#more details enclosed obviously

[kryptznnn]

♡/♛- Patience [II]

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➸ INTERESTS; -pro-hero!katsuki bakugo (26) x f!quirk-less reader (23)

➸ BACKGROUND; -During pro-hero 'Dynamite's term within the top 3 heroes of the country, it was made aware by his agency that he needed assistant around. He hadn't appreciated the gesture really, as he hates being followed let alone babysitting, but he wasn't ready for you to enter his life.

➸ WARNINGS; - wc. 3k, romantic tension, intentions of kissing, friendship buildup, romantic buildup, slight age gap, fight mention, affiliation mentions, jealousy, etc.

➸a.i; - emptying out my drafts trust im making a comeback

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♡/♛- Patience I

Nine months was a long period of time, however for the two of you it felt as if it passed by too swiftly. Skipping through certain holidays, birthdays, and even sick days with one another it truly never got old. You wouldn't call it best-friends, as this was a professional branch to which things should remain strict, but the two of you definitely had your moments.

At least in your description towards others your boss was your friend. He wasn't just a friend obviously, but he made you feel seen in a way you liked; you were flattered honestly to create a small bond with someone you hadn't known ever before.

Eventually, your relationship with one another began to progress, not enclose but progress. After months the two of you grew understanding and mutual of one another, learning one another’s dislikes and likes. Of course you adapted to things much sooner than he did, now no longer needing a log of his daily antics or acquaintance’s. You were completely sure that whatever you would even tell Katsuki would go in one ear and come out the other.

Or at least that’s what you thought, because in his case that was completely false. If it wasn’t obvious enough his memory was just as sharp as his attitude, and he didn’t have to carry around a little notepad like you had in order to keep tabs on what mattered to him. It might’ve seemed stupid to others and maybe himself, but the more you two interacted with one another the more he wanted to see you smile, or laugh even. Laugh so hard to the point where you’re huddled over clutching your stomach, so he could laugh alongside you.

He wasn’t sure what it was about you or your nature, but whatever it was he liked it and it drew him to you. He had caught himself on numerous occasions going out with friends and going to the store wanting to invite you, to which he immediately brushed off and reminded himself everything between the two of you had to remain strictly professional. It hadn’t stopped the fact that he’d encounter items and objects that reminded him of you, it’s like no matter what you were always with him, and he wasn’t sure whether he liked it or hated it.

Like all things of course it quickly became annoying, he was the type of man to be bothered easily, that was something the two of you were aware of. No matter what he did or how he tried to avoid it things would constantly get out of hand, like how a couple weeks ago he ‘accidentally’ mentioned you to his close high school friend Mina while the group was out drinking and having fun. She immediately jumped on him and asked for more details, to which he explained you were his assistant and did a damn good job.

You were gentle, but harsh, cruel, ruthless, and a badass fighter. No matter how mean you attempted to make yourself you were as soft as can be on the inside. He thought of you as some sort of flower almost, one that refused to bloom for whatever reason. Your beauty on the outside that was wrapped tightly shut hadn’t fazed him, only more interested on what’s inside. He had even described it to Mina in that sense, that he wasn’t even able to see a glimpse of your petals, and it was killing him to just get a look, for you to just let your guard down.

Thankfully for him God must’ve heard his prayers and pleas, because for whatever reason his mother had told him to personally invite you over for dinner on his father’s birthday and you came. Not only did you come, but you offered to help with anything she needed, even if she rejected your first offer. You were so gentle and caring, open almost, and honestly, he never thought you could be more beautiful than you were now.

You acted different with his parents, the entirety of it all he had barely spoken a word, just observed you. Mitsuki wasn’t sure if it was because you were too busy helping her prepare or just oblivious to it, but she could tell exactly what her son felt for you by his looks. It only took on glance over to her husband with a firm nod before looking at their son and smiling to themselves as they set the table and spoke in hushed whispers.

He hadn’t deemed it fair in his case, that he wasn’t the one to bring out that side of you, to let your closed exterior loosen slightly. He hadn't minded it too much honestly, just seeing you outside of a work demeanor made him feel something warm inside. Still unsure if it was something he liked or disliked, all he knew was that he wanted to see you like this all the time.

He was quick to argue and bicker with his parents when they asked questions that seemed to out of character for them. Obviously digging into your personal life to know more about you and how working with their son was, hopefully not too much. You’d laugh at their questions and jokes along the side as the 4 of you ate along together, nothing harmful in the makings of it, just enjoying one another’s company.

If there was any way you’d be better understanding of who you worked for it’s a great idea to have quality time with his family, it couldn’t hurt. All the small and short details Katsuki had mentioned about his parents were honestly scary accurate, he used such little words to express how they were and yet was spot on.

You were quick to put two and two together on how Katsuki seemed much more like an observer than anything else. It wasn’t that surprising honestly, but you had wished he would open up more too you, or at least speak to you more outside of just his daily schedule or texts every once and a while after getting home. You knew your job wasn’t to be best friends with him, but it would be nice to at least enjoy one another’s company instead of walking around or sitting in his office in deafening silence.

Well, not entirely true, the loud air blasting through the square sized ventilation through the ceiling gave you some sort of closure. Beside it you’d play music quit often, only keeping one earbud in incase by any chance Katsuki would call out to you, but it’s never happened. You’d catch him glancing over at you from time to time, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t, or maybe he did know what he wanted to say, he just refused too.

Whatever it was you didn’t like it, it felt like there was a huge hole in the mists of the relationship you were trying so hard to build with him, and you didn’t know why. Maybe you were reading into it too much as you had for everything before, he didn’t seem like someone who cared so much, especially for little things, so why care so badly?

Everything was okay, dinner with his parents was okay, working alongside him throughout early mornings was okay, being an assistant and working on your training was okay, being in his office from time to time on weekends or his days off while he was in the room across during his ‘personalized gym time’ was okay.

Well, better than okay, way better than okay, it was great, perfect even. It somehow gave you small motivation to get your work done even quicker to enjoy the show aside from you.

You weren’t sure if he was able to catch you looking over at him several times or even staring for periods, but it got to a point where you didn’t care. Besides, you were only human, any person who admires the athletic build of a person working out would sit and stare, or at least glance. No matter what was happening you couldn’t help the feeling that things were just too bland, you didn’t want everything to be just ‘okay’ you wanted them to be great or something enjoyable.

You missed how things started off prior when you first began working with Katsuki. The first month you’d get up energized on nothing but your erratic emotions sending you into a frenzy. You were excited to explore more with him, do more with him, now things felt so different and it bothered you highly.

“Same time tomorrow?” You asked without looking up, collecting things from Katsuki’s desk then making your way over to your own, emptying your busy hands into your empty computer bag. You awaited the same response that you had been receiving the past few weeks as you placed your laptop and it’s charger in it’s designated pouch before he spoke.

“Actually I’ve been meaning to talk to ya.” He responded, now taking in your confused reaction as you turned to face him and pausing your actions. He only walked over shortly, leaving plenty of space between the two of you as he dried his hair with a small towel in one hand.

“About what exactly? Did something new come up with the agency or- “

“Actually ‘ts personal” he cut you off, now seizing his movements with his hair before placing the towel over his shoulder. Your cocked brow soon lowered as you took a seat next to your items, now showing him he had your full attention before he continued.

“Okay” you responded softly, placing your hands in your lap and flashing him a soft smile. He looked away at your face for a moment, before turning his back to face you entirely before speaking again.

“Not tryna be in your business.. but have you been busy with someone after work?” He asked, his voice stern as he made his way over to his desk before grabbing a rolled up paper and making his way back over to you. Your brows furrowed harshly as your lips pursed, before you could even part them to defend yourself Katsuki spoke again.

“Cuz in this picture you seem enticed by whoever you’re chatting with.” He says honestly, unrolling the paper and handing it over to you, pointing directly at your face in the picture as he spoke. “One of my publishers was going to post this out for millions to see, got caught by me last minute and I was asked for it to be terminated.” He said, reading your surprised expression as you attempted to piece all of this together.

From the looks of it this picture was of you, from 2 nights ago to be specific, catching up with a friend from university after hours before you had gotten back to your apartment. Stupidly in your case Katsuki had texted you asking if you got home safe and you stupidly lied to him. Where the two of you were was a public setting, so it’s not surprising that someone could’ve seen you two, you just never expected anything like this to happen, especially so suddenly.

The alarming title of the page being ‘Pro-Hero Dynamite’s Assistant; L/n Y/n sneaking around just to get some.’ Making you immediately crumple it up out of frustration and shoving it in your work bag before sucking your teeth and apologizing profusely.

You hadn’t expected for even you to grow a fan base, let alone paparazzi stalking you and your personal life with friends aside. You even explained that to Katsuki, and the titles being a bold accusation, there were thousands of things you’d do, have been trained to do, and sleep with a guy like F/n definitely wasn’t one of them.

“I know, it’s okay I just wanted to run it by ya first, wasn’t worried.” He said, walking back over to his desk and placing the damp towel down on it. He’s such a liar, a good one at that. He was worried, head over heels worried, when he received that text with images from the publisher he nearly fell out of bed.

That fucking smile, he hated it, not you though, just the smile. Over time Katsuki’s been able to differentiate whether or not he actually dislikes people for their being or just their actions and presentation. He knew he didn’t hate you, he just hated what you were doing to him, how you were making him feel.

Polar opposite to your own mornings now however Katsuki woke up determined, getting ready a little faster now. Wondering how you’d style your hair that morning or if you’d wear heavier amounts of makeup than before. If you’d glance over at him while he worked out, purposely taking in an extra fifteen minutes or so just to flex for fun.

The picture surprised him, but the possible title left him even more stunned. He knew you weren’t that type of woman, especially the fact that you had lied about your safety and being home, he was taken aback. In your case he seemed much nicer and understanding than usual, but to him he saw it as letting down his barrier.

Maybe if he could do that you could smile with him as you had before, laugh as loud as he’d like you too. Which is ironic considering the fact he was sure he hated your smile, the way your teeth were aligned well enough to make him wonder if you had gotten braces and retainers in your past. Or maybe you were just bledsoe with them and moved on to nothing but whitening strips, maybe that’s the case.

He found himself to be a little weird when he would just walk around and watch how you’d move hair away from your glossed lips whenever the wind was blowing outside. He was always quick to look away before you could even dream of catching him, but it’s not like you hadn’t felt his eyes on yours.

After working alongside someone everyday for nearly 8 months you grow fond of one another. Although you weren’t too happy with how your relationship seemed slightly distant, his presence was warming at some points. He was willing to speak to you when things were placed on your behave, like your past training and schooling or life before meeting him.

He liked your confidence and radiant energy whenever you did talk about your past, people you’ve fought with, made up with, passed over and grew out of. What he picked up quickly was how you would talk with your hands whenever you were passionate about something, it was physically impossible to keep them down if you were talking.

It’s funny honestly, he wants nothing more than you to express yourself and you want nothing more than for him to do it instead. Yet neither one of you were willing to communicate through the issue without seeming awkward afterwards so just kept everything to yourself. Even now through your small talk and chatter after the newspaper scandal it seemed that wasn’t working.

Within evening realizing it you had been caught up and been lamps an hour behind your original leaving period. You quickly shot up from your seat and fixed your chair before flinging your bag over your shoulder.

“It’s getting late I have to go.” You said sternly, shoving your phone in your pocket before making your way over to the entrance before being abruptly stopped by Katsuki, who only stood in front of you without a word. You took in his state, he smelled good, sweet almost, like some sort of fruit or syrup and you really liked it, especially with how well it mixed in with his fading cologne.

He still hadn’t said anything, just placed a hand on the door beside him as he looked into your eyes. You could feel yourself getting slightly dizzy by deciding which eye to look into, your vision flicking back and forth between the left and right for a period of time before scanning his face. It was almost as if he was pleading with you to stay in some way, or maybe that’s what you wanted him to think, or at least say to you.

You were caught for a short moment staring at his lips before your breath hitched reaching out slowly to place a hand on his broad chest before he leaned in slowly. A short moment between the two of you that had only realistically passed in just a few seconds managed to feel like another hour has passed and it was killing you. You did the only thing you knew to do, look away from him, attempt to distance the tension and suffocation between the two of you.

“Let me.. let me walk you to your car.” He said, now placing his hand on the handle of the door before pulling it open before you. You quickly drew your hand back and looked up at his face once more, now slightly flustered as he looked away and bit the inside of his cheek.

You only agreed and thanked him, leaving the room and heading straight for the elevators as you replayed the moments prior in your head over and over again. You brought your hand up to your mouth for a moment thinking to yourself, then back to Katsuki’s reaction.

That was definitely intentional, and super weird. Things like that haven’t happened to the two of you before, well not as close as it was earlier. The tension was strong but it seemed as if whatever was pushing the two of you towards each other was even stronger.

You sighed as you clutched your bag, the elevator dinging as it reached the lobby floor before you quickly stepped out, nearly bumping into someone on the side who was waiting for it. You were too in your thoughts to even apologize afterwards or look behind you, just digging in your pocket to get your keys.

