#comment on a mysteriously vanished post

[yandere-daze]

Thank you everyone for the big support on the RE2 Leon post! I was honestly blown away by all the nice comments I got 🥺💕

And now I'm back for more ^^

Hope you enjoy!

gn reader

tw yandere, obsession, over-protectiveness, possessiveness, heavily implied murder, implied stalking, kidnapping, jealousy

General Yandere! RE4 Leon headcanons

Above all else, Yandere! RE4 Leon is very protective of you, the dearest person in his life. To a very unhealthy degree.

He has always been protective but a lot has changed since his first day as a rookie. Leon has seen a lot, he knows how truly horrifying and cruel the world can be. He knows what dangers lurk in the shadows, just waiting for an opportunity to strike and snatch away his beloved.

He doesn't want you to go through what he has. He wants you to be safe at all costs. He simply can't risk losing you, you're everything to him. You're what keeps him grounded, the one beacon of light in the darkness that threatens to consume him every day.

His many missions have broken him, Leon is not the same person he used to be and that too reflects in subtle changes in his yandere behaviour.

He remains very protective, insanely so, but it´s not quite in the same way as RE2 Leon was. He has become pretty jaded and that also translates to him being more merciless when it comes to shooting down anyone that could be perceived as a threat.

There´s no more slight hesitation before going through with killing someone and pulling the trigger, no deliberation, he won´t leave even a sliver of a chance of something hurting you and that extends to zombies, cultists, or rude strangers alike.

He still likes showing off in front of you, proving to you how capable and reliable he is, but he would rather avoid having you witness him getting rid of the latter ones.

He´s sure you won´t object to him getting rid of horrifying eldritch horrors but he fears your naivete won´t allow you to see the other dangers lurking right around the corner. People everywhere that are secretly out to hurt you. People that have bad intentions. People that try to get between the two of you.

He certainly won´t forgive that friend of yours that told you how "scary" Leon´s glare was whenever he looked at someone that wasn´t you. And isn´t it weird that he´s somehow always there whenever you´re in trouble? And they could have sworn they saw him standing outside your window back when you had your sleepover at your house...

Of course Leon couldn´t let this continue any longer. What if you started listening to them and tried to keep your distance? Leon couldn´t bear that. How is he supposed to make sure you´re safe if you won´t let him?

He knows he needs to do something about this so-called friend of yours. Maybe at first he will start "small" and simply start incriminating them for crimes they didn´t commit. It´s truly scary how little you know about your friends, right? Who would have thought that they would turn out to be a criminal?

Leon hopes that will be enough to make them stay away but if they´re particularly persistent... Well, he knows just how to deal with obstacles that are in his way. His position as a special agent gives him plenty of opportunities to make that person simply disappear from all records after mysteriously vanishing.

But don´t worry, Leon will be right by your side, holding you tight and mourning the loss of your friend right with you. It´s really so terrible what happened to them but at least you have him! And he won´t ever leave you.

Now of course, if you yourself were acting difficult, continuously getting yourself into danger, ignoring all of his advice ( don´t leave your house without him. always keep him updated on what you´re currently doing. never go on a date with a stranger..) or avoiding him in any way, Leon would feel forced to take some drastic measures to ensure that you´ll always remain safe and his alone.

While RE2 Leon would not have gone so far as to kidnap you, RE4 Leon absolutely would. It would not be his first choice but in this case, he feels like there is no other way. He would rather keep you locked up for the rest of your life than lose you. He just cannot bear ever having to live without you, now that he has found you.

You´re the only good thing in his life and he´ll be damned if he´ll let anything happen to you.

Of course he understands why you´re mad at him afterwards and it breaks his heart to see you upset with him, but he´ll suffer through it all in the hopes that you´ll one day understand why he had to do what he did.

He´s sure you will come around to him one day and then you´ll finally live the happy life he you both always wanted. In the meantime, he´ll treat you with gentle care ( well, as gentle as Leon can be. His displays of affection are still pretty awkward and stilted even though he tries very hard) and makes sure all your needs are met.

He´ll also let you get away with many things like screaming at him, ignoring him or backing away from his touch, as long as you don´t try to escape him. You may hate him at the moment, but at least nothing can get in here and hurt you while he´s constantly monitoring you.

Leon hopes that one day you´ll be able to move on from this and become a normal couple, but he doesn´t really mind having you all to himself with no prying eyes right now. He´s very possessive too and he´d just hate having to get rid of another stranger that looked at you a second too long for his tastes.

[lets-try-some-writing]

I have observed several types of fic writers, and so for kicks and giggles, here they all are. Each of them scares me for different reasons.

The Prepared And Ready To Publish™:

Several documents dedicated to worldbuilding, planning, cross referencing, character lists & traits, plot twists, and then the actual fic document.

Dedicated to the max to creating a rich world. Probably knows more about the niche thing than you ever will. 100% could have written a thesis and chose to do fic instead (or did both at the same time).

Created a masterpiece and promptly vanished off the face of creation before coming back in with another banger to crush souls and save fandoms.

Their arrival is akin to the birth of a new era because they never fail to somehow make a niche ship popular, make a headcanon fanon, or otherwise give so much depth and interest to a character or setting that whatever they have devised is largely accepted as gospel by their readers.

They either use a high end writing program or wordpad. There is no in-between.

Mysterious. Very mysterious. Reasons for this mysteriousness vary between fics and authors.

100000/10 would be friends with them if I could. Legendary writers. But also they scare me because ??? What void offered you such power ?????

The Baby Writer:

All vibes and loosely strung plots.

It may not make the most sense, but good gracious the dedication is there.

Notable lack of comprehension when it comes to characters and places, but it's bad form to not leave a kudo because it takes guts to post anything in fandom.

They are still figuring things out and their grammar or formatting (possibly both) is probably a mess, but they've put heart into their work.

Sweetest rays of sunshine who want to be involved and are eager to learn the ropes.

The fandom's young ward or despised new arrival (depends entirely on fandom popularity and age).

8/10 would happily offer advice to them. Just can't read their work for too long without wanting to throw it into grammarly. The fear factor comes in the form of the miraculous misuse of fandom terminology. (Yeah it's tough bud, the fanon is wild. But goodness that term/canon word does NOT mean what you think it does.)

The Smut For Your Soul:

Meticulously plans the smut with all the loving care of a sculptor.

Somehow plot got involved.

Miraculously, they managed to not include an iota of plot and it has somehow managed to work.

Headcanons abound and cuteness and or angst lurks merrily behind every corner.

The tags mean everything and nothing at the same time. They are but faint guides to the fae wilds ahead. Tread lightly.

Has a mountain of unfinished WIPs that will follow them to the grave or emerge ten years after conception to grace whatever fandom spawned the idea.

The fandom thanks them for their service, although often that praise is late or hits like a freight train.

???/10 I personally avoid smut but I have friends who write it so it really depends. Terrifying because you never know who falls into this role of writer. It could be anyone. Normalcy is a mask poorly adorned for the sake of conforming to The Great Machine.

The Angst Lord:

Has a million slightly different ways to hurt their blorbo. Each are somehow more horrifying than the next.

The embodiment of the iceburg videos seen all over the net. Ask one question and you shall unravel and scheme of torment so great you shall regret having dared to speak up.

Has dozens of WIPs or unwritten ideas that they claim they will return to.

They are controlled by passion and emotion and can and will insert their own complicated situation into a fic.

Almost nothing is off limits.

Arrives to the fandom ready to brawl and somehow ends up respected or feared. They often stare in bafflement as they end up unscathed and watch angry comments fly toward the arguably innocent shippers.

Generally some of the nicest people who happen to enjoy inflicting The Horrors upon someone fictional.

'10/10 would befriend and promptly regard like a wild racoon. Offerings of angsty ideas yield delightful commentary. But also I need to prepare myself for anything they say because O U C H my SOUL.

The General Writer:

Fluff, cuteness, possibly a delightful touch of angst and pure unbridled creative simplicity.

They may not have the most brutal or soul wrenching tale, but they always manage to write something that someone, somewhere, desperately needs.

Devastatingly underrated and deserves far more praise for their contributions to the fandom.

Produces some of the softest of scenes and the most touching of interactions between characters in a contained, careful crafted, tale.

Introducing new ships or family dynamics in such a tasteful manner that brain chemistry can easily be altered.

Arrives to the fandom as a lurker and shows their appreciation through their work. Oftentimes, they are very quiet and go unnoticed.

INFINITE/10 Love these writers, honestly a gift to fandom. The sheer level of dedication to producing fluff is astounding and scary all at once.

The OC X Canon:

Has so many ships and headcanons that it's astounding.

The lore development rivals IDW and Lost Light combined. All the kudos to them for putting their souls into their characters.

The dedication is mind boggling.

They put up with so much crap they could be in MMA Wrestling if the verbal assaults translated into physical strength.

Has so many adjustments to lore and whole AUs devoted specifically to creating a perfect world.

Skilled in the extreme (or not) at integrating their ocs into canon.

Arrives to the fandom not intending to make ocs. Leaves with seventeen leashes for their new abominable creations. Is loved or hated by literally everyone, sometimes for no reason.

6/10 perfectly lovely people but very niche in their interest and thus not everyone's cup of tea. Scary because that level of sheer willpower is meant for demi-gods.

There are more types of writers, but these feel like the big overarching ones. Which kind of writer are you? :D

[boombox-fuckboy]

Hey!!! You commented on my post about limetown haha which is why I’m here. You offered to give podcast recs! What are your favorites?? I’m looking for some new ones

I completely forgot I had this ask, excuse the delay. Here's a selection of 30 podcasts I enjoyed from a broad range of genres: hopefully at least one appeals.

Let me know if you're after something more specific.

Arden: (Investigative, Comedy) On the 25th of December, 2007, heiress and young actress Julie Capsom crashed her car into a tree and fled into a nearby forest clearing, leaving a trail that seemingly vanished into thin air, and a dismembered torso in the trunk. A decade later, Bea, the first reporter on the scene, and Brenda, a detective on the case, are hosting a true crime podcast about it, and neither is remotely impressed with what the other has to say. Arden is also a retelling of various Shakespeare plays.

Desperado: (Supernatural, Adventure, Horror Elements) In a modern world of gods and magic, three young people, all under the patronage of death dieties, embark on the same adventure for different reasons: for safety, for revenge, and to kill The Old Man in the Sky. Fantastic banter and killer action sequences.

The Far Meridian: (Magical Realism) An agoraphobic young woman wakes one day to discover her lighthouse home has travelled to somewhere entirely unfamilar. As this continues to happen day after day, she uses the opportunity to search for her missing brother. A really unique and charming piece of fiction.

Gastronaut: (Sci-Fi) Interstellar travel audio blog of a former food critic as he travels to an active warzone to get firsthand experience with unfamilar cuisine. ft. Disgruntled martian nobility, sinister businessmen, explosive mushrooms, forbidden snacks, rogue revolutionary artists, and the consequences of your actions.

Girl in Space: (Sci-Fi) The Girl In Space lives alone on a space station, doing science, making cheese, rewatching Jurassic Park, and tending to the plants, animals, and artificial sun entrusted to her. It's a little lonely, but not a bad life. Would be a shame if someone came along to ruin it.

The Goblet Wire: (Microfiction, Weird Fiction) A surreal microfiction with horror elements, taking the form of phone calls to an audio-based game in which the voice of the mysterious Dictator leads each player through fantastic and horrific world and story.

Hello From The Hallowoods: (Horror, Supernatural) A dramatic entity beyond your comprehension visits your nightmares to tell stories of the people (in varying degrees of human and alive) that inhabit the strange, deadly, and beautiful Hallowoods, as they find meaning and sometimes eachother.

Hi Nay: (Supernatural Horror) A year after moving to Toronto, sound designer Mari finds herself drawn into helping people around the city with various horrific supernatural encounters due to her babaylan (shaman) family background. It quickly becomes apparent that there's something much more sinister and complicated happening in the background.

Inco: (Microfiction, Sci-Fi) A perpetually exausted interstellar information trader and her peppy AI find a mysterious (read: bratty) boy floating in space and are inadventently pulled into a world political intrigue.

Inn Between: (Fantasy) Ever curious about what the D&D characters get up to at the tavern between sessions? A generally lighter-hearted (with some exceptions) with richly-written and always-growing characters. A really interesting format, too: a lot of the adventure appears in the "next time" and "last time" segments which makes it all flow really nicely. Not a tabletop podcast.

