#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

[hatchet-boy]

Judging SPN Seasons By How Messy It Would Be If Sam And Dean Started Having Sex

Season 1: freshly reunited. no one else in their world but them. they are obsessed with each other. they would fuck like feral dogs and it would make them so much worse. also dad is there. unspeakably messy. 12/10

Season 2: dad just died. the grief sex would be more tears than come and at least one of them is probably saying johns name mid fuck. dean might have to kill baby brother (TM) and so the obvious reaction to this would be extremely possessive sex. sam would not like that attitude (with the one exception of if it happens when hes drunk in playthings). messy in even grosser but marginally less feral ways than szn one. 13/10

Season 3: milder. still obsessed with each other but more settled into it now. deans turn to maybe die and sams turn to be uber-doober possessive about it. unlike sam, dean would be extremely into that. and his deal is comin due so he might as well. sad and tragic,, but not that messy. probably still more tears than come. 6/10

Season 4: dean just came back from hell to find sam fucking his new demon girlfriend. the angels are there. they're still hunting but Stuff Is Going On and god knows they need to be grounded with each other to make it through. sex would probably help. would do the opposite than make things messier. would be vicious. definite chance dean might try to feed sam his blood. 4/10

Season 5: apocalypse fuck. oh fuck. ruby is dead. angels and death and demons and god and destiny. sam and dean are the most experienced and secure theyve ever been and yet. the whole damn world is about to explode. and yet they are still tortured and annoyed by the goofy everday hunting horrors. fucking would be nice for them, would remind them they belong to each other. they think theyre gonna die so the consequences wouldnt matter a whole lot. less insulated and worried about holy judgment so the incest thing may be a bother now. 2/10

Season 6: you fuck your brother but its not your brother he's different in ways you cant explain but you havent seen him in months and you thought you lost him and hes not quite right but fuck he looks like him and talks like him and knows everything about the two of you and he fucks like a greek god and hes mean as a motherfucker in bed but you can take it its fine its worth it its sam godammit-

15/10

Season 7: stranded up the creek without even a twig for a paddle. both brothers are destroyed and traumatised and forcing each other forward by force of necessity and a brotherly hand on the back of the neck. at least its just them alone together (dean please ignore the hallucination of lucifer sitting in the corner and judging our cock size-). sex would go terribly and be the most unsexy sex ever sexed. but they would probably like the closeness if sam could handle it. messy but wouldnt ruin them long term. there would be a terrible Dick joke. 8/10

Season 8: WHOA BOY WHAT A DOOZY. BOTH BROTHERS HAVE PARAMOURS ON THE SIDE WHOM THE OTHER FUCKIN HATES. DEAN IS PURGATORY FERAL AND HAS ONE EYE ON A VAMP. SAM IS SOFT HAS HIS PINKY FINGER TWINED AROUND SOME RANDOM GIRL. WHY DIDNT YOU LOOK FOR ME?? // YOU TOLD ME NOT TO!! // YOU TRUST A DAMN VAMPIRE OVER YOUR OWN BROTHER?? // YOU HIT A DOG... meanwhile sam is doing the trials losing his mind again and dean is losing his mind about that. letting you down was my biggest sin//there is nothing i would ever put in front of you. messy. 10/10.

Season 9: less than ideal with sam possessed by and angel. dean is rocking with the guilt and confliction. the mark of cain is also making him a bit feral again. theyre safe together in the bunker but thats already claustrophobic enough sex might just suffocate them both. pretty messy. 7/10

Season 10: your big brother is an angry angry man but its not his fault right??? its because of the mark right?? he cant control it and you love him and you want to stay in the safe house/bunker/tomb with him you dont want to leave anymore and you need him. youve both been through enough. you deserve this. there would be minimal messiness caused by sex with your brother rn. exception to those few weeks where he was a demon. 2/10

Season 11: gods sister is here and its the apocalypse again. dean hates what he has with Her. at least his sammy is here. at least theyre together. still crazy about each other. gay incest sex is the most reasonable reaction. god might find out- but then again, he and his sister are pretty wacked out together too, and are we not made in gods image?. 1/10

Season 12: Mom is here and so is lucifer and his kid and also the cunt ass brits. not ideal. minimal messiness so long as no one finds out. and fuck all them anyway its pretty clear sam and dean can only ever really trust each other. sex would be affirming and safe here. they are absolutely fucking in the kitchen to the smell of toast and coffee. dean discovers he has an std because no its not normal that your balls have iched like that for the past four years you need to go to a doctor and dean i swear on the impala if you gave it to me- . 3/10

