#loop hero the hunter

[xaratini]

Now kiss-

[cuboideater]

Ive been playing loop hero and

They should've made him a butch woman

[ridl]

stuff

[maybedcover]

and if they make an animated loop hero show??##!

[buffpups]

The Kickstarter campaign for isekai fantasy TTRPG This World Summons Too Many Heroes!! is now live! The definitive edition of the game comes with the core rules and all three expansions in digital and print format with new cover art and a fresh new layout. Ten years ago, the Kingdoms of Ceria summoned a hero from another world to save them from the undead army of the Cryptlord. That man was Yuya Muto, a powerful sage with a special power that allowed him to create spell scrolls just by touching the mage whose spell it was. He succeeded in saving the kingdoms, and when he retired for a quiet life afterwards he created hundreds of copies of the summoning scroll for if heroes were needed again. However, as soon as he disappeared into the mountains the kingdoms started coveting each other's scrolls and fighting broke out everywhere for their control. After a decade of scroll theft and reckless misuse, people summoned from other worlds are now all over Ceria and creating more chaos than ever before. To restore the peace, the scrolls must be collected to prevent further tragedy. This World Summons Too Many Heroes!! was first released digitally on itch.io in 2021, followed by the Goddesses Expansion in 2022, the .Dungeon//Tower Expansion in 2023 and the Season of the Sage Expansion in 2024. This project would be the definitive edition of the game, including the core ruleset and all three expansions. The game uses the LUMEN system, designed for power fantasy action games with fast combat and a tight gameplay loop. Players get a chance to regain their strength with every enemy they defeat, making it a game about taking on insurmountable odds and showing off your powers in battle. There six archetypes from Hero to Demon Lord to Bystander, and 25 classes to specialise in: Alchemist, Assassin, Beast, Berserker, Black Knight, Blacksmith, Blood Mage, Brawler, Champion, Enchanter, Healer, Hunter, Knight, Living Weapon, Mage, Magus, Monster, Necromancer, Phantasm, Saber, Sage, Servant, Spellsword, Tamer, and Vampire.

Please support the campaign!

[thatrandomsarahchick]

DC x DP short

I'm picturing Danny moving to Gotham once he's an adult. He came out to his parents, and it went fine. More than fine. They listened to how he was struggling at school because he kept having to chase down the ghosts they let out by leaving the portal open. Jack was super proud of his son for being a ghost hunter even as a ghost, but Maddie understood his concern and set up some new protocols for the portal.

It now automatically closes after two minutes unless a specific command is put in by Danny to keep it open while he is in the Zone, and the shielding around it actually works to stop ghosts coming trig without hurting them now.

The shine of the mortal world has worn off for most of his regulars now, and those that come through have figured out compromises so they can still fulfil their obsessions without hurting others. The meta-protection act officially disbands the GIW, and Red Huntress is given a very thorough speaking to about personal bias and vendettas. She's not allowed back in the field until she comes to the realisation that ghosts are people too, and that she been the bad guy by hunting them the way she did. Phantom is officially recognised as a Hero, but he turns down working for any teams or joining the Big Leagues. He agrees to act as a back up though, in case of any world ending event.

By the time senior year rolls around, Danny has gotten his grades up enough that he can go to a pretty decent university if he wants to. He chooses Gotham University for his engineering degree because they're a feeder school for Wayne Enterprises, who in turn are a feeder company for working for the Justice League as a civilian engineer. Tucker also chooses GU for their tech program, while Sam elects not to go to university straight away.

Tucker and Danny move into an apartment right on the borders of Crime Alley and The Narrows. Tucker manages an impressive 4 months as a local hacker before Oracle notices him, but Danny only manages 3 weeks before he's spotted by a Bat.

He's lying down a foot above his building's roof, looking at the stars. It's a very rare cloudless night, and the power is out in his area. Poison Ivy had launched an attack earlier in the day that had taken cut the power lines, with her mutant plants feeding on the smog and pollution to get stronger.

Duke was up late, finishing the day shift by a quick loop of The Narrows, when he noticed a slightly glowing teenager(?) floating on one of the roofs. He takes note that the man isn't causing any harm and is just peacefully stargazing, before calling it in to Jason. He was technically supposed to be off the clock an hour ago, and besides, the building was on the Crime Alley side of this street. It's Jason's problem now.

Jason, on the other hand, is exhausted and just wants to have a quiet patrol before collapsing in bed. He hadn't been hit by Ivy's plants, but had taken a couple of tumbles while dodging them. He heads over to the address Duke gave him, to find the guy still floating there staring at the sky. He gets it, he does, he would float above the grime that coats Gotham rooftops if he could, but it's dangerous for a meta to be so unawares of his surroundings like this while obviously displaying his powers.

Danny, meanwhile, had clocked both of the vigilantes coming near him, but was really hoping that they would leave him alone. It had been a very long day for him. He'd finally managed to get to campus for his class, only to find that the place was covered in overgrown plants. He'd had to freeze a few to get into the building, and had then spent most of the afternoon in the library due to his class being cancelled. Unfortunately for him, his nearly finished assignment that he'd spent the day working on was eaten by one of the giant flowers on his way home. He'd been 'saved' by the stabby Robin, which had caused him to then also lose his laptop as they crashed to the rooftop a few streets over.

Thankfully, he had an amazing best friend in Tucker, who was doing his best to recover as much data as possible. On the downside, though, Tucker was mad at him for now having saved a backup of his files since they left Amity. He'd fled to the roof to escape his wrath, plans of bribes in the form of food running through his mind, when he'd caught sight of the Stars. Holy shit. It was so clear tonight!

He didn't even realise he'd begun to glow and float, too caught up in naming all of the stars and constellations he could see. His Obsession was feeling very satisfied tonight. Usually he had to invisibly fly above the cloud cover to see such a sight. Sure, the light pollution was still bad, but his mind was able to fill in the blanks across the sky.

The moment Jason landed on his roof, Danny heaved a great sigh. Damnit. The fun police were here. He wrenched his eyes from the sky, only to notice that - oh, shit - he was floating again. He fell to the roof with a light thump.

"Heeeyyy stranger, come here often?" Danny asked, as he rolled over to his side, propping his head up on his hand.

[yuriosakawa]

It had been ten years since Daniel Fenton had last seen his other half.

Ten years since Vlad Masters had torn him apart.

He still remembered the pain—that unbearable, soul-searing agony as Vlad forced his ghost half out of him. His screams had echoed through the lab, but Vlad had only smiled, victorious, as the glowing form of Phantom was ripped away.

And then, before Danny could even reach for him—before he could fight back—Vlad had sent Phantom away. To where, Danny never found out.

But he swore he would.

The world knew him now as the Lost Hunter—a phantom in his own right, though not in the way he used to be. He had made a name for himself in the underground, taking down rogue ghosts and corrupt humans alike, wielding twin guns holstered at his sides. One loaded with ectoplasmic rounds for ghosts, the other with solid lead for anyone else who got in his way.

Without his ghost powers, he had to make up for it in skill, and damn did he.

Vlad might have thought stripping away his ghost half would leave him weak, but Danny had only adapted. He had trained, fought, and survived, becoming something more than just a powerless ex-hero. His name spread through ghostly circles and human crime syndicates alike. Some said he was a myth, a bogeyman that spirits whispered about in fear. Others said he was hunting something—someone.

And they were right.

Because Danny was still looking for Phantom.

For a decade, he had searched every possible realm, interrogating ghosts, breaking into hidden laboratories, even shaking down crime lords who dealt in ecto-tech. Every clue he found pointed to the same thing: Phantom was alive.

But something—someone—was keeping him hidden.

And Danny was done waiting.

The warehouse was silent as he slipped inside, his twin pistols glinting under the dim lights. His target for tonight: an informant working for Vlad Masters.

Danny had spent years dismantling Vlad’s empire, burning down his corrupt ventures piece by piece. But the old fruit loop was slippery, always a step ahead, always covering his tracks. But this time? This time Danny had him.

Because this informant, a low-level ecto-smuggler, had seen Phantom.

The guy just didn’t know it yet.

Danny moved through the shadows, his heartbeat steady. He didn’t need ghost powers to be deadly—he had learned how to be a hunter the hard way. Years of training, learning the ins and outs of combat, of human and ghost weaknesses alike. His reflexes were sharp, his mind even sharper.

