#childhoods almost over might as well reload and try again

[hopalongfairywren]

The fact that my entire life was ruined because of a math test in 4th grade

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

Oh prisoner duos my beloved. I might not be extremely familiar with Haruka and Yuno, but I still have quite a few thoughts about them! And also Mikoto and Kotoko. I'll try to keep this free of Deep Cover and YONAH spoilers!

CW Murder, child abuse, animal cruelty, abortion, sex work, vigilantism, toxic work culture

Haruka - Yuno

The main thing that unites them, in my opinion, is the desire for attention/recognition of some kind, or perhaps the fear of abandonment, which is in some way what led to Haruka's muder and Yuno's abortion. Haruka wanted attention from his mother, Yuno wanted the "warmth" of her clients. Except the way they want to be perceived is extremely different. Haruka wants to be pitied, while Yuno hates being seen that way.

[Weakness] I wanted to be a pitied and loved weakling

[Tear Drop] “Poor naive little girl”? So off the mark, what's it to you? It's just absurd

This ties into another one of their main themes, that being maturity. Haruka was happiest when he was a child, as his disability was less noticeable then.

(T2) Q8: Do you have any fun memories of your childhood? H: My childhood was fun. My mom was nice too back then.

However, as he grew, his disability became more apparent, and he began being neglected as a result. Because of that, Haruka wants to essentially go back to his childhood. That's where the amber symbolism comes from. The same way amber preserves things as they are when they become encased in it, Haruka is stuck in a point in time, in a point of his past he tries to go back to by being pitied. At least, this was his attitude during T1.

Meanwhile, Yuno does the opposite. Despite being practically the same age as Haruka, a teenager, she wants to be perceived as an adult. She engages in adult activities, she wants people to recognize her actions are a result of her own decisions, etc. In a way, Yuno is always looking at the future, always looking for the next thrill, the next way to "reload the warmth." Opposite of Haruka wanting to go back to the past by being pitied.

The thing about the want for attention also connects to their self-worth, specifically, the connection between their self-worth and the way it connects to how people view them. It's a looser connection, but I think it's worth mentioning. Haruka dislikes himself because of his disability:

[AKAA] Don’t leave me alone, don’t leave me Why was I born like this? Why does it hurt so much?

[Metamorphosis of the Weak] Haruka: Because I'm the only one who could never do anything right since I was born, because I could never do the same things as everyone around me, my mother gave up on me and I stopped existing in her world!

And that's why he seeks worth in others' opinion:

[Metamorphosis of the Weak] Haruka: Because you told me that what I did wasn't wrong…! That's what changed me! I was saved by you, Guard-san… [...] Haruka: So what if [Muu]'s using me? Isn't it a good thing to be used? For someone to think of me as worthy enough to use me… isn't that something to be happy about?

In other words, Haruka's sense of self-image is almost entirely tied to the way people view him.

Meanwhile, Yuno's sense of self-worth is... complicated. I'm going to be honest, I'm not 100% sure I'm right in what I'm about to say, but well here I go.

The first thing about Yuno is that she doesn't consider herself important.

[Timelines 02/09/23] Yuno: For me, no one is particularly important. That includes myself as well.

She's also mentioned she doesn't want to live past 40. But also:

(T2) Q1: Do you like yourself? Y: Kind of? Well, if I were to reincarnate and live as myself all over again, I wouldn't mind it.

So, she doesn't mind who she is, she just doesn't consider herself important, which is... something. Then, she also considers herself* a murderer and considers* enjo kosai immoral, but she doesn't really care.

[*I don't agree, but we're talking about Yuno's perception here. I trust you knew this, but Tumblr is infamous for the lack of reading comprehension lol]

[Absolute Zero] Yuno: But immoral acts that don't cause anyone misfortune do exist, right? Just like sugar-daddying: because it's been deemed ethically wrong, I was hiding it, but… is someone being troubled by it? It's a win-win engagement, isn't it?

Yuno: I have no intent to say abortion isn't murder. I'm a respectable murderer. [...] Yuno: To the extent of understanding the feeling of actually taking a life... I couldn't feel that that was a life. A discomfort and…the sensation of a foreign body…. Es: ... Yuno: Do you feel disdain? Sorry! But, really, I can't claim a sadness I never actually felt.

To me, it seems that it comes down to Yuno's realism. If something doesn't have a clear negative consequence, she doesn't regret doing it, regardless of what other people might think*. That's why she claims not to really care about ethics and morals.

(T2) Q13: What is the difference between you and someone else? Yuno: I might be a little too realistic.

[Absolute Zero] Es: I have no intention to pursue your numerous acts outside of murder, but there is no mistake that [compensated dating] is an ethically questionable act. Yuno: Ah…I don't have much interest in things like ethics and morals.

(Throw Down, ethics is a delusion)

[*It's impirtant to note that Yuno is very socially aware. She knows what people might think about her, she just doesn't outwardly seem to care. There could be an argument that she does care and just puts up a front of not caring, but I'm just going off her direct statements]

But I'm getting a bit off track. What's important for our purposes right now is that Yuno's sense of self-worth isn't tied to the way others view her. Rather, she confidently believes herself to be one way, and wants people to perceive her like that.

[Tear Drop] If you want “me”, come marco, I'll polo

It's bothersome for her if people don't respect her autonomy and make assumptions about her, which is why she wants to be perceived as an adult in the first place, but she still remains true to herself and doesn't tie her self-image to the way others perceive her.

[Absolute Zero] Yuno: Creating a personally idealized version of me. Creating an acceptable version of me. They really exist, you know, those kinds of people. And in particular, those kinds of people…won't do anything for me.

The parallel I'm trying to get at is that Haruka's self-perception changed as a result of the way people viewed him, while Yuno doesn't want to change based on others' opinions and just wants others to perceive the real her. I hope that makes some amount of sense lol.

That's just sorta off the top of my head, but there's a lot of other stuff. The theme of motherhood which others in the notes have mentioned, with Haruka being abandoned by his mother the same way one could say Yuno 'abandoned' her pregnancy. And then there's lyric similarities. A lot of them come down to the fear of abandonment I sorta mentioned already.

[AKAA] Don’t leave me alone, don’t leave me Why was I born like this? Why does it hurt so much? I just wanted to be your good boy Why am I crying again? If with one click, and I can reset everything Can I be your favorite this time?

[Umbilical] What type of girl do you like? I want to become like that, but that’s probably too hard for me [...] Are we over? Please don’t answer What do you want to do? Please tell me

[AKAA] Mommy, look, I’ve done great “There there, my good boy!”

[Umbilical] Am I a bad girl? Please don’t answer

Another fun thing I noticed looking at the lyrics is the idea of repeated self-indulgent actions. For Haruka it's killing and destroying things for attention, for Yuno it's compensated dating. Quite different actions, but they're there.

[Weakness] I am always repeating yesterday, though it’s important to know when to give up

[AKAA] I will keep on killing to be a good boy

[Umbilical] “Good morning” “Good night” I want to be with you as many times as I can

[Tear Drop] Desire, bestow, and desire again The episode reloading on an endless loop

Alright I'll stop talking about these two now before I go too insane.

Mikoto - Kotoko

So this one can be split between Kotoko's parallels with John and Kotoko's parallels with Mikoto.

Kotoko's parallels with John are pretty straightforward. As others have mentioned, they want to protect someone(s) they consider weak, and end up hurting these very people.

[Double] John: Doesn’t matter if you didn’t wish for it Can’t get rid of me now Just the two of us, relieved aren’t you? I’ll protect you [...] Hey now, I saved you right? So why in the hell are you crying? Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior” Stand up and sing your gratitude That’d be good

[Neoplasm] John: It's true that I was the one who wanted to destroy everything… and the weakness of Mikoto, who couldn't stand up for himself all alone, might have been the origin of that.

[T2 Voice Trailer Distorted Quote] Kotoko: From the beginning I've never asked for your understanding! My actions, one by one, are bringing earth closer to peace. Useless weaklings should just shut up and let me protect them!

Hence the shared symbolism of canines; John the guard dog and Kotoko the wolf.

However, there's some interest contrast in the way John and Kotoko view their roles as "saviors." John sees protecting Mikoto as the whole reason he exists, just like Kotoko finds purpose in protecting the weak as she otherwise dislikes herself.

[Neoplasm] John: I… was born to protect Mikoto, after all.

[HARROW] Feeding on food so I don’t burn out [...] Goodnight “HARROW” “HARROW” Laugh and I can get to like myself

But here's the thing. Kotoko sees herself and her work as extremely important, she wants to continue doing it. Defeating evil is the "food" she needs to keep going.

[HARROW] Shall we replace the poor soul, and the miserable delusion “I didn’t mean to offend”, “I won’t do it again” How many wins in a row? Whose fault is it, This is getting ridiculous What should the punishment be

Meanwhile, John wants to disappear. He wants Mikoto to stop having issues so he can stop existing.

[Neoplasm] John: I'll have to disappear eventually, anyway… Disappear, and take all of it with me.

[Double] John: If only I were never born, if only

[MeMe] John(?*): I'd play dead even though I'm alive right? If I could end, if I could stop How long would this dream go on? [...] John(?): Is this selfish? This isn't too much is it?

[*I've seen debate on who is singing each part of MeMe, so I'm putting a question mark to clarify not everyone's gonna agree that's John singing, that's just how I see it.]

This creates the interest contrast of Kotoko always actively seeking the next reason to give justice:

[Song of Prisoners, Deep Cover preview] Give me my next purpose

(It doesn't count as a spoiler if it's in the preview right?)

-while John wants to stop having a purpose, he wants Mikoto to live in peace. Hence the whole "if only I was never born" thing.

Going back to the canine thing, you've also mentioned in some of your posts that canines in Milgram are often related to the concept of childhood and youth, which is another shared aspect of John and Kotoko.

John has the whole "newborn" thing going on, being represented by The Fool and only having split recently.

[Double] John: Me, the newborn other you

Meanwhile, there is a lot of "rebirth" symbolism at the end of HARROW. Between the Red Riding Hood stuff, the full moon plus sunrise, and:

[HARROW] Newly born “HARROW” “HARROW”

-there's the implication that the Kotoko we see after her murder is a "newborn" version of Kotoko, in spite of what she claims about being "the same since she was twelve." Something something it's hard to realize when you're being gradually radicalized something something.

But that's John and Kotoko. Mikoto also has some interesting parallels.

One of the main points is their connection to the concept of normalcy, which extends to their relationship with certain societal systems.

Mikoto is Just Some Dude. That's his thing. That's how he's introduced. He's often represented in some way by a featureless mannequin indistinguishable from all other mannequins.

[John Doe] The VD not the character- This name is annoying Mikoto: Even if you talk about sins or murderers– I don't know about any of that! I'm just a normal worker at a company… [...] Mikoto: I was just living an ordinary, everyday life… and yet I got dragged into something this weird!

Mikoto works very hard to keep up this image of normalcy, to the point Yuno calls it out.

[Timelines 08/07/23] Yuno: Hey, Mikoto-san. Don’t you get tired being so conscious of others all the time? I mean, you’re free to do what you want though. Mikoto: Eh…… Aha, what are you talking about? I’m not being conscious or anything. It’s normal to make sure to get along with everyone, right?

But something important to keep in mind is that this idea of normalcy is very heavily tied to Mikoto's job. In his eyes, part of being "normal" is having a job and working hard on it, and part of his job is making sure he's "normal" and keeps good connections.

[Timelines 08/07/23] Yuno: Ah, is this just what happens when you become a working adult? …you see people like that sometimes. Mikoto: Haha, you don’t mince your words do you. ...that was never my intention, but now that you mention it, yeah, I guess I do. This might’ve been since I started my job too… But like, if I was rude to everyone I met, all my efforts would come to nothing, right?

(T1) Q8: What are your reasons for wanting to work for your current job? Mikoto: I work at an advertising company that's at the top of the business world, you know?Just being able to get to that position is something to be proud of. I worked really hard to get hired there, too.

You notice that? When he's asked why he does the work he does, the only thing he says is "it's something to be proud of." He doesn't mention a passion for design, he doesn't mention money, he doesn't mention, I don't know, family tradition or anything. "Just being able to get to that position is something to be proud of." 'Normal' people in his eyes have jobs, and 'normal' people work very hard for their job (Japanese work culture go brr).

Basically, in Mikoto's worldview, there is a certain system which is "normal", and he wants to fit into this "normal" world. Mikoto wants to be another cog in the machine, at least until he can:

(T1) Q14: What'll you be doing in 10 years? Mikoto: I'd like to work independently and make my own design company. That way I'm free to do what I want.

So he does want freedom, but he's trying to achieve that freedom through the "normal" way, through the work system.

Meanwhile, the things Kotoko considers "normal" are a bit different.

[HARROW] Becoming light-headed again, it all becomes crazy The normalcy sought for, Fading away, Everytime death comes The soul moves forward [...] I feel like I’m going crazy after straining my nerves The person that can’t be saved, Is now understanding the abnormality

Let's ignore for a moment that Kotoko seems to refer to herself as "the person that can't be saved", and focus on the normalcy thing. Basically, Kotoko believes there is a "normal" state of the world which is broken whenever something evil happens.

It's important to note that "normalcy" for her is inextricably linked with "good," and doesn't seem connected to other things which could be considered "normal." For example:

(T1) Q3: Have you ever had a lover? Mikoto: Of course I have. Do I really look that unpopular?

(T1) Q11: Do you have a lover? Kotoko: I don't. But if necessary I'll get one.

Having lovers is "normal" in Mikoto's worldview, so he has had lovers. Kotoko is an aromantic queen and does not give a shit, so her answer could be considered "abnormal" in Mikoto's view.

(T1) Q10: What do you think about the word 'femininity'? Kotoko: It's one of the means you can take. It's something you can freely choose depending on the scene, so it's not something to cling onto.

She also doesn't seem concerned with being feminine, which could technically be considered "not normal" if you really stretch it.

So what is "normal" for Kotoko? Well, her worldview.

(T1) Q15: Which is more important, the goal or the means you take to achieve it? Kotoko: The goal. Isn't that just obvious?

In her eyes, the things she believes are common sense. They are "normal." Fun fact, in the first Song of Prisoners, something akin to "for humans" appears over Kotoko, part of the phrase "there are people who understand what I'm doing." The idea being that anyone who understands Kotoko is human (read: normal), and anyone who doesn't, isn't.

The point is that Kotoko considers good things normal and evil things abnormal. Cue the "your entire existence is a crime" line.

So she also seeks her version of normalcy, but she already considers herself normal, she wants the world to be normal. However, unlike Mikoto, who tries to work for his goals through existing systems, Kotoko has expressed that existing systems are not enough to achieve her normalcy, which is why she works outside of them. Well, until she finds Milgram, and now she wants to work alongside it.

[TASK] Kotoko: There are too many cases of the law being unable to judge evil! Just by exploiting loopholes in law, the numerous evildoers who have bullied and torturing the weak can still live out their lives unpunished! I want to change this world, but I have a limit with my own power…!

To recap, Mikoto believes the world is normal and tries to enter that normalcy through existing systems, and said systems end up breaking him; while Kotoko believes her worldview and "good things" to be normal, meaning the world is not normal as long as evil exists, and since she has been failed by existing systems she works outside of them to try and achieve this normalcy. I hope that makes sense.

There's one more thing to note; they both want validation that the things they consider normal, are normal.

(T1) Q10: Have you ever gotten angry at other people? Mikoto: I don't think I've gotten angry before. Isn't it kind of disgraceful to get angry?

I'm using this a s an example of how Mikoto's interrogation answers usually go. He usually answers in question, as if he wants to make sure what he's saying isn't weird. Again, trying to be "normal."

[MeMe] Mikoto: I will NEVER forgive you if this is happening to me even though I'm right

[Double] Mikoto: Come to know me as an honest man Eat your words, gulp them down

These are some of the most strongly worded lines Mikoto has. When his normalcy is challenged, he becomes defensive. He will never forgive Es if he's in Milgram even though he's Normal (TM). He wants to be known as honest, as the Just Some Guy he sees himself as. He wants that validation. He... how do I put this...

[HARROW] I want to be drowning in the knowledge that I am right

Exactly! Thanks Kotoko! Mikoto wants to know that he's right about his normalcy for sure, the same way Kotoko wants to drown in the knowledge her worldview is normal and correct and common sense.

And there's probably more, especially considering similar lyrics:

[Double] John: “No I need to do more…” say what? You’re going to break

[HARROW] I hate all the evils in this world, I feel like I’m about to break

[Double] Mikoto: All I did was dream

[HARROW] How heavy “HARROW” “HARROW” If it damaged someone’s dream to the points of stopping it I’ll gouge you out with my fangs

Etcetera etcetera, but that's all I have for now.

Hope you could take something from this! Take care!

Always fun to think prisoner character parallels since they have so many overarching themes that you can't really decide on One specific theme to encompass the whole of their character. I've seen twenty different interpretations on character duo meanings and what they represent it's really fun

Though I'm still personally unsure on what Haruka-Yuno and to a lesser extent Mikoto-Kotoko have thematically...I understand Fuuta-Muu, Shidou-Mahiru and Kazui-Amane (which reminds me to finish Multiple Wips oh dear-) but the first two and the last two give me some trouble when thinking about what unites the two...Anyone got any ideas?

[cuyanir]

@djaryn ♥

he waits until the clatter stops before he pulls the trigger. somewhere, way below them, a womp rat squeals and thrashes for the last time before stilling. boba looks over his shoulder and quietly watches din climb the last ladder rung, hauling himself up into the sniper’s nest. it’s a long way up, even longer in full beskar. one of these days, boba is going to forgo the ladder and just use the jetpack. he turns his attention back to the rifle, reloading it with a rattling sound. a spent slug hits the clay ground of the nest, dancing briefly and dropping dead. not much space in here, the nest wasn’t built with more than one person in mind. with boba half-lying on his stomach, din has no choice but to slot himself next to him. he wordlessly settles on his back, stretching legs as far as the walls of the nest allow him. boba throws a warning glance at the dusty boots threatening to brush against his shoulderguard but doesn’t say anything.

his helmet softly taps against the cycler rifle as he lines up the next shot. another womp rat skitters out of the dunes, a black spot of fur against the aggressively sunset-soaked sand. boba pulls the trigger again. a cloud of dust kicks up as the rat goes both limp and stiff at the same time. reload, click, tap. 

boba racks up fifteen bullseyes before he sets down the gun. with a hidden wince, he shifts to his back and sits up slightly. din looks like he could be sleeping, slumped against the clay walls of the nest. but then the silver helmet twitches at his sudden movement and the interwoven hands on his stomach move to grip the thigh plates. as if he forgot he wasn’t supposed to get comfortable. boba crosses his arms over his chest, wondering if there’s anything to say. when did you arrive, how long are you staying, where’s your ship-- he would ask all of that if he didn’t respect their time. boba simply waits, observing din and the slow dive of the suns behind him. 

he can barely see the edge of the last star when din speaks, voice raspy from the silence: “will you be here in three days?” 

boba weighs the question and the strange amount of future present in it. he chooses a non-answer: “don’t want to overstay my welcome. this is fennec’s spot, you know.” 

din’s helmet jerks to one side, almost impatient. “here, on tatooine.” he clarifies. 

both suns are fully gone by the time boba answers: “i could be.” 

the silver helmet bows slightly, like a plea. boba feels his eyes jump to every ridge of din’s armor, reading it. there’s something tense hiding underneath the beskar, a sense of plucked strings. he nods slowly at din, meeting him halfway. but after that promise, he can’t stop the questioning tilt of his helmet. 

“i heard some news.” din answers in one breath. 

“good news, bad news?” 

“good. but uncertain.” 

they fall silent. boba knows there’s no point in pressing the topic. a good hunter doesn’t share preemptive leads. nothing more disgraceful than wasting another hunter’s time. he understands why din holds back the details. despite that, something stirs in him anyway and suddenly sitting still isn’t enough. but the gun is empty and din won’t name the target. he blinks slowly. turns his helmet away from the other mandalorian. the dune sea stretches below and it reminds him how to bury things. another blink and he comes back to both of them. 

“i’ll be here.” he voices what he already promised. there are some plans he’ll have to reshuffle but nothing too important. somehow, the schedules seem to matter less and less. 

din’s shoulders drop a little, almost gratefully. he nods and the contract is now binding. boba watches him shift to his knees, crumpled up in this small nest. sometimes din knows exactly how to take up space with his body, sometimes he doesn’t. sometimes he fills out the lines of his armor perfectly, emphasized by the gloss and his heaving chest. and sometimes he doesn’t seem to be anywhere at all. right now, din might as well be in another star system. 

“it’s important.” boba observes, not budging from his spot. that should have been a question, but why pretend? din nods again, faster. boba shrugs. “then get it done. get it done and come back.” 

when did he get so spoiled, he wonders. to want, to ask. instead of just being. more and more, instead of just even. and why does din give it to him, he wonders about that as well.

they share another quiet moment. there’s no point in adding other promises, what could be more important than these two? be here. come back. nothing else to say. the silence before the goodbye swells, threatening to drag on until they both start to hate it. boba decides to cut it short before they get to that point. he knocks his boot into din’s shin. 

“you better start climbing down before we both freeze here.” 

ah, tatooine nights. they know them so well. 

din stirs awake, something light and curved in his tone: “i think i know a faster route.” he glances at his jetpack. the shared half-smiles are to be felt, not seen.

*** 

the chill from the flight still bites at his plates as he enters the throne room. their court is gone for tonight or passed out in various spaces between clay walls. fennec throws him a quick glance before returning to her datapad. she’s sitting cross-legged on the throne and boba stops right before her, one foot on the first step. the sniper looks down at him and the angle is intentional.

“i need you to take over the trading post job.” he announces.

she raises her brow. “i thought you were going to do it” 

“change of plans.” boba keeps his answers short. but there’s no hiding from fennec and he should have seen that coming. 

she sets down the datapad, props her head upon her fist. boba is suddenly very aware of what the womp rat catching the gleam of his rifle must have felt like. the question that follows next doesn’t even bother trying to sound casual, it’s self-pleased and loving it: “and that change of plans wouldn’t have something to do with mando’s speeder that i saw parked outside, right?”

he doesn’t reply. which means he might as well have confirmed fennec’s suspicions and she knows that, judging by the way she reclines in her seat. the stone throne seems to be fitting her especially well tonight. “where is he anyway?” 

“had to go already.” boba gives up, lets her have that moment of triumph. they really should stop playing those games, they’re all too old for that. fennec squints her eyes slightly but before she can ask another question, he brings her back to the matters at hand: “will you do it? the job.” 

the sniper stares at him for a moment. fennec can read him so well but how could she understand things he himself doesn’t fully get yet? her survey brings no results and finally, she answers: “i will. send me the details later.” 

