second part up mid next week but knowing me it could be a little longer lol.

My OC is called Evelyn (Eve to most, Evie to one person in particular- definitely not planning a whole other fic to explain all of that lol), in this she's a second year in the same squad as Imogen, Quinn and Dain (she might be his XO, I haven't decided yet) and by extension Violet & Co. , she's fairly stubborn and has some insecurities and fears surrounding her signet (I haven't explicitly stated what her signet is but one could make an educated guess at what it could be from some details in this fic)- I will be making an OC master post soon-ish which will go into a bit more detail about Eve and I have plans for some more OCs...

Contains: Somewhat of a description of broken legs (I have never broken a bone before so it may not be very accurate), a bit of Dain hating (will explain that more in part 2), a li'l bit of angst

(please let me know if I missed anything)

‘Ow ow ow. Ah shit’

‘Imogen, you need to get her other side.’ Quinn says from under my arm that she’s holding up as she tries to help me down the stairs. We’ve made it down two so far, only about fifty to go. Imogen appears at my other side and lifts my arm over her shoulders. I wince as we begin moving again. It feels like there are a thousand tiny blades violently stabbing into my legs every time I make the slightest movement. My right leg is worse I think. It feels slightly in the wrong place and the blades seem more angry on this side. Each step is godsdamn agony but there’s nothing we can do until we get to the infirmary.

‘You good?’ Imogen asks.

‘Just…’ I hiss at the sudden sharpness I feel just below my knee. ‘… peachy.’

Imogen merely grunts in response but then adds ‘Stop putting weight on your right leg, I know that one’s worse. And stop holding back on me and Quinn, we can take your weight just fine, that’s the whole point of doing this.’

I don’t say anything back but I do let myself lean on them more. The blades seem to ease up a bit but it still hurts like a bitch. Malek, take me now. Stupid fucking Aetos and his stupid fucking dragon.

‘If it helps I threatened the squad leader with a fiery death the second he dismounted Cath’ Nimh tells me.

‘I imagine that didn’t go down well with either of them.’ I send back.

‘Knocking my rider off a ten foot drop isn’t something that goes down well with me.’

‘Fair point.’

‘Is that all you have to say?’ She questions.

‘Sorry I’m a bit preoccupied with not passing out from pain right now.’

You'd think she’d be a bit more sympathetic, It’s not like I’m crying over stubbing my toe.

‘We will talk later.’ Nimh states before I feel her presence in my mind recede slightly. I can’t tell if she wants to scold me or plot revenge on Aetos and Cath. Probably both.

We’re about three quarters of the way down now but the blades are coming in harder and stabbing deeper than before. Fucking hell. I whimper as we take another step and my eyes well up. This is becoming unbearable, I don’t know if I can make it to the bottom of the steps, even with Quinn and Imogen holding me up, before my legs give up completely.

‘Eve you’re doing so good. Not far to go now, we’ve got you.’ Quinn gives my side a squeeze that I know is supposed to be comforting but it’s not doing shit for me right now. Oh holy… fucking gods. This is shit, this is shit, this is shit. I feel wetness falling down my cheek. Great, now I’m crying. I breathe in slowly, trying to calm myself and with the faintest hope that oxygen has some undiscovered pain relieving property. It doesn’t and tears are still slipping down my face. I want Bodhi. If he were here… I… I don’t know, I just need him to hold my hand or something, smile at me in the way that smooths over the rough edges of my feelings, in the way that only he can. This is so pathetic. But hey, I have two potentially broken legs and still the entire fucking quadrant to get through to reach the infirmary, I think I’m allowed to cry and want my boyfriend.

Two steps to go. Dark spots cloud my vision and I blink hard.

‘Can one of you talk? About anything, I don’t care. Just give me something to focus on… please.’ I mutter.

Quinn immediately throws herself into chattering about weekend plans and it seems to be working. One final step to go and then we’re off this infernal staircase. One of the sharpest stabs yet shoots through my leg and I cry out and scrunch my eyes up before more tears can escape.

‘Eve you did it. Should be easier now-’ Quinn starts.

‘Give me… shit… give me a minute’ I inhale sharply. ‘I feel… like I’m gonna… pass out.’ I try to exhale as evenly as possible but it still comes out shaky and I see Imogen shoot Quinn a strange look. Not strange, worried, it just looks odd on her features. I’m screwed if Imogen’s worried, she never worries. She goes to say something before, ‘Evie? a voice calls out from the other side of the room. The fucking nerve of this person to call me-

‘Evie? What the fuck?’

I look towards the voice with what I hope to be a deadly scowl on my face and a tall figure comes into view. My vision is too blurry to make out anything else about them, all I know is they’re next on my kill list, after I end Aetos for putting me in this situation. The person quickly moves closer, their steps echoing.

‘What in Amari’s name happened? Cuir told me to come find you but he didn’t say…’ they stop just over a foot in front of me. ‘…shit darling.’

Who the fuck do they think they- oh. Cuir told them… him. My eyes finally focus on the man in front of me as the drowsy feeling of my consciousness slipping ebbs away a little. Bodhi’s eyes are wide and a small line creases between his dark brows.

‘Oh, hey.’ I attempt to sound nonchalant but it clearly hasn’t worked when the crease between his brows just gets deeper.

Imogen quickly explains ‘We’re taking her to the infirmary but the pain in her legs is getting worse and she’s barely putting any weight on them. I’m not sure how much further she can get.’

I make a small sound in protest but she cuts me off. ‘Don’t argue, you just said you think you’re about to pass out and it doesn’t take a healer to see how fucked up your legs are.’

Quinn gives me another squeeze and this time it does help, a tiny bit. I see Bodhi’s wide gaze leave my face and travel down to my legs, then back up to where my arms are slung over Imogen and Quinn’s shoulders. He strides forward and, in one quick motion, lifts me up into his arms. I wince as I feel the pressure of his arm on the back of my thighs cause something to tug sharply further down my right leg. I bite my lip and scrunch up my face because it hurts, it really fucking hurts.

‘I know Evie, darling, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ Bodhi whispers as I lean my head into his shoulder. His other arm is wrapped around my back and his hand is absentmindedly stroking my side. Maybe not absentmindedly, maybe he’s doing it deliberately because he knows it makes me feel safe, knowing he’s there, that he’s alive and with me. I go to put my arms around his neck as he starts speeding towards the infirmary, Imogen and Quinn keeping his pace just behind. My eyes are still shut to stop the world from spinning and I bite my lip to stop anymore whimpers from escaping me.

‘What happened?’ Bodhi asks softly as we turn a corner. I think we’re crossing into the other quadrants now.

‘Later.’ Is all I can get out. I’m not ready to go into all of that just yet. I open my eyes and look up to find him gazing straight back at me. His eyes are still wide but they look slightly watery now. Or maybe it’s just because I’m looking at him through watery eyes, tears that I’m still trying to hold back. He gives me a small nod, his mouth pressed into a small line.

After what feels like an eternity, we reach the infirmary. The stabbing feeling in my legs is almost constant now and I’ve been feeling my control slipping, similar to the way I slipped off Nimh’s leg only this time the result would be accidently channelling my signet, into Bodhi. I’d rather break my legs ten more times than let that happen.

The second we step into the infirmary two healers working on something at the far end of the room spot me in Bodhi’s arms and rush over.

‘What happened?’ one asks as the other beckons Bodhi over to one of the beds to lay me down on.

‘She fell dismounting her dragon.’ Quinn answers.

‘As if- Eve’s not incompetent, she got knocked off. Completely out of her controll and the landing fucked her legs.’ Imogen quickly interjects.

I feel Bodhi’s eyes on me, frowning like his life depends on it. This is not how he was supposed to find out. ‘Knocked off’ could imply someone made me fall deliberately and although I am decidedly pissed off at the someone who did knock me off, he didn’t do it with the malicious intention I’m sure Bodhi has interpreted it as. Since we’d been together, scratch even before that, when we’d started getting closer, he’d always worried about others trying to hurt me to get to him, because he’s marked. He avoided me for an entire week once because of a small incident that occurred during sparring. He claimed he was ‘protecting me’, I told him he was being an idiot. Now I don’t even want to imagine what he must be thinking, that someone is targeting me because of him. He already has so much to deal with being an XO, training first year marked ones, not to mention Xaden and his ridiculous obsession with Sorrengail. Bodhi doesn’t have space in his head to worry about nonexistent threats against me.

He adjusts his hold on me as he tries to figure out the best way to lay me on the bed without hurting me. It’s unavoidable at this point but the sentiment warms my chest a little. Finally he lowers me but as his arm is removed from the back of my thighs pain shoots down my right leg like a poison dart tearing through the bone and muscle.

‘Oh fuck me.’ I curse loudly and it echoes around the room.

Bodhi immediately reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers. ‘I’m sorry darling.’ He brings my hand towards his lips and kisses the knuckles gently. The feeling is enough for me to forget about everything happening and purely focus on him. I lay my head back against the cool pillow that’s been propped up behind me and look at him, he’s looking right back at me like I’m a riddle he can’t quite figure out. As he lowers our hands onto the edge of the bed I open my mouth to say something but-

‘Hiya Evelyn, sorry to see you here but do you think you could explain what you friend means by your legs being ‘fucked’.’ One of the healers says as he moves to the other side of the bed. Thank gods he stopped me, I have no idea what I would have said to Bodhi.

‘Hey Parker.’ I say. Parker is a third year healer I met after Threshing last year. He stitched up the nasty slash Nimh had given me just below my collarbone and over time we became friendly with each other. I wouldn’t call us friends per say but it’s always nice to see him. Maybe not under these circumstances, however.

Looking down at my legs, I realise what Imogen mean by my legs being ‘fucked’. The sharp intake of breath comes involuntarily when my eyes register exactly how messed up my right leg is. Tears form in my eyes once again, not because of pain, that's becoming more and more familiar to the point that it would feel weird if something didn’t hurt, but because I can barely comprehend that the close to utterly mangled appendage is actually attached to my body. That’s my leg not someone else's that I can look at and just think ‘ouch’ as I imagine what it might be like. I don’t need to imagine because it’s actually happening to me and it’s fucking terrifying.

Good fucking gods. My breathing is becoming more and more shallow and panic is tingling around my body. I need to do something, I need to get away, scream, anything. Anything that will make it stop. My control is slipping and power is spreading down my arms, reaching my hands, slowly seeping into my fingertips where… oh shit. I yank my hand out of Bodhi’s before it can get to him. As long as I don’t touch anyone it’ll be fine. I just need to get a grip on my emotions.

I can feel both Bodhi and Parker’s narrowed gazes on me but I can’t tear my eyes away from my legs. It’s like I’m in a trance, a horrifying nightmarish trance.

‘Eve… talk to me. What’s going on?’ Bodhi whispers softly. Gods I want to look at him but I can’t, I’m frozen in place like a statue. He reaches for my hands once again but I snatch them away and hold them tight to my chest. If there’s only one other thing I can focus on, it’s not hurting him, keeping him safe above anything.

I can almost hear the gears whirring in his brain. I never pull away from him, never, not unless…

‘It’s your signet isn’t it?’

Click. I don’t say anything, only nod. It’s barely a nod more a shift in the positioning of my head but he notices. He moves his chair even closer to the bed and rests his hand on it, so close to me that I swear I can feel heat radiating from him.

‘Evie? Can you try and look at me please darling?’

I want to, I really want to but I have the irrepressible fear that if I look away from my legs for even a fraction of a second they’ll get even worse and not even Nolan could fix them.

‘I know you’re scared but I need you to trust me, Eve, just look at me and let me help.’ He says firmly but quietly. He hasn’t had to use that voice in a long time and… he thinks I don’t trust him. Like hell I don’t. I take a deep breath, shut my eyes and turn my head slowly. I can feel his fingers twitching beside me and exhale shakily as I open my eyes.

‘Hi’ he’s giving his soft smile, not my favourite but the most comforting at the moment.

‘Hey’ I whisper, averting my eyes from his before I panic and back out completely then end up wallowing alone in pain and shame until I can walk on my own again.

‘Can I touch your hands?’ He asks and I feel his fingers shift against the mattress again. I shake my head.

‘What if I hurt you? I don’t trust myself to not hurt you.’ I admit more to the mattress than him. His fingers inch impossibly closer to my side and they brush gently against it.

‘You won’t. You’ve never hurt me with your signet before and I trust you with my life and more.’ He says with the confidence I wish I could have right now.

‘I’m not in control. I can feel it in my fingers and I can’t make it go away. My head is too much of a mess to… it- I can’t…’ My response is desperate and weak but I am well and truly panicking now.

‘Let me help. You can give me your hands and we’ll make it go away. We’ll talk it through.’

‘Bodhi I-‘

‘I’ll counter it, just like I used to.’ He interrupts. It’s terrifying how quickly he’s willing to risk himself for me.

‘You shouldn’t have to do that.’

‘I don’t care, I want to. ‘

I search his eyes to find the faintest hint of fear so I can refuse him but I only find the fierce determination I fell in love with. Damn him.

The instant I mumble an ‘okay’ his hands are holding mine, clutching them like the world would end if he ever let go. Thumbs rubbing circles into the backs of my hands, I feel the power fading slightly. It’s not the feeling of him countering it though, he’s just calming me. When he counters it feels like the power just won’t turn on. It’s frustrating but he’ll only do it if he absolutely has to. I’m guessing this is not one of those times, although it certainly felt like it should’ve been from my end.

‘See darling, you’re in control, you’re not hurting me.’ Bodhi says, his soft but dark eyes on me.

I don’t say anything back, just focus on the feeling of his thumbs on the back of my hands. There have been many times before when he has had to counter me, when I was only just starting to learn how to use my signet. It’s normal for first years to struggle controlling their signets and accidents are bound to happen, expected even. But my signet is not one you want to be out of control, an accident with my signet has an unfortunately high chance of someone becoming merely a name called in death roll or the infirmary for an not ideal period of time. That’s why Bodhi and I started training together more frequently, he was one of the few people who could defend themselves if I did slip up. Even then I worried he wouldn’t be able to wield under pressure if it did come to that.

Someone clears their throat near me and I remember that Parker is still here, as is Imogen and Quinn who are standing together a little further away watching quietly. Blood rushes to my face as I realise they’ve all witnessed that entire interaction between me and Bodhi. I trust them all with my life (just about) but my relationship is something I usually prefer to keep to myself. He is mine and I am his and that’s all I need anyone to know.

‘When you can, Eve, could you explain what the pain is like and where?’ Parker says softly. ‘Nolan has been informed that he is needed and is on his way as we speak. If you want mending, that is.’

‘Gods yes!’ I groan, now feeling a bit more like myself again. I turn my head towards Parker. ‘Can you imagine me being stuck here with broken legs for weeks on end? No thank you.’

He gives me that rare grin of his and Bodhi chuckles, giving my hands a quick squeeze.

‘And uh yeah I think I can talk about it now. Sorry for freaking out a little.’

Bodhi makes a small noise in protest and Imogen just scoffs.

