#i will FOR SURE drop more lore afterwards

[shourtcermanda]

this goes out to @tommybones bcos arthur said he wants a little plts lore drop (and hes right it will help me get the ball rolling on writing again)

so here are little details abt pretty like the sun (spommy college au) to entice you guys and help me with writing again:

spencer is a film major and tommy is a theatre major. they run in different social circles but have lots of mutual friends

spencer has been friends with courtney since high school and they ended up at the same college

courtney and arasha have been dating since the first month of college. arasha and spencer become the most terribly annoying and judgmental duo ever (courtney apologises to every person they torture)

spencer dormed with shayne in their first year and became inseparable after that. they become a little group with alex t, trevor and every now and again kiana (someone has to keep the idiots in check)

tommy shares an apartment with amanda and angela, and suffers through their old married couple bickering

tommy is the president of the theatre student association, which is why he gets to direct the musical. he's the first ever junior to direct instead of a senior.

hes v well known around campus, and depending on who you talk to, people say he's kind of a bitch

the musical they're putting up this year is legally blonde (tommy personally campaigns for it). if anyone wants a full cast list i will give it, but for now know that Jackie is Elle, Damien is Emmett and Tommy is Callahan (ofc my king would direct AND take part, he is so talented)

tommy spends the majority of his time with the theatre people, (jackie, damien, amanda, angela, chanse and kimmy) not just because of all of the rehearsals, but because he loves them

these are bits of information that i feel would be a little extra to mention in the text themselves? ill probably still end up referencing some in there anyway :D

[purplecritter]

theories/thoughts/analysis about touchstarved 2025 demo

So uh, I did a long analysis post back when the first demo dropped. I won’t repeat things that I already wrote there but I have some more thoughts especially with the changes and additions they made + several of the scattered official tumblr posts that followed the demo release!

Also heads-up, I will edit this with the daily routine posts from the devs' account if they're relevant, since I already commented on Mhin’s, but apart from those I won’t touch this anymore afterwards 🙏

(Spoilers under the cut)

Kuras

His new red choice… Really amps up his association with fire, and it seems to be directly linked with how close we are to him: if you didn’t get the red choice you still feel it, but you’ll miss this line: “I realize it’s more than physical warmth. The sensation calms my nerves and quiets my mind—the closest thing I’ve ever felt to a comforting embrace”. One thing is interesting though: the red choice was unlocked during my Unnamed playthrough, but not during my others even if I picked the same choices. I tried again picking the opposite choices with my Unnamed and still got that red choice, so I’m pretty sure it depends on your origin, not your relationship with him. Since, as of now, Kuras hasn’t yet revealed his true nature to us (I suspect Eridia more or less knows, though), it would make sense that specifically the origin about detecting hidden supernatural presences would notice earlier than the others.

The dev answered a question on their tumblr about Kuras, “Kuras came through the Shroud because he loved humanity. He’s had human friends, colleagues, and lovers… all of whom he’s destined to outlive. Each person he’s loved—and lost—left an indelible stamp on him.” The stamp part caught my attention; since we feel his powers more whenever when get closed (physically, but moreso emotionally), I wonder if he can… channel? That affection into energy. Kind of how deities are fueled by their followers’ faith, perhaps an angelic being like Kuras is fueled by emotions?

A bit of relevant lore was posted on the dev team's tumblr: “Divine Teacher — The Senobium's folklorists note a curious pattern in humanity's oldest tales. Though the details vary, these stories share a common theme: an otherworldly teacher, bringing the divine gift of knowledge. Alchemy and literacy, art and war...supposedly this being shared all that they knew with the earliest civilizations. In some tales, the otherworldly teacher is a loving, benevolent figure. In others, they are a harbinger of chaos and ruin.” as well as the quote “Hope. A strange concept, after so long seeing myself as the agent of ruin.” Prometheus is the obvious parallel, due to his association with fire (though I would hope Kuras still has his liver intact), but there’s many versions of the Theft of Fire; in the Book of Enoch there’s fallen angels who shared knowledge with humans, too; and undoubtedly several more myths about inhuman figures sharing knowledge. Mhin says that “[Kuras]rarely does [take payment from patients]. That just means he’s paying down the debt elsewhere” which could be related to his distaste for dealing with the Senobium… I wouldn’t even be surprised if he had a hand in creating the Senobium (his robes are white too, and he does collaborate often, yet he isn’t afraid of retribution for messing a little with its members from what we can see of his ending scene), and he had all the time in the world to witness how the knowledge he gifted was used for worse things that he could’ve hoped for :(

Kuras, like Ais, keeps on his own for the most part, though they don’t dislike feeling close to people: Ais actually dislikes isolation but he’s probably too jaded to want to bother interacting, while Kuras actively craves closeness (it’s part of the reason he has a free clinic methinks) even if he knows it will hurt him when he loses it.

Leander

Leander’s group is now called The Adderstone. The symbology of an adder stone, aka witch stone, is definitely a bigger hint at Leander’s unique connection to magic, whereas previously the Bloodhounds evoked the feeling of a mercenary group with a penchant for investigations. In the new demo Adderstone is defined as “a semi-precious mineral that draws out poison”, which also makes me think of his constant disposition as a confident protector and his tendency to disregard the riskier aspects (ie, he wouldn’t care about getting poisoned himself). The Adderstone’s meaning is still vaguely reminiscent of my previous thoughts about the Bloodhounds: Hounds are a breed specifically intended to track something specific (or someone specific) by scent, and in the new metaphor that something/someone is the poison that Leander and his mercenaries are drawing out, hunting.

Adder stones are sometimes also symbolically tied to snakes, some sources saying they were created by turning dead snakes into the stone, others say that the ring-like formation was made by a hardened bubble of saliva when snakes joined together… All quite nicely tied to the recurring Ouroboros symbol in Leander’s outfit and merch!

“I’m no prior or curator. I’m not much for paperwork or pencil pushing. And honestly, I don’t even think those robes come in my size.” I am reminded of an old post by user @/toeridiaorbust about how Leander and the Bloodhounds Adderstones clothes are a direct color inversion of the Senobium’s robes.

“If you want nothing but guidelines, improper policies, and needless bureaucracy, you know where to go […] The Senobium won’t help you. They’re more likely to torture you than to lend you a hand.” Now this? Makes me wonder if his prominent scars are connected to his loathing towards the Senobium.

“But I’m not going to wait from word from on high […] These are our streets. We make our own luck here […] I founded the Adderstones to help people like you.” connects to the “as above, so below” tagline that was in his posters in the first demo and first hinted at him creating the Adderstone as an alternative to the Senobium.

The lore snippet about him on the dev’s tumblr doesn’t add anything that we don’t know from the new demo about Leander and the Adderstone, but there’s an interesting part at the end: “Locals speak praise for the charming leader whose seemingly benign reign extends even below the city streets into the shadowed depths of the Silent Crypts.” Considering all of his symbolism about the cycle of rebirth (I went into detail in my old analysis post), the fact that this references a crypt of all places doesn’t feel coincidental… We haven’t heard of the location yet from what I can remember, but I would bet that it’s connected to Leander’s hidden curse / source of power.

In an old post, the devs confirmed that “The magically talented son of an old Hightown family, Leander was expected to join the Senobium when he came of age. Instead, he packed up his bags twelve years ago to chase his own dreams” which matches with his own words in the demo: “I grew up idolizing the Senobium. I wanted nothing more than to join their ranks, to learn magic from the best, to make a real difference. I was young and blinded by the legends and the legacy. I was so damn naive. All it took was one trip here, to Lowtown, to show me the truth.”

“I won’t leave you, and you won’t leave me” + “How would you feel about being on a leash?” + “You can decide how to thank me. Or I can decide for you.” he’s not beating the yandere allegations.

“It’s not every day I find something that truly challenges me” we already knew he likes being challenged, which is pretty much his whole relationship with Ais. It’s interesting because with MC, he tends to prefer when they defer to him, trust him, take the flower and hold hands…. I think both things are a way to reaffirm his confidence: a challenge surpassed is proof that he’s strong enough to face what he has ahead, and having people trust him (in Kuras’ words, even willing to put their lives on the line for him) is a different way to feel that kind of influence.

The new scene of him coming into MC’s room with the excuse of having information about the curse, it feels like a contrast with the other characters’ ending scenes. Everyone shows a little about themselves, their attitude or their habits, but Leander feels like he mirrors MC. Even asking him about his relationship with the others, he comments on what we say about them rather than speaking up about them unprompted.

I initially didn’t think much of it so it may be nothing but it’s worth mentioning anyways: while chatting with Leander nearer the ending, he can say “How would you feel about being on a leash?” which is easy to dismiss as just him being a little freaky, but then I recalled after the first encounter with Vere, when the MC remarks that they could share his fate and get “leashed” by the Senobium. I doubt Leander would intentionally let MC in the hands of the Senobium, considering his animosity towards them, but it’s still a chilling thought that feels like foreshadowing...

Vere

re: his bad/secret ending, I appreciate that he shows some restraint this time around. I’m now pretty certain that you can only get the option to “Reach out to him” (red choice) versus “Resist him” (neutral) if you played along with him at least a little bit; while “Surrender” (bad ending) is only unlocked if you don’t have his approval and you say that if you can’t find a cure it’s over for you (rather than “I’ll keep looking”).

In two posts on tumblr (here and here), the devs posted a couple of peeks at Vere’s living space. “Candles flicker in the waning light, illuminating a crowded desk at odds with its gloomy surroundings.” and “Few in living memory know why the Senobium built the secret prison where Vere is kept. What do you think happened to the other prisoners?”. Given it’s described as a secret prison, I’m torn about it being located in the entertainment district where we first found him. One one hand, he was shackled there and it was morning, the Senobium cleric hadn’t yet come to fetch him. On the other hand, it feels like a weirdly dangerous place to put the deathly charming Monster in? No other buildings can be seen from the window, which is either just to not clutter the view or it’s a tall building, a spire taller than the rest, which would only leave the blue sky visible from that angle. The three items that mainly occupy his space are candles (I would’ve thought he would be able to see in the dark, perhaps just not comfortably or perhaps he likes the atmosphere they create... or they're not there for his benefit, but that of his captors), books (I could swear there’s a full picture of his sketchbook somewhere but just considering this sneak peek of it here, I think it’s the one in the middle of the desk… As for the books, he doesn’t like puzzles, I’m not sure he would be the studious type, so my bet is on them being entertainment), and shackles in his bedroom and by the desk. This last detail feels particularly invasive, as the implications are that someone is scheduled to keep an eye on his routine, dictating when he is allowed bedtime and when he can read/draw/brush his tail (there’s a little brush and mirror in the shelves). There’s also some handwritten papers on his desk, I wonder if he’s allowed to send letters or if he just writes them? One additional detail caught my attention: doesn’t the decoration in the chair by his desk look remarkably similar to the design of Kuras’ earrings? Though there’s different additional elements for each, they both are a circle with three drops underneath it… Which makes me even more convinced that Kuras played a significant part in initially capturing Vere. The comment about “What do you think happened to the other prisoners?” brings to mind Vere’s insistence that if the Senobium realized what the MC is, they’d be leashed as well. I don’t doubt that other Monsters have been kept by them in a similar manner, perhaps some of them also were offered a way to end their suffering by Vere, like he did with MC in his secret/bad ending.

In a tumblr post by the dev team about his lore: “Bloodstained Snow — The Senobium's archives hold countless records of stories that defy belief. One ancient report recounts the haunting of a remote village by what is described at first as a god, and then as a demon. Heavily redacted, the papers depict a team of researchers hunted by a self-proclaimed deity that transforms into a malignant entity. After the beast succumbs to freezing conditions, its ultimate fate is unknown-doubtlessly lost with the pages removed from the report.” I would bet that this is (part of) the reason why Vere dislikes snow… Apart from that, it’s interesting that Vere presented as a god first. History is written by the victors, and I wouldn’t take this recounting as the full truth. If he approached the village like he did with us, at first charming (if a bit unnerving, but deities can afford that) and then started preying on people’s trauma/insecurities, it’s not much of a stretch that they’d label him a demon—and to be fair, his monstrous form doesn’t inspire much safety either. I wonder if he first caught Kuras’ attention (or wrath) by proclaiming himself a god?

I’m also still thinking of Vere being a foil for Mhin: both hunt Soulless, he does out of obligation and they do presumably as a choice in line with their ideals; one leans completely on his Monster side and lets it leak through nonchalantly, the other despises Monsters and hides their own unnatural skills; Vere puts on airs to hide his thoughts, overwhelming you with (effective or not) charm, while Mhin is standoffish and avoids opening up by… well, avoiding you.

Ais

The Exile notices “Not many scars, though. Strange. Save for one cut along his brow, Ais is unmarked for how seasoned he acts.” In a post on tumblr the team answered a question about this particular scar: “Ais’s scar serves as a memento of his first day in the human realm, a stark reminder of all that can be lost. His gang imparted a lesson he’ll never forget, and he returned the favor in kind.” What feels more likely to me, is that he passed through the Shroud with his gang, they had a serious disagreement and/or they betrayed him (we already know from the character sheets and other hints that he doesn’t like being alone, I feel like it’d take something serious for him to turn his back on them), fought and he got injured during this confrontation. Then he found (?) Ocudeus, and we can assume from the fact that the red-eyed woman who lead us to the Seaspring still had visible marks of her previous health, that the Seaspring doesn’t restore wounds, so the wound was already there and didn’t get healed. I don’t think it’s likely that Ais has regenerative powers (also, his knuckles are bruised constantly, and he bleeds when MC bites him).

Leander also says that Ais “doesn’t see humans as equals”. Humans, by their very nature, can’t realistically be a match for the power of a Monster, so Ais wouldn’t consider them on the same level as him. In the same line of thinking, he seems to like more when MC can hold their own, and I feel like it’s connected to his trauma about being betrayed: if people can take care of themselves (like Vere, who’s as dangerous as Ais, and Leander, whom he respects), if he gets betrayed by those he likes, then at least he won’t have to hold back and it will be a fair fight.

