#i should have a tag for UT posts like this

[artsycloudysleepy]

Drawing Dump!

oh and meet another OC: lily/iliad (fae/faer, has two names)! fae's the God/Guardian of the Arts in Fabrication (so art, music, writing, dance, and drama). faer design is my fav so far if i'm being honest haha, really like how it came out :D

(nye this is one of the two OCs who i've written with MDD so far! cody also has it - am going to make some human ones too methinks. thanks so much again for the tips!!!)

pppppllllluuuuusssss chara and asriel art i already posted in january but still like enough to promote again now that i uh. actually have followers :3

(also this is TOTALLY targeting a mutual who should really play undertale....................... hint hint hint /silly)

@mylackofgrammaristerrifying @mrrotten @nyenylon hiiiiiiiii hope you guys are having a fun timezone!! what're you guys up to? :)

[j1998v]

you should put less energy into what you hate, and put more effort in things you love

[metamelonisle]

franky falls into the underground and toriel just lets him leave without even trying to make him stay because she does not want to deal with him. upon entering snowdin he ends up swapping places with papyrus because he decides to "fix" all the puzzles and makes them more dangerous (but ironically end up only harming him) and papyrus has to go through them and then when he gets to waterfall undyne is like "woah! anime REAL? why is your body made of metal" and he does not entirely befriend her but also does by nature of He Didn't Kill Anyone He's Just Kind Of Insufferable and is also reasonably friendly despite his abrasive-ass nature. and then he goes to hotland and thinks mettaton is fucking awesome while mettaton refuses to believe he is a human because This Guy Is Metal And That's Not Normal and then he has a funk-off with mettaton EX and a really really cool fight that ends with franky victorious but mettaton alive and the whole time alphys is just in fucking shock because that's Franky from One Piece. and he makes it all the way to new home and fights asgore and wins and watches with absolute aghast horror as flowey kills him and then he just goes all out on photoshop flowey until flowey reveals he knows abt the back weakness and just kills him over and over and over and over and then neutral ending happens. and franky is like "i oughtta kill you, you little squirt!" and then he stomps on flowey non-fatally because he is a one piece character (cmon you think i'd really let him kill flowey) and ends up warped back to before the asgore fight. and then he goes to the true lab and is like "yeaooow!!! these guys look like they could use some cola!" and bc the amalgamates are just like. regular people all merged together they're just like "yo thathanksnks mamnan man" and befriend him. and then he gets back to new home where he realizes he has a chance to stop things from progressing the way they did last time and responds by trying to talk down asgore this time (its hard because he's franky. but he's trying because this guy is basically like his sworn brother to him now. he doesn't want asgore to die) and ends up stalling long enough for everyone to come by. except because he is an insufferable lout who while well-meaning and overall benevolent, was also just too unpleasant for anyone to wanna befriend, literally no one comes by and they end up deadlocked in the throne room until the end of time because franky wont die and he wont kill asgore or let asgore kill himself and franky is too strong for flowey to intervene and no one wants to go to new home to help him so they're just there forever

[illdothehotvoice]

Gonna be real with you king, my biggest fandom related pet peeve is when people post deltarune in the undertale tag and vise versa fjsbcbsbxbsbbdf.

[derrypubliclibrary]

.

[radioroxx]

@maskedinfinate HIIII ok i know you asked about alphys specifically BUT i had mettaton thoughts too lol ill put them below

also i didnt go into the kanako stuff at all yet sorry hfkf i will i will. one day. not right now. ok ok.

(ps! im gonna start tagging these as cloverbot so ppl can find it. yippie!)

btw i should mention my idea for this au(?) is! post undertale pacifist, monsters on the surface, the souls werent destroyed upon opening the barrier… and thats hkw theyre able to get clovers soul back for alphys to build them the body.

clover i think would make good friends with alphys :) if not cuz they like hanging out with her, but also because alphys is who they go to if they need repairs etc. which doesnt happen TOO often… they DO try to be careful with their cool robot body but yknow yknow jfjkf plus. adjusting to a whole new body is kinda? hard? can you really blame them?(ill come back to this). anyways anyways. they arent as close to her as they are to their other friends ofc, but still comfortable enough to know they can depend on her and talk to her if need be. so sure. awesome aunt figure works. awesome aunt figure who can give them cool upgrades like the finger gun or a built in jetpack or-

AS FOR METTATON. post ut i would think he and alphys make up of course… and alphys would ask him for a favour of helping this new kid get used to the body. as its something he had to go through as well, so he’s possibly got tips or just advice etc. or at the very least, its nice to have someone who knows sooomewhat what youre having trouble with lol. (not that adjusting to the body takes very long for clover- but they’d be friends afterwards anyway. of course mtt likes to have someone who looks up to him jfjf)

[animepopheart]

Yahello! While I’ve been on Tumblr since 2011, I thought I’d post a short intro for new follows and all those who’ve followed over the years but don’t really know me.

