#i mean this really isn't a spoiler since it's....an opening to an opening sentence but

[familyabolisher]

[alecto the ninth spoilers, potentially?] on the topic of tamsyn muir being able to compose an absolute Sentence when she wants to, i’ve been furious about how rhythmically satisfying “at a point in the slit she was carving through life” is ever since i read the alecto opening. when the anapestic tetrameter hits <3

[lunaforyou]

Primes Reborn AU spoilers below the cut, if you want to wait until the fanfic is done don't read.

WARNINGS miscarriage scare, violence, a little angst for the soul.

(everything turns out okay don't worry)

Sooooo, after kid number three, Optimus is already getting used to this. Hey, why fight the Matrix when he can work with it?

Besides, it's vindicative to be able to un-do most of Sentinel's damage, after giving the miners cogs that is. His frag up doesn't have to haunt their entire species forever.

Nevermind that the Matrix takes bits and pieces out of him in lieu of transfluid, since, well, the sparklings have to come from somewhere.

If undoing the damage Sentinel did entails energon, sweat and tears every time, so be it.

So he decides to find a spot he feels safe in and build a nest!

His unfortunate ass only feels safe in the cave of the primes though.

No biggie! He just has to make a comfortable spot.

In a cave full of corpses.

Great.

By the time he is finally done he is so wiped out that he falls asleep in the nest immediately.

And then he wakes up to the sound of a fusion canon. Being aimed at his face.

Oh right, Megatron.

So they start to fight, Optimus is always trying to diffuse it and keep his shit together, like, invading a nest is extremely distressing for the carrier. It's not like Megatron knows he is invading a nest, because even he wouldn't go that low goddamnit.

And then Megatron taunts him with something along the lines of;

"Look at yourself, Prime. You have gone soft with time, literally." (I'm still working on what he says, don't be too rude)

And Optimus, the fool that he is, looks down at himself. He really shouldn't have done that because that gives Megatron an opening to hit him.

In the gut.

He immediately falls to the floor in pain. And Megatron goes "I won't have mercy on you because you feel a little pain, Prime"

He can't even finish the sentence though, Optimus interjects with "She isn't moving"

It takes a second for Megatron to realize what he means.

He immediately scrambles to help, however he can. He lifts Optimus up and places him in the nest, and really he can't do much but it's better than doing nothing!

The blow triggered the emergence, and little Solus is born unconscious. This time, the other primes' spirits are mysteriously absent.

When he has her in his arms, Megatron shakes her up a little bit, to see if she wakes up. To which Optimus tells him that it's useless, her body is weak without a sire bond, and that she'll die.

And without thinking, this other fool just.

Opens his spark chamber.

You see, to form a sire bond, the spark of the carrier acts as a bridge between the sparkling and the sire's spark.

Want to guess where this is going?

.

.

.

.

.

That's right! Megatron and Optimus spark bond to save little Solus, you get nothing for guessing correctly <3

They coax her spark chamber open and the three of them bond. After the bond takes, Solus starts crying, and thank Primus she is crying, Megatron doesn't think he could have lived with the guilt if his little one died because of him.

And then Optimus takes her in his arms and Megatron's world expands by five.

They look so, so beautiful. And suddenly everything that's right in the world is in that cave, in the nest that his love made.

Because yes, that's his love now (never stopped being his love) and that's his sparkling. And Primus damn it he is not going to let go of them.

And then he looks at little Solus, and cries a little and says something along the lines of "She's perfect"

And then Optimus hits him with the "You say that because you haven't seen the other three"

Megatron cries a little more.

And the name of the AU is STILL Primes Reborn. :)

[simply-wlw-kpopstan]

7. Home

⚠️ Spoilers ahead, brief mention of suicide (implied in 1 sentence)

You got a message from yewon with everything you needed on Sunday. She even did more than you asked and hacked into the psychiatric visitor's list to get your name on there. She truly was a gifted hacker if she can do all of that without getting caught. Now what will you do when you get there?

First things first, call your aunt and explain everything that happened. Step two get a good lawyer so you can fight harin's sorry excuse of a family and get her out. Step 3 get your aunt to agree to let harin stay with you. Thinking it over, the hardest part would be step 2. You knew your aunt would let harin stay if you asked, she already knew a little about her since you accidentally slipped out you had a crush. What will happen when you see harin? What if she thinks you're there to take her home and you have to tell her that you can't? You shook your head and waved those thoughts away.

The day had arrived when You were going to visit harin for the first time and got nervous. At first glance it looks like a small hospital but once you actually look, you notice the barred windows. you realize how isolated it actually is when you don't hear a sound and it starts to feel eerie.

When you arrived at the doors, they were locked and you buzzed the intercom. A woman at a desk looked up from inside, smiled and the buzzer made a noise before her voice came through "hello, how can I help you?"

"I'm here to visit someone, my name is y/n y/l/n."

"hold on just a second. " a slight panic creeps up. Does she know? What if they arrest you for hacking into the system? "ah yes I found you. I see you're visiting a new patient here. I'll buzz you in and you have to fill out a form"

"alright." you took a deep breath of relief once the line cuts and the door buzzes open. You walk in and take care of the paperwork, once that was done she gives you a visitor's pass and asked you to wait until one of the nurses comes down to get you.

The big doors swing open and a middle aged woman walks up to the reception with a clipboard. "I swear things are getting worse up at 4. We got a biter." she sighed as she hands over the papers.

"isn't this the 3th attack this month?" the receptionist asks and the nurse nods, "they should up the dosage for those people. Can you please take that girl to visit so Eun? She's the newest arrival, she's on floor 1."

So eun? Right. That was harin's name before she got adopted. That family really stripped her from everything didn't they? " ofcours." she turns to you with a smile and motioned to follow her" Come along. Sorry It took so long. It's been a hectic day." you quickly follow after her as the doors begin to close again. "You're the first visitor for her, we didn't think anyone would come since there aren't any emergency contacts mentioned in her file."

"It's complicated but I'm taking care of it. She had a family but they abandoned her recently. "

The nurse smiled broadly. " I'm glad she still has you then. Being here can take a toll on a person the first few days, it's important that she knows she's not alone in this. "

" I've told her that before. No matter what happens she'll always have me. "

"I don't mean to be rude but what is your relationship to her? Are you family?"

"I Uhm I'm a friend."

"hmm, a friend." she smiled, "or perhaps you're more? It's okay. Love is love, you can't help who you fall for." you smiled at her words and were thankfully she didn't ask anything else, "well here we are. She normally has roommates but they are all participating in classes at the moment so you have some alone time for the next 2 hours."

You thanked her for everything and stood in front of harin's door. You try to control your emotions before you walk in, she doesn't need to see you emotional while she's going through all of this. She needs a shoulder to lean on and you will be that for her. You walk inside the room and see her sleeping, she looks peaceful and you're debating on letting her rest or waking her up. Before you can decide harin shifts around in bed and opens her eyes, looking straight at you with a little frown. "hi there." you spoke softly

"Why do I always dream about you being here?" her voice cracks and you saw the tears well up in her eyes, "It's not fair, please go away." she turns around and faces away from you.

"harin this isn't a dream," you walk around her bed and squated down so you'd be face to face with her, "i'm really here." you tug a hair strand behind her ear and she just stares at you with teary eyes. "i'm here harin. This is real love. I promise you."

She loses the battle and a few tears slip down as she cups your face with one hand and traces her thumb in circles, "H-How did you find me?"

"does that matter?" you lean into her touch and kissed the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry that it took so long but I'll get you out of here, I promise. I'm already working on-"

"don't" she pulls her hand back and shifts to sit up in bed. "this is what I deserve"

"what? No. You don't deserve this." you shook your head and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I do. I've hurt so many people and never even cared about anything but myself. I deserve to be in here. I deserve what happened to me. "

You wondered if she knew about what happened after the fire. What her 'family' did. You took her hand in yours and started to play with the bracelet you had given her, she's still wearing it. " do you know about your-"

"that they disowned me? Yes. When I woke up I asked to call my grandma but they told me there weren't any contacts and that's when I knew." she sighed.

"you still want me to believe you deserve that? You don't. I'm working on this, I'll get you out and you can stay with me. I'll expose them for what they did. How they treated you and-"

"don't. Let me stay."

"what ? You- you want to stay here?" to say you were shocked was an understatement, you would've guessed she would want to get out immediately.

"yes. I don't want you to go against them. They have too much power, you don't stand a chance against them. Just let me work on myself in here, I'll prove to everyone I can change. When I get discharged we can go out on our first date. I'll have that fresh start I wanted with you."

"are you sure? I already have an amazing lawyer who's looking into things. I can get you out of here, you can still work on yourself without being here."

"there are professionals here that can help me. I know you want to help me but this is what I want. This is my shot at redemption."

"alright. If this is what you want I'll support you. I'll visit as much as possible. Once you have your schedule we can work out which days I visit."

"that works for me." she smiles, "I'm really sorry I dragged you into this. I asked my grandmother if she could get you into baekyeon and in my class. If I just left it at that one meeting you woul-."

"Harin, don't. In the end I made the decision to go didn't I? I don't regret anything because if you didn't ask your grandmother we never would've had a chance together."

"I can't argue with you if you put it that way." she pouted.

"then don't argue with me." you smile and you leaned in until your eyes caught the sight of medication and then the overdose popped into your head making you pull back.

"what? What's wrong" she frowned and followed your gaze, "Oh." she looks down as she catches on to your thoughts. "they give us these pills in the morning. I guess it's to keep us calm? We don't have to take them but they write it down if you don't so they can see who actually needs them and who doesn't."

"were you actually planning to...." you couldn't get it over your lips but you didn't have to, she knew.

"I don't know. I want to say that I knew how much to take but I didn't. It was all pure luck. I don't really want to think about what could've happened, to be honest."

"that's okay, at least for now. I do want to talk about it but only when you're ready."

She nodded and tugged at your hand, "can I get that kiss now?" She asked as she looked down at your lips.

"you don't have to ask" you smiled and leaned in for that much awaited kiss. The moment your lips touched everything felt right again, she was here in your grasp and nothing else matters but that. "just so you know. Once you're discharged from this place you're coming home with me. My aunt and her lawyer are taking care of all the legal stuff."

"so we'd be living together?" She smiled.

"well, my aunt will be there in the beginning so she can get to know you and once she knows she can leave us alone she'll take off again. That were the conditions."

"I look forward to the baby pictures and all the stories." she teased.

"I was a cute baby for your information! But she does have some stories that I'm already dreading." you thought over all the embarrassing moments of your childhood she could tell. "maybe don't ask her in the first few weeks I'm begging you."

"hmm, you'll have to keep my mind off of it then." she smirked.

"Oh I'm sure I'll find a way to keep you busy." you smile, "I did want to ask you about what you want me to call you. Do you want to keep harin or change it back to so eun? Or maybe you can get a new name?"

"harin is fine. So eun is my past, I can't go back to that and if I change my name again my-- they will win. I don't want to give them that satisfaction." her expression changed from sad to determined really quickly once she said that. "they might have disowned me and are revoking the adoption but they can't change my name."

"what about your last name?"

"maybe I can mix my names? How does So Harin sound?"

"perfect." you kiss her hand and she smiles. You look around the room and it feels so empty, "so, what do you usually do around here?"

She chuckled at your attempt of normal conversation, " at the moment I usually talk with a bunch of doctors and psychiatrist so they know what type of therapy I need. They're all nice which makes talking about what I did worse. "

"Well, I'll sneak in a book next time." you wink and she laughs.

"I can have books. This isn't a prison where you need to smuggle stuff in. I am getting my own room soon though. Apparently they want to take me to a different floor, one with more people my age and stuff."

"as long as you don't fall in love with someone else I'm okay with it."

"Oh so you'll ask the staff to relocate me if I do?" She clocked an eyebrow.

"are you saying you'll find someone else?" you fired back.

"nobody would compare to you. You've seen me at my highest and lowest, enjoy it 'cause that' s for your eyes only. No one has seen me the way you have."

"I kind of like the thought of that if I'm being honest."

You stayed until visiting hours were over and promised you'd be back soon. True to your word you made regular visits after harin got her schedule and after a few months of good behavior on harin's part you could go out for a few hours. You mostly took walks in the nearby forest and did have some little make-out sessions in more secluded area's. Eventhough you had planned some cute little picnics harin refused to call it a date, she already planned out what she wanted to do with you when she was discharged and that was going to be your first official date. You didn't mind to call these picnics dates but since harin was so stubborn you agreed to calling them hangouts, as long as you were with her you were fine with anything.

It took a year for her to be discharged from the place. You had gotten yourself a drivers license and borrowed a car from your aunt to Suprise her. She didn't know you got one and were planning this for months but you'd do anything for her. You're leaning against the hood of the car when she walks outside. She stops and takes a second to close her eyes and bask in the sunlight, you can't help but stare at her and fall even more in love.

"will you finally tell me where we're going tonight?" you smile as she walks up to you.

"no. Not yet." she wraps her arms around your neck and pulls you close, "hi there." she smiles.

"hi gorgeous." you smile and kiss her, "you ready to leave"

"yes. as Nice as everyone was, I'm ready to start my new life with you." she looks around and frowns, "where's your aunt? Isn't she driving us home?"

Home. You could get used to hearing her say that. "actually," you grab the keys from your back pocket and dangle them in front of her face, "i'm driving. I wanted to be able to pick you up when the time came so I got my drivers licence. Now you can be my passenger princess."

"You're amazing." she smiled and gave you a peck on the lips before pulling back and putting her bag in the trunk with you scolding her for doing it herself. "i'm a big girl i can put it away myself."

You hummed and got in the car together, "are you ready to meet my aunt tonight?" you ask as you pull out the parking lot and drove home.

"I'm nervous but knowing you, you've already told her a lot about me." she smirked as she leaned her head against the headrest while looking at you, "you look really attractive driving."

" whatever is going on in that head, stop those thoughts. I'm driving." you throw a quick glance to see her smile. You took a hand off the steering wheel and placed it on her thigh, "we have all the time in the world now. No need to rush."

"I'm happy you said that because as long as your aunt's home we're not doing anything." she laughed at your small pout.

"define anything. Does it include-"

"nope. Stop those thoughts you're driving." she smiled and you loved how relaxed she looked. For the first time ever you saw her posture falter a little bit, she's just leaning against the window but the harin from a year ago would still have a straight back and a straight face while looking out the window. She's looking at the scenery with a content smile and you're happy she chose to stay and work on herself. it couldn't have been an easy decision to make when she heard you talking about getting her out but she stayed and it worked.

She was finally showing who she was, the girl that she had pushed back all those years. The person you saw when everyone else saw a mean powerful heiress. She was excited in showing people she had changed. jaeun had agreed to meeting up with the both of you in a few weeks, suji hadn't really answered but jaeun had mentioned she'd get her to join. It was an important step for harin to face the people she hurt and to try to make amends with who was willing to listen. she prepared for the worst when she asked you to contact them, not expecting them to agree and now she was looking forward to the meeting. You hated to remind her there was a chance they wouldn't except her apology but she said she was ready for it.

Once you got home you took harin's bags to the spare bedroom, sadly also one of the conditions of your aunt. You did compromise that you could sleep in the same room for the first few nights. As you were walking to her bedroom with some drinks you hear a thud from her room. "What was that? are you okay?" you ran into her room to see her laying down on the bed with a smile.

"yes don't worry. It's just this bed is so comfy compared to the bed I had." she sighed as she stretched out. You laid down next to her and she immediately cuddled into you, laying her head on your chest with a leg thrown over yours.

"I love you" you said as you ran your fingers up and down her back.

"I love you too." she leaned up a little and planted a kiss on your lips, "it's about time I said it isn't it?"

You chuckled, "you wrote it down, that also counts."

"no, not for the first time."

In the end everything worked out for the both of you. You went on your first date and harin got to talk with jaeun and suji. It took some time but the both of them saw how much she had changed, how much she regrets what she did and eventually forgave her. Harin occasionally woke up from nightmares and you always took a walk around the block when that happened. You'd sit down on the couch with hot chocolate and some TV show playing in the background as she talked about her dreams. There were a lot of things that she still had to overcome from her childhood, some things she wouldn't and it would be hard.

In the end harin knew she had a home with you and your aunt. Come to think of it She might be your aunts favorite since she calls her more than you but you didn't mind. It's about time harin felt the love of a parental figure, to have them care about her without any expectations. You slept in separate rooms when your aunt was home most of the time but once she left harin always ended up in your bed. Things slowed down and as the both of you settled into this new life you couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for you two.

masterlist

This is the end of this story🫣 thank you to everyone for reading, sharing and liking❤️ special thanks to @iwendix (I know Suprise mention😁) for reacting on the posts and leaving those comments. They really helped me come back to the story to finish it.

[blackdagger456]

Let's Talk About: MHA 430, How This Fandom Can't Read, How Leaks Ruin Chapters And While Imperfect This Finale Was A Good Sendoff

So, here we are.

Ten years. Ten years and 430 chapters we've been with My Hero Academia. Ten long years of excitement, fandom interactions and so many fics I won't bother to count saved, subscribed and bookmarked.

It's strange really. To be apart of this fandom for so long...and find out that so many still can't read.

Like holy cheeseburgers Batman, so many of my fellow MHA readers/fans can't read it's astonishing.

So, for what'll be the last time for this series, let's go over the latest chapter of MHA and allow me to inform you of what it means. Or at least, that was the plan before the leaks came out. Just with the added addition of going over how people have reacted to chapter 430 before it was even officially out, and we're going to start with the first stone that began toppling Dominos.

[Official Spoilers Below]

This. Oh god, this sentence has been nothing but a headache for me and so many others. Because of the leaks ,and subsequent mistranslations, being taken as fact the reaction to the finale started out as shit. This entire week leading up to today has been frustrating for me and many others as we tried to explain what should be obvious.

Firstly, none of this is coming from any official translation. What people were seeing before today were things fans and unlicensed translators are spreading around as if it's fact. This does NOT mean that they are correct and therefore these translations shouldn't be treated as such.

Secondly, in no way shape or form does Izuku imply or state that his friends abandoned him after he lost his powers. All he said, was that it was a bit more difficult to meet up regularly. Something that makes sense not only because they were working in different fields but also because work in general is like that.

It can be hard to meet up with the boys n girls for hang outs but that doesn't mean you don't talk. That doesn't mean you don’t call or text or keep in touch. Something which is easier to do when you've fought and lived through an entire war together!

His friends didn't abandon him. They didn't stop caring about him because he became powerless. Hell, the ending of the chapter proves this wrong if nothing else!

Now, is it a shame the ships didn't get officially confirmed? Yes. But I think the implications are more than enough to satisfy. Even if they aren't, there's no reason not have fun with things being open ended. It opens the door to so many fun possibilities OUTSIDE of this whole NTR trend people are trying to start. [Thankfully that's a small part of the fandom]

But moving on, lets go into what he's been doing since becoming OFA.

In what way shape or form does him becoming a teacher make him 'fall off'/make the Mc Donald’s meme become a reality?

 First off why are we hating on the man for enjoying his life without conflict after saving the world? We doing my boy like Gohan now? If he wants to retire to a teaching role, one he very clearly enjoys, let him. What do people think they can take him? Ya'll forgetting exactly what he had to do BEFORE he was able to get OFA in the first place. Izuku is still physically stronger than most normal people both in MHA and in reality.

But, I'm getting off topic. The point is Izuku has and continues to be an inspiration to those that will follow after him. Even to the point of mirroring his starting point with All Might when he inspires yet another young kid to become a hero.

