#i might not warn for next time i spoil something so beware if you think of followin me

[sushi6top]

SPOILERS FOR THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR AHEAD

!

!

!

!

!

The shadow queen as a normal siren this was fun to make!

[unreleasedwrites]

I LOVED the gitae fic it was so good😔🙏 We need part two where Maybe he feels pity for us and takes us out to eat or smth, you do the magic im bad at writing lmao 🤧

Thank uuu♡♡♡♡

A Planned Coincidence (pt. 1) (pt. 2)

“Where’s the fun in spoiling it? How about I show you instead?”

summary: You’ve been stuck in the same warehouse you woke up in about three weeks ago, and no matter what plan you would make to escape— it’s no use and you’d only get in trouble. One of the times you did try with Gitae around, he had to clean up after you and the topic of your friends came up and so you begged to meet them. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned and you ended up ignoring Gitae for days. Eventually, he decided he’d take you out in hopes you’d finally speak to him.

character(s) included: Gitae Kim x fem!reader

cw: swearing, implied kidnapping, very toxic, same warnings as my first gitae fic (part 1) , yandere gitae, mentions of blood, death, kissing, suggestive, nicknames, cartel mentions, this is FICTIONAL, abuse, mentions of drugs, guns, his axe, implied cannibalism, a bunch of crimes so beware dark and possibly disturbing content

unwrapped on: Tuesday Morning, April 30 2024

wrapped up on: Friday Evening, May 03 2024

published on: Friday Evening, May 03 2024

“You tired of playin’ these stupid fucking games yet, doll?” Gitae said in an agitated tone, as he held your bruised hand and covered it in bandages. Afterwards, he planted a light kiss on top.

You remained dead silent and only looked towards the ground of the warehouse you were trapped in. You accidentally injured yourself in another one of your escape attempts, so here Gitae was, taking "care" of you once again with some condescending mockery.

“Well? Now you’re gonna go and play the quiet game with me, huh?” He said with a slightly more irritated expression on his face.

“Look at me when i’m speaking to you.” He said and he grabbed your chin to meet eye to eye with him, and you could tell he looked angry. He tightened his grip on your already bruised hand, causing you to yelp in pain from how much pressure was applied.

“Gitae.. I-I—, I was wondering if yo—” You were trying to speak when a few rounds of open fire suddenly interrupted you. You flinched and a visibly frightened expression was evident on your face. Gitae saw this and took you into his arms to face him, while on his lap so that he could straddle you and stroke your hair.

“Sorry about the noise, little girl. Just part of my men’s duties, I’ll let them know to keep it down though,” he said in a less irritated tone.

“Back to where we left at earlier.. Why do you keep tryna fucking escape?” He said in a slightly more raised tone.

“To leave..? Isn’t the answer to that question already kind of already a given?” You replied.

“Leave?” He scoffed, “and just where exactly would a little girl like you go? If I can recall, the friends you came to Mexico have gone missing.. And technically, you’re now known as a missing person, just like your four other friends.”

“Gitae, I hate to have to ask but— Did you have anything to do with those disappearances by chance? You’re speaking as though you know all about it and from what I’ve seen in the past few days..”

He cut you off and laughed, “did I? I thought that was already a given from when I took you here, was it not?”

“I think I get it now, I’m next.. Aren’t I?” You replied.

“What? When the hell did I ever hint something even close to that? I was talking about your little friends, they’re alive, but let me just tell you now that they won’t be for very long if you keep continuing this bullshit of trying to leave me.”

“They’re alive—? Where are they?! Can I please, pleaseee see them, pretty pleaseee??” You begged with your usual pouty face.

“It’s hard to say no when you say it like that,” he said as he held your cheeks together with his hand, “if you’re good for the rest of the day, I might consider it. How’s that for a deal, doll?”

“Deal!” You exclaimed and he tapped his cheek with his finger a few times while saying, “but first~?”

You then tried to give him a kiss on the cheek but he swiftly turned his head so that your lips would land on his instead, and it worked. Despite your situation, you turned into a blushing hot mess and Gitae simply laughed at your reaction, thinking “how cute.”

A little fast forward into that same day, the sun was finally setting, so you may finally get to see your friends again. You waited patiently in the warehouse, sat on top of some boxes, reading the books Gitae gave you to pass time while he was out doing who knows what.

Some kind of bell or alarm started to ring and from what you’ve been observing in the past three weeks, that alarm means that it’s around 8 or 9 in the evening, where most of Gitae’s “men” go out to do unspeakable acts that you’ve witnessed at some point.

Usually, This was around the time you’d try escaping the warehouse because everyone was way too busy to watch over you and most of the men there have left the warehouse, getting on some sketchy vehicles with all sorts of equipment, weaponry, and drugs. The remaining people were either asleep or high in the clouds.

But when you start to see the men leave, you’d usually start to see the second batch of men arrive with Gitae. You’ve noticed a pattern where half of the men go out with Gitae during the day and the rest of the men go out during the night and what similarity both batches shared was that they all came back bloody, smelling really odd, and sometimes Gitae would bring you what he calls a souvenir,— human flesh from one of his victims. Anytime Gitae would do that, you just ignored him for the next hour or two, depending on just how much his patience is willing to endure from you being a so called “brat.”

But, it was around 8 in the evening when the bell had rang, and now it’s past midnight. Yet you haven’t seen or heard from Gitae at all.

Reluctantly, you finally resorted to asking the men around to which they only replied with stuff like, “just give him another half hour and he’ll be here. He’s probably just ran into some trouble with a gang fight or somethin like that.”

One of the men was nice enough to give you some paper that you used to make little bookmarks for the various books you had.

Gitae usually takes you to sleep with him in one of the compartments of the warehouse that led to a bedroom, but since he wasn’t here and you had no idea on how to get in there, you fell asleep on the floor beside some boxes.

You woke up the next morning when you overheard a bunch of men who sounded like they were arguing. And weirdly enough, you were on the bed in the hidden compartment of the warehouse, with Gitae fast asleep beside you. His breathing was steady and he looked tired so you decided to just look around and take mental notes of what the room looked like. It was very different from the rest of the warehouse and was pretty cozy. Gitae’s usual leather jacket was hung on a chair nearby and you noticed some of his belongings on the table. One of which, was a gun. It had you thinking if you wanted to risk your entire life, jumping off the bed to get the gun which was on his side of the room, and shoot him blank.

But that was stupid, what about all the men outside? Gitae told you he isn’t a fan of silencers on his personal guns. They’ll definitely rush over thinking that you in fact, did something— because they all know that Gitae wouldn’t dare hurt you to such a foul extent.

So, you scratched that thought and looked at the door, where does that lead? You thought to yourself. Before you could even continue thinking as you were sat up on the bed, you heard Gitae suddenly start speaking in a raspy morning voice, “what are you up to, little girl? Shouldn’t you still be asleep in my arms?” You turned over to see Gitae, with messy morning hair, not in his usual state of a few loose strands with his hair slicked back.

“Nothing, I was jus-” You stopped for a moment when you saw Gitae sit up and reach for his gun, “doll, could you riddle me this,” he said.

You nodded in response and he spoke as he loaded his gun, “did you try to escape in any form and at any time yesterday?”

He looked you dead in the eye while readjusting compartments of his gun, you lost focus and started to stare at his hands fiddling around with the gun to which he suddenly snapped his fingers, “my eyes are up here, what did I tell you yesterday?” His eyes narrowed and you responded with, “to always look you in the eye when you speak..?”

“Correct. Now, answer.” He slowly finished prepping his gun.

“I didn’t, you could ask the men out there for proof of that.” You said.

“I already did, they told me you were finding me last night? Is that true, my pretty doll?” He said as he caressed your face.

“Well, you were taking much longer than expected to arrive.. A-and you did tell me that if I was good for the rest of the day, I’d get to meet my friends..” You said hesitantly.

“Right.. About those little friends of yours,” he spoke as he placed the gun on the table and your eyes widened, “what about them..?”

“Hoho, do you wanna find out for yourself?” He said with a smirk on his face.

“Gitae.. What do you mean..?”

“Where’s the fun in spoiling it? How about I show you instead?”

“Fine then,” you replied.

Gitae stood up from the bed and so did you, it was still about 4 in the morning so it was cold outside of the bedroom, which is why Gitae put his leather jacket on you since you weren’t wearing much.

He unlocked the door with some sort of key that he took from a high shelf you couldn’t reach for yourself. Before he even swung the door open after unlocking it, he took a blindfold and placed it on you first, something that typically happens whenever you guys were going to leave the bedroom. From there he just carries you to the main open area of the warehouse to which he then takes the blindfold off once you’ve arrived around the usual boxes you stay at.

“So.. Where are they??” You asked visibly confused, tilting your head to the side as you looked up at Gitae.

“Silly girl, they aren’t here.. They’re at some other location we’ll be driving to,” he replied as he looked at one of the men who usually drove you and Gitae around. To which that man immediately left, starting up one of the cars that were outside.

“Awh, but it’s so early.. It doesn’t even look like it’s 5 in the morning, why would you suggest we go now..?” You pouted as you looked at Gitae, because of how sleepy you were he had to hold you with one of his hands to keep you from falling.

“Don’t worry, sleeping beauty— It’s a few hours to get to where they’re at, so you could just sleep on me in the meantime.” He replied as he carrier you once again and took you to the car.

He positioned you on his lap to face him and you settled your head in the crook of his neck, slowly drifting away. He gave you kisses on the top of your head and stroked your hair while you gently caressed his shoulders. You fell asleep easily and stayed in the same position.

Eventually, the car parked at some hidden area which appeared to be in a secluded part of a forest. You were still asleep when you guys arrived so Gitae started pressing kisses all over you. You started feeling ticklish from all of it and woke up.

Not even sure how you guys got here because you didn’t see a road to drive on but you didn’t question it.

“Good morning doll~ We’ve arrived, would you like to finally meet your little friends?” Gitae asked you, who was still sleepy and had woken up from a good dream, still not processing anything.

You simply nodded and clung onto Gitae’s shirtless body because you were too tired to even try getting up and walking.

Gitae carried you with ease and walked towards what appeared to be a pretty run down building, but what it specifically looked like was a blur to you because of how out of it you still were at the time.

An awful stench was evident from the exact moment you were in the building. A loud screech coming from a girl was heard all throughout the large building, echoing amongst the floors. The voice sounded a little too familiar, almost as if it were one of your friends producing a vile screech, a desperate scream for urgent help. The echo suddenly came to a stop without repeating the rest of the noise. Gitae tried to assure you that was someone else but it was no use, you were in an environment you’ve never been in before, hearing all sorts of things. You were terrified and started to both panic and cry, while you were still in Gitae’s arms. He started to get irritated with how your current state was, he even threatened to hit you if you didn’t stop screaming and crying, trying to get away from him. You ran off into some other part of the large building, hiding from him. At first, he was annoyed but decided to play your little game of hide and seek. But, couldn’t find you and so he started to punch different walls, some of which collapsed in an attempt to find you easier and to get you out.

He couldn’t take it anymore and pulled out his axe, he said that you had exactly 5 seconds to reveal yourself or this wouldn’t end well.

“This is a stupid fucking game, Y/N. 5,” he started his countdown, “4,” and you knew better than to disobey, so hesitantly “3,” you started to leave your hiding spot to reveal yourself, “2,” before he could even reach 1, you were on your knees behind him, sobbing.

“Gi-Gitae, please..” You sniffled, “I already have gotten a good idea of what you did with them, so please.. I don’t need to see it for myself.”

He scoffed, “after you just ran and hid from me? Yeah, I don’t fucking think so.” He grabbed you by your hair harshly and dragged you to the basement floor. And that’s where you saw another nightmare right in front of you, from the scene of the group of men who attacked you, to your own closest friends, all dead.

Except one of them, she was your closest friend in the entire group and she was completely unharmed. But had to closely witness all that was done to the other girls. She was tied up with chains and from what you know, her voice was the noise you heard earlier.

Which had you wondering, why did her screaming suddenly stop? But instead of focusing on that, you looked over to Gitae who has never looked so angry before. His grip on your hair was only becoming tighter as you tried pleading with him.

You were terrified to know that in any second, Gitae could literally crush your skull with his bare hands if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Gitae suddenly let go of the grasp he had on your hair and looked down on you, “I’m letting you know in advance that what happens next is thanks to you being such a brat.” He then struck his axe at your friend, multiple agonizing times while the one man that was there forced you to watch, holding you at gunpoint and purposely turning your head in the direction of both Gitae and your friend.

Gitae looked back at you after he struck your friend with his axe so many times that she’s no longer recognizable, you were a sobbing, pitiful, and distressed mess. You were screaming at him, begging him to stop, all the while trying to break free from the man’s harsh grip on you but it was no use and you couldn’t do anything at all.

I won’t go into too many details but it was extremely gruesome and gut wrenching. By the time Gitae finally decided he was finished, he threw the axe at your direction, purposely missing by just an inch to slightly scar your neck (since you were moving around a lot, it just barely scraped the side of your neck).

You yelped, Gitae then took a part of her flesh, and bit it— but unlike the last time, he ate this entirely and licked his fingers clean. He then spoke out “clean this place up, (insert name of man who was holding you).” To which the guy nodded and finally let go of you, you fell immediately to the ground and continued sobbing, you were twitching at this point from how terrified you were.

Gitae then looked over to you, he’s seen you upset but he’s never seen you this upset before. He looked back at the girl he had just mauled and at the other girls that were laying dead on the floor. That’s weird, he was starting to feel— bad for you?

Gitae spoke with someone on the phone and after, he carried you to the car. You never stopped sobbing and you were trembling as Gitae had you on his lap, facing his blood scattered face and body. He was trying his best to comfort you but you were ignoring him. Eventually, the car started to move and you knew this was gonna be a long ride, but you just kept on sniffing while your head was nestled in between the crook of his neck. He took the hint that you really weren’t gonna talk to him at all, so he stroked your hair with his unstained hand while you silently sobbed, clinging onto him so tightly that it left marks on his body. He also bandaged up the tiny scar you got coming from his axe.

A few days had passed and you still hadn’t spoken to Gitae no matter how many times he tried or how much he threatened you.

He was fed up, but he had an idea that might just work. He decided he’d take you out for dinner at one of the places that had gambling addicts so no staff would care. He hadn’t told you all about his plan yet but he had some guy book a reservation and he went out to buy you a little gift. You didn’t know of any of this because you couldn’t understand Spanish so you were just reading books in the corner.

He went out to buy you some clothes that he was badly hoping you’d like. He bought you more sleepwear and a cute outfit that you could wear on your little date with him. He bought some more things you mentioned you like, like some more books he knows nothing about.

He arrived back at the warehouse at around 5:30 in the evening and asked you to come with him, he blindfolded you and brought you to a bathroom. It was much nicer than the usual bathroom and you were assuming that this was another compartment of the warehouse.

He told you to shower, and you nodded in response. But, he was just standing at the doorway, staring at you. So you just stood there.

“Well?” He rose a brow, “I thought you wanted a shower, what are you doing just standing there?”

You gulped and finally spoke for the first time in days, “d-do you really.. have to watch..?”

He looked you up and down, “either I watch or join you, take your pick.” You remained silent, you didn’t want either of that.

He scoffed and put the blindfold on you once again, you could hear him fiddling with his belt and clothes rustling. After, he started to undress you as well, disposing of your clothes in the trash.

He turned on the running water in the bathtub and while it filled, he was doing some things but you couldn’t see so you had no idea. He took you into his arms and the next thing you felt was pure water, you haven’t showered in a while so this was a bliss. He took your blindfold off and to your surprise, you were on top of him in the bathtub. He gently sunk you into the water, and laid you on his figure, showering your hair with water.

He then applied different products on your hair and massaged your scalp. after he finished washing your hair and body, he started fondling around with your body.

“Your skin is so soft, doll,” he said as he played with your boobs. You lightly moaned from what he was doing and he smirked, “you like that, don’t you?” You subconsciously bucked your hips in response which caused him to twitch down there. You could feel his dick on you and he started aggressively kissing you. Things escalated and you ended up having to take a second bath.

“Doll~, I forgot to mention it because you riled me up so much earlier that I lost the chance to— butt, we’re going out tonight and I bought you some clothes.” Gitae said as he took out some unfamiliar clothes from the shelf and started to dress you while he was still in a towel.

After you were fully dressed, he smiled at you and commented, “you look adorable, just like a doll.”

Afterwards, he got dressed and was finally wearing something other than just jeans. He was wearing black pants and a formal shirt. You thought he looked handsome in his outfit so you commented, “you look handsome, Gitae,” you giggled. He chuckled and planted light kisses on the top of your head.

You guys then went out and arrived at some nice and flashy building. It was weird at first, you couldn’t possibly fathom why he would do this. Either way, you just went it.

“Well?” Gitae suddenly spoke as you were sat across from him, in a nice restaurant.

“Thank you,” you replied as you looked around the secluded spot you guys were sat at.

Gitae sighed, “still not happy?” He frowned.

You simply looked at him, pouting. To which he pouted back at you mockingly.

The food eventually arrived and Gitae wanted you to try some of his rare practically live ass steak, so he fed you some of it with his fork. You made a dissatisfied face and he laughed at your reaction. He loves the way you react to absolutely anything, he finds it adorably irresistible.

“Thank you,” you said as you were about halfway done with your meal.

“I don’t care for words, you silly little girl. How about you just show me your appreciation after dinner?” He said with a smirk.

You didn’t take the hint and so you asked, “how?”

He laughed at your response, “I’ll give you a better idea once we’re in the car, and once were back in bed, you continue wherever we left off in the car.” Your eyes narrowed until you finally understood what he meant to which you looked at him with a pout while you were chewing your food.

“What kinds of food do you like?” Gitae suddenly asked as he looked at your food then at you.

You shrugged, “I’m not really picky, but I do have my preferences and dislikes.. For instance, that steak you’re eating or any sort of steak.”

He looked at his food, “it’s delicious, how could you not like it?”

“We have wayyyy different diets, I’ve seen you eat raw meats of all sorts you bastard.”

“Awh, how am I bastard?” He pouted, but deep inside he was amused and enjoying this.

“Because of your question about food! I suddenly had a flashback about my friend, whom you took a bite of!” You said, somewhat sarcastically because you know how moody Gitae is and you didn’t want him to get angry at you again.

He just laughed, “I remember that, she tasted alright too, I should’ve had seconds.” You rolled your eyes and he was only more amused and said, “but because of your whining and puffy eyes, I had no choice but to leave as soon as I finished the job. Such a pity.”

“Hey, would it kill you to have some remorse?” You said as you picked up some meat with your fork and lifted it up to his mouth.

“I don’t really like this, but it seems like something you’d like.” You said as he was chewing what you just gave him. He would never admit it, but you feeding him made him feel something.

“It tastes good, I thought you said you weren’t a picky eater?”

“I’m not,” you said as you grabbed more of that meat on your fork and fed a bunch of it to him. He was genuinely so happy inside and his amusement turned into butterflies because for once, you weren’t scared of him and he for some reason, cared about that pretty badly.

Your guys’ dinner date went on like normal, exchanging words and actually getting to know each other.

Eventually you felt the need to use the restroom so you mustered up the courage to ask permission to go.

“Gitae,” he turned his gaze over to you and mumbled in response.

“Could I use the women’s room, please?”

Gitae looked around, “I’m trusting you don’t need me to make sure that no stupid attempts of leaving will happen?” He asked sternly.

“Yes, I promise.”

“Fine then, go ahead but don’t take too long.” You nodded in response and excused yourself from the table.

And just as you said, you did go to the women’s room. And just as you promised, you came back right after. While you were making your way back to the table, you saw that Gitae was approached by two guys who he seemed to have known from somewhere.

You got back to the table and the two men that Gitae was talking to looked over to you. They looked to have been working in the casino area of the building.

One of them turned back to Gitae and said, “I see now why a guy like you is brought to a place like this. I’m guessing she’s your girlfriend, right?” You all looked at Gitae who replied with a smile, “yes, she is.”

“Damn, you’re one lucky guy. She’s gorgeous from top to bottom!” One of the guys exclaimed as he placed his hand on your shoulder, rubbing it intensely. Gitae stared at his hand then at him.

How dare he lay his hand on something I own? He’ll pay for even daring to look at what clearly isn’t his. Gitae thought to himself.

“Well, we’ve gotta get going now.. But you two enjoy your night, especially the pretty lady over here,” one of the guys said as he stroked your hair and then proceeded to walk away.

You turned over to Gitae who looked like his veins were popping out of his skull and his aura seemed to have changed. He then looked back at you and smiled, “don’t mind them, I’ll make sure to deal with them some other time. But not tonight, tonight’s supposed to be our night.” He tried to keep his composure.

“Right.. Who were they anyway? And must they be so touchy..?”

“They’re friends with some of the people I know, but they won’t be for long.” He said as he took the final bite of his food and placed his fork down.

It’s safe to say that those two were never seen again, and the police didn’t even open an investigation about the disappearances when it happened. Soon, the news about those two guys went cold and if anything, any trace or information of them was wiped out entirely.

notes: I did more than the request and added way more before the actual dinner date because im gonna be busy in the next few weeks so idk when I can post again, and because i have a bunch of Gitae requests, I thought I might as well and this is long asf, also i’ve got another gitae fic in progress 😭😭

- With or without proper credits, please don't try to steal or claim any of my works as your own

I genuinely appreciate opinions, feedback, likes, and reblogs

Once again, I hope this isn't too bad for a request, and l'Il be doing more characters in lookism so feel free to request!!

[marvelettesassemblenow]

New in Town - Chapter Five

Pairing: Bucky x F Reader

Series Summary: Being new in town isn’t always easy. Being new in a small town is worse and the first thing you heard is to beware of a biker gang. And suddenly you befriend the gang – which isn’t really a gang but a group of friends that are more than welcoming to you. And next to new friends you might also find love.

Chapter Warnings: tattoos, vulnerable Bucky (but he is still flirty!), scars, reader is a little bitchy (sorry Sam, not your fault!), talk about the army and the aftermath, talk about a bad ending of a relationship

Chapter Wordcount: ~3.2

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Chapter Five - The Date

The next day at work when George got his coffee fill he turned towards you. “Wanna come over this Sunday? It’s my birthday and it’s nothing much, just me and the kids celebrating here. No need for presents, everyone brings something to eat and we sit around here.”

“The kids?” you asked confused. As long as you knew his only kid was Bucky.

“Clint, Natasha, James, Steve the whole lot.” You raised an eyebrow so he continued. “Listen, I know most of these kids since they were little. Some of them had a really shitty childhood, so I put them under my wing. I’m no saint. I let them drink too early, I showed them how to drive too early, but I also thought them to never mix these two things. They might get older, but they are still these little rascals that I met all those years ago. So it's kind of a tradition and I might have a spot open. Think about it,” he squeezed your shoulder and left the office. So maybe that was why they welcomed you with open arms – because they were welcomed the same way.

When you drove over to Steve and Bucky's house, you spotted Steve sitting outside waiting for you. After a quick hug you followed him inside directly into the studio. “I’m actually so excited to finally see how it’s looking right now,” he admitted when he closed the door behind you.

“We saw each other just yesterday, you could have taken a look then,” you said with a smile as you pulled off your jacket.

“Yeah, but it would have spoiled anything. And while I love to tease Bucky, I think we should show him soon.”

“Well then take a look,” you skimmed out of your pants and Steve patted the chair so you could lay down. He set your leg up so he could take a look at everything.

“I might be biased because this is my design, but it does look really good. There are a few places I have to go over again, but all in all it turned out really good. Better than I hoped for to be honest.” The shy smile he sent you way made you chuckle.

