#oh its gonna be a doozy oh boy oh no

[elkkiel]

gonna fuckin binge on rituals today, i am NOT caught up and i desperately need to have a breakdown to Euclid

[marcmorrigan]

various ygo sketches and WIPs and such... love 2 draw these kids in ridiculous outfits obviously. i will finish these eventually 😤😤😤

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: New Book

JK Rowling: hello children Rowling: i'd like you all to know about my new book King: you wrote another harry potter book? awesome! Rowling: no itsss not a harry potter book Barker: oh jesus not another cormorant shrike Rowling: ITS CORMORAN SSTRIKE Rowling: AND NO

Rowling: this book is called 'the women who won't wheeshhht' Barker: women who won't wee or shit? Rowling: no that'sss not what i sssaid Rowling: that'sss not what i sssaid and you know it!!

Rowling: [muttering] think you're ssso sssmart well you won't be laughing when you hear from my barrissster Barker: what was that? Rowling: nothing

Barker: so the women who won't wee or shit Barker: is that why there's no toilets in hogwarts? Rowling: no!! Rowling: that's unrelated!!! Rowling: i've come up with a new retcon for that Barker: oh boy i bet its a doozy Poe: clive

Rowling: they removed all the hogwartss toiletss because the PC police were going to force them to let transs women ussse the ladiesss room Rowling: so instead dumbledore bravely removed all toiletsss Rowling: a great man, dumbledore Barker: and that's when wizards started just shitting themselves? Rowling: yesss

Barker: anyway Barker: the women who won't wee or shit King: are you King: are you committed to that title, joanne? King: cuz now that clive's said it King: i really can't not hear it

Rowling: i've got 10 thousand copiesss already printed! Rowling: i can't make changess now Rowling: look itss just gonna be cheaper to ssue anyone who makess fun of it Barker: who makes fun of the women who won't wee or shit Rowling: that'sss it!!! Rowling: you're on my lissst!!!

Rowling: everyone loves the women who wheeessst!! Rowling: it's full of manifestosss about the transss quessstion Rowling: and the final sssolution King: Koontz: Barker: Lovecraft: Poe: Rowling: my friendss and relativesss begged me not to do thisss Rowling: BEGGED ME! Rowling: with tears in their eyess Rowling: but i could not be dissuaded! King: what did your friends say about it then? Rowling: i don't really know, we don't really talk much anymore

[newkatzkafe2023]

Well... since bed breaking was briefly mentioned in the last request 😏

How would the monkey kings react to the bed breaking from smexy times with their s/o? Whether its the bed from an inn or their own bed. 🤭

Little addon with how it often it happens

I want to have you in my bed🛏🤭

(Lmk Wukong) You guys were going while one Saturday night, you both just got back from a romantic date and wanted to finish the night with a bang. Ohhhhhhhhh you finish it with a bang indeed because you both went so hard and so fast, that your brains weren't only scrambled but you broke your beds in half scaring the baby monkies who heard it. The next morning you both sat on the ground a bit mortified from how wild things got, however you both wouldn't mind doing it again You just need to make sure you had a back up bed to sleep on.

(HIB Wukong) Ohhhhhhhhh he's embarrassed and shocked, at what just happened, he knew he can get a bit crazy but this never happened before. Wukong and you haven't done anything in a long time together due to some random circumstances, or being caught up in childcare. Now you both had to figure out how to replace the bed before your kids or god forbid pigsy wakes up and sees, or your both will be doomed.

(MKR Wukong) Oh man do you know how many inns you both would get banned from, because of your shared Staminas. Sometimes Wukong would get aroused when you both would still have excess adrenaline from the battlefield, and with that you both would wrestle and rock the bed. Of course your gonna break it in half in a fit of wild passion, the next morning you both were scolded by your master for what happened at the inn. Unfortunately for him you both have no regrets and would probably do it in some other in too.

(NR Wukong) I can see him saying if the bed isn't broken then I'm not doing it right. However he tends to end up taking you to hotels and motels because you guys broke your bed at home, in a night of passion. He knows damn well your shared bed at home would not survive your mating sessions. Which is why he'll do you in a hotel bed he would book them on the weekends so nobody gets suspicious 🤭

(Netflix Wukong) WoW I see getting started by the bed breaking,especially when he was so focused on your shared pleasure You didn't hear any cracking from the bed. Then the next thing you both knew you and your bed were on the floor, now knocking his skinny ass he would brag about this to you until your ears fall off. Wukong would be Remembering this quite fondly for years to come, especially when he made his wife pass out in bed.

(BMW Wukong) Yooooo his ego would punch a Huge hole in the roof To the point where there's Barely any roof left. Wukong loves to go absolutely wild when it comes to you his queen, mating sessions usually last to the Crack of dawn. With that knowledge, it's no wonder your guys bed broken half You both can no longer Control yourselves or learn how to stop for a break. Though that's clearly a problem for later because you're both too addicted to each other to care at the moment.

(Destined one) THIS POOR MONKEY NOY WOULD DIE OF EMBARRASSMENT IF ANYONE FOUND OUT HE BROKE HIS BED SCREWING YOU TO INFINITY!!!!! the Destined one has a reputation of being calm, collected quiet, Disciplined, focus, strict and combat ready. If anyone finds out he lost control to the point where The result is broken furniture, it's over for him that's why the next morning he's quick to check out of the inns you stay in and actively runaway🏃‍♂️.

(Lotmk Wukong) Poor thing is gonna think he's gonna be in big trouble, you both don't do mate very often. Though when you do...boy it's quite a doozy that your gonna need some time to recover from, however this time you did a big uh oh. Wukong and you wrestle to hard that that a part of the bed of the inn you checked in broke, and you both looked at each other in fear. Luckily it was late at night and nobody heard it...the next morning you both made sure to be the first to wake up and leave with the group before anyone found out🤐.

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG🛏

[pebblesandpotatos]

Per my last post, this is how I think the LU boys approach/handle drinking.

Time: He mostly only drinks at social events or in celebration. Him and Malon will get totally hammered though on a rare occasion and Oohhh boy they are a riot to be around when that happens.

I do personally think Time had a drinking problem at some point. And while I'm not exactly sure when or for how long, let's just say it's why Lon Lon Ranch doesn't offer alcoholic milk...for the moment.

Wars: He is the most normal when it comes to drinking. He's a soldier. Of course he drinks and gets totally slammed now and again. I actually DON'T think he had a problem though. When everything was going down during the war I think he actually avoided it like the plague in case someone tried to poison him, or just because he couldn't didn't want to let his guard down that much.

It's a fun bonding thing for him so whenever the chain gets to a village he always offers to buy the older boys at least a round of drinks. It actually takes quite a bit to get him drunk but if you can it's kinda hard to tell. He's one to just get a little over dramatic about things when drunk which...isn't that far off from his normal.

Twilight: He is such a lightweight. He definitely didn't start drinking till after his adventure and the first time he got drunk was a doozy. The guy is a total mess, can't walk, and his country accent gets really heavy when drunk. Is definitely starting an arm wrestling contest and probably winning. That being said it's gotten better and he can have a few drinks now but he's not as good as Wars about knowing his limit.

Sky: Sky rarely drinks. It's not a big thing on Skylof and it's practically non existent on the surface currently. I also get the vibes that Sun would be someone very anti-drinking and therefore Sky doesn't do it and is very okay with that. When he goes out for drinks with Wars and Twilight though he somehow is not the first one to get drunk (*cough Twilight cough*) but is a total messy, love sick sap when he does.

Wild: Does. Not. Drink. At all. No amount of teasing or pleading will get him to drink alcohol. He has gotten drunk once since waking up and the experience was awful. He woke up the morning after and struggled to remember what happened and it made the poor boy panic. I also think it makes his memories/flashbacks worse. So Wild is stone cold sober and will stay that way.