You hadn’t hated the thought of it, what nearly happened. Truth be told maybe if things did go the way they were hinting towards earlier there was no way the two of you would’ve left the office in such short time. Maybe it’s better to not think of such things, especially such vulgar things, it’s just casual and professional, let’s leave it to that.

While you blew off the steam and marked your way over to your car Katsuki on the other hand was furious. Well furious was a strong word, more like embarrassed, embarrassed he hadn’t taken things farther when he saw how willing you were to kiss him.

Maybe that’s a bad thing, he’s never seen you so vulnerable and willing for something before, especially on his behalf and right in front of him. That wasn’t his prior intention, he didn’t want you to leave just yet, especially after cracking a horrid joke and seeing you laugh, but quickly covering your face with your hovering hand as you chuckled. He didn’t want you to hide from him, he wanted you to be as open as possible.

If a small gesture could show that, or even your intent on nearly kissing him could prove that you were somewhat into what he was feeding you made him nonetheless anxious for more. You were beautiful to say the least, Katsuki was many things, but a liar wasn't one of them. He was honest, if not brutally honest when it came to you and what you were capable of, he just didn't expect one of those things to be reciprocating the same energy he was giving off.

He was so impatient, to the point where it felt as if it was eating him alive. For nearly 9 months he had been attempting to get closer to you, attempting to read you and find out what you favorited without asking. Now when he had you exactly where he wanted, where he needed you, he was the one to bail out and play it off like nothing happened.

Maybe working with one another was going to be way more difficult than you had in mind. Afterall, it was completely evident what the 'large gap' in the two of you's relationship was before it could even begin.

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[aquariiium]

Shidou Kirisaki killed for his son, not his wife

After a lot of thinking, I think I've got a solid theory for how Shidou's crime went. Stick with me here

His wife and 2 kids get into a car crash, and only his oldest child survives. He needs organ transplants, but due to the complicated perception of brain death in Japan, there's not enough organ donors.

Shidou starts trying to convince families of brain dead patients to sign them up as organ donors, but doesn't get the organs he needs for his son because he's not in control of what goes where obviously.

He gets more desperate as time goes on and his child's state worsens, and just kills braindead patients himself, making it seem like an accident. Again he's not in control of where the organs go, so he has to kill many people so that the organs can go to his surviving family.

His son dies during the organ transplant, or shortly after.

Shidou turns himself in because he has nothing to live for anymore.

Evidence & other details under the cut v

The car crash

In the intro of Triage, Shidou is walking home with groceries. By itself it's not weird or anything, but it could imply that his wife had the car to drive the kids to or from school at that moment.

In the scene of Throw Down where Shidou wakes up (alone, in a double bed), it zooms on broken glass on the floor. Glass in cars are made to break into pieces when they suffer shock.

In his T2 interrogation, Shidou is asked that question.

His wife and youngest kid die in the crash, his oldest kid is the only one that survives

In Triage, his youngest child is always clinging to their mother, implying a certain connection between them. (this is going somewhere I swear)

The theme of receipts being patient files is present in both Throw Down and Triage; so when this scene in Triage happens, it implies that he's giving those lives to his son. He does not do the same for his wife, or his youngest kid.

In the part where he puts his hand over his face in Triage, you can see that. Again with the 2 groups.

In Throw Down, 2 wilted flowers are under a glass case, while one wilted flower isn't. That could symbolize that 2 of them are enclosed in a coffin, and the last one isn't, even though he's already wilted.

The receipt/patient file that Shidou rips up at the end of Throw Down: it's hard to see what it says exactly (what organ IS that), but you can see that the XY chromosomes are ticked off. So unless his wife is trans (which would be great), the last file to expire, or be destroyed, or the life to die, is a boy's. That's why I keep referring to his oldest child as a boy (unless that child is trans which would be great again, but I doubt that milgram would do that). The name there says something like Rei/Kei/Kai Kirisaki. It would be confusing if both Shidou's son and Mu's victim are named Rei, but that might be the case.

Shidou tries to convince families to sign their braindead relatives as organ donors

Aesculapius:

Shidou stops asking and just takes the organs (or kills the braindead patients) himself, passing it off as accidents

Throw Down: You can see him reassuring a grieving family, and "sniffing out lies"

Aesculapius:

I think it would be weird if his "murder" was just convincing families to sign their relatives up as organ donors (even though that does count as medical malpractice)

His son dies during the organ transplant, or shortly after

Throw Down: His human-shaped flower abomination starts moving again, but after stepping out of the hospital bed, it crumbles into pieces, and Shidou is horrified. Flowers represent the lives he's cutting to add to it.

Shidou turns himself in

I have no evidence for that one, but what else would he even do. In the start of T1, he's asking for the death sentence.

Other Fun Facts:

Shidou used to cook pancakes for his kids. That's why he's so insistant on Amane trying them in minigram. (There are two plates of them on the floor.)

His children liked to draw. probably why he's started drawing as a hobby in milgram.

The intro of Triage where he's walking home with groceries is (according to me) a memory of the day he got the news of the car crash. You can see the groceries through the MV, discarded on the floor or rotting. They're pomegranates, whose insides look like human organs - and he gives the receipts for them to his son. At first it's just groceries, but then they're human lives.

The phone call translates to "Hi this is Kirisaki, I'm busy right now, please call later" or something like that, implying he was busy when someone called to inform him of the deaths.

[dududuuuuudud]

Love Square

Before I start, this is MY opinion and any hate will be blocked.

GWUNCAN~

The ship 'Gwuncan' has been the most hated ship of all of Total Drama.

Gwen and Duncan started off as strangers and started bonding over their love for movies. They interacted a couple of times during Island but started sealing their bond in Action. For the couple episodes they were together for, they started getting along. By the end of Action, Gwen started having a small crush on Duncan. Duncan seemed to keep his emotions sealed but during the episode Gwen was eliminated, Duncan had shown little attraction toward Gwen. During World Tour, Duncan seemed to be more interested in Gwen . Although he quit the competition and Gwen was left alone with his girlfriend. As soon as Duncan came back, the two were able to finally come back together. The problem here was that Duncan was 'dating' Courtney at the time.

Now that I finished that little insight, I'll start explaining more in detail.

As mentioned before, Gwen and Duncan had started off as friends and had gotten to learn more about each other. Moreover, their ship dynamic has obviously been labelled as Friends to Lovers. What makes this ship so good is that they actually knew each other and accepted it for who they are. Also, because they were able to change and develop with 'no pressure, no planning, no pookums.' -Gwen, Ex Files.

For example, as they spent time with each other, they were able to be vulnerable and be free. In Action, Duncan was obviously dating Courtney at the time and he was able to tell stuff like how he had a picture of her under her pillow or just simply talk about her. In another instance, Duncan knew a bunch of trivial facts about Gwen. Did he know trivial facts about other people? No. Although there hasn't been any evidence on Gwen's side, from what I can infer Gwen would be able to trust Duncan. Vice versa. Gwen and Duncan knew what they were going to be in for once they started dating each other.

As stated, Gwen and Duncan tried to go easy on their relationship. The relationship had been going on for at least one year, maybe two if we think about the timeline from World Tour to All Stars. Gwen and Duncan had been going smoothly and maybe have lasted longer than any other couple other than Geoff and Bridgette. The two were able to communicate and sort out their problems and were faithful to each other. Obviously until All Stars happened but if you think realistically, that is something they would NEVER do to each other. Ultimately, All Stars was ruined and if there wasn't All Stars, Gwen and Duncan would be happily together. Think about it.

Gwen and Duncan were so caring around each other. They were always worried and cared about each other and they always cheered each other on. (Apart from when Duncan cheered for Owen in the Island finale)

Finally, how Gwen and Duncan were able to change and grow. For example, Hook, Line, and Screamer s1. That episode was the episode Gwen and Duncan started bonding and may have become friend-ish. This episode was important because that episode brought some change. Gwen, who normally was alone and enclosed was able to bring herself up to make sure everyone is safe. This might not be linked with Gwuncan but it really is. It's because of the help of Duncan why Gwen was a bit more social and was able to take charge. Did you see her take charge in other episodes? You barely see her interact with anyone other than Trent, LeShawna and Heather. Duncan stayed by Gwen's side until the very end. Now Duncan. Normally, Duncan doesn't really care or show empathy towards other. Well, he doesn't do that often. Duncan started embracing his more caring side. Maybe it's because Gwen might be killed by an escaped psycho killer but wouldn't he just think of it as maybe a horror movie in real life? He wouldn't really care unless it's affecting him. In this episode, Duncan was able to show worry and care for Gwen. These two were able to show unfamiliar sides because of each other. Imagine if they had more screen time? They could show that they are more than a punk X goth ship and demonstrate how compatible the two are.

The only problem they faced seemed to be how they started and All Stars as it derailed a lot of fans to hating them.

DUNCNEY~

The ship 'Duncney' is one of the most loved ship of all of Total Drama. Even with how toxic they are.

The two started off as strangers as Duncan soon started to flirt/tease Courtney. After a bunch of episodes of this overused chiché' ship, Courtney soon started liking him. After stealing food and Courtney vomiting, the two shared a kiss. Afterwards, Courtney was eliminated and their relationship started going downhill. Especially because they barely knew anything about each other.

Duncan and Courtney were the typical punk X prep type. 'Opposites Attracts'. In season one, what people call their 'prime time', their relationship followed a simple formula. Duncan flirts/teases, Courtney's angry and yells/hits him and repeat. In season two they followed another formula, they argue and then make out. Finally, in season three they followed another formula. Fight, fight, repeat. What made this relationship peak? What made it so iconic? The answer is that shippers just want to ship Courtney with someone.

Even at their best times, there was something bad happening. They were always arguing and fighting.

An extra detail, Duncan voted for Courtney when he was dating her.

Their relationship was so awful that it was even toxic. There was physical abuse (Courtney hitting Duncan on multiple occasions), mental abuse (Courtney setting rules for their relationship and how Duncan should change), cheating (Duncan flirting with Heather while dating Courtney and cheating on her with Gwen. Also Courtney about to kiss Justin in front of Duncan), bad communication (They don't communicate at all), controlling (Courtney controlling Duncan), double standards (How Duncan can't do something but Courtney can), victimised (Courtney being victimised), Jealousy (Always jealous and fighting for petty things), no connections (Don't know each other at all), can't compromise (Too stubborn to listen), using each other. (Courtney using Duncan for money and Duncan just liking Courtney for her looks) and the list goes on.

This relationship has caused nothing but chaos amongst the ships. What makes this worse is that Duncan and Courtney didn't know each other that well and just went into a relationship. They didn't know what they were getting themselves into and ended up making each other worse.

The two made each other the worst selves they could be. Duncan brought out Courtney' a horrible person's real personality (I think she was faking her act in season one and was genuinely a horrible person) as Courtney was able to drive Duncan into cheating.

Is it not crazy how awful they were to each other. They never got along in the beginning and never cared either. I think that the only time Duncan really cared about Courtney was in the picture above.

GWENT~

Another one of the most beloved ships of Total Drama.

Gwen and Trent started off as friends I guess as they flirted and hung out with each other. Gwen obviously had a massive crush on Trent. The two grew closer as Gwen finally kissed Trent. That same episode, Trent got voted off but the two continued their relationship. Trent cheered Gwen on in the finale as she won. A day after she won, the two competed in Action. Problems started to arise as they felt as if they didn't know each other at all. In episode five, the broke up as Trent also got eliminated. Afterwards, the two managed to be friends to stop them from hating each other.

Side note: This ship isn't particularly that awful but it isn't the best.

Many say that their ship dynamic was 'Opposites Attract' as other say they were 'Friends to Lovers'. This ship was more of both as they were opposites yet were able to be friends.

Although season one was their 'prime time', -well their only time- there had been a few issues.

The first one was when Heather read out Gwen's diary where Gwen confessed she had a crush on Trent. Trent at first seemed weirded out as he looked at Cody and afterwards did nothing. This was completely forgotten the next couple of episodes as the two faced more problems. This was when Trent left Gwen buried alive. To be honest, there seemed to have been a reason but a promise is a promise and Trent broke it. This didn't seem that bad but Gwen obviously tried giving Trent the silent treatment after that. Finally, a big problem. After Gwen kissed Trent, a couple minutes later Gwen found herself watching Trent kiss Heather. Although Heather kissed Trent, Trent shut his eyes and kissed back. If it was really an accident why would he have kissed back?

More problems started arising in Action. After Trent had been separated from Gwen, he started getting jealous over Duncan. It seemed acceptable since Gwen and Duncan seemed pretty close and alike but he seemed really jealous. Trent called Lindsay beautiful just to pester Gwen and called both her and Duncan 'punk wannabes'. Trent soon started obsessing over Gwen. He started naming things after Gwen and started his nine obsession. It seemed to really worry Gwen.