Season 13 to 15: fellas is it gay to have sex with your brother who you've been functionally married to for over a decade? probably not right ha ha. if they havent already fucked by now theyre not going to. theyre just gonna be intensely platonically married until they die. they both have erectile dysfunction by this point . sex would mean everything to them but change nothing they would still be old and married in their bunker with the devils kid tomorrow regardless. they dont care what people think anymore. fuck all messiness. 1/10

Post Season 15 Finale/Heaven: we deserve a soft epilogue my love sammy. mildly concerned about being kicked out of heaven for incest but with everything else theyve done they still made it there. it would be the least of their sins. lovely soft and nothing hurts. can you make a sex tape in heaven? 0/10

[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

[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 <;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

[lu-twilights-pup]

So I gotta know bc I am now incredibly invested in your girls and your AU

Your girlie pops dynamic with the OG Chain. What chaos happened upon first meet? What’s the reaction to Moon? The reaction to Scout and Loft? Along with their missing Chain members and the fact that Hylia had came in to save them?

I’m also curious abt moon but in ways that I just can’t verbalize since it mostly consists of sobbing and crying and worrying if she’s okay and if she needs a hug,,,,

Your AU is making me unwell but in a /pos kind of unwell, I promise

So im still working on actually writing out this interaction, because i wanna do a maybe lil mini fic about it, but over all i have the idea down.

I’m gonna add a little read more thing cause this is gonna be a doozy.

They first met because they had noticed Loft and Scout following them and confronted them, they ran and got away before Legend, Wind and Warriors bumped into them again in a near by town, questioning them and bringing them back with them for like…interrogation???

When they first meet rest of the chain, both groups are very put off by the other. The girls aren’t as shocked as the boys as they already knew that other worlds like theirs existed with other hero groups and such. The boys on the other hands are a little less forth coming about it. Its mainly Legend and Wild who are a bit stand of fish and suspicious about them. Twilight is a bit cautious about them solely because of Moon. It takes a good deal of convincing (i.e. telling them things no one but them would know, the master sword recognizing them, the triforce on the hand, etc) before they begin to settle a little bit more into each other.

Once everyone is a bit more comfortable, or more so being a bit insensitive and nosey (Legend asking what’s up with the mutt) and getting no answer, then comes Time with a nicer version of ‘what happpened to the rest of your party’ type question then they dive into it, but only lightly.

They explain what happened to their world, why they are there, and reluctantly what happened to each of them, and how Moon is/ was Twilight, but she is stuck at the moment, and even the master sword cant switch her back. She kind of knows who is who and what is going on but she is mostly dog back there. She’s still got her instincts and will go after anything that comes near them that she sees as a threat, from monsters to Yiga in disguise. They had to essentially ‘train her’ to no run after everything and to be able to safely travel with her.

There is a nausea in the air as Scout and Loft explain what happened to them. The group feels for them, but it gives a bit of a scare as a reminder of what could happen to any of them on this journey. Even more so when they learn why there is only four of them.

They refuse to go into detail about what happened to each of otter members, simply that they fell to the shadow in some way, or simple passed on. They still aren’t sure about what happened to Wild due to her having bee with Moon, and moon can really talk right now. But each of them hold an item of a missing member of their group, some as a reminder, others had plans to give them back to loved ones, had they made it to the times and eras they needed to.

And Moon very much needs a hug. She’s been through hell and back with the commander, and even the on her own. He shortened coat is a side effect of her captures wanting her pelt, shaving it down to remove her divinity as a noble beast and turning her into a ‘Mangy mutt’ instead. They would tell her stories of what they had done to the others, which she had no way of knowing was true or not because they were separated. Her and the commander only broke free due to a blood moon, which gave her her human form back briefly. But oh god dam is she like heavily traumatized. She needs every hug in the book.

[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!!”

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

Power Armor Punch Part Forty One

Masterlist

Nick: *gets socked in the face with a power fist and stumbles, firing off a few blind shots* Ugh- got me good-! *quickly switches to his flamer* Alright, that's it-! *starts burning some Raiders... which does take out a few but there's still some more right around the corner*

Ellie: *sternly but also worriedly* Jasmine, where's Nick? *stands at the "doorway" of her room*

Jasmine: (Without looking up while she tucks some clothes under her arm) “Last time I saw him was back around Quincy with Lucille not too long ago. I am going to meet them by the Glowing Sea. I did not want to stick around there so I ran ahead.” (Stands and quickly marches over to the bathroom so she can change into something a little more sturdy)

Ellie: Why do I get the feeling you ran off without much warning?