“copy that.” he nods, hoping she’ll know the gesture means more than just confirmation.

fennec picks up the datapad again, directing her gaze at it: “something big coming?”

boba stares at the staircase he just came from. he thinks about how hard he gripped the metal edge of din’s speeder when their helmets collided. like he wanted to stop it from taking him away. or hold onto it so they would have to leave together. 

“i don’t know.” he answers because he doesn’t know how to lie. 

*** 

three days pass and he waits by the same rock they last saw each other. again, the suns start to hide but the warmth isn’t gone yet. and maybe the heat he caught in the noon will carry him well into the night. back pressed against the stone, he watches the sand shift around him, taunting him for remaining so idle while the desert keeps changing. 

but that’s what sets them apart, he thinks. that’s what makes the two of them possible. he remembers this and yet the restlessness grows. at some point, fennec said she’s glad to be leaving for a bit. the last time someone called him impatient was when he was a kid. which makes sense, he supposes. the last time he dared to depend on someone was in his childhood.

before he can follow that thought, the horizon brings what he’s been waiting for. a lone speeder approaching with a glint he trained his eyes to look out for everywhere he goes.

it’s almost an agony to watch din approach. the silver dot grows bigger, the sound of the speeder gets louder. it’s not fast enough for boba but he doesn’t move from the rock he’s leaning against. he isn’t completely lost to disquiet yet. when din finally stops, the way he dismounts and walks up to their spot tells boba everything he needs to know. the mission, whatever it was, was successful. the steps are careful but calm, the distance between them almost minimal. it’s not a triumph, but there is a sense of something reclaimed and the peace that comes with it. he thinks he recognizes that, saw that repeated in someone else.

boba pushes himself away from the rock, stepping into the other hunter’s space. here i am, a promise fulfilled. and immediately, the silver helmet bows down, pressing against his. with no hands to frame them, this is just a quick acknowledgment, almost desperate in its pace. there’s something else, a matter more pressing. boba waits, sharing the withheld breath. the unrest comes back, almost like a collapsing wave.

“i want you to meet someone.” din’s voice is hoarse. 

boba pulls back just in time to catch the satchel on din’s hip move slightly. inside of his helmet, his eyes narrow and then open wide in realization.

he looks up. are you sure? me?

din nods. you. 

the gloved hands pull back a layer of canvas. two huge black eyes blink up at him, curiously comparing the two helmets above them.

[tibbinswrites]

Suptober Day 18 - Food

The cupboards of the bunker’s kitchen were always full, the fridge… not so much. Oh, the freezer was stacked to bursting and the pantry was almost overflowing. Every grocery run Dean would return with at least three more cans of soup or giant bags of rice or pasta, along with the fresh stuff that was gone again within days, or left to gather mould as the inhabitants took on a case with little to no forward planning.

Despite their stores of non-perishables, it was a rare week that Dean would have to dip in more than two or three times. The kitchen had been decently stocked with equipment when they’d first moved in and with the modern additions that had been added since, one could almost call it a chef’s dream.

Dean did most of the cooking, of course. He enjoyed it. He hadn’t used to, back when ‘cooking’ meant sticking a can of spaghetti hoops on a hot plate or pouring milk onto cereal, but when he learned to trust himself to work an oven without burning the place down he began to experiment. Sammy needed his vitamins after all, and John had actually been pretty good at making sure they were stocked up when they were younger, so instead of ignoring the vegetables and raw meat in favour of the quick and easy ready-meals, Dean began to try some things out. He’d stolen a couple of recipe books and improvised with some of the more niche ingredients. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. It had been frustrating sometimes, if the substitute ingredients were vile or the chicken was burnt to cinders because Dean had been distracted by peeling and chopping the vegetables, then there was no back-up plan, the food they had had to last as long as possible, so they would either have to force it down anyway or go hungry, but it was a hell of a lot more fun than PB&J for the fourth night in a row.

It was only after they’d moved into the bunker that Dean began baking. Before it had always been a shop-bought cake for birthdays, less so about the ingredients after he’d been issued his own fake card and more about the fact that there was no practical reason to drag around crap like mixing bowls and rolling pins and cake tins all over the country when they needed the room for ammo.

But in his own space, where he could buy whatever equipment he wanted, Dean thrived. Okay, sometimes he was too tired or drained to do more than throw whatever he could find into a pan and call it stew but on a good day he’d make his own pasta and pastry, he’d bake cookies just for the hell of it, he’d even started making his own bread, just because he could. He had several recipe books but his experiments in his youth made him freer with ingredients, and he’d established his own flair in every meal. If Dean made Sam something, especially if he baked Sam something, Sam knew better than to turn up his nose. He knew Dean well enough to know that he wasn’t offering Sam food, he was offering him love on a plate. Dean cared for people by caring for them, by cooking for them and wrapping them up in blankets and stitching up wounds. He didn’t know how to say those things, but at this point, he didn’t really need to.

Dean loved cooking because he loved his family.

Xxx

Sam’s attitude to cooking was less enthusiastic. He had a recipe for tomato rice soup for whenever Dean got sick because Dean was the worst patient ever and would only be certain to eat that one thing if he had so much as a sniffle. He’d cook if he had to but he didn’t really enjoy the process. If left to his own devices, he would rather snack throughout the day on salads and fruit and make use of the state of the art juicer than have three squares. He certainly didn’t have the patience that Dean did for trial and error.

Dean had tried to teach him how to cook, years ago, before he left for Stanford, but whatever he made was never as good as whatever Dean made so he supposed he just stopped trying, especially if Dean insisted on taking over the kitchen anyway because he ‘didn’t trust’ Sam’s choice of food. So Sam didn’t want to drown himself in bacon grease.

He was capable of cooking; he could follow a recipe as well as anyone, and he tried to use healthier substitutions where possible. He hadn’t quite picked up the knack of seasoning though, so most of his dishes came out pretty bland. Dean would still eat them though, taking extra portions and telling him how good it was, even though he was obviously lying through his bulging cheeks, just to make him smile. It always worked.

Sam didn’t mind cooking because it made him remember the good parts of his childhood.

Xxx

Despite not needing to consume food, Cas’ cooking was actually pretty good. Once Dean had shown him how all the appliances worked (since in his first disastrous attempt to surprise the Winchesters with a meal he’d melted a pan, exploded the microwave and set all the danger alarms blaring), and after several months of hawk-like supervision, he was deemed safe enough to have free reign if he chose to. He had avoided their careful questions about why he sometimes chose to, but he saw it in their eyes whenever he presented them with something he’d made.

Castiel considered recipes to be as scripture. If it was written down then it was the ‘correct’ way to make the thing and he grew endlessly frustrated when he couldn’t quite grasp how some things just didn’t come out the way the recipe dictated it should. He wouldn’t even be able to consider a dish until he had every single one of the ingredients listed in the recipe and he measured them out to perfection.

This meant that Cas’ cooking was wildly unpredictable. He didn’t really grasp that there were differences between ovens, and the temperature of one kind might not work so well for another. He also spent more on ingredients than either of the other two, and there were jars of random spices and bottles of specific weird oils and flavourings that Cas had only needed a pinch of (a literal pinch in Cas’ case) and he only cooked the same thing more than once if he was specifically asked to.

He also made the most varied dishes. While Dean’s simple, and hearty home-cooked style was perfected, and Sam’s dishes often had European influences, Castiel’s cooking transcended time and space, he would attempt traditional recipes from the Qing dynasty, and then an 18th century French dessert.

The results weren’t always unpleasant, but were usually very weird. Dean had resorted to making back-up dinners whenever Cas cooked, just in case, though he listened with genuine interest as Cas talked them through the recipe and the modern adaptations made to it over time and who used to eat it and what that said about their social standing.

Cas didn’t understand why the Winchester brothers felt limited to cook within the boundaries of their usual supermarket. After all, he would reason, they ordered Chinese food, did they not? And Italian, and Indian and Thai? Why shouldn’t they make their own? It would be healthier, he would argue to Sam, as they would only be cooking for two, and had no need for the additives or extra ingredients that were more suited to cooking in bulk, and it would be more interesting and appropriate, he’d tell Dean, to learn how other cultures actually made their food, rather than the Americanised, inaccurate copy that was just a phone call away.

They were never convinced, but they also didn’t protest to (most) of his dishes and he took pride in that.

Castiel liked cooking because it connected him even further with humanity.

@winchester-reload

If you liked this, please consider buying me a coffee. 

[in-a-cave-with]

What are your favorite fanfictions based in any of the Marvel comics universes?

ok this is certainly a . question. lmao . so i..have bookmarked like Three 616 fic on my actual ao3 account and i honestly dont know why. i have read so much 616 fic but i never bothered to make it a habit to .. save them . so rip me. this will be an incomplete list! huge f in the chat lads

there’s also the issue of like. pretty much all of the comics fic i like being, uh, stevetony. im a loser.

anyway.

When The Lights Go On Again by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: Aliens have invaded earth, and the Avengers are scattered. While Steve leads the resistance, Tony once again finds himself playing captive scientist. In the midst of a violent alien regime, separated by seemingly insurmountable boundaries, Steve and Tony have nothing to keep themselves going but each other.rec note: i JUST read this fic and it ruined my life. go read it and ruin your life too

Resurrection, Reconstruction & Redemption by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: Doom brings Steve back from the dead. Hijinks ensue, some of which might vaugely be considered plot.rec note: a classic! i think this was the first stevetony fic posted to ao3? you should def go ahead and read the rest of the series (yes it is a series yes it is 300k+ words yes it is worth it)

The Roughest Day by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: Steve is in a motorcycle accident, Tony catches a cold, and someone is after the New Avengers.rec note: this gives me warm fuzzies because it’s the new avengers avenging and there isn’t enough of that

King of Infinite Space by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: A villain from Tony’s past comes back to cause trouble for the Avengers. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so easy, if things weren’t already so awkward over the events of Execute Program.rec note: it’s not a tony stan created reclist if there isn’t a tiberius stone fic somewhere on it

Winter Is All Over You by KiyaarSummary: Tony can’t remember why he’s running.rec note: *soft wheezing noises* oh,

My Mallory Heart [Add Violence Remix] by KiyaarSummary: He keeps seeing that bundle of metal set into Tony’s bare chest, the raw edges around it like Tony’s body was rejecting it. Keeps wondering: what have you done to yourself this time.rec note: *incoherent blubbering*

Sea Stars by MuccamukkSummary: Steve comes back to life somewhere entirely unexpected; Tony doesn’t remember being a hero; something is rotten in the province of British Columbia, and the 2010 Olympics are doomed.rec note: i LIVE for this fic it’s so good. the setting…the mystery…the characterization…top notch

Indelible by PenumbrenSummary: When an experiment goes awry, Tony thinks he may have found an answer to his problems and Steve faces something he’s been avoiding for a very long time.rec note: this turned out to be way sadder than i thought it was going to be

(Not So) Lonely At The Top by foldingcranesSummary: Riri has a bad day, and Tony tries to be An Emotionally Available Adult for her. It doesn’t go so bad.rec note: there isn’t enough riri fic out there…

if you leave by CapnShellheadSummary: After so many months passing each other in silence, Steve and Tony find a marriage counselor to try to work through their issues with communication.rec note: warning: fic is akin to a bat swung to the knees

Marvels: The Bloodstone Odyssey by teaberryblueSummary: The year is 1940. In the middle of the Blitz, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts set out to London to recover Howard Stark’s lost work. But it turns out that they’re not the only ones hunting for it. Tony finds himself contending with Nazis, crooks, and perhaps his most formidable adversary yet: a scrawny, asthmatic, bullheaded kid named Steve Rogers.rec note: this gives me huge indiana jones vibes and it’s GREAT

Emanata (The Comics Will Break Your Heart Remix) by teaberryblueSummary: Steve Rogers has the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a comic artist when eccentric billionaire, superhero patron, and obsessive comic enthusiast Tony Stark offers him a job drawing Iron Man. But Tony Stark has no idea that Steve Rogers is really Captain America, the newest member of the Avengers. And Iron Man has no idea that Captain America is really Steve Rogers, up-and-coming comic book artist. And Steve doesn’t know what to do about the fact that he’s falling head over heels for them both.rec note: this one has a special place in my heart bc it’s the one that got me into 616 stevetony! the identity shenanigans make my head hurt and i love it

Genesis by teaberryblueSummary: Reluctant to make the truth about their secret weapon known, the American Government tells the world that Captain America is a man named Steve Rogers. According to public record, he died, tragically, in 1945, and he became legend. In 1998, the Avengers find a body trapped in ice. She’s alive. Her name is Eve. She has Captain America’s shield.rec note: i think this is the..only steve centric fic here lmao . and also technically this is a mix of 616/mcu/ults but i’m still putting it here bc it’s…very good

Highest fall you’ll ever grace by laireshiSummary: “You’ll probably want these back,” Tony says at last, and it hurts almost physically to pull the dog tags over his head and offer them to Steve. But they never really belonged to Tony, did they? Steve seems to hesitate for a second, but then he takes his dog tags with a weird expression. “Yeah,” he says. “They’re mine.”rec note: *clutches heart* hhhh

Transmission by laireshiSummary: The incursions are stopped. Steve hopes for things to go back to normal. Instead, he finds himself stranded in an alternate universe with Tony. Getting home won’t be easy. There are too many things they haven’t told each other, too many arguments they’ve never solved. Now, with just each other for company, they might have to face them all—especially as they seem to be telepathically bonded, and can’t keep anything unsaid anymore.rec note: oh boy am i a sucker for Stevetony Finding Out About The Confession

Chasing Shadows by laireshiSummary: Steve is still adjusting to the future. Tony hopes he is helping, but Steve’s and Iron Man’s morals might be too different for them to work together. Then Steve starts to act strangely, and all Tony can do is chase at shadows.rec note: this fic hurt me . that’s it that’s all i have to say

The Counselors Are In by cptxrogersSummary: Steve and Tony from Avengers Assemble open a counseling service for all the other Steves and Tonys from across the multiverse. God knows they need it.rec note: come on Other Universes GET IT TOGETHER

Think of This as Solving Problems (That Should Never Have Occurred) by SinealaSummary: No one knows Tony is Iron Man. Then Tony gets amnesia, and literally no one knows Tony is Iron Man.rec note: ok here comes the sineala spam in the reclist lmao

The Jar by SinealaSummary: The Avengers are ridiculously competitive people, and what starts out as a silly late-night team discussion quickly becomes a contest: their names. Not the code names – the nicknames. Who can go the longest without using them? They pledge to spend a week not nicknaming each other, and they’ll pay up every time they mess up. This hits Tony the hardest, and not just financially. Tony’s got a lot of nicknames for everyone, but most of all for Steve – and when Tony can’t use the names he’s already got, the names he uses reveal feelings he had no idea he had.rec note: super cute! lov those funky avenging dudes

Changeling by SinealaSummary: Instead of deleting his entire brain and reloading from a backup, Tony attempts to erase just the SHRA database from his mind. As Steve later finds out, this is unfortunately not what he actually did.rec note: *ugly sobbing* ttngngjfgnTONY ,.,,,,CAROLLLLL ,,FDF..,,KSDJBVSD ,,,S T E V E..,,,, FVKJD,,,,SFDJKDNFVNKDJFD

If You Want to Live (The Historical Present Remix) by SinealaSummary: The Civil War is over. The SHRA is gone. Steve has been brought back to life. He’s settling into his new duties as America’s top cop. His longtime friendship with Carol Danvers – Avenger, former director of SHIELD, and former leader of the pro-Registration forces – is now a tenuous one. But something is very wrong in the world. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. Someone is missing. Tony Stark was killed at the age of seventeen, and it’s up to Steve to travel into the past to save a man he doesn’t remember from a man he knows all too well: a mysterious assassin from another time and place, a man with a metal arm. And the truth is more complicated than anyone could ever have guessed.rec note: super interesting fic! the Plot is,,……. some güd shit

Straight on till Morning by SinealaSummary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he’d never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony’s own design. What’s more, the Avenger’s captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive… and very, very attractive. But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own – and the truth could change everything.rec note: ok there is, like, really weird porn in this fic but it’s a STAR TREK CROSSOVER and that’s all that really matters. and also it’s very heartfelt and the action is  r e a l l y   i n t e n s e

Your Name on Every Wall by SinealaSummary: The Time Gem throws Steve into the past rather than the future, and in doing so, it gives him the opportunity to undo his past mistakes. But when it turns out that all of his mistakes involve Tony Stark, Steve begins to wonder if he’s ever going to be able to mend things between them.rec note: wow…….stevetony…….. am i right boys?

Get Some Now by SinealaSummary: Avengers Mansion has a mysterious feline infestation. Meanwhile, Steve just can’t figure out how to ask Tony out on a date. And the thirteen teleporting cats sure aren’t helping matters any.rec note: as you all may know. i am an active member of the “tony…..but give him a cat” movement and this fic brings me great joy

Sucker Punch by Sineala Summary: Steve never quite warms to Tony Stark, Avengers benefactor. The Molecule Man never strips Iron Man out of his armor. Life goes on for the Avengers, but as disagreements split the team – and Shellhead and Winghead – again and again, Steve wonders why Iron Man always picks Tony over him. And when Steve finds out, it happens in the worst way possible.rec note: and here is a fic that does NOT bring me great joy and instead goes out of its way to hurt me in every way it can

Tony Stark Advises The Avengers by copperbadgeSummary: Somehow, Tony Stark ended up Team Dad.rec note: ANAD AVENGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zero Sum by CraitSummary: Did you do your best, Anthony? And did your best only make things worse?rec note: let ao3 user crait write marvel comics, they clearly understand tony’s character better than anyone who’s written him in the past 10 years

[jace-the-writer-guy]

Home

“A journey home was supposed to fill a person with thoughts of love. But to Rivy, the thought of returning to the place she was born filled her with heartache from the memories of the day her home was destroyed and all her family and friends murdered. She never thought she would ever find the will to return. But with her mate and her two closest allies by her side, along with her faithful companion, and the knowledge that something was waiting for her there, she felt she was finally ready to face her past.”

///Hey guys, here’s that thing I mentioned! I wanted to write something special for Rivy to be able to bring her some peace, and this was the idea I came up with. It has a mix of different elements in it and I hope you enjoy it///

Word count: 7,085

Light grey clouds filled the sky and rain lightly fell from them late in the morning on one spring day. And charred wood, overgrown with vines and broken rubble was scattered around the mossy cobblestone walkways of a long destroyed and abandoned village in the kingdom of Vale. It was far away from other villages and towns, and especially from the city of Vale itself with only a couple of roads leading in and out of it. It used to be such a beautiful, peaceful little village before hell tore through. Walls were broken down in numerous places and homes were either caved in or completely demolished and burned down, leaving only barely standing support beams. The hatred and greed of a man that used to be only known as Locke had rendered the village destroyed and all of the inhabitants murdered by either bandits or Grimm.

All except for one.

A dark green and brown camouflage truck slowly pulled to a stop outside of the northern gate of the village on the side of the road and the four occupants got out of it and into the rainfall, all pulling their hoods onto their heads. The first one out was Rivy, and she grabbed Cero Miedo from the back and put it on her back before she slowly walked up to the vine covered sign outside the gate, and she stopped for a few moments while Momo sat down beside her, her ears erect and alert. Slowly, the memories of Rivy’s childhood began to come into her mind of how her sister used to walk with her up and down the road to take in the silence of nature and the cool breeze coming through the trees from the ocean just a few miles away. It was a memory she held dear in her heart for years. A memory of a peaceful time when she was just an innocent girl.

Soon, a hand was placed on her shoulder and squeezed gently. “We’re with you, love,” Ulysses said gently at her side, “You can do this.”

She felt another hand on her other shoulder a moment later. “Take all the time you need, sister,” Zarya spoke up, her voice low and calming and her scales and the tips of her hair a calming blue color as she held Chroma Sting’s grip in her left hand. She looked from Rivy to the ruined village and she let out a sigh, “I can imagine this used to be a beautiful place.”

Momo’s head nuzzled against her hand, and Rivy smiled a small bit before she gently petted the girl between her ears. As she did that, Saint stepped forward past everyone, Rupture ready in his hands, and he stopped at the sign. “It’s still hard to believe that a village of our people were wiped out, just like that…” The soft spoken man said and took a hand off of Rupture to clear vines away from the sign to reveal the village’s name.

Scalewood

Those with the traits of dragons were very rare among the Faunus race. While there are hundreds of thousands of Faunus on Remnant, there are less than twenty thousand of the formerly nomadic dragon Faunus due to how rare they are, in addition to massacres on them for being the freaks of the freaks dwindling their numbers over the long years before the Great War. History lessons mostly gloss over the darkest parts of humanity’s past, but the blood staining Vacuo’s sand is still there, and the trail followed many of the dragon Faunus into Vale as they tried to migrate and escape the cruel treatment they were subjugated to.

Things were mostly looking up for them all after the Great War and after the formation of the Rangers, giving a select few a good direction in life and giving countless more protection from injustice, and their numbers are still slowly rising back up. But, events like the destruction of Scalewood, a village of around three hundred dragon Faunus, have just taken those numbers back down. Even still these days despite their natural strength and fitness, dragon Faunus have hard times in human dominated settlements, almost always having to cover their scales or other dragon-like traits to prevent themselves from becoming targets of racism and hate, and prevent themselves from being ran out of their homes or killed just for being even more different than other Faunus.

Tears slowly began to form in Saint’s eyes and fall down his cheeks before he ripped some of the vines away and clenched his fist. “I can never understand why things like this happens to our people…”

He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths before putting his hand back on Rupture, and he opened his eyes back up, and then he began to sense something off about the area now, and then he and everyone began to hear Momo growl lowly. “Grimm are here. Southwest of us.”

Rivy’s lip twitched a bit and she gritted her teeth before drawing Cero Miedo from her back. “One day, I hope this village can be rebuilt and be a refuge for dragon Faunus again.”

Ulysses pulled Hammerfall off his back as well and rested it on his shoulder. “Well, Locke and his bandits are dead. New project?”

Rivy hummed a bit in response. “I’ll… think about it.”

Zarya pressed a button on the side of Chroma Sting’s grip with her thumb and the barrel extended out by twenty inches, and she looked at Rivy and gave a small grin. “We’ll talk about that later.”

Zarya jumped up onto the remnants of the wall next to the gate and looked around through her weapon’s sight, and she saw a small group of Beowulves led by an Alpha. She took aim at one of the smaller Beowulves in the group and pulled the trigger, and the round blasted from the barrel, coated in ice dust from the barrel, and zipped through the air before slamming between the Grimm’s eyes, ice bursting around its eyes in a flower and blinding it. It growled and let out a roar before thrashing around, trying to rip the ice off its face as it slammed into the other Grimm and distracted them all. She took a few more shots and all three rounds hit three other Beowulves in either their arms or their torsos before they all finally took notice of her.