Gwen was also in the wrong. During Action, Gwen had called Duncan 'hot, sexy, stud-like.'. That was to just make Duncan listen to her but she still said it. Also, there was a video of Gwen and Duncan's star gazing scene where the two were wrestling and ended up in a less than one centimetre distance. Although it wasn't classified when that scene was. From my knowledge, it was most likely AFTER Gwen and Trent broke up.

Gwen and Trent were also bad in their communication skills. They couldn't talk about why Trent started obsessing over her and numbers and the Gwen/Duncan situation. Most problems aired from there.

After their break up, Gwen had to deal with tons of hate because of Trent. Especially in the Aftermath. Trent just watched most of the way until things went out of hand.

A positive thing about this was that Trent and Gwen managed to get along after their break up to solidify their friendship.

CHEATING SCANDAL~

What Gwen and Duncan did was completely wrong for cheating on Courtney. The thing is that Courtney had it coming. Courtney had been awful to Duncan ever since she had dated him. She was practically pushing him away. Duncan was probably sick of all the drama and as seen, Duncan had a crush on Gwen.

ALL THREE OF THEM WERE WRONG

Now, Gwen betrayed Courtney but from the footage we can see, it seemed to be all in the heat of the moment. Gwen and Duncan kissed but after Gwen came back to her conscious, she started feeling awful about it. Especially in All Stars.

I honestly can't blame Duncan. "If he wanted to be out of the relationship he should've broken up"-A Duncney fan. When did she give Duncan a chance to speak. I agree but Duncan and Courtney had broken up and come back together multiple times. Maybe if he cheated he would've been out of the relationship for good.

"If he didn't want to date Courtney, why did he kiss her on the bus?"-Another Duncney fan. Maybe if you think about it, you would realise that they were about to die and just kissed just because of it. They didn't kiss because they still liked each other because if they did, why would they have treated each other that badly? The possibility of dying could just be the reason they kissed. Did that mean they got back together? No.

In World Tour, I believed that Duncan thought they weren't together. I mean, if he was with Courtney he would at least try to talk to her. He didn't. At the same time Courtney is really demanding and assumed they got together. Duncan obviously should've made it clear but at the same time I don't think he really cared about his relationship with Courtney. He really liked Gwen at the time.

ALL STARS MAYHEM~

In All Stars everyone can collectively agree EVERYONE was out of character. No one seemed to be the same as they were before.

Although when you think about it, it starts to make sense. Gwen. Gwen came back to All Stars to make amends with Courtney. The reason why she seemed so OOC seemed to be because of Courtney. Because of her morals and guilt. She felt awful.

Duncan. Duncan seemed to be OOC too. Duncan was always a softie but he tries not to show it. From the two years Gwen and Duncan dated, Gwen was able to make Duncan the best version of himself. That is without making rules or forcing him. That's why he seemed so nice and a softie in All Stars.

What I believed happened is that Gwen didn't want Duncan to come because Courtney hated her and Duncan together. That's why Gwen had seemed so distant in All Stars.

What about Duncan being jealous over Scott? If he was jealous, Duncan would try winning Courtney over. Did he try that? No, because he wasn't jealous. If he liked Courtney, once he broke up with Gwen he would've flirted with her or searched for a reaction. That didn't happen either. These rumours of Duncan having a crush on Courtney is absurd since the only reason he came to the show is for GWEN. NOT Courtney.

Duncan might've been right about Courtney. She still seemed boy crazy in making Duncan jealous. Courtney seemed to try doing this in World Tour so what's stopping her now? If she really liked Scott, she wouldn't have used Scott either. I believe she was trying to date Scott and be subtle about it to make Duncan jealous. Duncan was able to see through it and that's why he didn't believe that Courtney really liked Scott. NOT because he still had feelings for her.

Gwen and Duncan had been dating for two years and they would've broken up long back if Duncan still had feelings.

Also, Gwen may have been different but the cause of that is Courtney.

GWOURTNEY~

Also considered one of the best Total Drama ships.

In World Tour, Courtney and Gwen interacted for one episode and have labelled themselves as 'friends'. Afterwards, Gwen dates Duncan and Courtney is mad. Afterwards, Gwen comes to All Stars to make it up for Courtney. Finally they become friends until Courtney backstabs Gwen.

This friendship is not meant to last. They move forward so quickly and act as if they were best friends.

Many even ship them. If you really want a w/w ship, ship Gweather. At least they were better than Gwourtney.

The two are not compatible as a ship or friendship because of how they back stab each other. Also think about it, if they were to be friends what would they talk about? How their ex is Duncan and how they hate Heather? Talk about a friendship. They never interacted until needed for drama and are considered the best ship. The two are so awful for each other and also bring out the worst in each other. Just watch All Stars and you'll understand and see how unbearable they are together and how they ruined each others' characters.

______________________________________________________________

If you read this much, thank you so much for reading my rant. I just want to explain the whole situation in my point of view and yeah.

[peakyltd]

Shattered

A/N: I had this in my mind for a while but it turned out a little shorter than I wanted. A few details are enclosed but the rest is in the hands of your own imagination. I’d love to hear where your minds took you!

Warnings: Angst, mentions of blood

Words: 427

Defeated. That’s the only word that came up to describe the whole situation. His expression, her feelings, the surroundings and even the colors, all collided into defeat.

The cold, grey concrete walls of the warehouse and a few storage crates were the only things that gave her some sense of safety while she and John were sat in the middle on old, wooden chairs.

An endless stare had taken over his blue eyes, while he leaned his arms on his upper legs. His hair was disheveled and crimson red stains smeared all over his clothes, hands and face. She watched his own still dripping from his injuries, feeling helpless as he kept denying her help.

She had tried to take care of his injuries but he didn’t let her. The next best thing she could do was talk him into it, gently at first but more convincing when he kept denying time after time until his demeanor changed and words lashed out at her. Making it clear that he didn’t either need or wanted her help.

The thick tension hung between them like the suffocating stillness before a storm, heavy and electric, as if the air itself was waiting for one of them to break it. None of them spoke a word, astonished by the events that happened not too long ago.

Her eyes wandered from John to her lap, where her trembling hands held onto each other. She gulped at the sight of her red stained skin, marking her clothes the same color each time she moved. She felt warm drops of liquid slide down her face, passing her lips until they hit the fabric of her coat. Its edges soaking into the fibers, spreading the stains more.

Her lips parted ever so slightly, while a breath drew from her chest when she looked at John with the intention to speak. His endless stare was instantly replaced by a stern glare when his head snapped her way, warning her not to speak.

She closed her mouth immediately, the words of comfort and the aid she'd wanted to offer him fading before they could form.

John subconsciously returned to the same state he was in before, his mind probably replaying everything over again and again.

The ear-deafening silence started to gnaw at her, slowly losing every bit of strength to keep her mouth shut. The man in front of her sensed it immediately, his empty eyes boring into hers as soon as she spoke up.

“I don’t know why you’re surprised. Betrayal never comes from an enemy.”

———

Tagging some people who might like it, obviously no pressure to read it if it's not your cup of tea! @brummiereader @call-sign-shark @peakyswritings @zablife @justrainandcoffee

[dullgecko]

(Journalist Riz)

When Riz gets nominated for an award, he gets a plus one to the ceremony. Who do you think Riz would invite?

As much as he loves them all, I think Riz would probably either pick Sklonda, Adaine or Gorgug; depending on who is available. Maybe Fabian, but it all depends. Fig and Kristen are no gos.

Riz had gotten home before his mom that day, stopping by the mailbox in the lobby of the appartment to grab their mail before heading upstairs. It was mostly junk mail, a couple of bills (which he pocketed so he could pay them himself before his mom saw them) and weirdly enough a letter addressed directly to him.

It was suspicious. No one ever sent him letters. Riz flipped it over in his hand to look at the back (no return address, hand delivered obviously) before he felt the envelope between his fingers. Noting the weird texture and thickness of whatever was inside before giving a slight bend. Whatever it was had multiple pages enclosed plus at least one or two pages that were shorter than the edges of the rest.... this warranted some investigation. He wasn't about to open a weird letter without checking it for traps first.

Once he was securely in his apartment he placed the envelope on the kitchen table, first trying detect magic before starting on the usual trap-detection routine he had to go through every time he got an info packet from his rogue classes. The goblin found nothing. It was just a normal, untrapped, suspicious letter.

Now that he was relatively sure it wouldn't explode in his face he ripped it open, Riz digging one of his sharp claws under the flap an tearing a neat line along the top so he could access the contents. He slid the thinner pieces of paper out first, surprised that he was holding two glossy VIP tickets to an award ceremony in Bastion City in his hand. The letter that accompanied them getting unfolded and read quickly as he searched for the reason why.

Oh.... well. Wow okay.

He glanced at the tickets again, quickly digging out his crystal so he could bring up the website for the ceremony and scroll through the list of nominees. Yep. There he was. 'Riz Gukgak - nominated for his piece exposing the unethical hunting of sapient species for level grinding in the Mountains of Chaos'.

There was a fairly substantial cash prize if he won too and he honestly didn't think he'd ever held that much money in one go before (saved for the cursed coins in Kalvaxus's hoard, and that didn't count in his mind).

The rogue flopped heavily onto his couch, still clutching the letter and tickets in one hand and his crystal in the other while he stared at the ceiling. Sure he was aware his article had been popular, the Bastion City Newspaper having bought it from him for a decent amount of money, but he didn't think it was that good. He'd written it on a whim, something he'd discovered incidentally while working a different job for the LPRTF that had left him with a lot of information buzzing around in his head but nowhere to put it other than into an article. This was... wild.

He glanced at the letter and tickets again, holding them up and snapping a photo before sending a text with the picture to his mom.

//Hey. I've been nominated for an award. You free Thursday night next week? They sent me a ticket for a plus one.//

//Honey thats amazing! Of course! I'll let work know I won't be free. We can discuss details when we get home. I'm so PROUD of you.//

Riz laughed, flicking over to the group chat as well to update his friends and getting a swarm of similar texts, though they were more packed with emojis than his mothers had been. It had been Fig that noticed the second ticket, the archdevil reposting the picture into the chat after circling the extra ticket in red.

//Omg who are you taking as your plus one?! Do you have someone you want to ask out maybe? >:3//

//No. Dude. I've already asked my mom.//

//Lol figured. You'll have to tell us how it goes! Down to the second updates.//

The next few days had been hectic. Between school and work he had barely any downtime as it was but Fabian had insisted he get a new suit for the ceremony. Riz had protested that his normal suits were fine but he apparently had no say in the matter, the half elf saying it was a gift to congratulate him on his success and basically dragging him from store to store in his quest for the best. The girls had kidnapped his mom though, something he found out after he got home (arms overloaded with a new suit, and shoes, and socks, and cufflinks) and found his mother in a similar state of overwhelemed overshopped exhaustion surrounded by her own pile of clothes.

And so the day of the awards ceremony came, Sklonda getting a little teary eyed on seeing Riz in his outfit because he looked so much like his father. They were hustled quickly into the dark theatre once they arrived, the pair of them sitting through nearly an hour of speeches and awards before Riz's own catagory was announced.

He felt a little out of his own body when they announced that he'd won, heavy feet making their way up onto the stage to accept his award and cheque and got ready to make his speech. The rogue blinking in surprise when he noticed his party seated near the far back of the room waving wildly at him as he gave them a confused look.

Of course they were here. He shouldn't have ever doubted that they WOULD be. Between Fabians connections and Figs ability to get into places she shouldn't there was no way they'd miss out on this.

Riz shook his head in amusement, giving them a small wave back before clearing his throat to speak. Having to take a few seconds before he was finally able to get the words out.

[jupiterswasphouse]

WASP REVIEW - DEEPTORA BOUGH WASPS & DEEPTORA HONEYCOMB BEES (DEEP ROCK GALACTIC)

[Image IDs: Two renders, one of a swarm of Deeptora Bough Wasps, followed by a swarm of Deeptora Honeycomb Bees /End IDs.]

I just started playing Deep Rock Galactic fairly recently, and I'm a big fan! There's a lot in the game for bug fans to enjoy, with the vast majority of wildlife within the rock and stone being bugs, although the bugs are all aliens and aren't very easily comparable to the real thing. Even still, as tends to be the case, we can still allegedly find our Hymenopteran friends amongst this collection of extraterrestrial exoskeletal animals! But how do these bugs from the Hollow Bough and Sandblasted Corridors compare to those of our world?

First off their appearance, and, I'll be honest, there's not a lot here to analyze on the bugs themselves visually. Understandably when there are hundreds of bugs attacking at once, the developers wanted to make these guys more like particles than individual 3D models. Regardless, we can still take in a few details from their silhouettes, in which we can see, in a design choice surprisingly similar to the Mask Hornets from Lethal Company, the Deeptora Bough Wasps are actually more dragonfly-like than any social wasp, with the only wasp I can think of to really compare them to being ichneumon wasps.

[Image Sources: jupiterswasphouse, ie myself, and The Pathless Wood | Image IDs: A photo of a great blue skimmer dragonfly perching on a rusted dark metal garden decoration, followed by an image of a relatively large male ichneumon wasp on a green leaf /End IDs.]

