#but like it’s nice outside but for some reason inside is just gross and on top of my fucking pain it’s too much

[boomerang109]

okay i have my fan going fast enough it sounds like it’s going to fly off the ceiling and kill me maybe i still have a chance at life

[amomentsescape]

Slashers React to You Being Harassed

Warnings: Being verbally harassed by a gross man, some cuss words

A/N: A lot of you seemed to really like the last "Slashers React" fic I did, so I figured I'd write up another one. This came out a little cheesy, but oh well? Hope you enjoy!

Context: You were feeling a little cooped up recently due to being stuck inside from the flu. Now that you were feeling better, you wanted to go out and take some time away from home. But of course, you could never have more than a few minutes of peace. Some older man decides that you are the perfect one to pick on. He attempts to flirt with you, and even after saying "no" a handful of times, he still doesn't get the hint.

Michael Myers

You were honestly a little scared

Not for yourself, but for what was going to happen to the man

Even after weeks of insistence, Michael refused to let you go anywhere on your own

Even if he wasn't right next to you, he was lurking somewhere nearby

He was a blatant and proud stalker

So you knew that it wouldn't take long before-

Welp

The man is now dead with a slit throat

That was quick

"You could have stepped in sooner, you know?"

He just grips onto your hand and drags you back home

"But I've only been outside for five minutes!" you protest

He forces you to stay inside for another couple of weeks

Jason Voorhees

This disgusting man was now attempting to reach out and touch you

You took a step back and tried to put some space between you two

But in the blink of an eye, a large machete burst through his chest at you, your clothes getting splattered with blood

You scream

The now dead man drops to the ground as your eyes meet his killer

"Jesus, Jason! A bit of a warning next time, please."

He just tilts his head at you

You start grumbling about how your clothes were basically ruined now

Jason just picks you up and swings you over his shoulder

"This was my favorite shirt," you continue groaning

He gifts you with a small pocket knife the next day to take with you when you go out

Brahms Heelshire

You promised Brahms you wouldn't step too far off the Heelshire property line

So the fact that anyone was even over here seemed odd to you

And now here you were, wishing Brahms wasn't so weird about leaving the house

Because unfortunately, this man didn't seem like he was going to go away without a fight

So you did the only thing you could think of in that moment

You screamed

It lasted a few seconds

But the man didn't seem fazed

"There's no one else out here, Sweetheart," he said

"Hmm?" a voice spoke behind him

The man spun around and was immediately thrown to the ground

Brahms bashed his head in repeatedly with a rock

"Thank you-" you started

Brahms just grabbed you by the arm and drug you back inside the house

He didn't let you go outside for a while after that

Billy Loomis

You were about ready to punch this man yourself

But you didn't want to risk anything since you were alone

This man was good sized and you knew that trying to fight him probably wouldn't end well for you

But lo and behold, you wouldn't even have to lift a finger

A knife was quickly plunged into the man's throat causing him to bleed out in seconds

After a moment, you finally looked up and saw Billy in front of you

"Thank, God," you sighed, hugging the boy

It took you a second before you pulled away, looking at him in confusion

"Wait, how did you know I was out here?"

Billy avoided your gaze

"Were you stalking me?"

"I like to call it, observing"

You let out a groan

Stu Macher

You're crazy if you think Stu was going to let you outside by yourself

This boy is glued at your hip 24/7

The only reason why this other man was even flirting with you right now is because Stu went off to "take a whizz" as he likes to say

Thankfully, this doesn't normally take him long

So as this man continued to push his luck, Stu walked up next to you, his eyes a little dark

"Is there a problem here, babe?" he asked a little too nicely

How you answer this is definitely going to affect what Stu does next

But this man was pissing you off so...

"Yeah, he won't leave me alone"

And that's all it took for the man to end up dead on his side, a knife in his chest

Afterwards, Stu and you continued your little venture outside

He just held you a lot closer to him the whole time

Eric Draven

You were honestly getting freaked out by this man

In a city like this, anyone could be hurt

But your moment of panic soon died down to the sight of a black crow perching on the nearby building

"Thank you," you murmured

"What was that?" the man spat back

You couldn't help but smile a bit

"You're about to get your ass kicked"

He just laughed at you

Your smile grew when you saw a figure approach the man from behind

He noticed this and turned around, only to be met with the city's best vigilante

"Hi"

The man was suddenly struck with a metal pipe

And he continued to be struck another 17 times

Eric walked up to you after he was done, his painted face dripping with red

"You didn't have to kill him," you said

Eric just shrugged

"Oops?"

[kitsuga]

Daily. {March (FOM) x Reader/Farmer} 

Description: 

A fic in which March doesn’t like changes to his daily routine. 

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Tags: fluff, a swear word or two (or three), drinking, alcohol mention, hemlock spotted!!! Being a dad!!!, CLINGY and PATHETIC march agenda, not betad, not edited, gender neutral reader, fields of mistria/fom x reader/farmer, march x reader, march (fields of mistria)/(FOM) x reader/farmer, whatever tag you want i guess go crazy with ur imagination, 

Word Count: 2,879 

A/N: Written on: October 7, 2024  

I wonder if i love march because i usually AM the march. Self-conscious. Angry. Unapproachable. Dyed hair. Likes to hit things with hammers and gets way too happy when drunk. Anyway, LKSJDFHIUE fields of mistria helped me through terrible time recently; i scooped up its early access almost IMMEDIATELY and have been so in love with it since!! 

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He hadn’t realized it, but March grew fairly used to seeing that new farmer pass by the forge day after day. It became almost... routine, to see them from his peripheral and feel the twitch of his brow, ignoring the sudden increase of heat against his face that was surely from the forge he busied himself with.  

Some days they’d stop to annoy him, while he’d spare a few words out of the kindness of his heart, other days they’d simply throw him a smile and a wave, continuing their walk to wherever it was they’d decide to go that time. There were days they even ignored his presence and hurried on by—those were the days March liked the most, he was unbothered and uninterrupted—coincidentally, they were also the days he had the most trouble trying to fall asleep. Whatever. 

It was a constant, something expected, he would see them walk by his forge at least once a day. They’d dance along the path—hopping, skipping—frolicking through flower petals that danced in the wind alongside them in the crisp, spring air. They’d have days where they would practically sprint by and rush their hellos to make it to the beach, and others where they’d drag their feet and loudly bark up the wrong tree about the heat in the harsh summer sun. Fallen leaves would make constant crunching sounds as they’d make sure to find and step on every damn one just to get on March’s nerves with a giant smile on their face when autumn would roll around. He did get a laugh or two in when hidden ice had made them fall as they goofed around during the winter—he'd be oh-so-kind and let them warm up by the forge for a minute before they went about their day.  

Even through the seasons, this daily greeting was a constant. March hadn’t realized just how much of an impact this would have on his day-to-day schedule—or maybe he had and pushed away the thought—regardless of the true reasoning, it only donned on him when he found himself fidgeting and attempting to keep busy one day, to stay outside just a bit longer to catch sight of them, only to be graced by the lonely presence of the moon instead. 

Where were they today? Not that it mattered to him. They were probably out doing God knows what, making everyone in the town love them even more. Gross. March shook his head, trying to dispel the images of the farmer that continued to pop up in his mind. He didn’t want to see them. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t come by to annoy him. It didn’t bother him. 

But where in the world were they? He stepped onto the road, looking as far along the horizon as he could every which way. Had he just missed them? Maybe they snuck by him earlier, deciding that they’d leave him alone—maybe he’d just gotten so good at tuning them out that he never noticed them go by. Did they make it home alright? Whatever, it wasn’t his problem. He’d go inside and wash the day from him, relax, have a nice dinner with his brother, and get some sleep. 

He thought it’d be so simple. March felt as though his night passed him by—like he was looking at it through a stack of different paintings rather than living it first-hand. He couldn’t get that damn newcomer out of his head! Every waking thought was either accompanied by their face, their voice, or events including them replaying in his head. Now he lay in bed, looking up at his ceiling as the moonlight poured through the window, unable to get his mind to stay still. 

Did they go to the mines today? If they did, were they alright? Did something happen? Were they hurt? Had they exhausted themselves and passed out somewhere? Were they home? Had they eaten, washed up, tucked themselves into bed? March held his head in his hands, hoping if he squeezed it hard enough, he’d shut off his brain. It was driving him crazy! Why was he even thinking any of this—he didn’t care about them, he didn’t like them one bit! They were an annoyance, a pain in his ass, some... outsider! Why couldn’t he just go to sleep!  

The break of dawn welcomed him far too quickly, dragging him out of bed without a wink of sleep. Fine, whatever. He’d see them come by today and he’d just ask what their problem was. Maybe they were just home sick yesterday; sucks for them—maybe they should get better. No, not in a caring way! March rubbed at his face, smacking his cheeks lightly to snap himself out of it. He had things to do, he was going to do them. He was going to set his mind straight, focus, and go about his own day. 

Why weren’t they walking by! March held the hammer in his hand so tightly he started to shake, his teeth would shatter if he kept grinding them as hard as he was. The sun was setting and he still hadn’t seen them—not even a glimpse! He only got a fraction of his tasks done today; constantly looking over his shoulder to check if they had gone by, or standing out in the middle of the road to stare in all directions for a while to see if he could catch them coming. That makes two days now, don’t they know they were ruining his schedule? He found himself tossing and turning again that night, hardly getting any sleep as worry started to creep into his chest. 

Another day, then another, and another after that. Each day that had gone by without so much as a glimpse of them had now made his chest heavy—he didn’t like it. He didn’t know why it was bothering him so much. He entertained the thought of going to their home once or twice just to check in on them—yell at them for ruining his work—but something gnawed at him each time. What if they were avoiding him?  

Yeah, he wasn’t the nicest to them. He didn’t care that he wasn’t. Maybe they DID start avoiding him—that was their choice. It’d be good for him, after all! He wouldn’t have to deal with them distracting him, or... trying to be his friend. Maybe it did bother him that he wasn’t very nice to them. Maybe he did care, just a little bit. 

When Friday rolled around, he ended up at the tavern early, and drinking heavy. He just wanted to rid himself of these feelings, these thoughts. If he couldn’t work as a distraction or sleep them away, maybe drinking them away would work instead. It usually didn’t take much for his head to get lighter, to shed all his worries and let himself be all smiles and laughter, but he was desperate to keep his thoughts at bay. What if they were avoiding him so much that they’d even stop showing up to tavern nights? He knocked back another drink and laid his head on the bar’s counter. 

“You doing alright there, March?”  

March turned so he could face the voice, closing his eyes once his cheek touched the cool counter. 

“I’m FINE, Hemlock...” Was that voice coming from him? Which way was the room spinning? “Just fine...” 

“I’m thinking you’ve had enough for tonight,” Hemlock shook his head and tried taking March’s half-empty glass, “but you can talk about what’s wrong if you want. No pressure.” 

“Nooo,” March drew out his protest, not bothering to raise his head as he grabbed onto his glass, “don’t take that.” 

“Fine, alright. It’s the last one though, alright?” 

Hemlock leaned against the counter in front of him, staring at the young disheveled boy in front of him. He cocked an eyebrow, thinking for a moment before his eyes lit up in realization. Mischievously, he leaned even closer to the faux red-head and called out just loud enough for him to hear, while keeping his plan believable. 

“Oh, hey (Y/n)!” 

“WHERE?” 

March sat straight up, unsure if the deep red creeping over his features was from being drunk, thinking about seeing them, or if all the blood rushed to his head at once from how quickly he moved. He did not last very long before laying his head back on the counter, a fist crashing down beside it. 

“Spinning, spinning, should NOT have done that...” 

“Ah, I had a feeling that was the root of your little problem.” Hemlock teased, once he caught his breath after laughing at the poor boy’s expense. ���What issue do you have with them now?” 

“No... no issue,” March had to calm his breathing. Was he flustered? Oh, no, just trying not to throw up. Wait, was he sure? “Maybe an issue. I don’t know. Why are they avoiding me?” 

“Could be because you aren’t very nice to them.” 

“I’m sooo super nice to them.” 

“Uh-huh...” Hemlock pushed a glass of water onto the counter, trying to slowly switch out March’s two drinks. “Have you tried going to see them?” 

“...I don’t want to find out it’s because they hate me.” 

“Oh, so that’s the real reason.” 

March lifted his head enough to peek up at the older man before turning his gaze to the hand beside him, now dragging his finger along the counter in circles to distract him. 

“I don’t get it. Why haven’t they been by all week? Why... does it bother me so much in the first place?” March closed his eyes again, trying to steady the room. “I like to come here and have some fun; why am I still all upset?” 

Hemlock pushed the water glass further towards March, slowly bringing his glass of beer closer to the back of the bar counter, stopping whenever March stirred slightly. It was a pity, really; Hemlock was well aware of what (Y/n) had been up to—if they were purposefully avoiding March, then they certainly never expressed it. If he remembered correctly, he questioned why they were walking so painfully slow from the tavern the other night, almost comically dragging out each step as they looked up the road behind them. 

‘Should I book you for your new comedy routine?’ 

‘I’m just... takin’ my time, Hemlock! Nothing odd about it.’ 

He remembered watching as they drug their shoe against the road to make their next step, slow as a snail. 

‘Uh... yup, nothing odd about it all right. Everything alright, (Y/n)?’ 

They had given him a sigh then, their body almost melting to the ground as they voiced their woes—too busy to make it anywhere but their farm and the tavern for some dinner at the end of the day, something about cleaning up the old place. It was almost killing them having to stay there instead of running off—or rather, running by the blacksmith. 

‘Isn’t March always giving you a hard time, anyway?’ He remembered asking, putting the back of his hand on his hip and smiling—he already knew the answer. 

‘That won’t stop me!’ They stood triumphantly then, stomping their foot on the ground. ‘I WILL get that boy to be my friend, whether he likes it or not!’ 

Hemlock remembered the shy heat that crept up their neck, touching their ears first before it reached their smile and they had to turn away from him before getting embarrassed further. 

‘Besides...’ their voice was soft, he thought, ‘when you get into a routine, the withdrawals... suck.’ 

Hemlock was brought back to the present by March blindly dragging his drink back to him, reversing all of his hard, secret work. He sighed, a smile on his face as he gave up and picked up an empty glass to start washing it. 

“Well,” he put on his wise father voice, “’when you get into a routine, the withdrawals... suck.’” 

Silent hung above both men a moment before March lifted his head with a confused glare. 

“Huh?” 

“Huh. I thought that would’ve been much cooler than it was. Context was probably better, in hindsight.” 

Both turned their attention to the opening tavern doors, a familiar figure now gracing the open room. A few others called out to them first, receiving a smile, a wave, and a short conversation in return. March sat up straight, ignoring how light headed it made him feel this time. 

“(Y/N)! Heyyy!" He practically drawled out his greetings. “C’mere, c’mere!” 

The heat from his blush was intermingling with the heat from being drunker than Hell, so he no longer paid it any attention. March eagerly patted the counter next to him, practically begging for them to come sit with him. If he were a dog, his tail would have wagged so intensely as the wide smile on his face mirrored theirs as they made their way over. 

“Uh, hi there March! Had enough to drink already?” 

“You’re here!” March let a genuine, heartfelt giggle bubble up from his chest at how light their presence alone made him feel. 

“I am—oh! Okay--” 

March practically threw himself against them, his head against their shoulder while they tried to hold onto the drink Hemlock has just offered them. His bottom lip jutted out, a very prominent pout, as he started to drag his finger along their extended arm now, drawing little shapes like he had done previously to the counter. 

“...Where were you?” His voice grew oddly quiet. “You haven’t been by in days.” 

“Well, I--” (Y/n) tried to explain. A heavy wave of guilt washed over them, a huge pang of pain shooting through their heart at how March looked up at them—sad, puppy dog eyes, his metaphorical ears and tail drooping as though he were sopping wet from the rain. They had to grip at their heart, almost comically, dramatically, throwing their head back in despair at just how evil they had been! 

“I’m sorry! I had a lot of work on the farm, you know? There’s a lot of cleaning up to do there before I can think about maybe expanding my crops, or working on a barn, you know?” They stuck their lips out into a pout of their own, gently patting March’s exposed cheek with their other hand. “Didn’t mean to make you worry.” 

March looked back down at their arm again, now dragging his finger up and down it, quietly mumbling, hoping that they wouldn’t be able to hear. 

“Wasn’t worried...” he started, mumbling even softer, “Just... missed you.” 

Though he thought it were quiet enough, a drunk person’s reality never seems to match; (Y/n) stared down at him, almost dumbstruck at how loudly he had professed his feelings—they weren’t much, but those words alone proved to (Y/n) that there really WAS some sort of fire in that frozen heart of his! Their gaze softened as they slowly turned their arm over, opening and closing their palm a few times to signal an offer. 

March almost immediately, willingly, took their hand and interlaced their fingers. He kept his eyes trained on their hands, studying the way their fingers seemed to fit perfectly between his. After they gently leaned their head against his, he spoke again—a little more clearly this time. 

“So... you don’t hate me?” It sounded pained. 

“No, I don’t hate you in the slightest, March.” 

“...You weren’t avoiding me?” 

“Not at all.” They gave his hand a little squeeze. “Is that what you thought this whole time? Is that why you’re so clingy tonight?” 

“...No.” March huffed, closing his eyes and turning his face away, though he doesn’t dare take his head off of their shoulder. Their soft laugh surrounded him like a soft melody, and he relished in it a moment before speaking up again. “Don’t ruin my daily schedule. Come by at least once a day.” 

“Alright,” they laughed again, “Demanding, much?” 

“You’re making it difficult to get my work done. To sleep. Just—come by at least once so I can see you and have a good day.” 

(Y/n) nuzzled against the top of his head slightly, a smile hidden from his view as they agreed, choosing to ignore the nervous way March started to fidget, and ignoring the way butterflies flew rampantly in their stomach. With their free hand, they brought the glass of water Hemlock had been trying to push on him all night up to his lips, encouraging him to drink at least a bit. 

At least for the night, tension between them had settled—whatever tension they chose to believe there was. March’s chest felt lighter, a weight lifted off his shoulders, as he basked in their glow rather than the cold, lonely moon’s, just for tonight. A goofy, genuine smile made its way up to his eyes, watching as he messed with (Y/n)’s hand and easily accepted any time they gave him water. 

“You’ll forget all this tomorrow, huh?” 

“Yup.” He smiled, giving their hand a squeeze and slightly cuddling further into their shoulder. 

“You’ll go back to hating me tomorrow too, then?” 

“As long as you remember to come by, absolutely.” 

[kaylopolis]

Alastor's Shadow (18+) Chapter One

Pairing: Alastor x F!Reader, Alias: Thestral

Synopsis: There’s a new Overlord in town and it isn’t the Radio Demon. Six years after you fell into Hell, you finally earned your seat at the table as Pentagram City’s newest and baddest. Now, with the Extermination coming six months earlier than planned, it is time to implement your ultimate endgame. After all, who doesn’t love a bit of power and chaos? Your plans bring you to the doorstep of the Hazbin Hotel as Charlie’s newest Redeemer, but who you find waiting for you will not only turn your entire plan upside down but also challenge your grab for power… 

Tags: Slow burn, rivals to lovers, eventual smut 

Word Count: 67+ and counting (of the whole fic)

Chapters: 10/??

Warnings: Minors DNI! 18+! May contain disturbing, gruesome, and graphic sexual scenes. Graphic violence. Blood. Obsession. Mentions of abuse. Mentions of substance abuse. Trigger warnings will be given at the beginning of each chapter. 

Link to Masterlist: Masterlist

____________________________________________

Author note: Hoteliers, This is my first attempt at a fanfic, but I was just so inspired and wanted to post it somewhere after writing like +67K words (and counting). So here goes nothing I guess?

<3 Stay Smutty

Chapter One - The Commercial

Content Warning: None but let me know if I missed any!

“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear…” - Mahatma Gandhi

____________________________________________

Your fingers find the brass handle as anxiety builds in the back of your throat. 

Are you nervous? Why are you nervous? The commercial seemed so inviting and everyone seemed so nice - even if it was a bit glitchy in some frames. If they are indeed as altruistic as they appear, then you’ll be fine! 

But, what if they don’t accept you? 

Nonsense, you just need to show that you care, that you can help. After all, Princess Morningstar wouldn’t turn help away, would she? You were there in the courtyard a few days ago when Heaven’s clock ticked down from one year to 6 months: 182 days right before your eyes. Damn… But it gave you an opening - a reason to repent as opposed to just showing up out of the blue and inventing some backstory in an attempt to explain your sudden desire to achieve redemption. It was an opportunity you couldn’t refuse. 

“Okay, so the Extermination is coming in six months instead of a year. No big deal…” 

As you stepped into the Hotel, you couldn’t help but be underwhelmed by the state of the place. From the outside it seemed big and glamorous - despite the random bits of cell phone tower and… was that a mast from a ship? On the inside, it was worse. Way worse. It wasn’t gross, it was an array of stuff… that was probably the best way to put it. The carpet was torn, the wallpaper peeling, parts of the wall had been tacked together with newer planks of wood to repair unknown sources of damage. It was… Well at least it didn’t smell… that bad… 

Emerging into the foyer, small suitcase in hand - after all, you didn’t own much - you searched for the front desk, but the only thing resembling any sort of check-in area was a bar where a cat-bird thing was organizing bottles. 

To your left was a small inlet before a fireplace, fit with television and radio where two demons sat, listening to a blonde haired bellhop pace.

“… well just handle it! Right!?” The girl grabbed at her hair.

No, not a bellhop. Princess Charlie Morningstar. God, she looked just like her dad. The only thing she got from Lilith was her height. Probably a good thing…

Your heart sank at the sight of her. Biting back the flood of memories threatening to spill down your face, you take a deep breath and enter. 

“Yes,” a grey demon stood, a waterfall of dark hair brushed the floor as she walked. “We will.” She grabs Charlie’s shoulders, forcing her to stop pacing. 

They still hadn’t noticed you. Was this eavesdropping? Were you being rude? That wouldn’t make for a great first impression. 

You took a few hesitant steps forward hoping they’d hear your heels clack against the wood.

