#can you believe these backstabbing bitches??????

[cheekblush]

lmaoooo found out today that my 2 “colleagues” (that’s honestly a too nice of a word for them) complained about me to our boss that apparently i don’t work hard enough and often just sit around doing nothing :)

[galene-gothic]

𝖶𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍

୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ Hi snowies, I’m back with another Barbie princess and the pauper themed reading !! I hope this reading found you in good health and that you like it, every reblog is appreciated and thank you for everything :) ˖♡ ˎˊ˗ ꒰ 🐇 ꒱

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗             PAID SERVICES (summer sale and offers)

︎︎⊹ ! 🪡︎ Pile 1 ꒱

꒰ Where are you free to begin again and believe ? ꒱

You’ve experienced an ending (possibly even multiple ones) that were very heavy. It was the kind of ending (or a string of them) that came with a lot of pain and hurt but was inevitable, something that could simply not be saved. For many of you a lot of backstabbing and betrayal took place, possibly people bitching too. It could have very well been a whole group of people disliking you or turning against you. I’m strongly getting that you’ve often experienced people not liking you for any reason at all. For many of you, all of this took place at the same time (betrayal, people disliking you for no reason, etc.) You’ve lost a lot or at least feel a strong sense of loss (or have had to feel that way at some point). You have many deep wounds and right now, life seems to be more peaceful for you. However, you’re worn out, tired and disappointed. I need to give you a virtual pat on the back for the way you seem to be handling the situation though. You let things end even though you had to reach the lowest possible point mentally. You allowed yourself time and space to heal and recover. You have always been the type to try your best so you were just like “nothing more can be done now, I tried my best”. Right now, you’re really focused on yourself and your own internal values. Your energy is still not the most harmonious but the way you’re dealing with things seems to make it all harmonious again. You have released many fears and are still doing so. ‘I look to you’ by Whitney Houston is coming through for some reason. You’ve reached a point where you have a harder time trusting people and doubt loyalty but it doesn’t seem to be negative, obviously there are days when the voices do get to you but you’re able to tame them. It’s just that going forward, you want to choose and do what’s best for you. You’re still struggling emotionally but it’s only so that you can do even better going forward and yes, you have dealt with this situation really well. You should be proud of yourself because some of us wouldn’t have been able to think straight if we were in your place. You seem to know that whatever you lost wasn’t that great to begin with and every loss of yours has only led to more wins but one thing that I need to make you aware of is that everyone who lost you has received the biggest L, even if at that time, they were having the time of their lives, you’ve clearly won. You’re free to begin again. What has passed has passed. You’re free to, in fact, you have every right to believe that being in your life and someone having you in their life is a privilege. You’re free to believe that trust needs to be earned. You’re free to believe that you’ve had a string of bad connections and that their words, and actions hurt you so you have every right to feel bad and not want anything to with them. You’re free to believe that you don’t have to fully forgive someone to move on. You’re free to stand up for yourself and not feel bad for doing so. Even if you made a mistake, if someone is going overboard with punishing you by treating you shitty and disrespecting you, you have every right to stand up for yourself as long as you’re still aware of what you did wrong and are holding yourself accountable instead of acting as though you’ve never hurt a fly. You’ve walked away and surrendered which is the best that you could have done, I’m proud of you. You’re free to not want to communicate maturely with those who refused to communicate maturely with you in the past. You’ve always had a personality where you don’t mind compromising for those you love and because it comes so naturally to you, you don’t even bother to voice it out.

However, just because you don’t talk the talk, instead you just walk the walk, people act as though your sacrifices were not big. You’re allowed to have resentments against people as long as you don’t burden yourself. You’re free to find peace in the fact that you’re a great and loving person who has never minded giving up their ego for a greater good, that you’ve always looked at yourself and your loved ones as a team and that’s not a bad quality, you just didn’t know better and had people who weren’t the same as you, around yourself and that’s okay. You’re free to believe and know that you were not being difficult or trying to pick fights, you were trying to fix things because you really cared and wanted to give, and do your best. You’re free to forgive yourself for not voicing out your needs sooner. You’re free to not want to forgive some people, you’re free to deny that you weren’t even involved with certain people if that’s what brings you peace. Remember that the past doesn’t even exist, no one can narrate and decide your story except you, and the truth is, people cannot exist in your reality unless you let them ;). You’re free to not have empathy for those who didn’t have empathy for you. You’re free to be rude and standoffish with those who deserve it. You’re free to believe that it’s okay for people to leave such a bitter taste in your mouth that you wouldn’t want to help them even if they were living out their last few days with a beating heart. You’re allowed to believe that you’re not always the bad person, no matter how much you’ve been villainised, you’ve always tried to watch your actions and when you did make mistakes, you always tried to make up for them, and usually, you didn’t even do anything wrong. You’ve often had people hate you because they’re envious of and feel inferior to you in some way but then they try to make it seem as though it’s your mistakes and actions that they hate you for. You’ve had people trying to isolate you, you’ve had people telling mutuals not to talk to you, you’ve had people trying to turn people against you just for the thrill of putting you down because it’s fun to try to bring down someone who they feel inferior to, it makes them feel superior, watching you question yourself but what they don’t seem to know is that you question yourself to better yourself because you don’t view mistakes as unforgivable sins, you want to take accountability, make amends, do whatever you can to repair the damage that you may have done and do better in the future instead of drowning in self guilt like they want you to 😭. Even if you did temporarily fall into self guilt, you managed to come right out and you always will. You’re free to believe that you’re a good person, you’re free to have faith in your own greatness and embrace your mistakes in a way where you put it all behind yourself, understand that however others have treated you has been wrong as well. You’re free to believe that you’re a good person no matter how many unethical things you may have done, no matter how much others have tried to villainise you. You’re allowed to be cold to those who used your mistakes to try to get you to break. If I was you, I would avoid doing anything that I could possibly regret doing in the future. You’re free to understand that many of your past actions have been shitty but those who jumped to try and knock you down to a peg were not saints either. If they did have a problem with what you did, they would discuss your actions, not your character, they just had a problem with you, and they would sure as hell not gang up against and isolate you. You are allowed to leave your past behind (including any of the actions that you’re not proud of) and do better in the future. Just remember, you’re always free to begin again and you’re always free to believe. When you find the place where your heart belongs, you’ll never leave.

꒰ What’s the destiny that’s written in your heart ? ꒱

The destiny that’s written in your heart is to be seen. Many of you are interested in lifestyles that bring about a lot of eyes on you (possibly being a public figure). I don’t even think that you need to be known on a wide scale, it’s about the expression and success for you. You want to be able to make people happy and help them remain optimistic during hard times. You’re also supposed to be very generous. I just heard that the destiny that’s written in your heart is to belong to everyone, not in a negative way but in a way where everyone has a piece of the good deeds you’ve done inside their hearts and so you belong to them in some capacity. You’re supposed to have a lot of personal integrity and just be an abundant person overall. Even if you are not a public figure or an aspiring one, you’re supposed to be the light in many people’s lives. Due to how you’re going to belong to everyone, you’re also going to have to prioritise your alone time. To you, the time that you spend by yourself is going to be very precious. There are going to be people who are going to want to come into your life in order to dim your light and you’re going to have to find peace in life again and again. YES, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO ACTIVELY TRY TO ADD LACK OF PEACE INTO YOUR LIFE 😍. You’re meant to grow to be someone who’s not really that problematic. Which is why, you may have to step out of character a lot as a teen and early adult, you’ll have to learn how to stay firm in wanting to protect your peace and keep your character strong. Your destiny is to remain firm in your karma and have a strong sense of integrity. You’re supposed to learn how to protect your energy because you will have a lifestyle where you sort of belong to everyone but that’s not realistic, there are only certain people who deserve you in their lives, so you’ll have to learn how to balance it all. Karma is really big in your spread. You’re someone who’s experienced karma, often immediately. You’re supposed to learn many life lessons and lead a life of integrity. Your destiny if you manage to harness it, is to attain status and power but you’ll consistently have to work on balancing different aspects of your life (because you’re going to have it all). I hope that you enjoyed the reading and that it resonated, much love and take care, until next time 💗.

︎︎⊹ ! 🪡︎ Pile 2 ꒱

꒰ Where are you free to begin again and believe ? ꒱

Right away, you could be coming from pile 1. If not, much like the previous pile, you’ve undergone an ending too. Yes, this is in fact the ending of whatever situation or situations that took place but that’s the good news, that’s what you’re free to begin from again. When you’re at the lowest, the only place to go to is upwards ;). Who had potato and egg curry/likes it? Maybe, someone here is going to cook it or the dish holds some significance to you? It just randomly came through, doesn’t have to resonate for everyone. The ending doesn’t seem to be singular honestly, I feel like there was a whole cycle of multiple endings that took place but with many delays. If you ever find yourself feeling guilty about not getting over it or feel as though it’s your fault because you delayed these cycles, please be kinder to yourself. When things end, you’re left empty but what happens when a container is left empty? It gives room for new stuff to fill up that space. It’s important for you to not dwell on this ending - the guilt of not ending it sooner, wishing it had never ended, the emptiness you feel, etc. You’re free to begin from everything you’ve ever known because there is so much more in the future, in fact, even in the present itself for you to know. If you’re refusing to end a cycle, you’re only making it harder on yourself, I hope that you’ll be able to start again, no matter how much time it may take. Some of you feel guilty towards yourself because you know that you’re over it, you’re just not letting yourself let go completely. It’s become a habit to think about it, feel certain emotions when you reminisce so it feels foreign for you to move on and feel peace. Even if you’re still emotionally attached to the past, make the conscious effort to move forward. Please remember “no closure is a closure”. No matter how stagnant you feel or have felt, no matter how long you’ve felt it for, no matter how familiar the feeling is to you, you’re free to get out of this energy. Even if you feel as though you were unable to make the most out of your potential so far, even if you feel as though you haven’t achieved much, no matter how disappointed you’ve felt in yourself, don’t burden yourself with such feelings. You’re free to move on and achieve a lot going forward. “Though you may not know where your gifts may lead and it may not show in the start, when you live your dream, you’ll find destiny is written in your heart.” Why are you so concerned about everyone? Why do you try to make things right with your actions even if you aren’t interested in maintaining certain connections? It’s because you’ve achieved a lot when it comes to character. If you feel misunderstood even though you’ve done a lot for others without even talking about it because that’s just you, if you felt betrayed, it’s them, not you. Fight against their opinions, they just dislike how you stand for the things that wish they stood for, they also dislike how you are the way they wish to be in some capacity.

Continue soaring forward with courage, resilience and conviction. You’re allowed to want what you want without always having to adjust to other people’s needs, desires, personalities, lifestyles and actions. Even if you may feel like you’ve betrayed yourself in the past, know that you were living by your truth of loving and keeping your actions in check, you’re always free to begin again and live more truthfully to yourself. In fact, now you know a lot more than you did back then, isn’t that in itself a blessing? Never let anyone influence you and your approach to interpersonal connections. You’re likely a more long term kinda person due to how much you pour into everything and everyone. You’re free to believe that you’re a great person even if you aren’t breaking your leg to please others. At this point, you likely know well enough about that because you seem to have a pretty strong sense of self or are developing it (and have been making good progress with it). You’re free to stand up for yourself and your beliefs. It’s time to be your most honest and authentic self now. You’ve likely started feeling called to it already. No matter how much pressure is placed upon you or how much you’re criticised or blamed, you’re allowed to believe in yourself. You’re allowed to have boundaries and to be fairly protective of yourself. You’re allowed to want to be pursued and want to be courted romantically. You’re allowed to desire to be wooed off your feet xD. You’re allowed to follow whatever your heart’s calling is. You’re allowed to move forward acting more graceful and strong in character and even physically if you’d like. You’re allowed to move your attention onto better things if whatever you’re focused on is affecting you negatively. You’re allowed to repeat mistakes as long as you manage to learn from them in the end. “I think all of us wanna feel something that we’ve forgotten or turned our backs on because maybe we didn’t realise how much we were leaving behind.” It’s okay to make sacrifices, it’s okay to make wrong decisions, it’s okay to learn, that’s how life is. You’re free to desire and believe in a true and deep love connection that you know exists because you’re full of the love that you wish to receive. You’re free to desire a deep connection full of mutual admiration, respect and love. You’re free to want to share your life with someone, just make sure that you’re not going into it with desperation. Your standards are not too high as long as you know that you’re asking for what you can give out. You’re free to want to be around wise people. You’re free to want to have a romantic connection with someone controlled, wise, ethical and respectable. You don’t have to feel bad about taking certain things seriously even if those around you don’t. Like supposing sex is a big thing for you, in this generation that’s kind of rare but it’s okay, do right by yourself. You’re free to have an impartial judgment in the beginning for your own good. You’re free to vet out and choose who deserves to be in your life and who doesn’t. It’s okay to want to strengthen your own character and reputation. You’re free to craft yourself and your life however you want, it’s your life to live.

꒰ What’s the destiny that’s written in your heart ? ꒱

The destiny that’s written in your heart is to leave the past behind. You’re the pile that will either deal with extreme loneliness or isolation of some sort that will only lead to you changing and growing emotionally. If you feel like most things have not worked out for you, please just know that whatever has not worked out is exactly why thing’s are working out for you, you’re going to see it while you’re living your destiny. Somehow, no matter what you go through, no matter how many times you’re hurt, betrayed, etc. you are meant to only continue to become more loving. The more you hurt, the more you learn how to love (yourself and others) is the energy that I’m getting. It’s important for you to be in touch with the present rather than staying stuck on anything from the past, don’t even hold onto the regrets, that’s how you’re blocking your own destiny. You might be the pile that got shamed for being emotional at some point and being too nonchalant at another, you’re going to get closer to yourself which will ultimately lead you to being more in tune with your own emotional nature. The more you’ll grow, the more you’ll embrace and learn just how much of a blessing it is to choose to be ever loving in a bitter world that wants you to be bitter as well. The way you are, your sensitive nature, the way you feel, the way you love, the amount of devotion and loyalty you give out has led you to being hurt, disappointed and regretful several times. There have been times when people have terribly embarrassed because you tried to see the best in them. The clown emoji is coming through, gosh 🤡😭. However, the destiny that’s written in your heart is strongly intertwined with loving and loyalty, you value genuine connections and are extremely compassionate, as you grow older, you’ll learn how to not make everyone’s problems your own. You’re meant to learn healthy boundaries as you grow older, you’ll learn how to extend your love and compassion towards yourself, that’s how you’ll unlock a major part of your destiny. You’re supposed to come in terms with the fact that maybe you weren’t the problem after all. You seem to have taken “the world is your family” too literally, you take on everyone’s problems and sorrows, and try to love and help everyone. Especially when younger, that was what you were like.