‘Respectfully, you are a fucking idiot if you think you need to apologise for having a normal reaction to your injury.’ She crosses her arms over her chest so I narrow my eyes at her and she narrows her right back as if she’s daring me to argue with her. I turn back to Bodhi and see the corner of his mouth quirk up slightly.

‘You’re not going to defend me?’ I ask.

‘But she is right.’ He shrugs and Parker nods in agreement.

‘Gods, you’re all mean. I hate you.’ I huff.

Bodhi smirks. ‘Uh huh.’ He kisses my knuckles once again. ‘Love you too.’

Hope you liked it and thank you so much for reading :)

#fourth wing #fourth wing x oc #bodhi durran #bodhi durran x oc #bodhi and evie #the empyrean #fourth wing imagine #fourth wing imagines #bodhi durran imagine

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livingdreams97 · 13 hours ago

Text

Wednesday Addams -- "The wolf in my bed" (Part 4)

Wednesday Addams x Male reader/oc

Summary: The new girl at Nevermore Academy is forced to live with a person who is the complete opposite of herself. But what will happen when the brother of said roommate has a personality similar to Wednesday's?

Words: 6.767

Masterlist

POV You

I walk through the school hallways, listening to everyone talking about the dance and what they're going to wear. I can't help but feel a little envious, since everyone has a partner in some way or another, and I'm completely alone.

Which makes me rethink my presence at the dance, since I don't want to go alone and have to watch all the couples having a good time.

My biggest reason for not wanting to go to the dance is the presence of the goth girl and her partner together. As much as Xabier was my first friend, I have to admit that we haven't seen eye to eye on many things lately.

Eugene: Y/n! - I hear them calling me, so I stop walking and turn around, seeing the boss of the bees running towards me .

When he reaches me, he rests his hands on his knees and begins to breathe unevenly. I frown a little worriedly, seeing that a couple of minutes have passed and he's still just as choked up.

Y/n: Are you okay?- I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder. -Do you need me to take you to the infirmary or something?- I asked, receiving a negative response.

Eugene: Just .. one more minute .- he asks me showing me his index finger.

Y/n: All the time you need.- I assure him, amused by his attitude.

Little by little he regains his breath, standing up straight and looking at me with a rather strange smile.

Eugene: I wanted to ask you if by any chance, you know if anyone has invited Enid to the dance or not? - he asks me with obvious interest.

Y/n: I don't know if anyone invited her or not.- I shake my head, somewhat amused at seeing her eyes wide open. -But I can assure you that she most likely already has a date for the dance.- I admit with a small grimace at the disappointment on his face.

Eugene: Oh, too bad.- he says, clearly upset. -I just wanted to be sure, but at least I have Wednesday to keep me company and take us on an adventure into the woods.- he tells me excitedly and I look at him in confusion.

Y/n: Wednesday?- I ask to make sure I didn't hear him wrong.

Eugene: Yeah. - He nods with a smile. - Since neither of us had a partner, we talked and agreed to use the distraction of the dance to escape to the woods. - He tells me in a whisper so no one else could hear.

Y/n: Eugene, I don't know how to tell you this... - I try to find a delicate way to tell him the truth, but I can't find the way. - But Wednesday has a date with Xabier and she'll go to the dance with him.-- I inform him, somewhat hurt by the words coming out of my mouth.

Eugene: But that's not possible.- he immediately shakes his head. -We talked about it this morning, and she herself proposed the plan.- he says with a voice filled with sadness.

Y/n: I spoke with her yesterday afternoon about the dance. She told me she was going to the Raven and as far as I know, her plan is still on. - I confirm in more detail. - Maybe you misunderstood her and she meant another day?- I try to be logical, but I also find myself somewhat confused.

Just yesterday I spoke to Wednesday, and she told me she was going to the dance. That same night, Enid texted me saying she felt sorry for me and that she'd found out Xabier would be her date for the dance, not me.

So if Wednesday didn't end up going to the dance, I'm sure my sister would have found out by now and told me right away. But that wasn't the case, so I understand that her plan to go to the dance with my friend is still on and that Eugene may have misunderstood her.

Eugene: But, but .. - he tries to say something but is unable to finish the sentence.

Y/n: Sorry, Eugene.- I apologize with a grimace, feeling guilty and a little sad for being the one who tells him that I won't go to the forest with his clubmate.

Eugene: Then I'll go alone.- he tells me firmly and I open my eyes worried for him.

Y/n: Are you crazy?- I asked, shaking my head. -You can't go into the woods alone at night, much less when a monster is on the loose.- I assured him, worried that something would happen.

Eugene: I'm going to the monster's cave with or without Wednesday.- he assures me with a somewhat worrying conviction.

Y/n: You're not going to go into the forest alone to look for something related to the monster.- I deny, looking at the curly-haired boy as if he had two heads.

Eugene: I'm going to go, no matter what you say.- he says to end our conversation and taking three steps away from me .

Y/n: Wait!- I shout, mentally scolding myself for the stupidity that's about to come out of my mouth. -I'll go with you.- I say quickly, not wanting him to go into the forest alone.

Eugene: Really?- he asks me with an excited gesture.

Y/n: Yeah.- I nod with a sigh. - Anyway, I don't have a date for the Raven and I was considering not going.- I explain with a grimace on my lips.

Eugene: That's great. - He jumps up and down in excitement and I glare at him. - I mean, not that you don't have a partner, you know, that ... that 's not... - he tries to explain nervously.

Y/n: Calm down.- I ask him in a serious tone and he immediately shuts up. -What time are we going to the forest? - I ask him tiredly, wanting to go to my room and lie down in bed until next year.

Eugene: 7 at the entrance?- he asks thoughtfully. -It's the perfect time, since almost everyone will already be at the Raven and the few missing ones will be arriving. That will give us the perfect opportunity to escape unseen.- he explains with conviction.

Y/n: It's awesome for me.- I nod and start taking a few steps back. -See you later then.- I say, ending our conversation and turning around, heading towards my bedroom.

Eugene: Come here dressed in black!- he exclaims when I'm already a little far away and give him a thumbs-up over my shoulder.

I walk toward my bedroom, my mind racing, thinking about what I'm going to do tonight and what the Raven entails. But mostly, the fact that Wednesday is going to the dance with Xabier.

I mean, I didn't even know she tolerated him enough to consider him a friend, let alone ask him to go to the dance.

The only time Wednesday ever spoke about Xabier was when she showed me the drawings he'd made and about the possibility that he knew something about the monster. I've also only seen them together once, and that was when they completely ignored my existence after discovering the monster was human.

So I'm not able to understand why out of all the students at Nevermore , she chose Xavier as her date for the dance.

And I can understand even less the moment when she was the one who asked him to go to the dance, not the other way around.

But my biggest doubt in this whole situation is the thought that someone like Wednesday, who sees any kind of social event as unnecessary, irrelevant, absurd, pointless, and a waste of time, decides that the Raven is worth it and decides to invite someone to be her date?

Besides, it's not just me saying this or believing that 's how she sees it. It's just that from the moment she learned of the Raven 's existence, she's been very vocal about the absurdity of social events and her opposition to them.

So I don't fully understand what could have changed in just a few days, so that her vision and opinion on something as simple as a dance could change.

And why do I care so much? Why am I giving so much thought and importance to something that's not in my hands? Why?

Wednesday POV

Since Xabier has discovered that I suspect him and that the only reason I asked him to go to the dance with me was so he wouldn't catch me, I don't need to go to the dance anymore.

Which is perfect, since I won't have to endure the other students, the blinding lights, the horrible conventional noise they call music, and pretending to be interested in my dance partner when said interest is practically nonexistent.

Or at least, there's no romantic or friendly interest. The only interest I have in him is my mind's interest in knowing his relationship with the monster and the fact that his shed is full of drawings of it.

Although I've redirected the focus of my investigation, given the events and the fact that I won't be attending the dance with Xabier anymore. My absence from said event allows me to do something more productive, and that will be returning to the monster's cave in search of more clues with Eugene.

So I prepare for the night, putting on my normal clothing for nighttime expeditions and efficiently tying the laces of my black boots.

I sling my black bag over my shoulder, starting to pack everything I'll need for tonight. From my knives, my flashlight, evidence bags, a stun gun, a small camera to record the evidence, and so on.

I hear a knock on the door, so I finish putting the last items in the bag and closing my desk drawer.

Wednesday: I'm coming, Eugene!- I shout so he can hear me from the other side of the door, walking toward it. -Hey! Did you happen to bring extra batteries for the flah...?- I leave the question hanging as I open the door and see someone I wasn't expecting on the other side. -Tyler.- I greet, hiding my confusion at his presence.

Tyler: I got .. your ... invitation.- he says, holding a piece of paper. -I found it in the tip jar.- he explains, and I try to think of something quickly.

Wednesday: You got me.- I say keeping a straight face.

Tyler: After our last conversation, I wondered if I would ever talk to you again, but your note was so heartfelt .. and pretty.- he says with a crooked smile. -I was completely caught off guard.- he admits with some glee.

Wednesday: Me too - I admit with complete sincerity, since I haven't written anything to him.

Tyler: Now that I'm here, I'm glad I came. - He smiles even wider, and I can't think of anything else to say. - Do you need a few minutes or... ?- he asks, looking at me, but I don't let him finish and I close the door in his face.

I immediately look to my left, seeing Thing on the railing at the foot of my bed and walking towards him with quick steps.

Wednesday: Heartfelt and pretty?- I hiss at the hand. -How could you do this to me?- I ask, looking inside my closet for my dress.

A few clicks catch my attention and I look over at Thing, who is pointing at the black dress I saw at Uriah's. Heap. I quickly approach the bed and grab the dress with my hands.

Wednesday: How did you pay for it?- I ask Thing, receiving an obvious answer from him. -The five finger discount, right?- I ask, looking at the dress. -Thing, don't look.- I say seriously.

I walk into my closet, quickly changing out of my clothes to investigate the dress. Once I'm wearing it, I choose shoes appropriate for the occasion and put my braids up.

Once ready for the dance, I leave my room and walk with determined steps to the entrance of the dance, where my surprise and unexpected date is waiting for me.

Tyler: Wow ! You're ... - he exclaims in surprise, with something else in his tone of voice that I can't make out.

Wednesday: Unrecognizable? Ridiculous? A classic example of the objectification of women for the male gaze?- I ask with complete sincerity and without a hint of humor.

Tyler: Amazing.- he assures me without taking the smile off his face. -Seriously, Wednesday, you look beautiful.- he admits, staring me straight in the eyes.

I remain silent before looking down and finding him holding a plastic-looking box in his hands. But before he can say anything, a presence interrupts us.

Wednesday: Eugene? - I ask as I see him approaching us.

Eugene: Wednesday, what 's going on?- he asks, looking from the boy next to me to me . -What's up with watching the cave?- he asks in confusion, receiving no answer from my part. -Okay, I get it. Y/n was right, and I'm going with him to the forest.- he comments, and I look at him somewhat alert.

Wednesday: You can't go alone.- I immediately deny, sternly nodding, turning my attention to my roommate's brother, who is standing a few feet away. -It's very dangerous. Don't go.- I order them both, but my gaze remains fixed on the werewolf.

I see his eyes flash with annoyance as they dart between my companion and my formal attire. I can hear the annoyed snort he lets out at my command.

Wednesday: We'll go tomorrow night, understood?- I order them both, turning my gaze to the younger of the two and he nods in response.

I glance briefly at the light-eyed blonde, watching as he shakes his head and starts walking away. Clenching my jaw, I turn around and walk toward the dance entrance without looking back.

Tyler: Watching a cave? - he asks, standing next to me curiously.

I don't answer him, seeing that my research is already known by enough people and I don't need anyone else to know anything.

Mrs.Thornhill: Wednesday Addams!- she exclaims in surprise as she approaches us. -What a pleasant surprise!- she says with a big smile on her face.

Wednesday: Miss Thornhill.- I nod. -This is Tyler...- I begin to introduce my companion, but she quickly interrupts me.

Mrs.Thornhill: Galpin.- Finishes it for me .

Tyler: Oh, yeah. One double, no foam, and two shots of sugar free vanilla.- he recites with a strange expression on his face and I silently observe the interaction.

Mrs.Thornhill: It's a small town.- she says looking at me . -It's hard to keep secrets.- she says with a certain amount of humor, but I don't find it funny.

Wednesday: I'm going to get something to drink.- I said to my companion, moving away from him without giving him a chance to answer.

I walk toward the drinks table with the same confidence as always, feeling the eyes on me with every step I take. As soon as I reach the drinks table, my roommate appears at my side.

Enid: Oh my goodness!- she exclaims with overwhelming emotion. -I love your dress!- she compliments me, vibrating with excitement. -Although your choice of date is interesting. I'm sure you'd look much better with my brother, but oh well.- she comments with a grimace, looking at my companion.

Wednesday: I could say the same thing.- I assure her seriously, looking at the guy she brought as her partner and with whom I've had two run-ins.

Enid: It's not what it seems. - she denies immediately.

Wednesday: Good, because that pilgrim already has two strikes in my book.- I remind her, turning my gaze towards her.

Enid: Lucas is trying to make his ex jealous, and I Ajax. We both win.- she assures me with a smile.

Lucas: Wednesday, I come in peace. - he comments amusedly with his hands in the air and approaching us.

Wednesday: Too bad. I have a medieval-style mace in my pocket.- I commented, watching the smile disappear from his face and his arms lower with some uncertainty.

The conversation ends with my comment, causing both my friend and her companion to go elsewhere.

I take a deep breath, pouring myself a glass of punch and mentally preparing myself for the long night ahead.

POV Your

Both Eugene and I ignore what Wednesday says and decide to continue with the original plan we had. Especially Eugene, who at the moment he confirmed that what I told him was true and that Wednesday was going to the dance, his conviction to continue with the plan has been even stronger.

Eugene: You were right.- he sighs with some sadness and disappointment, while walking to my left through the forest.

Y/n: Yeah, well, I thought she was going with Xabier. Not that weirdo, Galpin. - I comment with a tense jaw, trying to erase from my mind the image of Wednesday and Tyler when we interrupted them.

And he may be right, and Wednesday looks incredible in that dress, because that's something even a blind man can't deny. But anything coming from him can't be good.

Although what I can't understand is at what point she went from going to the dance with one of my friends, to going with the weird and unreliable Tyler Galpin.

But what I do understand is that anyone is better to go to the dance with; than me and that's something Wednesday has made very clear.

Because yes, maybe I've somehow realized that I kind of like Wednesday, and that my sister is right about the looks. I'm going to deny the flirting thing at all times, because I've never flirted with her, or at least I haven't wanted to.

The other part is that while I do like her, it's clear that she doesn't like me at all, and tonight that's more than proven right.

Eugene: At least we're on this adventure together.- he says with a smile, and I raise an eyebrow at him. -You know, the hive must stick together.- he reminds me, and that makes me laugh.

Y/n: I stopped being in the bee club a long time ago, you remember that right? - I ask amused turning my gaze forward.