But by the time they did, Rivy and Ulysses were already charging at them with Momo at their heels, and Saint wasn’t far behind them. Zarya switched firing modes and began to send bursts of three rounds out and all of them slammed into the Alpha’s feet and the ground around itself feet, soon pinning it there before it had the chance to do anything. While it was stuck, the other Beowulves ran past it, with the blinded one’s vision now free, and they jumped at the three that were running at them. Or they would have, if it wasn’t for Momo hopping between them all and beginning to snarl and growl brutally, baring her fangs at the Grimm. Her semblance activated at that and all three Beowulves stopped in their tracks and whimpered, completely frozen in fear.

Rivy, Ulysses, and Saint took that opportunity to easily take out the three Grimm. Rivy simply cut the head off of one, Ulysses smashed another’s head into paste on the ground, and Saint stabbed the bardiche blade of Rupture into the last’s chest. Before long, the Alpha Beowulf broke free from the ice and let out a loud howl into the air, and multiple more Beowulves began to run into the area from outside the walls. Momo started to growl at them all as she did before, and some froze in fear while others began to hesitate, but some were left unaffected as Momo’s semblance can’t affect too many things at a time. When she was finished with those, she began to dart around the area and out of the reach of the Grimm, keeping them occupied while the others attacked. Those that were unaffected became the targets of Rivy and Ulysses as Saint went on the attack against the Alpha, taking aim with Rupture and pulling the trigger a few times to blast dozens of lightning dust pellets into its torso. The lightning mixed with the wet fur of the Alpha made it howl in pain and caused it to become paralyzed for several moments, letting Saint go in on the attack. He struck at its legs and midsection with multiple side slashes and pushed the Alpha back across the cobblestone and rubble before he spun around and let go with one hand while keeping a hold of the grip in his other while raising Rupture high into the air, and he swung it down with all his might against the Alpha. It’s body recovered from the paralyzation just in time for it to raise its arms up and block the attack, and then it finally countered and sent its claws into Saint’s side, causing him to grunt and slide across the ground on his feet.

Meanwhile, Zarya jumped down from the wall after picking off a few of the smaller Beowulves and reloading, and she ran into the fight while Chroma Sting’s barrel retracted into it’s short ranged form. The larger scope flipped to the side and Zarya aimed through the holographic sight, and she began to fire bursts of rounds into the Grimm, freezing limbs solid for Rivy and Ulysses to easily take off. One Beowulf broke off from the others and ran for her, jumping at her and swiping its claws toward her head from the side. From a few feet away, she dropped to a crouch and took a hand off her weapon to place flat against the ground. She used her semblance and multicolored aura glowed from the stone, and soon a spear of stone shot from the ground and pierced through the Beowulf’s chest and heart, killing it instantly.

Zarya jumped back to her feet and hopped across the rubble of a destroyed home toward her brother, careful not to get her feet stuck between any of the stone or wood. She jumped onto a pillar of wood that was still standing and then leapt off of it as the Alpha Beowulf sent another hard strike toward Saint. The red scaled dragon raised Rupture to block the strike as Zarya jumped from the pillar toward it. She pointed Chroma Sting toward the Alpha’s arm and began to fire bursts of rounds into it, each one bursting into icy flowers along its black fur and bone covered arm. The Alpha growled in annoyance at that and turned its vision toward her, and that gave Saint an opening to knock its arm away with Rupture and knock it off guard, aim at the unprotected underside of its arm near the torso, and pull the trigger.

The Alpha let out a pained roar as its arm was nearly blown off of its body, just hanging by a thread now. Zarya continued her descent toward the Alpha and reared her right fist back, using her aura to grow the hard-light blades of Drachenklaue, and she punched down at the Alpha’s jaw. The claws tore into the Grimm’s flesh, and soon its bottom jaw was broken and mangled. It roared once more in agony and stumbled away from the two, and Zarya gave one look to Saint before giving a nod and unloading the rest of Chroma Sting’s magazine into the Alpha’s chest. She took the magazine out and inserted the one connected to its side, and then she darted off toward where Rivy and Ulysses were fighting off the lesser Beowulves as Saint grinned at the Alpha.

She knew they didn’t need the help, but this was Rivy’s home the Grimm were trampling over, and she wanted them all gone as quickly as possible. As she bolted off from Saint, the red scaled dragon fired another shell of buckshot into the Alpha’s body to get its attention back on him. When it did, Saint jumped back away from it and in its rage-filled mind, it leapt after him and swung its remaining claws toward him. That was the last mistake the Grimm would ever make. Saint planted his feet to the ground and transformed the stock of Rupture into its hilt form and switched his hold to it, and then he jumped forward toward the Alpha, jumping past its reach and impaling Rupture’s blade deep into its chest and its heart to end it.

With a yell, Ulysses brought the heavy metal head of Hammerfall down into a Beowulf’s head and slammed it down into the ground, squashing it into a pulp before it turned to ash and disintegrated. Then, he released the blade from the hammer head and pulled it free, and then he leapt over toward the next Grimm and his attacks became faster now without the massive weight of the hammer. The Grimm took swipes at him with their claws but it was either at the cost of their limbs or their lives. One by one, those that attacked him were all left defenseless or disintegrating under his charge until one Beowulf got lucky and was able to tackle Ulysses to the ground, his blade being knocked from his grasp.

The Beowulf pinned him down and opened its mouth to bite down around his head, but then it was caught off guard and let out a confused growl when it saw Ulysses quickly begin to morph into his werewolf form thanks to his semblance. Then, Ulysses let out a snarl that caused the Beowulf to let out a rather confused, fearful whimper, and Ulysses powered out of its grip and his own claws clamped down around the Beowulf’s head, and then he threw it off of him and jumped up to his feet, and he let out a piercing howl into the air that caused many of the Grimm to stop and turn toward the commanding tone of the howl.

That… was a big mistake.

Even the ones Rivy was fighting had turned their attention away from her and as soon as they did, Cero Miedo sliced through them both and cut them in half, leaving their bodies turning to ash in the wind. Rivy began to go after other Beowulves that were distracted and easily cut them all down like they were nothing as Zarya darted around them all, unloading rounds into their chests and throats to thin their numbers down, empty casings falling and clattering along the cobblestone under her. Rivy focused her aura into her heavy blade and swung it in a sideways arc to send out a slash of aura toward another three Beowulves, maiming two of them and killing the third before Ulysses jumped at them and clawed their heads off.

Rivy stayed as calm as ever as she continued to fight off the pack of Beowulves with her mate and their close friends. They were her family. She remembered how she met each of them and she remembered how far the three had gone for her to see her avenge her family’s deaths and the destruction of her village. She remembered the tavern she met Ulysses in while she was trying to figure out her next steps. She remembered the weapon shop in Mistral she met Saint and Zarya in while she and Ulysses were finding whetstones and oils for their blades. She remembered how willing they all were to offer their aid and support to her after her life had been thrown into hell and her trust shattered. She remembered the day they all stood with her as she drove her sister’s blade through Locke’s chest. She remembered falling into their arms after the heavy use of her semblance tore numerous muscles in her body.

She could never thank them all enough.

Rivy blinked her eyes as she snapped herself back into the present, and Cero Miedo was pierced through the chest of the final Beowulf of the pack. The Grimm disintegrated into dust and Rivy let the tip of her blade touch the ground, and she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Soon, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to see Ulysses back in his normal form, giving her a reassuring smile.

“I know this is hard for you, Rivy,” Ulysses said to her and placed his hand over his right shoulder, feeling the pain and heartache through the Mate’s Mark on his shoulder that she was trying to hide, “Take your time. We’ll stay here as long as it takes.”

“Are you alright, sister?” Zarya asked the older dragon Faunus, “You zoned out when we were fighting the Grimm.”

Saint arrived at them all just then, loading new shells into Rupture. “You can talk to us, Rivy. We’re here for you.”

Rivy shook her head clear and she sighed. “To tell you the truth… I’m not sure I am alright right now or not,” She felt Momo nuzzle her head against her hand and she patted the dog’s head a bit, “Being here again makes me remember everything from when I was a child. This building here…” She looked behind herself at the ruins of a small building, “This was the blacksmith and gunsmith. My grandfather always ended up fixing the guards’ weapons and making them new ones all the time. And that building…” She pointed to another building and everyone followed her finger toward a half standing building down the street, “That was the bakery. I used to buy muffins there and take them to my sister during her breaks, and we would eat them t-together wh-while talking a-about our days… ”

Rivy’s grip loosened a bit on Cero Miedo and she brought her other hand up to cover her mouth as her lips began to quiver as the rain slowly began to stop falling. Almost immediately, she was wrapped in a tight embrace by her mate, and then tears began to fall from her eyes. She used to never let the memories make her break down like this but after seeing Tiamat for the first time in twenty years at Heaven’s Clearing, she could hardly hold her emotions back now. She felt Ulysses’ hand pull her head closer and softly stroke the back of her head. She pressed her face against Ulysses’ shoulder and dropped Cero Miedo to the ground, and she wrapped her arms around Ulysses as well and cried into his shoulder.

Before long, Zarya’s arms wrapped around them both from the side, and then Saint’s wrapped around them from the other side. “Don’t hold anything back, sister,” Saint said softly to his close friend, “Let everything out that you can, and then we’ll look for what Tiamat wanted you to find.”

“You’ll get through this. You’ve gone through so much already,” Zarya said, the tips of her hair still a calm blue as her scales were, but slowly turning to dark grey as she started to feel sadness for what happened to everyone in Scalewood, especially Rivy, “Just a little more and you can hopefully be at peace.”

“We’ll rebuild this place,” Ulysses said in a gentle tone to his mate, “Once we have everything figured out, we’ll come back and start rebuilding. We’ll turn this back into a village for dragon Faunus, and we’ll make sure it stays that way for years. This will be home for you again, Rivy. I promise. And besides…” He separated from Rivy and the others did as well, and he kept her hands on her shoulders and smiled as the sun began to peek through the clouds and coat the area in rays of light, “We’ve both been needing a home for ourselves for a long, long time. The long roads, the camps, the inns, the bars, our apartment… All of those will be worth having to deal with once we rebuild this village.”

Saint looked around the ruins of the village for a few moments and slowly pulled his hood off his head. “I think I would love to help rebuild this place and have a home here as well. To have it be rebuilt to its full glory will hopefully let all those people rest easy.”

“Rebuilding this village in memory of all our fallen brothers and sisters…” Zarya began to say, taking her hood off as her scales and the tips of her hair faded fully to dark grey, and she sighed sadly, and then that color quickly turned to a fiery orange color as she gave a confident smile, “We’ll keep their memory alive. I know a Ranger that keeps up with who lives and lived in each village in Vale. I’ll have her give me a list of all the people that lived here and we’ll build them a memorial with all their names on it. This will always be their home, and I want it to be mine as well.”

Rivy stayed silent as every word sunk in from her closest allies. She looked down to the ground, her cries slowly calming and her tears subsiding, her breathing slowing down. She got down on one knee and looked into Momo’s eyes now, and then the atlesian shepherd licked her cheek a bit. Rivy couldn’t help but chuckle and she brought Momo in for a hug and she stroked her dog’s fur on her back and between her ears for several moments. Over the last year or so, Momo wasn’t just a pet for Rivy. Momo was a companion that always kept her company until Ulysses was finally able to be with her again, and Momo gave her emotional support for the days she needed it when Ulysses wasn’t there. Momo helped Rivy a lot in the time she had adopted the girl, and it was something Rivy would always appreciate.

“Thank you, Momo…” Rivy said softly to her pup, and then she slowly stood back to her feet, pulling her hood off and grabbing the hilt of Cero Miedo along the way, her eyes filled with determination as her cheeks and the scars on her face were stained with tears as she put her weapon on her back, “Thank you all. If it weren’t for all of you over the years having my back and letting me trust people again, I would be either dead or drowning myself in whiskey. You’ve helped me so much and I’ll forever be grateful to you. Yes… we will build a memorial for all the people that were murdered here and we will rebuild this village in their memory. We will rebuild this village to be a home for any dragon Faunus that need it and we’ll keep it safe from any danger whether it’s Grimm or another clan of worthless bandit trash. We’ll never let it be destroyed again!”

She said the last part in a yell and Momo howled in support of her mama, and all three of her companions started grinning widely. They had all seen her at her lowest of lows and highest of highs, and each low point hurt them all to see but each high point left them all raised up with her and this was one of those high points. After all those years, she was finally back in her home village, facing the last part of her terrible past head on and with a determined look in her eyes.

This was the Rivy they all respected and loved. She was loved as a close friend and sister to Saint and Zarya, loved as a mate to Ulysses, and of course, loved as a mother to Momo.

“So Rivy, where did Tiamat say that thing was?” Zarya asked the elder dragon Faunus, her scales and the tips of her hair turning back to blue.

Rivy turned toward the center of the village where a destroyed fountain was scattered along the cobblestone. Just just beyond that, past a few more buildings was the half destroyed remains of where she used to work so long ago. “The inn. Tiamat said that specifically.”

“Your mother and father owned it, didn’t they?” Saint asked as they all began to walk toward the inn, “I remember you telling us that you watched your father mixing drinks a good amount.”

Rivy nodded in confirmation. “He was mesmerizing with it. I learned a few things from him but neither him or mom let me handle the drink mixing,” She chuckled a bit, “I would have started after I turned twenty one.”

“I would have loved to have been around for that,” Ulysses said and smiled at his mate, “You’ve mixed a few drinks for us before and they were good. Do you think you would want to work there again and practice more with mixing drinks?”

Rivy didn’t have to think on an answer. “Absolutely.”

The group of four plus Momo made their way past the rubble and wood, a good majority of it still overtaken by vines like the entrance to the village. Twenty years had gone by since that day, and nature had definitely did its best to reclaim Scalewood. They all arrived at the ruined inn and stood right outside of it, all surveying the sight of it. The wood was half charred and the stone was of course covered in moss mostly, and many of the windows were broken out. It was a wonder half of the three story building was still standing. It would definitely need to be torn down the rest of the way so it can be rebuilt anew. But for now, that wasn’t a priority. Rivy stepped forward away from the group and Momo was right there at her heels, and she looked around the doorframe a bit before reaching over to wipe away the moss that covered the stone to reveal a sign.

“Welcome to the Blue Dragon Inn”

The words were faded and barely legible, but Rivy still remembered exactly what it was supposed to say. “It’s been so long… but I’ve finally come home.”

She walked through the doorway and Ulysses followed her while Saint and Zarya began to wordlessly patrol around the building, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything that would try to sneak up on them. Rivy stopped once more after stepping through the door and she looked around again, taking in the sight of everything after so long. She remembered everything about the parts that were still standing. She remembered waiting patiently at the side of the bar while her father mixed drinks for her to take to some patrons, and she remembered the smell of the food the staff cooked constantly for them all as well. She sighed at the sight of all the broken tables and glass, and all the shattered and destroyed cups and tankards that would have been used for drinks ranging from water to just beer while the broken glasses were reserved for the special mixed drinks.

“That table in the corner,” Rivy pointed Ulysses toward the half destroyed table and the chairs in the corner of the room, “That’s where my grandfather always sat when he closed his workshop for the night and played cards with his old friends. He was always having a good time even when he lost.”

“That was Riah, right?” Ulysses asked softly as they could hear Momo’s claws tapping against the floor as she explored around where they could walk freely.

Rivy nodded. “He was a great man. Eighty years old but still working like he was twenty. Dragon Faunus do tend to have more strength and stamina at older ages than other Faunus or humans.”

Ulysses hummed lightly. “I would have loved to meet him and the rest of your family.”

“And I would have loved for you, Saint, and Zarya to meet them all.”

After taking a few moments to recollect herself, Rivy began to walk toward the bar and walk around to get behind it, taking Cero Miedo off her back. She saw a pile of rubble behind it near the middle, and she remembered what Tiamat had told her to look for. “Behind the bar, under the wood and rocks that fell from the back wall, you’ll find it. I’ve protected it all these years for you.” That was all she said, but Rivy knew that it was something extremely important. She went over to the rubble and got down on her knees, propping her sword against the bar, and then she started to slowly dig through it. It took several long moments and Momo was next to her during it, just watching curiously to see what her mama was doing. And soon, Rivy found exactly what Tiamat had meant, and she pulled it out of the rubble.

It was a family photo, taken and framed just days before the destruction of Scalewood to be displayed right above and behind the bar on the mantle. Her grandfather, Riah, was on the left side with completely silver hair, looking as old as his age but standing as strong as ever. One black, blue tinted horn was left on his head as the other had been long broken off after a battle against a powerful Grimm and his eyes were blue. He was wearing the uniform of a blacksmith complete with a recently-cleaned grey apron, black pants, and a brown shirt under the apron. The next over was her mother, Fay. She had red eyes and red scales that covered a bit more of her cheeks than what Rivy’s did and they extended to cover the entirety of her arms and her sides, along with her upper back and shoulders. She was wearing a simple outfit of blue jeans and a red blouse. Her hair was long and red as well. Next to her was Rivy’s father, Thorne. He had dark blue hair that was cut short, the same color as Riah’s once was and he had dragon wings on his back, blue in color mostly. He wore a pair of blue jeans as well, along with a dark blue vest. Kneeling in front of them was Tiamat, wearing nearly full black leather armor except for over her arms, showing off the red scales that covered them. Her hair was in a tight ponytail. Next to her and standing up in front of their parents with a happy smile on her scarless face was Rivy herself, a happy sixteen year old girl with strong hopes for her future. Her hair was just past her ears in length at the time and still red like her sister’s in contrast to her blue eyes and scales. She was wearing her simple, modest barmaid uniform.

She was holding her baby brother in her arms, Kairon. He had cute little blue wings sprouting from his back.

“H-how did this survive…” Rivy said quietly as tears came to her eyes once more and she clutched the sides of the frame in her hands. The glass on the front was broken but the picture itself was undamaged, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen them all…”

Ulysses walked around the bar to her and knelt down behind her. “You looked cute, you know.” He said softly.

Rivy smiled, her voice catching in her throat a bit. “Th-that’s what everyone told me. Tia… She picked that out for me to wear.”

“It was a good choice.”

Rivy shifted the position of her hand and felt something off about the frame, and she turned it around and noticed a secret compartment had been rotted away a bit, revealing a silver key inside. Rivy knew exactly what the key went to. She gently opened the compartment up and took the key out, and she handed the picture to Ulysses before she looked around the wall behind the bar. It was made up of cobblestone and held together by cement, all of it polished and smooth, but in a small area there were stones that weren’t held together at all. It surprised Rivy that they had stayed like that all those years, but she suspected that Tiamat had something to do with that. She pulled the stone out of the wall and soon revealed a hidden safe, and she pulled the safe out, put the key in, and easily unlocked it. Rivy hesitated for several moments before she took a deep breath and slowly opened it up, sitting down fully on the floor with her back against the bar and Momo sitting next to her.

Rivy gasped and her eyes widened at seeing the contents of the safe, and she reached in and pulled them out. They were all family photos, along with thirty thousand lien. Rivy slowly looked through them all and her eyes teared up even more than from seeing the first picture. They were all pictures of different moments of everyone’s lives. There were old pictures of her grandfather and his mate, photos of each newborn baby from Fay to Thorne, all the way down to Kairos. One was of Tiamat on the day she became captain of the guard, the youngest in Scalewood’s history at twenty years old. Another was of the day Tiamat forged her sword in Riah’s workshop, a day that made their grandfather extremely proud. Another one was the day after Fay and Thorne became mates. The last that Rivy saw before she had to put them back in the safe was of her first day as a barmaid. She had a huge, toothy smile and her eyes were closed because of it.

“This was what she wanted me to find…” Rivy murmured and took the picture from Ulysses, putting it in the safe and closing it back up, putting the key in her pocket, “It’s survived all these years here…” She hugged the safe close to her chest, and for just that moment, Ulysses could see past all the scars, all the hard muscles, all the years of pain and frustration, and all the battles they’ve shared and he could see her for who she should have been. Just an innocent girl that wanted to do nothing more than help her village.

“Do you want to go now since you found that?” Ulysses asked softly and laid his hand on her shoulder, and then he caught sight of something in the wall where the safe was pulled from, “Hmm?”

He peered inside the wall and blinked, and then he reached inside and pulled out two bottles of a blue liquid. “What’s this?” He set one bottle down and turned the other around to inspect the label, “Blue Frost Bourbon?”

“O-oh gods, two bottles survived…” Rivy began to smile a bit, “My father… He was always trying to make a great bourbon and he finally felt like he did with that. Everyone loved it, but I could never have a drink because I was too young. I wonder…” she leaned forward and reached into the wall and felt around for a few moments before she felt a piece of paper, and she grabbed it and pulled it out, and she unfolded it, “He left the recipe for it… I never expected a-any of this wh-when we came here today…”

She opened the safe and put the recipe inside, and she closed it back up before returning to holding the safe to her chest. “I think… we can go now,” Rivy said and stood up off the ground. Ulysses noticed that she had a small smile on her face and her tears weren’t of sadness anymore. They were happy tears, “I think this is all she wanted me to find.”

Ulysses stood up as well, holding the two bottles of bourbon in his hands and he smiled at the sight of his mate’s expression. “You look a lot different now I think.”

Rivy looked at him in confusion. “Hmm? What do you mean?”

“You just look peaceful now. It’s beautiful.”

Rivy smiled a bit more and she stepped forward to kiss him on the lips. “I think I finally feel at peace now too. You know…” She pressed her head against his shoulder, “After we rebuild, then… I think I want to try to have a child of my own with you.”

Ulysses started to smile even more and pressed his head down against her’s. “I would love nothing more than that, love." 

The two stood like that for several moments before they shared another kiss, and then they left the in along with Momo and they met back up with Saint and Zarya. "I’m assuming you found it?” Saint asked hopefully.

Rivy nodded in response. “I did. And I think I found peace along with it.”

Zarya smiled at hearing that and her scales and hair began to change to a bright white color to display her absolute joy for Rivy. “I’m so happy for you, Rivy. If there was anyone in the world who deserved peace, it would be you without a doubt.”

“That’s amazing to hear,” Saint said and smiled as well, “What did you find?”

“A safe full of family photos and thirty thousand lien to help us rebuild Scalewood,” Ulysses answered for his mate and held up the two bottles of the cool blue liquid, “and two bottles of Blue Frost Bourbon with at least twenty years of age to it, along with the recipe for it.”

Saint’s smile turned to a grin. “When do we get to try the bourbon?”

“And when do we get to see the pictures?” Zarya asked and began to grin as well.

Rivy laughed at that and smiled back at them. “Let’s get back to the truck and we’ll do just that.”

Rivy led them all back through the village and this time, she walked with a new purpose in her steps. Everyone was glad to follow behind her, and Momo was especially happy because she sensed how happy her mama felt and her tail wagged behind her with each step. They soon made their way back to the truck and Zarya went to the back and opened the door, then pulled out a small table from the truck and four shot glasses from a small box and set them on the table. The table was built to be pulled straight out from the truck with another table beside of it that can be pulled out with a burner in it to cook food easily. But for now, the table was all they needed.

