#We'll destroy the horror content

[francisofgotham1]

So, basically, what @junkmixart has been doing with Slashers and other horror characters with the Camp Counselor Jason AU. It's actually a fantastic take on things, and I wish she kept going with it.

You got Jason becoming a camp counselor at Crystal Lake, Michael the Mechanic, Carrie being saved by Jason, Ghostface the amateur filmmaker (via @fairloke), and more!

Edit: Oh, and @fairloke of course. How can I forget her?!

[flowerandblood]

The Cry of the Sea

Halloween Request Oneshots Series

[ pirate! • Aemond x mermaid! • female ]

[ warnings: sex content, virginity loss, fingering, smut, angst, abduction, violence, threats, obsession ]

[ description: A mermaid who rarely surfaces of the water decides to save a drowning boy. While she tries to keep him safe, she is kidnapped by strange, terrifying people, taken away from her mother and her home. On her way, she meets a captain with one eye who will decide her future fate. Obsessive, possessive, dark!Aemond.]

*Warning! Note from the author: The heroine has a name because of the plot, but apart from that there are no detailed descriptions of her appearance. Oneshot is written from a third-person perspective.

*English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy!*

My others works: Masterlist

____

She had only heard about who people were from stories, and what she learned made her rarely floated to the surface of the water – her mother said they were cruel, that they killed through need, waged wars and destroyed each other.

She also said that in order to walk on the ground they needed two limbs, as they had two arms, so in place of their fins were to be so-called legs.

She never dared to ask her mother how she knew such things – she spoke of something like a sound, like music, that it reverberated through the air and was pleasant to the ears, that it had a rhythm, that people danced and jumped to it.

She couldn't imagine it; she, her mother and the other inhabitants of the underwater city communicated with finger gestures.

One day she was awakened by a muffled bang, something she had never heard before, and she swam out into the night depths, seeing little. She widened her eyes in surprise to see not the night sky but an orange glow above the surface of the water. She looked back, thinking in horror that she should return to her shelter, but decided that she would just look out to see what was happening, to see if they were in danger.

So she surfaced, feeling the air in her nostrils which caused her pain – she used them so rarely that her lungs were not properly developed and she felt like she was suffocating.

She plugged her ears, terrified, hearing loud shot after shot, the great mountain with sails that her mother called a ship was hitting another masthead with fire, and she was between them, not understanding what was happening. She panicked, hiding under the water again.

The sound was instantly muffled as she plunged into the depths – she heard suddenly a loud splash beside her and saw the body of a white-haired boy struggling to lift himself up.

She could see his limbs, his legs unable to lift him higher like her fin, merely waving fruitlessly in the watery depths, his body sinking lower and lower to the bottom.

She remembered her mother's words about how people couldn't breathe underwater and once they fell into it, they died.

That's why she swam after him, terrified, grasping him in her hands; he was struggling, terrified, but she managed to hold him and they emerged from the water together, panting loudly and coughing.

"Daeron!" She heard a loud, low, desperate cry, which frightened her – for the first time she heard the words, human speech – it sounded strange, not like the noise of the water.

"Here!" She heard the childish, squeaky cry of the boy she was holding and plugged her ear with one hand, feeling a terrible pain. She heard the splash of water beside them and saw that a much smaller boat had fallen into the water.

There were people in it, big, pale, dirty, frightening.

She wanted to run away, but she was afraid that if she let go the boy would start sinking again, so she held him until they came closer. She helped him get into the boat, panting hard, shivering all over, the men who sat inside looked at her in disbelief.

"Holy Seven. I think it's a mermaid!"

"Kill her, she can deceive with her singing!"

"Are you mad?! We'll get a fortune for her! We take her, let the captain decide."

She heard loud sounds spoken quickly, feeling like her head was going to explode – she wanted to turn around and submerge herself back, but she felt a large hand grab her by her hair.

Something strange came out of her throat, a sort of high-pitched squeal that frightened her alone, and then she felt burning wetness in her eyes. Even though she was fighting her way out she didn't make it, another man grabbed her by her shoulders and forcibly threw her into the lifeboat.

She was feeling that she was cold and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering all over, her half-naked body now surrounded by the cool night wind, one of the men shouted that they were swimming away and back up.

"Drop the net!"

"Don't hurt her! She saved me!" Whined the boy she had rescued from death, pushing away the men who wanted to touch her, laughing loudly, amused, looking at her body.

She was terrified and trembledall over – a white-haired child came up to her and embraced her, shivering along with her.

"It's going to be alright. I won't let you get hurt." He whispered softly, something in the sound he made of himself reassuring her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the moisture running down her cheeks, thinking only of the fact that she should have listened to her mother, and now she had to pay for her curiosity.

They threw her into a net like an animal, then lifted her up with a hand crane and her body suddenly fell to the wooden floor, lots of legs around her, lots of men speaking loudly to each other.

She covered her ears and cried, feeling only pain, terrified and frozen, and suddenly she felt that something was wrong.

The voices around her fell silent as she lifted her gaze to her body.

In place of her shiny fin, covered in beautiful scales, were two long limbs, the same as theirs.

Legs.

She covered her mouth with her hand and turned away, another terrifying high-pitched sound came from her throat that felt like it tore her skin – she just cried loudly, terrified.

What had happened?

Where was her tail?

Her mother never spoke of her father.

She said he was not worth mentioning.

"He chose the sea, but not me." She had told her once, but it was only now that it was beginning to occur to her what she might have meant.

"What is the meaning of this?" She heard a low, cold voice and saw above her a man with a large scar on his left cheek and a black eye patch.

He had the same white hair as the child she had saved, except that his was longer, tied with a black ribbon – he looked at her in disbelief, as if she were some strange, frightening creature.

"It's a mermaid, Captain! I saw for myself, as long as she was in the water she had a long tail!"

"That's right, sir, if we sell her we'll get crores!"

"Don't sell her, brother! She saved me!" She heard the voice of the same little boy holding him by the sleeve of his black leather coat, his gaze directed at her again, this time focused and excited.

"We're turning back to the harbour. Find her some clothes, nobody can touch her." He said, and after a moment the men lifted her up. Although she tried to pull away, it was to no avail.

They forced her to put on a long, smelly cloth and gave her some scratchy material, although when she covered herself with it, it made her feel warmer.

They locked her in a room from which she could only see the sea through a small hole. She watched in despair as she moved away from her home, from her mother – she pressed her forehead against the wooden wall and wept.

She heard footsteps, quiet at first, then louder and louder, and the door to her cabin opened – the same terrifying man with a black eye patch stood over her, closing the door behind him.

"Who are you?" He asked. She looked at him with big eyes, not understanding what she was supposed to do, what they wanted from her. She only swallowed loudly, not taking her eyes off him.

He came closer to her, and she stepped back quickly, pressing her back against the wall, breathing loudly, terrified.

"Do not be afraid." He said a little more calmly, kneeling in front of her, something unsettling in his eye, some kind of unhealthy fascination.

She saw the gesture of his tongue running swiftly over his lower lip, as if he was just preparing to eat something tasty.

"Who. Are. You." He repeated word after word and tapped his finger against her chest hidden under the blanket. She flinched at the gesture, curling into herself, moving as far away from him as possible.

He lifted his hand and pressed it to his chest, wearing only a grey shirt tucked into black leather breeches.

"Aemond." He said calmly. After a moment, he placed his hand on her chest, looking at her expectantly.

"You?"

She wondered if he wanted to know who she was, if he had just confessed his name to her.

She saw his eye widen as she lifted her hand, touched her thumb with her pointing finger, signifying the syllable 'Le', and then lifted her pointing finger up, signifying the lone vowel 'a'.

Lea.

He looked at her, shaking his head, sitting down in front of her.

"What does that mean?" She heard him say the words quickly, but completely misunderstood what it was supposed to mean, so she showed him the same gesture signifying her name once more.

He ran his thumb over his lower lip, looking at her intensely, tapping his fingers on his knee. He rose suddenly, startling her with it, opening some cupboard with a loud clatter, taking out some large object.

She saw that what he was holding in his hands had cards and patterns – he turned it towards her, moving closer to her and it was only then that she noticed it was letters.

Her mother had told her about them and had even drawn them for her on the sand, explaining that people used them to write down words and their sounds.

She had written what her name and a few other sentences would sound like in their language, wanting to give her a comparison of how their gestures translated into their syllables.

She touched her finger quickly to a letter she recognised as 'L'. He looked at it curiously and read it out loud.

"L" He said and she nodded, pointing then to the "E" and "A".

He looked at her in disbelief, the corner of his mouth twitching in what she might have called a smile if not for the glint in his eye.

"Lea." He whispered, and she blinked, understanding that he had said her name as a whole, that this was what it sounded like.

She nodded slowly and he licked his lips excitedly, moving far too close to her, placing the book on her lap.

He began to point his fingers at more letters, and she followed the movement of his hand, trying to decipher what he was trying to convey to her.

Y O U S A V E D M Y B R O T H E R

You

sa

ved

my

bro

ther

You saved my brother.

The fair-haired boy.

She looked at him puzzled, swallowing loudly and nodded. She heard him sigh with some kind of relief and joy, happy to be able to communicate with her, pressing his lips together, leaning over the book again.

DAERON

"Daeron." She choked out the word she had heard when she had held his brother in her arms, which apparently was what he had shouted then, terrified.

She heard their captain snort a laugh under his breath, running his hand over his face, looking at her in disbelief.

"Yes." He hummed softly, his voice seeming calmer and gentler to her. She leaned over the book, this time she wanted to tell him something, and he immediately bowed his head, looking at the letters she was pointing at.

WHY

She glanced at him with her lips tightened and he looked at her, swallowing loudly, his gaze cooled. He stood up abruptly and she was unable to make a sound, not knowing how to stop him – he walked out and left her alone, locking the door.

She tried to lift herself up on those two strange limbs, but she was falling, they seemed limp and weak to her.

She preferred to crawl – she wrapped herself in her blanket and fell asleep lying against the wall, crying silently, praying to the Drowned God to take her back to the sea.

The next day, the little boy she had saved brought her food and placed it in front of her, stroking her head, saying something quietly. He then ran away as if he should not come to her and closed the door behind him.

She spotted the fish and bread on her plate and began to eat quickly, hungry and thirsty – she was given some disgusting liquid in a steel jug, but she drank it, not having much choice.

She spent the whole day lying in one place and it was only at night that she heard the sound of the lock being opened, the same man standing over her again.

He approached her slowly, crouching on the floor in front of her, massaging his chin. She held his book pressed against her chest, tried to look through it earlier, but understood nothing of it.

He gently took it from her hand.

She shuddered as he laid down on the floor just behind her, resting his cheek against her shoulder, placing the open book in front of them, pointing one by one with his finger at the letters and syllables he had spoken so that she could see them, illuminated by the moonlight.

"We - are - sai - ling - to - King's - Lan - ding." He whispered softly, and she blinked, swallowing hard, understanding enough that they were sailing somewhere far away, that she would never see home again.

She closed her eyes and wept quietly, feeling her body begin to tremble, a shudder went through her as she felt his lips on her neck.

"Don't cry." He whispered in her ear softly, warmly, tenderly, and though she didn't know what it meant, she thought he sympathised with her.

"I have no choice. If I let you go now, my grandfather would kill me. You are a chance for us." He hummed the words into her ear, his wet, warm lips trailing higher and higher.

She wondered what he was actually doing, why she was getting hot from this kind of touch, why she felt a pleasant pulsing and tension between her limbs.

They both started panting as his hand slipped between her legs and began to touch her slick, puffy folds with his fingertips – she felt that this was a very private and intimate place, her thighs clenched involuntarily but his fingers slipped inside anyway.

She heard his every stroke accompanied by a loud click of her moisture, with every move he made a pleasant warmth and tickle ran through her spine, she felt something slap hard against her buttocks and moaned softly.

"− fuck −" She heard him mutter behind her, from which a shudder went through her. She sobbed in surprise when she felt his finger suddenly inside her, clasping her hand on his wrist, terrified.

He only shushed her while moving it deep inside her fleshy, moist walls, streching her again and again, rubbing it against the place from which waves of pleasure passed through her, from which she lost the remnants of her strong will.

She didn't put herself against him when she felt him lift her thigh, as something hot, big and hard pushed against her swollen slit from below and began to slide into her flesh, pushing her core apart with her loud cry.

His free hand held her tightly – she clenched her fingers against his skin, panting along with him as he began to move suddenly, pressing his lips to her neck, to her cheek, whispering and groaning low some words whose meaning she didn't understand, his thrusts pushing her hot, throbbing muscles to the limit, opening her wide with loud clicks of her moisture.

She had no idea what was actually happening, what they were doing, but it felt good – she felt pleasure, so she let him do what he wanted, easing down completely, moaning loudly as he turned her onto her stomach and lifted her buttocks, slamming into her with loud, wet slaps, his breath heavy, loud and aroused, his fingers digging into her soft skin.

"− I'm going to keep you for myself − you'll swell from my seed and give me offspring born from the sea − my inheritance − oh, fuck −" He mumbled out, feeling her walls begin to clench against his erection, sucking it inside her. A wave of pleasure shook her entire body, stupefying her and making nothing reach her – she felt something hot spill inside her, and then there were only their loud, accelerated breaths.

"− mine −"

_____

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno @malfoytargaryen @qyburnsghost @aemondsdelight @persephonerinyes @fan-goddess

[bookcub]

Chappell Roan Book Rec

like many other, I am currently obsessed with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess so here are a few book recs based on the songs!!

(you can message me for questions about content warnings!)

Femininomon

A Guest in the House by E. M. Carroll (horror graphic novel)

What happens when you marry a mediocre liar and there's a ghost you are definitely attracted to in the house (that might be his dead wife)?

Relevant lyric: Stuck in the suburbs, you're folding his laundry/Got what you wanted so stop feeling sorry

Bonus Rec: Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger (adult steampunk romance)

Red Wine Supernova

Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stenz-Waters (adult romance)

Imagine inheriting a sex toy shop with a enchanting stranger who you feel incredibly connected to. . .

Relevant lyric: I heard you like magic/I got a wand and a rabbit

Bonus Rec: Sunstone by Stjepan Šejić (adult romance graphic novel)

After Midnight

Ash by Malinda Lo (YA fantasy)

I had to choose a queer Cinderella for this one, especially one whose mother warns her away from the forest at night.

Relevant lyric: This is what I wanted, this is what I like/I've been a good, good girl for a long time now

Bonus Rec: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske (adult historical fantasy, sequel)

Coffee

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (adult fantasy)

When your ex is the trickster god Loki and you have prophetic futures, you know you can never just have coffee.

Relevant lyric: Here come the excuses that fuel the illusions/But I'd rather feel something than nothing at all,

Bonus Rec: Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (adult contemporary)

Casual

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi (adult gothic)

Remember that toxic homoerotic best friend you had a child? Who believed in magic and was also the most manipulative person you've ever met? It never was a casual relationship, was it?

Relevant lyric: Hate that I let this drag on so long, you can go to hell

Bonus Rec: Ben and Beatriz by Katalina Gamarra (adult romance)

Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl

A Spindle Splintered/A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow (adult fantasy)

Entering the fairy tale multiverse always leads to the strangest (and funnest) relationships (platonic and romantic) of your life.

Relevant lyrics: We're leaving the planet and you can't come

Bonus Rec: Cash Degado is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia (adult contemporary)

HOT TO GO!

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz (graphic novel)

What if I dressed up as a count to inherit my father's fortune and you were a princess and we both liked grilled cheese???

Relevant lyric: I could be the one, or your new addiction/ It's all in my head but I want non-fiction

Bonus Rec: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

My Kink is Karma

Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan (adult historical romance)

She said, let's destroy my terrible nephew's life, and how could you say no to such a romantic proposal?

Relevant lyric: Wishing you the best, in the worst way

Bonus Rec: Girl Serpent Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust (YA fantasy)

Picture You

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall (adult historical romance)

Oops, I faked my death and reinvented myself and you were way more distraught than I thought you would be. . .