Is he a bit sad he isn't an official hero? Yes. Is he frustrated or unhappy with where he is in life? No. Not at all. He's content. His goal was never to be the No.1 Hero it was to be like ALL MIGHT. To inspire and protect people like his mentor had.

He's done just that and for it---for it he's rewarded.

His kindness, his determination and his faith in those around him comes back to him in the best way for it was those people he spread said traits too that spent those eight years putting together the thing that would bring his dream back to him.

That would bring HIM back to standing by their side on the field of battle. For Izuku Midoriya never truly stopped standing by his friends. For they too had become their own inspirations to Japan and the world. But now, finally, their friend...their inspiration...their Deku could lead them on the frontlines once more.

They, and he, couldn't ask for anything less.

[wintrsss]

『Having a Crush on a Porter』

Fandom: Death Stranding

Characters: Sam, Higgs.

Genre: Fluff, Headcanon.

Warnings: Slight spoilers to Higgs' backstory, but nothing major; mention of stalking. Reader is gender neutral!

A/N: 'DDS' is delivery dependence syndrome for those who don't know/ forgot! It's mentioned in Sam's part.

Requests open!

.ೃ࿐

-

Sam Porter Bridges

Sam isn't one to want to interact other porters, he's just there to get the job done, nothing more

You two just coincidentally met at the same location when completing your orders

And then it happened again. And again... and again. That was when you just had to get to know eachother, you of course starting the conversations, which then lead you two to become friends after a good while

Sam is always looking out for you, telling you to take breaks when you need and telling you to watch out for the MULEs during your deliveries, wouldn't want you to get DDS or getting your things stolen

If he finds an area that was hard to traverse or has a lot of timefall, he'll put up upcoming warning signs or, if he's got the time, build timefall shelters with you in mind

In his opinion, he doesn't think you should be a porter, but that's just his worried self talking

'This job is too dangerous, you shouldn't waste your life on something like this', is something that runs through his mind when he thinks about you, but he knows you're fully capable of handling yourself out there, as much as he hates to admit it

Would he confess to you? Most likely not, unfortunately

Sam is more of a lone wolf type of guy with all he's been through, so not only does he prefer to keep it that way for those reasons, but he doesn't want to ruin the already existing relationship between you two

Sam fears losing you, both to death and if you were to end your friendship

So if keeping the good friendship he has with you comes at the cost of the two of you not developing into something more, then so be it

Let's just hope it's you who confesses for him

-

Higgs Monaghan

Unknowing enemies to lovers lol

In all honesty, he only took interest when he saw you frequently talk to Sam while delivering

And he knows Sam of all people wouldn't have a friend, I mean come on! Why would anyone want to talk to him?

So what was with you? He couldn't get it off of his mind, and he didn't want to admit he was jealous that Sam got the attention of someone who genuinely liked being around him and he didn't

And so he made it his duty to take your attention off of Sam and onto him instead, as he can't stand Sam of all people having something he doesn't

It doesn't take long for him to thinking of you romantically, with all the stalking he's done on you

You're his new pizza delivery person from now on, get ready to have your email spammed by a certain 'Peter Englert'

Look, he already likes to mess with Sam on his deliveries, do you really think you'll be any different?

Though, it won't be done by the same hate he has for Sam, rather, he does it out of his own enjoyment of watching you struggle with deliveries

He'll even go as far as to mess with you while you're delivering his orders, but not too much since he still cares about his pizza

But if you manage to deliver his things on time and in good condition, he'll be sure 'Peter' gives you many compliments on your delivery, ever so grateful for your effort

So basically, during your time as a porter, you'll be shown both his "good" and "bad" sides without even knowing they're the same person

If he ever decided on trying to confess to you, he wouldn't say it outright, deeming it a bit too "cliché" for his tastes. Instead, he would write for you in one of his emails (or in all of them until you finally realize lol) a secret message for you to decipher on your own

Which is just him spelling out something like 'I like you' or 'ur hot' with the first letters of his sentences. Nothing too complex, but also enough to let that nerdy side of him out

[ateliersss]

I wish I could stay in the Past

Pairing: Billy Loomis x Fem!Reader Summary: Who would have thought that 27 years after the first Woodsboro massacre, you still couldn't live in peace? Now, you have been asked by Agent Kirby Reed to come to New York, where apparently a new Ghostface killer was on the loose. For you, this meant going back into your past and meeting the person you were trying to protect from your life since she was born. Cross-posted on AO3: here Warnings: Spoilers for Scream VI, English isn't my first language Word Count: 5,890

Kirby stood in front of the whiteboard plastered with photos of every Ghostface killer from 1996 to 2022, of the masks found at the crime scenes, and of the victims killed so far.

"…Mickey Altieri, Nancy Loomis, Stu Macher and Billy Loomis. Number One and also the father of our chief suspect."

Detective Bailey, arms crossed before his chest, nodded before adding, "It's all leading us back to Sam."

"What about the girlfriend?" Kirby suddenly mumbled, more to herself than addressing the Detective.

"What? Whose girlfriend?"

“(Y/N) (L/N). She and Billy were childhood sweethearts. Although she was never personally involved in any Ghostface incidents following 1996, she could never quite live her life in peace. I mean, come on. The mourning love interest has to be the main suspect. His mother tried to avenge his death and no one thought about that either. Then boom! Dead teenagers everywhere."

Bailey turned his face to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What? It's just an idea."

"Hm." He hummed, "It could be worth a shot."

A totally stupid shot because what sane person would suddenly seek revenge after 27 years? Well, if it keeps her occupied, who am I to stop her?

"Any idea on how we can reach her?"

Kirby smirked. "Of course I do."

New York was far too loud, far too big, and far too dirty for your liking. You preferred the calmness and the quiet of a nice little town somewhere far away from any crime or even the smallest hint of being dragged into another drama. You really thought you would finally be at peace, having that calm and quiet life, until you got a call from Agent Kirby Reed. You remember that name well. Besides Sidney and Gale, obviously, she was the only victim who survived the Second Woodsboro Massacre. On the phone, she told you that someone had put on the Ghostface mask again and was after a group of teenagers. She wanted you to come to New York right away so you could be questioned.

It wasn't the first time you were a suspect, but being one again after almost 30 years? You were about to vent to the familiar old feeling of simmering anger for being falsely accused again when…

"Your niece was among those who were attacked."

"Sam?"

"Yeah."

"I'm on my way. It's going to take a few hours."

"That's alright. When you arrive in New York, go straight to the NYPD and tell them you are here to see Agent Reed. Someone will show you the way to the office I'm currently occupying."

You were just about to open the car door and leave the parking lot near the police station when you got a text.

[Agent Reed]: Change of plans. Someone thinks you need to see this too. Come to this address.

So now you were standing in front of some kind of run-down movie theatre, not knowing if you were at the right place. You read the text message again… nope, still the same street name and the same house number. You were about to dial Kirby's number when someone called your name.

"Over here!"

You turned to the blonde woman standing a few meters away from you, holding open a metal door. "Agent Kirby Reed?" You asked.

"The one and only." She nodded for you to follow her. "Come in, the others are already inside."

It's strange, you thought. I'm actually meeting Samantha.

You stopped at a metal bar door that already allowed you an insight of the room ahead of you. There was tingling feeling in your belly.

"You're ready?"

You nodded as an answer, not trusting your mouth to form a decent sentence.

It felt like you were pushed back into your 18-year-old self. Mannequins, display shelves, and cases were set up and led to a stage. It was impossible to take everything in at the same time, so you walked through the row closest to you. Years of evidence put together like it was a museum, like a fucking…

"A shrine." Kirby said from behind you. "Dedicated to every killer that put on the mask."

You barely registered what she just said when you saw what was displayed at the end of the row. You almost couldn't believe your eyes. There… There were Tatum's clothes, the ones she wore when she was killed… and there was the robe Stu wore at his party… and Billy's bloody t-shirt. You walked past a sitting mannequin looking exactly like Steve Orth until you were standing right in front of the white cloth still covered in blood. Huffing out a shaky breath, you reached out to touch it. Your fingers traced from every hole where he was stabbed until it stopped on the chest of the mannequin. You almost expected to feel a heartbeat underneath your skin…

Oh Billy.

Maybe it was the overwhelming, morbid, nostalgic feeling that almost crushed you seeing all those reminders of your past, but you still hadn't noticed the small group on the stage next to you watching you either with curious or wary eyes.

You were still caught up in your head, thinking back to that afternoon on September 28th in 1996 — you, reading another true crime novel and playing with the brown curls of your boyfriend's hair while his head rested on your lap, napping. You two had stayed in this position until the sun went down. The clock read 6 PM when you decided to make dinner and he left the kitchen to make a quick phone call. When he got back…

"Billy, are you serious? There is a killer outside!"

"Stu lives only 10 minutes away. I'll take the car."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't we call the police?"

"No, it's alright. I'm just gonna make sure he doesn't overdo it. You know how he is."

You laughed, "Yeah, I do and I love him for that."

Billy tilted his head, an amused glint in his eyes. "Oh really? I thought you loved me."

The smile on your face grew brighter as he bent down to place a gentle kiss on your lips. "I do love you. So much."

You snapped out of your thoughts.

It would have been perfect. A concerned Billy wanting to make sure his best friend was okay so he goes to his party to check on him, but is surprised by the killer. Both, he and Stu, were fighting to survive and in the end, sadly, they were the only ones still alive. The police would have believed them that it was Sidney's father all along and you and Billy could have lived a happily ever after in another town, away from all that traumatic shit he 'went through'.

But the reality was different. Billy had been a psychotic serial killer, murdering friends and classmates and even Sidney's mother. He had been the one getting addicted to the feeling of killing someone after Maureen Prescott, he had been the one who had done all those horrible things…

"Kirby, who's that?" A female voice asked.

Kirby gave you a quick look before answering, "This is (Y/N) (L/N)-"

“(Y/N)?” Gale interrupted her and watched you climb the stairs of the stage.

You first inspected each of the 9 Ghostface mannequins — your eyes lingering on the middle one a little longer — before acknowledging her. You still held a grudge against her, considering how much she had turned your life upside down.

"Hello Gale. Long time no see." You greeted her with a tight smile on your lips. "And since I was ordered here for an interrogation, let's be honest. It's actually (Y/N) Carpenter."

Everyone but Gale suddenly straightened up before the teenagers of the group looked at the two girls closest to the Ghostface costume in the glass case. Both looked at you with furrowed eyebrows as if they were trying to somehow place you in their family tree.

Looking at her made you tear up. You smiled. "Hi Samantha."

"It's… just Sam, actually. I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked you, confused, still trying to remember where and when she met you.

"You don't, but I know you. Christina told me everything about you and always kept me up-to-date." You took a quick breath to control your emotions. "God, you've grown. You look so much like him."

Sam shifted on her feet, not liking where this conversation was going. "Him? You mean my father."

"How do you know our mom?" The short girl next to her butt in. She seemed just as wary as her sister.

"Christina is my older sister."

"So you're our aunt."

"Not exactly. I'm your aunt, Tara." You said before addressing Sam directly, "Christina called me when you found out who your real father is in those diaries." You were really about to drop the bomb. "You know, those diaries weren't hers… they were mine."

"What are you saying?"

"That the one who got pregnant by Billy Loomis wasn't Christina. It was me."

Sam looked at you like you've grown a second head. "So what? You're… You're my mother?"

"Biological, yes. In any other way, probably not."

"Oh my God." She started to walk up and down with her hands gripping her hair. "Oh my God."

"I know it's a lot, but-"

"A lot? You just come here, a total stranger, and tell me you're my mother when the woman who raised me all those years isn't actually my mom but my aunt!"

"I don't expect you to replace her with me and accept me as your new mother, Sam. I'm not planning on taking you with me to force you into a mother-daughter relationship after 26 years. I'm here to help you."

Sam's head whipped around to look at Kirby.

"She's on my suspect list, Sam." Kirby shrugged, "Apparently, no one thinks about the revengeful love interest."

"But I have an alibi." You defended yourself, "I wasn't even near New York when the teacher and the students were murdered. Same goes for the therapist and your two friends. I actually expected to be questioned at the NYPD, but if you actually want to interrogate me here, go ahead."

"Then why are you here? This very place?"

You looked back at Tara. "Because Agent Reed told me to. From what she told me, we experienced similar situations and she thought I had a right to see this too." You looked around the room. "My past is on display here as much as hers or Gale's."

Sam shook her head, taking a step forward. "So, just to get this straight. You get knocked up by a serial killer and then just leave the baby with your sister? You found out you were pregnant with me and dumped me because what? You didn't want to be a mom at such a young age? Or was it because you were disgusted by me?"

Your eyes widened. Of course, you expected some resistance and some accusations, but it was still like a knife to your heart to see her betrayed expression and hear her furious voice. "No, of course not. I loved you the second I held you in my arms."

"Then why?"

"I had no other choice! Do you know how hard it was, living like I had to after your father died? The names they called me? And you… you were the size of a grape and they had already called you the Devil's Spawn. No one wants to raise a child in an environment like that."

"So you just abandoned me? Left me behind so you could get away from everything?"

"I didn't abandon you. I gave you a safe life away from every threat that could hurt you or even corrupt you. After that night when… when it all happened, my normal life was over. Either all those blase do-gooders in Woodsboro treated me like I put a Ghostface mask on and killed all those people myself, or I was viewed by these Stab-obsessed lunatics as some sort of precious artifact left behind by their idol. I was ambushed by dozens of assholes in costumes and got 3 or 4 calls a day. Even after I moved to other towns, fuck, even to another state, and I still couldn't live my life in peace. Thanks, by the way." You turned to Gale.

"What, me?"

"The tirade of hate you wrote about me in your damn books. First, the boyfriend, then the mother of the boyfriend, and then even Roman Bridger just because he was the one who stirred Billy into going on a killing spree. You even mentioned me in your fourth book when I literally had no connection to anything that happened that year! You made it look like I pulled the strings, egged on every Ghostface, and was planning every murder, Gale."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. Just like you called Sam a born killer, you called me the secret Ghostface that got away who will someday get revenge on Sidney for killing the love of her life."

Gale opened her mouth, but having nothing to reply with, she closed it again.

Using the following silence to return to the current problem, Chad asked, "So, just to make sure before that–" He awkwardly gestured to you and Sam "–happened. Someone killed these chucklefucks and took over?"

"Someone who believes that Sam masterminded Woodsboro."

"If this would be a movie, this would be the killer's lair."

"Which means this isn't a normal Stab movie."

Apparently, that gave Tara the rest as she left the stage with brisk steps and disappeared into an adjoining room. Sam was hot on her heels.

Shortly thereafter, the rest of the group split up — Kirby joined Mindy to sit on the edge of the stage, Ethan and Chad were on different sides of the room, looking at the displayed evidence, and Detective Bailey was talking to someone on the phone.

You finally had time to walk to and look at the glass case in front of you. It was a bittersweet feeling, knowing that the one you had loved the most in this world killed four people and thereby started a future death streak, all committed in costumes of his alter ego.

You were so deep in thought that ten minutes had passed and you hadn't noticed that Sam was back and standing behind you.

"Are you married?" She asked, attracting your attention.

You took your eyes off of Billy's name plate and looked into her brown ones that reminded you so much of her father's. "What?"

Sam nodded down to your hand. "Do you have a family?"

Ahh…

"Oh, no. No, I don't. That's a promising ring. You know, when you promise someone to stay together forever and maybe get married one day. Do you kids still do that?"

"Yeah, when we're like twelve, not fifty."

You chuckled. "Ouch. I still have six years until I'm not that old." Sighing, you touched the ring and rolled it around your ring finger. "No, I was actually twelve years old when… well, when your dad gifted it to me. So young and he already wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. This one–" You held the hand with the ring at eye level. "–was never ever replaced since then. His is right here." You pulled the silver chain from underneath your t-shirt and revealed a similar ring just slightly bigger.

A shiver ran down Sam's back before asking in disbelief, "You kept it?"

"I did. And I know it seems like I went crazy or something while grieving, but I was young and devastated. I just lost the love of my life. Some grow distant and want to avoid anything that has to do with their lost loved one or being constantly reminded of them. Others, like me, have to hold onto every little fiber of them. I wore his clothes, put on his cologne… God, it was really a terrible way to cope."

Sam grimaced.

You smiled slightly. "What?"

"It's just strange hearing someone talk about him like he was…"

"Human?"

"He killed people, he was a murderer, and you… you loved him."

"Do you think it's easy to stop loving someone in mere seconds? Minutes, hours, days, weeks? You have that person who you would die for, who you would kill for. This person is your everything, and you can't imagine a life without them. So you plan it with that person: how you will graduate, how you will find a job, how you will leave both your parent's houses to move together, maybe move to a new town, how you will have children with them, how you will marry them, and how you will grow old with them. Billy was my person, the one I wanted all those boring, normal things with. And you have those normal things. You hold hands, cuddle, kiss, go on dates..." You stopped and took a breath. "Until the police show up at your door and tell you that the one who had murdered your friends was him all along. There's a sliver of hope that maybe... maybe you can visit him in prison so you can talk to him. But that won't happen because the police tell you right after that he had been killed by your best friend, Sidney Prescott, and that they have some questions for you."

You still remember how they interrogated you and asked you if you knew about Billy's doings, if they were signs that seemed suspicious, asked you about the places you had been when he and Stu killed another victim, and if there were people who could vouch for you. After two hours, they finally let you go, saying they would call you if they had any more questions. You asked if you could see him, his body. Since his mother left, his father was nowhere to be found and Billy had no other close relatives, so you were the next best option.

The moment you saw him lying there cold and pale on that metal table, your whole world crumbled. With slow shaky steps you had walked closer and closer to him. Almost relieved for something to hold on to, you supported yourself by grabbing the table. At that moment, you didn't care who could see you or who could hear you… you just cried. Your sobs and hysterical breathing had filled the room, your knees buckling and your knuckles turning white from how hard you had clutched the table.

"No. No, no, no."

You had started to hyperventilate. It got harder and harder to breathe. The walls seemed to grow closer.

And then everything went black.

When you woke up in a hospital bed, you were greeted by a nurse who tried to calm you down. She told you, according to the coroner, you had passed out after having a panic attack. Just to make sure that was the actual reason, they ran a few tests — nothing special, just the usual hospitals did when patients arrived unconscious. She had reassured you after you gave her a concerned look.

"Don't worry, honey. The results of the blood test didn't show anything worrying, but I can give you my congratulations. You are pregnant."

Pregnant.

With Billy's…

"You are three weeks along. The embryo is as tiny as a poppy seed, just a millimeter."

You had gaped at her, still in disbelief.

Pregnant.

You were pregnant.

You were pregnant with Billy's baby.

Billy…

Tears had started to form in your eyes and the nurse got blurry. Again, there was this feeling in your chest that there was not enough air around you and it got harder to breathe.

"Hey, it's okay, sweetie. Since you're only eighteen, we called your parents. They should be here soon."

Your mom and dad had been more or less supportive. They had always loved Billy. There had been many get-togethers with his family — barbecues, picnics, movie nights. Your parents got along well. But when Billy was revealed as the Ghostface killer, yours had cut ties with the Loomis family and sheltered you from any contact with them.

What they couldn't shelter you from was Nancy Loomis' surprise visit three months later. Thanks to Gale's book — because she somehow managed to find out the reason for your visit to the hospital and because this heartbreaking twist would boost her sales — everyone knew you were pregnant, including Mrs. Loomis.

