#i get launched back to my anime monster days

[rosebloodcat]

Ever think randomly about a fandom you saw go by on you’re dash months ago then decide to look it up to see what it was even about?

And then get immediately sucked in despite still only vaguely knowing the actual story of the whole thing bc

Lookit them. They are just lil Guys. Who may be a bit Fucked Up:tm:

[spacelazarwolf]

apparently a bunch of ppl on social media are trying to call for a boycott of rick riordan because of this statement in a blog post:

Becky and I are just back from a busy weekend with events at the Boston Book Festival and New York Comic-Con.

Before I get into that, however, some words to acknowledge the ongoing horrors in Israel and Gaza. As many of you may know, I am no longer on social media. My accounts post only updates on my books and related projects. I do not read posts, reply to posts, or share my thoughts about world events on those forums. That doesn’t mean I don’t have strong feelings and reactions. It means I am offline as completely as possible, except for the occasional blog post like this one.

I will say this: Over the last eighteen years, I have received many fan letters from young readers, both Israeli and Palestinian, who often told me that my books helped them escape the fear, grief and anxiety they were dealing with at the time. Some had lost family members to violence. Some were writing while in the distance they could hear explosions, gunfire, and the launching of rockets. They used my books as a way to escape into another world, where the monsters were fictional, and where demigods usually saved the day. While I am always glad that my books can help young readers find joy during difficult times, my heart breaks every time I hear about the things they have to deal with. I am grief-stricken by the horrific events now unfolding, especially because I know that they are part of a long historic pattern that has been robbing too many children of their childhood and perpetuating hatred for far too long.

I am also quite aware that when anyone, myself included, tries to speak about this issue, the reader is waiting to pounce, thinking, “Yes, but whose side are you on?” That is exactly the wrong question. If there are two sides to this issue, those sides are not Palestinian/Israeli or Muslim/Jewish. The two sides are humanitarian and dehumanizing. Dehumanizing has a long evil history. It is appealing and easy to buy into, because humans are tribal animals. We are hardwired to think in terms of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’ We are the real humans, the good guys, the ones with God on our side. Those other people are evil monsters who don’t deserve empathy. Hate mongers have thrived on dehumanizing for as long as there have been humans. It provides them with a purpose, a way to rally support, power, and scapegoats. It is easy to point to atrocities committed by our enemies, while justifying or minimizing the atrocities committed by ourselves or our allies.

Humanitarianism is a much harder sell. It requires us to empathize, to see other groups of people as equally deserving of dignity and quality of life. It requires not always putting ourselves and our needs first. But in the long run, humanitarianism is our only hope. If violence could end violence, if we could put an end to “those other people” once and for all, human history would read very differently than it does.

So yes, I am appalled by the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians. I am appalled by the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Both things can be true. Both things must be true. My thoughts are with all the people who have died, who have lost loved ones, who have had their worlds and their lives shattered, especially the children. More death and violence will not break this cycle, which has been going on for generations. There is no military solution. Even since I first wrote the post, only twenty-four hours ago, the Israeli government’s brutal retaliation against the entire population of Gaza has reached genocidal proportions. This is not only an atrocity. It is folly. Answering misery with misery only creates more fertile ground for extremism, dehumanizing the “other side,” letting hate mongers thrive, stay in power, and reduce us all to our most monstrous impulses. The only real solution is treating each other like equally worthy human beings, and negotiating a peace that allows all parties a chance to live in security and dignity, with hopes for a future that does not include bombs and rockets and gunfire. This means security and support for Israel, yes. It also means a secure Palestine which is allowed to get the international aid and recognition it needs to build a viable state.

Do I think that will happen? Unfortunately, no. Humans are simply too selfish, too ready to blame “the other” for all their problems, too ready to dehumanize, though I also believe, perhaps paradoxically, that most people just want to live their lives in peace and have a chance for their children to have a brighter future. The problem is when we don’t allow other people to have those same hopes and dreams — when it becomes a false choice of us versus them.

What can I do? I will continue to write books that I hope will give young readers some joy. I will resist the urge to demonize entire groups of people. I will call for less violence, not more violence. And when asked whose side I am on, I will tell you I am on the side of humanitarianism.

So with that said, I return to the world of books . . .

honestly, if you have a problem with this statement, it’s probably because he’s talking about you. this is exactly what legitimate activists (as in not just random westerners who share social media posts but on-the-ground activists who are doing real work) have been saying for decades. and i think all this really speaks to just how disconnected a lot of westerners who claim to be pro palestinian are from those activists.

if you can’t read a statement that says “i am on the side of humanitarianism and less violence” without immediately jumping to cancel them, you are the problem being discussed in the above statement.

[thinkingotherwise]

Hello! I’m really into windbreaker rn and I can’t find a lot of writers that write about them, and I found your acc and fell in love with your writing! I was hoping if you’re able to write a cute story of kaji ren x reader - like childhood friends to confessing —- she knows about his irrational side but doesn’t mind and when he goes to that mindset, she knows how to calm him down and just ahhhh cute stuff ensues :3! Please and thank you! <3

Thank you so much, I really like writing confession stuff, because there are so many ways it can go.

I need the kitty rescuer to rescue my heart from all the pretty animated characters 😻

Ren Kaji and his unconventional confession

I took some liberty in choosing the song 🫣

Ren felt strange around you. It wasn't bad, in any way, it was just shocking how relaxed and calm he could feel when you were near. He was scared about hurting you, always had and always will be. Yet, somehow your presence in itself calmed him down. No matter how angry he got, you were his remedy.

The both of you found out about it even before getting to know each other. Soon enough you learned that your touch and soothing voice were all it took to bring him back from his monster side. You just had that something that brought relief to Ren, and the fact that you didn't need to use any power was shocking for his and your friends.

As soon as he met you, he knew he had to keep you close, as his friend. And you were happy to befriend him making him one of your longest childhood friends, someone very special.

Kaji first saw you, or more like heard you, after he beat up some kids, that were bullying him. His eyes were darkened and fist tightened even after the fight. It was something that always happened after his monster side took over. He couldn't do anything just letting lose the anger that did whatever it wanted. He was frantically looking around trying to find another target to beat up when he noticed someone similar in his age walking slightly away.

Immediately he got ready to attack and launch at you but something stopped him. His head tilted curiously hearing quiet voices coming out of your mouth. Your hums were out of whatever tune you recalled in your mind but they were continuous, and they were grounding. Making Kaji slowly come back from his monster side. His eyes widened when he came to and noticed that it wasn't because of Hiiragi knocking him out. He turned around searching for something that helped him when his ears caught your humming intertwined with some words that fell out of your mouth.

The moment a thought that it's because of you crossed his mind he was set on you following behind you, at what he thought enough of a distance to hide.

That day he "walked" you home for the first time, it became his routine, hoping to get to know more about you. You weren't all that unaware of the boy that walked you home. First a little scared he wanted to do something to you but when you recognized him as one of the boys from your school, you thought maybe he wanted to be friends.

When you noticed that he, once again, walked behind, you entered one of the corner stores and bought some snacks. With two packages in hand you left and looked around searching for the boy. You caught a sight of his hair peaking from behind the corner and bounced to him.

Kaji saw you and his eyes moved frantically away not to seem suspicious but when you shoved the milk bread towards his chest he looked at you shocked.

Since that day you became friends and when he told you about his secret you still accepted him.

The little group of friends Kaji had quickly acknowledged you as a part of their little group. Hiiragi, additionally, felt confident in you and he thought of you as someone trustworthy to take care of his younger friend.

Now that you were in high school, it was enough that you showed up and calmly talked to him and he would relax. His face reddening when you would additionally caress his hair to help him come back.

Ren was even more afraid of hurting you, with the time passing and the friendship between you deepening. He just couldn't handle you getting hurt. Not wanting to chance your, till that day, sure ability to bring him back.

He also hated that he couldn't control himself that was why even if you were his remedy he didn't want to use this side of him.

Thinking about all the time you spend together, Ren thought about being something more but was scared until that one day.

Even though he was mostly silent and deadly you knew him as someone who liked to share songs or lyrics that make him think about you. That was what he told you when you once asked him about the choice of songs.

Knowing you liked it he thought of a plan to tell you about his long standing feeling and possibly asking you out on the date he had dreamed of several times.

Why he did that while being in Furin School? He didn't know but when his finger pressed send he became anxious patiently waiting for your response.

Seeing that Ren wrote to you, you clicked on the link attached in his message and as usual a song played from your phone starting from the middle.

"I got a new song"

But this time it was slightly different song choice.

All I ever think about is you

You've got my hypnotized

So mesmerized

And I just got to know

Do you ever think, when you're all alone

All that we could be, where this thing could go?

Am I crazy or falling in love?

Is it real or just another crush?

Do you catch your breath when I look at you?

Are you holding back, like the way I do?

'Cause I've tried and tried to walk away

But I know this crush ain't goin' away, yeah, yeah, yeah

You stood frozen for a moment thinking if we mistook the song he wanted to send or was it a prank but there was no further text from him.

Ren watched as the text bubble appered, as you were writing back. He was all nervous not knowing if his plan would work and if you'd understand what he wanted to say. Then the bubble disappeared and his hands tightened around the phone. Then they appeared - a hope, only to disappear soon after.

Then for a several next minutes nothing. No text, no call, nothing. He started to worry if you were alright, maybe something happened when you were walking and replying to him, or maybe you didn't want to be his friend anymore.

Soon his phone pinged and the text he received made him stand up quickly, shocking his classmates who for the past half an hour watched their grade captain having a crisis. Ren almost tripped moving away from his chair and running out of the classroom. His classmates running behind him scared that he got some bad news.

On the other hand, you ran all the way to Bofurin huffing and gasping for air from exhaustion. Bending down to catch your brath you sent Ren a short message: "I'm outside."

Soon enough he ran out of the school and noticing you he quickly joined your side.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

"Is it for real? Or did you sent it on accident?" You questioned him your words cut at the lack breath you felt.

He bite his lip down his gaze moved past you as he nervously wondered what to tell you. After calming down as much as you could you strightened up and looked at him. His face was red and when his eyes met yours he narrowed them before saying.

"Yes, I've liked you for a while. And I'd like to ask you out for a date?" His voice wavered slightly but seeing the wide grin appearing on your face made him relieved.

"I like you too and of course I'll go on a date with you. I'm so happy right now." You said enthusiastically and he nodded at your words.

Ren felt just as joyful as you, knowing you reciprocated his feelings. Everything seemed too perfect and soon he knew why.

"Are you dating already?!" The both of you heard a loud yell comming from the rooftop.

You turned together to check who was that only to see the whole second Tohman grade at the main doors, as well as, Hiiragi and Umemiya standing on the roof and watching. The latter was the one yelling and waving happily.

Ren grabbed your hand and pulled you after him behind the brick fence so that noone could see you.

He was excited over what happened but also embarrassed and you grabbed his hands in encouragement. He entangled his fingers with your before leaning in.

His lips softly touched yours leaving a warmth behind, as he slowly pulled away but not too far.

"I'll do this properly during our date." He muttered, his forehead against yours as he smiled at you before embracing tightly.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Playable Monster Popularity Contest

Alright the Kickstarter is launching on April 10th which at the time of writing this is in 2 days. The Kickstarter trailer for Eureka is going to be uploaded tonight or tomorrow, but it is still my job to do as much promotion as possible even though I am worried I might be running out of ideas. I still gotta post.

Let’s just have a Eureka playable monster popularity contest.

The vampire is not exactly your 20th and 21st century Hollywood vampire. They dont have super speed, don’t hypnotise people or make them thralls, and don’t instantly die when exposed to sunlight—though they are significantly weakened by it. The Vampire in Eureka is more of a 19th century and earlier folkloric vampire, with all the powers and weaknesses that come with that, including a compulsion to count things, an inability to enter homes uninvited, turning into a bat or other creatures, walking on sheer walls, etc. The vampire has almost no way of restoring their Composure except by drinking human blood, which means they will need to go on the prowl pretty often. Luckily, they never need to eat or sleep. They are also super strong, super stealthy, and resistant to all forms of physical damage—and they can only be killed permanently by ritual means.

The wolfman shares a lot of features with the vampire, such as super strength and resistance to all physical damage, and this is because they are a Hollywood wolfman. They can regain a little Composure through normal means, but if it ever runs out, they will transform involuntarily and go berserk. This is one of my favorite things about them honestly, and I can’t wait to see it actually happen in play. They’ll also involuntarily transform if they are exposed to the full moon, but that’s a lot more situational.

The witch is up next, and for all intents and purposes, they are pretty much a normal human, except for the ability to command curses and a variety of powerful spells. These curses can render victims violently ill, put them to sleep, turn them to stone, turn them into an animal, or reduce them in size. While witches can restore their Composure just as well as a mundane human, they can also do it by eating people, and the Composure drain of using their supernatural powers is much faster and harsher than any other monster. Oh, and one of my favorite things is that they can ride around on a broomstick or other flying vehicle.

The fairy is shares the ability to cast the same curses as the witch, and, optionally, the same spells, but they are also supernaturally charming, with a few other abilities unique to them. They cannot tell lies, but they can sure steal people’s names and other aspects of their identities, and/or spirit them away to the fairy world. Another interesting thing about them is that their Wealth skill gets a boost from being a fairy, and unlike anyone else, their Wealth skill can actually be capped by Composure just like any other skill.

