#did make everyone howl with me as totality happened

[nikrei]

360 sunset at the eclipse!! Had a v good time, and it was wild the way the temperature dropped when it happened!

[fandomnerd9602]

Cold Outside

StepSister!Wanda x Reader

For @lifespectator and @aloneodi

You and your stepsister Wanda had been up to your own brand of mischief. Ever since your first kiss with her on New Years Eve, it’s like the two of you could not get enough of each other. You always found little excuses to see one another and share kisses where no one could see you. Wanda and you were scared of what your parents would think of such a relationship.

But that didn’t stop you and her from having ‘cram sessions’ over at your apartment. Yes you and her did study for exams and homework. But afterward the two of you would celebrate with pizza, a marathon of her favorite shows and a little make out session. It was the perfect cover.

A perfect cover until it happened.

Your college town was hit with the worst blizzard of the year. Your classes were cancelled but somehow Wanda's were still on.

You tried to keep your apartment warm when you got a call from your stepsister, "detka?"

"what's the matter, Wanda?"

"the heater in my apartment broke. C-Can I come stay over at your place?"

“What about your roommate? yelena?”

“She’s hanging out with Kate. So can you please pick me up, detka?”

"Of course! I'll come pick you up." You grabbed your keys and ran to your car.

The wind was howling and the snow fall nearly blinded your view but yet you persisted on being there when Wanda stepped out from the college commons area.

You pull up outside of the commons and Wanda runs out from under the porch right to your car. The scarlet red scarf you bought her blowing in the wind. She quickly jumps in and blows into her hands, just trying to keep herself warm.

“Hello detka” she smiles at you.

“Hey you” you smile back, “let’s go home.”

It didn’t take long for you and Wanda to get home. You spent the time talking about whatever you wanted as you drove home.

You and Wanda truly enjoy spending whatever time you can together. Little moments here and there.

You turn on your television and switch it to your queue of Dick Van Dyke episodes. Wanda continues to enjoy her freshly brewed tea as you take a seat next to her.

“No better way to rough it through a blizzard, huh?” You give a little smirk to your stepsister.

“What are we?” She asks.

“What do you mean?” You genuinely ask.

“I-I mean…where do you see us?”

You gently take her free hand, “Wanda…there will never be another. You’re it. I’m totally in love with you. I-I want strings with you”

Your thumb glides across her knuckles.

“I want strings with you too” she giggles. “I want to tell everyone about us, but only when you’re ready.”

“When you’re ready,” you reassure her. She stares at you with adoring eyes. Her gazes lowers to your lips and then back to your eyes.

You pull her into your lap. Wanda giggles and leans in, kissing you. Her tongue glides across your lips, you can’t help but allow her access.

“Detka” she whispers against your lips.

You and Wanda continue to share long, loving, passionate kisses on your couch; lost in your own little world. Wanda giggles against your lips. Your hands wander up and down her spine.

So strong was the temptation to reach under her shirt but you truly loved her. You were willing to take things slow and enjoy all the little memories you have to form with the amazing young woman in your arms.

Your little moment of heaven was interrupted by the sound of Wanda’s cell phone. She let out a quick little squeak of embarrassment before rolling off your lap and grabbing her phone. The caller ID on her phone read Papa. You and her went pale white.

Wanda takes a deep breath, wanting to calm the beating of her heart from her moment of ecstasy. She answers the phone, “hello Papa” she puts it in speaker mode.

“Hello my little witch, I just wanted to be sure you were alright.” Your stepfather tries to explain. “That blizzard is something fierce.”

“I’m alright” Wanda giggles, “I’m at Y/N’s. My apartment’s heater went out.”

“Hey Pops” you call out.

“You all okay?” Your stepfather asks back.

“Y-yeah” you try to answer. “I was about to put a pizza in the oven and turn on some Dick Van Dyke.”

“Okay” Django answers back. “According to the weather channel, the blizzard won’t clear up for two days”

You and Wanda look to each other, you can already see the ideas forming in Wanda’s head.

“Think you’ll be alright?” Your stepfather asks.

“Yes Papa,” Wanda answers, “I think we’ll be alright. We’ve got homework and tv and…”

“Okay. Love you both” Django answers before hanging up.

You and your detka look at one another. You can’t help but share a laugh. She collapses against your chest.

“You hungry?” You ask her playfully as you wrap her in a hug.

“Yes. For pizza…and you” she giggles at her own response. You give her one last kiss to her lips and one more to her forehead.

It sure is cold outside but it’s nice and warm in your little apartment. You will have to tell her father and your mother eventually but until then you’re just gonna enjoy your time together. You and the love of your life: Wanda Maximoff.

[chillinglyadventurous]

Spooktober Day 7 - "Stop breathing at my ear, Dipper--" and turning around to find nobody beside you.

The full moon hung high above the horizon as you, Soos, Dipper, and Mabel stood at the iron gates of the old Flagstone Manor, Gravity Falls’ infamous haunted house, which sat on the edge of town. Its towering structure loomed over you, casting long, ominous shadows on the ground. The stories surrounding that place had always been shrouded in mystery: disappearances, ghostly apparitions, unsettling whispers that seemed to come from nowhere.

“Guys, I’ve got a bad feeling about this place,” Soos said, his flashlight flickering in his unsteady grip.

“Oh, c’mon, Soos! What’s the worst that could happen?” Mabel chirped, flashing her signature grin as she skipped ahead, her sweater sleeves flapping like wings.

Dipper adjusted his cap, staring up at the mansion. “I’m not sure we should be doing this at night. Stan says people vanish in here. But, you know… for science.”

"Dipper," Mabel called from over her shoulder, "since when have you been afraid of ghosts?"

You were caught between Dipper’s cautious excitement and Mabel’s gleeful enthusiasm, deciding to stick close to the group. The wind howled through the broken windows. The house seemed to creak and moan in response to your arrival.

As you pushed open the massive front door, the hinges screamed in protest. The inside of the mansion was dusty, dark, and decaying. The old wooden floors groaned beneath your feet and cobwebs filled every corner.

“So, which way?” You asked, glancing down both ends of the dimly lit hallway.

Mabel chimed in, bouncing on her toes, “I say we head toward the attic. That’s where the spooky stuff always happens!”

Soos nodded, though his face looked pale. “Yeah, sure, totally. The attic. Awesome.”

All of you made your way through the labyrinthine halls of the manor. Every step you took seemed to echo as if the house was listening, waiting for something. Faint whispers could be heard, but you couldn’t tell if it was just the wind or something far more sinister. A painting of an old man with dark, hollow eyes seemed to follow you with its gaze as you passed.

“Creepy,” you muttered under your breath.

About halfway up a narrow staircase, Dipper stopped, holding up a hand. “Wait. Did you hear that?”

Everyone paused, ears straining in the silence. You heard faint noise, like the creak of a door or perhaps a floorboard. Once you realized the sound had come from behind you, the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end.

“Probably just the house settling,” you said, trying to sound confident, though your pulse quickened.

As you all resumed your journey upward, you became engrossed in the eerie atmosphere, glancing over your shoulder every now and then to make sure the twins were still behind you. The air suddenly felt heavier.

“Guys?” you called out, your voice echoing through the mansion.

No response.

You took a step forward, the floor creaking beneath your feet. In the eerie quiet, you could hear every sound, the soft rustle of your clothes and the distant whistling of the wind, and then. What was most distracting, however, was the slow, rhythmic exhale on the back of your neck. You stiffened, goosebumps rising on your skin.

“Stop breathing at my ear, Dipper-” you started, turning to face him, but there was no one there. Soos, Mabel, and Dipper were no where to be seen. Your heart jumped into your throat. You whipped around in all directions, the narrow hallway stretching into darkness. “Guys?”

The only response was the sound of the old house groaning and settling around you. The hallway suddenly felt much longer than it had before. It was as if the walls themselves were pressing in. The breathing came again, louder now, as if it was right beside your ear. The air felt colder, suffocating.

“Stop messing with me! Seriously, this isn't funny!” you shouted, taking a shaky step back.

Then, out of the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of something. It was just a shadow, but it moved unnaturally, darting around the corner of the hall.

Your breath caught in your throat as you began to move. Your steps were slow at first, cautious, slowly getting faster and faster. You ran, your footsteps pounding against the creaky floorboards. You had to find the others. You had to get out of here.

Suddenly, the faint voices of Dipper, Mabel, and Soos came through the walls, as if they were calling from somewhere far away. But, they weren’t words you understood. It was an unintelligible murmur, distorted, like someone speaking underwater.

Your heart was racing in your chest, the mansion’s layout warping and twisting around you. The hallway stretched on forever. The shadows were alive, creeping closer, pressing in from every direction. The breathing, always there, behind you, beside you. It never stopped.

Finally, as you rounded a corner, you saw them. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos were standing together in the dim light of the ballroom at the end of the hall, their backs turned toward you.

Relief flooded through you as you ran toward them. “There you are! You scared the hell out of me.” As you got closer, something was wrong. Their figures were unnaturally still, and the air around them was colder than before.

“Dipper,” you pleaded. You looked at Mabel, her back still toward you, "Please stop, You're really freaking me out."

None of them turned around.

You reached out, your hand trembling, and touched Dipper’s shoulder. He slowly turned to face you, but his eyes were empty, hollow, and his mouth was twisted into a cold smile.

“Welcome home,” he whispered, his voice not his own.

The lights flickered, and then everything went black.

[merryfortune]

feeling bloody sick

Written for the Rarest of Rare Pairs Fic-A-Thon Amnesty Era

Prompt: Fire Emblem Fates: Beruka/Camilla/Selena - One falling sick and being taken care of by the other two

Title: feeling bloody sick

Ship: Beruka/Camilla/Selena

Fandom: Fire Emblem Fates

Word Count: 1,898

Rating: T

Warning: Choose Not to Warn 

Tags: Mid-Canon, Polyamory, Menstruation, Teasing, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff

   Beruka did not get sick.

   Sickness and whatever caused it were rightfully scared of Beruka, like everyone else ought to be as well, and that was why Beruka did not get sick.

   Of course, having a sound mind helped. She didn’t do foolish things like not washing her hands properly or standing too long out in the rain. And yet, despite continuing on as she always had with this point of pride somewhere over her shoulder, she had finally done it.

   She had gotten sick.

   And the symptoms were nothing less than baffling. 

   She was hot and cold. She was sweaty and clammy. She felt as though she had been stabbed through the gut and all she wanted to do was curl up and die in some little hole with a blanket over her. She was so ill that if she tried to sleep, she couldn’t because the pain was distracting but she was so tired, too. She could fall asleep at any second but the call of the void blared within.