You were still stuck deep in your depression. You went from mourning him to calling everything into question — was it all a lie? Every touch, every kiss, every I-love-you, every time you made love and talked about the most intimate things — to mourning him again. You were a mess.

It was too much when Billy's mother was suddenly standing on your doorstep. You had slammed the door right into her face when you saw who was interrupting your crying fest, but through the door, she had convinced you to let her in so you could talk. Your hormones got the better of you and you opened the door. Her eyes flew instantly to your belly, but your baby bump wasn't visible through the white tee and the blue flannel.

"You have his clothes?"

"I have all his stuff. His clothes, his posters, his movies."

You had talked to Hank and begged him to have some of his things. He had stopped you mid-rant and said you could have everything you wanted; he didn't want it in his house. So you grabbed everything you could. When you saw the pictures displayed in his room — of you and of you and him — you turned into a crying mess and collapsed on his bed. His pillow still had smelled like him.

You must have fallen asleep because the next thing you remember was Mr. Loomis shaking you awake, looking into your bloodshot eyes and asking you if you were okay.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to-"

"(Y/N), I asked you if you're okay."

You had pressed your wobbly lips together and shook your head. He had engulfed you in his arms and tried his best to comfort you. After all, you were still you and despite every negative thought and feeling he held for his son and his deeds, you were not at fault. You were still the little girl from next door he had hoped to be his future daughter-in-law. You left that day with most of his stuff carefully packed up in the trunk of your car. You knew this wasn't healthy, morbid even — the girl who grabbed the belongings of her dead killer boyfriend to put everything in her room to have at least a hint of his presence, an imaginary possibility of him still being here with her. Now, there were even more pictures of your smiling faces on your shelf, your desk, the table next to your bed, and on your walls. Your closet was fuller with the addition of his t-shirts and his jackets. His movie collection was proudly placed next to yours on your shelf.

There was also a box under your bed. When you went through Billy's tiny walk-in closet you found a cavity hidden behind the wallpaper. Inside of it was a black costume, a Ghostface mask and a knife.

A bloody knife.

Whose blood was that?!

Before you could muster another thought you scrambled to the garbage can and emptied your stomach. When you were done you felt a wave of guilt wash over you.

What were you doing? How did you not notice any suspicious change?

Well, there was this one time after his mom left. He had been so distant and strange, and there had been a dark glint in his eyes when you had cornered him after a week of radio silence. The look he fixed you with gave you the heebie-jeebies. He came around a few days later and acted like nothing had happened between the two of you.

Going back to Mrs. Loomis' visit, you took your time warming up to her. Seeing her cry and listening to her begging you for forgiveness in Billy's stead. Under the influence of, again, your stupid pregnancy hormones you gave in and made her a cup of tea. You two talked for hours, mostly about her son and how much she regretted leaving him behind, then Mrs. Loomis wanted you to tell her everything about what happened after leaving and what happened that night in Stu Macher's house. When you ended your story with your pregnancy, she smiled.

"Even though he's gone, there is still a part of him with us. There is still something important I have to do, but after that, I will take care of you and the little one and support both of you in any way possible. I promise, sweetie."

As it turned out, the important thing she had to do was to kill Sidney. The target on your back you thought had disappeared returned with Gale Weather's second book. Again, you were harassed and threatened until you couldn't take it anymore and you moved away. It got harder each time since you were in the last stages of pregnancy. It hurt thinking about it, but you would never put your baby into a life like this. So you did what you thought was right.

Your sister was more than happy to take her in. Christina would inherit their family's home and would be able to raise your daughter — now your niece — safely.

Snapping out of your thoughts, you continued, "Back then, I was at the lowest point in my life and out of all people Sidney was the one who got me back on track. My mom and dad, your grandparents, must have asked her to come over to talk to me. I actually thought she would just turn around and walk away when she saw my room, considering it was crammed with Billy's stuff. He was in every corner of it, the man who killed her mother and almost killed her. She should be the one staying in bed, crying until she passed out. After all, she's the one who survived all that traumatic shit."

"Sidney visited you?"

You huffed. "Of course she did. I was her best friend. Randy and I were the only survivors out of our friend group. He and Sidney were the only ones who still treated me like a normal human being." You shrugged. "Anyways. Sidney was there for me. At first, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to see her. Inside, I knew she had no choice but to kill Billy, but I still held a grudge against her. I was afraid I would take all my anger and sadness out on her. But the second she put her arms around me, all negative thoughts disappeared, and I realized how much I needed my best friend at that moment. She got me out of bed, made me go to see a therapist, and kept reminding me of you, Sam." You looked at your daughter. "I couldn't allow myself to be selfish. I had to think of your well-being, too."

Sam nodded in understanding and then looked around the room. "I… I'll go check on Tara." It looked like she wanted to add something, but apparently, she couldn't find the right words.

You gave her a sanguine smile. "You do that. When this is all over, I promise you that we can talk about everything in peace and I will answer any question you might have. Only if you want, of course."

"I'd like that." Sam said before turning around to go looking for her sister.

You watched her until she disappeared from your sight and turned back to Billy's costume. It didn't even look that scary from your point of view — which might have been due to the lack of a mask — but almost 30 years ago, you had thought of it differently. You looked at the Ghostface costume on the right, your eyes slowly dragging down the black fabric until they reached the name tag.

Stu.

You looked up again, scrutinizing the whole look.

You remember the first and only time you were face-to-face with it. Your parents were on a once-in-a-blue-moon date in a nice restaurant, leaving you alone for a few hours. They only had been out of the house for 30 minutes when you got the infamous call. You skipped to the living room, letting your dinner heat up in the microwave, and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello."

"Yes?"

"Am I talking to (Y/N)?"

"Yeah. Who is this?"

"You could say a secret admirer."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have a boyfriend whom I love very much."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." You giggled, lazily playing with the phone cord.

"That's a shame, really. In that little dress, you look like a girl a guy would kill for."

The smile completely disappeared from your face as you turned to every window the living room possessed.

"What?"

It felt like someone had punched you in the gut, knocking all the air out of your lungs. You abruptly remember the things Sidney had told you about what happened that night when she was attacked — the smooth male voice, the things he said that gave her the chills, him in a black robe and a white ghost mask, trying to kill her.

Before you could think twice, you slammed the telephone handle on the hook.

"Okay, okay. Just relax. Just some weirdo trying to scare you. It doesn't necessarily have to be-"

You shrieked when the doorbell rang.

"Jesus." With a hand pressed against your chest, you walked to the door. "Who's there?"

No answer.

"Billy, is that you?"

There was no other possibility than him, considering you casually mentioned to him that your parents weren't home with a mischievous smirk on your lips. This time, he wouldn't have to sneak through your window. You were just opening the door, pondering whether you should tell him about the weird call or not, when you were met with a white ghost mask.

Screaming, you slammed the door shut and locked it. You could hear his body colliding with the door, kicking against it, trying to open it. You didn't even think about waiting for him to successfully gain access and ran up to your room. You locked the door of your room too before grabbing your cell phone and dialing Billy's number.

"Billy, please. Billy, please. Pick up, please."

You ran to the window that was facing Billy's. His room was completely dark.

You let out a whimper. "Come on, Billy, please. Please pick up." Tears streamed down your face. When you heard the door slam against the wall downstairs, you clamped a hand over your mouth to stifle a scream.

“(Y/N)?”

Relief washed over you. You swirled around, seeing Billy standing at his window with his phone pressed against his ear.

"Billy…" You tried to control your breath. "T-There is someone in the house… the killer. He is wearing the mask Sidney told us about. He is… He is…"

You watched your boyfriend disappear, presumably running out of his room to get to you.

"It's okay, baby. Is your door locked?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, good. Push your dresser in front of the door and hide in the closet. Stay there until I tell you it's safe. I'm coming, baby, you hear me?"

You heard him skipping down the stairs and listened to his reassuring words.

"I-I'm scared, Billy. I don't want t-to die."

"You won't, I promise you. Just do what I told you. Now!"

Nodding, you ran to your dresser and pushed against it with your whole body weight until it was in front of your door. Next, you ran to your closet, pulled open the door, closed it and crouched in a corner far back against the wall.

"I'm in the closet." You whispered and when you got no answer, you added, "Billy? Bill-"

You were interrupted by a loud "Hey!" and something that sounded like fighting noises. Whimpering, you fought with yourself — on the one hand, you wanted to disobey Billy's wishes and help him out of concern that the killer might hurt him; on the other hand, you wanted to do what he told you and stay hidden.

Meanwhile, Billy was seething as he grabbed his best friend by his collar and forcefully pushed him against the wall on the narrow floor leading to your room. He pulled down the mask and revealed Stu's jolly face.

"What the fuck did I tell you, huh? (Y/N) is off-limits!" Billy whisper-yelled, pulling Stu lightly to himself before slamming him hard against the wall, not releasing his grip.

Stu groaned. "I just wanted to scare her a little. I thought it would be funny."

If he weren't Billy's best friend and if they didn't have big plans ahead of themselves, Billy would have strangled him by now. He tried to channel his rage and took a deep breath before saying, "Listen, dipshit. She. Is. Off. Limits! Killing your ex? I'm in. Her new boy toy? No problem. But keep your fucking hands off of her, or I'll cut your fingers off one by one and push them down your throat, got it?"

Stu gulped and nodded, his big smile morphing into a smaller one. He wasn't scared of Billy, but Stu had to admit that there were some moments when his aggressions got worrisome.

"Now get out!" Billy hissed and let go of Stu. He waited a moment before knocking on your door.

"(Y/N), it's me. It's okay, he's gone."

There was shuffling behind the door and a minute later you ripped it open and flung yourself into his arms. Billy was shushing you, caressing your back while listening to you crying. "It's okay, I'm here." He kept saying.

When your breathing calmed down, he pulled away from you and placed his hands on both of your cheeks while looking deep into your eyes.

"You're stupid, you know that?" You mumbled, "Without thinking, you ran into a house with a killer in it."

"The only thing I could think at that moment was you."

You slightly shook your head with a small smile. "You're so cheesy."

Billy huffed a laugh before turning serious again. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I was fast enough to close the door, ran upstairs, locked my door, and hid in the closet just as you told me. There won't even be a bruise."

"Good." He nodded and kissed your forehead. "It won't happen again, I promise."

You, of course, had no idea what happened that evening outside of your room. You didn't know about the lengths he would go for you to keep you safe. You didn't know he would have killed for you. You didn't know that Billy's feelings and his love for you were genuine, something you truly questioned after the things Sidney had told you about that night. You didn't know that he felt scared when he realized that his plan was failing and he maybe wouldn't be able to see you again. You didn't know that you were his last thought before he was shot in the head.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter Three

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

Today's tea: lady grey with milk and sugar.

This is totally fair warning. In this read I tried to guess some plot and you all get to watch me guess horribly incorrectly like 14 times LOL. Please enjoy watching me slowly breakdown through all the stages of grief across three pages of notes as I continuously watch my theories fall apart.

Let's go chapter three!

Yesterday I took back my theory that the brides were disappearing willingly because her head fell off. BUT, now that I know that the head was actually a wooden puppet body, bets are off. I am reinstating my theory. p67

Shit. Ignore me. LOL. It was intentionally a fake wooden puppet. I should have read like 1 more paragraph before getting excited. p68

I am still keeping the theory. AND! I think that torn-skirt-girl is in on it. Like not plotting or maliciously, but she knows what's up. p69

Good for Xie Lian! That guy deserves to be hit! What an asshole! p71

This is so funny to me. Mu Qing has serious FOMO and just needs to be involved in everything. He's just constantly hanging out in the communication array for no reason (the reason is FOMO). Bro really doesn't want to miss anything. p72

I am loving this monster threat level system. Wrath seems kind of intense though. p73

Yes yes! Let's get that bride xie lian agenda! Such a little honorable cutie. Is his disguise good? Nope. But it is workable! p74

I'm WHEEZING why is this so funny. Xie Lian, DRAG; "No, miss, please don't misunderstand, this isn't a hobby of mine". p77

This entire drag situation is even funnier because he did not need to be made up, he literally could have learned some transformation magic. But nope, this man is like; but drag though?

I am losing this battle. Okay, it is indeed a monster. BUT I'm not set on if it only takes disgruntled brides or what. p82

I love how Xie Lian is having the best time in this bridal sedan, "I've been smiling ever since I mounted the bridal sedan" p82

Respect because as a concept, the binu is very cool. But also, horrific as a scavenger. pp84-85

WOAH! WAIT! His wrist wrap is sentient?? What the heck! I love this so much. p95

ah okay! The anticipation!!! I need to know who/what this wrath/evil threat is! p88 (clarity: this was me in response to the handsome gentleman helping Xie Lian out of the carriage).

As evil as this guy might be, he seems so sweet!!! pp92-93 (see clarity above LOL)

oooo, the butterflies are back! p93

Okay so reading a bit more I am so excited! I am assuming we just met the other protagonist/love interest?? That did not feel like the evil wrath level threat.

weird, weird. The plot thickens! Why a suppression/stealth array hiding a temple to Ming Guang??? p95

OMG. 17 zombie (not really but i'm calling them that) brides! I have officially decided to respectfully toss all of my "theories". LOL these brides are very dead. p96

I hate this man so much (xiao-Pengtou). You know what, if he were to die here I wont even be mad. p99

Oh dang another cliffhanger!!! I hope the wrath level threat is not torn-skirt-girl! I really like her. p102

I thought the opening of this book would be a little mystery

But ofc not because it is MXTX and every sentence has meaning. It feels like so much foundation was dropped in this chapter! I need; more butterfly man, xiao-pengtou to meet his inevitable end, to meet the wrath threat level!

[slashers-sister]

Quick explanation, Luda/Hoyt are your aunt and uncle, your cousin is Thomas! Also, day 1 is part 1, day 2 is part 2.

And I'm sorry this came late, I get really busy over the summer sometimes :']

And ofc:

Drayton

Uncle Hoyt and Aunt Luda

The twins, Chop N' Nubs

Bubba

Andddd... Tommy will just have to get orange. Jus like his dad.

——————————————————————

Oh heck yeah. It Saturday, once every while in the summer.. Your Uncle and Aunt often come around the weekends. You wait patiently.

No, no.

That's a lie.

You stare at Drayton.

(you got that from Bubba, both of you have a a bad staring problem..)

Just.

Stare.

"..Sunshine."

'T'day?'- you interrupted, it's too early in the day to get your ass beat.

Long. Long dramatic sigh from Drayton.

"Yes they are coming t'day. Be nice, Thomas has a gift-"

He didn't finish that sentence, let alone the thought.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And your off to change your clothes to something Luda won't entirely be on your back about.

Uncle Hoyt and Aunt Luda are comin'!

And your Cousin Thomas!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

You like Thomas. Not exactly his parents.

Maybe because Hoyt reminds you too much of Drayton.. and Luda is always naggin' ya about being a "Nicer farm girl".. Thomas doesn't care either way, if it was up to him, you'd be on a hunting trip with him, Chop-Top, and Hoyt.

Spoiler alert, you and Bubba are his favorites.

Sadly you're also Luda's.

She couldn't get through to your cousin Sissy, by any means. Sissy, whilst still somewhat? Mostly? Feminine.. she's also taken after her own brother. And you sure as heck take after your own! And Grandpa, of course.

You put on something decent looking.. no that's a lie-

You had an old Alice Cooper (or insert another type of band) band shirt, courtesy of Nubbins, you loved it. Dark, worn out navy flared jeans, and your old sneakers that are so worn in, you can feel the ground.

Yeah you look like your brothers when they where young.

You decided to finally brush your hair, it's been a while. Maybe wash your face and brush your teeth.. ya really don't want a lecture from Luda.

You run downstairs all excited, you can barely contain your excitement!

You heard the car! And your the first out the door! If you waited even a millisecond you would've heard Drayton try and talk to you, maybe even Bubba saying good morning, or the twins bickering.

You're already on the porch!..

Nope halfway across the yard. And Thomas is already out of the car, kneeling with his arms open for you! He knows how you are. This is how it's been since you where- what, 12?

You ran and jumped into a hug! Man you miss him so much! You barely know anything of the outside world, and your family you don't see often is pretty much the only social interaction you get.

Besides maybe a few victims.

Regardless once Thomas put you down your jumping up and down all excited. Drayton is on the porch, Bubba is coming toward the car. Hoyt and Luda are also getting out of the car.

Luda of course gives all her nephews hugs. And patiently waits for you to get done jumping up and down talking to Thomas. Of course the first thing Hoyt does is stand by Drayton, two peas in a pod.

Of course Thomas and Bubba hug, you tried to (sneakily) go back over to Drayton- too late Luda calls your name.

"Hey now, where are ya' going?"

Oh no the lady speaks

You quickly give Luda a hug. Then of course she lays into you.

"Honey what in the world are you wearing? You look like a homeless person. Worse than your brother Nubbins does!"

You could've sworn you heard a sad stutter coming from the one twins. Who are also by Thomas now, Chop-top was excitedly talking to him 'bout shit they found.

She takes something out of the car. You're immediately unexcited. I mean, yay new clothes, but seriously? You know it isn't going to be something like jeans, heck, shorts. Nope. It's a prairie dress. While they are pretty, they are also pretty impractical.

While you did love them, don't get yourself wrong, it's just a little hard to do most outdoor chores in a prairie dress. And man the Texas heat isn't forgiving with those things. They keep the heat in, as you've found out.

I mean it's pretty at least?

She shuffled you inside. You know just to not fight it anymore, what are you gonna do, scream?

Not gonna help much when she's your aunt.

Doesn't mean you don't try!

"NOOOOOOOO I DON'T WANNNNNNNNAAAAAAA"

Hoyt is barely keeping himself together. Trying not to laugh at his dear nieces misfortune.

Drayton is just ignoring you.

The twins, bubba, and Thomas are laughing n' snickering as you are literally being dragged through the front door by your aunt.

She's a strong little old lady.

Bummer you're not.

She shuffled you into your room, in front of a mirror. Maybe a vanity mirror, or one you've stolen.

"Now dear, look at you.. I see you've washed your face. Surprisingly."

Your grumbles fall on deaf ears.

"Oh hush, you look nice, it's a compliment. Now, don't think about going out your window like last time, now put it on sweetheart." She hands you your new dress. You sigh in compliance. She waits outside your door.

It's a sundress.

You paused... .. .

..well slightly less practical than a prairie dress, but I mean it's a lot lighter, right? Thought that counts?

It's tight, it fits tho. It's yellowish, imagine a 70s yellowy orange sunflower or daisy pattern.. kinda cute honestly. It has one of those oval necklines, the sleeves coming off your shoulders. And it comes down below your thighs, so technically modest, but-

Drayton's gonna chew you out regardless if you even think of wearing it out somewhere outside the farm.

It had flowers and lace, all girly, it makes you look like a victim in other words. Ya love it.

Just like the rest, tho you'll never admit that, will you?

Luda knocks, "Are you decent, sweetheart?"

You of course let her in. She looks at you all happy. And sees the 'little cannibal grin' (as she so puts it), on your face.

You look just like your mother. She refuses to say that tho. That would be an insult to you, your mother may have been pretty on the outside, but she wasn't as pretty on the inside.

You don't take that on, thankfully you just got the family's anger issues.. maybe the thankful part is a bit exaggerating.

Luda is all happy you actually like this one.

She's been trying for a year or.. a few now because she knows you like them, it's just you rather be comfortable than presentable.