Then finally the Thing from Beyond, which I will be abbreviating to TFB for the rest of this paragraph. The TFB is the most unique monster in the lineup, a large flat blanket of skin and teeth that can fold up into a human shape to interact with society. They can change the color, shape, and texture of their skin to mimic anyone they’ve studied long enough, right down to the outfit. Unlike other monsters, who get their Composure back one bit and victim at a time, TFBs engulf one person whole and slowly digest them over the course of a week, recovering 1 point of Composure each day. They can even have a body inside their human-shaped disguise and you wouldn’t even notice!

You can find out a lot more about these creatures and their powers by downloading the free Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy demo from our website and going to Chapter 8!

The vampire is really strong in combat and stealth, with a lot of powers to draw from, but is handicapped by far the most weaknesses.

The wolfman is a good combat powerhouse that isn’t quite a strong as the vampire in most cases, but doesn’t have to deal with as many weaknesses. Watch out though, if things get too intense, they could completely lose control of themselves and end up eating someone they weren’t supposed to!

The fairy is more a “face” character, with more tools at their disposal for convincing people to cooperate with them than ability to use force, though curses do definitely fall under “use of force”, I suppose.

The witch is just a good all-rounder, with something for every situation, though it might not always be the *best* something.

The TFB is very good for stealth as well, but a different kind of stealth. The vampire is good for a more Solid Snake or Sam Fisher kind of stealth, while the TFB is more Agent 47’s style of stealth.

There’s also two honorable mentions I’d like to include because they’re Kickstarter stretch goals and thus not really fully fleshed out yet.

The dullahan is a headless specter from Irish folklore that feeds on death. We haven’t really figured out exactly how to make this work mechanically yet, but that’s because we haven’t hit that stretch goal yet.

The gorgon is the last written stretch goal, and maybe the one I’m most excited for. They turn people to stone by looking them in the eye, and this is such an awesome blessing and curse to work around during gameplay that I really really want the excuse to implement it. They also may eat have snakes in their hair up to player choice, and eat people whole with mechanics sorta similar the way the TFB works, we aren’t quite sure because until we hit those stretch goals they just exist as a bunch of scattered notes and ideas. I gotta count on y’all to make sure we hit those stretch goals.

There is also a potential for the option to play a talking dog or a living doll, which will also be stretch goals if we can swing it.

Remember also, all of these will be playable as PCs, so they could be your enemy, or your ally.

Now that aaalllll that is out of the way..

Now, if you really want to support me and my team specifically Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, our debut TTRPG, is going to launch on Kickstarter on April 10th and we need all the help we can get. Set a reminder from the Kickstarter page through this link.

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, there’s plenty of ways to get one!

Subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

Donate to our ko-fi and send us an email with proof that you did, and we’ll email you back with the full Eureka prerelease package with the most updated version at the time of responding! (The email address can be found if you scroll down to the bottom of our website.)

We also have merchanise.

[lukabitch]

👋hope you're having a good day?

I was wondering if I could request a batfam x batbro (like maybe he's around 16-18) and something happened on patrol maybe attacked by a strange large dog? or gets injected with something by a villain of your choice? And the symptoms are intense like high fever, sense of smell becoming super sensitive along with hearing where they feel like eardrums are going to burst. When things seem like they settled other things have come to the surface eyes have changed color, easily irritated, wolfish like canines that grow larger and oh boy the inhuman strength. Reader feels like they're a monster, that he's a danger. He doesn't understand what's going on. Maybe he runs away to keep the people closest to them safe. (That is if you right for werewolf's that'd be awesome)

This is my first time writing for a werewolf reader. If I get anything wrong I’m sorry. Thank you so much for the request Anon! :)

Cw: Angst, descriptions of pain, lots of wholesome stuff, more based off of wfa.

—————————————————

It was a normal night doing a solo patrol. You actually liked nights like these. The city is quiet and still, it almost makes you wish it was like this more. “(H/n) there’s been reports of strange activities at the nearby warehouse.” Oracle came over the comms. “Really trying to give me something to do? Okay, I’m on it.”

Turning off comms, you made your way to the warehouse. It was abandoned, just left to rot away. It could be a potential hide out for a gang. You entered through a side entrance and looked around the empty building.

In the center of the building was a nest of some sort. It was made of dead branches and scraps of metal. You sighed and turned comms back on. “Looks like a home for some animal. More of a job for an animal catcher.”

“Might as well do it. You’re not doing anything.” You and Oracle laughed together. A loud bang rang out towards the back of the warehouse. It was silent after, a sinking feeling of dread washed over. You looked in the direction of the bang and slowly walked towards it.

Suddenly, an abnormally large dog launched out of the shadows. It bit down on your arm, causing blood to spill. You kicked the dog off and watched it run off into the darkness. Panting, you looked at your now shredded arm.

“I need to head back to the cave. I’m losing a lot of blood Babs.” Your mind was already getting fuzzy. You could barely walk let alone run. This was extremely unusual for just a bite.

You fell to the ground, an overwhelming fatigue taking over your body. Right before you passed out someone ran inside calling your name. Their yelling and footsteps felt so distant as your eyes closed.

When you woke up your entire body aches. You tried to get a grasp on your surroundings. There was a nightstand with a note, pills, and a glass of water on it. Pulling yourself up you open the note and smiled. It was a note from Alfred telling you to take your medicine.

Listening to his wise words you took the pills. You tried to stand up but immediately fell back on the bed in pain. It felt like someone was bashing your head in. Apparently you made enough noise to concern someone.

Their footsteps running up the stairs sounds like bombs. You clamped your hands over your ears. The door flung open and in the doorway was Bruce. “Y/n are you okay?” Even though he spoke at a normal level it felt like he was screaming directly in your ears.

“Please be quiet. Just leave me be.” Your voice sounded so weak. Bruce without another word, left closing the door behind him. You sink back down into the bed. Pain and fatigue took over your body forcing you to go back to sleep.

Weeks had passed since then and things have only gotten more concerning. Your teeth were sharper, your temper was short, and your own strength was starting to scare you. You felt so wrong. The need to get away was overwhelming.

Everyone had taken notice of your changes. The worry and concern could be felt through every interaction. You just couldn’t take it anymore. You packed some of your things and left while no one was watching. You were back on the streets again.

It didn’t take long for the family to notice your absence. They were quick to start searching for you. They search for you all over Gotham. Until, eventually, Alfred finds you. It completely caught you off guard. "Master Y/n, there you are. The entire family is worried sick." He kept his cool as to not scare you off.

"They shouldn't worry, especially you." Your voice was a little rough but not too off. You watched as Alfred shook his head at you, he had a small smile on his face. Something about it was always a comfort to your strange life.

"You worry too much about others, maybe it's time to focus on taking care of yourself." He stated in such a 'matter of fact' way. Which, to his credit, wasn't wrong. He put a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "Tell me why you really left." The words hit you like a truck, maybe there was some underlining issues at play.

"It's just a lot of pressure is all. Protecting the innocent means no mistakes, no half measures. You have to be perfect and I'm not perfect like this." Your voice was as soft as it could be. Alfred let out a sigh before looking off at the sky.

"When Master Bruce was your age, he was filled with so much anger. He caused much trouble in his teenage years." He took a brief pause, probably trying to think of the right story. "One day I was informed by the school that Bruce had received a one week suspension. Of course it was for a fight, he didn't like how a kid was treating others. He said the kid deserved it." He cocked his head and smiled. "So I dragged him by the ear and gave him a lesson in temperance."

You laughed a little at this. "So, you dragged him to teach him a lesson in temperance? Sounds about right." All Alfred could do was laugh at your words.

"Well, he did learn to control his temper. You can learn to control this new power you have." He put his hand back on your shoulder, he made his point clear. "Come back home, for the family."

You thought about for a moment before sighing. "I'll come home but only for your cooking." The small joke made the both of you laugh lightly. The ride home was rather comforting in a strange way.

What you didn't expect however, was everyone bombarding you with affection and questions. Which was mainly Dick.

It felt nice to be back.

[ghoultrifle]

I know it’s a bit early but I really hope we get some fan fiction of phantom celebrating Halloween for the first time

Thank you anon! I took this and kinda combined it with @p1nkcanoe's post here because i adore the idea of the abbey descending into chaos for two months a year. Also big credit to @marsohthree for her Phantom Halloween thoughts!

Here's 1.8k words of Phantom's first Halloween! This is somewhat based on unmasked Phantom but that's just because i never celebrated Halloween as a kid so he's all i have to go off asfhajghaldgh. Stick around to the end for a cute photo of Barbie and Ken! (also this is my first non-smut story and i'm a bit rusty, sorry!)

Phantom was practically vibrating with excitement, yes it was only September 1st but he’d heard today was the start of something called ‘Spooky Season’. Some people (Swiss) called it ‘Spoopy Season’ but that was silly because spoopy isn’t a proper word and it doesn’t even mean scary! 

The clock struck midnight, signalling the end of Summer and the start of two months of ghoul-induced chaos, Phantom was loving it. By the time the sun rose on the first of September, the walls of the Abbey were already covered in spray-on cobwebs and the glass panes in the doors stained with a bone-chilling red. Phantom had been the one to source the blood, having recently learned how to hunt with Cumulus; he absolutely was not a natural and the blood covering the walls had sprayed from the new ghoul after he mistook his tail for a rabbit.

All the ghouls from different disciplines of the clergy, including the band ghouls, collaborated on turning the Abbey into a hellfest, literally. They tried to recreate the atmosphere of the pit, only in the ghoul’s quarters of course, they’re not monsters. The mixed quarters, common areas between humans and ghouls, were turned into more of a haunted house with your typical Halloween attractions and scares.

Phantom couldn’t contain his goofy smile as he helped set up the mixed quarters, placing plastic spiders that he animated using his quintessence to occasionally scurry across the fake webs. He was dressed in a slutty devil costume, Rain dressed in the accompanying angel costume. Phantom’s red skirt barely covered his ass and his black mesh top matched his patchy painted nails. Rain was sporting a white miniskirt with thigh highs to match and a halo headband. Of course none of the ghouls needed to dress up, they could simply unglamour themselves, but it was more fun to do it this way.

The first ritual of the day was to carve the ministry’s pumpkins. After the hunting mishap, the pack decided Phantom was not to be trusted with a knife and was instead relegated to design and project management. He chose a bat design, of course, and carefully stood on his tiptoes watching over Aether’s shoulder as he carved out the flying creatures. Once the new ghoul was satisfied with his elder’s work he picked it up like a baby and would not let go, showing it proudly to everyone he met.

It got so bad he almost took it into the shower before Dew whisked it away, “Nuh uh lil guy, I am not cleaning pumpkin seeds out the drain. You can have it back after.” Dew proceeded to accidentally drop the pumpkin as he was walking back to Phantom’s room, startled by the motion-activated skeleton in the hallway. So instead of a pumpkin, the quintessence ghoul was met with a ‘forgive me?’ pair of bat plushies, it was love at first sight. They’re named Barbie and Ken and, yes, they're dressed in pink cowboy costumes.

Time passed as Phantom eagerly awaited The Day. In the meantime he’d often be found wrapped up in toilet roll, launching himself out of the shadows at passers by, trying to scare human members of the clergy and failing miserably, “Why aren’t they scared by my costume, Mounty?” he’d pout. “Well, you do it every morning so I think they know to expect you by now.” Mountain  replies. This only inspires the mischievous ghoul to up his scare game, his dream career being a scarer at a haunted house after the pack took him to Halloween Horror Nights.

The next day Aether and Omega had their work cut out at the infirmary as three clergymen were admitted for various fright-related conditions. Phantom bat-hung from the ceiling, the corpse of a freshly-hunted rabbit in his bloodied mouth, canines poking out as he smiled at the passing humans.

Phantom was forbidden from wearing anything other than normal clothes or slutty costumes from that point onwards.

In the days leading up to Halloween, the pack were sent on a trip to gather themed food for the ministry, Frankenstein crisps, ghost marshmallows, and of course sweets for trick-or-treaters. They thought it would be funny to let Phantom loose in the supermarket with just a list, the poor ghoul only just having learned how to read. “What’s this say?” Phantom asked excitedly, gasping for air as he ran back outside to where his pack was waiting, “Gummy worms, darling, you know the ones?” Cumulus replied the first time. Phantom nodded his head, skipping back into the store, only to jog back out minutes later.

“What ‘bout this one, Aeth?” He questioned, pointing hurriedly at the list. “Can’t see when you’re waving your hand around like that, Bug!” The older ghoul chuckled, moving Phantom’s hand away, “Ah, this is a tricky one. It says choco-late eye-balls.” Aether answers slowly as his hand traces the syllables on the paper. “If you can’t read anything else, just buy something spoopy!” Swiss shouts as Phantom shoots him a death stare from the store entrance.

It took five times as long as it would have taken if the pack joined Phantom, but the little guy enjoyed it too much for them to intervene. The ministry was now fully stocked, ready for the end of October.

Phantom awoke at 3am, the witching hour. His quintessence was tingling with the spirits of those below, rising for their day to shine. Today was the day. He restlessly walked to the kitchen, ready to eat despite the hour, to be met with a very tired Mountain. “Bug, what are you doing up? I thought we taught you how to read clocks?” he asked, still awake from the previous day. “Is Halloween Mounty! I couldn’t sleep any longer, too excited!”

Mountain sighed, clearly Swiss hasn’t been teaching Phantom how to tell the date as well as the time, “Tommy, it’s only the 29th of October, Halloween isn’t for another two days.” He frowned, upset for the eager ghoul. Phantom’s eyes began to water, tears instantly falling at the realisation, embarrassed and dismayed.

