#i had to ask my brother to explain some context HAHAHA

[aryomengrande]

these tiktoks of rin cosplayers tryna stop sae cosplayers got me cackling lmao one of the sae cosplayers even has a suitcase 😭

[pendwelling]

Helloo,sorry for the trouble but could you tell me a bit about the ending of twsb? Is it a happy ending? Do all the main 3 get to live together? I am still in 170s as there is no other eng translation out there to read ahead... 🥺. I would really appreciate your help as the curiosity is killing me.

//SPOILERS FOR TWSB ENDING!!!!!!//

I answered a similar question on twt/x so I'll just elaborate on my answer from there haha:

It's a very VERY happy ending!!!!! Think of all the struggles and desires of the main characters and imagine them finally getting peace, solace, and happiness. TWSB at its core had always been a very character-driven story where the goals and desires of the characters were what largely push the plot forward, and after all their struggles, you can tell the ending was lovingly crafted over a careful build-up of 920 chapters. They all get their resolution, and character who have went through tragedies get their second chances at living a kinder life, and the villains get their comeuppance in the fair way that TWSB tends to treat its antagonists (there's also proper trial investigations being done and etc etc, politics and court affairs in this novel is actually so interesting.)

All the characters have obtained their perfect endings in their fitting respective ways! It's a super gratifying conclusion for readers, and the thing about Sookym is that they also do a great job in making us care (or feel strong emotions towards) their large cast of characters.

In a more meta sense (since TWSB, for its genre, is surprisingly very meta)(and this is also a spoiler in regards to the universe's God), the "God" wishes for the main characters to be happy, and so the story has shifted itself so that a happy ending is something that our beloved characters are finally able to achieve for themselves without outside interference of original narrative structure forces (think of it a bit like ORV's Probability, TWSB has something similar to that). And in fact, for both the TWSB universe, AND the original QPB universe, as well. I can also confirm that the original Jesse Venetiaan gets his well-deserved happy ending, too! 🥹

Yeseo does indeed get to reunite with his siblings, too, and he ALSO gets to live with Cédric and Ham Ga-in Christelle on the weekends! (Despite pretty much being "married" into the Imperial Family and becoming Pope, this guy still chooses to work his usual 9-to-5 in the modern world LMAO.....)

There is an inter-world arrangement going on that is a bit hard to explain because there's a lot of context behind how it came to be haha, but basically Yeseo is essentially a bride that moves between households after getting married (LMAO). Everyone is very happy! Cédric especially, is very very smug that he gets to keep his beloved partner close by—he even safely escorts Yeseo back home like a dutiful partner whenever he needs to go back to his family home HAHAHA. Jung Hyunseo and him kinda have some beef over it, actually (Hyunseo: "this is his home?? why does he need an escort...." *insert smug Cédric face*). Hyunseo is really the older brother who has to deal with the antics of eccentric otherworldly in-laws and a model-student younger brother who has now grown up to be a bit of a troublemaker..... (There's a scene where Yeseo shows up and goes "Here's our baby!" while holding pretty-much-their-baby(DONT ASK WKDJKD)(AND NO THERES NO MPREG) and gives Hyunseo a near heart attack while Cédric looks so so so smug and self-fulfilled, he's such a brat..... (affectionate)).

All in all, after the war between the Riester Empire (with the allied forces of other countries + Crown Princess Elise) and the Sneijders of Venetiaan, there are award ceremonies (several characters get promoted or given new titled ranks), memorials and eulogies for those fallen in the war, and a very well wrapped-up conclusion to this huge conflict (again politics in TWSB are actually very interesting and really well done imo). It largely has to do with the Almighty God, as well, but I won't say much about that because 1.) It's a revelation that is best made while reading yourself, and 2.) It's a bit complicated to understand without the proper context anyway hahajah....

(I can also confirm that future emperor Cédric probably won't have to worry about siring an heir. Congratulations to Yeseo for essentially being the queerplatonic mother to his two partners' "children".....)(this sounds absolutely crazy but it makes sense OK trust me, but anyway, CYC are partners and I trust that they will continue to support each other for a long, long time hehe)

It's super, super satisfying, and a very happy ending for Yeseo and friends! :')

[pwurrz]

i’m reading the teyvat food notes for childe and…

‘tartaglia made an appointment to meet, but he didn't say where to meet at all... it's definitely something he would do.’

“yo! comrade!” ‘why are you here?’ “oh, because it suddenly occurred to me that i forgot to say where we met hahaha. it seems that you come to the adventurer's guild every day to receive commissions, so i thought if i waited for you here, i would definitely find you.”

“if i walk with you, i always feel that i will encounter many powerful enemies on the road, no matter where i go.” ‘i thought for a while, and said that we should go to conquer the ocean this time. when tartaglia heard the word "conquer", enthusiasm was written directly on his face, and we set off like that.’

“ah? by ‘conquering’ the ocean, you mean... catching octopuses?” he really won't hide any emotions, and his loss is completely written on his face. i explained that it happened to be tartaglia’s birthday, and i wanted to have a different "battle" than usual. in addition to the ocean, let him try to "conquer" the feeling of cooking. the loss is gone, his enthusiasm is back...’

‘tartaglia’s knife skills are unexpectedly quite proficient.’ “haha, i used to cook for my younger brothers and sisters during the solstice of winter.”

‘we will challenge more monsters together in the future. tartaglia smiled happily.’

“speaking of which, if you want to travel around teyvat, you should also go to snezhnaya one day, right?” ‘um.’ “you can call me when the time comes, i can ask to go on leave for you.” ‘um.’ “the scenery there is beautiful, and if you have a reliable tour guide like me, you will be able to appreciate it too.

these are all rough translations because the original page was in chinese and google translate isn’t very good at translating so i had to correct some grammatical errors and fill in some gaps in context. but he’s so cute 🥺🥺🥺

[menemosa]

ooooh deities <333

warning: this is very very long fjeiwajgoaew

okay okay so Deities is kinda weird cause its basically just a 15-page compilation of all the short stories/character exploration things i do for some of my ocs. uhh for context, i’ve been working on a pantheon with a friend for about 2 years now technically inspired from nordic mythology but honestly we just made it into a building place for any ideas we have for... whatever honestly HAHAHA

i’ll just add a snippet to one of the short stories and give a really long explanation for it cause uhh there’s a lot of stories and lot of context and we’ll be here forever if i explain each and every one lol

Amaia is known for being the most merciful amongst her siblings, the one that is sure to answer when mortals seek her help. She is the one with prayers flooding her eardrums, crowds of worshippers that burn her their finest materials, and devotion felt in the crevasse of every piece of marble on her temples.

She is only one left of the Oprindelige, the only to survive the madness that courses through her family’s veins. Amaia’s worshippers adore her for the fact that she is the only one who stayed, but she knows that it’s only a matter of time before they grow displeased with her. She is too kind, too distant, too neutral. She remains with the souls of the dead, and the living has never quite forgiven her for that.

Amaia now knows she is an amalgamation of the things she tries to leave behind. A juxtaposition of immortality and death, she is surrounded by the skeletal husks of the once was and no longers. Her heart holds a vice-like grip on her memories and plagues her with the whispers of what if. They murmur a name long forgotten. Amaia had run to the realm of the dead to find some of the peace the dead seemed to possess, but only found that bitterness lasts far beyond the grave and regret? Regret remains forever.

so basically, amaia’s the she’s the youngest in four gods called the “Oprindelige”. they’re the accidental children of vynarin, a four-faced primordial god, and were conceived as he was wounded by his older brother (who’s basically trying to kill him but that’s another story lol). vynarin is a shitty, neglectful parent who doesn’t care one iota about his so-called children.

this ends up driving amaia’s older sister, eyfura, to become controlling and manipulative af towards her siblings because of her abandonment issues and eventually drives each sibling against each other. now all of amaia’s older siblings despise mortals, which is a big problem because amaia actually runs away and falls in love with a mortal princess turned queen haha.

in an attempt to bring her back into their embrace, her older siblings execute this amazing plan to kill off amaia’s lover (all ofc orchestrated in the background by eyfura the sister of the year <3). their plan backfires on them completely because rather than go back to them, amaia instead exiles herself into the realm of the dead and takes over as the goddess of the dead. and because she’s actually kind and cares about humanity, she’s the most worshipped one of her siblings lol

so all in all, this entire thing is just amaia reminiscing about how she attained her status as a beloved god and being very very sad

ask game

[scoups4lyfe]

Cont. They kind of set it up by having the previous time having some humor with Kagerou even though in his arc he was always played fairly serious. Like Daiji asking Sakura why she kicked to hard or the three saying the annoying ones are here. Toku often uses humor to bring villains down from their terrifying status from before like Kuroto Dan or Gentoku. However if the writers bring back this as a moment for Daiji later in the series then I would change my opinion from a bad funny moment.

LOL. Thanx for the explanation anon <33.

Yeah hahaha I get what you mean. Honestly the episode 15 non con was SUPER purposeful and has a lot of really interest symbolism and mirroring for the narrative.

The siblings thing specifically was in there for more than just lols, hahahaha. I say this because the writers for Revice put sh#t in there for a reason. ALWAYS.

(Which is why I was originally so confused about the ep 15 non-con, I was like "this was done on purpose 100%. But uh...why? WHY???" lmao. Know I kno)

Revice, Intentional Writing, and the episode 15 Non-Con being GENIUS actually.

Warnings: Spoilers (obv) and uh...idk talk about cults :D

Analysis under the cut <33.

Yeah so as stated above, I was like "wow why did they DO that."

And then me and Nacho were talking about the show (when I should've been liveblogging LOL, and ended up analyzing the sh#t out of the non-con episode.)

Right so our conversation:

context; I was explaining how intentional and genius is Revice is when it comes to all the little details. Like how episode 10's apology seems lackluster -- until you change the lens you have of Daiji, and why Kagerou was created. I talk about this more in another one of my analysis posts. WHich I'll eventually link here at some point :PP.

me:

"Originally, I had this problem with Ikki's apology in episode 10. But upon retrospection, it's actually really good? Like if you have on the lens where Daiji wants to be relied on and trusted, then it makes sense. Cause Ikki essentially apologizes for not believing or having faith in Daiji,;;;

"You're really strong too, aren't you?"

See, originally -- when ur out here listening to Kagerou's nonsense, you're like "lol Ikki.....it's nice that ur apologizing for not believing in ur brother. But this does not at all address the fact that you stole his dream from him" -- because if u see Daiji's hurt as "ikki became kamen rider, and stole my dream" then.... the apology just seem very lackluster.

But if you see Daiji's hurt as him wanting to be relied upon, and trusted / needed thennnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.....It's an outstanding apology.

Nacho:

No yeah. Like I said before (about how everybody's facing their demons), it's a turning point for Ikki. He realizes how he hurt Daiji. The problem is that Ikki doesn't recognize how he's been hurt. Which is the problem with the entire Igarashi family system.

This is what I mean by nobody ever apologizes for the right things.

Ikki's right to apologize to Daiji about never letting him like, be himself. It's like, he slightly misses apologizing for over parenting y'know? It's the difference between saying "sorry for being such an overprotective older brother" and "sorry for acting like your father when I'm not"

And this I think isn't a small difference.

Sorry to bring this up again, but to me it proves why that non-con nonsense happened where Ikki and Sakura restrain Daiji.

The problem's problem's problem of the problem with Ikki is that he needs to really think and know the words: "my parents put me in a position where I was the parent to my siblings when that shouldn't have happened"

Until he does, he's always going to think his behavior's normal in some way. For example, Vice telling him that it's okay to be himself and be a busybody yadda yadda. It is okay to be a busybody, not okay to be a parent to your siblings, much less grown siblings.

Until Ikki reframes himself and his relationship with his siblings in his head, he'll keep giving himself liberties to overstep boundaries with them.

I mean can't uncook the rice. He's always going to have some weird approaches to his siblings and they to him for their entire lives. Can't go back in time and un-parent them.

But my point is that Ikki needs to tell himself that he needs to make boundaries between him and his siblings. It's great that he's letting Daiji do his own thing and trusting him more, but that's for Daiji

not for Ikki.

Biiiiiiig difference.

This is where the whole thing with restraining Daiji comes in. Ikki learned his lesson that hovering over Daiji was hurting Daiji. Simple. He won't do that thing that is hurting Daiji ever again.

But it's not seeing the forest through the trees. Not trusting Daiji is a consequence of parentification.

Back to my weeds metaphor LOL. The "weed" is the lack of trust, but the "root" is the parent-role of Ikki. So. Basically, as long as Ikki doesn't do that thing that hurts Daiji, he can be overbearing in other ways and that's okay bc nothing is telling Ikki it isn't.

He can decide what's best for Daiji bc he's Daiji's parent.

So if he and Sakura restrain Daiji, it isn't harmful, bc Ikki's in charge and supervising. He knows better, that Kagerou is needed for their mission, and that Daiji needs to accept Kagerou. Does he tell Daiji that so Daiji can make that decision himself? No, bc Ikki's the dad, Ikki decides. It's all good bc he's not doing that thing he knows hurts Daiji, he's not hovering and not letting Daiji fight like before. This is a totally different element of being Daiji's parent. And this allllll goes back to what my issue is with the apologies the Igarashis do. Don't get me wrong, Ikki's apology to Daiji is good like you said, from the perspective of addressing Daiji's hangups.

The issue I have is that Ikki sees the apology from a parent perspective. "I'm the father. I'm supposed to protect Daiji and instead I hurt him. It's my responsibility to make this right."

Me:

Man the non con episode....makes so much sense now?? And dammit wouldn't you bet that these two non-con cases are then running a comparison /contrast to each other?

It ALWAYS felt weird to me that we had the weird sibling non con and then right after fking jacked to sH*t;;;; ten times WORSE noncon with the deadmans.

Fked up and evil.

ANYWAYS.

My brain is wanting to make connections without actually thinking anything through so......

[It all comes back to Role Responsibility.]

For Ikki -- he dismisses the situation as okay, because as you said -- he's supervising.

For the Deadmans. It's the same.

Except Oltecca is the supervisor.

His role responsibility is for Gifu to be restored, and now that they have everyone needed gathered, its time for Aguilera to idk accept her purpose or whatever.

(As the virgin sacrifice or whatever fking nonsense was going on there sacrifice-wise. )

Essentially --- Oltecca was working, yes WITH Aguilera, and in a equal position to Julio -- but what gives him more responsibility or edge or power would be....

Whoever the fck told him Aguilera's actually a sacrifice to begin with.

So it all goes back to that skeevy Davy Jones mfer.

*****ANYWAYS.****

Oltecca sees himself ---(as his duty is as stated above, Gifu-sama's revival,,, so he was probably placed next to Aguilera for that reason, as well as whatever the hell makes you qualified for a latin-sona.)

as "in charge" .

Aguilera was never actually in charge, she just thought she was. And then she's the real sacrifice, Oltecca obv saw her differently than him and Julio.

Blah blah blah whatever-

Basically -- Oltecca is the one supervising Aguilera, and since Julio rioted?

Well.

Then he needed to be suitably punished.

So here, I don't doubt Oltecca did all that sh*t to teach Julio a lesson.

I mean, its even shown in the camera movements. Notice, that Chameleon's hand doesn't touch Aguilera (its in movement towards her face) until we have a close-up on Julio and his reaction of it.

And what happens next?

The camera zooms out while Julio continues screaming (while being held down) and now the camera chooses to angle itself over Oltecca's shoulder. Why? Because -- notice how Oltecca is placed a few steps above Aguilera and Julio (while he's being punished). He's even sitting right next to the Gifu-statue.

Which represents how (in being closer towards the statue, and up a few steps from ground-floor); Oltecca is essentially in a higher position than Aguilera and Julio.

And the camera therefore angles over his shoulder, not only to show the difference in placement between the Deadmans 3 in terms of power, but ALSO to show that Oltecca is supervising the situation.

See, if it was as simple as:

We need to sacrifice Aguilera to Gifu,

....then there would have been no need for the non-con scene. She could just be tied up and sacrificed. But Julio attacking Oltecca at the start of the episode is the reason, why Oltecca does this.

In this punishment what he's essentially saying is:

'She isn't your leader. She isn't your friend. She's a sacrifice.'

Now, this is also why in ep 15 -- although it would've been easy -- Oltecca doesn't kill or hurt Julio in any way that would be permanent. (y'know other than mentally) Because he recognizes Julio as part of their fked up cult family; hence why he chooses to punish him instead.

Even HERE, Oltecca isn't worried about Aguilera trying to run off. She's pretty well brainwashed when it comes to Gifu-sama, and she herself said she would gladly be a sacrifice for him.

No, Oltecca's addressing Julio. "YOU need to stay put!" All of his emphasis is on Julio, and his insubordination towards both Oltecca and the cult.

And again -- like you said,

Oltecca obv don't see nothing wrong with what he's doing (nor them other fools) because Oltecca is supposed to be supervising. He's the one that needs to hand out the punishments as he has the highest rank among the 3 of them.

So just more cult baloney basically....

Anyways :D...I guess now a LOT of things make sense to me. LIke why Oltecca killed Julio's friend.

Nacho: Naw, I get you. The *PARALLELS*

Me: Yeah, that's the whole thing.

THAT'S why ep 15 is known as the non-con episode. It's like a fked up puzzle box. Where it's 3D so you gotta....fit the pieces together. Damn this all makes so much more sense?

And I never would've gotten it ---clicked--- if it wasn't for ur analysis of Ikki's role and why the non-con scene happened?

[On Oltecca killing the Friend]

See, this actually really does make sense to me, because for Oltecca --- this friend is a THREAT. It's an outsider, who is trying to establish a close relationship with someone in the cult --- and nOT because they want to join the cult either.

Plus, the component of Julio's continued insubordination, and his 'betrayal' of the cult by taking Aguilera's side (when Oltecca is tech their supervisor. Julio should be listening to HIM, and not fleeing with the sacrifice) and then when you tack on the fact that Julio was probably Oltecca's closest thing to a friend / companion....

Just makes it all the more fxxked up.

I think for Oltecca what crossed the line for him

(aka why he decided to critically injure/kill Julio at the end of ep 18)

.... is because of Julio.....entering a state (because of his friend dying) of idk trauma induced power from anger, and fking TOTALING Oltecca.

Rocked his sh*t so hard he started to evaporate.

So, here ------ Oltecca actually being injured and needing to flee is 1) insulting because as he's the highest rank among the Deadmans 3 and a subordinate attacked him, PLUS having more power is..........not great. And then when you add in the fact that Julio HURT Oltecca.

