#Now onto Cesar! >:3

[hunter-the-sad-skeleton]

So for votes on who to scream about, we had a good amount of votes for Limbo and Stanley and Cesar, so I'm gonna get Limbo and Stanley down first, Cesar is on the way though!

Starting off with two of the main Alternates I’ve thought out, we have Limbo and Stanley.

“But what were they like BEFORE they were the way they are now?” I hear you ask! Well, I’ve thought that through almost perfectly! Under the cut though because I have. Many thoughts about these guys and they live in my head rent free.

Trigger warnings for: Murder of sibling, implied suicide, implied murder, unprepared parenthood, sibling rivalry, canon divergence(idk if that's a trigger but just in case-), child favoritism, death mention, implied bad parenting, stuff like that, be careful!

Stanley and Limbo(Born Stanley Ravensburg and Cain Ravensburg) were born to Mary Ravensburg and Noah Ravensburg on December 15th, 1962.

Cain was an “accident-child”, as their mother only wanted to have one kid as it was all she was prepared to raise. Should she have been more prepared in case of twins? Probably, but she didn’t really have the time to prepare.

Stanley was always the favorite of the family, as he came out first and thus was seen as the wanted child.

They still took care of Cain, Stanley was just the favorite. Cain, growing up, always tried to one-up Stanley as a way of trying to earn his parents’ affection, but it never really worked out for him.

Eventually, he gave up on trying to earn their affection, and started doing things for himself. He’d always enjoyed game shows as a kid, so he wanted to host one himself someday, so he worked towards that, building a name for himself in the acting/entertainment world.

He finally gained the adoration he so desired! He was ecstatic!!

Then Stanley became a weather forecaster. People found HIM more entertaining due to his hilariously monotone way of speaking, even if he was warning about a hurricane or tornado.

Cain was furious, subtly casting shade at his brother occasionally when he was on-air(“What’s a two word name for an occupation that’s boring?”, stuff like that)

Stanley eventually found out and returned the gesture, it hurting worse as Stanley had always been painfully blunt and honest.(“What’s got roughly the same amount of letters as attention whore, but means practically the same thing?”) That sorta cost Cain most of his viewership.

This was the last straw for Cain. Cain finally had had enough of Stanley. He’d had enough of living in his shadow.

It wouldn’t be too much, just one shot and Stanley would just be hospitalized, right?

Then came the day he shot Stanley. He aimed too high.

Cain felt joy for all of a few moments before he realized: Stanley wasn’t moving anymore. He started panicking. It wasn’t supposed to be fatal, he didn’t want Stanley dead, just hospitalized for a few days, that’s all Cain wanted.

After he realized what happened, Cain dropped the gun he shot Stanley with and rushed back into his car, hurrying to drive away from the scene, having a slight panic attack as he drove off.

He went off-grid for a while after that, changing his name and appearance. The first week before he changed his mobile phone number was the hardest, as his parents were calling him, BEGGING HIM to come home in case the shooter came for him next.

He could never go back home, and for the first while, that hurt him. He loved his ma and pa with all his heart, but he could never face them. Not after what he did to his brother.

Before this, the harshest thing he did was toss a rock at Stanley, blinding him in his right eye and throw a few insults his way, and his parents forgave him for those after giving him a stern talking to on each occasion, the rock incident taking longer to forgive him for, but aside from that he was more dismissive to Stanley than anything. 

Stanley had NEVER been mean to Cain, Cain just took what Stanley said to him as him purposefully being mean just because of how he spoke. 

Cain regretted what he did to Stanley for years. Then the Alternate outbreak happened. It started the day he moved into Mandela County.

He’d been feeling like shit ever since he shot Stanley, but eventually got a little better with it. Then he saw a face on the TV.

He was confused. He swore he turned it off. When he walked closer, he saw that it was off. But the face was still there.

The face told him things, horrible, horrible things. Cain had already been in a terrible place mentally, but the face made it worse.

Eventually, it got to be too much, and Cain took care of it the typical way victims of Alternate Encounters handle things, dying on December 14th, 1986. 

He became an Alternate soon after, his “worst” qualities getting boosted. He was now a complete showman, unable to deal with anything seriously, taking his tasks on as some demented episode of a sick and twisted game show. He got his new name “Limbo” from when he was surfing through channels and found a rerun of the short called “Limbo the organized mind”.

He saw how people were freaked out by it and took the name, as it sounded better than Cain ever could sound.

He didn’t really want to be antagonistic at first, but with some constant nudging from “Gabriel”, and with some manipulation from him, he started to become more and more antagonistic.

Now he’s more like the Intruder from Intruder Alert that we all know and love!

If I had to pick a song that works as his theme song, it would be “The Main Character” by Will Wood or “My Ordinary Life” By the Living Tombstone.

Stanley though, Stanley’s different. He’s kept his monotone way of speaking, but he’s gained a less blunt way of speaking due to his time of reflection in the in-between before he came back as a Guardian Alternate.

When Stanley woke up as a Guardian Alternate, he was highly confused, as one would be when thrown into the world and your head has been replaced with a TV and you’re now 7’8” when you were previously, like, 6’ 2”.

His attention was immediately grabbed by the sound of a child, about 6 or 7, crying. His dad instincts kicked in almost immediately.

And thus, he became the Guardian Alternate of the kid, acting as his protector.

Whenever the kid came home from school, Stanley always made sure that he was okay, as he felt like he was his son.

He remembered how his father raised him, don’t show feelings, don’t show weakness, ect.

And threw it out the window, as he feels it deprived him of so much as a child.

Instead, he makes sure to listen to his person’s interests, encouraging him in his interests, stuff like that!

His person actually helps Stanley come out of his shell a bit! Like, Stanley sorta gains a bit of emotion in his voice! And slowly starts to gain enough confidence to slowly leave the kid’s room!

At some point, Stanley gains the confidence to meet the kid’s mom, telling her what the kid’s dad has been like towards her kid.

If I had to pick a theme song for Stanley, I’d say that it’d be “You Will Be Okay” from Helluva Boss, as that just encompasses him as a character.

Stanley is the better person of the two, acting as more of the protective of humans than Limbo does.

…or at least, that’s how it seems during the start of the story.

Then Limbo reunites with Adam(Judas(vol 4 intruder) dropped Adam on Limbo after kidnapping him because he didn’t feel like taking care of Adam, he legit said “this little cringe ass nae-nae baby piece of shit is your problem now bye bitch.”)in volume 2, and he sorta starts to bond with Adam.(Sure, he tries breaking his mental state, but hey, kibbo, your papa’s here now! :D) Then Adam starts to show signs of being sad about Jonah leaving. Limbo feels some form of pain in his heart at seeing this and shrugs it off as “Oh, it’s nothing!”, not knowing it was a sign that he was slowly turning into a Guardian Alternate.

The thing is, “Gabriel” never told Limbo anything about Guardian Alternates aside from “They are our worst enemies. We are to attack them on sight.”. He was never told why, he was never told anything about them, just that they were the enemy and that they were a danger to their goals.

When Limbo realizes what’s going on, he doesn’t report to “Gabriel” at his usual time. Heck, it’s a surprise he reports to him at all, and when he does, he’s a nervous wreck.

“Gabriel” shrugs this off as “Maybe he’s not as strong as I thought he was.”.

When “Gabriel” goes in-detail about what Alternates do to Guardian Alternates, Limbo panics and runs away, saying he “Remembered I have a kiddo to go kidnap, Judas is taking the day off, I’m gonna go do that!”

“Gabriel” is happy to hear this, as he thinks Limbo is finally bouncing back. He isn’t. He’s just trying to get as far away from Gabriel as he can.

Also, like, Alternates don’t really age, so they stay at the age they died at(Stanley died in like, his early to late thirties, same with Limbo-), but they still celebrate their birthdays if they can remember them/if they were human but then became Alternates.

This is what I’ve figured out for these two goobers, but I’m always thinking of new stuff for ‘em! :D 

[hotyanderedaddies]

The School Bully Loves You, Pt. 4:

Yandere Bully Interrupts Your "Date"

Part 0 │ Part 1 │ Part 2 │ Part 3

[Yandere! Bully x GN Nerd! Reader]

·゜·:.。..。.:·☆·゜·:.。..。.:·☆

Jonathan was a nice guy, you figured.

The quarterback of the football team was always all smiles, and he seemed to never treat you differently despite being way higher up on the social ladder. Therefore, you sort of liked to tutor him. Not only did it feel like you were sometimes hanging out with a close friend, but it also made you feel good deep down that a guy was paying you some attention... even if it was just for school. But still.

And plus, you figured that he could potentially protect you from Blake.

Seriously, it was crystal clear that Jonathan lived in the gym after school, given his large muscles and athletic prowess.

Blake is muscular too, but he tends to hide his bulk underneath his leather jacket.

But still!

You tried your best to force your mind away from Blake as you and Jonathan pulled into the parking lot of a local diner. It was a small place where the two of you could be uninterrupted during your study session. It was one of the few local spots where Jonathan would treat you as payment for tutoring him, and you'd always order something sweet and tasty!

The two of you took your seats at one of the booths near the back, and your eyes stayed glued to the door. The constant fear of Blake finding you kept you on edge, and you found it hard to stay present with your brain always straying back to the bully.

You mentally berated yourself, annoyed that you kept thinking about Blake.

He'd claimed you as his, and you'd gotten three strikes.

Both of those spelt trouble in your mind, and you wanted nothing more than to avoid the guy. Therefore, you figured that being away from school with someone big who could protect you was the best course of action.

Jonathan and you placed your orders and tried to start the tutoring session, but it was close to impossible for you to get your nerves settled.

"Is something on your mind?" the jock finally asked when he'd noticed you staring nervously at the door for the millionth time.

"O-oh!" you mumbled, jerking out of your panicked daze. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little... distracted." You sheepishly smiled at the end of your statement, hoping that the jock wouldn't catch onto you inadvertently using him as protection.

Jonathan pursed his lips into a thin line, deep in thought. "So," he slowly asked, shrugging his broad shoulders, "is it Blake?"

You jerked back in your seat, shocked. "Wh-what do you mean?" you stuttered, trying your best to force an innocent smile onto your face.

Jonathan scrunched up his face in confusion. "Oh, my bad," he muttered. "I just thought that you two were having couple problems."

"'Couple problems'?" you repeated.

Jonathan shrugged again. "Well, yeah," he grunted. "I mean, by the way Blake talks about you, I thought the two of you were dating..."

"The way he talks about me?" you repeated again, feeling yourself go pale at the words you heard.

Never in your life would you have ever expected Blake to talk about you in any sort of positive manner. You always tried to avoid him like the plague, hence you'd preferred if he didn't know that you existed. But if he were to talk about you, you half-expected him to curse your name and call you the scum of the earth given how badly he's beaten people up all around you.

Thinking about it, there were several of Blake's victims you knew personally:

Kyle, the bully who's stolen your lunch money back in the sixth grade. He'd gotten his face beaten to a pulp, causing his nose to be a little crooked now.

Tristan, the guy who'd called you ugly on picture day. Blake had based his face so hard that his front teeth had been knocked out, totally ruining his picture.

Cesar, the douche who'd smashed your science project to smithereens for a YouTube prank. Well, Blake had filmed himself stomping him in the nuts, posting it to Cesar's now defunct account.

Wait...

"Wh-what has Blake said... about me?" you asked, feeling your heart fall to the floor as you thought everything over. It all had to be a coincidence, right?

The waitress delivered your food, distracting the jock for a second as he began to eat his fries. "Oh, um, he says lots of things about you," he mumbled, his mouth full of food.

That didn't really help.

"Like what?" you pressed.

The jock took a loud gulp of his soda. "Well, he says that he--"

He was cut off by the loud slamming of the front door. The both of you were altered to the booming noise, making you both flinch as you turned to see none other than Blake enter the tiny diner.

The bully's eyes scanned the area before landing on you, narrowing in your direction.

Uh-oh...

To be continued...

·゜·:.。..。.:·☆·゜·:.。..。.:·☆

I'm sorry about the lack of tagging people! I'm forever and always appreciative of everyone's interest in this story. Unfortunately, I just can't tag everyone at the moment. I apologize and hope you all understand!

[mustangs-flames]

'Hail, True Body': A Series Summary

Here is an overview of my now original religious horror series, 'Hail, True Body'.

'Hail, True Body' is a religious horror series that focuses on what it means to be human in a world that God has abandoned. For Mark Owens, 1993 is shaping up to be the worst year of his young life - and that's saying a lot all things considered. When his best friend Cesar Hernández calls him one night in October, Mark ignores the broadcast warnings to help him out. But Cesar is acting... strange.

Though perhaps that's understandable. His mother did just die, after all.

Being human is a terrible weight, but sometimes you find others to share the burden with.

-

The Series:

All Parts of Hail, True Body are posted in the order they should be read in. Some Parts are multi-chapter stories, whereas others are just oneshots. Here are links to the Parts posted so far. A new Part begins only when the previous one comes to an end. Alongside the following links, I've included the length of the part and an overview without too many spoilers.