“How excited are you to finally be able to try this stuff, Rivy?” Ulysses asked his mate with a grin as he opened one of the bottles up, and they were all immediate hit with the scent of cool mint.

Rivy smiled and breathed deeply though her nose. “I’m very excited. I’ve always wondered what it tastes like and now I finally have the chance.”

Ulysses filled each glass with the light blue bourbon and closed the bottle, and then everyone took a glass in their hands. “I think this calls for some sort of toast, doesn’t it?” Saint asked everyone.

Zarya nodded. “I agree. This is a very special occasion.”

“I think that’s more than fitting,” Ulysses agreed as well and nodded, “Would you like to start, Saint?”

Saint nodded back at him and raised his glass. “To the reclamation and rebuilding of Scalewood.”

Zarya raised her glass. “To everyone who was lost, and to everyone who is still with us.”

Ulysses raised his glass and smiled at his mate. “To Rivy.”

Rivy smiled at that and slowly raised her glass into the air, and she looked around at these three people closest to her, and she remembered her grandfather, her parents, her sister, and her baby brother. She remembered the hell she endured to get to this point, all to avenge what had happened to her village that she was now planning to rebuild with the help of Ulysses, Saint, and Zarya, and she was sure that the friends they had made throughout the years would aid them in that. 

“To family.” Rivy said finally, and each person downed their shots as Momo howled into the air.

Everyone could feel their mouths tingle with the taste of the mint along with the alcohol in the bourbon, and the coolness of it made it go down extremely easily when they all swallowed it. After that, they all got the faint aftertaste of blueberry, and it was all tasted absolutely wonderful to them. The transition from the taste of mint to blueberry was perfect. Everyone there could definitely tell why the bourbon was so popular among everyone in Scalewood.

“That… is amazing,” Saint said and let out a deep breath, still feeling the coolness of the mint in his mouth, “I haven’t tasted anything like this in my life.”

“Neither have I,” Zarya said and licked her lips, humming in delight, “I think that drink was perfect to mark a new chapter in our lives.”

Ulysses nodded and refilled everyone’s glasses, and everyone eagerly drank it down once more. “Gods, it’s so good.”

“Oh Light, the second drink tastes even better~” Saint said with a big grin, “I probably shouldn’t drink anymore considering I’m driving.”

Ulysses chuckled at that and put the lid back on the bottle. “I agree. I think these should only be broken out for special occasions. What did you think of it, love?”

He looked over to Rivy and what he saw brought a smile filled with joy to his face. She was smiling like she was sixteen again, and tears of happiness fell down her cheeks once more. “It’s absolutely amazing…” She looked up to the heavens, where she was sure all her family were watching her. She could just imagine the smile on her father’s face right now after she finally got to try his bourbon, “I-it’s perfect, dad. I’ll do my best to make more one day.”

Ulysses put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “They would all be happy for you, Rivy.”

“When are we going to start rebuilding?” Zarya asked Rivy, her scales still white.

“I think… we should start as soon as possible,” Rivy answered her, “Let’s go back to Vale now. We have a lot of people to call.”

[aq2003]

today is international fanworks day, heres a list of some of my favorite fics

-star wars

The Silent Song by Eirian Erisdar When Qui-Gon Jinn is told to take a new padawan, the Force pushes him towards a certain initiate - but when Qui-Gon is told that Obi-Wan cannot speak, he hesitates. And all the while, Palpatine moves in the shadows... 

A Trophy, Nothing More by solojones After killing Obi-Wan Kenobi in 'A New Hope', Darth Vader takes a moment to reflect on what he's done.

Adagio by ruth baulding A slow movement, in a minor key, set on Tatooine post-Mustafar.

The Weeds in the Wilderness by ealcynn A man wakes on a cold and desolate moor. He knows he is hurt. He knows he is alone. What he doesn't know is what he is, or where he came from. He doesn't know even his own name. But there is something else that this man knows, and that is that if he doesn't get help soon, he is going to die. And on this strange new world, there are so many dangers.

Teachers by Selena "Remember, Anakin, the master learns as much from the padawan as the padawan learns from the master." Eight lessons Anakin Skywalker learns through Ahsoka Tano, and one Darth Vader does.

one door closes, another opens by isabilightwood Ahsoka runs through a portal in the Lothal Jedi Temple, and finds herself seventeen years in the past. Only to find everything is slightly different - her seventeen-year-old past self was just executed, Obi-wan is missing, and Anakin fell eight months early, prompting Order 66 just after her arrival. With only her questionably useful knowledge of the Empire as a guide, Ahsoka finds herself helping to build a rebellion from scratch. Again. But this time, with a few more Jedi left in the galaxy. Some of whom could cause more problems than they solve.

Reprise by Elfpen Ben Kenobi dies aboard the Death Star in the year 0 BBY. He wakes up shortly thereafter in the Jedi temple in the year 41 BBY. Haunted by memories and regret, Ben must forge a new path for himself in the Jedi Order of his youth while navigating the murky waters of time travel. Crafting a better future from bitter experience is hard, but learning to heal is even harder. Part 1 of Reprise

Hard Deviations by flute25 “The snares of the world were its ways of sin. He would fall. He had not fallen but he would fall and surely, in an instant. Not to fall was too hard and he felt the silent lapse of his soul, as it would be at some instant to come, falling, falling, but not yet fallen, still not fallen but about to fall.” James Joyce - Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Obi-wan Kenobi goes undercover, fighting a battle against Dooku, the Sith, and himself. Takes place during the Rako Hardeen arc. Part 2 of Divergences

Drifting Starlight by Pandora151 Just before the fateful Battle of Naboo, Qui-Gon Jinn is brought to the future, to the Clone Wars. He doesn't know why or how, but he knows one thing for sure: He never, in a million years, expected the galaxy to end up like this. Part 2 of The Journey of the Lights

-mcu

for good by Madelinedear "Sorry, May, we can't all be best friends with a celebrity.” May opens her mouth to retort reflexively, the words 'we aren’t even friends' on the tip of her tongue before she closes her mouth. Because they are friends, now. They’re way past that point. Oh my god, she thinks somewhat hysterically. Tony Stark is my best friend. (or; Tony Stark, May Parker, and the road to something like friendship) Part 1 of call you home

Exclusive by copperbadge Heroes In Manhattan: From Captain America's Hidden Talents To The Truth About The Hulk, We Debunk The Myths And Expose The Daily Lives Of The Avengers. Part 1 of Magazineverse

Watch Our Souls Fade Away by GloriousBlackout Nebula and Tony struggle to come to terms with everything they've lost as they make the journey back to Earth. Takes place immediately after the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

the rattle of their hearts by iron_spider Tony deals with the aftermath of Infinity War. He needs to get things back to normal. And Peter is an essential part of normal. Part 1 of rattle universe

home training by theformerone T'Chaka takes Erik back to Wakanda. Erik is a problem child. Part 1 of erik stevens, prince of wakanda

We've Made It This Far, Kid by EmAndFandems Tony's just trying to protect the kid from SHIELD. Why does everything have to be so hard? Meanwhile, Peter's biggest problem is buying movie tickets, until he gets a harsh awakening.

the spider-man conspiracy by tempestaurora  WHO IS SPIDER-MAN? The screen showed Peter Parker, sixteen years old and determined to prove the identity of Spider-Man over the course of the three-part documentary he was making, unknowing that it would become viral within days of the first part being released. Behind the camera, way off screen, was Harley Keener, Tony Stark’s other prodigy child, grinning like crazy as Peter started the documentary. Only a few people knew what was to come, and those few people were about to have a great few weeks. “My name is Peter Parker, and with the help of my friends, Ned Leeds, Harley Keener, and my Aunt, May Parker, who provided me with a lot of red yarn for this project, we’re going to uncover the identity of Spider-Man.” OR "what if peter just decided to fuck with everyone who didn’t know he was spider man and make a documentary about him trying to uncover the Truth." Part 1 of the conspiracy kids

Below Freezing by aftersoon (notboldly) When Rhodey crash lands in the Himalayan wilderness, it tests more than just his survival skills.

-marvel 616

Resurrection, Reconstruction & Redemption by Elspethdixon, Seanchai Doom brings Steve back from the dead. Hijinks ensue, some of which might vaugely be considered plot. Part 1 of Resurrection-verse

Winter Is All Over You by Kiyaar Tony can't remember why he's running.

Sea Stars by Muccamukk Summary: Steve comes back to life somewhere entirely unexpected; Tony doesn’t remember being a hero; something is rotten in the province of British Columbia, and the 2010 Olympics are doomed.

(Not So) Lonely At The Top by foldingcranes Summary: Riri has a bad day, and Tony tries to be An Emotionally Available Adult for her. It doesn’t go so bad.

Emanata (The Comics Will Break Your Heart Remix) by teaberryblue Summary: Steve Rogers has the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a comic artist when eccentric billionaire, superhero patron, and obsessive comic enthusiast Tony Stark offers him a job drawing Iron Man. But Tony Stark has no idea that Steve Rogers is really Captain America, the newest member of the Avengers. And Iron Man has no idea that Captain America is really Steve Rogers, up-and-coming comic book artist. And Steve doesn’t know what to do about the fact that he’s falling head over heels for them both.

Changeling by Sineala Instead of deleting his entire brain and reloading from a backup, Tony attempts to erase just the SHRA database from his mind. As Steve later finds out, this is unfortunately not what he actually did. Part 1 of Changeling

Zero Sum by Crait Did you do your best, Anthony? And did your best only make things worse?Series Part 1 of Stark Disassembled

-jojo’s bizarre adventure

nothing like the sun by succubused

“All Jotaro’s other targets are dead. Except for you.” Malika cocked her head, considering Kakyoin. “After he came back the last time and he was…alone in there, I…grew him flowers, a few times. I wasn’t supposed to. But he was in the dark for so long. I thought he wouldn’t mind losing a little bit of blood as long as it reminded him there was still something left.” “What do you mean,” Kakyoin said slowly, “‘in the dark’?” Malika didn’t answer. White flowers unfurled from her forearm, gentle trickles of blood rising up the thin stems. She watched them thoughtfully. White poppy; consolation. She plucked a poppy out of her arm and held it carefully between two fingers. “You have to get him out,” she said. “You have to.”

AU where Jotaro is the evil brainwashed assassin sent to kill Kakyoin, who makes life very complicated for Dio by being better at counterpossession than he is. Part 1 of nothing like the sun

somebody's baby boy ain't coming home tonight by simkjrs He rolls back the sleeve on his left arm and looks at the scabbed-over words that have been cut into his skin.

KASAI 181 BRING PEN

It’s not like Jotaro makes it a habit to listen to what other people say to him, but this is too strange of a case. He doesn’t remember doing this to himself, but if he didn’t do it, then who? And if he did do it, then why can’t he remember? ---- Four months after Egypt, and there is something strange happening back at home.

I am the desert by catboysam Jotaro hated to admit it to himself, but despite the fact that he hadn't teared up when they left Japan, he missed his grandfather’s presence. After having him beside him for so long and through so much, being separated from him felt… almost wrong. Like another thing was missing. And the more he lingered on that thought, the more the lack of Polnareff's presence felt wrong too. Jotaro invites Polnareff to his high school graduation.

the sidewalk soldiers sing the midnight blues by queenieofaces In hindsight, he doesn’t know why it didn’t occur to him that losing a hand might affect his hamon. His lungs are fine, but the flow of energy through his body is different now, no matter how imperceptibly.

The Best-Laid Plans by deuil Jotaro'd mentioned to Josuke on a few occasions that every plane that Joseph Joestar's ever been on has crashed and burned. Josuke wonders now if he's somehow managed to metaphorically inherit that trait.

Can't Go Back Now by etymologyplayground "No, no, he was not the devil. It is just that he was called Diavolo. … Well, maybe he was, I don't know," Giorno says. "Bene, he was the… director? Of Passione." "Boss," Fugo supplies him. "He was the boss." Giorno snaps his fingers at Fugo gratefully. "He was the boss. I should not care about him personally except that he made Passione sell drugs, and weapons. That's no good, you know." Jolyne slides her eyes over to Hermès, who is very resolutely looking at the road. She bites her lip. Jolyne thinks about the dime bag of weed currently sitting in the glove compartment. "Oh, yeah, for sure." -- Giorno and Fugo visit the Florida crew. Jolyne figures some stuff out about herself, her dad, and Hermès.

Untitled (1980-2014) by platinumfinale Jotaro Kujo, and his family, grows up. Contains spoilers for parts 3-6.

and the PTA meetings are worse by shonens Love thy neighbor. Or hate them. Hate them so passionately you trim your hedges in the shape of 'get fucked' in hopes of ruining their day. A collection of AU short stories about mudad, oradad, and suburbia.

[abundantchewtoys]

Homestuck Candy p17-23 (holy shit)

So, yeah, this baby coming up.

I wonder if there's going to be callbacks to Dirk's art for Caliborn in any form. ("jake no, what are you doing - to our baby?")

John can't erase this baby in any case, since no retcon powers.

I wonder if we're going to learn its name. I kind of like one of Blaperile's theories, that he would name a boy after his Dad... It would reveal one of those long hidden mysteries in Homestuck.

Otherwise... Liv? :P

Theresa, after Terezi?

---

Page 17

Oh wow.

OH WOW.

Yeah, now we're getting to the juicy bits.

The candy is turning into diabetes around John. Details about the past are getting vague for his friends, the harmony trumping the validity of their experiences. It's all turning out a lot more existential for John in this path than I thought!

"Harry Anderson Egbert", heheh. But yeah, John has a good point. He wants his wife to have some identity, but it's like she's ... malleable, or something. Everything shapes around each other and forms the least offensive shape.

On the one hand, I want to imagine Vriska Lalonde-Maryam and Harry as childhood friends, growing up together.

On the other hand, I wonder what there is in store for this John. He's lost his retcon powers. But he says Terezi is the only thing that still makes sense to him. So maybe, if he rejects this reality, he can escape it again?

It all is going to depend a lot on what Terezi has to offer. (Going by the assumption it really is Terezi, by the way, not an imposter.)

It would really be something if this John, a twenty-four year old now, crosses back into the Meat timeline. He'd be leaving a lot behind, and frankly, be a shitty husband and father by going through with it. But yeah, Meat John is dead, has been for some time.

Jegus, John keeps filling his own dead self's shoes. Alternate John who dated Vriska. (Okay, in fact, in that situation, it was more of an inversion as the other John continued his developing relationship. On the other hand, for Davesprite, alpha John must've felt like the replacement John in the beginning.) Post-Retcon John who was killed by Typheus. Even Poppop Crocker, when he met up with B2 Dad.

The Candy path is definitely shaping up to be quite suspenseful, all expectations be damned!

---

Page 18

Wow.

Jake's so much more mature here. I want to see more of this man.

So yeah, it had occurred to me that part of the reason Gamzee hooked up with Jake and Jane could be because he was somewhat thinking of a) the other Page he was attracted to, and b) the Hope and Life players in his session, who were close to him on the hemospectrum?

But... I hadn't imagined Gamzee being Jane's kismesis. But it works so well. Got to say, it brings back memories of him on her land during the session.

So Jake and Jane had a baby! The first cross-species naming, then. After Tavros.

It's remarkable, isn't it? Dad, GCATavrosprite, Jasprosesprite^2, Nannasprite, Nannasprite*2... They fell on the wayside, we have no idea what happened to them. The sprites could've dissolved, we didn't seem them in the official credits after all, only the extra possibly outside-of-canon snaps, explaining why Jake would name his firstborn after Tavros. But Dad?

As for Jade and Davekat. Wow. Well, I guess, I really want to know now whether this revelation is also canon.

Cause Jade is either intersex or trans now, after fusing with Beq. (Also, it might be a dog penis, but capable of transferring human DNA? *Shudder.*) I can understand this would make her uneasy in exploring sexual options with Dave.

Wow. Yes, it seems that things are, in a very different but equal sense than in the Meat path, very raw and heartwrenching in this timeline as well.

At the start of the page, I started thinking for a minute that Gamzee would also find something off about the timeline. It would have been something for him to join John in pursuit of relevance, truth and all that. But no, it was just to bait Jane, it seems. If anyone, it would be Jake who might go through something similar as John.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Still said to see Jake getting the small end of the relationship stick, once again. Boy has no luck in love.

It was interesting to get Jane's honest take on politics on Earth C. If she and the others had just been honest with each other, they might have been able to struck an accord. Alas, through Dirk's meddling, it was not to be.

Also, it was funny to have Gamzee refer to the 5000-year skip in sweeps. Yeah, that... That doesn't convert well.

---

Page 19

Wow that took a turn!!

I thought it might have been time for them to discuss their relationship. How Jade has turned into the third wheel stopping the Davekat bicycle from taking off.

(Those references to Jane and Jake, I could've gone about.)

But then.

Something hit.

I thought instantly it would've been the other Jade. A moment or two I thought an ecto baby or First Guardian infant, for these three to take care off in lieu of a biological child. But no.

It's really REALLY the Postscriptum Jade!! (Well, I hope it's her, and that the Postscriptum doesn't take place on Future Candy Earth C.)

She "escaped" the black hole, into relevance, the PS said. So... It seems... As if...

Dirk was very much wrong.

Candy Earth C is going to play an important part in what's to come, yet.

Unless this Jade has only come to lift some of the people here away, like the mentioned Blue Fairy.

But in any case... It seems Davebot and Aradia can't be far behind.

This idyllic fantasy, who's already shown cracks, is about to be shattered.

What hit Jade, though, it almost seemed like those shards from the Furthest Ring, though it was called massless, here.

---

Page 20

Wow.

So, this Jade is suffering from a metaphysical poison. Just like John was from Lord English's tooth. Only... This Jade went into the black hole, and last we saw she was okay.

Is it because she's back in the "real" world that it's affecting her now?

For a minute there I thought Jane and Kanaya and Karkat could actually *explain* their grievances to each other. But no, alas. Karkat, validly I must say, just exploded with everything he's pent up.

Gotta say, if the trolls are getting antsy in this timeline, just imagine how it was going to pan out in the Meat timeline! I'm reminded of the troll rebellion that was referenced in the non-canon snaps.

Also, of course. OF COURSE, these Vriska and Tavros would clash on their first meet. Everyone should've seen this coming.

If anything salvages this scene, it must be Jake being able to placate the two toddlers. It's that sort of attention that Joey and Jude deserved to get from their Pa.

It's interesting to note how Rose is no longer sure about their situation. Maybe that's the influence of this corpse and its heavily-dripped-in-canon origin.

Roxy keeps being almost a vanilla version of herself, although the intent to hold a corpse party is horribly in character for her. Still, she feels less *real* than the other characters, who all seem to be kind of recovering from their diabetes-filled state.

John and Roxy, and Dave, Karkat and Jade are in dire need of some therapy, in any case. It was nice to see Karkat telling Gamzee off though. And weird to see Jane and Roxy keep jumping to his side. Like, they have no idea of the history here, and seem to think anyone can redeem themselves if they try hard enough. It kind of shows how they're not really all that streetwise.

Oh, forgot to mention - John has a moustache now. A manly one. Dear god, he's gone full Sassacre :P

---

Page 21

WHAT THE SHIT.

WHAT THE SHIIIIT.

WHAT THE SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

Roxy was right. The chances of all of them coming together like that, with all the stuff going on between them, are so infinitesimal.

But then she got into labor, and I thought that was that.

But

But

So, Aradia and Sollux turn up, and when I heard Jade had the shard still in her torso....

It would seem that this Jade isn't Postscriptum Jade... Yet.

Aradia and Sollux found a way out of the Furthest Ring on their own??? And somehow ended up on Earth C without explanation. Just when last page I almost thought as if all missing trolls mentioned in the epilogues' ToC were going to end up appearing as babies to the characters.

Karkat and Jane are in dire need of an actual debate.

Rose's lack of a good consolation was hilariously described.

But of course, the meat (Meat) of this page.

Is that Alt Calliope found a way through the Black Hole into the Candy path, and sent Reload Jade's corpse through it.

And just like in the Candy path, alpha Calliope is scared off. But it bears mentioning that Calliope herself was acting kind of weird, and was weirdly absent for a lot of the pages. It almost seemed to set her up as the narrator of this path, trying to give everyone what she thought they wanted. The fact that she and Roxy "broke character" for a moment was one of the things pointing in this direction.

But now Alt Calliope is here.

The narration is about to force everyone to confront who they really are. For better or worse.

I wouldn't be surprised if this ends with Candy Earth C as the battlefield seen in the Postscriptum. But what does that imply for Meat Earth C, where Alt Calliope ALSO put her influence to work.

She may claim not to influence, but even when she retreated into the narration, the atmosphere wasn't just magically improved over there.

Aradia and Sollux talking with Gamzee was... weird, but funny. I wonder if they are supposed to have aged some sweeps in the meantime. We know Gamzee must be about 8.5 sweeps now, while Karkat and the other trolls are about 11 sweeps.

I guess it's time we learn what Alt Calliope understands under "protecting" a world. I don't think Meat Dirk is coming over there, though I'm unsure what his grand design really is.

---

Page 22

Oh my god.

what is happening.

So Alt Calliope's influence didn't really do anything at that point but upset the group.

And now a 3 year time skip took place. So... wow. They're all 27 now.

And the troll ghosts that were sucked into the black hole are appearing everywhere now. The government is going bananas, but in fact, it must all be repetitions of the same 24 trolls, how weird is that.

I'm sure that in due time, some human ghosts will be appearing too. But this is just getting ridiculous.

Karkat went underground and into the resistance. Jane, as the shadow president, is secretly maneuvering things to invade the troll kingdom. This was supposed to be the Candy path, I thought it was going to be all shits 'n giggles!!!!

I do like that John, finally, after years, is starting to realize Terezi doesn't share anything about her at all. He asked for a picture, which I guess is nice. But, just like in the Meat path, he's torn up about the girl that he didn't stay with.

This has "disaster waiting to happen" written all over it.

Calliope seems to hunker after Roxy, but she still doesn't act on those feelings. It's like a twisted inversion of the Meat path.

It's like, all the sugar we started with has been turned into energy, and the rush has dissipated, and now there's only a tummy ache.

---

Page 23

Wow.

What the shit.

I could only root for John and Tavros' relationship. Seems like the little man is very sharp for his age. Since Harry is into atomic clocks as well, it seems that the tradition of children being into adult subjects like philosophy and psychology and science, continues.

But alas, it was not meant to be.

John finally couldn't take it no more, he had to scream what he'd internalized for so long. But it turned into something really messy, towards Jane and Jade. All valid points, but by losing control he most importantly scared Tavros and Harry Anderson.

The reaction of the other people was so... empty, though. Non-confrontational to a fault.