Janus Descending: (Sci-Fi, Horror, Tragedy) A xenoarcheologist and a xenopaleontologist are sent to a study a dead city on a distant world. Nobody likes what they find there. A unique format, with one set of logs presented first to last, and the other last to first. I'd recommend listening to the supercut for this one.

The Kingmaker Histories: (Steampunk, Weird Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy Elements) In the Valorian Socialist Republic 1911, on her 25th birthday, tailor's apprentice Colette experienced the worst headache of her life. As a result, she fleed from town with a human artificer and a fae chef - both now smugglers - pursued by an utterly furious flesh-crafter. I'm not sure I'm selling how good this podcast is but it's very good.

Life With Althaar: (Sci-Fi, Comedy) A human repairman moves to a space station on the edge of human territory that is perpetually on the edge of self-destruction, and ends up with a less-than-ideal last-minute roomate. Althaar is polite, friendly, deeply interested in human culture, and eager to be friends. Unfortunately he belongs to a species that sends humans into a visceral panic at a glance.

Lost Terminal: (Sci-Fi, Hopepunk) Seth is a very lonely AI living on a satellite. His crew were left stranded aboard with no hope of return, and it's been longer than he can count since then. The Earth below him has changed dramatically, and with only a few other AI down there to talk to, he's very lonely. But! He has a plan to make some new friends.

Love and Luck: (Romance, Slice-of-Life and Urban Fantasy Elements) Voice messages cataloguing two young men falling in love and opening a queer dry bar together.

Midnight Radio: (Light Supernatural, Romance) Sybil McIntyre, host of the ever-popular 1950's nightly radio hour, begins exchanging letters with an old fan who has reluctantly returned to visit Sybil's beloved town.

Midst: (Weird Fiction, Western, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Elements) The old-western planetoid islet of Midst floats, rotating steadily, in a sea of reality-warping darkness. Down in the town of Stationary Hill, things are in movement, and vistors from the light above are about to bring unanticipated change. ft a monocycle-riding monster-hunter, radio-famous airship paladins, deadly mica, the universe's peppiest cultist, good dogs, and a really strange businessman.

The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality: (Weird Fiction, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy and Horror Elements) A friendly AI tour guide leads you on a tour of the Mistholme Museum, explaining the strange and often alternatural story behind each item.

Monstrous Agonies: (Supernatural, Relationship Advice) An interpersonal advice show for supernatural entities and other people living liminally in the modern world.

Night Shift: (Urban Fantasy, Investigative) Set in a modern world with the addition of magic, which manifests in small inherited skills/traits, can warp people in horrific ways, or can be manipulated with the right science (and intense work) to induce superpowers. Sebastian Fenn is a barista at Night Shift Coffee, but since things are slow he's decided to start a podcast to talk about various mysteries, crimes and conspiracies around the city, and of course finds himself deeper in them than he'd intended.

The Pasithea Powder: (Sci-Fi, Thriller Elements? I think?) The last major interplanetary war was full of atrocities, but none more infamous then the creation of Pasithea Powder, a memory altering drug which was used to horrible effect and landed it's entire team of creators in prison. So when decorated war hero Captain Sophie Green sees one of them wandering free, worlds away from his prison, she gets in touch with a very old, estranged friend: one Dr. Jane Gonzalez, who's behind bars for the very same reason.

SCP: Find Us Alive: (Weird Fiction, Supernatural, Horror and Slice-of-Life elements) You don't need to know anything about SCP to enjoy this. A research team gets trapped in an underground research facility when the complex collapses and the building is dragged into a pocket dimension. The tear it was designed to study begins creating tiny copies of itself, generating strange entities the team needs to deal with. And as if that wasn't enough, the entire situation physically resets itself every 30 days. And yet, this is genuinely also an office comedy.

Second Star to the Left: (Sci-Fi) Audio logs of a scout sent to explore and establish early infastructure new world, and the communications with the minder in charge of keeping her alive.

Seen and Not Heard: (Slice-of-Life, Drama) Seen and Not Heard follows Bet, who's still adjusting to life a year after a bout of severe illness, and the resulting hearing loss it caused. It's about the ways we make connection, and food, and art, and different kinds of grief.

The Silt Verses: (Horror) In a modern world where gods are abundant, frequently both commercialised and restricted, two devotees of an outlawed river god go on a pilgrimage.

SINKHOLE: (Sci-Fi, Weird Fiction) Forum posts from a data restoration community in a near future where the human brain is its own computer and one city hosts a massive void.

Starfall: (Fantasy) Seeking to escape her mysterious past and find some purpose, a young swordswoman joins a travelling actor's troupe. This new life is unfamilar and sometimes stressful, but she's taken under the wing of stagehand Fel, who's determined to help her feel welcome as she experiences the figurative and literal magic of the theatre for the first time.

The Tower: (Weird Fiction) A low-key, meditative podcasy about a young woman who decides to climb a seemingly endless tower. Gorgeous sound design.

The Vesta Clinic: (Sci-Fi) New GP Dr. Fae Underwood, with the expert transcription skills of resident AI Sec, writes up patient reports on human and alien patients of The Vesta Clinic, a medical clinic on the edge of human space. Really comfy and creative.

Victoriocity: (Steampunk, Mystery) Set in the steam-powered Victorian city of Even Greater London, an aspiring journalist and a tired detective find themselves working together to solve a strange murder. I say Victorian but as queen Victoria is now an extensive grandiocity of cyborg components following seven only-kind-of-successful assassinations, you may need to adjust expectations a little.

[lostdrarryfics]

Hi! I’m looking for a post war story where Draco and Harry are both Aurors working on a suspicious murder case. Harry goes down to the department of mysteries to check out some dark artifacts apprehended at the crime scene and feels a siren call to touch the rings. When he touches them, he’s transported to a reality where him and Draco are happily married, a reality where Draco does not posses the dark mark. In his original universe, he hasn’t even accepted that he’s fully gay yet. The rings are called “the rings of khan” and they mean “7 years of pleasure before I drag you back to hell”. After 7 years, he transported back to the department of mysteries and the rings have vanished. We later find out that they get transported to the house of your soulmate. Thank you in advance!!!

We believe you are looking for A pulled down shade by fast_brother (43k, M)

Don’t forget to bookmark, leave kudos and comments!

[cryptcutiee]

Karma Is My Boyfriend

Pairing: Leon Kennedy X Reader (gender neutral) Synopsis: In search of good karma, you do a random act of kindness by paying for the coffee of whoever comes in behind you. That person ends up being a rather attractive man. Tags: Fluff, Comfort Warnings: Use of pet names (sweetheart, sweet thing), age gap (if you squint) Song: Karma - Taylor Swift Word Count: 1.6K Author's Notes: Ahhh hello Tumblr! I haven't posted any writing in a very long time. This is my very first fic on this account, but I do have more in the works. So if you want to see more from me or a part 2 to this, lmk! This is my first x reader story in years so comments and feedback is appreciated!

The day had barely started, yet everything that could go wrong was going wrong. Alarms you set decided not to go off. You had burned your breakfast. The hot water in your shower lasted a total of two minutes before it plunged you into an ice-cold drizzle. Clothes you wanted to put on had mysteriously vanished into thin air. You had dressed in attire you didn't want to wear when it started to rain as you were leaving. It was a bunch of little things adding up to a horrible morning. That didn't bode well for your luck today, which made you worry. Today was significant. You were waiting to hear back from that apartment complex. You needed to get approved for it. The current studio you were living in was crap, and this place would be a major upgrade. With how your day was going, your hope was at an all-time low.

This is how you found yourself standing across the counter from your best friend at the local coffee shop. They were a barista here, and although gossiping on work hours should be frowned upon, they always had time for you. Besides, it seemed slow today. Nobody was in line, and the few patrons lingering around were sitting at tables chatting or working. So you vented about your entire morning as your friend took down your coffee order. You got your usual which was no surprise. With the way your day was going, why would you try something new?

Your friend's eyebrows quirked up at how much of a nightmare your morning had been. "Sounds like you're having a bad energy day."

You leaned against the counter with a deadpan expression. "No shit Sherlock. Normally I wouldn't care, but I can't afford for today to be a bad day! At this rate, I'm going to get denied." You groaned. Anxiety was eating at you, and with how everything had been going, you had little faith in good news.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Your best friend pulled your attention back, "Thinking like that will just make it worse. What if you put some good energy out there, you know, like karma or something?"

You blinked as you took in their words. Karma? You understood the concept of it. Doing bad would attract bad, and doing good would attract good. A sigh left your lips as you stared across the checkout at your friend. "How do you suggest I go about that?" You're sliding your debit card across the counter as you stare them down, waiting for whatever idea they have.

Your friend put on their thinking face, and within moments their expression lit up with an idea. "What about a random act of kindness? You could pay for whoever comes in next!"

The idea rattled around in your brain for a moment. It wasn't like you believed in supernatural forces, but what exactly did you have to lose? "Fine, charge the next person's order to my card. Please don't make a big deal out of it though! I'm not doing it for recognition."

"You got it! Now go wait over by the pickup end. I'll get your order out."

With a nod to your friend, you moved over to the pickup area. Your fingers drummed against the counter anxiously. Eyes darting down to your phone as you waited for that email from the apartment complex. You could hear the bell on the door as you scrolled through your notifications. You listened to your friend speaking to what sounded like a man, but you kept your eyes stuck to your screen. He ordered a black coffee, and then your best friend said the words that made you focus more on the conversion feet away from you.

"I'm happy to say your order today has already been covered!"

When you looked up to see who you had paid for, you may have encountered one of the most attractive men you have ever seen. He had to be older than you, but he looked like he took care of himself. His shirt clung to his fit form, and those arms looked like they could pop a seam on his sleeves. Maybe karma did exist because the universe had just dropped this gorgeous sight right into your lap.

"Oh?" The man's low timber caused something to crawl down your spine. "By who?"

You could see the gears turning in your best friend's brain on how to answer the question. They knew what you asked for but could also witness your reactions from the sidelines. "By the person who ordered before you."

The man quickly put the pieces together, and his eyes glanced at you, the only person waiting for their order.

Mentally you were screaming and cursing at your friend for putting you in this situation, but at the same time, you were thanking them. As if to send the message home, they called out your name and slid your coffee order to you. Your eyes met his, and you felt your stomach do a flip. His eyes were breathtaking. If you looked too long, you thought you'd drown in them. With all the courage in your bones, you mustered an awkward smile. Hand reaching over to grab your coffee, you noticed out of the corner of your eye as the man moved toward you.

"Hey." A slight smile touched his lips as he approached, "Were you the one that paid for my coffee?" He knew it was you, and there was no point in lying to this stunning man.

"Yeah, I did. Don't worry. It was nothing." You replied, trying to shrug it off. "I just wanted to pay it forward. Trying to get some good luck." That same embarrassed smile glued to your face. Talking to this man wasn't in your cards today, but it was going better than everything else this morning.

"I can't just let you do that without introducing myself. I'm Leon, Leon Kennedy." Leon extended his hand out. Your own wrapped around his for a handshake while introducing yourself. "Why are you looking for good luck? Something wrong, sweetheart?"

Your free hand shot up in denial. "Oh no, nothings wrong! I'm waiting for an important email. It's to see if I got approved for this apartment I applied for." There was no reason for you to be telling Leon all of this. He was a stranger, but he was easy to open up to. "My morning was a disaster, and I didn't want the bad luck to continue, so my friend suggested I do something for good karma." You gestured to the barista in the background, your best friend. "Sorry, that all sounds a little silly."

"Not at all." The corner of Leon's lips lifts into a smirk." It's cute, honestly." Those blue eyes of his glimmered with interest as he spoke. It caused butterflies to flutter in your tummy. Suddenly your nerves aren't about the email. They're more about the man in front of you. "Do you have any plans today? I hope I'm not holding you up."

As fast as you can, you shake your head in response. "You aren't! I don't have anything to do today except wait." You watch as your friend delivers the black coffee Leon ordered. Their eyes glance at you with a knowing look. When Leon turns his back to them, they give you a thumbs up before scurrying back to the checkout.