“Well, I had faith in you. I saw the tattoos you did on the others and they are amazing. And I really love this one. I said it didn’t really matter, but every time I look at it, I love it a little bit more.”

“And that’s the best compliment,” the shy smile turned into a grin. “You ready for round two?” You nodded and Steve prepared everything.

“Today I can’t stay for dinner, I’m beat from work and I just want to lay down,” you said after the session and grabbed your stuff.

“Let’s just chat when we’re going to show Bucky, or if you want to do it by yourself,” Steve offered.

“No way, this is your work. I’m just your canvas. We show him together,” you promised and hugged him goodbye.

The opportunity took place a few days later. As it started to pour and there was no end in sight Bucky, who had been at the mechanic shop, asked you if you could give him a lift home.

Small talk was taking place and you made him laugh and he was so into it that he slapped your thigh. You flinched and Bucky started apologizing immediately. “I forgot, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No, everything’s alright, don’t worry. Actually, how about I'll show you the tattoo?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he said although he had bothered you to show it a lot with the others.

“I want to,” you replied and kept your eyes on the road as the rain was still pouring so you missed the glance Bucky threw your way. It didn’t take long for you to arrive at your destination. You pulled your jacket over your head and sprinted towards the door so you wouldn’t be drenched but the rain still found its way onto your clothes.

“What kind of weather is that?” you asked once you were inside the house and water droplets gathered around you on the floor.

“I’ll get some towels and some clothes for you,” Bucky said when he pulled off his shoes and disappeared from your sight. You followed after you hung your jacket and Bucky held out a towel for you and some clothes and you disappeared into the bathroom.

At least neither Bucky nor Steve commented how you looked in the clothes that were clearly not made for you. The rain was loud when it landed on the glass patio outside and so you walked over to Steve and told him about your plan. He nodded and Bucky looked curious at you. Steve motioned towards the studio and the further you walked the quieter it got.

“Okay now you’re making me nervous,” Bucky finally admitted when he closed the door and you stepped out of the pants that they had borrowed you. Steve wanted to say something, you weren’t even finished with pulling of the fabric when Bucky asked if that was his motive.

He almost sounded a bit hurt so Steve decided to step in immediately. “You know how I refused to tattoo your scar because I didn’t have experience with it? Well, this one here,” he made a motion with his head towards you, “came up to me and offered her scar to test on. So I took the motive I had ready for you and I put other flowers in it and of course I had to mold a few things as it’s on a different body part, but what I’m trying to say is that if you want to, I’m ready to cover your scar.”

Steve finished his little speech, but Bucky just looked at you. You could see the questions in his eyes that he didn’t ask. “Can I,” he had to clear his throat, “can I take a closer look?”

You nodded and sat down on the cot, your leg dangling from it and Bucky crouched down in front of you. Just like Steve Bucky didn’t make you feel uncomfortable as his gaze was locked on the tattoo.

“You can touch,” you offered before he could ask. Bucky's light fingertips that danced over your skin caused goosebumps to rise on your skin.

“I can still feel it, but I can barely see it,” Bucky mumbled to himself. “When can you start, punk?” he suddenly said and turned around. Yours and Steve’s gaze met over Bucky's head and a smile was on both of your faces.

“I mean we could start now,” the artist suggested.

“Don’t be rude, we have a guest.”

“I don’t mind watching. Or I could finally start that book you recommend to me a while back, don’t mind me,” you offered as Bucky and you had already decided that you wouldn’t drive home when it was still raining like that on the way to the house.

“You sure, Buck?” Steve asked again and Bucky confirmed with a nod. “Okay, I’ll prepare everything and how about the two of you make something to eat? There should be everything for sandwiches.” Steve’s tone was almost dismissing you.

“Yes, Captain. Is it okay for me to put on pants first?” you mocked him which caused both men to chuckle.

When you were being decent again you and Bucky made your way to the kitchen. There was a silence between the two of you and you knew that Bucky wanted to ask something and you didn’t pressure him.

“Why did you do it?” he asked once he spread out the bread and you pulled the ingredients out of the fridge.

“Because I wanted to,” you needed to make sure that this was the first thing you said. “I know that it bothered you and imagine how many people Steve can help now.” When he was quiet you continued. “Did I offend you?” you asked quietly.

“Offend me? Doll, this is the farthest thing from offending me,” he picked the things from your hand and put them carelessly on the counter. He took your hands in his big ones and waited for you to look at him. “This is such a huge gesture that I don’t even know how to handle this. This... This is... I don’t know, but,” he suddenly pulled you against him, your hands trapped between your bodies. “Thank you. I wanted Steve to do this for ages and I’m just happy he’ll finally do it.”

He let go of you after a while and the both of you continued to make some sandwiches.

In the end you ended up sitting next to Bucky, out of Steves way with a book in your hand and your other one in Bucky's while he stroked it with his thumb. Turning the pages would have been easier with access to both of your hands but you wouldn’t complain. You had posted a picture of Bucky and Steve when Steve applied the stencil to the group chat and the excitement from all his friends were expressed – with an overload of emojis from Sam and a lot of encouraging words especially from Wanda.

“You know that the two of you will have kind of matching tattoos then?” Steve suddenly said into the quiet room which cause Bucky and you to look at each other. None of you had considered that. You were the first to break. “There could be worse things.”

“Yeah there could be,” Bucky agreed.

“Do you come to the bar tonight?” Sam asked you when he spotted you grocery shopping.

“No, I don’t think I will. I think I’ll stick to a quiet evening,” you put the bag of chips that you had examined into the cart.

“Cool, cool. Isn’t that too much food for you alone?” he said suddenly distracted by the amount of food in your cart.

“You’re not going to tell me how much I am allowed to eat, right?” you snapped at him and he retreated a step and held his hands up in defeat. “I thought so. Have a nice evening, Sam,” you said and walked quickly towards the register.

When you were almost in your apartment Wanda stepped out of hers and greeted you. You greeted her too, but the smile on your face wasn’t genuine. You looked at the hallway quickly.

“Are you okay?” Wanda asked concerned.

“Yeah, yeah of course.”

“Okay, I wanted to get something to eat. Do you want come with me before I have to go to work?” she asked and you tried to come up with an excuse.

“No, um, I can’t... I have,” you stopped as you couldn’t come up with anything. Wanda raised a brow.

“You could just say no, I’m not mad,” she said softly.

“That’s not it, but,” you stopped as you heard footsteps approaching. Bucky came towards you and you looked nervously at the woman in front of you who looked at the both of you and understanding dawned on her.

“I’m not going to tell anyone. You kept my secret, I keep yours.” She turned towards the approaching man. “Have fun,” she smiled and winked at you and left the hallway.

“So much for meeting without our friends knowing,” Bucky sighed and took the bag from your hands.

“She won’t tell. What did you tell Steve where you’re going.”

“We’re not married, I didn’t have to tell him where I’m going,” Bucky joked, which caused you to tell him they behaved like a married couple sometimes.

Spending time with Bucky was easy. You both put away the groceries and discussed shortly who would do what before you went to work preparing dinner.

“Do you think it's weird, that we wanted to meet each other without our friends knowing?” You asked and avoided the word date deliberately.

“With our friends? No, definitely not. If I just mentioned the word date Steve would throw confetti and tell me it would be time and our group chat would explode with questions. Have you kissed yet? Did Barnes make a move? Are you not responding because you’re going at it? So no, I think it’s a good thing that only we know. And if we decided that we just want to be friends and don’t want to kiss each other goodbye no one would be disappointed. Well, maybe me, but,” he shrugged and your mouth opened.

“Smooth. Now get some plates and set the table,” you shoved him towards the table.

“Would you be disappointed?” he didn’t let go while he opened the cupboard.

“Stay and find out.” Dinner was nice and playful until Bucky suddenly fell quiet. “What’s on your mind?” you asked softly after a while.

“I like you. A lot to be honest. But it's been a while since I’ve been in a relationship and there’s a reason for it.” He took a sip from his drink and you waited patiently for him to continue. “I was in a relationship when I joined the army. We loved each other and we decided to stay together, but,” he stopped and took a breath. “When I came back after the accident it wasn’t only the arm I lost. There are nightmares, sudden situations that trigger something. It’s better now, but it was hard back then. I lost an arm, I had to learn to do everything with one arm until the offer came for this one.” He raised his metal arm and let his fingers wiggle. “I thought we were going to manage it, I was so glad to be home with my family back with my girl, but she couldn’t take it after a while. And that’s okay from one point of view, but she made me feel like a burden and it really broke my heart. Took me a while to get back on my feet. I’m really glad that I have such good friends. Steve took me in without even blinking an eye. The others all offered to let me move in with them.”

You reached over the table and took his hand. “I’m so sorry that you felt that way. I can’t say anything to what had happened, I wasn’t there. And I can’t promise to not break your heart because I think that this is nothing someone does intentional. But I like you, Bucky. I really do! You make me laugh, you make me feel happy and safe and cared for and I can’t help myself but to seek you out once you’re near me. I love that you message me through the day with things to make me smile and if you’re ready and you want to, I really want to give this,” you made a motion with your finger between you, “a shot. I just want you to be honest with me. If you have a bad day, just tell me, tell me if you need time to yourself. Or if you want me to come over and pester you, I’ll do it immediately. I really like you, Bucky,” you finished and your thumb continued to stroke his hand. You pulled at his hand than. “Come up, I want a hug now.”

Without letting go of your hands you walked around the table and put your free arm around his waist. “Bucky?” you mumbled in his chest and he hummed something as a confirmation that he had heard you. “Do you think we can try the kiss now? You know, so we don’t have to wait for the goodbye.”

“Yeah, I think we can do that.” You pulled a bit away from each other and looked at each other until his eyes closed and yours followed which caused you to miss the mouth and he kissed the corner of yours. The both of you laughed and Bucky put his hand on your neck to guide your face towards his and the smile on your face fell when your lips met his.

Your eyes fluttered open, when he pulled away slowly. “Yeah, I think we can work with that.”

“I think so too, doll,” Bucky's voice sounded deeper now and he pulled you against him again.

Steve knows. Your phone lit up shortly before you entered the bar.

Wanda knows too. Maybe we should just tell them? There had been three dates so far, a lot of kisses and a few make out sessions. Nothing further than that but you were content and actually excited to see Bucky in a minute.

Okay. You read his response before you entered the bar. You waved at Wanda before you made your way over to your friends. Bucky rose once he spotted you and he looked at your face to see if you were still on board with telling the others.

Kissing Bucky went better than the first time. Your lips actually met, but you could do without your friends in the background.

“Hey doll,” Bucky breathed once he stepped back.

“Hey,” you breathed back and sent him a smile that made him dizzy.

“Can I get a greeting like that or are they exclusive for Barnes?” you heard Sam’s voice and Bucky stepped aside so you could see him.

“Exclusive for Bucky, but I can offer you a hug,” you offered.

“I’m okay with that,” Sam stood up and pushed Bucky away playfully before he wrapped his arms around you. “I’ll even offer you my seat so you can sit next to him.” He grabbed his glass and put it next to Steve before he took a place there.

Bucky placed his arm on the rest behind you. You had expected a lot of questions about the two of you, but to your surprise Nat asked what everyone would bring to a get together at Sam's place and plans were made. You put a hand on Bucky's thigh which caused him to look and smile at you before you contributed your ideas.

The teasing you both had anticipated never came. Maybe it was because it was only a matter of time until the two of you found your way together. Maybe the teasing would come later when it wasn’t so fresh or maybe they were just happy that Bucky was opening up to someone. And opening up he did. It was a slow but steady process.

“So, I wanted to ask if I can bring someone too to,” Wanda said once it was a bit quieter. “Actually, I’ve been dating someone for a while.” When Wanda had told you the guys were a bit protective, she didn’t exaggerate. Protests were heard and you decided to step in.

“Guys, stop it. He is really nice and they’ve been seeing each other for a while now.”

“You knew?” Bucky looked more than betrayed.

“Of course, I knew. But she didn’t tell anyone about us, so I kept her secret,” you shrugged your shoulders.

“Doesn’t count,” Sam piped in. “Everyone knew about the two of you.”

You let out a hmpf and Bucky kissed the side of your head.

“I’m only asking you to be nice and don’t roast him that much so he’ll never see me again. Just don’t push it too far,” Wanda pleaded and Clint was the first one to agreed.

Epilogue

divider by @fireflygraphics

Taglist:

@davten74 @rosalynshields @nishthas-champagne-problems @matchat3a @peaches1958 @lilachoneylikelavender @jenniweaslee @boofy1998 @sergeantbarnes1917

[elysiadjarin]

Day 3: Dacryphilia

Jesse Cromeans may be a ruthless killer, but at home with you? You’re the one in charge. And especially those days when you’re annoyed at how long he’s been gone and he comes back so desperate for your attention… well. You did so like to see him cry.

Day 3 of Kinktober has arrived! I actually think I discovered some things about myself writing this one, so y’all enjoy. 😂 Find my Kinktober Masterlist here.

Warnings: Minors DNI, this is 18+ content only. This one is a slasher x reader fic, so please beware of mentions of murder and assault as part of the territory, though nothing is explicitly mentioned. PinV unprotected sex, dacryphilia, desperation, cumplay.

Tags: Jesse Cromeans (Chromeskull) x reader, slasher x reader, yandere!reader, soft femdom, sub/dom themes

Paint Splatters over Canvas

It was rather funny, really.

You scrolled through your phone, ignoring the giant man standing in the doorway of the room staring at you. Jesse had always made a point of never touching you without your permission. A way for him to separate the meaningless victims of his murderous hobby with you, his wife, his everything. And while of course your relationship stayed perfectly strong, you well aware of his hobby and he well aware of your own tendencies… it did sometimes backfire on him in the best worst ways.

Like now. When you were annoyed with him because he’d been gone an entire day later than he’d promised, extra dark web cash be damned. A promise was a promise, and it wasn’t as though he’d needed the money. He did have a perfectly legal and highly successful business, after all. So shouldn’t you have come first?

You liked revenge cold, playing the long game; something you had in common with Jesse. And today, you certainly had plans put in place for said revenge. Which, for the time being, meant ignoring Jesse. You had plenty to occupy you, from communications for the business to just working on your own projects. Still, you’d made sure to be just nonchalant enough to let him know that it was all so… deliberate.

Jesse shuffled in the doorway, clearly wanting your attention but knowing better than to think any sort of demanding would get him anywhere. He’d learned the hard way that at home, his power over subordinates decidedly did not apply to you. When you didn’t give him any response, he hovered for a moment, clearly trying to decide on what to do next.

You knew how he would get after a mission. Needy. Wanting. Starved for attention and affection from you. Pent up for days, probably thinking about you every spare moment between takes.

With a hum, you typed out a message on your phone before standing and heading for the doorway. You briefly looked up to see him as you brushed past in the doorway. “Oh, hi, Jesse,” you said, giving him a brief, distracted smile. “I’m off to get ready for a meeting with a client.” You headed for the bedroom, already thinking about your next steps.

You could hear him following behind you, could almost feel the mounting despair as he started to realized what was happening. Why you had used his name instead of the usual love, darling. His shoulders hunched, and you could see his face twist as he clearly tried to think of what to do. He already knew that you’d have your revenge however you wanted: apologies would be expected but certainly wouldn’t get him any closer to mercy.

Walking into the bedroom, you headed straight for the bathroom to start preparing. Jesse still trailed along behind you like a forlorn, helpless puppy, and you swore you could almost hear him let out a small whine. Pausing for a moment in front of your vanity, you dialed your friend’s number and set it to speaker, putting it down on the countertop and sitting in front of the mirror.

You tied your hair up and reached for your cosmetics, beginning the process as the phone dialed. Your friend picked up quickly, already in on your plan thanks to your texting. She always approved of your payback plans.

Bestie! I thought you said you had to prepare for the meeting? I mean, yknow, not that I don’t like hearing from you. She cheerfully teased over the phone.

You smiled. “Well yeah, I just sat down to do my makeup. But I mean, we did say we were going to talk about the party for little Jacen this weekend, and what better time than now? You can help me pick out an outfit once I’m done,” you cajoled, noticing how Jesse sat on the edge of the jacuzzi bathtub, unabashedly staring at you. He always had loved watching you get ready for an event. Not that you minded.

Fair enough. Your best friend admitted readily. But seriously, you didn’t have to go all out for Jacen like this. She half scolded. It’s so much!

You laughed lightly, the creamy foundation smoothing across your skin. “Oh c’mon, he’s my adorable little nephew in all but name. He deserves to get spoiled by his doting Aunt, let me have my fun,” you wheedled, knowing she would cave.

She sighed over the receiver. I swear, girl, you could convince anyone into anything.

“Or maybe I’m just your weakness, Miss Mara,” you teased back. The soft brush in your fingers blended the contour onto your face, and you smiled as you glanced at the phone. “But anyway, did you manage to figure out what he might want for a birthday present? Or are we going with my original idea to let him loose in a mall?”

Oh, no, you are so not buying him everything he points at. I’d never get him to not be a spoiled brat if I let you.Mara snorted. I’ll text you what I figured out, he seems to be pretty fixated on it right now.

“Ugh, fineeee,” you sighed, rolling your eyes. “But I’m going to at least get him that adorable motorized scooter I showed you before. He’s going to look so cute riding around in it.”

Fair enough I suppose. Better than the mall idea— wait, did you just get me to agree to something extravagant by threatening something so ridiculous—

“Anyway,” you interrupted blithely, “did you send out invitations to everyone?”

Yep, and I got back all the RSVPs. Speaking of which, I thought you said that you were meeting with the CEO of some business tonight? What’s that all about? I know you, you normally don’t like dealing with people.

You sighed. “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag a little.” You pouted, reaching for the eyeshadow and liner. “Jesse was supposed to be back yesterday, but since he wasn’t I had to reschedule, and I promised to personally meet with the CEO in order to smooth over ruffled feathers. But besides that… I wanted to be there personally to see my best friend and her husband’s house finally paid off for their fifth anniversary.”

A pause. Then a screech that made you grin. You’re not serious! Babes, no, wait—

“No use protesting!” You said cheerfully, waving your brush. “It’s already been practically settled. Besides, you both need to start saving up for Jacen’s college funds. We did have the agreement that I’d open the doors to whatever college he wanted instead of just paying for it,” you reminded.

Ugh, I don’t know if I want to smack you or hug you, you sly little— Mara groaned. Wait till I tell Damien, he won’t know what hit him. She laughed. Thank you. You know how much it means to us. I won’t scold.

“Good.” You nodded. “And you know I’ll take care of you.”

She sighed. Never doubted it. So, how’s the process?

You hummed, pursing your lips as you finished the eyeshadow and grabbed the mascara. “About to do mascara, then all I have left is the lipstick. But shouldn’t I wait till we pick a dress before I actually pick a color?”

Probably. What’s the mood? You going for boss ass bitch, sultry Queen, or mysterious vampire lady? Amusement laced Mara’s voice.

“You’re not even in my house and yet you walked in and called me out to my face,” you said dryly, earning laughter. Jesse, you saw in the mirror, tilted his head with a small smile playing over his lips. He’d quietly observed the whole processes, eyes fixed on your face.

Only cause I love you. So, show me the closet, girl! Oh, show me your makeup first tho so we got reference.

You picked up the phone as you finished, turning on the camera so she could see your makeup sans the lipstick. She whistled, eyebrows wriggling teasingly as she grinned.

Oh, so mysterious vampire queen it is. She smirked. Closet. Though I do have the feeling that we’re going to be choosing a gorgeous red lipstick.

“Yes ma’am,” you answered, standing and heading for your closet. You heard Jesse stand and follow behind you, and stifled a smile. Flipping the camera, you started to flip through the racks of dresses. “Does that mean we’re leaning towards a black dress?”

Hmm, probably. Actually, how about one of your sleek black ones? The one with like, barely any frills and only a tiny bit of lace at the top. Off the shoulder. If you’re gonna try to assert dominance, probably drawing attention to your mouth and hands is the best way to go.

You tilted your head at the hangers, then nodded. “You’re right. Especially if I go for the red lipstick. I could also honestly use a glass of wine during that meeting,” you sighed.

Mara snickered. Blood in a wine glass? How stereotypical of you, madame.

“You hush, drama queen,” you said dryly, finding the dress she’d described and pulling it out.

Ooh, that’s the one! And I know you have that one crimson shade of lipstick that I always say looks vampiric.

You went back to the vanity and set the phone down, pretending to not notice that it showed Jesse standing in the doorway, clearly staring at you. You slid your shirt off, careful not to smudge any makeup, then slipped out of your pants and reached for the dress. Smoothing it over your front to get rid of any wrinkles, you sat back down and tilted the camera back to yourself, reaching for the lipstick.

“This one, right?” You waved it in front of your face.

Yep! That dress is stunning, by the way. Oh, and what are you doing with your hair?

“Ugh, I don’t really wanna bother too much with it, so I figured I’d go with the… messy, loose waves.” You shrugged, applying the lipstick.

Mara snorted. I think you mean, ‘sorry I’m late I was doing things’ while ignoring Jesse staggering behind you clearly radiating ‘I’m things’ energy.

You half-choked, laughing despite yourself. “Mara-! Seriously!”

She rolled her eyes at you. I’m just saying it like it is. But you go girlie, you look bomb. She laughed. Blow them all away. Be the boss bitch you are. A noise in the background interrupted her. Oop, that’s my cue. I gotta go, text me though okay?

“Will do, tell Damien and Jacen hi for me.” You smiled and hung up, finishing fluffing your hair. Standing, you grabbed the phone and headed for the door. “The meeting is in five minutes,” you remarked to Jesse as you passed him in the doorway. “If you want to join.”

You saw him type on his phone, the text to speech translator sounding a moment later. May I be there with you?

You flashed him a warm smile, as though you weren’t at all deliberately enacting revenge. “Of course! I’d love to have you there. Let’s go.” With a little hum, you headed towards the stairs.

Your phone pinged with a message. Girl, I swear he was drooling. You’re so mean sometimes. Not that he didn’t deserve it.

You suppressed a laugh, replying with one hand as your other slid down the bannister to guide you down the staircase. You know it. Mission so far successful. Wish me luck, I’m about to go into this meeting.

You looked up as you got to the bottom of the stairs, seeing an assistant waiting with the guest. The assistant bowed politely. “May I introduce Mr. Trace, CEO of Finley Bank.”

Giving the assistant a nod, you turned to Mr. Trace. “Greetings, Mr. Trace. Welcome! Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I do apologize for the delay,” you said, taking charge and sweeping towards the parlor.

He followed after automatically. “Of course, Mrs. Cromeans,” he answered, quickly recovering from his moment of bewilderment.

You motioned to a chair, sitting on the velvet couch across the coffee table. “Please, please, have a seat,” you said, keeping the easy smile on your face. “Can I get you a drink? Anything at all?”

He blinked, sitting down and setting his briefcase next to him. “Ah— thank you. I’d appreciate a scotch on the rocks if it’s available.”

“Of course,” you said easily, nodding to the maid standing nearby. “A red wine for me, please.” You smiled at Jesse as he sat next to you. “Your regular?” you asked sweetly. At his nod, you turned back to the maid. “And a glass of dry white.”

She bowed and went to go fetch the drinks.

“I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do, Mr. Trace,” you said smoothly, “so I’ll not take any more of your time than necessary. Of course, as I said, I’d like to discuss several things with you…”

Twenty minutes later found you leaning against the arm of the couch, feet propped up beside you as you swirled the last dregs of the red wine, tapping the glass with your fingernails. The CEO had long since emptied his scotch, and Jesse was on his second glass. His fingers kept clenching around the flute of his glass every time your feet brushed against his thigh.