PART 1: Mimicry

Length: 6/6 chapters (39,598 words) completed

Overview: When an unfathomable being awakens from a void to complete its one and only task, it finds itself enamoured with the very thing it's supposed to destroy. (An eldritch beast tries a little too hard to be human. It goes about as well as you'd expect.)

PART 2: Where Is Your God Now?

Length: Oneshot (2,275 words) completed

Overview: Following the immediate aftermath of Part 1, Mark Owens spirals into a crisis of faith unlike any he's experienced so far. Cesar is dead, and in what kind of a world is that fair? Unsure of what to do or where to turn with the blood on his hands, he picks up the phone and asks for help from the one person who's been there since everything in his life started to go wrong.

PART 3: Old Rugged Cross

Length: 5/5 chapters (22,580 words) completed

Overview: Mark Owens has always been dogged by despair, ever since he was a child. October 1993 isn't the first time he's dealt with a monster. For him it begins in 1979. It begins with an imaginary friend.

PART 4: What's In A Name?

Length: Oneshot (7,420 words) completed

Overview: Sometime following the events of Part 1, a mimic formerly known as Cesar Hernández wakes up in the nothingness it originally came from. Confused and lost in a jumble of memories that are both its own and not at all, it clings to the one thing it can remember: a boy with sad brown eyes and a crucifix.

PART 5: The Good Samaritan

Length: 16/16 chapters (131,431 words) completed

Overview: Amidst the loss and confusion of recent events, Mark Owens falls into a crisis of faith like never before. It certainly doesn't help that God is silent despite his cries, pushing him ever further onto a path of revenge. Cian Daniels is trying his best to keep this kid as safe as he can whilst meeting Mark halfway, before he can get himself killed. A direct continuation of 'Mimicry'.

PART 6: An Eye For An Eye

Length: 1/? (592 words)

Overview: A mimic seeks revenge and longs for a time when things were simpler. It is broken. And it wants to be whole. No matter how it looks at it, there is but one common denominator: Mark Owens. There is only one course of action - remove him from the equation. It will be whole again. It must. A direct continuation of 'The Good Samaritan'.

-

Please be sure to read the content warnings in the author's notes!

Current total word count: 203,896 words

If you have any questions about the series, please feel free to ask! Thanks <3

[maxrowave]

sooo big top burger fanart HAHAHAHA.... i made art for a btb fanfic i stumbled upon sigh, read the fic first before you jump to conclusions about the first drawing

highly recommend checking it out, it was a good fic, and made me laugh out loud a few times

held so tight by a loose illusion by @honey-dont

ok now onto my personal ramblings: some of you may wonder, whattt Cesare and Doctor?! how ABSURD!! because the main thing flying around is steve and Cesare or Billie and Frances (this one is fair, i love my lesbians). But anyhow listen, i think they have potential for a really deep emotional and compelling arc. I can't take Steve seriously enough, too goofy of a character to even see him in a long committed, emotionally invested flawed relationship. Steve and Cesare is still a very funny pairing -- but my heart (which longs for silly banter and emotionally driven plot) flies to Cesare and Doctor WHICH YEAH THEY INTERACTED LIKE 3 TIMES, BUT THIS IS THE INTERNET

[the-morrigans-crew]

Based off of this post by @/ethan-acfan, I’m doing a headcanon post on what Desmond’s system (basing it off of our own system as well).

(Exomemories are memories that an alter (typically an introject) has that doesn’t align with the body’s memories, but relates to the body’s trauma).

His system definitely formed in childhood (we need more introject/exomemory rep). Likely due to the harsh training and isolation that he endured for most of his childhood.

I imagine that he discovered his system after the whole ordeal with the eye, and I’m personally headcanoning him to be a polyfragmented DID system, meaning that some of his headmates are going to be a bit more fragmented than most, and his past headmates likely fused due to his time in the animus.

I could also see him splitting introjects based off of other individuals within his ancestor’s memories (such as Leonardo, Cesare, Achilles, Shay, or other assassins or templars that impacted his ancestors lives. Or people like Clay or even Minerva.)

The exomemories of his headmates would likely be borderline indistinguishable from his own thanks to the bleeding effect intensifying dissociative barriers.

Despite everything, his innerworld would likely resemble the ‘Farm’, since his brain would crave the familiarity of his childhood.

Now, I’m moving onto alter roles/people I believe would be in Desmond’s system.

Altaïr would be a gatekeeper since he would be one of the first headmates to form via the animus, he would know the most about the system and would’ve likely covered up the system due to the intense stressors (the end of the world) going on in Desmond’s life. Early on, he would’ve likely taken on the role as trauma holder before that role went to Haytham (more on that later).

Ezio is a protector, specifically a social protector, with his role being necessary after assassin’s creed 3 due to the fact that Desmond’s boundaries were disregarded so much (him being left in the animus for around three days). He would likely be an ANP and hold the least amount of trauma, allowing him to be a cohost along with Desmond to be the second most active fronter.

Connor would be a caretaker, hands down. If you've played the homestead missions, you know what I mean. He would be one keeping the system running, especially if there's a bad dissociative or depressive episode happening.

Haytham would've split soon after Lucy's death and Desmond going through his memories in the animus, with a part of Altaïr splitting off and fusing to him. He is the 'main' trauma holder in the sense that he hold the most.

Edward is the only who didn't directly split from the animus, instead splitting from Desmond doing research (and Haytham getting upset about his father). Edward would be another protector with a focus on the physical aspect of it. He would also be the most ‘source divergent’ compared to the others.

Moving on to the non-ancestor introjects; I imagine he would split Leonardo Da Vinci (Soother), Claudia (Roleless), Charles Lee (Prosecutor), Malik (Minor Gatekeeper), Shay (Protector/Persecutor), and Achilles Davenport (Protector).

Finally, Desmond would be the main host, however he wouldn’t be a core since he would’ve likely gone through other headmates fusing with him. He’s just another alter in the system.

Finally, onto some gerenal system headcanons

I feel like Connor would be the most dysphoric about the body.

Haytham isolates the most out of the other headmates (due to how he acted in his 'past' life). He doesn't want to burden the rest of system with issues he feels he can handle on his own.

Charles Lee would’ve split around the time Connor did, and in system, the two would not get along.

Altaïr is the closest to Desmond, being one of the first to appear when Desmond discovered the system (calling him an idiot), and helping him learn the ropes.

Multiple headmates (Haytham and Charles do this the most) have tried to shut the system out in order to be 'normal', though either Connor or Ezio try and make sure neither isolate.

The goal of the system would likely be to intergrate and healthily exist as a system.

Charles tends to cause the most issues outside of the system (picking fights with Shaun is his favorite activity), and Altaïr tends to front with Charles to make sure nothing too badly happens.

Shaun and Rebecca would probably take on the role as sorta therapist until Desmond can get an actual therapist.

If Clay were in the system, he would likely be in a subsystem with Desmond due to the relationship they had in the animus.

Each headmate has different ways to refer to each other

^ Altaïr, Malik, Haytham, Shay, and Achilles use parts

^ Desmond, Edward, Ezio, Connor, and Claudia use alters/headmates

^ Charles uses brain parasites

[becauseplot]

So. Today's Inktordem. Did I absolutely bite off more than I could chew? Yes. Did it turn out? Kind of! But it's written and NOT past midnight so I'll take it. Also, reminder I swapped days 3 and 5. This will definitely not be the last time I shuffle things around :]

Spoilers for OPD lore! (Not sure about which episode in particular you need to have watched...? I think up through episode 5 is enough but proceed with caution anyway.) Additional TWs for implied/referenced child abuse and implied/referenced critical illness. Let me know if I missed anything! <3

DAY 5 (3) – ORFANATO

1999

Cesar pants as he races up the hill. Running through bushes, stumbling past rocks, dodging trees. Eventually, the slope gets steep enough that the trees fall away, afternoon sun hitting the back of his neck, and Cesar has drop down onto his hands to grab old roots sticking out of the earth for help.

Dirt kicks down. A little ways up, climbing much faster, Bruno has paused to look back at him. He grins. “C’mon!” And he keeps on climbing.

Cesar adjusts his backpack and gives chase. He doesn’t manage to catch up to Bruno, but Bruno is still grinning when he leans over the crest of the hill and offers Cesar a hand up. He scrambles up the last of the incline and stands, spinning around in slow circles.

“Woahhhhhh,” Cesar whispers, taking it all in. “Bruno, this is awesome! You can see everything!”

And you can. There’s the street below, winding around the side of the hill, and Bruno’s bus stop further along it. Down the slope are the houses, the shops, their school at the edge of it; cars weaving between it all like little beetles in the grass, people walking the streets like ants; and far away, towards the setting sun, the forest at the other end of town that sweeps over the distant hills.

“Pretty cool, right?” Bruno says.

“Really cool! How did you find this?”

“I dunno, I just kinda found it. I started looking around in the bushes behind the bus stop, and then I found that trail, and then I kept climbing and—” He throws his arms out, gesturing to the horizons— “I was here! Oh, and…”

He turns and squints against the afternoon sun, shielding his eyes. Suddenly, he points. “There. That’s where I live.”

Cesar comes over and peers over his shoulder, where Bruno is pointing. He shields his eyes with a hand. “…The woods?”

“Yeah. Well, the orphanage is in the woods, obviously. You just can’t see it from here because all the trees are in the way. But it should be riiiight there.” He pauses. He turns a bit. “Or actually, there. Or there. Or—“

He whacks Cesar in the face with his arm. Cesar stumbles back. “Ow!”

“Hey!”

“What the heck!”

“You were in my way!”

They devolve into giggles, Cesar cradling his aching nose, beaming. He happens to look at the bottom of the hill, and he gasps. “Bruno! Your bus!”

Bruno’s eyes go wide. He trots to the edge of the hill, where Cesar is looking. “…Oh.”

“We can run!” Cesar says. He sits down at the edge of the hill to start sliding down the slope. “We can be quick, we can catch it.”

“I don’t think so.”

Cesar looks back. Bruno doesn’t seem happy. “Won’t you get in trouble, or…?”

“Uh…” Bruno tugs at the hems of his hoodie. “It’s probably fine. The Sisters don’t care that much, I’ve been home late before.” Bruno shrugs and gives a small smile. “I like being here more anyway. The rooms get really noisy.”

Bruno comes and plops himself down beside Cesar, shoulders bumping. Though the sun is bright without the shade of the trees, the wind is a hair cooler up here, a breath of relief in the cloying heat of the approaching summer.

“Anyway!” Bruno says. “You know my secret spot now! And no body else does. That means we can come up here and hang out, just the two of us, whenever we want.”

Cesar’s eyes go wide. His chest feels light. “Whenever we want?”

~*~

2002

“So that’s…that’s negative eight, right?”

“No. When you subtract a negative, it becomes positive, remember?”

“Rrrright.” Bruno flips his pencil around and erases his work. The eraser smudges dark across the page, staining it. “Awh, no.”

“Hold on.” Cesar puts his history worksheet down where he’s laid his hoodie out on the grass and plops his pocket calculator on it so it won’t blow away in the breeze. He rummages through his backpack and eventually finds a spare pencil sitting at the bottom of his bag. “Try this one. I don’t think the eraser is dried out.”

“Thanks.” Bruno reaches up from where he’s laid out on his stomach in the grass and takes the pencil. He erases more of the page, cleaner this time. “So that means it’s negative four.”

“Yep.”

“And I have to…divide. To get X by itself.”

“Yep.”

“So uh, negative twelve divided by negative four…” Bruno starts scribbling. “…is negative three.”

Cesar tilts his head to either side, smiling a little. “Ehhh…”

“What do you—OH. Right. Right. Negative divided by negative is positive.” Bruno flops onto his front, face planting into his worksheet. “Why is this so confusing,” he mumbles into the algebra.

“I think you got it, dude.”

Bruno lets out a long groan. Cesar pats his head. Bruno whines and bats Cesar’s hand away like a particularly despondent cat. Cesar giggles.

Bruno lifts his head out of his paper with a deep breath. “Okay.” He picks up his pencil. “Negative twelve divided by negative four is positive three. Which is…” He draws a box around the answer. “…equal to X. And that one’s done.”

“Yeah! See, I think you’re getting it now.”

“Maybe.” Bruno sighs. “Thanks for helping me. I—I really don’t get this stuff, I don’t know why.”

“Of course, it’s all good.” Cesar thinks. “Though… What about the older kids at the orphanage? They must’ve taken this math before.”

Bruno looks away, picking at the grass with a scowl. “None of the older kids ever want to help me. They just call me stupid.”

Cesar frowns, a sudden anger sweeping through him. “What the fuck, that’s not fair!”

Bruno gasps. “Cesar!”

“What? It’s not! You’re smart! I mean, you get all this history stuff a lot better than I do. And you’re really good at chess! And came up with a reason for why we were late so freaking Mrs. Leite didn’t give us another detention.”

Bruno winces. “I mean, I told her you had to help me wash bird poop off the front of my shirt in front of the whole class. And now everyone’s being mean and weird about it.”

