#and im gonna be entirely real im not convinced were ever gonna have treatment for any of the effects of covid..................

[furballfaggot]

reblogged that covid post but im gonna be 1000% honest after a certain point i had to stop reading it because what it sounds like to me is that im gonna die at a way sooner age i could ever have wanted just because i had to go to a school that hated masking and since then ive had covid twice. maybe 3 times. i hate knowing that ive got a laundry list of new issues because i live in a house where exactly 1 person who ever suspects they could have covid masks and distances properly since everyone else still thinks its no big deal. moms boyfriend thinks it is and always was a hoax in a house with someone whos had memory issues its whole life and now cant get through most of its life without forgetting most things. im flying completely blind typing most of this post because my memory and brain fog are so exceedingly garbage i feel like im gonna cry and/or pass out

[ravenaveira]

Just wanna clarify a few things after my long review/rant at the end for KH3 Re:Mind

My comments about the Sokai stuff I stand by, but I wanna be clear because I see Sokai shippers claiming antis complained about the lack of Sokai for it to be a believable relationship and now that Sokai has more moments we’re complaining about them shoving Sokai down our throats.

I cant speak for all antis on this, so I’ll be strictly speaking for myself on this issue and anyone else who feels similar to me. Warning it gets long again so be ready.

Yes Im one of those antis who complained about the lack of Sokai which made it underdeveloped and unbelievable, and yes I am also complaining about them now shoving Sokai down our throats.

Why? because Kingdom hearts is not a romance, and throughout every single game so far romance has taken a severe back seat and handled very subtely. For example Sora’s drawing in the cave of him giving Kairi the Paopu fruit, Riku teasing him about wanting to give one to Kairi, Sora saying hes always with her and promising to come back for her, Roxas calling Kairi ‘the girl he likes’ etc

All these moments were very short, subtle, and to the point. It was not a primary focus nor was it blatantly shoved in your face like

I mean in almost EVERY shot they were together Sora was holding her hand, which isnt something he usually does? keep in mind Sora and Kairi’s feelings have been known to eachother since KH2 and Sora still didnt behave the way he is now. He was always very awkward and uncomfortable/shy when it came to romance.

In KH2 Sora didnt hug Kairi, nor did he hold her hand, it was KAIRI who initiated the hug out of relief and happiness to see Sora again and that hes ok. Sora did not show the same sentiment and treated her like he always has, just casually walking up to her and just nonchalantly saying ‘You are different Kairi, but Im just glad your here’ as if she wasnt kidnapped and being held hostage this entire time. He should have showed the same concern for her as he did for Riku and Kairi for him but he did not, he just said that and then turned away and apologized.

But in KH3 Sora/Nomura pull a complete 180, Sora hugs Kairi to shield her from Terranort with his body instead of pulling out his keyblade and blocking his attack. Him hugging Kairi there was not only stupid, but it doesnt even defend her, Terranort will just kill Kairi AND him now. That was just a forced out of place Sokai moment for the sake of shoving a Sokai moment that was completely unnessecary and could of easily had the same impact by having Sora do the common sense thing and BLOCK with his keyblade like he did for Riku when they were in THE EXACT SAME SITUATION.

See the difference? good, then I need say no more.

This is only one of many situations where they would shoehorn in a Sokai moment that was completely out of place, didnt make any sense, or just forced in trying way too hard to convince you how much Sora cares for Kairi and how much they love and want to be together forever etc etc

Another example being when everybody ‘dies’ in the keyblade graveyard being swept away by heartless. Sora only loses his mind and breaks down emotionally after Kairi is the last one swept away, he then says the most inconsiderate line he could have ever said.

He says this while RIKU IS RIGHT THERE BESIDE HIM, even if you were arguing he was just speaking figuratively thats still no excuse, he was NOT alone but at that moment he just completely disregarded Riku as if his presence there was the same as being alone.

Not only that but seconds later he does one of the most out of character things for him.

Sora just WATCHES Riku risk his life holding back the heartless to protect him and Sora just WATCHES him fighting off this huge horde of heartless BY HIMSELF and not ONCE does Sora make ANY attempt to get up and help Riku despite knowing his life is at risk trying to hold them back alone.

Even if you wanna argue Sora was in shock, when has that ever stopped him before!? when have you EVER known Sora to just sit back and watch his friends put their lives in danger and NOT help them?

What makes this worse is thats not even the first time he does it, he sits back and watches AGAIN as Axel gets bodied right infront of him just to have him exhausted next to Kairi because you know, Sora’s never fought strong opponents and gotten right back up to protect his friends before.

Remember Terranort? Sora was overpowered by him and still made the effort to run over and hug Kairi to shield her from his attack, but Axel and Riku? nah just gonna chill and watch. This is BEYOND out of character for Sora.

When Axel told Sora to hurry and save Kairi, who was being held hostage by the organization and was in danger, Sora refused to leave him and stayed behind to help him fight. Sora chose helping Axel over Kairi, he put saving his enemy before his own friend/love interest.

When Neku betrayed him, Sora still helped and protected him when he was in danger

When Riku stole his keyblade and Donald and Goofy followed him and left Sora behind, yes Sora was discouraged but when he saw Beasts determination to save Belle no matter what, it encouraged Sora to do the same for the people he cared about

I could go on but you get my point, Sora saw Riku risking his life, literally dying and he did NOTHING, try to justify that all you want but that was incredibly out of character and was obviously put there to show how losing Kairi broke him.

I know your probably gonna argue it wasnt just Kairi it was everybody, and to that I say this, if it wasnt just about Kairi why didnt Sora snap when Ven and Axel got bodied? he froze for a few seconds but then snapped out of it thanks to Riku. After that everybody gets swept away, but the game made sure to put EXTRA emphasis, slow motion and all, to Kairi and Sora reaching out to eachother and then Kairi being swept away by the tide.

THATS when he snaps, if it truly werent just about Kairi they wouldnt have made sure to put emphasis on her being swept away, EVERYONE would have gotten the same treatment if it were truly their deaths also that made Sora fall apart. Im not saying he wasnt upset or heartbroken over them, Im pointing out how they made sure to single out Kairi as the most DEVASTATING loss out of all of them.

Yet again, he has Riku one of his closest bonds if not the closest right beside him yet he doesnt even acknowledge him? he says hes alone even though Rikus right there? you cannot justify that as anything other than downplaying Riku to boost Kairi up.

You do not see the other trios treated this way, every trio has equal focus for ALL of them and even the romantic hints for some of them [Roxas/Xion, Terra/Aqua, technically Namine/Repliku] have all been treated equally and did not feel forced or out of place but very natural and they still made sure to focus on the friendship bond between them overall.

Axel doesnt get played down in importance to Roxas just to boost Xion up, their friendship and bond with eachother are equally important to one another despite whatever ‘romance’ there might be. Same applies to Terra and Aqua, Ven is not played down in importance to them. As for Namine and Repliku they arent a trio but their romance was still handled well and it didnt overshadow their platonic bond or attempt to play down the real Riku or vice versa to boost the other, Namine was equally important to both of them.

So balancing romance and friendship CAN be done in their trio, but for some reason Nomura insists on pitting one against the other and playing down one over the other, in Sokai’s case thats Riku, which is an insult to his and Sora’s bond. The same way Sokai shippers felt the over-focus on Sorikus bond was a disservice to Sora and Kairi’s bond, its the same issue.