“Of course,” Trace said with a nod, jotting down the final notes on the paperwork. “Easily managed. Are there any other details you would like to add or anything else to discuss?” He looked up at you.

Your tactics of firm politeness and the scotch seemed to have worked their charm, and you’d been able to rather easily dominate the flow of the interaction. Not to mention, Mara had been right about appearances clearly setting a tone. Trace seemed to be studiously avoiding eye contact with either you or Jesse.

“Not at all, Mr. Trace,” you said, a pleased note in your voice. “I’m rather pleased at how everything has turned out. We do so value your business, you know.” You tilted the glass in your fingers. “Shall I sign the papers?”

“At your leisure.” He slid them across the table toward you.

You slowly uncurled yourself like a lazy feline, straightening yourself and leaning over to set the glass down on the table. Grasping the pen, you slowly signed your name on the papers, eyes glancing over the print to ascertain that everything was in order. Shuffling through the papers, you finally set the pen down.

Trace took them back, glancing through them before nodding. “Everything seems to be in order.” He slid them back into his briefcase. “Thank you as always for your business, Mrs. Cromeans, Mr. Cromeans.”

You nodded, and Jesse stood, setting his glass down. You rose as well, sliding your arm into the crook of his elbow as he automatically adjusted for you. “And thank you for your help, Mr. Trace,” you answered easily. “I do hope you have a productive rest of the day. Do be safe out there.”

He nodded as the assistant returned to escort him out. “Same to you.”

With a hum, you absently patted Jesse’s arm and let yours slide out of his grasp, drifting towards the stairs again. “Oh, I need to go tell Mara it’s all confirmed. Besides, this dress is only comfortable for so long,” you remarked, pulling out your phone again.

Guess who completely owns their house now? You texted Mara, smiling. And your tactics worked, I think dominance was asserted.

You waltzed into the bedroom, headed straight for the closet. “Jesse, are you hungry? I think the food I ordered should have arrived by now, it should be in front of the TV. Maybe pick a movie? I still have a few messages to send.”

You changed into a comfortable black babydoll nightdress, sighing in relief as the silk slid over your skin. It was far more comfortable, and you could feel yourself finally starting to relax after the pent-up tension of the meeting. You really did hate dealing with people, especially ones like the CEO.

Your phone buzzed as you went to go pick it back up. You are literally the best. Now go finish seducing Jesse while I go figure out how to make this news sexy.

Stifling a snort, you went to go wipe your makeup off and wash your face. You could hear the sounds of the TV starting in the bedroom, so you took one more glance in the mirror before heading out into the room, still tapping at your phone. You still had to finish some arrangements for Jacen’s birthday, after all, and your revenge was still percolating.

Jesse’s head turned as soon as you approached the couch in front of the TV. You ignored the way he froze, sliding onto the couch and tucking your feet under a soft blanket. Sending off another message, you set it beside you and reached forward to grab a tray, pulling it into your lap.

“I figured you might not want anything too heavy since you just got back, so I kinda just made a guess and ended up ordering too much…” You frowned at the myriad of food laid out over the table. “Sorry, Jesse… I don’t even know if this is what you want—“

The text to speech cut you off. The food is fine, thank you. I’m sorry for being late. I know I can only make excuses, but I am sorry. Can I make it up to you?

A frown touched your lips as you picked up your spoon, still not looking at him. Your fingernails tapped against the screen of your phone. “Jacen asked the other day if Uncle Jesse would be at his party. I told him I didn’t know, but I’d ask.”

He quickly typed. Of course, if he asked for me, I’ll be sure to be there. His fingers paused, then he slowly typed again, as though hesitating. I got you a present while I was gone.

You hummed, swallowing your food and picking your phone back up. “He’ll be happy to hear it. And thank you for the present.” You sent a message to tell Mara that Jacen’s wish had been granted.

Jesse practically fidgeted as he ate, the movie playing in the background. You could feel his eyes slide from the screen to you, could almost hear the wheels in his head frantically turning. The tension in every line of his body was obvious, his movements stilted and jerky. He practically twitched every time you so much as moved.

Finally, you set down the tray, grabbing a mint to refresh your mouth. Shifting to get more comfortable, you angled yourself towards him a little more. You snitched a piece of food from his plate, letting out a hum as you smiled down at Mara’s message. If possible, Jesse stiffened even more, his fingers clenching so hard around his spoon that it even bent a little in his grasp.

A crumb fell from your fingers onto the lace edge of your nightgown, and you let out a quiet noise of protest as you looked down. Your fingers brushed against the top of your breast, brushing off the crumb. Sticking your finger in your mouth, you typed out a message in response to another conversation. With a sigh, you looked up and glanced over Jesse’s shoulder to see the lamp on the table next to him. Night had fallen, and shadows fell over the room.

Stirring yourself, you sat up, setting your phone down for a moment. “Can I turn on the lamp? I don’t wanna get up for the lights,” you said, starting to lean across him. Almost thoughtlessly, you placed your hand on his thigh and put your weight on it, reaching over his body on your hands and knees to pull at the cord on the lamp. The light clicked on, just as a low keening sound came from Jesse.

Your head tilted at the sound, and you turned to look up at his face. It was your turn to freeze.

Jesse’s face had crumpled, his soft green eyes literally awash with tears. His hands were clenched at his sides, his chest heaving with hitching breaths as he struggled to control his expression. The tears welled in his eyes, and faint color had splashed across his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

Slowly, a smile crossed your lips as you stared up at his face. Leaning back, you tilted your head, licking your lips. “Oh, look at you,” you breathed. “You made all the little piggies cry, Jesse. But maybe it’s your turn, hmm?” Your eyes flickered down to the way his entire body trembled, every muscle taut and strained.

You moved, sliding your entire body into his lap to straddle his waist and face him. Crossing your arms under your chest, you stared into his face. “I don’t know… you broke your promise, though.” Your eyebrow raised at him, and he let out another hoarse whimper. Tears slid down his cheeks, his mouth opening for shuddering breaths.

He shook his head, lips trembling as he lifted one hand and signed. Sorry. Please. Sorry. His fingers spelled out your name.

Reaching up, you cupped his face in your hands. You leaned up, face drawing closer to his. “But I already accepted your apology, love,” you cooed, smiling. “You know what I think?” You slowly dragged your tongue across his tear tracks, your body flushing with heat at the taste of the bitter salt. “I think,” you murmured against his jaw, “that I like seeing you cry.”

Jesse’s breath hitched on a sob, more tears spilling down his cheeks. It was fairly intoxicating, seeing the giant man completely fall apart under you, trapped between his desperation and his personal standards. When you slid forward, your body pressing flush against him, another sob wrenched from his gritted teeth.

You decided for the moment to have a bit of mercy. Reaching down, you grasped his wrists and lifted his hands to your waist. His fingers instantly clenched in the silk babydoll dress, shaking as he grabbed at your waist. His entire body lurched forwards towards you, eyes fixed on your face.

You hummed softly, brushing a kiss to his jaw. “Your eyes are so pretty when they’re filled with tears, Jesse,” you purred, drawing his face closer to you. Still, you refused to kiss him, instead trailing your lips down his jaw, down to his throat. You opened your mouth against his neck, savoring the taste of his skin and the soft scent of his cologne.

Jesse’s trembling fingers jerked against your waist, and he slumped into you. His hands slid over your waist to your lower back, his touch practically reverent as he squeezed. His breaths came quick and fast, breaking occasionally on a sob. Every time you suckled or moved your lips, every time your hands slid down his shoulders, he gasped and shuddered, more tears dripping down his cheeks.

You slid your hands down, starting to unbutton his shirt. Your tongue dragged across his neck, and you felt the bulge in his pants throb against your thigh. “Isn’t this punishment fair, darling?” you cooed. “I only ask for a few tears, hmm? A front row seat to your pretty eyes?”

His head jerked, even though it wrenched another tortured sob from him. Despite the contact, you could feel his frustration mounting.

You pulled back, looking up at him as you finished unbuttoning his shirt. “Oh, you don’t think so?” Your fingers slid across his bared chest, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. “But isn’t this what you wanted? Me, paying attention to you?”

His gasps had turned ragged. His hips jerked, rutting up against your thigh. A strangled noise left his throat, his eyes squeezing shut. His grip on your waist threatened to leave fingerprints against your skin.

“No?” You bit your lip, raking your nails lightly against his chest. “Then what is it you want, hmm?”

His eyes flickered down to your lips, unconsciously licking his own. His fingers clenching, he pulled you down to grind against his cock, straining in his trousers. Pants fell from his mouth, and he kept glancing from your eyes to your lips.

You reached down, teasingly trailing your fingers down his chest and stomach. Unzipping his trousers, you looked up at his face and smiled as you traced one fingertip down the bulge in his underwear. His eyes fairly rolled back in his head, more tears streaming down his face afresh.

“Look at you, already such a mess,” you murmured, sliding your fingers into his underwear. The moment you wrapped a hand around his cock and slid up, you were rewarded with a guttural groan. He gritted his teeth, clearly struggling to stay still. With a soft laugh, you leaned up and brushed a kiss to his ear.

You tugged at his collar. “Why don’t you lie down for me?” you murmured.

He immediately complied, his hands still clamped around your waist as he turned and shifted up, lying down on the couch. He stared up at you, face still twisted in agony and desperation.

Lifting yourself a little, you tilted your head at him. “Take your pants off for me?”

He practically kicked his pants and underwear off in his haste. You guided one of his hands to the latch on the side of your own panties, giving him an amused smile and nod. His trembling fingers unlatched them, his chest heaving as he watched the black silk slide away from your skin. The moment you lowered back down onto him, his cock throbbed against you and his back arched.

Leaning forward, you hummed a pressed a kiss to his jaw. “Jesse, love,” you murmured. “Cry for me a little more?” You cupped his face in your hands, feeling your wetness coat his own length as you ground against his tip. But you deliberately kept shifting, not giving him any steady pressure.

Another broken whine came from him, and a few more tears slipped down his cheeks. Frustration scrunched his face, his neck mottled with red and flushing down to his shoulders and chest, making your white nail marks stand out. His hips jerked, his eyes squeezing shut for a moment.

“Is this what you want?” You pressed down against him again, feeling his cock slip against your wet folds teasingly.

His head jerked in a nod, almost violently. Tremors kept running through his arms, his body occasionally shuddering under you.

You leaned down and sucked his lower lip between yours. Your teeth nipped at his lip, and you finally slanted your mouth over his. Tears poured afresh down his cheeks as he desperately pulled at you, trying to get closer, kiss you more. You relented and let him, thumbs brushing against his jaw as you hummed softly into his frantic, pleading kisses. Without warning, you slipped your tongue between his lips, feeling his mouth part with alacrity. When you finally parted, his green eyes were glazed over with tears, hazily staring at you.

Then you smiled at him slyly. “I think you’ve deserved a little bit more,” you decided.

The moment you slid his tip into you, he choked. Saliva dribbled from the corners of his mouth as he squeezed his eyes shut, struggling for breath. His entire body froze, humming taut under you and his eyes sightlessly staring up at the ceiling.

You observed his wrecked expression, licking your lips with satisfaction. Rarely did Jesse ever fully submit to you like this, usually a brat. But tonight, you had absolute and utter control, and you intended to milk every last ounce of satisfaction out of it. The memories would fuel you for years of his utterly ruined expression, tears slipping down his cheeks as he drooled uncontrollably.

“So pretty, darling,” you purred, licking the tears from his cheek. You gave him another kiss, letting his hands wander over your waist and up your front. “So good for me. Do you think you can handle more?”

His eyes widened, breath quickening. He glanced down, then shook his head jerkily. Then nodded. Then shook his head.

You tilted your head. “Hmmm.” A wicked grin crossed your lips. “No? Oh, but I think you can,” your said, just as you lifted yourself and fully sheathed him inside you.

Jesse sobbed. His mouth opened, tongue lolling as he gasped. Tears poured down his cheeks from the mingled pleasurable pain and relief. His cock throbbed inside you, and his hands grasped desperately at your thighs. His entire body started to shake, arching.

You barely gave him time to adjust before you were already bouncing on him, hands braced against the back of the couch. Laughter spilled from your lips, delighted and cruel, as his hands scrabbled against your thighs, raking across your skin. Moans kept being torn from his throat, your name framed on his lips.

As soon as you angled your hips and brought your fingers down to ring tight circles on your clit, you hissed in pleasure. You pulsed around his cock, earning another helpless sob and wave of tears. He just hit that one spot inside you perfectly, again and again, until you bit your lip and moaned his name as you came around him. Your body clenched down on him, even as you kept fucking yourself through your orgasm.

More laughter spilled from your lips. “Are you gonna cum for me, Jesse, my pretty darling?” you asked breathlessly, purposely moaning his name. “Gonna cum inside me?”

The only warning you got from Jesse was another sob and the gritting of his teeth. His hands flew to your hips, slamming you down on him one more time before holding you there with an iron grip. Gasps tore from his mouth, his eyes trying to blink away tears as he stared up at you.

You hummed, caressing his hands and arms as you bit your lip in satisfaction. He kept pouring into you, his hips jerking once in a while and wringing a whimper from him. Finally, you leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. His lips parted under yours weakly, chest heaving under your hands.

“Thank you, Jesse,” you cooed sweetly between kisses. “You’re so good to me, make me feel so good.” Your mind fuzzed with the pleasure of both your high and the sight of his tears.

He pushed up against you, kissing you fervently. Though he didn’t say a word, you could feel his thoughts through his drugged, sloppy kiss.

You giggled, teasingly clenching down on him one more time and earning a jerk and grunt. “And I forgive you. But don’t do it again, okay?”

Jesse’s calculating look as he clearly weighed the consequences made you roll your eyes but laugh. Maybe this one would turn out to backfire against you, next time.

You decided it was worth it.

[dere-boys]

Minho Dere-Types Headcanons

With our powers combined, we have finally managed to get the Minho headcanons done! Sorry it took longer than anticipated. We hope you enjoy these and look forward to seeing more content from us!

**Content Warning: These will also include NSFW headcanons as well. Ff you don’t want to read them, when they start they’ll be marked NSFW and then end when the next dere-type begins. Also please remember that Yandere, Oujidere, and Kamidere tend to deal with toxic/unhealthy/violent themes so reader beware.

Tsundere:

Do not ask this man for anything. He will deny you on principle alone.

He will do what you ask behind your back though when you can’t see him do it and say someone else did it instead of him.

Minho cooks for you but only because you almost set the kitchen on fire once. Please expect him to bring it up every single time you go into the kitchen. Even if you’re only getting water.

Is always secretly happy when you eat everything he makes you though.

Minho will never actually ask you out. At some point you’re just dating. You don’t make the rules.

Jealousy is his middle name.*

He’s very much a human embodiment of “no one is allowed to insult you except me.”

NSFW

“Forces” you to keep eye contact with him while he fucks you.

He wants to see how he’s making you fall apart on his cock so he can hold it over your head later.

*A jealous tsundere Minho is a Minho that will drag you off and fuck you against any surface he can get you to.

Secretly though it’s because he’s insecure and needs to know he’s doing a good job.

Wants you to beg for his cock so he denies you sex because he’s “busy” or just “doesn’t feel like it.”

Will mock you for wanting him so bad.

Literally, the only times that Minho is “soft” with you is immediately after orgasm, or first thing in the morning after a good night together.

Yandere:

Knives.

Yandere Minho can and will cut you up if he even gets an inkling that you might try and run off.

Carved his initials into you at some point.

He did it lightly so that he’d have to go over the scars and cuts again and again.

Hell, sometimes he’ll do it just because he wants to see you squirm and make you feel like you’ve done something wrong.

Evil laugh. Will do it when you say something “stupid.”

Out of all the yandere boys, be scared of Minho the most. You literally can never tell what he’ll do next.

Loves commanding you around because when you follow through he thinks you’re doing it out of fear that will become love.

NSFW

Did I mention knives?

He won’t hold the knife to your throat while he fucks you but he will press the tip to your clavicle to make sure you know who’s in charge.

Bloodplay. If he does feel like cutting you he likes to collect you blood on his fingers. “This belongs to me too, every part of you does.”

Likes to gag you.

Will pull your hair (if you have it) until you’re crying.

Even if you don’t cry completely he likes it when you get glassy eyes and blotchy-faced.

Yandere Minho wants to break you in all ways he can because then you’ll love him right?

If you have piercings he likes to bite and pull at them too hard.

Kuudere:

He’s not cold really, he’s just mostly impassive.

Getting Minho to react is an adventure. Good luck with it, because it won’t happen.

Unless you do something dumb, then he might show the tiniest bit of emotion to it, but very small.

He’s very transparent with you. Blunt is an understatement.

This can be good or bad depending on what you want or what you’re expecting.

Minho has made you cry before. It was… not pretty.

He didn’t mean to but he also had no idea how to stop it and passed you off to Chan to make you feel better.

Still, he hopes you appreciate his honesty and lack of ability to hold back.

The good news about this is that if someone is bothering you? Nope, now they sure aren’t if Minho is there next to you to unnerve them into leaving you alone.

NSFW

Doesn’t like wasting time so he will ask you for what you want before even starting anything.

Not much of a talker/moaner but when he feels good he’ll dig his fingers into your ass/hips.

Loves having you ride him but likes to guide you on his cock not just lay there.

Also, would never tell you, but he thinks the way you look when you’re on him like that is breathtaking.

Minho’s indifferent, but he’s not an asshole so he’ll make sure he’s not hurting you in any way.

That means he watches you very intently to check if you’re uncomfortable but won’t necessarily ask you outright.

Because of this, he knows exactly what you want and how you like it.

Aftercare includes making food which he passes off as “I was hungry and thought of you after, so you should eat.”

Still, you never quite believe him when it’s your favorite food. Not that he’d admit it.

Oujidere:

Makes you wear a collar. He wants everyone to know who you belong to.*

Keeps you on his lap but pretends you’re not there.

Spoiled. He wants you to do everything for him and will “command” you to get him things often.

This also includes picking his clothing for him and please be correct with your choices, if you aren’t he’ll scold you for your taste and shame you publicly.

The only times he turns into an “Angry King” are when he thinks you’re paying attention to others more than him or when you mess up something “simple.”

Punishments with him for disobeying or acting out of turn include kneeling at his side for hours and waiting on him, hand and foot even more than usual.

His cats are also royalty. Treat them as such.

NSFW

*That collar comes in handy when he wants to play.

Daytime Oujidere Minho is more of a spoiled prince but nighttime Oujidere Minho is… well this is where he reminds you physically what your place is.

Now, gentle is not the word to be used with him exactly, but he’s not as rough as you had first expected.

Probably because Minho kind of likes keeping you around and if he breaks you, that won’t be possible.

Not an outright exhibitionist but he certainly won’t stop if someone sees.

In fact, the more people that know who owns you the better.

If someone walks into his room or his studio and he’s fucking you? Literally won’t stop.

Kamidere:

Forces you to meet his eyes by grabbing your chin with his hand. It’s his favorite move.

Minho doesn’t like getting his hands dirty because he’s beneath that. If you mess up expect someone else to dole out punishment.

He just wants to see the aftereffects and belittle you for them.

Public shaming will include literally making you get under his boots and apologize for hours.

If he gives you anything it’s because it directly benefits him but he expects you to be thankful for it.

Requires you to shower him in praise but will never act like he wants it from you.

NSFW

He likes seeing you do all the work, and you better not complain ever because you’re lucky to be where you are.

And just because you’re on top does not mean you’re in charge, he’s still calling all the shots and he will make sure you don’t forget it.

He likes it when you scream and doesn’t care who hears.

If Oujidere Minho marks you with a collar, Kamidere Minho marks you with his teeth. Everywhere.

He will bite hard enough for you to bleed mostly because he can and mostly because he wants the marks to last.

Will bring in other people to fuck you so he can watch and make you say how they’re nowhere near as good as him and that you want his cock only.

Shundere:

He’ll get very snappy with you and feel bad immediately after.

Sad Minho wants you to see him strong so he’ll never cry in front of you. You still hear him though, when he thinks you don’t.

A way to make him feel better is to bring him food when he’s not expecting it.

He loves cooking for you so you cooking for him is a way of showing without outright saying that you’re there for him and you care.

He’ll spend hours in the dance studio trying to work the sadness out of himself but it doesn’t help much.

Has trouble falling asleep so you often stay up with him and watch videos to try and cheer him up.

You will call in Jisung to double team the sadness away if possible.

NSFW

Probably the few times he’s most vulnerable is when he’s physically intimate with you.

Shundere Minho is bad with words just like the others, but he’ll certainly try and show you just how much you mean to him.

We’re not saying that he’s cried in bed before but...

Also, just never knows how to apologize right, but he’s very good at showing it with actions in bed.

Hard and slow is the way he does it. He doesn’t want to rush things, he wants to feel everything and make sure you feel it too.

This can lead to very very long sessions that leave you exhausted and blurry around the edges.

Aftercare is very soft and very warm, and when Minho thinks you’ve fallen asleep he’ll tell you how much he loves you.

Don’t ever tell him you heard him though, he won’t react well.

Nyandere:

Breed: Mainecoon

You need to treat him like royalty. He sharpens his claws.

No but seriously, Minho is a very sassy cat hybrid.

He’s also a little weird when you get to know him more but he’ll never admit that out loud so you shouldn’t either. He needs to keep his air of ‘fancy’.

He will complain if you don’t provide him his favorite food.

Also will complain if you stay out for too long, he needs attention from you.

Mostly Minho just likes to complain...

Refuses to go to bed with you, but you always find him next to you when you wake up in the middle of the night. By morning he’s gone again.

NSFW

Brat. Brat. Brat.

Insatiable. Always wants to do things at the worst times.

This includes before a concert, immediately after a concert, when you’re on the phone with your friends/family, right before you need to go to work, you get the picture…

Also he doesn’t care who knows he’s horny and wants you. Cat-boy Minho knows no shame.

Be sure to take off his collar before doing anything. He likes it when you leave marks on his neck.

Make no mistake though, he is not submissive in the slightest. He just wants what he wants and you better give it to him.

Gets pretty clingy so please do not try to leave the best post-orgasm even to clean up. He’ll get grumpy.