Nick: *gotten shot a few times- switched out to his modded pipe pistol to hit the more tricky ones from a distance, but there's a few bullets lodged where there don't need to be now*

Teshteal: *still singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. He's at 64.*

Lucille: *annoyed growl* This song isn't going to end.

Teshteal: Oh! Great song suggestion! I'm going to consider it for the next one! *starts singing the 63rd bottle*

Lucille: Aaaagh!

Teshteal: *keeps singing*

Jasmine: (As she closes the door) “I said I would meet them there beforehand, that is a warning.” (Sighs and curses under her breath after the door is locked, immediately shedding off her armor and jacket. She changes into new boy shorts and crop top over her undergarments, freezing when she takes off the bandages) (Quietly and guiltily) “I am so sorry…” (Takes out her knife and makes several new slashes along her arms, sides, and legs, relishing the forbidden and very brief numbing relief it brings. It’s like her chem addiction, almost sweetly addictive and in its own sense, but doesn’t do any good… Now she is gonna need new bandages and some antiseptic)

Ellie: *starts knocking on the door* Jasmine, we've talked about this, haven't we? About hurting yourself. *sounds concerned. The way she says it sort similar to Nick- but one could suppose that it's from working with the detective for so long* I may not be a detective but I can tell when someone's ran all the way here in a sudden fit. You didn't give them advance notice at all, did you?

Nick: *manages to finish them off but slumps against the wall he was using as cover to rest for a moment and run a diagnostic* I'm going to need a few repairs, that's for sure... *shuts his eyes as his head thumps against the wall*

Jasmine: (Doesn’t answer Ellie as she closes her eyes and leans her head back against the wall to take in the false feelings, her body almost relaxing at the familiar stinging sensation. Of course she had avoided her older wounds while making the cuts, and she didn’t go for anything potentially life threatening. But at the end of the day it’s still wrong, and she knows this deep down)

Ellie: What would Nick say if he found out about you doing this to yourself?

Nick: *diagnostics come back and he frowns* Left leg compromised... that's it? That punch was a real doozy... *runs it again just in case* Oh, lovely. A few wires in my neck came loose. *tries to stand but finds his coordination is a little off*

Jasmine: (Opens her eyes in a daze at the question, slowly slinking back against the wall so she’s seated while she makes a few more slashes that are disappointing than the last. The original plan was to get out of here ASAP so she can get back to Nick and Lucille…. But now she doesn’t want to walk out and immediately have to face Ellie, or Nick later on. She doesn’t really know how’d he react to this, or that she ran away…)

Ellie: *bangs on the door again* You need to stop! This isn't going to help you in the long run. It's not going to help you face whatever it is your running from.

Nick: *stumbling a bit to Diamond City. It doesn't take him long to get past the guards but he's moving slow*

Jasmine: (Closes her eyes tightly while some tears prick at her eyes, her hand clamping down on the open blade of her knife. She knows Ellie is right, and so is Dad. Right now she wants to cling onto Winnie for comfort, but she doesn’t want to get the sweet teddy bear all bloody…)

Nick: *makes his way to the office, stumbling in the door*

Ellie: Nick-?! Oh my god-! What happened to you?!

Nick: Got blindsided by a group of Raiders while running after Jasmine. She just up and bolted while only briefly mentioning about meeting us in the Glowing Sea. Left leg needs repairs and a few wires came loose in my neck- throwing off my balance something terrible. I'd ask Luce to take care of it but... well... she's back there with an unexpected acquaintance from my past.

Ellie: ...Speaking of Jas... she's in the bathroom. Hurting herself again-

Nick: WHAT-?! *quickly limps past Ellie*

Ellie: Nick, let me take a look at you, then we'll look after Jasmine-

Nick: The damage on me isn't as life threatening as bleeding out!

