#i will watch the video at some point i just don't need nightmares right now. go watch it if you can. the TLDR was enough for me now

[portuguesedisaster]

Fucking dammit

[angelpuns]

50au Part 27

Mikey didn't know how much longer they could keep this up. 

Leo definitely didn't trust them, even after his totally amazing video intro. 

He guessed he didn't do it as good as Donnie had, but they didn't want Donnie's face to be the first one he saw. Even if Donnie had managed to cover up all evidence of their fight, he was sure seeing him first would send Leo panicking again. 

Not that Leo was faring much better sitting next to Donnie now. He kept watching him, staring at his beak as if he didn't believe Donnie wasn't injured. They all had ton pretend they didn't know about it, too, practically tricking Leo into thinking it had been a nightmare. 

Mikey didn't want to, but it was what had to be done. They could not tell this Leo about what had happened. Not because he would be upset at what he'd done, but because he had reacted so poorly to the camera. They needed him to trust them. 

Even if they were lying about that one thing. 

“ So..what exactly is the plan again?” Leo murmured, pushing his food around on his plate. He hadn't eaten a bite. Mikey had been watching, and every ‘bite’ had been faked. 

He tried not to feel too hurt by it. He wouldn't trust food made by people he didn't know either. 

“ Well, Draxum is going to bring the cleansing potion or salve or whatever here, and then he's going to draw the runes for the memory spell,” Donnie sighed. He hadn't eaten much either, but just because he didn't look injured doesn't mean he wasn't. Not to mention he looked as exhausted as they all felt. 

Mikey hadn't been sleeping much lately either. He Just…he kept having nightmares. He knew Raph was the same. 

Something like this had happened after the invasion, too. None of then could sleep, especially when Leo was barely stable in the medbay. After too many sleepless nights, Splinter had gathered all the blankets and pillows he could find and helped them build a makeshift fort in the med bay floor. 

They couldn't do that right now, not with Leo as confused as he was. But they were going to fix everything! And Leo would be back to normal and things wouldn't be as weird anymore and Mikey could hug His brother whenever he wanted! 

“ Once we're in your memories, we’ll apparently be ‘ washing away the curse’, which is…absolutely ridiculous, but apparently the only way to break it…” Donnie finished, poking at his food a little, “ and then hopefully it will be fixed and everything can go back to normal”

Leo scoffed, “ back to normal for you, maybe-”

“Ah, there you boys are! I wanted to check on how Leonardo was doing,” Splinter stepped into the kitchen, holding up a gift bag, “ I spent all night looking for this, I thought it might help with your curse!”

He handed the gift bag to Leo, who was staring, mouth agape. 

“ Go ahead and open it, blue, I think you'll really like it,” Their dad urged, grinning, “You used to love those, I think it might help bring some memories back!” 

Leo pointed silently at Splinter and glanced at Mikey. 

Right. They forgot to put him in the montage, again, but to be fair- there weren't many pictures of Dad around the lair and they were kinda in a rush. 

“ Oh, right. That's our dad- and also your Dad. and he's also Lou-” 

Raph slapped a hand over his mouth and shook his head, “ he’s also loving! Yeah, our very loving and caring Pops!”

He gave Splinter a frown, “ who definitely didn't spend the whole day napping instead of helpin' us” 

Their Dad at least had the sense to look guilty. Mikey wouldn't lie, he was frustrated about Dad not helping, too, but they had it handled! For the most part. 

“ I…” Leo shut his mouth and shook his head, “ I actually don't want to know any more than that, thanks.” 

He opened the gift bag and pulled out a package of blue raspberry hubba bubba. Which- Yeah, Leo did used to like that gum. Like- would ask for it for every birthday and holiday and any chance he saw it at the store. 

But Mikey didn't think it would help retrieve any memories. Especially because of the curse, and even more because Leo didn't really like that flavour anymore. He'd grown out of the ‘ eat everything blue’ phase when he was 14. 

( not that that had ever stopped Splinter from getting him that gum, but Leo never really told him otherwise. He usually just said thanks and then would pawn the gum off on someone else. When Mikey had asked why he still took the gum as a gift, he said it made Dad happy. So he kept pretending he liked it. )

“ oh…thanks…?” Leo frowned, “ um. I don't really like blue raspberry gum anymore, though…so…” 

Splinter frowned. He didn't say anything for a moment, then chuckled and shrugged, “ well, I guess your..your tastes are a little different when you can't remember some things, huh?” 

Yikes. That was another thing they were going to have to keep from Leo when he got his memories back, if he didn't remember on his own. Mikey just added it to the list of things he was going to have to keep a secret, which he hated to do. He hated lying and he hated keeping things from his family, but he’d learned after the invasion that it was..a necessary evil. Sometimes a lie could keep things from falling apart. 

Like when he lied about where he snuck off to and he lied about what Leo had said when he was too sick to know any better band when he lied to Dad about how bad his hands hurt and- 

Calm down, Mikey. No need to dredge up old hurts during an actual crisis. 

“ I think I will go and watch my show for a little bit. Let me know when we are ready to start the ritual,” Splinter murmured, still smiling that big fake smile. Leo must have learned it from him, because Mikey had seen that smile from his brother too many times to count. 

At least one good thing had come of this curse. The first day, when Leo wasn't angry or hurt or scared. When he trusted them and everything felt like it might be okay, Mikey had seen his real smile for the first time in a while. It was sweet and soft and he probably hadn't even realized he was doing it. 

“ Okay, Pops, we will,” Raph assured, sighing and stabbing his fork into his food, “we better finish up, Barry said he'd be here ‘round now and we gotta make a space for the ritual.”

“ Me and Leo can clean up here if you and Don wanna start on the garage,” Mikey offered with a grin. He tossed the last of his bacon into his mouth and stood, “ sound good to you, Lee?” 

Leo set the gift from Splinter aside and nodded a little, giving Donnie a wary look. 

This would be good for building trust! Leo wouldn't have to wonder if him and Donnie had actually fought, Raph would have to worry about somehow hurting Leo ( Mikey knew he was worrying about that, he could tell )  and Mikey would be able to reassure Leo that they were to be trusted! It would be perfect! 

So they split up. He and Leo did the dishes, while Raph and Donnie prepared the garage for the ritual. 

It was quiet for a while, Leo leaning on the counter as he scrubbed at dishes while Mikey dried them and put them away. 

He didn't want to force anything, and he'd always had more luck getting Leo to talk by letting him stew in silence first. 

“ So…Mikey, right?” Leo murmured, scrubbing at a plate with a faint frown, “ do you all really trust Draxum? I-I mean- I would rather not have any of you in my head, but Draxum is- well-” 

He silenced himself after that, face contorting into a deeper frown. 

“ He's the only person I actually remember and it's not for good reasons….” 

Mikey put the plate he was drying away and took the next one. He needed to go about this carefully. 

“ Well, he won't be going into your memories with us. We knew you wouldn't want that, and we really need someone outside to control the spell and move us from memory to memory,” He explained, drying the plate in his hands with some difficulty.

 His hands were aching from cooking, and doing something like drying dishes wasn't really helping. He definitely needed to do some stretches after this, the lack of sleep and stress was probably making him have a bit of a flare up of sorts. He shook the feeling out and finished what he was doing. 

“ Dad will be watching, too, and he’ll make sure Barry doesn't do anything to us,” He assured, giving Leo a faint smile, “ Dad doesn't trust him much either, since he,like, kidnapped him and turned him into a rat and stuff,” 

“ oh..” Leo made a face at that. And he just kept washing dishes. Silence fell again for a bit. 

It was so weird hanging out with Leo and it being so quiet. It wasn't supposed to be quiet. 

Leo was supposed to be cracking jokes and splashing him with dish water and complaining endlessly about chores. 

But this Leo was so, so quiet. It wasn't like he was a different Leo, this was just…a side he didn't show to them often. 

Leo was so different after the invasion. His smiles were always tense and aching and Mikey wanted to rub them away and replace them with his cocky smirk, or better yet, with that gentle smile he hardly got to see. As he got better, as everyone got better, Leo started to get more normal. 

It was never the same Leo as before the invasion, though. In fact, maybe even the Leo before that was different. Leo before the Shredder was so different, too. 

It made Mikey wonder how many different Leos his brother was keeping inside him and when they might get to see the more…genuine one. 

“ What happened to your hands?”

Mikey blinked, turning to look at Leo, “ what?”

“ your hands,” Leo pointed, “ they seem like they hurt,” 

Mikey realized belatedly he was rubbing his hands together. It did hurt. He wasn't supposed to be doing that.

“ Oh, I opened an inter dimensional portal into the-” he cut himself off, realizing it probably wasn't a good time to mention the prison dimension. Not to this somber, serious Leo who was one misspoken word away from deciding he couldn't let them in his head. “ into another dimension. They don't hurt that bad, Donnie made me compression gloves and Barry's been helping with the mystic-level stuff,” 

Leo stared at them for a moment before nodding, “ good. I'm glad they don't…hurt.” 

Mikey smiled and continued to dry dishes next to his brother. And even if it was quiet, it almost felt normal. 

~

Draxum showed up in the garage via portal, effectively scaring the shit out if Donnie. And Raph, if his yelp was anything to go by. 