“Oh please,” the spider-looking thing sitting on the couch scoffed, staring down at his phone as he talked. “Ya’ had less than half a chance before you started all this salvation bullshit. And now… ain’t no silver linin’, toots.” 

You cleared your throat, having practically snuck up on the group. 

“Oh my gosh!” The blonde squeaked as the grey demon with ridiculously long hair pulled a spear on you, stepping before the Princess. 

You dropped the suit case immediately, raising your arms to show you meant no harm.

“Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around?” She demanded.

Your eyes flit to the “X” eye patch, then to the silver tip mere inches from your nose.

Oh shit, this girl’s the Fallen. Relax, you accounted for that. So long as she doesn’t recognize you…

“I’m sorry!” You squeak, taking a half step back. She follows, her spear not leaving your face. “I tried making noise but you must not have heard me. I was just looking to check-in but…”

“Huh!” The Princess gasped so loud it made your ears pop. 

Pushing the ex-Exorcist - huh, funny - aside the blond grabs your shoulders and squeezes. “Are you a guest!?” Her eyes sparkled. 

“Well, yeah. I was hoping…” you didn’t get a chance to finish before she brought you into a hug so tight you couldn’t breathe. She lifted you off your feet and spun you in a circle before placing you back on the ground. 

“Yay! Vaggie, our very first guest!” She sang. 

“Hey!” The spider finally looked up from his phone. “I’m sittin’ right ‘ere ya’ know?” 

Did he have six eyes or two? Hard to tell but the pink dots decorating his face blinked when he did. 

Creepy.

“Okay, hun,” the Fallen drops her spear, taking Charlie by the arm in an endearing way, but you really knew it was to hold her back. “Let’s give our guest some space. Let her breathe. She can’t be redeemed if you suffocate her and she dies… Again.” 

“Right,” she laughs, reigning herself in. “Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!” Her arms fan out to the room, gesturing to the rundown establishment. 

You musture a genuine smile, not because you’re impressed with the place but because the Princess’ happiness was infectious.

“My name is Charlie!” She takes your hand in hers.

“My name is Thestral,” you answer between the vigorous shakes rolling up your arm. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” the Fallen pulls Charlie away from you. “I’m Vaggie. The guy on the couch is Angel and Husk is behind the bar.” 

Angel gives you a mindless wave, frowning at something on his phone. The bar cat tips his hat to you before pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

Was the bartender supposed to drink the supply? Also, wasn’t it barely nine in the morning? 

“Let me get your bag!” Charlie snatches the hardback suitcase before you have a chance to protest. Dragging you by the elbow, she insists upon a tour.

The Hotel was cute - if not a weird hodgepodge of thrown together dimensions. The bar was clearly cut from somewhere else, the piano room is definitely not of this century, and don’t get you started on the pool. All in all however, it was cute. You could see yourself here, in the library reading late at night with a glass of red, in the music room practicing your piano, on the back balcony enjoying the breeze and screams of innocents. It wasn’t perfect - nothing compared to the luxury you experienced before Hell - but it felt home-y. 

“This is you!” Charlie pulls a key from her pocket as she stops before a door. “Angel is to the left and Alastor is just across the hall.” Grabbing your arm once more, she drags you inside.

It’s cute but humble - something you’d expect from a bed and breakfast and not a city hotel. The room is huge, with a four post bed wrapped in white sheets, neatly tucked into the sides military style. To your left is a small sitting area with a couch and coffee table. Past that were two doors, one leading to a small walk-in closet and the other a tile bathroom.

Frankly, coming from sharing a cramped city apartment in Cannibal Town to this was a huge step up as far as you were concerned. 

“Here you are!” She dropped a black key in your hand, a cat’s eye decorating the handle. Finally, a room to call your own. “Nifty cleans on Sundays and…”

“Wait, my room gets cleaned?” You scrunched your nose in confusion. 

“Of course! We don’t want you to have anything to worry about when you stay with us. Redemption is the goal, afterall!” Charlie sang. 

That was going to be a problem… 

Charlie stood staring at you for a long moment, her eyes sparkling in the low light. Her hands cupped her chin as she smiled at you with such emotion you were surprised her face didn’t split in half right there. She looked like a small child, waiting for a candy bar or something. 

God, you didn’t realize how enthusiastic she would be about all this. Now is definitely not the time to tell her you had no intentions of being redeemed. You were just here for the chaos. Frankly, any normal person would feel guilty right about now, but not you. 

Oh, you had far bigger plans for Ms. Morningstar, she just didn’t know it yet. 

“Okay,” Vaggie steps up, grabbing her by the collar. “We’ll let you get unpacked. It’s Sunday so brunch is at eleven in the kitchen. We’ll come get you and show you the way. If you need anything there’s a rotary phone by the bed, just call Husk at the bar. He’s always there…” 

“A rotary phone?” You scrunch your nose.

Sure enough, a black rotary phone sat on the bedside table. What century was this? Cannibal Town was stuck in the 1900s but at least they had cell phones. 

“Yeah, the Hotel Manager is a bit outdated with his tastes…” Vaggie grumbles. You sensed tension in her comment but didn’t ask for further details.

“Anyway!” Charlie puts a hand on your shoulder. “We’re really, REALLY glad you’re here.” She breathed in your face, her voice cracking with the threat of tears. 

God, she even had Lucifer’s mannerisms…

You huffed, blowing off the extra emotions her smile pushed into you. “Thank you for taking me in.”

Watching as the Exorcist pulled the Princess back down the hallway, you shut your door and collapsed against the wood. 

“Fuck,” you breathed. Charlie was going to be someone you could only handle in small doses. 

The Princess definitely didn’t recognize you and neither did Vaggie. She might be Hell Royalty but she was oblivious. 

Did she know about Vaggie? Maybe she did and has already accepted it. This place is about second chances after all. 

It didn’t take you long to unpack, after all you didn’t have many personal possessions. A few sets of clothes, some boots and heels, your toiletries and makeup… The suitcase was only half full when you packed it with every possession you owned. Now all you could do was stand before the mirror in the bathroom and stare at yourself as the anxiety began to build again. You fixed your red lipstick over and over until it drove you mad. Throwing the makeup back into your bag, your mind turned to your outfit. 

You were dressed in black slacks which sat high on your hips, fanning out at your legs. Tucked into your waistband was a white button up, giving you the hourglass appearance. Your silver hair was twisted into a bun at the back of your head, a metal clip holding it in place. Your eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, your yellow irises emitting their own form of light. 

Out of all the animalistic appearances in Hell, you were gifted the rare form of a somewhat normal human shape. No tail, no ears, no horns - well, in your normal state anyway. It was just you, with skin as pale white as Charlie’s and a nose tipped in black. You stood a normal five foot four, but in heels you could argue five and a half. You didn’t have canines as sharp and distinct as others, but hey who needed them? You preferred fighting with your hands, anyway. 

Frankly, you were boring compared to the Sinners and Natives of Hell. The most interesting note was the tattoo which spanned your back from shoulder blades to your hips, but that wasn’t important at the moment. 

Your mind returned to your clothes again. They were nice, nothing too flashy and definitely not Velvette brand, but were they too much? Weekend brunches in Cannibal Town were always such a classy affair, something you were expected to dress up for despite the messy array of food which was served. 

Was that expected here? 

As if on cue, a door opens in the hallway and footsteps echo across the carpet. 

Perhaps you should ask. 

Racing to the door, you peak your head out to find Angel heading to the stairs, his nose stuck in his phone. 

“Uhm, excuse me?” You chirp. It was barely audible and he wasn’t paying attention but you were a new voice, which definitely drew him from whatever battle was playing itself out on his screen. 

“Oh, hey!” He tucked the cell phone back into his pocket. His face contorted into a smile, he was doing his best not to show his frustration but it was still quite obvious. “They put ya’ right next to me aye?” He leans against the doorframe, one arm on the wall, the other three at his hips. “Just a fair warning. I can get a little loud. If ya’ know what I mean?” He winks at you, a knowing smile spreading across his sharp teeth as he elbows your side.

God, he was tall, he’d have to be like six foot three or something. 

Up close, and with his attention fully on you, you could finally study his eyes: right eye sclera black, left white. Someone owned him, but with restrictive conditions. 

You already knew the answer: Valentino. Hey, what can ya’ say? You did your homework. 

“Do you guys dress up for brunch or is it more casual?” You smiled, doing your best not to stare at the pink dots blinking back at you on his cheeks. Still creepy. 

“Oh, uh, I dunno, toots. I normally just go in whatever I have on.” He gestured to his pink striped shirt and long boots. 

Casual it is then.

“But if ya’ prefer. I could go in nothing at all,” he purrs, his eyebrows wiggling at you suggestively. 

You couldn’t help but giggle. You got the sense that it wasn’t genuine flirting. That he was trying to make you smile more than anything else. He enjoys entertaining others like that. Probably why he became a Porn Star - and such a famous one at that. 

His face lit up at your laugh. 

“Great, the wire in this bra is killing me!” You mime a pain in your back, eliciting a laugh from the spider demon himself. 

“I like yous,” he holds out a hand to shake. “Names Angel Dust.” 

“Thestral,” you shook his furry hand - he had so many, you wondered how he went shopping for shirts. 

“Thestral? Like the dead horses from ‘arry Potter?” 

“You know your JK Rowling?” 

Angel had to have died in like the 40s/50s - from what research you did before coming here. How did he know about the books and movies made popular in the 2010s? 

“Yeah, she ended up down here after she died. Kept writing weird shit about her characters. Really changed my views on the Potterverse. It was shocking for a while but you can only be so entertaining on Sinstagram and Vitter for so long these days.” He shrugged. 

“Huh, for some reason that doesn’t surprise me, but thank you. The last place I lived, everyone was expected to dress for meals and I just wanted to be sure.” 

“No problem, toots. If ya’ don’t mind me askin’, how long yous been down here? If ya’ didn’t know about the Potter thang, it couldn’t have been that long?” His accent: New York? 

“Just shy of six years, actually,” you rubbed the back of your neck anxiously, feeling the bubbles beginning to fester inside you. 

You’ve done work to gather information before, but you’ve never had to act like you were now. You were always behind a mask… How many details were too many to share? 

“Oh, damn, just shy of being a Fleshy!” He smiles. 

“A Fleshy?” You scrunch your nose.

“Yeah, the living or whatnot.” He pulls out his phone again, frowning at the notification screen before pulling up an app. Something was definitely bothering him. “Hey, whatcha say we head down a little early? I can pull up her Vitter page and show ya’ some good ones?” The spider demon smiled, frustration weighing down his eyebrows. He had a single gold tooth which sparkled in the low light. 

“Sure!” You tried to respond not too excitedly. 

This was the plan. Get in early with one of the Hotel mates and use it as a way to get information on the others. 

You had thought it was going to be Husk. What bartender didn’t love gossip? But here was Angel offering himself up on a silver platter. 

You only had about an hour before brunch was served, but those sixty minutes laying in the alcove by the fireplace were the most hilarious minutes of your life. Angel had you laughing so hard you were crying. Things were going well. Despite the constant text messages from Valentino you pretended not to notice chime across the screen.

At about eleven, a small girl named Nifty - who introduced herself as the housemaid - emerged from the kitchen to announce that brunch was ready, and as everyone piled into the room and found their designated places, you realized you didn’t know where to go. It was like being the new kid at school walking into the lunchroom with a sack lunch and not a friend in the world to rescue you. 

“Hey” Angel waved you to the only available seat left, which just so happened to be at the head. “Sit next to me, will ya’?” 

Relief.

“No! That’s Mr. Alastor’s seat!” Nifty protested from her place by the oven. Her entire body practically vibrated with energy. 

“Mr. Alastor?” That name definitely did not come up in your research.

“Relax, Tiny. Smiles is on the terrace this morning drinkin’ his tea.” Angel leaned back in his chair, one set of arms folded behind his head. “What he doesn’t know won’t kill ‘em. Or maybe it will and we can finally be free o’ him and his creepy, ol’ timey ways. Either way, we’ll be fine.” 

You blinked a few times before hesitantly falling into the seat. Nifty gave a great sigh as she watched you sit, not liking it but allowing it. She busied herself with serving platters of food, her lips twisted in a pout.

It’s a chair. You didn’t think it was that big of a deal? Maybe he was one of those people who was territorial with their things? 

As you sat and passed the food around, you couldn’t help the hairs which prickled on the back of your neck. How could you have missed another guest at the Hotel? You swore you wrote down everyone you saw in that glitchy commercial and did thorough research before coming here. You were never this sloppy. 

“Can I get you anything to drink, Thestral?” Charlie was at the fridge with five different bottles of liquid in her hand, eagerly awaiting your answer. 

“Coffee would be great,” you smiled through a mouth full of eggs, one hand over your face to be polite. God, Nifty was a great cook. You usually never ate breakfast but this was amazing. 

The Hotel inhabitants sat and talked like family. This place has only been open what? Two weeks? And already they got along like they’ve lived together for years. It was kinda cute actually but spelled issues for your plans. A close-knit group like this - especially so fast - only meant it was going to be harder to work your way in. Sure, Angel hung out with you for the past hour and you had a great time, but that was just surface level stuff. You were going to need to dig deeper. 

“No! Nobody look at me,” Husk grumbled from a few seats down. “That machine is a nightmare.” He motioned to the silver espresso machine sitting on the corner countertop behind you. 

It looked brand new, barely been touched! A machine like that probably cost hundreds and they weren’t using it?

“I’m sorry.” Charlie frowned from her place by the fridge. “We’ve had it for a while and no one can figure it out. Husk took a look at it last and although he tried, we got nowhere. Nifty bought beans for it and everything…”

A small smile found your lips, “Mind if I take a look?” 

“Goodluck with that kiddo, that machine is cursed,” Husk buried his head in his arms, the orange juice in front of him bubbling with alcohol - which you would guess was more booze than orange at how much of his flask you saw him pouring into it earlier. 

Seems like everyone knows, as no one glanced his way when it happened, but no one seemed to mind his drinking habits this early in the morning. Most likely a recurrent behavior then…

Husk was an old soul, probably the oldest one in this room. The cat had a history of gambling debts which mysteriously disappeared one day - the day he fell from power. You didn’t know the exact details but you heard it wasn’t pretty afterwards. The Vees swooped in pretty fast and gobbled up what remained of the fallen Overlord’s territory. It’s part of the reason they are where they are now. You wondered if the others knew about him? Maybe, seeing as how he’s found himself at the hotel built on second chances. 

Taking the beans from Nifty, you quickly check over the machine. It’s a simple Breville Barista model, nothing too top of the line, but still a commercial appliance. 

You wonder who they sent out on the errand to get this because they clearly had no idea what they were getting. This thing was meant for a high end coffee chain, to be used for hours straight, not sitting in a run down hotel’s kitchen. Regardless, you knew the model and how to use it.

Preheating the machine, you fill the grinder with beans before asking, “Hey Husk, pick your poison.”

He blinks at you a few times before answering. “Double espresso.” 

Simple enough.

Clicking a single wall basket into the portafilter, you fill the metal device with ground beans before tapping it flat. Sliding it into the machine with a click, you grab two shot glasses and watch as the brew fills to the line, the fresh scent of chocolate, caramel, and nuts fill the kitchen. You pour both into a white glass and send it down the table to Husk who sits dumbfounded at the end of the kitchen. In fact, everyone had stopped eating completely to watch you work.

Anxiety bubbles in your stomach as you count the eyes boring into you. 

Oh, fuck. You drew too much attention to yourself. 

“Fuck, kid. This is good.” Husk chirps from the end of the table, having taken his first sip. “Where’d you learn to do that?” 

“I worked at a cafe just outside Cannibal Town when I first got here,” you rub the back of your neck, an uncomfortable laugh escaping your lips. “They had a machine just like this, but far bigger.” 

That was true. After you fell, you were set up with a place to stay and a job at the local coffee shop which sat inbetween Cannibal Town and the border zone. It didn’t only serve certain… appetites, but was meant for a wider audience. You served everything from finger cakes (yes, fingers in the cakes) to bagels and cream cheese alongside the coffee creations. 

“Oooh, Cannibal Town. This kid’s got bite,” Angel laughs. “I didn’t know you swung that way.” The spider demon shovels another pile of eggs onto his plate. He ate a lot. 

“Oh, no. Not really, I just happened to… land there.” Technically you weren’t lying. 

That first day in Hell was brutal. You smacked into cement face first, a pile of blood and broken bones. Luckily the streets weren’t crowded, and you were found and taken care of before anyone even noticed. 

“So you just stayed in Cannibal Town for fun?” Vaggie didn’t look impressed. In fact, she looked suspicious - ever the hypervigilant soldier she was designed to be. 

“Well…” There it was, the rubbing on the back of your neck again. By the end of today, your skin was going to be raw. 

God, why was this so much easier with a mask on? 

“Hey!” Charlie cut in, clearly sensing your discomfort. “You don’t have to tell us.” She cups your hands within her own. “You’re here now and that’s all that matters. We can get to know you at your own pace. Don’t push yourself. Okay?” 

You offer her a sweet smile.

Wow, the Princess was really buying your act - or lack thereof, by how anxious this job was making you. 

“Now, do you know how to make a cappuccino?” She motioned back to the machine. You silently thanked her for the change in conversation. 

A genuine smile formed on your lips, “what kind of milk?” 

The rest of the brunch passed quickly after you showed off your artistic masterpiece that was to become Vaggie’s coffee. The Princess ordered the beverage for her girlfriend, and after making a butterfly out of the milk atop the bubbles everyone else quickly got in line and ordered their own. 

It didn’t bother you, in fact it made you more comfortable. You got to observe their behavior and interactions as a silent third party noting the ways in which they teased each other. 

Husk could be a grump but you got the sense that he was a big softie. You couldn’t tell if Angel was actually flirting with the cat demon or just pushing his buttons, either way, the barkeep slunked out, flask in hand, with red cheeks. 

When the chair started rattling, Nifty was prohibited from drinking anymore caffeine. She put up a pretty good fight but as soon as she saw a bug, she took off after it, needle in hand. 

Angel returned to the couch, face in his phone, clearly stressed about something. 

After helping with the dishes - Charlie protested but you insisted - she invited you to join the three of them by the fire where you had found them earlier that morning. You didn’t really have anything else to do, other than to try and win over the Hotel natives. 

You could go hide in your room - the Lord knows your social meter needed the break. The group was welcoming but was… a lot. Especially Charlie, but the Princess and Vaggie had questions about the commercial and how Sinners were handling the recent date change for the Extermination. You shrugged and offered whatever you could - which wasn’t a lot. 

“They’re desperate,” you answered. 

“That’s right, they’re desperate. Maybe desperate enough to try anything to escape the Extermination,” Vaggie smiled, smacking her fist against her hand. 

“Worked for me,” you shrugged, watching Angel from the corner of your eye. 

Your heart melted a little for the spider demon. Valentino was known to be ruthless and manipulative - and the way he treated women… It was why you never took a job from the Overlord, let alone gave him a card. In fact, none of the Vees had your card. You didn’t like them, but you didn’t need to see how it affected Angel to decide that. 

“This would be a perfect time to recruit more Sinners for the Hotel! We should get more rooms ready!” Charlie beamed. Of course she would find a way to spin this into something good. 

“Cute idea and all, but are you really gonna go out in all this?” Angel turns his phone around, videos of the Doomsday Distract flash across the screen. 

It was pretty chaotic, but when was that place not on fire? 

“Well, it’s not like all Sinners are going to show up on our doorstep like Thestral did.” Charlie offered, motioning to you. 

She wasn’t wrong… 

BOOM! 

Ah, perfect timing, Princess. 

The entire Hotel rocked as dust and debris filled the foyer burning your lungs and eyes. 

“Show yourself, Alassstor!” A voice echoed from outside. 

The four of you ran to the now collapsed wall, veering into the streets to get a better look. Husk simply rolled his eyes and took another drink. 

He was used to this? 

Floating above the cobblestone streets was a yellow blimp equipped with an army of… eggs? 

“Who are you?” A voice chimed from above, but it was… different - static-y…

“Who am I? Who am I?! I am the great Ssssssir Pentiousssss!” Deep within the zeppelin stood a black and yellow snake at the helm. He was dressed to the nines in army regalia. 

Hmm, Sir Pentious? Had you heard of him before? You wracked your brain trying to think but nothing immediately came of mind. He had resources - clearly Carmilla Carmine supplies him by the brand on the metal - but was he a threat? He did put a hole through the building. 

You spun studying his dirty work. 

A missile? Sloppy, but still a step up from the lowest rung of demon. 

“Inventor, architect of dessstruction, villain extraordinaire!” The snake twirls his arms, gesturing to himself and his work. 

You scoff. Yeah right… 

“Ooh you tell 'em boss!” The eggs chime. 

What the fuck…? The eggs are sentient? Now that’s kind of interesting. 

Testing the waters, you let an invisible finger of power slip from you and slither over to the zeppelin. It poked and prodded till it found a way through the metal before coming to rest by the snake demon’s tail. Gently, you caressed his form, searching for the power his soul possessed. 

Yes, he definitely still had his soul, but from what you gathered - or rather, lack of what you gathered - this demon was no more a threat than a mosquito was to an elephant. But a better question was, what brought him here? 

A chime of static fills the air, like little bolts of electricity, making the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. 

What the…?

You spin, checking behind you to find the source of the static snaking its way down your spine, but no one was there. 

Charlie yelps, bringing your attention back to the group, as a trail of shadow crawls between her feet, giving way to a demon in red materializing from the darkness. 

How did he do that? 

The demon’s back was to you, his attention fully on the blimp. You didn’t recognize his silhouette. His deer ears, hooves, and antlers were pretty iconic, but you didn’t know any demon like that. He wasn’t a Hellborn, his profile didn’t fit any of the creatures Hell bred. So a Human Sinner then?

The demon stood before you, a red suit complete with red-tipped black boots, and black slacks. His jacket was long, ending at his knees. The hair atop his head was cut cleanly, red and tipped in black, and tousled ever so perfectly.  