.....Before this Julio had never actually succeeded in causing any damage lol. He just attacked Oltecca and then got his lights stomped out.

And, obviously the more power thing made Oltecca vunerable as well which I'm sure he didn't like.

And we see this, in Oltecca for the first time ever, saying: "Julio, YOU BASTARD!!"

Before escaping like a coward, so when Julio is just on his mad rampage and fighting the sibs, Oltecca comes to watch from afar. I'm sure there is something else I'm not thinking of for his surveillance /him watching from above.

Nacho: Hmmmm I'd like to rewatch the scene too. Something something distance? From the other deadmans, so like Oltecca is both distant and above them?

DAMN AND THAT'S WHY OLTECCA IS ON THE BALCONY!!!

HE'S TRYING TO DISTANCE HIMSELF!!!!

Like-- he's raised higher, placing them below him, and he's disconnected aka he's only watching.

(This was basically the end of me and Nacho's convo <33.)

And in hindsight of that conversation/Episode,

I would also like to raise the observation that BEFORE Julio hurt him, Oltecca walked on equal ground with him. (Standing on the same plane.) And directly after Julio hurts him, Oltecca distances himself from them AND places himself above them.

Once again showing he thought of Julio more as a friend/someone he was on a similar level with, than Aguilera.

[laughing-with-god]

Pandemonium VI

Words; 5.1k

“And where would I be?  Feeling lonely...separated from my one and only.  So please, don’t take my love away.  Let my baby stay.” - Mac Demarco

“I mean...it is rather nice of him to do that.���

You shrugged at Kat, still on the fence on whether or not to have a positive or negative reaction to the anecdote.  

You had just informed her on the call you had received just a couple of hours ago, the one concerning a certain artist paying off your mom’s medical bills.  

Even you (a very stubborn person) had to admit that having that expense paid was a giant weight off you and your families’ shoulders.

But at what cost?  

You recalled his cunning and sly smiles, further proof that his intentions may not be all that innocent.  All you needed to find out was his motive for doing this. That would connect this puzzle and ease your mind of the enigma that was Taehyung.  But the more you thought about it, the more puzzled you became. He was flirtatious but just you thought someone was cute, doesn’t mean it will justify paying off their injured mothers’ medical bill (that was at least a couple grand).  

But, this was a rich kid you were talking about.  

Money was as familiar to him as water was to fish.  

He spent thousands like you spent monopoly money.  Little to no care of real life consequences.

“I just wish for some context.  Like what the fuck?” You asked your friend.  Kat just nodded as she walked beside you, half listening to you but half paying close attention to the shops you guys passed.  

“Yeah, it is very odd.  You did say this was Jimin’s younger brother, right?  Perhaps he heard about Jimin snapping and coming to our dorm so he figured he should apologise on Jimin’s behalf.”  At the mention of Jimin’s name, your face went stony and expressionless.

You didn’t want to tell Kat about your day, about how Jimin went so far as to show up outside your class, clearly looking for you.  You didn’t want to bring up his name ever again, especially in front of Kat. The last thing you wanted was for her to be reminded of your crazed sugar daddy and how he dared assault her.  Hell, you didn’t want to think about your craptastic day.

You just sighed and agreed to let the topic drop, for now at least.

“I guess that makes sense.  You’re very smart, Kat.”

She just laughed, used to you complimenting her IQ when you were just being over-dramatic and lacked the use of yours.  Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks which caused you to do so as well. Her elfish face looked up and grinned up at the sign of a certain small shop.  

“We’re here.”  

--

The overwhelming floral scent hit your nostrils, causing you to scrunch up your nose in slight disgust.  You never got why people hyped up the smell of flowers...the citrus and perfumey smell gave you a slight headache when given to you in heavy doses.

“Kat, I really don’t think this is needed.”  You murmured to you friend. She waved you off and guided you to the short line.  

“This place is the most well-known florist shop in our city, (Y/n).  Trust me, your aunt and mom will love this. And it’s always proper etiquette to send something when a family member is in the hospital.”

You rolled your eyes, “Sis, I literally spent days with her at the hospital.  I’m pretty sure I’m in the clear as far as etiquette goes.”

Kat wasn’t hearing it.  “Maybe after seeing our nice ass flowers, your aunt will get off your dick.”  She laughed while rubbing her hands together.

“Okay I’m gonna act like you’re not just using my mom’s accident as an excuse to look at some flowers.”  

If Kat heard you, she ignored it as she began to list off the different kinds of flowers that would be good in this situation.  She really was a tumblr bitch whom was addicted to these types of things. You fondly smiled, you rather her be like this than the way you saw her yesterday.  Shaken and afraid.

The line moved as one more customer was served.  At this moment, Kat’s phone rung and her cheerful face slid into a more somber expression.  

“I need to take this, it’s Cynthia.”  You let her go, knowing just how thin and frail the foundation of their relationship currently was.  Now you stood alone in the line, waiting for your turn.

With nothing to do, you couldn’t help but overhear the guy who was in front of you and talking to the worker.

“I don’t know much about flowers but I just need something to send to my friend, he just got married last week and I couldn’t make the wedding..” His voice was velvet smooth and neither high-pitched nor low.  

All you could see was the backside of this man.  He was tall and rather lean. Shoulders were wide, but they had a delicate droop downwards, giving his posture a relaxed but consecutive posture.  His neck was long (at least the back of it was) and sat on top of his head was a perfectly brushed mop of black hair.

The worker just nodded and began to work on getting an order together for him.  You supposed that they got that all the time, people just coming in and asking for flowers without knowing what is called for.  

“I can take the next person in line!”  

You moved up to the area beside the other worker and that mystery guy as an older lady waved you over to her work station.  “What can I do for you, sweets?”

Words were caught in your throat.  Fuck, it was Kat who was supposed to be doing all of this.  You decided to follow that other guys’ lead and just tell her the situation so she can come up with the appropriate set up.  

“Yeah, I need flowers delivered to my mother’s house.  She got into a car accident and I can’t be with her as much as I’d like.”  the older lady gave you a sympathetic look as she began to lay down some paper to wrap the the flowers in.  

“Do you have a particular color in mind?”  She asked, sensing your lack of knowledge. You shrugged.  

“I don’t know..  My friend mentioned doing something multi-colored?”  You trailed off, trying to recall bits of Kat’s rambling.  

“Well, we just got some lilies in.  They come in white, pink, red, orange and yellow.”  

“Can we do white and pink?”  She nodded and smiled.

“Did you mention this will be getting delivered? “  You nodded and she handed you a paper that needed to be filled out before heading towards the back to get the flowers.  

While putting down the address and zip code of your moms’ house, you couldn’t help but feel as though you were being watched.  

You looked over and it was the guy who was in front of you just moments before, instead this time he was facing you head on.

His face was long and slender, just like his body.   Chin was in a perfect V-shape, lips were wide and pink while currently being pulled back in a chesire grin. His teeth were tall and pure white. His nose was high rised, but had a smooth and perfect arch.  It was long without being too big and was weirdly the best nose you’ve ever seen. Although his face was slim, his cheeks held a good amount of flesh on them, and they caused his eyes to crinkled while smiling.  His eyes were ink-black, but deep set and held a glossy look over them that made them appear slightly watery. They were slightly swollen as well, giving them the appearance of cuteness and surrounded by dense eyelashes.  Sort of like an anime character. The man was currently wearing a denim jacket, white shirt and black jeans.

You made eye contact and he just continued to stare at you.

You huffed.

Why the fuck were men addicted to staring?  

“Can I help you?”  You called out.

He nodded, smiling even wider if possible.  

“What’s your name?”  

You rolled your eyes.  “What’s it to you?”

“I’ll pay for your order if you just give me your name.”  

Instinctively, before you can process it, you had said, “(Y/n).”

He took a step towards you, now peering down at you.  “Hello (Y/n), I’m Hoseok.”

You nodded but ignored his words and pushed the clipboard to him.  “So like right here is where the card information comes in. Don’t forget to tip the delivery person too!”  You shoved the paper in his face, making sure he won’t go back on his promise.

He laughed cheerfully, the sound like bells chiming as his eyes scrunched up to the point where you doubt he even could see through them, mouth widely ajar as more laughter escaped it.  

“Your very funny, (Y/n).”  He commented, looking at you up and down while still chuckling,  

You nodded but couldn’t help but notice that he had yet to fulfill his side of the deal.  You fake laughed but grabbed his hand and forcefully shoved him to the table along with the clipboard.  

“HAhahA, yeah so the order should come out to like 30 or something and I don’t know about shipping costs but like here’s the pen and if you can just sign here and there, that’d be great.”

He laughed but did it nonetheless, signing off on paying for the order.  Apparently, your pushiness was very humorous to him.

You gave hit back a pat on the back and said, “Thanks dude, but I gotta blast.”

He called out from behind you but you sprinted out of the shop, not wanting to give him the chance to regret paying for your flowers.  Kat was outside still on the phone, you just dragged her along with you down the street, promising to explain later.

As a wise woman once said; men ain’t shit but walking dick with wallets.  

--

“Is that really what you thought of me?”  He laughed hard, bunny smile evident and and rounded teeth poking out.

“Listen sis, I just know a fuckboy when I see one and all my alarms were going off when I spotted your steroids headass.”

“For the last time, I’m not on steroids.”

“Yeah, you prob just snort protein powder like it’s crack. “

Jungkook laughed harder at that, hunching over in his seat.  

At the moment, both of you were at the campus library.  You had agreed to meet up for the project, not willing to risk your grade being compromised just because your partner was someone less than ideal.  Also, he proved himself to be somewhat decent when he helped you sneak out when Jimin showed up. Quickly, you started to feel bad for assuming that he was trash.  Throughout the study date, it became apparent that he was stuck in a fuckboy body, what laid under that was actually an easily flustered dork.

“(Y/n), you’re hilarious.” He giggled. You shrugged at this.  You honestly weren’t that funny, people just didn’t expect girls to be able to crack decent jokes.

You two were sat at a table, side by side with papers and books spread out between you two.  The library had large bookshelves that surrounded you, so tall that they almost reached the high ceilings and successfully blocked anyone from being able to see you and Jungkook unless they were at one of the other tables in the section.  However, the place was very empty with the core inhabitants being the librarians themselves, plus Jungkook and you.

“Yeah, yeah.  Listen, we got to find a way not to fail this class.”  You told him, trying to turn the attention back to the work.  

You had been there for roughly 20 minutes, but still nothing had been accomplished yet.  Jungkook had wanted to know why you were at first so cold to him, and you honestly told him that he just had that stupid frat boy vibe and you were already in a grouchy mood in the mornings.  He spent the next few minutes trying to convince you that he was actually a lame nerd. He listed off the things he did in hopes that your previous assumption of him would melt away. You had to admit, it worked rather well.  The iron man obsession, the video game marathons, the IU posters and the hobby of photography and videography weren’t what you first pictured when you saw him. You thought of axe body spray, “nudes?”, stupid gym pictures of him flexing and party going along with all those other things that came along with being a fuckboy.  You guess you were wrong.

“Basically, he just wants us to answer those questions onto a google presentation that we have to share with him.”  Jungkook explained, also looking at the work now. You groaned.

“How am I supposed to be able to answer those questions when I wasn’t even here for that lesson?”  You thunked your head against the table. “Jungkook you should consider curb stopping this professor.  Like, your so big for no reason? You should take one for the team…”

“Is that all I am to you?  A fucking right-hand man to send to handle your enemies?”  Jungkook fake pouted, placing a hand onto his chest.

“Shit, kook.  If I have a body builder for a friend, am I expected not to use him?”  Jungkook sighed, bunny face relaxing into a lazy grin. He took out a few more things from his folder and handed it over to you.

“Here, I have the answers and notes from that lesson.  Just copy it down so you can look it over whenever you need.”  You nodded in thanks and began to copy his work over to your own blank sheets.  It was quiet for a moment as Jungkook just fondly watched you do this, taking in your

side profile and adorable face expressions of concentration.  He wanted to drink you in blissfully, not with a care in the world for anything but this moment.  But something was preventing him from doing that. Something that bothered him.

“(Y/n)?”  he asked gingerly.  

“What?”  You responded, not looking up from the scribblings of fast note-taking.  

“Do I know that guy who you had to sneak past?”  

This question caught you off guard.  You looked up. “No. He doesn’t go here and he’s a bit older.”  

“If he ever gives you any problems, you know you can call on me right?”  This made you snort.

“Kook, you wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”  

He stared into you, eyes so dark and voice so bleak when he stated, “I can under the right circumstances.”

--

“KAT! WHAT THE FUCK ARE MY QUALITIES?!”  You yelled from across the dorm from your spot on the loveseat.

“FUCK IF I KNOW!”  She hollered right back from the bedroom.  You grumbled and pondered a bit more.

‘Good team player, headstrong, analytical and grand ability to laugh at oneself.’ You typed this down while chuckling at how lame it sounded.

The next question popped up on the screen.

“KAT!  WHY AM I A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION?!”  You screamed.

“SIS YOU’RE NOT!”  

You ignored this while typing down, ‘In desperate need of experience and said position offers such qualifications.’

The job application was complete and sent.  

Ever since you had cut off Jimin, you sworn off sugar daddies all together.  But, this didn’t mean that income wasn’t needed. You decided to do things the old fashioned way instead of chilling with older and richer men for cash, and chose to start filling out job applications.  

To be honest, you didn’t know how you were going to manage to take classes full time as well as work but you figured that you should at least try to talk to some employers about working.  You sent applications everywhere. To fast food places, to clothing stores, to even personal assistant positions.

If you didn’t at least get one call back, you were going to shoot yourself.  

Luckily, in a matter of two hours a call did come.  

You had an interview tomorrow afternoon.

--

A skirt, a dressy top and heels is what you were currently wearing.  You looked at yourself in the bathroom mirror and honestly couldn’t recognize yourself.

You looked like such a corprate drone…

The business building was very nice as well as the bathroom that you were currently hiding in.  You were one of the few people from the waiting room that were all interviewing for the position.  It was to be a personal assistant of some business director.

The description mentioned that it would be all very easy work.  Just managing the schedule and meetings he would have, getting coffee, and maybe picking up some dry cleaning here and there.  Apparently this guy was a big deal because one letter of recommendation from him will almost guarantee a number of jobs.

But here you were, freaking out in the bathroom.  

The other females in the waiting room all appeared to be very much determined to work for this guy.  They looked more qualified and more comfortable with the setting that you just felt like a fool for even showing up.  You would definitely be wasting the interviewer’s time. The other girls in there wore stilettos and carried fucking mini briefcases!  

You took a deep breath and tried to cool off by spraying some cold water on your face, not enough to ruin your minimalist makeup.  However, it would take a bit more to calm you down

You decided to make a quick call to Kat.  You dialed her up and right away she picked up.

“So I’m having a panic attack in the bathroom before my interview….”  You trailed off.

“Naturally.”  

“Listen!  I know I’m the queen of over reactions but I can’t help but feel like something really shitty is about to happen!”  

At this moment, a woman who was way more prettier and confident than you’ll ever be in such a place, walked in to the bathroom during your little rant.  She gave you a dirty look before disappearing in a bathroom stall. Embarrassment colored your cheeks.

“(Y/n), what the fuck can happen at an interview at a well respected business?  Don’t freak yourself out and get back out there. Let’s get this bread.” Kat attempted to encourage you.

You just nodded and hung up given you were no longer alone in the bathroom and would feel more awkward to continue your meltdown.

‘Let’s get this bread indeed’ you thought with fake confidence, before leaving the bathroom.

As soon as you stepped back into the waiting room, a voice called out,

“(Y/n) (l/n)?  Mr. Kim will see you now.”  You halted in you steps before taking a deep breath and making your way up to the desk, heart pounding.

The secretary smiled at you sweetly and motioned for you to follow her.

You allowed yourself to be led to a conference room where she told you to just knock and wait for a response before going in.  

You knocked on the large black door, lightly.  Listening closely for your cue.

“Come in!”  A light voice called out.  

You opened the door and stepped inside.  

It was a big room that had glass walls and a breathtaking view of the city’s skyline.  There was a long table with about 10 seats sourrounding it smack dab center of the room.  You guessed that this is where meetings were held.

A man was seated on one side of the table and began motioning for you to sit on the one right in front of him.  

Currently, he was looking down at his laptop and typing away, glasses on and cup of coffee beside him.  He still had yet to look up at you.

You supposed he did this one too many times today.  The guilt of wasting his time hit you once again now that you had a face to put to the poor interviewer.  And what a handsome face it was...

He had really wide and buff shoulders that was covered by a suit.  His skin was extremely pale and free of any imperfections. Not so much as a single blemish tainted his face.  A walking advertisement for any skin-care product he uses. His face was oval shaped and held a very sharp jaw. Chin prominent and square-ish to balance the slenderness of his cheeks. The lips were very pouty and dark, berry pink. His nose was straight and had a cute, fleshy bulbous at the end.  At each side of his nose were one of his small and black eyes that were currently downcast. His eyes held slightly curled and coal black eyelashes, that matched his black hair that was charmingly tousled on top on his head. He looked like he was a high-class actor. It was almost hard to believe that someone could achieve such physical perfection without the help of plastic surgery.  Not one feature about him was off-putting. You supposed someone as physically blessed as him must get used to the stares of women.

“(Y/n), is it?”  His voice was high and soprano with a enchanting twinkle.  

“Yes.”  You simply answered.  

He looked up for a brief glance to look back down at your resume, only to look back up at neck-break speed.  

His eyes bulged a tad bit as they met yours once again.  

A crooked smile spread across his face after a moment of just observing you.  

“I’m Kim Seokjin.  I’m the one who is looking for the assistant.”  Your eyes widened a bit at this development.

Fuck, this whole ordeal just became a bit more intimidating.  

“Well Ms. (Y/n), I’d love to get to know a bit more about the type of person you are.”  He said while leaning forward against the table, placing his enthralling face on top of his propped hands.  

You were a bit taken aback at how focused he was, and wondered if everyone got such treatment during their interviews.  

“Umm...I-”

You were interrupted when the door opened and someone stepped inside.  A husky voice asked,

“Jin, when is the meeting going to start?  We all got shit to do you know and you’re taking up the whole conference room.”  

Jin’s face dropped to a look of annoyance as he glared up at this unsaid person.  “Yoongi, I’ll be done in a bit. I’m in the middle of a interview.” he looked back a you.  “It will most likely be the last one for today. Miss. (Y/n) looks to be a very promising candidate…”  He winked at you, confusing the hell out of you. You barely said anything about yourself and you knew damn well the info he had on you wasn’t exactly groundbreaking.