“ Couldn't you have just come through the front door like a normal person?” Donnie groaned, setting down the toolbox he'd been moving, “ I even added you to the facial recognition system so you didn't get shot with lasers - which, you're welcome, by the way” 

“ This was faster, and I figured because you all had me pulling an ‘all-nighter’ that this constituted me arriving as soon as I was finished,” Draxum huffed, holding up a vial of a strange, pink liquid, “Here is the cleansing solution. It should be enough, though do be careful not to waste any. I didn't have enough ingredients to make a back-up,” 

He produced a book from seemingly nowhere, “ I have also prepared the memory spell once again, but I have modified it so that we will have a bit more time so that you all can be extra thorough.”

“ good. I don't want to have to try this a second time,” Raph sighed, “Raph is ready for all this to be over so he can hug Leo as hard as possible” 

“ I agree with most of that sentiment,” Donnie added, gesturing to the now clean space in the garage, “ the floor's all yours. I'm going to get Mikey and Leo. Raph, you want to grab Papa?” 

Raph nodded and they set off, Donnie hurrying for the kitchen. Finally, finally they were ready. 

Leo was going to be curse free by tonight, so he wouldn't reset, and everything was going to go back to normal. 

He didn't think about his still tender beak or the bruise on Leo's neck. And he certainly didn't think about how Leo might just remember it after the curse. 

He would cross that bridge when they came to it, even if he did have to go across kicking and screaming. 

Donnie poked his head into the kitchen doorway, “ Draxum is here. He's drawing out the spell-circle-rune-thing right now,” 

He looked at Leo, even if the expression Leo had when he turned made Donnie want to curl away from him like a sun-crisped leaf. 

“ Are you ready to do this?” He asked, making direct eye contact with his twin. It made his skin crawl, but he needed Leo to trust them more than anything right now. 

Leo sighed, grimacing faintly, “ I don't really have  much of a choice, do I?” 

Mikey and Donnie exchanged a glance. So quick that hopefully Leo didn't see. 

Donnie Wasn't stupid. He knew Leo had seen it. 

And as much as he wanted to say ‘ yes, of course you have a choice’, he just wanted his twin back and for everything to be mostly normal again. He'd been so on-edge after Leo got loose the first time, he wasn't sure he could take much more of the stress. 

He knew Leo wasn't much better, tension like a tight coil just waiting to be sprung in every muscle. His hands were fists, ready to swing on any of them if he needed to. 

Donnie wasn’t scared of Leo fighting them again. It had hurt, but it wasn’t that Donnie was afraid of Leo. He just… He didn't want any more physical evidence of Leo doing that to any of them. because he knee Leo would feel even more guilty than he already did. 

“ Let's…lets get this over with,” Donnie murmured, turning and heading for the garage. 

~

Leo followed the purple one to the garage, Mikey right on his heels. He wouldn't say he trusted Mikey much more now, but being alone with him had at least proved they weren’t going to try and take him down individually. Which wouldn't have even a good plan anyway, why wait to single him out when they could easily do 3v1? 

Mikey was also easy to read. He practically exploded with this warm energy, Leo almost thinking it was tangible with how vibrant it was. He was just so positive. And he talked to Leo like nothing was wrong. 

He almost wondered of it was some kind of ploy he couldn't figure out, but Leo was really, really good at reading people. And Mikey seemed…100% genuine. 

So he didn't trust Mikey all of a sudden, but…maybe they were all telling the truth. 

Maybe. 

A sinking feeling grew in his gut like mold as they headed for the garage. He knee Draxum was in there. And Draxum, though he would never admit it, fucking scared him. 

It wasn't as if Leo didn't believe in redemption. He just…Draxum had been evil. Too Evil. And he had never given Leo a reason to trust him, even after Leo defeated him and he began his ‘path to goodness’ for seemingly no reason. 

When they entered the garage, there was a huge circle drawn on the ground, with strange symbols Leo remembered seeing once in the Hidden City. Draxum was sitting just outside the circle, with a book, an hour glass and a vial of some sort of pink liquid. 

The ‘mystic dish soap’, as Mikey had dubbed it before. 

The rat was there, too, kneeling next to Draxum and scowling faintly up at him. Okay. Mikey said that he didn't trust Draxum, but having actual evidence of it was good. Unless it was a trick, but Leo had no choice but to believe what they told him. 

He had no way out of this, no plan, no ideas to escape. He had to just…let them into his head. 

It was fucking scary. 

The big red one - Raph, he thinks - had already taken up a spot in the circle, and Donnie was just starting to sit in his own spot. That left one spot for Mikey and one for Leo - right in the middle. 

He took a deep breath and let it out slow. 

Hopefully, hopefully this was all some sort of fucked up fever dream and he'd wake up before they got into his memories. Hopefully. 

Mikey took his seat and gave him a gentle half smile. Leo nodded at him faintly and stepped into the circle, sitting cross-legged in the middle. 

“okay,” he murmured, staring at the ground just ahead of him, “ let's do this.”

------

Tired so author note be short. Lots of words. Yayyy Mikey POV. Lil man going through it but staying positive.

Part 1 | Part 26 | Part 28

[aftgphoenix]

Nathaniel?

A one shot I wrote where Kevin figures out who Neil is around the beginning of September, before the banquet but after Seth dies. I also have it on ao3 here.

.

"Hey, Kevin," Andrew says one night after dinner but before they need to get ready to go to night practice. Kevin pauses the game, a pro game between the Columbia Dragons and the Baltimore Wildcats. It hurts a little to watch his former team playing without him but Kevin knows that he can go pro again. He will fight with everything he has to get back to that point.

"What?" he asks Andrew, who is leaning against the post of the bunk bed. Kevin hears Nicky and Aaron playing a video game of some sort in the living room. Andrew is getting close to his next dose and there is something in his face that tells Kevin that he will not like what Andrew is about to say next. He is right.

"How many other mafia kids did you play exy with as a kid?"

"Mafia kids?" Kevin asks, confused. "I mean, I played with Riko and then Jean came when I was sixteen."

"And no other kids with mafia connections?"

"I mean, there was one I guess," Kevin says slowly, thinking back to auburn hair and blood all over. He had nightmares for months after that day. Riko had been furious after Nathaniel had disappeared. He had also been fascinated by the Butcher's work. Looking back, Kevin thought that was where Riko's sadism had really started to take hold. He'd gotten his first knife not long after.

"Who was this mysterious mafia kid?" Andrew asks.

"He was..." Kevin says, fighting off memories of blood and screams that he's worked so hard to suppress. He tries to slow down his breathing, to get a hold of himself before the panic takes over. "He was..."

Andrew takes several steps closer and he is leaning over Kevin. Kevin looks up at him and reminds himself that Andrew is there. He isn't back at the Nest, the tower of blood is miles and miles away.

"What color were his eyes?" Andrew asks.

"Blue," Kevin says. "Ice blue, like..." 

And then he puts the pieces together. Ice blue eyes and a vaguely familiar face fit together in a picture that Kevin can't believe he hasn't seen before. He should have realized that first trip to Eden's Twilight.

The world is spinning as he throws aside his laptop and shoves Andrew out of his way. He's barely aware of Nicky and Aaron in the living room as he races to the dorm at the end of the hall. The door is locked so he knocks and knocks. He's aware of Andrew behind him and he dimly knows that Aaron and Nicky are probably going to be close behind. He ignores all that and pounds on the door.

It opens and Kevin barely avoids knocking his fist into Matt's very annoyed face. He can see the man he was looking for sitting on the couch, a movie paused.

"What do you want?" Matt asks. Kevin ignores him and instead calls into the dorm.

"Nathaniel!"

Kevin watches as the man freezes, his face dangerous.

"What did you just say?" he says in French. There is a dangerous tone in his voice, one laced with fear and desperation.

"You're not him, you can't be!" Kevin replies.

"What did Andrew say about me?" Nathaniel asks.

"He didn't- He just asked about mafia related kids who played exy. He didn't say anything about you, I just remembered your eyes and how you look like-"

"Don't," Nathaniel says, cutting him off. He's out of the couch now, Matt's moved out of the way so that they can speak. Andrew is still right behind him and Kevin knows that he will have to give him the translated version of the conversation later.

"You shouldn't be here," Kevin says. He remembers the Master's fury after he was told that Nathaniel and his mother had disappeared. He remembered Riko's. He shut those memories down before he could spiral. "Why did you come?"

"I had nowhere else to go," Nathaniel responds. Kevin tries his best not to strangle the striker. "When you showed up in Arizona I thought you'd come because you recognized me, but then you gave no sign you remembered me. I thought maybe I could stay until you figured things out."

"You should go, you should run," Kevin says. He knows what will happen if Nathaniel stays. He's already angered Riko. It won't take much for Riko to find out who he is. If Nathaniel is lucky, he will end up like Jean. If he he isn't lucky, he will end up dead. Kevin shudders as the memory of pieces of the body push to the forefront of his mind.

Nathaniel looks up at him. "I can't. I told Andrew I'd stay," 

"Does he know? About your father working for the Moriyamas?"

"I told him- wait, working for them? I thought... I thought they were business partners," Neil says. 

Kevin laughs and it sounds a little hysterical.

"Business partners? Your father is Lord Moriyama's right hand man! Didn't you know why your mother took you and ran?"

"Is everything ok?" Matt interrupts and it takes everything Kevin has not to jump. He forgot Matt was there and that Andrew, Aaron, and Nicky are right behind him in the hallway. From the way Nathaniel jumps, he has forgotten too. Kevin turns around to see what Andrew is doing. He is standing there with his arms crossed and his face blank. Kevin knows that could mean anything.

"Shall we take this back to our room?" Andrew asks. "It sounds like this is a discussion that you two would prefer to have in private. You can use our bedroom."

