#and I might edit later but I wanted it out

[dduane]

Just a local update

For those who'll be wanting to know how I'm doing: I think right now the line from The Right Stuff is probably apropos. I'm "maintaining an even strain."

I sort of have no choice, because there's a lot of bureaucratic stuff surrounding Peter's loss that has to be dealt with, and there's not really anyone else to fall back on: in terms of local legalities; this burden falls on me. (shrug) So, I'm keepin' on keepin' on. It's not easy, when half your world has ended: but there's nothing else to do.

Just repeating the news that I just edited into the original post about all this: the "funeral expenses" issue is now handled.

And I want to thank EVERYBODY who so incredibly generously has stepped up to assist. You are all, every one of you, in my heart right now... not least due to the many, many kind things you've had to say about Peter. Current events mean I'm going to be backed up on the thank-yous for some days yet. Please bear with me.

For those who feel inclined, the Ko-Fi account here is open as usual for those who might simply want to drop something into the pot tagged "GNU Peter Morwood."* I'm looking into his notes about his preferred charities so that I can split all such donations in those directions. (For example, P. lost a beloved cousin to childhood leukemia, so I'm looking around for appropriate cancer charities. ...But more of that later.)

In local issues: I'm still waiting for word from the coroner as to when Peter's post-mortem will be happening. (I had hoped it might be today, but there's no news yet.) Not much to be said about this except that the sooner that's all handled and resolved, the happier I'll be. Then other adjacent issues can start being dealt with.

At the physical end: I haven't been sleeping terribly well, but that's probably no surprise. My appetite has been almost nonexistent, but that at least is very slowly starting to recover (to the point where at least food is no longer a source of "no interest whatsoever" or of active distaste). Right now it seems I get better results from eating out instead of cooking in: so that's the way things will go in the very short term.

But for now, pretty much all I can do is sit tight, try to keep household business from getting out of hand (why does it suddenly take so much energy just to do the dishes? ...like I don't know perfectly well why), and wait for Forces Beyond My Control to get moving.

Meanwhile, let me take a moment here to thank everybody who's expressed concern about the state of my wellbeing (and that at a time when I care a whole lot less about it than usual). It's heartening, and I very much appreciate it. I promise to do my best to do right by myself, on all of your behalf. (Behalfs? Behalves? Pfft.)

Thanks again, everybody. —D.

*People are also reminding me that the financial health of the household's still-living member in the immediate future is also an issue here. 😏 Heaven forbid I should argue the point. If you want, tag such donations as "DD" and I'll note that. ...And thanks again, all. I can always count on y'all to look after me. ❤️

[clockwayswrites]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton Chapter 3, Part 2

masterpost (pls no editing or concrit, my words have been a mess but I'm trying!)

Dick took the corners of the halls at reckless speeds, careening around the corners in a way that only his Robin training saved him from smashing into walls. Speed was more important than safety.

Wally might be here.

“Verdict?” Dick heard Gar ask.

“Your vegan macaroons get a ten from me, could eat way too many,” a voice that Dick didn’t know said. “Though I still don’t get why you’re feeding me.”

“Dude, your heart stopped a few days ago. Cookies are in order after something like that!”

Who’s heart stopped?

Why?

Dick made himself to slow down a little from his panicked sprint as he entered the room. He scanned the space instantly: Victor, Raven, Gar, and the mystery person all settled on the couch. The news played silently on the TV.

“N.” Cyborg set the device he had been fiddling with down and stood. “This is Danny.”

Danny stood and spun around. He almost looked like he could have been an early Wayne with the black hair and blue eyes and weight he carried on his shoulders. “Flash sent me here. He said to tell you that you’re a ‘real dick’, but he said it fondly or like it was a joke!”

“Yeah,” Dick choked out. Even though Victor had told Dick the message, it still took him out at the knees to hear it from this stranger. “He would have.”

“I don’t know why that phrase works on all of you, but, I, um,” Danny grabbed a spiral bound book off the coffee table. “I also have a drawing I did of him after the first time that I got to see him clearly, if that also adds to what I’m saying. It’s him without his mask.”

Dick was torn between rushing over or going slowly in case that the image shattered their hope. He was there before he had decided how to proceed, taking the sketchbook.

Wally stared back at him from the page.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Danny asked, voice almost impossibly gentle. “He says he’s trapped in something called the Speed Force.”

“It’s him,” Dick said after clearing his throat. It didn’t help the mixed feeling of tears and relief clogged there. He brushed his fingers over the dotted freckles of the drawing. “And he would get trapped by his own powers. Idiot.”

“Why don’t all sit down!” Gar said with forced cheer and a clap of his hands. “Danny can explain things now that you’re here and then we can figure out how to rescue W—Flash!”

“I even have drinks, since someone abandoned me as soon as he had cookies,” Donna said with a pointed look towards Gar as she entered from the direction of the kitchen. She passed out the armful of sodas to everyone as they sat back down. When she got to Dick, she took the drawing from his hands (he resisted the urge to grab it back) and replaced it with a ginger ale.

It was the same drink Danny had gotten.

“Explain from the start. From before Flash,” Raven instructed, which sounded foreboding.

Danny turned the drink between his palms. “Like I said, I’m a psychopomp. Ghosts and I—death and I have a pretty close relationship with each other. Have since I was fourteen and I sorta died in an accident in my parent’s lab, which I really don’t want to get into. But they’re ectobiologists, they study ghosts.”

“And one lab accident later you can talk to them?” Victor said. “Sure you’re not a superhero?”

“You joke, but I was, at least as far as my home town is concerned. Seems to come with having a fucked up lab accident, you know?” Danny asked, his smile crooked.

“Yeah,” Victor rumbled. “I know.”

“Anyways, I was never anything big, and I’m okay with that. It doesn’t really matter now anyways, dying comes with a pretty limited lifespan for a superhero sort of body,” Danny said with a wave, as if that would be the end of that conversation. “But the talking to ghosts stuck around.

“Outside of my home town, most haunted place in America, they’re pretty quiet and pretty incorporeal. They don’t bother me often, but sometimes there’s one strong enough that needs help moving on—willing or not. It’s usually not a problem to do it around my work and college, but then your Flash shows up and he’s not like the other ghosts.”

“How quickly could you tell that?” Donna asked.

“Pretty much instantly. He feels like… you know when you’d put a hand up against an old TV or CRT monitor? And you could feel that static hum? He feels like that,” Danny explained. “I couldn’t see him or communicate with him either. There was no sort of… Ancients this is hard to explain. There was no resonating vibe with him. It didn’t—doesn’t mean that he’s not dead, though he’s sure he’s not, but I knew he wasn’t a normal ghost right away. And that was before the seizures.”

Nightwing rested his head against the cold can of ginger ale. “…the seizures?”

Danny hummed. “Whenever Flash gets too close—touches me, I think—I have a seizure.”

“Dude! And that doesn’t concern you?” Gar shouted, bits of macaroons flying.

And Danny just shrugged, like it didn’t! “Well, I mean, I’ve already died? Twice. Well, three times now if my heart stopping counts.”

“Yeah,”Dick mumbled, “I think that counts.”

“Anyways,” Danny continued guilelessly, “the seizures basically put me in a state where I could have contact with Flash. I could see him, at least. There were only a few anyway before I tried the tea. The tea worked enough for me to talk to him. He gave me the messages, and now I’m here.”

Victor leaned forward. “I want you to take us through what Flash told you as best as you can remember.”

“And I want to know what was in that tea,” Raven said.

“And I want to know if you have your medication!” Gar chirped. Everyone turned to him and he deflated a little. But he continued gamely on as he always did, “Dude still has a hospital bracelet on! He might have come right here. See! Look at that face! He came right here.”