"Then you'll let me repay you by grabbing dinner with me?" Leon grabbed his coffee, a sure look in his eyes. "It's the least I can do for a sweet thing like you, besides it'll get your mind off that email."

Did you just get asked out by some guy you bought coffee for? He was undoubtedly good-looking and had effortless charisma. Saying no would be a mistake. "Sure!" You automatically flush at how enthusiastic you sound. "I mean, that sounds like a nice distraction."

Leon let out a faint chuckle. "I usually get turned down. Maybe I have all the good karma today." Your eyes meet as he takes a sip of his coffee. "You like Italian? I know a good place, my treat."

"I do." Your lips curl into a soft smile. "Do you want to exchange numbers? Here." You open a fresh contact page on your phone and hold the device towards him. Your fingers brush against his as you pass your phone over to Leon. It causes a light blush to paint your features, and you can only hope he doesn't notice. As he's putting his number in, the faint chime of your notification tone rings out. 

Leon's eyes dart to the pop-up, and he grins. "Looks like I'm your good luck charm." He comments, passing the phone back to you. 

Your eyes automatically search the screen and see an email notification. The apartment complex approved you. A wide smile breaks out on your face. "I guess you are, Leon. Maybe I should keep you around." You can feel his blue eyes on you as you say that.

"Maybe you should." There's a beat of silence between the two of you. It suddenly feels like you got trapped in some romance novel. "So, celebration dinner then? Send me your address, and I'll pick you up at seven." Leon breaks the silence with that intoxicating tone of his.

"That works for me! I'll text you."

Exiting the coffee shop, you feel much better than when you arrived. Your newest contact, Leon, is on the screen, and you can't get that smile off your face.

Karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me.

[dcdreamblog]

In your piece on Gernsback, you touched briefly on Robert Crane, the first Robotman.

I'm wondering if Cliff Steele, the second Robotman, was in any way connected to him, or if it was simply a matter of a similar situation and a codename that no one was currently using?

(I am aware that Mr. Steele prefers to be addressed by his birth name from a brief appearance on television back when we first learned about the Doom Patrol.)

First of all, yea, I often wonder about how one is meant to refer to the members of the Doom Patrol these days too. Out of respect I usually lead with their birth names, just like you did. So no big.

The answer to your question is: Yes*. See the asterisk is always the interesting part.

*As I said in my original post, the post war life of Robert Crane is mysterious, probably on purpose. He vanished a few years after the war (though his original career was among the longest of his era, not dropping off the map until 1950).

Through comments from his teammates and attendance lists from Squadron reunions conducted in the decades since, we know two things.

He's still alive.

He was transferred back into a human body that was not his original one, we can assume he is living under that body's given name.

As with any other superhero's right to privacy, any attempt to "track down" Crane's current whereabouts and activities is explicitly against my field's code of ethics.

That being SAID. Niles Caulder, for all his faults did manage to masquerade as a legitimate scientist during his early days and in the medical paper he published about the operation that saved Cliff Steele's life we find this.

"Special commendation is given to Dr. Robert Crane, without whose expertise and consultation this operation would have been impossible. My sincerest thanks to him, who knows so well the second chance Mr. Steele has been given."

Now "expertise and consultation" could mean anything from "he answered a single question he was asked." to "he was literally in the surgical room with Caulder, helping the operation"

Him suggesting the Robotman alias is doubtful, neither Crane nor Steele seem overly fond of being saddled with it but we know that, somehow, he was connected to the operation. Any relationship of the two men beyond that is pure speculation.

[cubitodragon-moved]

Yesterday Mike added more fuel to my “Tubbo is bugged” theory and it’s making me extra worried about what’s going to happen this week LOL.

This post is rambly and long, so I’m sticking things behind a cut!

Mike’s memories of the last 3+ weeks are scrambled and foggy; an interrupted El Quackity treatment? Unclear. But between saying he doesn’t remember anything and then spouting off pro-Federation propaganda (something his anarchist ass would never willingly do!) and fiercely trying to pin blame to Fit as a traitor, a comment by him during one of the questioning sessions stood out to me.

When Fit asked who told him his janitor duties were fake/a front, that he couldn’t be trusted, he said Cucurucho.

We and FitMC know that the Feds are sus of Fit, but they’ve had no actual concrete evidence that he’s been misusing his position to obtain information. And yet now Cucurucho, supposedly, is informing Mike of this so called betrayal?

If we think back to the prison cleanup in August, there was a room that had a chess board map on the wall. Only two pieces were present: a queen and a pawn. And the pawn was positioned on a clear way to indicate it’s meant to represent Fit. A warning - possibly to Fit from the ghost entity in the Prison (or someone in a neighbouring pocket dimension, if recent ruminations and theories on the server have any legs) that aided Pac and Mike, OR the Federation itself, reminding him of who has the power and who is always watching.

But they have yet to take any action. And always praised his work when completed.

Enter: Tubbo. Who arrived on the Island as part of a group rescued from a mysterious location. One with lots of strange blocks, code-eggs, frozen floors and who himself was frozen away. Shortly after, Mike and Pac ventured back to that location to explore, and when he entered the tower, the floor vanished and Mike fell. Fell down into a pool of water at the bottom of a trap lined in black concrete, and then frozen.

During Mike’s absence, Tubbo has gotten to know the “morning crew”, has gotten up in everyone’s business. I’ve outlined some highlights in another post. But more recently, every time he talks to Fit about his cleaning job, he’s picked at it again and again. Freaks out over the badge and keycard - especially over the keycard. (This feels important, for more than just Tubbo’s excuses of it being bugged, but I can’t put my finger on why, yet.). Tubbo whines when Fit won’t give him direct insight, or tell him detailed specifics on what he’s found on the job. Fit has made it clear he will not jeopardise his position to satisfy Tubbo’s need to meta-game win over the system to know everything, resulting in accusations, and Tubbo commenting privately to his own chat that this makes Fit untrustworthy in his eyes. Tubbo has been careless with some of his questions. They’ve been asked topside, sideways comments uttered with side eye. He wants to KNOW what Fit is after.

And Fit did spill to Tubbo that he’s not just there for the obvious. Yes, He IS looking for something. Yeah, he IS trying to find things out about the Codes, the Eggs, and the Federation - he wants his beautiful baby boy (made in Heaven by God Himself) back home safe and sound.

But this has not been successful, never mind the long absence of any work in the last few weeks..and we the viewers know that things he has found have been incomplete, or need more time to cook before he goes to others with evidence. Fit is meticulous, his life on 2B2T trained this into him in order to survive. You don’t last 10 years in an anarchy wasteland without being prepared. Better and safer to leave things unsaid than having to walk them back later. And there’s no point in sharing what isn’t relevant to the matter at hand.

And now Mike - who Fit calls friend, who he bonded with, who he swore to help locate Walter Bob with - said Cucurucho told him that Fit was a traitor, and wasn’t looking for what he said he was, even point blank accused him of lying yesterday about what he’s looking for. And when pressed about what he’d found so far when on janitor duty, Fit had to admit that no, he hadn’t found anything related to the Eggs or the Code.

Mike seemed to take that as proof of his lying about what he’s doing. That what he was told was right. But admitting to a lack of success doesn’t make one a liar. And Fit telling him he found nothing is also a smart play - lose lips sink ships, and better to be thought incompetent. Especially if the Federation are now trying to flush you - and perhaps your ties to your employer, outside the island - out into the open.

The Federation did not know about Ramón’s furnaces until Tubbo did. And they didn’t know Fit was in it for more than the obvious until he spoke with Tubbo. They can’t get Tubbo to take on Fit, but they can use a different pawn they have on the board instead.

I may well be completely off base. And I’ll be delighted if I am. It’s been so much fun to theorise about the lore on QSMP! But mark my words, we need to pay much more attention over the next 48 hours. And who knows what everyone will come back to in a week’s time?

[ohblimeygeorge]

Right sorry to be a hater on main and you can say whatever but I’m really tired of all these influencers/wannabe influencers willing to do anything to get ‘The Shot’ or the aesthetic TikTok video especially when it’s risky and stupid and unnecessary.

I know a lot of you like Carmen but in her recent TikTok she’s posted a clip of her leaning out the passenger window admiring the view (the view looks stunning! I’d stare at it too!) but the issue is, the angle is clearly coming from the driver’s seat. Which means whoever’s DRIVING is filming her all while they would be driving one handed. Which whether we’re supposed to automatically assume it’s George or it’s one of her friends/family, it’s still incredibly fucking stupid and dangerous.

I was so shocked by it that I even commented on her TikTok bc the only comments she had so far were girls fawning over it and not even 10 minutes later my comment mysteriously vanished. And if I’m wrong, I would’ve happily listened had she explained! But she just deleted my comment instead. So yeah, make of that what you will.

Again I’m not trying to be a hater but it shouldn’t be something that’s accepted and fine just because of who she is and who her boyfriend is.

[simlicious]

Let's show that TS3 core feature called Create-a-Style some love 💜

The CaSt feature is one of the most unique and defining features of the Sims 3. Let's use it to our advantage!

As a pattern creator, I am counting on the ability to recolor CC so that my patterns can be widely used. Making patterns is a pretty lonely road these days (it's more of an overgrown path, hardly anyone travels it anymore). While most likely not the only culprit, the rise of non-recolorable CC (read: patterns cannot be applied or look terrible) definitely plays a role in this development. I admit that I sometimes worry about my place among fellow creators, should this trend continue to gain momentum. Patterns are at the heart of the Sims 3 and there are only a few pattern creators left. It would be sad to see the numbers dwindle even more. It would mean that a lot of creative potential in our games will vanish. Inside the Sims 3, patterns are an important asset to make our creative visions come true, as they can completely transform the look of most objects (and clothes, accessories, walls, you name it). As part of a community, creators have the opportunity to lift each other up, and object/clothing creators can help fellow pattern creators feel valued by including a recolorable swatch (and tidying up that UV mask so they will look good, too 🤪). Furthermore, creators have the opportunity to work hand in hand to enhance the value/usability of their CC for all fellow simmers. So let's do this! If you are a CC creator and have not made your creations recolorable, but are interested in doing so, or in improving your skills, why don't we have a conversation about it? Let's get behind the mystery of recolorable CC. We can put our heads together as a community and share resources, tips, tutorials, and workflows to teach each other how to make RGB masks, edit multipliers, bake AO maps, and straighten those UVs. If you are an experienced creator and are open to sharing your process on how to make CC recolorable, or simply know some great tutorials, please feel free to share in the comments or reblog with info! Feel free to post your questions or concerns too so we may find common ground and appreciate each other's efforts.

Let's make a positive change together 🙏

[kirkirk]

Idol Azusa my eternal beloved 🩵

+ some silly headcanons about him!

He gained a small following after being a backup singer in one of Kou's concerts.

Marketing dumbass, Kou manages all of his socials and made up a random online personality for him.

He'll release a song or two a year and then vanish due to mental health. Kou keeps pestering him but he doesn't listen.

His songs are either very explicit with dark themes or kids nursery rhymes and fun songs for them.

His fandom is slightly confused about that but real ones ended up digging the gap.

Refuses to do lives like Kou, you can only catch him singing irl at nearby orphanages and the pediatric ward of hospitals.

The only extra content his fans are getting are little clips of him humming in random places. All recorded by Kou, he doesn't know that those are online.

The only time Kou let him post anything, he uploaded a cute selfie with Yui because he genuinely wanted to share it and lost half of his followers. Kou had to pull the hardest PR campaign in idol history to save his ass.

Some people actually liked the picture and a small shipping community appeared. He does know about the fanfics and loves showing them to Yui. She just screams and runs away panicked.

Kids recognise him on the streets and ask him for hugs. He kidnapped a child once. He is not allowed to hug kids anymore.

Parents are really concerned about his darker songs so he keeps getting cancelled but couldn't care less

Kou's fandom sometimes boosts his views because they know how hard Kou's trying and Kou actually found a way to market his manager persona too.

Beret brands sponsor him sometimes and he's SO annoyingly picky about it.

He draws the illustrations for his own merch and only depicts himself as the silliest little guy. If Kou asks him to draw himself in a hotter artstyle, he'll throw a fit and disappear for a week (minimum).

There's also a part of his fanbase that wonders whether he's okay and make up conspiracy theories about his past since some of his lyrics are oddly... specific. Some even claim he might not be human. Kou deletes those comments, adding to the mystery.