Jasmine: (Closes her eyes and lowers her head, slipping into a sort of trance while the stinging dances up and down her body. Can’t hear them at all, only the roaring in her ear the the voices in her head. Monster. Monster. Monster…)

Nick: *bangs on the door* ROSALINDA VALENTINE. OPEN THE DOOR THIS INSTANT. *sounds dissapointed, angry*

Jasmine: (Eyes snap open and those words get blasted away. The name and tone of Nick make her hesitate and grip onto the knife tightly in surprise. How the hell did Nick get here so fast? Was he right behind her this whole time? Or did time slip through her fingers? Either way, there is nothing else she can do other than face him right now and own up to what she did) “Fuck…” (Reluctantly clicks open the door lock, bringing her knees up to her chin to hide her body while staring at her feet in partial shame)

Nick: *can see them plain as day and grabs her arm, putting a little too much pressure just below her wrist. He pulls her to her feet with a yank* And what the hell is this, Rosalinda?! I thought we agreed you'd tell someone if you felt on the edge again! That we'd work on this together! *eyes burn bright with betrayal, disappointment, rage* I can understand, running back here to safety after Teshteal spooked ya but, hurting yourself like this?!

Ellie: *hands over her mouth in shock at the cuts and how quickly Nick blew up at the teen*

Jasmine: (Staggers and yelps as she is suddenly yanked to her feet, still dizzy from earlier. If it were anyone else pulling her like this, she’d fight them and scream like hell. But instead she uses her other arm to instinctively cover her waist as Ellie is there) “I ran because I did not want to hurt him. He was broken and in so much pain, just like me. From the same people too. But despite that I still wanted to kill him, like a monster.” (Tries to speak as calm as she can, making sure not to put too much emotion in her words so she doesn’t play with anyone’s feelings)

Nick: A monster would have pulled the trigger. You said it yourself, you didn't want to hurt him. *pulls on her arm for emphasis* But hurting yourself like this?! That's a bit too far. *almost snarling* It doesn't make you a monster in my eyes but it does dissapoint me you're slipping back into this... self destructive habit! *grips her arm a little tighter, unaware of how much pressure he's actually applying*

Ellie: Nick- do you really have to yell?!

Nick: Not normally, but in this instance? After how often I've had to warn her away from this kinda behavior? I think it's pretty damn warranted.

Jasmine: (Doesn't flinch at Nick or break face. She’s lightheaded but won’t remove her arm that’s covering herself to hold onto the sink) (Calmly) “I worded my promise very carefully as I know my own limits. I said that I would try my damned hardest to alert someone and avoid following through with these urges to my best extent, and I held that up. I told you when I could that I wanted to hurt myself, did I not? In this case I could not, nor could I tell Ellie as I was too upset with myself for getting inches away from murdering someone with no remorse. Just like they wanted me to do, I am playing their game….”

Ellie: That isn't an excuse in this case. You were arguing with me when you came in- it wasn't an instance where you've shut down like before.

Nick: *even more dissapointed scowl* So we're lying about this, too. Why am I not surprised? *lets go of her arm. Doesn't even notice the accidental bruising his lack of coordination has caused as he turns away* I'll be waiting in the office, Ellie. Get her patched up first. Then me. Then... I think it'll be best if she's put on desk duty for a while. Where she'll have someone to keep an eye on her. *limps away to his desk*

Ellie: Okay. *goes and grabs the bandages and comes back to Jas*

Jasmine: (Takes the bandages without looking at her, opening the first aid kit that’s kept in the bathroom) “Go and look after Nick, Ellie. I am not a convalescent child, I can do it myself with efficiency. It is not like I have not tended to wounds before, plus I do not like people looking at my body when I am not fully dressed.” (Crosses both of her arms over her chest and waist)

Ellie: Forgive me, but after this ordeal, I just can't trust you with bandaging yourself. I'm sorry... *takes the bandages back and starts wrapping her arm* Besides. Nick said his damage wasn't putting him in any danger... I hope.

Jasmine: (Pulls away immediately and even gently shoves her back while wrapping her arms around herself tightly) “Ellie, do not touch me. I know you are worried right now, but I do not want you to get near me and I am capable of doing it myself. I will leave the door open while I tend to my cuts, but you have to go. Please.” (Really trying not to get aggressive)

Ellie: Fine. If you say so... *backs away but stays where she can see her*

Nick: *still fuming over all this. He didn't want to hurt her confronting her but he had to scold her*

Jasmine: (Takes in a deep breath) “Can you turn around for just one moment until I get some pants and a shirt on?? I will be quick at doing this, I promise.” (Honestly does want to get this over with as soon as possible. Just wants to get dressed and for Nick to get tuned up)