Danny did look pretty guilty with how he was rubbing at the back of his neck and pointedly wasn’t looking at any of them.

Dick sighed. He might not have Wally right then, but it did seem like he had another overly thoughtful idiot to look after in the mean time. “Did you come right here?”

“I had to let you know about Flash!” Danny said. “I know how long he’s been hanging around me and who knows how long it took him to find me. You all have to be worried.”

“Your medication?” Dick asked.

“It’s being filled?”

“Right. We can have Kori grab it on her way. She was finishing a thing up with the Outlaws,” Victor said. “We’ll just need your full name, birthday, and pharmacy where it’s being filled.”

Danny took a long breath and then took a decisive nod. “Right. I can do that. And then I’ll call Miss Wilhelmina Aleshire, so brace yourself for that.”

[jumalanpelko]

Sweats in I might make another comic oh lord

This is mostly me thinking out loud (or. Thinking in a tumblr post.)

But yeah some of you already know that I am also a indie book author and I am writing a book series in Finnish. It is called Katastrofiballadi and it has 3 books at this point

Yes those are humans you are seeing lmao yes I dont only draw cats

Lately writing has been. A lot. Mostly cause I am going to school and making Jumalanpelko and have a very annoying cat who loves to scream and make writing not possible. Writing the last book was painful and publishing sucked ass (books got lost ect).

Also I just dont have that many readers for it (1. Its not easy to get people to read indie books 2. Finland is a tiny fucking place) and as much as i am writing for myself and my friends it does make it bot very fun to work on it

And making Jumalanpelko has really made me fall in love with comics. They are just much easier for me to make and I love this story, it is very important for me.

Soooooooooooooo I might just. Comic this bitch. Make it both in Finnish and in English. I am not saying I will 100% do it or that I won't finish writing the books. Just really want to look for a way to do what I love.

Now let me tell you THIS STORY IS WEIRD

It is satire, it takes place in fictional Finland where the country has broken into city states and IT IS WEIRD LMAO

I would have to edit it a lot to make it into comic (mostly the first books since I was still very young when I wrote them and they are long) buuuut it could honestly be worth it

I will think about it and most likely post some stuff on patreon. If Im making it a comic that would maybe force me to move Ruotola as a comic I would do later ect but we will see!

[pinstripe-wings]

Thank you @diblmetta for putting the image of Tfa Blurr ending up in the Backrooms into my mind. The idea wouldn’t leave me, so I typed on my phone like a madman throughout the day and just finished writing this. Had a lot of fun too.

So, here’s Part One of who knows how many of Blurr in the Backrooms (and maybe later on, some other liminal spaces).

Note 1: Basing the Backrooms in these posts mainly off of Kane Pixels’ videos of the Backrooms, (but with some monsters tossed in now and again like this first part that didn’t happen in his first two vids). The plan is to have Blurr in isolation mainly, with his unsettling exploration of the unnatural spaces while wondering if or when something or someone will pop up, (until I eventually change up to liminal spaces like pools, the houses on the green field, places that should be occupied but aren’t, etc)

Note 2: I’m planning to edit each of these parts later to maybe slap on ao3, as the notes I’ve made for this in such a little amount of time will take awhile to go through. But that’s okay; I’ve been wanting to write something with tfa Blurr in it, and hey, love me the Backrooms as well as other unsettling liminal spaces. Warnings: none I can think of other than: general Backrooms uneasiness, Blurr slowly panicking when he can’t get out, a creature that seems a bit familiar that shows up to chase Blurr further into the Backrooms, and an implied injury.

Okay, with all that said, on with part 1:

-

Fear and adrenaline fueled Blurr’s racing form as he sped along past his breaking point, desperate to get away with this important new knowledge of an enemy spy deeply embedded within their ranks amid sensitive data. 

He had to escape.

Blurr nearly swerved away from a closed off corridor, and spun a 180 to shoot through another doorway that nearly closed off on him.

He a step closer to escape. 

But Longarm knew Blurr well at this point after working together. Which meant that Shockwave knew that Blurr would try to outrun him; the Decepticon spy must have a way to corner him, as it had to have occurred to Shockwave that Blurr might be the first one to discover his true nature. 

That strategy appeared to be slamming down doors to block the halls and corridors, leading Blurr…somewhere.

Not good.

Being led somewhere by an enemy was not good.

Blurr pushed his frame to go a little faster than before as he careened around a corner and down a longer hall.

A door slammed shut behind him.

Then another. 

Up ahead, Blurr could see that a larger blast door was slowly being lowered.

On purpose.

It was as if Shockwave was taunting him; taunting Blurr to try and get past before the blast door closed, with Blurr being the ‘fastest’ mech on Cybertron. He couldn’t become trapped here, Blurr had to-

The agent’s comms suddenly blared with discordant, incredibly disorienting static as the corridor’s lights began to flash and flicker, seemingly at random.

What was Shockwave doing-

Blurr pitched forward and to the side as he was struck by sudden vertigo, prepared to meet the door that had just sealed right before his speeding frame, taking his freedom away in an instant. Blurr’s optics closed, braced for impact. Even stumbling, the speed he was going meant he was in for a rough battering, and then he would be helplessness to whatever Shockwave had planned next once the agent had been cornered.

It didn’t quite happen how Blurr anticipated. 

The stumble and fall kept going on much further than the wall he was supposed to hit face-first. All at once, Blurr collapsed onto a flat surface, everything silent around him.

No alarms.

No more slamming doors.

No taunts from Shockwave. 

Blurr lie prone for a time, processing the fact that he’d taken little to no damage.

It was eerily silent. 

Too silent. 

Blurr maneuvered himself up onto armored elbows, taking in his immediate surroundings with a great deal of confusion. 

Yellow.

Faded yellow.

Shaded yellow in the shadows cast.

Blurr reset his optics, but the sight that greeted him was the same as before. 

Yellow walls with white lights overhead. There were walls of various shapes and sizes sprawling out in either direction. 

Unsettlingly unnatural. 

There was even a wall that ended in another wall, for no reason that made any sense.

Blurr carefully rose to his pedes, arms raised a bit with his servo curled, optic ridges furrowing as Blurr’s helm swung this way and that. 

Where was he?

What had Shockwave done to him?

Blurr nervously fidgeted his fingers together as he stood in place, uncertain what to do about this unexpected situation. Taking in a vent, Blurr slowed his racing processor as best he could, struggling to not just bolt in one direction as quickly as possible in this strange place, just to get away.

First things first. 

Comms. 

Blurr had to try his comms and-

Nothing. 

Nothing but static, no matter who Blurr attempted to contact. 

Was this Shockwave’s doing or was it this place that was responsible?

Blurr cast a wary look around, but nothing appeared to be nearby, which meant no change in his immediate surroundings.

Okay then.

Next step, gather intel.

Blurr needed to know more about this place, if he was going to get out of it, and without Shockwave catching him on the way out. Shoulders rising and falling, Blurr let his arms drop down to hang at his side as he reluctantly began to walk in one direction. The agent forced himself to walk at a slower than normal pace, as much as Blurr was jittery and ready to just go speed off in hopes he’d find the exit faster. 

Intel.

Okay.

Right

Yellow walls. 

Yellow toned walls that were slightly different material, which a new wall just started in the middle of this one. It was on his left, and formed a narrow hall that appeared to be a dead end. To Blurr’s right, there was a wall that made a U-shape that had no purpose, as far as he could see. Before him, there was open space, and a doorway to go through.

Odd.

Blurr stooped to get through the open doorway, only to pause.

Oh, another a dead end.

This was fine. 

Blurr was gathering intel, and there were many other areas to investigate. Surely the longer he explored this place lit with buzzing square lights overhead, the more likely he’d begin to find the exits?