Yeah, you had no idea who this guy was. Which did not sit well with you. 

Nifty materializes on his shoulder. When had she slipped out here? “Ooh, he’s a bad boy,” the tiny demon sings. 

Okay then…

The demon lifts her from his person and drops her gently onto the cement. “Ha, well if all that's true, you'd think I'd have heard of you!” 

His voice isn’t just static, it’s like a radio? 

The snake drops his smile. “I attacked you literally last week.”

The red demon cocks his head.

“We've done battle, like... 20 times.”

The demon brings both hands to his staff. No, that’s not right, microphone? “Well, you must have been really bad at this.” 

You snort, but do your best to stifle the giggle into your palm. 

The demon stiffens. You swear you see his shadow elongate in your direction. A trick of the light? An hallucination? You look to Angel for direction but he’s too busy watching the interaction, clearly entertained. 

“Silence! Now cower! For when I've ssslain you, the almighty Vees will finally acknowledge me as their equal.” 

Nifty reappears on the demon’s shoulder, garnering his attention. “Ooh! Wait, who are the Vees?” 

“Oh, nobody important,” the red demon sings. 

Nobody important, eh? For someone to so easily dismiss the Vees like that they’d have to either be stupid or think themselves more powerful - in both cases, they’re stupid. I agree, independently, the Vees are more annoying than anything. One by one they weren’t a threat, but all three together… 

Testing a theory, you let that tendril of power sneak from your core, and just as you had Sir Pentious, you let it slither to the base of the demon’s shoes. Delicately prodding…

SMACK! 

A slap hits your power so hard it sends your head spinning. You fall backwards into Angel who wraps his arms under your shoulders to steady you. 

“You okay, toots?” Angel whispers in your ear, your vision spinning. 

Holy shit. 

It was either the sheer force of the blow or the dizziness in its wake, but you swore you saw faces laughing at you in the shadows. 

“Uh,” you shake your head, willing the sting to subside. 

Jesus, what was that? You’ve never had a reaction like that before… 

“I think so?” You find your feet. “Just all the excitement… Caught me off guard.” You give him a fake laugh. He shrugs it off. 

What the fuck…?

The next thing you know, Charlie’s grip is on your arm. “I promise it’s not always like this!” 

From the corner of your eye, you see Vaggie shake her head. “Yes it is..” she grumbles before swearing under her breath in… Spanish? 

Patting Charlie’s arm, you assure her that it doesn’t bother you. That Cannibal Town - and anywhere else in Pentagram City for that matter - were far worse than this place. Which was true. The only place you could get any peace and quiet was the Wrath Ring - way out in the country. Not that you’d been to the Wrath Ring… Technically… 

The attention is finally turned away from you when an array of tendrils shoots from the red demon’s form. They descend upon the blimp, shredding it to pieces. The eggs spark into a panic as their helmsman desperately shouts commands. 

Maniac laughs bubble in the demon’s chest as he slowly gets to work. It takes a moment before you realize it, but he isn’t taking his time because he has to, he’s doing it to toy with the snake demon. He enjoys the destruction. 

You watch as the tension in the demon’s shoulder slowly diminishes with each attack. The pure enjoyment brings a small smile to your lips. 

So this guy enjoys chaos just as much as you do, huh? 

“Um… Alastor!” 

Ah, so this is the famous Mr. Alastor? 

The Princess slowly approaches the demon, but it isn’t fear you smell wafting off her person, it’s… anxiety? “I think he’s had enough.”

Vaggie is on Charlie’s heels in an instant, her hands flying to her back to summon her spear just in case. 

So little Ms. Morningstar wasn’t afraid of him, but Vaggie sure as Hell doesn’t trust him. Interesting. 

“Nah. He’s got a few more hits in him.” Angel crosses his arms, clearly entertained by the onslaught. Despite the chaotic scene before us, his eyes occasionally flit to the red demon - keeping him within eyesight. 

Hmm, Angel didn’t trust him either. 

You take a step forward but Angel pulls you back, shaking his head. 

The snake demon falls from the zeppelin, landing face first with a smack on the pavement. You couldn’t help but grimace. That had to hurt. 

Alastor twirls his staff - microphone? - as an egg falls and breaks into pieces at Charlie’s feet.

 “Thanks for another forgettable experience!” He sings.

Okay, that you do laugh at. This guy was pretty witty, you had to give it to him. 

The four Hotel Natives shoot you a look of disbelief as you giggle into your hand. Looking between you and the red demon, fear slowly etching across their brows.

Alastor’s shoulders stiffen as he turns, finding the source of giggles rumbling through your chest. His smile is pulled taut across his cheek, but the look he gives you… it wasn’t confusion necessarily swimming behind his eyes, more so like he didn’t know what to think. 

The giggles die down as your cheeks heat under his gaze. 

Was he not used to people finding him funny? 

“Thank you… For letting your guard down!” The snake’s tail whips forward and rips the corner of Alastor’s suit from his person. A small chunk of fabric gives way. “Aha! Yah!” The snake celebrates before noticing the purely demonic smile overcoming the red demon’s face. “Oh, shit…” 

The red demon’s antlers grow as an aura of green overtakes the atmosphere. From his microphone an explosion of green bursts through, sending the snake demon flying across Pentagram City. 

Hmm… Why didn’t he just kill him? He’s just gonna come back. The mosquitos always do. 

“Well, it looks as though I need a visit to the tailor!” The demon inspects his jacket. Despite his jovial attitude, you could see the irritation in his eyebrows. 

A mask. This demon was wearing a mask. 

Finally, now that the chaos was over, you had a chance to inspect the red demon. He must have felt your eyes on him, for when he finally looked up, his gaze was locked with yours. Your cheeks heated under the pressure of his gaze. His eyes, glowing like red crystal in direct sunlight, made your legs feel heavy and your chest tight. 

Was it getting harder to breathe or was it just you? Are you… Are you intimidated right now? No. You’ve never been intimidated by a demon in your life. Angels maybe, but never a Human Sinner. What was wrong with you? 

“And who might this be?” Your heart fluttered at the purr in his voice. 

Twirling his microphone behind his back, he took a step towards you, standing tall at his full height. He had to be an entire foot taller than you, now cast in his shadow. It felt eerily colder in the shade, but there was something else there too. An extra presence you couldn’t quite put your finger on. 

The demon was dressed to the nines. His red suit perfectly tailored to his form. It splayed out around his hips, accentuating a waist line supporting a broad chest. His hair was cropped short around his angular face, his eyes half-lidded as they bore into you. The red of his irises practically glowing. He was a classy demon, clearly not of this century. He regarded you with a sense of curiosity - an aura of green still lingered, however. It was meant to intimidate you, not necessarily threaten you. 

Okay, this guy thinks he’s tough shit, huh? 

Before Charlie had a chance to intervene, you thrust your arm forward, meeting his eyes, not backing down to his overwhelming sense of self importance. 

“Thestral, pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Alastor.” You offer him a soft smile. 

You took the shift of stiffness in his shoulders to mean that you had made the wrong move. This was a demon who carried himself quite highly - probably used to lesser demons cowering in his presence, not laughing at his jokes or meeting his eyeline let alone offering their hand first. At that, he didn’t know what to make of you, which made you dangerous. Which made you a target of interest. 

Shit. 

Day one and you’re already fucking up the whole “lay low” part of the plan.  

“Oh, darling, you flatter me,” he takes your hand. “Just Alastor will do.” 

A shiver rolls down your spine as the tips of his claws scrape across your skin, so sharp they could cut flesh. They probably have, but you weren’t worried. He couldn’t hurt you anyway. Not really.

“Well, ‘Just Alastor,’ thank you for the entertainment.” You cross both arms behind your back mimicking his stance. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Angel’s jaw drop. 

“Of course! I live to please! I’m not the Hotel Manager for nothing!” There it is again, a small shift in his body language. He didn’t know what to make of your lack of fear. 

The static is interrupted by a laugh track, sounding as if from a live studio audience - from a radio.

“So does that mean you’re going to do you’re job?” Vaggie takes a step forward, motioning to the half destroyed wall of the Hotel. 

“Of course! Can’t let my new project fall into disrepair already! What would the papers say?” With a snap of his fingers, black ink demons appear with construction tools. 

Five. Five faceless demons. Which means he owns at least five souls. But that was not nearly enough power to equate to the destruction you had just witnessed. 

By the time you turn back to him, he’s already strolling down the cobblestone path and off into Pentagram City. You couldn’t help still feeling watched, however, like the sensation of his red eyes still on your form, but nowhere to be found. 

You spun but again, no one was watching you. 

“Word of advice, stay away from him,” Vaggie crosses her arm in Charlie’s, ready to lead her back inside. 

“Yeah, Hairclip,” Angel Dust appears behind you, poking at the silver metal in your hair. “You got a lot of balls on you to stand up to that one.” 

“What does that mean?” You scrunch your nose in confusion. 

“Well…” Charlie takes a step forward, touching the tips of her fingers together with anxiety. “Alastor can be a little…”

Before she has a chance to respond, Vaggie and Angel offer suggestions. 

“Creepy.” 

“Unpredictable.” 

“Insane.” 

“Murderous.” 

“Bloodthirsty.” 

“Aren’t those basically the same thing?” Angel shrugs. 

“He’s a bad boy,” Nifty chirps by your ankle. 

Where did she come from? 

“Temperamental,” Charlie offers with an awkward smile.

Why did that not feel like a compromising adjective? 

“The point is, Alastor is dangerous. It would be best not to poke and prod him too much,” Vaggie runs a hand through her ridiculously long hair, huffing.

Poke and prod… Shit! Shit! Shit! That force I felt slap my power away earlier, was that him? Did he know it was me? No! No! No! This wasn’t good. This was anything but good. 

The blood melted from your face. 

“Hey toots, you don’t look so good. Maybe we should get ya’ back inside?” Angel’s arm comes to rest on your shoulder, leading you towards the doors. “Don’t sweat it too much. He’s harmless as long as you’re not a threat. He won’t lay a finger on ya’, we won’t let him. Right gurls?” 

“Right.” They chime as you made your way through the double doors. 

This job just got a lot more complicated…

SCREECH! 

“What the fuck is that?” Husk yells from behind the bar, his claws over his ears. 

The television by the fireplace hisses, having turned itself on. 

“Welcome home!” The box sang. “I’m going to make you wish that you stayed gone!” 

The screen jumped through a few stations of fuzz before settling on a news broadcast. Vox, the media demon, sat behind a reporter’s desk, going on and on about… the Radio Demon? 

As if in response, the radio in the foyer screams to life, making the five of you jump. 

“Salutations! Good to be back on the air!” You recognized the old timey voice as Alastor’s.

“What the fuck is goin’ on!?”Angel screamed over the noise. 

Vaggie ran over to the television and ripped the cord out of the wall. No good, the television continued to flash images of Vox screaming as if he could hear and respond to Alastor’s radio. 

The Exorcist fisted the cord in frustration before pulling her spear from the Void. Charlie stopped her, however, preventing her from destroying the only piece of real technology in this building besides the coffee maker. 

The Hotel Natives and you were subjected to the torture that was Alastor’s and Vox’s tantrum, until finally, they both shut down. 

“Holy Jesus, what the fuck was all that about?” Angel screamed, his ears ringing from the noise. 

“Fucking Vox and his ego,” Husk grumbled from the bar. The cat poured himself a drink. 

“Ahhhhhh!” A eardrum splitting scream pierced the air, making you all, yet again, jump and cover your ears. Vaggie ran to the radio and shut it off rescuing whatever was left of your hearing from… well, whatever the fuck that was. 

“Was that part of Alastor’s bit?” Angel asked the room. 

No one answered, for no one knew the answer. Seems Alastor is a big mystery around here. 

“Drink anyone?” Husk raised a bottle of whiskey in question. 

Fuck, after that you needed one. Silently cursing yourself for your lack of thoroughness in your research, you joined the bar cat. 

You huffed as you sat on the stool.

“You good?” Husk asked, pulling out a menu.

“Yeah,” you rubbed your temples, willing the forming headache away. “Just a lot of homework to do.” 

____________________________________________

It was late, the sky turning towards darkness as opposed to its usual red light. 

The Greed Ring always smelled like metal to you. Not copper, like blood, but like the cold steel of coins. You weren’t in the Greed Ring, of course. Sinners couldn’t travel out of Pride - technically. Yet the stench clung to them nevertheless. 

You landed at the bottom of the cement path leading to the mansion, outside the gates. 

Normally your meetups were discreet, often conducted in the shadows of terraces, rooftops, or alleyways. Oh so rarely did people invite you inside. 

But not this time. This employer loved appearances so much so that he rented out a mansion on the edge of town just for this: a meeting that would last five, ten minutes tops. The vanity of Greed…

The demons next to you jumped as black smoke began to curl away revealing a hooded figure. 

“I believe I am expected,” a deep voice growled from beneath the fabric. Concealed in shadow, the shark demons opened the gate to let you pass, their guns shaking in their hands. Nearing the door, another set of demons stepped to the side, their eyes filled with fear. 

Ugh, how you so enjoyed the scent of terror as it wafted in waves from their forms. Pathetic, honestly. 

You found Crimson sitting before his fire, a glass of whiskey in hand, his hat set on the table next to him. The imp rubbed the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb, clearly it had been a long day. The servant standing next to him, whiskey bottle and towel in hand, leans down to alert him of your presence. 

“Huh? What?” The crime lord jumps to his feet. “Already!?” He lets out a joyous laugh, before finding his hat and setting it between his horns.

Out of the corner of your eye, the waiter slinks from the room. The liquid in the whiskey bottle jostling as he shakes in fear. 

“Chaz is swimming with the fishes already, aye!?” Both hands grabbing the lapels of his suit jacket, he stands before you, offering you a seat at the end of the table. Sliding into the head chair, he offers you a drink, which you refuse of course. 

He takes a long sip of his whiskey, letting the burn sink in before continuing. “Did he suffer?” 

You frowned.  No questions. He knew this. That was part of the deal. It was always part of the deal. 

“Ah, come on, can’t fault a guy for trying?” He laughs, but you aren’t amused. 

As if on cue, a shark demon enters the room, dropping a suitcase onto the table before skittering out of the room. Crim opens the case and turns it towards you to reveal fat stacks of cash lining the case’s bottom. 

“It’s all there, I assure you.” He lights a cigar and leans back in his chair. “Pentagram City currency, not the Native stuff.”

You ignore the money. You knew it was all there. You knew none of the bills were traceable. Crim was a pro when it came to moving money around. You didn’t have to worry about covering your tracks from this job like the last ones. Honestly, you didn’t deal in money that often. Your trade was in souls, but Crimson was a Hellborn, and head of a mafia gang at that. You’ve never done business with a Hell Native, so you were hoping your reputation was enough of a threat to keep him quiet. 

But, the money wasn’t why you took this case. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, knowing he could see their yellow glow - the only part of your face anyone ever saw - before slipping a black gloved hand from your cloak. His eyes find your fingers, uncurled before him expectantly, as the scent hits your nose. 

Fear. 

You knew this diphsit wasn’t stupid enough not to be afraid of you. Was it the sight of your claws? Or the red still staining the leather? 

“Right. Right.” He dug into the hidden pocket of his jacket, producing an obsidian calling card. The flames from the fire flicker across its metal surface as he holds it out to you. 

Finally, you had won this card back. It had taken forever to track it down after the last person you entrusted it with lost it in a game of cards. Of all the things to wager! You’d have killed the demon, but senseless death wasn’t part of your repertoire. 

The card disappeared from the Pride Ring soon after, passing amongst the hands of Hell as it made its way downwards. It eventually became useless, a piece of metallic junk which eventually landed in Crimson’s hand. He figured out what it was, of course he would. He had eyes and ears everywhere - even in the Sinner’s Ring. So when he appeared in Pride a week ago and summoned you in the dead of night you knew you had to do whatever you could to get the calling card back. 

Even if it meant taking down a low level mark and solving some petty personal drama. The calling card now safely tucked away in the leather of your shirt, you stood and made your way to the door. 

“Ain’t you gonna take the money?” Crim motioned to the suitcase still sitting open on the table.

With a flick of your wrist the case closed, locked itself, and slipped into the Void. 

As you exited the room you could hear the imp demon call out after you, “Pleasure doing business with yous!”

Crim was known to be a man of his word, or he’d soon find himself a dead man…

Link to Chapter Two!

Masterlist Link: Masterlist

[internet1girl]

Chapter 5: What Happened Here?

Pairing: Johnny Cage x Fem!Reader

Summary: A whole village, depopulated just like that. Does something still lurk within its vacant buildings? Is whoever, or whatever, did this still out there? Something’s going on…

Word count: 11.9k Warnings/Notices: named!reader, angst, mentions of child abuse, dubious content, descriptions of gore and viscera, gross stuff overall, sexually suggestive, flirty johnny, a few curse words here and there

First Chapter / Previous part

A/N: new chapter yayyy :3

y’all the next chapters will be shorter I PROMISE THIS TIME!!!

Midday shines down onto Outworld. The night has ended, and the darkness has given way to the light of the sun.

The carriage was still on its course for the village, now only minutes away from its destination. The vehicle was gearing along the rolling hills of rural Outworld, surrounded by nothing but greenery. Though, just like the prior night was moonless, this current afternoon was sunless. The sky was completely covered by thick grey clouds, not allowing even a single stream of the sun's rays to peak through.

Inside, the vibe from last night had changed. The pink light of the overhead lanterns was completely drowned out by the light of the day, and the background ambience was now thick with animal noises and howling wind.

You and Johnny were both awake and had been for some time, you both were busy with your own respective activities. Silence was thick within the air, the both of you were immersed in whatever had captured your attentions in the moment.

Sometime in the night, you broke out of the hypnotism that was the view of Johnny's sleeping form and finally fell asleep. When you awoke in the morning, you chalked that whole experience up as nothing but a dream. Must’ve been a really weird one, considering how you would never take advantage of the fact that Johnny was sleeping to silently admire his beautiful features. Yes... that was nothing but a vision that your subconscious decided to randomly generate for no reason at all… right?

Right now, you were gazing out of the carriage window, your eyes on the fields of Outworld. Despite it being a cloudy day, it was still so stunning to see. You always had a fondness for greenery, an appreciation for nature was something that you carried ever since you were a girl. When on these missions, you loved to do nothing but gaze out of the window, to stare at whatever landscape currently surrounding you. It was nice, calming, relaxing.

Across from you, Johnny was sat, his eyes glued to the screen in his hand as aimlessly scrolling through social media. His free hand would snake behind him to rub the nape of his neck every now and then. He woke up with a crick in it, for some weird reason.

His attention would soon be diverted when he clicked on the Twitter logo on his home screen. To his egotistical joy, the sight of his name currently trending on the app met him, in all its glory. His fans were raving about an up-and-coming action movie that he was to star in. Scrolling through all the ecstatic tweets earned a smile from him, one that only grew as he read through the latest search results of his own name.

"Guess who's trending on Twitter?" He loudly announced, looking up and flashing you a grin.

His voice suddenly breaking through the silence caught you off guard a tiny bit. You’d temporarily forgotten about his presence, as nice as it sounded. The plains outside consumed all your focus, leaving little room for anything else. You turned to face him, a little ticked off that he had interrupted your nature watching.

"...Who?"

"Me, of course!” He shoved his phone in your face, showing you the tweets of people going crazy over him as evidence.

There was something he liked about how he was able to capture all of your attention with just his voice, as silly as it sounded. Your eyes on him made his skin prick in anticipation, though he chose to keep these odd feelings confined to his brain.

"Wow, that's lovely." Your tone was comically flat as you stared at the screen a few inches away from your face. You didn't even bother to pretend like you were happy or excited for him in any way.

Your deadpan response got a scowl out of him, his lips pulling down in dissatisfaction. 

“A bit more enthusiasm would be nice…” He muttered as he took his phone back, his voice taking on a more brooding tone. He's Johnny Cage, everyone should be excited and happy when he has news! Everyone loves him!

You roll your eyes, leaning against the back of your seat as you turn your gaze back to the carriage window. Though, a query sprouting in your mind did tear your attention away from the hills outside and back onto him.

"How do you even have reception? We're in the middle of nowhere." Your eyes narrowed as you looked over at him, the logistics of Johnny and his phone now finally coming into question for you.

“Darlin’, I’m Johnny Cage. Wherever I go, I make sure to have access to reception and Wi-Fi. I need access to these to keep in touch with my fans." He huffed, as if this was the simplest, most obvious thing in the world.

You were about to say something in response, but your lips stilled before your vocal cords could form a noise. Instead, you just looked over at him with a baffled expression, your brows furrowed in confusion. This man was just so…

"Why you looking at me like that? You jealous?" He smirked, finding it so amusing that he was able to draw out such reactions to paint the blank canvas that was your usual emotionless face.

Your fog gave way to your typical ’Johnny Cage just pissed me off’ scowl upon his question. This man was so predictable, yet he still somehow kept managing to catch you off guard.

"Far from it, Cage."

"You sure? That's exactly what someone who’s jealous would say.” He teased, tilting his head to the side, a coy smile tugging at his lips.

In contrast, your scowl deepened. ”I would actually hate to have my whole life on display for millions to see."

His smirk didn't even falter at your dismissal, his glittering ego practically impenetrable. “Ah, don't tell me you don't have a desire to be in my spotlight, Jade."

You once again roll your eyes at his arrogance, a small groan leaving you. "I have no desire to be famous."

This made his eyes narrow. Johnny didn't know why, but he felt like your reaction wasn't genuine. Despite their truth, he didn't believe your words. In his eyes, you were too gorgeous to not possess a secret desire to be adored by the masses, to be well-known and worshipped like him. He didn’t understand why you wouldn’t want to capitalise on your perfect looks, to have millions across the globe venerate you. Why would you put your beauty to waste?

“But, why not? You're pretty enough to be famous. Everyone would love you."

His sweet words got a small laugh out of you. Sure, he’d probably said such a line to a countless amount of women in his lifetime, it would be entirely unsurprising. But still, it was nice to be complemented every once in a while.

"That doesn't matter. I value my privacy."