Ellie: *turns away for a moment*

Nick: *kicking himself for not stopping her sooner. He could have prevented all this. But it doesn't excuse her wanton self destruction*

Jasmine: (Quickly and expertly bandages her legs and waist area, taking great caution to clean and disinfect the slashes first. She slips on a thick pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt, starting to work on her arm cuts with the same amount of care. She finishes one and is about to do the other when she spots the purpling and red bruise on her arm, barely being able to clasp her bloody hands over her mouth as she lets out scream of alarm. Her first thought to hit her already disoriented mind is that the security guard leader did this to her again, which makes pale a little more while she starts to feel her arm thump with pain to the bone)

Nick: *leaps to his feet, catching himself on the other chair in the office, concern in his voice* Rosalinda?! What is it?! *gains his balance and limps to the bathroom*

Ellie: *already turned around in horror*

Jasmine: (Panicking and confused as she drops to her knees on the bloodied floor like she was taught to do, hands still over her mouth while pure terror gets written all over her face)

Nick: *very carefully kneels to see what it is that's caused her to react this is way* What is it-? *sees the bruise from when he pulled her to her feet* Oh- Rosie... *deep sigh, realizing what happened. Guilt ridden tone* Rosie, that was me. I'm sorry. I didn't realize my grip was that strong.

Jasmine: (Pulls her hands away from her mouth, staring at the blood that’s on her hands and also all over her face, then at the large bruise on her un-bandaged arm) “……….” (Turns and leans over the toilet bowl, coughing and gagging as she hurls into it, tears stinging her eyes as the vile burns her throat. She does her best to keep her now loose curls out of the way, but it’s hard when she needs both arms to keep balance)

Nick: *lowers his head and heaves a heartbroken sigh before using the door frame to pull himself up. He finally turns to Ellie* El, I'd appreciate the repairs now... *grimly at himself* Before I hurt someone else. *hobbies over to the bed and waits*

Ellie: *nods and goes and gets the tools*

Jasmine: (Keeps gagging and coughing until she’s dry heaving into the toilet, tears going down her cheeks while she lifts her head and wipes her mouth with a napkin. She leans back against the wall while she patiently waits for the dizziness to subside, and maybe for round two by the feels of it) “Bloody hell…” (Still so confused and dumbfounded on what the hell just happened, her mind can’t make sense of any of it. Right now it’s just registering yelling, fear, then pain and blood. Which is not a good combo out of context)

Nick: takes off his scarf and unbuttons his collar on his shirt so Ellie can reattach the wires*

Ellie: *comes back with a soldering gun and starts working on his system*

Nick: What am I going to do with her, hm? I can't leave her alone for two seconds before she starts maiming herself in some way. I can't reason with her at all sometimes... I was lucky I could keep up with her. I dunno Ellie. I feel like I've gotten in way over my head*

Ellie: Perhaps you have. You do have a bad habit of getting too attached to your clients...

Jasmine: (Working on calming herself down first as her breathing is speeding up. There’s no security guard leader, no one harshly yanked and bruised her arm on purpose. No one forced her to do anything she didn’t want to do. It was purely accidental, Nick hadn’t meant to hurt her. He loved her, he’d never try to harm her on purpose. And those cuts on her stomach were done by herself, no one else) “Breathe Rosie-Posie…. Just breathe Ro-Ro….” (Wants to run to Nick like a scared kitten for comfort, but he’s rightfully mad and disappointed with her. It’s perfectly fine, she’s calming down on her own)

Nick: I know, El... I know. But sometimes that kinda familiarity really does help when I get myself into trouble.

Ellie: How's that working out for you, now? *already soldered a few wires back together*

Nick: Obviously not that good. *sighs* Cruel of me to say this but sometimes I wonder if it would be better if I set her up some place to live on her own here in Diamond City. Let her sort it out herself.

Ellie: Do you think that would be... you know... wise?

Nick: No. Obviously, not. Though everytime this happens I can't help but wonder if this is one of those situations where the person just can't be helped no matter how hard you try- no matter how much you throw at it.