A guard rounded the corner, and before he could react, Danny had his gun pressed against the man’s temple.

“Shh,” Danny murmured, voice calm and deadly. “Don’t scream. Don’t move.”

The guard froze.

Danny smiled. “Good man. Now, take me to your boss.”

The informant—Gerald Tate—was tied to a chair when Danny finally faced him. The man was sweating, wide-eyed, trembling.

Danny leaned forward, resting one pistol against the guy’s knee. “I’m only going to ask once,” he said smoothly. “Where is Phantom?”

Gerald swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

Bang.

The bullet lodged itself into the wooden floor, inches from Gerald’s foot.

Danny sighed, shaking his head. 

“See, that was the wrong answer.” He cocked the gun again, this time aiming at the man’s other knee. “Try again.”

Gerald broke instantly. “Okay! Okay! I heard something—just a rumor, I swear!”

Danny motioned for him to continue.

Gerald licked his lips. “Word is… Vlad’s got something locked up. Something big. Not here, not in Amity, but somewhere deep in the Ghost Zone. A fortress, hidden away.”

Danny’s pulse quickened, but he kept his expression neutral. “And?”

The man hesitated, but the glint in Danny’s eyes told him it wasn’t a good idea to stall. “Some of the ghosts—high-level ones—say they’ve seen a prisoner in that fortress. One that glows like starlight.”

Danny’s grip on his gun tightened.

Phantom.

He straightened, holstering his weapon with practiced ease. 

“Thanks for the tip,” he said coolly, turning away.

Gerald let out a shaky breath. “So… I can go?”

Danny smirked over his shoulder. “I never said that.”

The informant didn’t even have time to scream before the ecto-bullet to the head hit.

[terapsina]

Let's talk books. Sorted in threes by vibes.

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I Support Women's Wrongs (murder, slaughter and body horror galore).

---

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ by Django Wexler - A woman from Earth is dropped into a magical realm, meant to save the Kingdom from the FoRCes of DaRKneSSss... except, unfortunately that might have been a thousand years worth of time loops ago, so it's rather time to lose one's temper and decide to become the Dark Lord herself.

Main character -> basically Deadpool (measured in sanity, humor and levels of bisexual horniness)).

Someone You Can Build a Nest In ⭐⭐⭐⭐ by John Wiswell - Shesheshen, a shapechanging monster who's rudely interrupted during her hibernation by hunters. Manages to to eat one of them, unfortunately she also gets shot by an arrow and falls off a cliff. On the bright side she meets a lovely human woman she might end up falling in love with so much... she'll want to build a nest in her (it's possible there's some Cultural Differences that need to be worked through).

Hench ⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Natalie Zina Walschots - Anna's latest temp job for a villain (because even supervillains need office help) ends with her carelessly injured by a superhero, laid off and with injured mobility for the foreseeable future (because human bodies don't see much difference between getting hit by a truck and getting moved out of way by someone able to pick up a truck). Angry, disillusioned, and looking for some vengeful payback she starts compiling the statistics of exactly how much suffering gets left behind the heroes and in quick order finds a new job working for one of the worst supervillains in the neighborhood.

-------

Extremely Competent Women Show Up to Fix Everyone's Shit (with a whallop of romance which was actually sweet instead of irritating)

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The Witchwood Knot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Olivia Atwater - Winifred Hall was invited to the Witchwood Manor under the pretense of being the governess for a very bratty kid, but when said boy suddenly turns into a very quiet and perfectly bland boy overnight it's very obvious her charge has been stolen by faeries (and it might have something to do with the actual reason she's there). Rescue however is complicated by some factors, one, there being something terribly dark and wrong about the house (normal houses don't have screaming faces in the walls), another, the faerie man posing as the manor's butler who would very much like to make her run screaming the way so many servants had before her (unfortunately for him, she's not even half as scared of him as she is the eyes of the father of her charge).

This one's about dealing with past trauma, and otherworldly terrors paling in comparison to mundane monsters, set in a very beautiful and dark and shiver-inducing Victorian time world where the Fair Folk are very real.

(Same world as her Regency Faerie Tales trilogy that Started with Half a Soul but it's not necessary to read that one first to enjoy this one)

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ by Charlie N. Holmberg - Merritt Fernsby inherits a house only to be immediately taken hostage by what turns out to be a very stubborn and opinionated magical house. Hulda Larkin of the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms goes there to facilitate the relationship between the house and its new owner.

It's supposed to be a very simple job. Unfortunately there's a third POV character in this book (no, not the Whimbrel House, though I adore that house and *insert here the Rosa Diaz gif about her new puppy and how she would kill everyone in this room and then herself if anything were to happen to that dog*). Anyway, they're a bit... uhhh... let's go with Bad News.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Heather Fawcett - As one might expect from the title, Emily (a Cambridge scholar) wants to write the first ever encyclopedia of faeries. And she's brilliant enough to do it, what she's terrible at is people (*insert autistic character alert here*).

Someone else might then say it's lucky that a fellow scholar with a far easier time at charming people has stuck his toes in her reaserch trip into the Hidden Ones... that person however doesn't understand how irritating, frustrating and maddening her academic rival Wendell Bambleby actually is.

What follows is a story filled with winter snows, some terrible fae, some adorable fae, some not-very-secret fae, the goodest of good dogs, and lots and lots of squabbling. It's the best.

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Dark and Impactful Stories about Children Who Decide on Their Own Paths

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A Skinful of Shadows ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ by Frances Hardinge - Kate, an orphan and the illegitimate daughter of some stuffy (and evil) aristocrats runs away because being a bastard doesn't mean she didn't inherit the family magic that allows her to get possessed by the dead.

A dead bear ghost is one thing, a Get Out situation is something else entirely.

A Sorceress Comes to Call ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by T. Kingfisher - Cordelia isn't allowed friends or the privacy of closed doors, and whenever she's done something she shouldn't - a category too unpredictable to guard against - she's not allowed power over her own body.

Because her mother is an evil sorceress (think Regina and Cora... except somehow even worse). An evil sorceress that has found herself a Squire to lure into a marriage.

Hester is an old maid living with her brother, a Squire (well look at them coincidences), when said brother acquires a woman clearly set on his fortune. The plan is only to save her brother, except Hester can't help noticing how the woman's daughter keeps flinching in her mother's presence.

In The Lives of Puppets ⭐⭐⭐⭐ by TJ Klune - A family can be an android inventor, his human son (*homoromantic asexual alert*), a sadistic nurse droid, and a very emotional roomba.

And it can be a very happy family. Until one uncovers and wakes up an android that shares a very Skynet past with one's father, said father gets kidnapped, and one has to go on a journey to get him back.

(A book I like to call Sci-fi Reverse Pinocchio)

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Unraveling an Unjust System (and a hero that - on a scale from occasionally to constantly - hears a disembodied voice directly in their heads okay the connection between these three is a bit of a stretch but they're all great books so shut up)

---

Hell for Hire ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ by Rachel Aaron - 5000 years ago Gilgamesh conquered the heavens, enslaved the demons and made it so that the only road to magic humanity had access, was through him.

Now, however a mercenary team made up of free demons gets hired by a Blackwood witch to protect him (and his familiar, the talking cat named Boston) while he puts down roots (literally) inside the new forest grove he's about to start so that he can stand up against the warlocks after him.

The witch quickly becomes the best client Bex and her crew have ever had (after all, warlocks under the rule of the Eternal King Gilgamesh are slavers of their kind, they are delighted at the chance to kill some).

Vespertine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ by Margaret Rogerson - In a world where the veil between the living and the dead has been kinda broken Artemisia (*another autistic character alert*) is training to be a Gray Sister (magic nun).

Until her convent gets attacked by possessed soldiers and she has no choice but to pick up a Saint's Relic containing a malevolent revenant to protect it.

Problem. Only a Vespertine is supposed to do it. Another problem. The only one "alive" who can teach her to be a Vespertine is the revenant. Another another problem. The revenant cannot be trusted and if she loses control to it, the death toll will be counted in cities.