Relevant lyric: Do you picture me like I picture you?/Am I in the frame from your point of view?

Kaleidoscope

The Scapegracers by H. A. Clarke (YA urban fantasy)

What if we formed a coven and what if we were all a little in love with each other?

Relevant lyric: And love is a kaleidoscope/How it works we'll never know

Bonus Rec: The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe (YA thriller)

Pink Pony Club

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (graphic novel)

He was a drag queen, she was a seamstress, can I make it anymore obvious?

Relevant Lyric: And I heard that there's a special place/Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day

Bonus Rec: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (YA historical)

Naked in Manhattan

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake (adult romance)

Isn't it romantic, designing a house with someone with your entirely opposite tastes?

Relevant lyric: Boys suck and girls I've never tried

Bonus Rec: Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (YA fantasy)

California

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers (adult contemporary)

If a PhD can't save you, maybe a drunken marriage in Vegas can?

Relevant lyric: Cause I was never told that I wasn't gonna get/The things I want the most

Guilty Pleasure

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner (adult romance)

Fake dating your boss? 0/10 recommended. . . right?

Relevant lyric: I want this like a cigarette/Can we drag it out and never quit?

Bonus Rec: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming (adult fantasy romance)

Bonus:

Good Luck, Babe

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni (adult contemporary)

Relevant lyric: You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie (YA contemporary)

[tulipe-rose]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~¶~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Promise.

Muichirou tokito x f!reader angst.

Tragic, seriously grab some tissues.

Time line -> post Swordsmith village arc

He barged into the estate without a care to his surroundings. His mind was running a mile a minute, and his ears were ringing. His expression was uncharacteristically fixed into one of distress, and desperation as he raced through the hallways, trying multiple doors. He had to get to you.

The moment Ginko came to him with news, he dropped everything to see you, mission report be damned. She told him you were in critical condition due to your latest mission, and that you might not make it. She was at loss on how to relay it to him as gently as possible; she knew it would destroy him, but she eventually decided to be strong for him and delivered the message with her usual confidence. If her voice wavered, Muichirou didn't comment on it (not that he was in any condition to notice).

He tried a few more doors, before stumbling upon a nurse, who told him that she was still in treatment, which took place in the ground floor, first door to the entrance. Not so much as sparing another glance, he bolted towards the stairs, frantically looking for the said description, before spotting the door and sliding it open, only to stare in horror, eyes as wide as his sword's hilt.

There you were, barely breathing, face contorted into a wince of great pain and anguish. You were placed on a stretcher, being attended to by the head of the estate herself, and a variety of helpers. The kakushi were trying to ward him away, as you were quite fragile, and teetering on the thin line of life and death. The head doctor was moving rather quickly, scattering commands and instructions left and right. She was sweating with worry, trying her best to save you. She wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't at least try.

Muichirou made it past the kakushi, kneeling down by your side, clutching your hand gently. He couldn't bear to see you like this, and hated how little he could do. He was on the verge of tears. He trusted the butterfly lady's capabilities, but his heart wouldn't rest.

You looked around, at all these sad expressions, they were all people you loved, and you couldn't bear to see them like that. You felt your end nearing, as much as you hated it, you were aware. You didn't like dying so young, you still had many things to try.... You had so many loved ones that you'd be too pained to leave, but it was too harsh to give them hope.

You slowly reached to Shinobu's trembling fingers, urging her to stop. She gave you a panicked and greatly irritated look, but before she could scold you, Muichirou overtook her, crying, begging, for you to let her continue, he tried to assure you this could be fixed, however before he could continue, you interrupted him, gazing deep into his eyes, tears flooding yours.

'' Please... Let me go... I can feel myself going numb. I'm dying. ''

'' No! Please, listen to me- ''

'' Mui... Stop. I love you... But there's no changing what is... ''

You smile solemnly, recognising his denial, and feeling Shinobu back at work. An idea pops into your hazy mind, and you decide to act on it.

'' How about this, Mui? I'll promise myself... to you as a bride, but in another lifetime... If you let me go in this one... And become the best person you could be... I'll let you take me as yours... ''

Your breathes were getting shorter and more shallow, your essence slowly fading.

'' No. I want you here with me! I don't even know if we'll ever cross paths in some supposed lifetime! ''

He was growing pale and desperate, grip tightening around your hand.

'' But... This... Is my last wish... Please... Promise?... I wouldn't want another... ''

You stick your pinky finger out towards him, before he hesitantly intertwines your fingers, tears falling harder than before.

'' This life is now complete... I hope... for the next... to be better... ''

You smile contently, before turning your gaze to look to your friend and comrade, flashing her one last smile, before all goes numb.

'' Shinobu... Take care of yourself and him for me, will ya? ''

Your finger falls from Muichirou's hold, and sad stillness befalls the room.

😁

[mad-bird-writes]

Introduction and Current WIPs

Hiya! My name is Echo (@tousled-birdmad-girl is my main for those who care about such things) and I'm a writer. I've been writing in some form or another since I was about ten years old, but only recently plucked up the gumption and drive to attempt anything original, much less put it out for the world to see. Time will tell how this goes...

I love horror, tho I wouldn't consider myself a "genre" author, as I think horror, surrealism, fantasy and magic can be found everywhere if you know where to look, and the presence of fantasy elements does not necessarily mean you're writing a "fantasy" book. So, we'll call what I do "fiction" and leave it at that for now :D

Inspiration-wise, I draw from the works of Stephen King, everything Mike Flanagan ever put to Netflix and beyond, Paul Shapera and his ever-growing Shaperaverse, Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Palahniuk, and the Cthulhu Mythos as a whole (with a particular liking for taking the worlds, entities and themes first created by Lovecraft and using them to create something that'd make him spin in his grave.)

Below the cut: a list of my current WIPs and some general housekeeping information. If you see something that sparks your interest, please come sit by my hearth and pour yourself a drink <3

Original Works:

The Lost Souls' Revival: After a series of personal crises, struggling creative Amari Walker stumbles across a flyer advertising a strange carnival, offering "a total restoration of spirit" for the cryptic asking price of "3Y". With nothing left to lose, she attends, quickly becoming enthralled by the Revival and its colourful cast of performers, in particular its eccentric, nameless ringmaster. When her night of fun and escapism is over, she finds herself wanting more, and embarks on a one-woman quest to follow the ever-moving carnival wherever it goes, a quest that will drive her to the edge of sanity, and possibly beyond the reach of reality itself. (vibes: steampunk, dark carnival, mythology/folklore mishmash, fantasy horror, the Fair Folk, whatever the goblins were selling in Rosetti's Goblin Market)

Better To Reign In Hell: It's 1897. The world is changing too fast. Pastor Nathaniel Lawrence is dying, for all that he's trying to hide it. His daughter, Susannah, too old for rebellion and too young for spinsterhood, is content to follow in her mother's footsteps as the town's herbalist, but a bombshell marriage proposal seems set to destroy those plans. A chance encounter with a badly wounded man may offer her the escape she seeks, but at a price: Merritt Caine is not all he appears to be, and his dark past has an unbreakable grip. (vibes: southern gothic HEAVY on the gothic, small town horror, witchcraft (fictitious and real), Satanism (fictitious and real), corruption but in a good way, religious horror, the cycle of abuse, eventual murder (of the good kind) )

The Order of The Pallid Mask: In the corpse of a city at the centre of a dying world, a benevolent cult is working to restore their world to its fabled former glory by appealing to its retreated god, The King in Yellow. Sariann, the cult's High Priestess, is willing to sacrifice whatever she must to ensure a brighter future for the city's refugees; her body, her soul, her mind. Virgil, a lower-ranking member of the Order, her confidant, attendant and trusted friend, is willing to defy the Order and his faith to keep her alive. And the Yellow King has plans and desires of his own... (vibes: Cosmic horror, Lovecraftian but make it romantic, the beauty of the unknown, rituals, creating a religion from the ashes of an old world, post-apocalypse, ancient civilization (not of Earth), Eldritch love triangle) ***

Fan Works/Other:

As far as fanfics go, I don't have any long-form WIPs on the stove, more like a series of short (well, short-ish) form drabbles, headcanons and other assorted bits, which I might as well post here when I have them as proof that I do have a creative output that extends beyond Spotify playlists and Pinterest boards.

Fandoms include:

Fallout (mainly New Vegas and the Prime series so far, but encompassing this universe as a whole)

Red Dead Redemption (particularly the second game as I haven't played the first one yet, £35 for a port of a PS2 game my *ass*)

the Flanaverse (Hill House, Bly Manor, TFOTHOU, Midnight Mass... basically everything bar The Midnight Club, which I have not watched)

the Cthulhu Mythos (if you can call that a fandom :D I was working on a queer retelling of Dreams in the Witch-House at one point, if I can *find* the notes I wrote I might bring that one out of retirement...)

plus one or two fandoms the content crucibles of which I would not subject myself to if you held me at gunpoint (iykyk)

I've also amassed a small collection of OCs from various TTRPGs I've been part of, a couple of whom still haunt my mind and may or may not be written about from time to time... (no DnD tho, I think it's safe to say we've reached saturation point with DnD-centric/derivative works) ;)

***

General housekeeping + other info: I am an adult and this is an adult writing blog by default. I will be writing smut/other sexual content and dealing with mature and dark themes throughout these listed works (and anything else I may write to post here.) I will tag for "main" triggers and give general content warnings where applicable, but I cannot guarantee to cover every single trigger a person may have, therefore, you read and interact here at your own risk. If requested, I will add more trigger warnings, but again, I can't fully guarantee to get everything.

I kindly ask that you refrain from reposting anything from this blog: excerpts, character profiles, moodboards (if I make them) etc. I also ask that you do not take anything for your personal use under any circumstances.

My inbox is open, so send me an ask if you have any questions or simply want to chat! But for now, I've rambled for quite long enough, so I'm gonna wrap this post here. See you! <3

(tagging @coffeexafterxmidnight and @dominaarts )

[cellarspider]

18/30 Alexa, play Despacito

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⛬

And now, we return to Prometheus, which is trying to redeem the last two fifths of itself through blood sacrifice. Content warning for discussion of eyeball nastiness and death by immolation, Holloway.

Taking things slightly out of chronology this time, because there’s an excellent, quiet scene sandwiched in between lots of screaming: I'm sure they meant to put it in juxtaposition with this to heighten the emotion, but I refuse. We'll save that one for later. As a treat for me. And now, as a treat for me, Holloway is dying! Hurray!

So, turns out we’re spinning the wheel of Inconsistent, Ominous Black Goo effects again, and landed on “hangovers aren’t supposed to make your eyes grow tentacles”.

Holloway, apparently in denial, does not recall this fact until he’s gone out with what could generously be called a rescue party, to try and locate Millburn and Fifield. Janek belatedly and unwisely goes along to help, while David appears to go on a pleasant Sunday drive in his golf cart. He’s heading to a better scene, the lucky scamp.

Millburn is very dead–a rubber snake jumps out of his mouth, so you know he’s toast. Fifield’s body is nowhere to be found, and it will make an underwhelming return later.

Holloway collapses, covered in creeping black veins. Shaw finds this distressing. I would be fascinated to know if anybody in the audience agreed with her. I usually would, if only because certain kinds of screaming can kick me into sensory overload, but apparently there’s a psychological component to that response. And so I placidly watched Vickers meet them at the Prometheus vehicle bay with a flamethrower.

I appreciate her belated interest in quarantine and sanitation, but frankly, it’s a little late for that. I already had my rant on that earlier. At this point, things have gotten so bad that even Holloway realizes that the only solution is to go 40k on his ass.

[Video description: A 40k meme clipped from TheRussianBadger’s review of the game Space Hulk: Deathwing: A player says “BROTHER. GET THE FLAMER. THE HEAVY. FLAMER.” Sudden cut to almost incomprehensibly fiery gameplay, with a dramatic choral soundtrack and in-game voice lines “WE ARE THE ANGELS OF DEATH!” “MY FURY IS MADE MANIFEST!”, and ends right before a player yells “I WOULD LIKE TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT” and spins wildly around, spraying flames everywhere.]

Yes, Holloway burns to a crisp! I don’t know what the movie wants me to feel here, but whatever it is, I did not feel it. Did it want me to feel sad about this, because Shaw doesn’t want this to happen? Does it intend to raise the tension by having things spiral further out of control, demonstrating that a drop of the Ominous Black Goo is enough to kill a man in under a day? Am I supposed to take sick satisfaction in watching him die? All these are possible in bog standard horror movies.

However, this is a movie that wants to speak to something thematically. Holloway is positioned as a character we are not necessarily supposed to find sympathetic. As previously mentioned, the Engineers did not invite humanity to this planet. They were warning humans that if they continued to stray in their behavior, they would be killed by something that would come from here. 

Perhaps we are thus supposed to be asking questions about this: why would the Engineers do this? Why create humanity and then threaten to destroy their creations? What was their justification? David has turned this weapon on Holloway, making the choice that at least one man deserves the fate the Engineers planned for all humanity. Does he deserve that? Does anyone?

I was not thinking any of those things in the theater. Because what I actually felt was a desire to return to the scene interwoven with this one, which we will get to next time. This is the danger of creating an unlikeable, expendable character: the audience may feel no pathos when they die, nor question the death’s necessity. If they’re not along for the ride, then they may simply shrug.

Particularly when the rest of the movie is such a mess. This is only their second day on the planet, does anyone else remember that? I mean, I’ve been here for what feels like eternity, but they behaved so stupid, so fast, that this feels less like the inevitable falling apart of dozens of smaller mistakes, and more like one gigantic katamari of mistakes that will not stop rolling until it has collected every mistake in the world, and is thus deemed worthy of becoming a star all on its own, to forever shine out how badly they fucked it all up.

Next time: one of the two good scenes people tend to remember.

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

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Citations for alt-text rambles:

https://www.swtor.com/ 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpFnDQr88xCZ80N-X7t0nQ 

https://youtu.be/vy5fgDvb9-c HYEEh-HAA!

Overflow Ramble, because tumblr lets you put in more alt-text than it will actually display in-browser:

A wide shot of Holloway with his arms outstretched, walking toward the vehicle bay ramp. Is this pose supposed to be a crucifixion allusion? I hope not! That would be baffling. Though as these posts have proven, something being baffling doesn’t rule out Prometheus doing it. Shaw is on the ground behind them, restrained by Janek. 

I’m trying to figure out if this was done on a studio stage, or on location. You’d think the latter wouldn’t be possible, but I’ve seen behind the scenes shots of them filming in the volcanic desert of Iceland, they definitely were in places that looked similar. But the background may still be fake after a certain point–outdoor green screens are a thing. 

The lighting on Janek and Shaw doesn’t quite feel right. Part of it’s the shadows: they’re darker on the people than in the background, which is a common problem for CG elements.The visual fidelity of the gravel behind them kind of has a sudden shift about halfway up Shaw’s head, and I’m not sure if that’s just focus or what.

If it is a composite of real and CG, it makes sense that it looks a bit off, though: these are background elements that are not supposed to be your main focus, on a shot that’s not held for too long. There’s always been trade-offs like that in visual effects, they’ve just shifted over the years. Anyway, back to Charlize Theron with a flamethrower.

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(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

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[sabyfangirl]

A Hurt Wing

The Kratt brothers were flying around in their peregrine falcon suits, until they stumbled on Zach who was up to no good...

On a sunny day in a beautiful forest in North America, two bird-like forms - green and blue - were soaring through the sky.

"Peregrine falcon powers are the way to go, bro!" Chris cheered as he dove into another cloud, Martin flying behind him.

"Yeah, it sure is fun to be able to fly around in this suit, we should do it more often," he laughed as he flew past his brother, triggering his competitiveness, alleviated by sudden remembrance.

"I'm with you on that one, but we're supposed to be looking for a clearing for the Tortuga to land, remember? So no more goofing around," Chris said as he flew by his side, giving him a serious look.

"Okay, you're right," Martin rolled his eyes as he bumped into him playfully. "Doesn't mean we don't get to see who finds a clearing first!"

