#so coming back and reading this segment specifically

[sevastiel]

So I was listening to the new Warframe Isleweaver soundtrack, and this song in particular REALLY caught me.

We dont currently have any instances of violin/viola that I can think of in warframes sound track that are that prevalent, and I was like, hmm. It uses Duviri's/the drifter's theme, but not in the regular way, and other than that its all over the place, its Kinda... lacking in regulation. It's highs and lows and oh my god its Thrax, isnt it.

Anyway. Now there's an image in my head of Thrax playing what I'm currently thinking of as a 5 string violin/viola combo that'd cover the whole register here, and atm I'm oscillating btween violinthi and vilthiari

(Vinthiri? Vilitha? vilithis? Violiri? Viliri? Violara? its gotta sound similar to how it would sound to play, while keeping the vi bit.)

[theballadofharkness]

What happens in Vegas…

Mason and the Macabre Masterlist

Pairing: Maya Mason x HorrorExec fem!reader

Summary: When you, the horror queen of Continental Studios, accidentally eat 14 grams of shrooms at a Vegas suite party, your girlfriend Maya Mason, marketing genius, streetwear icon, and the only thing keeping this presentation together, must wrangle her melting girlfriend, a missing studio head, and a PR nightmare in the making. Featuring chaotic executives, Kool-Aid mascots, wall cheese, and one very public descent into babygirl delirium.

It’s CinemaCon. What could possibly go wrong?

Word Count: 10.2K

Warnings: smut warning and mentions of drug use so as always MDNI

A/N: this is looking to be a three parter… also sorry angels for taking so long I wanted to watch the finale first incase it changed how I wanted to end it ❤️

The private jet smells like luxury and something suspiciously herbal.

Quinn’s already got her sunglasses on despite being indoors, lounging across two seats like she’s in a music video. “I’ve always wanted to do shrooms in Vegas,” she says, voice high with excitement.

Matt chuckles as he pulls a tin from his backpack, eyes gleaming. “Well, today’s your lucky day. These babies are from my Dave Fanco’s dealer in Topanga. They're microdosed which I think means we probably won’t die.”

“Cool cool cool,” Sal says, settling into a seat with a can of hard seltzer already cracked open. “As long as I don’t piss myself in front of Dave Franco again, I’m chill.”

Patty doesn’t look up from her tablet. “Again?”

“I was nervous, okay?”

“Hey don’t even worry about that dude, let’s party hard! Viva Las Vegas!” Matt holds up a silver tin, presumably full of drugs, with mock ceremony.

“You’re such a good boss,” you murmur, dry as dust. Your black nails curl around the edge of a glass of sparkling water. You’re in a tailored black suit and vintage sunglasses even though you’re inside a plane. You look like you could summon a demon or greenlight a Sundance darling with the same raised eyebrow.

“Aw, come on,” Matt says, angling his body to face you. “Don’t you wanna trip in the Bellagio fountain like a horror priestess?”

You tilt your head. “I want Maya.”

Your leg bounces, restrained but constant. You’ve already read the CinemaCon itinerary twice, checked the slate updates, reread Maya’s 1 a.m. text about venue stress five times. You’re not worried, she’s Maya fucking Mason. You just miss her. You want her voice in your ear, her laugh in your mouth. You want her to see you in the black silk blouse you wore specifically because she said it makes you look like a wicked little Victorian ghost.

Matt leans in. “Hey. You’ll see her in a few hours. She’s gonna be at the venue with Tyler doing final run-throughs, right?”

You nod, absentmindedly twisting a ring on your finger. “She’s been texting. Said she thinks she’s finally got the Kool-Aid segment tight.”

Patty eyes you. “You good, spooky?”

You hum. “I will be.”

Quinn leans over the seat. “Okay, I have to ask, do how the fuck are you surviving two whole days without her? Like. Genuinely.”

“I’m not,” you say, with complete seriousness.

Sal laughs. “You are down bad. It’s so gross.”

“She told me not to come early,” you mutter. “Said I’d throw off her concentration.”

Matt looks up. “You’d throw off Maya Mason’s concentration?”

“She said I’d make her horny in front of the cinema con people...”

“Yeah, that tracks,” Sal says.

You sigh and lean your head back, already picturing her: Maya in cargo pants and a cropped tank top, headset on, yelling at a PA while sipping a matcha and wearing sunglasses she refuses to remove indoors. She’s probably pacing the stage in her Jordans right now, doing a run-through of the Kool-Aid bit like it’s her own personal Super Bowl. You know the lines already. You know her cadence. You want her voice in your ear and her hand on your thigh. You want her to shove you into a broom closet and ruin your lipstick.

You’re curled in your seat, legs tucked up, fingers flying across your phone screen with precise little taps. The last message from Maya is two hours old. You’ve reread it five times.

<Maya: Final run-thru at 10. Kool-Aid bit is tight. I’m so fucking smart it’s sickening.>

<Maya: Miss you, don’t come early I’ll get distracted and try to finger you behind the LED wall.>

You bite back a smile and type:

<You: I’m 35,000 feet in the air and this tin of shroom chocolate is glaring at me. Matt said the dose is “probably” fine.>

<You: If I die, tell the ghost in the Continental elevator I say hey.>

<You: Also I miss you. Two days without you and I’m unwell. I think Quinn’s starting to worry.>

A second passes. Then two.

<Maya: typing…>

You lean forward, heart doing that humiliating little skip.

<Maya: Don’t take the chocolate, baby.>

<Maya: I want you lucid when I see you.>

<Maya: Also Quinn’s always worried. She’s high half the time and thinks you might be a vampire.>

You grin and type back quickly.

<You: I’m saving myself for you. Spiritually, sexually, and psychotropically.>

<Maya: That’s my good girl.>

You go still.

The plane roars under you, Sal’s yelling something about Vegas strip clubs, and you… you sink into your seat like your spine’s made of warm honey. Maya always knows how to shut the world up with one text.

You type slower this time.

<You: What are you wearing.>

<Maya: Gucci. Supreme. Headset. Clipboard.>

<Maya: Why? You touching yourself in the sky?>

You bite your lip and glance out the window.

<You: No. But I’m thinking about what I’ll let you do to me once you’re done selling the shit out of our movies and making millions my gorgeous marketing genius xo>

She doesn’t respond right away, and when the typing bubble comes back, it stutters like she had to compose herself.

<Maya: Fuck. I should’ve let you come early.>

~

The Vegas sun slaps the side of the taxi like it’s owed money. You’re all crammed into one SUV, Matt in the front talking poor Quinn’s ear off about 80’s classics set in Vegas, the rest of you stacked like unstable luggage in the back.

Sal’s practically bouncing in his seat. “Wait, wait, wait, you’ve never seen Casino?”

Quinn shrugs, scrolling on her phone. “It’s three hours long and it’s mostly dudes in suits yelling.”

“It’s Scorsese! It’s Vegas cinema! It’s essential!” Matt twists around from the front seat like he’s about to start a TED Talk. “That movie is why we’re here. It is the reason.”

Patty, wedged between you and Quinn, mutters, “Matty, that doesn’t even make sense.”

“No,” Sal says, wild-eyed. “Hold on. Hold on. You’ve never seen Showgirls either?”

Quinn blinks. “I’ve seen the gifs.”

Matt gasps like she kicked him. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not gonna apologize for being Gen Z.”

“Okay but even Y/N’s probably seen Showgirls,” Sal says, flailing dramatically. “And she only watches like, demon nun films and that one where the guy bleeds out of his eyes in a haunted motel.”

Quinn smirks. “Bet she hasn’t. She’s too busy watching underground horror films from cursed VHS tapes.”

You glance up from your phone with a slow blink. “Honey. I live with Maya.”

Everyone looks at you.

You arch a brow, deadpan. “Of course I’ve seen Showgirls. I’ve seen Casino. I’ve seen Leaving Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing. I’ve watched Cocktail on VHS because Maya said watching it while doing edibles is a spiritual experience.”

Matt makes a sound like a strangled wheeze. “I knew it. I knew she was secretly romantic.”

“She sobbed during Leaving Las Vegas,” you add, with zero shame. “Wouldn’t let go of me for an hour after.”

Sal cackles. “That’s so her.”

“Okay but in fairness,” Quinn says, pointing at you. “You also made us watch a Swedish found footage film about a haunted puppet that speaks in tongues.”

“And it was brilliant,” you say, lips twitching.

“It gave me nightmares,” Quinn says.

“Art should haunt you,” you reply sweetly.

The car hits a bump and Matt groans, slumping back into his seat. “You two are so fucking weird.”

You grin, texting Maya beneath the window line:

<You: They’re trying to drag my taste in movies. Im defending my taste in a cab full of normies.>

<Maya: If they slander our love of leaving Las Vegas, I will light that whole venue on fire.>

You snort softly and tuck your phone away, pulse buzzing. Almost there.

Almost time to see her.

~

The hotel lobby is pure Vegas, mirrored ceilings, gold trim, the faint scent of chlorine and sin clinging to the air. You walk through it like you own the place, long black coat trailing, sunglasses still on, a walking omen in heeled boots.

The rest of your crew trails behind, wheeling carry-ons, already vibrating with party energy.

Matt’s mid-rant. “So I called the front desk and sweet-talked our way into that ridiculous suite, the one with the piano and the hot tub in the living room. We’re partying tonight. No excuses.”

“You sweet-talked?” Patty says, eyebrows raised.

“I offered to name my firstborn after the concierge. Don’t worry, we’re good.”

Quinn spins in a lazy circle as you pass the lobby bar. “I want to get high and cry on a piano like I’m in a breakup montage.”

Sal stretches his arms over his head, grinning. “I’m getting so drunk I forget how movies are made.”

“You say that like it isn’t your usual Monday,” Patty mutters.

They all glance at you as you pass through the gleaming hallway, making your way toward the auditorium. Your boots echo with every step.

“Y/N,” Matt says, like he’s been saving it. “You and Maya have to come tonight.”

“Yeah, come on,” Sal adds. “It’s not a party unless the hot gay horror couple shows up and makes everyone feel deeply unsexy.”

“You’re not allowed to say no,” Quinn calls. “Vegas law. You and Maya must attend. She has to wear something unreasonably expensive and you have to stare at her like you’re under a spell. It’s your whole dynamic.”

You smile without looking back. “She is unreasonably sexy when she wears things that sparkle.”

“Exactly!” Quinn yells. “Lean into it!”

“You haven’t even seen the outfit she planned to wear for the after party,” you murmur, more to yourself than anyone else. “I’m going to need to be sedated.”

Matt groans dramatically. “Please. Come tonight. It’ll be epic. We’ll do karaoke. There will be mushrooms. There will be blackout confessions. There will be someone peeing in a closet, probably Sal—”

“I said I only did that once!” Sal protests.

Quinn nudges your shoulder. “Come on, make an appearance. Let people see what it looks like when the goth girl and the streetwear goddess take over CinemaCon.”

You glance down at your phone.

<You: On our way to the auditorium. Lobby’s chaotic. Matt says if we don’t come to the party he’ll scream.>

<Maya: Tyler just said Matt texted him the same thing. We’re cornered.>

<You: I can’t wait to see you. Bet you look beautiful.>

<Maya: You’re gonna pass out when you see me.>

You pocket your phone and finally glance at the others, deadpan. “Fine. We’ll come.”

They erupt into cheers.

“But only if I get to go to our hotel room with her before midnight,” you add.

“Like anyone doubts that,” Patty says.

The stage lights are already up when you’re ushered into the auditorium. It’s freezing in that distinctly Vegas, over-air-conditioned kind of way. Tyler waves you in without even looking up from his checklist, gesturing to the stage like you’re late for something sacred.

Maya is in the center of it all, giant screen behind her, production crew moving around like clockwork, but she’s the one setting the pace. She’s in a khaki oversized Gucci x Adidas collab co-ord, hair long and wild beneath a camo hat that says Supreme in faded red. Clipboard in one hand. Radio in the other. Gold bracelets jangling as she barks, “If this screen isn’t crisp enough to slap God in the face by morning I swear to Christ—”

The second she sees you and the others filter in, she raises her voice and grins wide, headset already half slipping off one ear.

“Welcome to my fucking Thunderdome!”

Quinn lets out a whoop. Sal gives a dramatic bow. Matt raises his arms like he’s witnessing a miracle. “Mason!”

You don’t say anything. You just stare.

Because holy fuck.

You wave shyly and she goes still briefly, subtly, but you see it. You feel it. That flicker of softness. Of heat. Becuase fuck, there she is.

And you run.

You don’t think. You don’t hesitate. You cross the auditorium in four quick strides, boots hitting the floor like you’re possessed. Maya barely has time to drop the clipboard before you’re in her arms, flinging yourself at her like something feral that’s just come home.

She catches you hard, one arm banding under your thighs as she lifts you clean off the floor and crushes you to her chest. Her radio clatters to the floor. You wind your arms around her neck and bury your face in the curve of her jaw.

You tilt your head back, eyes wide, lips parted, needing her to see you. “Hi, mommy,” you whisper, quiet and soft and so sweet.

“Fuck,” she breathes, staggering slightly from the force of it. “Jesus, baby. You missed me that much?”

“Uh huh” he captured her lips in a kiss.

“I know,” she says, and her mouth is already brushing your ear. “You’re such a good girl.”

Your stomach flips.

From across the auditorium, Patty says flatly, “I always forget she’s a bottom.”

Maya smirks. “She’s not just a bottom. She’s my bottom.”

You blush so hard your ears burn, but you press yourself closer to her anyway, letting her loop an arm lazily around your waist and tug you into her side like she’s just reclaiming what’s hers. She smells like hotel soap and heat and Sharpie ink.

Quinn laughs. Matt makes an awww sound. Sal mutters something that sounds suspiciously like “fucking hot.”

Maya ignores them all. Her lips are at your ear now, voice low and velvet-rough. “You always this needy for me, huh?”

You blush so hard your nose scrunches against her neck. You don’t answer. But your fingers curl tighter in the fabric of her shirt.

She pulls back just enough to look down at you, her baby, her haunted little nightmare in a silk blouse and lipstick designed to be ruined.

“Tyler!” she calls. “Run the Kool-Aid slides again. I’m gonna give my baby a tour of the dome.”

“Copy,” Tyler says, not looking up.

“Come on,” Maya murmurs, nudging your temple with the brim of her hat. “Lemme show you how im going to make us fucking billions.”

You take her hand.

You’d follow her anywhere.

Maya’s hand is hot against your lower back as she guides you up onto the stage, clipboard tucked under one arm, headset mic slipping slightly as she multitasks like a chaotic god.

“Alright!” she barks, spinning to face the group. “Everyone shut the fuck up and pay attention. I’m walking you through the entire CinemaCon run-of-show. Tyler, cue the visuals.”

“Copy,” Tyler calls from the tech pit.

You, Matt, Sal, Patty, and Quinn fan out across the massive stage as the LED screen flickers to life behind Maya. You try to stand like a professional. But she keeps brushing against you. Keeps shooting you those looks. The ones that say you’re mine.

You cross your arms to look casual. You’re failing.

Maya starts pacing. “We open with Black Wing. Big visuals, massive IP energy. Sal, you say Zoe Kravitz is locked?”

“Yup. Just no one ask about the incident with the bird, and we’re golden.”

She nods. “Then it’s Silver Springs, then Alphabet city with Dave Franco which- Matt, did you finally get Ron Howard to stop calling it his redemption arc?”

“He’s calling it his magnum opus now,” Matt says. “It’s… fine.”

“Whatever, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Maya mutters, already turning back to the screen.

“Patty, you are going to introduce Silver Springs. Then once they’ve screamed themselves hoarse—” she flicks to the next slide, a flickering title card in bone-white on blood-black:

WITCH’S CURSE

The latest film you’d gotten made. She doesn’t even look at the screen. She looks straight at you.

“And then,” Maya says, voice dropping, “we go with blood.”

Everyone’s quiet for a moment.

You swallow. Try to keep your voice level. “You really think it’ll land?”

Maya cocks her head. “Baby. You know how people scream when they see the Devil in church? That’s what’s gonna happen. The horror heads in that audience? They’re gonna weep.” She grins. “Then we go full nuclear. Kool-Aid comes third. I need the vibes to be explosive. Like borderline-litigated. This is our Barbie moment.”

She waves at the visual cue and boom—an animated mock-up of the Kool-Aid Man bursting through a hotel ballroom wall plays across the screen. The next slide? A rendering of the actual suit rig Maya commissioned, with him descending from the ceiling on wires like some kind of fruity Messiah.

Sal claps. “It’s so dumb. I love it.”

Quinn gasps, “I’m high already just looking at it.”

Maya grins. “Exactly. Dumb sells. The crowd’s gonna lose their shit.

You try to nod. Try to stay sharp. But she’s standing too close. Her voice is too low. Her lips are right there. And everyone’s watching.

You clear your throat. “Okay. Yeah. I mean, it’s solid. Good build. Nice neon mascot chaos reveal baby.”

Patty raises a brow. “You alright over there, Countess Dracula?”

“I’m fine,” you say. Your voice comes out weirdly breathy. “Totally. Focused.”

Sal’s whispering to Matt “She’s gonna combust.”

Matt’s whispering back, “I’d combust too. Look at Maya’s fucking outfit.”

Maya, grinning like the cat that owns the whole damn dairy farm, turns to the group. “Alright, any questions?”

Quinn raises a hand. “What’s the protocol if the Kool-Aid Man suit gets stuck mid-descent?”

“Then we go full Carrie,” Maya says. “Dump red liquid on the crowd and call it avant-garde.”

You snort, because of course she has a plan B.

And then her hand slides over yours. Casual. Hidden. Possessive. You squeeze back before you can stop yourself. Professional. Totally.

You are so fucked.

Maya’s flipping through her clipboard like it’s a holy text, lips moving as she runs lines in her head.

“Matt,” she says sharply. “Where the fuck is Griffin?”

Matt flinches like he’s been caught texting in class. “Uh. Probably still in the spa? He texted me an hour ago saying he was ‘rejuvenating his cells.’”

Maya exhales like she’s trying not to throw her radio across the room. “He needs to be here for the Kool-Aid segment. If he’s gonna shout about synergy while the mascot drops from the rafters, he needs to rehearse it. This isn’t high school theater, it’s CinemaCon.”

“I’ll call him,” Matt mutters, already speed-dialing.

While the others shuffle around debating Griffin’s whereabouts, the stage lights shift, and then, with a low mechanical whir, a man in a Kool-Aid Man suit descends from the ceiling.

You instinctively take three steps back and glare up at it like it just declared war on your bloodline.

The actor inside the rig flashes a peace sign. “Yo! Can I get a selfie with everyone real quick?”

You immediately shake your head. “Absolutely not.”

Quinn wheezes. “Y/N looks like she just saw her sleep paralysis demon in hi-res.”

Patty grins from the side of the stage. “Come on, baby, don’t you want to pose with the eldritch fruit god?”

You narrow your eyes. “If that thing touches me I will hex the whole convention.”

The Kool-Aid Man lowers slowly to the floor like an omen. Sal pulls out his phone anyway. “Okay but he’s kinda iconic. I’m gonna frame this.”

As the mascot’s rig clicks out of sight, Quinn walls closer to Maya. “Okay, more importantly, Maya. You’re coming to the party tonight, right?”

Maya raises a brow. “The one Matt bribed the front desk for?”

“Yeah!” Sal says. “The suite’s massive. Hot tub in the living room, DJ setup, Zoe Kravitz might make an appearance. You have to come.”

Quinn leans in conspiratorially. “Because let’s be honest… Y/N’s only gonna show if you show.”

Your cheeks warm instantly. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to,” Sal says, smug. “You’re so ride or die for her it’s, like, scary. You’ve been sulking without her for two days.”

Maya hums like she’s enjoying this way too much. “Is that true, baby?”

You give her a warning look. “Don’t.”

“Did my girl go full tragic Victorian ghost without me?” she purrs.

Quinn cackles. “So you’re coming, right? For the vibes?”

Sal grins, “for the power couple appearance. Like c’mon. It’s Vegas.”

Maya looks directly at you. “You wanna go, baby?”

You hesitate.

Because the idea of being pressed up against her in a giant suite while she lets you sit on her lap and whisper filthy things in your ear sounds amazing. But it also means… people. Mingling. Noise.

She tilts her head, reading you like always. “We’ll go,” she says, low and final, “but only if I get to keep you close all night.”

Your heart lurches. “Okay,” you whisper. “Deal.”

Quinn fist pumps. “YES. Gay chaos confirmed.”

Sal’s already texting someone. “I’m getting my Vegas guy to bring medical grade cocaine.”

But Maya? She’s already planning what she’s gonna do to you the second she gets you alone.

The moment the stage clears and the clipboard’s handed off to Tyler, Maya’s hand wraps around your wrist. “Come with me,” she says with no room for argument.

You barely get a breath in before she’s tugging you down the hallway behind the stage, past flashing EXIT signs and a stressed-out tech guy who takes one look at Maya and vanishes down a side corridor. Her grip is firm, fingers sliding between yours like she’s reminding your whole body who you belong to.

Then suddenly she’s stopping. Shoving open a heavy door to a backstage alcove with blackout curtains and a wall of rigging. And pushing you up against it.

Hard.

You gasp, not from fear, but from how fast her body presses into yours, how instantly she takes control. Her mouth hovers inches from yours, breath hot, jaw sharp, hat brim brushing your forehead.

“You think I didn’t see you squirming through that whole run-through?” she murmurs. “You think I didn’t notice how you couldn’t stop staring at me? At my hands? At my mouth?”

“Maya…” you breathe, already dizzy, already gone.

She smirks, one hand cupping your face. “You were trying to act like the big scary horror exec. But you’re just my baby, aren’t you?”

You whimper, barely nodding.

Her fingers trail down your side, slow, possessive. “You’re lucky I didn’t bend you over that lighting rig and let the Kool-Aid Man watch.”

“Maya!” You can’t help but giggle.

She kisses you. Rough. Deep. Like she’s staking a claim. When she pulls back, you’re gasping, your back still pressed hard against the cold wall.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” she says, voice dangerously soft. “You and I are going up to our suite. You’re gonna strip. And I’m gonna take my time with you.”

You swallow hard, wide-eyed.

“And then,” she adds, “we’ll go to the party. You’ll wear something tight. You’ll sit in my lap. You’ll behave. And everyone will know you’re mine.”

You nod, because you can’t speak. You’ve melted. Fully. Irrevocably.

Maya steps back, adjusting her hat like she didn’t just rearrange your soul.

“Come on, baby,” she says, smirking. “Let’s go ruin that suite.”

~

The door clicks shut behind you and the suite is suddenly silent, no crew, no tech, no Kool-Aid mascot descending from the heavens. Just you and Maya. And four uninterrupted hours.

She turns, slow and cocky, like she’s going to tease you.

You don’t let her.

You’re on her in an instant. Mouth crashing into hers, fingers yanking at the hem of her track jacket, pushing her back step after step until she bumps into the edge of the massive hotel bed. She grunts against your lips, one hand trying to keep her hat on like she actually thinks you’re going to be gentle.

You shove it off her head.

It hits the floor with a soft little flump.

“Careful, baby,” she breathes, lips already swollen. “That’s Supreme.”

You kiss her harder with teeth and tongue and heat. “Don’t care if it’s vintage Valentino,” you growl. “You’re wearing too many fucking layers.”

“Oh fuck,” she gasps, laughing, breathless. “Okay then.”

You tear her jacket off, flinging it somewhere toward the minibar. Your hands slide under her tank top, greedy and rough, dragging the fabric up over her stomach, over her ribs, baring inch after inch of golden skin. She arches into your touch, biting her lip.

“You’re feral,” she mutters, delighted. “You missed me that much?”

You push her back onto the bed with one hand, the other already pulling her track pants down over her hips.

“You don’t get to be smug right now,” you snap, climbing on top of her. “You left me alone for two days with nothing but your voice memos and a haunted VHS tape of Possession.”

Maya smirks, legs parting without hesitation. “You love that tape.”

“I love you,” you snap. “Now shut up and let me take my time.”

She groans, throaty, ruined, her hands sliding up the backs of your thighs as she exhales, “There’s my girl.”

You don’t make it more than a few steps toward the bed before she spins you, pressing you back into her chest with arms like iron. Her breath hits your neck first, hot and teasing, as her hands slide up your thighs, under your skirt, fingertips dragging slow, delicious trails.

“God, I missed you,” she murmurs, voice ragged with it. “You don’t even know my h.”

You’re already breathless, melting back into her touch. “I do. I know. I’ve been—” You cut off, swallowing hard. “I’ve been aching for you.”

Her hand slips higher. “I can feel that, baby.”

You whimper.

She kisses the side of your throat, slow and open-mouthed, biting just hard enough to make you jolt. “Tried to be good. Tried to focus. But all I could think about was you. Crying on my fingers. Making those sweet little noises in my ear.”

You moan softly, body twitching in her arms. “Maya…”

“Shhh, I know, baby,” she coos, walking you backward toward the bed. “You were so patient. My good girl.”

Your knees hit the mattress and you go down for her easily, willing, desperate, and already trembling.

She climbs over you, one knee between your thighs, her hair falling forward, mouth brushing yours like a secret. Her fingers hook into your underwear and tug, slow and rough.

“Open your legs for me.”

You do. Instantly.

Her fingers are warm, confident, and unrelenting, like she never forgot your rhythm, like she’s memorized the sound of you falling apart.

And god you do.

You gasp, legs trembling, thighs slick, hips rolling up to meet her hand with every ragged breath. Your hands twist in the sheets, trying to hold on to something real.

She kisses your jaw, your neck, her breath catching when you whimper her name like it’s sacred. “There you are,” she whispers, curling her fingers deeper. “There’s my baby.”

You cry out, sharp and broken. “Maya…please—”

“I know, angel. I know,” she pants, forehead pressed to yours. “You need to come for me? You want to show mommy how much you missed her?”

You nod, frantic, so close you could shatter.

“Then do it,” she growls. “Be good. Come all over my fingers.”

And you do.

Hard.

Shaking, sobbing, head thrown back, thighs trembling. Her mouth is everywhere, whispering praise, soft kisses, breathless groans. She holds you through it, never letting go, like her hands are the only thing tethering you to the earth. And maybe they are.

The room is quiet now.

The storm of your own release has passed, and you’re still trembling slightly, curled in her arms, flushed and breathless. But Maya? She’s not done.

She’s sprawled across the bed like something divine and untouchable, hair a wild mess, tank top rumpled, gold bracelets pushed up one arm. Her lips are parted, chest rising and falling in deep, lazy breaths. Her track pants are still halfway down her hips. One thigh cocked lazily, waiting.

She smirks at you, and it burns. “My turn, baby.”

Your knees hit the floor like instinct.

She spreads her legs wider, dragging her panties the rest of the way off and tossing them aside without a thought. “There you go. Let me see those eyes.”

You look up at her as you settle between her thighs, wide-eyed, pupils blown. Your breath catches at how wet she already is, just from touching you, from talking to you. It makes your chest ache.