Legend: Ahhh, the one that started this whole thing (as it often does cause this man is permanently on my mind). Legend is more like Time in that it's more of a social/celebratory thing for him but probably does it a bit more often. He doesn't like getting drunk though so it's rare for him to drink that much.

If you do get him drunk? Ohh boy. Oh have fun with him. Legend is basically an entirely different person when drunk. This boy is making friends with everyone. He's telling stories, cracking jokes and just being the friendly traveler he was born to be before all the trauma. He will break out into song if given the chance and try to get everyone to join him. And he will succeed. He drips charisma when drunk and its almost as intoxicating as the actual alcohol.

Hyrule: The desire to say he doesn't even know what alcohol is would be an absolute lie. Hyrule definitely drinks to the shock of the others. (Mostly Wars). Can absolutely out drink basically all of them except Wars and Time. Is the most likely to start a bar fight. Not for himself, but on behalf of his brothers. And if anyone dares try to spoil Legend's cheerful mood? Bro better start digging his own grave cause Hyrule will be out for blood.

Four: Not a big drinker. More than Sky but only barely. Each of the colors handle it differently so unless he splits it's gonna give him the worst hangover/migraine. You also never know what you're gonna get, it'll depend on which color is coming through the most. Vio turns into the biggest little shit and is probably gonna be the one getting punched for saying the wrong thing. Green is probably the one who punched him, red is passed out in the corner and blue is eating everything he can get his hands on.

Wind: Has he had drinks before? Yes, duh he is literally a pirate. Does his grandma know? No and it will stay that way if he has any say about it. However he lies through his teeth about how much he actually has/does. It's his way to make the others not look at him like the child he is. He also just loves how horrified the others are when he drinks from a flask. (It's just his grandma's soup). The only ones that have figured it out is Legend and Wild who help him keep up the facade cause they too think it's hilarious to see the others flip out

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 49 SPOILERS‼️

masterlist | all lessons | season 3 | lesson 48.1 | lesson 48.2 | lesson 49.2 | lesson 50.1 | lesson 50.2

now...

it's CANON that he knows he can't cook

so why the fuck 😭

luke :(((( baby :((((((((

i'm glad simeon is finally opening up though. luke being able to event talk to simeon about (before simeon himself, mind you) this proves that he's more than mature enough to have conversations like this. i love seeing how much he's grown since the beginning of the game

didn't take a screenshot of this bc i can only post 10 pictures per post, BUT i'm glad the fact that raphael showed up out of nowhere wasn't glossed over bc why is he here ??? respectfully

this is why simeon don't talk to nobody 😭 y'all can't take SHIT seriously

but in all honesty i'd just shut down and stop talking bc i get overwhelmed easily

but oh luke...

i hope he takes this as a "hm maybe the celestial realm isn't as good as it seems, maybe things aren't just black and white" instead of immediately jumping to "no simeon's too kind to be a demon bc all demons are mean and they suck", but i feel like the devs are gonna go with the latter simply bc they love giving luke development and then ripping it away seconds later

(for context, the other response was something along the lines of "he really cried his eyes out, huh?")

regardless of how much luke has grown and matured, he's still a kid. like, a kid kid. they cry when they're upset, when they're angry, when they're throwing a tantrum, and when theyre confused and/or overwhelmed. i feel like the latter might be the case with luke, which is why i chose the "i'm sure he'll be ok" option

more on this here

they're making it sound like simeon is queer/trans and honestly...i'm here for it. but that's partially bc i fall under both umbrellas. i love projecting 🫶🏽

i do wish it were this easy to come out and have your family/friends accept you bc it was a doozy for me 🫠

ANYWAYS

angst. give me more. PLEASE

i'm just so so glad that he's actually opening up. in the past, it felt like every time we get a crumb of vulnerability, he'd shut back down and act like everything was okay. idk if it's because he's more comfortable in his identity and place in the world, or his place in mc and the brothers' life, but he's more prone to actually talking about what's bothering him. it makes me happy

...this makes me a little less happy

ik simeon his his qualms with the celestial realm, but all in all, he probably still sees the place as his home and the people there as his family

what if this whole arc ends with the celestial realm opening its gates to (certain) demons? what if the boys get to visit their old home for the first time in literal millenia? and what if they get to show satan around?

idk y'all i'm trying to be hopeful, but hope can only get you so far when it comes to this game 😭

development at its finest

not focusing on a way to "fix" simeon, but to help deal with the situation at hand despite and because of simeon's condition

...ig the angst could only last for so long. back to the nerdy shit

[another-day]

welcome back to episode in review and HOO BOY do we have a lot to talk about

spoilers for episode 18 of inanimate insanity invitational!!!!!

so to begin OH MY GOODNESS that was a doozy

that episode was intense i had to keep pausing and rewinding it was scary ok lets start

seeing this i just knew i was in for a ride whoop dee doo!!

i feel like they were right TO A DEGREE, because mephone doesn’t have any ill intentions, he’s just misguided. he thinks the show is the only way he can have friends or people who like him, its really sad.

just wanted to include this because THEY’RE ALL SO SILLY and cabby politely standing beside the seat because she can’t sit on it THEY’RE SO SILLY

i was talking to some of my friends about this earlier, but silver’s whole world probably cane crashing down here. he’d been fighting for not just himself, but candle as well, and her not wanting to give him her vote, despite him doing everything she wanted, was probably heartbreaking. he’d found his inner flame and beat the competition and this is what he gets? i understand why he was so pissed later on because the one person he thought would be happy for him wasn’t.

he almost immediately covered it up, but his inner flame’s later outburst shows how he really felt.

mephone was hoping his plan would follow through here, but it also shows he’s hung onto the guilt of season one’s finale. in one of my previous theories, i guessed that he valued paintbrush for two reasons; that he thought they’d understand the guilt of losing 4s, and that they act somewhat similarly to him. i don’t think this is in confirmation of that, but it backs it up somewhat.

the perfect prize to mephone is this going to plan, without any casualties despite what the season four file may imply, from what i can tell. he’s scared its all gonna go wrong the same way season one’s finale did. however, i still don’t think he wamted to follow through with this plan, evidenced by both him and the floor at the end.

do i need to say anything

its the anti-avengers dude

sorry this was so funny to me i had to include it

this scene messed me up guys like seriously

on one hand, candle thinks silver spoon’s learned his lesson, that the inner flame is not something to boast, but rather cherish and use for good. she thinks this because silver spoon functions in such a way. he reveals something about himself that she doesn’t approve of, she expresses that, and he changes to fit her standards, that’s how its always been. it shows her trust in him, his constant, because as much as he thinks otherwise, he never truly changes his ways, until now at least. that’s why she was so shocked, thinking he wouldn’t hang on to that since he seemed so unbothered previously. to her, silver was almost always an open book, so to see him hide something was shocking.

for silver spoon on the other hand, the one person who always had his back, who taught him everything he knew, turned on him. he did everything she asked and she won’t support him. it would be enraging, hence why he didn’t understand her lesson. he was too focused on the fact that she’d decided, in his eyes, that he still wasn’t enough, too powered by emotion and greed. he’s incredibly insecure, so to have her tell him he’s doing everything he aspired for wrong resulting in the rage clouding his mind, and thus,

SHE IS DEAD BOY ‼️

seeing him inching toward her motionless body at the end was tragic i was on the floor. she advised him not to let the inner flame, his rage, cloud his mind, he didn’t listen, and look where that led him. its tragic, really.

as a mephone angst enjoyer WAAAAH

this was mean, springy’s mean, i don’t like him.