Sensing his brother's enthusiasm, carrying a gleam of eagerness in his eyes, the green Kratt couldn't help but participate in the activity. "It's on bro!"

Just like the suits were designed for, the brothers were given the ability to mimic the peregrine falcon's ability to fly rapidly and change direction very quickly, in addition to its strength, powerful eyesight and sharp beak, rendering it the fastest bird in the world. With this creature power at hand, covering more ground was far easier than one could imagine.

The Kratt brothers raced each other, showing off a few tricks and moves here and there, yet their competitive nature never stood in the way of them having fun as siblings.

"Woohoo!" Chris let out as he zig-zagged his way between some clouds.

"Nice one bro!" Martin flew up to him and gave him a high wing.

Suddenly, a loud sizzling noise pierced the area, interrupting their little game. "Chris, what was that?!"

The brothers in the falcon suits looked down to find...LASER BEAMS shooting from all directions, much to their horror. Then their eyes caught a familiar figure.

"Zach!" Chris and Martin looked at each other, eyes wide from panic. From their point of vew, they could see a few trees that had already been taken care of, making them sick to their stomachs. They simply couldn't bear the idea, and even less the sight of any form of life being threatened. Parting from that principle, the sight of Zach destroying those trees in such a cruel and inhuman way truly aggravated them.

"Tortuga, come in," Martin suddenly called the team.

Aviva showed up on his screen. "Yeah MK, did you guys find a clearing yet?" she asked with a casual smile.

"No! Get this, we stumbled on Zach and you won't believe what he's doing." At that, the expression on Aviva's face shifted, Koki tilting her head behind her. "Let me guess, capturing another animal?" Aviva scoffed.

"Even worse, he's chopping trees down to get to the animals!" Martin exclaimed. "With laser beams!" Chris added, flapping his wings hurriedly.

Aviva and Koki exchanged panicked looks. "We'll be there as soon as we can, until then keep him distracted," Koki finally said, rushing off to the pilot room. Then the call ended.

The brothers looked down to scan the scene; Zach was standing on his floating platform, arms behind his back with one hand in the other, shoulders relaxed, seeming very content, a mischievous smile on his face. His Zachbots were following his commands by using laser beams to take down the trees, one by one, they all came crashing down. If the brothers weren't in their falcon suits and flying a hundred feet in the air, they would've clenched their fists from anger.

Their eyes met. They nodded.

"Hurry it up, Zachbots! The sooner you exterminate all those pasky trees, the sooner I'll get my hands on all the varmints in them," Zach laughed, rubbing his hands diabolically.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something green swooped past his face and missed it by an inch, followed by a blue one dashing behind his back. Zach shrieked and nearly fell out of his platform. "What was that?" He looked up to find two human-sized birds flying down on him. "Wild Ratts?!"

"It's Wild Kratts, and just what do you think you're doing?" Chris gave him a menacing look.

"Don't you know a lot of creatures depend on these trees for survival?" Martin added, his tone calmer than his brother's.

"In fact I do, which's precisely why I'm taking them down!" Zach said proudly, irritating the brothers.

"Alright Zach, we can either settle this the easy way or the hard way," Martin said, his eyes were uncharacteristically deep and serious.

However, Zach seemed completely unaffected. "Do you really think that a pair of flying pigeons will stop me?" he mocked. Just then, another tree came falling down, startling the brothers.

"Sorry Zach, but you leave us no choice," Chris shot Zach a death glare, then swooped down on one of the Zachbots before snatching it from the ground and ripping it to pieces thanks to his sharp talents.

"Hey!" Zach let out, vexed but not surprised.

Martin, in turn, joined his brother and started eliminating a decent amount of Zachbots, much to Zach's displeasure. "No, no, no, don't just stand there you useless machines, stop them!"

Automatically, the Zachbots changed their aim from the trees to-

"Martin, look out!" Chris pushed his brother out of the way just as a laser beam was about to pierce through him.

Soon, laser beams were streaking randomly all over the place, the brothers flying around and dodging each and every single one of them. One of the laser beams bounced off a rock and ended up hitting Zach's platform, almost knocking him over. "Gah!" Zach yelped, steadying himself. "What do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.

Chris stopped for a moment and started laughing, Zach turning red with anger. Just as Martin avoided one more laser beam, he looked around to find a Zachbot aiming right at his brother. Zach noticed this too, a venomous smile slowly creeping across his face. Martin felt like his heart stopped in his chest. He thought about flying at full speed and pushing him out of the way, but something told him he wouldn't have had enough time. Other options ran through his mind, but before he could do anything, a laser beam cut through the air like an arrow, striking Chris in the middle of his deactivation button. "AH!" Chris cried out in pain. Martin watched in horror as his brother came crashing down, a blast of green surrounding his unmoving body.

"Chris!" Martin landed near his brother and gently wrapped one wing around him, but when he looked down at his face, his eyes widened at the sight of...blood dripping down the side of his head. "Chris, please open your eyes," he stammered.

No answer, except for a weak moan.

"Aw, is green guy hurt?" Zach mocked, then the expression on his face became obscure. "Don't worry, you're right behind him," he snapped his finger and all the Zachbots immediately circled around the brothers.

"Zach," Martin clenched his teeth, anger building up within him. Any other day, he would've forgiven Zach for any terrible thing he might do to nature. But to have the audacity to hurt his own brother? It only made him want to shred him to pieces. "You'll pay for this!"

"Sure I will," Zach laughed sheepishly. Martin was about to say more, but was held back as he remembered the Zachbots threateningly swarming around them. He put up a protective wing to shield his unconscious brother.

Through Zach's laughter, Martin patiently waited to get zapped, when suddenly-

Bang. Bang.

He looked up to find two Zachbots completely annihilated, relief washing over him, followed by confusion.

"Hey, what's going on?" Zach whined, the loud sound of a ship above his head. He looked up and gasped in horror.

"Hello, Zach."

Martin looked up to find the Tortuga flying right above them, Aviva standing near a large gun-like machine, grinning with satisfaction.

"Uh oh," Zach gulped, knowing he was in trouble.

At that moment, Aviva exterminated the rest of the Zachbots, blasting them with her brand new weapon. "NO!" Zach let out as he closed his ears, overwhelmed.

"Now Zach, leave before I use this on your plane," Aviva wore a serious expression on her face, already aiming at the mentioned vehicle.

At that, Zach surrendered without hesitance. "Okay, okay, I'm leaving!" Zach took off like a scared child, leaving the disaster he caused behind him.

Martin looked up and met Aviva's eyes, Chris still in his wings. "Thank you," Aviva read his lips, and seeing the state his brother was in, she smiled sadly.

Nothing but darkness. All he could feel was a hand caressing his hair. "Hey Chris," a familiar voice echoed in his ears, it was calm and soft. He leaned in on the touch, slowly opening his eyes. The smallest bit of light in the chamber really irritated them.

He could see a blurry figure, already guessing who it was. "Martin?" His voice was feeble.

His brother jumped as he heard his name. "Chris, can you hear me?" Chris' vision slowly became more distinct; he could see the worry in his brother's eyes. He gave him a small nod as he smiled weakly, earning a sigh of relief from him.

Just then, Chris felt sharp pain stinging the right side of his head. He let out a hiss through his gritted teeth. He pressed his hand against the source of the pain, grunting from the pressure as he instantly regretted it. He also felt a bandage wrapped around his head.

"Careful bro," Martin reached out two comforting hands.

"What happened?" Chris asked.

The expression on Martin's face saddened. "You got...hit by one of the laser beams," he slowly looked away, a shred of guilt in his voice.

The memory of deactivating in mid-air flashed before Chris' eyes, followed by a faint voice screaming his name. The rest was a blur. He remained silent before sudden remembrance hit him. He gasped. "What about Zach? Did he-"

Martin raised a hand to cut him off. "Don't worry about him, he won't be causing trouble any time soon, thanks to Aviva and her new invention."

Chris smiled. "Well that's a relief."

Silence.

Chris couldn't help but sense something was bothering his brother. "Martin?" The blue Kratt avoided eye contact, looking down with sad eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry bro."

Chris looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"

"I could've saved you or at least yelled your name in time, but instead I just stayed fozen in mid-air," Martin's voice cracked. "You could've gotten even more hurt, or worse..." At this point, tears were starting to form in his eyes, threatening to fall any second. "I should've protected you, but I let you down." A small tear ran down his face.

However, he didn't expect what came next. He suddenly felt his bother's arms wrap around him, without warning, which startled him at first. "Don't say that," Chris whispered in his ear. "You never let me down."

More tears came rolling down. "B-But you could've gotten badly hurt, I just-" he paused, taking a deep breath. "I just don't wanna lose you," he managed with a trembling voice.

"Hey," Chris looked deep into his eyes. "I'm a tough Kratt, I won't let anything happen to me, ever." He wore a reassuring smile.

Martin smiled in turn, eyes glassy from his tears. "I know," he laughed, wiping his face. "But it won't stop me from always trying to protect you."

Chris laughed softly. "Fine by me."

And they hugged tightly.

[wlw-webcomic-bracket]

Character Introduction: Knife (he/him), from Feast for a King

"He is the first of an artificial species, born with incredible strength and no ability to communicate (either because he's mute, cursed to never be completely understood, or just BELIEVES he's cursed so he never tries due to him internalizing a lot of things told to him as a child, as we'll see) he tries to do what he thinks is right but often stubbornly and through incredible violence. He believes his species is only capable of destruction and so sets out on a lifelong mission to destroy his own kind, accepting his believed role as a man made weapon, leaving his first name for the name of a tool: 'Knife.' He hates himself for what he has done and what he is, constantly cutting off his ever regrowing skin, particularly his face, to better resemble a 'monster.' He's a tragic figure but his being a disabled gay intersex trans man doesn't really come into it."

Trans webcomic character tournament master post.

Content warnings taken from the comic's main page: This comic contains lots of ADULT CONTENT [18+!!] and is NSFW. Offensive/Derogatory/Explicit Language, Explicit Violence/Gore/Body Horror, Nudity, Explicit Sexual Situations, Mature Sexual Themes/Discussions/Sexual Violence, Incestual Relationships/Topics, Sexual Abuse/Mentions/Discussions, Drug use/Mention, Emotional Abuse/Manipulation, Suicide Related Topics, Mass Deaths/Corpses, Genocide.

[formulaorange]

2023 Summer Anime

This is the anime season I've been waiting for this year:

Jujutsu Kaisen - Season 2 speaks for itself, long awaited, goated characters, fun action packed story

Bleach: Thousand year Blood War - Season 2 One of the best come backs of all time for an anime, the first season was absolutely worth waiting 10+ years for. Season 2 back to kill it again I'm sure.

Horimiya: Piece - 13 Episodes One of my favourite shoujo romance series. This isn't the second season but it's a lot of new content that didn't make it into the original series. Another one lots of people have been waiting for.

Another one of my all time favourite shoujo (?)/fantasy? series is coming back this season as well: Sugar Apple Fairy Tale This was such a brutal cliffhanger to leave us on in the first half and I honestly cried so much. This is a highly anticipated second cour for me. We also have Mushoku tensei season 2 coming this season. While I feel like it's definitely one of the top isekais out there, I'm not too sure how this second season will do, it seems a bit darker and has a different vibe to it. We'll have to wait and see. There's also a bunch of series that attempted to air in the winter series but were halted for one reason or another: The misfit at demon lord academy - season 2 The devil as a part timer!! - season 2 After watching what they did release originally, I feel like these series could honestly have been left alone and been such solid series. Who knows if they'll redeem themselves. NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a - it seems like this is only going to be 4 episodes, not too sure what's New Series:

The Girl I like forgot her Glasses A new romance series that looks straightforward and wholesome. Pretty much what the title says. It's done by an older studio, known for the 2012 anime "K". It seems like they're trying to make a comeback as they're also releasing the following show this season: The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today I've heard of the manga for this series and it's supposed to be quite highly rated but I honestly know nothing about it. My guess is that it'll be popular with the manga readers but likely won't get too much traction in the wider audiences. My Happy Marriage Historical romance series that honestly looks like it checks all the boxes for me. Arranged marriage by evil step-mother of a quiet girl to a supposed cold hearted commander with money. The quality animations are honestly a bonus.

Zom 100 I think this is exactly the kind of show that'll do well as an anime, it's big, loud, and stupid (in a good way). A 24year old salaryman realizes he never has to work again when the zombie apocalypse hits japan. Definitely a fun one to watch this season.

Helck This is a new fantasy/comedy series where a human - Helck, is nominated as demon lord. Big muscle brain who hates other humans and wants to destroy humanity. The manga was just released in english so I've heard the name around recently and think it'll be a fun watch. Dark Gathering A new horror/supernatural series where a shut in start working for a child prodigy psychic who wants to hunt down the spirit related to her mothers disappearance. Seems like it could be a half-decent supernatural series, it's been a while since I've watched one so i'll likely check it out.

Undead Girl Murder Farce Another interesting dark looking series. It's about a disembodied head who's a detective who travels with her half-demon friend and maid around Europe solving supernatural related mysteries. Liar, Liar A big brain battle anime about people faking each other out to win some kind of tournament (?) I know people like this kinda series quite a bit, like Classroom of the Elite so I figured I'd throw this in incase you're interested. Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero A new comedy fantasy series that's popular in the manga realm. After 10 year the hero and the retired demon lord room together as the Demon lord tries to get the hero back in shape. What I wanted from Devil as a part-timer. Record of Ragnarok - Season 2 I honestly have so much fun with this series and have no complaints about the animation style, looking forward to the new battles. Along the same lines: Hanma Baki- Season 2 Easy brainless violence/entertainment Link Click 2 I really need to get to watching the first season, I know this is supposed to be an incredible series with solid animations. Fate/Strange Fake A new season of fate, animated by A-1 who'll be doing solo leveling. I've been putting off watching the series but honestly will likely try and catch up for this season. Sequels: Masamune Kun's Revenge R (season 2) Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 3 BSD Season 5 The Duke of Death and His Maid Season 2 Spy Classroom Season 2 Others/Isekai/Fantasy: The Gene of AI - technically just sci fi - detroit become human meets medical show Hero Classroom - honestly the one that has the most potential out of this list - Hero/Fantasy/Ecchi/School Genre Atelier Ryza - looks a little promising, new alchemy apprentice in fantasy world Reign of the Seven Spellblades - Harry Potter type fantasy school (but not really in a good way)

[kachikirby]

GranEssex Chronicles: Chapter 8 -Mercury, Body and Soul

As shown by the tags, this chapter has themes readers might find more disturbing than the normal content for this series. Reader discretion is advised.

-

The next day, everyone on the ship was extremely concerned. Mercury had not left her room since the previous night. After breakfast, the captain decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Mercury, open up already!" Kurabe shouted while knocking on the door. "Answer me, please! We're all worried sick about you!"

There was no response.

"Can't we just try to open the door by force?" Meta asked.

"We'll have to if this keeps up. I'd rather not if I don't have to." Kurabe sighed.

Reedy walked up between them, pushing up his glasses.

"Allow me."

He then lifted a finger and turned it into a key.

"Mer, this is your last warning. Open the door, please."

"I'm tired, go away..." a dull voice replied from inside.

That tone of voice saddened everyone who heard it.

"Sensei, can we just let her rest for a bit? I want her to get better soon." The youth asked.

Kurabe and Reedy looked at each other, both conflicted about what to do. The man nodded towards her.

"Mercury, we'll leave you alone for two hours. You better be prepared to talk by then." The warrior said, trying to hide the desperation in her voice.

There was no response, but the group then left.

---------

Sitting down in the cafeteria, the trio each had hard to read expressions. Meta looked at his mentor and Reedy, eyes filled with grief.

"Sensei, what exactly happened to her? She's alive. She survived being attacked by that... that thing. So, why? Why is she in so much pain?"

Kurabe looked at him with a slightly irritated expression.

"I imagine that being assimilated is a terrifying process, Meta." She said bluntly.

"I know, but isn't there something more to it?"

