#but the main thing that weirded me out was like some weird god-like entity that got free and turned the world into some weird mess and filth

[rakeshouseparty]

Good morning rake gang i had a real weird dream and it involved rake!

[xjulixred45x]

I was making some drawings with the story of the Trojan War in the background, when I just got to the part of the sacrifice of Iphigenia (Agamemnon's daughter) so that the ships would march towards Troy.

and it gave me a little idea for this little drabble.

Imagine that the reader is a lover of one of the 3 main members of the house of Hades (Zagreus, Thanatos, Megaera) and one day their family tells them to go to a specific place for a matter of EXTREME importance.

Without knowing it, the reader goes to where they plan to sacrifice them to the gods (you decide the reason).

What the family does not take into account when this happens is that using the Aid of the gods, reader calls their lover to help them (could it be possible? I would be upset if it were).

Can you imagine the reactions of each person when they see that mortals want to sacrifice their partner?

Thanatos is definitely against this sacrifice being made with his partner obviously, and he protects them, but he is the most aware of the situation, that if there is a sacrifice, some god asked for it, and he knows that something that would be worse (especially for his partner) than dealing with mortals, would be dealing with a GOD/GODDESS.

Therefore, Thanatos would try to use diplomacy as much as possible, although he would use force if necessary to defend his partner (if they needs it) and would try to fix the situation without bothering any higher entity.

He is the clumsiest when it comes to comforting his partner, but he doesn't want them to feel bad in the long run, so even after the situation is under control, he takes them somewhere nice to make them feel better.

Zagreus is definitely LIVID with anger when he finds out what is happening, I think he would try at first to say that it makes no sense for them to ask for a sacrifice because the gods usually DON'T LIKE THEM (like what happened with Pelops) but as soon as he sees that that It doesn't work, he goes directly to violence.

Do they want a sacrifice to the gods? Well, let them be it themselves. Besides he gets to show off a little with His partner lol.

although he definitely tries to comfort them emotionally after that kind of betrayal while he can be on the surface (or even offer them some time in the house of Hades, if they want). Good and unusual Badass/angry Zagreus.

Megaera....OF...she jumps right into violence. They don't even have to tell her what's happening, she sees her partner in trouble and distressed and she sees RED. brings out her most violent side.

When it's all over she goes to check on her partner and asks what happened and it only makes her even angrier. Of course it was deadly stupid. But he's glad they're okay. she's not as emotionally good as Zagreus, but at least she comforts her partner because she knows what it's like to feel so disconnected from your "family."

She is definitely going to take the time in Tartarus to torment her partner's family or at least she leaves it to her sisters :)

BONUS:

POLY THAN/ZAG/MEG is a weird mix of all of the above. probably having Thanatos trying to make things "right" Megaera and Zagreus try not to go straight to violence. THEY WOULD TRY.

although as soon as they see that there is not going to be a real negotiation, that they ignore them or, gods forbid, they try to kill their partner EVEN WITH THEM IN FRONT OF THEM Zagreus and Megaera will no longer hold back and will go for BLOOD.

Thanatos, seeing that diplomacy failed, would only dedicate himself to checking on his partner to see if they were hurt or if they are feeling well in general. The man wants ANSWERS of how this happened.

When it's all over, probably the three of them (especially Zagreus and Meg) would be much more vigilant with their partner, it was just a big scare. Besides, lots of hugs and cuddles. I don't make the rules.

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

This was fun to write:D

[sca-rian]

RECAP OF CELLBIT'S STREAM, 05/05

investigating quesadilla island!! the man has gone full detective and lore mode. here's a link of my recap of his previous stream if you want to catch up. only updating on the first 5 hours of stream, since after he switches to more casual building/chatting

cellbit's plan for the day is investigating the mystery within quesadilla island. he even got a special skin for this occasion

he started a diary to keep notes of what he finds within his investigations. i compiled what he wrote so far and translated it in this file

he also finished his office/investigation room!! its under his house

he left the favela with philza and he's asking phil some questions regarding how they got to the server and how his days in the server went by so far

philza is telling him about his experience exploring the structures he found in the sky and his encounter with the binary code entity, which fit exploded with a bomb

philza gave cellbit the coordinates he got from the entity (2530, 66, 1892)

he's now asking philza about the eggs

(this section of the stream is in english, in case anyone is interested. i will get the correct timestamps once vode is out, but roughly it should be around 30 mins in until the 1 hour mark)

he's now heading to the train station where everyone arrived to investigate

after not finding anything other than the puzzles (which weirded him out due to why such a thing would need to exist and why it feels like everyone is being tested), he moved to explore the ship where the brazilians arrived

he's revisiting the puzzle found in the ship with the letters/flags. it involves the international code of signals. the letters were KXUT, meaning the following:

    K - "i wish to communicate with you"

    X - "stop carrying out your intentions and watch for my signals"

    U - "you are running into danger"

    T - "keep clear of me"

cellbit believes it was like a warning for them to not approach the island

he went to meet up with maximus and foolish. he's telling them about when he got attacked by the binary code entity

they all went to his office and are now discussing the flag puzzle/codes

they're rewatching the tapes now

cellbit, foolish and maximus are heading to the coordinates phil gave cellbit earlier

the location is close to luzu's house, and foolish explained to cellbit what has been supposedly going on with luzu and an ai called erin (i have personally not been keeping up with this part of the qsmp, so im not entirely sure)

(once again, this section is in english if you want to watch for yourself. will get exact timestamps later, but roughly between tge 2 hour and 3 hour mark)

RICHARLYSON STEPPED ON A MINE MY GOD MY HEART I WAS SO SCARED HE WAS GONNA DIE. hes fine tho!!!

they're speculating the federation got luzu and thats why he hasnt been on the server. also that the building they found (picture above) is how luzu's mind stays alive and in the server somehow, since it looks like a machine

rip tree

theyre speculating the number "8" on the building might be counting the eggs that are currently alive

cellbit's main theory right now is that they're stuck in a simulation and are being tested

cellbit also mentioned he doesnt think the eggs are real or that theyre a way to manipulate them to stay in the island and not search for a way to leave. obviously, the others dont want to believe that

(guys i think cellbit is going a bit insane)

cellbit thinks they should find a way to break out of the simulation

cellbit is now speculated that when the eggs got kidnapped the federation placed something inside the eggs, thats why theyre cracked. bbh added that maybe they took a sample out of them to do experiments

theyre discussing ways to try and break out of the simulation/leave the island

A BOOK WITH BINARY CODE SHOWED UP ON HIS INVENTORY ???? the code translates to "LEAVE"

theyre going to try and see if they can leave the island by following the train rails. the eggs will stay with poor philza minecraft

AS SOON AS THEY LEFT, PHILZA AND THE EGGS GOT ATTACKED BY THE BINARY CODE ENTITY HOLY SHIT????????? thankfully, bbh placed a teleporter thing and they all managed to go back quickly. however, once they arrived the binary code entity was already gone

after that, they gave up on exploring the rails and all went their separate ways

bobby drowned while trying to escape the binary entity.

cellbit is really scared right now that richarlyson might be attacked again, he feels guilt somehow since he believes the entity is attacking because of what he has been doing/saying

cellbit was watching the clip of philza and the eggs being attacked. he realized it was initially cucorucho who turned into the binary entity

the binary code on the entity translates to "AI" ...... possibly linking back to the luzu situation they were discussing earlier

the next session of the stream is cellbit and richarlyson expanding the basement to include more stuff. cellbit also plans to make an interrogation room for people he thinks are suspicious (quackity)

theyre now going to visit roier and bobby. richarlyson made bobby a little gift :)

cellbit told roier that he thinks the attacks are his fault. cellbit told him it was probably a warning from the entity

cellbit also told him that cucorucho became one of the binary entities

maximus is building a transmission tower to send messages in all languages to the server. cellbit is absolutely losing it at his portuguese

they went back home to keep working on the basement

cellbit is teaching richarlyson how to play chess (this is an important update). richarlyson lost, but cellbit told him to just shoot the opponent when he loses

quackity logged on and cellbit mentioned he might interrogate quackity on sunday

as cellbit was ending his stream, cucorucho showed up on his basement

now, over 5 hours into the stream, cellbit will be changing into more casual minecraft gameplay to work on his base and overall taking a break soon. i will be closing the stream and ending this post. will update later if anything more happens!! once again, feel free to dm me/send asks if you have any questions, comments or requests for clips/timestamps/translations <3

[loonybun]

Meeting Aisling (CYOA) 2

sorry i am a VERY slow writer and work on bursts of inspiration and writing sprints so this took FOREVER to write. anyways here it is.

contains: more fae shenanigans, implied magical manipulation, exhaustion, fae carewhumper, invasion of personal space, abduction, The Horrors (fun stuff because my canon doesn’t 100% follow traditional folklore as i like to add things in), just creepy vibes but i’m sure everything will be fine and he’s actually 100% harmless. most definitely!!!

—————————————————

“A photographer?”

He lights up and grabs onto your hands. Almost immediately, he lets go, but the fuzzy sensation dwells on your palm. The strange man continues on.

“That’s not something you hear everyday! I don’t know a ton about photography, but I may have seen some of your… Your picture-things! I never caught your name, actually. Would you mind giving that to me really quick?”

You can’t place why, but words send a shudder down your spine. Somewhere deep in your mind an alarm rings.

He’s still a stranger. You don’t give out your name to strangers. That’s just common sense. Sure, he seems friendly enough, but better safe than sorry. Instead, you give him the handle you use for your photography. That’s probably the main reason he was asking, anyway.

He’s obviously disappointed, but you decide to ignore the guilt. There’s an awkward silence before he speaks up again.