When Ais says his old gang “took a walk”, the Exile wonders about this “He knows how to scare people, and he expects submission, but it’s uncommon for someone so used to being in power to be so… alone.” The Exile also has the most positive reaction by far to the Soulless in the Seaspring. When talking with Mhin, the Exile says “[Ais’] Soulless seem to like him though […] There’s a big difference between Ais’ Soulless and that many-eyed Soulless [that attacked me].” Being playful (perhaps even being in groups) isn’t a behavior they usually display, and I wonder how much of that is because they share being under the influence of Ocudeus so they're not hostile to what they consider allies, and how much it could be Ais’ doing instead: if he feels so alone, I would bet that he would (subconsciously or not) use the bond with the Groupmind as a way to feel less isolated, and those feelings impact the behaviour of the Soulless.

Ais talks about “a time where Leander’s resolve will be tested, same for anyone in this plane or the next” I think that the Adderstones remind him of what he had, or could have had. He sees something of himself in Leander, but Ais is jaded by his previous experience. I now wonder if the assassination attempts are his way to test him, make sure he’s ready for whatever comes, something that he feels like he lacked when he was left alone?

The lore post about Ais on the official tumblr reads: “Death Knell — Whispers echo about a fearsome Monster within the Shroud, their overwhelming power and authority stretching across the realm’s underworld. Few have seen the face of this infamous ruler. As Monsters continued to abandon the Shroud to seek thrills in the human realm, the being stayed behind, devouring forsaken domains and Monsters alike until no challenges were left. Now, as the being seeks conquest elsewhere, Monsters stir in anticipation of impending carnage.” This also could reference the time where [everyone’s] resolve will be tested; I wonder if it’s a general comment, about Monsters as a whole (Ais himself likes a good challenge), or if Ocudeus specifically is working towards something. In England, there was a tradition to ring the so called passing bell from the church when someone’s death was imminent; then the death knell when they passed away (there’d be additional rings to signify gender, and age, so that people could get an idea of who it was); and finally the corpse bell when the funeral was being held. If we want to read too much into the cool moniker, perhaps Ais is not meant to be the harbinger of chaos, but merely a warning sign.

The Unnamed will comment about hearing a faint heartbeat pulsing underground, when they first approach the land near the Seaspring. Earlier they also comment about feeling a kind of thrumming in Eridia itself, I wonder how far Ocuseus’ influence expands? Is it limited to where its Groupmind members are?

Leander says that he’s known Ais for around six years, which considering Kuras says that Ais is a recent arrival, could be that he’s passed through the Shroud into Eridia for less than a decade even?

Mhin

They’re EVEN MORE of a nerd in this version. Clearly knowledgeable about Soulless’ biology, even though they deny having studied anatomy or medicine. In an older post on the devs' tumblr, “Mhin was forced to apply their anatomical knowledge to violence in order to survive. After years of bitter experience, they learned to fight with agility, elegance, and surgical precision. Even in Eridia, their skills see more use in combat than healing.” which again makes me think they maybe didn’t formally study them, but being an apprentice to someone isn’t out of the equation (perhaps even Kuras, the Divine Teacher?). Them saying to an Alchemist’s red choice “It’s been a while since I had someone answer [my theories]” hints that they weren’t always alone in leading a life like this, before. Like Leander says about them, “Vulnerability doesn’t get you much except heartache.”

“Something about them is strange, unlike any human or Monster I’ve ever met. I can’t quite place my hand on why, and that’s a first” is what an Unnamed says when first encountering them. Not human, not Monster, but a mix of both—Not enough Monster yet too far gone from Human. A post on the devs’ tumblr depicts Mhin (partially?) transformed: they’re still clearly recognizable, it could be they’re just mid transformation but considering the comment from the Unnamed, I don’t think Mhin can become fully a Monster (like, say, Vere’s shadow fox is also kinda incorporeal but more shaped): it is said that Monster gain more control over their human form as time progresses, so Mhin has probably only recently become like this. The description of “a tar-like substance leaking from their eyes and bony extrusions” matches their pin designs as well as their “costume” in the official 2024 Halloween art, and the tar/blood leaking from their eye matches the pastry on the official 2025 Valentine’s Day art (bottom right corner).

Ais calls them “dove” and considering their Monster form seems to be quite the opposite, black ichory feathers and all, makes me believe that Ais has seen them shifted sometime and is poking fun at it. Or I’m just reading into it too much and it’s about them having white hair and Ais defaulting to bird nicknames for some reason.

The Exile comments “It’s one thing to strike down Soulless. They’re creatures of instinct, aggressive and dangerous to everyone. But Monsters are lucid, thinking beings—beings that Mhin seems to loathe.” It feels like their hatred is brought on by how familiar they are: they know the thoughts that compel a Monster (hence their insistence that MC seeks help from someone less dangerous than them) and they hate that they’re their own thoughts.

In a recent post detailing their daily schedule, it seems to me that Mhin doesn’t sleep, or barely does. I’m more inclined to say that it’s a consequence of their nature, that they haven’t accepted (so they still want to sleep, even if they can’t or don’t need it), similar to how Kuras doesn’t really eat.

Since they both compete in the same field, I wonder if Mhin and Vere first met while hunting Soulless? Do they ever meet while on the same contract, or do they run in different circles?

I don’t think they mentioned this in the first demo, but Mhin says they grew up in Eridia. Which really surprised me, because in the pre-release content they’re referred as “outsider” and “outcast”… Unless that’s changed in the rewrite, maybe they were cast off when they were young, or maybe they weren’t physically exiled but rather their family/group of origin estranged them? “Eridia wasn’t perfect, but it used to be a place worth living in” also could be said in a more subjective sense, Mhin didn’t lead a perfect life but they were satisfied with it before. Moreover, Leander says about them “I’ve known them since they arrived here.” Perhaps they grew up in Eridia, left at some point, and came back later? And when asking Kuras about Mhin, he says “Like you, they’re a recent arrival.” though that could just be that Kuras has a different concept of time, considering he’s centuries old. In any case, I highly doubt it’s just an oversight from the team because so far every detail is very curated. There’s something here about Mhin’s timeline that I can’t quite put my hands on yet.

Now the juiciest bit of info about them yet in my opinion, is on their tumblr lore drop from the studio: “Lost Expeditions — In a bygone era, before Eridia became the last beacon of humanity, there was Lovent. Yet where a bustling metropolis once stood, there is now only a blasted crater and empty ruins, blanketed by fog. The inhabitants, and large chunks of the city, had vanished into thin air. Over the following years, scholars flocked to the ruins in search of answers. Like the Loventians, they disappeared without a trace, and none ever returned.” Lovent is also referenced in another post, as “The previous largest city, Lovent, was the epicenter of the first Fogfall. In the century since, Soulless and Monster incursions destroyed most cities, leaving Eridia as the largest remaining one.” It makes me wonder, if Mhin maybe did grow up in Eridia, went to Lovent either in time to be caught in its destruction, or afterwards to investigate it. It’s possible that this is how they became a Monster… In the description of their flower, there’s also a reference to “barren wastelands to ruins perpetually shrouded in Fogfall” which is way too similar to “empty ruins, blanketed by fog” to be a coincidence. It’s possible that they physically entered the Fogfall/Shroud, and what emerged wasn’t fully them anymore.

Thanks if you read so far, as always I’m always happy to read other thoughts about it all or if I missed something 👀

[dualityvn]

Okay I'm over the moon with the new update!!! I've played as much of it as possible but with how many options you put especially with the nsfw it didn't fit in my time yet. I'm writing this from work anyway lol.

First of all: THE DESIGNS!!! I thought I'd drop my hat with how good they looked especially with the few new poses!!! Tenebris still looks a good mix of cute and "scary" and Keith — his face is really sweet, that's all I'm saying with my name intact. I love how your art now has cleaner, thinner lines and a more lively shading(don't get me wrong I loved it always but it's just noticeable that you improved, especially with seeing Keith standing next to Melissa(? I'm at the moment praying I got the name right) who still has the old art style). The backgrounds seem interesting? They look amazing and very fitting for the game!!! It's just a little weird for them, especially the forest to not be colourful but it just takes getting used to. Now,:

DAY 5 SPOILERS

I really love how the story went forward, I like that seemingly the fae are more up our ass for some reason maybe besides hanging with the boys. The glitchy effects and those eyes? Perfect! Scared the living spirit out of me at first so it works well. I'm a little confused about us being able to sense Keith's thoughts but like only in one rout? Like I'm not sure how that's possible or why that didn't happen with Tenebris or maybe I just skipped something accidentally, but oh lord that was so nice!!! To kinda know what Keith is thinking?? Chef's kiss. I feel like in those thoughts more was shown of what we've seen here on the blog kinda? Especially when in that moment before having s-x(does tumblr have an issue with these words? Idk) he was worried we'd leave in the morning. Some of these small things really said more about his character. Although the nsfw scenes were ofc hot, I did enjoy more so how especially some of them gave a bit lore actually intimacy? Especially with before and after some small moments were just so sweet. (Ofc out of players curiosity I let my MC snoop a bit in some rounds and Keith's dairy? Damn it's sweet but holy f—, Tenebris's lil box is just kinda sweet/sad but it was such a nice little detail) The non nsfw routes actually struck me a little more this time tho. Tenebris being afraid of thunder is of course something I remembered from here but it's still adorable. Seeing him actually be a little more open and cuddly is always welcome, and the fact he purrs is still my favourite. With Keith's moments again I feel it's more of what we know from here put into the game, like how his parents don't see him much because of how raising them was, him trying to mold into an "easier" person and make up for the "trouble" of being around them. It honestly broke my heart a little cus I just would've wanted to hug him and tell him he's worth having supernatural beings wanting us dead(I'm happy we got to comfort him!!!). And I was quite shocked they killed that thing, from both of them, Keith a little more but still. I'm not quite sure about their reactions afterwards since both confused me a little but I'm sure I'll understand with time or from here. Keith's eyes getting red was sure something that surprised me but it's an interesting part. I did not all understand Tenebris's end, the getting sick? I guess stress can do that but asking us what we are and being scared? What the hell did he see/what happened?? I'm so intrigued with this story!

All together I'm really happy the boys are getting more comfortable/open and the story progress always has me on the edge, I loved the update for sure!!!(This doesn't necessarily need a reply, I just wanted to point out what I liked[and maybe gush about it] a little)

Hope you rest a lot after this!! Take care Nightmare ❤️🍒

Aaaa, this was a delight to read. Thank you so much! I'm very happy you enjoyed this update!!

Sensing Keith’s thoughts is something that happens because of a combination of narrative convenience and the general chaos of Date 5 as a whole.

And yes, the endings will become a little more clear in the next update.

[destinysbounty]

Ranking the DR kids based on how well they'd handle getting time-traveled to the beginning of the OG series:

Euphrasia - she lives in the Cloud Kingdom and has been with the Writers of Destiny long enough to have at least a functional understanding of everything that's happened and is supposed to happen. She would also be willing and capable of ensuring the original timeline remains preserved to the best of her ability. Any errors she makes are minor and get quickly resolved.

Arin - is a massive nerd with a near encyclopedic knowledge of the ninjas' pasts, but even he doesn't know everything. He'd probably drop a bunch of lore/spoilers purely on accident and feel really anxious/awkward about it afterwards. This does not stop him from accidentally dropping spoilers in the future, though. As excited as he is to be trained by Master Wu himself, seeing Lloyd as a twerpy little brat is more than a little disturbing and he's not sure he likes this. At one point he realizes his parents are still alive/present in this point in time and has an emotional crisis about whether or not to visit them. Eventually decides that if he can use his knowledge to fix the past and perhaps prevent all sorts of bad things from ever happening, then he should go for it. But he's also constantly second-guessing himself and questioning what changes will "fix" the past and what changes will absolutely destroy everything.

Sora - only kind of pays attention to Arin's ninja fan rants, and also isn't Ninjagian and therefore has no basis of understanding for their history, so she has a very incomplete understanding of things. Why does Zane look human? She is having so much stress over whether or not she can preserve the original timeline because she really loves her life as it is now, and is scared that if she changes too much then everything she currently has will be torn from her. But if she doesn't know how things originally happened, how can she make sure she's not changing too much? Needless to say Sora would have such a bad time and is seriously regretting not paying more attention to Arin.

Wyldfyre - I don't even need to explain this one. You all know exactly what would happen.

[pbeltarts]

I don’t know if you e ever read the Disney Fairy books by Gale Carson Levine, but on the off chance you haven’t I wanted to tell you about the character of Rani;

Real quick background lore drop, GCL fairy universe if a fairies wings gets wet then they can actually end up drowning themselves because their wings get so heavy and waterlogged that they can’t fly away from the water.(yep this was in a kids book i read at age 10 lol)

But anyway Rani; basically, she was a water talent fairy who wanted to be friends with mermaids but couldn’t because she would drown. And she actually had to cut off her own wings so she could go underwater. She kept them afterwards but eventually gave them up to a dragon(it’s a whole thing i’m not gonna explain the whole plot) so she can’t fly on her own and has to have a dove called Brother Dove fly her around.

And I’m not sure what your plans are for Izuku’s wings in your story but if you ever wanna take it in a hella angsty direction then he could pull a Rani. (but in the end i don’t really care this is your story and you do you and keep being your wonderfully creative self! <3)

I actually knew about Rani, yes! Hers is one of the more in-depth stories from the books and its really interesting. I can't reveal yet where I'm going with his wings, but there's angst in various avenues :D

[dragon-susceptible]

Different Path Taken Ch20: P1 Lunar Caldera

Introducing: Ellis and Ava!! and also featuring a performance of Callum's famous jerkface dance!

I'm thinking about doing the second half of this chapter a little differently than before, and switching up the perspectives a bit. I kinda wanna just let Runaan do a full on lore dump, so maybe the second half will be mostly just like, his dialogue, written as narration, and with just the occasional prompting quotes from the others to keep him moving through topics? Kinda like Callum's spellbook type narration. I'm not sure if that would be too much of a switch considering the rest of the work though, and I've never written anything like that so Idk if it'd actually flow that well.

Everyone was tense, and Ezran was already tired.  Callisto had said he probably would be, after everything he’d been through the day before, but he didn’t really understand why.  He’d been swimming for a few minutes, and it had been really cold, but he slept for he didn’t even know how long afterward, and had awoken nice and warm and dry wrapped up in the elves’ blankets and Ram’s clothes in the cave.  They’d had that snowball fight, he guessed, and then they’d been worried in town for the egg.