… but he’s right. to mephone, this WAS all a game. he’s changed and grown, but that’s not gonna change how badly he’s treated people. mephone is broken because he refuses to fix himself. implied through the screen protector memory from episode 13 season two, mephone was taugh that he was strong, and should never be a vulnerable. as a likely result, he may have grown to resent vulnerability, and in turn never sought help, because that would be making yourself vulnerable.

whoop dee doo ok i’m ending it there before i get out of hand.

thanks for reading this if you did and i hope you didn’t completely hate it!!!

have a lovely day, and stay safe ;P

[illarian-rambling]

starbreaker is about ghost ship right? do any of them come back to life (as in… not as a ghost but tangibly)? do they wish they do? is there a sense of mourning when they return, as if their peace has been disrupted, or a sense of mourning if they have to return back to being ghosts after the voyage is over?

sorry if this makes no sense 😔 i’m not as well acquainted with this wip but i just know mr lizard man is the captain my headcanon is that he’s a sloppy silly affectionate drunk

Yup, Starbreaker is the ghost ship one :D

(For this askmas game)

Throughout the course of Starbreaker, no one comes back to life. The crew is on the mortal plane and can interact with mortals, but they are still very dead. After their voyage, they are supposed to get better positions in the afterlife. Should they succeed, Faalgun gets to escape hell, Nyda gets to go to elf Valhalla, Kaulakri... gets the best seat in her afterlife with a dozen people I guess, Pash gets nothing actually since he just does what the Gloaming Queen tells him, and Anarac's whole goal is to find his people's afterlife while on the voyage. Should this all work out for them, I imagine there'd be... mixed reactions.

Faalgun probably wouldn't feel much accomplishment. He's out of hell, sure, but he still sort of feels like he deserves to be there, so he can't really enjoy heaven. Nyda would hate elf Valhalla - she's not a fighter, but it's better than an eternity alone, maybe. Kaulakri really likes her afterlife, even pre-Starbreaker. The voyage is its own reward for her, so I think she'd be sad when it's over, but eager to move on to other projects. Pash isn't capable of disagreeing with anything the Gloaming Queen tells him to do, so he'd be content to go back to the Next-Door Land so his soul can be used however she pleases. Anarac might be the happiest of all of them if he makes it to his afterlife. That's where his sons are. He's missed them so much <3

As for if they did come back to life? Oh boy, that's a doozy...

Faalgun would like that a lot. He wants a chance to atone for his actions, even if it'd stress him out of his mind trying to do so. Nyda would want to be alive again just because she enjoys the pleasures of life. Also, I think modern Nabafyr would be a lot better for her, as it isn't so martial focused. Kaulakri would be happy to be alive again so she can finish her map of the Janazi Isles and visit her family again. Pash, again, is happy to do whatever the Gloaming Queen says, though he does feel like he missed out on a lot of life since he died young. Anarac, out of all of them, would be the one to freak the hell out over being brought back to life. Nyda would have a hard adjustment to an extent - she'd have to remember how to breathe and stuff after being dead 400 years (Faalgun's only been dead 20, Kaulakri maybe 2, and who knows with Pash, but probably no more than 30). Anarac, on the other hand, has been dead 7000 years. He's gonna need to take a second. Also, his people are extinct, no one speaks his language anymore, he's fucking tired, so what reason does he have to want to be alive again?

So basically, the good ending for Anarac is getting to the afterlife he's looking for, while everyone else would rather get a do-over of life. That tracks with them, yeah.

(As for your headcanon, ghosts can't get drunk, but when he was alive, Faalgun was a very affectionate drunk. He's the type to cry into your shoulder after two drinks)

Thanks for the ask!

[z-nightshade]

Night, Will you be switching Nami and Cass for the Drum Island bug flu ??? 👀👀 some SI writers do that when they get to the arc and I was wondering if you were thinking along those lines as well or if not , how you'd go about it.

Especially considering I think a LOT of us are waiting for the moment Luffy reacts to something actually bad happening to Cass 😭😭 its gonna be a doozy that's for sure.

Loved the new chapter ! 🫶🫶 keep up the amazing work.

Oh boy do I have plans for Drum Island. I won’t tell you what they are but I shall say this. Cass wants nothing more than to keep their crew happy and healthy and they’ll make it be even at cost to themself. But also, Fate doesn’t like it when Cass starts messing with it

So who knows what will happen

I think I can say pretty soundly that when something seriously bad happens to Cass, Luffy will not react well. At all

Glad you enjoyed!!!

[review-anon]

Oooh! Ooh! Do the favorite and least favorite character thing for the DR games, both canon games and the fangans you have seen, if you would be so kind!--Timeline Anon

Oh boy this is gonna be a doozy. Right off the bat I will only do the fangans I’ve mentioned in the previous ask. I also won’t do Despair Time since I’ve already told you guys what my favourites are in a previous ask.

So let’s get to it.

Trigger Happy Havoc

Favourite: Chihiro Fujisaki. Yeah I know low hanging fruit, but I think Chihiro is a really endearing character. He may not be the most physically strongest character but mentally, he’s easily one of the strongest as it takes serious guts to face your secret head on, especially one like his. His death is tragic and sad but he also manages to pull his weight even after his death. How many characters have a lifespan in terms of plot longer then their actual lifespan, not many I say.

On a side note, regarding the whole trans debate, I don’t want to get into that because a) I will do so in my Valentines Day review and b) It’s a very sensitive topic that I’m not informed enough to talk about and I don’t want to dehumanise anyone who is trans. But what I will say is despite what some YouTubers think, Japan is actually quite accepting of trans people. The reason being is because of how strict gender roles are out there, transitioning is seen as confirming to social harmony, whereas homophobia is high due to it being seen as a threat to social harmony. It’s the complete opposite of here in the West when homosexuals are widely accepted (mostly) and trans people have to struggle.

Least Favourite: Junko Enoshima. Again this is obvious I’d you read my stuff because I don’t make it very hidden I don’t like Junko. But to summarise I feel she is the wrong type of villain for a franchise like Danganronpa as she’s way too one dimensional and a generic doomsday villain. I also hate how neither Spike Chunsoft nor the fans can let her go because of her involvement in almost everything that has gone wrong. And she is a canon sue in Danganronpa 3 hands down. Also Junko basically rips off a OC villain I have made years ago but she does the whole “embodiment of despair” worse then he does

Goodbye Despair

Favourite: Gundham Tanaka. This guy is an absolute blast and I was NOT expecting him to behave the way he was. His English VA is also absolutely peak material as Chris Tergliafera delivers his lines perfectly. I'm a big animal lover as well so of course I'm drawn to Gundham on that route. His Chuunibyou personality and speech has a lot of layers to it as well as he's more insightful to what others think. I've seen a lot of compliants that his 'heroic sacrifice' wasn't as noble in the end as he tried to get away with it, but everyone was literally starving to death. Do you expect rational thought there? I don't think so.

Its for this reason why I get frustated with A Student Out of Time for how Bubbles has neglected Gundham. I mean when was the last time he was important? Let the Dogs Out and that's it. Again, I have not read Dianthus Memory so if Gundham does something amazing there, don't expect me to know.

Least Favorite: Hiyoko Sainoji. Now before certain anons, I know who you are raise your pitchforks and try to delete me off the internet, hear me out. Hiyoko in the games is a complete and utter bitch. Heck her introduction is her squishing ants and while ants do make me squemish, especially flying ones, that is still needlessly cruel. She also insults and bullies everyone around her, and she also picks on Kazuichi and Mikan, two people who have a terrible history of being bullied on. And while the whole "Hiyoko is meant to be a survivor but got changed at the last minute" rumour is a lie, her character development was too little and too late.

As someone who has been bullied in the past, especially by someone with the level of maturity as Hiyoko, while I wouldn't say Hiyoko deserves to be nuked into orbit, she doesn't exactly curry favour with me. Also while fan reception shouldn't affect how one views a character, but dear god does Hiyoko have some of the worst kinnies I've ever seen. Like if you disagree with how people view Hiyoko, fine, but if you try to send death messages and get blogs cancelled, then guess what? I'm not gonna suddenly like your chosen one. They say you can tell what a person is like by their favourites and with Hiyoko it shows.