“Whatever, I’ll just tell the rest th-Wait.”  The voice cut itself off. You heard footsteps get closer.  “(Y/n)?”

You turned around.  

And there stood that fucker from the bus.  

“Yoongi?”  You asked. He smiled, gummy and sweet.  

Today he was wearing an armani suit (nothing like the hoodie you first saw him in) however his tie was still loosened which made you smile.  Even in this type of environment, he still managed to be laidback and chill.

“What are you doing here, doll?  Don’t tell me you’re trying to be Jin’s new assistant.”  He droned, face bored but soft smile still present.

You nodded, nerves slowly melting away now that you saw a familiar face.  You joked, “Do you mind putting a good word in for me, man?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes.  “Sorry babe but I don’t hate you enough to try to put you onto this job.  Jin’s probably gonna have you position his hair dryer just right for him more than doing actual work.”  

“Hey!  Is that a way to talk about your older brother!”  The handsome man seated in front of you yelled, facing turning slightly red.

Your jaw dropped at ‘brother’.  

Before you can say anything, another voice added to the conversation, this time it came from right outside the now open door.  

“What’s the hold up, guys?  We promised dad to get the expense reports done today and I’m not working overtime.”  

You looked over at the voice and almost shat yourself.

God wasn’t gonna let you outrun this for too long.  

You ran from him originally but somehow you managed to run towards him without your knowing.

There stood Park Jimin.  

“(Y/n)!”  He exclaimed.  He thrusted himself into the room and onto his knees before you, taking your hands into his.  His eyes (that already were rather swollen and red) teared up as his cherub face glazed up at you.  

“B-babygirl, I’m so happy to see that your okay!  When you told me about your mom and the car accident I just felt so awful.”  His voice broke as he hiccupped some more. “W-what can I do to help, (Y/n)? Please!  Just tell me! I’ll do anything to earn a spot back into your life!”

He was full on sobbing at this point.  Chubby and small face covered with tears as he pushed himself further onto your lap and closer to your face.  

“You have the right to be upset with me, b-but you can’t just kick me out of your life!  I’ll accept any punishment but that!”

Due to the commotion, you hear murmuring sounds come from outside the room.  You couldn’t bring yourself to tear your eyes from Jimin and his usually joyful face that was now crumpled up with misery.  A proud man who had everything was currently on his knees in front of you, begging just for some sort of contact with you and reassurance of your well-being. His unique and raspy voice sounded so raw and broken when crying out for you.  

You patted his head, trying to get him to calm down to any extent.  

He leaned into the action, reminding you of a kicked puppy who just craved affection from his owner.  

You heard multiple footsteps enter the room, without a doubt here to witness the scene of businessman Jimin and his sudden breakdown.  You decided to ignore the other personas in the room and try to reason with your former sugar daddy.

“Jimin, you attacked my roomate.  I can’t forgive that.”

He jumped up at this, grasping at your waist and pulling you closer to him, apparently not caring if he wrinkled his fancy suit.  “It’s a misunderstanding, I swear! Let me explain!”

You heard a harsh gasp that pierced the room so vividly that you just had to look up and see who it was.  

There stood four men, watching the scene.

And you knew all of them.

Each and every single one.

“i have 6 brothers.”  Jimin had told you this on the night of your first outing.

And like that, it connected.  

All of it….. connected.

Like a puzzle you didn’t even knew existed until all the pieces were face to face with you, mocking your inability to solve it.  

7 men who were all young, handsome and heirs to a multi-million dollar company ran by their father.  

Like a Shakespearian drama, hell unleashed itself in the confined space of the conference room.

--

“You’re the crazy ex (Y/n) was talking about?!”  Jungkook yelled, glaring at Jimin with his doe eyes know filled with pent-up aggression now that he knew whom was responsible for your fear.

“How the hell do you know her?”  Hoseok demanded of Jungkook. This made the youngest of the bunch scoff.  

“What do you mean how do I know her?  We’re classmates! The question is how do you old, senile fucks know her?!”  He hollered, addressing all of the other men in the room.

Jimin ignored this and tugged your face back to him.  He just needed you to forgive him, he didn’t bother with his siblings at the moment.  He had tunnel vision whenever you were in a room. Now more than ever, as your forgiveness was top priority.  

“I didn’t attack Kat!  (Y/N), you have to believe me!  And why are you even interviewing for this job, baby?  You know that as your sugar daddy that I’ll provide for you.”  Jimin was holding you so close to him, afraid that something might just snatch you up if he wasn’t looking.  Which was somewhat true given the particular scene…

“Sugar daddy?!” Seokjin gaped, shocked at the revelation.  

“So she’s basically only with you for money…”  Yoongi smirked, monotone voice expressionless as always.  He was pleased because this meant your relationship with Jimin was very easily replaceable and not built off of true feelings on your side.  He’d just offer you more money and tada! You were going to be his.

“Was.  She was with him.”  Jungkook corrected, crossing his arms.  

Jimin snapped at this term, brain not willing to comprehend that it was over.  Couldn’t they see that this was just a bump in the road for him and (Y/n)? He wanted them to shut up before they gave you ideas of keeping him away from you.

“Shut your fucking mouths!  This is our relationship and our business.  Not you nosy motherfuckers!” He growled at them, stunning you.  

Your mind was so preoccupied at the moment.  Even amongst this chaos.

How did you manage to run into all of them at once?  In an office setting, nonetheless.

You’ve been to Jimin’s workplace before and it was a building that was on the other side of town.  So, how the fuck are they all here?

“I thought the building on the West side of town was your guys’ family business.”  You mumbled, dazed and confused. This was like a venus fly trap that you stumbled upon.  You usually had more wit than this to willingingly walk into a messy situation.

“We have 3 different locations in the city, baby.”  Namjoon said this while studying your concentrated face fondly.  It was so cute when you thought so hard.

You eyes looked up to meet the one brother who had yet to speak.  

He was the only one who looked unbothered with the whole ordeal, just watching it with aloofness and moderate entertainment at the digs they gave each other.  

“Why did you pay off my mom’s bills?”  You couldn’t help but ask him, not knowing if you’d ever get this chance again.

He smiled down at you, and even the other brothers stopped to study Taehyung, alarmed at your question.  

He shrugged and asked, “Is it wrong to want to take care of my future mother-in-law?”  

Author’s note: ALL MEMBERS ARE HERE NOW SO ALL ASKS ARE OPEN!!  Also thank you all sooooo much for the support and esp the asks, I love doing them.  Pls let me know what you think of this chapter and also you guys should feel free to send any questions you may have for me or just to say whatever you want.  I love it.  

[dreamingsushi]

Legend of the White Snake -Episode 16

Hahaha, when he tries to give her the medicine, Qing Er goes wild she’s like get out with your garbage. Poor Zhang Yutang, he has no idea. Xu Xian goes to have a look and thinks the medicine is good quality, but Qing Er won’t let him buy, thus Yutang leaves angry. Qing Er is angry too an follows him to prevent him from hunting anymore. She invokes some fog and he chases a green snake, but in the fog, he falls down a cliff. Then Qing Er saves him. Well, she doesn’t like him that much it seems. I believe that would be the cliff Ruyi fell down from hmmm.

So made up and he even gives her a piggy back. Would that be Qing Er’s first love? I mean, after Suzhen, because she’s definitely in love with Suzhen too. Anyways, he does kind of like her too, because she’s not like all of the other ladies. Of course. She wanted to be a boy. She took a girl’s form only to stay with Suzhen.

What? Why is frog guy putting something in the well in the middle of the night? This is like... so random?

Awww Xu Xian is getting jealous. Basically, some ladies came in pushing and pretending they had a problem to see Xu Xian the cute doctor, but to drive them away, he said that girl patients should consult with his wife instead. When they are gone, he asks Suzhen to work with him and she worries that if she comes in people will stop coming, but he’s not worried, people were eager to consult with her back at Jishi tang. Then, she says that he should  take care of the girls and she takes care of the boys so everyone’s happy. Then he says, everyone except me hahaha. Sorry, I am not sharing my wife with anyone else.

So an epidemic diseases starts to kill people in town, even one of the doctors catches it. There’s no medicine able to heal it. Jishi tang says they have it, but it’s really expensive. Okay. So basically, what is probably happening is that frog dude poisoned the well with is demon poison. And he’s the only one to be able to cure it. And with that he’s going to make money for Ruyi and a name for himself.

Most people can’t afford the medicine, but Xu Xian didn’t know and is surprised to that some people are not going when he learns they really have the medicine for it. He is really surprised to see that Ruyi would allow something like that so he decides to go and convince her to sell the medicine at a reasonable price. She won’t budge a notch, unless he gets rid of Suzhen. That girl. She’s making it harder and harder for me to at least pity her. I mean, she didn’t have mom and her dad spoiled her because he felt bad for her about that, plus he was a man that lover money. But wow. You’re willing to let a whole town die just to break a couple because it happens you like the husband? I am sorry. That’s asking a little bit too much from me.

NO. WHAT? I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THAT. That ugly frog dude. He poisoned Xu Xian. Wow. Suzhen, when the little boy’s mom was sick, you knew right away it was the poison from a demon, why can’t you feel it now? She’s going to ask Ruyi for the medicine now... of course she’s going to try and tear them apart TT

Ok. She redeemed herself a little bit in my eyes. She is just heartbroken. As soon as Ruyi hears that Xu Xian is sick, she gives all the medicine that is left to Suzhen. Suzhen thanks her and she’s wondering to herself, since when as it come to a point that between her and Xu Xian, they should be thanking each other. Just to put into context, in Chinese culture saying thank you shows that you are not that close with somebody, like you have to be moderate with how you say it if you are close to each other? And especially between family members. Even though Xu Xian doesn’t think of Ruyi in that special way, they grew up together like brother and sister, that Suzhen would thank her like that excludes Ruyi from Xu Xian’s family somehow. Not in a mean way, it’s just like.. a feeling. It’s complicated to explain. But basically, Ruyi and Xu Xian are drifting away from each another and that bond that they shared might be broken forever.

Suzhen rushes back home to feed Xu Xian with the medicine. And the first thing I am thinking is: did she even check what’s in it? Nobody knows where that Wang Lingdao comes from, I wouldn’t want to feed my husband something bad. Well, I don’t understand a thing about medicine, but if I did, I would check thoroughly. And I bet she didn’t check because... IT’S DEMON’S POISON! And I know she can recognize that. Or maybe it worked with Qing Er because they are both snakes? I hope it’s that, because otherwise, I’m starting to think it doesn’t make sens AT ALL.

Xu Xian is saved. And he’s so smart. Excellent, Suzhen isn’t too dumb. She didn’t know what was inside the medicine so she didn’t want to give him too much. Xu Xian takes a look at what’s left and is thinking it’s impossible for medicine to act so fast. It looks more like... anti-poison. That’s what I have been saying since the beginning. He notices that it’s probably not made with herbs, but rather with stones? Like, boiling the stones? It’s probably something more complicated than that, but as I said already many times I know nothing about medicine, and especially Chinese medicine and for all that I know, they might just say whatever and any doctors watching this would be pointing everything that is wrong. But I feel they keep it very general and don’t really go into detail about the diseases.

Now that Xu Xian determined that it’s poison, I hope Suzhen finally notice that there’s a demon involved. Xu Xian is also wondering, if it’s poisoning, how come Jishi tang happens to have the antidote. It’s a little bit too much just to be a coincidence, right?

Suzhen decides to investigate and she follows Wang Daoling. With Qing Er, she notices that he put something in the well. Oh finally. Since she doesn’t have her core anymore, that’s why she can’t see his real form. And Qing Er is too young to have that ability yet. Jing Song, that would be the perfect moment for you to come out and redeem yourself. And I kind of miss you, so come back soon.

Okay, so they get into the frog’s den and steal all of the antipoison. But they have to make sure he doesn’t notice so they can catch him. While they prepare to save everybody, Xu Xian wants to go again and see Ruyi to convince her to stop what she’s doing. If that Wang Daoling took good of Ruyi, it would make Xu Xian at ease, but now that he uses such ways, he can’t bear to see Jishi tang in the hands of such a man and feels like as a big brother he should help Ruyi keep off going the wrong road. Qing Er is really mad that Xu Xian would go and see Ruyi and is about to tell him how Ruyi treats Suzhen, but Suzhen won’t let her, because she doesn’t want Xu Xian to be caught in between two people he holds dear. Such a good wifey.

[purplesurveys]

692

How old were you when you had your first crush? The first crush I had that wasn’t a celebrity or a teacher was when I was 12. If you're a girl, how old were you when you started your period? It was a month after I turned 10. By that time I was just entering Grade 4 and when we were asked who had already gotten theirs, only a handful of hands shot up haha. I was an early bird for sure. What is your worst period story? Pretty obvious TMI warning here. Happened last December. I was visiting a photo studio to test if they were going to be suitable for my college batch’s grad shoot and unfortunately my period started in the middle of the trip. Even more unfortunately the trip was all the way in fucking BINANGONAN, which meant I couldn’t have access to napkins for the entire drive. I had to cross my legs real tight to avoid any leakage but at the time we got to the studio, my crotch area was soaked nonetheless. I had to ask for napkins from the studio staff, but thank god they were the nicest people ever and didn’t hesitate to hand me one. Does anyone else know who your first crush was besides you? Gabie knows. I think she’s the only one who knows, but I also think Pia asked me at one point too, so maybe her as well. What was your most embarrassing moment? I have at least one everyday.

What are your worst cramps like? Leg cramps that wake me up at 4 AM, without a doubt. Those always end me in tears no matter how old I am. What is the most physically painful thing you have ever experienced? Either my foot infection back in ‘09 or the toothache I had a few months back. I had no idea a TOOTH could send me crying almost every night or wake me up in the middle of the night just from being so painful. Oh and the time I ripped my ear piercing off. What are you allergic to? I’m not allergic to anything... at least I haven’t encountered anything I turned out to be allergic to. Have you ever wanted to be someone else? I’ve never seriously wanted to be a particular person, but I’ve found myself fantasizing about if I were richer. Have you ever been jealous of someone? Sure. Have you ever been jealous of a friend? Yeah. Just mostly high school stuff though, like the time Erk kept getting Gabie away from me and I got super fed up about it at one point that I stopped talking to Gab for like a month lmao. Do you feel shy around someone when you are first getting to know them? Yeah of course. Aren’t most of us? Do you feel shy around a crush? I get both shy and distant. What color hair did your first crush have? Black. Do you ever cry in public unwillingly, or are you able to hold it in? I’m able to hold it in because I hate making a scene. I just keep swallowing the lump in my throat and try to blink less. Do you throw up involuntarily when you have to, or can you swallow it down? I also can swallow it down as long as I have to. But if I really need to throw up I run to the nearest toilet. What's one near-embarrassing moment you had? Uhh idk. If I can tell something is going to be embarrassing I usually already feel pretty embarrassed about it, regardless if I’m saved from the embarrassment or not. Do you ever call yourself stupid? Yeah. Just yesterday BoJack Horseman’s “You’re a stupid piece of shit" kept replaying in my head all afternoon and evening. What was the name of your first imaginary friend? Katrina. She was my first and last. What's one weird habit you have? When I get my usual drink at Starbucks, my first sip has to be a long one and I usually savor it by closing my eyes and letting out a contented sigh haha. Only then can I start working.  Are you more of an open or a private person? I’m a bit of both, if that makes sense? I keep my shit private when they aren’t being raised, but when someone asks me about them I have no problem being an open book. Do you wish you could be more open with others? No, I already am. Do you feel ashamed? Not permanently lmao, but I feel it every now and then. Do you get embarrassed easily? Yes. Do you have regrets? Some. Have you ever fallen asleep in class? Never. I feel like – aside from being disrespectful – it’s an embarrassing thing to happen, especially if you’re caught and get scolded for it, so I make it a point not to let it happen to me. What was the hardest thing you've ever had to forgive? [Big trigger warning: Domestic violence] The day my grandpa said sorry to each of us in the family for beating up my baby cousin in a drunken stupor. After that he left the house for the week, presumably out of shame, then he came back to ask for forgiveness from each of us. I was desensitized to all of the violence I’ve seen at that point, so my 9 year old self gave him a shrug. Is there anyone you hate? No, not hate. Is there anything or anyone you're angry at, that you haven't forgiven yet? I don’t plan on forgiving my deadbeat uncle or my brother anytime soon. List five of your biggest bullies. A lot of people bullied me for my name and looks when I was younger, but they’re all irrelevant in my life now and I’ve forgotten all of them save for two – Kaira (who’s my friend now) and Sophia (who I don’t like just as much as when I was 4). Have you ever plotted revenge against someone? I’ve fantasized about revenge but never plotted anything. Have you ever done anything to get revenge against someone? Nope. ^If so, do you regret it, and did you apologize later? Have you ever had a friend crush (i.e., you really wanted to be their friend)? Yeah I remember being like this with Macy. She’s changed quite a bit these days and we don’t talk anymore, which I find sad considering what we’ve gone through in the last couple of years. What is the greatest longing of your heart? Money. The rest of my desires - happiness, contentment, the material things I want - comes after I have money lol. Who was your first love? Gabie. What was the last thing someone said that warmed your heart? Chesca said something very sweet to me and it was something I needed to hear, but explaining it would need too much background context so suffice it to say, she reassured me when I needed it most. Do you pray regularly? Nope. ^If so, to whom? Do you love Jesus? What church do you go to? I’m not religious but my mom is, and she drags the entire family to church every Sunday. That said we go to a specific parish within our area, because that’s what we’re a part of. What denomination is your church (if you go)? Catholic. What was the first year you voted in a presidential election? 2016. How old were you when the year changed to 2000? At exactly January 1? I was a year old, but I was turning 2 that year. Have you ever been afraid of the world ending? Not really, but it certainly has felt like the end of the world these days. This is the kind of shit you only ever get to read about in textbooks, so it’s feeling a little surreal. Do you enjoy public speaking? If I’m prepared for it and/or I enjoy what it is I have to talk about. What food makes you gag? Pineapple, raisins, or ice cream with nuts. Who was your first celebrity crush? Ashley Tisdale when she was Maddie in Suite Life of Zack & Cody. I also lowkey liked the mom, hahaha. What show did you want to be on when you were younger? Hi-5 when I was extremely younger; the kiddie crowds looked so lit 😩 Hahaha but when I got a bit older, I wanted to be in Legends of the Hidden Temple or be one of the people splashed with slime at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Looking at my answer I could now tell I was definitely a Nickelodeon kid. What was your childhood dream? To be an astronaut, to be a wrestler, and to have a big house with a swimming pool. Did you ever fulfill your childhood dream? I have 0/3 achieved, but it’s okay. My wants have mostly changed. What is your dream now? I still want a big house with a pool for sure lmao, but I mostly just dream of having enough money all my life and never having to worry about finances or having to ask people. What is your passion? History has always been my biggest one. Are you living your dream? Not yet. Do you receive insults or compliments more? Compliments, but that’s because I don’t let myself thrive in an environment where I’d get insults more because yanno, self-care? Lol. What is unfair about your life? Bad past presidents and how it’s led our country to be in the miserable state it’s in today, whereas I have to see other countries flourish in their unbelievably competent governments and see how these countries have public parks, libraries, playgrounds, etc. I don’t know what I did in my past life to have to end up in the Philippines hahahahaha, but here we are today. What about your life would you change? I wish my dog can stay with me forever. Did you write love poems when you were younger? Nope. Who are you jealous of and why? I’m not really feeling jealousy at the moment. When someone hurts you, do you start to feel jealous of them? No? Why would that happen? Name five people you know who have everything handed to them. Idkkkkk. I don’t wanna namedrop anyone for something like this lol. Name one person you know who is spoiled rotten. Boomers? Name one person you know who seems stuck-up. I know someone but I’m not naming him on here lmao. Name a church that just wants money. All of them? LOL at least all the Catholic ones, I can’t speak for the other denominations. What is your least favorite chore? I really hate folding clothes. Have you ever had an account of yours hacked? Yeah but like by a virus or something, not a person. Have you ever been a victim of police misconduct? Nah. But traffic enforcers have been incredibly rude to me before. Do you keep a diary? This one. What color is the diary you are currently using? It doesn’t really come with a color... Do you actually write "Dear Diary"? Only in the diaries I kept as a kid, because it’s what I saw in cartoons. When was the last time you wrote and sent someone a letter? December. I included a handwritten letter in my Christmas gifts for Gab. Do you write in cursive or print more? Print. Have you ever self-harmed? Duh.