And I agree with John, Gamzee has apparently set himself up as Jane's subjugglator.

For all that Alt Calliope was saying, she sure seems to have NOT used any influence, though. And things very much have gone to shit here.

It was very cool to get to know Tavros and Harry Anderson as people, though. Tavros is indeed a kind of brother, biologically, to John (and Jade, and a half brother to June and Joey) in appearance. But it's like, personality-wise, he's more like a sad but smart version of Tavros. While his speech is colored in Gamzee's purple, ugh.

And Harry Anderson... A prankster in the making, for sure.

So, what is Terezi going to talk to him about? Is she talking to him from the end of the Meat path, just before she left Earth C? Or is she talking to him just after the other John died. :(

I can say this: I didn't think for a millisecond I would get THIS attached to people from the Candy path.

[satans--accountant]

Roots Fanfic

So, @roots-game, since Sonic and Misao have become a bit of a running gag on the roots discord (and you refuse to let poor Misao play Sonic) I decided to step up and write my own fanfic about it. Enjoy 💕

“COME ON!”, you yell as you helplessly watch your health bar being drained again. You‘ve been at this for at least an hour, maybe more. A frustrated sigh finds its way out of your lips as you press pause and lean back into the slightly dusty couch you’re sitting on. You ponder the state of your apartment for a moment – you‘ve been trying your best to make it look more presentable since your group stopped here three days ago, but there‘s only so much you can do. Your eyes drift from a neatly ordered bookshelf, over a less than ideally placed wardrobe and finally onto a desk in complete disarray. I really should sort those papers out, you think as your gaze settles. You had started with that an hour ago. Or you had wanted to, at least. A job application for a position that was filled two months ago. A bill you hadn’t paid three months ago. A letter to your grandma, still unfinished. A life left on pause. Your eyes turn back to your TV and the game actually left on pause there. You had bought it on a whim, a few days before the pearl. A stupid idea, really, considering how tight money had been. But you liked Sonic as a child, and sometimes even poor adults feel nostalgic. Your last save was right before the boss battle, now halted just before the inevitable GAME OVER screen. This game was not hard before. The thought crosses your mind as a frown falls over your face. “Didn’t you claim that this was a form of entertainment?”, Misao asks as he steps out of your kitchen to join you in the living room, noting your sour expression, “You do not look entertained.” Your gaze passes over the kitsune and the two steaming cups he’s holding. “You’ve never lost at a game before? Repeatedly?”, your eyebrows twitch but you can’t help but smile as he delicately places one of the cups on the coffee table in front of you. The calming scent of chamomile tea waves towards you. “I can’t say that I’ve ever lost a game I was playing by myself, no.” The fox doesn’t sit down, but you know him well enough by now to recognize that him even just staying is a show of concern. You are fairly certain that Misao is the only member of your merry band of supernatural misfits to have noticed your hesitation when you re-entered this apartment for the first time in months. Anela, while usually sweet and attentive, had been too preoccupied with the creature that was the actual reason for your stay in town. She’d been planning your search before you even stepped foot into Waipahu. Louis on the other hand had been far more excited to see your place and hopefully find some opportunities for future teasing. He’d forced a grin out of you with his incessant jokes, be they about your sense of cleanliness or the teddy bear that still lies on your bed. But he didn’t seem to have noticed the expression you’d worn before that short simmer of fun. Both of them were out right now, looking for the being that supposedly knew something about the rifts that no one else did. And just so happened to hide out in your home town. You’d stayed behind to take care of the place. And to avoid anybody I might know asking questions. Misao had volunteered to stay with you and, while they had offered a plausible explanation – a combination of you having to stay safe, them being less experienced with modern people than Anela and less adept at “talking to rats” than Louis – you were convinced that you’d seen a sliver of guilt pass their face when you winced at the dust that had amounted in your home. You hope that he doesn’t really blame himself for the things in your life that you had to leave behind, but you’re not certain. “It’s kind of like playing with the people who made the game,” you claim and scoot over to the side, offering Misao a seat, “not as lonely as it seems.” Misao pulls up an eyebrow to throw a doubtful glance at the screen before graciously sitting down next to you. He also whisks away the tiny amount of dust that had settled on the sofa, in a swift move he probably hoped would escape your notice. “Playing against the ones making the rules? That sounds like a futile endeavour.” “Not against, with”, you correct, unpausing the game and allowing your health bar to be emptied completely. “Though I can see how you got to that conclusion”, you groan as you pull up your save files again. He takes a sip of his tea and you don’t miss the glance towards the papers on your desk, followed by eyes momentarily halting on you. Of course he saw that. And of course he put two and two together. “So that blue… creature has to defeat that … person, for you to be the victor of this game?” You did not expect Misao to show interest. But you’re smart enough to put two and two together as well – he’s picked up on you distracting yourself, and he’s trying to help. You suppress the smile tugging at the corners of your lips as soon as the thought crosses your mind. “This isn’t the final boss – I mean enemy”, you explain, “I just have to get past him so I can continue with the rest of the game.” You lay the controller onto the coffee table, exchanging it for your own cup. “I just don’t know why I’m stuck”, you mumble before enjoying your first sip of tea, “it wasn’t that hard before I left, but now I’m not getting anywhere.” “You have been attempting this for the better part of two hours”, Misao concedes. “Two? You sure?”, your shoulders go slack as you let yourself fall into the pillows again. “Fairly”, his eyes follow your form as you put the tea away and slump together on the couch, “Most tedious tasks tend to become easier if one takes a break every once in a while.” “It’s not tedious!”, you exclaim, bolting upright once more, “Sometimes the challenge is part of the fun!” Brows furrow at the sudden show of conviction despite your obvious frustration. “Wanna try?”, the idea lights up your face, a smile spreading across it. “I don’t think this game is the kind of entertainment I enjoy”, the answer is as restrained as you’ve become used to, but the small surprise in his voice does not get past you. You know that you’ve got an opening there, as small as it may be. And you’re not giving up any ground when it comes to something that sounds like this much fun. “Come on! Games are pretty big out here and you gotta get used to the modern mortal world at some point.” “I do?”, the question is posed in a way that leaves no need for an answer. “Yes, you do!”, you reply anyway, “And these games were such a large part of my childhood, I’m sure you’d get at least some fun out of them as well!” “I’m not in my childhood. Or you in yours”, you don’t miss the snide remark, but choose to ignore it. You’re confident that you’d recognize if he was genuinely annoyed, but all you can make out right now is some slight relief at your elevated mood. I can win this, you realize, probably as surprised as Misao. You pick up the controller and hold it towards him, your eyes almost glowing with excitement. “If you push this button Sonic – that’s the blue thing – jumps, you move these thing to dictate the direction he moves in and...”, you don’t give Misao time to pause before launching into your energetic explanation. After a moment you delightedly note that he actually seems to be paying attention. This time though, the quick glances he steals at your face do get past you, as you lose yourself in retelling stories of frustration and success filled with both advice and fond memories. You are almost shocked when, once you finish your monologue with a hopeful glance towards the fox, a pale hand gently closes itself around the controller. “If you really insist, then I will try”, the statement is supposed to sound resigned, but a sliver of an exasperated smile sneaks onto Misao’s lips before he can hide it. You nod and nestle yourself into the pillows, directing Misao towards the correct save file. You laugh and shout as he starts the game back up, yelling directions and flinching at hits taken. Misao for his part stays calm, but the few times you covertly peak at his face convince you that he is genuinely trying. Still, despite his quick reflexes his inexperience at the game – and games in general – becomes apparent after a few moments. He lowers the controller as the dreaded letters spell out over the screen. “The game is over, it seems”, he pronounces, almost solemnly. “It’s not over over”, you laugh, “You can try again. You only lose if you give up, really.” Misao makes no attempts to reload the save, but still the controller remains, held securely in his hands. “Also I kinda hate to admit it, but I think you got farther than I did the last three times”, you encourage him further with a pleading smile, “Help me out?” A suspenseful second passes, before he sighs: “Direct me to the save document once more?” “File”, you correct with a chuckle, but hurriedly follow his request, giving him no time to reconsider. You’re so entranced with the amusement an increasingly invested and concentrated Misao provides that you barely notice the afternoon slipping by. Meanwhile the papers on your desk lay there forgotten, put on hold for at least one more day.

[matrixaffiliate]

Quarry

Chapter Update! FFN and AO3

See you on November 23rd with the next two chapters.

Chapter 23

Sirius:

Sirius thought he might be dreaming.

They had walked out of the inn to search for a message carrier and buy a tent and the first thing he saw was rope tied to an old post in the ground, gold, and royal purple ropes.

"Do you see that?!" James hissed.

Sirius nodded but held James' arm. If this wasn't Marlene and Lily then this was a very well laid trap.

"We need to find a message carrier," he reminded James.

James tried to shake his arm free, "No, Sirius, we need to find Lily!"

Sirius cursed as James shook himself free. Peter was right, James had the better job; running the country was loads easier than trying to look after its sovereign.

"James," Sirius hissed as he grabbed him again.

"Unhand me," James glared at him, "consider that a command."

Sirius glared back as he let his hand fall. He wondered if James really understood he was putting both their necks on the line as they walked to where the rope was tied to the post.

"Lily?" James whispered.

"We've camped a way back into the trees outside of town."

Sirius let out a huge breath of relief when it was Lily's voice that answered and not an ambush.

"Take the ropes," Sirius murmured quietly, "tie the purple one to show us where to start into the trees, and the gold one a ways in. You'll know we're close when we set off the wards."

"Alright, Sirius," Lily's voice whispered quietly, "come on Mar."

Sirius frowned. Marlene should have been the one to respond, not Lily.

He didn't have much time to consider it as he had to stop James from attempting to follow the sound of Lily's footsteps.

"Will you listen to me for two seconds?" Sirius growled as he gripped James' arm, "Because not only do we need to get this message out, we also need to collect our packs before we go after them."

James' frown managed to deepen but finally, he nodded, "Then let's hurry."

A message carrier wasn't too hard to track down, and then Sirius had to hold James back from running to return to the inn.

"We'll need to leave invisible," Sirius started reloading his pack. "And that means waiting for someone to open the door for us."

James groaned, "I swear you hate me."

Sirius chuckled, "I hate you enough to protect your reckless hide."

They didn't have to wait too long before someone did finally open the door and then Sirius let James run. It would let the man work off some adrenaline before they returned to Lily and Marlene, which if they ever made it through all this alive, Lily would probably thank him for it.

The only time James stopped was to collect and coil the two lengths of rope that helped guide them in. Sirius almost used the ropes to keep his sovereign attached to him.

As the sun disappeared completely behind the horizon, Sirius started to worry this really was a trap. They hadn't found the camp yet and now their light was gone. He lit his wand just in time to see Lily come running out of nowhere and straight into James' arms.

The camp was invisible, of course, it was, and he was an idiot.

"Come on," Lily pulled James forward.

"Where's Marlene?" Sirius looked around, something was very wrong, and he was sure he wasn't going to like it.

Lily's face took on a worried cast in his wand light, "She's inside."

Sirius managed to not run blindly into their tent, seeing as he had no idea where it was. Instead, he followed behind Lily and James as she led them through the wards.

As they entered the tent his eyes sought Marlene out immediately, and his mind couldn't comprehend what he saw.

Marlene sat on the floor, her legs against her chest, her head down against her knees, her hands clutched in her unplaited curls.

"Sirius," Lily's voice broke his baffled silence, "Can you help her, please? She won't talk to me."

"Sirius can help."

Sirius turned to see James wrap his arm back around Lily.

"He'll take care of her."

"Let me set a few more wards," Sirius murmured and turned to the tent flap. He really didn't want any surprises right now.

When he returned, James still held Lily close to him, and Marlene still sat curled in a ball on the floor. A part of Sirius wanted to wrap himself around her until she came back to them, but he had his oath to uphold, on more than one account.

He went to Lily first.

"What happened, Lily? After we separated?"

Lily looked like she wanted to cry, but her voice was sure as she spoke, "We ran until we crossed the border, then we walked until we found the town, then we set up camp and went to find you."

Sirius frowned, "So how did Marlene go from running to this?"

"I don't know. She was shaking afterward, but I thought it was from the adrenaline. Then she slowly became distant, and when we made it back here, she sat down on the floor and hasn't moved."

Lily's voice shook just slightly, but she managed to maintain control.

Merlin, she'd make a fearsome queen.

"I think, I think it's because of what happened."

"Because of the attack?" Sirius felt his frown deepen.

Lily's voice broke this time, and Sirius saw the threatening tears, "Because she killed someone protecting me."

And then it all made sense.

"Until today, Marlene hasn't killed anyone defending you."

Lily nodded as the tears finally spilled over.

Sirius sighed heavily and nodded to James.

"Take care of her, and be prepared for a few days here. This might take a while."

Sirius remembered every man he'd killed defending James.

The first was a highwayman who didn't know James was the crown prince but didn't care either way. Sirius had been seventeen. It had been awful, and if not for the King and Queen's guardians that oversaw all his training, he didn't think he would have recovered.

The second had been a man who had probably been crazy. It was at a ceremonial parade for Monty's birthday and the man had lunged at the open-air carriage screaming nonsense. Sirius and the royal couple's guardians had only been concerned about pushing him off the carriage but then the man pulled a knife and threw it. It grazed James and Sirius felt the magic of his oath take hold. His blood felt like it was on fire as he reached for his favorite dagger and drove it forward. It wasn't until the man fell to the ground that Sirius felt his own blood stop burning within him.

The next seven had been recent. Those idiots had felt James was unfit and too young to rule Godric's Hollow. Their solution was to ambush him in his quarters. All of them had been magic users and were unprepared for the kind of magic Sirius learned in his childhood growing up in Knockturn. Magic could be used for all sorts of unpleasantness that Godric's Hollow was, for the most part, unaware of. It was ugly, but James was safe, and every single one of the idiots weren't around to cause problems anymore, all refused to surrender, all refused to live.

And then today, that idiot made ten.

Sirius wasn't proud of it, he didn't glory in it, but keeping count helped him put some distance between himself and killing in the defense of his King and brother. That distance made it so he could sleep at night.

Looking at Marlene, Sirius knew this was different. Marlene had killed for the first time, and she'd killed the man for threatening to give information that could have endangered Lily. Not because they had attacked Lily directly. Her blood probably hadn't burned at all. She'd done it because she felt she had to. Because she was with them.

He could only imagine the storm raging inside her mind right now.

Tentatively, Sirius sat next to her on the floor, unsure of how to begin.

"Marlene."

She didn't respond, and Sirius almost thought her asleep until she tensed as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Marlene, I'm here, and I swear to you I'll keep us all safe. I'm here, you're not alone."

He heard her take a shuddering breath before her body started to shake with her quiet sobs. Quickly, he pulled her into him and held her close as she cried. Gently, he pulled her fists from her soft curls. Her hands simply shifted to his shirt and she clung to him as though her life depended on it.

And he held her.

He held her because he didn't know what else to do. He held her because she was so close there wasn't much sense in not holding her. And in the darkest corner of his heart, he admitted that he held her because he wanted to hold her.

He had wanted to hold her before he knew who she really was. He had wanted to hold her since she'd locked eyes with him that night in Knockturn. He'd stolen moments of holding her over the last nearly two weeks of traveling together. And now she clung to him, but Merlin, he wished this was under different circumstances. Because holding her now, like this, made the lies they told that much harder to swallow. He'd done this to her.

At some point she quieted, at some point she fell asleep, pressed against him like he was the only thing holding her up. Sirius gingerly gathered her into his arms. He carried her to her cot and tucked her in for the night. He didn't think he'd ever get the chance again, and so he let his hand brush across the soft skin on her cheek, move to caress her hair as he brushed it behind her shoulder, and let his fingertips slide along the curve of her neck as he pulled away.

His chest ached.

It ached for how much Marlene hurt. It ached for lying to her. It ached that his lies had caused her to kill out of fear. It ached for the hold she had over him. And it ached as he walked away from her sleeping form when every fiber in his being wanted to lay next to her and continue holding her all through the night.

[fumusdamnatorum]

Erfrierung (Drabble)

No one wanted to go outside of Mantle, let alone Atlas. There’s simply no reason to unless you’re trying to mine whatever dust is left or you’re legitimately trying to kill Grimm (or get yourself killed in the process). For him, it was absolutely by choice, but not in the way one would think. Despite the better part of his childhood working in the mines, Silas has never gotten used to the cold. He will not outwardly express or complain about it, but even the deserts of Vacuo are preferable to him.

But an old sabyr, Silas’s main target this time around, is known to roam somewhere around here. It, along with its pack, is known to harass Mantle for quite some time. Proof of its extermination by photo or otherwise would be more than enough for the large 550,000 Lien bounty. That should be more than enough to get him to Vale and pay off enrollment into Beacon. As for now, however, he lies in wait, contained within a small snow cave he dug out that only has enough from for himself and barely his equipment. It was cold, but he wasn’t freezing, not in there at least. Wind didn’t scrape landscape, and that in itself had a varying degree of ominous premonition. 

Have Patience 

The two words Dr. Schmitz whispered next to him during his first hunt. Despite that time being such long ago, and despite Grimm being much, much different from regular animals, the concept is the same. The fundamentals are still the same. 

Never look for trouble. Be in the most convenient spot and let trouble come to you.

Well, to a certain degree, those words got minced all sorts of ways. The pandering about how stern but fair his mentor was will come to be interrupted by the soft growling he heard in the distance. Immediately, Silas turns towards the source that captures his attention: a small pack of about five sabyrs, being lead by…..there it is: the leader of the pack, the grand sabyr itself. There is a method to this, but it’s only one. If Silas hits any of the others in the pack, the elder might run away.

That’s why……

Taking his rifle and adjusting the sight, Silas rests it in a makeshift crook. The cold is affecting his breathing patterns, the breaths slow and shaky at best. His support hand digs out extra snow to enable room for the rifle’s lever action. An inhale places the sights on the older Grimm, finger brushing against the trigger. 

Exhale……

A singular shot rings out from his hide, the lever action being worked as quickly as possible to follow up despite the cold. Coming back onto sight, the rest of the pack look towards the general direction. He didn’t drop the leader, thankfully. He got one of the other members instead. Silas fires another round, hitting another member of the pack. By now, the survivors stare icy cold daggers at where Silas’s blind would be and start charging.

Breaking out of his hide to bait them, he fires shot after shot, leaving just the grand sabyr left. Silas waits, and continues to wait. Just a little bit….more. Closer…Upon seeing the frozen spots on its hide, Silas fires the killing shot, hitting the elder sabyr in the head. 

At least, it was supposed to be the killing shot. 

With it still charging, Silas dives out of the way. The snow being at shin level adds a degree of difficulty. Being able to see it closer, the alpha, while supposedly older, is much more armored than the average sabyr. Its plates are riddled with scars and scratches from battles past. Now, on its face, Silas sees the crater of where his shot had landed, but the bullet itself stays nestled. He utilizes Dämmerung in its spear form and deploys Zahl immediately.

“Damn it, this thing’s tough.” It charges at Silas, but instead of committing to the charge, it feints, swiping Silas’s left shoulder. The force of the hit disorients him slightly, but there’s no choice other than to recover as quickly as possible. Any possible moment in this encounter can get him killed.  But two can play at its game. Despite being bigger and better protected, the Sabyr still has an exposed underbelly. Whatever hits he can gather there should be more than enough.  He just needs to get close… 

As the sabyr jumps again, Silas crouches down, almost shielding himself with his exposed left side. With the shadow of the Grimm growing in size, the elder Grimm showed no signs of a feint. It’s fully committed to the kill. Silas slips Dämmerung underneath his armpit, the spearhead penetrating the Grimm’s torso. Despite such, it swipes at Silas. He plants the spear, rolling downwards and drawing Kopf , firing five shots before dragging its cleaver form across the beast’s neck. When the blade stops, a trigger pull completes the motion, decapitating the Grimm. 

Bated breaths were taken as a free hand reaches for his scroll, taking a picture of the new kill before being stowed away again. Reloading then reholstering Kopf, the weapon stops as the muzzle touches the holster. Something doesn’t feel right. There’s a sort of….towering presence. Immediately turning around, Silas finds himself staring down an alpha beowolf. There’s no way. It’s too cold for regular beowolves to survive here. But this particular specimen, its fur appearing to be much thicker and frozen, its size and armor plating indeed resembling that of an Alpha.

Turning around, one shot from the hip scratches the Grimm’s right side. The larger being swipes down at Silas, knocking off his hat before grabbing him by the leg with its jaws. It thrashes about, disorienting and depriving the hunter of his aura as it flickers. Silas gets thrown away from his spear, but the beowolf doesn’t let his prey a chance to recover. One large powerful swipe penetrates the coat and layers of clothing, four marks inscribes themselves upon Silas’s back. He screams in a tundra where no living person can hear him. The lacerations were overbearing in size and pain. 

Despite the injured left arm, he wills to pull himself along the snow in order to reach Kopf. It looks bleak from here. But there is no ounce within him that wants to quit. Not yet. He’s not gonna die in a shitty place like Solitas. If anything, dying on Menagerie is much more bearable. His cries weren’t screams but of sharp exhales and shortened breaths.

One hand digs out Zahl and the rope dart, hiding the later in his grip. Looking over his shoulder, the sniveling and snarling is practically the Grimm toying with its prey. Good to know, I suppose. He fires Zahl, throwing it over the Beowolf. As it goes in for the kill, Silas uses his semblance, putting himself in the air and with the energy he can muster, he sticks the dart into a nook of the Alpha’s neck, sinking the blade as deep as he can. The noose is frantically tied, his right arm having to pull the beast down as his body weight does what it can to push downwards, leg pushing against its back for leverage. With revolver in hand, Silas shoots the Alpha’s exposed areas, forcing it to go down.

“FUCKING DIE!” Of course the Grimm refuses to go down easily as well. Its arms flail and claw about, trying to get Silas off of him. It’s not a battle of wits but about survival. Excruciating pain shocks his body as he continues to force out the choke, emptying the gun into the Beowolf until it drops down. The injured hunter is victorious, but at an almost gravely cost. 

Just in case, despite the fatigue and wounds, Silas takes a picture of the second kill. He drags his injured self towards Dämmerung, taking hold of the rifle before dialing the emergency response button his scroll. It was a fail-safe for anyone who would be lost or injured in a remote area, and this is a time where it was much, much needed. 

Because on the tenth step, he certainly rested. His fate being left to the gods.

[mona-stay]

The Hunter ~ Peter Hale

Prompt - I thought you was dead + do it I dare you

Warnings - swearing,

Pairing Peter hale x reader

a/n I have edited and fixed up this story 

Story ~

Panting, hidden behind a large oak tree quickly trying to reload, catching my breath. father’s words filled my head, “I wouldn’t go to beacon hills it’s crazy there even the Argent family had trouble out there” but i didn’t care, I wanted to go back to my childhood town and wanted to save it from the horrors other hunters spoke off. Part of me also wanted to see the hale home pay my respects to an old friend who’d died there, Peter hale.