Sadly your comfort lies in your brothers, and they pay the price. They've been missing some of their clothes. And magically, your wardrobe has gotten larger.

Your wardrobe usually consists of old worn out jeans and clothes, whether from victims or your brothers.

Imagine clothes from the 70's, mixed with like Baby firefly.

You just don't wear that stuff around Drayton, as his words explain, "You ain't a fucking victim, put some damn clothes on." And other grumpy old man sayings, look, he loves you, let him grump, you won't actually have to change about 90% of the time.

Regardless, you and Luda are talking all happy.

✨Of course you go to Grandma and she crinkles in dead approvement✨

You wanna put something else on, you don't need to hear the twins mocking you, and-

Luda has this thing were if you don't wanna, and it doesn't harm you, you do it.

She's excited, you still blame her. Of course she leads you down the stairs, practically shoving you in the kitchen.

Oh phew! Not the twins!

Oh bummer. It's your eldest brother, and uncle.

Of course Aunt Luda PROUDLY gets their attention.

"Look at 'er! Ain't she just n' angel?"

Man your face, hah, you should've seen it.

Red as a freshly stripped heart!

Sorry, sorry, I'll quit making fun of ya.

Drayton looked over and quite frankly choked on his beer. Hoyt seemed to recognize you before his nephew did, "Well dontcha' just look purdy?"

Before you could say anything, Drayton started in, "Uh-uh, like you could get anything done in that, go change."

Luda chimed in, "Oh, she's not, leave the girl be. I made it long enough." She defended herself. Not exactly you.

Dang, kid. You're red as a pair of livers.

Drayton grumbled. Yes, you look so nice. Nicer than any of your siblings- (excluding Bubba fr, he's probably normally the best dressed.) on a good day.

Drayton grumbled out a fine, but of course you'd hear the list of "don't do this don't do that and don't you DARE-" Yeah. It'll be a long one.

Though, you went to show the only one who'd probably not mock or be mad at you for wearing something like this.

Bubba n' Tommy !! :D

Tbh he had his suit on too, you guys look so nice!!

Through grunts, pig like squealing, and mumbles, (and a extremely tight bear hug) he tells you, you look stunning. Fr this is why Bubba is the 2nd/1st favorite

Of course Thomas says you look nice, while Bubba is bear hugging you. You sign back a quiet thank you. Mostly because you can't breathe at the moment-

But Thomas thinks the same. You don't look like a rat. Therefore pretty dang stunnin'.

Of course the twins snicker and mock you later on, but hey, ya get to snicker back and mock them for looking like they just came out of the pigpen.

Honestly they might've

Regardless! The rest of the day you either spend with Luda, Hoyt or Thomas.

A little while later, Drayton does call you into the kitchen, he isn't one for hugs, or outward affection, but he does try. Giving you a hug, and resting his head on top of yours, grumbling.

"Ya do look pretty. Don't forget it, alright?"

Man he didn't expect his little sister to break his ribs but cmon, ya don't honestly expect him to be even that kind. Hell, a compliment from him is literal heaven

By the end of the day, no surprise, it has dirt and blood on it, but man you are gonna show Sissy the picture Nubbins got of you!!

He loves to see all of his siblings in cool clothes, especially cuz they got (surprisingly less than normal) deranged smiles!!

As the day lags on, it's dinnertime, finally. Yeah, you still sit between the twins. No, it still isn't fun. Dinner was apple and "pork" pie. It was good. Not anyone you recognize, so.

Most of the time you watched everyone argue or debate something.

After dinner, everyone chatted a bit, you got to rough-housed with your brothers on the front lawn, Bubba, and you, against the twins. While Luda, Hoyt, Thomas, and Drayton talked.

Multiple things where off limits, don't pull on Chop-Top's wig, don't twist Nubbins arm, don't headlock Bubba, and don't throw the little sister.

These rules where in play long before you were born- one added for you of course, but in general not needed, Drayton is worried about y'all skinnin' each other tho.

Specifically you, you're a slow killer still. 14, and not a single kill yet. Nobody is forcing you, not like they Did Drayton, Hoyt, or even Luda. Bubba, Nubbins and Chop-Top all did it by themselves.

It'll be your turn soon. Probably.

Regardless, after a bit you sit beside Thomas, listening to Luda and Drayton talk. You're against your cousin, you could swear he grumbled an 'love ya too.' when you leaned against him.

As the sun set tho, you fell asleep.

Today has been a good day.

An odd day in the Sawyer house, surprisingly calm.

You'll wake up in your bed- Your uncle, hell, anyone besides Luda probably carried you to your room. Maybe you'll wear that dress tomorrow too, it is comfy.

Goodnight, lil' cannibal, sweet bloody dreams.

Don't let the monsters bite ya. Maybe, this summer, you'll get to visit your other grandpa. Monty.

[kudouusagi]

KSB vol 15 ch 1 spoilers

So I still pretty much know nothing but I'll put spoilers here when I know things lol... If you come to my discord you can come cry with us while we wait. (link is in my pinned post at the top of my blog)

I have the spoilers!!!!

The teaser sentence on the opening page says "Morinaga was excited about having gotten Souichi to wear matching rings with him but...?"

All I know right now is that Morinaga talks to Hiroto as he always does at the beginning of a volume and we see Kanako for the first time in a while! It seems that Kanako notices the rings.

Edit: Now that I've read the chapter here we go!

So, Morinaga is at Hiroto's bar complaining that Souichi's trying to stop wearing the ring. He said that the attention had died down so he was going to stop but Morinaga told him that it would just make people think that he broke up or something and it would all start again! So he convinces him to put it back on. But Souichi still forgets to wear it all the time. He takes it off and leaves it everywhere. Morinaga thinks he's going to lose it eventually. He obviously doesn't think of it as anything other than a thing to keep people away. Souichi doesn't think of the same way he does.

Morinaga then goes on a rant about how even though Souichi's so smart he's really dumb when it comes to relationships and people and that there are time he makes a worried face like he has no idea what just happened and he thinks it's really cute. Sometimes he wants to be mean to him on purpose. And so Hiroto calls him an old man.

Back at home, Morinaga asks Souichi how old he looks and Souichi's like "you're 26 right?" and Morinaga's like no not my actual age, how old I seem and Souichi's confused but he says since he's so big he probably seems older... but then there are times he thinks he's 17. Morinaga is happy about it but Souichi says he's calling him childish and it's not a compliment.

Souichi then moves on to the topic of his family. Apparently Souichi's father is coming to town and he invites Morinaga along to go see him! So that weekend they go over to Matsuda's house. On the way Souichi says that his family is all spread all over so Matsuda is all alone now and he's the only one who can do anything so Morinaga says they should make time to come visit her sometimes.

When they get to the house Kanako is throwing a surprise party for Souichi to celebrate him becoming a professor. Souichi is unhappy about it and thinks it's too much trouble and they could just say congrats and be done but Kanako insists. Kanako cracked a popper and got confetti all over Souichi and Morinaga and she noticed the ring on Morinaga's finger. Souichi isn't wearing one. She thinks it's weird. Their father hasn't arrived yet and they cant contact him so he's... somewhere. He'll show up eventually. So they get ready to eat and go to wash their hands. Souichi notices that Morinaga is wearing his ring and gets angry about it. Morinaga says he can just say it's a ring he's wearing for fashion purposes so it's fine.

The end.

[nobodysdaydreams]

I FINISHED SEASON 1 OF WOLF359 AND THIS IS NOT OKAY (Reaction to Episodes 11-13, plus mini episode 1)

So basic info on the tags and how to follow my reactions below, but I'm honestly too emotional to type much more than that. What the heck was even that? I gotta get going, so I'll let past Bods of a few minutes ago do the talking under the "Keep Reading Button" but YIKES this was a LOT.

I currently have Wolf359 Tags blocked to avoid spoilers and will try my best to react blindly. I also made this meme to describe my recent feelings.

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

So for these last few episodes, I'm just gonna live react since I have the time to sit down. Sorry for inconsistent formatting.

Episode 11: Am I Alone Now?

Um... Hilbert? A grey door where no one ever goes??? Well...where does it go? "Open in Emergency When You're Alone"... what does that mean?

Oh the joke about the genie. I've heard this one before: "I wish my friends were back with me". Yep, that's it.

Wait. Wait. Is that what the door does? Does it somehow...bring them back? What is this metaphor trying to suggest? Or...does it only make you think they're back? So that you don't go crazy? Or is it a door that leads outside the ship? Like...a door that gives you the option to, for lack of a better word, "give up" if the others die and you're left alone in space? Because that would also be dark.

Okay, Hilbert, I agree, fear can be adaptive. Uh, not sure about the gun and war thing, that's not exactly what I meant...wait bombs? Hilbert, no, you SHOULD be afraid of yourself.

Working on the fear of death? Uh...Hilbert? Are you uh...working on reanimating corpses in space, because that sounds like a bad idea to me.

"Alone should be afraid of us instead there is a door incase I am ever alone." Well what about the others?

I agree Hilbert, alone can be a good time to focus, but I gotta say, not sure I like how you're spending your valuable alone time.

"The scary part is the part of your mind that whispers back: how can you be sure?".

Oh. Now what's interesting about that quote is that in the "Alone should be afraid of us" sentence it personifies alone. The only way to really be comfortable being alone is if you are confident that you are stronger than whatever might be there if you aren't alone. But how can you ever know 100% that you are stronger than the unknown? Also there are sound effects that sound like someone moving about. Don't like that.

Is it Blessie?

"Someone must think they are alone when they are not, there must be monsters underneath someone's bed". Okay, Hilbert, clearly going for the creepy quote of the episode award.

Why is there knocking?

Uh...Empty Man?

Um...why is WHO here Hilbert? What other missions???? Was Hilbert on another mission? Hello???? Hilbert? EXPLAIN????

"You weren't here last time, but now you are here waiting for the day, open in case of emergency, open only when you are alone."

Does the empty man want them to open the door? When they think he's not around? Why?

Uh...I don't think that joke is very funny Hilbert. And no, I'm not laughing, you're dodging my questions.

Oh now we're onto Hera. I like this. We see a lot of Doug alone but not the others.

Yeah, Hera you should NOT trust the code Hilbert gives you. I wouldn't be surprised if he's experimenting on you too.

HERA. WHAT DO YOU "SENSE UNSEEN?" And yeah...Hera I know how programming works. If I don't unblock the wolf359 tag, tumblr.com isn't gonna just show me wolf359 posts, or tell me "hey here's one you should look at". But let's just say, hypothetically, that one of my mutuals draws some wolf359 season 1 fan art that doesn't spoil anything for me. Then I would trust that they might message me, and tell me that it's okay to view their wonderful art, but I won't know that unless they tell me because the tag is blocked. Not the best metaphor, but the point still stands, Hera I guess you don't HAVE to tell them about the "empty man" roaming the ship unless they ask you for that information. But as their friend, you probably should. What motivation would you have for hiding this? Hera seems to have very human attributes in terms of her ability to have social connections. She also seems to care about them to some degree. At least, she seems fond of Doug and has some tension with Mincowski and Hilbert. She's pretending to talk to Doug, which is a very human thing to do.

Ah yes. Good for you for finding loopholes in your programming Hera. I like riddles too. But...what exactly are you going to do with these riddle answers you've acquired? Are you going to help the rest of the crew? Blessie? The empty man? Or do you have your own agenda?

"Somedays I wonder if I'll miss you after you go away forever Doug." Aw, Hera. 🥺.

"I doubt it". No, I think you will Hera. The fact that you, a robot, are even wondering about missing Doug makes me think you will. Especially since you could, theoretically, live until the heat death of the universe, which is a very long time to be alone.

Wait. WAIT. The storm is happening on a part of the spectrum that their minds can't process...is that what the empty man is? Is that why they can't see him? But Hera can't see it either so her programming must either not be able to see it or it's being blocked. But weirdly enough, only visually it seems. Huh.

Hera seems frustrated with humanity, but also seems to care about them, maybe envy them a little bit. I love this level of complexity with her. "Once the game is over, I'll come up with some names for these colors." Yikes, Sophie, when you said that I was writing the Whisperer very similarly to Hera, I didn't realize it was gonna be that spot on, but okay, especially with her calling this a “game”. It’s kinda like a darker version of what I’m writing or at least, it seems to be leaning darker, probably because it’s adult media. It also makes me wonder who Hera's creator is and what they want, or maybe that just doesn't matter in this story.

"Someday. After you've all gone away..." Um. Hera. Did you open the door?

Or are you the genie in this metaphor?

Ah now we're with Doug.

INCINERATED? What sort of psych evaluation is this? And these questions are NOT standardized for space. When coming up with psych evaluation materials, you need context. Answers that are normal in a warzone or in space are not normal in everyday life.

WHY IS HE SEARCHING FOR ALIEN LIFE IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE HERE? Doug, I know pizza hut might not be paying much, but you gotta follow your passion, and this clearly isn't it.

10 things you miss about earth and not one person? No one? No family? No friends?

"Great listener"/"I empathize too much" ok Doug.

Hm. Not too sure about Doug's answers. Honesty is only overrated when you're not the one being lied to Doug.

It also makes me wonder what you really miss about Earth.

Wait. Mission = Punishment? Spaceship = Prison? Is Doug...are they...are they doing this because they are completing a criminal sentence? If so, I can see how Hilbert and Mincowski got assigned to this as a punishment, they have science and military backgrounds, but what on Earth is Doug's story? "He was a former tech genius kid who burnt out got into drugs and alcohol, worked at pizza hut, did a crime, and now they sent him to space?" And since when do space missions fulfill court mandated community service? Also Doug I think technically has arms training, because if I recall correctly, Mincowski gave him a gun but refused to give one to Hilbert. Like...who are you Doug? What is your deal?

Alone...again. Yeah, just Doug and the voices in his head. Forgot about those. There's a lot to keep track of for a small cast of characters.

Let's do a quick run down before we hear from the commander:

Doug Eiffel- former pizza hut employee, no family/friends to speak of, possibly serving prison sentence, apparently knows how to use a gun and a lot about communications

Dr. Hilbert- doing VERY unethical space experiments, sees himself as a genius despite being a huge liability whose mind was nearly over taken by a killer plant. Obviously knows SOMETHING the others don't, so I don't trust him or his spinal fluid stealing ways.

Commander Mincowski- stereotypical by the books commander, I like her, but she also has a ton of unanswered questions and vague backstory so ???

Hera- seems nice, I wish people treated her better but also clearly keeping secrets from the others including Doug who is her friend so Hera what are you doing?

Percival The Plant aka. "Percy" aka. The Blessed Eternal aka. "Percival B. Eternal" aka. "Blessie" aka "Specimen 34"- a plant that thinks of itself as a god. Where did it come from? Even if it did take over the ship, what is it's plan? No one knows.

The Empty Man???- may or may not exist, seems to be off the visible spectrum even for robots and AI. He's hungry or as the messages put it "the empty man hungers" and that's about all we know about him. What we don't know is what his food source is, and I find that rather troubling. Maybe Doug can make him some pizza. Oh, and one other thing: he knocks. Which...is surprisingly courteous behavior from a dangerous man that can't be seen. But why would they open the door for him, unless...oh. Unless they are so desperate not to be alone that they embrace the empty man. But like...how would that even...I don't even know. Also apparently the empty man was asleep, because the first message said he'd awoken. Awoken from what? Hyper sleep? Was he in the box? Apparently he can see them even if he can't be seen, and I don't like that.

The voices in Doug's head- they say "he's not the first". Which is kind of crazy, because Dr. Hilbert was talking about "other missions". So um...what other missions? Who are the others? Who are the voices? Is something being transmitted into Douglas' head?

Captain Lovelace and that scientist lady (don't remember her name) from the sealed off lab- are they still alive? Were they on a previous mission? Why did they want to make spiders bigger? What was the point of these experiments? I SWEAR I saw people posting about Lovelace before I blocked the tag, which makes me think she's important.

The Spiders- presumed dead. Let's hope so.

The thing in the box- weird that the box was 953, which is 359 backwards. Weird that it had a heartbeat. Weird that it was labelled "for Doug Eiffel" with no other information. Odd that there were so many other seemingly nonsensical boxes in that room.

Whoever sent the “Empty Man” messages. Because I’m starting to suspect it might not have been command and there might not have been a psychological experiment. Which means the messages were meant for someone, but whoever sent them didn't want the others to know about it. ...but who were the messages for? Hilbert? Hera? Hilbert? ...Blessie???

Whoever sent that jazz music earlier. It's good music, but why?

Also important to note that multiple characters on this list might be the same people, people pretending to be the same people, or different versions of the same character due to cloning or time travel experiments thanks to weird space magic and also Dr. Hilbert.

Now let's here from the captain.

I um...I wouldn't call the talent show a success. Dr. Hilbert didn't get to make the ice cream! We never even got to find out what everyone's favorite flavor was 😥

3 minutes. Okay. Let's see what Captain Mincowski says.

I wonder who she's talking to.

Yeah, the plant being, it's weird that that's not a priority here, I agree Captain.

Huh. The weather is weird. VERY weird that Hilbert is ignoring it, and VERY weird that he has human tissues samples and jars with dead things after giving a monologue about trying to conquer death. Don't like that one little bit.

Soap? Hilbert you need to get better at lying. And yeah, captain given that he's talking about "other missions", I think he might have been lying for longer than anyone realizes...

Things moving around and turning up in odd places...it seems the empty man and Blessie (one of the two) enjoy furniture rearranging...yeah I do think there's more than the three of you, my list had at least 10 with some possible overlap.

I'm sorry what. The station changes? THE DOOR TO A SECTION JUST VANISHED? Terrarium? That might be Blessie, but still...that's weird. Eiffel...huh. Unsure if this is a case of him being so absent minded he didn't notice or remember the terrarium, or if he legit can't remember. Wait Wednesday started over? Clocks turned back at midnight? FOOD RETURNED? Okay you can change clocks, but you can't...okay time is being warped now. Maybe. Possibly. This is gonna be one of those things where you don't know how much is in their heads and how much is actually happening right? Oh boy. But also...how can one remember a time loop and the others don't...unless they are all remembering different loops...oh goodness, is this like Netflix's Dark, where I'm gonna have to start drawing maps or something?

"I don't know if there's anyone else I can trust": yeah, commander, and with the others in the same boat, it looks like you all really are alone.

Wait "MARRIED ME?" Who is she calling? Aw. Happy Birthday. That's sad but sweet. I hope she makes it home to whoever that is, but...for some reason I doubt.

Also...with the time loop stuff...is that what they mean by saying Doug isn't the first? Is Hilbert trying to escape the time loop is that why he remembers the other missions? What are the missions for? What does Hera know? Man I gotta stop doing these as study breaks or I'm never gonna quit.

But. Wait wait. Okay, I know I’ve had about 600 different insane theories already, but one more: I don’t know who sent the empty man messages. But. Is the empty man… a vessel for someone? Hilbert was talking about cheating death, time warp stuff is happening, maybe this is an invention of future Hilbert. If it came from the box, it might be for Doug. Like a… backup body for his consciousness or an… invisible clone or something? It makes the “you’re not the first” stuff make sense too. Doesn’t explain Hera’s behavior or why Doug is in space, or why the empty man is hungry and knocking, but… you know what never mind idk where I was going with this one.

I think I'll react to the rest tomorrow, because it's late, and I'm tired.

Episode 12: Deep Breaths

Update: It is tomorrow. :)

Why so doom and gloom Doug? Oh it's Christmas. Well someone's a bit of a scrooge. What else besides celebrating a nice holiday Doug? What doesn't the commander remember?