“—Well, follow me. Let’s get you somewhere safer, okay? You can call me Ai, by the way, but not like the ones you see with. Weird little nickname, but it’s what most people call me anyways. Unless we want to be formal with each other, but that doesn’t really seem necessary.”

His enthusiasm returns, and before you know it you’re practically chasing him through the dark forest. It’s hard to catch up with the way he deftly darts from tree to tree. You can hear him laugh as you fail to match his pace, and the sound echoes through the forest like the chimes of crystal bells, bouncing off of the trees.

Eventually, you manage to run up to him. He’d stopped to wait for you, and now he was sitting in the grass, grinning up at you strangely. The exhaustion overwhelms any urge to find the source of your anxiety. You’re still trying to catch your breath, and you soon find yourself down beside him. Ai pats the top of your head, patiently waiting for you to regain your strength.

“…The grass here seems so much softer. You don’t know why, do you? That’s okay. We’ll find out soon.” He murmurs, combing through your hair with nimble fingers. “Do you have your camera? You should take a picture-thing. This is a nice little spot. You probably won’t be able to find it again.”

You hadn’t even noticed, too concentrated on the soothing tones in his voice. You’d nearly fallen asleep right there. Oh god, you just cuddled up to a complete stranger. After a moment, you pull your thoughts together and focus on the area around you.

There’s still no signs of the campsites, but the area he’s brought you to feels safe all the same. Moonbeams stream in through gaps in the canopy above. The white light pours onto the plants around, casting them all into an ethereal state. You take your camera out of your bag and turn it on, eagerly looking at the screen—

But something’s wrong. Pink ebbs into the edges of the screen, and the middle keeps splitting into bars. You point the camera around in an effort to reset it. Ai curiously watches you struggle, that same odd smile still placed on his lips. For a moment, the camera pans over to him— or what should have been him. The bars on the screen seem to multiply and crack, barely obscuring something unfathomable and buglike. You look at the terrifyingly beautiful entity on the screen, then back to him. You hadn’t noticed his teeth before. They really shouldn’t be that sharp, should they?

“Is something wrong?” His voice still sounds so sweet. It makes you feel woozy. Sick. That thing wasn’t human. Where were you? The woods hadn’t even began to thin out. Had he taken you further in?

You shake your head, but you must have taken too long to respond. Once again, he’s by your side, a hand on your shoulder and the other positioned in front of the lens. He’s not smiling anymore.

Ai’s hold on your shoulder becomes firm, uncomfortable and tight.

“…—I didn’t… I didn’t know it did that. Huh. Well— I’ve dragged this out long enough. I was hoping you’d get a few last photos of your world though… Just as a keepsake. Oh well, Maybe it’s for the best.”

A surge of panic shoots through your body. You immediately push him away, stumbling back in the process. You need to get away. Fast. Whatever he meant couldn’t be anything good. Did he want to kill you? Why did he wait?

He’s picked up on your panic.

“Woah, woah! Hey! I don’t want to hurt you. It’s not like that, okay? I just— I need you to come with me. It’ll be an adventure! Humans still like adventuring, right?” The thing’s slowly getting closer to you. You don’t wait to hear whatever he says next. All you can do now is run. Keep running until you find some way out of this place.

Despite your exhaustion, you keep moving, weaving between the trees and taking as many turns as possible. Anything to get him off of your trail. You can hear him behind you. It doesn’t seem like he’s running, though. There aren’t any footsteps.

WHAM. A branch collides with your forehead, and you immediately fall back onto the ground. You need to get up. You need to get up now.

It’s already too late.

He scoops you up effortlessly, ignoring your desperate flailing.

“Oh, ouch... That looked like it hurt. Hopefully it’ll only leave a small bruise. Anyways, I feel like I’m leaving a really bad first impression. You wouldn’t mind giving me a do-over once we get home, right? I mean— I feel like it was going well! Up until you got all freaked out. Not your fault, but next time maybe don’t run off like that.”

He doesn’t look human anymore. You’re looking into the slit pupils of some otherworldly being. It hurts to think too hard about it. It hurts to think at all.

He carries you back over to the spot you two had been before, taking you a bit further. Dread fills your stomach as he steps into the center of a ring of mushrooms and the world begins to melt around you. You can hear him whispering some reassurances to you, but you can’t process what he’s saying. Your eyelids feel so heavy. You don’t resist when he kisses your forehead, causing you to drift away entirely.

Sleep takes you under. It’s a relief. Nothing hurts anymore.

-

-

Your eyelids slowly open, glazing over your new surroundings. Sunlight streams in through a hole in the ceiling, as well as a window that has been thoroughly wrapped in vines. The bedroom is luxurious, but definitely not in any traditional sense.

There’s a large tree in the very center of the room. It’s a grandiose thing with slim leaves and dramatic pink flowers. It looks well taken care of. Still, it’s a weird decoration to have in the middle of a bedroom.

The man— or whatever it was— that brought you here is nowhere to be seen. That’s probably for the best. It gives you more time to find a way out of this place.

You notice the door parallel to the bed and immediately make your way over to it. Locked. You’re not sure what else you expected.

So that settles it. You’ve been taken hostage by some weird magical creature for god knows why and you have no way of knowing where you are. At least he hadn’t restrained you. You could still escape. Things weren’t over yet.

taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added!!): @whumpy-wyrms @inkwell-and-dagger @lordcatwich @kawaii-cakes

[chevaliersnumberoneguy]

I just finished Ward and was inspired by a friend to make a review about it here so uh here is my semi-non formal review of Ward.

So to provide a bit of context I became a Parahumans fan back in 2019 and read alongside it with a veteran Worm fan and it easily became one of my favorite pieces of fiction. After a decent break I began reading Ward on and off again for a little bit (not because of the quality I’m just weird when I dedicate time for reading) and after about 3 years of reading it over work breaks and doing a last hail mary sprint for the final couple arcs I feel as though Ward is an amazing follow up to Worm. I know that may be a hot take since I have heard from a friend that general sentiment on Ward isn’t all that positive, but I found myself enjoying it quite a lot.

Wildbow in my eyes managed to expand upon a lot of things I like about Worm and answered a lot of questions I didn’t think would be answered.

Let’s start with a big thing first. I think overall Victoria was a fantastic pick for the protagonist to follow along for this adventure. Not just because she is overall very well written, but out of all the existing characters Wildbow could’ve picked, Vicky was probably the best one for orchestrating the main message of overcoming trauma and learning to love yourself in Ward. It was very fun and satisfying the overall arc she had in Ward.

Breakthrough as a whole was also full of extremely well written characters with all of them enamouring me with their backstories and character arcs in their own way. I didn’t come to think Chris of all people would become such an interesting “minor” antagonist until the Simurgh reveal.

Overall Wildbow has has gone forth and continued to have shown his great ability to present mysteries or seemingly random moments/information and manage to paint it in a completely different light with a massive reveal later on in the story. Chris is a pretty big example of this with all of his behaviors and relationship to his tinker power being weird at best to making a lot of it make sense in retrospect with the reveal that he was more or less created by the Simurgh to help her out in her grand plan. Another example of this is all of the hype and build up to the reveal of Shardspace and the Cracking as a whole.

Now I’m willing to admit it isn’t perfect with all of the Wildbow moments and pacing at certain parts of the story, but I can really appreciate it for what it is at the end.

The parts that got me loving it the most is the expansion of powers as a whole. I’ve always been a nut for eldritch content and Ward managed to satisfy me with that in dividends when it showed us Shardspace, the Titans, the Agents, the conclusion of Entity cycles and actually giving us a full description for the Entities appearance as well. 

All of the cluster stuff was thoroughly enjoyable as well. I loved every second of Rain and his story that was in the spotlight. Easily provided some of my favorite arcs in all of Ward. It was just so fun to watch him develop as a person as well as watch the dynamic he has with his cluster. Cradle in my opinion stole the show being the antagonist of the group. Everything he did was appalling and I loved it. Whether it was him chopping up people with whips or manipulating people in the dream room it was all great to watch play out.

Also god all of the Titan stuff was amazing as well. From the early preview of it from Dauntless becoming one, to all of the build up to this massive event in the Teacher arcs and finally the beginning of the end when Fume Hood second triggered and started the Cracking off as a whole it was all amazing. Then we get into all of the fun combat with the Titans just showing off how formidable of a threat they are, the reveal that if they win everything is over and that this event may never be over, to all of the exploration of Shardspace it was all so well done and great to watch play out.

Another thing I loved was the Teacher stuff as well. I always knew he was going to play a massive part in Ward ever since his epilouge arc in Worm and boy I wasn’t disappointed (mostly). From the disinformation campaign to the assault on his complex it was all fantastic. The arc as a whole did a great job at planting seeds for what would happen in the future. My only real disappointment about him is how he really didn’t play much of a part during all the Titan stuff, but eh it’s whatever.

I thought the ending as a whole was a satisfying conclusion to the story and tied up a good amount of loose ends while still clearly leaving the door at least ajar for Parahumans 3.

Overall, while not perfect I think Ward as a whole was an amazing follow up to Worm and I look forward to reading Wildbow’s other works.

Anyways thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[saiintvalentiine]

hey. hey saiint. do you remember your post abt watchers from like, a day ago. how they could take an 'empty' clone and use it as a vessel or whatever. so. two things abt that.

a) the idea of watchers in kww collab Fascinates me deeply and now theres an au in the back of my head where wato becomes a watcher. its fascinating. dont mind me i think about watchers too much okay

b) do you. have you considered voidfies.

this ominous fucker that wato got the mask from. completely void, has the texturing of wifies skin and the omz mask, shows up in a couple of the kww collab videos? have you thought abt them? bcs. idk i think this could be relevant to the idea of watchers or well distant gods or whatever. bcs look !! empty ominous weird guy who is prolly A Wifies is right here !!!!!

JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A FUN IDEA !!! idk pls ignore this if i said anth wrong lmao

welcome welcome lime !!! all kinds of fun ideas r always welcome in my inbox never worry !!! I luv yapping 💜💙 The post in question for those who don't know: watchers using clonefies as a puppet/vessel!

Oh Voidfies my deeply belothed. Love hate relationship with that wretched thing. What is it. What does it do. Why is it in my house. Wato got the mask from it, but it also seemingly took the mask back as well, and then seemingly did this several times ? As in how was Wato functioning seemingly normally when not in the Evilfies server, normally enough that Ken asks them for the IP and doesn't sense anything wrong with her? Idk if that makes sense. gyaru peace sign this will haunt me forever and that's why all I write is post canon.

There's two ways I'm imagining Voidfies in this au now that we're talking abt it: one is that it is straight up just a puppet/vessel that's even further stripped down, and depending on your take on the Omz mask, the mask is either what helps the watchers control it, or the Omz mask is parasitic in some way and isn't of watcher origins.

Another take on it that I'm really enjoying is the idea that 1, the clones are at least partially made of void magic, and 2 the Omz mask may have started as a watcher tool but something broke/severed it's connection and now it's basically a rogue entity. So what if, in the absence of a proper vessel, the Omz mask. . . picks the other clones for parts, so to speak, and created Voidfies out of the void imbued within them, which I mentioned here just really briefly in the end. It'd be a body that wouldn't fight back or have much sentience, the mask could do whatever. Without it's main source of power, I wonder what the mask does to keep itself alive. . . ?

so many fun thoughts here to think of........... i hope this was interesting ! Dunno if this is where you thought it'd go djfhgkdjhfg

[hizznbyte]

is there any lore about neri/neni/your sona? id like to know more about them :D

Oh heck yeah! I’d be happy to talk about it [but be warned, once I start talking I’ll never stop..]

Nerium/Neri, the weird hijabi cat you might see everywhere on my blog is my main persona/mascot and basically just an artistic representation of myself, so anything that applies to them also applies to me LOL.

Neri is genderfluid/nonbinary and fluctuates with using any pronouns! It doesn’t really care about labels and is, truthfully, just a creature. An entity if you will. He doesn’t enjoy the idea of being perceived and prefers to be a background character. Neni is what I call that stupid chibi version of him with the big ass eyes. His design is always changing cuz I’m never satisfied sighh.

She has the social, navigational, and life skills of a toddler [that is to say, she can’t really do anything right]. She’s pretty slow and clumsy, always stumbling around and losing a constant battle with the world [he is not gods strongest soldier] Also, he’s an insomniac, so I often draw him with eye bags. Neri would prefer to stay indoors and sleep until noon, but he’s got work to do and is something of a procrastinator.

One of the most important things about Nerium is that they are kind of state of like? Mental disassociation? Their mind is so fractured and split that it kind of manifests as these multiple alter egos or personalities? Typewriter/Type being one of these. I call them PersoNeris :3

Typewriter is the more serious, stoic, work oriented one and is the biggest perfectionist ever. Constant resting bitch face. A bit of an ass. I made this comparison before but he’s kinda like the Inner Critic to Nerium LOL

As for Noodle… that’s what I call the ugly tiny little doodle version of Neri. The Neri Doodle. Noodle if you will… Typewriter has a version of the Noodle called a Toodle! Their designs are meant to simple and drawn super quickly so I don’t waste time on details [Noodle specifically doesn’t have arms unless absolutely necessary, then it just appears out of thin air!]

I will say, Nerium doesn’t have much “lore” [as in, fictitious story lore] because like I said, he’s just an over exaggerated version of me. However!

[I know you probably didn’t ask but I enjoy yapping] Since maybe… four or five years I’ve been working on this original world building project called Blood Magic, and it is so dear and special to me and I could talk about the lore all day long. I’ve spent countless hours working and writing stuff for this story I’m sorry I get annoying about them. Basic rundown is that there are two gods -an author and an illustrator- called the Higherups, a council known only as the overseers, a tribe of demons and angels [typical fantasy story shtuff], a planet I dubbed Planet Nerium inhabited by humans, animals and… furries..

The two main characters are the false-protagonist/antagonist type character named Trinity -Trick- Ambrose and a furry cat protagonist named Trip Sterling. I’ve drawn and posted about Trip before! My daughter!

Blood Magic is split into two “seasons”, each with multiple acts. There’s BM: Total Anarchy and BM: The Heart Keeps Beating [TA and THKB for short]. The idea is to turn this into maybe a series of novels or some sorta indie animated series? We’ll see.

I’ll save the lore dumping for some other time, but only if yall are interested XD

Thanks for the ask anony!!

[theproperweirdo]

Okay as a self-appointed lore expert, let me ask you, how the hell is Dura alive in Journey? And how does nobody make a big deal out of it?

THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS UP BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY 💀💀

I’ve got two sort of theories on this:

Before I start I’m prefacing that this is all mostly from memory. I also assumed that Misarte (the wilder’s deity) and the Mauler’s god are both Dura in different forms with a different name. The Lightbearers believe in Dura, and since the graveborn are only former humans, I assume they have the same interpretation. Anyways, onto my theories!

1. This is just an alternate storyline. Most of the arena story/lore seems to be changed or erased in some way anyways, and even if annoying, it’s possible they just revived Dura for the sake of the story.

There are plenty of other things I’ve noticed, Rowan and Lorsan beings strangers, Satrana’s entire backstory being changed (a former orphan saved by antandra, then becoming a flame keeper at the temple. Now she’s a diviner?? What)

There also seems to be lesser gods, separate entities from playable celestials. There’s mention of the Dusk lord and Sun god, lesser than Dura but higher than celestials. In Arena, Celestials are the only ones under Dura, most are created equal I assume. There’s also Hypofiends, not exactly mentioned in arena.

There’s also literally no mention of Annih anywhere in Journey?? Crazy considering he was the main force behind the hypogean invasion.

I personally have been taking Journey as a different storytelling of Arena’s Esperia. Like Esperia A for Arena and Esperia J for Journey.

2. Dura’s death was never publicly known. From my understanding of the timeline referenced from the art book, Dura dies, Annih renounces divinity, and because he leaves, graveborns are created by Quandem. That’s where we are in both Esperia A and J.

It’s said that Dura died in a wilder plane, but only Celestial stories seem to mention any events that relate to her death (Athalia’s search for morality, Titus’s protection of the temple, Orthros rewinding time to before her death, etc.) It’s probably known widely about her being weakened during the hypogean war, but maybe everyone assumes she’s just sleeping or something.

Of course, we get cutscenes in Journey of Dura herself and her voice. The scene with Lyca and Misarte had me externally dumbfounded. I think it may just be her residual celestial powers still in Esperia. She was the major god of this world, I imagine she would have some imprint left after her death. Everyone who references her, being Dura, Misarte, etc, seems to just pray to her as a higher being. It could be possible they’re just unaware she’s dead, and mistake her leftover power as her actually acting.

Of course, these are just personal theories, and I feel like we haven’t gotten enough out of the Journey plot to actually know what’s going on with the changes. I do wish they didn’t make these weird ass changes though, makes everything frustrating and less authentic. But I’m just happy to have more content 🫡 hopefully everything I said was factual LMAO

[maddgical-boy]

remakin my pinned post bc i love spending hours on fun formats. anyways

⸝⸝⊂➜﹒it's me! ⊃⸝⸝

mark/vinny ☆ he/him ☆ minor (strictly 18+ only blogs block me)

hello all! here i post about all things daydreaming-related, as well as some self insert stuff since there is big overlap there for me.

i have mainly fictparacosms (paracosms of existing fictional media). i'm kinda shy about them so i don't discuss them as much but please be respectful when i do. they do not always line up with canon and i just want to be happy and have a fun time.

❤️ this blog is a safe space for all madders/iders and whatever you daydream about. even if it's considered really dark nasty shit, and even if it's willingly! fiction is fiction my friends. ❤️

feel free to send asks about my paracosms or about yours! tumblr is buggy and i am chronically ill so i may not get to it right away, but rest easy knowing each ask is treasured in my heart <3 i'm shy but i want to interact with you all.

i make big use of the block button if i don't like your vibes or even if we just don't agree about stuff. unfortunately my block barrier from my main doesn't extend to sideblogs and i have to block separately from here, which i sometimes forget to do. so blanket statement for all my blogs and socials:

🚫 TERFS AND ZIONISTS/PRO-ISRAEL PEOPLE GTFO 🚫

and hey! if you can spare some money check out the #donations tag on my main for vetted palestinian GFMs! 🇵🇸❤️

if you want to see more of my silly self talking about other random things, my main is @thecrimeofmans-laughter!

below are paracosms & tags!

paracosms ☁︎‎‎‧₊˚*𖦹

these fluctuate in and out of how relevant they are to me, especially because god cursed my interests to wholly take over my life and then suddenly evaporate like sweat. this is also why i have random mini paracosms that only come out of hibernation if my hyperfixation does too! lmao

───-> ORIGINAL

■ queerer things still — five teens learn of the magical secret realms on earth and travel through them to uncover the main para (enya liao)'s mysterious past. all of them have magical powers and all of them have emotional baggage that they are eventually forced to deal with by fighting monsters that target their greatest weaknesses. everything is weird and also everything is queer (hence the name).