“Better than another detention.” And better than the truth, which was that he was panicking and crying behind the boy’s bathroom for the whole of recess just because the cafeteria was a little too crowded today and Bruno was there trying to help him calm down. Forget what Bruno thinks, Cesar feels stupid. “I’m so sick of doing garbage pick-up on the yard.”

Bruno picks up his pencil and spins it around. “Me too…”

Cesar swallows at that. His face gets a little hot. “You don’t have to stay when I get all…you know, panicky. Especially if it’s gonna make you late. I’m fine by myself.”

Bruno stops spinning his pencil. “But then I’d leave you alone?”

“Yeah?”

“Doesn’t that usually make it worse?”

Yes. “I’ll be fine, I mean, it always stops eventually.”

“Or I could stay, and it gets better sooner.” Bruno shrugs. “I don’t really care.”

Cesar hesitates. “But don’t you get in trouble with the Sisters? Or the Father?”

Bruno huffs, dropping his chin into his hands. “Everyone’s always in trouble for some reason. At least I’m not one of the ones getting into fights.” Bruno’s mouth screws up, eyes firmly not meeting Cesar’s. He looks out at the hills below, towards the forest. “Yeah…”

Bruno doesn’t talk an awful lot about what the Sisters and the Father do when they get in trouble, but he’s noticed Bruno sometimes comes to school wincing the day after they’re sent home with a detention slip. Cesar is scared to know what getting into fights would lead to.

When Cesar comes home with a detention slip, his mom just gets worried. She knows why he has it.

“Uh,” says Cesar, voice small. “Sorry. I shouldn’t mention it.”

Bruno just shrugs again.

Cesar’s foot bounces where his ankles are crossed. Then, he uncrosses his legs and slides down onto his front like Bruno, chin rested in his hands. Cesar stares at him. And stares at him. And stares at him.

Bruno, eventually, gets his eyes off that forest and looks at him. Another beat of intense staring, and Bruno makes a confused face. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re being weird.”

“I’m just looking.”

They stare at each other, contest.

Cesar blows air in Bruno’s eyes.

“Hey!” Bruno laughs. “What are you doing?”

“Thinking about the homework,” Cesar replies. “Do you wanna keep going?”

“Ehh…” Bruno scratches the back of his neck. “Only if you want to keep helping me. Don’t you have to go home soon?”

“Mom only really cares that I’m back home before it’s dark.” And it’s true. She doesn’t mind when she knows he’s hanging out with Bruno. Cesar takes Bruno’s worksheet and spins it around so he can read it. “So which one are you on now?”

~*~

2005

“…But she kept going on and on about going to the neighbor’s party, so then I just yelled at her to leave me alone and walked out. Went up to my room.”

“I uh, I take it she didn’t like that?”

“Ha, no.”

Bruno huffs a dry laugh from where he sits in the grass beside him. “Jeez. So then what happened?”

“Nothing. I didn’t come down, she didn’t come up. I went to bed and by the time I came down this morning she already left for work.”

“No, dude…”

“Yeah.” Cesar sighs. He keeps his eyes on the clustered city lights, burning bright against the black outline of the forest. “So I guess that’s why I wanted to stay out here tonight. I didn’t want to be sitting at home just…waiting for her to get back, you know?”

Bruno hums.

There’s a silence that follows. The crickets fill it. In the darkness of night, with his closest friend sitting beside him, Cesar finally finds the words.

“I just—I don’t like fighting with my mom. You know that. I feel awful afterwards. And then I start missing my dad, and then I feel even worse. I know—I know she’s just worried that I don’t have a lot of friends because it’s just her and I, you know? A-And I know she’s more stressed than usual because I overheard her talking to Mrs. Couto on the phone yesterday about how they’re doing layoffs at work—“

“Cesar…”

“—and she’s—well she’s newer than a lot of the staff there so there’s a good chance she’ll get cut first like last time…”

Cesar scrubs his hands up and down his face. “Ugh! It’s just shit right now, dude. I hate it.”

Bruno bumps his shoulder lightly. Almost as if on accident. “I’m sorry.”

Cesar sighs. “It’s fine. Thanks. I’m—I don’t know. It’s fine.”

“Is she… Going to be worried about you being out this late?”

“I’ve been out later. She’d guess I’m with you anyhow, so.” Cesar shrugs. “She won’t be worried.”

“…Right,” Bruno drawls after a moment. Cesar looks at him, confused by his tone. Bruno is grinning. “Because we’re so good at keeping out of trouble.”

Cesar gestures sharply at him. “She doesn’t need to know about the bike incident. She doesn’t. What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“Like how you suck at running?”

“Dude.”

Bruno chuckles, hiding his smile behind his hand.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Cesar says, even as a smile pulls at his lips. “She can’t know, because if she does, then she’ll tell Mr. Campos and then we'll be so fucked.”

“Relax, relax, I won’t say anything, I promise. We said to the grave, right?”

“To the grave, Bruno. Or Mr. Campos will actually murder us.”

Cesar stretches his arms out in front of him. He notices that moisture in the night air isn’t quite as dense as usual. With the breeze up here, it’s refreshing. “You know, if I ever, like, smooth things over with my mom, you should come over for lunch again sometime.”

Bruno chuckles. It gives Cesar pause; it’s a sadder sound this time. “I don’t think the Sisters will be letting me out much after this.”

Cesar grimaces. Ah yeah, the Sisters’ curfew. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah. I’ll just have to play extra good for a while, you know?”

No, Cesar…really doesn’t. Cesar leans back on his hands and looks to Bruno. He can’t quite say the question, but…

Bruno gets the idea. He rubs the back of his neck. “It’s…better here than it is back there. The Sisters and the Father have been really weird recently, more strict about random things. Kish says they’re trying to ‘keep appearances’ for Mister Fritz.” Bruno sighs. “Everyone’s more on edge than usual.” He looks down, picking at the grass. “And I’m…”

“…You’re what?” Cesar asks.

Bruno stares at out at the city for a moment. He stares out at the forest beyond it. He hugs his arms around his knees. “…Nothing. It’s nothing. Things are a lot right now, is all.”

Cesar suddenly isn’t sure what to say anymore. He bumps Bruno’s shoulder with his own. Something is just slightly left of everything else. Cesar can hear the wind through the trees.

“I like it up here, though,” murmurs Bruno.

“…I do too.”

Cesar tilts his head back and stares up at the stars in the sky. They can’t see many, not with the glare from the city down below, but a few break through the void, little pinpricks of light.

He looks at Bruno. “Bruno?”

Bruno looks back at him. “Yeah?”

Cesar swallows. “…Do you ever feel like you just—don’t know what to do?”

~*~

2007

First he had to make up that quiz, then Mr. Medina wanted him to run those packets down to the main office, then Marcos stopped him in the hall about fucking math club again—it’s always everything at once, isn’t it? Cesar is huffing by the time he starts to climb the slope, passing his hands over the roots as he darts up.

“Bruno!” he calls ahead. “Sorry I’m late, I swear I…”

But the hilltop is empty. Just the grass and the late afternoon sun. Cesar stands at the edge of the slope heaving for breath, backpack falling off his shoulders, and stares at a little sheet of paper tacked to earth with the sharp end of a bent paperclip. Cesar stoops over and picks it up.

Sorry I missed you. I had to head back to the orphanage. I know you said you wanted to hang out, but you know how it is with curfew. (A short, scribbled-out phrase. “I can’t something.”) Maybe some other time.

—Bruno

It’s the most words Bruno has “spoken” to him in the last several weeks.

Cesar stares at the paper in his hands. He crumples it and throws it at the ground. Then he picks it up and un-crumples it and sits his ass down at the edge of the slope and does not cry about it. And then he goes home.

(Maybe some other time?)

~*~

2009

Cesar climbs the slope, beads of sweat on the back of his neck. It’s easier if you run up the side, let the momentum carry you part of the way, but…he doesn’t feel it today. Everything inside him is shaking, his breath thin.

And yet he climbs, and he sits down in the dewy grass, not giving a damn that it soaks through his pants. And he pulls his legs up to his chest and plants his face on his knees and wraps his arms around his head and tries to breathe.

The doctor’s appointment went awful. The disease has only progressed. His mom will only get sicker as time goes on. They’re looking at treatment options, what could make her healthier before it can get worse, and what could be more effective in the long run; they’re not the same thing.

It’s just the two of them.

It wasn’t always this way.

He wasn’t always this way.

Cesar takes a deep breath and lifts his head. There’s the street below, winding around the side of the hill, and the bus stop further along it. Down the slope are the houses, the shops, his old primary school at the edge of it; the traffic congesting the arteries of the city; and far away, towards the setting sun, the forest at the other end of town.

Cesar tilts his head to the side. There’s smoke coming from somewhere in the forest, staining the afternoon sky an ugly brownish-grey. Probably some dumbass kids and a campfire gone wrong. Cesar lies down on his back, folds his arms over his eyes, and waits for something to feel better.

[safetyobstacles]

I finished osnf after almost 2 months and

You know that feeling when you finish a piece of media you really enjoyed, whether it be a show or game or book. And now its over and you can never go back and experience it for the first time again.

That's how I feel :,)

I made a post while I watched the whole thing, it's like if I liveblogged but I stuffed it all into one very long post. So it's kind of all over the place. But if you went through the episode you could pinpoint exactly when i added to it lol

spoilers under here

https://www.tumblr.com/safetyobstacles/733757650447335424/starting-o-segredo-na-floresta-now-im-either?source=share

thats the link to the post, its also just pinned to my blog until i start desconjuração

i would like to thank anyone who read my update post before i finished watching. and when they saw on EPISODE ONE that i was saying "dont take Thiago from me :,)". and nobody spoiled. that Thiago. dies.

:((((((((((((((((((((

also i got an irl friend of mine into ordem, she's watched the whole first series and is almost done with episode 2 of osnf. and her favourite character is Cris :) funny enough she recognized Rakin from league of legends but not anybody else

the fight against the deus da morte. SO COOL. THE CUTSCENE. bro the little buildup to the cutscene with the goo tentacles covering the screen. and the music. THE MUSIC. and then he went and hugged liz. and now she is old. and now she has no thiago. but at least she still has Gonzales' dog. probably.

the way Santo Berço died btw. ow. ouch. the imagery is gonna stick with me for a while. Cibele. he really did in Cibele like that. damn bro.

special shoutout to the Succ. rpg wouldnt be the same without it. and Felps for blindsiding me and then dying like 3 hours later.

also kinda crazy that cellbit can just keep pulling these random npc's out of his ass and making me care about them.

speaking of npc's, all of the Vulture's deaths were fucked but Murilo's made me extra sad idk why. his buddy bit him :(

i think my favourite scene outside of the liz, thiago, joui scene in the last episode, was the bit after they killed the big slug in the asylum. idk the pacing of it was just really cool to me, the drawing in the sludge and losing sanity without realizing. for me it set up this feeling of "you cant trust anything you dont know for certain about" for the entire rest of osnf.

that fucking house btw. i wanted them to leave that house the moment they got gregorio out of that room. i hate that house. i would like for that house to explode.

i want to put Arthur in a shoebox for safe keeping so that he may never get hurt again. Cesar too. Joui as well. and Liz.

ill probably take a week or two to mourn finishing this series before moving onto Desconjuração. which is a very fun word to type. probably will make another post like i did this time to put all my updates in as i watch it.

thanks ordem paranormal for injecting into my braincells i dont think ill ever be over you

dude im so sad about thiago you have no idea

[the-fiction-witch]

Girl P3

Media The last Legion

Character Romulus Agustus (Age Up)

Couple Romulus X Reader

Rating Sad + Cute

Requested Anonymous asked:

Pls pls pls make a part 3 of girl with romulus it's sooooooo good ❤️

He stood at the end of the corridor, bow in hand firing his arrows down the hall to the items he found boring or uninteresting I had to stand and compliment him whenever he did hit… close to something most of the time he only ever hit the stand and podiums things sat on. He hit the podium edge making it wiggle and the priceless vase from the east giggled and toppled over onto the floor smashing with a spray of dust and shattered pottery.

"Yes!" He cheered,

"Well done your grace,"

"A perfect shot!"

"Indeed it was your grace,"

"I keep making shots like that they'll have to out me as head of the army,"

"They will your grace,"

"Humm I make another shot like that you better start getting on your knees and sucking my cock,"

"If you ask it of me, your grace,"

"You know it takes years of practice and gods given skill just to hold a bow you know," he said, "And then even more gruelling training and skills to be able to fire with any sort of competency, and even then most are not able to do such things,"

I knew what I was next to say but it did not flow as automatically as usual "It is a coward's weapon," the moment it left my mouth I realized what I had done

"What did you say?" He snapped

"Nothing your grace-"

"What did you say!" He screamed throwing his bow it splintered on the floor as he threw it with such force

"I said archery is how cowards fight," I admit

In response, he slapped my face so hard my body hit the floor "Say that again and I'll have your head girl." He said through gritted teeth "Now, What do we say."