Karlheinz finds the whole ordeal really amusing and follows his socials, he does not know that the one posting is actually Kou so he tries to reference his tweets when he talks with Azusa and he just stares in confusion.

[tyriatimes]

The End of the Dragon Cycle: The Start of Something New?

Issue 01 | Editorial | 18 Colossus 1337 AE

All at once, Tyrians far and wide seemed to heave a collective sigh of relief with the close of the Elder Dragon Cycle. Many believed this was the start of an era of peace; a sign of better, calmer days to come. Nations near and far healed old, unresolved wounds, reopening borders once thought to be permanently closed.

Then the attacks started.

On what was an otherwise unremarkable day, horrid, fleshy beings wreaked havoc indiscriminately on communities large and small across all of Tyria. Some described them as beings turned inside out, their innards on full display as though their skin had been peeled.

Distrust and animosity brewed, with some blaming the disappearance of the Wizard's Tower from its vigilant post over the shores of Garenhoff months prior.

A vacant night sky above the shores of Garenhoff.

Garenhoff, a small port town once protected by the wizard Isgarren and his guardian elementals, stands abandoned in the wake of the tower's disappearance. Streets once teeming with curious tourists lie silent in the aftermath, save the mournful sobs and pleas of its remaining residents.

The town's leader, Mayor Manrin, refused an interview, but could be overheard fretting to Town Guard Plesci about the lack of protection and his reputation. Along with the tower, most of the elementals who patrolled the town vanished, leaving residents vulnerable and afraid.

"The mayor claimed that he made regular visits to the castle; but after the tower disappeared, we learned the truth," Lasha, born and raised in Garenhoff, said. "Now, we feel lost."

Little is known about Isgarren beyond his name. "[He] is a grand wizard, but beyond that, most know very little," Lasha confirmed. Other residents were too distraught to comment, eyes fixed on the sky as though thought alone could will the tower back into existence.

"Everything we thought we knew turned out to be wrong. The castle was the anchor around which this town revolved; but it turns out, we were not important to Isgarren," Lasha said. "He abandoned us."

Lasha, lifelong Garenhoff resident, overlooking Wizard's Fief.

Elementals did more than just keep the townspeople safe; they were diligent laborers, hauling heavy shipments from the docks up steep pathways to the surrounding shops and homes. Trade has come to a complete standstill in their absence, forcing residents to negotiate private deals with surrounding farms to ward off starvation.

A once popular local inn bears a "Closed Permanently" sign on its barred door. Many Tyrians have fond memories of being served by elementals there, the inn's primary attraction and a large source of its income. The former innkeeper could not be found for comment.

Though most residents seem to share an unshakeable loyalty and devotion to the wizard Isgarren and his tower, a select few have had their doubts due to mysterious disappearances of townsfolk over the years.

"My friend's sister left to harvest strawberries and never came home," one small boy near the docks said before being ushered home.

Most of Garenhoff's residents assume their friends and loved ones simply received an invitation to the Wizard's Tower and saw no reason to return. Many seemed to hope this would one day be their fate as well, but such dreams are now mourned along with the wizard and his tower.

A town forever changed by an all-powerful presence left in shambles stands on the cusp of a new era with a chance to redefine itself as more than host to something beyond its comprehension. But its residents and leaders seem frozen in terror and grief, adamantly holding onto hope that the Wizard's Tower will return.

"It's been up in the sky as long as I've been alive," a young boy commented. "I hope it comes back one day."

The Garenhoff docks in a standstill.

Though the attacks by otherworldly creatures have since subsided, Tyrians can't help but wonder if this is an ill omen of worse things to come.

While much remains unclear, one thing is certain: The Commander is inexplicably absent. A sometimes controversial figure, their presence is almost expected at the center of any noteworthy event.

Those closest to the Commander declined to comment on their whereabouts.

Whether these flesh beings or the Wizard's Tower will return remains to be seen. For now, Tyrians attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives once more, grieving the hopes and loved ones lost.

By Kailithe

[20forty9]

I Didn't Mean To Haunt You

Chapter III - Sisyphus

Summary : Suliman makes the spirit realize something about itself and the curse it bears. You find yourself feeling more down than usual.

Word Count : 5.3k

Warnings : Suicidal ideation, uncomfortable touching because it's Suliman, lol.

Pairings : Gojo Satoru/Reader, Geto Suguru/Reader, Everyone/Reader (Reverse Harem)

Cross-posted on Ao3

A/N : Hiya! Back with another short chapter. I'm posting this one early because I'll be away next week and won't update for 2 weeks. I'll be active on Tumblr as always, though! As an apology for my going away, you get more Satoru and Suguru this chapter! Enjoy, please let me know what you think of this chapter, I love reading your comments and they motivate me. (I see your comments ladies, and they make me smile - I'm lurkin' and I'm stalkin' when you least expect it-) (please someone get this reference, I'm embarrassed now)

  Sometimes the curiosity can kill the soul but leave the pain. ~Alice In Wonderland

Even after two or three weeks of back and forth blood tests, physical tests, psychological tests and even more tests , the initial shock that the spirit’s heart no longer belonged to itself didn’t wear off. It seemed that it checked its pulse every alternating hour, just to confirm that it truly wasn’t there. And each time without fail, there would be a lack of thumping underneath its shaky fingertips. 

The missing heart didn’t seem to stop any normal biological workings of its body, however. Sweat still formed underneath its palms, blood still pumped throughout its body, but it was a mystery as to how. Even with all the lingering questions at the back of its mind, the spirit was too afraid to ask, scared that there would be a possibility that it would learn something it would rather not know in the first place. 

It spends most of its time looking outside the window of its locked room. With every day that passes, it starts to resemble a prison cell more and more. The spirit would never imagine it would long for its old life, shrouded in naivety and unknowing of the current horrors it now faces. It feels melodramatic as it reminisces; stop complaining, you got what you deserved, a nasty voice says at the back of its mind . Why didn’t it just stay with its kind instead? Why did it have to wonder what the other side looked like? It spends most hours chastising itself for how stupid it was for shaking a dirty human’s hand. 

Said-dirty human unlocks the door to the spirit’s room, a small smile playing upon her lips. Dreading that Suliman is gathering it for another test, it cowers into the furthest corner of its bed, shoulders raised up to its ears as it tries to make itself seem as small as possible, as if it could make itself vanish into thin air, but the glare it sends her is deadly. 

“Oh, don’t give me that,” she says, sitting down on the bed, hands neatly folded over her lap. “I come bearing good news.” 

What you consider good news is terrible news for me, it thinks to itself, teeth grinding together. 

“You’ll be allowed outside today,” Suliman wistfully looks outside the window, peering down and observing the garden outside. 

That makes its eyes widen by a slight margin. It doesn’t remember the last time it felt the sun on its bare skin, nor the soft breeze enveloping it with a soft caress. Hell, it doesn’t even recall when it last smelled fresh air.

It realizes a moment too late that it gave too much of a reaction to the woman in front of it. She squints her eyes as the smile on her face grows, unnaturally so, pleased with herself. Too trusting, too expressive. Get a hold of yourself. 

“Follow me,” she beckons it to follow as she gets up from the bed, taking slow steps out of the doorway as she leads it down the dimly lit hallway. 

The spirit notices that there’s a new painting adorning one of the once-empty spaces along the wall; a picturesque illustration of a landscape made up of yellow sand and brown dead grass, with short trees with skinny stumps and lots of foliage. It can’t help but wonder where this location is. Its eyes scour the small details of the painting, noticing each brushstroke and dot that the artist left behind in their wake. The oranges and blues of the sky mix together, creating a beautiful sunset. At the bottom of the frame sits a golden plaque. 

South Malawi… it reads the words in its head. Wonder where that is. 

A shove to its shoulder from one of the men standing behind it pulls the spirit from its daydreaming, and begrudgingly, it continues to follow Suliman from behind. It knows it shouldn’t take the opportunity to go outside for granted, but it can’t help but think this is another one of her big schemes that will only cause pain and grievance. 

The small group makes their way to the impressive greenhouse, and though it has passed through it multiple times by now, it still can’t help but admire the humongous banana plant that nearly reaches the top of the archway of the glass ceiling. It can see that it is flowering, the pastel pink of the flower’s petals contrasting against the vibrant green of the plant’s huge leaves. The spirit doesn’t know if it’s Suliman who takes care of this herself, or if she has a team of gardeners for it, but either way it holds a small smidge of respect to whoever upkeeps the greenhouse. 

Right before they reach the exit of the greenhouse, Suliman stops and turns to face the spirit. 

“I expect that you’ll behave and listen to what I tell you to do,” she says, eyes boring into its own. “If you don’t, I’ll be very disappointed.” Code-word for ‘I have no problem tossing you back into that room where you first woke up and letting you rot.’ 

Anxiously, it subtly nods that it will obey her. As badly as it wants to turn tail and run, the spirit knows that there is a high chance that whatever plan it tries to pull will inevitably backfire on it. 

With that, the shaman smiles again with an air of satisfaction before she opens the doors. 

Immediately, a small breeze brushes against its face, as if the wind is welcoming it back outdoors. The spirit inhales deeply, the smell of dewy grass hitting its nostrils – the garden must’ve been recently watered. It’s early in the evening, the sun barely starting to set, so most people are inside preparing dinner, leaving Suliman, the spirit, and her small group of men to themselves. There are a few small bats starting to fly haphazardly from tree to tree, the afternoon light casting cool shadows along the ground. 

Suliman leads it through the gardens, her hands brushing through the neatly-trimmed foliage and stroking delicate flower petals. If she were anyone else, the spirit would think that this is the image of pure innocence, of embracing the natural beauty of the world, but in reality, it is anything but. Instead, this is the image of despicable ugliness, manipulation that can rot someone’s bones deep to their core.  

They arrive at an expanse of land that remains untouched by the gardeners, void of trees and any shrubbery. With a wave of her hand, the group of men stop walking, hanging back and staying still along the path of the gardens. Their cold eyes stay locked onto the spirit, analyzing each breath it takes. 

Meanwhile, Suliman continues to take a few steps forward, putting a fair amount of distance between her and the spirit. Her lips move as she moves her hands to form a symbol that it doesn’t recognize, familiar dark and wispy tendrils that once covered its arm being erected from the ground. 

It immediately takes a few steps back, arms raising defensively in front of itself, fists clenched in case the shaman tries to attack it again. Instead, a smirk plays upon her lips, and with another quick motion of her hands, the tendrils move to wrap around themselves, slowly shaping into what looks like a scarecrow; black and purple shadowy arms outstretched with skinny stump-like legs to keep it standing upright. 

When the weird scarecrow doesn’t show any sign of moving, the spirit’s shackles slightly lower, but its muscles are still tense in unease. It casts a confused look in Suliman’s direction, who approaches the spirit and steps behind it, her hand coming up to move its right bicep to raise again, this time to aim at the tendrils. Her other hand wraps around its waist, making dread and nausea pool in the familiar pit at the bottom of its stomach. It swallows down the rising bile at the back of its throat, eyes trying to focus on the scarecrow in the distance. Her touch makes its skin crawl, and it's almost considering ripping it off. 

Suliman hooks her chin over its shoulder, gaze boring into the side of its head. The hand resting on its waist trails up the side of its rib, making goosebumps erupt along its skin, before it latches onto its chin, turning its head to face her. Her unnaturally soft skin seems like sandpaper against its own, making it swallow back the uncomfortable amount of spittle gathering in its mouth. When did it become so powerless? 

“I want you to destroy that,” her eyes flit over to the scarecrow. “Use your fire.” 

With that, she retreats to observe from behind, hands clasped together in expectation. 

Its eyes drift back to the target in front of it. It knows from previous experience that if it tries anything with its other abilities, they won’t reply to its first initial pull until it does it again, but that only results in agonizing pain. What’s to say this won’t be different? 

The spirit takes a quick glance back to the shaman looming behind it. Her eyes are almost closed from the large grin that stretches across her face. Everything about her is just… wrong. Unfortunately, it can’t afford to piss her off unless it wants to get locked in that cellar once again. 