───-> FICTPARACOSMS

■ arrows of shield — big crossover between marvel's agents of shield and the cw's arrowverse. at the center of it all is me, because i am awesome. the only other teenagers (and original paras) are cicero (an entity meant to deal with all emotional and physical pains) and jessop jiang (a boy from the typical 60s american suburb who accidentally killed his mother).

■ the super happy life of akemi ōtani — a blanket paracosm for all daydreams involving any of koei's musou warriors games (that i have played, which is dw8, sw2, 4, 4ii, and 5, and wo4). the name is from one of my two samurai warriors ocs, as she has a very normal, happy life with her dad and sister that is absolutely not besieged by period-typical war. (also my icon on this blog is of nō, who is a character from sw5! she's in her dlc outfit. i love her)

■ yttd paracosm 2 — i don't have a name for this one yet shhh. anyway have you ever theorized that shunsuke hayasaka is sue miley's mysterious fiancé and then made a yttd sona that has become separate from you and is also their adopted child and is also dating ranmaru kageyama and then spent way too much time rewriting the lore of the game to fit this change? that's what this is. (my first yttd paracosm is asunaroland which isn't as major anymore but yeah. i have 2 of these fuckers)

tags i'll use ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

i love using tags i love organizing i love formatting i love archiving ＼(^▽^＠)ノ ☆ヾ(*´▽｀)ﾉ ~(≧◇≦)/ﾞﾞﾞ

my original posts -> #mark stops daydreaming for a sec.txt

answering asks -> #mark answers asks, #ask game answers | feel free to send in something from my ask game!

vents about madd -> #madd vent, #intrusive daydreaming | all of these are ok to rb

positivity about daydreaming -> #positivity <3

my art -> #martk | other art is on my toyhouse and instagram! | want me to draw your paras? commission me!

useful madd-related things -> #useful

anything not daydreaming-related, for whatever reason -> #not madd

...and probably other tags i'm forgetting! yayyy!!

all paracosms and paras are tagged #like this* to avoid anything (like fictpara stuff) showing up in big public tags because i am Scared

dividers: animatedglittergraphics-n-more

[phynoma]

Oh hi!

I'm Phyn! I write things. I'm not going to get into a bunch of identity stuff, but I'm queer, I'm an adult, and I like writing queer adult stuff. Mostly horror (see: queer) and absurdity (see: the world)

I have degrees in english, theology, and more theology, which just means I have a bunch of experience doing critical thinking and analysis of storytelling, and enough imposter syndrome that I don't know how to put that on a resume.

FANDOMS!

If you're already following me it's probably for Pillars of Eternity, TMA, or LOTR/Silmarillion. I cycle through hyperfixations every few years. It's still TMA/TMAGP right now. You can find my TMAGP sideblog here, where I just collect art.

Other things I like: Fallen London, everything by Pia Foxhall/not_poignant, re:dracula, SILT VERSES, Rivers of London, Murderbot, Critical Role, Saga, Wicked+Divine, anything by Neil Gaiman, I Am in Eskew, norse myths, egyptian myths, jewish myths, the dragonlance books (don't judge me they were foundational), pretty much everything Mike Flanagan makes, and much much more

WRITING!

I'm on ao3 as Phynoma! What do I write? Well. I write in-depth explorations of characters placed in harrowing situations which draw out the very inmost parts of their vulnerabilities and--

Smut. I write smut, okay?

Almost all of these fics are explicit and PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD mind the tags, I am *very* careful with my tagging for good reason!!!!

HERE YA GO, YA FILTHY ANIMALS!

The Magnus Archives:

I mentioned this is my current fixation, right?

an extant form of life: pollen fic! You could say, maybe, that the Consuming AU uses pollen tropes, but I'm counting this as my first-ever pollen fic. Jon/Tim, Jon/Martin, maybe Jon/Tim/Martin, we'll see if Sasha gets thrown in there. Ongoing.

Hey, Jude: A hurt/comfort fic about what happened after Jon shook Jude Perry's hand. Jon & Georgie & the kindness of strangers (not those strangers) Oneshot.

The Consuming AU: My pride and joy. My baby. I started this halfway through listening to TMA the first time and finished the original fic in about two months in time for the Rusty Quill Big Bang of 2023. Canon is basically the same, with the addition of "what if there was a Entity of Hunger, (fear of) Intimacy, and Codependence?" Also Jon is turning into a succubus. Main fic is complete at a little over 100k words. Sometimes I add one-shots to the series.

~Incredible bookbinding done by @bluejayblueskies HERE ~Art of human-looking Rhia (by me) HERE and commission of eldritch angel Rhia by @isbergillustration HERE ~Commission of Naadia by @dcartcorner HERE

Kittens & Kink AU: Fluffy Somewhere Else one-shots. Cat play. Mostly nonsexual kink. Oliver/Jon/Martin. Ongoing, until I get bored of it, basically.

Pillars of Eternity:

The In-Between Series: A series of fics following the relationship of Watcher Mirad and Aloth Corfiser, ten years or so after the events of Deadfire. The world of Eora is ripe for a new cataclysm, and these two elves are trying to finally have the relationship they've been dancing around for two decades. Ongoing, on hiatus as my hyperfixation is elsewhere. I do plan to finish it, though.

Moments: same universe and characters as above, focusing more on events that happen in canon-- ie, during gameplay. Complete.

Faetales:

Mat & Kal: Fae AU: You know how sometimes you keep writing characters and put them through a blender so many times that they just become something completely new? That's this AU. Mateo and Makalo are two ancient fae beings trapped in the human world during the events of The Ice Plague (by not_poignant) who become bound by each others' lives and deaths. They hate each other, they love each other, they're in weird psychosexual sadistic codependency with each other. They're a cat-person and a snake-person. I'm not a furry but I like some of their ideas, okay? Series complete.

See commissioned art of Mat & Kal by @shojoshark HERE

The Silmarillion:

Mistakes Were Made: Imma be real, this is just straight up torture porn. Sauron is punished by Morgoth after the loss of the Silmaril to Beren & Luthien. Basically, I was annoyed by all the fluffy Angbang fics I was reading and wanted to depict them in all their horrifying, codependent glory. Complete.

Cost of Surrender: I read a really good fic about what it took for Mairon to grovel/debase himself to Eonwe to gain his freedom and I took it a bit further. Complete.

Good Omens:

the beautiful and the fitting: pretty sure the title of this is a quote from St. Augustine, too. I almost didn't include this one because I don't even remember what it's about. Fluffy sex times with nonsexual beings, I think. I started writing it because Good Omens is one of my favorite books, but tbh the fandom for the show exhausts me and I don't know if I'll come back to this. Abandoned, probably.

[papermonkeyism]

Finished my first re-read of this book in twenty years. (original name Homeland, this is the Finnish edition.)

And yup, this sure is a thirty year old book. I don't know why I feel kinda disappointed, I knew exactly what I was getting into. It was somehow both not as bad as I remembered while also being in a way worse than I expected.

But nah, they're just evil. Grinning maliciously and taking unholy pleasure in being evil.

It's kinda frustrating read, to be honest. The story in itself isn't all that bad, I'd say, but it's hindered pretty bad by being based entirely on DnD mechanics, specifically the alignment system. Like, the story in itself makes sense, it tells about dark elves, who basically live in a cult, and the protagonist who's born into it, but will eventually abandon it and leave.

But instead of actually examining what living in a cult would be like, they're just evil. Maybe it's just my perspective, being someone who's been on the internet for a couple decades. I know people who come from abusive bacgrounds, and I've heard stories from people who've survived actual cults, and it would make perfect sense to treat the drow as a cult, except with their god being actually real and actively meddling with their lives to make the brain washing just that much worse. There's a lot of potential in there!

Like the main character is raised from the very start being indoctrinated in the spider cult, there's even a scene where he gets whipped (with a multi-headed magic whip made of living snakes) at the age of four or five for daring to look happily at a woman while being a child of inferior sex, yet he never acts like this kind of raising left any marks in the way he behaves. No trauma at all, what so ever. He keeps being openly surprised by his people not being nice to each other despite the book telling how he was raised to know his place. The guy has no self-preservation at all, he keeps wondering out loud at people with the power to hurt him and I just keep wincing so bad.

He somehow just speed runs his thirty years of life in life lessons in the last few days of the book. Like, you were raised into this your whole life, yet you're only learning all of it now?

(and why do you keep calling it "unholy" all the time, it's the only religion you've ever known. Also that one time he openly gasped about the unholiness at his sister, who's an entire priestess, and her reaction was along the lines of "yeah, but she's the goddess of our people", like why are you agreeing with him about the unholyness?!)

Honestly, you could very easily just rewrite the whole book, keep all the story beats as is, and take out the "always evil by default" racial setting without losing pretty much anything. You'd probably still need to keep the gods as real, physical entities the way they are, but it'd still make it a lot more beliveable.

I have much gripe about the tone of this book, apparently.

I mean, I do like some of the tropes it has, not gonna lie. More prominently in the later books, but still. There's a reason Drizzt was the favourite character of teenage me twenty years ago, and it's been so weird revisiting this story after all this time. I'm still having many mixed feelings here. Multiple emotions even. I don't even know what they are, but they sure are many.

Though, you know what's the worst thing? I am notoriously bad when it comes to names, I have some serious trouble learning and remembering even people I live with for extended periods of time. I can't name most of my old classmates despite them being people I spent 3+ years with, and it once took me over three months to learn the name Paula despite being such a simple and common belonging to one of my closest friends at the time. I'm bad with names. So why is it that I can still remember things like fucking Daermon N'a'shezbaernon, that's an absolute monster of a name, and I haven't thought about it for a single second in the past two decades, why the fuck do I still remember that one???!?