Name: Twwk

What this blog is about: Fanart, mostly anime-related and mostly from Pixiv, all reposted with permission!

Are you known for anything? Not particularly, but I am the founder of Beneath the Tangles, which occupies a really unique place in the anime blogging world as a site where Christianity intersects with anime. We also have a Tumblr: @beneaththetangles​!

Favorite anime: Oregairu, Toradora, Cowboy Bebop, Demon Slayer, many Studio Ghibli and Mamoru Hosoda movies, and so much more!

Anything else?

Yes! Here’s a few other random items:

I’m half-Korean and half-white. I’m married and oldddd.

I’ve been a light novel fanatic these past few years.

I’ve been watching anime for long time now, but I’m still going strong. Here’s what I’m watching these days.

I’m not a voice actor, but I’ve made some wonderful friends in the industry. I love and try to support the people in it!

Ditto with cosplayers!

I’m a Texan and a graduate of UT-Austin. Come see me at one of the Texas cons during summertime!

My first love is actually 80s and 90s pop culture. I can probably talk way more about Star Wars and The Princess Bride than even anime!

I’ve contributed to some awesome collections of writing on anime and fandom! I’ve also written pieces in a few other places, like on Anime News Network.

Want to know more about or see photos of me? You should probably check the me and personal tags!

I love getting messages. Please send me asks or start a convo with me! Apologies in advance, though, if I’m a little slow to answer. But please send them anyway and let’s get to know each other!

[hellbubu]

If you don’t like what I post, filter tags and block me. I’m not gonna argue with anyone

I think Yana might be into calves...

I don't think that bringing servants or being so casual with them was all that common back in that day, so this is nice and shows that Ciel cares about them

To be fair, no one told Soma that this was for a mission. Still, Ciel should've told him "Hey, my besties left so I'll leave too" or smth

I love them

Does this school even have security? Also, could he not have disguised himself as a teacher? The school certainly needs some. Agni was the one that scared the elephant???

I still can't believe no one noticed the dude who looks like their Latin teacher swap pies.

One, how sweet of Agni. Two, this just shows that Agni and Sebastian are the standard.

If only you knew... Prince Soma will be glued to the toilet for a bit. Just be happy he didn't end up like Harcourt.

Also, I fucking love that Sebastian snitched he 1. got Soma off Ciel (Bocchan is only his) and 2. he got some entertainment.

They're so casual with Ciel, I love them <3

This one is nice, maybe a different color?

I'm sure Arthur is waiting for them to die so he can publish his SebaCiel fanfics

Canonically, Ciel's favorite author

UT was either the side piece or was Grandpa. I doubt he was Grandpa because if he was, I doubt he'd let the person who murdered the Phantomhives go unpunished. But maybe he doesn't kill the murderers because he wants O!Ciel to live or smth. He'll beat up Sebastian until he breaks the contract and lives with the twins

DAMN! What a man!

Can Sebastian be normal for 5 seconds? Like no normal human jumps off a roof to save a maiden. Is he Captain America? Batman? Nightwing? MF be normal. Also, he should use this as a marketing opportunity

What is this? A cast reunion?

This was a choice. Did it end up working? Probably. But it certainly was a choice

Imagine trampling an EARL because you wanted one of his perfumes

I was going to talk about how Sebastian is holding him by his waist, but then Simba being presented at Pride Rock came to mind and now I'm laughing

Oh, so we're getting the next season soon, huh. I won't comment on the German pronunciation because mine is also shit

I thought the Green Witch was a scientist/inventor. Is there gonna be witchcraft in the next season? I'm an anime only. And to me both options are fine. She can be both. An inventor who also hexes people. Women can be everything and anything they want

fucking shoot him or smth.