Luckily, they at least appear to have the right number of wings, with a pair of forewings and a pair of hindwings, although there doesn't seem to be any real indication of legs. As for the Bees, meanwhile, are less clear, although they have a similar shape, also don't have any visible legs, they have a slightly wider gaster, and the presence of proper hindwings is unclear.

However, just because the actual insects don't provide us with much visually, doesn't mean that they don't give us a little bit more to go off of in general, as they still, of course, have nests!

[Image IDs: Two renders of the nests, the former belonging to the Deeptora Bough Wasps while the latter belongs to the Deeptora Honeycomb Bees /End IDs.]

... and clearly, these are very alien structures, with the bees' nest not being too easily comparable to the arboreal slabs of wax made by the true honey bees of our world we typically think of, genus Apis. However, it may be easier to compare them to some of the nests of honey bees of a different genus, that being Trigona!

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons, Sharp Photography | Image ID: A photo of a Trigona bee nest in a tree, the structure being very round with a multitude of holes /End ID.]

Obviously, it's not one-to-one! But, with its more enclosed shape and entry holes, it's a lot closer than those of genus Apis. We'll be returning to Trigona for other reasons later, but in the meantime, we'll move on to the Deeptora Bough Wasp Nest. Now, this nest is perhaps easiest to compare to paper nest making Vespids such as paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets. Although it seems to combine elements of the open, umbrella-shaped structures built by the paper wasps and the enclosed structures built by the hornets and yellowjackets.

[Image Sources: Flickr, Bob Peterson, and ResearchGate, Tshering Nidup | Image IDs: A real world photo of a nest of paper wasps, species Polistes major, subspecies major, followed by a photo of a Vespa mandarinia nest on the underside of a roof /End IDs.]

Although, again, it appears very alien, with a sort of red, angular, and glowing structure within the more paper-nest-like outer side of it. As previously mentioned in the It Takes Two Wasp Colony review, there are paper wasp nests that glow under UV, but these glow green, as opposed to red, and I'm uncertain how much ultraviolet light is found in the caves and mineshafts of Hoxxes IV.

Speaking of those caves, it's also worth noting that these nests are all found underground, which is not true of honey bees, nor paper wasps or hornets, this can be the case in some yellowjackets, which will build nests in holes relatively deep under the ground.

[Image Source: SMCMVCD | Image ID: An illustration of a yellowjacket nest that's been built underground, with a tunnel leading to the nest, a round structure made of paper /End ID.]

Furthermore, with regards to the number of insects within these colonies, it is stated in the bestiary that the Deeptora Honeycomb nest contains "10 million" drones, which is a strangely large number. For one, I'm not sure how that many bees fit inside these small structures, as even large nests in the real world contain "only" up to 80 thousand bees. Perhaps the tunnels extend further underground than they appear, but in game you don't seem to see the extensive tunnels below the nests that they would need to house them. Secondly, bee drones are, in fact, the males, meaning these ones would be incapable of stinging, not leaving the hive often. So how numerous, then, are the swarming workers? The log on the wasps is less specific, stating that they are actually more numerous, which seems to be inaccurate to their real world counterpart, although it's difficult to find proper numbers, as it appears that beehives generally contain more individuals than even the biggest of yellowjacket nests.

But what about their attacking behavior, then? Well, they seem to have the same general defensive behaviors, swarming and stinging players when they get too close to the nest, giving chase until the nest and the swarm are destroyed. They're a bit more aggressive than the eusocial Hymenopterans of our world, with mosts colonies only really attacking when directly disturbed in one way or another, although the dangerous environment of the caves may have made them evolve a more easily spooked demeanor.

The Bough Wasps are also described as being less aggressive than the bees, which is interesting, as it tends to be the case that eusocial bees are less aggressive than eusocial Vespids.

As for their feeding behaviors, the diet of the Bough Wasps is uncertain, as it's seemingly not mentioned, but it can be assumed that these wasps feed on the nectar of some sort of plant life given the surroundings of Hollow Bough. What is mentioned, however, is the feeding behavior of the bees, specifically being described as "flesh-eating".

Now, some of you may be thinking that there's no way there's a real world equivalent, as the eusocial bees of our world feed on pollen and nectar. However! Three examples can be found in the aforementioned genus Trigona! Trigona crassipes, Trigona necrophaga, and Trigona hypogea. These bees feed on carrion in place of pollen (Although, perhaps disappointingly to some, claims they make "meat honey" are inaccurate)! It can be assumed that the bees of Sandblasted Corridors do the same, as it is stated that they are "not particularly harmful towards Dwarves", therefore, likely not feeding on living sources of meat.

All in all, they're an interesting bunch! Clearly accuracy wasn't necessarily on their minds when making these guys, understandably so given that these are, in fact, alien in nature. Can't necessarily dock ti many points for that reason, though some things could have served to be a little more accurate. If I had to give a rating, I would say-

-

Overall: 5.5/10

-

Leave your wasp review suggestion in the replies, tags, or askbox!

[palettepainter]

I’ll be posting a little writing WIP for Hired Sparky later today, but for the Undertale fandom, may I propose an idea with Siren Horror?

I’m a shameless fan of HTTYD and the Sea Beast and 2024 I am dubbing my year of self indulgence so I’m posting this. I might write this if it’s popular enough or if I get the confidence too, but imagine: 

Y/N as a newcomer to a seaside town, neatly nestled on a coastline in the middle of nowhere. It’s bitterly cold nearly all year, and the people are about as sweet as vinegar. But the housing is dirt cheap, considering the looking threat of sirens that infest the waters. Y/N is nearly dirt broke and is looking to build a life outside of their family home, so the unwelcome seaside town it is! Not many people are willing to go fishing in waters popular for siren sightings, so the pay is pretty impressive (even if the work field is a bit competitive at times)

They’re hired onto a boat crew of hardened fishermen who all retell gorey tales of siren attacks in great detail fairly quickly, after doing a bit of research on sirens. The crew are at the point where they’ve learnt to laugh a little, they’ve worked the job long enough that they’re pretty relaxed despite the looming threat of danger on the water. Y/N is not so eased. They’re hired purely as a second hands on the boat: tending to nets and sorting fish once they’ve hauled onto the boat, nothing else. But the captain still hands them a rather heavy harpoon gun with permission to fire if need be. 

They set off into deeper waters where few fishing boats are given the clear to fish, meaning it’s basically free game for anybody with a net to catch fish of all kind. The weather is rough, but the crew bat their hands and say they’ve faced down worse storms 

But then a siren is spotted breaching the water a little ways from the boat. They’re not in immediate danger, and so reader assumes they’ll simply sail out of its line of sight, but the crew already fire a warning harpoon into the water to try and scare it off. For a beat, there is nothing, before the siren attacks the ship - a kraken of all things, one of the most dangerous species, considering its ability to grasp at the ship 

The harpoon has wedged itself into the creatures skull, piercing through the top and dimming it’s eye lights. It screeching, in confusion or anger, maybe it’s the panic coursing through their system, but the protagonist thinks that maybe, their might be fear mixed in with that shrieking. More harpoons and swords are fired at its heaving body, chipping at already injured and cracked parts.

When Y/N is ordered to shoot they instead aim for the rope attached to the end of the harpoon wedged in the creatures head, it grazes the rope, but it’s enough for the creature to snap is with a violently throw of its head. The creature sinks back into the water, the boat tossing from the loss of its weight, sending many of the crew overboard - including reader 

They try to swim back to the boat, but swimming in the confines of a pool to practise swimming in the sea proves that the sea is far more ruthless. They end up being dragged out to sea, climbing to a part of the boat railing that had been snapped off during the attack. Reader wakes up in some kind of enclosed cavern like structure, obviously forged overtime from the waves chipping away at the rocks. They’re cold, hungry, terrified…but alive. And they learn quickly they’re not alone. The siren is nearby, confused, disoriented and greatly weakened from the spear still stuck in their head. They can barely keep their head upright before they topple back into the shallow water with a grunt of exhaustion 

It takes a bit of effort, and gently coaxing, and a hell of a lot of stupid bravery, but when the siren has tired itself out enough and after several failed attempts at trying to swat them away (missing mostly each time thanks to their vision being heavily impaired from their injury) but eventually, the reader dislodges the spear, and is then promptly smacked *hard* and is sent flying into the sand 

Reader is certain they heard something snap as they fall back onto the sand, but miraculously, they don’t collide back onto any rocks. Feeling sore, they sit up, the siren is supporting itself on an arm with laboured breaths, the other clasping at the eye socket on the injured side of its head. Gradually, a red, focused eye light burns to life, focused dead on them. The siren looks at them curiously, as if they’re only just realising it’s alone - Y/N expects an attack, for it to pounce, so something…instead, the siren snorts, shakily hobbling off to the were the water is deepest 

Basically: what if Reader was THERE when Sans got that injury on his head?? The two have been washed into a cove by the tides: Sans is too exhausted to climb out and the water is dangerously shallow, there isn’t enough food for him to sustain himself, and without it, he won’t heal. Reader goes through the whole “Maybe these monsters are only monsters because we chose to see them that way” and overtime the two form a somewhat bond, reader bringing Horror food and such while he heals and Horror showing them that sirens are far more intelligent than what silly books have documented about them 

I’m a sucker for enemies of two separate tribes or species breaking the generational hate and learning to be friends it is SUCH a good dynamic and it scratches my brain the perfect way 

[abbysbasement]

ABBY ‘WAR MACHINE’ ANDERSON

—short thoughts

• A honey girl, always keeps a summer tan, usually from working out on the quad all day. Practically glowing all of the time and the girls are insane about it.

• Sorry, the braid is dead. Only ever really wears it on the rugby field, and when she’s walking around campus, her hair is usually down, or up in a bun and held back with a sweatband. Whatever mental image you’re conjuring in your mind, it’s correct. Even that one.

• Her father is the country’s premier neurosurgeon, and he’s donated a lot of money to Jackson University. A library there, a faculty building there, even refurbishing the rugby field for the season. He practically gives a blank check each year, and because of this, consequences don’t really exist for Abs and she gets away with any and everything. The reason why she has an air fryer in her dorm and the RAs pretend like they don’t see it.

• Proud community strap. Was notorious freshman year for having a rotating cycle of girlfriends and side pieces. ‘Those are not healthy coping mechanisms, Abby.’ Her therapist says, but is there really any better way to ease your mind that slipping deep into a warm body, tight and soft and wet? No, probably not.

• Has the prettiest smile, smiles with her eyes, always so charming with plump, kissable lips. Has perfect teeth, never missed a dentist appointment and gets check ups religiously. Had braces in the 10th grade and when she had her first kiss with a girl she cut her lip and it bled all down her mouth. She probably fainted idk.

• Girl himbo (I know what I said.) butch himbo? Butchbo? Actually super smart and well read, majoring in animal science to become a vet tech. Spends a lot of her time in the school library, when she’s not on the field, or at a party, or in a stranger’s bed. Or in her own bed, nursing a hangover, whatever’s more common.

• Still roommates with Manny since freshman year. Originally she got set up with Leah, who then of course wanted to room with her boyfriend, who was conveniently dorming with Manny. A little form-filling here, some schmoozing there, a little ‘my dad owns this school’ over yonder and it was a match made in heaven. Nobody has a deeper, more intimate connection than a butch lesbian and her boy best friend.

• Terribly afraid of needles. She can’t pinpoint specifically what she has against them but they inspire the same nausea in her that heights do, so when she can she steers clear of them. In a turn of drunken, reckless events, Manny convinced her to get her ears pierced, because pretty girls love stud earrings, obviously. By the time the piercer did one ear, Manny had to carry her out of the parlor because she had COMPLETELY passed out.

• Between classes and practice, she forgot to clean her piercing and her ear got infected. She had two large-scale mental breakdowns; the first when she woke up leaking and burning from her ear, which had already sucked the metal halfway into the flesh, and the second, when her dumbass roommate said, “it’s okay, man. I have pliers, I can pull it out for you and then you’re good as new.” She almost threw up.

• The great piercing debacle of ‘21 ended in her calling up her dad, bawling, because she didn’t know what to do, Manny sitting on the couch listening to her freak the fuck out in the bathroom. “This is what happens when you put foreign objects into your body, Abs.” He chided, as *another* needle was plunged into her skin —local anesthetic— before he sliced open her earlobe with a scalpel.

• The proud driver of a cherry-red enclosed Jeep Wrangler, fully paid off by her dad as a highschool graduation gift, an upgrade from the white Audi she got as a 16th birthday present. She gets it rewrapped every six months —the ice blue was real popular with the ROTC girls, the olive green got the environmental club girls out of their panties, the red and black is a pretty good catch-all— (school colours, by the way!)

• Gets her car detailed once every two weeks, the back seat has those mud mats laid down. they’re not for mud.

• Retired horse girl, ALMOST got a pony for her fourteenth birthday! Then, shit happened… and she didn’t get the pony for her fourteenth birthday.