   What had happened to her? Beruka analysed her past few days for what might have gone wrong but nothing came to mind. She hadn’t interacted with anyone sick nor eaten anything foul. It had come out of nowhere and affected her and her alone.

   “Selena… please…” Beruka murmured, curled over on her bed. “I… I think its my time. I trust you and Camilla to do it quickly.”

   Camilla laughed at the dramatics. This whatever it was Beruka was afflicted with was bringing out a totally new side of her and it was kind of adorable.

   “You just need to drink more water.” Selena insisted.

   “Noooo, that makes me want to pee.” Beruka whined then huffed.

   “You need to go, don’t you?” Selena asked, reading through the lines.

   Beruka nodded shyly.

   Selena sighed. “I’ll help.”

   Good thing, too, Beruka was wobbly as she crawled out of bed and almost hit the floor once she was on two feet. Selena supported her and Camilla opened the door to the ensuite. 

   They gave Beruka some privacy and waited.

   Then.

   She screamed.

   “Camilla! There is blood!” Beruka howled. Suddenly full of life and panic, just like the death rattle of a dying animal, really. “There is blood in my urine!”

   Camilla and Selena, on the other side of the door, exchanged a look. Part of it surprised, part of it amused. Either way, tinged with concern.

   Beruka hobbled over and banged on the door. She was let out as her unflappable expression was anything but.

   “There is blood. In my urine.” Beruka reiterated with distress.

   “Oh, sweetie…” Camilla cooed.

   “Are you… on your period?” Selena asked with her face scrunched up.

  “My period?” Beruka echoed back like an owl. “I’ve never had my period in my life. I-I’ve always assumed I was barren.”

   Camilla hummed thoughtfully, “Or maybe, you’re just a late bloomer.”

   “A very late bloomer.” Selena repeated but with a more dubious tone.

   “You had a hard life before becoming my retainer. Food wasn’t always on the table, you slept in tents and slums. To say nothing of the work that you were doing… Perhaps that delayed your periods until now.” Camilla theorised then laughed. “It’s kind of sweet to know that you feel so subconsciously safe with us, actually.”

   Beruka paled, puzzled.

   “That could be true, actually.” Selena agreed as she folded her arms. “My periods were spotty when I was twelve, and that’s normal since that’s when I first got them but, um, when that big disaster happened when I was around seventeen-eighteen, they all but dried up. Only resuming after we had recovered.”

   “I see.” Beruka chewed on the anecdotal data with much consideration. Her brows furrowed and she put her hand to her chin.

   “Come on, dear,” Camilla sighed with a small smile, “let’s not worry about it too much just yet. Let’s get you back to bed, let you rest up some more. Here, Selena and I will go and fetch some creature comforts for you. A hot water bottle, maybe some chocolate.”

   “Yeah.” Selena agreed.

   Beruka’s expression turned foul. Her? Get taken care of by her mistress and her fellow retainer? The idea of it made her stomach turn- oh, no, actually that was probably her period. How mortifying either way, however, and becoming the ultimate proof that they were right. She needed to go back to bed and rest up.

   “Allow us.” Selena said with grabby gestures of her hands.

   “Fine.” Beruka said through gritted teeth.

   It was disgraceful but she allowed herself to be manhandled by Selena, and Camilla too. They helped her back to bed but having a name - or revelation - to her ailment made it more manageable somehow. She felt more awake and alert than before, when she had been begging for a mercy kill over it.

   How embarrassing. Now Beruka was hiding under the covers for all new reasons. She knew she still wasn’t going to get to sleep a wink but orders were orders. As indulgent as they were. So, she laid down and rugged up, blanket to her chin as she stared across the room to the doorframe where Camilla and Selena stood.

   “We’ll be back soon, sweetheart.” Camilla bade her.

   “Understood.” Beruka croaked.

   They closed the door behind themselves and the wait was crushing. The dull stillness of the room numbed Beruka’s mind with boredom. All she had to focus on was that thrum of the stomach cramps which had yet to recede. She tried different positions to alleviate the hurt but all of them violated her conventional wisdom of how to deal with an injury. The more bunched up she was, the better she felt.

   She closed her eyes. Slowed her breathing. That helped somewhat as time passed at a glacial speed. The headache that had been lurking eased up at that and yet… Curiously returned when her ears pricked on the sound of footsteps: the paradoxically delicate clunk of armour and the stamping of a petty child in leather. No guesses as to who when the door to her room opened again.

  ��“We’re baaaack.” Camilla sung out.

   “And we have chocolate.” Selena cheered smugly.

   “Gee, thanks.” Beruka rolled her eyes.

   They returned to her bedside with an entire basket of goodies. A cursory glance through the contents that weren’t obscured by Camilla or the cane weaving of it, Beruka saw the chocolate and hot water bottle she had been promised. As well as sanitary napkins and some spare pairs of underwear.

   “We spoke with one of the physicians and they raised some alarm. The pain you seem to be in isn’t normal…” Camilla lamented as she sat down next to Beruka on her bed. “But they also said, it might just be because it's your first, hard to say without more of a known pattern.”

   Beruka groaned. She had decades of this to “look forward” to and that alone tortured her half as much as her damned by the gods, good for nothing uterus. Awful, just awful. She clutched her belly and raked her fingers through the flesh until it hurt good.

   “In the meantime, let’s get some pain killers into you.” Selena said.

   “Thank you…” Beruka said.

   She swallowed more than just her stoic pride on that one. She uncurled and wriggled up, allowed herself to be doted on by her partners. Beruka drank water with a mix of herbal powders. The taste was bitter but she was the last person to complain about that. Though, the fact that a cube of chocolate was offered next helped the medicine to go down.

   Camilla took far too much relish in getting the opportunity to personally hand feed Beruka. Beruka saw what she was like with her siblings, she would be needlessly cruel to deny Camilla her affectionate nature at a moment like this.

   “I hope you feel better soon.” Camilla said.

   Beruka exhaled through her nose and settled into her bed. She was now flanked - or more gently, spooned - by both Camilla and Selena. Her mistress to her right and her fellow retainer to her left. The increase in shared body temperature was going to make Beruka melt with the excess of pampering didn’t first.

   Camilla caressed Beruka’s face, wiped sweat off with her axe-calloused fingertips. She smiled and played with Beruka’s hair. Beruka went around in circles in her mind between hating it and loving it. She thought she had long since calcified any need for this sort of thing but Camilla was her greatest weakness: hence why she needed to be protected. Ugh, it just made Beruka want to get better soon yet there were more days of this until normalcy resumed for a moon’s cycle.

   “Is there anything else we can do?” Camilla asked.

   “No, all my needs are accounted for.” Beruka replied.

   “But if I had to guess,” Selena teased and poked out her tongue, “you are probably worried with how we’ll go with you taking a back seat to your duties, correct?”

   “Correct.” Beruka confirmed.

   “Don’t worry, I’m more than capable of picking up the slack.” bragged said and her hands snaked downwards, she took Beruka’s hand and started playing a game on them akin to ‘this little piggy’, “You concentrate on getting better. We’ll concentrate on everything else.”

   “Heh. Thank you.” Beruka said.

   “Never change, Selena.” Camilla laughed at the attempt of rivalry.

   All three of them knew the bond that united them was nothing quite so tumultuous but old habits broke hard. Still, Beruka appeared somewhat assuaged by that. She sank back into her bed, closed her eyes, and her expression changed: became as serene as it could be for someone like her.

   Beruka exhaled slowly and she drifted off slightly. Perhaps even dozed. Her head lolled to the side.

   “I think it's time for us to take our leave, Lady Camilla.” Selena whispered.

   “Me, too, Selena.” Camilla whispered.

   The two women were careful to dislodge from Beruka’s side so as to not disturb her. Though, her head nodded further to her left than before.

   Camilla leaned in and pecked Beruka’s temple. Beruka’s lips twitched. Camilla reared back and Selena did the same.

   “Thank you…” Beruka murmured.

   “Eeek!” Selena squealed.

   She bolted straight back. Her back straightened and the last hair on her head raised as her eyes went wide. Her arms turned to iron bars in front of her chest in having been ambushed like that - and by Beruka saying something nice, even! How dare.

   All whilst, outwardly, Beruka looked fast asleep.

   “What…?” Beruka sleep-talked. “You… you think I don’t… sleep with one eye open?” She yawned.

   “Get proper rest, Beruka.” Camilla told her. “And when you do feel better, don’t forget to clean up with what we gave you.”

   “Will do…” Beruka snored.

   Selena eased up and she put her hand on her hip. Camilla gave her a gesture and she nodded. She extinguished the candle nearby and that helped the room to darken despite the hour of the day. She also drew the curtains tighter for Beruka’s benefit as Beruka yes, still heard all these things.

   The swish of the fabric, the taps of footwear on the wooden boards but still. She appreciated it deeply in her hour of need and moment of weakness. Though by now, the medicine was kicking in by now but ultimately, she still felt bloody sick.

[handwrittenhello]

FAQ/PLMM ROUNDUP

Will you do another poll with [x]?

Maybe? I totally understand the desire for an unofficial do-over without Vriska, which is the most likely to happen out of all possible options. Please don't ask me to run one just for two characters you want to see go head-to-head, though. Contrary to popular belief, I do use this blog for stuff other than ridiculous polls 😂

I've also been asked to run polls with other themes, like blorbos/

If I do end up running something, it won't be until next week.

I'm really mad that there was suspected botting/interference with Vriska's polls!

Me too, bud. Without being able to see exactly who voted what and when, though, there's no way to prove without a doubt that there was. I believe there was, other people believe there was, some people don't believe there was. That's all fine.

Just don't let this color your enjoyment of the competition or other fans/fandoms. Don't let the minority ruin the reputation of the whole.

How do you know the results/it was a tie/it says the final round was 50/50?

Tumblr doesn't show exact percentages or exact vote counts. Supposedly there's a way with API to show it, but I'm not that tech savvy. The way I made decisions was based off of Tumblr highlighting the winner green after the poll ended.

Various messages of support, saying you had fun, saying you're sorry about botting, etc.:

Thank you! I hope you all had fun as well. And thank you for making this silly contest as popular as you did; I didn't expect this to become SO popular and contentious! To everyone who created fanart/shitposts/meta/etc. about the contest, you're great! I and your meow meow thank you for your service.

If you want to unfollow me now that the PLMM contest is over, bye! Hope you enjoyed :) If you want to stay, I'm mostly a fandom blog, some shitposts here and there. I write and make art too.

Under the cut: the full stats spreadsheet, with some notes.

Fun facts: Harry du Bois ended up with 103,156 total votes across all five rounds, the most out of any character. In second place is Vriska Serket, followed by Howl Jenkins.

The hottest race was the final round. The second-hottest was Harry du Bois vs. Howl Jenkins, and the third-hottest was Prince Zuko vs. Vriska Serket.