[railingsofsorrow]

RAILINGSOFSORROW'S FIC RECS (0.2)

2nd part of the recommendation list from my fav fics! (i had to split in two because tumblr was being a nightmare) have it in mind that they can either be on tumblr or ao3.

the (+) means it has a smut masterlists: [0.1] [0.2]

↯

━━ OBX 

↬ little village by @thegreatestofheck (jj x routhledge!oc) 

best thing that's ever happened to me.

↬ whipped by @ptersparkers (jj x reader) 

↬ wake by @obxsummer (jj x reader) 

↬ aftermath by @maybaenk (jj x reader) 

↬ once a cheater... by @sl-ut (s.cameron x fem!kook!reader; t.thornton x platonic!reader) 

↬ lucky by @↑ (k.carrera x f!reader) 

↬ two of the same by @jjmaybud (k.carrera x f!reader) 

i, too, want to get married with kiara carrera.

↬ skin by @↑ (p.heyward x reader) 

↬ kie loves you... but you're not hers by @infictionalwonderland (k.carrera x f!reader; jj x f!reader)  

↬ angels like you by @cryonme (p.heyward x reader) 

↬ the 7 times he realises he loves you by @fandomtravels (I can't tag this acc :/ it's glitching) (r.cameron x reader) 

��� 

━━ MCU 

↬ one heart by @ichorai (tasm!single parent!p.parker x single parent! x reader) (major angst!) 

ok so I stumbled upon this while I was in class and I was bored so I thought let's give it a go until I get to go home. terrible idea because I was holding my cries, can you believe it? this fic stole my heart and it's so well-written, I don't think there's anything like it, it talks about loss and grieving in the most realistic way possible, I almost felt inserted into the story. plz go read it it will be so worth it.

↬ on thin ice by @leahsficemporium (peter parker x reader)

learning how to skate with peter &lt;3

↬ like slow-slipping redemption by artist_artists (ao3) (tasm!p.parker × male mj) 

I don't understand how this one doesn't have more recognition. I was craving for a bi!peter fic and I found it's the best piece of work I've read, it played with my emotions and left me of the edge of my seat. it's set on a post-no way home universe and it features tasm!peter x male mj. it's a happy ending!!! plus it's not long, only 3 chapters.

↬ getting old by @kiss-inthekitchen (husband!tasm!p.parker x reader)  

↬ peter parker can't flirt by @curseofaphrodite (tasm!p.parker x marauder!reader)

it's a crossover btw marauders era + the amazing spiderman universe.

彡

━━ TVD/T.O 

↬ apotheosis by atriums (klaus mikaelson x reader) 

it's finished and it has a sequel called alkaline.

↬ familia supra omnia by IAMiniquity (poly!mikaelsons x oc) (currently being updated) 

the best thing I've read in the originals universe, spent less than month reading it and I keep craving for more.

↬ treading on thin ice by @fitzs-trained-monkey (kol mikaelson x reader)

they write the best kol fics istg.  

↬ wasteland, baby! by trustsalvatore (kol mikaelson x oc) 

incomplete since 2020 :(((

彡

↬ coming home by @acourtofwhatthefuck (azriel x reader) (series)

━━ MISC 

↬ troublemaker by @itsapeterthing (druig x avenger!reader)  

I will tell you one thing: I wasn't into a court of thorns and roses until I stumbled upon this one. yk when the writing grips you and chains you in a way that you can't leave? that's what happened to me. I was so addicted I read this whole series in three days at most. then I proceeded to read all of their work, you should do the same, you won't regret it it's so good. 

↬ resident healer by @15-dogs (newt scamander x reader)  

↬ no one knows by @pillow-titties (billy russo x reader) +

↬ no one knows p.2 by @↑ + 

↬ by your side by @alaynes-writings (paul atreides x reader)  

↬ stormy nights by @marvelmusing (aleksander mozorova x reader)  

[starry-night-monster]

[* 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎-𝚆𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚄𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚝! ]

[* (𝙸𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖? 𝙾𝚑 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕...) ]

[*^ Animation I made of myself! ]

[* Please call me Io! I am a monster currently living in the Omega Timeline. Among other things, I really do enjoy drawing! And anything of the creative sort. I really like putting my hands to work. Ah, and I also play the violin, though I am but a novice at it. ]

[* I also sometimes like to dive into astronomy, it can be a quite intriguing area of study. Mainly stars, they are interesting, does anyone agree with me on that? And also planets... And black holes... And wormholes... And neutron stars... Wait, those are stars... Am I repeating myself here? My apologies. ]

[* My pronouns are it/its and I identify as non-binary! ]

[* Feel free to ask me pretty much anything! I may also go around interacting with other people's publications (lie, I'm a little afraid of interacting with others first, maybe you should ‘tag’ me if you want me to join interactions). I just wanna meet new people ]

[*Also, my AU of origin sets in a time without computers and this website stuff so... Bear my possible lack of ability at modern speech and terminology.]