Eugene: Of course I remember, silly.- He punches me lightly on the arm, amused. -But once a bee, always a bee and part of the hive.- he assures me with a huge grin.

Y/n: Never change, Ottinger.- I deny letting out a small laugh.

The rest of the journey passed in a calm and comfortable silence, taking into account the situation and the place we were in.

Every now and then we hear or see an insect along the path, causing the boy next to me to start telling me interesting facts about the bug and break the silence from time to time.

Eugene: It's here.- he whispers, turning off the flashlight and standing behind a tree.

Y/n: And what do we have to do?- I ask in a whisper, squatting down next to him and looking at the cave entrance in front of us.

Eugene: Observe and document anything we see around the cave.- he answers, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a voice recorder.

Y/n: What do you need that for? - I asked curiously about the object in his hand.

Eugene: For documentation, silence now.- he asks, clearing his throat. -Eugene Ottinger, it's 9:00 p.m. No movement in the cave or surrounding area. No sign of the target.- he begins into the recorder. -Although... I just heard a rather peculiar cicada.- he says, and I give him a dirty look for his last comment.

Y/n: Are you serious, Ottinger?- I ask him, referring to the unnecessary information. -Forget about the cicada and focus on the monster, that's why we came here.- I reprimand him, hitting him on the back of the head.

Eugene: Ouch!- he complains, rubbing the back of his neck. -You can't blame a bug geek for his interests.- he says with a slight pout.

Y/n: Yes I can, if said interest distracts you from our objective.- I assure him without removing the serious expression from my face.

Eugene: I can do two things at once!- he exclaims, sounding somewhat offended, as he sets the recorder aside and pulls a clear container out of his backpack.

Y/n: Now what the hell are you going to do with that? - I ask him, tired of this whole situation.

Eugene: Catch the cicada, what do you think? - he asks me as if I were stupid, getting up and heading towards where the noise of the damn bug is coming from.

I just let out a long sigh, letting myself fall back and sitting on the ground with my back against the tree trunk.

I watch as the insect "expert" tries to catch the bug that has caught his attention, while the rest of the forest remains completely silent.

I close my eyes to relax a little and sharpen my hearing more, so I can be more attentive to any noise in the forest around us.

I don't know how much time has passed since we arrived at the cave, but I'm hungry and sleepy. Besides, the fact that Eugene managed to catch the damn thing and has been talking about its characteristics for over twenty minutes doesn't help the time pass any faster.

But a noise in the distance alerts me, so I sit up a little and look around. I begin to make out the sound of a car engine and can see how, little by little, the other side of the cave begins to light up.

Y/n: Hide.- I quickly say to the curly-haired one, placing myself in the tree next to him and hiding behind it.

We are immediately blinded by the headlights of a car for a few seconds, as the car has stopped to the right of the cave and the light from its headlights hits us directly.

Eugene: Eugene Ottinger, it's 10:42 p.m. A suspect just drove up to the location.- he whispers into the recorder.

We see someone get out of the car and, somewhat clumsily, climb up the side of the cave until they stand at its opening. I hear the sound of a lighter and suddenly, the suspect sets fire to something and throws it into the cave.

Eugene: Oh my god!- he exclaims loudly, causing the suspect to point his flashlight at us and notice our presence before running away.

Y/n: Run, Eugene run! - I shout urgently, grabbing his arm and pulling him just as the cave explodes.

We both started running, trying to get away from the cave as quickly as possible. I somehow tried to pull him along to make him go faster so I could put more distance between us and the cave.

Eugene: Wait, wait.- he begs me, his breath coming in short bursts. -I need to breathe.- he says between gasps of air.

I look back, seeing that no one is chasing us, and decide to give him a couple of minutes to catch his breath. As soon as we stop running, he approaches a tree and leans his backpack against it to stay upright.

Y/n: Leave the backpack.- I tell her, observing the large bulge between his back and the tree.

Eugene: What? No.- He immediately denies it, breathing rapidly.

Y/n: It's the best option. It's obviously too heavy for you, and that 's holding us up. - I explain, pointing to the yellow backpack on his back. - Leave it here, and tomorrow, when daylight comes, we 'll come get it. - I assure sincerely.

Eugene: I'm not leaving the cicada here, it's a rare specimen ... - he begins but I quickly silence him with my hand.

Y/n: Shhh. - I whisper, holding my hand over his mouth.

I close my eyes so I can hear better and try to distinguish the noise I heard a second ago.

I hear heavy, slightly accelerated breathing, as well as footsteps. Although it sounds more like a four-legged animal trotting. But there's something unfamiliar about the breathing; it's not animal-like... it's somewhat muffled and contains deep grunts, as if coming from a mouth more human than animal.

Y/n: Fuck!- I exclaim silently when I realize what it is as a distinctive scent hits me. -Run.- I say, grabbing Eugene by the arm and pulling him away from the tree.

Eugene: What? What's going on?- he asks scared and with his eyes wide open.

Y/n: Run, don't look back at any time.- I tell her looking towards where the distant noise is coming from. -Run until you get to the school and look for Principal Weems.- I order, giving him a push in the opposite direction from which the monster is coming.

Eugene: But what about you... - he starts but I interrupt him with another push.

Y/n: Run!- I shout and I head to the other side.

I don't look back to make sure he's running away, because I can hear his quickened footsteps moving away and at the same time the monster's footsteps getting closer.

As I run toward the monster, I stop for a few seconds and quickly take off my sweatshirt, T-shirt, sneakers, and pants. I don't want to ruin all my clothes and then have to run back to school naked.

I can feel the monster very close, so I quickly focus on the transformation and how my bones change to take on my wolf form.

I barely have two seconds to position myself before the monster appears before my eyes and slams me hard with its body.

I feel a sharp pain in my side as my back hits a tree trunk and I'm barely able to avoid the next swipe of his claws against my body.

As quickly as possible, I get on my hind legs and throw myself at him with all the strength I have, managing to knock him down.

While it's on the ground, I launch myself at one of its legs and bite it savagely, pulling it toward me and shaking my head. The monster shrieks in pain as it tries to push me away with its claws, but I dodge its claws by changing the angle of my bite.

Wednesday: Eugene! Y/n! - I heard in the distance, causing my attention to divert from the claws for a few seconds.

A howl of pain escapes from the back of my throat as a sharp pain spreads across my back and spine. I return my attention to the grayish monster, but I'm barely able to see its next blow as I find myself flying through the air, and then everything goes black.

Wednesday POV

I run through the trees of the forest, trying to find Eugene and Y/n to prevent what I just saw in my vision from becoming reality.

In my vision, both Eugene and a Y/n transformed into a wolf are covered in blood and killed by the monster in the forest.

So, for that very reason, I find myself in this situation. Running through the woods covered in red paint, shouting the two boys names and trying to find them at all costs, feeling a strange tightness in my black heart.

Wednesday: Eugene!- I shout, jumping over a log. -Y/n!- I shout again, even louder, still running. -Eugene! Y/n!- I shout urgently.

I stop dead in my tracks when I hear a pained howl in the distance, and my breath catches in the back of my throat. I swallow heavily, trying to figure out where that howl came from so I can run in that direction.

But I don't hear any other howls, so I start walking again and scream at the top of my lungs.

Wednesday: Eugene! Y/n!- I shout and this time I get a response.

Eugene: Wednesday?- I hear his shout from not far away. -Wednesday! I'm here!- I hear it again and start running in the direction I think he's at.

As I run, looking around, I hear a familiar scream, and it makes my heart race with adrenaline.

Wednesday: Eugene? - I call with some hesitation, stopping my run and looking around.

That's when I see a lump on the ground a few feet away. I trot over to the lump, seeing that it's Eugene, covered in blood, and I look at him with some concern for his unconscious state.

I look around for the werewolf, but I don't see him anywhere and that scares me, even though I'll never admit it out loud.

Wednesday: Eugene? Eugene, where is Y/n?- I ask, shaking his shoulder a little, but I don't get any response and I still feel the strange tightness inside me.

Mrs.Thornhill: Oh, my God!- she exclaims, coming up behind me and causing me to look at her. -Is he alive?- she asks, her tone of voice hinting with fear and concern.

Wednesday: He has a pulse.- I assure her after placing two fingers on his carotid artery and feeling the faint beat of the heart. -You stay here until help arrives.- I order my teacher, getting up from the ground and taking two steps toward the woods.

Mrs.Thornhill: Where are you going? - she asks me in a certain tone that I can't decipher.

Wednesday: Eugene came to the forest with Y/n.- I answer simply, before turning around and looking at the ground for clues.

Mrs.Thornhill: You can't go alone, what if the monster comes back? - she asks with some panic.

Wednesday: If the monster comes back, they'll be making the biggest mistake of their life. - I answer simply, finding the monster's footprints and starting to quickly follow them, ignoring my teacher's calls.

I walk lightly, trying not to make any noise and moving quickly. I follow the monster's distinctive footsteps toward Eugene, hoping to find Y/n along the way and still alive.

In the distance, I see a small bundle on the ground, so I run toward it. When I get close, I see it's clothing. I grab one of the items from the pile, which turns out to be a dark grey hoodie, and when I hold it up to my face, a peculiar smell reaches my nose.

The distinctive scent of pine, pear, and something citrusy immediately invades my nostrils. I look around, knowing that if Y/n's clothes are here, it means he's transformed and can't be far away from them.

I leave the sweatshirt next to the rest of the clothes, moving quickly and nimbly around the area in search of the black wolf with light eyes.

A couple of minutes after finding the clothes, I spot Y/n's naked, bloody body lying on the ground at the foot of a tree.

I quickly run towards him, dropping to my knees and turning him over onto his back on the ground.

I place my fingers on his neck, trying to find a pulse, even if it's faint, and let out a breath of relieve when I feel his vein throb strongly beneath my fingers. As soon as I feel his pulse, my heart begins to beat as slow as ever, and my lungs allow me to breathe in more oxygen with each breath, for some strange reason.

Wednesday: Y/n, wake up Y/n!- I say hitting his cheek with some force, but without overdoing it. - Come on Y/n, wake up.- I growl annoyed hitting his cheek harder and receiving a small grunt in response. -That's it, come on wake up you idiot.- I order in an authoritative voice, hitting his cheek again with a little more force.

Y/n: That hurt.- he complains in a thick voice, moving his face away from my hands and trying to sit up.

Wednesday: You deserve it for being such an idiot.- I growled, placing my hands under his armpits and helping him sit on the ground. -Who the hell comes to the forest without me?- I scolded, helping him so his back is resting against the tree.

Y/n: You can lecture me later.- he growls, placing one of her hands on his side. -I'm hungry, sleepy, and need a shower.- she complains, throwing his head back.

Wednesday: And clothes.- I remind him, keeping my gaze on his face and torso the whole time.

Y/n: Stop staring at my member, you pervert!- he exclaims with a weak laugh and I clench my jaw, looking at him with my eyes half closed.

Wednesday: I'm not looking at you at all!- I exclaim, annoyed, feeling an unusual and unfamiliar heat in my cheeks. -The only interesting thing about your body right now is your blood.- I assure him through gritted teeth, standing up and walking over to where his clothes are.

Y/n: You don't even believe that yourself, Addams! - he exclaims loudly so I can hear him.

Wednesday: Idiot.- I mutter under my breath, bending down to pick up his clothes and go back to where he is.

Once at his side, I give him the clothes and turn around so he can get dressed. I can hear some grunts of pain and the rustling of clothes while he dresses.

Once he's dressed, I help him with his shoes and with some effort, we get him to stand. I put one of his arms around my shoulders, while I place one of my arms around his waist, and we start walking toward where I left Eugene with Professor Thornhill.

As we walk, thanks to the proximity between our bodies, I can feel the warmth of his body against mine. I can feel his heat invade my cold body and envelop me completely with each step we take.

Y/n: Have you found Eugene? - he asks me through gritted teeth, letting out a grunt of pain when he trips over a rock.

Wednesday: He's alive, but he's not well.- I admit with some concern for the bee fanatic.

Y/n: I've tried, you know? - he asks me with some difficulty, I suppose because of the pain in his body. - I tried to stall the monster as long as possible so that he could escape. But I heard you and by the time I realized, everything was black. - he admits with some guilt in his voice and my heart starts beating faster again for the used words.

Wednesday: You're both alive, and that's what matters.- I assure him in a whisper, feeling the unfamiliar warmth flood my cheeks again.

When we get to where I left the teacher and the curly-haired guy, we see that there are more people and among them are some paramedics.

As soon as we become visible, Principal Weems immediately spots us and approaches us with quick steps.

Weems : What the hell were you thinking, coming to the forest in the middle of the night when it's strictly forbidden? - she complains to the werewolf next to me.

Y/n: Nothing.- he answers with a slight grimace.

Weems: Are you hurt?- she asks, looking him up and down, and receiving a nod in response. -Okay, you'll go in the ambulance to get checked out and then straight to your room, grounded, and you won't be allowed to leave until I call you in my office.- she orders seriously, but with a hint of concern.

The rest of the night passes quickly and in a blur. I'm not aware of when I returned to my room, showered, and put on my nightclothes.

I stare at the keys of my typewriter, unable to type a single letter and continue with my novel.

Now that the adrenaline has left my bloodstream, I can't help but think about everything that happened tonight, and something inside me stirs restlessly. As if my body were split into two, one sitting motionless at my desk while the other yearns to be somewhere else.

I close my eyes for a few moments, feeling the pressure behind my eyes increase with every second I sit.

On its own, my body rises from my desk chair and begins walking toward some part of the school. I don't know where my feet are taking me, but what I do know is that with each step my headache diminishes and my heartbeat speeds up.

I stop walking when I find myself in front of a dark brown door and all I can hear is the erratic beat of my heart.

For some reason unknown to me, my body remains calm despite the rapid pace of my heart and the uncertainty of what might be behind that door.

Taking a deep breath, my hand reaches for the handle and I gently open the door with complete confidence. When I step through the door, I immediately realize it's someone's room, and from the scent that fills my nostrils, I know exactly who it belongs to.

My heart begins to beat calmly and precisely again as I walk completely into the room and close the door behind me.

Y/n: Wednesday? - he asks from his bed, turning to where I am upon hearing the sound of the door closing. -What are you doing here? - asks with furrowed brows in confusion.

I remain silent, not knowing what to say or how to answer. Because, to be honest, I don't even know what the hell I'm doing here or how I got here, when I've never been to this part of the dorms before.

In my silence, I realize he's wearing only dark green pajama shorts, and I can see the bandages covering the wounds on his side and back.

Y/n: Look, if you're here to give me a hard time and all that, you can save it. - he sighs tiredly. -Weems has already let me know how reckless, risky, unfortunate, idiotic and everything else it was to be out in the woods at night at the hospital. So I don't need you to do it too. - he tells me with a certain pleading tone in his voice.

Wednesday: I didn't come for that. - I subtly shake my head.

Y/n: So what have you come for? - he asks, just as confused as I am.

Wednesday: I guess I just needed to check on you.- I say, maintaining my composure and taking a few steps toward him without even realizing it. -I don't know why or how I ended up here.- I explain, keeping my gaze on his face.