Peter and I had been together during high school, but I ended it when I found out him and his whole family were all werewolf’s. In my family, a family of hunters dating a wolf was never going to end well. After the hale fire 6 years ago my family left beacon hills behind. Now I’m back and had ran into more then i could handle. I had trained as a hunter from the age of 10, now considered one of the most deadliest hunters in the country, but that wasn’t enough I still wanted to prove myself, prove I could hunt without the safety of my family or other hunters. I found evidence of a wolf pack in beacon hills thinking I could kill them before any real damage was done I followed them. What I didn’t know was this wasn’t any normal pack.

After watching them for a few minutes, I see one of the 5 werewolf’s eyes flash red, firing a flash arrow into a tree. I watch as they all cover their eyes. i managed to shot one, the alpha with a wolfsbane bullet, that’s when I saw the difference the pack where all alphas each had glowing red eyes it was a pack of alphas. Emptying my hand gun, I wasn’t sure how many, if any hit its intended targets. A young boy jumped at me scratching my face and some of my chest. Using the butt of the gun I hit the attacking wolf in the head, I ran to find a safe place to make my next attack, I hear one shout get her as I duck and turn in the trees.

Hidden behind the oak tree, the pain was starting to take affect, I loaded my last bullet flicking the barrel back into place. I could hear the sound of growling and footsteps getting closer. Standing up with my back against the tree, I could hear a female voice call out “oh little hunter come out come out.” Closing my eyes ready to turn when a man’s voice calls “we all know what you would do to a lone wolf, time for us to show you what we do to a lone hunter” the words came out loud and growl something told me he was the leader. I knew I couldn’t fight all 5 of them, even if one was badly hurt but wasn’t sure if I could out run them either. A hundred different ideas run through my mind in the space of five seconds, shot and run was the only one were I had a chance of survival. I looked round the tree and can see the shadows and outlines of the pack not too far away. “come on y/n you know these woods” I think to myself. I look out again seeing the female with her back to me. I took it as a window of opportunity and quickly ran. I didn’t get far when I heard a loud snap under my feet of a branch, I was already cursing myself for such a rookie mistake. “over there” one of the wolfs called from behind me. Breaking out into a full sprint I ran thinking there used to be an old cabin not far, I could see it in the distance when I felt someone tackle me from the side. Screaming and throwing punches a hand covered my mouth, as I was pulled into a small hidden tunnel.

I looked up at the man who had grabbed me, it was Peter hale looking down at me, only this wasn’t the Peter I remember, he had glowing blue eyes and razor sharp fangs. He had finger on his lips indicating for me to be quite. We heard footsteps run past the entrance, I hold my gun to Peter’s head he slowly let’s me go. “you going to kill me sweetheart” he said in a low raspy sexy voice. His fangs retracted but his eyes stayed blue, I looked into them as I lowered my gun still looking in disbelief “I thought you was dead” I said blinking “what are you doing here hale?” Peter smirked “I could ask you the same thing but it’s obvious that your in the family business” his words sounded confident yet menacing. “if I wasn’t here you’d be dead, be thankful I saved your little hunter ass” he turned and started walking deeper into the tunnel “where are you going we need to get out of here and stop them” I shouted as he walked away.

Peter stopped and quickly spins around walking at me fast, I almost felt scared by the look on his face and the speed he came at me with. “look y/n, I can’t let you do that” he said. Folding my arms “oh and why is that Peter?” I asked ready to walk away back to the job I was doing “I saved you back there because I have a master plan and I’m not about to let a stupid hunter screw it up! ” he looked at me with disgust in his eye as he said the word hunter. “now come on we can get out this way” he said almost pulling me deeper into the tunnel. I was angry at him, the way he looked down at me called me stupid, stood on the spot I wasn’t sure what to do.

3rd person pov

People like Peter don’t just wake up one morning and decide I’m going to be a evil psychopath today, no people like that are made from pain and suffering or heartache, and the root of Peter’s was next to him. The day he met y/n he fell for her, Peter had never met anyone who could and would challenge him but the (y/h+e/c) girl did, a girl so beautiful yet smart and mischievous. After dating for 6 months Peter was besotted by y/n and would have done anything for her no matter what, y/n was the only thing he ever wanted. Until one day she left a note at their meeting place saying she couldn’t see him anymore without an explanation or reason, breaking peter.

Y/n did have reason for this and that was because her father’s best friend Chris Argent had come to town over a family of werewolf’s they wanted to investigate called the Hales. Y/n panicked leaving a note for her boyfriend torn whether to tell Peter the truth about her family. When y/n left Peter he became mean and cold to everyone, then when the just before the fire Peter found out about her family, another pack and informed Talia as Peter hid overhearing the conversation. This broke him completely, he questioned himself had any of it been real, he needed to see her and find out if she loved him the same way he’d loved her. But he never got a chance to after becoming trapped in the house. Following the fire Peter was now a cold twisted person, who didn’t care for anyone but himself.

Y/n on the other hand believed he’d died with the number of people who had died that night. Forever feeling guilty thinking her father was one of the hunters who’d started the fire, if she’d of told Peter about her family’s job he might have lived that night. the pain was what drove her to be a stronger more focused hunter maybe if she saved enough people it would help take away her guilt of Peter’s death, but it never.

Y/n pov.

Going against everything I had been taught, I followed Peter down the tunnel. I had all kinds of questions I wanted to ask him. I still felt I was stirring at a ghost I needed answers my father and Chris had both been certain Peter had died in the even when I asked them if he was one of the victims they both looked me in the eyes saying it was definitely him. “how are you alive? I thought you died in the fire I was told” I asked him again. Peter smiled not slowing his pace he cut you off “well sweetheart when the fire started my family and I where trapped, I had somehow survived but badly injured almost 6 years it too for my body to heal itself cell by cell, sorry to say it sweetheart but it takes more then a group of hunters to keep me down” his voice full of hate and blame.

I stopped annoyed, was he blaming me for the fire. Did he think I was here to kill him. Peter turned round to see why I stopped “I didn’t have anything to do with the fire” I said low. Peter looked angry “really? Then why did you leave that night” his voice was furious. I walked over to him “I was 15 years old my family dragged me out of bed and out of town in the middle of night” my annoyed tone was starting to shake “I saw the news the next morning I cried and begged my father to tell me what happened all I was told was a rogue hunter started the fire and you were dead” I now had tears rolling down my cheeks as Peter stood close towering over me.

Peter turned his head as 3 teenagers came round the corner “get away from her peter” one called out, I saw 2 of them with glowing eyes “great more werewolves” I whispered to myself pulling out my guns, one aimed on Peter the other at the group of kids. “so is this your master plan take me away from my job to have your pack kill me?” I questioned him. Peter couldn’t hold in his laughter “pack, I’m not in a pack, this lot are Derek’s friends and they probably hates me just as much as you do” he said. One of the boys spoke “look where not here for trouble” I didn’t move I was still thinking about what Peter had said. How could he think I hated him, I’d never hated him, yes he was a werewolf and that was a problem but I could never hate him for it. “who are you?” the other boy asked taking a step forward, Peter answered “watch out Scott them bullets are made with wolfsbane, y/n is a hunter” there it was that venom in his voice again. The boy called Scott backed away at the second Peter said wolfsbane.

I didn’t move looking into Peter’s eyes “is that why your being like this because I’m a hunter?” I asked dropping my aim on the teens, tucking the gun back in my waist band. The other I pushed into Peter’s chest pushing him back against the wall. “you say I hate you, look at the way your acting and speaking to me, you hate me because I’m a hunter” I shout. In one fast swipe Peter knocked the gun from my hand, I see it sliding across the floor. Peters hands grabbed my upper arms tight pushing me back so now I was the against a wall. His eyes glowing blue I could feel his claws digging into my arms, the pain wasn’t bad but I knew I’d have bruises tomorrow, if I got out this tunnel alive tonight. An echoing growl came from Peter’s chest making the others watching nervous. I had been on worse spots then this with scarier supernatural beings, smugly I stand on my tiptoes “you know I’m right, that’s what this sifting is all about, you think you can scare me, act like a big evil monster to make me submit, and shut up but at the end of the day hale I’m still right, and this isn’t you” you was interrupted by the girl who spoke for the first time “wait haven’t you met Peter before he’s Satan in a v neck” she said confused Peter rolled his eyes just like he used to, I saw part of the Peter I knew in that look. “what are you 3 still doing here?” he sassed at them. He watches them slowly walk away.

I feel his grip loosen as he watches them, using it to my advantage I move lifting my shoulders hard, pushing him backwards. Peter hits the floor as I grab the gun from my waist. He was back on his feet as I aim it at him “do it I dare you” he says. I hesitate and he sees it grabbing my neck hard. I put my gun to his temple “I dare you to do it” I mock him. Now the teenagers had ran back to us, Peter and I stood in a deadly stir out, nether one of us risking to look away or blink. I could hear them talking and whispering. “Malia call Derek, stiles get Chris” Scott said. “what do you want argent for?” Stiles asked.

Hearing the name snapped me out of my currant thoughts. Dropping my gun I move my head to see them “did you just say Chris Argent?” I asked confused to if I had heard right. They all looked nodding. Peter let go of my neck smirking “oh didn’t you know he was running around with wolfs now” he said cocky at the look on my face. “I wasn’t talking to you” I snarl back walking to the others “how do you know Chris?” I said. After being told my mentor and almost family was here on the side of werewolf’s I couldn’t believe it, he’d retired from the business, every hunter knew he had after his daughter died. There was the odd rumour he was helping out the wolfs I had never listened to but now listening to Scott and stiles i was unsure.  They told me how Chris came to kill an alpha who had bitten Scott, how Scott stated dating Allison and become friendly with Chris. How they killed the peter after he ripped out Kate’s throat. How Chris helped Derek and was helping them again against an alpha pack who I had met earlier. I asked Scott to take me to argent after explaining he was like an uncle to me growing up how I’d lost touch after Allison died. Leaving the tunnels Peter and I still hadn’t really spoke when we did it was cold mean jabs at each other, I’d never hated Peter but I was beginning to now, at least hate the way he was acting to me

I got to Chris’s house still angry over the stories I’d been told about the people I trusted, Chris knew about Peter, Kate started the fire not my family, the fact Peter was alive and being a nob head to me. I just walked in alone telling Scott thanks for bringing me, still surprised by the teenage werewolf. Knowing I would be welcomed I didn’t bother to knock. Chris was stood at his desk palms flat down, he was just as he ever was in grossed in his work, glass of whisky in arms reach. Although I’d never say it out loud but looking kind of hot too, I had always seen Chris as a good looking man but the was nothing there at all romantically he was too much like family to me. I leaned against doorframe, forgetting everything I was feeling before “hello stranger” I smiled watching him jump grabbing his gun. Chris saw me laughing back putting the gun back down “ you were the only one who could sneak up on me” he said holding out his arms. I ran over hugging him missing the feeling of family “how you doing kid? What brings you here, what happened to you? ” he asked looking at the claw marks on my face.

This was when I remembered how mad I was coming here. “well that’s a really funny story” I say sitting down resting my feet on his desk, Chris gets a first aid and starts cleaning my wounds. “I was brought here by 2 werewolf Scott and Malia I think there names where” Chris groans putting his head in his hands “please tell me you didn’t kill any of them” he asked me “so it’s true you are running with the enemy now” I said. Chris finished putting butterfly stitches on my cheek and jaw. “so your pissed off I’m not following the hunters code, funny I remember you questioning the same rules a few years ago, you don’t know the McCall pack, they stop supernatural things like we do they save life’s like we do so what’s the problem with that” he was defensive and cold. I stood up ready for this argument because it wasn’t he was friends with wolfs my true problem was. “I don’t have a problem with that, actually the seem cool” I told him “but let me get to the really interesting part of my night, like I said I was hunting that alpha pack got a bit banged up so like you taught me I retreat and re-attack at a new angle. I was outnumbered struggling running in the woods” I watch Chris’s face to most people it looked stony and unfazed but I knew him better I could see the look behind his eyes worry and uncertainty. “how did you get away” he played along. “now that’s really funny part Chris, Peter Hale help me get away.” Chris stood frozen on the spot I could see the cogs in his mind working on what to do or say. “so you’ve seen him then” it wasn’t a question at least not directly it was a question to see how i would react and did as he expected.

“seen him of course I’ve fucking seen him. it was like looking at a ghost but you don’t seem surprised. how long?” I was screaming my face flushed with anger “how fucking long!” I shout again. “not long before Kate died I knew for sure” he said low not looking at me “so you knew at Kate’s funeral he was alive, when I stood there crying with you, or a few days later when i was telling you there was nothing happy in this town after he died you let me believe it” Chris had a harden look on his face “because he is not the peter hale you fell in love with y/n. he was the one who killed Kate he’s a monster and I’m not saying just because he’s a wolf too. I was trying to protect you that’s why we decided to lie all them years ago” I stopped I never thought I could be more furious “we? years ago?” I questioned stepping closer to him. Chris closed his eyes knowing he’d slipped up “after the fire me and your father went to see what was going on we had been told there was a survivor but was never told who but by the description we guessed it was peter” Chris spoke slow watching me, “so your dad who found out about you and peter by the way, the night of the fire. it’s one of the reasons he dragged you all out of town. He said if you believed Peter was dead you wouldn’t go looking for him”. my anger faded I felt numb and hurt. when I didn’t speak, he kept talking “look I know how much you cared about him back then I would have said yes you was great together then but he’s not the same anymore y/n you have to stay away from him trust me” and there it was the anger and hate “trust you, your asking me to trust you after you have lied to me for over 6 years, lied when I cried on your shoulder for hours pouring my heart out to you about my grief for him. ill never trust you again Chris and I never want to see you again” i walked out of the room Chris called me but I didn’t turn round just walking out.

3rd person pov

peter sat in his apartment, his head was a mess he tried to read but couldn’t concentrate, all he could think about was y/n. she had grown more beautiful, she still challenged him only this time she had a gun and in a twisted way mad her hotter. most of all she made his heart pound out his chest a feeling peter hadn’t felt since he was a boy. a feeling of attraction and possibly love. although he also felt the pain of losing y/n again. he didn’t know what feeling to hold on too. going for a walk to clear his head he locked his door facing the night air. y/n left the argent house not sure what to do now all the people she trusted had lied to her and the only person she had ever loved was an evil mastermind. y/n had been told about peter but when Chris had told her what happened in beacon hills in the last year he never used a name he’d always said the beast, alpha or the wolf. when Chris had told her tonight of peter killing Kate she knew peter was the monster they spoke of on the phone over the last few months. she walked the streets in baby steps having no one to turn to, she turned the corner looking at the floor she bumped into someone.

peter didn’t notice y/n until he felt her hit him. “twice in one night what’s the odds” he joked. “more like your stalking me hale. I’m not in the mood for you or your humour ether so just leave alone” she snarled back at him. peter could see and smell the sadness coming from her “if I remember your the one good at leaving” he said coldly. “I didn’t have a choice then but I do now” y/n said as she passed him, They walk off in different ways both regretting their words but to hurt and angry to talk. after a few steps both at the same time turned to look at each other with saddened expression’s before walking out of sight.

y/n pov

I got to my motel in town, I was about to go in when I heard a noise coming from the back of the building. being the person I am I walked round to see what it was, the twin werewolf’s I had seen today in the woods where attacking curly haired boy. I watched from behind a large bin as the young lone wolf shouted “what do you want with me?” One of the twins laughed “we want you to die Deucalion wants Derek and he cant have it until the hale pack are all gone starting with you.” I stopped and froze Derek Hale used to be a friend too, I don’t know why but I felt like I had to do something. stepping out from behind the bin, I walked into the alleyway pulling out my gun remembering id lost the other with wolfsbane bullets in the tunnel fighting with peter. “hey, remember me!” I shout making all three turn to look at me. one of them turned towards me “if its not the little hunter from before your not getting away this time” he threatened. I fired a few shots but with them only being normal bullets didn’t do much damage, the curly haired boy stood up and attacked one as I dodged a few punches from the one facing me. it all happened so fast when the boy was next to me I told him to run get to his pack. he didn’t go at first but was too badly injured to fight much more. pushing him away i watched him run, taking a deep breath I pulled a blade from  my boot facing the twins. someone hit me from behind making everything go black.

3rd person pov

Isaac ran fast mentally torn if he should left the crazy beautiful stranger, he called Derek panting out his works when his alpha finally answered. “the alpha….twins attacked….me, some girl…..she saved me…. but is still….There they will kill her. Isaac then told Derek about the alpha pack wanting him. Derek ordered him to go to Argent’s were he’d been staying the last few days and Derek would sort the alpha pack. Chris saw Isaac come in battered and bruised asking what had happened Isaac told him about the young girl helping him Chris jumped up lifting his hand to show height “is she this tall with (y/h/c) and a cocky attitude” when Isaac said yes Chris ran to his study arming himself up. all that went though Chris’s head was he needed to help y/n if she wasn’t dead already.

peter was still walking when heard Isaac on the phone he didn’t need a description to know who save Isaac, there  was only one person stupid enough to take on the alpha twins alone y/n. Peter sloped off and quickly headed for the motel, he watched y/n fighting with the twins. he admired her style she was fast, peter wanted to leave her like she did to him years ago. he was about to go when he heard a blood curdling scream come from y/n. he looked round to see Ethan with his claws in her hip. Peter snapped seeing her hit the floor, a roar erupted from his chest loud enough for half of the town to hear. the twins charged at peter, who attacked them in an animistic frenzy. after knocking them both to the ground he ran to y/n as she struggled to stand. “ I got you” he said as he tried to put his arm around her. Pushing him away “you didn’t care before so why start now” she sassed back. peter chuckled she was in pain but could still sass him. a set of growls came from the twins also on there feet peter and y/n readied themselves to fight. they both made and took a few scratches and punchers when the twins sent them both into a wall. “I thought you was a badass hunter” peter groaned holding his ribs, “what happened to you being a big bad wolf?” She said back coughing as she laughed as he helped her to her feet. Peter gave another roar mainly to show off too y/n. The was a blush in her face Peter couldn’t tell if it was flushed from the fight but the smile on her face was the same was the same as she’s give when they was first dating.

The fight with the twins didn’t last much longer they where both heavily injured but so was y/n, Peter had a few deep cuts but had been through worse. Just as Peter thought he had the upper hand in the battle, three more figures appeared. He grabbed y/n hand pulling her, he pushed he behind a bin listening out for the heartbeats or footsteps of the alpha pack.

Y/n pov It was now 5 against 2 and I have to say I was in pretty bad shape. The claw wounds were still bleeding I knew I had lost a lot of blood I could feel my limbs get heavy and was getting light headed but I focused on finishing the job and hopefully get Peter and i, out of this alive. I close my eyes thinking back to my training, my knowledge. Gerard Argent’s voice comes to me from years back when I first heard of the blind demon wolf “he might be blind but he see like a wolf.” Like a light bulb an idea comes to me, “I need to get to my jeep” I say aloud Peter turning to look at me “are you insane you jeep is in the car park and I don’t think we’ll make it in time to dive off into the sunset” he said raising an eyebrows “look I need you to distract them so I can get there” I was annoyed with his sarcasm “do you mind telling what’s so important about getting to you van I’m going to be bait to an alpha pack” I grabbed his shirt ignoring the burning in my chest and lungs as I breathed “because my weapons are there and I know how to get use both what we want if I can just have time to get there.”

Peter looked me right in the eyes, before moving close to my ear whispering “and what is it you think I want” I felt shivers down my spine, part of me felt 16 again being with him. Trying to focus on what was actually happening “you want the power of an alpha and I want to kill the demon wolf and I know how we can do it I just need you to buy me some time” he looked at me I could see him thinking over what I had just said power, Chris was right it’s all Peter cared about. Finally agreeing Peter looked at me “you wont have long so whatever your doing, do it fast” with that Peter leaped out from behind the bin heading towards the pack. Taking the chance I ran to the car park seeing my black jeep I dig my hands into my pockets pulling out the keys. The car bleeps as I unlock it going to the boot finding the weapons I needed.

3rd person pov

Peter had ran out to the pack if they was attacking him they wasn’t going for y/n. He’d managed to take down Ennis but clawing out his throat. The others as he did, heard a bleep of the car told him y/n had made it there but it also told Deucalion the same, Peter saw him run in her direction but couldn't stop him still fighting the other 3 pack members. Kali was about swipe at Peter’s face when a fire off bullets hit her. Looking round Peter saw Derek and Chris argent stood side by side ready to help. Peter ran to y/n as Derek and Chris killed the other 3.

Y/n saw him coming she waiting until the timing was right before moving from her car. As Deucalion moves round she shots a gun into his chest slowing him a little, she looked to her left looking for peter but not seeing him she ran. Now struggling to keep going she slowly faces the red eyed monster. She let’s him hit her once still waiting on the timing, waiting for peter, then as he grabs her neck lifting her off the ground out the corner of her eye she saw the beta blue eyes of peter coming towards her. y/n pulls two arrows from her sleeves stabbing then both into his eyes, “now” she screams as Peter sticks his claws into the blinded wolf, y/n falls to the ground watching Peter kill Deucalion, Peter’s eyes turn from blue to red as he drops the dead wolf.

Peter feels the power run through him as he gives a powerful roar looking down at y/n to show off his new status thanks to her quick thinking and plan, but when he saw her she was lying on her side, eyes closed, he listened closely hearing a small weak almost none existence heartbeat. Running to her Peter holds her in his arms, holding her hand as his vain turn black. Peter didn’t know how much pain she had been feeling, had she felt like this since he arrived and he mocked and pushed her to fight more.

When Chris and derek killed kali and the twins they went to find Peter and y/n. Derek stopped Chris as they saw y/n cradled in Peter’s arms, “come on sweetheart I didn’t become bait to an alpha pack so you can die on me” he says laughing but it quickly stopped when she didn’t move. They can see the looks of worry and hurt in his face. Derek turns to call an ambulance Chris slowly walked over as he heard small muffled sobs. “no you can’t do this again you can’t leave me” Chris listens to peter talk and beg y/n to wake up and stay alive. “I loved you, I always have, I didn’t stop when you left, I hated the world but you was still the only thing love, I’d give up my alpha power to have you back” Peter was crying now holding onto y/n so tight trying to take any pain she was in. Chris couldn’t stand there anymore looking at the emotional Peter hale a men he’d never seen show any emotion was in front of him crying, Chris wiped his own tears away before stepping out. “Peter, Peter” Chris said shaking him back to reality “put her in the jeep I’ll drive her to Melissa it will be faster you and derek need to leave before stilinski shows up” Chris’s voice was shaking but he knew from years of experience how to handle the aftermath of a hunt and kill. Peter didn’t move at first he couldn’t, Derek came and helped put y/n in the car and more or less dragging a heartbroken Peter away. Peter took one last look at her he couldn’t hear her breathing anymore he knew how slow her heartbeat was she’s wasn’t likely to make it. Pushing Derek way Peter ran leaving Derek and Chris exchanging nervous looks.