He still worried for it.  The little bits of movement he’d heard from inside it, the warmth it radiated, the feeling of a little sleeping presence, had gone largely still and quiet.  There was still something, but the presence was so much fainter. 

Maybe he was just discouraged and that was why his feet were so heavy as they hiked up the sharp, rocky slopes of the mountain.  Callum didn’t seem to be delayed at all, and Ezran pouted at his brother’s back as he scurried ahead at Runaan’s heels, asking him endless questions.  He could use some help back here. 

At least Skor and Callisto were walking back with him.  Andromeda and Rayla were ahead too, and Ram was so far in front Ezran kept losing sight of him.  Corvus had tried to walk in the rear, but several of the elves had bared their fangs at him and Runaan had ordered him shortly to stay where he could see him, so he was also far ahead of Ezran.

Ezran glanced over at Skor gratefully just in time to see him wince faintly, and frowned, looking the elf over.  He was walking a bit gingerly on one foot. “Are you okay?” He asked in sudden worry for his new friend.

Skor smiled faintly at him and shrugged.  He snapped his fingers to get Callisto’s attention and signed something over to them. 

Callisto seemed to fall into being his voice as easily as Gren did for Aunt Amaya. “I twisted my ankle on the other trail - when I fell, and dropped you during the avalanche.  I’m sorry about that.”

Ezran blinked at the older man blankly. “That wasn’t your fault.  Bait’s the one who burped.” He pointed out, holding up the glow toad as if to prove it.  Bait turned faintly pink with embarrassment and groaned reluctant agreement. 

Skor’s mouth cracked open in a real smile and he signed something else to Callisto, who dutifully relayed his words as Ezran focused on his hands, habitually trying to pick up familiar signs.  There really weren’t any, given shadow sign wasn’t the same as Katolian sign, but it was hard to break the habit. “I know, little one.  I just feel bad for droppin’ you.  I’m just glad you’re alright.”

That just made Ezran more determined to prove him right, to show that he was okay, that he could keep going.  He squared his shoulders. “You don’t have to feel bad.  Accidents happen to everyone!  But if it helps, I forgive you.” 

The elf laughed softly, the noise rattling somewhere in his chest as Callisto snickered too, and a gentle hand squeezed Ezran’s shoulder gratefully.  The shadow sign for thank you was similar enough that Ezran knew it without Callisto relaying it to him, and he grinned back proudly at catching it.

He still wasn’t as good at sign language as Callum, and now he had to add a whole other sign language to his learning list!  It was worth it for the way it made Aunt Amaya and Skor both smile though.

“Look ahead,” Runaan called from in front of them, and they all looked up. 

“Oh wow, I didn’t know there were so many of you!  Hi hi hi!” The little human girl said brightly from the back of the wolf. “I came to show you how to find the miracle healer!  Come on!” 

Without waiting for an answer, she and the wolf turned around and bounded up the slope ahead. 

“I assume that’s the girl and wolf ye mentioned?” Callisto asked, as they all abruptly stopped, the elves all just sort of staring after her.

Ezran nodded. “Yep.  At least we have someone with us who knows where to find the miracle healer now!  Maybe she won’t be all the way at the top like the Guardian is.” He said, with a cringing look up the slope. 

“Oh, wait, let me introduce you guys!” Callum called, and they all converged on Ellis and Ava when the wolf paused to listen to him.  At least she seemed to realize they needed to talk to each other, unlike the girl on her back. “Everyone, this is Ellis.  Ellis, this is, uh . . . well that’s Rayla, and that’s Runaan, Andromeda, Ram, Skor, Callisto, and also Corvus.  He’s new.  The rest of them we met when they . . . uh.  Broke into our castle trying to kill Ezran.”

They all paused for a moment and Ellis looked around at the elves in sudden confusion and concern.  Ezran suppressed a flash of irritation at his brother for his terrible explanations.  He didn’t have to lead with that! “But we’re past that now,” He said quickly. “They’re our friends.”

With that, the concern melted immediately from Ellis’ face and she was back to beaming at them.  She flipped upside down on Ava’s back to grin at Rayla. “People meet in so many interesting ways!” 

“So, where do we find this miracle healer?” Rayla asked with a smile, as Runaan knelt in front of the wolf with a more serious expression.  He reached for the collar around the wolf’s neck and Ezran met her gaze, the wolf suddenly realizing something and rumbling when he touched it, lifting the stone where he could see it. 

“The truth is, I never found her - she found us.” Ellis said. “We were hiding in a big twisty hollow tree, up near the rim.”

Of course it was up near the top.  Ezran sighed softly. 

“I’ll get us to that tree, the healer will find us there, and she’ll save the egg!” The girl said brightly. 

“And maybe she can help your hands,” Ezran said hopefully. 

“Don’t worry about our hands.  The egg is all that matters now.” Ram said firmly. 

Runaan hummed softly. “I suppose it does not matter much, as our destination remains the same, but I feel this is important to share.  There is likely . . . there is no miracle healer.  The woman this girl - Ellis - encountered was most likely the Guardian of the Nexus.”

“But wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” Callum argued. “We can see that she has four legs now!  I thought moon magic couldn’t do that kind of stuff.”

The wolf whined, and Ezran met her eyes.  She shifted her weight off the leg, pawing at nothing, and he got the sense she felt no weight from it, though it supported her when she stepped back down.  His eyes widened with understanding. “The leg isn’t real,” He blurted out, aware of almost everyone turning to look at him. “It’s just an illusion, isn’t it?  Ava - Ava said so.”

Runaan’s snow-white brows shot towards his hairline as he replied. “Yes, it is.  The collar gives the illusion substance with the gemstone in it.  It is a moonstone etched with the moon rune.  The leg is solid enough to touch, to support her weight, but she likely feels no weight from it, either, and I would wager she’s never injured it again, either, or suffered from the paw being too cold.  That would be too complicated an illusion to maintain without conscious thought.”

“How did you know that?” Callum asked suspiciously, zeroed in on Ezran, and Ezran scowled at him.

“I told you, I can understand animals.” He said, already grumpy from how many years Callum had spent telling him he was wrong.

Callum groaned. “Ezran, we’ve been over this, that’s not true!  Why are you always lying to people about it?”

“Boys,” Runaan said sharply, and Ezran bit the inside of his lip at how much he sounded like - like his dad.

Andromeda frowned. “Wait, have I missed something?  Ezran, you can communicate with the animals?”

“Can you believe this?” Callum said. “Come on, Ez.  Tell the truth.  The first time he did this, I asked him to prove it.  So Ezran said that a group of raccoons had told him there was a treasure hidden behind a waterfall!  But when I went behind the waterfall, did I find a treasure?”

Frustration burned in Ezran’s chest and he stared at the ground, clutching the straps of the backpack that held the egg. “No.” He grumbled bitterly. 

“But did my underwear get soaked?”

“Yes.”

“Case closed!”

“The raccoons were being mischievous!” Ezran protested. “I have since learned you cannot trust raccoons.”

“This is ridiculous.  See, this is why you can’t make friends.” Callum accused.

It was a familiar sore spot and Ezran just scowled at him, choosing not to point out how Callum couldn’t do it and Callum didn’t have any friends either, except for sort of Soren - less now that he was a full Crownguard - and Claudia.  And Callum wasn’t even the prince who had to deal with people lying all the time, since nobody expected him to be in charge of anything once he grew up.

“Callum!” Rayla, Runaan, and Andromeda all barked at once, and Callum actually flinched, and Ezran blinked at them with surprise as he felt someone kneel behind him and Skor’s hand landed on his shoulder protectively. 

“Back off,” Rayla warned.

“That’s quite enough,” Runaan said, at the same time as Andromeda said “That’s enough!” He shot a look at both of them and was the only one to proceed. “I admit that the ability is . . . rare, and I have never heard of it on this side of the border, but . . . tales exist in Xadia of folk capable of understanding the thoughts of animals around them.  It is not impossible, though I am surprised by it occurring here of all places.”

Ezran blinked up at him in amazement. “You believe me?”

Runaan smiled at him, his often cold teal eyes gentle this time. “Yes.  And if this is the response you receive for being honest about it, I do understand why it has not come up before.” He shot Callum a harsher look, raising one eyebrow at him. 

Callisto made a short noise of realization. “Back on the boat, when ye said Bait wanted t’ know if I liked animals - you actually did mean Bait, didn’t you?” They asked in a slightly awed voice.

Ezran nodded, a little ashamed. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me, but I had to ask.  Bait’s a good judge of character.  He liked your answer.” 

The elf smiled at him almost sadly. “I’m glad.”

“So you’re saying that this whole time . . . it was real?” Callum said skeptically.

“Yep.” Ezran said, pouting at him, only partially on purpose.  It had been years since he talked to anyone about this.  No one believed him!  Callum stood with him on most things but this he’d had to keep entirely to himself, because even Callum had told him he was crazy. 

To his surprise, Callum’s shoulders dropped, and his face went serious as he looked down for a minute before looking up at Ezran. “Then . . . I think I owe you an apology, Ezran.”

“Well . . . at least one.” Ezran said, hugging Bait.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.  I promise I’ll never doubt you again.” Callum swore with his hand over his heart. 

Ezran narrowed his eyes at him. “Do you really mean it?”

“I really do.” Callum promised.

Ezran smiled, mischief and a desire for some small vengeance blooming in his heart. “Then you have to do the thing.”

“Here?” Callum glanced at the elves, Corvus, and Ellis. “Now?”

Ezran grinned wider, made his eyes as wide and cute as possible, and nodded wordlessly.

To his delight, Callum just looked at him for a minute before heaving a great sigh and starting to do it.  Ezran clapped a beat for him even as he started laughing, the elves shifting apart to give his brother room to bounce around for the sake of - “Callum’s famous jerkface dance!”

When he looked around at the others, he couldn’t help laughing at the varying reactions.  Ram, Corvus, and Rayla all looked more confused than anything.  Andromeda had both hands covering her mouth but her grin had reached her eyes and her shoulders were shaking as if with laughter.  Runaan appeared mostly stoic, watching Callum’s dance with one raised brow, but Ezran thought he detected a glimmer of a smile pulling at his mouth.  Ellis was just blinking with fascination.  Skor was shaking his head but he was smiling, as if amused in spite of himself, and Callisto was visibly biting their lip to keep from laughing. 

“Knees higher!  Knees higher!” Ezran heckled just to be a brat, and Callum actually did it, started lifting his knees higher, and this was why they had the jerkface dance to begin with.  It was hard to stay mad after Callum apologized when he did something this silly to prove he meant it!

“So, not that this isn’t hilarious, and super adorable,” Ellis said. “But who’s the Guardian, if she’s not a miracle healer who saved my Ava?”

Runaan glanced at the other elves and sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I suppose we have another human guest on this little mission for the time being.” He said wearily. “The Guardian is an elf, a mage left behind to guard the Moon Nexus . . . a place of great power, once the center of Moonshadow elven society, and the greatest concentration of moon magic in the world.  I will explain further as we walk.  It is best we keep moving.  The sooner we reach the peak, the better for the egg.”

[thebigqueer]

fineeee i guess ill make a random headcanon post (these thoughts have been plaguing me for months and i need to get them out)

ik sarah fortune and vi are probably prison wives which is why i also think sarah did most of vis tattoos while they were there, which is how they became prison wives (a whole lot of sitting very intimiately on top of each other can do that to people.)

jinx left ekko with a key to her hideout. its probably one of the only last things thats remaining of jinxs past since she was very determined to destroy anything reminding her of her past, so he keeps it in his room. he hasn't opened it yet because it feels like a breach of her privacy but he has it just in case she ever comes back or if he ever decides he wants to.

on that note, i actually think the first time he even dares to go into her hideout is after one of his and vi's meetups. she's probably talking about how much she misses jinx and he brings it up. they don't actually go in for monthssss afterwards cuz again they feel weird being in her hideout, and vi feels like she has no right to this part of jinx's life given how distant they became. but eventually curiosity gets the best of them and they go in.

cait and vi have two dogs.

cait and vi also spar together on the weekends.

caitlyn went to university while she was living with her parents so it was kinda hard for her to sneak off to parties but she did it somehow. that said the first time she got drunk was in college and jayce had to help sneak her back in through her window.

vi and mylo and claggor would often hang out with some of the older kid neighbors and would usually be the plug for alcohol. but vis first kiss (with a girl one one of the low rooftops) was interrupted because mylo got wayyyy too drunk one time (it was his first time and she gave him so much shit for it). powder found out and got sad that she didnt get invited to the party even though she saw how mad vander got

i think caitlyns always known she was into girls but was less sure if she was into guys. while she was a teenager she dated maybe one or two but she realized she very much was not into them.

mel has a lot of knowledge about weaponry (given shes from noxus) and when she came over to the kiramman house for events or dinners she and caitlyn would nerd out about guns. mel would tell her about some special noxus weapons and how they differed. mel was even the first person to gift her a gun (with cassandras permission ofc).

after cait finds out about vis drinking problems while they were separated she also stops drinking (at least around vi, but she tries not to drink even when she isn't around vi too). that paired w how her father took up alcohol after cassandra's death, alcohol is kinda barred at the kiramman household for a while.

i honestly think vi prefers not to be around anyone after she has nightmares or on particularly hard days. i think she likes to stew on it for a while on her own, not cuz she 'doesnt wanna burden cait' but more becuase she just doesn't want to be smothered like that. obviously she talks to cait when she feels comfortable enough but she likes to be alone when shes having off days.

felicia and connol got married after they found out they were pregnant with vi (and in the wedding picture that vander and then jinx kept, you can see felicia's baby bump with vi). im not sure how league lore works but i think felicia and connol decided to officially marry more so cuz it felt right to them and less because they 'had to' because i think marriage is honestly more of a label thing in zaun (like oh yeah we can marry but we also dont have to, it doesnt really matter cuz it doesnt change how i feel about you), whereas in piltover marriage probably holds more social and economic weight.

even though sevika wasnt particularly close to vi or jinx when they were younger (when vander was still in charge of the last drop) she still talked w them. i think she was softer w powder cuz she was younger and would sometimes play along with her dolls, but she was very teasing with vi (which teenage vi did NOT appreciate).

i do think that sevika would help vi train sometimes too, even though i fully think vander was the one mostly in charge of that. but on the nights that maybe vander was too busy and sevika felt like it, she'd give vi pointers on how to fight.

one time sevika saw vi flirting with her first girlfriend on the rooftops and she teased vi mercilessly about it while they were sitting next to vander. vander raised his eyebrows at vi and vi blushed and stormed off. sevika just howled with laughter.