But lets get back to Re:mind because besides a few bad moments, overall KH3 was atleast passable with the Sokai nonsense. Then comes Re:Mind and oh boy...the damage control was strong in this one.

Again as I said earlier the Sokai moments in this game were very forced and out of place and in many ways out of character for Sora.

For starters the excessive hand holding, why? to convince us their a thing? but Sora suggests otherwise

Even after all the excessive hand holding, the hugs, the forced moments etc, in the end Sora still calls Kairi a friend. After aaaaall the forced Sokai bs they shoved down our throats Sora still friendzones her, which is it Nomura? you either want them together or you dont, stop playing games and pick a side already.

Dont get me wrong Im glad he hasnt made it official yet but after all this its like enough is enough, either follow through or cut this shit out and go back to being subtle like before.

Another huge insult was Sora constantly saying how his journey started with Kairi, since when? I remember Sora losing Kairi AND Riku that day not just her. I recall Sora not going back to Destiny Islands with Kairi BECAUSE he wanted to continue his journey to find Riku, but apparently in Re:mind it was just all about Kairi, nothing about his journey involved Riku no it was only Kairi that was his main motivation, gtf outta here man.

You can say something over and over but that doesnt make it true, Sora’s journey started with BOTH of them, lets stop playing down Riku’s importance to once again boost Kairi up.

That hug when Sora finally reunited with Kairi after restoring her was so obviously trying to make up for all the years of people complaining about Sora’s lack of reaction to Kairi in KH2 in comparison to Riku, so having him hold her for several seconds floating in the sky should rectify that right? you believe he cares about her now right? fuck off man. If your gonna do damage control than atleast dont make it so obvious that thats what your doing because then it comes off disingenuous, forced, and fake.

But my biggest issue is the ending where they really shoehorned Sokai where it didnt belong, literally stalking everyone else with the exception of returning Namines heart and Sora helping to reunite Chirithy with Ventus. But in Twilight town, why were Sora and Kairi there? they werent with Roxas but just sitting above them

Why were they at Mickeys castle? again their just in the background sight seeing.

These scenes were completely unnessecary and completely out of place and made the ending WORSE rather than better. Why? because these are Sora’s final hours ALIVE whether you argue only for a day or a couple days, in all of these ending scenes only one thing matters to Sora and thats Kairi.

Before we assumed everything that was shown all happened the same exact day and we didnt see Sora with any of them. But now we have confirmation Sora WAS there yet he only spent his last remaining time with Kairi in the background while quietly stalking everyone else? even if he didnt spend time with anyone else, he should have spent his last remaining time with Kairi AND Riku, after all hes his best friend and would like to spend what little time he may have with Sora too but we dont see any of that. Hell this contradicts Soras own danm words to Chirithy prior to this.

Instead of just shoehorning a bunch of Sokai in the background why not show the three of them FINALLY all together again like the old days? this is wtf Im talking about. We saw ALL the other trios together but the Destiny trio? hell naw fuck Riku lets have Sora spend all his remaining time with Kairi, thats the only one who REALLY matters here. After being separated from eachother constantly, now they finally have the chance to be together again and spend time together as friends and they DONT.

Instead Sora decides to take Kairi around the worlds hes visited, something he said he wanted to do with Riku as well, and just spend all his remaining time with her, even though in the base game before the final battle Sora was concerned why Riku was all alone and not spending time with them together. But here? nah fuck Riku. I remembered how important it is to share moments with friends only applied to Kairi.

So personally idc that theres more Sokai moments, my problem is the execution. It doesnt feel genuine, it feels forced and awkward and just doing damage control to pander to the rabid fanbase thats been screaming for this type of content for years, well congrats, you got it.

My problem is Kingdom Hearts was never about romance, it was always subtle and not shoved in your face, it felt natural and not forced and like there was atleast SOME heart behind it, but this? just felt hollow and forced.

Just stop, Im glad in the end Kairi just sleeps for a whole year and probably still will be sleeping when the next game comes out and the focus will shift to Riku and his search for Sora along with the other keyblade wielders doing their part as well.

So Im thankful it seems like we’re done with this crap and getting back to what ACTUALLY matters and what people really wanna see from this series.

Notice how nothing in either of my posts had to do with Soriku as a couple but about their bond as friends, enough said.

So dont try to twist this into just being about pairings because its not, its about what this series has always been about being forgotten for the sake of a fucking trash ship that nobody cares about besides rabid shippers and Sora’s bonds with his other friends being completely thrown out the fucking window to shorehorn in a bunch of unnessecary Sokai moments as a desperate attempt to convince people that these two love eachother which at this point if you have to try so hard to CONVINCE people of your pairing its obvious your doing a very shitty job at it.

Im done, this is my last long post about this for a while but I really needed to get that all out there since nobody else seems to be calling it out for what it is. My anger and frustration is still very fresh and it shows so I really need to stop talking about it because at this point? Re:Mind just ReMinded me why the Destiny trio is the worst out of them all, it is the most unbalanced and quite frankly feels more like Riku is a third wheel at this point and not even a part of the trio anymore. Before Kairi, it was always Sora and RIku yet hes the one whos being pushed aside and forgotten about in all this. That pisses me off.

So Im done with this topic, I need to cool off for the next couple of years till the next game comes out where hopefully Kairi stays asleep the entire time and NOT ruin another game.

[gaymafia]

I’m legitimately curious why people didn’t like the last Jedi? I saw it and thought it was okay? Is there something I missed or? Like it wasn’t great but it was passable?

ok so i wasnt gonna do this here bc nobody fucking asked but u asked so thank u but also strap in ur ready for a while ride

TLJ spoilers, obviously. also my issues are going to be numbered in no particular order bc my thoughts on this movie are so fucking scrambled but here we go

1. Kyle Ron. First of all fuck Ryeanne for making me see so many goddamn closeups of Adam Driver’s ugly ass face. I did not need to see all that he is so goddamn ugly especially that fucking shirtless scene where he looks like a block of pasty ass pale wood.

But for real, Kylo Ren. I don’t actually take issue with his existence, because Kyle really does excellently represent rich ass white boys who have everything handed to them but throw a hissy fit when they face the slightest adversity an throw tantrums all the time. It’s nice to see a villain that represents most people real-life nightmares instead of like, a Sexy Temptress or Old Evil Man or whatever. That being said, kyle is not given the villain’s treatment in this movie. if you cut out all the scenes where ryan is not actively sucking adam driver’s dick and jizzing all over himself over kyle’s angsty white boy angst, the movie has virtually no real plot (”oh no we are in space with no fuel, nobody is going to do anything except get mad at each other, miscommunicate, and deliberately make all the characters of color worthless while separating Finn and Poe bc fuck the gays”). So much of the movie is spent not just establishing how kyle became kyle (which is good! backstory for villains is good!), but trying to get us to like, sympathize with him? which is the shitty part. I dont care that Luke “”””tried to kill”’’’ (he didn’t) kyle. kyle had turned to the dark side before luke’s mistake. kyle had a million and one chances to change his mind from the start of TFA to the end of TLJ, and he never did. Kyle is an evil guy. We need one of those. He’s a great evil guy bc he’s got so many shitty qualities. But ryin doesnt want us to hate kyle, even tho hes the villain. why the fuck doesnt reean want us to hate kyle? bc rayan is also a shitty little man who thinks giving ur white boy a sob story makes him a sympathetic villain and sidelining ur characters of color will help.

also again the fucking shirtless scene what the shit man that was so gross

2. Will be broken down into A, B, C, etc. bc TLJ treats its characters of color like SHIT. 

2A. Finn. Finn gets put in a coma bc why would anyone want to write anything interesting for john boyega its not like hes the MOST BEAUTIFUL MAN and the MOST TALENTED ACTOR who is being sidelined bc ryun hates black people. Yeah Finn is totally into Rey and he wants to save her and is willing to desert the rebellion for her. that happened in the first movie but why give your characters real arcs when you can recycle old ones to jerk off to kyle ron. the rose thing happens, shes like “we can disable the tracking” and like TWO SECONDS after he was dead set on desertion he’s totally down to risk his life for the rebellion at rey’s expense? that sure is a quick 180 with no real reason why and no writing to explain it! then there was the whole “separate finn and poe” thing ryain pulled for the shits and giggles.