It is an escape for Kevin, one he appreciates. He looks at Nathaniel who looks like he is one second from bolting and decides that would be best. At the very least, it will get him away from his stuff so he can't just run. 

"I think that would be a good idea," Kevin says in English.

"Neil?" Matt says uncertainly.

That seems to do something because Nathaniel gets a determined look on his face.

"I'll be ok, Matt. I'll be back later," he says and follows Kevin out.

As soon as Andrew closes the dorm room door behind them, Nicky begins asking what is going on. Aaron has returned to the couch and picked up his game controller but Kevin can tell he is also curious. Kevin ignores them. Neil does the same. Kevin goes to the bedroom and hears Nathaniel and Andrew follow. Nicky tries, he thinks, but Andrew must threaten him with his knives because Nicky doesn't push it. 

"So Kevin remembers the runaway," Andrew says, and Kevin hears delight in his voice. Andrew's meds might be wearing off but Kevin knows better than most that they are never completely out of his system. Andrew has complained about that before when they were alone.

"Nathaniel," Kevin starts but then Nathaniel shoves him up against the door.

"Don't call me that!" he hisses. "I'm not him anymore."

Kevin puts his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay! I won't."

Neil switches back to French. "What did you mean when you said my father was Kengo's right hand man?"

Kevin stares at him. There's no way Neil doesn't know, but... "Your father was the most trusted weapon in Lord Kengo's arsenal. The territory he held, he held for the Moriyamas. He was the force that kept the empire in line and the name that would take the fall if the government ever caught on. How could you not know this? Why did you think you ran?"

"You've met my father. You know how he was," Neil says. "I didn't have to ask."

"You never asked why you auditioned with us at Evermore?" Kevin asks.

"Wait," Neil says. "Wait. What?"

"You were supposed to be like me," Kevin says. He can't believe he is having this conversation. "You were a gift, another player for the master to train. You had two days to win him over: an initial scrimmage with us to show off your potential and a second scrimmage to prove you could adapt to and implement his instructions and criticisms. If afterward he decided you weren't worth his time you would be executed by your own father."

Neil swallows hard. "How did I do?"

"Your mother wouldn't risk failure," Kevin says. "You never made it to the second practice. She disappeared with you overnight. Neil, what does Andrew know?"

"He thinks my father was a gopher who skimmed money off his boss's payment to the Moriyamas. I told him my parents were executed for their treachery and that I ran with the money. Andrew wants me to use the Foxes' infamy to stay safe. If we're in the news every week it's hard for someone to get rid of me, or so he says."

Kevin wants to punch something. When he'd first watched the cd Coach Hernandez had sent of Neil playing, he had seen Neil's innate talent for the sport and a desperation to be the best. He had hopes that he could shape Neil into a star, someone who might even rival himself one day. That dream was crumbling right before his eyes and all Kevin could think about was the boy who had watched his father slowly murder a man right before them all.

"That won't work for you," Kevin says. "You're too big of a security risk. The Moriyamas knew your mother wouldn't betray anyone to the feds but you are an unknown risk to them. Why did she even let you do this in the first place?"

"She's dead," Neil says, bitterness in his voice. "She died last year and I buried her on the west coast. I have nothing and no one else, Kevin. That's why I signed with you. I figured the chances of you remembering me were slim and I gambled on you not knowing the truth about my family. Obviously that didn't work out and Andrew says that Riko will likely know who I am by now too."

"You need to go, you need to run," Kevin says. It will ruin the season and leave him as the only striker on the Foxes' line but it will be worth it if Neil can survive.

"No," Neil says. Kevin stares at him. Neil is standing there, a determined look in his eyes. He is clenching and unclenching his fists and Kevin can only guess at what's going through his head.

"Don't be stupid, it's your only chance at survival!" Kevin says. 

Neil looks over at Andrew and then puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out his keys. He holds them in his hands and Kevin thinks he is tracing the outline of one of them.

"Running won't save me this time," Neil says. "If the Moriyamas really do think I'm a threat they'll send people after me. My mother and I could barely outrun my father. How am I supposed to escape his boss?"

"At least you'd have a chance," Kevin says quietly.

"A chance to die somewhere else all by myself," Neil says, and Kevin looks away. He knows it is true and he can't bear to think about it. He knows that if Neil does leave, he will never be able to think about his friend without wondering if he is still alive. Kevin hates that thought.

"If I was going to run, I should have done it in August. Andrew told me it was my last chance to get out. I decided to stay. I wasn't sure he was enough to stand between me and my father but I wanted this too much to care about the risks. Maybe I didn't fully understand the stakes then, but this hasn't changed." 

Neil's voice has taken on a calm determination that chills Kevin to the bone.

"I don't want to run. I don't want to be a Raven. I don't want to be Nathaniel. I want to be Neil Josten. I want to be a Fox. I want to play with you this year and I want us to make it to championships. And in spring when the Moriyamas come for me I'll do what they're so afraid I will. I'll go to the FBI and tell them everything. Let them kill me. It'll be too late by then."

"You should be court," Kevin whispers after a minute. It is all he can say.

"Will you still teach me?" Neil asks.

Kevin knows that he has no other choice when he says, "Every night."

[sweetfire01]

I wear glasses 24/7 and I can't see very well without them unless something is super up close to my face. Would any of the yandere daddies take advantage of that? I'm just curious 🤔

Found all these "I'll continue writing them later" draft, I hope I can finish them soon FOR REALLY this time.

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

I think Asmo is the only one who would let you keep the glasses without problems. What if you bump into something while crawling? Imagine the bruise that would form! Or while coloring with your fingers you miss the paper and paint your clothes! What a nightmare! Plus, the glasses are so stylish and he will let you try all kinds of them.

Also Levi would leave them on you, otherwise how are you going to see all these anime? Or to play video games? Sure, he likes to win, but then it gets all too easy when you can't finish a single lap on Devil Kart: you can't even distinguish your own character on screen! And he can't risk you accidentally destroying some of his action figures...

Perhaps he and Satan will be more likely to give you glasses with a lower prescription. Levi loves helping you and guiding your hands on the joystick, as if you are too little to understand what you need to do, and the fourth born loves hearing you stumble when he point at a word and ask you to read it. You just look like a child learning! That's why you still need him to read a book to you.

But the others, ooh, they will really use it to their advantage. If you're with Belphie you have to sleep, so it only makes sense that you take them off anyway, right? It's not like you have to do something.

Beel loves how you don't notice the spoon while he feed you until it's already near your mouth. If you don't open it in time you end up making a mess and he has to clean it up with his bib. You threw a tantrum when he tied it around you, but now aren't you glad Daddy knew better? C'mon, say "AAH". Here comes the plane… We know how Mammon will never admit how much he adores you, so he uses the "theycan't see well, I'm just helping them out" excuse to be with you. He's also the only one who, if you cry enough and give him those puppy ​​eyes, he'll give you your glasses back. But just to watch cartoons, okay? And you have to cuddle with him in the meantime! Lucifer and Diavolo would tease you all the time, buying you one of those playmats with the games hanging on the strings. At least now you can see and play with them while lying on your back. Aren't you happy? And to think you throw so many tantrums about not being a baby... Simeon would do the same, but without the teasing. He's just serious. Human babies have bad eyesight, so you are no exception. And so it only makes sense that he would buy you those things, right? Oh, but he will make sure to be with you the whole time: you can't see him, but you can hear his voice as he reads and sings to you or feel the warmth of his skin as he nurses and cuddles you.

[aishangotome]

Azel Radwan: Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Thank you @shatcey for providing the video for this chapter!

♡———♡

Azel: Good evening. I've been wanting to see you, you know?

When I came to, I was here again.

In this rose garden full of buds, there’s a man with an otherworldly appearance, resting his hand on an oak table.

I have a strange feeling like this has happened before, or maybe it hasn't.

(Somehow, only the presence of this Living God feels strangely vivid.)

Emma: ...A dream, right?

Azel: Oh? There's no way to prove which is the dream and which is reality.

Azel: Human wisdom hasn't progressed enough to unravel the mysteries of dreams.

Azel: It's possible that you being here is actually reality, and vice versa.

(I kind of understand, but I kind of don't.)

Azel: By the way, are you good at cooking?

Suddenly switching from a mystical topic to a realistic one, it took me a while to grasp the meaning.

Emma: I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but I can make decent food.

Azel: That's good. Actually, I've been interested in the local cuisine of Rhodolite.

Emma: ...Why are you suddenly bringing this up?

Azel: Because I know what will happen in the future.

Azel: When the time comes, you'll understand my intentions.

(It's hard to believe, but I guess that's how Gods are.)

Azel: By the way, I haven't had dinner today.

Emma: Eh? Are you feeling unwell?

Azel: No, it's due to various circumstances.

Azel: You're supposed to be a kind-hearted woman. You wouldn't do something cruel like leave a God on the verge of starvation, would you?

Emma: ...Rather than a prophecy, it feels like you're blatantly pressuring me to "come and cook for you."

Azel: Not at all, not at all. I'm just telling you that I prefer hearty meals to sweets, but I have no ulterior motives.

(I feel like there's nothing but ulterior motives.)

Azel: Besides, "you" over there hardly remembers what happened here.

Azel: There's no point in pressuring you, is there?

Prince Azel smiles mercifully – and the world begins to distort.

Azel: Ah, I'm looking forward to it.

Azel: –– ...I just happened to need a slave.

-

I woke up with a start, drawn by the light, and found myself in the guest room that had been given to me yesterday.

(I think I had another dream.)