As you grow older and finally realise that maybe you weren’t the problem after all, you’ll start seizing opportunities as you let go of regret. It’s going to be a bittersweet but beautiful time. No matter what you may go through, you’ll only gain more self awareness due to it. You’ll start focusing on the more positive aspects of life and yourself. You’ll eventually start having gratitude and find your zest for life again. You’ll learn that you’re not everyone’s mother or caregiver and that what you bring to the table, and who you are is deeply valuable. You’re destined to learn just a little selfishness, not in a sense of only caring about yourself but in a sense of putting yourself first. I’m not sure why but your sex drive keeps on coming through. You either masturbate quite a bit or well, just have a high libido xD. You might have started masturbating much younger than most as well. Doesn’t have to resonate but that’s what came through. I wouldn’t be surprised if this pile has a mother wound or just female figures being unsupportive and problematic towards you. It’s definitely not going to be everyone but you may find yourself having a bad experience with many female figures while growing up. It could be something as simple as you think that you’re good with a certain girl or woman just to find out that they dislike you. You’re meant to have it all, abundance in the truest senses. That’s the destiny that’s written in your heart. You may be the pile that’s not afraid to dream and not just dream but also try your best to execute it. If you have to give up on your dreams for whatever reason, you may feel terribly wrong from within. The destiny that’s written in your heart is a lot of domestic bliss as well. You’re meant to have people who accept and understand your differences in your life. You’re meant to be emotionally content. The reason why you have a hard time with short term, casual stuff is because you’re meant to experience long term deep attachments. The reason you’re so loyal, feel so deeply and know how to be dedicated is because you’re supposed to find worthy enough people to form such lovely and long term connections with. You’re passionate, don’t even try to suppress that true nature of yours by trying to explore some half hearted stuff. You’re well rounded so you’re meant to experience a well rounded life - a blissful home life, a great career, a strong personality and being proud of yourself, you’re meant to have it all. All of this is the destiny that’s written in your heart. I hope that you enjoyed the reading and that it resonated, much love and take care, until next time 💗.

︎︎⊹ ! 🪡︎ Pile 3 ꒱

꒰ Where are you free to begin again and believe ? ꒱

This could be the pile that may have lost their way temporarily or were unable to focus on things that mattered at some point (education, money, career, etc.) You’re free to start again when it comes to education and your goals (educational, career, character, skills, so on and so forth). It’s time for you to believe in your own maturity and sense of independence. You’re free to begin again no matter how many times you may have quit or lost your path. You’re a very responsible person who is focused on building something for yourself right now. You’re free to take on this identity wholly and start/continue showing up consistently for yourself. Maybe you used to be like this as a child, you had all your priorities in place but as you grew up, you started burning out or something just caused you to stray off your path. It’s okay, as long as you get back on track. You’ve always been a very helping and trustworthy person with a strong will. You used to be really reliable, responsible and ambitious even as a kid. Even if you feel like you’ve disappointed yourself, it’s never too late to get back to yourself and your goals. Believe in and stay firm in your own karma (actions/deeds). A routine would really help you. You’re free to start trying to make the most out of your potential. Maybe, you were pushed into a period of solitude causing you to realise that you need to get back on track? It doesn’t have to be for everyone, it’s only for a select few of you. You might have ended up overindulging at some point when younger which led you to straying from your path. It could be an overindulgence of anything - liquor, heartbreak, friends, freedom, etc. You may have wasted that time but the fact that you know what it feels like to enter such an energy means that you’ll avoid it going forward. It’s good that you’ve managed to live such different lifestyles and take on such different identities, just to get back to being yourself and realising that you always knew who you were, and that life is a lot about having the courage to live as who you truly are. If you don’t have a social life or have too much of it (envy, rivalry, lack of approval but also people around you) causing you to either think too much or not have enough space to think, just remember that you’re free to begin again. If you don’t have much of a social life currently, you’ve dealt with envy, rivalry, lack of approval, disappointments, end of friendships, etc. before.

Some of you may be going through it right now, if yes, you’re free to begin again, trust me, it’s going to get better ;). You’re free to believe that your next relationships (platonic and romantic) are going to be great ones. You’re free to believe that change is coming in and it’s going to be big, and in the best way possible. Patience is important here though. Don’t settle and don’t give into desperation or urges of any sort. You’re free to begin again when it comes to self improvement. You’re free to put the past behind you and patiently make the most out of the present while looking forward to a bright future. You’re free to explore and expand beyond what you thought your interests and aesthetics were limited to. You’re free to claim fulfilment. You’ve overcome so much, give yourself a little pat on the shoulder, will you? You’re allowed to go with the flow of things while consistently working on whatever you want. Consistency and patience are guaranteed to reward you as long as you use your brain and abilities to the fullest. Plan but don’t stay stuck on the planning phase. You’re doing so well, please be proud of yourself as well. While others may talk about how much they’ve done, how they are, like they may really boast it, you don’t boast because that’s just innately in you and why would you boast about something that’s just natural to you? BUT THEY’RE REALLY BIG TRAITS AND THINGS IN REAL LIFE! You’re free to let go of extremism in order to find peace. You’re free to make peace with situations even if they were one sided. You’re free to reprioritise and have faith in your priorities even if your priorities were not in the right places for a while. You’re free to move on from the life that was not flowing correctly. You’re free to heal completely even if no one witnessed it and you’re free to feel proud of yourself even if there was no one to witness how much you’ve grown. All work, no play will make you a dull one, please try to strike a good balance between studies/work and life. You’re free to try to manage life better. Your past does not exist, it does not matter. Believe in yourself and your dreams, your hopes and wishes will come true as long as you’re willing to work for them. You’re free to move forward with more confidence and passion, grabbing opportunities and communicating well. You’re likely already a great communicator, if not through speech, it may be through writing but believe in yourself, it’s better to go after the life you want rather than convincing yourself that you’re happy with an average life. Remember, you’re always free to begin again and you’re always free to begin, when you find the place that your heart belongs, you’ll never leave.

꒰ What’s the destiny that’s written in your heart ? ꒱

The destiny that’s written in your heart is quite interesting. You’ve always desired to be looked up to. There’s something traditional and old school that you want, the old school romance, the old school love, the old school family, whatever it may be. It’s because it’s in your destiny. You could be someone who doesn’t enjoy having jokes made about them or didn’t like them when younger. You do not appreciate being the butt of any joke due to how much you value mutual respect. It’s in your destiny to love and adore, and to be loved and adored. You’re likely the marriage type. You want an equal and all encompassing love in which your partner treats you like their own and you treat them like your own. You desire to operate with your partner as a team, a family, united and with each other instead of egoistic and against each other. It’s because you’re destined for that. You’re meant to have a reluctance to explore anything that’s not deep and intense (romantically). You’re meant to have moments when you feel unsuccessful, like you’ve not achieved much, like you’ve not been able to live up to your potential so that you can find it in you to strive towards it. At some point, you’re going to be like “I’ve always known who I am, who I want to be. I’ve always known what was right and yet I strayed off.” That was meant to happen so that you can be more confident in who you are. Due to your deep emotions and the way you feel responsible for everyone and everything, and you desire to have an ethical and good character, you tend to be confused a lot because people try to make you think that you’re doing something wrong? That’s the entire reason why you strayed off your path in the first place. You’re going to be pressured into making decisions without knowing what it is that you truly want. You’re going to find yourself being very emotionally overwhelmed at some point because you also have a tendency to feel things deeply. You won’t know what it is that you truly want. There will be a point where you’ll wonder if you even have faith in yourself at all. You might get severely betrayed at some point when younger, likely by multiple people but might have mixed feelings regarding them because the situations will just be so cloudy. Also, you’re a genuinely really good person so your desire for connection will lead you to treat people as if they are in the same team as you even if they aren’t because you will not be aware of it, you’ll have their best interests at heart but when all of this rose tinted glasses, confusion, fog or whatever you want to call it fades away, you’ll feel as though you lived in an illusion for a quite a while. You’re someone who has a lot of enemies due to your naturally great character. In this world, many people enjoy tearing each other down, you’ll have to learn how to strategically move through life. You’re able to be very strategic, it’s just that you have ethics and morals, and care about people so you try not to hurt them. You’re going to have to learn how to be yourself and follow your path unapologetically no matter who it hurts.

Many of your friends tend to envy you and want similar things that you want, possibly even love interests, don’t feel guilty about doing and choosing what’s best for you. Most of these people desire to be better than you because they do dislike you to some capacity, one more reason to not feel bad. You’re meant to be courageous enough to go for what you want, even if it might cause you to end up in scandals or ostracised because at the end, you manage to gain so much from it, in every way. “You need to be cold to be queen, keep your eyes on the price, Jenny Humphrey. You cannot make people love you but you can make them fear you.” You have had friends who turned out to be envious of you at some point. In fact, you often attract people like this but it does help you grow. You are going to learn how to be selfish with these people. With those who do deserve your love and view you as a team, you’re going to treat them as if they were you, you’re going to give them the best and will try your best to be there for them. Those who see and understand you are going to have your back at all times. You’re going to change and grow a lot through all the envy and one sided rivalry driven conflicts but that will only get you to be more morally driven. You’re going to become more empathetic, trustworthy and a great adviser to those who deserve it, and a selfish, cold person to those who don’t. That’s kind of your destiny because when you’re going to be all kind and giving, having the best interest of everyone at heart, viewing them as a team, they’re going to undervalue you and take you for granted. They’re going to abuse your generosity and giving nature, they’ll also be mean to you, as if nothing you give is enough for them, even though you’re probably the best that they will find but you’ll likely learn the lesson of putting yourself quite young (by your early twenties) because you’ll have already experienced a lot by then. You’re probably meant to be very charitable though. Also, the deep connections that you’ll have (both romantic and platonic) and I mean the healthy, non confusing and lasting ones, they’ll be sacred to you. Those people will understand you on a whole different level and will treat you with such care, it’s touching. You truly do deserve this kind of love. I’m so happy for you. When someone is like you, many will dislike you for your greatness while others will want to find both - more of your greatnesses and your weaknesses in order to love you, in order to have you in their life, in order to be in your life because they’ll see you as someone to treasure, because they’ll grow to love you more and more, the more they get to know you. This is sweet, isn’t it? You’re going to start craving strong and mutual love quite young and you’ll start having a mature approach to relationships. It’s likely because you spent quite some time in illusions while what you were giving out was very real so you’ll crave that same realness because you’ll know that you deserve it. Yes, you will receive it as long as you don’t bend into settling and staying stuck in illusions. All of this is the destiny that’s written in your heart. I hope that you enjoyed the reading and that it resonated, much love and take care, until next time 💗.

[double-aa-batteries]

things about about TSC I can't stop thinking about

"hindsight was a backstabbing bitch"

curtains symbolizing jeans healing journey, how he keeps them closed at Abby's in a effort to recreate the nest in search of some normalcy, how he opens them and looks out the window his new apartment, seeking calm in his overwhelm

"I want to go home" (13) meaning evermore vs. "I want to go home" (329) meaning to his apartment with Laila, Cat and jeremy

the fact that jean's phone is probably still in Abby's freezer

Kevin "their kindness matters" Day

Neil's smile is as unsettling to everyone else as it is to him and he has so much more Nathaniel in him than he recognizes in his own pov

Jean is so similar to neil in that they're both petty, dramatic bitches who care deeply about their teammates' safety

riko and the ravens quite literally took jean's name from him (Jean-Yves, Jonny, Paris)

"[Renee's] love was so tender it looked like grief as it curled her mouth and made her eyes shine"

jean gets forehead kisses from Renee and Cat

"that creepy little goalkeeper Andrew Minyard"

jean's many nicknames for neil: tiny bastard, tedious malcontent, abominable cockroach, wretched little runaway, ignorant child, etc.

Neil took the bandage off of jeans 3 and promptly stuck it over Kevin's chess peice

"I should have let him kill you," Jean said. "Probably," Neil agreed, "but you didn't, so here we all are."

"...aside from his outstanding murder charge, there was nothing interesting about that fox"

the fact that the point of tfc was to show characters who couldn't/wouldn't/ or were unable to heal from the trauma they had faced and yet from the very beginning and without question, TSC is about jean clawing his way forward and toward healing no matter what

the cheese drawer

dadmack dialed up to 1,000 See: "i will burn this house down before I let them touch you"

bisexual jean Moreau panicking over his teammates in swimsuits and Jeremy's long legs

"He's earned the right to be arrogant"

riko couldn't bring himself to hurt wymack because he was Kevin's father and Kevin was like a brother to riko and riko has always yearned for a father's recognition

Alvarez has a motorcycle and jean didn't say no to learning how to ride it

we know next to nothing about Jeremy Knox despite having chapters in his pov (why was he in therapy? why was his dad in France? what the hell did he do at the Fall banquet his freshman year to tear his family in half?)

that being said: Jeremy Knox is a rich boy with a butler

everything about Catalina Alverez

the fact that Jeremy knox has two brothers and one of them is probably dead

"rather than force the Trojans underground for that part, they simply built steps up and over it inside the stadium" the JUXTAPOSITION

Alvarez cooks and so now does jean

we know for a fact riko subjected Kevin to "subtler cruelties" while he was in the nest

"they never should have said yes when you asked" and "I didn't ask"

"as if you can tell a girl apart from a cow on a good day"

"permission to break his face, coach?" jean asked. "denied," white said.

all of thanksgiving pt. II

"alarm looked wrong on a face born for smiling"

jean casually saying "your apologies are as useful as perfume on a frog" to Lucas

Neil's whole relationship with Jean

David "I believe we all have the choice to be better than the hands that shaped us" Wymack

Neil generally being a menace to society but especially "Neil, being the person he was, pointed at the fire hydrant adjacent to it's front bumper and said, 'thats illegal, just so you know.'"

"the cracking heat in his chest could have been his ribs snapping or his heart breaking"

[derangedanomaly]

been seeing a lot of sanses x reader, so how about something different.

What if the bad sanses and y/n only see eachother as best friends. Like the whole group watch horror movies and give eachother cuddles platonically. The whole group is involved and each person gets along with everyone because Y/N helped with the arguing problems?

So: Y/N sees everyone as a friend, and the Bad sanses see y/n as a friend.

YES! I love this request! (I've had a little too much fun with this 💀) sorry if it's not like how you imagined it, I just played with this idea a bit. It's not every day you see a platonic request.

Masterlist

READER BEING THE BAD SANSES BEST FRIEND (PLATONIC)

(Nightmare, Dust, Killer, Horror, Error)

Safe to say that you were truly in one hell of a ride. Everyday was a rollercoaster with the Bad Sanses. Let's go over some moments together, shall we?

1# The Coffee machine

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

You jolted up awake at the sound of arguing from downstairs. Looks like the boys were roundhousing again..

You groaned as you made your way down the stairs. "Guys? What-" your eyes widened as you saw a chair barely missing your face. Dust turned to you in alarm. "Oh my god.. What are you doing standing there!? Help us!" You blinked when you heard those words, but had no time to say anything as you were pulled by Killer. "OK! OK! Y/N. This is really bad.." you looked at Killer tiredly. "Killer. What did you do?!" Killer flashed you a shocked look, dramatically gasping. "I cannot believe that you just accused me of this horrible tragedy!" "He broke the..coffee machine." Horror snitched on Killer as all the chatter went mute.

Killer slowly turned to Horror. "Horror...you snitch.. why did you have to say it so loudly?" You snorted a little, along with Dust who looked like he could lose it any time soon. "Oh, you're royally fucked Killer." Was your last sentence before going back to bed, as Nightmare dragged Killer.

"AHHH! NIGHTMARE WAIT!!! W-WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS-" He yelled, as he was thrown in the air. "Too late."

2# FAILED SLEEPOVER

You laid in bed as you giggled. "Ok ok..so.. there's this person that I like-" you began, but Killer gasped. "Oh my god! Guys, guys! It's happening!" They all got closer to you, smiling like idiots. "Come on! Who's it? Are they nice??" Dust also nudged you as your cheeks started turning red.

You were about to start blabbering about them, until Nightmare scared the shit out of you all. "Why the fuck are you all up?! Go to sleep! I swear...I won't agree the next time y'all ask me about a sleepover..." You all sighed in annoyance. Damn, does this guy have zero knowledge of what it means to have fun? You laid on your side, closing your eyes, and about to fall asleep, until you felt Nightmare poke you softly. "..tell me about the special person later...I wanna know if they're good enough for you.."

3# Lacking Discipline

You and the boys successfully snuck in Nightmare's room. Tiptoeing towards his bed, along with quiet giggles. "Ok.. remember, we have to be quiet." You nodded at Dust's words, shooting looks at Killer. "Whaaat?" You playfully rolled your eyes at his antics.