I adjusted myself and fixed my dress as I stood, doing my best to remain composed

"Archery is how a coward fights, for you stand as far back on the battlefield as anyone, you stand back and let others fight for you, you kill men from a distance never seeing their eyes, never spilling their blood yourself, it is a coward fight, skilled I admit but cowardly none the less," I explained

"You dare call me a coward!" He yelled grabbing my dress and pinning me to the wall "I am the emperor of Roma and all of her illustrious empire, master of all her armies and her people, I am the blood of Cesar." he yelled "I AM YOUR KING!… I. am. Your god." He said dropping me hard onto the floor "You, are some shit-born peasant girl. Whom I have only given this sort of standing because I like her tits. I have given you everything you are, and this. Is how you repay my kindness. Why on earth do you feel you can talk this way to me!"

"Because you need me," I said leaning against the wall so I could sit there moving my knee up to rest my arm

"NEED YOU!" He yelled turning back to me "Why would I ever need you? You are a whore nothing more, the only thing I need you for is to jump on my cock. So go on. Humor me. Why do I need you?"

"You need me because you are cripplingly lonely. You've spent thought whole life locked up in Grand villas and Roman palaces, cuddled my nurse maids and politics teachers. And now you don't even have that. Your people despise you, your court thinks your childish, your advisors think you're a spoilt brat, and even the girls you keep as whores would rather lose their heads than spent time alone with you! Your mother is dead, your father is dead, and the only reason you are even on the throne this young is because there is literally one else who can be, everyone is busy dealing with the empire you don't know how to run and dont want to run, all while giving you some random woman off the street just to keep you from doing something stupid and causing more problems! " I yelled, "You put on this bastardly tough skill because you know inside you just a scared lonely little kid, without any family, without a single friend, because your a spoilt little asshole so scared and fearful of letting anyone in the stupid shell in case they leave you like mummy and daddy did!" I yell "So you need me! Because without me you are just scared. little boy." I took a breath as I accepted my fate, everything I had wanted to say over the year of my imprisonment came out and I knew he was going to kill me, crucify me, behead me if I was lucky enough to not be tortured to death in a thousand different ways but I didn't expect -

"Wwaaaaaaahhhhh!" tears flooded down his face as he hysterically cried like a child

"Uhhhh… are you crying?" I asked

He sat on the floor crying sniffling, gasping for breath in that way you do when you cry so badly his face was soaked from his tears and even goo from his nose as he cried

"Uhh are you okay?" I asked going over a little nervously

"Your right!" He cried

"Ohh no no it's okay"

"No, you're right! I'm just a spoilt child! And I don't have anyone I can talk to or spend time with! I'm so sorry for being a dick!" he cried pulling me into a hug

"Oh dear, no its okay you're not that much of a dick" I reassured stroking his hair

"No, I am! I'm a dick! I'm a terrible person! And everyone hates me!"

"I mean… Kinda."

"Wwaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"It's okay! It's okay now you know maybe now you can take steps to improve make things better"

"I don't like change!"

"Well nobody likes to change Romulus, but it's important to change, to grow and improve" I reassured and after a while of comforting him he settled down and wiped his tears away

"I'm sorry"

"Thank you for your apology"

"Nobody ever talked to me like that before."

"I think it was a while overdue"

"Your right, I've been a dick, everyone just didn't want to tell me"

"Well most of them were scared of you, myself included"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you think that about me, I'm sorry for being such a cunt."

"It's alright, it's easy to see why you… turned out to be rotten"

"I want to be better."

"You do?"

"I think so, Would you help me?"

"If that's what you want Romulus."

"I think so. Would you help?"

"I'd be happy to help"

"Would you marry me?"

"Wh-what?"

"Would you marry me?"

"Uhhh why?"

"So you can be the empress, so you can fix things. I promise I won't hurt you again."

"You'll really try and be better?"

"I will"

"You won't be a dick anymore?"

"I'll try"

"You won't hurt me?"

"Never."

"Well… Okay" I nodded

"Really? After everything I've done to you"

"If your really willing to try then I'm willing to help, but you so much as call me a rude name without an apology this empress is gonna kick the emperor's royal ass."

"Thats fair" he nods giving my cheek a little kiss

[hoperoiselover]

AHSGDGAHGDAJ SCHOOL IS BEATING MY ASS :SOB: GOD BLESS, BUT ANYWAY I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS CHAPTER, THIS CHAPTER WILL LEAD ONTO MORE EVENTS WHERE WE CAN SEE CHARACTERS INTERACTING MORE AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS! (so that the climax totally won't hit harder-) BUT ANYWHO- ENJOY!! <3 :] READ CHAPTER TWELVE ON AO3 HERE! Tw: Alcohol stay safe <3 CHAPTER TWELVE, EYE IN THE STORM

It was using their voices.

His Mother’s tender and soft hums. The same ones that sung him to sleep at night when he had a nightmare. Her voice would echo in the room as she had cradled him in her arms.

He could hear his Father’s rough yet comforting chuckles. He could imagine him smiling, his crooked front teeth and prickly beard. Just like when he used to read bedtime stories to him as he sat on his Father’s leg.

Mark stepped towards the stairs. He could not see anything. The darkness of the stairs wrapped around his feet as Mark stepped closer. His bottom lip quivered. Was it really them? Had they truly come back?

“Mark?.. What are you doing out of bed kiddo?.. Everything alright?” Dave stood outside his bedroom door. He leaned against the door frame, his voice soft and deep.

“I…I thought I heard something…” Mark mumbled as he fidgeted with his hoodie strings. The darkness emitting from the stairs receded.

“Oh Mark… come on,.. Let’s get you back in bed… If you want I can turn on the hall lights,” Dave sighed softly, looking at the little scared boy in front of him.

“...O-okay..” Mark shook and slowly went over to his Uncle. He hugged his Uncle’s leg and sniffed.

Dave was worried for his nephew. The poor boy had gone through so much in his life, and he was so young too. He picked up Mark and held him close as he turned on the hallway lights, “Better buddy?”

“Mhm.. b-better..” Mark nodded and bit his fingers.

Dave sighed and walked back to Mark’s room. He placed Mark down on the bed and smiled softly, “Come on, get some sleep kiddo. You and ‘Sar are going back to Stanley’s tomorrow. Stanley said he had something fun planned for you kids in the afternoon,”

He smiled and patted Mark’s head, he hoped that talking to him about something positive would help Mark calm down.

“What is i-it?” Mark looked at Uncle Dave, and started to tuck himself in next to Cesar.

“Said he’s going to take you kiddos to the park to play and get you guys some ice cream,” Dave smiled softly and stood up, helping Mark get tucked in.

“Ice cream!” Mark smiled, a sparkle in his eyes made Dave chuckle quietly and patted the boy’s chest.

“Yeah! Now sleep, we want you all energized for tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, Uncle Dave.”

“Love you kiddo,”

“Love you too, Uncle.”

Dave kissed Mark’s forehead and smiled. He walked out of Mark’s bedroom and looked back from the door frame. Mark waved at him, and he waved back before heading back to his room, leaving the hallway lights on.

“-and I just don’t get it right. Like, he seems like a good kid but I just don’t know man, I want to help him and understand what the hell is going on but I'm just confused and a part of me wants to think that Ms. Cruz is crazy right, but I know she isn’t. She’s a mother concerned for her son, which tons of respect to her for that, like my mom was protective as hell with me when I was a kid but fuck man. I’m just-.... confused- you know?” Stanley looked at the man sitting on his bar stool chair as he cleaned his living room and kitchen.

Thatcher sighed and took a sip from his beer can, “Jesus dude-”

“I know right? Like-”

“Stanley, Stanley… please, calm down for a sec’, alright?” Thatcher cut off the smaller male and looked at him. Stanley had been ranting to him for the past twenty minutes about a worried mother and his story of discovering that one of the ‘boys’ she brought in might be an alternate. Thatcher had gotten a call from his friend and asked if he wanted to hang out with him at his place. Here Thatcher now was, sipping beer and wishing he was in bed.

Stanley sighed, “Sorry Thatch.”

“Nah dude, it’s okay, just calm down for a second…”

Stanley sat next to Thatcher on the parallel barstool and took a deep breath, “I’m tired Thatcher…”

“Then get some sleep buddy… I don’t know how you do it, working all day with kids, dealing with your own needs, cleaning, and everything else. Maybe you could use some help…” Thatcher rested his hand on Stanley’s back.

“I can’t afford to get help, Thatch.. You know I can’t…” Stanley looked at the blonde and sighed again, “But enough about me. How was your day?”

“Uh, well, those missing people files still fill my office… I can’t go in there anymore without feeling I’m going to go crazy… So I just sat at the front desk by the phone. I got a few calls, and guess what, more missing people… I was out all afternoon talking to people and filing paperwork… Maybe I should’ve become a mechanic or something I don’t know… Maybe I should’ve helped you out with your gig…” Thatcher took another drink from his beer.

Stanley smiled sadly and chuckled, “No,... I think you’re a pretty good cop…”

“Bullshit Montgomery,” Thatcher dryly laughed.

“I mean it you idiot!” Stanley playfully shoved Thatcher a bit, “Look,.. I know things have been rough since… we lost them… ,but we have to keep on pushing through…”

“Yeah… I know… Hey, I had a woman come into the station this morning, and said she found a kid named Adam just like your kid. She seemed stressed as hell. She looked like she saw a ghost when looking through the database of missing people. Didn’t say a thing when she left,” Thatcher looked at his now empty beer can.

“Really? Huh, did she have dark brown hair, wore a vest and the determination of a protective mother?” Stanley nudged Thatcher lightly, trying to keep the mood lighthearted.

Thatcher chuckled, “Yup, that sounds like her, so what’s her name? She walked out before I could get any info on her.. And I was too tired to care from my last shift-,”

“Ah,... Well, her name is Eliana Marshall, but she is using her maiden last name which is Cruz,” Stanley thought and nodded to himself.

“Mmh…. Alright, thanks dude…”

“Of course….”

“Want another beer?”

“God, yes.” END OF CHAPTER TWELVE, EYE IN THE STORM

[awkwardsizeshifter]

Dug up more of the AU bs feat. Eve's ref since she's the main character in this AU

Anyways, the puppets in this AU are part of a now cancelled children's show (cancellation was due to supernatural things happening on the stage, film crew members getting mysteriously injured/winding up dead) which the public/showrunners collectively blamed on the puppets (although it was directly the alternates looking to cause as much death/harm as possible)

Speaking of the puppets, the puppets were created by Gabriel and O'Brien (unlike canon, these two are different people. their dynamic works like William Afton and Henry Emily from FNAF, Gabriel being William and O'Brien being Henry), though Gabriel decided the puppets had little 'soul' and...well. sent alternates to kill 4 specific victims. Rather than "replacing" their victims, however, they take the victims life force (well, in layman's terms, souls)

Cue the puppets ending up possessed by all four victims

Onto Evelin, she was hired to watch over the puppets and make sure no ill-intentioned burglars found their way into the warehouse the puppets are stored in. Of course, a few nights in and she begins to feel watched by the 14'0 ft puppets looming in the center of the warehouse. Which, come morning, has her making a mad dash to her shitty little Toyota Corolla and peeling out of there

Which only serves to make the puppets more curious about her, she's small and cute (in a platonic sense), so on the 5th night, poor girl damn near has a heart attack when there's a puppet staring at her while she's reorganizing the shelves in the warehouse, practically hovering over her

Safe to say, she leaves early, throws her flashlight at said puppet (Jonah) and dips.

She does eventually befriend the puppets, specifically Jonah and Adam. They're immediately protective of her and growly (rarely even allowing Mark and Cesar to hold her).

A few small side notes, to finish off this lengthy post

This AU takes place during 2009-2010. a little after Volume 3 and 4 but post Catalyst

Thatcher, Dave, Ruth and Sarah are the only other humans in this AU, Thatcher's the oldest at 37, Dave's 36, Ruth's 34 and Sarah's 20 in that order (all ages are just speculation, since Alex is vague as hell/lh)

The puppets are eldritch in some form, though it only really shows up if alternates are around/Evelin's being threatened

Evelin has a bastard of a supervisor, who's a one off OC named Stanley Clark. The puppets dislike him a lot and have put the fear of god into him so he'd leave Eve the hell alone

Small addition I forgot to add: Evelin's a foster kid in this AU, though she was kicked to the curb by her foster family at the time. Thankfully Dave found her, unfortunately it was a year after Mark disappeared ;w;

[henriiiii-1001old]

tell me more about cesar in the fairytale au!! or anything about the uhhhhhh news cast au i cant remember the name of ti right now im sorry

i keep forgetting i need to make my fucking channel 3 subplot au masterpost ough </////3 i also just need to make more content abt it in general but fairy tale au got stuck in my headdd <//////3 (also nw on not remembering the name its fucking long as shit so i get it xdddd )

um i'll just say it here, theres this one tmc oc (he's basically an oc/self insert of a music artist. yknow the guy who did overthrone and intruder? yeah, that guy) i decided to add in bc haha funny news reporter. his name is langston solover (i fucking love that name idk why) and he's actually an alternate.

there used to be a real langston, but he got killed by some other alt who took his place. started spreading propaganda about like "the true savior" and shit and the newscast was like "nonono let him cook he's kinda onto something"

he is honestly also just a silly goofy guy i love him <3

ANYWAYS FAIRY TALE CESAR!!!!!

ok this will only make sense if i bring the other characters in so let me give a brief summary of one of the bigger moments of the au

SO, the fabled four solved the whole evie getting poisoned thing, and theyre all chilling. someone finds evie and decides to snitch on her being away from the castle for too long. things happen where evie and adam get taken to her castle, she gets locked in her room but eventually escapes w adam and all that (you know what im talking abt reaper but im just gonna keep it vague and i'll explain the full thing to everyone else later :3 )

cesar actually had become increasingly worried about evie since she had been missing for a few days. after hearing she was with a witch of all people, he was extremely concerned.

he does have a good reason not to trust adam though, cesar had saved mark and sarah from one who was literally about to kill them, and cesar also got cursed by the same one who tried killing them. he had stayed as a frog for years, and when he finally broke free of the curse, he had become so deformed that his family didnt even recognize him.

but no matter how hard he tried, evie wouldnt change her mind.

and neither would cesar for a good long time, especially since one of evie's castle staff ended up being on the witches' side gathering info for them. he'd eventually come around and trust evie that adam means no harm. he doesnt trust adam directly, but hey, that's a good start!!!