2B. Rose. I was pretty chill with Rose, she had a dope backstory, her sister was badass, and I liked that they made that connection off the bat. I’m not mad about anything rayn did with her character but i genuinely believe thats only because i havent thought about it enough yet. give me a week and i’ll figure out how rain fucked it up. open to suggestions.

2C. Poe. Full offense but was I supposed to be mad at Poe for coming up with a plan when that bitch Holdo was like “I’m not gonna tell you my plan sit tight and be convinced we are all going to die :)” i legitimately did not understand how I was supposed to be mad at poe for doing what he thought was best for the rebellion after he asked holdo what the plan was and she was deliberately obstinate and refused to even be like “dont worry i have a plan” she was just like. so dumb. Also poe got thrown around a lot and i am A Little Suspicious of how much physical violence he experienced compared to many other characters.

2D. You guessed what was next! The slaps! Super awesome how the two men of color were slapped by white people!!!! So deep!!!!!!! For real tho uh the second time i saw this movie someone in the audience laughed when poe got slapped by space hitler hux and uh??? not funny. not funny or cute or clever to use the guy you built your entire nazi imagery on to slap the one black man on your cast. i dont care if it was supposed to make us “hate hux” or whatever more. i already hated hux reyn. you could have used that screentime in your 3 fucking hour long movie for something valuable, like giving finn a character arc, or literally anything else besides that goddamn slap. i was livid watching that.

and then with leia and poe? i get that part of the conflict was internal in the resistance and one of the major themes was how failure is the best teacher and all that but like? maybe stop physically assaulting all your characters of color? maybe uhhhh at least think about that first??

2E. like i mentioned before one of the obvious themes was how failure is the best teacher so naturally all the major characters had to fail at something, and then learn from their mistake to be better next time. with luke it was fucking up with kyle, with rey it was being naive enough to think kyle could turn, with poe it was the dreadnaught thing, finn was left out of this because raan dooesn give a shit abt finn bc hes a racist bastard, etc. but it was incredibly transparent how all of the white characters’ mistakes meant either personal losses or something small scale with one person, while the mistakes of the characters of color (poe/finn/rose) were all ones that cost the rebellion the vast majority of their forces. rey got out of her fight with kyle and snoke unscathed. luke got a lot of guilt and character development. What did finn poe and rose get? the deaths of like 99% of the resistance on their shoulders. A little too coincidental that even though rey LITERALLY GAVE HERSELF OVER TO SNOKE she was totally fine a-ok no real scars, finn and poe and rose doing their best to save the rebellion while admiral holdo refuses to tell them anything costs the resistance so fucking much. rey does the DUMBEST FUCKING THING with no real consequences and finn and poe and rose try their best and are punished severely for it.

2F. Really convenient how everything finn, poe, and rose did ended up being useless and just cost the rebellion lives, whereas at least rey’s mishap got snoke killed and taught her a lesson. reeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy convenient how finn, poe, and rose’s plan was a huge waste of time. it would have been much better for us to see an actual plot line with them that contributed to the story and their characterizations instead of “send them on a goose chase, make it pointless in the end, physically brutalize them along the way.

3. R*yl* bullSHIT: ryyn had a really fun time with a lot of very rape-y scenes in this movie. the whole force-connection thing with kyle and rey was soooooo uncalled for, it reeked of non-con fantasies, catered to the r*yl*s like nothing ever before, and was so goddamn gross. the obvious invasion of privacy and lack of consent was nasty, using it as a shitty device to make rey “come around” on kyle was NASTY and that whole thing was nasty. i know im not articulating this well but there was so much about that whole thing that bothered me. i just know reyhan was so fucking into it, inserting kyle into rey’s life, forcing her to completely drop all of her characterization in the first movie to suddenly thing kyle can be good, acting as if rey hasnt seen all the shit and known what hes done. the whole thing was gross and a really obvious example of why men shouldn’t be allowed to direct movies.

4. killing snoke was a dumbass fucking mistake. kyle is a tantrum-throwing temper-losing toddler. snoke was evil and mysterious and shit idk. we knew he was powerful as fuck, he looked like a testicle which is a great villain imo, he was the darth sidious and they killed him off while kyle is still in like. ep2!Anakin levels of angst. i get that kyle is already powerful or whatever but like. hes not cold and calculated the way snoke was. kyle is a good villain, but a weak main baddie bc hes dumb as fuck. he let the rebellion get away bc he was pissed at luke. that was dumb as fuck. kyle is ruined by his emotions, and snoke was a scarier main baddie bc he wasnt so fucking dumb lol

5. it was so fucking long. there were so many scenes that could have been cut or shortened. why did we need to see luke milking the tiddy of that weird alien cow thing. why did we need to see kyle ron shirtless. why did we need so many goddamn shots of the fucking porgs.

6. ya the porgs are cute or whatever but like. that whole “look at how sad the cute big-eyes porg is when chewie is eating his friend” thing was so dumb. i dunno why but i hated that the most. that was the worst thing the porgs did. they were cute but like chill disney u know they like ran algorithm after algorithm to make that porg the cutest it could be with science or some bullshit and like? thats dumb.

7. i get that the humor in star wars movies is shifting but i felt like there was too much of it and it was dumb. a lot of the riffs werent funny and there were too many of them for a star wars film. star wars usually doesnt take itself too seriously, but this one was a little too much for me.

8. there were too many plot twists for shock value. the story went on too long. it should have ended earlier but it didnt. i dont know why ryenn decided to have like 6 different climaxes but it was too much. should have let there be one climax buddy. thats it.