//OOC

[ * Heyyyy folks (yes the ut text box thing is a typing quirk) I am happy to FINALLY launch this blog!!! ]

[ * This blog is run by @lazy-shapeshiofter and is a hybrid between a RP blog and an ask blog, but tbh at its core it's kinda a well-disguised kin blog as Io is actually a kintype of mine. I'm Io, Io is me, that kinda jazz. ]

[ * Same DNI criteria from main applies here ]

[ * I post decent art on main (mainly silly Ink stuff or just utmv stuff in general) but also mess around with friends. It's fun ]

[ * Also here's the info post about Io! May come in handy. ]

[ * I believe this is all I gotta say. ummm time to have fun ig???? May also doodle things for this blog ]

[safwunnz]

YO!!

Are you a utmv artist hoping to make a big collab with other artists to make one big drawing?

well don’t I have somethin for ya (пwп)✨✨

On the 14th of October 2023 (some time around 06:00 EST), I’m opening a halloween themed magma for ALL OF U RAD PPL OUT THERE!!!!

Guidelines/Rules:

The magma opens at the 14th and closes on the 31st

You can draw any UT/DT au related characters (which also includes OCs)

you can only draw a maximum of 4 characters

Make your characters small so other people will have enough space to draw

If posting to social media use #utmvhalloweenmagma2023 (only on tumblr) and tag me :3

It’s not compulsory for every character to have a halloween costume, but it is better since everything will be halloween themed

Each character will have to be shaded OR rendered, flat color drawings or sketches won’t be accepted (sorz)

Tracing is obviously not allowed (and oh I should mention rn that gacha is also not allowed)

Some people should volunteer to also draw the background :3 (if no one does I’ll just do it myself lmfao-)

The magma will be split into two canvases. (btw if we run out of space really quickly I’ll make another canvas so other people can draw on the new canvas too)

First canvas:

this is where you put your tag

brainstorming area for everyone like the lighting, time of day, scene, colors, ect

Second canvas:

this is where you’ll actually draw

If you have any further questions please just ask in the comments >v<

[chancetried]

Hello! Welcome to my treasure trove of random =D

I post every now and then but if you want to see my actual art just search in my blog the "#Chance does doodles" I don't mind requests or asks but please do not be mean. also the art program I use is sketchbook if your wondering ^^

This is a fully safe-for-work blog so you don't have to worry about that and I mainly do ut/dr art ^^

Just as extra I prefer to go by they/them pronouns and would really like it if you don't go assume anyone's gender at all, whether fictional or not please..!

My old art that was when I was starting and testing my art style is tagged "#my old art". . .Not sure why you would want to look at that but go for it

I also have a YouTube channel where I make playlists and occasionally upload OST's (rarely), you can find it by searching "ChanceTried" or using the link

Btw you should check out @alliyazhya @spyret-the-shitposter @nopanfakemix2 @mnwary @squidpedia and @skylerfurmaniac-deactivated / @skylerfurmaniac @minneedssleep they are my close mutuals and do art too!!

TLDR:

this is a safe blog, period (no nsfw, no discrimination, no nothin' like that)

I post deltarune and undertale stuff mostly

be respectful, don't misgender, don't discriminate, remember theres people behind the screen and be nice to them because we are all our own person. =]

Also I use they/them pronouns ^^

I do art basically 2 times a week and post a few reblogs, my tag is "#Chance does doodles"

⬇️

[lynxgriffin]

I always forget you have an actual lizard named Alphys, so I always have a split second of confusion whenever I read asks you get involving her. I just end up like:

“Alphys can get reptile blackheads? Oh no D:

…wait.”

Yes, I should try and post pics of her more often! I try and tag posts about her as "LG Alphys" to help differentiate her from Undertale Alphys, but it's easy to miss that.