Ultra Despair Girls

Favourite: Hiroko. Okay so this is kinda a spoiler for that one ask I haven't gotten to yet who my favourite Danganronpa parents are and while that is about the ASOOT/DTFA ones, canonically Hiroko rocks. Given how Hiro is as a person, I don't think anyone was expecting much from his mother but hoo boy were we wrong. She seems to be the only Adult Resistance member with a brain cell on and she does as much heavy lifting as Komaru and Toko do. And as such I am very sad she is dead in Survivor.

Least Favourite: Haiji. Do I need to explain this one? DO I NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE?! Seeing as I have to, I guess I will. Haiji is a snake of a character who basically forces Komaru and Toko to do his dirty work, is responsible for most of the events in Ultra Despair Girls, is an absolute jerk of a character, almost breaks Komaru at the end by trying to pressure her to killing all the children with the Monokuma helmets on and unlike every other canonical Danganronpa villain, he gets away with everything. See how I described all of that and NOT mentioned his child touching antics? Yeah because even without that, he was already a POS but with that? Please get melted into a pile of sludge and I know you picked Cyndaquil as your starter. MOVING ON.

End of Hope's Peak Academy

Favourite: Seiko. This one is hard due to how most of the Danganronpa 3 cast are unlikeable arseholes. But Seiko manages to be one of the few that is decent. Note I said decent, as I still have issues with Seiko like how I feel she was only made so that Kodaka doesn't have to kill off Kyoko, how a lot of her backstory felt emotionally manipulative which doesn't make me feel happy, and how in the end the entire Class 76 trio drama is meaningless seeing how all three die in the end. Ruruka should have lived like in the stage adaptation. Still Seiko has a good design, her transformations are dope and yeah let's face it that one scene in Despair Arc is why in Survivor she is shipped with Nagito.

Least Favourite: Ryota. This actually hard since its a tie between him and Kazuo. But since I did like Kazuo for a bit for how he showed Juzo his place and how since we know he was brainwashed by the BSDV (Bullshit Despair Video) he can be excused for a lot of his actions. Ryota has no such excuse. There's a reason fans call him the Ultimate Plot Device because it feels like he was only created to be a easy way for how Class 77-B fell into despair, which is like NO. He also just screams and yells all the time, and I know people are like "But Yuki in SDRA2 was like that as well" the difference is Yuki breaking down was the entire point of the Killing Game, and yes the same applies to Ryota, I think Kazuo didn't want Ryota to be actually involved but watch the game instead. And oh his twist villian role lasted less time then it takes for Kanade to explain to Syobai why his latest theory why she killed Setsuka is wrong. This is the one character I question the very existence of and there is a reason why he gets removed or forgotten in literaly every askblog out there.

Killing Harmony

Favourite: Kaito Momota. This guy is a huge himbo and I'm here for it. When he punched Shuichi at first I thought this guy was gonna be a jerk or be the resident idiot like Kazuichi and Hiro before him were, but while not bright I was wrong on him being useless. Its kinda ironic that I like Kaito and yet I had issues with his ASOOT ancestor but that's how life goes. He has some very moral uplifting messages and his death as much of a mindfuck that was, is both depressing and impressive. I'm so glad they cut out his misogynistic nature from the Japanese verison or else Kaito will go the way of Mitch.

Least Favourite: Tsumugi Shirogane. Low hanging fruit again I know. But seriously who even likes Tsumugi? Prior to the mastermind reveal she was one of the most boring characters in the franchise as she just kept saying how plain she was, just said references which will age like milk within a decade or so, and is easily THE worst mastermind in the entire Danganronpa franchise, as Kodaka man, I know you wanted to deliver a message about fiction but you did NOT do it in a good way whatsoever. The fact I had a dream shortly after V3's release about Tsumugi being arrested and being jailed for and I quote "Being the worst mastermind since Tengan" says everything.

I just SO hope A Student Out of Time does Tsumugi justice.

Also a dishonourable mention goes to Kokichi Oma. Character wise I have nothing against him, as he's well written, despite what SOMEONE would say, fits the themes of Killing Harmony well, has a good VA and really makes you think long and hard about the character, which is a sign you made a good character there. So what is my issue with Kokichi? Well its a silly reason but for a entire year I had and I shit you not, recurring nightmares where Kokichi Oma was a psychotic yandere who would stalk and harass me, made worse by the fact he was self aware and the entire thing was like a living Nightmare on Elm Street. Trust me, it was WAY worse then it sounded and its for this reason I cannot touch Doki Doki Literature Club because the game reminds me too much of my nightmares.

Also I am not scared of his nightmare faces because my subconcious made worse looking ones.

Since its a very personal and honestly rather petty reason I've ranked him lower then Tsumugi who has way more issues story wise.

Another Despair Academy

Favourite: Akane Taira. Akane is in my opinion is how you do a traitor character right. Throughout the entire story, she's been a really supportive character and when she almost gets killed by Kizuna who is then killed by Ayame, you can feel the trauma she is going through made worse by Tsurugi saying that she should kill herself. She also hides the fact she's the traitor and mastermind very well so you don't know she's one of the Big Bads until the very end, and I agree with Bubbles, LINUJ should have led her live as she did realise the error of her ways and that listening to Utsuro all the time is bad for her. This why I love how she is in both ASOOT and DTFA as in the former she is a pivotal Quantum Crew member and in one of the best ASOOT ships of all the time and in the latter her interactions with Nagi are so interesting.

Least Favourite: Mistuhiro Higa. As much as we all like the WeebyNewz jokes let's face it, Mitch is a horrible character. Like we have had unpleasant Chapter 1 culpirts but he takes the cake on the vileness. While I believe the remake will change some things up, Mitch disrespecting women I feel won't be a change made. I will also forever hold the fact Mikado had the gail to make an entire fucking city after him against him. Also he's a football player. I don't like footballers as I seem as arrogant shitheads and Mitch does NOT help that stereotype one bit.

Super Danganronpa Another 2: Sun of Despair and Moon of Hope

Favourite: Nikei Yomiuri. This isn't even a contest. Not only is Nikei my favourite SDRA2 character but he's probably my favourite Danganronpa character period. The second I laid eyes onto him, I just knew I was gonna like this character, and I also knew he was gonna die as the culprit in Chapter 4 to mess with me. Let's just say I'm Apollo's favourite for a reason. Now originally I liked him because of how playful he is and how excitable he is, but as the game progresses you get the feeling that's not all there is to him.

And then Chapter 4 happened. Now while I have many opinions on how mismanaged Chapter 4 is, what I did like was how Nikei is in my personal opinion the single BEST example of a liar character, eclipsing the likes of Celeste and Kokichi for one simple reason; he doesn't just deceive the cast, he deceives YOU as well. Its also very apparent that like Kokichi, there's more then meets the eye and you really have to read between the lines to figure out what his true intentions are. And why I hold myself with bated breath for what Onmake Mode brings.

I will forever say one thing. As much as I like Nikei as a character, I will never, NEVER ever want to see him in real life. A meeting between us will ended extremely poorly and I think this is why I managed to stay more civilised then some Nikei fans are, because like a Warhammer 40K I took one look at Nikei and be like "No thanks, I'm good."

Which is probably why Nikei and Review Anon don't get along though I will say given how much of a shithead she has been to him, he does have reasons to be mad at her.

Least Favourite: Kanade Otonokoji. Even more low hanging fruit but point is the only reason I didn't completely hate her off the bat is due to The Mistake, and after The Mistake, everything looks good by comparsion. But now that shitstorm is behind me, I can see Kanade as a cheap Korekiyo copy that ruins the story more then anything. Another reason why I dislike her is because I'm certain that SDRA2's Chapter 3 murder method was insprised by the real life murder case which got Killing Harmony banned from South Korea. Which I REALLYY hope not because then I have some very choice words to LINUJ because we can meme all we want about Danganronpa but using real life tragedies for your silly fangames is where I draw the line, its why I refuse to play Pokemon Reborn.