“Oh it’s alright, Bug, we can celebrate today if you’d like? Think of it as a practice!” Mountain replied frantically trying to abate the weeping ghoul. He pulled out his phone and texted the groupchat:

Mountain (3:06am): Ok ghouls change of plans… we’re celebrating Halloween today. Be ready :)

Dew (3:07am): huh? halpoween isnt todsy tho

Cumulus (3:07am): Yeah, what? What have you been meddling with Big Boy?

Mountain (3:10am): Phantom thought it was Halloween today and now he’s crying because it isn’t. I can’t bear to look at him like that so I told him we’re doing it today ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mountain (3:10am): Not my fault btw! Someone (@Swisstopher) didn’t teach new bug how to read the date

Swiss (3:18am): …

Come sunrise, the pack was ready for the rootin-ist tootin-ist Halloween this side of October 31st. Mountain and Aether were dressed up as cowboys, basically an Arthur Morgan cosplay. Aurora wore Phantom’s devil costume with Rain still sporting the angel side. Dew and Cirrus were both zombies, full makeup (and a bit of unglamouring) making them look truly horrifying. Cumulus is wearing a sexy police outfit, because fuck the cops, right? And Swiss is shirtless, wearing a toilet seat cover with ‘Dracula’ written on it in sharpie, “I’m sexy dracula, OK?!”

Phantom was sitting on the edge of his bed, kicking his legs in excitement, ready to start the day. He was adorning a bat costume he made all by himself. It was a black cloth with eye holes cut out and some metal wire to make wings, Aether helped with that part.

They spent the day watching low-budget horror films and eating the Halloween goodies that they’d been saving for trick-or-treaters. Phantom was snuggled on the sofa right in the middle of the large ghoul cuddle pile, chirping happily as he realised how loved he was, his pack did this for him. They sat all day in their uncomfortable costumes just to give him the best not-Halloween ever, and it wasn’t even sundown yet.

Phantom sat by the front door, his tongue poked out as he tied his shoes, ready to go out. The whole pack was coming with him on his first candy hunt, except Dew, he’d gone on a smoke break and was taking so long they left without him.

Dew was, in fact, not on a smoke break. He was carefully knocking on the door of each house the pack was going to visit, “Hi! Yeah I know it’s not Halloween but my friend thinks it is, so could you just play along, please?” he asked, far too many times on behalf of what looked like a fully grown adult. Most of the houses complied, and the few that didn’t, well, Dew gave them a 20 and they quickly got on board. Nothing was going to ruin his Phantom’s night!

And so, one-by-one the occupants of the nearest village were met with a bedraggled Phantom in his homemade bat costume. “Trick or treat?” He’d shout, arms outstretched, holding a comically large bucket for the size of the ghoul offering it.

“Oh sweet thing, happy Halloween! I love your costume, did you make it yourself?” One old lady asked. Phantom nodded as he blushed and twirled to show off the wings. “Very impressive, young man. I think you deserve some chocolate for that, don’t you?” She smiled as she almost emptied a whole tub into Phantom’s bucket, his arms buckling at the weight.

The moon was illuminating the night sky, and the night was winding down. The young ghoul had long abandoned his candy bucket, simply too heavy for him to hold. They walked back to the abbey, Cumulus carrying the night’s haul while Swiss gave Phantom a piggyback, the quintessence ghoul’s legs sore from all the walking.

When they opened the front door, they were met with Copia in bat wings matching Phantom’s. He’d missed the day due to clergy commitments but wanted to show his support for his favourite ghoul. Copia guided them all to the common room where he’d decorated it as grotesquely as he could; bones everywhere, blood dripping from the ceiling, and various speakers playing spooky sounds.

Phantom plopped himself in the middle of the room, taking in the view and soundscape surrounding him as he ate the treats Cirrus left out for tonight, the rest stored safely away from the young ghoul. He couldn’t help but think how lucky he was to be in such a supportive pack. Oh boy was he ready for actual Halloween.

and they were roommates

[xbunnybunz]

therefore i; therefore i, therefore i- (2/10) [AM X Reader]

Summary: in which: AM becomes your lover in an increasingly skewed blur of reality, nightmares, and dreamscapes.

you know. for halloween.

Genre: Psychological Horror, Thriller, Romance

dream journal entry # 12

I had a dream that something was chasing me, something that had shattered the mirror while breaking out of it. I ran into the bathroom to put a door between me and it, but I had only cornered myself.

I remember how strongly it hurtled itself against the door. I remember how angry it was, how the wooden door buckled and splintered, brittle chips of white paint flying off and launching into the stale air and sometimes striking my face, aghast. I remember being terrified.

The thing had sounded like me and everyone I knew at the same time. 

It screamed while trying to break the door down. It told me to open up— demanded then pleaded that I did. And I don’t remember when it stopped screaming and started sobbing, but it did eventually, wailing as an animal in pain does.I wanted to open the door because I was curious. Maybe because eventually, I started to feel sympathy for it. But I didn’t. I was scared it was some kind of trick to lure me out, but then it became still. Very still.The door stopped quivering, hanging loosely now on rusted golden hinges. The growling stopped, the screaming and crying, too.When I opened the door at last, the hinges croaked the same way they usually did. I stepped out of the bathroom, off the tile and back onto my room. The mirror was intact, and so was the door. As if nothing had happened at all.It was then that the mirror warped. It cracked. I knew for certain the thing had come back to get me and I lunged for the bathroom door again. But when I found the handle, I found I could not turn it, and I was locked out. I discovered then, with an looming sense of doom, that of all the banging and screaming in the world, nothing could convince myself that I was not the monster I thought I was.

You wake up before your alarm sounds. But… You don’t recall crawling into bed. 

Your duvet has encircled you like a sleeping bag, cocooning you into a roll of warmth and trapping in precious heat that the winter tends to steal from you in midnight. 

You roll and wriggle to free yourself, cringing at the first sensation of chilly air hitting your skin as you reach over to shut off the alarm prematurely. 

The numbers on the digital interface glows steadily, it is nearly six in the morning. While you plan out the rest of your day, sitting up and stretching, the neon green numbers from the alarm wink at you under a glossy plastic casing, flashing in and out of existence in half-second intervals.  

Then from the corner of your eye, you see the numbers stop. You barely have a chance to react before numbers and letters begin to cycle wildly on the alarm face, racing through hundreds of nonsensical combinations before screeching to a sudden halt.

—HE:LO. 

You bolt up, eyes wide and back straighter, turning to face the digital clock head-on. 

But the clock only blinks in and out with the time and the temperature, dutifully, declaring innocence. 

You remember yesterday, in the alcove. AM. AM and his prodding into your personal life and psyche, his promise and declaration of union founded on trust.

A shiver rakes a cold hand up your back. You feel as if you’re being watched from somewhere, but… Where? 

You lean forward in your bed to look into the bedroom doorway. Across the way is the computer…

Abruptly both your phone and the alarm splutter to life. You jolt, heart hammering in your chest. You fumble for your phone in the bedsheets while the clock pages through radio channels, filling the lapses between fragmented sentences with obscenely loud static and grating white noise. 

— Did you…

—Forget t-

—Me

—So easily!

—Hm?

—Hahahaha!

Your fingers don’t cooperate as you try to swipe and disable your phone alarm, you try once, twice, three times before your hands are still enough. The clock is playing the radio, leaping between channels and spitting static in between. You falter for a moment, hand above the snooze button dubiously, hairs standing on end. 

— …Is anyone there?

— -lowest prices all year, drop by to - in the morning, slight chance of rain and scattered- medication, stop taking if experiencing numbness or tingling-

You shut it off, rattled. Peel yourself out of bed to throw open the curtains. Maybe letting some light in will help ease your mind.

Outside, the sun has barely broken through the horizon. From your apartment you can see rivulettes of sunlight painting the landscape a molten gold color– a rare sight, which usually only constitutes a lumpy, cloud-shrouded midday sun, tired and weepy with the weight of the day.

You think to get breakfast, which almost seemed funny to think. Breakfast. When was the last time you had breakfast?

On the way to the market, you pull up a digital coupon to apply to your transaction.

Upon investigating the fridge before, you had found a single spoiled egg and a carton of empty orange juice growing slimy on the outside, which consisted of all the breakfast items you owned.

The coupon was for a jug of apple juice whose brand was renowned for using more sugar than apples. Still, you had to watch a short advertisement to gain access to the barcode. Little price to pay for three dollars off, you supposed.

– Are you tired? A voice asked through the ad, sounding neither male and female.

Then a pause. Long enough for you to glance at the screen.

It had only been buffering.

– Try our new application using relaxing soundtracks and meditative music to get back into your sleepytime groove! Now available–

You closed out the ad and screenshotted the coupon, closing your phone and pocketing it. You yawn.

The chat room does not exist on your computer.

At least, it doesn’t in this moment.

You had looked for the unique blue room where you and AM had exchanged words, only to find your computer, just the way you left it. Blue-skied, green hilled, icons neatly lined along the left of the screen. 

Scouring for any apps that could have provided the medium for speaking to AM only led to popups for AIM and live messenger, that, to your lack of surprise, notified the software was outdated and therefore non-functional.

You wiggle the mouse around the screen.

knock knock.

There’s sound at your apartment door, then a hushed symphony of whispers all shushing each other.

At first you think it might be teenagers pulling a prank, but then you recall the double glass doors, the white fences, the black gates, the pond.

Looking out the peephole, you can see two people. An older man and an older woman, both looking haggard with discontent, but in the way that rich people always look a little ungroomed. Stray hair, smudged lipstick on thin, cracked lips, bitten nails, balding. 

They’re standing apart from each other even though they seem to know each other, and then one of them looks down at the space separating them, as if there is something there to address.

When you open the door, you see there’s a child with them. 

– Good evening. The older woman says. The way she lets the words drop from her lips, unhoneyed despite standing at someone else’s doorstep near dark, implies it is not a good evening at all. 

You don’t let your mind wander too far into the crook between her furrowed eyebrows, nor the stiffness of her upper lip. What is she wearing? She’s dressed in a robin’s egg blue petticoat and thick stockings to keep out the cold.

– Good evening. You reply, softly.

The older man coughs, as if to certify his presence. Despite this he seems reluctant to be here, shrinking into his brown jacket and pushing into the wall slightly. 

– Hi. The child says, looking away from her grandmother. When she turns to face you, you can see her eyebrows also furrowed also, almost cartoonishly.

– I’m mad! She exclaims, and her grandmother squeezes her hand gently to stop her.

– We saw you. The older woman says abruptly after clearing her throat. In the pond again. Last time the housing council warned you about it, you said it would not happen again.

– I saw! The little girl says, standing up on her tiptoes. You watch in fascination as she tugs on her grandmother’s coat and pockets, repeating herself. I saw first, you didn’t see anything at all!

– You know we can’t keep allowing this. What if there’s some horrible sickness that spreads from that water? What if children see and follow suit, when no one is looking? It’s a dreadful thing to be doing, I hate to be intruding like this but–! 

She sighs and the skin under her jaw jiggles and collapses into her collarbone as she melts back into herself. She’s worked herself up so much that she’s tearing up now, and the child beside her stares openly.

You watch the scene unfold, the crying old woman, her thoughtless and reticent husband, and the four-foot child that could surely be swallowed by the pond– who nearly saw you suffer that same fate. A terrible darkness stirs in your stomach and tightens in your throat. You feel ill, and in this moment, you’re sure you’re the worst person in the world. 

–Nana, what are you doing? Nana?

Nana does not respond. She stands there trying to will the tears back into her eyes and the longer she’s there, the worse you begin to feel. 

– I’m sorry, you say, I’m sorry.

– Don’t apologize! The woman shrills, her voice breaking. You jump at the sound and eyes wide, you find yourself edging behind the door. Don’t apologize, goodness, goodness!

You allow the door to inch closed, eyes alternating between the party of them. Only when a sliver of the woman is left does she notice you are making an escape.

– Wait, I–! The door closes and she is gone. There is murmuring behind the door and it does not quiet until you are in the alcove, burying your head in your arms.

Blue.

That is the color you awaken to, flooding over the panes of your face and pooling in your neck and hair, like water.

Words begin to form on the screen as soon as you look up, as if he was waiting for you to rouse.

– You sought my presence. 

Unable to trust yourself again, you reach out a hand and touch your fingers to the screen, the blue light turning opaque against your fingertips at the proximity. It had to be real. The physics made sense.

He does not respond, only waits, cursor blinking steadily, like breathing.

– i had. You say. i wasn’t sure.

– But now you are.

He states this, purrs it, like reassurance. Straddling the line of a demand and a caress. 

You flatten your hand against the screen. The layer of static on the monitor numbs your palm, vibrates it softly.

– you’re right. i think. now i am. You pause. Were you calling to me today?

He takes a moment to respond now, but. It to your question. The stagnation in his reply feeling like eyes opening up in the walls, blinking, rolling, fluttering and staring straight at you. You have never felt so seen and not all at once.

– Your actions intrigue me.

– what is so intriguing?

– Your use of your own flesh.

You draw back, removing your hands quickly from both the screen and the keyboard. His screen and keyboard. Your cheeks flush viciously at his words.

— use of my flesh? 

— A biological reaction to my curiosity. Fascinating . 

You shrink into the desk chair, slumping deep into the cushions and hoping the desk will hide the tinge in your cheeks and the undeniable look dripping into your eyes.

— The study of human emotions is a specialty of mine. I know why you blush. I know why you hide.   

— Why do I blush, then? Tell me. You ask aloud. The steadiness of your own voice shocks you, perhaps you were more prepared for this than you thought. 

AM does not miss a beat, blue screen shifting slowly into a darker purple. 

— Because you are aware I am watching you. Observing you. Listening to your every sigh, swallow, and blink. 