You reached forward, and pulled Nightmare's sheets away from his boney face, as you gestured to Dust and Killer. They creepily smiled, holding their red markers.

Killer just finished his last line at Nightmare's mess of a face, when you saw Nightmare stirr in his sleep. It looks like he's about to wake up! You silently gasped, pushing Killer to the floor, and taking Horror's hand in the process.

Killer almost yelled when you shoved him to the floor. "Hey! Dust...!" He flashed him a pleading look, silently asking him for help. Dust just showed him a peace sign and teleported out of the room. "YOU BACKSTABBING BITCHES!!" Killer didn't realized that he raised his voice, out of frustration, until Nightmare stood behind him with a menacing glare.

Your friendship dynamic between them:

Nightmare:

Him: Doesn't want to let anyone get close to him.

You: Got close to him 💀

Dust:

Him: Sunshine protector

You: Sunshine

Killer:

Him: A dumbass

You: Also a dumbass, but smarter

Horror:

Him: Mom (Dad) friend

You: The reckless idiot

Error:

Him: Can't spell

You: Mocks his typos

Incorrect quotes:

1:

Y/N: Between Dust, Error, Nightmare, and Killer -- if you had to -- who would you punch?

Horror: No one! They're my friends. I wouldn't punch any of them.

Y/N: Killer?

Horror: Yeah, but I don't know why.

2:

Y/N: It’s not gonna work, I’m not a snitch.

Cop: Fine, let's try something else. Tag a friend you recently committed a crime with.

Y/N: Lmao, @Nightmare.

3:

Y/n: They don’t make them like me no more. I’m the last of my kind.

Error: Thank god.

4:

Horror: Good night.

Y/n: Sleep tight.

Dust: Don't let the bedbugs crawl up to your ear and whisper threatening things that make you question yourself.

Nightmare: Great, now Killer's crying.

5:

Dust: I wish I was a cat, but not in a furry kinda way, more like a “I can sleep all day and hit people with no consequences” kinda way.

6:

Error: We can't lose. Because we have this. *points to his chest*

Y/N: We have a soul?

Horror: A soul? No, me. I'm pointing at myself. I'm going to win this for us.

7:

Y/n: I am going to cry. I’m going to cry until I can no longer physically cry anymore because all the water in my body is gone and I die from dehydration.

Killer: Are you okay?

Dust: Did you actually just ask them that? Like, you need that to be answered otherwise you won’t know?

8:

Dust: Small creatures are much more vicious because they have a smaller body to bottle up all their emotions.

Error: Ridiculous. Give me some examples.

Horror: Wasps?

Nightmare: Terriers?

Killer: Y/n.

9:

Nightmare: You have to apologize to Y/N!

Killer: Fine!

Killer: Unfuck you, or whatever!

10:

Dust: Sometimes I drink milk straight from the container.

Killer: The cow??

Horror: What?

Y/n: Killer, W H Y?

Short Headcanons:

Dust likes to share his notes he made about some Au's with you, because you find it interesting.

Killer goes to you for flirting advice, no matter how good (or bad) your flirts are.

Dust likes to scare you by popping up in front of you. (He likes your reaction)

Horror will steal your food quite frequently.

Nightmare has strictly put up a poster on his office, that's forbidding you to go in.

Error shares his popcorn with you when y'all watch movies.

It takes a long time before your movie night starts, and that's just because you're all arguing on what to watch.

Y'all aren't much up for cuddling, as a group... Aside from Killer and Horror.

I don't know, maybe I'll do part two. I really liked this request by the way. Have a nice day/night!! :D

[review-anon]

Despair Time Chapter 2 Review Part 1: The Good

Hey guys Review Anon here and what’s this? I’m reviewing something other than ASOOT arcs? Yes, yes, I am. Shocker I know but I am not treading too far as I’m still covering Danganronpa as I’m reviewing Chapter 2 of Despair Time now it’s finished. I have my thoughts on it and now I’ve taken some time to take it all in I can talk about what went well, what didn’t go well and what lessons we can take away from the whole thing. I was gonna wait until Bubbles does their review/rant but natural disasters are bitches and power hasn’t been restored yet. So, I’m doing this now to get out of the way.

And for any people coming here from non ASOOT related tags then I will apologise in advance because you are gonna be in for a LOOONNNGGGG read. If you are the type to go tl;dr then turn away now.

I presume the rest of you want to read it? Well, let’s get right to it. I’ve split this into three parts because I don’t want to do Google Docs for this, and it would be an easier read for those who came from the non ASOOT space as you guys aren’t used to my lengthy reviews. Consider this your crash course on how I review, in extreme detail and excessive word count. This right here is about 8.5k which is a bite size by my standards which should tell you everything.

Please bear in mind you will have to wait a bit for the next parts as I want to get my current project done before this. Its just I didn't anticipate this taking so long.

Anyway, let’s get right into it, shall we?

Chains of Friendship

Chapter 1s for any Fanronpa tend to be very shocking as it’s the creator’s way to try and surprise the audience and subvert any expectations they have. Some do this well, others do not. But Despair Time was one of those who did it well by how it handled the main protagonist Teruko Tawaki.

At first glance she seemed to be an atypical Danganronpa protagonist. Ultimate Lucky Student? Check. Has an ahoge? Check. Believes in friendship, trust, hope and all those bollocks? Check. Gets backstabbed by someone they believed to be a friend in the first chapter? Check quite literally. Forgives said friend and continues to be a ray of sunshine? Ch- oh wait hang on a minute she didn’t do that at all.

Yeeaahhh while Xander’s sudden attempted murder on Teruko was a massive shock, what was even more so that Teruko decided to say fuck friendship and trust and not trust anyone ever again. On one hand you can understand Teruko’s rage. She was very close to Xander and he used that trust to try and kill her. Min was also someone who supported Teruko and she was willing to throw Teruko under the bus to save her own skin. None of the others stood up for her as they all decided that Teruko killed Xander, and it was only thanks to the power of protagonist energy and using basic logic that saved them. As such Teruko was well within her right to call everyone out for being selfish bastards. Especially since as we get to know more of Teruko this chapter, we learn that what happened in Chapter 1, while extreme, is a snapshot of her entire life due to how ruinous her luck has been.

I don’t think I’ve said this before, but I will say it now, luck SUCKS in the Danganronpa universe. Look at all the Lucky Students we had, Makoto is the only one who has a decent life and he loses the most. Nagito is so ravaged by luck he’s become suicidal and depressed. Yuki goes through literal hell due to his luck and the less said about Utsuro, the better. And while it’s still very much a WIP, one of my OCs is a Lucky Student and her life is equally ruined by her luck. But don’t worry I’ve not copy pasted it from anyone else as the direction I’ve taken my OC is in a way nobody has done before. And what Teruko has here is a fine example of that. She is an orphan who was abandoned by everyone in her life, she has numerous wounds on her body, she barely has any education as she has to sneak into large schools as a student and then once the gig is up, run away and her finances are in ruins due to the hospital bills. Its little surprise why she likes the Killing Game, as she gets guaranteed food and shelter here, which is more then what can be said outside. But even that has a silver lining as we know whoever the mastermind is, they have it out for her.

However, while this is a massive departure from what the typical protagonist would go through, it’s a known fact that in a Killing Game, you NEED to work with others. Class Trials are decided by majority vote and so if you become a pariah, you are very likely to be ignored and might risk dooming yourself or others if what you are saying is true. Teruko doesn’t have to like her classmates, but she needs to learn to coexist with them. Especially since Teruko switching from “I hate and distrust everyone” to “We are all friends” is a major mood whiplash I doubt anyone would do. So naturally one of the main themes of this chapter is learning to rebuild trust after its broken and the consequences of not trusting anyone.

Two major voices object to Teruko’s self-imposed isolation and distrust of everyone. The first is Eden Tobisa. She’s always been a cheerful and optimistic person within the Killing Game and has taken Xander’s and Min’s deaths harshly. In a way Eden behaves more like what a typical Danganronpa protagonist does, wanting to be friends with everyone and being kind. When she tries to get Teruko to bake with her, Teruko reminds her the last time they baked was with Hu, Rose and Min and that was later used for Min’s murder of Xander. She calls her naïve for being optimistic and says she won’t be friends with her, because she knows that at some point, Eden will crack from the harsh reality of the Killing Game and the luckster doesn’t want a stake in it. Kindness will always be rewarded with cruelty.

But when she says this Eden surprises her as contrary to what Teruko thinks, Eden isn’t oblivious to the cruelness of the Killing Game and reality as a whole. Yet the small clockmaker chooses to be kind because it’s the right thing to do, and if you give someone kindness while people can backstab you, you can be rewarded. When it comes to trust and distrust you need a healthy balance.

When I reviewed Black and White Christmas, I didn’t like how Sunako was forcing the Quantum Crew to trust the 76 Squad for a couple of reasons. I tried explaining it at the time, but I felt I telegraphed it quite poorly and I’m sure that’s irritated Mod Poi. The first one is on me, as I didn’t really know the 76 Squad then and as such couldn’t really tell at face value if they were to be trusted or not. Since they are from NWPM and I struggled to read it, my lack of knowledge led to that judgement, but the other thing is that I compared the whole thing to Raja and the Last Dragon and how it mishandled the theme of trust. Expect I didn’t explain it very well or misunderstood the hate. The main reason Raja got betrayed the first time was because she trusted Namaari too much, which you should never do to people you literally just meet. Give them the benefit of doubt yes, but never open yourself up to someone you don’t know that well. Teruko made that mistake with Xander and that’s why she got a knife in her gut.

While it’s a heartfelt speech, it had a notable impact on Teruko as she didn’t know how to respond. When you expect nothing but betrayal and backstabbing, having someone be kind for the sake of it can shock you. It’s the same shock Kyoko experienced in Trigger Happy Havoc when she didn’t expect Makoto to keep his mouth shut about evidence that he knows is false, and he explained it’s because he trusts her, she didn’t know how to respond. While Eden isn’t the main protagonist, the same principle applies.

Eden isn’t the only person who objects to Teruko’s views that you should never have faith in others as the other is Charles Cuevas. Starting off Charles was your atypical smug intellectual who believes he’s superior to others, akin like Byakuya and Rei. But much like them, he softens up and learns to work with others though in Charles’s case it’s a bit more extreme. In Chapter 1 he was revealed to suffer from Hemophobia, so much so that if he sees blood, he literally goes into shock and can’t remember anything. Xander uses this to his advantage to try and frame Charles for his would be killing of Teruko, but when it seems like everyone is turning on Charles, Whit is the one who stands up for him, gives evidence why he couldn’t do it and so Charles is cleared. This has caused the formally smug chemist to go through a bit of character development as while in Chapter 2 he still thinks his intelligence is beyond that of most of the cast, he isn’t pushing them down as much and has soften up to certain characters, most particularly Whit and Teruko. The former because he stood up for him and is an honest friend and the latter due to demonstrating that unlike most of the cast, Teruko actually uses her brain. It’s a slow burn but assuming Charles survives all to the end, he will become a much better person.

So, when Teruko talks about her disbelief that he is trusting people after what happened in the Class Trail, he brings up some valid points on why Teruko is actually being quite illogical as cooperation with others is key to surviving this game and humans are social pack animals by design, we work better as a team.

Chapter 1 Charles is pretty much Chapter 2 Teruko but after learning he cannot look at a corpse and thus is incapable of surviving on his own, Charles has started to learn how to rely on others. In some ways he doesn’t like how everyone pities him now so Teruko is a relief as her interactions with him haven’t changed. But while Eden says why Teruko is wrong from an emotional and moral perspective, Charles approaches it from a logical and factual point of view. As many analysts have already pointed out, it’s impossible to do a solo act in a Killing Game, if you want to live, you need to learn how to work with others. Either to prevent yourself from becoming a target, or so others can help you when you are down, much like how Whit helped Charles in his lowest point. As such using his own experiences, he knows the direction Teruko is coming from and implores her to reconsider as eventually events will occur which will force her back to trusting others again.

I like this as we have two different characters, both who get tons of development this Chapter, attacking Teruko’s morals from different angles. But while they are definitely making dents, Teruko is able to justify in her worldview that she’s been beaten too many times to be like Eden, especially as Eden seems to have had a good life where her worst secret is that she’s a closet lesbian. Which okay its definitely something Eden might have been harassed over if bigotry is still a thing in this world, but with so many of the cast being LGBTQ, it’s not the worst secret in the world. And for Charles, he has a deliberating condition which prevents him from surviving on his own. Everyone knows about Teruko’s luck and she’s survived this well without needing help on it so she doesn’t need to rely on others.

Expect of course, she’s wrong, because during an interaction with Veronika, she brings up the suggestion that Teruko might have prosopagnosia.

While it’s not confirmed in this Chapter, I do believe Bubbles has a point that Teruko might have face blindness but I don’t think its prosopagnosia. Recall that Teruko has had a very harsh upbringing where she couldn’t get close to people or have a solid support network. It’s known that having a disruptive childhood can lead to arrested development in various areas. I recall a case where a woman had blurry vision for a long time as a child and wasn’t diagnosed as shortsighted until much later in her life and because this happened after the point in a child’s development where the sense of self develops, it means this woman had a lot of self-identity problems and has a hard time recognising herself or others. But she doesn’t have prosopagnosia as that’s a neurological condition you are born with. Rather I feel the face blindness is due to people fazing in and out of Teruko’s life so much that she doesn’t bother forming connections and that is what’s fucked her up.

Regardless of the technicities, it IS a problem in a Killing Game because it would be very easy for someone to trick Teruko by merely dressing up as someone else. That wouldn’t be a problem if Teruko has a support network in place, but if she doesn’t, then she’s a goner. So, like Charles, for medical reasons Teruko doesn’t have the means to stand on her own and needs others to help her.

But the one character who shattered Teruko’s worldview and made her realise what she’s doing is wrong is the victim of this chapter; Arei Nageishi.

When Arei was introduced back in the Prologue at first it seemed like she was gonna be an insufferable Hiyoko-like character. She’s vicious, mean and enjoys tormenting others. But Chapter 1 reveals some layers to her as when Eden invited Teruko, Rose, Min and Hu to bake, Arei got really upset because she wasn’t invited, implying she wants to be involved with the group but doesn’t know how to approach it in any way other than being mean. Then during her FTE with J, she reveals that she has a ranking system in place for how badly she bullies other, while some like J get mild teasing, others she will try to ruin their lives completely. And for kind people she will make sure they cry because she cannot stand anyone being kind, implying that Arei seems to have a real problem with people being kind.

As such when Eden goes to apologise to Arei for excluding her, at first Arei behaves like how Teruko would think she would, she belittles Eden, calls her dumb and says she’s gonna die if she keeps this up, which causes Eden to burst into tears and run away. But alone with David and Teruko, Arei confesses that she didn’t like doing that. She said that stuff to Eden to protect her, because she believes the world is like what Teruko says it is, that kindness cannot be rewarded with anything other than cruelty. And if Eden keeps this up, she’s gonna die. The reason for this is as you would expect due to trauma as Arei’s older sisters would torment her constantly and make her life hell, until Arei just had it and frame her sisters for a bunch of crimes which resulted in them getting send to reform school. This here is a snapshot of one of the main themes this chapter has so we will come back to it later. So, is Arei just reinforcing Teruko’s worldview? Nope. Because then Arei reveals that despite all of that, she WANTS kind people to exist, she HAS to be doubtful of Eden because she’s so kind and optimistic, the exact person Arei wants to have in her life, but her past experiences have gotten in the way. And as she breaks down sobbing due to that, something stirs within Teruko.