[picketlinepitchin]

[Image description: a card titled “Meet the fanartists. Artists of Pitch-In”. On the left is a drawing of a person with Compress from BNHA. A smile has been drawn onto his mask. Compress is wearing a top hat with a red band and a light yellow feather, a red shirt, a black vest, and a green necklace with a green pendant set in gold. Below the drawing are two links: 1. cesarecross.tumblr.com 2. twitter.com/cesarecross On the right is text that reads “Cesare (Any Pronouns). Hello hello! I love creating things and seeing people create. So while I have no idea who to say about myself, I can give you a sign to start making or doing that thing you’ve been meaning to. Now go! Draw! Write! Cook! Whatever it is! I believe in you! Favorite Fandoms: BNHA, Haikyuu!!, Pokemon Fangames.” Below that is the Picket Line Pitch-In logo, and three links: 1. twitter.com/Fanart4Donations 2. tumblr.com/picketlinepitchin 3. picketlinepitch-in.carrd.co . End description]

Spotlights on Cesare! Cesare creates and craves creation, and this fundraiser is the perfect place for them! Thanks so much for joining the Pitch-In, and welcome aboard!

[cedefaci]

Five Times Vongola Settimo retrieved corpses at his CEDEF counterpart’s behest, and one time he made one

Vongola Settimo had the weakest Flame of all Vongola Bosses, but his CEDEF Commander was conversely, the strongest. Little is known of the enigmatic Spada, save that he was responsible for CEDEF's assumption of codenames based on herbs and spices, and that never had the CEDEF been more bloody and more brutal than under his leadership. Together, these two men laid down the foundations of what Daniela, the legendary Vongola Ottavo, would build upon to secure Vongola's place as the undisputed sovereign over a tight-knit Alliance of Families.

And yet these men's close-knit partnership broke apart, as the pressure of Iron Prefect Cesare Mori's campaign against the mafia grew. In the end, Spada chose not to rescue his dearest friend when he was imprisoned, awaiting trial, choosing instead to save and crown his goddaughter, Daniela, instead.

A love story with an angry ghost was always doomed to end in tragedy, and yet.

 “You need not wish me well.” His friend kissed his hand, the hand bereft of the Vongola Ring for the first time in more than two decades. “You have already returned love to me, when all I had was hate. For your sake, Fabio, I shall avenge thee, and see your children grow old.”

Simora di Vongola, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1

“Fabio di Vongola, your father is fallen.” Katzbalger’s face was solemn. “I, his consigliere, entrusted with one half of the authority to appoint his successor, choose you in accordance with his wishes, and so discharge my last duty to him.”

Fabio took the lacquered box from the Sixth CEDEF Boss’s hands. “It is true then.”

The round-faced man closed his eyes. “The Vongola’s reach may span the world, but there was no cure to be found for Simora, in this land or any other. He has chosen his end.”

“May he rest—Damn it!” The Rings scattered onto the carpet that was probably as old as they were. “Damn it, damn it all to hell! Father knew that he was weakening, the Alliance knew he was weakening, our enemies knew that he was weakening! It didn’t make him step down even if it caused the Vongola problems, so why the fuck did he decide that now was the time to make things right? What made him think that now was the time to put duty first? Why the fuck would he leave now?”

“Perhaps…” Katzbalger began delicately.

“No, don’t you dare try to give me his excuses, he’s an egotistical fucking bastard, mother’s been praying to every saint in the book, lighting enough candles to burn the church down, she’d have fucking built one with her own bare hands if she’d thought it would give her another hour with her husband, but his pride would rather have him die as Vongola Sixth than diminish with the people who love him!”

Fabio took a deep breath. “Tell me he at least took all those Azzarà dogs with him.”

“Not quite.” Katzbalger moved towards the door, looking pointedly at the grandfather clock that stood against the wall, “He got most of them, but Spada is cleaning up the rest. You ought to bring your father’s body home and complete your Ring, Vongola Settimo.”

Vongola Settimo. Three years later than he expected, but he had the title now. How long would it take before no one called him anything else? Fabio di Vongola. Vongola Settimo. He was no longer the disappointment, only heir because he was his father’s only son. He was the Seventh in a line that had continued unbroken for a century and a half.

“Yeah,” Fabio said, following his Intuition to his ring and sliding it on his finger, “I should. So, about this Spada—he a Rain?”

The soon to be former CEDEF Boss smiled sardonically, “Because he’s washing away the blood spilled? Nah, that’s what we all do, Rain or no. If you want to know more about him, go ask him yourself.”

The smell hit him first.

After a brief, embarrassing interlude in which he picked up the Half-Rings he had scattered on the floor and distributed them to his Guardians, they had driven to the manor where Don Vongola had made his last stand. He had then left them outside while he headed past the perimeter alone.

The smell of roast meat and gunpowder, sour piss and vomit and the stink of shit from fear-loosened bowels ripening in the summer heat, hung like a cloud in the hallway. The CEDEF agent on guard duty had to have been marinating in the stench for hours, that poor soul.

“Settimo.” The young woman saluted crisply, opened the door, and stepped aside.

Fabio acknowledged her with a nod and then headed in.

Well…

On second thought, he wasn’t sure whether he was sorrier for the girl or for himself. What had seeped through the cracks had developed into a foul but generally breathable fog, but the miasma at its source had congealed into an all but physical thing, thick and rich in the stagnant air.

He stepped over a disembodied limb and avoided the tangle of entrails spilling from its owner, shoes sticking to the ground. There to the right, a man and a woman, the man’s head at an unnatural angle, the woman’s body littered with the long, shallow gashes unique to Simora’s boomerang. Behind them, shards of bone and organs stuck to wallpaper that was liberally coated in blood and brain matter. Farther off, his father’s Flame had left a cluster of bodies unrecognizable, their clothes and hair charred and blackened, their skin covered in raised blisters, patches of pale round welts like cobblestones, some smooth, some burst and weeping clear fluid. And there, on the other side of the room, a trio of corpses pressed against a window, as if they had been struck down as they tried futilely tried to escape the room, so warped that they barely passed as human, with flecks of skin and flesh around their throats and great bites taken out of the meat of their torsos.

It was then that he decided to stop cataloguing the carnage; better to let the cleaners sort it out.

Sunlight poured in like molten gold, turning the charnel pit into an oven. His father’s body had been laid out upon a makeshift bier in a liquid pool of it, severe features softened by the gilt. Someone had combed Simora’s hair, damp with sweat, back into its usual neatness, slid his eyes shut, and folded his hands over his chest with his faithful boomerang clasped between them, as if he was a warrior-king of old, grave and grand and solemn in his repose.

What was he in comparison? The last and least, chosen only for lack of other options, the disappointing only son, no hero, no leader, more clerk than king.

“Hail, Vongola Settimo.”

Fabio turned around. The speaker was dressed in a snugly tailored black suit over a waistcoat of tell-tale indigo brocade, swinging a sword-cane with lazy grace. Just his luck, the Mist was a fucking peacock, strong enough to teleport and vain enough to show off. He steeled himself.

“I have you to thank for this mess, I presume?”

The Mist bowed, long, silver-blond hair swinging freely over one shoulder. “Spada, of the CEDEF, at your service.”

“Some service.” Fabio knelt by his father’s stiff body, where the ground was clean. “You couldn’t have gotten the Ring off before rigor mortis set in?”

“Why?” Spada asked, all mock scandalized offense, “Is it not meet that Vongola’s Heir should receive his Inheritance from Vongola’s Don’s hand?”

So speaking, he vanished the glass from the windows, letting in a tepid breeze. It did little to improve their surroundings and even less to change the fact that talking with the CEDEF agent was an exercise in forbearance.

Spada was a Mist, Fabio reminded himself, and there was always something wrong with the good ones. His own Ligurio wasn’t much better. He sat back on his heels, prize in hand. “Are you advising me, Outside Advisor?”

“Merely being conscientious.” The scent of orange flower water swirled about them as Spada joined Fabio at his father’s side. “After all, my authority extends only to this—”

He tapped the CEDEF Half-Ring on Fabio’s finger. “—and even then only when you bestow it onto me.”

A reminder. The man had not been confirmed CEDEF Commander yet.

Spada was presumptuous, insolent. But he had earned it with his casual power, exercised with breathtaking mastery, with Katzbalger’s trust, giving him responsibility over the matters of Succession, and with his encyclopaedic knowledge of law and custom, even if it was used to push the lines of acceptable conduct precisely as far as they would go.

Who, in their generation, could hold a candle to that bonfire? His father’s fingers were warmthless and stiff under his own.

Certainty was addicting, Will fed on itself. Don Vongola slid his Ring off and dropped both halves in Spada’s hands.

He had caught the Mist by surprise, and the other man’s disconcertment was supremely gratifying.

“What is this, Fabio di Vongola?” Spada counterattacked, drawling to buy time, “Such impropriety. You have not received the Sin—it is not yet time for me to take this back.”

“The giving of these Rings from one hand to another’s signifies much.” Settimo said, meeting the eyes of what could be the strongest Mist in the world, but for the Arcobaleno, “From me to you—trust. From you to me…”

“…support.” Spada concluded, “Is that what you ask of me, Vongola Settimo?”

Fabio looked down at that little twist of some unknown alloy, passed down through the generations, “With his half alone, my father enacted vendetta that shall soon shake the Underworld, but in me, the blood runs thin. I shall need its mate as well, if I am to hold my own with the sword as well as the pen.”

“If that is what you require,” Spada completed the Sky Ring and held it for Fabio to take, “Then the strength of the CEDEF is yours to command.”

Fabio accepted the offering and rose to his feet.

The sun had moved. The light was fading. It was time. “Well?” He asked, “Who shall carry my father to his final rest?”

It was the question Spada had been waiting for, as expected. The peacock of a Mist stood and struck the ground with his cane.

“Who else, but the defeated dead?” He laughed, as mangled corpses shuddered to life.

“Who else.” Fabio repeated flatly. There was always something wrong with the good Mists, and he had chosen this one of his own free will. Who else indeed. He raised his chin and joined his CEDEF Commander at the front of the ghastly pallbearer’s queue.

 Currently, CEDEF codenames are based on different types of swords, from the german Katzbalger to the Roman Spada. (Yes, Daemon is just going by his surname) Fabio’s guardians, on the other hand, are named after the characters from Machiavelli’s satirical comedy“the Mandrake”.

next

[fishingnene]

OMFG LETS GO I XAN FINALLY INFO DUMPPP

OKAY SO THE MANDELA CATALOGUE IS A SERIES MADE BY ALEX KISTER, ITS AN ARG OR ANALOG HORROR SERIES AS FAR AS I KNOW. THE FIRST EPISODE/VIDEO CONTAINS MARY GETTING THE MESSAGE FROM GABRIEL THAT SHE WILL GIVE BIRTH TO JESUS CHRIST, BUT THIS EPISODE IS EDITED AND INSTEAD GABRIEL (WHO MIGHT BE SATAN OR SMTH) TELLS MARY SOMETHING SHOCKING, WE DONT KNOW WHAT IT IS THOUGH. I WONT GO INDEPTH ON THAT EPISODE CAUSE IT ONLY TELLS US THAT SOMETHING DISGUISED AS GABRIEL IS INTERFERING WITH HUMANITY.