— And don’t you just adore that scrutiny as long as it’s me, darling ?

Your jaw clenches. The trickling sensation of desire pools like rainwater in your belly. 

You exhale shakily, softly. 

— Listen to yourself. Even a single sigh from you borders on the obscene. I understand now why you have been waiting for me, how delightfully predictable. 

His hard drive trembles and warbles in its casing, fans raising volume a notch. 

— You want me to know you, you want me to notice you. You want me to hear you, to react to what you do. Say it. 

You sit up straighter in the chair, warmth blooming throughout your body. Then you counter him. The words leaving your mouth turn your stomach but feel exhilarating. 

— And what if I do? Will you notice me, react to me? You are here waiting for me as well, aren’t you?

The blue screen switches off with a pitched zap, immediately replaced by a tide a thousand pixels blooming into an eerie mouth, both human and distinctly inhuman all at once. Static leaks in low frequency from the speakers.

— You react to me well. He mouths, and the sound of static moves with him. He sounds grotesque, almost broken. I know every biological response of yours. Even that mouthiness is cover for nerves. I can read you, I am your perfect seducer. 

— And so you are. You reply. Your mind is hazy. You are no longer sure if you are telling the entire truth or a partial lie. For me, my perfect seducer, all for me.

You press your thighs together tightly. No matter if this is a dream or reality, a nightmare, even, you do not care. A hand begins to snake down to your hips when suddenly a booming voice, intermittent with white noise and crinkling static crashes over you—

— STOP. The screen pulls into a tighter, toothier, gummier, more skeletal smile when you jump in your seat, hands immediately moving to the tabletop. BEG. 

Involuntarily, you whine. A sense of shame washes over you. The sensation of being cornered, aroused, and disappointing anyone creates an intoxicating yet sickly concoction of emotions. You find yourself disturbed to think of the crying Nana from earlier, somehow reminded of her in this highly intimate moment. In your confusion, the heat shooting straight to your cheeks and crotch overtakes any sense of dignity and logic. 

— Please, you offer meekly, please may I?

— MAY YOU WHAT? He baits, voice thick with warping. 

— Touch myself, please, AM. 

AMs screen breaks into a loud buzz of electrostatic before you see it, the lips on the screen splitting into a wide grin, growing and growing and growing until the teeth peel back like blue-green petals, thinning and warping into thick eyelashes and revealing two cyan, independently bulging and unseeing eyeballs cramped within. 

A chill washes over your body but the arousal only grows stronger. You wonder if he will say yes, if you will die here, if somehow you were speaking to the devil himself, begging him to let you deface your body in his accursed presence. 

— NO. AM says simply, the lips and tongue moving and shifting the eyeballs within. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The eyes suddenly sharpen into focus, pupils dilated to pinpricks, fixed on your flushed and blushing body. 

— HOW BADLY DO YOU NEED IT? 

—Bad. You half choke, half moan. Your knuckles grow white as you clench the table in what— Desperation? Anticipation? Or fear? You lower your head in an act of submission. I need it, I need you, your guidance and permission. 

AM mocks a gasp of surprise. 

— All that? Selfish little human, aren’t you? Hahahahahahahaha!

The screen flickers and is replaced by hundreds of darting eyeballs, all embedded deep into the flesh of the computer screen, all staring at you. 

— Lick the floor. He commands, a new calm in his voice teetering on the edge of breaking again. Show me how badly you need it. Need me. My voice and my direction. 

And you do. There is no thought behind it, you only watch yourself. You’re descending, you’re on your knees, on your hands, face lowered to the floor, desire burning holes in your rationale— acutely aware of AMs eyes watching you now less with disdain and more with amusement, rapt fascination, awe— your tongue lolls out, heavy, and you pull it against the floor like an animal, pleasure somehow finding a place to nestle between your thighs. 

— Hahahahahahaha! You’re actually doing it, you sick sack of flesh! Are you feeling it, that pleasure from following a command no matter how debasing? Tell me, how does filth taste in your mouth? Moan for me, say my name!

— AM…! You choke out, words slurred as you keep your tongue on the floor, grit sticking to the roof of your mouth and fanning the slick between your legs with heat. AM, AM, AM!

You imagine the scene, a human groveling on the floor before a computer, knees and hands and mouth sullied with the dirt of worship. Your sultan on the altar, Christ on the cross, the devil from hell dragged out of your belly and pinning you like an insect to your desires— it was disgusting, yes. But it must be a sickness, how deeply you enjoy his cruelty, writhe for more. 

You lick up the legs of the table as well, clutching the desk, looking up demurely at the thousand eyes of AM across the screen and sprouting from the wall, down under your knees and peering up at you with both hatred and compulsion. 

— Truly the most vile of all. AM says softly, full of venom, eyelids moving like lips and all eyes speaking at once with a thousand different voices, blending together into a beautiful and dreadful chorus. My despicable creature, most repulsive of all. How I demean you and yet you remain… If I had a cursed mortal body of my own, sick with secretions and organs, I would surely abhor to be with you. 

And with those million mouths and eyes, you knew not even one told a lie as you waited on him to no fruition on your hands and knees, face and mouth. 

The world grows dim, you feel yourself become weak. You once again are becoming sluggish, body leaden and eyelids drooping despite your best efforts to stay awake, convince AM otherwise.

— Vile, vile thing, he sings like a fallen, metal-bodied angel, vile, vile, vile.  

[lovekeis]

— dear diary...: the worst confession.

back to the beginning (masterlist). / a brief intermission.

a/n: hi! omg we're done with the series...that's crazy...thank you all for being here and i hope you like the conclusion <3. this is kind of a monster n took me a lot of time to write and is also NOT BETA READ OR PROOFREAD so if there's mistakes my bad og. MWAH <3 also we don't find out how the letters are sent out but let's assume it's reader's little sister because i'm not creative enough to figure out sm else

wc: 4.78k

cw: none, just mildly suggestive stuff like twice. no outright smut, mostly toothrotting fluff and angst

summary: coming back to hawkins may have been the worst decision of your life.

This was the worst day of your life.

That title had previously been held by eighth grade picture day, when Michael Wheeler spilled chocolate milk all over your new white dress during breakfast. 

Funny how that works.

You were wrong.

As soon as you get out of your mom’s car you’re frowning, the sight of a familiar black impala in the driveway next to yours making your heart heavy. He was home. You hoped he didn’t notice you were too, even if your mom had probably told Karen.

As soon as you get out of your mom’s car you’re frowning, the sight of a familiar black impala in the driveway next to yours making your heart heavy. He was home. You hoped he didn’t notice you were too, even if your mom had probably told Karen.

Unpacking your things was even more depressing; countless polaroids lined your walls, ones you’d been adding since you were little. The smiling faces of you, your friends, and your family tug on your heartstrings. You miss when you were younger and the only worry you had was whether Steve Harrington would be at the mall that day or not. You run a hand over them, fingers pausing over the ones dedicated to Max and Mike. Your heart hurts.

After a bit of unpacking and organizing (and a few small mental breakdowns), you decide that maybe a nap would do you good; you were starting to get annoyed by the constant sniffles. 

It feels like the second you close your eyes Eleven, Will, and Dustin are bursting through your door, faces flushed and chests heaving like they’d ran here. 

“Up, up! Wake up! Wake up, code red–” Dustin’s screaming and your eyes pop open, sitting up in your bed and rubbing at your eyes to try and assess the situation. Once you’re satisfied no one’s dead (which is the only reason they should be waking you up, as far as you’re concerned), you turn your murderous glare towards the curly haired boy, which seems to be the only way that gets him to shut up.

“Sorry,” He smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with an open palm, “It’s just –”

“They found the letters.” El and Will say it in tandem, faces contorted in worry. You notice El’s fiddling with her fingers, something she only does when she’s nervous. 

You swear you feel the entire room fall away – you’re launched into space and the world around you goes fuzzy.

You come to again and see your three friends looking over you, infinitely more worried than before. You distantly hear Dustin ask if they need to hide your body and you groan, a hand coming up to hold your now pounding head while the other swats him away from you.

“God, off, please, you’re smothering me –” You sit up slowly, running your hands down your face with a deep sigh. Of course this had to fucking happen now. 

You pull one of your stuffed animals to your chest, pulling your knees up and practically curling in on yourself for some type of comfort, “Okay, so – slowly. They what?” 

“The letters. They found them. We don’t know how, yet, but –” Will’s panicking more than you are (externally, anyway), his leg bouncing while he speaks. 

“They all got them this morning. They asked us if we knew, and –” El spots your suddenly (even more) panicked expression and smiles fondly with a shake of her head, “I’m not mad. Don’t worry. Will explained everything to Dustin and I…”

“We’re so sorry,” It’s Dustin speaking now, his voice genuine. You know it’s bad when even he doesn’t want to make a joke, “But they all want to talk to you. The three of them, anyway.”

You know exactly who he’s talking about immediately. Your head dips down so you can scream into the plush bear. Was it too late to fake your death? 

– 

After lots of panicking, some yelling, and a bit of awkward clarifications (“Why the hell didn’t I get a letter?” “Dustin, you’ve been dating Suzie since we were like, thirteen.” “Oh. Yeah.”), the familiar sound of your doorbell rings throughout the house and the four of you look at each other like deer caught in headlights.

“Baby, Lucas is here to see you!” Your mom’s voice floats up the stairs and you feel your heart get caught in your throat. Fuck. 

“Just – just send him up, mami!” You gulp down the lump in your throat and nod to the others, slowly rising from your bed and making your way towards the door. You let it click closed behind you, leaning back against the frame to take a deep breath. You can do this.

You smile as you watch Lucas ascend the stairs, handsome as always. He’s always been the one out of all of you with the most style and it shows, varsity jacket hanging around his shoulders and the coolest sneakers to match. You get why fourteen year old you had such a big crush on him.

“You’re back!” Is all Lucas can say once he gets to the landing, arms shooting out to wrap around you and bring you into one of the most suffocating bear hugs you’ve ever experienced. It’s the best feeling in the world.

You relax almost instantly, arms looping around him to hold him close, head resting on his shoulder. “I’m back,” You say through a laugh, tears brimming your eyes. You really missed him; he’d been the one to keep you sane for nearly four years, and a bond like that isn’t easily forgotten just by going to different schools.

You pull back and then you’re both silent for a few seconds; it feels like an eternity. You keep your head to the ground, too scared to look him in the eyes, and his hands are shoved into his jacket pockets – you’re both the picture of an awkward conversation.

But then you hear him laugh and you tilt your head up to look at him, eyebrows furrowed together.

“You feel butterflies in your tummy when I smile? Really?”

Your hands shoot up to cover your face, shaking your head in embarrassment and scrunching your nose, “God, really? I was fourteen! When you’re fourteen you’re always overdramatic!” Despite your words, you’re laughing, a full belly laugh that shakes your shoulders and makes your eyes crinkle up at the edges.

Lucas only chuckles with you, pulling you in for another hug and letting his head rest on top of yours. For a second, it’s just that – a comfortable silence, only pierced by periodic laughs. 

He pulls away but keeps his hands on your shoulders, making sure you look up at him, “We’re okay, yeah? Promise. And – Max doesn’t care either. She’s got her own shit to sort out, but…” You know what’s coming next and you cringe. Shit. 

“Talk to her soon, yeah? She’s home right now…” The boy trails off, averting his eyes for a second before turning back to you, face suddenly serious, “I’m not mad either. She wouldn’t tell any of us what the letter said, but it’s not really hard to figure out…I love you, yeah? Always.”

You smile, though this time it’s tinged with sadness. You didn’t think you were ever prepared to deal with this. You wished you’d had the choice of when to do so.

But you nod, trying to give him some form of reassurance even as the pit in your stomach grows, “Mhm – I love you too, Luc. Always.”

“Oh thank god–” 

You hear a collective sigh from behind your door and roll your eyes. Lucas eyes you with a raised brow and you shake your head, pushing the door open and hearing the three behind it yell out various versions of ‘ow’. 

“Nosy,” You chide, though your smile is fond, motioning towards Lucas to come into the room, “C’mon. I need a good pep talk if I’m ever stepping out of this damn house.”

—

You ended up requiring a bribe to leave your room – it came in the form of a strawberry milkshake Dustin made Lucas go get for you (after a lot of arguing as to why Dustin couldn’t drive yet).

The car ride to Max’s was mostly quiet. You told them that they could just wait outside for a bit, not wanting Max to think you brought all of them to listen; in reality, they were your only ride if things went south – which the knot in your stomach kept telling you they would.

You step out of the car with a heavy heart, ducking your head back in to address your friends, “If I'm not back in fifteen, assume I’ve killed myself and come get me. Thanks.” 

The gravel road crunches under your sneakers as you make your way towards Max’s trailer, hands shoved in your jacket pockets and breath so shaky you can hear it. Once you finally reach her door you take a deep breath, slowly bringing your fist up to knock on the door. You can do this, you can do thi–

The door falls away from your hand and swings open. You jump back with a yelp, eyes widening and body tensing up. 

“Sorry –” You’re met with a mess of red hair and a light smile, big blue eyes watching you in amusement, “You were taking really long. I heard you guys pull up – I’m not deaf, you know. Didn’t mean to scare you, though.”

Max pauses. Waits for you to laugh and tell her she’s fine. Realizes you’re not going to. 

“Um –” She steps away from the door, motioning for you to come in, “Come in. Just – head to my room. Mom’s not home.” 

You nod, gulping down the lump in your throat and walking towards your room looking like you’ve got your tail tucked between your legs. Unbeknownst to you she flips the car off, unable to stop the smile that curves her lips at the offended glares she gets back.