[crazylittlejester]

You've mentioned projecting actual stuff from your life onto Wars and I just. I have to ask. Did you also realize that you liked men via crawling out a window

(edit: yap warning, because for some reason i wrote way more than was necessary and lore dropped things i certainly didn’t need to but my head hurts too bad to skim through and cut things out so yippee enjoy the not asked for history of me being bi)

god i fucking wish that’s much more iconic than the truth- tho i have done plenty of crawling out of windows before (Actually now that I’m thinking about it, I made someone I crawled out a window with realize THEY liked men- And also question their gender- and then a good bit later I dated that person)

when did i realize i liked men? the second baby me set eyes on orlando bloom as will turner, pirates of the caribbean is 100% responsible for me being bisexual /j

when did i realize I Liked Men and that, in the conservative environment i was raised in, that was “Not Normal” and therefore made me gay: at 11 years old when my school had an assembly to talk about why you shouldn’t be attracted to the same gender and i broke down crying afterwards lmao

as a demisexual biromantic autistic guy you gotta understand for a good long while i thought i was living the universal experience and that people were lying when they said they were only attracted to one gender. i thought sexual attraction was fake- for years- and because i was raised in such a religious environment where people do not talk about sex or sexuality i went 11 years without truly realizing what being queer WAS. so finally realizing what being gay meant and what the reality of not being straight in the community i was in was was genuinely devastating because i realized very quickly that i was different and all the people around me would hate me for it

while pirates of the caribbean is definitely Thee bisexual movie, in all seriousness I don’t think i ever realized i liked men. i just always did, but i realized the ‘consequences’ of that in the eyes of the church at a middle school assembly, and i dealt with a lot of internalized homophobia for years after that

and then the first person i ever dated was a man, who kept telling me he wasn’t gay which… m not sure how dating another dude makes you straight but alright….

ANYWAYS yeah, i defeated my internalized homophobia by kissing men and climbing out windows and then making more people gay. not as iconic as Warriors, but 🤷‍♂️

also just to be so so so crystal clear to anyone seeing this: my blog is a safe space 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ i do not tolerate homophobia or transphobia of any kind. i know firsthand what it’s like to have to hide who you are and to have to realize there are people in your life that you still love even though who you’re attracted to has weakened THEIR love for you, and i can’t control the world but this blog WILL be a safe space for people to be themselves. and to any queer person reading this who’s been feeling really down and stressed about everything thats going on, i love you and im here for you if you need it. you’re not alone

[celestie0]

notes on kickoff ch.7

hellooo if you're here thank you for taking the interest! i just had some creative notes i wanted to get off my chest with the release of ch.7 lol i felt compelled to do so with this one i'm basically journaling here. you can read this after reading ch7 here!

I. on gojo's feelings

as for why didn't gojo just tell reader how he felt at the end of the chapter, and instead only says what he does. i think i rewrote this ending like five different times, he was never supposed to tell her at this point based on my story planning, but i did explore the idea of a dramatic confession here regardless, and it didn't fit for lots of different reasons for one, i think he's finally able to put himself in reader's shoes. it's true he's pretty dense and obviously has commitment issues/valid fears that keep him from opening up, but that still doesn't mean he hasn't hurt reader in a lot of different ways already. he realizes, whether intentionally or not, he's led her on and to do a complete turnaround within a few hours while she's already trying to process rejection as she is clearly withdrawn from him i believed would've been selfish on his part, and could possibly cause even more hurt over the fact that he could come off ingenuine. gojo is finally emotionally aware of her enough to recognize it, but he's not a perfect person so it still slips through that he's distraught at the thought of never seeing her again. in general i'm of the opinion that if someone asks for space, you respect that unless they say otherwise of note, just because he realizes that he has these feelings, doesn't necessary change his fears, as no single moment can undo years of trauma, so i think that's why he bites his tongue too. i'm not keen on making this a "woman fixes man" story but i moreso want to embrace the sentiment that you don't need to resolve every single bad thing that's ever happened to you in order to embrace love or happiness.

II. on gojo's commitment issues

i know it was brought up in the first gojo pov that he has issues committing to just one woman, but i wanted this chapter to reveal that it's really just his fear of opening up to people due to the still raw loss he feels of losing someone he loved. i aim with his pov to be more of a stream of his own consciousness rather than from an omniscient observer, which may explain the ambiguity. he's not sure if he's able to open up to a person in a way he knows is normal and healthy, so he settles on shallow connections instead. just wanted to clear this up, and say that it won't be any sort of plot point in which he struggles to be sincere or faithful when he seriously wants to commit to someone as he has no issues with that if he truly wants to be with them (unlike the whore he's been so far in the series lmao)

III. on strawberry vanilla soda

btw i've never had this flavor of soda i'm not even sure where i came up w it loool or if it even exists. i was kind of toying with the idea of gojo seeing reader's message on the can during the match, and that would maybe help him get more focused on the field (sooo sports romance cliche but i still love it haha) but i settled on him seeing it afterwards to kinda parallel the clumsiness he's had with reader so far. for some reason, the universe just doesn't want him to get his timing right with her lol

IV. on angst/conflict

i know ch7 was a bit differentttt less gojo x reader and more just gojo lmfao, it was also a bit angsty. it definitely won't stay angsty throughout the remaining chapters. this was just gojo's lore drop chapter LOL. there will still obviously be angst here and there, but i've got a lot of fun, cute, tense, silly, passionate, messy scenes still planned similar to ch5&6 because i prefer writing those kinds of scenes haha. ultimately this story was always meant to be a full-circle romance, so ch7 was to lay some of the emotional groundwork that gets brought up as the story builds to its climax

that's all i have to saayyy if you actually read this whole thing i love you?? lol. ch7 really emotionally resonated with me as i wrote it, both as someone who understands how gojo feels but also as someone who understands how reader feels, and if it resonated with you too then that makes me very happy and that's ultimately every writer's dream haha. was very cathartic to share these thoughts. i hope to see you in the next oneeee <3 have a wonderful rest of your day!

[dailylucacorderodimontezemolo]

Luca Lore: the Tatts

Yeah, I wasn't expecting tattoos on Luca Cordero di Montezemolo either. His commitment to menswear is such that he's rarely seen less than fully covered from neck to ankle (he would have made a marvellous Victorian maiden), and none of his regular looks lend themselves much to body art. He's usually all about suits, ties, sweaters tied over his shoulders, and occasional loafers without socks.

But there are two tattoos to talk about. (That we know of. If he has more, drop me a DM or an ask and please tell me how you found them).

The most photographed one is the turtle, probably because it's close to his inevitably fabulous watch situation. There's so few photos of either that it's difficult to verify exactly when he got them. The photo above is from 2009, and the Financial Times mentioned that he got his tattoos (note the plural) with his second wife Ludovica Andreoni in 2005. (That same profile, by Hannah Roberts, mentions that the tattoos give him "a raffish air," and has some seriously golden lore that will be the subject of future posts. I hope none of y'all are especially fond of wild boar).

However, I wonder about the origin of Luca's ink. The turtle on his left wrist contains the letters L, M and G, which correspond to the initials of his three youngest children (born between 2001 and 2010). Which makes me wonder if he got the tattoo in 2005, per the FT profile, with the first two initials, and added the third later. L is the youngest child and the tattoo had a nice balance with just the G and M, so the L being added last is plausible.

Then there's the other one.

It's a five-pointed star, which looks about the same size as the turtle, on the inside of the opposite forearm. There is shading around the points and inside are initials that correspond to Luca's two elder children. The star looks newer, but it seems odd to start with a tattoo for the younger kids rather than the older ones.

Luca has five children in total. A daughter (who has his exact face and will feature in a future lore post because I am in love with her) with his first wife, a son with a former partner, then a long gap (during which he had a serious relationship with a stunning French-Italian actor named Edwige Fenech famous for her roles in goofy sex comedies) before having three children with Ludovica. He hasn't ever said his tattoos relate to his kids (that I can find) but it seems like a reasonable guess.

So perhaps, if he got his first tattoo with Ludovica in honour of their shared children, he might have honoured his elder children afterwards, or gotten both at the same time - but the star seems to have aged better. This article suggests the ink hadn't been widely seen before that point but extensively references the star tattoo, so we know it predates September 2009.

The star is a classic symbol that lots of people like, but why the turtle? I've done some research and have no idea. The same FT article mentioned that his family have nine pet turtles, so that may be why, but it's just a guess.

The Times profiled Luca in 2008, shortly after Massa lost the Driver's Championship to Lewis in the last corner at the last race. Journalist Edward Gorman wrote:

So we can't even be sure what kind of testudinidae it is. Luca does not make anything easy for a researcher.

That's everything I can find on Luca's adventures in ink, so I'll leave you with Mario Andretti's tweet on the subject.

[hold-please-hyperfixating]

Hello yes I'm here to inquire about your papyrus, what do you mean by before the incident??????? Please and thank you have a nice day

Yo thanks so much for asking!

Okay so I'm not going to tell you the whole story behind understep! But the incident issss:

Rook destroyed everyone's code but his brothers and then his brother was dusting away and rook found it only brought him more pain being alive so he killed papyrus ( basically stabbed him to death) and had no guilt in doing so afterwards. If I ever do a lore drop I'll be sure to add in the details and as to why he destroyed everyone's code.

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

random Conner being a good bullshitter moment

Teacher: today class we are doing a genealogy thing, basically we are going to track your family tree. It’s an assessment of your research skills, go ham just make sure your information is correct if it isn’t you will be docked accordingly.

Later

classmate: so Conner? How are you going?

Conner: oh I realise my family history is a bit confusing but when the day comes I’ll explain it, how are you going?

classmate: oh fine, my family already had a family tree book made so I just have to present it.

Conner: cool, I have to make mine from scratch but it’s alright.

a week later after a few battles with random space pirates

teacher: well class I hope you’re ready to present your assignments, who wants to go first?

Conner: *raises his hand*

teacher: oh well, Conner go ahead.

Conner: *clears throat* okay, so my dad clark is actually my half brother *conner starts to singsong* my mother is actually some rich lady named Lex, my dad is actually this guy Elliot, my half brother is also my older brother, I know it makes no sense but keep on listening. My cousin is Kara, my family is Jonathan and Martha Kent, my stepmom is Lois lane and my nephew is Jon Kent. Yup that’s it.

the class applauds after Conner’s PowerPoint presentation

teacher: wait how is clark your half brother?

Conner: just is, my dad Elliot knocked up Lex and he left shortly afterwards. He was one of Jonathan’s distant relatives, he ended up leaving clark with the Kent’s because well easier than leaving him alone, since his mother died when he was a kid. He did die only a short while later it was only supposed to be temporary until he did die. So they ended up adopting clark, he’s still a full blooded Kent but yeah his dad is dead. And I’m his half brother because our dad had a kid with this rich lady Lex. As you can see on the chart. And Kara is our cousin who I don’t know who’s parents are.

teacher: well that’s something, I honestly was expecting something else.

Conner: I’m still in touch with rich lady Lex, since she’s a doctor and did raise me for the first years of my life, and I have family health issues. But I am the Jonathan and Martha’s kid though, Lex is just reluctant about me being with the other side of the family because she didn’t really know them well. Since dad died long after she knew she was pregnant, i was a ivf baby lol because she froze his sperm. I call clark dad because well he’s been my dad. But we are half brothers, it’s more of a “I didn’t know we were half brothers so I’m going to call you dad” thing I was 14 when I came to live with them, I had a falling out with my mother.

the class listens eagerly because this is so much Kent lore, and explains literally everything about why the fuck they look a bit different and where clark came from! the decades long mystery is solved!

Conner: so now I just alternate between the two houses, it’s not a split custody agreement or something it’s just I like living with the Kent’s. And I’m old enough to make my own decisions, so it’s just mostly living at the Kent’s and visiting mother.

teacher: well that’s something. Thank you for sharing this, you receive a B+ because I don’t have access to any of your records or know who the heck you’re talking about so B+. Whoever’s next get ready.

later

Conner sitting at the dinner table eating some roast, and slightly kicking his feet under the table asks

Conner: I did my family history thing today

Jonathan: you didn’t screw up and tell everyone something that could trace us back to superman right? *chuckles*

Conner: nope, did finally explain that clark is my half brother.

Jonathan: *fork drops* what

connner: well obviously no one believed he’s my dad, because that’d make him a teen father or something and honestly it was genuinely getting pretty weird. So I explained that Elliot, Jor el. Was my father, and that he had a kid with a rich woman named Lex because technically it’s true who can actually confirm or deny that, through ivf after Elliot died. He also had a kid with unnamed woman who is Clark’s mother, he left clark with you as he couldn’t leave him alone and he died shortly after. Isn’t that a better back story?

Jonathan super surprised by conner’s web weaving skills just nods

Conner: so now I can talk about Lex, no one thinks I’m a teen father’s child anymore, and you have some one to blame if someone does actually accidentally test Clark’s blood. I am amazing!

Jonathan: well, I guess I’ll inform everyone of the situation you just made, but I commend you for your hard work. You did a good job kid.

Prev | current | next

(yes this is a series please read the first one it's hilarious)

[philosophicalparadox]

Do you have any insights into how Sasuke changes his speech patterns towards Sakura throughout their relationship in the context of the original language? Particularly after they marry and have Sarada?

Unfortunately I have not watched a lot of Boruto, only clips here and there. I didn’t particularly care for the premise, and though I tried, it just wasn’t doing it for me. I have done a few lore studies on characters in it that interest me, but I haven’t actually watched very much of it. So at large, I’m probably not a good judge of their dynamic post-canon.

However, in the context of Shippuden, the language doesn’t really change a lot from Sasuke to Sakura; he just gets more sarcastic and rude in general, and that applies to Sakura too. (The only person he isn’t AS much of an ass to is Naruto. Sparingly. lol.)

BUT. Sakura does alter — albeit not the way you’d think.