No Doug, don't hint at stuff, explain it. Normalize explaining things.

Doug. A cigarette cannot be all you are living for. You need help. You all need help.

Don't cry for me Argentina? Do not go gentle into that good night?

Doug is so dramatic. I'd hate him more, but I'm in this picture, and I don't like it.

Hilbert. Why do you need him for your experiment?

DOUG DO NOT LIT THE CIGARETTE.

Hera tell him.

Everyone needs to listen to Hera more. And also ask her more questions.

Oh boy another recording!

Sounds like music, less clear this time...oh. A band!

Aw, Hera remembered his birthday! 🥺 Wait...were those words via the transmission!

Oh Hilbert hush up.

Why would it matter if they were all music or always old transmissions from the 10s or 20s?

Hilbert. Okay. Look, 7.8 light years away, I get that...but...now hear me out...isn't it possible that you could be picking up music on a station that plays music from an older decade? Like if I picked up the song "Let it be" by the Beatles my first thought would not be "Hey! That song didn't come out 8 years ago. ALIENS." it would be "oh we pick up a 60s/70s radio station". Now obviously something deeper probably IS going on here, but still a bit of a leap.

Uh. Making a return trip to...where?? Also this is some pretty clear music. Also good quote "When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left no matter how unlikely must be true."

Also I recognize the music playing. Is that...hold up is that Church music? For Christmas? Wait now it sounds like a ballet?

Um...what is that.

...and why did it happen as soon as they talked about trying to find the aliens?

Let's see. A little weird that the station can receive transmission better than it can send. 40 light years away? That's pretty far.

And um...I don't know if I'd be so optimistic about this. We still have a lot of unanswered questions.

What is lock down protocol 24c and what is indigo39? Hilbert. HILBERT. Were you lying about the aliens to experiment on Doug Hilbert?

Oh poor Hera. Alpha victor? What... how does Hilbert have all these codes? Why can't she let Mincowski in? Hilbert. Are you taking over the ship? Is this a one man mutiny? It is treason. WHY DOES THIS ALTER THE MISSION? LAST HALF HOUR OF OXYGEN? NO NO NO NO NO!

Yeah Eiffel, he IS crazy.

Oh no Hera.

Minutes? How does he have a way to contact Earth? Who is YOUR superior Hilbert? The devil? He must be since you are RUINING CHRISTMAS AND DOUGLAS' BIRTHDAY THAT NO ONE BUT HERA REMEMBERED. How hard is it to save your evil plans until after the holidays? How hard is it not to betray a man on his birthday?

Hera. Hera PLEASE tell me you found a way to win the game. PLEASE tell me you found a way around this.

...Hera?

Uh-oh.

Episode 13: Gas Me Twice

Well that was a bummer. I swear, Mincowski better not die she has a family.

I hate Hilbert so much. Dude is the WORST.

Wait! The oxygen mask! For the cigarette! Douglas your stupidity has saved you again!

...oh my gosh I really am in this picture, and I don't like it.

Oh no. Hera. Hera you need to help him. Yes Douglas! Have faith in her! Even though she's actively withholding information, she still seems nice! HERA! It hurts her? Oh no... oh Hera no. 🥺

22 minutes of air? Well, at least she's still alive.

Incoming pulse beacon? Interesting...

Hephestus station please respond? ...Who is Cutter???

Contingency scenarios? Data series? Transmission from deep space? Origin source? Who are these people? WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?

Oh...wait why would he know about Eiffel being alive? Haha...oh Eiffel. This was a good plan. But you might have wanted to get a little more information from him.

Death was no immediate? Okay so Hilbert was under orders to kill, but it seems Doug is his own experimental side project? Interesting...

Oh dear. A fire. Looks like you have to let Hera have control back.

Yes! Mincowski is still alive! :)

YES HERA! Emergency response overrides it! For 20 minutes? Great. Kill or capture Hilbert now.

MADE HIM DO WHAT? NO HERA NO!

HERAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Restarting... no. No. Hera. You killed her. 😢😟🥺

This gif I found pretty much approximates my feelings:

HILBERT NEEDS TO DIE.

Shut up Hilbert. No one wants to hear you speak.

Oh...hello Mincowski :)

NOW BEAT HIM UP!

And yeah...it's okay Mincowski. A lot has happened. Christmas was ruined. You lost a crewmate. It's okay to not be okay.

Can you hear me? Well Hera did say she could always hear him. Maybe a part of her mind got saved somewhere. At least, we can always hope.

Lobotomized her? No you need to fix her. 🥺

Hilbert you bastard. I don't swear much or at all on this blog, but if there was ever a time, it is now. And um... given the plant situation and the other mysterious stuff on the ship...look I don't support murder, but maybe you could just send Hilbert off by himself in a little pod and let nature take its course.

You deserved a good dinner Mincowski. Aw, Doug is 32. Happy Birthday Doug.

Hm. A communication from Hilbert's commanders. This is awkward. But better open it. And yeah, you both deserve answers.

But who is on the other line?

...Why does it sound like an telephone?

WHAT.

How dare. How dare they end on such a cliffhanger?

Mini Episode 1: Are space suits itchy?

So I'm not sure what this is, but it's on my podcast list as the last episode of season 1, so I'm gonna listen to it? Let me know if it's not canon or something, but hopefully it will be nice, even if I don't get any answers.

Aw, third grade questions. "What do you do when you're crewmate betrays you?"

IDIOTIC QUESTION? Doug what is up with your family? Be nice to Stephanie, it was a fair question.

Yeah, no don't see your doctor. He's nuts. I feel like I might be listening to his out of order. Which is a good thing. Otherwise Doug would be on the podcast telling third graders to not call their doctor lest the doctor try to kill him.

Oh boy the censorship 😂. Mincowski is the better person for this.

Well that was a quick one, but nice! Oh okay, so it was like a mini episode that aired during a break, okay. Well I hope that soon enough I'll be able to listen to more. Because I need answers. Hera needs to get better. And Hilbert needs to go to jail. I want his degrees revoked! I want him rotting in the slammer! I want the world to look upon him with nothing but contempt and disgust!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, see you all next time.

Wait no, wait hold on. What about the door? The door that Hilbert was supposed to open once he killed all of them? The grey door, the one he kept giving ominous monologues about? And...he knew about the empty man, or maybe the transmission were to tell him about the empty man. But what is that? What does that mean? You know what, we can figure that out later, I'm still mad at him.

[somegirlontheinternet135]

For anyone who doesn't know what Diabolik Lovers is. . . you don't want to know, and don't need to know. . .

But if you're curious, or had watched the series, keep reading

As the opening suggests, I've recently fallen down the "Diabolik Lovers" rabbit hole, very similar to "Madoka Magica" but not in a good way. . .

I'll probably be the first to say that Diabolik Lovers is the ultimate guilty pleasure anime; it's bad, but it's good at being bad, which I entirely blame on the fact that the show was made in 2013. . .

There was a lot of issues I had with the series, but the biggest caveat I had other than the thorny vampires, was the story. Cause other than the mom coming back to life and new vamps, it was ✨Boring✨

Especially the ending!

And because I disliked the story so much, I've made a whole mental reboot in my head. What do I mean by that? Basically taking the entire series in my head and giving it ✨A complete makeover✨

I'm talking redesigns of old characters, introducing new characters, worldbuilding, and an actual story! Which all of that, I could go on and on about, but given my very messy schedule and several other projects, I don't think I'll be able to

So for now, I'll talk about what I'm most proud of: The story

(Massive spoiler warning)

(Tw: Heavy topics will be discussed, stop reading if you're uncomfortable)

Alright, let's talk about. . .

✨Diabolik Lovers: The Glass Labyrinth✨

This takes place in the modern day, roughly 5 years after season 2; things still haven't changed, and Yui is still very much stuck with the vamps. Yui is, as expected, extremely depressed; not only is she trapped with bloodthirsty vampires who constantly torment and ab*se her, but she has no family nor friends to run to. All except for one little creature she acquainted with, a peculiar dove

Ever since she started reading on the balcony alone, the same dove would always fly over to where she sat and approached her, even letting her scratch its head. Yui was surprised at first, but having no one else to be around other than her ab*sers, she lets it go and the two become good friends

But it doesn't take long for simple head scratches to turn into full blown therapy sessions, as she begins lamenting all her feelings to the creature. Talking about how alone and trapped she feels, and wishing she were a dove so she can "fly away from this horrid life. . !" Of course, all the little guy could do was sit and listen, again this was a bird, not a miracle worker. . . This routine would go on for at least a few months till one day, when she's out on the balcony reading, waiting for her little bird friend, it arrives as normal, but Yui is quick to notice that something was off, it wore a strange device. Fortunately, she was able to get a better look once the creature landed, it was one of those capsules they used for messenger pigeons

Yui takes the capsule from its back and opens it, which the dove gladly allows. Revealing the letter inside, she finds out that the letter was from the dove's owner. They asked if she wanted to talk more in the letter, to which Yui, desperate for friends, immediately accepts the offer. Quickly, she flips the paper over and begins writing, asking general questions like who they were and where they'd come from; but before she could roll up the paper again something happens. The letters begin to shift into another sentence in different yet beautiful handwriting, reading:

"Who I am isn't important, but what is right now is getting you someone to talk to, you seem like you need it." Before disappearing from the page. Yui, although shocked, response back just as fast as before, asking how it knew that, it merely said it could tell from her rather shaky writing. It's quick to change the subject, asking general questions about her, to which Yui very much responds to them. Her and the talking paper begin having a conversation, still so curious about who was really behind it, but within minutes, their subject begins to change into something far more mysterious. Witches

Being the religious girl that she was, Yui knew quite a bit on witches, how the devil would leave his marks on unexpecting women, their familiars, the trials against them, a tiny bit of everything. When writing it all down, the paper disagrees with her, saying that witches are far more complex than she lets on. It goes on to compare witches to vampires, how, unlike them, a witch and her familiar are much harder to spot. They can be anywhere. . . When Yui was about to ask how it knew, she puts two and two together extremely fast. Just before she can ask any more questions, the paper burns into ashes, startling her, and the little dove? gone without a trace. She lets the realization sink in as she watches the ashes scatter in the wind. That dove, the dove that visited her constantly, the dove she's been venting to. . . was a witch's familiar

The next day, it was all she could think about. Did a witch really try to contact her? How did they know so much about her? Why her specifically? Questions that were, understandably, messing with her head for what felt like days, the only way for her to gain closure now is to do more research, a lot more research. And unfortunately, she knew exactly where to start. . . The vampire brothers

Fortunately, Yui's interaction with the dove and paper were left under their radar, but for everything else, they could tell something was up. Something was plaguing her mind, and they knew it. Despite some bewildering and bizarre guesses they were making to what it exactly was, Yui had to pick one of the brothers to ask for information; she knew that Subaru or Reiji would be too stubborn to give a full answer and god forbid if she asked someone like Laito, Kanato, or even Ayato. Making her safest option, the eldest brother, Shu. So later that night, sneaking past snoozing vampires, makes her way to Shu's room. But before she even knocked on his door, she knew that Shu wouldn't give away that information for free. . . yeah, we can all see where this is going. . .

For the sake of everyone's sanity, let's use our imaginations and picture Shu sticking a straw in Yui's shoulder or something-

Once inside Shu's room, their interaction goes to following:

Yui: Ok, kinda an off-topic question, but what do you know about witches?

*Shu stops drinking her blood*

Shu: Witches. . ? They're old hags who fly around on broomsticks and eat small children. . .

Yui: . . .That's what you think witches are. . ?

Shu: Well, aren't they? Why are you asking?

*Yui gets a little flustered but manages to keep calm*

Yui: Oh- n-no reason! I just thought that someone like you, a vampire, would believe that witches existed-

Shu: *Heh* Obviously not, witches don't exist, and if they did, they'd be a huge threat to us, us especially

Yui: Wait, why?

*Shu realizing his mistake*

Shu: uuuuhhhhhhhhhh-. . .

*Cut to Yui being kicked out of Shu's room*

Although it wasn't much, Shu had unintentionally given her just enough information to guide her on the right path of where she needed to go next. She sneaks back to her room, not before bumping into Laito. . . yeah, the guy wanted a midnight snack. . .

In the years she spent with the vampires, not only did she get a little braver, but a little smarter too. Using the vampires' dislike for loud noise to her advantage, she plants tape recorders of various loud and repeating noises and hid them in various hard-to-spot locations, that whenever they'd turn on, it causes the brothers to go mad trying to find the source of the sound, and for extra measures, she places one of Kanato's "wax figures" in her bed to give the fake illusion that she was sleeping. And with the brothers distracted and using a homemade rope, Yui is able to sneak off the balcony and leave the mansion, all the way to her local library

She estimated the time it would take for the vampires to find the device to be roughly an hour, so she makes every visit count. There, Yui was able to learn not just more on witches, but their relationship with vampires. She learns three major things:

Vampires and Witches had been coexisting alongside each other for years, but the most talked about and cataloged were the witches (The witch trials)

The relationship between the two beings is extremely shaky, one second they're completely peaceful, another they're at full on war with one and other. Through most of history, however, they had a business-relationship; a vampire could sense a witch from miles away and would often do tasks for a witch in exchange for their help and or guidance

(This is the most important one) A single witch or any magic user can take down an army's worth of vampires, within minutes. . .

A witch can fight a vampire. . . and win

Yui gets a habit of preforming this plan often, each word of the books enticing her more and more. She was thankful to have a working library card, but even if she did bring some of the books with her, it would immediately give away what she was doing to the brothers. Besides, Yui absolutely adored the new amounts of alone time she was getting. And, as a bonus, she gained more of a resistance to dirt and bugs, due to sneaking outside so much, and being completely willing to dodge the vampires by any means possible, even if it meant crawling through the mud and jumping into bushes. But of course, all good things must come to an end. . . And on one rainy night, when in her normal study nook, she gets confronted by Reiji, who had followed her all the way to the library

The interaction goes as the following:

*Reiji places a hand on Yui from behind, startling her*

Reiji: I should've known something was off. . .

Yui: Reiji-san! I-

Reiji: Now, explain to me, why exactly have you been leaving the manor?

Yui: H-how did you?!-

Reiji: Let's just say it was a hunch, and. . .

*Reiji trails off and pulls out one of the tape recorders from his jacket*

Reiji: Judging by how many of these you've been leaving around, it was likely you've been doing this often. . . Now, if you could be so kind as to give me an answer. . .

*Reiji starts to get more irritated*

*Yui, although scared, tries to stay calm and makes up an excuse*

Yui: Well Reiji-san, you see-

*Reiji cuts her off, noticing the several open books she left carelessly*

Reiji: What exactly have you been studying here anyway?

*He instead focuses on the area surrounding them, picking up one of the books*

*Yui tries to stop him, but fails*

Yui: Uh!- Reiji-san! You don't have to do that!! Please give it back!

*After reading a few sentences, he fixes his glasses and sighs, assumingly unimpressed*

Reiji: Witches. . ? Do you really believe in such fairytales. . ?

*He looks down at a now scared Yui*

Reiji: Stories of women possessing magical powers aided by the devil, and using said powers for either malicious purposes or to help others in need. . . Just more folklore and nonsense created by mortals. . .

*Reiji shuts the book with one hand*

Normally, this would be chalked up to his constant need to judge and him wanting to play the role as the "smart one," but there was something about his body language that didn't match his tone nor what he was saying. Yui managed to notice small things, like how his eyes widened before he fixed his glasses, or how he pushed the book closer to his face, as if wanting a better look, it was almost like he was surprised she was reading about this stuff. . . And when she attempted to confront him on it, he quickly got defensive, even going as far as to grab her hand, scolding her to never question his authority, but decides he wasn't going to hurt her, saying that he didn't feel like punishing her. So, with that, the two leave, Reiji pulling Yui by the hand, all the way back to the mansion, to which a bunch of "happy vampires" were waiting for her

Despite their negative and overall cruel comments, once Yui went back to her room, she couldn't fall asleep, especially with all the information she'd gathered. She formed somewhat of a theory board in her head, taking what she knew and trying to figure out what it all meant. The books, Shu's comment, Reiji's body language, everything was or could be important. Yet out of all that was being sorted in her mind, what she found most jarring was the fact a witch was the only being strong enough to take down a vampire. She laid in bed, eyes open and unmoving for hours, till finally the morning light sent her back into reality. Once she got up, she was, as expected, very tired, clearly noticeable by her dreary eyes and messy hair, and when she made her way to the dining room, Laito humorously remarked how she "looked like she just rolled out of bed"

At the dining room table, Ayato and Subaru were talking about a popular theme park that's near their area, but all eyes are shifted to Yui once she sat down. Laito's perverted comments of how he much preferred her half-asleep state as he played with her hair without consent; Kanto's attempts of gaslighting her, saying she wouldn't be so tired if she'd just stayed put like she was supposed to; even Reiji telling them to stop; it was all routine to her at that point. After he scolds two of the brothers, he's quick to scold Yui next, telling her to fix her behavior because they had a big day planned. What was their plan? Well, the Mukami brothers had gotten tickets to the theme park Ayato and Subaru were just talking about and invited them all to go with. Of course, this got the respected amounts of excited and nonchalant reactions, but not everyone was too happy. . .

Subaru, although excited for the trip, was extremely hesitant to bring Yui along with them, given her sneaking out so much, questioning the others if she really deserved to go. And taking the opportunity for more alone time and possibly the chance to go back to the library, she accepted her punishment, telling the brothers that she deserves it. To which Reiji is quick to stop her, asking what kind of fools she mistaken them for. It was obvious that if they left, Yui would just try that little stunt again. She was going, whether she wanted to or not. . .

Fast forward to when they actually got to the theme park. The gang meets up with the Mukami brothers, who were more than happy to see Yui again. . .

*Kou yells out to the group*

Kou: There you are!

*They all turn around, seeing the Mukami brothers walking towards them*

*Azusa runs ahead, like an over excited puppy*

Azusa: Eve!

*He proceeds to run up and hug Yui, making the other vamps a bit defensive, but that drops once the other three show up*

*Laito giggles a bit*

Laito: Well Little B*tch, looks like someone's happy to see you!~

Ruki: Nice seeing you all again! Glad you've made it

Subaru: *Uh* *Duh!* This is the most popular theme park in town right now! Why wouldn't we show up?!

*Reiji fixes his glasses, unfazed*

Reiji: It'd be rude to turn down an invitation. . . And if I may ask, why did you want to meet us here in the first place?

*Reiji takes the matter way more seriously than it had to be*

*Ruki laughs a bit*

Ruki: This is merely just for some rest and relaxation is all! We hardly spend any time together and we thought this would be the best way to do so. . . And besides. . .

*Ruki trails off, looking over to Azusa, still very much latched onto Yui*

Ruki: It's nice to see Azusa so happy. . .

Reiji: . . .Is that so?

*Yuma chimes in*

Yuma: Yeah, on the ride here, all he could talk about was that little piggy. I don't think I'd ever seen him run that fast. . .

*Meanwhile, Azusa was still very much hugging Yui, the triplets watching in slight amusement*

*Yui was too tired to attempt to pull him off herself*

Azusa: I missed you. . . so much Eve. . .

*He hugs her a bit tighter*

Azusa: Did you. . . miss me too. . ?

*Yui tries to choke out a response, despite having the air squeezed out of her*

Yui: I-I missed you too- Azusa-kun. . .

Kou: Alright Azusa, let her go or she'll pop!