I'd have loved to have created a graph plotting the contestants' rise and fall, but frankly, that's way too much work lol. If you happen to do so, tag me!

[i-will-always-be-happy]

Ler sanemi Lee tanjiro

Sanemi getting revenge for tanjiro headbutting him??

Sanemi: Pray to the gods, because neither Giyuu or Oyakata-sama will save you from this

Warning: This fanfic contains tickles. Also remind them that I don't speak English, so if they find any errors, let me know to correct it. I hope you like it!

Lee: Tanjiro Kamado

Ler: Sanemi Shinazugawa and Nezuko Kamado

'Tanjiro, I'm glad to know that you're out of danger now, I wanted to thank you for helping the corporation defeat the UpperMoon, I really appreciate it' 'E-eh?! No no no! It's the least I can do! Thanks to you, Nezuko and I can stay together and...! Nezuko! Where is it?!', Tanjiro looked around the place, there was no trace of the box

'You don't have to worry, Sanemi, the wind hashira is taking care of her, they should be at his farm. Don't worry, Sanemi is a good and loyal boy, he hasn't hurt her', Tanjiro smiled and after a few minutes, he politely said goodbye and ran away. He was worried, the first time he had stabbed her, what would have happened these days?

'Nezuko!!' 'Mmmm?!', Tanjiro entered the estate, it was totally dark, Shinazugawa had really taken the job of caring for and protecting her seriously. When he arrived, he found Shinazugawa stroking the little demon's head, Tanjiro was confused, had he misjudged Sanemi?

'WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU IDIOT?! What right do you have to enter my house like that?!' 'Sorry Shinazugawa-sama! Only, I came looking for Nezuko', Sanemi sighed, the little girl got up and approached her brother, hugging him and putting her hands on his head so that he could caress her and pamper her.

Sanemi closed his eyes, but they snapped open when he heard laughter. 'Nehehezuko! I mihihiss you tohohoho! Ehehehe! Ihihit tihihickles!' 'So, it's ticklish, huh?', a thought went through Sanemi's head, remembering the headbutt Tanjiro gave him at the hashira meeting.

'Hey, demon girl...can I help you?' 'Mhm!' Tanjiro's eyes widened as he saw Shinazugawa get up and walk over laughing and clenching his knuckles.

'Wahahait! Nehehehezuko?! Shinazugahahahawa?!' 'Why are you acting so surprised? It's not going to happen, I mean, you're always here and there saying everyone should smile! Well, your sister and I will do the same, I'll give him a class as an older brother, on how to make our brothers laugh hehehe'

'Look, I recommend that you go first to a place that doesn't make him laugh too much and that you be very kind' 'Mmm!', Nezuko laughed under her bamboo.

'WAHAHAHIT!! MOHOHOVE SOMEHEHEHEWHERE ELSE!!' GEAHAHAAHAHAH!! NEHEHEZUKOHO! HEHEHELP!!' 'Oh, it seems I went straight to the wrong place~, my mistake, but what are we here, let's get the lesson up a bit, shall we?', Sanemi appeared to be gentle, however he was digging with enormous force into the armpits of Tanjiro, making sure not to leave any spot

'Mm!' 'Do you want the lesson to be slow? Very good, well Kamado, it's not my fault, your little sister wants to learn' 'NOHOHOHO!! NEZUKO! DOHOHON'T ENCOURAHAHAHAGE HIHIHIM!! EHEHEHEHE!! NONONONO!!!', despite Shinazugawa trying to be 'gentle', Tanjiro's tingling body was unable to handle it.

Shinazugawa's fingers moved up and down his sides, while Nezuko's did the same on his belly, he didn't know what was worse for him, Sanemi's merciless fingers or Nezuko's small claws.

'NEHEHEZUKO! SHINAZUGAWA-SAN!! HEHEHEY!! NOHOHOT!! PLEHEHEASE!! I'M TOO TIHICKLIHIHIHSH!' 'It must suck to be you, we're barely touching you', well at least Tanjiro recognized it, his body after so many battles had reached a new level of sensitivity. 'GAHAHAHA!! *snorts* DOHOHOHON'T!! *snort* NOHOHOT AGAHAHAHAIN!! PLEHEHEASE!!'

'Hmm!' 'You're right girl, it seems that his armpits and neck are very sensitive', one of Sanemi's hands dug into Tanjiro's armpits while the other gave small touches to his neck. 'Another very important thing, teasing, you've made your brother feel like a little baby... Do you want me to show you?', Tanjiro howled and arched his back, kicking the floor with his feet and hands, he wanted to push them away, he had that necessity, but in another part, his nose told that Sanemi did not have bad intentions, or that was what he appeared to be.

'What's up young Kamado? Can't stand a little tickling?', oh no, anything but that... 'Is the little slayer who headbutted a hashira too ticklish? You're laughing a lot, you must enjoy it, right? Do you like this? Are you a baby who loves tickling? Do you want us to continue? I can't hear you asking us to stop!', Tanjiro blushed so much that his face began to burn, he could never stand someone making fun of him, he was embarrassed.

'PLEASE!! STAHHAHHAHAP!! *hip* ENOHOHOHUGH!! *hip* SORRYYY FOR THE HEADBUTT!! I SWEHEHEHEAR!! FOHOHORGIVE MEHEHEHE!! MEHEHEHERCY!! NEZUKO!! STAHHAHHAHAP HIHIHIM!!', Nezuko didn't need to stop him, Sanemi stopped and smirked, no doubt he had been held back by the little girl next to him, but had they been alone, Tanjiro would have become his tickle toy

Sanemi laughed, seeing the young man who was looking at the ceiling and still giggling, with a hand on his chest as he tried to recover all the air he lost. Nezuko reached over and patted her brother's head, smiling. Well, part of Sanemi's revenge was done.

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Split up

Previous

When they had got back to the church, they pushed the trolleys up the stairs and into the place.

Abraham was under the bus, fixing it up whilst Rosita helped him.

Sully ran towards Natalia, barking as his tail wagged, but he halted when he sniffed her, walking in a circle as he ran his nose along her legs, trying to work out what it was.

"What the hell happened to you?" Carol asked, looking down at her from the steps, Daryl was smoking, as he leaned against the railing.

"Oh, y'know, just a leisurely swim in walker infested water, that has been brewing for god knows how long, heh, get it, god knows." She pointed at the church. "Anyway, I got a cool jacket." Natalia shrugged, "I'm going to be fishing walker goop out of crevices for a week, and almost got killed cause of a priest, all in a days work."

"What?" Daryl asked, talking to her for the first time in a while, looking around for Gabriel.

"Got scared, shoved me out of his way as he tried to flee, totally bombed it though."

"Did you get hurt?" Carol asked, Daryl was still scanning the brunette, like he was trying to find any injuries.

"Nope, no bites, no scratches, all good."

"Are you sure?" She pressed.

"Yes, you want me to strip so you can check?" Natalia huffed, walking past the pair and heading into the church, Sully walked beside her. "I'm offended people ask me that so often, I can handle myself."

"It's okay to accept the fact that people love and care about you." Carol called after her.

Later that night, when the sun had set, The group sat around the church, enjoying their first proper meal together in a long time, chatting and laughing, enjoying each others company, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time.

Glenn and Tara had formed a game of how high can Sully catch, where they would take in turns throwing a piece of food into the air and see the furthest he could catch it from, the people around them found this pretty amusing, pitying the dog by giving him a spoonful from their own plate, he was definitely enjoying the buffet.

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham gathered the rooms attention, standing at the front of the room with a glass of wine in hand.

Michonne and Natalia took their seats beside each other as everyone went quiet, waiting to see what the man had to say.

"I look around this room and I see survivors." He started. "Each and everyone of you has earned that title. To the survivors."

"Survivors! Cheers!" Everyone chanted, raising their glasses.

"Is that all you want to be?" Abraham continued, Natalia knew where this was going, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip. Eugene, what's in DC?"

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics. Even of this Fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart."

"However this plays out, however long it takes for this restart button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started. Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it so you can take your dog on walks without fear of it ending up something's dinner. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there... who don't got nothing left to do except survive."

Judith began to make noises, as she sat on her fathers lap.

"What was that?" Rick asked her as people laughed. "I think she knows what I'm about to say. She's in. If she's in, I'm in. We're in. Let's do it."

Everyone cheered and clapped for the plan, Sully let out a howl, joining in on the noise, Tara copied the dog, letting out her own howl.

After a while, people gradually went outside, getting some fresh air.

"Has anyone who's gone outside come back yet?" Natalia asked Rick, looking around.

"Sasha went out to look for Bob, said he'd been out for a while." Tyreese weighed in.

"Carol and Daryl's been gone for a while, too." Natalia hummed.

"Alright, me and Tyreese will go look for them, everyone stay here, I don't want anyone else disappearing." Rick said, standing up.

"I'll help." Natalia offered, going to stand up, but Rick stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, I need you here, to keep an eye on Gabriel, he does anything, I know you can handle it, we'll find them." He assured her.

"But-"

"Natalia, I need you in here." He repeated.

"Fine, take Sully, he'll be able to sniff them out from anywhere, especially Daryl." She mused, knowing full well how much fond the dog and man were of each other, even if Daryl didn't express it, but she could tell by the way he kept Sully's rabbit in his back pocket If the dog had forgotten it, or dropped it when something else caught his attention.

"We'll take care of him." Rick nodded.

"I know you will." She offered a small smile.

Natalia was sat in a pew, her eyes never left the father, watching his every move, her gun in her hand, resting in her lap.

The other people went about doing their own thing, waiting for the arrival of their family to return.

The doors opened with loud creaks, Tyreese, Rick and Sully returned with Sasha, but no Bob, Daryl or Carol.

Sasha walked towards Father Gabriel.

"Stop." She told the man in a hushed voice.

He stared at her, pausing the motion of pouring himself another glass of wine.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "What are you doing?" She repeated, much more slower, when he had yet to answer. "This is all connected. You show up, we're being watched, and now three of us are gone."

"I..." He started. "I don't... I don't have anything to do with this."

Sasha pulled out her knife, walking towards the man as he backed up.

"Wait!"

"Don't!" Rosita ordered, lunging forward, but Abraham grabbed a hold of her.

"Sasha, put it away." Tyreese told his younger sister.

"Who's out there?" Sasha asked, ignoring the other people in the room.

"I... I don't have anything to do with this." Gabriel put his hands up in surrender.

"Where are our people?"

"I don't have anything to..."

"Where are our people?" Sasha screamed at him.

"Please, I don't have anything to do with this."

Rick pulled Sasha back, taking her place.

"Why'd you bring us here?" He asked.

"I... I... please." Gabriel stuttered.