Danganronpa F Shattered Hope

Favourite: Pocket. Pocket is everything that Ace isn't. He is a loudmouth that gets scared and he has STELLAR voice acting, but unlike Ace he doesn't take it too far and has his likeable moments such as when Corza shows the corpses of the two killed students to everyone, Pocket calls him out for traumatising everyone. Basically Pocket is the cooler Ace and I really hope he doesn't go the way of Leon.

If you know what I mean.

Least Favourite: Cancel. I cancel Cancel. Joke's aside I find her quite annoying and before you ask why not Moraiteru well with her I think they are setting her up to be the Rival Character so her being brass is understandable, but aside from sounding like a Instagram star, she gets very grating and annoying. The only redeeming thing about her is she got extremely sick in Chapter 1 and thus didn't blurse me with her presence. But I'm sure the Class Trial will make up for it.

Eternal Endings

Favourite: Sonechka Morozova. This girl isn't here to take any prisoners and I'm so here for it. Sonechka is interesting because she's very cynical but given her powers and her nationality, and fun fact about the Soviet Union, its collapse in the 90s makes the Lost Decade in Japan look like a picnic by comparsion, means she must have seen some shit, and probably lies about some of her visions so certain people don't see to make her a statistic. Clearly though if her death was anything to go that isn't good enough. I so expect her to clash with Yun due to him being such a Commie hater. Now my opinions can change over time but Eternal Endings only has its prologue right now so its literally first impressions here.

Least Favourite: Francisca and Adiranna Rivera. Now design wise these gals are the best since when was the last time you saw conjointed twins in a Killing Game? Its also a twist to see conjointed twins that don't get along with each other but that also lies the problem, I can forsee their bitching and arguing to get old and tiring very fast. You also KNOW they are gonna re-die at the same time unless you want to go super morbid. I long for sweet character development for these two but that's not yet.

Cartoons in Danganronpa

Favourite: Jenny Wakemen. Now I will preface that I haven't really watched any of the shows in Cartoons in Danganronpa. This gives me an advantage because then I'm not going in with pre bias. For example a friend of mine who's really into Powerpuff Girls will be biased towards Blossom and Bubbles, but I don't have those weaknesses.

That being said I think Jenny is a sweet character. She is so wiling to protect others much like K1-B0 but unlike him doesn't come off as like "Stop being robophobic" which got old very quickly with him. And I also hate the fact she's being set up the murder of the first chapter. I cannot say anymore as I don't know how many people here have seen it but please do its really really good.

Least Favourite: Eddy. Now while I'm not avid fans of any of the shows there are some I've seen clips off in my life, and I never was a fan of Ed n Eddy, and seeing how Eddy here behaves really doesn't make me feel better. He is a slimy bastard who's always thinking to line his own pockets by conning others and I could easily see him causing trouble. You would expect me to put Cartmen here but anyone who's familar with South Park and watched Cartoons in Danganronpa can tell you, he's the rival character and thus is meant to be disliked. Eddy doesn't have that.

And finally to round things off...

The Mistake AKA Danganronpa: The Wolf's Game

'Favourite': The polygolt MC. I don't remember the names of any of the cast and frankly due to how much I hate them I am not gonna go back and heck. So let's talk our MC. He is the Ultimate Polyglot which means he speaks multiple languages and can be endearing. At least I remember him as such as I'm sure I erased all memories of him being bad. I am also convinced he's the master of the Werewolves because happy endings are illegal in The Mistake. There's some other characters which are okay but he's the most ok.

Least Favourite: The Toxologist Rival Character, DEAR GOD DO I WANT TO DISSOLVE THIS CHARACTER INTO ACID! Let's see why I hate him. He caused no joke ALL of the conflict in The Mistake as both Chapter 1 and 2's murders were his fault, he also started the conflict in Chapter 3 and then THAT had the aucidity to try and make him sympathic by don't feel bad for this mass murderer who won a previous Killing Game because he has a family and a girlfriend and a comatose brother who the exposed Mastermind kills alongside herself.

Poor Scarlet you don't deserve to share the same talent as him.

Yeah you can tell I don't feel any pity for this character whatsoever. The Chapter 3 culprit is Kanade on steroids but she is meant to be hated, we are meant to somehow like this. NO. NO. NO. NO.

If I missed any games I mentioned beforehand then I apologise but this was a long one to do, also no spinoff canon series favs.

[courtney-deserved-better]

its so funny how being stuck in an airport for the last six hours has actually cured my writers block for the current chapter of amicus curiae im working on. feeling a lot more hopeful that ill knock out those last three chapters soon! and boy oh boy are they gonna be a doozy

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

In the End It Doesn't Even Matter (I Had To Fall to Lose It All)

Thank you for the lovely prompt @flashfictionfridayofficial ! Here's the current/potential final chapter I have for my sleeping beauty retelling, I hope you all brought tissues and a pillow to scream into cuz this one's a doozy >:333 AND ITS A WHOLE 2000 whopping words >:333. Also potential as in, these plot beats are not going to change, but I may change how it happens or how I write it in editing.

To all my followers who are Raven/Sapphire fans: Oh you poor, sweet summer child. This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, how did you think this was going to end?!

Wordcount: 1030 (there's A LOT more of this, closer to 2000 words- but i had to cut it down to size for this specific post. I will most likely post a full version later just cuz)

Warnings: ANGST. SO MUCH ANGST. I did not pull my punches with the angst in this one folks. main character death (kinda, it's not technically death but it's pretty close), really creepy with lots of horror elements, lots of panic and fear, Raven sad boi hours, the only editing I did was grammar really

Fractured Stars Falling, Book 6: Sleeping Beauty's Bodyguard - Draft 0 - Plot/Character Exploration, POTENTIAL ENDING

Then she looked down at her hand, at the red dot of blood blooming on her fingertip.

Her eyes started to roll back and she would’ve crumpled to the floor if Raven hadn’t dropped his sword and caught her first. She was still breathing and he could feel a heartbeat, but she was sound asleep and completely limp in his arms as her eyes closed.

The witch, who Raven finally recognized as the Witch Queen, cackled. “Good luck breaking the sleeping curse. It’s a sleep like death, and an unbreakable one at that.” Then with a giggle of glee, she waved her hands and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hesitantly, Raven cradled her head with one hand and rubbed the knuckles on one of her hands with the other. “Sapph’?” His voice came out barely louder than a whisper. “Wake up, come on… Please…” He shook her, but she didn’t stir in the slightest.

There was maybe one time when Raven had felt so helpless in his life, and that was when he was a small boy and was being picked on by a bunch of bigger kids.

That was nothing compared to the overwhelming dread and helplessness that filled him now. It was so suffocating he was drowning in it.

A sleep like death, the witch had called it. Raven was beginning to understand now, much to his dismay.

She was still alive, technically, as she was still breathing and her heartbeat could still be felt. 

But she was never going to wake up.

It was almost worse than if her death had looked more like death- at least then it wouldn’t mock him with the feel of her heartbeat and movement of her breathing that amounted to nothing.

Getting desperate, he shook her again. “Sapphire, please, you can’t do this to me… you have to wake up, please, please-” His voice cracked at the last word as his hands started to shake.

She didn’t stir or make a noise at all.

Down the stairs, he could hear people shouting and looking for the princess. Someone mentioned that they saw the traitor- him- take her up the stairs, and the voices got louder, joined by footsteps racing up the staircase behind him.

“I’m so sorry,” He whispered to Sapphire, and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m gonna fix this, I’m gonna fix this I swear.”