His eyebrows raised, your sincerity finally starting to sink in.

“You serious?” He started, your humbleness something that his vanity couldn’t grasp. ”You really don't have any desire to have fans? Like, at all?"

"No." You replied bluntly, looking him dead in the eyes as you did so. The idea of having millions of people knowing every single thing about you made your skin crawl. As an assassin, you couldn't think of anything worse for you or your lifestyle.

You’re serious. You’re actually serious.

Johnny wouldn't quite say that he was shocked, but he was kind of surprised. Though, it started to fade when he took note of how you weren’t being as snippy anymore. He actually kind of liked this, to speak with you as an equal.

"But... why? It's great having fans. They're like your own army."

"Army?” You look at him with a raised eyebrow. “I don't need others to fight my battles."

Johnny was trying and failing to convince you to enter the world of Hollywood.

This wasn't the first time he's done so, either. Over the months, he's tried a multitude of times to hire other Earthrealmers, and even some Outworlders, to star in some of his upcoming projects. Most declined.

He sighed a little. "Fine. You don't need an army. But... don't you want the adoration and praise that millions of people give to you? It's not bad, or anything."

You took a few seconds to ponder what he had to say. It's not like he was 100% wrong, but it's not like he was right either. You just weren’t a public person, something that your celebrity counterpart struggled to understand.

"I won’t lie and say that I don't see how one wouldn't find that appealing, but it's not for me. I am all that I need."

Ever since you and Hiroshi cut contact, you’ve learnt to rely on yourself. Despite your other friends, you were still a little bit of a lone wolf, in a way. Never really allowing yourself to be dependent on anyone else, lest they leave you again. You couldn't help it, it was a trauma response.

A small pause of silence passed between you both, the only sound from the carriage being the trotting of the horse's hooves on the ground. His mind latched onto the latter part of your statement, your last sentence dominating his thoughts. Something about it struck him deeply, your words repeating in his head without let up. He didn’t know why, but your unabashed self-reliance had him zoning out as he stared down at the floorboards below. You’re all that you need. Just you…

This was one of the times that you found Johnny interesting as a person. You couldn't help but be intrigued by him. He was actually a pretty deep person, he was more than just some narcissistic playboy. You’d figured this out ever since the pyramid mission. A part of you itched to know more about this man, to peel back the layers of intrigue that coated him.

"May I ask you a question?" You broke the quiet, the sound of your voice jolting him out of his thoughts.

A smile bloomed on his jaw in response, his face lighting up. As if he would ever say no.

“Sure. Ask away.”

"What was the driving force in your desire to enter the film industry, to become a part of the Hollywood society?” You were semi-careful with your words. This was a genuine question that you posed, the unwanted possibility of offending him like last night being taken into consideration.

He paused for a few moments as he thought of what to say, looking down to his intertwined hands. To say that he was shocked would be… inaccurate. Surprise would be a better word to sum up his current feelings. Such a question from you was new... and, admittedly, very interesting. He took in another breath before he replied.

"When I was young, I guess I always found myself drawn to the spotlight.” He looked up, meeting your curious gaze. “I love being... noticed. It felt good. It made me happy."

You took some time to dissect Johnny's answer, running over the words in your mind. Deep down, you wondered if that desire for attention was a byproduct of his father's neglect, a result stemming from the lack of a brotherly bond, an outcome of his mother’s tragic absence. You refrained from saying any of this out loud, though.

"...l see." You finally reply. A tiny, satisfied smile graced your features.

“So, what about you? Did you always want to be an... assassin?" It was Johnny's turn to ask an actual, non-antagonistic question. He looked over at you, elbows pressed into his knees as he patiently waited for your response.

His question caught you off guard a little. You weren’t offended, it's just that nobody had ever really asked you something like this. You took some more time to think about your answer, running over the key moments of your occupation in your mind as your thumb stroked your chin.

"My career is something that I fell into. It is what I excel at, and, for a while, it was a valuable source of income. Think of Kenshi and his ties to the Yakuza as a comparable example."

"So, what, you enjoy it?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

This was another one of his questions that had you thinking. Nobody had really questioned you about your profession before, such inquiries were admittedly new to you. New, but not unwelcome.

"Sometimes." You admitted. "There’s a particular thrill to it."

His eyebrows raised. "A thrill? Do you..." He trailed off for a few seconds, as if he was searching for the right way to word the question on the tip of his tongue. “…Is it fun?"

"Fun is not the word for it. I have simply become accustomed to what l do."

Now it was your turn to ask Johnny questions, to find out a little more about him as a person. You had encountered few men like him, the fact that there was so much more to him than meets the eye was a driving force for your curiosity. Slowly, you allowed yourself to give in to your intrigue.

"What about you? Are there ever any moments in your life where you find yourself wishing that you weren't famous, but instead a normal person?"

Johnny was surprised by the question, at first. Despite all the interviews, Q&As and fan questions he’d undergone, nobody had really asked him such a thing. He paused for a few moments, humming as he delved deeper into his mind. His expression grew more and more pensive as he thought of an honest and serious response.

"Yeah. Sometimes I do." He took a breath, slumping back into his seat with a sigh. "Fame does come with its perks... but there are times when I do want a break. It can get tiring.”

You hummed in response, nodding your head as his answer sunk in. It was...surprisingly nice to have a civil conversation with him, without the added snark that usually came from you both. Johnny's whole arrogant playboy persona, a leading factor in your disdain towards him, was a direct result of his shining fame. The fact that there were times when he wished for a different life, it was actually surprising to hear.

You were really starting to view him less as Johnny Cage, the character, but more so as John Carlton, the man.

"You gonna fall for me now that you've seen a little of my softer side?" He asked, jolting you out of your reflection. You met his gaze, a toothy grin meeting you.

Okay. Once again, Johnny just couldn't help making some sort of flirtatious comment. Whether Johnny Cage or John Carlton, he was still a nuisance.

Your small smile quickly morphed into an irritated scowl. The interest surrounding your partner made you forget how annoying he could be.

"No." You responded, crossing your arms to your chest.

"Aww, no? Come on!” He teased further, continuing to grin at you. “Every girl I've ever met eventually falls for me, you're no different."

"Your imbecilic attempts at seducing me are futile; save your breath." You retort, looking at him with a slight scowl as the words left your mouth.

Johnny barked out a laugh, your sass was something that he could never get enough of. “Ah, c'mon, are you sure? I’m more charming than you give me credit for."

He took a moment to look out of the carriage window, turning back to face you with a sly smirk. "It'd be nice to see you melt in my arms."

You shuddered a little at his words, you couldn't help it. Your face contorted with disgust as the mental image of your body wrapped in Johnny's arms, intertwined with his own, flashed through your mind. No fucking way.

"See? You're already imagining yourself falling for me." He teased.

You didn't say anything in response, your scowl at his relentless pursuit of you spoke volumes. Once again, this asshat was getting on your nerves. It's almost like this was your thing, Johnny being annoying and you being annoyed.

"You look cute when you're mad, you know that?" He teased, shooting you a wink.

You just rolled your eyes, turning and looking away from him. You refocused your attention back to the rolling hills outside, a much better view to devote yourself to. You’d had your fill of Johnny and his antics, opting to stare out of the window and hopefully relax for the rest of the ride to the village...

...Which didn't last long because the carriage suddenly stopped.

Heavy footsteps could be heard making their way towards the interior. The collision of boots against the ground increased in volume as the owner came closer with each step. Before you or Johnny could say anything, the door of the carriage swung open.

Thankfully, you weren't under attack, or anything like that. All was fine, it was only Geras that was on the other side. He’d stopped because the journey was complete, that’s all. A little warning would've been nice, he was so abrupt.

Whatever, though. That’s not what his job is. He took a moment to let you both gather your bearings before he spoke up.

"Jade. Johnny. Good afternoon. We have arrived at your destination." His voice was as rough and raspy as always, his face neutral and emotionless as his blue eyes pierced through you both.

He stood to the side to make way for you both to exit the vehicle. Once you both were on your own feet, and after all of your cramped muscles were stretched out, you both began to take in your surroundings.

You were outside the village of Kakariko, or what was the village of Kakariko. The whole settlement, once teeming with life, now lay deserted. The small wooden houses, once inhabited by families, stood void of life. Overgrown vegetation was starting to creep along the cobblestone paths and the exterior of the empty buildings, reclaiming the spaces where the townsfolk once walked on and worked in.

A cold wind whispered through the abandoned streets, rustling the unkempt foliage. The bland, grey sky above cast such a dull light down below, making the town’s remains seem even more forlorn.

The carriage was parked on the peak of a hill, overlooking everything. Your breath steamed in the chilly air, your palms rubbing up and down your bare upper arms in an effort to combat the cold seeping through your skin. 

For a bit, you just… stood there, in awe of the eerie sight before you. To see a place that was once so full of life to be completely abandoned sent a chill down your spine. In a way, this location was far more unsettling than the pyramid. Everything about this just felt... wrong.

"What the hell happened here?" Johnny was in a similar state of disbelief, though he was a bit more vocal with his thoughts. He turned to look at you, a look of confusion blanketed across his face.

"You think we're in the right place?"

"We are." The sound of Geras’ voice cut through the silence of the hills, abruptly answering Johnny’s question.

"This is Kakariko Village. Once a thriving settlement, it now lays devoid of life.”

He walked around the stationed horses, towards you both, taking a place in front of you both. "When the two of you have finished your investigation of this settlement, I shall be here to take you both back to Sun Do. I wish the both of you luck."

Johnny nodded in response, taking a look around the desolate, abandoned village once more before finally turning to face you.

"Well… guess there's no use in just standing here. Might as well get started."

"Agreed." You nodded, trying hard to not let your fear unease show.

With that, the two of you left Geras and walked off, headed for the village a few minutes away. Your mind flickered with a barrage of scenarios as you walked, you weren't quite sure what you would discover when you arrived...

...Or what was potentially waiting for you in the empty town.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Your combined footsteps were slightly muffled against the grass, tiny squelching noises being produced every time your soles came into contact with the ground. The silence was unsettling, creepy. The lack of any sound, other than your steps and the howl of the wind, was really starting to set Johnny on edge. He glanced over at you, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke up.

"You not even the least bit creeped out?"

"I am." You replied, not taking your eyes off of the buildings in front of you. The wind had a chill to it, making you shiver slightly as you wrapped your arms around your sides in an effort to retain body heat.

"This is incredibly unsettling. Whatever has occurred here cannot be good."

He huffed in agreement, his breath forming a small, white cloud as the chill wind swept across his face.

"Hopefully we can find some kind of clue that can give us a lead."

"Yes… hopefully."

Eventually, you both reached the centre of the settlement. Surrounding you two was what used to be a peaceful, bustling village… and now, it was little more than a desolate ghost town.

You were looking around, analysing every building for any signs of life. There were none. The entire village, save for a few crows, was completely empty. Besides maybe Geras, the two of you were the only souls around for miles… that you knew of.

The wind whipping through the empty streets blew some strands of hair in your face, something that framed and complemented your facial features quite beautifully. Johnny, despite being thoroughly creeped out, couldn't help but notice this.

"You know... we are all alone..." His voice was low, flirtatious. He leaned closer, a smirk growing on his face as he not so subtly raked his eyes over your armoured form.

At this, you took your attention off of the devoid buildings and towards Johnny, giving him a look of befuddlement mixed with exasperation. Was he serious?

“No one else around to hear us... or see us..." He took a step closer to you, closing the distance separating, his eyes not daring to leave yours.

In response, you took a step away from him, putting some space between yourself and the horndog by your side. Whilst he was looking at you with the filthiest intentions possible, you were looking at him like he had just said the dumbest thing in the world.

"Have you no shame? We’re on a mission."

Johnny let out an exaggerated sigh, pouting slightly at your words.

"Yeah, I know. All work, no play..."

He leaned against a nearby street light, looking you up and down once again with a cheeky smile.

“…But it would be a shame to let this opportunity go to waste."

“Mm, you’re disgusting.” You took a step closer to him, ignoring his dumb flirtatious smile.

"Now... I think we should split up. That way, we can cover the land more efficiently, and maybe find something valuable in the process."

His smile faltered slightly at your words. Splitting up wasn't his first choice, or his ideal choice, in terms of how to go forward. How would he be able to pester you, if he had to be apart from you? But… he had to admit, it would be the better way to proceed. Damn you and your tactics.

"Yeah, alright. Probably the more logical choice. But..." He leaned in a little, a smirk pulling at his lips. "...don't miss me too much."

"Right..." You were so over this man, it was hilarious. "I will search the eastern half of the village, you can search the western half. How does that sound?"

He pushed himself up off of the pole he was leaning on, standing straight again. "Yeah, sure. I’ll take the west side, you take the east. Just try not to get lost, okay?"

You nodded in confirmation. With that, you both parted ways, heading deeper into the village, commencing your search.

Kakariko Village was actually quite a small settlement, only appearing to house a few hundred inhabitants. Compared to Sun Do, this place was tiny. It only took you both some minutes of walking through its streets to get to the village centre. If you each focused, you both could probably complete a thorough search of the whole place in about an hour or so.

Well, if nothing went wrong, that is.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Johnny was mindlessly walking past empty houses, his hands shoved in his pockets as he looked around for clues or anything out of the ordinary. 

The silence surrounding… it was just so creepy. Not being able to hear a single sound, except his own footsteps, was really beginning to weird him out. He would suddenly spin around from time to time, jumping back to face the opposite direction, just in case anything tried to sneak up on him or whatever.

It wasn’t long before he found himself standing in front of an abandoned house. The door was slightly ajar, a small sliver of the interior peeking out from the gap. Having nothing better to do, Johnny decided to cautiously take a peek inside.

Just like its surroundings, the inside of the building was completely void of life. The interior resembled a typical village home, one that a family probably lived in. The floorboards of the home creaked a little under Johnny's weight as he leaned in, aiming to get a better view of the place.

Once he confirmed that the coast was clear, he slowly pushed the door open, wincing at the loud creaking sound the hinges made. He took a few quiet steps inside, glancing around intently.

The home, though abandoned, still somewhat held the warmth of a once well-lived-in family house. The place stood frozen in time, nothing about it indicated that the inhabitants left in a haste. A large stone fireplace, now cold and covered in a thin layer of dust, dominated the room. 

Worn furniture, including a cushy sofa and a few simple beds, sat preserved, their colours slightly faded. Handmade quilts and crocheted throws, once bright, lay draped over the home’s chairs, adding muted splashes of colour and texture.

Shelves lined with books, trinkets, and family photos told stories of years gone by. The wooden floorboards, polished smooth by countless footsteps, creaked softly under every step. The dinner table, the heart of the large room, had an aura of character to it. Crude cutlery was dotted around the surface of the table, sitting on top of a handmade cloth.

The daylight streaming through the small, paned windows, cast a dim glow on the cluttered space. Johnny could see all the dust particles floating in the beams of light, he could even see some cobwebs in the ceiling’s corners. Though paused, every corner of the home spoke of a life humbly lived.

Despite the place being abandoned, the warm aura of the family that inhabited the home still lingered in the air. There was something about this small home that was so intriguing to him, it was such a nice break from the creepiness of the empty village outside. He ran his hand over the dining table, feeling the smooth wood underneath his bare fingertips.

He leaned against the wall, letting out a soft sigh as he crossed his arms to his chest. This home… it was so strangely inviting, despite being seemingly abandoned. He could sense all the love... all the happiness that once filled this home. This was technically part of his search, so it’s not like he was slacking off, right?

Johnny continued to explore the home out of sheer curiosity. He walked around the space, eyes dancing around the various trinkets and items lined up on the shelves. He was curious, wondering who used to live here.

A picture perched on a nearby shelf caught his attention. He picked it up, brushing off the layer of dust that covered the frame. His eyes narrowed as he studied the image before him. 

A photo of a family of five; a mother, a father, and three children, smiling happily was what met his curious sight. This picture and its framing were so crude, yet Johnny could sense all the sentimental value it held. The actual photo itself was worn with age, small stains were dotted around the artefact to prove it. In a way, this just made the item more heartwarming, something so simple yet something so cherished. He couldn't help but smile, feeling strangely warm from what was before him. A genuine reaction of happiness spread across his face, so unlike the dumb smirks he always shot your way.

The happy family, all smiling brightly with their arms around each other in the photo, was familiar to him in such a heartwarming way. His focus was now solely on the item in his hands. Though… after a bit, something about this picture made the warm smile on his face slowly shift into a slight frown. His face dropped, the sweet happiness draining from his eyes.

This was all reminding him of his own family.

Ah. He hadn’t expected anything as simple as a picture to hit him in the heart, honestly. The family in the photo looked so happy, so content. And yet… he couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy, bitter jealousy, as he continued to stare at them.

They were… they were just like his own family, down to the last detail. Right before his mother died of cancer, before his father switched from loving to abusive. Before the bitter rivalry between him and Jimmy formed. Before him and Rebecca drifted apart, back when he was convinced that they’d be close forever…

A drop of something onto the picture snapped Johnny out of his thoughts. It was a tear, a tear from him.

Nooo no no no. This can’t be happening. He’s Johnny Cage, he DOESN’T cry. This damn photo, pulling on his heartstrings like this, serving as a stupid reminder of what was once the happy Carlton family. A family… that was now in pieces.

Why did it have to turn out like this?

Johnny couldn't believe what he was doing. He was crying, over a simple picture? A simple picture of a family that he didn't even know? It was pathetic. It was stupid. But he couldn't stop himself.

"Dammit.." He muttered, trying hard to control himself. He held the picture tightly, his hands shaking slightly. He cursed under his breath at the overwhelming wave of emotions coursing through him, it was pathetic. It was stupid. It was all so… ugh. He didn’t even know these people, for fuck’s sake. But… he couldn't stop himself.

No. He was not doing this. Not now, not today. This was a mission, not a therapy session. What would his fans think? What would you think?

He shakily wiped the tear falling down his cheek away with his hand. He used the other one to gently place the picture back down onto the shelf it previously sat on. He took a deep breath in, trying to calm the volatile seas that were his emotions. After taking a moment to push the feelings back down compose himself, he took one final look around the house. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was just a regular home. He had a whole half of a village to search, there’s no use in wasting time in one singular building.

After one last glance at the picture now on the shelf, he quietly walked away and out of the home, carefully closing the door behind him. He felt a strange sense of melancholy as he walked down the street outside, one that he tried his best to ignore.

As he continued his search, he tried his hardest to push the memory of that family picture out of his mind, or at least to the back of it. He couldn’t afford to let anything distract him from the mission at hand. That family was not his own and had nothing to do with him.

He had a job to do.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

On the other side of the village, you were diligently enacting your part of the search. You were laser-focused, quickly but efficiently searching every building that you came across. There had to be something related to why the residents of Kakariko disappeared. Your mind was solely on the mission assigned to you, nothing else mattered right now.

Some time had passed. You had thoroughly searched around half of the eastern side, a quarter of the village. So far, you’d found next to nothing suggesting how all of the townsfolk had disappeared. None of the empty homes indicated that their respective residents left in a hurry, everything was preserved.

However, there was something. In every other house, a few small, sharp white stones could be found on the floor. They resembled the teeth of a predator, small sharp fangs. Could they be actual teeth? No, impossible. No Outworlders teeth were that long nor that sharp. They had to be something else, although you couldn’t think of a similar substitute. Perhaps some sort of bizzare cultural practice? Oh well, you were sure to find more answers if you just kept searching.

You had just come across a certain structure. It was too large to be a home, it must’ve been a public building or something similar. You walked around its exterior, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. When you didn’t find anything of interest, she walked over to the open entrance and cautiously stepped inside, your hand hovering over your compacted bō staff strapped to your hip, just in case anyone or anything suddenly jumped out at you.

The interior of this building seemed to be a library of sorts. Large bookshelves lined the walls and singular books were haphazardly spread around the tables dotted around the space, some were even strewn out on the floor. There were certain items on the tables, you recognised those as instruments of magic. Someone was performing sorcery here, though it was unclear what their intentions were.

You cautiously stepped around the library, your eyes darting around the room for signs of something, anything. The magical items on the tables caught your eye, you walked up to them and carefully began to analyse these objects. You possessed some knowledge of magic and sorcery, thanks to the monks of the Wu Shi and the mages of Empress Sindel’s palace. But you were no grand magician. You were staring blankly at the devices before you, unable to deduct their purpose. All you could tell were that these instruments were magical in nature.

You couldn't help but shiver as you continued to look around the library. The atmosphere was just so eerie. The lack of people around, coupled with the silence, made your skin crawl. And this place in particular was just downright creepy. It didn't have the usual cozy feel that most libraries have - instead, everything about this space was just… unnerving.

The books around were a good start in searching this room, you figured. You picked up one of them off of the nearest bookshelf and flipped through some of the pages, skimming the text. Some of the pages contained spells, but this didn’t alarm you that much. Magic was common practice throughout Outworld, these grimoires could’ve just belonged to the village mage or something. It was a little irritating that you couldn’t understand the text before you, though.

You continued your reading, your hands darting out to any book near you. There’s a very good chance that sorcery played a hand in the disappearance of Kakariko’s residents, you couldn’t rule anything out.

Whilst you were walking around, you kept accidentally stepping on small white stones, just like the ones you saw in a few of the empty houses. They were tiny, easy to miss, but still everywhere regardless. Damn it, what were they? Why were they in nearly every building in this village?

They were really starting to make you frustrated, there were so many of them that you struggled to walk around properly.  Unlike the empty houses, there were more of these stones in this library. Somehow, these stones and this building were related. This was something of interest, although you were a little too ticked off to realise this.

Your focus switched from the books of sorcery over to the strange floor stones. It would switch again when a loud shuffling sound cut through the silence behind you.

Quickly, you spun around, drawing your staff and taking on a fighting stance. You were now on edge, hyper-aware of your surroundings, intense amounts of adrenaline were coursing through your veins, you forced yourself to be ready to take on whatever may be potentially lurking behind you.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a person or anything preparing to enact a sneak attack upon you. No, the origin of the noise was a book dropping. You, in your rummaging hastiness, had placed a book right on the edge of a table. As so, it toppled over and came crashing down to the floor. The shuffling sound was the book slowly sliding off of the table, its weight wasn’t balanced enough.