Y/n: I don't know what you want me to tell you, Wednesday. - says with obvious confusion.

Wednesday: What if neither of us says anything?- I ordered with a softer voice than usual, stopping a few inches from his body.

We both remained in complete silence, staring into each other's eyes and breathing the same air.

I don't know why I'm not able to control my body when he's so close to me, I don't know why my heart races like this every time I'm near, and I don't understand why my cold body enjoys the warmth that Y/n's body emanates.

So many unknowns questions with no apparent answer, that only occur when he and only he is near me.

In the silence of the room and the closeness of our bodies, my body involuntarily reacts without me being able to stop or control it.

My hands move quickly, placing themselves on the back of his neck and pulling him toward me so that our lips meet. The kiss is passionate and quick, full of need and desperation.

His hands wrap around my waist and press my body against his bare chest, where the warmth of his skin penetrates the material of my sweatshirt and reaches my cold skin.

I stand on my tiptoes, running my hands through his silky blond hair and pulling him toward me so he doesn't break away from the kiss. Even when breathing becomes necessary, we both ignore the importance of breathing and continue kissing. Until I start to feel a certain lightness and I break away from the kiss to take a deep breath.

I swallow heavily, connecting my eyes with Y/n's now dark green eyes and feeling my chest rise and fall rapidly.

We stare at each other in silence again, before he leans toward me again and brings our lips together again. But this time the kiss is different.

This time, the kiss is calmer and gentler than the last. I can feel everything in this kiss, and it's in this moment that all the answers to all my questions become clear.

All this time thinking about all the unknown questions about my body's reaction and the solution was so obvious, I haven't been able to see it.

I feel completely stupid for not being able to decipher my body's behavior around Y/n until now. With my parents, who can't go two minutes without touching each other, and Enid talking about Ajax, how could I have missed all the signs?

That explains why, from the very first moment, my body accepted his presence at my side so easily and without any resistance. That's why, on that night of the full moon when I couldn't sleep, as soon as the wolf climbed onto my bed and placed his head on my stomach, I fell asleep immediately.

Because my body knew from the beginning that I was destined to be with him, only my mind hadn't realized the truth yet and now that it has, I don't intend to let him escape in any way.

The wolf that slept in my bed that night will be the same one that sleeps by my side for the rest of our lives, even in death.

THE END

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musings-from-mars · 2 days ago

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So I finally got around to finishing @magicariot recently and I just loved it. It's a trans story about joy and togetherness above all else and honestly that's what made it so refreshing to read.

That's not to say it's a story devoid of trauma, no. There's an immense weight of trauma weighing on these characters and this story, but the narrative doesn't stew in it, it leads on from it. Nova's fraught childhood, the loss of Iris, Claire's lifetime of being in the closet, you can feel it without the book going out of its way to explain it all to you in detail. Because the book trusts the reader to understand. The few tidbits about how Nova's friends avoid cursing around her and the brief explanation why, the brief moments of buried sorrow from Sara at the mention of Iris, Claire's moments of gender uncertainty, it's enough to let the reader know, "these girls have been through it, but they've made it out alive, and they smile every day."

This book was just filled with pleasant subversions of expectations as well. There were several moments where I could feel a slow swell of dread in my chest because of what I expected an author desperate for drama would do, only to see the story gleefully dash those fears: (spoilers ahead)

Very little is said about how Claire looks post-transformation. Yes, you know she has longer hair, a more feminine build, boobs, et cetera, but that's the extent of it really. The basic message is, she looks like a girl now, and she's happy about it. That's the one goal of transition, really. Very delighted by the lack of ado about the specifics of her body. It made her a very accessible protagonist, if that makes sense. The reader can project their own idea of what it means to look like your gender and to be happy about it. And if there's a reader who doesn't relate to Claire in that way, well, there's also the helpful fact that she's an awkward lovestruck goof at times, which just endears her further.

Just, everything about Hazel. Y'all I was scared. That swell of dread I mentioned above the readmore? Hazel dear I'm sorry but you were the reason for it. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, because the cheap route would have been for you to turn out to be some measure of a transphobe to cause the protag some suffering. But no, you love Claire not despite her being trans, but because she's a woman. "I'm a lesbian. I know women. I love women. And you are one of my favorites." A normal cis lesbian! Bless! Perhaps my favorite scene is the one where she shows Claire the photos she took of her. One of the warmest fuzziest feelings a book has given me in a long old time.

The biggest positive I took away from this book was the way it handled the one lingering insecurity Claire carried over from pre-transition: her voice. The book never harps on her voice dysphoria much. She just expresses discomfort and doubt towards the idea of singing here and there. Fastforward and she's facing down the Big Bad, music and Magica all around her, and she has to hit that one note to dispel this world ender. Once again, my expectation was leading me to believe she was going to suddenly overcome her voice dysphoria due to...fear? Fear from knowing she has to sing or the world ends? No, silly me, the whole book is about becoming you on your own terms, no matter the threats you face in doing so. So Claire doesn't sing, she screams. She takes that fear, and throws it at the Big Bad. She's not ready to sing, but she's ready to get up in the face of evil and scream. She isn't perfect, she will never be perfect, and she saves the world by staying true to her imperfect self. Even after a magic-induced transition and her newfound family making her life infinitely brighter, she isn't a sudden girlboss. She's still insecure, but she's brave, and that's enough. And she has promising prospects if Magica Riot ever need someone to front for a screamo album!

Altogether this is a book that is designed to make you happy. It's a trans story of joy and happiness that touches upon the prevailing themes of the magical girl genre—the power of friendship, being yourself—and every step of the way it resists any and all opportunities to be disingenuous towards the genre. The glee and hope of the author is evident in every page. This isn't an earthshattering must-read that will rip your emotions asunder. It's fun, it's earnest, it's kind. It is activist in its resilient shamelessness (and I use that word extremely positively), its casual dropping of words like "polycule" that make no apologies for being made for a queer audience, its refusal to dwell on the insecurities induced by some preeminent oppressive society. The backdrop of trauma is there. But this story's true focus is on finding love and acceptance not from society as a whole, but from the people you love and accept in kind.

But with that society as a whole now aware of the existence of magical girls... The sequel will be a fun journey into the consequences! The Dark Forces of Evil are one thing, but imagine being queer and famous?

Absolutely would read again and will read again! 💜❤️��💚🩵

#magica riot

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isabeauwolf · 1 day ago

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After writing for him multiple times myself 💙🤭🫣

Guess this is my boyfriend Dabi head canons (Of course, I'm always late 🤣 Whoops) SFW Edition

(Please excuse, if these are out of order 🫣 I'm trying to remember everything on the spot)

💙 Dabi would be the yandere and tsundere boyfriend combo. (You can't change my mind!)

💙 He would be mean and bully you, call you weak; it's the only example he's had given who his father.

💙 Would contradict himself by searching for you whenever you are in a room together. Saying it was to make sure you didn't run off or do something stupid. That's on the surface, but internally, he's fearing you would run away from him, abandon him; being one of those "overly romanticized villain chasers" and flee when he becomes villainous, cold, ruthless and his more feral nature pokes its ugly head.

💙Controlling, selfish, manipulative, easily jealous and hiding his true feelings. Blaming you for making him love you or any other feelings you've dragged out of him, long sense buried; the lost embers of his humanity.

💙 When you stay, stare into his eyes; actually, look at him and not through him. It's when he falters and his breath hitches in his burnt lungs and his blacked heart skips. It makes him want to tease and bully you harder, see you flustering and blushing cutely just for him.

💙 Anyone flirts with you? Tries to take you away from him; he'd burn them to ashes without a second thought or after following them, giving them a shake down, a scare and then burn'em.

💙 Put a tracker on your phone or person, so he knows where you are at all times; hell, a microchip. Whichever comes to mind first.

💙 Would absolutely hate when handfreak sends you on missions alone; he'd rather be paired with you like the not so secret overly protective and stubborn jackass that he is.

💙 Give you pet names: baby, spitfire, cry baby, my love; princess, doll

💙 If you come back to him or The Hideout injured. He's seeing red, he's furious; azure blues glaring as he assessing every inch of you for injuries. He kept telling himself he shouldn't care. Shouldn't waste his time. And yet, he does. He does and he hates it, it's annoying. Then when he doesn't see that annoying, happy go lucky smile on your dopey face, you hurt, in pain, bleeding and trying to shrug it off; he's mad at himself for allowing some nameless villain wannabe to hurt you. His doll. His partner. His lover. He feels his body heat up, his quirk thrumming, boiling in his veins, hands twitch as the muscles in his neck tightens and body tenses, his jaw grinds.

💙 With only a few simple words, he drags you away from the others and shoves you into his room. Tells you to sit on his bed as the black-haired flame villain tries to calm himself as he half saunters and half fast walks into his bathroom and comes back with a med kid. "Show me." He's not asking, it's a command. "And be quick about it, doll." You do as you are told, turning and showing him your side. His half-lidded gaze widens when he notices all of the scares on your back. His anger and rage rise higher, nearly during the kit into cinders.

💙 When you call his Villain name he snaps out of it. Releasing a hard explain of exasperation through his nose as he gets to work as you explain what happened. He tries to act nonchalant, tries not to giveaway that he's listening, focusing on every detail: your attacker, where you were and what they looked like as you try not to break down and cry. You bite your bottom lip, your body trembling as he finishes the last of covering your wounds, whispering that you were sorry for being a burden, both to him and The League.

💙 He hates it. He hates how much your words hurt him, affect and makes his heart hurt, bashing yourself as memories of his former self, Touya Todoroki, the lingering phantom and shadows resurfacing. Hitting hard as if you had turned around and physically struck him. Dabi surprises himself, hesitantly and awkwardly pulling you into his embrace; being mindful of your wound as you finally breakdown, openingly crying and sobbing into his chest and his shirt. Clinging onto him as he holds you.

💙 He remains there until your tears have dried, rubbing his large heated hands into your hair or on your back, in small circles. He mentally curses himself for the old muscle memory of helping and holding his younger siblings, his humanity coming back to him. He supposed he could let this slide, a one-time thing, he tells himself.

💙 Yes, Dabi's decided that once you are asleep, he'll avenge you himself. He felt excitement bubbling as he felt inwardly giddy, the thrill of the hunt, the chase, the thought of seeing that low level, low life thug screaming, whimpering and howling in pain, kneeling on the ground underneath his boot heel and begging for mercy when they didn't give you any. Didn't stop when you pleaded, tears streaming down your face, crying for help, for mercy, for him, your friends; knowing a Hero wouldn't come.

💙 After you were asleep and tucked into his bed. Dabi was surprised when Toga, Twice, Mister and Shigaraki were waiting for him outside. Kurogiri and Magne decided to stay and protect you back at the hideout. The rest of The League followed him, stalking like thieves in the night until they found the person who'd hurt you. It was easy to find them. They were bragging and gloating about what they had done; saying The LOV was a pack of weaklings. It is more personal now, both their pride and for avenging you. The group of Villains swarmed on your attacker like a pack of ravenous jackals, demonic angels of vengeance, all teeth, glee and madness.

💙 Who knew that you made The League of Villains, a group of crazies and outcasts bond and grow closer? You may be Dabi's partner, but you were a part of their found family. It was a glorious bonding experience.

More fluff and sweet moments Dabi "pretends" not to notice~

💙 The half-awake and half asleep, dopey smile you give him as he hands you coffee makes his blacked and charcoaled heart melt. He feels his mismatched lips quirk into a ghost of a smile.

💙 Deny it all he wants, but he loves when you cuddle against him in the middle of the night. Once or twice, okay, a handful of times, he's pulled you into his side or onto his chest, or nuzzles his face into your chest, savoring your warmth, your steady breathing. Knew if he did this while you two were awake, you'd tease him.

Your first I love you's and kisses

💙 When he finally admits that he loves you, it's awkward and impulsive. He'd been wanting to tell you. Said in his head over and over again until you called his name and it slipped out, "I love you, Y/n." Your eyes widen, mouth falling open and he knew he'd messed up and said it too soon! He tries to play it off, but you don't buy it. He flounders, blushing harder against his semi-normal and burnt skin as your lips curl into a smile, batting your pretty lashes at him and ask coyly, "You love me?"

💙 He bites the inside of his cheek and grumbles, "What of it? What if I do? So what, doll?" His heartbeat thunders hard against his ribcage as he waits for your answer. Your rejection. He stomach twitching in knots as his anxiety flares and he hates it. What were you doing to him?!

💙 Your smile widens, it's bright and beaming as you hug him when he becomes further embarrassed and glances away. "Good." You lean on your tiptoes and kisses his heated, scarred and stapled cheek. "I love you too, Dabi." You surprised him. You gently cup his cheek, turning his head towards yours and kissing him, his lips against yours. You. You stole his first kiss?! Stole so many of his firsts. His eyes widened, his breath hitches and leaves his lungs as you pull away; a cute noticeable blush creeping across your face. "Sorry, it was a heat of the moment kind of thing." You muttered shyly.

💙 He blinked, turquoise eyes dazed until he inwardly shook himself. His jaw twitches, lips curling into a smug smirk, filled with amusement and mischief sparkling behind his azure blues orbs. "Well, look who grew bold today?" He hums.

💙 Your face turns redder as you bury your face into his chest. "Shut up. If I didn't kiss you first you wouldn't do it." Your voice is muffled by his clothes, but he hears you. Oh. Oh, no. Now you've done it. You've challenged him.

💙 Oh? So you want his fire? His passion? His all consuming embers and hellfire. He had been holding himself back. He didn't want you to run away and take his time. But if you challenge him like that. The games has changed. You've unknowingly lit the coals underneath him and his competitive nature. Dabi's smirk widens into something wolfish and feral, hungry as both of his large, warm hands cradle the side of your face and force you to meet his gaze. "Is that a challenge, doll?" He teases. He's not angry. Far from it, he's secretly happy that you wanted to kiss him. Wanted him as much as he wanted you. "You wanna kiss me? C'mon don't grow shy on me now."

💙 You nod your head, raising your hands to cover his. Not to push him away. No. You skate your palms along his skin, touch featherily light and inch your hands along his firearms, his shoulders and behind his neck, pressing yourself closer, chest to chest and wrapping your hands behind his head.

💙 Dabi chuckles. "Words, doll." Something dark and amused, dangerous as he tries to ignore his traitorous heart fluttering. "Use your words." He encourages, trying to coax more of your stubbornness he's fond of. It's there. He notices your sass and grit forming on your face through the flustered expression and shyness. There you are. He thought inwardly chuckling to himself. My courageous doll. My spitfire. My doll. All mine.

💙 You lick your lips, his blues follows, then flickers back to your eyes. "Yes and what if I do want to kiss you?" You ask back. Something soft. Waiting. Testing the waters. Teasing. Challenging.

💙 Dabi tilts his head. "Then whatcha waiting for? You want a kiss? My fire?" He lowers, hovering over you, caging you against him and the wall, heated hands leaving your face to travel to the back of your head and the other behind the small of your back. "Think you can handle me?" He whispers. Excitement, and twinge of desire growing. "I don't like doin' shit half-assed, pretty baby."