If you’d like to request some headcanons for other boys here’s our available list to choose from! - Dere-Boy Lineup

If you’d like to submit a dialogue prompt for Minho or any of the other boys here’s how to do that! - Submission for Dialogue Prompts

And here's our masterlist if you wanna see what we've already written! - Masterlist

Thank you so much for reading! - ❄️ & 🌻

[quanxui]

andro!!! do you have any favorite mangakas?

hi kaia! i have lots!! i really enjoy reading manga and reflecting over my feelings with it hehe also, warning! i've rambled here so it's long hahah!

the first on my list would be ONE, the creator of one punch man and mob psycho 100! some don't like his art but i like it! i'm currently reading the ones he's drawn. it mixes well with his wholesome-ish writing! i'm obsessed with his stories, the way he can turn something so shounen/fantasy/adventure into a slice of life that makes me feel like i've healed or learned a really good lesson (shounen/seinen)

Tatsuki Fujimoto comes in second! he's known more as chainsaw man's mangaka but i've read almost all his oneshots and his other series, fire punch. i don't know how to explain this but his works can be quite vulgar/indecent (so um beware!) but it doesn't give off those ecchi vibes you know? they just feel normal and aside from his fascinating storytelling, i love that about his works! one of my favorite oneshots of his is about two sisters in an art school and the younger one had painted a nude of the older sister, and as a rule of the school, they would display the best painting for a month i think. and i thought id find it repulsive (you see i even try to read things i think i might hate haha) but it was somehow sweet? (shounen/seinen)

i find Jun Mayuzuki's after the rain and kowloon generic romance's very impressive too!! especially the way she wrote after the rain, a story about a 17 year old girl who's in love with the manager from her part time job, a 40 something divorced man. i dont want to spoil anything so all i can say is i really recommend reading it! i've watched the live-action, and am about to watch the anime. jun mayuzuki's art style is something to praise too!! i'm no good with art critiquing but i love her backgrounds so much! also, her kowloon generic romance gave me wong kar wai vibes!!! everytime i read a new chapter, an 80s citypop song would play in my head, too! (shoujo/josei)

next is Robico!!!! her popular work would be my little monster! but i haven't read that ^^ instead i've read an anthology by her and our precious conversations. i love love love her art style and her writing!! but what i love the most are the dialogues! they're not philosphical or anything supreme, but they're just normal conversations. i guess it must be because i miss going out and having actual face to face conversations with people that's why i've fallen for her dialogues. oh and i’m at awe with her oneshot collab with the mangaka for death note!! (shoujo) 

Tsubasa Yamaguchi is blue period's mangaka. i really enjoyed blue period because i was reading it while i was stressing over what i wanted to do after i graduated highschool. i never realized i've run out of time and i had to make a decision already, see? and reading blue period really comforted and calmed me! since tsubasa yamaguchi has also written the manga, i really really feel thankful for her writing! i love her art too! i've said this a lot of times too, probably, but i really love the shadows in her art! (seinen)

Kyoko Okazaki! myanimelist calls her one of the mothers of josei manga! her art style's attractive to me too! but what's more attractive are her characters!! her works contain fashion, homosexuality, drugs, sex (an awful lot, here’s an article i recently read about her). idk, i love the way she can write and draw these kinds of stories during the 80s. she rocks! (shoujo/josei)

there we have it, my top 5! recently though, i've been admiring the art in skip to loafer by Misaki Takamatsu! i like the expressions and the neat lines! i also like Kon Kumakura's female characters and art style, but you'll barely find translated versions of her works. and Akimi Yoshida, creator of banana fish! i've read a few 80s to 90s manga and sometimes their art style is a bit too messy and crowded for me but i love love hers! it's neat! i haven't read banana fish tho, i've read kisshou tennyo!

thanks for sending me an ask that let me ramble this long >.< enjoy!

[thefriendlyfrog]

Too many thoughts on SPN 15x17, “Unity”

Welp, I don’t usually do this, but this episode was so great and packed with so many good parallels and callbacks I couldn’t help it! Meredith Glynn is such a great writer. So, let’s begin. Lots of spoilers under the cut.

The first scene opens up to Amara living life to the fullest in an Icelandic hot spring (I’ve been to some in Iceland and would 10/10 recommend – don’t bother with the Blue Lagoon, though). My eyes were immediately drawn to the super recognizable cover of Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood”. Now, I haven’t read this book since, like, high school (now realizing that was a DECADE ago), but I do remember the general plot and themes of the story (I should really reread that again, it’s a good book). Basically, the story is recalled by our narrator and protagonist Watanabe at a later point in his life as he is reminded of a time of life when the Beatles’ song “Norwegian Wood” plays. I don’t want to spoil the whole book, but basically it is a coming of age story that is steeped in themes of regret, sex, love, and death (among others, it really is a literary treasure trove!). Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want “Norwegian Wood” spoilers.

In short: Watanabe’s best friend from high school commits suicide which haunts him and his friend’s girlfriend, Naoki, for the rest of their lives. Watanabe and Naoki become close and romantically involved, but she leaves for a sanitorium. Watanabe wants to be with Naoki despite her telling him that she doesn’t think she can love anymore (she described herself and her high school boyfriend as soulmates). Watanabe later meets Naoki’s opposite, Midori, a lively girl who Watanabe grows close to and is also interested in. Watanabe essentially doesn’t move forward as he is waiting on Naoki while having Midori waiting on him. At the end of the story, it is revealed that it has always been Midori and he realizes he wants to be with her.

I thought that this was an EXCELLENT pick for Amara to be reading. It really sums of a lot of surface and not-so-surface level themes in Supernatural. Wondering if there is a parallel between Dean and Watanabe about sort of idealizing a life (with someone) that isn’t meant to be while ignoring love in front of you? Would love to hear all of your thoughts.

Moving on (I’m skipping through parts of the episode to just focus on some key observations)! Amara tries to convince Chuck to fight on behalf of this world and wants to show him some of his creations. So, she brings him to Heaven to see his ‘first children’ (i.e., angels). She also refers to angels as having prefect angelic devotion which immediately made me laugh because our fave angel Cas is really devoted to Dean humanity and not Chuck. Ahh! This whole episode just kept pointing out how special Cas is.

And then, callback after callback began. Amara brings Chuck to the bunker so Chuck says, “Is this a trap?” which made me think of episode 9 (“The Trap” by Berens). This was almost immediately followed by another callback when Chuck says, “You can’t hold me here forever,” to which Amara replies, “I can hold you long enough.” Um, Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets (12x10, Yockey), anyone?

Ishim: “You can’t hold me here forever.” … Lily’s powers are wearing off as Ishim approaches her until Cas stabs Ishim in the back with his angel blade. Cas: “You held him for long enough.”

Like, COME ON! Almost verbatim.

Skipping forward to Dean and Jack’s adventure to visit my favorite hippies, Adam and Serafina (like seriously, they were fantastic characters!). Adam refers to himself as, “…first dude off of the assembly line,” which is similar language that has been used to referring to angels in the past (again, invoking Castiel?)

Then Dean assumes the woman is Eve but they both just shake their heads and chuckle, “I’m Serafina,” I’m definitely not the first one to point this out but… the First Man being in a near-lifelong romantic relationship with an angel named Seraph Serafina?! Uh, yeah, ‘nuff said.

Serafina also mentions that she saw Jack when she and Adam were, “…sipping mushroom tea on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,” which made me wonder if there was some sort of connection with Glynn’s season 14 episode, “Byzantium” (14x08), which is the episode Cas makes his deal with the Empty. Babylon was a fortress of the Byzantine empire (not going to lie, my historical knowledge about the Byzantine empire is preeeeetty limited).  

I also loved the whole speech by Serafina to Dean: “I mean, just think of everything that has had to happen to get Jack to this place, to this moment. Baby, it was meant to be,” Dean, of course, is upset by this because he is probably thinking that this was all basically predestined, and he has had no free will. However, he just needs to wait a little while longer until Chuck tells him to his face that he has never been able to control Cas since he laid his hand on Dean saving him from Hell.

Serafina also heals Adam’s wound and it is, of course, super reminiscent of Cas healing Dean (although, even Serafina doesn’t directly touch Adam when healing him – it’s, once again, unique to Castiel). Obligatory hand squeal: HANDS!!!! Wow, they are not even trying to be subtle about the whole hands thing. It is so IN YOUR FACE begging for the audience to notice it.

Adam then mentions how much power is in his rib: “But this puppy? Is packing enough punch to create LIFE. Or, in your case, destroy God.” Well, at this point I think we can all be pretty certain that in the end it will NOT be used to destroy God, so will it instead be used for creation? Excited to see how they defuse Jack’s supernova bomb next episode.

Rounding off Dean’s vignette is a heartbreaking scene with him and Jack in the Impala. Dean says, “I don’t know how to explain it. When I learned about Chuck, it was like – it’s like I wasn’t alive. Not really. You know, like, my whole life I’ve never been free. But like, really free. But now, me and Sam, we got a shot at living a life…But now we have a chance. And that’s because of you.” Again, this is before Dean learns that Cas’ actions were made of his own free will, and from the sounds of it, Dean’s connection to Amara as well. I also immediately wondered if Jack bringing Dean some sense of freedom was what Cas saw when Jack showed him “paradise”.

Moving on to Sam’s vignette: Sam remembers that Sergei mentioned the Key of Death was in the bunker (how did he remember this, wasn’t he unconscious at the time? A little disappointed Cas didn’t get to provide that little fact but I’m also glad that Sam actually served a purpose this episode and was a bit more front and center). They find the Key of Death and there is an inscription in Latin on the box:

Viator mortalis, cave, quoniam scias Clavem Mortis pensare graviter. Il tamen desideres ut introeas illum abyssum obscurissimum artis opus est tibi porta.

Okay, fair warning: I took Latin for 4 years but it has been awhile so my translation is super not perfect, but I figured I would take a stab at it because the subtitles were wrong at times and Google translate is not perfect. I translated it as something like this:

Mortal traveler, beware, because you know the Key of Death should be considered seriously. However, if you want to enter the darkest abyss, this work of art is the gate/door.

Honestly, there were a few words that I couldn’t find the right conjugations to and I know this isn’t 100% accurate, but it gives you the gist.

Sam then visits Death’s library and finds the Empty there, killing people (?) to get in touch with Death, whom they hasn’t been trusting as of late. We learn that Death’s plan is to assume the role of New God and restore the world back to order, bring back rules. The Empty is wary because they don’t know if they can trust the promise of being able to go back to sleep. Trust issues, the Empty says, because of “your busted-ass friend in the trench coat,” another subtle-not-so-subtle mention of Cas. But why, exactly, did Cas give the Empty ‘trust issues’? Was it because he woke up in the first place? Because he has ‘traipsed in and out’ of the Empty without dying?

We also learn that only Billie can read Chuck’s Death book, and, this may be a crack idea but… maybe Cas should be able to read the book because he was the one that killed Billie and made her Death in the first place? Seems like Cas might have a connection to Billie. It would be cool if Cas were the one to read Chuck’s book.

Finally, we learn a bit more about the Empty, and how they can’t go to Earth unless summoned. Hmm…

Flash forward to Amara and Chuck in the bunker. Amara tells Chuck, “It’s not too late, brother,” and, if you’re like me, you finished that sentence with “it’s never too late (to start all over again)”. So many great Destiel songs out there, but “Never Too Late” takes the cake for me.

Amara and Chuck decide to become one, become ultimate balance. Chuck extends his hand and Amara grasps it as she is absorbed into Chuck. I don’t even know if I really need to say this, but… HANDS! (Destiel is already canon to me but if the show is going to make it more explicitly canon for the audience, it’s going to be through hands as I know people have been shouting about for several seasons now).  

To finish, let’s talk about that kick-ass scene with TFW 2.0 at the end of the episode. We find out that Chuck’s real ending is to have Dean regress and give in to rage and kill everything he loves, probably ultimately leading to his own death. Woof, what a tragic ending (tragedy ≠ good ending). So, we’ve got to subvert that which Dean does after a heartfelt plea from Sam (“You would trade me?”). I enjoyed how much Dean looked back at Cas during this exchange, especially after Sam tells Dean that Eileen will die again. The parallels, the connection.

Honestly, I’m not sure why Cas and Jack were in that scene other than to have some meaningful glances exchanged between Cas and Dean and because TFW2.0 is together in the next scene. But… whatever, more Cas so I liked it.

And finally, the scene that had me shaking with VINDICATION.

Cas to Chuck: “What, you consumed your sister?” Chuck: “We came to an understanding, so spare me your contempt Castiel, the self-hating angel of Thursday. You know what every other version of you did after ‘gripping him tight and raising him from perdition’? They did what they were told. But not you. Not the ‘one off the line with a crack in his chassis’” (Cas looks back at Dean after a moment)

Okay, so let’s break this exchange down. So much satisfaction with just a few sentences. Bravo, Ms. Glynn.

“We came to an understanding.” Didn’t Michael and Adam say the same thing after they decided to share equally in their bond and vessel? Callback #1.

“…self-hating angel of Thursday.” Ahh, it’s been so long since we got mention that Cas is the angel of Thursday. The last time was, what, when Crowley says it to Cas back in season 6? By the way, it was totally meant to be that Supernatural will finish off the series on a Thursday. Callback #2 (ish).

“You know what every other version of you did after ‘gripping him tight and raising him from perdition’?” This is the second time the show has repeated Cas’ first line to Dean near-verbatim in two seasons. You know, just in case the audience forgot Dean and Cas’ infamous first meeting (which I am like 99% sure we are going to get hella callbacks to next episode). Callback #3.

“They did what they were told. But not you. Not the ‘one off the line with a crack in his chassis.’” Again, Chuck is closely paraphrasing what Naomi said about Cas in season 8:

8x21 “The Great Escapist” – Naomi: “You're the famous spanner in the works. Honestly, I think you came off the line with a crack in your chassis. You have never done what you were told. Not completely. You don't even die right, do you?”

Callback #4. Seriously, Glynn packed four callbacks into such a short time period. Wizard.

My only *criticism* of this final scene is that Dean and Cas didn’t seem to react too much to Chuck’s news about Cas always having free will (although, I think Cas already knew this, but it is news and confirmation to Dean!). I highly suspect that will come next week, though. I’m SO excited (and also terrified) for next week. We are definitely going to be getting a lot of Cas next episode. Misha, in an interview, mentioned that we would get Cas’ ‘chapter’ in 18, and I’m wondering if this will be the true Cas-centric episode? I don’t know, maybe the Cas-centric episode was “Gimme Shelter” but I was expecting more of a “The Man Who Would Be King” kind of Cas-centric episode.  

All in all, 10/10. I keep reading and seeing things that are galaxy braining me, so it has been super fun reading all the meta and reactions to this episode.

Three episodes left. Get your tissues ready for Cas’ death (oops, is this even a spoiler at this point?) next episode. And remember, “Nothing ever really ends,” and “The end has no end,”

[cylonalyna]

Alyna watches Xena! S01x01 – Sins of the Past

Beware. For the road is long and full of spoilers… I mean, if a 25 years old show can be spoiled. But fair warning.

I was never a fan of Hercules so when I watched the pilot I didn’t know what Xena’s back story was and that it was Hercules who convinced her to change her ways. And because I didn’t know that, I thought Xena was just this ex-evil warrior who changed her ways because of some reason known to her. Anyway, I remember watching this episode out of boredom and thinking it’s just a female version of Hercules, but oh boy, was I wrong. Thankfully. And this thing here was supposed to be short but I made a very long recap of the episode. Sorry not sorry, I’m gonna be making recaps of the series. Yes, every single episode… Not regularly... And it's gonna be long… Deal with it.

And maybe read it and let me know what you think. :)

Oh, and if there are any grammatical or punctuation errors also let me know. English isn't my first language so there might be some things to fix. :)

We start with Xena is going through some burned village reminiscing on her past when she was just killing, pillaging and burning villages… And people too, I guess. And then there’s this boy coming out of a burned house asking for food. And when Xena asks him where his parents are, he says Xena killed them. He describes her attack as if the goddess herself showed up and fucked the village up for no reason and Xena is all like:

And it’s really one of the best moments of a pilot, because we’re shown flashback of the attack so even without watching Hercules and meeting Xena there we can see she used to be a bad bitch. So before leaving she gives the kid some bread and cheese so he could hide in his burned house and eat something before he dies of some sickness, gets killed, is eaten by wild animals in search for food etc. Brilliant plan boy, you’re a prodigy.

So then we have the scene where Xena digs a hole and puts her armor her sword and chakram there and frankly, she’s not really a clean lady since there’s still blood and some meat pieces on her chakram.

*rule #1 - wash your weapons from enemies intestines*

And suddenly, a whole bunch of villagers is chased by some warlord taken straight from Mad Max movie. Xena observes the situation, the Mad Max warlord says he’s gonna get the girls (men, smh) and then this blonde girl is all like “take me and leave everyone” and warlords are like “lmfao, nope” and Xena is all like:

*Carless Whisper saxophone solo intensifies*

Because frankly, who wouldn’t be? I know I had the same reaction to Gabrielle so I get Xena. I totally get it.

So when the warlord wants to whip Gabrielle for being insubordinate Xena suddenly jumps into action and starts kicking ass. We get backflips, kicks, punches and a really awesome action sequence until Xena is hit in the head (because she was watching if Gabrielle was safe and it got her distracted. Again, totally understandable).

Men are standing there groaning “argh, grr, rghhg” or something like that and then BOOM! Xena takes out her sword from the hole and with a laugh starts fighting them. And you can see how much fun she has. She kicks warlords’ asses and realizes they’re from Draco so she tell them to say hello from Xena. But who’s Draco? What does he do? Is he more evil then Xena? We don’t know! And… opening!

In a time of ancient gods, warlords… Well, you know it.

So later on Xena is in this small village surrounded by the villagers and Gabrielle is fawning over her and the whole situation, and Gabrielle’s father comes in being all like “thanks for saving us, but now GTFO” and this tall dude behind him wants to take Gabrielle. But Gabrielle is all like “dude, I know I’m supposed to marry you against my will and then die in childbirth or of boredom, but I’m not gonna listen to you. GTFO”. So when he leaves, Gabrielle begs Xena to take her with her. Xena being stoic and supposedly unmoved by Gabrielle words of course disagrees, because “she works alone” and… Then she tells Gabrielle she’s going to Amphipolis, because OF COURSE Gabrielle wouldn’t try and follow her. Nope. Not at all. And she goes like “don’t follow me, you don’t wanna make me mad, do you?” and of course Gabrielle is all like “yeah, no sure, I get it” but then is of course “meh, she’s not that scary. I just need a plan!”

So we move to Draco’s camp where he’s without shirt exposing his bare chest, being all handsome and shit, and being badass when catching almost four arrows at once. But then he’s sort of colorblind… I mean he notices the color of the arrow that wounded him but can’t see who has green arrows when the dude’s arrows are visible from behind his back...

*seriously Draco…*

Anyway, later he’s alone and Xena sneaks in and they have the whole who's tougher bitch, which is Xena of course, and she asks him to leave the village alone (because of her future wife or something) and Draco’s all like “yeah, sure… If you join me” and when Xena says she can’t join Draco, being a typical man he asks why. And we get this really awesome scene where Xena dramatically turns her back, stares at nothing and says she’s going home. OH, DRAMA!

So Draco becomes even a bigger drama queen than Xena and tells our warrior saying he’s dreamt of being in love with her or… fighting in battle or whatever, can’t remember, but Xena turns and Draco goes all soft and says he’ll spare those villagers. But he also asks Xena what's she looking for at home. Being still in drama mode he tells her that when he tried to come home his dad beat the shit out of him with a blacksmith’s hammer. And he survived that. Damn, he IS badass! I mean, have you people ever seen a blacksmith hammer?!

*10/10 wouldn't recommend this an educational tool*

Meanwhile, Gabrielle wants to escape home in the middle of the night and while sneaking out she… Hits strategically placed table waking up her sister Lila. Gabrielle explains to her she needs to follow Xena because she’s in lo… She wants to be a warrior like her and that she doesn’t love Perdicus and it’s her destiny. So Lila being a supportive sister is all like “Go, chase your girlf…. Dreams! Just do it!” and Gabrielle leaves.

*Lila being a supportive sister*

It’s daylight and Xena is riding Argo when suddenly her horse stops all afraid. So Xena gets off the horse that suddenly runs away and… The Blind Cyclops shows up with Draco’s dad’s blacksmith’s hammer! (I honestly don’t know if I used Saxon Genitive in the right way, but I hope you get the meaning). Xena is all like “Fuuuck, that’s a big hammer!” which makes the Blind Cyclops even more badass than he already is, but she stands to fight and humiliates him by dropping his pants. He starts bawling like a baby and Xena leaves him and continues her journey to Amphipolis, because she has no time to deal with Cyclops drama.

But Draco is plotting against Xena. He decides to attack Amphipolis and pretend it was Xena who told him to do it. Plot thickens, you guys.

Gabrielle is afraid of bridges… And gets caught by…Yes, you guessed right. The Blind Cyclops. But being a smart girl she says she’s out here to find and kill Xena because… And here we have very subtexty dialogue:

C: “How’s the young thing like you is gonna kill Xena?”

G: “That’s the point. She’d never let a man get close enough to do her. At least not that kind of do her. But a young, innocent looking girl like me, I’ll catch her totally off guard…

*You sure will, Gabrielle. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)*

At the same time, Xena is being followed by Draco’s warlords. They’re dumb enough to think she doesn’t know so she goes all ninja on them, fingers the Mad Max warlord… I mean, she cuts the blood to his body… Pervs. ;) And when she learns about the plan she leaves to stop the invasion.

In the next scene, Gabrielle is chilling out on the road when some old dude stops and tells her to GTFO, because she’s blocking the only route to Amphipolis. So Gabrielle convinces him to take her with him and the old dude agrees.

So while Gabrielle and the old man are traveling on the only route to Amphipolis, Xena is taking a detour through the hills for dramatic effect or something. Basically, New Zealand… I mean Greece is a beautiful place so why not show it, right? Right?

She meets those peasant women singing Bulgarian…  I mean Greek chants and rides through them, but they don’t give a shit being too into chanting and putting on stacks of… Hay, I guess. Meh, whatever.

So Xena reaches Amhipolis and goes into a tavern to drink wine and sleep with beautiful women. But unfortunately it’s not that kind of a tavern and there’s no wine and beautiful women to sleep with. All she meets are angry people, silence and… wait for it… her mother, Cyrene!

Cyrene grabs Xena’s sword and tells her she’s not welcomed there and she should GTFO. Xena wants to rally people against Draco but Cyrene is against and she tells Xena she’d rather die and that she’s not her mother. And it’s a rather powerful stuff, because we only know glimpses of Xena’s past so we don’t really know how big her crimes are. Of course burning one village and killing peasants is a big no no, but Xena is too big of a character to be hated for such a minor offense. Anyway, villagers in the tavern also tell Xena to GTFO so she does.

Draco is pissed that Mad Max warlord told Xena about his plans and tells him to pick a weapon. Sadly it’s not Draco’s father’s blacksmith’s hammer because that’s been stolen by the Blind Cyclops, but a simple spear. Still, Draco proves to be truly awesome by kicking Mad Max warlord’s ass and killing him while telling new plans to his people. Truly, he was a great choice for a pilot.

In the morning, Xena comes back to the tavern looking around hoping to find some wine and beautiful ladies to sleep with, but to her disappointment there are still none. But her sword is there. And her mom is there. Oh boy, this tension between them could cut diamonds in half. But we get a bonding moment where Cyrene and Xena open old wounds so they could heal, and Xena tells her mother she might not be able to set things right, but she’s gonna spend the rest of her life to try. It’s another great moment in this show where we see Xena in her vulnerable state and not all powerful and strong. And this moment is ruined by villagers coming into the tavern saying Xena’s army is burning fields to which Xena answers they’re lying, Cyrene feels all hurt thinking it was all a ruse and leaves, and villagers start throwing rocks at our warrior princess.

But then Gabrielle comes to the rescue! Because Gabrielle has a natural talent to talk her way out of troubles, she uses it to save Xena. She uses a cunning bluff of “if you hurt bad guy’s girlfriend imagine how pissed he’ll be”. So the villagers reluctantly agree and decide to not commit murder. After a small talk Xena takes Gabrielle on her horse and takes her to her dead brother. Because, you know, there’s no better start of a romance than a visit at the crypt.

So Xena is talking to his dead brother saying she’s lost but that she’s gonna be ok, but that she’s alone and then Gabrielle shows up saying she’s not. And by the way that they’re looking at each other we’re to believe these two weren’t into each other from the beginning? Please.

*they’ve known each other for like 1 hour and we get those looks already? So straight indeed*

Meanwhile, the villagers are waiting for Draco to make a deal, but when he shows up he’s threatening to destroy everything and kill everyone unless they tell him where Xena is. And this is another great moment for Draco, because he really is a scary and ruthless dude and I really wish he was more in this show then just 3 episodes. It was a wasted character, imo.