You sighed, folding away and strapping your bō back onto your hip. You keeled over, your hands coming to rest on her knees. You were quick enough in turning around to see that book falling onto the floor. A small laugh slipped past you, between lungfuls of air. You weren’t mad, rather the opposite. Something so insignificant as a book falling getting that big of a reaction out of you made her chuckle. It was so stupid, it was comical. Save for Johnny on the other side, there was nobody in this village. Who could possibly be gearing up to attack you? This was just a subtle reminder from the Elder Gods to stop being so on edge, you thought.

However, the jumpscares of today weren’t finished with you yet. As you stepped back slightly, in order to scour the rest of the bookshelf behind, your boot landed on a ‘book’ on the floor. Expect, it wasn’t really a book. It was a hidden mechanism, a secret button that sank into the floor as you pressed your weight onto it. You’d unknowingly triggered something, and you were about to find out what that something was.

The sound of a mechanism came to life, metal grinding and cranking below. Loud rumbling, so loud that it practically echoed throughout the entire library, cried out. 

“Fuck!” You jolted back, literally jumping in the air at the sudden sound.

There was a pause for a little bit. Everything was quiet, for a moment. Then, the sound of loud grinding came from the floor.

A circle in the floor opened up. The wood around the shape split apart, opening to reveal a staircase leading downwards, into the ground. The new entrance was dark and foreboding, almost like it was inviting you to step inside.

You slowly made your way to the top of the staircase, your hand hovering over your bō staff. You peered down, into the darkness below. It was dark enough that you needed some time to properly focus on the details of the space below, but you could still see the end of the staircase, and how it led to a large door.

Unfortunately, Liu Kang didn’t provide you and Johnny with flashlights before you departed, he didn’t see the use for it. You had to investigate this secret staircase and hidden room in the dark.

Well, not completely in the dark. Thankfully, your bō had a slight green illumination from it. As well as serving as a weapon, it could also serve as a makeshift light source in the void down below. How handy!

Re-equipping your staff, you cautiously ventured down the stairs. Your weapon did indeed provide some illumination, but barely. You were starting to have trouble seeing in front of you as you went deeper. You stuck it out, using the handy little thing as a makeshift cane to check for any obstacles obscuring.

The air started to become colder and more moist as you went on, almost as if you were walking into an actual dungeon. The atmosphere was creepy and unsettling, the perfect place for someone, or something, to ambush you. Maybe it would’ve been smart to run and get Johnny before going down here by yourself…

Eventually, you reached the door. It was large, at least eight feet tall, and cast in dark iron. It had a lock on it, only adding to the heap of mystery surrounding. This did nothing to deter you, though. You made quick work of the lock with your staff, a few strikes loosened it up nicely. After the hunk of metal was discarded, you slowly pushed the door open, peering inside to assess any potential dangers lurking on the other side.

You were greeted by the sight of… darkness. The entire space behind the door was almost completely void of light. The dim glow of your staff was nowhere near strong enough to combat the void, you could barely see anything in front of you. The only thing that you could make out was a tiny light coming from the other end of the room, but you couldn’t tell what the source was.

You cautiously took a few steps into the darkness, using your foot to prop the door open just in case you needed to run out screaming retreat. Under the light of your bō, you came across an unlit sconce on the wall. Striking the tip of your weapon on the metal of the sconce was able to generate enough sparks to light the torch. You got more than you bargained for, though. The sconce on the wall turned out to be magical; it was built to be connected to all the other sconces in the darkness. As soon as you lit up one, all the others followed suit, dispersing the darkness around you.

The new light revealed a grotesque laboratory. A twisted chamber of horrors that housed eyesore upon eyesore. Dim, flickering torches cast eerie shadows on the stone walls, revealing a space filled with the macabre results of twisted experiments.

Rows of grimy, blood-stained tables lined the room, each cluttered with crude surgical instruments and sprawled-out notes. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the acrid tang of chemicals. The smell alone made you retch on the spot. Broken and rusted chains hung from the ceiling, some still clinging to skeletal remains or dismembered body parts. The floor was slick with a mix of blood, viscera, and unidentifiable goo, making each step a nauseating journey.

In one corner, there was a large metal cage, something was inside of it. It was too far away for you to get a clear view of its contents, though. It’s not like that cage was the worst part of this room, pretty much everything in the space was as disgusting as could be. There were literally more stains on the floor and walls than there were clean spots

So this was what was hidden under Kakariko Village.

There was no time to run and get Johnny, this needed to be investigated now. Reluctantly, you ventured further. You used a nearby chair to lodge the door open, just in case you needed to make a hasty escape. Looking around the space was tasking on your eyes, unimaginable horrors met your sight with every head turn.

Those little white stones were weirdly all over the place, much more so than the library above. They were littered across the floor, so much so that you had to kick them out of the way to step around freely.

When you finally walked over to the cage in the corner, you quite literally jumped back in fear. A loud yelp came from you as your body leapt backwards, your eyes couldn’t believe what was in front of them. Your brain refused to accept what lie before you.

It was a Tarkatan!

A dead one, but still one regardless. It was completely hairless, and its skin was red and heavily irritated. The only thing it wore was a small rag covering its crotch. What it died of was unclear, but it was completely unresponsive and slumped over against the wall.

When the initial shock wore off, you cautiously stepped closer to analyse the body. Your eyes settled on its teeth and, by the Gods, they were identical to those stones around the floor of the village buildings. Those ‘stones’ were in fact Tarkatan teeth!

A thick bolt of worry ran down your spine. All those sharpened molars, the ones that you had kicked around just minutes earlier…

You couldn’t look at the corpse any longer, out of fear that you might throw up. You had seen all that needed to see of the body, looking at it further made you feel queasy. You stepped away from the cage, hastily looking around the rest of the laboratory in search of anything else. The missing villagers, the secret underground facility, the dead Tarkatan, what could it all mean? Somehow, someway, everything correlated.

All the notes strewn around on the table next to you caught your eye, quickly walking over to see them. They were damp with something, but you were past caring by this point. You rapidly searched around the table, skimming through all the notes you could get ahold of. Research was written all over the pieces of paper, detailing something to do with Tarkat and an infection. This was strange… Tarkat was a disease, not an infection. What could all of this mean?

And that’s when you found it. A leather-bound book under a few damp sheets. You rapidly brushed the pieces of paper off of the item, and once again stumbled back in shock of what you found.

The cover of the book had a mark on it; the insignia of the infamous sorcerer Shang Tsung.

A chill ran down your spine. The symbol of the sorcerer, right on the cover of this book, was a clear indication of who was behind the horrors around you. He had his hand in this, everything made sense now. The only question left was… what exactly had happened?

You reluctantly opened the book. The first page detailed a record. It was a list of names, presumably villagers that were compromised by Tarkat. You turned the page to find that the book was being used as a journal of some sorts, documenting Shang Tsung’s findings and progress with whatever had occurred here. You were now in the process of studying the journal’s entries, eager to find out something, anything. It read as following:

“Day 1.”

“I have successfully moved into the small village of Kakariko. The locals think me a travelling merchant, in desperate need of shelter. They welcomed me with open arms, even giving me a small home to reside in for the time being.”

“This is the perfect location for what I have planned; small and remote enough that no one will notice if a few people go missing, but large enough that I’ll have plenty of live subjects. I plan to set up all of my equipment in the morning, as well as construct an underground facility to carry out my work in secrecy.”

To say that you were sickened wouldn’t be surprising. Onto the next page…

“Day 3.”

“Kakariko Village is small enough that I’m now somewhat familiar with the layout of the settlement. I have become aware of the local library, a place that few villagers visit day to day. It will be the perfect place to construct a laboratory. I plan to start construction late at night, whilst everyone is asleep.”

Next page.

“Day 10.”

“My facility is just about complete, a secret mechanism serves as an entry point to the room. Truly, some of my finest work. With this, I am now ready to commence my work, I have already selected some villagers to experiment on once I possess a prototype of the infection.”

Ah. Next page…

“Day 22.”

“I am pleased to write that I already possess a few prototypes of my Tarkat infection. The material I drew from Princess Mileena has proved most useful. Finding out that the teeth of the compromised are a rich source of the disease was most surprising. I will be sure to capitalise on this.”

“Tarkat, as it stands, is merely a disease. One that is slow to show symptoms, and even slower to fully take effect. Such circumstances will not do, I plan to create a version that is an infection. I aim for this infection to be highly contagious, transforming the infected into a beast within seconds. When perfected, this shall be the perfect weapon. General Shao will be most pleased.”

Your heart sank at this. General Shao? Shang Tsung? Together? Such a dark revelation had your stomach churning. This was the most horrible wake-up call you’ve ever experienced in your life. You could barely bring yourself to turn the page.

“Day 29.”

“I have already commenced testing how live subjects react to the exposure of my Tarkat infection. So far, it is not what I had hoped. The beasts that come as a result of exposure are too docile. After mutation occurs, they are mostly entranced by a state of confusion, unfit for any form of kombat. No matter, I have nothing but time ahead of me. I will iron out these kinks, and perfect this infection.”

Next page.

“Day 32.”

“Much to my dismay, I am now experiencing the opposite of my prior problem. When infected, the beasts are now too aggressive to reason with. After mutation, the Tarkatans are rendered mindless, too feral to take commands. They barbarically attack any form of life they set their eyes on, even if said life is other Tarkatans.”

“What’s more, the villagers are starting to grow aware that something is happening in the shadows. They are noticing how the population of Kakariko is dropping. If found out, this could prove detrimental to my plan. I must quicken my research, and perfect this infection as soon as possible.”

Next page.

“Day 40.”

“Slowly, the infection is meeting my expectations. Once mutated, the Tarkatans display extreme ferocity, ripping through anything in their path, but not to a degree in which they are impossible to reason with. It is a difficult task, but now entirely possible to tame one of these beasts.”

“Unfortunately, I am starting to run out of test subjects. By now, all of Kakariko is aware of its dwindling population. As such, it had become increasingly difficult to obtain live test subjects, without exposing myself and my true intentions. No matter, I am close to perfecting this infection. It is only a matter of time.”

Next page.

“Day 41.”

“Yet again more unfortunate news. Whilst I was working today, one of the test subjects escaped. It ripped out the chains confining it to the wall, and ran up the staircase to the outside.”

You paused from reading to look at the wall to your side. Indeed, it had indentations plastered on it, the sign of struggle evident. A sigh slipped past you as you lowered your head to continue reading.

“As I ran to capture it, a little village boy had witnessed everything. His eyes were wide with shock upon seeing the beast and me. Unfortunately, he was too quick to catch. The menace ran out of the library, no doubt on his way to tell the other villagers what he saw. Hopefully, this will not be my undoing, not when I’m so close to perfecting the infection.”

Your heart was thumping in your chest now. You could feel it slamming against your ribcage with each fearful beat. Shaking fingers turned the page.

“Day 42.”

“I have been found out, Kakariko is no longer safe for me. A large crowd was gathered at my door this morning, eager for my head. Thankfully, I was able to escape unscathed. There is no choice but for me to flee, and take haven somewhere else.”

“I am gathering up everything I can in this facility. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to abandon it. This location is no longer suitable for me to conduct my work. A shame, truly.”

“As for the villagers, they too will have to be dealt with. Such tales of me and my work cannot reach the ears of the Royal Family, not yet at least. I shall continue my work somewhere else, and finally perfect the Tarkat weapon.”

You turned the page to read more, but there was nothing. That was the last entry, and now you finally understood the whole story.

The disappearance of the villagers was all Shang Tsung’s doing. The madman is planning to weaponise Tarkat, and he used Kakariko as a testing ground. The disappearance of the villagers? Likely victims of his dark magic. Now Shang Tsung was at large, somewhere within Outworld working on his deadly project. Not only that, but he’s working with disgraced General Shao too. That machine back in the pyramid? No doubt his vile work.

Your mind was filled with a mix of horror and determination. This was all too much, truly. The onslaught of information had you sweating buckets, droplets of moisture dotted your forehead as a result of the sheer shock that you were under.

You closed the book, slowly recoiling backwards as you tried to comprehend everything. Shang Tsung, this Tarkat infection, the presumably dead villagers, General fucking Shao? This was all just so-

The feeling of your back hitting the wall shook you slightly, jolting you back to reality. Instinctively, your hands reached out to stop your body from falling over. 

And that’s when you felt a prick on your finger.

You hissed a little, the sudden feeling sending a jolt of pain through your being. You brought your finger up to eye level, grimacing at the sight of your now-pierced skin. A small bead of blood was already forming on your fingertip, threatening to run down your whole hand.

You turned around to see what had wounded you. Your eyes focused on a small spike on the table behind you, the tip of it now already tinged red by your blood. You cursed under your breath, wincing slightly as you examined your injury. It didn't look too serious, but it hurt like hell.

No matter, there were more important manners at hand than a pinprick. You had to find Johnny, get back to Sun Do as quickly as possible, to tell Liu Kang all that you had found. Pocketing Shang Tsung’s journal, you raced out of the laboratory, running up the stairs and out of the library with haste.

By now, it was late afternoon. The cloudy sky overhead was starting to part, revealing the glimmer of the afternoon sun. The wood of Kakariko’s buildings shone brilliantly under the light of the sun, somewhat subsiding the previous creepy aura of the village.

Not that you took notice. No, you had to find Johnny as soon as possible, and inform him of all that you had discovered.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

After his little moment, Johnny distracted himself by searching through the western half of the village. There wasn’t really much to find, apart from these weird white rocks on the floor of some houses. By the time he was done scouring his portion of Kakariko, there was nothing really to do.

He would walk around the empty streets, his hands in his pockets and his focus lowered as he kicked rocks out of boredom. He hadn’t seen you for about a couple of hours now, he was thinking about you and how you were doing. He missed your beautiful face, and the way you would scowl at him after he said something to piss you off. How your hair flowed in the wind, how your uniform was perfect for your body, how well your breastplate cupped your-

His lewd thoughts were suddenly cut off when you came into view. Finally, you were back! He was so excited to see you again, oh how blissfully unaware he was of what happened. He was so happy to see you that he didn’t even take notice of how fast you were walking and how intense your expression was at first. Ah, that’s just classic you!

“Aaa, there she is! So what, did ya miss-"

“Shut the fuck up.” You were never in the mood for Johnny or his antics, but you were especially not tolerant of him after what you had just discovered. You didn’t even care to ask what he had found in his time searching around the village, whatever it was was probably far less important.

“Listen. I found something.”

He was admittedly slightly taken aback by your aggression. Not that it really bothered him, though. He’d gotten used to your iciness, but the fact that you were acting stranger than usual did pique his interest.

"Oh yeah? And what’s that, exactly?” He folded his arms, waiting for you to speak. Your no-nonsense attitude and seriousness… it made you even hotter in his eyes.

You knew that Johnny was blatantly checking you out, but you honestly didn’t care. Your mind was solely focused on Shang Tsung and Shang Tsung alone. You looked around for a second, as if to check for something, before turning back to speak to him.

“…Shang Tsung was here.”

His expression changed instantly. Now his interest was fully piqued.

"Wait, what? You serious?” He asked, unfolding his arms and raising a suspicious eyebrow. “You got proof?"

You nodded, bringing out the journal from behind your back. You handed it to Johnny, concern plastered all over your face.

“Read this. It’ll catch you up to speed.”

He was intrigued. He slowly took the journal from you, opening it gingerly. Johnny had a bad habit of skimming through pages and skipping lines whenever he read, but with the sheer amount of information here, paired with your intensity, he actually forced himself to slow down and take his time with this.

Meanwhile, whilst Johnny was flicking through Shang’s journal, you started to feel a little… off. Your injured finger was starting to really hurt, and you were beginning to feel so overheated, despite being outside. Your mind was slightly fuzzy, the effort to concentrate on your thoughts became increasingly harder. Ah, no matter. It was probably all the stress that you were under, nothing more. You’ll be fine… right?

He took some time to properly read through the journal’s content, his eyes widening with each turn of a page. Finally, he finished reading, shutting the book and looking up at you in disbelief and shock. Confusion would also be added to his mix of emotions when he took notice of you. You were acting weird… like, weirder than usual.

"You alright, Jade? You look… I dunno, like you’re sweating a lot. Also, you’re not scowling. You got a fever or something?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.” You quickly responded, wiping the accumulating sweat off of your forehead. This wasn’t the time for checkups. You were fine and he was fine. The focus should be on Shang Tsung, not whatever you had going on.

“There’s this secret laboratory, right under the village library.” You looked away from Johnny for a minute, pointing in the direction of the library. “It’s opened by some sort of mechanism, that’s where I found the room and the journal.”

"Cool, cool… a secret lab? This is some James Bond shit right here.” He nodded, following your finger and turning to look in the direction you were pointing at. “How do we get to it?”

He glanced over at you. "And how’d you even find it anyway?”

“Some sort of… button… I stepped on…” You were starting to find it hard to speak. You were getting so warm, like you were in a furnace or something. Your head felt so fuzzy, and your finger was throbbing like crazy. What was happening?

“Mmm… you’re acting weird.” He stated bluntly. Johnny took a step closer to you, his eyes narrowing on your flushed face. This was so out of the ordinary for someone like you, he was honestly a little concerned.

"You’re sweating a lot. And you’re stuttering your words. Seriously, are you sick or something?”

“I’m… fine…”

A lie, an unconvincing one at that. You were stumbling around now, it was a struggle to stand still. You shut your eyes for a bit - when you re-opened them, your gaze fell onto a concerned Johnny. To you, there was something about him that just looked… delicious.

You composed yourself, standing up straight as you cleared your throat. You couldn’t afford to make a fool out of yourself, especially considering who was in front of you. Whatever was going on, you would just have to put up with it.

“…Yes, I’m alright. I’m just a little tired.” You pointed in the distance, the direction in which you both came from.

“Geras is waiting for us. We’ve found all that there is to this mystery. We need to go back to Sun Do and tell Liu Kang of Shang Tsung and his intentions immediately.”

"A little tired"? Yeah right…

Johnny didn’t believe a word out of you, he saw straight through your lies. Still, he chose not to question you. You were so damn stubborn, you would just double down anyways, there was no point. But, he was still concerned.

"Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed, mostly out of defeat. “Let’s go tell Liu Kang. Maybe he can-“

He was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit coming from you. You keeled over, your body heaving as cough after cough came out of you.

This lasted for some seconds. When your outburst finished, you looked back up to an even more concerned Johnny.

For a bit, you just… stared at him, looking him up and down. Johnny, being the idiot that he is, took that as a sign that you were into him, a small smirk forming on his lips in the process. 

"What? You checking me out?” He teased, his smirk widening into a smug grin. He held his hands behind his back as he did, showing off more of his figure.

But… it wasn’t like that. To you, he looked delectable. Not like an attractive man, no, but like a well-seasoned piece of meat. A dark hunger started to stir within your belly.

Though, Johnny’s arrogance, as well as his stupid posing, snapped you out of your trance. Whatever was going on, he had broken you out of it by being his usual self.

“Ugh, Gods no…” You muttered, stretching slightly and wiping the sweat off of your forehead, despite already having done so a minute earlier.

“Come on, we should head back to Geras.”

"Hey, you’re lucky. Any other woman would be drooling at this body.” He quipped, pointing at himself as he gave you the biggest, most arrogant grin, one that faltered a little as he noticed how pale you were becoming.

“Then they have no standards…” You muttered again as you walked past him, trying to ignore the beads of sweat already forming again on your forehead.

"Right, you’re going to tell me that even you don’t think I’m attractive?” He followed behind you, snickering slightly at your jab towards him.

That was when you stopped in your tracks and turned around to face him. Your eyes darkened as you started to… growl at him? A deep, guttural noise emanated from your core, you looked at him like a predator would prey. Your damp brows furrowed as you bared your teeth, like some sort of cornered animal.

“Whoa, whoa!” Johnny exclaimed, his eyes widening, his hands shooting up defensively. “The hell’s gotten into you?! I was only messing with you, damn!”

His shocked reaction snapped you out of whatever was going on. You realised what you were doing, looking down out of confusion. Your overheated temperature, your dizziness, your sudden hunger, what the fuck was happening?

When you looked back up at a confused, borderline scared Johnny, that hunger returned. Gods, he looked soooo good, like a piece of perfectly seasoned steak. The thought of what his flesh would taste like sprouted in the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if you just-

Focus! For the Gods sake! This was your teammate! What the hell has gotten into you? Something was wrong, you needed to get back to Sun Do immediately and seek out medical attention. You’d probably picked up a bug or something from that filthy laboratory, you wouldn’t rule it out.

“…Sorry.” You mumbled, looking down out of shame. “Don’t know what’s coming over me…”

"You’re… uh, fine. You just gotta chill out, alright?” Johnny spoke hesitantly, keeping a cautious eye on you just in case you snapped again. 

“Mhm...” You hummed in agreement, meeting his gaze as he stepped a little closer to you. You tried your best to push your sudden cannibalistic thoughts about him to the back of your mind, you really did, but by the Gods it was getting hard.

This was no place to linger. The two of you started the walk back to Geras’ carriage. It was only a few minutes away, it’s not like you were going to be trekking for miles. It wouldn’t be long before you’d be safely on the way back to Sun Do, nothing else would be happening in the meantime… right?

As you walked out of the village, and along the grassy hills, your cannibalistic thoughts became too much to ignore. By this point, your pupils were inhumanly dilated. Your eyes were glued to this fine piece of meat in front of you, you were looking at Johnny like a starving kid would their favourite meal. He looked tantalising, so tempting.

Your pricked finger was swollen by this point. It hurt like a bitch, but your current fixation on Johnny distracted you from some of the pain. You held your inflamed finger in your other hand, caressing it slightly as you stared your companion down. By now, the sweat from your forehead was dripping down your face, the front strands of your hair now slightly wet as a result. Not that you cared, though. Your mind was so cloudy that it was impossible to focus on a single thought…

…Except how appetising Johnny looked.