Right?

Right. 

It wasn’t like he was trapped or anything. 

No, that couldn’t be, especially if this was Shockwave’s doing. There’d have to be some way for the Decepticon spy to get to Blurr, which meant that there was an exit of some kind.

Right?

Yes.

Yes, that made sense. 

He could do this. 

Blurr could do this.

All he had to do was figure this out he wasn’t worried there was nothing to worry about he’d be fine he’d been on trickier missions than this and it had been all right in the end and so this would end well too Blurr was going to be able to pass along the information that there’d been a Decepticon spy in their midst after all and Blurr would be able to make sure that no one else was going to get trapped or picked off by Shockwave-

Blurr stopped when he came to another dead end of the similar-looking walls; with a frustrated vent, he turned around and went in the opposite direction.

More of the same yellow walls, and the unnatural buzzing static interfering with his comms from the square lights from overhead. 

Another dead end. 

Blurr tried again.

And again.

Each time he thought he found a way further from where he started (marked by scuffed up ground where he’d clattered hard into it with his armor) there was always a dead end, or a line of walls making up a small hallway leading him back to a place he’d already explored before. 

…this was ridiculous. 

How big could this place even be?

Blurr allowed himself to move at a quicker pace. 

It wasn’t urgent.

It wasn’t.

Blurr wasn’t racing along at breakneck speed yet.

(Where was the way out wasn’t there a way out?)

After a few more times circling back into the same area, Blurr let out a frustrated groan and leaned backward into the nearest wall. Blurr would be happy to not see a yellow wall once he was out of this place. How long had he been here, anyway? Blurr checked his chonometer, kicking up a heel to move his wheel back and forth in thoughtful confusion. 

What felt like hours had only been 15 minutes. 

How was that even possible? Did time pass differently in this place?

Blurr definitely needed to gather more information and get out before-

An odd noise hissed, loud in the silence.

Blurr perked up, turning up his audials to see where that sound had come from. 

The hissing turned into a metallic-sounding screeching groan, garbled with no discernible words, and accompanied by uneven steps that almost seemed to drag along. 

Blurr tensed, ready to launch himself in the opposite direction of whatever was approaching him, should it turn out to be hostile. 

Had Shockwave sent something after him?

Time came to a standstill as some strange creature rounded a corner, its body distorted and leaning to one side from its middle, cords and wires dangling off of it and possibly even plugged into its body. Sharp tangles of metal bunched down along two arm-like appendages which ended in several long sharp claws that came out from big metal palms. There were two solid, strong trunks of metal legs ending in two big sharp metal claws that dug into the floor below with each step. 

Blurr thought he might have had a small processor crash from the sight because the strange being was suddenly closer, half turned away, and for good reason.

It had no optics in its helm; just an indentation.

A sturdy rectangular frame was attached to the arms and legs, tapering thinner near each limb; its back was full of metal spikes that jutted out along its back, wires and cords were gathered just beneath its neck, cascading down along the back of its frame to trail along the floor in the being’s wake. The neck was long and wired, giving it an even more distorted look on such a bulky body. The head was rectangular in its length, and squared on either end, attached to the neck facing one square side forward by more wires and metal that bundled together in a grotesque way. On either side of the ‘head’ looked like horns or antlers with metal spikes spiraling off of them. 

Blurr took a few quick steps back and to the side. This was, unfortunately, a mistake as the creature suddenly swung its strange helm toward him. 

A deep crimson light flared to life within the previously assumed empty optic area as a distorted wailing scream sounded, and metal scraping upon metal saw the creature surged its metal, wire-laden body toward Blurr. It charge at a terrifying speed that shouldn’t have been possible. 

But Blurr was already gone, already having gone down several corridors by then, more frantic than before to locate an exit. No matter where he went, however, Blurr couldn’t loose his pursuer. 

Quiet. 

Loud. 

Far. 

Near.

It didn’t matter the distance. 

The creature had fixated upon Blurr, had narrowly cornered him a few times, and it was only thanks to his lithe agility to move that Blurr avoided those grasping claws and flailing wires. 

Blurr ran. He didn’t stop, not even when his engine began to overheat in response to his growing panic and the speed which he maintained. 

Had to get away had to find an exit don’t get caught don’t look back it’s right there no it’s another dead end no wait there’s something there it’s something different what is it what-

Blurr barely had time to swerve sharply off to one side before he ended up falling down a random open space cut into the floor, where he couldn’t even see the bottom of it. 

What to do what to do. 

The creature drew closer, screeching its eerie cries as it approached with its arms of thick iron and tangled wires around held out toward Blurr, the clawed hands, the palms, outstretched in a weirdly beseeching way. 

Blurr’s frame rose and fell as he heaved shuddering vents.  Should he jump down the large hole in the ground, and see if he ended up where he was before when he first ended up in this place? Or should Blurr remain where he was, and find out if he could take down this larger metal and wire covered creature, its limbs outstretched to him, that single bright red light seemingly boring directly into him?

A sound that may have been Blurr’s name rattled out from the creature as it approached.

Blurr didn’t hesitate. He threw himself toward the left side of the giant square hole in the ground, just as the creature lunged at him a wire snapped around his knee, yanking him backward. Blurr frantically attempted to kick free (his weapons…he couldn’t get them to work…it was like they were jammed). 

The creature gave another cry, different in pitch than before. It then attempted to pull Blurr backward, away from the hole in the floor and however far a drop it was. The wire tightened firmly around his left leg, as if the creature somehow sensed Blurr’s desire to run. The wire gave Blurr’s leg another light tug backward.

No.

Nope.

Blurr didn’t want to find out what this being would do to him if he let it corner him properly. The agent kicked his pedes at the ground; the wire loosened at the motion. Blurr swung an arm forward to grip the very edge of the hole, digits hooking in tightly. Using his other arm to shove at the ground, Blurr successfully kicked his leg free, but winced as something audibly crumpled in his left knee as a result as the wire let go. But he couldn’t think of what that minor flare of pain could mean, as Blurr used his right pede to kick off the floor. With a graceful flip, the agent angled his frame over into the hole in the floor. Blurr quickly let go of the edge to allow himself to fall.

An alarmed noise of static garble rang out, along with a slithering that brought to mind the wires.

Something slid along the top of Blurr’s helm, past the flared out part if it. Nothing seized him.

Blurr continued to fall.

A quick peek up showed a bright optic watching Blurr as he fell. For a moment, it almost looked like the red optic was getting closer. Blurr’s vision briefly went dark as a rushing sound of static passed him by, along with a wind that was there but not. All at once, Blurr found himself tumbling out from the yellow space he’d been trapped within, and into another large, less yellow room. Blurr sprawled out on his back, his gaze snapping back up at a giant hole in the ceiling. 

A giant hole in the ceiling with a red glow that was rapidly growing closer the longer Blurr stared up at it. 

That metal and wired creature from before was climbing down the hole.

Why was it following him?

Blurr scrambled to his pedes despite the exhaustion running throughout his frame and most of his struts, as well as the ache that lingered in his left knee joint. Blurr quickly moved across the distressingly large open space, and squeezed his frame through a half open door that was on the other side of the room, which seemed partially blocked on the other side. Blurr twisted away from the half open door, only to let out a strangled vent over the sight of a clawed palm (servo?) reaching through the opening after him. Unable to reach Blurr, the large metal claws dripped to scrape sideways along the doorframe before retreating. A crimson glow replaced the claws as the single optic settled on Blurr, the glow brightening. 

A mournful sounding static cry rose from the creature. 

Blurr was already running over to a ledge and leapt up to grasp the end, using his right pede to brace agaisnt the wall as he went over the opening in the wall.