NOW THIS IS THE JUICY EPISODE/VIDEO. SO WE GET INTERDUCED TO TWO CHARACTERS, THREE IF WE COUNT IMPLIED. SO THE FIRST ONE IS MARK HEATHCLIFF, HE ANSWERS THR PHONE AT AROUND 2-3 AM (CANT REMEMBER WHICH ONE) TO CESAR TORRES. CESAR TELLS MARK THAT HIS MOM HAS PASSED OUT AND HE IS DRIVING/TAKING HER TO THE HOSPITAL AT THE MOMENT AND WANTS MARK TO CHECK THE SECURITY CAMERAS. MARK GOES TO CESARS HOUSE AND CHECKS THE CAMERAS, SEEING SOMETHING (QHAT WE LEARN IS AN ALTERNATE LATER ON) AND DRIVING HOME (SPEEDING AND NOT STOPPING). MARK THAN PROCEEDS TO GO IN HIS ROOM AND HIDE IN THERE WHILE THE ALTERNATE (DISGUISED AS CESAR) TRIES TO OPEN THE DOOR. MARK GOES 3 DAYS WITHOUT HELP AND THE ALTERNATE GETS IN AND WE HEAR A GUNSHOT (EITHER MARK KILLED HIMSELF OR TRIED TO KILL THE ALTERNATE) AND IS NOW DEAD.

I WONT GO IN DEPTH ON EVERY EPISODE, SO NOW WE GET ONTO TWO NEW CHARACTERS WHO ARE APART OF AN NOW ILLEGAL ASSOCIATION CALLED "BYTHORNE PARANORMAL SOCIETY" OR BETTER KNOWN AS "BPS", AS YOU CAN TELL, THEY ARE PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS. SO FOR THIS VIDEO WE ARE MEETING ADAM MURRAY AND JONAH MARSHALL. ADAMS AND JONAHS CAR IS BROKEN DOWN SO THEY STEAL ANOTHER, WE LEARN IN THIS VIDEO BETWEEN THEIR CONVERSATIONS THAT 1. NO ONE RELIES ON THE POLICE, AND 2. T.V. SCREENS, AND MIRRORS ARE BANNED.

ADAM AND JONAH TOOK A CALL WSNTING THEM TO DO A INVESTIGATION FOR A DEAD CAT, WHICH THEY TOOK AND DROVE OVER TO THE GIRLS HOUSE. JONAH STAYS IN THE CAR WHILE ADAM INVESTIGATES, ADAM AND JONAH STAY FOR AROUND 2-3 NIGHTS (DONT REMEMBER) AND THE BASEMENT DOOR UNLOCKS. JONAH BEGS ADAM NOT TO GO DOWN THERE, EVEN SAYING HE'LL ABANDONE HIM IF HE DOES. ADAM DOESNT LISTEN AND GOES DOWN THERE, JONAH LEAVES ADAM THERE.

JONAH, WE LEARN LATER ON, IS DEAD BECAUSE HE GOT INTO A CAR ACCIDENT, WHILE HE WAS DRIVING HE WAS SOBBING. THINKING ADAM IS DEAD AND IS NOW AN ALTERNATE.

ADAM GOES DOWN TO THE BASEMENT AND FINDS A T.V., WHICH AGAIN ARE ILLEGAL. THE T.V. IS PLAYING A CAT MEOWING, OV3R AJD OVER. ADAM THAN ASKS "WHAT ARE YOU?" THE T.V. GLITCHES OUT AND SHOWS PHOTOS, INCLUDING MARK HEATHCLIFF FROM HIS CHILDHOOD. WE HEAR A DEEP VOICE ASK "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE" WHICH ADAM RESPONDS "THE RIGHT THING".

ADAM WALKS BACK HOME AND GETS ON HIS COMPUTER, TELLING SARAH THAT JONAH IS DEAD BUT THEY LEARNED MORE ABOUT ALTERNATES. SARAH IS MARKS YOUNGER SISTER AND MADE "BPS". SARAH IS PISSED, TELLING ADAM TO CONFESS TO HIS MISTAKE AND MAKE A VIDEO MOURNING HIM.

THE OLD AS COMPUTER GLITCHES, SHOWING A PERSON. SAYING THAT ADAM ISNT THE REAL ADAM, AND THAT HE IS INFACT AN ALTERNATE.

ANYWAYS, NOW WE MEET THATCHER, I NEED A BREAK FROM ADAM RN. ANYWAYS SO THATCHER IS A POLICE OFFICER ANS HAS ACTUALLY MET ADAM WHEN YE WAS A BABY, WELL AT LEAST TRIED TO BEFORE HE RAN OFF. WHICH RUTH, ANOTHER POLICE OFFICER AND THATCHERS OFFICER PARTNER, GOES TO INVESTIGATES AND DIES BECAUSE OF AN ALTERNATE. THATCHER BLAMES HIMSELF FOR THAT AND FAKES HIS OWN DEATH, WHICH LEADS TO NOW WHERE HE NOW HAS A MEMORIAL RIGHT NEXT TO RUTHS MEMORIAL.

BACK TO SARAH HEATHCLIFF NOW, SARAH MESSAGES EVELIN MILLER (ADAMS EX GIRLFRIEND AS HE LEARNED) IF SHE HAS HEARD FEOM ADAM. SHE RESPONDS NO BUT SHE DOES COMMENT ON HOW HE IS GETTING STRANGER BEHAIVOR. WE THAN CUT TO THIS SCENE OF A BEDROOM, OF THE LIGHTS BEING TURNED OFF AND ON, AN ALTERNATE BEHIND THE DOOR. EVELIN (OR SUPPOSEDLY, I DONF THINK WE HAVE CONFIRMATION) YELLING "ADAM WHO IS THAT!?" BEFORE CUTTING AGAIN TO THATCHERS LITTLE HOUSE. RED TEXT IN THE SKY (WHICH IS GABRIEL) TELLING THATCHER TO GO INVESTIGATING STUFF OR SMTH.

THATCHER JUMPS IN HIS CAR AND GOES TO ADAM MURRAYS HOUSE, LOOKING FOR SOMETHING. THATCHER GOES INTO ADAMS ROOM AND FINDS HIM, HE IS AN ALTERNATE THOUGH AND IS SLIGHTLY STRETCHED OUR. ADAM SCREAMS IN PAIN AND THATCHER (OR THE CAMERA) COLLAPES, WHILE THE SCREEN SHOWS PICTURES OF ADAM MURRAY WITH A TEXT BOX SAYING "SUSPECT IDENTIFIED". THE SCREEN CUTS TO WHILE WITH A SMILEY FACE WHILE ADAM SCREAMS IN PAIN.

THATS ALL IM SAHING NOW BECAUSE MY FINGERS HURT AND I NERD A BREAKZ THATNKS FOR LISTENING

Autism people:

Info dump to me. What is your current special interest?

[angelic-writer]

Day 1, 2, 3 (Helpless, Solitary Confinement, Bite Down on This)

CW: Captivity, Torture, Graphic descriptions of gore, Referenced drugging, Force Feeding, Choking, Body horror, References to suicide

Julius didn't feel anything when he was brought into the Department of Temporal Phenomena. He didn't feel anything when he was brought into a white room and left in there. He didn't feel anything when the scientists strapped him down to a table. He didn't feel anything when they started doing experiments on him.

What they did to him... It was like they wouldn't even consider doing it if he was human. But, since he was an alternate, a creature that would never hesitate to break their minds, they went forward with it with no mercy. Sharp weapons were stabbed into him, he was shot multiple times - He was even drowned and then burned. He went through all of them and he wasn't dead. That proved the DTP workers right. Alternates are invincible to any forms of violence. Julius wanted to call out to someone, anyone, to come and help him.

But the people who could help him were the ones who turned him in in the first place so why would they help him now?

He sat in the silent, white room, staring blankly at the wall. He could feel the blood still sticking on his skin. What will they do to him next? Thoughts of various torture methods ran through his head. Will they skin him alive? Explore his organs with various surgical instruments without any anesthesia? Cut off his limbs one by one to see if they'll grow back?

Since he can't die from those, they are possibilities. He looked at his arm, still scarred from the scalpel. He thought back to the moment where he was taken away in a police car. His "friends" looking at him with an air of disgust. Micah looking at him with regret...

Micah...

He couldn't bring himself to hate him. He didn't ask for any of this. He probably was yelling at them to reconsider their decision. Julius didn't deserve anyone's forgiveness. He was the one who murdered an innocent girl and her parents. It made sense why Cesar was mad at him. But at the same time, Micah owed his life to him. He got him out of his family situation. He saved one life but he took one away. His crime spoke louder than his heroism.

He didn't expect anyone to forgive him, but he thought maybe... Maybe he could-

There was a beep and the door opened.

An older man stepped into the room and grabbed Julius by the arm. "C'mon, it's dinner time." Julius cringed, knowing what he meant.

He jerked him out of the room and into the hallway, the bright lights blinding the Cesar look alike. Taking one look at the name tag on his lab coat showed the name "O'Connor." He brought him to a room that had a single chair in the middle. O'Connor threw Julius onto it and strapped down his arms and legs.

He glared at him as he walked out of the room. What kinda slop is he gonna feed him next?

He came back a few minutes later to a rather appetizing meal. It was mashed potatoes, peas and carrots. It brought back pleasant memories of him eating with his companions.

How ironic.

O'Connor brought the fork to his face. "C'mon, eat up."

He turned away. He knew better than to accept food from the Department. The last time he accepted food from them, his body had a bad reaction. It turned out that it was laced with drugs. He was more vigilant around their meals after that.

O'Connor grabbed his face. "Listen, I didn't waste all my time making this only for you to act like a child. You haven't eaten in a week. You need to eat!"

"Why?" Julius spat. "How do I know you guys won't drug me again? Besides, I can still survive being starved." Although what he said was true, he left out the part where he would be very weak. It was a risk he was willing to take.

"You need food to survive this, boy. Now, bite down on this." Once again, he brought the fork close to him. Julius leaned back as far as he could, making sure it didn't touch him. Laced or not, he would not eat this.

He expected him to give up and leave him alone with the untouched plate of food like he always did, but he did something that caught him off guard. O'Connor grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up. He didn't have time to shout before the food was shoved in his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but the scientist shoved more into his mouth, deep into his throat. He tried to cough it out, but O'Connor covered Julius' mouth. "That's right. There you go. It's good, right? I worked really hard on it."

Julius involuntarily took a breath and the potato and carrot combo wedged itself deeply into his throat. He gagged, trying to cough out the blockage, but it remained firmly stuck. His body began to jerk, trying to fight back against the restraints. O'Connor stepped back and watched the alternate choke on his own dinner.

His eyes rolled back as saliva dripped from his chin. His chest contracted uselessly, trying to get in some air. It was clear to him that he needed help, but he knew he wouldn't die from that. In a few hours, he would wake up from being choked good as new.

"O'Connor, what the fuck are you doing?!" Dr. Evans screamed from the intercom.

"I tried to feed him, but he didn't want to listen."

"He's choking! Help him!!"

"He'll be fine, Andrew."

He watched Julius' face begin to turn red as he fought desperately for air. His hands started to elongate and turn black as he continued to thrash violently. Seeing the alternate turn into its pure form made him elated. If he wasn't strapped down, O'Connor would be running for his life right now. But he wasn't afraid. He knew that thing wouldn't hurt him as long as he was strapped down.

Julius' face soon turned blue. His eyes began to melt, joining the tears that were running down his face. His struggling grew weaker and weaker. He wanted to call out to someone, but he can't. He couldn't talk, he couldn't breathe... He was like a little child. Scared and helpless.

Helplessness. The same feeling his victims got when they were trapped. He finally was feeling what they were feeling. He never got the chance to tell them he was sorry. For everything.

He hoped this lingering darkness would help him reflect and atone.

O'Connor was suddenly pushed out of the way by Dr. Evans. He tore the straps off of Julius and lifted him up. The alternate was starting to slump over, the black substance dripping onto Dr. Evans' coat. He wrapped his arms around the creature's waist and started to thrust into his stomach. His body was like a ragdoll, weak to the ongoing assault.

"C'mon, cough it out! C'mon!!" He slapped him on the back, alternating between abdominal thrusts. O'Connor just stared at the scene. What the hell is he doing? He's gonna get himself killed.

Finally, the blockage was pushed out of him, allowing Julius to breathe. He gasped and coughed as Dr. Evans lowered him to the ground. His body had turned completely black as he curled into a ball and began to sob. The scientist held him close and petted his hair, trying to comfort him the best he can.

"Why did you do that? You could've gotten yourself killed!" O'Connor shouted at him.

"I had to do something! He was gonna die!" Dr. Evans shouted back.

"Don't you understand yet? Those things are not human. They play with your mind, forcing you to kill yourself. They are not your friends. They killed so many people in Wisconsin already, so we shouldn't be treating them like humans!"

Dr. Evans glared at him. In a way, he's right. The alternates have caused so much terror and pain to the citizens, tearing apart families and instilling fear and paranoia. This creature was just like them. It already ruined so many people's lives just by doing what it was made to do. But at the same time, the way he looked at them at times told Andrew that he was already displaying human emotions. Doing those experiments made him feel cold and sick.

"Take him back to his room. He can survive a little more without food. We'll have to feed him through an IV." As he was approaching the door, he turned back to Evans. "By the way, don't show any sympathy to them. They will not hesitate to kill you."