He looked soooo good, sooo sweet. How good would he taste if you just took a bite out of him? You licked your lips, running your tongue over your teeth in the process. Weird… were your teeth always that sharp?

An uncomfortable few minutes passed by. Uncomfortable for Johnny, that was. He could feel your gaze on him, it made his skin prick. You looked crazy, like a drug addict going through withdrawal symptoms. He was honestly really worried, both for you and his own safety. There was a look in your eyes that shook him to the bone, every time he glanced back at you and made eye contact, he would regret it.

Before you both knew it, you had reached the carriage. Geras, who was sitting on a rock right next to the vehicle, met your approaching gaze. He hopped up, walking around the horses to greet you both.

"You are both back quite early. Everything went smoothly, I trust?”

You would usually greet Geras back, you liked the construct. But this time, you didn’t even say anything in response. Your eyes were still locked onto Johnny, slightly baring your teeth and curling your fingers like you had claws. You wanted to pry that suit off of him, like his meat sack body was some sort of macabre present. The need to do so was getting harder to resist by the second.

Johnny, having now turned around to face you, saw your condition clearly for the first time. He saw the sweat, the dilated pupils, the twisted smile, everything. You were looking at him like a hungry tiger eyeing a bleeding, half-dead gazelle. All of it had him scared shitless.

“Are you well, Jade?” Geras asked, keeping a wary eye on you. He’d caught on to what was going on by now, his eyebrow raising and his concern growing.

A guttural noise was emitting from your throat, your lock on your next snack Johnny never once daring to falter. He gave Geras a look, one of fear, one that the construct seemed to understand immediately as he took a step closer to you.

Out of nowhere, your feral snarl morphed into a frown of discomfort, then one of pain. You keeled over, clutching your stomach like it was being ripped open. Your groans of discomfort turned into screams of pain, so much so that you were now kneeling on the grass, yelling out loudly. Your body felt like it was on fire and your jaw hurt like hell.

In this process, your eyes snapped shut. Neither Johnny or Geras could see your brown pupils turn red, nor could they see your irises morph into thin lines.

“What’s wrong?!” Johnny was now beyond worried for you, his previous fear now totally overridden by overwhelming concern. He ran to your crouched form, kneeling down and grabbing your shoulders, Geras following after him.

You didn’t respond, you couldn’t respond. The pain coursing through your body was so intense that you didn’t even hear him correctly. Your screams of pain started to carry a… certain roughness to them? Your usual sweet voice was starting to sound deep, rough.

And your jaw, by the Gods. It hurt so much. Like it was changing or something. It felt like something sharp was starting to rip through your lower face. Not that either Johnny or Geras could tell. Your head was buried in your arms, a futile attempt at easing your searing pain.

Johnny didn’t know what the hell to do. Never in his years had he seen a person react in such a way. This went far beyond a simple “not feeling well”, this was a damn otherworldly phenomenon.

“Geras, is there anything you can do?! Literally ANYTHING!!” He looked over to him, he was practically shouting now.

“Take her into the carriage, we must get to Sun Do as fast as possible!” He frantically answered, a weird change from his usual emotionless demeanour.

Johnny immediately followed Geras‘ command, scooping you up into his arms. He ran to the carriage, carrying you inside before gingerly setting you down on one of the seats.

Well… that’s what he would’ve done. Instead, when he went to pick you up, you swatted his hand away with a grunt, looking up at him in the process, revealing just what had happened to you.

Your… by the Gods. Your beautiful face was completely deformed. Your big brown eyes were now red, cat-like and buzzing with ferocity. Your lips were nowhere to be seen, the lower half of your face was replaced by rows of razor-sharp, jagged teeth, resembling those of a Tarkatan. This gruesome dental display was such a nasty shock to both Johnny and Geras, a loud scream came from the former as the two men stumbled back in shock.

You were infected with Tarkat.

A/N: lmfao not the cliffhanger ending-

jokes aside i really liked this one :) i had a lot of fun writing this and this is lowkey one of my fav group of scenes so far in this long ass story

now to start on chapter 6…

[luveline]

congratulations on 35k lovely, what you’ve built is so admirable and i am forever in awe of your talent!! thank you for all that you do around here to brighten up our days. i would love to see “i knew you would be here” with our main man hotch if it inspires you! and if not, sending so much love regardless <3

luveline's valentine's mini party ♥���

thank you, and thank you for your request! fem!reader suggestive

The lights above are glaring and colourful. They shine in your eyes as the song changes again. This is far from the usual bar you frequent with the BAU, but it's not work, so. Silver linings. 

"Liven up, sweetheart," Derek says, sliding a plastic cup toward you with a smile, surprisingly free of bravado. "It's a mojito, alright?" 

"Thank you," you say. Derek Morgan is your eternal saviour.

You take a sip. It isn't nice. It's more alcohol than anything else. "Does it still count as a cocktail if it's all white rum?" 

"Sure!" Emily says. She opens her hand and you let her take it for a sip. Her skinny brows pull down into a wince. "Uh, maybe not. That is rum with a pinch of soda water." 

"Don't forget the lime!" Derek says. 

You take the lime wedge between your teeth and smile. It's sour but refreshing compared to the contents of your cup. The sugar makes your cheeks ache.

"You look happy." 

You almost choke, spitting the lime wedge into your hand. You quickly wrap it in a napkin and look up, meeting the eyes of your boss. Hotch is smiling at you, an expression he saved for out of work hours, and it's nearly enough to let you forget what he's just seen you doing. 

"Teeth are looking a little green," Rossi adds from behind him. 

You wrinkle your nose. Even the implication is gross. 

Hotch rounds your back to stand in the gap between your seat and Emily's at the tall table. Rossi slots in on your other side. 

"Where's Reid?" Hotch asks. 

You lean toward him to look through the crowd of people. "He's right… there." You point at Spencer where he's performing a magic trick for a small crowd of enchanted and tipsy women. 

Hotch drinks from a plastic cup. It's really not his style. 

"I didn't think we'd see you tonight, sir," you say. 

Hotch's arm brushes your side under the table. He presses in until all you can smell is his cologne cutting through the sticky scent of mojito, though he keeps his gaze resolutely on the inside of his cup. 

"I knew you'd be here," he says. 

You spread your legs a touch. He can feel the movement, and his hand brushes the outside of your naked thigh in response. His words fluster you immediately — you bite your lip to hold in a sudden sigh, breath rushing out your nose instead. His touch does something worse to you, his fingertips dancing lightly across the top of your thigh and feigning down. 

"So you came to torture me," you murmur, so quietly only he could ever hope to hear it. 

He hooks his hand under your knee and pulls your leg toward him. You can't hold in the sound you make that time, a tiny gasp as your legs come apart completely. 

"Torture is a strong word," Hotch says, sounding more pleased than he has any reason to be as his hand smooths lazily toward the apex of your thighs, "I was thinking more like play with." 

"We're going to dance!" Emily declares. 

"We'll join you in a second." Hotch smiles. "Just need to get some specifics clear with Agent L/N." 

Rossie shakes his head. "Always working. Typical." 

[businesscasualart]

If you had a fursona what animal/colour would they be?

oh baby, I DID actually try my hand at fursona making once. Idk how much I like it in terms of it being MY fursona but I had a glorious time showing it to friends who love fursonas. For malicious reasons. I’ll get into it later. So I decided spontaneously, late at night, that I wanted to try my hand at a fursona. I always loved what one could do with anthro characters, but I’ve never been great at character design. I just haven’t been creative enough for anything exceptional. But a long time ago, loosely inspired by steampunk music, I had this idea for some type of slimy, smarmy, comedically evil businesswoman. A comedically evil businesswoman who was ACTUALLY slimy: a Hagfish lady <3 Not me exactly but something I’m fine being represented by comedically! I am also unsure if a fish qualifies as a “furry” exactly, but it doesn’t have scales, and my friend who know about furries didn’t object.

I couldn’t decide if I wanted her to have a tail or legs, or breasts or no breasts (bc she’s not a mammal). I’m a big fan of hagfish, they’re so fun and fit the personality of the character I think. But I picked it for metaphorical reasons too. Brace yourself for me being over dramatic and waxing poetic a bit.

I factually know I’m a good person, but I often am riddled with guilt and think myself a worse person than I probably am. Morally I’m probably okay, and I get told I’m morally okay often, but I see myself as like…licentious, lazy, harmful to those around me, greasy, perverse, manipulative, slimy. For no reason or event in particular. I’ve just been thinking of myself like that since I was super young. I think people call it Imposter’s Syndrome but I hesitate to call it that, I’d think that same way if no one thought I was good. A hagfish is a perfectly fine fish, it’s not harmful and it’s just living its life, but uh

Nasty.

They’re okay! They’re scavengers who eat like, carcasses. The only time they do harm really is in self defense, the rubbery slime from their bodies suffocating predators. But they’re so gross, they’re regarded as revolting to anyone who sees them, I don’t know anyone else who likes they. No one can get past the never-ending, all encompassing slime.

it’s sort of a….“I think myself gross on the inside, harmless on the outside. I make a character who’s gross and trying to appear harmless and nice” deal, combined with the fact that all evidence seems to say I’m alright, and there’s nothing truly reprehensible about hagfish either.

I hope this makes sense, it’s getting real late where I am. When I make characters, I like to give them traits I have that I don’t like about myself or things that represent traits I don’t like about myself. It makes me feel better somehow. It feels like putting forth something about myself that I can’t seem to get anyone else to see? I love my OCs, so I’ll start to appreciate/ease up on similar traits myself more? I wish I’d see other people like me with my hyper specific issues/negative traits in media, so I make em? Who knows why, but I think it may be a common thing.

anyway, I haven’t used her since think she’s still fun.

Comically evil business people characters are so beloved to me

anyway, making my friends look up videos of Hagfish slime and seeing the light in their eyes die was everything <3

[talesfrommedinastation]

My redneck neighbor Doug on 'The Solitary Clone'

Oh boy, a Daddy Warcrimes episode, happy happy joy joy!

Here it is, Doug's review of 'The Solitary Clone' or, as he calls it, 'Daddy Warcrimes Goes To Texas'.

Nothing much to say...enjoy, you lot. Doug liked this episode, but he likes Daddy Warcrimes the same reason I enjoy characters like the Joker and Daemon Targaryen: I AM NEVER BORED.

CW: Daddy Warcrimes do what he do and Doug narrates it. Need I say more? Oh and if you're from Texas, I apologize ahead of time. Doug shreds the Lone Star State something bad in here.

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

Oh boy, we arrive at some dry-ass dump. It’s gross and there’s corn and everyone seems a little off. Must be Oklahoma.

Wait, there’s peaky mountains, must be Texas. Didn’t know Texas was in Star Wars but whatever. 

Well, here’s the Empire, but wait! This dump is run by an angry lady with a bucket on her head dressed like a hippie beekeeper. I’ll call her Beekeeper Bitch.

Anywho, looks like Beekeeper Bitch is holding the government officials hostage today, which is what they do for fun in Texas I guess, besides make barbeques and do weird shit at football games. I hate A&M so much. 

Now, here’s Daddy Warcrimes, having a nice nap in what looks to be the broom closet at my job where the junior engineers always end up banging each other at least once a week. I’m surprised there’s no bleach in there. Jeez, Daddy Warcrimes, no blanket?

Poor Daddy Warcrimes, trying to make friends with the other dudes at lunch and no one wants to go near him because he was forced to sleep in the Dirty Shag Closet. At least the clone cafeteria has turkey legs like Ren Faire. I wonder if it’s because Daddy Warcrimes crashes where the younger employees screw each other all day and there’s stains on the walls no one wants to talk about. Oh well. 

Oh, now we gotta see MBA-Rob. No turkey legs for Daddy Warcrimes today. I hate this little asshole, of course he’s dicking around on his stupid assed phone while Daddy Warcrimes waits and fantasizes about killing and smoked meats.

No one will swipe right on you, Rob, you’re unemployed and gave your last girlfriend an itchy crotch. Or is it left? Up and down? How does that thing where you meet ladies work? 

32 rotations…wtf is this Waterworld shit? How come Daddy Warcrimes isn’t burned to a crisp? How did he survive on that dump? Damn, the man must be part roach, I guess, wow. 

Now he’s got his sweet Johnny Cash armor back on, just looking at him makes me wanna watch that western robot show with Ed Harris again. He’s hanging out in front of that script that possessed Linda Blair back in the day. Does Pazuzu exist in this universe?

Oh, shit, it’s Obi-Wan’s Boyfriend! What in the what what. Glad to see he’s still around! Where’s his gold armor? Did he get it after Obi-Wan…you know, that makes me too sad to think about. I’m sorry, Obi-Wan’s Boyfriend, that must have been rough on you. 

Well, looks like he and Daddy Warcrimes are off!  Where? They’re off on a charming romp to squash some rebellion!...wait, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Who are we rooting for? I’m confused. When did Star Wars get confusing? Am I old now?

Ya know who's not confused? Daddy Warcrimes! His job is pointing, shooting, killing. Which, I get, man. I worked in the oil industry. Speaking of which, they’re back in Texas, but where? Are they in Marfa? This looks like one of the shittier towns in West Texas, outside of El Paso. Are they making meth? Is the Empire the DEA? 

You know, this place is quite nice for someone like Daddy Warcrimes. Second amendment respected, the locals spoke in grunt, and smoked meats for everyone! Speaking of Texas, I wonder if there’s a Buc-ee’s inside, and the Empire wants to take over their jerky emporium, and that’s where this mess came from.

I miss Buc-ees, I could go with a hot brisket sandwich and some Beaver nuggets, get some red velvet fudge for later. 

No wonder Daddy Warcrimes is shooting everyone, the man is hungry! 

God, DAMN, Daddy Warcrimes waiting and staying perfectly still while he’s getting shot at and the TANK holy SHIT he is a BAD ASS but a BAD PERSON and I am CONFUSED BUT I LIKE IT? 

("Meat Muffin, you got a doctorate, diagnose me, what is this feeling where I’m confused but happy?"

"It’s just being happy, Doug, and my doctorate is not in psychology.")

And those crap robots are shooting at them again, but are these good guy robots? Didn’t we spend the last few years hating on them? Oh wait, they’re reprogrammed for defense…oh.

Have I ever told you how much I hate those damn things? They look like vacuum cleaners, if someone made art of a vacuum cleaner that they wanted to be human. Non sexy vacuum cleaners.

("Doug, when did you ever think vacuum cleaners were sexy?"

"Never, don’t know what you’re talking about.") 

Why does this feel like an FBI siege? Is this based on Waco? Shit man, I was in the navy when that happened. This ain’t good. This really is Daddy Wacrimes's Texan adventure, isn't it?

But what is good is Daddy Warcrimes and his GUN. Look at those trick shots like the man is yelling ‘SKEET’ and ‘PULL’ like you wouldn’t believe. I bet he’s the type of person who throws a tantrum at the ice cream store because his favorite flavor is ‘bullets’ and it ain’t on the menu.

Look at him and Obi-Wan’s boyfriend just going up and killing robots left and right. He ain’t good, but that ain’t bad. Which is…good or bad? Ah, whatever, I like this damn show. 

And there’s Beekeeper Bitch bitching at the Empire’s Bitch. Those couches look comfy. 

Daddy Warcrimes is coming your way! When she’s not wearing her helmet, Beekeeper Bitch looks just like my niece! Wow! Oh, now I don’t know, is she bad? Good? She wants independence for her people, maybe Obi-Wan’s Boyfriend and Daddy Warcrimes can listen to her? 

Oh, shut up, Empire Bitch, no one cares. ‘Execute her’ uh shut up, your hat sucks and don’t you know that Obi-Wan’s Boyfriend is a free-thinking MAN who might just up and take a DUMP on your LAWN. 

Well, no. Damn, Daddy Warcrimes, you cold-assed sonofabitch. 

‘Hang her body in the square’, what in the hell, this is dark, Dr Meat Muffin, are you letting your sweet girls watch this show? One of them’s a baby, I hope not. 

(I was 100% watching this with my 2 year old, it was on Disney, what do you expect- Dr. MM)

Welp, Daddy Warcrimes is back where he started, chilling in the cafeteria and his new best friend is his helmet. Wonderful. The helmet will at least make eye contact with him. 

Back to MBA-Rob being a dick to everyone and now Obi-Wan’s Boyfriend has run off. Probably to drink himself into a stupor and cry in a shower somewhere. I know I would, too.  

We really didn’t learn anything in this episode, did we? Well, I learned that Daddy Warcrimes is living a confusing life, never gets to eat and has to sleep in the Dirty Shag Closet. But at least he's got his helmet and his gun and MBA-Rob.

I know he’s bad, but he’s good at that, which is bad…but for me, it’s good?

[meowjaa]

he looked at me like there was something worth seeing..

warnings: its just fluff, im loving the enemies to lovers what about you? anyways set in season 7 no spoilers! enjoy my loves <3

“Enid i’ll talk to you later, I promise i’ll get you the flowers that you saw!” Carl smiled as Enid was sitting on the railing of Olivia’s house where she stays at ocasionally.

“Thanks Carl, you really are great” Enid smiled as she watched Carl walk away heading towards the back of Alexandria where much people do not go unless they want privacy.

I watched of course because why not, I dont like Carl I never did.. seeing him having a relationship with a person is gross because I grew up with him duh.

Thats the only reason of course im not jealous I swear.. I decided to follow the boy trying not to make it so obvious that I was following him, every once in a while he would turn around.

After a while he finally decided to hop the fence, climbing this rod that was holding the walls up and jumping over it, hearing a thud afterwards as I quickly ran over I started climbing it looking both ways making sure nobody was able to see me.

I jumped over the wall landing on my knees as my hands hit the ground as well, just a slight bit of pain blossoming throughout my hand, “Nice one YN” I quickly look up as he holds his hand out.

I shove it away I was place my hand on my knee and push myself up wiping the dirt stains off my jeans as I roll my eyes “I only followed you because we’re not allowed to go out of Alexandria”

“You do, so why cant I?” Carl sigh as he starts walking away.

“Fine I was following you happy now?” I roll my eyes as I follow him.

“You followed me because..” Carl looks over at me as he pushes the Glock 9 into his gun holder and I look down at it, “Glock 9 huh? I honestly expected better..” I say in a sarcastic tone.

We both walk a few miles deeper into the forest as we arrive to this over runned van, with vines and just plants growing over it the door was broke off but could still be shut, the windows were covered with a net so that nobody could really see inside.

We both arrive and carl stops “You first,” He waits for me to arrive at the door and walk in “Wow such a gentleman you are..” A smiles form son carl’s face but he wipes it off his face fast.

We both walk in and carl sits down, there's a shelf with comics and a few empty water bottles as my eyes move around the shelf there's a pile of roses, “Is that for Enid?”

He looks at the roses and then quickly back towards me “Yeah we we’re just reading some comics and she saw them but we couldn't get them cause there was a few walker’s..”

I smiled softly and Carl threw a comic at me and it hits me on my chest “CARL!” I say loudly as I throw the comic back at him, he rolls his eyes and continues reading the comic him flipping the page and the sound echoing.

I reach for my backpack as I pull out this peanut butter and jelly sandwich its sliced diagonally, I take a bit and just sit there watching the outside in case there our any walkers interrupting this moment.

“Also lets not talk about what happened a few days ago.. we don't talk about that we we’re both at our lowest and stuff!” I look at him as he just nods his head obviously not paying attention.

Carl slowly looks up as his hat slowly tips down his face he pushes it back up and sighs, “Are you going to eat the other one?” I laugh and shake my head side to side handing the other sandwich slice to him.

“This is nice just two buddies eating sandwiches together!” I say sarcastically.

“Buddies? We’re buddies we rarely talk to each other busy talking to Ron..” Carl says.

“Because atleast Ron has the balls to speak to me!” I say as I sit on the other side of the van in front of him, 

“Hey carl, I get that we both dont like each other but at least laugh once it makes me feel like im not funny” I let out a slight chuckle just watching him looking directly into my eyes, carl then forms a small smile on his face.

“Was that a smile from the one and only carl grimes!” He laughs he takes another bite of the sandwich and as he chewed he just looked at me freaking out because he smiled, he continued chewing just smiling as he did.

“I will never forget this moment Carl, I havent seen you smile since you were like 9″ He laughs and I laugh as well, “Also if you date Enid, your mad lucky shes a gorgeous girl” Carl smiles and looks down.

As I continued talking about my days and just anything about books/comics I read he just looked at me just admiring  me, he looked at me liked there was something worth seeing.

...

He’s my enemy, right?