[toasttz]

From the Tabletop #7

For all my one (1) reader(s), I apologize for the delay on this instance of From the Tabletop. Everything I said at the end of the last post was clickbait, too, as this time, we're actually going to ping-pong back to Exalted with a brand new circle! FUNTIME! This go-around, our circle composition was markedly different to start, as two of our players from last time dropped out - one couldn't make the first session of the new campaign due to work and the other decided to become a total bitch-baby and pussed out entirely. However, at the same time I recruited two close friends to take their seats. And, due to other meatspace shenanigans, our usual GM had to be gone for the session as well, so Valentinian's player once more took on the mantle of GM for the campaigns kick-off. To begin, let's introduce the first batch of characters we'll be following. First is Rakis. Rakis, according to his player, was inspired by Desert Punk, if you're familiar with that at all. He's a short, wild-child, driven from his desert town into the desert wastes as a child by a mob who murdered his family in cold blood, leaving just him and his brother. His brother then got eaten by a massive sandworm (mechanically, for those who care, a reskinned River Dragon, just replacing the words "water" for "earth"). The worm then seemed to take on a totally different demeanor toward Rakis, and the boy began to believe the worm was his brother reborn. Rakis is a Solar, a survivalist who battles with tricky melee tactics, in tandem with his worm, but struggles in social settings. Then there's Doran, a metalsmith of some repute, whose family was held hostage by some mafia-esque organization until he followed very specific instructions to forge a fairy weapon to their specifications. However, due to not fully knowing the origin of the materials at play and the true nature of what he was making, the weapon took on a ghastly and dangerous set of properties, making it extremely lethal but draining to use. When he went to make the exchange, it was already too late, and his wife and children were already brutally slaughtered. Doran thus swore a quest for revenge. Also a Solar, Doran is a skilled melee fighter, who tries his best to not use the dark artifact in his bag, knowing full well what it can do. And lastly (for now), was my character, Albin. Albin was a design I've had in the wings for a long time, as a scholarly sort who ended up being really heavy into craft, loving both first-age tech and woodworking, from whence he created his main weapon - a wooden longbow. For emergencies, I also have a Prayer Piece firewand, a sort-of rifle but one powered by prayers to Sol Invictus and very, very expensive ammo to make. I play Albin as incredibly deadpan and flat, as some of his flaws include that he doesn't understand metaphor or people very well. And despite that, this character ended up as the face of the party (due to Rakis being socially inept, and Doran being socially hostile) for the first session, at least. Anyway, we agreed the three already knew each other, as Albin worked as a field scholar for Great Forks University (Slogan: Go Fork Yourself!), and the three had reasoned that the MO of both groups that hounded Rakis and Doran made it sound like they might very well be one and the same, so the three agreed to pursue this lead best as they could. Rolling into a random town in the 100 Kingdoms, we asked around about local legends at the guild building, which got us sent to... a crazy hobo who began spouting UFO and "evil shadowy government cabal" conspiracy theories at us. Rakis, quickly tiring of the man's ranting, used his knife to intimidate the man, ultimately causing him to pass out from the shock of the threat. However, we did gleam some useful information - something about the castle outside of town, full of murderers and thieves. Which sounded just like the men we had been tracking. So, off we went. We ventured toward the castle as the sun sank (to mask our approach, this decision was made consciously) and we were accosted by zombies. Which Albin has a distinct advantage over, since Prayer Pieces deal Aggravated damage to undead and creatures of darkness. I also seem to roll freakishly well when I have a firewand on my character. I can't begin to account for that. But we mopped them up and in short order, were making plans on how we were going to enter into this dreaded castle, guarded by spirits and clearly a not-good place to be. Rakis leaped up over the castle wall and stealth'd his way inside, narrowly evading patroling spirits with really wicked-looking knives. Eventually ninja'ing his way around to open the door from the inside for Doran and Albin to enter. The three snuck past a sort of enclosed dungeon area, with a blond(e?) person inside, being beaten by a huge brick house of an aggressor wailing on them. The following exchange actually happened: Rakis: Yeah, this isn't for us. This is probably their fetish. Blond: No, it isn't! Albin: They might have consented to this. Blond: No, I assure you I didn't! Doran: We should ignore them. Blond: No, you shouldn't! Albin: My goodness, that prisoner has opinions on this. We actually started to walk away at this point, and then the captive began singing "All by Myself". So, eventually, we relent (somewhat for meta reasons and also because the GM made us laugh pretty hard on this), and provoke the prison guard to open the door, whereupon Albin lit them up with his Prayer Piece. It took some doing, but we eventually killed the guard and liberated the ma... wo... uh... Lunar within. For the sake of this session, a GMPC, but a welcomed member of the team, Kharas the Blade. Kharas also has a tragic backstory, but it involved markedly less familial homocide. He was betrayed by his old team, who left him to die, hence his Lunar exaltation. Anyways, as the four of us moved up the stairs, we got chased by one of the guards and backed into a room, whereupon I had the idea to invoke the gods for help. This roll was... passable but not amazing, as the god I summoned was a Mouse of the Sun. However, its presence was still antithetical to our pursuer, forcing him into a bottle-neck in the doorway, where Kharas attacked from one side and Albin, Doran, and Rakis held him from the other, eventually leading to our victory. Heading up the stairs, we eventually overhear a discussion between two of the "Six Guns of Black Heaven", which ultimately results in us having a shootout, and capping at least one of them (I actually had to step away from the table for a brief moment, and I missed part of this), and the other came back with us as a hostage. As we escaped the castle, just in time to learn that the castle's original intent was to be a portal between worlds... and it sank into a dark void abyss, just in time for us to learn its name: Castle. Vania. Hahaha... For context, this transitioned into session 2, our GM was back and Kharas was in full player-character role now. Returning to town, hostage in tow, we awkwardly make small-talk to get past the innkeep (barely worked), and then began interrogating her (didn't work), then she launched a surprise attack with a dark-enchanted weapon, which attempted to strangle Doran. She bolted for it, with Albin and Rakis in pursuit of the hostage while Kharas and Doran attempted to disarm the wire-weapon that was in hot pursuit of Doran's neck. Kharas: Wait, it's going for me now?! Wait! I'll turn into a snake! Snake's don't have necks! GM: But, Kharas, snakes are nothing BUT neck! Kharas: ... OH CRAP! Meanwhile, Rakis and Albin are tearing down the hall in hot pursuit. This exchange happens, nigh-verbatim. Me (OOC): I have an ability that can translate sentences into languages I don't know. You speak Flametongue, right? Rakis (OOC): Yeah. What's your idea? Me (OOC): I'll shout out our strategy in Flametongue using my charm. Thus, she won't know what we're up to. Rakis (OOC): I'll hit her high. Can you shoot low? Me (OOC): Yeah. That'll be our plan. I'll use a burning arrow on the floor to prevent her from evading your attack. GM: *Makes a noise that I can't tell is a sob or a laugh* Kharas (OOC): What's up? GM: We have a circle that DOESN'T SUCK!! Ultimately, we managed to plug an arrow into her head, ending her futile struggle. And we probably could've done something about the mess and gotten away largely undistracted, but Rakis then began bragging about what we had done to the barkeep, and we had to skip town. Kharas was even kind enough to transform into a dinosaur and gave Albin a lift, as Doran and Rakis piled onto Mr. Wormsworth and rode out of town. Ultimately, we planned to go to A'Barr up in the north, a large city where we could lay low and maybe find information on our group of serial murderers. En route, Kharas requested Albin make a hurdy-gurdy. Yes, that's a real instrument, look it up on Youtube. Albin, being very hard into craft, easily cobbled one together, and accompanied Kharas in a rendition of Maiden by the River. This means nothing to you, but let me explain about this song. Every time - and I mean every time - this song was performed, someone botched SOMETHING and it usually resulted in a town burning down or something. It was reportedly the song that played before the terrible plague wiped out Scarlet's hometown of the better part of its population, giving the pirate an extreme phobia of the piece. However, we both... rolled 5 successes each! We broke the curse of this damned song! Doran and Rakis didn't fully understand why this was such a milestone for us, but it was an amazing moment for us all. In fact, Doran's player was kind enough to WRITE AND PERFORM THE DAMN SONG. I include the link for your enjoyment: https://www.mediafire.com/file/adyf20gdd3cp5jd/MaidenByTheRiverDraft.mp3/file Not long after, we arrived in A'Barr and began setting to work. But this has gone on quite long enough for today. Join us next time in Exalted where: Rakis tries to burn down half of Great Forks! We battle an Indominus Rex! A fifth Exalt joins the circle! We meet one of Albin's siblings! Doran dies in boiling magma! See you there!

[mycasandstarrs]

SPN 7x08: “Season 7, Time for a Wedding!”

THEN: Sam calls Dean out on his behavior. Sam and Dean were separated but now they’re back together. Supernatural is a thing. Beck Rosen is their #1 fan; she has a serious thing for Sam.

A waitress in a strip club that’s also in grad school? Fuck yeah, girl! Get your coin!

Dean talking about his situation using the “I got this friend” narrative.

And there’s a blurred El Sol right behind Dean.

(Irrelevant, but do the brothers still do their “sacred pilgrimage” to Vegas?)

Ha, Sam’s text: “348 Twain Ave WEAR FED SUIT!”

“See? Baby bro needs you after all.” Aww, she was sweet.

The pink carnation. “Apparently, pink is for loyalty.”

“I'm in love. And I'm getting married.”

“...”

“Say something, like, uh, like, ‘congratulations,’ for example.”

“What?”

I’m with ya, Dean.

Oh goodness.

Special title card! With the Supernatural twist. Of course.

“Shouldn't she ask for my permission or something?” hahaha.

“You know what? Ignoring everything, have you forgotten the average life-span of your hookups?” AKA the peen of death.

Dean keeping his cool until Becky leaves. ff hahahaha

Dean’s general behavior here is hilarious.

"First official Tweet as Mrs. Becky Rosen-Winchester!" Oh dear. (It does have a nice ring to it tho.)

Dean’s still driving the car from the last episode. (And Cas’ coat is still in the trunk.)

I won’t lie: If I had a husband like Sam, I’d be inclined to show him off too.

“Guy, meet my husband, Sam.”

“Hey. It's an honor to meet you, Sam.”

Ohhhh, knowing this is a demon....

How fucking shhaaddyyy.

Dean juussttt missed them.

Huh, Dean’s got John’s journal with him.

And now he’s got a case that isn’t Sam.

(Oh, I recognize this song from “Pretty in Pink”.) “Cherish” by The Association.

Becky does look nice.

Sam broke through the spell momentarily.

“Feeling better, honey?”

“Now that I’m with you.”

Ooohhh this gives me the heebs and jeebs.

RIP this dude. Killed by baseballs.

pfft. A waffle iron.

Ahh, Dean thought Becky was part of whatever weird thing was happening in town. Fair.

“You know, I went after her, Dean. Maybe that's what's bugging you – that I'm moving on with my life. I mean, you took care of me, and that's great. But I don't need you anymore.” Big Yikes.

Bobby assigns Dean a new hunter partner.

Sam wiping the marker off Becky’s nose is rather cute.

“I got a present for you.”

“His and hers fake IDs? Oh!”

What every relationship needs.

Oh my god, I’m about to see my sweet, darling Garth!!

“Hey, you Dean? I thought you’d be taller.” 

“He said you’d be all surly and premenstrual working with me.” lmao. I love that Bobby had to warn Garth about Dean’s bad mood.

We’re not even a minute into meeting Garth and I’m already in love with him again.

Where did Dean get the sweater vest?? It looks amazing on him.

“Actuarial Insider” pfft.

Garth just cuts straight to the point.

“We were just wondering if you got here by nefarious means.”

“Whoa! Garth!”

“Oh. Uh, I-I didn't mean, of course, uh, corporate backstabbing – I'm sorry. I meant more like, uh, you know, black magic or hoodoo.”

Just when you thought Garth pulled back, he pushed forward even more.

The wife’s a big b-

Dean and Garth already communicate/work well together.

“I'm trying to save you from a really bad accident.”

“Are you threatening me?”   

“No. No, I-I-I'm pointing out a pattern. Why do people keep thinking I'm threatening them?”

“Because it sounded exactly like a threat, dude.”  

lol

Sam’s breaking through the spell again.

“Bring the damn car around. I'm not walking five blocks in my heels.” To be fair, I wouldn’t either.

Garth taking charge. No wonder he was the next Bobby.

“Uh, here's the plan. I drop this lady at my cousin's. He'll stop anything trying to get her. We, uh, find Sam, hopefully fix this, everybody's home in time for ‘America's Got Talent.’ Now, you – you'll be living with a tri-racial paraplegic sniper until this all blows over, okay?”

Bless his heart.

Enough with giving Sam head injuries!!!

From bad to worse.

“Don't worry. I didn't do anything weird.” TAKING OFF A PERSON’S PANTS WHILE THEY’RE UNCONSCIOUS AND THEN HOG TYING THEM TO A BED DOESN’T CONSTITUTE AS “ANYTHING WEIRD”??

“This isn't the honeymoon I had in mind. Well, some of it is, but not in this context.” Becky’s got kinks. That’d actually explain how she knew how to tie Sam down like that.

“social lubricant” pfft.

“You know your pal Guy is the one icing all those people, right?” Not directly.

My patience with this episode is running thin.

Becky’s deep in it now.

“I love reunions. The desperation! These schlubs will sign on the dotted line for money, power, hair – whatever it takes to impress the nostalgically bangable head cheerleader.” That’s smart, I’ll give him that.

Ha, Becky uses the word “gank”.

“Uh, she's got 11 Twitter...ers. Last post – ‘Going on romantic trip with hubster!!!’ Three exclamation points. I guess she got excited.” pfft, Garth.

“I got this thing about fish. Dead eyes, man.” That’s fair.

Sam’s muffled commentary is hilarious.

Not to be a broken record, but none of this would be happening if the Publisher was here instead of Becky.

Setting off the blueberry vodka devil’s trap. Nicely done, Becky.

“Dean Winchester. This is really thrilling. Hey, can I have your autograph?”

“Sure. Yeah, I'll, uh, carve it into your spleen.“

Burn.

Guy’’s “intern”, Jackson, is the one behind the killings.

RIP Jackson. Killed by Becky.

“You’re Crowley!”

“And you're – well, I'm sure you have a wonderful personality, dear.”

Damn. 

Ratted out by the intern.

“There's a reason we don't call our chits in early – consumer confidence. This isn't Wall Street! This is Hell! We have a little something called integrity. This gets out, who'll deal with us? Nobody! Then where are we?” I do admire Crowley’s business ethics.

Crowley and his long term plan: “ You met that dick yet? Smuggest tub of goo since Mussolini. I hate the bastards. Squash 'em all, please. I'll stay clear.”

I almost feel sorry for Guy.

Garth finally comes to, lmao.

An annulment. Even worse than divorce.

Sam has a pretty signature.

“So, I'll see you again?” NO.

“Becky, look. You're not a loser, okay? You're a good person, a-and you've got... a lot of... e-energy. So, you know, just do your thing, whatever that is, and the right guy will find you.”

I’m with Sam here tbh. Becky isn’t a bad person. She’s got issues that might require her to get help and work through them, and when she does, she can be a better person for her own sake. Through that, she can develop better relationships with people. So wherever Becky is in the show’s timeline, I hope she’s doing better.

Becky and Garth. That would’ve been a chaotic relationship.

“Well, buddy, I got to say, man – you, uh... you don't suck.”  What a high compliment from Dean!

AWWW.

“Look, man, uh... When I was all dosed up, I-I said some crap.”

“Oh, you mean, she – she wasn't your soulmate?”

Accept the apology, Dean.

“You know, I got to say, man... For a whack-job, you really pulled it together.”

“That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me.”

hahaha.

“It's stupid to think that you need me around all the time. You're a grown-up.“ Ohhh, look at that progress! We/they need to get it back soon.

“It might be nice.”

“What?”

“I mean, you basically have been looking out for me your whole life. Now you finally get to take care of yourself. About time, huh?”

*cries internally* That’s what I want for Dean too.

[minijenn]

Crystal Falls: Reaching Out

Ye ye ye ye ANGST!!! Hey tbh this is the most  can do seeing as how the next actual canon chapter of UF is mostly fun humor (with some nightmare fuel thrown in I guess) so I gotta satisfy my craving somehow. Still, can you believe it took me only three days to push this  whole thing out? I was fucking MOTIVATED HAHAHA Now if you wanna know more about the context behind this AU, you can find all that here. And with all that outta the way, let’s get rollin with the (incredibly dark fair warning) angst storm!