• Loves revenge and power plays, actually! It’s her specialty at this point😚 Got into some medium-tier beef with some dickhead on campus, and somehow his mouth got ahead of him and ended with her being branded as the town’s bulldyke. Interestingly enough, the day didn’t end in Anderson-typical violence. Instead, as one does, she trailed him home one day, borrowing Nora’s black sedan for recon. Just for field research, obviously!

• In the interest of honesty, Abs was definitely planning on stealing the wheels off of his car, or putting bleach in his gas tank, —sugar is a myth, just so you know— until she saw the most beautiful creature strolling out of the house and into a white SUV. Then, her plan changed for absolute scorched-earth total destruction, to an excruciating slow-burn.

• The next week, while shopping at the grocery store which she totally didn’t drive 30 minutes out of her way to go to, she had her first meet cute, coincidentally, with a gorgeous 40-something that just so happened to be some asshole’s mom.

• Before she knew it, she was fucking her on every surface in her house, —artfully furnished, great feng-shui— the kitchen, the bathroom, her marital bed, the couch, essentially the full tour, until they got to her son’s bedroom. Kept a mental note, and when she excused herself to the bathroom she probably erased all of the little shit’s PlayStation saves, too.

• When you start fucking a guy’s mom, it changes you. Your wardrobe especially. Including an arsenal of completely coincidental, just for fun slogan tees, with hits like “I ❤️ HOT MOMS!” “PROMOTED TO DADDY” and a personal favourite, “MAN, I LOVE FISHING!”

* And of course, she comes back to campus fresh off of a 3 hour stint of eating out a woman twice her age, to greet her new best friend with a smile and a, “Hey, your mom makes a good apple fritter! Dessert was fuckin’ greaaat, too! Practically finger lickin’ :)”

* CEO of revenge, comedically evil.

[paigegonerogue]

Here’s why the infected scene in episode 5 of TLOU works so well…

Buildup: As of episode five in the series, we’ve seen infected multiple times already, and every appearance has built up this “threat-level” of them. In the first two episodes we see both the larger scale of the infected and how scary they can be in hordes (like the driving scene and the capitol building, as well as the absolutely brilliant overlook scene), but also how threatening they can be solo (Joel and Sarah in the diner and the museum scene)… also in episode three we get Bill’s little “ehehe” from an infected death which is just as if not far more important as well.

By the time we see the infected come running out of the crater, the writers have already intentionally and precisely given us the knowledge of just how scary the infected can be.

That’s also why I’m glad they only did this type of massive battle once in the series, because once they did it, it becomes impossible to recapture that buildup and almost “unleashing” of the infected, of seeing just how scary they are.

The buildup also includes the more typical rising tension of the episode (which was, like everything else in the show, done absolutely fantastically), and the foreshadowing of the infected by both Kathleen and Henry.

Scale: The infected scene in episode 5 is by far the biggest in scale action sequence of the show. The huge amounts of infected pouring out of the rubble and the massive Bloater, as well as how many people are involved, the fighting in the background, it makes the whole battle feel huge. It leaves you in this sense of almost “awe” that so many great action sequences have.

Horror: In the sequence there are horror elements added in to make it feel scarier (complementing both of the points above). Obviously zombies are already horror-esque, but that’s not what I mean.

I feel like the best example of horror elements being incorporated into the fight is the part where Ellie is in the car. Enclosed spaces are a horror staple. Ellie being trapped in the enclosed space with an infected, and later Henry and Sam trapped under the car, transition this battle beautifully into tension-filled smaller scale sections in this massive battle, with parts so pinprick focused on the people we care most about, and how bloodthirsty and terrifying these monsters are.

We also see it in Kathleen’s shocking and gruesome death, and the power of the bloater, almost reminiscent of the predator or other near-unstoppable horror forces.

Cinematography: The lighting in the battle is so good, with the fire and darkness adding to this scary effect of the battle, as well as this extra layer of dynamism and contrast.

Also, I’m always a sucker for background fight, following characters as they navigate through violence. The way this sequence does it is also incredibly well done, with the background ever-shifting and changing, with the focus of the shot being on someone actively trying to avoid the fight and get past this living mass of gore.

The handheld style of TLOU is something I can write essays about (and I will! Post about cinematography coming soon lol) but in this sequence it makes you feel like you’re on the ground with the characters as the battle rages around you.

Monster Design: This one is self-explanatory, I’d say. The clickers, and the Bloater, my goodness the Bloater, look so incredibly good. And the way that they created this almost alien thing overtaking regular peoples bodies and turning them into monsters is incredibly amazing, and the practical effects make it look so real and detailed (they had the makeup guy who did the Night King and Vecna)

Emotional Resonance: This one’s pretty simple. The battle makes you feel things. Not just fear for the characters, though there’s definitely a lot of that, but also showcasing Joel and Ellie’s growing bond, with Ellie trusting Joel to have her back and Joel desperately trying to protect her.

It was absolutely magnificent, and an absolute feat of filmmaking.

[jungwoosshoes]

Seven Of Spades -- Part II - Hearts

Part 1 ----> Part 2 (Hearts) ----> Part 3 (Clubs) ----> Part 4 (Diamonds)

NCT x Reader Cardverse AU!

Pairing: Nakamoto Yuta, Johnny Suh, Lee Jeno, Xiao Dejun, Kim Jungwoo, Park Jisung, Qian Kun, Lee Ten, and Zhong Chenle x reader ; friend! Yushi x bestie! reader, Sakuya's here as a fairy Godfather too!

Warnings: Not many--reader is a witch and kinda poor, there's some political conflict, mentions of sick people

Note: I refuse to use Y/N, so watch me struggle to write around it! <3

Word Count: 5.3k

The Escape:

“He really looked at you Seven! I can’t believe it! You!” 

“Jesus Yusi.” 

“What?” He asked. I rolled my eyes, “I mean, if he were to look at anyone, it’s not like I’m that hideous.” “Oh!” His eyes went wide. “That’s not what I meant! You know that’s not what I meant Seven. It’s just,,you know. We’re from the Rocklands. The outer ones at that. I didn’t think Kings or Queens or even Jacks looked at people from here.” “I know what you meant, Yushi.” I smiled. Faintly, but he’s known me long enough to pick up on it. We were nearing our neighborhood now, and I was relieved to be far from the crowds again. Sure, a little excitement is healthy, but when all one knows is near solitude, it can be quite overwhelming. “That might be the most noteworthy thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” I lamented. “And it only lasted a second. “Seven!” Yushi yelled. “Don’t talk like that. You’ll get married, have children, and you heal people all the time with your potions and such. In my opinion, that’s way more exciting than making eye contact with some queen.”

“You’re right.” I replied. “I’m always right.” He retorted. I let out a chuckle at that–mostly because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

We arrived at the fork between our two cottages, and Yushi insisted he follow me home so he could see what Mr. Wang had written to me about. “Probably raving about how you healed him again!” Yushi said. “Or sending you more money! You could use that to buy a new dress! Or fix your ceiling!” He suggested. “Priorities, Yushi.” I chided. “Obviously a dress would be far more useful!” He let out a good, hardy laugh at that as he dismounted his horse, and put him away in the stable with my Cassie. “Are you thirsty?” I asked. “I’m more curious to see what this letter says.” He rushed into my room, where I had left it. He thrusted it toward me, and I rolled my eyes. I opened it, and to both of our dismay, no money was enclosed. It was, however, full of desperately written words. 

“Dear Miss Seven of Spades,” It read. “Your reduced pine-dandelion elixir was nothing short of a miracle sent from God to heal me during a desperate time, and for your services I am forever grateful. Though I remain in good health, I regret to inform you that my young son has fallen very ill. He has grown scarily pale, and hasn’t the energy that a young boy should have. My wife and I are worried sick, and none of the remedies tried by us or our family doctor have worked. Please, if you would be so kind, I’d like to request your services again, this time for the benefit of my boy. Of course, you shall be handsomely rewarded. Our address is the same–good luck on your journey. Many thanks, Wang Yŭxuān.”

“Oh no.” I whispered as I set the letter down. “What?” Yushi questioned. “He hasn’t died, has he? Oh Seven, tell me he hasn’t died!” “No.” I turned to look at him, “But his son has grown very sick. I can hardly believe it–he was such a healthy baby when I last saw him. “You’ll help him, right?” Asked Yushi. “Of course I will!” I exclaimed. “I’m going to start getting everything together now–the ride to Clubs takes forever–it takes hours just to get to Hearts! I have to leave right away!” 

I began rushing around my cottage, gathering everything I thought I might need into a large bag. I had an idea of what I could make, but would refine the details along the way. “I’ll look after everything while you’re gone.” Yushi offered. “Thanks Yushi. You really are the best.” I said honestly. “I know!” He quickly replied, coaxing a snort out of me. Even if I was stressed, he always knew exactly what to say. 

“Be safe!” Yushi called as I rode down the main road. “I won’t!” I yelled back, smiling wide. As I grew farther from the Rocklands, I expected to see more people, but didn’t. “Just you and me for now, Cassie.” I said to my horse, who doesn’t speak human, but I felt could understand me for some reason. The ride to Clubs should take two days, or at least that’s how long it took me in the past. Getting to the border of spades wouldn’t take long, it was passing through Hearts which would cause the real issue. I elected to cross that bridge when I got to it, and began to look through my bag for my citizen’s card in the meantime. Nobody could travel without one, so I figured it would be pretty important. “Got it!” I said to nobody in particular upon finding my card. In good time, too, because I was swiftly approaching the border. 

“Now where exactly are you going, miss?” Asked the officer once I got closer. “Hearts sir. Ultimately Clubs, but Hearts in the meantime.” I replied as sweetly as I could. “I take it you weren’t at the parade, then.” He said, refusing to take my citizen’s card. “I was sir! Is that a requirement?” I asked, profoundly confused. “No, little girl. However, at the conclusion of the parade, the royals announced that Spades would be closing its borders.” “What?” Now I was even more confused. “What good could that possibly serve? They can’t just shut everything down, sir! People have jobs, and families in other states! What do they expect us to do?” “Relax, sweetheart.” He replied condescendingly. “It’s only temporary, they’re looking for somebody. The borders will probably open again in a day or two.” “But sir! Surely they can make an exception! I have to go save a young boy! He’s fallen ill and his father sent for me, I–”

“No exceptions, sweetheart.” The officer replied coldly. “Now I suggest you get back to wherever you came from–who knows? Maybe you’re the one they’re looking for.” “Yeah.” I whispered, turning away. “Maybe”

I couldn’t believe it. I did know this for sure though–that I wasn’t about to let some royals be the reason a young boy died. So, I decided. I would take the route I had only heard of from elders around the Rocklands–through the woods and into the smaller villages in Hearts. I returned home, and put on an old, brown dress. I don’t know, I figured it might help me blend in better. When I mounted Cassie again, I began the ride to the pond that supposedly marked the beginning of the path. It was close to Yushi’s cottage–we used to play in it when we were little. I got closer, and my heart rate increased. How would we fare in the woods, Cassie and I? What would we find there? How long would we have to travel? I wasn’t sure–I couldn’t be. But somebody needed me, so I had to be brave. 

The path was faded, but I was sure I found it. It must’ve been used by people years ago, when the divide between states wasn’t so…harsh. It must’ve been a much better time. But then again, what would I know? I prepared myself to enter the path, and just as we began to take our first strides into uncertainty, I began to hear voices. For a moment I considered that I might be going a touch crazy with nervousness, but then, when I turned my head, I saw that the sources were very real, and even more terrifying. Yushi was standing just outside his door, speaking to four men. Three in blue suits with silver accents, and one in all black with dark glasses. I would eventually discover the real reason that the royals had been at Yushi’s door that evening, however it was not on that day. Instead of asking, I elected to take off as quickly as possible. 

 The woods were thick and dark on both sides of the path, but there was enough light from the sun above for us to keep sure of our footing. I was initially frightened of the small noises and large deer in the woods, but we made it through relatively unscathed. Light from an opening in the trees engulfed Cassie and I, and I could hardly believe my eyes. It was just a few feet away.

HEARTS

I had been to Hearts before. Still though, the differences between this place and my home were shocking. Hearts had no jagged rocks or high winds. The Sun seemed to live here, and only begrudgingly visit Spades when it felt that it had to. Pink flowering trees bloomed absolutely everywhere, coaxed out of hiding by the warm spring breeze. Beyond the small houses along the border of the forest, a red city rose out of the rosy vegetation, seemingly in harmony with the nature around it. Cassie and I had to stop to catch our breath for a while, and I was quite glad that this was the sight we were to enjoy while we did. 

As we began to walk the faint path into town, I noticed people buzzing about with excitement. They were chattering about something, but I figured it wouldn’t be anything important to our journey. I figured. The farther along I got, the more I noticed that everyone was wearing red, and the more I noticed that everyone seemed to be hurling offended and confused looks towards Cassie and I. Now Cassie is quite the beautiful horse–she was white with painted brown spots and auburn streaks in her white mane and tail. So, I put together that people likely weren’t directing their looks towards her. I grimaced as I kept walking, and tried to keep my head down. That was, until I ran into a tall man wearing a red Hearts uniform. 