The warrior then gave a sigh. "It's also because to assimilate a Limet, one would have to assimilate their core."

"You mean her heart?"

Kurabe fell silent for a moment. "Unfortunately, there's more to it than just that. Reedy, could you please explain it? I need to get some air."

The man's eyes widened upon hearing that.

"Why?"

The warrior simply looked at him.

"You're more qualified to talk about it than I am. Besides, I'd rather not accidentally destroy the cafeteria." Kurabe was clearly on edge at the moment.

The man silently pushed up his glasses.

"Well, first I must ask you if you've had... "the talk" with him." He said with a slight cough.

"Yes, so you can skip that part of it, Reedy. If you need me, I'll be outside."

After Kurabe left, Meta became noticeably uncomfortable. Not only because of the situation and the implied subject matter, but he was also remembering back to that discussion his mentor had with him. More specifically, how embarrassed he felt about hearing it.

"What does that have to do with Mercury's heart?"

"Well, this should make it a lot easier since you know about that..." Reedy uttered before sighing and continuing. "While the Limet's core is its heart, it serves one other purpose: reproduction."

Meta's eyes widened in horror. "Then you mean...?"

The man silently nodded. "When two Limets reproduce, they split themselves in half to create a new whole Limet. The parents will be inactive for a few months to recover after this. If done willingly, it creates a feeling of euphoria. If done forcefully, it creates great pain. That is why you must not touch a Limet's core without permission. By this logic, I think you can deduce why a Limet being assimilated by another Limet is such a horrid experience."

Meta looked even more horrified than before. "So, Mercury went through all of that? Damn it! I should have been with her! It should have been me!"

"Don't you DARE say something like that! Do you know how much it would have destroyed your mentor if something were to happen to you!?"

The youth flinched at the sudden anger coming from Reedy.

"You're right, I apologize..."

He then heard a loud boom and saw a large spike of ice from outside the cafeteria window.

"I've never seen sensei so furious..."

"Considering what happened to Mercury, I can hardly blame her. Even I'm having a hard time restraining myself." He could only really sit in silence for a moment.

"Reedy, if you don't mind talking about it... Mercury said that she'd be dead if it weren't for Kurabe. What exactly happened to her?"

Reedy then sighed. "I suppose you have a right to know. It could help us take our minds off what happened for a bit. I warn you, Meta, it's a long story."

The youth nodded. "Tell me."

Reedy took of his glasses, cleaning them as he cleared his throat.

"As you are aware, many in the galaxy fear us Limets. It was no different in the Organization. When we joined, we each faced our own share of hardships. Ridicule, other members picking fights with us, and barely disguised contempt. Even some attempts on our lives. The general kept ordering the instigators to quit, but they wouldn't listen. As a result, Mercury was an outcast for no fault of her own. Besides me, only a handful of others were kind to her."

He put his glasses back on.

"One day, Mercury was placed in charge of squad. They were tasked with eliminating a small rebel army. While she was a competent leader, her squad mates were a different story. They refused to listen to her orders, disobeyed, and ridiculed her. This resulted in her force getting ambushed by the army. Taken by surprise, all of the soldiers placed under Mercury died in seconds. She put a good fight, managing to fight them off for a total of five hours. Unfortunately, even with her incredible skills, she was outnumbered and outmatched. One of the enemy soldiers got a lucky shot with an arrow and caused massive damage to her core. She was unable to move and completely at the mercy of the rebel army."

Reedy took a drink of water before continuing.

"Then Kurabe showed up. She was stationed at a different location than Mercury and was ordered to stay put. She disregarded her direct orders and left to help Mercury. When asked how she knew Mercury was in danger she replied with one word: Instinct. Before Mercury could be killed, Kurabe eliminated every enemy that got in her way. That's not to say she won unscathed; she got a nasty scar over her left eye while protecting Mercury. It's long since healed but it's something Mercury still beats herself up over."

Meta took a moment to process what he heard. Reedy then looked him directly in the eyes.

"At first, Mercury didn't know why Kurabe would risk herself like that. It made no sense to her. Her answer shook Mercury's heart that day..."

"Do I need a reason to protect my friend?" Kurabe said, finishing the story for Reedy.

The youth became silent, as if not knowing how to respond.

"That wasn't it, though. There was one more incident that happened..." The warrior added.

"Huh?"

"This was after the Childs Case... the first and only time the 0.01% fail rate of the Reedy Exam occurred."

The youth's eyes widened.

Reedy nodded. "During that case, the hivemind, was a normal Limet named Childs that became one. No one knows how or why, but it's an extremely rare thing that can happen. After that, hate towards Limets skyrocketed..."

It was then that Kurabe continued.

"During that time, a mob was after Mercury due to her being a Limet. At some point, I stepped in and fought them off, but I was critically injured by the end."

That surprised Meta. "How? Were they that strong?"

The warrior shook her head. "Not at all. They were still members of our organization. I couldn't just kill them all."

Reedy then stood up. "Thankfully, the general punished everyone involved with the mob."

Meta nodded. "I don't get it. I understand that some Limets are horrible, but Mercury isn't like that! She's not a monster!"

---------

"I'm a monster."

Mercury kept repeating that phrase in mind over and over again. Her body, or more accurately, her soul was drained of all her spirit. She didn't even want to get out of her bed, though she was starting to force herself out. Out of her bed and out of their lives.

"An hour passed since Kurabe left. I need to get out of here. Hopefully, no one's near the freezer."

She then began to roll herself toward the door.

"...this will all be over soon..."

Upon leaving her room, she was pleasantly surprised to see that no one was outside and guarding her room.

"I just need to make it there..."

After hours of being left alone with her thoughts and the horrible nightmares she had last night, Mercury came to one single conclusion: The GranEssex... no, the universe would be better off without a monster like her.

"Because of me, Kurabe has suffered fatal injuries for no reason. Reedy's position in the Organization has been challenged and compromised because of his connections to me. I'm a liability, a huge risk, a burden. An unnecessary burden, especially to her." Mercury thought to herself as she moved towards the freezer.

However, she then heard a voice that broke her out of her thoughts.

"Vice captain, where are you going?" She turned to see it was one of the Bukisets.

Mentally cursing her luck, Mercury put on a fake smile.

"I'm heading to the bathroom, nothing to be concerned about."

The Bukiset seemed to give a doubtful look.

"...are you sure you're ok? You don't look so good. Wait there for a moment, I'm going to call the infirmary."

He then began to punch a number into his communication device.

Mercury scowled. She didn't have time for this. Last thing she needed was Kurabe or Reedy getting to her. Seeing them would just make things harder for her. Not wanting to waste time Mercury started sprinting.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" The Bukiset shouted.

---------

"Mercury left her room and is acting strangely?" Kurabe asked another Bukiset, who had entered the cafeteria to relay the message.

"Yes."

"We have to find her!" Meta shouted.

"Agreed, she can be anywhere by now. Or anything." Reedy said, trying his best to not lose his composure.

"There's no need for that. I already know where she is." The warrior said.

Reedy gave a questioning look. "How?"

"Instinct."

"Then where is she, sensei?" Her student quickly asked, ready to sprint out at any moment.

"The freezer." She said before vanishing from sight.

"I-I didn't even see her move!" Meta exclaimed.

"Enough gawking, Meta, we need to follow her." The man commented as he rushed out the nearby door.

He nodded before quickly running after him.

---------

Mercury managed to slip under the freezer door thanks to her blob form. Now, she was ready. Soon the nightmares would be gone, and she would never bring harm upon her family ever again. Despite the seemingly relaxed attitude she had most of the time, she had always blamed herself for any negative experience that happens to others and after what happened yesterday, she was convinced that she was nothing more than a monster that brought misfortune wherever she went. Her body began to hurt from the cold. After at least an hour, her core would break from the intensity and low temperatures.

"Now, no one else will have to suffer..."

Her breathing began to slow down as she shivered. While the cold did hurt, it didn't hurt as bad as what happened yesterday... as being nearly assimilated. Nothing would hurt as bad as that. Just then a loud bang could be heard on the freezer door. Mercury already knew who it was.

"Mercury!?"

"How did you know I was here!?"

"Call it instinct. Now get out here this instant!"

"Why!? What could you possibly want with a monster like me!?" The blob yelled.

She desperately didn't want to see her right now. If she saw Kurabe's face, she was sure it would break her resolve.

She then heard a sigh from outside.

"You aren't a monster, Mercury. Don't be ridiculous. Now come out on your own volition before I open this door and drag you out."

Mercury became silent. Tears were starting to form in her eyes, but why? Was it due to the cold? Was it because of Kurabe? She just didn't know.

"Kurabe, I'm a monster. I'm a pathetic creature that deserves this. What that hivemind did to me... it hurt so much. But it doesn't hurt as much as thought of me becoming the same! There's a chance I could become a hivemind! A chance I could kill you and Reedy and Meta and everyone! Why can't you see that!?"

Kurabe was stunned by her words.

"Oh, Mercury, I should have been there for you." She whispered.

"Kurabe, we came to-" Before Reedy could continue, the warrior summoned an unbreakable wall of ice behind her, completely stopping them.

"Sensei, why did-"

Kurabe only replied with a look that simply said "Let me handle this alone.". Both Meta and Reedy nodded.

"It's time we talk face to face... one on one." She said towards the freezer before teleporting inside.

"So, you're like this not only because of what you experenced, but also because you're afraid of becoming like Childs?" The warrior asked as she approached.

"Kurabe, just stay back!"

Kurabe only kept approaching.

"Mercury, I can feel just how much pain you're in right now. It's alright, I'm here for you." She then raised her eye visor, sitting it on top of her head to show a sympathetic gaze.

However, the blob didn't drop her guard. "Leave me alone! Why won't you let me die!?"

"You know why, Mercury. I would never allow you to die."

"But why? Why do you care so much about a monster like me!?"

"Why should I need a reason to care about my friend?"

The blob only seemed to become angered with that statement. "Kurabe, when I was being assimilated, I experienced the worst pain imaginable. I've done that to other creatures! I've assimilated before! It... it must have been torture for them. I'm a horrible monster! Why can't you see that!?"

The warrior had an unreadable expression as she knelt down towards the blob.

"Mercury, how many creatures have you actually assimilated?"

Mercury froze. "I'm not sure... at least six. But that doesn't mean-"

"And how many of them were murderers and actual monsters?"

"...All of them, but still I-"

"Did you enjoy assimilating them?"

"Of course not!" Mercury yelled before fully realizing what she said.

"Mercury, you asked why I couldn't see you as a monster. The answer is simple. It's because you aren't one."

However, this only seemed to make the blob more upset.

"You're wrong! You're wrong! You're wrong! You're wrong! You're wrong! Stop making up things! I can assimilate like that monster! At this point, I might as well be one! I'm horrible! I'm the worst! Why can't you understand that!?"

After a moment of silence, Kurabe gave a slight sigh as she stared at the shuddering metal blob.

"Do you want to know what I think?"

She scooped Mercury up in her hands.

"When I look at you right now, I don't see a monster. I don't even see a Limet. All I see is my best friend in the whole universe, and her name is Mercury."

Admittedly the blob couldn't find the words to create a proper reply to that. Mercury truly appreciated her friend's kindness, but she still doubted herself. She then began to speak.

"Kurabe, I'm sorry, but-"

"Mercury, let me ask you something. You think you're a monster because you can assimilate. Then do you believe Reedy is a monster as well?"

"What!? Of course he's not!"

Kurabe nodded in response. "Exactly. He's a stubborn piece of work, but he's no monster. Let me ask another question. There are many stories of Star Warriors who strayed from the path of justice and used their power to create chaos across the universe. I'm more than capable of that kind of destruction... I have the power to destroy an entire planet or two... and even more without those seals on Rubis and Grenat. Am I a monster? Better yet, Meta is also a Star Warrior. Is he a monster just because he was born as one?"

"What?! No!"

"Then if I'm not a monster and if Meta isn't a monster, why call yourself a monster?"

"Because I am!"

"No. You. Aren't."

At that point, it was clear that the warrior was beginning to lose her patience.

The blob then shouted at her. "Kurabe, why are you trying so hard to convince me otherwise?! Just leave me be!"

"Because I love you like the sister I never had!"

Suddenly, Kurabe wrapped Mercury in a warm hug. Despite them being in the freezer, Mercury began to feel warmth cover her body. But why?

"Kurabe, you still want me even after all the trouble I've caused?" She asked in surprise.

Kurabe looked deep into her eyes. "What trouble?"

Mercury's eyes widened.

"Don't lie to me! You've gotten hurt because of me! Several times! I remember that day, the day when you were impaled by a hundred spears because of me! You almost died and it was my fault!"

"But I didn't. I'm still alive and so are you. Mercury, I've always known that you blamed yourself for that and many other things, but there's nothing for you to be sorry about. I chose to protect my best friend and I would gladly get impaled if it meant protecting you. Besides, don't tell me you've forgotten about the countless you've saved my ass. Honestly, I wouldn't be called "the Unkillable" if it wasn't for you."

As if not knowing how to respond to that, Mercury only gave a slight sigh as she sank into the hug.

"Why... are you so warm...?" The blob uttered dully.

Kurabe laughed. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? I'm warm because my sister is safe in my arms. That and I can sense a different emotion coming from you right now. I'm a Star Warrior, remember?"

The blob looked at her for a moment and then nodded. "What's that?"

"You're happy, Mercury. When people are happy, they become warm inside like you are right now. See? You still have your emotions. A monster like that hivemind wouldn't feel happiness from this."

Then another thought came to the blob's mind. "...Kurabe, do I deserve to be happy?"

"I feel like you already know my answer, Mercury. You more than deserve it." She replied with a smile.

"...but it still hurts, Kurabe. I still hurt."

"I know, I know, but that's what you have a family for, Mercury. We're here to help you. The pain from yesterday will never leave, no matter how much we wish it would. But we can help you move past it. I will help you through it."

The blob only remained silent. "Do you really think so, Kurabe? Do you really mean everything?"

"Mercury, I promise you. Nothing can stop me from helping you. Even if the embodiment of death tried to take you away, I would kill them. Simply put, I would kill death itself to save you."

The blob became silent once more, as if not knowing what to say, yet now feeling able to accept her friend's hug.

"Kurabe... can we stay like this, just for a little longer?"

"Of course, Mercury. If that's what you want." She whispered.

Tears then began to flow from both of their eyes. For the next thirty minutes, they simply sat there, embracing one another. Eventually, Mercury found the strength to slowly regain her humanoid form, still clinging onto Kurabe.

Suddenly, the warrior spoke up. "Alright, Mercury, we should get moving. The others are probably worried sick about us."

"...ok." The woman nodded.

She then suddenly fell over in a slight daze, her legs now completely stiff from the cold.

"...ah, that's right, we're still in the freezer." Kurabe uttered as she began to quickly carry her out of the room.

---------

Once out of the room, Kurabe dropped the wall of ice to reveal not just the worried expressions of Meta and Reedy, but also the entire crew of the GranEssex as well.

"Would you look at that, Mercury. They've all come together for you."

Admittedly, the woman had no idea how to react to this. Suddenly, she was tackled by Meta, who began to hug her as hard as he could, afraid that if he let go, she would disappear. She continued to remain silent as she simply returned it, still processing everything that happened. Reedy then walked forward.

"Mercury, etch what I'm about to say into your brain. You will never become a hivemind." He said slowly, making sure the woman registered exactly what he meant.

"...I understand, Reed." She replied.

Mercury could then hear every other member of the ship calling out to her, letting her know how worried they were about her and, most importantly, how they also considered her a family. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she gave a small, genuine smile.

"...Maybe I could try living, just for a while longer." She whispered.

She then felt her cheek being pinched by Reedy.

"A while? You better want to longer than that, Mer."

Mercury chuckled. "Don't worry Reed, a while to me is a long time. Kurabe, Star Warriors can live up to a thousand years, right?"

"That's correct, though some have lived beyond that."

The woman nodded happily. "There you have it, then. I'll be here for a long, long time. Too bad for you, Kurabe, you're stuck with me, sister."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." She replied with a smile.