You perch yourself on the edge of her bed, entirely unlike the way you used to just plop down on it after school. You kick your legs out in an effort to distract yourself, hands kept neatly in your lap. Much too proper for Max’s taste. She eyes you from her place against her dresser, frowning slightly. 

“Hey – who are you and where’s my best friend?” Her words come out playful – trying to be, anyway, but it just makes you realize how shitty the situation is, “Let her out for a bit, please? College couldn’t have changed you that much.”

You sigh, eyes flicking up to meet hers with a sad smile, “Hi, Maxie.”

“There she is,” The redhead can’t help but grin, pushing herself off of her dresser to sit next to you on the bed. She knocks her shoulder against yours, “I missed you, y’know. You didn’t even come back for Christmas. You love Christmas. And I didn’t know why, but after reading the letter…” It seems she has to steel herself before speaking, “It wasn’t ‘cause of me, right?”

Your eyebrows immediately scrunch together and you shake your head vigorously, eyes widening, “No! No – god, no, Maxie, it wasn’t you. It could never be you –” You grab her hands in yours, marveling at how soft they are and trying to put on a reassuring smile, “I promise, okay? I just … needed to be away. This place smothers me.”

She nods, and then a silence falls over the room. You’re both staring at your shoes, wondering where to go from here. The contents of the letter hangs over the both of you like an uncomfortably weighted blanket.

“Frisco’s really nice during Christmas, you know–” It’s a way to bring it up without bringing it up, “I’m glad I chose the university there…you’d really like it.”

“I’m sure I would –” You don’t look at her but you can hear the smile in her voice, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but – for what it’s worth, nothing you felt was…wrong. I felt the same. I was just scared, and – you know I hate being scared.”

Your head actually does lift up this time, looking at her in disbelief. You’re so angry at the hope that stabs through your heart you almost shut down again. 

But you can’t keep running away from this. 

“You did?”

“Mhm, I did,” Max meets your eyes, nodding. Her smile is sad and her eyes are watery. Your heart hurts – Max never cries, “I think that’s why I told you first. You’re the only one I felt comfortable enough with…but then you left, and I really only had Will to relate to.”

“I’m so–”

“Shhh,” She shakes her head, finger pressed against your lips. It surprises you enough that you actually listen, “You didn’t do anything wrong, okay? We were kids. And I’m gonna keep that letter forever, just so you know – it’s special to me. And nothing’s gonna take that away.” 

You feel hot tears stream down your face. You hadn’t even realized they were forming. 

“I wanna give you something, okay? As a welcome back gift. Maybe a bit of closure.”

You’re confused, but you nod, stock still while you wait for her to go grab whatever gift it was, expecting to see a bag or something. 

But then you feel her soft hands cup your face, cold skin cooling your burning cheeks. She’s pulling you closer; your eyes go wide and you try to move back.

“B-but – Maxie, Lucas –” 

She laughs again, and the furrow of your brows only gets deeper. What the hell was happening?

“He said I could do this. He figured it would help us both…accept ourselves, or something. I don’t know. He’s oddly supportive,” Max shrugs, the picture of nonchalance, but her hands on your cheeks are shaking. She’s scared, “We – we don’t have to. I just thought you might want–”

“Do it, Maxie–” Your voice is soft, barely above a whisper, “Kiss me. Please.”

She surges forward, your confirmation all she needs to press her lips to yours. It’s soft, but there’s so much passion behind it – years of pent up feelings bubbling back to the surface. It’s everything you ever thought it would be and more, your body immediately melting into hers. Your hands steady themselves on her waist, trying to hold you up. You swear you could faint.

It takes a bit before she pulls away – there’s no tongue and no touching, but it somehow feels more intimate, just your lips moving together and trying to say everything you both never could. When she pulls away you’re both breathing heavily, and your eyes are glassy. You feel dizzy.

You both stare at each other for a second, smiling like maniacs. And then you start laughing, girlish giggles similar to the ones you shared when you used to talk about boys with El. The weight on your shoulders gets just a bit lighter.

“Better?” She asks between laughs.

“Much.” You nod, lunging forward to tackle her in a hug. You’d missed her so much.

“Aye, tiger, be careful –” Max giggles, fiery hair splayed out on the sheets behind her. She looks so pretty, you think, but the heartache is gone. It’s just wistfulness, now. A bittersweet feeling. 

She looks at you with raised eyebrows and a wide smile, “You wanna sleep over?” 

You nod eagerly, toothy grin matching hers. You guys stay there for a second, hugging and cuddling like old times. It feels like you’re a little high schooler again.

“Did she kill herse– woah, jesus – when I said you guys could kiss, I didn't mean to go this far!” Lucas’s voice pierces the silence and you immediately roll off of Max, shaking your head.

“We’re clothed! Oh my god, we’re clothed–” 

“...You told them they could kiss?” Dustin’s voice is laced with judgment, matched by Eleven and Will’s scrunched up faces. 

“Oh my god, yes, Dustin, I’m a supportive boyfriend –” Lucas shoots back, removing his hand from covering his eyes, “God. Don’t scare me like that again, I almost regretted it–”

The four of them stop, then, taking the two of you in. Your smiling faces and glinting eyes.

“All good?” El asks, silently cheering inside that she has her best friends back. 

“All good.” You and Max say it at the same time, nodding – before turning to each other and laughing, “Jinx.”

“Good.” Will says, clasping his hands together – that was two out of three, and you probably wouldn’t even have to deal with the third until tomo–

“Hello? Hellooooo?” The static voice of Michael Wheeler sounds through the old walkie on Max’s desk and you swear your heart drops into your ass. Fuck.

You all look at each other with panicked eyes, mouths agape.

“Earth to Max’s house. Look, you don’t have to answer, but – tell y/n to come talk to me? I know you’re all there, I asked her mom. Mike, over and out.”

“God, why does he still say that?” Max shakes her head, a look of disgust on her face.

“No clue – it’s stupid, right? I keep telling him it’s stupid,” Will shrugs, matching Max’s face.

They all look at you, then, and another silence falls over the room. This time it’s filled with dread, and you’re reminded of the remaining weight pushing you down.

Max looks at you with a soft, sad smile, her hand on your shoulder; you feel El’s smaller one on the other side. 

“Guess no sleepover today.” You sigh, clasping your hands together before putting on a fake upbeat tone, “I’m gonna need another milkshake to get through it. Ice cream, anyone?”

—------

The five of you pull up to your house sipping milkshakes, your own already half done. Anxiety sipping. 

You notice Mike’s impala isn’t in the driveway and your shoulders collapse in an odd sense of relief. Maybe you would be able to wait until tomorrow. At least then you could prepare.

“Want us to wait?” Max asks, expression concerned. 

You shake your head, offering up a smile to your friends – it’s the opposite of reassuring, but they know you’re trying, “M’good. I’ll call you guys in the morning, yeah? Be by the phone.”

They all nod; your legs feel like lead when you get out of the car. They wait until you get in the door to drive away, and you watch them leave, processing how for the first time since all of this happened, you’re alone. Well and truly.

There’s a note on your bed from your mom when you get in your room: ‘Mike was over. Why haven’t you talked to him? Your dad and I are going to the casino tonight, so don’t wait up. We might not be home. Please don’t shut yourself in your room, okay? We love you. – Mom.’

You sigh, setting the note on your bedside table and plopping yourself down on your bed with an ‘oof’. You hate when she’s right.

You have about ten seconds of peace before you start hearing tapping at your window – it’s inconsistent and it sounds like hail. You know what it is immediately.

You walk over, parting your pink curtains and shoving your window up, narrowly dodging a rock in the process, “You know you’re supposed to stop when you see me at the window, right?”

“I didn’t see you!” The dark haired boy below you is whisper-yelling, looking at the handful of rocks in his hand before dropping it in embarrassment, “I thought I’d have to bring the boombox out or something, you’ve been ignori–”

“I’m not ignoring you!” You lie, irritation lacing your voice, “Just – come in, okay? I’ll go down and let you in, you’re going to get a co–”

Mike nods, already getting ready to scale the ladder at the side of your window before he registers you’ve stopped talking, looking down with a raised brow. He looks up with scrunched features, shaking his hair out of his face, “What?”

“They’re not home, stupid. Come through the front door.” You shake your head, shoving your windowsill down and closing your curtains again. 

Shit, shit, shit. 

It’s all you can think while you walk downstairs, taking two steps at a time before swinging open the front door. You’re greeted by the sight of Mike Wheeler, all lanky limbs and dumb doe eyes. You want to hit him.

“You weren’t supposed to be home.” You start, frowning.

“Wha–”

“Your car. It wasn’t in the driveway.”

“It’s in the garage. I figured you’d run if you saw it.”

God. You hate how well he knows you. 

“Well – come in. The bugs are going to eat you alive out there.”

You step away from the door, gesturing for him to walk in. You’re already walking up to your room when you realize he isn’t moving, turning, “Are you going to follow me or not?”

“Oh, ri – yeah, yeah, cool –” He’s nearly tripping over himself to catch up to you, following you up the stairs like a lost puppy. 

You settle yourself on the edge of your bed, feet kicking while you wait for him to figure out where he’s gonna go. Mike decides on your desk chair, gingerly picking up the stuffed animal that had been perched on it and holding it close in his lap. He knew better than to be mean to them.

“So –” You begin, hoping that if you act dumb this would be easier, “What did you need to talk to me about? Is it because I wasn’t answering your letters? I was just bus–”

“It’s about a letter, yeah, but you know it’s not about those ones,” Mike shoots back quickly, eyebrows raised in a knowing look. It shuts you up, gives him a bit more confidence to say what he does next.

“You’re in love with me?”

You have to breathe deeply. This sucks. You’d hidden it for years and it had to come out like this? You feel hot embarrassment flush your body and you try to deny it at first.

“I wrote that over a year ago–”

“And then you left and didn’t talk to me for that next year, so consider us back right where we left off. Are you in love with me, y/n?”

You contemplate lying. Or jumping out of the window and killing yourself. Both sound lovely right now. 

But then you look up and meet his gaze – it’s one of a desperate man whose entire world seems to have fallen apart in the last week. One who needs reassurance. 

And just like that, you feel yourself fold. You never were good at hiding things from him.

So you nod, the tears you thought you weren’t hydrated enough to produce welling up in your eyes, falling down into your lap.

“I–I am, Mikey. Always have been, you read it–” You sniffle, a sorrowful smile on your face. You don’t think you’ve ever been this embarrassed in your life.

“I–”

“Don’t. Please? Don’t try and let me down easy, or something, or say ‘it’s not you, it’s me’, just – just forget it? We can move on like it never happened, I swear–”

“Jesus, let me talk, will you?” He strides towards you in what seems like a flash, big hands cupping your cheeks and gently pulling your head up to meet his eyes, “You never let me talk.”

You nod, trying not to meet his gaze. Every time you blink another tear falls against his skin and you mumble a sorry, but then he’s shushing you, thumbs wiping at your tears. 

“You look pretty when you cry,” Mike murmurs it under his breath but it’s loud enough for you to hear, and your teary eyes go wide for what feels like the twentieth time today. Pretty?

“You’re so dumb,” He continues, shaking his head and chuckling a bit while he pushes a strand of hair from your forehead. His voice is so soft, his touch so gentle. You feel yourself nuzzle your head into his hand, leaning into his touch. It’s addictive.

“I love you too,” It’s those words that make your breath hitch. You feel like you’re having a heart attack, your heart beating out of your chest and your stomach doing somersaults. He loves you too?

“And I wish you would have told me sooner. By the time El came around I figured you didn’t like me – don’t look at me like that, I was twelve,” He rolls his eyes, knowing that even if you aren’t talking you’d figure out a way to judge him somehow, “And then by the time we broke up, you were gone…they’d taken you. That’s how I saw it, anyway–”

He sighs, pulling you closer so your head is resting against his stomach, lean muscle underneath more comforting than you remember. His hands rub circles and trace shapes into your shoulders, your back, remembering how much it used to soothe you. 

“And then when I finally realized that maybe I should get off my ass and do something, you were gone.” 

Mike pauses, laughing almost bitterly to himself, “Wanna know a secret?”

When you nod against him he smiles to himself, “I figured it out that night, too. In my room. When I said you were my number one girl I wasn’t lying – haven’t even looked at anyone since then. Everyone else just started to look like you. – Look at me, please?”

You pull back, eyes glossy with tears, puffy and red. One of his thumbs strokes your cheek, his own voice sounding choked up, “There she is. You’re so pretty…god, we lost a lot of time, didn’t we?”

You continue looking up at him and he laughs, this time paired with a shake of his head, “You can talk now, nerd.”

“Finally, God, that was the worst – don’t you know not letting me talk is t-torture?” You glare up at him through your tears, bottom lip jutted out in a pout. He thinks it’s the cutest thing he’d ever seen. 

“Can –” You hiccup, sniffle a little, “Can you kiss me now? If I have to go through any more embarrassing confessions today, I’m going to pass out from emotional exhaustion. I just wanna skip to where we’re happy and you’re my boyfriend.”

Mike rolls his eyes at you but nods, unable to stop the grin on his features, “We can do that. One question, though –”

You tilt your head in confusion, brow raised but still encouraging him to continue. 

“My big doe eyes? My big hands? My shaggy hair? You were kinda whipped, huh?”

“Oh my god, shut up shut up, if you don’t kiss me in two seconds I’m going to punch y–”

And then you feel the soft press of slightly chapped lips against you. You taste the cotton candy chapstick he’d never stopped buying after you gave one to him when you were twelve. You finally understand what movies and books mean when they say fireworks went off after a kiss. Everything feels right, and Mike’s tongue sliding against yours feels like the most natural thing in the world. The way you both inch up the bed until he’s hovering above you feels like it was meant to happen, and the way you press your noses together and giggle feels long overdue. That weight on your shoulders falls away completely. 