💙 There is it. The smirk curling along your own lips. "As long as you don't chicken out, Dabi." There's the sassy little thing that drew him in and stole his heart.

💙 That earns you a laugh, low and raspy, playful. "Don't regret your choices when you get burned." He takes initiative and control this time. Bringing you into a soft and tender kiss, once again contradicting himself. It doesn't last long. He moves his lips along your own, it's awkward and unsure, then grows more raw, heated, passionate and all consuming, possessive as he pours all of his twisted, mixed-up feelings into it. Trying to tell you without words, his affection for you. How much you make him ache. How much you make him burn and yearn for more. More of your kisses, more of your touches, more of your love and affection, he wants everything you have to give. Growing more greedier as his breaths mingle with your own before finally pulling away. "I'm far from satisfied, baby." He pants, gasping for air as he pulls you back for another kiss. "You'll let me, won't you?" He whispers, breathlessly, his lips tingling as he shivers. Wondering what other feelings and emotions you will brag out of him. "You want another." He kisses you, a light peck. "Another." He does it again. "And another." He hums, chuckling when you nod your head, gasping and knees buckled as you cling onto him.

💙 He continues to tease you in between heated kisses. If even you try to stop him now, he doesn't know, if he could let you go now. You've awakened the greedy, touch and love starved beast caged and chained for too long. Deprived of affection, acceptance, warmth and the embers are only scorching higher, escalating, spreading and isn't stopping.

💙 Only on the rare occasion when you two are alone he would smother you, cling onto you, silently beg for your attention like the love and touch starved, dramatic man baby that he is. Secretly spoil you with stuff he's stolen and completely deny it was from him.

(If I could do a steamy, NSFW Editon and you wanna be a part of the taglist or any of my other Dabi fanfics, let me know, my lovelies!)

Okay, I lied. I had to through in some sprinkles of spice in there! I couldn't help it! It was too perfect not to. X////x

#Isabeau's Boyfriend Dabi Head Canon's #Boyfriend Dabi Head Canon's #Sorry I'm late!#Dabi Brainrot is back!#Blue Eyed Cassanova #Pyro #villain lover #Dabi #Isabeau Writes #mha dabi #Dabi x reader

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labyrinthinesyndicatex · 10 hours ago

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Grant nodded along, relating deeply to the phone addiction struggle. Those phantom buzzes had become part of his daily existence, like some evolutionary adaptation gone wrong. "Four hours without notifications does feel like torture. My brain keeps searching for that digital fix even when I'm trying to break free." Baseball brought out his most genuine smile - nothing beat experiencing a game in real-time, letting each play unfold naturally without checking stats or scores. "Those overpriced stadium hot dogs really do taste better when you're actually present for the experience. Makes me wonder what else we miss while glued to our screens." He paused, appreciating how this conversation flowed without either of them reaching for their phones. The MTV comparison made him grin - every generation probably did have their own version of this struggle. His mind wandered to his own failed attempts at being more present, like that morning's scrambled eggs that actually had flavor when he paid attention. "Sorry about the birthday situation with Cynthia. That's rough. When we're trying to do too many things at once, we mess up the simple things." He kept his response gentle, not pushing for details. Everyone deserved space to work through relationship bumps without an audience.

Digital detox sounded great in theory, but four hours without checking notifications? Pure torture these days. His leg still twitched expecting alerts even with the phone buried in his desk drawer at work. Mindless scrolling had become such a default state that actual human interaction felt revolutionary. "Those phantom vibrations are like a built-in alarm system now. My brain keeps expecting updates even when I'm trying to disconnect," he said, relating hard to Grant's confession. Baseball games in person had this magic that no highlight reel could capture—the crowd energy, those quiet moments between plays—even the overpriced hot dogs tasted better without a screen in front of him. "You nailed it about being present. Every generation probably complained about the latest distraction. Our parents probably blamed MTV for ruining attention spans." Living in the moment shouldn't feel like such a radical act, but here they were, two guys celebrating the simple victory of eating breakfast without multitasking. "Probably steak. I don't know anymore, to be honest. I used to grab meals with Cynthia, but she's a bit pissed off these days. Not her fault. Completely mine. That's what I get for messing up her birthday." That was as far as he could go with the confession. He couldn't exactly tell Grant his girlfriend was one of the leaders of the Onyx Circuit, could he?

#interaction: grant blackwood #grant blackwood + ezra avebury 001 #q

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vaguely-concerned · 1 year ago

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can't believe garak went from 'hope you have fun following my little breadcrumb trail of maybe-truths doctor it builds character ;)' at the beginning of the show to '*sigh* fuck it here's the whole loaf. the entire fucked up bakery of my soul. if you somehow still wanna have sex with me after this you know where I am, yours in infinite longing etc.' in a stitch in time. has anyone ever been so pathetically horrifically enduringly down bad as garak is for julian (laudatory)

#that's some real lodestar simp stuff you've got going on garak and I'm so happy for you/sorry . I guess that's the thing about love #garashir #elim garak #star trek #star trek ds9 #ds9 #I take the same approach to 'a stitch in time' that I do to deacon's final story in fallout 4 -- I'm agnostic on if ALL details are true #but overall it's certainly *emotionally* truer than even the truth could be sort of situation. genuinely emotionally intimate finally.#which I think is the more important part #and part of that is being weapons grade longing material fjdskjafsa. off the pining scale.

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welcometogrouchland · 1 year ago

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I understand that literature nerd Jason Todd is kind of overblown in fanon compared to it's actual presence in canon (a few issues during his pre (and post?)crisis Robin tenure that highlight it) BUT consider that I think it's hilarious if the unhinged gun toting criminal has strong opinions on poetry

#ramblings of a lunatic #dc comics #Jason Todd #batfamily #it's just a fun quirk! it's a fun lil detail and I simply cannot slight ppl for enjoying and incorporating it into works #like obviously jason isn't the only one. I'm a big believer in the batfam having over lapping interests they refuse to bond over #i know dick canonically used the robin hood stories (which are pretty flowery in their language far as i can tell) as inspo for Robin #and i know babs was a librarian and even tho her area of nerddom is characterized as more computery she probably knows quite a lot-#-about literature as well #duke is a hobbyist writer i believe? i saw a fan mention that- which if so is great and I hope he's also a nerd #(i mean he is canonically. i remember him being a puzzle nerd in his introduction. but i mean specifically a lit nerd)#damian called Shakespeare boring but also took acting classes so i think he's more of a theatre kid.#Tim's a dropout and i don't think he's ever shown distinct interest in english lit and i can't remember for Steph?#I'm ngl my brain hyperfocused on musician Steph i forget some of her other interests I'm sorry (minus softball and gymnastics!)#and then Cass had her whole (non linear but it's whatevs) arc about literacy and learning to read #went from struggling to read in batgirl 00 to memorizing Shakespeare in 'tec and is now an avid read in batgirls!#she's shown reading edgar allen poe but we don't know if it's his short stories or his poems #point to all of the above being: i know Jason's not the only lit nerd in the batfam #but also i do need him to be writing poetry in his spare time and reading and reviewing it #jason at the next dead robins society meeting: evening folks today I'll be assigning all of us poems based on laika the space dog #damian and steph who have been kidnapped and brought to jasons warehouse to hangout: LET US GO BITCH #speaking of^ random poem i think jason would like: space dog by alan shapiro #wake up one morning in an unfamiliar more mature body with a profound sense of abandonment. the last four lines. mmm tasty

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asvidema · 3 months ago

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finally sat down to sketch henry of skalitz, blacksmith's son, and his lord, hans capon of pirkstein from kingdom come deliverance

#kcd2 #kingdom come deliverance #henry of skalitz #hans capon #i like giving my own style/details to characters. helps with not feeling too weird about drawing the actors #and i like how they turned out #i've got some thoughts so i'll quickly go through them #obviously i like the idea that henry has gone through some shit and it shows in his eyes especially #so i gave him noticeable eye bags. and also scruffier hair #kind of taking inspiration from both games. the 'wetter' look of the first and the more wavy look from the second game #i also really like the asymmetrical smile on henry a lot. and the dimple. lmao #as for hans he's clearly less marked by time and experiences. in turn. while he should be extremely careful to his appearance. and he is #i like to give movement to his hair (which i also made slightly longer). to underline his tendency to being free and kinda energetic #also i'm sorry but if i can go ham on eyebrows being not tidy and full i can and will go ham on them #and i love henry's eyebrows a lot. boy has been thrown and dragged around a lot and he doesn't have the time to fix much and that's fine #because i love him #my art

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 1 day ago

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//Well, some of you guys clearly had some shit to say to me about my thoughts and feelings on this post, huh?

//Out of the gate, I want to say thank you, because all of these responses are entirely fair, well-formulated, and respectful. And I feel like I don't get enough of that in terms of criticism and responses as of late.

//It's hard arguing against these points, most notably the one about how Ima goes through the 5-stages of grief, which I think is really clever actually...but I want to at least say a few things to clarify what I was actually talking about during my summary and opinion of the events.

//First of all, I think that's it's important to clarify that I stopped playing immediately after the fight where Ima and Kako make their debut. I paused my playthrough on the morning of Day 57 after Takumi sleeps through the previous day. I haven't had a chance to experience Ima and Kako's character progression, or their relationship beyond what I recounted in my journal.

//That journal entry was discussing my opinion of the events AS THEY HAPPENED. For all I know, what comes of them could end up completely resolving the situation for me. Shit, I hope it does. I'm still only halfway through the first run. There is still a second half, as well as 100 different outcomes, that could severely change my thoughts and feelings on the Tsukumo twins. Hell, that applies to every character in this lineup.

//Second of all, I'm sorry if I came across it this way, but don't go thinking I'm DESPERATE for Ima to get some commupance for his actions.

//I'm not trying to say that Ima deserves to suffer for what he did. I don't like him, but I'm not saying he deserves that!

//All I'm saying is that regardless of his reasons, it doesn't change the fact that he still mentally hurt his sister, and physically hurt; damn near KILLED; Takemaru. And I believe that he got off a little too lightly is all.

//I know that death matters little to these guys, but even if I accept that Ima just did it as a result of being pushed mentally, once again, Takemaru himself wasn't even aggressive about standing up to him! He wasn't yelling or anything; literally all he wanted was for Ima to take a chill pill.

//I'm not COMPLETELY ignorant though; I DO see that Ima probably felt guilty about the whole thing, and the fact that he DID get off lightly surprised him. His reaction to being flicked instead of...you know...being beaten to shit clearly got to him. He recognized Takemaru's generosity and kindness, and accepted it.

//And while yeah, for absolute psychopaths, making sure Ima dies in every fight might help THEM, I'm not that kind of person. Even if I was, it's too much of a hassle.

//Point 3: This one is in regards to the third person's specification of Takumi's heart not being in the pursuasion...that's very much a me problem here, because as I said in the journal, I ACED Kako's persuasion thing in one go, and I only got one wrong answer. So I didn't actually SEE that dialogue; thus the disconnect.

//And finally, the BIG problem with all these points is I think the general reason why this writing didn't sit right for me, is that the game doesn't JUSTIFY what happens as much as it probably should have.

//Almost every time we see the Tsukumo twins doing shit in this game, there's some sort of indication that they grew up in dire straits, and the way that Ima seems to be very controlling of both their actions only furthers this; as does Kako's interest in modern tech, and both of their habits of eating rotten/gone-off food or even wild plants without much complaint.

//My problem here is that this was the game's chance to go into detail about it, and they just...don't. If I had been given a full story instead of just little hints, then maybe, as you said, I'd find it more palatable.

//And I get it; it's probably very personal and hard to talk about, but if Ima REALLY wanted to get Takumi on his side this time and at least get the guy to understand where he's coming from, now's not really a good time to hold that shit back.

//This wasn't really an issue for any of the other characters we've had to debate with so far. Tsubasa and especially Gaku gave us a fair bit of detail on their backstories, both of which really got me to sympathize with the characters, as well as make their scenes even more powerful.

//Shouma's wasn't really that intricate, but unlike the Tsukumo's, Shouma's doesn't really NEED to be intricate. Him simply explaining that the reason he is this way is largely because his parents were very successful, and he has a history of disappointing people because he himself couldn't possibly live up to them both; which ended up shaping his attitude to what we know it to be.

//With him, we can pretty much piece the rest together; especially since we've already seen this kind of backstory from the likes of Mikan Tsumiki, Toko Fukawa, etc.

//This might just be how I see it, but I feel like Ima didn't give us nearly enough of an explanation. YOU GUYS who responded to my post gave me more of an explanation than the game did!

//What makes things even harder for me is the fact that Ima's whole character is that he comes off as remarkably unserious about everything. At least everything that isn't to do with Kako. He spends most of his screentime with a wry smile on his face and a flippant attitude, meanwhile he kind of casually treats everyone else around him like trash.

//And I KNOW how bloody ironic that sounds from someone who openly admitted that KURARA is one of his top characters in this game, but the difference is that I have NEVER taken Kurara seriously. And finding out that it's really just a coping mechanism because she herself is super timid only made that clearer.

//It's a cool and really unique point to say that Ima went through grief as Kako started to stick up for herself; and what he was mad at wasn't the fact that his dear sister dared to defy him, but the fact that he felt he was failing as a brother, and his life was crumbling apart, because he wasn't capable of stopping her from putting her safety in danger.

//That's GREAT if it wasn't for the fact that Ima had the personality of a DEAD GOLDFISH!

//Unlike Tsubasa, Shouma, and Gaku who are all endearing in their own weird ways, Ima is just SO UNLIKEABLE, and I'm under the impression that he acts that way on purpose. He has two personalities in the first 50 or so days, and that's coy, sarcastic and jovial; or livid for no fucking reason.

//I know this is the Kodaka creed or whatever, but for someone who's lived such a shitty life, he sure doesn't evoke much sympathy. GAKU evokes more sympathy than he does!

//I just had a really hard time relating to the Tsukumo's plight because once again, the scene itself just felt super rushed and kind of unfinished. We just go from one extreme to another in no time flat; making it both hard to follow, and even harder to sympathize with.

//One last thing I want to cover is how Takumi fits into all this, because...yeah, okay, I kind of see where you guys are coming from.

//Takumi is completely unequipped to resolve the deep-rooted problems between the twins. I don’t blame him for making what felt like the best choice in a horrible situation he clearly wasn’t prepared to deal with.

//But TAKUMI going along with it isn't the core issue. The issue isn't "Why isn't Takumi stopping this?" The issue is "Why isn't ANYONE stopping this!?" But in retrospect, I suppose I understand that, RATHER CONVINIENTLY, everyone kind of had a reason to.

//Shouma, Eito, and I guess also Nozomi have shown to despise inner conflict, and wouldn't want to do anything that would set Ima off, and therefore make the situation worse for everyone, including Kako.

//Takemaru, who actually DID step up, got badly injured by the aggressor for doing so.

//I would also understand that this particularly would put off the likes of Gaku and Tsubasa from getting involved.