It takes a deep breath to steel itself, thumb pressing against its middle finger, closing its eyes to focus on singling out the cursed energy that surely must be enemating from the tendrils. Strangely enough, it feels nothing. Attributing it to its nervousness around Suliman, the spirit tries harder to concentrate, but there’s still a lack of cursed energy in the air. Very strange; a woman of her power should surely be exuding large amounts of it, especially the offsprings of her unintelligible technique, but there seems to be a void instead. Her control must be absolutely phenomenal, it thinks to itself. 

No matter – after countless years of being deaf, its other senses have become impossibly more refined. Its eyes can pick out details that others cannot see from long distances, and for its ability to actually hit anything, it must know precise measurements. In the case of the scarecrow, it stands exactly fifty-four meters away from the spirit. 

With a quick snap of its right hand, sparks emerge from the tips of its fingers, a hot beam of fire emerging and darting towards the target at high speeds, engulfing it in bright unnatural blue and cyan flames. When the flames and smoke dissipate a few seconds later, all that is left is a pile of ashes laying in the grass. 

The spirit felt absolutely no pain. 

But… 

“Isn’t it amazing, what a blazing fire can decimate in a matter of mere seconds?” Suliman immediately invades its view, interrupting its slowly dawning horror. “You are gifted with such immense power… you could destroy anything that stands in your path.” 

The insinuation that she has something else on her mind isn’t lost on it, but the spirit quickly backs away from her, trying to put a safe amount of distance between the two. Another snap of its fingers, and it summons a small flame on the tip of its index finger. Blue and cyan. It gets snuffed out as quickly as it came. 

The nausea seems to take over again; the flames aren’t as hot as they originally used to be and are a completely different colour. It’s an unfamiliar feeling to manipulate fire that feels like it doesn’t belong to itself, like the element knows its own existence is wrong. Hot white anger pulses through the spirit, teeth grinding together as its jaw clenches painfully hard. How dare she reduce it to this? How dare she manipulate its very being this way? She’ll pay. It will destroy her and everything she’s worked for. The spirit still has its fire, it will make sure it decimates everything here. She’ll fucking regret the day she met this spirit–

Searing pain courses from its left arm and spreads throughout its entire body, making it double over, heaving and gasping shallow breaths of air. As it tries to recuperate itself, it sees Suliman crouch down to meet its eyes, tilting her head as if to taunt it further. 

“Sorry, did I forget to mention…?” She says, grey eyes lighting up in morbid glee. “You better learn how to control that anger, spirit. What is it that Mark Twain said… oh, I know! Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. Or something along those lines– honestly, he never interested me very much.” 

Her gaze trails down to the spirit’s left arm, and its own follows. Underneath the short silk wrap, it notices that the curse mark has peeked through the fabric. Did the fabric move when it snapped its fingers…? Wait, no–

“��It’s spreading,” Suliman finishes its thought process. 

Just when it felt a flicker of hope at the prospect of being able to use its fire to ruin this god forsaken place, it all comes crumbling back down. There is no winning against this cruel shaman and whatever demented curse that has been placed upon it. 

“Well, that’s enough for today. It’s getting late,” she says, waving a simple gesture at the men on standby. They immediately make their way over, surrounding her and the spirit as they force it to walk forward back towards the greenhouse. “I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson.”

As the sun sets behind them, the spirit can’t help but think it would rather die than be here. 

It yearns to let itself rot in the ground and let go. 

 

It’s been about a week or so since you have seen any of the other students around campus. You would like to assume it’s the higher-ups doing it on purpose, trying to isolate you from the rest of them, but in reality you know that it’s you doing this to yourself. You’ve barely left your dorm room, spending your days moping in bed instead. For some reason, the nightmares have been getting worse. Though you used to be able to go for days without sleep, it doesn’t seem to apply to you now. 

Your hands tremble, muscles weak and face dripping with sweat every time you wake up violently from whatever nightmare you were having. It’s enough to drain you for the rest of the day. Instead of going outside and training or doing anything else to distract yourself from it, you stare at the wall in front of you, eyes unfocused and mind anywhere but the present. 

The lack of sleep makes the pain in your arm more bothersome than ever, but you can’t find it in yourself to care enough to take the shitty medication Yaga gives you. It sits untouched on the nightstand beside your bed. 

It doesn’t help that you’ve also barely eaten, only having a few snacks that you keep in one of the drawers in the room and some water when you feel like you can stomach it. You had just enough energy today to take a shower for the first time in nearly a week, so maybe you’ll be able to actually eat a meal this evening. 

You currently lay down on your side, back facing the doorway and gazed fixed upon the blank wall that the bed is pressed up against. Your hair is still damp from the shower you took an hour ago (you couldn’t be bothered to dry it), strands of hair staining the pillowcase with water. Your arms are left uncovered, clean bandages laying on the floor, exposing the curse mark and old scars that run along the length of them. 

It felt like just when you thought things could start to look up, life always threw you in for another loop, no matter how hard you tried and continued to try. There were days where this bothered you more than usual, and some days where you just didn’t care enough, feeling completely numb. At least when you pretended to be happy, putting on a nice smile and ignoring the constant nagging voice at the back of your mind, you could imagine what it would be like to feel normal for once. 

There’s a sudden large palm that gently touches your back, making you suck in a deep breath and flinch away, quickly turning your head to face whatever was disrupting your peace. Wide eyes lock onto dark brown ones, the familiar sight of Yaga greeting you instead of an enemy. 

“ Sorry,” the teacher signs, immediately retracting his hand, opening his mouth to speak. “I tried to grab your attention, but you weren’t responding . ”

Immediately, you break eye contact and shake your head. 

“ It’s fine, ” you move your hands lazily in reply. 

Yaga takes in the sight; messy unkempt hair sticks up at awkward angles, your eyes are impossibly sunken in, and there’s a shake to your hands when you sign. The brunette sighs out deeply, disappointed that he didn’t catch onto this sooner. 

“Come with me, let’s get you out of this room,” he says. 

You can’t look directly at him, but you can’t tear your eyes away from his lips, either. I don’t want to, you think to yourself, I don’t want to go out there right now. I want to stay here. Leave me alone. 

“You can’t stay in here and rot in bed all day, it’s not good for you. At least come with me to prepare some tea,” Yaga refuses to leave you alone in this state of mind, having become familiar with it by this point. There are bad days, and then there are worse days. 

Empty, droopy eyes look back at him, not a single trace of emotion across your face. You know he won’t leave until he gets what he wants – you remember the time Yaga dragged you out of the room by the feet as you threw a tantrum – and resolutely shuffled your body to get out of bed. 

Satisfied, Yaga stands up, extending a hand that you don't accept. Instead, you take the bandages laying on the floor and wrap them around to cover both arms individually. Though they’re loose, you don't want to be touched by anyone right now. Even though it’s not cold enough, you take an oversized hoodie and put it on, the loose sleeves barely touching the bandages. You’re already wearing some soft baggy sweatpants and fuzzy socks on your feet. 

Without exchanging any words or signs, Yaga leads you out of the room after you put your shoes on. You don't bother looking up, either, too wrapped up in your own self-pity to really care enough about what he may have to say to you. 

There’s a communal kitchen in the dormitories, and the teacher must’ve passed through before visiting your room because there are already two mugs full of piping hot green tea set on the table. Slowly, you both sit down across from each other. 

For a solid twenty minutes, you don’t talk. Both of you slowly sip on your tea, letting the taste comfort you. You feel your muscles start to loosen up, though you can’t tell if it’s from exhaustion catching up or from the relaxed state the drink puts you in. 

Yaga doesn’t ask any questions about what is running through your mind, knowing he won’t get an answer. When you are in this state, you tend to keep everything close to your chest; whether it’s because you want to, or because you don't know where to start or what to say is unknown to the both of you. For lack of a better term, you shut down. 

Instead, he decides to take your mind off of things. 

With a tap to the table to grab your attention, Yaga puts his cup down. 

“I got approval from the elders to send you out on a mission with my students,” he says. 

Your eyebrows lightly raise in surprise. You weren't expecting them to fold that quickly, even though it took a few weeks. 

“They’ll be sending you all out tomorrow,” he takes the last sip left of his tea. “I want you to be very careful, don’t unleash anything that will make them lose their minds.”

You nod, feeling the swell of determination blossom in your chest. “ I won’t let you down. ” 

Yaga slightly tilts his head to the side, the corners of his mouth quirking up very subtly. 

“When have you ever?” 

You look down at your empty mug. Just now? When I could barely manage to get out of bed, like usual? I let my emotions get the better of me again, I’ve become weak. It’s an endless cycle. I’m so tired. 

Instead of acknowledging any of these thoughts anymore, you look back up at your friend, sending him a tired smile, one that you hope comes across as genuine. 

“Nevertheless, stay alert and please take care of my students for me,” the teacher says, rising from his chair. “And go take a walk before the sun sets today.” 

He doesn’t see you rolling your eyes behind his back as he walks away – he acts too much like a father sometimes. However, you decide to listen to Yaga anyway; a walk will do you some good. 

After putting your empty cup in the dishwasher, you stuff your hands in the pocket of your hoodie, making your way outside. It’s more cloudy than usual today, the sun barely peeking through the dark clouds, but that doesn’t deter you. You take slow steps as you try to enjoy a leisurely stroll around campus. There doesn’t seem to be a single soul around today, probably staying inside just in case it starts raining. 

It’s been a long time since you have lived in isolation away from everyone besides the man who took you in, so you don't feel lonely as you walk down the pathway by yourself, but you have to admit that it feels like something is missing. Though you had only interacted with Yaga’s students a handful of times, they had a certain energy they brought to the room, one that couldn’t be replicated on its lonesome. Geto, Gojo and Shoko always freely joke around each other, complimenting each other’s personalities perfectly. 

You find yourself yearning for that connection that they have with each other. 

You look up ahead, feet dragging along the ground as you notice a figure sitting underneath the shadows of a large tree, lost in their own world. The pure white hair is unmistakingly Gojo’s, who seems to be alone for once, not surrounded by his entourage of friends. He seems to be looking down at something in his lap, and you decide to approach him. 

Gojo hears your footsteps on the pavement before he sees you, peering through his glasses to look at you. 

“Wow, you look like shit,” he says. 

Direct to the point as always. 

You simply nod in reply. Too exhausted to think about Gojo’s discomfort surrounding the cursed spirit situation, you sit down next to him, back pressed against the thick trunk of the tree. Your shoulders are nearly touching, but you make sure to lean back just far enough once you notice the proximity. 

You observe Gojo’s face from the side for a moment, noticing the furrow of his brows and the tired look in his eyes hiding behind the pair of sunglasses. If you were in any other state of mind, you might say that the white-haired man looks sad , but you quickly shake that thought out of your mind. Him, being sad? He’s the most arrogant and extroverted person here, always surrounded by someone. And yet…

Gojo closes the book resting in his lap when he notices you trying to take a subtle peek at what he was reading. There’s a strange leaping sensation in your throat as you see the cover.  

Why is he reading a book about sign language? 

The white-haired man tries to shuffle the book out of your sight, putting his large hands over it and turning to face you slightly. 

“Can I help you?” He asks, and shit, you can’t tell if he’s joking or being sarcastic now that his eyes are covered by the pitch-black sunglasses. 

You shrug awkwardly, shaking your head no. 

“Wait, no, try signing instead,” Gojo says, turning his body slightly to face you more. You raise an eyebrow, but obey him anyway. 

“ Seemed like you could use some company, ” you sign. 

Gojo stares at him for a moment, brows furrowing, before he shakes his head, looking absolutely stumped. “Nope, I got nothing.” 

Not entirely surprised, you point from the book to him. Why do you have this in the first place? 

He huffs, sunglasses dropping down to the tip of his nose, bright blue eyes averting to look anywhere but at you. 

“I gotta know when you’re talking shit about me,” he says, crossing his arms. “Plus, sensei seems to be super keen on trying to get you to join us for missions, so I have to understand you somehow. You can’t fight and write in that dumb notebook of yours at the same time.” 

Though you can’t speak in the first place, you find yourself speechless. Or motionless, in this case . Gojo was so rude on your first meeting, shackles raised and ready to fight you at any moment, yet here he is now, determined to try to pick up sign language faster than any other person you have ever known… though he words it in his own strange way. 

Unable to formulate a reply, you give him a soft smile, one that you know you don't need to fake. 

The white-haired male doesn’t speak any further until he looks down at the book, moving his hands off of it to open it again, then looking back up at you, whose eyes are already on his lips. 