Crystal Falls

Reaching Out

The concept of a “normal childhood” was a completely foreign one to both of the Pines twins, just as it had been to their uncles before them and to every other human born either into the conquest-hungry legacy of planet Earth or into the rebellion that had risen up to thwart one such conquest. The twins found their roots in the latter camp, even if their actual birthplace had been on Earth as opposed to the mostly peaceful Homeworld that had become their own home after their parents’ death. “Because where else were the next seeds of justice and peace to be raised but on the very planet we all swore our lives to protect?” Ford often boldly claimed throughout the twins’ younger years. Stan would usually just offer a playful scoff at his brother’s melodrama, Dipper and Mabel chuckling in amusement before running off to go play with Steven under the Crystal Gems’ lax supervision. And for the first few years, that’s what it was like; crystalline days, star-speckled nights, rousing tales of courageous battles gone by, laughter amidst streets filled with Gems bemused by their antics, comfort, happiness, friendship, family, and most of all, peace. Peace so hard fought for, so hard won. And of course, not at all destined to last.

Because when the twins were only five years old, that peace was shattered for them both the very same moment the glass of one of the shack’s windows shattered one night when they were asleep. The very moment it did, Stan and Ford were already on high alert, rushing to grab the confused, groggy younger twins and whisk them away to safety without even explaining what they were really running from. The threat soon made itself obvious, however, when the family emerged into the night, only to be adamantly pursued by a sizable group of masked figures. By their odd, militaristic outfits, it was clear that they weren’t Gems, and later the twins would find out exactly what their uncles had known from the moment this all began: that these assailants were Earthlings, sent to destroy the very last remnants of the rebellion left on Homeworld. In other words, them. A task that, against all odds, they unquestionably succeeded in in the worst of ways.

All it took was one tiny moment, one perfectly aimed shot at Stan’s exposed back for him to go crashing down, momentarily paralyzed by the blast as Dipper fell out of his arms. Despite his uncle's desperate attempts to convince him to flee, the young boy was just as stunned as he was, though more out of fear than anything else as their pursuers made their fast, final approach. ­­

Ford has already ran ahead of Stan with Mabel in tow, but he stopped and turned back around in an instant upon hearing Dipper’s distressed, pleading cry. Without hesitation, the former rebel began racing after the Earth loyalists as they started hauling his nephew away, despite his best attempts to struggle against them and Stan’s best attempts to move and stop this horrific kidnapping before it could even begin. Likewise, Ford shot after the assailants, trying his best to get a clean shot in that wouldn't end up harming Dipper. Tears had already started forming in Mabel’s eyes as she remained secure in Ford’s grip, while her brother was being stolen away from her right in front of her own eyes. Yet both of the twins, even as young as they were, had a dreadful feeling about how all this was going to turn out. And those fears soon came true as Mabel noticed Dipper reaching out his unrestrained hand to her, his eyes wide and wet with terror as his captors refused to relinquish their hold upon him. She extended her arm back out to him, the distance between them far too great for them to even come close to intertwining. Then, in a flash of what seemed almost like magic, the Earth loyalists disappeared into the night, taking Dipper right along with them.

Ford’s blaster hit the ground the moment they all vanished, his eyes wide with shock as he tried to figure out where they might have gone. But all the while, Mabel kept her arm reaching out, a tight sob escaping her as she realized her brother might never meet it again.

For seven years, she kept on reaching for him. It it was only after he finally returned that she found he had stopped reaching back.

“When are we going to find Dipper?” Mabel asked almost constantly within the first 24 hours after his abduction. Stan and Ford could only offer her the terse answer of “soon” as they continued discussing the matter with Rose, Pearl, and Amethyst, all of their voices in hushed, anxious whispers that neither Mabel nor Steven could really hear.

“When are we going to find Dipper?” Mabel asked after a week had passed. By now, almost all the Gems in Crystal Falls had gotten in on the intensive search for the missing boy, all of them more than happy to do anything they could to help two of the humans who were instrumental in saving their world. Things had been largely fruitless so far though; the Earth loyalists had been very smart in covering their tracks to the point that even the most astute Gems couldn't find so much as a trace. But still, Stan and Ford refused to let their mournful niece lose hope that her brother would be returned to her safe and sound. And so once again, they answered “soon” before tucking her into bed for what would no doubt be yet another sleepless night.

“When are we going to find Dipper?” Mabel asked after a month, an exasperated,almost frustrated sigh escaping her along with the question. This question had been a constant every single day now, usually aimed at Stan or Ford or one of the Crystal Gems. And as time went on and the bags under her uncles’ eyes grew darker and deeper and the Gems of Crystal Falls slowly began winding their search efforts down, the answer started to turn from a “soon” to a “we don’t know”.

“When are we going to find-”

“We’re not gonna find him!” Stan slammed his fist down on the table, his expression and tone rife with both grief and anger. A year had passed, a year that had felt like 20 to Mabel, and even if she was still only 6, the weight of just how incredibly long it had been since she had seen Dipper, since they had been happy and together was not lost on her. And yet, for the first time in 365 days, her fretful curiosity was not met with positivity or uncertainty. It was met with a no.

Needless to say that Ford was quick to counter his brother’s harsh reply with sharp disapproval, and soon enough they had launched into a fierce argument. Mabel simply curled herself into a tight ball, hugging her knees to her chest as she dolefully listened to her uncles fight, something that had become a very common occurrence over the past year. She was only half paying attention to their squabble as she settled into her own morose thoughts, but what she did pick up from their unrestrained argument unnerved her to the bone.

“It’s time to stop kidding ourselves, Ford! If he was still here on Homeworld we would have found him already! Chances are those lunatics probably dragged him off back to Earth a long time ago!”

“W-well, then we’ll build a ship! I’ll get Rose, Pearl, and Amethyst to help us! Maybe even recruit some of the other more technologically inclined Gems. We’ll go to Earth a-and bring him back, and-”

“And what?! You honestly expect us to survive ten seconds on Earth when we’re at the top of their most wanted list?! If Greg was still around, then maybe I’d think about it, but on our own? It’s a suicide mission for sure.”

“But we can’t just forget about Dipper, Stanley! Who knows what those… those barbarians have done with him?!”

“I haven’t forgotten about him! The kid’s pretty much the only thing I’ve been thinking about for the past year, but he’s not the only thing we have to protect around here. We gotta think about Mabel now, Ford. They already took one of ‘em; we can’t let them have them both.”

Ford’s half of the argument finally faltered at this, his shoulders sagging in defeat as he turned away bitterly, clearly fighting back tears. Stan let out a long, guilty sigh as he glanced over at Mabel, whose eyes were overflowing with questions about everything she had just heard. And while it had taken almost a year, Stan realized he had finally worked up the nerve to start answering some of them.

Explaining the concept of death to a child who had spent almost her entire life on a planet populated by beings who were practically immortal would have been a hard enough undertaking as it was. But explaining that such a thing could have happened to said child’s very own brother was something else entirely. And it was because of that, that Stan was completely unable to keep tears out of his eyes as he slowly, gently explained to Mabel that he believed the worst had happened to her brother, that their futile search was at last coming to an end, that their family was now forever fractured as a result. That, more than likely, Dipper was dead.

Except no, he wasn’t.

But he might as well have been.

Because from the very moment Dipper had been brutally torn away from his family, his entire life turned upside down in the most horrific of ways. As soon as they had gotten out of Stan and Ford’s immediate range, the Earth loyalists had wasted no time in showing just how ruthless they were by throwing their young captive to the ground roughly and binding him tightly before he could even think of trying to run away. From there, a very long, downright perilous journey commenced, one that Dipper was essentially dragged along the entire way for by his callously cruel captors. All too quickly, the familiar greenery of Crystal Falls started to fade out into the barren, yet mysteriously lovely crystalline scenery of Homeworld that lay beyond the sector’s borders. Needless to say that Dipper was overwhelmed with curiosity and fear about where these loyalists were taking him, but any meek attempt on his part to ask any questions was met with jeering silence, hateful warnings, or even the occasional hard slap or kick. Clearly, his uncles had underplayed just how malicious the Earthlings were in all their light hearted war stories; because these people were wicked, downright heartless even, in ways that Dipper had never in his young life been exposed to before.

As their lengthy trek dragged on into days, even his homesick tears were only met by mocking laughter, his pleas for freedom receiving only cold denial. But even so, Dipper held onto the hope that Stan and Ford would come after him; that they’d beat these brutes back and bring him home to be safe and sound with Mabel once again. Certainly there was no question that they’d come, that they’d find him, that they’d all be reunited as a family once more. Perhaps they were already on their way even as the Earth loyalists continued pulling him across Homeworld’s dry, empty landscapes. He just had to be patient, to keep on hoping, and soon enough they’d be there. He just knew it.

Eventually their travels came to an end as they reached what ended up being a rather well hidden tunnel that led deep underground. Dipper had never really been afraid of the dark, but there was no denying the sudden terror coursing through him as he was shoved into this foreboding darkness, almost as if something inside of him knew that if he went in there, he wouldn’t be coming back out. The trip through the tunnel didn’t last too long before it ended at a large, square room, all four of its towering walls oddly composed of large mirrors, with a small opening in the ceiling high above providing the room’s only natural light. Dipper couldn’t make sense of this bizarre set up as he was shoved into it, the wall to the tunnel closing off behind him and leaving him cornered alone with his captors.

And if he had thought things had been bad before, this was where everything became unimaginably worse.

In a sense, it was almost as if the Earth loyalists didn’t know they had captured a mere child based on how they treated him. Because the unprovoked, merciless beating they gave their young captive in those first few hours would have been horrific enough for an adult. But for a child, it was so, so much worse. Dipper was completely powerless to stop any of the senselessly aggressive blows landed upon him by the much larger adult loyalists, each one of their attacks carrying some kind of venomous slur: “Rebel scum should have been mutated with the rest of them.” “Filthy traitor, just like the rest of his disgusting family.” “If only we’d gotten the girl too, Cipher would have rewarded us twice as much.” And so on and so forth for what seemed like ages until it finally stopped, though it hardly felt like it was over. Dipper could barely move at all as he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, his own blood pooling around him as he tried to block out the triumphant laughter of his captors, tried to ignore the biting pain that was everywhere, tried to imagine his family breaking that wall down, rushing in and sweeping him off to warmth and safety and away from this waking nightmare.

A nightmare that simply refused to end.

Almost as soon as the beating ended, the interrogation began, though it was nothing better. If anything it was worse, seeing as how the loyalists kept hounding him and hounding him with questions he simply didn’t have any answers for. “Where is the leader of the rebellion?” “Are there more of you filthy rebels out there?” “What kind of weapons are your uncles holing up in that base of theirs?” “How many of those pathetic Gems are allied to your side?” And again and again and again, endless questions that made no sense to him, ones he couldn’t even think to come up with anything for in his battered state that only got worse as he was physically punished for each and every wrong, unknowing answer.

And so it went on like this for quite some time. It was hard to keep track of time in this minimal mirrored space, but Dipper tried in the rare moments whenever his captors weren’t abusing him. By his estimation from the light pouring in from the ceiling, several days had passed, probably more, and still no sign of Stan, Ford, or anyone making even an attempt to save him. But even so, despite how terrible things were, he was still hopeful. Maybe they were just having a difficult time finding him; perhaps they were searching the entire planet over, all in a desperate attempt to learn where he was being held. So he continued to carry that hope, forced it to be the only thing he thought of when the loyalists lay their unforgiving hands on him.

But hope could only get him so far.

Days started to turn into weeks and the loyalists were clearly starting to get impatient with the lack of information they were getting from their young captive. Miraculously, the beatings had lessened, though only because they had realized that they’d probably end up killing him if they kept at it with as much frequent intensity. But the loyalist leader was adamant. He often complained about having been assigned to simply “babysit some rebel brat”, and it was clear he was growing tired of such a doldrum lot. And though the other loyalists warned him against it, he soon decided to take matters into his own hands.

He stormed into the cell lividly one day, a long knife in his hand as he caught Dipper wistfully staring up at the light from above. The leader sneered coldly, quickly catching the boy’s attention and prompting him to scramble to his feet and back away in a fearful, feeble attempt to put some distance between himself and his captor. “Aw… what?” the leader scoffed, his leering smirk hidden behind his concealing mask. “You think your uncles are gonna come swoop in here and save you? Please.” The leader laughed darkly as he suddenly kicked Dipper cleanly in the stomach, knocking him back roughly before he grabbed him by the front of his shirt and forced him up to his level. “Face it, kid: those has-beens aren’t coming for you. And can you really blame them? Look at you? Scrawny, weak, pathetic. Who would even want you? If we were back on Earth, then you’d have been somebody’s target practice by now. You’re a waste, just like this entire worthless planet is. But hey, if you wanna keep staring up at the sky with that pointless hope of yours, then be my guest! In fact…” the leader’s voice dropped low and sinister as he lifted his knife, eliciting a small, fearful whimper out of Dipper as he held it dangerously close to his face. “I’ll even help you get a better view!”

In a movement so fast Dipper couldn’t have even seen it coming, the leader lashed his blade out, its sharp tip catching the upper half of his face before swiping across his eyes in a swift, fluid movement. The boy was powerless to hold back an absolutely agonized scream at this, pain overwhelming his every sense as the leader carelessly dropped him with a sadistic chuckle, watching him writhe in anguish as the heavy wound poured with thick, dark blood. In a pathetic attempt to block out the pain, Dipper closed his cut eyes as much as he could, sobbing miserably as he forgot about everything else but the anguish, so deep and so unbearable that it eventually ended up sweeping him into the void of unconsciousness altogether.

He didn’t know exactly when it was that he opened his eyes again; but when he did, he was met with nothing but both lasting pain and the sight of complete and absolute nothingness. There was no color, no shapes, nothing. And yet, he could still feel the ground below him, could hear his own sharp, panicked breathing as clear as day. So why couldn’t he see?

And then it struck him. The memory of a knife ripping across his eyes. His sight being torn away from him at that horrible moment. The blood still stuck to his face from the wound running almost entirely across his face. The incredibly crippling fear that he would never see anything ever again.

Stan had used a word for such a condition before, but Dipper was hard pressed to remember it. Blonde? Blunde? Blind? Blind sounded the most correct out of those, so that was what he went with to describe the unfamiliar sensation, but it still hardly helped him feel better. Because now, all he could do was weakly pull himself up to sit and try to feel his way around, grasping at nothing but empty air before finally reaching the smooth surface of one of the mirror walls boxing him in. As he touched it’s cold exterior, Dipper couldn’t help but feel as though something else was wrong too, aside from the horrific fact that his eyes seemed to no longer work. For the first time since he had gotten here, the room was completely silent. No sound of jeering loyalists, or threatening footsteps or anything else really. His non-existent vision was useless in giving him any actual information, but as far as he could tell without it, the loyalists were gone. He waited in silence, unable to tell how much time had passed anymore with all sense of light now stolen away from him, for those footsteps to return, for their wicked mocking to resume, for the pain he had grown so accustomed to by now to continue but… it never did. He could have waited for years and they never would have returned. And after about what felt like a month or so, Dipper finally allowed himself to feel some form of relief from that.

That relief was short lived however as he realized that the loyalists had essentially abandoned him in a prison he had no power to escape from even when he did have his eyesight. But now, as blinded and weak as he was, he was even more trapped than ever before. The only way he managed to actually survive was through the small constant trickle of water that came in through a pipe installed at the corner of the cell. As far as food went, it was rather sparse for the first few weeks, with the only thing he had to rely on being the scraps of bread he had wisely managed to save from whatever meager helpings the loyalists had thrown his way. Still, as time went on and that supply started to run out, he quickly began to fade. His injuries, while slowly healing on their own, were still not properly treated and his stomach was filled with only a deep, aching hunger that the tiny scraps he was trying his best to preserve could not satisfy. But still, he knew he had to hold out; Stan and Ford and Mabel were coming to save him, he had to keep reminding himself. They were coming to save him and take him home and he didn’t even care if he wouldn’t be able to see them because just hearing his sister’s voice again would be enough.

And so he sat tight in that cell, sitting directly under the light from above, his unseeing eyes staring off at nothing as he spent his empty time repeating that hopeful mantra to himself over and over and over again. “They’re gonna come…” he began in a whisper, his voice hoarse and shaky from a lack of use but even so he kept going. “They’re gonna come find me… They’re going to save me… T-they… they do want me… They’re coming… They’re on their way here right now… T-they’ll be here soon… I… I know it...”

Many days were spent like this, with him whispering these gentle, but comforting promises to himself, desperately clinging onto the idea that they were real, that they would come true. That they were more than just an empty, meaningless dream.

His energy soon started to wane more and more each day as his stock of food grew dangerously low. With not even enough strength left to remain sitting up, he eventually resorted to lying in place, though his self-reassurance didn’t stop. Occasionally, whenever he’d fall asleep, he’d find himself back home in Crystal Falls, bright and happy and colorful as he sat at the dinner table with Mabel, Stan, and Ford, all of them laughing warmly as they ate deliciously to their hearts’ content. And then, he’d open his eyes once again and be met with absolutely nothing once more, his heart and hopes sinking lower and lower every single time.

However, it was during one of these wistful dreams that his usual empty routine was abruptly interrupted. Upon feeling something unfamiliar brush against his leg, Dipper flinched awake, instinctually glancing down only to bitterly remember sight was no longer a privilege he had. So instead, he reached down, feeling his way as he often did until he made contact with the small, brightly chirping creature who had happened to invade his cell. The more he felt this seemingly amicable being out, the more he realized its bumpty round hardened surface felt… familiar. In fact, the more he thought about it, this thing seemed to be exactly like the small, friendly Geodite creatures that the forests of Crystal Falls were littered with. The thought of home was enough to elicit a small smile from Dipper as he forced himself to sit up, despite the painful protest his starving stomach gave him, so he could properly greet the first real semblance of company he had in quite some time.