Without realising it, Arei has shot a massive wound in Teruko’s armour. She’s someone who is basically like Teruko, who is rude and cruel to others because every time she’s tried to be kind, it was slapped down and punished. She also believes the world is a dark and evil place, but she also wants to believe kind people exist, despite what her experiences have taught her. This is what Teruko is going through. The fact she does cactus puppet plays of Xander and Min, shows that despite what Teruko claims, she is not a sociopath and can care for others, and she wants to be friends with everyone but having been hurt so badly, she cannot get close again. Teruko, without realising it, sees a lot of herself within Arei. She denies it at the time but those words have an impact on her.

David’s speech to her, even though its hollow and not even Arei believed it because she saw his secret and knew he was a piece of shit, still didn’t mind it. The reason being is that even if someone like David, who is seen as a beacon of hope and sunshine, is a rotten bastard deep down, then its proof she isn’t too far gone. While obviously we don’t have David reveal this to the others, we see the conversation happen, and it clearly had an effect on David, due to him remembering it so vividly. Arei’s drive to become a better person wound up saving Eden’s life twice as she interrupted Arturo’s attack on Eden when she tried to reveal his secret to him, and by doing her stunt Ace, the culprit for this case, decided to switch targets and go for Arei instead of Eden. Which I’m glad that Eden didn’t die because if she did, that would convince many that Despair Time was gonna be a cynical work like the Another Series and The Mistake. And why of course Arei still died this chapter, her death was NOT caused by her reaching out to others because Ace was gonna kill regardless of what was happening. And Teruko’s rage at Ace for killing Arei was less about him having a shitty motive but because had Arei lived, she and Teruko would have become good friends, since she would have understood Teruko’s pain and her desire to want to trust others regardless of her past.

Teruko also suffered the consequences of shutting others out as by being isolationist, Teruko has missed the context for a lot of what shenanigans have unfolded among others, and due to believing her viewpoint to be the only correct one, she makes mistakes. During the Class Trial, Teruko misreads the time and assumed the murder occurred at 8pm and NOT 8am which is Arei’s true time of death. Had Charles not pointed this out, David would be ruled as the culprit and everyone would have been executed. Another major mistake Teruko made was in how to end the Killing Game. When Veronika said that Eden had an idea to end the Killing Game by being as boring as possible, Teruko said that wouldn’t work as that’s why motives exist, whereas she has an idea but she needs to wait until the next murder occurs. We are left hanging, and for Arei’s case quite literally on what she meant by that, that is until Ace was exposed as the culprit and Teruko asks Ace to do something outrageous; Kill MonoTV.

Teruko’s logic for this at first glance seems sound. The reason the Killing Game occurs is due to the fact they have to follow MonoTV’s rules, and breaking them results in death. However, with Ace due to die via execution, he has nothing to lose. If he destroys MonoTV he has a chance to save his own life, of course if he fails, so what, Ace is gonna die anything so it achieves nothing. In short, there is no downsides and only upsides.

Expect of course if you have been paying attention, this is not the case. Firstly, normally with the mascots they tend to have copies, one gets destroyed, another takes its place. Thus, the game will carry on, but then there’s another one and one that tripped a lot of people up. When MonoTV was asked who would be the blackened, he said whoever was the most “mastermind-y” Now a lot of people interpreted this as being whoever is behind the murder and not necessarily the murderer. This is why Bubbles proposed that while Hu would be the one to kill Arei/J, David would be the blackened as he was the one who manipulated Hu into doing so. But this logic doesn’t just apply to murders, when Ace obliges and tries to smash MonoTV, it doesn’t work due to the robot being more durable then initially thought, the AI said that while Ace did break a rule, he was gonna be executed anyway so it would achieve nothing. As such the one being punished would be the one who told Ace to break said rule; Teruko herself.

As the countdown for Teruko to get gatling gunned occurs, I wasn’t worried like Teruko, as I KNEW someone was gonna jump in front of her and take the shots. The question was; who? I was thinking either Eden or Charles would do so as both have strong connections to Teruko, and for both it would be a massive contribution to their characters. In Eden’s case its shows she’s not scared to fight what she believes in, and returning the favour. Teruko stood up for her when the culprits narrowed down to Ace and herself, and Teruko decided to focus on Ace, so the petite clockmaker would return the favour. For Charles, it would be him facing his fears as he is terrified of the sight of blood and gore, so him jumping in front of the way of a gatling gun, assuming he survives, would show how much he is starting to care for the others. Anyone else aside those two…I didn’t think so. Ace would have never done so as I’m sure he is the one who voted for Teruko. Nico clearly wanted to get away with their crimes and the others either aren’t close to Teruko or jumping in front of the gun would be out of character for them. So, when the timer hit zero, I expected a CGI of either Eden or Charles with a lot of bullets in them…

But instead, my expectations were blown wide open by the fact that Levi of all people jumped in front of Teruko and shielded her from the bullets. This reminded me very much of when Akane was almost blown up by a bazooka by Monokuma but Nekomaru blocked his way and got shot. Considering what we learnt about Levi in this Chapter, this really took me off guard AND bumped him up several tiers in my character rankings.

But this had a total shock on Teruko, as she believed if she didn’t care for anyone else, nobody would likewise care for her, so the fact that someone cared enough to shield her from pain, and that they are on death’s door because of her, send shockwaves through Teruko’s body as when after Ace’s execution as everyone rushed to the infirmary to treat Levi, Teruko stayed behind to do something she said she would never do; mourn.

The amount of people who contributed to Teruko’s character development doesn’t end there as while those four are examples of positive interactions for Teruko, we have had two cases of negative interactions who serve a different purpose, the first is David Chiem.

When introduced David…seemed off. He seemed like an affable and friendly person who believes everyone has the motivation and desire to change, and Xander in particular seems to be a massive fanboy of him. But like most celebrities and people in public that is just a façade is in the Prologue when Xander went off to get something for his idol to sign, we see David chuckling to himself on how much of an idiot Xander is, without realising that Teruko was there to see it all, and his shock when she reveals she heard that, says it all. Chapter 2 brought up the suss meter even further when David ‘confessed’ his secret and implored everyone to discuss their own secrets, which far from doing good, ended up causing a lot of drama and tension. Anyone with a irk of sense could tell David was fake, I knew he was fake, Bubbles knew he was fake, pretty much most Youtubers reacting knew he was fake.

Another factor working against him is his VA. Quite a few SDRA2 English Dub VAs also worked on Despair Time, and for the most part is interesting to see their contrasts. Bblackroses is known for playing Hibiki Otonokoji, but here she is J who while Hibiki is a bubbly peppy girly-girly, J is a complete tomboy who hates the starlight and fame. Artimmissis Setsuka Chiebukuro, who is a very reliable woman with a prankster side to her, but here she is MonoTV an incompetent mastermind who tells the worst jokes. David Chiem’s VA is Sword of Swords who also worked on SDRA2, and what character did he play there?

Oh, nobody important, just Mikado Sannoji the Mastermind of that game, the leader of the main antagonist group Void and more or less a piece of shit.

At first glance the contrast seems to be that Mikado is an evil bastard whereas David is a moral force of good. But as the pressure mounts for David and the fact his secret is that he’s a manipulator who likes to deceive others, as well as how he mocked Arei’s desire for friends earlier, meant when it reached the boiling point the mask came off and David revealed his true self.

It’s here the true contrasts between him and Mikado become clear. Both are men who hide their true selves behind a mask, literally for Mikado and figuratively for David and both pretended to be forces of good before their masks slip and their true vile nature is revealed. David is obvious as he tried to be a good moral speaker whereas Mikado you might have missed it tried to be a hero and claim Void was a force of good before Rei and Teruya ruined it. In addition, their true selves are so VERY different. Mikado always remained polite and affable even when he is being extremely bastardry whereas David is rude, condensing and swears all the damn time. I also cannot help that David’s true self looking a lot like Utsuro, who is the main object of Mikado’s desires cannot NOT be a coincidence.

But what does David show for Teruko? Well, he seems to at a glance reinforce Teruko’s beliefs that nobody can be trusted as Teruko smugly pointed out she saw the warning signs of him being evil way before anyone else did. And whenever he talks to her, he seems to want to keep this act of Teruko hating everyone up, saying it’s her nature to distrust others and the only thing she trusts is the truth. And then here is his final confession he wants Teruko to trust what he’s saying. David is in a way a warning of the kind of person Teruko would become if she keeps on her current path. I also think that David had Teruko’s secret and knows it’s her fault the Killing Game is going on. The fact he keeps seemly praising Xander and calling him a good person is obviously an attempt to get under Teruko’s skin due to how she feels about him. I for one second don’t believe he cares about Xander.

Mr. Politician isn’t the only person who serves as a warning as the culprit of this chapter, Ace Markey does as well. Ace always seemed to be a coward as he is easily scared of his own shadow and while he talks tough, he doesn’t have the actions to back it up. However, in Chapter 2 Ace gets sick and tired of being a wimp and thus decides to become a bully, which is still being a coward as pretty much most bullies bully because they are cowards who want someone weaker than themselves to lord over to make themselves feel better. Yet what drives Ace’s actions is his Thanatophobia, fear of death which is a very bad thing to have in a Killing Game. Due to this fear, Ace decides to commit murder as he feels if he doesn’t kill someone, someone will do the same to him and the fact Nico almost does, reinforces this belief. Teruko is someone while not paranoid, is very distrustful of everyone and if she feels that anyone and everyone is out to get her, she could fall down the same slippery slope that Ace does.

Despite this, Ace still manages to surprise her as when Levi takes the bullets for her, everyone needs to get to the infirmary to treat Levi otherwise he dies, but the lift won’t work since Ace still needs to be executed. Ace has already made it very clear he hates and despises Levi, especially after the latter confesses that he doesn’t care about the former, which seemed to really hurt him, but seeing someone he hates that much do something so selfless, means he decides to do the one decent thing in his life, while also being his last, getting MonoTV to execute him so the lift doors open and Levi could be saved.

That I think was the final straw which broke Teruko. She has had mounting pressure throughout the entire Chapter but then someone who was a coward, sacrificing himself so that someone else could live, is the final crushing proof as well as the knowledge that while she avoided making the same mistakes as before, she just wound up making new ones, that caused her to cry alone in the Trial Room.

We also get interesting character interactions with Teruko and MonoTV throughout the chapter. Since Teruko isolated herself so much from the others, MonoTV hires her to do maintenance around the Killing Game since he’s too incompetent to do it himself. As Monokumas were originally butler robots this would have never happened in the main series. We learn a far bit about MonoTV, that he is a simple robot designed for the Killing Game and he doesn’t have full knowledge on who’s running the thing as he was only programmed to do what his tasks enabled. And as Teruko pointed out, he is sadistic as Min was executed before she could say everything she wanted to and Ace’s execution was dragged out for as long as possible, in both cases it’s to make the victims feel the most despair. The other interesting thing is that Teruko can use Monocoins to get him to remove other characters who are bothering her which is the complete contrast to FTEs. What should we call them instead? Exclusion Zone Effects or EZE? Nah that doesn’t roll off the tongue.

In conclusion, I really liked how Teruko was handled in this Chapter due to how much of a cliffhanger the previous chapter left with her. This chapter did so much to knock her down for her high and mighty view and while she won’t be buddy-buddy come Chapter 3, I do believe that she will be more approachable to the cast. Teruko’s journey throughout this fanganronpa will be interesting to see and I see her opening up more about her past as she gets more comfortable with the cast.

Trust in Nature

Every Danganronpa game has two themes, no matter how you slice it. The first theme is the most obvious one and this is a theme that the protagonist and the mastermind have in common. For Trigger Happy Havoc its Hope vs. Despair, Goodbye Despair is Future vs. Past and Killing Harmony is Truth vs. Lies.

Some have said that it’s too early to call what the themes for Despair Time are, but I disagree as Chapter 2 imo is the ideal time to introduce your themes, and I think I’ve worked them out. The primary theme is one that doesn’t take much to deduce and others have caught onto it and that is Optimism vs. Cynicism. Teruko is a very cynical individual and doesn’t think she can trust others but more optimistic people disagree, saying being jaded makes you more open to being deceived. Eden and Charles, who are 100% the partners in this fanganronpa serving similar roles to Kaito and Maki in Killing Harmony where one represents the emotional connection and the other the logical one. Eden is always a bundle of sunshine and wanting everyone to be happy, but unlike someone like say Makoto, she isn’t oblivious to the fact the world is cruel but chooses to be kind regardless because its decent and it’s the most moral thing to do. Charles is more logical based and originally was quite cynical but having been shown kindness by Whit, he has opened up a bit more to some other people and while he definitely is a work in progress, he is more optimistic about surviving and escaping the Killing Game.

And this brings me to the Rival of the Fanganronpa; David. Bubbles didn’t like David surviving past Chapter 2, ignoring their own hatred for David aside because they didn’t think David contributed anything meaningful to the overall narrative of Despair Time. I disagree harshly as if I am right with the main themes of Despair Time, David is 100% a perfect Rival character as he represents those themes so well. The cynicism side is obvious as David believes that everyone is gonna die in the Killing Game and there is no point to continuing so might as well get it over and done with. This is why when David’s true nature was exposed, he tried to claim to be the killer, which is another typical rival tactic, so everyone votes for him and they all die. This very logic is why Teruko said she is not the culprit because as soon as David went on his tirade, it would have been an instant win condition for her. And as the game progresses more and more people are gonna want to live to prove David wrong and his mental sanity is probably gonna decline as a result until his Rival protection cause expires in Chapter 5 where he probably dies in a way to try and spite the cast. Going back to the Mastermind, I believe they think the Despair Time cast are all horrible people that deserve to die, whenever that be because they are Neo Remnants of Despair or something to do with Teruko, and as such use the Killing Game to kill them all. By the end of the fanganronpa, Teruko would have become more like a typical Danganronpa protagonist and be able to defy the mastermind wanting to kill her by showing the world is not a bleak place and people can change and improve.

That brings me nicely to the secondary themes. The primary themes are shared between the protagonist and the mastermind, whereas the secondary themes are shared between the group and the rival character. This take a bit more thinking to figure out but I think I’ve cracked what Despair Time’s secondary theme is. Trigger Happy Havoc’s is working together as a team as the class are trying to work together to survive the Killing Game while Byakuya is trying to play the Killing Game in order to “win” and isolates himself from the others. Goodbye Despair’s secondary theme is a deconstruction of the idea of talent as despite being Ultimates, Class 77-B doesn’t really care about their talents and support each other for their own individual characteristics and despite Hajime being revealed to be a Reserve Course Student, are extremely accepting of him. Nagito by contrast believes Hope’s Peak talented and talentless system is gospel, praises his fellow Ultimates for their talents which they do not want to be reminded by and is extremely cruel to Hajime when he finds out he is a talentless person who thinks he can mingle with his idea of the elite. Killing Harmony’s secondary theme is wanting to remain stagnant and compliant as the V3 Cast are very content to stick to the status quo and carry on with their lives, whereas Kokichi would rather shake things up and challenge said status quo. All of these secondary themes are very important to the story. And with that I believe Despair Time’s secondary theme is if humanity is inherently good or evil.

That seems very similar to Optimism vs. Cynicism but it isn’t. This theme tackles if humans are capable of changing their nature or if they are always either good or evil. From this it’s very easy to see where David lies, he believes humanity cannot change their nature, people are either saints or scum. If someone can “change themselves” it’s because they were never that bad to begin with, whereas truly evil people cannot change. And Teruko also seems to agree on this concept because whenever Eden says she is a good person, Teruko tells her to stop as by saying that, she makes her feel worse for the fact she can change but she hasn’t made the effort to do so. Teruko always believed she was scum and would die like scum if she cared about nobody around her.