9. holdo. besides holdo being the white feminist icon why didnt she just fucking tell poe the plan. why. why was so deliberately obstinate when it was doing no good. like yeah of course poe sent out a crew to try to save the rebellion all u told him to shut up and let you handle it! obvously what she did in the end was badass or whatever but like uh hun next time dont be a piece of shit and then get mad when people react to you being a piece of shit. i would have been okay with all that happening if holdo wasnt treated like some hero who never made any mistakes. she did make a mistake, and that was refusing to tell poe what her plan was when she knew he was absolutely the type to do whatever he could to save the rebellion whether he had her permission or not. also apparently holdo is a lesbian or bi or not straight or something in like the comics or whatever and like 1. classic bury ur gays but also 2. no more word of god gay characters if a character is not gay in the movies i will not give you the gay cred for it sorry homophobes

10. i didnt buy the story w luke and kyle at lukes jedi training facility or whatever. surprisingly, i was ok with lukes story line and character development, and actually agreed with it for the most part, but i just like. i dunno i didnt feel like that was something luke would do. not because luke is infallible (even tho he is my gay dad who has never done anything wrong ever) but because the entire original trilogy is luke believing darth vader could be saved. and while im not opposed to luke changing his mind about whether or not everyone could be turned away from the dark side (luke was young and optimistic in the original trilogy, and as he grew older he would learn more about the jedi and their history like the whole speech he gave rey about how the jedi have to end bc theyre lowkey shitty). i actually kind of liked luke’s hot take on the jedi, because it was lowkey my hot take on the jedi (esp the prequels jedi who were shitty as Fuuuuuck but we are ignoring the prequels for now lbr) but also because i could believe it was a view luke would come to as he aged. but impulsively drawing his lightsaber to kill kyle before he had actually done anything bad, after suspecting that kyle had darkness in him for a while, even though he felt like he had failed? it just didnt feel like luke to me. i felt more like raeyn had chosen that particular backstory to try to make kyle a more sympathetic villain rather than give a believable and in-character back story for the characters. i understand that luke’s failure ultimately has to lead to the creation of kyle ron in this story line, but that didnt feel like the right failure to me. maybe this is just me being nitpicky but that felt off to me too and i dont know if i can quite pinpoint why.

11. rey was a dumbass fucking bitch in this movie. rey could not be a dumbass fucking bitch to survive as a scavenger who was orphaned at birth on jakku. rey would have had to be smart and not as fucking DUMB as she was in this movie. now im getting heated so i cant articulate this well but she just did so many dumb things that anybody who had to raise themselves would have never done. she would never have delivered herself over to kyle ron like what a dumb fucking idea. who wrote this goddamn movie. fuck u ryeen.

12. why did yoda come back as a force ghost. where is anakins force ghost. he would be so fucking pissed at kyle right now. he would be mad as hell. he would have ended this thing. he would have called kyle out like the shitdickbitch he is and put him in his place. i get that yoda is more like ancient and orginal star wars jedi knowledge shit or whatever and like more of an authority on the jedi but like anakin is off in like force ghost hawaii drinking force ghost martinis while his shitty fucking grandson is being a piece of shit?? nah man anakin would have shut that shit down they better bring him back for ep IX and i expect hayden christensen himself to show up to bitch at kyle about what a fucking dumbass he is.

tbh theres probably more like i know there’s a ton of little things i hated but as scathing as this review is there were things i liked. visually speaking it was a very beautiful movie when we werent getting atrocious close ups of adam drivers ugly ass face. i originally hated but have come to appreciate the darker tone, since it mirrors the mood of TESB in that the rebellion seems dead but obviously isnt bc this is star wars. i liked luke. i dunno. i had a lot of issues with the movie obviously. to be quite honest i cant actually think of anything else i liked atm which is telling.

anyway if anybody actually reads this long ass fucking post feel free to respond with what you hated abt TLJ

[queenevaine]

Some Ace having a bad day, because when I say I love a character, there’s a 50/50 chance I love hurting them, too.  

Ace Visconti always smiled, no matter the circumstances.  Even a hook through his chest or his throat being ripped out didn't take that away.  It was part of his charm.  He knew the gravity of his ever-present smile, and how it inspired the others, albeit quietly.  He didn’t fully trust the others, but he trusted them enough to have their backs in trials, and occasionally give them a nice item he found in a chest.  

That didn’t mean he trusted the others enough to share more than that with them.  They were only people he knew because of their circumstances, they never would have met at all.  Ace was just a little cautious, knowing full well what desperation could drive some people to do.  He was too clever of a man to be taken down by naivete.  

Being in trials against the Doctor made it worse, when even Jake, the Iron-Willed loner, would scream at the slightest provocation of electrical “treatment”.  Ace tended to stay away from the others, he would rather be caught because of his own slip-up than one of someone else.  But that tended to lead to either very quick trials, or very strenuous ones.  This one was of the latter.  

It hadn’t even been that long and already someone was dead on a hook, and the other two were in states of madness and hysteria.  Ace kept as far from them as he could.  Someone had to keep working on generators if they wanted to survive.  By the time he completed his, another person was on a hook, struggling with the Entity.  He shook his head, moving on to another generator.  

He heard several more screams as he worked.  The consolation was that when he finished this generator, he could find the hatch and escape.  He was only half done when he saw the third survivor on the hook, failing their attempts to escape themselves.  The static started to build around Ace’s feet, and he silently cursed.

He couldn't stop the shout he let out, breaking into a zig-zagged sprint.  He needed to get away, and fast.  His heart raced faster and faster.  He looked briefly over his shoulder and saw the white coat, muttering shit! under his breath.  He felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.  He quietly vaulted through a window, gasping as he felt a hand on his leg.  

He was yanked to the ground, smacking his forehead on the brick wall he was climbing through.  He heard the Doctor rubbing his hands together, and he tried to crawl away.  There was no offering for a memento mori, the Doctor wasn’t supposed to be able to simply electrocute him.  He saw the faint glow around a totem not 10 feet from him, and he sighed with annoyance.  Of course there was a Hex.  

And even with Devour Hope active, the Doctor didn’t kill him just yet.  Ace felt the electricity surge through his body, making every muscle twitch and convulse against his will.  It was a terrible feeling, to not be in control, and Ace hated it.  He cried out in pain, trying to push himself to his feet.  

Another shock made him fall to the ground again, this one stronger than the last.  Was the Doctor testing him?  He just wanted it to stop.  He struggled to catch his breath, keenly aware that his mind was starting to play tricks on him.  He rolled onto his back, staring wide-eyed at the Doctor behind his sunglasses.  When had he started panicking?  The question was quickly put aside as god knows how much electricity surged through his head.  

He fell limp as his eyes closed.  Was he dead?  He stayed still, hoping that if he wasn't, he would be left alone.  He didn't know how much time passed before he opened his eyes and slowly sat up.  

He was in a completely different forest than in the trial.  Why do I still feel like I'm going crazy?  Outside of trials, madness didn't affect survivors.  There wasn't any point to screaming like a lunatic with no Killers around to pick up on it.  His breath was shaky as got up and looked around.  He just had to walk to the flickering light of the campfire and he could calm himself and recover.  

Every step he took towards it felt more like a step backwards as the light got farther away.  Was he imagining all this?  He shook his head, looking around and noticing Claudette and Quentin walking through the woods.  

“Hey, Claud!  Quentin!  Wait a sec!”  

It was like he hadn't spoken, with how neither of them even flinched. He had to be going crazy.  Or were they upset?  Were they in the last trial?  Ace didn't know.  He jogged to catch up.  

“Hey, did you hear me at all?”  

Claudette turned, and Ace swore he had never seen such a look of disgust on her face.  He faltered, pausing as she simply walked on.  No, he had to be going insane.  That just wasn't like her to be so cold.  But maybe he deserved it?  He left the others to die in the trial.  Ace shook his head again, trying to convince himself that his mind was playing tricks on him, that he was hallucinating.