[preciadosbass]

8/8/24 [draft from thursday]

woke up at about ten and had breakfast because i was apparently going to be out the whole day. i said to boris last night that id eat my food outside on the driveway with him but when i opened the door to go out to him, he came inside. so i ate in the living room and afterwards went outside with boris while listening to peelingflesh. i was out there up until 10:40 when i went back inside, got dressed, and straightened my hair. my hairdresser did drop off those straighteners before i woke up but i didn’t want to take a chance of accidentally using them wrong. today i wore my silverstein shirt, black ripped skinny jeans, a black and white checkered stud belt + another but in red and with an extra row, my chemical romance zip up, knee high converse, and a few band bracelets on each arm. i wore what i’m going to be in tomorrow for the fell out boy and black charade concert so i can easily set everything out on my bed tonight.

after id gotten completely ready i went back outside to spend some more time with boris. he was once again, extra affectionate today and it was so cute because he kept on brushing his face against my knee highs and poking his head through the gap between my shins. i wish i got it on video because it was beyond adorable but my phone + other stuff like my bag were already in the car. at some point i also went outside to the garden and saw this really furry caterpillar lmaoo — we [me and my dad] left at around half 11 and i listened to fall out boy + attack attack! on the way there. once we’d gotten to kent, my dad parked on this woman’s driveway. the main reason and only reason we came was so my dad could pick up this stereo holder and the seller said we could leave our car on the drive when we went for town and things.

the seller and her husband [and my dad] carefully loaded the glass shelves + frame into the boot of the car. once they’d finished the woman told us how to get into town. they went back inside and my dad somewhat rearranged the shelf because he’s very particular about stuff like that. afterwards we walked down this alleyway and entered out into the town. there was two charity shops [thrift stores] that we had a nose in but there unfortunately wasn’t anything interesting. we did however see an antique shop and looked around in there but obviously everything was really expensive and we more went in to look anyways. although i did see these small framed prints of old fashioned cars which i thought were really cool, but they were £8 [again, they were tiny] and my dad said he has something similar in one of his sheds somewhere.

that was it of the town because it was so incredibly small. i honestly don’t know how the people there shop/get things to eat. there was one tiny supermarket with nothing appetising inside [maybe i’m bias because of my arfid but my dad spent ages choosing something to eat because what options they had, didn’t seem nice.] and there wasn’t anything else around, just highways. my dad got a meal deal and he sat and ate it at the benches outside. there was a man that was also browsing inside the shop at the same time of us that came and sat on the opposite bench. he was wearing striped black and red trousers, mismatched shoes and had a nose ring. its cool seeing older alt people.

once my dad had finished his food, we went back to the car and we headed back home [1:50]. once we’d set off i tried the smoothie he got with his meal deal and it was probably the most disgusting drink i’ve ever had. i like thick drinks but it had the texture of vomit and tasted like it aswell. it made me keep on gagging and neither me or my dad knew what to do to get rid of it because i physically couldn’t bring myself to swallow it. it was gross but kinda funny because my dad wasn’t expecting my reaction at all. i fell asleep on the way back home just like i thought i would. for the very short period of time i was awake, i listened to more fall out boy as i was trying to sort out a queue of songs i could show my dad before tomorrow’s concert and looked at the setlist from last year to give me an idea of what songs they might play.

when we’d gotten home i had a nap for about an hour and a half and showed dad a few fall out boy songs. i didn’t bother with mcr as he’s already listened to three cheers and the black parade. while i was asleep my mum took archie [our dog] over to my sister’s friends house for her mum to watch over while we’re away for my concert. honestly for the rest of the day i just stayed on my phone and watched a few kellin quinn interviews in the process. then i asked my parents questions about boris and said goodnight to him afterwards in the longest way i possibly could. because i knew that i wouldn’t be able to spend much time with him before leaving tomorrow.

have a good day/night O_o

[the-lavender-creator]

OKAY! I’m sleepy and tried as fuck, it’s 1 am and I feel like I’m about to slip off into the best damn sleep ever. But for some damn reason I decided NOW was the very best time for me to come and rant my heart out about your fic.

forgive me. This might be long.

AGGHHHDBDUSBSJAHIH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHHH-

Sorry. Had to get that out of me. It’s my knee jerk reaction to before, during, and after reading you fic.

now onto the- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

oh! Guess I had a little more in me! Ok now I seem- AGHHHH- to be- AGHHU- a little - Hxjdsisjsi- better???

BUT GOSH ALL THE THUNDER ANGST IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVED IT AND MY POOR LITTLE PATHETIC WET CAT LITERALLY

ok on to the specifics!!

first of all. I like how you make this a whole ass overall arc about Clawdeen and Toralei getting together, Toralei dealing with her plan and her feelings. And also hee super horrible mom RATerina! While also sprinkling in some absolutely god damn DELECTABLE thunder angst scenes. Oh I ate those up so ravishingly. They were so nice and angst and the most tasty words alive!

But yeah. The opening contrast of how Lighting is a norm to Monsters. And lots of times needed and wanted, compared to Thunder. Which is something Toralei fears more than anything. It’s just such a nice highlight. Cause really. Just like Cleo had her fear of the dark. It’s an unusual fear for monsters. These are stuff Humans are afraid of. And that’s probably something that gets under Toralei’s skin as well. Because Monsters don’t fear the dark or storms. They thrive in it. So when she, a definite monster, has this fear of a species she’s been trained to despise, it’s probably just this extra level of overwhelming humiliation and shame. And it really sets the tone nicely opening up!

I loved the first flashback, how it really shows the early signs of brainwashing and toxic ideologies her Mom had ingrained into her. Toralei loves power and thrives on it. It’s an unknowing coping mechanism. But at a young age she isn’t shown that it’s okay not to be in charge, and that others can be royalty too. Thag others can be in charge as well. That she’s not better than others. She was never taught that and it’s sad to read it through a child’s eyes.

and It’s so weird to see the dynamic Toralei and Lagooona have. Not friends. And more like. Hostages. Lagoona is somewhat of a hostage in her own room. Having her most personal thing used against her- where have we seen this before OH YEAH! FROM Raterina!!!

to think Toralei has inherited some of her mothers abusive traits is terrifying. For she truly is just an abused little girl who never got the love she deserved.

And oh. Oh my dear little heart. How it shriveled at reading the part where her mom yells and rants at her for hours until she is sobbing and crying hysterically for hours on end. My poor sweet girl who just wanted a hug got nothing but hate instead.

and OH. my head as poor little Toralei who wanted to be all grown up. Left alone in the house and realizing she left her guitar outside. Poor little kitten clinging to a branch and crying for all she’s worth as she thinks she’s gonna die. And what’s worse is she’d rather risk that imminent death and fear instead of going inside and risking her mothers wrath. god that sounds like a trauma inducing fear if I’d heard of any.

Ooooo the first Clawdeen and Toralei scene. Very interesting. Tantalizing. Fun how Toralei finds her adorable but excuses it like everyone does. It’s odd to see her try and manipulate her. But also it’s just. So easy to see at the same time. Hee wirh her British accent and feline smirk. Sharp claws and predatory eyes. So complex

Damn Raterina really was pulling the strings to Toraleis entire childhood. It’s gross in a way. Like she’s nothing but a puppet to her. A plaything she can control what happens too.

Also odd. Toralei says she doesn’t actually have anything against Lagoona. But it’s rather the fate of species. Is this something her mother has said? Or something that people assume from her that she eventually went ‘Oh, uh. Guess I have to hate her then?’ Too.

OH MY BABY. MY SWEET SWEET GIRL. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH DONT CRY AND SHUFFER AND FUEBUFSNAIFHSUS (I love it. Hurt me more!)

Lol. Not her having a journal that said ‘diary’ in giant fancy letters that she can’t find a way to cover up. That’s such a mood. Why do companies even put diary on the front. It’s obviously embarrassing.

still rolling in my bed over the thunder angst. Poor kitty huddled up in a ball and crying and shaking and-

ok. I’m really trying not to loose myself in the angst here!

”that’s insensitive to mer-folk”

ok BESTIE THAT WAS ACTUALLY SO FUCKING FUNNY. idk y but I found that so hilarious.

Toralei giving draculaura a compliment then immediately insulting her lack of appreciation for the compliment is such a mood and a her thing idk what to do.

LOL ‘how to lure in a wolf and date her’. Throw the saddest fucking party in existence and fully lean into how much of a pathetic wet cat I am, and desperately try to ignore how deeply this all plays into my everlasting trauma from my mother!!!!

No but Raterina never celebrating Toraleis birthday 😩

Toralei the DRAMA. the one woman act. Turning up the pathetic wet cat levels to extreme today.

Aww little Frankie just wants to help but was definitely shoved into high school way before they were ready and honestly that’s so much trauma in itself cause they’re parents literally created them and the first thing they do is send them away to literally live out their life. Like- um. WHAT. The abandonment and rejection they must subtly feel. Like. Wow.

uh anyway this is about toralei.

Toralei. The drama. Who decides to have along ass gay fake romance with Clawdeen to get the necklace instead of just snatching it from her while she sleeps is such a gay mood I can’t.

it’s like ‘On one hand. I could sneak into her room and jsur steal it away? I’m a werecat I’m agile and silent! No one would hear or see me. It’s foolproof. And I have the necklace to give to my mom and win her love!….. OR I COULD DATE CLAWDEEN AND HAVE A SLOWBURN GAY ROMANCE AND BE GAY AND POSTPONE THE MISSION AND MAKE IT TAKE AS LONG AS FUCKING POSSIBLE!

oooo I’ll go with the second one! Definitely a smart decision!

AND NO POOR BABY NOT MORE PAIN AND ANGST AND YES I FUCKING LOVE IT ITS SO DELICIOUS AND JUICY AND RAW AND ANGSTY AND FONDUFNSUD CLAWDEEN IMMEDIATELY HUGGING HER AND TELLING HER ITS GONNA BE OK AND MY HEART IS BLEEDING EVERYWHERE

NO MORE TRAUMA WITH RATERINA. RHAT BITCH.

KSKSKDKS OOOOOO TORALEI YOU GAYYYY. WE ALL SEEEE ITT.

the vulnerability of fears 🥹. The little heart to heart is so precious. The exact moment toralei kinda screws up her plan by falling in love with Clawdeen

DAMN MEOWLODY AND PURRSEPHONY SO SUPPORTIVE AND MEAN AND BRUTAL AT RHE SAME TIME. like on one hand they’re being good people. But on the other GUYS TORALEI IS JUST A BAY GAY. A PATHETIC WET CAT. SHE DOESTN KNOW ANY BETTER BE KIND TO HER.

THE CONFESSION. BE STILL MY HEART.

AND YEAH THEIR ALL GAY AND HAPPY AND-

OH FUCK HERE COMES RATERINA. TIME FOR MORE AMAZING ANGST

NOOO NOT TORALEI IMMEDIATELY SHIFTING TO THE MEAN COLD TRAUMA PERSONA SHES BESN FORCED TO BE BY HER SUPER MEAN MOTHER.

oh man how angry I felt when Raterina greeted her by roughly grabbing her chin and telling her she looked like shit basically. Like THE ANGER

nooo more trauma. Her mom sucks ass.

Aw Toralei just wants to protect Clawdeen .

NO. NOT A THUNDERSTORM. NOT AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIMING SHOWINB THE MOST HUMILIATING VULNERABILITY IN FRONT OF SOMEONE WHO WILL EXPLOIT IT MERCILESSLY AND MAKE THEM FEEL PATHETIC ABOUT IT! (Not me reacting as if I didn’t prompt that exact thing)

NOOOOO SHUT UP RATERINA.

YEAH GET OVER THEIR AND DEFEND YOUR GIRLFRIEND

SOMEONE GIVE TORALEI A FUCKING HUG

WHOOOOO LETS GO DRACULAURA.

LETS GO BLOODGOOD. SLAY BITCH

YES KICK HER ASS OUT!

Love how Frankie and Draculaura know to leave them alone. Almost as if they know Toralei showing this much vulnerability must already be mortifying for her. Especially with her mom calling her pathetic for it.

HDBSUDNS CLAWDEEN BEING SO SWEET AND TORALEI ADMITTING HER ORIGINAL INTENTIONS THROUGH THE TEARS AND FEAR. THIS WAS ACTUALLY SUCH AN EMOTIONAL RAW SCENE AND PROBABLY MY FAVORITE ONE BESIDES THE RATERINA THUNFER CONFRONTATION.

legitimately I love how she admits it. Cause she doesn’t want to keep anything away from her now. Cause she loves her so much and she’s getting love and comfort she’s so unfamiliar with and her mom truly just sucks ass and gosh. And how Clawdeen knew but had so much faith in her. Probably the first one to every trust and have faith in her. Loving her nevertheless. Finding the good in her.

YES. THEM ENDING WITH SNUGGLES AND COMFORT THROUGH THE STORM. THIS IS FUCKING AMAZING!

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH LAVANDER. THANK YIU SO GOD DAMN MCUH FOR WRITING THIS THIS IS TRULY A WORK OF ART. THIS REVIEW LITERALLY TOOK ME AN HOUR IT IS NOW TWO AM IM TIRED AS SHIT. BUT I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS. IM SO SORRY ITS SO LONG!

NUHBGYVFT AND THE WINNER FOR THE LONGEST NON-BEE MOVIE ASK EVER SENT GOES TO-

But also. AHhhhhhh thank you so much this is like legit my favorite ask ever, I love when people give me their scene-by-scene thoughts on my fics, tysm <3

For anyone who hasn't read it, the fic in question is There's Always a Storm!

[jhilsara]

Please keep posting more!! I'm loving it so far <3

Can I ask why Erik doesn't use Princess as MCs petname anymore?

Hello! I'm back with another part! 4?

But I don't have Erik use Princess strictly just because I personally don't like it and it kinda nauseates me to write it. I'm not gonna yuck your yum, but it just isn't for me, I can do any other pet name but Princess just gives me the ick for some reason.

~Beach Episode~

It’s finally summer and summer means vacation.

Two weeks into June and MC is itching to do something. LIZARD TIME

She’s been lounging in the sun in the backyard reading and Erik is tanning next to her.

Matthews in the grass holding a portable fan on his face and Damien’s sitting in a chair with a big sunhat listening to the audiobook of the same book as MC for their little summer book club

James was inside making a light lunch and Sam was just coming home from working out.

“Oh, I see we’re all outside today and no one invited me?” Sam “You were working out. MC mentioned sun bathing and that was all I needed.” Erik “Except its hot as balls out here!” Matthew whines. “I wish we had a pool!” “The beach could be nice.” Damien “Oh my god I haven’t been to the beach in ages!” MC jolts up in excitement. Sam laughs and ruffles her hair. “Calm down no one said we’re going.” MC pouts. “Who said we’re going somewhere?” James “Damien suggested we go to the beach.” Erik “…why not? We could go next week.” James “Seriously?” Sam James shrugs, “I don’t really want to sit in a week-long meeting with her dad glaring holes into my head. Pushing back the meeting will also just piss him off so this is a win for me.” “So…. The beach?” MC “Why not? I’ll get the flight scheduled for us. We can leave Sunday.” James “Finally, a vacation!” Erik

They get on a short flight to end up in Savannah GA and Tybee Island.

They get a connecting room with 4 beds in total. MC sleeps in her own and Sam too…mostly cause he’s a bed hog and will kill anyone but Damien.

It takes the group very little time to throw their things down in the hotel before running to the beach.

James goes to spend his first day looking for sharks teeth.

Erik is sunbathing and listening to his own music.

Matthew and Sam are swimming together and probably trying to drown each other.

Damien is sitting next to Erik listening to an audio book and drawing in the sand.

MC starts by sunbathing with Erik and Damien

She’s laying on her stomach, sunglasses on, and stretching over her towel. “It’s so nice out today!” MC “Perfect weather for a vacation. I’m already looking at restaurants with patios for this evening.” “Damien can you hand me a seltzer?” The cooler hidden under the umbrella is filled with alcohol. Damien grabs one to hand to her. “Make sure you eat with those. The sun’s hot today you’ll get dehydrated.” Damien mentions. “I’ll be fine I brought sandwiches in there too!” MC

After baking in the sun and 3 seltzers and 2 mini sandwiches she’s dozing off on her towel.

Until water starts dripping on her face.

She looks up and sees Sam hovering over her, dripping the ocean all over her.

He’s smiling at her and shakes his soaking wet hair like a dog, all of it landing on her. “Ew! Sam gross! I was almost asleep!” She sits up and swats at his legs. He just laughs and sits next her, making her scoot over on her towel to make room. “Did you not bring your own towel out here?” MC He’s pressing his wet body against her and reaching past her to grab a seltzer and a sandwich. Her face is tomato red. “Yea but you’re already here and sharing is caring or whatever.” Sam “Well you’ve now soaked my towel.” She says irritated trying to hide her blush. Sam inhales his sandwich, “Perfect, so you can get in the water now.” He gives her a toothy grin. She rolls her eyes playfully but agrees. “Only if you help me reapply sunscreen to my back I can’t reach.” She reaches back to grab her bottle and Sam’s face blushes. “Uh yeah. Totally. Can do that, yup.” Sam She reapplies her sunscreen and waits for Sam to finish his drink. She sits still and waits for Sam’s hands on her back. Sam gently massages the sunscreen on her back and actively is avoiding the intense stare he is getting from Erik. Erik and Damien are just like… mmhmm definitely no sexual tension with these two idiots

Matthew, Sam, and MC are in the ocean and actively attacking each other with salt water.

Matthew’s trying to jump Sam to throw him in the water, but Sam just tosses his over.

Sam captures MC by the waist and pulls her further into the water with him.

“Sam! I don’t wanna go that deep!” She tries to wiggle out but he keeps her locked in. “It’s fine I won’t let you go promise! Just want some distance from Matthew he won’t swim this far out.” Sam “Fine but let me at least hold on to your neck, I feel unstable.” MC Sam easily adjusts her, she’s facing him now, arms locked firmly around his neck and he’s holding onto her waist with one and under the crook of her knee in another. “Is this, uh better.” The playful nature has left and they both are flushing. “Yeah… uh” she swallows hard, “This is better.” They have stopped moving out deeper and Sam keeps them afloat as they drift with the waves. “You guys are too far out and Erik’s stressing out! Get back over here!” Matthew is yelling at them but also getting hit by the wake. Sam groans and throws his head back in irritation, “We’re coming!” he shouts back. “Jesus, can’t get a second of peace around here…” he mutters. She’s chuckling and shoves her face in his neck. “Not really no.”  Back on the beach Erik lectures her and Sam but they’re barely listening. They are laid out on their towels catching their breath. James finally comes back to the group with a container containing a few sharks teeth. He looks like he’s happy so probably a success. “Back to the hotel to clean up then dinner?” James suggests to them. “Yes please!”

Between 6 people and 2 bathrooms they all take turns to get ready. But it is a race to see who gets to shower first.

The restaurant they pick is chill, fresh seafood, and an amazing patio. She is sitting in the sun and her sundress gently floats in the wind.

Everyone talks about their great day and what the plans are for tomorrow. 

They’re only staying for 3 days but they are ready to fill it with activities.

Mc, Erik, and Damien plan to go to some of the strip outlets and shop most of the morning/early afternoon the next day.

Then her afternoon MC is making everyone play a family game of cheesy beach mini golf.

To say they were competitive was an understatement. They were FOUL

James is actively keeping score, but also actively trying to knock others balls away from the hole. Erik is the only one playing fair and just trying to get this over with. Sam will hit the ball way too hard and has broken two different objects on the holes. He also is constantly accusing James or Matthew of cheating. Matthew is either trying to ruin Sam’s game or he’s just obnoxiously good at getting a hole in one. Damien is also way too invested and definitely ruining everyone’s game by blurting out whatever strategy they think of.

MC is just trying to win by pinning them against each other, but also actively going before Sam and bending over just enough to peak her ass out of her skirt. Damien at least doesn’t blurt out her plan there. But every time he is actively giving her a look of disappointment.

She feels a least a little shame when he does make eye contact with her.

The last day on the beach they all go back to the ocean to basically rinse and repeat their events of the day prior.

MC does start her day planning on getting day drunk though.

By mid afternoon Sam comes back from the water and he does sit on his own towel this time. He sits next her and leans back on his hands soaking up the sun.

MC is 5 drinks in and feeling t i p s y

It’s only her and Sam by the group’s belongings. Matthew and Erik and trying to teach Damien how to swim and James is halfway across the beach hunting for sharks’ teeth.

She readjusts after Sam sits down. She flips over onto her stomach and uses her arms as a pillow and lays on Sam’s legs.

“Comfortable?” Sam jokes MC just mumbles in agreement getting herself comfortable. “Hey doofus, I’m talking to you.” Sam She smacks his leg lightly. “I hear you. I’m just resting my eyes.” Sam pushes her hair out of her face and looks at their trash bag seeing the cans. He laughs and looks down at her, “Are you drunk?” he asks her. “Nooooo, I’m just a little tipsy Sam. I’m fine, I just need a nap.” She keeps her eyes closed as she snuggles closer to him. Sam raises a brow and pats her head. He looks up and sees Erik coming back to them. “Yea well you’re gonna take a nap inside.” Sam “But you’re so comfortable!” She whines. “Yea but you’ll be comfier inside, on a bed.” Sam chuckles standing up and easily helps MC up to carry her back to the hotel. He puts her on his back and she easily wraps her arms around his neck. He hoists her up and hooks his arms under her legs “Only if you nap with me like last time.” She mumbles. Sam rolls his eyes, “I’ll shower first and if you’re still awake I’ll lay with you alright?” “No. You’re just gonna trick me into passing out in the bed without you.” She pouts. “Caught me red handed.” Sam smirks “Please Aomaris.” She whispers into his back. A chill runs down his back and his grip tightens a little. “Yea.” He swallows hard his mouth dry, “I’ll lay with you for a bit.” “Yay!” She nestles more into his neck making his heart race. “Yea, yea, you win.” He mumbles red in the face. Sam drops her onto the bed and she bounces softly and giggles to herself. He rolls his eyes but is smiling at her joy. He turns and sees her smiling broadly up at him. It’s like the sun with how bright she is. She makes grippy hands at him. He laughs, “What are you, 5?”  She pouts but continues, “Just get in the bed already I’m tired.” He listens and nudges her over as he gets in.  “You’re so pushy!” She doesn’t respond and just throws her arms over him, wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer to her. Se rests her head in the crook if his neck. Sam goes rigid and doesn’t move at all. They’re still in their swimsuits and her breasts are wrapped in a bikini pushing against his chest. She peeps one eye open to look at him, his brain clearly trying to catch up. She sighs. “Sam you can hold me you know?” He chokes for a second before responding, “Uh yeah, just uh, didn’t want you to think I was being handsy cause you’re drunk.” She moves herself back to look him in the eye, “I’m not drunk, and any buzz I had you just ruined. Sam, I’m asking you to lay in the bed with me and hold me. Okay?” Sam almost chokes on his own spit. He’s blushing. “Yea, uh yea. Got it.” He hesitantly wraps his arms around her waist. She settles back down and gets comfortable. Her eyes shoot open before she can actually try to nap, her heart beating a mile a minute. “Unless you don’t want to and I’m totally forcing you to do this, oh my god.” She lets go of him and uses her hands to cover her face from embarrassment hiding in his chest. He starts laughing loudly. Sam grabs her and rolls them over so he’s flat on his back and she’s laying directly on top of him. He grabs her hands and moves them down from her face. He’s smiling at her and still laughing, “MC, I’m good. I want to hold you, I’m nervous I wasn’t expecting you to just throw yourself at me.” Her face goes tomato red. He’s still holding her hands so she can’t move them to hide her face in embarrassment. “I did not throw myself at you!” Her voice pitches in response. “I’m teasing you, calm down.” He’s laughing still. “Saaaaaaaaam!” she groans in irritation. “Calm down doofus,” he pulls her hands up to his lips and kisses them. “let’s just take a nap now alright?” Her face is still burning hot but he lets go of her hands and flips them onto their sides and throws the blanket over them. He grabs her waist and pulls her into him. She sighs and readjusts wrapping her arms around his waist and settling herself under his head. “You’re such a dick.” She mumbles into his chest. She feels him chuckle and tighten his grip and kisses the top of her head. “You like it.”