Mercury smiled back.

"The pain won't go away, but I won't let it stop me. You here that, you monster? I'll never let you win. I'm more than just a Limet. My name is Mercury, and I will always be Mercury." She thought to herself.

---------

For the next few hours, Mercury spent time with her friends and family aboard the GranEssex, this time with her acting the complete opposite from earlier today.

"I think I'm going to head to bed, I'm extremely tired." She said while yawning.

"Do you need help getting back to your room?" Kurabe asked.

"I-I think I'll be..."

"Meta, how about you take Mercury to her room?"

Meta nodded in response. "Will do, sensei."

The warrior gave a slight chuckle as they walked out.

"Meta, I appreciate it but really, I can walk on my own feet."

"It's sensei's orders, Mercury."

"Her orders were to walk me, not hold my hand." She said with a laugh.

Almost immediately, a bright red blush shot across his face.

"I-I was just so worried about you..." He uttered shyly.

"And I'm truly grateful for that."

He seemed to squeeze her hand more tightly as he averted his gaze.

"...damn sensei... she set me up for this..."

Mercury looked confused by that statement, much to his relief.

"Well, here's my stop. Good night, Meta."

"Good night, Mercury. Hope you sleep well tonight." He nodded.

Meta left and Mercury went into her room and immediately got into bed. Unlike last night, Mercury had no trouble falling fast asleep, knowing that she had a reliable family watching over her.

[abomination-catboy]

FINAL FANTASY XIV: STORMBLOOD The Abomination Review, Part 1

Okay, so here's something entirely unnecessary; a review of an MMORPG expansion that came out six years ago. Hooray!

A little bit of background; I've been slowly making my way through the FFXIV expansions, in fact very VERY slowly because my attention is being pulled in 20 different directions at any given time and this game is so very, very long. I share a Discord server with some good friends and there's a section for all things FFXIV, and opinions on Stormblood are probably some of the most divisive I have encountered so far. One friend, who we'll refer to as J, really didn't fancy it at all, whereas another friend, S, enjoyed it and thought it would be, I quote 'exactly your kind of bullshit'.

So now that I've finished Stormblood and have started engaging in horrors such as 'cartoon chocobo drags party to Computer Hell Fightclub' and 'a raid with FREAKIN' MATH in it' everyone wants to know what I thought of Stormblood. So naturally, I did the normal person thing and created a blog to write the review up on in detail. LET'S GO~

It's been ages since I actually started Stormblood, so some of my recollections will likely be off. Hopefully this will just add humour, as I don't really mind myself and will not be making corrective edits :^)

I am not American, so neither is my spelling.

Spoilers for FFXIV ARR, HW and SB and related patch content, obviously.

Introduction: Welcome to Ala Mhigo

After briefly being reminded of the overarching plot of the whole game and following the trauma of watching Papalymo explode, we're thrown into another 40-hour long sidequest as Omega Weapon ker-chunks over the wall into Ala Mhigo and Lyse-Not-Yda-in-Fact suggests this is the perfect opportunity to help her people fight back against the Garlean Empire and end the war. Cool. Cool cool cool.

This is your Warrior of Light for the trip, Yhen'a Astolya. Both he and his sparrowhawk are a little unimpressed that 'get the Weapon' has turned into 'save entire nation from a 10+ year imperial occupation', but at this point that's just #WarriorofLightThings so he's resigned to his fate. At least he's cute. None of his outfits suit his personality because the character I re-made him from liked to show off his assets if you catch my drift and I'm yet to change many of the glams but. You'll see.

So anyway, Gyr Abania. What a shithole. NO REALLY SSHH The fist map is really kinda boring, and I get why; it's hard to make a desert map too interesting while still retaining the classification of desert. And here we have a whole nation that is in mostly desert. For what it's worth I think Square did a great job with their concept, but I can't help but wonder what Garlemald saw in taking this land over. I know, I know, they think they're doing us all a favour by bringing enlightenment to the savage heathens, blablabla, like any ol' antagonistic empire. Sure. But usually that's a leading reason with other factors, you know, and things like resources and land position are taken into account. I guess it's a great and easy way to send invasion forces through to the rest of Eorzea, but what else was there?

See, other people on google wanted to know too!

The internet didn't tell me, it just kept trying to give me timelines and essays, but I'm sure I missed the answer in a section of dialogue I skipped or something.

UPDATE: I said I wouldn't do these but to avoid Experts coming in to school me, another friend of mine we'll call A has said the Garleans went through Gyr Abania cause it was the only way to get to Eorzea. And their aerial invasion failed pre 1.0, which is not content I've played. They don't have a navy, b/c they're landlocked, but they made this amazing big 'unsinkable' airship that was supposed to be able to single-handedly conquer the whole world, then Midgardsormr (or as A refers to him, Dragon Daddy) said no, and destroyed it.

Anyway.

So Lyse leads us to Rhalgr's Reach after a pretty harrowing side-quest concerning an abandoned town that was used by the Garleans to experiment with some kind of magical plant plague, which was honestly kind of interesting. The Garleans suck, man.

Rhalgr's Reach is gorgeous, a nice breathe from the drab map between Baelsar's Wall and it, but first a note on the music so far.

I enjoy the new battle music well enough; it's a mix between cowboy movie rifts and traditional eastern music that somehow really works, and also makes me feel a bit like Indiana Jones, but I'm not a fan of the national anthem of Ala Mhigo following me everywhere in different forms on the map. It's okay if it's a quiet refrain version, but when the bombastic brass comes into it, it just turns me off the flavour of the game entirely. I don't think this was intentional, its just a very nationalistic approach, which is all well and good for a story about a resistance who are clearly very patriotic trying to fight off invaders and its absolutely being used in good faith, but any band of patriotism is always a bit much for me so I played a lot of this expansion in Ala Mhihgo areas with the music turned down.

So we're trying to form an alliance, and getting resistance from the usual suspects. We get re-introduced to Arenvald around this time too, who is one of my favourite tropes of 'strong man softboi' so I take to him instantly. There's a few little battles and skirmishes, and Lyse is feeling pretty g about our ragtag little Alliance before things, as they do, go pear-shaped.

Enter Imperial Viceroy Zenos yae Galvus, otherwise known as 'golf douche'.

I cannot take credit for this amazing and hilariously accurate nickname. That would go to J. Leading up to this moment they were all 'have you met him yet, have you met golf-douche?' which honestly gave him an air of mystery he entirely did not deserve.

(seriously, I'm a cat-dad and Zenos has maybe two facial expressions, this one being his 'head empty no thoughts (but murder)' one, but the fangirls think he has a rich inner world. Nobody who owns a cat sees this face and thinks that.)

People seem to love Zenos online, and I can only assume it's because he's both pretty and disturbed; that Discount-Sephiroth face and hair, with hips and thighs so thick he probably cracks Ala Mhigan skulls between them, plus he waxes poetical about murder. You know, all the things the straight whyte girls who write yaoi love in a top.

Anyway, he's a bit of a fuckwit, and he has a fuckwit golf-caddy that he carries his extra swords in (sword-caddy?) thus the nickname, so it was a little embarrassing getting absolutely reamed by him. I was on Dark Knight too, so like, let's be real Squeenix, I would have won on sheer endurance AND edge if it hadn't been one of your fun 'you can't win this battle but have it anyway for dramatic storytelling purposes' moments that we all k̙n̘̝̻o͖̙̺̣w̷̫̞̤ ̮̙̤̝a̡̤̠ͅn͓̲̩̱͕d̷ ̦ͅͅl̶̺̪̟͚̼̣̞o̶͖̪v̘̜͎ͅè̥̮͎̘.

Our party decides that because golf-douche almost murderised all of us in one fell swoop and Lyse is still feeling pretty sensitive about the whole Papalymo thing, the best option is to travel to an entirely different and very far away nation, and help them defeat the Garlean occupation there so that a) the Garlean's and hopefully golf-douche will be distracted fighting a war on two fronts, and b) the other nation will then feel indebted to us and obligated (or strong-armed? They never quite clarify) to come help fight the Garleans in Ala Mhigo.

I am instantly a bit uncomfortable about this. It's presented both in a way that makes it seem like we're trying to do good by two nations rather than just one, but also very coldly as if we're playing war to suite our own overarching agenda, which will then force these people who have been terrorised and occupied for over a decade, to come fight another war they have less (if no) stake in.

I suppose 'the fate of the entire world and the Crystal Mother Lady' is a pretty good excuse when it comes down to it, but there's still a vibe of 'end justifies the means, and because our quest is an honorable one we'll make these tough decisions for people' vibe that just doesn't sit too right with me. These nations being freed from Garlean rule isn't the goal here, it's just a favourable side-effect of our actual plan. This feeling does lessen a little later when it's made more obvious that the whole team is very invested in helping out Ala Mhigo and Doma and it's more that we have to prove to the Alliance that it's a worth-while investment in a colder way. But towards the start, yea, felt weird.

Oh, and we met the Angy One! She's a great character, one of my fav antagonists in the expansion actually. But you don't know that yet at this point of the game, she's just a nation-traitor everyone hates, and for good reason. Actually, nobody really likes her, not even on her team, but she keeps going on ahead anyway.

Gaslight gatekeep girlboss~

I do also feel like we're leaving Ala Mhigo way too soon, before I really had a chance to become invested in it, you don't even get to finish the first map (The Fringes) and this isn't helped by the Doman leg of the game being by far more visually interesting and narratively compelling, but we'll get to that next time, in part two.

So far, a little underwhelming. Pros:

Learning more about Lyse's character, actually quite like getting to know her.

The battle music

Rhalgr's Reach design is pretty stunning

Good location names

The Hidden truth > Drawing a Blank questline

And a bit of a longer list, Cons:

The 'national anthem-esque' music

The Fringes is a boring map in visual and mechanics design

The story is slow to move

Golf-douche archetype is two-dimensional and ugh

Are we playing games with entire nations just to get to our shiney Omega Boi

Barely in Gyr Abania before being whisked away to a far more interesting area and narrative, as if the game devs didn't believe in it either.

Where the fuck are my aether currents let me fly you asshats

Entirely not ghey enough

I'll give this first length of the game a 2½/5. Until next time folks, unless the hyperfocus whisks me off forever.

[mytheoristavenue]

Hi it's my first time here, do you accept requests? If yes, could you do mine? please.

How would it be if the reader spent a movie night together with Sundrop/Moondrop, watching horror movies ( like Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street ).

How will the boys react and what will happen?

Thank you for choosing me to send your first ask to! I want to first say, that my inbox is not open for FNAF/SB anymore, as, when it was, that was all I was really allowed to do and still get interaction, and I decided about a year ago that if I had to choose between content that would get me views, and content that I enjoyed, I would choose the latter every time. That being said, I will fill this one for you, simply because it's your first one, and it's such a fluffy prompt. I hope it's alright that I do this in the form of HCs, enjoy!

FNAF:SB Sun/Moondrop x Reader - Scary Movie HCs

Summary: How the Daycare Attendant would spend a spooky movie night with you!

Warnings: Mentions of nightmares, scary movies, anxiety

You would be snuggled up between them, pillows against their frames for your comfort. You'd set up a projector in their little backstage room a while back for nights like these.

You and Moon are taking turns picking, because Sunny isn't particularly fond of horror movies, and will always try to talking you into watching some fluffy kid's movie, so you simply don't give him the option.

You are both particularly fond of specific types of horror. Moon likes psychological thrillers, and you like paranormal ones. This constant back and forth between ghosts/demons and mentally ill psychopaths has Sunny reeling and hiding his eyes.

"It's ok, Sun, it's just a movie! It's not real." you comfort him, pausing the film for a moment. "Would you like us to stop?"

"N-No!" he insists. "I'm brave. I can do this."

"Of course you are!" you coo, kissing his head and squishing his cheeks.

As the night goes on, the movies seem less and less interesting as the hours tick off. Sunny's the first to snooze, powering down for the night, having spent much of his battery chasing the kids around earlier in the day. You giggle at him and plug his charging cord into his back and slump against him.

Soon, you're also dozing, your head falling forward more and more as the minutes pass. Moon notices and pulls you into his side with a serene smile. Settling in, he makes sure all is well before plugging himself in and manually powering down.

Suddenly, you rose from your sleep to find yourself alone. Darting up, you call out the Attendant's names, but receive no feedback. Peering out of the curtains of the small room, you scan over the daycare from a bird's eye view.

It would have been easier to find them if the room hadn't been engulfed in flames. Everywhere you looked, you saw colorful melting plastic fixtures, charred toys, and oh God- the screaming was so deafeningly loud. All you could hear over the crackling inferno were the helpless cries of children, begging you for aid.

Suddenly a dark, ancient voice chuckled at your panic. You couldn't pinpoint the voice, it seemed to have been coming from the suffocating air itself. "All around you will burn." it boomed, the octane prompting your to cover your bleeding ears. "Nothing around you can thrive. You will always destroy everything you touch."

"NO!" you screamed, jumping up in a teary could sweat.

"Starlight, what's the matter?" Moon cooed, pulling you back into his secure arms.

"Yeah, ya feelin' okay, Sunshine?" Sunny worried, booting up and pressing a comforting hand to your back.

Your terrified gaze shifted between them before you brought your hands to cover it, breaking down and sobbing into your palms. "I-I think I had a nightmare. The daycare was on fire and the kids-! T-they ere burning alive and it was all my fault!"

The twins both enveloped you, making sure to pad themselves with bedding so as not to hurt you. "It's alright Starlight, nothing can hurt us here."

"And even if something did, it couldn't be your fault! We'll always keep you safe, Sunshine!"

[deffonotsimping]

greetings! may i request xiao kaeya and childe for the playable reader au?

yessir!!

I have already written for Xiao because of another request I got before this one! You can find it: here!

characters: Kaeya + Childe

-> Masterlist

content!! playable reader AU, gn reader, small mentions of blood (Kaeya), spoilers for Childe's storyquest

Kaeya

OH BOY

teases everyone, gets flustered when you do it back x stoic, has never felt emotions before but has a soft spot for the local jerk

People started shipping you two because of the angst potential you have! 🙏

"KaeDer (Kaeya x Reader) shippers, are you okay? I'll pay for your therapy." - "not even therapy can help anymore." - "oh!"

You have a moderate amount of shippers, people know and acknowledge that KaeDer is a thing, but not everyone necessarily likes it. However, your shippers and KaeLuc shippers (💀) have beef.

And omg. Literally every single fanfiction, every single fanart, EVEN THE COSPLAYS!! are angst.

Usually it's either you or him with blood all over whilst the other is staring at them in horror.

"Did.. Did I do this?"

yes honey, you did, and it's amazing.

Canonically, you are a half adeptus from Liyue and you are about 600 years old.

... You see where I'm getting at?

You don't know that he is from Khaenri'ah and he doesn't know that you're an adeptus that has helped and served the geo archon. What would happen if you both were to find out, hm?

Childe

As for this one, people started shipping you two because you're Teucer's babysitter!

You appear near the end of his storyquest when Teucer has to get back to snezhnaya and you and Childe have a short dialogue that hints at you two being close acquaintances.

So so so so sooo many family aus with and without Teucer, it's so cute, I'm telling you!

Half of your fans think you two have a protective/possessive childe x helpless reader dynamic whilst the other half is convinced it's more like "spar with me!" - "ok *absolutely destroys him*"

so yeah, there are fans which are the polar opposites from one another.

You sadly don't have a lot of canon content so shippers are living off of the mere crumbs they're getting!

Surprisingly, Zhongli x Childe shippers and Reader x Childe shippers get along very well, some even see the three of you together in a relationship!

Childe's is a little short, my apologies!! (call it punishment for him never critting whenever i use him smh)

ALSO!! I haven't posted in a while (oopsie) because of christmas and all that jazz! While I'll try to get back into posting more often again, I'll have lost of exams next year, so we'll see!