*Kou pulls Azusa off her, Yui immediately taking a breath after*

Kou: I'm sure she's happy to see all of us! Aren't you little Maso-kitty?~

Yui: Oh! *Um-* yes, of course. . .

From early on in their interaction, it's safe to say that Reiji was still a bit iffy about the Mukami brothers, even if they formed their little alliance almost years ago; and the fact that Ruki paid for everything. Aside from that, the Mukami brothers planned the trip cause they were generally interested in the main vamps and wanted to get to know them more. It seemed like everyone was excited for this trip. . . well, "almost" everyone. . .

As part of her punishment, Yui would be paired with the triplets, as well as Kou and Azusa, entirely going on the rides and attractions that they wanted to go on; which were all, unironically, mostly horror based. And sure, there were some rides and sites she enjoyed, but that didn't distract from the fact that the whole time, the vampires were watching her like hawks, further reminding her how trapped she was. Want to know what was so interesting? This behavior doesn't go unnoticed! Whilst Azusa was holding Yui's hand, guiding the group to the ride he wanted to go on next, she thought she heard whispers. . . Whispers from girls amongst the crowd! At first, she tried to ignore them, thinking they were merely voices in her head as a result of not sleeping. But as they continued, the more apparent they got. . .

"Is that who I think it is?!-"

"No way, it's her. . !"

"Look at the guys she's with. . ."

"They look scary. . ! Like serial killers. . ."

"Could you imagine what she has to go through. . ? Poor girl. . . "

"Honestly, if I were her, I'd probably drive my car over a cliff, it'd be better than what she probably has to go through. . ."

"Don't say that! She's been with them for years, who knows how bad her situation is. . !"

Left and right, the whispers didn't seem to stop. Although it being very obvious just who they were talking about, Yui didn't seem to believe it, and heck, a part of her didn't want to. . . She'd lived with the vampires for so long, and for just as long, people just didn't seem to care. . . Not enough to get her out of that situation nor enough to help her. And by that point, she'd already seemed to accept that. . . in till she got a look at the crowd herself, finally seeing the tens of hundreds of eyes on her. These girls were talking about her and her alone! And honestly, why wouldn't they?!

Through their eyes, Yui was basically being dragged to these different locations, with her head down and a visibly sad look on her face, her dreary eyes only doubling it; she looked, acted, and was miserable. Back to Yui, to say she was surprised would've been an understatement, but not before long, Kanto gets in front of her, blocking her view of the crowd and demanding attention. This would continue throughout their visit, Yui would hear whispering and once she'd turn her head, one of the vampires would be in front of her. And as this pattern continued, it became very obvious to her of what they were doing. . . They were clearly trying to distract her, block her from the truth in some way. By all means, she could've confronted them, but by that point it was already too late. . . She was much too tired to fight back, and even if she did, she'd doubt that her attempts at rebelling wouldn't last long. . . After all, she was only human. . .

Continuing on their trip, just when the sun was starting to set, the vampires decided that it was probably time to meet back up with the others, but not before making a quick pit-stop at the nearest restrooms. As the guys took their time doing their business, Yui, waiting outside, catches something moving in the corner of her eye. . . a small, white, flying something, if you will. . .

Just flying above her, was that familiar dove. . ! She couldn't believe it. . ! Ever since her hyper fixation on witches, she'd never had time to be around the little creature, she even doubted if it would even come back anymore after she learned the truth; but there it was, flying circles above her! It whistled and cooed, as if to tell her something, before darting off in another direction, like it wanted for her to follow. Suddenly all the energy she lost a day before, came flooding back into her body, and with little time she had to think, she sprinted in that same direction, not looking back, and chasing the dove. Now, for as ridiculous as this sounds, it was actually due to a much bigger flaw in the boys' plan. Originally, they were going to work in shifts, one person was going to watch Yui whilst everyone else did their business, and the one thing they never thermally talked about was who was gonna watch her first, nor did they estimate just how long they would each take, so they were all treated to the pleasant surprise of seeing each other in the restroom, with none of them watching Yui

*Azusa and Kou leave their restroom stalls at the same time*

*Kou sighs*

Kou: *Sigh* What a great day! Think it's time we head back now, don't wanna keep our little Maso-kitty waiting!

*Azusa nods his head*

Azusa: Agreed. . .

*Just when they were about to leave, they see Kanto washing his hands at one of the sinks, shocking Kou*

Kou: What the- Kanto?!

*He doesn't notice them at first, already looking down at the sink, but once he hears his name, he peers at the restroom mirror, seeing the two there and turning around, just as surprised as they were*

*Kou gets angry at Kanto because he, to him, was supposed to be watching Yui*

Kou: What the hell man?! I thought you were watching Yui!!

*Kanto, having no idea what he was talking about, gets irritated as a response*

Kanto: What-? No! I never said that!!

Kou: Dude didn't you listen?!, we all talked and agreed you would do it first!!

Kanto: Oh please, we'd never agreed to that!! And besides. . .

*Kanto turned to, and staired death-daggers at Azusa, who was still very much confused*

Kanto: Last time I checked. . . We'd agreed to let Azusa be the first to watch her. . .

*Kou is quick to defend him, blocking the two from each other*

Kou: Hey man! leave him alone!! He has nothing to do with this!

Azusa: I. . . was supposed to be watching Eve. . ?

*He tilts his head*

Azusa: But. . . I thought. . . Ayato was doing that. . .

*Just then, Laito and Ayato walk out from the nearby urinals to meet up with the rest of the group*

Laito: Well gentlemen, shall we goin-?

*Seeing Kou there, the two are shocked, since they believed that Kou would be the first to watch Yui*

Laito: Kou? What on earth are you doing here?!

Ayato: Yeah man, what the hell?! You're supposed to be watching Yui!!

Kou: Dude no!! That's not what we talked about!!

*Azusa puts two and two together, quicker than everyone else*

Azusa: So. . . if we're all here. . . then who's watching Eve. . ?

*That realization hits the rest of the group like a truck*

Ayato: Oh sh*t! PANCAKE!!

But just when they sprinted out of those restrooms, Yui was nowhere to be seen. . . Oh crap. . .

"Well why can't they just teleport to her?!?!" Is what you're probably asking, and the simple answer is that they can't anymore. That's right, we're getting rid of their whole teleporting ability! They got away with it for too long, it's dumb, it's stupid, you're welcome-

Moving on, of course the vampires go full "manhunt mode" trying to find her, assuming that because she was so tired and the fact that she wasn't a great runner, she couldn't had gotten far, right? Well, unsurprisingly, the exact opposite happened. Yui manages to make her way to the other side of the park, somehow avoiding the other five in the process, still very much on the trail of the dove. Speaking of which, the little dove flew and flew while Yui just followed and followed, eventually leading her all the way to a run-down funhouse, far away from all the other attractions. It flies into the building through one of the only open windows, to which she's quick to follow suit, although rather scared and questioning whether or not the place would even be open, Yui is proven wrong once she placed her hands on the door, allowing it to creak open. . . no turning back now. . .

Seeing the building from the outside, it led her to question to what it was exactly it closed down for, because despite how old the building probably is, it still looked fairly decent. Entering and exploring however, she very much understood as to why, each corner and crevice of the building were covered in not just black mold but were riddled with the bite marks of rats and other creatures. As grossed out as she was, Yui kept moving, using what little sun was left peering through the windows as her source of light.

She needed to find the dove, she had to! Cause in her mind, maybe just maybe, it would help her learn the truth. . . did a witch really try to talk to her. . . and after several minutes of searching, she finally found it. Inside an open room, with its walls coated in mirrors, was the little dove, sitting right in the center of the room, waiting for her, helpfully illuminated by the last few seconds of golden hour. Yui was overjoyed, and ran toward the creature immediately, going on to tell it how happy she was to see it. After so much waiting, she'd finally would get some form of closure! But their little reunion doesn't last long. . . Just moments after Yui enters the room, the once completely open-door slams shut, startling the both of them and causing the dove to fly into Yui's arms. Both were, respectfully, confused by this, considering they were the only two who'd entered the building to begin with

Turns out, other girls weren't the only ones sneaking glances at her. . . Men stared too, but rather than viewing her as a victim, they saw her as a price tag. . . This one group in particular knew the vampires were overprotective of Yui and would go through extreme lengths to keep her in their mits, thus, the kidnapping. And given the brothers are rich, we all can probably tell what will happen. Out from the shadows, the group of men revealed themselves one by one; to make matters worse, Yui could recognize so little about their faces before she started backing away in fear. That only continued when they started talking, and by the first sentences she already knew exactly what their plan was. . .

She hoped the little creature in her arms would help her, but it was just as scared as Yui, beginning to quiver in her arms, even it knew they couldn't handle these guys alone. . .

Now with the two surrounded, this seems like the end. . .

But strap in everyone, this is where things get good!

Remember the mirror-covered walls? Well, one of the men notices and points out something disturbing about their reflections. The images presented, instead of showing the regular facial features, it showed the men with black holes for eyes, as well as large, drooling a gap smiles, it looked like a kid scribbled over the mirror with a black marker. And before anyone could know what was going on, something just as terrifying is displayed, the images begin to distort and move in ways unlike any funhouse mirror can. What were supposed to be faces began laughing, their arms increased in length, and parts of their flesh were fused together, almost like something stripped out of a horror movie. Using their elongated arms, they stretch themselves out of the mirror, each reflection grabbing their respected creator and pulling them to their fates. Yui watches in speechless awe as the men scream and struggle for freedom, but are left helpless in the hands of the mirrors. . .

Sooo. . . They're dead. . .

Pretty much every moment of that scene was jarring, but what made it even more jarring were their reactions. Yui, rather than going into instant terror or fear, is left in a state of shock, maybe she was still processing what happened, perhaps she thought the encounter wasn't as terrifying as having bloodthirsty vampires at her neck; but one thing's for sure, she'd never seen something like that before. As for the little dove, its reaction was the polar opposite, it cooed in cheer and glee as it flew from Yui's arms and onto her head, snapping her back into reality. She attempted to calm the creature down and figure out what was making it act like that, but to no avail; till, from out of the blue, a feminine voice began to speak to both of them, echoing within the room and only increasing the little creature's excitement

"Good work Apollo! You've got her!"

Somewhat startled by the sudden talking, Yui violently turns herself around to find the source, causing the bird on her head to fly off and onto her shoulder, still just as happy for some reason. When she asked who said that, the dove finally directs her to the very front of the room, there, the final unused mirror stands. But instead of showing anything that merely resembled her reflection, it showed something entirely different. Like some kind of magic, bright, colorful blobs of light began to shine from the mirror, turning her confused shock to amazed awe. Gears in her mind began winding as a curious gleam gets into Yui's eyes, she walks forward, still ever so curious

The feeling she got was almost magnetic, continuing to creep forward it were like time itself stopped just for her, and by then, she'd already long forgotten about the vampires hunting her down, truly during these moments. . . nothing mattered other than to reach the mirror. . . Only when Yui reached the middle of the room, is when she abruptly stopped. Thankfully, her sudden stop made her come back to her senses for a little bit, so although still curious, she couldn't understand why. . . she wanted to keep moving but her body kept telling her not to

Obviously, this starts a small argument between her mind and gut, both fighting for control as Yui stood there helplessly, rightfully confused the bird on her shoulder.

"Cmon, cmon!- We're so close, keep moving!"

"No, no, something is bound to happen! We should stay put just in case. . !"

But as the two sides continued to bicker back and forth, the still yet radiance mirror began to move, vibrating violently, bringing the internal argument to screeching halt; and Yui immediately understood why she stopped. Suddenly, a white aura glowed from the mirror edges, the rapid shaking causing cracks to form on its surface, and once more, that feminine voice speaks to her once more

"Awh, having trouble deciding to keep walking, are we?~"

"It's honestly understandable, I mean if I saw a glowing, shaking, mirror, I'd walk towards it too right? *Hah!*"

"Oh! Another thing, terribly sorry for what happened earlier. Me and Apollo expected you, but, weren't expecting the guests. . ."

*Even more cracks form on the mirror*

"*Sigh* supposed I kept you waiting for long enough, don't you think. . ?"

"You've worked so hard and gone through some much. . ."

*The mirror becomes almost entirely broken*

"I'd say it's time we finally met: face to face!"

And with that, the mirror finally shatters, nearly making Yui fall back in fear, covering her face and the dove with her arms as to not be injected with the shards of glass that were flying across the room, yet only exciting her bird friend. Once she thought the coast was clear, Yui hesitantly pulled down her arms to see what was in front of her, then she saw what she thought to be unexplainable. The mirror was shattered, but the colors underneath still remained, creating this luminous, unworldly, entrance. . . like a portal to another dimension

Gaining back her footing, Yui was, respectfully, tooken back by the sudden jump-scare of broken glass and surprised by the vortex in front of her, but the little creature didn't seem to mind, fluttering off her shoulder and atop the strange gateway, yet by then, she'd already put the pieces together and knew exactly who was about to walk through that door. Like clockwork, a faint silhouette formed in front of the entrance and began pulling itself out of the reflection. This was it. . . The moment she'd been waiting for. . . The witch that's been trying contact Yui, the witch that sent their familiar to her at a time of need, they were finally going to meet. . . And honestly, Yui was whole mess of emotions at that point, scared was one thing for sure, but a sudden wave of joy and determination as well. Finally, she would get the answers that she so desperately wanted, and nothing was going to stop her, not even bloodthirsty vampires. . .

Stepping out into the real world, the figure fairly resembled a human, with a short structure and a thin hourglass figure, perfectly matching their voice. They lightly dusted off their shoulders as the dove cooed in joy and fluttered onto one of them

"*Sigh* Not one of my greatest entrances, but it'll do. . ."

They turn to a, very much in awe, Yui, and begin to walk toward her, amused by her reaction and the look on her face. Slowly but surely, their figure changes, becoming more human and revealing their true form. They've shown to be someone roughly Yui's age, brunette hair with bleached tips and the richest of hazel eyes; wearing 70s attire, a red beret, red-painted lips and an amused yet sweet smile. Now in front of her, there were so many things Yui wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to ask, but due to experiencing so many emotions at once, it awkwardly came out in one sentence

"Y-you're. . . you're-"

"What? A beauty? A muse? *Gasp* Your savior?!"

"Y-You're the witch. . !"

". . ."

"*Eh* I get that a lot. . ."

"Niji Shikisou, The Painter Witch, at your service~"

"Nice to finally meet you, Ms. Eve. . ."

As they did a little curtsy to introduce themself, new questions as well as old remaining ones were swarming Yui's head, and they were very aware of this, and although they wanted to clear things up to make things easier, what Yui didn't know was that time was running thin. Just before Yui could say anything else, they quickly cut her off, telling her they understand how confused she must be, reinsuring her that she will get the answers soon as long as she was patient and if she trusted them, offering their hand. And like the Painter Witch said, she'd come so far. . ! After outwitting the vampires and commending to their torment for years, she deserved to know the truth. . ! So, Yui, wanting the truth more than anything, takes Niji's hand, accepting their offer, which pleased them that she was so willing to cooperate

But everything can't be too easy, they're quick to direct the group's attention to the ground, where most of the largest shattered glass shards laid. Forcing herself and Yui to crouch down and look at the shards, Niji uses that same spell to alter the current reflections, to show what exactly was happening concurrently. Just like before, it instead revealed the actions and faces of all ten vampires. . . and they looked angry! Turns out while searching for Yui, the triplets, Kou and Azusa rejoined with the rest of the group, and were getting close to their half of the theme park. Of course, Yui was absolutely terrified by this; now if this were one-off thing, the brothers would probably find a "creative" way to punish her, likely a whipping or taking turns drawing her blood, but remember, she'd done this multiple times to this point forward. . .

So, case in point, if they find her now, they'd rip her to shreds, or worse! But before Yui could properly panic, Niji calms her down, reinsuring her that she has nothing to worry about with them around. Very much unintentionally reminding her of a very important fact, witches are stronger than vampires. They go on to say that they've already had a plan to deal with the vamps, and they were gonna need mirrors, a lot more mirrors! Despite having even more questions, from that point forward, Yui had never trusted another person more in entire life, there was no time to chat. Grabbing onto her, Niji forced the two of them back up again, saying they had no more time to waste. With that, pulling Yui by the hand, they sprint toward the shatter doorway, forcing the whole group inside! All the while, Yui fully trusted her, despite having no idea what her plan was. . .

~Meanwhile~

Both Sakamaki and Mukami brothers were still searching for Yui, the sun was now completely out of the sky and all the lights in the park were coming on. Once the group rejoined, the rest of the main vamps, Yuma and Ruki were all rightfully angered by them losing Yui, causing the group to argue a bit, only stopping once Reiji breaks them up and reminds them of the task at hand, putting an end to their fight for the time being. Like a pack of hungry wolves, they scout a majority of the theme park for their prey, and looking at their plan on paper, it was pretty uncoordinated, cause despite working together for half the search, they could only cover so much ground at a time, making their attempts to find Yui even more difficult than if they just split up into groups of two. Making matters worse, they weren't the quietest nor the sneakiest either. . . Yuma and Subaru, so angry about her sudden disappearance, caused massive amounts of damage to the park itself, to which they were narrowly caught by park staff

This was entirely Reiji's idea, due to still not trusting the Mukami brothers, and finding the plan as a way to not only find Yui, but also to keep a close eye on them in case they tried running off with her again, despite how time consuming it would be. At that rate, the vampires kept searching and searching as it got later and later into the night, eventually making their way to the other side of the park, where all the old and unpopular attractions were. Irritated, Kou climbs up an old signal tower to get a better look at their surrounding area, the view he got wasn't the best, the tower he climbed was a bit smaller than what he expected and the night sky away from any source of light wasn't helping either, but he made do with what he had. When yelled at from the ground, asking for what he saw, he did a slow 360° with his body, scoping out the land. He yelled out the repeated phrase "nothing" as he went full circle, at first he didn't see much, just rundown buildings, the night sky, nothing too special. It's only when he got about halfway around, he saw something truly unexpected. . .

"W-W-Wait. . ? What are those sparkly star things. . ?"

"A-Are those particles?!"

From out in the distance, Kou saw bright yellow, glowing particles, radiating from one specific area. Bewildering him, cause aren't all the attractions were supposed to be closed? And what made more suspicious, were that the particles were coming from one specific area and nowhere else. . . Once Kou came down and reported what he saw, they were just as confused as he was, and despite how big of a red flag that is, the guys were running thin on options on actually finding Yui, so they headed there without another thought, desperate to reach her again, and once they did, it was nothing like they've ever seen before. In front of them was the most saturated building the group had ever come across, covered in every hue of the rainbow, the building itself looked like something straight from Las Vegas, like one of those fancy and over-the-top casinos, and at its entrance were flickering, neon-glowing signs reading things like:

"Alastor's Wine: Best Served Cold Finale!!"

"One Night Only!!"

"Don't Miss It!!!"

Alongside a sign of an amorphized dove. All radiating, you guessed it, the glowing particles Kou saw earlier. Internal alarms were blaring in their heads as everything about that place practically screamed "trap!" But at that point, they were already getting desperate, a majority of them were tired from the searching and wanted to get things over with. So slowly, they crept up to the building's entrance, watching each other's backs in case something happened. Pulling Ayato in front, the rest of the group decided to send him inside first, and annoyed but still wanting to keep his pride, he grudgingly agreed. Right away, and like Kou, he notices the unexplainable, how despite the building being so unyieldingly bright, there were no signs of any lights, no stage lights, no electrical cords, nothing; so either they used really powerful technology, or this was the building's natural colors. . !