Naturally this chapter has a few characters who challenge this rule big time. Let’s start with Levi, the guy has always seemed chill but we get to see more of a scary side to him when he threatens to kill Ace if he doesn’t stop being an arsehole. We also have an interesting opening discussion with him and Eden where Levi confesses that he doesn’t see himself as a good person, contrary to what Eden thinks. This all gets revealed in the Class Trial when Levi admits that he doesn’t possess empathy and therefore cannot care about anyone around him, the fact he’s killed 4 people, one of whom being his own father and yet he treats it with the same disinterest as one would swat a fly, is very telling.

Fans were quick to diagnose Levi with Antisocial Personality Disorder, and this is where DT Dev actually impressed me big time. This disorder is one of the most maligned within society, even more so in my opinion then those on the autistic spectrum. The reason being is simple, almost every single time a fictional character is revealed to have this disorder they are almost always a psychopathic villain who kills everyone around them and gives zero shits. To say how damaging this stereotype is unbelievable and Levi is frankly the most realistic portrayal of someone with this disorder. Yes, Levi doesn’t have empathy, or a very low level of it, but he still tries to be a good person not because of morals and emotions, but more so out of a sense of duty, especially as before Levi revealed it nobody suspected a thing due to Levi not behaving like the usual stereotypes. He isn’t very good at it because he's trying to figure out how to be a good person which isn’t easy when it’s not instinct. When Ace asked if he cared about him at all and Levi responded with flat no, while Ace screamed at Levi in his usual manner, it’s clear the jockey was hurt by this reveal as a small part of him wanted to consider Levi a friend.

So, for Levi to then shield Teruko with his body from the gatling gun, not only comes as a massive shock but I believe this is Levi’s attempts of trying to prove he is a good person. Chances are, he wasn’t happy with how he handled the situation with Ace and wanted to prove something to him, so that’s why he protected Teruko, not only because thinking about it, Levi was probably one of the few characters who could survive that, but to try and redeem himself from how he mishandled the situation with Ace. And the effects of this are very clear as Ace, who was trying to prolong his death as much as possible, upon realising the only way to save Levi is for him to die, demands MonoTV to execute him. If someone without a clear concept of empathy can be a good person, then isn’t that proof humans can change?

Arei is another character who also wants to believe she can change. After she decides to become a good person, the bowler saves Eden from being threatened by Arturo and then later that night confronts David about the fact she knows he’s full of shit. We heard some of this originally from Ace who overheard the conversation, but when David is thinking about what to say to Eden, we hear the other half where Arei says she’s glad David is horrible because it means there is no such thing as a pure good person. That even someone like Eden might have done something nasty and if he’s so deprived then there’s hope left for her. She even offers a hand of friendship to David because she thinks they are one and the same, and they can improve their behaviour together. The fact David remembers this means the conversation had a meaningful impact on him, even though he doesn’t show it. What Arei is showing is clear existentialism or optimistic nihilism. Nihilism which I’m sure 75% of people reading this believe in, is where you believe nothing in the world matters because it’s all meaningless. Optimistic nihilism by contrast is saying that yes nothing matters, but that’s okay because you have the power to decide what is most important. Arei clearly believes there is no such thing as a pure good person, but what she can be is a slightly less shitty person then she was before.

And finally, there’s Ace. Ace’s motive for killing Arei is the fact he is scared of death, and that if he didn’t kill someone, then he would be killed. His reason for targeting Arei was simply coincidence, his original target was Eden but upon learning of Arei’s desire to change, decided to exploit that to target her. Ace also demonstrates a level of intelligence we haven’t seen from him before given that he was able to memorise how Nico tried to kill him, replicate that method, overpower Arei with a method unique to him and since everyone thinks Ace is dumb, he was able to pull the wool over their eyes and he could have damn well gotten away with it, especially with David’s stunt making so many convinced he was the one who killed Arei. Goes to show that people are not as stupid as you think. He gets chewed out big time by Teruko who calls him a coward, his motive is dumb and that Arei didn’t deserve to die because of that. However, even when facing death there is still a chance for character development and that comes when Levi eats a rain of bullets. Not only does this change Ace’s opinion on Levi considering he hated his guts before, but he gives Arturo a well-deserved callout who claims he doesn’t know how to treat Levi’s wounds because of his mix-maxed medical skills, but Ace calls him a coward saying as a surgeon he should know the basics and apply that skill to save Levi’s life or at least keep him alive as he gets executed. And yes, despite being as scared as possible for his death, he accepts it as it’s the only way to save Levi as the lift doors won’t open until he is executed.

Onto Ace’s execution I was pleasantly surprised as I have seen somewhere on YouTube an Ultimate Jockey Execution where the horses are used to tear the victim up, and I would have complained MASSIVELY if Ace went down a similar route. But no, the execution is more tailored to Ace’s fear of death by him escaping horror scenario after horror scenario, no wonder Veronika was orgasming over it, until when facing an execution squad, they shoot confetti and Ace suffers a heart attack and dies from fear. This is actually a real way people can die as during the 1970s, there was a string of cases where Hmong refugees would die from heart attacks in their sleep despite being healthy and middle-aged. Doctors at the time concluded that they were suffering nightmares so bad it would cause heart attacks and kill them in their sleep, and if this sounds familiar to you, it should as it was one of the inspirations behind A Nightmare on Elm Street. There’s a reason you shouldn’t scare someone with heart problems and while Ace might not have any heart issues, he has been suffering a lot of stress which could have made his heart rate dodgy and then the execution delivered.

These themes are extremely heavy hitting and I’m glad Despair Time is covering them. I could be wrong about them but that’s my theory on what they are.

Murderer Among Us

And finally, my last big positive about Despair Time’s Chapter 2 is the fact we not only get an attempted murder, with the plot twist the would-be victim would later become the culprit but the fact that this attempt didn’t succeed means the would-be murderer walks among the cast still and they have to deal with the consequences.

I have wanted this since Killing Harmony when Monokuma offered the tantalising prospect that if there are two blackeneds, only the first murder counts. So, when Korekiyo confesses to killing Tenko, the cast cannot vote for him because if he didn’t kill Angie, they would have got it wrong. I REALLY wanted it to be that Tenko was Angie’s killer, my logic being that Angie invited Tenko to her Talent Lab for a chat which got into a heated debate about how Angie was brainwashing Himiko and Tenko, who is quite hot-headed and doesn’t always think straight, accidently killed Angie in the heat of the moment. She would then either cover up her crime or someone else like the Mastermind would make the locked room mystery which the cast discovered and when Kiyo announces he is gonna do a séance, Tenko grows worried as if the séance is a success, Angie would reveal the culprit so Tenko offered to become the vessel which led to her death. You could also argue that maybe she sensed Korekiyo was up to something and did it to protect Himiko. Either way that would make for an interesting Chapter 4 because tensions between Korekiyo and Himiko would be high, but of course Kodaka doesn’t do anything with that and as a result we end up with 4 deaths, and 2 ruined chapters.

No other fanganronpa tried anything like this as they were all not willing to commit so I thank Despair Time wholeheartedly for actually having the balls to do so. As Nico, being pushed to their limit by Ace’s tormenting of them, which is very similar to how they are ostracised for being non-binary, meant they tried to commit murder by hanging Ace on the fans, but they not only miscalculated the strength of the fans but Ace woke up from being knocked unconscious and struggled awake. Before Nico could try again, Teruko and Eden showed up, foiling any would be attempt. Not only did Nico try to commit murder, but they betrayed the trust of both Hu who was trying to protect them but also Rose as Nico stole Hu’s wire and Rose’s turpentine to use for their murder scheme. What’s interesting is they didn’t apologise because they not only were not sorry for trying to kill Ace but know an apology won’t cut it. J gave Nico a very harsh verdict that even though their attempt was foiled, the point is they still tried to commit murder and was willing to give up the lives of everyone here for their own, and betrayed the trust of those who reached out to them. Hu hasn’t had a very good time this chapter because two of her closest friends; David and Nico, turned out to be using her for their own schemes, and we see the consequences of her mother hen nature. I feel a major theme for Chapter 3 is gonna be forgiveness as both Nico and David have burnt a lot of bridges this chapter and the fact they still live, means they need to somehow get back into the good graces of the group. How they do this I don’t know; David probably would be fine being a pariah but I’m not sure if Nico is wanting to make amends. They might, but they might also think they went too far. I do hope that Nico tries, especially after they have seen that even people like Levi and Ace were willing to act selflessly. And who knows, maybe David might try but I think it would be a ruse, which will still work because this cast isn’t the brightest.

Does this mean Nico would be a survivor? I don’t know as I do believe between David and Nico, one will be a survivor and the other will die, probably as a victim but who I cannot tell as Chapter 3 would probably expand upon these two a bit more. Regardless I’m glad this is being touched upon and I for one am looking forward to see where it takes Nico.

And that’s all the positives I have to say about Chapter 2. Teruko had a good character arc, I like how we know the main themes, we know who presumably the partners and rival characters are, we have an attempted murderer walking among the cast, quite a few characters like Levi, Arei and Ace got moments to shine and the execution was well done. But it cannot be all sunshine and rainbows. As much as there is good, there is also bad so when we come back next time, I’m gonna talk about what didn’t go well for Chapter 2 and what DT Dev could do to improve things.

Until then, see ya! -Review Anon

[savage-rhi]

Wesker: Chris, really. Ask yourself a question. Even if you do manage to kill me, and destroy umbrella, what do you think you’ll really accomplish in the long run? Do you think BOW’s will end with us? That my ambitions will end with me?

Chris had seen his share of many hells. Being backstabbed by Wesker at the Mansion was one, and almost losing Jill to him was another. He spent a great deal of time healing, years of work repairing the emotional damages that had been done to him, and now he was tied up back to back with the son of a bitch himself.

The whole affair was stupid. Chris admitted to himself that he and Wesker had been too cocky for their own good, enough to where the deuteragonist on his mission was able to slip them a fast one. He couldn't believe he had fallen prey to his vengeance, not realizing who the more dangerous enemy had been this whole time.

Wesker cleared his throat, ignoring the blood that ran down his head. "Redfield, how are you faring? You've been too quiet."

"I was doing just fine until you spoke." Chris sighed, grunting as the rope around his waist tightened. He ignored the chuckle that escaped from his nemesis.

"Our mutual friend sure saw you coming."

"No, no," Chris corrected, growling under his breath. "He saw you coming. We wouldn't be in this mess if you weren't involved in the first place."

"And we wouldn't be tied up right now if you kept your nose out of people's business," Wesker said as a matter of fact. "We've both made our mistakes, Chris. Now the question is, what will we do about it?"

"I'd prefer nothing because it beats working alongside you." Chris spat.

"You'd choose death so easily?"

"Not unless I could kill you after I'm untied."

"Chris, really?" Wesker sighed and winced when he felt Chris struggle against the rope, keeping them locked together. "Ask yourself this question. Even if you manage to kill me and destroy Umbrella, what will you accomplish in the long run? Do you think BOWs will end with us, that my ambitions will end with me?"

"I'm hopeful, but I'm not naive. I know killing you won't solve the problem at large," Chris countered, furrowing his brows as sweat and blood trickled down his lips. "But it would make me feel much better knowing there's one less bastard like you running around."

"Finally, something we have in common," Wesker smirked. "I know killing you won't stop your fellow Boy Scouts from trying to meddle with my affairs, but I could sleep easier."

"Touching," Chris muttered. "So what's your grand plan to make it happen? Neither of us will get what we want if tied up."

Wesker raised a brow, turning his head to the left to catch a small glimpse of Chris's face. "I thought you'd rather die than work together?"

Chris's shoulders tensed, knowing Wesker had him there, and he couldn't admit it. "Just enlighten me."

"Huh," Wesker hummed in thought before he grinned. "I never thought you'd ask. Well, in that case, I think we need to play to our weaknesses."

"Come again?"

"The stab wound you gave me," Wesker bitterly mentioned, biting in the side of his lip before continuing. "I'm not dying, but our friend doesn't know that. If you can handle the weight, I can play dead. His lackeys are bound to see that on the cameras and come rushing. Remember, we're both no good to him if killed. You and I will strike once the enemy is lured into a false sense of security. Then we can continue our personal grievances elsewhere unless, of course, you'd prefer working with me for a bit longer to take down our friend who tied us up in the first place."

Chris mulled over Wesker's words for a moment. In the grand scheme of things, the idea was stupid, but he did have a point. Their lives were both worth something to their adversary. They could only enter negotiations with the BSAA if Chris were alive, and they couldn't access the classified BOW documents in the facility without Wesker's brains at the helm.

"Y'know," Chris swallowed, letting out a laugh. "Playing dead is probably one of the most sane things you've suggested."

Wesker scoffed, shaking his head before he grinned. "I see we agree with the plan then."

"Let's get this over with," Chris whispered. He braced himself as Wesker went through the motions, feigning he had lost consciousness. Chris fell to his knees as Wesker became limp, letting out a pained grunt. Sure enough, as Wesker foretold, the sound of quick feet came marching in their direction, soldiers barking orders, worried that one of their captives was deceased.

Son of a bitch was right...Chris shook his head. Wesker had put him through many hells, but this one time in silence, he'd admit this was ingenious.

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[nikkoliferous]

This was NOT me and this is bullshit! I have been inactive for over a week and my friend just sent this to me. I would NEVER talk to another blogger like this ever. This was sent from an account @pussy-ass-bitch-fandom-wank

why do you think the anon signed it? They’re trying to frame me because I have been helping their victim @Lokilaufeysondiaries and they’re pissed about it. I’d never even heard of you until my friend sent this here’s some more proof. Here people are notorious for pretending to be others they sent a friend a nasty anon and signed it "Abby118" another very real Loki blog who doesn't do that kind of stuff ever. I hope we can talk because this just absolutely not okay what so ever and it needs to stop.

okay, I'm going to address this one time and one time only. I have nothing to do with @littlelokilad, @lokihiddleston, the LMQ server, or any drama going down between yourselves and the aforementioned parties. I literally don't know any of you, nor do I care to be involved in whatever petty, high-school-clique bullshit is going on there.

However, I will say that I find myself extremely suspicious of anyone attempting to paint @lokilaufeysondiaries as some kind of innocent victim in all this. I became involved in this stupidity because—and only because—LLD displayed some very inappropriate, manipulative behaviours towards @abby118, a friend, in DM over Abby declining to unblock them (which is absolutely her right). When Abby decided to publicly call out this toxic behaviour on her own blog, providing direct screenshots of their conversation as evidence, she began to be accused of "bullying" LLD (ridiculous) and has since been sent multiple abusive and suicide-baiting asks, ostensibly in LLD's defence.

As for the above accusations by @buckybarnes-winters0ldier, I find it hilariously ironic to, in one breath, complain about people falling for baseless frame jobs and, in the very next, accuse @lotus-eyedindiangoddess of backstabbing her own friends (namely, myself and Abby) and orchestrating this entire mess. Without a lick of evidence, of course. As you do.

TL;DR I am way too fucking old to be invested or interested in whatever manufactured drama is going down on that side of the fandom. My only interest in this bullshit is, and ever has been, Abby being targeted for harassment. Full-stop.

Now, I will say that I am inclined to believe you when you say you were not behind the aforementioned ask—if only because you would have to be very, very stupid to use the anon function only to announce your identity within the text of the ask. like, why?? And I am aware that Abby has been a victim of the very same (terribly executed) tactic. As such, I will update the post in question to reflect this... development? information? idk, whatever. That is, unfortunately, all I can really do, as we all know that once something is on the internet, it's on the internet forever. Even if I were to delete the whole post, any reblogs of it would still exist. If I update it instead, at least the contradicting information is there to be digested in the future, so that would seem to be the best option for dealing with this, to me.