Then he gently laid her down on the floor, and made his escape through the open window.

~~~

Four days. That was how long he waited.

Raven managed to slip under the radar at the castle, hiding in plain sight with the help of his brothers Harry and Arthur. After Sapphire had been found, Queen Constance was livid and convinced that Raven had been the one to put her under whatever spell was keeping her asleep and unwakeable. 

While the Queen and her soldiers searched high and low for him, Sapphire was laid down in the most defensible room of the castle.

At night, his brothers volunteered to guard the room, and would let Raven in once everyone was asleep, and cover for him should anyone be up at those hours. 

The servants had cleaned her up nicely, she was in a new dress, this one dark green again. Her hair had also been washed and brushed, now weaved into an intricate braid. A few flowers were tucked under her hands, which were folded gracefully on her chest.

For four nights, Raven sat next to the bed, hoping and praying for her to wake up- no matter how futile it was and that the curse was unbreakable. He gently adjusted her pillows and blankets to make her more comfortable, braided her hair, held her hand and gently kissed it, and talked to her. He talked about everything- mostly about how sorry he was, what was going on in the castle, and all of his questions and promises on how he was going to fix this.

He started sneaking into the library, scouring through every book he could find on magic. He narrowed his search to curses and magic related to sleeping- but didn’t come up with anything helpful.

So he broadened his search to all magic, for anything.

One night when he couldn’t stand sitting next to her bed and praying for her to wake, he slipped into the library again.

He dug into the section of magic books on dark magic (there were too few), and found something, a spell.

It wasn’t much, a long shot at best- but it was the only thing he had. Raven picked out all the pages in the book related to that spell, and carefully tore them out. He found a detailed map of Eltya as well in the topography section.

With the help of his brothers, he found and prepared a small wagon. Indigo, being stronger than Dante, would pull the wagon. Raven would ride Dante for mobility.

Harry helped him sketch out the best route on the map. When he asked Raven what his plan was exactly, he didn’t have the heart to say.

Then, in the dead of night, they made final preparations for Raven’s quest. Making sure no one was anywhere near her room, Raven gently wrapped her up in blankets. Once he had the all clear from Harry, Raven carried her out, cradled in his arms, her head resting on his chest.

Just outside the stables the wagon, Indigo, and Little Stripe were waiting for him. Harry was packing his saddle bags and securing them to Dante, while Arthur kept watch.

He laid her down in the carefully arranged pile of blankets and pillows, tucking a few more around her. Raven brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, imagining that she was awake and smiling at him with those deep, dark blue eyes- eyes he was terrified that he’d never get to see again.

Something hot and wet trickled down his cheek. Raven quickly wiped it away, steeling his nerves. He clutched the small leather bound journal in his hand that contained the map and the pages from the books.

The spell was going to work.

It had to.

~

FSF Taglist: @rose-bookblood @chalcid @evethenovicewriter @writing-is-a-martial-art @mjjune @fiercely-raging-writer @wildswrites @corishadowfang @surroundedbypearls @serenanymph (send me a message to be +/- from the taglist &lt;;3)

[interstellar0range826]

Oh boy, this one is gonna be a doozy. So here is Uranus. If any planet deserves him or status ITS URANUS! This planet is just dumb! Uranus has an axial tilt of 97° so compared to the orbital plane of the planets, it looks like it's sideways. Uranus is the only planet named after a Greek God (the others are named after Roman Gods). The other planets have moons named after relevant characters in mythology BUT NOT THIS IDIOT! Uranus has moons named after chibi anime girls! (Okay, they aren't named after anime girls they're named after female Shakespear characters. But it was the 1700s so Shakespeare was the closest thing they had to anime) If it's not obvious, Uranus is my favorite planet 'u' Anyways, the actual character; as the twin brother of Neptune, I chose to make Uranus as different from her as possible because twins with opposite personalities is funny. Neptune is a brilliant scientist so Uranus is a sportsy himbo. Maybe not a complete himbo but definitely the nonobservant head in the clouds type. He doesn't remember his moon's names so he calls them by something vaguely close. Like, he might call Ariel Anna or something. Sure it's wrong but nobody has the heart to correct him. Also, Uranus's sport of choice are winter sports as Uranus is the coldest major planet in the solar system.

[thehoardofthegreatdragon]

Got tagged by @badtzbot oh boy this is gonna be a doozy its not going to be my current fandoms at all XD

Rules: Go to your (current/main) AO3 account and find the following:

What ratings do you write most of your fics under?

64 for teen, 46 for explicit, 7 gen, 3 mature. I feel like if I went by word count it would be explicit first

What are your top three fandoms?

in terms of fics: BNHA by a long shot (may u rest in peace comrade), TGCF and then MDZS. Nothing more recent breaks 12 fics

in terms of word count, at a rough estimate i'd say MDZS first, then BNHA, then TGCF.

What is the top character you write about?

Dabi???? This is a surprise to me I would have guessed Wei Wuxian. I think by word count it is absolutely Wei Wuxian, or maybe Aizawa.

What are your top three pairings?

Dabi/Hawks, then Wangxian, then Feng Xin/Mu Qing.

What are the top three additional tags?

I'm gonna disregard tags like canon-typical violence, so

Canon Divergence

Fix-it

Fluff and Angst

Special mention for Marathon sex in the number 5 spot I have a brand

Does any of this surprise you?

I think the Dabi thing definitely surprised me, otherwise no? But oh man its been so long since I've written for any of these fandoms or pairings it's kind of wild to consider. I bet if I did this same thing restricting to the last, idk, 3 years, it would be wildly different

Tagging: @hypermoyashi @rainingskyguy (again sorry ilu hec i wanna see ur stats) @naamah-beherit @thirtysixsavefiles

[darkacey]

I'm curious about a bunch of these so I'll just ask the bunch together:

Whose ur favorite bachelorette(s), non romanceable chara, monster, non-mc otp and a headcanon you have?

Oh boy this is gonna be a doozy of an answer lol

Fav bachelorette — I’m super gay for (most of) the guys, so honestly none of the bachelorettes appealed to me as marriage candidates. That said, I really identify with Lucy’s whole arc and feeling disproportionately responsible for my loved ones. I especially like when these characters actually get a chance to take care of themselves. Sure, I don’t exactly like the way RF5 goes about it (the forced truth mirror was kind of heavy handed and took away her agency…), but everything else was nice. My runner ups are Beatrice and Scarlett. Bea is just a sweetheart, I have nothing bad to say about her. As for Scarlett, well, I got attached to her because she became such an important supporting character in my fic. I didn’t intend for her to be the closest thing Ari has to a best friend, but she surprised me.

Fav non-romanceable character — Heinz, hands down. That goofball has a terrible first impression in-game and he’s really done dirty by only being characterized by his ineptitude and lazy attitude, but man, I’ve gotten so attached to him because of his role in my fic. I was really able to develop his backstory and personality into exactly what I wanted since there was so much room for reinterpretation. Before I started this fic, though, I probably would have said Terry or Misasagi. Both of them have good heads on their shoulders, and I like the mysteries they represent.

Fav monster — Chipsqueek! Those little red squirrels are the cutest dang thing on the planet. They’re kind of useless as a battle companion, but I like bringing them around with me just because anyway. Also, in every RF game I’ve played (Frontier, rf5, and currently rf3 special), I’ve named the first one I’ve caught Poppy.

Non-MC otp — I’m a multishipper, so I won’t say there’s only one way I like characters to be shipped. That said, I’m particularly fond of Cecil/Fuuka (thank you Aashi for selling me on them!) and Martin/Ryker. For other pairings, I think Lucy/Priscilla is cute, but I’d be really interested to see Priscilla/Reinhard (Priscilla gets to live out her princess dreams) and Lucy/Murakumo (competitive bleeding heart plus the expert judge of games). Outside my fic, I also love Lucas/Terry (courtesy of @kardia-library-official for introducing me to the idea).