...Although honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Alphys in UT could get acne, too D:

[kurolini909]

Little announcement!

Hey guys! I just have something to announce that might be relevant regarding what to expect from my content from now on...

Well, as part of my new year's resolution, I won't be focusing solely on Undertale as an artist anymore. :"3

Don't get me wrong! I'm absolutely NOT leaving the fandom!

I don't think I ever could.

(summarized version is that I'll be indulging my own fluctuating interests from now on in other fandoms and original works. More under the cut!)

It's just that I'm trying to be more free spirited, so as to no longer feel as if I have an obligation (not like I ever did but brain brains wrong lol), my art and posts from now on should be less frequent and regarding whatever new hyper fixations I am harboring at the time!

I want to expand my artistic horizons and portfolio a bit. So things should become more random around here as to whatever has grabbed my interest.

Overall this is me indulging myself more for 2024.

•°{*}°•

Allowing my other interests to shine through a little bit, as opposed to popular demand, albeit imaginary.

Does this mean no more Undertale on the blog?

Of course not!

Again, I'm not leaving this fandom. It is an important part of who I am at this point, and helped me a lot with many of my skills! I will continue to occasionally post Undertale/Deltarune content!

Except just when I really feel like it. :"3

Again. This game has a permanent spot on my heart.

I simply dislike leaving things unexplained that's all. A sudden change of content out of nowhere seems unfair to do without some kind of warning to me.

Oh. Okay then! But, if you're not leaving, then why'd you make this post?

Don't be shy to still tag me about Undertale stuff, or ask about my Undertale characters still if you'd like! But I do ask that art requests are avoided.

(commission, which I plan to open this year, will still very much include Undertale as one of my specialities though. Again, more than three years of experience here!)

This warning is, therefore, valid from here on. Whatever I decide to go with, this isn't a [thing]-specific blog. It may change according to my interests!

•°{*}°•

Finally:

If you've read up until here, thank you for being interested in my reasons as a person, not just an artist! 🖤🤍🖤🤍

I hope you can support this new chapter I'm turning over. And if you want to leave, that's alright, too, it was a pleasure to have you! <3

If you stay, I hope you'll enjoy all I have to offer still!

Oh! And PLEASE to all my mutuals I made in the UT fandom, do keep in contact!!! I still love to hear about it and see what you guys create!

More than that, for a good part of y'all, changing main fandoms doesn't mean I don't adore the friends I made over here still.

There's so many friendships I owe to this incredible community, and I'd hate to lose even one of them. I understand if they want to, but know this is in no way a turn down if your contents are also UT.

Again: I love to see what you can do, and always will!

I'll hunt you down if I need to, you all loveable ppl know who you are. '^'

•

On to new adventures beyond the Underground!

Always remembering...

Despite everything, it's still me. ❤️

[tailsbeth-writes]

Thanks for tagging me @duchessdepolignaca03! So this is my first one of these actually, thanks to timezones it wasn't Wednesday when I got tagged but nonetheless here we go.

So I don't have WIP excerpts right now, I'm a 'gonna write a fic to post straight after' kind of gal (this will change with a long project next year though) so instead I thought I'd post some bits from my fanfic idea dump plus some og fiction WIPs.

-The Prince & He (Working Title - coming 2024)

The Prince & Me AU for Red White & Royal Blue. Alex is at UT and Henry decides to study in America, he tells his family it's to find himself but really it's so he can get away from his overbearing royal responsibilities. (Looking for betas for this btw!)

Potential RWRB fic ideas:

-it's Alex & Bea who have cakegate and after damage control, the queen thinks they should start a courtship... Alex & Henry have other ideas though (want to explore gendered differences, the damage control would be so different with Bea and I think I'd like to make her asexual & explore that within a structure of tradition)

-5+1: times that Alex was clearly being hit on by a dude but was completely oblivious & Henry is obviously the one (🥹)

- Potential song fic - Wasia Project: U Deserve - Nothing But Thieves: Do You Love Me Yet? - Liz Lawrence: I'd Rather

Original Fiction: Decompose

Near future London has been segregated by means of a new medical test, each sector representing a level of productivity. After going through the kitted out MRI machine, twin Harry Thorpe is wrongly moved from his comfortable life in the highly skilled sector where technology rules and excellence is expected, to the unskilled sector which seems stuck in the past but with much more variety.