You start slow. Kisses on the inside of her thighs, tongue dragging warm and wet over sensitive skin. You want her to feel worshipped. And Maya, god, she lets you.

“Mm, baby,” she hums, eyes fluttering shut, fingers finding their way into your hair. “Been dreaming about that perfect fucking mouth.”

You press a kiss just above her slit. “Been dreaming about tasting you.”

Maya groans, low and real. “You say that shit and I’ll come before you even start.”

But you do start. Your mouth closes over her and her body jerks, a hiss slipping from her teeth as your tongue works slow, languid circles over her clit. Her grip tightens in your hair, grounding herself as she lets her head fall back against the pillows.

“Jesus fuck,” she pants. “You’re so good at this. So fucking good.”

You moan into her, and the vibration makes her hips jump.

“Oh my god,” she gasps, legs tightening around your head. “You missed this, didn’t you? Missed my pussy? Missed how I taste?”

You nod, tongue flicking quicker now, more desperate, and she just laughs, head thrown back, a hand dragging down her own body like she’s overwhelmed with herself.

“That’s my good fucking girl,” she groans. “God, I love watching you down there.”

You whimper, sucking softly now, mouth slick and messy. Her thighs are trembling, one foot planted against the bed like she’s bracing herself, the other dragging across your back, possessive and shaking.

And then she starts talking, filthy and focused, her voice going dark. “We’re gonna get high at that party,” she says, breathless and shaking. “You’re gonna wear something tight, something short. Let everyone look. Let ‘em wish.”

You moan helplessly against her.

“And you know what happens after?” Her voice drops to a whisper, her fingers curling into your hair like a leash. “After they all see you hanging off me like my pretty little girl?”

You nod, desperate for her to keep going.

“I’m gonna take you back to the room,” she growls. “Get out the strap I packed in my fucking suitcase.”

Your hips buck against the mattress, breath catching.

“I’m gonnao put you on the bed,” she continues, voice rough and so low, “and I’m gonna fuck you until your mind goes blank. Until all you can do is cry and say my name.”

You moan, high and needy.

“Gonna make you ride me till you’re fucked-out and stupid.” She pants. “Gonna fill you up so good you won’t even remember your name, just mine. Just mommy’s.”

And that’s when you push her over the edge.

Her thighs lock around your head and she screams, a guttural, broken sound as her hips jerk up into your mouth and she comes, hard and long, pulling your hair, writhing beneath you as she chants your name like a prayer.

You don’t stop. You can’t stop. You keep licking, keep moaning into her, your face soaked, your body on fire with need just from the way she falls apart for you. Finally, finally, she pushes you back with a shaky hand, breathing ragged.

You look up at her, wrecked and shining.

She stares down at you like you’re her favorite fucking thing in the world.

“Oh, baby,” she whispers, reaching out to cup your jaw. “You’re gonna kill me.”

You’re still on your knees, panting softly, mouth swollen and wet, when Maya finally reaches for you. Her fingers curl under your chin and tilt your face up to hers, and the look in her eyes… fuck. It’s all hunger and awe. Love and power. Like she’s seeing you for the first time all over again.

“C’mere,” she murmurs, voice hoarse.

You climb into her lap without hesitation, straddling her thighs, your trembling arms wrapping around her neck. She pulls you in close, tucking your face into her shoulder, one hand splayed between your shoulder blades, the other stroking softly over your thigh.

“Good girl,” she breathes, pressing kisses to your hair, to your temple, to the damp corner of your mouth. “God, baby, you’re so fucking good for me.”

You sigh into her skin, lips grazing the spot just under her jaw. You’re still high off her, off the sounds she made, the way she came on your tongue, the way she let herself break for you.

She reaches for the tissues on the bedside table, gently wiping her own slick from your mouth, from your cheeks, murmuring soft little nothings with every pass. “Look at this sweet fucking face. All messy for me.”

You let her, eyes fluttering closed under the warmth of her touch.

And then, soft and aching, you press your lips to hers. The kiss starts slowly. Gentle. Her hands still, trembling slightly against your jaw. But it grows hotter, deeper, heavier, your body shifting in her lap, hips beginning to roll just slightly.

Maya pulls back with a breathy laugh, lips brushing yours. “Still needy, huh?”

You nod, nuzzling her cheek, your voice just a whisper. “I missed you so much.”

“I know, baby. I missed you too.”

You press another kiss to her neck. Another to her collarbone. Your hips twitch in her lap again, instinctual, greedy. “Maya…” It comes out soft. Pleading.

She hums, one hand sliding under your ass, palming you gently. “Yeah, baby?”

You breathe in against her throat. “Maya, my pussy…”

She pulls back, brow raising, a smirk blooming slowly across her swollen mouth. “What about your pussy?”

“Please,” you whimper. “Need you. Want your fingers again. Wanna come for you. Please, Maya.”

She laughs, low and dangerous. “Oh, honey.”

Her hand moves instantly, sliding between your thighs, cupping you through soaked lace. You gasp, full-body shiver, already rocking into her palm like a thing possessed.

“You really want more?” she whispers. “You’re that desperate?”

You nod, dazed. “Always. Always want you.”

“Fuck,” she breathes, kissing you hard, open-mouthed and greedy, hand already slipping past the lace to drag her fingers through your soaked folds. “Lay back, baby. Let mommy take care of you.”

You barely have time to whimper before Maya’s got you on your back.

She rolls you beneath her like she’s done it a thousand times, your body light in her hands, your thighs already falling open as she climbs between them and leans over you, her hair loose, mouth swollen, breath hot.

“Look at you,” she murmurs, eyes trailing down your flushed chest, your parted lips. “You’re fucking trembling. You came once and you’re still desperate.”

You nod, breath catching. “Need you.”

“Oh, I know, baby.” She brushes her nose against yours, soft and tender, even as her hand trails back down your stomach. “I could feel it when you were licking my pussy. All that hunger. All that need.”

She hooks her fingers in your underwear and drags them down slowly, like she’s unwrapping something expensive. You can barely lift your hips to help, you’re too wrecked, too raw, but she takes care of you. She always does.

When she sees how soaked you are, she groans, deep and guttural, her hands flexing around your thighs. “God, look at that. Look at what a fucking mess you are.”

“Maya…” you whimper.

She hushes you with a kiss, slow and open-mouthed, her fingers slipping through your folds, dragging through the slick there with reverent ease. “Tell me what you want, baby.”

“Your fingers,” you breathe. “Please… want you inside. Deep.”

“Good girl,” she whispers, and pushes two fingers in slow.

Your mouth drops open on a gasp. She curls them the second they’re fully seated, dragging a strangled cry out of you that only makes her smile. She kisses your jaw, your throat, her other hand pinning your hips to the bed so you can’t escape her rhythm.

“That’s it,” she coos. “You’re so wet. You needed this so bad, didn’t you?”

You nod helplessly, tears stinging at the corners of your eyes from how full you feel. “Missed this. Missed you.”

“I missed you too, baby. Missed this tight little pussy clenching on my fingers.”

You sob, back arching.

Maya loves it. She fucks you harder now with slow, deep pumps that hit your spot every time, dragging obscene wet sounds from between your legs. She presses her lips to your ear, voice low and filthy.

“Tonight we’re gonna party, and everyone’s gonna see you clinging to me. They’ll see how needy you are. How sweet you look with your lipstick smudged and your knees shaking.”

“Fuck,” you moan, hips twitching beneath her grip.

“And then we’ll come back here,” she growls, curling her fingers again, making you scream. “I’ll put you on your knees. Put the strap on. Make you beg for it.”

Your thighs are trembling violently now, your hands tangled in the sheets. “Maya… I-I’m gonna—”

“I know, baby,” she whispers, forehead pressed to yours. “Come for me. Let me feel you. Let me hear you.”

You cry out, voice ragged, back arching high as your orgasm tears through you, violent and gasping, your body shaking apart under her hand.

She doesn’t stop.

She fucks you through it, kissing your tears, whispering praise against your cheek until you go soft and boneless beneath her.

And only then does she slow her hand, easing her fingers out gently. She kisses your forehead, your jaw, your lips. Tucks you into her chest and holds you like something precious.

“My good fucking girl,” she murmurs. “So sweet for me.”

You cling to her, still trembling, still catching your breath.

She smiles into your hair. “And we haven’t even made it to the party yet.”

You’re both still tangled in the sheets when she finally stirs, sweaty and sticky, but smiling, her hand stroking lazily down your spine as you lie across her chest, soft and heavy and full of her.

“Okay,” she murmurs, kissing your forehead. “We’ve got, like… two hours before Matt starts texting us in all caps.”

You make a sound halfway between a whine and a sigh, burying your face in her collarbone. “Don’t wanna move.”

“I know, baby,” she chuckles. “But we’ve got a suite to dominate.”

She rolls you over gently, kisses you once more, then slides out of bed in nothing but her tank top and briefs. She pads across the room, bare-legged and golden in the afternoon light, grabbing her makeup bag off the counter and digging through it.

From under a pile of compacts and glosses, she pulls out a little clear pouch of silver clips. Cool-toned metal, all different shapes and sizes, a little chaotic like her. The biggest couple of slides say ‘Kool-Aid’ in rhinestones as an homage to the film that would make the studio billions.

“I want these,” she says, turning to you with a sly smile. “Can you do them for me?”

You blink. “You want me to—?”

“Yeah,” she says, flopping back onto the bed and into your lap like it’s her throne. “Make mommy feel pretty. You said I deserve it, right?”

You flush immediately, reaching for the brush. “Of course you do.”

She leans back against your thighs, head tilted slightly, the slope of her neck exposed and glowing. You start brushing through the wild knots in her hair gently, slowly, taking your time. The room is quiet except for the hum of the air conditioning and the occasional satisfied sigh from her mouth.

“You’re really good at this,” she murmurs.

“I like taking care of you.”

She hums, low and content. “You’re the only one I let touch my hair like this.”

You smile softly and start pinning the silver clips in place, one at a time, a constellation of glamour and chaos crowning her head.

When you’re done, she shifts to turn and look at you. “How do I look?”

You take her face in your hands and kiss her gently, reverently. “Like the hottest woman in the fucking building… on the planet.”

“Damn right,” she grins, licking her lips. “Now let’s get you dressed, my creepy little witch.”

She pulls you up from the bed and walks you over to your open suitcase, sorting through your outfit options like she’s styling a client. “Wear the black silk one. The tight one. With the lace at the hips. I want them looking at you and knowing they can’t touch.”

She glances at you over her shoulder, silver clips glinting under the lights. “And baby?”

You blink up at her.

“Don’t wear panties.”

You whimper.

She tosses you your outfit, smug. “Atta girl.”

~

The suite is already packed.

People are spilling in from the hallway with red Solo cups and half-tied ties, the bass thumping through the carpet. Someone’s made a DIY DJ setup out of an ice bucket and a Bluetooth speaker. There’s champagne chilling in the bathtub. The place smells like weed, cologne, and expensive anxiety.

And then the door swings open, and she walks in.

Maya Mason.

Head held high, lips glossy, chains shining under the light. Silver clips glitter like little weapons in her hair. She’s still in her Valentino pants and crop top with a keyhole on the chest, but it’s elevated, jewelry layered, walk fierce, voice already cutting through the crowd like a sword.

“Let’s FUCKING GO!” she yells, arms up, grinning wide like she owns Vegas. “Where are little execs at?!”

Cheers erupt from across the room.

Matt’s already halfway to her with a drink. “Mason! I was just saying we needed someone to do a shot out of a novelty skull.”

“I love a skull,” Maya yells, grabbing the cup. “Where’s Sal?!”

“Probably doing coke with someone in the hallway!” Quinn calls from the couch, legs kicked over the armrest. “Or crying!”

Patty’s standing by the bar, sipping tequila like it’s medicinal, already rolling her eyes fondly.

And you?

You’re standing just behind Maya. Silk and lace hugging your body, no underwear between your thighs, lips still pink from where she kissed them clean.

You’re not really a party person. You don’t like the noise or the bodies pressing in too close. But watching her? Watching Maya in her element, lit up and loud and herself?

It’s fucking electric.

She turns to look at you, eyes scanning your outfit with a predator’s grin. She leans in close, lips brushing your ear. “You look unreal, baby.”

You smirk, voice low. “You gonna behave?”

“Absolutely not.”

She grabs your hand and pulls you into the room like a trophy and a weapon all at once. You settle into the corner of the couch, legs crossed, drink untouched, letting the party swirl around you while Maya does her thing, shouting, laughing, hyping everyone up like she’s the queen of every fucking Casino in Vegas.

You watch her pour a shot into someone’s mouth. You watch her command the aux cord. You watch her dance a little too hard to a remix of Barracuda.

And when she finally locks eyes with you again across the room, breathless and glowing, she mouths one thing:

Mine.

Eventually the noise gets a little too much. Maya’s dancing with Quinn and Sal to Le Freak in the middle of the suite like she’s at Studio 54, and while you love watching her, love the way she moves, the way she commands every room she enters, you also need a minute.

You drift toward the snack table at the far end of the suite like a beautiful little banshee in sheer black lace, bare thighs catching the light, hair still a little messy from her hands. No one stops you. You move like a ghost. You are the horror exec, after all.

The table is chaos. There’s a bowl of chips, two half-eaten charcuterie boards, a pack of what looks like gas station cupcakes, and a little pile of chocolate squares on a black napkin. Right next to them: two perfectly rolled blunts.

You raise a brow.

“Classy,” you mutter, striking a match from the little book Maya always keeps in her bag, black with Continental Studios: Sin Is In stamped in blood red across the front.

You light one of the blunts and take a drag, exhaling slow as you lean back against the wall. Your gaze flicks over the party as you take another puff, Sal is doing body shots off someone from distribution, Patty looks like she’s mentally editing everyone out of her will, and Maya is still the center of gravity. Glowing. Wild. Yours.

You glance back at the chocolates.

They’re fancy. Little squares, dusted with pink sea salt and chili flakes. No label. No note.

And surely, surely, Matt would’ve labeled the drugged ones. Right?

You shrug, grab one, pop it into your mouth.

Rich. Spicy. Kind of perfect.

You lean against the wall by the snack table, blunt between your fingers, eyes heavy-lidded as the smoke curls up toward the glittering hotel light fixture overhead. It’s warm in here, buzzing with bass and chatter and the glittering energy of a party that’s about to tip over into chaos.

The chocolate melts perfectly on your tongue. It’s rich and spicy, dusted with something salty and weird, and you hum softly to yourself as you pop another one.

You assume it’s the blunt making you feel like this. A little floaty. A little slow. Like your limbs are made of melted wax and velvet. The bass feels deeper now, like it’s crawling up your thighs.

But it’s not unpleasant. It’s… warm. Lazy. Sweet.

You lick your thumb clean.

Everything tastes like it’s glowing.

Maya laughs across the room, and the sound makes your chest flutter. You glance over, smiling softly as you watch her throw her head back, silver clips glittering, teeth bared in that gorgeous wide grin.

She’s so in her element. Hair wild. Hands flying as she tells a story that has Sal howling and Patty trying not to smile. She looks high off her own power and it makes your knees weak.

You take another drag from the blunt and let your head fall back against the wall.

This party is weird.

But in a good way.

Like the kind of weird where if you stared at the carpet for too long, it might start whispering secrets to you.

You blink slowly.

Probably just the blunt.

Everything’s fine.

You take another slow drag from the blunt and close your eyes, letting the bass rattle through your bones. You feel… floaty. Not bad, just kind of untethered, like your soul is trying to ghost out of your body but politely, like it’s waiting for your permission.

Your fingertips tingle. Your thighs are buzzing. It’s fine. It’s probably just the weed. And the party. And the fact that Maya kissed you so hard before she left for the balcony that your legs still haven’t recovered.

You shake your head gently, trying to center yourself.

Just breathe. Chill out. Maybe get some water. Then go find Maya and ask her to take you back to the suite so she can fuck you into the mattress. That’s a normal plan. You’re a smart girl. You’re okay.

You turn toward the drinks table, only to freeze when you catch sight of Matt near the suite door.

He’s standing next to Zoe Kravitz and Dave Franco, and Zoe is looking at him like he just told her the building is on fire.

“Wait, are these drugged?” she asks, eyeing the chocolates on the snack table.

Matt is standing beside her, sipping from a half-empty LaCroix with tequila in it. “Yeah? It’s an old-school Hollywood buffet. There’s drugs in everything.”

Zoe blinks. “Are you kidding? I just had three.”

Matt tries to calm her. “It’s fine. They’re microdosed. Like a quarter of an ounce. Chill.”

You pause mid-step.

Zoe stares at him. “A quarter of an ounce?! What does that even mean, Matt!”

Dave Franco bursts out laughing up behind them, grinning. “Oh no, they’re not microdosed.”

Everyone turns. Dave’s holding a plastic cup of god knows what, sunglasses on inside, absolutely vibing.

“They’re seven grams each,” he says casually. “Whole thing’s heroic dose territory. Old-school style.”

Matt’s mouth drops open. “What?!”

Zoe’s already spiraling. “I’ve had twenty-one grams of mushrooms?!”

Matt is pale. “I thought they were just, like, chill party chocolates!”

Dave takes a sip of his drink and shrugs. “Nope.”

The words echo like a shot in your skull.

Seven grams. Per piece.

You blink. You had two.

You stare down at your hands. They’re tingling.

You try to speak, but your lips feel too far away from your brain.

Fourteen grams.

You’ve never done shrooms before.

Suddenly, the light overhead hums louder. The floor dips. You feel the shape of your body trying to melt into the wall.

“Oh no,” you whisper. “Oh, fuck.”

Your heart starts to race.

You clutch the edge of the snack table and whisper the only word that makes sense anymore:

“Maya.”

It’s all happening too fast.

Zoe’s voice is high and sharp, her hand clutching Matt’s arm like it’s the only real thing left in the world. “I had twenty-one grams, Matt. You drugged me and I’m going to die!”

“I thought you knew! I said it was an Old Hollywood buff-”

“Stop saying Old Hollywood buffet!” Zoe interrupts him frantically

Sal appears behind them, wide-eyed. “Wait- wait. 21 grams? Why the fuck didn’t you label them?”

Matt is pale, sweating, stammering. “I thought… I thought it was like a chill thing! Like an eighth of an ounce!”

“Do you even know what an eighth of an ounce is?!”

“I thought it was less than fucking 7 grams!”

Sal grabs Zoe’s arm. “Okay. Okay, no. We’re going to the bedroom. We’re doing deep breathing. Someone get cold towels. Matt, you need to shut this shit down.”

They half-carry her across the suite, her designer shoes clacking against the floor like a horror movie heartbeat.

You’re still frozen at the snack table, hands gripping the edge like it’s a lifeline. Your breath’s coming short and fast, and the floor feels like it’s breathing underneath your feet.

Fourteen grams.

Your mouth tastes like smoke and sugar and doom.

You turn, stumbling away from the table, heart racing, limbs heavy. Your pulse is thundering in your ears. You’re not even sure where your legs are taking you until you spot Maya in the corner of the suite.

She’s got one hand curled around a shot glass, the other thrown around Patty’s shoulders. Maya’s head is tilted back, her lips shaped in a wild grin, silver clips in her hair catching the light like glittering stars.

She looks radiant. Powerful. Untouchable.

And then she turns her head and sees you. White-faced. Wide-eyed. On the verge of tears. Her grin drops like someone killed the music.

You stumble toward Maya, chest tight, vision narrowing. The lights flicker like they’re breathing. The music warps, slows, then speeds, then folds in on itself. You can hear your pulse in your teeth.

Your knees almost give out when you whisper, “Maya… I had two of the chocolates.”

She freezes mid-laugh, arms already wrapping around you as you sag against her.

“Fourteen grams,” you croak. “I’ve never… Maya I’ve never done shrooms before—”

Her whole body locks around you.

And then Matt and Quinn come barreling over, panic painted all over their faces.

“Matt!” Quinn shouts. “What the fuck were in those chocolates?!”

Matt looks panicked, glassy-eyed, shirt wrinkled. “I thought it was, like… microdoses? A eighth of an ounce or something?”

Maya’s head whips around. “A eighth—?”

And then Dave Franco appears, too calm, way too calm.

“Dude, I told you! They’re seven grams each, it’s a fuckin mega dose!”

Quinn’s jaw drops. “WHAT?!”

“Zoe had three of them, we’re fucked.” Matt admits in defeat.

“Yeah, she’s in the bathroom trying to negotiate with the wallpaper,” Sal adds, appearing behind them. “It’s not going well.”

And that’s when Maya loses it. “IS THAT WHY I’M SO FUCKING HIGH?!”

The music doesn’t stop, but the party does. People turn. Look. Someone across the room drops a shot glass. The Kool-Aid Man in the corner freezes mid-thrust.

“You drugged me,” Maya snarls, eyes locked on Matt. “You drugged my girlfriend.”

“I didn’t mean to!”

“She’s on fourteen grams! She’s never even done shrooms before! And we’re presenting a full studio slate to a room of executives in less than twelve hours!”

She shifts you in her arms, one hand smoothing over your back protectively. Your face is buried in her neck, eyes glassy, breathing shallow.

“Maya…” you whisper. “I think the carpet’s trying to talk to me…”

She kisses your hair. “I know, baby. I know. Stay with me, okay? I’m right here.”

“I don’t want the Kool-Aid Man to eat my soul.”

“I won’t let him.”

“I didn’t think it would be this bad!” Matt whisper-screams

“You don’t get to think,” she growls, “when I’m in charge of a fucking CinemaCon presentation tomorrow and the love of my life is melting into the floor.”

Dave Franco raises his hand casually. “Just for the record, I did know. And I’m having a great time.”

Maya turns on him. “I will end you, Franco.”

You groan quietly. “Are we dying?”

“No,” Maya says, lips brushing your temple. “But he might be.”

She’s breathing heavily now, trying to keep her cool, still high, furious, terrified, and still trying to act like she has control over anything. But she’s not leaving. She can’t. This is still her presentation. Her fucking Thunder Dome.

And now her girlfriend’s high as balls, pressed against her chest like a trembling kitten in a horror film.

She looks up at Matt again, teeth clenched. “You’d better fix this.”

Zoe’s reappears, shouting something about “seeing sound” and “textures trying to kill me” as Matt and Sal rush to practically drag Zoe down the hallway, muttering frantic apologies and trying to convince her that the curtains aren’t bleeding.

The party doesn’t stop. Not really. The music keeps pounding, the bass now vibrating through your ribs like it’s trying to tunnel into your bones. People are still drinking, laughing, taking selfies with the Kool-Aid Man.

And Maya’s still holding you, her arms locked tight around your waist like she’s scared you’ll float away.

You blink up at her, pupils blown, cheeks flushed, the world turning syrupy at the edges. “Maya…” you whisper.

She pulls back just enough to look at you. “Yeah, baby?”

You lean in close. Mouth brushing her neck, lips soft, breath hot.

“You know the white streak in your hair?” you murmur, voice thick with awe.

Her brows raise, just slightly. “Yeah?”

You kiss right beneath her ear. “It makes you look like the Bride of Frankenstein.”

She laughs, shaky and breathless. “Okay, you’re so high.”

You kiss her again, trailing lower now. “It makes me wanna ride you.”

Maya chokes on air.

“Like… hard,” you whisper. “Like… monster-fucking on a science table. You’d look so hot strapped down.”

“Jesus Christ,” Maya hisses, gripping your waist tighter, glancing around. “Okay… okay, no. We are not doing this here, you are tripping your tits off.”

You pout against her neck. “I like your tits.”

“Babe,” she says, somewhere between a moan and a warning.

You’re swaying against her, messy and dreamy and so gone, eyes fluttering half-shut as your hands slip beneath her jacket, fingertips grazing bare skin.

“You’re so pretty,” you whisper. “I wanna lick your collarbone.”

Maya groans. “You are so lucky I love you.”

You hum sweetly, nuzzling her jaw like a cat in heat. “I’m your babygirl. You said so.”

“I did say that,” she mutters, trying to suppress a smile.

You end up in her lap.

Of course you do. She’s sat back on the couch now, arms open, and you just melt into her like there’s no other place on Earth you’d ever exist. Your legs drape over hers, hands tangled in her collar, face buried in her neck like you’re trying to crawl under her skin. She smells like sweat and perfume and danger. She feels like home.

“Maya,” you whimper. “I’m so wet it’s insane.”

She groans into your hair. “Don’t say that to me right now.”

“But it’s true,” you moan, squirming slightly in her lap. “I keep thinking about your strap. About the hotel bed. About your fingers…”

“Okay,” she mutters, adjusting you on her thigh. “Stop. No, actually. You need to stop.”

You shift again, hips moving slowly, absentmindedly, your cheek pressed to her shoulder. “Maya…”

She grits her teeth. “Baby. You’re high.”

“You’re high too.”

“Yeah, but I’m functioning. You’re currently gazing at the Kool-Aid Man’s reflection.”

You glance across the room. “He’s staring at me.”

“He’s not.”

“He wants me dead.”

Maya sighs and tightens her arms around you, pressing a kiss to your temple. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

You exhale shakily, nose brushing the curve of her jaw. “I just… I want you to touch me so bad.”

She tenses beneath you.

Your voice softens. “I feel like if you touched me right now, I’d come instantly.”

Her hands flex on your hips. She swears under her breath.

“I want to, baby,” she says, her voice low and wrecked. “You have no idea. But I won’t, not while you’re like this.”

You pout, shifting again, pressing your body tighter to hers. “But I’m yours. You always say that.”

“I know,” she breathes. “You’re mine. You’re my good girl. And that’s exactly why I’m not gonna fuck you while you’re tripping your pretty little brains out on fourteen grams of shrooms.”

You make a sad, needy little sound and bury your face in her throat. “Then can I just stay right here?”

She softens, instantly. “Yeah, baby. You stay right here.”

She wraps her arms tighter around you, rocking you just slightly as the party swells and warps around you both. People are dancing. Shots are flowing. The Kool-Aid Man is dabbing in the corner.

But none of it touches you.

Because Maya’s here.

And even if your mind’s somewhere in the clouds, your body’s safe in her lap, in her arms, her lips on your hair as she whispers, “You’re gonna ride it out. You’re gonna be okay. And when you come down… I’m gonna take you apart so fucking slowly.”

You’re curled in Maya’s lap like a sleepy little shadow creature, hips occasionally twitching against her thigh, her arms a fortress around you. She’s rubbing slow circles into your back, her lips pressed to your temple, murmuring soft things like:

“You’re so pretty when you’re high,” and “I’m gonna ruin you when your pupils come back to normal,” and

You hum sweetly and nuzzle her jaw. “You’re my wife.”

Maya chuckles, low and warm. “We’re not married, baby.”

You pout. “Not yet.”

She presses a kiss to your forehead. “Alright, spooky. You proposing to me mid-trip?”

You nod into her neck. “You’re hot and powerful. I wanna haunt you forever.”