But what if it wasn't?  He took a deep breath, rubbing the sides of his head.  He blinked and saw the campfire not even 5 feet away.  Where had that been before?  He turned to walk in the other direction, letting himself wander in the surrounding forest.  He had to clear his head, first.  

David, however, had spotted him and walked into the forest to check up on him. David reached out to grab Ace's attention. He took a surprised step back when the other spun around with a grimace.

“Don't touch me.”

“Th’ fucks got you wound up?”  

“I just need time to myself.”  

David scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Bullshit.  You took one look at the fire and then walked off.  No charming bullshit or anythin’.  Somethin’s got you real bothered and some ‘time to yourself’ ain’t fixin’ it.”  

He’s going to be upset when he learns what you did.  Ace’s voice echoed in his head.  It was no secret to the others that David was a part-time debt collector back home.  He sometimes bragged about the people he ‘coerced’ into paying.  Ace trusted him the least, being a sometimes in-debt gambler himself.  His mind raced with thoughts of panic, how he couldn’t trust David and being here, alone with him, was going to end terribly.  

“Just a little rattled.  I’ll cool off and come back fine.”  

He just wanted David to leave him alone.  But even that was too much for a stubborn scrapper who enjoyed a good fight.  

“Not ‘appening.  Th’fuck happened, Ace?”  

“Mind your own business, King.”  

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself, the tone in his voice so venomous that David was caught off guard, then his expression turned into one of anger.  

“Fuck off, Visconti.  I’m askin’ cause we’re all worried about you, and you say it’s your own business?  It’s all our business if you’re gonna sulk and mope the entire damn time and not say a single fuckin’ word.  Spill it: what th’fucks your problem?”  

Ace let out an annoyed sigh, eyes narrowing as he glared at David.  

“I don’t owe any of you shit.”  

David took a step forward, staggering backwards when Ace shoved him.  

“Fuck off, King.  Head back to the fire.”  

“Don’t fuckin’ tell me what to do.  You tryin’ to piss me off, or are you just doin’ a real fantastic fuckin’ job of bein’ a bastard?”  

Ace saw how David’s fists clenched, all too eager to hit something.  He’ll beat the hell out of you when your back is turned.  Just wait.  Ace’s eyes darted past him to the campfire, noticing now they were being watched by all the others.  How long had they been there?  And not one made a move to stop what was happening?  Were they enjoying this?  David stepped closer again, sure that he was going to get a punch in the face.  Strike first.

He reached for the nearest branch and whipped it across David’s face.  He shouted in pain, a red line quickly forming across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.  The barely restrained sigh was the clearest indication that David was pissed.  He moved surprisingly quickly, swinging at Ace’s face and hitting the sunglasses clean off his face.    

He knew he was not going to win in a fight with David.  Everything was screaming to run, to escape, but he’d be right back at the campfire.  This was an inevitable he’d have to face. ��He spun the branch in his hands, aiming to stab David in the shoulder with it.  David caught his arm, making him drop the branch.  David caught his other arm when he attempted to punch him in the side.  

“CALM TH’FUCK DOWN, WILL YA?”  

“LET GO OF ME, DAVID!”  

Even in David’s grip, his arms shook.  Fear, anger, hysteria settled in like a thick fog.  He hadn’t even noticed Bill jog up beside them, forcing himself between their conflict.  

“Quit the horseshit, both of ya!”  

Ace let out a long breath, swallowing afterwards.  His heart was pounding in his chest, thoughts still racing.  David grit his teeth.  

“Tell that to ‘im.  Freakin’ the fuck out on me for no fuckin’ reason.”  

Bill had simply looked over to David, who shook his head and walked back to the fire.  Ace caught his breath, cautiously turning his gaze over to Bill.  

“Alright, do you wanna explain what’s got you so goddamn riled?”  

Ace crossed his arms, gripping his upper arms tightly.  He was at least thankful that Bill kept his distance.  

“..No.  Not really.  Just the Doctor messing with my head.”  

Bill shrugged, turning around to walk back to the fire.  

“Sure, come back to the fire whenever you feel like not snappin’ and beatin’ the everliving hell outta somebody.”  

Ace watched Bill walk off, then turned to grab his sunglasses that somehow weren’t broken and walk deeper into the forest.  

[shooter-nobunagun]

Church Assassin

//You didn’t think I’d forget about Mirza, did you? (Truth is I almost did...^^;; that’s what notes are for!)

Those black eyes held no emotion as the assassin stared, the bloodied mace in his hands now transforming into a frightening morning star strewn with enormous spikes. One hand was still trapped beneath Mirza’s foot, and her gun had been lost somewhere during the scuffle; she was essentially helpless and entirely at the mercy of this Church assassin, and it didn’t seem like he was in the mood to be merciful.

“P-Please, I-I-I haven’t—I’m not, I’m not a beast...j-just let me go! I swear, I-I won’t, I won’t bother the group anymore; please, please...!” Her lips trembled and before she knew it tears were falling, Sio hiccuping with fear as the Bloodletter pulsed wickedly, as if sensing her tainted blood. “I-I don’t, want to die...!”

“...Alas, I’m afraid not, my dear. Sweet as you are, I know what happens to those who turn...” Those spikes were now an inch from her face. “Just look at how eager my Bloodletter is; it smells your blood, yearns to cleanse it. The further along the mutations, the more it hungers.” A spike pierced out right next to her eye, splitting a few hairs and leaving just the slightest red line on her cheek. “But for you, I promise to make it as painless as possible.”

Painless? That thing? Her eyes slid over to those sharp spikes, coated with the blood of countless past victims. If she weren’t about to be one herself, the girl would’ve snorted in response. She futilely tried to free her arm in a panic as the assassin took a step forward.

“P-Please, don’t...!” 

“Think again, wanker!” There was an explosion of fire and glass, Sio immediately ducking back as Mirza cursed, now busy trying to put out the fire on his clothes, only to be clobbered by the blunt end of the Stakedriver.

“Fucking bastard; Sio, you all right? Tell, you keep an eye on that asshole; if he tries anything funny, put an arrow through him. Or two,” Adam muttered angrily, making sure Mirza was out cold before helping the girl up. “Sio!” 

“Adam, y-you...I...you’re bleeding!” She winced as the hunter gently checked over her injuries, seemingly not caring about the puncture wounds in his own torso as he bandaged her fingers into a crude splint. “M, Mirza, I didn’t...he was here the whole time...!”

“Yeh, I should’ve known he’d get desperate enough t’ pull somethin’ stupid like this,” Adam’s eyebrows furrowed with anger, but mostly at himself. “Honestly, I fucked up; shouldn’t’ve left ‘im alone without doing anythin’...” Those slim fingers in his hands, now bloodied and mangled from Mirza’s cruel treatment; blood boiled in his veins, but Adam knew he had to keep a clear mind if they wanted to get out of this without anymore collateral. “I’ll be completely honest: in my opinion we should just get rid of him...permanently.” Sio gave a small gasp, but Adam didn’t seem deterred. “He’s already revealed his intentions, which is to murder anybody who might even turn into a beast—couldn’t be more like Geronimo and just exterminate actual beasts, that cunt. Besides, it’s not like the rest of the group has any strong feelings about him anyway.”

“B, But, if we do, g...get rid of him, how are we going to explain his disappearance to the group?”