(...It was a dream with the Living God in it.)

As usual, my memories crumbled away.

What remained today was the puzzling information "hearty meals, not sweets," and a chilling, inexplicable pounding of my heart.

(It wasn't a nightmare, but... how strange.)

-

Emma: There's something I've been wondering about...

Emma: Owner, what's that?

The city surrounding Tanzanite Castle was even more lively than Rhodolite.

The reason was obvious; everywhere I looked, there were tourists who seemed to have come from foreign countries.

Some people were enjoying food bought from stalls, while others were browsing souvenir shops selling pottery and textiles, which were local specialties. But what drew the most attention was the statue of the Living God, sitting majestically in the center of the city.

(I only passed by yesterday, so I couldn't get a good look at it...)

(Looking at it now, it's a spitting image of the real thing.)

Akatsuki: It's a tourist attraction. It's famous as a power spot where wishes come true.

Emma: Ah, that's why so many people are praying.

Akatsuki: You want to go too?

Emma: No... I'll pass.

(My wish is "to fall in love," so somehow I feel like I shouldn't pray to this statue.)

(...Really, it's just a feeling.)

Emma: So, what are we doing today?

Akatsuki: We're delivering an item that was requested.

Emma: So the Living God wasn't your only client?

Akatsuki: I have about 100 business partners in Tanzanite.

(That many...?)

Akatsuki: Sometimes I sell books, sometimes I exchange them for other books.

Akatsuki: Watch and learn.

Emma: Yes! I'll do my best to learn.

(This is completely different from looking after the shop. I have to work hard.)

Renewing my determination, I chased after the Owner's back as he walked ahead.

But I soon stopped in my tracks.

Akatsuki: ...Seems like something's happening.

Emma: ...!

The crowd gathered a short distance away was different from the others; they were buzzing with commotion.

Thanks to the Tanzanite soldiers, people were already starting to disperse, but through the thinning crowd, I could see a man with a swollen face.

Emma: He's badly injured. Was it a fight?

???: Something like that. It's been happening a lot lately.

(Ah, that voice...)

When I turned around, I saw Basil carrying a large amount of luggage, and Kamal, whose beauty, as always, was attracting attention.

Basil: I suspect a diviner misread the divine oracle.

Emma: What do you mean?

Basil: Divination in Tanzanite is considered to be the interpretation of the divine oracle, which reads the will of God from the stars.

Basil: Since Prince Azel is a God himself, his words directly become divine oracles...

Basil: Diviners are required to be skilled in how well they can interpret the will of God.

(Speaking of which...)

*flashback*

Azel: The basis of divination in our country is astrology.

Emma: Astrology...?

Azel: It's what you call astrology. What's popular here is unique to Tanzanite.

*back to present*

(Unique, so that's what he meant.)

Basil: However, it seems that many diviners have been misinterpreting the divine oracle lately...

Basil: Customers who are angry about the blasphemy against God sometimes lash out like that.

It was a logic I couldn't understand.

(I think divination is something that can be right sometimes and wrong sometimes.)

Emma: ...Are mistakes not allowed?

Basil: Well, divination is something that can change a person's life.

Basil: In this country, to call yourself a divinator, you need to have a certain level of resolution or preparedness.

(I guess I don't understand because I'm from another country.)

Basil: The idea that Prince Azel's thoughts are something that a mere divinator can read is preposterous.

I felt a shadow fall over Basil's face as he pushed up his glasses.

(Basil also has something on his mind, and that's dangerous!)

As he touched his glasses, the balance of his luggage was disrupted, and the Owner supported it with a speed invisible to the eye.

Basil: Oh dear, I'm so sorry! Thank you very much.

Akatsuki: Don't mind it. But, is this for a feast?

(I thought so too.)

The contents of Basil's luggage were a large quantity of groceries.

It was such an amount that it seemed difficult even to walk while looking ahead, and at least I wouldn't be able to carry it.

Basil: No, it's just an errand.

Basil: It certainly feels like there's more than usual, but I'm sure there's some noble reason for it.

("Noble reason" means it's an errand for Prince Azel, right?)

Only Basil was running the errand; Kamal was empty-handed.

When our eyes met, his long, beautiful fingers pulled out a letter.

The envelope was presented to the Owner.

Akatsuki: An additional order?

The Owner, who opened the seal on the spot, furrowed his brow at the letter he took out.

Emma: ...What's wrong?

Akatsuki: It says they found a clue to the book I was looking for.

Akatsuki: ...But it's suspicious.

Emma: Isn't that a good thing?

Akatsuki: If they were willing to tell me like this, they could have told me yesterday.

Akatsuki: Yet they deliberately contacted me later. And they're telling me to come and get the clue.

(...Indeed, I wonder if there's some intention behind it.)

Basil: Well, Prince Azel also apologized for that.

Basil: He said, "I accidentally forgot to tell you."

Akatsuki: .............

Akatsuki: In the first place, I don't have time to go get it for a while.

(I'm sure he has appointments to meet with his clients after this.)

(...But I think the information about the book is something the Owner desperately wants...)

(It might be rude to refuse the goodwill of a God.)

(Alright, this is where the assistant comes in.)

I raise my hand and volunteer to the Owner, who has a grim expression on his face.

Emma: Shall I go and get it?

-

Azel: My apologies… I am truly sorry.

Prince Azel warmly welcomed me when I visited his residence with Basil and Kamal, after parting ways with the Owner.

The way he emerged from the building with such perfect timing, as if he had foreseen everything, made me truly believe that he possesses some extraordinary power.

Azel: Thank you for your hard work, you two. Please bring the luggage inside.

Basil was frozen with his eyes sparkling, saying "H-huh..." Kamal grabbed him and pulled him inside.

(Now it's just the two of us.)

Emma: I've come on behalf of the Owner. I heard that you would give me a clue about the book...

Azel: Yes. I will give you a map.

Prince Azel turns his back to me and starts walking.

His eyes urge me to "follow me," so I follow him, but he's fast.

(Are his legs long, or is he just unusually fast...!)

I desperately chase after him, and as I follow Prince Azel through the uniquely shaped entrance---

Emma: ………… Huh?

I stop involuntarily, blink a few times, and pinch my cheeks.

It hurt like normal.

Azel: What's wrong?

Emma: No...

(Wh... what's going on here!?)

It was a shock, as if I had stepped into another world.

Unlike the weathered exterior walls, the interior was so neatly maintained that it didn't feel like it had 1000 years of history, and there was no sign of the precariousness that made it seem like it was about to collapse.

It's hard to say it was a brand new building, but the description of a "castle" truly suited it.

(I initially thought it was a solitary castle in the desert, and maybe I wasn't far off.)

Emma: The atmosphere is quite different from the exterior.

Azel: Of course, I can't just live in a 1000-year-old building as it is.

Azel: It's under major renovation right now.

Azel: The right side is mostly finished with renovations, so there's no problem, but the left side has partially collapsed.

Azel: If you happen to walk around here, never go to the left side.

Azel: If you do happen to enter it–

Emma: ...If I do?

Azel: Hehe.

(I'll be careful not to accidentally wander in there.)

Azel: Please be careful where you step.

Prince Azel goes up the stairs and proceeds to the right.

While chasing after him at a running pace, I casually glance to the left, and even though the sun should be directly overhead, it seems like a dim darkness lingers there.

(...I wonder if it's because the renovations aren't finished yet.)

After passing through the entrance hall, there's a corridor, which is also beautifully repaired.

At the end of the corridor where Prince Azel strode purposefully, there was a door.

Azel: Now, please come in.

Even though I was out of breath, I entered through the open door without a shred of suspicion... and found myself not in a guest room, but a kitchen.

(...Why?)

In the tidy room, the large amount of luggage that Basil had been carrying was carelessly placed. As I picked up a fruit that had rolled out of a bag, question marks popped up in my mind one after another.

Emma: Prince Azel... is the map in the kitchen?

Azel: Of course not, you idiot.

(!?)

(What? I just heard him speak like a different person...)

The door slams shut.

Prince Azel leaned against the closed door, blocking my escape route, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

Azel: Now, it's time for collection.

Emma: C-collection?

Azel: Here you go.

A letter, seemingly produced from thin air, is thrust in front of me.

Emma: This is...

I rub my eyes and look again.

No matter how many times I look at it, I can only read it as a "divination fee invoice."

Moreover, the numbers lined up on it were of an exorbitant amount that I had never seen before.

Emma: ...Is this addressed to me?

Azel: Yes, it's addressed to you.

Emma: I'm sorry, but I don't recall this.

Azel: Don't tell me you thought a God's divination was free?

Emma: ...Eh?

Azel: Wow, how rude. Don't underestimate me, okay?

(The divination from yesterday, it wasn't free!?)

I hurriedly pulled myself together as my senses started to fade.

Emma: But you said it was a thank you gift...!

Azel: There are many people who want to receive my divination but can't.

Azel: The thank you gift is the "right to receive divination."

Emma: You didn't say a word about that!

Azel: Well, it's common sense.

Emma: I don't know any such common sense!

Azel: Don't blame your ignorance on me.

(This is a scammer's tactic!?)

The me of yesterday, who thought he was a merciful and kind God – it seems I was seeing an illusion.

(Maybe this is his true nature.)

*flashback*

Clavis: But it's surprising. You're the current "Belle," and you're good at seeing through people's true nature, right?

Clavis: ...No, that's not right. Or rather, is it that impression precisely because you "saw through" it?

Clavis: Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if it's me who's seeing the illusion, or you.