She’s laughing, properly laughing, when suddenly a blur of beige and panic crashes into your line of vision.

“Maya!” Quinn breathes, flushed and wide-eyed. “We have a situation.”

You blink at her, dazed. “Urgh. Go away, Quinn. Stay away from my wife.”

Maya snorts so hard she almost chokes. “Oh my god.”

Quinn ignores you. “Maya. Seriously. Griffin’s gone.”

Maya blinks. “Gone?”

“Like. Gone gone.” Quinn runs a hand through her hair. “He was doing rails off a lighting cue card like an hour ago, and now no one can find him.”

You lift your head from Maya’s neck, frowning. “Who’s Griffin?”

“You work for him, babe,” Maya mutters, already shifting into damage control mode.

“Oh.” You pause. “The old guy that smells like cologne and capitalism?”

“Yeah. That one.”

Quinn is pacing now. “He was last seen near the fake tree in the lobby, talking to a planter. Said he was ‘ready to ascend.’ Tyler tried to follow him but he lost him near the staff elevator.”

Maya’s already standing, setting you gently onto the couch like a possessed little doll. “Okay. Okay. We are not losing our studio head the night before CinemaCon.”

You reach for her, hands wobbly. “Don’t leave me. My wife.”

She groans. “I’m coming back, spooky girl. Stay here. Drink water. Don’t start levitating.”

Quinn adds, “Don’t eat anything else. Literally nothing.”

You glare. “You’re not invited to the wedding.”

[marvelwitchergilmore]

First Name Basis

Summary: Aaron Hotchner x Fe!Reader -> You and Hotch have never been on First Name Basis, but as the years go on, thing begin to change.

Disclaimer: Mentions and descriptions of blood, bombs, life being in danger, slight spoilers for S4-Ep3 (Minimal Loss - Reader takes Emily's place) (But that isn't the whole fic). BAU found-family fluff, romantic fluff, soft fluff, happy ending. Not Proof Read.

You were on a first name basis with everyone. Everyone save from Hotch. 

Of course, he would introduce you with your first name when it came to meeting police departments or official personnel but to anyone else, specifically yourself, he always used your last name. 

And you did the same with him. Like the rest of them. 

It was always “Sir,” or “Hotch,”. 

Never Aaron. 

However, this all changed after a case in Colorado. 

Yourself and Reid had gone undercover as Child Protection Agents. And it wasn’t long until things went wrong. An unknown police raid meant everyone was taken underground. And a media segment revealed that someone was FBI. 

Between yourself and Spencer, you took the rapt. You weren’t willing to watch him get shot and die. 

On the other side of the planted bug, the team could hear everything. 

And it was killing Hotch.

And Rossi could see it. 

They all could. 

His own mind was fighting against listening because he had to, and not because you were being beaten. 

A small grunt left you as you were thrown into something, and then a crash came. A mirror most likely. More grunts and one scream before…nothing. 

It was the first time in a long time his emotions had started pushing to the surface. 

Every day, he had to become an emotionless yet empathetic profiler. But at that moment…he didn’t know what he was. He was a profiler, a friend, a…he didn’t know what he was. 

“Y/n…”

His voice was barely audible. A hair above a whisper. 

But Rossi saw it. 

Even if Aaron didn’t know it yet, Rossi knew. 

Then you spoke. 

“I can take it.”

There were more sounds of fighting before another. 

“I can take it.”

“She’s antagonising him!” Derek shouted. 

“No, she’s not.”

“She’s talking to us.” Hotch told them both. “She’s telling us not to come in.”

And he didn’t. 

It was killing him not to do so, but he didn’t. 

But the moment he got a chance, writing the time of “3 am” on the takeaway box, he wouldn’t be turning back. 

When he finally saw you, a wave of relief washed over him. And the same happened for you, too. 

Once you both caught clear sight of one another, you ran towards him. 

He could see the dried blood on your face, partly washed away. And your eye was bruised. And your arms were cut up, most likely from the mirror that had broken. 

But you were alive. 

Finally reaching him, you hugged him. And he hugged you. 

“Are you okay?”

You nodded, “I will be. Where’s Morgan and Reid?”

“They’re inside-”

The place blew up. 

Hotch covered you a little, both of you feeling the aftershock of the bomb. The hand you kept on his shoulder pulled him down a little with you. But after you made sure the other was alive, you both turned back to the building. And you started walking closer to it. 

“Morgan! Reid!”

They stood up. 

“Oh, thank god.”

Making your way up the stairs, you met a coughing Morgan and Reid before Reid finally stood tall and you hugged him. 

After that case, everything seemingly went back to normal. 

Until another case came, only a few months later. 

A bomb had been planted in a building. And, when tracking the Unsub into another one, yourself and Hotch had found yourselves stuck. 

The Unsub held a trigger, and by the looks of it, he was wearing one. 

But you couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling in your stomach. 

Something wasn’t right. 

“So, what happens next? You blow yourself up? What happened to “getting all the glory”? That’s what you said, isn’t it? In your message. It was all about the glory.”

Yourself and Hotch took another step forward, but then he unzipped his jacket. 

“Another step and I take my finger off the trigger.” He warned. 

Neither of you moved, but your gaze did switch. 

The bomb the Unsub was wearing wasn’t one you recognised. It wasn’t his type. 

By the time SWAT and Bomb Disposal met you at the top of the building, it wasn’t long before he just…gave up. 

“He took hostages from the last site.”

“But we found them all.” 

Hotch nodded in agreement. “I still want to do a sweep just in case.”

“I’ll come with you.”

By the time you both reached the fourth floor, you still couldn’t shake the feeling. 

And just as Hotch reached a small storage unit, it clicked. 

“It was a fake.”

“What?”

“The bomb, around his chest. It’s a fake.”

“Why fake a bomb and then give yourself up?”

Then it clicked with the both of you. 

“How many agents are in this building?”

“Enough to keep this case in the news for the next fifty years.”

“We need to clear the building now.”

By the time you both reached the floor, calling for every agent to clear the building, someone came and found Hotch. 

“We found his briefcase. You’re gonna want to see this.”

Walking over, both yourself and Aaron peered inside. There were plans, memos, and enough cash to give him a whole new life in any country he could possibly want. 

“Get all of this processed as soon as you can.”

And Hotch walked away. 

But you stayed. 

However, the longer you stayed, the bigger that gnawing feeling in your stomach grew again. 

And once you finally lifted a pile of cash, you saw it. 

A watch with a timer. 

“Morgan! Clear the area, now!”

People started running but when you did so, Hotch was still in his place. 

“Aaron!”

Grabbing his arm on your way past, you both started running. And whether it was luck, or fate or…whatever it was. Yourself and Aaron managed to clear the site fast enough so as to not die from the explosion. 

You both were propelled forward, and landed, rolling onto the ground. And for a few moments, were stunned from the blast. 

“Are you okay?”

You nodded, managing to catch your breath. “I’m fine. Are you?”

“I think so.”

Once you were able to open your eyes, you sat back on your heels and took a look at Hotch. He was sitting in a similar position to you, except he was bleeding. 

You pushed yourself closer to him, “Jesus, Hotch. You’re bleeding.”

Once you touched it, he seemed to feel it and tried to move his head away from your hand, but you pulled him back. 

“Don’t move.”

Through your wire, you called for a medic. 

“Y/l/n, I’m fine.”

“Hotch, you’re bleeding. You’re not fine.”

“So are you.”

You shook your head and turned away for a moment, pulling out your pocket knife and cutting the torn piece of your t-shirt. 

“Wait.”

Hotch took the cloth from your hands before tearing it into two and handing you a piece back, but keeping one for himself. 

Just as you pressed the cloth to his head, he did the same for your cut. There wasn’t much blood coming from your head, so once he knew that had slowed at least, he dabbed at the wound on your arm before tying the piece tight around your arm. 

Once the medics finally reached you both, you told them what injuries Hotch had and might have. 

“Check her over, too. She’s got a cut on her head. She could have a concussion.”

“I don’t have a concussion.”

The medic had helped you up from the floor and when they did so, you felt a little dizzy. 

Hotch didn’t even have to say anything. 

“Shut up.”

Thankfully, the next time either of you talked on a first name basis was when on a short vacation. 

Considering the fact that no-one of the team was due to go on holiday or drive out of state for at least three more days, Penelope Garcia took it upon herself to plan a small getaway for the entire team that meant even if they got called back (as you all usually would), you would have, at least, a break away. 

So, on a random Friday morning, you all drove to the beach. 

And it was fun, to say the least. 

By the time you arrived, you parked next to Will’s car. Both himself and JJ were getting Henry ready along with the beach bags and diaper bags. From what you could tell, everyone else was already on the beach. 

“Need some help?”

JJ nodded. “That would be great.”

“Hi, Henry. Is this his first trip to the beach?”

JJ smiled and nodded. “It is.”

“We did try and take him a few weeks ago but then he got a fever.” Will told you. 

“Well, it’ll all be worth it.”

Will handed you a couple of the bags whilst he carried the rest and JJ carried Henry, along with her beach bag, onto the beach. 

The minute you spotted Morgan flirting with a group of women a few feet from the water, you spotted Jack playing in the sand with Emily and Penelope. Spencer was trying to avoid the sun and Hotch was finishing setting up the area with a couple of windbreakers and chairs, with Rossi. 

And once you, JJ and Will arrived; the two dads continued setting up with the addition of sun parasols. 

It wasn’t long before Jack had come running up to get his dad and yourself to join him. JJ handed you Henry for a moment whilst she dug through the diaper bag to find the fruit pouches she had brought with her. 

From behind you, Aaron set up another parasol giving both yourself and Henry shade.

“I’ve put Henry’s fruit pouches in the cooler. Ready to go?”

Lifting her son from your arms, JJ carried Henry down to the water whilst Will grabbed his camera. And yourself and Aaron joined Jack, Emily and Penelope. 

By the end of the day, you had all swam in the water, built sandcastles, sunbathed, read and even been chased by Morgan when he realised yourself. Reid and Hotch had been hustling him in a game of football. 

And at some point after all of that, you must have fallen asleep because you woke up to someone lightly shaking your shoulder. 

“Y/n, hey, y/n…”

As you slowly came around, you realised it was Hotch. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.” 

It was odd. 

His voice was soft. It was rare, if slightly unbelievable, that Hotch showed this side of him. The one he had for Jack. The one he had for those he held close to his heart. 

“The others went for some food, they should be back soon. Garcia said she knew your order. Pizza with fries and a side of pickles.”

“That’s my girl.” You said with a sleepy smile. 

“Pickles? With Pizza? Really?”

“Hey, don’t knock it till you try it.”

Then he laughed. “Okay, I won’t.”

You smiled at his laughter. And then you thought. In all the years you knew him, you couldn’t think of a time where you had heard him laugh. Sure, you’d seen him smile a little over the years. But before The Beach…you had never heard him laugh. 

And it was like music to your ears. 

Unknown, at first, but then very quickly became your favourite song. 

By the time the others got back, Jack was excited you were awake and ran over to you, jumping towards you and you fell back with him in your arms. 

Aaron laughed again, “Jack, let Y/n breathe.”

“Penelope got you pickles.”

“Extra pickles.” She said as she handed you the pizza box and takeaway tub with fries and pickles. 

“Have I ever told you you’re a saint?”

“Yes,” she smiled. “But I don’t mind hearing it again.”

“Well you are a Saint, Penelope Garcia.”

“She has to be, for buying you pickles with pizza.” Morgan added. 

The rest of the evening passed with stories, smiles and even more laughter. 

It was also after that day you noticed when Hotch called you by your name. It hadn’t clicked with you right away, when he woke you up. But when you fell asleep in the round table room after more than 30 hours of work, you noticed it more. 

Usually, whenever you fell asleep when case hours ran over, you would be jolted awake by someone (typically Hotch) calling your last name. 

But since The Beach, you were woken up with a soft touch to your arm, shaking you lightly, before he said your first name. 

“Go home, get some rest.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not.”

You grumbled, sitting up. “By the time I get home, I’ll be on my way back.”

Hotch sighed. “Fine. But you can use the sofa in my office. It’s better than your desk.”

“Thanks, Hotch.”

However, a few months later, something else changed. 

A case had been brought into the roundtable room, and everyone was there. Except for you. 

“Not like Y/l/n to be late.” Rossi said, pulling out his chair. 

“Try her again.” Hotch told Garcia. 

“Yes, Sir.”

“Maybe she’s just catching up on sleep.” JJ offered. 

“Why would she be catching up on sleep? We all landed back here two nights ago.”

“Is she dating?” Morgan asked. 

Hotch looked up. 

“No, but her neighbours are.” JJ told them. 

“Ooh, that’s gotta be tough.” Prentiss said. “Back in college, I had a roommate the same. Many sleepless nights. That was when I bought my first pair of noise cancelling headphones.”

Garcia called you three more times. 

“We’ll continue with the case,” Hotch told everyone. “We can catch her up when she wakes up.”

Except two hours later, you still hadn’t picked up. 

And then Hotch got a phone call.

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m going to find Y/n,” Hotch told Rossi as he passed him. 

“Do you know where she is?”

“A good idea.”

“I’ll come with you.”

After thirty minutes, and eventually passing the turn for your apartment complex, Rossi spoke up. 

“Her apartment-”

“I know, but she won’t be there.”

“Then where is she?”

“She has a second home.”

Rossi didn’t say anything but he couldn’t help but notice that Aaron knew the way, without having to put anything into the GPS. 

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

Hotch sighed a little. Part of him didn’t want to, because he didn’t know if you would want anyone to know. But he’d gone this long without telling Rossi. 

“There was a crash this morning. Don’t worry, she wasn’t hurt. But one of her friends was. They’re okay, too. They’re being kept in the hospital for a few days but were more worried about Y/n’s reaction.” 

“How did she react?”

“She didn’t.”

“Well, that’s not good.”

Pulling up outside of your home, Aaron stepped out and rushed towards the door, finding the spare key and letting himself in. The doorbell camera would have let you know they were there. 

And then he called your name.

Rossi took in the structure and the decoration of your home. He didn’t know you owned a property outside of your apartment, but by the looks of it, you spent more time outside of work here than you did at your apartment. 

There were photos of yourself with your friends, as well as the team. It was tidy, and the place smelt of blueberries and cinnamon. 

Turning around the bottom of the stairs, Aaron took them two at a time before reaching the top and when he did, Rossi could see him standing on the landing, as well as stall when you called back. 

“Aaron?”

Coming from out of your room, you walked down the hall and Rossi watched as Aaron’s demeanour changed. In the car, he had been tense. In fact, he had been tense since you hadn’t walked into the office. 

But standing at the top of the stairs, hearing your voice as well as seeing you, he relaxed. 

And his voice became softer. 

“Hey,”

You walked towards him and he hugged you instantly. 

“How did you find me?”

“The hospital called. The nurse said Abby was worried about you. Are you okay?”

Aaron moved back a little to examine your face. You had been crying. Your eyes were a little puffy and your cheeks were tear-stained. 

With his thumb, he wiped away the streaks and you melted into his touch for a second. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you?” 

You nodded, “I just…it scared me, you know?”

Aaron nodded. “What do you need?”

“A hug?”

A light smile graced his lips for a moment. “I can do that.”

And he embraced you, tightly. Securely. 

Rossi smiled for a moment before quietly walking away to snoop through your house. And by the time you both walked downstairs, you hand in Aaron’s, Rossi was in the kitchen. 

“Next time Penelope tries to arrange a dinner party, we’re holding it here.”

“So long as you cook.”

“But I don’t see any-”

You and Aaron gave each other a knowing look before you moved and opened up two cabinet doors. It contained three different spice racks, a selection of dry herbs and all standard ingredients to make any one of Rossi’s signature sauces. 

He’d given you enough recipes over the years (not that you didn’t have to work to get them – there had been so many coffee runs) that you made sure you always had the main ingredients needed, and you could always pick up fresh ones on your way home. 

“You’re not the best snooper.”

“I’m a profiler. Not a detective.”

“You’re still an FBI Agent.” Aaron added, backing you up. 

“So, sue me.”

After that case, nothing else changed. 

Both yourself and Aaron remained on a first name basis. Especially considering that two years later, you and Aaron started to share the same last name. 

[yourheart-inmyhands]

Hey! I was wondering if you could do Headcannons for how the Harbingers (Separately) would handle a reader who gets overwhelmed after being around crowds all day and wants physical contact to recharge. Oddly specific but if you feel comfy writing thus I'd love to see it!

this one was interesting to think about so I did only two harbingers for now but you're free to swing back around and request others as well :D i tried to pick two on opposite ends of the scale to show the difference between them, i hope you enjoy!

Warning: This post contains yandere-themes, including obsessive behavior, relationship neglect, Dottore being an ass, and other potential topics. Please read at your own risk!

Pantalone: 

Your best bet is Pantalone, as he’s the most understanding and affectionate amongst the Harbingers. This isn’t to say he’s an absolute doll, but that he’d be the most accommodating. He understands that not everyone is made for crowds and parties and the large events he typically attends, which is why he always extends the offer for you to simply sit them out. 

That’s not to say he doesn’t want you to accompany him, because there’s no one he’d prefer by his side, but he knows that you don’t do well amongst others. If you do choose to go though, he is more than happy to oblige in your need for comfort. Whether there is a ride back or merely a walk back to your shared quarters, you can expect him to be touching you in some way. 

It could be a hand holding yours as you walk down the halls back to your bedroom, it could be holding you close to his side on the carriage ride back to the palace, it might even extend to him pulling you into a secluded corner and smothering your face in feather light kisses before re-entering the party crowd.

Regardless, Pantalone is the easiest and best to ask for comfort from, his job is one of the more stressful ones amongst the other Harbingers and he’s always more than happy to allow himself some relaxation time with you. 

Dottore:

While Pantalone is the best, Dottore is on the opposite end of the spectrum. This man is too busy chatting up elites for more funding to really pay any mind to your growing unrest. If you try to talk about it beforehand he’ll simply insist you stay, rather than be a burden to him. Should you refuse to back down and go regardless, he’ll brush off any requests you make of him for affection or to leave.

If the event is taking place in the Palace, he’ll simply tell you to wait outside in the hallway and send one of his segments to collect you. If it’s away from the Palace, he’ll tell you to either suck it up or go sit in the carriage and wait for him there.

When the event inevitably ends and he is no longer preoccupied with kissing the ass of those around him, you can still expect to be largely ignored. This man is a genius scientist who is always in the middle of a huge breakthrough! Do you really expect him to drop everything to cuddle up to you because you’re too soft? If you can’t wait for him to become so sleep-deprived that he finally gives in and crawls into bed, which can take days unfortunately, then you’ll just have to make do with being comforted by one of his segments.

It’s happened enough that his segments have come to know you personally. And while they are technically still Dottore, they’re merely fragments of him that have grown into their own partial beings. The comfort they provide doesn’t extend much beyond the physical aspect, but there’s a small bit of comfort in knowing that they’re here for you. That someone is willing to give up their time to be by your side.

[hellishjoel]

ungodly and unprofessional

5.6k / pairing: linecook!frankie x waitress f!reader

Series Masterlist l Previous Chapter | Main Masterlist | Notifications Blog

summary: who said anything about falling in love? you're just co-workers. warnings/information: MA 18+ (minors DNI), smoking, descriptions of food and drink, reader is described to have hair (not descriptive of what color/length/etc.) and wears a waitress uniform, explicit smut, consensual somnophilia, swearing, pet names, allusions to bad parenting/parental abuse, descriptions of a parent abusing drugs and alcohol (please heed these warnings and do not read if you are concerned these may be triggers), lastly not beta'd (lmk if you're interested!) A/N: five or six months later, who really knows. believe it or not, I was never not working on this or thinking about it for all of those months... which is crazy. I completely wing these chapters which is probably why it takes so long but you guys don't mind, right? enjoy these cuties falling deeper <3 I almost forgot - shoutout to BistroHuddy on TikTok because one of their segments inspired something in here (but no spoilers!)

“To love someone is firstly to confess: I'm prepared to be devastated by you.” Billy-Ray Belcourt. 

You have this silly poetry book someone gave you as a birthday present or holiday gift exchange a few years ago. You’ve never picked it up until now. You’re shocked to say all of these cheesy love quotes and poems make you think of one very specific person: a guy with dark curls, a scruffy beard, amber eyes, and the perfect smile. Francisco. 

Falling for a man like Frankie feels like growing up— a sign of maturing compared to the ghosts of terrible boyfriend's past. 

Come to find out, it’s easier to go for the wrong guys, easier on your heart in a way — you don’t feel like you are actually losing anything. 

That’s why you would bet on losing dogs. Invest your emotions and need for romance in those who don’t reciprocate. The ones who despise commitment or lack emotional availability leave you in a state of disappointment. 

Better that than full-blown heartache. Better than ripping yourself open at the seams for another, only to be the one to sew yourself back up again. But not better than winning. 

The letter Frankie’s father sent him weeks ago had been burned into your brain. Every single word, each break of a new paragraph, lines of apologies, and convincing stories of ‘the good times’ they used to have. 

Frankie appeared to be just as wary about the letter as you were, neither of you so easily trusting. Frankie didn’t trust his father, but you did trust Frankie—end of story. 

You’ve never known Frankie to be so tightly closed about something that bothers him. He was the type of man who wears his heart on his sleeve, an open book. 

Aside from allowing you to read the letter, you two have barely spoken about it. And not due to your lack of trying. 

There wasn’t a need for you to bring clarity to the situation, it wasn’t up to you to encourage Frankie to allow his father back into his life. But there was still a lot of emotional trauma that he carried that he didn’t have to bear alone. You just wanted him to know that you support him in whatever avenue he decides is best. 

To forgive or to forget. 

Frankie releases a sigh from his parted lips, squeezing his eyes closed tighter as your alarm chimes from your phone on the bedside table. He hates the fucking morning shift. 

The air is sticky and thick, and the fan on his bedroom ceiling is doing little to help. Late August is still taking its toll on Texas and its residents, but he’s reminded that this time last year, he sunk down on his knees in the back kitchen and tasted you on his tongue for the first time. Can’t believe it’s been a year since then. Plus all the events that have transpired since. 

There’s no label between you two other than the fact you are exclusive— putting your focus on each other and not seeing other people. It was good, better than nothing with you. 

His eyelashes finally flutter open, seeing you shift in the dark to turn off the alarm, only to dig your face deep into your pillow. He thinks you’re fucking adorable. 

Frankie is by no means a morning person, but waking up beside you has changed his perspective. Your hair is a scattered mess, the ponytail having fallen loose in the tosses and turns of last night. The sunlight peaking through the blinds highlights the slope of your nose and Cupid’s bow. Arms tucked into your front, leg hiked up like a ballerina.

His mind starts to swirl at the conversation you shared recently, that you wanted to try something… new. To be surprised. To be taken by him in your sleep. 

He was shocked to hear you say it, all shy and meek - it’s not a side of you he sees often. But it’s the vulnerability talking, advocating the trust you share together. 

“I want to wake up with you inside me.”

Frankie had to blink a few times, his large hand cradling your jaw as you spoke in whispers between the sheets. “You— I didn’t know you’d be into that sort of thing.”

“We don’t have to if it’s not your thing. But there’s something about you moving me where you want me to be, being completely under your control, even a little helpless,” you pause, uncertain if your words would scare him off. 

The exact opposite. Frankie was intrigued. 

“The thrill of trying not to wake you up.” He continues, watching your glowing smile return, indicating that Frankie understands why this would feel good to you. 

“My natural reaction, trusting you, knowing that you’ll be careful, knowing that you’re using me— it’s hot, Frankie. You have my consent, I wanna try.” 

Frankie’s stomach churns with excitement, butterflies spreading through his abdomen and up to his chest, his heart thunking eagerly. 

He was slow and methodical, not wanting you to stir from your sleepy state. Nipping at his lower lip, teeth piercing the skin, he works up the courage to touch you. A rough and calloused hand travels up your side, pushing up your sleep tee and watching goosebumps line the tips of his fingers.

Frankie presses slow kisses to the top of your shoulder, feeling his cock swell against the plump of your ass in all of the excitement. He whispers your name, soft and raspy with the morning hour. Other than a small twitch of your nose, you’re out cold. 

“Shh, s’okay angel, m’gonna make you feel good.” The desire stirs in his stomach, urging him to please you in your sleep just like you asked. 

With two crooked fingers, he curls them around the band of your panties and slowly drags them down your soft thighs. You let out a slow sigh between your parted lips, Frankie pausing to watch as you settle once more. 

 Slipping two skilled fingers between your legs, he slowly massages up and down your folds. He’s surprised to already feel the slick between your legs, a low groan of approval leaving the depths of his throat. 

There’s a shift, your hips squirming for more of his touch. You’re so perfectly pliant for him, causing the embers low in his belly to grow with anticipation, the blood rushing to his cock as it hardens against the curve of your ass. 

“Good girl,” he remarks as you let out a little whimper upon the pads of Frankie’s fingers finding your swollen clit. “Even asleep, you’re nice and wet for me, princess.” 

Goddammit, he thinks, how does she have this much of an effect while perfectly asleep? He can’t stand the feeling of not touching her, the carnal need to take her was strong like a magnet, forcing their bodies together. 

One yank and he was out of his briefs, chewing on his lower lip in concentration. He needed to move you, to perfectly fit in the nook of your body, you’d have to be good and yield to him. 

Frankie hikes up your leg and fills in the spaces between your bodies, stroking over himself as he slowly lines his leaking tip along your entrance. Just as he notches his tip inside, a quiet and sleepy gasp leaves your perfect pillowy lips. 

“Right there, baby, you just stay right there for me,” Frankie growls against your ear, his hips flush with yours as he slowly lets inch by inch of him be swallowed by your warm cunt. 

After that, there wasn’t a lot of nicety to him. The level of control he carried was lost. He just wanted to take and take, feel and fuck. He wants to use you like his own personal toy; do whatever he pleases with no resistance. You were his to devour. 

He’s still inside you, but he’s gotten this far, and you’re still out. Even in sleep, you’re pulsing around his cock, so fucking tight around him that it steals the air from his lungs. There’s a hint of discomfort in your face, a quiet gasp held within your expression. 

“Fuck,” he grunts, the hand he holds firmly on your hip now moving under your sleep tee. 

You were so fucking accessible to him, so beautiful, so peaceful being fucked raw. 

He rolls your nipple between his thumb and index finger, getting the reaction he’s been waiting for all morning. A sweet, slow moan tumbles loose from your throat, your hips reeling back to grind against Frankie’s lap. 

He’s somewhat pleased he knows you this well, knows what gets you worked up and gushing. The fact that even in your sleep, you have this reaction towards him makes the fire burning inside his abdomen grow. Maybe a deep part of him gets off on knowing you so well. 

Frankie lets out a sigh at his own thoughts, lightly nipping the skin of your exposed shoulder as he slowly rolls his hips back and glides in again, feeling the drag of your tight pussy keeping him lubed up and warm.