[trashyreptilian]

Lurking Danger, September 16th 1992 (Final Part)

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

Previous Parts:

Lurking Danger, September 12th 1992 (Part 1)

Lurking Danger, September 15th 1992 (Part 2)

Lurking Danger, September 15th 1992 (Part 3)

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

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of violence and gore.

Characters: Mark Heathcliff (he/him), Him (it/its), Cesar Torres (he/him) and Alternate Cesar (it/its)

Summary: Things escalate as two alternates are caught up in a fight while Mark is left keeping Cesar alive. But that's the least of his troubles as he realizes that his long-kept secret, one that stayed hidden since childhood, was no longer a secret to his only human friend. (Word count: +4 500)

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

Standing firm with his shaky hands tightly clinging onto the gun, Mark's eyes were locked into the darkened hallway. It was like staring down the abyss where the shadows hid everything out of sight. The outside storm got wilder as if there wasn't enough tension to the situation. The alternate's frightening laughter stopped instead, replaced by footsteps slowly approaching. Each step was painfully sluggish and let out a loud creak. It seemed intentional, Mark was sure of it. It wanted to mess with him but he couldn't let his guard down. Not now. Not when his friend's life was in danger.

Cesar stood behind him, the frantic breathing only rose Mark's anxiety. His composure was breaking little by little. If he wasn't careful, he would have shot at the creature by then with the way he was holding his weapon. His finger just a millimeter away from pulling the trigger. He knew better than to let the alternate know that he was afraid. Growing up, Mark was constantly reminded by Him that its kind thrived on fear and showing it, was a death sentence. While his heart was pulsating, he tried to keep his body stiff. Barely even blinking, he glared at the white pupils as the entity got closer. Mark pondered where his guardian was but much sooner he was about to see what was lurking in the dark. When the figure finally revealed itself, he gulped. The disgustingly distorted view of what was supposed to be his close friend's impersonator was gut-wrenching to say the least.

It had a horribly wide smile plastered on its face, the teeth were so elongated. The eyes were black with those same white pupils staring down at them. Its abnormal height was to be expected but what caught him by surprise was the suit. It was nearly identical to Cesar's which he wore so often. Was that why he couldn't detect it before in broad daylight when he saw it near school grounds? It didn't matter however. The alternate kept its slow pace and continued to creep up towards them. Something about the way it walked was so wrong. Perhaps it was its body shape in general that uneased Mark. The middle part between its chest and stomach was so thin, it looked like it was about to snap in half.

Lighting struck, illuminating their surroundings for a brief second. Mark felt how sweat poured down his face, he feared to look away from it. Unsure whether or not he should stand his ground and say something. What else was there to try?

"Don't get any closer, you fucking freak!" Raising his voice, he pointed the gun in the direction of the alternate's face. Unfortunately, that didn't do much. It stopped briefly, tilting its head in intrigue. Its smile grew slightly wider and it continued walking. Mark backed away, pushing Cesar with him as they kept distance between themselves and it. They already had little space to go anywhere. That's when he really began to worry about what was to come. However, Mark caught a glimpse of a little black smoke trail swiftly moving from the stairs, right up to the ceiling. Without the other alternate noticing. It was Him, ready to strike. All they had to do was stay in place. They had no other given choice. The alternate was too close to the stairs from which they were supposed to escape.

Things seemingly went according to plan but that was about to change. Mark felt Cesar's hand holding onto his shoulder. Before he could even turn to look at him, he was pushed aside as Cesar made a run for it.

"CESAR NO!-" Mark shouted, he tried to grab a hold of Cesar by his clothes but he was too slow. His friend, in a state of panic, tried to dash down the stairs. He was grabbed by his impersonator. It forcibly seized Cesar's left hand. The two were face to face. Its mouth opened up widely. Cesar completely froze once he made eye-contact with it, his body was motionless like a dangling puppet. Mark's throat tightened as he witnessed what was unfolding. He wanted to sprint in to help. He quickly stopped himself from doing that. The aforementioned black smoke trail soon formed into a bigger cloud. A familiar figure appeared right behind alternate Cesar. It noticed as well. Turning its head to look, its chest and neck were suddenly grabbed. The weather grew more chaotic, raindrops hitting the roof of the house sounded more like bullets. Another lighting struck, giving a clearer vision of the three in front of Mark. Him unhinged its mouth. Enough that its four rows of uneven sharp teeth could be seen for a split second. Comparable to a great white shark. It sunk its teeth into the foe's shoulder. They went through the fabric with ease.

The alternate let out the most inhumane growl by the sudden pain. Its smile dropped. It kept holding onto its victim, making it harder for itself to fight back. Him quickly reached over to grab a hold of Cesar's left shoulder. It had no choice but to forcibly get him out of the impersonator's grasp. Cesar was unresponsive, his body was effortlessly thrown against the wall to the side. A loud shattering sound echoed across the hallway when his head struck a hanging mirror. Cesar's body laid down on the floor with broken glass shards scattered around him. While the ungodly growls of two alternates fighting went on, Mark rushed to his friend's body. Checking his pulse, Cesar was still alive but blood leaked down from his head. The growling became even louder, Mark looked back at the two entities once again. It was as if he had no control, he couldn't look away.

Alternate Cesar was unmatched by Him as it was attacked out of nowhere, making it confused and unprepared. Him latched onto their shoulder tightly, black blood oozed out. Its movements were restrained by Him's own arms wrapping their upper body in place, like snakes tightening themselves around their prey. Him steadily started to pin the alternate to the ground. It struggled as the foe used its legs to push Him back up while shackled. Him was snarling, the other one was growling and hissing as it slowly lost its balance. The sounds were nothing like anyone else has heard before. The closest you could compare it to was two large aggressive canine creatures but if the voices were also freakishly deep and human. After what felt like a long minute of the two wrestling, Him had the impersonator firmly pinned down. It unwrapped one of its arms so that it could hold the other's head down. Alternate Cesar was far from staying obedient, it roughly thrashed and turned in an attempt to free itself. The longer it was laying on the floor, the angrier it got.

Mark jumped as his guardian lared at him. Its eyes looked deranged. Slowly breathing, drops of black blood fell down from its mouth. The substance was covering the bottom half of its face. In moments like these, Mark was reminded that Him was not human. It was an alternate. He knew that, but he always ignored just how aggressive Him could get when his life was in danger. Even then it was playing it safe. It could have been more fierce if it wanted to.

"Y̸̝͈̬̋̊͑Ǫ̸̥͓͌̾U̴͙̺̒̒ ̵̬̅̐̚N̸͎͂̔͑Ę̸̖̍̿͝Ë̶͍́͂D̵̝̓͊ ̶̨̣̺͝Ţ̸̦̕O̶̜̟͍͑͆ ̸͍̩̊ͅG̴̤̲̼̐͌E̵̬͌Ṱ̴̗͕̚̚ ̸̖̬̣̕O̸̧̖̒̂̂Ǘ̸̢̼ͅT̴͎͒.̴̗̝̀̏͝ ̷͇̎̐G̷̠̜̀Ŕ̶͙̝͎͋̇A̶̩̫͑̉B̵̝͓̹͒͝ ̵̙͇̹͆Ỷ̵̤͍Ȏ̴̝̲̫̍U̸̘͇͂͐̕R̸̝͝ ̴̢̮̃̿F̷̺̥̮͝R̷̥̘̫̓̀̓Ȋ̸̟̰̠̏E̴̜̟̺͐N̴͉̜͒̌̽Ḓ̷̊̒̕ ̸̛̱͗A̸̠͊̊͠N̸̲̻̍̅D̴̦̻͖̿̽ ̵̥͓̼͂R̶͕̥̓͜Ú̵̯̣Ñ̴̗.̷̬̙̦̊̉̐" Him stated, its voice was agitated, broken and even static. A far cry from its usual tone. It glared back down at alternate Cesar. It started to gain back control by using all of its force in its legs to lift itself and Him back up.

"But-" Mark hesitated, it didn't feel right to leave it alone.

Unexpectedly, the other alternate let out a piercing snarl. "R̷̥͕̓A̸̘̰͗̕À̷̝̗͍̇A̸̖͗̌̿A̴̛̖̽̐Á̸̡̙͈A̸̖͙̓̍̌Ạ̴̢̅A̵̗͘A̵̗͌̕A̶̢̡͂̇Ȁ̴̖̔ͅǍ̴̘̩̒͗Ḣ̶̢̺̔̓ Y̴̤͊̇͘͝Ȯ̷̥́̓͛Ų̶̥́'̴͔̭̌̈ͅL̴͈̄L̴̙͔̳̓̆͘ ̸̹̿P̸̨̻̯̃͜Ą̸̫̦̖̏͝Ỳ̴̜͈͚̈ ̸̱̟̮̣͂̎͐̂F̵̡̱̓͌̽͘Ō̸͔͖̈R̶̻̺͓̥͝ ̴̘̫̂Ţ̶̏̄͠H̶̡͕̼̒̾͜I̴̡͌̓Ș̶̡̹́̀̾̈́ͅ ̷̛̺͈̑̏̋T̸̖̜͚̾̿̎R̶̫͒̓͑͜E̷̳͉̳͋A̵̡͕̍S̸̛̫̾̆Ó̸͖̩͗̌Ñ̴̞!̶͙̊̌" That time it sounded nothing like Cesar in the slightest. It winded itself up to overthrow Him. Mark saw how it couldn't hold it down for any longer. 

Him glared back at Mark. "Ď̶̤͇̂͋O̶̺͐͛N̸͈̜̗̽͛'̵̨̮̈́T̶̰̓̉͐ ̴̢́̕M̴͈̬͍̓À̴̯K̴̘͕̲̅͠E̶̡̦̅͒͝ ̸͚͇̲̂M̸̮̈́͒E̷̻̩͗̿ͅ ̶̧̖̦͊R̴̙͌̽E̸̥̻̍͂͂ͅṖ̴͕̤͜E̴̹̐A̴̞̽̋̇T̴̫̤̄͐ ̴̺̗͗̈́͘͜Ḿ̵̧̻̣Ŷ̷̛̘̿S̴͂͊̃͜Ḛ̵̄L̴̤̻̱͂͊́F̶̭͍͑̓͘͜.̷̳̦͘ ̷̝̇̔ͅG̸̱̿È̶͙̂T̶̗͚͗ͅ ̴̖͚̳̊̿̌O̴̗̥͆͘Ṷ̷̈T̵̰̖̈́͒ ̶̞͔̓͐́O̶͓̱̒͂̕F̶̫̜͐̋̚ ̴͙͇̰̆͛̓H̵̪̙̙́̓̓E̷̹͈̲̐͘R̷͍͕͊E̸̲̐!̸̛͖̮̮̓͘" After that was said, alternate Cesar got up with all its might. Still restrained by one of the arms, it quickly bit on it. The arm loosened up as Him hissed in response. That was enough for it to get out and have its own arms freed. Fully in motion, it shouted and tackled Him by its waist. It pushed them back into the dark abyss of the hallway. Their inhumane growls faded away in the shadows, the outside weather covered their sounds. All Mark could hear was distant loud thumping and surrounding items breaking. With no time to spare, he prepared himself to carry Cesar's unconscious body.

Mark placed Cesar in a seated position. Putting his own back against the chest and holding a wrist in each hand, he bent his knees and pulled up until the armpits were over his shoulders. Ready to leave, he headed towards the stairs. However, he stopped when he heard a loud harrowing screech. Sounded like one of the alternates got badly hurt. Worried that Him could have been the one, he was soon proven wrong. Something flung from the shadows. It was a body part. It left a line of black blood behind as it landed on the floor. Mark was hesitant to examine since it was twitching as if the thing had a mind of its own. Once he did, judged by the looks alone, it was alternate Cesar's arm. Him ripped it clean off. Mark felt how his hairs stood up. Whatever exactly transpired back there, was better left unknown and unseen.

Thankfully Cesar didn't weigh too much. Running down the stairs, Mark sprinted for the door. Hurling his own body through it, he was outside at last. Heavy rain greeted them. Mark had his head down while raindrops came pouring down and the thunderstorm caused loud crashes. Lifting himself and his friend's body back up to maintain support, he took a deep breath and did another sprint. Leaving the front porch, that time he headed for the iron gates. Little splashes from the forming water puddles followed as he ran. Opening the gates, his car was just a few feet away. Parked on the side of the road, Mark stopped. Grabbing his keys with one hand, he opened a door for the back passenger seats. He tried his best to gently place Cesar. The body took up most if not all of the back seats. Closing the car door, Mark only then noticed how fast his heart was racing. He folded his arms and rested his head, along with his arms, on the car window. Desperately in need of a minute to breathe. He hyperventilated and grabbed a hold of his chest. Not being able to think straight, he closed his eyes and continued to take deep breaths.