“Uh, squirt? Last I checked, beast huntin’ was an extremely dangerous profession where even the best can get killed at any second; I seriously doubt anybody’d bat an eyelash if we just say he met some misfortune with a beast,” Adam raised an eyebrow, still surprised by the girl’s naïveté at times. “‘Sides, it’s not like we announced he was comin’ with us or anything...hunters come and go. It’s just par for course.”

“I, I see, but still...” Even though Adam made very good points, and certainly she did not want to be around Mirza ever again, there just seemed to be something...unsavory about murdering someone, especially one who’d helped them, even if it was a ruse. ‘Then again, it’s not like I’ve hesitated when we’re fighting rival hunters...so why am I conflicted now?’ 

“A-Anyway, you’re hurt! That was from...MIrza, wasn’t it?” 

Adam nodded wordlessly, hissing slightly as Sio now helped patch him up in return. Deep, bloody holes that she could easily stick a finger through...shuddering, the huntress tried not to think too hard about how it would’ve felt had it not been for Adam’s timely actions.

A groan made both of them jump, Mirza regaining consciousness but now firmly hog-tied and guarded by an expressionless, stoic Tell, who also had an arrow trained right on his heart. 

“My my...how the tables have turned. You surprise me, Muirhead.” Despite him now being the victim, the assassin did not seem concerned at all. “Perhaps it was you I underestimated, and not the girl.”

“Shut th’ fuck up; I’ve no interest in talking to you.”

The cursing didn’t throw Mirza off at all; if anything it only served to amuse him further. “Oh? Well that’s too bad, considering I’ve an interest in chatting with you...especially you, Miss Ogura. That leering grin, and even though there was no way he could get out of those knots and Tell’s watchful eye, still Sio shivered as she tried hard not to turn away.

“Wha, what...do you want? Y-You said, the Healing Church...you, work for them...don’t you?”

“Correct; I am employed by them to hunt down the infected who are about to turn...so that we may quarantine this disease before it spreads.” His eyes narrowed slightly, as if recalling some long-lost memory. “It’s a shame really, but someone has to do the dirty work. Oh, all those good hunters...but in the end, what matters if they’re destined to become beasts? A monster is a monster, in the end.”

“Tch, load a good that’ll do you at this point,” Adam muttered darkly, still refusing to engage the other man. Perhaps when the scourge first appeared, an aggressive quarantine campaign may have had some effect. But now, with most of the population already half-beast... “I don’t believe it. Th’ Church has little power left at this point, so there’s no real reason you’d keep working for ‘em. Unless you really are a nutter...”

“My, Muirhead, I thought we weren’t going to converse?” The assassin gave a light chuckle. “You just can’t resist knowing, can you? Both of you...and perhaps a few others, that seek to know the Truth...” He gave another laugh and Adam scowled, wondering if perhaps Mirza truly had gone mad, after all this time. 

“Bear in mind. Some places are better left untouched, and some secrets are better left alone....only fools do brazenly roam..."

The two left Mirza tied up, still under Tell’s gaze as they discussed in a more private corner. As soon as they disappeared from the assassin’s view the huntress dropped to her knees, shaking even as Adam pulled her close.

“Th-that, that was...h-he...” She didn’t even finish her words before tears rolled down her face, shoulders hunched over as small sobs wracked her body; the shock wearing off as the realization of how close she came to dying, and her own condition, hit her full on. There were too many things happening, as if she didn’t already have enough to worry about; now there was an assassin to deal with, and the sinking horror that her illness was further along than any of them realized. “I, I, I-I don’t...I don’t want to die!”

“Shh love, there there...” Adam patted her hair and murmured soothing words in her ear. “You’re not gonna die; I’ll protect you, I swear. Remember, I promised you this night will end...and I aim to see it through.”

Sio nodded, throat too tight to say anything and so she could only nod weakly. “I, I know...but still, sometimes it’s just so hard...!” She was so tired of everything: the unending horrors of Yharnam, hostile hunters and mysterious beings that might as well be gods...all on top of keeping a close watch on her blood sickness that was creeping ever closer. She leaned against Adam’s chest, relishing in a few minutes of peace as she listened to his heartbeat while he rubbed a soothing hand along her back.

Still, no matter how bad she felt or how tempting it was to just close her eyes right there, Sio knew they couldn’t leave such matters unresolved. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to sit up, wiping away the last of the tear stains. “So, about Mirza...do we really want to just...kill him?”

“Yeh really still hung up on that?” Adam cast her a curious glance. “Well, I mean...is there some reason you want to keep him alive? Is it sympathy?”

She didn’t want to admit it, but Sio supposed that was part of it. “W-Well, maybe...I guess it just feels...wrong to outright kill someone, even if he does want to kill me...I don’t know, maybe it’s because we already worked together before, it just feels...” She glanced at Adam helplessly, unable to put her emotions into words, but Adam simply nodded in understanding. “B-Besides, I think he might be a valuable source of information.” 

“...I understand where you’re coming from, and yeh, I’ll admit at one point I did consider him a comrade, even. But this,” he took one more look at her bandaged fingers and shook his head, “I can’t forgive him for that. Even if we need more info. Not to mention logistically speaking, how the hell are we going to keep him from tryin’ to go after you? It’ll be impossible to keep an eye on him every second...”

��We won’t have to...” Those emeralds stared at her in confusion, but in Sio’s mind the plan was already formulating. “No, if I play this right...we won’t even have to worry about him turning on us.”

“Uh, if you don’t mind me asking—and excuse my language—but how the bloody hell d’you propose we do that?”

Those wide maroons, still shiny with tears but now set in a determined glance. “We’ll just convince him to join our side. Abandon the Church’s goals. Yes I know, it won’t be easy—but I have a feeling, he’s not actually that loyal to the Church. He just...agreed to do it because of some other reason...which I don’t know, but I bet I can fish it out of him...”

“I—uh—ah, hell...y’know what, I’ll just trust you on this. I don’t like it one bit, but if anyone’s got the brains t’ make this work it’s you.” Sighing heavily, Adam could only nod in agreement. “Still, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him wander wherever he pleases. If I feel we can’t trust him at any point, then that’s it; no more second chances. Fair enough?”

Sio nodded. “Fair. A-And, thanks, Adam...for always watching my back.”

He didn’t say anything, only pulling her close for one last embrace before both of them nodded and headed back, Sio taking a deep breath to steel herself.

“Ah, and the lovebirds return. Needed a moment to yourselves? How sweet.” Adam growled in the back of his throat but Sio cut him off with a single arm.

“Mahesh Mirza. I don’t like you, and clearly you want to kill me, so let’s get to the point: give up fighting in the name of the church, and really join our group. There’s no reason for you to keep trying for your goals at this point. The Healing Church is as good as dead...and if it’s infected hunters you’re after, well we’ll be seeing plenty of them.”

At this the assassin threw his head back in pure laughter. “Bargaining? Really? I half-expected you two to come in and behead me without another word—and judging from Muirhead’s face, that’s what he has in mind. But you, Ogura...you’re even willing to give your enemies a second chance?” He shook his head in amusement. “I can’t tell if you’re a soft-hearted fool or an idiot savant.”