[fedonciadale]

Do you think Cersei and Sansa will meet again in the books? How likely is one last meeting between the two of them, and in what circumstances could it happen? I would love to see their dynamic once again, especially when Sansa is older and has more agency and power. And what about the other Lannisters? Jaime thinks of her as his “last chance of honour”, but how will Sansa react, and what will their relationship and interactions be like? If Tyrion is to be Daenerys’ Hand of the Queen like in the show, do you think he and Dany will try to subjugate Sansa by reinforcing their marriage?

Hi there!

I'm not sure how Cersei and Sansa would meet again. I'm pretty sure Cersei will destroy the Great Sept (waiting eagerly for @sayruq's meta on Cersei's parallels to Samson) but I guess Aegon will drive her put in the books and then confront his aunt.

It might well be that Cersei doesn't die when Aegon takes KL and that she will die later, maybe even with Jaime.

I must admit that I would enjoy another meeting but I don't really see the narrative point of it. Sansa will be a better Queen but it serves no purpose to 'rubb that in' so to say. And for Cersei to live the horror of seeing her prophecy fulfilled does not depend on her correct identification of Sansa as the younger more beautiful Queen (if she even is that. I'm only sure it's not Margaery.)

Tyrion definitely will try to make the most of his marriage to Sansa and it will firmly put him against the Starks. I still have hopes that Tyrion is one of the Giants Sansa will slay. And that he won't survive or ends up exiled. That a Cersei - Tyrion meeting will happen seems to be clear to me.

As for Jaime. I always thought that he is the Lannister who survives and becomes Hand. I think he will meet Sansa. If he grabs the chance for honour is a point of contention. I think that GRRM will give him the chance. It might be a 'what if' scenario with Jaime avoiding the hard way of real redemption.

Many think he is not on a redemption arc. I personally think he is although it's only baby steps and only because he misinterpretes his father's legacy. I think if he would work his ass off for the rest of his life, the last one of his family would be a good redemption, but we'll see.

Thanks for the ask!

[thewidowsghost]

The Temple - Pt. 2 (Skye x Coulson!Reader)

Main Masterlist

Part 1: The Temple (Skye x Avenger!Coulson!Reader)

Previously on The Temple:

The elder Coulson reaches up, brushing a piece of hair behind Skye's ear in a fatherly fashion.

"I'm so sorry. I'm gonna make it right. I'm gonna find the Obelisk."

"No," Coulson murmurs hoarsely.

"I'm gonna stop the drill. I'm gonna make it right," Skye continues, bolting from the room before (Y/n) can even think.

"Skye, no," Coulson calls. "Don't go down there."

"Dad, I have -" (Y/n) begins.

"Go! Go after her!" the elder Coulson says and (Y/n) jumps to her feet, glancing between the doorway Skye had gone through, and her father lying on the ground. "Go!" he yells again, and (Y/n) wipes away her tears, sprinting after Skye.

. . .

There's a metallic grinding nose, and Skye, Trip, (Y/n), and Raina focus on the Obelisk on the pedestal. It opens, revealing crystals and (Y/n) tenses.

"How do we stop it?" Trip asks.

"I don't think we can," (Y/n) says. She turns to Skye, tears welling in her eyes.

Skye grabs the front of (Y/n)'s shirt, pulling (Y/n) closer and kissing her.

"I love you," both young women whisper at the same time; the two focus back on the Obelisk.

Skye exhales heavily as the chamber trembles.

. . .

"And Skye and (Y/n) barely made it out alive! (Y/n) hasn't even woken up yet!" Mack shouts.

"Thanks to Trip! He sacrificed his life, Mack!" May counters.

"No, he traded his life for theirs!" Mack yells. "And then he was shattered into a thousand pieces!"

"That's enough!" the Elder Coulson yells. "If Trip was here, he wouldn't be arguing. He would't be bitching. He would be gearing up to do what needs to be done." Skye looks horrified at the can that had been trembling, and looking around, she sees her girlfriend curled up in the floor in a corner, her hands pressed over her ears. Skye crosses the containment module and sits down next to where is sitting on the other side of the glass. "Yes, we're dealing with forces we don't understand, but HYDRA I do understand. I want everyone ready when the sun comes up - end of discussion."

Everyone else leaves the room and Skye murmurs, loud enough for (Y/n) to hear. "(Y/n), what's happening to us?"

. . .

"The Avengers wouldn't have been necessary if we hadn't unleashed alien horrors," Simmons cuts Skye off again.

(Y/n)'s eyes had gone cold. "Go," she says bitterly, turning away from the scientist.

"But -" Simmons tries but (Y/n) turns back to her.

"There's always danger, Simmons," (Y/n) snaps, the stirring feeling rising up in her again. "Not everything is something that has to be destroyed or -" (Y/n) stops, turning her head away. "Go."

. . .

There are metallic crashes as pots and pan fall onto the ground and into the sink.

"Skye, (Y/n)? You want to talk to us?" May asks, and the two lover exchange horrified glances.

"Skye, what's doing this?" Coulson asks, his eyes widening.

"I am," Skye admits shakily.

Lady Sif goes to grab Skye's arm, and Skye flinches away, "No." Skye pulls (Y/n) along slightly, removing her hand from (Y/n)'s as she claps them to her forehead.

Skye's fist clenches and the glass behind (Y/n) and Skye explodes.

And, as if in slow motion, (Y/n)'s frame grows larger, towering over Skye.

The grizzly bear wraps it's arms around Skye, protecting the brunette from the shattered glass.

"Hand them over," Lady Sif orders and the elder Coulson and May pull out their hand guns, moving in front of the two younger women. "It will be safer for all of you."

. . .

A sword tip is stabbed through the wall.

"Agent May, release the girls!" Lady Sif orders.

"May, she'll get through," Skye whispers.

"Ignore it. Remember - focus," May says.

"I can't," Skye breathes as Lady Sif breaks the barrier.

May steps back and Skye grabs the agent's ICER, shooting herself with the gun. The rumbling stops and (Y/n) turns to her unconscious girlfriend.

"Skye," (Y/n) whispers, fear spiking through her. "Skye!"

"She harmed herself," Lady Sif says, staring at (Y/n) and Skye, her eyes wide.

(Y/n) pulls her unconscious girlfriend closer to her, her eyes wide.

. . .

"A right to know," Fitz echoes. "What - is that the same way that Sif and the Kree had a right to know?"

"I think this situation's a little bit different, mate," Hunter responds.

"No, you would have done to them exactly what Sif and the Kree wanted to," Fitz argues.

"You don't know that," Simmons says.

"Yes, I do know that!" Fitz yells. "They would - You would - You'd 'handle them'! Mack just said it! Like, uh - Skye and (Y/n) are something to be locked away in a cage somewhere. We should be protecting them."

"No, Fitz," Mack interupts. "We're the ones that need protection from them." Then Mack goes silent, looking over Simmons's shoulder.

Fitz and Simmons turns around, and five SHIELD agents catch sight of (Y/n) and Skye - (Y/n) supporting Skye's weight.

Skye looks into the room, looks away, and then she and (Y/n) start back down the hallway, a disgusted look on (Y/n)'s face, and a large dufflebag thrown over (Y/n)'s other shoulder.

Fitz looks between the other for SHIELD agents, and then follows (Y/n) and Skye.

"Skye. (Y/n)," Fitz calls down the hall, but the two women keep making their way down the hallway.

The two make their way into the BUS, entering the containment module.

"You don't have to stay," Skye tells (Y/n).

"You know I'm not going anywhere, love," (Y/n) murmurs, sitting down beside Skye on the small bed. "Please, rest," (Y/n) says softly lying down on her side and lifting an arm so Skye can cuddle up to her. "We'll figure out something," (Y/n) murmurs. I hope . . .

3rd Person POV

Skye leans over a bowl, dipping a piece of her grilled cheese into her tomato soup.

"I got to say, Director, no doubt, this is the best grilled cheese I've ever had," Skye says, humming in contentment.

"Other times, I'd be offended, but I agree," (Y/n) says, looking appreciatively at her father as she stuffs another mouthful of grilled cheese in her mouth. "Isth really gud," (Y/n) says, her mouth full and Skye looks slightly disgusted.

"Secret ingredient," the Elder Coulson asks.

"Ooh, what is it?" (Y/n) asks, having swallowed her mouthful.

"I will not disclose," (Y/n)'s dad replies, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Skye laughs and her spoon lets out a little chime against her bowl, setting it aside before nestling herself into (Y/n)'s side.

(Y/n) hums contentedly, shoving more grilled cheese in her mouth.

"How are you doing with all the monitoring?" Coulson asks gently.

"I barely notice it," Skye lies.

"We wouldn't subject you to it if it wasn't absolutely necessary," Coulson tells her.

"I assume you're putting us on the gifted index," (Y/n) guesses.

"We are," Coulson the Elder nods.

Skye sighs, looking slightly regretful. "I've been doing some monitoring of my own," she says. "Check this out," she shows the older Coulson her bio-meter watch which shows her heart rate at sixty-five beats per minute. "My entire life, I've been searching for my parents and my search ended with answers that are so much worse than I could've imagined," Skye admits and (Y/n)'s gaze softens and she sets down her grilled cheese, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "Sad, twitchy, not-all-there Dad, a dead Mom, alien mist that turned me into a walking natural disaster, a friend dead -"

(Y/n)'s eyes cloud with pain. The Avenger had always been close to Trip, and his death made that so, so much worse.

"Hey," the Elder Coulson says softly, coming over to sit beside (Y/n) and Skye on the small bed. "Trip was not your fault."

"My point is, I'm steady. Nothing is shaking," Skye tells Coulson, looking slightly proud of herself. "I'm stopping them before they start."

"That's good," Coulson replies, looking happier than he just had.

"If I keep working on this, I can be back in the field in no time," Skye says excitedly.

(Y/n) squeezes Skye, happy for her girlfriend's excitement.

. . .

"She's acting like everything will go back to normal," Coulson tells May a little later, pulling Skye's and (Y/n)'s files to add them to the SHIELD Gifted Index.

"That's what Skye does," May says. "Do they know they're being put on the Index?" May asks.

"They do," Coulson replies. "They both do seem to be getting control of their powers."

"That's good," May admits. "But we barely understand them - other than they're strong."

"Catastrophically so," Coulson agrees, referring to Skye's powers.

"Protocol is, anyone on the Index undergoes a full psych eval and a treat assessment," May reminds Coulson.

"We'd need to bring in someone from outside," Coulson remarks.

"Someone we can trust," May agrees.

. . .

"I think it's so cool," Skye remarks, looking at (Y/n) the Husky admiringly, "that you can turn into animals."

"Are you kidding me?" (Y/n) asks, shifting back into herself, her eyes gleaming lovingly. "What about your powers?"

Skye smiles at her girlfriend, cuddling into her side, listening to the radio. (Y/n) wraps her arms around Skye's waist.

"Hey, look what a hello from a stranger turned into / Caught up in a moment like it's just us in this room / All the right words at the right time and you know 'em 'cause you know me / Better than anyone else, we don't need anyone else / There's a couple billion people in the word / And a million other places we could be, but you're here with me / Take a moment just to take it in / 'Cause every high and every low led to this / I'm just so glad you exist / Don't you ever go, don't you ever go, don't you ever go changin' / Never let me go, never let me go, never let me go, baby / Don't you ever to, don't you ever go, don't you ever go changin' / Never let me go, never leg me go, never let me go, baby," (Y/n) sings softly along to the song, swaying her and Skye slightly. "I'm just so glad you exist," (Y/n) murmurs in Skye's ear.

Skye looks up into (Y/n)'s gentle (E/c) eyes.

"I love you," Skye murmurs, pressing her cheek against (Y/n)'s.

"I love you too," (Y/n) replies, her eyes closing in contentment.

"You remember our first mission together?" Skye asks and (Y/n) fixes her gaze on Skye's chocolate brown eyes.

"I do," (Y/n) answers, her eye sparkling

"Yep, you were kicking ass and looking hot while doing it." Skye asks and (Y/n) throws back her head with a laugh. "You were so sweet, too."

Skye is sitting in her bunk on the bus, typing on her laptop.

"Mission brief in five," Coulson says, knocking on the door.

"Okay," Skye mumbles.

"Katherine Shane?" Coulson asks, reading the file off of Skye's laptop.

"Do you know her?" Skye asks, looking interested.

"We ran a few OPs together in the '90s," Coulson tells Skye. "Smart, resourceful. Had a soft spot for Truffaut movies."

"Easy there, charm school," Skye says, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "According to these files, Agent Shane could be my mom," Skye suddenly looks excited.

"Even if Shane was the Agent who dropped you off at the orphanage, it doesn't mean she's your mother."

"I started looking into all the female agents active when I was born," Skye says and Coulson hums. "Needle, haystack, I know. But then I factored in age and marital status, and then I built a program to narrow down the field."

"You're still looking at a long road," Coulson tells Skye gently.

"Well, it would be a lot shorter if I could access more files," Skye tells the agent. "Maybe you could remove my internet nanny?" she then asks. "I'm talking about my tracking bracelet," she clarifies, shaking her wrist.

"I got that," Coulson says, looking down at the brunette.

"So you'll take it off?" Skye asks.

"No, but I asked May to look into SHIELD's more restricted files," Coulson replies.

"Uh, I was kind of hoping to keep this private," Skye murmurs.

"Agent May specializes in private," Coulson tells her gently. "Let's go," Coulson says, walking out of the little room.

. . .

"At 0800 hours, three men infiltrated the Havenworth Federal Penitentiary," Coulson tells the others - Fitz, Simmons, Ward, May, and Skye.

"Infultrated? More like cannon-balled," Skye says softly.

"They were in and out in less than two minutes," Coulson goes on. "Left no prints at the scene, but we do have one lead."

Coulson swipes up, and the computer beeps, and there is an image projected on the screen.

"Centipede," Ward says, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Seems they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong," Coulson tells the group.

"So we were right," Simmons says, and Fitz turns to look at his friend. "Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create super soldiers with no fear of explosion."

"Maybe don't get so excited about it," Fitz murmurs to Simmons.

"Two of Centipede's labs have been destroyed, but they keep popping back up," Coulson says. "Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more."

"Who did they break out?" May asks, her brow furrowing.

"Edison Po, former Marine," Coulson replies. "Expert in tactics and rapid response. He fell off the grid in '08, reappeared eighteen months ago at a diner in Boston."

"Where he stabbed a friend's eyes out," Ward grumbles.

"With a steak knife, then finished his meal," Coulson finishes, glancing at Ward.

"That's funny. Po doesn't look crazy," Skye remarks and everyone looks at her.

"I'm kidding," Skye says, looking exasperated. "The guy is a walking mug shot."

"Which means he shouldn't be too hard to track down," Coulson agrees. "Finding Po and these Centipede soldiers is a top priority for SHIELD. We'll be running point, but we won't be working alone," Coulson tells the others.

"What team did HQ send for backup?" Ward asks, looking suspicious.

"Not a team -" Coulson says, his lips twitching. "Two people. One who is skilled in combat - trained by SHIELD's finest. And one who can help us fight fire with fire -" Coulson begins.

"Somebody we worked with before?" Skye asks.

"Not exactly," Coulson says.

. . .

Mike Peterson exits the SHIELD vehicle, another figure who looks like she's being harassed by a blond archer and a redhead nearby.

"Don't make me flatten you, Clinty," the younger of the three says, pointing at the man and the archer backs off, looking slightly horrified.

"Bye, you," the redhead grumbles, pulling her former apprentice into a hug.

"Nat!" the younger woman complains. "You're squishing my head!"

"This was a bad idea," May comments, looking between the two figures - the young woman and Mike Peterson.

Natasha Romanoff hands the younger woman a backpack and the women softens, hugging her former mentor one more time before hurrying off to join Mike.

The young woman turns, grinning at Mike, and the older man just shakes his head, amusement evident in his gaze.

"Agent Coulson, Agent May," Mike says, nodding respectfully to the older agents, but the woman just grins.

"Agent Coulson, at your service," the younger Agent Coulson says, faking a serious tone and her father shakes his head.

May just walks away and the elder Coulson turns to Mike.

"Last time you saw here, you threw her into a brick wall," Coulson reminds the super-soldier.