Terminal Alliance ⭐⭐⭐⭐¾ by Jim C. Hines - Post Zombie Apocalypse, where some aliens showed up, sort of cured the zombies and took the (mostly) cured zombies into their military.

Which leads us to Marion Adamopoulos, also known as Mops, the Leutenant in charge of Shipboard Hygene and Sanitation of the Earth Mercenary Corps Ship Pufferfish.

Right up until a bioweapon turns the entire crew except her crew back into zombies. Congratulations, she's the captain now.

(Space Janitors save the universe story).

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[whitehairandtraumatized-bracket]

White Hair and Trauma Brawl Round 1!

alrighty folks its finally time!!!

polls will be posted in groups of 5 and run for three days, voting is based on level of swag, trauma, and blorbo fave!!

and as always, propaganda is encouraged

let the tournament commence!!!

MATCHUPS

(winners of finished polls are bolded/italicized)

Klaus (Klaus) vs. Sage Lesath (Last Legacy)

Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul) vs. Fushi (To Your Eternity) 

Kalim Al-Asim (Twisted Wonderland) vs. Orion Lake (The Scholomance)

Gen Asagiri (Dr. Stone) vs. The Nefarious Meanie (The Crimes of The Nefarious Meanie)

Senku Ishigami (Dr. Stone) vs. Emilia Justina/Emi Yusa (The Devil is a Part-Timer!)

Hortense/Mist (Guardians of Ga'Hoole) vs. 2B (Nier: Automata)

Fujiwara no Iyozane (Len’en Project) vs. Lysithea von Ordelia (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Toby/Faust (Beyblade) vs. Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale)

Eustace (Granblue Fantasy) vs. Zane (Ninjago)

Kuro/Black Jack (Black Jack) vs. Dream King (Wandersong)

Loop (In Stars And Time) vs. Raiden (Metal Gear Rising)

Shigaraki Tomura (My Hero Academia) vs. Snowtuft (Warrior Cats)

Toi Shiramitsu (18trip) vs. Thief King Bakura (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Emet-Selch (Final Fantasy XIV) vs.  Zolf Smith (Rusty Quill Gaming)

Mystic Flour Cookie (Cookie Run Kingdom) vs. Hero (The Property of Hate)

Augustus (I, Claudius) vs. Chat Blanc (Miraculous Ladybug)

Ginko (Mushi-shi) vs. Kuguri Domeki (18trip)

Yuji Kiba/Horse Orphnoch (Kamen Rider 555) vs. Yokoka (Yokoka’s Quest)

Olaf (Frozen) vs. Bagi (QSMP)

Floyd (Trolls 3) vs. Seidou Takizawa (Tokyo Ghoul)

Qifrey (Witch Hat Atelier) vs. Yan Vismok (Library of Runia)

The Princess (Slay The Princess) vs. Kim Ford (The Fionavar Tapestry)

Tommy Shepherd (Young Avengers/Marvel Comics) vs. Soma Cruz (Castlevania)

Edward “Add” Grenore (Elsword) vs. Ariane Yeong (Signalis)

Niko Sasaki (Dead Boy Detectives) vs. Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

Natsume Takashi (Natsume Yuujinchou (the manga)) vs. Jiraiya (Naruto)

Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter) vs. Mathis Quigley (Sr.) (Unsounded)

Tam (Aurora) vs. Icy (Winx Club)

Arlecchino (Genshin Impact) vs. Agito (Origin: Spirits of the Past)

Estinien Varlineau (Final Fantasy XIV) vs. Zero Kiryu (Vampire Knight)

Isana Yashiro/Adolf K. Weissman (K Project) vs. Ethoslab (Life Series SMP)

Mara (She-Ra and The Princesses of Power) vs. Madame Director/Lucretia (The Adventure Zone)

Ryou Bakura (Yu-Gi-Oh!) vs. Phi (Zero Escape)

Nancy Whitman (Every Heart A Doorway) vs. Max (Sam and Max)

Kiyondo Ishida (Danganronpa) vs. Michel Bollinger (The House In Fata Morgana)

Kiana Kaslana (Honkai Impact 3rd) vs. Professor Henry Hidgens (Workin’ Boys)

Kite (Hunter x Hunter) vs. FitzChivalry Farseer (Realm of The Elderlings)

Kashekim Nedakh (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) vs. Rin Okumura (Blue Exorcist)

Furina de Fontaine (Genshin Impact) vs. Bepo (One Piece)

Nikolai Gogol (Bungou Stray Dogs) vs. Carl Fredericksen (Up)

Riku (Kingdom Hearts) vs. Rime Solano Varela (Last Legacy)

Eda Clawthorne (The Owl House) vs. Lay Grandsley (The Misfit of Demon King Academy)

Magneto (X-Men) vs. Lucy (Bittersweet Candy Bowl)

Mithrun (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd)

Nate “Near” River (Death Note) vs. Aaravos (The Dragon Prince)

Asuka R. Kreutz (Guilty Gear) vs. Lenore Vandernacht (Nevermore Webcomic)

Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) vs. Sebastian Morgenstern (The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

Tsubasa Ootori (Beyblade) vs. Haruka Sakura (WIND BREAKER)

Aziraphale (Good Omens) vs. Temenos Mistral (Octopath Traveler)

Lady Maria (Bloodborne) vs. Prince Lotor (Voltron)

Simon Petrikov/Ice King (Adventure Time) vs. Simon Snowlock (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn)

Kaworu Nagisa (Neon Genesis Evangelion) vs. Jiang Ziya (The Poppy War)

Sabitsuki (.flow) vs. Kallin Kessler (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

Thancred Waters (Final Fantasy XIV) vs. Ozpin (RWBY)

Hoid (Cosmere) vs. January Sterling (The Mars House)

Claudius (I, Claudius) vs. Captain Ahab (Moby Dick)

Hearthstone “Hearth” Alderman (Magnus Chase/Gods of Asgard) vs. Ace Ukiyo and Tsumuri (Kamen Rider Geats)

Hajime Umemiya (WIND BREAKER) vs. Kuga Yuma (World Trigger)

Haru Sohma (Fruits Basket) vs. Cellbit (QSMP)

Kouji Ibuki (Cardfight Vanguard) vs. Biwa (Heike Monogatari)

Allison Ruth (Kill Six Billion Demons) vs. John Oliver (Last Week Tonight)

Claudia (The Dragon Prince) vs. Misha Necron (The Misfit of Demon King Academy)

Storm/Ororo Munroe (X-Men) vs. Glass (Hymns for the Road)

Thistle (Dungeon Meshi) vs. Kreia (Star Wars KOTOR)

Shiro/Wretched Egg (Deadman Wonderland) vs. Csevet Aisava (The Goblin Emperor)

Hades (Hadestown) vs. Roxy Lalonde (Homestuck)

Evil Xisuma (Hermitcraft) vs. Guts (Berserk)

Miki Rintarou (A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School!) vs. Liv Moore (iZombie)

Remnan (Gnosia) vs. Yamato (One Piece)

Winter (Wings of Fire) vs. Utatane Piko (Vocaloid)

Jean Pierre Polnareff (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) vs. Silver Sable (Marvel)

Emilia (Re: Zero) vs. Elric of Melniboné (The Elric Saga)

Kaitou Joker (Kaitou Joker) vs. Kochi Haruno (ZENO Daily Life)

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) vs. Neo Queen Serenity (Sailor Moon)

The Lamb (Cult of the Lamb) vs. Jonathan Sims (The Magnus Archives)

Susan Murphy/Ginormica (Monsters vs. Aliens) vs. Phainon (Honkai Star Rail)

Hakuri Sazanami (Kagurabachi) vs. Holland Vosjik (Shades of Magic)

Viktor (Arcane) vs. Dr. Two Brains (WordGirl)

Dr Zoidberg (Futurama) vs. Mytho (Princess Tutu)

Kazumi Onimaru (Cardfight Vanguard) vs. Kyrie Usiromiya (Umineko)

(Under Cut) Not Appearing Until Round 2 But Here They Are for Peace of Mind:

Jonathan Harker (Dracula)

Asra Al-Nazar (The Arcana Game)

Norman (The Promised Neverland)

Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom)

Jean Valjean (Les Miserables)

Henry (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Jason Todd (Batman/DC Comics)

Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Astarion (Baldur’s Gate)