A headcanon — oof I have so many at this point, it’s hard for me to remember what’s actually canon and what’s stuff I’ve dumped into all of its plot holes. I think a big one for worldbuilding is that I named the town that’s near Rigbarth (the one that Ryker goes to when he steals that crown). It’s called Fenarva, which is sort of a portmanteau based on the names of all of the other villages/towns of Norad. I imagine Fenarva is closer in size to a city, and it has ports for regular ships and airships. They get travelers from the mainland, Isle of Elves (this also needs a name), the Eastern Continent (gods please Marvelous give us an actual name for this country when Project Dragon is released), and Fenith Island. Most of the tourists who visit Rigbarth come from Fenarva, too, since it’s only about half a day’s trip to get from one town to the other (well, travel takes longer now because of the recent increase in monster attacks…). Rigbarth’s economy really relies on these folks and the people from the other side of the Gadeus Grasslands too (still need to put another town over there too). Also, for everybody else writing fics based on RF5, y’all are free to use Fenarva, too.

I have other, more interesting headcanons especially about gods in general and what sort of god Lucas is, but a lot of it gets into spoiler territory. Unfortunately for all of us, however, I have yet to figure out how to work in these things into my fic. It’ll come up eventually, somehow, but probably not until late Act II or somewhere in Act III. I hope y’all can bear with me until then.

[codenamehazard]

.:Jabberwocky:.

Chapter 32: Jabberwocky

[TRIGGER WARNING: PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE, TORTURE AND TRAUMA]

Hey guys! Sorry I'm a bit late with this chapter! The character voice was giving me serious hell! (Writer's Block, my behated)

Though it's not surprising considering all that I have in store here! Good god, I had to fight to get the words on the document but boy howdy is it worth it!

I hope you've got some water as this is gonna be a doozy. I hope you like this chapter!

Without delay, let's jump in!

---

“No…”

My blood freezes in my veins and my heart races as I stare with wide eyes at the mirror behind me. I’m looking at it, I’m seeing it, but I don’t want to believe it. I refuse to believe it. I refuse to believe that the bastard is here in this hell-maze with me, that he’s here at all. I can deny it all I want, but the mocking smile in the mirror. I know what’s in front of me, replacing my reflection and confirming a fear that I always dread…

Kessler.

“Look what the rabbit dragged in.” The decrypted echo sneers as he begins to circle me in the mirrors that surround me, stepping in front of the other reflections as if they were spectators about to watch a fight. “The coward who denies the truth, even though it’s staring him right in the face.”

“So says the murderer that took everything from me just because he was too much of a fucking coward to face the Beast himself until it was too fucking late.” I snarl back at the twisted reflection, trying to use my rage and hatred to thaw the frozen blood and shake the fear away. “You took away everything I held dear, that we held dear; You killed Trish, you made Zeke betray me! You made my life fall to shambles and even fucking lied about what the Beast was actually doing, all for what?! All because you were too chickenshit to actually protect your family and fight the Beast.” The bastard fucking laughs at me like I was just a yapping ankle biter.

“Oh that is rich coming from you, Cole.” That fucking crone cackles with that sneer. “The one who kills for shits and giggles calling me a murderer. All the pain I caused was done for a purpose while you inflict pain because you are broken inside.” I can feel my blood seeth as he talks, energy gathering in my hand as I keep my eyes on Kessler. “Face the facts, Cole. I would say you’re no better than me, but I dare say you’re worse. All that I did was for a reason while you lash out like a pitiful, sniveling rabid dog who bites and scratches at all who get too close.” I could swear I can feel his stinking breath on my neck as he stops behind me.

“Try as you might, MacGrath… You will always end up alone and you will have no-one to blame but yourself. Because it will always be your fault.”

My rage flares red hot and an Alpha rocket rips from my hand towards the old fuck, but I damn near get blown to bits. In my fury I had forgotten the nature of the very place I’m in. The rocket just bounces off the mirror and I barely have enough time to get out of the way of a direct hit. I curse to myself as I feel the pain from the blast radius, why the fuck did I even think that was a good idea in the first place?! Kesslar cackles at me as I stagger to my feet.

“Still as predictable as ever, Cole!” The crone scoffs as he seems to grow bigger, like a looming shadow. “Lashing out when you know I’m right.” As much as my anger bubbles under my skin, the fear, it creeps back in. Feeling so small, being so helpless. There’s only one thing I can do. I turn and run down the closest hallway to get away from this specter and start looking for a way out.

I can hear the bastard laugh at me over the thumping of my boots and the rapid beating of my heart. Mocking and sadistic.

“There you go! Running away again like the cowering mutt you are! Running from the truth and running from responsibility when it comes to take its due! Breaking the promise you made to yourself so long ago!” I curl my lips at the barbing words, but I have to keep running. I can’t fight, not without obliterating myself in the process! “Maybe it’s for the best that Trish is dead. She isn’t here to see the whimpering coward the man she once loved has become!”

My rage claws inside my chest as I want to scream.

The mirrored halls, I swear they’re messing with my head. I think I could see things changing, I look at one shifting reflection, watching it change into a sight disturbing and familiar. It was myself from years long past, but something’s not right. It’s faded, black and white. Almost like I'm staring at a fading memory, but the eyes I can see, clear as day. They look tired, but also full of pure hatred.

Another reflection, this one more vivid and crisp, one I’m more familiar with. The reflection that greeted me every time I looked into glass windows or puddles back in Empire City. God, I looked like I was walking dead with how pale my skin was, and the black marks that decorated my body didn’t help either. I liked it that way, people left me alone, but now being on the receiving end of that malicious gaze and cruel smile? I’m having second thoughts.

“You!” I hear a new voice ring out as I run. It’s not Kessler’s but mine! It sounded clearer, less gravelly and tired. Oh please don’t tell me the other reflections can talk too!  “I see you, running away, running from the truth! The truth that you’re just as responsible for the destruction of my life! Actually, more responsible!!” I growl at that lie. I didn’t do jackshit to destroy the life I once had, if anything, I was trying to get it back! The blame is Kessler’s and his alone.

“I can hear your thoughts, Cole!” The faded echo barks out with loathing and hate. “You weren’t trying to get life back on track, you were just acting on your own selfish impulses! If you had just sucked it up and been a half-way decent person, Trish would have loved you in her dying moments! But no, your own ego was more important than the woman you claimed to love so much!” I do my best to tune out the venom, but the words cut like knives as I feel a familiar pricking against my eyes. No! I can’t cry, not now! Not when Kessler’s chasing me.

As one voice is tuned out, another erupts in cruel, callous laughter… This voice, it sounds more like how my voice actually is.

“Oh how the mighty has fucking fallen, o’ so called “Demon of Empire City!”” I hear the doppelganger’s voice call out. “Once on top of the world sitting on a throne of scrap, now you’re nothing more than a sniveling weakling running around helpless.” Rage flares in my blood, but I have to keep moving. I can’t fight here, I have to get out! Get away!

“You sicken me. You know that, Cole?” The echo sneers. “You’re a failure. You failed to protect Empire City from the Beast, you were too weak. Running with your tail between your legs to New Marias. Then you bow the knee to the Beast himself just because of some pathetic notion of “the right thing” or some shit like that. Now look at you, you have the power of the Beast yet you’re running scared when you could simply blow this whole place to cinders.” I want to scream at the voice, tell him to shut up, blow up the mirror that the doppelganger hides in, but I know I have to keep going. Doesn’t make the words any less infuriating and painful.

“Why don't you unleash all that power, Cole?” The taunting continues. “Are you too scared? Are you not as powerful as you claim to be or…. Perhaps… Are you getting soft, you pathetic failure?” Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!!!

I pick up the pace, my hands covering my ears to drown out the cruel words and venomous barbs as they start to swirl around in my head. Now I am being hunted by three, making my heart frantic. The fear and pain, it was like I was losing Trish with the magnitude of it all. I want to get out of this hell, even if it means disappearing! I just want it to stop!