“Teach me how to sign my name.” 

So, for the next twenty minutes, you teach Gojo how to fingerspell his name, the latter catching on rather quickly. Of course he’s naturally good at sign language , you think to yourself somewhat bitterly. 

Gojo’s blue eyes are uncovered at this point, sunglasses resting on top of his head as he brings his entire focus to the lesson at hand. He seems strangely invested, nodding his head vigorously as you sign your own name, then a common greeting. 

His attention is finally diverted to something behind you. Gojo waves at the person with a small grin stretched across his face. Curious, you turn around, seeing Geto approach the duo. 

“Hey guys, what’re you doing over here?” He asks, taking a seat in the grass in front of the two of you, legs crossed. He notices the book in Gojo’s hand. “Sign language?” 

“Yeah,” The latter shrugs nonchalantly. 

Geto grabs the book from off his friend’s lap, flipping through the pages. Wondering what the pictures look like, you move over to peer over Geto’s shoulder and take a glance at them. The raven-haired man tilts his head slightly to the side to allow for a better view, pausing at a specific page. 

“Ohh, look, they have signs for animals,” he smiles. 

An image of an unhealthy black betta fish sits right next to another of a pure white one with healthy fins. There’s a smaller picture of a red and white koi fish underneath both of them, rolled over on its back. Next to the images are illustrations of hand signals, with the names and meanings written next to them. 

“This is how you sign fish, right?” He asks, turning to look at you. You suddenly notice how close your faces are to each other, but neither of you make a move to change that as you nod, pointing to the black fish. 

“Sad fish, ” you sign, then point to the other one. “ Happy fish. ” Then, the red and white one. “ Dead fish.” 

All three of you suddenly deadpan. 

“Did you seriously pick up a kid’s book on sign language?” Geto turns his head up to look at Gojo. 

“They didn’t have any other available books, sue me!” He immediately exclaims in defense, yanking the book back. “There weren’t many sign language books.” 

“Kinda morbid for a kid’s book, don’t you think?” 

“It’s never too early to learn about mortality!” He says with a gleeful smile spread across his face before reading through the pages again. 

You huff in amusement before you get nudged by Geto’s elbow, who looks at you expectantly. 

“How do I sign my name?” He asks, the look in his eyes so soft that it makes you nervously look away for a second. 

Another ten minutes pass as you teach them both how to sign each other’s name. You’re just about to move onto Shoko’s name when there’s a large flash of light that explodes from the dark grey clouds in the sky. Immediately, it starts pouring. Thick droplets of rain cascade and puddles are already forming in the divets in the ground. 

“Oh shit – let’s go inside!” Gojo exclaims, lifting his shirt up to hide the book underneath it to protect it. 

“Run, run ! Go!” Geto laughs, grabbing your wrist and heaving you up off the ground, the three of you immediately dashing through the storm to the dormitories. Your converse are completely soaked when the raven-haired man accidentally makes you run through a large puddle, but you can’t find it in yourself to care. The cold rain is so refreshing as it hits your skin, waking you up more than your blistering shower did this morning. 

You look back at Gojo, who frantically scrambles behind the two of you to slam the door shut as the wind picks up, blowing rain into the entranceway of the building. 

The three of you exchange looks with each other, taking in each other’s soaked appearances. Then, the two young men burst into laughter, you silently laughing, eyes crinkling as the smile spreads widely across your face. You can see Gojo and Geto’s shoulders shake from their sniggering. 

Your clothes are anything but dry, sticking awkwardly to your skin with mud covering you head-to-toe, but it’s so amusing that you all just keep chortling at the situation. 

“Wh– wait– what happened to the book?!” Geto asks his friend through bursts of chuckles. 

Gojo reaches underneath his soaked shirt, pulling the book out; all the pages are crinkled, water dripping down the spine of it. He pouts, realizing it’s completely ruined. 

“Aw man,” he whines. “It’s totally done for.” 

Reluctantly, he throws it in the trash bin near the front door, knowing there’s nothing he can do to salvage it. 

“Well,” Geto says after catching his breath, looking at the two of you. “Guess we gotta go dry off. I’m gonna go take a warm shower, that rain was freezing .” 

Gojo’s already running back to his own room, waving a simple goodbye to them and leaving a trail of water in his wake. 

Geto awkwardly throws a smile in your direction. “See you tomorrow, I guess?” 

You nod in reply, grinning and doing a sideways peace sign. “ See you later.” 

As the raven-haired man walks in the same direction that Gojo went, you steal a quick glance at the trash bin. You make your way over to it, peering inside, and hesitantly reach an arm inside of it, grabbing the book that was thrown away just mere moments ago. 

You hold the book close to your chest, heading in the opposite way from where the two men disappeared into to go back to your own room, feeling a weird sense of satisfaction in the back of your mind.

[chil-aglia]

𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 |ROTTMNT| (Leo X Male OC)

𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨! 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐱

A/N: If y’all didn’t know, I made a Ao3 account and I’m posting this story on there!

STORY ON AO3

Also, sorry if this chapter was meh, I’ve been sick for 3 days now and it’s just kinda hitting hard for me to write at the moment.

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Adriaen can understand why magicians and magic shows were popular, the mystery of how they did such an extraordinary act that left people speechless. Personally, Adriaen didn’t really care for magic shows, he was old enough to know that most of the magical acts are only just tricks, deceiving to the eye. He’s also not the type to watch magic stuff in his free time…unless of course you were a certain red eared slider who barged into your room, phone in hand looking amazed by something.

”Adri! You have to see this!”

He didn’t give Adriaen time to even utter out a word until he jogged inside and bounced onto the bed, almost crushing Adriaen if he hadn’t moved to the side on time.

”What the—?! Leo!”

”Just watch. It’s awesome!”

He held his phone out so that the can both see the screen, with a defeated huff, Adriaen kept his attention on the phone. It was some random teenager, claiming he was going to make a middle school vanish.

Make a building vanish? Like that’s even possible—oh he did it.

It happened in a blur but somehow the middle school vanished into thin air, making the people in the video gasp before clapping at this young magician.

“How did he do that?! Like, he’s gotta be a mutant right?” Leo commented, replaying the segment of the school disappearing.

”Yes, yes, how very interesting.” Adriaen sarcastically deadpans, sure he was impressed for a second, but now he was just uninterested.

“Come on, I showed Raph, and he was just as shocked.” Leo complained, laying against Adriaen who didn’t seem to mind the closeness. 

“That’s just because Raph is…well, he’s Raph.”

“Leo, Adriaen, you want something to eat?” Raphael peeked inside the room, noticing the two laying comfortably on the bed on their stomachs.

”Ooh! Pizza?”

”Of course we’ll get pizza.”

Leo jumps up from the bed and made his way to Raph, Adriaen watched the two brothers cheer over getting pizza, he was getting sick of the greasy cheesiness that they often ordered. 

Suddenly Mayhem appears, landing on the lap of Adriaen who flinched at the sudden appearance of Mayhem. “Mayhem? What are you doing here?” He questioned out loud, catching Leo and Raph’s attention who turn and lean in closer.

“What is it, boy?” Raph tilted his head, Mayhem let out a squeal in reply, “I think someone’s in trouble. Is it us? Are you from the future?" Raphael concluded, Adriaen reaching over and flicking his forehead, making the gentle giant wince and rub his head with a pout.

Mayhem let out an annoyed growl, he glows briefly and teleported away, with the three turtles who arrive somewhere in an empty hallway. “I hate poofing." Raph grumbled, looking around in confusion.

Adriaen glanced around as Leo spoke up in recognition of the place, “Wait a second. This is April’s school...she’s the one in trouble. We got to go high school stealth." Leo announces. “Okay, where do we get the disguises?” Adriaen inquirer, Leo hummed in thought for a moment before smirking as he drags the two away into a different room.

It was the drama club, having costumes and whatnot hanged up in the back, Adriaen sighs and looked through his choices. “Hey look, a cheerleading—“ Leo began to announce, holding the cheerleading uniform up and turning to Adriaen.

The black bandanna turtle didn’t even need to look over as he gave a blunt threat to Leo.

”Put that away unless you want to become one armed.”

Leo listens and chucks away the costume. Eventually all three picked out an outfit each, Leo wearing a basketball jersey with some glasses, Raph wearing a jock uniform, a football player to be precise, and Adriaen, who found a comfortable hoodie and puts it on. 

Leo looked at Adriaen and lightly chuckled, “A hoodie? Don’t you want to get dressed up like Raph and I?” He hums in curiosity, Adriaen crossed his arms and looked away with a deadpan look.

”And look like a whole mess? No thank you.”

He glanced at Leo and walked over, he leans in close which surprised the red slider who blushed softly at the sudden closeness, before he blinked when Adriaen took off his glasses.

”Can you even see in these?”

Leo smiled lightly and took back his glasses, “Course I can! They’re just to complete the look.” He assures as Raph gets in between the two with determination.

“Okay. Let’s split up and find April."

Leo glanced down and let out a gasp, picking up Mayhem who was in a small sized cheerleading outfit. "He’s so cute. Take a picture. Take a picture." Leo awed; Mayhem looked absolutely done with him.

"That is cute."

Adriaen could only think how on earth Mayhem even found a outfit for someone of his size. Mayhem growls before eventually teleporting out of Leo’s grasp and landed on the shoulders of Adriaen, hissing at the two.

Adriaen let out a small hum on amusement, giving a light scratch under Mayhem’s chin which calmed him down. “All right guys, let’s go find April.” Adriaen established, walking ahead with Leo and Raph following after him.

The school itself was huge, and the three notice tons of decorations out and about as well.

Hang on, April told me her school was having a dance.

Adriaen tilted his head, he of course never been to a high school dance, but he pictured a dance having more people in the hallways or something going on, instead it was just sort of….dead.

How weird.

The trio (plus Mayhem), reach outside, hoping to find April somewhere out here but saw nothing. “Where is she?” Adriaen muttered, placing a hand on his hip.

They head on back to the school building only to pause when they saw through the windows, April running away from three humans. "I’m sorry, was that April being chased by her totally real friends?" Leo asked in slight sarcasm, “Maybe she’s playing a game of tag.” Adriaen sarcastically muses, Leo and him sharing a mischievous smile.

"High school…” Raph sighs in a daze, Mayhem let out a squeak as he gestured to a float of an hippo head. “Huh, I’ve always wanted to drive one of those." Raph smirks at an idea brewing inside his head.

Leo and Adriaen exchange an unsure look. 

We’re doomed.

The three get inside as Mayhem vanishes away, no doubt in search for April. “Hey, Raph, maybe I should drive?” Adriaen suggested, mostly because he knew Raph would somehow crash this float into something of someone.

”I totally got this.” Raph confidently assured, once everyone had taken a seat, Raph pushes down on the accelerator and speeds off.

Leo and Adriaen yelling in surprise. The two notice Raph heading straight for the doors of the school, “Raph, Raph! Turn!” Adriaen yells for him but it was too late, Raph sped up and the hippo float crashes through the doors of the school, the float itself tearing apart leaving the three with a golf cart.

Leo and Adriaen clung onto each other as they tumble in. They roll to a stop as the students blinked, confused at the sudden appearance of the three.

Leo blinks as he cleared his throat, stilling holding onto Adriaen. "Is this A.P Bio?" Leo questions, Adriaen sighing in response to calm down from almost dying because of Raph’s reckless driving.

Raphael wasn’t done however, driving the cart past them and stops in front of April who held Mayhem who looked utterly exhausted. Quickly April gets inside the cart.

"Drive."

Raph kicks it into gear, Leo and Adriaen having to hold onto the sides of the cart since it was too small to fit everyone inside.

“Where’s the exit?" Raph asks, driving around while avoiding the humans. "No, we can’t leave. Hypno’s gonna make the school disappear." April announces and Adriaen raised a brow at her, “Hypno’s here? Why would he be interested in making a school vanish?” He inquired out loud, followed by Leo letting out an amused laugh.

"Another school is gonna disappear? These magicians are out of control."

They ignore Leo’s quip, focusing back on the task at hand. "That mutant Hippo’s got doom hats hidden all over the school. But it’s gonna be fine. I’ve got a plan.” April assured with determination on her face.