Anyway, onwards to the next book!

[friendsim2]

Just a question, I don't want to appear rude or anything...

I like your game, really do, but have you considered writing MSPAR as literally anything else than a pathetic little pleb who just can't seem to do a single thing right unless they have some sort of guidance?

I recall they were some kind of God or at least a supernatural entity, weren't they? All that Green Sun bullshit. So then why does majority of the characters treat us like complete trash? Even less than that in extreme cases (cough cough tyzias)

I understand Alternia is harsh or whatever, and they are just pissed at everything that breathes (if a fictional character's feelings are really needed to be taken into consideration) but this just feels like weak writing to me, especially after several volumes. I played both revolution and salvation to see if the treatment of the main character would change, but.....nope!

In og friendsim, they were a dork too, absolutely, but they also had the qualities to stand up for themselves (ie. insulting both Mallek and Galekh, highblood enough to rip us to shreds if they wanted to) but now, all their "personality" revolves around the fact of how trully incapable, pathetic, and weak they are despite the fact template MSPAR wasn't even that hard to stomach. This one on the other hand....

I didn't expect a sequel of a literal meme goldmine to be so negative (again, Alternia is Alternia, ik), even aggressive towards the player in certain moments. I guess winding down while playing was never the idea in the first place? I felt personally attacked by the ooc characters for something I didn't even do lol. If this was your intention, then you did a really good job.

Chickening out made perfect sense in the first volume, new surroundings and a murder to absorb, but as the volumes grew more brutal and savage, it truly makes no sense to keep a main character so mentally weak. I swear, I can't be the only one who is immensely annoyed by this.

But hey, that's just my humble opinion after 35 hours of playtime. Still excited for Marvus ofc

Peace out

So, I think there's a couple things worth pointing out here - and just to preface this isn't "your take on this is bad and wrong" but more "have you considered this?"

Don't expect this will change your opinion that much, since you clearly put a lot of time into this, but maybe you'll see things in a slightly different light - at the very least, I feel like this is thought-out critique that deserves a response.

First off, and I feel like this is an important baseline to set - we treat MSPAR as a character, not a reader insert. They are being influenced by an outside force, but exist in a kind of weird meta-narrative state where they're kind of also in control of their own personality. While this might not be explicitly stated in FS/PQ, it's definitely the vibe you get from the writing - MSPAR clearly shows a personality separate from the person playing it.

The "god powers MSPAR" is very much the product of the end of Pesterquest, not OG Friendsim. Keep in mind that literally none of the Friendsim characters have seen that side of MSPAR. Also, MSPAR mostly used their god powers to try to fix things for their friends... although there's a path where they're very much condescended to by the narrative itself. But like, Friendsim MSPAR is kind of a sad wet cat - they get hurt a lot and spend a lot of time wandering kind of aimlessly. They're in a lot of situations - and that was our influence moreso than PQ's tone.

The MSPAR that everyone on Alternia knows is basically not the same MSPAR as the end of PQ. Because stuff happened in PQ that none of them are aware of. But they've stepped back into another part of the story and subjected themselves to the influence of other, darker forces (Scratch) by choosing to go back for their other friends so... shit's fucked, man.

The story is intentionally darker in tone that the original Friendsim and Pesterquest - that was an intentional choice, and we know it might not be to everyone's liking. And if you're more in it for the lighter, more humorous vibes of FS/PQ that is completely fair and understandable. Some of that is the result of taking the Alternian world-building in a more serious direction, some of it is to reflect the changing attitudes as characters grow up and fill into their roles in the system more, and some of it is just a difference in writing style. And, like, fully acknowledging that the story gets downright grim at times. Not to say that there aren't darker moments in OG FS - stuff like the bad ending with Nihkee or the stuff with Daraya and the mall - but it is overall a little more humorous.

At it's heart, Friendsim 2 is a story about trauma - both the trauma of Alternia and what it represents, and also the trauma inherent in MSPAR's attempts to deal with the implications of how the timelines work. The trauma is both from MSPAR and from other characters who've interacted with MSPAR. That does inform both how MSPAR responds to stuff (keep in mind they're basically slugging through like a week of time here with very limited rest, just moving from point to point without a strong idea of what's guiding them). But also, it is a story about pushing past that trauma and getting to place where recovery and healing might be possible. And yeah, some of the payoff for that is coming in volumes 12 - 14 so it's not fair to be like "why can't you see this?!" The arc of the story is very much a "start at the bottom and crawl your way up" kind of thing, with moments of triumph along the way (breaking Skylla and Konyyl out in volume 3, helping Chixie in volume 7, helping the rebels in volume 9, freeing Folykl and Kuprum in volume 11)

Idk if I'd say everyone is negative towards MSPAR. Obviously there's some very prominent examples (Tyzias, Polypa) - but that varies from extremely positive (Stelsa, Mallek, Bronya, Lynera) to neutral (Amisia, Tirona, Tegiri) to "we don't remember you" (Diemen, Charun, Fozzer). The balance is probably neutral-to-negative, which was an intentional choice.

The story is about to throw some curveballs at you in volumes 12, 13, and 14 which may or may not influence how you see things. I suspect at least one of these (from volume 13) will probably not be something you vibe with, but a couple might be positives for you.

I really hope that the ultimate conclusion of the game itself helps put some stuff in perspective. The final volume is a way of tying all the threads together in a way that will hopefully feel satisfying - and there's a bunch of ending slides that will show the outcomes of various choices you made along the way, Fallout style.

Anyway, appreciate the well thought-out critique. It sounds like you might have gone in expecting a slightly different story than the one you got - and that's completely fine! Hopefully the last few volumes will prove to be a satisfying send-off - and regardless we appreciate the investment of time and energy into the game!

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Steven Universe/She Ra and how they accidentally turn groups of characters into one awful entity

I rewatched some early Steven Universe with @phosphoricbomb and I came to perhaps a more coherent description of what I hate about the show later on, and if you're a She-ra fan, I'm going to use an episode about that show as an example to make it clear.

I think, She-ra and SU are both really, REALLY good at character crafting. You care deeply for Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, and Peridot and Lapis, when the show focuses on them individually, or on a single relationship they have which contrasts/complements them against each other.

Same for She-ra, not just its main characters which are a really fine batch, but also its side characters. When it invests time in Mermista, Perfuma, Scorpia, Entrapta, Frosta, Netossa and Spinerella, as INDIVIDUALS or as one-on-one relationships, you care about them.

But if you talk to anyone about "the princesses" in she-ra, they tend to hate them. Why is this?

There are many mentions of "the princesses" as an entity. At the start of the show it's Glimmer and Scorpia saying they get excluded by other princesses. However at no point in the show do you see an example of this occuring. There's Entrapta, where we do see this happening. Not in "No Princess Left Behind", where Entrapta herself INTERPRETS this as happening, but in "Launch". Which is an episode that has been critiqued by many for how the characters behaved. And I think it's "Launch" where people decide that "The Princesses" suck ass.

The reason for it is because they are fused into a single character. All individuality is sort of... eradicated, any different opinions tehy might've had on the situation individually is erased because the story needs them to have an antagonism against Entrapta, and tehy need to have Entrapta antagonise them, which means she needs to behave ridiculous and annoying so that they are "justified" for their response. So what I'm saying is that "Launch" is a disservice to Entrapta AND to "the Princesses" because while to an extent it adds character to Entrapta, it has to also write her and everyone else badly to get to the character moment in the first place. It didn't prove that her perception of a "me vs them" scenario was wrong, but the ending tried to say that she had proven herself to the "them", which shouldn't even exist because the princesses should all be individual characters, not this grouped together mass. I wish the show would've simply decided already if Entrapta was being discriminated and was justified for feeling left out, rather than the characters acting as a single entity berating her for her autistic quirks, and the show acting later in the same episode like it was over her building robots.

ANYWAY, that ONE EPISODE from She-ra as well as some weird comments from the first season COMPLETELY CHANGED how the fandom views an entire group of characters, regardless of how fun and well written they are as individuals.

Why does this relate to Steven Universe?

Because the ENTIRE SHOW KEEPS DOING THIS!!!

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are all brilliant characters, but as soon as the show groups them into one entity, or god forbid, groups EVEN MORE CHARACTERS INTO THE SAME ENTITY, that is when it starts falling apart.

This isn't just in the late series either, this is in several episodes in the first few seasons!!! "Full Disclosure" and "Joy Ride" have "the Gems" act as Steven's overbearing guardians, disregarding how, say, Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst usually have different approaches. In those episodes they all have the same brain.

Steven Universe season 5 and Steven Universe Future are very much "Steven against the World". There are many episodes where, sure, Pearl or Garnet might fuck up and say the wrong thing, but you'd expect Amethyst, Lapis, Peridot, literally anyone who gets him on his level to try and make an individual attempt to connect with him. Spinel gets half an attempt? But every character - Every character, INCLUDING THE DIAMONDS - gets grouped into this category of "The Gems". It's exactly the same as She-ra's "The Princesses".

An early example of complete personality erasure is probably... Lapis and Peridot. The show tried to make them a duo but it didn't really work on their relationship, it just needed to wipe them out of the story so treated them as one character.

The Off-colours are probably the worst example from SU proper. How they all become Lars's backup.

I think it's unfortunately because every time SU really tried to make an ep about a character, it did a great job. Every time it WASN'T about why that character is an obstacle to Steven it did well, but unfortunately when the show focused more on him, it had to make everyone else... the same enemy. Regardless of how their character was written before.