A shattering of a wooden door, along with metal grinding and the same echoing cry, the creature continued to follow Blurr.

The agent didn’t look back; he continued to move swiftly along despite the ache growing in his left knee joint. Blurr turned through the distressingly open rooms to go through odd holes in the walls, or long corridors that went at a 45 degree angle downward, only to go through another open doorway.

Then another. 

And another.

Blurr’s pursuer fell behind, until the creature could no longer be heard with its mournful dirge of a voice without words. It may not be gone, but the agent was sure he could put some more space between himself and the creature. Blurr wearily through two more open doorways, one an arch, before he hefted himself up what would have been a steep opening higher up in a wall directly to his right. Once Blurr was through the window-shaped opening, he dropped down a bit farther than anticipated. He landed on his left leg, causing his knee joint buck in protest. Blurr went backward, flailing in an attempt to right himself, only to trip and fall over, landing down hard on his aft. 

This was getting ridiculous.

What was this place?

Releasing a quick vent, Blurr leaned into the wall nearest him to look through an elevated square hole in the wall at optical level. There was another room that looked exactly like the one Blurr just came from, but this one had more open space, less yellow than before, and less lights in the ceiling.

There was also a single lamp in the middle of the room. The object was much smaller than Blurr thought it would be. Now that he was no longer running, Blurr could once again turn up his audials in an effort to try and figure out if he was one, being chased, or two, be able to hear the sound of the outdoors, and therefore, an exit.

All there was, was an unsettling silence.

All Blurr could hear were his own vents, and if he listened closely, the humming of the lights in the room’s ceiling. The agent’s spark clenched with an uneasy feeling as he debated his next move.

What exactly…was going on here?

Where was he?

-

end pt 1

-

Three guesses as to who the creature is (note-it’s not the Shockwave that saw Blurr vanish from being trapped and smooshed into a cube). The wire and metal creature will come back at some point in a later part.

When I get around to part 2 of this, it will focus on the isolation of wandering the weird architecture of the Backrooms, and the way it can get into one’s head and make one question their reality.

[daisybeats]

This is the first draft of chapter 1 of Shattered and Bound

As you can read below, things really change as I begin editing a story. Somehow the chapter below turned into the first official chapter of Shattered and Bound

They don’t talk about Beacon Hills.

Not anymore.

Not since it stopped being a town and became a graveyard.

It happened fast. One bad call. One shadow that was too quiet, too clever. The Nogitsune slithered its way into Stiles - more insidious, more patient than anyone had expected. And when it finally made its move, it didn’t want chaos.

It wanted ruin.

Allison’s death was the matchstick.

Scott was the wildfire.

Something snapped in him when she died. The True Alpha, the golden boy, he broke. Fell into something primal and brutal, and never climbed back out. He didn’t see nuance anymore, didn’t ask questions. Just hunted.

He said Stiles was still infected. Said he smelled wrong. Said it was his fault.

Noah Stilinski stepped between them.

He always had.

The sheriff died with his badge on. Protecting his son from a boy he once trusted like family.

By the time Derek got there, there was nothing left to save but Stiles - and even that was a miracle stitched together with blood and panic. He found him crumpled on the floor, a broken sound clawing its way out of his throat as he clutched his father’s body. The smell of wolf and gunpowder and grief hung thick in the air.

Derek didn’t remember moving. Just teeth. Fury. A scream that sounded more like a roar. He drove Scott back long enough to get Stiles out, dragging him through backroads and ash and silence.

Lydia’s scream came later.

The kind that cracked windows. That turned her eyes white and her mind inside out. She hasn't spoken since. Not to anyone.

Eichen House took her. There weren’t any better options.

Beacon Hills was abandoned piece by piece after that. The pack disbanded. Some died. Some vanished. Some turned their backs and never looked back.

But Derek stayed.

And so did Stiles.

Not in the town. Not in the memories.

But in the war that came after.

Because the supernatural world didn’t stop spinning just because theirs had burned.

They became something else.

Not pack. Not hunters.

Enforcers. Negotiators. Executioners.

Partners.

A bruised, fractured thing held together by shared scars and the vow neither of them ever said aloud: never again.

And when Derek looks at Stiles now…sees the shadows under his eyes, the way he walks like the world might shatter if he breathes wrong, he remembers that night. Remembers the blood. The loss. The thing that bonded them deeper than a bite ever could.

It’s not love.

Not yet.

It’s something darker. Older.

It’s survival.

It’s loyalty.