Fenris (Dragon Age II)

Anna (Frozen)

Griffith (Berserk)

Siffrin (In Stars and Time)

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Ekko (Arcane)

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane (Voltron)

Silver the Hedgehog (Sonic)

TommyInnit (Dream SMP)

Kanade Yoisaki (Project Sekai: Colorful Stage)

Gojo Satoru (Jujitsu Kaisen)

Itona Horibe (Assasination Classroom)

Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)

Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa)

Shion (No. 6)

Weiss Schnee (RWBY)

Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher)

Godot/Diego Armando (Ace Attorney)

Lu Guang (Link Click)

Gorgug Thistlespring (Fantasy High: Dimension 20)

Simon Blackquill (Ace Attorney)

Boothill (Honkai Star Rail)

Princess Yue (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Dave Strider (Homestuck)

Edelgard von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Santa Claus (Christmas/Pop Culture)

Percy de Rolo (Critical Role)

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians)

Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire/game of thrones too ig)

Santa/Aoi Kurashiki (Zero Escape)

Alina Starkov (Shadow and Bone)

Ranboo (Dream SMP) 

Atsushi Nakajima (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Inuyasha (Inuyasha)

Kida Nedakh (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia)

Allen Walker (D.Gray-Man)

White Lily Cookie (Cookie Run Kingdom)

[picturejasper20]

Do you have any good Danny and Vlad fics you can recommend to the viewers at home? 👻🎤

That depends on the story you are looking for but i would recommend:

-Seeing is Disbelieving: ¨Caught in the crossfire between Time and Existence, Danny and Vlad are forced to face the Master of Time, the Defenders of Existence, a new Enforcer, and, ultimately, extinction. ¨

These Cold Days trilogy: ¨After tragedy befalls Amity Park, an injured Danny and his friends must flee with authorities snapping at their heels. As Sam and Tucker try to protect their suffering friend from ghost hunters and himself, they begin to worry why Danny is hiding the truth from them. Why the Fruitloop is madly trying to contact him. And what truly happened in Amity Park...¨ -Miasma: ¨When Freakshow is broken out of prison, he teams up with Walker to repair the shattered scepter that grants the wielder the ability to control ghosts. Together, the two form a diabolical plan and agree to go after the one ghost who has ruined both of their lives¨ -The Crossroads Betwixt Life and Death: ¨Takes place instead of Phantom Planet. Danny is left alone after a 'Nasty' explosion and it's up to Vlad Masters to help the lonely ghost boy pick up the pieces and move on. But along the way, they find themselves entangled in a mysterious plot which could destroy all they have left.¨- TUE timeline AU

I would also recommend reading other stories from History101, they are one of the best writers i have seen when it comes to Vlad and badger cereal.

-Protection: Danny and Vlad are on the run from the GIW and they have to work together to survive and getting captured.

-Second Chance: ¨After an intense battle Danny finally receives the chance he's been waiting for. Remembering a valuable lesson from the past, the young half-ghost confronts Vlad Plasmius once more. But what exactly is our hero trying to achieve with his actions?¨ (One-shot)

How to Mentor a Troubled Ghost Child: Takes place after Bitter Reunions. AU- Vlad tries to be a good mentor to Danny instead of becoming his enemy. One of the best badger cereal fics you can find.

Survival of the Fittest: ¨When Danny and Vlad are fighting in the Ghost Zone, they accidentally go through a portal to the human world... one that leads to the middle of nowhere. They later try to learn who was behind sending them there. Takes place after Eye for an Eye.¨

Playing with Fire: ¨Danny knew something was up when in the dead of night he saves the distressed spirit of a phoenix from being captured by the Guys in White. However, what he didn't know was that by doing so, he was in for one heck of a ride… Now the ghost of some sorcerer has abducted his friends and he's stuck in yet another forest with a certain fruit loop..¨ -Sequel to Survival of the Fittest

Shattered Identity: ¨ Vlad has been shot with a weapon that breaks him down to his very core, more specifically, his ghost core. But before Maddie can shoot Danny with the same weapon, he saves the core and flies off, stuck with making sure he stays safe despite his conflicting feelings about it and tries to keep it from breaking despite not knowing what will reemerge from the unstable core. But as Vlad finally reforms, both of them realize that the core fiasco was just the beginning of a new disaster.¨ Written by mutual Hello-I'm-Not-A-Possum

Paradigm Shift: ¨Danny is snapped out of his dream by Vlad of all people, seeking his help to defeat Nocturne. Though they succeed, Nocturne’s latest scheme sets off a chain of unforeseen consequences that lead toward a future even Clockwork cannot see. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance Danny must face one of the most difficult foes of all: his fellow humans, and the tangled messes they weave with one another.¨ This one is more about Jack and Vlad but it has parts about Danny and Vlad. Written by mutual KuzAnn

[alexanderwales]

The Index

This is an index of things I've written and posted online, with minimal descriptions because most of them have blurbs if you click the link. This list is not exhaustive, especially because there are a bunch of short stories and dribbles in various places. If something you liked is missing, let me know.

Web Serials

Worth the Candle - Juniper Smith is a teenaged Dungeon Master who ends up in a world filled with all the things he dreamt up for his campaigns, along with signs of his friend who died months earlier. This Used to be About Dungeons - Five teenagers live in a house together, bake bread, tend the garden, and occasionally fight monsters in dungeons. Thresholder - Thresholders travel from world to world, fantasy one minute and scifi the next, always encountering an opponent, growing stronger as they battle. Shadows of the Limelight - Fame gives you superpowers, and Dominic just saved the world's greatest hero from defeat in full view of a large audience. Glimwarden (unfinished) - A small town huddles around lanterns that keep the darklings at bay. Four teenagers must grow in power as the darkness encroaches. The Dark Wizard of Donkerk (unedited) - Two men steal a baby from an orphanage, then find out he's too cute to sacrifice and raise him as their own.

Fanfic

The Metropolitan Man (Superman) - Lex Luthor attempts to unravel the secrets of the alien. A Common Sense Guide to Doing the Most Good (Superman) - Superman gets really into effective altruism. Instruments of Destruction (Star Wars) - A fable of project management aboard the second Death Star, through the eyes of Admiral Tian Jerjerrod. Branches on the Tree of Time (Terminator) - Sarah Connor is working as a software engineer at UCLA when a naked man shows up on her doorstep. A Bluer Shade of White (Frozen) - Elsa can make life, and Olaf is smarter than he looks.

Shorts

Eager Readers in Your Area - Artificial intelligence has left authors scrambling for readers. Charlotte clicks on an ad. Variations - An orc visits an art exhibition where she feels out of place. Contratto - Julia takes a job as a marketer, working for the vampires to keep their secrets safe. The Randi Prize - James Randi offers a prize for anyone who can demonstrate supernatural abilities. Coming Home - After a long time isekaied to a fantasy kingdom, an errant father has coffee with his estranged son.

I also post short stuff to this very tumblr, which can usually be found under the #microfiction tag unless I forget. Usually this is mirrored on AO3, unless I'm lazy.

Web Comics

Millennial Scarlet - Lamont Pearce is a gig economy demon hunter whose mother ran a government agency meant to defend against Hell. Worth the Candle - A webcomic adaptation of the web serial

Non-Fiction

The AI Art Apocalypse - Slightly outdated thoughts from 2022. Why to Write a Sex Scene - Observations on the narrative purpose of carnal pursuits. Game Review: Underhill - This review contains no screenshots, because this game does not exist. Writing: An FAQ - Accumulated wisdom from 4 million words and counting. Creating Interesting Magic - A much-requested post on making interesting magic systems (and characters, and plots, and worlds). How to Write a Web Serial - It's both easier and harder than you think. The Trouble with Writing Nazis - On giving villains too much credit. Interesting Things to do with Time Loops - Exploring the boundaries of the conceit.