I do sincerely apologise for whatever additional distress the aforementioned ask has caused to you. I have no interest in smearing anyone or discrediting their reputation. As I said, my sole interest in this entire matter has been Abby's well-being. Nothing more, and nothing less. Whoever it is behind all this manufactured drama—and I shan't make any accusations here because I have no evidence to present, regardless of any personal suspicions I may or may not have *cough*—really needs to get some less debilitating hobbies than treating real human beings on Tumblr like abused Barbie dolls to manipulate for their own sick amusement. It's pathetic.

[justjesse116]

Yooo, eeeextra long, kinda rambly dabihawks post incoming. I talk a fair bit about myself, because that's where my experiences come from, shocker there. God speed.

Woooooof here I am being extra emo about dabihawks tonight, so sit back and pull up a chair while I make good on outlining exactly what my main malfunction is concerning them, for the 3 people that care. One ticket to sad bitch island, population: me.

So I'm beginning this by saying; no this is not about canon dabihawks, I do in fact think those bitches are not good for each other from what I've seen, HOWEVER. I tend to look at things as they could be, not as they are, and the potential here is just ridiculous.

Source? Me. And people I know. And what I mean by that is I've lived as close to Dabi's life as I feel anyone is going to get without turning into a real life murderer, and I know plenty of people (myself included) who share plenty of attributes, aspirations etc with Hawks as well.

And I know, I know, they're fictional characters and there's no way anyone can pin down who they truly are, but I guess that's kind of my point. There's just enough suspension of disbelief that you could explain away pretty much anything, but that's true for most fanon pairings, and not my point.

SO. Onto my main point.

..........Human nature.

I hate to get all psychological but STAY WITH ME. As long as I can remember I've been very independent, the "I don't need anybody" type, because life had so thoroughly kicked the shit out of me that I was downright afraid of human connection because it always ended badly and I was always so hurt by it. Well now, later in life, and a couple diagnosis later, not only can I better sus out which relationships are worth pursuing, but I can understand what I'm looking for from other people and how to get it. And do you know what it is that I want now, no matter the cost to myself? Yessir, it's love, as fucking cringe as that is for me to say. Who saw that coming, eh?

There was a meme of sorts another user posted on Tumblr of the LOV and what they all wanted most as tweets or something, and someone else edited it(?) to have all of their reasons just say 'LOVE ME, LOVE ME, LOVE ME', and that lives rent free in my fucking head.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it turns out love is, in fact, the answer.......(*soft gag*) Shit do I hate to admit that.

SO ALL OF THAT TO SAY.

Dabi and Hawks understand at least broadly what the other has gone through, so they would at least have a vague understanding of one another from that. People underestimate the power of empathy.

I'm gonna be kinda toxic here and say I'm at a point in my life where I need a partner to argue with. I need to bicker, and I also do NOT need to be surrounded by yes men, I need someone to call me on my bullshit, and I feel like they would truly be like that together. Going along with the understanding, I feel like they're very well suited to holding the other accountable.

Their chemistry in my mind is undeniable. I'm a red/blue pairing bitch, I have no defense for that one.

And I'm not gonna lie, at this point I'm having a very difficult time articulating what other reasons I have beyond projection, so perhaps I'm full of shit??

There's the ever constant popular trope of both their relationships with Endeavor complicating things, their quirks being incompatible, the, you know, literal backstabbing etc, but for my purposes that's all neither here nor there. Because there is something about their relationship, both as it is and what it could be, that makes me half feral. It's The Good Shit™.

Yet again, all this to say that I truly believe despite Dabi's villainous tendencies and Hawks' position as the No. 2 hero, at some point both of those shits are going to be mighty sore for a similar connection, and I truly believe they are best suited for one another.

[agentbuckshot]

I think a lot about the fact that all of the female freelancers, not just Tex were designed to fail in one way or another. For Connie, she was told she would never meet the skills of her colleagues, which put her in such a position where she was doomed to snap, and a position she was doomed to be hunted down loosing it. Carolina was taunted with the brink of failure, her whole life she believed what was perfect was being at the top of it, this was only really fueled by the Director. While not directly ever said we can assume this was the only way Carolina could see herself close to her father. Then it was just taken away from her where failures piled up on her and up on her causing her to become obsessed with someone she can literally never beat. South was the control variant of an experiment, South was forced to snap constantly and was punished for doing so. She was constantly taunted like a dog. Even Ohio, all she’s ever known was failure, she and the triplets tried and tried to make themselves known for being more then bottom of the barrel freelancers, but never succeeded until they were just left for dead

Project freelancer egged all of them on so much to the point where they can only be known as their worst qualities and the writers did an excellent job at this because most of the fandom thinks of them similarly. All of their worst qualities were just fueled and fueled to the point where during the freelancer arc, you can forget their good qualities. I think South’s the best example, because so many people can’t see her as more then a backstabbing short tempered bitch, rather than a highly skilled, well organized, timed and motivated killer, who can fucking hide amongst pipes and wipe out guards without a sound, while sometimes over her head can and will defend herself. Or Carolina, became selfish with obsession, to the point where she’d betray her partner and friends, in favor of pursuing her idea of success, because in the program, there wasn’t another way

I’m in no way a South apologist, but honestly, I feel like all the female freelancers, all had such strong themes of failure in their lives, some were able to overcome it and become so great and badass, some accepted it and became happy, and some were killed for it

[oceanbug]

when worlds collide

smau non!idol ningning x reader

17. anxiety.

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"Are you going to fucking stare at me all day, or are you going to start speaking?"

Ah, that’s what Aeri meant by "you’ll know."

You start to clear your throat and formulate your thoughts. While you think, Giselle starts the conversation.

"Y/n and I aren’t dating." Oh! Okay! I guess that’s how we’re starting things.

"Ugh, Obviously. You two barely know each other?"

"Don’t act like you knew already, Ning; weren’t you the one who ran away crying?" That didn’t take very long for the conversation to go south. You weren’t going to let this meeting go to waste, so you tried to regain control of the conversation.

"Okay! Let’s just calm down a bit. How about we start off with a positive conversation? I’ll start. Ningning, I’m sorry if you felt offended or betrayed in any way by me hanging out with Giselle. It wasn’t my intention. There, now, does anyone else want to give it a try?" Both parties at the table remained silent. Ningning had an angry scowl, while Giselle was smiling brightly.

"Apology accepted? Is that what you want me to say? Listen, it doesn’t matter what I think anyway; in a week we’ll go back to being strangers. Unfortunately, I’ll be stuck with this obsessive stalker for life, but you and I, Y/N,  won’t stay in contact." Ouch. It was obvious that you and Ningning didn’t have the same social circle, and you definitely didn’t plan on staying close to her after the presentation, but did she have to be so rude about it?

"You know, I am curious about one thing, though. How did someone like you end up in contact with someone like you?" She meant Giselle when referring to it, and you knew that. You gave Aeri an apologetic look, and she just returned a bright smile. I guess it didn’t phase her; I mean, she has dealt with Ningning for years.

"I messaged her on Twitter. I felt like we had something in common and could be friends."

"In common? What being backstabbing bitches? Aw, the BB club, cute!"

"Nah, being framed for being buddy buddy with your boy toy."

"Okay! Things seem to be getting out of hand." Like usual, you’re cut off by Ninging.

"How dare you? You’re still lying after all these years? When are you just going to own up to being a slut? It’s getting pathetic. How many times do I have to tell you that Wonyoung told me what you did? Yeonjun even admitted to it."

"How many times do I have to tell you she’s lying?"

"Give me one good reason Wonyoung would lie about that. She’s my best friend."

"So was I. So, why didn’t you believe me?" The room was silent. Ningning's face softened, while Giselle's bright smile faded. You awkwardly cleared your throat and began to speak. Might as well get your thoughts out now before you get cut off again.

"I know you have no reason to trust Giselle or me. I get it. But what if we could prove it to you? Prove that Giselle’s innocent."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, in this story, the only people involved are you, Giselle, Wonyoung, and Yeonjun. We’ve gotten 1/4 sides of the story. If you tell us your side of things, we'll already have half of the story together. If we can just get the other half, I’m sure we’ll be able to prove Giselle right."

"What does it matter if I tell you my perspective? It'll just be the same as Wony's since she told me about the cheating. Go ahead, chat it up with Wonyoung and Yeonjun. Why should I stop you? Why even tell me your plan in the first place?" Ningning began packing her things and signaled to her driver that she was ready to go.

Giselle rolled her eyes and responded.

"Ning, you know getting to Wonyoung isn’t going to be easy. We’ll need your help. Please. Just tell us, what did Wonyoung tell you?"

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masterlist ~ next

(Synopsis) Y/N had never been the type to take life for granted. You grew up with the mindset that if you wanted something, you had to work for it; So getting paired up with the university’s “Rich Bitch” Ning Yi Zhuo for your midterm was the last thing you wanted. Are you willing to step into the world of fame for an A+?

taglist (open): @azraism ; @kimsgayness ; @sewiouslyz ; @winieter ; @llluvbluy ; @i06kkura ; @everydayiloveyves ; @edamboon ; @rdfgfv

[tightjeansjavi]

The Hills Have Eyes

A Dieter Bravo Story

Dieter Bravo x f!bestfriend reader x oc wife

A/N: so idk why Dieter decided to infiltrate my dreams last night but am I complaining? NAH cause here comes yet another idea that is going to rot my brain away! Y’all are gonna have to be patient because I don’t intend on having the first chapter out until July (the latest) also, face claim for Dieter’s wife is Aubrey Plaza. They give me bi panic, okay? 😰 The plot is plotting for this one and honestly? I’m so fricken excited (my other WIPS are not excited however)

Summary: Dieter Bravo has been your best friend since you were kids. He was your first kiss, first everything. He was your prom date and most definitely your first love. Dieter never grew the balls to officially ask you out. After graduating senior year of high-school together, Dieter dives head first into Hollywood. He lands a breakout role and he’s all that the tabloids can talk about. Years later you’re soon to be married to your long term boyfriend, until you catch him in bed with one of your own friends. Heartbroken and seeking comfort, you reach out to Dieter, who graciously invites you to his home tucked away in the Hollywood Hills. The second you see a ring on his finger, your heart sinks. Is everything all that it truly seems?

Warnings: angst, pining, heartbreak, typical Hollywood scandals, Dieter is in an open relationship with his wife, things get messy and complicated, drinking, drug use, paparazzi invading privacy, FWB, excessive partying, eventual smut, toxic relationship sprinkled in here and there, Dieter isn’t unhappy in his marriage, he just feels like there’s something missing, reader has never been exposed to the Hollywood lifestyle before, (+18) minors dni! I will add more warnings if necessary! My brain is blanking so I’m sorry if I missed some!

Sneak Peek below the cut

“You’re married?” Your heart sinks deep in the pit of your stomach when you see the shiny gold ring on Dieter’s ring finger. It shimmers in the light and he looks down at it like he’s never seen it before.

“Oh, this? Uh, yeah. I am married.” He shrugs like it’s the most casual thing that he could possibly say. “Does that surprise you, sweet cheeks? Don’t fret. My wife and I are in an open relationship. You wouldn’t believe the amount of Hollywood couples that are totally banging friends and strangers left and right. It happens way more often than you think.” He winked.

“Where is your wife now?”

“Morocco? Spain? Dunno actually. Last I heard she was in Greece. We really only see each other for big events and shit like that.”

“It doesn’t bother you..or anything?”

“Bother me? No, not at all my sweets. She does whatever she wants, with who she wants, when she wants. As long as it stays private. I do the same. It’s a win win situation babe.”He gingerly brought his arm around your shoulders, giving you a warm side hug as he gestured for you to follow him into his extravagant home. “Enough about me, my dear. I’ll make us some drinks, and you can tell me all about that no good rotten son of a bitch ex fiancée, and that backstabbing cunt of a friend. Extra dirty martinis makes everything better, baby. Trust me.”

This summer with your best friend, was about to get extra interesting.

[pagodazz]

what do u think of vinnies character trope page... someone had BEEF with him

I ACTUALLY LIKE HIS CHARACTER TROPE PAGE MORE THAN I LIKE HIS WIKIPEDIA. I feel like his wiki kinda ignores ALOT of stuff he did... this is literally my favorite part from his TV tropes HELP

I feel like it's pretty accurate tho don't u

ALTHOUGH THEY DEFINITELY SEEM TO HATE HIM A LOT SO ITS A LITTLE LIKW 😭😭😭 hey go easy on him... bc the habit TV tropes is literally just praising him for being cool like fuck you Vinnie is cool too did we NOT see this??

Also they didn't include it but Vinnie killed his gf too like !!!!!! I like that they didn't talk about him like he's some good guy hero because that's not what he his. He's a conniving backstabbing son of a bitch who will do ANYTHING to get what he wants so.... I feel like they're a little valid for their treatment of him HEEELPP. I'm a firm believer that if you hate Vinnie you have to hate habit too bc literally how can you excuse one but not the other theyre a package deal LMMAAOO

(edit bc I made this post super early and I was a little mean to Vinnie myself.... bc I love to bully him) SLENDERMAN WAS CONTROLLING HIM THO like for alot of it Vinnie is kinda used as a puppet for Slenderman, you see it in the tapes too. The haze like state Vinnie goes in is a trance that slenderman uses on him CONSISTENTLY. Channel Vinnie is stronger tho and he's more aware of what he's doing. He KNOWS what he did, and he knows HE did it. All Slenderman did was help him

[lightofraye]

for someone who "loves and cares about Jensen" you sure seem to be pretty resolved to believe he is a shitty person.

a douchebag who lies about loving his spouse, a deadbeat father who doesn't give a shit about leaving his kids with an abusive woman, as long as he gets to be far away from her and keep his reputation intact.

a fucking asshole who would leave his fiance at the altar instead of talking about it like a freaking adult before things go too far.

i just don't get it! how can you stan a man that you think is a liar and a backstabber?

you think so low of him, despite of all the testimonies of people who actually know him, who agree that he's a humble guy with both feet on earth, a sweet and kind man who genuinely cares about other people.

but you rather believe he's a piece of garbage who doesn't care about his own children.

just admit you don't really like him and move on.

God, anon, you’re like a dog with a bone. Yeah, I got your asks—twice. You realize you are not entitled to my answer, right? No more than you are entitled to the anonymity of the asks (which I graciously allowed on for now).

But very well. Let’s talk, shall we? I really hope you’re ready for the answers. Because you won’t like them, I guarantee it.

First, I have never said he’s a “shitty person”. You did though! Way to infer the worst from what I written.

I never called him a “douchebag”. You did. I never called him a “deadbeat”. You did. Let’s get that clear right now. You are the one calling him this. Not me.

Yes, he is in fact lying about the stories with his wife. I do think he did care about Danneel at one point, but that affection vanished real fast when her true character came out. He’s staying with her for the kids; I imagine if he divorced her, people would call him a shitty person for ruining a marriage, etc. He wouldn’t be able to win with you all. Not one bit.

He isn’t leaving the kids alone with her though. There’s the housekeeper, gardener, more than likely one or two nannies (because Danneel has never parented alone, ever!). They’re safe as any child can be with that many adults. (And if they’re decent people, if Danneel actually harmed them, NDA or no NDA, they had better speak up!)

I never said he should’ve left Danneel at the alter with no explanation. The hell? Way to infer the worse without any reading comprehension. I did say he had cold feet and thought about not going through with it until his groomsman and his father talked him into it. (In the case of his father, essentially forced him to go through with it.)