Jasmine: (Eyes widen she hears them talking, her heart thumping at the thought of being away from Nick… And that it sounds like a client more than anything. A difficult one, a burden. She was hoping that maybe she was more than that…) (Thinking to herself) “What else do you think would happen? This is how the game is played, you lose either way no matter how hard you try.” (Wipes her mouth one more time, thankful she can’t taste anything right now. She stands and finishes wrapping her arm, removing shirt and the crop top before putting on a clean long sleeved shirt with a short sleeved on top. Over that she puts on a navy blue jacket with a tactical grey vest over that, both lined with ballistic weave. Next she’s brushing her hair and working it into a braid)

Nick: We're looking at this from the wrong angle anyhow. She's not just a client- she's family. That's why I can't just shove her away even when something like this happens. She needs someone to look out for her. So even if it hurts to see her doing this, I'm not going to let go.

Ellie: *worried look at Nick* Quite literally hurts, too... *solders in another wire*

Nick: Eh. What's a few screws loose when your entire job revolves around exploring the Commonwealth and beyond? I just hope this all pays off in the end... that Jas gets to be happy- and I mean truly happy in the end. You shoulda seen her, El. Six years old and running all over the play ground, climbing and daring to do things no other child would have the guts to do... If I could see her smile like that again, after all she's been through, then I think it'll be worth the trouble.

Jasmine: (Has the water running while she wets her hair so she can properly brush it, shoving back the threatening tears. She’s not gonna be someone’s mistake, that already happened twice. Once she gets her hair in a tight braided bun she clicks her batons in place, straps the dagger that’s kept under the sink into her vest and holsters her gun. She storms out of the bathroom to Ellie and Nick with her eyes burning with mixed feelings, mostly anger) “You are a bloody detective, right?! Why have not you figure it out yet?! This is what they fucking want, they structured me so that I cannot break free from how they programmed me! If I try it hurts and there’s a million little things I have to bypass in order to function properly! Nightmares, old commands, self hatred, the urge to kill, and the list goes on! And if I try to mingle with people without the mindset to murder them or leech off them, these things are meant to push them away, meant to keep people from caring about me because it’s too difficult to do so! It apparently works, I loose either way!”

Nick: *blinks and waits for her to finish blowing up at him. Might as well hear her full argument before he responds with his. Nevermind the fact that she's talking to a literal prototype gen 2 built by the Commonwealth's very own boogeyman*

Ellie: *solders in the last wire and starts working on his leg. A bullet got lodged somewhere in his casing down there*

Jasmine: “Lilac did not need to go to a mental hospital, she needed my mother to be patient and to mother her! Why was I doing a better job at being an adult than all the actual adults? I was six years old!! And now I am fifteen!” (Slings her backpack over her shoulders) “We were doing fine, Nick. This is the longest I have gone without chems or doing self harm in some form! I was happy with how it was. What more do you want from me? You saw my memories, you saw a fraction of the hell it was in the Vault. You saw my journal, that is how it is in my head! Jumbled and incoherent, I cannot make sense of it or control it! I certainly can more so nowadays thanks to you. But I was already a damned mistake and disappointment from day one, I do not need to be a third time!” (Pulls her hood over her head and snaps on her tactical mask, the one with night vision) “I am not a pet bunny, you do not get me cause I am cute and then throw me away when the work outweighs the good!” (Gestures at herself with her hands on her hips) “Guess what Nick? This is gonna happen again at some point or another, probably the same story with chems. It is just an unfortunate hurdle I have to go through in my life. If you cannot handle me then say so because you are giving me false hope that I can get through this! Otherwise, fuck off!!” (With that she starts to storm off to the door to wherever her blasted head tells her to go. Her heart aches and she longs to run back to the person who’s protected and loved her all this time, but she doesn’t)

Nick: *just stays silent through all of that* She didn't hear me, obviously. And she doesn't seem to understand the situation.

Ellie: *pulls the bullet out finally and pries the casing back into place with some pliers* You're going to go after her, right? *pulls back after pulling down his pants leg*

Nick: Not like I have any other option... *gets up and flexes his hands* Fine work as always, Ellie. Now- to get my daughter back. *runs out the door to look for her*

Jasmine: (Silently raging through the streets of Diamond City while her eyes swell with tears under her mask and her heart pounds in her ears, going up the main steps to the exit. Has no idea where to go or what to do, just knows she can’t stay here anymore)

Nick: *claps a hand over her shoulder* Jas- Rosalinda, wait. I think there's been a misunderstanding.

Jasmine: (Does a one-eighty and shoved him back, not hard but enough to get the point across that she’s mad as she glares at him from under the mask) “Nick, I told you to fuck off! I cannot do any of this good enough!” (Continues to thunder out the main city gates and into the Commonwealth)

Nick: *stubborn as hell so he charges after her, eventually grabbing her by her shoulders to keep her still* LISTEN TO ME, ROSALINDA. I was venting my frustration at the situation! I haven't given up on you-!