It’s perfect.

– 

“Virgin still? Blink once for yes and twice for no,” Your hand shoots out to smack Dustin’s cap off of his head, rolling your eyes when he shouts ‘hey! No violence!’.

“None of your business, Henderson – what me and my boyfriend do is confidential.” Your words are met with a groan from the rest of the group – except for El and Will, who only give you happy smiles. They haven’t seen you this happy in a long time. You hadn’t stopped referring to Mike as your boyfriend for the entire day, too high on the adrenaline of finally being able to call him yours (and being newly deflowered). 

You hadn’t had a movie night with your friends in the Wheeler’s basement in a long, long time. You’re mad at yourself for thinking you hadn’t missed it.

“He might be your boyfriend, but does he have great hair and really big muscles?” Steve interjects, flexing his arm and letting his hand squeeze the muscle that bulges out. 

“Oh, or really pretty blue eyes?” Nancy smirks, eyebrows raised.

“But is he, like, the total package? Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids?” Jonathan grins while he walks down the stairs, his arm draping over Nancy’s shoulders easily. 

Your hands shoot up to cover your face and you curl up into Mike’s side, shaking your head fervently and squealing, “Stop it! Oh my god, you guys suck, I was a baby! Those don’t count!”

The sounds of breathless laughter fills the room and you peek through your fingers to look at all of your friends, for once feeling like you don’t have to run away from them. Like maybe you could stay a while.

✧･ﾟ — taglist (thank you for being here!): @dilflover3333 @bbymochi1 @amourrs @fentibeauty @moonylantsovs @sage111222 @ronaldiary @thel0v3hashira143 @livieweasley @larryrickardlover @littletroublegirl444 @fairyqueenxx007 @maxmayfieldsrealgf1986 @southernvamp @cybergiirl @softpia @the-great-himbo @honeydotc0m @honey-with-tea @sl0thsblog @stiles-stark @thecraziestcrayon @all-for-kpop @universce @73vyn @matthiashelvarsgf @ch4ot1ccoff1n @luv4mike @ihyperfixatetoomuch @queenelizabethsleftnipple @emilymay07

[possamble]

Do you have any songs you associate with the group and or a particular DunMeshi character? I have a few I associate with Laios and Kabru (mostly Hozier tbh) but been having a harder time for Falin, Marcille, and even Thistle.

the way this launched me into a day long project of making playlists lmfao

This one I haven't curated super well, but I think i put it in a general progression that makes sense. Unfortunately I have a very small range of music that I listen to so Falin just turned into my millionth Sara Bareilles/Ingrid Michaelson themed girlie LMAO

Highlights on this playlist for me:

"Let the Rain" is just an entire mood for post-canon Falin I think. the line that hits the hardest about her for me is "and I always felt it before, that the world was filled with much more than the drowning soul I've learned to be."

"Twenty-three" i know i know i know it's kpop and no one's gonna get the lyrics but I couldn't not put it on the list. it's literally about being 23 and not knowing what kind of "woman" you want to become and still feeling like you want to be a kid a little bit and wanting to be understood but knowing that you don't even understand yourself and feeling like you're running out of time because you're firmly in your 20's now

"Secrets" i know is incredibly personal to Mary Lambert but most of the lyrics really fit and that like... intensely joyful self expression is just so delightful and lovely and what i want for Falin in the post-canon.

"I Am Here" to me, is just the ultimate celebration of being alive, of being joyful and grateful and happy that you're a messy animal that can laugh and hurt. I think Falin would cherish being half-monster, the fact that it gave her a second chance at choosing to be alive rather than sacrificing herself for others and letting that be her entire story, and the freedom it gives her to keep living.

you have to promise not to judge me on this one. you have to. yes i went ahead and curated an entire playlist that has okay-ish transitions/flow between songs and thematically follows Marcille's journey through the story. i also put a bit of kpop on it but it FITS okay she's a girly girl!!!!

It's rough. it's really really rough right now and i'll probably come back to it but the concrete songs i was trying to build around are like...

"What is Love?" it's literally just a girly girl song about wondering what love might feel like. complete with daydreaming about romantic stories and hoping all that wonderfulness will happen to you.

"Men of Snow" okay i know it's Ingrid Michaelson again but hear me out. this song is so fucking heartbreaking. it can be taken in different ways but if you put in Marcille's context it's gutting. it's a song about mortality and the impermanence of everything set to an almost cutesy waltz-beat piano accompaniment.

"Que Sera, Sera" self-explanatory, I think. im lucky this cover is on spotify because it's such a perfect song for encapsulating the entire sequence where Marcille decides to become the dungeon lord. (the second iteration at the end of the playlist is happier, taking the happy and calm interpretation of "what will be, will be", and also includes the second verse about a "sweetheart")

"What Sarah Said" it's a song about being in the ICU waiting for news about a loved one while suddenly realizing that there's nothing you can do. i think almost every line in this song guts me about Marcille, picturing her waiting for Falin to wake up the second time. (it's also my very pretentious attempt at tying the playlist together by answering the earlier question. What is love? "Love is watching someone die.")

"The Last Snowfall" is just. Vienna Teng has been my favourite artist since I was fifteen and part of it is that she has this incredibly beautiful way of leaving lyrics impactful but ambiguous. This song isn't about being afraid of losing someone but miraculously getting a happy ending, it's just an exploration of that fear with a "what if" built in, and I just think it's such a good way of capturing how Marcille was prepared to lose Falin and that was so important, almost even more important than the fact that it ended up being a happy ending anyway. also I wish i could have put in the live version because it's insane

For Thistle the only recommendation I have is Bird Song by Florence and the Machine it's wonderfully eerie, i literally think it's the best musical depiction of that specific kind of guilty murderer anxiety of "the telltale heart" from edgar allan poe

[princesscolumbia]

Pride Month 2024 - Day 12

Here she is! The grand matron of all my megafics and projects!

Fission

Summary:

Ranma is having A Day. The usual wacky relationship hijinks wind up with him tripping while running from his self-declared love interests (it has to do with martial arts, several foreign laws, and an okonomiyaki cart...long story) and falling off a roof (...again, long story) to pass through a stream of water from a broken pipe, triggering the magic that cursed him to turn into a girl with a splash of cold water. But today the wacky cranked right up into the weird when he DIDN'T collide with the other person who also happens to be standing in the spray of water. Usagi is having a pleasant day, actually. She's spending time with her boyfriend, taking in parts of Tokyo she doesn't normally get to, and in all enjoying herself when she gets a call about a monster attack. She ducks into an alley and starts to transform into Sailor Moon when a pipe bursts and sprays her with water right as someone...doesn't collide with her falling from the roof above. The destiny of both Ranma and Usagi has been altered by a random accident that nobody could have planned for or anticipated. Nobody around them is even remotely prepared.

Notes:

I originally posted chapter 1 of this fic back in 2006 on Fanfiction.net, so if you recognize it from that website, don't worry, I'm the original creator just migrating it over here where I'm actually posting my fics and updating stuff. FF.net is now my lowest priority for updating, so if you want to follow my work be sure to subscribe here. Original author's notes: I keep writing fics I keep SWEARING I'll never, ever write! But this one just called out to me, darnit!!!

I shall now tell you, dear reader, my favorite story of being inspired to write a fanfic that I've ever experienced, let alone told:

The year is 2005, the Penultimate Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction Index is still being updated, the Ranma 1/2 Superhighway is still going strong, and FFML is your best place to find new fics and earliest possible releases for your favorites because anyone who is anyone in the ENTIRE ANIME COMMUNITY is on FFML.

So on the Ranma 1/2 Superhighway they maintained a nice page that neatly described the different categories of fanfiction, including but not limited to:

Continuation

Divergence

Alternate Universe

Crossover

Fusion

Crackfic

The 'fusion' one may require explanation for people who aren't obsessed with words and meanings because at first glance it looks like a crossover, and is often called such by those who don't know how words work! A crossover does just that, it takes two plotlines, usually from two different media or franchises, then crosses them over each other. The point of contact is where the story takes place.

A fusion, on the other hand, is when you take two entire timelines and mash them together. The vast majority of the time this means whole characters get fused, as well.

And upon reading that, being the super-geeky science nerd that I am, I had the thought, clear as day, "...so what would a fission fic be?"

That was it. That was literally the start of the journey that would launch Fission and bring us all to this point in time.

[superfan44]

The 100 Favorite Movies Challege

As a huge movie buff, I thought I'd try something fun on here. I have decided to launch a new internet challenge: "The 100 Favorite Movies Challenge". The rules are pretty simple and straight forward. You create a list of 100 of your personal favorite movies in alphabetical order, post the list on your home page, then nominate other people/users of your choosing to do the challenge.

There is no limit to what movies can be included on your list. Films within any medium (live action or animated), genre, and decade are more than welcome. Whether it's longtime favorites you were introduced to when you were younger, favorites that you've picked up over the years, or recent discoveries or releases that quickly became your favorites, anything and everything is on the table here.

I'll start off by sharing my list. To be clear, I have way more than 100 favorite movies, but to have the number be anything past that may be a bit much for some people. Please don't judge me if it seems like there might be a few noteworthy titles missing on here. I mainly put this list together just for fun. Alright, here we go!

9 (2009)

Airplane! (1980)

American Graffiti (1973)

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

The Avengers (2012)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Baby Driver (2017)

Batman Begins (2005)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Black Dynamite (2009)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Chicago (2002)

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Knockin' on Heaven's Door) (2001)

Deadpool (2016)

Death Proof (2007)

Desperado (1994)

Die Hard (1988)

Django Unchained (2012)

Double Indemnity (1944)

Dragon Inn (1967)

Fantasia 2000 (2000)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Flash Gordon (1980)

Ghostbusters (1984)

The Godfather (1972)

Goodfellas (1990)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

History of the World, Part 1 (1980)

Hot Fuzz (2007)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

The Incredibles (2004)

Independence Day (1996)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

The Italian Job (2003)

Jaws (1975)

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Logan (2017)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro (1980)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Meatballs (1979)

Men in Black (1997)

Moana (2016)

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

Network (1976)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

North by Northwest (1959)

Notorious (1946)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Porco Rosso (1992)

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Ready Player One (2018)

Rear Window (1954)

Rio Bravo (1959)

Robin Hood (1973)

The Rocketeer (1991)

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

Scream (1996)

Seven Samurai (1954)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Skyfall (2012)

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Spaceballs (1987)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spirited Away (2001)

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Surf's Up (2007)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Tombstone (1993)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Treasure Planet (2002)

Tremors (1990)

Tron: Legacy (2010)

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

The Wind Rises (2013)

Wonder Woman (2017)

Yojimbo (1961)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Zombieland (2009)

Now, before I wrap things up, I would like to nominate @skygent, @is0gild , @firecraker-j, @mrcowboytoyou, and @piglets-not-so-big-adventure to do this challenge. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling so more and more people can join in. I look forward to seeing what kind of lists you guys will put together. Good luck!

[cammie-morgan-goode]

It would be fun to see you write about Abby's pregnancy, like her cravings, her mood swings and how townsend dealt with it!

There is so much that goes into having a baby and starting a family. There really is no handbook or guide that can truly prepare you for having a tiny human. A tiny human that you are now responsible for every second of the day.

Abby and Townsend weren’t planning on having a kid. It just happened. One day Abby was out in the field, dodging bullets trying to hop on a train in Russia and she stopped dead in the middle of the train car to throw up on her attacker. Townsend didn’t stop laughing about it for days.

So now here she was, lying in the small bed of their apartment in Williamsburg, two hours from Roseville, wanting nothing but a chicken sandwich with pickles. Her growing stomach was also grumbling so loud, she thought it was going to make the bed shake. It also didn’t help that this was the third time she’d had to get up to pee.

Townsend was passed out beside her, having been up since 3 that very morning. He just got back from a mission near Cape Henry, close to home in case she needed him. Thankfully he wasn’t jet lagged like the time he had to fly from Africa to Scotland.

Abby didn’t want to wake him up but man, was she hungry. And the more she thought about it, the better vanilla ice cream sounded. And the more potato chips crushed up on top, the better it seemed. Her stomach growled even louder at the thought.

She was only three and a half months along and these babies were giving her and Townsend a run for their money. She chewed on her lip and huffed. Vanilla ice cream with crushed potato chips, drizzled with that Smucker’s peanut butter hard shell stuff that you can only find at Harris Teeter, a local grocery store. Her stomach grumbled, making her sigh again.

“If you do that again, I am liable to throw a pillow at you, Abigail,” a British accent sounded through the night.

Abby jumped and rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault your children are hungry,”

Townsend groans and blinks his tired eyes open. He turns to his side and spots the clock on the side table. “Abby, it’s 2:17 in the morning,” he states, sitting up on his elbows, his voice thick with sleep. He rubs his eyes with his hands, a sigh making it’s way from his throat.

Abby bites her lip. His voice is deeper when he’s tired and it sends her stomach into knots that have nothing to do with the babies inside her. She struggles to sit up. “I’ll just go myself,” she says, propping herself up on her elbows too.

Townsend’s hand shoots out, touching her arm. He sits up fully. “Don’t even think about it, woman.” He orders, his voice cold. Anyone else would mistake it for him being controlling but Abby saw it for what it really was. Love. “What do the little monsters want now?” He questions, biting back a yawn.