In pt1, Sakura is pretty formal with Sasuke, in a girlish kind of way. She’s putting him on a pedestal as teenage girls are wont to do with their crushes, and that’s reflected in her speech as well, though she’s not actually that crazy about it; she doesn’t insist on calling him -san, for example, just -kun. For kids, that’s appropriate, and normal formality, which wouldn’t stand out so much if Naruto did the same thing— but he doesn’t, lol. First because he’s trying to be rude, then because he’s actually that close to Sasuke.

It’s one of the things that makes her interactions/feelings with him seem less genuine, in my opinion. Yes, it’s pretty “normal” for girls to insist on being polite with their crushes because they’re trying to impress them with the fawning, (which Sakura isn’t the only girl that over-emphasizes it like that, Ino does too. It’s a common anime/manga thing that insofar as I can tell doesn’t reflect reality so much.)

But ironically, when she addresses him in Shippuden, she drops most honorifics entirely. This, in my view, might have been one of the things to seriously annoy him about her while the team was trying to “save” him after the 5 Kage summit. Mind, Sasuke has never really seemed to care how people address him, but it DOES come off a little bit…odd, considering how estranged they are at that point, that all of a sudden she’s “acting so informal” about him, as if they’d been friends the whole time. It’s not entirely rude, per se, but it feels a little disingenuous, especially since she continues, periodically, to use -kun when addressing him in a bid to reinforce the shadow of what used to be there, I.e. her crush on him. Which doesn’t come across as very nice, or very genuine.

To be fair, although the comparison is a little flat, Naruto does still call Sakura -chan, during moments when he’s being cute or trying to make nice with her. It’s something you expect old friends to do. So she’s probably doing it for that reason more than anything — but it feels kinda fakey and hollow, because her actions don’t immediately match up with her words very much at all. Though I will honestly say that her trying to kill him some time afterwards is likely one of the reasons he decided to “forgive” her at all, inasmuch as that forgiveness was necessary, because in that moment she WAS trying to act genuinely as his friend, in Sasuke’s view. (and let’s not forget, he’s a very unreliable narrator) He respected her for putting her duty before her feelings for once. And yes, I’m sure I’ll get heat for mentioning Sasuke’s need to forgive Sakura, but I didn’t write their relationship like that lol.

So, no, there’s not a lot of change per se for Sakura specifically. He just gets a bit more disrespectful with his language while he’s in Mad With Grief Mode, and turns that on Sakura just as much as Kakashi and everyone else, Sans Naruto a bit. That’s not to say they don’t have different “conversations” there; Sasuke makes his annoyance at Sakura painfully , rudely obvious, whereas the attitude directed at Kakashi is more like a teenager arguing with their parent because they think they’re stupid. Which is on point, since Sasuke doesn’t know that Kakashi knew Itachi personally. So his “pontificating” about what Itachi might have wanted DOES come off a bit Patronizing and disrespectful, from his POV.

I know it’s not what you asked, but frankly it’s one of the big reasons I don’t understand people getting their feelings hurt about how much of an ass Sasuke is in that particular scene. Cause from Sasuke’s perspective, they’re the ones being disrespectful as hell — except Naruto, who actually addresses his feelings instead of trying to tell him he’s wrong for being angry. Which is what Kakashi’s argument comes off like, and Sakura inadvertently prioritizing her own feelings there draws attention away from his, which feels invalidating. So like, yes, he’s going to be a Pissy Teenager about it.

If I had to guess, though, from the handful of clips I’ve seen of them from Boruto, Sasuke seems to address his wife a little more formally than normal, but you have to account for the fact that that’s just how his own parents talked to each other; it’s a traditional sort of “casual formality” that’s not seen much except in older or more traditional couples. Shikaku and Yoshino, Shikamaru’s parents, do the same thing, so it’s not too out of the ordinary. Sakura, from what I can tell, still just uses his name or -kun in a teasing-ish way. At a glance it makes them seem comfortable with each other, but still respectful in a way married couples are. But as I’ve not watched many of their interactions in Boruto, I can’t really speak on it at large.

Also, necessary caveat that I am still learning Japanese, so there’s quite possibly something I’ve missed or misunderstood in this, but that’s my understanding of it.

Thanks for the ask!

[boots-with-the-fur-club]

So, I may not have won the poll, but I’ve decided to continue on the hand lore anyway! I’m going to tag some people but I want to warn you all this contains heavy angst. Make sure to check the tags for trigger warnings!

Start

@daboyau

@phoebepheebsphibs

@littlemissartemisia

@foxolotlfreak

He had been patting himself down basically every second to make sure those things hadn’t left his fanny pack and then suddenly they just weren’t there anymore.

The heavy feeling in his chest started at that point.

He barely started forgiving himself for causing the first apocalypse, his brothers telling him he had no way of knowing what would happen.

Others were to blame, like Warren or Hypno for taking the key in the first place. The Foot Clan, for asking for them to take it.

Sure Leo’s showboating and carelessness were bad but it wasn’t out of malice. He didn’t want to destroy the world. He didn’t know.

But this time he did know.

He saw the worst things imaginable and knew how it effected the people he loves. All he had to do was to stop those stupid mushrooms from hurting anyone else.

Leo saw the look in Raph’s eyes when he admitted what happened. Raph insists that it was just a mistake, that con artist was grabbing at his fanny pack. They probably fell out afterwards or he took it and dumped it when it couldn’t be sold.

What Leo saw in his eyes made him feel differently.

It was similar to how he always looked at him during their missions after Leo became leader.

Judgment.

He can’t be completely sure that Leo wasn’t just being careless. That one distraction caused chaos and havoc throughout an entire multi universe competition.

Leo feels like Raph feels the worst about the little girl he was protecting at first. He was so sure he stopped them from getting her. How they got past him to the nurse’s office, he doesn’t know.

That hand is a big part of it at least though, that’s clear.

Leo feels more tears starting to come.

He’s lost all credibility now, hasn’t he?

Not just to his brothers, but probably everyone there. There’s nobody else to blame for what’s happening. There’s no way anyone else has screwed things up like he has.

His fingers twitch, rubbing his arms painfully.

He needs to calm down before he starts becoming too rough with himself.

Leo reaches into his fanny pack in order to grab one of the many fidget toys. His mouth forms a deep frown at not feeling a favorite of his in there.

So he lost it too?

Pathetic.

Movement in the side of his vision has him glance towards it.

The hand.

That freaking hand!

It has his fidget toy!

Did…..did it take the container too!?

Maybe he didn’t lose it!

It was stolen!

Hope starts replacing that burden in his heart and he stands up.

The hand starts skittering away, so he quickly starts following after it. He’s too distracted to realize that his brothers are also distracted. They don’t notice him as he leaves.

The hand gets into a room and Leo backs it into a corner.

“Finally! You’re not getting away this time. Maybe if I get rid of you the spores will go away again too!” Leo summons and raises his weapon, smiling out of pure relief.

His expression drops when the hand spreads its fingers, revealing some type of canisters between them.

They fall, quickly releasing “gas” that is all too familiar.

He tries to hold his breath and rushes towards the door he came in through. Leo is only quick enough to see the hand escape and the door close behind it.

Leo bangs on the door as hard as he can. Even if no one hears him, maybe his hands will break through instead.

Luck fails him.

He runs out of time.

The room is filled to the brim with spore smoke as, eventually, even his turtle DNA fails him. He finally has to breath.

Contaminated air fills his lungs with a large gasp.

He shuts his eyes tight and covers the sides of his head where ears might be if he had any.

As long as he doesn’t see or hear anything he should be safe until he gets found, right?

Wrong.

Horrific images flash around in his mind until he’s forced to open his eyes to stop them.

What he sees is absolute devastation.

It’s a war zone all around him. Everything is in pieces. Buildings, roads…..people. Shots are ringing back and forth, some of it looking like it’s from alien tech.

He knows exactly what the spores are showing him and it feels his body with a dread that should have been prevented.

Leo can’t move an inch.

It’s obvious to him that the spores are just showing him what he thinks the bad future looked like. The only information he has about it is what he got out of Casey JR. Admittedly, it’s not that much because his brothers made him promise to stop telling Leo about it.

It was impeding his recovery, Donnie said.

He wishes he knew more so that he could tell the loud, nagging voice in his brain that maybe this isn’t just what he made up to fill in what he didn’t know. That this has the possibility of being connected ninpo memories. That this is exactly what happened and is even more awful than he ever could have imagined.

Kraang appear in front of him.

Fear shoots through his veins. They’re not real. He knows this isn’t happening. It can’t be happening.

“What’s this? The leader of the resistance without his guard dogs? They must have finally abandoned their weakest link after you led that last squadron to their deaths. Culling them was highly enjoyable.” The kraang taunts.

Leo grits his teeth.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone!? Why is it always me!?”

The kraang laughs like he’s just been told the funniest thing in this war torn world.

“Because you deserve it. Every second of all of it! And even more than this!”

He can’t think of anything to retort. He’s so tired of everything.

“No last words? Good. We’ve all long since grown tired of your voice.” The kraang aims his hand at Leo, a light beginning to power up inside.

Fine, it’s all fake anyways. This might as well happen. Nothing he can do about it even if he wanted to. Nobody is coming to help him either.

The kraang keeps laughing the more his laser powers up.

No wonder Lou Jitsu always escapes in his more spy themed movies. Death rays take way too long to work.

He tears up.

Leo wishes his dad was here.

The laser finally powers up. The kraang smiles widely. Something red goes up in front of him.

Wait, what?

NO!

The laser fires.

Leo is suddenly grabbed and tossed away into safety.

He tries to quickly stand up, but something stops him.

Raph’s future clone is on keeping him to the ground, hidden behind a broken building where he can still partially see the kraang from before.

The original Raph had bought time for the clone to get Leo to safety.

Both of them were being erased, disintegrated.

Tears stream down Leo’s face as he stares up at the clone who stares back with a smile.

Leo knows fully well that anything he says right now won’t actually be said to anyone.

He says something anyways.

“I love you Raph. Thank you. For everything. I never told you.”

The clone smiles more.

“Big bros always know. Love ya too, Leo. Tell everyone else for me.”

Leo watches as the last parts of his brother’s clone floats away as ninpo into the air.

He’s suddenly somewhere else, but still in this future hell scape.

Donnie’s arm is around his own and Leo sees blooding pouring from a head wound. Usually it makes them look worse than they are and it’s not actually a concern but this definitely looks like it is.

“Leo…..put me down….”

Leo can’t stop crying.

“I told you I’m not leaving you here!”

That’s not his voice.

Well, it is and it isn’t.

Deeper, rougher, far more strained.

“Put me down!” Donnie shoves himself away from him.

Leo falls over trying to catch him but they both end up on the ground.

Oh, he’s supposed to be hurt too.

He sits up and tries to get Donnie up as well.

“I thought this apocalypse made you smarter. I guess you could never be as smart as me, even when they hit me like this….” Donnie says, staying put.

“Shut up! You’re coming with me! Mikey is just a little further!” Leo screams.

Donnie chuckles.

“You won’t even give me a pity laugh? I’m the funny one, papa used to say so.”

Leo desperately tries to stand.

Donnie yanks him back to the ground.

“Leo. Listen. I need a flavor. F-Favor, I mean. Favor….”

Oh.

Donnie’s not making it either.

“Anything, Donnie.”

“Stay here for a minute. It shouldn’t take longer than that.”

Leo chokes back his sobs as he begins clinging to him.

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

“This might be the brain damage, but I want you to keep talking. Don’t stop until….you know. Tell your dumb jokes, even.” Donnie clings to him as well.

Leo takes a shaky, deep breath, then starts talking about anything and everything.

The night sky is clear above them both.

It reminds him of when they shared a room and their ceiling had those glow in the dark starts.

They used to lay together like this and talk all night because of their shared insomnia.

Leo talks and talks and talks, getting some quiet responses from Donnie until eventually he doesn’t.

He doesn’t stop talking or holding until he’s being physically separated by Mikey and some other resistance members.

Leo doesn’t stop talking still. He wants Donnie to respond even thought he knows he never will again.

Mikey hugs Leo tightly and he finally starts crying so hard he can’t talk anymore.

It’s all over as Leo is placed somewhere else again. He knows this part very well. Mikey is shattering into golden pieces in front of him with a big smile.

Leo doesn’t care anymore that he shouldn’t be able to do anything.

He rushes forward and holds onto Mikey’s arm to try to help like his brothers told him they did before.

A chain wraps around Leo, moving him back to Casey just before Mikey fully disintegrates.

He was stupid to try in the first place.

A dumb decision.

Again.

Again.

And again and again and again and again and-

It never stops.

His brothers won’t let him die.

It’s not fair.

He doesn’t want to be the last one left.

It hurts.

He’s tossing Casey into the portal and Leo is gone right after, right in front of him.

Leo is drifting now.

A black, empty void.

He’s even more tired than he was before.

There’s no one else with him. He can’t even be reunited with everyone he lost, or could have lost.

It’s so confusing.

The prison dimension was pretty similar to this place. It’s even more even empty than that somehow though. Probably because kraang prime isn’t here with him.

Leo is completely detached from reality.

His eyes have dimmed as he sits on the floor, against the wall. He’s running out of time for anyone to be able to do anything.

He can’t hear the shouting coming from somewhere outside, not close by but shouting nonetheless.

Mikey noticed first that he was missing and now the others are in a complete panic. They lost him once and now they’re losing him again.

They don’t know how right that is.

As the situation only gets worse, a hand watches, perched up high on the ceiling like some kind of spider who’s carefully watching the webs its made.

There’s already one prey caught.

Three more to go.

[msookyspooky]

Fours a Franchise

Part 12

Wordcount: 8,567

Omfg I got the flu for a week, had a family fued that lasted months between my aunt and...EVERYONE. But thankfully my younger cousin I'm super close to is living with her Dad/My Uncle now after months of this bs so finally there's peace, then in-between this fued and my cousin moving out I got covid and ong I have been foggy headed for 2 weeks afterwards I'm just starting to feel like my normal self again....THEN Wattpad kicked me out of my account. From September till now has been an out of body experience in a bad way 🙃

So thank you all for your support and patience I appreciate it 🖤 but I am so done wracking my brain over this chapter so we're just winging it rn bc I want to write and get past this hump to finish this story then start on 5. So if I missed info or a typo or misplaced lore from previous books *No I did not*~

Annnnddd my motivation with recent Scream news.