"Are you working with someone?"

"I'm alone. I'm alone. I was always alone."

"What about the woman in the food bank, Gabriel?" Rick pushed forward. "What did you do to her? "You'll burn for this." That was for you. Why? What are you going to burn for, Gabriel?"

Gabriel had yet to answer him, ticking the man off even more.

Rick grabbed him by the collar, pushing him against the table full of candles.

"What? What did you do?" He shouted, his jaw clenched. "What did you do?" He pushed the man away, taking a step back.

"I lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night. I always lock the doors at night." He repeated, breaking down. "I always- They started coming, my congregation. Atlanta was bombed the night before and they were scared. They were- They were looking for a safe place, a place where they felt safe. And it was so early. It was so early. And the doors were still locked. You see... it was my choice. There were so many of them and they were trying to pry the shutters and banging on the sidings, screaming at me. And so the dead came for them. Women... children. Entire families calling my name as they were torn apart, begging me for mercy. Begging me for mercy. Damning me to Hell." He sobbed. "I buried their bones. I buried it all. The lord sent you here to finally punish me." He collapsed to the ground as he continued to cry.

Natalia was feeling more angry by the second, he was the sole reason that countless of families had suffered brutally, because he couldn't be bothered to help them, to offer shelter, and he was feeling sorry for himself?

"I'm damned. I was damned before. I always lock the doors. I always lock the doors."

A whistle sounded outside the church, Sully began barking and howling at the door, Natalia headed towards him, pulling the dog away as Glenn headed for the window.

"There's something... There's someone outside lying in the grass."

Sasha had ran for the door.

"Sasha." Rick followed.

The others chased after them, running outside.

"Oh! Bob!" Sasha shouted, as everyone set their sights on the passed out Bob.

Two walkers were heading for them.

"His leg." Maggie looked in horror, Bob's left leg was missing.

"Get Bob inside. We'll take care of them." Glenn ordered, him heading for the first walker as Natalia ran to the other, her knife pushing into it's eye.

"Can you help me, please? Help me. Help me." Sasha sobbed to Tara, trying to pick her boyfriend up.

"Get inside! Go!"

More walkers were appearing, Rick had started shooting at them as Natalia and Glenn ran back to help everyone with Bob.

"Rick!" Natalia called out, staring at the big red A that was painted on their wall.

"Let's go." He told her, pushing the small woman in the building and locking the door.

Everyone gathered around Bob, he had managed to wake up.

"I was in the graveyard. Somebody knocked me out." He told, once he was able to. I woke up outside this place. It looked like a school. It was that guy, Gareth. And five other ones."

Natalia looked at Rick, they were the ones who demanded to finish it off.

"They were eating my leg, right in front of me. Like it was nothing. All proud like they had it all figured out."

"Did they have Daryl and Carol?" Rick asked in a gentle tone.

"Gareth said they drove off."

"What?" Natalia hissed. Why the hell would they drive off? Unless... that black car.

Bob tried to sit up, groaning in agony.

"He's in pain. Do we have anything?" Sasha asked Rosita.

"I think we have a few pill packets in the first aid kit." Rosita said, getting up to fetch them.

"Yeah." Sasha nodded at her.

"Save 'em." Bob called towards her.

"No."

"Really." Bob sniffled as he sat up, pulling his T-shirt down to reveal a tear of flesh.

Bob was bitten.

"It happened at the food bank." He told Sasha, who stared wide eyed at it.

"It's okay." She whispered, helping him lay back down.

"Bob?" Sasha asked, when he fell. Tara caught his head, so he didn't hit it on the floor.

"There's a sofa in my office." Gabriel offered. "I know its not much, but..."

"Thank you."

"I got him." Tyreese stood up, helping Bob into the office.

Rick and Natalia moved towards the father, seeming to have the same thought.

"Do you know the place Bob was talking about?" Rick beat her to it.

"It's an elementary school. It's close."

"How close." Natalia asked, before he even finished the word.

He hesitated.

"How close?" Rick pushed.

"It's just a 10-minute walk through the woods from here, due south of the graveyard."

Judith started to cry, so Carl carried her into the other room, in her basket.

"Does he have a fever?" Rick asked Maggie.

"He's just warm."

"Jim lasted more than two days before we left him." Glenn remembered.

"Time for a reality check." Abraham called out. "We all need to leave for DC right now."

"No way! Not when Daryl and Carol are missing." Natalia snapped.

"They're gonna be back." Rick agreed. "We're not going anywhere without them."

"I respect that, but there's a clear threat here, to Eugene. I need to extract his ass before things get any uglier. So if y'all won't come, good luck to you. We'll go our separate ways."

"Well, bye!" Natalia waved at the large man.

"You leaving on foot?" Rick asked his retreating back.

"We fixed that damn bus ourselves." Abraham turned around.

"There are a lot more of us." Rick marched towards him.

"You want to keep it that way? You should come."

"Carol saved your life. We saved your life."

"Well, I am trying to save yours! Save everyone's."

"We're not going anywhere without our people."

"Your people took off."

"They're coming back."

"To what, picked-over bones?"

"You're not taking-" Rick reached for the man.

"Do not lay your hands!" Abraham grabbed him.

Natalia took her gun off safety whilst Glenn ran over to intervene.

"Abraham!" Rosita shouted.

"Hey, hey, stop! Now!" Glenn came in the middle of the pair, creating distance. "Do you really think that you're gonna be any safer leaving right now, in the middle of the night?" Glenn asked Abraham.

"Yeah." Abraham nodded. "Yeah."

"What about tomorrow? We need each other for this. We need each other to get to DC. We can get through all of it together." Glenn expressed.

"I have an idea." Tara stepped forward. "If you stay here just one more day and help, I'll go with you to DC no matter what." Abraham seemed to think this over, when she turned to Maggie. "Okay?"

"Glenn and Maggie, too."

"No." Rick declined.

"Good luck, then. I'm not interested in breaking up what you have here. Rosita, grab your gear."

"Abraham."

"Now." He ordered. "Eugene, let's go. Eugene. Move it."

"I don't want to." Eugene stayed seated.

"Now." Abraham growled.

"Okay." The scientist whispered, getting up from the pew.

The three moved towards the door.

"You're not taking the bus." Rick told him.

"Try to stop me." He responded.

Rick waited a moment, before walking towards the redhead, who passed his gun to Rosita.

"Hey, wait, wait wait, wait, wait, wait!" Glenn ran forward, breaking them up again. "Hey, hey, hey!"

He looked between the pair before speaking again.

"You stay. You stay and help us, and we will go with you."

"No." Rick refused.

"It's not your call." He looked back to Abraham. "You stay, help us."

"Half a day." Abraham bargained. "Come high noon, we're taillights. I'm not waiting for the other damn shoe to drop."

"And we will leave with you." Maggie spoke up.

"12 hours." He declared. "Then we go." He walked towards the first pew, narrowly missing barging into Rick.

The group gathered around, as Rick hatched out the plan of action to put an end to Terminus as they loaded up guns and got ready for the fight.

"We're in here and they could be anywhere." Rick said. "But we know exactly where they are."

"Plans got stones, I'll give you that." Abraham said.

"Make our move before they do." Glenn nodded.

"That's right." Rick nodded. "They're not counting on us thinking straight"

"But what if that's their idea." Natalia thought out loud. "Draw us out to their spot and leave our vulnerable unprotected, give themselves leverage, just like how they used Carl at the train carts."

"Then we make sure we get to them first, before they get the chance." Rick said. "Tyreese."

"Yeah?"

"You up for this?" Rick asked the man, who looked to be somewhere else.

He didn't answer, their attention moved towards Sasha, who had walked out of the office.

"I'm going with you." She declared.

"You should stay with Bob." Tyreese told her.

"No, I want to be out there. I want to be apart of this."

She didn't give anyone a chance to argue, walking back into the office.

Tyreese went after her.

The group carried on, whilst the siblings spoke in the office.

Rick had took on what Natalia had suggested, Carl, Judith, Gabriel, Rosita, Eugene and Tyreese sat in the office with Bob's passed out body, Sully paced around the room, missing his owner and sensing that something was happening.

If the cannibals were to turn up, they would be ready to deal with them.

The remaining members of the group vacated the church, heading into the woods and towards the elementary school.

When they had got there, the place was empty, no one in sight, a fire was put out recently.

"I knew it!" Natalia hissed.

"Go, lets go!" Rick ordered, and they all ran back towards the church.

They had got back quickly.

Before she was given a chance to get turned down by Rick, Natalia sneaked up the steps and into the open doors, the rest were on her tail, making sure they were deadly silent.

"Are we done?" A man with a hood up asked, he was stood behind Gareth.

"We'll hit the hinges." Gareth said lowly, gesturing for the two people who were stood outside the office to do exactly that.

Before they were given the chance, Natalia shot down the man, than the woman at the door to their people.

"Put your guns on the floor." Rick had walked further into the church, the end of the building looked pitch black to the enemies, not a person was in sight.

"Rick, we'll fire into that office. So you lower your gun..." Gareth pointed at the door.

Rick took aim, shooting the mans two fingers straight off as he screamed in agony.

"Not nice when someone takes your body parts off, is it?" Natalia pouted, staying in the shadow, her gun aimed at the next potential threat.

"Ah!" Gareth whimpered, keeling over.

"Put your guns on the floor and kneel." Rick repeated, walking forwards.

"Do what he says." Gareth groaned.

Natalia put her gun away, taking out her knife as Terminus followed the order.

"Martin there's no choice here." Gareth told the only person who wasn't kneeling.

"Yeah, there is." Martin disagreed.

Abraham stepped towards him, his gun pointed at the mans head.

"Wanna bet?"

He threw his gun down, kneeling.

The group stood in front of the surrendering cannibals, Sasha and Rick had boxed Gareth in as he moved around on the floor, looking at Rick.

"No point in begging, right?" He asked.

"No." Rick breathed.

"Still, you could of killed us when you came in. There had to be a reason for that."

"We didn't want to waste the bullets." Rick shrugged.

"We used to help people. We saved people. Things changed, they came in and After that I know that you've been out there, but I can see it. You don't know what it is to be hungry. You don't have to do this. We can walk away. And we will never cross paths again. I promise you."

But you'll cross someone's path." Rick said. "You'd do this to anyone, right? Besides, I already made you a promise." Rick pulled out his red handled machete, slashing it into the man's head.

This was the signal, to attack the other terminus members.

Michonne, Sasha, Natalia and Abraham attacked them brutally as the others watched in horror.

Natalia slit one of the men's throat, blood spraying around as she kneed him in the face, letting him fall on his back as he choked on his blood, before ending his misery and stomping hard on his skull, smashing it into brain matter and goop.