Raph pushes down on the breaks, stopping the cart in front of the auditorium, Leo and Adriaen hop out. “You gotta break Hypno’s spell and free my friends.” April told the three mutants who all couldn’t help but stare at her.

”Okay acquaintances. Just free everybody."

She drives off, leaving Raph, Adriaen and Leo to deal with Hypno. As they enter the auditorium, Hypno is staring at his cards, waiting for the students to come back.

“Finally, you’re back. I was—oh, it’s you idiots." 

He groans at the sight, Adriaen letting out a huff in slight offence of being called an ‘idiot.’

Adriaen crossed his arms, “Yeah, I don’t want to hear that coming from a hippo wearing a magician outfit.” He stated before Raph gets his own line in.

"Hypno! Welcome to another edition of Raph-terpiece theater. Tonight’s episode—punches."

Leo cuts in, bouncing the basketball he held. "But first, how do you make a school disappear? Well, don’t tell me! Okay, tell me. I—“ He excitedly asks, before Hypno interrupted him.

“A good magician never reveals his plans, but a good villain always does. I've torn guys. I’ve gotta be honest. Therefore, Rings! This your card?"

The mutant hippo flinging cards off his sleeve, the three dodging them. 

“How did you?"

"Hey, are you friends with Noah Sheck? We’re huge fans Sheckter piece now!" Raph questions before Adriaen slides in, shaking his head.

”They are. I could care less.”

Regardless, Hypno looked disgusted at them, “Ew. You would be. He wears kit caps in summer! Who does that?" He shouts before throwing knives disguised as magician wands at them.

Adriaen, Leo and Raph charged forward, “Oh, really? Because wanting to a school disappear remind me of his trick. Maybe you're the hack!" Leo announces, throwing the basketball at Hypno, hitting him square in the face which caused a couple of doves flying out his coat.

"My doves! Say rabbit, rabbit." Hypno glares, picking up a magician hat and all of a sudden rabbits come hopping out and charging towards the turtles. They trip over the rabbits, Adriaen looking unimpressed as the rabbit's nibble on his arms and legs.

”Seriously?”

Raph was first to get up, jumping up and grabbing the head of the mascot that was hanging by the ropes in the air, using the mascot head to hit Hypno in the face, who flew right through a wall and ended up outside.

Leo and Adriaen walk over to Raph, both in fighting positions as they see Hypno glaring at the three, taking out what appeared to be a phone.

Uh oh.

The three also notice how all the students who were hypnotised had gathered around Hypno, glued to their phones.

Hypno raises his own phone, Adriaen could only assume that was the device that was causing all this chaos.

"Mezmer roo!"

Mayhem appears on top of Hypno with tons of magician hats, and teleports all of the hats and Hypno with him.

They blink and look up to see them in the air, Mayhem vanishing away, leaving Hypno to take the hit of the explosion.

The sky was bright for a moment, having Adriaen use his hand to block the sudden brightness before blinking and looking around, all of the students had snapped out of their trance as April rolled by. The float cart was now damaged as Mayhem appeared into April's arms.

Raph, Leo and Adriaen took the time to escape before they could be spotted by civilians. Running away as Leo chuckled, “That was awesome. High school is great!” He cheered, Adriaen sweating a little at Leo’s comment.

”Yeah, I don’t think that’s a regular occurrence at school.”

The three continue to run across the rooftops to head home, Adriaen only briefly looked up and widen his eyes when he saw a hooded figure watching them from afar.

He narrowed his eyes and skids to a stop, making Raph and Leo stop as well and then to him in puzzlement. “Uh, you good?” Raph asks, tilting his head at him.

”Yeah, why’d you suddenly stop?” Leo added, looking briefly concerned while also confused. Adriaen shakes his head and eyes the two.

”You guys go on ahead. I just remembered that I dropped my phone earlier.” 

A horrible lie, really. But it seemed to work as Leo and Raph nod in understanding. “All right. See you at home!” Raph smiled and runs off, Leo was a bit hesitant but followed Raph.

Adriaen watched the two, making sure they were quite a distant away before making his own way towards where he saw the mystery figure.

Was it stupid of him to go alone? Yes. But he wanted to make sure this wasn’t a threat to him or the others.

He climbs up to a higher building rooftop, looking around the area. He didn’t see anyone around, which was confusing since he could’ve sworn this was the rooftop the figure was on.

”Looking for me?”

Adriaen let out a gasp and turned around, jumping back on instinct and got into a fighting stance. The figure wore a black hood, white mask with red eyes, a silver chest plate, and long silver claws. 

Whoever this was, Adriaen couldn’t help but be on alert. It was hard to tell but he just knew this stranger was smirking under that mask.

”Easy now, it’s only me.”

What?

Adriaen tilted his head; the voice did sound familiar. Confirming his suspicion, the masked stranger stepped forward and took off his white mask, revealing it to be Ronin.

”What the? Why are you dressed like that?” Adriaen couldn’t help but ask in bewilderment, lowering his guard down. Ronin chuckled and crossed his arms.

”And you? Why are you wearing a hoodie?”

Adriaen narrowed his eyes and placed a hand on his hip, “What is it that you need? Did you…discover something about me?” Adriaen interrogated, his voice lowering in hopefulness at the last part of his sentence.

”Well, not about you exactly. I actually found information on the four brothers.”

”On them? Like what?”

Ronin grins and walks over to the ledge, sitting down comfortably. “About their DNA. Do you want to know?” He hums in amusement, leaning against palm.

Adriaen froze for a moment, he didn’t know if he should hear this or not, considering it would mean keeping more secrets.

But he also felt as though he had to know. It could be something of importance to him in the future. “All right. Tell me.” He agrees on hearing Ronin out.

”Very well. It took some time and lots of sneaking around without being caught, but there was a file on the brothers. Tells me all about their species, DNA, etc.”

Ronin sighs dramatically, “Honestly it was exhausting and boring. But, then one thing caught my eye. Their human DNA.” He informs, smirking towards Adriaen who stood and listened.

”The human DNA of them, was from someone who was actually quite popular. Ever heard of Lou Jitsu?”

Lou…Jitsu?

Adriaen widened his eyes and tensed upon hearing the news. The turtle brothers were mutated with Lou Jitsu DNA? This…was certainly not something Adriaen was expecting to hear.

”Apparently Lou Jitsu ran off with the turtles and was never seen again. Crazy, isn’t it?”

Adriaen eyed Ronin with puzzlement, “Ran off with them? But then, how did they end up with Splint—“ He began to wonder before pausing, placing a hand over his mouth to stop himself from saying it outloud.

He was sweating, eyes furrowed.

Could…Splinter be..? No, surely not…but it would make sense?

”Earth to Adriaen? You still with me?” Ronin stood in front of the black bandanna turtle who flinched in surprise, “I was just thinking is all. Was there really nothing about me that you could find?” Adriaen changed the topic to stop himself from spiraling.

”Sadly no. I did look, but no files of you. I believe the only way to actually know is if I ask Draxum himself. But that would be difficult without raising suspicion for myself.”

Adriaen’s shoulder slumped down, he was…disappointed. 

Ronin notice and placed a reassuring hand on Adriaen’s shoulder, giving a little smile. “Don’t look so bummed out. I’ll keep trying. Promise.” He stated making Adriaen roll his eyes with a little smirk.

”Careful, you actually sound like a nice person.”

”Haha, can’t have that now, can we?”

Ronin walks away, putting his mask back on his face. “See you around.” He waved before jumping off the rooftop and leaving Adriaen behind.

Adriaen inhaled and exhaled. He now knew more about the brothers, and he was unsure if he should tell them or keep it to himself. 

Splinter…surely he would know. I should ask him about this.

He nods to himself before jumping down the roof as well, heading back into the sewers.

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A/N: I APOLOGISE FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE, I TYPE REALLY FAST AND OFTEN DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL I ACTUALLY PUBLISH THE CHAPTER.  

Ooh? Adriaen gonna confront Splinter? Wonder how that’ll turn out—

First Chapter here

Next Chapter here

[gothamnewsnetwork-official]

Double Mayhem in Gotham City

Article submitted by anonymous, expanded by Gotham Reports

Supervillain and one of Gotham's most well known 'Rogues' Dr Jonathan "Scarecrow" Crane ( @crane-posting ) launched an attack on the local Zoo, using his hysteria-inducing Fear Gas (see related articles) to cause pandemonium.

Multiple citizens were endangered, including the kidnapping of a young child. Led by Gotham's beloved vigilante, Oracle ( @babsggordon ) (see related articles), the situation was contained and no serious injuries occurred.

The incident seems to have been incited by a new figure to Gotham's underworld. Known as 'Deadline', the figure put a call out for the vigilantes of the city to apprehend Dr. Crane (see related articles) by leveraging the Gotham City Police Department (see related articles) servers.

Commissioner Gordon (see related articles) made an official statement:

"The GCPD experienced some technical difficulty but we have no reason to believe this was pulled off by one of Gotham's criminal masterminds."

Concerns about Deadline's moral alignment are ongoing.

When questioned whether she was a villain, Deadline is reported to have stated

"If I need to be."

•••(end of anonymous report, cont. Gotham Reports)•••

As previously stated, earlier this week one of our resident villains, Scarecrow (see related articles), launched an attack on the Gotham City Zoo (see related articles). While his goals and motives are still unknown, is it speculated that the intent behind the attack was not directly to harm any members of the public.

This is supported by the fact that Dr. Crane took time to give a filtration mask (see related articles) to the aforementioned child (name not disclosed) before releasing a new strain of fear toxic into the animal enclosures at the Gotham City Zoo. This demonstrates a new level of care to the regularly chaotic nature of Dr. Crane’s attacks (see related articles).

However, this is not the sole interesting piece of this case. The entire incident seems to have been orchestrated by a new face in Gotham’s underground scene (see related articles); Deadline.

Though little is known about this mysterious new villain, or vigilante as some would prefer, there is no doubt that this individual has far more knowledge of this city’s security than one might hope.

The catalyst to Dr. Crane’s attack being the mass disturbance to the GCPD databank and communications network by Deadline, though this attack was not in aide to Scarecrow but to spite him.

Though the attacks were thwarted by resident vigilante, Oracle, further details of the incident have yet to be released to the public with the GCPD claiming they have ‘no comment’ on this incident.

Given the sheer amount of uncertainty surrounding this situation as well as both Dr. Crane and Deadline going free, we can only hope this is a one-off occurrence and Deadline is on the side of good.

Nevertheless we doubt her face will vanish from the headlines just yet.

Let us know your thoughts on the topic (here)

Gotham Reports is certified in unbiased, fair, and reliable journalism

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

Twisted Wonderland Kaiju!AU Worldbuilding

I've been thinking for a while, and I realized that I needed to consolidate/create an essential "worldbuilding sheet" that lists ideas for the AU that I didn't think I'd be able to properly fit into the story. I didn't think I'd be able to get MIRA to explain either since there are aspects of this AU that the researchers and Yuu wouldn't be able to find out about that easily.

Plus, this is also a good way for me to introduce some of the ideas I've discussed with some friends on a Discord server!

To make it easier to note which points are just my comments/thoughts, I've put them in bold and itallics. Other stuff that's meant to be read like a description/summary will be in normal text. I'll likely be updating this post as more ideas come to mind so I can keep track of everything, but I will be announcing whenever there's an update!

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Author Note: Put into perspective, the Kaiju living in the same world as humans is akin to the movie “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” or “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. In this AU, there is a whole second world deep beneath the ocean to the point that the cavern has created its own unique weather system and developed an ecosystem that seems almost prehistoric. This is supposed to tie into the game and how Yuu is in a whole new world of magical beings, except they’re giant Kaiju!

The initial discovery of the world beneath the sea was by pure chance when it became clear that ships and airplanes had begun vanishing. By pinpointing the last known locations of the ships, they were able to discover a massive cave opening big enough to fit a large ship. Inside is a cave system of tunnels and water slides that travel deep into the earth before spitting out the lucky few who managed to survive the trip to the new ocean. Depending on the location of the opening they emerge from, the vessel may either arrive in a safe location or near the territory of massive aquatic predators. Not far from these openings, however, is the very island the story takes place.

Despite how destructive Kaiju can be, there are some who have cleared up the debris from these ships and planes. In fact, those particular Kaiju are the reason that the beach Yuu awoke near the "ship graveyard" as the beach will be nicknamed.