The groups kept moving despite, and luckily for Ayato, the building had no doors, which made taking a look inside a tinier, all be it being ten times saturated on the inside than on the outside. With everyone in front of the door, they all got a look inside, it seemed safe enough, neither of them still weren't too sure. . . what if the gateway is rigged with traps? Sheepishly, Laito suggests that Ayato should go first, since he made this far taking the lead, to which he immediately regrets, because he knew a rattrap when he saw one. . . It went on back and forth between the guys, everyone pointing fingers of who'd be willing to sacrifice themselves of entering the strange building, eventually sparking yet another argument between the vampire, but this time, Reiji is even quicker to end it. . ! He breaks up the fight in half, loudly scolding them that their bickering wouldn't get them anywhere closer in retrieving Yui, and how he was gonna get everyone inside? He thought of that too. . .

Turning to Ayato, he asked for one of his shoes, and although confused, he reluctantly does give him one. Reiji goes on to explain that he's going to throw it into the building, and if nothing happened to it, that meant that the room was trap-free and it was safe to enter, earning a collective "ooohhh!-" from the rest of the group; there were many times where Reiji truly felt like the "smart one," this was one of those times. . . Anyways, with the object in hand, he throws it into the building, already thinking that this plan is was just a waste of time as is. Yet, instead of the shoe just getting a long distance in the air before hitting the floor, because, well, gravity. . . The object, immediately upon entering the building, completely changes. Its appearance alters, lightening in color and matching the building's insides, which takes the entire group by surprise. That's when Reiji finally notices just how different the insides of the building were from the outside

Cause while everything outside looks sturdy, simple and well, normal, the inside of that building looked almost "hand-drawn", it looked more smoother, rounded, like something straight from a classic Disney film. But just before Reiji or Ayato could question anything further, Laito, obviously thinking that it dragged on for quite long enough, just pushes them in without warning. Uncalled for sure, but exactly what the group needed. . .

"Laito, what the hell?! What was that fo-?! Wah-wait a sec. . ."

Similarly to the shoe, both Reiji and Ayato's appearances change just like that. Becoming more detailed in their physicals, again, like it was straight from a classic Disney film. Of course, everyone had their questions, Ayato even asks if they'd all took something earlier. But no time to think about that! They have a Yui to catch! They had to keep going, so with the unintentional greenlight, everyone else entered the building, a few of them marveling in their new looks, and quickly began their search. . . They fell for it

With that, we finally learn about Niji's plan, and unsurprisingly, it involves using Yui as bait, but not in the way some think. Niji, as holder of the Painter Witch title, was no stranger to creating vivid illusions that mess all sorts of minds, so they knew immediately what they wanted to do. Using their magic, they transform the building, turning it from a crusty run-down attraction to a marveling casino within seconds. But, as fate would have it, they knew the vampires weren't going to fall for such a trick, so that's where Yui comes in! Niji could change the casino all she wanted, yet there were still some things she couldn't, more importantly being, Yui's scent, which was behind by her earlier. . .

Exploring inside, every room had the typical over-exaggerated casino vibe, blinky lights, colorful machines, any bell and whistle you could think of was there, but of course, that's not what the vampires are here for. They immediately recognized Yui's scent from the hallways she'd traveled in before, and reverted back to their instincts, scouting each and every room in search of their prey, all now irritated and dead set on finding Yui. Till finally, all 10 of them, after tracking down her smell at its strongest, led them to grand and alluring doors, jackpot. . !

Yui's scent was now stronger than ever, and they were ravenous, like they've haven't eaten in years. Both Yuma and Subaru swing the doors open with full force, allowing everyone to run inside without a second thought. The room inside completely matched the door that guarded it, the place was almost entirely covered in large round tables, all draped in simple white cloths, looking to be a sort of preforming area, at half of the room was a massive stage, weirdly shaped and leveled by stairs going up, covered in even more bright colors and blinky lights, but the strangest thing about it were the mirrors littered all across its walls, including one giant mirror in the center, only lit with dim lighting. Yes, something was especially off here, red flags were all over the place. The group didn't let their guards down for a second, checking their surroundings and watching each other's backs. Their eyes were glued to the stage, waiting for something to just pop out, and eventually something did. . .

"Finally, you all showed up! I was starting to get bored!~"

*Niji's voice echoed within the room, practically jump-scaring the vampires and throwing them into defense. Looking all around to find the source of her voice*

"Do you know how easy you're making this for me? I could've made my get away at any moment, but *sigh* I knew. . ." "I knew that little pests like you were much too persistent. . ."

*The group gets slightly irritated, noticing that the voice was feminine*

Yuma: Who the hell are you?!

"Who I am is none of your business nor of your concern thank you. . ." "Not like it'd be much use to you anyway. . ."

*She only fuels the flame as most of the group got angrier, how dare this woman talk so condescendingly to them. . !* *Quickly realizing she was the one responsible for Yui's disappearance*

Ayato: Alright, quit the horsesh*t, where's Yui?! We know you have her!!

"*Hmm?* I have not the slightest idea what you're talking about"

*Before Ayato could bark back, Kou places a hand on his shoulder, giving a nod while smiling as he stepped in front of him*

Kou: Look lady, there must be some misunderstanding here. Our little Maso-kitty happens to be our property, so if you could just hand her over-

"Oh! You're talking about Ms. Eve! *Haha!*" "Yes, she's safe and sound with me and I plan to keep it that way. . !"

*At that point, their patience was already growing thin, like ravenous dogs ready to snap. Subaru shoves his way to the front*

Subaru: *Ugh* You piece of sh*t!! GIVE US THE MORTAL OR ELSE!!

*Suddenly, the giant mirror at the center of the stage begins to glow, the same as before but brighter than ever* *The group shields their eyes*

"Oh temper, temper!~ What got you so worked up?" "Are you upset I have your little toy?~" "Well too bad! You weren't putting her to good use anyway. . !"

*Cracks begin forming on the mirror* *Most of the group peak to see what was happening*

"Yet to come this far. . ! It gets harder and harder to tell whether or not you actually care about her. . !" "*Sigh* suppose there's one way to find out. . ."

*Finally, the mirror shatters, sending glass all over the place and causing the group to fully cover their faces* *Once it sounded like the coast was clear, they all slowly put down their arms*

*All eyes towards the now broken mirror, Niji steps out of the carnage as once unnoticed spotlights shine onto her, revealing her form and sickly-sweet grin* *Revealing her true form, the vampires were a mix of shocked, confused, and angry. Subaru, so angered, immediately began running up to the stage, all the while Reiji immediately realized something sinister about her*

Subaru: Why you!!-

Reiji: Subaru, wait!!

Just before he could even land a finger on her, she swiftly dodges the attack, shocking him, and delivers a colorful blow, causing him to go flying into one of the mirrors on the side. She then proceeds to turn to the, now horrified, vampires, shocked that she managed to take down Subaru so easily, and finally realizing who exactly they were up against. From her back, Niji proceeds to pull out a paintbrush, holding it in both hands before it magically increased in size, letting it go and allowing it to levitate in the air like it was nothing. It floated above her as it began to spin violently, the bristles extracting a colorful paint-like substance as the wind around them became sudden and almost violent. Niji begins cracking her knuckles

"You all do love Ms. Eve, don't you?~" "So, why don't you all stand up and fight me for her?!"

And it was at this moment, they knew. . . they f*cked up. . .

With a blur, Niji gave all ten vampires the most colorful beat-down ever. . ! Seriously, paint was everywhere! And unlike Niji who has magical powers, the vampires didn't have weapons, only having the cloth-drawn tables as ways to block their attacks and as projectiles, which she'd merely blast. But regardless, it didn't matter what they did or what they threw at her, cause Niji would just hit them even harder, it was hopeless. . ! All the while, she would continuously tease them, asking why aren't they using "their powers?" And in all the commotion, you had to wonder, where was Yui in this? Keeping this part brief because of time

Well, Yui alongside Apollo, was climbing up to the roof of the building. As a part of Niji's plan, once the vampires were defeated, Niji would fly the two away, allowing Yui to leave the vampires' grasp entirely. Obviously, Yui was hesitant but wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like that, so she ran to the rooftop as fast as she could. But before Yui could make it, she gets confronted by a paint-covered Azusa, who saw her heading upstairs and tried to beat her to it, He made one final attempt to convince her to stay with them, saying how things wouldn't the same without her, only to be cut off by Niji, pressing the back of enlarged against his own, threating him not to say another word, forcing him to back off. They proceed sprinted pass him and toward Yui, grabbing her hand once more and guiding her directly to the rooftop

Every moment, Niji just seemed to surprise her more and more, whilst also confusing her at the same time. Why did she do so much for her? For what reason was she being picked out? What did it have to do with being "Eve?" How did they even know she was "Eve?" Yet despite all the questions, a part of her felt. . . relieved, like years-worth of chains were magically being lifted from her body, this was her chance of escape, and she took it without another thought. Arriving on the rooftop, as Niji prepares their paint brush for their escape, Yui grabs ahold of their wrist with both hands, and just thanks them. For, well, everything, for giving her a friend, for saving her from those creepy men, everything, small tears welled up in her eyes as Niji turns and smiles at her, saying it wasn't a problem, before instantly scooping her up, and onto the magical brush

Both of them on basically a broomstick and with Apollo on Niji's shoulder, the two take to the skies, Yui held on for dear life while Niji was as calm as ever. Just before they'd could fully leave, the vampires showed up just at the nick of time, all injured and covered in paint and bruises, already angered but unable to reach them due to them being very much flightless, they were unsurprising powerless, and Niji takes the chance to gloat a bit while they were still in the air

*They giggle*

"Awh~, what's wrong? can't make it up here?~" "You know, if you want her so bad, why don't you just fly up and get her?~" "I've always wanted to see a vampire turn into a bat. . ."

*The bloodthirsty vampires were beyond angry and ready to snap, but from below, they looked like angered little dogs*

Ayato: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO YOU'RE MESSING WITH?! WE'LL RIP YOU APART LIMB FROM LIMB!!!

*Reiji started to bark back as well, his now extremely cracked glasses almost completely fell off his face*

Reiji: IF SOMEONE LIKE YOU HAD ANY BRAIN, YOU'D STOP TREATING THIS AS SOME GAME!! HAND OVER THE MORTAL!!

*Despite the tears rolling down his face and the obvious redness, Azusa tried to stand his ground and act tough*

Azusa: You. . . you big bully. . ! L-let go of Eve, LET GO OF OUR EVE RIGHT NOW!

*Yui's eyes were closed out of fear during the yelling, she wasn't used to being so high up. But just by their voices, she was surprised, she'd never heard them this angry before. . .* *Niji just looks down at them, unimpressed but amused, before laughing*

"Oh no~ I'm so scared!-*hahahah!*" "I knew you would all get mad, but I didn't expect you to be this hotheaded- Oh!- That reminds me!"

*They snap their fingers as warm-colored particles release from their fingertips*

"I left a little surprise for you, think of it as a parting gift!" "Just be careful going downstairs, ok?"

*Within seconds, the brush began to lift higher into the air, Yui holding on all the tighter as she felt it shift*

"Well gentlemen, I think it's time we'd depart. . ." "Terribly sorry it has to end like this, but don't worry. . . We'll take good care of her. . ." "Bhyeeee~!"

And just like that, they were gone. . . The vampires watching speechless, in horror, as the witch shot up into the sky and disappeared, Yui only catches glances of their faces as she, Niji and Apollo flew off. . .

. . .

You still here? Good. . .

As you can probably tell, this's one of my longer posts, and I'm not too confident not many people let alone anyone will read it, but I had a lot of fun writing it so, screw it I guess

Big apology for taking so long, I thought it was going to be easy but man, did it take me longer than I expected, to a point I had to write some parts in school TwT Overall, I did this project for fun, as well as trying to bring in more darker and mature elements to my writing. Despite how time-consuming it was and how trashy the actual anime was, I genuinely enjoyed putting my personal spin on this show and giving it the rewrite it deserves. I'm not entirely sure if or when I'll bring this back, maybe if it gets popular enough-

How I actually found this series is still beyond me though. It really felt like I just looked at the show and went, "yeah, I can fix him. . ."

Anyway, be on the lookout for my other projects And as always, stay tuned^^

[macethelaboratoryrat]

Finished Reading the Idiot

I'm not sure if I like it... but I also love it?? It's so interesting and complex, and I feel like even the stuff I dislike about it has a lot of meaning.

Below is a lot of rambling, so I feel like I need to put the cut here so that the post isn't too long. And since the cut is here, I can say: Spoilers for _The Idiot_ ahead!

First off: not enough Nastasya Fillipovna. It feels like she's described very frequently, by characters and the narrator in a way that demonstrates that she has a deep and interesting character. But her character choices after part one are repetitive and redundant, in a way that makes her character seem much more shallow than it was initially presented.

Secondly: Not enough Rogozhin. I love Rogozhin, he's my favorite character. He's so strange and interesting. I'm not sure I like how mysterious he is, like how he follows people around, but I think that's a personal opinion. (sidebar: everyone is taking the whole love question like it's life or death and I found that very silly *most of the time*) It seemed like he went to prison completely alone, which was really sad. There was something very lonesome about his sentence and him being sent off. There's something very lonesome about Rogozhin in general, despite his "band" of friends or whatever.

I suppose it was good for Dostoevsky to remind us that this whole time, Myshkin is not good nor morally righteous. I think him being "innocent", sickly and "cute" gave off the sense that he could do no wrong. And then he opened his mouth. First with the ranting about Catholics, which was hateful. And then he betrayed Aglaya. So it was a good reminder.

I'm so sad about the Aglaya thing. I didn't think I liked her as a character. Unlike Nastasya Fillipovna, who is presented with depth and proves to be somewhat shallow, Aglaya Ivanovna is presented as a shallow character (the pretty one, without any other virtues) and proceeds to be a very deep and complex character. The point being, I love Aglaya and I feel like she was mistreated, not only by Myshkin, but by her family as well. I don't think this is the Epanchins' fault, I think they were just trying to help and support her. I know Myshkin had better intentions, and he tried to make amends, but he was so committed to her, and he promised he was committed to her, and then essentially abandoned her at a critical moment. This was especially hard for Aglaya because she struggled with her feelings so much-- we can see that by how aloof she is, and how she constantly denies him. I don't necessarily think they should have gotten married, but the way she was treated wasn't fair. I think if Myshkin really was the pathetic little sick boy, who was unrelentingly submitted and in love with her as he presented, and as everyone thought he was, they could have been good together. I feel like we are made to believe, and the characters suggest, that prince Myshkin is shallow, hollow, and childish. In a sense, his character is merely babyish and cute, and his only weaknesses are his stupidity and his illness. But that isn't true. I don't think saying Myshkin has "a dark side" is an accurate description, but he definitely in a grown man, and a realistic human, who is flawed just as an adult man is.

Everyone seems to be running around screaming and then we have Varya and Ptitsyn. I love the normal couple who just decided they were fine being a normal couple. They're just regular people and I love that for them. Varya has such a level head with all this madness.

I thought the hedgehog bit was so funny. Of course Kolya showed up with a hedgehog, that's such a Kolya thing to do. And it wasn't even theirs. What happened to it after everything blew over? I don't know. A hedgehog.

I love Alexandra Ivanovna. She's so funny to me. She doesn't even want to get married. She's just chilling and she's so cute.

Ippolit attempted suicide and everybody said he faked it and did it for attention. That hurt my feelings.

The meaning of life... anyway

I was surprised by the murder, which seems silly in hindsight, given there's always murder. I was actually slightly disinterested through most of the main conflict, because the "who marries who?" didn't interest me. Anyway, that was sad too.

Rogozhin and Myshkin. Their interactions are so interesting. The tension between them is always so high. I love when they interact. I'm struggling to find words to describe it.

Back to Nastasya Fillipovna, I feel like they dropped a lot of her character development after part one. Even Totsky disappeared like it wasn't important.

Why does Lebedev insist that his infant child was born in lawful wedlock? No one asked him. Now it's suspicious.

I'm not sure I know what a "fancier of the female sex" is. Is that a womanizer? A male slut as it were? Because they ask Myshkin if he is one, and he says "no", and I was thinking "haha gay" or whatever. (I know that's not what he was referring to). Anyway, I just shrugged it off until the gathering at the Epanchin's where one of the guests was "a fancier of the female sex". Just wondering the difference between that and a typical heterosexual. I assume it refers to the extent... anyway, small detail, not particularly important.

Again, I wasn't necessarily invested in the tension over their romantic relationships. I haven't made it over to _The Idiot_ tumblr yet (I had tags filtered to prevent spoilers), so what I'm about to suggest is probably already there, and already well tread upon: Nastasya Fillipovna x Rogozhin x Myshkin. Yes, the three of them. I think it would be better if Aglaya stayed out of it. The three of them are a mess and I think they should be contained.

Wild how they made General Ivolgin a tragic character. That was interesting.

This one felt personal, I will say that. It definitely had things to say and... it said them. I think it reads as being very sensationalist, which makes sense because it's a commentary on sensationalism. *my interpretation. The idea of appearances, and not wanting to be "ordinary", but not wanting to be "eccentric" either. I did appreciate the "people will go out of their way to be 'not like other girls', even when they are like other girls. Case in point: Ganya" (inaccurate quote). It was also really a call-out.

I appreciate _The Idiot_, I definitely find it interesting. None of this is meant to read as "this book is bad" or "this character is bad", but more to share my opinion on reading the work and what I gleaned from it. I'll probably read it again. While I was reading it, I was having trouble concentrating, which has nothing to do with the novel itself, just that I may have missed something. I still like TBK and C&P better, because I find the topics more interesting. But yeah, still a good one.