The news of Scream 7 is so disheartening and screwed up with Sam and Tara's actresses. So I cannot promise I'm writing till 6 or 7 not only because I'm losing my hyper fixation for Scream after these 2 years but no Tara, Sam, Sidney and most likely no Stu because Matthew is a real one and wouldn't come back after how they treated Neve and Melissa so like? What's the point? This book and 5 I am for sure doing because Billy meeting Sam is a huge writing motive for me. 6 is iffy but 7? I am not. Not only do I not have the motivation to write that much more for this story but it's pointless with so much of Scream being written like bad fanfiction the last 2 installments...Hell, I could do that! But I won't because I probably won't even watch Scream 7 if they make it. The Studio has screwed over Neve and Melissa in ways that I really don't want to support.

Anyways, thank you for the patience. I appreciate all of you! ♡♡♡♡

—————————————

   Ghostface grabbed your ankle and you hit the stairs. Hard. But the second they went to stab you, you kicked them as hard as you could in the knee sending them flying back and tumbling down the stairs. 

Jill grabbed your arm. "Come on, YN!" As you both bolted for Kirby's room…Kirby had gotten separated during the chase and you didn't know where she was. 

Jill locked the door and told you. "The balcony!"

"There's no other way out?" 

"You can jump, maybe, I don't know." Jill rushed out past her lips as she got away from the door. 

You breathed hard, looking down at the drop off from the second story. You couldn't think long as the door frame started bending; the wood splintering with each bang from the killer trying to break it down. 

"That's two stories." You looked at her trying to form a plan. "...Get under the bed." 

Jill looked confused, "Wha-" 

"Just do as I say." You harshly whispered. "Get under the bed and don't make a sound or come out until I get you, okay? Trust me!…Go!" 

You watched her go to crawl under Kirby's bed as you climbed over the railing.

Jill hid under the bed as you heard the door to Kirby's room finally break and the killer come inside. Slowly walking past Kirby's bed...

You made a gasp as you almost fell.

Ghostface darted out onto the balcony to see you descend onto the porch roof. You rushed down around the corner of the home and looked back to see Ghostface on the roof too. Staring at you through that mask before disappearing. You figured back inside to look for the others because you looked back around the corner to see they were gone.

You quickly used the opportunity to get your cellphone.

You faltered just a second...You didn't trust to call police because you did not trust Judy. You didn't care if she was out in the open when Jill's mother was killed. Partners. Besides, you did not have a good track record of using your one phone call for cops and either they don't show up, show up too late, or show up and make things worse with the killer. But you still had to call someone. Randy dead, Gale injured, maybe Dewey? Maybe just risk 911-

You heard a noise and out of reflex you accidently pushed a button on speed dial that you hissed a curse at. Too late, they picked up the phone as you frantically tried windiws.

As soon as it picked up you rushed out, "The killer's here at Kirby's! I need your help. 329 whispering lane-" 

You yelled as you rounded the corner to try a window you saw was cracked open just for the killer to jump out at you. You gasped and stepped back as they tried to slash you with the knife as you dropped the phone on the roof and lost your footing. Tumbling off the roof before barely catching yourself on the gutter. Your fingers and hands burned painfully from the impact as well as trying to hang onto the thin uncomfortable metal with your body weight. The hand you injured from the knife stab a decade ago hurt the worst. Tingling and burning as you desperately tried to hang on. 

You gasped looking up to see a knife and mask. The knife narrowly missed your hand as you let go and let yourself fall harshly onto the ground. Tumbling painfully before laying there a second from the impact. Robbie no longer screamed…Only the smell of flesh and hair and plastic burning as his body provided some fucked up bonfire in the front yard that blazed overtop a pile of dead leaves...And of course this house was about like Stu's with hardly any neighbors. Should've seen that a mile away.

"Shit…" You grabbed the knife from your boot and bolted, forcing your legs to move even if they didn't want to. Running back into the house before yelping at someone grabbing you. You went to stab them before she said, "No, no, no, no! Sorry, It's me." 

You lowered the knife as you saw Kirby. She drew you to a corner of the kitchen to quietly talk. "Look, I tried to call 911 but the landlines dead and someone smashed the router...And my cellphone is missing. I-I don't know, I think I lost it while running I don't understand. "  

Your mind raced with that.

But…Did she actually call 911? Or was she lying? Where had she been? Why didn't she go with you and Jill? Did she actually try to call or did she mess with the landline and wifi in her own house?...

You didn't have time to talk as you both heard heavy footsteps upstairs and Kirby opened the basement door and rushed you in, "Oh god. Go, go, go, go, go!" She urged before following after you and locking the door as you both quickly got down the steps as she informed you. "There's a room down here we can lock ourselves in. I heard you yelling at Jill; is she okay? Did she get away?" 

You both made it to the room as you told her, "She's safe but where's the others? Trevor, Charlie?" 

Kirby breathed out shakily. "I don't know." 

You hissed through your teeth. "Did Trevor or anyone have a shoulder or arm wound? I shot Ghostface in the shoulder tonight before they escaped the barn." 

Kirby mumbled, "I don't think so." All before locking you both in the dark room…Suddenly, you both gasped and jumped at a banging noise. Nearly jumping out of your skin as you instinctively wielded your small knife. You held your knife tightly as you both saw a bloody Charlie banging desperately on the glass door leading to the backyard.

"Kirby! Please, let me in!" 

"Charlie?" Kirby breathed out, going to the door…Her eyes darted to his bloody hand and arm. 

He looked where her eyes traveled and he shook his head. "N-No! I got attacked! Please, let me in!..." He kept banging his bloody hand on the glass while fearfully looking around. "Please! There is someone else out here, let me in! They burnt Robbie!...Jesus Christ, Kirby, they set him ablaze in the yard!" 

You saw Kirby ponder and you told her firmly. Already having your hunch. "If you can't trust him; don't open the door…"

Kirby looked taken aback by that realization. 

Charlie looked outraged on the other side of the glass. "My God! Let me in!" He begged Kirby with fear raising his voice a few octaves. "I don't know who's doing this but it's not me! Please!" 

Kirby swallowed but with a tense look told him. "...Get away from the door, Charlie." 

"Kirby! It's me!" Charlie whimpered with desperate pleas. 

Kirby had tears in her eyes, voice strained as she ordered him. "Get away from the door, Charlie!" 

Charlie's bloody hand slid down the glass as he cried out, "It's me! P-Please, Kirby! It's meee-" He whined the last part in a desperate sob. 

Kirby shook her head, tears welling in her eyes as her voice cracked. And in the tiniest, crackling voice she told him. "...I'm sorry, I can't…" 

You saw the struggle on Kirby's face. Trust no one…This could be a set up to make you trust her completely. You just stood back away from the door or windows with your knife ready. Back against the wall. Nothing behind the wall. Trust no one.

Charlie stepped away from the door into the porch light's view. "What the fuck?!" He yelled in outrage and disbelief. 

Suddenly, Ghostface appeared behind him as Kirby screamed, "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!" 

Killer grabbing Charlie and banging his head into the glass right over the bloody handprint he left. Smearing blood on the glass before dragging him away into the dark…

You and Kirby looked taken aback, both staring helplessly…Then suddenly, whoever was doing this shut off the outside light. It was pitch black both outside and in the room now as your eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding you. Back against the wall as you swallowed hard and tried to get your mind in survival mode. 

And then…The lights turned on outside to see Charlie tied to a chair…So similar to the report of Steven Oarth's body found or that friend of the girl that worked for Randy. 

"Leave him alone!!" Kirby yelled, banging on the glass with teary eyes. "Damnit, leave him alone!" 

You stood back and watched in disbelief. Questioning everything. How did Charlie get tied up so easily? Was Kirby faking it? Where the hell is Jill? Where's Trevor? And now, you have no phone to call 911…It was on the roof…Then again, you called multiple times in 1996 that awful night and they didn't show up till a fire broke out...Apparently one body on fire in a leaf pile isn't enough. You felt cornered on your own here. The only thing driving you was to kill this Ghostface and find who they were. Honestly, at this point, in that order. Anyone dumb enough in this situation to run at you with that mask on deserved beat or stabbed and feel guilty about it later.

You saw Charlie bound and gagged in that chair. And you just stood in the darkness of the room helplessly watching. 

Kirby's phone rang. Charlie's contact as she answered. In the silence of the room, you could hear the Ghostface's voice on the line talk to Kirby. 

"Tell YN heads are gonna roll tonight! Tell YN this is all because of her! Or maybe she wants to take his place? I promise to be quick." 

You gritted your teeth hearing the sadistic excitement in their voice. Oh how much you wanted to yank that phone out of Kirby's hand and tell them to stop being a coward and come get you then…But you knew better. Instead, you whispered to Kirby, "Keep them talking." You knew it was most likely one of them or both of them…But it could be an outside influence, someone not necessarily in the group just like Neil was. 

Kirby tearily nodded as she sucked in a breath to keep Ghostface on the line as you snuck out of the dark room. 

—-------------------------------------

Kirby stood there as you left, shaking like a leaf. "Please, let him go." 

"I hear you like horror movies, Kirby. But do you like them as much as him?...Forget watching Stab. You get to live it!" 

Kirby's eyes widened, "No! Nononono, he's the expert, not me!" As she locked eyes with Charlie who struggled against his ties. 

"Warm up question: Jason's weapon?" 

Kirby fumbled at first in her fear stricken state. "Uuhhh, it's a machete." She released a small sniffle and touched her head.

"There, ya see? You do know the genre." The voice is entirely too sweet. Mocking her before snapping. "Michael Myers?!" 

"Uh, butcher knife." 

"Leatherface?!" 

"A Chainsaw! Please!" Kirby answered faster, desperate to save her friend as a small sob escaped her. 

"Just ask YN if you need some help. Freddy Krueger?!" 

"Uh, uh. Razor hands!" 

"Name the movie that started the Slasher craze. Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last House on the Left, or Psycho?" 

"Psycho!" Kirby growled out through her teeth before the voice aggressively cut her off as Kirby kept pacing the doors window looking at Charlie. 

"NONE of the above! Peeping Tom 1960 directed by Michael Powe; first movie to ever put the audience in the killer's POV!" 

"Wha-" Kirby's breath caught in her throat as she clutched her head. "What? Please! Nononono, please just ask me one more question, just one more!" 

"...Alright Kirby. Then it's time for your last chance question …" The voice so sinister on the other line as Kirby softly cried to herself. "Name the remake of the groundbreaking horror movie in which the villain-" 

"Uh Halloween-" Kirby shook her head while frantically going over every horror remake she knew. "Texas Chainsaw, Dawn of the Dead, Hills have.. Eyes-" She scrunched her face forcing this out while trying to scrap her brain for every last straw she could grasp. "Uh Amityville horror, Last House on the Left, F-Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, My Bloody Valentine, When a Stranger Calls, Prom Night, Black Christmas, House of Wax, The Fog, Uh…Uh Piranha!...It's one of those, right? Right?!" She demanded while staring out the window at Charlie. 

…The line went dead silent. Everything stopped as the line was quiet, no attacks, no taunts. 

"I was right?" Kirby gritted her teeth to go outside. "I was fucking right." 

She opened the door, looked around, before rushing to her bound friend. "Hold on Charlie." She removed his tape from his mouth as he gasped and groaned at the feeling. Kirby quickly worked on untying him as she spoke. "He tried to trick me but I fucking won!" She smiled a bit as she got his hands free. Looking cautiously around herself in the dark as she tried to get the tape undone on his wrists and ankles. She helped him up and told him, "It's gonna be okay! It's-" 

"Kirby." He said her name like it was a chore. "This is making a move." 

Kirby gasped as she felt searing pain…A knife Charlie had hidden plunging deep into her abdomen. She choked on tears and air…And her eyes darted to the blood on his white shirt that he claimed was from an attack by the killer…It shifted as he stabbed and she saw a bloody gauze thickly wrapped up where the blood had soaked through from earlier…From us shooting him in the barn…She remembered him acting odd, noticing him wincing a bit when he sat down earlier but she thought it was nerves from stress…My God…It really was Charlie. 

He killed his best friend Robbie. He stole Robbie's Dad's Crossbow. He stabbed Gale. He killed Randy Meeks…It was him.

Kirby's teary eyes looked at him desperately for an answer to the madness as she choked on her sobs of pain. He jerked it back out. 

"Four years of classes and now you notice me?! All those times at the video store that you could talk Randy's ear off about horror movies like he's a fucking Messiah of horror while ignoring me?! All those years of teasing and leading me on in the friendzone and now you care?!" He demanded with angry tears in his own eyes as Kirby gripped his shoulder in pain gasping for air with wide eyes. Charlie yelled before plunging it back in her again. "Stupid bitch! It's too late!!" 

Charlie gripped onto Kirby as her body went lax. Tears and choked whimpers escaping her as the pain felt like shocks coursing through her. 

Charlie shhed her as he held her in a soft voice, "Shh, shhh. I know, I know. It's okay, take your time…Doesn't happen as fast in real life as it does in the movies, I know." 

He smirked a bit as Kirby could do nothing but feel pain as the shock of all this slapped her in the face… 

"C-C-Charlie…" 

He brutally killed Olivia to look like Tatum's death. He hosted the party. He massacred Randy. Stabbed Gale. Set his so-called best friend on fire…Now? He was stabbing her to death and killing their entire friend group plus YN. 

"Just like Sidney Prescott …Shh…I bet she suffered in that house, huh? Stab had her die instantly but I bet she gasped in pain too when Billy plunged his knife in her." He softly told Kirby. 

He then whispered something in Kirby's ear that made her eyes widen…

Kirby choked out pained gasps before Charlie shook his head and shoved Kirby off his knife to let her lay on the ground. Taking gasping breaths like a fish out of water as a pool of blood.

Charlie looked close to crying and ran a hand through his long hair while he stalked back to the house. The night wasn't over. 

—--------------------------------------

You tried to look for Jill, Trevor, your phone but couldn't find any. You put your small knife back getting  a much bigger one off the counter…Kitchen knife in hand and backup knife in your boot.

You came downstairs, that front door still open as you rounded the corner.   Opening the door to the bottom level Kirby was at last…But stopped yourself from calling out to her. It was too quiet…You wanted this Ghostface dead or caught. Wanted to help these kids. But everything in you screamed get in the car and get away. 

You took a steadying breath and backed up the stairs a few steps. Knife in hand, eyes darting before someone grabbed you in a chokehold so tight you gagged as your knife clattered down the steps and you were jerked backwards.