If he weren’t so desperate to fuck you, he’d love to just sit inside you like this all goddamn day. It would probably give him the same comfort as the first cup of coffee. 

He gives your breast one more firm squeeze before returning the attention back to your clit, all desperate and tingling with each eager circle he gives you. 

“So fucking perfect,” he whispers against your ear, his hips continuing at a steady pace until he simply needs more. He hikes up your leg once again to allow himself more movement, smirking as your ass smacks against the front of his hips with each thrust that now jostles your body. 

You’ll surely wake any moment, shocked and sleepy and startled at his cock so deep inside your perfectly spent cunt. 

You whimper each time he fills you, your face digging into the pillow as you moan against the cover. Frankie’s efforts grow needy and demanding, fisting your hair out of his way as he sucks marks into your neck; teeth and tongue massaging the skin before leaving a bruise in its wake.

A sweet little sob exits your parted lips, Frankie groaning at the pretty little noises you make. 

“Take me so well, princess. You want me to keep fuckin’ you, huh?” He snarls against your neck, smirking as you hiss at the sensations you’re feeling all throughout your body.  

Suddenly, your eyes flutter open. They absorb the settings around you and it all clicks. A long, desperate moan crawls from the depths of your throat, your movements sluggish but your hand eventually clasps onto Frankie’s forearm, his fingers still swirling around your clit. 

“Ohmy— Frankie, fuck,” you gasp as you feel the full force of his cock drilling deep inside your pussy. Your voice is still thick with sleep, eyes cloudy with lust, and skin-prickling sensations that you had never felt before; a million emotions, but the standout being desperation to come undone like this with a man you trust. 

“This what you wanted, angel? Wake up with my cock stuffed between your legs?” Frankie smirks as he presses his lips against your cheek, jaw dropping against your own as you ride out the high together. 

You cry out something wrecked, a garble of syllables as your spine arches against his front. You weren’t given the pleasure of feeling the orgasm build and build; you woke up at its high heat. 

In an instant, your skin was clammy, hair sticking to your skin as desperate pants filled the room, along with broken moans of Frankie’s name. 

It’s exactly what you wanted, maybe better. Yes, way better. 

You’re so tight, literally clinging to every single inch he gives you as your slick drenches his cock. Your nails dig into his tan skin, feeling the muscles and tendons work to play with your clit. 

A whimper leaves you as the warmth in your stomach boils over, turning your head over your shoulder to catch a glimpse of his face. His eyes are dark, cast over with lust as he stole you in your sleep. In an instant, he meets you with a messy kiss, your bodies and the bed still jolting with each rough thrust he gives you. 

“Please,” you moan against his lips, nodding your head as you look into his eyes. “Come inside me, I wanna feel it, please, give it to me, Frankie,” your words turn into a whine as he begins to fuck you harder, deeper, his tip tickling your cervix as you damn near blackout from the pleasure. 

The pleasure inside of you finally reaches the surface. The feeling was like a wave breaching over your rocky shores, washing over you both in pleasure as your cunt spasms around his thick cock. 

Frankie spoils your clit as his hips snap against your ass, one, two, three more times before the feeling of you overcomes him. He braces you tightly in his arms, panting against your shoulder, eyes clenching closed as he lets out broken grunts of release. He paints your insides with his spend, both of you relaxing in one another’s hold as you slowly descend from heaven. 

“Jesus Christ,” Frankie breathes, shaking his head with a tilted smirk. “You don’t know what you do to me.” He remarks as you look over your shoulder in a haze. 

You whimper as you pull him in closer, fingers weaving into the curls at the back of his head and encouraging him to meet your parted lips. 

The words are at the tip of your tongue, and you can feel them spread heat throughout your body. You can hear both of your hearts beating, thundering against the human flesh, and signaling the feeling of being alive. 

Frankie waits for the words. The feeling of anticipation has been lingering for quite some time. Your touch of nervousness was welcome, expected even. A moment in time when your heart feels exposed but also overwhelmingly full. Only hoping that the other person feels the same way, yet uncertain of how they will respond. A game of chicken of who will say it first and who will have to respond. The leap of faith one will be forced to make and the right words the other will have to find.

Both roles are downright frightening. 

You’re risking everything, the biggest gamble one can make without physical currency. 

But he sees the panic behind your eyes, the nervewracking feeling of saying the sacred words to someone, maybe even for the first time. And he knows that they will be worth it to hear. 

“I know,” he whispers against your lips, shaking his head in a way that tells you he knows what you’re thinking. “I know.” 

You don’t attend church, so you have one question: why the fuck is God sending people to get brunch after Sunday’s service? Why is that their beck and call? 

Every Sunday morning, like clockwork, a flock of people flood the diner with their church clothes and a hankering for waffles and Frankie’s house lumberjack skillet (you wanna know what’s in it, don’t you?)

Frankie’s Secret Ingredients:

Potatoes: 1/4 lb (about 4-5 small potatoes)

Olive Oil: 1/2 tablespoon

Breakfast Sausage Links: 3 oz (about 4 links)

Onion: 1/8 of a whole onion, chopped

Red Pepper: 1/4 of a whole red pepper, chopped

Jalapenos: 1/2 jalapeno, sliced (omit if person looks too old to handle)

Butter: 1 tablespoon

Hickory Maple Seasoning: 1/2 teaspoon

Eggs: 2 large eggs

Milk: 1 tablespoon

Cheddar Cheese: 2 tablespoons, shredded

Anyway, Tommy’s Diner is slammed by mid-morning, and you’re working up a sweat. You’re wiping at your neck and forehead every few minutes, and the sun filtering through the windows does little justice to cool your skin. Tina called out sick, which is code for hungover from Saturday. It’s overwhelming. Your brain feels like the scrambled eggs you just plated for that family of four.

“Enjoy,” you whisper a little breathlessly, tucking your notepad into the front of your apron, rubbing at your temple with the heel of your hand as you walk past the rest of your tables. 

By the time you lift your head, you see a large potbelly man who is waving an arm up above his head, fingers already snapping incessantly. He looked like a chubby rat, with a large dark-haired mustache and a shirt that didn’t fully cover the beer gut he was sporting.

“Uhm, hello? Miss, can we get some service over here?” 

Jesus fucking Christ. Your jaw tightens a few notches, pushing your hair out of your face and wrapping around to their table. You remember them; you took their table’s order a bit ago now - shit, did you forget their plates? No, you didn’t. 

Stopping at the head of their table, you smile politely at the large family. 

“Hi, can I get you something while you wait?”

The man scoffs and snaps, “Uh, yeah, our food.”

Taking a deep breath wasn’t enough; you were a ticking time bomb. “Sir, do you see how many people are in the diner? We’re at capacity with a line out the door. I understand you’ve been waiting, but our kitchen is backed up and-” 

“Bull-honkey-bullcrap, little miss,” the man raises his voice, spitting violently with each syllable, “This is ridiculous! We’ve been sittin’ here for nearly an hour. How hard is it to make some eggs and Mickey Mouse pancakes, huh? You just that stupid? What the hell is goin’ on back there? Are you people completely incompetent, or are you just ignorin’ us?”

Worse things have been said to your face, but you’re at your breaking point. You can feel your face flush with warmth radiating throughout your body. Now, the entire diner is staring at you from all the commotion. Your lungs feel tight, a headache casting heavy behind your face. Tears line your eyes, but you don’t dare let them fall. 

“Again, I’m really sorry, but like I said, the kitchen is backed up.” But apologizing isn’t enough. This guy just wanted someone to take his punches. 

“Don’t even try to apologize. I don’t wanna hear your pathetic excuses. How hard is it to cook some damn eggs? This place is a joke. You must be the worst server I’ve ever dealt with. ‘Nd I swear, if I wanted this kind of useless service, I’d go to a fast food joint. Is this how you treat payin’ customers, or ya’ll just this lazy? Do your job, or I’ll make sure everyone knows how worthless you and this diner is.”

You clutch the empty coffee pot tightly, biting your tongue. Turning swiftly, you head straight for the back swinging door. You don't intend to contribute to the chaos or the bustling mess in the kitchen, but here, in the safety of the back section, you allow a few stray tears to escape.

Shoulder blades hitting the cold brick, you wish to blend into the wall. It feels like the air’s been knocked out of you, your chest heavy and tight. Every sound around you blurs as the man’s harsh words replay in your mind, louder and louder each time. Your hands shake just enough to want to hide them behind your back, feeling afraid to have eyes on you in such a vulnerable state. Exposed. You’ve absorbed the anger meant for something or someone else, so now, it sticks to you, something you can’t wash away. 

Your name echoes once, twice. 

“Hey,” A calm amongst the rushing waves - it’s Frankie. You blink him into focus, bleary tears slowly fading away. His red bandana is tied tight around his forehead to catch the sweat from his forehead and hair. His face is laced with concern. He wipes his hands off on his apron, gently capturing your face as he shields you from the rest of the kitchen. 

And just like that, life returns to your body. You can feel the tips of your fingers, previously tingling, wiping under your eyes as you hiccup through your breaths. Frankie knows this high-traffic area will only make your anxiety worse. 

“It’s okay, take a deep breath and tell me what happen.”

The eyes of the kitchen staff are slowly starting to turn to you, asking if you’re alright and why you’re upset. Shaking your head dismissively, you blink away your tears and look down at the grubby floor that probably hasn’t been mopped since the invention of flip phones. 

“I’m fine. This customer just got pissed and yelled at me. He was upset that his food was running behind, and I tried to explain that the kitchen was backed up.” You part your lips to continue, but the jaw drops of the kitchen staff signal shock by your words. 

They all start honking in unison like a flock of geese. 

“He what?”

“Which fuckin’ table?”

“You okay, sweetheart? Fuck them.” 

Frankie's back straightens stiff, having previously been craning to see your face, now strict with annoyance. 

“Is that him?” Frankie asks as he walks to the window between the kitchen and the back counter, narrowing his eyes on the rat man and his family. 

“Frankie, please don't,” you huff, already refilling your pots of coffee and hoping to just forget the whole thing ever happened. "It's okay, it happens."

But it’s not okay. Because this guy made you cry, and what the hell was it for? Some scrambled eggs and bacon on delay?

The rest of the line cooks have abandoned their food to gawk at the asshole who thinks he can get away with yelling at one of their own like that. 

Frankie tightens his bandana and peels off his gloves, slapping them down in the trash. 

His boots thunder across the linoleum, catching the attention of many of the patrons on his way to the booth by the window where the rat man has continued to reside angrily. Even worse, he chuckles at the sight of Frankie. 

“Take a load of this guy," the rat man appears to mutter to his wife who looks between them both with startled eyes. "Okay, okay, just bring back the pretty waitress. I’ll tell her I’m sorry.” He sneers, shaking his head. 

“No, you’re done with her. You’re dealin’ with me now.” Frankie snags an empty chair from a nearby table, turns it around, and straddles the seat as he gets in the burly man's face. 

“I just feel terrible that we’re not meeting the quality of service you expected. So what exactly is the problem?” Frankie asks with a hint of venom lining his words. 

“Well- we’ve been waitin’ here for half an hour and-”

“Right, and what did the pretty waitress say?”

The man scoffs lightly, feeling embarrassed with all the eyes on him not once but twice now. “Well, she said the kitchen was backed up.”

“That’s right, that’s right, well, I’m the fuckin’ kitchen. You wanna yell at someone? Well, I thought I’d give you the chance to yell at me since, hey, I'm in charge of the kitchen today. Please, tell me your honest review.”

The rat man stares blankly, looking from left to right in surprise, but his family all gawks at Frankie. 

Frankie waits, eyes unblinking, face hardened as the man sputters up something weak in response. 

“This is ungodly and unprofessional,” he gargles, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. 

“You’re absolutely right!” Frankie says, smacking the table with his closed fist before pointing at the rat man, the tip of his finger inches from his face. “I am unprofessional, but that’s because I don’t have the great customer service skills of our waitresses. That’s her job,” Frankie juts a thumb backward towards the kitchen in your direction. “So now, instead of cookin’ you and your ugly wife and kids some food, I gotta come out here and knock some sense into ya since you seemed to have lost your manners. So you gonna let her do her job so I can get back to mine?”

You can only watch from the window in shock, hand over mouth, unblinking eyes - but it’s like a car crash you can’t look away from. The man is shocked into an embarrassed silence. 

“We’ll just… we’ll wait. There’s-uh-there’s a lotta people here.” 

Frankie sighs and smiles with fake relief. He stands from the chair, looking around the quiet restaurant. 

“Anybody else have somethin' they wanna say?”

They all seem too scared of Frankie to complain again to the psycho chef. Chants of ‘Everything’s great!’ or “Thank you!” echo through the dining room. 

You smile warmly, forcing yourself to turn away from the scene and clean up your teary makeup in the bathroom. But all you can think about is Frankie. Francisco. Stupid Catfish. Stepping in like that to protect you, to make that jerk take accountability. It makes your heart flutter knowing how much he cares. And you feel the same way.

It’s about time you tell him. 

Knuckles wrap against the bathroom door, and an echo of, “You okay?” follows. 

He comes in without a response, somewhat relieved to find you adjusting your hair and wiping at the smeary makeup. Your eyes soften at the sight of him, watching in the reflection. He looks disheveled and annoyed, shaking his head as he starts ranting about rat man. 

“I don’t get how people like that- the God-loving church people- come in here and act like they weren’t just told at a sermon to love thy neighbor or whatever bullshit.”

He continues, but all you do is stare.

A part of you thinks he defends others due to his childhood. No one picks on the people Frankie cares about. That letter riled him up, maybe more than either of you had realized. He’s thinking about those times of the past, the innocent hurt by the deviant. 

“You didn’t deserve that, I’m sorry, he’s a fucking dick. You don’t have to take his food out, I’ll do it. Honey,” he breathes, hand resting on your shoulder as he gently turns you around to face him. “Are you mad at me? I know you told me not to go out there, but no one makes you cry if I can help it, y’know? I don’t want him to think he can get away with that.”

Once Frankie starts ranting, it’s really hard to get him to stop. 

“Frankie,” you breathe out, resting your hand over the one he holds on your shoulder. 

“I mean, does he really think that it’s smart to be rude to the staff? I’ll spit in his food, and it will feel really good because he’ll have no idea.”

“Frankie,”

“You’re a good fucking waitress! Doesn’t he see the entire breakfast bar and all the booths filled with guests? The line out the door wasn’t an indication of how busy it is? Get a fuckin’ brain, I mean-”

In an instant, you tilt your chin up, catching his gaze just long enough to see the shift in his eyes before your lips meet. Your hands slide around his neck, fingers weaving into the soft curls at the nape, gently tugging him down toward you. The kiss begins with an urgency, part playful, part to silence his words, but mostly, it's to thank him in a way that words never could.

Frankie’s initial surprise fades quickly as he melts into you, his breath hitching for a moment. His hands travel to your waist, sliding around until they lock just above your hips, anchoring you to him. He presses closer, his touch firm yet tender, and slows the kiss, savoring the warmth of your lips. You feel the way his body relaxes, how he leans in, letting the world around you both fall away as he holds you, close and unmoving, like he’s never letting go.

It takes every ounce of courage in your body to pull away, your lips lingering against his for a heartbeat longer than necessary, as if tethered by an invisible force. Slowly, you break the kiss, your breath shaky, heart racing. His forehead rests against yours for a moment, his eyes still half-closed, unaware of the words hanging on the edge of your lips.

You gently pull back just enough to meet his gaze, your fingers still laced in his hair, trembling slightly. His eyes search yours, soft and expectant, filled with something unspoken but unmistakable.

With a deep inhale, you let the words slip out, vulnerable and raw, barely louder than a whisper, but heavy with meaning.

“I love you.”

The world stands still as the words hang in the air, your heart pounding as you wait for the weight of what you’ve just said to settle between you.

And then he smiles like an idiot. And you’re joining him. 

“Did you say what I think you said? Did you say that you love me?" His voice is soft, teasing, as he presses his forehead against yours, capturing your lips with a few playful, quick kisses between his words. “Come on, say it again.”

You feel your heart flutter, overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment. Frankie’s eyes twinkle with amusement. “I heard you say it. Now you can’t take it back,” he adds with a grin, pulling you tighter, his arms leaving no space between you.

You giggle, your hands pushing lightly against his shoulders, though he doesn’t budge. “Stop, that was really hard,” you huff, breathless, as though the words had stolen all the air from your lungs.

Frankie just shakes his head, his smile fading into something softer, more real, as the weight of the moment catches up with him. “I’ve thought about better places or times to tell you this, I wanted to wait until you were ready,” he whispers, his voice hushed with disbelief, eyes locking onto yours, “but I love you more than you’ll ever know. More than you’ll ever understand or dream. I love you.”

His thumb traces the curve of your cheekbone, a gentle, affectionate touch that sends shivers down your spine. The intensity in his gaze mirrors your own, both of you lost in this shared vulnerability, your hearts speaking in unison.

“I love you, too,” you breathe, the words falling effortlessly this time, as if they’ve always been waiting for this moment.

So, yeah. You sort of love your co-worker Francisco Morales. 

The sun is blinding—orange and yellow streams of light as it is forced to set along the horizon. It’s slow but noticeable, sinking into the land beyond what you can see.

The sun goes down in Texas once again. 

Frankie raises his cigarette, its glowing tip mirroring the fiery hues of the sunset.

His neighborhood is tranquil, lined with single-story homes and tree-bordered streets where autumn's touch is just around the corner. Children ride bikes, joggers and dog walkers pass by, and new parents push their baby strollers—a picturesque scene that feels meticulously arranged yet somehow distant. Frankie, too, feels out of place here.

"You got pretty worked up today—more than usual," you say softly.

Frankie lets out a dry chuckle, cigarette between his lips as he leans back on his elbows, squinting at the fading sun. "Yeah, maybe. You think I’m off right now?" He tilts his head, genuinely curious, as if searching for what’s changed.

You shrug, glancing at him with a fond smile. "I think that letter from your dad has you more rattled than you realize. I found it in your sock drawer this morning."

Frankie’s gaze drops to his lap, a flicker of shame crossing his face.

"I thought you said you were gonna toss it?" you muse gently, watching as his mind churns, cigarette hovering at his lips before he sighs deeply.

"You’re too observant," he smirks. "I don’t know why I haven’t crumpled, burned, or shredded it into pieces by now. I have every right to."

You rest a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing the tension there. "But you didn’t. Why?"

Frankie bites his lower lip nervously, glancing your way. "At the end of the apology letter, he asked to take me out for my birthday. Put down the time, place—everything. Said he’d wait for me."

Your expression softens, letting him know you’re here, really listening. "And you’re thinking about it?"

"Yeah… I guess so. But I don’t even know what I’d say. I’ve only seen him once or twice since I moved out. It’s been years. And when I do see him, I’m thirteen all over again, just yelling at him, so angry. I see his face, and it’s like a switch flips. And that’s not me. You know that’s not me," Frankie stammers, panic flickering in his eyes.

"I know," you whisper, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He pulls you closer, resting his head against yours as the weight of it all settles.

After a deep breath, Frankie gathers himself. "He used to bring out the worst in me. I don’t know if I still hate him as much. Time’s passed, maybe he’s changed. But I’m not holding my breath."

He’s an adult now, more guarded, wiser to the people who’ve hurt him. He’s fought through battles and traumas you don’t even know about. Yet, in his eyes, there’s a flicker of hope. Maybe his dad has turned a corner, maybe he’s cleaned up, seen his mistakes. But you know better than to trust in maybes.

And you’d protect him from being let down again.

"Do you want me to go with you?" you offer quietly.

Frankie’s eyes snap to yours, wide and searching.

"Okay," he says after a long pause. "Let’s do it."

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

THE HUNDRED LINE: LAST DEFENSE ACADEMY - Journal #12: Route 4 - "TRUE" ROUTE DAY 33-58 [MASSIVE SPOILERS]

//After I finished the Conspiracy Route of the game, I kept playing down the supposed "main" route of the game, without hitting any endings in particular.

//I do feel like I am just on the verge of one, so I will most likely cover that ending in my next journal. However, for this one specifically, I will be going back to the old format for these, covering it day by day, and breaking down my thoughts and feelings on each event that happens.

//Because trust me, there is...A...LOT!

//We get some CRITICAL revelations and new information in SPADES in this segment, and covering this many days, when I would normally do around 10, means this post has the potential to be quite long, so I'm going to try and abridge my experience and break it down as plainly as possible in the points where I need to.

//...Strap in I guess, and as per usual...

DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED/SEEN THE HUNDRED LINE: LAST DEFENSE ACADEMY. I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT VERY SPECIFIC PLOT POINTS AND MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE GAME.

//So let's get into it...

DAY 33:

//So to recap where we last left off, we completed the Conspiracy Route, which kicks off with a critical decision that is made in this battle.

//After the UFB defeats V'ehxness, she employs a gambit that involves kidnapping Kurara and Gaku, so she may absorb them to heal herself and replenish her Hemoanima. In the timeline that I played through previously, the path diverged after I saved Kurara, and left Gaku to die.

//However, in order to stick to the true beaten path, we need to save Gaku. So with a heavy heart, I went back to Day 33 afterwards, and decided to let Gaku get absorbed by V'ehxness.

//Well...I say "heavy heart." But I mostly mean that I'll miss Kurara. I certainly won't miss the Conspiracy Route.

//One thing that did annoy me here is that even though I've already done this fight in full, and despite how there's a critical decision at the end if it, this is the only time the game hasn't given me the prompt to skip the fight.

//Granted, it's probably BECAUSE of the decision at the end, but again, this is easily fixed if you just have a WAVE skip feature. Get on that, TooKyo.

//Anyway, Kurara gets absorbed, and I hate V'ehxness with a burning passion.

//Seriously, the more I see of V'ehxness, the more I dislike her. Not because I think she's a poorly written villain or anything. In fact, I quite like the idea of there being a character in one of these games who is just pure evil. But this narrative structure is a bit of a double-edged sword to be honest.

//On the one hand, this portrayal of a supremely strong and unyielding force of evil serves to further themes of war, loss, and the high price of resistance. It presents a more realistically tragic picture of struggle, challenging the conventional heroic fantasy of effortless victory.

//Because let's be real. The idea of the heroes ALWAYS coming out on top against their enemies in a game that is about the horrors of war is VERY unrealistic. The fact that only a few characters died in the original timeline, and most of them were offscreen, was in line with the idea of a video game. But this part of the story now feels like it could be happening in a real life scenario, where we are forced to watch our friends die as we slowly sink deeper into pain, knowing we can't fucking beat this threat.

//However, this approach, for me at least, becomes very narratively unsatisfying from how often it happens. Having a villain like V'ehxness runs the risk of making the game seem pointless when she consistently invalidates the effort by taking back control, reviving herself, or invalidating hard-won victories.

//If every strategic success is undone, and each emotional investment leads only to greater loss, the game can veer into narrative stagnation, where progress is illusory. Which undermines not only the tension, but...you know...the whole CONCEPT of the game?

//If the result is always the same—V'ehxness wins and someone dies—then the stakes lose their significance.

//But...hey, that's something I'm gonna have to get used to. I just hate her and needed to rant.

//You know, the funny thing is, at this point I was wondering if Takumi maybe had the power to jump back in time again, even if he didn't retain his memories. It doesn't make any sense to me that he could only do something like that once when he didn't lose the UFB's power.

//It didn't make an awful lot of sense to me that he didn't try for a better ending, but I guess that's player choice at the end of the day, since most of these endings are kind of independent of each other regardless.

//I bring this up because I recently watched a horror movie called Happy Death Day for the first time, and it reminded me of that.

//For those who don't know, Happy Death Day is a black comedy slasher film that is, in short, Scream meets Groundhog Day.

//The story follows Tree Gelbman (Yes, her name is Tree; it's short for Theresa), a college student who is murdered on her birthday, only to wake up and relive the same day over and over again. Each time she is killed, the loop resets, and she retains her memories, allowing her to gradually uncover clues about her killer's identity, so she uses each iteration to not only survive but also to become a better person, confronting her own past and relationships.

//Which felt like a really uncanny movie to watch, since I imagine Takumi doing the same thing with his timelines, going back to rectify his mistakes.

DAY 34:

//Like at the beginning of the Conspiracy route, Day 34 starts off with Sirei giving everyone the super energy drink.

//Bro is built different, lol.

//Anyway, this scene doesn't change too much from how it was in the previous route, except for two major differences.

//One: Gaku is here instead of Kurara, for obvious reasons.

//And Two: Nozomi is not present, also for obvious reasons.

DAY 35:

//Oh, so THAT'S where this sprite comes from!

//I remember seeing it in the demo files, and was thinking "How is Kako gonna secretly turn out to be some sort of horndog." And then the kinky group sex line from the demo didn't really reassure me on that.

//But no, she's not horny, she's just drunk.

//It is funny seeing the Tsukumo twins looking all high and dumb next to each other.

//Not much to report on, only that the gang have apparently been drinking all night, and I get Free Time again...Not that I can SPEND it on anything.

//Honestly, I was running a bit low on materials after all the upgrades and gifts and shit I was doing, but because everyone is drinking their depression away, and Nozomi is too caught up over Kurara's death, Hiruko and Eva are the only two who can come with me on expeditions, and that's not really worth the trouble in my opinion.

//The problem is there is very little else I can do in this Free Time because of that. Getting the resources I need to upgrade my kit, tools, and bonds using gifts isn't possible when basically everyone in my team is indisposed.

//So my only choice is to either sleep through the day, or do the VR missions, so I did the latter.

DAY 36:

//This whole next segment of the story gave me some tense feelings.

//For starters, Hiruko’s behavior is starting to mirror Takumi’s from earlier, right after he was knocked out by Sirei. She’s now putting total, unquestioning trust in Sirei, almost like she’s been rewired to follow him blindly.

//When Takumi finally brings up the secret she once uncovered about the war (the one she tried to reveal in the original timeline before Eito killed her) she doesn't seem to have any idea what he's talking about.

Which strongly suggests that, just like with Takumi, Sirei may have tampered with her memories too.

//I really hope this doesn't mean we need to go to ANOTHER route to find out what she was talking about.

//The silver lining is that Hiruko herself seems to sense something is off. There’s a flicker of awareness in her that gives hope.

//I can't help but laugh about how I immediately found Sirei endearing, but now that he's getting the chance to actually, you know, be a character, I REALLY don't like him. I'll talk more about this near the conclusion of this post, but this isn't the first sign of bullshittery we get from him.

//But while that confrontation brews in the background, we’ve got another urgent matter: cheering up Nozomi. She’s been through a lot lately, and Takumi’s determined to do something meaningful for her.

//The plan is to build her a telescope, so Takumi and Eva gear up for another crucial expedition, this time to gather the rare materials needed for it.

//Unfortunately, the rest of the team is still recovering or otherwise unavailable, leaving only Eva and Hiruko able to accompany him, like I said before.

DAY 37:

//Fortunately, this issue does get resolved the next day, as everyone manages to recover from their slumps, except Nozomi, which I guess is to be expected.