Anyway, while threatening the leader to kill him, Xena shows up and Draco makes fun of her asking about the homecoming. Again, he tries to convince Xena to join him and goes all Palpatine saying she should “celebrate her dark side”, but Xena is all like “pfft, fuck off and let’s fight to the death”. Draco tells her to choose weapons, but Xena leaves the choice to Draco. Now, Draco being a really smart guy and someone who knows how good Xena is with swords, chooses staffs. I’m sure he believes it’ll give him advantage or at least even oit the odds. Xena chooses the conditions and her conditions are to fight on a scaffolding. The first person to touch the ground is gonna die. Draco agrees and tells his people that whoever falls first is to be killed.

Doing a flip with the help of his people he gets to a scaffolding and grabs his staff. Xena is way more of a showgirl. She hits the dude with his staff and when he leans down she jumps on his back and then on a head of another warlord and jumps to meet her opponent.

They start fighting. It’s an even fight and Draco proves to be a worthy opponent. Soon Xena has to fight to stay on the bamboo scaffolding as it starts to fall off. The archers prepare to shoot, Cyrene shows up and everyone is thinking if she’s gonna fall. But no, Xena standing on one bamboo stick starts hitting bamboos under Draco’s feet to make him back out and leave him vulnerable. But Draco stands tough and very soon he manages to make Xena almost fall again. She manages to hang on her staff, her legs barely touching the ground. Cyrene starts panicking, being all teary, because, come on, she’s a mom. No matter how pissed our moms are at us, they worry 24/7.

Draco starts hiting Xena’s hands wanting her to let go and fall, asking her why she would die for the people that hate her. But Xena grabs Draco’s staff with her feet and doing a truly awesome backflip she manages to stand on the scaffolding again attacking him. Draco almost falls but jumps on people’s heads and give Xena a signal to join him.

And the same villagers who earlier denied Xena her wine and beautiful women to sleep with, and wanted her dead are now supporting her… Literally. She manages to stand on the arms of one person and attacks Draco. They do backflips, kicks, punches and all that for a few minutes and then with one swift kick to the chest Draco falls down on the ground and Xena jumps on his chest looking down upon him to let him know he’s just a little bitch and not a match to her skills. Xena promises to spare Draco if he leaves the valley and he agrees.

But one of his warlords decides to sneakily attack Xena from behind. Gabrielle’s warns her, but before the warrior can react Draco throws his knife at him. After all, Draco may be a ruthless warlord, but he’s honorable.

After the fight Xena is preparing to leave when Cyrene shows up and hugs Xena, who asks again for forgiveness and is, of course, given that. It's a truly awesome moment in this pilot.

But, and honestly I have no idea why, Xena doesn’t stay in the tavern for wine and beautiful women to sleep with. Maybe there is no wine and beautiful women to sleep with after all. Instead, Xena starts a fire near some woods when she hears some noise and goes into a warrior mode. But, as it turns out, it’s just Gabrielle saying she wanted to follow Xena without her noticing, but she couldn’t start a fire and it’s cold and there are mosquitoes looking lkke eagles or something.

Xena wants to send her back home, but Gabrielle says she won’t go. There’s a talk about not belonging there and Xena seems to understand Gabrielle completely. So when she gives Gabrielle a blanket we get one of the most beautiful moments in the pilot.

*couldn't find gif so you're stuck with bad screenshot*

And in the morning we see Xena and Gabrielle travelling to new adventures to right wrongs, drink wine and… Oh forget it.

This episode is all kinds of awesomeness. It’s a great introduction to a character of Xena even to those, like me, who didn’t know her from Hercules. It has tons of very well choreographed fights, amazing music and it’s a rreally strong pilot that makes you wanna see more.

10/10

[dgrayland]

★D.GRAY MAN ★ ANIME & MANGA RECCOMENDATIONS

So, you all knows how much I love D.Gray-Man (forever and ever and ever) but when you get at the point where you pretty much watched and rewatched the entire series - original & hallow and all - as well as read and re-read the manga you’re gonna need a breather to process all the emotions but yet still can’t seem to let go. Yet at the same time, ya need a breather with something familiar yet something new. Yule gotchu, fam (＾＾)ｂI’ve compiled a few recommendations that might match your tastes. 

The few below would probably have elements from DGM that you might like and find intriguing and probably fill up the time until Hoshino reveal more to us. 

Here we go!

GLOSSARY 

01. Claymore

02. 07 Ghost 

03. Pandora Hearts

№ 1 — CLAYMORE 

RECOMMEND : Both Anime & Manga ★★★★★ 

This is an oldie but a real goodie. I think it was way back when I was in middle school when I first watched Claymore but recently I rewatched it and it’s still very good. The action scenes were top notch and each battle is very interesting to watch especially when they really go at it. 

The story takes place in medieval-esque time in a world that’s overrun by demons known as Youma who can disguise themselves wearing human skin. They’re difficult to get rid of and when a town found themselves infested, they have no choice but to contact and Organization in order to dispatch a Claymore warrior in order to deal with the monster. In this story, we follow a Claymore named Claire, one of the Silver-Eyed Witches as she is accompanied by her human companion Raki. 

The Organization is definitely the Order’s equivalent, Youma’s as Akumas and Claymore/Silver-Eyed Witches as Exorcists. 

Those who love D.Gray-Man would definitely find something to like in Claymore as they hit similar themes although Claymore is definitely a bit more darker and gory in nature so beware of that (A bit of warning on assault too. I think two scenes but it didn’t get far.) There’s definitely body horror and blood and guts but it’s mostly keep out of eyesight in the anime but the same can’t be said for the manga. 

The story is really intriguing and really led you to wanting to know more and wanting to know how it ends. The soundtrack is also absolutely fitting and gets you hype up with the scenes. There’s 26 episodes for the anime and the manga is complete with 156 chapters (give or take) Though I haven’t finished the manga yet so no spoiling me (;´д｀) Not that I don’t know the ending...what?! Sometimes I can’t help myself! 

I have so many things I want to rave about this anime but I’m gonna keep my lips shut and let you experience it by yourselves. (・ω<)

Not enough? Let these few gifs convince you! 

№ 2 — 07 GHOST 

RECOMMEND : Both Anime & Manga ★★★★

Same with the above, I was probably in middle school when I first stumbled on this anime. After completing Claymore for the second time, I instantly remembered and rewatched it. This focuses more on emotional point similar to D.Gray-Man where characters have their own arcs and lessons to go through. 

07 Ghost takes place in a fantasy realm with cultural influence from Germany, magic in forms of Zaiphon and even have Sky Pirates! Yes Sky Pirates! The story however follows Teito Klein, a battle skalve (slave) for the Empire but one day he starts to remember his past and flees from the Empire falling into the church grounds where the 7 Ghost are worshipped. And soon he have to deal with Kors and Wars who temps humans to grant their wishes before taking their souls and run into the 7 Ghosts as he tries to uncover his hidden memories of the past. 

I think out of the three recommendation, 07 Ghost hits most of the same notes as D.Gray-Man though I do prefer DGM in terms of story telling and everything but 07 Ghost is an interesting emotional journey of its own. In this series, the Church mirrors the Order though DGM order is much darker in terms of ambitions, Wars and Kors mirroring Akumas and the Clerics and 7 Ghosts can stand in the place of the exorcists. Allen and Teito have similar notes as well but I won’t say much more because it’d be spoilers but a clue would be in terms of identity, they’re not all they seem. Lastly, 07 Ghost have a beautiful melody called Raggs Requiem that would be Lacrimosa Lala’s song equivalent. 

The anime guarantees a good time having hit the same comedic and emotional points and for all those shonen-ai shippers, this is the series for you (o'ｕ≦o) though I have yet to see if the couples end up together (I’m still reading the manga. Gomennasai m(；∇；)m ) so no guarantees on that. For the first time viewers, you’re gonna need tissues for the anime. It’s not a long anime with 25 episodes that focuses on the church before Teito leaves for the journey but it’s a worthwhile experience. 

As for the manga...I was a bit disappointed by a couple of scenes as it moves at a fast pace and didn’t have as much of an emotional impact on the readers as covered by the anime but the story is fascinating and the characters have many layers and the deeper you go, the more you see their motivations aren’t surface level. The manga isn’t long spanning exactly 100 chapters (if you count the extra) and there’s enough mystery and emotional backstory as well as action to go around. I’m actually disappointed that they didn’t continue the anime as the story after Teito left the Church was very interesting especially when it comes to the identity of Teito Klein as well as the true identities and past of the 07 Ghost : (1) Zehel, (2) Fest, (3) Profe, (4) Relikt, (5) Vetrag, (6) Ea and (6) Lankarte as follows - 

Not to mention we have a younger less cynical perverted version of Cross, a less eccentric but still highly eccentric Komuii-like character as well as a cute mascot, Burupya! How could you say no to such a cute face?

№ 3 — PANDORA HEARTS 

RECOMMEND : Both Anime & Manga ★★★★★

OKAY, YOU KNOW WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS. THOSE THAT KNOW WILL KNOW AND I KNOW THAT MOST OF YOU KNOW! This...This is probably the only anime and manga that can compete against DGM emotionally and story-plotting wise. They both will eff-ed you up emotionally, bawling into tissues as well as leave you screaming at books and screens at what will happen next. 

Oh gosh, I hope I do it justice. 

Pandora Hearts takes place in a fictional England in Victorian Era times in the age of noble houses and Dukedoms. On the very day that a boy Oz Vessalius is about to have his Coming to Age ceremony, he fell down and discovers a pocket watch upon a that plays a mysterious melody. Strange things happens and he was thrown into the world of Abyss - a twist on Lewis Caroll’s Wonderland filled of broken things, the Will of the Abyss and beings called Chains. There he meets a Chain and form a contract with her bringing him back to his own world but an Organisation have tracked him down and now he have to cooperate with them as he unravels the mystery about himself, the Chains, the Abyss and the dark secret that loomed behind the noble houses that affects their pasts, present and future. 

There’s so much I want to say and yet can’t say about this series because the amount of spoilers. It would be something that haunt you for a long time and once you get invested, you can’t quite get out. 

There’s similarities between characters such as Oz with Allen and I dare say Komuii and Sheril with Xerxes but both series have a strong character cast that you would fall in love with each of them and layered story where nothing is as it seems including characters. The Chains can stand as either Innocence or Akumas in a sense but it isn’t a typical monster hunting story, it’s rather focused on unravelling the mystery one string at a time. There are heavy elements on horror and a bit of warning of blood and a bit of bodily harm so take note of that.

The anime is 25 episodes long and serves as a good enough introductory to the series but the manga is where the story truly shines. The soundtrack however is wicked epic and worth listening to. Yuki Kajiura lends her talents creating haunting melodies that would haunt your mind and tug at your hear strings. The manga spans around 104 chapters and good news! It’s completed so no need to sit in agony for so long (gawd knows I have. I had to wait for years. I still have to finish up the manga thoughᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕗ Yes, yes, I am a bit slow when it comes to mangas) But I think most of you are pretty acquainted with this. How I know? Well....when this happens. 

One last thing I need to mention - the art for Pandora Hearts is extremely beautiful and you will find yourself staring at a single page for more than a few seconds just to take in all the details. That’s it. 

CONCLUSIONS

That’s pretty much what I’ve been able to gather over the last couple of months. I hope the recommendations are helpful in some way. Even if it’s not, it’s fun to write about for a bit. I definitely know there’s more series to recommend and would love to hear if there are suggestions. I’ve heard about Demon Slayer being one of them but haven’t started on it yet. Anyways....

Happy watching and reading! 

[scenariosbutmakeitgay]

Shibisu x Female Reader? Feel free to come up with the plot :)

it’s basically the little mermaid au, but even darker than the original fairytale

also that’s literally the longest fic on this blog lol

tw: death, violence, gore-ish theme

-

There once was a kingdom placed deep under the sea, where no human could reach. The kingdom was full of different creatures – starting with fish, and ending with mermaids. You happened to be the representative of the latter, one of king Jahad's many children to be more precise. Of course, the royal family wasn't the only one out there. Except from Jahad's offsprings, there were ten more names you could hear about quite frequently. The Ten Great Families, as some called them. You rarely bothered to spend time with other mermaids. Living under the sea, as beautifully poetic as it could be sometimes, became dull quite quickly. King Jahad prohibited his children from going near the surface – as if he was scared they might not want to come back. By the time you reached your eighteenth birthday, Jahad's overprotectiveness began to feel even more suffocating.

“I'm not sure what I expected to happen,” you murmured to yourself one night, when everyone was already asleep. “That he's going to change? It's ridiculous.”

Your father, as loving as he could be, was a man deeply stuck in his ways. If he said that you're not allowed to see the world above the surface, then that's it, and you shouldn't even try to argue. But the fact that despite your adulthood, he still treated you like a child, made you reach your boiling point. Tonight was the time of grunt changes, so you slipped out of your room, and checked if the hallway outside was empty. Not a single soul.

With each feet closer to the surface, the water became warmer, and the sounds of terrified screams intensified. You've finally reached your destination, and as lightning bolts pierced the sky, and cold air hit your face, everything became more alive. Suddenly, you heard a loud splash as an unconscious body of a man fell into the sea. An unknown urge overcame your senses, and before you could even notice, you caught the man into your arms. He wasn't that heavy, so carrying him to the shore didn't make much of a challenge. You placed his body on the sand, and moved long strands of dark hair out of his face.

You put your hand on his chest, and sighed in relief upon feeling a heartbeat. “That would be a dreadful night to die, wouldn't it?”

Predictably, no answer came. You looked at the man for the last time, and dived into the sea with no sense of where to go. Coming back to the castle was not an option, you would die out of boredom if you had to spend one more day at this place. That being said, there was only one option left. As a kid, your father always warned you to never wander alone outside his kingdom.

“I love spoiling you, my child, yet there are places under the sea you shall never visit,” he stated in a cold, demanding manner. “The castle and gardens surrounding it grant you safety. There are vicious creatures out there, and I cannot let them lay a finger on you.”

The kingdom was like a golden cage. It provided you with everything but freedom, which you craved the most. So you chose the path your father despised the most – the one leading to the caves where the Red Witch lived. Water there was muddy, almost impossible to see through. You swam with difficulty, determined to see the witch.

“I see you've finally found your path, daughter of Jahad.”

At first, you couldn't find the source of the voice. The woman was dressed in black and red, making her almost indistinguishable from the colored alike corals. One of her eyes, equally crimson to her hair, was hidden under an eye patch. Throughout your whole life you have heard different stories about the Red Witch and her appearance. Most of them described her as an old, ugly woman, which didn't hold much truth to it. There was one consistency in each and every story – the Red Witch was supposed to grant wishes.

“I've heard you can fulfill the deepest desires one dreams of. Is it true, witch?” you asked, trying to sound as confident as possible, while remaining to stay aware of your surroundings. As your father said, the kingdom meant safety. And you were outside it.

“Ah, yes, of course,” she replied with a barely noticeable smirk on her face. “But that craving of yours, little mermaid, comes with a price to pay.”

“I'll pay every price!” you exclaimed without much thinking, which only made the Red Witch snicker.

“Quite an eager one, aren't you?” she mocked. “With each royal generation that comes there's always someone like you. Incredibly foolish, and a little too curious for their own good. It makes everything even more entertaining, though.” The smile on her face widened, as she came up with an exciting idea. “We shall make a deal, princess. Your kind prides itself for their angelic voices, isn't that so? With each tongue you rip out of a mermaid's mouth, you will receive a human body for a day. When the slaughter ends, you shall fall asleep on the shore. I will grant you a pair of legs, princess. There is one more condition to our deal, I must say. When the pendulum of your human time stops swinging, and no man, woman, or any other human being loves you madly, your whole existence shall perish, and become a mere foam. Are you still interested in making your desires come true, Jahad's child?”

Your eyes widened in shock at the Red Witch's offer. It was violent, it was deadly, it was simply wrong! But you craved a pair of legs so madly, deeply, beyond any rational sense.

“I accept your conditions, Red Witch. Expect a silent morning, for I will rip out the tongue of each and every mermaid daring to sing in my presence.”

And your promise was kept. The witch gave you a silver dagger, with blade so sharp it could cut through flesh with almost no resistance. When the morning came, the whole kingdom remained deadly silent. You brought your gift to the Red Witch, and a bloody trail marked the path of your choice.

“I've done what I was compelled to do, witch. What now?” you asked, observing as the woman in front of you carefully counted the tongues. When she made sure what was the number of them, a wide grin appeared on her face.

“Your viciousness granted you a month as a human,” the Red Witch replied. She reached to grab a bottle of scarlet liquid, previously hidden behind one of the corals. “Swim to the shore, and drink it up. Beware, daughter of Jahad. The potion might give you legs, but they will come with great pain.”

Not caring about the warning, you grabbed the bottle from her hand, and swam away as quickly as possible. The shore wasn't that far away – with your current speed it took you barely a quarter of an hour to get there. You sat on the shore, feeling the warmth of the sand on your skin. It was way more pleasant than even the clearest waters in the sea. You opened up the bottle, and drank up the liquid without much hesitance. With the last drop of scarlet, the whole world went dark. A throbbing pain filled your whole body as you desperately grasped for air. You saw them... You saw their faces... They were twisted, convulsions filling their last moves as you ripped their tongues out. The disdainful glances they sent you... You weren't really surprised. Mutilating plenty innocent beings of your own kind was one of the worst crimes to commit – it made you understand the true price of your wish. The curse of the little mermaid shall make you feel the pain of your victims, with each tongue that you ripped out feeling as your own.

Suddenly, the darkness began to fade. The ground underneath your body didn't feel familiar – it was too silky for the sand you previously passed out on. The fabric felt quite similar like bedsheets in your room in the castle. How appalling. The chamber you were in was decorated with wooden furniture, full of ornaments, and quite pleasant to the eye. As you admired the interior design, the mahogany door moved with a creak. A tall man with short hair walked in.

“Oh, I see you're already awake. How are you feeling?” he asked, and placed a beverage on the cupboard next to the bed. It looked like some kind of tea, though you couldn't be sure.

“I-” you tried to reply, but a wave of intense pain hit your throat as you spoke. It felt as if someone was ripping your tongue out. “I'm f-fine,” you finally managed to blurt out. It was excruciating, numbing, and absolutely well-deserved.

The man smiled. “I'm glad. I will explain everything once you rest properly,” he said, and passed the beverage to your hands. It was hot, but not burning. Perfect.

“Oh, also, the prince wanted to talk to you. It has something to do with the place we found you at.”

The prince?

You assumed one of the members of the royal entourage must have found you on the shore. Apparently a princess can never escape from the palace.

Suddenly, a look of realization showed on the man's face, as if he remembered something important. “Please excuse me now, I must attend the rest of my duties. If you ever need any help or simply someone to talk to, ask the guards for Shibisu. They'll certainly find me.”

You nodded, and gave him a thankful smile. When Shibisu, or whatever his name was, left the room, you decided to try out your legs for the very first time. It was a weird feeling for someone who spent their whole life with a fishtail, but not weird enough to be uncomfortable. After all, humans were bizarre creatures – their anatomy had to be on an equal level of eeriness.

A deep breath, and there we go. Your right leg carefully slid off the bed to touch the floor. It was cold. The left one followed right after. Okay, it shouldn't be hard. One leg, two legs, and up!

Your posture was everything but graceful, but at least you didn't stumble. Sole standing won't do, though. You had to learn how to walk. Using the same method – one foot, two feet, and go – your legs made a few small steps. Swimming was way easier, and you felt as if your body was heavier now. As you walked from one corner of the room to another, you noticed a small piece of paper left on the table near the door. It was a note, and whoever put it there, had an incredibly neat handwriting.

“Hello,

I'd like to apologize for contacting you in such an indirect manner, but it was quite hard to guess when you would wake up. There are some spare cloths left by the maids in the closet, so feel free to change into whatever's to your liking. I'd appreciate if we could have a little chat.

Sincerely, Jue Viole Grace.”

That must be the prince the man from before talked about. Maybe he'll clear everything up, and tell you who exactly brought you to the palace. It was a little naive to judge him based on a few sentences, but the prince seemed like a generally kind person, which you considered a rarity among the nobles.

You opened the closet, and picked out a simple dress. It was pretty, but nothing extraordinary. The next step was fixing your appearance to look presentable, because let's be real – passing out, and being unconscious for who knows how long didn't do your face any justice.

One step, two steps, open the door, and walk out. It was simple. You saw the guards as soon as you left the room.

“Prince Viole is waiting for you, miss. Follow me.”

You didn't ask any questions – it was awfully painful to speak, after all. The guard walked through some hallways, corridors, and different rooms to finally get outside the palace. You were in the royal gardens. They didn't look like those king Jahad owned. The gardens above the surface were more colorful, and you could almost feel their liveliness filling your soul with happiness. The prince was sitting on a chair, sipping a cup of tea. He placed his drink on the glass table in front of him as he saw you. Suddenly, you widened your eyes in bewilderment. Prince Viole was the exact same man you saved from drowning just a while ago. You tried to regain your composure, and walked over to him, greeting the nobleman with the kindest smile you could muster.

“It's nice to see you're finally awake. Please take a seat,” the prince said, and patted on the chair next to him. “Are you feeling any better now? You've slept for quite some time.”

You sat down, and cleared your throat. “Yes, I think I'm certainly better now. Thank you for helping me, Your Highness.” It was smarter to play it polite – despite seemingly friendly behavior of the prince, you didn't know what kind of person he was.

“Just Viole is fine, believe me,” he reassured you. “I'm not the right person to thank, though. It was Shibisu who found you on the shore. Surely you two must have already met.”

You nodded, and made a mental note to bring up the topic when you see the man again. The prin... no, not prince. Just  Viole took another sip of tea, and looked you straight in the eyes.

“Do you have any family? I don't want to keep you here against your will if someone's waiting for you to come back.”

The memories of your father and siblings sent shivers down your spine. You wanted them to scream at you for your selfishness, or even yell how disgusting you were. But they couldn't. No matter how many times you tried, they wouldn't answer your prayers. The sea remained deadly silent.

“N-no, I don't have anyone,” you stuttered, trying to sound as convincing as you could.

Viole gave you an understanding smile. “Feel free to stay at the palace as long as you like, then.”

A nod. That's exactly what you did. When your little chat with Viole came to an end, you decided to come back to your room. The palace was surprisingly quiet, even though you could swear you saw plenty of people there earlier. As you walked into another hallway, you felt someone bumping into you. Not hard enough to make you fall, but equally unpleasant.

“Sorry, didn't notice you!” a quick apology left the lips of a man you were already familiar with. Shibisu.

“No, it's my fault. I should have been more careful.” Getting used to the pain took less time than expected, yet the urge to cry in agony with every word spoken didn't disappear.

“Were you heading anywhere in particular? It's quite easy to lose a sense of direction in such a big place.”

“Actually, I planned to go back to my room. Could you show me the right way? I admit I'm a little lost,” you replied.

“Sure thing, miss. You're the lucky one today, because I know the castle better than anyone else,” he said with a cheeky grin. How charming.

With each passing day the clock's clicking became louder, and louder. Your days were numbered, and you were painfully aware of it.

When the pendulum of your human time stops swinging, and no man, woman, or any other human being loves you madly, your whole existence shall perish, and become a mere foam. Are you still interested in making your desires come true, Jahad's child?

The Red Witch was right about one thing – you were incredibly foolish. It was supposed to be a fairytale! A mermaid princess falls in love with a human prince, so she exchanges her tail for legs to be with him, and they live happily ever after. But you? You had no interest in the prince. The person you grew attached to was the man who found you on the shore, and has been taking care of you ever since. An excuse of a princess fell in love with a dorky servant, who doesn't even know the crime that stains her past. What a pitiful fairytale that would be. Not only you were sure that your feelings were one-sided, but your human body wasn't meant to last much longer.