Anyway that was my ted talk, i really love early SU and it was sad watching Jailbreak and On the Run again because those eps are so good at handling the Crystal Gems as individuals.

[npcemi]

The long road of how starting a fight with superman over clone parenting eventually lead to Danny Phantom become God Part 4.5 and 5: Aftermath + Promotions and Shattering Mirrors

Superman collapsed to his knee as the other members of the justice league went to his side. Superman couldn’t believe what he just experienced. The league had never faced a threat this powerful. To summon both a black hole and create a star out of nothing. His eyes still hurt from even looking at whatever that thing was-- He knew they couldn’t let a threat like that go unchecked.

Constantine appeared through a portal, “Oh now you show up!” Superman said in an incredulous breath.

“Oh, I’ve been here since King Phantom kicked your ass out a window, I’m just not so cotton headed I’d try and fight the King of the Infinite realms.” Superman scoffed at Constantine’s words and turned to Batman, “Bruce we need to figure out some kind of contingency…” The leader of the Justice League Dark cut him off,

“Oh, fuck no mate, you’re benched. You stick to Metropolis !”

“You have no right!”

“Actually this contract you lot signed when you begged me to be the leader of your precious little supernatural branch says I can!” Constantine summoned a roll of parchment that unrolled revealing the document with the original JLA member's signatures.

“That’s only if one of us angers a celestial angel or some higher-level entity.” Wonderwoman pointed out as the blonde occult detective pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Who do you think is the King…”

“Just because he is the ruler of his own dimension doesn’t mean he…” Constantine really was starting to get what Phantom meant when he called the man of steel an obstinate dick.

“All of the realms, High King Phantom rules over all of the realms. Ours and any in existence. In all of Anu, there is no realm that King Phantom does not have sovereignty over.

Do you really think any of the ancients have time or care to mess about in random realities?

No, they normally have nothing to do with them, do you have any idea of how bad things have gotten? Between the GIW and you Clark, I am honestly surprised our reality still exists. So yes, you are benched!” At the end of Constantine’s rant Superman stood up.

“You really think a piece of paper will…AH!” The man of steel screamed as electricity overcame his body. When it was over he once again collapsed to his knees. Constantine walked over to tower over Superman,

“And you thought the contract you all signed wouldn’t be magically binding, are you daft ?” Constantine then turned to look Bruce directly in the eye. Constantine knew the man too well.

“And you, no looking up or into anything about Phantom!” Batman held his hands up in surrender,

“I promise I will not look up or into Danny Phantom.” Constantine’s eyes narrowed before he turned and left through a portal muttering something about attempting to salvage this situation.

_____________________________________________________________

Jazz Fenton was in a great mood. Her degree was almost finished and she just got a paid internship that would turn into a full-time position once she graduated. She would be a liaison for any cases that involved the infinite realms. Her new org worked with a lot of supers and villains. It was headed by Dinah Lance and Harley Quinn. Most people thought it was a little weird, but she knew that heroes, villains, and even the dead needed help with their mental health.

She was just finishing organizing her desk when her boss called to her and told her to follow.

“Yes, Miss Lance.” She said,

“Dinah, we aren't too formal around here.”

“Right, Dinah.” Jazz said as they both took a seat in Dinah’s office,

“Look, Jazz we have a special case coming in today:” Jazz was surprised they were already letting her work on cases.

“What is it?”

“One of the main league members is being brought in, he’s having some trouble adjusting to the fact he was cloned and according to the leader of Dark, he also angered some supernatural entity and is according to Constantine, the aforementioned leader,  is acting like a stubborn fuckwit who needs to pull his own dick out of his arse.” Dinah read off of the referral form she got.

“I’ll help however I can, when are they coming?”

“Right about now,” Dinah said as a portal opened and John Constantine walked in followed by Clark and Conner Kent. John introduced himself and his tagalongs.

“And this is my associate, Jasmine Fenton,” Dinah said as Constantine’s jaw dropped and he failed to take a puff of the cigarette he had been smoking. “Did you say, Fenton?”

Jazz was about to respond when she looked at Clark. There was something off about the man in glasses. Something that was resonating with her being, like his very soul angered her, and then she remembered who Clark really was under the glasses.

The man who had caused such a bad PTSD episode in her brother that he cried in her arms for over two hours. The man who broke multiple taboos of the infinite realms. The man who hurt her brother. Her movement was faster than anyone had expected and came with more force than would be possible for even most metahumans. In that instance of realization, Jasmine Fenton closed the distance between the man of steel and herself and struck him so hard in the face that he collapsed to the floor in pain, hands to his face. Which was now gushing blood from his broken nose.

“How dare you!” She screamed. Conner and Dinah pulled her back as she continued to scream.

“How dare you ask a ghost about their death, how dare you make the King re-live that pain!” She was about to attack again when she was interrupted when Constantine asked, “Sweetheart, you know you’re glowing green right?”

“Shit!” The redhead calmed as much as she could, she took a device out of her pocket. She turned it on and saw her ambient ecto plasma was higher than normal. She clicked a button and a sensor popped out the side of the device.

She cut her finger with one of her fangs and dropped some blood on the sensor. She was thankful her blood was still red, but it was darkening into a muddy colour with a slight greenish glow. The device told her her blood ectoplasm level was at 8%, way lower than normal. The machine also indicated her heightened emotions and that if she didn’t calm down she might die right there in the office.

“What is that?” Conner asked not caring if his original was still on the ground trying to stop his nose bleeding.

“It’s a device that measures ectoplasm levels. Ambient levels, levels with a particular signature, and blood ectoplasm concentration.” she sighed and calmed down.

“Why do you need it?” Conner asked curiously despite Constantine's glare telling him he was being rather rude.

“I’m a death-leaning liminal, the smelly blonde man can explain later.” She said as there was a flash of flames.

“Jasmine, are you alright?” Everyone turned to see a nearly seven-foot Dracula knockoff with red eyes.

“Yes, I just let my anger get ahead of me, I'm fine.” She said, trying to waive off the ghost who then pulled out a vile of a green glowing liquid and attempted to hand it over to her.

“Vlad, I’m fine.” She said as he put the vial in her hands.

‘I’m sure our loving patriarch would love it if you died because of all of your ectoplasm burning up and became a full ghost before he did.” Jazz begrudgingly drank the vile, knowing how much shit Danny would give her if she died.

“Honestly I don’t know what would cause a normally level-headed young woman to lash out like her feral niece.” Jazz pointed over to Superman who was now in one of the chairs. Vlad scowled,

“Do you want me to take care of that for you?” He said in disgust. Everyone’s eyes went wide at the implied threat, Constantine prepared a portal to run, Dinah prepared to fight and Conner was right behind Constantine. After what he saw in Dani's mirror, he didn’t want anything to do with an angry ghost.

“It’s fine you can leave.” Jazz said.

“Can I expect you all at the Keep this weekend?’ he asked.

“Yes,” She said as Vlad teleported in a flash of flames and was gone. Jazz looked up to see Dinah looking at her wide-eyed. The realization she had just punched a client finally settled in,

“I’m fired aren’t I?”

_______________________________________________________________

Danny heard a knock at the door and went to open it and looking at him was Bruce Fucking Wayne.

“What do you want.”

“I wanted to talk to you about something, and make sure you and Danielle are safe.” Danny immediately moved to shut the man up.

“Shush, don’t say her name or talk about her here, my parents don’t know about her!” Bruce's face softened. Danny led them out of the house and brought them to a more private alleyway, which made the dark knight feel more at home.

“I’m not sorry about what I did to Superman,” Danny said getting down to business.

“I’m not expecting you to be. Both Constantine and I have tried to talk with him before, but now we’re forcing him into therapy. I think you did exactly what he needed.” he was shocked by Bruce's words. Even the Observants yelled at him about what he did, all the clockwork said in his defense was say “Everything is as it should be.”

“Oh, what do you want with me then?”

“My associate oracle looked into Danny Fenton, and we found you live with ghost hunters and were concerned about you and your daughter’s safety.”

“We’re fine.” Danny snapped and Bruce held his hands up defensively before handing him a small card.

“I just wanted you to know if there was anything you need, or if you have to escape we can provide assistance.” Danny looked at the man skeptically,

“So this isn’t like some crazy scheme to adopt me?” Bruce had to rip his earpiece due to the collective volume of the snickers.

“No.”

“Good because that wouldn’t turn out how you think it would.” Bruce gave him a look that told him to explain and Danny sighed.

“A fruit loop named Vlad Plasmius was college friends with my parents. He likes my mom. There was an accident, he was hospitalized and got ghost powers. Many years later he tried to kill my dad, marry my mom, and make me his son. It never worked.” Danny shook his head and continued.

“After I became King, I was able to learn of his obsession with family and love,” Danny remembered how he learned of Vlad’s true obsession, realizing that he must have been alone and abandoned in the hospital room when he died.

“After he shot me in the chest because he was mind controlled. I decided as the more powerful ghost to give him what he desired in a way.” Danny snickered.

“I ghost-adopted him, effectively making him my son as far as ghosts are concerned, he’s much happier now, but he is still a little salty.” Bruce looked at him dumbfounded, Danny was glad Vlad could fulfill his obsession even if it did make him a bit of a mother hen.

“But yea I wouldn’t recommend trying to adopt me.” The rest of their conversation went smoothly and no offers for adoption were made. When they got back to Fenton's works, Jazz and another red-headed woman were sitting at the table. She introduced herself as Barb. They engaged in a basic conversation about ghosts. Until Danny asked,

“How was your first day of your internship?” Jazz sighed with a dejected look,

“I got promoted.” Before Danny could ask why she sounded like that was a bad thing, Jack and Maddie came bursting in showing off their latest captured ghost with proud grins. They were testing out a new time of large containment device that would allow them to study ghosts in real-time.