“Excuse me, but what exactly do you think you’re wearing?” He grumbled in an irritated tone. “A…a dress, sir.” “That dress could get you fined. I’ll never understand your generation. So against any type of authority. Is this your way of rebelling? Because it’s pathetic.” “I’m very sorry, sir,” I replied cautiously, “But I don’t understand. I’m not trying to rebel at all! This…this is the only dress I have.” I couldn’t tell him that I was traveling from Spades–there was a chance he knew about the travel ban. So, I figured that being purposefully vague was the way to go. “Well then I suggest you get a new one. Now. There's a shop right down this road–it’s cheap, built for villagers like yourself.”

With that, he left, and left me confused. Not about who the court was–that was what the Hearts royals were called, and not about his opinion of me as a villager. There was sentiment like that in all the kingdoms–people from the Rocklands or the Village, they were all the same to people from the big cities. What confused me was why he was so upset about my dress. It wasn’t expensive or fancy, but it was fine! And in a nice neutral color! Regardless, I figured that if I wanted my journey to continue through here, I better get myself a new dress. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to blend in with the people–just in case anyone from Spades came looking for me. 

The dress shop seemed humble–a little pink building with a sign out front–”Style By Sakuya.” I walked in though, and I was blown away. Clothes of every shade of red one could imagine lined champagne-colored walls; gowns, blazers, and skirts covered almost every inch. “Hello!” I heard a voice call from somewhere deep in the store, “Just to let you know, we’re having a court day special sale! Thirty percent off everything!” “Oh!” I replied, caught a little off-guard. “Thanks–I’ll keep that in mind!” I took a few steps deeper into the sea of gorgeous designs, and a head popped out from behind a display rack. 

“Oh my God!” It exclaimed, “What are you wearing?” These people. Seriously. “A dress.” I said, sounding a little more irritated than I meant to. “Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you!” said the boy, stepping out from behind a fuchsia suit hanging on a rack. “I get it. Who are they to tell us what to wear? But still, it’s kinda fun to see everyone so dressed up, putting their own little spin on things!” “Yes…” I replied, cautiously. “I just don’t like being told that I have to dress nice!” That must’ve been it. Their court probably mandated that everyone wear their finest clothing today. For what reason, I was unaware. But, better to let on like I know all about it. “Yeah…what are you talking about?” Asked the boy, “Because I think we heard different announcements.” “Umm…” I stumbled, “I mean…” 

“I don’t think you’re from here!” He cried. “Wow! I’ve never really talked to someone from another kingdom before! This is so exciting!” I had been caught! I was trying to fit in better and I got caught within the first half hour of being here! “Wait!” He exclaimed. “How’d you get here? All the borders are closed.” Christ. This just got so much more complicated. “I, uh, I don’t know.” I replied, very intelligently and eloquently. “Don’t worry!” He yelled, “I’m not going to turn you in! In fact, I admire your bravery! Okay–pretend this never happened. I have no idea you’re actually a fugitive who has no idea she’s actually supposed to be wearing red today. Hi, fellow Hearts person! I’m Sakuya! It’s a pleasure.” 

I laughed–thank God it had been his store I happened to be closest to. “Hi, Sakuya, I’m Seven. Seven of Sp- Hearts. Seven of Hearts.” “Hmm.” He said, “That’s kind of a weird name. But it’ll definitely help you stand out at the courting festival tonight!” “The what?” I asked, growing a little exasperated with the surprises I kept running into. “The courting festival!” Sakuya exclaimed. “Obviously you know that a mystic predicted that a girl would emerge out of the many citizens of all kingdoms meant to unite us all!” He winked. “She’s destined to marry a collection of court members of all the kingdoms!” “Yes..” I began, “Of course I know that!” I did not, in fact, know that. The Spades royals were never known for sharing their personal lives with the people. 

“Just because my memory fails me,” I said, “Which, um, which royals would these be?” “Court members.” Sakuya corrected quickly. “Nobody knows for sure. But, it’s definitely the Queen and Jack of Hearts. That’s why they’re the focus of the festival! They’re sure they can find the girl, and that she’s from Hearts. After all, love is kind of our thing! Right?” “Yes.” I nodded, smiling. “It definitely is. So that’s why everybody’s so dressed up?” I asked. “Yes, of course!” Sakuya returned my smile, “All the young, single citizens are required to attend. That means you now, too!” He seemed to realize mid-way through his sentence. “We need to find you something to wear, then! Unless, of course, you took a gorgeous red ball gown with you on your journey.” At that, I laughed. “No! Usually I would, but I just didn’t have enough room this time!” It was Sakuya’s turn to laugh. “Well then,” He stated. “Let’s see what we can find for you.” 

As I went through outfit after outfit, worry began to creep in. I had already planned to spend the night here, but now with the borders closed everywhere, and a mandatory festival, things became a lot more complicated within a very short span of time. Still, I had a job to do. I refused to be intimidated by some men set on finding a wife. That somehow made me angrier–that instead of closing borders because of conflict or a criminal, they closed them to try to control and track down some poor, unassuming girl. She had no idea that she was the reason that people were being kept from their jobs and families. Still, if I ever happened to run into her, I decided that she would be receiving one hell of a look. It wasn’t fair, but I resented this random chick. 

After what felt like hours, Sakuya finally handed me something that he said he had only just finished. “I’m not really sure if I like it,” he began, “I haven’t seen the way it sits when it’s worn yet.” “I’m sure it’s beautiful.” I reassured him. I slipped it on, and pushed the curtain of the small fitting room aside. You really ought to put a mirror in there, Sakuya. I can’t ev-""Seven!” He practically screamed, “It’s stunning! I’m a genius!” I let out a breath. “I told you it would look good.” I said. “Absolutely!” He jumped, “You have to wear it tonight! Please!” “I will,” I started, “But I can’t afford this. Sell it to a rich person.” I recommended it as I began to walk back into the dressing room. “No, Seven! Don’t you understand? If you’re there wearing that in front of like, the entire kingdom tonight, it’s free prime advertising! I couldn’t pay for better business!” “I don’t know…” I trailed off. “Please?” He asked, looking at me with a little pout. “Ugh!” I exclaimed, “Fine! I would be honored. Thank you, Sakuya. Really. Thank you.” He smiled. “Of course! I would do anything for you! After all, we’ve known each other for, like, an entire day.” I laughed, he laughed, and then he rushed off to get his own outfit ready. Tonight was definitely going to be exciting. 

Sakuya let me leave Cassie outside around the back of the store, and we decided to walk together down to the festival. He claimed the palace wasn’t too far, and he proved to be right. It didn’t take us long to approach the great, polished red gates. Luckily, there were too many people flowing in for anybody to care too much about exactly who was there and where exactly they were from, so getting inside wasn’t an issue. The crowd was large, but the hall was much larger, rising high over our heads in grand triangular arches. The walls were, of course, shades of red and pink, along with everything else in the kingdom. The color of Spades was blue, so seeing this much of another color was a surreal experience. 

“I should come here more.” I whispered to Sakuya, “It’s beautiful.” “Thanks!” He smiled, “We try.” “Where is the court?” I asked. “Shouldn’t they be announced for their own festival? “Not sure,” he shrugged, “They can be unpredictable at times.” I nodded. We walked around a little more, Sakuya occasionally greeting an old friend or client. Just as I began to grow a little bored, I decided that now would be a good time to use the bathroom–after all, it had been a while. “Hey, Sakuya” I turned to him, “Do you know where the bathroom is?” I asked. “Why would I know that?” He said. “I’ve never been here before! I’m from the Village.” “Okay! I’m sorry!” I laughed at his very spirited reply. “I’m gonna go find it myself.” I began to wade through the crowd, not really committing to any specific direction. My plan was to get to the edge of the crowd, and work my way along the walls. The worst that could happen would be that I end up back outside, and then I could just ask one of the guards. 

I stumbled into a pretty isolated corner, where only one man seemed to notice me. He looked a little older than I was, but still young. He looked a little feminine, but still very confident. Beautiful–that went without saying. His hair was pink, and fell perfectly below his ear. He wore a baby pink suit with a white collar underneath, and…a small crown on his head. Now, keep in mind, the people of Hearts love their fashion, so I didn’t think anything of this. Plenty of people had jewelry on their heads, so I figured he had just taken inspiration from the regal setting. 

“Hello.” He said softly as I made my way closer to him. “Your dress is…beautiful.” “Thanks.” I replied, never one to receive compliments. “Are you looking for the bathroom too?” I asked, and he started to laugh. It was such a pleasant sound. “No, I just wanted to step away from the crowd for a minute.” He smiled at me. “I knew it would be big, but not like this. The bathroom is probably absolutely full–I’ll take you to another one elsewhere in the palace. It’ll be a lot shorter of a wait.” “That’s very nice of you,” I said as I followed him farther down the halls of the magnificent building.”How do you know the palace so well?” He looked quite amused at that, and I just couldn’t figure out why he was getting such a big kick out of it. I figured I might’ve done something culturally incorrect or weird, but I was in too deep to explain myself now. Who cared if this breathtaking stranger thought I was weird? I had a job to do. 

“I live here.” He replied after a beat. “You..you live here?” I asked. “That’s amazing!” I gushed, “You’re so lucky. What did you do to get that arranged? Do you work here? “Where are you from?” He asked, evading my question. “Oh, the..the Village.” “No, really. Where are you from?” He asked again. “The Village!” I asserted, much more sure this time. He just smiled and shook his head. “You can use this bathroom. He said, and opened a large white door into an elegant white bathroom with vases of pink roses scattered about tastefully. “Think about my question more while you’re in there.” He said. “I would like a better answer once you’re done.”

I slipped in, and considered my options. I could lock myself in here all night, but who's to say he wouldn’t call some guards on me. I could burst out and make a run for it, but I probably wouldn’t make it that far. After careful thought, I decided to just alter my story. I would originally be from Clubs, but I moved to Hearts a month or two ago. That would explain my lack of cultural awareness, and completely distance me from Spades. Just as I reached for the door handle, I heard my stranger talking to another man.

“Jungwoo? What are you doing here? I’ve been looking all night for our girl and you’re here standing around?” “Oh please, Jisung.” Stranger, who’s name was apparently Jungwoo, replied. “I bet you’ve talked to three people at most.” “Three more than you have!” Jisung yelled back. “Actually,” Jungwoo began, “I think I’ve found her. And She’s listening to us right now. You can come out, I know you’re right next to the door.” Me? Was he talking about me? I opened the door. “What are you talking about?” I asked. I turned to see the man called Jisung. He was tall, and the opposite of Jungwoo. Masculine, with strong arms, but shy and timid. “You..you’re very pretty.” He said and looked away. “Is that all you’ve got to say, Jisung?” Asked Jungwoo. “I’m sorry,” Jisung blushed. “I’ve never really done this before. “Neither have I!” Jungwoo retorted, “But I still did better than that!” 

“What is going on!” I asked, much louder this time. “You didn’t tell her?” Asked Jisung. “Real Cassanova huh. We, um, well you know that this festival is so we can try to find the girl from the prophecy.” “We?” I asked. “Oh shit. We. You! I mean. You’re..” “I’m Queen Jungwoo.” He smiled and reached for my hand. “And I’m Jisung, Jack of Hearts. But didn’t you already know that?” He looked at Jungwoo. “Apparently not, Jungwoo replied, turning to look at me. “Who are you, and where are you from? Please, it’s very important that you tell the truth. After all, we might end up married to you soon. 

My cheeks turned about as crimson as my dress, and I stared at them incredulously. How did I end up here? I just needed to pee! “I…I’m Seven. Seven of Clubs.” “Seven?” Asked Jisung. “Not your status, your name. What’s your name?” “It’s Seven.” I said “It’s both–my status and my name. Makes it easier on everyone.” At that, Jungwoo let out an even bigger laugh than he had before. “You’re parents sound fun! I can’t wait to meet them!” He said, dragging me back down the hallway. “Yeah…” I began. I had to get out of here–I was a fugitive with a place to be by morning. This could mean terrible things, both for me and the Wang family. “Listen, my friend Sakuya is out there. I better tell him where I am–he’s probably worried sick!” I said, stopping in my tracks. “Oh don’t worry about that,” Jisung said from behind me, “We’ll have our people go inform him. He’ll be happy for you.” “Right.” I replied, already beginning to try and formulate my next escape plan. 

We kept walking, and eventually ended up in a large room of the same pink that covered the rest of the palace. White and red furniture was strategically placed around the space, making it feel like more of a comfortable seating area than a grand reception room. Couches were littered with plush pillows and soft blankets and paintings hung on every wall. Just as I was led to sit down on a comfortable white cushioned chair, I realized how dire this situation really was. I was a fugitive–worse, a fugitive with a job to do and a place to be. I was in the reception room of two of the most powerful people of Hearts. I could be sent back in a second, and who knows what kind of trouble I would have been in if I made it back there led by men in red uniforms. I had to find a way out of here, but it had to be smart.