“Hey there, little guy,” he began, his voice still rather weak as he allowed the friendly Geodite to crawl into his lap as he continued stroking it. “You’re a long way from home, aren’t you? I know what that’s like… How did you get in here? Did you climb down from all the way up there?” The Geodite, seeming to understand, let out a bright chirp in response, one that Dipper couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at. Even though it wasn’t much, the very thought of not being so alone anymore managed to brighten his spirits just a bit. But at the same time, it also made him think of something else, something he hadn’t before. Something that could very well finally end up being his ticket out of here. “Wait… you came from up there…” he nodded upward, wishing so much that he could see that promising beam of light once more. “That means… you could go get help! Quick! Go back up there and find my Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford! A-and Mabel too! Especially Mabel… I… I miss her so much… I wonder if she misses me too…”

The Geodite interrupted his pensive thoughts with an excitable chirp as it suddenly lept from his lap, scurrying away until the only thing Dipper could make out were its clattering footsteps as he began walking against one of the mirror walls. It stopped somewhere above him, chirping encouragingly this time as Dipper frowned and shook his head sadly. “I… I’m sorry… I can’t see you… o-or anything really…” The Geodite simply chirped again before its skittering continued until it gradually disappeared into silence, leaving Dipper to morosely realize that he was left alone once again.

Or so he thought; for just a few hours later, the Geodite finally returned, though it wasn’t alone. Several more seemed to follow it, all of them cheerfully “singing” as they made their way down to Dipper, who was admittedly confused as one of them seemed to push something towards him. It was only as he picked the object up and felt out its soft, smooth, sweet-smelling texture that he excitedly realized exactly what this was. “Fruit!” he gasped in shock, not hesitating to take a generous first bite. Its immediate sweetness filled him with immeasurable relief as he realized that he was actually going to have something resembling decent food since his capture. Yet the Geodites weren’t finished yet, for as he gave them his wholehearted thanks, they presented him with even more pieces of fruit, as well as nuts and even a few vegetables. Needless to say that Dipper was quite confused as to where they had ascertained all this food from seeing as how such plants (or any plants really) weren’t native to Homeworld, which left him to assume that a terraformed sector, much like Crystal Falls, couldn’t have been too far away from wherever his underground cell was. But even so, the Geodites didn’t stop off at one delivery; they kept their self-started food service going, supplying Dipper with as much food as he could hope to eat.

It took a little time, but eventually his energy, as well as his drive returned to him, inspiring him with the motivation to try and finally find a way out of his cell. Even if he was essentially stumbling in the dark, he still walked along the perimeter of the room, feeling his way against the glass walls in the hopes that one of them wielded a door. Unfortunately, there were all completely seamless, with no apparent exit in sight which only left him with one other option: trying to break the glass itself. And so he tried and tried and tried and tried but it never seemed to so much as even crack. Even throwing one of the willing Geodites into it did nothing to dent his longtime prison. After weeks and weeks, his escape efforts started to diminish along with his hope. Even if he did have suffice food and water and company, he still lacked the one thing that he was yearning for the most, something that he hadn’t known for so very long that he was starting to forget what it even felt like: freedom.

Every now and then he’d give himself that reminder that his family was still out there looking for him, but that was starting to become less and less frequent as the days went by. When the Geodites first came to him, he’d pass the time by recounting what stories he could remember from before his capture, stories of him and Mabel and all the fun they used to have together but as time went on, those stories started to blur within his memory. He held no question in his mind about Mabel and his connection to her or Stan or Ford, but the specifics seemed to be fading away as months passed on into years. And as those years came and went so too did the hope that he’d ever step foot out of that cell.

But certainly, he tried to reason with himself amidst empty days only occasionally broken by a Geodite generously delivering him his next meal, they were still looking for him.

Certainly, he rationalized as his blank, blinded eyes stared at the ground in front of him, his mind starting to forget what things like color, light, or even his own sister’s face even looked like, they would be coming any day now.

Certainly, he thought as he lay down to sleep only for his once hopeful dreams of home gradually stopped altogether, they would find him.

Certainly… he realized, tears starting to fall from his clouded, ruined eyes as his heart broke and his hope finally died, they had abandoned him, just like everybody else.

And that’s exactly what he believed for the next three years, his heart turning as cold and hard as the unyielding mirrors all around him. Until the day they finally did come.

Which only made his heart turn even colder.

Seven years.

Seven years.

Seven years he had been gone, six of which she had presumed him to be dead. She had given up hope, just as her uncles had, of ever seeing him again. He had been captured and killed, far too young true, but killed nonetheless. That was it, wasn’t it? End of story, nothing more to tell. Except it wasn’t the end.

Because here he was, standing right before her. Her brother, so long thought to have died a tragic, undeserved death, had been alive all these years, hidden away deep underground miles away from Crystal Falls.

For Mabel, there couldn’t have possibly been anything more miraculous than this.

And yet… for as much as this was so unquestionably Dipper, she found that there was so much about him that… wasn’t. He was so much gaunter and paler than he should have been, his hair an overgrown, scrubby mess and his clothes much too small for his now 12 year old body. But then there were his eyes, which had struck her to the core when she had first seen them. Grey and cloudy and unfocused as opposed to the warm, alert brown they should have been, the deep, wide mark of an old, settled scar discolorating the skin around them almost like a mask. Eyes that carried such a haunted, lost look to them that it completely chilled her in every way. Eyes that seemed to be set in a perpetually piercing stare in nothing in particular at all. Eyes that, as she quickly found out, had been completely and utterly blind for the past several years as he sat in this cold, hollow prison all by himself, waiting for help that never came.

Tears of relief and sympathy flooded her eyes as she rushed to embrace him, but on instinct he flinched away from her touch. His panicky manner became even more apparent when he heard Steven and Lapis speak up, his blindness barring both of them from his perception as he tried and failed to place voices to faces and faces to names. Mabel tried to ease him, tried to calm him down, but this attempt was only met with a kind of hostility she hadn’t been expecting. Dipper’s anxious manner soon turned fierce as he addressed her, not looking in her direction as he spoke to the open air and harshly accused her of forgetting about him, of leaving him to rot alone in this cell while she lived the safe, free, happy life he had never really known. Mabel could scarcely believe what she was hearing, and as much as she wanted to argue that not a day had gone by in which she hadn’t thought about him, hadn’t hoped against hope that he was somehow still alive and that they’d somehow be reunited once again, she didn’t. Instead, she simply took his hand and slowly led him out of the cell that had been his home for the past seven years, giving him his first taste of renewed freedom that, from here on out, would only ever be tentative at best.

“You stopped?! What do you mean you stopped?! How could you just… just stop looking for me?!”

“Cut us some slack, kid! Its been seven years! Can you really blame us for expecting the worst after those Earthling wackjobs took you?!”

“Yes, I can! You just gave up completely! Did you even wonder what they did to me down there?! What I’ve been through the past seven years of my life?!”

“We don’t need to wonder, Dipper. W-we can see… And we’re sorry if we threw in the towel too early, but-”

“You’re sorry? I spent over half my life buried underground, nearly starved to death, and went blind, and you’re just sorry?!”

Once again, Mabel found herself curled up into a small, fretful ball, her knees snuggled under her shawl as she silently sat on the sidelines while her brother and uncles duked it out in by far the most vitriolic argument she had ever seen. Really, if she had to pick a side in it, she would have certainly been on Dipper’s, mostly because she had always felt some small inkling in her heart that giving up the search for him had been wrong somehow. And even though that inkling turned out to be right, things still were far from blissful and happy like she had always dreamed they would be if her brother ever returned. In fact, things were anything but that as Dipper, Stan, and Ford continued to fight, their argument echoing brutally throughout the shack. Even Steven’s comforting hand on her shoulder did little to ease her worry, which only spiked upon hearing her brother’s intentions of going off-planet.

“W-wait… you’re what?” she finally spoke up, sitting upright in her seat as she looked to him with wide eyes.

“You heard me,” Dipper answered coldly, still looking at nothing as he responded. “I’m leaving. I’m not about to stay here and be a prisoner on this planet or in this family anymore! I want to be free for a change. And I know I’ll never, ever be that here.”

“Dipper, that’s absurd,” Ford remarked incredulously. “You can’t leave Homeworld to openly traverse the depths of space on your own. You’re much too-”

“Much too what? Young? Blind?” Dipper challenged crossly, his hands in tight fists at his sides. “I don’t see why any of that matters, seeing as how I’ve been on my own for the past seven years and managed to survive just fine all by myself!”

“Kid, don’t be stupid about this,” Stan scowled authoritatively. “You wouldn’t last two seconds out there, not with all those Earth ships roaming around everywhere. Besides, you said so yourself; you’ve been gone for seven years. As far as we’re concerned, you’re gonna stay right here and make up for all that lost time.”

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Dipper asked harshly. “Do you really think we can all just go right back to being some perfect, happy little family again after you guys just forgot about me!?”

“Dipper, w-we didn’t forget about you…” Mabel said, her voice fragile as she stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, frowning as he flinched from the unexpected contact. “We just… we… we didn’t know that you were… we-”

“You didn’t care,” he cut her off coldly, his blinded eyes set in a fierce, unforgiving glare as he pulled his shoulder away from her. He said nothing more as he turned and started feeling his way towards the door. While Stan made a move to try and stop him, Ford held him back, shaking his head sadly as he watched his battered, broken, bittered nephew leave as he placed the blame for his years upon years of endless suffering upon them all. Which, in so many ways, was a perfectly sensible thing to do.

But even so, Mabel hurried after her brother, intent on keeping him from disappearing from her life once again. Because even seven years later, she was still reaching out for him, even if she knew, deep down, that her extended hand had found him far too little and far too late.

Mabel knew she should have been happy for Dipper as she watched Steven heal his longstanding blindness, but the only thing she could do was frown as that healing spit worked its magic. As Dipper flinched back, closing his eyes and covering them out of surprise first before he slowly opened them once more. As he gasped, his returned brown eyes widening as they finally saw again for the first time in seven years. As tears started to well up in those eyes at how overwhelming it all was as he finally looked over to her in complete shock, as if he was seeing her for the first time ever.

Which, in a way, he was.

And in that moment, the way he smiled at her, the way he said her name with such awe and happiness in his voice, truly made her think that perhaps things might finally turn out alright. This feeling only grew as they mutually embraced, tears in both of their eyes now as the sheer triumph of the moment spoke louder than any words could. This was it, Mabel though with a contented sigh. This was exactly what had been missing the past several years. This was how everything was supposed to be.

Except it wasn’t meant to last.

Because all too quickly their hug disbanded, all too quickly Dipper glanced longingly back at the ship he had been trying to steal just moments ago, all too quickly Mabel remembered exactly why she had been hesitant about Steven healing him in the first place. Because with his vision restored, now there was absolutely nothing stopping Dipper from leaving, this time on his own accord.

As Steven and Lapis both put forth efforts to try and coax him into staying, Mabel could only stand there in silence, shellshocked by how quickly everything had been unfolding. They had only just found him yesterday, but here he was, set to be taken away once more. She couldn’t really blame him for wanting to leave though, there was no way she could have; because if their roles had been reversed and she had been trapped in one place for as long as he had, then she likely would have wanted to chase freedom just as much as he did.

Perhaps if she had at least some of his boldness, then she would have boarded that ship with him. Perhaps if it was just the two of them, with no friends or family or anything else on Homeworld to worry about, she would have joined him in sailing through the stars, both of them finally together like they should have always been. Perhaps she would have… but she didn’t. Instead, she only watched, tears in his eyes as he departed, knowing that the chances of her ever seeing him again were small but at the very least he was alive and free as opposed to the alternative she had grown up believing was true. Still, that didn’t stop her from reaching her hand out after his ship as it drifted higher and higher into the atmosphere, before it disappeared from view entirely.

Only this time, he didn’t reach back.

Dipper had known, from the moment he touched down on Homeworld again, that this was a bad idea. That certainly he’d be followed here, that he’d lead those Earthlings right to the very place where his family still resided. And while he didn’t really have his doubts that Stan and Ford would be able to fend off a few kids from Earth, he did start to worry when Lapis ended up being the one to first discover him and his wrecked ship in the forest of Crystal Falls. He supposed he should have counted himself as lucky that it hadn’t been Mabel, for certainly she would have dragged him back to the shack to tell Stan and Ford everything that he knew, something that he was far too uncomfortable to do so soon after returning. Fortunately, Lapis was much more patient with him, and through that patience, an unexpected bond began to form.

Even before his initial capture, Dipper had never gotten close to any Gems, including even the Crystal Gems who lived essentially right next door to his family. Even though they were practically everywhere, he had never really had any interest in befriending any of them, mostly since a large majority of them seemed to be so emotionally dry and distant. Lapis, however, was a stark exception to that, an example of a Gem who wore her metaphorical heart on her sleeve as well as her open curiosity, something that Dipper couldn’t help but relate to. And so the unlikely pair steadily developed a genuine friendship, with Lapis coming by every day as Dipper continued repairing his crashed ship. As almost therapeutic as their peaceful time together was though, he knew it wasn’t meant to last, for as Lapis professed her hopes that he would stay on Homeworld, Dipper found that his growing guilt and dread would no longer let him remain silent about the threat he knew was soon to come. And after telling Lapis about his perilous escape from Earth first, she urged him to go divulge it all to his family, knowing that they would need such pertinent information if they ever wanted to keep Crystal Falls, or Homeworld as a whole, safe. But how could he just go and tell them that he had led this threat right to their door? How could he admit to his uncles that they had been right all along? How could he apologize to Mabel for leaving her again, which was exactly what he had every intention of doing once this disaster was said and done?

But in the end, he did go and tell them, if for no one else than for Lapis. His resolve to remain professional nearly melted as Mabel rushed up to him, throwing her arms around him in a hug that she never thought she’d get to have again. Yet as much as he wanted to return her embrace, he didn’t as he instead forced his manner to remain cold and unmoved while he stoically warned his uncles of the coming Earth invasion, watching stonefaced as their initial reaction rose into frantic panic. Then, with his message delivered, he slipped out once again, his refusal to let himself fall back into his own family just as staunch and hardened as ever.

And once again, he completely missed his sister’s outstretched hand as he walked out, her heart reaching after him in the hopes that he would stay with her this time, but knowing that was far too much to hope for.

“Well, well, well… looks like things just got a lot more interesting…”

Dipper gasped as he found that the very first thing he was met with upon pulling himself out of the crashed ship’s wreckage was the pitchy voice of the demon who held domain over the entire Earth and all its vast empire. The very demon he had risked life and limb to escape from during his flight from that chaoitc planet, who should have been back on Earth seeing as how he had merely just sent two of his cronies to do his work for him. Yet now, Pacifica was nowhere to be found while Gideon simply stood by, fuming at how Bill was apparently ignoring his proposal to make a deal to take out the Pines family, as well as Steven and Lapis, who had been unfortunate enough to get caught up in all this. But instead, the demon’s singular eye now held focus on Dipper, who couldn’t deny the flash of terror that struck him as that imposing triangular form cast an oppressive shadow over him.

“Hey there, Pine Tree! I was wondering where you ran off to. Guess my hunch about you crawling back to this boring ol’ hunk of rock was right, huh?” Bill began quite effervescently, though as he noticed Dipper attempting to back away, he was quick to reposition himself right behind the boy in a flash. “Whoa, not so fast, kid! You don’t wanna miss out on what could very well be the best deal you’ll ever make, do ya?”

“W-what?” Dipper asked, not having the context to really know what the demon was talking about.

“Hey!” Gideon shouted in sudden outrage as he sent Bill an appalled glare. “I was the one who summoned you here, Bill! I thought you were gonna make a deal with me!”

“Oh, yeah, I was gonna do that,” Bill shrugged nonchalantly. “Until a much better alternative came along.” The demon’s tone dropped low and sinister as he pointed his cane over at Dipper, who was still completely lost amidst this unknown turn of events. “So… see ya, Gideon!” With another flick of his cane, Bill managed to completely take control of Gideon’s amulet, resulting in his own telekinesis being used against him to fling him far away from the Kindergarten crash site and freeing the demon up to get back to business. “Now, Pine Tree, where were we…?”

“L-Leave him alone!” Mabel shouted as Bill started circling her brother almost threateningly. The only reason she hadn’t ran over to pull Dipper away herself was because of the steady hold Stan had on her arm, keeping her held back just as much as she had been held back the first time he had been stolen away from her seven years ago. Only now, with a threat so much more dangerous and unpredictable as Bill Cipher, her complete inability to do anything to help Dipper felt so, so much worse.

“So listen up, Pine Tree, cause I don’t like to repeat myself,” Bill said as casually as ever, ignoring Mabel’s fearful cry. “You may not know this since you’ve been all blind and buried for so many years, but back on Earth, I’m pretty much the most powerful guy around. Time manipulation, the ability to change anything and anyone with a blink of an eye, endless amounts of magic your feeble human brain couldn’t even hope to comprehend, you know, the works! But here on silly old Homeworld, things are a bit… different. This planet’s outta my hands, which is something I plan on changing pretty soon, but for now, I kinda can't interact with this place physically without a vessel. So I need a little… help, if ya catch my drift…” s on edge as he already was by the dream demon’s mere presence alone, Dipper slowly shook his head, finally realizing just how fast his heart was pounding as he tried his hardest to reconcile his complete and utter terror. Still, Bill simply sighed in exasperation and rolling his eye before he explained. “My drift is this: you let me possess you, let me take the reins and sit in your control seat for a while, so I can finally get rid of what’s left of your stupid, annoying family! Heck, since you’re so un-Pines compared to all the rest of them, I’ll even let you walk away with your life when it’s all said and done as my way of saying thanks! Sounds like a pretty good plan, doesn’t it, kid?”

For a moment there were no words that Dipper could find to describe just how absolutely appalled he was by this incredibly gruesome idea. The fact that Bill Cipher, of all the beings in the universe, wanted to use him as a tool to destroy his own family, that he wanted him to agree to let such a thing happen? It was beyond twisted and cruel. In fact, he was so shocked by it that he couldn’t even properly express anything but absolute dumbfoundment at it when he finally did manage to respond to it. “I… I don’t understand…” he choked, shaking his head once more. “W-why… what makes you think I would ever say yes to something like that?”

“Why wouldn’t you say yes to something like that?” Bill retorted calmly. “Think about this for a sec, Pine Tree. These three?” he threw a hand out towards Mabel, Stan, and Ford. “They let a bunch of Earth squares steal you away when you were only 5 years old. And then what did they do? What did they do while you were beaten and battered almost constantly for weeks on end? What did they do when someone ran a knife over your eyes until you were completely and totally blind? What did they do when you were left for dead in that empty cell for seven years with nothing but a bunch of dumb old rocks and your own pathetic, unfulfilled dreams to keep you company? Oh, that’s right! They did nothing!”