*back to present*

(–That's what he meant. How pathetic of me, even though I'm Belle.)

Azel: Ah, but please rest assured. I'm not so cruel as to say "pay now."

Azel: We have two payment methods available: cash or labor.

(I can't feel assured at all.)

Azel: You don't seem to have any money, do you?

Azel: To repay this amount, you'll have to work like a slave...

Azel: Good luck.

His benevolent smile fueled my anger.

(Everyone's been deceived.)

(This person is not a merciful God at all. Rather...)

Emma: You, evil God!

Azel: Oh my, are those insults? As expected, a foreign girl is quite spirited.

Azel: But you see...

As I glared at him, Prince Azel grabbed my chin with his large hand–

Azel: Shall I show you what happens if you defy me?

.

.

.

Letter

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[cushfuddled]

I wish I didn't hate Ed and Stede but here we are I guess

I didn't have time to put a section about this in my review (since it would add another ten minutes onto a fifty minute video hhhhh) but I just gotta take a second and vent about how much I dislike Stede and Ed in season two.

When I watched season two for the first time, I assumed I didn't ship Gentlebeard anymore because I'd...I dunno...gotten bored of the ship or whatever. But when I went back to rewatch season one, I was immediately sucked back into the Ed/Stede jet engine. I loved them through the finale, up until around the middle of season two...at which point I became totally disinterested again.

Even going back through season one clips for this review...the chemistry is soooo strong for me. The only time I got that feeling from season two was like, from the mermaid scene and the finger-stacking scene.

And I honestly think my disinterest stems from the fact that I can't stand Ed and Stede as characters anymore. They're dicks in season one, but ANNOYING dicks in season two, and I guess I just...don't ship characters who make me want to tear my hair out.

In season two, Ed behaves like a petulant five year old with a gun. It's so "say sorry to your friend right now!" "I don't wanna! :(" followed by a stint in the time out chair and a mumbled non-apology. For all of season two, Ed behaves like a spoiled brat, and I really can't stand it.

My friend pointed out that Ed is in a position where he needs to reparent himself. His emotional development likely stopped around the time he killed his dad (when he was still a kid). No one modeled healthy behavior and emotional regulation for Ed past the age of...maybe fifteen? So of course he's gonna behave like a kid. It's gonna be a long road for Ed to learn these regulating strategies as an adult, and I guess...hhhhhh.

None of Ed's trauma excuses Ed from torturing and traumatizing his crew. It feels shitty to find a deeply traumatized character's behavior "annoying," but...I mean. I say this as someone who's experienced suicide ideation myself: Ed isn't real, and I'm not Ed's friend, and so I don't really feel obligated to extend patience and understanding to a fictional construct when that construct spends 90% of his screen time behaving like a stuck up, self-obsessed, capricious, whiny, murderous asshole.

Add season-two-Stede to the mix and CHRIST...Stede—like Ed—was always a dick, but the way he encouraged Lucius to divulge his trauma only to react with cartoonish disgust, cower like a cornered animal, and then flee while begging Lucius to be quiet...

Then Stede decides to veto the crew's decision to ban Ed—their abuser���from the ship ("talk it through as a crew" my ass)...? Oh, and gotta love how Stede-"I've been the cause of death. It changes you"-Bonnet sets a guy on fucking fire and laughs, then kills a bunch of English soldiers with nary a backward glance. Okay. Would've loved some kind of exploration re: that major heel turn, but fine. And then Ed and Stede stand over Izzy's grave—the (mutilated) body of their dear friend and crewmate—and their combined eulogy amounts to "He was tense. Very tense." "Yeah, he was a fucking nightmare. What a guy." How endearing. Season two turned these two bastards (affectionate) into bastards (derogatory) for me and I'm still salty about it. God DAMMIT.

[umnitsa]

You should mess with Jim - 3

Summary: Big Jim brings the reader cookies. Reader is awkward.

A/N: I don't know, they just got all respectful and awkward and sweet. Please, let me know if you like this, even in dms! <3 Writers need feedback <3 There will be sex in the next one! (not with reader tho!)

Pairing: retiredpornstar!Hopper x fem!Reader

CW: Descriptions of sex. Everybody is horny, nobody does anything.

This was a nightmare. You were sleeping late, and your doorbell rang. You jumped off your bed and ran to answer just to find Big Jim, looking straight right out of a lewd movie. He was wearing shorts and an old polo shirt, freshly shaven, his thick mustache curved on a smirk. Jim chuckled, carefully holding a plate of cookies.

“Hey neighbor. I’m sorry I caught you in a bad time.” He chuckled softly. “I just wanted to say welcome.”

“Oh, no, I was just…” You ran your hands through your hair, now painfully aware you were not wearing a bra and your nipples were probably showing, because they were rock hard. “You caught me. Late evening partying on the internet.”

You regretted the joke the moment it left your lips, anyone would probably assume the worth (and be right). Jim just laughed.

“Best way to party, you’re already comfortable, there’s food nearby… The only issue is the mess the next day, washing the sheets and everything.” Jim shrugged. You blushed.

Your mind went straight to the sheets in your bed, drenched with sweat, lube, and come. You couldn’t help yourself, after seeing him sunbathing, and you spent most of the night watching his movies, trying to burn through the desire you felt for him. So that you could at least behave normally around him.

You could see him watching your expression with amusement, relaxed, and that comforted you. He didn’t see you as creepy, yet, but you knew you had the potential.

“Would you like to come in?” You blurted, pointing at the plate of cookies. “This is way too much for me. I can make some coffee…”

“I would like that.” Jim stifled his laughter, changing his stance.

You opened the door for him and stepped aside, groaning.

“I just realized I invited you for breakfast.”

“Brunch.” He chuckled, looking at his watch. That fucking watch. He wore it (or a similar model) in every single video. “Absolutely appropriate.”

You made him sit on the sofa and moved to the kitchen, to make some coffee.

***

Jim chuckled to himself. You tried to be so… Proper. It was almost refreshing. He had had his run with inconsiderate fans before.

And it was truly adorable how your mind just went blank when you were around him. It felt like a preview of how you would look, all fucked out on his hands.

You came around the sofa with two mugs, which you placed on the small table, with the plate of cookies, then you sat by his side.

“I didn’t ask if you wanted milk.” You said softly, and he felt his eyes drawn to your nipples. Jim felt grateful for his job teaching him how to deal with his arousal without looking like an asshole. He adjusted himself on the sofa, covering his crotch with the shirt.

He actually wanted to talk to you, even if he loved your hungry longing looks whenever he touched his cock.

“It’s ok.” He smiled, leaning forward, deciding right that moment he would tease you. He grabbed a cookie and took a healthy bite. “The other day, when I first saw you by the trashcans… You really looked like you recognize me. Do we know each other? I’m pretty sure I would remember a pretty thing like you.”

Jim leaned back, smirking, watching your reaction. You looked mortified, your skin visibly hot with shame. Your eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up, as you considered what to say. Your little confused expression made him feel warm inside. He just wanted to crush you in a hug and kiss your shame away. He was about to speak when your shoulders slumped, your face a picture of defeat.

“This is mean, you know?” You chuckled, covering your face with your hands. “You’re mean!”

“Oh, sweetie…” Jim laughed, extending his hands, and patting your knee. “Don’t worry. It’s ok. It’s all right.” His hand slid over your thigh, rubbing soothingly. He fought the desire to move his fingers up your thighs. “Come on, I’m just playing with you and trying to get the elephant out of the room. That reaction of yours…” He trailed into a chuckle.

“And I recognized you instantly.” You moaned sadly, obviously awkward. Jim scooted closer, keeping a hand on your knee, patting you softly. “What does that say about me?”

“That you are a healthy adult who enjoys certain kinds of adult entertainment,” Jim said softly. “Did you have fun? Watching.”

“Fuck, yes.” You giggled, finding some humor in the situation.

“Then it’s all good.” Jim patted your thigh one last time and hesitated before pulling his hand back. You placed a hand on his arm, sliding gently. He could feel your fingers, gripping, feeling him. “So, how was the move, are you settled, can I help you with anything?”

You were delightful, Jim thought, as he spent a few hours with you. So sweet. Except for the ‘fuck me’ eyes, and whoa, they came out often. He didn’t even think you were doing it consciously, it was a reaction to him, an expression of your desire.

It made him warm inside.

Made him want to fuck you silly too.

You probably made the sweetest sounds.

Jim caught himself in bed, hard and unable to sleep, thinking of you mewling as he kissed down your body, giving special attention to your pretty nipples. He grunted, laying on his belly. He would wake up with his underwear sticky, and he couldn’t even touch himself, because he had a gig; he didn’t want to risk ruining the money shot.

It was a nightmare.

[katyspersonal]

(my internet went out the moment i hit send so in case it didn't go through, here it is again, please ignore if you did receive it --)

i have another suggestion for the holes on rom's sides : spiracles ! they're openings that let many arthropods breathe, i am not sure about the few spiders that have them but for insects they're on the sides of their bodies just like that

Hey! This is an interesting idea! I will admit, although I love taking pictures of bugs, looking at bugs, holding bugs and cherishing bugs.. I haven't studied the bugs, so this information was new for me!!