[thombtak]

Danny and jazz meeting the batfam, they see danny fighting crime and while yes hes super-powered hes still good. And hey if dannys good his sister must be good too. The batfam outfits jazz with a vigilante persona and costume only for jazz to be absolute garbage at hero work. They ask danny wtf is going on, i mean her parents are professional ghost hunters that get actual practice, and her brothers basically the town hero. How is she so bad?? Dannys like shit i coulda told you that much, maybe loop me in next time you decide to invite my family crime fighting

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I always thought it was strange that Philip donated his diary to the library. The book literally contains information on how to create a portal.Luz was only able to create a defective portal, but still a portal, imagine what would have happened if it had fallen into the hands of a very intelligent witch. That would have complicated his plans even more. I know that the book was stored in the Forbidden Stacks with other forgotten books and that the chances of someone getting the book were very low. But the risk was still very high, and we're talking about the super genius who discovered quantum mechanics in the 1700s.

Philip Fucking Wittebane: I'm going to donate my diary with important information on how to create a portal and I mentioned the existence of an unknown entity to a bookstore that is run by the vile creature that I hate so much for no apparent reason! It's not like there are intelligent witches who can steal your life's work to cause trouble!

I understand that Luz needs the diary to advance the plot, but a puritan witch hunter donating a book with important information to a library with beings he hates for unknown reasons is very difficult to digest.

The only theory I've heard that could explain this is the Stable Time Loop one: Philip needs Luz and Lilith to go back in time to look for him and help him get the Collector disc. This means that in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, he realizes that the Crab Maiden and Aunt Gertrude are actually time travelers who used his diary, they help him obtain the disc, so to ensure that the duo arrive in the first place, Philip has to leave his diary in a public yet secure setting, hence the library.

It is a risky move, especially since at any point in time it could've been lost, stolen, or as you said, used to build a different portal. And as we saw in the show, the echo mouse ate a good chunk of it. Fortunately, it was an echo mouse and not some other critter. But I guess that was a risk Philip knew he had to take.

My problem is that the narrative ties in ALL of Luz's season 3 arc to this one episode and how she feels guilty about it when she really shouldn't. Within the episode itself, Lilith did most of the work by solving the puzzle, Luz was just bait. Philip had been working on getting the Collector disc for probably months and he even had a complex teleportation glyph to get to the Titan skull. This guy was prepared, he just needed people gullible yet smart enough to help him. If it weren't for Luz and Lilith, then someone else would've been the sacrifice. The Collector disc would still be found. He already found 3 of the 4 glyphs (which apparently, Titan magic is incredibly rare and difficult to see!), so Luz showing him the light glyph doesn't really have any long term effects.

The same is true for her "helping" find the Collector. It was bound to happen eventually because the narrative ties everything evil back to Belos while the other characters are mere victims of him. All she did was save him time and effort and frankly, that's not enough to justify 3 long episodes of wangsting. All it is is a convoluted way to make the hero "help" the villain while still making them the purest example of victimhood possible.

Lastly, the narrative NEVER brings up Lilith's involvement; there's never a moment that the two realize that they were played and how terrible they would feel that they played a part in the Collector's destruction (only for Eda to conk their heads together, tell them to stop moping, and take this Collector kid down).

It's all about how Luz feels and then is given 4 different conclusions that she apparently doesn't learn from: Hunter tells her it's not her fault because Belos always uses people (the fact that the boy who was just possessed and had his best friend killed has to emotionally support her is sickening to me), her mom tells her it's okay to make mistakes and that she made a mistake in not allowing Luz to be who she was, (to which she responds that all she wanted was to be understood. Not sure how that connects to her guilt but whatever), Luz thinks her friends secretly hate her for helping Belos so she might as well be him (but then she snaps out of this when Puppet Amity misquotes Azura.........ok then), and finally, Papa Titan validates her by calling her a Good Witch and that Belos is just a big ol' meanie.

This isn't an arc, this is a series of characters coddling her but she doesn't take any of their words to heart until God herself intervenes. There's this huge imbalance between what the character did and how they react to it and the narrative wastes so much time on an arc that just makes Luz feel selfish and just serves to demonstrate how little she's grown as a character.

[shroudandsaga]

Roll for Plot - Themes

Less of a 'plot' here and more so what the themes of your story might be. There's a few ones here you could utilize! From adventure to romance!

Genre-Based Themes

Dystopian Adventure (Dark, futuristic survival stories)

Cozy Stories (Wholesome, slice-of-life tales)

Sci-Fi Plot (Galactic conflicts, AI revolutions, alien worlds)

Horror Story (Ghosts, monsters, psychological terror)

Mystery & Crime (Detectives, conspiracies, heists)

Historical Fiction (Epic past-set adventures)

Cyberpunk Story (Neon-lit dystopias, hackers, megacities)

Steampunk Adventure (Victorian tech, airships, clockwork creatures)

Superhero Origin (Powers, weaknesses, arch-nemeses)

Fairytale Retelling (Twisted myths and classic folklore)

Mythic Fantasy (Legends, divine trials, and ancient prophecies)

Urban Fantasy (Magic in the modern world, hidden supernatural societies)

Adventure & Exploration Themes

Time Travel Plot (Past, future, alternate timelines)

Pirate Adventure (Treasure maps, ghost ships, naval battles)

Lost Civilization (Ancient ruins, hidden kingdoms, secret societies)

Desert Adventure (Oasis mysteries, cursed artifacts, sandstorms)

Deep Sea Exploration (Mermaids, forgotten cities, sea monsters)

Space Exploration (Uncharted planets, cosmic horrors, alien wars)

Arctic/Antarctic Survival (Frozen wastelands, ice creatures, isolation)

Expedition Gone Wrong (Trapped, lost, or betrayed in the wild)

Mythical Quest (Sacred relics, divine trials, ancient curses)

Underground World (Caverns, hidden societies, bioluminescent forests)

Forbidden Temple (Dangerous deities, hidden traps, ancient prophecies)

Survival Challenge (Harsh environments, testing limits, forced alliances)

Magical & Supernatural Themes

Witchcraft & Wizardry (Magical academies, forbidden spells)

Haunted House Story (Ghosts, cursed objects, eerie history)

Werewolf & Vampire Tale (Dark romance, supernatural politics)

Demon Pact Story (Deals with the devil, contracts, consequences)

Gods & Legends (Modern-day deities, divine trials, mythic battles)

Ghost Story (Lost souls, haunted places, paranormal mysteries)

Cursed Town (Mysterious disappearances, strange happenings)

Portal Fantasy (Entering another realm, fantasy vs reality)

Necromancy Tale (Raising the dead, moral dilemmas, undead armies)

Magical Artifact Quest (Powerful relics, rival hunters)

Forbidden Magic (A power too dangerous to wield, but impossible to resist)

Eldritch Horror (Cosmic beings, mind-breaking realities, and forbidden knowledge)

Unusual & Unique Concepts

Sentient AI Story (Machines gaining emotions, ethical dilemmas)

Apocalypse Story (End-of-the-world survival scenarios)

A Day in the Life of a Villain (What’s their routine?)

Comedy Adventure (Absurd quests, unlikely heroes)

"What If" Scenario (History rewritten, alternative timelines)

"Stranded" Story (Marooned in space, time, or somewhere else)

Dream or Nightmare World (Lucid dreams, shifting realities)

Secret Society Story (Hidden groups, secret knowledge, infiltration)

Body Swap Plot (Trapped in another’s body—what now?)

Animal POV Story (Sentient animals, animal-led rebellion)

Endless Time Loop (A single day, lived over and over, with no escape)

Reality Bending (Characters slowly realizing the world isn't real)

Relationship & Drama-Based Themes

Forbidden Romance (Love against the odds, tragic consequences)

Enemies-to-Lovers (Hate turns into passion—how?)

Found Family Story (Unlikely bonds, survival, emotional growth)

Revenge Tale (Who’s seeking revenge, and why?)

Royal Court Drama (Betrayals, politics, hidden agendas)

Road Trip Story (Traveling characters, unexpected detours)

Small Town Secrets (Gossip, hidden pasts, unexpected twists)

Fake Relationship Story (What’s the reason? What could go wrong?)

Rivalry Story (From bitter competition to unexpected outcomes)

Reunion Story (Long-lost friends, lovers, or family members)

Doomed Soulmates (A love that is destined to end in tragedy)

Slow Burn Romance (Years of tension before love finally ignites)

[bookreviewcoffee]

Cormac McCarthy "Blood Meridian"

"Blood Meridian" is a historical study based on real events. Alongside the author, we follow a gang of mercenaries and witness ultraviolence in all its glory—senseless, purposeless, and ruthless. Rivers of blood, mountains of corpses, and grim landscapes unfold before the reader, striking with their brutal realism.