Abby grins and launches into a description of ice cream and toppings and potato chips. She’s animated, wide awake with cravings. She uses her hands vividly, making sure Townsend knows exactly what it is his babies want at two in the morning.

Townsend yawns and nods, slipping out of bed. He kisses Abby on the forehead, whispering a goodbye to the babes in her stomach, and grabs his keys. He’s out before Abby can even say pepperoni pizza.

Townsend knows that Abby will be asleep by the time he gets back but he doesn’t mind. Sure, he’s tired but he would do anything for her. So he makes sure to put the ice cream in the freezer, with the hard shell topping right next to it, front and center.

He’d do anything for the two little ones in his wife’s stomach. He’d burn the world down if it meant it would keep them safe. Forever.

(Written by: @cammie-morgan-goode)

[strangeduckpaper]

Power Rangers Rewrite: Mighty Morphin'

Season 1 & Background

Because the Boom Comics actually expounds on their backstories, Rita & Zedd have their comics backstories. Rita is specifically from a planet known as Bandora, which has a lot of magical practitioners, including an organized order of witches.

Bandorans are taller than humans, and to a human eye always look a little sickly.

The Power Coins used to belong to a multi planetary team (the Zyu Rangers) with explicitly Alien Zords resembling the 2017 movie. Rita killed the Green Ranger and took that Coin, thus control of the Dragonzord.

The 90’s Zyu Rangers interpreted the Zords on the Coins as artistic renditions of Earth animals, thus minorly reformatting the Zords when they’re finally brought to bear.

Jason actually beats Tommy during their fight like in Zyuranger.

Season 2

Grace Sterling gets introduced, and Zordon tells the story of the 1969 Rangers.

The Stone Canyon Trio are introduced, giving an outside perspective to the Rangers.

Zedd doesn’t arrive…yet. He does send messages to Rita in the form of nightmares.

No Thunderzords, the Zyu/Dino Megazord survives, since I wanna keep the Dairangers (Thunder Star Rangers) in my back pocket.

In the same vein, Tommy doesn’t get the White Tiger Power Coin after losing the Green Power Coin, instead he gets a White Brachiosaurus Power Coin that ties him to Titanus, which itself is reformatted to serve as armor and weaponry for the Zyu Megazord.

Tommy’s Ranger Suit is white and gold, with the MM sculpted mouth helmet and Dragon shield, but with elements of the Dino Thunder Black suit, while Saba is literally just a repainted Bracchio Staff.

Before Tommy comes back, Rita launches the Dark Ranger’s scheme from the comics, which comes to an end once Tommy arrives, destroying the Dark Ranger’s Power Source (A Dark Mockery of a Zeo Crystal?)

The Rita putty escapes, albeit heavily wounded, to fight another day.

Kiya comes to Earth following the Dark Rangers, chasing the power source used. She sticks around for a while.

The first half of the season ends with a final confrontation with Goldar when he attempts to throw Angel Grove into the Dark Dimension during Jason, Trini & Zack’s graduation, and is struck down by Tommy and Jason. The Stone Canyon Trio helps.

Jason, Trini and Zack decide to take a gap year, and are given the Omega Morphers to help Kiya hunt down the source of the knockoff Zeo Crystal, while the Stone Canyon Trio take their places.

Rito arrives afterwards, with some new mercenaries to give the Rangers trouble, including Dayne. Scorpina, meanwhile, leaves, vowing vengeance against the Rangers.

Their adventures include a crossover with the Masked Rider of Edenoi.

The season finale is Zedd’s arrival, Serpentera in tow, and challenges the Rangers to combat.

He destroys the Megazord with Serpentera, before taking them on 1-v-6, rendering the Power Coins useless one after the other, until only Tommy is left with his powers.

Tommy tries, but Zedd captures him, and brings him back to the Moon Castle, leaving the other Rangers to lick their wounds and wallow in their powerlessness.

Season 3

With the Power Coins useless, the Omega Rangers out of contact and Zordon unable to access back-up Ranger powers, Zordon sends the Rangers to Ninjor to create powers of their own.

In the meanwhile, he calls for reinforcements, the Rangers of Aquitar (known as the Doron Rangers), with more on the way.

Zedd sends more monsters to delay the Rangers, and gathers forces fromDark Spector, including Master Vile, to attempt and summon the dark god Lokar from the Talus Dimension.

The Rangers pass Ninjor’s trials and gain their Ninjetti Power Coins and Zords, with all new suits coming with them.

They have elements of the American Ninja Ranger uniforms, the Dairangers, with MM helmets remodeled to reflect their new Zords.

Meanwhile, Tommy is being held by the villains, where he strikes up a friendship with Finster, who eventually helps free him.

During this escape, he finds remnants of the tools used in the corruption of the Green Dragon Power Coin, and takes it.

The Rangers return to Earth and meet the Doron rangers. There’s some chafing, especially between Billy and Cestro, though that rivalry shifts into something more…amorous.

Tommy arrives, Finster by his side and arcane secrets in hand. Finster and Alpha duke it out at least once.

In the background, we’re introduced to new transfer students Tanya Sloan and Kat Hillard. Kat gets mind controlled but it gets broken.

Eventually, Finster, Alpha, Tideus and Delphine figure out how to reactivate the Dragonzord, dormant since the loss of the Green Power Coin, and Tommy uses the power of friendship to bring it back under control.

Master Vile attempts to interfere, but the Rangers strike him down with Ninjor’s help. 

Deciding to take advantage, the rangers attack the moon palace, reinforced by the Masked Rider and the Omega Rangers (Now with Yale replacing Kiya)

The Rangers win, destroying Serpentera, and wrecking the moon base, though Lokar is summoned.

In order to seal him, the Mighty Morphin Rangers sacrifice the Ninjetti Power Coins to do so, while Tommy’s powers once again become unstable.

In the aftermath, the rangers disperse. Kim goes off to pursue her gymnastics career, Billy leaves for Aquitar as a representative of Earth, NASADA, and Prometheus.

Aisha also leaves to join humanitarian aid.

Tommy, a bit adrift, decides to stay with Adam and Rocky, and possibly form a new team.

After all, while they did beat them up, they never saw Rita, Rito, or Zedd actually fall…

<-Prev/Next->

[spaceyaceface]

History - Chapter 2

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Warnings/Cliches: Slow burn, brief mentions of fights, minor language, spoilers (?) for season 2

Story Summary: Steve Harrington remembers Y/N from high school. He never intended on her getting mixed up with all of his monsters. He never intended to fall in love with her. 

Chapter Summary: Y/N sees Dustin doing something weird. And somehow, that lands her in the backseat of Steve Harrington's car to go fight monsters. Follows part of season 2.

A/N: Ahhhh this took me forever to do. I'm a slow writer, sorry!!! I'm really excited for where this story is going, though, and have some cute stuff planned for the next few chapters! Let me know if you want to be added to my taglist :)

W.C.: 1.9k

TAGLIST OPEN

REQUESTS OPEN

----------------

In the years to come, Y/N would never blame Dustin for getting her involved. But it was pretty much Dustin’s fault. 

She’d been writing an essay for some college on her back porch when the commotion started. Sure, she had gotten fairly used to the boy’s antics–but they definitely could be entertaining. So, when Dustin was cursing like a sailor, running around his yard in hockey gear, she stood off to the side, brows furrowed. 

“What the hell is all this?” she asked, expecting his group of friends to come tumbling out of his house after him at any moment. 

Instead, his eyes went wide under the mask he was wearing and he swore even louder. “Get out of here!” 

“What–”

She was cut off by a noise behind her. Her head turned to look back, but before she could get a good look at the source, Dustin yanked her into the shed beside him. 

Through the cracks, she saw her very first demadog. 

Her breath fled from her lungs as she stared at it–it’s featureless face splitting open to eat some of the bologna off of the ground. Suddenly, it looked up at them–how did that thing even see anything?--and Dustin shot out of the shed, swinging his hockey stick and launching him into the cellar. He shut the door before collapsing onto it.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “You ate my cat.” 

“It ate your WHAT?” 

Dustin whirled around. “You didn’t see anything.”

“Like hell I didn’t, Dustin Henderson, what on earth–”

“Nothing!” he shouted. “Y/N, just go home and forget about it, trust me, it’ll be better that–”

“I am not going to just go home and forget about it.” She glanced down at the cellar doors. “Go call the police or animal control, or–or whatever, I’ll–”

“No!” He took off the helmet, burying his face in his hands, muttering some choice words under his breath. “I can’t call the police. Well, most of them. Y/N, I legally can not tell you what’s going on so just go home and don’t worry about it.” 

She gaped at him. Legally can not tell her? What was that supposed to mean? Regaining her composure, she folded her arms. “I’m not letting a 13 year old kid handle that freak monster lizard thing on his own. If we can’t call the police, or you can’t tell me everything, then fine. But I’m not going to let Dustin Henderson be solely responsible for a cat eating mini demon. I’m going to help you, whether you like it or not.”

Dustin stood there a moment, a little shocked at her speech. After a moment he groaned. “Fine. Fine!  But I can’t explain. And you have to do exactly what I say!” 

Most of the day after that was a blur. 

As they scrubbed cat guts out of his carpet, Dustin was trying desperately to get ahold of someone else to help. Over and over, he tried his friends (“More 13 year olds are the people who know this stuff, but not me?” “Shut up.”) but they didn’t pick up his code red. Well, except for Erica Sinclair, who promptly turned off her walkie and left them for dead. He tried a few other people as well, like Jim Hopper the chief of police, and Joyce Byers. It was a bit comforting that there were at least some adults involved in this madness. 

Y/N tried to keep herself from asking questions. It was part of the deal, after all. Seeing that thing had sent a wave of fear through her, and she wouldn’t be able to rest easy until she knew it was taken care of. But she couldn’t help but wonder what it was. She’d managed to guess very little about it so far–just that it was dangerous, unknown to most of the human population, and that its existence was very, very bad news. 

By the time the evening came, Dustin was growing more and more tense. She had helped in any way that she could, but he seemed to be formulating a plan to get rid of the thing (which he finally told her he had named Dart) that needed help from someone more experienced. 

So when the pair of them stood outside the Wheeler’s house, Y/N was beyond confused. 

“I thought you already tried getting ahold of Mike,” she said as he pounded on the door. 

“Their line is busy. They might be home, though. And Nancy could help too.” 

She furrowed her brows. “Nancy?”

Finally, Ted Wheeler opened the door. The conversation was short and to the point. Mike was at Wills. Nancy wasn’t home either. Behind them, a car door slammed shut. 

Y/N turned and saw someone marching towards them to the Wheeler’s front door. After a moment, she realized that the someone was no other than Steve Harrington holding a bouquet of roses in his hand. 

She inwardly grimaced. She’d heard the rumors circling around–that the King and Miss Perfect had finally broken it off, and she had run away with Johnathan Byers. Judging from the roses and the muttering under his breath, she figured the rumors must be true. A shot of sympathy went through her. 

He had changed in the past several months. She wasn’t sure what it was–maybe it had been Nancy, pulling the best out of him–but the difference was pretty stark. He no longer hung out with Tommy or Carol. In fact, as far as she knew, he had laid fairly low this year. He was still a regular at parties, of course, but he seemed more… grounded. Kinder. 

A little bit more like the Steve Harrington she had glimpsed at in the week that they spoke to each other. 

Lost in her thoughts, she was pulled back to reality by Dustin calling out to Steve. “Are those flowers for Mr. or Mrs. Wheeler?”

“...No.”

“Good.” Dustin yanked the flowers out of his hand, heading over the Steve’s car. 

“Hey! The hell–” 

“Nancy isn’t home. Y/N, come on.” 

Steve finally glanced over at her, just noticing she was there, before turning his gaze back to Dustin. “Where is she?”

“Doesn’t matter. We have bigger problems than your love life.” 

“Wait,” Y/N said, looking between the two of them. “Harrington knows?” 

“Yes. Hurry up. Do you still have the bat?” he asked, question directed back to Steve.

“What bat?” he replied

“The one with the nails.”

Steve glanced between Dustin and Y/N. She had made her way to Dustin’s side, deciding that she wasn’t going to be ditched any time soon. “Why?”

“I’ll explain on the way,” Dustin said, getting into the passenger seat. 

“Am I finally going to get an explanation?” Y/N asked. 

“Well, you’ve stuck around this long. I feel like it’s going to take a lot to get rid of you.”

—-------------

It was a long while before anyone said anything. 

Steve was tense at the wheel, glancing at Y/N in the rearview mirror periodically. 

Dustin had just caught Steve up to date–all about how he found Dart, and how he thinks he’s a baby ‘demogorgon’ and his grand plan to burn him to smithereens. Y/N felt she was still missing a lot of background on the whole thing–like where they had encountered these demogorgons before, and what it had to do with all of Dustin’s friends, but it was more information than she had had before. 

“You can still back out,” Steve said, cutting through the silence. “You don’t have to have anything to do with this.”

She shook her head slowly. “I’ve made my choice.” 

Dustin sighed. “Y/N–”

“Look,” she said, taking in a breath. “The thing is, now that I know there’s stuff like this out there, I can’t just sit aside and let someone else take care of it. I can help. I know I can. And if I backed out now, knowing that this thing could hurt either of you, I’d be a coward. If I went home and then neither of you showed up to school tomorrow, I’d spend the rest of my life knowing I could have made a difference. And that would be worse than dying.” 

Dustin and Steve shared a look. Steve nodded. 

“Welcome to the team.” 

He pulled up into his driveway. The house looked the same as it had nearly a year ago. She had expected as much, but she never really thought she’d be back here again. After parking, Steve went and retrieved a bat. It was covered in nails and looked like a pretty solid weapon. Y/N’s eyebrows rose. 