The room was silent when they had dealt with every single one, blood, stained the floor of the church pooling on the wood and the carpet, as mangled bodies layed across it.

Michonne had found something among the Terminus's stuff, pulling it out, to reveal her missing sword.

"It could have been us." Rick told the group.

"They gave us a reason, we were just food to them." Natalia agreed, wiping her knife on the dead bodies shirt. "This was self defence."

"Yeah." Sasha whispered, her voice shaking as she took in what she had just done.

Gabriel stared in horror at what had happened in his holy sanctuary, Rick, Natalia, Abraham and Sasha passed him, walking into the office to check on their loved ones.

"This is the Lords house." Gabriel uttered.

"No." Maggie denied. "It's just four walls and a roof."

The sun had rose, and Bob was losing the battle against the fever, everyone gathered around the office to say their final goodbyes.

"You'll always be with us." Maggie told the man. "Part of us." She kissed his hand, smiling at him reassuringly.

"And, if It clears your conscience, I forgive you for the time you went to shoot me." Natalia teased, as they both laughed, smiling at each other.

"I'm glad I didn't." He told her.

The group went to leave the man in peace, Sasha moving towards him.

"Rick." Bob called out to their leader.

Natalia took Judith off his hands, so he could talk to Bob.

"Come here, Judy." Natalia cooed, walking outside the room, Carl beside her.

She sat on the pew, Judith on her lap, and Carl next to her, petting Sully, Judith reached out for the dog, grabbing at his ears.

Natalia wondered if he was reminded of someone else, the same person she was thinking off as she watched the baby interact with the dog, who was gentle and patient as anything, making the little girl giggle as he licked at her hands, that Natalia made sure went nowhere near her face before being cleaned.

"He's good with kids." Carl said.

"He's good with everyone." Natalia smiled. "I got really lucky with him."

"Do you think Daryl and Carols gonna come back?"

"Of course they will, something probably just came up and they had to deal with it, they wouldn't leave us." She tried to reassure him.

Soon enough, noon had come.

Sasha sat by Bob's grave, wearing his jacket as she made sure the cross was tied securely.

Abraham was bidding Rick, Michonne and Natalia goodbye.

"This is our route to DC." He said, handing Rick a map. "We'll stick to it as long as we're able. If not, well, you got our destination. Once Eugene gets to the big brains left up there, things are gonna bounce back. This group should be there for it. You should be there for it."

"They will be." Maggie assured.

"We will." Michonne nodded.

"We will." Rick repeated.

"I guess we will." Natalia joined in.

Abraham nodded, turning around and back to the bus.

"Let's go."

"You both better be safe, save the world for all of us." Natalia told Glenn and Maggie, hugging both of them.

"You better make sure everyone here is alright." Glenn told her, patting her back and stepping away, patting Sully's head.

"Keep her out of trouble." Maggie told the dog, patting his head as well as he let out a woof of agreement.

The DC group got into the bus, as the others stood on the steps of the church.

Rick and Abraham shared another nod before the redhead closed the doors of the bus, setting off on their journey.

At night, Natalia sat on the front steps of the church, keeping lookout, but also wanting to keep an eye out for Carol and Daryl, they still hadn't come back, she missed them both, and was driving herself mad, coming up with loads of different scenarios of what could of happened, if it wasn't for the fact that she had no idea where they could be, she would be out looking for them, she knew that she was being harsh and cold towards the pair, especially with Daryl, but she didn't know how to act around him, after what happened, they were equally mad at each other, how they handled the claimers, and they weren't given a chance to hash it out, but he had made it obvious that he still cared and worried about her, she just couldn't deal with it, when everything was still so fresh, and she could feel the lingering weight, the bruises and cuts on her face still stung, her back was itching as the graze was scabbing over, it was too much, she felt she was suffocating but she didn't have the time to cry for herself, to reflect on the events, Natalia had to push through, put her energy into protecting her friends.

Michonne had come outside, sitting beside her friend, her sword in her lap. Neither woman had to say anything, just sat in each others company as they battled their own thoughts.

Longer into the night, the door opened, Father Gabriel stepped out.

"I can't sleep." He announced, leaning against the wooden rail. "And now, sitting in there... Quiet."

Natalia, nor Michonne answered him.

"It isn't just what happened last night. Saying what happened before out loud, I see it all again. I hear them."

"Yeah." Michonne whispered. "That won't stop."

"But it'll get quieter." Natalia added.

"And it won't be all the time."

A rustling sound cut the conversation.

Natalia jumped up, grabbing her knife, as Michonne slowly followed, signalling to Gabriel to be quiet, who went back inside.

Natalia moved towards the sound, Michonne was right behind her, unsheathing her sword.

They walked towards the trees, where the sound had come from, but not being able to see anything.

Something was emerging from the leaves, coming towards them.

It was Daryl.

Natalia stepped towards him, hitting his chest before wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, as he put his arm around her middle, as Michonne laughed, breathing in a sigh of relief.

"Where the hell were you? Where's Carol?" She asked, looking behind him, but not seeing the woman.

Daryl stepped back from Natalia, looking over his shoulder.

"Come on out." He said.

Next

[coralcatsea]

I feel like rating the Batman Caped Crusader villains, so here we go.

Note: These ratings are just what I was feeling at the time, but they're subject to change if I see more of them in the next season!

Mama Penguin: 7/10. she was enjoyable to watch and felt like a cross between the Witch of the Waste from Howl's Moving Castle and Captain Dola from Castle in the Sky. 😆 I also liked the look she has with the purple dress. I feel like we needed more about her role as a villain, why she's a villain, etc.

Clayface: 6.5/10. He was pretty fun, I liked the mystery surrounding him and his general demeanour. The sword fight was also good. I feel like he could've been more memorable, though, and it could've been more fleshed out why Clayface went off the deep end and immediately tried to kill his costar. Maybe delve into how he realised that if she rejected him despite changing his looks, it must mean there's something wrong with his personality, and that's how he comes to decide his personality is evil or something?

Catwoman: 10/10. She had cats in every corner of her house and a catmobile. That automatically makes her amazing because it's hilarious and I'm biased. She also had a very lively and amusing personality. She was playful and expressive, and her over the top innocent act cracked me up. I love how she took inspiration from Batman because she vibed with his aesthetic, and she truly committed to the bit. We also got a bit of backstory for why she is the way she is, and her dynamic with the maid was great.

Firebug: 4/10. He had potential and they did nothing with it. I liked how he put on goggles and saw everyone happily being consumed by flames, but...that's about it. They didn't tell us anything about him, he was just a plot device.

Harleen/Jester: 8/10. I was looking forward to seeing this show's take on Harley, and I enjoyed it a good amount. I particularly liked her as Harleen and appreciated the psychiatrist focus since a lot of times that side gets forgotten. It was interesting to see her reasoning for becoming a villain, and while I didn't get their reasoning for the Jester connection at first, I later realised it and the theming of her victims is connected to Jungian archetypes! Having it related to psychology is pretty clever!! I will say I didn't get the point of the Renee/Harleen stuff. I was curious how and why they would fall for each other, and...it kind of just happened? I hope they'll delve into the reason for attraction in s2.

Gentleman Ghost: 6/10. He seemed cool, buuut...we didn't see enough of his personality and his motivation felt kind of bland to me. Him being an actual ghost also felt a bit out of place. I didn't mind it too much, but I guess I was just surprised there wasn't some "scientific" reasoning for him.

Onomatopoeia: 5/10. Kind of amusing, but it's hard to form a strong opinion about a guy whose face is fully covered and he doesn't say anything but stuff like "plip plip plip" and "bang!" 😂

Natalya: 7/10. Cool design, she gave Wednesday vibes. I also liked her personality and how she felt like a more tragic villain. Her brother helped add to that, along with her mysterious condition. I do wish we got to know more about the condition. She also managed to bring out Batman's compassionate side, which was really nice.

Harvey: 5/10. Meh...he was more complex than the totally corrupt version in the Harley Quinn show, but that's not saying much. I liked what they were TRYING to do, with his original self being more corrupt and then he gains a conscience when he becomes the victim and gets scarred. But I feel like it wasn't written or explored that well, and he barely had time to be Two Face before they took him out of the picture.

[sugar-omi]

Hi this is the anon who sent that video for teacher!MC

https://youtube.com/shorts/kjekPGxvHxM?si=dk9FxZ3o3j2PxKyr

I found the video!!! praying the link works or that it doesn't get deleted again. 🙏

If you don't remember. My last ask was about what would happen if tecaher!MC did this for the boys.

*link (its a guy proposing to the teacher in front of her students)

OMG THATS SO CUTEEE THATS ACTUALLY SMTH THE KIDS WOULD RMBR YK THAT THATS SO COOL

i can totally see derek proposing to teacher!mc like this and it'd be so cuteee

or w cove!! teacher!mc proposing to cove in front of their students and cove's eyes progressively getting wider OR OMFG MC HAVING THEIR STUDENTS STAND IN A LINE THAT SAYS 'WILL YOU MARRY ME' AND SOME LETTERS ARENT IN THE RIGHT SPORT BUT AHHH COVE IS IN TEARS

and maybe baxter proposing just like this as well, or you're doing an assignment in class about what your future looks like and you ask him to join you that day and you both do one...

n baxter shows you his first n its you two all happy together, OR MAYBE YOU'RE SHOWING EVERYONES ON THE PROJECTOR... pls my brain is buzzing

but anyway then he sees yours n its you proposing to him n he laughs n blushes n looks at you, and when you pull our the ring he jaw DROPS and your students aree howling and it takes a minute to speak bc you have a little smth to say and he's still in shock, tryna make sure this is real.

but he covers his face n his shoulderes are shaking w laughter n tears and he accepts asjkdf PLEASE THIS IS TOO CUTE

[a-wolf-at-the-door]

Hey so not an ask but I just had to rant. I had a day off so I figured I would binge the howling series, And by God I am having to sit with the weight of it. It was depressing it was joyful there were times I literally screamed. I didn't know I could cheer out at snort but okay! Like it felt more of a psychologically driven epic than a fanfiction. Sometimes I forget why I don't watch TV or movies that much this is why you can't get this much of a character driven story as much as TV and movies are great.

Like Martha's moments with her family and how she feels so much in the shadow of her siblings. How kind of wishes for everyone's approval but doesn't need it! The scene at 42 genuinely hits some nerves when they were in the space pod.

And oh God the doctor as he's slowly to deteriorates through the book, but you get it If you read book one and book two. He spent literal lives fighting his love. just to lose her at the last second, And how even though he wants to live with her memory He's just tired. In every possible way, And how unfairly he's kind of putting so much pressure on Martha. But again you get it!