//Am I the only one who noticed that Nozomi is unavailable more than any other character in this game is on frequent occassion? There's always some sort of reason in each timeline that prevents you from hanging out with her or taking her out on expeditions.

//Anyway, Takumi gives her the telescope, and the two stargaze. Leading to a very soft moment between the two.

//I love these moments with these two. They're easily my two favourite characters in this game, and their interactions are so familiar and wholesome, and it's always the best part of whatever bad situation we end up in.

//For some reason, I feel more connected to them than I have any of Kodaka's protagonist pairs. And yes, I do mean Naegiri, Hinananami, and the Training Trio.

//I love those characters and their dynamics, don't get it twisted. But these two together are just the best and most wholesome.

//Maybe it's because Takumi and Nozomi are more Uchikoshi-coded though, like Junpei and Akane from 999.

//Anyway, the good times can't last because, as expected, Nozomi suddenly starts experiencing rejection symptoms again.

//Obviously, everyone knows about Nozomi's unique circumstances here, so Takumi goes to explain the problem to everyone, and that they need to raid an enemy base and have Nozomi absorb a Commander's hemoanima to cure her.

//This leads to honestly a pretty badass and just generally satisfying moment.

//Sirei refuses to allow Takumi to raid the base, because they need all hands on deck, and he can't afford to split the group. And of course, since Sirei has kind of bugged Takumi to make him subservient, Takumi begins to (be forced to) see the reason in Sirei's words. And the little shit clearly knows he's in control.

//At least he does for a moment.

//Takumi's love for his childhood friend finally overpowers the hold Sirei has on him, and if Sirei refuses to let him go, he will go by himself.

//Unfortunately for Sirei, the others don't accept this. Moko, Takemaru, and Yugamu agree to join him on the strike force, and Sirei is given no choice but to acquiesce.

DAY 40:

//Jumping ahead a little bit, because I don't have anything critical to report, but as we've done in previous timelines, we get to the Invader base, and fight.

//However, one thing that IS different this time is I actually had Nozomi use her healing ability on herself. As you know, in these rejection symptom fights, Nozomi starts the fight with two thirds of her health, and is chronically slowed. But I never used her own healing ability on herself to see if that cures it.

//Turns out it does, so why the fuck are we even bothering?

//Okay, I kid. I know that Nozomi is using the Hemoanima to heal herself, which would probably make the symptoms worse in canon. I just think it's funny that this illness can be resolved with the push of a button.

//Anyway, like in the other timelines where I did this fight, the Commander we battle against is Quenzelle, the Commander who flies in the air and drops eggs.

//Although, one thing I couldn't help but notice is Quenzelle doesn't really drop eggs in any of the fights against him other than his initial one. I wonder why they gave him that power, only for him to never use it.

//Overall though, we have a fairly easy fight.

//But it ends interestingly, with Quenzelle saying similar things to Eva and Addamaque. He implies that humans were the ones who attacked the Invaders first, which we do get more information on later, but more on that in a bit.

DAY 41:

//If we got back to the school to find the Invaders attack, I would have pissed my own ass. Fortunately, we're in the clear.

//Everyone heads off to get some rest, but Takumi and Nozomi hold back.

//We get yet another touching scene where these two lovebirds open up to each other, and it ends with, surprisingly, Takumi telling Nozomi about everything that happened between them.

//INCLUDING how Nozomi is supposedly his childhood friend Karua, after having her memories of their life being taken from her...supposedly.

//Like I said, I love these moments between these two...And this one is my favourite so far. Takumi finally seems to realize how much this whole thing is weighing on him, now that he's finally being open and honest about it. How much he misses Karua, and his home, and his normal life, and how he chose to put the burden of saving his friends on himself, while blaming himself for every point he failed.

//And Nozomi understanding this, even without the context is just... *chef's kiss.*

//What makes it even better is that the English Dub makes it so powerful. Jay Rincon and Leader Looi do an amazing job selling the pain and recognition feeling between these two characters.

//Unfortunately, this wholesome and heartwarming moment is ended on a low note.

//Nozomi talks more about her backstory in corrolation to Karua, after Takumi notes that the scar is the deciding factor as to what helped him recognize her in the end. But Nozomi claims that her mother also died in the car accident.

//This is a completely different story than she told before, where she explained her mother committed suicide after her research was halted.

//This is a pretty big deal, beacuse avenging her mother was the whole reason Nozomi is even here. So what gives?

DAY 42:

//Takumi suspects Sirei might have fiddled with Nozomi's memory too, which is not impossible. And the idea is reinforced when the guy starts being a gaslighting little shit when Takumi confronts him about it.

//Sirei instead implies that when Takumi jumped back in time, he actually jumped into a different universe where things were a bit different. Considering how varied some of these timelines are, I don't think this is necessarily wrong, but that...

//...combined with that fact that THIS happens makes me think he's just fucking around.

//I got genuine trauma from this, because I saw this kind of scene essentially non-stop in the Conspiracy route.

DAY 43:

//I genuinely take back everything good I said about Sirei by this point.

//The guy is gaslighting the hell out of me, and is lobotomizing not only Takumi, but everyone else, because he's so insecure, and feels so powerless to control the members of the SDU.

//It makes me wonder why he even bothered trying to ease us into fighting in the first place if he could just tinker with our memories and make us into entirely different people who become subservient with him.

//What's upsetting most is as the commanding officer, Sirei is responsible for helping humanity win this war, yet it feels like every time we've fucked up in the past, it is always his fault.

//The entire casual route was his fault, for instance. And it's only because of his shitty commandeering of the situations that we lost Kyoshika and Kurara in meaningless sacrifices.

//And the whole thing becomes even more uncomfortable and disgusting over the ensuing days.

DAY 44:

//Honestly speaking, had I not developed such an intense hatred for Sirei's actions over these past few days, I think I might have been able to stomach Day 44 to 46...But as it happens, this part of the game ended up being incredibly controversial, and I think I'm starting to understand why people were complaining about it.

//Effectively, what starts this off is Kako makes Eva eat something strange, and for a brief moment, it actually seemed to snap her out of the brainwashing Sirei inflicted on her.

//She starts screaming something about her sister, and it looks like she's about to relapse fully, when Sirei strides in and takes her out, as he does OFTEN in this second scenario.

//Which you hate to see. Especially given how much I've already grown to like Eva.

//This kickstarts a three-day sequence where Takumi is roped by Sirei and Nigou into re-brainwashing Eva to make her compliant again.

//Honestly, this whole situation is emotionally exhausting. I wish the game gave us a choice to let us say no to the idea of brainwashing her, but instead, it feels like we’re being railroaded into complicity.

//I mean get it. Takumi’s probably still under Sirei’s lingering influence, and maybe that’s part of the point. But it doesn’t make it any easier to stomach.

//At the very least, Takumi’s discomfort is obvious. He’s not okay with what’s happening, even if he can’t fully resist it yet. That small resistance in him is all we have to hold onto.

//And then it got…deeply uncomfortable. Because it's another roullette wheel game where you spin it, and whichever it lands on will be her new personality, until we get her back to "normal."

//The first time I did it, it landed on "Decadent." And...

//It got this...

//How the FUCK does "Decadent," mean HORNY!?

//Yeah, not gonna lie, I'm USED to Kodaka and Uchikoshi doing shit like this, but even for me, this was unsetelling and distressing.

//Anyway, it's a failure, so we try again tomorrow.

//On a brighter note, Nozomi reached Bond Rank 2 today. She’s still an absolute ray of sunshine, and honestly, we desperately needed that right now.

DAY 45:

//Despite all the shit that happens here, Day 45 actually starts off well.

//Gaku tried to recreate Kurara’s curry, and everyone eats it for breakfast that morning.

//Gaku doesn't get a lot of good moments after the initial time we see him step up to fight, and then I guess when he holds the festival to cheer Kako up and make up for making her upset.

//I don't hate Gaku, because he has his moments like this, and I like that he's still carrying the weight of being the one who survived when Kurara didn’t. Kind of shows that despite how much they hated each other, he does miss her.

//I was also a LITTLE happier, because when we brainwashed Eva again, THIS TIME the wheel landed on "violent." Which led to another one of these super angry breakdowns like the one in the Casual Route.

//Unfortunately, it doesn't last, but I WAS kind of hoping she'd break out and go on a rampage.

DAY 46:

//My heart bleeds for Shouma in moments like this.

//Throughout this arc, he's clearly been devastated by what Eva’s going through. You can tell he genuinely cares about her, and he just doesn’t know how to help. Watching someone you love fall apart while you’re powerless to stop it is like torture, I can imagine.

//The good news is we finally managed to "cure" her this time. She seems stable, at least for now. But even that is bittersweet, since, as Takumi says, this isn't really who she is.

//Nigou’s reaction is…a bit off-putting. He’s way too cheerful about Eva returning to her submissive state. I get that he’s relieved she’s not being harmed anymore, but his tone felt tone-deaf.

//She is still brainwashed, after all. But hey, I am also glad that we're not gonna kill or torture her any more.

DAY 47:

//Aw shit...Here we go again...!

//Yeah, I'm never gonna be a fan of THIS fight. Who knows how many more fucking times I'm gonna have to sit through it.

//This time around, we get to see Nigou in his human form during the hallucination. Which, in theory, should be fairly standard, but the moment he shows up, everyone in the dream starts threatening him on sight, which I think is really funny. Poor guy can’t catch a break, even in people’s dreams.

//Wow not even a reference, just straight up name-dropping the character.

//Also, Eva is here too, and in the dream sequence, she basically confirms that she is an alien. Though in the sequence the Artificial Satellite is her spaceship, so I'm not sure if that's meant to suggest something.

//The way this event pans out this time around is similar, but still different. So, apparently, due to her cryptoglobin being boosted, Turamtammi's power is now strong enough to the point where normal human ears cannot pick up the frequency of her music, which is why we all got corrupted anyway...

//Kiiiiiinda weird that this is only happening in this route and not any of the others where I've fought her?

//But just like last time, the UFB is able to resist the effects, and goes to save Takumi. Though we actually experience the game from his perspective for a little bit.

//I genuinely feel for UFB. The little guy just wants to be included.

//Well, THAT'S a hell of a statement.

//We end up in a huge battle again. Same setup as last time: facing off against Turamtammi and Nyewgank. But this time, I stuck around for the whole thing instead of fast-forwarding through it.

//But then…EITO shows up.

After we take down Nyewgank, Eito suddenly jumps in, siding with the Invaders, and of course, it's playing his wack-ass boss theme again.

//The more important thing though is, like before, Eito has unlocked the truth behind the war, or at least parts of it. And as he has a tendency to do, he's yapping during his boss fight.

//I was actually getting hyped for a proper showdown with him. Thought we’d get some intense back-and-forth…but nope. I obliterated him in a single hit. So so much for dramatic tension.

//After the fight, in typical Eito fashion, he pulls a wild move and absorbs both Turamtammi and Nyewgank before we can.

//Eito starts unraveling the whole mystery too. Not only does he essentially confirm that Sirei has been messing with the group's memories, he even makes a case that there’s no guarantee that the people we think we’re protecting are even on the Artificial Satellite anymore.

//He also explains that the reason he's siding with the Invaders is because his final plan is to absorb our Cryptoglobin, then allow himself to be consumed by V’ehxness to reach some twisted form of transcendence, and make her all-powerful so she'll kill us all.

//Not sure why he wouldn't try to do it the other way around honestly; let V'ehxness absorb the power then take it from her so that he can be the one to kill off humanity. But Eito is as Eito does I guess?

DAY 48:

//Seeing as UFB managed to save the group the previous day, Takumi goes to talk to Sirei again about letting him get on the squad. This time, we will get through to him.

//...Or not.

//FUCKING TRY HARDER TAKUMI! MY GOD!

//Takumi doesn't even have the excuse of being subservient to Sirei anymore! He's kind of moved past that, so now he's just pussying out!

//Speaking of which, luckily, the gang are starting to catch on to Sirei's antics. Obviously, no one is willing to accept this kind of idea coming from Eito of all people, but Tsubasa and Takemaru present physical proof that something fucky is happening.

//Takemaru keeps a journal/diary, and in it, he notes that he went to talk to Eva about something, which he has no memory of doing. He most likely heard something critical from her, and Sirei ended up erasing it from his mind.

//When the trio go to ask UFB about it, Takumi is so eager to get to the bottom of this, he almost lets himself get eaten by the Undying Flames in order to get his attention.

//Side note, the English Dub lines don't match with the English text. Not a big deal, but it's weird that this is the only time in the game so far that this has happened.

//Unfortunately, UFB doesn't have any idea about the process. But even though we don't get definitive answers about the memory tampering, the group agrees to discuss amongst themselves about letting UFB join the team.

DAY 49:

//Leading on from that, the group all gather in the cafeteria, and it's time to do something that we haven't done for a while now. The negotiation minigame.

//On Sirei of all people.

//There is actually some funny dialogue exchanges in this scene. Namely:

Gaku: H-Hey, if you guys shut me down like that, it makes me sound like a dick... Takumi (internally): You are kind of a dick.

Kako: Maybe if we figure out his weakness, we can negotiate.

Ima: What an annoying little mini game. I want no part of it. Gaku: We can just make Takumi do it. He's team leader. Takumi: I was already planning on it...But the least you could do is not say it like that...

//The interesting thing is throughout the day, we actually get multiple different gift ideas for Sirei, though I don't imagine any of them really work.

//The three gifts are a gun, a bottle of wine, and a globe. I gave him the wine bottle, and while it seemed like he was taking the bait, he ended up smashing it.

//As if he couldn't get any more annoying.

DAY 50:

//So, you might not remember, but in the original timeline, when we got to Day 50, Sirei suggested that he had a gift prepared for the rest of the group in the cafeteria. But obviously, because Sirei was dead by that point, we never got to see it.

//Now though, we do. But it turns out it was just a couple of dingy little badges.

//Classic bait-and-switch for these types of games.

//HOWEVER, the cafeteria meeting does yield interesting results.

//Largely the reason why Sirei refuses to let the UFB be part of the team is because in his eyes, he is not a living being, and doesn't deserve to be treated as such. He exists purely to be a weapon, and has no human rights.

//However, Nigou reveals that despite Sirei's words, the opposite is very much true. Because part of his duty has been to protect the UFB, and because they've spent so much time together, Sirei has so much familiarity with the child that he's come to view him as a sort of son, and cares about him more than he lets on.

//The reason he is so obstinate about this is because, as an AI, he doesn't want his own feelings to sabotage the mission.

//Nigou helps Takumi create a photo album made of memory banks shared between him and Sirei, and Takumi gifts it to the Commanding Officer, finally initiating the minigame.

//And...to be honest, I get that this is supposed to be a serious, passionate moment of depth for Sirei or whatever, but honestly, it just came across as really silly to me.

//The good news is that Sirei becomes willing to compromise, and asks Takumi to make a deal.

//To be honest, it's not a very good deal, but Takumi is willing to bend to it if it gives UFB the chance he needs to achieve his desire to have friends and classmates. Effectively, he says that if Takumi and the others agree to stop poking into the matter about their missing or manipulated memories, he'll try to pull some strings to make it happen.

//Takumi does tell Sirei to stop doing the memory manipulation though. Whether or not he will comply with that counteroffer remains to be seen.

DAY 52:

//The UFB arrives at Takumi's room and uses the door like a normal person, which somehow scares Takumi way more than the way he usually appears, which I think is funny.

//Anyway, Takumi takes the boy to the cafeteria to finally meet everyone properly, and they begin to introduce themselves.

//I don't remember if this was brought up before, because I genuinely don't remember, but apparently, when the Undying Flames boy fires off the final attack, his body will be burnt up by his own Undying Flames, and he will die.

//Granted, he DID die in other timelines. Like, I remember him doing so in the Retsnom Route when we used his final attack on V'ehxness. But I thought that was just him overusing his power and his avatar disappearing. The final attack does still kind of happen.

//Which is sad, and unfortunate that it took until Day 50 to finally turn Sirei's thinking about it around. Because now we only have 48 days or so to get to know this dude and become friends with him.

//We get another choice here, for Takumi to make a judgement call. Letting the boy join the team or not.

//Now, this is a weird choice considering the efforts we went through to actually get him to this point where he's meeting the others, and it feels too cold to turn him down. So I ultimately decided to let him on the squad.

//I guess the whole reason why is because if the boy joins the group, chances are our fights will get longer and harder, because we won't be as prepared defensively. Keeping him where he is means we'll be safer and more secure, but like...I couldn't do him like that.

//What's even better news is that now we're at this point, UFB finally gets a name, meaning I don't have to call him ghost boy or UFB anymore. And that name is...

//Honestly speaking, I expected the boys name to be Hie or Hono or something like that, since it's Japanese for fire or flame. But I did a google search, and this does kind of make sense.

//Shion in Japanese is spelled 志音, made from the kanji for "will/purpose" (志) and "sound" (音)

//So effectively, it's eluding to the fact that he is humanity's voice incarnate, since he's the reason we're going to win this war against the Invaders.

//Things seem to be looking up...but even with Shion on the squad now, things don't end to brightly.

//Takemaru doesn't take kindly to the deal Takumi made with Sirei. Obviously, Takumi doesn't like it too much either, but he only went with it because he had Shion's best interests in mind.

//Meaning Takemaru is most likely going to take matters into his own hands.

DAY 53:

//As was sort of to be expected, Takemaru didn't show up for the morning meeting, but neither did Gaku. Meaning the two of them were likely plotting something.

//That aside, Shion is now available during Free Time events. He can't be given gifts, and he's not in the report card, but he does have his own bonding events that can be unlocked through talking to him.

DAY 54:

//This kind of just continues on from the effects of the previous two days. Only that Yugamu starts acting a little bit sus now.

//This isn't part of the plot, but I spent some time with Kako today in the library, and there was a kind of sad event, which is pretty rare. In short, she was talking about ghosts, and said she wanted to see her parents again as ghosts.

//Speaking of Kako and her brother, she and Ima believe that Gaku is acting really on edge, even for him, and they believe that someone is goading him into believing what Eito said about everyone's families not being safe on the Artificial Satellite.

//Strange though, since there doesn't appear to be anyone outwardly having a reason to do so.

//And they really want to emphasize this because they play the same flashback sequence twice in quick succession? Like...yeah, game, I get it!

//Takumi, you've had HALF A WEEK to take the initiative! Just fucking do it! Stop stalling!

DAY 56:

//This day was quite possibly the most tense in the story so far.

//In the morning, Gaku somehow hijacks the school announcement system, and tells everyone he's going to force Sirei to contact the Artificial Satellite, no matter what it takes, and tells everyone to head to the Gym if they want answers.

//Everyone rushes over, but it doesn't go down well. Sirei is nowhere to be seen, and for some reason, without ANY proof, OR indication, Gaku, Takemaru, and Moko blame Takumi for siding with Sirei, and fucking ATTACK HIM and the others.

//This time though, it's not shitty writing that's to blame for the characters acting up for no reason. But we do get a cool sequence here before the fight, where we get a transformation sequence from GAKU'S perspective, IMMEDIATELY followed up by the same sequence from Takumi and his group.

//I wasn't expecting Gaku of all characters to have his own version of the cutscene. Eito and Nozomi did make sense, at least.

//Anyway, we get a fight here. It's not too difficult, especially because Moko, Gaku, and Takemaru ain't got nothing on Takumi's team which is himself, Nozomi, Hiruko, Tsubasa, and Shouma. With just three of them, they're very easily beatable.

//I like the idea of Takumi using his super powered Azure Blitz on them to get them to shut up though.

//ANYway, after being defeated, Takemaru and the others calm down, and the truth comes to light. As it so happens, Yugamu was taking advantage of their already tense feelings, then used drugged snacks to strengthen those feelings until they were sent spiralling into a pit of fear and doubt, which led to them attacking the others.

//All of this was to create the perfect distraction to allow Yugamu to capture Sirei and get answers out of him. And he's able to do so by performing surgery on himself and removing the bomb from inside his chest.

//The reason he did this is because Yugamu himself is concerned about Eito's words, and doesn't think it's wise to outright dismiss them. Especially since Sirei has been especially shady.

//He goes on to explain that he had a "loved one" back on the Artificial Satellite. Someone that he promised he would kill one day when not tied down by his family's work. And if there's any indication that that person may not still be alive, then he wants answers, if nothing else.

//Nigou and the others manage to persuade Yugamu to release Sirei by explaining that, even if Sirei wanted to contact the Artificial Satellite, the classified nature of his mission prevents him from doing so easily.

//Though Takumi eventually convinces Yugamu to let Sirei go, the assassin still demands answers. Sirei finally complies and reveals the truth.

//He explains that his entire existence is dedicated to fulfilling his mission. To do that, he needs not only the intelligence to follow his programming but also the flexibility to adapt to unexpected situations.

//As he puts it, his consciousness is shaped by "the will of humanity."

//To make the best possible decisions for the human race, Sirei has been programmed with simulations of humanity’s collective thought patterns. Every time he faces a choice, he runs these simulations to reach an unbiased outcome. In other words, he arrives at decisions by effectively running a virtual majority vote based on all of humanity’s perspectives.

//Since the mission is critical to humanity's future, it's only logical that it reflects the will of the species as a whole. And because the mission is classified, and he doesn’t have the luxury of asking each person individually, he relies on these internal simulations to determine the consensus.

//This process can take time, which is why he sometimes vanishes for long stretches. Additionally, to keep the mission free from individual bias, Sirei is unable to follow orders from any single person.

//Which is really interesting and also...

A LOAD OF CRAP!

//I'm sorry, I GET that humanity are not ever presented as being a righteous species in this story. But you CANNOT convince me that all of the terrible shit Sirei did is based around what the majority of the human race would do!

//If this is consistent throughout the different timelines, my suspension of disbelief will not account for an entire race of people thinking it's okay to:

Brainwash people, and in one outcome, to the point where one becomes disillusioned with reality.

Not allow ANY sort of contact with the characters and their homes.

Commit war crimes on these level (largely with Eva)

KIDNAP a bunch of LITERAL CHILDREN!

Make said children FIGHT in a WAR!

//And SO much more!

//What makes it even more stupid is quite LITERALLY in the same breath, Sirei and Nigou admit that the mission is confidential, and only a select few people on the Satellite know about it.

//THEN THAT'S JUST NOT FAIR!

//I GUARANTEE you that if humankind knew about what was going on, the results would be VERY different!

//OF COURSE humanity aren't allowing contact with the Artificial Satellite. Humanity don't even know we're FUCKING DOWN HERE!

//It's honestly infuriating that people can look at this and NOT see a very blatant problem with this system. It's not only nonsensical, but it's egrigiously self-destructive!

//Of course, I don't blame Takumi and the others for leaving things at that, because...how the fuck do you even RESPOND to something like that?

DAY 57:

//Alright then. THIS is the point where things start to get kinda nutty, so prepare yourselves.

//The next enemy attack happens today, and the Invaders are once again joined by Eito, but this time, the fight is a little bit different.

//But if there's one thing that's the same, it's that it's yet another Eito fight where the guy just does not stop talking throughout the whole thing. And this time, it's a back-and-forth with Sirei.

//Side note, just in case I forget to bring it up later, this is another part of the game where Sirei really kind of got on my nerves, because he doesn't justify himself AT ALL during this back and forth. Eito plants the ideas of doubt into everyone's heads about what he really found out about the war, and goes into detail explaining when and how he discovered it, even if he doesn't drop the whole truth immediately.

//And Sirei only responds by saying effectively "He's lying, shut up, fight."

//Does he WANT me to be on his side or not?

//Also, Eito does tell all the revelations he discovered during the fight, but it's hard to keep track of them all. He does give on major hint, where he mentions that Earth died a long time ago, and there's more to World Death than we know.

//The more important thing here is that this is a fight against Zen'ta, the commander who can copy people's appearance, and who did so to Moko in the original timeline. This time, however, she seems to do it for Eito, suggesting that the real Eito Aotsuki was killed and replaced with her.

//This is not the case. Eito is still in this fight; he's simply hidden among a mess of clones.

//In order to defeat them all swiftly, we use the same ability that was used previously at the end of the Retsnom Route with Shion putting all his power into a final explosion to take the enemies down.

//Which...is confusing.

//I know that Shion is effectively on the team now, but if I rememeber correctly, didn't using this attack kill him in that timeline? That, coupled with how this fight ends, should really have been the end of the guy.

//Speaking of flames and Ultimate Moves though, I've noticed that almost every time I've fought Eito after the initial final boss of Route 0, I've always unintentionally finished him off using Takumi's Azure Blitz.

//I think I'm gonna try and keep that trend going ;)

//But after Eito and Zen'ta are defeated, the final scene of this day is RIPE with plot twists.

//Firstly, much like he did to Turamtammi and Nyewgank, Eito absorbs Zen'ta before any of us have a chance to, but then V'ehxness shows up to absorb him, just like he planned for. But BEFORE he has a chance to, he tries to drop lore on the war, only for Sirei to suddenly dash down into the field, because he's desperate to cockblock the group from any of the answers.

//But in doing so, he almost gets taken out by Zen'ta, still holding together a form of Eito. But before Sirei can get merced, Nigou jumps in the way of the attack, and dies in his place.

//Which after everything I've had to suffer through with Nigou, the only thing that makes me sad is that Eva was made to watch a character who, in a odd and sketchy kind of way, did try to keep her safe.

//Like I said, after that, Eito absorbs Zen'ta, which heals all his injuries and fatigue, and then V'ehxness appears to absorb him. V'ehxness manages to get MOST of Eito's power, but before she can get all of it, Shion dive-bombs into the battlefield to rescue him.

//As a side twist, it's revealed in this moment that Eva is actually V'ehxness's sister.

//She really IS Mukuro, huh? Secret 16th party member, sister's with the megalomaniacal main villain, is originally an enemy to the party, etc. The list kinda just goes on.

//And as she...seems to have a habit of doing to be honest, V'ehxness decides to leave her final attack for later, so she can once again spend some time recovering from her injuries, and also to give Shion a chance to recover from his.

//This day ends with another choice, with Eito now at our mercy and somewhat crippled by V'ehxness - to either kill him or spare him, much like the first choice that was made after Takumi jumped back in time.

//As you can imagine, there is no way I am killing this fuck, no matter how much he might deserve it. Takumi justifies the reason being he doesn't want to kill another human being, but I personally just want to hear him finish what he was saying.

//And I don't give a damn what Sirei says. He can't be trusted any more than Eito can.

DAY 58:

//Everyone gathers in the courtyard the next morning to hear what Eito has to say, with Eva carrying around the destroyed carcass of Nigou, which makes me a little sad tbh.

//As expected, Sirei does basically EVERYTHING he possibly can to stop Eito from talking, endlessly nattering on about how everything Eito says is a lie, and when Eito finally starts dropping the truths, he even clams up and refuses to affirm what he says, which isn't earning him any brownie points.