Cormac McCarthy was not the first to deconstruct the myth of the Wild West, but he did so more convincingly than anyone else. He set the precedent for a modern trend where heroic adventures are replaced by a world of cruelty, chaos, and meaningless, abrupt death. However, unlike many of his followers, McCarthy takes an almost academic, detached approach, examining how human beings become trapped in an endless cycle of violence from birth.

Following the nameless protagonist and the gang of scalp hunters, McCarthy deliberately disregards the classic Western formula. There are no heroes, no villains, no justice, and no clear purpose—only an endless, merciless journey. Each chapter unfolds like another loop in a spiraling nightmare, propelled not by dialogue but by vivid details: a hermit slave trader, a bull lifting a horse onto its horns, a girl cradling a dead bear.

McCarthy possesses a rare talent—he can describe both a sunset and a jet of blood from a severed head with equal poetry. He seamlessly blends brutal realism, grotesque imagery, and hallucinatory horror, culminating in one of the most terrifying figures in literature—Judge Holden. A demon from hell, an ancient deity, or perhaps a Lovecraftian monster as old as the earth itself. The only being in perfect harmony with this world, which he himself describes as "a fairground with attractions."

"Blood Meridian" is an outstanding and unique work, one of the few novels truly deserving of the title Great American Novel—capitalized, in every sense of the word.

[corazondebeskar-reads]

the devil you don't know (or however it goes)

hunter/raider!Joel Miller x f!reader

Word Count: 4.7k

Summary: When Joel's men bring back the (adult) daughter of a rival group of hunters, he sees an opportunity.

Warnings: DARK, dub-con, Joel Miller is not a nice man, suspension bondage, abduction, captivity, themes of torture, mentions of past sexual abuse (not Joel), starvation, dehydration, a smidge of knifeplay, a pinch of bloodplay, seriously dead dove do not eat, ambiguous ending, reader has suicidal ideations because of anxiety and threat of imminent death, I mean it guys, this is somehow less depraved than the last raider!Joel but way darker, author makes up stuff about how garage doors work because google failed her but she's probably on a watchlist now so, canon-typical violence, gags, overnight bondage in an unsafe environment, reader's age isn't specified but she was an adult when the outbreak started

Prompts from this list by @absurdthirst.

also on ao3.

dividers by @saradika-graphics

Back in the before, in all the movies and books, when the damsel in distress or dashing hero was captured, they woke up clueless. Thinking they were home before it all settled in. They’d write off the pain as a hangover or a friend’s shitty couch.

That’s not how it happened for you.

When your consciousness first blinked back into the world, you were already having a panic attack. Your brain had registered the clues long before you were involved in the process.

Your cheeks are already streaked with tears before you can open your eyes. Your throat is dry and aching, and you can’t breathe.

Of course, you don’t realize it’s a panic attack at first. You just assume you’re dying. Here in this damp, cold… garage?

Recognition snaps you out of it. You’re still gasping, ragged, like you’re full of broken glass, but you’re alert enough to look around.

You’re alone. Small mercies. Or maybe not, given the way you’re tied up. Coarse rope forces your arms behind your back, wrapped from wrist to elbow. Your shoulders ache from being yanked backward, but the length has some slack, at least, between you and the bracket on the thick steel wall.

No. Not a wall. A door. You’re tethered to a huge door, inflexible accordion-style metal punctuated with heavy-duty brackets. No windows, no rotting wood. Impenetrable.

The door isn’t closed all the way, but it’s locked into place. Even if you got your hands free, it would take time and strength to remove the locks and open it enough to slip out.

The air coming through the bottom is chilly but fresh.

It helps. Focusing on the cold shushes the other alarms in your body. Enough to realize it's not just your arms that are tied.

There are loops of rope around your thighs, tethered to the same point as your hands, and loops around your ankles, which are attached to the side walls nearby. Both grant you enough slack to move a little but hold your legs wide enough to prevent standing.

Not that it matters, you think, as a door on the other side of the room swings open.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” croons a man as he steps through the frame, the soft twang plucking at your heartstrings.

No. No. “Miller.”

“I was surprised to see you, too. M’boys said they found one of your daddy’s people in our territory. Imagine my face when they dragged you in.”

“So let me go. You know he’ll come looking.”

“Will he? Lotta blood out there.”

“Not mine.”

“Oh, I know. I saw the way you carved up one of my guys. You got him good.” He almost sounds pleased. “But daddy doesn’t know that, does he?”

“He’ll still look for me.”

“You think he’s going to break our pact for you? He’s gonna risk facing me over a runaway?” He pauses. “Were you runnin’ to me?”

“No,” you snarl.

“But you are runnin', ain’tcha?”

“No,” you lie. “I just got lost. He’s waiting for me for dinner.” Part of that, at least, is true. You would have never intentionally crossed into Joel Miller’s land.

“Alright, I get it. Better the devil ya know, right?” he grins.

You glared over his shoulder, refusing to look at his stupid, smug face. That was why you had stayed these last few years. When supplies ran lower and lower and your father found other ways to keep his men loyal.

At the end of the day, you had food, water, and shelter.

As you look anywhere but Joel, you see what fills the industrial metal shelving along the walls. There are stacks of boxes of bullets. Pallets worth of bottled water and canned goods. Cases of dried pasta. A couple dirty mattresses are leaning against the back wall. Your stomach sinks.

He sees you taking in the stock. “Sorry, would have kept ya in the other one, where we usually have our… guests, but see, it’s a little messy right now.” He pulls a Dasani out of a case and brings it over, pressing it to your lips after pocketing the lid.

You rear your head back.

“What, you think it’s drugged or somethin’?” Joel takes a big swig out of the bottle, a drop rolling down his chin. He swipes it away with the folded cuff of his denim button-up. “Why would we waste any of the good stuff on you?”

He offers it back up to you, and you let him pour it in your mouth. When he takes it away, you spit it at him.

He sighs. “Wish you hadn’t done that,” he says and tips the bottle over your head. “But if that’s the way you’re gonna be, I’ll go.”

But he doesn’t leave. Not yet. First, he presses and holds the button on the wall and watches as the pulley cranks to life.

The machinery grates, gears crying for oil, and you flinch from the noise. You don’t realize what’s about to happen until it does. The ropes holding you aren’t that long, and as the garage door slides up, it lifts you with it.

You scream. “Stop, please, put me down.”

Joel shakes his head, disappointment exaggerated in his scowl. “Shoulda been good. Now ya know.”

He releases the button when the door is open. You’re hanging, now, with your arms pulled to their limit behind you. Your shoulders already burn. The loops around your thighs and ankles keep you balanced at the expense of spreading you wide. You jerk, trying to… what? Trying to get out? You know that wasn’t happening, not like this. All you were going to do was dislocate your shoulders.

The late summer breeze blows in, and you shiver. Your hair and shirt are soaked.

“Don’t worry,” Joel jerks his head to the dark house across the street. “Ain’t got neighbors.”

He goes to leave, and you can’t help it. “Don’t, please!”

He stops and turns around, head to the side like you’re a puzzle he wants to figure out. “You gonna shut up, or do I gotta take care of that?”

Blood drains from your face.

He comes over to you and pulls a filthy bandana from his pocket. He rolls it up and ducks behind you. You try to lock your jaw, but he digs his fingers into the hinges until you open a little. He presses the bandana into your mouth, yanking back on it, and tying it tight behind your head.

“Night,” he tips his head, flourishing a hand like a fucking cowboy in a Stetson, and leaves, closing the door behind him.

You don’t sleep, waiting for hungry dogs or Joel’s men to find you trussed up.

When he comes back in the morning, you’re a wreck. You survived the fucking apocalypse, but none of it could have prepared you for this. You’re blinking in and out of consciousness.

There’s nothing but the pain. You’re sure you would have cried or thrown up, but you’re so dehydrated now that you can’t even spare a tear. It’s not lost on you that you got into this situation by wasting water.

“Chilly in here,” he says by way of greeting, tugging the bandana off you.

You keep your eyes closed. Imagining his smug smirk is bad enough; you don’t need to see him see you like this.