Sio gritted her teeth but forced herself to not give into Mirza’s taunts. “You’re right, we can just kill you right here and nobody would even care. But you don’t actually want to die...at least, not like this—a boring, pointless death, not even able to fight back. That’s why you go out of your way to specifically hunt those who haven’t turned yet; regular monsters are too ordinary.” Mirza hadn’t said a thing but she could’ve sworn his eyes were changing. 

“You enjoy the chase; the thrill, the challenges...actually, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to that it’s not the Church that’s using you, but you’re using them...isn’t that right?” Sio didn’t know where this strange, new confidence was coming from, but somehow the more she spoke, the less she was afraid; even daring to saunter up to the very man whom tried to decapitate her with a knife. “In fact, I know that feeling too...the tension when you’re just one step away from victory, or death...that’s what you live for. That’s why you came with us, and bided your time.”

Mirza laughed in return. “Oh, and here I thought I was doing such a good job hiding my intentions,” he replied sarcastically. “But then again, I figured you were different...not just your blood sickness, but you yourself...you too, enjoy the hunt more than you care to admit. You hunt not only to find a cure, but because you genuinely relish the bloodshed...don’t you, Miss Ogura?”

Sio’s heart thumped so loudly she was sure everyone could hear it, but outwardly her face betrayed no other emotion. Mirza wasn’t the first to point it out, and she herself admitted many times already she did enjoy the hunt; the way it made her feel alive like nothing else.

“Yeah, and why not? If I’m going to be trapped in this damn nightmare, might as well get some sort of satisfaction, right?” As guilty as she felt, somehow just admitting that yes, she did enjoy a good fight, lessened the anxiety that had been eating at her all this time. Was it so wrong? She’d always been different her whole life, the blood sickness notwithstanding—and despite all the terrors, hardships and obstacles, she felt that she belonged at last, even if it was with a rag-tag band of what were essentially marauders. “It’s true, I have the blood sickness...but I haven’t turned, not yet—despite what your Bloodletter may sense, there’s still time...you would waste such an opportune target just for the sake of precaution?” She tossed her head with a snide look. “Really, given what you’ve just told me, I half-expected you to keep quiet until I literally started sprouting claws and fangs. That would be a real fight...not something pathetic like this.” The edge of her spear just grazed his chin. “You scared that if you don’t kill me now, I’ll be stronger than you right when I’m about to turn?”

The assassin scoffed. “Hardly; an inexperienced huntress like you ought to watch her mouth around the Church...” But the slight tension in his voice did not escape her. “Those who are infected need to be stopped before they can endanger others.”

“Right. Uh huh.” The huntress rolled her eyes. “But anyway, since you don’t seem keen on changing your mind, I guess we’ll just have to get rid of you.” She casually turned her head back at Adam, who wasted no time in charging up the Stakedriver. “Too bad, Mirza...I have to admit, I was kind of looking forward to that fight...” Sio licked her lips as she sauntered away, letting Adam take the lead.

“...Some places are better left untouched, and some secrets are better left alone. Only fools do brazenly roam." The Stakedriver was a second away from being fired when Mirza spoke. Adam didn’t move a muscle, instead waiting for Sio’s command.

“...Go on, I’m listening.” Sio waved Adam off.

“If you’re that determined to prove me wrong, Miss Ogura...then I’ll tell you. That which you seek.” The assassin’s eyes glittered, as if in a fevered madness. “What the Church wrought, and how this all began...if you can slay the Nightmare, I’ll take it as a sign that you actually know what you’re doing.” Mirza laughed. “Hell, I’ll even join your merry little band, if you so wish...”

“The...Nightmare?” Yharnam and its obsession with blood, dreams, monsters and gods... Sio closed her eyes briefly. “And where is this place that only fools go looking for?”

There was a shuffling noise, Adam readying his Stakedriver as Mirza managed to wriggle a hand into a pocket (despite the tight ropes), but it was only a toss a small vial of something towards them, the glass container rolling to a stop just at her feet. “You’ll need this to enter.” Sio picked up the small jar, only shuddering slightly as she made out the bloodied, single eyeball suspended within it, its pupil muddied and sunken. “When a hunter becomes drunk on blood, and starts turning into a beast...they get taken by the Nightmare, destined to wander forever, engaged in an endless hunt.” Another chuckle from the assassin, as if he were truly enjoying himself for the first time.

“Yours will look the same, Ogura, soon enough. It is a fate that no Hunter can escape"

Sio said nothing as Mirza continued to laugh, instead quietly clenching her fist around the small glass vial. No matter the odds, she would not let herself succumb to what many other hunters before her had. “Come on, let’s go then.” Without even a backwards glance at Mirza, who was still tied up (though she had a feeling he wouldn’t be for long), both men instantly followed her towards the lamp.

“Don’t forget, I’ll know whether or not you’ve slain the Nightmare...best be heading to the Cathedral Ward now, if you don’t want your pretty little eyes to end up the same...” The laugh continued to echo after them as they slowly vanished.

Nobody said a word after that, but after they landed with a swirl back in the Dream, it was all Sio could do to not stumble to the nearest crevice and collapse into exhaustion. The rest of the group was mercifully elsewhere, only Hunter giving a slight greeting upon their return and a quip about everyone else wandering in the Nightmare Frontier. 

“Sio, you aren’t serious...” Adam followed her into what was now considered her private little corner inside the building, behind the counter where runes where engraved. “You’re really going to trust that cunt’s words?” 

The huntress heaved a sigh as she shucked off her overcoat, careful not to bend her fingers too much. “I know Adam, I know...trust me, normally I’d be getting the hell away from whatever Mirza’s trying to play at, but somehow I just...” She gave a frustrated sigh, before sitting down in the only chair with her eyes closed. “...Even though it’s only a hunch...I just can’t shake this feeling he’s telling the truth; that there is something more out there,” her bandaged fingers toyed with the glass vial containing the bloodied eye, “something that will help us come closer to understanding this whole dream...and therefore ending it...”

There was a long silence, only the fire crackling until there was the soft rustling of cloth, Sio turning around to see Adam shed his outer gear as well and sitting on the floor. “...You know, out of all my years hunting, I don’t think I’ve met another hunter quite like you. I-In a good way of course,” he stammered, Sio’s steely gaze turning on him with a raised brow. “It’s not that I don’t trust you; you’ve proven plenty of times that you know what you’re doing. But, I feel like each time we try to come closer to finding out whatever truth there is...the more peril you put yourself in, “ he whispered softly, gently stroking her bandaged fingers and Sio found herself shivering slightly. “Not to mention, we both know you’re on a time limit; and I don’t fancy finding out what that limit is.”

“I-I...” She couldn’t say anything else after that; He had a point—was if her wild goose chases to find the truth would be just that: a wild goose chase? Wasting time looking for something that may not even exist, instead of trying to end this dream and cure your sickness... And yet the despite all the evidence against it, her internal compass still pulled her towards it; like a mysterious beacon, whenever she thought about seeking the truth her soul felt it was the right thing to do.

“...That being said, I already promised I would help you see this night through, to the very end.” Somehow Sio found herself sitting in his lap, though she didn’t seem to remember how or when that happened. “And if that means going to the ends of this nightmare to do so...then I will follow without hesitation.” Despite the seriousness, his eyes were smiling at her, in that very peculiar way that only he could do. “I trust your judgement, Sio.”