//But thankfully, Shion interjects and blackmails Sirei at the right moment, saying he'll have the SDU members break into the defense room and kill him if he doesn't answer their questions, so Sirei is given no choice but to bend, leading to him and Eito finally dropping the big reveal...

//At least...the first one, because there seems to be even more to the story that I don't know yet.

//Mad respect for Shion though. I feel like ever since he's been getting more screen time, he's really become a great character.

//The major plot twist in this game centers around a single, crucial detail that was deliberately kept from the characters for these 158 days. When this truth is finally revealed, it completely reshapes our understanding of the story.

//That key detail...is that we are NOT on Planet Earth.

//Throughout the game, everyone believes the Tokyo Residential Complex is an underground shelter on Earth, built to shield the last remnants of humanity from the apocalyptic event known as World Death. Shion was supposedly sent to Earth to eliminate the Invaders—monsters thought to be Earth's final threat to humanity—while the rest of the Special Defense Unit protected him at the Last Defense Academy until the weapon could be deployed. Meanwhile, the remainder of the human population supposedly escaped the planet and relocated to an Artificial Satellite to avoid the fallout.

//But the reality is far more complex. While World Death DID trigger the war, Earth itself was destroyed long ago, ompletely devoid of life, and likely no longer even exists. The damage was catastrophic, far worse than the devastation seen outside the fire barrier.

//In fact, Sire's EXACT words are that Earth was "on the verge of exploding."

//In truth, humanity had spent generations constructing the Artificial Satellite as a means of leaving Earth entirely. THAT part, at least, remains true, but not in the way that everyone expected.

//The Exodus Project, which everyone believed was an evacuation plan to survive the war, was actually a mission to abandon the real Earth and find a new world for what was left of humanity. As it turns out, the Tokyo Residential Complex where the SDU lived has always been located on the Artificial Satellite. Meaning this is where we ACTUALLY were at the beginning of the game.

//During the Satellite’s construction, humanity also searched for a suitable replacement for Earth, and they eventually discovered one.

//This new planet, known as KXK-787, or as Eito and the Invaders refer to it...Futurum.

//Which is...a little on the nose, but hey, I'm not complaining.

//The planet is strikingly similar to Earth. It's in a life-supporting zone, covered mostly in water, and has all the right conditions for human habitation.

//That’s where we are now. Not Earth. Futurum.

//One of the main reasons so little is known about Earth within the Tokyo Residential Complex is because humanity left it behind centuries, possibly even millennia ago; long before Takumi and his friends were ever born. Sirei explains that the SDU weren’t told the truth because it was considered too abstract and disconnected from their reality, which would only confuse or destabilize them.

//Which I'm gonna have to call bullshit on, even if I do kind of get it? If you ask me, Hemoanima, Shion, the Invaders, World Death, and almost everything else that came before this is far more complicated and otherworldly than even space travel. At least sci-fi is a genre that's been confirmed to exist in this world. And yet those concepts are the one's that Sirei spends the least amount of time explaining, because understanding it any more than we do would be "pointless."

//As I've said before, there was also an underlying desire among some humans to bury the past and avoid facing the guilt of destroying their home world, but more critically, after humanity's departure from Earth, internal divisions began to form.

//Some factions believed humanity should return and face the consequences rather than flee. This ideological clash nearly led to civil war, prompting leaders to restrict access to knowledge about Earth and the Artificial Satellite. As a result, most civilians were left in the dark.

//I really appreciate this twist because we’ve already seen evidence of it! This idea is pretty much what the Conspiracy Route revolves around, with the Anti-Exodus faction and Gotou. It’s satisfying that the primary route reveals this later, giving us new insight and a clearer explanation for earlier events.

//Still, despite all the time, effort, and sacrifice poured into the Exodus Project and the journey to Futurum, humanity made a critical error: Futurum, while eerily similar to Earth, was already inhabited by an intelligent species. One with its own society, history, and belief systems.

//That species is V'ehxness and what we’ve come to know as the School Invaders. In actuality, they're their own species of intelligent lifeforms called "futurans." Not creations of World Death AT ALL.

//Initially, humans tried to communicate and negotiate with the futurans, but remember, the only reason Takumi and the others can even understand them now is because of the Hemoanima, which allows for some level of translation. Without that bridge, misunderstandings led to conflict, which escalated into full-scale war.

//The real challenge for humanity was that, while they held the technological edge, the futurans possessed a unique biological advantage. Occasionally, individuals were born with a rare type of blood that granted them immense power in combat, so overwhelming that even humanity’s most advanced weapons were rendered useless against them.

//You've probably already guessed it, but that special power is Hemoanima, or Cryptoglobin, which the Enemy Commander's have. That's why they're heralded as heroes in their culture.

//The Commanders; V'ehxness, Eva, and the others; are seen as divine champions by the futurans, chosen by the god they worship. Humanity’s advanced weaponry was completely ineffective against them, and for generations, people struggled to overcome these powerful defenders. No matter how much effort was put in, humans simply couldn’t overpower them or claim the planet.

//V’ehxness, while undoubtedly driven by her own dark motives and goals, stands apart from the rest of the Commanders. The others aren’t malicious; they’re simply defending their homeland, fighting for survival against what they perceive as an alien invasion...just as the SDU believed they were doing all along.

//The ruins outside the school aren’t the result of World Death. They were once vibrant cities filled with ordinary futurans. It was the battles fought when futurans were forced to protect themselves from human aggression that reduced them to rubble and forced evacuations.

//In summary, from the very beginning, humans and the members of the SDU are the REAL invaders. Humanity struck first, making the futurans view the SDU as extraterrestrial enemies bent on wiping them out and taking their world.

//And the SDU does NOT handle this revelation well.

//To his credit, Sirei doesn’t try to justify or deny humanity’s actions. He admits it’s a war of conquest, plain and simple, but insists it’s a war born out of necessity.

//The Artificial Satellite was never meant to be a permanent solution. Its systems are deteriorating, and its limited resources are running out. Over the years, the population has dwindled drastically, and humanity is quite literally running out of time.

//Sirei explains that he kept the truth from the SDU because the vast majority of people aboard the Artificial Satellite have no idea a war is even taking place, let alone that the SDU has been deployed on a mission to secure a future for the species. Only high-ranking officials in the government and military know.

//Because of fucking course they do.

//Life on the satellite is already confined and grim, so adding the burden of war would have pushed the population over the edge. The only public clue that anything is wrong is the emergency alert system in the TRC that warns of attacks.

//Then there’s the truth behind Last Defense Academy.

//The school is actually a disguised spacecraft, deployed from the satellite and doubling as a planet-killing weapon. Takumi and the others were placed aboard and sent to Futurum alongside Shion. When they landed, Shion ignited the Undying Flames around the building to shield it as he charged up the energy needed to activate the weapon.

//The reason it looks like a school is because Shion always wanted to attend one, and to live like a normal kid. And since he’s the cornerstone of humanity’s potential victory, they granted him that symbolic wish.

//It also helped that only young people around Shion’s age were physically compatible with Cryptoglobin transfusion, so the school concept made practical sense, too.

//On the topic of Hemoanima/Cryptoglobin, it originally came from Futurum. Only those with this unique blood could harm others who carried it. Desperate to turn the tide, humanity began experimenting with the substance until they were handed an opportunity they couldn’t ignore.

//A child was born on Futurum with unimaginable power. So much so that the futurans believed he was a divine figure, calling him "The Second Coming." In a horrific act of desperation, humanity kidnapped the boy.

//That child…was Shion.

//And this is arguably the darkest twist of all. Shion is a native futuran, abducted and used as a weapon to annihilate his own people and destroy the very planet he was born on. Also, his presence allowed human scientists to make rapid progress in Cryptoglobin research, ultimately enabling Takumi and the others to receive successful transfusions.

//Which brings us to the present: the SDU has landed on Futurum, accompanied by the kidnapped "Second Coming," with the express purpose of wiping out the native population and taking their world for themselves.

//Tragically, this war has raged for almost as long as it took for humanity to even discover Futurum. At this point, diplomacy is impossible. The SDU has already killed multiple revered Commanders, and absorbed their powers, meaning the damage is done.

//There’s no turning back now, for either race.

//This is an interesting thing Sirei says here that I want to draw attention to, since he uses it to kind of justify the case he makes for not only fighting a war of aggression against this innocent alien species, but also for lying to the SDU's members.

//He follows this up by adding that "righteousness belongs to the winner."

//Which is sad...and also kind of true.

//There's an old saying that "History is Written by Victors." It doesn't necessarily mean the same, but it's put in a similar context.

//I have admittedly mixed feelings on this justification, because while I do somewhat agree with it, I feel the need to point out that when you look at the humans and the futurans, the humans are shown to be FAR FAAAAR more destructive!

//Humanity's invasion of Futurum isn’t driven by malice, but by necessity. And yet, this desperation doesn’t absolve them, only deepening the tragedy. So far, humanity has:

Rendered their own home planet uninhabitable, then abandoned it.

Suppressed historical information about Earth and the Artificial Satellite to avoid accountability.

Initiated a war against Futurum; a habitable alien planet already home to an intelligent, INNOCENT species.

Destroyed most of said planet's surface over generations, rendering many innocent futurans homeless or dead.

Abducted a futuran child prophesied as The Second Coming, to use him as a living weapon.

Forced said child to power a world-ending weapon aimed at his own people and home planet.

Used said child's blood to develop a bioweapon program that empowered young people to kill the native population.

Sent them into battle as legitimate child soldiers without fully disclosing the ethical implications or reality of their mission.

Killed and absorbed the powers of revered futuran Commanders who were defending their home, effectively dismantling the spiritual and physical protectors of the planet.

//Meanwhile, the futurans:

Lived on the planet peacefully long before humanity’s arrival.

Were attacked for the legit only reason that the humans, while willing to go through the effort of spending generations building an escape ship, then another few generations fighting a war against them, were not willing to go through the basic effort of learning their language.

Defended their people and planet from invasion.

Revered their defenders as sacred, not militaristic like the humans did the SDU.

Were made to be the aggressors, even though they were the one's defending their home the whole time.

//if you think about it, the only one of the futurans that is in any way evil is V'ehxness. But that's because she has her own will to power that exists independent of the war she's fighting. She herself just wants to kill Shion and take his power.

//Even then, she too is just defending her home planet from humans.

//Also, the idea of their being no good and bad in this war isn't really real, because if you look at things from an outward perspective...The quote should really be "There is no good in war." Period.

//Legitimately, the only people who are innocent in this war are the SDU, and the other Commanders. The face of each side of this conflict are varying degrees of malicious and evil.

//The leader of the futurans, V’ehxness, is revered by her people as a divine protector, but beneath that venerated image lies a deeply corrupted figure. She’s responsible for murdering her own people, has abused her authority, and (as revealed in the current route that I am currently on) has committed heinous acts of child abuse and SO much more. Her crimes extend to attempted familicide, and perhaps most damning of all, betrayal of the very religion that her society is built on. Driven by a god complex, she sees herself not just as a savior, but as a divine being above reproach, violating the faith she once symbolized.

//On the human side, Sirei, the orchestrator of the entire SDU operation and the public face of the human campaign, represents a colder kind of villainy. While he claims to act in the name of survival, he is the architect of a war of conquest against a largely innocent species, and his list of atrocities includes manipulation and brainwashing, child exploitation, unethical scientific experimentation, and psychological torment of a futuran woman, Eva, as well as the rest of his own team, especially Shion. Yes, Sirei sees Shion as a sort of son since he's raised him for most of his life, but Shion is still being used as a living weapon. For Sirei, no act is too extreme if it serves the mission, but his "pragmatism" has long since crossed moral boundaries.

//And the threat doesn't stop with just these two figureheads. Eito, a third-party actor, is arguably even more dangerous. Unlike V’ehxness, who believes she is protecting her people, or Sirei, who believes he’s securing humanity’s future, Eito fights for no one but himself. His desire to exterminate humanity isn’t rooted in justice or defense; it’s driven by a pure lust for power and destruction. He’s already committed multiple atrocities of his own and represents a wildcard force of chaos that stands to push an already tragic war into absolute annihilation.

//I would even extend this implication to the other third parties we've met so far in the other routes; Retsnom and Gotou.

//I'll give Retsnom a bit of credit, since it is effectively just a wild animal at the end of the day, which kind of mirrors Darumi's own apathy for it's own existence, but this doesn't take away from the fact that it either kills or absorbs everyone in three of it's route's four endings.

//And then Gotou...Gotou is just a fucking asshole.

//In the end, while the war began as a desperate struggle for survival or a fight to protect one’s homeland, it's clear that those in power on both sides have become monsters in their own right, and innocent people with GOOD moral compasses don't get caught up in it.

//Anyway, I ranted about this long enough, but the conversation ends with Eito saying that what he said before about our loved ones not being on the Satellite was mostly just a bluff. He himself doesn't know for sure, but mentions that he thought it might be due to Sirei's memory tampering...

//...which unfortunately causes Eva to momentarily regress and murder Sirei again.

//As much as I have grown to dislike Sirei's means that definitely don't justify his ends, having him around, especially now that he's being forefront about everything and explaining his motives in full; seeing him just suddenly die was shocking and upsetting.

Conclusion:

//I wanted to stop it here, because frankly, I originally planned on having this lead on to the next few days up to Day 60. But I've decided to hold off until next time.

//Simply because the stuff that happens in the subsequent next part of the story ties pretty heavily with the next ending I got.

//And if you have any understanding of this game at all, you'll probably know which ending I got next.

//I don't really have anything left to say that I didn't already say to be honest. Just that the twists and turns in this story are getting hella intense, and slight spoiler alert, we're apparently not done yet.

//Before this, the one thing I failed to mention in my main recount is that after Eva kills Sirei, Shouma starts having a moment. He starts to struggle on the verge of remembering more about the group's time at Kamukura Hospital, and that's what's going to lead into I think the second half of this giant twist.

//And my beating heart can only imagine what that might be.

-Mod

[uniquethingtastemaker]

I give sporadic updates so here’s one for you, and as always I clump all my latest stuff together.

The Rook x Reader fanfic is already 17k words and I’m not even fully to Chapter 6 now. There’s a lot of question marks on how far and detailed I should go for a few scenes, specifically Vil’s speech and subsequent introduction of the VDC crew to the audience. It’s important to the plot, but idk how much I should add. I have to add a questionable Vil moment in the part that has “Mira Mira” too. Now I have to move on to Chapter 6 which hopefully this section isn’t too too long. It’s hard to keep up the motivation but I’m spurred by my desire to give this fic to u guys. It’s amazing so far!! I have a fun time reading it lol and some of my friends too!

It will be fantastic when it’s out. It’s my baby.

I had another idea Rook x Reader fic! I can also make a Vil x Reader using the same concept and take it a different direction. I’m referring to it as “Role Reversal”

I’m recycling something that I created for the Rook x Observant Reader. I had to make a whole ass outline for a movie plot that Vil would star in. I thought it would be fun if there’s a director who comes to NRC and wants to use the students to film a movie or whatever. As always, Vil gets cast as the villain. However, he accepts it because he cares about the director, production, and storyline or whatever. No one else can play the villain as well as he can, so he’ll do it.

The director sees Reader and goes “you! Let me see how you fair in this character.” The character is the protagonist and you nail it multiple times. You become the director’s favorite low key. However, you read the script and go “bro, the villain is way cooler. I wanna play the villain.” You glance up at Vil, who doesn’t want to play that role and go, “I think I can make this work.”

Then you proceed to absolutely obliterate everyone’s expectations by being the perfect villain. Like, it’s better than Vil’s, which is saying something. However, you insist that Vil should be in the protagonist instead.

He’s confused but doesn’t questions it. You help him be the main character and help him as a person along the way.

Regardless of if it’s Vil or Rook, it works. I’ll adjust the romance as needed lol.

I’ve also been working on Silver’s “Dreaming of You” fanfic, which is fun. I definitely have to cut some of the original dialogue down and alter it. Usually when I do this, it isn’t as straightforward as it has been with this. The Reader is just very encouraging and empathetic. They’re strong in an emotional sense and always stand up for themselves or others, including Silver. There’s a lot of compliments that our knight has to get used to.

There’s also a great moment where you show and tell Malleus you’re scared of him which is so good and low key angsty, but in the best way. I like telling people off when they’re hurting people lol.

Also I’ve had an idea for Rook’s “Dreaming of You.” Can you tell who my favorite character is? Anyway, I have an idea for him that I’m working on. However, it’s not fully fleshed out. I’m trying to decide how Rook acts in this. I won’t spoil anything though lol

I just started tampering and working on Azul’s “Dreaming of You,” which is great so far. I really like it. However, I want to make sure that it’s longer since I like longer fanfics. It’ll probably have to continue into the Savanaclaw section, fleshing out their relationship. I love Azul so I want to make sure he has more screen time lol.

I have to go back and watch some moments toward the end of his dream. I remember how to tweel’s act really callous, but I don’t remember what happens before then. I’ll have to do that.

That’s all for the update now. I’ll probably post the segment I have for the Rook x Reader — Role Reversal just because I like it lol. I’ll probably post it in the next few minutes lol

[samo64]

Baldi's Basics Headcanons that will never be canon but are funny to think about because they're living rent free in my brain

Playtime has extreme zoomies, like when something exciting happens she runs all over the walls and ceilings in the schoolhouse so fast not even the Principal could catch her, she's too fast!

Bully only bullies the player and not the other students because if he were to bully Playtime or Arts and Crafters he'd feel bad but with the player he don't care not even a tiny bit.

If the Principal were to open his eyes i think it would have a medusa kind off effect except he doesn't turn anyone into stone instead strikes fear into those who break the rules.

Since Johnny is the shop-keeper i think he would be also a school faculty member like the other staff, like he's the only teen who works in the faculty.

Gotta sweep would have an ability to switch broom brushes by jumping out of one so he's just the pole and jumps ans twists onto another.

Baldi since he's an Anim8tor model would have the ability to take parts of his body off with no blood or gore necessary but is there for comedic affect and don't worry he can easy re-attach them because his arms and legs are segmented.

Gotta sweep's heritage consists of cleaning products like mops, brooms and farm reapers.

1st prize's hands specifically his fingers would have some form of articulation where he can grip.

Dr. Reflex has seen how some people compare him to rodents and he takes quite offense to that.

Joe would be the one character that would make some memorable cameos kinda like Stan Lee in the marvel movies.

Mrs. Pomp's is more easly quick to anger than Baldi or Dr Reflex.

The Baldloons can phase through walls like actual ghosts and mostly travel in groups of five with Red considered the leader.

Null/Filename2 can communicate to his crab bink easily.

When Null/Filename 2 Sneezes he reveals his skin for a brief second.

Baldi and Principal made the murals in the detention room with the principal's mural being written by Baldi while Baldi's mural being written by the principal.

Baldi would have vivid memories of Susan and Andrew but are usually a blur

The other head's on Red Baldloon's body imitate the main head's expressions

The Baldloons can shape-shift into other people in the schoolhouse the only difference is that they can't change color or remove the party hats.

Red Baldloon loves to eat the walls, doors, entirety of the schoolhouse when he has the chance.

These ones are for PriniciBaldi shippers

if something goes horribly wrong in the schoolhouse to the point where everyone has to evacuate, Principal would rush in and get baldi holding him birdal style and Baldi thanking him by showering Principal in kisses leaving read lipstick marks.

Baldi would hug the principal too tightly making a cracking noise in the principal's spine.

If the principal were asleep in his office, baldi would come in say goodnight and give him a little kiss on the forehead.

Back to our regularly sceduled programming

i feel like Bladder loves Badsum too much.

The Test would carry around the chalkboard where chalkes is currently on so chalkles wouldn't have to fly off somewhere

[atiny-for-life]

The Preview Video~

Full Storyline Masterlist

Since the preview came with some animated footage, let's take a closer look and see what we can spot (spoiler: it's a lot):

Note: The CD player in the car reads "Golden Hour Part 3" and "Ateez".

We're inside a car which hasn't happened since Ateez were travelling around and hopping in and out of the dreamscape with one of those dreams including Wave:

Based on that and the general vibe of the song and this segment of the video, I'm gonna assume Ateez will be having fun and road tripping in the upcoming MV, meaning the setting will likely be pre-Wonderland and around or post-Wave.

Next up, we're zooming in and skipping ahead to dusk:

Regarding the key, we already know Matz both wear one for one set of the concept pictures:

Now, keys have never been a part of Ateez's lore before, even in terms of "unlocking" something, we've only got Bouncy where the lyrics say:

Nothing stands in our way, try to stop us Unlock everything, now it’s time for the party

Here, the key would be symbolic for freedom since it has the power to open doors for you.

But it can also be a symbol of trust - giving someone a key to your property, the key to your heart, etc. - or justice - "unlocking the truth".

What the meaning will be in this case though, I guess we'll simply have to wait and see, but given what else will be covered in the b-sides, I'm gonna assume the "symbol of trust" is most likely to be the relevant one - specifically the trust Ateez have built in each other throughout their journey.

Moving on, we have the cracked glass in both the windshield and skylight of the car. It's nighttime now and it just stopped raining.

Since the cracks are in the roof and near the top of the windshield, plus considering the lyrics - which seem to be about people who have broken relationships with their parents - a specific scene plays in my head:

Somebody had a terrible fight with their parents and ran outside, perhaps after getting kicked out, and jumped in their car to get away while something heavy was thrown down on them by their angry parents - the something that caused the cracks.

But beyond that, it could also simply be about metaphorical fractures in the relationship. Cracks so deep the glass shatters beyond repair.

In terms of the lore, this could fall in line with multiple members:

Hongjoong whose family kept drifting apart despite how hard he tried to please them all - they really only return to him after he becomes a successful author (as if he hadn't been worthy of their time and attention up until then)

Yeosang's parents who trapped him in a cage by filling his days to the brim with schedules until he could no longer be his own person

San who seems somewhat estranged from his parents who always made him move around, never allowing him even a chance to settle in and form friendships

Mingi who comes from a broken home, has been suicidal most of his life, and was raised by his grandmother who died near the start of the storyline

During Castle, we see eight shooting stars approach the horizon where they then come together, fuse, coalesce into a bright white line that seems to expand outward rapidly, filling the entire screen and illuminating the night.

However, this is no peace-bringing light, no - this is a destructive force, an explosion that tears up the road and sends the car flying:

Given that this album's b-sides seem to center on relationships, this likely symbolizes the angry outburst which tears a relationship apart. A good relationship going awry and making you feel like your entire world has come crumbling down. Like the way Wooyoung felt at the end of the Golden Hour Part 2 Diary Entries...

Last but not least, we have the key with the embedded Sopro, the key which takes us back to the start of the video where everything was peaceful and we were simply road-tripping as the sunset approached, dousing the world around us in a golden light...

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

Achilles Come Down (Gang of Youths)

The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken/Remember the pact of our youth/Where you go, I’m going, so jump and I’m jumping/Since there is no me without you

How, the most dangerous thing is to love/How, you will heal and you'll rise above/Crowned by an overture bold and beyond/Ah, it's more courageous to overcome.

You may feel no purpose/Nor a point for existing/It's all just conjecture and gloom/And there may not be meaning/So find one and seize it/Do not waste your self on this roof

Soldier on, Achilles, Achilles, come down/Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?

"I'm sure you'll get other submissions for this one. I have no idea who this band even are outside of this song but it fucks me up like it does everyone else. It's the tragic love of it all. The desperation of trying to save your loved one from themselves. Or are the narrators of the song Achilles' own conscience representing his indecision on whether to kill himself or not? It can mean so many things and SO many parts of the lyrics are very poetic and powerful. (also again for me this makes me cry over a Specific Blorbo in this case Dimitri Blaiddyd but that doesnt matter)"

"The cellos in the background, the lyrics, telling the story of Achilles, the fact that it's fucking 7min long, it's beautiful, it breaks me to then pull me back together, it gave me hope in a moment where I wasn't in the best mental space, it's like getting undressed to your very soul only to be cover up with a weighted blanket afterwards and be told "it'll be alright." It's like that image with the guy that's like "this is cinema" but with a song, god I love this song so much"

"Ohhhg my god. It’s so. It’s a fucking heartbreaking song but it gives hope (^^see abovw lyrics. there may not be meaning so find one and seize it gets me the most). I can’t say anymore about it but yeah"

"Achilles is about to jump off the roof, his lover is trying to convince him not to. the vibe of this song itself is so unique, the violin and the segments of French reading really grip at your soul. Towards the end there are two voices seemingly arguing. One voice is Achilles’s inner monologue and the other is his lover trying to yell over it. This part is my favorite, especially if you’re envisioning your blorbo. Tbh in my darkest times I would fall asleep to the ten hour loop every night. It felt like laying on a rooftop and looking out at the stars and the street lights. I think maybe it kept me from doing things I would regret."

Fast Car (Tracy Chapman)

You got a fast car, I want a ticket to anywhere/Maybe we make a deal, maybe together we can get somewhere/Any place is better, starting from zero got nothing to lose/Maybe we'll make something, me myself I got nothing to prove

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car/Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk/City lights lay out before us/ And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder/And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

You got a fast car/Is it fast enough so we can fly away?/We gotta make a decision/Leave tonight or live and die this way

"I know it's an obvious one but YOU try playing it without crying I dare you"

"I cant explain the yearning but this makes me howl"

"OH GOD the longing!! The yearning in the recurring central image of the narrator and her lover on the highway, feeling this sense of limitless possibility and incredible hope!!! And then the verses take us with brutal efficiency through the collapse of their marriage, the way that the cycle of poverty stomps down on their hopes, and how with nothing left, the narrator does what her mom did and leaves!! Leaving the kids to experience the same thing she did growing up!! But it’s all punctuated and bookended by these callbacks to that central iconic memory of hope!!!!! But by the end we realize that the last line “leave tonight or live and die this way” offers only the illusion of a choice: when the narrator first runs away and later when she leaves her husband and kids, she’s still fulfilling her role in this cyclical generational story. God!!"

Fast Car submitted by @smallboyonherbike + @uchihasasukeofficial + @all-our-exploring

[toweringclam]

Who is Kris? pt 3, Kris the Cage

I originally planned to do Kris's timeline, but I needed more info. I then switched to trying to do Kris with the Soul, and then, when that too faltered, I tried to do Kris without it. But neither of them worked out either because I was dancing around the major issue: The SOUL itself. As the player's representative in the world, Kris's relationship with the Soul is their relationship with the player. I will therefore use "Soul" and "player" interchangeably, though the former refers more to in-game and the latter to out-of-game.

First, let's establish what exactly we can and can't do:

We can control Kris's movement. Basic things like moving one direction vs another, interacting with particular things or people, etc.

We can select from options presented. In every interaction, be it talking to NPCs or engaging in combat, we have a limited number of choices.

We can present options to Kris. When controlling Kris, we can present additional options that Kris might not choose, using knowledge that Kris does not have.