I think I see something, but I refuse to look at the reflections. I think I hear something, but I refuse to uncover my ears. Enemies everywhere even though they wear my face. All thirsting for my blood and tears. Such things I refuse to give despite the stringing at my eyes. Soon my own voice joins the hellish cacophony, screaming at these demons as that is all I can do.

The more I yell, the more I run around practically blind and deaf, the more confused I get. At this point I’m not sure where I’m running. I can faintly hear laughter every time I clip myself on a corner, ram into a wall or run in circles. I’m lost, so hopelessly lost in my desperation for freedom. My voice is going hoarse from shouting and screaming. The idea of just going fucking nuclear and unleashing hell in the form of the Beast’s Rage is becoming more and more appealing, but with the nature of this hell, that would surely kill me in the process.

I stop at a dead end and fall to my knees, my eyes welling with tears that spill over as I rage inside this mirror nightmare. I just want it all to stop. I want this to be a night terror that I’ll wake up from but I know this is reality. My arms growing tired from holding my hands over my ears, they go slack. I am now exposed to the full brunt of the devils’ venom….

Wait… Who said that?

A voice I didn’t hear before screams with a similar force that I did, but the words they speak aren't venom and hate, but…. Instructions? Directions? I can’t tell at this moment, but it’s something that isn’t loathing and malice. At first I don’t believe these words, thinking them to be a trick or a trap, but with the hateful sounds closing in and with no other option… I follow the directions.

It’s then I see who the voice belongs to. Another faded and blurry reflection, but this one looks unfamiliar. It’s still me, but he shares my tanned skin, his scars barely visible, his shirt grey and white, Amp shining like silver and the sparks off of his hands a brilliant blue… This is what Kessler wanted me to be… A hero.

The blue sparked reflection continues to point and shout directions, seeming to be trying to help me, but why?! I make it no secret, I am not a good person. If this is the hero Kessler wanted, he should be hurling abuses at me just like the others. I’d even go as far as to say he’s the one with the most right to hate me as I am the reason he doesn’t exist. Yet here he is, trying to help me.

I open my mouth to question, but my blue twin snaps. “Not the time, Cole! They ain’t gonna stop for you to ask questions.” I get the message loud and clear and keep running.

I follow the instructions, focusing on that as it’s better than the miasma that I’m being subjected to. I have so many questions to ask, what is happening? Why is it happening? Why are you helping me? Just anything to make sense out of this fucking madhouse, but I keep moving, hoping that I’m not falling into another trap.

My heart sinks as I see that I’m at a dead end and I’m about to bolt, but I notice something… At the end of this hallway is another mirror, but with a very different reflection.

I cautiously walk towards it and squint my eyes, it looks… Fuzzy, almost like a photo that hasn’t been developed. On closer inspection, I can see some things that make it look more like a reflection of my current self, black pants with kneepads, my vest. Visible, yet blurry… The only thing I can see clearly are the eyes of this copy. They’re closed, as if sleeping. What could this mean?

As I look over this mirror, I notice something else. The cruelty of the three devils hunting me, it’s gone. This area is quiet, still and peaceful. Here with my heroic twin, but why is this so? At this point, I care little for the question as I slam my back onto a reflective wall and slide down into a sitting position, hands holding my head as my chest shudders and heave with tears I’m fighting back.

“Not giving up on me are you, Cole?” My blue reflection asks. I sniff a bit as I struggle and shake my head. “Nah…” I reply in a voice that’s more strained than I’d like. “I just….. Need a breather.” The white clad hero nods his head and simply sits in a way that mirrors mine, back to back. “Take your time, Cole. Catch your breath.”

This peace is strange, but compared to the hell I was subjected to? It’s a soothing balm on my mutilated soul and I let some of the tears flow freely. A small relief to keep the dam intact, for now at least.

When the peace has passed, the heroic MacGrath pipes up. “I know you have a lot of questions, but since it’s just us, best get them out of your system.” I turn my head and I can see the blurred reflection turn in kind. I start off with a simple “Why?”

“Why what?” My blue twin asks. “Just… Why? Why is this happening? Why am I being tortured? Why are you helping me?” I ask back in kind. The hero frowns and shakes his head. “As much as I want to answer the first two, all I can say is your guess is as good as mine as I have no clue either… But I can answer the last question. I’m helping you because I can’t stand this suffering.”

“But why?” I continue to question. “You out of all the reflections have the most reason to hate me. I’m everything you would stand opposed to, hell I’m the reason you don’t exist. Why help me when you could come after me as some sort of punishment?”

“And subject you to this hell?” He balks “I wouldn’t even wish this on Kessler, let alone myself. Good or evil.” His eyes stare off into whatever silvery void the mirrored world has. “Besides… I got to see where my path leads to. Got to see that even though I did everything right, it meant jackshit in the end.” He turns to glance at me again. “That all I did was pointless. Utterly pointless”

I’m about to ask him to elaborate, but he shakes his head. Something must have gone completely fubar if he doesn’t want to talk about it even if it’s to bitch and vent.

“So…. Where’s the exit out of this hellhole?” I ask, the heroic twin turns his head and points to the mirror at the end of the hallway. I turn to look at him like he’s crazy. “Um, that’s a wall.”

“It’s the way out.” He simply responds. “It’s the only way out. The reason there’s a wall is because you believe there’s a wall.” I shake my head at this crazy talk. “How do you know if that’s a wall or not?” I question the reflection. He looks at me. “You’re going to have to trust me and by extension, trust yourself.”

“I don’t do trust fall-type bullshit.” I point out bluntly. “You should know this as much as I do.”

“Why would I lie to the only one of any of us in this damn mirror hell that has a future at all?” My blue twin points out harshly. “It’s a cold hard fact, Cole. Out of all of us here, you’re the only one who has a chance at living.” I stand and he stands in kind; both of us staring at each-other, man-to-man.

“While you are right, you are everything that I stand against. You’re selfish, egotistical, ruthless, sadistic, irresponsible, downright dangerous and destructive to the point of senselssness, but you’re also fucking honest about it.” He points out. “Then there’s also the fact when it came time to choose between a gamble that if it fell short would leave everyone to suffer slow and agonizing deaths or go with John and the method that was proven to give humanity even the slightest sliver of a chance to come out the other side. You chose what you felt was right. It may not be what Kessler wanted and there may have been selfish motivations behind it, but you still made that choice.” I look at my twin puzzled, but he’s right… Right about everything, good and bad.

“This is your ticket not only to escape this hell, but to escape Kessler for good.” He continues. “That bastard already took two futures away from you, your future with Trish and my future. Don’t let him take this one away from you too.” His words ring out in my head like a gunshot as I look towards the blurry mirror. “I know it’s a leap of faith, but please take it! Take it and get the hell out of here! Live the best life you can… For the both of us… Please…” The last words fall like a pleading whisper. Looking into the same blue eyes we share, I can see it. The same eyes I have, the eyes of a broken man.

I stare at my good twin for a moment longer before I nod my head.

With that, I turn to face the blurred reflection. I step back a few paces and charge up a polarity wall to act as a battering ram, hoping that this won’t backfire. Unleashing all of my emotions in one, booming battle cry, I charge.

I swear I can hear the ghost of a whisper in my mind. A soft “thank you�� as I make contact only to fall through thin air.

I roll through the tumble and onto my feet before looking around, panting hard. He was right… It wasn’t a wall, it was an illusion… Was that whole maze and the horrors within an illusion too??

Once I’m not disoriented as shit, I start to look around this new place. I see bleachers, a trapeze and a barrier… Am I in the center stage of this fucking circus? Before I can start to explore, I hear a familiar female voice ring out with an Irish accent.

“It’s about bloody time you showed up!!”