Okay for the context of the ask in case if one of all 5 of you didn't see the earlier post, it was from this ( x ) discussion regarding Rom's legs and how she conveniently has holes by her sides in the Lake form:

There is a better look ( x ) provided by @beesmygod :

I suggested that the reason why Altar of Grief form, despite being implied as Rom, has legs is because past that point Rom 'grew up' and dropped her former legs with only holes remaining! And I also asked @herpsandbirds (all my cool creatures reblogs come from this blog, check them out) regarding insects and arachnids, here is what they said:

Here is on book lungs (also the wikipedia link ( x )):

I can't really tell whether Rom has anything like this from her view from below, since book lung would be located below this piece of body where legs protrude from.. which for her is her whole body?

However, something like book lung DOES seem to be present on Nightmare Apostles and Children of Rom!

I have a feeling that 'intention' might be here, but because Rom's type of spiders are so unusual and asymmetrical it is placed without the same relevance to legs! So, Rom might have it too, just less plainly so?

As for tracheae, I couldn't find any image showing Harvestmen having spiracles though, like I really don't know what I do wrong here fhsdh So I can't confirm or deny. Like I need to SEE for myself but Google is trolling me apparently :/ I found this, though:

Scorpions, for example, have several breathing holes placed below like this! With Rom the big ones go more on the side as you can see, but some still show below, and with Romlings too!

With caterpillars they do go on the sides! And yes, I brought caterpillars in because Rom IS sorta similar to one! There is an interesting bit about the 'spider' monsters and Kin in general - they are connected with Amygdalae!

Gardens of Eyes resemble Amygdalae and Nightmare Apostles serve them as we learn from Patches! Rom is like, a perfect Kin, combining all three 'branches' of eldrich; Sea because she was blessed by Kos and has tentacle tails, Star because she shoots meteorites and connection with Ebrietas and this arachnid one because of her legs and title! I feel maybe the fact spider one is 'dominant' is because you only deal with those if you sell your soul, and it was something she did, sacrificing herself for either research or humanity or both! But in any case, I am just saying maybe resemblance with a caterpillar is not accidental and she could, in theory, ascend further and become a butterfly? x) So that's why there is a hint of wings in these Kin! 'Ebrietas' is also a kind of a butterfly!

ALSO!!!

Funny enough, but Amygdalae DO also breathe in and out through a hole in the ribcage! Anatomically it is not where a book lung would be, but I thought it was relevant to the topic! Again, maybe we have to shift the anatomy of actual arachnids around a bit because these creatures were once humans (or in case of Amygdalae, resemble humans)!

^ Good video showing it well, you don't have to watch all of it, the right angles are shown soon enough. Also in general just look at Her

____________

So yeeeah.. In the conclusion, I now think it does work better if Rom shifted onto a different kind of arthropod upon ascension, whereas her "real" petrified body remained spider-exclusive. Due to maybe the specifics of WHY she left the "real" world! Also guys if anyone knows anything else please bring in up, this is deadass the first time I am learning all this information!!

[otakusheep15]

Obey Me Flufftober Day 26

Prompt: Nightmare

Pairing: Luke & reader (gender neutral and platonic)

Word count: 491

A/n: I am writing this so early in the morning lol, so this might make no sense. I'm also watching a Smosh video, which is not helping. But for Luke, I will persist. As per usual with Luke, I don't wanna see any weirdness in the notes, this is all strictly platonic.

Luke was afraid of the Devildom. No matter how long he was there, and no matter how many friends he made, he was still afraid. He had nightmares almost every night, usually involving some evil demon attacking him. Some nights, it wasn't just him. The demon would attack SImeon, Solomon, and even you. He knows it won't happen, and all of you exchange students are perfectly safe, but he can't stop having these nightmares.

It happens again while you two are having a sleepover. You're staying at Purgatory Hall with Luke while Simeon and Solomon are away on some business. You had volunteered to look after Luke while they were away, and Luke had wanted to stay in Purgatory Hall, so that's what you did.

He had just gone to sleep after a long day of activities. He was very tired, and he thought tonight would be a peaceful night. It was not.

Luke woke up in a cold sweat, and he was immediately seeking you out. If this was at the beginning of the program, he would not have gone to you. However, the two of you had bonded, and he knew he could trust you. Right now, he was scared, and he needed support.

When he reaches the door to your room, he doesn't quite know what to do. It isn't locked, so he could just walk in, but that would be rude. He could knock, but if you're sleeping, you might not hear it. He decides that the former option is the most ideal, silently apologizes to you just in case you're not happy with him opening the door, and walks in.

You're fast asleep. Without much thought, he walks up to your bed and begins getting in on the empty side. This is what he usually does with Simeon, so it's almost muscle memory for him at this point. He feels you stir in your sleep, and he's afraid he woke you up. Luckly, you settle, and you're still asleep.

Currently, you're facing him. Originally, he just planned on sleeping next to you, but now he had the urge to curl up next to you. It's what he does with Simeon, and he doesn't think you'd mind. He decides to risk it, and he lays down next to you and cautiously wraps his arms around you. He's still shaking just a bit from the nightmare, but being here with you is beginning to calm him.

Luke does not know if it's subconscious or if you're actually awake, but the second he settles into his position, he can feel your arms wrap around him and pull him closer to you. He's a little shocked at first, but he quickly settles into it. Your embrace is warm and comforting, and he can feel his nightmares being chased away. In the morning, he'll probably deny this moment ever happened out of embarrassment, but for right now, he's finally resting peacefully.

[pawbeanies]

tagged by: @emo-mmy !!! hi!!! running around in circles around you thank you for the taggg

im. putting this under a readmore because i realized i like talk so much and then i got embarrassed because this is so long and silly and i go on a billion tangents. tagging games fun though !!!

last song:

covering my face with my sleeve paws i may be silly. lately i am getting into vkei bc beloved people in my life are like "you would like it!!!" and i DO !!! this specific song is actually a cover of the op of the 80s rose of versailles anime which like is in itself a whole other fun thing to talk about because of its like influence but like OK its a good somg. its a good cover. lareine is no longer together but like the members have gone on to do other stuff !!!!

favorite color: pink and blue !! i am indecisive and it swaps... but i like those the most

currently watching: sara z's video on dear evan hansen!! for some reason. my yt algorithm is like all musical theatre videos. or episodes of kitchen nightmares. i don't even think i'm all that into theatre but i like listening to people who know more tear into it

last movie: i was like in agony trying to remember what the last movie i watched was and then i remembered. its twilight. it was twilight. im on a vampire kick right now it seems (but also it was like at a friends house and i was only half watching because they brought their pet rabbit out to hang out with us and i was playing with it the whole time and it was BITING ME !!!!) (but also i was like locked in for the baseball scene. the best scene in all of cinema.)

sweet/spicy/savory: cruel i cannot choose one... trapped between sweet and savory because while i love spicy things i cannot handle them ...... i feel like i like sweet things sliiightly more but. hmhm. like when you eat too many sweet things you end up wanting something savory yknow .....

relationship status: single ........... there is an obvious reason why i think you can tell from my posting (its that im annoying and do not shut the fuck up .........)

current obsession: unfortunately the vampire book series i have been like talking about so much, silver under nightfall and its sequel court of wanderers !! i am thinking of what i wouldve done differently in the sequel fkskfksf (also coming to the horrid realization that they were like setting up pegging but i dont think my guys ever got pegged. whats the point. truly. heres my editors notes. why didnt the main character get pegged? like theres so many things that were set up and mentioned and that didnt come to fruition and thats not my only critique its not JUST about pegging. but the lack of pegging is like representative of many of the issues i have with the book. why didnt he get pegged. they bring it up MULTIPLE times and yet we never saw the strap. they describe it in universe as being "shafted" and YEAH i certainly feel shafted !!! i need answers!!!!!!!! im OPENING my googledocs and writing the fic where he gets pegged !!!!!) this will like pass in a couple days im sure. i think. i hope

um also my fun game blorbos i think. yah

last thing i googled: "pin feathers" like the kind that birds have !! i dont remember the context anymore but they're like. developing feathers on a bird and sometimes they have BLOOD in them and then they are called blood feathers isnt that cool... i wish i was a bird

tagging: not tagging anyone in particular because i'm nervous about tagging people fksjkf BUT if you see this and you wanna do it please pretend like i am !!! tagging you !!! do these !!!!!!!! im tagging you in spirit if you want to do these. tagging you with. my mind. yipee

[thatrandomghostfan]

A job in a shady business PT.2

A Finding Frankie aftermath fan fic

It was pretty dark inside, but thankfully there was light shining through the glass of a closed door at the opposite end of the corridor. The faint reflect tracing a door frame on the left, a few worn posters plastering the walls and a frame, maybe an old screen. The silence would have been suffocating if not for the interference of a sudden comment.

"Is it me or is this door is screaming 'You're gonna die here!' ?"

Indeed, Claire seemed to be quite talkative. On the opposite of Trevor that just walked through, without a care in the world.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

As they delved deeper, they found the staff room. A really abandoned place with empty lockers, and a map of the building placed neatly right next to the door.

"... This is the area I'll have to clean"

Trevor pointed out, showing a huge area with many rooms. Claire watched as she searched up.

"Ah! And that's where I'm supposed to go!"

She smiles, showing the computer room and security room.

"Man! Why can't they be next to each other?"

She lets out a heavy huffs, before checking the way to take.

"Oh! Seems like we'll walk a bit together!"

"Indeed... You'll need the elevator to get there"

"Good! Don't think I'd be able to go through stairs if I have to move back and fourth between the rooms!"

Trevor sent a look at her, judging her physique

"Clearly, you are built like a peapod"

Claire let out an exaggerated offended gasp as she stared at him, he only looked back, as if smirking under this mask of his.

"Anyway, better not waste time"

The man just went ahead, shortly followed by a pouting red head.