We can read allies' thoughts. Turns out parenthetical text from allies is a limited form of telepathy. I genuinely thought they were just whispering, but on the Chapter 4 Weird Route, Noelle actually calls Kris out for reading her mind. We can read Kris's thoughts as well, which is where parenthetical text comes in.

We can leave to follow allies. So far, this seems to apply only to Susie, with at least one segment per chapter where we follow her instead of Kris.

We can issue commands to Kris and allies. In battle, we can select from options of attack, magic, etc. This applies both to Kris and their allies. Outside of battle, we issue commands to Kris for specific actions. and can even issue commands to Susie or Kris while outside their body.

We can give Kris a voice. Kris's natural voice is described as weak, shaky, deadpan, and mumbling. From what we see of before we joined with Kris, they preferred to let actions talk instead of words. With us inside them, their voice is much stronger, like a speaker was installed in their throat. This gives them the power of charisma, something they lacked otherwise.

Our presence fundamentally changes Kris's behavior. Everyone comments on how Kris appears more mature, more confident, healthier, etc. while we are possessing them. I'm not going to use Heartless Kris as an example, because I think there's more going on there, but it's undeniable that we change them. From an outside perspective, this is for the better.

Kris cannot survive without us. The longest we've been outside of Kris's body is in Chapter 4, and by the end, Kris is barely standing. They collapse to the ground, clearly in pain or some other form of distress. They get back up, but spending more time outside their body would probably be bad for them.

Things we cannot do:

We cannot present options if we aren't possessing them. This is a fine distinction, but while we are clearly able to choose options for Susie while just following her, they all come from her. Likewise, when we aren't possessing Kris, I don't believe we can present any options. Then where did the PROCEED in chapter 4 come from? Good question. I'll address that at a later date. In addition to this, while we can choose specific ACTs for Kris, Ralsei, Noelle, and Susie just get R, N, and S-act respectively. We can tell them to ACT, but we can't tell them HOW.

We cannot distinguish the source of our options. This is VERY important to understanding how much agency we have. When presented with options, some might come from us, some might come from Kris, some could even come from a third party and we would never know. We can only guess the source due to how Kris reacts to our choice.

We cannot read Kris's mind. Kind of. We can know surface thoughts, like with parenthetical text, but we can't dig any deeper than that. We can't even tell Kris's opinion on our choices before we carry them out. Sometimes, Kris can make their opinion known by how an option is presented to us ("No No No No No No No No"), but for the most part, we have to guess.

We cannot control how Kris carries out our orders. If we tell Kris to do something, such as "Flirt," Kris still chooses the words even if they borrow our voice. If we give Kris precise words, they can choose what tone of voice to deliver them in, or even prevent themselves from speaking by closing their mouth, biting their hand, coughing, etc. We can't even make them play piano, just plonk on the keys.

We cannot issue complex commands. On the most extreme level of malicious compliance, we can tell them to open a door but not to turn the knob, or we can tell them to turn the knob but not open the door. Our commands must be simple, and we can't force a complex multi-step process.

We cannot stop Kris from removing us. Almost once a chapter (3 is debatable, something else might be going on there), Kris manages to remove us completely. They can end this relationship at any time, though they clearly don't want anyone to see this.

Even without removing us, Kris can still fight us. Their twitching hand on the weird route. The way they initially try to turn back from the bunker on the Sword Route. As long as we're inside, we still seem to win, but if it's important enough, they can try to actively resist our control.

We cannot Interact with the world without Kris. As a free-floating soul, our actions are entirely limited to just moving around and occasionally pushing light objects. We are completely defenseless. We can't even examine objects. Hell, we can get pushed around by a light breeze. We need Kris as much as they need us.

Oh, and one last thing

Whatever's in the bunker is capable of suppressing us. Kris did not tear out the SOUL at the end of Chapter 3. When the door opened, something happened and our control was severed. Kris was able to do several things without our control, like returning Noelle's watch if we stole it, helping Berdly on the Weird Route, and even sealing the Fountain. During this time, they did not have the zombie gait, but they were not able to use our voice either. This shows that we provide something to Kris whether or not we are in control.

I feel this provides a good baseline for considering our abilities. It's not a clear-cut case of us controlling Kris against their will, especially considering how we got here

SURVEY_PROGRAM

I don't blame you for forgetting how this all started. It's been seven years. It'll probably be a total of ten years, if not more, before it's over. But at the very start, before Deltarune was even Deltarune... it was a survey.

YOU ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT WILL HAPPEN FROM NOW ON.

That's the entire agreement. We made a devil's bargain with zero information. Why did we even click that? This program is on its face absurdly suspicious.

We clicked Agree because Undertale. Even if we hadn't played Undertale, we knew about it. We knew the story, we recognized the characters. We saw them as friends whether or not we'd even met them in-game. Toby Fox presenting us something new? Sign me the fuck up!

We were tricked, and it was goddamn easy to do it. We signed on the dotted line. We made our own personal Vessel, a monochrome Goner of our very own.

And it was discarded.

Instead we were forced into the body of a teenager named Kris.

It was confusing. It was disorienting. It was exciting! And our confusion was part of the experience. After the Card Kingdom, we walk around town controlling Kris and talking to characters we think we know. But we really don't. Undyne doesn't even know who Alphys is. Sans has never met us, but he seems to know more than he lets on. He keeps dangling meeting his brother in front of us despite the fact we have no in-game reason to care. Asgore is a flower man. Gerson is dead. The Dogs aren't guards, they're criminals.

And then the ending dropped. Kris with red eyes, flashing the knife at the screen. Cut to black.

All of this only makes sense if we are playing the same SOUL from Undertale.

Heck, let's get it straight from the dog's mouth

It's a game you can play after completing Undertale. IOW, The Player/Soul finished one game and started another.

But there's also this ominous bit:

If everyone was happy, they will still be happy.

But let's be honest... is that how most of us left it?

Most people played normal, then pacifist. But then maybe they heard a rumor, or saw a video. They did the Genocide Run, and perhaps felt remorse for their actions. The average player, barring any further outside knowledge, would then erase the world and try to fix their mistake. But Chara didn't forget. Remember, Chara does not hate monsters. Chara hates humans. Chara hates you. Chara will never let you get your happy ending. The implied carnage of a Corrupted Pacifist run is not a punishment for the monsters, it's a sign that you are not welcome in this world. You could have left it happy, and now you will never have that satisfaction.

But what if there was a third option? A way to just... leave. Finish the game, but don't go to bed, don't leave the Underground. Leave everyone to their freedom and then... go away. You would never get closure, but the people you love would be safe.

That is, I believe, the true origin of the SOUL. It's a post-Corrupted Pacifist Run Player who recognized that this world could never have a happy ending as long as they existed.

The world is the same, but you aren't in it.

Wait a minute...

So we escape to another world. We take another deal. We're put in a cage. We were tricked, but we still have a shot at this. We can atone for our mistakes, or make even worse ones.

But this is our last chance. No triple trucies, after all. We only have two hands to shake with the devil.

Next: A look at Kris without the Soul.

[ashensgrotto]

Why, greetings my dear anon! I’m happy that you enjoyed the ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ to read it that many times - and I apologized that I haven’t been able to get started on the Scarbia segment yet (between that and Raison D’être plus work & other stories… and GloMas, I really need to get my priorities straight seriously -_-). However, I do intend on working on it as soon as I can so I can get it out sometime this month or in December - I mean, I think that would be the most logical since that one takes place during holiday break, right?

Now, for your request - I hope head cannons are alright for the time being. I’ll try to come back to them and do short stories for each of them that follows the same concept design as “Am I Feeling Love?” - which is the first installment of the Yandere!Azul series. I'm also going to divide this into two parts - about halfway through I realized I hadn't posted anything in a while and thus, I want to make it up to all of you for not writing or posting anything for some time.

Part 1 (Here) will feature Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, and Jamil Viper

Part 2 (Here) will feature Vil Schoenheit, Idia Shroud, and Malleus Draconia

***

Vil Schoenheit

Vil is a combination yandere - he is both a studdle stalker type, but also a projection type. Of course, in his youth, he was an up-and-coming movie star… famous for the villainous roles he played. This caused a lot of grief in his childhood, not to mention some of the trauma he had endured from other children who believed everything they saw on the big screen - thinking it was real, even though it was just special effects and players playing their roles on the stage. And, even though Jack Howl became the closest thing he had to a friend, there was nothing that he could do to shake the fear of wanting to be ‘the good guy’, the ‘hero’... to be the most beautiful of all.

As a junior in Night Raven, Vil and the rest of Pompfiore were just as shocked as the rest of the school when you appeared. At first, Vil was not interested in what you may have to offer - but ever faithful Rook was the one to point out certain features you had; soft cheeks, a creamy complexion, eyes wide and filled with wonder - not to mention a figure that would’ve had some acting agencies dying for; you almost reminded him the the princess the fairest queen had raised years ago. Vil was reluctant, but stepped forward and offered the headmage a place for you to stay in Pomfiore until you could return home. 

It was at this point that Vil realized that you were more than what you appeared. Whatever he asked of you, you did it - to nearly perfection. Scrub the ballroom flooring? It shone brighter than diamonds when you were done. Wipe down the windows? Clear as crystals. Tend to the gardens around the dormitory? Neat and tidy without a single flower or bush out of line. This, of course, caused Vil to backpeddle a little bit - if anyone from outside the dorm found out about how well you followed instructions (specifically a certain lion or scheming octopus), there would be trouble. Hence, Vil decided to try and keep you close, luring you in like the villain he was always meant to play.

He learned quickly that your home in your world was… chaotic. You often traveled back and forth between two families, plus your grandparents. If you had a choice in the matter - you would’ve stayed with your father and your stepmother full time as your mother and her on-again-off-again boyfriend often mistreated you. You were in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and caring for the home while under your mother’s care and were often trapped in her home more times out of the year. Vil had remembered about Niege LeBlance’s situation when the two stars were children - he could sympathize with your situation - and decided to take you under his wing. Vigorous training began shortly thereafter, and you soon found yourself secured under Vil’s thumb. You, along with Epel, were put through beauty regimens regularly, vocal and annunciation lessons followed classes and chores, and fashion and gossip columns replaced your books at night; and if either of you tried to escape or slip out of something, ever faithful Rook brought you straight back to Vil - a disapproving scowl on his face, arms crossed over his chest, and heeled foot tapping, looking very much like a disapproving mother.

With the arrival of spring and the fast approaching date of the Cultural Fair, Vil’s energy became more focused on the SDC - working long hours into the night perfecting the team for the competition. You did try to help sooth much of the stress that had fallen on the headwarden and offered your assistance in any way you could, Grim acting as your assistant under the watchful eye of Rook. It was also here that things slowly began to take a turn for the worst - after the mention of Neige LeBlance, Vil had begun turning to his phone more often, asking it every day who was the most beautiful of all. Mira always answered… Neige LeBlance.

The last straw was when you and Rook attempted to stop him from poisoning Neige, the vice warden ordering Neige to run and evacuate the premises. The other members of the team rushing in at the sound of Rook’s shouting. Vil couldn’t forgive himself for what he had attempted to do… he was as ugly as the poison that he created. If only he was the fairest… if only Neige LeBlance hadn’t walked into his life again… if only you could understand what it meant to be… the fairest one of all…

Idia Shroud

Idia would also be a combination type yandere - possessive and clingy on a short list, with subtle stalker on the longer list. Not that anyone can blame him of course - his childhood was spent in it’s entirety on the Island of Woe, the next Shroud in line to take up the mantle as the Watchman of the Underworld. He, and his little brother Ortho, were the only children that lived in the facility, spending their days playing video games, reading manga and comic books, as well as creating original characters of their own. However, tragedy struck when the two boys snuck out of their room during a routine lockdown and one of the phantoms possessed the younger brother - Idia’s grief and self-blame pushed him away from others, even after he was able to reunite with his brother… in a technological sense.

Years later, during his junior year at NRC, Idia was surprised when Ortho volunteered to bring you into Ignihyde - as many other students were. When Idia demanded an explanation - Ortho explained the scan he did on you indicated that you had a lot of the same qualities as many of Ignihyde's students. What a drag - but what's done is done, and Idia found himself, not only in charge of a dorm, but an unexpected guest as well.

For the first few months, Idia holed himself up in his room - trying to avoid an encounter with the ‘normie’ of the dorm; the magicless guest of Ignihyde. Ortho attempted over and over again to get him to come out and meet the new member, telling him all about how interested you were in manga comics, fantasy RPGs, and the like - but Idia always refused… until one night during a routine midnight snack run, he ran into you. You were smaller than he expected you to be, the dorm’s heavy leather jacket baggy over your form - also swapping the typical heavy denim jeans and boots for leggings and slippers. Idia was even more surprised when you offered him a large roll of chocolate chip cookies you had picked up from the school store, a smile on your face, “Hello, I’m (y/n). You must be Idia, right?”

And following that first encounter, Idia slowly began to warm up to you. He was drawn to your sassiness and imagination, especially when the two of you talked about video games - Idia even went as far as to introduce you to his online friend, Muscle Red - the gamer excited about having another runner in the mix for events. 

However, what no one knew was that Idia slowly began to worm his way into your online presence. He hacked into your computer that Ortho had provided for you and watched when you were online, who you interacted with, and what you talked about. At first, Idia reasoned it was a way to get to know you - the best way to find out the internal workings of someone was to figure out about the mask you wore, right? But even so, the real pusher was when he was spying on a chatroom you were a part of and one member began insulting you - saying that you weren’t really a gamer, that you didn’t know anything about online gaming, or anime, and that you were a fake… a ‘normie’. If Idia had been standing next to you, you would have seen his typical calm blue hair turn red hot - hotter than the flames of Tartarus. No one was going to get away with calling his friend a ‘normie’ - magicless or not.

In the months that followed, Idia began to slowly attach himself to you - spending more time in your presence than ever before. Then, when he was summoned back to the Island of Woe to test the students that had overblotted, he brought you along with him, keeping you close as each test was conducted, examined, and recorded. The look on your face and the questions you asked him, yes, brought him joy.. But also made him worry - what did you think of him now that you knew what he was doomed to become? Would you eventually end up like Ortho because of his mistakes? Idia didn’t want to think about that… but even so, to be free of his responsibilities… to not have to be the caretaker of the Phantoms any longer… to reset the world… maybe then, you would be safe…

Malleus Draconia

Malleus follows the same combination style - he’s definitely the obsessive, the stalker, and possessive style. Living in Briar Valley, it’s no secret that as the next in line it is his duty to help provide an heir that will take over for him when the time comes. As his mother and father had loved each other before him, Malleus often wished for the same kind of companionship that they had - however it is hard with Lilia away caring for a young human and Sebek, hence the only thing Malleus has is the comfort of his dreams. He dreams a lot, images of a fair young human traveling through the forests of Briar Valley playing in his mind - Malleus far too fearful to approach.

Many years later - during his junior year at NRC - Lilia informs him of a strange individual that has arrived - a magicless guest that is to be taking residence within the Ramshakle dorm that was on the school campus. Of course, Lilia had known about Malleus’ tendency to spend quiet nights in the dorm, listening to the sounds of the old building creek, the windows rattling against the wind… the silence and stillness of the place. Even so, Malleus does continue to travel to the dorm at night, walking around the premises like a dragon guarding his hoard. One night, however, he encounters you - the child of man with no magic abilities whatsoever - and is surprised by how easily you talk to him, without any fear in your eyes, even more so when you nickname him ‘Tsunotarou’. It slowly becomes a habit for him, heading to the Ramshakle dorm each night daily to spend time with you and talk to you - the first friend he has outside of the protection of Silver and Sebek. 

Malleus often sends Lilia to keep an eye on you, much to the chagrin of Sebek - the elder warming up to you and sharing everything he finds interesting with you with his charge - how you love visiting the other dorms, spending time with Ace, Deuce, and Grim, the struggles you encounter… never mind each of the overblot incidents that cause destruction and harm. Malleus then uses the reports to gain your trust, always lending out a hand to help when needed and offering comfort when there was none to be had. You slowly became his secret treasure - something he wanted to hide away, to protect endlessly until the end of your days.

But still… to a fae, a hundred years can pass in the blink of an eye… a thousand years was just the same way… And when the revelation of Lilia’s powers slowly depleting became noticeable, Malleus became lost for words. He was losing the closest thing he had to a father… and you were close to finding a way back to your world. He couldn’t allow that - he couldn’t lose anyone that was close to him.

When the others attempted to stop him - Malleus easily overpowered them. After all, he is one of the top five mages of the world - his power as a Draconia was more than enough to defeat an army, let alone students in a magic school. With ‘Fae of Maleficence’ casted, darkness covered the school - pulling everyone into slumber and keeping them as they were indefinitely. Everyone could be the protagonist of their own story… everyone could be happy… to live in their current state… and he would never be alone again…

[thattheater-kid]

I just went through the Welcome Home website update and WHATTTT. CHAT WE ARE COOKED.

Anyway, beyond that initial what the actual fuck reaction, I noticed that Wally’s voice changes a lot throughout his audio. I can’t tell if it’s meant to be some kind of creepy audio distortion thing or if we’re meant to take those changes as part of his actual voice, but it genuinely sounds like more than one person trying to talk. Even his personality and attitude shifts through the audio, with a much more harsh and demanding tone when he tells us to talk as opposed to when he tells us to “lend an ear”. In addition, that part of the audio when he explains that term sounds a lot like a kids’ show host explaining a new word to children, which makes sense. However, earlier in the audio, when he tells the listener to talk sounds a lot harsher in comparison in a much deeper voice than normal for Wally, before immediately switching back. Then, throughout the audio his voice keeps dropping or raising in pitch to the point of being jarring.

It sounded almost like different audio clips spliced together, different people talking. It sounded like at least two separate people talking, maybe even three, but it was very chilling honestly. It could just be a sign of Wally’s clearly deteriorating sanity as he’s getting more and more frustrated with his situation, but it’s absolutely unnerving, and calls back to the popular theories of Wally being possessed by Home or some other entity, or even one I read a while ago (probably back around the time of the spring or summer 2023 updates) about Wally having DID (or another CDD).

As for Julie’s audios, holy fuck. She dropped swear words. That’s how you know we’re cooked. One thing I noticed is that her “inner monologue” voice (and I believe that’s her real voice) sounds a lot like Sally’s voice, specifically compared to Sally’s voice when she tells her scary story in the Happy Haunting to Boo and Yours segment from the Halloween 2023 update. I’m assuming they probably just have the same voice actress? But I found that interesting and I’m wondering if that might come up again, just because there’s an explanation doesn’t mean it won’t mean anything.

Also, I’ve seen a few interpretations about Julie’s breakdown and what it might represent (I saw someone mention fertility issues, which is a really interesting take and probably more correct than mine), but for me it hit very close to home as a former gifted kid and as a college student. Her wanting to show off what she can do to her friend and feeling like she failed when she can’t do it right, wondering what her friends and family will think of her and worrying she’ll get in trouble or have to go back to her family felt very real to me as someone who started college this year and finally got out of my house and away from my family, and then started struggling. I can’t tell you how many breakdowns I had that sounded just like Julie over the phone with my friends, crying that I’m going to fail and get kicked out and have to go back to my parents house. Hearing that in Julie’s audios broke my heart because it’s so real to me.

This update was insane, I’m so terrified and excited for the next one!

[ravenssunshine]

avemygo wakaremichi day one review partly as an american solo traveler 20 year old woman (who speaks japanese) and partly as a fucking lesbian

i’ve lived in japan for 4 months now (leaving next month :( ) and knowing japanese was absolutely essential to navigating the venue and directions. typically people try and speak to me in english as i am very white but this did not happen here, presumably because the venue was PACKED. completely sold out show. this was perfectly fine for me but if you don’t speak japanese be aware!

the venue was run very efficiently for how packed it was. merch pickup was scheduled ahead of time so i got to buy my stuff online (not good, spent too much) and picked it up at a designated hour. the show was also dismissed by row which was very funny to me. it was like elementary school

as i expected, most attendees were men in their 30s. sort of an uncomfortable experience for me as a 20 year old woman but i didn’t have any weird experiences we were all just there for avemygo :). however there was 0 line for the women’s bathroom which was awesome because i have never experienced that at a concert before (my previous shows have been fall out boy and taylor swift (both x2, both in the us) )

to my surprise however i came across quite a few visibly queer people! a couple of trans women, including the person sitting next to me. she let me use one of her light sticks which was awesome ❤️ so bandori IS still for the lgbts in japan. just also the straight men

you are NOT allowed to take photos or videos. no one attempted it. kind of loved living in the moment though

people don’t really sing along? i did though i couldn’t help it 💀 i tried to keep it quiet hopefully i didn’t bother the people next to me

they played clips from the anime throughout the set and this specific show followed the trajectory of the ave mujica anime. it was really cool i lost my shit watching akane yonezawa rip the masks off of each ave mujica member. my lesbian commentary is i am fully in love with her

onto my own personal experiences:

sumimi was SO cute live. love love love them im so happy they were included

mygo played the first set after sumimi and to my surprise i burst into tears as soon as the first vote was played. full on sobbing. i’ve freaked out over every avemygo related thing ive come across in japan over the also four months so i guess i shouldn’t be THAT surprised? but oh my god. i was desperately choking back tears

the sets alternated between mygo and ave mujica, four songs at a time

crychic performed in the middle in their middle school uniforms and i cried a bit then as well

then mygo performed their version of haruhikage and the difference in tomori’s voice during the crychic set and the mygo set was so cool. youchan i love you

after the mygo set they played the audio from the post haruhikage crashout but didn’t actually include the “why did you play haruhikage?!” line so someone in the audience shouted it. it was funny

back to youchan. i’ve talked about how i think sasaki rico currently has the strongest vocals in bandori but oh my god youmiya hina live is an incredible contender. she sustained some high notes for a LONG time and it was awesome. maybe it’s experience performing live over the last few years but those early mygo videos on the bandori youtube channel do NOT give her justice. oh my god. MY GOD.

as previously established i am in love with akane yonezawa. every time they showed her on the drums i lost my shit. that woman is an incredible drummer and a fantastic performer. she might just be nyamu irl

my one disappointment is that they didn’t play any covers but with a combined live and a mission to retell the anime i’m not Too surprised. maybe they will tonight? idk i’m not going i did not get tickets for both days

the girls broke character at the end for the thank you segment and they are so cute irl as well. loved it. losing my mind

ok that’s all i think thanks for reading it you did but also this was kind of just for me. here are my daughters outside and at the venue

[skys-hyperfixation-thoughts]

Caleb Deep Dive

Here is the long awaited deep dive into Caleb from Love and DeepSpace. This has been a long time coming. It took me about 2 months to get all of my thoughts together. Without further ado, this is the Deep Dive.

If you watched this The Caleb Conspiracy video, you'll see that I accidentally convinced myself to fall for Caleb a short time before his official debut as a LI. Hilariously, in this fun little speculative theory, my partner and I managed to get several aspects of Caleb's character right. With his debut came a lot more content about Caleb, a glimpse into his past and where Infold plans to take him as the story progresses. In this essay, we'll be going over Caleb's lore as well as his dynamic with the MC. 

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!*

I am not here to babysit people and doing a study like this will require me to note specific parts of the story or memory cards from the game. So, yes there will be spoilers. 

With that out of the way, let's dive in. 

It all begins in late December 2024 to early January 2025, my partner and I were quick to pick up hints that Caleb was going to be the next LI. The part 2 stream announcement image alone was enough to confirm our suspicions. Within a few days, we came up with a speculative theory about Caleb. Specifically, what his dynamic with the MC would be and how we interpreted the way he spoke to MC. The biggest takeaway was that my partner and I agreed that, based upon how he spoke to MC in Chapter 4, Caleb would be one of the first LIs to forsake the MCs independence solely because he wanted to protect her.

January 22nd rolls around and Caleb finally debuts. My partner and I gobble up the main story segment ‘Homecoming Wings’ with ferocious speed. Initially, I had only a blanket understanding of Caleb after the debut.

At first, yeah, he did give off some yandere vibes. He was a little scary. That didn’t deter me, so I kept consuming content. I listened to the 4-star Tender Moments. I did the memorias, the bond, and the standard myth. Slowly but surely, the puzzle pieces were coming together.

The final piece was the anecdote. 

“Sky, Sky, what do you mean this was the final piece?”

Caleb’s Anecdote delved into his time at the academy, before he joined the DeepSpace Aviation Administration (DAA). It explained in a little more detail what each aspiring pilot needs to go through in order to graduate. 

It talks about how Caleb aced all but one test. The test? A psychological assessment that required him to go to extra counseling.

But…that wasn’t the biggest punch to the gut. No, it came later when he was in the middle of his flight exam. Somehow, he ended up off the flight path for the exam and drifted along in Deepspace. In that time, as we wait with bated breath and continue reading, it is revealed to us that Caleb is Donor 002. Us, the MC, are known as Subject 001 (see beneath the dust, world underneath). Donor 002, not subject. Caleb was given to the Gaia Research Institute for experimentation, based upon the wording used here. He wasn’t just picked up and plopped into the experiments.  

This was the nail in the coffin. It explains why Caleb acts the way he does. Why he’s willing to go to certain lengths as a means to protect us. He watched us die, he watched us come back, and he watched us forget.

“But didn’t he drug us during the Main Story?”

Yes and no, he gave us drugs, but that was medicine because, per the dialogue boxes for MC, we were coughing. From his perspective, he was seeing us getting sick and gave us cold medicine to take. Cold medicine often makes you drowsy so it makes sense that the MC ended up falling asleep. 

Was there an ulterior motive? Maybe, but the primary concern was the MCs health. So, yes, he gave us drugs, but it was medicine and the overall intent was not malicious. 

“He acted so possessive and obsessive in the main story. He told us he was going to keep us hidden away.”

I am not denying the things he said. What I am saying is that, although he felt that was the extreme he needed to go to, he backed off when the MC was clearly not happy with that. When MC made their feelings about his plan clear, he backed away. He had realized he went too far and needed to re-evaluate. Caleb wants to stay in the MCs life, because we are his pillar. We are his entire reason for living. He does not want to lose us. He clearly puts in the work to change himself and let us be independent, while reminding us that it is okay if we need to rely on him. 

“So is he not yandere?”

I personally do not believe he is yandere. If he is, he is a very tame one. I have always interpreted yandere as taking things to the extreme, not considering the other party's feelings in regards to one's obsession. Caleb takes the MCs feelings into consideration despite his obsessive nature.

Keep in mind that since the explosion of the MCs childhood home, he has a chip in his brain that regulates his emotions. When he gets too emotional, the chip goes to work to attempt to regulate him, which seems to cause pain. Additionally, the chip is supposed to wipe the memories that cause emotional distress, but because Caleb is unwilling to lose any memory with the MC, he cannot be fully controlled by the trip. According to his myth, Lucid Dream, 7% of his brain has been untouchable. The mental fortitude one must have to do such a thing is scarily high. He will do whatever it takes to ensure he never forgets MC.

“You mentioned at the start something about their relationship dynamic. Can you elaborate?”