Jazz’s hands went straight to her mouth, her eyes wide, glowing, and dripping tears of rage. Bruce turned to look at Danny who was wide-eyed as his eyes began to change, his hair whitening as he looked at the small white-haired ghost in the container. He was breathing to try and calm himself down.

“Daddy help!” Danielle screamed as the containment device shocked her.

All light ceased to exist in that room all anyone could see was an endless black.

[gengarghast]

Well, I recently watched episodes 1-3 of Madoka Magica so here are my thoughts on the series. From episodes 1-3 I mean.

There's gonna be spoilers, by the way.

My thoughts on Madoka Magica: Episodes 1-3!

Episode 1

So, right from the get-go, I am absolutely in love with the setting design of this series. Madoka, the protagonist, runs through checkerboard corridors and Escheresque halls in the dream sequence that kicks off the show, and it's absolutely gorgeous.

Of course, everything then gets kicked up to 11 when Madoka walks through a door and fucking

MEETS GOD.

Okay, that's not actually God, or even an Angel, but something called a Witch, which I'll get to later. (heheh, witch which)

Anyways, after that whole kerfuffle she wakes up and brushes her teeth, boring life stuff, we're introduced to her friends Sayaka and who the fuck cares, yada yada. And then, this bitch (named Homura) shows up.

Holy fuck I hate this bitch. She is so mean and rude and condescending and emotionless as she does it. She feels like a caricature of autistic people. She either needs to show some actual fucking humanity and stop being a cold-hearted cunt, or just fuck off and get killed. Mind you, I've only seen up to Episode 3. So, she might get better, and I have no idea if she does. Anyways, she lowkey threatens Madoka, time passes, and then kind of just straight up tries to kill a main character (Kyubey, this weird cat thing). Now, this is where the fun begins.

The four main characters at this point- Madoka, Sayaka, Kyubey, and Homura- Are all pulled into this thing called a "Labyrinth." Labyrinths are pocket-dimensions created by entities called "Witches" as a way to keep themselves safe and protected from the outside world while they do their... Witch things. Whatever those are. Sending people "kys" over Discord dms or something, I don't know. Either way, they look fantastic.

Putting these traditionally animated chatacters within this photorealistic hellscape just really conveys how completely alien the Witches are, so much so that they and their domains appear as if on a completely different level of reality.

This is the witch of what I'm calling the Butterfly Gardens Labyrinth, because... Those are the main motifs of the Labyrinth. Her name is Gertude, by the way.

Anyways, this girl named Mami shows up and shoots everything with her magic shotguns, the Witch escapes, and Mami asks Madoka and Sayaka to become Magical Girls like her. Well, Kyubey does the asking, but whatever.

Episode 2

Blah blah blah boring exposition. Shit barely happens. We find out that witches drop loot when they die, called "Grief Seeds". Which is pretty cool actually. It's explained that a girl becomes a Magical Girl when they make a contract with Kyubey and create a soul gem or whatever. Creating the aforementioned contract also means that you get a WISH. Like, ANY WISH. NO RULES. AT ALL. Which pisses me off because these idiots could wish for

1. The extinction of all Witches. 2. More wishes. 3. The power to warp reality in whatever way they want.

And Kyubey could theoretically grant them!!! What the fuck!!!!! They also say that "Witches are born from curses like Magical Girls are born from wishes", whatever the fuck that means. Are they implying that witches are just... Cursed humans? Like, they are the victims of a curse? And you're just killing them without mercy? Instead of trying to rehabilitate them?? What the fuck is wrong with these motherfuckers. Seriously.

Also, it feels like a good time to mention that I don't trust this fucker at all.

I see through you, Kyubey. You're a fucking parasite, aren't you.

Also, WHERE THE FUCK ARE ALL THE MAGICAL BOYS??? PUT SOME DUDES ON THE TEAM YOU WEIRD CAT. THIS JUST SEEMS FETISHY IF THERE ARE JUST LITTLE GIRLS WORKING FOR YOU. NOT A GOOD LOOK.

Side-Tangent: Intro

As if I wasn't already on a side-tangent complaining about the yet-unexplained holes in the worldbuilding and how much I despise Kyubey, I'm just gonna take a moment to talk really quick about the intro.

*Ahem.*

WHAT THE FUCK, PEOPLE.

That girl is an EIGHTH GRADER. SHE IS NOT ONLY A MINOR, BUT A VERY YOUNG ONE AS WELL.

AND HERE SHE FUCKING IS. IN A REVEALING, FETISHISTIC, SWIMSUIT. IF THAT'S WHAT THAT EVEN IS.

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THIS WHOLE FUCKING SCENE. WHY DID THEY MAKE THEM SQUISH THEIR CHESTS TOGETHER??? WHAT THE FUCK!!! THESE ARE NAKED 13 YEAR OLDS WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS THIS IN MY INTRO SEQUENCE WHO THE FUCK SAID THIS WAS OKAY TO PUT ON TV???????????????

Anyways rant over. I hate pedophiles

Episode 3

Oooh, a hospital-based Labyrinth!! This looks so cool!

You know, now that I think about it, Mami is actually a pretty fun character, and I like her a lot! She has some depth to her that wasn't visible before, but now I'm able to really appreciate it!

Heck, even her vicious slaughter of innocent inhabitants of the Witches Labyrinths is kind of cool now!

Oh hey, look, the Witch is a funny doll!! lmao

...Hey, hol up, what's that

Hey wait what's it doing

oh no. oh no no no no no

What are you doing miss funny candy clown snake please don't do tha-

...

. . .

it hurts.

[your-divine-ribs]

Pure Part 5: Dream

Words: 3k

Pure Masterlist Main Masterlist

I'm falling... or floating... or something in between. Caught up in soft satin sheets that wrap themselves silkily around my limbs.

"You are the most beautiful and precious thing I have ever seen."

I turn my head to the source of the voice and I smile. He's beautiful. His eyes are so blue, not blue like the sky but blue like the ocean, the clearest aquamarine sun-dappled sea. It's soft and warm here under the sheets, naked limbs tangling and entwining. Soft lips whispering sweet praises, kissing, dragging over my skin, making me shiver. Strong, firm hands trace my waist, my stomach, my hips, my thighs. Pulling me closer, needy, bruising touches. Bodies sliding softly against each other. The kiss of skin on skin, featherlight, soothing caresses. I'm drowning in a sea of sensations and it's so blissful that I feel myself letting go... surrendering to Him...

My eyes flick open as I blink against the harshness of the early morning light and I sit bolt upright immediately. I clutch the duvet closely and protectively to my chest as my eyes dart wildly around. I'm in my bedroom at home, familiarity flooding all of my senses but that doesn't make me feel at ease. My mind is reeling, half of it caught up in the vividness of my sensual dream, the other half still dwelling in St Mary's church, vulnerable and frightened, pressed up against the altar by a demonic entity masquerading as a man.

I don't understand. The last thing I remember is Van's warm body pushed up flush against mine, his breath hot on my neck, his whispered words hypnotic and mesmerising in my ear. It was real... so fucking real, the memories sharp and vibrant. I can recall it all in high clarity vivid technicolour like I'm watching a HD movie in my head but how can it be? How can I remember it so vividly yet I don't remember getting home and getting into my own bed? I close my eyes and I can actually hear the deep timbre of his voice licking into my ears, I can feel the heat of his breath fanning over my skin and the cool softness of his touch on my cheek. Tiny hairs at the nape of my neck stiffen and goosebumps break out all over my body in response to the memory and I shiver.

If it did happen... how the fuck did I get back home? Did I manage to run away and I was so frightened and overwhelmed that my brain just blocked it all out? Or did Van make sure I got home safe? Maybe he walked me back...

What the hell Eve? He said he was a fucking demon... he's not going to be politely walking you back home and kissing you on the doorstep like a bloody first date is he? He's more likely to be ravishing you on the altar and then casting your soul into the fires of hell for all eternity!

I'd probably laugh at the absurdity of my thoughts if I wasn't so bewildered and confused.

Despite how real it all felt I'm starting to suspect that I may have dreamt some, if not all of it up. I mean it's just too crazy, too far-fetched, too fantastical to be real... isn't it? Even though I believe in God and heaven and hell and good and evil I don't believe that there are real life living and breathing demons walking the earth right now looking for souls... and silly bedroom entity-evoking rituals involving blood and candles and chants definitely don't work! It's probably all a product of my over-active imagination. When I was a little girl I used to dream up all sorts of weird and wonderful scenarios in my head as an escape from the mundane boredom of real life. Mythical creatures and faraway fantasy lands, hidden treasure and beautiful princes and princesses and brave heroic warriors. I could easily get lost in my own head and the intricacies of the convoluted stories I would concoct, I always had my head in the clouds. Just because I was an adult now it didn't mean that I'd forgotten how to dream.

I shift in bed, pulling my knees up and hugging them to my chest, letting my mind wander back to the beginning of the evening and slowly walking through the whole series of events, looking for some sort of anomaly where real life halted and my dream may have taken over. Freya and I getting ready and doing that silly finger-pricking thing with the candle... that was real enough. I glance over to my dressing table to see the candle exactly where we'd left it, Freya's lighter propped up on the little dish that it sits on. I pull down the duvet around my waist to reveal that I'm still wearing my baby pink sundress. So we definitely went out... not that I doubt that we did, it's the events that happened in and after the bar that I can't fully trust occurred. I'm starting to fret that maybe I got so drunk that I blacked out in the bar and Freya had to bundle me into a taxi and then tuck me into bed. And if my parents saw me in that state...