"Right," Mike says, looking uncomfortable. "First time around, I wasn't who I wanted to be," Mike tells the elder Coulson, "but now I get it. Having all this - it's a privilege. And training to be an agent, working with SHIELD, it's me trying to do better, trying to be better," he pauses. "I just need you to give me a shot."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Coulson says, stepping forward. "But let me be clear - there will not be a third."

Mike dips his head, "Understood, sir."

"Good," Coulson says, glancing at the younger Coulson and turning around; Agent Coulson gets the feeling like she should follow.

. . .

"It's not good. At all," Ward says grimly to the three younger people in the room - Simmons, Fitz, and Skye. "The guy was literally a ticking time bomb - literally."

"HQ wouldn't have sent him if he was still combustible," Fitz reasons. "They must've found a way to stabilize him somehow."

"What about this other person they're sending in. Coulson said he was trained by SHIELD's finest, and yet none of us know who it is?" he questions. "Just saying, this could easily go sideways. Seriously, the last time we saw Peterson, he was a raging homicidal maniac -" Ward pauses, the other three looking behind him. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Ward asks.

"Mr. Peterson, this is Agent Grant Ward," Coulson says, and the others wonder why Coulson hadn't introduced the pretty young woman standing behind him. "He's the man who shot you at Union Station." Ward looks uncomfortable and an amused expression flashes across the new woman's face. "Fitz-Simmons," the two scientists wave at the super-soldier, "designed the weapon he used, and I think you remember -" Coulson gestures to Skye.

"Kidnap victim," Skye says, looking happy and the unknown woman is slightly confused.

Mike chuckles. "You joined SHIELD?" he asks.

"Yeah. Turns out, guys in suits - not so bad," Skye says with a grin.

"Look, I know Union Station could have gone another way," Mike says, looking uncomfortable again. "Another team might not have let me out of there alive. I owe you - all of you."

"That's bygones and water under a distant bridge far away," Skye says and unknown woman fixes her gaze on the brunette, studying her, and Skye looks back, her lips twitching in a smile. "How's your son?" Skye asks, turning back to Mike.

"Still with my sister. He thinks I'm working construction, but he's good, happy," Mike answers, smiling.

"So, what do we have?" Coulson asks.

"An unintroduced agent," the new woman says and there is a laugh from everyone in the room.

"Right," Coulson says, glaring at the younger woman. "This is (Y/n) Coulson, my daughter."

The other agents cast their gazes onto the tall young woman and (Y/n) looks unenthuiastically at her father.

"So, what do we have?" Coulson asks again.

"Not much on Po," Sky replies, tearing her eyes off (Y/n). "I checked his previously known addresses and old military contacts - came up empty."

"We've been looking for where Po might be on the outside," Coulson tells them, (Y/n) leaning against the doorway. "Let's look at his life on the inside - at the prison. See if that gets us any leads. Anything on the Centipede soldiers?"

"We found a facial recog match on one of them," Simmons says and (Y/n) fixes her gaze on the British woman.

"Name's Brian Hayward," Ward says, pressing a button on the debriefing table. "Stationed in Afghanistan for three years, then fell off the radar when he got back."

"Only living relative - sister, Laura -" Skye begins and (Y/n) pipes up.

"I know a Laura," (Y/n) says and Coulson glares at his daughter as the others laugh.

Skye shakes her head, looking amused, before continuing, "Sophomore at the University of Ohio."

"She's our best shot at finding Hayward," the Elder Coulson says, glancing at the board. "You and I will go talk to her," he nods to Ward. "Have May set a course for Cleveland."

Coulson points at (Y/n) and Mike. "Follow," he says.

"Bye friends," (Y/n) says with a wave, her gaze resting on Skye.

. . .

"Hey," Skye says, scrolling through her laptop, Agent May walking up to the brunette, her normal scowl on her face. "Coulson told me you were helping to, you know, find my long-lost folks, so thanks," Skye says, and (Y/n) remains in the shadows, not wanting to intrude. "I'm glad you're in on this with me. It means a lot."

May scowls even more and Skye swallows thickly.

(Y/n) winces as May says some harsh things to Skye. May leaves Skye alone and (Y/n) steps out of the shadows.

"Hey," (Y/n) says gently and Skye looks up. "Don't take what May said to heart, okay?"

Skye meets (Y/n)'s eyes, and then nods.

"So what did you find?" (Y/n) asks.

. . .

Skye leads (Y/n) and May into the debriefing room.

"Po only had one visitor during his prison stint - her," Skye says and (Y/n) narrows her eyes at the screen.

"Recognize the outfit?" Skye asks. "Miles said a girl in a flowered dress asked him to hack SHIELD. This could be the same girl."

"Can we hear the conversation?" (Y/n) asks Skye.

"That's the bummer," Skye replies. "There was no audio, but it's not a total loss. I was able to use SHIELD's lip-reading program, because we have one of those," Skye chuckles.

"It's so cool, right?" (Y/n) asks.

Skye catches May's scowl and continues, "It didn't work on the girl because she never looks up at the camera, but Po did - once - and it caught this."

Skye presses a button and, "The Clairvoyant doesn't not like to be touched," comes from the screen.

"I wrote that down, so we don't have to hear that again - ever," Skye says and (Y/n) looks disgusted.

"The Clairvoyant," May says thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Skye says, furrowing her brow. "Does that mean anything to you?"

(Y/n) shakes her head, "But it means something to them - to Po and whoever that woman is."

"Her name's Raina," says a voice and Mike Peterson walks into the room.

"You know her?" Skye asks Mike.

"Yeah, she recruited me for Centipede, came up to me at the hospital where I did my back therapy out of the blue," Mike pauses. "Told me she could change my life."

. . .

An hour or so later, Skye finds (Y/n) by the loading doors of the BUS, the young woman attacking a punching bag.

"Time to suit up," Skye says and (Y/n) looks up, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"Cool," (Y/n) says, jogging up the stairs. She passes Skye, shooting the brunette a grin, and Skye's cheeks flush.

. . .

(Y/n) suits up in her SHIELD uniform before meeting the others in the loading dock. Her SHIELD uniform was a Royal blue, but was almost exactly like her old mentor - Natasha's - SHIELD uniform, with light blue highlights running down the arms and legs.

"I think it's rather smart," Simmons remarks, looking at Mike's combat suit.

"How does it feel?" Fitz asks.

"Feels good. Comfortable," Mike replies.

"Having powers is cheating, but the suit's pretty cool," Ward remarks.

(Y/n) steps off the last stair, her combat boots making a thunking sound as she steps onto the floor, and Skye turns to look at her.

"Right, now that everyone's here," Coulson glares bemusedly at his daughter. "Hayward's cellphone has been traced to an abandoned factory about eight miles from here."

"We'll go in quiet. Do minimal damage to the facility and the people inside," May tells the others as (Y/n) pulls out her electric batons from her backpack, sliding them up the sleeves of her suit into the little sheaths against her wrists.

Ward, May, you'll go in through the west entrance. Mr. Peterson and I will enter through the loading dock," Coulson tells the group.

"So I guess you're my partner?" (Y/n) says, looking at Skye.

Coulson nods. "You and Skye will go through the main entrance."

(Y/n) dips her head.

"We're doing this just us?" Skye asks. "We've been playing whack-a-mole with these guys since Ward first picked me out of my van. Shouldn't big SHIELD be sending in backup?" she asks.

"Trust me, they already did," Coulson says, looking pointedly at his Avenger daughter. "They sent a super-soldier and an Avenger."

"An Avenger who has to pop an Ibuprofen after every fight," (Y/n) grumbles.

"Let's move," May says, leading Ward from the BUS.

"Take this," Coulson tosses (Y/n) a gun.

"Is the famous Fitz-Simmons ICER?" (Y/n) asks, studying the craftsmanship of the gun. "I'm impressed. It's just the right weight." (Y/n) glances appreciatively at the two scientists. "It's been a while since I've seen a gun this nice. I might be stealing it."

Fitz-Simmons glance at each other then grin at the Avenger.

"Enough fangirling," Coulson says and (Y/n) rolls her eyes.

"All right. All right," (Y/n) replies. "Come on, Skye."

. . .

"Are we alone here?" Coulson asks the group.

"It seems so," (Y/n) answers. "Fitz, dial Hayward's number."

There is a moment's pause, then the sound of a phone dialing.

(Y/n) freezes in front of one of the storage containers.

(Y/n) hears a cellphone ringing and she holds a finger to her mouth so Skye would be quiet.

Flicking her wrists, the batons slide out of their sheaths.

(Y/n) takes the two separate pieces, locking them together.

(Y/n) readies her batons, as the doors to the storage container fly off the hinges.

"Uh, (Y/n), Skye, you've got company," Fitz tells the two women.

"I'd noticed," (Y/n) replies, advancing on Hayward.

The soldier places his hands on the storage container and flings it towards (Y/n) and Skye.

Skye flinches but (Y/n) tackles Skye, pushing her out of the way. (Y/n) rolls, landing on her feet, and Skye, on the ground, levels her own ICER, firing at the soldier.

The soldier falls to the ground and (Y/n) pulls Skye to her feet. Looking down at the soldier, the two women see the dendrotoxin veins leaving his face. Hayward blinks, his eyes refocusing.

"That usually packs a bigger punch," Skye comments, her and (Y/n) stepping back as Hayward rises to his feet.

(Y/n) runs towards the soldier, smacking him across the forehead, and then in the stomach with the other end of the now staff, flooring the soldier with her mentor's favorite move.

"We're heading your way," Coulson tells his daughter.

"Who's doing this?" (Y/n) asks the fallen soldier.

"I don't tell anyone. I promise," the soldier says through gritted teeth.

There is a tiny spark, and the light behind the soldier's eyes goes out.

. . .

"I'm so glad you're here," Simmons greets Dr. Garner. "Especially since it's been well documented that powers can lead to psychological volatility. Not that Skye or (Y/n) are showing any signs. Their vitals currently are steady."

"May I?" Garner asks, looking at the iMac on the desk.

"So, it might be wise to do pharmacological evaluations," Simmons advises. "Dulling Skye's emotions could lessen the destructiveness of her powers - a-a stopgap measure."

"I should probably meet both of them before writing a prescription," Garner says sternly, looking at Simmons with a frown.

"I'll take you to them," May tells her ex-husband

"I appreciate the extensive and thorough debrief, Agent Simmons," Garner says, turning away from Simmons.

. . .

"Are you kidding me? A shrink?" Skye asks, (Y/n) sitting next to her on the cot as usual, a frown evident on the Avenger's face.

"It's not personal," May tells the brunette.

"Hell, it's not personal. It's a shrink," Skye argues and (Y/n) places a gentle hand on Skye's knee.

"It's standard procedure for anyo -" May begins.

Skye cuts her off, "No, I know, but we're not just on the Index. We're also SHIELD agents."

"Exactly. So you know it's non-negotiable," May argues right back.

Skye scoffs, shaking her head.

"Andrew is good, and he's done this before," May says, her tone softening.

"So have I. I grew up in the system," Skye replies. "I've been through enough of these to know that I hate them."

"You'll like this one," May tells Skye.

"Yeah, how do you know that?" Skye replies, focusing her gaze on (Y/n)'s hand resting on her knee.

"Because I was married to him," May answers and Skye looks up, her eyes wide with shock.

"I'm going to make us something to eat," (Y/n) tells Skye once May leaves. "I'm starving," (Y/n) leans over, pressing a soft kiss to Skye's cheek before standing up and walking over to the door. Opening the door, she steps aside to let Andrew into the house.

"Hello, (Y/n)," Andrew greet the young woman.

"Hey," (Y/n) replies with a short wave before leaving the room and making her way into the kitchen inside the Playground.

. . .

(Y/n) looks up from her pan as she notices the pots and pans rattling on the wall.

Skye! she thinks, throwing the hot pan into the sink and unknowingly shifting into a panther, and darting out of the room.

(Y/n)'s powerful shoulder muscles bunch and stretch as she speeds up, a black blur as she streaks past the labs.

(Y/n) charges up the loading doors and up to Skye's room, shifting back into herself.

"Skye! You need to wake up!" (Y/n) exclaims, gently shaking Skye's shoulder.

Skye starts, fixing her gaze on (Y/n)'s (E/c) eyes but then she looks at the door as Dr. Garner, May, Fitz, and Simmons burst into the room.

"Hey. Look at me," (Y/n) reaches out a hand, gently moving Skye's face to look her in the eye. "You need to stop this," (Y/n) kneels down and to her relief, Skye keeps her eyes on (Y/n)'s.

"If she needs a sedative . . ." Simmons begins, but May glares at the scientist.

"You can do it Skye. Just focus," (Y/n) whispers, gazing into Skye's brown eyes.

Skye exhales slowly and the shaking stops.

"No, no. It's good. It's good. It's stopping," Fitz tells Simmons.

Dr. Garner and May exchange a look before fixing their gazes on (Y/n), whose hand is resting on Skye's knee now.

"I'm going to stay," Garner says.

"Come on. Everybody out," May nods.

'Love you,' (Y/n) mouths as she leaves the room, looking back at Skye, and the brunette relaxes, smiling softly.

"May," comes a voice and May looks at her watch, a projection of Coulson appears in her hand. "We need backup."

. . .

Skye breathes deeply, looking at her bio-meter watch. "Under seventy," Skye says, taking another breath.

"How are you doing that?" Garner asks.

"May taught me," Skye replies. "You focus on a single point, let everything else become noise disappearing in the background."

"Except it doesn't disappear you're pushing it aside," Garner says, putting his hands on his hips. Which is why, when you were dreaming, the tremors started." Skye swallows thickly. "What were you dreaming about?" Garner asks.

"I don't remember," Skye replies, her cheeks darkening.

"You're seeming defensive," Garner says, frowning.

"Because you keep pushing," Skye argues.

"Because whatever you were feeling was strong enough to shake this entire plane," Garner replies, his brows furrowing.

"Well, I don't know, so let's move on," Skye says, her eyes watery. "How about you show me an inkblot, and I tell you about me and my girlfriend's first time?" Skye asks, leaning forward. The moment she says it though, she regrets it. Their first time had been magical, and Skye had never felt so loved that night.

Garner chuckles. "Humor. So that's your thing. Well, that's an effective way to avoid thinking about how monumentally painful your life is right now."

"Good pep talk," Skye says through gritted teeth. "Thanks," Skye frowns, her brows furrowing.

"Sarcasm. Same purpose - avoidance strategy," Garner says.

"What am I avoiding, exactly?" Skye asks, leaning forward and crossing her legs criss-cross-applesauce on her and (Y/n)'s shared bed.

"The truth," Garner says. "That - not just you, but your girlfriend too - are different now, that you have abilities, your abilities triggered by pain, and either you face that or you don't sleep again."

Skye swallows thickly, her gaze falling on the door, wishing that (Y/n) would walk through the door; wishing that (Y/n) would set her hand on her knee like she always did when Skye was feeling scared or nervous; wishing that (Y/n) would walk through with a carefully picked tub of salted caramel ice cream and two spoons.

Skye turns back to Dr. Garner. "I dreamed I was on a mission, looking through the scope of my rifle. The next thing I knew, I was on the other side. The rifle was trained on me.

"Pretty on point - going form being an agent to a -" Garner begins

"Yeah, to being on the Index," Skye interupts. "And I know SHIELD's policy for people on the Index."

There's a rumbling.

"I have executed that policy," Skye continues.

"Okay. Skye, I need you to stop," Garner says, looking around at the shaking walls. "Just calm down. Take a breath."

"Wait. The room is shaking," Skye realizes.

"Right," Garner replies, leaning forward in his chair. "Which is why I need you to breathe."

"No, this isn't me. I'm not doing this," Skye says, pursing her lips.

Garner looks around before moving out of the room.

(Y/n) enters the room a moment later holding two spoons and a tub of salted caramel ice cream.

Skye gazes softly at (Y/n) as (Y/n) comes over to sit beside her on their shared bed.