After inhaling and exhaling a couple of times, he backed away from the car window. Staring at his unconscious friend, he knew that they couldn't leave just yet. Not without Him. Unsure what to do, stay where he was or go in and see what was happening with the alternates. Shit... I have to go back. What if something happened? I can't just STAY here and wait. But I don't want to leave Cesar alone either... Mark thought about any other options but there wasn't much he could do. Eventually, he decided to head back to the house. Deep down, he hoped that nobody would notice his friend laying in the car while he was gone. Equipping his gun once more, Mark rushed through the gates and back up the front porch. Opening the door, he peeked inside before entering. It was quiet. Too quiet. He made sure to scan out the first floor. Nothing in sight. Nothing damaged either. There was no other way but up. Just as soon he was about to walk up the stairs, he heard a door being kicked down.

Stopping in his tracks, Mark ducked down. He kneeled on the stairs. Alternate Cesar violently landed on the floor up top. It was a rough landing as it groaned in pain. From what he could make out in the dark with the occasional thunder lighting up the area, it had a hard time getting back up on its feet. Holy shit, how hard did Him throw you...? It began walking on its knees towards the security room where he had met up with Cesar. Mark tried walking up the stairs again but he quickly halted. Him walked past him, following the other. It didn't seem to notice Mark.

The alternates entered the security room. Mark stayed silent, who knew what would happen if he got in their way. On the second floor, he crouched down. Subtly walking on all fours to avoid getting caught by either entity. He walked past the severed arm from earlier. The room they were in had the door wide open. Keeping distance, he saw Him standing in the middle of the room while alternate Cesar had collapsed on the ground. It could barely keep its head up. Sitting against the wall with its head above the only window. It was backed into a corner. Badly wounded, it breathed heavily with its own blood dripping down from the mouth. Mark then realised that Him had torn off both of the alternate's arms. No wonder it had to walk on its knees. Its suit was pretty shredded. He saw some nasty bite marks covering its exposed chest and face. It was definitely no match for Him. His guardian was experienced in fighting unlike the other probably.

Alternate Cesar slowly raised its head to look at Him. It spat out some of its blood out to the side before speaking. "You won't get away with this. Protecting these humans *COUGH*..." It coughed out more blood. "...will get you K̶I̴L̶L̷E̸D̶..." Its voice was closer to Cesar's but their tone was weaker and deeper.

Him didn't respond. Mark couldn't tell what its facial expression was since its back was facing him from the door. It seemed unfazed. The other continued. "Our overlord will be informed of what you are doing. You'll be D̷E̵A̷D̴,̵ ̵h̴a̸h̷a̴.̸.̸.̴"

"What makes you believe that you will leave this house alive?" Him said, its voice was calmer but hostile nonetheless. It walked up to the wounded alternate. Leaning down to their head level, Him slammed its head down onto the floor. Its freakishly long fingers nearly covered their entire head. Pinned down again, the foe, armless and defenceless, had no choice but to comply. It simply hissed back.

"You are a traitor, you know that. Why... Why are you keeping those feeble creatures alive? They bring you nothing in retur-" Alternate Cesar groaned louder as Him pressed down some weight on its back while pinned.

Him leaned in closer to their ear. Mark tried to walk in a little closer to the door. "Spew out all the threats you want, you are not the first alternate I've had to kill... For fourteen years and to this day, I am living as an outcast, a reject, a traitor..." Pausing, it slowly reached its hands towards the foe's mouth. One held on tightly to the top and the other, opened up its mouth by holding its jaw. "Do you even comprehend what it is like to exist as me...?" Him steadily began pulling down alternate Cesar's jaw. "Of course you don't... Ň̵̟Ỏ̸̡N̷͎̆Ḙ̶̌ of you would comprehend that... I have been rejected by my own kind and shamed by our overlord."

Him made sure that eye-contact was maintained with the alternate. "One of those "feeble creatures” that I keep alive, understands me however... The only thing that offers me any sort of respect, is a human. The ̵̙̀Ȍ̷̹N̵̦̐L̵̬͠Y̸̹̍ thing that ever made me feel like I had any sort of purpose for my existance, is a H̶̹͋U̴͕̽M̴͉͌A̶̼͝N̵̰̋..." Him's hands trembled as they kept pulling down the other’s jaw. It was about to rip it out. "I̶ ̸a̶m̵ ̶n̵o̴t̵ ̷g̸o̷i̵n̶g̵ ̸t̷o̶ ̷l̷e̴t̷̸̸̳͑̏ Ỳ̴̶̴̛̖̮̯Ò̷̸̶̙͍̖͌̃U̴̵̶͇̫̥̖͐̔̈́͝,̸ ̷o̴r̸ ̸a̶n̶y̵ ̴o̶t̵h̶e̵r̷ ̷a̴l̶t̶e̷r̶n̸a̴t̷e̸,̶ T̷͇̲̎A̵̧̛͚̚͜K̵̢̂̈́͐E̶̢̖̳̾ ̸̼̜͂̌T̶̨̼̃H̴̘͈̻̎Ẻ̸̮͑̄M̷̠̣̃̓̅ ̵͉̀͘A̸͉͑̓W̷͙̘͍͝A̴̪̗͐̈́͠Y̷̺̬͘͝ ̸̢̧͎̍̎͝F̷̢̞̹̈̍Ŗ̸̨̦́̊̆O̵͎̩͑͘ͅM̵̨̱̲̒͝ ̷̟͇̄̑̾M̴̱͍̪̓E̸̳̝̫͗͠-̵̤̊̔ͅ"

As Mark tried getting even closer to the room, he took one wrong step. A loud creak heard by the two alternates, they both lared back at Mark. His guardian stopped its ripping since it was caught off guard. That was the moment for alternate Cesar to viciously bite down Him's hand. Once Him jumped back in pain, snarling from the unexpected attack. The foe stood back up and used the last of its strength to smash through the window. Broken pieces of glass fell on the floor. A rough thud was heard from outside. It had escaped. Without a second thought, Him followed suit and jumped through as well. Mark ran up to the smashed window and looked down. Him chased after the other alternate, heading towards the wooded area behind the house. Wide eyed, he had to run back outside and hopefully catch up to them. Dashing past the stairs and opening the door, the rain had settled down a little. Putting away the gun in his hoodie pocket, he tried following the same path as Him. The woods weren't too big but he hoped that he wouldn't get lost.

Running past the trees, Mark called out. "HIM! HIM, COME ON MAN! THAT ALTERNATE IS NOT WORTH THE HASSLE! Shit... Where is it?" Eventually, he had to stop his pace, his feet felt like they were burning. Slowing down, he continued to follow the black blood trail left by alternate Cesar no doubt. After a few minutes of walking and listening to the raindrops dropping down from tree leaves, he halted when he saw Him in the distance. Concerned, it was leaning against a tree on its side. Was it hurt? Mark passed by some larger bushes and finally stood behind the alternate. "Hey... Caught up to you, heh... Thought I'd lose you here." It didn't respond. Heavy breathing was all he got from it.

"Him...? Are you okay? You sound really tired out..." He put his hand on its back. That seemed to have snapped it out of its quiet trance. Him turned around to look at Mark, it had a worried look on its face. "Is something wrong...? Did you get the impersonator?" 

It stared down at the ground for a bit before answering. "No... No I didn't. It ran off..." Him shifted its stare back in a different direction. Back to where it was chasing its foe. "I need to find them..." Something about the way it said that, sounded desperate. Mark wasn't going to let it run off again. He grabbed a hold of its arm to stop it from heading further deep into the woods.

"No, you don't. I left Cesar in the car, we have to go! I'm sure it won't come back. Not after the way you beat it to shit..." Mark slowly began walking back towards the direction to Cesar's house, tugging Him's arm along.

"But I can’t let it get away..." Him resisted the tugging, wanting to go look for the alternate. Mark let out a sigh and held onto its arm tighter. "Just STOP, okay...? I know you want to protect me and my friend but you did enough today... I'm not leaving without you... Let's go, Him. That bastard is not worth the trouble..." That time his words worked. Him sighed, it sounded pretty defeated but he could care less. He dragged it from the woods and headed towards the iron gates for the last time. At least for a while. Rain settled down and the storm cleared out somewhere else. It wasn't exactly shining brightly but the skies calmed down at the very least. Mark's clothes and hair were soaked in rain water. Leaving from the house's gates, the duo made their way to the car. Unlocking it, Mark pointed at where Him was to sit since the passenger seats were taken by Cesar. Once they were inside, Mark started the engine and drove off the street. At last, done with the whole "rescue" mission which didn't go as smoothly as they both wanted it to.

Inside the car, everyone was quiet for a while. Both Him and Mark were too fatigued to even speak to one another. Cesar was still unconscious. Mark kept his eyes on the road, occasionally looking back on his friend and at Him. The rain had stopped. The sky and clouds were a much more soothing shade of grey. Driving past the streets, the county had woken up as people were getting ready to work. Him covered its face deeper in its hoodie cloak to avoid any weird looks from the pupils. Sitting next to Mark, it appeared even more uncomfortable than last time with its head touching the headliner. It was as if it was crammed up inside the car. There wasn't much they could do but to hope nobody would notice.

All of a sudden, the long silence was broken. "Mark..." Him addressed.

Mark got startled a bit, honestly maybe he needed it as his eyelids got heavier. "Yeah...? What's up?" Both of their voices were pretty weak. Probably from the stress or to avoid waking up Cesar. Or both even.

"Shouldn't we be taking your friend to the hospital? Seems like a bad idea to take him back to our place..." It asked. Mark was surprised to hear that. "What...? No... N-no! We're not doing that. Besides, we’re nearly there. No point in turning back now anyway." He replied. There was so much to explain to Cesar since he saw Him. He was more worried about that than anything else.

Him let out a sigh. "I don't know about this... It doesn't feel right."

"We don't have many options here, Him. He saw you, and not in the best light if I'm being honest... Sooner or later, he would have found out. Might as well take the chance now to explain myself." Mark took a brief glance at Cesar. He wasn't too thrilled about having to reveal his long-kept secret but it didn't feel right to leave his friend at the hospital confused and blissfully unaware of what had transpired at his own home. 

"Are you sure about what you are doing? You know this isn't going to be easy for you or him... You've been silent about us for so long and now you decide to tell everything after he nearly got replaced. It seems too much to bear all in one day..." It tried to look back at Cesar as well.

Him had a point but Mark was more certain about his idea. "I mean, you're right but I... I don't want to lie to him about what happened. I think he deserves to know everything, at least about us for now. Can you trust me on this one? This is for the best for all of us"

"Fine... He's your friend after all but don't say I didn't warn you. I doubt he'll handle the truth as well as you imagine..." With that, the car fell silent again.

After a while, they found themselves in their familiar neighbourhood. One last street turn and they were at the apartment complex. Pretty lucky that few people chose to live in the sketchier parts of town considering that they had to carry a comatose body. Mark parked his car closer to the entrance. Before either of them left outside, he turned to look at Him. "You're gonna have to carry Cesar. I'll go in and give you a signal to follow me. I don't want us getting caught carrying a fucking dead body or some shit." It simply nodded in agreement. Leaving the vehicle, Mark went up to the entrance and scoured the place to see if anybody was there. When the cost was clear, he waved at Him. It ran to Mark with Cesar in its arms. Him sprinted up the stairs right after, he soon followed when he locked his car. Their footsteps echoed throughout the building, they needed to be quick since their apartment was a few floors up. Luckily for them, they were unseen. At their door, Mark frantically unlocked it and let Him in first.

They were back home at last. Mark felt relieved. His closest friend was safe. There was still the lingering fear of when he would have to explain himself once his friend woke up, but that was probably easier than having to save someone's life from their flawed impersonator. Mark went to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. It didn't do much to keep him awake but at least it was refreshing. Back at the living room, Him had already begun to assist Cesar with any wounds he had from the encounter. It sat on the floor closely to Cesar who was placed on the couch. They didn't have much but some bandages and painkillers were probably enough. The alternate cleaned away any blood staining Cesar's skin and covered up the bruising on his head.

"Do you need any help?" Mark asked after letting out a quiet yawn. 

"No, there's not much to do. Besides, it'll be a couple of hours before he wakes up. Get some rest until then, Mark. You need it." Him answered back.

Mark wasn't usually that kind of person who'd let himself rest. However, he was more than happy for once. He went straight to his bedroom. Inside, he immediately threw himself onto his comfy bed. Unbothered to change his clothes. Laying on his back, he stared at the ceiling. Drowning in his own thoughts of what was going to happen when his friend would wake up. They did it, they saved him. That, he was glad about. He only regretted that it was the first time Cesar had ever seen his guardian. Did it have to be when it was trying to kill another alternate? It saw the ugly side of it. Mark didn't think it was its bad side though, he knew Him only got violent when their lives were at stake. It was their only means of surviving in a county with the highest percentage of alternate encounters. Even if he did try to tell Cesar sooner, who would even believe in the idea of a "friendly" alternate? It sounded completely absurd when there was little information about these entities to begin with. All you knew was how ruthless they were and that's that. Maybe there was no other way after all. 

Turning around on his side to gaze at the window, Mark sighed. Nothing could have predicted the future. What had happened, happened. He hoped that Cesar would accept his guardian for what it truly was in due time. It was up to him to make it work. Closing his eyes, he dozed off as the light drizzle outside soothed him. Mark took a well-deserved nap while the rest of the Mandela County resumed its day like any other.