Sio felt her face flushing, and it definitely was not from the fire. Even though she and Adam were considerably less prickly with each other now, it was still rare for him to genuinely complement and praise her skills at such length—and even from before, when all her classmates had made fun of her strange fascinations, and only Asao stood by her. She barely managed to stammer out her thanks, laughing nervously about how she appreciated his loyalty when he simply turned her face towards his and kissed her. 

It wasn’t the same as their first kiss, when it had been a volatile combination of pent-up frustrations and desire; this one was much softer, warmer and comforting, like the tight embraces she’d come to cherish. Both her hands wound behind his broad shoulders, fingers threading through those fine strands of silver that felt like silk between her scarred fingers. His breath was pleasantly warm against her skin, Sio sighing as Adam pulled her a little deeper into his arms. Without the bulk from their coats, she was able to feel more his warmth; unconsciously she pressed herself against his well-built chest, shifting her position as she felt fingers slowly undo the top buttons of her shirt.

Normally there was no way either of them would risk such scandalous behavior in an open area, but Sio reasoned she deserved a break after so many streaks of bad luck. Not to mention everyone else save for Hunter and Tell were out, and those two weren’t the type to nose around, thankfully. She heard Adam murmur something about maybe stopping before they got too carried away but she shook her head and shushed him with another kiss, this one deeper than the first one and certainly more passionate. He seemed to take that hint, brushing her strands from her cheek as his tongue slowly swept across her lips to ask for permission. 

She knew nothing about relationships or marriage, or even courting—but she did know the feeling of warmth, the pleasant tingles rushing through her body as both of them became more entwined with each other. The collar of his shirt was undone, exposing a sliver of heated skin she pressed her palm against, relishing both the heat and the steady thumping of his heartbeat. His lips were now tracing her delicate jaw, Sio gasping as it brushed against a sensitive spot and her grasp tightened; there was a low chuckle from the man at her reactions. 

We probably should stop...but somehow, I can’t... Her vision was hazy as he traced shapes through her shirt, a sudden bloom of heat sinking low into her stomach—a new and intense feeling, Sio getting restless from the heat building up throughout her body. It held the same intensity as the thrill of a fight, but it mingled with her desire for him; a strange yearning that made her want to bury herself in him. 

“Eager, aren’t we?” Another low chuckle and Sio panted from the warmth of Adam’s hands as they dipped underneath her un-tucked shirt and smoothed across her stomach. “We should probably stop...”

“Ah...I don’t, see you stopping anytime soon,” she breathed against his ear, unconsciously grinding her hips downward to soothe the heat that did not seem to be going away. Each movement sent delicious tingles up and down her spine, Adam groaning very softly as he also starting moving in sync with her. “B-Besides, I thought you trusted my judgement...”

They were both panting now, hips rocking together in some sort of clumsy rhythm but neither could stop. What began as something to quench that heat only seemed to be fanning the flames hotter, it seemed; Sio found herself bracing herself against his shoulders, using them as leverage as the pace increased yet the knot inside her stomach only grew tighter.

‘What is this feeling...I don’t know what’s going on, but it feels so good...!’ She relished the friction from the rough cloth rubbing between her legs with each movement...it made her want to simultaneously curl her toes and arch her back. Everything felt so hot, as if she was on the brink of breaking through something...whatever it was.

“S-Sio...I-I’m serious, we should...really stop...” Adam was panting as fast as her now, his own face flushed a deep pink while his hands gripped her slender hips. “Even though it feels...amazing...with you...” He pressed their foreheads together, those deep emeralds reflecting her own eyes back into her.

“Nnng...I, I know...b-but, I just, can’t...ah, wh-what is this...I’ve never, felt it before...” Pure, scintillating pleasure from his touch—she’d never been this close with anyone, physically or otherwise, and the fervor from their little session was almost overwhelming. There was a sort of urgency added to the flames now, as if she had to reach this one point now, causing her to gasp and buck her hips unsteadily as she nearly let herself go to this hedonistic pleasure.

“S-Sio! You—!” Her quickening pace did not go unnoticed by the silver-haired man, who couldn’t even finish his sentence before roughly grabbing her hips, almost slamming himself into her as she couldn’t help but cry out. “Seriously—!”

“N-No, please, I’m...c, close...to, s, something...” Yes, she was almost there...just a little more, just a little faster, and the end of this teetering tightrope she was walking across would be in reach... “Ah, Adam...!”

The resounding clatter of throwing knives dropping on the floor shattered whatever nirvana Sio was about to achieve in her pleasure-filled haze. Both of them froze at the commotion, only to see a very sheepish-looking Hunter looking away in embarrassment. 

“Och, sorry ‘bout that...didn’t mean t’ interrupt...oy now, dinnae ye two be givin’ me tha’ look! T’was a right accident, that was. ‘Sides, not like I saw no nothin’...though at the rate ye two were carryin’ on...” Hunter shook his head and gave a low whistle. “Be grateful the place’s empty as it is. This building ain’t exactly the place I’d chose fer a tryst, but eh, guess ye take what ye can get.”

And with that the surgeon placed all his knives into the storage box this time, and strolled out without another glance back, leaving the two of them staring at the floor in an awkward silence. All the passion she’d been experiencing just seconds earlier was completely dead, Sio now feeling a mixture of embarrassment and frustration at having come so close—if only Hunter had come in a few seconds later—

“Well, squirt, guess we should’ve stopped, ‘ey?” Adam had a roguish grin on his face, still flushed from their activities. “Just kiddin’; wasn’t like I wanted it to end, either... He gave a pained groan as Sio reluctantly pried herself off his lap. “Well, not like this, anyway...”

“A, Adam...” Her voice came out as a squeak, Sio suddenly feeling incredibly shy and embarrassed now that her mind was recalling what exactly just transpired. Going at it like a pair of animals in heat...grimacing, she mentally berated herself for letting her base wants get the better of her, especially in a time and place like this. “I-I, I’m, sorry...”

“Hey, don’t be sorry; ‘s not like I regret anything,” he gave her head a playful ruffle, “an’ from the looks of it, you don’t either, yeh?” He winked and Sio felt herself turn even redder. “Though I gotta say, I definitely wasn’t expecting you to be so...well, aggressive...but I like that, this...duality of yours...it’s what makes you special.”

Adam smoothed out his clothes, before helping her up and Sio could only blush and mumble shyly as she buttoned her shirt up. Seriously, what the heck had that been about? ‘It’s like that time I almost lost control, after Logarius...except this time I actually did lose control...’ But there was no denying it had been pleasurable, and quite so, at that. Even with the lust fading, still the warm crevice between her thighs tingled ever-so-slightly whenever she thought back to the heat of the moment, when they were tangled together and moving in sync to reach whatever goal it was...

“Anyway, don’t dwell on it too much; Hunter won’t say anything, you know that.” Adam was putting on his overcoat again, looking and acting as if nothing had happened at all. “Speaking of which...to that place Mirza was talking about—through the Cathedral Ward?” Sio nodded. “I have a feeling, this ‘Nightmare’ he’s talking about...it won’t be easy to defeat. An’ if we’re really going on this wild goose chase, then I don’t know about you, but I’d like some backup; and honestly, I can’t think of anything better than our original trio, yeh?

The ‘original’ three, just her, Adam and Hunter...Sio felt herself smiling at the idea, nodding silently as she gathered up her equipment and the two went to find the surgeon, Sio patting the vial in her pocket on last time.