Just in a sick twisted way the master kind of a character piece, how he is everyone's toxic relationship whether that's platonic or romantic or domestic. He's just a slimy being! Who totally gets what he deserves so glad that Lucy comes in clutch, And just like everyone else I forgot that she was a thing! And I watch the show! I should know everything that happens!

Ugh, a part of me is kind of upset that I didn't wait for season 4 (book 4 whatever you want to call it I'm just calling it seasons now because this is better than the TV show). To binge the whole thing, And I'm kind of on the fence and if I'm going to keep up with season 4 or just binge it like I did with this one.

But by God if you could give a standing ovation over a screen I would. Amazing work. Beautiful time spent. And by God Rose just needs to come back and fix this man!

pal you legit just made me tear up... i'm going through a rough patch lifewise rn that i don't particularly feel a need to elaborate on publicly, but suffice to say it's been too easy for my brain gremlins to focus on negativity (guilt for not updating sooner, shame for struggling so much with this section when it's by rights the one i started writing this series for in the first place, embarrassment at the lil mistakes or perceived shortcomings in the work, etc.)... so it's super meaningful and gratifying to hear how much you and others love this work and believe in me and want more :)

i've also been doing a reread to try to get myself back into the writing of it and remember what I was doing with various plot threads (i have notes but like, i also have adhd... so they aren't all notes that make 100% sense to read back through lol)

i'm doing my best to fight off the brain gremlins and life gremlins and find the fun again, and i really do hope to get more content to you all soon! in the meantime thanks so much for your ongoing support and engagement and i hope very nice things happen to you

[anthonybialy]

Lunatic Moon Puts on an Eclipsing Show

The eclipse almost got eclipsed.  Lousy jerk clouds were so jealous of the attention whore Moon blocking the Sun that they tried to ruin the view.  But Jersey Shore-style drama was ultimately not imported from a place outside the totality.  The Moon was free to moon us.

Aspiring lookers worried a once-in-a-lifetime event would be even one fewer than that.  Missing the lack of sunshine would’ve been a twist during the soft reboot of an emblematically bleak tale.   Circumstances seemed eerily similar to 

that deflating Ray Bradbury short story everyone has a traumatic memory of reading about the cruel class locking the girl in the closet so she misses the rare Venusian sunshine.  But the happy ending we’re told never happens appeared out of nowhere.

I traveled all the way outside to be in the route.  My greatest worry was whether I thawed enough Pizza Logs for every guest.  We always try to be hospitable in Buffalo.  I noticed how many out-of-state license plates partially concealed bumpers in the days leading up to the solar system show.  Adventurous travelers took a chance on meteorological fate with a trip to the Queen City of Good Neighbors.  The prospect of never getting a gift from the cosmos beat definitely not seeing it in some crescent-cursed state.

The skies weren’t blotted by a blizzard, so we dodged the worst-case scenario.  I’d like to point out howling snow is an April rarity.  Still, Buffalo residents braced to be disappointed by something other than teams or taxes.  As for the shamefully high latter, politicians are so certain they know how to spend better than people who earn money that they take a cut just to prevent frivolous purchases.  Take eclipse supplies.  Many sites offered “free” glasses that taxpayers would’ve just bought with their own money if left to their unfettered devices.  Visitors wondered why there was ample elbow room around commercial zones.

Existing area establishments celebrated the spacey occurrence by not selling anything.  Everything closed while the skies opened.  My indispensible neighborhood liquor store shuttered while the Moon was drunk, which means those who wanted to get eclipsed had to plan ahead.  And even Tim Hortons took a rare break from brewing so workers could look wide-eyed through filters.  How did eclipse viewers stay jittery?  I hope meth dealers were shrewd enough to stay open.

Precautions against never seeing again seemed to work.  Concerns about going blinfndsxvnjds wrrrervfwe ,a,,h/nxxc.  My helper monkey has kindly stepped in to type dictations until my eyes stop feeling like I doused them with lava.  Anthony is an idiot.

I’m trying to remember the astronomical facts I crammed over the past week, but I fret they’ll vanish from my memory like safety warnings for watchers.  In my defense, it was tough to retain endless tips for ensuring spectators weren’t seeing the last thing they ever would.

Some alerts sounded like newsrooms sponsored contests to determine who could make the daftest admonition seem plausible.  Most notably, owners of fancy wireless pocket phones were advised to not point the cameras where they were looking or the implements could go blind, too.  You could make up any claim you’d like about where to aim eyes and get nervous participants to heed it.  I’m pretty sure you couldn’t glance at a waxed car unless you wanted your eyeballs to melt. You won’t see them.

I tried to be as prepared as I was enthusiastic.  It was as a good day for donning NASA socks as any this lifetime.  To complement my festive wardrobe in practical terms, I made eclipse viewer from a cereal box just like Mrs. Benfanti taught me in third grade before a previous Moon-based incident.  Interstellar experts recommend eating the Cheerios first.

A fun throwback of seeking entertainment by looking outside reminded us what it was like not to be glued to glowing pocket screens.  The heavens should always be this entertaining.  Keep staring outside for as long as it’s compelling.  Your DVR retained its content unless lunar rays disrupted recording that episode of The Office.  Creed doesn’t get fired on Halloween, so don’t worry.  Television is probably crisper than the sky appeared but not as magical.

I spent most of Monday afternoon seeing the eclipse, sort of.  The worst possible hours for overcast conditions seemed to embody the way things go on this rather uncooperative planet.  I coped by planning to check out the spectacle next century presuming the weather obeys.

An eclipse where you can’t see the Sun for different reasons than advertised seemed like a lesson.  The worst part of cloudy weather during the eclipse was my lack of surprise.  The hometown of Rick James, Vincent Gallo, and me often seems like the place where fate disappoints.

Not being allowed to look presented little problem.  A cruelly overcast day meant seeing some sort of blur through the real-life 3D glasses.  Everyone was failing the eye test.  Light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t provide much hope when it’s so splotchy.

But a transformation as amazing as queuing celestial objects redeemed what felt like a pending letdown.  My journalism degree didn’t allow me to determine whether the totality overwhelmed puny clouds in its path or if they parted out of karmic mercy.  Either way, the darkness led to lucidity.

The cosmic ballet compensated for tardiness.  Blazing plasma surrounded the perfect black circle.  For four glorious minutes or so, the fiery halo was the only clue that the Sun was still around.  The only way the sudden penumbra coda could have been more satisfying was if it seemed like the advertised event wouldn’t be visible, so thank existence’s scriptwriters.  You worried it was going to be cloudy for the whole eclipse, but the skies cleared at just the right time.  Buffalo teaches about the universe.

Monday featured quite a night in the afternoon.  We shared an incredible moment of all looking at the same alignment alongside.  The eclipse offered a chance for people of all kinds to get together for gazing and realize we hate each other.  Now, we share both animosity and liking that disappearing sunlight trick that one satellite pulled.

[notjustanyannie]

I keep seeing pictures of the recent eclipse and feeling kinda unimpressed with the feelings they give. If that was all I knew, I wouldn’t be very motivated to experience it irl. My experience with it irl was so different, I want to share it with you. We drove a couple of hours to see the one in 2017(? I think), and experiencing it was so moving. There is going to be another one coming up next spring, and I want to encourage everyone that can to actually go outside for it. Maybe just the totality part if you can’t stay out longer. As the sun starts slowly going black, it gets dark outside and a breeze picks up. The sky is a weird color that you never see, and it feels ominous. Everything wild stops making any sound. You get a chill in your spine that feels like ancient memories. It’s so quiet it’s eerie, as everything holds it’s breath, then as the moon moves into place directly in front of the sun, people across the county started howling and screaming and cheering and the tree shadows all show the eclipse and there is a feel of magic in the air, and you feel the hair on your body stand up. You can see plasma streaming into the air around the edges of the moon 🌚 It was one of the most magical moments, like it felt like there was wizardry in the air. It was An Experience. I hadn’t wanted to drive that far, and have to bring a comfy chair, and everything I need to travel as a chronically ill and disabled person, but my spouse encouraged me. I’m so glad they did. If you get the chance, don’t pass it up. Regardless of how it may appear, total eclipses don’t happen that often, and are limited to where they can be seen from geographically.

[victorluvsalice]

They did indeed! Smiler broke out the old Charisma to close a few deals, and they and Victor rung up their various customers for six items in the end -- a rainbow egg, a zombie cake, a box of meat substitute jars, a happy-scent perfume, a crate of strawberry milk, and a raspberry pie -- for a total profit on the day of $2,502! :D Yeah, I know, not that much given how weird Sim economics is, but currently they're on one of the lowest mark-ups, and this is less a money-making venture and more of just a way to use up all the produce they grow on the farm. XD There was some worrying lag at times while they were ringing people up, and I got a Last Exception that makes me think some of Simsonian Library's stuff doesn't always play nice with Brazen Lotus's stuff, but it all worked out in the end!

Aaand Smiler managed to close the store before anyone could go into the bathroom and find Alice "marking her territory" on the floor. *facepalm* Alice. I know you're a werewolf, and Erratic to boot. But the stalls were RIGHT THERE! Like, seriously, RIGHT THERE! Fortunately, she cleaned up the puddles without any complaint, but yikes. *facepalm* Anyway, she and Smiler finished cleaning up the store while an exhausted Victor napped, and I bought the "First Simoleon" perk and hung it up behind the front counter, along with one of the best pictures from their earlier photo session. :) Though I may want to tweak the placement later...eh, we'll see what happens.

And with that, it was time for the gang to head home! Where, fortunately, there was no more Blizzard -- OR Clement Frost waiting to bug them. Victor Scruberooed himself and then Transportalated up to bed, while Alice let out a Somber Howl to lower her Fury and then sped up to bed. Smiler, meanwhile, flew up to their room to study the latest trends, then hyped and released their "Let's Play Sim Scuffle" video to take advantage of a burst of interest in video games. I hung up my other favorite picture of the trio in front of their store beside their room, then had them breed their frogs to make a new plasma pack --

And instead got a Leopard Frog, one Smiler didn't have yet! So I had them head up to the attic to put that in the collection. :) Now they just need a plain Heart frog, a plain Eggplant frog, and the Whirly variation on the Dirt frog to complete their collection! Nice!

And so this update ends with Smiler singing to themselves in the attic, Victor and Alice sound asleep in their bed, and everyone having had a successful TV Premiere and a pretty successful first opening of their store. Next time -- we have a PROPER grand opening, with a lot less bullshit. XD See you then!

[marlowe1-blog]

The Book of Job, chapters 4-5

Eliphaz the Temanite is a stupid C-nt

Before fullying analyzing these two chapters where Eliphaz ventures to argue with his friend Job about Job's really dark viewpoint, the quote that really gets me is "See how happy is the man whom G-d reproves, Do not reject the discipline of the Almighty" which is something that you can sew into a pillow and give to Grandma and it sounds nice. (5: 17-18 if you really want to do that) but the fact that it comes from the Book of Job should tell you that it's a perilous venture to quote it out of context.