Charlie's arm had you in a tight grip with his knife at your face. Blood staining his white shirt…And he seemed in pain with the arm he was holding you with. Blood on the shoulder you shot. 

…You knew it. 

He was pressed against a wall as he mumbled in your ear, “You know you learn a lot when you watch movies over and over. All the plots are about to ridicule you…Think you're gonna get away? Think anyone gets away?” His lips near your ear as you gritted your teeth and slammed him back against a wall. 

As soon as he hit the wall he let you go and you grabbed your knife from your boot as you went to run out the door. You were getting out. You were outnumbered now. Just until help got here. 

…But you got intercepted…When someone plunged a knife deep into your stomach.

You had been shot and stabbed but never in your gut like that. It knocked the wind from you, your body freezing up in pain as you fell back against the staircase wall. A choking gasp escaped your lips as you clutched your stomach. You went to slash at them, jolted by the pain you felt the second you moved your arm as it radiated down to your abdomen. Ghostface easily smacked that small knife out of your hand.

It clattered to the ground feet away and you felt all air leave your lungs.

The Ghostface came towards you, lowering their knife before taking off that damn mask you learned to resent…

Long dark hair cascaded out first followed by a fair complexion and a smirk on full pink lips…And your mouth dropped.

…Jill.

You shook your head. Shocked because she wasn't even on Randy's radar. And then your face soured as you realized this was just a decade ago all over again. Another one of Sidney's family is either jealous or wanting revenge.

“Hello, Yn…” She tilted her head with a smirk. “Surprised?” 

She got inside her mask to show a small camera. “See this? This is the part where the cameras…” It beeped as she held it up smugly. “Turn off.” 

“Good.” Was the only thing you heard before a man's hand jerked her by the head and slammed her forehead against the staircase railing as she screamed in pain and anger. Billy had a firm grip on her hair.

“Jill!” Charlie went to defend her before Stu grabbed him by the throat and jerked him back.

 “Where you goin’?” Stu taunted. Knife jerking back ready to stab Charlie repeatedly at a moment's notice. “After party's just starting man. Pretty lame if you ask me. Mine was a rager.” Stu jeered with an insane grin.

You couldn't help the relieved smile as you clutched your bleeding abdomen…They actually came back for you. They heard your call and came back.

The sound of a knife jerking out of a pocket sounded as Billy readied his hunting knife. Jill cursed and struggled. “Time to join the other idiots.” He murmured.

Stu grinned, “Hell yeah, man! Number one, baby! We'll always be the one-” 

Right when Billy went to plunge his knife into Jill's side she jerked with a scream as he barely got her…Before a gunshot ran out and you saw Stu jerk back with a shocked expression on his face.

Charlie pulled out a gun leveled it behind him shooting again as Stu got shot right in his rib area jerking back from it before Charlie went to shoot again and Stu tripped backwards over a spare chair landing through the glass sliding door with enough force to fall through it.

“Motherfucker!” Billy hissed out ready to slit Jill's throat and Charlie quickly pointed the gun at us; grabbed us by the back of the neck.

Damn…This has happened too many times before.

“Let her go…Or YN dies.” Charlie mumbled, nervously licking at his lips as he fidgeted with you in his grip. You went to struggle, trying to elbow him and Charlie shoved it to your temple as you groaned in pain.

Billy really considered…He glared, Jill still in his grasp. Until Jill stabbed him in the leg. He yelled, accidentally letting her go as he clutched his thigh.

Charlie jerked you into the kitchen as Jill hissed, seeing a bit of blood where Billy barely stabbed her side before she kicked him to follow Charlie and You. “Move, asshole!” 

Billy growled in his throat as he readied his knife to stab the ever loving hell outta her before Charlie pointed his gun at him while still having a painful grip on you. “You heard her.”

Billy looked ready to take the risk, not one to back down but hearing Stu groaning in pain among the shattered pieces of glass on the porch and you yelping when Charlie shoved you with too much force into the counter. Right where your stab wound was…He relented. 

Walking as Jill told him. “Give me the knife.” 

“Bite me, bitch.” Billy scoffed. 

Charlie threatened with the gun again. “Come on, what's a knife gonna do with a gun anyways? Try to think.” 

Billy scowled before dropping the knife.

Jill smirked. “Not totally stupid. Now walk.” She ordered shoving him as Billy dragged himself forward with her knife leveled at him and her pocketing his for now. 

Jill called out Charlie's name as he forced Billy to stand beside you near the kitchen counter. “Already taken care of.” Charlie told her while shutting doors and she stood near you both with the knife. 

“Get that other douchebag for the line up.” She ordered.

Charlie went to Stu dragging him through glass by his ankles as Stu groaned in pain, teeth clenched. His shirt too dark and bloody to tell where he was shot before Charlie heaved him with a groan and shoved him up to stand. Then shoving him near the counter as Stu tried to swing on him and missed. Just hissing in pain as he caught himself next to Billy, and to your surprise, Billy instinctively reached out to steady him.

Charlie blew air past his lips with a smirk and showed a camera from his pocket. “Damn, he's a big boy, huh Jill?…And guess what? I got great footage of my Robbie kill. Better than Marnie or Olivia even.” 

“Good. We'll cut and upload it later to make it all traceable to Trevor.” Jill replied with the knife near your face.

You panted in pain while Billy stood near you leaning on the counter. His dark eyes scanning the room for any way to get leverage. Stu gripped the counter, sweating but looking murderously at both teens holding you all hostage right now.

If Charlie didn't have that gun? This would've been over with both of them dead. If YOU had your goddamn gun this could've been over before Billy and Stu even got here!

You stared at Jill, seething once the shock wore off realizing the last few days you and Randy were so nice to her; you were talking to the killer all along. Her and Charlie didn't seem to recognize Billy and Stu or if they did they weren't saying.

“Speaking of which-” Charlie opened the doors to the closet and dragged out Trevor who he threw on the ground bound and gagged with tape.

“Remind you of anything?” Charlie retorted towards you.

Yeah, did it ever. Only this time Billy and Stu were just as much victims as you were.

Charlie ripped the tape off as Trevor begged, “Jill pleas-” 

“Shut up!” She cut him off with a yell as she stripped herself of the Ghostface robe.

Charlie got closer towards you, blood on him. “See everything I learned I learned from you.” 

Stu shoved him away. “Get the fuck away from her, man.” He growled out in pain but this was a man that took so many stabbings when younger and still attacked you and flipped you both over a couch. 

Charlie scoffed but he knew who had the power right now as he smirked. But…He looked at Stu longer. Almost trying to connect the dots. 

Jill brought Charlie back as she mumbled, “Who are these guys anyways? Don't tell me they're your side pieces or something.” Jill jeered with a malicious smirk as you all said nothing. “You think my cousin Sidney had a shitty boyfriend, YN!? Here's one that fucks you, dumps you…And doesn't even make you famous.” She gave a wry smirk before kicking Trevor in his shoulder as he cried out.

Billy's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared at hearing Jill was his old girlfriend's cousin. You could tell he wanted to kill her that much more. 

Trevor cried out, “The fuck, Jill!? I loved you!” 

Jill rolled her eyes, “Shut the fuck UP already!” Before kicking him multiple times as he yelled out in pain each blow.

Stu mumbled to Billy and you, “Mean ass girl, isn't she?” Sarcastically while he huffed and held his side in pain.

Billy asked, "How you holding up?"

"By my last bit of skin, man...Fuck. He got me in the side and lower belly." Stu huffed out in a wince.

"Fuck." Billy scoffed. "...You know what to do still?

Stu smirked, "Yeah..."

Charlie gave the gun to Jill, “I'm sure the cops would want you to have this, Jill. For your protection.” 

The second that gun wasn't aimed, Billy and Stu tried to charge Charlie for it. Their street smarts and instincts ready to attack in pain or not but before they could Jill stabbed you in the gut again and the most strangled cry escaped you. It hurt your throat to scream with such a primal pain and it instantly made Billy and Stu falter just enough for Charlie to aim the gun at them.

You cried, tears in your eyes at that god awful pain as you clutched your lower gut. 

Jill glared, “Do that shit again and I'll stab her in the throat.” She tilted her head. “Who are you anyways? Shouldn't you both be dead?” 

Billy and Stu had no choice but to back off. And when Jill said that…Charlie's entire demeanor changed. 

“Oh my God…No way…I-I thought you looked familiar but-” Charlie drew out like some star struck fan.

Jill's eyes widened too before she laughed loudly. “Shut the fuck up!...No way, Gale was right? Gale Weather's was actually right about you, YN!?” 

You sniffed back tears, gritting your teeth in contempt but not answering her. 

Charlie pointed the gun to each of them. “Bill Loomis…And Stu Macher. It's such a privilege to meet you two in the flesh!” 

Billy sneered at him, “Great, another dick rider.” He grumbled under his breath. 

Jill chuckled, “I can't believe it.” As even Trevor looked flabbergasted from the floor. “Wow, YN…Little Miss American Sweetheart is actually a treacherous lying snake. I mean, hiding two of the famous Woodsboro killers under everyone's nose and ruining Gale Weather's career over it?...Under different circumstances I'd applaud you.” 

Charlie looked momentarily freaked out. “Jill…Jill, what are we gonna do I mean…This changes our plans! I-” 

Jill took his gun. “Shhhh.” She softly told him in a way to calm him down. “It'll still work, Baby. Remember? I'm YN and you're Randy…Now, Trevor doesn't have to be Billy. We can work with this. I mean, who is going to question who the killers were with Billy and Stu here?” 

Charlie's breath hitched as he forced a smile. “And this time, Randy gets the girl.” 

She kissed him. Looking at you with the gun pointed the entire time.

Stu and Billy sneered. And the idea hit you. Charlie…Charlie you shot Charlie in the barn. He wants to be the ‘new Randy’...He was jealous and killed Randy because Randy got Kirby's attention, Randy was the movie expert, Randy was a cool nerd in school unlike Charlie. 

You shook your head in disgust. “You'll never be Randy…Do you hear me? He was better than you in every fucking way!” You forced out through tears and clenched teeth. They stopped kissing as you practically snarled at Jill. “And you will never be me! You're nothing but a jealous attention seeking litt-” 

You cried out as she pistol whipped you upside the face hard enough to jerk your head and taste blood in your mouth. Billy and Stu had to stop themselves from lunging at her, remembering the gun.

Jill looked at you with a glare as you coughed and wiped blood off your lip. Swearing she just knocked out a tooth. 

“Don't you get it? You're old news.” She gave plainly. 

You stood back up, blood on the corner of your lip as you tiredly clutched your stomach.

Trevor cried out from on the floor, “Jill, baby! Please, this isn't you!” 

Jill gave him a bored look. Leveling the gun at him and holding the knife towards you. You swore she was gonna shoot him but instead…She looked at Charlie.

“Charlie…Ya know, now with us being able to pin this on thee Billy Loomis and Stu Macher…Trevor's role can change. We don't need another Billy or Stu…But we need a James. I mean, every final girl needs some fucked up shit to happen to her like her boyfriend being mutilated. Media will eat that up.” 

Your eyes widened and you shook your head. 

Charlie even faltered a moment. 

Jill glared at him. “Do not chicken out on me now, Charlie!” 

Charlie just shook his head swallowing. “Not chickening out…Just gotta make sure we film this. Are we good on time?” He started putting the Ghostface outfit back on.

Jill smiled, “Oh yeah, we're perfect.” 

Trevor looked terrified and so did you as Charlie quickly threw Jill's outfit on, getting the mask off the counter and turned the inner camera on. He dropped down to Trevor and slid the knife threatenly over his neck. 

“D-Don't!” You begged on deaf ears as Trevor gave a blood curdling scream as Charlie started doing what Billy and Stu did to your boyfriend back in 1996 in that field. Billy and Stu seemed both unfazed or annoyed at best while you closed your eyes and covered your ears screaming over Trevor, “STOP IT!!” 

The sounds of him screaming in pain, flesh being ripped as Charlie pulled while sawing, the smell of blood. You felt ready to scream yourself as Billy to your shock drew you near with a hand on your shoulder protectively so you didn't do something stupid like lash out. Him and Stu watched the whole time. While this was the one traumatic thing that happened to you indirectly that you thankfully didn't see even if James was a shitty boyfriend. You closed your eyes and Billy had a death grip on you. You felt sick whether from bloodlose or this was debatable.

You shakily looked when the screams died down and wished you hadn't. Seeing Trevor bloody and half his face skinned off as he seemed to tremble and writhe as his body went into shock from the pain. You wanted to pass out or throw up and knowing Billy and Stu gleefully did this that night while calling you and…And hearing James sobbing and begging you to help him.

Billy's grip tightened on your shoulder as if he knew. His eyes narrowed. Stu tried inching towards a door and Jill shot the gun near the door as everyone flinched or ducked.

She said nothing, not wanting her voice on camera. As Charlie peeled his face the rest of the way off then stabbed him from sternum to groin as he choked and jerked and spasmed in pain on the floor.

And Jill just numbly watched…Watched a boy that loved her get this done to him.

Charlie took off the mask and shut off the camera with a bewildered smirk. “Holy shit…That was awesome.” He held up Trevor's face. “Hey, YN; wanna reenact TCM 2?” And tried to threatenly put Trevor's face on yours as you instinctively hid in Billy's chest. Trying to face away with an uncharacteristic whimper at what you were just forced to see. Like you were a scared teen girl all over again.

“I will staple that face to yours if you even try it! It'll be one hell of an improvement!” Stu jeered and weakly shoved him back as Billy put an arm over you.

 However, Billy gripped you and forced you to turn around. You knew it was his way of silently telling you to be strong and you forced yourself to not look at Trevor or the face in Charlie's hand and instead glared at Jill. Feeling weak with blood loss and yet you had so much hate for her. 

Jill smiled, “Now THAT is going to get views.” She looked at you. “See with you the world just heard about what happened but with us…They're gonna see it. It's gonna be a worldwide sensation. I mean, people gotta see this shit!” Jill chuckled. “It's not like anyone reads anymore.” 

Charlie took off the glove and showed you guys a video of…Of Randy being killed. Of him on the ground backpedaling with an arrow in him. All alone in the dark. 