I groan out loud, drawing the bed-sheets aside to slide out of bed in search of my handbag and my phone to call Freya. That's when I notice the smoothness of my legs. There's no cuts or grazes and no dried blood, not even a tiny bruise to show the injuries I sustained when I fell outside the bar. I raise up my palms and they're the same as before, unblemished flesh with no broken skin. I extend my left leg completely out of bed and cautiously rotate my foot and there's no pain at all, not even a twinge even though I can distinctly remember the sharp pains that shot up my leg last night after I'd twisted my ankle on the loose paving stone. I'd barely been able to walk. I'm more confused than ever now. It's starting to look more and more like I never actually left the bar on my own. If that's the case then maybe I never even met Van, maybe I dreamed him up too. I should be feeling relieved but I can't help the little niggle of disappointment that lingers unwelcomely.

Oh shit...

From out of nowhere a frightening memory impinges on my thoughts and this one is too real to be disregarded as fantasy. I recall the disgusting creep who was trying to force me to drink the bitter-smelling drink that he'd bought me. How insistent and intimidating he'd been. What if I'd gone ahead and drank it after all and not remembered? I distinctly remember the feel of the cool glass touching my lips. What if that's what made me black-out? All the crazy shit that happened last night seemed to start from that point so it's definitely feasible. Cold dread coils in the pit of my belly as I try to dredge my thoughts but all I can remember is Van coming to my rescue.

A dark shadow flickering past my bedroom window catches my attention and I whip my head around to catch sight of a flurry of black feathers. Distracted, I jump up out of bed and make my way quickly over to the window. My curtains are only partially drawn so I can clearly see the window ledge beyond. I love birds and I've set up a little makeshift bird-table to try and tempt them to the ledge. It's certainly working today. Sitting there basking in the rays of the early morning sun is a rather majestical looking raven. He's gorgeous, his glossy plumage iridescent in the sunlight as he stretches out his wings and cocks his head, fixing me with a beady-eyed stare like he's not at all perturbed at being in such close quarters with a human. I'm just about to open up my window when there's a sharp rap on my bedroom door and without warning it pushes open and my mum bustles into the room holding the cordless handset of our landline.

"Morning Eve, Freya's on the phone for you," she announces and I'm just about to admonish her for walking in without waiting for a reply when I see her gaze falling behind me to the window and she's darting forward to tap harshly on my window pane, shooing the poor raven away.

"Mum... what are you doing? I like the birds visiting!" I snatch the phone out of her hand, annoyed.

Her face darkens in distaste. "Don't you know it's bad luck to cross paths with a raven? They're harbingers of death! You shouldn't be encouraging them."

"That's just a silly superstition!" I grumble, and she just shakes her head, turning to leave. My attention's now taken with speaking to my friend anyway, eager to try and piece together exactly what happened last night.

"Eve! Oh my god are you okay? What happened to you last night? Did you just take off and leave? I couldn't find you anywhere!"

Freya's voice comes shrill and frantic-sounding down the phone as soon as I utter a 'hello' and my sense of unease increases as it becomes plainly obvious that I didn't come home with her last night.

"I'm okay... really... I'm fine," I say as she witters on in the background, and I only get her to stop by repeating myself loud and clear. "I said I'm fine Freya!"

"But where the hell did you go? One minute you were chatting to some guy and the next you were gone! Completely disappeared! I tried calling you and it kept going to answerphone. That's when I noticed you'd left your bag and your jacket behind... I've got them by the way," she adds quickly, hardly pausing for a breath.

"I had to leave, some creepy guy was hitting on me and then another guy came over and he was just acting crazy weird..."

"But why didn't you come over to me?" She cuts me off, her voice high-pitched and upset. "What did you do? Just walk out? For God's sake Eve, you shouldn't be walking around the city at night on your own, especially not round there! It just proves how dangerous it is with what happened last night!"

I'm feeling stressed enough at the fact that my movements last night are still a mystery but her last line grabs my attention. "Why? What happened last night?" Freya goes quiet, a little gasp emanating down the line like she's struggling to suppress a sob. "What's up? Are you okay? You're not crying are you?"

There's a muffled sniffle before she speaks. "It was horrible. I know I shouldn't have been snooping but when I overhead mum and dad talking this morning I couldn't resist sneaking into dad's study... and I wasn't expecting it to be that bad."

"What are you taking about? What was horrible?" My insides are jangling with unease now. Freya's not easy to shock or upset. She goes through life with such a carefree and cavalier attitude that I know whatever's happened has got to be bad. Her dad's a detective inspector in the police force and she's been reprimanded many a time for rifling through files in his private study.

"Well, go on then... tell me," I urge when she's not forthcoming, instantly regretting it when she drops the bombshell that makes me feel like someone has just tipped a bucket of ice over me.

"It happened at the bar last night, the bar where we were. There was a murder. Fuck... I saw the crime scene photo, it was just lying there on dad's desk. The guy was mutilated, his eyes were gone, they'd been gouged out. His tongue'd been cut out too... and the state of his neck... oh my god it was horrific... the worst thing I've ever seen..."

Her words trail off into groans of disgust but I've stopped listening anyway. I'm in freefall, back pressed against my bedroom wall as I slowly slide down to the floor, one hand clapped firmly over my mouth to stem the muffled cries that are desperate to break free. I know instinctively without even asking for further information that I'm somehow indirectly involved with this grisly murder but I ask anyway, my intrigue overriding my better judgement.

"So... who was he?" I ask fearfully, pressing the phone harder against my ear. "The guy? The one who got killed?"

"I recognised him straight away!" She blurts. "He was there last night, standing by the bar right next to us. He was really tall... bloody massive... and nasty looking too. I can just remember him as he couldn't take his eyes off you, he was looking at you like he was some kind of pervert... and he was!"

She practically cries out the last line and before I can react to what she's saying she's continuing, every revelation making the dread that's churning inside my gut sink deeper and deeper.

"There was a file on him right there, he was already known to the police. Some girl was attacked at the bar just last week and he'd been called in for questioning. It was horrible, they found her out the back, half naked and barely conscious. She'd been drugged or something and she was so far gone she couldn't remember anything. He really messed her up."

"Shit... that's terrible," I mutter, shuddering as I try to comprehend that I could easily have been the subject of a police report this morning.

"Yeah, and it wasn't the first accusation either. There were more going back months but they just couldn't get anything to stick. The victims were always too out of it to identify him but he was always there at the scene. It must've been him, the sick bastard, I just know it. He was a fucking predator."

There's silence for a moment as Freya quietly fumes and I reach up to grasp my crucifix pendant. I'm chanting a silent prayer to God for sparing me even though an intrusive voice in my head is telling me that there's someone else I should be thanking. I can't allow myself to think like that though... to be grateful for his intervention. The fact remains that a man is still dead, brutally murdered in a despicable way and there's a very likely suspect. It doesn't matter what that awful man did, no one deserves such a hideous and painful death.

"I just can't stop thinking about how he could have attacked you," Freya sobs. "As soon as I found out what happened this morning I was so worried, I just automatically thought the worst. Thank god you're okay." She pauses, cautious-sounding. "You are okay aren't you? You've still not told me how you got home..."

I have no fucking idea...

I consider telling Freya. The words are there on the tip of my tongue but I just can't seem to get them out. And what would I say anyway?

Oh, well I was nearly the dead guy's next victim, but I got rescued... and my knight in shining armour actually turned out to be a demon! He followed me to the church and told me he'd come to take my soul!

Yeah, that would sound very plausible. I don't even believe it myself so why would anyone else?

"I just walked home, that's all. You looked so loved up I didn't want to disturb you and that place was freaking me out so much I just left. There's nothing more to tell. I know I shouldn't have done it but it doesn't matter now does it, ‘cause I'm fine."

Maybe if I keep saying 'I'm fine' enough times I might actually will it to be so.

Freya tuts loudly down the line. "Disturb me? That's ridiculous! Eve, you gotta promise me you'll never do anything like that again. We gotta look out for each other, okay? Sisters remember?"

Despite everything a small smile finds it's way to my lips. "Yeah, sisters," I murmur.

"Good." She sounds satisfied. "But I'm still coming to see you. You're working today aren't you?"

"Uh-huh, I'll be there. I'm working all day, gotta be there to open the store up at 9 as Jake's away today. I'll be on my own so the company'll be good."

I've been contemplating calling in sick but I hate letting my boss down and I figure the distraction will do me good anyway. My mind's still in turmoil and I know I'll only drive myself mad if I'm sitting around at home trying to make sense of the past twelve crazy hours. I'm just about to say goodbye and hang up but Freya starts speaking again, her tone pleading.

"Just don't tell your mum and dad anything... please. My dad would go ballistic if he knew we were at The Inferno. I thought I was fucked when they nearly caught me sneaking back in at 6am..."

So she did go home with Benji then.

"And it's not only that," she continues. "We'd be witnesses! They'll be wanting to speak to everyone who was at the bar last night. I can't face all that."

"But if it's a criminal investigation..." I start but she cuts me off sharply.

"The guy's dead Eve! It's over, he can't hurt any more girls. What's the use in us getting caught up in all that shit and getting into trouble? I don't actually care who did it anyway, I think whoever it was did the world a favour ridding it of that piece of shit!"

"Freya!" I cry. I know she's only saying what most people who hear about the case will think, but I can't be so blasé about the end to a human life, no matter how bad the sin. And it's not just the fact that he was murdered, it's the way that he was killed. Whoever did it wanted to make sure he suffered in agony until his last breath.

What sort of person would do something like that?

The fact that I already know chills me through and I know this is far from over.