Between alien customs and new romances with classmates, he discovers his own power hungry mum is trying to bring in the One Child Policy and that is only the beginning of her plans. Harry and a group of rebel social workers and civil servants might be the only thing that can stop her.

This is my first novel, it's young adult sci-fi, focuses on equality, chronic illness & disabilities, diversity, government corruption, found family, rebellion. It's got a diverse cast led by Harry, who is a soft pansexual bookworm with a sweet tooth. I'm currently editing & looking for beta readers for the next draft.

When You Get The Chance

My next book project is still very early days but it's a very queer holiday romance.

Coral 'Corey' Henderson is on holiday in Majorca for 2 weeks, her sister missed the start of the holiday leaving her alone. Enter Alice Ortiz, a member of an Abba tribute act performing at the hotel.

All of Abba Nice Day are queer, Corey is a ginger plus size Scottish lesbian event planner, Alice is a bisexual Geordie (half Spanish) who loves singing but also wants to go to uni to study politics. This book will explore family dynamics, dementia, biphobia, body image, protesting & finding your purpose. I'll do a call out for betas when we get to it!

Congrats if you made it through all this! I'm tagging @cl4r3m0nt @heybuddy-drabbles @candyspandemonium @firenati0n @nontoxic-writes & whoever else wants to do this! Tag me, I'm always looking for writer pals 🥰

(20/12/2023)

[papaver-decervicatus]

Teaser... + house keeping!

Wow, I am just besides myself with how amazingly receptive and welcoming everyone has been to my silly little König story. Reading in storage closets at work, affirming bass player fetishes, offering translation help, love of environmental descriptions (ah yes, ecphrasis, my love!) asks, comments, just generally such sweet things, it's been an absolute honor to read everything everyone has been saying here! I did want to briefly explain that since this is a side-blog, I will not respond to comments/tags directly because tumblr would make me do that with my main blog (which is related to people I know irl, and I love them but I do not want my roommate reading my COD smut...) but everything is read and deeply appreciated. Please feel free to send asks (messages are more difficult for me to answer in depth...) As for other house keeping, please please please have an age in bio, or some descriptor that you're of age in some way, also blank blogs are terribly suspicious, changing pfp and descriptions go a long long way! If you wish to be added to a taglist for Cat/Mouse/Den, please comment/reblog/etc this post so I can round everyone up! Anyways, a minuscule little treat for being such wonderful people :) Cura ut valeas~ Caedis

He’s a vision, he’s hard to miss on the horizon, he stands out like a mountain lion against his fellow men. He sways his hips wide, the trusty Glock Field knife he keeps on his belt shines like a beacon. It’s such an outrageously cocky move, to keep glinting metal on his person when she’s sure he’s supposed to be stealthy. He’s tall as a tree and broad as a train and always has some hood covering his face. He’s sniper candy, he’s so obviously right there it makes her dig blunt nails into her arm in frustration. He’s hard to miss, should be her straight shot. 

But he never is. 

She never gets the barked orders, the confirmation. She’s asked a hundred times. When it’s in the forest, it’s less warfare and more stakeout. She’s not paid enough to know what she’s looking for, but she always sees him. And she’s always been told not to shoot. She stops asking at some point, but like everything else with this man, she doesn’t quite remember when. Her life is a blur of missions and off time and him and nothing else.

It’s been months since the ravine and she’s seen König just about everywhere she’s been. When SpecGru was gathering intel on KorTacs drug affiliations, she saw him in the haunted deserts of Sonora, Mexico where she lies in the dirt redder than blood and coyotes sing her to sleep. She gazes down at him atop crumbling 16th-century Byzantine marble when she picks off the guards of a weapons supplier in Belgrade, Serbia. In the ancient and verdant bamboo forest of Yibin, China, hunting down spy affiliations, she camps across a creek from him for a night. 

It’s a small world, but not quite small enough for her to believe just how they keep running into each other. No matter where she ends up, their eyes always meet. 

The eyes of the apparition with bloody tears on top of an executioner's hood always flick right towards her, even when she’s under a ghillie or some camo or nothing particularly obtrusive at all. She’s even taken off her scope once or twice to reduce glare, to see if the monster still turns her way then. To see if the cat is following a laser pointer she’s unwittingly putting out. 

He does.

He always finds her.

No matter what.