Since your life was close to its end you took one more selfish choice – to spend more time with Shibisu. You shared meals, breaks, and sometimes went on walks together. He was quite a storyteller. You knew that he served the Grace family for over ten years now, and Viole himself considered him a close friend. Shibisu, despite his usual jokerish behavior, was actually a really intelligent person. He also had a sweet tooth, cared deeply for his friends, and liked saying that his favorite color was the one of your eyes.

Tick. Tack.

Tick. Tack.

Tick. Tack.

Your last day was about to end.

“Please, it can't be like this,” you whispered a quiet prayer that no god could ever hear. It was an ironically similar scenario to the one that began your journey.

“I'm not sure what I expected to happen,” you murmured to yourself one night, when everyone was already asleep. “That he's going to change? It's ridiculous.”

A bitter smile formed on your lips as tears began to fall. The palace was deadly silent – just like the morning after the slaughter. You slipped out of your room once more, and tip toed to the kitchen to find a knife. It was sharp, and made of silver – just like the dagger the Red Witch gave you a month ago. All you needed was just a few hours more, maybe even minutes!

Tick. Tack.

Tick. Tack.

Tick. Tack.

Cold breeze hit your face as you came to the shore. The shore that let you fulfill your curse, and the shore that Shibisu found you at.

With each tongue you rip out of a mermaid's mouth, you will receive a human body for a day.

Even with human body, you still possessed the blood of a mermaid, right? Right?! The knife was cold against your skin, slowly coming near your face. The shore was empty. None but you could see the viciousness of the act that was about to happen.

One cut, two cuts, blood filling everything. It was an atrocious sight. You ripped out the piece of flesh like the tongues before, and threw it into the sea. The shore was silent. Just one more day, please.

Suddenly, you heard a scream. It was Shibisu.

“What are you even doing?!”

The shore was neither empty, nor silent now. You wanted to speak, you wanted to yell, you wanted to confess your love for the man in front of you. But the only sound that left your mouth was a cough as blood started to stream down your throat to choke you.

“Y-you...” he stuttered. “You're bleeding.”

You fell down to your knees convulsing. With the last amount of strength left in your body, you started writing on the sand with your finger. The message was simple.

I love you.

His eyes widened both in shock and horror. Your state was getting worse with each second. Shibisu leant over your body, clearly panicking.

“I love you, too! You can't leave me, you heard me?! You can't!”

The night was a stormy one, but no lightning could be louder than your heartbeat. The Red Witch was right once again. Your body didn't perish, because only a madman could break the curse. As your lips touched his, the world around you fell silent. Blood staining both bodies, as if it was an agreement to never mention the crime that caused it all. The night was a stormy one. And not a single soul noticed as the wild waves of the sea consumed both of the lovers, staining the water with crimson foam. Maybe not every fairytale had to end happily.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Future Episode Titles

 So I have just discovered that the episode titles for 5x10 through 5x13 have been released so I figured and see if there are any clues as to what might happen in those episodes. All of these titles are in reference to various movies so be warned there are spoilers for all the movies the titles have. So if you see the name of movie and don’t want to be spoiled stop reading. 

With 5x10 we’ve got a bit of an advantage as we also have the synopsis for that one. But the title is ‘The Pincushion Man’ the title is a reference to a 1935 animated short film. It is also known as ‘Balloon Land’. The story is set in a land where everyone and everything is made of balloons. Two young balloon children are given the warning to beware the Pincushion Man who lives in the forest. The Boy and Girl don’t heed the warning and travel into the woods where they end up leading the Pincushion man back to Balloon Land. He pops a load of the residents before he is finally brought down by the army. So I actually have alot of theories around this one. Obviously in Riverdale I think the Pincushion man is going to represent a serial killer, in the cartoon when he pops the residents he essentially kills them. But who in the episode could be the Pincushion Man. I mean we have a couple of serial killers at the moment. There’s the Truck Killer, TBK and even potentially The Mothman, though we don’t know for sure if they are killing people. So which one could be presented as the Pincushion Man. Well I don’t think its any of them or rather it could be all of them. The Pincushion Man could be more of the idea of a s serial killer terrorizing a town and so could be represented by a number of different characters/ killers. I actually think it could also be in reference to either Chic or Charles or both of them. The synopsis says that Betty and Alice get unexpected visitors and my theory is that this is Charles and Chic. I also think there are clues in that short film that support this theory though obviously like with all the titles that Riverdale episodes share with films I don’t think they will follow the plot exactly but there might some common themes or symbolism.

 Like I said the Pincushion Man is lead to the town by a young boy and girl. In the episode 9 synopsis it says Betty has to make a difficult decision, which if you read my previous post I said that I thought that she would find out that Charles worked on cases relating to the the Truck Killer and is trying to decide on whether to reach out to Charles. It’s also worth noting that in this episode we know from released stills that Betty and Jughead will be interacting and maybe even investigating together. So as Charles is brother to them both Jughead might also be involved in reaching out to Charles. In this scenario Betty and Jughead would be the boy and girl that leads the killer to town whilst trying to escape. Also the title of episode 9 is Destroyer. There is a 2018 film of the same name. This film is about a detective who ends up investigating a case from their past and a criminal that re-emerges after 16 years. Again this could support my theory of Charles’ old cases being reopened as the killer has reappeared. Also in the film the law enforcement officers (a LAPD officer and an FBI agent who are partners working undercover) investigating the crime fall in love and decide to legitimately join in on the crime. Again this to me seems really similar to Charles and Chic with Charles being an FBI agent who becomes a criminal. 

Going back to the 1935 short film, another reason why I think the Pincushion Man might be in reference to Charles is because in the short film the Pincushion Man gains entry through the gate and into the town through hypnosis. He hypnotises the guard at the gate to gain entry. We know that Charles has an interest/ skills in hypnosis.  

But there is something else that is interesting. In the short film the Pincushion Man is finally stopped by the army. The synopsis talked about how Archie’s former general shows up in town with some surprising news. Now I do have a theory that its to do with the Military Base outside of Riverdale but now I have another theory on what it could be. There is a department called the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command aka CID. Now I am not going to pretend I’m an expert on this department but I did some research and what they basically do is investigate felony crimes where the Army is or may be a party of interest. So maybe the surprising news is that the Army or someone in the army is being investigated by the CID in Riverdale. We know that both Archie and Betty were doing stunts for episode 10 and I’m pretty sure this might be the episode Archie is wearing a Kevlar vest so we know its likely to be a pretty action packed episode. So maybe the FBI and CID investigate together. As to who they might be investigating I think it could be one of two. Either Eric Jackson really goes off the deep end and does some crazy stuff. Or it could still be to do with the military testing theory that Pop’s had.  

Episode 5x11 is titled Strange Bedfellows. This again could reference a 1965 film of the same name. In this one a couple impulsively get married then when they realise they have nothing in common and always fight they separate. Seven years later they reunite to finalise their divorce and end up rekindling things. The next day they are right back to fighting and so decide to carry on with the divorce. But then the male protagonist finds out his promotion relies on him being married. So he woos her back. Meanwhile the female protagonist is constantly getting involved in public protests. To me this just screams Chad and Veronica. So here’s what I think is going to happen. I think Chad and Veronica will have a big bust up in the next episode 5x08. They will end up separating at the end of the episode. Then Chad will reappear in episode 11 to finalize their divorce. We know that in those episodes in between that Veronica will likely continue fighting against her father and working to save Riverdale. I think Hiram will come up with a scheme and will offer Chad this amazing job but will tell him he can only have it if he stays married to Veronica and helps distract her/ keep her away from trying to save Riverdale.   

Episode 5x12 is titled Citizen Lodge. This one is actually really interesting to me. It is obviously to do with the 1941 film Citizen Kane. What’s interesting to me is the film has this theme about trying to solve a mystery/ find the truth but failing. The film is about a man named Charles Foster Kane who on his death bed whispers the words Rosebud before dying. A man is tasked with finding out what the significance of the word Rosebud was. He is never able to solve the mystery and resigns himself to the fact that they will never know the truth. I think this part will be to do with Jughead and his search for the Aliens/ Mothmen. It is worth noting that whilst in Citizen Kane the characters never find out the true meaning of Rosebud the audience does. I think this will be what happens in this episode we will find out something really important about the Mothmen but Jughead and the other characters won’t and maybe they will temporarily give up on finding the truth. It’s the idea that not all things can be explained. 

The other thing that’s interesting about this film is that it is also about the rise and fall of a newspaper magnate. How he rises up from nothing to become one of the most powerful men in his business before then falling back into obscurity. I actually think this will be in reference to Hiram. I have heard some rumours, though to be clear I don’t think this is confirmed, that episode 12 will be a Hiram flashback episode. So I think we will see how Hiram came to be as powerful as he is. But I also think this will be the episode where it either all falls apart for Hiram or at the very least begins to. But I do think Hiram is going to take a drastic hit in this episode. 

So lastly episode 5x13 is titled Reservoir Dogs. Again another film this time from 1992. This one is about a jewellery heist that goes badly wrong and leads those involved to think that one of them is a police informant. Here’s my theories about this one and they could be seen as a little out there but it makes sense to me. We know that Veronica is opening a jewellery store by episode 13 she should have that up and running. I reckon if I am right about Hiram taking a big hit in episode 12 then Veronica probably played a part in that. Hiram is known to take out revenge on her when she gets in the way of his plans like when he had her liquor license cancelled and smashed all the rum she had. So I think he will organise a raid on her jewellery store and this will go badly wrong. Some or more characters might get hurt. As to who might be the part of the police informant well in the film the informant gained the trust of the gang and become friends with one of them, they become really close and have a father/son like relationship and when that friend finds out he is a cop he is naturally devastated at the betrayal of his friend. I actually think Reggie is a double agent and will betray Hiram to protect his friends. Also I think Ted confirmed that episode 12 covers some of Reggie’s backstory so that would line up with this episode if in the one before we get to see how Reggie came to work with Hiram. I mean to me they seem kind of close. Reggie is clearly someone that Hiram trusts and he listens to his advice which we saw last episode when Reggie convinced him to delay the turnpike and let the Coopers search the swamp. To me it would make sense for them to show us how Hiram and Reggie developed a bond in episode 12 and then for us to see it be betrayed in episode 13. In the film major spoiler alert here but I think all but one of the thieves is killed. I am hoping that the story doesn’t go exactly the same way though because if it does it could lead to a situation where Hiram kills Reggie. In all honesty I don’t think they are going to kill a whole bunch of characters like they do in Reservoir Dogs but I could see either Hiram or Reggie dying maybe even both if Riverdale are feeling really ballsy. Personally I really hope that Reggie doesn’t die because I love his character as for Hiram I don’t know if Riverdale will kill him off but I also feel like there’s not much else they can do with his character. I mean we’ve already seen him in jail and we’ve already seen him as a villain about million times by now giving him an emotional death where he’s betrayed by someone he trusts could be a good way of bringing his story to a close. 

 As for who could be representing Mr Pink the only one to survive in the movie and who tries to sneak off with the jewellery I think this could potentially be Chad. In the film its a bit ambiguous what happens to Mr Pink but if you listen closing in the ending scene you can hear him struggling to start the car, and then police yelling at him. It seems to me like he gets arrested but does survive. I think Chad will attempt to get away with the jewellery but will ultimately get caught and sent to jail.

So yeah those are some theories I have based pretty much purely on the titles of the next few episodes and the plots of various movies.                        

[alynawatchestv]

Alyna watches Xena - 01x01 Sins of the Past

Beware. For the road is long and full of spoilers… I mean, if a 25 years old show can be spoiled. But fair warning.

This thing here was supposed to be short but I made a very long recap of the episode. Sorry not sorry, I’m gonna be making recaps of the series. Yes, every single episode… Not regularly... And it's gonna be long.

Comments and reblogs are appreciated. 👍👍👍

We start with Xena is going through some burned village reminiscing on her past when she was just killing, pillaging and burning villages… And people too, I guess. And then there’s this boy coming out of a burned house asking for food. And when Xena asks him where his parents are, he says Xena killed them. He describes her attack as if the goddess herself showed up and fucked the village up for no reason and Xena is all like:

And it’s really one of the best moments of a pilot, because we’re shown flashback of the attack so even without watching Hercules and meeting Xena there we can see she used to be a bad bitch. So before leaving she gives the kid some bread and cheese so he could hide in his burned house and eat something before he dies of some sickness, gets killed, is eaten by wild animals in search for food etc. Brilliant plan boy, you’re a prodigy.

So then we have the scene where Xena digs a hole and puts her armor her sword and chakram there and frankly, she’s not really a clean lady since there’s still blood and some meat pieces on her chakram.

*rule #1 - wash your weapons from enemies intestines*

And suddenly, a whole bunch of villagers is chased by some warlord taken straight from Mad Max movie. Xena observes the situation, the Mad Max warlord says he’s gonna get the girls (men, smh) and then this blonde girl is all like “take me and leave everyone” and warlords are like “lmfao, nope” and Xena is all like:

*Carless Whisper saxophone solo intensifies*

Because frankly, who wouldn’t be? I know I had the same reaction to Gabrielle so I get Xena. I totally get it.

So when the warlord wants to whip Gabrielle for being insubordinate Xena suddenly jumps into action and starts kicking ass. We get backflips, kicks, punches and a really awesome action sequence until Xena is hit in the head (because she was watching if Gabrielle was safe and it got her distracted. Again, totally understandable).

Men are standing there groaning “argh, grr, rghhg” or something like that and then BOOM! Xena takes out her sword from the hole and with a laugh starts fighting them. And you can see how much fun she has. She kicks warlords’ asses and realizes they’re from Draco so she tell them to say hello from Xena. But who’s Draco? What does he do? Is he more evil then Xena? We don’t know! And… opening!

In a time of ancient gods, warlords… Well, you know it.

So later on Xena is in this small village surrounded by the villagers and Gabrielle is fawning over her and the whole situation, and Gabrielle’s father comes in being all like “thanks for saving us, but now GTFO” and this tall dude behind him wants to take Gabrielle. But Gabrielle is all like “dude, I know I’m supposed to marry you against my will and then die in childbirth or of boredom, but I’m not gonna listen to you. GTFO”. So when he leaves, Gabrielle begs Xena to take her with her. Xena being stoic and supposedly unmoved by Gabrielle words of course disagrees, because “she works alone” and… Then she tells Gabrielle she’s going to Amphipolis, because OF COURSE Gabrielle wouldn’t try and follow her. Nope. Not at all. And she goes like “don’t follow me, you don’t wanna make me mad, do you?” and of course Gabrielle is all like “yeah, no sure, I get it” but then is of course “meh, she’s not that scary. I just need a plan!”

So we move to Draco’s camp where he’s without shirt exposing his bare chest, being all handsome and shit, and being badass when catching almost four arrows at once. But then he’s sort of colorblind… I mean he notices the color of the arrow that wounded him but can’t see who has green arrows when the dude’s arrows are visible from behind his back...

*seriously Draco…*

Anyway, later he’s alone and Xena sneaks in and they have the whole who's tougher bitch, which is Xena of course, and she asks him to leave the village alone (because of her future wife or something) and Draco’s all like “yeah, sure… If you join me” and when Xena says she can’t join Draco, being a typical man he asks why. And we get this really awesome scene where Xena dramatically turns her back, stares at nothing and says she’s going home. OH, DRAMA!

So Draco becomes even a bigger drama queen than Xena and tells our warrior saying he’s dreamt of being in love with her or… fighting in battle or whatever, can’t remember, but Xena turns and Draco goes all soft and says he’ll spare those villagers. But he also asks Xena what's she looking for at home. Being still in drama mode he tells her that when he tried to come home his dad beat the shit out of him with a blacksmith’s hammer. And he survived that. Damn, he IS badass! I mean, have you people ever seen a blacksmith hammer?!

*9/10 parents wouldn't recommend this as an educational tool*

Meanwhile, Gabrielle wants to escape home in the middle of the night and while sneaking out she… Hits strategically placed table waking up her sister Lila. Gabrielle explains to her she needs to follow Xena because she’s in lo… She wants to be a warrior like her and that she doesn’t love Perdicus and it’s her destiny. So Lila being a supportive sister is all like “Go, chase your girlf…. Dreams! Just do it!” and Gabrielle leaves.

*Lila being a supportive sister*

It’s daylight and Xena is riding Argo when suddenly her horse stops all afraid. So Xena gets off the horse that suddenly runs away and… The Blind Cyclops shows up with Draco’s dad’s blacksmith’s hammer! (I honestly don’t know if I used Saxon Genitive in the right way, but I hope you get the meaning). Xena is all like “Fuuuck, that’s a big hammer!” which makes the Blind Cyclops even more badass than he already is, but she stands to fight and humiliates him by dropping his pants. He starts bawling like a baby and Xena leaves him and continues her journey to Amphipolis, because she has no time to deal with Cyclops drama.

But Draco is plotting against Xena. He decides to attack Amphipolis and pretend it was Xena who told him to do it. Plot thickens, you guys.

Gabrielle is afraid of bridges… And gets caught by…Yes, you guessed right. The Blind Cyclops. But being a smart girl she says she’s out here to find and kill Xena because… And here we have very subtexty dialogue:

C: “How’s the young thing like you is gonna kill Xena?”

G: “That’s the point. She’d never let a man get close enough to do her. At least not that kind of do her. But a young, innocent looking girl like me, I’ll catch her totally off guard…

*You sure will, Gabrielle. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)*

At the same time, Xena is being followed by Draco’s warlords. They’re dumb enough to think she doesn’t know so she goes all ninja on them, fingers the Mad Max warlord… I mean, she cuts the blood to his body… Pervs. ;) And when she learns about the plan she leaves to stop the invasion.

In the next scene, Gabrielle is chilling out on the road when some old dude stops and tells her to GTFO, because she’s blocking the only route to Amphipolis. So Gabrielle convinces him to take her with him and the old dude agrees.

So while Gabrielle and the old man are traveling on the only route to Amphipolis, Xena is taking a detour through the hills for dramatic effect or something. Basically, New Zealand… I mean Greece is a beautiful place so why not show it, right? Right?

She meets those peasant women singing Bulgarian…  I mean Greek chants and rides through them, but they don’t give a shit being too into chanting and putting on stacks of… Hay, I guess. Meh, whatever.

So Xena reaches Amhipolis and goes into a tavern to drink wine and sleep with beautiful women. But unfortunately it’s not that kind of a tavern and there’s no wine and beautiful women to sleep with. All she meets are angry people, silence and… wait for it… her mother, Cyrene!

Cyrene grabs Xena’s sword and tells her she’s not welcomed there and she should GTFO. Xena wants to rally people against Draco but Cyrene is against and she tells Xena she’d rather die and that she’s not her mother. And it’s a rather powerful stuff, because we only know glimpses of Xena’s past so we don’t really know how big her crimes are. Of course burning one village and killing peasants is a big no no, but Xena is too big of a character to be hated for such a minor offense. Anyway, villagers in the tavern also tell Xena to GTFO so she does.

Draco is pissed that Mad Max warlord told Xena about his plans and tells him to pick a weapon. Sadly it’s not Draco’s father’s blacksmith’s hammer because that’s been stolen by the Blind Cyclops, but a simple spear. Still, Draco proves to be truly awesome by kicking Mad Max warlord’s ass and killing him while telling new plans to his people. Truly, he was a great choice for a pilot.

In the morning, Xena comes back to the tavern looking around hoping to find some wine and beautiful ladies to sleep with, but to her disappointment there are still none. But her sword is there. And her mom is there. Oh boy, this tension between them could cut diamonds in half. But we get a bonding moment where Cyrene and Xena open old wounds so they could heal, and Xena tells her mother she might not be able to set things right, but she’s gonna spend the rest of her life to try. It’s another great moment in this show where we see Xena in her vulnerable state and not all powerful and strong. And this moment is ruined by villagers coming into the tavern saying Xena’s army is burning fields to which Xena answers they’re lying, Cyrene feels all hurt thinking it was all a ruse and leaves, and villagers start throwing rocks at our warrior princess.

But then Gabrielle comes to the rescue! Because Gabrielle has a natural talent to talk her way out of troubles, she uses it to save Xena. She uses a cunning bluff of “if you hurt bad guy’s girlfriend imagine how pissed he’ll be”. So the villagers reluctantly agree and decide to not commit murder. After a small talk Xena takes Gabrielle on her horse and takes her to her dead brother. Because, you know, there’s no better start of a romance than a visit at the crypt.

So Xena is talking to his dead brother saying she’s lost but that she’s gonna be ok, but that she’s alone and then Gabrielle shows up saying she’s not. And by the way that they’re looking at each other we’re to believe these two weren’t into each other from the beginning? Please.

*They’ve known each other for like 1 hour and we get those looks already? So straight indeed*

Meanwhile, the villagers are waiting for Draco to make a deal, but when he shows up he’s threatening to destroy everything and kill everyone unless they tell him where Xena is. And this is another great moment for Draco, because he really is a scary and ruthless dude and I really wish he was more in this show then just 3 episodes. It was a wasted character, imo.

Anyway, while threatening the leader to kill him, Xena shows up and Draco makes fun of her asking about the homecoming. Again, he tries to convince Xena to join him and goes all Palpatine saying she should “celebrate her dark side”, but Xena is all like “pfft, fuck off and let’s fight to the death”. Draco tells her to choose weapons, but Xena leaves the choice to Draco. Now, Draco being a really smart guy and someone who knows how good Xena is with swords, chooses staffs. I’m sure he believes it’ll give him advantage or at least even oit the odds. Xena chooses the conditions and her conditions are to fight on a scaffolding. The first person to touch the ground is gonna die. Draco agrees and tells his people that whoever falls first is to be killed.

Doing a flip with the help of his people he gets to a scaffolding and grabs his staff. Xena is way more of a showgirl. She hits the dude with his staff and when he leans down she jumps on his back and then on a head of another warlord and jumps to meet her opponent.

They start fighting. It’s an even fight and Draco proves to be a worthy opponent. Soon Xena has to fight to stay on the bamboo scaffolding as it starts to fall off. The archers prepare to shoot, Cyrene shows up and everyone is thinking if she’s gonna fall. But no, Xena standing on one bamboo stick starts hitting bamboos under Draco’s feet to make him back out and leave him vulnerable. But Draco stands tough and very soon he manages to make Xena almost fall again. She manages to hang on her staff, her legs barely touching the ground. Cyrene starts panicking, being all teary, because, come on, she’s a mom. No matter how pissed our moms are at us, they worry 24/7.

Draco starts hiting Xena’s hands wanting her to let go and fall, asking her why she would die for the people that hate her. But Xena grabs Draco’s staff with her feet and doing a truly awesome backflip she manages to stand on the scaffolding again attacking him. Draco almost falls but jumps on people’s heads and give Xena a signal to join him.

And the same villagers who earlier denied Xena her wine and beautiful women to sleep with, and wanted her dead are now supporting her… Literally. She manages to stand on the arms of one person and attacks Draco. They do backflips, kicks, punches and all that for a few minutes and then with one swift kick to the chest Draco falls down on the ground and Xena jumps on his chest looking down upon him to let him know he’s just a little bitch and not a match to her skills. Xena promises to spare Draco if he leaves the valley and he agrees.

But one of his warlords decides to sneakily attack Xena from behind. Gabrielle’s warns her, but before the warrior can react Draco throws his knife at him. After all, Draco may be a ruthless warlord, but he’s honorable.

After the fight Xena is preparing to leave when Cyrene shows up and hugs Xena, who asks again for forgiveness and is, of course, given that. It's a truly awesome moment in this pilot.

But, and honestly I have no idea why, Xena doesn’t stay in the tavern for wine and beautiful women to sleep with. Maybe there is no wine and beautiful women to sleep with after all. Instead, Xena starts a fire near some woods when she hears some noise and goes into a warrior mode. But, as it turns out, it’s just Gabrielle saying she wanted to follow Xena without her noticing, but she couldn’t start a fire and it’s cold and there are mosquitoes looking lkke eagles or something.