“No please! Don't-” He got cut off choking in pain as he was stabbed repeatedly. “D-Don't hurt them…Don't hurt my kids and wife…D-D-Don't hurt YN…Please-” He pleaded with blood near his mouth before screaming in pain again as Charlie stabbed him repeatedly and the video cut off…To a close up of him hanging…Still twitching barely alive as he hung there…Guts out.

Tears welled in your eyes as your breathing got shallow. You were trembling with so much rage and mind shattering devastation. Seeing your best friend in his final moments tonight in pain begging for his life…For yours even after your argument. Even after everything he didn't hate you.

“...I'm gonna kill you…You goddamn pieces of shit…” You forced out shakily through your teeth as tears rolled down your cheeks. “I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!!” Billy and Stu had to jerk you back, Billy the least injured having you in almost a headlock before you got shot. 

Jill laughed, “God, you are so dramatic! So that goody two shoes love and peace for all; is that some PR move or-” She mocked as Billy jerked you and you were trying to fight him even in ungodly pain to get to her or Charlie.

“Stop! Now!” Billy ordered in your ear. “...We'll get them…” He reassured while still holding you back as you stopped struggling and glared daggers at them both tears rolling down your face.

Charlie informed you. “Stole Robbie's Dad's crossbow. I mean that guy on Walking Dead just gave me major ideas and Robbie also…Lured Randy back to the party by recording you and Kirby. Poor kid had no idea he was helping me get Randy tonight. Jill took care of things at her house and Kirby's phone.” 

You could only glare at him.

Jill told you. “We're gonna have fame you never even dreamed of.” 

Charlie looked at Jill in adoration. “You were the perfect victim, Jill.” 

Jill laughed like a teen girl getting away with sneaking out past curfew while Trevor bled out on the floor. “I was SO believable today, wasn't I? I mean, I told so many lies that I actually started to believe them…I really think that I was born for this.” 

Stu huffed, looking tired and woozy himself. “Congratulations.” He sarcastically monotoned. 

You got away from Billy as he let you go and you demanded weakly, “How could you do this?...Sidney-” 

“Shut up!” Jill demanded, her smiling dropping. “Do you even know what it was like in this family being related to Sidney Prescott?! Sidney this and Sidney that and Sidney, Sidney, Sidney! She was always just SO FUCKING SPECIAL!” She screeched.  “And then you…” She pointed the knife at you. “I hated you just as much. What? You survive bad luck and get all this attention? Big house somewhere, never have to work, all these interviews and book deals because your life was hard?...You had your 15 minutes of fame NOW I WANT MINE!” She yelled.

Billy groaned as Stu tiredly mumbled to him. “Told you. Fame. You owe me 50 bucks.” 

You ignored them and stared at her, shaking your head mumbling. “You'll slip. They always do.” 

Jill gave a wry smirk, looking back at Billy and Stu who technically did get away with it before saying, “Come on Charlie, let's get this over with.” 

Stu was losing a lot of blood and so were you as you both gripped the counters and Billy wasn't able to run. You all were pretty much sitting ducks right now.

Charlie handed Jill the knife. He started breathing puffs of air out of his mouth, bouncing on his feet as Jill told him loudly, “You've gotta be strong…And hold still! Okay?” 

He nervously breathed, “Old School, like Billy and Stu.” 

Billy made a face and Stu despite his condition let out a mocking laugh. Billy added over Stu's laughter, “That's right, real deep too. Don't be pussies now in front of your idols-”  

Charlie closed his eyes saying “Come on, get it up-” Before slapping himself across the face multiple times.

Stu laughed silently hanging his head and leaning on the counter for support.

You stood there thinking you felt like you were in a Twilight Zone right now or a damn insane asylum from back in the day while Stu and Billy had sadistic grins on their faces eager to see some ‘fan’ that gave them injuries get stabbed.

Charlie smacked his shoulder shakily yelling at Jill, “Shoulder me, shoulder me! Come on! GET IT UP-” 

You gasped with a slight satisfaction yourself when Jill plunged the knife right into his chest. Billy went from watching with interest to smirking with a dark look in his eye and Stu through his sweat and pain grinned ear to ear.

Charlie choked a gasp, holding his bleeding chest. “The heart?!- T-That's not how we rehearsed it!” 

You finally spoke with an edge to your voice. “You said it. Billy and Stu…If Trevor became James. And Robbie was supposed to be Stu…” 

Jill smirked to herself seeing it dawn on Charlie. She told him, “I know it's going against the script…But this is a franchise. Not a remake. And what the media loves is a sole survivor.” She whispered cruelly. “Robbie was your partner. Both of you jealous little outcasts but you…You were the idea man.” 

She plunged the knife in again as Charlie gasped harshly falling to his knees. Hyperventilating as he bled. Shock written all over his face before collapsing in a pathetic heap on the ground. 

You didn't care if it made you a monster too…There was some satisfaction. Especially when you remembered what he showed you on that phone. “You'll never be Randy, Charlie.” Was the last thing you said as Stu almost gave a little hollar of glee and Billy chuckled under his breath watching Charlie be betrayed and now only seconds from dying.

You glanced at Jill holding your stomach and like Stu things were getting blurry for you. “So…You killed all your friends…Now what?” You asked the bigger picture of what happens when all this is said and done.

Jill glared at you. “My Friends?” 

She walked up to you and Billy and Stu tensed up a bit. It was 3 against 1. 2 grown men, a grown woman and one teen girl…Problem was 1 grown man looked ready to pass out, the grown woman wasn't far behind him, the other grown man had a fucked up leg now that couldn't move as fast and the little teen bitch from hell still had the gun.

“What world are you living in? I don't need friends, I need fans ….DON'T YOU GET IT!?” She snapped at you. “This has never been about killing you…This is about becoming you. I mean for fucksake all my friends and boyfriend had to die.” 

“And your mother?” You asked, trying to be brave but staring crazy in the face again after so long…Worked on your mind.

“Collateral damage.” She mused with nothing in her dark eyes…Just nothing. “That's sick right? Well, sick is the new sane.” She whispered with a small smile eyeing you.

Even Billy and Stu didn't kill their own parents.

“You had your 15 minutes now I WANT MINE!” She yelled in your face. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? Go to college, grad school, work? Look around. We're all in the public eye now, we're all on the internet…How do you think people become famous anymore!? You don't have to achieve ANYTHING!” She gestured to you. “You just gotta have fucked up shit happen to you.” 

You stared at her in shock at her logic of wanting to be you. To have your life. To want to be the victim, to want to have people whisper about you or treat you horribly or treat you like glass. To have a target on your back forever.

All of this…ALL of this pain…Because some brat wanted attention and to get by easy in life?

Billy and Stu looked just as bewildered as you. Stu finally gave a humorously dry chuckle while trying to breathe, still holding his wounds. “I mean…Okay idea but-” 

She instantly shot him.

You froze as Stu got shot somewhere in the abdomen and went flying back. Billy went to lunge at Jill and got shot as well. He growled in pain and hit the counter. Wincing and slipping on his bloody palms trying to keep himself up. Stu laid limply and you tried not to hyperventilate at how messed up this was becoming because of one damn girl. Stu groaned on the ground coughing as he weakly held himself.

Jill laughed, “I WAS going to kill you all and blame Charlie and Trevor or Charlie and Robbie but now?...No…I think it doesn't matter if these two idiots live. Great! Because no one will question it. NO ONE. Billy Loomis and Stu Macher survived? They clearly did this and almost killed a poor innocent girl after slaughtering her friends.” 

You shook your head with fearful tears in your eyes. Billy glared daggers at her sneering, “You dumb little fuck…You think I'm going down after 15 years?!” He grabbed a kitchen knife and took the risk of throwing it. 

It went right into the arm that held the gun as she screamed and he instantly with his adrenaline pumping tried to grab it…You went for it too this time to help him instead of the other few times.

You gasped as a sharp painful cry escaped him…Jill stabbed him in the abdomen and jerked sideways. 

“Billy!-” You went to attack her too, hoping for an opening. ANYTHING! You were gonna die and-

She jerked the knife out of her arm with an almost enraged scream and stabbed you when you least expected it. She made it look like you had an opening to grab that gun and maybe you did? But her determination was just that much stronger.

She plunged the knife deep into you as you saw Billy had tried to get up multiple times and kept slipping while trying to hold his own wound close and slumped down gasping for air…Stu wasn't moving from what you could see…And you just got stabbed again. Deep. Blood spurted over your hand. This felt higher than before.

“Sorry, there's only room for one final girl and let's face it…Your time's up.” She looked so pleased with herself. So giddy as you collapsed onto your stomach.

You laid there trembling, barely breathing with your eyes wide open in fear. You heard footsteps seeing Jill walking away.

Billy looked just as bad but your eyes locked with each other on the kitchen floor. “B-B-Bill-” You couldn't even get his name out.

He shhed you. Cringing and as quietly as he could gritted his teeth to drag himself over to you as Jill started going ahead and hurting herself…Absolutely trying to kill herself by stabbing you hitting her head on a glass picture frame while yelling in pain. Trying to make it all look like she was brutally attacked.

Billy shhed you again when tears started falling from your eyes…After so long of being numb…You didn't wanna die. 

“I'm…I'm scared…Billy-” You just admitted it. Trembling like a scared child while bleeding out on the ground. Things were getting harder to focus on as he laid next to you on his back to keep his guts from pressing against the gash. 

You never thought you'd ever give him the satisfaction. Not at that shed, not in your house, not in the closet, Stu's house, Windsor, the motel- Never thought you'd give him the satisfaction of admitting you were scared of dying but you were.

Your hand trembled uncontrollably and he shhed you again. Weakly telling you, “Hey…Shh…It's alright…Don't cry, she'll hear you. If she stabs us in the head or throat or heart we're done, kid.” 

You shook your head trying not to sob as your head felt like you were gonna faint. 

“You're tough. Okay?...You can do this…You've always been a tough bitch to beat…I should know…Don't let that brat win. Don't let me or Stu win either…” He told you with heavy tired eyes. His head lolling to the side to gaze at you. Both of you held eye contact before he reached out and so did you.

“Billy…I-...I never meant…I always wanted-” You knew what you wanted to say but…Getting it out.

He stopped you with another soft shh and held your hand. He held it tight. His own fear of dying present but his urge to put on a brave face for his ego…For you too; was stronger. It's like he knew what you meant and he released a soft breath of air as if a giant weight was off his shoulders.

“Mine…” He mumbled with a small tired smile. “You've always been mine…” And then his eyes just…Closed.

Mark entered your mind and you couldn't control the small whimper as you trembled Jill crashing into things in the background.

“...Billy?” You whispered. Trying to move but couldn't as you held his hand so tight it hurt. “Billy, wake up. Please…” You whimpered as you were so tired…So so tired.

The last thing you saw was black…And glass shattering as Jill threw herself on the coffee table…And then sirens outside.

[loopy777]

The Roku novel canonized the concept of a Royal Fire Academy for Boys, though Roku, his older twin brother Yasu, and Sozin started attending when they were 10 years old, and graduating before 16, well at least two of them that is... The Roku novel also implied that there are two education tracks for nobles: joining your gender specific Royal Fire Academy or Fire Nation University. Ta Min, a noblewoman, joined the later, despite being a firebender. Firebenders usually join the Royal Fire Academy.

Assuming the structure of the Academies remain relatively unchanged from Sozin's time to Azulon's, it does bring up two interesting questions: (a) why do boys start their education later, assuming Roku, Yasu, and Sozin aren't exceptions and (b) why have we never heard any references to Zuko's time in the Academy? In regards to (b), I think you could easily explain it as Ozai embarrassed by Zuko, and therefore wanting to limit his exposure to the public by having him tutored at home, but I am curious to see your take on all this new lore.

Ah, you've stumbled on one of my big bugbears! We get so much about the girls' academy, purely because of one throwaway line to explain why Azula has teenage girl enforcer friends, but absolutely nothing about the boys' side until the Roku stuff. Even though the matter of Zuko having friends is critical to the story!

Granted, we don't need that kind of thing in the AtLA cartoon, as Zuko is a very believable anti-social type. But the more we get from the expansions, the weirder it starts to see. Even the RPG only mentioned the girls' side.

(And I'll be honest, I found the Roku novel so forgettable that I didn't retain any of this info. I'm holding off rereading in anticipation of doing one for the sequel's release, but I'll definitely be paying special attention to the academy stuff next time.)

My way around it is a headcanon that I very vaguely alluded to in a throwaway line in one of my fanfics: basically, that Zuko was indeed sent to a boys academy (although in that fic I use the term 'pre-academy' to have Fire Nation kindergarten and protect myself in case the depiction didn't match whatever we eventually got from the canon- successfully! XD) that was roughly as harsh as the one for girls, but he washed out within a year and had to be home-schooled after that. My thought was that Ozai and Ursa would both be in favor of that, with Ursa trying to protect Zuko and Ozai rolling his eyes and deciding that Zuko being classified information would be better for everyone.

This is similar to your idea, but I specifically wanted an inciting incident so that Zuko would have an easier time blaming himself than his father. He can think that he was too weak or dumb or clumsy, pointing to a direct failure, rather than just kind of having to justify why his father would keep him hidden away. I also like the idea of Zuko having a public failure before the Agni Kai against Ozai, helping to fuel the kind of disdain that Zhao displayed for him so that we don't have to rely on that one thing.

As for the actual incident that got Zuko pulled out of school, I don't have any solid ideas. Perhaps he lost a fight in an embarrassing way, or failed some new friend in such a way as to cause major social embarrassment. Or maybe some bully pants'd him and gave him a swirly, which might have gotten royals beheaded in more barbaric times. There are lots of possibilities there, depending on what kind of childhood school trauma we all want to draw on. ;)

(If it was a bully, Azula made sure to meet him and make 'friends' with him. And she made it very clear that no one was allowed to play with her toys, and afterward the bully was so traumatized that he also dropped out of school. There's also some fun possibilities in making this the guy Azula would have been betrothed to in the undeveloped subplot from the cartoon's season 3.)

But this headcanon is just to try to justify the lack of information and the conspicuous way Zuko doesn't seem to have had any friends before Aang. Now that the academy is a real place and Zuko has actually visited it, perhaps we'll get some backstory about him and an old acquaintance or two.

But probably not.

The people creating for the franchise these days are very shy about adding anything. You'd think they were working for the Star Wars book publishers.