And it’s not going anywhere.

~~~~

Flashback 

It was raining.

Because of course it was. The sky wept as the world burned.

Derek’s boots pounded through the mud, his heartbeat a thunderous echo in his ears. He smelled blood. Wolf. Gunpowder. Grief. Stiles.

He was too late.

He was always too late.

But not this time. Not this time.

He came around the corner of the sheriff’s station, claws already out, fangs bared, vision going red. The front doors were torn off the hinges, windows shattered. A broken line of bullet casings led inside. It smelled like scorched wood and grief.

And Scott.

He was standing over Stiles; no longer the boy they all once loved. His eyes glowed that blinding, feral red, claws dripping, face twisted with something beyond rage. Something lost.

Stiles was on the floor, bleeding from his side, trying to crawl toward a body.

No.

No, no, no.

Derek's stomach dropped as he saw Noah Stilinski lying in a heap of broken tan fabric and red, red blood, eyes staring at nothing.

“It’s his fault!” Scott snarled. “He brought it here - he let it in! He killed her!”

Derek didn’t think.

He launched.

The collision cracked through the station like a bomb. Wood splintered, metal shrieked. Derek slammed Scott into the far wall, claws digging deep. They grappled, teeth snapping, both howling like animals. Derek wasn’t fighting a friend; he was fighting a monster wearing Scott’s face.

Stiles screamed something behind them, but Derek didn’t hear. He couldn’t.

Scott roared, breaking Derek’s grip, slashing at his ribs. Pain bloomed, but it didn’t matter. Derek used the momentum to drive Scott through a desk, snarling in his face.

“He’s human,” Derek growled, voice almost lost to the shift. “You touch him again - and I will fucking kill you.”

For a second, something flickered in Scott’s eyes. Recognition. Confusion.

Then he blinked - and bolted, crashing through a window and into the storm outside.

Gone.

Just like that.

Silence fell.

Derek turned, heart in his throat, and dropped to his knees beside Stiles.

“Stiles,” he breathed. “Hey. Hey. Stay with me.”

Stiles wasn’t looking at him. He was staring at his dad’s body, lips moving silently. Derek’s hands hovered uselessly - blood everywhere, too much of it - before he finally pressed down on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, grounding himself in instinct, in something.  He pulled as much of Stiles’ pain as he could.

“I couldn’t stop him,” Stiles whispered, hoarse and broken. “He just…he didn’t even hesitate, Derek, he didn’t even-”

“Don’t,” Derek said sharply, voice cracking. “Don’t you dare blame yourself.”

Stiles finally looked at him then…eyes wide, wet, shell shocked.

“He was all I had left.”

“You still have me.”

The words came before Derek could stop them.

They sat there in the wreckage - Stiles shaking, Derek bleeding, Noah’s body cooling inches away - and somehow, even with everything broken, that moment became the foundation of something new.

Something angry.

Something loyal.

Something unshakable.

[nionom-art]

Hello!

I have started the second chapter, still pretty good! 😁 However, I got a bit confused on the classmates, so I have a few questions ...

Marinette seems to like Alya, but what is her reason to trusts Lila to an extent to give her the Cat Miraculous 🐈‍⬛? I mean, she seems as the lesser choice, but still.considers it, why?

It might be adressed, so than, sorry, but Adrien clearly arrives one day later than school starts... Why? (I would have assumed the akumatization, but just 10 min. after his arrival, comes the supervillain...)

How did he conviced Gabriel?Since the late, I would have assumed he wasn't sure to let Adrien go... In cannon he escaped, but here with Messaging Chloé seems intentional. Did he just escaped, but was captured -therefor wasn't the one helping Fu- and his escape convonced Gabe he should go to school, otherwhise, he will escape to it?

How did Lila know Adrien? Or did she just saw him over Chloé's shoulder?😅 (I assume on first day, Chlo did spoke about him... A lot...😅, so thrir friendship is not a secret😅)

From the quartet, I missed Nino (not a problem, these 4 makes sence, I just like him) which made me realised, Nino, Nathaniel and Rose are missing, or at least I gid not saw them... Is it intentional, or just did not put them there, and will appear in the class, they were just not in view?

Not classroom question, but is this true, or a bit of exateration? (In cannon, Scarlet fate🐞 and Dark Grimalkin🐈‍⬛ have fought, at least) If not, how come Tikki even knows about she can purifie the akuma?

That’s a lot of questions- let’s break it down

1. Marinette just made friends with both Alya and Lila in episode 1. She trusts them about equally because she doesn’t know either of them very well yet. Alya is her first pick though because Alya clearly loves super heroes and would probably be a good match.

2. & 3. So with Adrien, pretty much exactly what happens in canon happens here with his arrival (minus him helping/meeting Master Fu). He would try to go to school in Episode 1, be stopped by Nathalie, and ignores Chloe’s texts because he’s upset and being scolded by his dad (doesn’t want to talk about it). He sneaks out and goes to school anyway in episode 2. We’ll get a brief direct rundown of this in the comic in a later update.

4. Chloe bragged to Lila and Marinette in episode 1 about knowing Adrien and how he was going to be in their class. Lila just put two and two together and lied to get Chloe out of the way in that scene (I go into a bit more depth explaining Lila’s emotional state during that scene here)

5. All of those characters will still be in the class, I just didn’t feel like drawing more people than was necessary in the Ivan scenes (so I drew the people with lines + Max).

6. I could have sworn Tikki said something like that in canon. If not, eh, call it a plot hole I guess. I don’t think Tikki would count Dark Grimalkin as a real enemy in the first place, but idk- she’s technically fought him, but kinda not too? Maybe she knows about the purification from the grimoire or Fu. Purifying akumas seems like a pretty specific power ngl, and probably wouldn’t apply to fighting Dark Grimalkin anyway (I wouldn’t really know though, I haven’t watched most of season 5).

Edit: okay, so I re-watched the appropriate scene from that episode. Tikki doesn’t mention if she’s fought against the butterfly holder before or not, so for all we know in canon she has. This is what happens when I play telephone with myself instead of copying down the actual lines from the show (my apologies lol).

[daddyplasmius]

reread edited what currently exists of my DP Wolfwalkers AU fic. here are all my favourite lines in no particular order & lacking context

[nai418]

Wow I wonder what I made this for

[seaofreverie]

A little bit of arts and crafts (54 bracelets).

[sarcasticratsims]

"...you still suck at lying." Roy wants to believe Sam wholeheartedly, but he can't just change his attitude towards someone who's done this much for them based on weak evidence...

|Seasick| | <- Previous : Next ->|

+++| Beginning : Latest |

[shadystranger]

this moment so fucked up💀

[mechazushi]

Insane Dad Lore (Essential Errand)

[Slight Trigger Warning] Verbal Abuse.

[Notes] Sooooo.... change of plans.... Instead of posting the chapters in order even if I get them done out of order, I'm just going to post them as I finish them and then organize them once I port all the chapters to Ao3. Really, the ultimate goal here was to just get all the ideas on (electronic) paper anyway. So I guess ya'll are going to have fun wondering what order these are going to go in, {cuz' I'll be doing the same damn thing ᕙ (° ~ ° ~)}

✼　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　✼

There had been a break in the lore gathering where there wasn't as many an opportunity to try and pry some new childhood history out of Kafka. That didn't mean there wasn't inciting incidents that led to new loose threads. It was after an early morning period of training did such an event arose. Reno and Kafka has just gotten back to barracks after hitting the gym just to come back and find Minase in a state of inconsolable crying. Hakua was sitting next to a tower of shaking blankets placed on the bed, desperately trying to appease the distraught soldier within by patting and rubbing its back as well as whispering words of comfort. She tried to say comforting things at least, but must have accidentally said something to make the crying worse.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Reno tried to ask as they passed through the door.

"I'm not entirely sure? I just caught the tail end of a phone conversation and now she's like this." Hakua told them as she continued to hug the pile of blankets close, "Whatever it was, it sounded pretty distressing."

"Hey, Reno?" Kafka spoke softly down to his friend, not wanting to take his eyes of of their compatriot, "Can you do me a favor and go down to the vending machine and grab a water? I feel like she's going to need it."

Reno nodded quickly and turned back out the doorway, leaving Kafka. He approached Hakua and nodded his head away, silently asking permission to sit on the bed next to Minase. After she moved, Kafka sat down slowly so as to not make the pile of blankets jump. He mimiced Hakua's original position and wrapped his large arm around the tower, Squeezing it close to him as he tried to wrap his other arm around it.

"Heeeyyy, Minase." He said cheerfully, but not loudly, "Looks like you're not having a good go of things, huh?" The covered pile only continued to cry.

"Bad days are no fun, aren't they?" He chuckled in an attempt to brighten the mood, "It's safe to say that there's never going to be a shortage of those. You wanna know what makes me feel better about them though?" He tried to ask the sad menagerie of stolen blankets. It had stopped full on crying and had downgraded to some small sniffles.

"Much like our tears, it can't be raining all the time. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to see the sun!" He smiled brightly as the pile continued to sniff harshly. Eventually, a very red face with pink, tear stained eyes managed to poke her face out from under the blankets.