Jasmine: (Stares him down from under her mask) “Then why say it at all, huh? I was sitting right there vomiting, but I could still hear just fine.” (Tries to shrug him off. All they need is rain to maximize the drama of the situation)

Nick: *gripping her shoulders tightly, but not tight enough to bruise her like before* I admit, that was probably uncalled for on my part. But I'll also admit it's heartbreaking to see you regress after seeing how happy and carefree you could be. If it seems like I was going to toss you aside, I can understand that- but the truth of the matter is I won't. *apologetically* I'm sorry that I made you think that was the case, Rosie... I'm sorry...

Jasmine: (Opens her mouth to respond but all that she can say is a strained whimper. She can only look to the ground to stare at her feet. If she can be tossed into a garbage can for merely being born, then she can certainly be tossed for being a liability. But whatever, she just wants to keep going to some sort of goal. If Nick will allow her stay with him, she will continue to do so)

Nick: Come here... *pulls her into a hug* I said it before to Ellie but I'll say it again. I hope I can see you smile like you did all those years ago. I think it'll have been worth it, kiddo.

Jasmine: (Doesn’t hug him back right away and goes stiff, still feeling like this will slip away soon enough) (Quietly) “Are you sure you want to keep me…? I am broken, and it is going be a long while until I am better. Difficult things might happen until then, I will not hold it against you if you tell me to leave….”

Nick: Yes, kitten. You're one of my own. Even when things are difficult... *rubs her back*

Teshteal: *fighting some raiders they came across with ease... he's on bottle 38 by the way*

Lucille: *Barely having to touch the raiders cause of it* Yeah. You're from the same vault as Jas. I can tell by the way you fight.

Teshteal: *can't hear her over his own singing* Take one down! *stabbing a guy right Between the eyes* Pass it around! *swings the guy at another one charging them* 37 bottles of- *picks up a mininuke and throws it at the rest of the raiders pouring out the camp, blowing them up* BEER ON THE WALL! *crouches and grins as they all go flying, then marches on* 37 bottles of beer on the wall, 37 bottles of beeeeer!

Lucille: Well at least he looked like he was having fun... I hope.

Jasmine: (Let’s out a choked sigh of relief when she hears her Dads words. She slings her arms around him to tightly hug him back, closing her eyes as some slow tears fall while she leans on him) (Softly) “Good, I do not like being an orphan…”

Nick: And you won't be ever again. Promise...

Jasmine: (Smiles brightly under her mask while she clings to her Dad. Myrna and those like her can go fall in ditch and burn in hell for all she cares, nothing can change this familial bond or replace it)

Nick: Love you, kiddo. *Gently pets her hair*

Lucille: Oh! I think I see Nick and Jas ahead! *runs up to them*

Teshteal: *stops and stays back* This is where we say goodbye!

Lucille: *stops and turns to him* What do you mean?

Teshteal: The girl. We come from the same vault and the programming they did forces her to kill me. On top of that, it's clear I upset her. It's best if I stay back.

Lucille: If you say so. *turns and heads back to the two*

Teshteal: *sad smile. He only crouches behind a dumpster to watch them reunite. After he plans to make his exit*

Jasmine: “Me too Daddy….” (Takes in a calming breath, feeling much better now that the overwhelming feelings are over. Her cuts still sting, and her arm where the bruise is hurting. But it’s manageable)

Lucille: *comes clunking over in her big nuka blue power armor* Hey! Didn't you two forget someone?

Nick: *looks up at Lucille* Yeah. Sorry about that. We had a bit of a situation earlier.

Teshteal: *still watching from a distance*

Lucille: I figured.

Nick: *finally pulls away from Jas* How'd you find us...?

Lucille: This weird gremlin dude with horns and a tail kind of... followed your scents? Like a dog?

Nick: *goes silent then* ...I'm sorry, he did what now? *hands on his hips with his eyebrow raised in disbelief*

Jasmine: (Quietly) “Enhancing natural human capabilities… That was one of their major obsessions.” (Rubs her sore arm) “They had mine balanced so I won’t constantly be getting a sensory overload on all five unless I am stressed, but maybe they went too far with his sense of smell…”

Nick: So where is he?