“You shoulda worn a jacket, sweetheart.”

“Did,” you croak, and wish you hadn’t fallen for his bait.

“Ah, someone took it from ya? Must have been a nice one.”

It was. It was patched up and ugly, but so was everything in this world. And it was warm. Heavy denim with quilted down lining. The last thing you’d ever take from your father, you thought.

He walks around you. You’d stiffen if you could, but you’ve long been stuck, muscles given out.

“Alright, let’s get ya down.”

At least the dehydration saves you from the whimper you almost let out. But it’s silent, and if Joel notices anything, he doesn’t react.

He walks back over to the door and presses the button. “S’gonna hurt like a bitch,” he warns before the door jerks backward, click click clicking as it lowers. It’s slow, but when your legs touch the ground, you may as well have plummeted.

You scream, wrenching it from your haggard throat, hands balled into fists behind your back. When you’re fully on the ground, you collapse against the door, only sparing a wince when your head bounces against the jutting metal seam between panels.

“Deep breaths. You’ll be fine.” He crouches down in front of you, same ratty denim shirt and jeans, same scuffed up boots. “You ready to behave?”

You nod, barely moving, but he gets the message.

“Y’look thirsty.”

You crack your eyes open to peek at him but can’t. They roll back into your head, lids fluttering.

You’re vaguely aware that he leaves and comes back but have no idea how much time passes. He crouches back down in front of you, and you hear the crinkle of a decade-old plastic bottle.

“If I give you this, are you going to spit it at me again?”

“No,” you whisper.

“You gonna ask nicely?”

You squeeze your eyes shut, but your brain is mostly static, so you give up without much of a fuss. “Please.”

He hums his approval and brings the bottle to your lips. He only lets you take tiny sips, infinitesimal in the arid expanse of your mouth. He pulls it away far too soon, and a soft sob leaks from you in its absence.

“You can have more later. Don’t need you gettin’ sick all over my garage.”

He leaves.

When he comes back late into the evening, you’re asleep, but you startle awake when he turns the light on.

Your wide eyes follow him as he moves about the garage. When he finally approaches you, it’s to offer more water. You accept it immediately, opening your mouth for the bottle before it even reaches you.

“Learned your lesson, huh? Good girl.”

It’s accompanied by a sneer, but that doesn’t stop the way your pussy clenches for a minute. Given that you’re still fully clothed, he remains blessedly unaware.

“Can you just, like, shoot me now or whatever,” you mumble. You know you’re not leaving that garage. You’ve seen where he keeps the top supplies. You know which house this is—or at least, the numbers on the house across the street.

“Nah,” Joel says as if you’re discussing what to eat for dinner. He sits down in front of you, knees bent up, leaning on them with the arm holding the water bottle. “You’re gonna help me first.”

“Why would I help you if you’re going to kill me?”

“Because I’ll make it quick for ya.”

You think you might throw up the water.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he gestures at you with his loose hand, now grasping a closed switchblade. “You know how this goes. Seen your pops do it plenty, right?”

You nod.

“I don’t think you’re gonna make me, though,” Joel muses, and scratches his chin with the outside of the blade.

“I was running,” you blurt. “If I tell you everything, I swear, he’ll never know, I just want to—”

“‘Fraid not,” he says, shaking his head. “Nothin’ personal, sweetheart, just can’t trust ya.”

The way you’re staring at him with your pretty eyes, glistening with fear, makes him scowl harder. He flicks the blade open and watches as a tear escapes before you close your eyes.

“Promise?” you whisper.

“Promise what?”

“Promise you’ll make it quick, if I tell you everything.” You’re shaking, and realize you’re probably about to have another panic attack as your breathing grows shallow.

“Yeah, I promise,” he says. He stands up and watches you, the way you’re clenching your hands into fists and trying to breathe out of your mouth.

“Jesus. It’s not gonna happen right now, calm down.”

Before he leaves, he gives you more water.

You’re awake when he comes back the next morning. He sits in front of you, legs crossed, and sets a cloth full of dried meat between you, and another bottle of water.

He picks up a thick strip. It doesn’t look like the shit they used to sell at grocery stores. It looks like they’ve salted and dried their own fucking jerky.

You stare as he rips off a piece and eats it.

“What? Y’ain’t got pigs?”

You shake your head.

“Jesus,” he sighs. “Is there even anything to take, or am I wasting my fucking time?”

“Lots of guns,” you shrug. “Some food. Not like you’ve got.”

Guns were more than enough of a reason, and you both knew it. He ripped another piece off and held it to your lips.

You didn’t hesitate.

“Here’s how this is going to go,” he says while you chew. “I’m going to ask you a question. If I believe your answer, you can have somethin' to eat or drink. If I don’t believe you, that’s when things get tricky.” He opens the switchblade and sets it next to the water.

It takes hours, but true to your word, you tell him everything. The layout of the old campground your father took command over. Patrol schedules. Planned raids. Locations of guns, food, medicine, everything.

By the end of it, you’d had two sticks of the jerky and the whole bottle of water. You look more alive than you have in days, given that you’d been thoroughly lost for two before stumbling across his men on patrol.

“Why’d you feed me?” you ask when he stands to leave. “Aren’t you about to kill me?”

“No,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Gotta see if your information is good. Probably won’t even make a move for a week or so.”

You tense. “You promised. You promised you’d make it quick.”

“I promised I’d make it quick when I kill ya. If you told me everything. Can’t prove you did until it’s done.”

He doesn’t know what he expected you to do, but screaming was not it. It’s a wounded, rageful thing. He hates it. He stomps back over and covers your mouth, blade in hand. It presses against your cheek, and you hiss.

He pulls his hand away and watches the blood drip down your cheek. You don’t scream again, but there’s something in your eyes when you stare him down.

“Coward,” you whisper.

His hand wraps around your throat, pushing you against the garage door. He doesn’t remember kneeling down close to you, but that’s where he finds himself as he squeezes, bringing the knife up above his hand.

You aren’t struggling, yet, His grip isn’t that tight. Some air still leaks, and you laugh. “C’mon,” you taunt.

He lets go. You slump down a little, chest heaving. There’s blood dripping down from the small nick in your neck to your cleavage.

You watch him watch it. “Can you at least clean that up if you’re going to leave me here?”

He doesn’t know what possesses him. It has to be the unhinged look in your eyes, spreading to him like poison. He grabs your jaw in the hand with the blade and pushes your head to the side so he can lean down and lick the blood off your breast. You moan.

He spits it to the side, and turns your head back to look at him. Your lips are parted, pupils blown. “Fuckin’ hell,” he growls, leaning back, putting distance between him and your tits.

“C’mon,” you repeat, but this time, it’s heady.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” But he doesn’t wait for you to answer. He grabs your jaw again and kisses you. It’s not kind or soft. It’s all teeth and snarls and the knife against your cheek. But you kiss him back, because it pleases the ravaging wildfire of rage that lives in your chest. Fuels it.

He pulls back. “Shit," he mutters.

“You gonna fuck me or what?”

He lets go. Stands up. You think maybe he’s going to get his cock out, but he stalks over to the door. “Or what.”

He slams the door so he doesn’t have to hear you howl in fury after him, spitting insults.

He doesn’t come back the next day.

By the second morning, you’re starting to panic. You’re so thirsty. The last bottle had a few dregs in it, just a sip, but it's just out of reach. The only light you have is when it creeps in from the little gap between the garage door and the uneven concrete.

When he comes that evening, he’s ditched the denim. He’s got tight dark pants and a gray t-shirt on. You don’t look at him directly as he gives you water and more of the salty jerky.

He crouches down in front of you again. You’re getting tired of it. Of his stupid pretty face and this stupid garage. Your arms are numb, and the pounding in your head hasn’t gone away since the first day. You don’t even know how long you’ve been here anymore.

“Why’d you ask me to fuck you?" It’s less of a question than a statement, but you know he expects an answer.

“Dunno. Thought maybe you would.”

“I’m going to kill you. Your pussy ain’t going to change that.”

“Didn’t expect it to.”

“What, you a virgin or something? You trying to get fucked before you die?”

“Or something, yeah,” you mutter.