//Darumi doesn't have a reason to get involved either. Hell, she actively WANTS infighting, because it brings them one step closer to their murder match that she so desperately craves. To a lesser extent, the same applies to Yugamu and Kurara. This isn't their business, and they don't have the chops or motivation to deal with it, so there's no reason to get involved.

//The only person besides Takumi that I see standing up to the issue is Kyoshika, but...Kyoshika on her own is about as useful as a chocolate teapot in this kind of situation. She could not handle this on her own without help; since all she can really do is step in to stop a situation from escalating.

//So yeah, I will concede this point. Trust me; I don't want to be out to get Takumi. He is a great main character despite his lack of agency so far, and I'd much rather defend him than rebuke him.

//But genuinely, thank you all for the serious and mature responses to that, and thanks for helping me understand better. I just hope I was able to help you guys understand a litle more where I'm coming from.

-Mod

THE HUNDRED LINE: LAST DEFENSE ACADEMY - Journal #4: Route 0 Days 46-56. [MASSIVE SPOILERS]

//Well...THIS was interesting.

//To be perfectly frank, this part of the game left me very...conflicted. As in some of the ideas that we have presented here, as well as the general plot progression of this part of the story...didn't really sink in with me on first experience, and didn't exactly invoke the kind of feeling in me I think it was supposed to.

//Was it a drop in quality? No, I wouldn't say so. What actually happens is still awesome, just...maybe it's something I'm not quite wrapping my head around.

DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED/SEEN THE HUNDRED LINE: LAST DEFENSE ACADEMY. I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT VERY SPECIFIC PLOT POINTS AND MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE GAME.

//So let's get started:

DAY 46:

//The day starts off with Nozomi, who now seems more willing to be open and more willing to talk to Takumi, calls everyone to the War Room so she can finally give us more info about what exactly the group from STLDA learned from Nigou about "World Death."

//By the way, I've been unintentionally calling this thing "World Ender" because I'm writing ReCaptured, and this is what the Remnants call the Future Foundation before they find out the actual name of it, lmao. Unintentional, but honest mistake.

//And of course, this kicks off with a bunch of juicy new lore.

//As I have mentioned in passing with these blogs, one of my favourite parts about this game's story is how it's clearly set in a "distant" future, where humanity all live under a giant dome-like structure, and throughout the game, we see the characters react weirdly to phenomenons that we as regular humans think is natural.

//Just as it creates interesting scenes like that where the characters are unfamiliar with concepts that we find basic, the concepts that they live with under the TRC are what seem alien to us. So the more we learn about them, the more it hooks me.

//But essentially, Nozomi just gives a straight up summary here of WHY the Tokyo Complex was even created in the first place.

//To summarize what she says, Earth became uninhabitable due to a phenomenon called "World Death," caused by the planet itself deciding to end its life in response to humanity’s exploitation and environmental destruction. As natural disasters ravaged the planet, most of the population perished, but a few survivors escaped to massive underground shelters like the Tokyo Residential Complex.

//Over a century later, TRC's residents are the last remnants of humanity, with no memory of life above ground. Now, their survival is again threatened as resources run out. Their only hope lies in the mysterious item hidden in the Defense Room by Sirei. Nozomi and the others believe that the reason why we are here for 100 days specifically, is because that item is set to activate on the 100th day, serving as potentially humanity’s final chance at salvation.

//I don't know if there's nuance to this explanation, but considering the context we have thus far, it checks out.

//And again, there are some interesting tidbits here. For one thing...we find out that Darumi had an abusive brother...shame that, but unfortunately not super important for the current situation; though I am definitely more curious about it...

//And another, as it turns out, despite living in the TOKYO Residential Complex, none of these kids really even know what Tokyo WAS before World Death consumed it.

//Again, the difference in perspective between the audience and the cast is the most interesting part of this game's plot. This is normal for them. The idea that they descended from an entirely different race of human beings that covered an entire planet never even crossed their minds.

//This situation also got me thinking about the Invaders themselves. The current theory that the students have is that the Invaders are part of the world's will to destroy the rest of humankind.

//A definitely plausible theory for the moment, but I personally don't think it's true. And the main reason why I believe that at this point is because if the Invaders are part of World Death, then why can they not get past the Undying Flames? Or at the very least, how come the mooks can't get past the Undying Flames without some sort of special method? If they were part of the same apocalypse, shouldn't they be able to bypass it far easier than they've been shown to?

//I have other reasons, but they prop up later in this journal, so I'll cover them when I get there.

//MY personal theory is that the Invaders are exactly that. Alien Invaders. It's why they speak a completely unrecognizable language, and why they look so strange and...well...alien. My only issue is that at this point, I don't see why it's important for them to get past the school and into the Defense Room.

//However, my best guess is that whatever it is that humans are using to survive is potentially something that they stole from that alien race, and these guys want it back.

//And I think this checks out, because this conversation we have here really does go out of it's way to highlight that even after ALL the shit that's happened as a result of Earth trying to protect itself from greedy douchebags; the government of what's left of the world is still played up to be extremely selfish.

//A large reason why, or at least, as it's indicated by the characters, that most people in the TRC don't know about the old world is because most history books or textual knowledge on it has been scrapped. And I can only assume the reason is because they tried to erase any history of their fuck-ups. They don't want people to point the finger and blame them for their currently dying race.

//Coupled with the fact that they clearly have a hand in this war we're fighting, and drafted literal children into it to fight for the human race, and...yeah, it really calls morality into question.

//I'm almost thinking there's going to be an ending to this game where we find out the truth about the Invaders and what humans have done to them, switch sides, and help subjugate humanity. Of all the possibilities, there has to be at least one route that lets you turn your back on these nasty bastards.

//Anyway, with that all out of the way, it causes everyone's resolve to tighten...Everyone that is...except Ima and Kako.

//Oh, sorry, everyone except Ima and Ima alone. Kako is clearly far more motivated to fight than ever now, since only she and her brother are the one's sitting on the sidelines while even Shouma was able to come around to the idea.

//But Ima does not let Kako speak for herself, and it aggravates me to no end. Again, I was holding out for hope, because from what I'd seen of these guys so far, there had to be at least a good reason why. I was really banking on that actually, because in this part of the story, Ima just becomes insanely iredeemable, at least for a bit.

//We'll get back to that though.

//I still had Free Time for the rest of the day, and fortunately, within this time it's taken me to play, I've started to figure out more about what you should be doing with your spare time.

//One of the big issues that I had with this game was how upgrading moves costed BP. BP, which is an unreasonably rare resource during explorations. And one of my biggest critique's of the game itself was that doing explorations did not net nearly enough resources needed for character and weapon upgrades; even with a team that increases the likelihood of finding the resource.

//Turns out I was doing things a bit wrong.

//You're not SUPPOSED to farm BP with explorations. You just CAN do it. The REAL best way to get BP is by playing the VR training missions.

//I made the, admittedly, stupid as fuck mistake that you could only get the rewards from the VR missions once. Turns out you can just play them over and over again to get the points you need, and the best part is that it only costs one slot of time. And the more missions you unlock, the higher your potential reward is.

//If I spend a full day grinding the VR missions, it nets me about 6000 BP points minimum, which is perfect and serviceable for what I need. This is something I wish I'd recognized sooner; even before I started the game.

//But hey, better late than never.

//So...yeah, a lot of these 10 days I cover is gonna involve me grinding out the VR training. And again, even though she's not in the squad anymore, Hiruko is still registered in the training sim.

//I'm not going to talk extensively about what happens during my grind, because it's just the same mission over and over again, but I was able to get some new abilities for my characters.

//The standour one's are that Kurara now has an ability where she makes a turret that gives allies shields every turn, which, while not strong shields, is still very useful. And on top of that, Shouma actually got an attacking move.

//From what I can understand, Shouma can throw a punching attack that increases in power the lower his health gets. However, if he does attack, he immediately becomes stunned. Which...makes sense considering what we covered in the previous journal.

//This isn't a huge problem, but it does still make taking hits and reflecting the damage back his better option; especially since he can still lure enemies away from the point.

//Speaking of which, I did a big booboo in this fight as well, because I did not realize that Kurara's ultimate move worked the same way as the trip mine item; as in if they go off, it hurts EVERYTHING in the vicinity, INCLUDING your own teammates.

//So yeah, Gaku (appropriately) ended up getting blasted to death by the bombs. Poor guy.

//After the day ends, we have another Karua scene where she drops lore on what Earth was like before the TRC; very relevant to our current conversations.

//Although, to be honest, what I took away from it was really strange, and probably not important, but apparently what's going on is Takumi is in the middle of doing his summer homework, and Karua is watching him.

//My question is why does the concept of SUMMER break exist when the Tokyo Residential Complex has already been established to not have seasons?

//Should the concept of "summer" even exist to these people? And how come no one's questioning it if that isn't the case?

//I can't even call this a nitpick; I just think it's weird.

DAY 47:

//To be honest, a lot of the days I'm about to list are actually just days with Free Time. Which is good, because we need as much as we can get. But there are spruces of plot to break them up that mainly revolve around the twins, because obviously it's their turn to join the fight.

//But we did actually get a moment today during the breakfast sequence that actually made me laugh a bit.

//Can I just mention that I do really like that the writers of this game do give us extensive scenes to make up each day, even if they don't add much to the overall story. Kind of gives you this reminder that we are basically just living together like this, and we are regular people at the end of the day, despite what we go through.

//And it's a better chance to show off the characters just being friends; especially after the sheer spite between the two groups in the last arc of the story.

//Also, Komatsuzaki, holy shit, you branched out a lot for these sprites, huh?

//Yeah, not gonna lie, as weird as Gaku's sprites during this sequence is, him having a foodgasm over Kurara's curry is really funny to me. Especially given what's been going on with me at the moment.

//I haven't really talked about it, because it wasn't super relevant, but I've recently been rewatching a lot of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure; particularly Diamond is Unbreakable, because that part's my favourite.

//And one of my favourite episodes of that part; which I'm confident many agree with, is the Tonio Trussardi episode where Josuke and Okuyasu just go eat Italian food at Tonio's restaurant, and every time Okuyasu ate one of Tonio's dishes, he had a very critical breakdown of each one; and acted very intelligent about the flavor.

//This reminded me of that, so for me personally, it's as funny as it is relevant.

//I am also glad to see Kurara being hospitable. Because she is genuinely one of my favourite characters so far; especially after the last arc. Even when she was being a complete jerk, she was still a fav of mine, but having her acting this way just bumps her up for me.

//And one thing that I am so disappointed about is after breakfast, I actually spent the morning of that day hanging out with her to increase my stats. And while I don't remember exactly what happened with it, I remember Kurara was really mad at Gaku about something.

//And then she pulls out a fucking gun!

//Like, no cap, she tells Takumi she's gonna get revenge or...whatever, and then the screencap shows a fucking handgun, and she's like "Yeah, I'm gonna smoke this dweeb!" and Takumi has to talk her down.

//Caught me off guard in the best way, and I think Kurara might actually be one of my favourite characters in the game now.

//For context, after these days, this is my current tierlist. However, I will say that there is not a single character in this game that I think is bad or poorly written. The cast itself is genuinely very solid, and I pretty much like all of them.

//Which was one big reason why Danganronpa 2 was so good for me; because even the worst characters in it I still like a moderate amount.

//I spent the afternoon reading to increase my stats, and it kind of reinforced this idea that I brought up previously. The book I read was another one that contained a lot of history on the TRC, but so much of the content in it was censored.

//Again, the reason is pretty clearly because the government of the TRC are trying to leave the old world behind, along with how badly they screwed it up.

DAY 48:

//Today was another day where I just played the VR sim again, and even though I know it's going to get stale doing the same fights again and again just to get the resources I need, I think I'm getting used to it.

//It's not the WORST thing in the world. At least your efforts are fruitful.

//Only other thing worth noting is in the morning, there's a scene with Eito in the cafeteria where he mentions that thanks to what we now know about World Death, the possibility of Nozomi being an alternate universe version of Karua is looking increasingly unlikely.

//His reasoning is that since we're fighting for the sake of helping the Tokyo Residential Complex and the remains of humanity inside it to live another day, the likelihood of the academy and the complex being from different worlds is fairly minimal.

//Like I said before, I knew that that wasn't going to be the case, because the game does not just feed you answers like that. But yeah, I guess that's as good a reason as any.

//But once again, I am still absolutely clueless on who or what Nozomi is in that case. And I genuinely can't think of any good theories until the game gives us more information on her; which they have been pretty shy about.

//My best guess is that Nozomi's arc is going to come after we get the whole squad together.

DAY 49:

//I expected this would happen, but Ima has officially cut both himself and Kako off from the rest of the group.

//If you'd noted the tierlist above, Ima is currently square at the bottom of the list, even though I don't hate him. I just really don't like him for most of this part of the story, because he acts SO CONTROLLING. And the longer it goes on, the worse he gets. Again, we'll get to that, but his behaviour just gradually gets more and more disturbing as time goes on.

//But today turned out to be a little bit different. At the point I was at, I managed to get most of my social stats to level two, with Math and Gym being the one's I had to get next. Nozomi raises Math stat, so I planned on giving her a gift so she could help me level it.

//Unfortunately, I did search what she liked, and I didn't actually have the resources to make it. So what I did is I decided to go out exploring, and in one sitting, get to ALL the Treasure Chest locations on the map that I had unlocked so far.

//As a reminder, I am currently flame level 2 in the game, so I only have access to the Desert and the Forest.

//But I'm not gonna lie. Remember how I mentioned that the exploration stuff was by far my least favourite part of the game?

//Well...it STILL is...BUT I have managed to find a way to make it much, much, MUCH easier on myself. And it largely revolves around the team I picked to go out with.

//That squad is Nozomi, Shouma, and Kyoshika.

//First of all, I know that I kind of shit-talked Kyoshika initially, because her playstyle didn't really click with me, but after getting her some more moves and understanding how she functions, she is easily one of the strongest characters in the game.

//Even at a lower level, setting up the game right allows her to do more damage to enemies than even Hiruko was able to pull off early game. So in this squad, Kyoshika is my main DPS, with Takumi as my sub-DPS basically. If you use Takumi to clear out the smaller enemies and get them on their own with no adjacent backup, Kyoshika can effectively take out stronger enemies in one hit with her attacks.

//Having someone that strong means that I clear enemy spaces very easily very quickly, even the tougher ones.

//Shouma is really great for long-winded investigations because his whole thing is having the most health out of every character. So if you land on an event square where you take damage, he can take a lot of it and not really worry about it.

//He's also good at getting rid of smaller enemies on a wide scale in battle by luring them in and having them hit him. And again, considering the whole point of these missions is that health depends on how long the exploration is for, him being able to take damage that would normally badly hurt his party members makes him a godsend.

//This same reason is exactly why Nozomi continues to be the absolute uncrowned queen of this game, because in this kind of situation, having the ability to heal is just ESSENTIAL.

//So my main strategy is if my team is running low on health, I try to aim for spaces that initiate a battle, and during the battle, I have Nozomi just pump everyone's health up again. And then that health carries over to the board game mode.