“Listen, sirs,” I began, slowly trying to think of the perfect words, “I’m very flattered, and honored. Truly, I am. But I’m not your girl. I can’t be.” “Why not?” Asked Jisung, his demeanor suddenly became downtrodden. “And please,” added Jungwoo, “Call us by our names.” I had to choose my next words carefully–very carefully. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m not… a court member, or royal, or regal. I don’t know the first thing about politics! I stopped going to school when I was young–you’re looking for someone educated. Somebody beautiful and smart. Somebody who has the talent to bring people together! I can’t do that.” 

They stayed silent for a moment or two, breathing and looking at their shoes. Then, Jungwoo raised his head to look straight into my eyes. “Just…just give us a chance. You’re special, Seven. I can feel that. Spend the night. Have dinner with us. Please.” To this day, I still don’t know what came over me at that moment. “Okay.” I said, a small, shy smile blooming across my face. “But I’m sure you’ll see by the end of the night–I’m not your girl.” The two men glanced at each other, and Jisung shook his head at me. “Maybe.” He said, slightly insincerely. 

I had never experienced such luxury in my life. We had a complete meal of foods I couldn’t even name–vegetables and meats I’d never even seen in the Rocklands. We sat and discussed dreams and when the sky was prettiest–I said at sunset, but Jungwoo was adamant that the sunrise was truly the most gorgeous time. Jisung tried to teach me how to dance, at which my skills needed greatly improving. Jungwoo sang and clapped in the back, and for a moment–just a moment–I let myself believe that maybe I could be the girl of their prophecy. A princess. They made it seem so easy; laughing and yelling like boys from the countryside, despite rarely leaving a castle. I had never smiled so wide or clutched my side laughing like I did that night. 

Just as it grew time to get ready for bed, and the last festival guests trickled away, Jungwoo took both of my hands in his. Jisung stood next to him, his hand on Jungwoo’s shoulder. “Seven,” Jungwoo began, “When I first saw you wandering around the edge of the crowd, something about you caught my eye. After spending this evening with you, I’ve only grown more confident that you were meant to be the one to unite these kingdoms. Please, I’ll write to the others. I’ll send a messenger. Stay here with us, and meet them. You are what we need.” I grew sad, watching such a powerful person be so soft around me of all people. They had truly opened up to a person who did nothing but lie to them. Still, I couldn’t reveal myself now–the Wangs were waiting. 

“Let me sleep on it…please.” I whispered, looking down at the dark wooden floors. “Of course.” They said in near unison. “I’m going to go inform King Taeyong of our status–Jisung, would you mind leading Seven to our nicest guest room?” “Of course,” Jisung nodded, reaching to hook his arm with mine. “C’mon Seven.” “Goodnight!” Jungwoo called, disappearing down one of the identical corridors. “Night.” I exhaled, silently. 

“Here,” Jisung turned to face me after a few minutes of walking, “I hope you rest comfortably. I’ll see you in the morning.” I nodded, yet he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he leaned in close to my face, looked into my eyes for permission, and when I closed my eyes in invitation, kissed me softly. After too short of a time, he pulled away, tucked my hair behind my ear, and whispered, “There’s an extra night robe in the drawer. I’ll see you in the morning, Seven.” Before I could respond, he turned on his heel and left me standing there outside the door, a single tear rolling down my cheek. A tear for what I could have, and for what I would rob them of. 

I tried to sleep for a few hours, but floated in and out of restlessness. After a while, I decided it would be better to escape sooner rather than later. I slipped my crimson gown back on, and instead of risking wandering the halls and being seen, elected to slip out of the grand window on the South side of the room. I don’t know how I remembered the path to Sakuya’s, but somehow I made it within the hour. Under the light of a nearly full moon, I gathered my brown dress in the pack with all my other materials for the journey, and hopped back into the saddle atop Cassie. We rode in silence as tears rolled down my cheeks, hugging the outer borders of the kingdom rather than pass straight through. 

Before we entered the woods again, I took a deep breath and stole one last look at where my home could’ve been. No–it wouldn’t have worked. They would have discovered who I really was, and where I truly came from. So really, I was protecting us all; the girl from the Rocklands, the kind dressmaker, and the two boys who almost wished to make her their whole future. 

Halfway through the woods, still under the cover of darkness, I changed back into my brown dress. I considered leaving my red one there, as a sign that nothing terrible had happened just in case they decided to come looking for me, but I figured that would invite more danger than peace. I also couldn’t stand to leave it behind. Both the gown, and the memories sewn into its very fabric. I was horrifically tired, and couldn’t tell how much farther I had to go. So, despite my better judgment, I decided to curl up against a tree–just for a little while. As my eyes fluttered shut, I mourned Jungwoo and Jisung, and silently prayed that they soon found the girl destined to be theirs.

A/N: Feel free to ask me any questions guys! I'd be happy to answer them! Next part will include Jeno and Xiaojun!

[vashtijoy]

thank you for such a comprehensive answer! does make me wonder though — the game clearly has no qualms with saying that akechi did kill people directly and did cause deaths indirectly (e.g. the bus incident explicitly stated to have caused fatalities). so why on earth does p5 say the subway train derailment caused no deaths?? this is probably a very weird detail to zero in, but i feel like a heavier train in an enclosed space carrying more people than a bus is much more dangerous. ngl it broke my immersion on my first playthrough a little lol

I know what you mean, lol. Tbh, Akechi is obviously intended to be sympathetic—to be the worst case example of what happens when a kid is exploited by rotten adults and has nobody to help them.

This is why there are so many parallels between his tragic backstory and the stories of a lot of the PTs—he has Futaba's abusive family background, Ryuji's single mom, Yusuke's orphanhood and exploitative father figure, Haru's terrible father, and I'm sure there's something there for Makoto as well.

This is why, at the end of the engine room, he's met not with condemnation but with grace and understanding. This is why, though he does feel sorry for himself at the end and mourn what he's lost, he doesn't squirm and beg and justify himself like the earlier palace bosses—with the exception of Sae. This is why he gets a dramatic self-sacrifice and gets to come back as an antihero, who goes all-out to save the world at the cost of his life in passing, because it's in his personal interests to do so. Akechi is intended to have been sinned against as much, or more, than he has sinned.

At the end of the day, Akechi is a Phantom Thief, even though he's not really on the team, doesn't align with their motives, and almost nobody really likes him—just like them, he's a kid who was placed in an impossible situation, and they all get that. Even while they understand the reality of who he is and what he's done.

This raises the complicated "is he a victim" question again, of course, and the reality is that he's both a victim and perpetrator—like, of course, most criminals. Akechi isn't special. His backstory lets us understand what he's done; it doesn't undo it—and he knows that.

So what's going on, if I can go all Doylian for a second, is that there's an attempt to soft-soap the reality of what Akechi does—to keep him sympathetic. He doesn't shoot people in real life, for instance (with two notable attempted exceptions)—he gives them "mental shutdowns", giving him a layer of insulation from not only the physical reality of murder, but the moral reality of it.

Like the moment he sees Futaba unexpectedly in Leblanc, and ends up chattering oh shit, you're Wakaba Isshiki's— Like the moment on 10/11 that he walks up to Sae to see what she has on her laptop, and it's the Okumura death video, and he nearly vomits; he claps a hand over his eyes, and only then moves it to cover his mouth.

This is the reason he's so visibly unsettled a lot of the time in the interrogation room, why he stares at that dead guard wide-eyed for so long, and stares at dead "Joker" for so long during that cutaway to Sojiro that the gun stops smoking. He is—and we are—almost always insulated from the reality of his acts. tl;dr: you aren't meant to have to think too much about what it means that the pretty boy is a murderer and terrorist, if you don't want to. And that's fine! There is no wrong way to understand the game, no wrong way to play. A huge part of interpreting a work of fiction is what we bring to it ourselves.

But if you want to dig into that reality, it is there to be found. The fact that psychotic breakdowns obviously can be fatal, that Akechi performs them for Shido from the start, from two years before canon. That he performs so many of them that he becomes a detective, to make sure they're properly "cleaned up" himself. The fact that he makes two of the Phantom Thieves orphans. That Shido considers "proper use of the Metaverse" to be eliminating those in his way. That he sells Akechi's services to anyone suitably wealthy and controllable he can find. That, at the start of the game, all of Tokyo is terrified of this plague of accidents, of psychotic breakdowns, and that, per Sae, the incidents have been going on at least since Wakaba Isshiki died—two years before canon.

You also have things like the fact that he clearly negotiates what he does, as you can see in the post-interrogation room conversations with Shido—he can talk his way out of kill orders, or postpone them, as long as he doesn't push it, and he does this. There's no reason to think this isn't part of their dynamic all along. Shido manipulates Akechi with praise, sure, but Akechi also manipulates Shido as much as he can get away with.

There's also the SIU Director, on 7/10, complaining about how "he" (Akechi) is insufficiently brutal and doesn't come up with usably brutal plans. On the other hand, Akechi will, later, come up with the vicious detail of the plan to murder Joker in the interrogation room; that's his plan. He's told what to do (we join that incriminating phone call conveniently halfway), but he comes up with the details himself. He's on an arc, albeit one that isn't always obvious, and a large part of it is that Joker is slowly driving him out of his mind.

I just think Akechi is way more interesting, and that his manner and behaviour make far more sense, if he has done a lot of these things. The main thing that draws my eye is the visible lack of response he has to the atrocities he causes. Going back to that nice conversation you both have on 7/11, you know what he's almost certainly just done there? He's triggered the Goodness Foods car crash, which the evening news will report takes place at 8am on 7/11.

(and writing about this clarified so many things that it, again, became its own post oops.)

The crash kills four people. By the time you're on the train to school, the news is reporting this. Akechi seems completely fine with it all, better than fine—except there are tiny suggestions of something else, if you squint, something far below the numbness to what he does and what he's become; far below the bright surface. Something that will later be riveted in disbelief to the dead guard on the floor of the interrogation room.

That's interesting.

[pyrorptrs]

I've been doing redesigns of pop culture characters. Mostly working off the idea "What if I was put in charge of making a show around these properties" and the core founding Avengers was one of the first batches I finished

Ironman: Pretty straightforward; I just wanted something that looked armored, but could easily be simplified. I primarily took inspiration from the EMH version and the first couple of suits from the MCU with the intent that this is his Mark IV suit. That way I can easily do more suits and updated for him the future, particularly to flesh out future line-ups. I also threw in some black detailing to not only avoid using Gray (which most other associated Ironman characters heavily use), but to also act as a winking nod to how he took inspiration from one of his hot rods in the movie for that suits colors. My only real issue with how he turned out is some of the proportioning, so if/when I draw him again I'll try to make his shoulder less broad and his feet larger.

Captain America: Cap was pretty easy to a design for too; I leaned more towards his classic look, but tried to make it look like it was made from more modern materials. So instead of wearing chainmail in a simple suit, he has some pretty standard military gear with an armored chest piece and helmet. I also added some tactical pouches since I can see him either keeping a couple supplies on hand for long missions or to have something to slip a McGuffin into. I kind of have the opposite problem with his proportions that I do with Ironman, so when I draw him again (be it this specific design or more updated suits) I'm going to try to make him broader.

Thor: I prefer his more armored look from the mid 2000's-2020's, but wanted to start with a more classic EMH inspired look. Not totally satisfied with his face and might change the colors a bit in places if I redraw this design, but I do like how he turned out for the most part. Obviously I used the classic version as a base, but I made his belt buckle larger and tried to make the symbol on it look more like a cross between a tree (Yggdrasil) and an Eagle. I also turned his armbands/bracelets into fingerless gloves, taking some inspiration from his Ultimate counterpart and added one of those discs on each hand (I'm thinking they could light up when he's using his powers like the ultimate version too). I tried to keep the helmet simple and easy to draw while keeping the wings on them. I might also change some of the blue pattern on his boots to yellow to help them stand out more.

Hulk: Pretty simple, the only real thing I did was try to keep him a saturated green rather than the flushed one he has in the mcu. I have more problems with him compared to how the others came out, but that's mostly because I'm still figuring out how to draw human faces in my style and do exaggerated physiques, both of which are things that I'm going to have to improve through practice and experience. otherwise I think he at least works as a good starting basis for a good hulk design in my style.

Antman: Leaned toward Hank Pym since I hate how we skipped straight to Scott Lang in the MCU. Obviouisly both classic and EMH were the main inspiration for my take, but I did try to add some aspects from the MCU suit with a more enclosed look and proper gauntlets. I also tried to include a spots on both the gauntlets and belt for him to control his size shifting so that it's easier to justify him doing it without having to draw him going through that motion over and over again. I also tried to adjust the red to be a bit more orange-ish to have him stand apart from other very red-centric characters, though I'm not totally satisfied with the results.