Dipper shuddered at this, hating to admit that every single thing the demon was saying was true but knowing in his heart that it was. He had languished, suffered, hoped in vain for so long that they would come for him, but they never did until after all the hope he had left in him had long since died. And even then, they had only managed to stumble upon him on accident. Stan and Ford had even said so themselves that they had stopped looking for him only a year after his disappearance. This was something he had thought about frequently, ever since he had been set free, and every time he did, it only made him ache with the belief that his own family had cared so very little about him that they had just given up on him completely. And really, it was a large part of the reason he had already given up on them.

“Really, kid, it only makes sense,” Bill continued, fighting rationality upon seeing that his manipulation was seemingly working. “I mean, you don’t even wanna be part of their family anymore anyway, so why not just do yourself a favor and lighten this whole ‘rebellious legacy’ load off your shoulders? At least then, you wouldn’t have to keep running away all the time.”

“Dipper! Don’t listen to him! Please” Mabel cried once again, pulling against Stan’s grip, though it held fest, lest she break free and throw herself into the same danger her brother was in.

“Seriously, kid, he’s lying to you!” Stan shouted adamantly, wanting to believe that, despite all of the abuse he had been through in his young life, that his nephew was smarter than this. “You really think he won’t off you the second he’s through with all of us?! Because that’s not how that psychopath works, believe us.”

“Stanley’s right,” Ford agreed, the immense worry in his otherwise tight expression. “Dipper, you can’t trust him, he only wants to-”

“Hey, how about you three butt out for a sec and let Pine Tree decide here?” Bill cut their pleas off sharply before turning back to Dipper. “See what I mean, kid? The only thing they care about is saving their own hides. That’s exactly why they never bothered to look for you even ten minutes outside their own backyard. Guess they didn’t think you were worth the effort.”

“No, we did think you were worth it, Dipper!” Mabel protested fiercely, though she kept at it as Dipper finally glanced over at her, clear conflict filling his expression. “I never wanted to stop looking for you! I always hoped that you were still alive and out there somewhere and I was right. A-and I know you’re mad at us for taking so long to find you, but you can’t do this. Please, Dipper… I-I can’t lose you again, not like this…”

Dipper could still scarcely even think of what to say amidst being pressed on all sides, but for what seemed like ages he kept his frightened, anxious, uncertain gaze on Mabel, who could only meet it with tears after she finished her appeal. She desperately hoped that it would be enough to sway him against such an awful deal, that he’d staunchly turn Bill down and finally come to stand with his family once more. Yet… it really didn’t seem to be enough, for instead of keeping his sights on her, he gradually glanced over to Lapis, who had simply been standing along with Steven in tense silence this entire time, neither of them having the faintest clue about what to do to stop this. As Dipper made eye contact with her, the most the blue Gem could do was softly shake her head, her eyes wide with unabridged terror at the thought of losing the boy she had just grown so close to like this. And yet, it was only as Dipper saw that terror that he realized what would happen if he said no to the demon’s twisted aspirations. Even if he refused, then Bill would always be able to find someone else, someone much more willing even, like Gideon for instance, to carry out his sadistic plans. And then, none of them, no one on Homeworld at all, would be safe, including his family, including Mabel, including Steven, including Lapis. No one would be able to stop the insane demon from doing whatever violent, demented thing he wanted, including destroying anything and anyone who stood in his path of conquest and chaos. If he said no, then there would be no telling what might happen.

Which was exactly why he had to say yes.

“So, kid, have you made up your mind yet?” Bill asked with faux boredom. “Because I’m a very busy demon, what with ruling my own intergalactic empire and everything, and I haven’t got all-””

“I’ll do it,” Dipper spoke up, squaring his shoulders and putting on his bravest face as he thought about exactly what this would entail for him. Even so, he had a plan, one that was only really tentative at best and one that would only really lead him to even more suffering than he had already known, but at least this time, it would all be on his own terms.

Needless to say that the reaction to his staunch agreement was intense. Mabel was the first to lash out, finally pulling herself out of Stan’s hold as a loud scream of protest tore from her. Lapis wasn’t far behind, her wings summoned as she rushed forward, tears forming in her eyes as she hurried to try and stop this deal from going through by any means necessary. Unfortunately, while Bill didn’t have much power on Homeworld, he did have enough to erect a blue fiery barrier, one that easily barred Mabel, Lapis, and anyone else from breaking this arrangement while still giving them a front row seat to it all.

“Yeesh, so much drama with you rebels!” Bill rolled his eye caustically. “I gotta admit, I’ll kinda miss that about you chumps… but not for long! So, Pine Tree, are you finally ready to get even for all those long years of abuse and abandonment? Cause if you are, then all it takes is just one simple handshake…” At this, the demon held his hand out, blue flames sparking over it as he presented it to Dipper, who simply looked between it and Bill himself with cold acceptance. He was ready for this, whatever it was, he told himself. He had spent seven years in blinded emptiness, how could this be much worse than that?

And yet, he still looked over at the pair who had rushed forth in vain to try and save him, both of them looking to him tearfully and still begging him not to go through with this. His resolve nearly crumbled upon meeting Mabel’s miserable expression, but it came back to him when he saw Lapis’. For seven years he had dreamed of nothing but freedom, and now, he was going to give that freedom up, more than likely forever, just to save the two people he was still absolutely certain he cared about.

It was probably the most worthy sacrifice he could think of, if he was perfectly honest with himself.

So, with a deep breath and closed eyes, he took the demon’s hand, allowing his own to be pulled down in shake that locked everything in place. And from there, everything seemed to happen all at once.

The very first thing he felt was pain, pain that was so fierce and so intense that it made the anguish of having that knife torn across his eyes feel like a mere scratch by comparison. But as the pain died out, as all his senses died out really, they were replaced with something else, something that seemed to overwhelm every single fiber of his being: power. Or at least he thought it was power, because what it really was was something far beyond what his mortal mind could even begin to comprehend. In fact, the only things he knew of it were that it was rich, strong, tantalizing, chaotic, uncontrollable, and his. But it wasn’t really. Rather it belonged to the miasmic, sinister, unquestionably insane entity that was quickly flooding his consciousness, splitting it cleanly in half and brutally pushing him aside as it easily took control of everything, all while he was left adrift inside his own completely ravaged mind, desperately trying to recover from the shock of it all before it was too late. 

Mabel let out a tearful gasp as the wall of fire finally fell, allowing her to see that Bill was gone, but Dipper was still there, his eyes still shut and his body rigid and unmoving as she hurried over to him, Lapis following not too far behind. By the time she had almost reached him, however, he started to do something she hadn’t been expecting: laugh. As the laughter rose in volume and grew more manic, she realized that it was indeed in Dipper’s voice, but at the same time, it was also Bill’s. Both voices were completely unified as his laughter rose to triumphant levels, his eyes opening to reveal that one of them was still a natural, normal brown, while the other was sharply slitted against bright, piercing, glowing yellow, telling Mabel only one thing. That the worst had indeed happened. That her brother had been taken away from her yet again, only this time, she would never get him back. That he wasn’t even Dipper anymore, that he couldn’t be with with someone like Bill running wild and free inside his mind. Bipper… she concluded briefly, the name sounding so very wrong, even inside her own mind. Still, she was so heartbroken by what was happening that she couldn’t even allow herself to feel any form of betrayal towards him for what he had just done. Even if that betrayal was something that the newly dubbed “Bipper” was more than happy to remind them all off.

“Ah, now this is more like it!” he exclaimed proudly, his voice still a twisted mix of Bill’s and Dipper’s, though there was clearly more of a demonic edge to it. “It’s been so long since I’ve needed one of these flesh sacks that I almost forgot what being inside one of them is like! Still, I owe you one for being so nice and compliant about all this, Pine Tree! So,” his demented grin grew as he began to lift off the ground, blue flames curling up upon both of his hands as he hovered over his targets with sadistic glee. “What do you say we get started, huh? Oh, that’s right! You’re probably still trying to pull your measly human mind back together after having so much limitless cosmic power crammed into it all at once! Well then, don’t worry, kid! You just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. I’ll take it from here…”

Bipper let out another absolutely wild laugh at this, his yellow eye sparking with murderous intent while his flames grew larger as he prepared to rain them down upon his unprepared foes. Stan and Ford and Steven were all absolutely shellshocked by what they were seeing, none of them scarcely able to believe it while Lapis let out a harsh, broken sob at how far Dipper had fallen. But all Mabel could do was reach out to him once more, tears refusing to leave her eyes as she hoped that somehow, someway, this twisted nightmare would finally end, that she’d wake up and he’d be there and they’d be happy again, just like they had been so many years ago.

But of course, no matter how much she reached, it was never to be.

For suddenly, right before Bipper could bring his flames down, they abruptly died out, much to his apparent surprise. “Huh?!” he glanced at his hands in shock, clearly trying to bring the flames back only for him to suddenly go flying back in mid air towards the entrance of the Kindergarten behind him. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing, kid?!” He let out a sudden anguished shout at this, his limbs struggling to break free of some kind of invisible bondage as his expression changed from confusion to absolute raw fury. “For almost my entire life I’ve always been somebody’s prisoner,” he began fiercely, Dipper’s voice clearly starting to overpower Bill’s. “I practically grew up inside a jail cell I couldn’t even see. I missed out on everything my life should have been! And even after I thought I was finally free, I didn’t even get to enjoy it before your stupid forces came along and captured me all over again! But no more; I’m through with being trapped and tortured everywhere I go! Now it’s your turn to be locked away and forgotten, Bill! Let’s see how you like it!”

With another harsh shout, he pulled himself back even more, a blue glow igniting around his hands, one that transferred to the rocks surrounding the Kindergarten’s tunnel entrance. “Whoa! Wait! P-Pine Tree, stop!” Bipper gasped as the other half of him realized exactly what was about to happen here and fought in vain for control against it. “W-what about your revenge?! This is your one chance to take out your neglectful family and you’re completely wasting it just to put me away?! Don’t you realize you’re doing the exact same thing to yourself!? You’ve lost it!”

“No,” he replied to himself coldly, his expression a resolved glare as he looked to both Lapis and Mabel, finally smiling just the slightest bit as his hand moved to bring the rocks down on his telekinetic command. “I haven’t.”

“Dipper!” Mabel cried in an absolute panic as the impending cave in began, the rocks falling hard and heavy before him. The Kindergarten itself was closed off completely on the inside, with its one entrance also being its only exit, and Bipper had brazenly, intentionally landed on the wrong side of the momentous pile of rocks. Meaning that once all of them fell, he’d be trapped inside indefinitely, something that Mabel couldn’t let happen, but was ultimately completely powerless to stop.

“Augh! Stupid kid!” Bipper shouted in blind rage, his limbs trembling wildly as he desperately tried and failed to wrest back control. “This wasn’t the deal! When I take control back from you, I’m gonna make you wish you were never born!” The other half of him simply let out a soft, almost accepting sigh at this, his fury dissipating into calm acceptance of his fate as he closed his eyes, not wanting to see that final look of desperate anguish on Mabel’s face as the last of the rocks fell. “Too late,” he muttered calmly, mentally preparing himself for the nearly endless internal conflict to come. “I already do.”

And just like that, he was gone, the final rock falling as Mabel collapsed to her knees with a broken sob, her hand still held out, just like it always was, for the brother who had just condemned himself to an eternity of imprisoned torment. The brother who had given away every part of himself, including his highly sought after freedom, just to save her life. The brother who would certainly never be able to reach his hand back to her now, even if he wanted to.

She missed him.

She thought she had missed him before, when she was but a teary-eyed five year old who kept thinking that he’d come home “any minute now”. She thought she had missed him after he had taken off on that ship to parts unknown, presumably never to return. But now? Now she missed him so much that it almost physically hurt her. Because now she could go down to the entrance of that Kindergarten at the edge of the sector literally any time she wanted to. Now she could place her hand against that impenetrable rock wall, she could imagine him on the other side of it, wrestling against the demon he had let into his mind with every ounce of resistance he had in him, she could whisper her tearful promises to find a way to help him, no matter how it might take. Promises that were largely more wishes than they were actual promises.

Still it seemed that her and Lapis were really the only ones who were making any kind of effort to do something about Dipper’s plight. The Crystal Gems were clueless when it came to a being as tricky and enigmatic as Bill Cipher, the Fusions’ Logs offered literally no assistance, and most frustrating to Mabel, Stan and Ford seemed to be very hands off about the whole thing. One night, not too many weeks after Dipper had trapped himself and Bill away, her frustration finally exploded into full on rage as she shouted at her uncles, fiercely demanding why they seemed to be doing nothing to even try to help their own nephew, why they were seeming to be giving up on him all over again. Their rebuttal was that they wanted to help Dipper, they really, really did, but they simply didn’t know enough about Bill and the extent of his abilities to do anything that would be safe for the good of Homeworld at large. As it stood, the merciless demon who had single handedly conquered Earth had finally been subdued and sealed away, inside the body of a twelve year old who had locked them both inside a barren Kindergarten, true, but sealed away nonetheless. Which meant that for now at least, the planet was safe.

But that was far from good enough for Mabel.

Despite how much of a failure Lapis’ attempts at helping Dipper had been thus far, Mabel couldn’t help but admire how hard she was trying. The blue Gem had researched extensively on the mysterious demon, had tried to terraform around the Kindergarten, had even gone as far as to fuse with the brutish Jasper into the massive, merciless Malachite in the hopes of decimating that rock wall, a plan that had only left Lapis with more scars than successes when it was all said and done. And even if none of her ideas were working, Mabel wished that she had even a fraction of the blue Gem’s verve, because as things were, she felt so completely useless. Dipper had saved all their lives, perhaps even all of Homeworld itself, and what did he get as a reward for his courageous selflessness? Yet another prison for him to rot away in, this time with a cellmate who was the complete and utter embodiment of hatred and chaos itself. And what was she doing to help free him from that prison? Nothing, just as Bill had accused them all of. She was doing nothing to rescue her brother from his horrendous situation, just as she had done nothing to rescue him seven years ago. The truth of it was she was failing him in every sense of the word. Because as much as she wanted to help him, she didn’t even know where to start at all. She didn’t know how to break that massive stone wall keeping him locked away down. She didn’t know how to kick the vicious demon he was currently sharing his body with out. She didn’t know how to bring him home once and for all, to get him to finally stay with her, to convince him that they were still a family, no matter how many times they were torn apart.

She didn’t know how to help him; which meant that the only thing she could do instead of try was what she had always done: keep reaching out for a hand that never seemed to reach back.

He could feel it.

Day in and day out, it pounded heavily against the back of the half of his mind he still had some semblance of control over. It coaxed him, begged him to open that door, to let the floodgates go down, to let that rich, endless power now afforded to him just flow through him completely unfettered. To just let go, to end his pointless vigil and let himself finally be free to do whatever he could possibly imagine. The power tugged on his very soul, it seemed, hounding at him to be used, demanding to at least let the other, much more wild and malicious half of his consciousness use it if he wasn’t going to.

It absolutely terrified him.

Mostly because it was something that Bill had absolutely no qualms about taunting him with almost constantly as they shared their prison that was his body, which was trapped inside an even larger prison that was the Kindergarten. Fortunately, whatever half of him that was now the demon negated his former need for food, water, or even sleep because the Kindergarten itself was completely desolate and devoid of all signs of life except for him. Even then, he barely felt alive as he sat in once spot, in one of the larger holes in the hollowed out walls he had claimed as his own moments after locking himself away. And there he stated, largely unmoving as he resumed the very same stance of waiting for nothing that he had grown so used to during his first bout of captivity. Only now, he didn’t expect to be saved; in all honesty, he didn’t want to be saved. Because if he was saved, then so was Bill. And all at once, everything he had thrown his life away from would be worth nothing at all.

Still, even if he had managed to subdue the demon physically, that didn’t mean keeping him bound mentally was anything close to a simple task. Every second of every day was a struggle for control, one that he only narrowly managed to maintain the upper hand in. Bill would try almost ceaselessly to escape his ridiculously determined vessel only for Dipper to somehow reign him back in every single time. It didn’t take long for the demon to grow desperate, and as he did, so too did his tactics. Even though he had little to no control over their shared body, his still had a potent presence inside their mind, the connection between their consciousnesses being more than enough for him to get his messages across. In his most petty fits of rage, Bill would often press nightmare after nightmare upon Dipper, filling them with the most unspeakable horrors both imaginable and unimaginable, things that would have easily and utterly broken the average human mind upon so much as a first glance. But what the demon underestimated was that he was dealing with a mind that had already been broken by years of untold horrors all their own. And in its place stood a wall of indifference and determination so strong and sturdy that even a being as powerful as Bill himself was having a hard time putting a dent in it.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t stop trying. Because even if he knew Dipper held little struggle against him, Bill could tell that he was struggling with the immense power they both had access to, though Dipper even moreso now because of his well-maintained control. And while it infuriated the demon to no end that a mere human child was in a better position to use his powers than even he was, Bill knew he could use this struggle to his advantage.

“When are you just gonna give up already, kid?” he asked, their voices still intertwined as they echoed through the otherwise dense silence of the Kindergarten in an almost ethereal way. “We both know you wanna use it, so why don’t you? It’d be a way better use of your time than just sitting around here doing nothing all day.”

“I think you know exactly why I’m not going to use it,” he replied coldly, evenly, just as he always did whenever the demon attempted this, which was very often. “Because if I did, then you’d probably be set free. Which is not something I’m about to let happen now, or ever.”

“Geez, well sorry for asking, ‘Mr. Warden’. I just couldn’t help but notice that its calling to you a bit… stronger than usual… You really sure you don’t wanna answer that call? It’d be pretty disappointed if you just left it hanging, you know.”

“I don’t care. I’m not using it. I don’t need it. Now could you just be quiet for a change instead of trying to wear me down, which isn’t working by the way. I’m trying to concentrate.”

“Aw, what’s the matter, Pine Tree? Thinkin’ about poor little Shooting Star again? You sure tend to do that a lot, even though I don’t get why. Honestly, if I were you, I’d be angry at her instead of worried about her like you are. Especially since her life should have been yours.”

He flinched at this, his eyes widening somewhat as his brow furrowed in confusion. “W-what do you mean?”

“What, you mean you can’t see it? Oh, that’s right, you won’t let yourself use any of my-or should I say--our powers for some stupid reason. Well if you did, then you’d be able to take a glimpse at any number of alternate realities that split off of our own. And I’m not lying to you when I tell you there’s one where Shooting Star was captured that night instead of you. You wanna take a quick peek?”