They didn't speak much on the way, until they finally arrived at the door of the "cleaning" area. Unfortunately, the door didn't budge.

"Right, I've been warned about it"

Claire was about to ask but got quickly stopped as Trevor harshly kicked the door open. Letting out a loud bang and a sloppy sound with a deaf thud.

The young woman didn't quite understand the noise until she saw dark red traces on the floor. As her eyes followed, they grew wider when she spotted a dark mangled form...

It was a body.

A body in a grey costume with a bunny mask strapped on.

She was horrified, covering her mouth as she was not even able to make a noise. Her mind rushing, this must be a nightmare.

But her thoughts got cut short with a hand grabbing her shoulder.

"You okay? Is this your first time seeing one upfront?"

She stared at the man beside her. This masked man that she took for some kind of janitor was okay with seeing a dead body?

"What the f*ck?!"

She just managed to shout, shoving herself away, surprising Trevor that was taken aback by such reaction.

"Whoa! Calm down..."

"Calm down?! This is a fucking dead body! Why aren't you freaking out?! Are you a serial killer or something? Am I gonna die too now that I've seen this?!"

The man was even more confused, trying to calm her down.

"What? No I'm not a serial killer!"

"Then what the f*ck are you?! I thought you were a janitor or somesh*t!"

"I'm a crime scene cleaner! Why are you freaking out so much? I thought you were here to get rid of video footage! Aren't you one of those tech person that hack stuff?"

"No!"

The two were incredibly confused, staring at eachother. Trevor took a deep breath and stated in a calmer tone.

"Did you sign a contract stating for privacy?"

"Wh-"

"Just say yes or no"

"Y-yes..."

"Did said contract specify which company it was for?"

She nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Was it the one that made those stupid cereals with a bunny like this guy's mask?"

He ask, pointing at the body, making her look again before she stares back at him. Another nod.

The cleaner lets out a heavy sigh.

"Seems like you didn't know what you were going into, huh?"

Claire just stood silent, not really knowing how to react.

"I... I was just sent to check on the robots to update and upgrade them... I... I didn't know there would be any of that..."

She was still confused, trying to gather her thoughts. Trevor slowly walked to her.

"Hey... You'll be okay... Plus, from what you said you just have to take care of electronic stuff! You'll just see me working my ass off on cleaning this mess! Kinda like those horror video games you talked about"

This managed to get a small smile out of her.

"...Yeah... A job is a job, right?"

"There you go!"

"...Thanks... I... I guess I just wasn't prepared... My coworkers did tell me to have my guts prepared... Didn't think they meant that..."

"Coworkers?"

"Yeah... I'm the newest recruit to have joined the team... They're the ones who built the robots here"

Trevor let out a whistle out

"Damn... Smart brains! Guess you must be one too if you've been sent alone here"

"I guess so ... It's actually quite of my passion! I've always loved technology improvement!"

She started to get more at ease, while Trevor just listened, preparing while placing a huge tarpaulin on the ground and getting some trash sacks.

As she noticed him getting ready to work she just looks around, anxious.

"Errr... Do you think I'll be okay?"

The man shot a look at her as he was grabbing tho body, following her gaze to see the many other corpses.

"Welp! All I can say is if I'm sent here, that means there's nobody alive around! You'll be fine! Plus I'm pretty sure there's an intercom in the security room..."

Claire looked at him, puzzled

"How do you-"

She got cut short as he pointed out to a corner of the room.

"There's those things that are used for announcements all over the place... And cameras paired with them ... Doesn't take much to figure out"

"Oh! Alright... Well... I'll be going then..."

"You'll be fine ... Just don't add yourself to my work by tripping on something, alright?"

She nervously chuckles before heading to her destination. She was definitely tense, but, nothing bad could really happen!

Right?

[tobisfoundlogs]

The eighth log.

Honestly I don't know why I keep doing this... I guess it's out of some sick sort of feeling that I have to finish this?

Some sort of Savior complex?? whatever that really implies...

But one thing is for certain, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep doing this. How much longer I cant keep subjecting myself to this to the pain and suffering of this all, I don't know if this is a burden I can carry anymore but I'll keep trying... Keep pushing.

1.13.22

Skipped another day. Seems like the fucking days are blending together, one long, unending fucking nightmare. I've been thinking about quitting therapy altogether. What's the fucking point, anyway? It feels like they're just waiting for me to slip up, ready to lock me away at the first sign of trouble.

And the figure... It's fucking back. I see it watching me while I sleep, a shadow lurking in the corner of my room. I know it's just my paranoia, but fuck that doesn't make it any less real to me. It's like a constant, fucking oppressive presence, suffocating me in my own damn home.

But Kurt's old videos have become my only solace. I watch them to distract myself, to drown out the fear and the fucking paranoia. They help me ignore the figure, even if just for a little while. But even then, I can't shake the feeling that something is terribly fucking wrong.

The paranoia is getting so much worse. I feel like I'm losing my grip on reality, like I'm teetering on the edge of a fucking cliff, ready to fall at any moment. Every sound, every shadow sends my heart racing, my mind spiraling into darker and darker places.

I can't keep fucking living like this. I need to take control, to punish myself for letting things get this fucking bad. I deserve it, for being so damn weak, for letting my mind unravel like this. The only way I know how to punish myself is through self-harm. It's the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that brings some twisted fucking sense of relief.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, planning it out in my head. The sharp sting of the blade, the warmth of the blood. It's like a release, a way to make up for my failures. I know it's not healthy, I know it's not the answer, but fuck right now, it feels like the only option I have.

[dudadrawings17]

Sorry... I'm not fine.

(trigger warning: very detailed description of a disease.)

For several years, I ignored its existence. I heard about it so infrequently that I never cared. Perhaps here and there, during animal vaccination campaigns. But I never imagined it could be so terrifying, so horrible, so deadly.

Damn. Everything was getting better. I was returning to eating normally, feeling more relaxed, gradually overcoming my fears that, at most, concerned the flies and mosquitoes invading my home or the dirt I might bring in from the street whenever I was forced to go out. Now, there's nothing in my thoughts but the fear of dying in one of the cruelest ways an invisible little being can provoke in a human.

Lyssavirus. Lyssa, the goddess of madness in Greek mythology. It's no wonder they associated this cursed virus with that goddess. But why the hell did I have to watch that damn video of a biologist explaining rabies while showing a person on a hospital bed, spasming from head to toe and struggling to take a sip of water, so essential for their survival? And why the hell did I, aware of my condition, seek out more and more videos and information about this damn disease?

Knowing what I know about it is the cause of feeling like this, as if my sanity is hanging by a thread. My mind fabricates false memories that make me unsure of what I saw or felt. Was that thing that entered through the bathroom window last night and stuck to my shoulder a moth? 'No, it was a tiny bat,' my mind says. Are these red marks on my shoulder just allergies? 'No, that's the bite mark the bat left you,' my mind says. What I felt dripping on my head while lying down, is it a pipe leak? 'No, it's bat saliva,' my mind tells me again.

What a nightmare! What torture! Some nights I don't sleep properly, and for days, I don't eat properly. I no longer do anything that brings me joy because my mind is too focused on what I think are the last weeks or months of my life. Just waiting for the moment when I'll have fever, coughs, sneezes, and nausea, and even when they say, 'it's just a viral infection,' I'll already be sure that my days are numbered. Seven at most. Because right after, there would be mental confusion, anxiety attacks, seizures, aggressive outbursts, hydrophobia (throat spasms making it impossible to drink water), excessive salivation, and then... coma and death.

With every new trigger that makes me imagine nonexistent bats salivating or biting me, I try, I swear I try my best, to follow what my psychologist advises: 'Duda, one day at a time.'

There is absolutely NO reason for me to be as scared as I am. And even if the unlikely case of me being infected were true, there would be nothing more I could do. So why suffer in anticipation?

That's what I'm trying to tell myself right now as I attempt to slow down my heart after another failed attempt to sleep due to anxiety. I really need to sleep. And I'm really hungry. But the fear of being attacked while I sleep or that my mother contaminated the groceries with rabid dog saliva (who knows, petting a stray dog), manages to be greater.

I'm exhausted. I'm famished. I'm crazy. I'm almost giving up... Would it hurt less if I ended this myself instead of waiting for the Lyssavirus to kill me? (Sigh) no, no. I'm too cowardly for that. After all, it's the fear of death and what will happen to me afterward that's causing all this fear. What would be the point of hastening it... Well... Although there's no longer any meaning in anything I think or do. It would just be another contradiction.

One day at a time, Eduarda.

If I have to die many years from now, lying in a bed, very old, that's good.

If it has to be a month or two from now because of a fatal virus, so be it.

One day at a time. And trying to sleep now.

[problemnyatic]

Ugh. I'm certain y'all've noticed, but I've been swinging bats at hornets nests online more and more lately and it's extremely because I'm unhappy with my life right now. Vent under the cut!!! woooo

I'm frustrated and feel trapped in a dearth of agency between The World and The Difficulties and the way my life has not set me up for success in any kind of way save for my small but golden group of friends and partners.

I'm constantly fighting an uphill battle to have my medications in order and every time one falls off or falters it makes keeping myself from fumbling the others that much more precarious. While i'm struggling to keep the utter foundation of my capacity to function held tohether, I need to find some way to string together enough practice with my hobbies that they can turn into marketable skills- an endeavor that absolutely kills my passion for said hobbies.