//Of course, the issue is Nozomi herself is very squishy and lacking in health, so one really unfortunate roll on the board could kill her instantly.

//But in the event of something like that happening to any of my characters, I have been strictly advised to save-scum the fuck out of it, otherwise it's just not enjoyable.

//You need a LOT of patience with this gamemode, because if you don't have mental fortitude, it's gonna eat away at you. Getting these gifts in one sitting took SEVERAL HOURS, because you move so slow around this board, and in some places where you need to go, there aren't even any checkpoints that you can automatically jump to.

//Still easily the worst part of this game, and that's very unfortunate. But with the new characters on the team, it's at least not nearly as much of a luck-based grind that could end purely by chance.

//But I managed to get it all done, and ended that gameplay session there. But Day 49 doesn't end just like that though, because we have a really interesting cutscene.

//Remember how I mentioned that we had a scene where Karua and Takumi talked about the outside world again? Well, in that scene, Karua mentions the Moon, which again, is something that these kids are unfamiliar with. They live under a giant dome, so they've never seen anything in the sky ever.

//But this day ends with Takumi feeling a presence outside his door; which at the time I guessed was the Undying Flames boy, but it's raining when he goes out and no one's there. He ends up looking up at the moon and...

//...yeeeaaaaaaaaaaaahhh, that ain't normal.

//I have no idea what to make of it, but I do actually have two theories, and both of them relate to the same thing.

//That "thing" is my theory about the Invaders being aliens.

//THEORY 1: What we're looking at here isn't the moon, but the spaceship that the alien Invaders actually come from. They descend down to earth from this conviniently moon-shaped spaceship.

//My reasoning? Sirei mentions at the beginning of the game that the Undying Flames are specifically an inpenetrable wall of fire. The Invaders sometimes get through it, but we're never given explicit detail on HOW. HOWEVER, Sirei does mention that while the flames respond to enemies that try to get OVER them, he does mention that there is a limit to how high they can reach.

//And when he explains it, he very notably mentions that one way to get by it is to come in from outer space.

//Which is what I think the Invaders are doing, because even though we know some of them get past the Wall of Flames, we're never explicitly given details as to HOW. Just that some particularly strong one's can just...do it. So that would also explain THAT little detail.

//THEORY 2: Remember how I mentioned earlier that whatever's in the Defense Room may be something we've taken from the Invaders that they're trying to get back?

//While this might sound ridiculous, here's a distinct possibility that we're not even ON Earth right now.

//Maybe that's a bit confusing, but what I mean is that the moon that we're looking for is ACTUALLY where the Tokyo Residential complex is. It's not underground; we are GENUINELY on another planet.

//I'm not sure whether we're actually on Earth after World Death though, like Nozomi claimed earlier, or if what we think is the moon is actually the Earth, and we're on a foreign alien planet. It's really going to depend on what the actual mission here is, and those juicy lore drops are stuff that I just cannot WAIT to explore.

//Either way, as I predicted, almost immediately after Takumi looks at the moon, the Undying Flames boy showed up. This time, Takumi goes to manhandle him, but before he can do anything, the doofus slips on the rainwater and knocks himself out.

DAY 50:

//AND WITH THAT WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH!

//I honestly have no idea how Takumi didn't catch an effin' cold seeing as he not only slept all night under the rain, but the fact that his body is not acclimatized to any kind of weather. Also, did his clothes somehow not get damp? How come Eito or he didn't even notice?

//Today we had a very interesting event happen...Takumi was going to tell everyone at the cafeteria that he'd run into the strange ghost boy again, but in the middle of him trying to explain it, the Invader alarm sounded, meaning everyone needs to rush over to the war room.

//I was surprised because it hadn't actually been that long, and I thought for sure that the next fight we did would be where Ima and Kako stepped into the fray. But turns out I shouldn't have spoken so soon.

//I actually did notice that something wasn't quite right with this time's alarm, because even though it played the intruder alert CG, normally after that, we get a cutscene showing the swarm of invaders rushing into the school. We didn't get that this time; which should have been a clear suggestion that this wasn't what we thought it was.

//When we get to the War Room, Yugamu points out that even though the alarm sounded, there isn't actually anybody on the campus, much less the invaders. However, from the flames, we do see a lone figure incoming. And while at first we think it's an Invader Commander, as we zoom into the image...

//YEEEEEE-!

//To be perfectly honest, this wasn't how I expected Moko to be introduced into the plot...like, at all.

//I thought that after we managed to get Ima and Kako to join us in the fight, Nozomi would bring Moko up again, and we'd go out on a search mission to rescue her.

//But it seems like she's come to us instead.

//I'm really not sure how she was able to get past the Undying Flames without a Fire Hydrant, but maybe she somehow still had one and used what was left of her Hemoanima to get inside?

//But that's also weird, since STLDA didn't have a wall of flames, so there was no need for those things, and I doubt Moko ever used one. Hopefully it will be explained later.

//We don't actually see a lot of Moko yet, because she spends most of this time recovering, but she's in the Student Profile now, and on the map. And we get this short scene of Nozomi consoling her; which was one of the more notable CG's that were revealed in the pre-release.

//Even with only a few dialogue lines at the moment, she is pretty entertaining already. Kind of just the silly character it seems; though a less psychotic version than Darumi. Whether or not she'll have any notable involvement in the plot or not remains to be seen.

//We do learn a little bit more about what happened to Moko from Nozomi here, and more about Moko as a character. First off, she's apparently a real high-school wrestler, and strong enough to take out a small army of Invaders on her own.

//Nozomi recounts how, when the second group first woke up at the Second-to-last Defense Academy, they were just as frightened and disoriented as the A-Team had been. But Moko quickly stepped up as a leader, keeping the group from falling apart. Effectively, she was originally for the group what Nozomi is for them now.

//She apparently always knew the right words to lift their spirits when things got tough, and it's because of her guidance and support that they evolved into the powerful team we were first introduced to.

//Tragically, on the tenth day of training, a massive swarm of Invaders attacked. Even with Moko leading them, the team was almost completely wiped out. According to Nozomi, they used a diversionary force on the north side of the school to keep the group occupied, while strike teams silently picked them off one at a time. The group, still inexperienced, couldn’t respond fast enough once they realized what was happening. Yugamu, Kurara, and Kyoshika were killed, and the defensive barrier was destroyed.

//To make things worse, Nigou was captured and the Revive-O'-Matic was damaged. Knowing that Nigou was vital to everything, Moko launched a desperate rescue. Despite being exhausted, she managed to reach him and throw him to safety, but she was too drained to escape and ended up being captured herself. By the time Nigou revived the others, the Invaders had already retreated, taking Moko with them.

//All of this is to say that I'm quite excited to see how Moko plays in battle. Particularly because I don't see what kind of role she might fit into.

//We already have DPS with the likes of Hiruko, Takumi, and Kyoshika, and Takemaru and Shouma already fit into tank role. I doubt she's a support, so...I am interested to see how differently she might play compared to who we've got so far.

//One of my favourite parts of this game is the variety of playstyles and strategies between characters. I do hope that Moko keeps that ball rolling.

DAY 51:

//Despite the fact that Moko came back, Day 50 was surprisingly short considering it's a milestone number.

//Not an awful lot happened today, but I have two highlights.

//First of all, the breakfast cutscene that morning got to show Yugamu and Darumi having an "enlightening" conversation, and even though we don't get much of this duo, I hope we get more, because their conversations are always cryptically hilarious.

//And second, would you FUCKING believe it, after all that grinding I did to get Nozomi a nice gift so I could raise my math stat, because she's busy taking care of Moko, Nozomi is UNAVAILABLE to hang out with!

//FUCK!

//I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU CHOCOLATE MY GIRL! WHY MUST I BE CUCKED THIS WAY!?

//Anyway, Eito also raises the Math stat, so I reset and decided to get him a gift instead.

DAY 52:

//*sigh*...Okay...

//Remember how I mentioned at the start that there was a significant point in this part of the story where the plot started to decline in quality? Well, it's this part here.

//This is the point in the story where Ima and Kako's involvement in the plot, and their character arcs, finally come forward. And unfortunately, it's not executed in the way that I hoped or wanted, but...let me explain.

//As I've mentioned before a few times leading up to this day, it's become clear that Kako harbors deep discomfort regarding her brother's behavior toward her. Even if, on the surface, they appear to be a typical pair of siblings, and fortunately, Kodaka doesn't ACTUALLY cross into incest territory with the Tsukumo's, it doesn't stop Ima’s actions crossing the line into something far more disturbing.

//And THIS PART of the story is CROSSING! THE LINE!

//As the plot unfolds, we begin to see Kako’s true desires more clearly. Rather than staying in her brother's shadow or continuing to play the obedient little sister, she wants to stand on her own and be part of the group’s effort to protect the school. Her determination grows steadily, and by this day, she finally reaches a breaking point.

//She gathers the courage to challenge Ima for the first time, to raise her voice and assert herself.

//Unfortunately, Ima’s reaction is as chilling as it is immediate.

//Rather than even pretending to consider her feelings, Ima glares at her with open malice, his expression dark and hostile. He coldly dismisses her words, grabs her by the arm, and drags her out of the cafeteria in front of everyone!

//He claims he’s going to “punish her for stepping out of line” and promises to give her a “thorough reeducation.” It’s a deeply disturbing moment, not just because of what he says, but because of what it implies.

//If you followed my main account @creepercraftguy, you'll know that I recently made a repost from one of @hopeymchope's posts where they talk about how he finds the cast of this game to be terrible, selfish people, and I went out of my way to refute their points and defend the characters and the games writing. In as civilized a way I could manage, I want to add.

//However, I CANNOT defend THIS! I think that hopey's assessment of what happens here with not just Ima and Kako, but everyone's reactions to what happens with the siblings, is spot on.

//This kind of control, entitlement, and possessiveness that are hallmarks of ABUSE!

//The terror on Kako’s face in that moment says it all. While it’s later implied that Ima didn’t physically harm her beyond perhaps a stern verbal tirade, since she seems relatively unharmed the next time she appears, the psychological toll in the moment impossible to ignore. This is the kind of dynamic you’d expect to find in an abusive household, not between two supposedly loving siblings.

//And that's not even the WORST part.

//Just as Ima starts PHYSICALLY dragging Kako away, Takemaru steps forward and blocks their path. Calm and composed, he doesn’t shout or resort to threats.

//He simply states the truth: if Ima truly cares for his sister, he ought to respect her autonomy and listen to what she has to say.

//It’s a simple, rational appeal...but one that Ima responds to in the most violently irrational way possible.

//Without a word of warning, Ima pulls out a weapon and STABS TAKEMARU IN THE STOMACH!

//JUST LIKE THAT!

//Like...this was his PLAN A! He wasn't even attacking in self-defense! Takemaru literally said ONE THING about how Ima was mistreating his "beloved" sister, that was very clearly true and everyone around him agreed with it, and Ima just STABS HIM FOR IT!

//I know that the game kind of already played it up for a long while before this bombshell dropped, but Ima might GENUINELY be the MOST FUCKED UP character Kodaka has ever written.

//Well...okay, maybe not, but he's DEFINITELY UP THERE!

//But it's not over yet!

//The scene itself is chaotic, shocking, and horrifying. After the stabbing, Ima successfully escapes with Kako, and Takumi, Eito, Gaku, and Yugamu manage to stabilize Takemaru and carry him back to his room so he can recover.

//But in the aftermath, something even more unsettling occurs. Despite everything, the threat to Kako, the stabbing, the obvious danger Ima now poses...Takumi just shrugs it off!

//He basically says it’s "too late" to act that day and simply decides to go to sleep, as if nothing could be done! The others seem to quietly accept this, and Takumi’s parting words are to “worry about them later.”

//LATER!?

//Kako is almost certainly being subjected to more of Ima’s abusive behavior right now, and yet the protagonist apparently prioritizes rest over rescue!

//And even putting that aside, AGAIN!

//IMA!

//STABBED!

//TAKEMARU!

//I can accept the students treating both Hiruko and Kurara's violent threats the way they did, with little agency, because we ultimately KNOW that neither of them are going to actually follow up on them. For Hiruko, it was clearly an incentive to get those afraid to fight to step up, and the same goes for Kurara; wanting to finally settle the disputes between the two sides at that point.

//But IMA is acting entirely selfishly, and did something that could almost have killed Takemaru with VERY LITTLE REASON! IF ANY! Literally all Takemaru did was say "You should listen to your sister!" and Ima went "Haha! You die now for that!"

//The lack of urgency is INFURIATING! No one is making any attempt to rescue Kako, restrain Ima, hell even both!

//And while I have gassed this game up to high heaven, and will likely continue to do so because I AM still enjoying it, this whole situation is a CLEAR failure on the part of the game’s narrative to treat the situation with the seriousness it deserves!

//The evening ends with Takumi getting a letter from Kako, essentially pleading for help. She asks Takumi to try and convince Ima to let her fight with the others, just as he was able to do for Tsubasa, Gaku, and Shouma. And Takumi agrees that tomorrow he will finally confront Ima about it.

//Which gave me a bit of hope that he was gonna step up...only for the next morning to have those hopes immediately dashed...

DAY 53:

The next morning, just as Takumi is about to go convince Ima to let Kako fight, Ima himself shows up at Takumi's door...completely unrepentant, mind you, and has the gall to ask for a favor.

//He flips the situation on its head, and gives us a different mission than normal. Instead of Takumi convincing Ima to fight, Ima instead wants Takumi to convince Kako to abandon her hopes of fighting alongside the group and return to passive obedience.

//However, he doesn't come empty handed. In exchange, Ima offers to take her place in the defense effort. So long as Kako doesn't fight, Ima himself will join the front lines so he can protect her.

//While this scene DID lighten the load a TAD, because it showed that Ima really does just want to protect Kako from any kind of harm, it’s an absurd proposition.

//In return for the privilege of Ima’s help; the same Ima who just stabbed someone for speaking out; you're asked to emotionally crush a victim of his mental abuse, and restore her to her "proper" role as his submissive little sister.

//To put this into Danganronpa fan perspective, this is equivelent to helping Kanade convince Hibiki that her only purpose is a mindless doll for her sister to play with.

//Worse still, this isn't a choice the player can meaningfully engage with. You're railroaded into compliance. No matter how many times you try to refuse. Even if you don't want to; and trust me, I DID NOT WANT TO, the game offers no real alternative.

//You’re stuck in a classic But Thou Must scenario: the story won’t move forward unless you agree to Ima’s terms. For me, it’s not just frustrating. It’s a betrayal of the emotional stakes the game itself has built up, forcing you to go along with a resolution that feels morally bankrupt.

//Yes Ima! Considering you stabbed a man and also look so much like Kokichi Ouma, you DO look like a HUGE liar!

//ANYYYWAYYYY, since we've essentially been FORCED into doing this, instead of going around to learn more about how to appeal to Ima, we instead go to learn a bit more about Kako and the twins in general.

//I'm actually okay with this part because even though I'm not on board with the actual mission, it does pique my interest.