His heart sank at the very idea of any reality where Mabel went through even half of the pain he had endured. After all, he had been hurt so deeply and so profoundly in so many different ways that he wouldn’t wish that kind of anguish upon anyone. Except for Bill maybe. Especially since the demon didn’t seem to care about his already quite loud internal protest against this. “Too late! Here ya go, Pine Tree! Enjoy what could have been!”

Dipper gasped as his mind was abruptly whisked away into the dreamscape, allowing him to watch as an inactive observer as an entirely different version of his life played out before him. All at once there he was back on that fateful night seven years ago, where any chance he once had at living a normal life had died right along with his freedom. And yet, instead of the Earth loyalists nabbing him and taking off, they managed to get ahold of Mabel instead. Dipper felt a bitter chill run through him as he watched his younger self reach out for his abducted sister as she disappeared into the night, presumably never to be seen again. A year past, one that he spent in worry as Stan and Ford searched high and low, all the Gems of Crystal Falls lending their aid to try and find Mabel but they never did. Dipper begged, pleaded against his uncles as they finally called off all their search efforts, knowing that any hope of getting her back again was incredibly slim. Yet over time, he began to accept that painful truth as well, as much as it hurt his heart in every conceivable way to think that he’d never see his sister again. And so, as a way of bracing himself against that pain, he forced himself to move on, to keep on living his life, because certainly, that’s what Mabel would have wanted.

And so he did. He watched with wonder as his childhood played out in a much better way than it actually had. He lived in warmth, comfort, and peace with Stan and Ford, their care for him immense as they both knew he could have been lost just as easily as Mabel had been. Never once did he want for anything; he was always well fed, well bathed, well rested, and well loved. Stan taught him how to fight while Ford brought him up with all of the scientific knowledge he had in his arsenal. He craved knowledge, thrived in it, sought every opportunity available to him to learn more just to satisfy his curious nature. His days were spent in free, cheerful exploration, Steven often at his side as they ran through the streets and woods of Crystal Falls, building friendships with most of the Gems who lived there and uncovering the mysteries that lay beyond its limits. In time, Lapis showed up to Crystal Falls, just as eager to learn as he was and together in their pursuit of knowledge, they were unstoppable. And they years went by in their quiet way, unfettered in their peacefulness and bliss as he lived his life, embracing every second of it and reveling in the amazingness of the complex, yet beautiful world all around him. A world that he had never gotten to see much of with his own eyes as they had been blinded so long ago. A world that he could have had just as much as Mabel did. A world that he wanted, that he felt robbed of, that he should have had and why didn’t he? Why had he been the one who had been taken away? Why had he been the one who suffered through so much senseless torture? Why had his life been stolen away from him before it had even really begun?

And most of all, why couldn’t he do anything to change it?

But he could… The tug at the back of his mind reminded him. He could change it if he really wanted to. He could bend time, warp it to his favor, make the clock reverse to the point that he could actually have the peaceful, coveted life that had just played out before him. He had that power now, it was all his. And accessing it would be as easy as simply opening up that door and letting it all flow in.

As he considered opening that door for the first time, somewhere, on the other half of his consciousness, Bill Cipher laughed triumphantly, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before his impressionable young vessel caved completely. And then, there would be no one who could stop him.

The Kindergarten’s implosion could be heard and seen all across Crystal Falls, even as far as the abandoned ship near the lake. The moment they all realized what it was, Stan and Ford had already started setting off, the Crystal Gems hurrying not too far behind. And though she had been ordered to stay behind at the ship with Pacifica and Steven, Mabel refused to simply wait by while her brother suffered any longer. Which was why she raced after them, running across town without a single stop, all the way to the ruined remains of the Kindergarten. And the sight she found there was more than enough to make her blood run completely cold.

There he was, floating high above Stan, Ford, and the Gems trying to stop him, his entire body aglow with blue flames as he let out a dark, malicious laugh. Gone was all the calm control Dipper had had when he had sealed them both away, for though it had taken him months, Bill had finally gotten the control he had been so fervently vying for. Already the demon had taken some of his anger out on his vessel for his lengthy imprisonment, if his bloody nose and chest were any indication, but even so his manner was wild and unrestrained as he rained his vengeance down upon those below without a single sign of hesitance or restraint, triumphantly taunting them all the while.

For a moment, the most Mabel could do was watch all this chaos unfold from her distant vantage point, tears streaming down her cheeks as she felt all sense of waning hope fade away. She knew that Dipper had fought for so hard and for so long to keep Bill at bay, more than likely putting himself through endless amounts of anguish and agony every step of the way. But in the end, his fierce, courageous struggle still hadn’t been enough. In the end, the demon had still won, he was still having his long awaited revenge, he was still poised to destroy her entire family, Dipper included.

And after years of doing nothing, that was something that Mabel was not about to let happen.

“Hey!” she shouted, boldly rushing forward into the fray. The moment they realized she was there, Stan and Ford tried everything they could to hold her back, but she pushed past her uncles this time, running right up to her possessed brother, glaring up at him with all of the ferocity and righteous fury she could muster. “Get out of him already, Bill! Now!”

“Well, well…” Bipper began with an intrigued grin as he drifted down a bit, Bill still clearly in control as his yellow eye flashed twistedly. “Look who we have here… Glad to see you could make it, Shooting Star! I was thinking I was missing one out of the set, but nope! Guess the family’s all here, finally together again! Isn’t it just sweet?”

“Shut up!” Mabel growled, her hands curled into tight fists at her sides. “I don’t know how you beat Dipper back and broke out but that doesn’t matter, because you’re going to get out of his body and leave all of us alone!”

“Oh yeah?” he asked challengingly. “And what makes you think that? What makes you think I’m not just gonna burn you and your stupid uncles to a crisp before doing the same thing to the rest of this worthless planet?”

“I know you’re not gonna do that because somewhere in that body, Dipper’s still there, I know it,” she retorted, her manner still brazen and resolved. “And I know he would never do that.”

“Ha!” he laughed mockingly at this claim. “Then clearly you don’t know your own brother that well, kid. He just spent the last several months trying his best to resist using our immense cosmic power, and you wanna know the only reason he finally gave in? So he could take your happy little life away from you so he could have it instead while you’d be tortured and imprisoned for years on end just like he was! You call that selfless? Or noble? Or heroic? Cause I sure don’t!”

Mabel’s determination finally shaken away into shock upon hearing this, her eyes widening as she tried to make sense of what she had just heard. “W-wha… n-no! That… that’s not true! H-he wouldn’t… you… you’re lying!”

“You wish I was, kid,” he scoffed coldly. “But go ahead and tell her, Pine Tree! Tell her all about how you were ready and willing to roll back time and flip your fates around! I’m sure she’d love to hear about how much you don’t care about her!” A gasp escaped him, tears starting to well up in his eyes as his other half was finally allowed some control. Guilt was written all over his expression as he looked down at her, telling her all that she needed to know that the demon had, against all odds, been telling the truth. “M-Mabel… I… I didn’t… I was just… I never wanted you to-” He let out a sharp cry of anguish as control was viciously ripped away from him again, his remorse turning into a smug grin. “See, Shooting Star? He can’t even bring himself to deny it because it’s true! He was gonna throw you under the bus just so he could take everything you’ve ever known and loved for himself! Some brother he turned out to be, huh?”

Mabel said nothing for a moment, a few tears finally escaping her as she thought about just how horrible it all was. It was true: Dipper really had wanted to swap their fates around, to put himself in her peaceful place while she took his own horrific one. He had gone through so much agony in his life that she couldn’t even begin to imagine going through all of that herself, much less somehow surviving it like he had. And yet… for as terrible as this truth was… she still couldn’t find it in her to be angry at him like Bill clearly wanted her to be. She couldn’t be, no matter how hard she tried, because when it came right down to it, he had every single right to feel that way. He had been beaten, blinded, abandoned, brutalized, and yet in the end, in that deciding moment when he had been given a chance to exact his revenge against the family that had wronged him, he hadn’t. Instead, he had turned the tables, trapping both himself and Bill away and remaining strong in his vigil for as long as he had been able to hold out. He had saved them all, even when he really hadn’t been obligated to, even when he could have saved himself so much more easily. And in Mabel’s eyes, that selfless, sacrificial act far outweighed whatever small, overall insignificant moment of selfishness that had led him here.

“D-Dipper… I… You… W-what happened to you was… it was so unfair…” Mabel began waveringly, desperation in her eyes as she looked up at him tearfully, hoping that her brother could hear her beyond the demon controlling his body. “I haven’t stopped thinking about how unfair it all was from the minute we first found you in that cell… Pretty much every day I ask myself why all this happened to you instead of me. B-because if I could have, then I definitely would have swapped places with you in a heartbeat. You didn’t deserve what you went through. You were just a kid, we both were. Heck, we still are. And its so wrong that you’re the one who has to keep going through all these terrible things because… b-because of me… So… if you wanted to switch our lives around, or, heck, even if you wanted to just get rid of me altogether… t-then… then I’d understand that… Because you deserve so much better than what you got… You always have… and you always will…”

Bipper scoffed haughtily at this attempt at an appeal, his eyes rolling as he began buffering it off. “Oh give me a break, Shooting Star. Like any of your schmaltzy apologies are actually gonna-” He suddenly trailed off, his tears returning as sadden sincerity filled his expression. “M-Mabel, no… I… I never… I don’t want to change things around like that… I thought I did, b-but… but I was wrong… It’s true, my life has pretty much been… well, the worst, but I’d never, ever wish any of that on you… I just… I… The only thing I want is for all of this to finally end…”

“And it can,” Mabel smiled warmly, reaching her hand out to him once more. “You’re stronger than Bill is, Dipper, I know you are. You held out for so long now that you’re practically a pro at handling crazy murderous demons! And you wanna know why I know that? Because you’re my brother; and fighting back and being totally awesome is something that runs in our family, whether you like it or not.”

He let out a small, genuine laugh at this, and Mabel felt her heart begin to soar as, for the first time in years, he began to reach his hand back to meet hers. Yet before they could connect, it was stopped once again, this time by his other hand as a fierce struggle for control again. “N-no! Don’t listen to her! I’m not about to let a bunch of sentimental family garbage ruin everything I’ve worked so hard for!” His other half resisted fiercely though, pulling past this restraint as he continued reaching out for Mabel, his hope finally returning to him after years and years of it being gone. “Well I’m not about to let you or anything else keep me away from my sister anymore! So face it, Bill. This is over. And you’ve lost!”

And with that, their hands finally connected, years and years of separation and grief ending in one moment of sheer love and triumph. The demon let out a wild screech of defeat as suddenly, without any warning of all, he was shoved straight out of his longtime vessel, back into his triangular form as he shot back into the open air. As Stan, Ford, and the Gems hurried after Bill and eventually forced him to retreat, the blue glow surrounding Dipper faded, his shared power gone as his eyes closed and he collapsed right into Mabel’s arms. She held onto him tightly, mostly out of fear that he’d be taken from her again if she ever let him go, as he trembled uncontrollably, his body and mind both in shock over just how much it had been through over the past few seemingly endless months. But even so, she was there for him, rubbing a hand over his back gently in an attempt to soothe him as she whispered gentle reassurances to him all the while.

“It’s ok, bro-bro,” she said softly, ignoring everything else going on around her as she reserved her attention solely for him. “Everything’s gonna be alright… it’s over now… You’re safe… you’re free… And that’s exactly how you’re gonna be from here on out… I promise…”

Dipper said nothing in response to any of this, mostly because his mind was still struggling to pull its ruined parts together again as it recovered from Bill’s incredibly toxic presence within it. But even so, he showed his appreciation for her comfort by slowly, shakily lifting his arms to return her embrace as he buried his face into her shoulder, knowing that this was perhaps the first time in seven years that he truly felt like he was no longer alone.

And even though tears were still running down her cheeks through it all, Mabel couldn’t help but smile, joy unlike any she had ever experienced before flooding her every sense. Because for the first time in seven years, through pain and scars and grief and guilt and everything else, he had reached out to her once more. Even if time couldn’t take back any of the things that had kept them apart in the past, they were finally together again.

And for both of the Pines twins, this was more than enough.

[intoxicatedeuphoria]

Conversations from Mustang & Hawkeye Story Mode (FMA Dream Carnival Translation)

Here’s the full dialogue translation from the Royai arc of FMA Dream Carnival for PS2 as requested by @prettywitchiusaka! I went all the way and translated the prologue as well BECAUSE MAES HUGHES IS THE BEST EVER BEST FRIEND AND WINGMAN... and so you guys can understand the context of the scene with Barry the Chopper (it’s the epilogue).

In Dream Carnival, the characters form pairs (i.e. Ed x Al, Roy x Riza, Maes x Alex, Lust x Gluttony, Greed x Scar, Winry x Izumi, with the exception of King Bradley who acts as the big boss/final opponent). They fight against each other in the festival/tournament and you get to choose which pair to play as from the Main Menu.

P.S. I tried my best to preserve the tone of each character (i.e. Riza with her polite responses, Alex with his overly formal/archaic way of speaking, etc.), but it’s so difficult since some words/verb forms do not exist in English. I also included some screenshots because Roy and Riza’s reactions are adorable ^__^

Please credit/mention my blog when you use my translation for your works. Thanks <3

in the office | PROLOGUE

Roy: *eyes closed* hmmmm...

Riza: Colonel? May I help you with something?

Roy: Ah, no. It’s nothing.

Riza: Please take care of the the matters we’ve discussed before!

*Roy leaves the office in a haste*

Riza: *confused by Roy’s behavior* ...hmmm?

*Maes pops out of the blue*

Maes: Heyyyy~! Oh! What’s the matter, Riza-chan? What’s with the troubled expression on your face?

Riza: Huh? Oh no! It’s nothing...

Riza: I’m wondering a bit since the Colonel is acting strangely.

Maes: HAHAHA! Don’t worry about it!

Maes: *talks to self* It is strange that he has not yet begun until now.

*Riza gives Maes a nasty glare*

Maes: U-uhhh. No, no! Err, it’s probably the tournament, don’t you think?

Riza: *utterly confused* The tournament?

Maes: Yup! It seems like he has not yet decided on a partner.

Maes: I would have asked him, but I already signed up with Major Armstrong.

Maes: I thought he would pair up with Riza-chan for sure.

Maes: OH~? Are you not available?

Maes: I came here as soon as I realized why Riza-chan was given the cold shoulder, although...

Riza: Yes, do you know...

Maes: *glasses sparkling* Well then, there’s that 

Maes: You see, that guy was treated by Riza-chan as useless so he’s feeling quite down~

Maes: The tournament is a great opportunity to show Riza-chan that he isn’t [incompetent].

Maes: [He probably thinks that] there’s no point if he were to accept Riza-chan’s support, don’t you think so?

*Riza blushes*

Maes: Well, that’s half of it. It’s also a great place to show off to the girls.

Maes: [if that’s the case, then] being with Riza-chan might be unfavorable or something like that.

Riza: ... *glares at him*

Maes: Men have this strange pride that makes them fixated with such things

Maes: so Riza-chan, please give him your unwavering support.

Riza: ...yes.

Maes: *hearts background + huge grin*  Oh, but we will achieve victory! After all, I have a gre~at ambition~

Riza: Alright. I shall let him know.

Maes: See you then~! *leaves in a hurry*

Riza: *alone in the office with a fond smile* ...how stupid.

on the train  |  BEFORE THE FIRST BATTLE

Roy: Standing in the battlefield with you just like this reminds me of the time when we were in the civil war.

Riza: Today is a festival. It is different from that time.

Roy: That’s true...

Maes: *butts in from nowhere* Hey, you two right there~!! You’ve got a nice atmosphere going on, not bad at all!

*Roy pouts and grumbles*

Maes: I wonder if you will be flirting [i.e. acting lovey-dovey] after you’ve defeated us...

Alex: That is IF you can bring us down, of course.

Roy: Bring it on! I will give you a taste of the power of the Flame Alchemist himself!

Maes: Afterwards, you will be in the mood for some lovey-dovey. [NOTE: another translation for イチャイチャ is making out... just so you know how devious Hughes is with his innuendoes]

Riza: *embarrassed* [We] won’t be!

somewhere in Central City  |  EPILOGUE

*Roy and Riza are walking down the street. Both changed into civilian clothes after the tournament*

Roy: Whew... it’s finally over.

Riza: It was really difficult to win and advance to the next round with such opponent lineup, right?

Roy: ...hey, Lieutenant?

Riza: Is there something the matter?

Roy: *turns away in embarrassment and scratches his cheek with a finger* ...would you like to evaluate [i.e. review/look over] our previous battles for a little while?

Riza: *small smile* ...Colonel

Barry: *comes in from nowhere* Siiii~s!!!

*Riza is shocked*

Riza: Barry?!

*Roy is pissed, strides towards Barry*

Barry: I watched you fight today! As expected of sis, I fell in love with you all over again!

*Roy — wearing his pyrotex glove — approaches Barry with a murderous look*

Riza: *walks away from Barry* Colonel, let’s go!!

Barry: But why?! How mean...

Riza: The colonel and I are exhausted. Can you please tone it down today?

Barry: That’s fine with me, but you’ll become even more tired if you go that way.

Fangirl 1: There she is! Ms. Rizaaaa~!!

Fangirl 2: *squeal* 1st Lt. Hawkeye~!!

Fangirl 3: Riza-samaaa~!!

Barry: Sis’ fans have been been stalking you for a while now.

Riza: *salutes all of a sudden* C-colonel! I”m sorry, but I shall escape!

Roy: O-okay!

Fangirl: Wai~iiit!!

Fangirl 1: Ms. Rizaaaa!!

*fangirls and fanboys chase after her*

Barry: *pushed aside by Riza's fans* Ugh! You’re in my way, you $*%#!! Siiii~is!!!

Roy: *looks hopeless then gazes up to the sky wistfully* Aahhh...Today’s a full moon, huh? *walks away defeated* I’m going home and sleeping.

T/L NOTES: The dialogues are too funny, especially the ones with Hughes!! He tried to explain Roy’s behavior to Riza just like he did so with Winry about the Elric brothers. I was surprised because Hughes uses Riza-chan to call her. I checked the Japanese manga, and they never had a conversation in the canon so I can’t say for certain if such name-calling is legit. I can’t say that the game is canon because the timeline is off since Maes had already passed away when Riza first encountered Barry in Central.

The best part IMO is when Roy attempts to ask Riza out for dinner with the pretext that he’d like to review their strategies and battle tactics. Then he gets all embarrassed while asking her. WHAT A DORK =)) In the end, Barry foils his plan and the colonel ends up doing home alone to sleep. Poor guy!