I don’t think he’s a liar. I do believe he backstabbed Jared in regards to The Winchesters and am very disappointed in him over it. But that isn’t going to end my support for him.

As for his lying… I actually understand it. I don’t agree with it, but I do understand it. He believes that having a “wholesome family man image” is good for him in Hollywood. Some would agree—were he actually consistent and legitimate with it. He doesn’t even need to do a ton of outings with Danneel; just grab the kids and go to a local theme park. The local family park, for that matter. Hire a photographer to do candids, not posed pictures. Tell genuine stories at conventions, as the gaping holes in them are large enough to drive a semi through it.

As for having to constantly lie about Danneel… do you honestly think his stans would be okay with him calling a “bitch” and “awful wife”? I mean… really? No matter what, he’d be in a no-win situation there.

I don’t think low of him. You inferred that, once again. Instead of making it about Danneel—which every single damned post of mine has been about—you are making it about me and how you perceived/interpreted my writing to be.

In regards to the situation of his children, he’s actually in a rock and a hard place. If you think it’s that easy for a victim of abuse to divorce their abuser when children are involved, you are ridiculously ignorant and need to educate yourself. The worst time in an abuse situation is when the victim tries to leave—the risk of death jumps to 70%. If children are involved, murder-suicides can happen.

So sit the fuck down, quit misinterpreting what I’m saying, and stop thinking you are in any shape or form entitled to my answers.

[xxxninjaxxx23]

A journey towards redemption

Jill’s unsuccessful moment in becoming the new final girl has resulted in her death. Now offered a second chance, she must face her demons and earn her freedom at a chance of a new life.

Born again (October 11th 2011 12:30 AM)

Dewey rubbed the bump on his head as he went to go check on Gale “She was standing right behind me.”

“They always are” was the last thing Jill heard before being shot clean in the chest.

‘No, No! Not like this….how did she even hear me? Th-this can’t be how it ends? I was so close!’

Jill felt her eyes getting heavy and her breathing slowly weakened as she collapsed into complete darkness. 

Sidney checked Jill’s pulse, making sure she was dead “Well I guess that’s it then. What do you want to do with her Sid?” Dewey said.

(Jill’s pov) I felt some cold droplets land on my face, waking me up from my sleep. “Huh? Ok that’s weird…I got shot in the chest ‘probably where my heart is’ and I’m still alive all of a sudden?” Then I remembered. “Oh That’s right! Ghostface armor. Sidney didn’t shoot me in the head. Pretty stupid on her part, I thought she learned her lesson after the last five she fought. Can’t believe she made it this far.

“Oh whatever all I can say is, she better sleep with one eye open once I get out of this hospital. I’m gonna kill her then finish off Gale and her stupid husband.” I notice that the hospital is very dark and quiet. Hmph! Seems like they left me here but damn could they at least keep the lights on! I can’t even see two feet in front of me!

Shit. I need to hurry and get out of here. Dewey and Judy must have left to go get backup, why both left instead of one staying here is just beyond me. “Everyone is pretty much a moron in this town….where the hell is the light switch?!”

I groped the wall, feeling around for the switch until I hit a spot on the wall that lit up the room a bit. “Finally! Ok time to move Jill.” As my eyes adjusted to the light, I almost passed out again when I found out I wasn’t in the hospital

“What……the……FUCK?! What is this? I seriously have no other words for- ok I need to find the exit.” I walk around trying to find something that resembles a door and as I did, the floor started to make noise when you walk into a puddle.

I hate to do this but “Hello? Dewey…..Gale? Anybody?!” I said, looking around.

Still looking for the door, I call out a few more times but still no answers. I’m starting to get really freaked out here “Ok guys stop it! Enough with the silent treatment, just arrest me and be done with it. Sick fuckers, just show yourself! Do you hear me!!!! Look I surrender ok! There I said it...I SURRENDER!!!” I held out my hands, hoping someone would show up and put handcuffs on me.

(????? Later)

(Plays along with the dialogue)

I don’t even know how much time has passed but i think I’m stuck here for a while, can’t find a door and it’s this same picture everywhere I walk. There’s nothing here, nothing!

Feeling defeated, I sat down and hugged my knees, burying my face in them. I close my eyes but every time I did, I’m reminding of the things I’ve done.

‘I started to feel sick for putting on the mask and killing my friends, my mother just to replicate a stupid movie my spoiled bitch cousin somehow got famous for and….Charlie. The one who answered my request, carrying me to the finish line only for me to backstab him just to take all the credit.

I guess I know what it feels like to be truly alone now. Instead of just taking a step back and ignoring Sidney, enjoying the last year of my high school along with slapping some sense into Trevor, I end up shot and left for dead in this dark desolate place.

Even though Sidney and her friends survived, I doubt they want anything to do with me…then again it’s the same group that left me here to die. I deserve it though, I don’t need forgiveness from them or for anyone I hurt.

I look around for a bit “Come to think of it, where is Charlie? Is this hell or am I somewhere worse than that?” I felt my stomach rumble, great! Ever since I been planning that movie with Charlie, I haven’t had time to eat or drink anything.

“Well since there’s no food here, I guess I’ll just starve to death and end up back here again. Another thing to add to my everlasting punishment”

I shook my head and tried to find something “edible” or even close to that. As I touched the wall, my hand broke through “feels like water again, and not just the floor this time.”

I heard whispers behind me in the distance, causing me to whip my head around “Sidney? That you?”

The voice whispered again a bit louder, aside from all the mumbling I only made out a few words “Murderer” “Liar” “spoiled” “cruel” “waste of space” I rolled my eyes

“Hey I get it. Shut the fuck up already!” Then the voice turned into a high pitched screech which was enough for me to cover my ears and sprint out of there. As I was running, I felt a pair of hands shove me to the ground.

I picked myself

up to find my mother standing over me with the bloody knife and an evil grin

“Welcome home sweetie.” She said before being stabbed then gutted from behind by….Charlie! I stepped back a bit

“MOM!” Charlie turned in my direction and charged at me with the knife raised, luckily I found a gun on the floor at the last minute and shot him.

The gun disappears from my hand and so does Charlie. Unfortunately the voices didn’t and continued to whisper in my ears. ‘Sigh’ “Just shut up already! Jesus!” Then I felt a hand on my shoulder but I quickly shoved it away

“Whoa! Hey, take it easy cousin, it’s me.”

“S-Sidney?” I said not turning around.

Then I heard a scoff “Oh real mature! Do I sound like I have a feminine voice? Well except for my employers, such assholes they are.”

I rolled my eyes “Ok fine, you don’t have a girls voice but if you’re not Sidney then who are you?”

The person turned me around 

“Hello Jill”

(3rd pov)

Jill took a glance at the man who removed the ghostface mask “Um I’m going to ask again…who the hell are you? Another shitty ghostface killer?

Roman glared at his cousin in offense “First of all I am NOT shitty! Second, yes I was one of the Ghostface killers and a damn good one too. Unlike you kids who needed a partner to fall back on, I did all my work solo.

Also you got some nerve to be disrespecting me when all you did was sit on the sideline letting your boyfriend do all the work, then killing him as payment. What a disgrace to the mask.

“Dumbass! There’s always two killers, one makes the calls while the other sneaks in and goes for the kill. Thats how it’s always been with Ghostface.

Roman laughed, shaking his head “No sweetheart. Both killers shared the work 50/50. You didn’t even help Charlie most of the time. He carried you the whole way and you still lost.”

Jill rolled her eyes “Ok so what? At least I was smart enough to manipulate someone into doing my own bidding and disposing of him when I didn’t need him anymore. How dirty did you have to get your hands before you bit the dust?”

She then continued “I got my moment In the spotlight and would have gotten away with it because I’m hot and charismatic.”

Roman tossed the mask on the ground “I’m both of those things too and even so, did you really think you could successfully replicate Billy and Stu’s work while covering it up as the final girl/my sister? Your plan would have failed regardless from all the things your prints were on.”

Jill was stunned “sister?!” She studied him again and noticed his features looked a lot like Sidney’s. ‘If he’s Sidney’s brother that that means

“You-your Roman bridger.”

“The one and only” he said.

Jill nodded “Ok “Roman” since you’re the only one here. Do you mind telling me where I am and if I could get of out of here?”

Roman clicked his tongue “Sorry cousin…you see, you’re actually dead. Sidney shot you In the heart and your stuck down here in this void forever. Well-“

Jill freaked out, grabbing Roman by his shoulders and shook him “What?! No?! No this isn’t happening, this is not happening!” She started to sweat a lot and her breathing was becoming rapid. “You got to help me. Please help me!”

“JILL! Calm down and let me finish! Take a deep breath and have some dignity”

Jill managed to calm herself and took a few deep breaths before sitting criss crossed, eager of what Roman had to say.

(Roman’s pov) Alright, now that my psychotic child minded cousin has calmed down, time for me to do my job. “Here. Let me feel your forehead.”

Jill moved back as I extended my hand to her “Why? I don’t have a fever-“

“Just do it” I said.

“Alright alright….weirdo” Jill said but I ignored her comment and absorbed her thoughts with a touch of her forehead.

Jill kept here eyes closed but winced a little when she heard a whoosh 💨 Keeping my hand on Jill’s forehead, I see her deep thoughts and what really drove her to become Ghostface. “Mhm, just as I thought.”

“What?” Jill said, opening her eyes.

“Your thoughts, your regrets, Ghostface, I can read all of it. Actually I can SEE all of It.”

Jill stood up “I’m not sure if I believe that or weirded out by what you said. Actually I’ll go with both.”

Roman chuckled “The point is, I know how you REALLY feel. You never wanted to be Ghostface or enjoy your little “fame” that came with it.”

Jill opened her mouth but Roman shook his head “Jill….you hate yourself, you hate yourself for what you’ve done. You hate that my sister’s favoritism pushed you off to the side from your friends and mother.”

Roman tilted Jill’s chin up towards him “You hate that it’s eating you up inside and all you could do was let it.”

“Roman….I didn’t feel that way in the beginning. Why are you just telling me this now? What gave you this idea now?”

“You started to feel regret when your failed movie idea cost you everything. Your friends, Kate Roberts…..Trevor” Roman smirked at the last name.

Jill didn’t respond, instead she turned away.

“You can’t lie to yourself Jill. You miss them a lot and as for Trevor, seems like you still have feelings for him.”

Jill still didn’t respond.

“Jill….talk to me, we’re cousins and I want to help you with the little time I have left”

(Jill’s pov) 

Hearing that, had me turn around. I took a deep breath “it’s true….everything you said is true, especially with Trevor.” I swallowed a lump “But it’s so weird because he cheated on me yet these feeling for Trevor never went away.”

I shook my head “I guess that fucker still left an imprint on me.”

I felt a few tears coming on “Kirby and Olivia were there for me when that happened and my mom took us to go see that movie I was begging her to watch.

Even before Trevor, they’ve all done so much for me even if I didn’t give them anything in return.”

Roman reached his hand out “Jill.”

I pushed his hand aside “No Roman, don’t!

Then the floodgates opened “I get it. I should have never been Ghostface, I had no real reason to. God I had it all! I had friends, a loving mother who even though kept taking about Sidney, she made sure I never miss a meal…she kept me in a warm home too.”

Then came the voice cracks “The moment I put on the mask, I have destroyed, ruined, and killed everything I had and loved…..I have nothing now.”

(3rd pov)

Roman looked down at his cousin who now had her face buried into her hands, sobbing. He looked up for a moment

“What if I told you there was a way you could redeem yourself?”

Jill looked up “What? What do you mean?” She asked, rubbing her eyes.

Roman smiled “What I can offer you my dear cousin is a do-over. It will reverse everything that’s happened on the month of the murders. You will start from when you woke up in your bed, waiting for your friend to take you to school.”

Jill looked confused “Going back in time? Is that even possible?”

“Down here…..anything is possible Jill.”

Jill wiped the last of her tears away “Ok. If it’s possible….then I’ll do it, thank you. I won’t be Ghostface ever again and I’ll do whatever it takes to stop Charle, you can count on it.”

Roman fixed his robe up a bit “I hope you can. This is very dangerous and a huge risk. If Charlie kills you or you fail to stop the murder spree, you will die and this time wake up in a place 10x worse than hell and here.”

Jill felt her blood run cold but kept a calm posture

“Ok….i understand. I have to earn my redemption.”

(Roman’s pov)

I moved back a bit and snapped my fingers, which made a big mirror appear in front of us.

“Yes. This looks like an ordinary mirror but it’s actually a portal. In order for this to work, you need to find all the lost souls in this realm and send them back through this mirror, they’ll be able to go through it.”

“Wait what? Lost souls, Roman what are you-?”

“I’m talking about the victims you and your partner murdered. Because of your desperate need for unnecessary fame, their souls ended up here.”

Jill was taken back “B-but I thought they went to heaven!”

I pinched my forehead a bit “Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way Jill, it wasn’t even their time to go. You both ended up cutting their lives so short that they ended up here.”

(Jill’s pov)

I felt a pain in my stomach when I heard that. Damn, I didn’t know my victims got sent here. But I wasn’t really thinking about the consequences was I?

“Ok so the victims are all here and it’s my job to lead them back here?”

Roman nodded “Once you find all the lost souls, you can go through this portal yourself and the do-over will begin. You will be resurrecting the people you killed in the past as well, probably should have made that more clear but don’t forget that also includes…..ugh, Charlie.”

I nod “No one except you will remember everything that’s happened but you must do your best to keep them safe.” Roman said.

“Ok, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my friends and mother safe.”

Roman reached into his pocket the robe had and pulled out a flashlight. “It’s going to be dark out there, this will help you see what you couldn’t see before with your own eyes.”

I thanked Roman and took the flashlight. I turned it on to find a huge dark hallway that seemed endless in the distance. I was about to be on my way until I heard Roman’s voice call out

“Wait! I do have one more thing to tell you. Tread carefully on your path because

You are not alone down here.

To be continued

Music goes to Emil “Ace” Macko.

[kokitschi]

AITA for getting two of my classmates killed?

Okay, okay, I know the title sounds bad but hear me out first.

So we're in this (involuntary) death game, right, long story. Basically the goal is to get away with murder but if you get caught, you get horrifically executed. Fun stuff.

Anyway, so this whole situation kinda takes a toll on me, but I keep it lowkey. Well, actually, my strategy was to act like I'm really enjoying this whole game, get chummy with the game master and stuff like that. I was apparently very convincing, even though I kept dropping hints that I'm not having a good time. So everyone was convinced pretty early on that I'm some psycho who gets pleasure out of watching people suffer, which admittedly I can't fully blame them for. But they were literally convinced I was satan incarnated before I ever did some heinous stuff just because I wasn't very nice and friendly and didn't want to pretend like we can just friendship-is-magic our way out of this. They literally got upset at me for freely speaking about the death of our classmates and trying to warn this sweet naive fucking idiot about being too trusting and the consequences of cooperating under these circumstances. No, I was not nice about it. But like, get real. They just didn't want to face the reality of the situation and that's fucking dangerous.

Anywayyyy, time passes, people get killed, everyones on edge and depressed and shit. Despite what I just said, I didn't actually believe that we all shouldn't cooperate under any circumstances. I just thought we shouldn't do it so openly. So there were two people I mainly cooperated with, let's call them G and M.

G is the aforementioned sweet naive idiot, he also happens to be an absolute mountain of a man. I saw potential in him, I knew he wasn't actually that dumb, he was just, naive and trusting and he really really wanted to protect people. I thought that was a dangerous combination. So I took him under my wing and we did spend a lot of time together.