Xena wants to send her back home, but Gabrielle says she won’t go. There’s a talk about not belonging there and Xena seems to understand Gabrielle completely. So when she gives Gabrielle a blanket we get one of the most beautiful moments in the pilot.

*couldn't find gif so you're stuck with bad screenshot*

And in the morning we see Xena and Gabrielle travelling to new adventures to right wrongs, drink wine and… Oh forget it.

This episode is all kinds of awesomeness. It’s a great introduction to a character of Xena even to those, like me, who didn’t know her from Hercules. It has tons of very well choreographed fights, amazing music and it’s a rreally strong pilot that makes you wanna see more.

10/10

Edit: I got the gif. Thanks @girl4music​ :)

*there’s nothing gay here. nada. zero... mhm...*

[theultimateegghead-blog]

Buggers, some creepy crawlies in video games!

Insects, love them or hate them, they are a part of live that almost everyone needs to deal with. Video games are no escape from this, as these critters have hooped, skittered and darted into many games. Also, even though they aren’t technically bugs, expect some eight-legged freaks to pop up as well. So grab your bug spray, grab your swatter, here are some insects in video games. Fair warning, if bugs really get to you, if seeing them can cause anxiety or panic, then skip this list. It’s ok I don’t blame you, bugs horrify me.

Bug type Pokemon (Pokemon) Bug type pokemon, there are too many to include just one. The bug type is realistically not that great of a type, it isn’t very strong and has many weaknesses. However, we have all had a bug type on our team before, they can be good early to mid-game, and even all the way to the champ if you know what your doing. They level up and evolve quickly and are some of the first pokemon you’ll encounter that can use status effect moves. Some bug types can actually be heavy hitters and worth the investment, and now there are even legendary bug types. So don’t put this typing down just cause it isn’t as strong as other types, bug types have a bit to offer! My personal favorite bug types by generation are… Beedrill, Scizor, Ninjask, Yanmega, Leaveany and good old Buzzwole.

The centipede (Centipede) One of the first bugs in video games, lets sing its praise. The centipede is simple, it crawls down the screen and the player have to shoot it into pieces before it reaches the bottom. The mushrooms will block your shot so you have to align them well to defeat the monster bug. Other than that it serves no lore or greater meaning behind its existence, its just a big centipede, simple as that.

Wigglers (Super Mario Bros) Wigglers are, more often than not, peaceful creatures that walk around in a state of ignorant bliss. They often wont react at all if jumped on and will continue on their merry way. Now if you jump on their head your in for a bad time, as they will fly into a rage and dash around in a crimson fury. It is often the best option to just avoid this creature if you don’t want to get hurt.

Caterkiller (Sonic Series) This is technically cheating since it’s a robot. The caterkiller takes on the form of a caterpillar and it just slowly moves along the ground. This creature is best to just avoid, since jumping on it often results in taking damage. The rule is to aim for the head and not any other part. In some games these things can be giant, reminiscent of a sandworm. Overall they are one of the most famous badniks in the Sonic series.

Flourescent Flower (Bloodborne) This beast is a horrifying eldritch abomination. It is a weird mixture of a plant, a centipede and a horrendous gaping maw. The creature has slow turning and is overall not to hard to defeat provided you are not standing in front of it. It attacks primarily with projectiles and can take quite a few hits to defeat. In the main game, they are rare enemies only appearing in one place that you will rarely revisit. They are more common however inside chalice dungeons.

Roolie (Bugdom) A nice little pill bug. This bug is the main character of the obscure yet cherished pc game Bugdom. Roolie must run, roll and kick his way through several levels in a quest to save his kingdom from an evil fire ant army. Roolie is a brave little bug who is up against tons of odd, including bruiser bees, horrifying spiders and even giant feet that want to crush him. However, he perseveres in his quest to save his kingdom and rescue the lady bug inhabitants.

Seltas Family (Monster Hunter) This monster family has two members, the standard Seltas and the queen. Lets cover the Seltas first. This relatively large monster is an airborne menace that likes to dart and fly out of range on the hunters weaponry. They have weak underbellies and are vulnerable to fire. The seltas will try to ram you with its horn, spit acid at you and swipe at you. If you managed to slay it, you can reap the rewards and make some armor. Now for the queen. The Seltas queen is always seen with a normal seltas, the queen is not airborne but can be carried by its underling. When alone she primarily fights with her tail and uses pheromones to call for help. These two make a deadly duo in combat.

Bugzzy (Kirby Series) A recurring mini boss in the Kirby Series. This martial artist beetle can grapple the pink puff ball with his massive pincers and slam him down or throw him. He can summon other bugs to help him if he cant grab Kirby himself. Inhaling him grants Kirby some new fighting moves, and in some games you can even convert him into an ally.

Zingers (Donkey Kong Country) One of the most common enemies in the Donkey Kong series. The Zingers are large wasp that are covered in spikes, due to these spikes they cannot be jumped on. The only way to defeat a Zinger is to throw something at it or have an animal friend dispatch it. They come in different colors, each one flies in a different pattern. They love to hover around barrels and can make barrel blast jumps tricky. What’s worse is that at one point you need to venture into one of their hives.

Giant Wasp (Earth Defense Force) These guys represent the horrors that is a wasp. Fast, aggressive and intimidatingly large. These wasp dart around at high speeds and shoot projectiles at you. Since they are airborne it can be a bit tricky to take them down, as they are quite mobile. They have a bit of health too and sometimes attack in swarms or in unison with other insects. Eventually you’ll come across giant metal versions that are even faster and more dangerous than before. These guys are among some of the most annoying enemies in insect Armageddon.

Queen Bee (Terraria) Deep in the underground jungle, you can find a beehive…Inside this beehive you can find an odd looking larvae, destroy it and prepare to meet the wrath of the queen bee. The queen bee is a very fast boss with a plethora of attacks. She has a good amount of health and the honey in the hive can hinder your movement. Do not try to fight this thing until your prepared and bring a ranged weapon! After you defeat her, you can revel in the spoils, as she drops some pretty good things. Also you get the witch doctor npc as a reward for slaying this giant bee.

Antlions (Half Life 2) Antlions are very aggressive creatures in the Half Life universe. They burrow under sandy areas and can react to surface tremors. Their nest are large and expansive. They come in five primary forms. The standard drone, which can attack in swarms, they have some flight capacity, so don’t think escaping will be easy. These drones are the most common. Next is the grey workers, they tend to not leave the nest and will spit acid at Gordan upon seeing him, they are physically weaker than the standard drone. The worm like grubs are defenseless and stick to the walls, ceiling and floors of the hive, waiting for the day they become a more capable threat. The red soldier is a ferocious large beast that is very aggressive and serves as a mini-boss of sorts, it can take a lot of punishment before going down. Finally the guardian is a soldier that guards the nest, it is very ferocious and very powerful and is best avoided.

Fire Ants (Fallout 3) The wasteland is full of nasties, these buggers are among some of the worst the waste has to offer. In Fallout three, they were born out of a twisted experiment that turned a colony of ants into giant fire breathing monsters. A nearby town was destroyed by this swarm of monsters and its up to the lone wanderer to clear the place out. These monsters are perceptive, fast and deadly. Since the quest that involves them appears early in the game they can be a brick wall that takes a while to overcome. So stay on your toes and keep your gun ready and steady. Beware, for this swarm has a queen…

Frostbite Spiders (Skyrim) Do you hate spiders? I hate spiders, they are freaky and just instantly cause panic in me. Video games know arachnophobia is a legit thing, and they cash in on this bad. Get ready for some spiders, starting with the frostbite spider. These spiders make their home in many caves and some outside areas in Skyrim. They can spit venom at their foes, and can ambush people from above if they dare venture into a spider infested area. These creatures can vary in size, with some being the size of a pig to others being the size of a small house! Fire spells dispatch them pretty quickly, they seem more resistant to cold, hence their name. Try to keep an eye out for these nasties when exploring the Rift, cause they tend to pop up there often.

Cave Spiders (Minecraft) Regular spiders are bad enough in Minecraft. Spiders can crawl up vertical walls, crawl under one block openings and have a dangerous jump attack. They don’t despawn during the day either, even though they cease being hostile in the daylight. The cave spider is everything that makes a spider bad and more. The cave spider is smaller and thus harder to hit, they can inflict deadly poison on you and they tend to come from spawners. They crawl towards you in narrow corridors filled with webs, now the webs only slow you down, not them. If you decide to go deep into a mine shaft in hopes of finding rare minerals or a fortress, be ready to fight these guys.

Black Tigers (Resident Evil) The Spencer Mansion and Raccoon city have a giant spider problem for sure, but one of the biggest of the bunch is the Black Tiger. This monster made its home underground and waits for unfortunate prey to stumble into its domain. It can spit acid and give a nasty bite… What’s worse is that it might have a buddy with it. After some shotgun blast to the face it will go belly up… And proceeds to spit out baby giant spiders, an arachnophobes nightmare.

Muffet (Undertale) Who said spiders couldn’t be cute? Or sell baked goods for that matter? Muffet is both of these. She initially appears at a bake sale, selling various pastries at extremely high prices. Normally a player will not buy these items. Later, the player is forced to battle her, as she was hired by Mettaton to take you out. During the battle she will trap you in her web and send her pets at you. Survive long enough and she will receive a telegram showcasing that you either supported the spider bake sale in the ruins, or you avoided stepping on any spiders. She will let you go after this ‘misunderstanding’ comes to a close. Alternatively, you can show her your love…but you wouldn’t do that, now would you?

Phantom (Devil May Cry) A big nasty from the Devil May Cry series. This demon takes on the form of a giant lava spider and attacks Dante numerous times. He serves as the first boss and is a challenging one at that. Later on, he will attack Dante and switch to a form similar to a scorpion. This spider is arrogant and boastful of its power but is squashed by Dante. In Devil May Cry 2, he comes back for a rematch. He presumably escaped the dark pit he was sent to, only to be sent falling back into it.

Skulltula (Zelda Series) The giant spiders of the Zelda series. These monsters have a skull like design on its back and are nasty creature to come face to face with. They vary in size, from the size of a turtle to the size of a human child. These baddies usually stay attached to walls or suspended on a vine. However they will craw around if need be and can entangle their foe. These guy’s shells are tough and most attacks to the front wont harm the bigger ones, their belly is their weak point, though arrows help too. There exist a rare golden variety capable of inflicting horrible curses upon the greedy.

The Stygian (Darksiders) Of course there was going to be a giant worm on the list. The Stygian is a colossal sand worm that can swallow War whole. Due to its tremendous speed and size, War must ride his horse to do combat with the creature. These monster serves as one of the bosses od the original Darksiders and would do battle with War in a massive arena. Initially its mouth is closed, but its mouth is its weak point so War will have to break it open, during the fight, smaller worms may come to assist it. Upon its defeat, War enters its body and rips out its oddly small heart.

Undeep (Lost Planet) From sand to Snow, the Undeep is a huge monster encountered in Lost Planet. It is fought relatively early in the game and serves as a warning to new players to choose their battles. This creature can be avoided, and it is recommended to do so. However, a skilled tactical player can take the beast down and revel in the victory. This worm is massive and can very easily crush the player under its mass. This worm would reappear in future installments as a boss as well, however in those games your more well suited to take it down.

Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim series) Not every worm is hungry for flesh and is the size of a football stadium! This groovy worm is simply put…just a normal cartoon earthworm. What makes him special is his state of the art space suit. Armed with a energy gun, Jim makes his way through many crazy levels, avoiding deadly traps and fighting colorful villains in order to rescue Princess what’s her name. Jim can use his body as a lasso and a helicopter to navigate levels. Jim was rather prolific in the 90s, starring in 3 games and having his own cartoon series. Sadly, his third game was a bad 3D game that doomed him to the back shelf.

The Knight (Hollow Knight) I figured I would end this list with something cute. The knight is a member of the void race. The knight is a gender-less hero that fights with a nail. Over the course of the game, the knight will learn many powers and spells to aid it in combat. The knight can heal itself with its soul. The knight will encounter many hardships over its journey through its world. 

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

Wow! This was my longest list yet! Congrats on making it to the end. Tune in next time when we look at some nice beach themed levels!

[rollzerox]

Final Day

@thedragonsweek2019

Day Seven of The Dragons Week 2019 Prompts! The Future of the Dragons! Beware the angst ahead! Lina is 16 here so there’s your warning for what that means… Note this is one of the alternate endings for my AU series as I’ll have several for it. Final day and I was glad to be able to write one for each day!

 “Heh… When I swore to beat my predecessor’s record, I never expected to be a grandpa.” Jae-ha chuckled as he looked over the little bundle in Lina’s arms. The baby girl had just been born yesterday and his daughter was still recovering from bringing the child into the world, but wanted some time with her father, especially with how his health had been the past few months.

 Despite all his protests, Yona eventually got Jae-ha to start using a cane after he was struggling walking around. He couldn’t jump into the sky anymore and hadn’t been able to even really jump at all the past year. They all knew the signs, and it was approaching rapidly. Kija, Shin-ah and Zeno had been hovering all around him the whole time, and even the Seiryuu and Hakuryuu were approaching their limits, as their successors had been born and they were growing weaker every day.

 “Papa are you sure you don’t want to hold her?” Lina offered, rocking her baby in her arms as she sat in the tent. She had been confined to bedrest thanks to her Grandmother Yoon. “I’m sure Krystal would love it.”

 “I suppose once wouldn’t hurt, but my arms can’t hold like they used to.” Jae-ha chuckled, taking the baby into his arms and smiling seeing his granddaughter. He turned to his son-in-law with a smile. “Trust me when I say your heart is going to melt for this little one.”

 “It already does.” Ura gave a hearty laugh. “Pops was trying to deny the fact he was crying when he first held her.”

 “Gigan and Hawke said she’s so tiny.” Lina giggled recalling her sibling’s reactions.

 “She’s beautiful just like you Lina dear.” Jae-ha said with a smile, struggling with his weakened strength so he handed the baby to her father. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to check on your mother-“ he blinked when his daughter snatched his hand.

 “… Papa, I know why Uncle Zeno is so quiet today.” Lina narrowed her eyes. “And there’s something I want to do.” She stood up.

 “Lina, you should be resting and honestly I’m fine.” Jae-ha chuckled, but was shut up by that glare that Lina inherited from her mother. “Alright, alright, what is it? You know I can never deny you.”

 “Come with me.” Lina said, strolling outside as she helped her father walk. “And hold on.” She gestured to carry him on her back.

 “Lina you just gave birth yesterday! What is all this?” Jae-ha looked at her like she was crazy.

 “And we’re near Crimson Dragon Palace so I heal quickly, now listen to me papa.” Lina pursed her lips. “You haven’t been able to fly for years, I want to take you into the sky…. One more time.” She looked at him pleadingly, as if she knew…. This was her one and only chance. “Let’s fly together.”

 Jae-ha’s eyes widened at that, feeling the urge to hold back his tears… Leave it to his little girl to say the very same thing he said to Garou that day…

 “You should go.” A familiar warm voice said from behind.

 “Yona-chan?” Jae-ha spun around, steadying himself with his cane.

 Yona smiled as she came up to hug her husband. “Go ahead, she needs this… And so do you husband.” She pressed her forehead against his. “I love you.”

 “… I love you too, princess of my heart.” Jae-ha nearly choked, trying to hold back his urge to cry. “Please remember that, always.” He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

 There was a sorrow in his kiss as Yona reluctantly pulled back, smiling as she told him not to keep their daughter waiting as she turned to see Kija leading Shin-ah over, the Blue Dragon had recently gone blind from slowly losing his powers and often would bump into things. Zeno just had a sorrowful expression on his face as he sat with the new Seiryuu and Hakuryuu, along with Yona’s other two children Gigan and Hawke.

 Jae-ha smiled warmly as he obeyed, handing his cane to his wife as he wrapped his arms around Lina, and immediately he was in the air. She made sure to hold onto his legs tightly while carrying him into the sky with a powerful jump.

 “….. Are you sure about this, princess?” Hak approached the redhead, concerned.

 Yona nodded, letting the tears she was holding back flow. “… Let Lina have one last happy memory with him, because she’s going to take it the hardest. She knows her father doesn’t blame her for this, and he loves her with all his heart.” She then forced a smile. “I’ve been preparing for this day for a long time now… Not that it makes it any easier…”

 “He’s lasted so much longer than any other dragon.” Kija pointed out. “According to my village the longest dragon to live after a new one was born was ten. Even though Jae-ha said his predecessor lived twelve years after he was born.” He frowned looking at his own son who was getting older and wondered about his own fate, along with Shin-ah’s successor that was already seven and the Blue Dragon was really starting to weaken rapidly.

 “Jae-ha feels so… Weak now.” Shin-ah murmured.

 “… Ryokuryuu doesn’t have long left…” Zeno muttered, turning to see Ura come over with his daughter in his arms. “It’s still surprising he lived to see his grandchild born though. He kept good on his promise to the miss.” The Yellow Dragon sighed as tears floated down his cheeks while he clutched at his heart. “… It’s just like with Guen and the others all over again.”

 Lina made several jumps until she could reach high into the air, it had taken her years to perfect her jumping but recently she was reaching the sky so much easier. “Can you see the ocean, papa?” she asked.

 “Yeah… Makes me feel nostalgic for my pirate days.” Jae-ha chuckled, resting his head on her shoulder. “To the days back when I met your wonderful mother. I really never deserved all her love, nor did I deserve to have the most beautiful woman in all of Kouka be my darling daughter.”

 “Oh daddy, you’re just flattering me now.” Lina scoffed, chuckling as she kept on moving.

 “Well your husband would agree with me!” he countered.

 “Ura married me for my strength not my looks.” She replied.

 “And you have a beautiful daughter now, you’ll be sure to spoil her when she makes those cute faces at you.” Jae-ha chuckled, closing his eyes that were getting heavy. “… The wind feels so nice. Lina… You truly are the most beautiful Ryokuryuu…” his voice was starting to sound tired. “… I love you, my precious treasure… Always.”

 “I love you too papa.” Lina replied, smiling at him as she made another jump. “… I’m sorry you can’t do this for yourself anymore…”

 “We’ve been over this, Lina-chan, it’s not your fault.” Jae-ha sighed and shook his head. “Just this blasted dragon’s blood thinks I’m too old to protect your mother anymore. Which it might be right with how badly I’ve been slowing down over the years.”

 “At least you can get around for yourself… I’m worried about Uncle Shin-ah with how he can’t see anymore…” Lina whimpered. “And Uncle Kija can barely lift anything with his right hand…”

 “They’re stubborn though, not as much as I am but they’ll help Yona-chan through this…” Jae-ha murmured. “Besides… I can always count on Hak to be there for her. My only regret in life is causing you that much grief, just know that the day you were born was the happiest day of my life Lina, not a death sentence. I wouldn’t trade you my precious daughter for anything, and I’m proud to be your father.”

 “Papa…” Lina was crying as she was so touched from his words. She then stiffened though when she felt something burn through her dragon’s blood, as the next jump was her strongest yet… And she froze after she landed. “… Papa? Daddy?” her voice cracked, placing her father down and realizing how slump he was against her. “PAPA!” she cried.

 “Thank you for one more flight Lina dear.” Jae-ha stirred for a moment, placing one last kiss against her forehead as his amethyst eyes met hers. “… Let’s meet again above the skies one day, tell your mother I’ll wait for her…” he whispered before closing his eyes again for the last time.

[ladylynse]

can i get a summary of whirlwind? i read it but... i get a little confused sometimes -_-"

Ah, I’m sorry, Anon. I can think of a few things that might confuse you, but I’m sure there are plenty of others; if you decide to continue reading and notice specifics, let me know so I can try to clarify them!

Whirlwind, of course, is based off @queenofhearts7378​‘s awesome Secret Quartet AU, and I decided to set the story in the NYC because that seemed to be the easiest place to get all the characters together. Thing is, since I’d initially meant for this to be a short, quick thing (it...probably won’t be), I cheated a bit in terms of the setup. I’m working off the assumption that Danny (DP) and Jake (AD:JL) already know each other, while Randy (RC:9GN) and Adrien (ML) don’t know anyone. This is important based on how they perceive each other.

Potential point of confusions:

1) Why Danny and Jake know each other. I’ve said that, to make my life a bit easier, I’m setting Whirlwind after Mirrored, even though it’s not an official sequel. Mirrored is my DPxAD:JL crossover. Long story short, Danny winds up in New York, crashes with Jake for a few days, and helps him deal with a ghost problem. (This is a vast oversimplification but I don’t want to spoil things in case you--or anyone else reading this--wants to read it.) The important point is that Jake and Danny know each other’s secrets. (Well, Jake and Susan Long know Danny’s secret; how much the others on Jake’s side of things figured out is a bit more vague.) So, Jake and Danny trust each other and have worked together before. 

2) The timing of the scenes isn’t always chronological. Most of it is in order, but some things happen concurrently and others take a long span of time for the entire scene to play out, occasionally totally eclipsing a scene that is happening elsewhere. This is why there’s a rough guideline of the current time in each scene (most of it being on the Friday) to give you an idea of when it doesn’t occur right after the previous scene ended but rather in the middle of it. I’ve also got a timeline post that gives a brief summary of each scene if you ever need a quick refresher before checking out the next chapter.

Actual summary part: (under a cut because this is getting long)

When Jake meet the Oracle Twins, he's told three main things: 1) very soon, there are going to be attacks, 2) beware of the butterflies, and 3) he’ll have help from friends. Meanwhile, Adrien and his father come to town for a fashion show. Randy, mistakenly thinking that McFist was meeting someone to get more Weapons of Ninja Destruction, wound up in NYC because Marci wanted to go to this fashion show. (Randy is unsure if McFist has any side deal going on, but he’s not ruling it out.) 

Adrien decides to sneak away from the preparations for the opening and explores the city, winding up in Gramps’s electronics shop. Before he can get directions to somewhere that sells camembert, Plagg gets him to leave because he can smell magic in the shop. He’s worried because legends of the MIraculous are widespread, and he doesn’t want Adrien to accidentally get mixed up in whatever kind of magic this is--or to lose his Miraculous (and Plagg himself) while he’s here since Hawk Moth isn’t the only one who wants them.

From Jake’s perspective, it looks like Adrien came in to scout the shop in order to assess their defenses and maybe come back and steal something later, especially he bolted before they had a chance to question him or otherwise learn more about him. This rather paranoid assumption is because Gramps recognized Adrien’s ring as the Miraculous which granted the bearer the power of destruction. The warning of attacks and the fact that there’s also a butterfly-shaped Miraculous mean Jake is instantly wary. He asks a favour from an old friend: Danny, who gets to NYC as fast as he can and gets filled in by Jake, so now they’re both suspicious of butterflies and cats.

The first attack comes at the fashion show. Randy--having tracked down Marci and McFist--is there to help fight the Critic who, despite not being overly monster-y, kinda seems like they’ve been stanked, and he figure it’s Ninja-o’-Clock. Since the Sorcerer is stuck in Norrisville, he thinks he might be dealing with the Sorceress, which gives him zero comfort when she should be in the Land of Shadows and not learning new tricks. When some kid in a cat suit shows up to fight the Critic, he rolls with it, and they defeat the Critic together. Of course, in order to de-stank people, he has to destroy their reason for being stanked (symbolic or otherwise). But when he snaps the pen, it’s not stank that leaves; it’s a butterfly. Chat Noir chases it down.