Actually quoting the Bible out of context is a bullshit exercise that people should fucking stop. But I guess I'm howling in the wind since they are calling Bible Thumpers, not Bible Readers.

This is actually a shitty thing to say to anyone. If someone is relatively happy and their life is going well, then you are basically saying that they aren't truly happy until their wife leaves them and they lose their job. But to say it to someone going throught trauma? Fuck you. It's the ancient equivalent of "G-d doesn't give you more than you can handle" or "Everything happens for a reason". It's a stupid fucking thing to say to anyone who is going through a rough patch.

It's fucking evil to say it to a guy whose children just died as he lost all of his money and his health is failing. So that's Eliphaz in a nutshell. Eliphaz is all full of cute little aphorisms and well meaning phrases that help no one but Eliphaz. He sure feels better about himself.

So let's review Eliphaz's rejoinder to Job anger over being born (and over the Leviahan not being let loose to prevent such a horrible moment in his life).

Chapter 4 (remember these are Christian standards but sometimes the Christians can make things easier) starts with Eliphaz claiming that he's reluctant to talk but then upbraids Job for being so helpful to other people in their suffering and now that Job is suffering he's inconsolable? This is rather dickish, but Eliphaz isn't your standard "well I guess all of your comforting words don't work" jerk. He's actually trying to get Job to summon all the strength that Job doesn't have and then goes "what innocent man has ever perished?" which seems perilously close to the Christian beliefs that we are all damned and wicked and awful. He then talks about lions being humbled and what comes around goes around.

So he's saying that Job is somehow guilty.

The rest of the chapter seems like the Christian doctrine where Eliphaz claims to have heard a word, a rumor, something on the wind that told him that no one really measurs up to G-d so of course everyone dies.

The fifth chapter is a ramping up of this belief. Vexation kills a fool. Eliphaz once saw a fool and cursed him. Also foolishness and mischief are man made. And why is Job so smug as to want to judge God who makes rains and saves the needy.

Which brings us back to the shitty quote where Eliphaz says that G-d is justly punishing him and that this is a good thing. Then Eliphaz promises that G-d will make certain that Job is protected. He will save you from the sword; he will protect you from famine and you'll be old and happy.

Just like G-d did with Job's sons. You stupid fuck.

Note that Eliphaz is hitting on the ultimate speech of G-d about how much G-d has to do and how little Job gets of it, but then Eliphaz goes and says that Job deserved and it and that it's cool because that's just punishment and now G-d will totally make things right for Job.

Fuck you Eliphaz.

[jonathanvik]

Krisis - Chapter 6

“Huh?” Rocke blinked as he stood up from his thin, bare mattress. Total darkness had enveloped him, making him fear he’d gone blind for a second. But as his eyes adjusted, vague shapes outlined themselves.

“Is the power out?” Even when the facility’s lights dimmed for nighttime, they still provided ample illumination to see. Now, not even the emergency lights were working. What was going on?

In the darkness, other prisoners muttered to themselves, just as confused as Rocke. Guards were cursing and chatting amongst themselves about what they should do next.

“Hey, Rocke,” Stern whispered from the next cell. “What do you think is happening?”

“Not sure,” Rocke replied. 

A spark of hope flared in his heart. Had someone attacked the facility? Did that mean rescue was close? Rocke found no other reasonable explanation for the bizarre power loss. He sent a silent prayer to the Sovereign that this was true. It had become Rocke’s habit to pray whenever his emotions became turbulent, or he got depressed. It offered him solace during the rough hours.

With tentative steps, he approached the cell door. It creaked as he pushed against it, but refused to budge. His hands wandered over the locking mechanism, but found it too difficult to move. Oh well, it had been a desperate hope. He’d need something like a crowbar to force the door open.

Someone howled a bestial roar. Metal squealed as a tremendous force pushed against it. What the heck was that? In the dark, Rocke saw a ragged figure in a nearby cell push against his door with incredible force. The squealing became louder as the door succumbed to the man’s impossible strength and determination. With a snap, the lock broke, and the cell door swung open.

“Huh?!” Wasn’t that Nitao’s cell? How did the Konquellian do that? “Hey, um, mind helping a guy out?” And Rocke wasn’t the only prisoner to ask for assistance.

“Hey, get back into your cell, Konquellian trash!” a guard yelled, baton raised. It didn’t flare to life with electricity, so Rocke guessed it wasn’t working either. Were not even the guard robots working?

The poor guy didn’t last long against Nitao’s fury, the bars of Rocke’s cell denting as the guard struck hard against it.

“Hey!” More guards rushed to assist, but Nitao had already fled, so they followed in hot pursuit.

“That was something.” So much for any escape attempt. Again, he tried replicating Nitao’s trick, but the door refused to budge. Defeated, but not surprised, Rocke sat on his bed, waiting for whatever would happen to happen. The rest lay in the Sovereign’s hands.

Minutes passed as Rocke waited in the dark, some prisoners were making a ruckus trying to make their own path to freedom. But their efforts were in vain, failing like Rocke had to free themselves. Then a commotion caught his attention, the sound of approaching footfalls, multiple ones. He strained his ears, hearing faint whispers. He gasped in shock, recognizing the voices.

“Over here,” Rocke whispered, his voice emphatic.

“There he is, Rocke!” Kallane said, rushing into view. Though blocky night-vision goggles blocked her face, he’d recognized her anywhere.

“You’re behind this?” Rocke asked, amazed. He’d hoped, but this was beyond anything he’d ever expected. 

“The Sovereign’s will, lad,” another familiar voice said, laughing.

“Matthias too? You’re all crazy!” But Rocke laughed with him. “What’s your plan to help me escape?”

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Dallas said, crowbar in hand. With a grunt, the door squealed open.

“This is easier than I expected.” Behind her goggles, Kallane furrowed her brow. “Where are the guards? They can’t all be sleeping!”

“I’ll explain later,” Around him, other prisoners pleaded for their freedom. Rocke sympathized with them, but they lacked the time to free everyone. He imagined it wouldn’t take long to restore power.

In the darkness, Rocke’s eyes met Stern’s. “Best leave, lad. I’ll be fine. Heck, it might look better for me if I stayed instead of escaping.”

“If you’re sure,” Rocke said reluctantly.

“Positive. Get going. I doubt Nitao’s distraction will last long,” Stern said.

“Okay.” Though it pained him, Rocke respected Stern’s decision. Besides, the police were only holding Stern for a minor charge. He’d get out soon enough. “When they release you, flee the city. Maybe even the country. Things will get bad soon.” Huh? Why had he said that? But Stern gave a nod of understanding.

“This way!” A man Rocke didn’t recognize called. In his hand was a tablet, its screen faintly glowing. “This should be the quickest way out.”

“Gah!” Rocke grimaced as his shin struck the edge of a table. Cloaked in darkness, he hadn’t seen it. “Hey, give me one of those night-vision goggles. I can’t see anything!”

“Sorry, Rocke, but we could only procure four of them. Just bear it with it,” Kallane said sheepishly.

“Wonderful,” Rocke said, annoyed, dodging around another table. They’d entered a guard station, the gate wide open. Even in the dark, Rocke could tell that someone had forced open the gate. Two guards sat slumped against a wall, their breathing steady as they lay there unconscious. “How far is the exit?”

“We’re pretty deep inside, but not far,” Kallane replied. “Stay close. This building is maze-like.”

“Hey, another prisoner has escaped!” Rocke heard from where they’d come. With rushed steps, they moved forward before someone noticed them.

They tried to move quickly and silently, but Rocke’s lack of clear vision caused him to stumble into his allies more than once. The outside wasn’t any brighter, a murky fog was visible through the windows.

“This way!” The man who called himself Jamar said. “There’s a fire exit down this hallway.”

“Home free, perfect!” Kallane said, beaming.

As if to mock her words, a large figure moved to block their path. In the dim light of a light wand, a familiar, bulky figure stood before them. From his smile, Police Chief Rolf seemed pleased with himself. Behind him stood six officers, each wearing a malevolent grin. 

“You’re mighty resourceful. I’ll give you that,” Rolf said. “But you’re mistaken if you think you and your Demon buddies are leaving this building in one piece, Daliven.”

“I do what I must,” the prophet replied. “We protect our own. I won’t let this boy suffer for my sake.”

“Guts. I rather like that about you, holy man, but foolish. Still, I’m an understanding man,” Rolf replied. “Surrender now? You’re locked up with a broken jaw. Resist, and you’re leaving as a corpse.” 

The officers behind the police chief raised gleaming metal objects, but they were unlike any laser weapon Rocke had ever seen before. Was it some sort of weapon that worked without power?

“Well, you’re not getting him!” Kallane shouted back, ignoring the threats. “How about coming and getting him, eh?”

“That’s not helping.” His friend had thrown oil on an already volatile situation. Why must that woman be so hotheaded?

“You know our answer,” Matthias said, his voice firm.

This earned an unpleasant smile from Rolf that froze Rocke’s blood cold. “Get them, boys. Be none too gentle. Shoot to kill if necessary.”

“Scatter, now! Keep low,” Matthias said, words frantic.

Rocke did as instructed, ducking into a nearby alcove. A loud sound made him flinch, a crack echoing through the empty hallways. What was that? From the lack of any pained screams, nobody had gotten hit.

“What was that, Larks! You missed that big guy completely!” Rolf admonished.

“Sorry, sir. I wasn’t ready for the recoil!” an officer said. More weapons fired, almost deafening Rocke. 

“This way!” Kallane dragged him away by the collar. Without night-vision goggles, Rocke was running blind and allowed the Ottoman woman to guide him behind a corner. Steps pursued them, an officer raising his baton to bash Rocke senseless. But the massive Dallas clotheslined their attacker with his muscular arms, hurling them painfully to the tiled floor.

“If you want them, you’ll need to get past me,” Dallas said, arms crossed.

“You!” Another officer raised his weapon to fire, but a body was hurled into him and the pair collapsed in a heap. Rocke marveled at how strong the Ottoman man was. He’d lifted the fallen officer with one arm.

The other officers engaged, but Jamar struck out with a palm, hitting one in the chin. Another pulled out his gun. There was the now familiar cracking sound but the projectile struck a wall harmlessly as Jamar jerked the officer’s arm to the side. A skull to the nose drove the man to his knees before getting knocked unconscious by a following kick.

“These guys are just bullies. They don’t know how to fight,” the skeletal man said, pleased.