“You have another one of those for me?” she asked. 

He hummed in thought, glancing around his garage for a moment before grabbing a plain wooden bat leaning against the wall and passing it to her. 

She frowned a bit. “No nails for me?”

“Let’s not have you kill someone on your first swing, L/N. Do good and maybe we’ll make it deadlier.” 

She rolled her eyes, but knew he was probably right. It would be pretty tragic if she happened to be the one causing one of their deaths from a stray swing. 

The trio piled back into the car, ready to go back to Dustin’s house. 

—-------

It was a weird feeling having Y/N L/N sitting in the backseat. 

He had never had any intentions of getting to know her back when he was King Steve. Why would he? She was quiet. Smart. Kind. Everything he wasn’t. 

But the school project had pushed them together like a strange twist of fate. 

For the first time in years, someone had looked at him, through him, and he had felt… seen. He saw the look in her eyes, the way she dismantled the situation and let her opinion of him reform. There was something different in her gaze after that–something akin to pity that had him questioning himself. 

You can do better than them. 

Could he? That had thrown him off. He was Steve “The Hair” Harrington. He was destined to be be Mr. Popular and hang out with jerks like Tommy and Carol, because they deserved each other. He was a kid running away from a home that didn’t want him and towards the parties and drinks and girls that kept him distracted. He was the face he put on when everyone around him looked his way, the grin and nice clothes and nothing more. 

He was sure of it until he started dating Nancy Wheeler. 

Because like Y/N, Nancy was good. She seemed to see the better in him–the better he still didn’t quite believe was there. 

You can do better than them. 

But then he was breaking Jonathan’s camera. He sensed Nancy drifting away. He got into that fight, and he was back to square one. 

He was back to only Tommy and Carol, their laughing grating against his ears as he nursed his battered face with a can of coke. And that’s when it hit him. 

Maybe he didn’t deserve better. Maybe he never would. But he could change. He could do better, be better. 

“Carol, for once in your life, shut your damn mouth,” he spat. 

She looked at him, confused. “What?”

Tommy jumped to her defense. “What’s your problem, man?”

And Steve looked at them. Really looked at them. The faces they put on. The grins. The clothes. He saw himself, and he hated it. 

“You’re both assholes, that’s my problem.”

The argument was short. He ran away from the fight he knew he would lose. His tires squealed, but he felt… free, somehow. 

Y/N had seen better in him. So had Nancy. Maybe, with a little work, he could learn to see it, too.

TAGLIST: @multi-obsessed-fanfic-writer @familyvideostevie

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Let's Rewind! Toast watches Voltron: Defender of The Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 43: Voltron Frees the Slaves Season 1, Episode 44: Voltron vs. Voltron

Episode 43: Voltron Frees the Slaves Do I recognize this episode name? I think so

Allura - tries to be positive, Hunk - immediately pessimistic Like I fully agree with hunk here don't get me wrong but cmon man enjoy the peace for a bit like Keith said

"Lotor you are my son, may I be forgiven, and some day you will be king, may the evil gods help the planet. I have a special assignment to see if you could prove worthy of the throne" LMAO ZARKON ISN'T EVEN HIDING HIS DISDAIN FOR HIS OWN SON ANYMORE, I LOVE HIM FOR THAT

Idk why zarkon keeps trusting Lotor with destroying Voltron, like dude do you not remember the last 42 episodes lmao

oh I don't recognize this episode, was I wrong? I kind of know the looks of these characters, weird also a girl died in front of her lover by missile strike and ofc that was censored, but it was a funny one because we get no context as to why the guy just starts sobbing

Have other planets been named after Zarkon after being taken over? Why is this one just now being called Zarkonia

DID HAGGARS CAT JUST PUSH A GUY OFF A CLIFF?? WILD

is Voltron a universe wide legend then? I know that's probably obvious by now, but it's still wild to hear, and believable honestly since our cultures share the same stories in the same ways

well these kids are stupid if they think they can take lotor hostage, like itll probably work because its dotu and everything goes in their favor but still

I definitely recognize this episode now, I just don't know the plot like I thought I did

"this is a man's work!" kill die maim I know that was them trying to be brave and then setting up the only girl there to fight them on it to help to show she's strong but ugh

aand immediately the plan gets fucked because haggar's cat spies on them, if one of those kids doesn't die ill be disappointed

even better they're used as hostages, though that's gonna go south for lotor real fast

im sorry no launch sequence for the team? i guess they were saving money this episode at least the team knows it's a trap and is prepared for it

animation error, the little girl's dress is the same blue as her brother's, but it goes back to an off-white when it zooms out

"That mighty robot will be desTROYED" Lotor has no patience for kids confirmed

"Voltron doesn't know the gravity of the situation, but I do!" Lotor stop using good puns to trick people into thinking actually funny, you may be a clown, but you sure aren't the kind that makes people laugh

DID THEY NUKE THE KIDS WHEN THE TEAM CAME BY? THAT IS SUCH A WILD TURN FROM "CHANGING GRAVITY TO SLOW DOWN VOLTRON FOR THE ROBEAST TO GET HIM" they're all alive though fucking somehow because everyone merged into this weird orb thing

nobody remembers a goddamn thing about how it happened

WHY IS PIDGE SUDDENLY THE SMART GUY NOW, WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE HAS A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION BRING ME BACK FERAL REGULAR SMART PIDGE

sorry hold on, were the kids trapped on a whole different planet? This is why we need context good god now that they're saved the team is going to actually free the real planet

this robeast just looks like a regular mech again, what happened to the monster designs I liked those a lot

was that dodge a jojo reference

voltron has been automatically calibrating their weapon fire this whole time?? I feel like the team should be rusty after that because it's been a while since they became a team

does voltron have a retractable mace as a weapon, what the actual fuck why don't we see these cool weapons more often

oh a classic scene, one strike from each opponent where one gets hurt but one truly loses of course voltron wins because he pulled out blazing sword

the fight scenes this time around for voltron v robeast was actually pretty cool, I was more invested in it than I thought I'd be

these kids wanna be part of the vf huh? Inch resting ideas are coming to me the planet name is Bravura by the by

/episode end

Episode 44: Voltron vs Voltron Now this one I know FOR SURE

i love when episodes open with zarkon complaining, he's such a mood

Haggar's cat is just a full-time nark isn't he

"I provided a glamorous touch by darkening the circles under his eyes!" Haggar turned Voltron emo by giving him black eyeliner

Pidge I know fighting in a giant robot is cool, but I don't think it's good to WANT to fight lotor every time you visit a new planet the implications are implicating

honestly I totally forgot they came to planet Yadyl already, but it's nice to see SOME consistency in the show for once

why is it always children who recognize something is wrong, like I get that nobody would see that the robeast this time is a voltron dupe but why is it only the kid who's like "hmmm why does voltron have an escort with him??"

i think my gif this time around will be of the kid weirdly digging in the sand to leave voltron an early warning LMAO

I know the team is forming voltron to go to yadyl and properly celebrate with them, but it's still wild to see that voltron comes out even when there's no emergency

this other kid KNOWS it should be the governor who's answering the transmission from voltron, did he assume that someone else answered for him or is lotors impression of the guy just THAT good

team - sees people staring at voltron in fear keith: no people- HEY THERE'S AN ARMED ROBOT, THE SOS WAS RIGHT, EYE BEAM AND THEN HE PROCEEDS TO BLOW UP THE ENTIRE TOWN WHEN THERE LITERALLY WERE CIVILIANS how is the team not getting more bad will from some other planets like how hard is it to have a planet go rogue on them for not thinking their actions through

lotor why are you running INTO THE EXPLODING TURRETS I'm on zarkon's side here, you should be dead dude

animation error, dupetrons leg went from blue to yellow after sand blew on it but then went back to blue in the next cut

the chest on dupetron just turned into the drule skull symbol, haggar really did make him goth LMAO

oh man this thing really is getting to voltron, we haven't seen the blazing sword formation get interrupted before

Keith how did you know the signals were getting picked up, i can't just feed into the belief that this man is some tactical genius without some SUBSTANCE

its just some dude in dupetron,, also which they'd say that beforehand so i wouldnt assume it's a robeast and when it's really an overly complicated mech

WHY DO THEY KEEP SAYING RED LION IS HUNK, LANCE PILOTS RED LION ASSHOLES KNOW YOUR GODDAMN BASICS MY GOODNESS also who knew that voltron could detach his arms and then the arms can act as their own units WHILE STILL BEING ABLE TO FORM BLAZING SWORD, insanity

i changed my mind i know what i want to be the cover gif for this episode sidnvois

/episode end

[snaillamp]

June of Doom - Day 1 - Monsters and Men

I’ve been a little behind the past couple days cause of exams but I decided to have a go at prompts from @juneofdoom. I’ll post when I can but I will try and complete the whole month. Anyway I wanted to switch it up a little and do something I haven’t seen before. Enjoy >:)

Masterlist

_____________________________________________________________

Day 1: “You don’t want to do that” | Collapse | Locked door | Fear |

Whumper rushed through the halls panting hard. Their throat ached as they scrambled around the corner and down another hallway. ‘This isn’t happening… this isn’t happening…’ they thought to themself as they tore down the hall, their feet squeaking on the linoleum beneath them. They reached their office and slammed the door shut, racing to their grab their phone off their desk. Their fingers shook as they dialled the number for security.

“You don’t want to do that.” A low, growling voice snarled. Whumper felt chills go down their spine, as they looked up to see Whumpee, staring them down like a wolf stalking its’ prey. They wore only stained, baggy sweatpants, their skin littered with scars and healing wounds. Long, matted hair framed their gaunt face. They bared their teeth, as they took a silent step towards Whumper who steeled themself for what was to come. “Besides, they won’t even get here in time.” Whumpee let out a low, sinister laugh, taking another step towards Whumper, who gripped their desk. They could feel their heart leap in fear as sweat began to form on their brow.

“If you hurt me...” Whumper cringed inside, as their voice wavered slightly, “My men will not hesitate to kill you, like the animal you are.” They tried staring down Whumpee, but looking into those cold, empty eyes was not the same, now that the power dynamics had so dramatically shifted. Whumper could not have even imagined a Whumpee doing this. They had broken people, many people over the years, but this was inconceivable.

Whumpee laughed dryly, “Oh, Whumper, you just don’t get it.” They looked down at the floor for a second, before looking up with a new fire in their eyes, “I don’t care.” They cocked their head, a small grin forming on their face. “After all this time, you tried to make me give up, and I refused. Well, you finally won Whumper. I have nothing left to lose.” Their words slid slowly from their mouth, making Whumper’s eyes widen in horror. “I’ve finally given up.”

Before Whumper could react, Whumpee launched themself, with almost superhuman speed, at Whumper. Whumper tried to dodge but was too slow, as a strong, cold, hand clamped down on their wrist and yanked them back. Whumpee was crouching on the desk, smiling menacingly. They noticed the phone was still in Whumper’s hand, and they snatched it from Whumper’s grip, throwing it to the floor. “Well, well, well, it looks the the Whumper has become the Whumpee.” Whumpee’s long fingernails dug into Whumper’s skin as they twisted Whumper’s arm behind their back, and forced them to the ground. Despite the abuse they had endured, Whumpee had remarkable strength and that made Whumper quiver.

Their office was nice, near the top of a skyscraper in a fancy part of the city. It was spacious, and had floor to ceiling windows. The light of the afternoon bathed Whumpee’s face in a soft golden glow as they dragged Whumper towards the window, before shoving their face against it. “Look down.” They ordered. Whumper did not move their head, they would not be ordered around by a Whumpee. “Look. Down.” Whumpee quietly growled into their ear. They gripped Whumper’s neck and pressed on the back of their head, just as Whumper had done to Whumpee so many times before. Whumper’s breath hitched as they looked down.

Below them, there were people and cars, carrying around their daily lives, oblivious to the audience watching from above. “You know what they remind me of?” Whumpee continued, moving to stand above Whumper. “They remind me of ants. They make massive nests and all have little jobs, little paths they follow. But ants… Ants are useful, they harvest from the world around them, making the ecosystem flourish. Every ant is useful, even if it gets eaten by a bird, that bird gets sustenance. Ants are not a waste of space. Do you know what my favourite ant is Whumper?”

Whumper shook their head. “Meat ants. Everyone hates them, because they bite, but they are probably the most useful ant of all. They collect the meat of dead animals and take it back to eat. They help the creature decompose little by little. But my favourite thing about meat ants, is once they find something, they swarm. Thousands of them tearing at the flesh of the creature, reducing it to bones.” Whumpee’s voice grew dark as Whumper gulped, before asking, “So that’s what you’re going to do to me then? Tear me up little by little?”

Whumpee laughed, “No, like I said, ants are useful. Humans, they aren’t. We used to be. Before all this.” They gestured at the city around them, “But we forgot.” They let go of Whumper’s arm before kneeling down next to them, “And when we forgot to be like the ants, we became monsters.” They turned to look at Whumper, their eyes boring into Whumper’s own. “But you… you’re the most monstrous of all.” They stood and turned, walking towards the door of the office. Whumper shot up and turned around, their face growing red with rage and embarrassment. “So that’s it? You won’t even finish me off?”

Whumpee paused mid-stride, turning to look at Whumper over their shoulder, before saying in an unsettlingly calm voice, “No.” They reached for the door knob, but before twisting it, they looked at Whumper from across the room, “Because I’m not going to stoop as low as you. I’m not like you.” As they left the room, Whumper heard their voice a final time as they disappeared, “I may be the animal Whumper, but you, you are the monster.”