[slowdripsunrise]

BOOK REVIEW AGAINNNNNNN yippee i have actually been reading... not a lot but well i am ! kinda forgot about this blog ok thats not true i was just lazy and didnt want to write a post. well anyways heres a big post for all the stories i read there are 4 - things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca, paradise rot by jenny hval, soft science by franny choi, and the country will bring us no peace by matthieu simard ! spoilers under the cut

ok first i read things have gotten worse since we last spoke because i wanted to go on a little kick of reading weird crazy people books at 3 am. and i did! chose this one because i saw it was very short so. anyways i thought this was.... okay. i think what made it a little worse off for me is that i already knew about the whole parasite thing from tiktok, so it wasnt that crazy to me when it actually happened. gonna be honest i do Not remember how the book ends at all so i dont even know if it was satisfying or not. was my experience worsened by it being 3am and me not having any thoughts at all? probably. would i do it again? yeah. i was a lil bit disappointed in the apple peeler part too... i thought it was going to be more relevant than it was unless there are some hidden symbolism meanings motifs going on that i didnt get... actually now that im thinking about it big long unbroken peels of apple + a big long probably worm-like parasite? next to each other thats kinda cool. other than that thought i literally just had now typing this out i didnt see anything else. omg speaking of seeing the tagline and also its mentioned in the book, "what did you do today to deserve your eyes?" crazy ass fuck sentence. i kinda love it actually and this is maybe where i would have like to see the apple peeler come in. she takes the apple peeler to her face and peels her eyes out of her head idk. also i feel like either on tiktok/goodreads they were supposed to be ballerinas? but that wasnt mentioned at ALL? i might be misremembering but that also could have been a cool little anecdote. anyways all this to say i thought the book was alright. i was entertained for like 2 hours. my favorite part of this experience was going on goodreads after and seeing a one star review of the book that just said "men stop writing trauma porn about lesbians." which is SO FUCKING FUNNY. because 1 im pretty sure the author is nonbinary, so hes not a man. 2. WHO IS GETTING OFF TO THIS. sorry i do absolutely not see any fetishization here, and also i think they write stories like this in like collections,, so there are probably people other than lesbians in them. idk i just thought that was funny. jesus christ this is getting long and i'm only 1/4 done. i pity anyone who opens this.

next i read paradise rot by jenny hval, which i had heard was dubbed the "bisexual piss book" intriguing and also a short little story i read at 3am. i did like this one, i thought it was fun and interesting and im a big fan of rot. just in general. vibes were on point. this book was moist. however, not as much piss as i expected. as in like quantities on page. they did talk about piss a lot and by they i mean the narrator. not as horror-esque as i thought it would be but i did like it! ohhh to simply rot away...... would not recommend this to normal people and i like that about it.

soft science by franny choi !!!! really liked this! im going to be honest i do not remember more than one poem from this collection. but i do remember liking them !!! sorry i think i need to train my brain to like and remember poetry more. and not just like the ones from tumblr webweaves even though all of them slay.

finally i read the country will bring us no peace by matthieu simard. i liked this, thought it was super interesting,,, ok i didnt think it was super interesting i thought it was good. god i am trying to program myself out of academic reviews of stupid dumbass books i was forced to read. this isn't like that at all. anyways i thought the whole grief aspect was done very well, the sadness at knowing literally nothing will work or come together to make your life go back to the way it was, go back to being whole again. and that deep deep sadness of not only losing their daughter but also the life they had before, the life they had with each other,,, losing all hope. it definitely got to me i did almost cry i think. i think i have more to say about this but i don't remember it. oh well. i thought the vibes of a hostile small mountain town were cool ! i think one of my favorite scenes was when the lavoie's kid falls from the antenna and they are just standing there doing nothing and simon has to go save him... idk the fact that they were shown as perfect parents for their perfect children and how not great they actually were <- this thought is dumb and obvious you get what im saying. one of my main issues is that the ending did feel rushed... and i was a bit confused,,,, the last line "a bird starts to sing" i couldn't tell if that was meant to be marie and simon hearing birds in the afterlife, in the woods by the bowling alley? or was that just the birds in the town finally starting to sing? because if its the latter i don't really get how simon and marie dying would bring the birds back.. the town is still dying and tragedies will still happen... idk its probably the birds in the afterlife but oh well. ok final thought i think but i think the title in french is interesting. it's called "ici, ailleurs" which means "here, elsewhere" or more like "here, something better. here, a new beginning." i like that, obviously it's what the book is about, and idk i think the translator did a good job at conveying the message. i think i would read this book again but in french, mostly to practice because my french is shit but i think since it only really stays in one setting, there's not a lot of characters, concepts are pretty easy to understand, i think it would be fun !!!! ok im done those are my reviews of all the books ive read in the past week or so thanks to anyone who reads this whole thing you are crazy. peace and love

[ihaveasolutionbutyouwontlikeit]

Juice, by Tim Winton.

A book with no chapters and many truths.

The meatiest book I have read in a number of years and I really truly enjoyed all 513 of it's pages.

Spoilers ahead as I like to write out sentences and paragraphs that draw me to quote them to then digitally note them, if only for that singular enjoyable moment of noting them down with a nice pen on some nice paper and then relive it by putting it here

Having common interest isn't the same as having interests in common.

Virtue lies in our power, and so does vice; because where it is in our power to act,it is also in our power not to act.

Life is always hard. But didn't you think you'd been born into the best of all possible worlds?

As if saying the names of things might bring them to life. And maybe me as well. You know there's no magic in it. It can't be done, can it. But you do it anyway, because it's all you have in the face of extinction. Nattering, naming, uttering.

From each according to her ability, to each according to her needs.

Kept my head down. Met the perennial challenges...with the stoicism I'd been raised with. I tried to submit. Believed I was content. But I guess that's what you tell yourself when you're disenchanted to the point of heartbreak. Maybe it was unhealthy, that craving I'd developed. The need for action. Or the loss of a greater purpose. It's no easy thing, returning to the patterns and habits of mind you've known since childhood. But there's no shame in making soil and growing food, right? Sorrow burns so hot and bright at first. Then you tamp it down so hard you barely feel it anymore. Still, it smoulders on regardless.

You don't think things are getting harsher?... You know,exiled from the spring of living water and the shelter of the tree?

Son, she said. The cave was a refuge of course. But every refuge is a form of captivity. We were cast out from the dark into the light, emerging from beneath the earth to be on it. We came down onto the plain i n t o paradise, not from it... Plains life is not for everyone, but it's where I found myself, how I've learnt to live...

I offered her a smile. But within myself, I felt unmoored and lonely.

You keep fucking around, going sideways.

Sometimes, to go forward, you need to make a detour.

Was it worth it? To scrape the world clean even if it meant peeling off your own flesh and blood?

Maybe I'd drawn it. Or maybe my father. Perhaps as a girl she'd drawn it herself. The important thing is, she carried it. And now it's me carrying it. We've consecrated it. Made it an icon, you understand? This was her gift to me. There's love in that.

But you and me. Have we never been used as instruments? Those of us who served. We wanted something pure. We dreamt of a world of fair-dealing and open prospects. The best for the most. We were prepared to make sacrifices for it. We thought that if our suffering was for the common good, then it was just a detail along the way and now it seems the details are all we amount to. This is not despair, comrade. Because I don't despair. I won't. But that doesn't mean I don't mourn.

A wonderful no frills and no nonsense works about the fight to retain your humanity and survive in a world fighting to survive by seperating you from it. -\\|//-

[nataliaphantomhivesblog]

Corruption & Trust

Stormbringer and bsd spoilers in general ahead so read at your own risk!!

So in this post I will be listing all the times Chuuya used corruption and all the times Dazai was there to stop it. I will also go into depth as to why Chuuya trusts Dazai when it comes to having to use corruption and I will also emphazise on Dazai's care and how he takes corruption seriously.

1. First time using corruption: Stormbringer

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 16 yrs old

"Isn't it an unpleasant sight, Chuuya."

It was a young boy. This young boy casually caught hold of Chuuya's arm and lifted it up. With this movement, the gravitational field which had occured around them disappered immediatly. As well as Chuuya’s agony.

"Y...You..."

"You can't even die gracefully can you?" the young boy said in a raspy voice as he heaved Chuuya on his shoulders. He set off to walk.

Alright so this was the first time Chuuya's corruption was ever activated, after Dazai nullifies it and carries Chuuya on his back, he drops him off outside the bar were Chuuya's friends lay dead. He took him there instead of taking him directly to the port mafia quarters.

Why did he do that exactly? If Dazai doesn't care for Chuuya, then why did he give Chuuya the opportunity to pay farewell to his dying friends?

It's actually sort of funny because I don't really think Dazai really realizes or accepts that he feels a certain connection with Chuuya and therefore looks after him.

2. Second time using Corruption: Stormbringer

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 16 yrs old (obviously, its still the same light novel lol)

After losing his strength, Chuuya drifted in the air for a few seconds, then lost the black wings on his back and slowly fell.

Dazai caught his body.

From the spot where Dazai touched, the nulification skill was activated.

The self-contradictory skill that supports the energy of the singular point receded, and the output of the singular point decreased. Eventually, it converged and the "gate" closed. The red imprints disappeared from Chuya's whole body. Eventually, the gravitational field disappeared and the complete silence was restored.

“Good job, Chuuya." Dazai chuckled, looking at Chuuya he was holding in his arms. "I forgot to bring my ink pen, so I'll spare you from having your face scribbled."

As much as it looks like this is from a fanfiction, I can assure you that it's an actual passage from stormbringer.

I can't really say much except the fact that Dazai is being extremely soft here.

And this was the conversation Dazai and Chuuya shared beforehand:

"There is one problem." Dazai cut off his sentence hesitantly. "It has nothing to do with the sucess rate of the plan. It is a matter we have to overcome in the end but... It may require some time to decide."

"What's with you?" Chuuya raised his eyebrows at Dazai. "Stop dramatizing it. Just hurry up and say it."

"I said earlier about this control spell to open the 'gate' that is used to reset the command inside Chuuya, right?" Dazai spoke with a strangely restrained voice. "If we use that, the logs of the command formula that were written in the past will be erased. That means...even if the memory erasure was used on Chuuya in the past, the traces of that will be erased as well."

"What?"

"I told you before right? the memory erasure command. The only way we can confirm if Chuuya is human or not is to check the history to see if the memory erasure command was ever used. It means..." Dazai looked at Chuuya with eyes that he had never looked at him before. Those eyes were serious. "If we use that control spell, the method to confirm if Chuuya is an artificial personality created by a string of code, or just a normal human being, will be lost. For good."

The time had stopped.

Chuuya opened his eyes and looked towards Dazai but his eyes were not seeing anything. The wind blew between the two of them. Even so, Chuuya did not blink.

"Verlaine became like that because he was tormented by the curse that he was not human. That only is enough of a big problem. The matter of being human or not." Dazai looked at his pocket watch, gave it a glance and continued. "I can delay the time until the plan starts for about two minutes. I will send an order for my men to wait... You can think about it alone for a while. Cuz I guess its hard for you to collect your thoughts with me around."

Having said so, Dazai turned away and walked down the stairs, leaving Chuuya alone.

Dazai fixated in his pocket watch. Two more minutes. Too short for a life decision. But he couldn't afford more than that.

Inside Dazai's head, he was planning a procedure to swith to an alternative plan in case Chuuya refused, at a tremendous speed.

After this exchange, Chuuya does decide on using corruption. I have talked about this section on a previous post of mine, and I just love it so much. For starters, I think this conversation that these two shared is very important to their characters.

For Chuuya, it shows us how undeniably selfless he is. He would rather save the people of Yokahama instead of finding out something that meant a lot to him. He sacrificed his own desires to save the people he cares about.

For Dazai its a completely different story, in this exchange Dazai was able to openly express genuine concern for his partner. He also understands the gravity of the decision Chuuya has to take and therefore leaves the decision up to him.

Third time using corruption: Dragon's Head Conflict

Chuuya and Dazai' s age: 16 yrs old

During this one, Chuuya demands to know where his friends are, and Shibusawa says all six of them killed themselves after being caught. Enraged, Chuuya activates Corruption which ultimatley ended the 88 day conflict.

There isn't much to say about Dazai and Chuuya here since there isn't really an aftermath on this occasion but I bealive this picture is enough.

Before reading the DA manga, I genuienly thought that the only time Chuuya ever rested on Dazai's lap was when they were 22 but this proved me wrong.

I mean this is a minimal thing to point out but if Dazai disregarded Chuuya he would've just left him there, right? But instead he remained with Chuuya and allowed him to rest on his lap, in the picture you can also see he is putting Chuuya's hat back on. It's such a simple gesture but it shows us how caring Dazai can be when it comes to Chuuya using corruption.

Fourth time using corruption: Lovecraft Battle, Double Black reunion

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 22 yrs old

This is personally one of my favorite times in which Chuuya uses corruption. The fact that these two had not been working together for 4 years yet they still managed to not only accomplish their mission, but mantain their trust for one another.

I find what Chuuya says here extremely ironic because if anything, the choice has always been up to him. Dazai always uses corruption as a last-resort trick and its always Chuuya who makes the final decision of using it or not, even in a life or death situation Dazai won't take it upon himself to force Chuuya to make the decision if they will be using it or not, and hes always willing to come up with an alternative plan in case Chuuya refuses. (an example of this is when Chuuya used corruption for the 2nd time in SB).

I think the reason as to why Dazai takes corruption extremely seriously is because during stormbringer he was the first person to even see Chuuya use corruption and also the person who understood how corruption will always be sort of like a burden to Chuuya, since it was thanks to corruption that his "am I human?" question stayed unanswered.

He knows how it feels to struggle with your own humanity and he doesn't want for Chuuya (who he literally sees as human), to hold that inner conflict with himself because of corruption.

Anyways, Chuuya decides to go through corruption trusting that Dazai will be there to nullify it.

And of course, Dazai does nullify it.

And after Dazai nullifies corruption, we get this very touching moment between both of them.

This is the first time Chuuya openly admits to trusting Dazai, although it was always evident that he trusts him, I just love how open he is being here.

Also the light punch he gives to Dazai's chest is such a sweet gesture, I see it as a silent way for Chuuya to say "I trust you because after all this time I still see you as my partner."

Dazai's smile in that small pannel is one of the most genuine expression we have gotten out of him. What he says is also a very sweet, I love that he calls him partner. The fact that these two are literally in rival organizations yet Dazai still calls him partner, it shows us that even after all these years he still can't help but see him the same way as he has always done.

Actually in Japanese he calls him "Aibou" and from my understanding, when you use the term Aibou it's for someone who you consider yourself to be close with. It means "partner" like in english but it holds a deeper meaning. If Dazai used the word "nakama" it would have been a very diffrent story since it means partner as well but it isn't used for someone you share a significant connection with. Asagiri's play with words here says a lot.

Fifth time using corruption: Dead Apple

Chuuya and Dazai's age: 22yrs old.

Of course I have to talk about one of the most iconic moments in the history of Soukoku.

Chuuya uses corruption to save Dazai, even if Ango says that he's dead for sure. Something I find very intresting here though is that Chuuya screams for Dazai while he is on corruption, he is obviously not supposed to be self concious about the whole situation, while on Corruption clearly he is not supposed to be in sane state of mind, as we all here know, Chuuya loses control and does not have the track of reality while under his own ability but this time, while using corruption, the one and only thing that was on his mind was "Dazai."

It wasn't only Chuuya who entrusted his life to Dazai, Dazai too entrusted his life in Chuuya's hands. When Dazai came up with this plan, he was more than certain that Chuuya was going to save him. And I think a tumblr blog pointed this out but when Chuuya uses curroption, he cannot control his strength, but when he had to punch Dazai he did it lightly, which is strange considering he was using curroption and it would've made a lot more sence if Dazai ended up decapitated due to being punched by a literal god. Dazai had to have faith in the fact that Chuuya will somehow be able to control corruption, even if its just a little bit.

Afterwards when Chuuya manages to rescue Dazai, Dazai gently touches his cheek to nullify corruption and greets him with, "You used Corruption believing in me? I am so touched I could cry." Chuuya groans, and replies that yes he did, that he believed in his disgusting vitality and craftiness.

When they both fall to the ground, Dazai forces Chuuya to rest in his lap because he didn't want to have to protect him from this situation since the fog is still up and Chuuya himself is all worn out and wouldn't be able to fight. But heres the thing, both Chuuya and Dazai's abilities can't be seperated by the fog. I mean Dazai's ability is nulification so it basically cancels out, and Chuuya hosts a literal god inside him so it isn't really an ability if you know what I mean.

So in reality, Dazai just wanted Chuuya to rest. Dazai could've literally just left Chuuya in the fog if he was only using him for his goals, but he was genuienly appreciating Chuuya's trust in him. The way Dazai's hand is resting on Chuuya's hair is a nice gesture too, he is greatful for him and he is moved that someone trusts him, it is shown throughout the Fifthteen and SB light novel that no one trusted Dazai and how most were afraid to even approach him. And in the ADA, everyone is somewhat warry around him (excluding Atsushi ofc). But Chuuya literally puts his life on the line trusting that Dazai will always be there to save him. He trusts him greatly and Dazai knows that, and I think its pretty clear to us that he would never want to break that trust.

The fact that Chuuya trusts Dazai even after he left the Port Mafia without an explanation or goodbye shows us how strong their bond is. Chuuya most likely trusts Dazai because deep down he knows that he isn't using Chuuya's ability out of his own selifshness, a part of him is aware that Dazai uses corruption as a last resort but he just doesn't want to admit it, and I feel like he also trusts him subconciously because of how gentle Dazai is after Chuuya uses corruption.

I really hope we get to see more of these "corruption moments" because in all honesty, these moments are the ones that bring out the most vulenrability for both characters. The moment corruption is used, we see the inmeasurable amount of trust and care these two have for each other that they won't show in other situations. During these times it always shines a very open and bittersweet light on their bond and I love it so much.

[vtoriacore]

i love your clingy hcs they were soo good! can i get some hcs of shuichi crushing on reader pls tyy

✧ he’s in deep!

note: i wasn't sure if you wanted this to be in the killing game, high school au but i assume anything is fine ehe. i hope you enjoy this piece and sorry for the long wait anon!

warning: spoilers ahead because danganronpa v3 is just one massive spoiler so read at your own risk~

note: in which shuichi has a hard time stopping his feelings developing for you, the reader.

it all started when you were the second person to ever believe in his detective abilities in the game

when the first case, rantaro's murder, rolled around you were unbelievably supportive and tried to help as much as you could

it was somehow eye-opening to shuichi and he learned that he loved the feeling of having your attention on him, loved how you'd always be impressed by the way he quickly connected the dots, loved how you always defended him when the others tried to diminish any confidence he had gained

shuichi has never been good with expressing feelings, not when the game started and not now, when he's full on facing you as you discuss the current case

although he feels terrible for not being able to fully pay attention to your words, surely the attention he's paying to the way your rosy lips move makes up for it?

shuichi gets very distracted when his crush does anything really, world war three could break out and all he would think is '[name] looks very nice today'

if you want him to fully pay attention to whatever you're saying, you'd seriously have to grab him by the chin and force him to look into your eyes or else you'd be sitting/standing in your current position all day trying to get him to remember just one sentence

but that would come at a price too, you see, any physical contact pretty much sets shuichi's cheeks alight

your hands accidentally touch? he's stuttering

you whisper something into his ear so no one else hears? you'll feel the heat radiating off the tips of his now crimson ears

you smile at him for longer than the others? he's practically already melting in his spot

this initial 'hardcore crush stage' can last for quite some time, or at least before he grows more confident in himself

if you're a naturally flirty person who loves to tease however, you'll get those reactions every time

bonus points if shuichi knows you know what you're doing to him

it doesn't matter how oblivious you are, you will definitely pick up on the fact that shuichi is into you

he just makes it that obvious without even meaning to

not only that, you'll see people like kokichi teasing him for it and others like kaito encouraging him to ask you out

by that point, you're either crushing on him too or you're starting to

since shuichi is perceptive, he will pick up on romantic cues but might disregard them as something platonic because old habits die hard you know? he's still insecure and would only really believe you like him back if you directly confessed

it would be a lie if shuichi said he hasn't fantasised about you two being together because he totally has, every night before going to sleep and every morning after he wakes up

this boy is literally the sheer definition of pining for someone, with that lovestruck gaze and soft smile playing at his lips every time you two interact

even if it's something as trivial as a 'hey, how are you?' it still gets his heart beating at a fast rate

he will always be flustered to some degree whenever you're around, and he will always get the urge to show off in any way he can

if your attention is on someone else for a tad too long, he will literally deflate in a matter of seconds

even the ultimate detective shuichi, who believes in logic and figures isn't immune to jealousy

his rational side will always tell him that you're free to do as you like but his heart always feels that little twinge of pain whenever you seem to be having fun without him

of course, it's his insecurity talking but he can't really help it

it might build up to the point where shuichi will draw back a bit (as much as it pains him to) so it will be your mission to lift his spirits back up and when you do, boy oh boy will he be a lot more confident and clingy because of how much he missed you

please nonchalantly hold his hand, hug him, reassure him that he's still your favourite and please just pay attention to him

this might give him the confidence he needs to confess so the pining days will be over