"Wow, are you corny." Minase said through a mixture of tearful snorts and half-efforted chuckles.

"Got our resident Sun to poke her pretty little head out, didn't it?" Kafka joked back as he gently tugged the edge of the blanket off from around her hair.

She giggled a little in return as she leaned in harder into Kafka's embrace. Seeing Minase in a more relaxed state that what she was in earlier, Hakua took the opportunity to seat herself behind Minase and lean her weight against her back as a show of support. They all took a few minutes of the calm for themselves, just letting their friend take deep soothing breaths and let the last of her tears drain from her eyes. Reno came in after Minase had gotten her heart under control and gladly took the offered water bottle. He had decided to sit on the floor in between Kafka's legs and Minase's.

"Want us to grab anything for you? I think they're selling strawberry ice cream fish cakes in the canteen." Hakua offered as a helpful gesture. Minase's tears almost triggered again as she thought about the offer.

"Sound's great." She said bitterly, "But I think I would rather have my dogs right now."

"Oh, you have dogs?" Reno asked innocently. He started to cringe and think he said something wrong once Minase started to cry again.

"Not for much longer apparently!" She wailed, "I think my horrible step-father is threatening to kill my dogs!" She tried to wipe her tears with the edge of the soiled blanket, but it wasn't very effective.

"Now why would someone do something like that?" Kafka asked, astonished at the thought.

"I don't know! I think he's just always had it out for me since he came into the family!" Minase's tears had slowed, but her sorrowful screams hadn't, "I had them stay with Aunti Mei before I left for the defense force, but apparently her new landlord is evicting the pets at her place, so she had to drop them off back at mom's, but Chase hates me; he's always hated me! And now he's taking it out on my bubbies!"

"Oh, baby…" Hakua said softly as she tried to give Minase a hug from behind.

"I just got off the phone with him, I don't even know how he got my number, but it's just… something he said, or how he said it… I don't know, I just feel like my babies aren't safe anymore!" She began to cry again as Kafka held her even harder, "I can't bring them here! I don't have any other relatives nearby to send them too! I refuse to send them to a shelter! I don't know what to do!"

As she continued to cry again, Reno could see Kafka's expression growing darker and darker. He had tucked Minase's head into his chest as he listened to her woes. Reno started to wonder if maybe it was so she couldn't see the quiet anger building up behind his eyes. Suddenly, like someone had flipped a switch in his head, Kafka donned as soft smile, one that barely managed to hide the softly rolling fury behind his expression. He brought a hand up to gently pat the top of her head. With a clearly sincere tone, Kafka spoke some more sweet words until she stopped crying again. When he could hear the hiccuping had slowed, he pulled her head back and made sure to look her in the eyes.

"Minase, I'm going to tell you this right now. You aren't going to worry your strong heart any longer, ya got me? Nothing is going to hurt your fluffy little friends, okay?" Minase just looked at him with a lot of burning questions in her eyes, but found that she didn't have the strength to say them.

"I wan't to hear you say 'Okay' too." Kafka gently placed both of his hands on either side of her face as he asked, "Please?"

"Oh-okay." she said meekly.

"Atta-girl." He responded as he gave her one last strong hug.

Kafka then looked at Hakua and gave her an expression that seemed to communicate a lot of things, most of which Reno just translated as 'Keep an eye on her'. He then got up loudly from the bed and stretched, groaning all the way. He walked over to his personal locker at the other side of the room and could be heard rummaging through it. Reno couldn't see what he was grabbing from his spot on the floor, but could definitely hear when he stopped going through his and suddenly started going through what he thought to be Aoi's.

"Sir, can I ask what you are doing?" Reno called out as he got up from the floor to investigate the weird behavior.

"Hm? Oh, just- uhh, changing into civilian clothes. I just remembered I had some business outside of base that I should probably take care of." Kafka said as he donned a large black jacket, thin gloves, a neck gaiter, and grabbed his over-sized black towel. The item he had seemed to grab from Aoi's locker was his spare set of combat boots.

"Okay… If it's just errands, then why do you need Aoi's boots? Aren't they bigger than your feet?" Reno continued to question as he followed Kafka out of the barracks and over to what appeared to be a supply closet.

"Oh, the boots? I-uh, noticed mine were pinching my feet, so I thought I'd take Aoi's for a spin." Kafka offered as an excuse, but Reno could tell what a poor excuse it was. It didn't distract him enough from questioning why Kafka was holding the door's handle a weird way and suddenly slamming his shoulder into it.

"Isn't that door locked?" Reno kept interrogating an uninterested Kafka. He didn't stop him once he somehow managed to bash the door open and walked inside like he owned everything.

"Only if you don't know how shittly made some of the doors are here on base." Kafka said nonchalantly as he scanned the shelves within. He found and grabbed a flat head screwdriver, a hammer, and a can of WD-40 and put them inside the towel before twisting the whole thing together and tying it in such a way as to not have the contents spill out.

"Hey, could you do me another favor? I know, I'm asking a lot today, but just this once? I'll even pay you back for the water bottle later, but first, could you help Hakua keep an eye on Minase while I'm gone?" Kafka asked as he left the supply closet and slung the impromptu bag over his shoulder.

"Wait, you're leaving now?" Reno asked as he followed him to the end of the hallway.

"Yeah, bud! I just said I had errands to do, didn't I? Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell Vice Cap where I'm going." Kafka said with an encouraging wink as he rounded the corner and quickly jogged out of sight.

Reno wasn't sure what was going on with his friend, but he was fairly certain it wasn't good. It certainly didn't make him feel better about knowing that Kafka was about to do it without him.

✼　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　✼

It was about three am that night when Minase got woken up by another phone call. She shook the sleepy fog from her head as her pink flip-phone rang out it's cheery little chip tune. She grabbed her phone quickly and walked as fast as she could bring herself to in her groggy state out the barrack door. She walked a good distance away before sliding the device open and taking the call.

"Sweetie?" A familiar voice called out, not bothering to hide the distress it carried.

"Mom? Are you okay? What's going on?" Minase answered in a gravely tone, trying to get accustomed to understanding others on a lack of sleep.

"Listen Sweetie, I get you were upset at your father about what he said about the dogs-"

"He's not my dad." Minase interrupted in a quiet voice, knowing that her mother was just going to ignore the comment anyway,

"- But I don't think it warranted hiring a hit-man to get them!" Her mother whispered harshly. In the background, she could hear the sound of sirens and her step-father shouting at someone.

"Wait, what?" Minase asked as she rubbed her face.

"I understand you're attached to your little goobers, but Chase wasn't actually going to hurt them! He loves them too, he just has a hard time showing it and-"

"Mom, stop, back up. What was that about a hit-man?" Minase thought she had heard her mother wrong when she said something about a hit-man.

"A strange man broke into our house tonight and stole your dogs!" Her mom said as her quiet tone got increasingly shrill.

"Maybe start with that?!" Minase almost felt like she was shouting once she heard about the break-in.

"What, that someone stole the dogs? I thought I did?" her mom questioned.

"No-god, the break in! Someone broke in?" Minase's mind started to fray again. First with her step-father threatening her dogs and now this!

"Yes, I thought that was implied with the dog-napping?" her mother could be scatter-brained some days, but tonight was taking the cake. Minase was growling as she tried to think of her next question, but stopped once she heard her mother scuffling with someone on the other end of the line.

"god damn it woman just hand it here- YOU." A clearly irritated voice broke into the private conversation with an enraged bellow, "Listen here you dumb bitch, I get that being a Defense force officer might make you feel like such a big girl now, but getting one of your suped-up, mutant Kaiju super-freaks to come down here and take away your stupid mutts is a clear overstepping of where you stand in life! How many dicks did you have to suck off for that, Huh? Did you have to get on your hands and knees, bat your dull little eyes at the first dumb schmuck that would listen to you? It really speaks to the quality of your fellow members that if you were that desperate for your yippy rats, you somehow managed to find some deprived knuckle-dragger willing to dedicate some serious grey matter to this idiotic plan of yours and-"

"Shut up, just shut UP!" Minase yelled into her phone, "I didn't ask anyone to get my dogs back! No one even knows where you live because I actively try to forget you exist! We don't even have any mutant Kaiju hit-men for me to even bother sending out to your dilapidated rust bucket shed you call a house!"