They sleep until everyone else comes back in from the beach and its Matthew that wakes them up. Well more like his very noisy presence wakes them.

When he comes in he throws his stuff down and starts talking loudly, he doesn’t even notice the two sharing a bed, or that they’re very asleep.

When he does notice he gets l o u d e r. Making all of the brother notice.

Sam throws a pillow hitting him square in the head.

They end their vacation having a nice dinner at one of the nicest restaurants.

Sam and MC sit across from each other almost in their own world the whole night.

They go home the next morning and things between MC and Sam and definitely different.

That was the beach mini episode that I added in. Diana comes in the next part but I also reworked a lot of that and slide into the second game pretty quickly. There's more notes so just let me know! This does make me wanna sit down and actually write more. I need to finish parts of the notes/draft though... I'm not positive what I'm doing with the second game completely yet.

[beloved-child-of-the-house]

like I just don’t wanna walk around your house in my socks and the cleanliness of your floors doesn’t factor into my reasoning. walking barefoot and in my stocking feet tends to hurt my feet. I almost never go barefoot. Basically just when I am literally lying in bed or when I am inside the shower stall. Otherwise I wear shoes or slippers.

I’m not gonna insist you let my wear my shoes in your house tho if that makes you uncomfortable or grosses you out like we can meet somewhere else or we can have our visit outside or like if you want you can offer me some slippers or shoe covers or something to wear while I’m in the house which I think is a rlly nice gesture if you’re going to insist on no shoes.

[littlemissidontcare]

Considering that she's about to be the longest known relationship, the idea that she doesn't "live up to his exes for him", is pure coping. Yall can dislike her while accepting that his actions don't align with your feelings about her whatsoever. Like no offense, but you know you lost when you need to resort to ageism and insulting looks constantly. She doesn't need to be hot nor young in order for him to want her and stay with her.

I’ve had a long day of being extremely diplomatic toward people who didn’t deserve my patience or kindness, so forgive me for sounding like a raging cunt when I say that the only one coping here is you. He looks like he’s smelling rotting fish every time she’s next to him and no, that is not an exaggeration. He refuses to touch her or look at her with any love or respect. Two years of dirty looks and uncomfortable body language pale in comparison to one year of smiles, affection, and contentment. And if I’m not mistaken, he was with Leighton for nearly three years. Annabelle just has some great lawyers, and Seb is too infatuated with his career to find a woman he actually feels compelled to treat nicely. You can say I’m coping, but what we saw in Cannes was not a loving couple, it was two people forcing something that has never been present. I’m sorry you feel the need to defend something that has never really been worth defending, but you should really stop wasting your time. He could marry her and I wouldn’t bat an eye. I’ve seen all I need to see. You will never convince me that he likes her or, given the choice, he’d have spent the past two years with someone else. Time and time, again, they’ve been outed for being an arrangement. And the more we see from them, the more that information is solidified for me. You can call me delusional, you can say I’m coping, they’re not normal, they’re not private. I’d barely call them friends.

You can throw your accusations of ageism at me, too. I don’t care. The fact that you’re coming up with these responses to every ask that dares to say something unsavory about a d-list failed actor who has less personality than polyester is a little pathetic. Everyone from your echo chamber is the same: you all play the misogyny or ageism card when you don’t know what else to say. If anything, you’re just showing your asses by projecting what you think is wrong with her on us. Margarita Levieva is 3 years older than Annabelle. She is a goddess in comparison. I’m not asking for Seb to be with something who’s twenty and a virgin, I’m simply saying that Annabelle is a shitty person who also happens to be unattractive. As someone who sees how grossed out he seems to be when he’s around her, I don’t see it ending well.

Also, to be frank, I’ve exhausted my logical arguments because your camp doesn’t have the capacity to absorb them. At this point, as I said, I believe what I believe based on hard evidence. I make fun of her looks because it’s funny watching a crappy person’s outsides grow to match her insides.

The only reason why you vouch as hard as you do for her is because Alejandra was her predecessor.

Had she shown up with Ale never having been in the equation, a lot of y’all might be willing to see what the rest of us do. Instead, you choose to place the bar in the ground because she’s an armchair activist who knows exactly what to hide so her fellow armchair activists will worship her. She plays the PR game very well, I’ll give her that much. You’ve clearly fallen for it.

[thejournalisttintin]

How Martin Became Allergic to Peanuts

I don't know how, but for some reason, I wanted to write a little one-shot of how Martin had gotten his peanut allergy.

I've mentioned it in his basic profile, as well as his timeline, but I've decided to write a little more further on how he developed it, as well as Tintin's reaction to the news and how it will affect Martin later in life.

So here's a one shot of how Martin's peanut allergy came about.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon at the St. Breussen Home For Lost Children in Namur. Spring was always the best time of the year there, since it meant that the courtyard was always full of giggling children, laughing and playing. The children at the orphanage were happily playing outside in the cool spring air as

Meanwhile, two young boys, both with ginger-colored hair, were playing at a sandbox by themselves. They had built a castle out of building blocks, and something exciting was taking place...

...

"Oh no! The princess is trapped in the spooky dungeon!" Martin exclaimed as he waved the teddy bear in the air. "Tintin, I need a prince! A fancy one!" Tintin grabbed a nearby toy soldier and handed it to Martin. "Oh no, now the prince is trapped too!

"Who cares about danger when I've got you?" Martin said, imitating the prince. He then made the princess doll and toy soldier kiss, making loud kissing noises. "Ugh, Martin!" Tintin exclaimed, disgusted. "Gross!"

Meanwhile, one of the female orphanage workers, Marine, happened to come outside to watch the children playing.

"The forest sprites cry out!" Tintin cried out, making a loud whooshing sound as he held up a toy horse, along with a fairy doll. "They wake the Fairy Queen, who breaks the spell and frees the castle from the evil monster!" He used the fairy doll to knock over the teddy bear. "And they all get married!" Martin exclaimed, holding the dolls close to him as he playfully tumbled down, laughing with Tintin.

“Having fun?”

Both Martin and Tintin looked up to find . “Oh, hi Sister Marine!” Tintin laughed. “Me and Martin were just playing.” Marine laughed. “I can see that,” she told them. “I was just coming to tell you both that lunch is almost ready.” “Great!” Martin exclaimed. “I’m hungry.” “Me too!” Tintin chimed in.

Marine looked around. “You know,” she told the boys while reaching into her pocket, “I know I’m not supposed to, but…” She then took out two small packets and handed them to both Martin and Tintin.

“I thought I’d give you two a little snack before lunch.”

Tintin unwrapped the packet and gasped. Inside were pieces of chocolate and peanuts. “Whoa!” he exclaimed. “Chocolate and peanuts! My favorite!” “Just so you know, this is between you two and me,” Marine said with a wink. “Go on, enjoy.”

Martin unwrapped his packet as Tintin began to indulge himself. “Mmm…yummy,” he said as he scooped some pieces of chocolate into his mouth. “Sister Marine is always so nice to us.”

Martin smiled as he grabbed some chocolate and peanuts. “I know,” he told his brother. “Father Johannes never let us get any treats.” “Sister Marine is the best,” Tintin told him. “I like her more.”

“Me too,” Martin said, grabbing a small handful of peanuts and chewing them happily. “Yum…” He then ate another handful of peanuts.

After swallowing, Martin began to cough.

Tintin looked up from his hands and saw Martin coughing. “Martin?” he asked. “Martin?”

Suddenly, Martin’s coughing turned to wheezing as he struggled to breathe.

Tintin knew he couldn’t wait.

…

“Sister Marine!!” Marine, who was about to head inside, suddenly turned around and saw Tintin running up to her, dragging Martin.

“Tintin?” Marine questioned. “Tintin, what’s wrong?”

“Sister Marine! It’s Martin!” Tintin exclaimed. “Something’s wrong with him!”

By now, Martin was finding it more difficult to breathe, his face turning red.

“Martin?!” Marine questioned as she knelt down. “Martin, what’s wrong, dear? Are you not feeling well? Look at me!” Martin looked up, and what Marine saw was nothing short of shocking.

Martin’s face was breaking out with hives, and was nearly swollen. “Sister…” Martin managed to squeak out. “Help…”

Overcome with fear, Marine scooped Martin up and held him in her arms. “Tintin, come with me,” she ordered, grabbing Tintin’s arm.

The three ran through the halls of the orphanage and out the front doors. Hurrying down the steps, she ran towards a man who ran a local antique shop.

“Sir, where’s the nearest hospital?” Marine pleaded. “Just down the next street, at 54 Bellimar Drive,” the store owner told her. “I can call up a cab for you to—“ He quickly noticed Marine running down the street. “Wait, ma’am!” he shouted. “What are you doing?!"

People who were walking down the streets were quite surprised to find Marine running through the crowds, holding Martin with one hand while grabbing Tintin's arm with the other.

Busy streets halted as Marine and the two boys crossed the street.

By then, Martin was still coughing, already beginning to lose consciousness.

Marine, however, was determined to get Martin to the hospital. Even if she had to run half a mile down the streets of Namur with him and Tintin in tow.

…

After twenty-five minutes, Marine finally reached the St. Roesberge General Hospital.

The receptionist at the desk was quite shocked as Marine burst through the door. "Excuse me," she told Marine, "but you must check in befo--" "Where's the doctor?" Marine demanded, panting as she was out of breath. "I need Dr. Girardin! Please!"

Before the receptionist could speak, a doctor came in. "Sister Marine! Is there a problem?" he questioned.

Marine held Martin up. "It's the boy," she replied. "He's coughing and sweating like mad, and he's covered in some kind of rash...I-I don't know what to do!"

Dr. Girardin took Martin and examined him. "Open your mouth, child," he ordered. Martin feverishly opened his mouth, coughing a little.

Dr. Girardin turned to another doctor. "The boy's airway is nearly closed," he ordered. "Quick, get this boy to intensive care!" Several workers wheeled in a gurney and placed Martin on top.

"Where are they taking him?" Tintin questioned. Marine tried to follow the doctors, but was stopped by the receptionist. "I'm sorry ma'am," she told her. "You have to wait here."

Marine was deeply worried.

Would Martin be okay?

...

It had been almost several hours since the doctors had whisked Martin away to an intensive care ward and left Tintin and Marine waiting with worry. Even when a nurse offered Tintin a drink of water, he refused.

He was deeply worried for his brother.

At that moment, Dr. Girardin came to the waiting room. “Sister Marine,” he said.

Marine got up almost immediately. “Doctor…is Martin okay?” she questioned. “Please tell me he’s okay!” Dr. Girardin gently took her hands. “Not to worry, Sister,” he told her. “He’s responding excellently to the treatment.” “My brother’s gonna be okay?” Tintin asked, tugging at his coat.

At that moment Dr. Girardin lowered his head a little. “Doctor?” Marine asked.

Dr. Girardin looked at Marine. “Let’s have a seat,” he told her, gesturing toward the chairs. As she and Tintin both sat down, Marine turned to Dr. Girardin as he sat down to face her. “What happened to Martin, exactly?” she questioned.

Dr. Girardin sighed heavily, preparing to give her the news.

“After treating him, we’ve found that Martin had suffered from a serious case of anaphylaxis,” he informed Marine, who blinked at him rather obliviously. “To put it more lightly, he had an allergic reaction.”

Allergic reaction…

Those two words seemed to ring loudly in Tintin’s young mind.

“An allergic reaction?” Marine questioned. “What is that?” Tintin asked, wide-eyed.

“Well,” Dr. Girardin continued, “an allergic reaction is, for lack of better words, when the body develops an adverse response to something that usually doesn’t affect anyone else.

“Martin had all the symptoms associated with anaphylaxis, such as a rash, swollen throat, shortness of breath, and low blood pressure,” he told Marine. “How does this sort of thing occur?” she asked.

“These days, it's mostly caused by insect bites,” Dr. Girardin replied. “We found no trace of insect bites on Martin, but I would like to know something. Did Martin eat something that might have caused it?”

“I just gave him and Tintin some chocolate, along with—“ Marine’s face suddenly went pale.

“The peanuts…” she muttered, tears coming to her eyes.

“I almost killed Martin by giving him peanuts…”

“Sister,” Dr. Girardin assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Let me assure you; you did not kill the boy. It was an accident. But now you know what peanuts will do to him.” Marine nodded, wiping away a tear. “What do we do now?” she pondered.

Dr. Girardin let out a sigh. "The best thing you can do is ensure that you remove peanuts from Martin's diet completely, even anything that may contain traces of peanuts," he informed her. "But in the event that he does accidentally consume peanuts, we have another solution."

He then reached into his coat pocket and took out a pouch containing two syringes and a small vial of liquid. "This is an epinephrine extract," he informed Marine, taking out the vial. "When Martin gets an allergic reaction from peanuts, inject him with this. It will alleviate the symptoms."

"Interesting," Marine said, eyeing the vial. "Does it have any side effects?" "Well, it may cause him to feel drowsy at times," Dr. Girardin told her. "But other than that, it's perfectly harmless."

“Doctor?” Tintin asked, his voice wavering by slightly. “Yes, little one?” Dr. Girardin answered. “When can I see my brother?” Tintin questioned, tugging at his coat.

Before Dr. Girardin could answer, Tintin then noticed a nurse wheeling Martin to the waiting room on a wheelchair.

"Martin!!" Tintin cried out as he ran to embrace Martin. "Easy, child," the nurse warned him. "He's still recovering." "It's so good to see you again!" Tintin exclaimed, hugging Martin gently. "Are you all better?" "I'm okay," Martin said, smiling weakly.

“I’ve checked with the other staff members,” the nurse told Dr. Girardin, “and the boy is free to go.” “Excellent,” Dr. Girardin told her as Tintin helped Martin to his feet. “And I will provide you with new syringe needles if needed.” “Thank you so much, Doctor,” Marine said as she took the pouch with her.

“And Sister Marine,” he said to her before they left. “Yes?” Marine asked.

“I am aware that we at St. Roesberge cannot interfere with other people’s beliefs,” Dr. Girardin informed her, “but you need to inform Father Johannes on this matter. After all, he must know.”

Marine sighed heavily; knowing that Father Johannes was heavily religious, she would find it difficult to explain Martin’s peanut allergy.

“I will tell him,” Marine said.

“Even if he refuses to accept the truth, I will tell him regardless.”

…

Later that evening, back at the orphanage...

And it seemed as if Doctor Girardin was right about Father Johannes outright refusing to accept the fact that Martin had a peanut allergy. Once Marine had told him everything, Johannes was quick to rebuke her comments.

“Absolutely not!” Father Johannes protested. "I refuse to believe such ridiculous blasphemy!"

"Father Johannes, I understand this is a difficult thing to process," Marine told him, "but this is Martin's life we're discussing here. I've already consulted with Dr. Girardin; we need to take this more seriously. If we're not careful, there is a possibility Martin could die."

"Sister," Father Johannes retorted, "this so-called 'allergic reaction'...You see it as a condition that needs to be treated, but you know what I see? The Lord is bringing a punishment upon that poor, confused child.

Outside Father Johannes' office, Martin and Tintin were quietly sitting on the bench by the door, waiting.

“What are they talking about?” Martin asked quietly. “I don’t know,” Tintin whispered. “But Father Johannes sounds mad.”

Back in the office…

“I am a man of faith,” Father Johannes told Marine as he strolled over to his desk and pulled out a Holy Bible. “And I will not accept any talk of allergies and treatment options here. Our faith cannot be corrupted by such lies as this.”

“But Father,” Marine protested, “I am also a woman of faith. But I cannot just stand by and watch as this condition threatens to take Martin’s life. He needs the proper care necessary.”

"Do you remember the Ten Plagues in the Book of Exodus?" Father Johannes questioned, opening the book. "Yes, I remember," Marine told him. "But that has nothing to do with--"

"'And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt'," Father Johannes began to recite, silencing Marine, "'and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt'. Say it."

Marine was adamant. "This has nothing to do with Martin's situation," she protested. "We cannot risk another allergic reaction--" "Say it!" Father Johannes ordered, slamming his fist on the desk.

Marine sighed heavily. "'And shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man'," she recited, "'and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt'...This is serious! We have to take Martin's health into consideration!"

"'And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh'," Father Johannes said out loud, ignoring Marine, "'and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast'! Say it!" "'And it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast'," Marine recited through clenched teeth.

"Don't you see?" Father Johannes questioned. "All this talk about allergies and treatments...Those doctors are trying to fill your head with nonsense.” “But Dr. Girardin was very thorough on his explanation,” Marine assured. “The doctors made sure to give Martin the best treatment possible.”

Father Johannes glared at Marine. “Sister, they are all the same,” he told her. “Just lying, sinful practitioners who are non-believers of the natural order. Using science to justify a sickness or ailment…all I see is a plague bringing judgment to that child!

“And I don’t need to remind you,” he continued, “that the only reason I let those two boys in this orphanage was because you were so persistent in caring for them. And now that you’ve informed of this nonsense, Martin’s judgment now falls on to you, and only you. Understand?”

Marine slowly nodded yes, her head hanging slightly. “Yes, Father,” she answered.

Father Johannes nodded. “Now go. Take the boys to bed,” he ordered, waving for her to leave.

…

Marine closed the door behind her as Tintin and Martin both got up from the bed. “What happened?” Tintin questioned. “Father Johannes sounded upset.”

Marine sighed. “It was a matter of private discussion,” she told the two boys. “But I promise you, I will do everything I can to ensure Martin doesn’t get another allergic reaction.”

“I’m gonna be okay?” Martin asked.

Marine gave his hair a light ruffle. “You will,” she assured him. “But you know, Martin. You’ll be living with this your whole life. People will be confused by your condition, and some will be disgusted by it. But just know that there will always be people willing to help you.”

Tintin smiled. “And don’t worry, Martin!” he told him. “I’m gonna protect you from whoever tries to make you eat peanuts!”

Martin sniffed a little. “You will?” he asked.

Tintin smiled.

“I will, brother dear.”

[mlobsters]

supernatural s4e19 jump the shark (w. andrew dabb, daniel loflin)

episode should be titled 10 more reasons to hate john winchester

seinfeld s5e22 the opposite - dedee pfeiffer as victoria

another tiny role on seinfeld that i know well because i saw them all enough and at a time when my brain was better at recording things.

okay but also? i think i know her from cybill?? which i probably haven't thought of since the 90s. and sometimes i wonder how i originally knew actors like say, alicia witt and christine baranaski and something like this drags it up from the depths

cybill (1995-1998) dedee pfeiffer as rachel blanders

okay but back to dean getting shat on. dear old dad wanted to give one of his kids a normal life and take him to baseball games and go camping that didn't involve killing monsters. aw, that's nice. except for all the gross child neglect of his kids he was supposed to be fulltime sole caregiver of. granted he didn't get involved in this kid's life until sam was away at college so it's not like the nice things happened simultaneously to the neglect. still hate you, man. and the recap made sure to remind us of how john treated sam's going to college.

that look sam gave adam after dean loses paper scissors rock was cute. was feeling the sibling vibes.

also got me considering the logistics of man sized ventilation inside this random house.

sam giving this kid the dad and dean no friends no life routine is something. remember this little exchange at the gas pump:

s1e6 skin:

SAM: So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life? (DEAN shrugs.) You’re serious?

DEAN: Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period.

SAM: You’re kind of anti-social, you know that?

but also harkens back to when dean was just trying to keep everyone alive while the other two were hellbent on self destructive revenge. which dean has been selling sam is just like dad and that's why they don't get along since then, but i'm not quite sure i buy that.

from s1e22 devil's trap:

Sam: We want to kill this demon. You used to want that, too. Hell, I mean, you’re the one who came and got me at school! (Dean scoffs) You’re the one who dragged me back into this, Dean. I’m just trying to finish it!

Dean: Well, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought, you know that? You both can’t wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? I’m gonna be the one to bury you. You’re selfish, you know that? You don’t care about anything but revenge.

that line about being the one to bury you lives rent free in my head.

i mean, i get what he's putting down in regards to his revenge quests, but i don't think there's a lot of similarities outside that. maybe because i like sam and john was a child neglecting piece of garbage. that is definitely a big blinder for me 🥴

i'm sure people enjoyed all that uh, excessive wound fingering and such with sam.

but my issue is those very significant cuts through his forearms and he's all fine and dandy in the next scene. he'd have some wicked number of stitches. and i guess nothing major was cut. just fleshy bits that dean can sew back up? i know, medical accuracy is way way WAY down on the list. but when they focus on the volume of blood he's losing so rapidly, i can't help but start to think of the logistics! anyway, made me think about hannibal's big ass scars in a similar place from matthew brown.

okay but also the kid has a point, of the ghouls were only eating dead people, was it really that important to be killing them?

that turned out a lot more therapeutic than i expected. and somehow i didn't know that fate of adam so i was actually surprised. i always am glad for dean to be working through some of his dad issues. sam is full of questionable choices these days. i'll give it to him, the writers, whatever. he really does sell that he's earnestly truly trying to do the right thing. but everything is a flaming pile of shit anyway.

DEAN I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now.

SAM I'll take that as a compliment.

DEAN You take it any way you want.

i mean.

anyway. okay i liked this episode even though i'm nervously looking at the time with how close the end of the season is and here we are off killing some monsters like it's any other week. this felt like an earlier to mid season episode. quality dean and sam time, daddy issues on blast.

and forever grateful shoutout to supernaturalwiki.com, the documentation is immaculate, found the episode with the bury you line in it in under 5 minutes.