Lucille: He decided to stay back and out of sight. Something about Jas being programmed to kill him. He kept singing the bottles of beer song but I could kind of tell the poor guy hasn't had company in a while so I just kind of... let him sing his silly little tune.

Jasmine: (Slowly blinks, then starts looking around for any nearby hiding spots. She stares at the dumpster, tilting her head while she squints. Teshteal wasn’t a threat to her… Didn’t he say he tried to help her from the torture she was in? Save her from the guards and doctors whom she pleaded with? That makes him an ally, an ally who’s also broken like her…. She waves her hand at the dumpster, knowing he’s probably hiding back there or somewhere around)

@lucilleandherrobots

[armed-and-alxne]

Wanda could hear the sound of two voices as she made her way down the corridor towards the common room. One she could recognise as Luther, the other was a stranger, which instantly had her back up. Peering into the room, she definitely got a bad feeling, seeing how Luther seemed to be standing. Something was different about this man. Without another thought, she made her way into the room, wearing a fake smile so as to not freak either out. “Hey Lu, who’s this?”

How the freakin’ hell did he find his way in here? For all of Tony Stark’s high tech security, apparently a careless dolt like Irwin could still just walk right the hell in. He’d been there in the common room, lounging on one of the couches like an idiot, when Luther had gotten back from training. “What the fuck is this?” Luther said stopping and looking at him.

Irwin grinned and stood from the couch. “Well, it’s nice to see you too, Luther. Funny way to greet an old friend, though.”

“You’re not my friend. What are you doin’ here?” he asked.

“I just came to see if it was true. That you’d become... a superhero,” he said mockingly before laughing. “If that doesn’t beat all. I’m a little disappointed to see you not wearing tights and a cape, I have to say.”

“Get out,” Luther said, unamused.

“Why? We’re just barely getting started here,” Irwin said.

“You do know you could be shot on sight for breaking into what I’m pretty sure qualifies as a government building, right?” Luther asked.

“I didn’t break in, I walked in,” Irwin said. “You aren’t the only one who knows how to bypass security systems. This one was a doozy, but... every system has its own secret handshake if you know where to look.”

He talked too much, and Luther was tired of hearing it. 

“Besides... what are you going to do? Call for help? That wouldn’t be a good look for a superhero not to handle his own business, now, would it?” Irwin taunted.

“No, I’ll just kill you myself,” Luther said, drawing his pistol and pointing it at Irwin.

He laughed. “No, you won’t. You’re still wetting the bed over what you did to Evan. You’ll never kill anyone ever again. And come on, you wouldn’t do that to Marta, would you? You already killed her husband. You gonna kill her baby brother too?”

Luther’s jaw jutted to the side and he lowered the gun. Irwin was right... about all of it.

“That’s better. Now be a good boy and let’s you and me have a nice, civilized conversation, shall we?” he said, loving every minute of this.

“Too late,” Luther said darkly. But then the unthinkable occurred. As he heard Wanda’s voice behind him, Luther turned to see her coming down the corridor. Shit.

“Hey, little lady...” Irwin said, already looking Wanda up and down.

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” Luther warned.

Irwin’s grin widened knowingly as he looked between Luther and Wanda. “Oh... Ohh, really? You got yourself a girlfriend? Wow, you forgot about my sister real fast, didn’t you? She’s cute!” he said. Turning to Wanda, he attempted to act like nothing was wrong at all. “Name’s Irwin Petrov. I’m an old friend of Luther’s. We’re practically brothers, except not, because he was born in a gutter...”

“We’re not friends, Irwin. We never were. And we’re definitely not brothers,” Luther said.

“He’s a little cranky today,” Irwin said, winking at Wanda before turning back to Luther. “So uh... is she one too? A superhero, I mean? What does she do, shoot lasers from her eyes or something?” he said with a condescending chuckle.

“Okay,” Luther said, unable to hold himself back anymore.

“Careful, Luther,” Irwin warned, lifting up his cell phone. Marta’s just a phone call away. I’m sure she’d love to hear that you’re still attacking her family after shamefully avoiding a prison sentence that you deserved.”

That stopped him again. With fists clenched and his heart pounding, he glanced at Wanda. “Wanda, get out of here. Go on,” he said, trying to protect her.

“He wants you to pay, Luther,” Irwin said, now deathly serious with all joking set aside. “Dad’s sitting in jail for a crime you committed. You owe him your life... with interest... for everything he’s handed you over the years... and now he’s sent me to collect payment on your bill.”