"Dad needed backup," (Y/n) tells Skye as she hands her girlfriend a spoon, then cracking open the tub of ice cream.

Skye leans affectionately against (Y/n), digging her spoon into the carton and making airplane noises like she would to a baby, poking (Y/n)'s lips with the spoon.

(Y/n)'s shoulder shake with silent laughter, and she opens her mouth, eating the spoonful off Skye's spoon.

(Y/n) takes her own spoon, scooping out another bite. She moves it towards Skye's lips. When Skye opens her mouth, (Y/n) steals the bite.

Skye giggles this time, her head falling on (Y/n)'s shoulder.

. . .

"That not-talking thing you do - not okay when we were married, but definitely not okay," Dr. Garner scolds his ex-wife.

"Not okay is Skye's lunatic father leading Coulson into a trap. Civilians could be hurt. I acted quickly," May says, her tone hardening.

"And me and Skye? We do what?" Garner asks, furrowing his brow.

May scoffs. "Same as if we were were on base," May says. "Stay in the cage. Continue your evaluation."

"That's so not going to happen," Skye says, and the two exs turn to fix their gazes on the two young women.

May's eyes flick down to Skye and (Y/n)'s interlocked pinkies and Skye's slightly relaxed expression.

"This is not a negotiation, Skye," May fixes her gaze back on Skye's eyes, which had narrowed, her relaxed expression leaving her face. "You're staying on the BUS."

Skye walks over to the debriefing table, leaving (Y/n) standing in the doorway.

"If Coulson needs backup -" Skye begins.

May cuts her off. "He'll have it. We don't need you."

"Yes, you do. My father's involved," Skye argues, her eyes narrowing. "And for better or worse, I matter to him, and we can use that."

"May, we can help," (Y/n) says, moving over to stand beside Skye.

"Having contact with your father is a bad idea," Garner says, furrowing his eyebrows. "If you can't control your feelings -"

"I'll ice myself," Skye interupts.

Garner frowns.

"Look. You put me on the Index. You're doing my intake assessment. How about we let my Dad know?" Skye asks.

"Okay," May says after a moment, but then she fixes her gaze on (Y/n).

. . .

"We want everyone to know what you do to people like us," Cal says, his voice echoing through the silent stadium. "And we want you to stop before you do it to her."

"Talking about her?" (Y/n) says through gritted teeth, pushing Skye forward, her unloaded handgun pressed to the side of Skye's neck.

"You monster," Cal turns to (Y/n), his brow furrowing.

(Y/n)," Coulson breathes, looking at his daughter in disbelief.

"Daisy," Cal says, gazing at his daughter. "What have they done to you?"

"We put her on the Index," May says, coming up and pressing her unloaded handgun into the small of Skye's back. "Now we decide - contain her or put her down." May shoves the gun into Skye's back again. "Your call."

"Tell me they didn't hurt you," Cal says, stepping forward to gaze into his daughter's watery eyes.

"Talk to me, not her," (Y/n) presses the gun into Skye's neck, hating herself for being so harsh, but she knows she has to keep up the facade.

"Now, you let these people go, or your daughter dies," May says, shoving the gun into Skye's back for the third time.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. I can't lose you again," Cal whispers. "Don't you see what they do? You've been changed. And it scares the hell out of them. I think it's wonderful." Skye swallows thickly. "I can help. So, tell me. What's your thing?" he asks. "I mean, I was hoping it was wings."

"Talk to me, not her," May growls.

"You chose them," Cal glares at (Y/n), then Coulson, his eyes full of disdain. "You threatened to kill me, your own father. You didn't know any better. They raised you. They brainwashed you. You won't kill her," Cal says, turning away. "Though, the truth is, you're capable of such things. That's what I'm trying to teach this whole damn town. I don't even know if they're listening. Maybe they'll listen to you," Cal hands the microphone to a man beside him.

The man with the microphone exhales deeply, but a blue energy field surrounds Cal and takes him away.

"Skye," Garner says, running over to the brunette. "Come on. Come on."

"(Y/n), go with them," May gives (Y/n) a slight nudge. "You're the only one who can keep her calm."

(Y/n) takes Skye's hand in her own, pulling her along.

Skye's breathing stutters as she watches Coulson and May fight Cal's companions.

Skye breathes deeply and the stadium begins to rumble.

Everyone looks at her and (Y/n) drops Skye's hand, clutching her left wrist.

The rumbling stops and (Y/n) looks over at Skye's hands and lower arms which were darkening with bruises.

Skye's vision goes blurry and (Y/n) moves behind Skye to catch her as she fell.

(Y/n) hits the ground, her wrist searing with pain, but Skye lands safely in her lap.

. . .

"You're awake," Simmons says, sighing with relief.

Skye looks around, looking startled and slightly scared as she tries to sit up.

"You're probably feeling a little drowsy," Simmons says, her voice soft. "We gave you something to help you sleep." Skye sits up, looking at her bruised hands.

"Why do I have these bruises?" Skye asks, her gaze finding (Y/n) sitting in a chair, her left wrist resting on the table, Fitz gently running his fingers down (Y/n)'s wrist before he leaves the room.

"I ran some tests," Simmons says. "The bruising was caused by capillary ruptures in your arms. X-rays showed more than seventy-five hairline fractures from your clavicle to your fingers."

"I . . . I don't understand," Skye stutters, Fitz returning to the room with a black velcro cast. He tightly wraps (Y/n)'s wrist with the cast, (Y/n) gritting her teeth.

"You weren't stopping your powers, Skye," Garner tells her. "You were . . . directing them inward."

Skye lets out a shaky breath, blinking back her tears.

(Y/n) runs her own fingers down her fractured wrist.

A guilty looking Skye meets (Y/n)'s gaze and Skye can see (Y/n)'s love and worry reflected there, along with pain.

"What am I supposed to do?" Skye asks.

"I made the casts from compression microfibers to help contain the shaking, minimize the damage," Simmons leans forward and (Y/n) narrows her eyes angrily.

"That's not what she means, Simmons," May says before she focuses her gaze gently on Skye. "We'll figure this out, Skye."

. . .

(Y/n) lies down on Skye's stomach, letting out soft kitten purrs that sooth Skye back to sleep, her bruised fingers gently brushing (Y/n)'s orange fur.

(Y/n) had realized that when using her powers, it was more helpful if she knew a lot about the animal she was going to change into.

. . .

"Well, the bruising has started to fade," Simmons says, looking at Skye's arm. (Y/n) is sitting close to Skye, (Y/n)'s fractured wrist resting on Skye's lower thigh, rubbing it with a thumb. "though I'm afraid these stress fractures will take a bit more time to heal."

"Great. Tried to go Zen to keep my powers in check only to find myself -" Skye lets out a soft yelp as he tries to pull her 'casts' back onto her arms "- back on the D.L."

"The down low?" both (Y/n) and Fitz ask in unison.

"The disabled list," Skye says, nudging (Y/n) with a knee.

"Oh, yeah," (Y/n) says, looking a little embarrassed.

"That makes more sense," Fitz agrees

"Yeah, and now I'm all . . . " Skye studies her bruised hands.

"You know, it could just be growing pains - from the new powers," Fitz says, trying to reassure Skye.

"It's okay, Fitz," Skye says, gently closing her fists. "You don't have to put a positive spin on this."

"I'm not doing that. I would never patronize the -" the three women look up at him. "Well, the - Things change, that's what I'm saying. So, maybe if you can learn to control this, then . . . You could have Avengers-level powers," Fitz says, looking at Skye. "Something like Captain America, even."

"I'd say more Thor-ish powers," (Y/n) corrects. "Thor's the God of Thunder. Tremors got, well, tremors. Both elemental based powers."

"I think it best we keep in mind the destructive capabilities of Skye's powers," Simmons says. "If there is an Avengers equivalent, right now, I'm afraid it's the Hulk."

(Y/n) turns her gaze on Simmons, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, Hulk saved the world, last I checked," Fitz says.

"You're absolutely right," Simmons agrees. "But given the choice, I believe Bruce Banner would not hesitate to cure himself once and for all."

"Actually," (Y/n) says, meeting Simmons's gaze. "Bruce is  trying to find out a way to make himself and the Hulk the same being. Just because something is powerful, doesn't mean it's dangerous. Steve Rogers, for example, is a super-solder, but he's as gentle as a mouse. People have the capacity to choose who or what they want to be, Simmons."

"Well then, maybe we should be glad that Bruce hasn't tried to cure himself then," Fitz says.

"Oh, Fitz -" Simmons goes to say.

"Don't 'oh, Fitz,' me," Fitz retorts and the BUS begins to shake.

(Y/n) lets her uninjured hand's fingers brush soothingly up and down Skye's arm.

The rumbling stops as Skye fixes her gaze on (Y/n)'s gentle, loving gaze.

"Sorry, Skye. It isn't really about you," Simmons says apologetically.

"I'm pretty sure it is," Skye says, frowning. "We'll go back to our cage," Skye says, sliding out of the the booth, (Y/n) following closely.

Fitz and Simmons watch (Y/n) and Skye closely. They watch as (Y/n)'s uninjured hand brushes one of Skye's bruised hand with a gentleness neither of the two had seen before.

Word Count: 7454 words

Skye / Daisy Johnson Taglist:

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My thoughts on AOT No Requiem (Fanmade Ending) Part 1:

With another chapter of this story coming out soon, I thought now would be a good time to share my thoughts on the first part. Before I do that, though, I have a few things that I would like to get off my chest.

A part of me hates that this project exists. Not because I find it disrespectful, but because it serves as a bitter reminder of what a complete mess this ending caused among many fans. I'm still in disbelief how things got so bad so quickly. First, you've got the people who hated it. People began turning on Isayama and calling him a terrible or incompetent writer, regretting ever getting into the series, insisting that it was worse than Game of Thrones, the list goes on and on. People who liked the ending are now endlessly referred to as "ending defenders" or more crude names like "Isayama cockriders," as though they're a bunch of incompetent fools who don't know the first thing about reading comprehension all because they just happened to like it. And then of course you've got the other extreme end of the spectrum where the ones who were disappointed are accused of not understanding the story or they're only upset because their favorite ship or fan theory didn't become canon. This, too, is very demeaning and invalidating for those who grew up with this series that they gave their heart to and cherished for so long, only to have it do what they felt was a complete 180 at the very last second that undid every part of the story they thought was special and unique. It's one of the hardest slaps to the face you can get as a reader and long-time fan, and while I can't fully relate to everyone's feelings, I can at least understand and acknowledge that it's there and it shouldn't be laughed at. Now with all of that out of the way, here are my thoughts and analysis of this fanmade ending and how it differs from Isayama's.

To start things off, I found that part 1 started off similar to how 137 did in the canon manga, with Armin and Zeke conversing in PATHS. The biggest difference would be kid Eren being transported there and seeing his older self. To be fair though, this chapter was only about half the length of what we're used to reading, so I'm sure we'll get a lot more in part 2 onwards.

While Zeke is enlightening Armin on the history of the earth and how the life form that attached itself to Ymir sought to avoid death forever, young Eren is in PATHS too with his older self, witnessing the moment Ymir found the tree and fell in it to become the first titan. At first, there is no dialogue exchanged between them. They just hold hands and watch. Meanwhile, Zeke is still talking to Armin about Ymir and how she continued to serve her oppressive master despite acquiring godlike powers that would allow her to obliterate him whenever she pleased. This is where the team working on this project attempt to provide their own alternate possibilities as to why this happened in a way that would make more sense than what we were given in the canon story in which she simply had a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome and couldn't let him go no matter how much he made her suffer.

So what are these new possibilities? They come in the form of a question, so their validity is not made absolutely certain, but they're presented as the most likely candidates nonetheless.

According to Zeke, she was unable to separate her own desires from King Fritz and was a lost girl who sought meaning. A place to belong. Tragically, King Fritz was the only connection she had in her life, so she clung to it with everything she had despite it being toxic and abusive. I could argue that these are the very reasons why she supposedly loved the king in the official manga, as explained by Eren in 139, but they weren't explained or touched on as plainly as they were here. I feel like they could have been if Isayama had just been given more time, but sadly the whole thing was rushed and underdeveloped.

Moving on, Zeke states that despite his efforts in trying to understand Ymir and her feelings, it was Eren who ultimately was able to get to her and offer her the choice of freedom. The next page transitions to young Eren standing in the clouds with his arms spread out and a smile on his face just like in the official 137, only this time 19yo Eren is next to him. Now I'm going to be honest here, this is where things started to get a little corny for me. Yeah. I know a lot of people hate that argument, but that's just how it felt to me. And before I say anything else, I want everybody to know that I am in no way about to mock anyone's fondness of this Eren over the one we saw in 139, even if it was a little over-the-top. It's perfectly fine to prefer one over the other, I'm just going to try to explain myself the best I can without coming across as harsh or unprofessional.

Eren is drawn in these panels to be a stone-faced, determined and unstoppable force who will "keep moving forward until his enemies are destroyed." This is the Eren that many people grew most familiar with throughout the series, despite his occasional breakdowns, but something about the way it was executed just felt a little too overdramatic and exaggerated. For me, the contrast between this Eren and the Eren we were presented with in 139 is too jarring. It came across to me as the fandom's idealized version of Eren, the "chad" Eren if you will, rather than Isayama's portrayal of Eren who is cold and determined, but has also been experiencing stunted mental growth ever since the day he saw his mother get eaten; side note: I know that Eren himself was responsible for his mother's death, but that's a discussion for a later time. Not only that, but the "keep moving forward" line starts to get overused at this point. We already heard Eren say this a number of times before 137 where this first fanmade chapter takes place, so I didn't find it necessary to include that at the end, but it seemed to be the writers' way of trying to reinforce Eren's ultimate goal.

Regarding the rest of the chapter, young Eren asks older Eren what Ymir is still waiting for after he showed her that she's not alone. 19yo Eren proceeds to explain that while he was able to make her feel something again, she still needs somebody to free her. He shows his younger self all of the visions from PATHS that he's seen so far, ranging from past events to alternate realities to things that couldn't be changed no matter what. Now there is only one path left that he strives toward. The one that he believes will grant him and his people freedom. This next line is the one that stood out to me the most throughout this fanmade chapter. Still talking to kid Eren, adult Eren says, "When you wake up, you will forget what you learned, but not what you felt here. This will all feel just like a long dream." Only when he kisses Historia's hand will it all come back to him. This line more clearly explains why Eren woke up crying in chapter 1, but couldn't remember why. Then he circles back to how he intends to carry out his own plan to end the cycle of hatred once and for all. Despite his efforts along the way, he couldn't change the flow of PATHS and save the friends he lost or prevent certain events from happening altogether, so he had to accept that sacrifices had to be made. In this case, he will have to literally sacrifice the world, much to Armin's horror.

To wrap this up, I'm going to finish comparing this to the canon 137, but since the first part of this project only covers the PATHS portion of it, that's where I'll stop as well. To save a little but of time, I'm just gonna be lazy and copy the first part of a quick overview of the chapter I found as part of the wiki:

So clearly, canon 137 starts off focusing a lot more on Armin and Zeke's differing philosophies and does not provide any further insight into Eren's ultimate motives like this one does, at least not yet. Armin and Eren are bound to face off soon in this fanmade version, but it looks to me like this time the writers are planning on flipping the outcome and having Eren come out victorious instead, especially when I remember the name of this project and what it's based on. I guess that means that in a way, I already know what's ultimately going to happen throughout the rest of this project. Whether it's going to be considered superior to the actual ending is going to depend on if its executed properly. I could very well be wrong about some of this, though. I want to give it a fair shot since these people have clearly put a lot of hard work and passion into this, so I will refrain from further judgement until we get the full picture. On a side note, I just want to say that the artwork is beautiful so far and I commend every artist responsible for their efforts. I also liked the song choice at the beginning and thought it set the mood pretty well.

Thank you to everyone who read the whole thing. This took me far longer to write than it should have because I'm not always good at expressing myself in a way that does not come across as confusing or contradictory. I will continue to share my thoughts as more content is released, which by the looks of it could be any day now.