The Wasp: I pretty obviously leaned heavily into the EMH version for my take on Janet Van Dyne, but I also tried to keep the enclosed suit idea for her like with Antman, so I threw in some aspects of the MCU design. I like how Wasp size alteration and other abilities are presented as more legit powers compared to Antman having to rely on the suit, but I did try to give them some visual cohesion by reincorporating the techy aspects of the formers suit into Wasp, though it's probably there more to help here store Pym Particles. I also gave her more of a proper undersuit and helmet and made the wings look kinda techy (Though I tried taking some inspiration from the space suit she had in EMH for those). I also tried throwing in some red to homage some of her original color scheme, but mostly limited it to stuff specifically surrounding her Pym tech.

I'm still trying to figure out how I would go about a story for HOW this version of the Avengers would from; though I would like Loki to be more of a final boss sort of deal, so I'd want to hold off on him being a direct threat until later. I could say that a single villain or one of the dedicated villain factions are the cause, but I think that would be too similar to the opening of EMH and Assemble. So maybe having it be so that a couple of notable, but usually unaffiliated, villains for Ironman, Thor, and maybe Antman team up to try to take them out one at a time, but the fight inevitably leaks out into the streets and draws the attention of the others resulting in them properly teaming up to stop the villains.

[obl1tus]

IMPORTANT CHARACTERISATION NOTES: below you'll find details of small things that have been added to Bryn's bio or I have realised that I still need to add/change. Some of these are more important than others but I recommend reading.

- Name: Bryn's name has changed to a Hebrew given name. The name given to her by Esther and Mikael is Astera Mikaelson ('tera). Bronwyn is the name her birth mother gave her and becomes a middle name until around 1114 when she begins to use it as her given name, wishing to separate herself from her past human life. Anybody who only knows her previous to this date (I.e., Aurora, Lucien and Tristan) would know her as Astera, she does not make a big noise like her siblings so while she is known, she is known by the name The Mikaelsons gave to her.

- Bryn is born a witch. Her mother is a Satanist whom, while adores her, also believes that the purer the sacrifice, the purer and stronger the magic so she tries to sacrifice her newborn daughter. It is likely that when Mikael ran the woman through with a sword, her power went to Bryn instead, given a ritual had already been started. This made Bryn's powers as a child present very strongly and the child struggled to control them. Esther binds her powers at the age of four years old because of this.

- After her powers are bound, Bryn feels an loss of identity. She would watch her brothers and eventually, pick up a sword Niklaus had dropped and beg her brothers to teach her in secret. When Mikael finds out, be makes one of her brother's sword fight her until the girl literally collapses, obviously not being skilled enough and then demands she gets up until she can't anymore. When this doesn't deter her, he caves and it's something she would eventually find herself very good at— though she never touches a sword again after her father drives his through her heart in order to force her to turn.

- It's shortly after changing her name that confrontations with Niklaus begin and she gets herself daggered after repeatedly trying to undagger her brother. She is only daggered for a short period of time— Elijah undaggering her. She flees shortly after this event, refusing to stick around.

- Between 1820 and 1826, Bryn begins to set up a network of vampires, witches and humans alike that feed her information— specifically about her siblings. This is not to say that the information is always correct or she gets it at the correct time. While this network is originally created during these six years, she adds to it throughout the centuries— primarily using compulsion.

- In 1831, Mikael tracks her down for the first time since leaving her siblings. He uses the human girl whom she has befriended and saved as bait to draw her out. He has no intentions of killing her at this time, only getting into her mind to find out where siblings, particularly Niklaus are. This fails and she manages to escape with both herself and a critically injured Raven. This is when she she turns her and creates her first and only progeny.

- Before leaving Mystic Falls, torn apart by grief over the loss of her brother's, Bryn leaves Rebekah a note with her phone number enclosed. The two exchange very few messages or calls but this is how she contacts her when Elijah goes missing, driving her to New Orleans.

[nitrosodiumfmp]

The Aesthetic, Part 1

To help describe how I want the City to look, I've looked at the work of Viktor Antonov. He started off as a texture designer for Redneck Rampage, but after that he worked on Kingpin: Life Of Crime and eventually Half Life 2. I'll research his work on Kingpin first. It takes place in a dirty alternate-1930s city - industry, gangsters, the works. A lot of the game has a very strong aesthetic to it, especially the "Poisonville" section, the factory district.

Even in these low-resolution screenshots, you can see what the game's going for. Tight streets, dark alleyways, ghoulish neon lights and buzzing signs. There's this choking oppression to the game that never goes away, and it works well with the violent themes of organised crime and revenge. Most of these screenshots are from one small area of the game, though. There are much better examples of this aesthetic a little later.

Everything is just dark and ominous, you can imagine it all coated with grime and oil and grease. This oppression comes in the level design, too. Not only are maps tight and snaking, but they end up being very vertical, with buildings stacked on top of buildings like they ran out of space in the city to build anything new. Even in open space, you feel enclosed, with the sky obscured by catwalks and balconies and overhanging roofs. The skyboxes are also very well done. They're blurry, but they encapsulate the environment really well - silhouettes of factory smokestacks and tower cranes standing tall amongst clouds of sickly green smog.

However, Kingpin isn't the only game Viktor Antonov worked on. He also contributed heavily to the look of Half Life 2 - especially its beta aesthetic. If you don't know, that game was going to be considerably more edgy, and it's actually quite interesting to see what was cut, and what was reworked.

As you can see, it retains the same sort of "Gothic Industrial" look that Kingpin had, but because of Half Life 2's more overt sci-fi trappings, the environments could be more far abstract, as you can see in the following images.

It's really hard to pin down a name for the look of the HL2 beta. Obviously it draws inspiration from dystopian films like Dark City and Brazil, but there's this very alien edge to it. These buildings weren't designed by human architects, they weren't built for humans. They're very skeletal, almost weak-looking, but there's this hard mechanical undertone to the whole thing, like it's all built for a purpose that goes beyond human understanding. It doesn't look weird to look weird - these nightmarish workstations make sense to someone, or something. A good example of this is the Strange Clock.

In a random room in a beta map of Half Life 2, you can find this weird contraption, consisting of a wheel and pendulum. It creates a ticking, droning sound, and each strike of the pendulum creates a horrid screeching. Nobody knows why it's there. Nobody knows what it means. It never made it to the final game; it's a relic of the strange, more undefined technology of the beta. I just love stuff like that in games. Tiny details packed out of the way, for inquisitive players to discover and theorize about. Considering I plan for my game to be all about exploration and solving a mystery in a weird environment, this sort of thing is perfect to draw from.

[sakughost]

The Dark Lord had finally gone nuts, Draco thought as he stared at his reflection at the school's bathroom mirror - eyes red with frustrated tears and hair disheveled from worrying . Kill Dumbledore? He might as well commit suicide. He doesn't want to do it. He could never do it.

But he must. For his parents. For himself.

He washed his face, charmed his face to look presentable and walked out.

Hoot. He stopped. An owl? At this time of day? How odd.

Draco looked up and found a letter, enclosed in a rose-colored envelope, falling wildly and smacked right onto his face. He winced from the pain, picked up the letter and read it.

Dear Draco,

I know what you're going through right now but know that you will get through it. Believe in me when I say that you are not evil. Never was; never will be. I hope this letter finds you in time. Find Dumbledore and bring him this letter. Only he can read the message hidden here. There is no time to waste. Bring this to him as soon as possible. Be safe.

I love you always.

HGM

Draco read it again. Whoever this HGM is, she (or he) clearly knows what is happening. Was she (or he) a Death Eater then? But no Death Eater would say she (or he) loves him. Not even his father or her Aunt Bella, and they were family. Whatever her (or his) motives were, it gave Draco hope. Maybe this was the solution. But the letter was very suspicious. Maybe it was a trap? It has got to be a trap. Annoyed and confused, he crumpled the paper and hurried to the next corridor. He bumped into something, or someone, when he turned and found Granger, sprawled on the floor clutching a familiar-looking envelope to her chest.

"Mudblood, where did you get that?"

...................

Hermione clutched the letter closer to her chest.

She received an untimely letter when she was scanning books in the library. She didn't even know that owls can fly into the library. It dropped into her open book. It had no name on it; just a rose-colored envelope that smelled faintly of strawberry. The right thing to do would have been to surrender it to Madam Pince but curiosity got the best of her - so she opened and read it.

Dear Hermione,

Please relay this message to Draco Malfoy.

"It's not a trap."

It is imperative that he hears this today. I know you have reservations about this but please know it may be the only way to save him. It would also quicken the Dark Lord's defeat, saving more lives than you could think. And you may think this is a trap- but it's not. I'm sorry I can't give you any more details but I do know you're running out of time by now. The Death Eaters will attack soon. Show Draco this letter. There's a message here that only he can read. There is no time to waste. Find him and be safe.

Love you always,

DM

DM? There was only one DM that she knows of but it was impossible since the message is for him. What kind of game was he playing at? She shouldn't do it, obviously. It was a trap...but what if it isn't? She read it again. (...saving more lives than you could think.) Her hands became clammy and her head had started to spin. She needed to tell Harry first. She was rushing to the pitch through the corridors when she bumped (more like crashed) into Malfoy. He staggered backward and said something beginning with that stupid slurr he called her. But she didn't hear all of it because she was then focused on the letter crumbled on Malfoy's hand. She looked up and saw his eyes were focused on the her letter as well.

[dragonlover158429]

A Step Into the Forest/ Chapter 2- The End of the Before

It started with the crows (or raven, whatever). They were already there when we arrived. I guess it makes the house more theirs than ours; which might be why I felt so uncomfortable around them- or why they acted so cocky all the time. I “met” them on the same fateful day we entered the house for the same time- just the day before I had my vision.  

My dad’s car had just turned right, leaving the forest, and the house came into view. I must admit, I picked up my jaw from the floor when I saw it. It was pretty big, although it obviously wasn’t a mansion. It was two floors high plus an attic under the roof. There was a wooden door with a porch and 8 windows; two on either side of the porch, the big glass window on the right side of the building, three more on the second floor (one giving access to a big balcony I already saw as mine before my parents took the big bedroom that had it...), and the last one being the little attic window with crappy curtains that let sunlight though in the early morning- the one I sleep next to if you followed. Before being told so, I knew it was old. The woodwork on the house is not one anybody nowadays has the patience to do. But I could see it had been repainted a short time ago. The outside walls were painted a shade of brown (sepia if I remember correctly) with a Copper colour highlighting the Details on the woodwork and the roof painted hunter green. It was a really Beautiful house (take that as the opinion of somone who knows Nothing of architectural styles, house values, or houses in General of course) and I didn't understand how my Father could have afforded to rent it for almost the whole summer with his, to be honest, pretty meager salary. A sentiment my mother shared, judging by her bemused expression… But she didn't ask my dad; although I knew they would talk about it later on- when they were alone.

The car pulled up on the gravel path and stopped before a menacing, stingy gate. Waiting boredly for us, slouched bedside the gate, was the employee from the house renting company. From what I had understood, the owners couldn't meet and give us the keys in person so they gave it to the Company who then sent one of their guy to deliver it to us. He would give us a quick tour of the house, give us the keys, and leave us be.

My parents climbed out of the car with me following behind and, obviously, they started exchanging meaningless small-talk. No one was paying me any attention, so I zoned out and instead of listening to their conversation I began to take in the house in more details. The fence I was standing next to and a red brick wall enclosed the whole property. I thought it clearly was more for decoration than actual defense; the brick wall only stood up to my shoulder blades and a most people would easily climb over it. On the other side of the gate, I could glimpse an unruly, thorny garden in which half a dozen trees joined hands to form a circle around the house.

The guy (I don't remember his Name. I knew it at the time, he had a Name tag on his blue polo Shirt. But I can't for the life of me remember what it was… Should I have?) finally stopped talking and took out a small key that seemed made of the same metal as the fence and opened the gate.

You would would think it was right there, as the gate swang open, that it happenned- that I sensed it. But no. Everything was normal until he stepped Inside.

It was at the moment he crossed the gate- when he stepped on the other side-that it happened.

I felt a shock. A strange, furious Energy coursing through my body in one brief moment. A thunderbolt had reached my body and my soul and had unearthed my roots from the ground. I froze. My breath caught in my throat. And, just as suddenly, it was over. I breathed out and there was Nothing left- no proof of what had just happened. Not even pain. I'm not even sure I felt it physically… But it had happened.

I know it might sound ilogical; but in my mind, and in this place, the things you see and hear are as true and untrue as what you feel and believe.

My parents had seemingly not noticed anything as they walked ahead with the employee- leaving me behind. Not that I noticed at the time. It was hard to notice anything. Do you know that light-headed, dark and fuzzy feeling when you stand up too fast and everything starts spinning? It was like that. Except it was more… intense. It just my head playing tricks; it was my whole body, my mind, and the world around me. It was as if my mind had been separated from the real world, which was spinning away at an incredible speed. Far, far, far, too fast for my desperate hold.

And the ground underneath me was gone- I was falling. And my vision was black and blurry- with bright flashes of colours. And there was a ringing in my ears. And, and- Was I ever going to see again? Was I going deaf?

"CAAAW!"

Welp, apparently not.