My sleep schedule is a nightmare and without external structure (read: school or a job) keeping me beholden to one, I'll never be able to keep it together because the one actual nucleation point in my life is my friends, who all have different sleep schedules and live in various time zones. And my desperation to constantly have someone around means I'm up as late as my up-late-est friend is, and then some so I have Me Time to be autistic about nothing/The Questionable in peace.

And even the one thing I do actually do, play video games all day, is frought, because i've gotten into too many at once and now I'm overwhelmed by being pulled in too many directions at the same time. It sounds like such a frivolous complaint among everything else, but it means the only fucking staple in my life- the escape from the looming stress of it all- is also fucking stressful and keeps me antsy.

to my darling girlfriend i live with who I know is reading this, please just don't read the next pragraph. its agonizing about things that there's nothing to be gained from fretting about, that you will fret so much about if reminded (we've talked about these things before, they just cannot be meaningfully changed). I love you so much and i kiss you

.

.

.

I'm cataclysmically imbalanced right now, and the circumstances of where I live only compound it. I moved a year and a half ago, and I still have barely been outside, let alone connected with anyone new here. The pandemic combined with living in a suburb without a license mean I'm profoundly isolated here, so I cling to the digital world to feel a sense of connection. It's not good for me. These days I spend most of my time in a windowless room for most all of my day, and sleep through the day anyways.

.

.

.

.

hiii darling welcome back

I need a serious restructuring of my life, and there's nowhere good to start. my adhd and autism have me trapped between a nigh inability to deliberately form habits, and a pathalogical contempt for manufactured rules and structures. I can't live my life by an arbitrary design, there needs to be weight behind it, not just "I said so," even and especially if I'm the bitch saying so.

Maybe I need an actual perscribed exercise routine. Maybe I need a steady supply of smokeable weed (edibles just do not fucking cut it for the nature of my needs). Maybe I need local friends, despite being well over capacity for relationships I'm keeping track of. It feels like I have a laundry list of things I need to get around to, all of which will help me actually improve my life, and the list itself feels unapproachable until my life improves. I'm just glancing off of everything I need to be doing in a circle forever.

So I'm frustrated. I feel impotent and useless and imeffective and adrift and frustrated at how much fucking effort it's taking to go absolutely fucking nowhere.

So I swing bats at hornet nests. Because it makes something happen. Something that I can see. It lets me watch myself have an effect on the world in some small, petty, ultimately meaningless way, but in a way I can fucking see, it's tangible. And much to my own fucking chagrin, that has utterly zero correlation to how healthy it is. Much like the rest of my habits, I guess.

I'm so fucking upset at the state of my life. I really hope my endless stabs at untangling this gordian knot of unstarters fucking get me somewhere soon. It feels like i'm struggling in quicksand.

[anxiouslyfred]

Dear Self Esteem

Summary: Roman writes to characters from fiction in an attempt to build his self esteem.

/\/\

Dear Barbie,

Life is difficult and I've no clue how you have excelled in so many areas. You constantly become your best self, or take control over a situation to resolve it and I'm faltering behind everyone.

I've tried so many times to reinvent myself in a way that will get me respect, that I'll be able to look in the mirror and believe I've done something great, but that either leaves me feeling like a fraud, or exhausted from the bouncing between a million different views none of which can I truly agree with.

I know I am a mere male in your wonderland of female empowerment, but even doing things to support my friends and family fail now and I feel simply lost.

For now I'll look to your films and dolls and try to find hope that if I keep creating and dreaming I will manage to find that wonderful tomorrow.

Yours dreaming, Roman

/\/\

Dear Rapunzel,

You are so lucky to live in a land of fairytales and clear villains in your life.

Some days I think half my family are villains, but others I know they are just people trying to do the best they can with the information and views that they have. Even when you're double-crossed you are able to understand and either fight the villain doing wrong, or bring them back to good with a song and kind words.

What do we do when right and wrong, good and bad are not quite as simple as that?

I simply don't know where I should look. There are no lanterns in the sky for me to chase.

Yours despondently, Roman

/\/\

Dear Dreamers

I know you are out there, watching Thomas's videos, sometimes joining in with them. You are what make this career we've formed so special, so wonderful. I know, I remember saying all those years ago that I was on a solo quest to love myself, but loving the people I create for is definitely a step in the right direction.

Thomas see all those wonderful creations you make based off our ideas and those our friends suggest to include in this series and I simply adore it all. You're such a creative company, and I just wish I could feel included among your ranks.

Yours in wonder, Roman.

/\/\

Dear Aurora,

Even the most wonderful dream must be woken up from at some point. I hope that yours was lovely, especially since you don't wake up screaming as people sometimes do from nightmares.

In all honestly, I've been retreating to dreams and trying to sleep more recently. Remy claims it's unhealthy, but life is a horror that I need safety from. Perhaps it's worse to simply be a part of a person, because even the agency I have over myself feels limited. Everything must be for Thomas and the life he deserves to have.

I'm not sure what that life is from all the views different parts of him hold, and as the dreams that are meant to motivate Thomas, that leaves me floundering. I wish I could flee back to a castle barely remembered from childhood. Perhaps I would find the answers or have an unknown curse destroy me there.

Or at the very least I could form one in the imagination, perhaps leave a message for Virgil or someone over what I'm doing. That will calm any worries they have at least.

Yours pondering, Roman

/\/\

Dear Aurora,

I usually don't write to the same character twice, but Virgil came after me.

He was angry at the very existence of this adventure and claimed that I don't get to duck out without saying why at least. He barely even acknowledged that it had to be true loves kiss to wake me up, let alone enough to confirm whether his love is platonic or romantic. I'd built in a knight who would save me after a while but he never got the chance to show.

I guess I can still find dreams in the waking world to bring me hope.

Yours hopefully, Roman.

[dancing-to-architecture]

37 - Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

As Mellon Collie was to high school, this album was to college/post-college. I have some pretty distinct mentors of driving around Bloomington-Normal with this album cranked.

Here's hoping it doesn't also emotionally devastate me!

Take a Bow-

i believe in every single word of this song, unironically.

Incredibly violent things need to happen to every single one of the terrible people in power.

Starlight-

I will never understand the fear some people have of alien life, and i can day with zero hesitation that if they offered me a way off this rock, i would take it.

Supermassive Black Hole-

(Because the girl he's talking about really, REALLY sucks.)

Fun fact: a girl i was seeing at the time wanted to sing this one with me at karaoke.

That relationship didn't work out for a wonderful and complicated variety of terrible reasons with a whole cast of characters at fault.

...I didn't see the irony in her song choice for quite some time.

Map of the Problematique-

"I can't get it right since i met you"

Yeah, i already talked about the bad relationship this album is associated with in my brain, let's not belabor the point.

Soldier's Poem-

(If it's not scrawled in Sharpie on a latrine wall, is it REALLY a "soldier's poem"? Just saying.)

So, this album came out in 2006. The US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan ended with a spectacular plop in 2021, but even in 2006 anyone who was paying attention knew that we were just wasting lives, money, influence, and time on some horrible bullshit that George W only did to make his daddy smile.

I defy any soldier not to resonate with the lyrics, here.

"How could you send us so far away from home?

When you know damn well that this is wrong

-

There's no justice in this world

And there never was."

Invincible-

Please, please, let all of this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair. They may kill some of us, but they know that they can't kill all of us.

Question is: will you die on your feet, or on your knees?

Assassin-

Okay, see, i was worried about this album putting me down a bad mental rabbit hole regarding one of the worst breakups in my life, but I'm starting to think this album might actually be why I'm an anarchist.

I'm still eternally amazed that in a nation that has so many crazies and so many guns, we haven't had that many political assassinations, all things said and done.

I guess the right-wing psycho spree killers nowadays go after softer targets... like schools.

Exo-politics-

The recent drippings of military disclosure about UAP (unexplained aerial phenomena) still makes me feel like it's an op.

At the risk of sounding like a crazy myself, yeah, i would bet that there's stuff our government knows regarding alien life, but they have to sit on it because "releasing evidence that destroys the very concept of all organized human religions" might be a Bad Thing.

•City of Delusion-

"Destroy this city of delusion

And break these walls down

And i will avenge

And justify my reasons with your blood

You will not rest or settle for less

Until you guzzle and squander what's left

Do not deny

That you live and let die."

Eat. The. Rich.

•Hoodoo-

"I've had recurring nightmares that i was loved for who I am

And missed the opportunity to be a better man."

Yeah, i get that.

•Knights of Cydonia-

Honestly this one always just brings me back to one of the better party nights I can remember, me and a few buddies from college (two of whom are now openly living as trans women and ladies, i love you both and miss the hell out of ya) drinking and playing guitar hero 2 until we developed what we referred to as "the twisted claw" trying to get through this and Metallica's "One" on hard/expert.

Any other thing i might derive from this song is simply overwhelmed by that memory, though "Don't waste your time or time will waste you." is one hell of a great line and the video is incredible and should be watched.

•Glorious-

Wait, where did this come from? Knights was the last song on the album, wasn't it? Oh, it's on the Japanese release. Okay.

The guitar kicks ass on this one, the climbing chords just go on and on..

Has a big "there will be fighting, but i assure you, it will be worth it" vibe, but honestly i think Knights is the better album-closer.

Gotta say, it's pretty nice anticipating a swath of emotional trauma and instead ending this album fired up, ready to lace up my combat boots and kick the shit out of a fascist, while also pretty depressed that they called what's happening over fifteen years ago.

Favorite Track: Knights of Cydonia forever

Least Favorite Track: Supermassive Black Hole and all the bad feelings associated with it.