//Mainly because we do get a little more information and characterization from Kako herself; who's contributions to the plot so far have been...fairly minimal. And some contribution from Ima too, who starts to open up about their backstory.

//Ima has always made it painfully clear that he’d throw the entire world under the bus if it meant ensuring Kako’s safety, but it's only with this part of the story where you see how his obsession with protecting her borders on apocalyptic. He would happily damn humanity if it meant shielding her from harm.

//But but the very obvious issue with what he's doing and why he's acting this way, is what does that kind of safety even mean if Kako isn’t allowed to be happy? If she’s not allowed to be free to make her own choices and have Ima dictate her his whole life?

//That’s the core problem, isn’t it? It's not just about whether she’s alive or unharmed — it’s about whether she gets to live her life, by her choices. And right now, thanks to Takumi's ongoing deference to Ima’s twisted logic, that freedom is slipping further and further out of reach.

//I’ll be honest. It’s incredibly frustrating watching Takumi cave like this. Whether it’s out of guilt, confusion, or just plain weariness, he keeps conceding ground to Ima, inch by inch. It’s not just disappointing. It’s disheartening; especially since Takumi has very quickly become one of my favourite protagonists in one of Kodaka's games, rivalling even KAEDE.

//We also learn something new about in that apparently, the twin's father used to be a detective. Which definitely shines a light on where Kako’s sharp intellect and analytical instincts come from. Even though she's unnasuming, she has been shown to be very keen, intelligent, and good at estimating outcomes, and I see where she gets it now.

//Her love of tech is another defining trait, and when Ima suggests getting her a motor scooter, it surprisingly turns out to be a solid idea. She reacts positively to the idea, and it’s one of the rare moments where Ima actually seems to understand her interests rather than project his own desires onto her.

//We also get confirmation about something that’s long been implied: the twins lost their parents at a very young age. I’d suspected as much, but hearing Ima talk about it gives it some more weight.

//He mentions that while they technically had other family members, those relatives didn’t care for them in any real sense. They abandoned the twins, leaving them to survive on the streets alone.

//Which, while this might be a stretch, kind of reminds me of Rei Mekaru's backstory in Danganronpa Another. As a reminder, Rei's backstory was that her birth parents were at risk of going backrupt and ending up on the streets, so they ended up disowning their daughter so that Rei wouldn't get caught up in the trouble and be dragged down with them.

//However, the family members that they entrustred Rei to abandoned her when things got a bit too difficult, betraying the trust of Rei's birth parents, and twisting her to make her believe that they'd never truly loved her. I'm getting similar vibes from this.

//That experience, as Ima explains it, is at the root of his obsession. Without Kako, he has nothing. She’s not just his sister, she’s his anchor. The only thing tethering him to the world.

//BUuuuuUUUuuUUUUuuuUUUuuuuuUUUUT-!

//While that tragic backstory helps explain WHY he clings to her so tightly, it doesn’t ABSOLVE him. Trauma might shape behavior, but it doesn’t excuse cruelty, especially not on this level. And what he’s done to Kako over the years is undeniably cruel, even if Ima himself didn't mean to come across that way.

//Effectively, Kako has relied on Ima to protect her basically their whole lives, and as a result, Ima knows nothing BUT protecting her. There's literally nothing else to his life besides making sure she is safe. Now that Kako is stepping up to fight, his own life is losing its purpose.

//Which I think is the REAL reason why Ima is so desperate to stop her. And honestly? It's sad! It really is sad; because Ima seems incapable of considering that these two could just be normal siblings that support EACH OTHER rather than forcing her to do things she'd rather not, just for her "protection," and his own selfishness!

//It's not that I don't GET it; I just don't think it's stated very plainly! And that kind of ruins the experience for me!

//What's worse, the version of events we hear feels incomplete. Maybe there’s more to it that we'll see later on. For now, there's not too much to work with.

//Interestingly, this moment marks the first time in the game where we’re able to make a gift without having to spend an entire in-game day gathering resources. Everything we need is just…handed to us. No scavenging. No side quests. Just a direct path to giving Kako something meaningful.

//It’s oddly convenient, almost like the game wants this interaction to happen smoothly, and that in itself feels a little suspicious.

//What follows is the minigame where you have to talk to a character and guide the conversation toward a specific outcome. But this time, we’re not trying to persuade Kako to stand up and fight. Rather this time, we’re convincing her to stop.

//And again, I'm REALLY NOT OKAY with this!

//I don't want to tell Kako to pull back, because it feels like I'm telling her to accept the very role she’s spent so long trying to escape. To make things worse, at least in my experience, this minigame was concerningly easy compared to the one's I did with Tsubasa, Shouma, and Gaku. I had basically no trouble with this one and got like...one wrong answer.

//Fortunately, there is one silver lining in this mess, if you can even call it that.

//The minigame ends as it does normally, but right at the last second, the game reverses, and ends in FAILURE. Takumi completely fails in his mission to convince Kako to step away from the fight. This is the only time in the game (so far) that this has happened, and THANK GOD, because this was the one time I NEEDED it to fail.

//At first, it seems like a small victory: she won’t be silenced, and she’s not going to just fade into the background as her brother wishes.

//Then, in a scene that’s surprisingly short and understated, Ima appears in the flesh and...finally relents.

//He doesn’t APOLOGIZE, at least not outright, but he does acknowledge, in his own indirect way, that he MIGHT have taken things too far.

//For the first time, he gives Kako his approval to stand alongside the others. It’s brief. It’s quiet. But it’s genuine.

//And...I DID like the exchange the twins have. Really I did. I think it's nice to see them come to an understanding, but also...it highlights what my biggest issue with this arc of the story was! It was TOO SHORT!

//The exchange itself is only a few lines of dialogue, and again, it kind of just ends with Ima giving up; not so much apologizing. It's the same issue as what happened with the stabbing scene. It went from 0 to 100 in no time flat, and now it's gone back to 0 equally as fast. Both times for very little rhyme or reason.

//And again, Takumi is not in the right here.

//Because while he fails to get her to abandon her determination, Takumi DOES twist the conversation into a justification of Ima’s possessive and controlling behavior. Instead of helping Kako recognize the toxic, dehumanizing grip her brother has had on her for years, Takumi, perhaps without even fully realizing it, romanticizes it. He reframes Ima’s suffocating control not as abuse, but as some kind of noble, selfless devotion. He paints it as an act of love that should be cherished and repaid.

//And to Kako, who has been emotionally manipulated and gaslit for so long, this recontextualization lands with horrifying effectiveness.

//I can accept that the Tsukumo's love each other really, and that Kako always wanted to fight for the sake of protecting her brother. But the way it's handled feels like some gut-wrenching reversal that doesn't sit right with me.

//Takumi may have walked into that conversation with good intentions, or at least some vague sense of moral responsibility, but the end result is...while I wouldn't call it a CATASTROPHE, because it DID mean something to me, it wasn't completely wholesome and above all else...not warranted.

//Rather than helping Kako, and hell, IMA too, liberate themselves from an emotionally damaging relationship, he becomes complicit in reinforcing it. He gaslights the gaslit. He enables the abuser. Whether it was done through ignorance, cowardice, or sheer moral failing, the outcome is the same.

//I suppose the problem I'm saying is it feels like Ima really didn't get a deserved commupance OR strong character arc here. He kind of just decides everything in this situation on his own, and everyone else is dancing to his tune. Which I really cannot get behind, despite how much I do like this game's writing overall.

//But...yeah, that's how the day ends. Not with a bang but with a "for fucks sake!"

DAY 54:

//Nothing much happens today, and the Tsukumo Twins are kind of off doing their own thing as always. Except this time, they're remaining seperate. I guess to sort things out on their own for once.

//I spent my free time doing gift giving to Takemaru. Gym was the one stat I still needed to upgrade to get more abilities. But in the meantime, I did check out the new area of the school, since it's the one time the game doesn't actively force you to check it out.

//The courtyard is basically just an indoor garden, but the standout feature of it is that there's a giant bird-shaped cage in there that's clearly setting up for something bigger, since they mentioned that it nullifies any powers.

//I don't know why we'd have that cage in the fucking courtyard, which is a place normally for relaxation. If we had any prisoners in there, that'd be really annoying.

//Takemaru's reaction to recieving gifts he likes is...surprisingly cute actually??? lol.

//I mean, I guess it makes sense because the guy clearly isn't the hardass that he comes across as.

//Also, I'm gonna be real, I actually don't care about the stupid guesswork, and did straight up google what gifts each of the characters like in this game to make the best out of my presents.

//And of course, one of the gifts you can give is a goddamn vibrator...

//And of COURSE, KYOSHIKA is the one who likes it.

//I don't know why I'm even surprised.

DAY 55:

//You know what's most surprising?

//Today is the penultimate day that I normally end these journals on where the Invaders come in and attack, but...I actually don't have very much to say about this fight!

//It's GOOD, but definitely not as impactful to me as the previous defense battles were.

//I’m finally starting to get a solid grasp on how to manage my time efficiently in this game. Now that I understand how everything works I feel a lot more in control.

/To be honest, it was pretty obvious this time around that the Invasion was going to come today; all the signs were there, and unlike last time, they rolled out the full cutscene to introduce it. So unlike the fake-out with Moko showing up, I knew that this one had to at least be legit.

//I had a strong hunch that Takemaru would still show up to fight, even after taking a knife to the gut courtesy of Ima. Lo and behold, I was right. He reappears, injured, sure, but still ready to stand his ground.

//I kind of thought that when we got into the fight, Takemaru would either be fatigued, or have lost a little bit of health off rip. But I guess the devs didn't really think to do something like that; or they just chose not to.

//The first round of the battle went relatively smoothly. It felt like a warm-up, especially with the team starting to fall into rhythm. But then round two hit, and things escalated fast. That’s when the Invaders started deploying a nasty new trick: Fog Machines.

//Do I even need to explain how infuriating this mechanic is? Surely the word "fog" is a dead giveaway.

//Once it's on the field, your visibility drops to practically zero. You can’t see any enemies unless you’re standing directly next to them, and UNTIL you’re adjacent, you can’t attack them either. It completely derails long-range strategies and makes positioning way more stressful than it needs to be.

//Basically, it forces you to fumble around in the dark, hoping to bump into something hostile before it bumps into you, and in the event you want to attack them on the main turn, that burns through AP like no tomorrow.

//Even more annoying is the low visibility means you can't even use Shouma to draw enemy fire away from the barrier. You CANNOT DO ANYTHING to the enemies UNTIL they are visible!

//Unsurprisingly, I hated this mechanic. It doesn’t feel challenging in a fun way, more like artificially slowing things down and punishing careful planning. The GOOD news is that it doesn't last very long.

//Luckily, help arrives in the form of the Tsukumo Twins, who join the fight mid-battle (who would have guessed?) with the exact tools needed to shut the fog bulshit down.

//And the way these two play is...well...WEIRD...

//Kako, true to form, plays a long-range sniper role. She can pick off enemies from a safe distance, which is a godsend in a battlefield where visibility is severely limited.

//Ima, meanwhile, is highly mobile and downright overpowered in this terrain. He floats above the ground, completely unaffected by terrain restrictions, and can travel across the map with ease.

//That said, neither of them really do enough damage to really net value out of. They're GOOD, but there are stronger characters in the squad, like Eito. Not that I'm devaluing either of them, because being able to cover that much ground between the two of them is very useful.

//But on top of that, Kako’s main attack comes with an annoying drawback. Every time she uses it, her damage output decreases.

//I get the idea; forcing the player to think carefully about when to use her; but it makes her feel less satisfying to use as the fight drags on. I’m not really a fan.

//After the twins enter the battlefield and start tearing through the fog machines, the tide of the fight shifts dramatically. Once those devices are destroyed, the fog lifts, and the battlefield opens up again. With full visibility restored, the rest of the fight is pretty straightforward. The enemies are fully exposed, and from that point on, it’s a no-holds-barred brawl.

//In the words of our forefathers: Rip and Tear until it's done!

//However, even though the fight itself is nothing to write home about...the CONCLUSION brings a pretty dramatic twist to the story.

//As established, most of these combat situations end with picking one of the students to end the life of the commander and absorb it's hemoanima. But in the past, we've mostly done this to commanders that are defeated and defenseless. The only time that we've done otherwise is the first commander, that Hiruko didn't really give the time of day.

//This time though, the commander survives past the initial cutscene, and pleads for mercy just like the first one does. While we ARE about to ignore it, the twist comes from the Commander REMOVING its mask and...

//...

//...Is it bad that I find it insanely attractive?

//Okay, jokes aside, there is a very chilling moment here where the characters are shocked to find that the enemy Commanders look like regular human beings under the masks. However, we still can't understand what she's saying because she speaks a completely seperate language from us.

//There is another interesting lore moment here where Eito suggests that she's speaking a FOREIGN language, which is why the students can't understand her. I didn't even realize that the concept of racism might not even exist within the TRC because it's just the world as they know it. Everyone looks the same and speaks the same language; unlike the world we know.

//Of course, the Invaders speak a completely alien language even to us, but these guys have no way of knowing that.

//But yeah, this fight ends with this Commander succumbing to an entirely different fate than what we're used to. Instead of killing her outright, they take her prisoner and lock her up in one of those cages I mentioned earlier; until they could understand her language and get information out of their enemies from her.

//I KNEW that was gonna come into play somehow!

//I have a distinct feeling that this Invader is gonna end up being an important character, and I didn't even think about it until now but...what if this Invader joins OUR side and becomes the 16th student!?

//Like, we HAVE to have 16 party members by the end of this, right!? It's already so weird that we only have up to 15. I dunno, I guess we'll see.

DAY 56:

//GO HOME GO BED!!!

Conclusion:

//Yeah, this part of the story was a low-point overall.

//Not UNSALVAGEABLE, and definitely good character moments, but my main takeaways from it aren't great:

I like the Tsukumo twins a little bit more than I did before now that I properly understand them, but I think they are still my least favourite characters in the game. At least Ima is.

I did NOT enjoy the coercion segment of this chapter. It felt so wrong trying to steer Kako off doing what she wanted, with no choice but to do so. In the end, I'm glad she stuck to her guns regardless of what Ima and Takumi said.

I'm hoping the twins end up being better characters in the future. I already think Kako is cool and cute, but she hasn't had much change to shine on her own thanks to her fuckhead brother; who definitely didn't get the commupance he deserved.

There are still so many questions about World Death that even the general explanation doesn't answer. The mysteries of this game keep piling on; especially with the introduction of this potential ally commander.

//I AM still enjoying this game as much as I always have done. Even with all that's happened here, it hasn't really affected my opinion of this game; nor my willingness to continue playing it.

//Every game has highs and lows, much like my expectations. I had them high, and was low-blowed by them. This part of the game was fundamentally flaws overall, even if I do understand the idea they were going for; since it felt super rushed and unpolished.

//Which is a real damn shame. Here's hoping the next part will be better.

-Mod

#mod #the hundred line last defense academy #the hundred line #last defense academy #journal

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