Danny and Jake (as Phantom and the Am Drag) are patrolling looking for some clue of this impending attacks, and they of course see someone dressed as a black cat running after a butterfly, maybe trying to herd it somewhere. They jump to conclusions. Danny grabs Chat Noir, and Jake torches the akuma (purifying it, though Adrien doesn’t know that). Randy (still as the Ninja), who had started to follow Chat Noir, sees a real, fire-breathing dragon and is utterly enthralled. He’s happy to make a new friend, filling in Jake on his fight with Chat Noir against the Critic. Jake isn’t totally convinced Chat Noir is the good guy and not just pretending--he has the power of destruction; how can that be good?--but he promises to keep an eye out for him and asks the Ninja to report on any sightings of his new friend, giving Randy his Fenton Phone for that purpose. (He’s thinking Chat Noir might either hold both Miraculous or be in cahoots with the other person who does; they have enough valuable stuff in the shop that it makes perfect sense for someone to try to steal it.) Now that he sees the venue where the attack took place, he’s worried for someone there, so he takes off to warn them about what’s going on.

While that is happening, Danny drops Adrien into the harbour. Well. Almost. That would’ve probably killed him, if he had. It was a near thing, but Danny catches him (remembering this is a human he’s dealing with, not a ghost) and lets Chat Noir exhaust himself by swimming most of the way to shore. Before he can reach dry land, Danny grabs him again and relocates them to a quiet rooftop that’s kinda out of the way. Adrien, who now knows Hawk Moth is in town because he just dealt with someone who’s akumatized, thinks that Phantom is ANOTHER akumatized person. He defends himself against this ghost’s ice attacks, but he used Cataclysm to break out of his ice prison earlier and is running on borrowed time. Danny is wary of being touched by someone who can destroy anything they touch, presumably even people (not knowing that Cataclysm is only something that can be used once before Adrien needs to ‘recharge’). He isn’t about to get too close. But Chat Noir isn’t fighting the way he expects, and when he finds himself face-to-face with a very scared boy, who quickly transforms back into Chat Noir and runs away, he wonders if he and Jake have made a big mistake somewhere. He tries to ask questions, but Adrien is having none of it because he’s panicking. Hawk Moth might know who he is now, the Critic’s akuma (to his knowledge; he’s wrong) is loose in the city and will no doubt proliferate, infecting other people, and now he has to figure out how to fight an ice ghost? It’s a lot to ask on top of the fashion show, which he is almost certainly going to be late for. He needs Ladybug, but all he’s got is a maybe-ally in this Ninja, if he ever shows up again, and the whereabouts of some secret magic shop that Plagg warned him to stay away from.

Danny tries to get a hold of Jake, but he’s not answering his Fenton Phone (because he took it off and then gave it away to someone who’s not entirely sure how to use it), so Danny heads back to the electronics shop to see if Gramps or Fu knew what had happened with Jake.

Potential point of confusion 3: Why would Hawk Moth attack when he doesn’t know Chat Noir is in NYC? Well, basically Jake has the right idea but the wrong person. Chat Noir isn’t behind it, Hawk Moth is. Hawk Moth simply isn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth and squander a chance to get the Cat Miraculous while Ladybug isn’t around to help her partner. But if he makes a random attack on a large crowd of people, well, that’s the way to draw out superheroes, isn’t it? So he can see who’s around. Figure out what they can do. Figure out what they have, what they might be protecting and where, and what power of theirs he can steal. There’s more than one reason to come to New York, after all.

Do you have any specific questions? I tried to err on the side of more detail than less, but I’m not entirely sure where I lost you. Please don’t be afraid to ask again--as many times as you need, since I may misunderstand you at some point; it’s happened before--as this isn’t a bother. It actually helps me to know where I lose people, since it lets me know what I need to work on tightening up in terms of my writing. 

[wri0thesley]

HALLOWEEN BONANZA #4 - Josuke/Reader SPOOKY HAUNTED HOUSE FLUFF

This one’s SFW! I just couldn’t make Josuke into a monster, he’s too much of a sweet angel. A warning for this one that the kids in this fic are exhibiting BAD OUIJA BOARD ETIQUETTE. Ouija boards might be serious business and they might be just a toy, but personally I’m not taking any risks!

Josuke has a good reason to dislike Halloween, but he’s willing to do anything to make you happy - and if he thinks spending the night in a haunted house will do that, then he’ll try his best  not to be too much of a scaredy cat. Halloween is a time when the veil between worlds is at its weakest, though. There’s no telling what might make itself known-- 

From what you know about the adventure Josuke and his friends had in the summer of 1999, he has a perfectly good reason to not like Halloween. He doesn’t like scary movies - the idea of slasher films, and people enjoying watch teenagers getting brutally murdered, just makes him shrug uncomfortably. He doesn’t like all of the blood and severed body parts and skeleton decorations, and he jumps a lot more easily than people would expect from a guy that’s now reached over six foot. He throws himself into every other celebration - birthdays, Christmas, Valentines day . . . it’s just Halloween that he doesn’t seem to like.

You, on the other hand, love it.

“If you wanna celebrate it, babe,” he says, giving you a smile, “I’ll do my best to make you happy, y’know? It’s just . . . Well, there are some parts of the season I’m not a fan of. So if we could try and keep stuff light-hearted, that’d be good.”

You’d assured him that you would try and keep things light-hearted, bought the cute decorations instead of the spooky ones, found a cute couples Halloween costume for you both to wear, bought cute pumpkin shaped candies (he hadn’t wanted ghost shaped ones), and you were ready to spend this Halloween having a sickeningly adorable time.

Well, there’s always something that comes along to throw a spanner in the works.

This spanner came in the form of Rohan Kishibe and Hirose Koichi, the latter of whom was friends with Josuke and the former whom . . . knew Josuke. Perhaps ‘friends’ wasn’t the right term to describe their particular relationship - at any rate, they were acquaintances, and at any rate, they got on better than they once did.

(“You burnt his house down?” You ask, holding a cup of tea in one hand and staring at your boyfriend in disbelief. Josuke shrugs his shoulders uncomfortably. “Well. Kinda? That’s not really - that’s probably an oversimplification, or somethin’--”)

Anyway, Rohan Kishibe is a manga artist, and he’s dragging Koichi along to spend Halloween night in a house in the middle of S-City that’s rumoured to be haunted. Koichi’s girlfriend Yukako had taken offence to Koichi not spending Halloween with her and had been invited along, and those three alone were a recipe for disaster, so eventually the invitation had been extended to include you, Josuke and Okuyasu as well.

Josuke gives you an embarrassed smile.

“I’m sorry it’s ruined your plans, babe,” he says, throwing his arm about your shoulders, “but . . . Yeah. I didn’t really wanna leave Koichi hanging, and I know y’like ghosts and that spooky stuff, and I thought maybe we could have fun if it was everyone together?”

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” you say to Josuke, patiently. “But . . . as long as I’m with you, I’m sure I’ll have a good time.”

The grin that splits Josuke’s face is dazzling, making him look even more handsome than usual - as if that were possible.

“I promise we’re gonna have the best Halloween ever!” He says, voice fervent, clapping hands on either side of your shoulder. “I promise!”

Whether it was the ‘best Halloween ever’ or not, you were at least about to have a very interesting one.

* * *

The house in question is a little bigger than average and decorated liberally for Halloween, and Rohan does not look pleased by it.

“When I said I was coming here for my research,” he says, elegant nose in the air, “I requested they leave it exactly as they found it. I did not want anything to be spoiled by this cheap, worthless decoration--” He plucks at a wooden plaque hanging on one of the walls, painted to look aged and faded and bearing the slogan ‘BEWARE’. “This isn’t real at all.”

You have to agree with him - the decorations are on the edge of tacky. Josuke seems displeased by them, too. They’re hovering a little too close to being the realistic kind of gore he hates and not the cutesy kind of friendly Halloween image that he’s fine with. Despite the fact that they do look cheesy (you see him looking with distaste at a plastic, severed hand), he’s obviously uncomfortable with them.

You lay a hand on his arm and smile at him reassuringly - Josuke gives you a wobbly smile in return.

Maybe the people who had let Rohan come here had been worried that the bland decor would make him angry, make him feel like he’d been mislead and demand his money back because there’s no way a murder could have taken place somewhere so ordinary. If this were the case, they had greatly misjudged Rohan Kishibe - he’s muttering under his breath about giving them a piece of his mind.

“So, uh, what’s the story with this place, Rohan-sensei?” Koichi asks, sensing that the mangaka is about to let a dark mood engulf him. You slip your hand into Josuke’s and follow the rest of them into the next room, comforted by the soft warmth of your boyfriend’s skin - Josuke looks glad for the contact. You get the impression he’s a jumpscare away from freaking out completely and running out of the house.

The decorations might not be scary to most people, but then again, Josuke isn’t most people.

“Everyone who’s lived here in the past hundred years has met a grisly end,” Rohan says, as you all filter out into what you think was once a guest bedroom. “There are all kinds of stories about demons and spirits who live here, drawn to the suffering and such.” Rohan gives a shrug, obviously not particularly invested in the tale. “The people I spoke to said nobody has managed to stay here a whole night, and I thought that if there were ghosts here, it would be a good frame of reference for my manga.”

Josuke looks a little frightened, his eyes wide.

“N-nobody has managed to stay here a whole night?” He asks, trying to keep his tone light - but his hand is gripping yours with considerable force. “Nobody at all?”

Rohan looks at Josuke with disdain.

“Nobody until me,” he clarifies, obviously not thinking the rest of your party count. “Nothing’s going to frighten me so much I run screaming out of this place.”

Yukako smiles, triumphantly, and reaches into her bag.

“Good,” she says. “Let’s test that theory.”

* * *

Yukako has brought candles and a Ouija board, and your spine is prickling with unease.

You’re not the only one.

Koichi seems unhappy, and Okuyasu’s face is downright terrified - when you look beside you in the circle you’ve formed, Josuke’s teeth are grit and he looks more on edge than you’ve ever seen him. The set of his shoulders is tense and you want to rub your hands across them and press kisses onto his cheek and reassure him that everything is going to be fine - unfortunately, that’s not the kind of thing that you do in front of other people, so you have to make do with resting your hand on his knee.

The only two people who seem into this in any way are Yukako and Rohan, and both of them have their eyes set on each other and tension fizzing through every muscle of their body. It’s like they’re engaged in some strange game of chicken - one of them has to back down first, and neither of them want to.

“We really don’t have to do this--” You say, taking a deep breath, figuring if someone’s taking control of the situation it ought to be you, as the others all seem kind of terrified as to what’s about to happen.

“No,” Rohan says, voice sharp, “you don’t. I, on the other hand, think that this is going to be a worthwhile experiment and good reference material for the supernatural arcs of Pink Dark Boy. I’ve never actually partaken in a Ouija session and I feel like they’ll be supremely useful. If you’re frightened,” here, Rohan’s eyes land on you and narrow in scorn, “then you can go into one of the other rooms.”

That’s what settles it.

If you were going to try and gently guide Josuke into the other room so he didn’t have to be around for something that’s clearly making him uncomfortable, any chances of that were now scuppered - Rohan has just suggested that someone who didn’t stay for his strange experiment is a coward, and Josuke’s pride is too fragile to accept that insult. Especially not where Rohan is concerned.

“We’ll stay, won’t we, babe?” He says, voice deliberate, putting his arm around you and accidentally digging his nails into soft skin.

“Yeah, of course,” you reply. “Ghosts aren’t real, anyway.”

There’s a pause after you say that, an exchange of looks between the people in the room that you don’t quite understand, but you aren’t given much time to dwell on how strange that might be, because Yukako has produced a lighter and is lighting candles. She asks Koichi to turn off the light and he does, ever the dutiful boyfriend - but as you’re thrown into darkness, the flickering flames the only thing illuminating each other’s faces, Josuke shifts deliberately closer to you.

You fancy you can feel the beating of his heart, a hammering rhythm against his chest, and you wish you could run your fingers through his hair and remind him that nothing is going to hurt him. Halloween really isn’t his holiday.

Everything you know about Ouija boards has been gleaned from horror movies and Halloween specials - if Yukako does anything wrong, you don’t see it. All you see is the faint, serene smile on her face as she goes about her business, and then as she asks you all to crowd in and put your finger over the planchette.

The silence in the room hangs thickly as you all lurch forward. Your finger rests beside Josuke’s, and you look at his face in the dim candlelight. His jaw is set, a muscle flickering in it. He looks afraid, and you wish you’d been more stubborn. If you’d perhaps told him you didn’t want to come here, you wouldn’t be trapped in this mess, and you and he could be curled up on the sofa in your house and handing out pumpkin shaped candies to trick or treaters as you exclaimed about how scary their costumes were.

“Are there any spirits nearby?”

Yukako’s voice rings out clear across the silent room, and despite your logical brain saying that nothing is going to happen, your heart jumps up into your throat. You wonder if everyone else is feeling quite so on edge.

There’s a silence in the room that cuts like a knife, thick with tension - and then slowly, oh-so-slowly, the planchette moves towards the ‘yes’.

You hear Josuke swallow, and as you look to one side, you see that there’s a strange glint in Rohan’s eye. He’s fascinated.

A strangled yelp escapes Okuyasu’s mouth, that he promptly looks deeply embarrassed by, and he clamps his mouth shut again. His lips are pressed into a tight line.

“How many spirits?” Yukako asks, and this time the planchette moves across the board a little faster. You’re barely touching it, and you wonder which of the others is manipulating the little  pointer. You don’t think it’s Josuke - he’s as stiff as a board himself. You’re not sure it’s Okuyasu, either - he seemed genuinely frightened by the movement, and you think he values being seen as a tough guy too much for him to voluntarily tarnish that. It’s definitely not you - you’d know if that were the case.

Rohan’s too caught up in the realism of whatever he does to be the one making a Ouija board move falsely. His eyes are fanatically bright, glowing green and fixed on where your hands are joined. Koichi would never do something like this.

You suppose it’s Yukako, then. Ah well. If she wanted to have her fun, who were you to stop her? You wouldn’t call her out on this unless it went too far - and you had to admit, there was something pretty fun about the way the candles were flickering and the silence in the supposedly-haunted house. It all made for a wonderfully creepy Halloween, and that’s the kind of thing you love.

The planchette moves from letter to letter. M-A-N-Y.

“Many?” Rohan breathes. “Fascinating. Ask them more--”

Yukako shoots him a withering glare, as if angry with him for interrupting her concentration.

“How old are you?” She asks, and Rohan snorts under his breath - you get the impression he thinks this is rather a stupid question. Still, Yukako knows what she’s doing. The planchette moves to the one. The planchette moves to the zero. It jerks away, and then does it again.

“One hundred? One hundred what?” Rohan asks, and Yukako snaps out;

“One person should be asking the questions--”

But the planchette moves anyway, almost too fast for you to keep up. C-E-N-T-U-R-Y-S.

Guess ghosts aren’t too good at spelling.

“Are you a good spirit?” Yukako asks, and there’s a lull in the movement for a second. This presence obviously needs time to mull it over, and despite your skepticism you feel prickles of sweat down your back.

The planchette begins to move, and it’s as if you’ve read the future. It moves towards ‘no’.

A whimper escapes Josuke’s pressed together lips, and you see the shake of his hand, and you can’t let this happen to your boyfriend. You speak, for the first time.

“Yukako, this isn’t funny.”

You look up. Yukako’s face is white. She looks frightened, and you’ve never seen Yukako look anything other than perfectly put together. She breathes out, her voice dry;

“It’s not me.”

“W-who else could it be?” You say, pulling your hand back from the planchette (later, reading literature online, you’ll discover this was a very bad idea). Josuke seems to be spurred on by you drawing back, and he snatches his hand into his lap - a chain of events that means Okuyasu does too.

“I-it’s not me!” She insists, and then; “Look!”

She moves her finger off the little wooden pointer, which is vibrating now, as if full of energy. You watch in horror as it moves quick enough to knock Rohan’s hand off of it. Nobody is touching it now, and yet it has moved to the nine on the board.

Everyone around the board watches in horror as it moves to the eight, with nobody touching it. One of the candles flickers, and goes out.

Eight.

Yukako reaches across and tries to put her hand on the planchette again, but it moves too quickly.

Seven.

She gets ahold of it, and then, speaks loudly--

“Don’t--”

A violent jerk to the six.

A strangled noise of fear comes out of Okuyasu as another candle goes out, and you look at Josuke next to you, who’s shaking violently.

Five.

Strands of Yukako’s hair begin to move despite the fact there’s no wind, that no doors or windows are open - it’s whipped around as if a gust of air is blowing directly onto her. You shiver; it feels as though the room has suddenly gotten very gold.

Four.

Yukako screams. You’re far enough away in the group that you see her head tip back, you see her eyes roll back, you see that for a moment there’s nothing visible but the whites of her eyes. Koichi scrambles away from her. Rohan looks fascinated, and it’s with a flash of disgust that you realize he’s actually interested in what’s happening and doesn’t care that everyone else is terrified.

Three.

There’s the sound of glass shattering, another candle going out (there’s only one left), a whimpered moan that comes from either Okuyasu or Josuke, you can’t quite tell-- Two.

Something guttural and frightening issues forth from Yukako’s mouth, a language you don’t think you’ve ever heard spoken before, deeper a noise than you think it’s possible for a human voice to make.

One.

Rohan finally moves. His long spidery fingers clamp down over Yukako’s, and with his air of knowing exactly what he’s doing at all times, he forces her hand down to the centre of the board, to the ‘GOODBYE’. He speaks aloud -

“That’s enough--”

The final candle goes out, and Josuke screams.

* * *

After the events of the night, despite Rohan’s insistence that you were being cowards, you’re not staying any longer.

“I’ll book a hotel,” you say to Josuke, who still looks shaken up. “I’m not . . . don’t worry, babe. It’ll be fine.”

Josuke’s voice cracks.

“I don’t like Halloween,” he says. You want to throw your arms around him and let him cry into your shoulders - if his wobbling lip is any indication, he wants to be able to cry to. “I really . . . Shit, I don’t like Halloween.”

“It’s alright,” you say, trying to keep your voice soft as you shove his things into a bag. Okuyasu is hovering and then, blurts out;

“I’m comin’ too. I don’t like the energy of this place.” He shivers. “There’s somethin’ real weird about, y’know? I don’t . . . If there are bad spirits here, I feel like we should leave ‘em alone. That’s what they’d want, right?”

“I think you’re right,” comes Koichi’s voice, a little more assured than anyone else’s. The diminutive man is shaking, but he looks at you three with a solemn face. “I’m leaving too. Yukako will probably follow me. If you want . . . I can drive us all back. It’ll be a tight fit, but . . .”

“Please,” Josuke says, the word tumbling out of his mouth in desperation. “I really don’t think I can stay here.”

“You can’t be serious,” Rohan scoffs, coming into the sitting room and looking around at all of you. “All this over a silly children’s game?”

Josuke snaps.

“You should know better than anyone that ghosts aren’t a story you can just bend around to be whatever the fuck you want ‘em to be!” He says, voice rising to a volume you’ve only ever heard it at when somebody insults his hair. “You’re fuckin’ around with stuff we shouldn’t be fucking around with! What’s it gonna take for you to admit that you’re not infallible, huh? One of us dying? You probably wouldn’t even care!”

Rohan’s expression is as haughty as ever.

“There are certain things that have to be put up with for the sake of art,” he says, voice prim and proper. “And for the sake of realism in my art, I’m willing to--”

“Rohan-sensei,” Koichi says, sounding serious. You’re aware that he’s usually the peacemaker of the group, and everyone looks at him to be the moral compass, but until this moment you haven’t understood why. But his voice doesn’t have a single shake in it. “I think you’re forgetting what we know about ghosts. Places that have connections to the spirit world - I think Josuke’s right. We should go home. It’s probably safest.”

You don’t think now is the right time to pry about what they know. Josuke’s made it clear there’s some kind of past history regarding Rohan and him and everyone else and ghosts, but you’ll get that from your boyfriend some other time.

You didn’t believe in ghosts this morning, but this morning you’d never seen a planchette move on its own or blow out candles or glass shatter in a photo frame with nothing touching it. You’d never seen anyone’s hair move the way that Yukako’s had (maybe that one could be explained) - you’d never heard anyone’s voice turn that way. You’d never seen that happen to their eyes.

You figure today is as good a day as any to start believing in ghosts.

Rohan seems defeated by Koichi, as he always is; you don’t know what it is about him, but Rohan trusts and likes Koichi more than anyone else. No wonder Yukako didn’t seem to like him hanging around with her boyfriend.

“Alright,” Rohan says, grumpily, sounding like a child who’s just been denied his favourite flavour of ice cream. “I guess you can drive me home, too.”

“There isn’t room,” Josuke bites out, his tone tinged with spite. “Get a fucking taxi.”

Rohan tips his head up so that his eyes are level with Josuke’s, and you swear that for a minute you actually see sparks flying between them, a physical representation of the fact that both of them would probably like nothing better than to punch the other.

Rohan heaves a sigh.

“Alright,” he says, tone long-suffering, “it’s not like I can’t afford it.”

* * *

“I’m sorry about today,” you say to Josuke, very gently, once you’re back in your own house. Josuke looks at you with despair present in his gaze.

“I know you love Halloween,” he says. “I’m sorry about everything. I really didn’t think -- I had no idea that things would turn out like that.”

“None of us thought that,” you tell him, stepping forward and cupping his face. He leans into the warmth of your palm and you’re reminded how soft his skin is and how handsome Josuke Higashikata is, how lucky you are to be the one who gets to touch him. “Hell. I love spooky things and that was too much for me.”

“Rohan should know better,” Josuke says. “Especially after everything that happened with Reimi.”

You look at him curiously. Sometimes Josuke forgets you haven’t been a constant part of his life in the way Koichi or Okuyasu have. He mentions people he forgets you’ve never met, asks you if you remember an event that you weren’t present for. Whoever Reimi is, it’s obvious from Josuke’s expression as he mentions her that she’s someone significant.

It’s not a day to be pushy, though.

“Do you want to go to bed?” You ask him, trying to keep your voice soft. In the car, Josuke had picked glass out of your hair and napped on your shoulder. You’d been sandwiched in the middle between Okuyasu and Josuke and you’re longing to be able to stretch out on the soft sheets of your bed.

“I’m worried I’ll have nightmares,” he admits. “That was some real shit back there.”

You smile adoringly up at him.

“I’ll hold you,” you say, “you can be the little spoon.”

You surprise a laugh out of your boyfriend and feel like the proudest person in the world - Josuke laughs easily, usually, but when he’s in a mood he can be difficult to break out of it. He’d been noticeably gloomy and jumpy since the Ouija incident. Not that he could be blamed for that.

“Well, hell,” he says, already moving towards the bedroom. “How can I say no to an offer like that from someone as cute as you are?”

“You can’t,” you agree amiably, already stripping out of your clothes as you walk, excited to feel your body pressed against his. “I’m too cute and you need to sleep with me right now. It’s just my natural charm.”

His colour and his light attitude are slowly returning to him; he turns his head and throws a careless wink in your direction, saying as you crawl onto the mattress;

“Sleep with you, huh?”

“Pervert,” you mumble sleepily, wrapping arms around Josuke’s trim waist and hoping that there isn’t any glass left in your hair as you bury your face in his neck. He smells like his cologne, a slightly childish and fruity smell that you adore. “Good job you’re so cute too.”

He makes a content noise, snuggling back into you, plush of his butt pressing against you. You drop a sleepy kiss over the birthmark on his shoulder.

“Hey,” you say, voice heavy with sleep, “y’know, because we were out we didn’t get any trick or treaters. We’ll hafta eat all of that candy ourselves.”

“Fuck yeah,” Josuke mumbles, “I wanted the candy for me anyway.”