Initially, I didn’t think I would want to delve into it, but I think it’s important to discuss some of the translation differences. 

In the original text (basically, the non-localized translations), the MC refers to Caleb as ‘Gege’. The direct translation means ‘older brother.’ While the term can be used in the literal sense of referring to one's sibling, it is also a way to refer to someone older than you. The form I am most familiar with is how characters in anime refer to their senior’s as senpai. 

A great example of the use of this in a translated sense is in Wuthering Waves, a gacha game similar to Genshin Impact. As Rover (Main Playable Character), I played through a quest where people referred to those slightly older as ‘Brother/Sister’, then those a bit older as ‘Aunt/Uncle’, and then their elders as ‘Grandpa/Grandma’ while having no familial relations to these NPCs. 

In LADS’ case, I think the use of ‘Gege’ is moreso seniority based rather than familial based. Please do keep in mind that I have consumed this game with the English localization of the text. But at the end of the day, the overall dynamic doesn’t change that much, just the language used.

The English translation refers to Caleb as our ‘childhood friend’ and notes that we grew up with him. My hypothesis is that Josephine made it very clear to them both that they are not siblings, but just friends who happen to live in the same home. Albeit with its own level of drama since Caleb remembers everything from the past and is extremely aware that Josephine experimented on the two of them.

The biggest reason why I wanted to address the use of ‘Gege’ was because of the culture differences. People ask why they didn’t just use similar language in the translation. The answer is really simple, a lot more of the western countries don’t refer to those older than them that way. I myself live in the US, not once have I referred to anyone older than me as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ or any other form of name along those lines.

LADS’ main purpose with the localization is to broaden its audience horizon. The more people the game can reach, the more possible attention and profit they can make. If that means that some characterizations or language gets lost in the middle, then so be it in their minds. Additionally, Infold doesn’t localize the game itself. They have a third-party do it. So, like with the language, some things can get lost between LADS’ intentions and the portrayal in the localization. 

“Can you give your general overview of Caleb?”

I certainly can. 

Caleb is a genuinely warm and kind person at heart who has had to adapt to survive. He does not want to be the mean, cold, and cruel Colonel, but in order to protect those he cares about, he has to. 

He is a sweet soul who has been put through so much pain and suffering. Experimented on as a child, nearly died twice, and had to watch the person he cares about the most in his entire life die and forget him over and over again. 

Caleb is a man so desperate to protect what he cares about that he will go to extreme lengths to do so. However, if you were to show you don’t agree with his decisions, then he will back off. At the end of the day, he still respects the MC’s opinion of him. He cannot bear to lose them.

“What about his latest limited Myth? Does that add anything new to his character?”

Just a little. It gives some extra depth to some of the things that Caleb does. What is really heartwarming to me is the entire fact that the Main Story, in a way, is the dream come true of their wishes in the myth. Sure, they were still experimented on, but they aren’t being weaponized to the same extent that they were in the limited Myth. The mimicry here where MCs memories were deliberately wiped over and over in the Myth that echoes how MC lost her memory each time she ‘died’ during the experiments at the Gaia Research Center tears at my heart every single time. 

Additionally, one of the biggest notes is Caleb’s insistence of MC never having to eat tasteless food again. I think that was a big motivator for Caleb in the Main Timeline wanting to learn to cook so MC never has to have a bland meal ever again. It is really clear that his love language is acts of service both in the Main Timeline and in his Myth. 

“My Partner: Hey, sweetie, you should talk about the Toring Chip and how that could impact his intimacy.”

You are so right. As we know the chip affects strong and intense emotions. We see it in action both in Caleb’s Myth: Lucid Dream and in the World Underneath: Sketches Vol. 13 with Caleb and his Adjutant Liam. When Caleb experienced a lot of stress related to MC in Lucid Dream, the chip activated and he passed out in her arms. The chip is supposed to remove any memories that cause emotional distress, which creates apathetic weapons that make their decisions primarily based on logic. It is unclear how effective the chip is with Caleb as any memory he has with MC would initiate an emotional reaction. Additionally, canon has stated that he is intentionally protecting his memories of the MC from the chip's influence. 

So we know it has little hold over his memories with MC, but could it potentially have an affect on moments where they are intimate? There is a chance it could. I mean, Caleb has been yearning for MC ever since they were young. His heart would be pounding, he would be so nervous if she even kissed him in the main story. A kiss in the main timeline would be an emotionally intense moment that could cause the chip to activate. We do not know for sure if that would be the case as we have yet to see Caleb attempt to be intimate with MC in the main story in a card where he has the Toring Chip. 

So, potentially, the chip could greatly affect his ability to be physically affectionate with MC.

Update: A little bit after I had written this, the Spring Banner had dropped where we got our first Main Timeline Caleb kiss. Based on the story of the card, the chip did not activate. Additionally, a Secret Times released for Affinity level 105 that is on the spicier side. Once more, the Toring chip did not activate.

There is still certainly a chance the chip could activate during intimacy, but so far, it does not. 

“What? Do you love him or something?”

The answer is simple. Yes, I do love him.

 I loved him the moment I began the small video project with my partner where we did an extrapolation on Caleb as a potential LI prior to his official debut in January. The more I tried to learn about him, the more attached I became. When he released, the ambiguity of what Caleb would be as a byproduct to main story events was so and continues to be extremely intriguing. 

I absolutely love the familiarity in he and MCs relationship dynamic. The comfort they share with one another with playful banter. The teasing and how they both know if it’s a time to be serious or a time to be goofy. They are not perfect by any means, but that gives that dynamic even more charm. He is attentive, kind, sweet, adorably annoying, with that perfect blend of mystery that keeps you hooked, yearning to learn more and more about him. 

In much shorter terms, he is a devoted puppy. This is a fact that he himself does not deny with the several allusions to him comparing himself to a dog. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this deep dive. I had a lot of fun writing it! 

Please feel free to share your thoughts as well. I would absolutely love to see other people’s interpretations of Caleb. 

Thank you again for reading!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

THE HUNDRED LINE: LAST DEFENSE ACADEMY - Journal #1: Route 0 Days 1-18. [MASSIVE SPOILERS]

//So as I said before, even though it's not really Dangan-related, I'm going to be slowly dropping my summary of the events I experience in Hundred Line as I play through it. I don't know if I'm going to do a full 100 days for each of the 100 routes because that would be fucking crazy tbh, but...I figured I could at leats indulge you guys on my experience this way, since I'm unable to stream it.

//In case I didn't make it clear before, this game is straight fire. It's got a really awesome story on top of what is actually surprisingly fun and fascinating gameplay. As I said above, this part of the journal goes up to Day 18, and the battles that happen during that period became way more anime than they probably should have.

//This isn't just a cut and dry tactics game. There's this uniqueness to it that makes the gameplay loop great. That's not to say the game and story isn't without flaws, but we'll cover that.

//All of this will obviously be under the cut, because in case it wasn't obvious, let me make one big warning here.

DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS POST IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED/SEEN THE HUNDRED LINE: LAST DEFENSE ACADEMY. I WILL BE TALKING ABOUT VERY SPECIFIC PLOT POINTS AND MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE GAME.

//Without further ado...let's get into it.

DAY 1-7:

//Okay, so to be fair, I actually kind of lied about starting on Day 1. I livestreamed myself playing the free demo that covers the first 7 days of the game. If you want to see my reaction to that, you can check out the streams, or just play it yourself.

//I did go back through the demo segment in the full game though just so I was refreshed on the story. To make a few quick points about it though, the kinky group sex line is still hilarious, and the transformation sequences are still raw and as of today, I haven't skipped a single one.

//Also, I started watching NicoB play

//The only major difference this time is that I didn't struggle as much in the invader boss fight because I had a better idea of what I was doing.

DAY 8:

//Okay, so this is where the demo ends and the full game begins, but it doesn't start off full swing or anything. Essentially, it's become clear to me now that Sirei isn't coming back, at least not any time soon. Which is honestly kind of a bummer, because I did really start liking his mojo and the character himself has great dialogue. It kind of peeves me that he's around for only two days, and then vanishes without a trace, presumably dead.

//Still, I can't be too pissed about it because chances are there's an alternate route where he gets to survive for a bit longer. We'll have to see.

//Anyway, in Sire's absense, Hiruko became the leader, which I pretty much expected, but it also planted some ill feelings in me that ended up coming true later down the line, but more on that in a bit.

//Other than that, I spent my time hanging out with Eito, who spent hours telling me the history of scythe's.

DAY 9

//Day 9 starts off with you going down to the cafeteria to find that only the fighting group (Takumi, Takemaru, Hiruko, Darumi, and Eito) are in the cafeteria, because apparently Hiruko put the non-fighters under house arrest, and banned them from certain places in the school if they continue to not fight.

//I know that Hiruko said she'd make them regret it, but this wasn't really what I was expecting. Though to be honest, I don't know what I was expecting.

//Hung out with Darumi some more.

DAY 10

//One little gag that I came to like is that sometimes, even though the messages are mostly the same, when Sirei appears on the screen with his prerecorded messages, on certain days he'll be doing something different than sitting there. Like this time around, he has a suit on. And it's funny because you get a kick out of him seeing doing something a little different from the normal message.

//Also, as a milestone celebration, we gained access to two more rooms in the school; the Rec Room and the Leisure Lounge.

//There was a bit of a funny moment where Takemaru said something like "Hiruko's kinda hot, shame she's so evil," which made me laugh.

//Also, Takumi when he first sees the Rec Room says "I can imagine a high-class school having a rec room like this!"

//This is what the rec room looks like. Motherfucker, this is a whole ass arcade. There is not a school in the world that has something like this.

//Also, with the rec room open, we now have access to gifts which we can give to our classmates, which I was really hoping they wouldn't do, because giving gifts to people in Danganronpa is already enough of a drag, and in this game, it's worse, because not only does it cost money, but you have to actively go out and get the materials for the items in order to make them.

//Fortunately, there's no gacha system to it, and they're not NECESSARY, just that if you give them to your classmates, the stat buffs that you ordinarily get with them get increased.

//But still, if you want to get stronger quickly, there's a lot of grinding here. Kinda makes it harder to decide what to do with your time, and suddenly 100 days doesn't feel like enough.

//The Rec Room is where most of the gameplay happens though, whilst the Leisure Lounge is...kind of just for that. Leisure. There's effectively no reason to go there, so I can only assume we have story-related scenes that happen there later on. Maybe a pool party? That would be fun.

//But like I said, you need materials to get the machine, so spent my day scouting. It also gave me a chance to learn how Eito works in combat. From what I can tell, his attacks work a little similarly to Takumi's, but while Takumi hits 5 squares in front of him, Eito only hits 3. Eito does seem to have more damage potential though, not just because he has a higher default damage, but because his ability gives him random buffs every time he takes an action.

//Speaking of random, I fucking hate some of the exploration segments.

//I get that there's probably a guide, especially since there seems to be a very limited number of events, but I swear to god, some of the outcomes that should seem like the right call end in the absolute dumbest ways, like I'm pursuing Wonder of U and got hit with a calamity.

//The good news is the new spaces that are designed to help create gifts at least gives me more of an incentive to go out on explanations for reasons other than just aimlessly wandering around hoping I get some cool gear while random flying objects keep hitting me or I cut myself on a blade of grass.

DAY 11

//Today started with Darumi asking me if I wanted to die.

//Great start.

//One thing I discovered leading up to this game is that apparently, Darumi's English Voice Actor, Sarah Pritard, hasn't had a single credited role before this game, which is shocking, because she's REALLY good.

//Also, I didn't quite realize this until someone pointed it out to me, but one cool thing I didn't know is that Minh Ton, Hiruko's Voice Actor, is apparently a voice actor, or at least WAS one, in Danganronpa F: Shattered Hope, as Scarlet.

//This gal vvv

//Speaking of voice lines, I don't know if I'm the first person to point it out, but there's one voice line of Takumi's where he just screams "HEY!" and they OVERUSE the FUCK out of this line. Even in really calm situations, they're just randomly broken up by really calm curious dialogue and sound bytes, and then Takumi just goes "HEY!"

//Anyway, despite the silly beginning, there's immediately a lot of tension even before you get down to the cafeteria with everyone, because everyone who hasn't been fighting looks really depressed and defeated, and it gets worse because Hiruko promptly announces that if the people who have abstained don't get their act together, she's going to kick them out of the school and leave them in the wild to die.

//Hiruko is such an interesting character, because this is the first time in one of these games that we've seen one of the students be more outwardly sadistic than the actual Mastermind mascot character (besides the Masterminds themselves obviously, but even then, we only see Junko for two trials). While there were definitely some monsters among DR's cast, Sirei himself, while a douchebag and a pervert, was actually pretty nice and lenient and willing to compromise for the students if it meant giving them an incentive to get onto the battlefield.

//Not Hiruko. And the crazy part is that her methods, which are easily on the same level as Monokuma's motives, are far more effective. Or at least, they would be, but even the prospect of being kicked out and left to die out in the wild isn't enough to get the others to step up.

//I might as well say it now, but the part of the story that I cover in this post revolves largely around Tsubasa and Gaku, so a lot of this is talking about them as characters. And the good news is that it definitely succeeded in getting me to feel for both of them.

//Gaku especially is in the same vein of character as the likes of Yasuhiro and Kazuichi. And if you know me, Yasuhiro is my least favourite character in the main DR series, and to be honest, as time has gone on, I've grown to like Kazuichi less and less. Like, he's fine in Survivor, but writing ReCaptured has really made me realize that he's kind of a piece of shit.

//Unlike them, I actually feel for Gaku, and I think his spite and self-centeredness is actually kind of righteous, but we'll get to that. Either way, he complains about his life, but this time, it actually made me feel for him.

//But Tsubasa on top of that, and the way she reacted to Hiruko's ultimatum, makes me realize that there's a level of suicidal depression in this girl, because she knows that she'll probably die out there, but is willing to resign herself to that cruel fate if it means she doesn't have to fight the invaders.

//Which is really deep and sad...until you find out immediately after that her reason for not wanting to fight is because she's embarrassed that she'll throw up.

//Feels like a really unserious reason behind such a serious drive to not want to fight. Granted, there is more to it than that, but still, starting with that makes it a little...eh...

//Whatever, I've seen worse.

//That's pretty much the end of this day, but one last thing I want to mention is this is where I started to really realize that Takumi is a dork on the same level that Hajime was. While I was in the entry hall, I casually interacted with the fire extinguishers used to exit the academy, and one of Takumi's lines when he interacts with it is "Not even these fire extinguishers can put out the flames in my heart!" or some bullshit.

//Which got a laugh out of me.

DAY 12

//So for the rest of this review, the mission at hand largely involves trying to convince the abstainers to actually get on the battlefield, because Hiruko gives the fighters 5 days to convince the others before she makes her move. To begin with, Takumi works with Eito to find a workaround to Tsubasa's puke problem.

//The plan is to make her this cute reusable sick bag, but we had to go out of the academy to get the pouch we needed, and I was kind of expecting more to happen when we went out, but not much did. We kind of just grabbed it and got back.

//You know, AFTER Eito and Takumi took 10 points of damage from the rain >:(

//Unfortunately, while they gave me it for free this time, I returned to make the sick bag using the item machine, only to find out that making items costs the same time that you normally spend each day hanging out with people, or going on missions, which I think is bullshit. That's kind of like your entire day of Free Time in Danganronpa being spent because you went to get gifts from the MonoMono Machine. It's crap.

//This is also where we got a new minigame where you have to listen to the characters and interject at the right time with the right response, and I'll give it credit, it's weird and cringey at times, but it's also hard. Fortunately, there's no massive penalties for failing it, just that it's kind of time consuming.

//And also, while Gaku's upcoming one was fine, if I had a pence for every time the word puke was said, I'd be able to buy a whole candy bar. Kind of made me think I myself might hurl.

//There was one standout moment during it where the correct response to Tsubasa saying "people will make fun of me if I puke," is for Takumi to say "Don't worry! I'll puke too! So we both get made fun of."

//And then he like, gives her this absolute dead serious stare while she herself is wondering "what the fuck is wrong with this guy?" But it makes her laugh, and the interaction after is pretty wholesome.

//And what's even more difficult is I can't figure out who's idea this was between Kodaka or Uchikoshi.

//But yeah, as much as I do love the writing so far, this situation was a little cringe, and I wish the game didn't make it so corny.

DAY 13

//Not much to say here except we get a little bit more info about Gaku, and like I said before, I think his righteous anger towards society is very righteous indeed. But this day was kind of just setting up how we convince him to get on the frontlines, just as we did Tsubasa.

//I'd also like to add that while they do make it clear that the Invaders attack indiscriminately, they sure are letting us get all the plot out of the way, huh?

DAY 14

//So we went out again, like we did before with Eito, to get shit for Gaku in order to convince him to join the vanguiard.

//Darumi almost died, and we didn't even fight anyone. She just kept getting beaten to shit by random events. Smh.

//Like I hinted at before, I liked Gaku's version of the Persuasion Minigame way more than I liked Tsubasa's. Not only was it more engaging what was talked about, but it was also a lot more challenging, which works because the whole point of Gaku so far is how he's a very difficult person to work with.

//Without getting into the specifics of the conversation, I have to admit that this really got me to see what Gaku was conceptually, and I'm actually super into it.

//The big incentive for everyone to fight, Takumi especially, is that if the Invaders infiltrate the school, then the Tokyo Residential Complex is going to be destroyed, and everyone they love will perish. But unlike Takumi, Gaku feels like he owes nothing to the TRC, because he's had such a rough life full of people who treat him and those around him like shit.

//Again, Gaku has a very legitimate reason for being self-centered and greedy, which makes him way more sympathetic, and way less unbearable than previous Kodaka characters like him. At least for me.

//Also, while I did make some familiarities with Tsubasa's version, Gaku's version of the minigame feels way more like a Non-Stop Debate. Like I said, you normally have to pick the right dialogue option, but there's one point of Gaku's where in order to get past it, you have to just say nothing. You just let him get his emotions out without saying anything, and eventually the pain catches up to him, when he realizes he doesn't mean what he's saying.

//It's very clever. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DAY 15

//So this day was the point where things really started to get interesting, and not really in a good way. And I can break it down into three notable things.

//One: Darumi and Hiruko's relationship suddenly became Toko and Byakuya again.

//I have no idea why or how, and it's never really explained, but it happened. Darumi just became a massive simp for Hiruko, which...I mean aren't we all? But even so, I have no clue what happened, so maybe I missed a scene?

//Two: I didn't mention it, but before this point, Ima has been concocting a plan of how to stop Hiruko from kicking him and Kako out without the need for them to get onto the battlefield. And it's through this that I'm starting to see more of what I noticed early on in the game.

//Despite the fact that Ima's life seems to revolve around Kako, Kako herself has absolutely no agency of her own. Despite how much of a genius and an angel Ima plays her up to be, Ima himself is always the one in control of the situation. He's the one who makes plans, the one who asks questions, and the one basically doing all the work for them.

//And as interesting as it is to see this, and for what it hints at in the future, it also sucks because it means Kako herself doesn't get much of a chance to be her own character.

//Takumi even says that she can do things without Ima, but Kako herself isn't sure, so I'm really really wondering just how genuine the love between these siblings are.

//Fortunately, Ima's affection to Kako hasn't really descended into LUST so far. The closest its gotten is for sure the "sweet sweet nectar" line from his introduction, but other than that, it doesn't appear to be any kind of incestuous relationship. They are still very clearly Kodaka's characters though, so who knows.

//My point is that if Ima and Kako turn out to be the next Kanada and Hibiki...Well, it won't stop me from enjoying the game, but I'm for sure not gonna like it.

//And three...

//hhAAHh...

//NOOOT gonna say too much about this CG in the event that I get in trouble with coomers on the internet, but it is absolutely the hottest piece of art that Komatsuzaki has made so far.

//Minh Ton's voice acting doesn't help, because if Shattered Hope taught me anything, that guy does eroticism WAY too well.

//The scene that happens here is basically Takumi and Eito confronting Hiruko because she apparently knows more of what's going on than she lets on. Other than having fought the invaders before, she seems more personally connected to the plot of this game.

//And while I did like the insinuation near the end that Hiruko IS a nice person; she just has a funny way of showing it; this was the point where I REALLY started to get bad vibes.

DAY 16

//And it turns out they were very well founded.

//And I am PISSED OFF!

//GENUINELY!

//So, as we saw in the demo, the minute it seemed like Sirei was going to give us the answers, he up and disappears, and then later, we find him seemingly dead.

//And now the same has most likely happened to Hiruko. Which sucks ass because that's now TWO of my favourite characters that have been removed from the game early.

//Again, I already KNOW that there are endings to this game where she actually makes it to the end, because I saw scenes in the previews and trailers that have her in them that straight up havent happened yet. And if she really is dead, then those scenes can't happen.

//So they have to happen somewhere else. I sincerely doubt that there was a whole leaked scene by the devs fully voice acted.

//But considering that Hiruko is my favourite so far, who in my opinion is both the most well-written, and the most powerful member of the team, I'm still mad.

//Even though there were so many red flags leading up to this.

//Largely, the fact that Hiruko is already maxed out in her regular stats and is easily the strongest member of the team from the get go, being like, the Disc-1 Nuke essentially, meant that she probably wasn't going to stick around for very long. Because having her around for the first playthrough at least would make it way too easy.

//Plus, like I said, it's the EXACT same situation as Sirei where she was about to reveal some information, and then went missing before she could reveal it.

//So it's not like I don't GET it, it's just annoying. Because that's my favourite character just GONE now.

//I suppose there had to be SOME reason to stop Shoma and the twins from being kicked out, but this is still so irritating to me. She had BETTER come back, or at the very least, get significant screentime in the other routes, because my enjoyment of this game is going to be seriously affected if she doesn't.

//I know Kodaka and Uchikoshi will pull through for me though.

DAY 17

//This is my favourite day of the story so far.

//So Hiruko is still missing, and now everyone is panicked looking for her, and coming up with ideas of what might have happened. I knew the minute Kako suggested that we might have a killer on our hands that Darumi was going to get excited. Because her Killing Game fantasy is started to get very real.

//This also bumped Kako a little bit up on my list, because again, it's nice to see she has a genuine passion for mystery that exists outside of her brother's influence. I feel like maybe if we had a route where we actually did a killing game, she'd be great in it.

//Also, Ima's plan was that he was apparently going to seduce Hiruko? I-I don't know what I was expecting. Like, I don't HATE Ima yet, he's just kind of weird...

//But while I was still seething over Hiruko's disappearance, the strange ghost boy surrounded by the flames showed up again. Just the same way he did on the night that Sirei was supposedly killed. So I'm starting to think he shows up as some kind of omen whenever we find a body, or when someone goes missing.

//But we don't have much time to think about that, because the Invaders attack again, this time during the night.

//And largely the reason why this is my favourite moment in the story so far is because HOLY SHIT THIS BATTLE WAS BALLER!

//This fight it split into three phases. Phase 1 starts off normally, except the twist is that this time around, there are actually TWO Commanders. And we're now defending the school from all sides, with Takumi and Takemaru on one side of the school, and Darumi and Eito on the other.

//The first phase is standard, but it does suck not having Hiruko around. However, I can't complain too much for this fight, because if she had been on the field, she would have taken out the commander in one hit, since they each only have 6 HP. Very low for a commander. In fact, there are regular enemies you can encounter in exploration that have more, and require multiple hits.

//But the first phase ends when you kill one of them, because the other one instantly revives it. So as you might guess, the way to work around this is you need to take out both at the same time.

//Simple enough, but the moment you realize that, a THIRD one shows up to attack a sudden third outpost. And with only four people on the field, taking out three of them at the same time is basically impossible.

//But to no one's surprise, THIS is when both Tsubasa and Gaku jump into the fray.

//Eito entering the fray was awesome, but the amount of bonding and getting to know these two that you had to do before this point, while it did make it more obvious, still made the moment more impactful. Because yeah, I love Gaku and Tsubasa, and seeing them finally step up gave me butterflies.

//Gaku is my son now. I am proud of him.

//And yeah, I used a string of ults to take down the monster in Phase 2, and then they fused together in Phase 3, where I kind of did the same to take it out.

//I can't really describe how this fight went perfectly, but in the moment, just experiencing the rush of chaining the attacks that each of these guys can do was AWESOME.

//But by far, and this is gonna sound crazy, the most exciting part of the gameplay in the fights is sacrificing your allies.

//In case you somehow missed it, there's a gimmick in this game where a character, provided they are low enough HP, can unleash their Ultimate Technique without expending any meter. However, doing so comes at the cost of their lives, and they're removed from the rest of the fight.

//But during the defense battles, there is basically no downside to doing this, because the characters dying means that the meter gets charged by 100%, and another character, maybe on the other side of the field, can unleash their Ult right after and take out a huge swarm of enemies.

//Anyone can look at this and say that the top-down gameplay is really simple, and it's fine to think that, but considering this is something that Kodaka and Uchikoshi haven't tried before, this is PHENOMENAL. Most Fire Emblem fights don't give me this kind of adrenaline rush. Hell, most turn-based fights don't give me that rush.

//This game is FANTASTIC, and I realized that more than anything in that moment.

//Anyway, the battle ended with Eito going on another friendship rant, which he needs to shut up with, and then I actually had to pick someone to absorb the enemy commander with. Last time, you HAD to pick Hiruko, but this time, I get to choose between the characters.

//It was basic, but I picked Takumi because he's the one I'll be using the most in the fights. And I like that his reaction to killing the commander was far more pained and struggled than Hiruko's.

//Can't wait to see a compilation of these scenes.

DAY 18

//I have basically nothing to say about this day. Nothing really happens, but the scene where Takumi wakes up in the afternoon in pain, walks into the cafeteria, and Takemaru, Darumi, Eito, Tsubasa, and Gaku are all completely knackered made me laugh more than it probably should have.

CONCLUSION:

//But yeah, that's basically all I have, and my takeaways from this game so far are as follows:

Hiruko remains my favourite character in this game so far, even though it seems like her screentime in this route has come to an end, which is something I'm still plenty pissed about. However, she will most likely be fine in the other endings, so I'm just gonna wait for those to learn more about her. Also, that swimsuit scene is gonna stick with me for all the wrong reasons.

Like I ranted about on Day 17, the fight where Gaku and Tsubasa join was absolute thrills, and the combat in this game actually gets me pumped up. I was expecting it to be serviceable, but no, it's actually super exciting.

My opinion of Tsubasa has improved a little bit, but my opinion of Gaku has increased MASSIVELY. While he's not my favourite, I am thoroughly invested in his story, and the fact that there are genuine layers to him despite being a self-centered dork and a coward.

//I have pros and cons of this game, and they're very clearly divided. But overall, I've only played about 6-10 hours of this 330 hour game, and I'm already INCREDIBLY invested.

//Once again, if you haven't played this game (which I sincerely hope you have because I've basically just spoiled the first part of the story for you if you haven't) please get it. It is absolutely worth the money, and worth the price.

-Mod