“Shit.” He can’t believe he’s considering this. It feels like crossing one of the few lines he hasn’t crossed.

It’s not lost on you. “Are you having a fuckin' moral dilemma about this? You’re gonna gut me, and you’re trying to figure out if it’d be fucked up to have sex with me?”

“Not gonna gut ya,” he says. “Said I’d make it quick, didn’t I?”

“Oh my god. That was so not the point.”

“Shut up. Look at me.”

You do. He’s holding the blade again. “I verified your information yesterday. We’re going to make our move tomorrow. I’ll be back by sundown. You still want this?”

It feels like he dumped the water on you again. You shiver. So that’s it. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be gone.

“Yes.”

“Fine. But we’re doin’ this my way.” He walks away, and you think he’s going back inside until he stops and presses the button.

You’re shocked enough that all you do is gasp when the door lifts, pulling you into the air. He stalks back over to you and holds the blade up. “Hold still.”

You’re hanging in the fucking air. What does he think you’re going to do? Fly away? But you hold your breath anyway while he slides the knife between your skin and clothes. When you’re bare to him, he drops the knife and grabs your waist.

“You done anything? Anyone ever make you come?”

You shake your head and murmur, “No, no one.”

When you look up at him, you’re surprised to see something almost soft behind his eyes. You glare. “What, is it going to make you feel less guilty if I have an orgasm?”

“What do I got to feel guilty for? You fuckin’ begged for it.”

“Then fuckin’ fuck me already,” you snap. Your arms hurt again. You want to fuck him, you want to land your fists against his stupid face, you want to not fucking die tomorrow.

But you can only have one of those things, so. “Please,” you say, and sigh.

He cups your breasts, stroking thumbs over your nipples. He leans over and licks, and you moan again, soft this time.

“Don’t,” you whisper. “Don’t gotta do that. Just fuck me.”

“Ain’t doin’ it for you,” he lies.

You don’t protest again, not after he takes a nipple in his mouth and sucks. He brings a hand to your cunt and thumbs your clit, sliding two fingers down to start working you open for him. He eases the first one in through your slick, and you whine.

“I’m not gonna be nice,” he says, panting a little. “It’s going to hurt.”

“Yeah,” you agree, watching as he stretches you open. Your legs are held so wide they ache, but it doesn’t stop your eyes from rolling back when he picks up speed.

He holds you tight when you come so your arms don’t jerk too hard. It’d be a shitty end to a shitty life, you think, to wait all day with dislocated shoulders for him to come home and slit your throat.

Finally, he pulls his cock out. A man of his word, he doesn’t go nice or slow. It does hurt. His cock is thick and long, and he makes it fit even as your body tries to reject him. He hooks his hands under your thighs, forcing you to put some of your body weight on him as he fucks up into you.

It takes the pressure off your arms, and you suspect maybe he's strong enough to fuck like this without the help from the ropes.

The burn is exactly what you wanted. It stings, and you cry, silent but for a few whimpers. He pulls another orgasm out of you with his clever fingers on your clit.

When he comes, he pulls you to him and sinks his teeth into the meat of your shoulder. You wail, but you also come again as he fills you.

You expect him to leave you there, dangling and dripping his spend. But when he lets go, it’s just to lower you back to the ground.

He tucks his soft cock away and zips up, staring down at you. You lay against the door, trying to catch your breath.

“What’d you mean by ‘or something’?” he says, surprising himself.

“S’nothin,” you sigh.

He sits down, offers you water. You drink and watch him, tense and untrusting.

“Was that the first time you’ve been fucked?”

“First time I ever wanted it,” you say.

His jaw ticks. “Answer one more question for me, ‘bout your father’s camp.” He waits until you meet his eyes. “If you’re strugglin’ for food, how’s he keeping all them happy?”

You flinch and look away.

He doesn’t need another answer.

You don’t expect to see him in the morning, so you’re startled when the door opens. He throws something on the floor, but you don’t have time to look before he’s crouched over you, knife in hand.

You had promised yourself you’d be brave and quiet when he came for you. But you thought you’d have time to prepare yourself, so when he brings it toward you, you flinch back and cry out. “Hold still,” he snaps. He doesn’t have time to wait for you to cooperate, so he holds your shoulder with one hand and slices through the rope with the other.

When he’s done, he jabs the knife in the direction of the pile of fabric by your foot. “Get up. Get dressed.”

You can’t stand. He huffs and pockets the knife, pulling you up. Your limbs barely move from the way they’ve been stuck, splotchy and limp from poor circulation. He helps you tug the flannel on and step into what must be a pair of his boxers.

He looks you over. “S’all I got.”

“Okay,” you say. You’re so confused. Between the pain, the hunger, the dehydration, and the fear, it’s a wonder you can string together a single thought.

“Let’s go,” he snaps as he heads for the door, like you were supposed to know already. When you get into the house, he grabs one arm and pushes you ahead of him, through a kitchen and living room and out another door.

Most of his men are in two vans, but Joel shoves you into a pickup truck. He buckles you in and waves a finger in your face. “You try anything, and it’ll take you days to bleed out.”

You just nod. You’re thinking now that he probably doesn’t want to kill you in his house. Blood all over the stockroom would be a pain in the ass.

At least you got to see sunshine again.

It’s not a long drive, but you keep your eyes closed. The autumn sun is weak, but you think you might cry as it brushes your skin.

Joel doesn’t say a word.

You don’t open your eyes until he parks. He hops out and comes to pull you out the other side, but when you see where you are, you panic and try to push him away.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he snaps. “Get out of the fucking truck.”

God. Everything you’d heard about him is true. Was he really this cruel? Monstrous enough to drag you back, to die here when you’d finally escaped?

Or—has he struck a deal? Is he going to give you back to your father?

You can’t breathe.

Joel crowds you against the truck, hands on your shoulders, and shakes you a little. “Snap out of it, I ain’t got time for this. Stick with me and keep your mouth shut.”

For a moment, neither of you move. You get control of your breathing and realize he hasn’t restrained you. He didn’t give you shoes, but you still know this land far better than he does. You told him all your father’s secrets, but not yours.

“Don’t,” he says. It’s the softest he’s spoken to you yet.

And, god help you, you nod.

Two of Joel’s men are struggling to hold your father when Joel drags you into the living room of the main cabin. He’s holding your wrists behind your back, his gun pressed into your side.

“Oh, thank god, honey, you’re okay,” your father says, but his face falls when he sees the gun. “C’mon, Miller, let her go. She’s not a part of this.”

“She is now,” Joel says. “Found her on my land. Ain’t that right?”

You want to close your eyes, want to ignore your part in this, want him to just fucking shoot already, but you can’t look away from your father’s face.

“I swear to god, Miller, if you laid a hand on her—”

“Like your men did?” He waits and doesn’t receive a response. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“You know how it is,” your father says. He can’t read Joel, never could. “Everyone’s gotta contribute somehow. Keep morale up,” he plows forward, oblivious to the dangerous way Joel’s eyes have darkened. “Look, I can look past it. Whatever you did, she probably had it coming, for trespassing. We can call it even.”

Joel’s slow smirk is feral. He nods. For a moment, your father breathes with relief. But Joel isn’t looking at him.

His men move quick, and your father is on his knees in just seconds. They struggle to hold him down with hands on his shoulders, but he stops fighting when Joel lifts the gun away from you.

He doesn’t aim it at your father, who has to watch as Joel flips the gun in his hand and offers you the grip. He didn’t even notice that Joel had let you go.

You don’t say anything. You look at Joel for a moment, and your father watches you slowly move to take the handgun. He has the nerve to look relieved again, until you stop, holding it in both hands in front of you, looking at it.

“What are you doing? Shoot him!” your father says.

You look up at your father, grimacing against the bile rising in your throat.

You look at Joel again, gun heavy. You wonder what would happen if you let it drag down, out of your fingers, to the knotty pine panels that cover every surface. You wonder what would happen if you clasped your fingers around the weight of it and raised your arm to the left.

Joel’s men watch him, unsure. He holds up a hand and waits, watching the glow from the hearth dance across your face.

“Shoot them, you stupid girl, and get me out of here.”

Joel steps closer, puts his hands on your waist, and leans in. “Up to you, darlin’,” his hot breath against your ear.

You pull the trigger.