M is... well, she's a dumb fucking bitch. Obnoxious as hell. But she's also pretty brilliant in making stuff. Like, inventions I mean. VERY USEFUL. We didn't get along much, but I knew how to handle her and we ended up collaborating on several creations and gadgets.

It was really powerful stuff, y'know? I was sure we could use these to take down the game master. I said as much to her. But she... was unsure. Actually, I guess it would be more accurate to say that she was scared, if not terrified. She didn't believe that we could win this way because she thought our classmates would definitely betray us! Can't blame her for thinking that, I guess. It was still pretty discouraging. It would've been fine if the issue had ended here, probably.

But then... long story short, I found out that she was trying to kill me. :')

I would've laughed but it really wasn't that funny, was it. I thought we had at least a truce, you backstabbing fucking bitch. Haha.

I couldn't let this happen. Of course I didn't want to die, but I did also think that if I die here, everyone else will also die. Even if she didn't get away with it, which is debatable because there would've only been about 1.5 competent people left alive to figure it out, I had plans to properly end this game. I couldn't die here.

I had to eliminate her first. She was simply too big of a threat. Not only was she actively planning to murder me, after we've literally created another possibility, she was also emotionally very unstable. It was too risky to solve this another way. Even if we had managed to pacify her now, she was still the biggest risk factor.

I had probably squeezed out all the valuable uses out of her anyway at that point, hah.

So yeah, I decided to strike her down before she could strike me down. But I didn't want to risk either getting everyone killed (because obviously I could've planned a murder I could get away with, duh) or getting executed myself. That would kinda be against the point of ending this game with more than 2 people left alive.

G had grown very depressed over the course of the game. He's always had a tendency to self deprecate and he's been offering himself as a meat shild since the very beginning but especially lately. So I thought I would be so kind and take him up on his offer :)

You guys don't know just how much he's been begging to be used, be useful, protect someone. Literally.

I planned the murder. I manipulated G, convincing him that this was the way to save everyone and he executed my orders. He killed her. I didn't have to get my own hands dirty. He even bought in his own ideas to cover up the murder scene!

The only information I hid from him was that I never planned to let him get away with this. He still chose to kill her, yknow? I didn't force him to do it. I did push his buttons. I knew he would do it if I just said the right words. But if I hadn't manipulated him like this, someone else eventually would've. And he would've done it for them too. Maybe it was always gonna happen!

Anyway, G got executed. Despite some hiccups during the trials, we unraveled the murder and well. He's dead now. My classmates are very upset with me hahahaha :')

But I didn't have a choice. What was supposed to do? Is it wrong of me for wanting to live? For thinking about the situation realistically? For thinking I was more necessary to end this game than either of them?

Edit: I've usurped the game master. Surely me officially ending this game will prevent people from murdering any more. :)

[corpocyborg]

Secure Your Soul: A Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfiction

This fic was previously published under the title “Before the Event Horizon.”

Summary: Six months ago, V’s boss at Arasaka ordered her to assassinate his rival. Instead, with the reluctant but invaluable help of her old friend Jackie Welles, she pushed them both off their thrones and claimed one for herself. Now the new Director of Arasaka Counter Intel has a problem. She’s uncovered information that indicates that Yorinobu Arasaka, the heir apparent to the Arasaka dynasty, is a traitor. But without solid proof, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands.

An AU in which Corpo!V never leaves Arasaka.

CHAPTER SIX: LIKE A MILITARY COUP

[read on ao3]

PRESENT DAY

“Get up, you backstabbing bitch.”

V’s mind crossed the threshold into consciousness, and she jolted awake. Her neck ached from sleeping at a desk, but it was a familiar ache. She’d pulled all-nighters at a desk her whole life, staring at a pile of paperwork or a computer monitor until the lead she needed jumped out at her. She looked up at Abernathy. “Morning, m’am. Do you have more questions for me?”

Abernathy slammed her head into the desk. 

“Fuck,” V muttered. She had cranial armor implants, but they’d been taking a serious beating lately. Abernathy must have gotten the same holiday bonus that she had. No one without gorilla arms could exert that much force so effortlessly. “That's the second time in 24 hours someone’s done that to me.”

“It won't be the last,” Abernathy promised. She lifted V’s head and slammed it back down again. Then she lifted it once more, but this time she held it so that V’s eyes were looking into her own. “What did you say to him to get him to squeal?”

“I've been locked in here for hours,” V said through clenched teeth. Despite the armor implants, her head was pounding viciously. “I haven't had any communication with anyone since you were last here. You can check your surveillance footage if you don't believe me.”

“Then you planned it together.”

“Jenkins and I? What would be the point of that? Just to fuck with you?” V’s words were muffled by Abernathy’s hold on her face. “I came to you because I was trying to switch sides. I wanted to work for someone more level-headed. Although this display is making me doubt whether I was right about you.” 

“How dare you?” Abernathy spat, but V was pleased to hear a slight catch in her voice. She’d guessed that line would work on Abernathy primarily because it would have worked on her.

“Look,” V began, wincing as Abernathy squeezed her head. “You can waste your time here, tormenting someone who isn’t even in on Jenkins’ plans, or you can go after your actual enemy. One option is far more productive than the other.” 

Abernathy paused, her grip never lessening, for a few seconds that felt much longer to V. Her vision was just starting to swim when Abernathy abruptly released her head. Inertia slammed it back into the desk one final time. When V looked up again, Abernathy was gone. 

She crossed her arms on the desk and rested her head on them, struggling for air at first, then progressively slowing and deepening her breaths. It was a technique she’d learned from her life coach at Quantified Satori. It helped, but only to a degree. The pounding in her head had not subsided, and V wasn’t sure how long it would be before she’d have the strength to lift her head again. She supposed there’d be no point to now, anyway. Whatever happened next was outside her control. And, despite their differences, she trusted Jackie. He’d know what he had to do. 

Continuing to breathe deeply, she began a new neuromotor relaxation exercise—one targeted at releasing tension in various muscle groups, one at a time, in a particular pattern. It seemed like a good choice because it occupied her mind as well as her body. With this welcome distraction to guide her, V gradually found her way back into unconsciousness.

—

When she woke up again, a different coworker was standing over her.

“Nostra,” she said groggily, “Abernathy sent you?”

“No, V,” Nostra replied. “Abernathy’s offed herself.”

That snapped her awake. Ever since Jenkins had first given her the order to go after Abernathy, V had been anticipating every potential resolution to the situation that she could come up with. She thought she’d become especially effective at predicting Abernathy’s reactions, largely because she so often reacted the same way that V herself would have. But she hadn’t seen this coming.

“You look so shocked,” Nostra commented. There was a slight twitch at the right corner of his mouth. “Weren’t expecting it, huh?”

“Were you?” 

Nostra sighed quietly. “In a manner of speaking. She wasn’t depressed, if that’s what you’re assuming. Wasn’t a quitter either. Hell, I’ve seen the woman dodge shit thrown at her from every angle and still walk away clean. She wasn’t weak, V.”

He paused, looking directly at her. Gauging her reaction, V knew. She didn’t try to hide her confusion. A poker face was a decent enough tactic for certain types of lies, but generally the superior strategy was to react the way you would have reacted if you were innocent. 

“Then why-” she began.

“Why did she kill herself?” Nostara finished her sentence for her. “Because she didn’t have any interest in life after Arasaka.” 

A sudden sense of understanding dawned in V’s mind. Nostra nodded at her. “Now you get it,” he said. “Anyway, that’s the internal factors. As for the external factors, your man Jenkins got too trigger-happy. He was blackmailing her, as you know. Hadn’t released anything, was just making demands at first… then, suddenly, he uploads it all, every bit of dirt he’s got on her, to Arasaka’s intranet.” 

Well done, Jackie, V thought instinctively. She forced that thought into the back of her mind. Her face showed nothing but doubt. “But why?” she demanded. “And how do you know it was him?”

“Fair question. He deleted any metadata or other digital trails that could lead to him. He tried to, anyway. It was a tech specialist from your department who caught him, actually. Carter Smith. I believe you know him.”

“I do,” V replied cautiously. She was unsure how Smith factored into the situation and that made her nervous. He knew about her deal with Jackie, but he didn’t know exactly what was on the datashard she’d left him, and he certainly didn’t know about the dirt she’d added to it over the past six years. But it was hardly an impossible intuitive leap. If he'd connected the dots… “We’ve worked together in the past.”

“Apparently, he’d been keeping an eye on Jenkins since he overheard him telling you to ‘make sure Abernathy won’t be a problem anymore.’”

“Jenkins did tell me that. And as you know, I didn’t listen.” 

“Didn’t you?” Nostra asked. “Abernathy won’t be a problem for Jenkins anymore, will she?” Before V could say anything in her defense, Nostra added, “Of course, Jenkins will hardly be able to benefit from that, seeing as he’s dead.”

“Jenkins is dead?” V was intrigued to find that she was actually a little sad about that. She’d barely known Abernathy, but Jenkins had been a constant presence in her life for several years. She wouldn’t have called him a friend, but then she spent more time with her coworkers than she did with her friends.

“Yes. Apparently, Smith didn’t like the sound of Jenkins’ plan either. Went directly to Abernathy and reported everything he’d heard. Then offered to keep an eye out for her regarding any further developments. Interestingly enough, he said he didn’t think you’d go through with it. He seems to like you.”

V looked down at the table, smiling slightly. Well, well. You never did know which allies could turn out to be valuable in the long run. “That’s kind of him,” she mused, momentarily lost in the private joke. “But you still haven’t told me how Jenkins ended up dead.”

“Smith kept his word. He was monitoring Jenkins’ online presence. After the blackmail data leaked, he was able to trace a pattern of suspicious activity that indicated that Jenkins was the source. Abernathy had just gotten back from your last interrogation. He showed her what he’d found. She decided if she was going down anyway, Jenkins was coming with her.”

“So she killed him?”

“Yes. Personally, in fact. A first for her.”

V didn’t miss the implication. Abernathy had killed coworkers before, but never by her own hand. V knew that, of course. It made up the bulk of the info that “Jenkins” had revealed. Still, it was interesting that Nostra was comfortable speaking about it so openly. She wondered how much of that reveal had not actually been a surprise to him.   

“What about his security team?” she asked.

“He had one, of course. But they primarily look out for threats in disguise, assassination attempts. Not a known coworker who simply walks directly into his office with a weapon. That’s the danger of an enemy with nothing left to lose.”

V stayed silent for a moment, allowing her mind to mull over this new information. It was hard to be certain how much of this story Nostra actually believed, but she suspected it wasn’t all of it. “So what happens now?” she asked finally.

“Now Arasaka has two high-ranking positions to fill on rather short notice. I’m acting Director of Spec Ops, naturally. The acting Director of Counter Intel, by the typical order of succession, should be you.”

V looked up at Nostra. A deep and familiar hunger roared to life in the center of her chest.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Nostra warned her. “It’s temporary. A full investigation of the incident is pending, then Arasaka will decide if you can keep the position. But, yes. It’s you. For now.”

V released a deep breath. She inhaled another one, held it for four counts, then released that one too. “Okay,” she said. “Then I’m free to go?”

In answer, Nostra walked over to the door and opened it. 

—

V sat behind the desk in her new office. For the last eleven hours, she'd been suppressing her sense of awe in order to allow herself to focus on the seemingly endless stream of meetings and holoconferences she'd been hosting. There had been much to do. The Frankfurt incident had still needed resolving. As soon as she'd gotten to the office, she'd put her extensive collection of international contacts to work, trading favors and information in exchange for influence over the appointments of the new heads of the European Space Council. 

By now, she felt secure that she'd managed to position a majority of figureheads who would either be loyal to or manipulatable by Arasaka. It had been easier than she'd expected. The job wasn't desirable lately, and she could offer a level of protection and security that had skyrocketed in value. She mentally thanked Jenkins for that. 

Jenkins… 

Now that she had a second to breathe, it hit her again. She was sitting in Jenkins' chair. Behind Jenkins’ desk. In Jenkins' office.

In the last few years, she’d spent more time in the Tower than she had in her own apartment, and as she'd risen through the ranks in Counter Intel, she'd spent more and more time in this office in particular. It was such a familiar place. 

Still, she gazed around, sponging in the sights as if she'd never seen them before. Memorizing every detail. The giant Arasaka logo on the floor. The couch in one corner with the liquor cabinet beside it, the full length dining table in the other. The plants displayed behind the glass built into the walls. And finally, the windows and the view outside. Her gaze lingered there the longest, her chair angled to face the window.

Someone knocked softly on her door. 

“Come in,” she called out. She swiveled her chair back towards the door. 

Carter Smith was poking his head through the crack. “Hey, V,” he said nervously. “Are you still busy? I didn't want to interrupt.”

“It's fine. You can come in.” 

He walked across the room and sat in the same seat she'd occupied yesterday. Had it been yesterday? It felt like a lifetime ago. She cleared some papers off her desk and closed her laptop. “What do you need, Carter?”

“I wanted to see how you're doing.”

“Well, we've made good progress in mitigating potential future issues with the Space Council. Our lunar base licenses—”

“No, V. I meant I wanted to see how you’re doing. Personally.”

V paused. “Oh.”

Carter’s cheeks turned a telling shade of pink. “I just… I know Abernathy had you locked up, and… after learning what she’s capable of, I wasn't sure…”

“I’m fine,” V reassured him quickly. “She didn't do anything to me that I can't recover from.” 

“Okay.” Carter looked relieved. “Good. I couldn't stand it if anyone else got hurt.” V had the sense that he wanted to say something more. He rubbed the back of his neck, then sighed. “Can you believe what happened? Abernathy… I wanted to protect her… I never thought…”

It was rather sad. Abernathy would've wiped him out without a thought if she'd deemed it necessary, and yet here he was, lamenting his part in her demise. Some people just refused to look out for their own best interests. “There’s no point in blaming yourself,” she said. “Abernathy made her own decision.”

“I know. I know that. But V… you didn't see it…” His eyes scanned the room warily, and V wondered if he was considering revealing some sort of secret information. 

“Didn't see what?” she pressed.

“This office. Afterwards.” For a moment, his eyes glazed over and V knew his mind was reliving the memory.

“Carter?” she said, trying to anchor him to the present. “It's all right. Just breathe.”

He took a deep breath. He shivered, but seemed to come back to himself. “Anyway,” he said, looking abashed again. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'm gonna go now. I've wasted enough of your time. Just needed someone to talk to, I guess.”

“That's fine,” V said cautiously. She didn't want to alienate Carter. He'd proven valuable lately. But she didn't have time to become his regular shoulder to cry on. “Maybe try focusing on your work?” she suggested. “I know you like working with tech.”

“Yeah,” Carter said. He smiled, but it was obviously forced. “Thanks, V. I'll try that.” He left the office.

Well, either he didn't suspect V’s involvement in Jenkins and Abernathy's downfall, or he was the absolute damn best liar she'd ever met. She almost hoped it was the latter. That would make him much more interesting. 

She rotated her chair back towards the window. The sun was setting, and the city was coming to life. It lived up to its name, she thought. Its neon colors looked more beautiful against a backdrop of black. And the sky in City Center was always a deep, pure black at night. Night City—the city so bright, it blotted out the stars.  

The clock on her optics started flashing, an indication that it was time for her to go home. She dismissed the alarm, but made no moves to leave. As acting Director of Arasaka Counter Intel, it was her right to sleep in her office if she deemed it necessary. She pulled a cigarette out of a desk drawer and lit it. It was Jenkins’, but he wouldn't be needing it anymore. She reclined her chair, took a deep drag from the cigarette, and exhaled slowly. 

Night City, she decided, looked its absolute best from out the windows of Arasaka Tower.