There are two entrances into this mysterious underground ecosystem: the cave system, and a massive whirlpool. Given its dangerous nature, ships often steer clear of it when it does form and was merely noted by the researchers as being there in favor of studying the island. The ones who discovered this secret entrance was a ship carrying poachers seeking to take advantage of the newly discovered creatures and resources on the island, only to find themselves caught in the whirlpool before arriving on the other side. Not ideal, but highly effective for sneaking past the security around the cave.

If the researchers learned of the existence of the whirlpool entrance, it would be theorized that the whirlpool formed long ago to draw water into the cavernous void beneath the crust. This would explain why it became a virtual time capsule of an ecosystem of mega fauna. Another theory is that the whirlpools form from the unstable energy created by the island itself. (A/N: It’s actually created by blot crystals lying at the bottom of the sea growing from the bones of a deceased Phantom Kaiju that had tried to escape the island to wreak havoc on the surface world but never made it out of the opening it had created. It’s quite possible that—even though the Phantom Kaiju isn’t moving—it is very much still “alive”.)

The magnetic disruption caused by the blot crystals over the whirlpool and near the cave are what essentially pulled in various aerial and sea-based vessels, which is why Yuu/Reader/MC finds the planes on the beach. One plane happened to get impaled on one of the blot crystals before it emerged on the other side, though how exactly it got on the beach is a mystery…

Blot comes in two forms: crystalline, and ooze. The crystal form—though relatively “safe”—generates a miasma fog that deters most creatures from approaching it, though it can still cause one to fall ill when exposed to the mist. Even the smallest fragment emits the miasma, making handling it difficult and dangerous. In ooze form, however, it can be unassuming and easily mistaken for tar pits at first glance. While not as numerous as the crystal form, it is by far the most dangerous. Any creature that falls into or consumes the ooze will become infected, their body slowly creating blot crystals all over their body. Once the crystals have completely overgrown on the body, the blot “controls” its new host to seek out its goal—though what it is or what it wants is unknown.

Kaiju have some form of immunity to the blot itself as it comes from the same source as their natural magic, though this does not mean they’re entirely protected. Depending on the amount of blot buildup, a Kaiju may grow sick or—in extreme cases—will be consumed by the blot and become little more than mindless husks over time. Should the latter situation happen and the infected Kaiju isn’t freed from its Overblot state, the Primal Guardians (aka the staff) have to put it down before it can escape the island and head for the surface world. (A/N: If you’ve seen Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Primal” and the episode “Plague of Madness”, that’s the general vibe of chaos and terror I’d imagine Kaiju Overblots have—minus the whole “body falling apart” deal!)

On the island itself (known as the “Night Raven Continent” due to the massive raven like formation at the top of one the mountains), crystals grow everywhere and form in greater concentrations around pools of energy located in key areas in each territory. The crystals contain strong magical energies that the Kaiju can feast on like rock candy when they require a boost, but the effects of this can be the equivalent of a “sugar crash” in terms of energy exhaustion. The pools of energy are safe for consumption, though transport of samples for research has been unsuccessful by researchers as the potency fades to little more than pure mountain water.

A/N: I wanted to find a way to include the starshards and sunshards in the game mechanics as a way for Kaiju to recharge in this AU, since the shards give you more “energy” to do exams or fight in the crafter’s gauntlet. Having there be pools of purple-blue “stardust” energy or “sunlight” energy seemed like an interesting thing to include, and I like the idea of magic glowy water! c:

A/N: The Great Seven exist in this AU, though their depictions come in the form of ancient statues scattered across the island and the very few painted murals left behind by the humans who dwelled on the island. As Kaiju, they are MUCH bigger than the current generations to the point one could literally call them “world-shapers”. The current Kaiju believe that the “Primordial Seven” were responsible for creating the underground world and all the islands within. This massive cave system goes all around the world and each have their own Kaiju and creatures (aka the Sunset Savanna, Scalding Sands, Briar Valley, etc).

Over time, researchers have begun to notice a pattern of behavior that the Kaiju will display on the continent. Every five years, most of the Kaiju will migrate to other islands far away. Given the distance and how treacherous the waters are, it’s been difficult for exploration teams to travel far enough to see these other islands. However, this migration seems to cycle through different seasons as Kaiju from other islands will visit as well. It’s unknown if this is a stop for them to rest before continuing on their way to their destination. Researchers began to call this the “Great Kaiju Migration”. In some cases, Kaiju visiting the island may exhibit nesting behavior and will have their litter/clutch. They only move on before or after their babies are able to walk and will carry them on their back. Those who have strong magic potential will be left in the care of the Primal Guardians.

Kaiju who have the potential to be strong or have a unique energy will either migrate to the island or are brought over by their parent(s) to grow and learn under the guidance of the Primal Guardians. Trein/Elderclaw is the oldest known caretaker who watched over young Kaiju, though now the mantle has been passed on to Crowley/Nevermore and Crewel/Crewelfang.

A/N: While most of the Kaiju raised on the island would be the mob students from the game, some of the main cast were also raised on the island by the staff due to being abandoned by their parent(s), given up for a better opportunity to grow, or were orphaned after losing their family to an attacking Kaiju/Phantom Kaiju. Silver, Deuce, Epel, and Ruggie are current known examples of Kaiju who were orphaned for some reason or given up by their family so they can grow and develop in an environment that can train them right. There may be others, I just haven't figured out who aside from those currently listed!

[sshewonders]

WARM BODIES

Chapter 06: Vanished

chapter synopsis: Daryl's crucial to camp survival, but tension with you deepens. Your sudden disappearance rattles the group, and Daryl's search unveils unsettling truths. Fear grips the camp, especially for Carl. Where are you, and what hides in the woods?

chapter warnings: Contains isolation, vulnerability, coarse language, suggestive remarks, disappearance, relationship dynamics, search efforts, suspense, and conflict.

word count: 1.2k words

author's note: Oops! Remember when I said that I hate it when writers portray Daryl Dixon so out of character? Well, I hate the writer for this—by the way, it's me! Haha! Anyway, one more chapter will be posted later! Yes, two chapters in a day! Woohoo!

MASTERLIST

NEXT CHAPTER >>

It had been a little over a month since the world went to hell, with geeks roaming the earth. You had brought the Dixon brothers to the camp about three weeks ago, and their impact was becoming clear. Daryl, in particular, proved to be a valuable asset. He hunted tirelessly, often disappearing into the woods only to return with food for the camp. He even rigged up a makeshift alarm system of tin cans tied to trees, which jingled when geeks approached, alerting the group to potential threats. Merle, on the other hand, wasn't exactly a camp MVP. He spent most of his time making lewd comments and ogling women, particularly to Andrea. Occasionally, he contributed by chopping wood and helping prepare game hunted by Daryl.

You interaction with Daryl had been limited since your initial conversation, which left you quite shaken. The hurtful words he'd thrown at you stung deeply. You had taken refuge in your drawings, retreating from socializing. You'd speak only when spoken to, wary of more painful interactions. You had attempted to learn hunting, returning with a few injuries and scares but gradually improving.

Your routine now consisted of early morning walks into the deeper woods, armed with your bow and a brown leather bag, accompanied by quiet farewells to Glenn. Once there, you'd climb a tree and wait for geeks to show up, aiming to pick them off with your arrows. An unfortunate accident occurred when you were surrounded by four geeks, leading to you jumping from the tree to escape, injuring yourself in the process. You hobbled back to camp with scratches, a twisted ankle, and a reluctance to share the incident with anyone, especially Daryl, who was particularly observant. You kept this incident to yourself, even hiding it from Glenn, preferring to deal with it privately.

You had chosen to isolate yourself, preferring to nurse your injuries and protect your pride rather than let the others see your vulnerabilities. You kept your distance, fearing more hurtful comments and unwilling to admit your failures, even to Glenn.

It became even more challenging for you when you noticed that Shane was spending an excessive amount of time disappearing into the woods, often coinciding with Lori's mysterious absences. You had a pretty good idea of what they were doing in the woods, as the knowing glances they exchanged didn't go unnoticed. The thought of them engaging in a new romantic relationship so soon after Rick's death left you feeling disgusted. It had been less than a month since your brother's passing, and Lori had already moved on with Shane, Rick's best friend. While you believed their actions to be disrespectful, you understood that it was Lori's choice, not yours.

However, you couldn't bring yourself to accept that your brother was truly gone. You held onto the belief that Rick was still alive, a feeling you couldn't shake. Rick even visited you in your dreams at times, reassuring you of his return. You hadn't felt the undeniable certainty in your gut that marked Rick's death. You refused to believe your brother was gone unless you saw his lifeless body with your own eyes.

Rick will always comeback.

Lori awoke later than usual, still tired after a rough night with Shane. She unzipped the tent and spotted her son Carl playing checkers with Sophia. A proud smile crossed her face as she saw how much he was growing. She walked over, ruffled his hair, and exchanged greetings with Carol, who was hanging clothes she had washed. It was a contented morning, with full stomachs thanks to Daryl's successful hunting, providing a large deer for grilling and stewing. People around the camp were busy with their tasks, children played, and the atmosphere was generally cheerful.

However, the mood shifted when a visibly panicked Glenn rushed to them. Lori, concerned, inquired about what had shaken him so. Dale observed from the top of his RV, and the commotion drew the attention of everyone nearby.

"It's Y/N," Glenn stammered, his expression reflecting his anxiety.

Shane stepped closer, standing next to Lori, and asked, "What's happened to her?"

Glenn continued, his voice shaking, "She didn't return last night, and there's been no sign of her since yesterday."

Andrea joined the conversation, concerned. "Could she have just camped somewhere else?"

Glenn, his voice trembling. "Oh, come on! I know her, and she wouldn't sleep somewhere else. She hates asking anyone to share a tent."

Shane took charge of the situation. "Okay, everyone, we gotta search the camp. Yell her name loud; she's gotta hear us."

The camp bustled with activity, people splitting into groups to search every nook and cranny. Tensions were running high as they continued calling for you, with Carl growing increasingly worried about his aunt.

Merle, on the other hand, had been indifferent to the commotion at first, continuing to work on the squirrel he was skinning. Daryl, however, was now fully awake and alert, realizing something was amiss.

"Wha' happened?" Daryl asked his brother.

"Bambi ain't back since yesterday." Merle shrugged.

Daryl, his blue eyes sharpened with concern, asked his brother Merle, "Wha' d'you mean she ain't back?"

Merle, still focused on the squirrel, grunted, "Chinese kid came over sayin' she ain't been back since yesterday. I guess she camped out or somethin'."

Daryl's brows furrowed deeply, and he shook his head. "Nah, she wouldn't do that. The girl ain't got no clue about having a proper conversation with someone. Something ain't right."

Daryl's gaze remained fixed on the woods' edge, a sense of unease gnawing at him. It was a dreadful feeling, not knowing where you were or what had happened to you. For a moment, he almost regretted not having spoken to you since that awkward conversation on their first day in the camp.

Daryl grunted as he got to his feet, snatching his crossbow and hunting knife. Merle peered at his little brother and asked, "Where the hell you goin'?"

Daryl looked at Merle, a mix of determination and concern on his face. "Gonna try to find her in them woods."

Merle chuckled with a sly grin. "Heh, maybe you'll finally get lucky out there. You know."

Daryl glared at him and snapped, "Shut up, Merle."

Merle continued with his unsettling comment. "Just bring her on her knees and let me have a turn."

Daryl frowned and muttered, "Yer disgusting," before heading into the woods to search for you.

As an hour passed, and there was still no sign of you, anxiety in the camp deepened. People began to voice their concerns, speculating about what might have happened to you.

"I hope she's okay," said Carol as she anxiously watched the ongoing search.

"I've never seen her gone for so long," Amy added. "Do you think she got lost?"

Glenn's voice quivered as he replied, "I don't know. She's resourceful. She knows her way around, but this is just... It doesn't make sense. Why would she go without telling me?"

Sophia, who was growing more restless by the minute, tugged on Carl's sleeve. "Where's Y/N? I'm scared."

Carl tried to offer comfort, but the worry in his eyes mirrored that of the adults. "I don't know, Sophia, but they're looking for her, and she'll come back soon."

He needs her to comeback. He needs you.

@celtic-crossbow @maackiimoo @duckmania127 @xmaeyonaiise @richardsamboramylove55 @snailss