Y/n pov

The lights stung my eyes, they where bright and the smell of disinfectant was strong. I knew I was in a hospital before looking round. Groaning as I sit up “what the hell happened” I say. “Chris, Chris she’s awake” I hear looking at the curly haired wolf I saw in the ally. “I just wanted to say thank you for saving me I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you I’m sorry your hurt because of me can I hope with any pain” he smiles holding up his hands. Chris could see the look of confusion in my face looking at the shy, goofy wolf. “y/n this is Isaac, he was dating Allison before she died and now lives with me, Isaac this is y/n she’s family” he introduced, before nodding for Isaac to leave. I watched as Chris come and sat in the end of the bed “how you feeling, you had us worried back there” he said holding the top of my hand. “sore very sore” I say sitting up squinting as I felt the pain in my side “but it takes more then a wolf to put me down” I joke, Chris gave a small smile “still your not invincible y/n you was reckless the other night” he said with a raised eyebrow, kind of the way he’d scolding me for something stupid when I was younger. “the other night! How long have I been here?” I asked, “2 days, like I said you had us worried” I sat thinking as Chris watched me. Not long later Melissa McCall gave me the all clear to go if I promised to stay with Chris and Isaac till I was completely healed.

It had been 3 days since I felt the hospital, Chris and Isaac didn’t let me do anything, if I was to get a drink Isaac what already be in the kitchen before I was off the couch. Chris would constantly ask if I was okay or needed anything bringing me more magazines and sweets. Every time I mentioned the night fighting the alpha pack they found a way to change the subject. Chris saying it’s nothing to worry about anymore all the alpha pack was dead the was a solid cover story for the body’s that I shouldn’t stress about it. All I could really think of is Peter no one had said his name since I woke and something told me asking wouldn’t get me an answer. Issac came in looking flushed “Derek said he’s found” Isaac stopped talking when he saw me making me feel suspicious. Chris told Issac he’d be out soon watching the wolf leave again. “what’s going on?” I said a little more excited then I meant to. “nothing Derek just needs help with his beta” Chris lied. “look I know you better the your own father, do don’t lie! tell me what’s going on Chris!” I demanded. Chris sat rubbing his head, he knew he couldn’t lie to me, “when you got hurt and pasted out we lost Peter he ran off and hasn’t been seen” he started to tell me. I laughed at him, everyone said I didn’t know this new Peter hale but I was the only one not surprised by his absence “what did you expect he’s got the power he wanted of course he’d go he’s evil isn’t he! why would he stay, he’s off creating a new evil plot” I said trying not to sound disappointed he’d left town. Chris smiled, “ what’s that look for argent” I say. “because I saw him with you, I don’t think power is all he wants” Feeling more confused then ever “what are you talking about wasn’t you the one telling me power to be an alpha is all Peter wants” I sass back at him rolling my eyes. “I was wrong,” I snapped my head up too see if I had heard him right. “he cares about you he was a mess holding you wishing away his power to save you, he said he loved you” I didn’t answer Chris’s words running in my mind. The room felt small, like it was suffocating  me. I stood up needing to get out “where are you going?” Chris asked concerned “I need some air I haven’t left this house for 3 days ill olny be in the garden” I tell him.

I sat on the will outside, the cold night air felt nice on my skin I didn’t care if I could feel goosebumps starring to form. I heard a noise behind me in a bushes lifting my knee I slid out a knife from my boot, I saw an outline of a body in the shadows. I threw the blade but it’s easily blocked “still trying to kill me sweetheart” I heard as Peter stepped out into the light holding my knife. “why you here hale” I ask taking it putting it back in my boot, Peter didn’t speak but his eyes looked over me at each bruise and cut. “I’m glad you got out alive tougher then you look y/n” he said, standing in front of me with his signature smug smile. I couldn’t help but laugh “not so bad yourself for a wolf” my smirk and attitude matching his cockiness. peter let out a low grumble growl “why do you have to do that” he mumbled looking at the floor. I looked at him confused “what you’ve been giving me crap about being a hunter and your upset by one wolf joke” I say annoyance laced in my voice.

I go to walk away but peter but his arms ether side of me trapping me against the wall. “that’s not what I’m talking about” he answered “why do you have to look at me like that” peters face was close to me, I could feel his breath on my face. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, no doubt he could hear the way he was making it go crazy. “I’m looking at you the way I always have” I say unsure about what he’s talking about. “exactly” he said in a breath, I don’t think i was meant to hear him but I did. looking into his eyes I see the 15 year old I fell in love with, cocky but nervous, I felt 15 again shy and giddy wanting to kiss him. “y/n” he said bringing me out of my wishful daydream I was thankful he didn’t notice I had zoned out. “I’m not good at all the talking stuff so I’m show you what I want to tell you” before I can even think peters lips crash to mine. the kiss was hard and needy but like he said told me what words didn’t he still wanted me. I kiss him back hugging my arms around his neck, thinking of all the years I had missed with him because I moved. peter broke away first smiling wide, “I’m glad I got to do that one last time before you leave again" he said slightly breathless from the kiss. “I’d stay if I have a good enough reason too” I giggle at him, peter kisses me again “tomorrow 7pm” he says. I look laughing “why what’s happening then" I ask slightly flirty “ I’m taking you to dinner and will give you a million reason to stay with me” kissing my cheek before walking out of the garden “see you tomorrow” I say knowing he can hear me. walking back into Chris’s giddier then a school girl maybe I do have a reason to stay i think as I touch my cheek where peter had kissed. 

[entergamingxp]

Super Mega Baseball 3 — The Secret Weapon

May 12, 2020 9:00 AM EST

Super Mega Baseball 3 is not a total home run, but the franchise and its brand of wacky baseball continue to trend in the right direction.

Growing up as a sports-loving little dork, one of my favorite franchises was the Backyard Sports series. I was also super into NHL Hitz, NBA Street, and Blitz, but the core games in my arcade sports heart were and always will be the Backyard games. Sure, they’re incredibly easy once you’ve played them for a handful of hours, but Humongous did an amazing job integrating personality into their sports franchise.

For me, that’s always been the draw of sports, whether they be digital or real-world. On-field action can be absolutely breathtaking, but if I don’t have a reason to care, I find myself quickly tuning out. I need that drama that’s unlike anything else in the world. And, for my money, Backyard Sports is one of the few series that gave me a similar level of intrigue. I care more about Pete Wheeler and Pablo Sanchez and even that loser Dmitri Petrovich more than I do most other characters in any other medium. No other game has been able to merge that fun (if simplistic) arcade sports action with players that I genuinely care about.

And then I started playing Super Mega Baseball 3. Listen, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that it’s this incredible game that you have to play. Frankly, it isn’t. However, my time with the game has whisked me back to my childhood and brought up some of those same joys I felt knocking the ball out of Eckman Acres.

“…my time with the game has whisked me back to my childhood…”

Opening up Super Mega Baseball 3 for the first time, my eyes were immediately drawn to the team customizer. Given the cartoony graphic style, I instantly knew this was something I could work with. And so, I spent the first few hours of my time with the game recreating some of my favorite Backyard Sports characters and making them into my team. Now, on its own, that’s not too exciting. I could technically do the same thing in plenty of sports games. The difference, at least for me, is that the visual style looks like what you’d imagine a modern Backyard game would look like.

That’s cool and all, but a good character creator is not exactly going to light the world on fire in 2020. Plus, there are only like 20 hairstyles and you can’t even put mutton chops on the ladies. Like, what gives? No, this is a sports game. We need to talk about the on-field action.

Here’s the thing about Super Mega Baseball 3: it’s a pretty simple game. That’s not necessarily a knock on it, but if you’re coming to it looking for a difficult sim to immerse yourself in, this ain’t it. It’s more interested in being goofy and letting you blast bombs to outer space. The game has a solid difficulty system they call “Ego” that’s actually pretty well handled. You can set your overall Ego anywhere from 1-99, but it also lets you break it out further than that. So, if you’re an ace pitcher but can’t swing a bat to save your life, you can adjust your Ego settings to match. However, you really have to crank that Ego setting up if you want a challenge.

See, until you hit roughly 80 Ego, the game still gives you a ton of assists. Let’s look at batting, for example. On lower Ego levels, the game just automatically aims your bat in the right direction. As you move up the Ego scale, the auto-aim lessens, but it doesn’t go away until you bump it up to around 90. Now, the pitches are coming in much faster at higher Ego, but if you pay attention, you’re going to have a stud batting average.

Pitching isn’t quite as simple, but you’ll master it pretty quickly. Basically, you select a pitch and then try to adjust your aim as you go. Imagine you’re playing a dart game in Yakuza and you’re trying to time the cursor in the right place at the right time. That’s basically what this is. It’s a fun way to pitch. Fielding is even easier as the players pretty much just run to the ball on their own with almost no input needed.

“I’m not too fussed about the game feeling more simplistic than most modern sports games.”

Personally, I’m not too fussed about the game feeling more simplistic than most modern sports games. After all, I play a lot of them, and sometimes it feels like there’s just too much going on. Super Mega Baseball does away with that complexity and just focuses on the fun. For baseball fanatics, that might kill the game. For casuals like me, it’s a welcome change of pace.

That said, it’s not all rosy for Super Mega Baseball 3. One of the bigger issues is kind of a weird one to me. Almost without fail when I play sports games, I immediately turn off the sound. The announcers just spout the same crap year after year that there’s really no point in listening. So you would think that Super Mega Baseball’s lack of any kind of broadcast team wouldn’t be a turn-off, but, for whatever reason, it really kills the feel of the game. Maybe it’s because of my fond memories of listening to Sunny Day and Vinnie the Gooch. Maybe I really do like the sultry tones of FIFA‘s Martin Tyler. However, the lack of an announce team is an unfortunate admission. It doesn’t kill the game, by any means. It just makes you realize that this is something of a budget project.

My other problem is a much bigger deal. I don’t want to say the game is full of technical issues, but it did crash every time I tried to alt+tab and respond to someone on Discord. There were a few other small issues that added up to it, again, feeling like a cheaper game. It’s not going to take you out of the game or anything. Well, unless you actually want to get out of the game for a second. Because then it’s going to die and force you to reload your franchise.

Super Mega Baseball 3 is a weird game to review. I can’t, in good conscience, tell you that this is a great game. It’s not. It’s fine. SMB3 is like the ham sandwich of video games. If you don’t want ham, then it’s not for you. It’d be great if you also had some cheese to put on there, but you’re a poor college student and can’t afford that kind of luxury. And then there are people like me who freaking love ham. It’s so good! How could you not like ham! Can you tell I’m writing this right before lunch?

Anyways, that ham sandwich is going to hit the spot perfectly and make you feel like you’re a kid again without a care in the world. You have no group project and the gym is just the place you play dodgeball and not where you force yourself to do cardio. It’s great.

“I adore the things (Super Mega Baseball 3) lets me do, but I also recognize that I’m uniquely suited to love this game.”

That’s where I’m at with Super Mega Baseball 3. I adore the things it lets me do, but I also recognize that I’m uniquely suited to love this game. SMB3 lets me bring the smoke from the mound with Amir Khan. It lets me rocket line drives with Mikey Thomas. It lets me hose fools from deep center with Keisha Phillips. But it didn’t create any of that. I added all of that personality. I don’t care about the dumb characters SMB3 made, so can I give it full credit for the great time I’m having?

But there is something good here. That can’t be denied. It feels weird to say this because we’re on the third version, but if Metalhead can take the fun, arcade gameplay they’ve put together and really lean into the personality side of sports, Super Mega Baseball 4 is going to be incredible. If they give this franchise a wacky story mode, it’s over. We’ve peaked.

Seriously though, if you’re looking for a baseball game that doesn’t care about the intricacies of the sport, Super Mega Baseball 3 is worth a look. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a good time. And, hopefully, you can become as invested in your squad as I did mine. That player-driven storytelling really makes this game work beautifully for me. Metalhead is also a developer ready and willing to make changes after their games launch. They’ve already committed to adding things like a team import from SMB2 and online mode improvements. That dedication to the franchise and the core fun of the on-field baseball, make this a game I will likely be coming back to quite a bit during the summer doldrums.

May 12, 2020 9:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/super-mega-baseball-3-the-secret-weapon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=super-mega-baseball-3-the-secret-weapon

[theshapeshifter100]

Guess What? I’m Not a Robot RC Ch19

Chapter Warnings: Reference to previous self harm, food (I hear that’s a thing)

Word Count: 1,798

Masterlist

Previous

Epilogue

2.00AM Friday 12th November 2038

Despite Ivy and Maggie offering, Ella and Paul ended up driving.

The roads were quiet, though icy, and the human members of Android Allies were exhausted. Too exhausted to drive safely.

Megan didn’t know what it looked like in the back of the vans, she was up front with Paul.

She was curled up, watching the dusting of snow get shunted off the windscreen by the wipers, the regular movement almost hypnotic. The trip was mostly silent, except for Megan’s breathing.

She could finally relax, after what felt like an eternity, Paul was safe. She was safe. Everything was calm.

Her anxiety still whispered in the background, but right now, she was too tired and too relieved to care.

She knew Paul was occasionally sending her looks, as if to check that she was still there.

“You can sleep,” he spoke softly. “I’m happy to carry you.”

“Everyone will want carrying then,” Megan mumbled tiredly. “You should save yourself from that.”

“True. Oscar might be awkward.”

Both of them huffed a small laugh and settled back down.

They reached Alex’s place and everyone went down to the basement, collapsing on whatever soft surface was available. They were all quickly asleep, leaving Paul and Ella awake.

Paul found himself by Megan, feeling an urge to stick close. Ella probably felt the same, as she sat next to where Alex was sleeping.

The female android leaned her head against the wall, and looked into space, LED flickering.

“Are you alright?” Paul sent across so no one woke up. Ella jumped, but nodded.

“Just, getting used to it,” a pained expression flitted across her face. “And trying not to think about, certain things.”

It didn’t take much to guess what she meant. She’d been partially disassembled and repaired again, becoming deviant very quickly. That definitely wasn’t something you would want to dwell on.

“I take it you’ve known Alex a long time,” Paul changed the subject, and Ella nodded.

“Six years. Possibly not the best decision, Alex was fourteen, certainly not a child. Their parents also seemed to realise this a bit late, but, they never got rid of me. So, small mercies.”

She looked over at Paul. “What about you two?”

“We only met about a month ago, believe it or not. I used to…” Paul paused for a second, not wanting to use the word ‘belong’, “be with her neighbours. But they needed someone to do things, quicker, and Megan lived alone, so they thought they’d be a bit busybody-ish, and gave me to her. It’s worked out quite well, all things considered.”

“Yes, we are both lucky,” Ella looked down at Alex fondly. “Having people who come to rescue us without a thought for their own wellbeing.”

“If I were human, I’d have a lot of grey hairs and a heart attack from this one. It’s a damn miracle she didn’t get shot!”

“Someone did,” Ella looked over at Julia. “Alex desperately wanted to go make sure she was okay when they heard, but they were running around reloading and we needed all the help we could get.”

“They’ve been friends for a long time?”

“They used to live next door to each other since they were children, apparently. I came in when they were having a rough patch, as childhood friends often do when they become teenagers, but they sorted things out.”

Paul nodded to himself. “I know I haven’t known Megan long, but now I wish I had known her for longer. From what I’ve heard it seems that she could have used someone like me in high school.”

Ella’s LED whirred as she thought about it, and decided to change the subject.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you become deviant? It wasn’t, there, was it?”

“No,” Paul confirmed. “It was, to protect Megan, from herself.”

“You two are quite dependant on each other,” Ella noted.

“I suppose we are. I probably shouldn’t be, but, she needs me, and, I get scared sometimes. There’s so much I thought I understood, and I don’t. I, I feel safe with her.”

Ella tilted her head to one side, but didn’t say anything else about it.

1.12PM Friday 12th November 2038

Megan groaned as she slowly woke up. Well, she had woken up in the night, for nightmares she no longer remembered. Now it didn’t feel like she’d come out of a nightmare, and she sat up on the blow up mattress.

Android Allies were still milling about the basement, and Julia was still asleep for now. Megan didn’t feel like getting up, not from low energy or feeling bad, she actually felt good. She didn’t want to get up yet because everyone was safe, she was warm and cosy in a blanket nest she had made in her sleep, and the sheer relief of not waking up at the camp again made her want to sigh and relax.

“Afternoon sleepy head,” Paul spoke somewhere above her, out of her line of sight. “You getting up?”

“Nooooooooooo,” Megan burrowed into her blanket nest. “I’m asleep.”

“Hmmmm, I’m not sure I believe you…”

Megan began making overly fake snoring noises with her eyes closed.

The blanket was ripped off and she blindly reached out for it.

“Nooooo! It’s cold!” she protested.

“It’s one in the afternoon, get up,” there was a smile in Paul’s voice, but since he didn’t give the blanket back Megan rolled into a sitting position.

“I’m up, I’m up.”

“Good, there’s lunch upstairs,” Paul pointed up the stairs to make his point.

Megan stumbled off the mattress and followed Paul’s finger upstairs.

In the kitchen was a pile of bread, cheese, ham, jam, peanut butter and various other sandwich fillings out. Ella was organising some of them, keeping the stuff that needed to be kept cool in the fridge, all while humming to herself.

The android turned to the door when Megan walked in.

“Ah, Paul said you’d be coming up.”

“Moring, er, afternoon,” Megan corrected.

“Afternoon indeed. How do you like your sandwiches?”

“You don’t have to, I can-I can do it.”

“I know sweetheart,” the word ‘sweetheart’ was tossed out so casually it threw Megan off, “but it’s giving me some normality after a traumatic experience. Just, humour me. Please.”

Megan managed a small smile as she looked at the options, and her brain went blank.

“Ham, ham and cheese?” she fell on a staple.

“Toasted?”

Megan nodded, and before she could blink the sandwich was assembled and in a sandwich press.

Ella watched the sandwich press. She had changed clothes, no longer in the android uniform. However it was clear that the clothes had come Alex’s eclectic wardrobe, as she was in a royal blue shirt with a purple denim jacket with black jeans. Her hair had changed to blonde, which hung loose around her shoulders. Her LED still spun on her temple, although given what Paul had said about his, Megan could understand why that was still there.

“Do you know what’s going to happen now?” the android asked quietly, and Megan was surprised.

“I, er, no?” Megan fumbled. “I-I-I don’t know.”

Ella nodded to herself. “Me neither. It’s, kind of exciting.”

“Terrifying,” Megan muttered.

“That too,” Ella chuckled. “I’m, I’m just a bit worried about when Alex’s parents come home. They, they gave me up, after all…”

Ella moved to wrap her arms around herself, and Megan was at a loss. Should she comfort her? How? She didn’t know Ella, she didn’t know how she’d react to certain things. What if she made it worse!?

The press beeped before a decision could be made and Ella quickly retrieved it, dropping the two halves of the steaming sandwich onto the plate. It was handed to Megan, and she took it carefully.

“…Are, are you okay?”

Ella’s face fell. “I don’t know,” she admitted, “But, please don’t tell Alex that.”

“They, they’d want to know,” Megan’s fingers tapped the plate. “If you were worried about something.”

“Maybe. Just, not now,” Ella smiled. “Why don’t you head back downstairs?”

Megan recognised a dismissal and went back into the basement with her plate.

Back downstairs not much had changed. Alex looked up when Megan came down and grinned.

“Hey, heard you were up!” they grinned. “Now we can start. Everyone, gather around Julia!” they called out into the basement, and you could just hear Julia groan.

“Just in the general vicinity. Your voice carries Alex.”

Everyone grabbed a chair and sat near Julia. Ella came downstairs and also grabbed a chair, and the group was arranged in a loose circle, with Alex close to the centre. Megan ate her cooling toastie as Alex talked.

“So, in the space of roughly a week, the android revolution has been and won,” Alex declared. “We have contacts with the rebel leaders, which may prove useful in the future, so, what’s next?” Alex rummaged for a tablet and flicked through it. “We still have groups in California, Alabama and Phoenix, plus support that Nathan’s drummed up overseas.”

“That support might have changed,” Nathan interrupted. “Given recent events, but it has made the plight of androids more public.”

“Fair point, that’s a bit iffy,” Alex conceded. “Now, Detroit is under evacuation order, although in no uncertain terms, fuck that. So, we first need to sort out who’s going to stay where. Student accommodation would likely have been evacuated. So, who needs a place to stay?”

Nathan, Oscar, Ivy, Maggie and Allison all put their hands up.

“Okay, we have plenty of room in the basement if you want. Any other options…?” Alex cast around the room.

“I can put someone up,” Lucas volunteered.

“There’s some space in my apartment,” said Julia.

“I think it’s best you stay here Jules,” Alex said softly. “Just in case.”

Julia nodded, and Paul nudged Megan.

“Can we get anyone with us?” he whispered.

“I don’t know. Don’t think so, my place is tiny, and…” Megan thought about it, “And the only way it would work was if they slept on the couch; my bed isn’t big enough for two, not that I’d want to…” she trailed off as her face went as red as her at the thought.

“On the floor perhaps?” Paul tried to rescue.

“I don’t have a blow up mattress or anything like that.”

“So the only space is the couch.”

“Yeah, but, the couch is your space.”

“Anything to add you two?” Alex asked, and Megan startled.

“I, erm, my, my, apartment is small, and-”

“Breathe Megan,” Alex held their hands out appeasingly. “I have plenty of space here. While everyone thinks about that,” Alex flicked through the tablet again, grin slowly growing. “Who wants to go to DC for a protest?”

We're at the end! This has been something. This doesn't seem to have had the same reception as the first main part, which is understandable, given the six month break. As you might have guessed, this leads to the same Epilogue, although Hank wouldn't be there with this ending, because they never met him.

I do have other endings listed and roughly planned. I will try and write them, but I make no promises.

I will admit this was rushed (I know, hear me out) it took me a while to get the drive to finish this. I basically did this in drips and drabs, unlike the Protest Path which I knocked out in two months. The ending of this is especially rushed, I admit, mostly because I got really stuck on the firefight section. If I had written three storylines like OG Detroit (ha ha ha ha oh no, not happening on my own, thank you) then I could have dropped in their storylines. But, i didn't, and I don't want to!

Hope you enjoyed this ride with me, and hopefully it won't take another six months for me to post something. By which I mean it will probably take at least that long.

Other Options Flowchart

(Megan) Agree to being carried.

(Paul) Be more vague about how he became deviant.

(Megan) Get up. Don't answer(Megan) Keep trying for the blanket. Try to sleep without it

(Megan) Cheese sandwich. Tuna. Pickle. Peanut butter. Chocolate spread. Something unhealthy and ridiculous.