But Rolf, who’d been watching the exchange, only snorted. “You’ve got some fight in you! Good.” The big man cracked his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders. “It’s been a while since I’ve cut loose.” The police chief didn’t bother with a gun or even a baton—he engaged the two Ottomans with only his fists.

Despite being outnumbered, Rolf matched the two combatants easily. While Dallas was huge, the police chief was even larger. The pair wrestled, but Rolf easily overpowered him. The police chief threw Dallas against a pillar, cracking it and dazing the large man. Jamar launched himself at the cop, attempting to disable his opponent with debilitating palm strikes, but Rolf was swift on his feet.

What should have struck a vulnerable point hit Rolf’s hard abs instead, deflecting the blow with ease. Jamar howled in pain as Rolf drove a knee into his chest, knocking the air out of him. Another kick took the man out of the fight entirely, rendering him unconscious.

“Holy!” Rolf really knew how to fight! Rocke watched helplessly as Dallas got the stuffing kicked out of him.

“We have to get out of here!” Kallane pulled at his prison jumper, her tone urgent.

“But—!” Rocke hesitated, not wanting to abandon the ones who’d risked their lives to help him.

“I’m afraid we have no choice, lad,” Matthias said, his tone grim.

“My mom’s distraction won’t last forever,” Kallane added, more insistent. “She’s keeping the other police busy, but someone’s bound to come soon.”

“Damn it.” Rocke cursed, but couldn’t argue against that. He allowed his friends to guide him toward the exit, a pang of guilt turning his stomach. He hadn’t known Dallas or Jamar for long, but they were brave men.

Rocke jerked back as Dallas almost collided with him, barely missing by a hair. The big man was bruised, bloody, and barely conscious.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” As if to punctuate the police chief’s words the lights flashed on. Rocke flinched, his eyes too accustomed to the darkness.

“Oh crap!” Kallane cursed, throwing away her night vision goggles. 

“Perfect,” Rolf said, pleased. “As usual, Halkken gets the job done. Let’s hope it’s as easy to restore the guard robots to full function.”

“Sovereign preserve us!” Rocke muttered. 

“No, we haven’t lost yet,” Matthias said, his resolve hardening. “Run, run for all it’s worth.”

Despite the hopelessness of the situation, something in the old prophet’s voice pushed Rocke forward. He took off at a full sprint, letting his feet guide him.

“Still fighting, eh?” Rolf said, more amused than worried. He motioned to give chase, but Dallas tackled him from behind. The big Ottoman hasn’t lost yet. Rocke didn’t wait to see the contest’s result, taking a right turn at full speed.

“Here!” Kallane pointed at a door labeled “Fire Escape.” It warned that opening it would trigger an alarm, but that was the least of their concerns. Rocke charged into the door, hand ready to press the release handle.

Pain rippled through his shoulder as he collided with the door, wincing as two other bodies crashed into him.

“What gives?” Rocke pushed against the door release again, but it refused to budge. Was it stuck?

“Foolish, so foolish!” a smug voice said, amused by their failure. “Did you really think I’d let you escape so easily?”

“Hey, open this door!” Rocke pushed against it with all his strength, but it refused to budge. Kallane and Matthias threw in their weight, but it still refused to yield.

“Go ahead! Push harder. It still won’t work!” A screen floated above them, showing a rather smug Phú. “I control all the doors. Pity for you. That’s what you get, criminal scum.”

“Come on!” Escape was so close!

“In this station, I’m God! Decider of life and death. Remember what I told you?” Phú said, her tone nasty and vengeful. “The guard robots should arrive in about thirty-three seconds. Chief Rolf will be upset about all the bloodstains, but oh well! Still, if you abandon your silly, made-up god and worship me, I might show you mercy.”

Terror spiked through Rocke’s spine as the guard robots came into view. Their bodies gleamed black like midnight, their arms decked out with the latest destructive weaponry. A singular, cold red eye gazed upon them, cold and ruthless.

Phú laughed, pausing her attack robots so she could savor her victims’ helplessness. Her smile turned devilish as she grinned. “Open fire!”

Rocke winced as a red bolt flew past his scalp, singing his hair. He ducked, barely avoiding getting blasted to pieces. Desperate, he rushed toward a nearby hallway, but pain reverberated through his body as a guard robot intercepted him with impossible speed. It towered over him, and fear spiked through his spine as it aimed its weapon at his forehead.

“Rocke!” Kallane swung a wild fist at the nearest guard robot, but it dodged with contemptuous ease. The Ottoman woman howled in pain as a bolt struck her in the chest. She collapsed to the ground, her breathing labored. The robot shot another bolt into her chest for good measure, leaving her body deathly still.

“Huh, so that’s what two full-power stun bolts do to a person! Good to know!” Phú said cheerfully.

“That wasn’t necessary,” Matthias said, seething with righteous fury. Somehow, he’d avoided the sporadic laser fire. “You have us beat.”

“I don’t like people like you.” Phú said, her voice cold. “You tell the public we’re wrong, that the state doesn’t know what’s best for them. I plan on showing everyone how weak and pointless you all are. The Sovereign can’t protect anyone—only we can. Have fun, my pets.”

“Matthias!” Rocke watched in helpless fury as a guard robot decked his friend across the face with a metal fist. It didn’t stop there, beating him senseless. Phú watched with glee, delighting in her victim’s helplessness. Rocke wanted to stop the madness, but the guard robot’s weapon made it clear he’d suffer Kallane’s fate if he tried anything.

“You’re wrong,” Matthias said, spitting out blood. He sported a nasty bruise across his face, one eye swollen shut. “You? A goddess? Don’t make me laugh. You’re an instrument of cruelty. You say you fight to protect people? Then why is it no one feels safe around you?”

“Shut up. I won’t let a dead man lecture me,” Phú replied. She had her guard robots shoot multiple rounds of high-powered stun bolts into the prophet. They swiveled away from him, caring little if he lived or died.

“And now you, Rocke. The main course,” Phú said, her synthesized smile unpleasant. “How should I punish you?”

A pit dropped in Rocke’s stomach as the guard robots focused their attention on him. Despite their lack of faces, they seemed to smile with malevolent glee. Ignoring the weapons pointed at him, Rocke stood tall and glared at his tormentors. If he was about to die, he refused to beg for his life.

This only elicited an eye roll from the AI. “Humans. Whatever, just finish him—I don’t care anymore.”

Energy gathered in the guard robots’ blasters, but Rocke stood his ground, bracing himself for whatever agony awaited him.

Before they could strike, a movement caught Rocke’s attention. It was his only warning, and Rocke ducked, covering his head. Glass shattered as bullets tore through the robots’ eye stalks. Having lost their vision, the guard robots fired their lasers wildly. Rocke winced as one shot flew past his ear.

“Hey! Calm down!” Phú shouted, annoyed. “Fire that way!”

But before the robots could regroup, their rescuer charged into the fray, howling like a banshee. Nitao’s eyes gleamed as he entered the battle, eager to engage. Unlike Rolf’s men, the Konquellian knew how to handle an old-fashioned gun with expert precision. The robots tried firing back, back Nitao was quicker. Several shots to the chest units disabled their functionality as Nitao scored hit after hit. In a matter of seconds, two were already heaps of scrap metal.

“You idiots! Fight better!” Phú’s protests were in vain as her forces were decimated. “You’re not getting away with this!”

Nitao ignored her threats and, with a powerful kick, broke down the armored fire door. Rocke stared, marveling at the Konquellian’s strength.

“You’d better hurry. They’ll have reinforcements soon,” Nitao said, speaking for the first time. His voice was rough, like he was unused to speaking. He gestured to the open door before disappearing outside.

Phú continued to hurl insults and threats, her language foul enough to make Rocke’s ears burn.

He ignored the AI and helped Kallane to her feet. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Kallane said, clutching her chest but appearing capable of standing. The prophet, however, was in terrible shape. It took the two of them to carry him outside to whatever fate awaited them in the world beyond.

[jammyreeds]

The Familiar | Leigh Bardugo: Book Log

Disclaimer: All of my thoughts are subjective. I am by no means a professional reviewer. You’re allowed to interact with this book however you like, and as long as you’re respectful I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Overall Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

I really really loved this book. It was sitting by my bed for weeks and I can’t even remember why I suddenly picked it up, but boy am I happy I did. I totally lucked out, this book hit all the sweet spots that I like in a story while still being original and interesting.

Other Ratings:

On Themes: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

Despite my lower rating here, I actually enjoyed the themes a lot! This book had a lot to do with Catholicism (and general religion), heritage, diaspora and poverty. I really appreciated how down and dirty Luzia got, I felt like Leigh Bardugo established the lowest of the low in the world and then took us lower which is always something I love to see in a book. The only reason I wouldn’t rate the themes 5/5 is because I felt very comfortable with what was being explored and didn’t necessarily learn anything about myself or the world that I didn’t already know. Of course that makes theme an entirely circumstantial experience, so this story could settle much differently with anyone else!

On Characters: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

I think what Leigh Bardugo did with the characters in the book was sooo genius. The characters really made this world for me, they all came alive. And I loved her take on each one’s twisted motivations, I felt that the really dark and evil things became understandable, which made them more chilling. I just think Bardugo is a genius at writing the morally grey character, which is to say—everyone in this story. It’s great, I loved it, I think it made the happy things that transpired all the sweeter because the goodness was a choice, and the terrible things all the scarier because the cruelty was a choice.

On Romance: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Obsessed with the romance. It felt destined, but not blind. It was devotion and it was trust and it was scary!! But comforting all the same and yeah it was HOT ok? Great slow burn and didn’t leave me wanting for anything at the end…it was perfect. Chef’s kiss. Magnifique.

On Historical Accuracy: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

I went into this book knowing virtually nothing about Spain, so I’m the furthest from an expert you could find. From what I gathered searching things up as I read it seems like Bardugo did a good amount of research into appropriate clothing, etiquette, and conduct of the time. It is noted in the back of the book that there are some intentional discrepancies in historical events and the dates they happened, which was done to create urgency for the main ensemble of characters. Those inaccuracies worked fine for me, but again, I had next to nothing to go off of! I think the only thing in this book that itched me was that the dialogue was more open and blunt than would have been appropriate at the time? The characters speak plainly very often, but i think that was maybe a choice to make the text more accessible? It didn’t feel like badass no-bullshit dialogue—which is what really would have made me mad—but I did sometimes want for more subtext or illusion in their conversations.

In Summary:

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

Would I reread this book? Yes.

Some other things I love that this book reminded me of at times: Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: the Broadway Musical (or just the movie, if you like), Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, Wasteland, Baby! (album) by Hozier (particularly No Plan, As It Was, Shrike, Would That I and Wasteland, Baby! + bonus NFWMB), The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern and The Grimm Brother’s Cinderella.