"Oh yeah? Tell that to my right fist I just sent through someone's eye socket! Not to mention the fact the fridge has a dent in it now from where that stupid asshat sent me flying into it! Ya wanna come down and take a look at it and continue to be the stupid little bitch that you are, huh? Denying that you got someone from your freak division to come down here and fuck up my shit? You know your paying for the damages, right? I'll be expecting money for a new fridge, a nice one, from your paycheck and it better be before the sun rises on your precious bitch lackey's funereal!-" At that point, Minase just clicked the flip phone shut.

The creaking of its case echoed slightly into the empty hallway as her fist tightened around it in restrained rage. Her arm shook with the force of her quiet wrath before launching her phone into the nearest wall with the full force of everything she wanted to hold back. She watched as it bounced off the wall and bench under it before coming to a stop a few feet from her. The phone looked like it remained intact, with was more than what one could say about her emotions right now. Minase tried not to fall directly onto her knees and instead stumbled quickly over to a nearby vending machine, its light acting as a pleasant beacon in her mind. She tried to stop herself from falling onto it, but her knees gave out at the worse time and caused the machine to rattle a little from the force of her landing. Tears had been welling up for a while, but now fell freely from her tired eyes. She felt her legs lose their strength as she slipped quietly onto the floor, covering up her sobs as best she could.

"Minase? Is… that you?" A tired voice cracked the night's stillness, causing her to turn and face the newcomer.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Minase whispered as she gathered herself up just enough to ask Iharu, who was standing in the hallway with just a pair of sleep shorts.

"No… Well, kinda. But that's not important." Iharu rubbed the sleep from his face as he came over to the vending machine and helped Minase onto her feet just enough to help shuffle her over to the bench next to it.

He turned around and went back to the barracks and returned shortly with cash, and paid for a can of hot corn soup from the machine. He chugged some of it and hissed from the heat before sitting down next to her on the bench.

"Here, it's cold out here. You should get something warm in ya." He said as he offered the half eaten can.

She took the offered can with reserved appreciation and took a small sip for herself. A part of her didn't want the company, but considering it could have been anyone else that found her, she was at least glad that it was Iharu. When growing up with a family life that was less than ideal, it tends to make one yearn for anything stable in their life. Minase initially left because she wanted just that, and joining the Defense Force gave her the perfect opportunity. While continuing her training, she came to hear all about how the Defense Force was a great place to not only meet great people, but a place to form deep bonds with them. Something she wanted to experience with all her heart.

It wasn't hard to make friends here with everyone being fairly like minded people. It had only been about a month and she already felt like she was a sister to everyone here. She couldn't even begin to explain just how quickly she became attached to everyone, including the witty old guy in their battalion. Minase knew it was way too early to admit this, but she really did like to think of Kafka as the dad she wished she had. And if Kafka was her dad, then Iharu felt like the brother she always wanted. Most girls here probably would have had their hearts racing at the thought of having an indirect kiss with the resident hot-shot, but to her it just felt like something a caring brother would have done.

"So can I ask what happened, or do you want to sit in silence together until you feel like letting me walk you back to bed?" Iharu asked with a yawn, slouching over until his elbows hit his knees.

Minase bitterly chuckled, "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep for a while, let alone tonight."

"What, did the fucked-up old man say something stupid and insane like usual?" Iharu tried to be helpful as he tried to cut her step-father down.

"No." Minase tried to playfully counter before contradicting herself, "Well, yes, and it's actually kinda serious, but it wasn't what he said about me."

She took a deep breath before she spoke, "Someone broke into my parent's place tonight."

"Anyone hurt?" Iharu reflexively fired back.

"No one that didn't deserve it. Chase got thrown into the fridge after he slugged the guy, but the biggest problem is that the guy that broke in stole my dogs." Minase answered before she took another sip of the hot canned soup.

"Fuuuuck." Iharu sleepily droned out, "Ain't that a swift kick in the nuts."

"You know what hurts the most?" Minase hinted at, "Is that I feel a little relieved that it happened." She tried to hold back another wave of sobs which caused her lungs to hiccup and her frame to shake again.

"Nooo, Minase! You don't mean that, come on." Iharu drawled as he scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her. She tucked her head into his chest as a hand came up to hold back her tears.

"They have a chance to go to a nicer family this way, right? They practically look like pure-breeds so some fancy, upper-crust family would have to pay out the nose to give them a happy life." Minase continued to quietly sob as she did her best to hug Iharu back for personal support.

"Look, it's been reported to the police, right? Maybe in the morning we can head to your parents' place and we can ask your mother for details. Or maybe we just spend a day or two posting flyers, I don't know. Either way, we can all pitch in to get your dogs back." Iharu tried to comfort her as he rubbed soothing circles into her shaking back.

"There's no point if I have no where to keep them!" Minase did her best to muffle her pitiful wails behind her already occupied hands.

Off in the distance down the hallway, they heard a strange noise, loud enough to be heard over their emotional conversation. Iharu spared a glance down the darkened hallway in what he hoped was the direction the noise was from. Since Minase didn't seem to hear it the first time, he ignored his instincts and went back to comforting her. However, he couldn't bring himself to ignore his gut feelings any longer once he heard what sounded like chairs crashing and a muffled curse.

"What was that?" Iharu muttered suspiciously as he shifted on the bench.

"Yeah, I heard it too." Minase confirmed as she wiped away the last of her tears.

The two of them looked at each other before deciding to get up and follow the noise. They traveled down the almost pitch black hallway with Minase peering into the dark panes of glass that lined the corridor with the light from her phone. Iharu quickly found a janitor's closet in the dark and began to brutally shoulder the door open. He reached inside and grabbed a wide broom and met back up with Minase.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Intruders?" Iharu answered with an unsure shrug.

"Why would anyone want to break into a Defense Force Base?" Minase countered.

"I'm sorry, do you think we get paid enough to ask that kind of question right now?" Iharu retaliated as he brandished the makeshift weapon.

They didn't have to continue very far before they noticed something strange in one of the offices on that floor. Looking through the inner window, they both noticed that one office was a lot brighter than the others, mainly due to the fact that one of the outer windows was open and the blinds covering it were drawn up. The full moon outside gave out enough light to let the duo see what was a clear outline of a large, hunched figure currently ducked behind a desk. They quietly rushed to the office door, and once finding it unlocked, let themselves inside. With her phone off, they stealthily rounded the desks behind the lumbering figure.

Iharu couldn't tell what the person was saying, but could tell that they were struggling with something wriggling in their jacket. As he lifted the full weight of the broom to come down on the intruder's head, he accidentally knocked the head of it against the lip of a desk next to him. As he let out a clipped curse, the stranger in front of them quickly turned around and scrambled backwards across the floor screaming. Startled by his screaming, both Iharu and Minase began to scream as well. Once everyone started screaming, did two little yapping fluff balls make their presence known.

"Wait, dogs?" Iharu called out first once he heard the unusual disturbance.

"Shit, Iharu?" The barely masked stranger guessed after he calmed down.

"Kafka?" Minase and Iharu both answered once they heard the intruder's voice.

"Well, so much for anonymity." Kafka groaned sarcastically as he pulled down his face mask.

Minase turned and bolted for the light switches back next to the door to the office and turned the lights on. Coming back she saw two familiar looking lumps of hyperactive fur rapidly shaking in the confines of the large black jacket Kafka was still wearing.

"Ronny! Tototo!" She cried as she scrambled for her twin Pomeranian pups.

Kafka unzipped his jacket and very carefully pulled them out so he could hand them over to a very teary eyes Minase. Iharu let the broom drop to the floor as he watched with astonishment while Minase fell to her knees and lavished her once forsaken pets. She held them close as she lovingly pelted them with loud kisses before fully falling to the floor and laid on her side, letting them lick her back with equal voracity. More tears came to spill out, not of sadness for once, but out of happiness and was now mixing into a layer of joyous dog slobber being lathered on her face. Her enthusiastic giggles could not be contained and instead echoed slightly in the mostly empty office. As the scene unfolded before them, Iharu slowly moved closer to Kafka and helped the quietly elated man off the floor.

"Jeezus, man! What the hell happened to your eye?" Iharu asked once Kafka had dusted himself off.

"Hmm! Oh, this?" Kafka answered as he pointed to the fresh shiner blooming over his right eye, "Got distracted and walked right into a light pole! Can ya believe it!" He tacked on a great big smile to hopefully sell the lie.