(Megan) Comfort Ella with words. Hug Ella. Do both.

Tags! @nightmarejim @septicart-appreciation

[recentanimenews]

An Introduction to the "SAIYUKI" Anime

An Introduction to the SAIYUKI Anime... As Told By a Fan Who Read the Manga Almost a Decade Ago

By Dee Hogan

After being off the air for nearly 13 years, Saiyuki has at last returned to grace our televisions with attractive men beating the crap out of each other while waxing poetic about their dark-and-stormy pasts. But with Saiyuki's previous anime seasons scarce and its manga volumes even scarcer, you might be hesitant to check out the new series.

  Well, fear not! I, an ardent Saiyuki fan who read the manga as it was coming out almost 10 years ago, am here to provide you with the story exactly as I remember it. Which is to say: Very vaguely! Now you, too, can enjoy Saiyuki Reload Blast as if you were right there with the rest of the fandom, reading the manga in the mid '00s, selling the volumes to help pay for grad school, and now racking your brain to piece together the semi-existent plot of that gloriously feelsy action series you still love so very, very much.

  Come along with me on this journey, won't you? This journey...TO THE MAX!

Caution: Loving irreverence, questionable accuracy, and spoilers for the Saiyuki and Saiyuki Reload manga below. Content warning for mentions of child abuse.

  But First, a History Lesson!

Saiyuki began as a manga created by Kazuya Minekura. Well, I guess technically it began as the Chinese novel Journey to the West. Saiyuki is based on that classic epic, in the same way that Taco Bell is based on Mexican food.

Journey to the West is a Buddhist-inspired comic adventure story that follows a monk, a monkey king, a half-pig man, and an exiled immortal as they travel to India to retrieve sacred sutras. It's a complete story that has been translated in its entirety into English, unlike the Saiyuki manga, which is neither complete nor fully translated. Tokyopop imploded (along with half the U.S. anime industry) in the late '00s, leaving us one volume short from finishing Saiyuki Reload, and we've seen neither hide nor hair of the manga since. I am still salty about this.

  Pictured: Saiyuki sexily locked out of the U.S.

  The anime adaptations have fared somewhat better, at least: the three TV series (Gensomaden Saiyuki, Saiyuki ReLoad, and Saiyuki ReLoad Gunlock) were all released in the U.S., as was the film (Saiyuki Requiem) and the most recent OVA series (Saiyuki Gaiden). I only caught about 15 episodes of the anime, but my memory is that it's a reasonably faithful adaptation, albeit one that tones down the R-rated elements and adds a bunch of filler stories. Depending on where you live, you can stream both the original TV series and the Gaiden OVAs, but the two ReLoad sequels are confined to dusty DVD shelves for the time being.

  And if all these title variants are confusing you, then congratulations! You're well on your way to being a Saiyuki fan, because they're confusing to me, too. Saiyuki is to manga as Kingdom Hearts is to video games. The series has been running off and on for twenty whopping years, and it's splintered in a  bunch of directions along the way. For now, all you really need to know is that the central story goes Saiyuki, then Reload, then Reload Blast. Everything else is prequels and side stories.

  As for what that central story is all about, well...

    The Story!

Saiyuki takes place in Shangri-La, a fantasy world created by plucking Chinese fiction and history fruits from across the centuries, tossing them in a blender, and adding a splash of good old-fashioned manga tropes for spice. Humans and youkai share the land, six-shooters are as common as swords, and the main characters ride around in a jeep that's actually a dragon. (Or is it a dragon that's actually a jeep?)

  Things are going great until a youkai sorceress hooks up with a mad scientist and they start brainwashing youkai into murdering the faces off every human they can get their hands on. Then the local humans start panicking and murdering the faces off every youkai they can get their hands on, whether they've been brainwashed or not, and pretty soon everyone in Shangri-La is starting to feel pretty Shangri-Low.

To keep the peace, the local Bodhisattvas decide to send their Top Man, Double-Oh Sanzo, out West to find the culprits and tell them to knock it off. Our priest is joined on his quest by three companions: Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai, each with their own uniquely upsetting backstory and particular set of skills. They're also all youkai (or at least youkai-adjacent), but they've been equipped with handy-dandy power limiters to keep them from going berserk like the others.

  Together our quartet travel across the lands, getting into scrapes, fighting off the minions their mysterious antagonists send after them, and frequently threatening to kill each other as they journey ever Westward, hoping to one day reach their foes and stop their nefarious scheme.

    And I'd tell you all about that nefarious scheme, but I have straight-up forgotten it. The Big Bads' oh-so-sympathetic underlings are prominent in the original Saiyuki series, but then they have to take an extended spa vacation, so most of Reload is one long semi-self-contained arc about cowboys and necromancers. It's GREAT, mind you, but all the tension and shootouts and good good angst have shoved what's-her-name and scientist-face and their plan to do something-or-other straight out of my head.

  Honestly? It doesn't matter. Saiyuki is about the journey, not the destination. More to the point, it's about the people you get to hang out with along the way.

  And speaking of...

    The Characters!

  There are a lot of compelling supporting characters (mostly antagonists) who drift in and out of the Saiyuniverse, particularly Kougaiji and his merry band of Youkai In Need of Hugs. But the story is carried by its four protagonists—most of whom you're also going to want to hug, and two of whom may try to kill you if you do—so you're gonna want to get to know them.

    A chain-smoking, booze-slinging, trigger-happy, permanently irritated Buddhist priest, he's the current holder of the Sanzo title and the wielder of some very powerful sutras, though he's usually content to keep those stored away and just shoot people in their dumb faces instead (all faces are dumb to Sanzo, I'm pretty sure). He met his trio of party members through various traumatic adventures and brought them together, offering them a chance to start over. Despite his grouchy exterior, deep down he's a good guy.

  ...Deeper than that. No, further. Little further. There it is! See? Good guy.

  Sanzo's history is told in fits and starts, which is to say I can't keep it straight anymore. I feel pretty confident saying he had a rough childhood, because this is Saiyuki we're talking about. And I know he witnessed his master's murder and it messed him up right proper. I have a working theory that Mr. Mad Scientist (Jianyi! That's his name!) is involved, because he used to be a Sanzo priest himself and sure seems to know a lot about our Sanzo, but take that with a grain of salt. Sure would make for some good drama though, yeah?

    Goku's the youngest-looking of the gang and often acts like it. Don't let that fool you, though: He's actually a powerful monkey king who was imprisoned on a mountain for hundreds of years. His memory's as patchy as mine, so all he really remembers is being lonely and then Sanzo freeing him and then him not being lonely anymore. See, happy things do happen in this story!

  Like another Son Goku you may know (who's also based on the monkey king in Journey to the West, by the by), this one fights with a staff and loves to eat. He's generally cheerful and friendly, but if you take off his diadem, he gets real angry, and not just because that diadem brings his whole outfit together, you uncultured boor. Mostly it's because the diadem is his power limiter, and removing it makes him hulk out somethin' fierce.

  I know this is the part where I'm supposed to say “you won't like him when he's angry,” but berserker Goku leads to some of the best fights and dramatic beats of the series. I like him when he's angry a lot more than I should.

    Half-youkai, half-human, Gojyo is the child of a “forbidden” affair between the two species. A literal redheaded stepchild, he was abused by his youkai stepmom and shunned by society at large. He had an older brother he loved (not like that, you pervs) who stepped in to defend him, to the point where he was eventually forced to kill his own mother to protect his brother. The two eventually meet again and it's... it's real sad, y'all. Gojyo's backstory is real sad.

  Nowadays he's a foul-mouthed gambler who likes to pick fights with Sanzo and quarrel with Goku, but he's maybe the most loyal member of the team and (despite being the least powerful) doesn't hesitate to step up to defend others. An asshole with a heart of gold, more or less. He fights with a sickle-flail that doesn't make sense but looks real cool, and he's technically a womanizer, but don't let that stop you from 'shipping him with one of his teammates. Gojyo is Extremely Shippable, you see.

    There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who think Hakkai is the best character in Saiyuki, and those who are wrong. Since the rest of the team has zero chill, Hakkai has an excess of chill to balance them out. Perpetually smiling and perpetually The Saddest, he's the team peacemaker and magic user, the owner-driver of the Dragon-Jeep, and a secret badass. Hakkai has removed his power limiters exactly twice, and exactly twice he has ruined his opponents. Other fun facts include: Can and will drink you under a table. Technically died once to save his friends. (Don't worry, he got better.)

  His backstory is basically one big D: emoji. Born a human, he had an older sister he loved (yes, exactly like that, you pervs) who was kidnapped by the resident evil youkai noble. Hakkai slaughtered ONE THOUSAND MUTHAFUGGIN YOUKAI on his way to rescue her, but she died anyway because Kazuya Minekura is a cruel, cruel manga-ka. Also, it turns out that when you slaughter ONE THOUSAND MUTHAFUGGIN YOUKAI, you, uh...turn into a muthafuggin youkai yourself. Womp womp.

  Hakkai wasn't doing so hot after all that. In a fit of guilt and despair, he even ripped out his own eye to appease a vengeful youkai (he eventually replaced it with a fake one, and got a rad monocle to match). He was ready to rip out the other eye, too, but Team Sanzo showed up in time to slap his hand away and offer him a new life and a second chance. They're his FAMILY now and he loves them VERY MUCH and they all need to PROTECT each other and—

  Er. Ah-hem.

  So. Uh. Yeah. I used to scour eBay looking for a UFO doll of this guy because that's how badly I needed to give him a hug. Hakkai is Best Boy. It is known.

    Okay, But What's it About?

  Kicking ass and having feelings and looking damn fine while doing it.

  And if that's not enough for you, then here's a bit more: The title of the manga (最遊記) is a play on the Japanese title for Journey to the West (西遊記). They're both read as Saiyuki, but the manga replaces the kanji for “west” with the kanji for “most” or “extreme.”  With one simple character, our journey to the West has turned into a journey... TO THE MAX!

  And, honestly, that's what Saiyuki is about. Big expansive world, big bombastic fights, big heart-on-sleeve emotions, big tragic histories, big meandering narrative. Everything is cranked up to 11. The series first ran in a shounen magazine (targeted at boys) before later finding a home in a josei one (targeted at adult women), which I think speaks to the way it dances between all those extremes: From rip-roaring action-adventure to character (melo)drama and on over to broad or black comedy before bouncing right back to one of its other modes again.

    Is it over-the-top, unfocused, and unapologetically packed with shipteases and emotional fanservice? Oh, yeah. One hundred percent. But, all teasing aside, I love it. I used to devour new volumes in one sitting, cheer out loud during the fights, bite my nails when my boys were in danger, giggle at their down-time bickering, and lap up all those theatrical, quasi-philosophical monologues.

  I love it in a way that's hard to put into words because it's so intricately tied to being a stressed-out high school/college kid in the mid-to-late '00s, but I think it comes down the series' overall tone and message. Because, despite its many moments of levity (particularly in the early going), as bullets fly and youkai rampage, the story always comes back to a bunch of sad-yet-defiant survivors trying to make it in a world that seems fundamentally, maybe even permanently broken.

  It's devastatingly grim at times, but even at its most dismal, it always manages to offer a kind of skeptical hope instead of just pessimistic tragedy porn. “Everything is terrible, but I'm not gonna give up,” in essence. Or maybe more to the point: “Everything is terrible, but I have people who support me, so I can get through it.” And there are times even now when that message has been a comfort to me, melodramatics or no.

  Saiyuki is too gleefully ridiculous, both in terms of world-building and staging, for me to take it too seriously or champion it as A Great Classic That Everyone Should Try. Frankly, if you read “a jeep that's actually a dragon” and didn't at least crack a smile, you probably should have walked away right there.

  Even so, with its raging battles, skewed sense of humor, smokin' hot anti-heroes, and willingness to dive head-first into sensationalized but nevertheless sincere explorations of trauma, depression, community, and identity, it scratches a particular itch and does so very effectively. Saiyukiis intense and bombastic, as overloaded with bullets as it is with feelings. It's stylish, heartfelt, top-tier trash, and I can't wait to roll around in it all over again. Lock and reload, gang. It's gonna be a blast.

  About the author, Dee Hogan

Dee is a nerd of all trades and a master of one. She has bachelor’s degrees in English and East Asian studies and an MFA in Creative Writing. To pay the bills, she works as a technical writer. To not pay the bills, she devours novels and comics, watches far too much anime, and cheers very loudly for the Kansas Jayhawks. You can hang out with her at The Josei Next Door, a friendly neighborhood anime blog for long-time fans and newbies alike, as well as on Tumblr and Twitter.

  SAIYUKI RELOAD BLAST is available for viewing now on Crunchyroll!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[abundantchewtoys]

HS Epilogues, Meat p26 reaction

Well, we unexpectedly went on a little hiatus there, in our liveblogging. It's just one of those things you got to find time for doing, you know?

So, last time in Homestuck Epilogues, Dirk was present for Rose's ascension into omniscience. Although he did state he still had a manner of control over her, and was going to do something to anchor her to her living body. So, you know, they're not on equal footing just yet, in part because Dirk hasn't relinquished control of the narration to her.

I hope the POV switches to John again, but since we just had a page from his perspective, it might be going back to Kanaya? Or Roxy, but Dirk might not want to spent more time around her "unfathomable" mind than is necessary for the plot to advance. It's not something you'd relish, as a supposedly omniscient narrator.

---

"Jade kicks her shoeless feet behind her slowly, as if she’s swimming with the current of the gravitational waves pulling her ever closer to their source." Oh! I didn't think we'd see her again, at least in the Furthest Ring. Thought the Black Hole had already swallowed her up. Though maybe as a Space player, and one with a connection to a seven-year-more-experienced version of herself located outside of canon and thus with more guaranteed conditional immortality than normal, she might be able to... resist getting thorn to pieces, as she crosses the event horizon? Unlike, presumably, every other being sucked into this thing.

"the ruby slippers are gone. She kicked them off hours ago, as if to jettison all hope of returning anywhere resembling a place she used to call home. The fond remembrance of such a place no longer has any pull on her.

Now, something else entirely is pulling her." Welp, guess the Black Hole is kind of hypnotic, ain't it? Or maybe it's Alt Calliope's strong personality.

"Believe me, I’m sympathetic to the temptation. It’s always just there, isn’t it?" To jump into the void? I don't think it's ALWAYS there for everyone Dirk, but thanks for the unique perspective into how your mind functions.

"There’s something about being alone for so long, it makes time feel like it doesn’t exist. She knows this almost better than I do." ... Yes, well, Lonely Jade did, and it seems as if she might have taken over, or melded with, Reload Jade? So yeah, her three years of isolation would indeed have given her some inkling of the feeling of loneliness that Dirk and the cherubs must have experienced, being physically alone all their life. ... Right, of course her childhood on Hellmurder Island would have also done that regardless.

"Jade also knows well enough by now that time doesn’t actually exist in a literal sense, the way we generally understand it. It’s just one aspect of many, and the complement of her own, Space. It therefore can be neutralized by the introduction of her essence. Reduced to white noise or soft light. The continuum of time is therefore demonstrably an illusion. The field of sequential moments and physical conditions that stretch on and on, resulting in the mirage of loneliness, is pure projection from disproportionate attention given to a single side of one cosmic, polar pair of ideas: time." Ah yes, aspect exposition time! To quote the swamp bender: "Time is an illusion", huh? We're going that route? Well, sure, but for most people a rather convincing one, no matter what your Aspect is. Though it would be interesting to see what "disproportionate attention" given to Space would result in... Despite a ravenous Black Hole consuming an entire realm, I guess.

"It’s my way of saying, and thereby alerting her mind to what she already knows, that this feeling of all-consuming solitude and despair haunting her since childhood—it’s in her head." Like, I can only root for Dirk in trying to save Jade from whatever Calliope has cooked up, but he's still manipulating her for his own purposes.

"The ticking of time is a little contrivance in her mind as a byproduct of imbalance, of the vast disparity between her limited self and her Ultimate Self." So, what, his past is as real to Dirk right now as his present and future?

"It lives rent free there the way Dave once did, and for this version of Jade, probably still does." Funny how that points to this still being Reload Jade more than post-canon Jade.

"Maybe Dave broke her heart a little, and he keeps doing it too, no matter how many different timelines they try out." Okay, see? This applies to post-canon Jade! It seems to swing around from moment to moment, the direction the narration points into. Though, I guess post-canon Jade might really benefit from absorbing her pre-retcon selves memories regarding her relationship with Davesprite, to assess how to go about handling Dave on Earth C.

"She slips closer to the event horizon, still making no effort to impede her descent. My persuasion skills are admittedly a little rusty. Bear with me here." So very rusty, so very unused recently. :P But yeah, she's different from Rose AND John, so he'll need a different approach.

"In my experience, there’s something about being alone that can take a person’s limited meat-engine and make it imagine that it can see beyond the confines of its own electrical processes. Make it believe that it is ascending to a place where it can see the four dimensions spread out beneath it like a set of windows." Is he... paraphrasing Jade's current mindset? Or his own, isolated on B2 Earth? Sounds also as if he's describing a medidative monk, kind of.

"Like sheet music. Like a garden, where Jade used to spend so much of her time with her hands in the earth and her head in the clouds, dreaming about flowers that bloomed in six colors and grew when she played them a song. Was that real? It’s hard to tell. But it made her happy, didn’t it?

Isn’t that what she needs now?" Ooh, so he's trying to persuade her to turn around by getting inside her head and trying to figure out what made her most happy. Being omniscient, he might just have a hard time distinguishing the important bits from the trash? He seemed to describe it in such a way, as if Jade might sometimes have been daydreaming in a way it overlapped with dreaming on Prospit! And so, she might have created a space for her dreamself that didn't stick to the confines of the dreamroom.

"Isn’t it reasonable to presume that’s the only thing capable of persuading her to slow her descent—to being invited to imagine, fake or otherwise, that which once made her happy? That which could still make her happy, if only she’d slow down, think about it, and do whatever is necessary to place herself in those surroundings again?" So, he's trying to shake her out of it by thinking happy thoughts. :P

"It’s possible that manning the other end of a suicide hotline, transmitted through pure thought in a metatextual format, may not actually be my true calling." (He actually kind of sucks at this.)

"I’m doing my goddamned best here. She just isn’t slowing down, for some incomprehensible reason." So, uh, what's stopping you from pulling a John and just, like forcefully move her thoughts to where you want them?

"Perhaps my touch is too soft. It wouldn’t be the first time." Said no one ever that ever knew you. :P

"Perhaps the limits of persuasion itself are being tested by the most powerful gravitational force to ever exist?" Now that'd be something! That a pure manifestation of an Aspect could overcome narrators of omniscient inclination.

"Or perhaps it’s true that insistence is just the more effective half of persuasion.

So I’m insisting now." Took him long enough.

"Jade Harley will not go into that hole. She does NOT want us to all to see what happens when she unsettles the spirit residing there." So Dirk also seems to be convinced she's survive? Or maybe he thinks that, adding her to the matter inside the Black Hole, would upset some kind of balance.

Basically, he's like: "No, Alice, don't go into the rabbit hole!" and "No, Dorothy, don't look behind the green curtain at the wizard residing there!"

"she does, though." OOOOOOoooooohhhhhh!!!! Battle of the narrators!

Guess Alt Calliope's eon-long isolation, coupled with her Spacey thing, gave her the same powers as Dirk's. So that answers the question whether ghosts can grow into an Ultimate Self! It has interesting implications regarding Aranea and (Vriska), for one!

"Fucking yikes.

Jade throws on the brakes. I say she does. But by now, the gravity is overwhelming. Is she even trying to resist, or is it just that it’s useless to try? I’m not... I’m not sure I can tell?" Wow, yeah, so here we see what happens when Dirk encounters another narrative force of equal or greater power. He loses the ability to discern everything. But Alt Calliope remains eerily silent, only 2 comments from her so far.

"Jade realizes, preferably before it’s too late, that this is fucking serious. She needs to turn this around. She doesn’t want this. She doesn’t want to die.

she wants to return to me." ...? Eh? Does Alt Calliope see herself as THE Self now, devouring all other beings into some sort of hivemind gestalt? Or does she refer to the time Jade (either version) spent with Calliope (either version)? Seems a bit stupid if she'd mean that. On the other hand, it might be a childish response, a desire for affection so deeply rooted into the main Calliope, that Alt Calliope during her ascension absorbed it.

"All right, I’m done messing around.

YOUR name is Jade Harley. YOU decide, right now, that you do not want to die. You resist the pull of the black hole with all your might. What would killing yourself accomplish? Sure, most of your friends are dead. But John is still looking for you. Do you want to let him down? Do you want to crush his soul? Do you have any appreciation for what he’s going through, Jade? He can take you home. To your new home, Earth C. The home I made for you, Jade. Your friends are all there, alive and well. Rose, Dave, Karkat, slutty adult Jade, Jane, Jake, Roxy, me. You wouldn’t want to disappoint them. You wouldn’t want to disappoint me, would you, Jade?" Well then!! Pffff, I didn't think a Strider could ever evocate "Stern Fatherly Disapproval" like Dad Egbert/Crocker can, but here we are. Let's just skim the implications of taking a teen Jade back to Earth C to live with adult versions of her friends, as well as Dirk's less than gentle tone here, and agree that her survival is definitely desirable, just cuz IT'S ABOUT HER, SURVIVING.

Still, you have to wonder what Dirk's ultimate plans for her are. I'm starting to doubt he'll be successful, though.

"You’re close now, to the ceiling of the cancerous deformity. Too close. Just skimming the edge of this thing’s vicious horizon." It's like he's describing the event horizon as a quantum vacuum decay, which for all we know in science, it just might be.

"You dip your toes through the place where the singularity is snapping everything apart at the seams. It’s so loud that it’s completely silent. You can already feel yourself stretched thin, distorted, pulled out with your descent elongated for all eternity." I suppose there's no one suited for pulling her out at the last second, is there? No chance for Davepeta to make a last-moment re-entry into the epilogues.

Blaperile points out something significant to me: Dirk has attributed Jade the "you"-ness factor! It would be cool to have Jade come on par with John in the epilogues, but I doubt it'll last past this page.

"When you look down, the stripes of your witchy tights go on and on for miles. Please, Jade. Don’t ever say I didn’t try to stop this.

she closes her eyes and lets go." Is... Alt Calliope going to take over the narration for a bit here, on the next page?

We have three potential candidates for taking up narration at this point - and no sight of Andrew Hussie, the author avatar, who could have been a fourth.

Welp. Now Jade's really gone. I have to wonder what this means for post-canon Jade, who fell unconscious with the sight of the Black Hole seared into her eyes. It can't have been a pleasant thing that happened to her, there. I just hope Alt Calliope hasn't taken over her body like a true puppeteer, giving Dirk a run for his money.