"Uh huh." Iharu grunted, already suspicious, "Was the distraction caused by the dogs or from recovering getting knocked in the head first?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Kafka muttered as he innocently shrugged.

"Really?" Iharu incredulously countered, "You seriously expect us to believe that you didn't just break into Minase's Dad's house, knock his front door in, and make away with the dogs in question."

"Yes, because what the story actually is-" Kafka began with a mischievous glint in his good eye, "That I graciously intervened in what was clearly a home invasion gone wrong, rescued the dogs off the street after failing to apprehend the suspect that just so happened to be a similar build and height to me, and have so humbly decided that I could bring these poor, distraught, and fluffy victims to a safe location before notifying their proper owner. Who, come to find out, I just so happen to work with." Kafka finished smugly, "There's already a police report and everything."

Iharu rubbed his hands over his tired face for a moment and groaned loudly, "Oh, this is bad. Oh, you are going to get so caught." Those same hands came up to pull back on his hair, "How did you even know which house to hit? Minase never says anything about her family. E-e-even then, what's your excuse for being out so late? You have to know that Vice-Cap is going to kill you for being out this long."

"I don't know if you know this, but there aren't a whole lot of guys living in Western Japan with the legal name Chase, let alone living with a woman whose last name is Akari." Kafka informed as he patted Iharu's back, "And look, just leave the rest of the scary shit up to me. This may come as a shock, but this isn't the first time I've had to duck an assault charge as well as B+E." Upon hearing this, Iharu slowly turned and looked up at the fellow brother-in-arms, now a complete stranger to him once again.

"Please tell me this is just another Germany thing?" He asked, wanting it to coax out some reassurance that Kafka wasn't as crazy as he was being led to believe.

Kafka just let out a breathy chuckle, "I'll tell you about it some other time." He left cryptically open-ended.

Iharu watched as Kafka walked off and joined Minase on the floor, pulling out strips of cold, precooked bacon from the pocket of his jeans and teased the Pomeranian brothers with it. Iharu, still being too tired to continue to question any of this, just shook his head gave up, preceding to join the other two people on the floor and introduced himself to the new ferociously furry company.

"i really appreciate you doing this for me Kafka!" Minase cheered as she held her pups close to her chest, "But it doesn't change the fact that they can't stay here. I'm sure the higher-ups wouldn't let us."

"You let me worry about that too." Kafka countered as he tore up the last strip of bacon he owned, "Who knows, maybe Bakko could do with a pair of friends."

"Or a set of snacks." Iharu mumbled as he reached out a hand for one of the Pomeranians to sniff at.

"Don't even joke like that." Minase growled as she harshly pulled her dogs out for Iharu's reach.

[sapphire-weapon]

Leon, in the intro to RE4make:

"September 30, 1998. It's a day I'll never forget. The cop inside me died that day."

---

Officer 1: So, tell me, Yanqui. Why did you come to this horrible place? As close to nowhere as I've ever seen.

Leon: Let's just say... looking for someone.

Officer 1: That someone must be very important, eh? The Chief gave the orders himself. "Help him," he said.

Leon: I'm sure you boys didn't come all the way out here to roast marshmallows.

Officers 1 & 2: (laugh)

Leon: (annoyed) Maybe you did.

Officer 1: You have a strange sense of humor. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Just between us. A lot of people have gone missing around here, and it's been that way for a while, now.

Leon: (still annoyed) Well, then. Should be just another day in the office, right?

Officer 1: Mmm... I mean, last week, there was a search for some missing hikers.

Leon: (sarcastically) I'm sure you'll do your best to help me.

Officer 1: (laughs)

[...]

Leon, much later in the scene: So much for helping me.

---

Leon, later in chapter 1:

(bitterly) "Gotta fix everything myself."

---

Leon tells Ada in RE2make that the reason why he went into law enforcement was to help people like Kendo and his daughter -- vulnerable people, good people, members of the community who are facing the worst moments of their life and need someone to help make it right.

And yet he says in the intro to RE4make that the cop inside him died that day. When we take that in context with what he told Ada about Kendo, what he means is that his desire to help people died that day. The belief that he could help people died that day.

His faith in humanity died that day.

Leon goes into his mission to save Ashley already expecting the two local officers that he's with to be completely fucking useless, and he gets immediately annoyed at the first hint that they are. His "So much for helping me" is said with a sense of "Why am I not surprised?"

He went into RE2make believing that people are generally good and that things will work themselves out.

He goes into RE4make believing that people are generally selfish and will take advantage of him, leaving him to work through any problem that arises on his own.

This is why he's so supremely pissed off at Ada when they meet back up again, and it's also why Ashley is so integral to his character arc. It's also why I've said in the past that Ada is a foil for Ashley in RE4make.

(NOTE: A foil is a character that is set up in the narrative to directly contrast with another one. Where one character is deficient, the foil character is strong, and vice versa. Where Ada is cold, Ashley is warm. Where Ada is physically capable, Ashley is defenseless. Where Ada is secretive, Ashley is honest. Where Ada is calculating, Ashley is impulsive. A foil does not necessarily exist to make one character seem better than the other; a foil exists to showcase two equals using a different approach and receiving different outcomes as a result.)

Ada is the genesis of Leon's cynicism. She's the reason why he expects less than nothing from people anymore -- the reason why he goes into every social interaction waiting to be screwed over. And she reinforces this throughout the narrative by trying to tear him down ("Leave the girl. She's lost no matter what.") or by keeping score ("Happy to help. Now you owe me.") -- which she takes even further in Separate Ways ("Don't worry, Leon. First time's free.").

In the six years since her initial betrayal, Leon has been forged into a weapon by the US government. The kind-hearted boy from RE2make who wanted to save the world now is more comfortable shoving a knife in the throat of an old woman than he is with carrying on small talk with people.

But weapons on their own are neither good nor bad. It's how they're used that determines that. Up until RE4make, Leon has been surrounded by extreme violence and senseless death (that's the point of changing Operation Javier btw), and he doesn't see a way in which his status as a weapon could possibly be used for good.

Until Ashley comes into his life.

If there was ever anyone who had a good reason to take Leon for granted and take advantage of him, it's Ashley -- but not only does she not do that, but she goes out of her way to make herself useful without expectation or strings attached. The only thing she ever asks for in return is a "thank you."

So, every time she gets that "thank you" -- every time she gets a real smile out of him -- she's returning pieces of his humanity to him. She's healing the hurts that Ada and the CIA inflicted on him so many years ago. She's showing him that there's still some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for. She's worth fighting for.

When Leon says: "This time, it has to be different..." he's not talking about his inability to save anyone in Raccoon City. That's a very surface-level interpretation. What he's referring to there is that Raccoon City destroyed his faith in humanity, ruined his image of himself, and poisoned his ability to create meaningful connections with people.

That's what has to be different this time. That's why the full line he says in the intro is: "If I could just forget what happened that night... the pain, even for a second... This time, it can be different. It has to."

RE2make took so much from him, but Ashley spent the entirety of RE4make giving so much of it back. But if she were to die in his arms in chapter 15, that hope and that healing would die with her. Her death would be a reaffirmation that everything that Leon wants or hopes for in this world isn't real, and that reality is nothing more than a series of random tragedies and chaos that results in suffering.

Ashley re-teaches him how to trust in people again, how to work as part of a team again, how to feel good about his own actions again. She teaches him how to hope again.

Ashley is the first person in six years to care about whether Leon gets or feels hurt by her actions. The most important line of dialogue spoken to Leon in the entire game is "Stay back! I might hurt you again..." as Ashley openly sobs over the mere thought of it.

Juxtapose that beside...

During the boat scene, Ada asks Leon in response to whether or not she's changed, after all of the damage she's already inflicted on him: "What do you think? Don't think too hard."

And so, in the ending, Leon answers: "I think we both know that this is where we go our separate ways."

Because, this time, things were different.

Because, this time, his partner was Ashley.

[keekity]

lovingly titled the "disaster girl" save

[kaiowut99]

Also, always a bit amused when 4K misses a spot while blanking things like this lol

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

i thought their voices made for a pretty interesting combination, so i made a little test thing to show it off

ust by Zoë (@/half-a-head)